New Review: DIID

Vampire Genre has a short, but very complimentary, review of Dead if I Do up at their site: http://www.vampiregenre.com/2009/08/22/tate-hallaway-dead-if-i-do/

Safe

Yesterday afternoon, I was laying on the bed thinking I should either nap, meditate (which is really, for me, just guided napping,) or start writing. Since I could barely keep my eyes open I went for meditation/napping. I settled in on the bed, plugged in to my mp3 player, but I paused because I heard the sound of a train rattling in the far, far distance. I thought: "Huh, a train," because, a train passes quite close to our house and we can often heard it rumbling through the neighborhood. Two seconds later the tornado sirens went off. Mason and I scurried off to the basement, but as it was only just pitter-pattering rain, I still didn't make the connection. And, honestly, because it's Wednesday, if I didn't have a weather radio that automatically tells me if this is a drill or a real advisory, I probably wouldn't even have hurried us off to the basement. (Even though it wasn't the first Wednesday of the month, my little radio goes off weekly on Wednesdays.)

I'm glad I did.

The tornado that touched down was quite a distance from us. Across the river and in the Portland Avenue and Downtown areas of Minneapolis. But, you know, that's much closer than I really ever needed to be. My sympathies go out to everyone directly affected.

Killing the Muse*

Jim Butcher recently joined Twitter. Encouraged by many of the people I already "follow," I checked out his tweets. His very first one was strangely profound. He wrote something to the effect of "Author kills Muse. Film at 11." Subsequent posts made it clear that his reason for "killing" his Muse is that he's behind on his deadline and he can no longer afford to wait for inspiration to strike. He's just got to knuckle down and write.

Like I said, I found that surprisingly insightful.

I always thought that someone in the stratosphere like Jim Butcher had the luxury of waiting on his Muse, you know? I know that the rest of us down here scrabbling in the dirt have to write whenever we can squeeze in time at the computer. But, I guess I thought that once you kind of "made it" you could just sip martinis poolside and wait for that shining Goddess in white to appear and smack you upside the head and say, "Time to write! I've got a great idea for you, pal!"

It's kind of nice to know that's not true. I guess I remember reading in Stephen King's book about writing that he thinks it's a good idea, if possible, to sit down at the computer at the same time every day so the Muse knows where and when to show up -- even if She doesn't deign to come every time, his point is that if you make it a regular habit, eventually She'll get the invitation and appear. But I also sort of thought that "Stevie" (as he calls himself throughout the book) was kind of just saying that for us lowly not-yet-as-great-as-he sorts.

Maybe not. Maybe everyone struggles with writing when they don't want to.

Huh.

Cool.

--------------

*X-posted from the Wyrdsmiths blog.

Summer in Full Swing

I've been lax about posting here because summer at Chez Hallaway is in full swing. In fact, I think my family is still recovering from an exhausting (yet relaxing) weekend up at our friends' cabin in Siren, Wisconsin. It was exhausting because the weather cooperated and so we spent oodles of time in the water -- swimming, floating, playing beach tag, building sand castles, kayaking, and generally exhausting the grown-ups.

Yesterday, we were all so cranky at being back in the real world. It sucked.

Today is better. In fact, I got started a bit on the third re-boot of the young adult novel. My editor said, having read the new and improved bit I sent her, that I probably should just writing the thing in first person. Right now I can hear my partner and Naomi, the Wyrdsmith that complained the loudest that the whole thing should be in first person, laughing at me. I resisted first person because... well, because I really wanted the challenge of writing in third. Something new to me. Something to stretch me a bit. Alas, a highly commercial venture is not really the place one should attempt to stretch one's self. :-) Maybe I'll work in third person in some short stories.

But the good news is that I finally wore Mason out up at the lake. He's been very inwardly focused for the last couple days since we've come back, and I think that he finally got enough excercise and sunshine for a little while. I was actually able, like I said, to get some writing done. During the DAY. Awesome, no?

Writing Biorhythms

Do you have a time when your brain is better suited for writing?

