Blogtoberfest!

Today I have a Halloween guest post for Jeri Smith-Ready's Blogtoberfest! If you haven't already been following her month of guestposts and giveaways, head over there now. There are several contests still open (including mine), and the grand prize is over $300 worth of brand new YA books, including Jeri's YA debut, Shade, which I'm dying to read.

[Note: the grand prize is open to US residents only, because of shipping restrictions.]

To read my post and enter to win your choice of a signed copy My Soul to Take or a signed copy of My Soul to Save (once I have my copies), click here. And don't forget to check out the other guest posts and giveaways!

Happy Halloween!

SHIFT mini-excerpt 2

[I'm giving away a copy of Immortal at the Deadline Dames, at the end of a post about the hard truths in publishing. And... My friend and fellow author Jocelynn Drake is giving away a signed copy of Stray this week. If you're interested, click here to enter!]

I can't even begin to describe how much work I have to do, and how well it isn't flowing, so today I'm taking the easy way out: a mini-excerpt from Shift (March 1, 2010)!

Warning: the following contains a minor spoiler. Read at your own risk!








We all screamed. The van swerved. I rocked violently from side to side as Dodd tried to control the vehicle. And I could only stare at the bolder deeply embedded in the hood, pinning the thick canvas it had been carried in.

The van swerved left. Dodd over-compensated. We swerved right, and I braced my good arm against the dashboard. Dodd swerved again. The van careened off the road and smashed head-on into a trunk at the edge of the tree line.

For a moment, there was an eerie, shocked silence. Then Des started screaming.

I took a second to assess my injuries—a single, rapidly forming lump on the side of my head—then twisted to check on everyone else. “Are you guys okay?”

Manx nodded, dazed, one hand patting the screaming infant. Kaci peeked up from behind the backpack in her lap, and after a moment of consideration, she nodded too. “I think so—”

That’s when Teo’s door was ripped completely off the car.

I almost have an office...

I took a little break from Alpha yesterday afternoon to work on getting my office set up. I'm not done, but my books are all shelved, which gives me a very warm feeing of satisfaction. I can't wait to get it all put together, but I have to do it in small bursts of activity, because the deadlines call.

In fact, today I got the (electronic) typeset of Shift. This is my last chance to catch mistakes. Once I turn it in, I won't see the book again until I get ARCs and author copies. I can't believe how fast everything seemed to move with this one. Shift is the only book I wrote completely during my short time (11 months) in Louisiana, though I also wrote two short stories and 85,000 words of ALPHA while I was in there. And maybe the last bit of My Soul to Keep. I can't really remember.

Anyway, my real contribution to blogging today is at The Deadline Dames, where I combined my answer to an aspiring author's question with 5 difficult-to-hear truths about publishing. And if you make it through the post, there's a giveaway at the end. ;-)

Coherence not required.

I’ve discovered something interesting. Interesting in the “I now understand why some animals eat their own young” kind of way. The “young” in this case being my manuscript. Also, Kaci (the cat), who urinated on my new bath mat this morning.

Not that I actually want to eat either the manuscript or the cat, for the record. But I’m definitely not pleased with either one at the moment.

As for Kaci, I think that setting her litter box by the dryer has scared her away from using the box. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anywhere else to put it. This is a problem, but at least I know what the problem is.

But ALPHA… I have no idea why this manuscript hates me. Maybe it doesn’t want to end the series. Maybe it wanted the series to end with Shift, so it wouldn’t be put on the spot. And now I’ve lost my train of thought. Something was interesting…

Oh yeah. Rearranging the events in a manuscript is interesting—where interesting = insane. I cannot even begin to describe all the minute details that must be changed, because the things they refer to haven’t happened yet. It’s like being lost in time. I’m pretty sure I’m losing my mind. Confusion reigns. Is this what it’s like to hear voices?

Anyway, it’ll all work out soon. I just have to push through and get the events in the proper order, then attack the whole thing from the beginning, to make sure it makes sense. And is consistent. And has no plot holes. And is actually good.

No problem. Now, where did I leave my superwoman cape…?

