Dogs sharing a chair in our house doesn't happen that often, but when there's a cozy spot in the sun at stake, they're willing to make concesions. Lucy had already claimed the chair, but Andy didn't see any reason why she couldn't share. So he jumped up there and and danged near squashed her, but he managed to fit himself in. Lucy, being the stubborn Jack Russell that she is, refused to budge. It wasn't exactly a peaceful arrangement, but at least Lucy didn't try to bite him. (You can click on the pics for a larger version.)
This week and last week have been crazy busy at my day job at the advertising agency. But hey, I'm blessed to not only have one job, but two. Yep, book writing definitely qualifies as a full-time job.
So when I come home from work at 5:00, I fix dinner, throw in a load or two of laundry, and get upstairs to Job #2. Bewitched & Betrayed is going precisely as all of my books have gone. Apparently I get halfway through the first draft, realize that something's missing (several somethings, actually), so I go back to Chapter 1 and start filling in the blanks. That's what I've been doing for the past two weeks. I'm up to Chapter 12, and my schedule is to be back up to Chapter 15 by this Sunday evening. I'm taking a well-deserved night off tonight to go out to dinner for a "date night" with my husband. So no work tonight, but starting tomorrow, I push, shove, and struggle to get the rest done by Sunday.
Hopefully when I pick back up where I left off, I'll be able to write straight through to the end, which I'm aiming will be 25 chapters. My plan is to take no longer than four days to write each chapter, which will put me finishing the first draft by the end of March. That'll give me one month to whip it into shape to send to my editor on May 1.
I'll be cutting it close, but then I always do. ; ) After going through the same drill for the past three books, I've accepted that this is the way my writing brain works. I'm glad I can see a pattern to the madness, because I know that the book will turn out just fine and there's no need for me to freak out. Me freaking out -- while highly entertaining to anyone watching -- is counter-productive to writing. It doesn't give me a better book, it'll just give me ulcers. I love J.K. Rowling's home page. Her "desk" is covered in "Acid Pops." Oh boy, can I ever identify with that. ; )
Pop back by tomorrow for the Saturday Fun Pic. And I promise next week I'll try to get to some of the wonderful questions you've sent me.
Since I'm beyond swamped today, I thought I'd share a some of my favorite music. I love almost all kinds of music, but I've especially got a soft spot for classical. This YouTube has a snippet of a piece that if you're romantically inclined, you can't help but love. It's Mikhail Pletnev playing part of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninov. I love it. Enjoy!
Since I'm still under the weather (aka, knocked to the floor with a cold, which apparently I've now given to my husband as a special gift), I'm repeating a blog that we all had a lot of fun with when I first ran it. Feel free to comment with your own "writer quirks."
In homage to Jeff Foxworthy, I've come up with a writer's version of his classic "You might be a redneck if. . ." (All the ones I've written apply to me. Scary, huh?) And for fun, add your own quirks to the list. Respond to the blog with your own "you might be a writer if. . ."
You might be a writer if. . .
You sleep with pen and paper next to your bed -- and the stove and the couch and the dining table and the shower and the toilet and the. . .
You have a favorite punctuation mark. My editor's trying to wean me off of em dashes -- good luck with that.
You have a favorite pen. Uniball Signo 207 in medium with the comfi-grip in black ink. Excellent ink coverage.
You get caught up in plotting your next scene and put the cereal in the fridge, and the milk in the pantry.
The stacks of your old manuscripts and rejection letters officially constitutes a fire hazard.
You desperately want Crayola tub markers so you can write down all that great dialog that comes to you in the shower.
You love restaurants that put a big sheet of paper over the table cloth and leave you with a handful of crayons.
You're talking to a real, living, breathing person and suddenly stop and listen because one of your characters interrupted you.
You think sleep is way overrated. Who needs more than three hours anyway?
Your novels are backed up on your laptop, your husband's laptop, two thumb drives, and you're seriously toying with the idea of getting a safe deposit box.
And finally, you know your a writer if you look at yourself and see a writer. Everyone else looks at you and sees an obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive insomniac with a pen fetish.
Those are some of mine. Fess up and tell everyone some of yours. ; )
I should have known better than to say "my cold is so much better" in such a chipper voice in yesterday's blog. The all-powerful cold germs heard and are extracting their vengeance.
