Jenna Black's Blog Experiment

Closing Blog

2008-07-07T12:12:00.002-04:00

I have been neglecting this blog shamefully, and I have a feeling that will only get worse as time goes on. I have become a member of Fangs, Fur, & Fey, where I should post occasionally if I want to be a "real" member. I am also part of a new group blog that is in the works (sorry, no details yet because we're in the early stages), and once that one gets started, I'll have a hard enough time keeping up. I really want to do everything, but I know I can't.

I'll leave this blog up, even though I won't be adding to it. I'll also post the URL for my new group blog if/when we get off the ground. And I'll still post the occasional newsy blog on MySpace, so stop by any time! (I've got one up today--hint, hint.)

Thanks to those of you who have visited and commented over the years! I appreciate you more than I can say, and I hope you come and visit me elsewhere on the Web!

Interview with Jeri Smith-Ready

2008-05-14T10:38:00.004-04:00

In a continuing effort not to have to think up my own blog topics, I'm posting an interview with my fellow urban fantasy author (and all-around cool person), Jeri Smith-Ready. I'm about halfway through WICKED GAME right now, and loving it. I also highly recommend her Aspect of Crow series (EYES OF CROW and VOICE OF CROW so far). She's a terrific writer!

Jeri's Bio:

Jeri Smith-Ready has been writing fiction since the night she had her first double espresso. She holds a master's degree in environmental policy and lives in Maryland with her husband, cat, and the world's goofiest greyhound. Jeri fosters shelter dogs with Tails of Hope Sanctuary. As of this writing, she has hosted twenty dogs at her home, all of whom have found loving adopters.

Jeri's latest release is WICKED GAME (May 13, 2008, Pocket Books), an urban fantasy about a cadre of vampire DJs and the con artist trying to save their 'lives.'

The Interview:

1) What was your inspiration for writing WICKED GAME?

A song, of course. Not the song "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak—that came much later. Almost three years ago to the day, I was driving down the road flipping the dial and came to a classic rock station playing "Bad Company" by the band of the same name. I thought, Hmm, "Bad Company" would be a perfect title for a paranormal book with a shady main character.

By the time I reached my destination, I had a fully formed idea for vampire DJs who were psychologically and culturally 'stuck' in the era in which they were turned. I also knew the heroine would be "bad" in some way. (The punch line is that even though it all began with "Bad Company," the publisher ultimately asked me to change the title.)

2) Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

I tend to read widely rather than deeply and rarely follow series for more than a book or two, regardless of how much I enjoy them. I'm the opposite of an addictive personality. I'm pretty sure I'd be the world's first casual crack smoker.

I was completely different as a kid, of course. I read EVERYTHING, especially books by Marguerite Henry, Walter Farley, and Jim Kjelgaard, who each wrote continuing series about animals (and not talking animals, either—usually just plain old horses and dogs). I also loved the Trixie Belden mysteries. Trixie was like Nancy Drew, but with an actual personality.

My all-time favorite book was DOGSBODY by Diana Wynne Jones. It combined my love of animals with my passions for astronomy and mythology. Because of that book, Sirius became my favorite star (not to mention my eventual choice in satellite radio).

My current favorite authors tend to write stand-alone novels or loosely connected series: Neil Gaiman, PC Cast, Charles de Lint, Christopher Moore, James Morrow, Caprice Crane, and John Irving, to name a few. They also tend to be funny.

3) What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

To me, speculative fiction at its core is about what it means to be human. Often it does this by juxtaposing humans with other races or species (like elves or vampires or aliens), or by putting ordinary people in extraordinary settings. I also like the genre's tendency to push the boundaries of humanity itself.

4) Why did you decide to make Ciara a con artist?

From the beginning I knew that the main character would have a shady past. Her current job is in sales and marketing (S&M, as she calls it), which is really just a legal form of con artistry. It sounds like a cheap joke, but the two pursuits both require an understanding of human nature and how to manipulate people's emotions to make them cheerfully act against their own best interests.

Ciara tries to save the radio station from corporate takeover by branding it as "WVMP: The Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll," essentially hiding the vampires' nature in plain sight. She disguises the truth as a marketing gimmick. I loved playing with notions of truth and lies, and I loved watching Ciara's moral acrobatics in justifying her actions. Con artists are sociopaths with little notion of right and wrong; however, Ciara's parents gave her a religious upbringing, which she's rejected, but only on the intellectual level. She still feels guilt.

5) What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

I'm an avid pro football fan. It's the only thing in my life that has nothing whatsoever to do with writing, and I guard my time with it like a starving dog with a bone. I also follow politics, but that's not fun—more like a form of sado-masochistic torture.

6) What sort of research did you do to write WICKED GAME?

For the musical aspects, the research came by osmosis over the course of months and years. I'd think of a band and then run to Allmusic.com (and more recently
Pandora.com) to learn all about them. Then I'd surf the links to understand the connections among that band and its forerunners and followers.

And of course I read books. One of my favorites was THE ROCK SNOB'S DICTIONARY by David Kamp and Steven Daly. Entertaining, informative, and an incisive look inside the mind of the cooler-than-thou rock snob.

To learn about radio stations, I interviewed DJs and had them 'vet' the manuscript when it was in near-final form, to make sure I didn't have any major mistakes. A highlight of my life was getting a cover quote from Weasel, who used to DJ at the legendary Washington, DC, alternative station WHFS. He said that, disturbingly, he could relate very well to my characters.

7) Shane McAllister (the 90s grunge DJ vamp) loves Nirvana. Is that your favorite band, too?

Yep, though I was only a casual fan during the band's actual existence. I was sad but not devastated when Kurt Cobain died in 1995. However, as the years go by and I've learned to appreciate the band's incredible talent, I grieve his loss more intensely.
I suppose the creation of Shane is my small way of honoring Cobain's life and work and the impact it's had (and continues to have) on my psyche. I feel a spiritual kinship with them both and wonder if but for the grace of good fortune I'd be in as bad a shape as they were in their lives.

8) What are you writing now?

I'm working on the second draft of WICKED GAME's sequel, BAD TO THE BONE (May 2009). That's due to my editor in a few days, which explains the bags under my eyes. And probably the hallucinations.

9) What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

After three years of writing full-time, I've ceased to feel guilty for not writing first thing in the morning. My brain just isn't wit-enabled before 10 or 11 am.

10) What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

Dialogue is by far the easiest. Maybe it's my theatre background, but my first drafts tend to consist of characters arguing in living rooms and coffee shops. I keep forgetting that novels have infinite budgets for location shoots.

First drafts are the hardest by far. It feels like sculpting air. Once I have a rough draft down, no matter how crap-adelic, I can work to make it better. But that initial creation of the story is torment.

11) This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

I also have an epic fantasy series, the Aspect of Crow trilogy, which takes place in a world where everyone has magic bestowed by their Guardian Spirit animal. The first one, EYES OF CROW (Luna Books, 2006), won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Fantasy Novel. The second, VOICE OF CROW, came out last October (a favorite of mine because it was the Book That Almost Killed Me), and the trilogy will conclude this November with THE REAWAKENED.

I also have an older urban fantasy (REQUIEM FOR THE DEVIL, Grand Central Publishing, 2001). It takes place in modern day Washington, DC, and Lucifer masquerades as a political consultant. For the first time in his ten-billion-year existence, he falls in love. It changes everything.

More about WICKED GAME: http://www.jerismithready.com/wicked-game

To visit the DJs and listen to a sample of their shows:http://www.wvmpradio.com

Jeri on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jerismithready

Ciara on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ciarawvmp

Brenda Novak's Auction for Diabetes Research

2008-05-01T10:26:00.001-04:00

Diabetes runs in my family. All of the women on my mother's side of my family--my grandmother, my mother, and all three of her sisters--have or have had it, and I have seen just how awful the disease can be. In fact, it's very likely that diabetes was a major contributing factor in my mother's death. So obviously, diabetes research means a lot to me.

Every year, Brenda Novak runs an auction to support diabetes research, and the bidding for this year's auction just opened up today. The array of items available is just stunning. There are tons of autographed books, lunches with great authors, promotional opportunities for writers, editor and agent reads for writers, and much, much more. A set of all five of my current books, autographed, is available, as is an ARC for The Devil You Know, which doesn't come out until July 29.

As well as donating items to auction, you can bet I'll be placing bunches of bids myself. The first year I knew about the auction, I won a lunch at RWA with Sue Grimshaw, the romance buyer at Borders, and I can't help thinking that that lunch is part of the reason why it's easier to find my books--particularly my backlist--at Borders than at, say, Barnes & Noble. I see that Sue is offering another lunch at RWA this year, and I urge the writers among you--particularly those who are new on the scene--to think about placing a bid on that. The price is sure to end up pretty high, but if you can afford it, I can tell you from personal experience that it's worth it!

To learn more about the auction and to see what items are available, go to http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Home.taf

Hungers of the Heart out today!

2008-04-29T09:07:00.000-04:00

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to let you know that Hungers of the Heart, the fourth book of my Guardians of the Night series, comes out today! For all of my fans who've been waiting for Drake's book ever since Watchers in the Night, now is your chance! From the back cover:

Drake is a Killer vampire.

Unlike the Guardians of the Night, Drake feeds on human blood, choosing victims who deserve to die. But still he works with the Guardians to protect those humans who yet have some good in them.

When Gabriel, the leader of the Baltimore Guardians, mysteriously disappears, Drake finds himself in charge of a small band of inexperienced fledgling vampires. When a delegation of European Killers arrives in Baltimore looking for Gabriel, Drake must call on all the savagery of his sordid past to keep the Guardians in line—and to protect them from the ruthless Killers.

Forced to confront a past he has tried so hard to outrun, Drake risks losing his humanity. His only hope is Faith, the French Seigneur’s concubine, who desperately needs his help to rescue her human sister from the Seigneur’s clutches. Then someone begins killing the members of the European vampire delegation, and Drake is the only suspect. Will Drake be saved by love, or will he become a Killer without a conscience?

Interview with Tate Hallaway

2008-04-24T12:25:00.002-04:00

Tate Hallaway is the best selling alias of the award-winning science fiction author Lyda Morehouse. Lyda wrote a four book trilogy about angels, computers and the end of the world all of which are currently out of print, though she still writes and publishes science fiction/fantasy/horror short stories. Tate’s books are all in print with more in the Garnet Lacey series in the works. You can find both Lyda and Tate blogging all over the internet including places like LiveJournal, Blogspot, MySpace, Facebook, and even YouTube. “They” live in Saint Paul, Minnesota with five cats, a five year old son, and many, many fresh water fish.

Romancing the Dead

It’s been one heck of a week for Garnet Lacey. The Vatican witch hunters finally think she’s dead, the FBI has closed their file on her, she’s co-founding a new coven—and the gorgeous vampire she loves has just asked her to marry him. How lucky can one girl get?

Then, her fiancé goes missing and Garnet’s worried sick. Has he been kidnapped? Or could he have run off with that blonde from the coven? Now Garnet will have to seek the help of her future stepson—the same brat who turned her over to the witch hunters for a brand-new Jaguar. But there’s more bad news: the Goddess Lilith, who camps out in her body, has been making embarrassing appearances. And on top of that, some killer’s on her tail...

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

Currently my favorite authors are writing graphic novels. I’m in to Brian Michael Bendis’ NEW AVENGERS. I just finished reading NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI in preparation of the up-coming Secret Invasion. I’m also a huge fan of Ed Brubaker’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, particularly his WINTER SOLDIER stuff. Comic books haven’t been this fresh for me since I first picked up Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s FANTASTIC FOUR when I was a kid.

For more traditional fare, my favorites are Rachel Caine, who writes the Weather Warden series, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch who writes the Disappeared series, which is a kind of futuristic a police procedural set on Mars. When I was growing up my favorite authors were Katherine Kurtz and Anne McCaffrey.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

The explosions.

Seriously, I was talking to a friend about this at a bar the other night, and I confessed that one of my favorite things about writing paranormal romances/urban fantasy is that you get to have all the relationship/girly stuff married to the high-octane adventure/boy stuff. That’s pretty near perfect for me.

Why did you decide to make Garnet a Witch?

Because I am.

And it can be very difficult to find realistic portrayals of Wiccan religion in novels. One of the things that drives me crazy in movies and TV shows like “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” is when a complete novice reads a spell they find in a dusty book and they conjure a demon without breaking a sweat.

Of course, because the Garnet Lacey series is fantasy, I take liberties, too. Real-life witchcraft can be pretty dull. The scope of Garnet’s power is a lot stronger than anything I’ve experienced in real life, but I try to show ritual as part of her daily practice as well. In other words, she doesn’t just cast spells, but she also prays to a Goddess and observes the cycle of the seasons, like the real witches I know.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

I’m an aquarist. I have four fresh water fish tanks in my house and have had over the course of a year: powder blue dwarf gourami, neon tetra, bettas (a spawning pair), a white cloud minnow, yellow tuxedo guppies, and several goldfish (comet and shubunkin). I’m so into it I read fish magazines and occasionally write long, boring blogs about my fish triumphs and woes on my livejournal: http://lyda222.livejournal.com. My betta Johnny/Giant-Girl is even a YouTube star: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Gg0mfEfTw.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?

Well, because I’d decided to play around with the urban fantasy trope of werewolves and the story takes place in Madison, Wisconsin, I did a little research and discovered that Wisconsin has its own werewolf myth: “the Beast of Bray Road.” There’s a book about it by Linda S. Godfrey called BEAST OF BRAY ROAD: TAILING WISCONSIN'S WEREWOLF.

Garnet loves astrology. Is that your favorite thing too?

One of them. Just like Garnet I’m an amateur astrologer. Yeah, we’re talking about predictions and horoscopes and stuff. No, I don’t think the stars rule my destiny, but, yeah, I think it’s all a very fascinating and entertaining way to look at life and relationships.

I love astronomy, too. My friend Rachel takes me and my four-year old out star-gazing on clear nights. The science fiction fan in me loves seeing the rings of Saturn and such.

What are you writing now?

There’s more Garnet Lacey in the works. I’m currently putting the wraps on book four, DEAD IF I DO, which I like to describe as “The Wedding Planner” meets “Night of the Living Dead.”

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

It took boredom to turn me into a writer.

True, I was an English major in college, but other than dabbling a little in fanfic as a teen I didn’t really do a lot of creative writing. After college, I had a series of dead-end secretarial jobs and really didn’t require a whole lot of my brain power. One of these jobs didn’t even come with a computer, but when I incessantly bugged my boss for work she taught me the art of the slack. She said, “Sometimes it’s important to LOOK busy.” So, I started typing letters home to friends. The letters turned into little silly stories, limericks, and finally, the beginning of my first novel, Sidhe Promised, which has never been sold.

Someone either a friend or my partner talked me into taking a science fiction writing class at the Loft http://www.loft.org. I had an awesome teacher who taught us the art of critique and encouraged us to form writers’ critique groups outside of class. The one I formed from that class with my friend and fellow writer H. Courrage LeBlanc, Wyrdsmiths is still going strong today, nearly twelve years later. If you want to check out the "life" of a writers' group, we have a blog: http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com.

Eventually, through a friend of a friend I got my second novel, Archangel Protocol, under the nose of an agent. The rest, as they say, is history.

What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

I’ve always found dialog the easiest to write. That’s probably because it’s the part I practice the most. Not only do I love to talk, but also when I’m falling asleep at night it’s the fictional conversations that I play with in my head.

As for hard, that would be plot. If I had my druthers, no one would do anything. They’d all sit around in a coffee shop and argue.

This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

Though all of them are meant to stand more-or-less on their own, there are two previous Garnet Lacey books: TALL, DARK & DEAD and DEAD SEXY. Both follow the exploits of Garnet Lacey, a Witch who accidentally drew in the dark and murderous Goddess Lilith to protect her coven from attack by Vatican witch hunters. When the stories start, she’s on the run and trying desperately to give up witchcraft, which Lilith (and, consequentially, she) crave like a drug. Tall, dark and dead Sebastian Von Traum comes into the bookstore the Garnet manages and, as they say, hilarity ensues. And explosions… or at least zombies.

There’s an excerpt of the first chapters of all three books available on my website http://www.tatehallaway.com.

Places to find Tate on the Web:
Website: http://www.tatehallaway.com
Blog: http://tatehallaway.blogspot.com
Wyrdsmiths group blog: http://wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com
Fangs, Fur & Fey (group blog for paranormal romance writers): http://community.livejournal.com/fangs_fur_fey/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/tatehallaway

Pictures from RT

2008-04-21T08:30:00.012-04:00

I'm back from RT, although I suspect a good half to three-quarters of my brain cells are still there. I'm sure they'll be back by tomorrow. I'm hoping I got enough sleep last night--finally--to be at least vaguely coherent this morning. I'm not a night owl, but I didn't get back to my room until after midnight at any time at RT.

I had an awesome time! RT is like no other event I've ever been to, with its combination of networking opportunities and, er, relaxed attitude. I did go to several parties and several panels, but I must admit I spent a great deal of my time just hanging out at the bar. (Something you won't usually see me doing, seeing as I don't drink!)

I met lots of fans (I have fans? How cool is that??), and had an almost surreal moment when the fabulous Melissa Marr (NYT bestselling author of Wicked Lovely)told me she loved my books. We had a mutual squeeing fangirl moment, and that memory ranks as one of the highlights for me.

I met a number of urban fantasy authors I had never met before, including Mark Henry, Jeaniene Frost, Kim Harrison, Caitlin Kittridge, and Jeanne Stein, all of whom were very cool. (And Jeanne and I decided we'd been separated at birth, due to our numerous similarities.) I also spent time with authors I'd met before: Keri Arthur, Rachel Vincent, Jackie Kessler, Jocelyn Drake, Jeri Smith-Ready, Kelley Armstrong, and Maria Snyder. (Hope I'm not forgetting anyone, but since my brain is still at RT . . .)

I did take a bunch of pictures, and here are some of the highlights:

This is me and Marcia Colette at the Vampire Ball. This is about as close to a costume as I ever get at RT.

Did I mention there were a lot of urban fantasy authors at this shindig? From left to right we have: me, Kim Harrison, Jackie Kessler, Mark Henry, Rachel Vincent, Caitlin Kittridge, and Jocelyn Drake.

As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time in the bar. This is the pub bar, where I hung out with Rachel, Jocelyn, and Keri on the first night.

This is one of the few panels I got around to attending. I think it was the Urban Fantasy 101 panel. (Either that, or the Demons are the New Black panel.) From left to right, we have: Heather Osborn (my editor at Tor), Kelley Armstrong, Jeri Smith-Ready, Keri Arthur, and Rachel Vincent. And Jeanne Stein's finger--I couldn't fit the whole panel into the frame, dammit!)

This is Jocelyn in her I-rode-the-elevator-with-Fabio afterglow. I believe that was the highlight of her RT. (I never so much as caught a glimpse of him.)

This is Jade Lee and Marcia, after Jade had signed my copy of White Tigress.

Jackie, Keri, Rachel, and I are all represented by Miriam Kriss, who took us out to dinner at a church that had been converted into a brew pub. Talk about a cool restaurant! (And the food was pretty good, too.)

That's it for now. If I remember anything else I need to share, I'll make another post later. For now, it's time to start prioritizing my massive to-do list.

RT Here I Come!

2008-04-15T13:05:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow morning, I'll be off to Pittsburgh for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. Last year was my first time going to RT, and I had an absolute blast. I suspect I'll have a great time this year, too. I'll be getting reacquainted with authors I only get to see once or twice a year (like Rachel Vincent, Keri Arthur, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Maria Snyder, to name a few), and I'll also see my editors and my agent.

I'm not quite as bold as some other authors--or maybe it's just that I'm lazier than other authors--so I won't we wearing any costumes for the themed parties. It goes against my nature to pack costumes in addition to my other clothes. When I traveled with my mother--back in the days before 911--we'd often jet off for two and three week vacations with all our supplies packed into one carry-on each. (This because my mom was completely paranoid about lost luggage, especially when traveling to some of our more exotic destinations. Having lost my luggage while on a multi-day bus tour in Turkey, I can assure you it's one hell of a drag.)

So I'll blame my mom's training for the small suitcase and lack of costumes. However, I do have a fabulous pair of ankle boots to wear to Dorchester's These Boots Are Made For Strutting party on Saturday night. Apparently there are prizes for best footwear, and I suspect I'll be in the running.

So, if you're going to be at RT, or if you're just going to be popping by the Book Fair on Saturday, say hi if you see me! (And don't be surprised if you've known me 20 years and I still manage to forget your name. My brain gets just a tad fried at these things.)

Decisions, Decisions

2008-04-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

Just about every author out there who hopes to make a living as a writer does some amount of self-promotion. They create bookmarks, hire publicists, create book videos, buy ads . . . the list is endless. Some people spend most or even all of their advances on promotional activities. Some people have a set percentage of their advances set aside for promotions. (And I'm sure there are some out there who spend way more than their advances.) But most of these professionals agree that it's almost impossible to figure out what effect promotional efforts have.

When I was talking about this with my husband yesterday, he suggested that if I tried one kind of promotion with one book, and then a different kind with another book, I'd be able to gauge the relative effectiveness of the two promotions. Sounds very logical, but it just doesn't work. If book 2 does better than book 1, does that mean my promotional effort for book 2 worked better? Or does it mean book 2 was a better book? Or got more publisher support? Or had a better cover? Or came out in a month with less competition? Or . . . You get the point.

So how can an author decide which promotions are worth their time and money? Beats me. I've heard many, many authors talk about it, and no one has said anything that suggested there was a definitive answer. So I've decided to take a different approach to promotion. I don't base my efforts on a budget, or on what conventional wisdom suggests might lead to sales; I base my promotions on what I would enjoy doing most.

I created (actually, hired someone else to create, but you get my drift) book videos for Secrets in the Shadows, Shadows on the Soul, and The Devil Inside. I have no way of knowing if those videos did me any good. I know people watched them, but I don't really know how many, and I have no clue how many of those views led to sales of my books. But they were fun to do, and when I approached them as something fun--that might lead to sales, but didn't necessarily have to because they were fun--I had a much easier time letting myself spend the money.

