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Just a spot for random musings. No one ever accused me of being a conscientious blogger. |
| I am miserable at blogging. Life and other things (like writing) keep me from doing any musings on a regular basis. We'll have to see how it goes. |
| One good thing about reaching the part of the story where we are officially building toward the climax is that the writing speeds up. It took three weeks to get a chapter done, ten days for the next and only six days for the one I posted tonight. Seven left and the final Pantheon book will be done. What's better, the story is holding together tight and I'm pleased with what I've gotten done. A bit of polish? of course. No book will ever be perfect on first draft. It will definitely need a good going over, tightening language and cutting anything extraneous. I'm already at 116K and could possibly top 140K when finished. That's a pretty good size chunk of fiction. I was worried when I tossed the first version in the trash, saving only two chapters from the 113K word work but it's paid off. I am far prouder of this version. Let's see if I can keep the tension going to the end and then I have to plan a wedding. *sigh* For those who know me, I have never planned a wedding in my life. Not my daughter's. Not even my own. Quick and functional was the plan then. But it would be a great way to end the book, with a quick peek at all the characters we've come to know over the course of the tale. I'm going to have to see if I can find an online do-it-yourself wedding planner to help. Wish me luck and quick fingers! |
| I finally finished chapter 24 in Styx and Stones today. Yeah! Progress at last. Now onto the more fun bits. The next chapter is the villian revealing and some planning and the chapter after is Athene in action again. I might actually get this thing finished before summer hits. Yesterday, I finished the proof edits for Wilding Heart, the third Faery Tail book, so now it's just a matter of getting the book block ready for print and it'll be released. I have to admit, it's probably my favorite Fae Tale yet. Check it out... http://bit.ly/QQBuNE Today is also my birthday and tomorrow we're going down to Fargo to eat at my favorite place ever. Going out to eat? Is that all? You have to understand, Fargo is 100 miles away. It's something of an outing when we go, lol. Not to mention that I've gotten a new mattress, a new computer chair, and a new windshield for my car for my birthday already. |
| I have published eight books and two short stories and I have to say that writing the query never gets any easier. Querying sequels is a little less stressful but there is always the possibility of rewrite requests. I sent off a query today for Crystal Dreams, a fantasy romance I wrote some years ago and was never quite happy with. I've spent the past few years rewriting the ending and it's much stronger now. Here's hoping there's a good response... |
| Finally made it through chapter 22 and into the chapter where I get to blow things up. Walt gets to meet Serena's mother and have a heart-to-heart before things go to hell. It should be so much fun after that. There's still so much story to tell but I don't think it's going to take as long as I thought. I actually need to sit down and plot out the rest, noting action and such. As much as I hate plotting it out ahead of time, Pants-ing it will run the risk of missing important details. Going back later is never as effective as doing it right the first time. *sigh* I will have to break down this time and just do it. I already have a small outline, more of a highpoints to hit list than anything concrete and it changes without notice. Wish me luck. This is a new thing for me. |
| I do consider myself very lucky. My oldest daughter puts up with my writerly weirdness and even thinks it's cool. It's nice to be appreciated, lol. She also does my cover art and does an amazing job. On top of that, she's also willing to sit and listen to me read what I'm working on and help me over rough patches. Yes, I'm lucky. One drawback to reading to Brianna? She's very opinionated. "The fight has to go this way." or "That's just waaaaay too over-the-top sickly romantic." Yesterday it was "No, Mom, you can't kill him." "He" being a character we've known for less than half a page. Why? Because his dialogue is funny. "But you could write his story next." Oh, no. No more Pantheon after this one. I'm taking a break and writing more fantasy and fairy tales, lol. This sci-fi stuff is HARD! I have a feeling she'd going to fight me on this one. Ok, so I'll just wound him badly but I'm not writing him his own story. Still, the help she gave me yesterday will get me through chapter 20 and into more the more action oriented part fo the story. Things should go easier for a while. Maybe I'll finish the book next year. Sure. After the apocolypse. I think that's entirely do-able. |
