We've all heard this one, haven't we? "Write what you know about." Good advice in all circumstances, right?
Right?
What happens when what you know about is boring?
I'll shed a little light here. I'm smarting (well, not as badly as earlier on) due to a "no-thanks" from a publisher I hoped would pick up PEACEWEAVER. Its problem was apparently not the writing, or I expect the editor would've mentioned that. The problem was the setting. Nobody is going to read a novel set in Wales in 973.
Um. I would.
Anyway, getting past this a bit--my contemporary novels are "write what I know" as far as setting. Now, I don't live in a sleepy southern town with lots of tradition and "hey, how y'all doin'?" feeling. I live in a suburb of a congested, irritating big city. My burb is where I was raised. It's what I know. I can get around on foot or on my bike, and I know where the best bike routes are, the wet places after it rains, and why you shouldn't trust the forest preserve at night.
But this isn't interesting! I'm wondering now whether my contemporaries are being turned down by larger houses simply because of setting. I've made up my own Illinois small town that I use in two published books, and I love going to DeBrett. For my WIP, it's Shelley, Iowa, which also lives only in my mind, but is modeled on a small town.
But the romantic settings? The small town with a native's feel for how people there live and interact? Those are not mine to offer. I do, of course, have my very own burb...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Progress!
No, not a new sale. But possibilities. I'm back working on A ROSE IN LATE OCTOBER, the central-Iowa set two-unwilling-partners-in-a-landscaping-business book. I'm into third (or sixteenth?) round edits on it, hoping to flesh it out from an unfinished 45K words to a nicely rounded 75K. I know what the plot is, and how the subplot will develop. I'm reading it now for nitpick edits and for story, both, and that's tough for me to do. Since this blog is out here to urge people to concentrate first on STORY, I need to take a dose of my own advice. My job now is to get a handle on story: what I've already written and what I still need to write in order to tell this particular tale as it should be told.
Oh, and did I mention I have an entire chapter or two (which I need) on a 3" floppy that the pooter will no longer read? Aaargh!
The question here is: does this story still interest me enough to finish and put it out on proposal? Reading along, I'm finding areas that could be fun if better developed, and I'm finding I still like the story. Enough to go the distance? I don't know. What does an author do who is on a deadline, who's sold a three or six book deal and finds that her story ideas just aren't that riveting just now?
I don't know. Not sure I want to find out. I suspect I already have an idea...she girds her loins, so to speak, and sits down to WRITE...
Oh, and did I mention I have an entire chapter or two (which I need) on a 3" floppy that the pooter will no longer read? Aaargh!
The question here is: does this story still interest me enough to finish and put it out on proposal? Reading along, I'm finding areas that could be fun if better developed, and I'm finding I still like the story. Enough to go the distance? I don't know. What does an author do who is on a deadline, who's sold a three or six book deal and finds that her story ideas just aren't that riveting just now?
I don't know. Not sure I want to find out. I suspect I already have an idea...she girds her loins, so to speak, and sits down to WRITE...
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A Sale, and the Abuse of Power
Smile with me! A previous release entitled MY SILENT HEART has been picked up for reissue. ANGEL WITH A BACK HOE will come out October 1 with Desert Breeze Publishing. I couldn't be more thrilled. In many ways this was the book I thought might sell first, and it didn't, and I really never got a sense of why. Now it has a chance to fly once more, and I'm smiling.
As far as topic #2: recently a person known to me was abused by an organization I will not name. Now, I don't know both sides of the story, so I cannot know all the facts. But the fallout made my mouth drop. I will say this much and then hold my tongue: no professional organization, or those in power within it, should feel they have the right to intrude on a private conversation, and abuse or blackball the speakers. They have no RIGHT even to weigh in with comment on that conversation, since they were not party to it and cannot know the facts.
The law has a provision called "standing." In our legal system, you must have an interest in an issue, in order to be heard by the court. This interest creates legal "standing", and once you have it -- and only then -- have you the right to be heard.
These people abrogated that right to themselves, and in so doing, and their subsequent actions, violated the trust that leaders must maintain. I must comply with the bylaws of this organization, but in my heart these individuals no longer have my trust. They are leaders in name and not in spirit, and in my heart they will not be trustworthy again, absent a public and sincere apology.
