It's Saturday night and I'm ready to write!

Bewitched & Betrayed update: I have my catalyst to start Chapter 1; I have my "Oh shit moment" to end the chapter; and I have plenty of action and creepy/scary stuff in between. WOOT!

I just finished reading through my monster-sized notes file (again), and copied and pasted all of the dialogue/scenes/notes that I thought I might use for Chapter 1 into a brand, spanking new Word doc.

Houston, we no longer have a problem. I am ready to write. ; ) To celebrate, I'm going to stop for tonight and go bake some chocolate chip cookies for Derek and me.

A happy, happy author,
Lisa

Saturday Fun Pic -- More office photos

I thought the closet doors in my office would be a nice place to put my book signing posters and a few of my CafePress "Raine quotes" bumperstickers (stuck to the closet with tape). The "Armed & Magical" bumpersticker is on my Jeep. The pics above the closet are from some of my favorite swashbuckling movies, most are from Captain Blood. A true classic.


Natasha (aka Princess Kitty) is in one of her two beds in my office, as always helping me write. Though usually she's under the desk, attacking my toes. ; )

Since I'm trying to get Bewitched & Betrayed started, and Monday is the Labor Day holiday here in the U.S., I'm going to take Monday off from blogging and continue to work on the book. But I'll be here all weekend, so feel free to email if you'd like, and I'll be back to blogging first thing Tuesday morning.

Have a great weekend!
Lisa

Chapter 1 groundwork continues

I'm still struggling with the content for Chapter 1 of Bewitched & Betrayed. I know what needs to happen, I just don't know how it happens (if that makes any sense). The chapter has to start with a bang and end with what I've come to call The "Oh Shit" Moment. And since it's the first chapter, it's got to be especially spectacular. Usually I have the first chapter pretty much done before I'm ready to start writing a book. Not this time, dang it. Oh well, every book is different. Heck, yesterday my brain spit out some ideas and dialogue that would go in Book 6 or 7. What the . . .? I'm determined to have my set up for Chapter 1 (for Book 4) and be writing it by Monday. It's gonna be a busy weekend.

By the way, I'm working on two surprises for you. ; ) One of them I have to get publisher's permission to post, the other is something that' s just too cool for words. I have a meeting next Wednesday to hash out some details, and hopefully I'll be able to tell you all about it then.

Saturday Fun Pic: My office is still a work in progress, and tomorrow Derek will be installing the new curtain rods for the curtains I made. That is, after we move my mucho heavy desk away from the window. We have a busy morning tomorrow -- grocery store and a vet appt. for Andy & Gracie (they're fine, just regular checkup stuff) -- so that photo will probably be posted later in the day, but I'll have another office photo for you first thing in the morning. Well, first thing after I've had coffee. ; )

Happy Friday!
Lisa

Bewitched & Betrayed -- Too much for one book?

It never fails -- I get into the planning stages of a book, start going through all of my notes, and say, "Dang, I got too much stuff for one book."

But past experience has taught me that with the exception of one or two subplots, that convoluted mass of plotlines will fit into one book; in fact, the book just wouldn't be right without them. In case you haven't noticed, I do have a tendency toward complicated plots in my books. ; )

Now comes the challenge (of the monumental variety), of trying to untangle that knot of plot so I can get this thing going. (It's kinda like opening a box of Christmas decorations, and the strings of lights that you had carefully arranged a year ago have come to life and twisted and tangled themselves into a veritable orgy of coated wire and lights.) My plot's looking the same way right about now. I've got a few of the strings separated, but I ain't done yet, not by a long shot.

I had hoped to have the detangling done, and Chapter 1 officially started by Saturday. Uh . . . unless I have a major miracle coming from up above (and I could), that Saturday start date is probably not going to happen. But it still works out nicely. Here in the U.S., Monday is Labor Day, so we have a three-day weekend. And I know what I'm going to be doing -- sitting at my desk untangling plot. My new goal is to be writing by Monday. And if I bust my butt over the next few days, and kick my brain into high gear, I can get it done.

Wish me big time luck,
Lisa

Cool news and writing progress

First of all, the cool news -- Armed & Magical has sold out its first press run and is now in its second printing! Thank you to all of you for snatching up those copies. : )

For those of you who are planning to go to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in April, online convention registration is now open at www.rtconvention.com. If you want to get a room in the convention hotel (the Wyndham Orlando Resort), register ASAP. Rooms in the convention hotel go quickly. If you're staying at another hotel, or crashing with friends in the Orlando area, registration isn't as urgent.

As to my work progress on Bewitched & Betrayed -- I'm exploring my villains' motivations. Since the villains are the ones who make all the problems for Raine to deal with, I've always felt that understanding what they want and why they want it is critical to know before I settle down to start writing in earnest.

And "Book Brain Syndrome" strikes again -- For those of you who've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I define "Book Brain Syndrome" as those times when you can't do simple tasks because the vast majority of your brain is being held hostage by your muse for book-related thinking. Last night, I was doing a load of laundry. Simple, huh? Apparently not for me in the grips of Book Brain. The laundry finished washing, I went into the laundry room, opened the washing machine to put the clothes into the dryer. . . then I just stood there, staring down at the wet clothes. Something just wasn't right. Then it hit me -- Oh crap, I forgot to put in the laundry detergent. So I washed the clothes again, and this time I used detergent. It was Book Brain Syndrome at its finest.

Lisa

Bewitched & Betrayed -- Chapter 1 started, I think.

I have my catalyst, I think. For me the catalyst is the action-packed, kaboom event that propels a book off the starting line. It's also the steel cable that runs through the entire book & plot, connecting the major action points together, turning scenes into a seamless story.

At least that's that plan.

Yesterday, the idea for Chapter 1 came to me, so I started writing it down. I hadn't planned to start writing until this weekend, but my muse (as usual) has other ideas. My idea for Chapter 1 meets all of the requirements -- an action-packed, scary as hell page-turner. Works for me. I could be off to a false start, but I don't think so. Not only does it meet the requirements, it very nicely foreshadows a major event at the end of the book. I think I have a winner. (big, huge satisfied & relieved grin)

My deadline for Bewitched & Betrayed (aka B&B) is May 1, that's 8 months from Monday. I'll be going for my usual two chapters a week. That's my goal, but as always, we'll see how that goes. Books go at their own pace, and nothing we poor writers can do is going to hurry it along. And since Chapter 1 is still in that squishy, half-set Jello phase, I'm going to cut myself some slack on that two-chapter-a-week goal right now.

