Lorelei's Muse: The Interview

Lorelei's Muse: The Interview: "Once you have a book published, and you need to get the word out locally, your local papers are the best resource you have to getting the w..."

Lorelei's Muse: Merry Christmas Everyone!

Lorelei's Muse: Merry Christmas Everyone!

Lorelei's Muse: 21 Days of Writing

Lorelei's Muse: 21 Days of Writing: "Three Mondays, Three Fridays, and all the days in between, I have off. No going into work—except in my office! Yes. It's that time of year ..."

Lorelei's Muse: It's Official -- Vampire Ascending Is Now Publishe...

Lorelei's Muse: It's Official -- Vampire Ascending Is Now Publishe...: "I just thought it was a moment of celebration, and decided to not paste the book's cover up here--because there's such a thing as overkill-..."

Lorelei's Muse: December Release Around the Corner!

Lorelei's Muse: December Release Around the Corner!: "December 3rd Copperhill Media will have the first copy of my book in hand! List Price $16.95 As soon as it is available on Amazon.com th..."

Lorelei's Muse: Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part I

Lorelei's Muse: Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows Part I: "Alright all you Muggles, aka Harry Potter fans, the movie Deathly Hallows Part I was just released as of midnight, this Friday. Who of..."

More Up-dates on The Book

After seeing the cover, and seeing how everyone reacted over at facebook, I know this is a great cover. I loved it when I first saw it too.

I've started a blog on the book's Launch Party. It can be viewed at:



I'm hoping for 10 followers by December, after which I will hold a contest for a free book. I'm thinking I should get at least that many.

I've yet to get a date for the book signing. I've yet to even speak to the manager at the bookstore. I should call her and see if I can set something up soon.

It's difficult to get into this mode again, after having done this once before. I now know what to expect. For instance I know that Borders, since they welcomed my first book, will more than likely order this one, and schedule a signing for me.

Barns & Nobel, on the other hand, were reluctant to do so. I could, if I had people hankering for the book, but I knew that once I had a book signing across the street, I wouldn't have that many people left who I knew well enough to ask if they wanted a book to come to the other bookstore.

Instead, I had copies of Spell of the Black Unicorn, and merely sold them out of hand.

I will also need to give the papers a heads up about the books release, and once I have a book signing date, to give them that in order to bring the people out. Since nothing will happen until December, I can hold off on that sweat-inducing interview(s).

I'm more prepared, actually, than before. Now that I've been doing a lot of networking, I've got fans all over. Hope to pull in more as time goes on, and the next book in this series pulls in even more.

I also hope to get a facebook fan page for the book as well. But, I'm waiting a little while longer to attempt this, since I need a full day to prepare it. Plus I've no idea how to go about this. I'm collecting know-how from various sources.

More as things progress. This is very exciting for me, and I'm very hopeful that this book does well. My publisher seems to be equally excited about promotion--unlike most POD publisher, this one is more hands-on because he wants to make money--since I payed nothing down on the book's production. Thus, the incentive is more on him than on me, but I do want this to be very successful.

Updates on Vampire Book

I've learned that Vampire Ascending will be coming out in December. Hopefully by mid December. I will also be sent the cover picture soon, so I'll be able to get excited.

Not being involved in what happens with the book once it got to the publisher is a bit hand-wringing. It's been with Copperhill for over a month now, I like that I didn't have to do anything to it, no formatting, and they do edits on it. Hopefully with the best intentions. I'm a bit nervous about this. But, I figure if they want to sell the book, they will do their best.

I can't believe that Halloween is nearly here. November is next. As we go into late fall, it turns it's ugly-butt weather on us. We've had nasty stuff all day--high winds, rain, and will have it tomorrow too. This after the tease of dry, unusually warm weather for over a month.

I'm looking forward to a few days off, finally, after having only one day off per week from my job. My husband and I both drive the transit buses for NIU, and we are looking forward to the 5-days off for Thanks Giving. Me especially, since I've just worked out problems with my third book, and need time to just work on it.

And I'm encouraged to make a post over at Frogen Yozert, where, I'm told that they expect 20,000 viewers this month. Well, I'll have to come up with something. It might not be as cool as my last thing. In fact it might have to just be something more like this.

