NaNoWriMo -- Play-by-play action of the insanity

Typically, my blog readership drops off during November. Yep, it's all NaNoWriMo's fault. (Dang, that word is impossible to type right the first time.)

Well, this year I'll be joining the insanity -- and posting my word count here every day. My posts may be short; some may be long, rambling rants; and a few might be one, big scream. I dunno what's gonna happen.

And since my every waking moment will be consumed with reaching at least 1700 words a day (while working my full-time day job and maintaining some semblance of a life), I thought I'd blog during November about what it's like on a day-to-day basis for me to kick my writing into warp speed.

The good, the bad, and the really ugly. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy month. ; )

Since tomorrow will be consumed with errands and chores to clear the decks for the next week or so, I won't be blogging tomorrow, but I'll be back on Monday to tell you about my first NaNo day on Sunday. Stay tuned.

Lisa

My Cafe Press store is now fully stocked!

Since I'll be doing NaNoWriMo in November, I knew I'd better get my CafePress store fully stocked for the holidays right now. So that's what I did on Tuesday night. I now offer short-sleeved t-shirts, long-sleeved t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies with all of your contest-winning phrases, and uber-cool designs by Jackie -- the woman, the designer, the legend.

Pop over there and browse around. There just might be something there for that hard-to-shop-for person on your Christmas list. Or you can just treat yourself -- you know you deserve it.

BTW -- the answers to Saturday's contest were:
1. What is Raine's mother's name? Maranda Benares
2. What is Piaras's girlfriend's name? Katlyn Valerian
3. What is the name the elven Guardian whose body is inhabited by the spirit of Raine's father? Arlyn Ravide

Tina Loflin -- Hon, I need you to email me and let me know which prize you want (you're the 1st place winner). Then I'll notify the 2nd place and 3rd place winner.

Lisa

Bewitched & Betrayed cover art

Here it is! You can click on the photo for a larger version. I don't have a high-res version yet, but I will soon.

Tina Loflin is the 1st Place Winner of The Trouble With Demons swag contest! Congratulations! Tina, email me and let me know which prize you want: t-shirt, poster, or keychain. Once you've chosen your prize, I'll announce the 2nd Place and 3rd Place winners.

Lisa

Bewitched & Betrayed available for pre-order!

I just stumbled on this -- Bewitched & Betrayed is available for pre-order on Amazon! Its publication date is April 27, 2010.

And for those of you doing NaNoWriMo -- I'm signed up on the official site now. If you want to be one of my "Writing Buddies" just add me to your list, and I'll add you to mine.

And . . . you'll notice that there's not a photo of the Bewitched & Betrayed cover yet on Amazon, but I'll be posting it here for you to see tomorrow. ; )

The deadline for the contest that I announced on Saturday is tonight at 8 p.m. EST. Scroll down to Saturday's post for all the details and prizes!

Lisa

NaNoWriMo -- Here I come!

I was chatting with Marie the other day and I've decided to do NaNoWriMo along with her -- and any of you who are diving into the November speed-writing madness. Yep, 50K words in 30 days. And I'm stating it here and will be posting my word counts every day here. The potential for public shame and humiliation should be enough to push me through the month -- and hopefully to resounding success.

As most of you know, I'm an editor in my day job. And my editing brain gets in the way of my writing. Constantly. For the month of November, I'm going to lock her in my office closet. No editing, no second-guessing, just write, write, write.

I've been asked by my editor to keep my books right around 100K words. If I can keep up a NaNoWriMo pace through December, I could have the first draft of Con & Conjure finished by January 1. How freakin' cool would that be?! I want to eventually be able to write two series, and to do it, I'm going to have to learn to write in a quicker and more efficient way.

So I'm going to give NaNoWriMo a shot. No, I'm not going to give it a shot -- I'm going to DO IT. I know a lot of you out there routinely do NaNoWriMo. So why don't we all encourage each other? Leave comments on my blog posts to let everyone know how you're doing. I'll be posting my word counts every day. I'll need to do 1700 words a day (about 7 pages) for 30 days to give me 51K.