Today and tonight, I'll be nailing down character motivation -- the one or two big motivating points for each one of my main characters. I'll then weave that into the catalyst and the plot synopsis, in hopes that will help me to start turning a synopsis into a solid story.

Wish me luck. ; )
Lisa

Bewitched & Betrayed -- The planning week

The Trouble with Demons is in New York with my editor, so until she gets back to me with any final tweaks that need to be done, there's nothing left to do now but get going on Bewitched & Betrayed.

Yikes -- and not yikes.

While starting a new book is kinda like going off a high dive in the dark and hoping someone filled the pool, I've gotten enough rest this time that I'm excited about Bewitched & Betrayed. BTW -- I'll be abbreviating the book title as B&B, just so you know I'm referring to a book and not a bed & breakfast inn.

Starting a book is exciting because the possibilities are endless. Starting a book is scary because the possibilities are endless. If I pick the wrong possibility, I could screw up this book really quick. That's where a detailed synopsis can save your bacon. A royal pain to write, but at least for me, more of a pain not to have. That way if I do go off wandering down a side road that leads to a dead end (and I always do), I have a map to get me back on the highway.

I did have in mind what I wanted to do with Chapter 1, and I've decided that what I had won't work, and you know, that's just fine. It really opens up my options. I have the plot, but I don't have the catalyst -- the event that sets everything in motion, runs like a connecting chain through the entire plot -- aka, the all hell that breaks loose.

I usually light that fuse half way through Chapter 1 in a book. This time, I think I'm going to do it from the get go, in the first sentence. (Don't worry, Raine has had a little break from the action of TTWD.) Oddly enough I'm not freaking out over not having the catalyst. A book or two ago, I'd be well into a panic by now. Not this time. (happy, serene smile). I know I've got my plot, and that everything will be fine. That being said, since I have to start writing Chapter 1 this Saturday, keep checking back throughout this week as I dig around in my notes to find just the thing to start the book with. By the end of the week, if I haven't found it, you might get to see me in a full-blown freak out.

I'll be freaking out; you'll be entertained; it'll be fun for all of us. ; )

And seeing that I'm still reading through all 225 pages of my notes in search of a catalyst, I can't post blog topics for this week because I don't know what's gonna happen -- it'll depend on what I get done each day.

Welcome to the roller coaster,
Lisa

Saturday Fun Pic -- Why spelling & punctuation matter

I don't know what "hot ogs" are, but apparently they're very big and really expensive.

Derek couldn't resist snapping a shot of this on the way home from our mountain trip last weekend. After being married to me for 17 years, he proofs signs and billboards, too. ; )

Have a great weekend!
Lisa

Coming up next week: I've turned in the edited version of The Trouble with Demons, and have started reading all of my notes for Bewitched & Betrayed. I just did the math, and I have 225 pages of notes. Dang, that's a lot of reading. By next weekend, I'll start Chapter 1. That'll give me 8 months to write the book and turn it in. Next week, I'll see if I can do day-by-day of how I crank up to writing a book. One post I know I'll have to write is "The Terror of the Blank Screen." It's coming; I can feel it breathing down my neck. ; )

How much of me is in my characters?

In yesterday's blog, I asked if any of you had writing questions for me. Christina had a great one. She wrote: "I was reading about a local author who says she makes a point of not having much in common with her characters and I was wondering what you think about this. Do you put your personality and habits and the like into characters? Have you ever been tempted to name a character Lisa? Have you ever thought of actually writing yourself into the book in a small role?"

So how much of me is in my characters? Quite a bit, actually. I've read interviews with authors who said that there's some of them in most, if not all, of their characters. My husband tells me that I am Raine. (I think she's way cooler than I could ever be.) But if my hubby wants to think that I'm cool, snarky, smart, savvy, and sexy -- who am I to argue? ; )

Through characters, writers can work out a lot of subconscious crap going on in their lives (their main character's problems and fears); we can behave in socially unacceptable ways (I love writing Sarad Nukpana -- and he really comes into his own in TTWD); and we can do heroic acts we wouldn't do in real life, but would like to think we could if we had to. They don't call it fantasy for nothing. ; )

Now I don't mean that I have Raine's problems (and thank God that I don't), but in guiding my characters on their journey toward solving those problems or dealing with situations, I can't help but to inject my own experiences and opinions, and how if I were such a character in such a situation, this is how I would go about dealing with it.

As to habits: Raine is afraid of water; I can't tread water worth a damn. Dump me in the ocean and I'd be in serious trouble. Using the Saghred makes Raine sick & dizzy; heck, I can't watch rollercoasters on TV, and Dramamine lives in my pocketbook. Raine talks before she thinks; ditto for me (though I'm getting better at it). Raine isn't exactly what you'd call diplomatic; if I've got a problem with someone, I also cut through the crap and get right to the problem. I'm sure the list goes on, but I'm just now getting to my coffee; I haven't cleared the brain cobwebs yet.

All that being said, there are some characters that have nothing to do with me: Carnades Silvanus being one. Rudra Muralin is another. But for some reason, I simply adore writing Sarad Nukpana; any scene with him and Raine simply flows. Sarad is so blissfully evil; he's evil because it's fun. In TTWD he says that "Morality and honor are an inefficient, unproductive waste of my time." That's Sarad in a nutshell right there. And it's most definitely not me. ; )

Coming up next week: I've turned in the edited version of The Trouble with Demons, and have started reading all of my notes for Bewitched & Betrayed. I just did the math, and I have 225 pages of notes. Dang, that's a lot of reading. By next weekend, I'll start Chapter 1. That'll give me 8 months to write the book and turn it in. Next week, I'll see if I can do day-by-day of how I crank up to writing a book. One post I know I'll have to write is "The Terror of the Blank Screen." It's coming; I can feel it breathing down my neck. ; )

Coming up tomorrow: This Saturday Fun Pic was taken on our way back from the mountains last weekend. Let's just say it only goes to show how important spelling and punctuation truly are. ; )

Happy Friday!
Lisa

Book news and trivia

I got a wonderful surprise yesterday afternoon -- my editor sent me the cover for The Trouble with Demons. It's not the final version, but I was told that I'd have that around mid-September. I asked, because I'm dying to show it to you all. So in another month or so, I'll get the final version and post it immediately. I can tell you that this is my favorite cover; it is precisely what is needed for TTWD -- it's definitely a darker look and I LOVE IT! The original model wasn't available, so we have a new Raine -- she's a little older, looks savvy, street-smart, sexy, and downright dangerous. She's wearing brown leather from head-to-toe, and is armed with a pair of wicked daggers. THIS COVER ROCKS!!

