Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I'm Back from Colorado

I went, I saw, it conquered me as usual. I love Colorado and the Sangre de Cristos Mountains. I learned things too.

  • Bear cubs love humming bird feeders and will climb trees, ignoring yelling humans and loud air horns when on a nectar hunt.
  • Racoons are scared of bears, even when the bear is ignoring it in favor of the birdseed on the rail of the deck.
  • A high-pitched, loud "Oh Shit" will scare off a bear determined to join you for dinner on the deck.
  • A determined chipmunk can intimidate a bird twice its size.
  • Hearing is a challenge on a picnic next to a cold, roaring river.
  • A full-size adult bear can balance on the rail of a deck to eat sunflower seeds.
  • Bears move silently when approaching a cabin, you look up, he's there, in your face.
  • Humming Birds don't care how big you are, they will attack anyone as well as each other.

I did get writing done in spite of all the visitors. Glad to be back and will get back to the writing end of things after I move into my house. May be talking about the fun of moving everything you own when half of it is books.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Gone



This is where I'm going on vacation. No, silly, not the zoo, Colorado, where bears live, and hummers, chipmonks, squirrels, chickadees, deer, writers, artists and other critters.

I have good intentions of writing at least a couple of thousand words a day. I want to get the majority of words done on the first draft of my short WIP, which I'll talk about more once I get back. When I get back, I'll have pictures, maybe even some I can post. In the mean time, keep reading and keep writing. I'll be leaving this Sat. and coming back next.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Kindle Give-away at Author Island

Run on over to http://www.authorisland.com/ for a very cool couple of contests (See below) and go visit my page. Carol

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday AuthorIsland, happy birthday to us!!!
We're having a party - and if there's anything we here at AuthorIsland.com know how to do, it̓s celebrate! We have celebrated fantastic authors, wonderful books and great new releases every day for two years now, so we have lots of practice! So, what's the best way to celebrate a very special birthday??? A very special giveaway!!!!
We're turning TWO in July so, we're giving away TWO, are you ready for this, TWO AMAZON KINDLES this month!!! TWO!
Also this month, TWO very lucky AuthorIsland.com readers are going to win A BOOK A WEEK FOR A YEAR!!! - That's right! One book will be mailed to the winners every single week for one year!!!! How fun is that???
Bet you're wondering about how to enter.... well all the details you need are on the AuthorIsland.com Contests page, come on over and check out all the fun going on over at the Island - we have books and authors galore in just about every genre of fiction there is, we have excerpts and trailers and interviews and chats, we have a free stuff page with details on how you can get a fabulous box of goodies for only the cost of postage, we have two full pages of fun contests and, on top of all that, we give away a book a day, everyday right on the front page! What's not to love?

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

When it's not there.

I've learned something. Now that I'm not in the middle of rushing to finish a first draft or meet a deadline, it feels like I'm lost, unfocused. I have begun a short WIP, but as I'm packing the house to move and packing to leave for Colorado on Friday, I can't work on it right this second. But, when it's not there, I miss that adrenalin rush of a scene that won't let you stop writing.

I think it will be good and I'm having fun with it. I hope, in Colorado, to get a couple of thousand words done a day, at least that's my goal. I do love the feeling of pushing through the book, even if it feels disjointed since I write for an hour at lunch and another hour or so in the evening. What happens when you have a day job. But then it all pulls together at the end and you're pleasantly surprised by the end of the story because it actually makes sense. Love it when something works.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Rules

First, Fairy Dust is #4 on the Fictionwise bestseller list for Eternal Press authors. So exciting.
Rules???
Now, speaking of writing weird, how do you feel about rules. For one thing, I find I enjoy writing more now that I've given myself permission to break genre rules. Now I realise that means that mainstream print pubs may ignore me since my mysteries have evolved into Cozy Paranormal Mystery Romance. Is there such a genre? Don't think so. Don't really care. I do try to have the murder in the first chapter, if not the first scene. Can't always introduce the murderer or love interest in the first chapter.

Cozy mysteries probably shouldn't also have a vampire, witch, were and spirit guides running around, but it's fun. I enjoy writing it. I finished Bloody Murder, which I think is funnier than Privy to Murder and has creepier moments. I'm working on a short work which might end up even better than the others, we'll see. Then the other project will be even more fun and darker than the others.

So my advise is, write what you enjoy and have fun with, then sell it. My current publisher doesn't mind stretching genre, bending the rules. How do you feel about rules, like them, follow them, do your own thing? We want to know.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Fairy Dust #6


Fairy Dust is number six on the Fictionwise bestseller list. Run over there and get one before they're all gone. Okay, okay, they won't run out, they're electronic. I know. But go get your very own copy and see what they're all talking about. You'll be sorry if you don't. Better yet, go to
Blurb

Boudicca Andraste Ryan, AKA Ande, has fairy dust issues, as in controlling it. The human half of her makes her magic difficult to handle, and especially the ability to use fairy dust for flying since she has no wings. She will unexpectedly levitate at inconvenient moments. For example, levitating during a fight with a ghoul, might keep you alive, unless you can't control the time and place you come down.

