Jul 6, 2011 | Writing, Travel, Conference, Books |
It's been a while since I've posted! But I've been so darned busy you wouldn't believe. I finished a book, revised it, and had it accepted. You can read about Adan Al Dhakir's brother Malik sometime next spring (Adan is from Strangers in the Desert, my May UK release). In the meantime, I'm working on another book that's due in about 2 weeks. And in between all that, I sandwiched in the RWA conference in New York City.
It was my first ever visit to the Big Apple — and I'm in love! What a city! I could live there if only I wrote a mega-blockbuster and could afford to have an apartment overlooking Central Park or a townhouse in Greenwich Village. Alas, I think I'm going to have to remain satisfied with the occasional visit. 😉
The Romance Writers of America conference was fabulous, as always. Not that I actually make it to any workshops these days. Before I was published, I loved workshops and hit as many as I could. Now, I seem to be booked up with editor meetings, agent meetings, meeting meetings, author get togethers, etc. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but the result is that unless I'm teaching the workshop, I don't go to any. But I do buy the conference recordings so I get to enjoy the workshops later!
This year, I went a day early so that fabulous Presents author Jennie Lucas and I could go on a Greenwich Village food tour on Monday. We ate our way across Greenwich Village, I assure you. It was wonderful! And I even managed to buy two pairs of shoes. 😉 That night, I went to dinner with several of the Presents authors as well as Harlequin Historical author Michelle Willingham and Desire author Day LeClaire. Another fabulous evening!
The next day, I went on a whirlwind tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and had brunch at author Kate Hewitt's lovely apartment. Later, I met with my editor. That night was the Literacy Signing, where I saw so many readers and friends — and got to meet Jackie Hussein who took the train up from DC for the event, and Pearl from Pearl's World of Romance, who came all the way from Holland and also brought a Dutch copy of one of my books! After the signing, Sandra Marton held her famous pizza party for Presents authors. We ate pizza, drank wine, and talked and laughed. So much fun!
Wednesday was a meet and greet with the editors, lunch, and then tea at the Plaza hosted by the always elegant Jane Porter. Spent a lovely afternoon with Sandra Marton, Janette Kenny, Susan Stephens, and Carole Mortimer chatting in the concierge lounge, and then it was the PASIC party at the Algonquin hotel. Finished up the evening in the rotating bar above the Marriott.
The next day, Thursday, started with a meeting with my agent, the Presents author lunch (in which several of us commandeered a limousine to take us to the bistro) and then an agency party in a very posh suite on the 44th floor of the Marriott! Later that night was the Harlequin Black & White ball at the Waldorf Astoria's very famous Starlight Ballroom. I felt like quite the star to be treated so wonderfully! And I brought home some of the white feathers that decorated the vases in the room. Of course I danced my fool head off, and shouted lyrics until I was practically hoarse — but there's nothing like it and I'm always glad, even with aching thighs and burning calves the next day.
Friday was slightly more subdued. A Harlequin authors' forum, lunch with Kimberly Lang and Faygie Levy (of RT magazine), then cocktails in the bar with several friends. My husband arrived that afternoon and managed to entertain himself for the entire evening since I dashed up to our room and changed for the RITA/GH ceremony and told him I wouldn't be back for a while. It ended up being after 1:00 in the morning when I got to our room, and he was passed out asleep.
Hard to believe the conference went by so fast, but it did. Everyone was leaving the hotel on Saturday when my husband and I were gearing up to go touring New York City. We had a blast for 3 whole days before returning home yesterday. The fireworks on the 4th were incredible. We had a full view from our room on the 42nd floor. Six simultaneous displays going off over the Hudson River. Fabulous!
And that was my week in New York!
Times Square
Carole Mortimer, me, Sharon Kendrick
New York skyline from top of the Met
Sandra Marton, me, Caitlin Crews
Times Square
The Hubby and me on the Staten Island Ferry
NYC skyline from our room
Staten Island Ferry and the Statue of Liberty
Lady Liberty
Just a few minutes before the fireworks begin!
Fireworks over the Hudson!
Mar 3, 2011 | Writing, Books |
Writing as a career is amazing. It's awesome and wonderful and a dream come true. And yet, there will be bad days. Days when you worry and sweat and fear that you aren't getting it right or that people don't love your books and you're doomed to fail. Yes, it's true, even published authors are insecure.
So the next time you're staring at crappy contest scores or feeling gutted because you got a rejection letter, I want you to remember something. Remember that no one is gonna die over this. No one's life hangs in the balance as you type away, as you sweat and work and fear. It's only you and your fears sitting at the computer.
Maybe that's a small comfort. Or maybe it's no comfort.
I know this means everything to you. I really do. But some days you just have to tell yourself it's not brain surgery. Back away from the keyboard. Read; take time for yourself. Live life.
The words will come again. And they may come better than before. The pie is not finite, y'all. If someone else sells before you do, it doesn't mean you won't. It doesn't mean your chances are gone, or slimmer.
