Another new book has been started, just to quit Myrtle down a bit. I don't have a title for it yet, but she's insisting it will be yet another series. Oh dear, I already don't have enough time for everything. How many hours sleep does a human need?
This new book covers much of the back story of how the Coven came to be, the women in, all of a "certain age", and the "why" of their existence. It's been pretty fun to get started, in the same sense that Merie is fun for me to write. Lots of giggles as I type and see the story begin to form.
Once again there is no outline, no plot defined, no story boarding. Just straight from my brain to my keyboard. This book is like Merie, just for me at the moment, and a few cherished friends to read as the public most likely will take umbrage.
And I wonder often if I should keep blogging as more time is pulled away for other things in life. I haven't yet figured out how to add a counter to see how many unique visitors there are to this blog. Probably just the 3 that are followers. I can't imagine anyone else would find this blog all that interesting. If it's more than that it will be a happy surprise, as I don't consider myself all that unique, interesting, or memorable, although others tell me often I am.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Character Chaos
I need to double the hours of free time in my day. Now that summer's here, gardening is on the mind, I have a new video game addiction, lots of To Do's around the house, ad not enough time to write. Normally, getting a 1/2 hour to write would be enough to quiet my characters down, not so much any more.
Secondary characters in my main series are now demanding their OWN series. The Coven Women are becoming a lot more vocal and demanding, while Paul and Paxton have wedding changes to make, and Collie's world calls while Merie jumps in at inappropriate times to leave me laughing. Perhaps it's a good thing I don't have as much to do at work as I should at this time.
I am considering setting up a regular website to post a few chapters and offer the books for sale "as is" in electronic formats until I can find an agetn/publisher/editor. The money would come direct to me (a plus), but without knowing how to really advertise or publicize it properly then I may only sell one copy and that's it.
The short stories are done and one was submitted, only to find it's not the right "genre" for these folks. Too "mass market paperback" and not "literary" enough. Not a surprise, I do tend to write along lines for the masses and not for the eltist college types. (Yes, I can say that, I do have a degree and am working on a Master's - none in literature though).
For now, my sister is my editor, my friend's who read it love it, and I'm trying to wrap up Collie's first book. Perhaps I'll get that finished in the next NaNoWriMo competition. You never know, I might actually get it done and get some attention on it.
Waiting to hear back from editors and agents is long and boring. Sister's in Crime has conferences coming up in my area again; I'm saving my pennies in hopes of attending and getting some objective criticism on whether or not it's worth chasing a publishing deal on the Jess series. I can always hope and I might have a chance to meet a few authors that I enjoy. One never knows!
Secondary characters in my main series are now demanding their OWN series. The Coven Women are becoming a lot more vocal and demanding, while Paul and Paxton have wedding changes to make, and Collie's world calls while Merie jumps in at inappropriate times to leave me laughing. Perhaps it's a good thing I don't have as much to do at work as I should at this time.
I am considering setting up a regular website to post a few chapters and offer the books for sale "as is" in electronic formats until I can find an agetn/publisher/editor. The money would come direct to me (a plus), but without knowing how to really advertise or publicize it properly then I may only sell one copy and that's it.
The short stories are done and one was submitted, only to find it's not the right "genre" for these folks. Too "mass market paperback" and not "literary" enough. Not a surprise, I do tend to write along lines for the masses and not for the eltist college types. (Yes, I can say that, I do have a degree and am working on a Master's - none in literature though).
For now, my sister is my editor, my friend's who read it love it, and I'm trying to wrap up Collie's first book. Perhaps I'll get that finished in the next NaNoWriMo competition. You never know, I might actually get it done and get some attention on it.
Waiting to hear back from editors and agents is long and boring. Sister's in Crime has conferences coming up in my area again; I'm saving my pennies in hopes of attending and getting some objective criticism on whether or not it's worth chasing a publishing deal on the Jess series. I can always hope and I might have a chance to meet a few authors that I enjoy. One never knows!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Life gets in the way
Well, it's official I'm getting old. I'm actually happily accepting it, but it comes with a few mean flashes paired with racing heart beats. All of that gets in the way of work (no big loss) and my writing (BIG loss). So I've been neglecting pretty much all of my writing.
I did however send my short story of Jess and Paul's coming out to my Aunt. She liked it, but it shifted too quickly and too darkly to a scene where Paul witnesses exactly how much ghosts can affect Jess' life. I'll have to work on making that shift happen more slowly. But I'd like to have another person, who doesn't mind the dark side of writing so much, take a look at it. My family is a bit sensitive to the darker pieces of my writing.