I don't know if this decision-making mechanism will work for anyone else. Probably, there are people out there who will look at this and think I'm not approaching this in a very businesslike manner. But when I tried to approach it in a businesslike manner, trying to determine whether the potential gains were worth the money and time I spent, I drove myself crazy. So I decided to let go of that and just do what I want to do. Until someone can come up with a definitive answer for what works and what doesn't, I think the fun factor is as good a criterion as any.

Anthology Cover

2008-03-19T09:25:00.002-04:00

I received some new cover art yesterday--not for one of my novels, but for a short story anthology I have a story in. It's called The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance, and will come out in August. I'm one of many authors in the book, and my name isn't on the cover, but I still got a thrill of excitement to see it. I think it's a great cover! Tell me what you think! (And forgive my long neglect of the blog. First I was busy, then I had--actually, still have--a nasty cold, which pretty much destroys all my brain cells. Yes, I'm a big baby about being sick.)

Q&A with Maria Snyder

2008-03-01T07:18:00.003-05:00

Today, I'm going to do my very first guest interview. (Partially because it's been too long since I've posted anything and this is easy; partially because I'm away from home at the Celebrate Romance conference and this is easy; and partially because Maria's an absolute sweetheart and I love her books!)

Q What was your inspiration for writing Fire Study?

A I wanted to explore the uses and abuses of power in this book. Poison Study, which is the first in the Study series, concentrated on Yelena’s inner conflicts and her self-confidence, and only touched briefly on magic. Magic Study focused on discovering the extent and type of powers Yelena possesses. In the third book, I wanted to show the extent some magicians will go to gain power over others. Using magic to solve problems can be addicting, and, in Fire Study Yelena realizes how much she depends on her magical abilities. She must learn how to balance the use of her power with more mundane methods and to discover that completely turning your back on magic isn’t the right answer.

Q Where do you find your inspiration?

A It can be from anywhere. I get ideas from newspaper and magazine articles, from something I see on television, from something that comes up in conversation, from dreams, or from something my children say or do. I tend not to lack for ideas just time!

Q Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

A Currently my favorite authors all have humor in their books. Since my life is so stress-filled and complicated, I’ve been enjoying light and fluffy reading with Mary Janice Davidson’s vampire series and her new mermaid series, Connie Willis is another favorite of mine, and I’ve recently discover the mystery/suspense thrillers of Harlan Coben. Growing up, I started with mysteries because that is what my mother enjoyed. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were my favorites before I graduated to Agatha Cristie, Dick Francis, Robert B. Parker, Barbara Vine, and Ed McBain.

Q Who has influenced you in your writing?

A I read a ton of mystery novels growing up. My favorite mystery author is Dick Francis and his books have influenced my writing style. I also use first person point of view and try to keep the story’s pace moving. My cliff hanger endings are a direct result from his books; I can never stop reading one of his books at a chapter break. My favorite fantasy writers all have strong female protagonists and interesting characters in common. Barbara Hambly’s books have a nice mix of action, character and humor - all essential elements to what I consider good fiction.

Q What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

A As a writer, the attraction is in exploring new settings and characters and not having to worry too much about what is physically possible or not. I make my own rules about my world and, as long as I stick to them, can explore various problems generated by the unique setting and situation. As a reader, I enjoy traveling beyond my everyday world to a new place full of wonder and surprises.

Q Why did you decide to make Yelena a Soulfinder?

A The concept of everyone having a soul fascinates me. I never consciously decided to make her a Soulfinder, it just happened toward the end of Magic Study. My subconscious must have been working on it because even in Poison Study, when Yelena chooses to become the Commander’s food taster there is a moment where she is peering at her reflection wondering if she still has a soul. She felt so empty and used that she was sure her soul had gone, leaving behind a thin shell.

Being a Soulfinder also added conflict to the story. The Sitian people feared the power. Someone who has the ability to manipulate a person’s soul is serious business, especially since the last person with the power abused it by creating his own soulless army. So here’s Yelena – already an oddity by being raised in the northern lands of Ixia, conflicted over her loyalties between Ixia and Sitia and now has this ability which could condemn her before she even explores what she can do with it.

Q What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

A I love to travel with my family. Exploring new places and meeting new people and experiencing other cultures are wonderful for the writer’s soul  I also enjoy playing volleyball, reading and I dabble with photography.

Q What sort of research did you do to write this book?

A In order to write the scenes with Opal, a glass artist in the book, I needed to enroll in glass blowing classes. The teacher made it look so easy to gather a slug of glass. But when it was my turn – yikes! It was HOT! The big vat of molten glass was kept in a rip roaring furnace at a toasty 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. I held a metal rod, and, while squinting through an eye-melting orange light, I dipped the end into the thick goo and spun it, gathering a glob of glass onto the end. The incandescent glob glowed as if alive.

Once acquired, the slug then needed to be quickly shaped. Glass cooled at a rapid pace, and, even though heat waves pulsed from the slug, it didn’t stay pliable for long. My first paperweight was a misshapen blob. After hours of practice, my ability improved, and I created a paperweight worthy to hold down my next novel’s manuscript pages.

I learned that working with glass required deft coordination, arm strength, tons of patience, and a good partner—it’s a good thing I have a day job!

Q What are you writing now?

A I’m writing the fourth book based in the Study world titled, Storm Glass. Set five years after Fire Study, Storm Glass has a new protagonist and she’s the reason for the new series title. Storm Glass will be out December 2008. Here is the cover copy of the book:

“As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she never knew she possessed...powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.”

Q Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

AI started writing because of boredom! My first job after college was as a Meteorologist for an environmental consulting firm. The amount of work came in waves, and we were either extremely busy or very bored. During the slow times, I started writing a short story. Ideas were always floating around in my mind, but that was when I began using them. I submitted my first short story for critique at a writing conference in Philadelphia, and when the workshop leader gave me 7 out of 10, I thought that was pretty good for a first effort and decided to stick with writing for a while. After my son was born and I only had about one hour a day to myself, I had to decide what was important enough to spend that precious time on. Most days writing won.

Q What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

A I sit down at my computer after my children leave for school. After answering email and procrastinating for an hour, I start writing and only stop briefly for lunch and continue until my son comes home around 3:30 p.m. During the school year, I’m very productive, but once summer comes along I can only do revisions.

Q Where do you write??

A I write in my home office. My husband enjoys woodworking and he built me a great writing room with built in bookcases and a custom made desk. I keep a number of toys nearby to fidget with as I’m working out a problem in my head, and I keep weapons nearby to make sure when I write an action scene, I’m not describing something impossible.

Q What is easiest/hardest for you as a writer?

A Dialog is the easiest and the most fun to write. I struggle with details. I tend to go light on details, preferring to focus on action and dialogue. Also describing emotions without using clichés is very difficult for me, finding something fresh is hard, but when I do—it’s like hitting the lottery.

Q This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

A The first and second books in the series are still available.

In Poison Study, Yelena starts her adventure in a dungeon, waiting to be executed for murder. She is given a choice of the noose or to become the new food taster for the Commander of Ixia—a military dictator paranoid of being poisoned. She chooses the job, and learns how to taste foods for poisons without dying. Life in the castle is full of hazards, the General, whose son she killed, wants revenge, rebels plot to seize Ixia, and Yelena develops magic she can’t control—magic which is forbidden in Ixia and punishable by death. As she searches for a way to freedom, Yelena is faced with more choices, but this time the outcomes aren’t so clear.

In Magic Study, Yelena is on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago. Although she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways, and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better. Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magical training. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince, and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians. If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with her new enemies.

Thanks to Maria for her fascinating answers--and her terrific books. Everyone should run out and buy them now, if you haven't already.

Real-life Romance

2008-02-13T12:45:00.002-05:00

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share the story of the most romantic thing I ever did (even though it didn't happen on Valentine's Day).

For our seventh anniversary, I sent my husband, Dan, on a scavenger hunt--one that took a lot of planning and setup. I warned him in advance not to make any plans for that day, and then early in the afternoon, I handed him a card sealed in an envelope, with the instructions not to open it until 3 PM. I then left the house and began putting the pieces of my plan into motion.

When Dan opened the card, he found a Victoria's Secret gift certificate, with the instructions that he was to go the VS at a nearby mall and pick out something he'd like to see me wear that night. After he made his purchase, he was to ask the store personnel if they had an envelope for him

I had, of course, been at the VS shortly before Dan was due to arrive, and I'd arranged with one of the saleswomen to hand him the envelope. When he received the envelope, he found that he had a massage scheduled in the spa located in the same mall. He was to leave the VS package at the front desk of the spa, and then ask for his next clue when he was all done.

While he was having his massage, I picked up the VS package from the front desk. (At least, that's how it was supposed to work--I'll fill you in on how this really all worked out at the end.) When Dan picked up his next clue, he was told to go to the Siena Hotel, which has one of this area's only 5-Diamond restaurants, and then go to the concierge desk to pick up his next clue.

When he picked up his clue from the concierge desk, he found a key and a room number in it. To make sure I had enough time to prepare everything, I told him (in the clue) that if he was running early, he should wait until 6:00 to use the key. Then at 6:00, he went to the room and unlocked the door.

I was, of course, waiting for him in the Victoria's Secret lingerie he'd bought for me. I also had candles lit all around the room, and had procured a dinner of various kinds of finger foods, culminating in a crock-pot chocolate fondue. I'm sure that dinner was half pleasure, half torture for him--just as it was for me. I'll leave what happened next to your imagination.

Everything worked out perfectly--from Dan's point of view. Mine was just a tad different. As you can tell, this was an elaborate plan that required lots of things to go right. I was keeping one step ahead of him the whole time, though I'd purchased the dinner items and candles before he even got started, and I'd also checked into the hotel. The problem came at the spa.

I was lurking in the china and silverware area, hiding like someone out of a spy movie, waiting for him to go into the spa. I'd then give him a few minutes, then go get the VS bag. But as I hovered there watching, I saw him leave the spa. I thought maybe they were running a bit late and he'd left to kill a little time, so I hung around, doing a little more mysterious lurking, for maybe ten minutes. When he still hadn't come back, I risked entering the spa to see if I could find out what was going on. To my horror, I discovered that they hadn't been running late, they'd been running early. I'd seen him walking out because he was already done and on his way to the hotel.

Major panic time for me. Because there were so many ways this plan could go wrong, I'd arranged everything so I'd be dropping off my envelopes shortly before Dan arrived. (I didn't want the personnel to change in between when I dropped off the envelope and when he picked it up.) Which meant I hadn't left the clue with the key at the hotel yet! The plan would lose a lot of its fun if he ended up sitting cluelessly in the lobby until I walked in and handed him the clue myself.

It was now a race. Who would make it to the hotel first, and would I have time to arrange things with the concierge and get out of sight before Dan got there even if I got there first? The only thing I had going for me was that when I'd parked at the mall, I'd known exactly where I'd be leaving from, so I parked right outside the door.

I'm sure I broke some major traffic laws as I sped frantically to the hotel, but because Dan hadn't been parked anywhere near the right door, and because the mall was humongous, I had just enough of a head start. I managed to disappear into the elevators just before he arrived, and I was very thankful I'd put that note in his last clue about not coming up until 6:00.

So that was the most romantic thing I ever did, and I did it right after I changed from writing science fiction and fantasy to writing romance. It isn't a coincidence! Anyone want to share their real-life romantic gestures, whether on the giving or receiving end?

The Power of Words

2008-01-31T14:49:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows the old saying “the pen is mightier than the sword.” I suppose it's not much of a surprise that I believe that, seeing as I'm a writer. Even when I was a kid, I scoffed at “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Words can be dangerous weapons, and kind of like the gun you were playing with but didn't know was loaded, they can hurt people when you don't even mean them to.

I recently had an experience of words hurting me even when they (probably) weren't intended to, and it got me in a pensive mood, thinking about things people have blithely said to me without realizing the damage they were doing. (And I'm sure I'm guilty of this too, no matter how hard I try to think about--and sometimes overthink--my words.) I always wonder how they could possibly not realize they were saying something hurtful, but since I can't rummage around in their minds--unlike certain characters I write about can--I'll never know.

The most egregious example I have occurred several years ago at my day job. My father had leukemia, as well as a host of smoking-related diseases. Nothing was at the point of completely disrupting his life yet, but we knew things were only going to get worse as time went on, and he was terminally ill. As I'm sure you can imagine, this was a very stressful time for me. (Especially since my mother was gravely ill at the same time!)

People at my day job knew about what was going on with my parents, and for the most part, everyone was very supportive, especially when my dad had to go into the hospital for some surgery. And then, there was my supervisor at the time, who will remain nameless. Nameless stopped by my office one day to ask how my father was doing. I gave him an update on my father's condition, at which point Nameless asked me how old my father was. I told him that he was 73. And then, Nameless said, and this is a direct quote because the words were seared into my brain: “Oh, then he's on bonus time.”

He went on to say some other things that were very insensitive, but I'd mostly stopped listening as soon as those words left his mouth. He'd proven before that there was no filter between his brain and his mouth, but never anything quite this bad. I mean, what was his point? That since my dad was old, it was okay for him to die?? (Never mind that my dad wasn't exactly a geezer!) As a writer, I spend lots of my time trying to put myself into the heads of characters who are nothing like myself--that's one of the joys of writing, at least to me. But I've never been able to figure out what was going on in Nameless's head that he thought it was okay to say something like that.

So yes, words can most definitely hurt, even when they aren't meant to. (And no, just because someone's feelings are hurt by words doesn't mean they are oversensitive.)

Bunco Night

2008-01-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

Last night was my turn to host our neighborhood Bunco game. Bunco, if you're not familiar with it, is a pretty silly dice-rolling game that involves absolutely no thought or strategy. It's really just an excuse for women in a neighborhood to get together and socialize.

My neighborhood has been doing the Bunco thing for over a year now, but I've rarely been able to go because it's usually been held on the same day as my local RWA meeting. But since the host gets to pick the day, I decided I would go ahead and host so I could get in on the socializing.

The absolute hardest part about playing hostess is that the party includes dinner. I'm not much of a cook, and I literally never entertain. And suddenly, I found myself having to prepare dinner for somewhere between ten and fifteen people. At least one of whom I knew was vegetarian. And I wanted to prepare foods that wouldn't get cold too fast as we waited for the stragglers to trickle in. I was just a tad intimidated, let me tell you.

I spent more time than I want to admit obsessively surfing the net, looking for recipes that would meet my criteria, since most of my favorite recipes on the rare occasions when I cook require pasta or rice, which are almost impossible to keep warm. I ended up making a chicken tortilla soup in my crock pot, and some Italian stuffed shells for my vegetarians. They both turned out very well and were relatively easy to make, so I wasn't as stressed out yesterday as I expected to be.

Everything went well, my guests all raved about dinner, and I had enough food for everyone. The only downside was the amount of time I spent on my feet over the course of the day. I'm all achy and stiff today. But I've become something of a football fan, so I'll just park myself in front of the TV with my legs propped up, and I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be as good as new.

Another New Cover!

2008-01-01T09:05:00.000-05:00

I've gotten the cover art for the next book in my Morgan Kingsley series, The Devil You Know. Once again, I think it's fabulous. I just keep waiting for the cover gremlins to come stomp on me, but so far, so good.

And here's the back cover blurb, in case you want to know a little more about the book:

The beautiful. The bad. The Possessed.

Some people worship them. Some people fear them. And some people—like Morgan Kingsley—go up against them toe-to-toe, flesh-to-flesh, and power against power. An exorcist by trade, Morgan is one of the few humans with an aura stronger than her possessor, even though her demon can tease her body senseless. She's also a woman who has just discovered a shocking truth: Everything she once believed about her past, her identity, may have been a lie…

With a family secret exploding around her and with a full-scale demon war igniting, Morgan is a key player in an unsettled world. Then a rogue, sociopathic demon enters her life with a bang. His name is The Hunter. And since she is the prey, Morgan has only one choice: to hunt The Hunter down—no matter what heartbreaking truths she uncovers on the way…

Happy New Year everyone! I'll be updating my website over the course of the day, putting up my new cover art, and I'll also be putting up sample chapters of Hungers of the Heart and The Devil You Know. Stop by and visit!

Reviewers' Choice Nominations

2007-12-28T09:06:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled to find out last night that TWO of my books are up for Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards. Shadows on the Soul is a finalist in the Vampire Romance category, and The Devil Inside is a finalist in the Urban Fantasy category. You can see the whole list of finalists here. It's exciting--and just a little intimidating--to see my name up there with such greats as JR Ward, MaryJanice Davidson, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris . . . You get the idea.

This is a fantastic after-Christmas present!! I just hope I don't break a leg attempting to dance a jig!

The dog ate my homework. No, really!

2007-12-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

Lately, Perry, our adorable little beagle who's just the most lovable creature on earth, has acquired a less than attractive habit. When my husband and I leave the dogs alone in the house, Perry seeks out "treats" to chew on.

First, he started chewing pens. We quickly learned to put all pens away when we go out. He then took to raiding our office trash cans. I suppose that's where he developed a taste for paper.

Tonight, Dan and I went out to dinner. Knowing that Perry has developed this new and irritating habit, both Dan and I closed our office doors, and I put all papers in the living room up out of Perry's reach. Or so I thought! (Cue ominous music.)

One of the joys of being a prolific writer is that I frequently have to multitask. I'm working on the third book of the Morgan Kingsley series, which is due to my publisher on January 15th, but I've also been going over the page proofs for The Devil You Know, book 2 of the series. (Page proofs are the typeset version of the manuscript, and the author gets a chance to read them and make corrections--hence, the term "proofreading.")

These particular proofs have been giving me headaches, because I'm finding a lot of errors--errors I know were not in the electronic file I sent, so I gather some if not all of the book was retyped. I'm having Dan look over them, too, because I don't feel confident I'm catching everything. I'm to send the pages that need correction back to the publisher by January 2, and I've gotten through more than 200 pages. Those 200 pages were sitting on the coffee table, and I feared Perry might find them attractive, so I picked them up and put them on an end table, which was much higher.

Apparently, not high enough! We came home from dinner, and what did I see lying around the living room floor in shreds? You guessed it! Luckily, he didn't get all that many pages, but I know there were a couple I had corrections for because of the pieces of Post-It notes that were stuck to the remains. Lest you think I'm pulling your leg:

So what do you think? Will my editor believe the "my dog ate my homework" story? Argh! Anyone want a beagle?? (Just kidding. I still love him, and I'm sure this will be funny some day. Just not now!!)

Fans--the best thing since sliced bread

2007-12-13T11:56:00.000-05:00

I love my fans. You have no idea how much you lift my spirits and inspire me when you write to me and tell me that you enjoy my books! One little email can make a huge difference on a day when I'm struggling with my writing or with the demons of self-doubt.

I was so moved by something one of my fans did that I felt the need to share it. (Also, I'll jump on anything that gives me an idea what to write in my blog, which sometimes seems harder than my novels!) I received the following in the mail from one of my fans this week:

She did actually sign it, but I figured she might not want me to share her name with everyone on the Internet, so I erased the signature from the scan. Call me sappy, but my eyes misted up when I saw this. It's so easy to take negative comments to heart, and often so hard to accept compliments. But I'm going to put this certificate in a frame near my desk, and whenever those demons of self-doubt start attacking me, I'll grab the certificate and smack them with it.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: if you read a book and you absolutely love it, please write to the author and let him/her know. It's amazing how much of an effect it can have! Don't just assume the author gets so much fan mail that he or she just shrugs it off. Chances are that's not the case, and you could make someone's day, just as this fan made mine.

Hungers of the Heart cover

2007-12-05T14:33:00.000-05:00

I finally have the electronic version of the cover art for Hungers of the Heart (Guardians of the Night # 4, Drake's book) so I can share it with the world. It's got a bit of a different look from my first three Guardians books, but it's not so wildly different that it looks like it's from a different series. I'm thrilled with it, and the cover guy looks very much like Drake looks in my head.

What about you? Is that how you pictured Drake? (Especially those of you who've been patiently waiting for his book since you first met him in Watchers in the Night.) I'd be interested in knowing.

Oh, and for those of you who don't already know: for the most part, authors have little to no say about what goes on our covers. When we get covers we like, we definitely do little happy dances--and breathe massive sighs of relief. LOL

Fun with Morgan Kingsley

2007-12-01T10:34:00.000-05:00

My friend and fellow urban fantasy/paranormal romance author Jackie Kessler has a very fun regular feature on her blog, where Jez, the succubus heroine of Jackie's books, interviews various characters from paranormal books. This week's victim . . .er, that is to say guest, is my own Morgan Kingsley. (The heroine of The Devil Inside, for those of you who don't already know.)

I think the "interview" came out great. If you're on the fence at all about whether you want to read The Devil Inside, this interview might give you just the information you need to make a decision. And if nothing else, it ought to be good for a few laughs. Click here to read the interview. And do check out Jackie's fabulous books, Hell's Belles and The Road to Hell, both available at bookstores everywhere!

Am I an Old Fogey?

2007-11-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

My usual Thanksgiving ritual over the past ten years or so has been to go to my in-laws' place in Greensboro for Thanksgiving dinner. It was going to be a bittersweet Thanksgiving this year, because we lost my mother-in-law to ALS on the first of this year. Usually she and my sister-in-law do all of the cooking, and I know my sister-in-law was going to take up the slack this year--until she fell and broke her hip a couple of weeks ago.

This necessitated a total change of plans, and there was no family get-together in Greensboro this year. My husband and I scrambled to make other plans, and we finally got reservations for a Thanksgiving dinner at the Sienna Hotel. This is the nicest hotel in the area, and certainly one of the best--and fanciest--restaurants with about 50 miles. I dressed up in a lovely skirt that's just too dressy to wear for everyday occasions. My husband wore a dress shirt and sport coat. And my 21-year-old stepson wore an Oxford shirt and Chinos (which is about as dressy as he ever gets, even when he goes for job interviews). If I'd been in charge of the wardrobe, they both would have worn jackets and ties, but I still thought we all looked very presentable.

