Google

I just googled myself for the first time, boy was that enlightening. Though a majority of the top rankings were actually me related, some of them had nothing to do with me. It's still weird to see someone else with your name, even when you're married and change your name. I suppose I thought the feeling would go away once I had a name that wasn't really mine anymore per se. Nope, still weird to google myself. For the record, everything erotica is mine. Everything else, not so much. But if you ever go to my Myspace, sorry I'm never on that anymore. Myspace just doesn't like my computer very much. I do check it occasionally but don't expect any glorious revivals or anything, okay? Awesome.

A Total Count

I just counted the number of projects I'm currently juggling or ready to write. It comes out to thirteen. At least I know I'll never run out of ideas. The projects span from erotic anthologies, historical books, cross genre books, and paranormal romance. Once one of them is completed another five will stop in there place. It's how it works around here in the world that is my brain.

I'm Back

My holiday was filled with killing my healthy diet, trying rabbit for the first time, and working tirelessly on the edits of my book. I'm more than a third of the way through knowing I want to trash at least the last twenty pages injecting more character worthy conflict as well as several more scenes that add to the mystery.

I didn't venture out on Black Friday because I'm always worried I'll get crushed by the excited mobs. Plus there wasn't really anything I needed to own that particular day anyway. I did have to get a new keyboard yesterday because we had company over and they spilled a cup of coffee all over my old keyboard rendering it useless. It was an inconvenience, but I wasn't too upset about it.

I've also come up with at least five new ideas for short stories and at least one for a novel/novella for Excessica once I can put this book aside for a bit. It's going to be historically inspired in ancient Greece, for a little teaser.

The time is coming fast when my work will show up on the new and improved Excessica website. I am giddy with glee at the prospect. I'm going to churn out erotica as quickly as my little fingers can type on the hiatus from my third round of edits. Then maybe I can conquer the anthologies still sitting in my folder waiting for my touch.

A new erotic nibble is coming tomorrow, so be on the look out for it.

Red Neck Stir Fry

So, Husband and I were supposed to make it to the store today. We were lazy instead and I was hungry. I salvaged what was in our pantry and made what I like to call Red Neck Stir Fry:

• Fried spam cut into pieces and cooked until crispy on the outside
• Green beans from a can cooked in the microwave
• Long grain rice cooked in a rice cooker with lots of chicken broth
• An egg or two either fried or runny over top of the whole mess

Instant deliciousness.

The HQ Scandel

Okay, so I really have nothing new to say to this"self-publishing" development Harlequin has unleashed on the world. Most of the blogs are saying it just fine without me and with far more publishing house inside knowledge. So, here are my favorite sites to check out the new developments (read angry death thralls) of Harlequin. Thank you to the RWA for handling it the way it should be handled, with grace and affirmative action for the betterment of romance authors great and small.

• Janet Reid's Blog 
• MWA's Statement 
• Jackie Kessler's Blog  

This is just a very, very brief round-up of stuff that I've found helpful in the wake of this whole mess. Please, if you write romance, or want to write romance, keep yourself informed of these developments because they impact not only your future, but the future of publishing as we authors know it. Knowledge is power people.

Paranormal Romance

An interesting article my good friend Kristina sent me about paranormal romance. It basically spins off of most of the trends I've been reading about in most romance agents and publishers blog so I thought it was appropriate to post here.

Romance Lies

I really enjoy it when people ask me if I write romance because I like it or because it sells well on the market. What I will continue to tell them over and over again is that just because romance as a genre does well on the market, that doesn't mean it's any easier to break into than any other genre. It may sell better once you've made a name for yourself and it may be (though I disagree) somewhat formulaic to most people. But, big but, it does not make it any easier to get a deal or contract and get published. This market is just like any other literary market unless you have a lot of luck on your side you take your knocks and rejections in stride waiting for "The Call". So please, stop assuming my work is easy. Try it some time.

Nicholas Sparks

I got to say, I just finished A Walk to Remember, not as good as the movie. I'm wondering if the next one I read will be any better. It's not that I didn't feel anything for the characters, because I did. But it took me more than a third of the way through to get to that point. A romance shouldn't take that long to smack you over the head with emotion in my opinion. Plus, there was no hot Shane West to sweep me off my feet. Message in a Bottle and The Notebook are still my favorite. I can write steamy snippets and still be a sap, I promise.

