New releases!

Yesterday, I managed almost 4000 words on ALPHA and knocked chapter twenty-two out of the proverbial park, in my own opinion.



It was a fun chapter! Faythe got to interact with Kaci, Holly, and another character we haven’t seen in a while, and having a chapter flow well was a rare relief during all the packing/moving stress.

Speaking of which, I think #1’s planning to take our bed apart tonight, so I may be sleeping on a mattress on the floor until our actual move next week. No big deal. I’ve slept on mattress on the floor before, and as far as mattresses go, ours is not a bad one. The part that bothers me (if we’re being honest here) is seeing my bedroom disassembled and empty. It feels like I don’t really live anywhere right now, and that’s both disorienting and discomforting. And it makes it very difficult for me to concentrate on the work at hand.

And oh boy is there work at hand right now. I’m expecting revisions for Shift this afternoon, and for My Soul to Keep in the very near future. And for those of you who may not understand the process (someone asked about this on Twitter last night), no revisions won’t mean a delay in the release dates. Revisions are a normal part of the editorial process, and they happen with every book. At least, they should. I’d be highly suspicious an editor who told me my book needed no work at all.

So while I’m getting my utilities turned on in the new house and preparing myself mentally for Shift revisions, here are a few yummies for you guys, the readers.

Yesterday was the official release date for a bunch of awesome-sounding books, among them, these three:

(click the covers for to order or read plot descriptions)

The first in Ilona's new series: The Edge.
The latest Elena book, in the Women of the Otherworld series.
Book 3 in Jocelynn's Dark Days series.

Note: I haven’t actually read any of these yet—my TBR pile makes the leaning tower of Pisa look stable—but the authors are all awesome people and great writers, so I will be buying these three books and reading them as soon possible. Also, I’m not sure what Joce has planned for promo, but both Kelley and Ilona have some serious promotion going on, so be sure to check that out on their websites.

Spinning...

I'm not really sure where to start this morning, on this blog and in my work. I'm 75,000 words into ALPHA, but just got word that edits on both SHIFT and MY SOUL TO KEEP are... needed. But I don't have revision letters yet, so I'm preparing myself to set everything aside and get lost in books I've already written as soon as the letters arrive. Which is usually pretty fun. Seriously. ;-)

Ideally, I'll get to do the YA first, so that I can finish with SHIFT and be emersed in Faythe's world again just in time to dive back into ALPHA. But that may not work, because SHIFT actually comes out before MSTKeep.

Also, the covers for MSTSave and MSTKeep are probably going to be tweaked, but I don't have final word on that yet.

And... both SHIFT and My Soul to Save are up for pre-order at Amazon now.

And finally, I'm getting really tired of eating food out of the freezer just so we won't have to move it or give it away. I want Subway!

Is your head spinnin? 'Cause I feel like that girl from The Exorcist right about now. Without all the evil and the blood. I swear. ;-)

Drifting plot (and a winner)

First of all, the random number generator has selected a winner:

Juliann the Insane, email me with your mailing info, and I'll stick your copy of Immortal in the mail. Unfortunately, since I don't know most of the other authors in the book, it'll only be signed by me. ;-)

Also, I have good news for those who were searching for a copy of Rogue. Newly printed copies have made it to Amazon, so I'm assuming that means they've made it to your local bookstore as well. Or at least that they can now be ordered from your local bookstore.

ALPHA update:

I continue to update Alpha with new words every day, though this gets more and more complicated as the packing chaos continues to take over my house. I'm eternally grateful to #1 for shouldering most of that burden this time, so I can hopefully meet my November 1 deadline, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate with each fragment of my life that gets packed, and taped, and stacked against one of the walls.


We're letting the movers take most of the furniture, but a staggering amount the actual stuff has been pronounced "irreplaceable" or necessary during the period before the moving truck will actually arrive at the new house with our stuff.

However, even with all that going on, I've been meeting my goals, and am now 20 chapters into ALPHA.