P. S. I'm a little worried by the fact that my mindset now requires "attacking" the manuscript.
P. S. 2. I washed the bath mat, according to the direction. Now washer and dryer both contain an alarming amount of bath mat fuzz. Am. Not. Happy.

A lift here, a tuck there...

[Note: My friend and fellow author Jocelynn Drake is giving away a signed copy of Stray this week. If you're interested, click here to enter!]

I got an ARC of My Soul to Save in the mail today. Unfortunately, it was just the one, so it looks like I can't give any away until I get my author copies. That should be soon though. The book went to press a couple of weeks ago, and it's due out in just two months. Which hardly seems possible. ;-)

Today I'm performing surgery on ALPHA. This weekend, while #1 and I were unpacking box after box, figured out how to fix the pacing problems and how to tighten the focus, if that makes any sense. It involves reordering a few of the events. This is harder than it probably sounds, because this little operation will also necessarily alter the motivation driving several of these events. In short, it's a huge pain in the tail, considering I'm already almost 90,000 words in. But hopefully it'll be good for the story.

But honestly, until the book comes out of surgery and the work proves worth it, I'm kind of seeing the glass as half-empty. So much to do, so little time, and all that. ;-)

Write what you...can make up entirely?

First, a couple of tidbits:

• The My Soul to Save cover is now up on Amazon, nine weeks before the release. My editor tells me it went to press about two weeks ago, so I'm expecting author copies soon. No ARCs yet. I may not get any this time. ARCs are never a guarantee, but if I do get some, I will, of course, give some away. ;-)
• I turned in the Shift copy edits yesterday, so that one is done, except for the galleys, which represent my last chance to read through the manuscript for mistakes. I caught a bunch in the edits, but I have no doubt that a few were waiting to surprise me in this last round. They seem determined to sneak into the finished product.
• My furniture arrived yesterday! I spent the afternoon unpacking dishes and books, but am no where near finished with either project. Number 1 has promised to help this weekend. I have promised to post pictures of my very first office, once it's been put in order.

I was up bright and early (pre-dawn) for an errand this morning, and I could have gone back to bed, but when I checked my email, I found the revision notes for My Soul to Keep in my inbox. Which led to an early cup of (strong) coffee and resignation to the fact that there will be no more sleep today.

My Soul to Keep is the third Soul Screamers book, and possibly the most ambitious subject matter I've attempted yet. Ambitious in the sense that I'm definitely not writing what I know in this instance. Although it occurs to me now that I don't actually know much about turning into a giant cat either. ;-)

The difference is that the parts of Faythe and her world that I don't know from experience are the parts I get to make up. I'm familiar with being hard-headed, determined, big-mouthed, and even impulsive, though I like to think I've outgrown some of that. And since no one's ever really Shifted into a giant cat, there's no one out there qualified to tell me that I'm getting that part all wrong. (And please, no letters from crazy cat people out there. It's fiction, people. And fantasy, at that.)

However, in MSTKeep, it's the realistic parts (the stuff that can and does happen in real life) that I have no personal experience with. It's these realistic angst, reactions, and fallout that I'm having trouble pegging. This would make a lot more sense if you'd read the book. But trust me, I'm in for a lot of research. And a lot of work. Because this could be a powerful book, if I get it right.

And I can't put it on the shelf until/unless I feel like I got it right.

The dreaded typo

[Note: Prey is being featured on the Borders True Romance blog today. Click here to read the interview and comment to win 1 of 2 signed copies.]

I've had two editing questions recently, but since they basically both asked the same thing, I'm just going to answer this one:

Mandi wrote, hmm i was wondering do you edit as you go when you're writing or wait till you get the copyedits?

Unfortunately (or maybe quite fortunately), the process is nowhere near that simple. It’s not like authors just write a manuscript, turn it in, then wait for copy edits. About half of my work on a novel comes between finishing the rough draft and receiving the copy edits.

After the rough draft, there’s the second draft. Then the third draft. And sometimes a fourth and a fifth draft. All before my editor ever sees the book. And in each of those drafts, I’m revising and editing, based on my CP’s advice and opinions and on my own new perspective, after having read the novel as a whole (as opposed to piecing it together one chapter at a time).

