There Be Questions (Part 1)

Recently I made an appearance at the Entertainment Marketing Class at Kennesaw State University. Besides having a grand time with the students, I left with a handful of questions. So I thought I'd answer a few.

D. Howell asks: What are you reading right now?
UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld. Scott has one really unusual imagination (as evidenced by his latest book LEVIATHAN) and I thought I'd check out this series. The premise is that when you turn a certain age you are changed from an Ugly to a Pretty and get to lead the good life. Of course, not all is as it seems and that's why I'm enjoying the book so far.

D. Howell also asks: Are any characters based off of yourself?
Sorta, but not really. Great answer, huh? There are elements of me in all my characters, but if I did a Mary Sue and made the heroine just like me it'd be a darned dull story. So I incorporate some of my traits (usually unwittingly) into my characters. An example is Jacynda Lassiter (my heroine in the Time Rovers Series) who fears tunnels that go underwater. I'm the same. She has a tendency to thump annoying people over the head. I used to do that when I was a kid but gave it up since I don't really need a criminal record. There are other examples, but on the whole I avoid writing my characters based on me because my life is nowhere near exciting as theirs.

J. Smith asks: Iowa being the sprawling metropolis it is, did that help you in your writings or make you depend on your creative side when you were growing up?
I like the idea of Iowa sorta sprawling around, elbowing Minnesota and shoving Missouri further south (grin). Living in Iowa, per se, didn't affect me as much as being an only child. The best way to entertain myself (and not get into trouble with my eagle-eyed mother) was to exercise my imagination. I lived in my own little world (still do most of the time) where I created other people to hang with, talk to and share adventures. Couple that with voracious reading and you've got logical stepping stones to becoming an author.

J. Smith also inquires: What are your single malt recommendations?
Now there's a question close to my liquor cabinet! I choose single malt based on my mood. I usually head toward the peatier (smoky) varieties like Oban, Talisker or Laphroaig. Every now and then I'll try some Abelour A'bunadh. I have some 16 y/o cask strength Abelour right now that is just smoother than anything. Some nights it's a beer. Just depends on where my head is.

I'll tackle a few more questions in the next couple of days. In the meantime enjoy your leftover turkey, folks.

Going Global

One of the coolest things about being an author is knowing that folks are going to be reading your work. Even better when it's in a different part of the world. I've been sitting on some awesome news and now I can share it!

My Demon Trappers Series has gone international.

The German foreign rights have been sold to Fischer, which means my books will be sitting on shelves in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich sometime down the line! Wheeee!!!!

And then just last week as we walked off the plane in Las Vegas there was an email from my editor -- Pan MacMillan has purchased the UK rights. Books in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin!

Clearly we have a lot to be thankful for and I'll be making note of all that on Turkey Day. Thanks for sharing the good news. It makes it so much more fun that way. Publishing is a tough profession and it helps to celebrate the good stuff and share the bad. This time around it's the good stuff.

Wishing you all a very wonderful Thanksgiving!

Postcard from the Writer Person

Manuscript to Editor on Nov. 1st? Check
House tidied? Check.
Twitching to work on next book? Check.

All systems normal here. While I await The Verdict from my editor on the first book in the Demon Trapper's Series (tentatively titled THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER) I've been tidying up my environment in an effort to keep me away from Book #2. I need a break, but the writing virus doesn't believe in time off so I have to trick it into submission by diverting its attention. So far that diversion has been successful.

I've had a couple folks ask how matters will progress from this point forward. It's pretty simple, actually. The process is much like it was for Dragon Moon Press, though on a grander scale. Once I've made any revisions my editor requests and she gives it a thumbs up, the next step is copy editing, wherein some wonderful person fixes my grammatical boo-boos etc. Somewhere along the line I'll get to see the new cover design (can't wait on this one -- St. Martin's has gorgeous covers) and I proof the "galley" for any typesetting issues. Then the book is into the chute and headed for press. ARC (Advance Reading Copies) will come out first and be sent to reviewers, then the real deal will land on my doorstep and in bookstores. There will be champagne flowing on that day, for sure.

I'll start working on Book #2 after our vacation and Thanksgiving. Meanwhile I'm enjoying the time off, while trying to ignore that tiny nagging voice hissing "Must Write! Must....write...now!" Time to clean another closet, me thinks.

Of Vampyres and Friends

Every now and then I blog about friends of mine, especially when they're doing cool stuff. This post is about P.C. Cast who I met eight years ago at Arcon in St. Louis. Her first small press book had just been published. At the time, P.C. was a schoolteacher in Oklahoma. She was (and still is) a blonde dynamo. We met at a signing and I watched her work the crowd. GODDESS BY MISTAKE was a paranormal romance, but you wouldn't have known it by the line of guys waiting to buy the book. I suspect that might have had something to do with P.C.'s sassy attitude, hot pink sweater (with discrete cleavage) and the miniskirt she was wearing. Savvy woman.