My short story on how Collie came to be is almost ready to pass on to my Aunt to see if she thinks it would work for GlimmerTrain. They're more on the intellectual side of writing, whereas I'm more of the "mass paperback" genre. :)
So life goes on, and I'm trying to get back on track with finding a "home" for Jess' series and finishing up the first books for Collie and Merie. And I'd better hurry up as the Coven Women from Jess are harassing me for their own book as well. Chaos reigns!
I did however send my short story of Jess and Paul's coming out to my Aunt. She liked it, but it shifted too quickly and too darkly to a scene where Paul witnesses exactly how much ghosts can affect Jess' life. I'll have to work on making that shift happen more slowly. But I'd like to have another person, who doesn't mind the dark side of writing so much, take a look at it. My family is a bit sensitive to the darker pieces of my writing.
My short story on how Collie came to be is almost ready to pass on to my Aunt to see if she thinks it would work for GlimmerTrain. They're more on the intellectual side of writing, whereas I'm more of the "mass paperback" genre. :)
So life goes on, and I'm trying to get back on track with finding a "home" for Jess' series and finishing up the first books for Collie and Merie. And I'd better hurry up as the Coven Women from Jess are harassing me for their own book as well. Chaos reigns!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Short Stories and Mis-typed URLs
I've been working on short stories to submit to GlimmerTrain in the hopes that I'll get some credible feedback on my writing at some point. Both are off-shoots from my current story lines. I'm not sure if I'll ever figure out this writing thing, but if I don't write my head stays in a state of chaos. This summer will be interesting as I'll be picking up some free-lance work that will eat up the majority of my "free" time, but I need the cash, so Jess will have to wait.
Anyway, now where was I going with this? Oh yes! I was looking for some information regarding a potential agent and accidentally mis-typed their URL by adding typing an extra letter. Not that this is normally a problem but I was at my regular job when an inappropriate Asian site of a "male persuasion" popped up on my screen and I couldn't get the browser to shut properly. So, power off the wireless, run scans galore, and now I'm back on and hopefully virus-free, but we'll see. It may be time to backup my data and rebuild my laptop from scratch.
I've also been researching Vitamin D deficiency which is common for "women of a certain age" and which I now apparently have. That also leads to interesting odd pages popping up once in awhile. And being that I'm paranoid, I have to shut things down and do scans right away. Wonder if craziness comes with Vitamin D deficiencies? Hmmm...
Anyway, I'm hoping to have a lead on an editor soon. I missed out on getting to RT to meet MaryJanice and try to sponge knowledge off of her, so I'm hoping to get to the next SIC conference that's anywhere in my area while submitting stories to GlimmerTrain and other competitions.
Anyway, now where was I going with this? Oh yes! I was looking for some information regarding a potential agent and accidentally mis-typed their URL by adding typing an extra letter. Not that this is normally a problem but I was at my regular job when an inappropriate Asian site of a "male persuasion" popped up on my screen and I couldn't get the browser to shut properly. So, power off the wireless, run scans galore, and now I'm back on and hopefully virus-free, but we'll see. It may be time to backup my data and rebuild my laptop from scratch.
I've also been researching Vitamin D deficiency which is common for "women of a certain age" and which I now apparently have. That also leads to interesting odd pages popping up once in awhile. And being that I'm paranoid, I have to shut things down and do scans right away. Wonder if craziness comes with Vitamin D deficiencies? Hmmm...
Anyway, I'm hoping to have a lead on an editor soon. I missed out on getting to RT to meet MaryJanice and try to sponge knowledge off of her, so I'm hoping to get to the next SIC conference that's anywhere in my area while submitting stories to GlimmerTrain and other competitions.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Weekend Shots
Time to fess up: all I got done was some rummaging around in QueryTracker and absolutely no editing done at all.
I did sleep a lot this weekend, and last Thursday. I needed it. I'm still sick, but feeling much, much better. And the apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins turned out just okay. They really didn't have the flavor I was hoping for, so I may do something different next time. The cranberry-orange ones turned out great though. I did burn the cinnamon-swirl and banana nut bread I made on Saturday so there's no "treats" in the house at the moment.