At the hotel, we had to wait awhile for our table to be ready as the first sitting began to clear out. While we were waiting, I got a good look at some of the other patrons. Most had indeed dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner at a fancy hotel. But I have to say, I cringed when I saw a teenage girl and her mother. The mother was wearing a dressy enough blouse and slacks, but the girl was wearing blue jeans and a camisole top with her bra straps showing. I know our society is getting less and less formal as time goes on, but shouldn't some occasions be considered important enough to dress up for? Only slightly less horrifying was another teenager who wore a black and white plaid miniskirt that just barely covered her butt, paired with calf-high athletic socks and chunky black shoes.

So, am I now officially an old fogey, complaining about "young people these days?" I don't know, and I'm not sure if I care. While I'm all for being comfortable, I still believe there are occasions--and locations--for which dressing up is the only appropriate choice. Do you suppose in twenty years, the girl in the jeans is going to be complaining about her daughter's decision to wear shorts and sneakers to her prom?

Less than a week to go!

2007-11-21T10:46:00.000-05:00

The Devil Inside comes out on Tuesday of next week. My regular readers know what that means for me--time for the Attack of the Rabid Butterflies. I'm told the nerves never go away, which is just such a cheerful thought. Yes, there's plenty of excitement at the thought of a new release--particularly this new release, which signals the start of a new series in a new genre. But the nerves are killing me. I've been irritable, I'm having trouble sleeping, and I'm having tons of trouble concentrating on my last month of my day job. Ah yes, the carefree life of a writer!

Luckily, the nerves don't seem to be hampering me too much in the writing department. I'm somewhere around the halfway point of The Devil's Due, the third book in the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist series. The book is due in to my editor by January 2, so, although it's going well, there is still a fair amount of stress involved.

So enough of the whining, and on to the good stuff. I learned on Monday that I have made my first sale of translation rights! The first three books of the Morgan Kingsley series are going to be translated into German. That is just so cool! I've also been nominated for my high school's Distinguished Young Alumnae award. I have no idea who nominated me, and I suspect I don't have much of a chance--popular fiction not usually being considered "important" in academic circles--but I'm still very pleased to be nominated. Especially since this is the last year I'd qualify as "young."

That's it for now. It's almost time for my butterflies and me to go get our hair cut.

A free copy of The Devil Inside

2007-11-12T10:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Rachel Vincent (author of the fabulous book, Stray, which you should go out and buy immediately if you don't already have it) is running a contest on her blog, the prize for which includes an advance copy of The Devil Inside. All you have to do to be eligible to win is to post a comment to her blog. Note: although her blog currently says the contest is only open to those in the continental US because of the limitations of the vendor for the other prize--chocolate--I believe Rachel's going to update that so that those outside the continental US can at least win my book. So comment away, wherever you live!

Book video for The Devil Inside

2007-10-31T10:06:00.001-04:00

As promised, today is the day I'm launching the book video for The Devil Inside. I think it turned out great, but I would love to know what everyone else thinks!

P.S. No, I have no idea why there seem to be two copies of the video showing up. I only uploaded it once, and it only shows once in preview. Blogger must really like it and want you to watch it twice. LOL

A New Addiction

2007-10-24T11:22:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing the boards at Romance Divas and came upon an announcement about swapping trading cards. I didn't know what it was going to be about, but I opened the message out of curiosity, forgetting that old adage about curiosity and cats.

From that message, I learned about a form of art I'd never heard of before: Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs. These are small trading cards, 2.5 by 3.5 inches, and they are each miniature works of art. They can be any medium--paint, drawing, computer-generated, collage . . . The list goes on. These cards are meant to be traded, never sold, and there are various communities dedicated to setting up swaps, where you send in X number of cards you've made and get back the same number of cards from others in the swap. The Romance Divas were setting up a swap in February, which was why the topic had been brought up.

Now, my first reaction was on the lines of "gee, isn't that nice that they're going to do that, but I don't do art, so this has nothing to do with me." But as I kept perusing the thread and saw pictures of the cards the other Divas were producing, an idea tickled my brain for a way I could make cards myself without having to be a artist. After all, most of these cards are a kind of folk art, not produced by professional artists.

What I decided to do was a kind of mini collage. I printed up all kinds of colors, textures, and patterns on full-sheet label stock, then cut those swatches into various shapes and stuck them onto cardstock that I'd cut into the right size. I decided I very much liked the results, and now I'm completely addicted! I love working with interesting colors and patterns, and the miniature scale of the cards makes them somehow more approachable.

I'm really enjoying working on them, though there is a little niggling voice in my head that suggests I shouldn't be allowing myself a new obsession when I have an aggressive deadline for my next book. But still, it's nice to be able to do something creative that doesn't require me to sit in front of the computer. Here are pictures of some of my early creations:

A Halloween treat, and my book signings

2007-10-22T08:54:00.000-04:00

If you're looking for a little extra online fun on Halloween, stop by my website or my MySpace profile, where I'll be launching the book video for my next book, The Devil Inside. It turned out really great, and my first instinct is to show it to everyone immediately. However, I decided it would be smarter to wait until the book release date was a little closer, and Halloween seemed like the perfect time. (And yes, I know I'm a terrible tease.)

I also just had to share this Twilight Zone moment. As many of you know, I did a couple of book signings in South Carolina this past weekend. It turned out not to be the best timing, since it was the last weekend of the state fair. The mall I signed at on Friday night was dead, dead, dead; but despite the fair, football game, and parade I was competing with on Saturday, I did manage to sell a reasonable number of books at my Books-a-Million signing. (Yes, the T.Z. moment is coming, eventually.)

Authors, if you ever have a chance to sign at a Books-a-Million, snap it up immediately! I've done two for them now, and they have been absolutely fantastic. The staff goes out of their way to make the author's experience pleasant. Now here is the fun part (which you'll only "get" if you've read Secrets in the Shadows and/or Shadows on the Soul). The store had two people helping me out. They stood one on each side of my table, talking to me when things were slow, handing out promo material when people were coming in, and otherwise taking great care of me. Their names? Gabriel and Camille. I kid you not! (They both bought books from me, and when I signed them, I wrote notes to the effect that they really are much nicer in person than they are in my books.)

As promised

2007-10-18T14:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of me with my brand new red specs. I really like them--especially with the red in my hair--though I think it will take me awhile to get used to the progressive lenses.

Publishers Weekly reviewed my book!

2007-10-15T17:00:00.000-04:00

I don't think this good news can quite compete with last week's new contract, but it's still pretty cool--I got my very first review from Publishers Weekly, for The Devil Inside. And it was a really good one! The highlight is: "A winning heroine, a well-crafted contemporary world where demonic possession is just a part of life and a nice balance of mystery, action and sex. . . . An urban fantasy series kickoff full of promise."

The good news is, I'm thrilled to death. The bad news is, I haven't been able to get a thing done since then. At least not anything that requires brain power.

I thought I'd also share with you my favorite line from an upcoming review from SFRevu. The whole review is very positive, but I still got a special kick out of this one: "Sex is a significant element in the tale: sex alone, sex in couples, straight sex, gay sex, vanilla sex, mild S&M sex." It does rather seem like I've covered all the bases. (I didn't realize I was making a pun until after I wrote that last sentence--guess that's my subconscious at work.) I'm off to do some more Snoopy dancing (at Curves, actually, so I really will be getting a workout).

Great News!

2007-10-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

I have just accepted an offer to write three more books in the upcoming Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist series! I'm thrilled, not only because this keeps me employed at a time when I'm planning to quit my day job, but also because I really love this series. (Don't get me wrong--I love my Guardians of the Night series, too, but I've already written four of them, and I've only written two Morgan Kingsley books, so I've got a bit more of that just-falling-in-love feeling.)

There's going to be a pretty significant gap between the release of book two (The Devil You Know, which will come out in August 2008), and book three, which it appears won't come out until summer 2009, but after that they should come out every six months or so.

I think I'll celebrate by giving myself a "get out of jail free" card on my planned workout session this afternoon. Happy dancing is a workout all on its own, right?

UPDATE: I just heard from my editor, and it looks like there won't be such a big gap between releases after all. The third Morgan Kingsley book is going on the schedule for Fall 2008. Whoo-hoo!

I'm Progressive

2007-10-05T14:13:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to having my annual eye exam today. (Might as well get it done while I still have good group insurance!) I didn't even need glasses at all until my mid-thirties, and they were only for distance vision. But sad to say, I'm now graduating to progressive lenses. The doc said I'm borderline for them, but I might as well get them now while my insurance will cover part of the cost.

On the one hand, it will be kind of nice not to have to take my glasses off to read. (Especially nice when I'm watching TV and then reading something during commercials.) On the other hand, I didn't really want to know my eyesight is getting worse. It's a reminder that I'm not a twenty- or even a thirty-something anymore. Sigh.

To take the sting out of that realization, I decided to get some fun and funky frames. The frames I have now are very conservative. (You can see them on my author photo on my Bio page.) I guess as I was coming to terms with needing glasses in the first place, I wanted them to be as inconspicuous as possible. My new ones will not be so inconspicuous. And yes, I'll post a picture when I get them, which should be in about a week.

When reviews make you happy

2007-09-24T11:39:00.000-04:00

One of the things a lot of non-writers don't understand about an author's life is that it takes FOREVER to get any real feedback on how our books are doing. People routinely ask me whether my books are selling well, and it's always a difficult question to answer. If I say "I don't know," that generally requires an explanation, and many of the people who ask don't really want a long-winded explanation. But if I say "great," I feel like a liar, because "I don't know" is the real answer.

For example, I still can't tell anyone with any great accuracy how Watchers in the Night, my first book, which came out in November of last year, is doing. I won't know much of anything until I get my first royalty statement, which won't be until at least October--and which will only cover the first couple of months or so that the book was out.

I'm telling you all this so you have a better chance of understanding what good reviews and reader feedback can do for an author's state of mind. For months, maybe even a year or so, after a book comes out, we have no clue how it's doing. I don't know about other authors, but that uncertainty leaves my stomach in aching knots. That's why a lot of authors seek out their reviews and obsess over their (admittedly pretty meaningless) Amazon.com rankings.

When Watchers in the Night came out, I got some great reviews--but I also got a few that said things to the effect that it was only "okay." Those gnawed away at my confidence, naturally. I was whining . . . er, that is, talking to my agent about this one day, and she told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to read reviews.

But how could I not read them, when they were my only way to get any feedback? I came upon a great solution with Jenna Petersen (another of my agent's clients, and one of my MySpace friends. Go read her books. Now.) She had also gotten the "don't read reviews" lecture from our agent. We decided that we would read each other's reviews, and only send on the ones that were really good.

It's been a great solution for me, and I've been very faithful about not Googling myself. (The other Jenna hasn't been quite as virtuous--tsk, tsk--but hopefully I've helped reduce the amount of negativity she's been faced with.) The only other time I read reviews is when the reviewer or my publicist at Tor forwards them, and that only seems to happen with good reviews.

Anyway, so far things are looking really good, review-wise, for Shadows on the Soul, and I couldn't be more thrilled. As those who've read my blog know, I've been very nervous for a long time about how well Shadows would be received, what with my unusually dark hero. These reviews have served as nice pats on the back/reassurance. True, they won't make the doubts go away--I don't think anything will, it's just part of who I am. But they sure are nice! Here are links to the reviews that have made me happy. (And please, if you know of any bad ones, do not tell me about them--I won't be able to resist looking, even though I know it'll make me feel lousy.)
Romantic Times (though it's still too early for non-subscribers to see the whole thing online)
SFRevu
Once Upon a Romance
Love Vampires
Romance Reviews Today

Hooked on Puzzles

2007-09-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

I'll tell you, sometimes I wonder if I'm borderline OCD. In the past couple of weeks, I got completely hooked on one of those silly little Internet games I downloaded from AOL. To the point that my wrist was getting sore from all that mousing, but I still kept saying "just one more game." So I decided I needed to find something else to obsess over--something that didn't involve the computer and the potential of carpal tunnel syndrome.

I turned to something I used to enjoy years ago--jigsaw puzzles. I went on the Internet and found a number of sites that offered a dizzying array of puzzles, and I ordered five of them. While I waited for them to arrive, I dug out a couple of old puzzles I'd done long ago and worked on them with my husband. Tearing myself away from them was always tough--I'll just try to fit one more piece--but at least I wasn't sitting in front of the computer.

The five puzzles I ordered arrived yesterday, and I started on the first only minutes after it arrived. This morning, instead of going directly to my computer to start writing, I found myself hovering over the table on which the puzzle sat. You'll be happy to know I eventually dragged myself away to work on the proposal for a third Morgan Kingsley book, but even now I'm itching to get back to it.

And here's just one more thing to feed my obsession--personalized jigsaw puzzles. Not only do I get a jigsaw puzzle, I get a jigsaw puzzle of the cover of Shadows on the Soul! How cool is that? (I'm working my way up to a puzzle of The Devil Inside cover--I suspect that one would be quite . . . challenging.)

How many people enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles? I don't know how far into the weirdness spectrum this puts me. If you like doing jigsaw puzzles, what sizes are your favorites? And would you find a book cover jigsaw puzzle an appealing contest prize for my website/newsletter contests? (They're kind of expensive, but not so much so that I couldn't do an occasional special contest for one.)

Hero or Villain?

2007-09-06T09:15:00.000-04:00

I do a monthly newsletter on Yahoo Groups for my subscribers. It's nothing fancy--no cool layouts or graphics, just a chatty little newsletter in which I announce my news. I also run a monthly contest just for my subscribers. For this month's contest, I asked my subscribers to name the male villain in Shadows on the Soul. The answers started to trickle in, and that's when I started getting a complex. Because so far everyone has answered "Gabriel" on their first try.

Gabriel is actually the hero of Shadows on the Soul. Yes, he's a dark hero, but there's still something very unsettling about having my fans name him the villain. I'm pretty sure I know what's happening. I suspect those who have answered so far have not read the full book yet. Perhaps they've only read the first chapter online, in which Gabriel acts decidedly unheroic. Logic tells me someone cannot read the full book and think Gabriel is the villain, but I still cringe each time I see a contest entry come in. (Although I must admit to a fair amount of amusement, also. Obviously, I've succeeded in my goal of making Gabriel dark, and scary, and hard to redeem! I just hope I succeeded in redeeming him in the end.)

Those of you who aren't writers probably can't imagine the depth of self-doubt we tend to go through. And it never goes away, no matter what successes we may have. (Yes, Romantic Times gave Shadows on the Soul a 4 1/2 star Top Pick, but does that stop me from chewing my nails to the quick? Nope.) So despite my quite logical assurances to myself that no one who read the full book would think Gabriel was the villain, I can't help the niggle of worry.

So if you've read Shadows on the Soul and know the real answer to my contest question, please sign up for my newsletter so I can enter you in the subscribers contest! You'll make me feel better, and you might win a nifty mug or mousepad to boot. To subscribe, send a blank email to: JennaBlackBooks-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The Book Signing/Birthday Bash

2007-08-29T11:15:00.000-04:00

Any author reading this blog knows the trepidation one feels as an "event" looms on the horizon. Unless you're on the same level as, say, Nora Roberts or Janet Evanovich, there's a good chance no one is going to show up except the people you personally invite/nag/beg to come. And often it's only a very small percentage of those people who actually do make an appearance on the day of the event itself.

Not only is it embarrassing to hold an event and have no one show up, it can also put the author in an uncomfortable position with the bookstore. They just ordered a large number of your books, and it looks like they're not going to be able to sell them. (Yes, books can be returned, but it still doesn't leave a very good impression.) Maybe after a poor turnout, that bookstore won't invite you to do future events, and the booksellers aren't as likely to hand-sell your books.

So I spent the last couple of weeks trying not to dwell on the possibility of a disappointing turnout for my first signing for Shadows on the Soul. I'm not very good at not dwelling on things, especially when I'm dealing with my own nerves when a book is about to come out. So I was basically a nervous wreck.

I had decided to make the event not just a book signing, but also a birthday party (since the book actually did come out yesterday, on my birthday), in hopes that I could lure friends and acquaintances in with the prospect of food, but I had no idea how well that would work.

Right around 7:00, when the event was scheduled to begin, there were only about 5 or 6 people in the audience, and I was getting a nervous vibe from the bookseller who was helping me out. It was beginning to look dangerously like one of those dreaded flop events--and it didn't help that the store was sweltering, so I was already sweating just from the heat. I asked her to wait about 5 more minutes, because there were some people I really expected to come who weren't there yet. (Admittedly at that point, there were only a handful I was really expecting, but I figured if I could have a dozen or so people in the audience, that wouldn't be too bad.)

So we waited. And people started to trickle in. And they kept trickling, even after the event officially got started and I did a reading of the first chapter of The Devil Inside. By the time I was finished reading, it was standing room only, and I could have cried for happiness (and, I must admit, a good dose of relief as well).

So thanks to everyone who came out and supported me (even though you didn't eat anywhere near as many cookies and cupcakes as I was hoping, and I'm going to be on a fat and sugar high for the rest of the week)! And those of you who couldn't come for one reason or another (which is, of course, most of the people reading this blog, since you don't live near by), keep an eye out for authors appearing in your area. They will appreciate your attendance more than you can possibly know.

A great place to find out what authors are appearing in your area is BookTour.com. You can enter your zip code and get a list of upcoming appearances. Also, if you're an author, think of signing up yourself. It's free, and I think it's a pretty neat service!

Interview, part 2

2007-08-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

Part 2 of the interview I did at the Romantic Times convention is now available on Readers Entertainment TV. I still find it a bit surreal to watch myself talk on the Internet, but it's kind of cool, too. At least I didn't discover I talk in a monotone or anything like that!

Sorry for the long gap between blog posts. As so often happens in a writer's career, everything hit me at once. I got my revision letter for The Devil You Know (the second Morgan Kingsley book), and then immediately thereafter received the copyedits for Hungers of the Heart (the fourth Guardians of the Night book). That would be enough work on its own, but of course, Shadows on the Soul is coming out tomorrow (yay!), and there's lots of work to do in the days surrounding a book release. (At least, there is for those of us who are promo addicts. I think having promo work to do helps calm some of my pre-release jitters.)

As a reminder to any of my readers who live in comfortable driving distance from Durham, NC, I'll be doing a book signing/birthday party tomorrow (August 28), starting at 7 PM at the Barnes & Noble at New Hope Commons. There will be cake, cookies, and $250 worth of door prizes, so if you're in the area, please stop by and help me celebrate. (And no, I'm not telling you how old I'll be, so don't ask!)

I'll also be signing this Saturday (September 1) at the grand opening of Books-a-Million in Rocky Mount, NC. That signing begins at 1 PM. I've never signed at a grand opening before, so this is kind of exciting. Come join me!

I feel your pain

2007-08-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Let's face it: writers are an odd bunch. (Yes, that's a generalization, but if you're a writer and you're not odd, keep it to yourself!) We spend much of our lives envisioning what we would do and what we would feel if we were in another person's shoes. To me, that is one of the most fascinating aspects of reading, that in reading I can lose myself in someone else's world vision. It's as close to mind reading as we can get.

But that ability to transport yourself into someone else's mind, to empathize, has its downsides. The realization of that has been a long time coming for me. I always just thought of myself as being very sensitive, never wondered why I was that way. But once I started wondering, it became obvious.

I have an enormous amount of trouble distancing myself from anyone else's distress. When someone I know is hurting, my sympathy pains are sometimes hard to live with. (This translates even to pets--when one of my dogs is sick, I'm absolutely miserable!)

Within the last month or so, a friend and former critique partner announced that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been blogging about her experiences, which I'm sure is therapeutic for her, but also allows her to share information with her friends and family without having to repeat it umpteen million times. When I read her blog this morning and found that her hair is beginning to fall out less than two weeks after her first chemo, it was all I could do not to start crying. (Her prognosis is excellent, but that doesn't make the ordeal she has to go through much easier.) I can't help imagining what I would feel in her situation, and when I imagine it, I feel it.

I have another writer friend whose husband just had a major stroke this weekend (and no, he's not particularly old). More tears on my part, even though I've only met the guy briefly in passing. I keep thinking about how terrible she must feel, wishing I could do something to help, but knowing from personal experience with tragedy how little I, as a casual friend rather than a bosom buddy, can do. Last I heard, he's doing much better, but he's far from out of the woods. Then there was another friend, whose husband passed away recently . . .

I don't know how people who deal with death and misery every day cope with it. I know they must somehow be able to put some distance between themselves and every else's pain. I wish I knew how to do that. I wouldn't want to lose my ability to be a caring and compassionate person, but considering how much stress I've had in my own life over the last three years (I've lost both of my parents and my mother-in-law over that period), it would be nice to be able to turn it off, if only for a little while.

So did I lose my ability to distance myself because I'm a writer, or did I become a writer because I so easily can imagine how someone must be feeling? (We'll leave the question of how accurate my imaginings might be for another day.)

My First Interview

2007-08-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

When I was at the Romantic Times convention, Circle of Seven (who produced my book videos) arranged to film an interview with me. This was the first time I'd ever been interviewed on camera, and you're probably not shocked to hear that I was nervous.

Those of us being interviewed had been given the interview questions in advance (thank goodness!), so we could prepare ourselves, but of course I still had visions of my mind going blank and me flubbing lots of answers. My nerves got even worse when the lady behind the camera critiqued my first few answers, adding more instructions each time. However, after those first couple of questions, I calmed down and just talked like I normally would.

One of the Ellora's Cave cover models was asking me the questions, but he was never meant to be on camera, so I was supposed to answer the questions as if I were just spouting words of wisdom spontaneously--not as if I was directly responding to a question. That was probably the hardest part. Of course, it was also hard talking to the cover model, who was sitting right under the blinding spotlight. (Kind of like that old cop cliche where they shine the light on you while they ask you questions!) I knew he was there somewhere, but I couldn't exactly see him.