We hit it off immediately and readily shared our dreams of being published by one of the Big Houses. It started to happen for P.C. right off -- her book received a rare 4-1/2 Star Top Pick Gold from Romantic Times. Then it won four major romance awards in one year. P.C. signed with a top NY agent (Meredith Bernstein) and went on to publish both fantasies and paranormal romances for Berkley and Mira. All the while she continued to be a single mother and a schoolteacher struggling to pay the bills. She'd come home from teaching and write until late at night. That's what it took to put food on the table.

Over the years we've shared the joys and heartbreaks. For the first year I kept receiving emails from her with "!!!!!!" in the subject line announcing her book had finaled in one contest after another. Then she won those contests. Then more book contracts came her way. In 2007 I got to retaliate with my own flurry of "!!!!!" emails when one of my books did so well. We also traded rants about this, that or another, the kind of candid emails or phone calls only close friends dare to share. Between the rants and the happy dance emails, time marched on.

P.C.'s career underwent a sea change in 2005 in Reno at a Romance Writers conference. P.C. and Meredith cooked up an idea about a series based on a Vampyre Finishing School and The House of Night concept was born. I remember thinking, "Wow. Cool concept. This will rock." We both joked how awesome it would be if she made the NY Times list with a Young Adult series.

And lo -- The House of Night Series (co-authored with her daughter Kristin and published by St. Martin's Press) did just that. The third book in the series (P.C.'s eighteenth book) made the NY Times list. The series is a MEGA bestseller. P.C. and Kristin have appeared on national TV shows, been on book tours in the U.S. and the U.K. They've camped out on the NY Times list for so many weeks I've lost track at this point. The series is in 30 countries now. I remember her calling me in July 2008 and, in a state of shock, telling me one million copies of her books were in print. We couldn't wrap our minds around that number. Now it's closer to eight million. Still can't fathom it.

I've been blessed with the front row seat to all this wonderfulness. A writer's road is a long and steep one so it is beyond joyous to watch a dear friend make that climb and hit the big time. Especially someone who worked so hard to reach that pinnacle, who paid their dues and got rewarded.

(TEMPTED) P.C. and Kristin's latest book in the series will debut today on the Wendy Williams Show. And even better, their multi-city book tour will bring them to Atlanta on Nov. 2 and 3rd. If you liked to meet my dear friend and her charming (and equally sassy daughter) they'll be signing at these bookstores:

Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
7660 North Point Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30022


Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 7p.m.
Borders
4475 Roswell Road - Ave. E Cobb
Marietta, GA

As P.C. said a few months back -- "Now it's your turn, dahling." Who knows, maybe someday she'll be writing a blog like this for me.

NaNoWriMo - Why It's A Good Thing

Back when I first started writing I would sit in a chair for 10-14 hours per day and bang out my first draft. Those drafts would require a minimum of eight or nine edits to get them passable. As I got older that many hours in a chair became crippling so I slowed down and spent more time on the draft, constantly rewriting. The number of edits required dropped a bit, but so did my productivity. I had to find a happy medium. Then came NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which is a one-month long event held every November. It has a couple of purposes: collect a group of folks who are dying to put words on page and then entice them to do just that.

To achieve that aim NaNoWriMo creates a huge online community of writers, some published, some not, and coerces them to achieve a certain number of words per day. I participated in NaNoWriMo a few years back and generated a 75k word draft of my third Time Rovers novel in thirty days. Now to do that you have to have one focus: words on page. These are not great words, nor are they printable words. 50K words over 30 days = 1667 words per day. That's manageable. That's how pro authors get their books finished - one word at a time. By committing to those 50K words you are acknowledging that no matter how rough life gets, you will get your word count for the day. At the end of the month you will have a *start* on your novel.

Now no one shows up on your doorstep and points a loaded crossbow at your head to ensure you achieve wordcount. That's up to you. Peer pressure helps, but ultimately it's your fingers on the keyboard, on the typewriter or scribbling on a notepad. Word Count. That's what matters. Some folks meet during NaNo and do group writing events. I'm more of a loner so I type away on my own. Ultimately it's all about getting those words out of my brain.

What NaNo did for me:
1) It broke me of my obsessive editing of the first draft.
2) See #1.

Now I write all my drafts like that, committing to a minimum of # number of words per day according to my writing schedule but not being so stupid as to spend too many hours in the chair. I usually average about 2K (8 pages) but sometimes I roar up to 3K. In the end I have a rough draft. Then I make at least three more passes (sometimes more) through the manuscript before an editor ever sees it. I did exactly that with the first book in my DEMON TRAPPERS Series and will do the same with the next two. Sometimes I plot out a bit ahead, usually I just go where the story takes me. It's the journey that counts.

Because of this I enjoy that first draft stage a lot more, I don't kill my body and I can plan out exactly how long it will take me to produce a book. That last bit is exceptionally important since I sign a contract specifying when I will turn in that manuscript. If you're thinking of giving NaNoWriMo a spin, go for it. It's fun. And at the end of November you can say you've been writing a novel. It's a very nice thing to admit.