And for those doing NaNoWriMo with me and posting your progress in the comments -- I'll think of some sort of contest with a cool prize. Yet one more reason to jump in and join me.

Who's up for a crazy November? : )

BTW -- I'm going to extend the deadline for the contest I announced on Saturday to tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. EST. Scroll down to Saturday's post for the details.

Contest for TTWD swag

Okay, as promised, we're having a contest and three prizes will be for awarded: a t-shirt (size large), a signed keychain, and a 11 x 17 poster -- all with the cover for The Trouble With Demons on them. Though, heck, if you want me to, I can sign the t-shirt and poster, too.

To enter, you need to EMAIL me with the answers to these three questions:

1. What is Raine's mother's name?
2. What is Piaras's girlfriend's name?
3. What is the name the elven Guardian whose body is inhabited by the spirit of Raine's father?

The contest will run through 8 PM EST this Monday, Oct. 26.

I'll select a name at random from all of the email entries. The first name will be given their choice of all three prizes. The second name I choose will be given their choice of the remaining two prizes. And the third name will get the third prize.

Got it? Any questions, just let me know.

And again, don't enter here on the blog (if you do, you'll give away the winning answers). Email me at lisa @ lisashearin.com (the spaces are entered to confuse any roving spambots). I'll contact the three winners, and I'll post their names here on Tuesday.

Coming up on Monday -- I'm going to be trying a different way to write Con & Conjure -- I'll tell you all about it on Monday.

Good luck and have a great rest of your weekend!
Lisa

The return of The Notepad

I've been doing a brief session every night (no more than half an hour) with me and my notepad sitting in the "video gaming chair" in my office. For those of you unfamiliar with video gaming chairs, they're for playing video games in front of the TV. Mine is like a bean bag with a high back. Very comfy; uber cool -- and best of all, incredibly conducive to creative thought, at least for me. It's my "no-pressure creative place."

I've discovered that when I'm starting a book, I have to give my brain time to get back up to writing speed after a month or so of doing nothing but editing. Thanks to my plot synopsis, I know how Con & Conjure starts, but I don't necessarily know what the repercussions of my characters' actions will be. Let me explain.

I can know in my gut what's supposed to happen in a chapter, but when my characters get loose, new avenues of action open up. I can't just flip a coin and pick a road. I have to know how the actions of the first chapter lead to a second chapter, and how characters and scenes build on each other to get me to my next major plot point. And as all you writers know, forcing characters do something they don't want to do is the writer equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. It'll throw you off schedule, and potentially screw up a section of the book.

I typically start my notepad work by stating the problem/situation. For example, Raine is confronted with a potentially explosive situation. And in this instance the explosion is literal and large. Raine has to have a reason for reacting the way she does, and naturally Raine trying to do the right thing gets her into the worst kind of trouble.

For me, that kind of brain work is best done on a notepad. I feel more free to explore my thoughts on paper than a computer, and for some reason, the ideas come a lot faster, usually complete with dialogue. Once I'm sufficiently jump-started, I move over to my desk and computer and get to work in earnest.

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you about my contest for The Trouble with Demons swag prizes.

Lisa

I wanna have a contest!

I got the cover for Bewitched & Betrayed today -- yea!!! But before you all start squeeing, I can't post it until it's in its final form with all of the type properly placed and approved. But as soon as I can, I'll post it. We went with something a little different this time. ; ) That's all I'm gonna say.

However, getting a new cover means getting new bookmarks, postcards, t-shirts, keychains, posters, etc. So I have some of these items in my office closet for The Trouble With Demons. To be exact, I have one t-shirt, one keychain, and one 11 x 17 poster.

Who wants to win some swag with The Trouble With Demons cover on it?