I know I do. As a professional writer, I've trained myself to write any time, any where. However, the fact remains: I write better during daylight hours, preferably between 9:00 AM and noon.

Yesterday, I took Mason to the beach for three hours. We played and played and I thought for certain he'd be tired by the end of the day after all that healthy sunshine and exercise. He did get to bed at a reasonable hour, but then guess what? I was tired too! I did get a bit of writing done after hours, but I have to tell you, writing at night, for me, is just plain HARD. I can do it, but it's not "natural" for me, you know?

Strangely, I think I got in the habit of writing during the day when I had a regular job. I was the world's worst employee. I tell my friends in business: "Never hire me." Because I'm the consummate slacker. I get only enough done not to get fired, and I spend the rest of the time stealing your office supplies and writing my novel on company time. I wrote five novels while "working" full-time that way. Bad. And, like I said, the 9 to 5 mentality still infuses my writing brain. My brain thinks: office hours = writing hours. After hours = play and sleep. Now, with child at home, that's reversed.

It's hard to retrain the brain, though it can be done. I've now written nearly as many novels at home with small child as I did with a regular job. Many a midnight oil has been burned. But... I still don't like it. Even after years of writing this way (although now, only during summer,) it's still a bit like pulling teeth.

So how about you? All things being equal, when do you write best?

Tuesday Plans. Yours?

This morning started out with the whole family at the eye doctor. Mason has been adjusting his glasses a lot, and at his yearly physical had some trouble reading the eye chart with his glasses on.... so, no surprise, his perscription has changed. Alas, he and mama had some disagreements about which glasses looked best on him. Mason is a lot like me. If he had his druthers, he'd wear glasses festooned with a lot of BLING. And they'd be hot pink.

Mama is a bit more conservative to say the least.

We all ended up a bit bent out of shape after that, however. Now Mason is in the other room playing some video games while I catch up on my interneting. Our big plan for the day is to go to the beach. I'm really hoping that today I can wear him out a bit better. Yesterday, I'd hoped to coax him out on a big adventure so that I could get some writing done after bed time. But, ultimately, I'm learning that it seems to be nearly impossible to actually exhuast that child. Me? I'm out after two hours of hard core sprinting. Him? He's just getting revved up. So, needless to say, while I opened up my computer last night I did not get a lot done. However, I did reveiew my new beginning and I'm very proud of it. I think it captures the tone I want much better. I'm kind of tempted to send it on to my editor, Anne... sort of to reassure her. I don't know. Maybe.

Anyway, how are you on this fine Tuesday morn?

YA Back Cover Copy!

Last week I approved the back cover copy for the young adult novel I'm currently working on called ALMOST TO DIE FOR. It's a new series for me. It's not in the exact same universe as Garnet and Sebastian as you can see from the bits below, but it still has plenty of witches and vampires. According to Penguin USA, it will be out in August 2010.

Here's the back cover copy:

On her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker’s present winds up being the shock of a lifetime. When her mom referred to her absentee dad as a deadbeat it was actually half true—he’s a vampire. And a king, no less. A king who wants his daughter to assume her rightful position at his side. But, thanks to Ana’s mother, the blood of a witch also runs through her veins…

Too bad vampires and witches are mortal enemies.

With her parents gearing up for an all out brawl over her destiny, Ana’s about ready to scream. But things get even crazier when a male witch and a brooding bad boy vampire start vying for her affection. Then the barely leashed tension between the vampires and the witches starts to boil over, and Ana has to figure out once and for all if she wants to become heir to her dad’s throne. And deciding your eternal destiny is a pretty big deal for a girl who just wants to get through high school.

"Murphy's Law" for Writers

The last couple of days since Mason has been off school for the summer, I've been pressed for time to write. Most of that is a problem of my own making, because, since he only has a month off in his year-round school schedule, we've been making the most of what we have by going on "adventures" to the local wildlife parks, etc. It's been great fun. Tiring, but great fun.

I haven't written much of note, however.