| I have to admit, when I stall out writing, it's usually one of two things. 1) either I need to take the plot back to the drawing board and rethink my strategy or 2) there's a love scene invoved. I write romance (fantasy romance, sci-fi romance, ect) so there's usually a love scene somewhere in the pages. I hate writing them. Well, not so much the scene itself but the time and labor that goes into them. I can plot and choreograph an intense fight scene easier than I can write a love scene. There's something wrong there because I've never been in a fight in my life but I have ... welll, nuff said. I finally figured it out yesterday when I was reading through the love scene I just finished, one for Walt and Serena. It's the emotion involved. In a fight, it's all thought and action, there's no time for angst. But sex? Sex without emotion is pointless. It's the adding the extra layer of emotion to the scene that's so very difficult to balance. It's like making love to a stranger. "Is that enough foreplay?" "Have I done enough to move my hand now?" "Dear God, I hope they like it noisy." It's disconcerting because I'm seeing it through two pairs of eyes. Yes, the scene remains in one POV but I have to know what the other character is thinking and feeling in order to present it correctly. After this story, I think I'll take a break and write another fairy tale. All love scenes remain "off camera" so to speak which is a huge relief for me. And they're fun. |
| So, the actual date I've been given is Oct. 19 for release. It'll be e-book and paperback. http://bit.ly/O6OSiq Check it out! My daughter did the cover (again) and I think this one is the most stunning she's done yet. Especially since I know for a fact that the pic was black and white and she had to colorized them. You'll have to let me know how you think she did |
| Elysia, the third book in the Pantheon Series is coming soon! The first week of October, in fact, so keep an eye out for it and I'll post a more exact date as soon as I have it. Thanatos heads to Dallas to run protection duty on Sierra Galloway, his ex-fiancee, a woman who hates his guts. Someone is trying to steal her research, someone willing to kill her to get what they want. Elysia Grant is a wannbe journalist. When she pulls a battered man out of the gutter, she has no idea the trouble she's bringing home with her. Nearly ten years his junior and gregarious, Elysia is a temptation the reserved Thanatos has trouble resisting. As she works beside him, trying to outsmart a murderer, the thing he has to keep in mind is that explosives come in small, tightly wound packages. Pan and Athene were a meeting of equals. Hercules and Rosalind were about a man finding a dream he wasn't willing to let go of. More than the others, Thanatos is reserved, hiding his scars behind cutting intelligence and distance. He needs to be shaken out of his shell and Elysia is just the woman for the job. The stakes are higher, lives on the line, as these two fight for each other and for a group of new and unusual friends. |
| My computer died yesterday. Or, at least, I think it's dead. Black screen, power indicator the only sign of life. It's in the shop being autopsied and I'll find out in the next few days if resuscitation is possible. And it had to happen as I received the book galleys for Elysia. My hubby's computer is my old, old one and the keyboard has mental issues. It takes forever to write anything which is why he inherited it in the first place. Depending on what the shop says, I may have to get a plug-in keyboard and deal with Linux for awhile. I'm going into writing withdrawals. The shakes have already started... |
| Still here. Of course, blogging is never my strong suit. I've been working on Styx and Stones today and I'm nearly done with this chapter and the next is pretty clear in my head. Now sitting at 48K and it should come in just over 100K. I'm liking this version better than the first so that's progress. The first version had aliens and ESP and all sorts of weird things going on. This one is more straight out espionage. Book three of this series, Elysia, should be released near the middle of September. The edits have been done and the cover art completed. Now it's a matter of proofing and getting everything put together. My oldest daughter does the cover art and, while this does put me more in a hands-on position than other authors, it also means I have to listen to the griping about it, lol. The front cover is here http://bit.ly/GJJMit The back cover is purple lightning. I didn't choose the lightning but I get to hear about how difficult it is to words over lightning.What a trade off. After that will be Wilding Heart, the third Fae tale, and then the short story How Does Your Garden Grow?. By then I should have Styx done and can work on Mageborn or Stargazer. I think I need to clone myself... |
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