Status and a Vacation

This is what I've been working on. Finally got all my post-its done for last November's NaNo project and my August Camp NaNo sequel. Now I can get down to the editing. Have to get some progress made before it's time to get the preliminary stuff done on my 2012 November NaNo project--a parallel novel for A Change of Plans.

Both of these books are written already. Had to do that in order to do the post-it notes.

And this is where I'll be, starting tomorrow:

We went last year. We're going this year to be with some of the grandkids.

That Other Blog . . .

I'm posting today over at the LDS Writer's Blogck about different book mediums.

Cover Reveal - "Abandon" by Elana Johnson

Anyone who's had the chance to read Elana Johnson's

first two installments (Possession and Surrender)

will be dying to get their hands on the final book in the series,

abandon,

due out in June 2013:

Blog Tour hosted by  AToMR Tours.

 

seduced by power,

broken by control,

and consumed by love...

Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the Resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there's more at stake than a few broken hearts. 

But there is a traitor among them...and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.

Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the Resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers' reign. Their success means everything...and their failure means death.

 

Elana is running a Pinterest contest for the cover.

She wants to get 500 pins (or repins) over the next  two days.

If she can get that many,

she'll pick someone who pinned the cover

to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

 It's so easy to do this.

All you have to do is click to Elana at Pinterest

or click over to her blog for details. 

So have you read the first two books?

Pirates, Pantsers, and Plotters

And don't be forgettin' today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. 

Argh.

Ye can learn more 'bout it here.

'N if ye need help translatin' into scurvy pirate, here be a few resources:

Here, here and here.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

From PowerPoint

I've tried. I really, really have tried.

I sit down at my computer. There story's there in my mind, and I'm going to do an outline. Just a simple outline. Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. I can do that. Right? It's simple.

I stare at the monitor, my fingers poised.

Nothing.

I stand and stretch, get a drink, and come back.

I can do this. I'm organized and orderly in every other aspect of my life. For heaven's sake, my DVDs and spices are in alphabetical order!

The monitor stares back at me. The keyboard mocks me. Nothing comes. I've been at this for an hour, an hour of precious writing time and I have nothing to show for it.

Like a junky needing a fix, I have to do something, get it on paper. The story's there. It wants out. I've been dreaming scenes for days. Too many days. If I don't get it down, I'm going to lose it. I'm old that way.

From PowerPoint

Fine. What is I just write a little bit of the story? The beginning. Just a little and see if I can force an outline of some kind out there.

And I write. And write. And write.

It's thousands of words later, and I'm jazzed. The story's coming. I'm getting those scenes I've been dreaming about down finally.

Other things are happening that hadn't occurred to me before, taking me down different paths than what I've been dreaming about.

And I like the way it's going!

For me, once I'm actually in the writing, my creative juices just flow like crazy. It's like they feed off the starting ideas and blossom out like yeast fed some sugar (all right, I haven't have breakfast yet).

So, that's my problem. I keep hearing from authors who outline who talk about how much easier writing is if people will just plot things out first. I'm happy for them. I'm astounded I'm not one of them.

I don't just jump into a project blind. I have a psychological profile I do up for my main characters which helps me establish backstory and motivations. At lot of that stuff, however, grows as I write. Characters become important I hadn't even considered creating when I imagined the tale.

I use Dan Wells' 7 point story structure format. It's simple enough that I can get some basic stuff down that I know I want to happen without pinning me down too much.

I tried to outline once using 3x5 post-it notes. Got 35,000 words into the story and went in a completely different direction with the tale and negated all the rest of my cards. Stopped the story cold and it was months before I picked it up again.

For me, the writing happens in the edits. The sooner  I get it down on paper, the sooner I can do the real writing.

What about you? Are you a plotter or a panster? What's appealing to you about your chosen style?

The Kindness Project

Sorry for so many posts this week.

I signed up today for The Kindness Project over at Elana Johnson's blog. I couldn't resist. We sometimes hear of random acts of kindness--but they rarely make the news. Which is a shame.

I'm a firm believer that

our perception controls our reality.

That's my challenge this week: to get out of my head and look around me and see what's right in the world.

The best portion of a good man's life

is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. 

~William Wordsworth 

The Rest of the Story . . .

I’ve had a number of requests from people to expand on my news and share a few more details. So, here it is. Sorry, but this is going to be long.

Anybody notice the pictures of my grandkids in my signing picture?