Now that I've got you all salivating (and me dying to post that cover) -- I'll move on to title trivia. I'd been asked what was the reasoning behind the name for my first book. The original title was Thief of Souls. Before publication, it was changed to Magic Lost, Trouble Found. How did that happen and why? I named the book Thief of Souls because of the Saghred. The translation for the goblin name "Saghred" is "Thief of Souls" so that's what I went with. But my agent and editor felt that Thief of Souls was too heavy a title for what was a fun book. So we all set about trying to come up with something else, something that better reflected the lighter tone of the book. I came up with Magic Lost, Trouble Found. Raine is a seeker, kind of a magical "lost & found." The amulet and Saghred (aka, the "magic") were lost, and when Raine found them, "trouble" was hot on her heels. Et voila, Magic Lost, Trouble Found. Anne, my editor, absolutely loved it, so that's what we went with.

A big thank you to everyone who made suggestions for movie soundtracks to listen to when I start writing Bewitched & Betrayed next week.

And don't forget about the photo contest (see my post from last Thursday, Aug. 14). All of the information is in there. And don't think that you have to be a professional photographer to enter. All of you can do this -- heck, I love pics of my books with the family cat (and I've gotten a great one). Just get your digital camera and come up with something. I want to do a collage of all of the entries and put them on my office wall. The deadline was September 5, but if you need some extra time, just let me know. I'm completely flexible. ; )

And once again, if you have a specific writing topic or question that you'd like for me to blog on, please let me know. My blog is here to help and entertain you all. Let me know what you want, and I'll try to deliver.

Lisa

Updates and recommendations

If all goes well, I'll be finishing the edits to The Trouble with Demons (aka TTWD) today/tonight and sending it off to my editor in the morning (a little over a week ahead of schedule). (Tired yea!)

I've been making a real effort to read for fun every day. It doesn't just help your sanity, it's vital to feed your muse. I just finished Tess Gerritsen's The Mephisto Club. Great book, I loved it, and will definitely be looking for more of Tess's work soon. I just started Janet Evanovich's Fearless Fourteen. I'm on chapter 5 or so, and Janet is off to a great start with this one. ; ) And speaking of reading for fun, the first blog I read every morning is my new writing buddy Mark Van Name. We were two of the five finalists for the Compton Crook Award for best debut sci-fi/fantasy novel of 2007. He won. And as it turns out, he works only about five minutes from my day job office. We've met for lunch. Great guy. And he'll be joining James Maxey and myself for a Barnes & Noble book signing on Sept. 9 (see my Events page for details).

I'm putting the finishing touches on the back cover copy for TTWD, and as soon as everyone who needs to sign off on it at my publisher has done so, I'll post it for you all to read. I've also been hearing what the TTWD cover is going to look like. It's still in the sketching stage, but I've heard a few things. I cannot wait to see it -- I'm gonna be like a kid on Christmas morning. ; )

This weekend I'll start working on Bewitched & Betrayed (aka B&B). As most of you know, I like to write while listening to movie soundtracks. I've been using a lot of the Harry Potter soundtracks (for some reason it works for me), but I'm always looking for new stuff. Some of you recommended the original Batman soundtrack. I have it, so I downloaded it onto my laptop. Ooooo, it'll work very nicely for B&B. Do any of you have any more recommendations? You know what my books are like, do you have a favorite movie soundtrack that you think will be a good match?

Lisa

Hiking at Hebron Colony Falls

This weekend, Derek & I did some hiking at Hebron Colony Falls near Blowing Rock, NC. One of his co-workers told him about it, and some of the rocks are unbelievably massive. Photos don't do them justice. Next time we're bringing the proper footwear so we can climb higher. Running shoes just didn't cut it. It starts out as an innocent-looking little river with stepping stones, and just gets bigger from there. Beautiful place!









Tomorrow it's back to writing-related posts. I don't know what I'll be writing about yet; stop back by tomorrow and find out. ; )

Lisa

Back from long weekend vacation

Derek and I are back from our long weekend in the North Carolina mountains -- and it was wonderful! We stayed at The Inn at Crestwood in Blowing Rock, NC. The staff is simply spectacular. Here are some pics Derek took at the inn. Tomorrow, I'll post pics from our hike to a local river with the some of most humongous rocks I've ever seen. ; )


Derek took photos of the inn from various angles. Below is the terrace of the bar, and above is the deck of The Grandfather Suite -- and unfortunately that wasn't our room. ; )


The back of part of the inn. The room to the right with floor-to-rafters windows is the main dining room -- with breathtaking view of the mountains and sunset.





The view from the bar patio. That's Grandfather Mountain in the distance.



Shulls Mill Road at the inn entrance.




The bronze elk at the entrance. I love this big guy.




Me and the elk. ; )


Our "evening turndown service" consisted of lots of goodies. I especially liked the chocolate-covered strawberries with cream -- and the champagne.

Stay tuned tomorrow for photos from our hike.

Lisa

Out of town for some rest & relaxation

I mentioned in a blog about a month or so ago that I needed to learn to better balance my work with my life -- actually my problem was that I was working so hard that I really didn't have a life. ; ) That can lead to burnout, and that would be bad. Over the past month, I've been doing so much better -- meaning I actually leave the house and see family and friends. This morning, Derek and I are leaving for a long romantic weekend in the mountains at highly recommended inn & spa. Words cannot describe how much we are looking forward to this. I definitely need the break, because when I get back, I start writing Bewitched & Betrayed. But for this weekend, guess what? My laptop is staying AT HOME. So until Sunday evening, I won't have access to a computer, period. I'll probably start twitching before we're five miles down the road from withdrawl. ; )

In the meantime, I thought I'd re-post the information about the photo contest, so you all can get started on those entries. They've been all over the place in the blogosphere -- authors having photo contests. Their book, their readers' creativity. I've been wanting to have one, so let's give it a go. For some awesome examples of what I'm talking about, Pat Rothfuss posted entries and winners over on his blog. Scroll down through his May and June blog posts for some incredibly creative entries.

And there will be uber cool prizes. I'm not sure how many yet, it depends on how many entries I get and how utterly fabulous they are. An easy entry is if you're going on vacation or to a convention during the next month, take a copy of my book along. Take a pic of one of my books at the Eiffel Tower, for example; or ask a famous person at a convention (politely) to "please hold this book for a second while I take your picture."

