Music and Mason

In our household, Leopold Stokowski is a rock star. Leopold conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1940s and is the conductor featured in Fantasia. Mason adores this man. In fact, he’s made him into a kind of “invisible friend.” Mason’s imaginary friends are actually interactions he has with me, while I’m “in character.” Such as:

Mason: Who is that I hear knocking at the door?

Me: (trying to guess, because when I ask him he says, "you have to tell me!") Is it Leopold Stokowski?

Mason: (hopping with excitement) Yes! Hello, Leopold!

Me (as Leopold): Hello, Mason. How are you today?

Mason: Good. Do you know what I learned today? I can conduct jazz! (Mason then demonstrates by standing very still and waving his hands around very frenetically.)

Me (as Leopold): That’s great. You’re ready to be a conductor like me.

Mason: Do you like the zoo, Leopold Stokowski? (or another completely unrelated question, which then continues in several minutes worth of conversation with “Leopold.”)

Mason has generally been very interested in the music of Fantasia, to the point of quizzing me about which instruments might be playing at any given moment. The only draw back is that my ear is not very well trained in this regard. I can pick out strings from brass, but when it comes to specifics I end up doing a lot of guessing. People have suggested Peter and the Wolf as a good story that helps break down various instruments, and also another friend (thanks Paul!) suggested checking out various concertos from the library that feature various instruments. We’ve also tuned the car radio to the classical station so that as we drive around doing our various errands, we can listen to “Fantasia-like” music.

Hooray!

You may (or may not) have noticed that my web site was off-line for several days. I'd called my service provider and found out that their server "got fried. bad." but they were working on it. Well, it seems things are up and running again, so if you want to read an excerpt of Dead Sexy or find out where I'm going to be in the next several days, feel free to hop on over to my web site and check all that out.

Hooray!

Things To Waste Time On...

Here's something to waste your time on: Which Famous Vampire Are You? quiz!

Seasons of Writing

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s still jacket weather outside. Even though I’ve seen evidence that spring is on its way – crows gathering sticks for nests, buds darkening on our silver maple on our boulevard, large clumps of brown grass, litter, and mud poking through the shrinking clumps of snow – the temperatures here in the Midwest are still hovering awfully close to freezing.

Yet the novel I’m writing is taking place in June, in the full blossom of summer.

Sometimes, when I sit down to write a scene, I forget. I find myself typing “she shrugged out of her coat” because that’s what I would do, now, when coming in from outside. After tapping the delete button, I have to take a moment to remember what summer was like. I have to mentally call up nights so hot that the only relief is a bathtub full of ice cold water. I have to remember sundresses and sandals – or even bare feet on hot sidewalks or through stiff pokes of drying grass. I have to picture birds – summer birds, not the winter juncos, chickadees and cardinals, but the great blue herons, noisy red-breasted robins, and squawking blue jays. Bugs! Mosquitoes, cicadas, blue-bottle flies, crickets, gnats, ants – all the stuff that’s EVERYWHERE during the summer, that, somehow, I completely forget about during the winter.

It’s weird to write out of season, but I kind of enjoy the process of trying to recall a summer day while snuggled under six blankets. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things about writing contemporary settings. I love the challenge of trying to convey what a Midwestern season is like. I try to imagine someone who’s lived their entire life in southern Texas cracking open my book and being (hopefully) transported to a farm in the upper Midwest in springtime. I want that reader to smell the clover and alfalfa in the gentle spring drizzle. Just the way I FELT the oppressive heat and smelled the magnolias the first time I fell into the New Orleans of the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke.

Burke made me appreciate location. He made me realize that if you’re going to write about a place, you should fill it with the sights and sounds that are unique to the place you’re writing about. Why? Because, as a reader, I like going there as an armchair tourist – and weather (along with fauna and flora) is a surprisingly large part of that experience. Some of it didn’t work, because I didn’t have reference points for some of the specifics, but most of the time that didn’t matter because he gave me enough that I could imagine it (however wrongly.)

Eh, besides, you know us Minnesotans. We love to talk about the weather.

Vampire Books -- An Unscientific Survey (by Michele Hauf)

Check out this great post about vampire lit at Dusted Michele Hauf's blog. Interesting stuff, especially if you're curious about whether or not vampire fiction has "jumped the shark."

Writing and Ego: A Love Story

One thing I’ve learned about myself over the years I’ve been a writer is that I write better (stronger, faster) when my career is going well. This is frustrating if only because the times when I most need to produce are often the times when my career is in need of a boost.

For instance, I have a hard time starting the next book until the contract is signed. (By “signed,” I don’t mean literally, since getting an actual copy of the contract often takes months after the deal has been struck, but more when my agent calls and says “they’re buying it.”) This, of course, is absolutely stupid. It’s a little like waiting for “inspiration to strike” before sitting down at the keyboard. Lois McMaster Bujold once told me in an interview that the best thing a writer can do when s/he finishes a book is start the next one. Editors always want to know “what else you have” and it behooves a writer to have lots and lots of offer. (Would you like this flavor? No, how about this one?)

I could do that, and did, before I broke into publishing. Now, I find that if I don’t have a deal on the table (or if I feel like my career is in any kind of jeopardy) I choke… or at least sputter.

If I have any concerns about my sales figures or whether or not my publisher is going to buy the next book, I find myself so consumed by those thoughts that I have trouble getting words onto page. Thankfully, even though my writing becomes more labored, I have yet to be completely paralyzed by this problem.

I need to learn how to get over this because in today’s publishing climate careers stall – a lot. Currently, I’m needlessly fretting because my editor informed me that the publisher is not printing any galleys for the second book in my current series. She says that in series romances, they often don’t print galleys, which may well be true. To me, the importance of advance copies is that they often mean advance reviews in places like Booklist and Library Journal (places that libraries, a big buyer of books, scan for titles of what they should be ordering next.) I believe my editor, I do. But, I’m suffering a bit of “once bitten, twice shy.”

Because... when my previous publishing house (which is actually my current publisher, only a different imprint) was unhappy with my sales figures and were trying to “shuffle me out the door” (my then-editor’s phrase) the thing that prompted my discovery of their disinterest was the fact that they didn’t print a galley for my fourth book. Thus, when hearing that I’m not getting a galley for the current book out in May of 07, my first thought is, “Oh, crap, time to come up with another pseudonym.”

As far as I know, my current book has sold well. At least, it’s sold well for a book of mine, which given that I was in a different genre all together, might not be saying very much. I also know that publishers these days are expecting bigger and better things from books that in the past would have happily taken up residence on the “mid-list.” My book made some bestseller lists, but not the bragging rights ones like New York Times or USA Today. My editor tells me that my publisher has ordered a larger print run for book two, which she says is a vote of confidence.

What scares me about the bigger print run is that without any advance reviews (or few) how are they expecting to sell all those extra books they’re printing? And when all those extra books are rotting in the warehouse, the publisher is going to turn to me and say “your book’s sales figures sucked. We’re dumping you, you loser.”

Thoughts like that keep me up at night.

And not writing.

Vampires in the News (and my website)

From Metro.co.uk = 'Impaler' Pledges to Impale Bush and Guards to Protect Milosevic's Body from Vampire Hunters from Ananova.com.

Also, if you've been trying to connect to www.tatehallaway.com (or Other Me) lately, I got word from my provider that the server got "fried" and they're "working on it." But, apparently the damage is quite extensive and it may be a matter of days before the site is active again. Until then, my photo won't appear on the sidebar here either, since that's where it lives.

Alex, I’d Like to Buy A Clue for 200, Please.

I feel dumb. I’ve been really very stuck on Bloody Charming. There are a number of contributing factors, not the least of which is my ego (but I’ll write about that tomorrow) and the fact that I’m writing “late at night” (read: 8:00 pm and know that by nature I’m a lark, not a night owl.) However, while talking to Shawn the other night I realized something so profoundly obvious that I nearly smacked myself in the head hard enough to give myself a concussion. Here it is:

If you’re going to have a mystery, you need to provide some clues as to “who dun it.”

Wow, Tate, really?

Yep, really.

Turns out that if person x is casting magical attacks on your heroine, you can’t just keep that information in your head until the final “ta-dah!” The reader needs to see person x on stage doing something that makes them go “hmmm, that’s curious.” So that by the time you get to the end the reader can say, “Ah ha!”

Writers even have a special word for this. It’s called “foreshadowing.”

As many novels as I’ve written, you’d think I’d know this by now. Other me has even won the Shamus Award, so you’d assume I might be familiar with the basic principles of mystery writing, right?

Apparently, not today.

What this means is that I’ve had to revise the entire novel starting at page 50 or so. The good news is that when I’m finished with this backtracking, I should be primed to write straight through to “THE END.” Wish me luck.

This goes with my theory that every novel, for me, is like starting over. People always ask me, “Does it get any easier?” I’m supposed to say yes, of course, the more you write the easier the whole thing becomes, but the truth is that getting words down on page becomes easier the more you do it – structuring a novel, at least for me, is complicated every time because each novel is like the next baby, complete with their own personality and quirks.

As I often say with a sigh, “Someday I’ll learn how to write a novel.”

Pre-Order Available

Many Bloody Returns is now available on Amazon.com for pre-order. My short story "Fire and Ice and Linugine for Two" is featured in this anthology. Reserve your copy today!