As anyone who’s followed this blog over the summer knows, I received a request for a full from Rhemalda Publishing (one of many I'd considered submitting to and had researched) for my adventure romance last spring. I was so excited and encouraged. It ended up being a rejection, but the best kind of rejection: revise and resubmit (aka R&R).

Now I admit the idea was both heady and intimidating.

I remember reading an article by Ben Bova who gave Orson Scott Card an R&R for Ender’s Game (yeah, the Hugo winner). Bova made a very interesting observation. He said he was always nervous when he did that because he never knew how an author would react. Some are so arrogant that they will never entertain changes. Others actually make the book worse. He was thrilled when Card not only was willing to make changes but crafted a much better book in the process.

So there I was, faced with this R&R. I’ve always tried to stay teachable, and I'm willing to consider anything that will make my book the best little story it can be (with my skills at this time—because we’re always looking to improve, right?).

Would the recommendations for change to my book be things I could live with?

What if I couldn’t live with them?

I’ve been running around the blogosphere and am a member of a number of writing organizations where authors talk about their publishing experiences. Some have shared experiences where the R&R they received would change the very nature of their story, the essence of their characters.

I lucked out. None of the recommendations did that. Instead of arguing in my mind about making the changes, I was excited to find ways to make the suggestions happen and took nearly three months working on them. So, after a few of my awesome online critique partners and writer friends gave me some feedback, I resubmitted.

And the wait began again.

Now, let me explain a little bit about where I was in my real life a few weeks ago. I normally love my day job, but we’ve got stuff going on that’s really killing the moral of my organization. I'd even been the focal point of a couple of local newspaper articles because of a decision I had to make. My sleep had been restless for days, my stomach a roiling mess.

I returned to my office and checked my cell phone in case I’d missed anything. My email accounts come to my phone, and my heart stopped when I recognized the email address. With shaking fingers, I accessed the email and read it.

The words that stood out were “your changes did not disappoint.”

With my fingers clutching the phone, I lifted my hands in a silent squeee. One of the attorneys peeked her head around the corner of my door, saw me, and asked if I was all right.

Um.

I cannot begin to express the surreal feeling of that moment. On one hand I was in the pits of despair and the next moment it was like my feet wouldn't stay on the ground (imagine Harry’s aunt floating away in Prisoner of Azkaban). My hands shook the rest of the day.

To make this long story short, we scheduled a time to talk. I was offered a contract, which I then had reviewed by a couple of attorneys. The publisher has been wonderful to work with and very up front about everything. I know a few of the authors who publish with them, and they talk about how the folks at Rhemalda are wonderful to work with.

And that’s important to me. It’s all about the experience, about being a partner in this publication process, about the fruits of my creative labor being treated as more than a bin of apples or a pound of beef for sale at the market.

It’s an understatement to say I’m excited.

Seriously. We need more words in the English language!

Big News!

This is me today, signing a publication contract with Rhemalda Publishing.

Can I say SQUEEEE?

Cover Reveal of "Strength" by Carrie Butler

It's cover reveal day for Carrie Butler's book Strength, Book 1 of the Mark of Nexus series and due out on March 7, 2013.

What is this paranormal romance about?

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.

Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few minor setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…

Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.

They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.

That Other Blog . . .

I'm posting today over at LDS Writers Blogck about driving your manuscript.

The End . . .

Don't you love it when this happens?

Book Trailer . . . and Places

Author Tamara Heiner is having
a trailer blitz for her book Altercation.

When Jaci and her friends are placed in FBI custody, they think they are safe... until a betrayal puts them back in harm's way.

You can check out the trailer here.

Places

I saw this totally awesome sign on Facebook the other day, and I just have to ask my wonderfully building-kind-of-guy hubby to make me one of my own. While I would include some these locations, there are many that I would do differently.

I would be sure to add the following:

• The Harper Hall (Dragonriders of Pern series)
• Benden Weyr (Dragonriders of Pern series)
• The Spooky Old Tree (Berenstain Bears)
• Prince Edward Island (Anne of Green Gables)
• Guernsey Island (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)
• Lothar (Restoree)
• Arizona--"My House. My Rules" (Uncle Jeb in The Host)
• Orthedale
• Lewistown, Montana

What are some of the wonderful literary places

that have captured your imagination over the years?

What places would you want to visit--

especially if you could see the characters
you've come to love?

Watching People

I'm posting today over at LDS Writers Blogck about watching people.

And no, I'm not talking about stalking.