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The buzz yesterday all over the office went somewhat like this: snow, snow?, Snow?, snOMG! EEEEK!! As the National Weather Service and the various area city leaders posted updates, sent emails, posted to Facebook, the forecast went from "hmm, heap big snow" to "HOLY CRAP WE'RE GETTING ELEVNTYMILLION FEET!"* City government announced closings around noonish. Schools by 5 p.m. Area businesses prepared for The Worst. During my lunchtime run to Harris Teeter for bagels and snacks, I saw the beginnings of the locust horde forming--people with carts groaning under the load. Of course, it didn't help that this Sunday there's some sort of feetball game**. Reports abound from later-in-the-evening shoppers who arrived to find barren shelves. I get it, I do. This is the South, though in NoVA/DC/lower MD, it's not quite as obvious. We're not used to this much snow, especially since it's the 2nd storm within the last couple of weeks, and expected to break records. Still, 3 days of being stuck at home? NOT the end of the world, folks. I'm off work today, as I am all Fridays, so am looking on in amusement. I woke up at 7, deciding to chronicle the snOMG as it happens: 7:00 a.m. - all quiet on the eastern front Today, I'll be working on my essay for A Taste of True Blood (SmartPop Books), also plan to do some relaxation - watch shows, DVDs, read, because, my pretties, I. AM. DONE. -- with revisions to Blood Heat (from my editor's notes). Emailed it to her and Mr. Agent Weds. night. whee!! 92, 647 words later. I harken back to when I started writing the book and despaired of ever getting to this point. Of the good, as I was reviewing the notes and working on the revisions, the muse hit me with the clue bat and I now have the main arc of Book 5 sussed. Now I can write the synopsis. whew! My story for Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 now has a plot. I knew I wanted to set it in San Antionio, using some of the myths/legends of the area. Thanks to some nifty books ( Spirits of San Antonio and South Texas and The History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel) I now have a decent direction. Yay! Of the amusing: The top song on my birthday was... Why yes, I am an old fart--and happy to be here. :) Tags: blood heat, book 5, meme, taste of true blood, writing
Spirits:  calm
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Laura Anne Gilman once again has a brilliant breakdown in her post here. My first reaction: Dear Amazon, that word does not mean what you think it means. OF COURSE Macmillan has a monopoly on THEIR product (books/ebooks). DUH. That's basic business. I have a monopoly on the books I write. Tobias Buckell posts along those lines. What makes me the angriest is that readers/Kindle customers do not understand that what this is, is a battle between giants and the consumer is the one that is going to lose. This isn't about price points for e-Books--because if it were, why then were all the print books taken out of the catalog. This is simple supply-chain economics. My other huge beef? Is that Amazon once again pulled this tactic (1) over a weekend and (2) without informing its customers - who saw books disappear from their pre-order lists, from their wishlists, from their carts. No explanation until this lame response, buried in a forum that frankly, most customers do not read. I have a Kindle. I've bought tons of books on it--because it's easy to use, has wireless access and since I am an Apple computer user, I was able to buy books without having to use third-party software (early Sony Readers didn't have Mac-compatble software). You know what? My recent edition is not even 90 days old, well within the return time period. I'm bloody well returning it. I'm angry and tired of feeling that Amazon is, however convenient for other types of purchases, acting like a twelve-year-old and not like a business. Will I lose my books? No, because there is Kindle for the PC (and I can go back and re-add VMWare Fusion to my laptop and run a vritual Windows environment) and I understand there is Kindle for Mac coming soon. Will I continue to buy e-Books for my Kindle? Doubtful. I've already canceled several extant preorders. Sad, because due to my tiny apartment, this is often the only way I get to read and keep hardcover books. Yes, I could use the library, but often I am too busy to read the book within the alloted time span. Plus, I enjoy rereading my favorites. So, I'll continue on without the Kindle, reading books on my laptop and waiting for a better option. In the meantime, I've got a bunch of print books (mass market pb) that I haven't read yet. ETA: I just processed the online return form for the Kindle. This was my additional comment in "reason for return": "Due to Amazon's recent removal of all Macmillan titles, I no longer wish to be a Kindle customer. I am very angry." Tags: amazonfail, macmillan
