Checking In

I'm up to my eyes in revisions for Windemere - and with the amount of red all over this manuscript, I have to wonder how it ever sold in the first place. Yikes. But, the good news is, most of the red is easily fixed, although the plot is going to change a little. I've been mulling it over for the better part of the last week, and I think what I need to do is going to be pretty smooth and seamless. Guess I'll know in a day or so, when I get to that part of the editing.

I've been tempering revisions with watching the Olympics. I love the Games (the gymnastics, swimming, and diving mostly) so they're on while I'm working and I'm sorry, but when the gymnastics came on, everything else pretty much got ignored.

But now we're moving into the Track and Field portion of the Games and they don't really hold my interest quite like the other sports. And since I don't think professionals should be allowed to compete, I don't watch the basketball or tennis (although I do love tennis.) For me, having pros in takes away from what the Games are supposed to stand for - which was always showcasing amateur talents.

And now, it's time to get back to work. I'm about halfway through these edits, and only now coming up on the really big changes that need to be made. **sigh** Wish me luck!

Checking In...

It's been very crazy in my neck of the woods - between the kidlets starting school, and my mother's latest go-round in the hospital, I haven't had the time or the energy to post anything. We're settling into a daily routine here, and my mom was moved from the hospital to a rehab facility, so things should calm down a little. Of course, every time I think that, something comes along and slaps me upside the head.

Anyway, I have some exciting news - Aspen Mountain Press offered me a contract for the follow up McKenzie book, Playing with Fire! It's scheduled for release on November 26, 2010, and I should have cover art very soon. When I do, I will post it. Yay!

I'm still waiting for cover art for Tiger Eyes, and when I have that, I will post it as well.

I'll also be receiving edits for Devil in Disguise, Playing with Fire, and Tiger Eyes, so things are going to get way busy in the coming days. Yay for busy. Right now, busy is good.

 Busy is very good.

Done!

First edits for Devil in Disguise, that is. Yay! It took me a while, as they arrived just as my mom was beginning radiation therapy, and then she ended up being hospitalized twice in the last two weeks. Fortunately, my Wild Rose Press editor, Christine, is an infinitely patient person and very understanding.

So that's done with, and now I'm back to work revising Dance with the Devil. This one is almost finished, so this should be the last go round before it goes out the door. Then, I think I'm going to plot out the next Montgomery book. This will be Daniel's story (he's mentioned, but not seen in both After the Storm and Devil in Disguise.) After that, I plan to re-write Elyse's story (she originally appeared as Kendra in Shelter From the Storm - which has since gone out of print) and that will most likely be the last book in the Montgomery series. It's been a great series to write, but all good things must end.

So that's my weekly update in a nutshell. I'm busy. Very. Busy. And that's a good thing. Work has been especially therapeutic during this time and I'm thankful for the distraction right now.

Walking Wounded

That would be me.

I fell on ice yesterday. I think it's the first time I've ever fallen on ice. It rained most of Monday, then it got real cold Monday night, Result? Frozen puddles on Tuesday. Puddles I did not see.

splat!!!

My right foot shot out from under me and I landed completely on my left knee.

Ow!!!!

So now, I can only put a bit of weight on my left leg (please to call me Eye-gore now) and, while most of the swelling has finally gone down, my knee is some very interesting shades of bruise. Blech,

The plus side? I got to spend all day yesterday snuggled in bed, watching movies (I saw Parenthood again, which I haven't seen in years. It's even funnier now that I have kids of my own) and I'll probably do the same again today. Hopefully I'll be much more mobile tomorrow and back at the gym on Friday (keep your fingers crossed.)

And now? Time to gimp upstairs, put the ice pack on my leg, prop it with a pillow (my leg, not the ice pack), and finish those damn revisions on Tiger Eyes...

Let's Do the Time Warp Again...

A time warp...

Yes, that's it.

That's the reason why I've not posted in over a week.

Really.

A time warp.


Oh, okay. No, that's not the reason. I don't have a reason, other than a lack of anything to really post about. There are only so many posts one can write about revising a manuscript, and that's pretty much what I've been doing all week.

The Boy started his summer program last week, so we're all back to being up early in the morning (his bus is here by a little after 8AM), I'm back to the gym (ouch) again, I'm revising two WIPs. One is a first revision, the other a second, so it's almost done. And that's that.