Then I turn the manuscript in and my editor reads it. She sends me a letter (or sometimes just a marked up manuscript) containing her notes about what she liked and what she didn’t like, and why. My particular editor works mostly in the form of questions. Her questions help me see where I wasn’t clear enough on a particular point, or where I’ve left a plot hole, or where there might be a simpler solution to a conflict. But these are not edits. They’re revisions. They involve mostly content: plot, voice, and consistency (of the characters, and within the series).

Armed with my editor’s notes, I make the necessary changes (and there's room for compromise if I disagree on a point or two), then I send the manuscript back. If my editor is satisfied with the manuscript at that time, it is then officially “accepted.” (This is a big deal because many contracts specify that the author gets part of his/her advance payment upon “acceptance” of the manuscript.) If my editor thinks the content still needs work, the manuscript (and another revision letter) comes back to me for another round of revisions.

Once the manuscript is accepted, the actual edits begin. There are three levels of edits: line edits (my editor does these), copy edits (the copy editor does these), and proofreading (a professional proofreader does these).

So I guess the short answer to the question is: no, I don’t wait for the copy edit to do my editing. The copy editor is supposed to catch the things I miss. But I have to do my job first, and since my name is on the book, it is ultimately my responsibility to make sure that everything between the covers reads like I want it to read.

Do mistakes still get through to the finished product? Of course. Way more than I’d like. Just yesterday I caught a typo in Shift that was missed on multiple rounds, by multiple people, including me, my CP, my agent, my editor, and the copy editor. I’d used “roll” when I meant “role.” And even though this is my eighth time to read this particular book, I never caught that before.

What’s really funny is that we’re all professionals. We do this for a living, yet we miss stuff, in part because we have to read the same book over, and over, and over. But readers invariably catch the things we miss. Of course, when one of my Shifters books hits the shelf, it’s read by many, many people (crossing my fingers that I haven’t jinxed myself there), which gives us much greater odds of catching the little mistakes than when there were just five or six of us reading it on a computer screen. And it’s not like every reader catches a typo.

But my point is… Well, actually I have two points.

1. No, I don’t just wait for my copy editor to catch all my mistakes. That would be lazy and irresponsible of me.

2. Mistakes happen, even to the best authors and editors. I can’t remember ever reading a new release that had no mistakes. Ever. This is not to say that typo-riddled novels are not a problem. They are—there’s a difference between one or two mistakes slipping through and an entire book being sloppily written and edited. But a couple of typos do not ruin an otherwise good novel.

Oh, and one more small point. I don’t mind when people email to tell me they’ve found a typo in my book. I really don't. I hate mistakes just as much as the next author, and most of the time when that happens, the reader means well. He or she is assuming I can have the typo fixed before the next printing. But in my particular situation (and it’s the same for many other authors I know), that doesn’t work. I don’t usually hear about reprints until the book has already gone back to press, which means I have no opportunity to fix typos. So (and this hasn’t actually happened yet) hearing about the same typo from fifty different readers could get frustrating, I’d imagine.

Now, if you find a typo in my website, please let me know. That I can fix myself.

Just as soon as the movers arrive with the rest of my office… ;-)

First chapter misadventures

This past weekend, I added a new chapter 1 and a new chapter 2 to ALPHA. You'd think that by my twelfth book I know where to start the story. But you'd be wrong. ;-)

Here's a brief history of my first chapter misadventures:

• Stray originally started with Faythe at school, but there was no attack. There was just Marc, who showed up to bring her home. It works much better starting with action. Trust me.
• Rogue originally started with the sparring scene in the basement, and Faythe had a disturbing flashback to fighting Miguel. The published version begins with Faythe and Marc catching and expelling a trespasser who later turns out to be important.
• Pride is one of the few books I've written that retained not only its opening scene, but its opening line. Yea! Oddly enough, it seems to be readers' least favorite of the series. Think that means something?
• Prey didn't get a new first chapter, but it did get a significant rewrite. Originally, there was a bunch of backstory from the previous books before they arrived at the convenience store where they met Marc. And originally, Michael was with them, rather than Ethan.
• My Soul to Take originally had three pages of Kaylee getting ready to sneak out with Emma before they actually arrived at the club. My CP put big red (metaphorical) Xs through all three of those pages. She was right. ;-)
• The opening paragraph for Shift (which you guys haven't read yet) was originally at the bottom of the second page. My CP suggested that it would make a great opening, and again, she was right!
• My Soul to Save starts in the original place, but has a new opening paragraph, as per my editor's suggestion.

