A Writing Update: The Rider Books

I thought it was probably time to give y'all a brief update on the writing. You know, for those who care.

The last few months have been a little crazy, what with the whole twisted knee thing, but I managed to type THE END on the polished first draft of DANGEROUSLY DIVINE (Gregori Sun's book), the second book in the Rider's Series (or, as I like to think of it, the fifth book in the extended Baba Yaga series, since it is all a continuation of the story that began in WICKEDLY DANGEROUS ).

Of course, in writing, "done" doesn't really mean done until the book comes out. Next up I'll be doing one last revision pass before I send it to my agent, Elaine. Who will then send me her revision notes and I'll do it again before sending it to my editor at Berkley, Bethany. Who will then send me HER revision notes. The way you know your book doesn't completely suck is that you don't hate it once you've finished reading it a dozen times...

I also completed the proof edits for the first Rider book, DANGEROUSLY CHARMING (Mikhail Day's story) which will be out on October 4th. Just over four months from now! Eek! (Have you pre-ordered your copy yet?) That's the last of the work for that one, except a few giveaways and various promotional stuff when the release date gets closer.

You can see from the WIP Progress Meter at the top of the blog (work in progress, for those of you who don't speak writer), I ended up with almost 95,000 words. It will probably be more by the time I finish all the revisions.

In case you want a peek into my process, this is a picture of my White Board after I finished the manuscript.

You can see that I track my daily word count. In this particular case, I started writing on February 13rd (and did 1,500 words--my average is about 1,000). It took me the first two months to write the first 27,000 words, and then another month and a half or so to do the rest. I had a hard time getting going on this one, in part because the first Rider book tried to kill me. If you take a close look at the upper left hand corner, you can see that that one took me over seven months for the first draft, when my average is about four. OY.

In case you were wondering, the picture are the two main protagonists from Dangerously Divine on top (that's Gregori on the right) and the two main protagonists from Dangerously Charming on the bottom. Plus a few misc. notes about things I need to get done.

As soon as I finish the revisions for Elaine, I'll be starting in on work for my next Llewellyn book, A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft, which is going to be a fun little 365 Day book of devotionals, spells, and whatever else I throw in there...

So, that's my update for now. Hopefully I'll be a little bit better about blogging now that I've gotten out of Deranged Writer Mode. Hey, it could happen.

Blog Hopping with Maria V. Snyder

 Author pal Maria V. Snyder invited me to take part in a blog hop. Each author thanks the person who invited them (thank you, Maria!) and then answers a few writing related questions, then passes the "hop" on to someone else.

Here is Maria's contribution (I love her books--she's one of the people who inspired me the most when I got serious about my own writing, so if you haven't read her yet, you might want to start!)

Maria's blog hop post

And here is mine...

Question One: What am I working on?
Answer:
Well, there's the Sekrit Project I can't talk about yet (soon, I promise), but mostly I am working on a new novel, which I am provisionally calling One Born Every Minute. It is a complete departure for me, since it is a humorous contemporary romance, rather than a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy. I love writing with humor (there's always at least a little bit, no matter what I write) and I'm having a ball writing something that is out and out funny.

Question Two: How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Answer:  My paranormal romance books (the Baba Yaga series) aren't quite as grim or sexy as a lot of the books out there now (not that I have anything against grim and sexy--it's just not what I write), and there is always a hint of humor. The Baba Yaga books are loosely based on a bunch of Russian fairy tales, which isn't exactly the norm either. Also, I have dragons disguised as dogs. Go ahead, find someone else who has THAT.

Question Three: Why do I write what I do?
Answer: I suppose that the simple answer is that I write the kind of books I love to read. I adore books about witches (especially ones that break the normal stereotypes) and I really like modern retellings of old fairy tales. (Check out Jim C. Hines Princess Books to see what I mean.) I like kickass female protagonists who mostly rescue themselves, with maybe just a little help from the good-looking guy who shows up. Not to mention dragons that turn into dogs. Or is it the other way around?
I also write what I do because that's what shows up in my head. I might say to myself, "Gee, I'd like to write a humorous romance next." But what shows up after that it pretty much out of my control.