I picked up a few of his books for writing homework. I'm hoping the next one I pick up will be more to my liking. I've got to study all genres of the craft if I want to succeed. It works for erotica too. I still have at least five books sitting on my night table for smut homework. I like to intersperse them.

Erotic Nibble 1: Schoolyard

I called them together in the room from my tattered Lisa Frank address book. The one with the sparkle ponies in purple.


Now the three men stood before me. I didn't think any of them would come. Not from the glory days of pulling my pigtails on the playground. Now they would play with my nipples. My clit. My hair. My hip. Skin was no longer a boundary. I didn't have cooties anymore.


Each took an inhale of breath, choppy over my land-line receiver. I could feel them shake their heads, then a soft baritone request. The boys were stripped in my apartment living room. I gave my best vixen inhale. that false bravery to put inside myself and I strutted. 


The first one met me halfway. His cock had already lost it's shyness as he pulled my black ponytail, leading me to the couch. The familiar thump of my knees sounded distant. Men's scent, heady, thick, choked my panting mouth now that they couldn't see me breathe. I was anonymous with my head turned towards the wall.


A hiss of breathe as someone bit my labia, hot pleasure dancing in my cunt. A jerk of my shoulder as one of them mounted me from behind. Hands fingering my nipples, a mouth locked around my cunt. Nails racking down my back. It all melds together in one forethought of touch. 


I pictured them three way calling each other to see what they would do, and then I came.

Quickies

In an attempt to finish my book of 250 word stories I've decided on a fun route for my readers. Every week starting his Monday you'll get a steamy 250 word erotica nibble while I'm writing the rest of my book. You can look forward to searing, sexual goodness once a week for I don't know how long yet. Until I'm done perhaps? These posts will have their own subheading under "Erotic Nibbles" in my word cloud so if you've missed any pantie flying, skin tingling action, that's where you're gong to want to click. I'm posting my first story in a few minutes. I hope you enjoy!

The Calm Before The Storm

I'm a third of the way through my edits today. It's been a long week. Sitting at my desk tomorrow morning does not in any way seem appealing when my brain is mush today. I rewrote over three scenes, did over fourteen pages, and edited a lot more than that.

Sometimes I wish I had a little group of reading elves. A committee if you will, who could just sit around in my apartment and read my edits telling me how I've improved. I would never have to wait for feedback of my genius again. They would be some straight shooting elves, let me tell you that now.

I'm still struggling with several projects I've had to put on the back burner because of my book. Several of them I'm just dying to finish like the book I just started that isn't the sequel to this one that's already outlined. This new book is really neat in concept and character but there just isn't time to execute two books at once yet when I'm still getting a feel for the work of writing a first book. All in all I've got three books to start/finish, full length including edits, I'm counting six anthologies for Excessica or some other erotic press, and several unwritten short stories for anthologies in the near future.

I just got to pace myself and not let my brain get bigger than my fingers on the keyboard. They can only type and work so much a day before blah. It's only going to get harder as I become more published.

Rules That Writers Live By

This is a really neat post explaining, hilariously, how writer's wish to be treated through various life situations using writer rules. I got a good laugh out of it this morning and it's also completely true.

Huh?

I'm sorry to anybody who came to my blog looking for heath bar brownies. Which appantly has happened thanks to Google. There are no brownies here. But plenty of other fun treats.

Now that it's in my blog I'm going to get a million hits for brownie recipes. Uh oh.

I love The Rejectionist

Case in point: read this awesome goodness, you will laugh, a lot.

Checklist for Editing a First Draft Manuscript

It seems time got away from me for a day mainly because I worked over fourteen hours yesterday on my first chapter using my new editing list. Not only did the steps push me to view plot, ideas, and critiques in a new light, it also forced me deeper into my word choice, character motivation and why things were happening. It has made my manuscript tighter in terms of construction, realism, readability, and overall awesomeness. So, without further ado, here is my plan that I've been following and the plans for once chapter by chapter edits are done. (As a side note, this is all supposed to be done after a full manuscript read without touching it at all--no edits, period.)