Regarding the book itself... the plot has drifted a bit from what I originally intended. The original plot looked good in the synopsis, but in the actual execution, it was starting to feel ... tedious. Which means the pacing was off. Or else that the book was feeling slow because I had to take nearly 2 weeks off for moving related stuff, during which the plot began to stagnate in my mind.

Either way, I needed to shake stuff up a bit, and that actually works out, because as it was originally plotted, the book was running waaaaay long. So this change will shorten the book and tighten the plot, and hopefully quicken the pace.

It occurs to me at this point that the above paragraph would make more sense if you guys were actually inside my head, but with any luck, I'm alone in here, and you'll all just have to wait until next October to see what I'm talking about. ;-)

My favorite part of chapter 20: Faythe and her mother have a short, frank, awkwardly-timed discussion of Faythe's rather complicated love life. And, frankly, I'm pretty shocked that the scene actually works. It was unplanned, mostly because I couldn't figure out in advance how to pull off such a discussion and still be true to both of the characters.

Sometimes I like those little surprises. But mostly I just like coffee. ;-)

Immortal giveaway!

I'm back at home and at work, and can now tell you that I spent the last few days house shopping in San Antonio! Number 1 and I did our research before we left, which shortened the process quite a bit, I think. We chose the second house we looked at, and will actually be moving in in about three weeks.

Now, my inbox is FULL of flagged email, and it might take me a while to get everything answered. So while I'm getting caught up, I have a giveaway for you!

When we got back from San Antonio, these were waiting for me in my PO box!

Author copies of Immortal!

If you want a copy, leave me a comment below telling me your favorite and/or least favorite thing about moving. I will draw one winner at random on Sunday, September 27 and the winner will be announced the following day.

Immortal is a collection of young adult vampire romance stories, but I would like to note here that my story is about a couple of very non-traditional vampires. There are no fangs, no blood-sucking, and no daylight restrictions. My story is about a teenage siren and her best friend, a literal muse, both of whom feed without blood. The story is dark, and strange, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters and their odd sort of twisted-sister relationship.

Click here to read an excerpt. Click here to order.

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From the back cover of the book:

When you're Immortal, true love really is forever.

Rachel Caine revisits the setting of her Morganville Vampires series, where the vampires are in charge and love is a risky endeavor, even when it comes to your own family.

Tantalize author Cynthia Leitich Smith gives us a love triangle between a vampire, a ghost, and a human girl, in which none of them are who or what they seem.

Claudia Gray takes us into the world of her Evernight series, in which a pre-Civil War courtesan-to-be is courted by a pale, fair-haired man whose attentions are too dangerous to spurn—in more ways than one.

Vampire Academy author Richelle Mead brings us the tale of a young vampire on the run from the rest of her kind, and the human boy who provides the getaway car—and a reason to keep running.

Wicked series writer Nancy Holder immerses us in a post-apocalyptic New York where two best friends are forced to make a choice that may kill them both.

Master fantasist Tanith Lee shows us what happens when a bright young woman with some supernatural savvy encounters a misguided (but gorgeous) young vampire.

Rachel Vincent explores a new corner of her Soul Screamers universe with the story of a leanan sidhe capable of inspiring the musician she loves to new creative heights—or draining him, and his power, dry.

And Kristin Cast, co-author of the House of Night series, introduces us to a new kind of vampire: one with roots in Greek mythology, and the power to alter space and time to save the girl he's meant to love.

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Okay, if you're interested, start commenting! One comment per person, please... ;-)

Giveaway at The Dames!

One of the Deadline Dames, Karen Mahoney, announced fantastic book deal news yesterday and today is my day to post. I'm giving away a book tote to celebrate her news, so come comment for a chance to win!

Funny Critique Comments

I’ve been going through some of our last few critiques and surprisingly, it’s hard to find the funnier comments that don’t give away spoilers. For instance, in one of Rachel’s books, she has some seriously cool um, things. I was fascinated and asked all kinds of weird questions. We’ll have to share some of those after that book comes out.