So what happens? The last few days my brain has bombarded me with ideas for short stories! My friend Sean M. Murphy came over a couple nights ago and we thought up an awesome first contact story. Yesterday, my brain went off on a tangent about the crazy things we're willing to do to stay thin and beautiful and I crafted a whole story arc around that... and this morning I woke up with the thought that's over in my Twitter feed.

Gah! Why does this always happen when I have NO time to write the projects under deadline, much less the ones that are bubbling to the surface!!!???

Hello, Monday

It's Monday, do you know where your motivation is?

I don't.

Once again, I find myself sitting at home waiting for a repair person to show up. This time the drier croaked. It no longer heats. We've been hanging our laundry on the line outside, which has been kind of cool, but a bit tedious, honestly. How did those Colonial women do it??

Also, my son is now officially on summer vacation. For those of you who have tuned in late, he has a year-round schedule. He still gets three months off, just not all at once. It's a schedule that's perfect for ME, because it means that my writing goes fairly well uninterrupted for months at a time. But now we're both rattling around at home. I should be writing now since he's occupied watching TV, but... you know, the internet is so SHINY!

It's suppose to get warm today -- in the upper 80s (F), so maybe after the repair person goes, we can hit the beach.

Need to find that motivation. Where did I put it? Is it here in this coffee cup, I wonder?

An Interview with Moi

LoveVampires did an interview with me, which you can check out here: http://lovevampires.com/thallaway.html Probably my favorite question to answer was the last one: "If the Garnetverse were real and you had to be one of your characters, who would you be and why? My answer might just SURPRISE you....

General Grumpiness

I have to shake this grumpy mood that's settled over me. I'm not sure what's going on, because today is absolutely beautiful. It's sunny, in the seventies (which, in my world, is damn near ideal) with a cool breeze, and I have good food waiting for me for lunch, including homemade French bread that I made yesterday.

I think it may just be a let down after the awesome that was yesterday. I had two wonderful friends to hang out with in my backyard yesterday, and a lot of good conversation, laughter, etc. Now I need to put nose to the grindstone and that's always difficult after such a fun day.

Plus, my editor was only lukewarm about the beginning of my YA novel, and that's definately cast a pall over everything.

*sigh* I just want to be recognized for my genius. I don't want to have to actually WORK for it.

Ugh... Is the Weekend Over Yet?

Strangely, I'm HAPPY the weekend is finally over.

My son turned six this Friday, and somehow his birthday managed continued non-stop until five o'clock on Sunday. Friday it was presents and swimming at grandma and grandpa's hotel until late (for a six year old, anyway;) much of Saturday at ComoTown, which is an amusement park attached to our local zoo; and then Sunday a backyard party involving ten three to six year old boys (well, one was a girl, who held her own nicely,) who tore up the yard and generally had an awesome time splashing in the pool, squirting each other, and getting hopped up on birthday cake and Popsicles.

Whee.

Actually, given that there were only a few head injuries on Sunday, I think things went pretty well. I know that the kids had fun. And, despite our specifically asking for NO PRESENTS, Mason got overloaded with gifts of all kinds. At least the grandparents stuck to the rule, because they chipped in to help buy the LEGO Star Wars, Millennium Falcon. Which, btw, is awesome to behold... even in it's current state of a zillion pieces and ginormous box.

I'd been hoping for a respite from the chaos this morning, but the first thing that happened was that Mason forgot his glasses, and I spent nearly an hour searching for them at home before returning to his school to give them to his teacher. (Yes, he's still in school. It's a year round program. He'll have August off, as well as two other months, just not all in the summer.) Then I got an e-mail from my agent for me to send copies of my novels to the German publisher who wants to publish them... and a number of students in the last I guest teachered in last Wednesday would love for me to review their work -- oh, and a local author is looking for a blurb... and... and...

I just want to nap.

How about you? How's your Monday shaping up?

Life, with Interruptions

Today I'm stuck in the house while an electrician messes about with, well, electricity, I suppose. We're removing a few wires that are kind of frayed and dangerous over our backyard, as well as having a few outlets installed.