I'm at my day job desk and it's all I can do to keep my head off the keyboard. I got some magnificent writing work done last night (I just love Talon), but between that and a full day yesterday at my day job, it appears that I over did it big-time.
Dang it.
Since I can't hold a thought in my head for more than five seconds, I'm simply incapable of writing a decent blog today. Check back in tomorrow and I'll definitely have something for you.
The setting for Chapter 1 of Bewitched & Betrayed (aka Raine Benares #4) is a bordello -- den of iniquity, house of ill-repute, cat house, fun farm, call it what you will -- and I needed a name. It's a very high-class establishment; in fact, it's the Isle of Mid's finest bordello. I could come up with a name on my own, but I knew it'd be fun to ask you all for suggestions.
And suggest you did. ; ) Most of you sent an entire list of possible names, enlisted your friends' help -- heck, made a party game out of it. As many of you told me, "This is fun!"
I had just as much fun reading all of your entries, and believe me it was a tough choice, but I made one. I'll name the winner, as well as a list of Honorable Mentions -- or since it's a bordello, "Dishonorable Mention" ; )
The winner is an entry from Katherine Shaw -- The Satyr's Grove. I LOVED IT!
(Dis)honorable Mention goes to the following entries:
The Coquette's Fan
The Mermaid's Lagoon
The King's Chambers
The Guilded Nymph
Amber Rose
The Dragon's Treasure
Taboo
Katherine's prize is that she will be listed on the "Acknowledgments" page for Bewitched & Betrayed for her creative contribution. Katherine, I can either phrase the acknowledgment so you can show it to your mother/grandmother/Sunday School teacher without embarrassment; or if you don't care what anyone thinks, I'll have fun with it. ; ) But I will get your approval on the wording before it's printed.
Again, thank you to everyone who entered! And there will be more contests between now and April 28, when The Trouble with Demons comes to a bookstore near you.
And beginning this week, I'll start answering some of your recent questions: How many agents did I query?, Did I sleep the night I got an agent and/or when I got an offer to publish MLTF?, And when did I tell my co-workers about my "second job"? How did I come up with the character of Talon?, How did I come up with my book titles?, and How minor characters suddenly become major characters.
BTW -- My cold is much better, and I've officially reached my weight loss goal with NutriSystem -- 25 lbs. I went from a Size 10 to a Size 4. WOOT!
We have two retired racing greyhounds -- Andy and Gracie. Gracie is 7 years old and has been off the race track long enough to have seen snow. Andy (race name: Nimble Andy) just came off the track in 2007. As a southern Florida boy (he raced at the Melbourne, FL, track) he'd never played in snow before. He loved it! Here are two short videos Derek took of Andy running around the yard like a lunatic (we say he's 4 years old going on 2). In both videos, he's trying to get either Gracie or Lucy to run with him. He and Gracie did run together, but they were moving so fast that Derek couldn't get it on camera.
On Monday, I'll annouce the winner of the "Name that Bordello" contest. Thank you to all of you who entered. You all have made it incredibly tough for me to choose. Great names!
And beginning next week, I'll start answering some of your recent questions: How many agents did I query?, Did I sleep the night I got an agent and/or when I got an offer to publish MLTF?, And when did I tell my co-workers about my "second job"? How did I come up with the character of Talon?, How did I come up with my book titles?
The answers to these and more starting next week.
"The Cold" Report: I slept for 12 hours last night (usually I only sleep for 7). So apparently I needed the extra rest. I'm not feeling any better, but I'm not any worse. Small victory, but hey, I'll take it. ; )
I'm sick with a cold today. Actually, I've been sick for the past two days. If all goes according to schedule with my colds, by Monday I should be barking like harbor seal. (That's a croupy cough for those who haven't had the joy of experiencing it first hand.) For today, it's the fun of breathing through my mouth because my nose is completely and utterly worthless.
I'm in my day job office working today. We're insanely busy (which is great), so I need to be here (which is not so marvelous). But hey, at least it's Friday. Woo, freakin', hoo!
Tomorrow I'll post the video of Andy the Greyhound playing in the snow for the first time. And don't forget today is the last day to enter the "Name that Bordello" contest. I'll announce the winner on Monday. If you need rules and prize info, go to my Monday, January 12 blog post.