I Should be Writing, But . . .

I've been working on the second vampire novel (Vampire's Trill), sequel to my first one (Vampire Ascending), which I don't know when will be coming out, as yet. So, I have to let this one sit for a while before I do some final editing.

I, meanwhile have the third novel begun. this one is called Necromancer's Dream But this one is a little different from the first two. Even though it's a sequel. It might be what some call an "in between" novel. I'm hoping to not let this one be very long. About 250-300 pages. I want a really easy plot, but I'm bringing in several characters from the other two, and continuing things from about where they left off, about a week later from the last novel.

In the second novel Sabrina goes to another world for a brief time in order to help her boss, Bjorn Tremayne. In this third one, she is pulled out of her everyday life--well, everyday for a clairvoyant who is working for a vampire, and now is about to get married to one--and finds herself in a completely dark place. She eventually learns it's called Dark Land. The one who has called her there is a necromancer, and a detective, and needs Sabrina's help in finding the person who has been killing humans for their blood. On their world humans are low in numbers, and since the ruling race is vampires, this is a threat to their survival.

At the moment I only have 4 chapters written. I wrote them in the summer, just because they were in my head. Had done a lot of background work for the characters and the world, and know pretty much what I want to do. I'm just trying to plot it carefully right now, so that I don't have to go back and forth, like I've done with a couple of other books. (Spell of the Black Unicorn took me 4 years to write, and develop the world for that book. I went on to write its sequel, and had trouble with the plotting as well. This time, I don't want to have to run back and forth.

I think I'm getting better at it. I have more tools than I did about 6 years ago.

Vampire Article Published

My husband and I needed a little "get away" day, and since we don't work on Mondays, we drove about an hour west, to the town of Oregon,IL, where the scenery becomes a bit more interesting with oak tree forested hills, the limestone cliffs peek from the sides of the narrow roads, and you sort of forget you're in Illinois.

We stopped and ate a crisp apple, which I cut up, and some cheese, by the side of the rushing Rock River, enjoying the sound as we sat there, and the cool autumn morning, while the small locust leaves rained golden, almond-shaped, sized leaves on us.

We ventured to Eagles Nest, a western and Native American shop, to browse, and I simply had to buy something unique for myself.

We went to lunch at the White Pines Restaurant, and looked into reservations for two in December in the individual cabins there for our 22nd anniversary. These are real log cabins, built by the CCC workers after the war. They are nice, cozy cabins with a gas fireplace.

After much going around trying to decide what cabin we could get, and trying to get the Scrooge play and dinner package, while their Internet was down, we got things all settled and eventually came home.

After confirmation over the phone and my e-mail, I went to check other things. Well, well, my article at Frogen Yozert, was accepted and posted. It can be seen @ http://www.fogenyozurt.com/2010/09/the-vampyre-novel-a-historical-account/

The owner of this site is Wilfried Voss, who also owns/runs Copperhill Media, where my vampire novel will be published through. Eventually this will be started up, but I guess I need to wait a little longer for things to go through on this.

Anyway, the title of the article is Vampyre Novels; A History

So, this is my up-date. Visit me over at Lorelei's Muse (link on side bar), and check things out on a weekly, or daily basis, as this is my main post.

Lurking Vampires, Werewolves, etc.

On Friday, I sent out my novel, Vampire Ascendingg on a disk to the publisher. They will get it, no doubt, this coming week sometime.

After the death in my husband's family, of his mother's passing, two weekends ago, we all needed to get into our normal routines, and my writing now means even more to me and my husband than before. His mother, Barb, was also a writer--unpublished--but she was more interested in seeing me get published. And she did, with my first self-published book, Spell of the Black Unicorn, and was so happy about it. I just wish she could have seen this next one published, as well. I miss her soft voice in my ear over the phone, and sometimes I actually still hear it, and this brings tears, as I know I will never have the privilege of speaking to her again while on this plain. I think it's a shame she never could pursue her writing like she'd wanted to. But, we can't change history, no matter how much we want to.