Just write. The rest will sort itself out. No one's gonna die if you get rejected. And that's really kind of a good thing, right? 😉 (And believe me, there are days when I need to take my own advice! Days when I worry I'm truly the worst writer on the planet.)
And now I want to move on to happier things and tell you that The Devil's Heart is available a month early from eHarlequin! You can order it for your e-reader or a paperback copy. You can read an excerpt on this site, or a different one here.
This book was rewritten massively between the first time I turned it in and when it was accepted. I'm sure I was an insecure mess as I worked on it, but it's out there now and it's your turn to tell me if I got it right. I hope you enjoy!
Feb 9, 2011 | Writing, Revising |
That's what being a professional writer is all about. Did you know that? It's not about waking up each morning with birds singing, wonderful emails from fans the world over, and breakfast in bed prepared by the household staff and served on real china with real silver and a real teapot, etc.
No, being a professional writer is about dragging your sorry butt out of the bed even though your dreams seem more interesting than the book you're working on. It's about brushing your teeth, wrapping your hair in a scrunchie, and turning on the coffee or the kettle. It's about getting that hot cup of motivation (mine happens to be decaf these days) and going to your writing place. Mine is an office upstairs in my house.
It's about opening the document and staring at the words, thinking they are probably the worst words ever written and that your career is most certainly over, and then clicking over to email, Facebook, and Twitter to waste time rather than face the task.
And then you might get the lovely surprise of a nasty review, or the news that your book is the only one not in the top whatever of Amazon while all the rest of the books in your line that month are. You might want to go back to bed and cry, or turn off the computer and swear you're giving up because this is too hard.
But you can't. Because you're a professional and you signed on the dotted line and someone is expecting delivery of this monstrous piece of junk in a few weeks (if you're lucky) or a few days (if you aren't). You. Must. Deliver.
And because you are a professional, you will. You will tackle that manuscript like it's you or it (which it is) and you will somehow, eventually, win the battle. You may even like it when you're done. You may be pleasantly surprised, and you may cry and laugh and tell the cat what a genius you are. (The cat doesn't care, but say it anyway.)
And then, if your editor thinks it's not as good as you think it is, you may get it back with a letter that tells you what you need to do. The process of crying and foot dragging will start all over again, but you'll wrestle the beast once more and you will, eventually, win.
If you really are a professional, you will do this even if you didn't sign on the dotted line. Because you want to sign on that line and you better get used to the pain now. You have to write even when you don't really feel like it. Some days, you won't feel like it. Other days, you can imagine nothing more fun in this world that sitting at the computer in your jammies and making stuff up.
But the truth, dear friends, that I've learned after nearly 3 years in the published trenches is this: it doesn't get easier. It usually gets harder. Better prepare for it now.
And with that piece of hard fought wisdom, I'm back to the trenches to battle these revisions. I will definitely win–but I'll probably get a bit bloodied in the process.
Jan 29, 2011 | Writing, Revising, General, Blogging |
Clearly, I have gotten very, very bad at writing blog posts. I used to really enjoy doing it! It was my outlet, my way to blather on about whatever was on my mind. This blog, long before I published, was alternately a “writer's journey” blog, a travel blog, and a “she talks way too much about inane every day crap” kind of blog.
I've realized that I miss blogging regularly, but I also have to acknowledge to myself that I get pretty stretched thin sometimes. I also tend to feel that if I'm blogging, I'm supposed to be inspiring or profound or whatever. I think that comes from having gone on this pretty amazing journey from unpublished to published, and feeling like I'm supposed to help others feel inspired or motivated where I can.
But I got an email from someone recently who thanked me for the posts I've done on this blog (she even went and read the old ones, which I found amazing!) because they showed her my progression as a writer. So, that's the answer really. That's why I'm supposed to blog more frequently. It's about progression and getting to know each other. I'll blather senselessly, sometimes it'll be really good take-that-to-the-bank info, but mostly it'll be whatever is on my mind at the time.
And if you get something out of it, great. If you don't, I hope you won't be too upset with me. 🙂
Today's blathering is about revisions and editors and the relief you feel when your editor explains the revision letter to you. Because I got a revision letter earlier this week, and I was confused. I always expect them, of course, because nothing is perfect when you first turn it in unless you're Nora maybe.
But this time the revisions seemed more extensive than they have for the last few books, and I was stumped. What did I do wrong? How did I get it so messed up? Was this a total rewrite?
My editor could sense the crisis brewing and helpfully called to chat. That's when she realized I was about to meltdown and I realized that she hadn't said the first thing about rewriting the whole book. No, what I'd done was short-changed some of the emotional stuff for the sake of plot. (But you're a pantser, I hear you cry! Yes, it's true, but I can let the plot get in the way as I make stuff up. Which is what I did.)
I have a bodyguard book, which is apparently a classic Presents trope. I did not realize that actually. But I'd gotten a bit caught up with the mechanics of the bodyguarding and the heroine's job (it's a cool job, believe me, and one my hero has to protect her for) and it seems as if I'd let those things get in the way of true emotional connection. I didn't think I'd done that, because there is emotion on the page — but it's not deep enough.