Question Four: How does your writing process work?
I always love reading other authors' answers to this question, since no two authors I know work the same way. My friend Alex Bledsoe tend to get up very early, to write before his kids are awake. Maria said in her post that she works from 10 pm to 3 or 4 am--if I tried that, all you'd get would be drivel!

Every book is a little different (they all want to be written in their own particular way, believe it or not--some can be outlined in detail, others prefer to be mostly made up as I go along...it's very annoying). In general, I tend to start with an idea (what if there is a woman who is the only honest one in a family of thieves, who is forced to work with an uptight cop and pretend to be a thief?), then create the main characters, figure out the basics of the plot, then delve deeper into the protagonists, which usually introduces me to the secondary characters. I try to write up a "blurb" for the story (like the one you would find on the back of a book jacket), to sum things up, then write up detailed character studies and a basic outline before I start actually writing.

Once I'm into the story, I write almost every day, usually from about 6:30-7pm to about 9:30-10:30 pm. At which point I clean a bunch of litter boxes and stagger off to bed. When things are really rolling, I often do two stints on the weekend days. (No, I don't have a life. And your point?) I aim at producing at least 1,000 words a day, although on a good day I can get two or three times that much, and on a bad day, I'm happy to produce a page (about 300 words). In theory, I can write the first draft of a novel in about 3-4 months, then I send it out to a few folks, including my fabulous critique partner Lisa, and my equally fabulous agent Elaine. Revisions take about a month, not counting waiting-for-responses-time. Then, if the book is already sold, it goes off to my editor, then I do MORE revisions. Oh, the joy. Then I have a glass of wine.

And eventually, the finished book comes out, and I celebrate!

Next up on the blog hop, be sure to check out the lovely and talented Nancy Holzner, author of the Deadtown books (which I LOVE). Nancy has had a tough year, with the loss of her husband, and hasn't been blogging at all. Hopefully this little blog hop will be a easy way for her to hop back to it. (Yes, I did that. I'd say I'm sorry, but of course I'm not.) She'll be posting her piece of the puzzle sometime next week.

The Writing Life: Starting a New Project

It’s that time again. All the current projects are done (or at a phase where I don’t need to do my bit again until later) and that means…duh duh duh…time to start a new project.

Oh boy.

This stage of a book is both exciting and scary. For me at least. Some authors just feel one or the other, I suppose. I love diving into a new project; feeling the energy stirring as the ideas come together, finding the bits and pieces that will eventually come together like one giant picture puzzle. But it is also a little overwhelming to look ahead at all the work yet to be done and wonder if my Brilliant Idea will actually work out the way I want it to.

Of course, the process is different depending on whether I am working on a nonfiction book for Llewellyn or a novel. At the beginning stage anyway, the nonfiction is a lot easier. I figure out what the book is about, write up an outline/table of contents, and then start plugging away at it. (Assuming that my editor Elysia is at least potentially interested. If she’s not, I come up with another idea.)

Novels are a lot trickier. A LOT trickier. I have to come up with a basic plot and the primary characters, and then figure out what I’m doing with them. Luckily, the novel I’m about to start working on is one my agent Elaine and I discussed months ago, right before I got the contract with Berkley for the Baba Yaga books. I’d given her three options for what I might work on next and thankfully we both liked the same idea best. But just as I got ready to work on it, I signed with Berkley and ended up spending the next few months working on revisions for Wickedly Dangerous (Baba #1), and writing Wickedly Wonderful (Baba #2) and Wickedly Magical (the prequel novella), as well as two books for Llewellyn.

Now all that is done and I can finally dive into work on One Born Every Minute. This new book is quite the departure for me. It’s not a paranormal romance or an urban fantasy. There aren’t any witches in it whatsoever. (That’s right—NO witches. Take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay.) In fact, it is a humorous contemporary romance. It is going to be quirky and snarky and fun to write, but still a major change from my usual, so that’s a little intimidating too. Still, I expect to have a ball writing it, as soon as I get to that stage of the game.