At the very end, they blindsided me with the frighteningly open-ended question, "Is there anything else you'd like to say?" That, of course, immediately caused brain freeze, but they turned off the camera and gave me a minute to think, and I eventually came up with something.

The interview will be posted in three parts on Readers Entertainment TV, and the first part is up now. Click here to see it. After it has been up for a week, I'll be allowed to post it to my own website and MySpace page as well. But I hope you'll give Readers Entertainment TV a look!

Letting go of the security blanket

2007-08-08T15:32:00.000-04:00

Next year will be a really big year for me. Not because of my new releases, but because starting on January 1, 2008, I will finally let go of my security blanket and become the full-time writer I've wanted to be all my life.

I'm sure some of you see the number of books I'm putting out and are thinking, "you mean to tell me she's not doing this full time!" I have arranged with my day job to work 30-hour weeks instead of 40-hour weeks, but yes, I do still have a day job. And while I've been able to keep up with my writing deadlines (for the most part) so far, I've known for a while that there was only so long I could keep this up.

Right now, I'm writing at the pace of one book every six months--but that's one book every six months per publisher. And I have two publishers! How long could I do that while working a 30-hour a week day job? And, of course, doing promotional work for each of my releases--things like blogging, and website updates, and book signings.

It was around spring of this year when I began seeing the proverbial writing on the wall, but one thing you're never guaranteed to have as an author (unless you're on a level with the likes of Nora Roberts) is job security. And man, it's scary as hell to let go of the security blanket. Regular paychecks . . . group health insurance . . . gone. So while I knew intellectually that I couldn't continue working what amounted to three full-time jobs at once forever, I still wasn't ready to let go.

Usually, I'll say I don't believe in Fate, but sometimes I just have to wonder . . .

As I was pondering the question of my future employment, waffling and procrastinating, my company decided to close its North Carolina office. They gave me some options. I could work from home (which is what I'm doing now), but not in my current position. I'd have to take a different job, with which I would have little familiarity. Or I could move to Omaha. Yeah, right. Not happening! Or I could continue on until the end of this year, and then take a nice severance package.

As I said, moving to Omaha was out of the question. And if I'm having a hard time dealing with all three of my jobs now, the last thing I need is to learn a new job, which is always stressful, even when you're staying within the same company. I decided that Fate was giving me a swift kick in the rear, telling me it was time to be a full-time author.

I'm very much looking forward to being able to devote myself to my writing without those annoying conference calls, and meetings, and email flame-wars (which aren't called that, of course, because it's a corporate environment, but that's still what they are). And let's not even talk about the pain-in-the-butt customers. But man, I sure hope Fate knows what the hell she's doing!

Shadows on the Soul, the video

2007-08-06T14:22:00.000-04:00

Today, I'm unveiling the book video for Shadows on the Soul, the third book in my Guardians of the Night series, which comes out at the end of this month. I think it turned out great, but then I'm a bit biased. Tell me what you think! Just click on the arrow below to start the video playing.

If you're viewing this via Amazon.com, it seems that the player doesn't work. Just click where it says "Jenna Black's Blog Experiment," and you'll be taken to Blogger, where the player will work.

What I've been reading

2007-08-04T14:02:00.000-04:00

Those of you who've been reading my blog since its inception must think I have hired an evil twin to post blog entries for me. After all, I've often had weeks go by without a single post. The reason I'm posting so much lately is that for the time being, I am not under deadline. Which means I have time to blog. Yay!

Usually, I don't like to blog about what I'm reading. I'm hypersensitive (okay, maybe even paranoid) about not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings or make anyone feel left out. After all, I have a lot of writer friends, and I don't want to play favorites. However, today, I'm going to break my own rule. (Drumroll, please.)

I am an occasional reader of Jennifer Cruisie's blog, Argh Ink, and one day I read that she had 50 copies of her new collaborative novel, The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, which she co-authored with Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart, to give away. There would be a random drawing from amongst the first 100 bloggers who kept regular blogs to respond. Anyone who received a copy would agree to blog about it, although there was no obligation for us to review it favorably. I love anything Cruisie, so I put my name in the hat.

I didn't hear back immediately, so I went ahead and bought the book. A few days later, I received my free copy in the mail. (Wouldn't you just know it?) So now I'm fulfilling my end of the bargain and blogging about it.

The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes is about three magical sisters who have serious difficulty controlling their magical powers, and their evil aunt who is out to "make their lives better" by stealing those powers for herself. Of course, they might die in the process, but that's only a minor inconvenience, at least to their aunt.

I first heard of this book when Jennifer Cruisie blogged about a review in which the reviewer lamented the fact that it was a collection of novellas rather than a novel. (Never mind that it clearly says "A Novel" on the front cover. Or the fact that there's no table of contents. Or the fact that there's only one title throughout the book. Or the fact that . . . You get the point.) Well, having read the book, I can now confirm what common sense already told me--there was no way that reviewer read the book and was somehow confused as to its nature. It is clearly, unmistakably a novel. The reviewer must have based her review on the back cover alone, which does rather make it sound like three separate stories.

While I certainly enjoyed the novel, and while there were plenty of laugh out loud moments that had my husband giving me that "uh-oh, I married a lunatic" look, I might have preferred that this actually be three novellas! At the time I was reading it, I never could sit down and do my usual reading binge, wherein I read until I'm ready to quit reading. I kept having to put the book down for one reason or another. With some books, that's not a problem. With this one, it was.

The problem for me was that there were too many characters and subplots to keep track of when I had to keep putting the book down and then picking it back up. This isn't the book's fault. It's just that some books lend themselves to being read over multiple sittings better than others. Even so, I did find it an enjoyable read, and as I mentioned, there were some astonishingly funny moments that made the occasional brain strain worth it.

My recommendations to anyone planning to read this book are:
1. Do not have coffee or any other beverage anywhere near you while you are reading, or you'll end up with soggy pages.
2. Try to read it in as few sittings as possible so you can keep it all in your head at once. (Of course, others may have no problem keeping all the names and stories straight, so maybe it's just me.)

Gotta Love Those Bad Boys!

2007-08-02T12:56:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm past yesterday's dentist visit, I can finally focus on what's really important to me. Shadows on the Soul is coming out this very month! (On my birthday, no less! Neat present, huh?)

You might think that since this is my third book, I'd be cool as a cucumber. Just another day at the office. Uh . . . no.

I don't think I'll ever get over the thrill of a new book coming out. After all, I toiled for more than sixteen years to get where I am now, and it's only fair I should get at least sixteen years of thrills out of seeing my books in print. But with Shadows on the Soul, it's even more.

Yes, I'm excited, as always. But I'm also nervous. (Also as always, alas.) Each book in the Guardians of the Night series has gotten a little edgier than the last, and each time I find myself worrying whether romance fans are going to accept the latest level of edginess. If you've read Secrets in the Shadows, then you know just how bad a bad boy Gabriel, the hero of Shadows on the Soul is. For those of you who aren't familiar with him, you can read the sample chapter on my website and get a good idea of what he's like.

He's a vampire. He's a Killer. He seethes with anger. And he's even got a bit of a sadistic streak. How can I hope romance readers will be able to sympathize with him? *Takes deep breath* I remind myself that my agent and editor both read it and loved it. I remind myself that in general, the romances put out by Tor aren't as conventional as those put out by many other houses. And now I can even remind myself that the book got a 4 1/2 star Top Pick from Romantic Times! Obviously, there are others out there who see his redeeming features.

None of that quells the self-doubt. I love Gabriel. He's one of my favorite characters I've ever written, and I've sympathized with him ever since he made his first appearance, popping out of my sub-conscious from God-only-knows where. That means that with this book, I feel like I have a little bit more personally at stake. One of the major themes that colors all my books is the idea that no matter how screwed up your life is, no matter what mistakes you've made in the past, there is always hope for redemption. It will bother me when people are unable to accept Gabriel--and I know some people won't. I had a well-known author decline to give me a blurb because he was just too dark, and I know she won't be the only one to think so.

This month and the next will be very tense for me as I await the public's reaction to this hero who means so much to me. And I will be extra grateful to my review-screening partner. (We read each other's reviews and then forward on only the good ones, so we don't spend too much time agonizing.)

Escape from the Dentist's Chair

2007-08-01T14:13:00.000-04:00

I don't know about everyone else, but when I get home after a dentist's appointment, I sometimes have a near-euphoric feeling of relief. Thank God it's over!!

I have been terrified of the dentist ever since I was a little girl. You see, my baby teeth came in without any enamel, which meant I had approximately one zillion cavities. I was also deathly afraid of needles. My mother and my dentist, in their infinite wisdom, decided to humor that fear. So I had all those cavities filled without anesthetic. You know that scene in "Marathon Man" that makes everyone cringe? (Shudder.) Now imagine it with a little girl under that drill.

Is it any surprise that as an adult, the dentist is my own personal bogeyman? It didn't help that the first time I had to have any serious dental work done (a root canal), my then-dentist told me that if I let myself get all scared about it, it would hurt like hell. Yeah, just the thing to say to make me relax!

I got a new dentist after that, and things are much better now. All I was having done today was a whole bunch of little fillings that I'd been procrastinating about, but she still gave me Valium and nitrous. Amazing how much less traumatic it is that way! (I really don't miss having the dental assistant hold me down while the dentist drilled away. And I would love to go back in time and slap my mom and my pediatric dentist silly for not insisting I get the Novocaine shots!)

So, yay, it's over! And thanks to drugs and gas, it really wasn't that bad at all. Now all I have to do is wait until the Novocaine wears off so I can feel like a real human being again.

I'm a Top Pick!

2007-07-31T08:35:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine informed me last night that I got a 4 1/2 star Top Pick review from Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine for Shadows on the Soul! This is my first time getting that extra half star and getting that Top Pick, so I'm really excited. The highlight of the review for me was: "Black hits a note-perfect combination of romance, vengeance and passion. Her best book to date!" Yay! It's Snoopy-dance time.

I'm working with Circle of Seven on a book video for Shadows, and I'll probably be unveiling it next week. I don't know how much book videos help sales, but they sure are a lot of fun.

Help with a title

2007-07-26T10:32:00.000-04:00

Update: Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions for the title of the next Guardians book. While I received some excellent suggestions, I've decided to go with one I came up with myself: Echoes in the Dark. (Or Darkness--haven't quite chosen which one yet.) Even though I didn't pick any of your titles, the influx of ideas really helped me come up with the one I did select, so I'm going to randomly draw from the commenters and the winner will receive a set of autographed cover flats.

(I'll pick one winner from MySpace, and one from Blogger. If you're using Blogger, look in the comments where I'll announce the winner.)

Thanks again for all your help!
---------------------------
I'm ready to start working on a proposal for a fifth book in the Guardians of the Night series. I know who my hero, heroine, and villain are. I know their back-stories. I have at least a sketchy plot.

What I don't have is a title. And I'm one of those writers who has trouble working on a book without having at least a halfway decent title in mind. So I thought I'd see if anyone has any great ideas that I could use (or that would at least trigger an idea in my own brain). If you propose a title and I choose to use it, I'll send you a $15 Amazon.com gift certificate. Please note that I may not pick a winner on this one if I don't see anything that feels right to me--I've rejected countless of my own titles already, so I'm very picky.

The book is a redemption story, about a Killer who has cured his addiction to the kill and is now trying to be a Guardian. However, he's been a very bad guy for about 600 years, so he has a lot of sins to overcome. The heroine is running from a potential media frenzy if her identity is discovered, because of a very well-publicized family scandal involving her father. Because they both have problematic pasts/identities, they're going to spend a lot of the book lying/covering up the past. (I tell you all this so you can see the basic themes and perhaps come up with a relevant title.)

The previous titles in this series are:
Watchers in the Night
Secrets in the Shadows
Shadows on the Soul
Hungers of the Heart

I would like my new title to follow the same kind of pattern. I look forward to seeing some suggestions!

What if you were no longer afraid of anything?

2007-07-25T11:10:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try a bit of a change in my "what if" contest. In previous weeks, I've posted my own answers to the questions. I've decided to try keeping it simple by only posting the question and the rules. I'll let my readers do most of the work. (Insert sound of evil laughter.) So, here's this week's question:

What if you were no longer afraid of anything? What would you do?

Contest rules:
Answer the "what if" question in a comment, either on Blogger or on MySpace. Next week, I will draw a winner from amongst the contest entrants. The winner will receive a set of autographed cover flats from the first three Guardians of the Night books (with an added bonus or two thrown in). Answers must be posted by Sunday, July 29. Only one answer per commenter will be entered in the drawing (though if you want to leave multiple answers, you can!) I will draw the winner on Monday, July 30.

What I'm Up To

2007-07-23T11:22:00.000-04:00

First of all, congratulations to SuziQ who won last week's What If contest. I'll post another What If question on Wednesday. But for now, I thought I'd give you the post-conference low-down on what I'm up to.

I've finished the revisions for Hungers of the Heart, the fourth book of my Guardians of the Night series, and when I talked to my editor at conference it sounded like she was happy with them. So, that should be off my plate now. (Yay!) I'm still waiting for a revision letter for The Devil You Know, the second book in my Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist series. Once I get those revisions done, I'll have finished all the books I currently have under contract. (Wow!)

So, what happens next? A lot of people have asked me whether I'm going to continue writing for Tor now that I've signed with Bantam. And the answer is . . . we'll see. I'm going to write a proposal (which for the non-writers who read this is the first three chapters and a synopsis) of a fifth book in the series. It's going to be another redemption story (I love those), but there's some question as to whether the character I'm planning to make the hero is really redeemable. He did some Very Bad Things in Hungers of the Heart (as I blogged about in an earlier post when I was struggling with him).

Of course, those of you who've read Secrets in the Shadows and know that Gabriel is the hero of the next book realize how much I like to push the envelope with my heroes. We'll just have to see how my editor likes the idea. I suspect the success (or lack thereof!) of Shadows on the Soul, with my ultra-dark hero, will have some bearing on whether Tor is going to be willing to go with my proposal for the continuation of the series.

The long and short of it is, if you enjoy the Guardians of the Night series--and particularly if you enjoy Shadows on the Soul when it comes out--please spread the word to other readers! The more buzz that book gets, the more likely I'll be able to continue writing Guardians of the Night books!

What if you were sent into solitary exile on a distant planet?

2007-07-18T15:46:00.000-04:00

I got very few (3) responses to my last "what if" question. Because posting these questions, picking the winners, and mailing the prizes is time-consuming, I will only continue the contest for as long as I see interest in it. If I don't get at least five entrants (between Blogger and MySpace) this time, I will discontinue the contest. So, if you'd like to keep the contest alive, be sure to comment!

This week's question:
What if you were sent into solitary exile on a distant planet, and you could take anything you wanted along with you? What would you take?

My response:

If I were to be sent to solitary exile to a far away planet, the first stop I would want to make was to Barnes & Noble. I'd get one copy of every book in the store, and one copy of each CD and movie. I'd, of course, need to have a TV, CD player, and VCR/DVD player. I'd also want to get some glasses of various strengths so that as my eyesight got worse with age, I'd still be able to read.

My computer would be a must-have. I'd probably also want to have lots of computer games. I think the biggest problem with the solitary exile would be the boredom. I'd want to bring lots of things that would challenge my mind, to keep my brain alive and kicking, and games serve that purpose very nicely. They also help to while away the hours.

Although I'd probably do most of my writing on the computer, but there's a special feeling to writing with pen and paper, so I'd want to take lots and lots of paper and lots and lots of pens. I'd want to have a variety of pens and paper--thick, creamy parchment with fountain pens; spiral notebooks with ball points; fancy leather-bound journals with roller balls. You name it, I'd want it.

I am assuming that I can take for granted that I'd want all the basic necessities of life, such as food and bed, etc. The last thing I'd want to take would be a whole lot of dogs. Maybe I'd go to the pound and rescue every dog in there and take them along. They'd have to be breeding animals, though, because I'd want to have generations of them to keep me company. Perhaps this would break the "solitary" exile part, but I'd see what I could manage. My dogs bring so much joy to my life; I can't imagine being dogless!

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Contest rules:
Answer the "what if" question in a comment, either on Blogger or on MySpace. Next week, I will draw a winner from amongst the contest entrants. The winner will receive a set of autographed cover flats from the first three Guardians of the Night books. Answers must be posted by Sunday, July 22. Only one answer per commenter will be entered in the drawing (though if you want to leave multiple answers, you can!) I will draw the winner on Monday, July 23. Congrats to Kim on MySpace, who won the last contest!

The Fabulous Pins

2007-07-17T11:47:00.000-04:00

Many published authors I saw at the conference asked me where I got the fabulous book-cover pins I was wearing. I couldn't remember the web address, and I told a number of people they should email me later and I'd send it to them. I haven't gotten any emails yet--I'm sure I'm not the only one who's suffered from Conference Head--but I thought I'd share the info on the blog. You can get your very own book covers made into pins at Picture Perfect Designs. They make great conversation starters--and allow you to do low-key self-promotion. Highly recommended!

Conference Head

2007-07-16T11:37:00.000-04:00

As you know if you're a regular reader of my blog, last week I was in Dallas for the RWA National Conference. Many times in the past, I've heard other writers speak of the phenomenon known affectionately as "Conference Head." This term refers to the state of near brain death that seizes conference attendees by the end of conference. I thought I understood what that term meant before. I was wrong.

Conference Head comes about due to an excess of input and stimulation. With writers, who tend to spend most of their days alone, sitting in front of their computers and typing, spending multiple days surrounded by other people, networking and socializing and otherwise being "on" all day, is exhausting. I've definitely felt that exhaustion before, but I wasn't prepared for how much worse it would be this year.

This year was the first time I'd gone to conference and a) had a book out, b) had a second publisher--specifically, a second publisher who is big enough to hold events at the conference, and c) was actually speaking myself. I was booked within an inch of my life! One of my friends laughed at me for having printed out a calendar from MySpace with all my appointments on it, but there was no way I could remember everything otherwise.

I had a fantastic time. I will blog more about it in the days to come. But right now, I'm going to succumb to Conference Head and just let myself relax/veg for a while. I'll post the weekly "what if" question and announce last week's winner later this week. (I'll aim for tomorrow, but since I have a dentist appointment and a severe case of dentist-phobia, it might not be until Wednesday.)

What if you could curse your enemies?

2007-07-09T17:58:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Heather from MySpace, who won last week's contest. (See the end of this post for contest rules, and see my Father's Day post for an explanation of where this all came from.)

The Question:
What if you could curse your enemies? Who would you curse, and what would your curse be? Please DO NOT name names--you never know who could stumble across your post.

I usually post my own response to the question, but this time I'm going to post my father's, because it was so wickedly inventive. I'm leaving out the part about who he would invoke this curse on.

My curse: May you be plagued, relentlessly, with the annoyances and frustrations of daily life and may the cumulative effect inexorably drive you into the looney bin:

May every plane you board sit on the tarmac for one hour before departure.
Whenever you drive around New England to see the fall foliage, may your engine overheat.
May your tennis playing skills deteriorate such that you can no longer beat your wife.
When you go to the U. S. Open at Forrest Hills may you discover at the gate that your tickets were for yesterday, not today.
May a mutation of chemical resistant termites invade your home.
May the cork deteriorate in the bottle of wine you have been saving for years for a special occasion.
May your next fender-bender be with the local chief of police on his way to a picnic with his family on a nice Sunday afternoon.
May your entire family be gathered for Thanksgiving and you discover that your wife forgot to turn on the oven.
May your TV screen go blank during the Superbowl.
May your social security checks inexplicably start going to the wrong address.
May all your grandchildren send you wallets for Xmas.

May leaves clog your rainspouts every time it rains.

May you never find out what's causing the rattle in your car.

May the telephone sellers call you every hour.

May your body chemistry change such that eating charcoal broiled steaks gives you a rash.

May your home be the only one on the block to be reassessed.

May you be the one selected at random by the IRS for a total audit.

May all the white flies in your neighborhood decide that your tomato plants are the most tasty.

As a penalty for a traffic violation, may the judge sentence you to three years of jury duty.

When you decide to sell your treasured 18th century Persian rug may Sotheby's tell you that it's a 20th century copy.

May you discover that your wife sent the shirt with the winning lottery ticket in the pocket to the laundry.

Contest rules:
Answer the "what if" question in a comment, either on Blogger or on MySpace. Next week, I will draw a winner from amongst the contest entrants. The winner will receive a set of autographed cover flats from the first three Guardians of the Night books. Answers must be posted by Sunday, July 15. Only one answer per commenter will be entered in the drawing (though if you want to leave multiple answers, you can!)

I Hate Packing!

2007-07-08T10:51:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, I leave for my week-long trip to Dallas to attend the RWA national conference. Which means that today, I have to pack for the trip. Ugh!

I used to travel all over the world with my mom, when I was in my teens and twenties. We had packing light down to an art form, to the point that even when we went on two- or three-week vacations, we each traveled with a single carry-on bag. Of course, part of the reason we could get away with that was because we tended to go for off-the-beaten-track adventure-type travel. Trips where we didn't have to dress up for dinner, etc.

Going to RWA is such a different animal! Not only do I have to pack business attire (as opposed to the whatever-I-can-stuff-in-the-smallest-space outfits I'd take when I traveled with my mom), I have three separate evening events that will require changes of outfits. I imagine my mother rolling over in her grave at the thought of me possibly needing more than one bag! (I'm going to try to stuff everything into one, but I have serious doubts at this point.)

No, this is not a profound or even terribly interesting blog post. It's just my excuse to a) get away from the suitcase for a few minutes, and b) whine about my pitiful existence. (I'm sure everyone's ready to send me flowers and condolence cards based on my predicament.)

Oh well. Time to get back to work. *Sigh*

Great discovery/invention

2007-07-02T08:25:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Deidre on MySpace, who one my first "what if" contest! And thanks to everyone who left comments! I really enjoyed reading them. Here's the next contest question (with a quick summary of the rules at the end).

What if you could be responsible for one great discovery or invention? What would it be?