When Darklings steal the amulet her father left her and a dark wizard threatens to wipe out mortals, Ande feels as if she must do something, anything to stop him and retrieve the necklace. A were wolf named Cal, her best friend/Guardian, Sierya and a three-foot pixie named Ajax join her in her fight against the dark creatures from the Under.

Exerpt

The thing coming at me barreled out of the trees, leaping from shadow to shadow. Its rotten-meat smell driving me back. It didn’t hesitate before it threw itself at the circle shield. Sparks flew off, crackling in the air and weakening the shield. It kept coming, like the crazy it was, slamming itself into the circle, weakening it more and more until one of the impacts threw me back, into my own circle and through it Okay, out of protection here. I threw myself over to land on my knees and came up in a crouch.
The ghoul looked around as if it couldn’t figure out where I went. When it saw me, it let out a snarl and flew toward me. I sent a stream of earth fire at his sorry ass but missed because I levitated at the precise moment I let the stream of fire loose. Ahhhhh. It always happens at the wrong time. If I ever get control of the flying thing, it would be so great. Now the darkling was truly confused and I sent another tiny but forceful fire stream toward him. This time I didn’t miss, and he burst into flame, at least his arm did. He screamed with frustration because he couldn’t see where I was, floundered around a bit, and ran back into the trees.
“Damn it.” I needed down before the hell dog came back so I could get rid of it. What if some kid came along. Not one child but several, in a group, with a leader came skipping toward the bridge.
“Go back,” I yelled loud as I could. “Hurry. Run.” The kids were chattering at the top of their lungs. The leader tried to push them faster, wanting out of the park before the sun set altogether I guessed. They didn’t hear a word I said.
Shadows crept toward them, and one shadow moved away from the others. It was back and heading straight toward the kids.
“Up here, idiot. Leave the kids alone. I’m your prey. Come on, use that one cell you have for a brain.”
“Ooph.” I dropped like a dead fairy, directly in front of the thing. I was toast.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Promotion

How do you promote your book?

I know of one writer, editor who does everything from Ning, to twitter, blogs, website, Myspace, lists and more than I can remember. She isn't on a bestseller list or earning wonderful royalties, while others who seem to promote less, are up there and selling.

Especially with e-books, but even with print, what's the answer? At least with print, there's often an advance, maybe not six-figure, but at least it's something. With e-books, you might get a $10.00 royalty check unless you are one of those who can write several books with several houses all at once, then maybe you can justify the time you put into the writing, maybe.

Is it the writing, the genre, did you happen to have the one smashing cover? What makes the difference? If you concentrate on promoting the books you have out, what happens to the ones you want to write?

All I can say is, it's a good thing we love what we do. If we did it for money only, we'd all be doing something else with our lives.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Movies and Pen names.

We went to see Hancock and loved it. If you go see it, don't take little kids, lots of language and violence but a good twist, which I won't spoil. Love Will Smith and Charlice Theron and Bateman. It was just a lot of fun.

Go to www.murdershewrites.com and read Jennifer Lyon's blog about pen names, very funny and might be a good reason to get a pen name. I'll seriously think about it.

Had a great weekend with movies, visiting with kids and grand kids, shopping sales (Something I rarely do), fireworks, good food (includes grilled lemon-pepper chicken breasts with bacon and Monterrey jack cheese.) Didn't say it was good for you, just good. Back to writing this week, and packing and etc.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Day After

Had a wonderful 4th, good food, family, spectacular fireworks and all that jazz. Even had a cool breeze at the park while we were watching. Just wonderful. Have to do lunch with family today, maybe a movie tomorrow. I have to settle into packing for Colorado and getting things organized for the August move.

Writing, hoping to have time this coming week to finish a painting and make up a time-line to get moving things done and get plotting finished for both Moon Murder and FD. I'd love to have FD finished by November at the latest so I can revise and enter it in OWFI as well as pitch some agents and editors. Also, if I can send MM off before then it would be great. Maybe I could finish both projects before Christmas and then get started on a 3rd Tali Cates.

Now, if only I'd hear a firm date to order print copies of PTM, it would all be golden. I'm not asking much here. Then there's that little matter of Medicare contracts and OFMQ

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Happy Holiday


Everyone have fun on the 4th, don't get sunburned or blow anything up that hurts anyone. Eat well, enjoy sparkly stuff and remember why we are celebrating.

Now for my favorite quote, although I have to find the author.

So-called "global warming" is just a secret ploy by wacko tree-huggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21st-century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don't let them get away with it!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

This and That



I know I've gone on about this before, but my trip to Colorado is in a little over two weeks. Can't wait. Sitting on the deck at the cabin, listening to a breeze talk to the aspens, dodging aggressive hummers, talking with my girl friends, hunt for bears and mountain men. Then there's the wine, and dancing on the picnic table (not me, I'd collapse it.) Shopping in Santa Fe and Taos, cooking good food, all of this is so fun. Time to write and paint, and yes, we fit this all in during one glorious week. I will have pictures.

For the 4th, family and food and fireworks, what else do you do? My daughter will be in from Houston. So I'll have all the kids together in one place. Have a painting I need to finish before Colorado, plotting I need to do so I can hit the ground writing. Then packing for vacation and for moving into the new house. Gosh, I don't have much happening.

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