Since I've been working late a lot at my day job, and am trying to get Con & Conjure started (I'm on Chapter 2 now), I need your help coming up with a contest idea. It has to be something that is easy for everyone (especially me). I'm a busy, busy girl. So let's hear your ideas, I'll pick one, get the contest started, and give out some prizes!

Lisa

Bad, bad Internet

I finished writing Chapter 1 of Con & Conjure this weekend, and have started Chapter 2. At the moment, I'm going for a chapter-a-week pace. But when starting another book, the enemy of productivity rears tempting head, and tries to distract me by any means in its considerable arsenal.

It's the Internet. Specifically Twitter, various blogs, and news sites.

Procrastination is a writer's bane and writer's temptation.

I don't remember how I procrastinated before the Internet came along, but I'm sure I found something to lure me away from the humongous manual typewriter I wrote my two "practice novels" on. Procrastination and writing go hand in hand. Nowadays most writers (including myself) write on computers, and the vast majority of those computers are connected to the Internet. Some writers can claim research as an excuse. I can't. I'm a fantasy writer; what I write, I make up. Don't need the Internet for that. That's the main reason why I'm so productive at my family's mountain cabin -- no Internet, no TV, three radio stations. That's it. I get an amazing amount of work done. Hmmm, I wonder why?

To stay on track (and on deadline), I'm going to have to "just say no" to surfing, by limiting it to 15 minutes when I first log on. Heck, I'm even thinking about getting one of those little wind-up kitchen timers. Because when I'm online, I lose track of time. I think we all do. Of course the exception is responding to comments on my blog and answering fan emails. I'll always make time for that. : )

Lisa

My brand new website

I met with my webmaster and web designer (aka Todd & Elyse) on Saturday to discuss updates to my website. Well, I got to thinking about it late last week and decided that I want a completely new website. When we developed the one I have now, I don't think I even had a cover for Magic Lost, Trouble Found yet. So we made the site stylish, yet generic.

Now that I've started writing my fifth book, I have a look that I visualize for my books and for my site -- and for the direction I'm going. I conveyed this to Todd & Elyse and they're going to come up ideas for me. Once I get a look at those, we'll refine the design from there.

In addition to a completely new look, I'll be streamlining the content and getting rid of the clutter. I want it to be easy to find everything. We'll be putting my blog on the home page, since that's what most people come to my site for. We'll consolidate the book ordering links. There will be a link to Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Borders, Indie Bound, Books-A-Million, and Penguin. Each link will take you to the page on that site that will show you all of my books. I'll be keeping the link to the synopsis and sample chapters. And of course the covers. I'm deleting the review quotes. I'm trying to eliminate or lessen the amount of scrolling you have to do to get to the info you want.

There's other things, but I'll just let those be a surprise. I can't wait to roll out the new site for you. I think you're gonna love it.

Lisa

Query letters & sample chapters -- When to stop revising?

Last week, I got a question from a reader, and I knew a lot of you are probably in the same boat right now, or will be soon, so I thought I'd blog on it.

Your manuscript is finished and you've written and polished your query letter. You start sending out queries, and you get a couple of agents who are interested in seeing more. You send a partial, and get a "No, thank you." This may happen a few times. Agent feedback includes that they liked the action and that you got to it quickly. The premise is interesting and they wanted to keep reading. They had more questions that drove them to keep going, they liked the characters introduced.

But yet, still no offers of representation. The reader wanted to know was she doing anything wrong? Was there something that she could fix? Should she get the opinions of another critique group? Or should she just keep submitting what she has, as is?

I can assure you all that I've been there, done that, and decided not to buy the t-shirt. The short answer is that I went with what my gut told me to do. I submitted Magic Lost, Trouble Found to 24 agents other than Kristin Nelson (whom I'm blessed to have representing me). Of those, only three (including Kristin) were interested in seeing sample chapters, then the entire manuscript.