Now I gotta blow my nose (AGAIN) and get to work. My inbox looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Today's post is Suzane Ritch's 3rd Place winning entry in "who is your favorite character and why" contest. Her favorite "character" is the world my books are set in. I thought her entry was well done and very original. Suzane wins a collection of fridge magnets for all three of my books as well as signed and personalized postcards and bookmarks.
Here's Suzane's entry . . .
As in many books, including your own, the most important, and therefore my favorite, character is the "world" where the story takes place. It alone drives, affects and defines the societies dwelling within it. By the same token, society then dictates the development of an individual's personality and their lot in life. Without the world as the main character, nothing would be possible. As does paper need ink for a story to become flesh, so does that same story need a world to exist in.
Since you've only touched on the edges of what your world and its cultures are like, outside of the small pieces you have already shown us, I understand how much still remains available for our imaginations, and future expectations, to chomp on. With each new book we see just a little more. As the characterization of the world grows, so does its chain of societies and inhabitants. It's like being given a continual supply of presents, each being a single piece in a much larger puzzle. And since I love puzzles and logic, I'm hooked.
As a novice writer, I have become very conscious of how important world building is to a story, and thus to the characters who inhabit it.
Thank you for helping to satisfy my seemingly insatiable appetite for things beyond the norm.
- Suzane
Congratulations! And thank you to all of you who entered. I enjoyed reading all of your entries and believe me, choosing three was a tough job. So, for those of you who entered the contest, you all get prizes, too. If you would like signed & personalized bookplates or bookmarks for yourself and/or friends, just email me with your address and I'll send those to you.
And don't forget that tomorrow (Friday) is the last day for you to send me your entries in the "Name that Bordello" contest. Go back to my Monday, January 12 blog entry for the details and uber-cool prize. ; )I'll announce the winner on Monday.
And coming up on the Saturday Fun Pic is a video clip of Andy the Greyhound seeing and playing in snow for the very first time. He raced at a Florida track, and as a southern Florida boy, he'd never seen snow before this week. Great stuff.
Today post is 2nd Place winner Susy Pinnington's entry in the "Who is your favorite character and why" contest. I chuckled all the way through her hysterical take on Phaelan. Loved it! Suzy wins an autographed cover flat as well as a fridge magnet for The Trouble with Demons.
Here's Susy's entry . . .
My favorite character is Phaelan. I can't understand why all the fan girls focus on Mychael and Tam. Fine, they are Raine's love interest, but Phaelan is just as appealing to the reader, if not more so: Raine is never going to be interested, so all the more for us!
So, Phaelan. Utterly adorable in a madcap, oh-god-I-can't-believe-he-did/said-that kind of way. No brakes; hell, forget stopping, this guy never slows down. Couple this with his impeccable dress sense, crazy humor and deeply dubious morals and you get the kind of guy I'd invite over to dinner in a shot, if only to find out what would happen next.
He's the first person you meet in Magic Lost, Trouble Found. Even before you find out what Raine looks like, you get to see Phaelan. Then you find out what he's wearing. First impressions are everything, and Phaelan got there first. None of the other guys you meet later quite made the grade for me. They're great people, amazing characters and I desperately want to find out what happens next, but foremost in my heart is the dark-eyed, grinning, sharp-dressing pirate I met down a filthy back alley in Mermeia.
A big part of this charming nutcase's appeal is his sheer outrageousness: how can you not love someone who offers to get rid of half the Seat of Twelve --"Just get me the names of the ones you don't want to keep. I know people." -- for the Paladin, no less? That Mychael actually considers -- if only for a split second -- taking him up on the offer is ample proof that you can get away with anything if you think big enough, and Phaelan doesn't think small. He's larger than life and twice as fun.
Another big part of why I love Phaelan is his strong family loyalty. Raine's new found abilities and talent for trouble may be getting her into new and messier situations by the minute, but he's stuck by her this far and isn't going to quit now. Whatever today's adversary thinks they're doing with Raine, our hero isn't just going to stand by and let it happen. Oh no. A feared pirate who obviously loves his "job," Phaelan is going to put it all on the line for his cousin. Cue the subterfuge, disorder, mayhem and general illegality that seems to accompany every member of the Benares family.
Raine may think she's a disaster magnet, but she shouldn't take all the credit: her gorgeous, wild and wickedly funny cousin causes more than his fare share of chaos as well. Let's just face it: it's a Benares thing.
Tomorrow I'll post Suzane Ritch's 3rd Place winning entry on her favorite "character": the world my books are set in.