My response

I’d like to invent a device that would be capable of stopping pain. My immediate thought was that I’d want to come up with a 100% effective pain reliever that you could take prophylactically and thus never have to suffer pain. Then, I thought about the possible repercussions. If you never had to feel pain, then you’d probably never go to the doctor when you were injured and you could end up killing yourself. Then, I thought maybe I’d invent some kind of monitor that would pick up the brain’s awareness of pain and turn it into some kind of benign warning, like a flashing light or a beep. But even that could be ignored by people who shouldn’t ignore it. The very unpleasantness of pain is what makes us take action to cure it. I was in a quandary. I can think of so many instances where pain is completely unnecessary, and yet it has its place in our lives.

Finally, I came up with what I think is a good and practical solution. My device would pick up signals from the pain receptors in our brains. If the pain escalated past a certain threshold, the device would kick in and alleviate it. However, it would not make the pain go away. If you’d done something like break your leg, the device would allow it to hurt enough that you wouldn’t walk on that leg and make it worse. However, once you got to a doctor, he or she could enter an override code that would knock the pain out completely until you were healed.

This would be an incredible boon to the medical industry. For one thing, you wouldn’t have to take the risks involved with general anesthesia, at least not as often. You’d also be able to avoid the unpleasant side affects associated with current painkillers--such as addiction. It would also be a great boon to society. How many people are there in this world who avoid going to the doctor (or the dentist, for that matter) because they fear the pain? If they could be guaranteed that whatever medical procedure they had to undergo would be completely pain-free, wouldn’t they be more inclined to go, and wouldn’t that catch a lot of diseases and other problems before they became fatal? I think it would also make people less afraid of growing old and, eventually, dying. I think most of us fear the idea of the pain and suffering often involved with death more than we do the death itself.

Too bad I don’t believe that any such thing is possible. But it’s a nice fantasy.

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Contest rules:
Answer the "what if" question in a comment, either on Blogger or on MySpace. Next week, I will draw a winner from amongst the contest entrants. (Unlike the first contest, I will draw at random instead of trying to pick favorites--that was too hard!) The winner will receive a set of autographed cover flats from the first three Guardians of the Night books. Answers must be posted by Sunday, July 8. Only one answer per commenter will be entered in the drawing (though if you want to leave multiple answers, you can!) I intend to choose a winner and post another question next week, but I'll be at the RWA conference in Dallas, so I may be a bit slow about it.

Piatkus Cover Art

2007-06-30T08:40:00.000-04:00

One of the commenters in my last post on MySpace asked about when The Devil Inside would come out in Australia. This reminded me that I hadn't made a general announcement (except to my newsletter subscribers) that Piatkus, which serves the UK and the Commonwealth, has picked up my Morgan Kingsley series. The Devil Inside will be a January 2008 release, and The Devil You Know will be released as close to the US release date as possible. I thought I'd share the Piatkus cover art with my readers. It seems the cover gods are still smiling on me!

What if you became a superhero?

2007-06-26T14:48:00.000-04:00

After my Father's Day post about the "what if" questions I used to help bridge the gap between my father and myself, I got to thinking that those questions could turn out to be fun blog fodder. So I've decided to share these questions with my readers. I'll post a new question every week until 1) I run out, 2) I decide I'm not getting enough participation, or 3) I become so overwhelmed with work I can't handle the blog.

I'll share the answers I gave my dad to these questions (where those answers are appropriate for the general public), and I'd love to see my readers' responses as well. In fact, each week I'll pick a winner out of everyone who posts a response, and that winner will receive a set of autographed cover flats of my Guardians of the Night series. (The winner will be either my favorite response, or, if there are multiple responses I like, a random choice between those favorite responses.) I will be running this contest simultaneously on Blogger and MySpace. Please comment only on one site.

So, without further ado: What if you became a superhero? What would your special power be, and how would you use it?

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If I were to become a superhero, my special power would be to be a shapeshifter. I'd want to be able to instantly take the form of any creature, real or imaginary. (Kind of like the Greek myth of Proteus.)

I imagine the first thing I would do with that power is take the form of a hawk and fly. I'd particularly like to travel to somewhere like the Grand Canyon and take wing there. I'd soar over the middle of the canyon, getting the proverbial bird's eye view. When I got tired, I'd alight on a ledge somewhere that no human being could get to. Then, I'd turn back to a human being and sit there with my legs dangling over the edge, gazing at the awesome beauty around me and feeling like the only human being on earth. Maybe I'd even fly down to the bottom of the canyon, secretly laughing at those silly people clinging to their mules!

Next, I'd like to take a trip out to a coral reef somewhere--maybe Bermuda, whose reefs I'm familiar with, or maybe somewhere new and exciting, like the Great Barrier Reef. There, I'd turn into a fish--maybe a lion fish, with all those deadly poisonous spikes to deter predators. I'd explore the reef, swimming slowly along. Being another fish, I probably wouldn't scare the wildlife, so I'd be able to get a really close look. Maybe I'd find an interesting wreck to explore, swimming inside the ancient ruins of a ship. I might even turn myself into some exotic deep-water fish and swim down to the deepest depths where life exists. I'd get to see things human beings can only see by remote camera. So little is known about the deepest ocean that it is almost like another planet.

Of course, shapeshifting would also have its advantages in more mundane situations. For instance, I could literally become a fly on the wall and listen to some private meetings at work. There are times that I really do wonder how some of the crazy decisions get made, and I would finally get to hear the twisted logic that leads us to them. It would also be a nice form of self-defense: if someone attacked me, I could turn into a lion and scare them off. (Or, if I were afraid they might shoot the lion, I could become a fire-breathing dragon, or a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I bet that would do the trick!)

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You have until Sunday, July 1st to post a response if you'd like to be eligible for the weekly prize.

Thoughts on Father's Day

2007-06-19T09:57:00.000-04:00

Next month, it will be three years since I lost my father. Every father's day is a little poignant for me, and the release of Secrets in the Shadows, which is dedicated to him, was another bittersweet moment in my life.

My dad and I didn't have an easy relationship. He and my mom divorced when I was three, and I lived with my mom thereafter. My mom and I both had artistic temperaments, but my dad was very, very different. He lived the American dream.

The son of poor Russian immigrants, he was the first in his family to go to college. He went on to get a PhD in psychology, and then got a job with a small management consultant business. Over the thirty or more years (I don't remember the exact number) he worked for them, that business grew and grew, becoming a large multi-national firm. And my father was a dedicated partner in the business.

He was a total workaholic, his entire life devoted to his job and his success--and he loved his job. For many, many years, he and I had terrible trouble relating to one another. His dream-child would have been as career-minded as he was, a suit-clad, aggressive, live-for-the-job businessperson. Not an artistic writer-type who couldn't care less if she got the big promotion at work.

Now, don't get me wrong--he was very supportive of my writing. He just didn't "get" it. Didn't understand my drive or my dedication. (Just as I didn't get how he could love corporate America as much as he did.) Conversations between us were often awkward and uncomfortable--we just didn't share enough common ground.

Then about seven years ago, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. And we both knew our time together was limited. For years, we'd tried--and failed--to find some common ground between us, a way to communicate with each other. But we were both deaf and blind to each other. Conversations tended to devolve into old arguments, old resentments stirred, and it was often easier just not to talk.

In a desperate bid to find that elusive common ground, I decided to try something different. I brainstormed a list of questions, all based on "what if " scenarios--based, in a way, on the science fiction and fantasy I was writing at the time. I proposed to my dad that each week, we could take turns picking one of those questions, and we could each write an email essay answering the question. After we'd both sent the emails, we could talk to each other on the phone about what we'd written.

It was a way for us to communicate with each other without devolving into the old arguments, and without talking about real life--in which we had so many disagreements.

Of all the things I've done in my life of which I'm proud, that idea takes top prize. It worked better than I could ever have hoped. We wrote to each other, and for the first time in our lives, we actually listened (figuratively speaking) to what the other had to say. Through that exercise, my dad finally understood my creative drive, finally understood why I didn't want to be a cog in the corporate wheel. And I finally understood the emotional human being behind the rational, logical facade he always presented to the world.

I still have the letters we wrote to one another. I can't read them without crying, but they're the good kind of tears. Words can't describe how grateful I am that my father and I finally came to knew each other in the last years of his life.

Supporting a couple of first-time print authors

2007-05-25T19:08:00.000-04:00

One of the things that tends to happen when you're a writer is that you meet other writers. If you get out and about a lot, you can meet a lot of other writers. This can wreak havoc on your TBR pile, because when you meet and like someone, you end up wanting to read their books (at least I do). I keep saying my TBR pile needs its own apartment.

Anyway, I met a couple of authors at RT whose first print books are coming out on June 1st. I haven't had a chance to read either book (yet!), but I fully intend to read them as soon as they come out.

The first is Rachel Vincent, whose first book, Stray, I'm just dying to read. If you read her first chapter on her website, you'll know why! She's having a fun contest on her blog today (though it's already too late to enter, I think). We've got a bit of a rivalry going as to which of our urban fantasy heroines has the shapelier posterior on our book covers. I'm afraid the last time I looked, Morgan was behind (pun intended), but I figure Faythe's got home field advantage.

The other is Eden Bradley, whose erotic novel, Dark Garden, is coming out from Bantam. It sounds really steamy, and Eden is running a contest of her own. When Dark Garden comes out, take a picture of it in your local bookstore. There's a prize for the most creative photo, and one for the photo with the most people in it--click on the link to her blog to see the details in her own words. I'm going to attempt to paste in her countdown timer, but with my nonexistent HTML skills, this may be a challenge!

Countdown until release:

I'm Home

2007-05-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

After my week-long sojourn into the wilds of South Carolina, I'm now home from my first ever signing tour. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. There were some logistical problems (the Myrtle Beach store canceled the signing because it's closing; one of the stores did not receive all the copies of Watchers in the Night it ordered; one of the stores didn't receive the poster it was supposed to have; and one of the stores did not receive its copies of Secrets in the Shadows). Practically every store said they weren't getting as much traffic as usual, both because of the lovely weather and because of some other local events. But I did sell at least one book at every venue, which is great--I've heard plenty of horror stories about authors sitting around for hours without selling any books.

I had always heard that authors are more successful at these book signings if they do more than just sit at the table and hope people come to them, but for my first couple of signings I couldn't get over my native shyness enough to do it. In the end, I managed to force myself to talk to anyone who came in the store who didn't give off too strong a leave-me-alone vibe. It was great, because all except the first Waldenbooks I signed at positioned me directly in the doorway, so customers had to pass by me to get into the store. If they made any eye contact, I introduced myself and handed them a bookmark. That was something I found myself able to do without feeling like a used car salesman! And I definitely sold more books--and had more fun--once I started doing it.

In addition to the sit-down signings, I also went by as many Books-a-Millions and Barnes & Nobles I could find, signing their stock. There aren't very many Books-a-Millions around where I live, so I'd never actually been in one before. I was very impressed with them. (Mainly because they all seemed to have ordered a good number of my books and had them facing out on the New Releases shelf! But also because almost everyone I met was very friendly and enthusiastic.)

All in all, it was a great--though exhausting--trip. Now I have to deal with the aftermath of all those neglected emails and other chores. And going back to my day job and the backlog that will have built up since I was gone. So happy Monday to me!

The best-laid plans . . .

2007-05-14T20:34:00.000-04:00

Well, the signing tour hasn't started out quite like I had planned. My Friday signing at the RDU airport was canceled when the store manager had to have surgery (ouch!) Hopefully, we'll be able to reschedule that one when she gets better. And on the off chance you're reading this, Jackie, I'm sending warm, fuzzy thoughts your way.

This morning, my husband and I set out for Myrtle Beach, the site of my first South Carolina signing. It was a pleasantly uneventful drive. I even got some writing in on the way. But when we checked in at the hotel, I decided to give Waldenbooks a call to check in--and found out that they're closing next week! Someone was supposed to have called me to cancel the signing, because as soon as the store closing was announced, they were no longer allowed to order books, so they didn't have any copies of Secrets in the Shadows. Needless to say, no one contacted me. Bummer.

You might think that being in Myrtle Beach and not having any scheduled activities might be kind of fun. Yeah, it's a beach, and it can be great fun. But this week is what they call Biker Week. Which means there are about one million bikers zooming around town. The noise level on the streets is amazing. I'm glad our hotel isn't right on a main street or I have a feeling I wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

The day wasn't a total loss, however. I stopped by a couple of Books-a-Million stores and a Barnes & Noble to sign the books they had in stock. I also signed the copies of Watchers in the Night the Waldenbooks ordered before they found out they were closing.

Tomorrow, it's on to Charleston for a couple days of R&R. (Though with a June 1 deadline for my next Morgan Kingsley book, there's still going to be some writing mixed in with that R&R. Oh, and I'm going to be stopping by as many other Books-a-Millions and Barnes & Nobles as possible. So, maybe not that much R&R after all.)

I did check in with the Charleston Waldenbooks, just to make sure they weren't closing or anything. They aren't, so I'm on for Thursday, May 17 from 11-3.

South Carolina signing tour

2007-05-04T13:22:00.000-04:00

Well, Secrets in the Shadows is now officially out. Whoo-hoo!! And I'm doing my very first signing tour, visiting six Waldenbooks stores in South Carolina, starting in a couple of weeks. I'll also be signing at Borders in the Raleigh-Durham NC airport on May 11, starting at 11:00 AM and going to whenever, in case any of you happen to be passing through at the time. Here is the schedule of signings. I'd love to meet as many readers as possible, so come say hello! (And if you know anyone who you think might like to come, please point them my way. The more, the merrier.)

May 14, 6:00-8:00, Waldenbooks, 10177 North Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach
May 17, 11:00-3:00, Waldenbooks, 120 Market Street, Charleston
May 18, 4:00-7:00, Waldenbooks, 2390 Chestnut Street, Orangeburg
May 19, 12:00-3:00, Waldenbooks, 100 Columbiana Circle, Columbia
May 19, 4:00-6:00 or 7:00, Waldenbooks, 7201/Cl/324 Two Notch Road, Columbia
May 20, 2:00-whenever (store closes at 6:00), Waldenbooks, Broad St. & Bultman Dr, Sumpter

Back from RT

2007-04-30T09:40:00.000-04:00

Today is my first day back since attending my very first Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. It most definitely will not be my last! I had a fabulous time, even though I ended up seriously sleep-deprived. I'm not much of a late-night person, but I was having so much fun, I was up way past my bedtime most nights.

I got to meet and hang out with some fabulous urban fantasy authors, who are also represented by my agent Miriam Kriss. I unofficially dubbed us "Miriam's Harem," and we sure did a lot of laughing together. I hooked up with them from the moment I arrived--I actually bumped into them when I was in line at the hotel registration desk. Here they are in all their glory:

From left to right, we have Miriam Kriss, Vicki Pettersson, Rachel Vincent, and New York Times bestselling author, Keri Arthur.

If you haven't read their books, you should run out and grab them immediately! (Well, you'll have to wait one short month to get Rachel's, but it sounds like it's going to be fabulous.)

I could give you a day-by-day, blow-by-blow description of my RT activities, but after barely sleeping for the duration of the convention, I'm not sure my brain cells are up to it. So I'll just show you pictures instead.

Me (trying not to have a fangirl meltdown) with Rachel Caine

Tawny Taylor

Me and Sunny

Shana Abe

Jeri Smith-Ready

Jackie Kessler

Kate Brallier (who, in her alter-ego as Anne Groell, is my editor at Bantam Dell)

Alexandra Sokoloff

Romance Divas Eden Bradley and Jax at the Fairy Ball

Me and fellow Bantam author Eden Bradley at the vampire party--and no, I'm not really scared of her, no matter how terrified I look in the picture (sorry, Eden!)

Samantha Kane, and the world's most photographed baby--little Adele. (Trying to walk with them from the elevator to a table at the Fairy Ball took about forty-five minutes, because everyone had to have a picture. Me included, obviously.)

MaryJanice Davidson and Charlaine Harris

An urban fantasy panel. From left to right: Jim Butcher, Miriam Kriss, Vicki Pettersson, Jeri Smith-Ready, (invisible panelist hidden behind Jeri), Keri Arthur, and, in front of the table, Sunny)

Circle of Seven Productions, who created my book video, arranged to have videos playing throughout the Book Fair. Here's a picture of my video playing on one of the two big screens.

The Devil Inside Cover

2007-04-16T13:37:00.000-04:00

I got the cover art for my December book, The Devil Inside, which is the first book of my new series from Bantam. I am one happy camper. (As usual--so far, the cover gods have smiled upon me. Here's hoping they continue to do so!)

Blog? What's that?

2007-04-07T09:11:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've been a bad blogger. I have failed miserably at my goal of updating this blog on a regular basis. Who knew there were only 24 hours in a day?

I doubt my lax blogging habits are going to change any time soon--at least not before June 1, when my next book is due. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to manage my time while writing for two publishers and still working at my day job. Oh, and having an actual life, too. (Funny, my husband gets a bit cranky when he doesn't see me for days on end as I hunch over my computer.)

I thought I'd poke my head up from what we writers term Deadline Hell, though, and see if I could figure out how to post my new book video for Secrets in the Shadows on my blog. My friend Crystal Green managed to post it on her blog, so I figured I should be able to do the same on mine. ("Should" being the operative word!) So, here goes nothing!

When it's all worthwhile

2007-02-22T07:45:00.000-05:00

The other night, I got a message that made every painful step of my journey from frustrated wannabe writer to published author worth it.

My love affair with books started in childhood. As seems to be fairly common with writers and creative people of all kinds, I did not have an easy childhood. I was frequently lonely and frequently unhappy, and books were by far my best friends. They offered me a respite from the real world and took me away from my own troubles.

The love affair might have started in childhood, but it has persisted all through my adulthood. When I'm going through a difficult period in my life, it's reading that keeps me relatively sane, that helps me through.

As those of you who've read my blog since the beginning know, I was not what you'd call an "overnight success" in this field. I wrote for sixteen years trying to get published, coming oh-so-close and then falling just short. During those years of frustration, I often wondered what it was that kept me going. Why was I putting myself through this misery? (And any of you who are writers know exactly what kind of misery those rejections can cause.) Why did it mean so much to me not just to write, but to be published and have others read my books? I finally determined that a big part of what drove me was a desire to do for others what authors I've loved have done for me. A desire to make someone's life a little better even if it's just by lifting their spirits or giving them a pleasant diversion while they read a book.

Now back to the message that made it worthwhile. The other night, I received a message on MySpace from a reader battling a serious illness, and she told me: "You help make very bad days oh so much better."

I immediately broke out in happy sniffles. I thought my dream had come true on the day I held the published version of Watchers in the Night in my hot little hand. Or maybe it was the day I first saw Watchers in a bookstore. Or maybe the first time I got a fan letter from someone who wasn't a close friend or family member.

I was wrong. My dream came true on the night a reader reached out to me and told me that I'd given back to her what all the wonderful authors I've read have given to me for so many years. So yes, every one of those rejections was worth it. And if I had it all to do again, I wouldn't change a thing.

Oh yeah, I have a blog . . .

2007-02-11T12:32:00.000-05:00

I warned y'all that my posts would be spotty for a while. I'm being true to my word!

One of the things I never fully realized before I became a published author was just how much time one needs to spend on promoting oneself. I'm sure the big household name writers don't have to do this so much, but I'm the new kid on the block, so I've got to find ways to get noticed. I could literally spend all day every day working on promo. However, there's also this nasty little deadline I've got sneaking up on me . . .

The thing is, I've actually found the promo side of the business to be rather fun. I like working on my website. I like thinking about what kinds of new contests I might be able to run. I like designing bookmarks and brochures, etc. So it's really easy to let myself get pulled into these non-writing tasks. My most recent obsession has been MySpace, which is a fabulous place to meet other writers and to meet fans of those writers who also might turn out to be fans of my work. If you're on MySpace and would like to be my friend, please visit www.myspace.com/jennablackbooks

So between all that promo stuff and my killer deadline, I've been shamefully neglecting my blog. But today I've written my requisite number of pages; I've updated my website; and I've answered all my email and MySpace messages. So I had no excuse not to at least pop my head up and say hi! And I have every intention of posting at least once more this month. It seems like I should be able to manage two posts a month, even with all the other things I'm doing.

If you don't hear from me again this month, feel free to rag on me mercilessly!

Shadows on the Soul Cover

2007-01-12T14:18:00.000-05:00

I've gotten my first look at the cover art for Shadows on the Soul, my September entry in the Guardians of the Night series. I think it's really dramatic and striking. It doesn't have the urban feel of the previous two covers, and there are discrepancies between the characters' appearance in the book vs. on the cover, but I still think it captures the dark and sexy mood of the book really well.

I also like the back cover blurb:

The baddest of the bad boys . . .

Gabriel is a five-hundred-year-old vampire with the soul of a Killer. He has defeated his mother in a battle for the territory of Baltimore, and vowed to take vengeance upon his father, the Master of Philadelphia, for a centuries-old betrayal.

Jezebel, Gabriel's new fledgling, is a soul as scarred as his own, yet Gabriel finds that the ice around his heart slowly melts when she is near. But one of Gabriel's ancient enemies has targeted her--and if Gabriel wants to save her, he will have to abandon his plans for revenge and join forces with his father.

The question is not whether or not Gabriel can redeem himself from his past, but whether he can ever forgive himself.
-------------------------------

I'd love to hear everyone's opinion about this new cover!

New Cover for Secrets in the Shadows

2006-12-03T09:29:00.000-05:00

When Watchers in the Night was released, the second book in my Guardians of the Night series, Secrets in the Shadows, became available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the cover on Amazon was not the cover I'd been shown back in June. (And which I posted about on this blog.)

It turns out that Tor's Sales department, and one very influential customer, did not like the old cover--they thought it was depressing--and so the cover was changed. From a personal taste standpoint, I like the old cover better, because I like how striking it is. However, I trust the Sales department to make the right judgment as to what will sell better. What do you think? Which cover do you like better? The one on the left above is the new cover, and the one on the right is the old, rejected cover.