Spirits:  aggravated
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We're barely 3 weeks into the year, and already, it's turning out to be a grand one. A long time ago, a now retired writer friend of mine told me to just keep on working on my writing, that eventually, Things would Happen. I smiled and nodded, pretending to agree with her. How the heck were "Things" going to happen out of the blue? I mean, that's hogwash, right? Wishful thinking? Now, some six years later, I can see that she was absolutely right. I turned in BLOOD HEAT (book 4 in the Blood lines series) mid-December. Since then, I've managed to let it go (not a small feat) and just wait for editorial feedback. This is probably the first time that I've done this. Previously, I just angst over what I'd turned in, revisited the manuscript dozens of times and worried. Now, it's not like I think the book is perfect - but I know that my editor will give me constructive and great feedback that will help me make it better. (Thing #1--learning to roll with the process and trust in it). Shortly after I turned in the book, I received an email from SmartPop Books. They'd sent it out to all their previous contributors (some of you may remember my essay in IN THE HUNT). SmartPop is putting together a new anthology, this time, on one of my favorite shows of all time: True Blood. I submitted a few ideas and they liked one of them and are offering me a spot in the anthology. (Thing #2: I get to write MORE fannish meta for pay. This is truly the life!!) Earlier this week, I received an out-of-the-blue email from the editor of the Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance. She's doing a 2nd volume and invited me to participate. After a bit of discussion, I've signed the contract and will be writing a short story for the anthology. (Thing #3, a goal I've never articulated to someone--to be invited to participate in a themed short-story anthology). Yesterday morning, again, out of the blue, I got an email from an awards committee chair asking me if I'd like to serve on the committee. What he didn't know (nor did anyone else), this is a committee I'd wanted to be on for a long time--but kept forgetting to find out how one got on it. Needless to say, I accepted the position. (Thing #4, another goal achieved without talking about it or even actually pursuing it). Serendipity? Fate, lending a helping hand? Or is it just the manifestation of what starts to happen when there's some sort of critical mass achieved? I don't have a clue, but my friend was right--Things indeed do Happen. And it is glorious!! Here's hoping that 2010 turns out to be a glorious year for all my friends and family!! Tags: 2010, fate, writing
Spirits:  indescribable
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Wound up the holidays quietly at home, where I wanted to be. Like everything else, the relaxation time is over and it's back to work--both at the workplace and at the writing. Surprisingly, things jump started a little faster than I expected, I just got greenlighted (usage?) for a new short non-fiction project (aka PTICTAY) that I can't talk about yet, plus I am working on synopsis for Book 5. Also working on a proposal with a co-writer for a possible new young adult project. Also working on a guest blog for Vampire Wire (thanks for the invite, Marta!) Definitely not complaining, I love it when I get writing gigs!! And I'm extremely psyched about the PTICTAY--it's really, really awesome and I'm beginning to get the glimmer of what Book 5 will be about. Just got to nail it down before the slippery bastard gets away. The possible YA project is also quite fun, CoWriter and I are banging ideas/thoughts/character notes back and forth using Google Wave as a collaboration tool. Not sure how to use it for actual writing, though--I think I'd rather use Google docs for that, creating each chapter as a document so then I can keep the master in Scrivener. (mostly b/c CoWriter is a PC and I'm a Mac and we use different tools). Scrivener will let me compile our chapters into a final draft, create our outline/synopsis and make it easy for me to construct. Word and I do not play well together on large documents. Someday, I shall regale you with the horror story about how it lost ALL my edits post-editorial changes on Matters of the Blood (for the first Wildside/Juno release), including all the editorial markup. TrackChanges: 1 Lima: < 0. That was the last time I used Word to write a book. Hope everyone is keeping warm (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere) or cool (Southern Hemisphere) and that you had a fabulous holiday season. The new year has started out just fine, thanks--let's hope it continues along this vein. Tags: ptictay, writing