So as you can see, I kind of suck at beginnings. But from what I've heard from some fellow writers, I'm not the only one. Thank goodness for CPs and editors, and revisions in general. ;-)

Today I'm going over the copy edited Shift manuscript. This is my chance to approve or stet (reject) the changes the copy editor made. After this step, there will be one last run-through (galleys), then the book will go to print, and I won't see it again until I get my finished copies.

And yes, that's a very scary prospect. ;-)

Winners and Q&A pt 2

Okay, the random number generator has spoken, and the winners are of the Immortal anthology are:

elnice whose comment began, “I like traditional blood sucking vampires that bite, not tear.”

And

Jessica Kennedy whose comment began, “I like the blood sucking version but I also like the author to make them their own.”

And

Barbara E. whose comment began, “I enjoy vampires of any kind.”

Ladies, please email me (rachelkvincentATgmailDOTcom) with your mailing information, and I’ll put your books in the mail. Just as soon as they get to me from the publisher, who’s generously donated to this giveaway. ;-)

Now, the last of the Q&A:

Chris Ligon says: So, about Soul Screamers - are there going to be only 5 books? More? Indeterminate amount?

Um… There isn’t really any way for me to answer that at this point in time. Right now, I’m under contract for five Soul Screamers novels. Whether or not there will be more depends entirely on sales/reader demand, which is one of the frustrating (but necessary) elements of publishing. Writers live from contract to contract (unless you’re one of those rare blockbusters who made a fortune on the first sale), and you only get that next contract if your books are making money for the publisher. Or if they believe your books will make them money. So… it’s really too early to guess how far the Soul Screamers series will go, considering that there’s only one volume on the shelf so far. But I’m crossing my fingers. ;-)

Melissa Carmichael says: What would you say is the key to your productivity? You are able to produce quality books pretty quickly? It takes me forever:(

The key to my productivity… Hmm… I don’t know. Everyone has a natural writing speed. Mine is faster than some, but slower than others, and I’ve discovered that if I stray too far from that natural speed, bad things happen.

If it takes me more than two days to write a chapter/scene (which is usually the result of real life getting in the way), I lose all perspective on pacing. The scene starts to feel like it’s dragging, even if it’s not, because it’s taken so long to put down on the screen. And if I push myself to write too quickly, too many hours in the day, the quality suffers, which makes the revision process… unpleasant.

So I set goals. I’ve been writing long enough now that I know what I can do in a day. There are exceptions, of course. Some days the words just won’t flow, and some days they won’t stop flowing. But in general, I’m good for between 3000 and 4500 new words a day, when I’m in first draft mode. That’s one chapter. I like to start and finish that chapter in one day, and I like to know what I’m going to write the next day, before I even get out of bed. Which is where the synopses come in.

I write a synopsis before every book. I have to, because my publisher requires them as part of the book proposal. (Well, most of the time.) In the beginning, this was a pain, but now it’s an incredible helping hand. Knowing what I’m going to write each day helps the words flow faster, even though I often vary dramatically from the synopsis. Because I never start the day asking myself, “What happens now?”

The other key? Short of a personal life disaster (or a day off for #1, in which case I’ll play hookie and go to the movies), I work until I meet my goal, even if that means I’m making a pot of coffee at midnight.

Are the words always good words? No. Quite often in a rough draft, they’re not. The real art (if my writing can even be described as such) doesn’t come in until the second and third drafts. The first draft is just about getting the words down on the screen before I forget them.