I've been reading Anita Viljoen's book Feeders, which came in mail only yesterday--all the way from Canada, and I've begun reading it. I'm finding it quite interesting, so stay tuned. I'll be reporting on it at my main blog (Lorelei's Muse), when finished. I interviewed her last month, and that can be viewed from Lorelei's Muse, as well. Plus you can go visit Anita's blog, and check it out for yourself--it should be on my blog roll here, below.

Also would like to pick up a new book by Janet Evanovich coming out this month, and it's a fantasy. One of the characters, Diesel, is from her "Between the Numbers" books, and this sounds very good. It's called Wicked Appetite

Speaking of vampires and the like, my favorite time of the year is coming near.

Yep. Halloween. I hope to have my novel ready to go, by then, it would be a treat to have a chance to sell something around Halloween. But, if not, that's fine. There's always next Halloween. I'd be more set up, plus--if all works out--I'll have the sequel out by then.

Very busy with my writer pal, J.L. Jackson, who we swap chapters with, and that's been working out well too. And I'm glad I've the chance to work with her.

Well, gotta get back to the work. More as it happens.

Decisions, Decisions

I must give a huge sigh of relief that things are working out. Sure, I was really P.O.ed that that editor at Crescent Moon just pussy-footed around my asking her if she was going to take a look at the whole manuscript. Obviously, she saw it as too much work--editing wise. Which is fine. She never "got back to me", as she kept on saying she would, and I was not going to keep on knocking at a door that seemed to be closed to me.

After 5 weeks, I nearly caved. But that was when I lost my Internet. The interruption was probably my only salvation from actually crawling to this editor. That and a 10-day vacation out west. I had been contacted by a POD, telling me that they were interested in my book, Vampire Ascending. I had hoped to get on at the eBook publisher, Crescent Moon, but I had fears, from the e-mails I was getting, that they would turn my book into a paranormal romance. Probably change the theme, and the title, and I'd be stuck with it. My book is NOT a paranormal romance. It is an urban fantasy. I think there's way too many paranormal romances out there, and a slue of romance writers jumped on the vampire band waggon and saw that they could make a fortune writing for the paranormal scene.

If that's what you're into, fine. That's nice for you. I am not a romance fan. Never was. I had tried to write a fiction about Native Americans, once back in the '90's, when "Indian Romances" were in vogue. I couldn't publish it, I'm sure it was because I was unable to write it in the lock 'n load style of romance.

It was during this time--the late 90's, early 2000's--when I wanted to go back to writing my vampire fiction. I tried to get an agent to take my "Vampire Legacy" novel. At the time there were very few people doing vampire books. It was not a genre unto it's own. Anne Rice was doing her thing, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was going strong, too. But I got rejections, one after the other.

Then along came J.K. Rowling, and the fantasy was renewed for me. I wrote my self-published book Spell of the Black Unicorn, and did alright with it. I wrote the sequel, but the money that I wound up earning with it didn't give me incentive enough to spend another $350-$400 on self-publishing.

Then I heard about one place which did not charge an up-front fee. So far I have not seen anything wrong with the publisher, or the contract. The publisher is called Copper Hill Media.

After struggling with the idea of trying to find an eBook publisher, or an agent, I decided that at 56, I'm tired of playing games. Agents don't like my writing, and apparently I've struck out with the only eBook publisher I contacted, and don't wish to spend months on going through that whole thing again.

So, my book Vampire Ascending, has been accepted by Copper Hill, all I have to do is deliver the book via a disk, they will send me the signed contact, and I will read that over very carefully, make sure that they didn't change it too much and I'm not in danger of having them charge me something I didn't catch--other than when I make an order for the books.

I'd like to say I'm excited, but I'm not there yet. My first book was exciting, but I felt that I couldn't have done things differently, and I don't want to make the same mistake and send this one out too soon. I didn't see anywhere that I could make corrections for free in their contract. I have been offering a free editing (which is a far cry from the weasels I contacted at the beginning of the year. They were going to charge me 2 cents per word to edit. I told them forget it! I may as well self publish!

And so, this is where I am now. I'm happy about this decision. At least my book should be out some time this fall. I just need to get through the edits and I should be ready to send it out in a week or so.