Road Trip

2006-11-16T08:59:00.000-05:00

I'm finally beginning to recover from the jet lag caused by last week's major road trip, so I thought I'd get around to telling you all about it.

I went to Los Angeles to do a hit-and-run book tour with media escort Ken Wilson. What this means is that instead of having formal book signings, where I sit behind a desk and pray that readers show up to get their books signed, I went hopping from store to store, meeting booksellers at each one, giving away free books, and signing the store's stock.

Ken was absolutely amazing. He knows all the local bookstores, and many of the staff at each one. He plots out an itinerary, carefully avoiding all the worst of the Southern California traffic, then introduces his clients to the booksellers, all the while giving a very professional and enthusiastic sales pitch. He also did a great job of time management, keeping us at each store as long as we needed to be there to make the necessary impression, but not so long as to overstay our welcome or unduly strain our schedule.

We hit 23 bookstores in two days. I still can't quite believe we managed to do that! Especially when afterward, my husband and I spent some vacation time in the area and discovered what it's like to drive in the Southern Cal traffic without a native guide to help you out. Nothing like being on a 7-lane highway that's bumper to bumper. Especially when you don't know your way around and are never sure when your exit is coming up.

Any published authors reading this blog, I would encourage you to look into the possibility of doing a tour with Ken. (Feel free to email me for his contact info.) It's a great opportunity to schmooze with booksellers. And, of course, to get the signed copies of your book displayed with extra prominence. Not only that, since you give away at least one book per store, you can get the staff to hand-sell your book if they enjoy it. Having someone like Ken, who knows the booksellers and is a naturally gregarious salesman, really helps break the ice, especially for us shy folk who are uncomfortable approaching strangers.

All in all, it was a great trip. Despite the traffic problems. Despite the fact that my husband came down with a cold. And despite the fact that I ended up having to do some emergency revisions to The Devil Inside during the vacation portion of the trip. Hmm . . . I think I need a vacation from my vacation!

My Book Launch Party

2006-11-13T19:42:00.000-05:00

I had my book launch party on November 4th at a local Barnes & Noble. The very next day, I jetted off to LA for a whirlwind book-signing tour, which I'll post more about later. (So much to talk about! Yay, I've got ideas for several more blog posts!)

The party was everything I could have dreamed of. Tons of my friends from my local RWA chapter showed up to support me, and by the time I was done, there were only five books left! I had a great time, and I just loved having a chance to sign my book. (In case you're wondering, no, it STILL hasn't sunk in yet.)

Watchers in the Night is Out!!!

2006-11-03T10:01:00.000-05:00

I can't believe after all that waiting, the time has finally come, and my book is out there on the bookshelves. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I've gone to the closest local bookstores over the last few days, looking to sign their stock. Most of them seem to be behind in stocking the shelves, so I've had to wait for them to get the stock from the back before I could sign. But one Borders and one Barnes & Noble had them out, so I got to see them on the shelves! At Borders, they even had them on the "New Paperbacks" table! To record this first sighting (and, perhaps, to prove to myself that it was real), I took a couple of pictures.

I have my very first book signing tonight, and then my book launch party tomorrow. Then, it's off to LA for a combination book-signing spree and vacation. (Though considering I have a book due in February, I'll probably have to force myself to do some writing, or at least some plotting and planning, while I'm there.)

I suspect I will be posting to this blog sparingly. While I appreciate those of you who stop by to visit, there aren't a whole lot of you. I've got some killer deadlines, and I haven't quit my dayjob, so something has to give. (Plus, my local RWA chapter is working toward putting together a blog for its published authors, and I plan to be a part of that.)

No doubt I'll still post occasionally, but I will no longer beat myself up when I don't reach my goal of one or two posts a week.

And if you have any Watchers in the Night sightings you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them. I swear someday this is going to feel real, but it all still has a dream-like quality to me.

A New Deal

2006-10-07T15:56:00.000-04:00

Earlier in the year, I blogged about an urban fantasy I was working on, a departure from my usual romance novels. Well, just this week, I agreed to a two-book contract with Bantam for that novel and its sequel (which I haven't written yet).

I'm still somewhat in shock. Less than two years ago, I'd been struggling for 16 years and hadn't sold a single book. Now, I've got six books under contract, three of them coming out next year. I'm incredibly excited--after all, my lifelong dream has come true with a vengeance. Not to mention the fact that my first book is coming out in a little more than three weeks. I alternate between complete adrenaline overload and a weird, numb sense of unreality. I'm sure it will settle down once the news has a chance to sink in, but I sure am enjoying the ride.

I'm also just completely thrilled to sell my urban fantasy, which at least for now is called The Devil Inside. (My editor says she likes the title, but that doesn't mean it will survive all the way to publication.) I took risks with this book, went places I wasn't 100% comfortable going. That stretched me as a writer, and I'm sure made me better, but it meant I had a lot of emotion tangled up in the book. If I hadn't been able to find a home for it, I'd have been very disappointed.

I'll post a little bit more about the book later. I'm working on a back-cover-style blurb to put on my website (and here, of course), but I haven't perfected it yet.

My Very First Book

2006-09-19T10:26:00.000-04:00

Although Watchers in the Night is my very first commercially published book, there are lots of other books I've written that have some claim on the word "first." But none has as valid a claim as My Life in Tahiti, the "autobiography" I wrote at the age of ten. From when I was three to when I was seven, my mom and I lived in Tahiti (for reasons that will never be clear to me). In fifth grade, I decided to write the story of my life there, complete with illustrations in crayon.

More years than I'd like to admit later, I think the book is absolutely precious (if I do say so myself) and would like to share it with you. It's longer than you'd expect from a ten-year-old, so I'll probably post it in bits and pieces here and there. I've also taken some pictures of the illustrations, which I'll pepper in when appropriate. When I transcribe the text, I'll attempt to refrain from correcting my childish spelling, but I can't promise my brain won't sometimes overrule me.

So, without further ado . . .

Chapter 1: Tahiti is Beautiful

For four years of my life I lived in Tahiti. Rain comes in a flash. And rain goes in a flash. There was a gravel road in front of my house. I'd pick up shells. In that time I had many pets. I had .-: 1 rabit, 4 doves, 2 cats, (my cats had kittens) and lots of dogs. (Author's note: in the image below, the drawing is supposed to be of the gravel road with the shells in it.)

Tahiti had thousands of palm trees. (known there as coconut trees) Thow palm trees are not hard to climd, it is extremely dangerous to climd them.

Down by the sea there are coral reefs. My mother and I would walk on them and see beautifull fish. The fish are so colerful, and the coralreef is so beautiful I can not draw them. I see crabs by the doxen. There are all kinds of crabs, especialy hermit crabs.

To be continued, since I've been fighting Blogger tooth and nail for the past week trying to get any images uploaded. Now that I've got some, I want to publish this post (finally!) before something else goes wrong.

Writing to Authors

2006-09-15T20:24:00.000-04:00

I have a good excuse for not posting to my blog in so long. No, really, I do. First, I've been teaching this online class that I've blogged about before. Then I had not one, but two "quick" synopses I had to write for books I'd thought I didn't need synopses for. On top of that, I've had a cold that's made me miserable.

Okay, now that the whining is over, on to other subjects.

Up until maybe about two or three years ago, I would never have dreamed of writing to an author to tell her that I enjoyed her work. You see, until I actually met and got to know some published authors, I had this distorted view in my mind of what they were like. I pictured them always innundated with fanmail, desperately trying to keep up with it (kind of like editors with the slush pile), wishing it would all just go away. The last thing I wanted to do was be yet another annoying fan who demanded my favorite author take time from her day to read and maybe even respond to my letter.

I'm not really sure where this distorted point of view came from, but I realize now how wrong it was. When I first worked up my nerve to email an author I didn't know personally and tell her how much I enjoyed her book, I was shocked to find her writing back almost immediately and thanking me for making her day. (Off the top of my head, I can't remember who this was.) I got a similar response the next time I wrote a short, gracious email to another author. And I realized--what a shock!--that authors actually like to be told how great their books are! They like knowing that someone has read and enjoyed them.

Ever since then, whenever I finish a book that I really love, I check to see if the author has a "contact me" section on her website. If she does, then I write her a brief note to let her know how much I enjoyed her book. Not everyone writes back, but then I don't expect them to. My goal is not to start up some kind of two-way communication with the author--though that can be nice when it happens--but to let some of the people who bring joy to my life by writing great books know they're appreciated.

So if you've just finished a book that you truly loved, consider writing the author a letter. He or she might enjoy receiving that letter more than you think.

Damsels in Distress

2006-09-02T16:51:00.000-04:00

On one of the many loops that I belong to, a writer was talking about a Dear Abby column she'd read where a mother was concerned about her 14-year-old daughter reading romances. Apparently (and I haven't read the column to confirm this), at the end of the response, Abby stated: "Some might argue that the idealized depiction of romance, and women being 'rescued' by powerful, wealthy men, is more worrisome than the sex and eroticism."

This statement, of course, has caused a bit of a furor on the romance loops, but it got me to thinking. I've only been reading romance for about three years, having once upon a time been under the mistaken impression that they would be too "mushy" for my taste. (Who knew I was a closet romantic?)

When I read Abby's statement (and some of the responses to it on the loop), it made me realize how different romance novels must be now than they were in the past. Because these days, when I read a romance novel where a woman is in jeopardy, I always know one thing for certain: the hero is not going to swoop in and rescue her. Today's romance authors--and readers, one presumes--will not tolerate a heroine who needs rescuing. The hero can, of course, help her, but she takes an active role in getting herself out of whatever trouble she's in. And if the hero needs to be rescued himself, that's even better!

I think the strong female role models, particularly some of the kick-butt heroines we've seen on TV (think Buffy, or Sidney Bristow), have significantly changed the way the general public looks at women. And it shows just how much power we "entertainers" can have on the world at large.

Nerves of Steel--Not!

2006-08-24T08:42:00.000-04:00

In September, I'm teaching my first online course ever, for my local RWA chapter. The course is called "Never Give Up--The Stubborn Person's Road to Publication." In it, I'm going to try to give struggling writers tips on how to stay in the game for the long haul.

I'm excited to do it, because I'd love to help motivate people who are in the throes of frustration, as I was for many years. But it's also a scary prospect because I've never done anything like this before. It's amazing how intimidating that first time can be--even though I'm confident I know my material and know intellectually that I can handle it. It's just that I can't reach back into any well of experience to tell myself "You've done this before, you can do it again." (If anyone's interested in signing up for this class, you can find more details here.)

Of course, I've also never had a book commercially published before, so (as you know if you've been reading my posts lately) I'm one big raw nerve right now anyway. October 31st (the official release date for Watchers in the Night) can't come soon enough!

To make matters worse, my agent will also be shopping my urban fantasy novel. I've sold four books now. You'd think that would mean I'd be calm, cool, and collected about this whole submission process, right? Nope! The submission process still makes me anxious, especially now that I'm submitting in a second genre. I also really, really love this book, and I really hope it sells. (My agent doesn't seem to worried about that--it's wonderful to have someone have so much confidence in me--but after so many rejections on my road to publication, I can't help my pessimistic tendencies.)

So, any writers out there who think everything will suddenly become easy once you sell--I hate to disillusion you, but it just plain doesn't. And I'm very thankful that there are a whole lot of published authors in my local RWA chapter who were able to warn me of this phenomenon in advance. I think if it weren't for them, I'd have been really shocked to find myself in this state. It's good to know I'm not the only one.

Promo Frenzy

2006-08-18T10:24:00.000-04:00

"Frenzy" seems to be my theme lately! I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm not working on a book right this moment. It leaves me with too much time to think about--and stress about--my upcoming release. So, these past couple of days I've been obsessing about my promotional efforts. I've had these tri-fold brochures printed up that contain a little snippet from my book, as well as the cover art, the back cover blurb, and a number of really nice author quotes. I've been busily stuffing them into boxes and envelopes, sending them out to various local RWA conferences to put in goodie bags. I've also been sending out my very limited number of advance reading copies to a few bookstores that Sue Grimshaw (the Borders/Waldenbooks romance buyer I met in Atlanta) suggested would be the most useful.

Lastly, I've been stressing about doing a booksigning in my area. I'm supposed to do a signing at a Barnes & Noble that has been very supportive of my local chapter. However, I'm currently scheduled to do it on Halloween (the day my book comes out), and that's beginning to look like a bad idea. An awful lot of people have said that they can't come that day because of family obligations. So, now I'm trying to get in touch with the CRM (customer relations manager) who set this up to see if it's too late to change the date. I hope it's not, because I'd hate to do a big book launch party and have none of my local RWA chapter mates be able to come!

I think the two and a half months remaining until my release date are going to be a real test of nerves for me. So far, I'd give myself a D+ for keeping them under control. I just hope I can get better at it as time goes on or I'm going to be a total nervous wreck by November. But, at least I'm channeling a lot of that nervous energy into things that are worthwhile, like sending out these brochures and advance reading copies. Always look on the bright side, right?

I wonder, am I going to be this way before all releases? *Shudder* Or is this a special level of nerves just because it's the first one? (Please, for my sanity, let it be the latter!)

Reading Frenzy

2006-08-13T10:46:00.000-04:00

Having gotten back from the RWA National conference two weeks ago with a ton of new books, and having actually met my August 1st deadline, I've been going on quite a reading binge lately. I love it! Love of reading is what got me into writing in the first place, naturally, so I was somewhat bummed out to have to set it aside for a while as I scrambled to meet my deadline.

The first book I read when I got back was Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder. It was a finalist for the Rita award (the top award given out by RWA) in the best first book category, and it has an absolutely gorgeous cover that caught my eye from across the room. The book was more of a fantasy than a romance, though there was a lovely romantic element running through it. I absolutely loved it. I almost read it through in one sitting, but at one AM I decided I had to go to bed. The premise is that a young woman scheduled to be executed for murder is given a chance to escape the gallows--if she agrees to become the food taster for the ruler of her country. To ensure that she won't run away, she's given a lethal poison during her training, and must report in daily to get her antidote. I highly recommend it--go out and buy it!

In the last couple of days, I've read Thrill me to Death, a romantic suspense by Roxanne St. Claire, and Entertaining Mr. Stone, an erotic romance by Portia Da Costa. Thrill me to Death is the second book in Roxanne's Bullet Catchers series and is indeed a thrilling, fun, fast read. She's one of my auto-buy authors, so it was no surprise that I picked this one up and devoured it.

Entertaining Mr. Stone was a little more surprising to me. The publisher, Black Lace, gave out free books in the goodie room at the RWA conference, so I picked them up. I've enjoyed erotic romances before, but with the exception of Emma Holly, who is possibly one of my favorite authors of all time, I usually don't find them terribly compelling. This one, though, I did find compelling. Something about the voice drew me in and made me keep reading. For one thing, I didn't have a real feeling like I knew where it was going to end up. There's a predictability in many of the erotic romances I've read (not that I've read all that many, so this is a terrible generalization) that I didn't find in this one.

I especially expected to be put off when I found out it was told in first person present tense, and when I realized how many Britishisms were in there. But I easily forgot about the unusual tense and voice choices, and I skimmed over the Britishisms I didn't understand easily. It's definitely not the right book for the conservative reader--it has some of the most kinky sex I've ever read--but if you like erotic romance you might want to check it out.

I'm Back

2006-08-03T09:37:00.000-04:00

Wow. It's amazing to look back and see that I haven't posted to this blog in over a month. Where did the time go?

Well, it went into getting Shadows on the Soul written and ready to submit by August 1st! For the first time ever for me, a book actually went longer than I was expecting. My usual MO is to get to around page 280-300 and start panicking that the book isn't going to be long enough. (No matter how many books I've written, no matter how many times I've proven to myself that yes, the book will be long enough, I still have that knee-jerk panic reaction.) So I knew it was going to run long when I hit that point and wasn't panicking.

I was estimating my writing quota per day based on the projection that the final book would be 380 manuscript pages. It ended up being 408 pages instead. Which meant I was really having to pump out the page at the end. (Actually, when I get to close to the end of a book, I usually end up writing faster and longer anyway--with the finish line on the horizon, I get even more obsessive than usual.)

Anyway, I got the manuscript and my own revisions done, and then printed it out and took it to Atlanta with me for the RWA national conference. By this time, I was royally sick of the book, but I managed to proofread the whole thing over the course of the conference. Meanwhile, my wonderful husband was also reading through it, catching errors I didn't catch myself. Hopefully, this means it isn't a total mess!

And yes, I turned it in by my August 1st deadline. Unfortunately, my editor informs me that there are three manuscripts ahead of mine in her editorial queue, which means I'll have to wait until mid-September to see how she likes it. It's going to be a long and nerve-wracking wait, because (as I think I made clear in my last post) I took some chances on this book. We'll have to see what she thinks!

Those Beloved Romance "Rules"

2006-06-24T12:39:00.000-04:00

So, I'm struggling along with my first tight deadline, and I'm finding my internal editor more of a pain in the ass than usual. It's driving me crazy, so I figured I'd share my misery.

Book three in the Guardians of the Night series has the darkest hero I've ever written. By a long shot. He was actually a villain (or at the very least an antagonist) in Secrets in the Shadows, but there was something about him that made my critique partner, my editor, and myself fall in love with him. And so, I find myself having to make a hero out of a character who did some very unheroic things in Secrets. I won't go into too much detail--I certainly don't want to reveal any spoilers for book two when book one hasn't even come out yet! Suffice it to say that he's not at all a nice guy, even if he does have some redeeming qualities.

When I first tackled this book, I tried to think of other romances that had less-than-sympathetic heroes. Certainly, it isn't uncommon in paranormal romances for heroes to be painted as dark, tortured souls. And I've certainly seen books where someone who looks like he might be a bona fide bad guy springs up with a book of his own where he turns out to be the hero.

But in the books I've read like this, it usually turns out the guy isn't as bad as everyone thought. A good example is Zarek, in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dance with the Devil. In previous books, he's painted as a psycho, and all the previous characters talk about him as if he were the bogeyman. But you never actually see him doing anything so bad--he just talks tough. So when he got his own book, he was "easy" to redeem. His reputation as a psycho was largely an illusion, and though he wasn't exactly a nice guy, he was at least a good guy.

So, what do I do with a character who isn't all talk? Gabriel, my reluctant hero, did some very cruel things on the page in Secrets, and there's no getting away from them in his book. If I started the book with him being Mr. Nice Guy, people who'd read the previous book would throw it across the room. So I have to break some romance "rules." I have to let him still be a bad guy in the beginning, and I have to take my time to redeem him. Which also means I have to take my time before the romance part of the story can really get under way because he's just too damaged to let anyone get close to him.

I keep telling myself that if people read Secrets and like him, then they'll have patience with him when he gets his own book. I also tell myself that Tor publishes a fair number of romances that break these tried and true romance rules and they still manage to sell. (For example, the hero in Hunter's Moon, by C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp is a Mafia hitman werewolf. And the story's told in first person from his POV.) But still, the worry persists.

In some ways, that may not be such a bad thing, despite the negative effect on my stomach lining. Because it means I'm still pushing myself, still taking risks and trying new things. That can only help me grow as a writer.

Now, if I could only get my internal editor to stop shouting "You can't do that in a romance!" in my ear, I might actually get this book finished on time!

Why Write?

2006-06-10T10:10:00.000-04:00

I usually put a post from my blog in my monthly newsletter, but as I'd been slowing down on blog entries lately, this month I put in a plea for blog ideas instead. It seems I find it much easier to figure out what to write about when someone asks questions than when I have to come up with something off the top of my head. I got a few good suggestions, but I'm always open to more. If you have a topic you'd like to see me address, please feel free to drop me an email or add a comment.

One of the questions I received from my newsletter members was about what inspired me to write.

As is probably fairly common among various creative types, I came from a somewhat dysfunctional family. I also had a great deal of trouble relating to kids my own age. Some of that was based on my early childhood, which I spent living in Tahiti. (Another long story, perhaps for another blog entry.) I returned to the states when I was seven, but living so long in such a remote, foreign land made me very much "different" from my classmates. Perhaps in the right school, these differences would have been smoothed over. Or perhaps not. In any case, in the school I went to, even the teachers had some difficulty accepting my cultural differences, though of course after a couple of years of peer pressure, I became fully Americanized once more. I even refused to speak French, which I'd been equally fluent in as English, but which marked me as foreign. But the damage was done.

So, how does an alienated child who has few friends and a dysfunctional family life pass the time? Reading, of course. I've read voraciously for as long as I can remember, and it allowed me to escape from the unpleasant realities of my childhood. It also helped me to relate to other people--even if they happened to be fictional people--by putting me in others' points of view, seeing life through other peoples' eyes.

Eventually, I escaped from the School from Hell and started to lead a more "normal" life. But my love of reading had become an indelible part of me. As I got older and more sophisticated, I tried my hand at creative writing myself, and found I enjoyed it. (Interestingly enough, my first creative writing teacher in high school was named Mr. Shakespeare. I kid you not.)

I wrote off and on for many years, short stories for the most part, but once I was in college I even tackled the enormous task of writing a novel. For a long time, I thought of it as just a hobby as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. As I flitted from idea to idea, from job to job, still not sure of my place in life, it suddenly occurred to me the one constant that had been with me ever since childhood--writing. I'd actually written my first book--illustrated and written in crayon, with a construction paper cover--when I was in fifth grade. It was my autobiography, and covered my years in Tahiti. I still have it somewhere, yellowed and crumbling, and adorable (if I do say so myself).

As you probably know if you've been reading my blog, it took me a long, long time to get from the decision that I wanted to be a writer to the moment when I actually sold a book to a commercial press. But it's all been worth it. Even if my books never become best sellers or have much commercial success, there's still a good chance that they will provide someone somewhere with a few hours of escape from life's more grueling aspects. And they will also provide someone with the chance to walk around in someone else's shoes, to see the world through another's perspective. It's as close as we can come to understanding other people, who will otherwise remain complete enigmas to us no matter how well we know them.