For prizes, I'll go through my office closet where I keep copies of my books, ARCs of my books, perhaps some swag from my CafePress store, or if you have a favorite scene from MLTF or A&M, I could send you a handwritten, personalized and signed copy of that scene for your very own. ; ) I'll make you a deal: you think of cool photos to take, and I'll think of cool prizes to give. For a deadline, let's give it a month. The contest will end on Friday, September 5 at midnight my time (eastern US), and I'll announce the winner the following week. This will give me a little time to analyze the coolness and pick the winners. And yes, there will be more than one winner. Have fun with it!

There aren't many rules: Your photo must include one or both of my books (heck, just pick your favorite), you can enter as many times as you like -- and I would say to keep your photos tasteful, but since good taste is relative, just keep it clean. ; ) Send your photo entries to lisashearin@gmail.com, attach a JPG of the photo, and your name (for photo credit). That's it for now. If I think of something I forgot but needed to mention, I'll post it in a future blog. But those are the basic rules, and I think they'll work. Like Raine, I like to keep it simple.

I'll be back and blogging on Monday morning. Have a great weekend -- I know I will! ; )

Lisa

Take it one chapter at a time

Update on The Trouble With Demons: I finished the main part of the edits on Tuesday (meaning I got to the end of the book and took care of 98% of what needed to be done). Now I'm on the final read-thru, and am up to Chapter 13. I found I need to put in a little scene there, but after that's done, I'm off and running again. I plan to turn the final manuscript in to my editor next week (a week ahead of my deadline). I also got the cover/back cover copy for TTWD last night. It looks great! I'll be reviewing that over the next few days for any suggestions I'd like to make. By next weekend, I should have started writing Bewitched & Betrayed.

Today, I'm going to talk about something that I'll be needing to remind myself of once I start writing B&B -- when writing a book, take it one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time. Some people are intimidated away from writing a book because they think we authors have the whole book in our heads when we start. Heck, most of us don't have the whole book in our heads when we finish. They think that it's all there, we write it down and we're done. (LOL, snort!) Don't I wish.

Some of us (like myself) prefer to work with an outline. I've discovered that I like to work with a VERY detailed outline. Of course, I can change it (and I always do), but I know it's there like a security blanket. Other brave souls come up with an idea and just strike out on their own, no outline, no nothing -- they feel that to write anything down would sully the creative process. Most authors are somewhere in between. But all of us have one thing in common: we all have to write our books one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.

I absolutely MUST work this way. While of course I have my outline, when I'm actually doing the writing I have to force myself not to think much beyond the one moment in that scene that I'm writing. When the sheer enormity of what I have to accomplish pushes its way into my thoughts, my poor little brain just short-circuits -- actually it panics. How am I going to get from here to there? Oh crap, I forgot to include that character. Do I really need that character? Should I save him and his subplot for the next book? How is that subplot ever going to fit in? In short, I try to do what I don't think any author can do -- have the entire thing in your head at one time. It's kinda like looking at deep space pictures from the Hubble telescope. Your jaw drops open at just how vast the universe is. The same is true (on a much smaller scale) of your books' universe. It's just too big to comprehend all at once.

And when you do that, you lose the immediacy of the sentences you're writing, the intimacy between the characters in that scene. You lose that emotional human (or elf or goblin) touch. The realness of two people who care about each other, or hate each other, or one is about to betray the other -- their intimacy/connection/animosity is lost unless you immerse yourself in their moment, get into their minds, and understand what they're feeling. Only then can you accurately convey your characters' emotions and make the words come to life on the page -- one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.

Lisa

Momentum matters and persistence pays

Momentum matters and persistence pays -- no truer words were ever spoken (or written) for a writer.

As I discover every day, no daily writing session stands alone, each hour of work, each day of work ties to the one before--and connects to the one to come after. Writing builds on itself.

With everything we all have going on in our daily lives, brains can only be expected to hold on to a plotline for so long. Let's face it, life gets in the way of writing. Life has an annoying tendency to take our minds away from our characters and make us talk and actually interact (gasp of horror) with living, breathing people. When this happens and I get back to my writing, what momentum I'd built up has gone bye-bye. Dang it! Then I have to take valuable writing time to go back over what I'd done before to bring myself back up to speed.

And it's not just the words that we lose our grasp on when we don't (or can't) write every day. A particular character's emotional state, the emotions they had in the scene where you stopped were right there, bubbling on the surface of your consciousness, ready to be tapped again. If you lose a day or two, needless to say, the bubbling has stopped.

And to write every day (or every day that you can) takes discipline and persistence. Discipline to do it, and persistence to see it through to the end of the book and beyond (to getting an agent and publisher). For those who want it badly enough, the thoughts and dreams of reaching that final goal are enough to keep us moving forward. And there are plenty of roadblocks: life, family and friends who don't understand (or worse yet, who don't believe in you), and just the cold, hard truth that writing is hard work. It's lonely work. And if you want to be a published writer, you have to trudge on despite all of this.

Getting that book finished only takes one person believing in you -- just look in the mirror. If you know deep down in your gut that "dammit, this is good; this deserves to be published," then chances are it is and it does. When you write, your passion shows through, and passion can make for some seriously good writing. No one can take your passion away from you -- only you can let them.

I'd still be writing even if I wasn't published, because writing isn't just what I do -- writing is who I am. It's like an addiction, you can't stop, and you don't want to. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. When I'm writing, I'm happy. When I'm between projects, I can get a little cranky. Just ask my fabulous (and patient and supportive) husband.

Writing for publication is like any other goal worth working and fighting for -- you have to put your nose to the proverbial grindstone and just do the work. Believe me, after struggling for it for over 20 years, it is SO worth it. ; )

Coming up tomorrow: When writing, take it one chapter at a time.

And I've had a request for a blog topic from Shana. She wants to know how Thief of Souls came to be called Magic Lost, Trouble Found, the origins of both titles, how it was changed from one to the other, and why. I'll answer that one soon. And if you have a question you'd like for me to blog on, just email me. lisa@lisashearin.com

Lisa

Analysis of my query letter for Magic Lost, Trouble Found

Today's topic by request is an analysis of the query letter I wrote for Magic Lost, Trouble Found (then called Thief of Souls) in an attempt to get the attention of super-agent Kristin Nelson. If you go to Kristin's blog (see the link to "Agent Kristin" in the list to the right), she goes through a couple of her clients' query letters bit-by-bit, commenting on what it was about the letter that got her attention. It's eye-opening and I think it'd be helpful to those of you about to begin submitting your work. My letter for MLTF is one that Kristin reviews. Just scroll down in her blog until you reach "Agent Kristin's Queries: The Inside Scoop." (It's on the links list on the right.)