Letting My Muse Take Me Away

I don't care how long you are a writer of fiction, there's always a story bubbling inside you. I no sooner finished the second book, wondering what I'd do for a third, and boom. There it was in my head. The writing muse just took over. All these characters get inside my head and won't go away. What's a writer to do but get this stuff down!

Next book is about Sabrina being asked to help a detective solve a murder mystery--not on her world, but in his. His world is called Darkland, and it's "between the veils". And the people being murdered are humans for their blood. Jett, the detective is not only a detective but informs her he's a necromancer and a vampire. He explains in there at some point that he and others had lived on what was known as Atlantis, and knowing that a meteor was about to kill them all, they did some hocus-pocus chanting and low and behold, they wound up in their own dimension.

I'm still working on the details. This is to be an in-between book. I wrote 6 pages today. I don't like to put too much pressure on myself as far as how many pages I can write in a day. I can write 20 if the words are flowing. Today was a little tough, but I'm impressed I actually got something done between checking out all my blogs I watch.

Still no word from editor.

But I now have a chapter reading buddy and we will exchange chapters and this will be a good. It's good to have another pair of eyes reading your work, they might catch or notice something you didn't.

THE END

On Friday I pretty much had the nail in the coffin on my book, except for the very end, which ties up loose ends, your resolution of the whole book. I needed something that fit. I knew it had to have something to do with the beginning. I like to write books that lead back to the beginning somehow.

I knew not to fret over this. The answer always comes, if you just wait. You need to relax, and let the answers come. They do. And for me, always in the middle of the night.

When I woke up at 2 am, I knew I had to write down what had come to me. It was quite unique in the way I needed to end this with the two main characters.

I still need to go and do edits. Find the weaknesses, and fill out some scene I'd left unwritten because I was unsure about how to write it, but now it's clear.

I've entered the second chapter of Vampire Ascending into my other blog Lorelei's Archives, if anyone wishes to read it. The first chapter was posted in MAY.

HAPPY JULY 4th!!!

Still Working on Second Book

I'm hoping to be done with the first draft of second vampire book by end of this summer--which technically isn't until mid-September, so I should be good.

My schedule of having 3-4 days off, between my bus-driving job helps me greatly. I'm able to concentrate on my characters, the ideas form during the night, or sometimes during the day. I take notes, the basic things so that I don't forget them, whenever I can. Or, I use my little recorder especially when it might be a scene or dialogue. You just can't get that stuff back. And it takes too much to writing it down on paper. Especially when it's the middle of the night. I can just mutter something into it and go back to sleep.

Today I caught something on the vampire blogs I follow about Stephanie Meyer getting burned out on vampires. Her new series Midnight Sun, which tells the story from Edward's p.o.v., has been halted. She says in the interview that "I'm really burned out on vampires." She needs a break. I blogged about this on my main blog Lorelei's Muse, so I'm not going to go into detail on it here.

I know how it is, as a writer, you really need to stay excited about a project, because if you're not excited about it, you really can't write it. Not well, anyway.

But I'm sure excited about my books. Still not heard a thing from editor at CMP. I know she's busy with all her other authors, so I'm not going to bother her. I'm taking this opportunity to write the next vampire novel. I have the ending figured out, all I have to do is get there. Then go back and edit out things that don't work. The second draft is what I enjoy most. Then there isn't as much back tracking--at least I hope not. I don't outline. Can't. What's the fun in that?

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait, and Wait . . . and Wait. . .

It's an addage that not many people today believe in. I see people walking around who "want it now".

Patience is a virtue.

I was gabbing on the phone with my author friend, Ron Martelet. He's a sexigenarian who wrote and self-published the book "Propeller Head". Well, we've been to 2 book signings in our area, and he calls to catch up. We gabbed probably for the better part of 20 minutes. I was about to check my e-mail. And he'd just gotten home, probably wanted to put away his groceries.

Well I'd e-mailed editor yesterday. Told her everything I'd been doing, how I'd been to certain sites trying to improve my writing--I went to Grammar Girl, now I can't live without it, and am getting weekly newsletter, which will really come in handy, if I'm ever trying to figure out if I'd used the wrong usage of some word, or placed commas where I shouldn't. That sort of thing.