I've also put my young adult project on the back burner momentarily, as I'm kind of waiting to see what my editor, Anne, thinks of the first sixty pages that I sent her. I won't hear back until sometime next week, as she's currently off whooping it up at ComicCon in San Deigo. (I'm deeply, deeply jealous.)

Instead, I've returned to my alter ego's small press project, which is finally, FINALLY picking up steam (or so it seems THIS TIME, at least.) I think my new infusion of excitment has to do with a great conversation I (uh, she?) had at a reading club that was discussing Messiah Node and J. Michael Straczinski's SPIDER-MAN.

Well, since I don't know what might happen with the electrical power, I'm going to sign off for now and actually get back to said project.

See ya on the flip side!

Getting My Geek ON

Sorry I haven't been posting here, but I've been getting my geek on elsewhere. I've been slowly catching up with the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN titles from several years ago, and now a whole flood gate of life-changing stuff has been poured into my brain. And honestly? I'm still trying to cope.

Meanwhile, I hope have some official teasers for the new books up in the next couple of days.

The Pressure is ON

My editor and I were chatting on-line this morning over the back cover copy for my two up-coming releases, and she casually mentioned that she tweeted that my new young adult book, ALMOST TO DIE FOR, could be described as Twilight meets The Princess Diaries.

*gulp*

No pressure or anything.

Ironically, I had been planning on working on my alter ego's small press project today (it is Friday after all) and now I'm looking at my young adult, thinking: "Is it funny enough?" Aaaaargh!

Fixed!

The plumber arrived yesterday only an hour later than promised and did the work in about two; everything was fixed by three o'clock. The bill was not astronomical, either. Love my handyman service. I kiss them.

In other news, you might notice on the sidebar that I am now Twittering. I tweet. I hear all you kids are into it. Please feel free to follow me or friend me or whatever.

Today is promising to be very busy. After I pick Mason up in a couple of hours, I'll be headed off to Barnes & Noble to pick up a book of weird hauntings that I put on reserve on Tuesday. Mason also wants to check out the Star Wars section, since we didn't get to it during our last visit. (He got stuck in the humor section, reading GARFIELD.) Then, it's off to pick up our CSA (community supported agriculture) box from Driftless Organics, and then a little cat herding as we try to get Ms. Deliah (the cat Barney is largely based on) into her carrier and off to the vet for shots and "animal wellness" check-up.

I think Mason gets another fast-food dinner, which is only ironic given all the farm-fresh, organic produce we'll have in the car.

Wednesday Suckage

I recently read an article in the Star Tribune that Monday is no longer the number one day of the week to commit suicide. Now, it's hump day: Wednesday

Today has been one of THOSE days, and if I wasn't a naturally cheerful and zen-like in my approach to certain areas of my life, today's events might, at the very least, cause a serious ulcer.

My partner is off to Seattle today for a conference for work. Consequentially the household was awake by 5:30 am, which is a time of day I consider quite despicable for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that most of the time the sun isn't even awake yet. So why should I be, I ask you! That was, it turns out, only a minor inconvenience.

After doing her usual getting-ready morning bits, Shawn came upstairs and sat down on our bed. Her face looked ashen. She said in a solemn tone: "Bad news. Really, really bad news. We have a leak."

I don't talk much about them on this blog, but I own several fish in large tanks, and my first thought was, "Oh no! Not the fish tanks." So I was actually strangely relieved when she explained it was the kitchen ceiling. Oh, I thought, just the kitchen ceiling.

Wait. The kitchen ceiling? That's not good.

We live in a house that is approaching its hundredth birthday. There are any number of things we look at and think, "We're going to have to replace that one of these days." Most of those things obligingly chug along and we never have to worry. We've always KNOWN that these pipes are a problem. They're probably some of the last remaining lead pipes in our house *and* we had our handy-person gerry-rig a connection to the upstairs faucet because they were rotted. We were just doing that homeowner finger-crossing dance this whole time, waiting for... I dunno, a lottery win or something.