Before I do, however, I have to take my current basic three page summary and expand it into a longer general outline (not everyone outlines, and I don’t outline on every book, but I do find that writing goes a lot faster if I have one). I’ll be creating character studies for my two major protagonists as well as a whole slew of secondary characters, figuring out where they live and what motivates them and all sorts of background information that may or may not ever show up in the book, but which I need to know before I can start writing about them.

I’ve already found “pictures” of the two main characters (something my critique partner Lisa got me into doing in the last couple of years) and started a Pinterest board for the book where I can store them and any other pictures I come up with related to the manuscript. [Thanks, Mindy Klasky!]

Here’s P.T. “Petey” Parker (short for Pearl Topaz, of all things, but if you were named Pearl Topaz, I’m pretty sure you’d go by a nickname too) and Nathan Chandler.

The next week or two will be spent in the “Discovery” phase of the book—finding out what the book is about and who these characters are, doing some research on places and some basic facts, and mulling…letting the story start to stew in the back of my brain until I am ready to sit down and start writing in earnest.

Mind you, this isn’t the way everyone starts a new project. It isn’t even how I start every single novel, although I use this approach more often than not. I’ll also be reading (and in some cases rereading) books in the same general genre with the same basic feel. Not every author does this either. Some of my writer friends won’t go near anything that is even vaguely similar to their work in progress until it is done; if they’re writing a paranormal, they may read romance, for instance.

The theory here is that they don’t want anyone else’s writing to influence theirs, usually. I don’t worry about that much and I like to immerse myself into the kinds of worlds I’m going to be writing about to get in the zone, so to speak. So I’m rereading Jennifer Cruise (who is probably closest to what I’m attempting with this book, and whose writing I adore) and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Tawna Fenske, and reading a few authors who are new to me that friends have recommended.

And mulling, musing, and dreaming until I am ready to sit down and let this book be born.

What about you? Have you started any interesting new projects lately? If so, do you start by plotting and planning, or do you just jump in and go?

 BTW--stay tuned, because I should have a cover reveal for Wickedly Wonderful coming up soon!

Feline Friday: A Confluence of Cats

A confluence is a gathering or coming together...sometimes of rivers. In this case, of cats. Usually 5 doesn't seem like a lot, because they tend to be spread out through the house. Every once in a while though, you catch a bunch together...

This week's update first, though: I've finished my revisions on Baba Yaga 2 and sent them back to my agent Elaine for her input. After that, they go off to my editor at Berkley. Whew. (Of course, then Leis will want me to do more edits, but that's for another day.) And I've started work on an interesting new project that I'll tell you about next week, and a Cool New Project that I can't tell you about yet. But I promise, you'll be excited when I can.

In the meanwhile, I'm excited, because my next Llewellyn book THE WITCH'S BROOM is up for preorder at Amazon! Whoo hoo! It isn't out until April, but feel free to run over and order your copy now. In case you missed the cover reveal, this book probably has my favorite cover evah!

As you can see, there is a fabulous cat on the cover. Let's just say that Magic the Cat approved this message..

I'm still getting used to the new car, and trying to figure out her name.

Happy Friday, all!

THE END: And There Was Happy Dancing

Yesterday I typed two of my favorite words in the English Language...
THE END. The 2nd Baba Yaga book (tentatively titled The Baba Yaga's Sister) is done. Well, done for now, since this is just the polished first draft, and will go through a number of revisions before coming out in book form late next year. But still, DONE.

Insert the happy dance of your choice here :-)

This book has been interesting to write, since it is an odd combination of a series novel with completely new characters and settings, but the same basic world set-up. It actually got off to a slow-ish start, as I was trying to find my way, but apparently then it Ate My Brain, because when I looked at my whiteboard, where I track my daily word count [I'll put up a picture later, when I have more time] I discovered that somehow--don't ask me how, I have no idea--I wrote 65,432 words in July. Yoinks! The one time I did NANOWRIMO, where you are supposed to write 50,000 words in a month, I barely made it through, and swore never to attempt it again. So, well, there's that.

[Honestly, I think that part of it is that I was in so much pain from my dental stuff, I literally wrote to put myself in a different world. I am not, however, suggesting using dental torture as a writing too.]