Knocked Out by Weird Details

I’m still enjoying the book with the smoker [ See: Tate Hallaway's Blog: Personal Habits and Reader Sympathy], by the way, though I’ve run into something else that this author does that knocks me out of the story.

She over-shares.

It’s a strange phenomenon, and, I realized, one hundred percent related to my reaction to the nasty-details of the smoker’s habit. Because, if I wasn’t clear, the thing that most lost sympathy points for me as a reader wasn’t so much the smoking, per se, but the intimate details about it. Things I “saw,” like overflowing ashtrays, added just a bit too much realism for my comfort.

I wouldn’t think that it would be possible to knock a reader out of a story by writing a detail that’s accurate, but it happened to me twice in this book. Once, in the scene I previously described, and again in a moment after sex that was just a touch too real. Later, after some consideration, I ended up liking the later detail, but my initial reaction was “ewww!” which inadvertently knocked me out of the story.

Knocking a reader out of a story isn’t the same as making them uncomfortable in a self-actualization kind of moment. When an author stretches my mind, it’s not usually a painful jarring, “whoa, I have to put this book down for a second,” moment, it’s often an “ah-ha!” Either it’s an ah-ha that makes me look at something in a new way, or it’s an ah-ha, “so this was the author’s agenda” thing. Either way, getting knocked out of story is usually a fraction of a second when my reader brain tilts -- when I’m no longer IN the story, but suddenly aware that I’m reading a story.

This is often death for a story. Too many moments like that, and the book goes back on the shelf.

What’s weird to me about my experience with this particular book is that the knock-out moments I’ve experienced aren’t ones that “ring false,” (which is what usually kicks me out of a story), but those that are simply too graphic. I’m getting too much information about stuff I find kind of gross.

This realization distresses me. One of the things I always tell my writing students is that the way to universality is through truth in details. If you describe a scene with unflinching accuracy, your readers will feel it, the scene will become real to them, I tell my students. Now, I’m thinking that I might be wrong about that. There may be such a thing as too much realism.

Perhaps you have to be careful regarding details. Pick the things you expose with accurate description with caution. Too much perfect imagery about garbage is going to turn your readers off, which might be okay if the story is supposed to do that – like in a horror story, for instance. Ah, perhaps I’ve hit on the key. The details need to be appropriate in tone to the story you’re telling. Don’t linger on the gross bits in a story that’s meant to be a romantic, light-hearted romp.

The devil is in the details, indeed.

Mercury Goes Direct, Lunar Eclipse

From astrology.com:

When a planet goes direct, it's always a noteworthy occurrence. When the event happens during an eclipse, it's even more intense -- and this time is no exception! And as if that weren't enough, Uranus, the planet of change, is in the vicinity of the lunar eclipse with a conjunction to the Sun. The message? Revolutionize your life!

Lunar eclipses are like extra-intense full Moons: emotionally charged. In Virgo, a sign of work and health, this lunar eclipse indicates that you need to cast a spotlight on how you're tending to your emotional and physical needs. Are you due for a gym membership, or do you need to eat more vegetables? Perhaps your working conditions could use an upgrade. Take some time before the next new Moon on March 18 (also a solar eclipse) and get a plan together to improve your body, mind and spirit. Make changes that will make you feel more comfortable. Apply yourself to a goal, a project or a cherished dream. This is a 'work Moon' -- encouraging you to accomplish your goals. Analyze, plan, get organized and implement!

As Mercury turns direct in Aquarius, make sure to incorporate everything you've learned since it turned retrograde on February 13 in Pisces. As this communication planet has traveled from a sensitive water sign back into a logical air sign, it's been necessary for you to go back to old conversations with a more detached perspective. At times you may have felt that you were straddling two worlds: the emotions of your heart and the intellectual perspective of your mind. Now, with Mercury direct, you can confidently implement the changes that you desire.

Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced

March 1, 2007--Finalists for the 19th annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced on March 1 by the Lambda Literary Foundation. Awards are presented in 25 categories, and winners will be announced on Thursday, May 31, at the Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony in New York City.

Finalists were chosen by a jury of judges who come from all walks of literary life: journalists, authors, booksellers, librarians, playwrights, illustrators. In all, 87 judges participated in the selection of finalists from the pool of 381 books that were nominated.

Please note: Finalists are listed alphabetically by author. The publisher appears in parenthesis.

Nominees for SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR

Carnival by Elizabeth Bear (Bantam Spectra)
Mordred, Bastard Son by Douglas Clegg (Alyson)
A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day (Iris Print)
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Spin Control by Chris Moriarty (Bantam Spectra)

Nominees for ANTHOLOGY

Confessions of the Other Mother, edited by Harlyn Aizley (Beacon)
From Boys to Men, edited by Ted Gideonse & Rob Williams (Carroll & Graf)
Love, Bourbon Street, edited by Greg Herren & Paul J. Willis (Alyson)
Charmed Lives, edited by Toby Johnson & Steve Berman (Lethe Press)
No Margins: Writing Canadian Fiction in Lesbian, edited by Catherine Lake & Nairne Holtz (Insomniac)

Nominees for ARTS & CULTURE

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Cinemachismo by Sergio de la Mora (University of Texas Press)
Sex Objects by Jennifer Doyle (University of Minnesota Press)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Blood Beats: Vol 1 by Ernest Hardy (Redbone Press)

Nominees for BISEXUAL

Eros by Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio (Harrington Park Press)
Affirmative Psychotherapy with Bisexual Women & Bisexual Men by Ronald C. Fox (Harrington Park Press)
Three Sides to Every Story by Clarence Nero (Harlem Moon/Doubleday)
Bi Guys, edited by Ron Jackson Suresha (Harrington Park Press)
Bi Men, edited by Ron Jackson Suresha & Pete Chvany (Harrington Park Press)
The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe, Michael Szymanski & Nicole Kristal (Alyson)

Nominees for CHILDRENS/YOUNG ADULT

The Manny Files by Christian Burch (Simon & Schuster)
Full Spectrum, edited by David Levithan & Billy Merrell (Random House Children's Books)
Between Mom & Jo by Julie Anne Peters (Little Brown)
Tale of Two Summers by Brian Sloan (Simon & Schuster)
Erik & Isabelle's Junior Year at Foresthill High by Kim Wallace (Foglight Press)

Nominees for DRAMA/THEATER

Questa by Victor Bumbalo (Broadway Publishing Inc.)
Confessions of a Mormon Boy by Stephen Fales (Alyson)
1001 Beds by Tim Miller (University of Wisconsin)

Nominees for HUMOR

Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip (HarperCollins)
My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan (Little Brown)
Roy & Al by Ralf Konig (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Nominees for LGBT NONFICTION

Hello, Cruel World by Kate Bornstein (Seven Stories)
GAY L.A. by Lillian Faderman & Stuart Timmons (Basic Books)
Different Daughters by Marcia Gallo (Carroll & Graf)
Behind the Mask of the Mattachine by James T. Sears (Harrington Park Press)
Unspeakable Love by Brian Whitaker (University of California)

Nominees for LGBT STUDIES

Every Inch A Man: Phallic Possession, etc. by Carellin Brooks (UBC Press)
Gay Power: An American Revolution by David Eisenbach (Carroll & Graf)
Their Own Receive Them Not by Horace Griffin (Pilgrim Press)
Crip Theory by Robert McRuer (NYU Press)
Beautiful Bottom, Beautiful Shame by Kathryn Stockton (Duke University Press)

Nominees for SPIRITUALITY

Sex & the Sacred by Daniel Helminiak (Harrington Park Press)
The After-Death Room by Michael McColly (Soft Skull Press)
Spirited edited by Lisa Moore & G. Winston James (Redbone Press)
The Singing of Swans by Mary Saracino (Pearlsong Press )
Mobius Trip by Giti Thadani (Spinifex Press)

Nominees for TRANSGENDER

Transgender Rights edited Paisley Currah, Richard M. Juang, and Shannon Price Minter (University of Minnesota Press)
Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg (Carroll & Graf)
Supervillainz by Alicia E. Goranson (Suspect Thoughts)
The Transgender Studies Reader edited by Susan Stryker & Chris Whittle (Routledge)
The Testosterone Files by Max Wolf Valerio (Seal Press)

Nominees for LESBIAN FICTION

Punk Like Me by JD Glass (Bold Strokes)
Slipstream by Leslie Larson (Crown)
Outrageous by Sheila Ortiz Taylor (Spinsters Ink)
Rose of No Man's Land by Michelle Tea (Macadam Cage)
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (Riverhead Books)

Nominees for LESBIAN ROMANCE

Fresh Tracks by Georgia Beers (Bold Strokes)
Wild Abandon by Ronica Black (Bold Strokes)
Finders Keepers by Karin Kallmaker (Bella Books)
Chance by Grace Lennox (Bold Strokes)
Turn Back Time by Radclyffe (Bold Strokes)

Nominees for LESBIAN MYSTERY

Sleep of Reason by Rose Beecham, Rose (Bold Strokes)
Night Vision by Ellen Hart (St. Martins)
The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
Idaho Code by Joan Opyr (Bywater Books)
The Weekend Visitor by Jessica Thomas (Bella Books)