For the next three days, I'll be posting the winning entries for the "Who is your favorite character and why" contest. And don't forget, you all have until this Friday, January 23, to send in your entries for the "Name that Bordello"contest. (I'll announce the winner on Monday.) See my blog for Monday, January 12, for all the contest details and the uber-cool prize.
Today's post is the entry from Emily Haas, the 1st Place winner. Her favorite characters were A'Zahra Nuru, Phaelan, and Prince Chigaru. I thought she wrote a wonderful, in-depth character analysis, and she brought up some points that even I hadn't thought of. Bravo! Emily wins a t-shirt with the cover of The Trouble with Demons.
Here's Emily's entry . . .
You asked us awhile back to write to you about who our favorite character in your novels is and why. I've been struggling for an answer, because there are several characters that I really like for vastly different reasons. I've been going back and forth between three, trying to rank them in my mind. So I think that what I'm going to do is tell you who eventually won and then let you know about the runners up and why I like them too (but in far fewer words).
The Winner: Primari A'Zahra Nuru. I know she's a minor character, but she's also ultimately the one who intrigues me the most. For starters, even though she operates within her culture, she's held out to be more trustworthy and more "above the level" than her countrymen.
Considering her position (or former position), that's extremely surprising. All the other high-ranking goblins have done whatever it took -- betraying alliances, playing both ends against the middle, dark magic, murder -- to get to positions of power. Yet she's the one who helps people get away from that lifestyle. It makes me wonder if she's always been this way or if perhaps she "pulled a Tam" long before Tam did and started making changes in her life. If she's always been this way, I'm curious as to why -- what about her life experiences put her in a different mindset? If she changed, I'd like to know the why there as well -- what was the trigger event that made her re-evaluate things?
The other thing that I love about her is how she's orchestrating to put Chigaru on the throne over his brother. She's essentially committing treason, but (like Tam said) she's aware that Chigaru is a far better alternative than his brother and is willing to risk her neck for the benefit of her people. It's extremely admirable to me, especially considering that she was given some money to just go away and live out the rest of her life peacefully. It would be easy for her to just stay out of things, but she doesn't.
The final thing that I love about her character is that, despite all the glowing accolades I mentioned above, she's far from perfect. She still operates within her culture, seeing things from a goblin perspective when determining whether what has happened was right or not. She's also known to have a blind spot where Chigaru is concerned, and while that loyalty is touching, she allows trouble to occur by not seeing him for who he actually is (instead seeing a kinder, gentler, and perhaps unrealistic version of who he is).
My runners up: Phaelan Benares is also in my top three, mainly because he makes me laugh out loud when I read. I like that, although he's a pirate and he thinks he's all suave and debonair, he really isn't. For example, when Raine says that chivalry takes a little break when it gets around Phaelan or when it's mentioned that it's okay to run away as long as you don't get caught. It's like Phaelan really wants to come across as the swashbuckling hero-type, but he doesn't. That's what makes him so wonderful as a character.
The other runner up is Prince Chigaru. The reason I love him is that he is the grayest of the gray characters. I don't know where to put him (Is he a good guy? A bad guy? It depends what day you catch him on?) He seems to think he's a good guy -- at least for a goblin -- but he's so Machiavellian that he'll never fully make it. But he isn't evil; his heart, at least, appears to be in the right place. So he just fascinates me all around.
This is not to say that I don't love the other characters in the novels, too. I'm a big fan of nearly all of them. It was really hard to pick out my favorites. But the above three are the ones that really stand out to me and spark my attention the most.
~Emily
Tomorrow I'll post Susy Pinnington's 2nd Place winning entry on Phaelan.
Today I announce the winners of the "Who is your favorite character(s) from my books and why?" contest. BTW -- Scroll down to Saturday's entry -- I got the map of Raine's world to load. Click on it for a larger version.
Back to the contest. Picking the winners was a tough decision. My criteria for the winning entries was how interesting and just plain cool they were, as well that having that certain "je ne sais quoi." All of the entries were great and obviously a lot of thought went into them. And if the winners don't mind, I'd like to post their winning entries for everyone to enjoy.
(drum roll) And the winners are:
Emily Haas is the 1st Place winner. Her favorite characters were A'Zahra Nuru, Phaelan, and Prince Chigaru. Wonderful, in-depth character analysis, and she brought up some points that even I hadn't thought of. Bravo! Emily wins a t-shirt with the cover of The Trouble with Demons.