So my weekend was basically shot when it came to getting writing done. I only did one thing other than bake when I wasn't sleeping and that was going shooting. I'm working towards getting over my fear of guns (have a 22 pulled on you as a kid that is supposedly "unloaded" and you'll understand) and working towards getting my concealed weapons permit.
The guys at the gun shop told me I should try a revolver to back up my mouth as I tend to jam the semi-auto Smith & Wesson that we own when I'm shooting fast and I don't back down from gang bangers (who are notoriously lousy shots). So I tried some 38 specials. Huge kickback on those little pups and I didn't hit the target once. They are only good for short range though, so I may ask for some help next time we're in the shooting range. I'm also going to try out a Magnum to see if I do better with the longer barrels. I hit the bullseye every time when I use our S&W both with 22s and 45s, so it may be an issue of barrel length. Although I'm madly in love with this little Browning 22 revolver that will actually fit in my cleavage; it's adorable!
At some point I'll have to try out a rifle as that's what Jess prefers. Funny how I know that. She makes me laugh a lot as well, especially when she's swearing at men. Merie doesn't like guns, but she prefers them over tasers as all the electronic stuff we use know messes with her abilities. Why I have all female characters in my head I'll never know. Oh wait! I forgot about Paul..he's a main character as well, and now Paxton, Matt, and Stan are chiming in as well. (The guys get cranky when they feel they're being overlooked.) What have I started?
Perhaps it's time to settle into the recliner with some tea and write while watching House. Maybe then they'll quiet down a bit.
I did sleep a lot this weekend, and last Thursday. I needed it. I'm still sick, but feeling much, much better. And the apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins turned out just okay. They really didn't have the flavor I was hoping for, so I may do something different next time. The cranberry-orange ones turned out great though. I did burn the cinnamon-swirl and banana nut bread I made on Saturday so there's no "treats" in the house at the moment.
So my weekend was basically shot when it came to getting writing done. I only did one thing other than bake when I wasn't sleeping and that was going shooting. I'm working towards getting over my fear of guns (have a 22 pulled on you as a kid that is supposedly "unloaded" and you'll understand) and working towards getting my concealed weapons permit.
The guys at the gun shop told me I should try a revolver to back up my mouth as I tend to jam the semi-auto Smith & Wesson that we own when I'm shooting fast and I don't back down from gang bangers (who are notoriously lousy shots). So I tried some 38 specials. Huge kickback on those little pups and I didn't hit the target once. They are only good for short range though, so I may ask for some help next time we're in the shooting range. I'm also going to try out a Magnum to see if I do better with the longer barrels. I hit the bullseye every time when I use our S&W both with 22s and 45s, so it may be an issue of barrel length. Although I'm madly in love with this little Browning 22 revolver that will actually fit in my cleavage; it's adorable!
At some point I'll have to try out a rifle as that's what Jess prefers. Funny how I know that. She makes me laugh a lot as well, especially when she's swearing at men. Merie doesn't like guns, but she prefers them over tasers as all the electronic stuff we use know messes with her abilities. Why I have all female characters in my head I'll never know. Oh wait! I forgot about Paul..he's a main character as well, and now Paxton, Matt, and Stan are chiming in as well. (The guys get cranky when they feel they're being overlooked.) What have I started?
Perhaps it's time to settle into the recliner with some tea and write while watching House. Maybe then they'll quiet down a bit.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Lacking Enthusiasm
I've been sick. In a drawn out, boring kind of way. I hate viruses, especially when I can't get enough time off of real work to rest appropriately. It's been a month already, jeez why can't this bugger move on? If it was a computer virus I'd have already vanquished it, but this one has the stubbornness of the most vile dragon.
Ooo! Dragons! If you haven't already, you must go see "How to Train Your Dragon". Apparently it's not much like the book, but it's a great movie and the animation is awesome. Okay, enough about dragons.
Even gardening hasn't gotten my attention of late, so I'm trying my best to pull myself up by my non-existent boot straps and get that done along with some editing on Jess' story. I really want to get this done and published. Perhaps I'm asking for too much. I haven't gone about this in a "normal" fashion at all. But if you know me, normal is not something I'm much good at.
So I've made two goals for myself for this week. 1) Get back into the QueryTracker system and do some research on agents, and 2) at least get Chapter 1 in Jess' book edited. We'll see how I do. I figure they're small enough goals I should be able to get something done; at least I'm hoping that's how it will pan out.
Although, all I seem to be able to think about today is coming up with a workable recipe for apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins. Food usually does trump all for me.