So, when I'm feeling philosophical, and when I feel like psychoanalyzing myself, these are the reasons I come up with for why I write. If I haven't had my caffeine yet, though, I'd probably have a simpler answer: I write because I love it.

Pick whichever answer you like best. I suspect they're both equally valid.

My First Tight Deadline

2006-06-06T08:33:00.000-04:00

So, book three of my Guardians of the Night series is due in August. And I just started working on it last week. (No, I'm not procrastinating--I haven't even seen the contract for this deal yet, but obviously I can't afford to wait until I do to start writing.)

Although I'm a fast writer, and very, very deadline-oriented, I did experience some small moments of panic over this one. Not because I didn't think I could do it, but more because there was something overwhelming about having a deadline for a book when I didn't even have the faintest outline of the plot in my head yet. (The panic rose just a little higher when, after a conversation with my editor, it turned out book three would be about a different character than I had planned!)

Luckily, my natural deadlinephilia took over, and the panic receded in the face of logic and planning. I set out a schedule for myself, starting on June 1st. I discovered that by writing a measley five pages a day (seven days a week, but that's normal for me), I could get a first draft done by mid August. That would leave me a couple of weeks to edit and polish before sending it to my editor at the very end of the month.

When I broke it down to a schedule like that, suddenly, it didn't seem like such a big deal. I can write five pages a day easily, even on days when I need Superglue to keep my butt in the chair. But for me, it's not good enough to make a deadline. I have to beat it. So, although by my schedule, I only needed to have 20 pages done by the end of last week, I had 47. And I'm still pushing to get further ahead. Being ahead of schedule is never a bad thing! This will give me some peace of mind come July, when I know I'll be spending a full week at the RWA national conference. And, of course, the faster I get the draft done, the more time I'll have for revising.

Another Great Cover!

2006-06-01T19:10:00.000-04:00

I got quite a surprise this evening! When I got home from my evening constitutional (in other words, walking the dogs), I had an email from my editor with the cover art for Secrets in the Shadows, the sequel to Watchers in the Night. After the seemingly snail-like pace of getting that first book into the schedule, etc., things are now moving at a breakneck pace for the sequel! It's another fabulous cover, in my opinion. Very striking. (I'm assuming the cover quote will be changed, since it's referring to Watchers. LOL)

Secrets is scheduled to come out in May, 2007. And I've started work on the third book of the series, which I'm tentatively titling Shadows on the Soul. It's due to my editor in August, so I've got to get cracking on it. (Which makes me happy--a little deadline pressure is a great motivator for me.)

Yes, I've been kind of a slacker about the blog lately. Aside from being really busy (I do still work a day job on top of the writing), I'm also running out of brilliant pearls of wisdom to share. (Some might say I ran out of them long ago!) Perhaps it's because I'm funneling all my creative energies into my books. Yes, that must be it.

I will try to be more diligent about posting, but I don't see my time getting freed up in the next few months, so I suspect my posts will be a tad spotty. If anyone has a particular question or subject they think would be good for me to discuss on my blog, please feel free to send it along. Getting an interesting question might spur me into writing this non-fiction stuff more easily.

Gotta Love Those Revisions

2006-05-21T09:51:00.000-04:00

With Watchers in the Night, I got off easy. As I nervously awaited that revision letter, I conjured all kinds of images of huge changes, disagreements, etc. When I got the letter and read through it, I realized with each point my editor made, "Hey, I can do that. That's easy." And it was.

Not surprisingly, the same cannot be said for the revisions I have to make for Secrets in the Shadows, the sequel. As I read through that letter, I became more and more worried. My editor made some requests I didn't understand, and commented on things I didn't know how to fix. Naturally, my first instinct was to go into a panic. I nipped that one in the bud, and set about doing the easy revisions first. Then, I tackled the ones that I thought were kind of hard but that I understood.

After that, it was time to tackle the ones I just didn't get. I called my editor and had a nice long conversation with her, trying to understand where she was coming from. It was a productive conversation, and after I got off the phone, I felt much more confident that I could give her what she wanted.

What I hadn't counted on was a phenomenon I've heard of frequently from other writers, but that I've never experienced myself. I am now sick of reading my own book! I've never had this problem before, because whenever I was reading my own book, it was because I wanted to make changes, or because I hadn't read it in a long time and was curious if I'd still like it.

This time, I have to make changes at someone else's request, and I'm reading through the whole dang thing twice in the same week. (Three times, if you count the minor amount of reading I had to do when I was fixing the "easy stuff.")

In short, these revisions are kicking my ass! But I've at least gotten them done on paper. Now, all I have to do is type them all into the computer. I can't wait to get through it all. And not just 'cause I'm sick of reading the book--I've got to have the third book of the Guardians of the Night series done by August. And I don't even know what the plot's going to be yet! I have to get started, but I also have to force myself to keep my concentration on the revisions first.

Lest you think I'm complaining, I'm actually having a grand time of it. These are all great problems to have, and I'm thrilled that Tor has enough confidence in me to expect me to be able to deliver a full novel in three months. Good thing I write fast, no?

So far, it's looking like my publishing schedule will be:
Watchers in the Night, November 2006.
Secrets in the Shadows, May 2007.
Guardians book 3 (may be titled Shadows on the Soul, but not sure yet), September 2007.
Guardians book 4, May 2008.

It's going to be a challenge, but a great one, one I've dreamed of all my life. Now, it's time for me to stop procrastinating and get back to those revisions.

Postpartum Blues

2006-05-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

I hate the time between when I finish my last polishing run for a book and when I start the next book. I always go into something of a slump immediately afterward--hence, the reason I haven't posted to this blog in so long.

I doubt I'm going to have the luxury of indulging in this slump for long, though. I recently got my revision letter for Secrets in the Shadows, my sequel to Watchers in the Night. I haven't actually received the contract yet, so I'm not sure exactly when the revisions are due, but I know the schedule is going to be aggressive. I think starting on those revisions is what's given me the energy to actually write a blog entry today--though I doubt this wil be my most brilliant, witty entry. I'm still not back to full creative mental capacity. I resolve to get my butt back in gear by next week at the latest.

I don't know how long it will be before I get my page proofs for Watchers, but I have a feeling they'll come relatively soon. Won't it be fun to be revising one book while going over the proofs of another? And then there's book three of the series, which I believe will be due in August and which I haven't even plotted yet. Yikes! No time for the postpartum blues. I actually have real deadlines I have to meet. How cool is that???

The Long Haul

2006-04-28T13:36:00.000-04:00

Back in the days when I got nothing but rejections for all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my writing, I kept all my rejection letters like a good little business-person, but I refused to count them. I could tell they were mounting up by the thickness of the stack, but I knew the last thing I needed was more discouragement. I made an agreement with myself--when I sold my first novel to a commercial press, I would go back and count up those rejections.

Well, I made my first sale about a year ago, and I'd kind of forgotten about that promise to myself. Also, we moved about a year ago, so I had no idea where that stack of rejections was. Today, I found them. And I counted.

Rejections from publishers for novels: 59
Rejections from agents for novels: 41
Rejections for short fiction: 180.

Actually, considering how long I wrote before I sold, these numbers are lower than they should have been. I let myself get discouraged too easily and didn't submit as often as I should have. Still, part of the problem was many of those rejections on my novels took over a year to arrive at my doorstep, and I was being a law-abiding writer, not submitting the same book to more than one publisher at a time.

I'm sure these numbers aren't 100% accurate. I know there are some rejections missing from the pile, just due to disorganization on my part. Still, that's 280 rejections before I sold my first novel. Is it any wonder I had to fight so hard against discouragement along the way? And I was so close for so long! The first of these rejections, for my very first novel, came in March of 1991, and it started with "Sorry for holding on to your manuscript so long; it was hard to reach a decision." Even my very first novel came close, but I had to write 17 more before I'd actually make that sale. Here are some other snippets of these rejections that both gave me hope and drove me insane over the years:

I wish I could make an offer on The Coming of Shadow, but unfortunately the recession in the market has forced me to cut back on first novels. (This one was from March 1992, on my second novel.)
I really felt your manuscript was strong and the writing was very commercial.
A strong narrative style and a lively story to tell.
Charming . . . compelling . . . red hot. I'm heartbroken to let it go. (This is for Embraced in Darkness, the free read on my website.)
There was much I liked about your manuscript--your royal intrigue was gripping, your characters were convincing, and the magic worked.
You are obviously a writer of talent.
The voice is highly readable, the characters are three dimensional with a delightful dose of quirkiness, and I appreciated the subtle wit. It breaks my heart to see this go!
The idea was fun and fresh, and you can certainly pen a steamy love scene!
The voice is charming and the characters just leap off the page.
The humorous and fast-paced story immediately pulled me in.
The setup really grabbed me.

I'm really glad I soldiered on. Now, I can look at those rejection letters and smile.

Missed a Book!

2006-04-23T14:20:00.000-04:00

Writing about the keeper shelf the other day made me finally realize I had a book missing from that shelf--Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen. I have so many books that they're in double rows on my bookshelves, but the moment I realized this one was missing, I hunted it down and plopped it on the keeper shelf where it belongs. I put together this keeper shelf of mine so I wouldn't have to go hunting every time I wanted to reread something! And this is one I've read many, many times.

Briar Rose is a fantastic version of the story of Sleeping Beauty, set against the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. Because of the subject matter, it is of course grim at times, but the story is fascinating. The heroine, Becca, is looking into the life of her grandmother, who recently died. Her grandmother claimed to be Sleeping Beauty, and turns out to have mysterious origins--no one's sure what her name really was, and no one knows who Becca's grandfather was. The story she uncovers is moving, sad, romantic, and inspiring all in one. It's classified as a young adult book, but when I originally bought it it was shelved as fantasy, and there's really nothing young adult about the subject matter. I highly recommend it.

My Keeper Shelf

2006-04-21T19:54:00.000-04:00

When people talk about their books, they often talk about their "keeper shelf." I do it too. Except, I'm a book pack-rat. If I like a book enough to read the whole thing, then it's a keeper. Even if I know I'm never going to read it again. So, for me, the "keeper shelf" is the shelf where I keep books I reread. Over and over and over . . .

What is it about some books that makes it so we reread them? They aren't necessarily the most brilliant books we've ever read. I've read absolutely fantastic books that I totally loved--but know I won't read again. Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm leaps to mind as an example. Ask me what my favorite all-time romance novels are, and I'd mention it. But it doesn't have whatever magical thing it is that makes me want to read it again.

No, the ones I want to read over and over must be ones that somehow hit just the right buttons, even if those books have nothing to do with one another. Here's what's on my shelf (in the order pictured above):

Those Who Hunt the Night, by Barbara Hambley (vampire mystery/thriller)
The Gold Coast, by Nelson Demille (Mainstream)
A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving (Mainstream)
The Devil You Know, by Liz Carlyle (Historical Romance)
The Gandalara Cycle 1, by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron (Fantasy)
Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness, (the Dark Jewels trilogy) by Anne Bishop (Dark Fantasy)
The Mirror of her Dreams, by Stephen R. Donaldson (Fantasy)
Passion Play, Nobody's Son, and Resurrection Man by Sean Stewart (Fantasy and Science Fiction)
War for the Oaks and Bone Dance, by Emma Bull (Fantasy and Science Fiction)
When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger (Science Fiction)
A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Young Adult)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken (Young Adult)
Skull Session, by Daniel Hecht (Thriller)
Velvet Glove, Menage, and Strange Attractions, by Emma Holly (Erotic Romance)
Archangel, by Sharon Shinn (Fantasy)
Crazy for You, by Jennifer Crusie (Romance)

Also on my list, though not on the shelf because there are too many of them: Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Laural K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, and Roger Zelazny's Amber series.

What a wild selection, eh? I've got a couple of really dog-eared books from my childhood, some fantasy, some science fiction, some mainstream, some romance, some erotic romance. What do all these books have in common? What magic thing drew me to them so completely? I don't know. And in some ways, I don't want to know. That might spoil the magic.

Insecurities 'R' Us

2006-04-15T11:20:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, before I knew any published authors who could disabuse me of the notion, I thought that once I sold a book, I would suddenly transform from this quivering bundle of insecurity into a self-confident, self-assured Author. I'm really glad I had people around me who were able to break the truth to me gently before I sold, so that I'm not completely stunned now to find out it isn't true.

So, back a couple weeks ago, when I got my fabulous cover for Watchers in the Night, my editor said she was putting together an offer for my sequel to Watchers, tentatively titled Secrets in the Shadows. I'd written the whole book already, and was just waiting to hear whether she was going to buy it or not.

Time tick, tick, ticked away, and I didn't hear anything. And so, I went into neurotic writer mode. I worried that she'd finally come to her senses and discovered I couldn't write my way out of a paper bag. I worried that she'd had to pitch the book to the high muckity-mucks and they'd laughed in her face. If I could think of something else to worry about, you can bet I worried about it. Now, I knew the reality was there was probably nothing to worry about. Editors are insanely busy, and from her point of view, there was no rush.

On Thursday (more than two weeks after I first got the hint that I might get another contract), I wrote to my agent, figuring she could probably calm me down if I just admitted to her that I was going nuts over here with these pointless worries. She came through like a champ--I figure that since my behavior and worries aren't that unusual for a writer, she spends plenty of time doing impromptu therapy for her authors. She dashed off a quick email telling me I had nothing to worry about, and it made me feel better.

I think it was only about a half hour or forty-five minutes later when she called me and said, "Oh ye of little faith." The upshot of this is, not only does Tor want Secrets in the Shadows, they want two more books that I haven't even written yet!! This is a dream come true to me, to sell a book before I've written it. I'm still floating.

There are still contract negotiations under way, but barring some unimagined disaster (which I sincerely hope my overactive imagination won't start imagining!),this should mean I'll be employed as a writer for at least a few more years.

Now, if only that meant I would be secure and self-confident from now on . . .

I Bet You Think This Blog is About You

2006-04-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

Insert the tune to "You're so Vain" here.

So last night on our way to dinner, my beloved husband informed me he'd read my entire blog. Fool that I am, I asked him, "so, what did you think?" His response: "It was good, but you didn't talk about me."

Well, first I informed him that yes, I had indeed talked about him in one of my earlier posts (he actually didn't read the whole blog, he just read the recent entries). Then I set about trying to figure out if he was serious or not. This isn't as easy as it sounds. He used to be a stand-up comedian, and he has a dry wit with a deadpan delivery. There are many times when I just don't know if he's joking. This was one of them. I honestly still have no idea.

But, just in case he wasn't joking, I figured I'd go ahead and talk about him. (Be careful what you ask for . . .)

I'll tell you about the writer's nightmare I lived through with the man who owns the keys to my heart.

I used to write exclusively science fiction and fantasy, and I wrote a lot of short stories. There's a very well known contest for f/sf stories, called Writers of the Future. They have four quarterly contests per year, and then a grand prize contest for all the quarterly winners. (These are not insignificant prizes--the quarterly winners get $1,000, the grand prize winner gets an additional $4,000. All quarterly winners also have a chance to be published in the yearly anthology, for which they are well-paid. )

As you can imagine, I entered this contest frequently. I hadn't even made the quarterfinals. Enter my dear husband, stage left.

In addition to being a comedian, he's also a writer, though he wrote almost exclusively humor and non-fiction. After editing one of my novels for me, he decided he'd have a try at writing a science fiction story, just for the heck of it. (I bet y'all know where this is headed, don't you?)

Had he ever written a science fiction story before? No. Was he a reader of science fiction, other than mine? No. Hell, he didn't even know if he was going to make it a short story or a novel. He just started writing and continued until he stopped.

He decided he'd go ahead and enter it in the Writers of the Future contest. I read his story, and I had a real sinking feeling. Because, you see, it was really, really good. It was weird, it was outrageous, it was hilarious, and it was like nothing I'd ever read before.

To make a long story short (especially when I know everyone has guessed the ending by now), he won first prize for his quarter. He got the $1,000. He got a 1-week all-expenses paid trip out to LA for a writing workshop and schmooze session. He got a really cool-looking trophy, awarded to him at a ceremony that you might have mistaken for the Oscars if you'd happened upon it. And he got the publication in the anthology. I was positively green with envy, though I tried to be happy for him.

Naturally, during his acceptance speech (I told you this was like the frickin' Oscars, right?), he told this story about how I'd been entering and entering and not winning, and how he'd won on his first try. He got a really good laugh from the crowd when he said, "Fortunately, she let me live."

I'm glad I let him live, because he is kind of nice to have around, what with him being my soulmate and everything. But there were times when I was tempted . . .

So, should I tell him I put up a blog entry about him, or should I wait to see if he finds it on his own? What would you do in my shoes, gentle readers?

P.S. You can read this prize-winning story by going to http://www.harperscott.com/. Click on "Also by Harper Scott," and then click on "A Conversation with Schliegelman." Be prepared to laugh yourself sick.

Mind Games--Part 2

2006-04-02T08:52:00.000-04:00

It seems that blogging about my sudden writer's ennui was the right mind game to play with myself this time around. After I posted that entry, I sat down and wrote about 2,000 words (that's about 8 pages, for those of you who aren't writers and don't measure your productivity by word count! ). Since then, I've had two 3,000-word+ days. Apparently, I jump-started my creative brain. I'm really grateful, because it feels so good to get lost in the story and write like a madwoman.

I've got almost 240 pages on my new manuscript, and I'm now hitting another of the phases of my writing process--the phase where I fear the book's going to be too short.

It happens every single book (and believe me, for me, that's a lot of books!). You'd think by now I'd have learned to dismiss this fear, because never yet have I written a book that was too short to be commercially viable. Logic, however, is overrated. One good thing about the fact that this has happened with every book--while I may not be able to convince myself to stop worrying about it, at least I'm very accustomed to worrying about it, so it doesn't quite have the teeth it once had. Still, it would be nice not to worry, for once. *Sigh*

The best way to defeat the worry is to just go finish the damn book, so I guess I'll stop blogging (whining?) and start writing!

Mind Games

2006-03-30T09:54:00.000-05:00

Writing can be such a mind game sometimes!

Before I got my cover art for Watchers, I was really moving along on my current project, an urban fantasy. I'd been thinking about it constantly, having multiple writing sessions per day, etc. Now, it's all I can do to get my butt in the chair and pound out a few words. And it's not just because I've been spending time updating my website to incorporate the cover, either. Somehow, getting that cover has just really derailed me from thinking about my current project. Instead, I find myself daydreaming about what it's going to be like when the book comes out.

You'd think exciting news like that would spur a bout of creativity, but it doesn't work that way for me. At least, it hasn't this time.

So, how do I defeat this distraction and go back to writing as quickly and easily as I was before? I haven't figured it out yet, but I will. Each time there's a bump in the road, I have to figure out just what kind of mind game I have to play with myself to get around it. And it seems like the same thing never works twice.

The last couple of days, I've been trying the brute force method. Just sit down and write and never mind if it's any good. That hasn't helped me open the creative floodgates yet, but at least it means I'm making progress. I'm now using this blog as another type of mind game--maybe if I write this all down, it will get it out of my system.

Of course, maybe all I need is a little time. Maybe I need to give myself permission to bask in the pleasure of seeing my wonderful cover. Maybe I'm showing my native impatience yet again by insisting I have to plunge immediately back into my current project. Only time will tell.

My Fabulous Cover

2006-03-27T18:50:00.000-05:00

I just got the cover art for Watchers in the Night today. I am so thrilled I haven't stopped smiling for three hours. My face is starting to hurt!

It was worth the wait, and I'm happy to have the release date delayed for a month so I could have this cover.

You know, it's starting to feel like this whole getting published thing might actually be real . . .

Stupid Writer Questions

2006-03-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of working on a new book, and I got stuck again with what I like to refer to as "Stupid Writer Questions." All right, I use the word "stupid," but they're not really stupid, they're just . . . odd.

Stupid Writer Questions are the kinds of questions that you can't find a quick answer for on the Internet or in a book. If you have a book, you have to read it cover to cover just to find that one little tidbit you need to know. If it's on the Internet, you don't on which of the 1,000,000 hits you get on your search might be the one you need. And usually, they're these tiny, trivial little things that you still don't dare get wrong.

So, here's the thing that was bugging me last week that set off this semi-rant about the miserable existence of writers. I have a scene in the book where my heroine fires a Taser. I found all kinds of good information on the Internet about how Tasers work. I found videos of people getting shot with Tasers. I even found an online manual. You'd think that would tell me everything I needed to know, right?

Wrong. Because my scene doesn't stop after she fires the Taser and the guy goes down. My Stupid Writer Question was: now what happens? How does she disconnect the wires from her Taser? What does she do with the wires and probes when she's done? I did finally find a Yahoo Group dedicated to weapons info for writers, and was able to "talk" to people who actually have used Tasers or have experienced the aftermath (for example, EMTs). But I can't tell you how much time I spent chasing that answer.

I really hate doing research. There are two reasons for it. One is that it's so hard to try to ferret out the one esoteric fact you need. The other is that I just have no patience. Because, you see, when I'm scouring the Internet trying to figure out whether you throw out the wire and probes when you're done, I'm not writing my book. Once I get working on something, I tend to get obsessive about it. It's kind of like how I feel as reader when I'm reading a really great book--I don't want to put it down even for necessary things, such as, say, eating.

I try to avoid putting myself into situations that require research in my books for just that reason. I'm not the kind of person who would think, gee, I know nothing about flying an airplane, so let me write a book from the point of view of a veteran pilot, and let me make it all about flying. Some writers would be excited by doing all the research they'd need to be convincing. I would look at it and think, I have to figure all this really complicated stuff out before I can even start my story??? But I've got a story to tell NOW.

Does this mean I don't do research? Obviously not, considering how much time I spent trying to figure out what you do after you've fired your Taser. But at the height of my frustration with that particular Stupid Writer Question, I seriously considered making up a fictitious weapon instead so I could do whatever I wanted with it.