I've never been a member of a critique group. I've always written alone, and until I was published, I didn't know any other writers, or know of critique groups to join. So I learned to trust my own instincts. Yes, as I racked up those rejection letters, I wondered if my letter was as good as it could be. And after trying to make it even better, I decided that it was as good as I could make it, And if it wasn't good enough to attract an agent's attention, then there wasn't anything I could do to make it any better. But I knew my letter was good, and I was confident in my book.

So, long story short, I just kept trying. And eventually, I hit pay dirt big.

Contrary to what you may have heard, agents are people too. And people have opinions. If you get 25 people in a room, give them a query letter to read, you'll have 25 different reactions/responses. It's true for agents, your writer friends, your critique group.

The only opinion you can control is your own.

If you have truly done everything you can to make your query and book as good as you can possibly make it, then you can't do any more than that. If you know in your gut that it's good, that's it's publishable, that there are people out there who would want to snatch it off the bookstore shelf and run to the checkout -- then you stick to your guns, listen to your gut, and don't stop trying.

Villains have more fun

Not only do my villains have more fun, they're a hoot to write.

As scary as it may sound, other than Raine, the easiest character for me to write is Sarad Nukpana. His dialogue simply flows. I don't have to sit around and immerse myself in his motivation before I start to write. It's like flipping a switch; when I'm ready to write a scene that he's in, he's right there waiting. And he's actually been known to slither into a scene that I hadn't planned on him being in.

But what is the most fun are scenes with Raine and one of the villains. Absolutely nothing is more fun than Raine and Sarad/Rudra/Carnades/The Demon Queen getting in each other's faces. Again, no dialogue strain for me at all -- the snark, banter, threats, and one-liners just flow. And don't think that I reserve all of that villainous fun just for the guys -- future books will feature more heavy-hitter female villains.

Let's face it -- villains are fascinating. Heck, I've got so many of them, I've broken them down into classifications. There are the obvious major villains (Sarad & Rudra), the minor villains (Carnades/Taltek Balmorlan), the bad guys (Lucan Kalta), and the ever-popular toady/snitch (this would be Ocnus). And in upcoming books, there are characters who are not what they seem: Raine's not sure if one character in particular is a villain or a good guy doing one heck of an undercover job -- or if a good guy is a villain.

I saw a bumper sticker once that pretty much sums it up for me: Villains have more fun!

I've decided not to blog tomorrow due to being mucho busy. I have a meeting with my web team in the morning, shopping/errands to run during the day, finish Chapter 1 of Con & Conjure and hopefully start Chapter 2, and our new next-door neighbors have invited Derek & I over for dinner. Full day. But I'll have a good post for you on Monday; I promise.

Have yourselves a great weekend!
Lisa

Overhauling my website. Suggestions?

I'm meeting with Todd & Elyse (my webmaster & designer) this Saturday morning to discuss the overhaul of my website. Now that I'm about to make the move to four books, my site's starting to get a bit crowded, and some pages are a trifle stagnant. It's time for a fresh look and some new content.

While I'm compiling things that I'd like to do, I'm open to your suggestions as well. What would you like to see on my website? My site exists to spread the word about my books to you, my readers. And I'm trying to be informative, entertaining, and mildly educational at the same time. It's all about you guys. If you have a cool suggestion, either reply to this post or email me before Saturday morning EST.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Lisa

"Chocolate" chili -- Great deadline food

Actually, the recipe is called Cincinnati Chili, but since it has chocolate in it, I've changed the name of my version. I posted this a long time ago, but since I made a double batch of this on Sunday, I thought I'd post it again. The weather's starting to get cold, and nothing is better in cold weather than hot chili -- especially chili with chocolate in it.