Readers here seemed to really enjoy the actual critique comments from our manuscripts when I shared them before, so I’m sharing again. (And yeah, one of the Rachel comments is referring to one of my misplaced modifiers. Actually, that time, I just neglected to put in a verb. Hey, I was rushed. It happens.)

Rinda:
“You so have to make a Borg reference in here somewhere.”

“Wait, they’re sitting on the floor in the hall? Okay, are there any other people walking past? Making noise? Is the floor dotted with scraps of paper and dust shoved against the edges?”

“Could she “show” his happiness first either in step or expression?”


“I’d lose this. What he’s done is pretty bad and I don’t think she’d be thinking this. Not yet. “

“Wow, the implications blow the mind here. This could be revisited in the future. Sociopaths in the making…”


“I hope you describe the smell in the next chapter because I wanted to know what it smelled like in the paragraph that ended with whiff of beer on him.”

“Oh, this is such a BAD idea. I felt the foreshadowing dread crawl up my back with this. I suppose you want that. ;)”


Rachel:

“You’ve already said this, but frankly I think I like it better here than before. Any way you could avoid explaining earlier to leave this bit in?”

“Need a verb in here somewhere. Or maybe a subject. I assume you don’t mean that the coat nearly freaked out. ;-)”

“Wasn’t it you who used to tell me that eyes couldn’t meet? Only gazes? ”


“In my own work, I would cut this, but you don’t seem to overuse “nodded” like I do. ;-) But you could cut the first sentence and start with “Vanir nodded.”

“She’s one of him? That doesn’t make sense. Do you mean she’s like him? That she’s whatever he is?”


“Ha! Now my question is: is it a hostile takeover?”

“Why can’t he lift his head? A horseshoe shouldn’t stop his neck from working.”


“Ew. But I get what you’re saying.”

On Working with Rachel

Hi! I'm Rinda Elliott and Rachel's guest blogger this week. Those of you who follow the Deadline Dames will know who I am, but for those of you who don't, I'm just another writer. LOL! Seriously, I write urban fantasy among other things and recently finished the first in a paranormal romance young adult trilogy. That book is making its way out into the world now. I also have the first in an adult urban fantasy series under submission.

Rachel and I share several things in common and have an excellent working partnership. It's not always easy for either of us because we came into this with promises of honesty above all else and we've held to that. There are times when we argue and we've both admitted to stomping around after a particularly unwelcome critique--but both of us have grown as writers and I trust Rachel to catch my big blunders before anyone else sees them. I do the same for her.

There are also a lot of exciting plot phone calls and laughter. I tend to amuse her highly with my misplaced modifiers, for instance. But we both love creating new worlds and sharing stories of the people who live in those worlds.

So, with this first post, thought I'd answer a couple of questions Rachel's readers have asked.

The first? What was my dominant emotion while reading Shift?

You guys are sneaky. ;)

I don't give away spoilers, but I suppose I won't be giving too much away if I admit to a squirmy sort of dread/anticipation mix. I knew something had to happen and the anticipation of that something kept me on the edge of my seat. If you read Prey, you'll get why. I also felt excitement and some anger and let's see... hope. Rachel did an excellent job of stirring emotion. It's a wonderful book and I can't wait for you all to get your hands on it.

Someone on Twitter asked for information on mapping out a long series and that's a better question for Rachel. She's written further into her series books than I have. Now, I have worked with her on every book after Stray, so her world is pretty strong in my mind. There have been several times we've been on the phone hashing out some plot when one or the other stops and brings up a point from a past book.

I brought this up already, but some of our best work is done hashing on the phone. We brainstorm, laugh and even argue. Rachel's worlds are very set. Her settings and characters are so very real to her, down to the smallest of details. For instance, here's an example of a conversation:

Rachel. "I wrote (?) into a bad situation. Now I have to figure out how what they'd do."
Me. "What if they did this?"
Rachel. "They'd never do that, it's impossible for their bodies to do that."
Me. "But you're the writer, their creator."
Rachel. Silence. "No, it's not logical."