Susy Pinnington is the 2nd Place winner. I chuckled all the way through her hysterical take on Phaelan. Loved it! Suzy wins an autographed cover flat as well as a fridge magnet for The Trouble with Demons.
Suzane Ritch is the 3rd Place winner. Her favorite "character" was the world the books were set in. Well done and very original. Suzane wins a collection of fridge magnets for all three of my books as well as signed and personalized postcards and bookmarks.
Emily, you're the only one I don't have a mailing address for, so if you'll email me, I'll get your t-shirt in the mail to you.
Winners, also email to let me know if it's okay for me to post your winning entries for everyone to enjoy.
Congratulations! And thank you to all of you who entered. BTW -- For those of you who entered the contest, you all get prizes, too. If you would like signed & personalized bookplates or bookmarks for yourself and/or friends, just email me with your address and I'll send those to you. I enjoyed everyone's entries. : )
I got the map to upload! Yea! You can click on it to get a larger version. If you're a member over at Raine's Rangers, there is a version in the PHOTOS section, in the "Lisa's stuff" photo album. You can click on "Original" size to see a huge version.
Moving on to the "who's your fav character in my books and why" -- I got some wonderful entries, and I'll be announcing the winners to those on Monday. And don't forget the "Name that Bordello" contest. Scroll down to the blog for Monday, Jan. 12 for all the details and the "special prize."
I'm slightly behind in writing Bewitched & Betrayed, so this weekend is serious catch-up time. Of course, I'll still be answering emails and taking blog request questions, so don't be shy about contacting me.
Raine is "Miss April" along with two others. Damon obviously had a lot of fun writing the article and he's had a sneak peek of the new Raine on The Trouble with Demons cover and has declared her "smoking hot." I just love a man with great taste in women. ; ) Thanks, Damon!
We now rejoin our regularly scheduled blog now in progress . . .Yesterday, I asked for blog topic suggestions and Kate had a wonderful question: How much of yourself do you put into your characters? Are any of the characters based off of yourself, or do each of them have some little characteristic of you in them? 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 The Trouble with Demons); 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 The Trouble with Demons he says: "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. ; )
Today is the last day for your entries for the "which character is your favorite and why" contest. I'll be announcing the winners on Monday. And tomorrow for the "Saturday Fun Pic," I'll be posting the final map of Raine's world. My publisher's art department has scanned in my original map, and it's all ready to go into The Trouble with Demons. You guys get a sneak peek. Do any of you have any questions for me? Potential blog topics? As always, I welcome your input.
Piaras & Talon -- The mortar that holds my books together
I've said before that I have five core characters in my books: Raine, Mychael, Tam, Piaras, and Phaelan. Well, I was wrong.
I have six. Add Talon to that list. (You knew that nothing was going to keep Talon out of the spotlight, didn't you?) ; )
I've realized over the past two books that Piaras & Talon are vital to my books coming together. Case in point. I've gotten stuck at the exact same place in The Trouble with Demons and Bewitched & Betrayed -- smack dab in the middle. I got to that point without including Piaras & Talon. Apparently that's a mistake, but it's the way my writing brain works, so I guess there's no fighting the All-Powerful Writing Brain.
Until now, I hadn't included them in my initial draft of the first half of B&B because while I knew they fit in the story -- and played a vital part -- but for the first half of both books, I simply didn't know what that part was. So I had to start writing without them. As a result, I bogged down and stopped half way through. Over the past few days, I've gone back to the beginning of the book and read it through to where I stopped. Now I know where the boys fit. Apparently I have to write half of the book to reach that point of realization.
I know what happens in the rest of the book, but it just wasn't right without Piaras & Talon. But what can I say? They're teenagers, they're unpredictable, so I've learned I just have to go with the flow as far as they're concerned.
So Raine, Tam, Mychael, and Phaelan are the building blocks. But Piaras and Talon are the mortar that holds it all together. And as I've learned over the past two books, you can't build a house without bricks and mortar.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day for your entries for the "which character is your favorite and why" contest. I'll be announcing the winners on Monday.
And on Saturday for the "Saturday Fun Pic," I'll be posting the final map of Raine's world. My publisher's art department has scanned in my original map, and it's all ready to go into The Trouble with Demons. You guys get a sneak peek.