I didn't used to mind cooking, back in the days when I had free time -- but now it's simply a major (but necessary) pain. I like to eat, so I have to cook. I usually cook every other night, with enough for leftovers the next night. But I have several recipes that I'll make when I know the writing is gonna get hot & heavy, and I double the recipe so I'll have plenty to freeze. That way on those nights when I simply don't have time to cook, there's good eats waiting in the freezer. I found the following recipe online, but have made quite a few changes to it. This is the single-batch version. Double the ingredients if you have a deadline approaching, or are feeding a small army. This stuff smells like heaven while cooking.

Cincinnati Chili
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
Half of a 1 oz. square of unsweetened chocolate
2 (10.5 oz.) cans beef broth
1 (12 oz.) can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender (about 6 minutes). Move onions to a separate bowl.

2. In the same pot, brown the ground beef. When done, drain the grease.

3. Add onions back to the pot with the beef. Then add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato paste, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil (Important safety tip: when this stuff starts to boil, it pops like molten lava. Have a lid ready.) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (At this point, you can go and get some more writing done, and take breaks to stir the chili.)

4. You can serve it when it's done, but the recipe says it's best to refrigerate it overnight (I guess to let the flavors merge & mingle). I don't do this. If I've cooked something, I'm eating it. Now. Though if you're going to refrigerate overnight, leave the bay leaf in (for more flavor mingling). If you're eating it now, unless you want a crunchy surprise, remove the bay leaf before eating.

5. I serve it over Jasmine rice. The recipe suggests spaghetti. Heck, this stuff is good on a baked potato, too. The recipe says you can top it with shredded cheddar cheese. We don't. Don't get me wrong, I love cheese; but this stuff tastes so good that I don't want to cover it up with anything.

Enjoy!

Research reading material -- Need recommendations

Yesterday's post about reading while writing led to today's topic. There's one time when everyone can agree that reading while writing isn't just good, it's necessary.

Research.

I'm doing research reading for future storylines set in the goblin royal court. I'm a big Renaissance history buff (and danged near had a minor in it in college), so I've already amassed a decent collection of books. I'm interested in political intrigue (which pretty much covers the entire Italian Renaissance). I'm presently reading The Montefeltro Conspiracy by Marcello Simonetta. And Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de'Medici by Miles Unger is in my TBR stack. Murder of a Medici Princess by Caroline Murphy also looks very interesting for what I need.

However, if any of you have done reading on the Medici, Sforza, and Borgia families, and have some good, meaty books to recommend (non-fiction or fiction), please let me know. And better yet, if you could include a link to the recommended book, it would be helpful.

Thank you!
Lisa

While you're writing: To read or not to read?

First of all, an update. I'm on Chapter 1 of Con & Conjure and it's going wonderfully. I've never had a book start this easily. I'm actually having fun. I feel like I'm back to why I started writing in the first place -- to play, to create. I guess after four books, I finally feel secure enough to relax and enjoy the process. That being said, I'm sure this book is going to give me fits eventually; but for now, I'm just gonna go with the flow and have fun.

Okay, now to today's blog topic: To read or not to read while writing. Virtually any author interviewed in any magazine, newspaper, or blog says that the two most important things aspiring authors can do is write every day and read voraciously.

The writing part takes discipline and then some, but the reading comes naturally, eagerly even. If you're a writer, it goes without saying that you love to read, probably from a young age. But when you're writing your own original work for publication, do you read while writing?

In recent years, there's been quite a few highly publicized cases of big name and/or big dollar authors plagarizing the works of others. Each case that appears in the news asks the same question: Did they do it accidently or on purpose? Writers are sponges, we soak up the world around us, ponder it, and some of that comes out in our prose. And while we read, we absorb.

John Grisham once said in an interview that he doesn't read a lot when he's writing. "We all want to read good books, and so you read a good book by a really good writer and I catch myself inadvertently imitating him or her. And so you think, 'Well, I wouldn't use that word, I wouldn't do that sentence that way.' I read a lot when I'm not writing."