Gordana Fritsche says: Would you say characters are completely made up or do you take oddities, quirks and/or traits from those familiar to you and work them in somehow? It is so hard for me to believe that authors ignore the personalities and relationships of friends and family when developing characters in a book. ;-)

I’ve never consciously based a character on someone I know (I don’t feel like I have that right—what if my friend/family member didn’t like the portrayal?) but of course lots of my characters’ traits come from people I know, or people I’ve seen. Like most writers, I’m a people watcher. I’m always on the hunt for gestures and habits, because they’re very useful in prose. Gestures can show mood, demonstrate the character interacting with the setting, replace dialogue tags, or all of those at once.

And habits/routines help differentiate one character from the others, which comes in handy in a book where you have, for instance, half a dozen different male characters in most scenes together. Habits and routines can also help keep the characters busy while they talk. For instance, Karen Sanders will often cook or straighten things up while she talks. Michael is usually looking something up or writing something down. Those habits let you know who both characters are, but if an author isn’t careful, those routines can make the characters look like stereotypes. Which is why it’s also important to show who the characters are on the inside. How they react in a crisis, or how they interact with others. How different people see them differently.

Thanks for the questions, guys!

Cover: redesigned!

Okay, I've gotten behind on everything because of the move, and a tweet from the HQTeen senior editor this morning reminded me that I forgot to post the redesigned cover for My Soul to Save. Or to mention that it had been redesigned.


Sorry! It's been nuts. (And I'm still way behind on email and other messages.)


But here's the old cover (full body shot, which went out on the ARCs) beside the new one. What do you think?



HQTeen is also eager for opinions, so they've posted a poll here, and I'm putting one in my sideboard. I'd really love to know what you think, and its anonymous, so please chime in if you read YA.

And feel free to leave a comment here too, telling me what you think about the two versions of the cover and why. And I'd love to know your age range (13-18, 19-25, 25+) if you're willing to share. But please don't leave last names if you're under 18 yrs. old, or I will edit your comment to remove your name. (Just humor me, please.)

Q&A: Industry and craft

Don't forget, the Immortal giveaway is still open here! And for those of you who have asked, the amazon listing and ISBN for Immortal are correct, even though the cover and product description are not. They are from before my story was added to the line-up. But never fear--I have final copies of the book (as should all the other authors) and my story is definitely in there. I've seen it. ;-)

And the editor assures me that they're working on getting the amazon listing changed. But you can see the correct cover and summary (and even order the book for less than it costs anywhere else) here.

Now for some Q&A:

Melanie says: I was wanting to know about how you found your agent. Did you just do research? And did you submit your manuscript anywhere, first, before getting an agent? Or was it a one-go kind of thing?

Yes, I did research. I signed with my agent several years ago, so the research is probably even easier to do now, so make sure you do it right. I searched online and looked at the dedication pages in published books in my genre (there are many, many more of those now) and made a list of agents who were looking for books in my genre, and who all had legitimate sales to major publishers. Then I looked up their individual query preferences on their websites, and started querying. My agent was #19 on my first list of 20 potentials, and one of only two who required an actual physical letter (as opposed to an email query), though the agency has now gone completely digital.

However, before I started querying agents, I did submit Stray to one editor directly, at a conference. She requested the full manuscript, and rejected it pretty promptly, about two and a half months later. Interestingly enough, the date on the rejection letter was my twenty-seventh birthday. ;-)

That was the only actual rejection letter (of the snail-mail variety) that I ever got, and I still have it somewhere…

Malina says: I came across a writing contest and I was wondering if I should send my manuscript in. The "book" is not finished, so do you think I should still send it in anyways? […] I only have to send in 100-200 pages doublespaced, and I have about 100. I'll keep writing of course, but I've read from other writers that it's not good to send in a manuscript if it's not done.[…] And the prize is a book deal with Delacorte Press Books.

Honestly, Malina, I’m no contest expert. I’ve literally never entered one. Not ever. But it seems to me that if the prize is a book deal, you should definitely have the entire manuscript finished (and thoroughly polished) before you enter this contest. I’m guessing nothing will irritate the publisher more than finding out that the book they chose isn’t even finished yet.

Talina says: I was reading your Magic White Board post a few days ago and I have a couple of questions along those lines.[…] My question is where does the inner conflict plot points fit? For some reason I can't wrap my brain around where they would go.In what catagory.
My second is concerning plot lines. How do you separate main conflict from secondary? And is the relationship the main conflict or separate, on its own?