I wish those involved nothing but peace. But God's law is not mine, and I feel there will be justice in His timing and in His fashion.
As far as topic #2: recently a person known to me was abused by an organization I will not name. Now, I don't know both sides of the story, so I cannot know all the facts. But the fallout made my mouth drop. I will say this much and then hold my tongue: no professional organization, or those in power within it, should feel they have the right to intrude on a private conversation, and abuse or blackball the speakers. They have no RIGHT even to weigh in with comment on that conversation, since they were not party to it and cannot know the facts.
The law has a provision called "standing." In our legal system, you must have an interest in an issue, in order to be heard by the court. This interest creates legal "standing", and once you have it -- and only then -- have you the right to be heard.
These people abrogated that right to themselves, and in so doing, and their subsequent actions, violated the trust that leaders must maintain. I must comply with the bylaws of this organization, but in my heart these individuals no longer have my trust. They are leaders in name and not in spirit, and in my heart they will not be trustworthy again, absent a public and sincere apology.
I wish those involved nothing but peace. But God's law is not mine, and I feel there will be justice in His timing and in His fashion.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Way Things Are, or, Earning the Right to Be Heard
This is going to be a long post, longer than some, but I hope all three of you will bear with me. It'll be worth it, I hope.
Recently I visited a writer's blog. No names...I'd heard from this writer on a different blog some time ago. I read a current post or two, which seemed to contain writing advice. Some of it seemed, well, a bit hinky, some not well phrased, some rather authoritative about the small press world.
Hmm, thought I, better go & check who publishes this writer.
Turns out: no publisher as yet. She is totally self-published.
When I was a kid, we talked a lot about our Christian witness. About how it wasn't enough to stand on a street corner and yell about Jesus. We might want to grab someone by the lapel, shake them, and screech, "You need to hear about this wonderful Lord I serve!"
We agreed that wasn't the way. No--instead, we had to earn the right. We needed to bear witness AFTER we had established our good faith, with/to folks we knew. There should be some mutual trust. Mind you--handing out tracts on streetcorners is great in its place. But a deeper witness should result in a life-change for our hearer, and before this happens, we should earn the right to speak.
This author, IMO, has not yet earned that right. Before you tell me about The Way Things Are, particularly in a marketplace I've learned so much about in recent years, particularly in a small press world where I have sold books and you have not...
You get the drift. I won't be visiting her blog again. Your mileage, of course, may vary, but to me she has not earned me as an auditor.
Thoughts?
Recently I visited a writer's blog. No names...I'd heard from this writer on a different blog some time ago. I read a current post or two, which seemed to contain writing advice. Some of it seemed, well, a bit hinky, some not well phrased, some rather authoritative about the small press world.
Hmm, thought I, better go & check who publishes this writer.
Turns out: no publisher as yet. She is totally self-published.
When I was a kid, we talked a lot about our Christian witness. About how it wasn't enough to stand on a street corner and yell about Jesus. We might want to grab someone by the lapel, shake them, and screech, "You need to hear about this wonderful Lord I serve!"
We agreed that wasn't the way. No--instead, we had to earn the right. We needed to bear witness AFTER we had established our good faith, with/to folks we knew. There should be some mutual trust. Mind you--handing out tracts on streetcorners is great in its place. But a deeper witness should result in a life-change for our hearer, and before this happens, we should earn the right to speak.
This author, IMO, has not yet earned that right. Before you tell me about The Way Things Are, particularly in a marketplace I've learned so much about in recent years, particularly in a small press world where I have sold books and you have not...
You get the drift. I won't be visiting her blog again. Your mileage, of course, may vary, but to me she has not earned me as an auditor.
Thoughts?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Free Books!
It's official -- ANGEL WITH A RAY GUN will fly once more as an e-book, from Desert Breeze Publishing. Target release date is May 1, but I'll get firmer information out to you as I receive it.
What's even nicer, if you go to the Desert Breeze web site and sign in as a reader (it's free), before April 30, you get into the free book giveaway.