Since I'm one of her clients, Kristin obviously liked my letter. She requested a partial of the manuscript, then the complete manuscript, then she offered me representation. Yea! Today, I'm doing something similar to what Kristin did in her blog with my query letter, except I'm dissecting it from my point of view -- why I wrote what I wrote in an attempt to get Kristin to want to see more of MLTF. The text of my letter is in bold; my comments are in italics. Here it is:

Dear Ms. Nelson,

I made sure I got her name right. And for a female agent, "Ms." is the safe way to go. If the agent's first name is one that could either be male or female (such as "Chris"), do your homework and find out which one. Your effort will be appreciated. Big word of caution here: If you're submitting multiple queries (and don't we all), you'll be using a similar letter for each agent -- DO NOT FORGET to change the name in the salutation and address with each letter. I obsessively checked to make sure I'd done this before I hit "send," or sealed that envelope. And if you're snail-mailing, make sure the name on the letter matches the name on the envelope.

I read on Publishers Marketplace that you're interested in female-oriented fantasy. I think that Thief of Souls, the first novel in my fantasy detective series, might interest you.

I did my homework and discovered that Kristin was actively looking for female-oriented fantasy. I've heard this is a major source of query letter irritation for agents -- most of them state clearly on their websites what kind of work they represent. If an agent says they're only looking for military or thrillers, don't send them a romance.

What if you suddenly have a largely unknown, potentially unlimited power? What if that power just might eat your soul for breakfast, lunch and dinner? What if every magical mobster and sicko sorcerer in town wants that power? And what if you can't get rid of it?

I found out later that Kristin doesn't like a question in the opening lines of the meat of the query, and I gave her four. Oooops, my bad. Though there was no way I could have known that going in. But I felt that the questions summed up my story and attempted to get the agent to put themselves in Raine's situation. I also used terms like "magical mobster" and "sicko sorcerer" to hint that this isn't your normal fantasy adventure. I'm going for the fun factor, and setting the tone for the plot summary to follow.

That's Raine Benares' problem. She's a Seeker--a finder of things lost and people missing. Most of what she's hired to find doesn't get lost by itself. It has help. Dependable help. Help she can depend on to use blades or bolts or magical means to keep what they went to all the trouble to get. When her sometime partner steals an amulet from a local necromancer, Raine ends up with the amulet and the trouble that's hot on its heels. What looks like a plain silver disk turns out to be a lodestone to an ancient soul-stealing stone, a stone that seemingly every magical mobster in the city wants -- as well as a few heavy-hitters from out-of-town: goblins of the Khrynsani Order, their sadistic high priest, Guardians of the Conclave of Sorcerers, the goblin king and his renegade brother, and an elven spellsinger of dubious motives. People Raine doesn't want to have notice her, let alone have to outrun or outwit. She likes attention as much as the next girl, but this is the kind she can do without.

Again I briefly summed up just the core of the action, and I did it using the fun, light tone of the book. It's not easy, but it's vital that you be able to sum up your work in a tight, concise paragraph.

Then there's what the amulet is doing to her. New and improved magical abilities sound good in theory, but Raine thinks her soul is a little much to pay for resume enhancement. And when she tries to take the amulet off, the amulet tries to take her out. Soon Raine starts to wonder if her spells, steel and street smarts will keep her alive long enough to find a way to get rid of the amulet before it, or anyone else, gets rid of her. And the worst part? She isn't even getting paid. It's enough to make a girl consider a career change.

This paragraph is the payoff -- what the problem is and where the conflict comes into play. And again I stayed with the casual, fun and almost modern tone of the book, letting the agent know what kind of book they'd be getting if they requested a partial or full.

Thief of Souls is my first novel. I'm an editor at an advertising agency, with prior experience in corporate communications and marketing.

I had no previous publication experience, no contest wins, no nothing. So I said plainly that it was my first novel. I didn't apologize for it or try to hide it. Kristin also wanted to know a little bit about me, so I stuck with my professional writing experience. I didn't want to clutter my letter with anything that would detract from my book.

I'd be glad to send you my complete manuscript for your review. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I asked for what I wanted (to send her the manuscript). At this point, and in my opinion, I felt it would be premature to mention "representation." And always thank the agent for taking the time to read your letter. They're swamped, and a "thank you" is not only polite, it's appreciated. And I closed by saying that I looked forward to hearing from her soon. No pressure, no pleading, just that I'm looking forward to hearing from you, and that "soon" would be nice. ; )

Regards,

Lisa Shearin

I hope that's helpful to those of you who are about to start submitting your work. And as always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to email or respond to the blog.

Coming up tomorrow: How much writing momentum matters, how I schedule writing a book, and when writing it's good to take it one chapter at a time.

How I plot a book -- Part 2 of 2

Today is the conclusion to last Thursday's post on How I Plot a Book.

After going through the process I described on Thursday, I now have a big, bloated Word doc of scenes, snippets, dialogue and ideas that I may or may not end up using. The file for my next book (Bewitched & Betrayed, aka Raine's fourth adventure) is a little over 100 pages. I generally print out the entire file. (What can I say? I'm an old-fashioned girl and like paper. Not to mention a hard-copy backup is always good to have -- just in case.) My next step is a careful read-thru, highlighting any elements that jump out at me. Then I go back into the computer copy and cut & paste the parts I definitely want to use and move them to the top of the file.

Then comes the "sitting/pondering/staring at the computer" part of the writing process. Apparently during this time, Lucy (our Jack Russell Terrier) doesn't think I'm working, and starts bringing me toys to throw for her. And the greyhounds Gracie & Andy want to be petted. To them (and to be honest, to any non-writer human), it probably looks like I'm about to go to sleep or have an out-of-body experience. After all, I am just sitting there staring at the screen, my only movement being to hit the Scroll key. But being a sucker for big, brown doggie eyes, I play and pet as commanded, while still sitting & pondering. It's multi-tasking at its finest.

Over the course of the next few hours/days, I decide what are the big plot points that I want to include. I make a bulleted list. Of course this list can be added to, changed, or trashed completely depending on what comes to me at 4 a.m., or in the shower, or driving home from work. The subconscious mind is a wonderful thing. It works 24/7. I don't work 24/7 (though my husband would be the first to dispute that claim). ; )

Once I've got that bulleted list, as much as it kills me, the best thing I can do is NOT sit at the computer. I want to work; but what I need to do is read, listen to music, sit in the tub (bottle of ale is optional), etc. -- any activity that doesn't require deep, conscious thought, to let my subconscious writing brain do its thing -- take the bits & pieces and turn them into the big scenes that'll form the core of the book. During this time, the first scene of the first chapter comes to me as well. Once I have that first chapter and the big scenes, I'm ready to start writing.

