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 His mother, Barb, was also a writer--unpublished--but she was more interested in seeing me get published.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.

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.

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.