Reading -- good books -- no charge -- what could be a better combination?
What's even nicer, if you go to the Desert Breeze web site and sign in as a reader (it's free), before April 30, you get into the free book giveaway.
Reading -- good books -- no charge -- what could be a better combination?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
ANGEL Takes Wing!
Woot! ANGEL WITH A RAY GUN has found a new home! Desert Breeze Publishing will release it on or about May 1 (this year!) as an e-book.
I'm pleased as can be. I told myself not to get my hopes up too high. Reissues are notoriously difficult to place. My agent says so, and she knows.
E-publishing: been there before, and the upside of this book's release is that e-books are much higher profile now than when I first sold one in '02. The big publishers are starting to realize the potential of this market. And then there's Kindle.
So watch for bigger things from e-publishing. With the economy so uncertain, publishers seem to be re-assessing how they get content out there, and the future of the e-book looks brighter than before.
I'm pleased as can be. I told myself not to get my hopes up too high. Reissues are notoriously difficult to place. My agent says so, and she knows.
E-publishing: been there before, and the upside of this book's release is that e-books are much higher profile now than when I first sold one in '02. The big publishers are starting to realize the potential of this market. And then there's Kindle.
So watch for bigger things from e-publishing. With the economy so uncertain, publishers seem to be re-assessing how they get content out there, and the future of the e-book looks brighter than before.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
ANGEL Flies Again (Maybe)!
More excitement here at Casa Chaos. An e-press to which my cherished editor referred me, is okay with the idea of reissuing previously published books! I finally cobbled a query together for my "fun book", ANGEL WITH A RAY GUN, and the publisher liked the excerpt! She asked for the full, which I duly and obediently sent off today.
So ANGEL may stretch her wings yet again. I'm hopeful, but in this economy, not banking too much on the idea of a deal.
However, it would be nice to make a sale in this run-up year before SEASONS IN THE MIST releases. Very nice indeed.
Hope for me!
So ANGEL may stretch her wings yet again. I'm hopeful, but in this economy, not banking too much on the idea of a deal.
However, it would be nice to make a sale in this run-up year before SEASONS IN THE MIST releases. Very nice indeed.
Hope for me!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
It's the Time of the "Seasons"
Hurray! I got all required edits done on the sold book, SEASONS IN THE MIST, and sent it off to the publisher.
My pub has given me such good suggestions on this book--they have made it a much better story. I declined one recommendation 'cause I didn't really feel it was needed, but otherwise I incorporated everything she said. I like this book. I really like it.
Done enthusing now. Until further suggestions come, or until I get my galleys, this book is now put to bed...time for further work on PEACEWEAVER, methinks.
Although I DO have a germ of an idea for a SEASONS sequel...
My pub has given me such good suggestions on this book--they have made it a much better story. I declined one recommendation 'cause I didn't really feel it was needed, but otherwise I incorporated everything she said. I like this book. I really like it.
Done enthusing now. Until further suggestions come, or until I get my galleys, this book is now put to bed...time for further work on PEACEWEAVER, methinks.
Although I DO have a germ of an idea for a SEASONS sequel...
Saturday, December 06, 2008
PEACEWEAVER in Progress!
PEACEWEAVER is moving along. It's gratifyng to realize that if I hit a wall in my historical-detail research, there are loads of folks on the 'Net who know a lot about 10th century Wales. I put out a question, and in less time than I dreamed possile, I get a well-reasoned, useful answer.
I've reached the spot in the story where Anmair's husband, his father, and their levies ride out to help Anmair's family resist the usual summertime Viking raids. Someone will not return alive...but who? I don't know yet. All I know is that I wait pacing, like Anmair, to see who will ride back into Mostyn and who will be carried back over the saddle-bow.
As they might've said at Mostyn: bide thee in patience.
I've reached the spot in the story where Anmair's husband, his father, and their levies ride out to help Anmair's family resist the usual summertime Viking raids. Someone will not return alive...but who? I don't know yet. All I know is that I wait pacing, like Anmair, to see who will ride back into Mostyn and who will be carried back over the saddle-bow.