Mind you, I'm assuming that my writing that fast means that there will probably be more editing down the road than usual. I do a polish on the previous day's writing before I start each new day, so my so-called first draft is really quite neat.But I'm sure I  missed things in the rush.

The book has now gone off to Elaine, my agent, and a couple of first readers, who will all very kindly tell me what's wrong with it, so I can make it all shiny before sending it off to my editor at Berkley.

Of course, I now get to go back and do the edits I got from Leis at Berkley for the first BABA book. But still...

THE END! DONE! HAPPY DANCE!!!!!

2014 Llewellyn Annuals! Giveaway! Updates! (Whatever)

Well, I survived my root canal yesterday (although it wasn't what I'd call "pleasant" it was bearable, and the root canal guy told me it would probably only hurt for another couple of weeks... *headdesk*). Please pass the wine.

And the work on the second Baba Yaga novel is coming along really well. If you have been watching the progress bar at the top of the blog (and I know you have) you can see that I am at about 77,000 words. I'm aiming about about 100,000 so that means--tough math coming up!--I am 77% done. But I'm now at the point in the writing where the book is trying to tear its way out of my brain, so I expect this last bit to go a lot faster than the first 2/3rd of the book did. For instance, even with an aching tooth, I wrote over 9,000 words last weekend alone. Of course, nothing else got done, but nevermind.

In other news, I got an unexpected package from Llewellyn the other day. I hadn't ordered any books, and my new release isn't coming out until next April, so I couldn't figure out what it was. Turns out, it was this:

I KNOW!!!!
These are my author copies (2 each) of the Llewellyn annuals and almanacs I contributed to for 2014. That includes the Witches' Calender, the Witches' Datebook, the Magical Almanac, the Witches' Companion, and the Sabbats Almanac (I wrote about Beltane this time around, one of my favorite holidays). I love these things, and I still get a big kick out of being a part of them.

I promised the second calendar to my pal Ellen, who has been saving my butt by helping out with the overwhelming weeding in the garden this year and so far has only been paid in lettuce and peas :-)

But that means I have a spare copy of the four annuals...one of which I am going to give away to one of my lovely blog readers, JUST BECAUSE I CAN.

If you already read these books, you probably have a favorite. If you don't, here's what my articles this year are:
Sabbats Almanac (Beltane)
Witches Datebook (A Witch's Mini Herbal Garden)
Magical Almanac (various mini practical bits in the middle almanac section)
Witches' Companion (5 Essential Stones for Witches)

SO...Do you have a favorite Llewellyn Annual or Almanac? Which one is it, and why? If you haven't read them and would like to, tell me which of this year's bunch you'd like to win. All you have to do is tell me in the comments (although I'd love it if you'd spread the word, of course). I'll have Magic the Cat announce the winner on Friday, along with the Feline Friday pictures.

Which one do you want?

And just think about it--other than the authors who wrote them (who like me will have gotten their copies this week), you could be the first person in the country to actually hold one of these. How cool is that????

Changing Patterns

As human beings, our lives tend to fall into set patterns--and it can be extremely difficult to change these patterns. I've been giving this a lot of thought lately, because clearly some of the patterns I've fallen into aren't working for me. [Flabby butt, I'm looking at you.]

I'm too tired, and have been getting more so over the last couple of years. Some of that is disrupted sleep (thanks so much, menopause hormones...and um, bite me) and not enough sleep because I'm staying up later to write. Some of that is not enough exercise. Too much stress. La la la. Any of this starting to sound familiar to you?

I also need to be getting more work done...while at the same time, finding more space for play and fun in  my life, as well as my spiritual practice. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO BOTH????

So I took a look at my goals: more focus, less stress, more rest, less sitting on my butt in a chair (a tough issue for an author, since that is pretty much the job description).

There are so many things that MUST get done. But there are a few places where I think I can work on changing those patterns. My friend Mindy Klasky had a great blog post here about improving/changing her writing and networking approach, and it made me decide to finally implement my own changes.