By necessity, that's what I do -- I read a lot when I'm not writing (which is a couple of precious weeks a year). During that time, I'm voracious. The simple truth is that I don't have time to read while I'm in the trenches of writing a book. My spare time is nearly zero. But at the same time, as a writer I feel like I'm starving myself if I'm writing and not reading; my creative well isn't being replenished. So what do I do? Grab those few precious minutes a day and read.

However, I'm vigiliant that while reading I'm feeding my creativity, not soaking up the words of others to put on my own page. But if your characters, plot, and voice are strong enough and embeded deeply enough, you won't be influenced by the work of others, but instead you will be inspired and refreshed. That's how it is with me. That's why I try to read while I'm writing, to keep my creative well of inspiration from running dry.

What are your thoughts? To read or not to read?

Have a great Monday!
Lisa

Talon eye candy for your viewing enjoyment

I was going to post pics of my bookshelves, but the camera had been left on and the battery is dead. While it's recharging, I'll post the photo below that a fan sent to me. Ladies, this is Talon eye candy at it's finest. Behold the sultryness.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Looking for and finding the right agent for you

I've received a lot of emails from writers ready to start submitting their work. They want to know how to go about finding a good agent. While there are tons of good agents, you want to find the right agent -- for you and your book. By the right agent, I mean someone who "gets" your book, loves your book, and will do everything humanly possible to find your book a good home with a publisher.

My own agent Kristin Nelson -- who in my opinion walks on water ; ) -- has some great resources on her site to help writers looking for representation avoid being taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals (I won't even call these people "agents"), and to help guide the newbie to finding the best agent for them.

First, the sites whose purpose is to inform and protect writers:

Writer Beware
Compiled by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. This is their site for warnings about literary fraud and other schemes, scams, and pitfalls that target writers. It's not just for SciFi/Fantasy writers; it's for all genres.

Preditors & Editors
A guide to publishers and writing services for serious writers.

20 Worst Agents
The thumbs-down list of agents, and the warning signs you should look out for in your search.

The best places to help you research and find the right agent for you:
WritersNet
Writing resources, news, and discussion for authors, writers, publishers, editors, and agents.

Agent Query
The Internet's largest and most current database of literary agents.

Publishers Marketplace
The granddaddy site of them all. This is where I found the agents who I queried (and where I found Kristin). Click on "Search Members" in the left nav, then click on "Agents", then check the box of the genre you write (or whatever search criteria you prefer) and hit "Search." You'll get a list of agents with links to their websites. It's simplicity itself. And best of all, it's up to date. Once you get to the lists of agents, you can click through and see their client listings, what genres they specialize in, and their industry references (very important). I would advise going with an agency that is a member of the AAR (Association of Authors' Representatives). This is the publishing industry's equivalent of the "Good Housekeeping seal of approval" (for those of us of a certain age). AAR members do business by a strict code of ethics. Trust me, you want ethical.

Basic guidelines for sending that query letter: If an agent says in their profile or on their site that they don't represent mysteries, don't send them one. You're wasting your time and theirs. If they don't rep them, it means they don't particular like them. And you want an agent who is head over heels in love with your work. So when you reach the point that you're talking to more than one agent, I'd go with enthusiasm and "feeling the love" any day. And when dealing with potential agents -- keep your emotions out of it. Be professional in letters, emails, and especially over the phone. I know this is next to impossible since we're all intensely passionate about our work, but publishing is a business, and your book is a product, not your baby. Agents really appreciate being approached and treated professionally.

All this is just the tip of the iceberg. If there's something specific that you'd like to know, respond to the blog or email me. I'm here to try to help. Tomorrow will be the Saturday Fun Pic (Jo wanted pics of my bookshelves).

I'd like to have another contest sometime soon. Send me your contest recommendations. Hint: It has to be easy for me. I've started writing Con & Conjure (aka Raine book #5), and my brain's going on all cylinders on the book and my day job (we're insanely busy right now -- yea, for job security).