Nominees for LESBIAN POETRY

Domain of Perfect Affection by Robin Becker (University of Pittsburgh)
Days of Good Looks by Cheryl Clarke (Carroll & Graf)
The Truant Lover by Juliet Patterson (Nightboat Books)
Lemon Hound by Sina Queyras (Coach House Books)
Touch to Affliction by Nathalie Stephens (Coach House Books)

Nominees for LESBIAN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

Intimate Politics by Bettina Aptheker (Seal Press)
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
Queen of the Oddballs by Hilary Carlip (HarperCollins)
Hit by a Farm by Catherine Friend (Carroll & Graf)
Incognito Street by Barbara Sjoholm (Seal Press)

Nominees for LESBIAN EROTICA

Walk Like a Man by Laurinda D. Brown (Q-Boro Books)
Glamour Girls edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Harrington Park Press)
18th & Castro by Karin Kallmaker (Bella Books)
Master Han's Daughter by Midori (Circlet Press)
Best Lesbian Erotica 2007 edited by Tristan Taromino & Emma Donoghue (Cleis Press)

Nominees for LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (Riverhead)
Black Marks by Kirsten Dinnall Hoyte (Akashic)
Erzulie's Skirt by Ana-Maurine Lara (Redbone Press)
Slipstream by Leslie Larson (Crown)
Origami Striptease by Peggy Munson (Suspect Thoughts)

Nominees for GAY FICTION

Every Visible Thing by Lisa Carey (HarperCollins)
Izzy and Eve by Neal Drinnan (Green Candy Press)
Alternatives to Sex by Stephen McCauley (Simon & Schuster)
Now Is the Hour by Tom Spanbauer (Houghton Mifflin)
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)

Nominees for GAY ROMANCE

Someone Like You by Timothy James Beck (Kensington)
When the Stars Come Out by Rob Byrnes (Kensington)
Two Boys in Love by Lawrence Schimel (Seventh Window)
Surf 'N Turf by Scott & Scott (Romenticc)
Going Down in La-La Land by Andy Zeffer (Harrington Park Press)

Nominees for GAY MYSTERY

Mardi Gras Mambo by Greg Herren (Kensington)
The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon (I-Universe)
The Back Passage by James Lear (Cleis Press)
Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues by Randall Peffer (Bleak House Books)
The Lucky Elephant Restaurant by Garry Ryan (NeWest Press)

Nominees for GAY POETRY

Gutted by Justin Chin (Manic D Press)
The Album That Changed My Life by Jeffrey Conway (Cold Calm Press)
A History of My Tattoo by Jim Elledge (Stonewall)
Other Fugitives & Other Strangers by Rigoberto Gonzalez (Tupelo Press)
When the Eye Forms by Dwaine Rieves (Tupelo)

Nominees for GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY

Untold Stories by Alan Bennett (FSG)
The Bill From My Father by Bernard Cooper (Simon & Schuster)
Tweaked by Patrick Moore (Kensington)
History of Swimming by Kim Powers (Carroll & Graf)
My Father's Keeper by Jonathan Silin (Beacon)

Nominees for GAY EROTICA

Best Gay Erotica 2007 edited by Richard Labonte & Timothy J. Lambert (Cleis Press)
A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann (Suspect Thoughts)
Hot On His Trail by Zavo (Alyson)

Nominees for GAY DEBUT FICTION

A Scarecrow's Bible by Martin Hyatt (Suspect Thoughts)
Send Me by Patrick Ryan (Dial Press)
The Zookeeper by Alex MacLennan (Alyson)
Suspension by Robert Westfield (HarperCollins)
5 Minutes & 42 Seconds by Timothy Williams (HarperCollins)

For more information, contact asklambda@earthlink.net.

You Think You Have Trouble Writing….

This photo was taken last night and I apologize for the fuzziness -- it was dark, but I had to have Shawn snap a picture of my "helper" Miss Piggy. I'd just opened up my laptop, cracked my proverbial knuckles, and... PLUMP! She sat on my hands.

It's hard enough to motivate myself to write without the help of cats!

And, yes, Miss Piggy is a gray Maine Coone just like Garnet's cat Barney. Miss Piggy, however, is not a sneezer. That's our other Maine Coone (a black one) named Deliha.

Astro Altert: Saturn Oppostion Neptune

From astrology.com:

Last August, when serious Saturn and idealistic Neptune began the first of three oppositions in a year, it was important for you to get serious about your life -- especially about your dreams and how to manifest them. This month, a second opposition with Neptune occurs, helping you assess how far you’ve come. Over the past few months, people and events in your life have probably revealed whether you've been realistic (listen-up 'American Idol' hopefuls!) or not. Perhaps someone you know is expressing dissatisfaction with the progress of a relationship or the results of your work.

As uncomfortable as they can be, oppositions are a time of reflection, and they can provide valuable information. Make sure that you use this period to get clear about what's most important to you, and be honest with yourself about what you're willing to do to get what you want -- otherwise you may become disillusioned.

A Saturn opposition always requires hard work; it’s a roll-up-your-sleeves time. Meanwhile, Neptune encourages you to tune in to your dreams, ideals and spirituality. You have desires, ambitions and goals -- now is the time to evaluate your progress and let go of anything that's holding you back. There is still a fair amount of uncertainty in the air, so don’t worry about nailing everything down.

Personal Habits and Reader Sympathy

I’m reading a book right now, one that has a publication date of 2007, in which one of the main characters smokes, and it’s clear that the author has some working (although perhaps secondary) experience with cigarettes because a lot of the details are so accurate they cause my lip to curl. Admittedly, I’m a pretty vehement anti-smoker. I don’t smoke and I really have a hard time dealing with people who do, partly, I think, because my mother smoked the entire time I lived at home. I hated the smell, the ashes, and the ashtrays. This being said, I have no problem with the IDEA of someone being a smoker, particularly when I don’t have to smell the smoke or deal with the mess. I most certainly believe a person can be a noble and wonderful human being and smoker.

Yet, I still have a weird unconscious reaction when someone lights up in fiction. It’s especially strange because when I see someone smoking in a film (or on the street), I don’t have this kind of visceral reaction at all. Maybe Hollywood has over all this time actually convinced me that smoking “looks” cool. Conversely, it “reads” completely differently – at least for me.

I wonder if some part of my stronger reaction to reading about a personal habit I don’t much care for is that in a way that is experienced differently (I might even postulate opposite) for film, a reader becomes the characters they read. In other words, my lizard brain puts me in the room – possibly in the body – with the smoker that I read; as opposed to observing from the outside, the smoker that I see on film.

Plus, the way in which the art form of writing works, i.e. causing pictures to form in my head from abstract marks on paper, means that I’m drawing directly from my own personal experience. When the author writes about an overflowing ashtray, the one that most stuck in my mind from my own real-life interaction with a real-life version of said ashtray is what pops into my head. The things *I* remember about it (the texture and appearance of the butts, the residue smell) are what the author draws forth in me. It becomes personal, even if s/he never described those particular details.

It’s this magic – the way a few sparse words can evoke an entire image in the reader’s brain – is why writers are cautioned away from purple prose. Too much detail clogs the brain’s capacity to reach for the picture it already has stored in its own memory vaults. Of course, the converse is true also. If you don’t give enough detail, the brain fills it in anyway, and sometimes factors that may be important to your storyline like gender or race get muddled by the reader’s overcompensating (of course, every writer knows that this happens sometimes anyway, despite best efforts. It’s also been used to great effect and/or to prove a particular point by master writers like James Tiptree, Jr.)

Beyond all that, I’m still wondering how to deal with my reaction to this particular character in this particular book. Can I still like her, even though she makes me smoke with her? Does my own lizard brain’s reaction to the gory details knock me out of the story so much that I’ll have to give up on the book entirely? And, if that’s the case, then shouldn’t I wonder what odious personal habits I’ve written into my own characters that outside readers might react to negatively?

Plus, smoking has so fallen out of “fashion” as to seem almost anachronistic. As science fiction writers, we also have that aspect to consider. Will my characters tendency to drink copious amounts of organic, trade-free, shade-grown, bicycle-delivered coffee seem completely bizarre to readers reading that book twenty years from now?

Goddess knows, there are some stories where I’ve run into that time warp – there’s a Robert Silverberg story that I have in one of my Nebula Award anthologies from the Sixties, where we’re supposed to imagine we’re at a cocktail party in the future (who even has cocktail parties any more?), and the more you read the story the more its clear that the social interactions are very, very dated. The way the men treat the women, their smoking, recreational drug use, drinking, and “swinging,” all mark it as not-the-future-at-all, but a product of a particular time. I should say, however, in Mr. Silverburg’s defense, that the SF aspects of the story are still interesting and compelling, though the what-read-as-anachronisms made my reading of the story a very bumpy ride. At least with that story, I was able to remind myself that this story was written at a time when those things were the norm at parties (or possibly, the norm at parties Mr. Silverburg was invited to.) Also, it was easier for me to deal with behavior I found odd and slightly off-putting in the quick span of a short story.

Am I still reading this book? For now, yes. Am I sympathetic to the character? Less so, though I haven’t (and don’t intend to) written her off completely. Thankfully, the smoker is only one character out of five, so only a fifth of my novel “time” will be spent sharing her body and her odious personal habits. I can cope with that.... I think.

I’ll let you know.