As you probably guessed from that particular phone call, I wasn't much help that time. Not with coming up with the solution. But.. and this is the all important huge "but" here. That is not what we do for each other. No, our role is to get the other's mind working. She throws out ideas and I respond with some of my own and at some point, something clicks.

So, there you have a glimpse into our working world. :)

I'll continue to answer questions in upcoming posts, so feel free to ask them!

In my absence...

I'm going to be mostly offline for the next week or so, for some real life stuff, though I'll still be checking my business email and will have my phone. While I'm gone, my awesome CP Rinda Elliott is going to be guest blogging here for me. If there's anything you'd like her to post about, leave a comment here with your suggestion. I think Q&A is fine, and she knows most of my quirks too, if you guys want to poke fun at me while I'm gone. :-)

For a little background, Rinda and I write in the same genre and share an agent..

And she's read all the Shifter books (except Alpha) and all the Soul Screamer books... But good luck getting spoliers out of her. :-)

White board magic

[I posted a short excerpt of SHIFT, at the Deadline Dames today. Click here to read first the disclaimer, then the excerpt.]

This is how I spent my Tuesday. Yes, all of it. Plotting a new book.

Before I continue, I'm going to head off the inevitable inquiries with the following facts:

• This book has not sold yet. It hasn't even been submitted. Nor has it been written. I spent yesterday plotting a book I would like to write, but I won't actually start writing until/assuming someone buys it. (Okay, I'll probably write it even if it doesn't sell, because I love it. But hopefully you get my point.)
• No, I can't tell you what it's about. Sorry. I do not discuss my story ideas online before they've sold. Call me paranoid if you like; that's just the way I operate. But thanks for asking! ;-)

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the good stuff...

Yesterday morning, I started plotting a new book knowing nothing more about it than the theme I wanted to explore and the characters I wanted to use, as well as some of their backstories. While that might sound like a lot, keep in mind that when I started working yesterday, I didn't have a single event/occurrence in mind for the story. Theme and characters are nice--some might even say necessary--but they can't carry a book by themselves. Somewhere in the course of the story, something needs to actually happen.

Trust me. ;-)

So I got out my whiteboard (This is actually my backup white board. The other, nicer, sturdier one is currently occupied by another work in progress.) and began by writing down every possible idea that could go with this theme and these characters. The first idea didn't work. Neither did the second. They were nice, but not good enough. Not different enough. They were too obvious, if that makes sense.

The third idea was... well... awesome, I hope. ;-)

Once I had that idea, I wiped the others off the board and started brainstorming secondary plot threads. One is a relationship subplot. The other is a secondary conflict. That's my standard MO, though in some of my books (particularly the adult ones), I often have several subplots going on, continued from previous volumes.

Once I had subplots, I wiped the board again and got out my post-it notes. (This step is my favorite part!) By that time, scene ideas had started to flow. They came quickly, after I knew what this book was actually going to be about. So I began writing them down, one plot point per post it.

If I thought a plot point would pertain to the main conflict, it went on a purple note. Pink is for the relationship arc (yes, it's cliche, but it's easy to remember). Green is for the secondary conflict.

Usually I know which color a particular plot point should go on. Sometimes I'm wrong. Sometimes I have to rewrite points on a different color post-it. This is normal. Or else, I'm weird. I'm good with it either way. ;-)

At this point in the process, I just slap the notes onto the board in the order they come out of my head. There's no rhyme, and no reason. This is still brainstorming. Here's what the board looked like at that point:

And no, you can't zoom in and read the notes. I took the pic with my phone, and it's too blurry. ;-) The notes written in dry erase marker are the names of characters I want to use and notes about different characteristics. Up in the top left corner are three questions I hadn't yet answered, but desperately needed to.

When I've written down all the possible plot points I can think of, I wipe the board clean (usually transferring the needed notes to the right side to free up the left side for organizing the post-its. Then I start putting the plot points in the most logical order.