Have yourselves a great Friday!
Lisa

How to REALLY help an author.

My new author buddy, Jim C. Hines, posted this on his blog yesterday, and it is absolutely, positively priceless -- and truer words were never spoken.

Here is the link to Jim's author insightfulness for your reading enjoyment.

Jim is a wonderful author and a great guy -- AND his latest book came out on Tuesday, The Mermaid's Madness. Be sure to check it out.

Lisa

Judging a book by its cover

Admit it. We all judge books by their covers.

While I'm waiting to see the cover art for Bewitched & Betrayed, I thought I'd talk about cover art. All of us have favorite authors, and when one of their books comes out, we go to the bookstore and buy it. But what about those times when our fav author is "between books" and we're on the prowl for something to read, something new from someone new. Unless you've had some "must read" recommendations from your book buddies, you're on your own.

So what do you look for when you're cruising the shelves? Something that catches your eye, right? And in my opinion, nothing grabs attention like a good cover. In fact, it's critical.

We all have our cover preferences -- that cover style that tells us "this is your kind of book, buy it now!" Ideally, the cover conveys the type, tone and target. The type of book (epic fantasy, urban, paranormal, etc.). Tone -- meaning serious, light & fun or somewhere in between. The target for cover art is its target audience, and the publisher and their artist/designer for that particular book include elements that the people who buy that kind of book will find irresistible. It's an art. Kudos to the designers and artists.

You know it as well as I do -- some book covers hit the mark, some miss it completely.

I've been blessed; I love my covers. Though I have to say in terms of getting the tone of the books and look of Raine right on target, my favorite cover so far is The Trouble With Demons. It's darker (as fits the book), Raine is now the right age, and most importantly, she looks like someone Tam would slam against a mainmast. ; )

Aleta Rafton (my cover artist) rocks! My covers are incredibly eye-catching. They're exactly the kinds of covers that would get my attention and compel me to pick them up off the shelf. Others find my covers cheesy, but still loved the book. It's all about preference. One person's fabulous is another person's cheesy.

BTW -- I've had the cover for Bewitched & Betrayed described to me, and I absolutely, positively cannot wait to see it. Any day now, I hope to actually see it.

What is your Comfort Book?

I was swamped yesterday at my day job and wiped out last night, so I didn't compose my usual blog. I'll do it today, I promise. In the meantime, there was a post on Twitter the other day (BTW -- I'm completely addicted to Twitter; it's a blast) that was about Comfort Books. One author got it started and everyone started chiming in.

"What is your favorite Comfort Book?" Meaning that you're out of stuff to read, or just don't wanna dive into your TBR stack, but you want something to read, something that makes the reader in you feel all "warm & fuzzy," a book that you just love to pieces.

What is your Comfort Book?

Mine is Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, followed closely by White Night, also by Jim. I love me some Harry Dresden.

What is yours?

Well, it's finished -- and something unexpected happened

Well, I finished the final edits to Bewitched & Betrayed this weekend (YEA!!!) and I had to sleep pretty much all day Sunday to recuperate. I emailed the book to my editor.

As you know, I had to request an additional week of editing time from my publisher. And I'll tell you why.

I had to write a sex scene.

Did these two characters let me know they planning on making wild, passionate love back when I was writing the book? Nooooo. Did they let me know when I turned the book in? Nooooo. They informed me of this about 10 freakin' DAYS ago. I just sat and stared at my computer screen and went: "You have GOT to be kidding!" I hadn't planned on sex in this book, but apparently these two characters didn't share my reluctance. I tried to talk them out of it, or hoped that one of them would get cold feet. Didn't happen.

That was the main reason why I needed to take a week off from blogging -- so I could write some good ol' sexy smut that you all could enjoy. : )

Bewitched & Betrayed is gonna rock. Ya'll are gonna love it. And I can't wait until you can get your hot little hands on it.

That's all I can say. ; )
Lisa