New Meaning to Bird Brained

Birds Plan Future Meals

One of the scientific arguments I hate the most is the whole "brain size equals intelligence." For some reason, people like to hypothesize that if you have MORE brain matter, you must be smarter. A corollary to this is body to brain size ratio. Meaning: if your brain is big relative to body size, then you're smart. This argument is often used to dismiss the native intelligence of animal species that aren't primates (or cetecea -- whales, dolphins, etc.) It's this same argument that makes people SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED to discover that Einstein's brain was actually smaller than average.

I've always thought that corvids (ravens, crows, jays, magpies, etc.) are smart. My evidence, of course, is all just intuition and anecdotal, however, it's nice when science backs up my feelings.

This bird is smarter than me. Half the time I don't remember to eat breakfast.

Quitting

Kelly has a really nice post about his decision not to quit writing. I wrote a response in the comment field that I thought I’d post over here on its own. Go read his first.

I remember the day I decided not to quit writing.

It’s funny you should bring this up because I think it relates a lot to the conversation about being “broken” (which I put in quotes because I don’t like that word, nor do I want to give it any power. I actually started a post of my own about how I think language – but particularly labels – have power over us if we let them, but that’s OT and for another day.)

The day I decided not to quit came at a similar place. I had an agent, my book was being shopped around , and I was struggling to write another novel… or anything. A few days after hearing that my novel, which was loved by a junior editor, had been rejected by the senior, I hit bottom. I just didn’t know if I could take the roller coaster ride any more.

Also, at the time, no one that I _really_ knew had ever done it – gone over the transom. I started to disbelieve it was even possible to rise up from the ranks, as it were. It all seemed like a fairy tale that happened to Other people.

Like you, I realized there really wasn’t anything for it. I couldn’t not write.

Of course, I nearly hit bottom again here at the beginning of my career, but that was after I’d suffered an intense personal loss and I was so NOT going to let the bastards win. Not the same moment at all. Besides, that latter moment wasn’t about me choosing not to write any more, but about refusing to let my writing career die on the vine.

Update on Publicity Pressure

I’m over it.

The package my publicist promised arrived yesterday and I read the articles while consuming vast quantities of caffeine... and suddenly inspiration hit me like a two by four. This is the news flash my brain gave me: girl, you been thinkin’ too hard.

Thus inspired, I cranked out a thousand words about how being a Witch has affected my family. I remembered, actually, a phone call from my father that I got in my first year of college. The daughter of a colleague of his stopped by my dorm room when some friends and I were reading Tarot. As my dad (and thus her parent, also) teachs at a nice Catholic University in a small Wisconsin town, she FREAKED. She freaked all over her parent, who in turn freaked all over mine. My dad called me up absolutely convinced I was practicing the DARK ARTS or some other such nonsense.

I worked it out with my dad... this was years ago, anyway, but the point is this made an absolutely marvelous anecdote to highlight for an article that demystifies Wicca for the Elle-reading set.

Now I'm working on the potential Cosmo which has the working title: "Sex and the Single Witch: Love Potion #9 and Other Ways to Score a Hottie."

I'm telling you, I'm smokin' hot.

Of course Shawn pointed out that could just being the caffeine talking....

Crumbling Under Pressure

I’ve been struggling to write the articles that my British publicist wants for the various “women’s magazines” she’s talked to. My problem is actually kind of simple, though I think there’s a deep psychological component as well. The initial, simple problem is this: I don’t write non-fiction. I always struggled to write this kind of stuff in high school, and I’m always much, much happier when I can just make s**t up.

The deeper psychological component is also simple. I’m totally freaked. The amount of pressure I feel to make these books sell well o’er there is akin to deep sea diving in the Marianas Trench.

The good news is that I’ve started them. The problem is that I also keep wanting them to be “about” something, and so keep veering into subjects that are really much to complicated for this audience. I started one about talking to your kids about the higher power and why I think that’s important no matter what your bent (even if the answer is none at all). But when I sent this snippit…

My parents don’t know I’m a Witch. This is not the confession of a teenager. I’ve been practicing Wicca for nearly twenty years. I’m – ahem – well over thirty, own a home, and have a three and a half year old son.

In fact, I’m expecting my son to spill the beans. He’s at that age before the concept of “private stuff” and “public stuff” really makes sense and the Goddess has been on his mind because we started introducing him to the idea at Yule, our Christmas. In the car the other day he asked, “What is the Goddess like? Why can’t I see Her?” I, of course, explained that he could. All he had to do was look around. The Goddess is the seed that transforms into a plant. She is the metamorphosis of caterpillar into butterfly. She is compost – decay that becomes nutrients for new life. Of course, after all my poetic language, my son gave me one of those why-can’t-parents-speak-plain-English sighs and asked again, “Yeah, but what does She LOOK like? Is She big?” At which point I had to revert to the Socratic method and ask him what he thought the Goddess looked like, but that didn’t satisfy him much either. I’m surprised he hasn’t started asking random strangers in the Mall.

I’m sure he’ll quiz the grandparents.

I’m nervous about that moment, but not for the reasons you might think.

… to my publicist, the answer was, yeah, your instincts are correct. This is too dense for this particular audience.

This is surprisingly hard. The good news is that she rather liked the one that starts:

No one can tell I’m a Witch. I don’t wear black (well, at least not exclusively). There are no tattoos or piercings or jewelry on my body of Ankhs or pentacles or vampire bats. I may be over thirty, but I’m not quite a hag yet, thank you very much. You’re more likely to find me at my son’s playgroup with a backpack full of Cheerios and diapers than skulking around a graveyard after midnight.

Disappointed?

Don’t be. I still dance naked at the full moon. I still cast spells and throw hexes. I could give you the evil eye – well, that is, if I believed in such a thing.

Gah. Must get to work on these...

Self-Promotion: Things To Waste Your Money On… Without Even Trying

Despite the title of this article, I actually do many of these things I’m about to list. I’m not at all convinced of their efficacy, however. Also, by listing these ideas, I am not suggesting that any of these are right for you or work particularly well (in fact, I have no idea what REALLY nets sales; if I did, I’d be having a much more lucrative career in advertising.)

The reason I do a lot of these things is because I can’t stand the idea of not doing anything. I would much rather throw money away to keep myself busy, rather than pace a hole in the rug wondering how my sales figures are doing. This is a personal choice, however. And I do them with the full knowledge that they probably aren’t getting me anything in terms of a return on investment. I’m okay with that. Like I said, for me it’s about wasting my time and money versus tearing my hair out by the roots.

Okay, after all that disclaimer-ing, let’s get to the list:

1. Advertise. When I go to conventions (which I listed as something I feel is a good bet for your bucks), I often run an advertisement in their souvenir booklet. This typically costs me $200 a pop (and I do all the art design myself with Publisher, which came as part of my computer package). I have no idea if this works or not, but I kind of like the karmic aspect of supporting a convention, as the money they get from advertising goes to publishing the booklet. These days I also like to run group advertisements to help mitigate the costs. $200 can become more manageable when split four or even five ways.

I have looked into advertising in glossy magazines such as Romantic Times, Locus, SF Bulletin and the like. I've found, however, that those magazines are often beyond the stretch of my pocketbook. I _do_ think that people are affected by ads they see -- I know I've bought books because I noticed a cool cover (or author's name on a new book) that I've seen in ads, but I might be weird that way. Anyway, I haven't done it, so I can't speak of whether or not I really think it's worthwhile.

2. Purchase Professionally Produced Postcards. There’s a really great e-printer called 48hourpress which has, IMHO, very cheap rates and extremely professional products. This costs in the range of $200 - $400, depending on how many you decide to have printed. I tend to order 1,000 at a time, because I have a ton of uses for these things.

Because I’m a member of RWA and MFW (previously covered), I get notices regarding romance conventions that are on the look out for “goodie bag” stuffers. Romance readers, unlike SF folks expect gifts when they go to a conference or a workshop. They typically get a shopping bad FULL of postcards, magnets, pens, post-it notes, bookmarks, and doo-dads of all variety as well as copies of out-of-print/backlist books. Postcards and bookmarks go there on a regular basis. Does this work? Yes, I’ve gotten responses from people who said they bought my book because they saw a postcard for it in their goodie bag. Given how many I’ve sent out do I think that the money is well spent? Probably not.

A side note: I actually spend a LOT of postage (although book rate is surprisingly cheap, given the pounds these boxes weigh) sending out boxes of my science fiction backlist to romance conventions/conferences/workshops. But, if I didn’t, I’d have a million boxes of my own books collecting dust in my office. It’s very depressing to be writing a novel staring at six cartons of remaindered books. For a while, I called my office the “room of doom.”

I also “re-use” my postcards to send out book signing/event notices to my friends. I simply use my laser printer to print out labels containing the pertinent info and then stick them over the part of my postcard which normally has the book blurb on it.

I bring them to SF/F conventions to leave on the freebee tables.

I also send them out to book buyers. Now here’s a big expense we can all argue about…. I have bought (the list cost another couple hundred dollars) a list of book sellers from one the many places you can buy such things. I print out labels and send out thousands or postcards to independent and chain box bookstores. Does this do me any good? I highly doubt it, as this is really one of those things – talking up your book to book buyers – that your publisher should be doing for you. Why do I do it? Because I like thinking that maybe my cover is just eye catching enough that I made a tiny bit of an extra impression on a book buyer who then decides to purchase a copy of my book.