Coming up tomorrow: An analysis of my query letter for Magic Lost, Trouble Found (by request).

Coming up this week: Writing momentum matters, how I schedule writing a book, and when writing it's good to take it one chapter at a time.

Lisa

Saturday Fun Pic -- Working on final edits

If you're in the Shearin house most weekends, this is exactly what you'd see -- me at the dining room table working. What you can't see is the floor around me full of sleeping greyhounds and a Jack Russell Terrier (who runs the house). Give me a glass of sweet iced tea and a box of Cheez-Its and I'm good to go. ; ) This weekend I'm finishing the edits on the last two chapters of The Trouble With Demons (TTWD, aka Raine's third adventure). That'll give me approx. two weeks to go back through the entire book to smooth out any remaining rough spots, check for inconsistencies, and spackle any plot holes. TTWD is due back to my editor at Ace Books by the end of the month. I'll then immediately start writing on Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine #4) which is due on May 1, 2009 (which gives me 8 months to get it all done).

The section I'm finishing today is a crucial Raine and Mychael scene. Then it's off to the last chapter -- and Tam. ; ) Rest assured, members of both "Team Mychael" and "Team Tam" will be happy with this book.

Coming up on Monday: How I plot a book -- Part 2.

Upcoming blog topics: Analysis of my query letter for Magic Lost, Trouble Found, writing momentum matters, how I schedule writing a novel, and when writing a book I take it one chapter at a time.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

P.S.: I'm still basking in the afterglow of being deemed a National Bestselling Author. Thank you all SO MUCH -- I owe it all to you! By buying my books, you're the ones who made me a bestselling author, and it's one of the best presents I've ever had. Thank you!! *big, huge, freakin' grin*

I'm now a National Bestselling Author!!!!!

Yep, you heard it right. I still can't believe it. I just found out that I'm a National Bestselling Author! Woot! So my future books will have "National Bestselling Author" above my name. Armed & Magical is #8 on the Locus Bestseller List.

I made it!!!! : )

Lisa

Pitch paragraphs & back cover copy

I know, I know, I was supposed to do Part 2 of "How I Plot a Novel." I promise to do that on Monday. My agent, Kristin Nelson, has an awesome blog with priceless publishing industry tidbits and insights. Her blog on Wednesday really helped me out, and it just might do the same for all of you aspiring authors out there.

She's at Denvercon right now and was on a panel on how to create the perfect pitch paragraph. Kristin said that fellow panelist Jacqueline Lichtenberg (author and reviewer) suggested that aspiring authors (and it applies to published authors as well) write their pitch paragraph BEFORE writing the book. Here's Kristin's complete post.

But for the "time challenged," here's Jacqueline's pearls of wisdom as quoted from Kristin's Wednesday blog entry:

"From her position as reviewer, Jacqueline recommended that aspiring writers not wait to write their pitch paragraphs or what they would consider their own back cover copy for their novels. She suggested doing that even before the novel is complete. Even, dare I say it, before the novel gets written! If you can write good back cover copy for the novel you have in mind, your writing will be forced to live up to the copy you've created. I think this is a great idea -- especially for writers who are kicking around several ideas and are contemplating which idea to pursue in terms of writing a novel. Write the back cover copy (in the way it would look if the novel were actually be published) and that alone will force you to focus on that essential plot catalyst that will drive your story forward and force you to focus the novel."

What a fabulous idea! I am definitely going to do this for Bewitched & Betrayed. I think it'll help me narrow my focus on what the story is REALLY about. Because if you don't know the core of your book, you're gonna run into big trouble later on while writing it. You'll end up with scenes and chapters, but no plot/story to speak of. I speak from painful personal experience on this one. ; )

Coming up tomorrow: The Saturday Fun Pic.

Coming up on Monday: Part 2 of "How I plot a book" -- what I do with the "bits & pieces"

TGIF!
Lisa

How I plot a book -- Part 1 of 2

Since I'm about to start writing my fourth Raine Benares adventure (Bewitched & Betrayed), I thought it'd be a good time to tell you my process (such that it is). I've always been fascinated with how other writers work. For the writers out there, I'd love to hear about your process. Respond to this blog or email me if you'd like to share.

For me, plotting a book is just like writing one -- some parts are inspired and I can't write fast enough, other times I'm completely and utterly stuck, and I wonder if pounding my head against the nearest wall will shake loose some ideas. Tempting to try, but I'd better hold off on that one. I've had a concussion before. Not fun.

My ideas come to me in bits and pieces, parts of dialogue and chunks of chapters. Whenever this happens, I write it down (good old notepads), then transcribe it into my laptop. Important safety (and sanity) tip: ALWAYS, ALWAYS back up everything you've written EVERY DAY. I cannot stress the importance of that. I have a flash drive at my day job office, I keep one in my pocketbook, I have my laptop, and when I get a draft finished of a work, I back it up on Derek's computer too. So all of my work is stored in four different places, with one of those being outside of my house. Don't put all of your backups in one place; kinda defeats the purpose.

I'm digressing, back to plotting. I have bits, pieces and chunks of ideas, dialogue and scenes that I've accumulated for years. I know I'll use them eventually, so I just keep adding to the file, and throw absolutely nothing away. As a result, I have well over a hundred pages (single spaced) of stuff to browse through and choose from for Bewitched & Betrayed. I'll probably use about a third of those notes, the rest will continue to wait for the book they belong in.

When I'm starting a new book, I have the basic "big picture" in my head of what I want to do -- this always changes once I get into the actual writing. But to start, I sit down and read through The File. It's kinda like going shopping. I'm browsing and select the parts and pieces that appeal to me. I copy what I think I might use out of The File, I never cut. That way, I always have an intact master file of everything. I paste the bits & pieces into a new Word doc. That's my starting point.

Coming up tomorrow: Part 2 of "How I plot a book" -- what I do with the "bits & pieces"

Cyber Launch Book Party today for Linnea Sinclair's Shades of Dark. Kimber An over at Enduring Romance is hosting the party. It's an all-day event and there will be prizes. Pop over and join in the fun. I've been asked to bring sexy goblins per the Klingon ladies' request. ; )

Book release party tonight: My author friend, James Maxey will be signing and discussing Dragonforge, the sequel to the acclaimed Bitterwood tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, NC. I'll be there to support James; so if you're in the area, please come by and you can talk to both of us. As an extra bribe, there'll be cake. ; )

UPDATE: James's party is going on as scheduled, but I can't be there. I've just gotten a migrane. Sorry! I'm headed home to go to bed.