Alas, I'm now awaiting a plumber, and probably a huge bill. But, as we like to say in Minnesota, it could be worse. We have a working downstairs toilet (thanks to the same people who are coming today, and, really, someone could come TODAY. That's huge.)

I haven't gotten a lot of writing done yet today, as I spent this morning moving breakables and furniture out of the kitchen, since, watching the spreading water stain, I suspect much of the ceiling will have to come down for the repair.

Wish me luck... or maybe don't. Maybe break a leg or pipe or something.

W.I.P. and Reading

I finally handed out the first fifty pages of my newest work-in-progress (the young adult vampire/witch series) to Wyrdsmiths last week. I'm now trying to untangle their comments, my thoughts on them, and do some revision. Interestingly, some of the issues people had were with "world-building" (something I pretended to be an expert on yesterday), and, thus, I spent a good deal of last night talking to my partner about the world of these novels and my vision for them.

And now there's a psychic cat... or maybe it's a ferret.

That part is still undetermined.

Also, sometime last week I got my latest (and last) issue of TALEBONES (issue #38, Summer 2009). I started reading it right away, and, because I'm kind of pedestrian, I started at the beginning with Mary Robinette Kowal's "Ginger Stuyvesant and the Case of the Haunted Nursery." (Nothing about her story was pedestrian, I only say that I'm kind of pedestrian because I think it might actually be wiser to skip and jump through any collection of short stories.) The story takes place in that time of the "Spiritualists" in 1920s in a British manor. Our heroine is an American medium who can see and communicate with ghosts, and has a strange sort of desire/affinity with the otherside (in that without the anchor of the seance circle, her spirit wants to just leave and follow the spirits.) The ending wasn't incredibly "ah-ha!," but it was an engaging, well-told story none-the-less. I was particularly enchanted with how the medium interacted with the ghosts (and the ghosts with their obsessions), as well as the sub-plot that involved a non-believer husband. A good, well-told story. I'd recommend it, particularly if you like ghost stories.

Me, Elsewhere

Today, I'm guest blogging at Victoria Janssen's blog and talking about World-building. Come by and check it out if you get a chance.

A Tradition of Reading

In the years B.C. (before child), my partner and I had this wonderful habit of reading to each other during the performance of arduous chores, particularly she would read to me while I was doing the dishes. We recently resurrected this tradition. Now, not only is the kitchen cleaner on a more regular basis, but I also get the pleasure of hearing various horror short stories in collection (the book we chose for this time.)

A couple of days ago, she read me “Sredni Vashtar” by Saki (H. H. Munro.) If you are a fan of horror, you may know the author from her/his more famous “The Open Window” (not to be confused with the movie classic “Rear Window.”)

“Sredni Vashtar” is the name of a weasel that a young, sickly British boy discovers caged in the back corner of a mostly-forgotten garden shed. There is also a hen living there, upon which the boy lavishes attention (because, in the way of British boys in novels and short stories, he doesn’t get much love from his nanny or completely absent parents.) But, it’s the ferret/weasel that he *worships.* Literally. On “holy” days or days to celebrate certain personal victories, the boy brings Sredni Vashtar delicacies which he places lovingly and with much ceremony in front of the weasel.

Creepy right?

What’s kind of interesting about this story? It kind of plays with your horror story assumptions. You know something bad is going to happen involving the weasel, but I, at least, was totally routing for the boy to get his way over the awful nanny, especially when she decides he spends too much time in the shed and is determined to sell off the beloved hen and… kill? (it’s implied, but not really stated) Sredni Vashtar.

I don’t want to give away the ending, in case you decide to look it up for yourself, but let’s just say I was deeply satisfied by the ending even though part of me knew it was morally wrong to feel that way.

A very worth while short. And it sort of makes you ask yourself: do people make their own gods? Did this boy invest Shredni Vashtar with magic powers simply because he BELIEVED, or… is everything that happened just coincidence???

Cool premise, don’t you think?