Oct
4

Whee! I Won!

Posted in contest, editor, win, writing | 9 Comments
Got the phone call last night telling me I won the Paranormal category for the Toronto Romance Writers 2009 Golden Opportunity Contest. (Or really, my Shadow of the Incubus entry won, but same thing…) Leah Hultenschmidt of Dorchester was the final judge and requested the full ms. Which of course, I’m now going *back* over with a fine toothed comb. You know. Just to be *sure* I’ve cleared away all those typos. And of course, everywhere I go I see some new flaw that needs cleaning up. Just the nature of the game, I guess – to want to micro-edit over and over and over again. As an after shot, the entry now goes to a sort of “Best in Show” judge – an agent, this time. And again, for me, it’s just about getting it out there and past the slush pile that’s important. I don’t *need* to win… Read more
Sep
30

Freebies

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There was a little discussion today on one of the loops I belong to as to whether or not “free” book samples were a good idea. Free chapters, for example, or maybe even short stories that might tie into the author’s world, like a prequel or a spin-off. Sometimes you see these on author websites, or as mini downloads for e-readers. At RT, it was very common to see little pamphlets with maybe the first chapter printed up for books that were either just released or soon would be. (And in some cases, the entire book was just given away). I’m of two minds on this. On one hand, I can see the appeal of giving the reader a taste of your writing and hopefully interest them enough into buying the real thing. I know publishers will often set aside copies of the books just for that purpose. Still. I… Read more
Sep
28

Renewals and Such

Posted in craft, rwa, writing | 3 Comments
It’s that time of year again. Many of the online groups and forums I belong to are sending out the request to renew. Some I will, some I won’t. Last May (2008), when I first started this whole process, I went and joined a slew of groups – mailing lists, online forums, workshops…you name it, I probably looked at becoming a part of the community. And it’s a pretty extensive list, atm. But it’s an empty list, for the most part. I don’t reasonably have time to be part of all of them. The mailing lists are fine – most of the time I just lurk on them anyway…but I’ve been woefully neglectful of most of the forums. Part of this is because I had no idea what I was doing when I signed up(and hell, I probably still don’t). I didn’t have a clue as to how the pubbing… Read more
Sep
17

When They Insist on Doing Their Own Thing…

Posted in craft, writing | 3 Comments
I’m talking characters, of course. I’ve started picking up the writing a little more now that I can focus (and sit longer!). The first chapter of ShadowWeaver is done…horribly rough, but done. And honestly, what is the deal? The chapter started out a little serious and then shot straight down road to smutsville – I pulled Abby and Ion back out of it, and by the end they were in bed with each other anyway. *eyeroll* Seriously. Well, hopefully they’ve gotten it out of their systems now and I can focus on something resembling a plot. Damn panster. I’m still feeling a tad plotless, but I’ve started Chapter 2 anyway.  Have to see where it leads me. When I wrote Shadow of the Incubus, I skipped around a lot – wrote scenes as I felt like, or used workshop exercises to stimulate the imagination and see what showed up. (Which… Read more
Sep
9

Moving On…

Posted in wow, writing | 1 Comment
Meh.  I’m plunging along into those first few chapters of ShadowWeaver (and mad props to the WaterCooler gang over at FF&P for their flash-drafting…I haven’t manage to crank out that many words in 30 minutes in a *very* long time!). Not that I have a huge amount to show for it…the muse is a bit fickle, at the moment.  The words are there, they just seem to be a bit reluctant to be put down. I need to drag out my Mindola cards to see if I can put some things into order. I have several key scenes that need to happen in the story, and those are already half written in my head.  I may just go and skip ahead and get them down, because at least one of them is going to require some more research on my part. I’m not pushing myself too hard this week, though.… Read more