Do any of you have any questions for me? Potential blog topics? As always, I welcome your input.
My agent Kristin Nelson posted on her blog last night about authors having (or not having) consultation rights on their book covers. I thought you all might find it interesting.
Tomorrow I'll talk about Piaras & Talon and how they play a vital role in my books.
Friday is the last day for your entries for the "which character is your favorite and why" contest. I'll be announcing the winners on Monday.
And on Saturday for the "Saturday Fun Pic," I'll be posting the final map of Raine's world. I just got this back yesterday from my publisher.
This is too funny not to share. A couple of days ago, my husband Derek signed up with Facebook. Last night, I'm writing downstairs at the kitchen bar, he's upstairs in his office. I get the following from Facebook:
Derek added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know Derek in order for you to be friends on Facebook. To confirm this friend request, follow the link below.
I chuckle, but think, "Okay, cool." So I click and accept. A few minutes later I get the usual response from Facebook: You are now friends with Derek.
That gets a grin from me.
I little while later I get the following email from Facebook: Derek said on Facebook that you two are married. We need you to confirm that you are, in fact, married to Derek. To confirm this relationship request, follow the link below.
I started laughing and couldn't stop. I follow the link and click "Approve." I mean, hey, I've been married to the guy for over 17 years. Though I admit I was was tempted to click "Ignore" to see how long it took him to come running out of his office. ; )
But I clicked "Approve" and a few minutes later I get the following from Facebook: Congratulations, you are now in a relationship with Derek.
Well, that's nice to know. Folks, I laughed so hard that I snorted.
Though I had a question which I promptly posted to my beloved's Facebook wall: Since Facebook has now blessed our happy union and united us in marital bliss, does this qualify as a renewal of vows? And if so, I want presents. ; )
It's Monday and I have another contest for you all.
This Friday (January 16) is the deadline to email me your entries for the "Who is your favorite character from my books and why" contest. (Scroll down to last Monday's blog post for all the details and prizes).
Now to today's contest. As you all know, I'm writing Bewitched & Betrayed right now (aka Raine Benares #4), and I need a name . . . for a bordello. Den of iniquity, house of ill-repute, cat house, fun farm -- call it what you will. I need a name for one. It's a very high-class establishment; in fact, it's the Isle of Mid's finest bordello. I could come up with a name on my own, but I thought it'd be fun to ask you all to chime in.
First a few rules: 1. I'd like the name to be no more than one or two words. 2. Considering that I have some young, impressionable readers, the name has to be fit for young ears. So use your creativity; park your dirty minds. Don't worry, Phaelan's got the dirty part covered. ; )
The prize? You'll be listed on the "Acknowledgments" page for Bewitched & Betrayed for your creative, red-light district contribution. Don't worry, I'll phrase the acknowledgment so you can show it to your grandmother without embarrassment. Or if you don't care what anyone thinks, I'll have fun with it. But I will get your approval on the wording before it's printed. Email your entries to me by Friday, January 23. I'll announce the winner on the following Monday (January 26).
So have at it, folks. And have fun.
Lisa
BTW -- Thanks to the excellent tech support of Felicia Day, I'm now on Twitter! Pop over and sign up to follow my Tweets. ; ) I'll be twittering several times a day.
UPDATE -- Thanks to the excellent tech support of Felicia Day, I'm now on Twitter! Pop over and sign up to follow my Tweets. ; )
My wall of book cover posters is filling up. I've got room for one more cover (that'll be Bewitched & Betrayed) then I'll have to start hanging them on the wall in the loft outside my office. It's a problem I'd love to have -- more book covers than wall space. ; )
And for some Saturday reading, here's a commentary from Cory Doctorow on "Writing in the Age of Distraction" that I read and enjoyed yesterday in the online version of Locus Magazine. I get my science fiction/fantasy publishing industry news fix from the website until my printed issue of the magazine arrives every month.
I'm gonna be burning the candle at both ends writing-wise this weekend -- I've got less than four months until the deadline for Bewitched & Betrayed. Time to put the pedal to the metal.
Being the overachieving, perfectionist, borderline OCD workaholic that I am, I'm never satisfied with anything but my best. And with each book, I try to raise the bar. There's always something I could do better from the book before, and come hell or high water, I'm going to achieve it with my next book.