As they might've said at Mostyn: bide thee in patience.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Action, Reaction, Life...Stuff Like That
Doing mini-edit on PEACEWEAVER. There's a natural lull in the action. My main character is trying, with more or less success, to settle into her new life as lady of the manor. I don't want this next section to lose impetus, so, hmm: what next shall I do?
I'm tempted, strongly, to let her have it: WHAM! How about a nice Viking raid (this is 973 England, after all)? Some pillage? Burn down the family holding? Or maybe the action should be part of the internecine warfare between her family and her family-in-law?
In fiction, I'm told that the surest way to prevent a Sagging Middle (a thing to be avoided at all costs) is to throw catastrophe after catastrophe at your main characters. I've resisted doing this 'cause I don't write action/adventure, I write romance. But in this young lady's case, I think a Major Challenge, and her reaction to it, would be compellingly consistent with the way people lived in 973.
As support for my fictional endeavor, I'm reading a nonfic book set around the year 1000, called BLOODFEUD. It deals with a certain late Saxon family-with-political crisis and the charges, countercharges, treachery, and murder that resulted. It's been a really good insight into the instability of life in the early middle ages.
Life was tenuous. They dreaded winter because late winter and early spring were the hungry times. Had they spared enough animals from fall slaughter to provide for the spring increase? Had they slaughtered enough animals, put up enough non-meat foodstuffs to last through the cold, till the next harvest?
They dreaded summer because that was the time for war. From my readings I've decided there were maybe 6 weeks all year that early medieval countryside folk might, maybe, feel safe.
Such is my characters' world.
I'm tempted, strongly, to let her have it: WHAM! How about a nice Viking raid (this is 973 England, after all)? Some pillage? Burn down the family holding? Or maybe the action should be part of the internecine warfare between her family and her family-in-law?
In fiction, I'm told that the surest way to prevent a Sagging Middle (a thing to be avoided at all costs) is to throw catastrophe after catastrophe at your main characters. I've resisted doing this 'cause I don't write action/adventure, I write romance. But in this young lady's case, I think a Major Challenge, and her reaction to it, would be compellingly consistent with the way people lived in 973.
As support for my fictional endeavor, I'm reading a nonfic book set around the year 1000, called BLOODFEUD. It deals with a certain late Saxon family-with-political crisis and the charges, countercharges, treachery, and murder that resulted. It's been a really good insight into the instability of life in the early middle ages.
Life was tenuous. They dreaded winter because late winter and early spring were the hungry times. Had they spared enough animals from fall slaughter to provide for the spring increase? Had they slaughtered enough animals, put up enough non-meat foodstuffs to last through the cold, till the next harvest?
They dreaded summer because that was the time for war. From my readings I've decided there were maybe 6 weeks all year that early medieval countryside folk might, maybe, feel safe.
Such is my characters' world.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
North Wales, 953...or Is It?
Buzzing comfortably along on my WIP, PEACEWEAVER. Set in Clywd, North Wales, in 953, when Edgar the Peaceable was King in England...
Or was he?
Thought I had my chronology down pat. You historical fans may know how fusstrating this is. You've read swackloads of material in your chosen era. You KNOW this stuff.
Until you stumble upon a fascinating new history book that you didn't already own, set smack-dab in your era of interest. You buy it, read it with interest, and discover YOU'VE GOT YOUR CHRONOLOGY WRONG!
Aaargh!
It can't BE 953 Wales if Edgar is king in England. It has to be 973. Gacck! I hate when this happens.
However: better in draft than in edit. Can you imagine the agently phone call: "Um, Deb, you know, hon, Edgar didn't ascend the throne 'til 959. You wanna make some tweaks...?"
How embarrassin' to have someone besides ME catch this!
You folks know, but (psssst): don't tell anybody.
Or was he?
Thought I had my chronology down pat. You historical fans may know how fusstrating this is. You've read swackloads of material in your chosen era. You KNOW this stuff.
Until you stumble upon a fascinating new history book that you didn't already own, set smack-dab in your era of interest. You buy it, read it with interest, and discover YOU'VE GOT YOUR CHRONOLOGY WRONG!