Chapter by Chapter

1. Basic read through fixing word choice, grammar mistakes, word choice, POV shifts, and fixing placeholders for research where writing was more important than researching exactly what was right.
2. Marking sentences that stand out for bad reasons whether because it is awkward, doesn't seem to fit the character, etc. Even if you just don't like the sentence, mark it.
3. Read the chapter out loud disregarding the notes made, concentrate on what sounds right and what doesn't and make notes.
4. I keep an ADD-IN file on my computer for things I knew I wanted to include but didn't know if they would work with the plot I was developing, or if my characters gave me new insight into their pasts, or whatever I just couldn't put into the manuscript because the muse was hitting me so hard I couldn't think straight. This is my ADD-IN file. If you have one go through it now and see if you can tweak or fit any of these things into the first chapter, second chapter, etc. If you don't have one then ignore this step.
5. I previously printed out every chapter a week after I wrote it. Then I looked at it objectively because I was already on another chapter and just marked general notes and small edits to tighten and make everything more clear to the reader. I incorporate these changes in the manuscript now.
6. I have a critique partner (she's really awesome and helps so much!) that helps me with my chapters. So, the last thing I do is take everything she says and incorporate/stew over it where I think it will work.
7. Then I'm ready to move on to the next chapter.

Here is my checklist for the overall manuscript once the individual chapters are doctored:

Overall Manuscript

1. Tie up loose ends/incorporate new chapters where needed to expand or better explain the story line/plot arc.
2. Highlight dialogue, narrative, attribution, description and introspection with different colored highlighters. This forces me to see where I'm lacking in these as well as where one trait is just taking over my manuscript. From there I try adjusting and restructuring
3. Make character charts to see their progress throughout the manuscript. It will make sure they aren't stagnant, which will kill a story, and show you where the plot lags.
4. Double check ending to make sure it doesn't go to fast. I tend to speed through my endings the first time around writing them.
5. Final  read through of the manuscript without making marks
6. Pass it off to someone who will read it with an objective eye for critique and tell you if it's crap.
7. I'm done with the first draft.

I'm aware this is a lot of work for most people, but it works for me because I'm super organized. It's also a method that promises my second draft will be a complete piece of cake which is always nice. Feel free to just take bits and pieces to try adapting my method to your own. Writing is a process which is individual to everyone so doing exactly this method might not work for person A but works great for person B. I just hope you got something out of my process.

Plan of Attack

I've written a lengthy sixteen step process for my first draft revisions. The first half is chapter by chapter check list so my head doesn't explode. The second half is once my chapter by chapter are worked out. Then I can start re-reading the full manuscript, highlighting various parts in different colors such as narrative, dialogue, exposition, etc. This can help me get a big picture about what I'm missing in the story and where I need to continue to par down certain unnecessary aspects. I think it's a pretty good plan taken from multiple reliable sources. I'll type it all up on Monday when I officially start using it.

Words

One of the most fun things about my writing, as well as most frustrating, is that I no longer self edit when I first draft anything. Which means words just go spewing on a page and I don't re-read them until I need a refresher for the next chapter. Even then I don't touch them. This is awesome for my inner editing demon that wants everything perfect, but bad for delusional perfectionist that thinks everything I write is automatically brilliant and that I should never change or part with a single word. Thank god I have people help me with critiques, otherwise nothing would ever get done except a slew of unsellable novels.

Right now I'm grappling with this decision after putting my first big book to rest. I can't touch it for at least two weeks before I start hacking away edits. But I feel like it's not my best work, I know it's not, and I have a hopeless feeling of doom that no matter how many times I hack at it I'll never be happy with the end result. So, going on to this second book which is moving along at lightening speed for Nano means I have to hold on tight with my outline and keep writing until my fingers fall off. More of my first book method. But I don't know if that's right anymore. But if it isn't, what is? I've done a balance of re-write and edit then get fresh pages but that never works. I wind up re-working so much I procrastinate on page count, but I can still lie to myself that I got a lot of work done for the day. Hmm....what should I do?

Nano count: 2,345 words

Halloween

Surprisingly, there weren't that many scary movies on last night. Husband and I wound up watching Hannibal while we made beef fondue, except what husband didn't read was that the fondue would take three hours to simmer and turn to broth. I was not pleased because by then I was already starving and it had taken us an hour to make the broth. So we ordered Dracula Dead and Loving It, one of my favorite movies ever, and watched that while each of us got stirring duty for the broth. Then it was on to Food Network Challenge Scary Cakes. By then, thank god, the food was ready to consume and we had lovely fondue with cream cheese poppy seed sauce and mustard sauce. We still have left overs we'll be using for tonight.

My Halloween may sound boring to most, but I had fun. It was on the cheap. Although, I'm going to start complaining to television stations that they need to play better movies, not everyone is out on Halloween night.