I'm doing a little research here and there, outlining yet another book in my head, and trying to get in the pool whenever possible. It's been a weird summer so far. It rained most of June, and now it's dry and sunny, but the last 5 days have actually been too cold to go swimming. No joke. It hasn't been about 75 degrees or so until today. We had the AC turned off all week and I woke up Thursday night because I wanted the blanket. I was cold. In July. Cold. How weird is that?

Needless to say, the pool's been a huge money suck as a result. We had to replace the filter pump (ouch), had to replace a gasket on another part of it, and have had to drain water out of it because of all the rain last month. The pump runs 10 hours a day, and since we've only been able to use it a handful of times, it's been running for nothing.

So, I'm kind of running out of things to post. Maybe it's time to go back and make up a new list of topics. I don't want to run repeats, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen.

But right now, the sun is shining and it is actually hot enough to be in the pool, so maybe that's what I'll do. And maybe while I'm out there, floating in the water, I'll come up with some new topics. Or at least something interesting to write about. As always, suggestions are totally welcome!

When Last We Left Off...

I was promising to be a better blogger.

Guess that didn't quite work out as I had hoped, eh?

Well, first, my finger's feeling a LOT better. Did I blog about how I dislocated my let index finger (but didn't know that's what I'd done at first), then popped it back into the socket? Well, if I did, it's just about 100%. If I didn't, now you know and it's still just about 100%.

Angel of Darkness is still stalled. However, I revised the first draft of Devil in Disguise. I'm in the midst of making the hard copy changes to the second draft on my laptop -but it's very slooooow going right now. The earlier revisions are always the worst because they have (surprise, surprise) the most handwritten changes. I've rewritten scenes, new chapters - it's a LOT of red ink. Blech.

So, I'm working on those changes, and hoping to get the middle written to Tiger Eyes. Yes, you read that right. I have the beginning and the ending, and part of the middle done. Just not all of the middle. But I'm looking at it with fresh eyes and think there might be hope for it as well. For anyone who's interested, Tiger Eyes is Diego's story (you might remember him from Eden's Pass. Yep, he's getting his own story. Or, he will be - someday.)

However, I've learned something about myself as a writer whilst tackling the pain in the butt that Angel has become. I can't outline. I've tried. Several times. And the story dies out within the first 30-50 pages. So, when I first started having trouble with Angel, I tossed out the chapter-by-chapter outline I'd so painstakingly created. Within a few days, I had 100 pages written.

I envy those who can outline an entire book. I can't. I've tried. God knows I've tried. But, for me, I find it squishes my creativity. I can't plan out the entire story - I have to just let it write itself. And once I did that with Angel, it was off and flying. My problem isn't that I don't know what to write next, it's that I'm at the end and don't quite know how to wrap it up. Ugh.

So, it will stay simmering in the back of my mind while I finished revising Devil and get back to work on Tiger Eyes. And then there's Dance with the Devil, which is on hold until these other projects are off my plate. That plate is pretty full right now. Which isn't a bad thing, really.

But it does mean there's a good chance I will continue being a bad blogger for now... I hope not, but somehow, that has a way of happening.

Where is Spring When You Need It?

Okay - so there I am, Sunday night. It's about 8:30 and I am happily watching Hugh Jackman (sigh, drool, sigh) open the Oscars. I don't usually watch the Oscars, because I think Hollywood already pats itself on the back often enough about how wonderful they all are - ahem - any way - but Hugh is hosting and I am soooo there because of it.

I've been through two boxes of tissues since Saturday. I could give Rudolph quite the run for his money.

I'm feeling okay - got a lot done on those revisions (I want this manuscript outta here by this weekend.) The kids are asleep. Hubs is right there with me, not minding my drooling and sighing over Hugh. He's kind of used to it.

I cough.

I sneeze.

Wait. What is that sore spot in the back of my throat again???

NO!!!!!!!

Yes.

I woke up yesterday feeling like the bus that hit me last week made a U-turn and came back for a second pass.

How does that happen? I always heard you couldn't catch your own cold. Am I a freak of medical science???

I caught my own cold.

And now I'm sick all over again.