So here's the plan:
Weekends are now internet free zones. GASP! Yes, you heard me. No Facebook. No Twitter. No posting on blogs or reading other people's. I haven't decided yet if I can get away with checking my regular email from friends (probably) or if I need to leave the desktop turned off entirely and only use the laptop for WRITING ONLY.

I'm also going to reduce my web time during the week, and try to replace some of that with exercise and meditation. We'll see how that goes. And no morning news while I do my stretches. It slows me down and starts out my day with a lot of negative input.

Patterns are tough to change. So wish me luck!

What patterns would you like to change in your life? Are you making any headway?

Feline Friday: The Back to Work Version

The Cold From Hell, which hits the end of week two today, seems to finally be easing up. I've still got a runny brick of a head and crap in my chest, but at least I no longer feel quite so much like I was hit by a bus. So I am heading into the Artisans' Guild for the first time in a week and a half, hoping to clear a bunch of the paperwork that is undoubtedly sitting on my desk, waiting for my return. I also have to run a bunch of errands and go to acupuncture (which I cancelled last week due to the plague). Let's hope my energy holds up through it all...

And no, the errands can't wait. Unless you want to tell the cats I am out of cat food AND cat litter. No? I didn't think so. Also, I need more damned tissues.

On the bright side, once I have today's tasks out of the way, I'll have another couple of days to recover, with only two things on the schedule: going to the dump on Saturday (or else) and watching the Oscars on Sunday night with my pal JC (he of the floor help).

Also on the bright side, I finally got my brain working enough over the last few days to write up three ideas for Whatever Novel I'm Writing Next, and sent them off to my agent Elaine. Hopefully she'll get back to me today on which one(s) she likes best, so I can pick one and start mulling...

It is too soon to start talking about the stories themselves, but I will tell you that all three of them are (gasp!) contemporary romance, rather than the paranormal romance or urban fantasy I normally write. Nary a witch to be seen. This isn't the first time I've written a contemporary romance (REINVENTING RUBY, my foodie romance is out making the rounds right now). But it will be quite the change of pace. And you know what they say: a change is as good as a rest. Which is just as well, since I spent what was supposed to be my vacation fighting a cold instead...

Oops! Sorry...Magic the Cat just reminded me that this is supposed to be a Feline Friday post. So enough about me. Here are the cute cat pics!

Minerva, lying in the sun.

 

Minerva and Magic curled up together on the bed. (Remind me to post a picture of that quilt one of these days, BTW, since a few of you have commented on it.)

Magic, up on the table, "helping" me to put away the last of the tax paperwork from 2012, and pack up a surprise gift for my parents. (Don't worry, it's in the box, so they can't see what it is.)

Okay--out into the the cold sunshine. Wish me luck with my first day back into the real world...coff coff sniff sniff.

Happy Friday all! So, who's watching the Oscars with me?

My New Book: The Big Reveal

As some of you know, I have been working on a new novel forever for the last four or five months. This one followed a different pattern than most of my previous manuscripts, with more complicated use of language (which made the writing go more slowly) and numerous revisions based on feedback from my first readers and my agent, Elaine Spencer.

From the very beginning, Elaine and I were both really excited about this one; it was an idea no one had come up with yet (that we could find, anyway), and yet fit beautifully with the popular trend of modern fairy tales and fantasy romances. So I have been pretty secretive about the book, not wanting someone else to say, "Hey! What a cool idea! I'll write one of those." (Not that a book by someone else would be anything like a book by me, but still...)

Now, however, the book is going out on submission (meaning it is being sent to editors at the various publishing companies), and I think it is finally safe for me to share with you...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

 The Baba Yaga
For those of you who aren't familiar with the name, Baba Yaga is a figure from Russian fairy tales--usually portrayed as the "wicked witch" kind of witch, but also sometimes as a guide, or even a goddess figure. I took the character and updated her, making her into a not-quite-human kick-ass modern heroine. 

Here is the "blurb" (like what you'd find on the back of the book) for The Baba Yaga:

Baba Yaga

Blurb

You may think you know about Baba Yaga: the wicked witch of Russian fairy tales who lives in a hut that moved about on chicken legs, rides in a mortar and pestle, and eats small children if they misbehave. But you’d be wrong. For Baba Yaga is not one woman, but rather, a title carried by a chosen few whose job it is to guard the borders between our world and the Otherworld and keep the balance of nature.