3. Group postcards/calanders/give-aways As a member of MFW and Vampire Vixens, I regularly throw my money away towards group postcards which are sent to book buyers listing all the romance titles from our organization and their pub date. MFW writers is putting together their annual postcard right now. Plus, the Vampire Vixens usually has a strong presence at the big romance conference put on by Romantic Times/Book Club and this year they’re producing a calendar with all the pertinent book release dates on the various months which I’m paying to be part of. Worth it? I have no idea, but again, I like to do this stuff because in a lot of ways it seems stupid for me not to join in, particularly when someone else is going to do all the hard work. I should say, this is the cheapest of my ventures costing ($60 a pop, but as I do two of them at least a year, it costs me over a $100 annually.)

I'll write more as I think of it, but this is all for today.

Astro Alert: Mercury Retrograde!

From astrology.com:

It's time to perfect your backstroke as Mercury turns retrograde in the sign of the Fish just in time for Valentine's Day! Since Pisces is the most sensitive sign of the zodiac, you are likely to feel a bit thin-skinned recollecting recent agreements, ideas and conversations -- especially those pertaining to matters of the heart. Bear in mind that, because of the psychic nature of this water sign, anything left unsaid may emerge as much more important than feelings that have been put into words. However, don't overthink every nuance of your emotions, silent or otherwise. Strive to maintain control over your mood, and don't jump to conclusions until you have a handle on all the facts!

When Mercury reenters airy Aquarius on February 26, your more logical mind will return -- somewhat. Mercury will still be retrograde, but the movement away from emotional Pisces into detached Aquarius will provide some clarity. Mercury retrograde phases are like an extended conversation, allowing you to repeatedly review and reinterpret the finer points of each moment. Take your time! With Mercury in this innovative air sign, you have the opportunity to develop your ideas more thoroughly and to return to trains of thought with those who can help. Additionally, if you know which house -- or houses -- Mercury is traveling through in your natal chart, you can use that knowledge to further utilize and appreciate all aspects of the current retrograde. And, of course, hold off on any major decision-making until after Mercury turns direct on March 7: Mercury retrograde periods are infamous for wreaking havoc on otherwise perfectly well-informed plans!

Self Promtion that Costs Some Bling

Cross-posted from the Wyrdsmiths' Blog.

For the purposes of this second installment I’ll talk about things you can spend promotional money on that are under a hundred dollars, though I’m not going to be rigorous about this division. However, I will try to note when I think there may be hidden costs (like postage, etc.) that may put it over.

First, let’s pretend that you’ve done the (IMHO) scary part and called up your local, independent bookstore and begged them for a signing. Maybe you’ve gone in with another new author friend (or established one) and booked a signing together or in conjunction with a book club meeting, etc. You’ve written a spiffy press release and emailed, faxed, or snail mailed it to all your local newspapers. Sometimes, if you do this right, it will net you some honest-to-goodness FREE publicity in the form of an interview or article or notice in the paper. I’m not terribly convinced that people READ the newspaper, but this is the sort of thing you can save for your media kit in the future.

1. Tell Everyone You Know. There are a few cheap ways to advertise your up-coming event. You can send out an email to everyone (or select everyones) in your address book. I recommend this, regardless, because even if those people can’t make your event they’re at least aware that your book is coming out and may take that moment to pre/order it on Amazon.com or wherever.

I also like to send out some kind of paper reminder to everyone whose snail mail addresses I have. I’ve been collecting addresses for years – from classes, signings, and holiday cards. You can make pretty cheap postcards with some index cards and a printer. If you have a printer that will feed envelops, most times they will also take index cards. This is a ridiculously time consuming process especially given the “advertising percent rate” that you have to keep in mind: 10% return, which is to say that if you send out a hundred postcards, expect ten people. I usually try to send out two hundred postcards a month in advance.

Remember: this will cost you postcard stamps and (very likely) a toner cartridge.

Make sure you have all the important info on the card: day of the week, date and time of the signing, the book you’re going to sign, the name and address and phone number of the place you’ll be at and, well, your name (and, in my case, both my real name and my pseudonym).

Also, if I have more than one signing in a month, I try to put information about both of them on one postcard so that if people can’t make one, maybe they can make the next one. There is some question about how many signings in a local area you should try to do for any given book. I have never figured this out, but my sense is that two bookstores in the same month is more than enough. I’ve had some success having several signings spread out over the course of a year, but the further away from your publishing date you are, the less enthused both your readers and the bookstore manager often are.

Okay, other things to do to make sure you have a good book signing is to show up early (at least fifteen minutes, but best a half an hour, IMHO) to help the store manager set up and dress professionally.

Also, and this is probably going to sound like strange advice, but always keep a dozen copies of your book in the car (this might include “backlist” if you’re promoting a second book). Most book store managers don’t expect to sell that many copies of your book. Even though you probably will only have a dozen or so people show up, it’s an unmitigated disaster if fifty show and you sell out of books before you run out of people who want them. This rarely happens, but, just in case, I always have copies in my trunk. Having extra copies on hand can save face for all involved. Happily, I can say I did this once and it made the book store manager very, very happy.

Okay, before your book signing (and after) you can also:

2. Attend Conventions. The nice thing about being an SF/F/H/Speculative fiction writer is that there are a million conventions happening almost every weekend. Check out the listings on Locus and you’re sure to find a convention near you. We’re extremely fortunate in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that there are no less than a half-dozen local conventions every year.

This is not free. It will cost you the price of admission (depending on how early you register, $30 - $100+) and, if you don’t live nearby, the cost of hotel (and transportation costs – possibly plane ride). However, this is an investment that I have always found worthwhile.

Most convention planners are desperate for programming volunteers. Ideally, you can get in early on the planning and suggest panel ideas that are especially germane to your work. (For instance I was always on the “Religion in SF” panel when the AngeLINK books were still in print). Kelly always has a list of “offerings” to send to conventions, which I think is very clever. I’m not usually this organized. If not, look for panel topics that interest you. I’ve made friends and influenced people (buyers!) by being on media panels about “Firefly,” etc. Media fans are often grateful to be taken seriously by the “literati” so there’s no reason to hide your inner fan grrl/boy. IMHO. However, I always plan to be on one writing related panel since people who attend those are very likely your target audience.

But, Tate, what if I’m shy??

Here’s my advice about that. Volunteer anyway. Find a topic that you’re interested in and do some research. Come prepared with questions. If you don’t like being put on the spot, be the one who asks the questions. (If you’re signed up as the moderator, you should do this anyway,) but most decent moderators on panels are open to a panel member who is genuinely prepared with interesting questions. Also, if your nervous about what to say during the introduction period, write something up ahead of time and practice. And, the best advice, is to just tell people you’re nervous and it’s your first (or one of your first) ever panels. Most of us SF/F/H-type geeks GET that and will warm to you.

Some conventions also have readings. See if you can get one. My advice for that is to pick something length appropriate and practice, practice, practice. Find a scene in your novel or short story that you don’t have to explain, in which something happens, and which ends on a cliff hanger. Remember: you want people to leave the room wanting more! I also print up a reading copy and edit it for reading – that is to say, if I discover a huge chunk of world building that was important to the story, but which is kind of long and boring when I read it out loud I cut it (or edit it down to something much shorter.) I also make sure to add any dialogue tags that might be necessary for a hearer (but which aren’t in the text the line break is clear to the reader). I also make sure to have someone time me. No one likes a reader who goes overtime.

What if I’m just not famous enough to score a reading?

Well, here’s where being a joiner can help you. If you’re a member of BroadUniverse (which costs about $30 to join), you can take part in their rapid-fire readings. Unfortunately, to be a reader with them you have to be a woman.

Speaking of that:

3. Memberships that cost money, but which have been worth the dough for me:

RWA and my local chapter Midwest Fiction Writers. If you write anything at all romantic, Romance Writers of America is the organization for you. They’re open to writers who aren’t published, who publish small press, and, of course, the big press/big name folks. My local chapter organizes signings, gets me into book seller trade shows, and does group advertising. RWA costs big money, however ($90?) and my local adds another ($30).

BroadUniverse. See above.

When I first started out and simply needed to connect to other writers, I also found the National Writers Union to be helpful.

I could go on, but this is getting lengthy, so I’ll stop for now.

Self-Promotion: The Stuff that Only (Mostly) Costs Valuable Time

Cross-posted from the Wyrdsmith's blog

The title of this is a tiny lie because most of what I’m going to suggest in this article costs a bit of jingle, but it’s very likely money you’ve already spent. Since you’re reading this on-line, my presumption is going to be that you’ve already budgeted into your life the cost of that privilege. Most likely whatever package you’ve signed on to also gives you a small amount of space for a web page, though I will suggest alternatives if it does not.

I should mention that most of this stuff needs to be done well in advance of the book’s publication. I’m currently (in early February) calling about book signings and setting up guest blog spots, etc. for a book that will be coming out in May. I learned a lot about the timing of self-promotion from a book called BOOK BLITZ: Getting Your Book In the News. This might be a good resource for you as well.