Aahhh, the inner conflict. Yeah, I don’t plot those. Seriously. Faythe has them, of course. Early in the series, they involve the conflict between what she wants and what others want for her, or what she wants vs. what she needs. Then, later in the series, they involve her efforts to be a good role model in spite of her own rebellious streak and her … conflicted personal life. But I never consciously plotted any of those. They tend to flow naturally as the story progresses, so they don’t get their own color Post It in my system. :-)

As for your second question (How do you separate main conflict from secondary?), I’m not really sure how to answer that. Though they’re connected, they’re two different plot threads entirely. Or, in the case of most of my books, three or four different threads.

The main conflict of my novels is almost invariably an outer conflict. A murder which must be solved, or person who must be found, or some other goal that must be met.

Spoiler warning… DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN’T READ PREY!!!

For example, in Prey, the main plot thread was the effort to find Marc. One of the secondary ones was Malone’s behind-the-scenes effort to sabotage the south-central Pride and take Kaci for himself. Another was Kaci’s adjustment to life in the Pride and to Faythe as an authority figure. Another was Manx’s trial, and her adjustment to “civilized” society. Another was Faythe’s love life crisis. All of these secondary plotlines are going on while Faythe and her crew are trying to find Marc. But they’re separate. Does that make sense?

Your third question: “And is the relationship the main conflict, or separate, on its own?”

I assume that you’re referring to Faythe’s love life. If so, the romance thread is never the main conflict in a book, unless that book is a romance. My Shifters series is urban fantasy, so the romance is always secondary to the main plot. In fact, if you took the romance thread out entirely, you’d lose a lot of character depth, but the main plot would still stand up. Faythe would still be searching for a missing co-worker in Prey. She’d still be on trial and helping save Kaci in Pride. She’d still be hunting a serial killer in Rogue. And she’d still be fighting to free herself and her cousin from captivity in Stray.

I hope that helps!

And I’ll be answering the questions from Facebook tomorrow.

News!

Last week I accepted an offer from my publisher for four new books—the fourth and fifth Soul Screamers novels to HQTeen and two more adult novels for MIRA books. I can’t discuss the adult books yet except to say that they will not be Shifters novels. However, I can say that the fourth Soul Screamers book is fully outlined, and I expect to have it written in short order—as soon as I turn in the ALPHA manuscript and edits for My Soul To Keep, which I expect any day.

So… hooray for new books! I think my biggest problem at the moment is the fact that I can’t stop time and write them all now, while everyone else is frozen, so I don’t miss out on any valuable parts of real life. ;-)

Up for today: a new closing paragraph (or so) for Shift. Then I email it to my editor and it’s done, except for one last round of proofs. You can expect to see it in your local bookstore on or around March 1, 2010.

Then I’ll be reading straight through what I have so far of ALPHA. And while it can be painful for me to read through a rough draft (the words, they aren’t so pretty yet), this is really a luxury. It allows me to see the new book with the previous one still fresh on my mind, and offers a unique perspective for consistency. Which is extra important on this, the last, climactic book in the series. So… yea again!

And last of all… I feel like answering questions! If you have some, leave me a comment. So long as the questions don’t concern my private/family life, I’ll try to answer them. Books, critiquing, the writing/editing process, the publishing industry, my stupid little personal quirks… All fair game. ;-)

Although before you start typing, you may want to click on the Q&A category (on the blogger blog) to see what I've already answered. ;-)

A vampire by any other name...isn't a vampire.

I'm truly thrilled with the results (so far) of the Immortal giveaway--and it's not over yet, so you can still enter!--but based on some of the comments/entries, I feel compelled to make something a little clearer: the "non-traditional" vampires in "Binge" my Immortal story are not vampires at all. They're not dead, they don't drink blood, and they don't have fangs. Nor do they have sunlight, garlic, or religious aversions. Beyond that, they were never truly human. My story is about a pair of teenage girls--best friends--one of whom is a siren. The other is leanan sidhe (a vampiric muse), my version of the faerie lover archetype.