Aaargh!
It can't BE 953 Wales if Edgar is king in England. It has to be 973. Gacck! I hate when this happens.
However: better in draft than in edit. Can you imagine the agently phone call: "Um, Deb, you know, hon, Edgar didn't ascend the throne 'til 959. You wanna make some tweaks...?"
How embarrassin' to have someone besides ME catch this!
You folks know, but (psssst): don't tell anybody.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Waiting Game, Part XXIV
We're on our wait yet again. Heard from Publisher #1 about the proposal for PEACEWEAVER. Apparently they like it well enough to see it again next spring, if we haven't sold it by then. Drat! I wanted a deal now...
Did I mention I'm not too good at waiting?
DAMAGES, the full manuscript, is wending its way to my agent for submission. I have good hopes for this story because a publisher contacted ME (not the other way 'round!) and said they liked my voice, and wouldn't we like to send in something for consideration?
You bet your sweet bippy we would. So my matchless agent, Tamela, told me to send her the full printed MS plus proposal. It's in the hands of the (gulp) US Postal Service as we speak, and I hope the publisher likes it well enough to give Tamela a call and me something to rejoice over.
Now, if anyone knows ways, other than chocolate, to ease the waiting time, I'm all ears and available taste buds.
Did I mention I'm not too good at waiting?
DAMAGES, the full manuscript, is wending its way to my agent for submission. I have good hopes for this story because a publisher contacted ME (not the other way 'round!) and said they liked my voice, and wouldn't we like to send in something for consideration?
You bet your sweet bippy we would. So my matchless agent, Tamela, told me to send her the full printed MS plus proposal. It's in the hands of the (gulp) US Postal Service as we speak, and I hope the publisher likes it well enough to give Tamela a call and me something to rejoice over.
Now, if anyone knows ways, other than chocolate, to ease the waiting time, I'm all ears and available taste buds.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Rodent with 'Tude
more animals
You say you needz interruptz me in Revision Pit? You not knowz I wurking on propozzalzzz? No?
Then I send angry rodentz to bitez you...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
SALE!
Except for my DH, you guys are the first to know:
I'm pleased as spiced ale to announce that Sheaf House has offered to publish SEASONS IN THE MIST. SEASONS, as all two of you blog fans will no doubt recollect, is a time-travel romance set (mostly) in 1353 Cornwall.
We're mulling a spring '10 release for it. Due to the awesome nature of Sheaf House's previous covers, I hope & expect a really bodacious cover for this book.
Though I've known about the possibility for some months, my agent advised me to keep mum until released to announce by the publisher. Well, today we all agreed it could come out! As in, SQUEEEE!
Still grinning almost wide enough to split my face.
I'm pleased as spiced ale to announce that Sheaf House has offered to publish SEASONS IN THE MIST. SEASONS, as all two of you blog fans will no doubt recollect, is a time-travel romance set (mostly) in 1353 Cornwall.
We're mulling a spring '10 release for it. Due to the awesome nature of Sheaf House's previous covers, I hope & expect a really bodacious cover for this book.
Though I've known about the possibility for some months, my agent advised me to keep mum until released to announce by the publisher. Well, today we all agreed it could come out! As in, SQUEEEE!
Still grinning almost wide enough to split my face.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Home Stretch
Vacation's come and gone--way too fast for my taste! Sometimes I think the best part of getting away is the anticipation.
Work on DAMAGES is going quite well. After a kick in the slats from my crit partner, I realized what I want to do with this is a semi-rewrite before submission. All I have to do is reorder some events in the book, go through one last time (staying focused all the while), and whip it into shape.
Rewriting, though I've done it in the past, is a real challenge for me. Some authors love doing it. That's not how I'm wired together. I think in me, it's a hangover from childhood. I've seen it in my kids: once they WRITE SOMETHING, put it down on paper, it has a life of its own. "Change this," I advise my daughter, "put in some punctuation, tell us his name..." She looks at me like I've gone bonkers. If it's down on paper, it exists as it is. Change it?
I'm thinking that's my mindset. Once I type it in, easy-edit computer function notwithstanding, I tend to get a prejudice to keep it intact.