To begin (and in no particular order):

1. Be a joiner. This is a piece of advice I learned years ago from a newsletter about self-promotion for authors called “Spilled Candy,” and it’s served me fairly well. The idea is that you can join any number of on-line communities (or real-time, though usually those involve a membership fee so I’ll cover them in my next post) that are germane to the subject of your novel and get some free publicity milage. For us SF folks, that would include places like Speculations and even LJ Communities like Whileaway or similar. Then, the idea is that you establish a presence – with any luck, a good one – and then, as appropriate, reveal that you are an author and that you have a book coming out. People like to support people they know personally. The trouble, of course, is that you need to do this somewhat naturally otherwise you come off as kind of a Troll. You don’t want to bust on to the scene of a well established community, talk up how swell your book is, and leave. Ideally, these organizations would be ones you would join, anyway.

2. Have a website and keep it up-to-date, Probably obvious advice to anyone internet savvy enough to be reading this blog, but I’m surprised by how many professionals don’t do the last bit. As a fan, this makes me insane. When I go to a web site there’s two pieces of information I’m usually looking for: does this author have other work I haven’t read yet, and what conventions can I meet them at to get my stuff signed? I designed my own website with this in mind. I also always make sure there’s reasons for people to come back, like a corner I call mouse’s house in which I have what I call my “DVD-extras.” I have there a collection of fiction that didn’t make it into the novel, writing exercises I’ve done with the characters from my worlds, and art – doodles I’ve made of my characters. The point is, be interesting as up-to-date as possible. I update once a month, usually at the beginning.

3. Have a blog... or several. There are several free blog systems out there including this one blogspot as well as live journal. I think most readers expect their authors to have a blog these days. I also advocate having more than one. Amazon Connects allows you to blog on their site (with direct links to your books) and there are often groups of like-minded writers who are looking for another brave soul to help with a group blog. Obviously, we’ve done Wyrdsmiths, but I also belong to Fangs, Fey & Fur, and I’ll be guest blogging on a number of romance-related blogs when my next novel comes out. Ideally a blog will be helpful, entertaining, and keep readers coming back.

4. Book signings. I’ll talk in the next installment about how to have a good book signing, but since outside of needing a phone line/cell phone calling bookstores is free, I’ll list this step here. Please remember timing with this one also. Most bookstores are planning May events in February (or even earlier), so try to be thinking five to six months in advance of whenever your book is officially available. My only advice about cold calling bookstores is that if you can tie in your event with something they’re already doing (SF book club, for instance) you’ll have a better chance of getting the gig. It also helps to be the local boy/girl made good. This is also where being a joiner has helped me. I do a number of group signings with the Midwest Fiction Writers (though I have to pay to be a member of that), which often means all I have to do is show up because other people have made all the arrangements for me.

5. Get Good at Writing Press Releases. Once you have something to tell people (like a book signing or an award nomination/win), write up a press release and send it out. It actually will cost you the price of a postage stamp (or a fax), but many more newspapers accept press releases electronically, so you may be able to find a way to do this on the cheap. Be sure to check the various newspapers for when they want this information. My personal rule of thumb is that most newspapers want news items only a couple of weeks in advance of the event. If you shoot out your release too early, it’s likely to get forgotten about. Time this as precisely as you can.

Okay, that's it for now... next I'll tackle some things that cost a moderate amount and then on to the expensive stuff. I should say, too, that I'm only going to cover things I've actually tried. When we get to the more expensive things I plan to editorialize regarding whether or not I think the result was worth the money spent. I hope this is helpful.

For those of you who've tried any or all of this, please chime in!

Things Coming Down the Pike -- MAY 2007

I’ve been a terrible blogger because I’ve been busy writing BLOODY CHARMING. My deadline is April 30 and I’m about half done. Also, this is the time when a lot of people are booking things for May (the month DEAD SEXY hits the shelves) so I’ve been trying to get some self-promotion done in that regard.

So, here’s a list of up-coming events:

I’ll be signing DEAD SEXY at Uncle Hugo’s from 1:00 – 2:00 pm on Saturday, May 5, 2007. Uncle Hugo’s is located at 2864 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis. Their phone is: (612) 824-6347. You’re asking yourself, so what? I live in Detroit. How does this apply to me? Well, I’ll tell you! Don, the owner of Uncle Hugo’s, is always able to take pre-orders for SIGNED COPIES. If you want a copy of DEAD SEXY personalized to you, you can email him here and request it now. When I come in to sign, he’ll have me do it, and ship it to you.

Also, on May 9, 2007 I’ll be the guest blogger on Riding with the Top Down (romance blog.) Most likely, I’ll find something to say about DEAD SEXY, but I may also run a contest to giveaway a copy of the book – stay tuned.

If you are local and interested in the process I went through to write DEAD SEXY, you can attend the Journey of the Novel session at the Midwest Fiction Writer’s meeting on Saturday, May 12, 2007 at the ungod(dess)ly hour of 9:00 am - 10:00 am. They usually meet in room 332 or 351 (unless otherwise noted) at the Edina Community Center. Information on how to get there and the cost of the meeting is on their website.

Those Brits Sure Know How To Treat a Girl...

Today is the official street date for the British version of Tall, Dark & Dead and the folks at Headline (in Britian, no less) sent me flowers. I tell ya, I'm going to get spoiled with all this attention -- worse, I'm going to start expecting all publishers act like this.

In other news, my American publishers sold the book club rights to Dead Sexy which will be coming out in hardback. According to Anne, my editor, it will be available through Rhaposdy, Doubleday, and the Science Fiction bookclubs. Hooray!

Witchy Ways

My new publicist at Headline wants me to start thinking about various topics that might interest “women’s magazines.” She’s especially excited to hear that I’m a practicing Witch and thought there might be a kernel of something in my religion that might make a witty, sound-byte, branding sort of bit we could capitalize.

Now, you’re probably screaming: “Don’t do it, Tate! Don’t sell out to the Man!” Yeah, I’m thinking about that, too, but on the other hand, the last thing I want to do is drop the ball on what is, for me, at least, a once in a lifetime opportunity to “break out.” Luckily, she seems sensitive to that concern, I think, because she says what she’s interested is not so much something that will sensationalize witchcraft, but which will show the average reader that Wiccans are people, too (actually, what she wrote was, “showing how normal and spiritual Wiccan practices are.”)

So... my question is, any ideas?

What would be the sort of thing you’d like to see me write about Witchcraft? Is there anything that you think would be especially good for mass consumption?

British Cover for Dead Sexy

Here's the British cover for Dead Sexy. It's pretty awesome, IMHO. Tall, Dark & Dead debuts across "the Pond" on Feb. 5, 2007 and is launching a new genre called "Chick Bit."

Nothing like a little pressure.

Old News (Probably)

I found this tidbit about DNA Publications on Sean M. Murphy's blog and thought that any of you writer-types out there should be aware of it.

Though the main magazine under investigation appears to be the official fan magazine for KISS, DNA Publications also publishes Absolute Magnitude, Dreams of Decadence, Fantastic Stories, and Science Fiction Chronicle (trade magazine.)

I'm particularly sad about this news because the very first professional sale I made was a vampire story called "Irish Blood" to Dreams of Decadence, and thus my very first check for writing was signed by Warren Lapine himself.

Holy @#$%! and Writing

When I was at the Mall of America talking to their romance reading group about Tall, Dark & Dead one of the women there noted that there were hardly any swear words in the entire book. She wondered if this was a conscious decision on my part of if it was something that just happened.

Hell yeah it was a conscious decision, and, well, it just sort of happened, too.

The conscious part comes from having written a book, Other Me’s first, which is rather full of four letter words. At the time, my own real-life dialogue was peppered with colorful epitaphs, and, in my mind, using them was part of what made dialogue seem realistic. Plus, the universe of that novel was meant to be noir-ish and dystopian, and it seemed that characters who cursed up a blue streak fit. Still, when I look back at it, there’s hardly a page without a word that could be read on the radio, and a little tiny part of me is embarrassed by that fact.

The part that happened by accident is that I had a child. Well, actually, having a child was no accident – having a child was rather meticulously planned (but that’s another story for another post.) But, my own use of rough language changed dramatically the first time Shawn and I heard Mason utter the f-word. Luckily, he was still young enough that most people couldn’t understand a word he said partly because Mason had a habit of adding an “Ah-“ sound in front of most words. My nephew Jonathan still thinks I was making up everything Mason uttered during that time. Anyway, we were able to convince both Mason and the people who were listening to him that what he was actually saying was “Africa.” He hasn’t said it since (although I thought I heard the s-word once, which we’re a lot less cautious about).

After that, I really started noticing how stupid people sound who use @$%&^ indiscriminately. Mason and I take the bus from time to time when the car is on the fritz, and I have to fight the urge to cover Mason’s ears and tell strangers to watch their language. I don’t, because Mason is totally the type of kid to notice something is “naughty” and copy it just because he knows it twinks mama and/or ima.

Plus, I don’t really want to be a language NAZI.

Besides, I still wholeheartedly believe that a well placed “fuck” can add a lot of punch to dialogue (or even narrative), especially if it’s used sparingly. I still use it, after all. (The more it’s uttered the less impact it has, of course.) But, I also think that a creative writer can come up with just as powerful/shocking things to say that are larger than four letters.

Astro Alert -- Jupiter Square Uranus

From astrology.com:

Feeling restless? Ready to shake things up? Every now and then we all need to move out of our habitually sleepy ways of living life ... and today is a great time to begin.