Barbara Yager is a Baba Yaga; trained since childhood by the previous holder of the title. Older than she looks, powerful beyond measure, and so far removed from the life of normal mortals, she has little in common with the human life she was born to. She travels through the country in an Airstream trailer, riding a classic BMW motorcycle and masquerading as an herbalist and researcher while she fulfills her duties. When she is summoned by a woman who is desperate to find her missing child, Barbara finds herself tangled in a web of lies and deceit, battling human enemies and Otherworld creatures, and most unexpectedly, her own heart.

Liam McClellan is the Sheriff of rural Clearwater County. Since a tragedy tore his life to pieces years before, he has dedicated himself to his job; protecting and serving the people who look to him to enforce the law. But after five children disappear in four months, without a trace or clue, Liam is beginning to wonder if he should hang up his badge. The sudden appearance of a beautiful woman with a dubious background and a curious habit of turning up where he least expects her makes him place her at the top of his suspect list, despite her uncanny gift for helping those in need. But as the danger mounts, and weird and inexplicable occurrences beset Liam and those he vowed to keep safe, he has to wonder if Barbara Yager is his enemy—or his only chance to save the lives of innocents in a world he no longer recognizes.

Natural gas drilling, political shenanigans, grieving parents, three mysterious motorcycle riders, twisted beasts out of nightmares, and yes, there are dragons. Because when Baba Yaga comes to town, nothing will ever be the same again.

You have probably heard of Baba Yaga—the archetypal wicked witch of Russian tales who lived in a log hut that walked about on chicken legs, rode through the forests in a giant mortar that she steered with a pestle, and ate small children if they didn’t behave. According to legend, Baba Yaga usually appeared as an ugly old crone, although she also wore other faces, and sometimes gave aid to a worthy seeker, if such a one could pass her tests.

You probably think you know who Baba Yaga is. But you’d be wrong. Because I am Baba Yaga, and this is my story.

What do you think? 

Anyway, wish me luck as my baby goes out into the world. And don't forget to enter the contest (found on the previous blog post) to win a Llewellyn Witches' Calender with my work in it. 

DONE!

Booyah!

A few minutes ago, I typed two of my favorite words: THE END

(I'm also quite fond of "book contracts" and "chocolate, anyone?")

I actually expected to finish the novel sooner, since I've been pushing to get the manuscript done in time to get it out on submission before the holidays slow the publishing world to a crawl, and I also needed to clear my plate to make jewelry and concentrate on running the shop during the busy season.

But I'd been figuring the book would end up being about 90,000 words...and someone kept moving the ending :-)

As of right now, the book stands at 105,105 words (really...I should play the lottery or something) and 348 pages. Of course, it isn't really finished. I still have to go over the chapters I wrote tonight, and do one last polish edit before sending it out to my agent, Elaine Spencer. (I do serious editing as I go along, so the final so-called first draft is usually pretty shiny.)

And it is out with a few first readers, my main critique partner Lisa and author pal Alex Bledsoe, as well as my pal Skye, and they'll have feedback that will lead to changes, as, no doubt, will Elaine.

But still. THE END.

BOOYAH!

Inspiration & Perspiration: The Current Novel Saga

Thomas Edison once said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Now I'm no Thomas Edison, and the genius part is questionable (an IQ test said so, but hello, have you seen my life?)...but when it comes to writing, I think this quote is particularly apt.

So substitute the word "writing" for the word "genius" and there you are.

I'm almost at the end of the current work in progress, a novel I haven't talked about much in specifics because both my agent Elaine Spencer and I are SUPER excited about it, and as far as I can tell, no one else has come up with the idea...a rarity in publishing. So I'm keeping it under my hat until it is ready to send out on submission.

I can tell you, though, that in the midst of the perspiration part of the process (I wrote over 10,000 words this weekend alone, as the book bubbled up and tried to push its way to those magic words, "The End") I have been thinking a lot about the inspiration that led to it.