No matter how many plot points I've thought of, they're never enough to outline the entire book. Stuff is always missing, but the process of putting them in order usually shows me what I'm missing. I fill in the transitions and motivations with more post-its. FYI, I buy the super-sticky kind, because I move them around. A lot. ;-)

This is what the board looked like when all the post-its were in place. I read them starting from the top left corner, going down. I don't know why I don't go across. I just don't.

My notes go in simple chronological order. There's no certain number of points per chapter, and I don't worry much about making sure the colors (thus the plot threads) are evenly distributed. (Though I know that particular visualization tool works for others.) If there's something wrong with the pacing, I'll fix it when I actually write the novel. For me, this process simply helps me brainstorm the plot and put the events in the proper order.

The straggler notes are the ones that didn't fit in anywhere. I may use them when I actually write the book, if I find a place for them. But I probably won't. If they don't fit, they don't fit.

When my board is organized, I start writing the synopsis, from start to finish, based on the post-its. I got half-way through the synopsis last night and plan to finish it after lunch. Then, ta da! I
have a new book.

Well, not the actual book, but the foundation for one. And compared to plotting, writing is the easy part.

Usually.

Except when it's not....

[Note: my plotting process does not always go this quickly. Sometimes it takes days (or several consecutive weekends) of brainstorming just to come up with the right idea. Yesterday was like the perfect storm. Thank goodness. ;-)]

SHIFT: the blurb (SPOILERS!)

Sorry for the recent blog silence. I've been dealing with real life, which refuses to fade into the background sometimes, no matter how badly I need to work.

On the writing front, I've officially passed the half-way mark of ALPHA, and I don't quite know what to think. I like the book. It's not that. It's just that it feels really weird to be on the downhill slope of the last Shifters book. It's more emotional than I expected, considering that the characters aren't actually real people. But I swear they feel like it to me, more in this book than ever, and saying goodbye to them is going to be hard.




But I have to take a short break from ALPHA (yesterday and today) to work on something else needing attention, so I'll be back in Faythe's world tomorrow, and ready to tackle chapter 18. Faythe has just discovered one of those very difficult-to-swallow life-truths, which represents her last step on the road to maturity. My spoiled brat is all grown up! ;-)

I can't believe how much she's grown (and you guys are still 2 books behind...), and where that's allowed me to take her story. And she and I both are very grateful for the rest of the Shifters cast right now, for being what she needs and for saying what she needs to hear--even if neither of those is exactly pleasant.

And to make up for my recent absence, here's something I've been meaning to post before. It's been up at my discussion group for a while, but this is the first time I've posted it in public. The official cover blurb for Shift (March 1, 2010).

WARNING: CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FROM PREY!!!

Don't read any further if you don't want to know...

TROUBLE IN THE AIR...

Being the first female werecat enforcer isn't easy. Scars accumulate, but I'm stronger in so many ways.

As for my personal life? It's complicated. Choices worth making always are. Ever since my brother's death and my father's impeachment, it's all I can do to prevent more blood from spilling. Now our Pride is under attack by a flight of vicious thunderbirds. And making peace with our new enemies may be the only way to get the best of our old foe.

With the body count rising and treachery everywhere, my instincts tell me to look before I leap. But sometimes a leap of faith is the only real option...

And tomorrow, I'll be posting a short excerpt from the Shift manuscript at the Deadline Dames. ;-)

Sanity, by the numbers

Yesterday was a very rough day. I woke up with a migraine, which lasted all day, in spite of two doses of the magical, END OF ALL PAIN medication. I want my money back for those pills. ;-)

Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people who can drop everything and go back to bed when I get a migraine. There's simply too much that HAS to be done. So I function with the pain. A lot of pain.

The highlight of my day was talking to my CP. It was so good to hear her sound so happy. ;-)

Somehow, in spite of both the headache, and the medication, and a huge real life hassle, I made my goal. And the words are good words. Not flawless, but close to how I want that scene to feel in the final version.



As you can see on the progress meter, I'm almost right at the halfway point in Alpha now. Heartbreakingly close. In fact, if I'd realized I was so close last night, I probably would have written another couple of pages, just to hit that magical 50% milestone.