These characters are only vampiric in the symbolic sense. As in, they live off the energy or lifeforce of others, but not in a blood-sucking way.

But never fear--if blood-sucking vampires are your thing, there are plenty of those in Immortal too. I just decided to go another direction.

I kind of have this obsession with marching to my own beat. And frankly, I like my beat. ;-)

In other news, I made an announcement in my discussion group today, so if you're a member, you can get the scoop a day earlier than everyone else. But please don't post my news online before I do. ;-)

More Immortal!

[This contest has now closed. Check back soon for more!]

I’m sorry for the long absence. As most of you know, last week I moved from Shreveport to San Antonio, and… well… work stops for no move. It’s been a truly crazy couple of weeks.

Because of a scheduling conflict with the movers, I won’t have most of my furniture for a couple more weeks, but we brought most of our actual stuff and the immediately necessary furniture with us. As well as the cats. ;-) So I have my bed and my writing chair, and bar stools, in lieu of the usual table and chairs. I have my coffee maker, as well as power, water, cable, phone, and Internet. And can I just say that I love U-verse?! Never has HD looked better. Not that I’ve had time to do more than notice it in passing. ;-)

I’m almost done with the first-round revisions/edits for Shift, and am delighted to find that it’s pretty strong already. I’m tightening, of course, and clarifying a few points, but for the most part, I’m very, very pleased with this one. It’s completely action-packed, and very emotionally tense for Faythe. In fact, my latest fear is that Alpha won’t live up to the drama of Prey or the action of Shift. And it needs to overshadow both books (the entire series, in fact) in both respects.

But before I can finish Alpha, I have to do revisions/edits on My Soul to Keep. So, around here there’s no rest for the wick… er, the writer. ;-)

Now for the fun part: While I was in between houses and largely without internet access, Immortal (the re-release) hit the shelves! That’s right! You should be able to walk into any major bookstore in the US now and pick up a copy for yourself. Or, you could win one here. How can you do that? Read on…

As you probably know if you read my blog, Immortal is a YA Vampire anthology, but my story, Binge is not about traditional vampires. There’s no blood sucking, no pointy teeth, and no sun handicap. But the theme is still there—one creature feeding from another, nourishing herself off of someone else’s lifeforce. Survival of the fittest. But at its heart, this story is about the odd, twisted relationship between two best friends who live on the fringes of society. I loved writing it, and I hope you guys like it too.

To enter to win one of three copies (signed only by me), leave me a comment here telling me whether you prefer traditional, blood-sucking vampires or one version or another of the non-traditional, symbolic kind. Details are welcome, but no spoilers from other series, please.

I’ll draw three winners at random on Friday and will announce the winners on Saturday. You must check back here to see if you’ve won—I won’t hunt you down. One entry per person please. Open to international readers.

Okay, start commenting!

Hoo-rah!

I am finally back online, now officially a resident of San Antonio. More later, I swear.

That is all. ;-)

Poll & LOLwerecats

Revisions for SHIFT came in yesterday, and five chapters in, I'm having a blast with them. It's always nice (and a huge relief) to read through a book you haven't even looked at in months and realize that you love it!

SHIFT is very fast paced and full of action of a sort we haven't really seen before. Faythe and crew are facing something they don't know how to fight, but they can't back down from, and watching them struggle and learn is... well, it's fun. ;-)

And, if you read Prey, you know that Faythe's personal life is in a bit of turmoil right now and working through that has been... Well, maybe not fun, exactly. At least, not for those actually involved. But I'm enjoying it.

In other news, I've been nominated for the massive "Favorite Paranormal Author" poll at Bitten By Books, and I keep forgetting to announce it here. This is round one of four rounds, and the preliminary winners will be up in the final round later this month. If you want to vote (even if not for me), click here and scroll down. The poll is on the left. You can vote for two authors.

And that's all I have for today, other than these two LOLwerecats posted by one of the members of my discussion group. Enjoy!

Parker has a few too many.


Marc has to take a second job.

Holly learns Michael's secret.

Malone

Faythe's bathroom sink.

Des takes over the south-central Pride.