You probably felt an intense astrological call for change this past November, when freedom-oriented Jupiter entered its own sign, Sagittarius, for the first time in 12 years. Indeed, during this period, you probably began to contemplate perspectives and objectives you never considered before. Now, on January 22, Jupiter reaches the first of three squares with independent Uranus (beginning a significant cycle that won't end until October 9) and takes 'intense' to a whole new level.

Jupiter's movements always encourage self-improvement, and should help you focus on effecting postive change. No events or situations are circumstantial, and this fiery planet forces us to consider new and improved ways of taking matters into our own hands. The movement into Sagittarius brings optimism along with the urge to seek out more constructive solutions. Uranus -- often referred to as 'the Awakener' -- signals that it's time to wake up and stop hitting the cosmic snooze alarm!

You are likely to feel excited, agitated and fidgety all at once when Jupiter makes its first square. Now is the time to make important and perhaps even radical life alterations. Your world is shifting and you'll likely have to embrace the joyous with the uncomfortable in order to optimize growth and change.

This month, as the square cycle kicks off, be open-minded when encountering any scenario -- from an unforeseen event to an all-too-familiar conflict -- and you'll find yourself making the most of a very significant era. Don't forget to pick up your Super Bundle; it will give you that extra edge and push you to new limits, enabling you to soar to unprecedented heights!

You have been warned.

How's it Going?

Melanie asked me how things were going with Book 3 (tenatively titled: BLOODY CHARMING) and I thought I'd write a little about my progress here.

As I told her... it's going. I'm writing a lot of words. Thanks to a strong motivation (my partner has insisted that we can watch no more episodes of "Lost" until I write 9,000 words,) I've been clocking about 1,000 words a day -- sometimes more. However, I seem to be on the "big meander." I've been ostensibly following my book proposal, but, as there are a lot of threads and sub-plots in this particular book, I feel like I've floated down a tributary that's some distance from the main stream, as it were. Luckily, I have a writers' group that will, no doubt, get me back track.

Part of the reason I've been happily floating in the "wrong" direction is that I've uncovered something new about the Garnetverse. Writing, for me, is very organic. I'm one of those people you'll hear saying "Oh, my characters totally surprised me," because much of my creative process is subconcious. For instance, I always knew from the beginning that there was some kind of subculture to the ghouls (the people that vampires use for blood), and I even sort of allude to it with the Feather scene in Tall, Dark & Dead. But, suddenly, the whole thing has snapped into focus because Garnet it coming face-to-face with some of Sebastian's ghouls in this book.

Suddenly, I'm having way too much fun coming up with the code words that the ghouls use among themselves and such like. I suspect to get myself back on track I'm going to use that classic device of having "a monster jump out of the closet."

But, as far as word count, I've got about 30,000 words (which is a little over a third of the way finished). I'm not EXACTLY sure when my deadline is, however. I need to check on that.I *think* it's the end of April.

Rebuttal on "Devil's Dictonary" from a Publisher

Since I posted a link to the original, you might be interested in reading the rebuttal from publisher Teresa Nielsen Hayden: "Corrected Definitions

And Others....

Here is the cover for MANY BLOODY RETURNS (art by Lisa Desimini). I would be one of the "and others" referred to in relatively tiny print under Kelley Armstrong's name. :-)

The short story of mine that will be appearing in MANY BLOODY RETURNS takes place in the Garnet universe and is about Sebastian's birthday, which you may or may not remember, is on Christmas day. It's called "Fire and Ice and Linguine for Two." The last I heard the book is due out from Ace in mid-2007.

Cool, huh?

Publishing "definitions" by Lynn Viehl

Check out Lynn Viehl (aka S. L. Viehl)'s The Devil's Publishing Dictonary (part 1) and (part 2). These are both hilarious, sadly accurate, and quite scathing.

Out and About Town

On Sunday, January 7, 2007 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Other Me will be at the 2nd Foundation reading group meeting at O'Gara's Pub in Saint Paul. O'Gara's Bar & Grill is located at: 164 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN.

Monday, January 8, 2007 I will be at the Mall of America's Barnes & Noble romance reading group discussing Tall, Dark & Dead starting at 6:00 pm. The Barnes & Noble is located at 118 E. Broadway Suite 238, Bloomington, MN 55425. For directions or more information call: 952-854-1455

Jayne! Dude!

This is what happens when I wander around the internet with nothing better to do… (However, the best part of this test? Just like the show Firefly, the questions are surprisingly straight-forward. “Are you a cannibal?” “Have you ever had government tests done on your brain?” and “Do you like big guns? A lot?”):

Your results:
You are: Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)

Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 100% Wash (Ship Pilot) 75% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 65% Alliance 50% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 45% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 40% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 30% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 25% Inara Serra (Companion) 20% A Reaver (Cannibal) 20% River (Stowaway) 10%

Although you can be a good fighter and good at protecting others you are not very bright sometimes.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

Happy New Year

Have you made a New Year's resolution this year? I usually don't, but this year one just popped into my head. Yesterday, while doing the dishes (we always have a lot -- we don't do a traditional party, but my mother's birthday is New Year's Eve, so we always celebrate that with her... and Mason gets his Christmas presents from the grandfolks then) I put on an ALBUM (yes, that old) that I used to love and found myself really enjoying singing along. So, I resolved this year to sing more. I think that's an easy one to keep, since singing is painless (at least for me -- I won't claim it doesn't injure the eardrums of anyone unfortunate enough to overhear) and it makes me happy.

So, how about it? Have you resolved to be a better person? A more diligent writer?

Astro Alert: Pluto Conjunct Galactic Center

Okay, here's a weird one from Astrology.com Apparently pluto and the galatic center are conjunct. How one calcuates that I'll never know, but here's what it all apparently means:

"Could there be a better time to access universal wisdom than when we end one year and begin the next? Recently reclassified Pluto has lost none of its power as it conjuncts the Galactic Center at 26 degrees of Sagittarius on December 29. At this time, you will have the opportunity to tap into the energy of the center of our universe."

"Pluto transits are often intense, and with this important conjunction you'll be ready to empower yourself and think more seriously about your destiny. On December 20, the new Moon in Sagittarius prompted you to put extra energy and intention into whatever you want to become stronger in your life. Moving beyond the familiar now will help you cultivate success."

"The Sun, Pluto and the Galactic Center are all occupying the same area of your astrological chart. That’s a lot of energy, wisdom and power in one place!"

Other Me News

Other me has some publishing news to report: Her short story “Indigo Bunting” a queer coming of age post-apocalyptic story is on-line as of today at Blithe House Quarterly.

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Blithe House Quarterly : queer fiction lives herehttp://www.blithe.com/ Blithe House Quarterly invites you to browse its Winter 2007 edition (Volume 11, Number 1) featuring new short stories by:Victor J. Banis, Sias Bryant, Trisha Collopy, Robert M. Dewey, James Friel, Lyda Morehouse, Rick R. Reed, Ruth Sims, and Jessica Wicks

Guest-edited by Lori L. Lake

Associate editor: Eric Karl Anderson

Photography by Nicole C. Russell

Executive editor and publisher: Aldo Alvarez

"_The_ journal, online or off, for gay short fiction. Blithe House Quarterly is one of the best literary sites on the Internet. Period." ~42opus.com

"Internet-based fiction journals have become a significant force in publishing, especially for serious short fiction. In Web-only lit journals such as Blithe House Quarterly, the short-story form is alive and clicking." ~Baltimore City Paper

"Setting the quality bar [for gay and lesbian writing] is the phenomenal site Blithe House Quarterly. It's awash in awards and rightly so. Of all gay and lesbian sites, Blithe House is the golden child, the one to be entered in the Literature Olympics. None of the stories needs special cosseting as our fiction. Be skeptical and go see the site!" ~Gay & Lesbian On Line, 3rd Edition

"The central publishing arm of new queer fiction." ~OUT Magazine on Blithe House QuarterlyBlithe House Quarterly : queer fiction lives here: http://www.blithe.com/

**Winner of the Encyclopaedia Britannica's Internet Guide Award

** Featured in the January 2005 New York Times article on the literary magazine boom

**A GLAAD Media Award Nominee

Seeing Is Believing: Or Is it?

n my last class at the Loft, we ended up on a tangent about a book I’m currently reading which shall remain nameless. It’s a well known urban fantasy novel which has been receiving a lot of high praise. My partner Shawn read part of the novel and got so frustrated with it, that she threw it against the wall. She was so irritated that she actually suggested that I read it, so we could complain about it together.

Part of the problem with this book is the Big Reveal. The question of: when does your hero[ine] “come out” to other people about her magical power/the magic in her life/her magical boyfriend and how do the Uninitiated react to the news that there is magic in the world?

This issue Shawn had with this particular book is that everyone the heroine meets buys into the magic, without so much as a hiccup, in fact, they’re all eager to help despite the fact that their worldview should be shattered or at least upset a titch. That complete acceptance didn’t work for Shawn. (It’s still working for me, but I’m only a 100 pages in.)