No, it's not real. The book won't wind up at exactly 115,000 words, and will probably be a bit longer. But few milestones are ever real. They're just an excuse to celebrate. To pat ourselves on the back for a lot of hard work, and frankly, we deserve it.

56,494 words is a lot of words. According to Word, it's:

• 198 pages
• 249,393 characters (with no spaces)
• 1,567 paragraphs
• 4,275 lines

Who, me? Obsessed with the numbers? Yeah. I am. So you should know that this is my 12th novel, and will be my 9th release. (Three are unpublished, four come out next year.)

My world is made up of words. Lots of words, which express thoughts and abstract concepts. Emotions, and opinions, and an entire spectrum of shades of gray. (Because in fiction, as in life, sometimes there is no "right" answer.) But nothing is ever concrete.

Reviews, least of all. Different people like different things. Passionately. Some people loved Faythe in the beginning, because she was realistically flawed. Some hated her, because she made mistakes. Some people like Marc because he's loyal, and protective, and strong, and others hate him (again, passionately) because he's possessive.

Some people use words to say exactly what they mean. Some just want to get a point across. And some are trying really, really hard to make someone happy without really saying anything at all.

Sometimes words have double meanings. They can sound kind or encouraging on the surface, but when wielded properly (or improperly, depending on your perspective), they're actually an insult. Or a taunt. Or a gloat.

My point is that in a career like mine, where so very many things are subjective, sometimes looking at numbers is a bit like taking a vacation. Numbers are concrete. Absolute (unless we're talking BookScan. Don't even get me started...). They provide a way for me to measure my time, and my progress, and my income, and my expenses, and my sales.

They're not based on opinions, they don't vary depending on who gives them to me, (Again, this does not hold true for Book Scan numbers.), and they aren't intended to change the way I write, promote, or think about things. They aren't trying to convince me, stop me, trick me, berate me, nag me, or even encourage me.

Number simply are. They exist. And on days when I can't find the right word no matter what I try, simply existing starts to sound really, really good... ;-)

A milestone and a move...

I have officially crossed the 50,000 word mark on Alpha, and things are getting really good. Or bad, depending on your perspective. As this is the last book in the series, I'm taking the S-C Pride somewhere it's never been before, and ... well ... I'm in unfamiliar territory. So it's a bit like hacking a path through the woods with only a pocket knife, trying to see the forest in spite of the trees. If that makes any sense at all

Chapter fifteen is up for today.

Also... a bit of news on the personal/real life side of things. As my personal friends and family have known for a little while, in a few weeks, I will no longer be a Louisiana resident. Number 1 and I are moving from Shreveport to San Antonio next month, and things have been pretty hectic around here (at least mentally), preparing for that event.

So, if you have my PO Box number and were planning to send me anything, that address will only be good for a few more weeks.

And, if you live in or near San Antonio, I hope to get to see you at an event sometime in the future! ;-)

Is it luck?

Some days, the actual writing part of writing goes very quickly. Yesterday was one of those days. Unfortunately, while it came quickly, it didn’t come very early in the day.




I got a late start yesterday, then got distracted by some real life stuff (plenty of that going on right now), but did finally get going and wrote all of chapter twelve.

In chapter twelve, Faythe disabled three people in less than half an hour. (Her time, not mine. In my time, it took more like three hours.) She’s really getting good at her job! Some days I feel like I am too. Then other days I feel like I’m still stumbling around in the dark, and every now and then I happen to bump into the right idea at the right time.

At those times, it’s easy for me to believe that the only reason I’m here right now (with five books on the shelf and four coming next year) is because of really amazing luck. I hit on a hot idea at just the right time. My agent hit her head on her dresser and was actually kind of woozy the day she offered to represent me. The editors who offered for my first book were all having individual really good days—all at the same time. Ditto for my second series.

It’s not me, it’s just a string of really good luck.

And I’m sure part of that is true. (Though hopefully not the part about Miriam whacking her head.) And sometimes, from the outside looking in, it’s easy to start thinking along those lines about other people, who have already broken into publishing while you’re still struggling. But truth is that most authors work really, really hard.