Spirits:  creative
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Now that we're all coming down from our holiday present highs, it's time to renew our minds and our spirits for the coming year. Nope, not going to be all philosophical about it, just recommending that you go out and buy a book, or get one from your public library. Doesn't matter the subject, whether it's fiction or non, just go get a book and read it. If you're really looking to spend some after Xmas dollars--how about the ENTIRE National Geographic Collection on a hard drive? (I admit, I am utterly enchanted by this and lust greatly after it). Or, you could just wander over to Linda Robertson's blog and enter for a chance to win HALLOWED CIRCLE, 2nd book in her new series, just out yesterday. Upcoming next month is Seressia Glass' debut book in her new series: SHADOW BLADE, followed by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) stacia_kane 's DEMON POSSESSED. Why yes, these are all fellow Pocket/Juno books. ::g:: Hope everyone is enjoying the last days of the year/decade (yes, yes, I know it's technically not until '01). Tags: new year, reading
Spirits:  awake
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Morning to all you early Sunday risers! I'm up early to write, what's your excuse? ::g::
Thought I'd post a few pics from yesterday and early this a.m. of the snowpocalypse DC. See what you're missing if you're not here?
My 2010 calendar already has some definite plans. I've posted to my website, but here you go.
2010 Schedule
April 30-May 2
Malice Domestic
Arlington, VA May 27-29
Mayhem in the Midlands
Omaha, NE July 22-25
San Diego Comic Con
San Diego, CA
Hope some of you will come see me at one of those events! (I'm not yet on as a pro at SDCC, but their new pro registration isn't open yet. I've got regular tix, though, just in case!)
Have a fabulous Sunday, all. I'm going to go offline now and write!
Tags: conventions, snowpocalypse 09, writing
Spirits:  cold
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A few weeks ago, I did my first phone interview. Macy Hurwitz, of the North Lake Travis Log emailed me because she'd heard somewhere that I wrote about Lago Vista, Texas. Pleased, I answered her email and set up an interview with her. I'd absolutely forgotten about it in the craziness of deadlines and holidays until today, when my old high school buddy, Jackie, emailed me on Facebook. Her mom, who still lives in Lago, brought up a copy of the paper to show Jackie. Thanks to modern tech, I now have scans of said article. Go on, read it, I know you want to... ::g:: Hope everyone is staying safe, sane and warm this holiday season. And don't forget, if you'd like a holiday card (no reciprocation needed!), go to my post here and comment with your snail mail addy. (comments are hidden and available only to me). On Sunday, stop by Amberkatze's Blog for a guest post by moi--it's all about Texas. I'm still on deadline and VERY close to finishing, so I'll be quiet again. Expect peals of laughter and jumps for joy when I turn the book in, 'kay? Just warning you. ::g:: Cheers! Tags: deadlines, promo, writing
Spirits:  cheerful
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A while back, I wanted to create a logo for Keira, and for the overall series as a brand. (this also comes into play in BLOOD KIN). Thanks to my awesome designer, Alex Pineda, I can haz logo. (Alex is also Creative Director at Matrix Group, where I work). He just took my pitiful Photoshop sketch ideas and made it good. Thanks to my utter lack of sleep tonight (yes, the insomnia fairy struck with a vengeance), I kind of created a really, really basic CafePress store. Eventually, when I have (a) sleep and (b) time, I'll make it all pretty and create some tshirts and such. This is mostly for fun at this point, so what the heck! Hope all of my U.S. buddies are planning for a lovely Turkey Day weekend! I'll be at home, writing, as per usual. :) Tags: blood lines, cafepress, logo
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