On Writing Fast

2006-03-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

I'm a faithful reader of Miss Snark's blog. Hers is one of the few I read. (See my first ever post on how I'm not a natural blogger!) But not that long ago (don't remember if it was last week or the week before), she had a post that I didn't agree with. *Gasp!* She was talking about being prolific, and she was very much against it, feeling that if you write fast, your writing must be bad. She said she didn't want to see more than one book a year from her authors.

Once again, here is evidence that there is no one way to do things in the publishing/writing world. Because let me tell you, I started writing a hell of a lot better when I started writing fast. Watchers in the Night, which is the first book I actually sold to a commercial press, took me about two months to write. It was one of those books that just flowed out of my fingers. I never seemed to get stuck anywhere, even though it has a complex suspense plot, and I always felt I knew exactly what my characters would do in any given situation.

For me, the books I write fastest are my best. The reason for that, I think, is that when I'm writing fast, my internal critic--that little voice that all writers have that keeps telling them they suck--just can't get a foothold. I lose myself in the story, just like I lose myself in a story when I'm reading a really great book.

It reminds me of an art course I took from my university's continuing education department. The course was called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and it was based on the book of the same name. On day one of the course, the best I could do, drawing-wise, was basically a stick figure. The premise of the course was that if we could tap into the right sides of our brains--the holistic, artistic side--we could learn to draw credibly with hardly any training.

One of the first lessons was when we were given a line drawing to try to reproduce. Only we had to look at the drawing we were copying upside down. By putting it upside down, we were short-circuiting our analytical ability to "know" what we were drawing. The theory is that if you know what you're drawing, your analytical left brain will take over and you'll draw what you think it should look like, rather than what it does look like. For example, if you can tell it's an eye you're drawing, your brain tells you what an eye looks like, and you don't really "see" the drawing itself. It was amazing how good our drawings were when we flipped the picture upside down, how close to the original. (Of course I later had to try the same exercise at home, trying to reproduce a drawing first when looking at it right side up, then when looking at it upside down. There was no comparison in the quality.)

The next exercise we had to do was draw pictures of our hands--without looking at the paper we were drawing on and without lifting our pencil from the paper. Now, this might sound simple, but let me tell you, for a control-freak, left-brained, analytical person (you know, like me?), this was so not easy. The temptation to look at the paper, to see whether what I was drawing was OK was like nothing I'd ever felt before. I was very, very uncomfortable, squirming in my seat, feeling something almost like panic. The compulsion was that strong. That's the analytical left-brain trying to seize control. And that's very like that horrible internal critic that harasses writers.

In the drawing class, we learned to fight that compulsion and let our right brains have control, just go with the flow. (Some people learned better than others, but I turned out to be very successful at it.) I think this process is the same thing I go through when I write fast. I think when I write fast, the analytical part of my brain--the part that lets me function as a technical writer--goes to sleep and lets my creative side run wild. And for me, that writing is much better, much freer.

I'm not just thinking about this right now because of Miss Snark's post, by the way. I'm thinking about it because I've started a new project, an urban fantasy novel. As soon as the first inkling came to me, I became completely obsessed with it, and even though I was still brainstorming ideas as recently as last Thursday, I've already written 45 pages. In one sitting, I wrote 2,300 words in 75 minutes. That's unbelievably fast even for me. If I keep being this obsessed with it, and if it keeps flowing out of my fingers this fast, I'll have it done in less than two months. And I hope this book will be another piece of evidence in my argument that for me fast = good.

My Dream Office

2006-03-09T12:57:00.000-05:00

About a year ago, my husband and I moved to our current house. The house had much more room than our old house, and I decided to take the bonus room over the garage and convert it into my dream office cum library.

I've always wanted to have a room in my house that was exciting and different, a kind of fantasy room. And since I spend so much time in my office writing, this seemed like the perfect room to do it with.

When we moved in, this room was plain old beige walls with plain old beige carpeting and my cheap, old, crappy office furniture. (In our old house, my "office" was a corner in the breakfast nook of our kitchen.) I hired an interior designer to help me transform this mundane room into my medieval fantasy office, complete with comfy reading nook (pictured above).

I wanted the walls to look like castle stone, and the floor to look like old wooden planks. The designer found a faux-finisher who could achieve these effects with paint. I'm amazed at how cool and realistic it looks. She also painted the designs on the window to give it that old, leaded-glass feeling.

But the thing I like best about my fabulous new office is the bookcases. A local carpenter designed and built them for me. There are more bookcases to the left of the ones you see in the picture. Those bookcases have doors on them, so I can store my less-attractive paperbacks. I used to have my books stored in bookcases in an attic storage room. And I had to fight my way through all the stuff that manages to gather in storage rooms as years go by in order to get to my books. Now, they're at my fingertips. Which isn't always a good thing when I'm supposed to be writing . . .

Even so, I wouldn't trade my office for anything. I hope someday to write full time. When I do, it will be nice to have a place within my own home where I can feel as though I've stepped into another world. A way to separate my "work" life from my home life. I think this office will do the trick!

I Hate Waiting!

2006-03-04T09:36:00.000-05:00

You know, I used to dream that once I finally sold a novel to a commercial press, the whole waiting game would come to an end. Everything would happen at warp speed, and life would be just dandy.

All right, admittedly it's been a long time since I thought that, but still . . . I at least thought the waiting would be easier. Guess what? IT'S NOT.

So, what am I whining about? I just got the news yesterday that Watchers in the Night has been pushed back to November. It was first scheduled for September, then moved back to October, now it's in November. ARGH! It's amazing how long this wait has been. I've been a bundle of nerves ever since the book sold (about a year ago now), and now I have one more month of neurosis added to my schedule.

On the plus side, the book got pushed back for a really good reason. Apparently, the sales force hated the cover art--which I never saw. My editor had hated it too, but she got overruled. But when the sales people hated it, that had enough clout to make the publisher pull the cover and start over. Which delays the production schedule, which means my book had to be pushed back. Although I've never seen the cover in question, I am really, really grateful that it got pulled. I'd much rather have a good cover in November than a bad one in October.

In other waiting news, I also heard that my editor wasn't going to get a chance to look at the sequel until the end of March. More waiting. More nail-biting. More neurosis. Ah, the writing life! But hell, I've been doing this for about 17 years now. One thing I've gotten really, really good at is waiting. I haven't grown to love it, but I have at least learned to tolerate it.

I'm a Dog-Magnet!

2006-03-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

Or maybe I should say "we" are, since all my dog-attracting abilities seem to have started after I got married.

The first incident happened about five years ago. I was sipping coffee in my living room on a damp, gray Sunday morning. I looked out at our deck, and saw an emaciated Dalmatian eating the bird seed that had spilled from our bird feeder. I immediately went to the sliding glass door that separated our living room from the deck to see if I could help the poor thing. But the moment I opened the door, she bolted in terror.

Dan and I were already dog lovers, and we couldn't leave this dog in distress. So we got dressed and started hunting the neighborhood for her. She'd disappeared like a ghost. Eventually, we had to give up, though we hated to leave her to her fate.

About an hour or so later, I looked up once more, and there she was--on the deck, eating bird seed. Now that I knew she was skittish, I took a different approach. There was a stairway that led up to the deck from a different side. I could actually get out that door without her seeing me, and thereby block her escape.

When she saw me, she gave a yelp of pure terror, and my heart ached for her. She pushed herself into a corner and shivered, looking absolutely pitiful. I cooed at her while Dan fashioned a make-shift gate to keep her on the deck. I then wooed her with dog food, which was definitely the way to her heart.

When she got over that first terror, she was the sweetest dog in the world, and absolutely beautiful, despite her condition. She was wearing a collar, but no tags. Despite the fact that she was at least ten pounds under weight, the collar was on so tightly it was digging into her skin. Dan and I determined that we would take care of her until we could find her a good home--we had no desire to try to find her original family. Not only was her collar on brutally tight, she wasn't spayed, had obviously had at least one litter, and cringed whenever we raised a hand. Also, a trip to the vet showed she had heartworm.

I could tell that Dan loved her at first sight and wanted to keep her, but Dalmatians have a terrible reputation as house dogs, and we didn't have a fenced yard. Also, I didn't know how she'd get along with my Pomeranian.

To make a long story short, she found a good home. With us. She is the anti-Dalmatian--a total couch potato, when they're supposed to be high strung and energetic. She's perfect for us and we love her to death.

Fast forward to last summer. We were in a new house now. My Pom had died of old age, so now Cha-Cha was an only child. And one rainy, chilly spring day, Dan and I looked out our window and saw a beagle wandering around our yard. While he didn't look to be starving, he looked very dispirited and had a bit of a limp. We spent all morning trying to catch him, but though he clearly wanted to come to us, he was far too afraid. We tried to lure him into our garage with food, but he stopped as soon as he got to the threshhold and refused to cross. We had to settle for giving him food and water and hoping he'd be OK.

Days went by, and he was still hanging around the neighborhood. He'd disappear for hours at a time, but he kept coming back. And we kept feeding him, as did our neighbors across the street. Finally, he reluctantly allowed us to touch him, and we brought him in. We were afraid to take him to an animal shelter, because he was so scared of everyone that we were worried he wouldn't find a home and they would destroy him. But we were determined to find him a good home. (He had no collar, no tags, and no microchip, and though we reported him found everywhere we could think of, no one called to claim him.)

I'm sure you can guess where he ended up! There's nothing quite so moving as big, sad hound-dog eyes. He's a damaged little soul, still very shy around people, very reluctant to be touched, but he's getting better, slowly.

So, imagine our sense of deja-vu last night when we looked out our window right around dusk and saw a yellow lab wandering around our neighborhood, looking lost. We knew all the neighborhood dogs, and he wasn't one of them. Being who we are, we couldn't just ignore him, so we went outside to see if we could catch up with him. He came to us eagerly, all sweet lab personality, happy to see us. He was wearing a collar, but we didn't see any tags. I had visions of stray dog rescue # 3, and was thinking "oh no, not again!" I love dogs, but two is enough.

He followed us into our garage, and we looked more closely at his collar. To our relief, we found there was a tag riveted to the collar. Barely readable, but we were able to make out a phone number and contact his folks. So, this once, there's no new addition to our family. But I'm beginning to wonder if this is going to be a continuing pattern.

Is it really unusual for this to happen to the same people three times? Or is it just that we're willing to go out and try to catch the stray, where other people don't? Either way, it's made us feel good about ourselves, both for the two dogs we've taken in and loved, and for the dog we reunited with his family.

Discovering My Theme

2006-02-27T09:13:00.000-05:00

In an interesting coincidence, I've had two writing workshops this year--one at our local RWA chapter, and one in an online course--where I've been asked to delve into the theme of my writing. Exploring this issue has been a fascinating voyage of self-discovery for me.

I write in two sub-genres of romance--paranormal, and romantic comedy. I haven't sold a romantic comedy yet, though I'm still hopeful. It was easy for me to see a theme in the paranormals I'd written. Many of them (including Watchers in the Night, my October 2006 release from Tor Romance, and Embraced in Darkness, my free online read) center around a character's struggle against his or her inner darkness. Just this week, I realized with a jolt that that's why I love the Anita Blake books as much as I do--Anita is constantly struggling against the darker side of her nature, and it's a conflict that fascinates me.

However, as compelling as this fight against inner darkness is as a theme, I was looking for something broader, something that would also encompass my comedies. And I realized that yes, there really was a theme that would cover both: even the most emotionally damaged of us can find love. When I came up with this sentence, it resonated through my body in a way that told me that this is The One. This theme is more subtle in some of my books than in others, but it's always there, a core message of hope that I want to share with the world.

Even more amazing to me was that once I recognized that theme, I realized where in my psyche it came from. Without going into too many personal details, let's just say that I had a very damaging relationship with my first boyfriend, who I was with for four years. After we broke up, I didn't date again for about eight years. I thought I was open to having another relationship, that I was actively seeking my Mr. Right. But later experience proved that I had shut and barricaded the door around my heart.

When I met my now-husband, Dan, I'd added several locks and chains on that door, still not realizing that I'd done it. When Dan started to pursue me, I pushed him away with both hands. I said we didn't have that much in common, that there was too much of an age difference between us, and any number of other excuses for why we were "just friends." Luckily for me, Dan knew from the start that we were right for each other, and he refused to give up. He chipped away at those locks for about a year before he finally managed to open the door. And that's when I realized that I'd been so damaged by my first relationship that I hadn't been willing to risk my heart a second time. We were engaged within about a month after my emotional walls came tumbling down. We'll have our ten-year anniversary in July.

So, no wonder this theme of the emotionally damaged finding love is so important to me! I lived it myself. And it was such a life-altering experience that it had to find its way into my writing, especially when I started writing romances. (I suspect that before Dan came into my life, I wouldn't have been able to write a romance at all.)

It's amazing what you can learn about yourself from the experience of writing. Even when you're writing about vampires and fey creatures, it all comes from something inside you, some kind of personal experience. The fun part is trying to find that connection.

The Magic of Books

2006-02-23T09:10:00.000-05:00

I've often thought that writing is as close to magic as it's possible to get in the real world. And I don't just mean because authors create strange new worlds and people. It's the way books can suck you in and create emotions in you. To me, that's like a kind of magic, like a spell has been cast on me. And boy, do I ever love it.

My most recent experience with book magic was reading the Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine. I'd just gone through a dry spell, where I'd tried to read several books on my TBR pile and just couldn't get into them. They were all books that had gotten great buzz, and I was very enthused about reading them. But each one left me flat, that magic spark missing.

Then I picked up Ill Wind, the first book of the Weather Warden series. And by the first sentence, I was hooked. The first sentence is "Well, thank God this is about to be over, I thought as I drove--well, blew--past the sign that marked the Westchester, Connecticut, city limits." Now, this isn't one of those hook sentences that drew me in because it in itself was so extraordinary, strange, or exciting. It does have interest to it, because you immediately want to know what's about to be over, but I, at least, didn't feel the great imperative to keep reading because of a burning desire to answer that question. What got me from that first sentence was the writer's voice and the narrator's tone. I knew from that first sentence that I was really going to enjoy this book.

That to me is magic. I blew through the book, and as soon as I finished it, I put it on the shelf where I keep the books I read over and over again. As a writer, I should probably analyze what it was about that book that so totally engrossed me and made me put it on my keeper shelf. As a reader, I don't want to look too closely because I don't want to spoil the magic.

I've continued to read the series since then. I read all three of the others last week, while I was on a business trip to Topeka, KS. They're all wonderful. These are urban fantasies, not romances, but there's a strong romantic element running through them. Here's the thing that struck me when I read the fourth (and, so far, last) book: much as I love this author, this series, and these characters, the magic is going to end for me eventually, and it's because of the romance.

In order for the tension and drama to continue, the heroine and her lover must be kept apart. However, eventually, that separation is going to become too frustrating for me as a reader. I'm so involved with those characters that I'm desperate for them to get together and live happily ever after. But for that to happen, the series as it is has to come to an end. What a conundrum, huh? I want more books, I want to be continually swept away, but I want to have my satisfying ending, too.

I think series are the most difficult magic to pull off. They're popular with readers because when you love one book in the series, you're hoping that the other books will affect you in exactly the same way. It's not that you want the same story over and over, it's that you want the same reading experience. But for me, at least, that kind of series strength is very hard to maintain. Eventually, they start to get repetitive, or the flavor changes, or something (like the romance) gets frustrating. But man, when the magic has you by the throat, it's a glorious thing!

I hope my Guardians of the Night series can cast that kind of magic spell on my readers. That's the single most important reason I write--to try to give to readers what other writers have given to me over the years. Only time will tell if I'll succeed.

Alternative Publishing Venues

2006-02-21T08:09:00.000-05:00

First off, let me say that I'm really excited to have received a comment on my very first post when I've made practically no effort to promote the blog yet. (I'm still adjusting to the idea that I actually decided to take this step!) I'm even more grateful that the comment sparked a thought about something to talk about, so thank you Amy.

Amy talked about publishing with lulu.com rather than with a traditional publishing company. Although many authors will argue against taking this path, there are times when it can be helpful. You just have to know what you're going into. And, more importantly, why. So, here's my own story of publishing through an alternative venue.

Several years ago, my husband decided he wanted to start his own small press publishing company, publishing science fiction and fantasy (which, not coincidentally, was what I was writing at the time). He'd been editing my books (not the pathway to domestic harmony, by the way), and he'd seen how close I'd come without actually selling. He figured (correctly) that there had to be plenty of other writers out there like me, and he was going to help them out.

Thus Aardwolf Press was born. His first acquisition was a brilliant collection of short stories, called The Best-Known Man in the World, by Daniel Pearlman. Now if any of you read science fiction and fantasy, you know that story collections are a really hard sell, so Mr. Pearlman was unlikely to find a mainstream publisher. The book was a critical success (even getting reviewed in the Washington Post), but wasn't exactly a cash cow, because publishing a book in one thing, and marketing it is another.

After he found that first manuscript, my husband was eager to put out another book, even if he wasn't making money from the venture. But a year or so went by where he couldn't find a submission he liked enough to publish. And that's where I stepped in.

I'd written a dark fantasy novel, called Hamlet Dreams. It was my fourth novel, and at the time, I decided I'd search for an agent rather than sending it directly to publishers. And for about the only time I can remember, I got consistent feedback--this book was not commercial enough for a first novel. What's more, I could see why the agents thought so. The book was quirky. And my lead characters were both meek people. You don't see a lot of commercial fiction featuring meek characters.

I decided to let my husband publish Hamlet Dreams, figuring small press was the right place for it, and if I was going to go with a small press, I might as well go with his. I didn't go into this venture seeking fame or fortune. I knew that we wouldn't sell many copies. I knew I wouldn't make money off of it. But what I hoped was that I could get some good reviews that I could put in cover letters when sending other books to commercial publishers. I was looking for anything that would make my submissions stand out.

It worked. I got reviewed in Booklist, Library Journal, Midwest Book Review, Asimov's Science Fiction, and many other places. Did the book sell like hotcakes? No. Neither my husband nor I knew much about promotion and marketing, so figuring out how to get sales was not our strong suit. One thing I definitely did get was validation--hey, all these reviewers thought my book was great! That must mean that I'm not some pathetic hack who should give up on her unrealistic dream. It was a great feeling, and an infusion of hope.

Strangely enough, that publication indirectly led to me hooking up with my agent. I'd exchanged books with a fellow romance author in my local RWA chapter. She read Hamlet Dreams and loved it, so when she went to the Romantic Times convention and met a hungry new agent just starting out, she recommended us to each other. And that's how I came to sign with Miriam Kriss, of the Irene Goodman agency.

The moral of the story: there's more than one way to skin a cat. I went into my small-press publishing adventure with a very definite goal, and focused my attention on meeting that goal. For me, it worked out. Each writer has to make these decision for him/herself. There is no one right way.

P.S. Aardwolf Press has gone on to publish three more wonderful books. It's still a project done for love, not for money, but if you enjoy literate, intelligent science fiction and fantasy, check them out at http://www.AardwolfPress.com.

Down with Self Doubt!

2006-02-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

I am so not a blogger. I couldn't even keep a diary as a kid, no matter how many times I tried. There's something intimidating about it. I guess I'm just not big on talking about myself. However, I'm not a kid anymore, and blogging is incredibly popular. So I'm going to give it a try, despite my natural resistance.

This is truly an experiment. Can I come up with interesting things to say on a regular basis? Or ever? *Gulp* One thing many writers have in common is a deep well of insecurity and self-doubt. I've got a well and a reservoir that likes to overflow. Another thing we have in common, though, is that we're willing to attack that self-doubt. Otherwise, we'd never send our precious manuscripts out into the cold, cruel world. So, my battle-cry is: Down with Self Doubt!

In many ways, conquering my self-doubt was the key to my selling my first commercial novel, Watchers in the Night (coming from Tor Romance in October, '06). All you struggling writers out there, listen to this story and take heart!

I've been writing seriously for publication for 16 years. Damn, that's a lot of years! I started out writing science fiction and fantasy, and with my very first novel I got a serious nibble from a publisher who said he'd love to make an offer on the book, but he was being forced to cut down on first novels. (Thank God! I shudder to think what it would have been like if someone had actually published that book, which will remain hidden from human eyes for all eternity.)

You'd think from a response like that that I was well on my way to publication success, but such was not the case. I wrote book after book, sending each one out with high hopes that this would be the one that would get my foot in the door. And again and again, it didn't happen. I got other nibbles. I had an editor go to bat for me and pitch my book to the other editors in her company. But I never seemed able to take that final step, never seemed able to make that sale. Words can't describe how discouraging this all was, this constant cycle of hope and disappointment.

One thing, though. I never considered quitting. Quitting was always something that I'd think about "eventually," when all hope was dead. But hope was on its deathbed on life support, and the more years (and books) went by, the harder it was to keep it alive.

Then, I had an amazing, life-altering experience. I went to a writer's workshop where the teachers, both very successful commercial authors, truly believe that if you were a good enough writer and you didn't quit, you'd eventually get published. They told me that luck wasn't needed, that my hard work was the key. And that completely changed the way I looked at my writing career.

I decided that if hard work was the key, I was damn well going to work harder than I ever had before. So I changed from writing whenever I was "in the mood," to writing every single day. Seven days a week. And instead of telling myself that I was waiting for a lucky break--something I had absolutely no control over--I told myself that if I wrote well enough, I would eventually break in. And I had a leg up--enough publishers had nibbled at my earlier works to convince me that I was good enough.

At this point, I also shifted to writing romance, which I think turned out to be a more natural genre for me. (I'll have to talk about that in another post some day.) One year after I changed my entire writing regimen and attitude, I snagged a top-flight agent. And one year after that, I sold my first novel to a commercial, New York press. Watchers in the Night was my 18th completed novel.

So, I've overcome self-doubt before, with a herculean effort. I can do it again. It doesn't mean my blog experiment is guaranteed to work. I may find that it's too difficult to promote my book, my blog, and my website all at the same time. I may find that it's too much of a time-sink. I may find I don't have enough to say. But I'm going to give it a try, because otherwise I'll never know.