I didn't really think I would hear from her before the week was out. I figured (rightly) that she had been at a conference, and had been busy with other things.

She was very happy to hear what I'd been doing in order to better my writing. She needed to catch up to her work, so she said she would get back to me.

But she said something that was rare and I realized she was sharing something with me, just as I had shared something with her in my e-mail. She told me that if she'd promised herself if she ever became an editor, she wouldn't reject someone out of hand, but tell them what was wrong with their writing. And she was glad that I appreciated this.

Yeah, I would much rather have an editor say "Well, you've said this earlier" or "You tell to much here."

I'd rather have that person tell me that than just give me a total rejection.

Simply knowing this gives me an up-lifted heart. I've been rather out of sorts for the past 2 weeks, wondering if I had a real chance with this publisher, or not. Well,
maybe good things do come to those who wait. I've been waiting for 40+ years.

Even Though It Rained . . .

I've been working on edits on my manuscript. Handy thing to use is the "Find & Replace" option in the edit tab. You put the word you're trying to find in the window, and type whatever you need to replace it with. However, I usually don't chose this last part, because I may not want to replace it with just another word. I may simply want to delete it. Or, there may be something else that works better.

Take the word "even". It's why I used the title for this blog: Even though. These two words can easily be replaced with the word Although.

As I went through the manuscript, hitting the find button, I realized I used the word even way too often.

How often? Over 100 times. In fact it was right around 150-160 times, I used it. I probably illuminated more than 100 words completely. The word even is a strange word. When we talk, we use it a lot, so it isn't surprising that a lax writer would go ahead and stick it into their work. Why? Because it's just a habit, or because you don't realize you're doing it.

Because we use it as we speak, I felt that the 20, or so times I used it in dialogue could be left alone. I took out some, merely because I could see that taking it out didn't change anything.

I went through several times with this "find & replace" for other words. I found I was using the word past for passed! I found it used wrong 25 times. That would have caused my editor sleepless nights wondering if she'd made a mistake with taking me on.

Another series of over-used words or phrases I tend to fall on are:

I could see; I saw that; seemed to; just

I know that I have problems with using these lazy phrases, and going through the mss. just to find each and every one of them took me hours. This morning alone, I think I spent maybe 1 1/2 hours or so just to go through, check the usage, if I could delete it I would. I was also marking down how many times I'd used this word, just to see where my problems lie. Well, this was a good thing to check.

I don't know if I have problems with any other words, but these were good to illuminate from my manuscript.

Monday Morning Musing

Had a good, long weekend. I didn't have to work on Saturday, for one thing. Since it was pouring rain, that was a plus. But on the down side, my husband and I had to run some errends in town, which meant we got wet a few times.

I've gone through Vampire Ascending for the last time, until I get word, one way or another from the editor. The last time she'd sent me any e-mail about my sending her the edited section of chapter one was last Monday. I've had nothing from her since. So, I'm still in limbo.

I don't know if all this waiting around is worth it. Maybe if I just get this thing published somehow--I do have another alternative, if I want to take it, it's just that I don't know that it has that good of a track record, since it had only 2 authors with fiction at it's site. It would still be better than giving up publishing all together, and better than paying to have someone publish it--whether it's an eBook or just a regular book.

Yesterday was a bit on the windy side, but much nicer, after all the rain washed the humidity away. My husband and I went for a walk. We talked of our eventual get-away--that's what we call our vacations. We "get away" from here, from people, and enjoy the outdoors. Because we enjoy the western states, sounds like my husband has settled on northern New Mexico, and we'll drive from our state of IL. through Iowa, into Nebraska, stay the night in York, then go on down I-80, turn left at North Plat and go into Kansas.

That's the route going out. What we do from there will largely depend upon finances, and our goals, once August gets closer, we'll know a little better.

Well, I'm going to go back to my work.

Visualizing Your Success!

Last night, as I lay in bed at around two-ish in the morning—the witching hours—I turned over, and the moon's glow-y face peered in at me through the curtain, anointing me with its silvery magic. I basked in it. I did not hide from it. Unlike other nights when it made me feel irritated, I welcomed it.