At least that's my goal. I've come to the realization that my best is all I can do. As writers, we realize that our books rarely live up to the image we have in our heads. But that doesn't stop us from trying to get there. BTW -- I think The Trouble with Demons is the best book I've written so far. But you all will have to tell me if I'm right (or delusional) once you read it.
I listen to you all. You're reading my books, and you know better than anyone if I've cleared the bar I've set for myself, or if I've run smack into it and given myself a concussion. And my gut tells me if a scene works, or if it needs more. When I turn in a book, I usually have the nagging feeling that I could have done more. And I'm sure I could have -- if I'd had a couple of years to write the danged thing, but I don't. I have nine months maximum from first word to editor's desk. Apparently the gestation period for babies works for books too. ; )
And as I keep setting the bar higher for my books, I raise the bar for other projects. In the next year, I'd like to write a short story or novella for inclusion in an anthology. Hmmm, I guess I should let my agent and editor in on my plan; it sure ain't gonna happen without them. ; ) I have a couple of ideas kicking around in my head, and when I get a moment to come up for air, I'd like to flesh out a couple of them and see which one sticks in my head and won't let go.
Basically my goal with my writing career is to always have a new, tougher goal. To always challenge myself. If a new project is exciting and a little scary at the same time, that means that's the project I need to do.
Tomorrow on the Saturday Fun Pic, I'll post the new poster in my office of the cover for The Trouble with Demons as well as the entire wall with all three covers. I have room for one more cover and then I'll probably be moving out into the loft area outside of my office, lots of empty wallspace there. ; )
Right now I'm in a part of Bewitched & Betrayed that requires a lot of sitting in front of the computer, serious concentration time -- yep, it's a love scene, and they're definitely not a quick write for me. I'd hoped to finish it last night, but it didn't happen. Oh well. Even though I'm swamped and at a critical point in the book, tonight I'm still going to put into practice the topic of today's blog: Downtime is good time.
However, being the multi-tasker that I am, I'm going to combine necessity with recreation. After Derek and I have a nice dinner out tonight, we're going to the mall. Yeah, the mall's not my idea of a good time either, but it's necessary. Like Raine, I dispise shopping. But since I've lost 20 lbs. on NutriSystem, none of my clothes fit. (Derek's lost 27 lbs.)
About a week and a half ago, I bought two pair of jeans at Target. Before the diet, I was a Size 10-12. The jeans I bought were a Size 8. Yea! Though there are now two problems I discovered after I washed them for the first time: one, apparently I need "tall" rather than "regular" length jeans and two, the Size 8s are now too big for me. Folks, I can't remember the last time I could wrangle myself into a Size 6, but I'm gonna give it a shot tonight. New York & Company here I come. Wish me luck. ; )
This actually does relate to the blog topic: tonight I'm going shopping, which gets me out of the house (and away from the book), which is a good thing. And if Derek & I are feeling extra naughty, we might hit Cinnabons. Oooo, the decadence.
Even when you're in the midst of a tough part of writing your book, it's good to step away for a night off. Actually, that's probably the best time to take a break. If you're having a tough time, it goes without saying that your writing brain is working overtime. When I work overtime at my day job, I know I want a break, and writing a book shouldn't be any different.
And on one of the next two Saturdays, Derek and I are going to go to the North Carolina Museum of Art. It's only about ten minutes from where we live and we've only been once. Yeah, I know, it's shameful. And even though Saturday is my biggest writing day, I'm going to treat myself (and Derek) to a day off wandering through the museum, and have lunch in their cafe. And of course no trip to the any museum is complete without visiting the museum store. Now that's what I call fun shopping. ; ) Coming up the rest of this week: Let every scene advance the plot, and never stop learning. And on Saturday, I'll show you the poster on my office wall for The Trouble with Demons.
I'm actually taking the time while writing Bewitched & Betrayed to read. And as any fellow book addict could have told me, it feels good! There's nothing like reading the work of others to replenish the creative well. Muses are on a strict diet -- they devour as many words as they can get. And believe me, I've learned that a hungry muse is a cranky-as-hell muse.
My girl is purring happily right now.
I'm one of those types that has more than one book going at a time. At the moment, I'm reading:
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost -- I finally had to see what all the fuss is about. Wow! Okay, I understand the fuss. This one was waiting for me on the front porch (God bless UPS) when I got home last night. I decided to take a peek while cooking dinner. Needless to say, I danged near burnt dinner. Good book. I'll definitely be getting the other two in the series. And Jeaniene will be at the RT Convention in April. I definitely owe this lady a beer for all the reading enjoyment I'll have over the next few weeks.