Last night, I was in bed by 8 o'clock. 8 o'clock!!! I haven't done that since I was my daughter's age. I managed to make it through Countdown. Made it halfway through Rachel Maddow's show (sans Rachel, who was out sick last night) before falling asleep. Woke up at 11:30 and thought Okay. I'm up. I can watch the second half of Rachel Maddow since I missed it once. Thank God for MSNBC repeats.

Promptly fall back asleep. Awake at a little after midnight and Chris Matthews. Rats. Missed the end of Rachel Maddow's show twice.

Woke up this morning feeling not much better, but at least the sore throat is gone.

Didn't get much done on revisions. I don't think I'm going to make my own deadline.

Damn it.

Cold meds are kicking in. I need a nap .

Maybe I'll get something done today.

When I wake up.

Maybe.

I hate being sick.

Rewrite Hell

I. Am. In. It.

Now, I do 99% of my writing on my laptop. I have an AlphaSmart, but I rarely use it because I've had problems transferring data from it to my laptop. I've lost formatting, and it tends to make the spellcheck in my Word program not work, so reasons beyond my comprehension.

I write a draft and print it out chapter by chapter for the first draft. Then, I sit down, red pen in hand, and go through it. I don't like revising on the computer because I tend to jot notes all over the place as I scour through a manuscript - things to look up, things to remember for later on, things to double check and so on. When I'm finished, the draft is a mess of red ink and a LOT of arrows. Good thing I understand it, no one else would stand a chance.

So right now, I'm rewriting (yet) another manuscript. At first, I thought it was only going to be a tweak here and a tweak there, but it's turning out to be a major rewrite. I mean, almost the entire book is going to end up rewritten when I'm finished.

Now, first off, I have to ask myself why I chose red pen. The lighting in my office is terrible (please, Santa, bring me a decent desktop lamp) and for some weird reason, I bought fine point pens (WTF??). And that adds up to a manuscript that is very difficult to read. My handwriting is that of either a serial killer or a doctor, so it's not exactly a picnic to read to begin with - couple that with teeny, tiny, THIN red ink-written words. My poor, poor eyes.

And I have another 325+ pages to rewrite.

Yeah. I think I'll switch to a blue ink pen for the rest of it.

On the other hand, this particular rewrite had led to an entirely new story - yay! The original was okay, I guess (I'll readily admit, it's not one of my better books), but in rereading it, it's easy to see how far I've come since it was written. The original's not exactly cringe-worthy, but pretty close. But this new story has gone in a whole different direction, so that makes the suffering through the red ink worthwhile.

I still have a LOT to sift through, but I think, when all's said and done, it will be worth all the aggravation and eye strain.

A Loooong Day....

Mondays pretty much suck.

I think most would agree with me on that, right?

And some suck more than others.

Well, okay, today didn't actually suck, per se, but it was definitely a Monday.

I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know why. Actually, I think I do. I had family over yesterday and drank a wee bit too much wine. And there was some family drama as well. And more wine.

Which added up to a night where I was up and down for most of my sleep time. Ugh.

Then the Boy got up two hours before his usual arrival time. And he doesn't nap, mind you (and the 15 minute powernap he took when he got time out for climbing up onto the cabinet Lazy Susan for the fifteenth time in two hours? Did nothing. Nothing I tell you) so it was a loooong day for him. I'd never been so happy to see a bedtime. Never.

I worked a little on my blanket this weekend, amidst the drama, and learned not to knit when I am tired. I did two rows. Then I promptly undid the second row and redid it because I miscounted. Blech. So that was the end of that. And now? Too tired to even think about it.

I did, however, get some revising done on the category-length contemporary I'm hoping to get out either at the end of this year or the beginning of next. It doesn't really matter because this time of year is one where publishing re-e-a-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-s down. Between holidays and parties and the like, it's like August, when everyone goes on vacation. Which reminds me that I have to get my Christmas shopping done. Sigh. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. But on the bright side, that means it's almost New Year's and that means time for Sci-Fi Channel's Twilight Zone Marathon. They better have it on this year or else. Or else what, I don't exactly know, but I won't be happy.

Okay, this is short, but I need to go watch Get Smart with Jersey Guy. We've been trying to watch this movie since Friday...