This isn't to say I don't edit. But on occasion I've been advised to make a love story into a mystery, or change everybody's motivations, or whatever. I keep wanting to respond, "But that's not what happened!"
Once I write it, it lives, somehow. Very difficult to tweak it then. I just thank God I cued into this misguided mindset at all. It took my kids to teach me.
Work on DAMAGES is going quite well. After a kick in the slats from my crit partner, I realized what I want to do with this is a semi-rewrite before submission. All I have to do is reorder some events in the book, go through one last time (staying focused all the while), and whip it into shape.
Rewriting, though I've done it in the past, is a real challenge for me. Some authors love doing it. That's not how I'm wired together. I think in me, it's a hangover from childhood. I've seen it in my kids: once they WRITE SOMETHING, put it down on paper, it has a life of its own. "Change this," I advise my daughter, "put in some punctuation, tell us his name..." She looks at me like I've gone bonkers. If it's down on paper, it exists as it is. Change it?
I'm thinking that's my mindset. Once I type it in, easy-edit computer function notwithstanding, I tend to get a prejudice to keep it intact.
This isn't to say I don't edit. But on occasion I've been advised to make a love story into a mystery, or change everybody's motivations, or whatever. I keep wanting to respond, "But that's not what happened!"
Once I write it, it lives, somehow. Very difficult to tweak it then. I just thank God I cued into this misguided mindset at all. It took my kids to teach me.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Toiling Onward
A Faithful Reader (hi to all three of you!) reminded me I hadn't posted in ages. I'll rectify that.
First & foremost, thanks to all of your good thoughts & prayers. I am no longer stuck. Instead, I'm working on agent-suggested revisions for the piece, DAMAGES, we want to send to Steeple Hill. I'm also working on editor-suggested revisions to SEASONS IN THE MIST, the time-travel story. I'd tell you who the house is who's interested, but my agent says then I'd have to shoot you.
Work on PEACEWEAVER is also perking along. My crit partner actually likes it! More reason to celebrate.
Next month I'm off to American Christian Fiction Writers' annual conference, along with several of you. I'm very cranked for this event, and as usual, I have to warn myself not to set my expectations too high. That way lies a major bum-out.
In other news, my web site is being nicely redesigned. I had to get a new domain name 'cause the old host played dirty with my old one. So if you get a chance, take a peek at www.debkinnard.com, currently under construction but shaping up to be very cool indeed.
That's it for now. Gotta go write something. Cat Kelly Kinnard says "mip".
First & foremost, thanks to all of your good thoughts & prayers. I am no longer stuck.
Work on PEACEWEAVER is also perking along. My crit partner actually likes it! More reason to celebrate.
Next month I'm off to American Christian Fiction Writers' annual conference, along with several of you. I'm very cranked for this event, and as usual, I have to warn myself not to set my expectations too high. That way lies a major bum-out.
In other news, my web site is being nicely redesigned. I had to get a new domain name 'cause the old host played dirty with my old one. So if you get a chance, take a peek at www.debkinnard.com, currently under construction but shaping up to be very cool indeed.
That's it for now. Gotta go write something. Cat Kelly Kinnard says "mip".
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Stuck in the Middle With You
Since last post, I've decided to turn more attention to contemporary novels than historicals. That's not to say I won't finish PEACEWEAVER; since that tale's in my head, I most likely will finish it. Just not right away.
So I went back to a story I started 2-3 years ago, called A ROSE IN LATE OCTOBER. I like this story...
So why is it STUCK? Man alive, if I knew that I'd tell ya. I got it to 35K words and it's just sitting there, glaring at me, daring me to find a path for it to travel.
So far that path hasn't revealed itself to me. I told my crit partner I need to glare back, and drink another pot of coffee, before I get an inkling where it should go.
External disaster? No, just did that. Internal gut-gnawing? Did that, too. Up the conflict? I'm thinking yes, though I can't tell which of the Main Characters needs to have his/her anguish-level intensified at this point in the story.
Gaargh! Did I mention I hate when a story sticks somewhere and won't budge?