Don't get me wrong--the idea is all mine. But the glimmerings that led to it, and in particular the novels that inspired me to use words and tell the story in a way that is different from anything I have done before, that all comes down to three of my favorite authors, and three specific books.

If you know these books, and can put together a few clues, you may get an idea about where my hush hush book is heading. Either way, I recommend these three books as highly as any I have ever read.

I am currently rereading (for probably the 3rd or 4th time) the book that kicked it all off for me, Patricia A McKillip's Solstice Wood . McKillp usually writes what I would consider "classic" fantasy, and her use of words to paint vivid pictures is unparallelled. Solstice Wood is a departure from her usual novels, in that it takes place in a realistic modern setting. More or less...

Another of the books that started the pot stirring (or in my case, you might better say cauldron) was Alex Bledsoe's The Hum and the Shiver . I fell in love with Alex's writing through his fabulous Eddie LaCrosse books, which are a spectacular cross between noir mystery novels and the sword and sorcery fantasy I loved in my youth. Now this guy is definitely a genius. The Hum and the Shiver is a new series set in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and contains twists and turns and musical riffs that make it a delight to read.

The last (but not least) of the three was The Enchanted Emporium by Tanya Huff (best known for her Blood Ties books that inspired a TV series). This one is set in Calgary, and involves, well, an enchanted emporium (that is, a store filled with magic--in more ways than the obvious). This is another one I will end up rereading over and over.

The book I am working on [insert secret name here] is not really like any of these books. Except in the ways that it is. But if I can come even close to creating the intriguing characters, well-drawn worlds, and sense of tangible magic that these authors achieved in these three books, then all the perspiration will have been worth it.

Some Fun For Writers

This will perk up your day :-)

Nathan Bransford Writing Process in GIFs

Seriously. You're going to laugh your *ass off.

You're welcome.

Just One More Thing: The writing to do list

I keep adding "just one more thing" to my writing to-do list (which is almost as long as my everything-but-writing-to-do list, which tends to make me want to either weep, drink, or hire an illegal alien...or possibly an actual alien...never mind, that's a whole other blog post).

You may have noticed that the progress bar on my current WIP (work in progress) isn't moving nearly as fast as it usually does. That's because I have a whole slew of nonfiction obligations that mostly have to be done first, although I am occasionally sneaking in a few hours of work on the novel, so I don't loose ALL forward momentum.

I just finished reading and editing three short stories for an author friend of mine. Who needed them back ASAP, of course. And sent my first blog post to the new (and already insanely popular) multi-author blog for Witches & Pagans (where I do a regular column in the print magazine as well), Pagan Square. I'll let you know when it goes live. I also finished the copy edits for new Llewellyn book and sent them back to my editor.

Still on the list:
Four articles for various Llewellyn annuals--the Witches' Companion, the Magical Almanac, the Witches' Datebook, and the Sabbats annual.
Copy edits on the mini-ebook we're releasing at the same time as the Ritual book (or possibly a few weeks earlier)
Write and edit an interview for Witches & Pagans with my friend Alex Bledsoe.
Get interviewed by author pal C.S. MacCath for W & P
Write up workshop submissions for Pantheacon next year (the conference isn't until February, but I have to submit my proposals for workshop ideas way earlier than that. [Any requests, BTW? From those of you who attend.]
Write my next column for Witches & Pagans

And then there is blogging, writing long-overdue reviews of books I loved and want to recommend, and no doubt...just one more thing.

Tomorrow. How's your to-do list looking? Not as overwhelming as mine, I hope. (But I wouldn't bet on it.)

Copyedits, how they work and such

I spent the last week doing final copyedits on Everyday Witch Book of Rituals, my next book from Llewellyn, coming in October.

Here's what happens: you write a book, send it off to your acquisitions editor, who okays it, sends it off to your production editor, and then...well...nothing, for a long time. That editor, in my case the fabulous Becky Zins, has a bunch of authors, after all.

But eventually, the editor edits, and sends the next-to-final manuscript back to the author, covered with scribbled notes in red pen. [Some editors are doing it electronically these days, but we're not there yet.] Some of those notes are questions, like "Did you really mean this?" or "Could we do X here instead?" Some are comments or explanations, like "I'd like to remove this bit because you said the exact same thing three pages ago. You ninny."