Poison Study by Maria Snyder-- I could kick myself for taking this long to get around to reading this one. I had the fun of meeting Maria at last year's RT Convention. I bought her books, she bought mine. ; ) Great book, wonderful and gracious author.
The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe -- All I can say is ignore the cover and buy the book. I'm loving this one. The writing voice kinda reminds me of mine.
Books waiting in the wings to be read:
Mean Streets -- a new anthology with novellas by Jim Butcher, Simon Green, Kat Richardson and Thomas Sniegoski. Can't wait to crack this one open. You all know how much I love Jim's Harry Dresden books.
A few months ago, I was contacted by Wendy Burt-Thomas about including my query letter for Magic Lost, Trouble Found (then called Thief of Souls) in a book she was writing for Writer's Digest Books called Guide to Query Letters.Thankfully she wanted to include my letter as an example of a good query letter that got the job done. ; )
And it definitely got the job done. After reading my query letter, my now-agent Kristin Nelson asked for a partial (first three chapters) and then the entire manuscript. After reading it, she offered to represent me. (Yes, I got the unparalleled thrill of getting "The Call.") A couple of months after that, Kristin and I had an offer on the table for a two-book contract from Ace Books. The rest is history.
Coming from a marketing and advertising background, I'm a firm believer that your query letter is just as important as your manuscript. Because it's not your manuscript that gets a potential agent's attention -- it's your query letter that gets your foot in the door. It's got to be compelling, powerful, and make that agent salivate to read more. Anything and everything you can do to make that first contact with an agent the best and sharpest you can is worth taking the time to do right.
It's a new year (and as of yesterday agents and editors are back in their offices). If your New Year's Resolution is to get a book contract this year and you're prepping your query letter, you can check out Wendy's book on Amazon,Barnes & Noble, or on the Writer's Digest Books site. And for more about Wendy, check out her book's site.Guide to Query Letters is funny and informative -- a winning combination.
Folks, that's how important a kick-ass cover letter can be.
New contest: If you didn't drop by yesterday, scroll down to yesterday's blog for all the info you need to enter my new contest.
And for those of you who requested a bookmark and postcard for The Trouble with Demons, you should have received them by now. If you did not, please email me and let me know.
Coming up tomorrow: Books I'm reading now.
Coming up this week: Let every scene advance the plot, Never stop learning, and Why downtime is good time.
Okay, I haven't had a contest for you all in a while, so here goes. . .
Who is your favorite character from my books and why? Or if you have more than one favorite, feel free to do a "who & why" for more than one. I'm really interested in hearing WHY you like the character(s) you do.
"What are the prizes?" you ask. "What's in it for us?"
Well, there will be three prizes given: 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place. I'm not expecting essays here; but I'd like to have more than: "I love Mychael/Tam because they're hot." Put a little more thought into it. As I've said before, I'm love hearing your feedback and what you think. I write these books for you guys, so tell me the reasons why you like the character(s) that you do. I was going to have the entries judged by an "impartial third party," but heck, I'm the one who wants to read your answers, so I'll be doing the judging myself. My criteria will be how interesting and just plain cool your responses are. Other than that, I won't know until I see them.
First place: Is a t-shirt with the cover for The Trouble with Demons. I wish I could offer these for sale on my CafePress site, but I don't have the copyright to the art, so I can't sell t-shirts with my book covers on them. BUT, I can give them away. The t-shirt is a Large and the cover takes up pretty much the entire chest area.
Second place: Is a cover flat as well as a fridge magnet for The Trouble with Demons. A cover flat is exactly that -- a flat version of the entire cover (front and back). I'll personalize and sign them for you.
Third place -- Is a collection of fridge magnets for the covers of all three of my books:Magic Lost, Trouble Found, Armed & Magical, and The Trouble with Demons.I'll also throw in signed & personalized postcards for all three books, as well as bookmarks.
Get your entries to me by Friday, January 16 and I'll announce the three winners on Monday, January 19. Send them to lisa @ lisashearin.com or if you are one of those who have had trouble contacting me on that email address, send it to lisashearin @ gmail.com.
Coming up tomorrow: Pics and information about a cool new book that I'm in. Some of you pre-published authors will be interested in this one. ; )