So I went back to a story I started 2-3 years ago, called A ROSE IN LATE OCTOBER. I like this story...
So why is it STUCK? Man alive, if I knew that I'd tell ya. I got it to 35K words and it's just sitting there, glaring at me, daring me to find a path for it to travel.
So far that path hasn't revealed itself to me. I told my crit partner I need to glare back, and drink another pot of coffee, before I get an inkling where it should go.
External disaster? No, just did that. Internal gut-gnawing? Did that, too. Up the conflict? I'm thinking yes, though I can't tell which of the Main Characters needs to have his/her anguish-level intensified at this point in the story.
Gaargh! Did I mention I hate when a story sticks somewhere and won't budge?
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Where Ya Been So Long?
Been working. Well, that's my excuse, anyway, for not blogging.
It's been an eventful two months since my last entry. I've finished edits on SEASONS IN THE MIST, the medieval time-travel, and started a second medieval romance that doesn't involve time-travel. PEACEWEAVER is going very well. It's set in north Wales in 953, and needless to say, research is a big challenge with this one.
In the interim, also, I've contracted with an awesome agent. Tamela Murray agreed to represent me, and I couldn't be more tickled.
Since I signed with Tamela, another exciting thing happened: an acquisitions editor at a house whose name you'd recognize, contacted me via e-mail. Seems she'd seen excerpts of SEASONS IN THE MIST on Tina Helmuth's THE INK'S NOT DRY critique blog. Though the editor says a time-travel isn't a good fit for their house, she liked my writing style and invited me to send them something!
Will I send them something? You bet your bippy I will. At this writing, Tamela and I are planning what to send them, and whether I concentrate on contemporary romances or historical. Since I have more books finished in contemporary than historical, we've decided on the former.
I reserve the right, however, to morph into a historical writer at any future moment.
So things are perking along, and I have lots of hope for good things to come.
It's been an eventful two months since my last entry. I've finished edits on SEASONS IN THE MIST, the medieval time-travel, and started a second medieval romance that doesn't involve time-travel. PEACEWEAVER is going very well. It's set in north Wales in 953, and needless to say, research is a big challenge with this one.
In the interim, also, I've contracted with an awesome agent. Tamela Murray agreed to represent me, and I couldn't be more tickled.
Since I signed with Tamela, another exciting thing happened: an acquisitions editor at a house whose name you'd recognize, contacted me via e-mail. Seems she'd seen excerpts of SEASONS IN THE MIST on Tina Helmuth's THE INK'S NOT DRY critique blog. Though the editor says a time-travel isn't a good fit for their house, she liked my writing style and invited me to send them something!
Will I send them something? You bet your bippy I will. At this writing, Tamela and I are planning what to send them, and whether I concentrate on contemporary romances or historical. Since I have more books finished in contemporary than historical, we've decided on the former.
I reserve the right, however, to morph into a historical writer at any future moment.
So things are perking along, and I have lots of hope for good things to come.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Good News for the SF Fans
I always like to cyber-party when a new author breaks in, particularly in the science fiction realm. There is never enough!
That fact makes me happy to announce that my cyber-bud Sharolyn Wells has sold her first novel, PLYMOUTH COLONY II, to release March 14 from E Treasures Publishing (www.etreasurespublishing.com).
Here's the blurb: "Earth is gone—destroyed by a group of lizard-like aliens called the Novari. Before they send their meteor ships to destroy Earth, another group of humanoid aliens arrive—the Kelkani. They will save some of Earth’s young people. Are they doing it for themselves or is the group of Elitists doing it for their own reasons?"
Sounds like a winner to me.
That fact makes me happy to announce that my cyber-bud Sharolyn Wells has sold her first novel, PLYMOUTH COLONY II, to release March 14 from E Treasures Publishing (www.etreasurespublishing.com).
Here's the blurb: "Earth is gone—destroyed by a group of lizard-like aliens called the Novari. Before they send their meteor ships to destroy Earth, another group of humanoid aliens arrive—the Kelkani. They will save some of Earth’s young people. Are they doing it for themselves or is the group of Elitists doing it for their own reasons?"
Sounds like a winner to me.
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