Becky and I have been working together since my second book (this one is #6, is case you haven't been keeping track) and we work really well together. I think she's amazing. She thinks I'm a great author. It's a publishing marriage made in heaven. Of course, that means that she knows I can be depended on to plow through final edits quickly, and so she only sent me the ms about a month before it was due at the printer... But that's okay, since when these things show up on my desk, I just want to get them done and back out anyway.

Here's the interesting thing about rereading your manuscript after a long time has passed: you never know if you are going to be pleased or disappointed. Most authors positively dread this moment of truth, me among them. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Some of the rituals actually moved me to tears, or made me laugh out loud (that's the Croning/Eldering ritual). Hopefully they will have the same effect on my readers.

Now the book is back in Becky's capable hands, where she will make the last few changes, then send it off to the printer. Raise your hands, anyone who is going to run out and buy it! (It's available for pre-order right now, she mentions casually, fooling no one.)

Whew.

Revision Heck

There are two kinds of authors. (Well, really, a bazillion kinds, but in this particular case, usually two.)

There are authors who love writing first drafts and hate doing revisions. And authors who love doing revisions but hate first drafts. There may be some who love both, but I haven't met one yet :-)

The authors who hate the revision part call it "Revision Hell." And I am usually one of them. But something interesting happened while I was working on my latest book, SEEDS OF CHANGE. I kinda, sorta enjoyed the revision process. I'll tell you why.

Let me start with a confession. (No, not about that. We're not talking about my personal life here.) My confession is this: I don't tend to do a lot of revision. Or at least, I don't do big post-first draft revisions, in part because I edit as I go along (which catches a lot of the small stuff) and in part because I usually work from a very detailed outline (which prevents some of the big stuff from being a problem in the first place).

In fact, when I signed with my agent, Elaine Spencer, she told me that my manuscript (for Pentacles & Pentimentos) was the only one she ever sent out on submissions without having to edit it first. I tend to write very clean, tight books. And I learn from the mistake I make in each previous book, which means I'm making fewer  mistakes in the next one, in theory at least.

But SEEDS OF CHANGE fought me every step of the way. It didn't want to be written out first in outline form, although I had a pretty good idea of beginning and end, and some of what happened in the beginning. I had to do serious brainstorming with the fabulous Candace Havens and Heather Long before I could even get past chapter three. In short, the first draft process kicked my ass. And then when Elaine read it, she told me the manuscript needed some serious revision.

Normally, that would have freaked me out. But the truth was--I already knew it. And she liked what I had written, for the most part, she just thought the book needed MORE. More layers, deeper connections between the characters, more world building. And, thankfully, she had detailed notes and suggestions for how I could accomplish all those things. We had a great phone conversation to make sure we were both on the right page, and I sent both notes and ms to Lisa DiDio, the best critique partner on the planet for her input. And then I got to work.

 But to my surprise, instead of dreading the revisions, as I usually do, I mostly enjoyed them. I had lots of great pieces to work with (thanks to Elaine and Lisa) and plenty of ideas of my own on how to add things--it was more like trying to figure out what the bits and pieces were, and where they should be put to add the most to the story. In short, it was a puzzle--and I LIKE puzzles.

It took me all month, pretty much, but I've finished the major revisions. I'll spend the next few days doing another read-through and making sure I didn't miss something [when you make a lot of substantive changes, it is easy for small things to be left that no longer fit with the new stuff], and then send the new and improved version off to Elaine. Hopefully, before my birthday on Saturday, so I can actually relax.

I started the revisions with 90,553 words and ended up with 110,409 (and since I cut one huge scene, there were more words added than it looks like: 26K words and 81 pages of new material, in fact). The book is much improved and I learned some new skills along the way. It wasn't always fun, but it was an interesting challenge. Hopefully I will be a better writer for having done it.

And from now on, I won't worry quite so much about Revision Hell. Truth is, it isn't much worse than Revision Heck.

So, if you write--which part do you like better, first drafts or revisions? Inquiring minds want to know.