I'll be doing a signing next month with James Maxey and Mark Van Name at the Cary, NC, Barnes & Noble (see my EVENTS page for details).

Some upcoming blog topics: The Saturday Fun Pic, analysis of my query letter for MLTF, book writing is hard work, writing momentum matters, how to schedule writing a novel, writing is a business, take it one chapter at a time, and if you want to be a writer you gotta grow a thick skin.

One more day and it's Friday!
Lisa

Music I listen to while writing

First of all, an update on the edits for The Trouble With Demons: I'm due to turn the edited manuscript back in to my editor at Ace Books (The Amazing Anne) by the end of this month. Well, I'm happy to announce that I have two more chapters to go. WOOT! But of course then I need to go back to the beginning and go through it again for tweaking and smoothing out any remaining rough spots. But, I still hope to hand it in before the deadline. And as soon as I hit "send" on that email to get TTWD back to Anne, I have to immediately start writing Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine's fourth adventure). My goal was to have it started on Aug. 1, but the TTWD edits kinda got in the way of that. That's another thing I'm getting better at the more books I get under my belt -- you gotta go with the flow. You may not like it, but you gotta go with it. ; )

About 80% of the time, when I'm writing I have headphones on listening to music. It blocks out household noise and helps immerse me in the scene I'm working on. I favor movie soundtracks. There's no voices to distract me and it sets the mood I need. I think I like movie music because that's how I write -- I see the story in my head like scenes in a movie. My favorite soundtracks for writing are LOTR (Howard Shore is a genius), and the Harry Potter movie soundtracks. I adore John Williams' music; and even though he only composed the music for the first couple of HP movies, subsequent HP soundtracks have built on his base. MLTF was written to some LOTR, but mostly to Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. For Armed & Magical, I mainly used The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban for the darker scenes. The Trouble With Demons was written to The Goblet of Fire and The Order of The Phoenix -- a slightly darker book calls for darker music. And for vocal inspiration for any of Piaras's scenes, I listened to Josh Groban (magnificent baritone voice).

So what's on your iPod or coming through your headphones when you write? Also, do you have any recommendations for other soundtracks that might work well for my books? A friend just recommended the original Batman sountrack by Danny Elfman (dark and moody). Thanks, Rebecca! ; )

Upcoming event tomorrow: My author friend, James Maxey will be signing and discussing Dragonforge, the sequel to the acclaimed Bitterwood tomorrow:

Thursday, August 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
The Streets at Southpoint
Durham, NC

I'll be there to support James; so if you're in the area, please come by and you can talk to both of us. As an extra bribe, there'll be cake. ; )

I'll be doing a signing next month with James Maxey and Mark Van Name at the Cary, NC, Barnes & Noble (see my EVENTS page for details).

Some upcoming blog topics: How I plot a book, analysis of my query letter for MLTF, book writing is hard work, writing momentum matters, how to schedule writing a novel, writing is a business, take it one chapter at a time, and if you want to be a writer you gotta grow a thick skin.

And if you didn't read yesterday's blog, scroll down and take a look -- we're having a photo contest with cool prizes.
Lisa

New photo contest! And upcoming event.

They've been all over the place in the blogosphere -- authors having photo contests. Their book, their readers' creativity. I've been wanting to have one, so let's give it a go. For some awesome examples of what I'm talking about, Pat Rothfuss posted entries and winners over on his blog. Scroll down through his May and June blog posts for some incredibly creative entries.

And there will be uber cool prizes. I'm not sure how many yet, it depends on how many entries I get and how utterly fabulous they are. An easy entry is if you're going on vacation or to a convention during the next month, take a copy of my book along. Take a pic of one of my books at the Eiffel Tower, for example; or ask a famous person at a convention (politely) to "please hold this book for a second while I take your picture." For prizes, I'll go through my office closet where I keep copies of my books, ARCs of my books, perhaps some swag from my CafePress store, or if you have a favorite scene from MLTF or A&M, I could send you a handwritten, personalized and signed copy of that scene for your very own. ; ) I'll make you a deal: you think of cool photos to take, and I'll think of cool prizes to give. For a deadline, let's give it a month. The contest will end on Friday, September 5 at midnight my time (eastern US), and I'll announce the winner the following week. This will give me a little time to analyze the coolness and pick the winners. And yes, there will be more than one winner. Have fun with it!

There aren't many rules: Your photo must include one or both of my books (heck, just pick your favorite), you can enter as many times as you like -- and I would say to keep your photos tasteful, but since good taste is relative, just keep it clean. ; ) Send your photo entries to lisashearin@gmail.com, attach a JPG of the photo, and your name (for photo credit). That's it for now. If I think of something I forgot but needed to mention, I'll post it in a future blog. But those are the basic rules, and I think they'll work. Like Raine, I like to keep it simple.

Now on to the upcoming event: My author friend, James Maxey will be signing and discussing Dragonforge, the sequel to the acclaimed Bitterwood this Thursday.

James Maxey
Thursday, August 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
The Streets at Southpoint
Durham, NC

I'll be there to support James; so if you're in the area, please come by and you can talk to both of us. As an extra bribe, there'll be cake. ; )

I'll be doing a signing next month with James Maxey and Mark Van Name at the Cary, NC, Barnes & Noble (see my EVENTS page for details).

Coming up this week: Music I listen to while writing, how I plot a book, analysis of my query letter for MLTF, and book writing is hard work. Who knew? ; )

Lisa

Writing & critique groups -- To join or not to join?

I hear a lot about writing groups and critique partners, both from published authors and from pre-published. I've noticed that it can be a controversial topic. Should you join one? Should you go it alone?

It's all personal preference. For some writers, sitting at a desk can get awfully lonely; they thrive on interaction and feedback. For other writers, sitting alone at a desk is bliss; and while they may enjoy socializing with other writers, when they write they write alone.

I'm the later kind of writer. When I'm really digging into a project, my office door is closed, my headphones are on, my favorite writing music is playing. You can't get much more alone than that. I guess I work like that because way back when I started writing, I didn't know any other writers, and no writers equals no writers' groups. So I started working solo, and have worked that way ever since.

It's also rare for me to discuss plot details of a project I'm working on with anyone. And my husband and my agent are the only people who will see parts of a work in progress. My agent (Kristin Nelson) gives awesome feedback that is always right on target. She has never been wrong. Kristin is also my first reader once a project is complete. Unless I have a problem I just can't get past, the first time anyone reads a book I'm writing is when it's finished and as polished as I can make it. Then it's off to Kristin for review/feedback. After Kristin, it's off to my editor Anne Sowards at Ace Books. Nothing gets past Anne. ; ) She can spot a hairline crack in a plot from a mile away.