Ooo! Dragons! If you haven't already, you must go see "How to Train Your Dragon". Apparently it's not much like the book, but it's a great movie and the animation is awesome. Okay, enough about dragons.
Even gardening hasn't gotten my attention of late, so I'm trying my best to pull myself up by my non-existent boot straps and get that done along with some editing on Jess' story. I really want to get this done and published. Perhaps I'm asking for too much. I haven't gone about this in a "normal" fashion at all. But if you know me, normal is not something I'm much good at.
So I've made two goals for myself for this week. 1) Get back into the QueryTracker system and do some research on agents, and 2) at least get Chapter 1 in Jess' book edited. We'll see how I do. I figure they're small enough goals I should be able to get something done; at least I'm hoping that's how it will pan out.
Although, all I seem to be able to think about today is coming up with a workable recipe for apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins. Food usually does trump all for me.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Agents, Editors, and Publishers - Oh My!
Still no word from Agent #2, which is fine. My sister's taking a crack at editing the book for me, so it's just as well I guess.
I've been digging through the various references that MaryJanice wrote about and am finding it a bit overwhelming. So many editors and publishers and agents to try to sift through and take a "best guess" at who to approach next. I'm hoping the Sisters-in-Crime group can give me some tidbits on that. After taxes get paid, I'm paying my membership fees to be a full-fledged Guppy and see if I can get any forward progress on this thing.
I did take some time and do a second go-round on the short stories I have for GlimmerTrain and plan to get them submitted in time for the May contest. I'm not sure my writing is in their style though, so I'll have to wait and see.
My Aunt shared one of her non-fiction pieces with me. I can see we have the same typos style, but our writing is different. Hers is more fluid, and richer in nature, whereas mine is blunt, a bit more quick and not nearly as graceful. Ann Rice has a style that is rich and dense, a type of writing that makes you feel like you're eating the book in a most indulgent style. My Aunt's is a lighter form of rich, more like a nice rich dessert mousse. (I must be hungry for chocolate.)
I'm getting ready to dig back into Collie's book in the never ending round-robin of "tag, you have to write about me next". Maybe Collie will get published first, only God in her infinite wisdom knows for certain. In any case, the girls still clamor for my attention and I feel like I'm really starting to get back into the swing of it again. Perhaps because my workload looks very light for the next few months, so I have more time to dedicate to putting their voices to electronic paper. Oh, and I can't forget the boys as Paul just chimed in that I haven't put nearly enough work into his piece of the story.
Do all writers have characters that talk to them? And I wonder, how many people actually read my ramblings? I was surprised to find that someone I have great respect for has been following a tech blog I work on, and even more so when I discovered several others who read it but don't officially "follow" it.
I've been digging through the various references that MaryJanice wrote about and am finding it a bit overwhelming. So many editors and publishers and agents to try to sift through and take a "best guess" at who to approach next. I'm hoping the Sisters-in-Crime group can give me some tidbits on that. After taxes get paid, I'm paying my membership fees to be a full-fledged Guppy and see if I can get any forward progress on this thing.
I did take some time and do a second go-round on the short stories I have for GlimmerTrain and plan to get them submitted in time for the May contest. I'm not sure my writing is in their style though, so I'll have to wait and see.
My Aunt shared one of her non-fiction pieces with me. I can see we have the same typos style, but our writing is different. Hers is more fluid, and richer in nature, whereas mine is blunt, a bit more quick and not nearly as graceful. Ann Rice has a style that is rich and dense, a type of writing that makes you feel like you're eating the book in a most indulgent style. My Aunt's is a lighter form of rich, more like a nice rich dessert mousse. (I must be hungry for chocolate.)
I'm getting ready to dig back into Collie's book in the never ending round-robin of "tag, you have to write about me next". Maybe Collie will get published first, only God in her infinite wisdom knows for certain. In any case, the girls still clamor for my attention and I feel like I'm really starting to get back into the swing of it again. Perhaps because my workload looks very light for the next few months, so I have more time to dedicate to putting their voices to electronic paper. Oh, and I can't forget the boys as Paul just chimed in that I haven't put nearly enough work into his piece of the story.
Do all writers have characters that talk to them? And I wonder, how many people actually read my ramblings? I was surprised to find that someone I have great respect for has been following a tech blog I work on, and even more so when I discovered several others who read it but don't officially "follow" it.
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