So my task now is to go back in and pull out the elements that are overshadowing the characters, and then to turn up the emotion to boil. I'm really looking forward to it — and so relieved it's not a total rewrite. I may be a pantser, but I usually get a pretty good story arc by the end that doesn't require major shifting. Thankfully, this isn't a major shift, but it's still work.
The lesson here, if you're looking for one, is something I've said before: your words aren't static. You have to be willing to change them. And it's not the words so much as the story. Spending hours and hours taking out all the ‘was' words, or getting rid of ‘was' + ‘ing' constructions, is insane. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking STORY.
If you have any questions about what that is, go read this amazing post by Epic Black Car.
That is all. 😉
Except for this: right now, The Prince's Royal Concubine is really cheap at Amazon! $2.17 on Kindle and $2.28 in paperback. No idea how long that will last, so go check it out if you want a copy!
Jan 10, 2011 | Personal, Writing, Photos, Life |
These pictures were taken a while ago now (Sunday night), but it was up to about 4 inches the last time I looked out the window — and still coming down. And while I know this cracks up the Yankees, it really does cripple the South when this happens. I do know how to drive in snow, having learned when I lived in Germany, but it's not so much the driving that does it. (Though that's part of it because most of these people have no training.)
It's the lack of snow removal equipment and proper tools for melting ice. They sand the bridges around here, which is just nuts. I don't know why they don't have a supply of salt or urea on hand, but they don't. Or maybe they salt/urea the heavily traveled areas and sand the side roads. Whatever, all I know is the last time they sanded the bridges, it was a joke.
We're expecting up to 10 inches they say. And that really is quite amazing for us. I just hope it melts really quick. Otherwise, we will be stuck in our houses for days. Schools are canceled, no work for Hubby, the city is shut down, and my Mojo Lunch with Kimberly Lang is postponed. This, dear friends, is a tragedy! We were going to the yummiest little bistro, darn it. Hopefully, we'll get to go later this week!
I think the snow is pretty, but I wish it would go away. It's not like in Germany where the snow came down and life kept on going anyway. No, here we're stuck. No lunches out, no runs to the post office, no impromptu shopping trips. No visiting with friends, unless they live next door and you can walk. I could walk to Kimberly's house, but it's a bit farther than next door and I'm not doing it. She's not coming here either. 😉 Lunch is postponed for sure.
I suppose I'll start work on the next book! It's due in a couple of months, and I already have a great idea that's really making me think about it all the time. I have the hero and heroine, their core problem, and I'm really excited about it. I love it when that happens, when the idea takes over and begins to really speak to me. It doesn't mean the book will be easy to write, but I have hope it will come to me easier than others have.
And now I'm going to go bundle up and read for a while. It's cold, the snow is coming down, and I'm not going anywhere for a while. 🙂 Hope you are safe and warm in your corner of the world, that you aren't snowed in, and that you've got a fabulous book to read and/or write!
UPDATE: Morning pictures of the snow!
Dec 14, 2010 | Books, Writing |
I have the worst time with the beginnings of my books sometimes. There are times when it comes to me so completely formed that I don't end up changing much in rewrites, and other times when I rewrite the opening chapters three or four times. I am currently working on one of those books. 🙁
Here are the openings of two books that came to me pretty much as they are: Prince Voronov's Virgin** and The Devil's Heart. (At the top of the pages, hit the forward arrows and you can read the first chapters.)
I just knew they were right — and other than a few minor tweaks, they stayed that way. But this book. Yikes. (The last as well!) I wrote it one way and I was struggling to make forward progress. I was convinced it was a good setup (opened at a gloomy burial in a storm swept cemetery) and I was pushing it forward as hard as I could.
But it wasn't the set up that was wrong. It was the characters' deepest conflicts. My editor helpfully pointed that out when I sent her the first chapter. (Thank God!) I've learned that when I'm pushing it hard to make forward motion, and it's like trying to push Sisyphus's rock uphill, that I really should listen to my intuition. Because when I cut the cemetery, changed the characters' internal issues, and threw them together in a different setting, the story took off like a rocket. I know it's working when the words just keep coming, when I'm excited about what the characters will do next, and when I'm nervous and a bit overwhelmed that I'm not getting everything on the page. That means it's flowing naturally.
So listen to your internal voice. Often, she knows what she's talking about even if you don't understand why. If a section of the book is giving you hell, if you're struggling for every word and trying hard to make it work, you might be traveling a wrong path. Have the courage to cut what isn't working and go back to the fork in the road. Yesterday, I had to make another of those choices — I cut 2000 words — but it began to roll and I made it all up again very quickly.
Listen to the voice. It knows when you're messing it up on the subconscious level and just can't see it. Cutting is hard, starting over is hard, but don't be afraid to try it. Save the words in another file and you haven't really lost anything, have you?
**A huge shout out to my UK readers — in the two weeks it's been on sale, you've bought all the copies of Prince Voronov's Virgin that Mills & Boon had available on the website! And you've made PVV the #1 Mills & Boon bestseller for two weeks in a row! I'm thrilled and honored!
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