A New Release by Ilona Andrews!!

More than once I've raved about Ilona Andrews' books (in particular the Kate Daniel's Series) and this time I get to tout their newest baby! Ilona and her spouse/co-author Gordon, are launching a new series this week. I've already read the first book (ON THE EDGE) and thoroughly enjoyed it. These authors know how to create real characters, set a page-turning pace and they world build with the best of them. I particularly like the fact they use a rural setting and the magic rocks!

To celebrate their new book launch, the Andrews have teamed up with BittenByBooks.com to give away some really nifty prizes (see above). So drop by that site and Ilona and Gordon's blog to enter the contests and to learn more about these gifted writers. Even Ferret Fred and his gal pal like the book!

Dragon*Con 2009

2009 Dragon*Con received many thumbs up from me. It's sort of like the Crusades minus all the forced conversions, chopping off of limbs and sacking of cities. Well, maybe a bit of the latter. You should never miss the opportunity to sack a city or two.

Being a guest has its perks -- you get to pick up your badge with minimal hassle. I felt sorry for the folks standing in the hideously long Pre-Reg line and did my best NOT to look smug when I waltzed in and out in record time. Usually there's a bit of a line at Guest Reg, but not when I arrived. That was good as The Spouse was ill. As in perishing from a cold. But more about him later.

My panels went great, I actually had people at my reading (yeah!) and the Hour with Jana Oliver (Time Rovers vs. Jack the Ripper) did not become what I feared. Yes, gentle readers, I have secret fears. In this case it would be the appearance of some person toting a fat notebook filled with JtR facts and figures who intended to grill me about every single suspect and aspect of the crimes. Instead it was a really good group. Not that I mind the folks with the notebooks, it's just that they spook me.

Squee'ing Fan Moment -- I got to meet MAGGIE STIEFVATER!!!! She's a most excellent author (LAMENT, SHIVER, BALLAD) and a bright and snazzy young lady. I wish I was her age and just starting my career, but for all writers there is a season and mine didn't start until a few decades later than Maggie. If you haven't read SHIVER, get it from your library or buy a copy. It's way GOOD. She acknowledged (and didn't appear freaked by) my inner fangirl and all was wonderful.

I also hung with buds. Many buds, actually, which made me realize how many people I know after all these years. Jean Marie Ward allowed me to haul her butt all over Oakland Cemetery, then to lunch at Six Feet Under (yum!) and then over to Little Five Points for some shopping. We ran out of time (bah) but have scheduled a revisit to L5P next year.

Other buds: Theresa Patterson (she who taught me panel manners way back in 2001 when I started this journey), Lee Martindale (ditto), Florence Bradley (a lady fightfighter -- how cool is that? She's my go-to source for all things incendiary). Chris Jackson and his lovely wife, Anne. He launched his first Dragon Moon Press book at the con (SCIMITAR MOON) and sold a lot of them I hear. I did the Friday breakfast gig with Pixie and Blanchard, as is tradition. But I missed the single malt scotch tasting (drat!) There were countless other folks I hung with, but if I try to list them all I'll forget someone and get nailed for it. Happens every time. Thanks ya'll. You made it special.

The new Alternate History programming track ROCKED. The panels very well attended. So glad Dragon decided to finally add this track. The Time Traveler's Ball was SRO. I was very plain compared to all the incredible steampunk and Victorian/Edwardian costumes. Such creativity. I just stared at lot. I couldn't resist taking one of the photos and turning it into a pseudo cartoon (see above).

And finally the husband -- he got his badge Thursday evening and then spiraled into bed until Monday when he came to pick me up. Nasty, nasty cold which was way worse than the one I caught a week before the con. I felt so sorry for him because he missed Dragon. Next year we're both going on serious immune builders in mid-August so we can do our thing without a sniffle.

The only grumble I have from the con:

Why in the living hell can't the Hyatt get their wheelchair lift working and keep it working throughout the con? The device is situated between the hotel and the Peachtree Center where the Food Court resides. The stairs between these two places make it impossible to access if you're a wheelie. Why is that important? Peachtree Center is where the reasonably priced food is located during the majority of the hours the con is in session. That is also the best way to get to the Marriott without going out onto the streets. Not all the curb cuts are decent and the advice that anyone in a wheelchair should just tool out there is dumb. Wheelchairs, motorized or not, are white knuckle when you're faced with the significant hills around the con hotels. At present I don't need to use one, but I have friends who do. In years to come I might be the one finding myself stranded. Hyatt, get with it. That thing dies every year. There's no excuse.

Already looking forward to D*C 2010. If the publishing gods favor me, I might even get to launch the first book in my Demon Trappers Series there next year. I would just be so jazzed I probably would explode. Ultimately that decision is not in my hands so I'll put it out to the universe (and my editor) and see what happens. Fingers be crossed.

Glad to see all of you again! Do good things and we'll see you next year.