Once I have Anne's stamp of approval, I'll print a couple copies of the manuscript for select friends and family who've been waiting for a new Raine/Mychael/Tam story.

Coming up this week: A new contest (more details tomorrow). And an author friend of mine is having a booksigning this week (I'll be there), more details in tomorrow's blog. And later this week, music I listen to while writing, how I plot a book, analysis of my query letter for MLTF, and book writing is hard work. Who knew? ; )

Lisa

The Trouble With Demons -- final half of Chapter 1

As promised, the last section of Chapter 1 of The Trouble With Demons (aka the sequel to Armed & Magical.) Enjoy!

The demons charged. We spread out to give ourselves room to fight. I claimed a piece of street with a wall at my back. Better a wall than a demon.

"Want some company?" Phaelan's maniacal grin told me this was the most fun he'd had since last week when he'd helped blast a hole in the elven embassy.

Phaelan wasn't the only one who wanted to keep me company. The demon who'd picked me to pick on was closing distance fast. He didn't have a weapon. Those horns and talon-tipped hands were weapons. When he was within range, I opened up his gut with the tip of my rapier. I expected insides to fall out, not his hand to go into the hole I'd made, making it bigger.

Oh, that wasn't good.

The demon grinned wider and pulled out a fistful of something you'd think he'd need to keep. The stench was all too familiar.

I was almost too disgusted to move. Almost.

The demon flung it right at us.

"Incoming!" I yelled. I ducked and pulled Phaelan with me.

The glob splattered on the wall behind us, sizzling coin-sized holes in the brick. Coin-sized holes that could have been in us. The demon reached in and reloaded.

We weren't going to be here when that hand came out.

Vegard nearly sliced a demon in half with his ax. The demon healed. Immediately. One second he was almost in two parts, then he wasn't. Vegard coolly noted it and put his ax back in its harness. When he'd sheathed his weapon, his hands glowed incandescent white.

Change of tactics. One of the things the Saghred had done was to make me a fast learner when it came to magic. I didn't have to tap the stone, just use the power boost the Saghred had given the abilities I already had, letting me save my skin without risking my soul.

Phaelan was darting and weaving, trying to get in close enough to take out that demon's hands before the demon could take out more ammo.

"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted.

I kept my eyes on Vegard's glowing hands. "Learning."

It was the same concept as a lightglobe, times a thousand. Basic magic, multiplied into something lethal. I looked down at my hands, and concentrated. Considering that two dozen demons had us pinned down, I did my concentrating real quick. I had conjured a respectable flare of light until one of the demons roared.

I damned near jumped out of my skin. "Son of a bitch!"

I tried again, this time through gritted teeth. The teeth gritting must have helped, because in the next instant, I was lobbing fireballs along with Vegard. Mine weren't as big as his and didn't glow as bright, but they made up for it in tenacity. These weren't flames the demons could drop and roll to put out. It was sticking to them--and burning. Saghred-enhanced magic was saving my biscuits once again.

The elven mage was struggling weakly to drag himself out of the middle of the street. A demon blocked his way. He was taller than the others, his skin darker, almost purple. The mage looked up, eyes wide with panic, and said something I couldn't hear.

"Vegard, cover me!" I yelled.

I didn't wait for a response. Rage fed the fireballs in my hands until I could feel the heat. I ran toward the mage, hurling the fireballs at the demon as one clawed hand locked around the mage's throat, claws piercing his flesh, pulling him to his feet and tearing his throat out doing it. The demon simply raised his free hand, and one of my fireballs ricocheted off of it and came right back at me.

I swore and ducked. The fireball hit the wall behind me and burnt straight through the brick. Seconds later, I heard flames crackling from inside the building. Crap.

The demon was staring at me, his eyes yellow with a vertical slit for a pupil, like a goat. But unlike any goat I'd ever seen, the demon's pupils glowed red.

A familiar fire bloomed in the center of my chest. The Saghred. I silently went through a litany of curses. I did not need this now. I braced myself for the surge of Saghred-spawned power that was coming. Power that would consume me, force me to fight it rather than the demon. Power that was going to get me killed just like that mage.

Nothing. No surge, no force, nothing. What the hell?

The demon smiled slowly, the tips of his needle teeth visible. I desperately called my magic for another fireball. Not a spark. All the fire I had seethed in my chest. It wasn't white hot and raging; the stone's power wasn't fighting to get free. It burned bright, warm, welcoming.

For the demon.

The demon looked at me, unclenched his hand, and negligently tossed the dead mage aside. The he stepped back and bowed deeply and respectfully.

"We are honored by your presence," he told me.

Then he cloaked, invisible to all but me, and with one leap was on the wall like a big purple spider, the talons of his claws and feet clicking and gouging chunks out of the bricks as he scuttled around the corner, right over the clueless heads of a crowd that was forming at the end of the street.

I knelt over the mage. His dead eyes stared sightlessly at the sky as blood pooled and spread beneath his ruined throat.

I heard murmurs from the far end of the street. Most of the people had just arrived, waiting until the fight was over to come out of hiding.

I was kneeling over the mage, his blood on my hands. They were looking at me, grim-faced, angry, and accusing.

"Murderer!" someone yelled.

Oh shit.

Coming up next week: A new contest! And an author friend of mine is having a booksigning. Plus, writing & critique groups, music I listen to while writing, how I plot a book, analysis of my query letter for MLTF, and book writing is hard work. Who knew? ; )

Have a great weekend!
Lisa

Wonderful photo from ComicCon

Here's a pic my fabulous fan Marie took at ComicCon. I LOVE it! How did she ever know that I adore The Phantom of the Opera? (clears throat) "And here is the Phantom modeling this season's must have convention accessory -- an Armed & Magical tote bag. It's large enough to carry all of your convention swag, and with its sturdy canvas, you're sure to make it back to your hotel with both swag and bag in perfect condition. Don't hit the convention floor without it. Get yours today at our CafePress store."

Okay, shameless plug over. ; )

Coming up tomorrow: Instead of the Saturday Fun Pic (especially since I posted one today), I'll have the Saturday Fun Read. Quite some time ago, I posted part of Chapter 1 of The Trouble With Demons. Since I've done some editing/tweaking to it, and since there are a lot of new readers to my blog, I'm going to post the revised version.

And coming up next week: Writing & critique groups, music I listen to while writing, how I plot a book, analysis of my query letter for MLTF, and book writing is hard work. Who knew? ; )

It's Friday! Woot!
Lisa