(Also, I’m kind of doubting that “hot topic at the right time” theory now because I can’t think of another series focusing exclusively on werecats or bean sidhes. So… not really hot topics, huh?)

For me, the hardest part is getting the ideas. I’m not one of those people who trip over good ideas on the way to and from the kitchen eight times a day. In fact, I can’t recall ever having one just drop into my lap. My agent didn’t give me a brilliant idea to write. My editor didn’t suggest one. My critique partner didn’t leak glowing drops of brilliance all over me. (Although, to be fair, she and #1 are each quite the brainstorming sounding board.)

Relatively speaking (because none of this is easy, if you’re doing it right), the actual writing is the easy part, and it feels very rewarding, because you can watch that word count go up every day and know you’re actually accomplishing something. But figuring out what to write? That’s a challenge. At least for me.

I’m a brainstormer. And a researcher. When I’m trying to come up with a new idea for a book or series, I spend hours and hours (and hours and hours) researching various creatures and lore (because for me, it’s a given that I’ll write urban fantasy, at least at this point in my career), hoping and waiting for something to strike that spark inside me. For something to beg me to write it.

I don’t just sit there and watch TV all day, expecting my muse to pop in with a million dollar idea. I don’t believe in muses. (Which you can tell, because I wrote about one as a fictional species in “Binge,” my story in the upcoming Immortal anthology) And I’m not so sure I believe in a million dollars either. ;-) I work hard for every single idea I get.

I have a white board. In fact, I have two of them, and they’re not just used for outlining. They’re used first and foremost for brainstorming. I use bubble brainstorming a lot, to throw out every possible idea, or use for an idea. And I can’t remember ever having used the first idea that landed on the board. Which means that if I’d stopped when I got that first idea, the Soul Screamers in their current incarnation would never have come to pass.

I could probably talk about brainstorming for another hour, but I won’t bore you. My point is this: good writers work hard. Yes, luck comes in handy, but you can get there without it. As a slushpile survivor, I’m living proof.

Do I know good writers who aren’t published? Yes, of course. But just because they aren’t published yet doesn’t mean they won’t be. So have hope, those of you who are still struggling. Because if you’re working hard and improving with every book, eventually you will get there.

It's research, I swear!

Today I blogged at the Deadline Dames about the weird things I've researched for Alpha. Click here to see what I needed a video demo of...

As for my progress, after writing chapter eleven yesterday, here's where I stand:





I'm pleased with the progress so far, and hoping to write chapter twelve today, in spite of a late start. ;-)

Tidbits

I wrote chapter ten of ALPHA yesterday, and am now officially 1/3 of the way through the manuscript. I plan to cross the 40,000 word mark today.

My favorite (non-spoilery) bits from yesterday (and keep in mind, this is a very rough draft):

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Alex hesitated, glancing at the door, as if his father could see him through the hollow wood panel. “You promise not to try anything?”

“You know I can’t do that. We’ve kind of got a mortal enemy thing going on here, in case you haven’t noticed.” I shrugged and tried on a cocky grin of my own. “But I promise not to try anything right now, and if I make a break for it later, you can totally try to catch me.”

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And…

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Alex swallowed thickly. An instant later his expression hardened and his eyes narrowed. “You are a bi***.”

“Like that’s a newsflash.”

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Faythe’s in a bit of trouble right now, and she’s about to try to get out of it the hard way. But only because the easy (read: non-violent) way has already failed.

I’m starting to have some real fun with this book! Chapters nine and ten were very dialogue heavy, but we’re about to have some serious action so it should balance out. I hope. If not, I’ll fix it in the rewrites.

FYI, that previous sentence is the one I say most often during the rough draft phase. ;-)

Also, if you’re into fantasy, check out the nominations for the 101 Best Fantasy Books. You can vote for anything from Beowulf to urban fantasy, and yes, my titles are among the nominations. A word of warning, though: the list of nominees is looooong. Like, 800 different books. But it looks like you can vote for more than one.