In the morning, when I bumbled to the bathroom while my husband got the coffee brewing, the vision was in my head: I was sitting outside on a nice patio (no we don't have one of those), I'm writing on a laptop (nope, don't have one of those either). I've a straw summer hat on—looks like a cowgirl hat, because that's what I prefer—and there's birdsong around me, a small breeze keeping me comfortable and some trees in the backyard—it isn't important exactly what is there. What is important is how that vision made me feel. Happy. Content. I know something wonderful has happened so that I can do this.

I've been a writer for—well—decades we'll just say. When I was in my twenties, I had joined a writing circle. It was held in another state, and so I arranged to live in the author's house (at some point I hope to get this written as from my journal, into this site, so details will be coming here at some future point).

One of the questions the author asked me was “Where do you want to be in five years?”

Where do you think? I told him I envisioned myself as a published author, traveling around in an RV, or in my own house, living the writer's life. Or words to that effect.

So, this morning's vision is no surprise to me. I do this quite often. And you don't need to be a writer to use what is called “Law of Attraction” to make it work. You want something, you need to take a couple minutes out of your day, envision that thing, but the trick is to hold it and the emotions you feel as you think about this one thing. Do this for the next week, every day—when you're alone, no one invading on your quiet. Find a nice place preferably outside, but the bathroom works just as well! Or before you go to bed. But you need to visualize and hold it and the emotions you know you'll feel when you get that one thing (be it clothes, money, a job, car, a house, etc.)

Then, as the days progress, note in a journal (or on your computer), exactly what you see happening. Did some job open up that you've had your eye on? Was there a sale at your favorite store and you went shopping and got everything you wanted?

As a writer, we know the angst of rejection, our hopes dashed when they come. But we don't want to dwell on that. No. Don't go there. It doesn't help. I know. Been there done it, and in the words of Buffy, “I'm moving on.”

It Was a Beautiful Day

The sun was out, warm, 70's. I went back to Granby, Colorado, thinking about the little place we would go and get breakfast, sat on tall chairs at tall tables. Hearing the men who were construction workers yammering about things. The breakfast there was hardy. Outside we could see the mountains. We planned our day. . .

And then reality would shoot me back.

I'm driving a frigging bus. Oh, damn.

I was in a good mood, for a while, and just had to keep going. It's just that way.

I knew exactly what I would be doing once I got home. I'd read through that section that the editor edited, and I thought it sounded pretty good. I really didn't want to sit on it all weekend. So, I sent it off.

I can't explain my feelings over this whole episode. I'm not excited, I'm not anxious, I don't know how to feel about it.

Times past I'd be nervous, I'd be despondent about whether or not this person thought my writing was good enough. Right now I'm in this "whatever" pose. Whatever will be will be, I guess.

So, the weekend is a long 3-day affair. I'm working tomorrow again. Bluckh! I'm hoping to get next Saturday off for a change. I hate working Saturdays, but it's money.

Carrot Still Dangling

I could have said "still alive" or something like that, but that might imply that I've had a brush with death. Which I haven't. But maybe it would be true for the manuscript Vampire Ascending.

I've lost track as to how many times I've gone back and forth with this editor of an eBook publisher (I'll not name them here, to see what I've been up to go to Lorelei's Muse link below). But today I finally got e-mail from said editor that I should send her the revision back to her. Revision of part of my fist chapter.

That's what I'll be working on this week.

She's dangling a carrot in front of me. . .

Hope that she doesn't snatch it away.

Writer, Interrupted

It seems to me that I'm on a journey of discovery. The journey is quite rocky, full of hills, cliffs and even disastrous falls. At times I'm totally in the dark. I don't know where my next turn will be. And sometimes I come to a dead end.

I have to turn around and find my way back to the original path. And again, I never know where it will lead.

As a writer it is the journey that helps build who you are. All those pit-falls, dead ends, if they gained me nothing but make me a little stronger, and wiser for knowing better next time, then okay. I guess it was worth it.

I began writing more than 40 years ago. Wow. A life time. I don't feel my age some days--especially when I'm writing my favorite fantasies. But looking back, I wonder how the hell I came so far and made so little impact.

It's not to say I didn't actually accomplish a few things. At least I do have one book out there.

And I'm not finished yet. I'll let you know when I am.