Of course, as an author, there’s another tension, I think. Because you know the cover is going to show something fantastical and the back cover copy is going to hint at magic, you don’t really want your readers to have to wait for your heroine and the people around her to accept the magic the reader already expects. I’m having this problem in my current novel (Garnet’s third book: BLOODY CHARMING) because I have the opening where Garnet sees a wolf. One of my Wyrdsmiths’ colleagues is telling me that I’m over doing it with the werewolf “telegraphing,” even though I know that’s a bit of a red herring (I won’t say more for fear of spoilers.) My colleague’s point, however, is still valid. A SF/F/Paranormal romance reader is going to see a wolf and instantly assume magic is afoot. In this case, I want to play against that assumption, but I still have to be aware of it, and to not frustrate the reader so that s/he is shouting at the book, “Oh, for God/dess’s sake, Garnet, it’s a bloody werewolf! How dumb are you??”

The Nameless Book in question has a different problem. That is, I think the heroine accepts the magic in her life at the right pace, but the people around her swallow it far too quickly. “Oh, come on! It can’t be that easy!” was the complaint I heard Shawn mutter as she was reading. And, that’s the other issue a writer of paranormal/F/SF has to deal with – you don’t want your character’s friends to be instantly on board (unless there’s a pre-existing good reason, like s/he is also involved in a magical community of some sort) otherwise it feels like your heroine isn’t terribly challenged. If everyone buys into the magic and offers knowledge and help, then you start to wonder if the whole world isn’t actually magical and only the heroine is stupid enough not to have been with the program from the beginning. I think this author is actually aware that people might be thinking this very thing, because she has a spirit guide tell the character that she’s a brand new soul… thus excusing her for not knowing all this stuff about the magical world that everyone else seems to. As an author, I think that’s a bit of a cheat, because it’s also just as valid to have someone, just once, not know or not believe or tell her she needs to get back on her meds. Especially, since that can be done to humorous effect.

Still, I think it’s a tough question for all speculative writers. How do the other people in your heroine’s life deal with her magical crap? Do they buy it? Buy it skeptically at first? Think she’s crazy? Or, do you have them resist for a while until something magical happens that includes them? Obviously, you need to do what works best in your story, but thinking about how readers will react to other character’s reactions (will they see this as too easy? Too “hard” – as in they feel the magic is so obvious that it can’t be ignored no matter how cynical the character?) helps, IMHO.

Another solution a lot of urban fantasy writers have employed is the magical universe. If, for instance, the existence of vampires is common knowledge, then you don’t really have to deal with the issue of the Big Reveal – at least not where it concerns magic, anyway.

I also think this is a matter of taste. I tend to prefer my urban fantasy just this side of reality, which is to say, the more like the here and now, the better I tend to enjoy the book. I want that feeling of “this could happen to me,” if I could just side-step out of the mundane. So, I prefer incredulous friends.

How about you?

Kudos to Other Me

Other Me announces that she has an interview with Karin Lowachee at The Internet Review of Science Fiction. You have to be a subscriber to view IROSF, but if you are (or if you want to sign up for the privledge of reading this particular article,) go to: www.irosf.com.

Writing Under the Influence – The Embarrassing Bits

For my birthday, Shawn bought me the DVD of Rick Springfield’s pilot for “Forever Knight.” Though I’ve carefully kept the video cassette tape I had of it in good working order, I hadn’t really re-watched the movie since sometime last century (probably the mid-90s.) I had always vigorously defended it against the people who preferred the remake, because to this day I think Rick Springfield has a certain kind of sexy charm (which I never really got from the other blonde dude) and because of the overtly homoerotic scene with his master/Blood Sire (which, to my understanding, was changed to a woman in the remake). Given that this pilot was shot in the late 80s (pre-Ellen, pre-Will & Grace, pre-Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt’s Interview.), the homoeroticism of that scene should be considered pretty groundbreaking.

That said, it was pretty painful to watch.

I don’t understand movie-makers’ need give vampires the whole Klingon-bumpy forehead make-over when they manifest their powers. (Even Buffy did this). I suspect, however, this has something to do with the fact that we like our Dark Siders to be made ugly by their evil. White hats for the good guys and ugly, bumpy faces for the bad guys. God/dess forbid evil should be sexy and seductive, the way Dracula was written. Monsters have to be clearly monsters or we dumbwads out in TV-land won’t be able to recognize them.

Yet, despite how hard the show is to watch now – I think Forever Knight profoundly effected me as a vampire fan. I still love the metaphor of vampire as junkie. The way Nick Knight struggles with his will versus his desire for blood really still works for me, despite the bad 80s hair. The vampire bar scene was also one of the first of its kind (at least on screen) and, though it became overused in fiction (loved Buffy’s reversal of it, later) it’s still kind of cool after all this time. Also, I think that Forever Knight really was my first exposure to what urban fantasy could look like on TV. Nick Knight has a job; he’s a homicide cop – a perfect job for a vampire in some ways (though no explanation is given in the pilot as to how he managed to go to police academy during the day.) There’s also that great scene near the beginning where he tries to tan, and then goes home to close up the curtains and watch the sunrise via webcam, as it were. It was also the first time I thought about how vampires would probably like their blood slightly warm, as he sticks his in the microwave. A bit silly, but still nicely done.

It all seems so commonplace after years of Buffy, but Forever Knight really, for me, at least, put the vampire squarely in modern times and let him be a hero.

Yeah, I’m still a Rick Springfield fan. Embarrassing, yes, but I’ll still admit it.

Ya wanna make something of it??

Astro Alert: Saturn Turns Retrograde

Because you NEED to know (from astrology.com):

Saturn is often considered the taskmaster planet. And when it goes retrograde? Well, there're no two ways about it: Issues of authority come to the fore, and a conservative attitude toward responsibilities creeps into even the most free-spirited souls. Whether consciously or not, you will probably experience the effects of Saturn's retrograde -- which will last until April 19, 2007 -- as a time to reflect on past decisions and learn from your mistakes ... and definitely not a time to charge easily toward your goals.

That said, Saturn's energy, which rules issues of control and organization, lends itself well to making sound judgment calls as well as wise investments, if both sense and sensibility are properly utilized.

Saturn turning retrograde puts a challenging spin on achieving success, but the planet also rules issues of leadership, making this the ideal time to establish your own boundaries, strive for self-improvement and unleash your creativity on the world. Furthermore, when your goals have been met, you'll be that much more satisfied at having cleared this astrological stumbling block! On the way, you'll also have learned a lot about yourself and clarified your perspective.

How Stupid Am I? No Wait…

...Don’t answer that.

It’s a very good thing that I’m hiding my face in the picture below, because guess what? My reading was _not_ last night. No, in fact, it will be on the date listed, which is to say NEXT Monday.

Worse, all my SASE students showed up at my house while I was calling Shawn trying to figure out how badly I goofed (did it start later than I thought? Different day?) because we’d arranged to practice our pieces ahead of time.

In the words of the immortal Homer: D’oh.

Other Me About Town

TONIGHT!

On Monday, December 11, 2006 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm I'll be reading as Other Me at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408. The reading is in conjunction with the SASE Mentorship program. For more information call, (612) 874-2815.

Even though the reading is in a matter of hours, I still haven't decided what I'm going to read. According to the preliminary schedule I'm on dead last, so my thought was to read the "Second Coming of Emily" which I just started, and is no more than two pages long (I officially have fifteen minutes to read). The other option is "Tutivillus," which was published in Wyrdsmiths, but only a portion of that one since it's 4,000 words long.

I have no idea what to wear either.

Sigh.

Time to Lean, Time to Clean

When do you write? (and it’s corollary: How do you find TIME to write?) are questions I get asked a lot.

When I first started writing, I wrote on the job -- which I can’t actually recommend since I could have lost my job because of it -- and that spoiled me. I could write when I wanted to – which, it turns out, is mid-morning. I’m at my peek creatively from about seven thirty to eleven o’clock. When I became a stay-at-home parent, I was completely screwed up, since I discovered that the only time I had to myself was in the evening. Bio-rhythmically, I’m a zone-out-in-front-of-the-TV sort anytime after six. But, I had a paying deadline, so I couldn’t “wait for the Muse” or even my intellectually peek time. I learned to just start whenever, and write as much as I could.

Yet, when talking to fellow Wyrdsmith, Sean, I came to the startling realization that I don’t actually write very often these day, if you calculate actual hours spent. When I’m teaching, as I have been for the past three months, I write even less, because my scheduled time to work on fiction is post-Mason-bedtime (8:00 pm, reliably. While his official bedtime is 7:00 pm, we tell the story of going to sleep, and then he usually drifts off around 7:15 and then *I* wake up sometime before 8:00 and stumble out, bleary-eyed.) As you can perhaps tell, this is kind of a sucky arrangement, because I tend to end up with a half-hour nap right before I sit down to compose. The nights I teach, I usually don’t write at all because I don’t get home until after 10:00 pm and, given that Mason and company is up and out around 5:30/6:00 am… I need a few hours sleep.

Anyway, factoring in two nights of teaching, I write four or three nights a week for three or four hours. Maximum, I’m getting 16 hours/week writing time. But, on average, I’d bet it’s much closer to 10 - 6 hours/week. However, I don’t let myself go to bed unless I’ve written 1,000 words, which is how it is that I think I manage to make deadline (I missed one publishers’ deadline in my entire career, and it was because of a family death.)

Sometimes, however, like last night when I was struggling with a sex scene I spend my whole three hours pecking slowly at the screen, until I finally just give up because I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. BTW, I ALWAYS struggle with sex scenes, which is why when Shawn suggests I consider writing erotica as my next sub-genre, I told her no way. My writing would slow to a crawl if I tried to write more sex.

I’m writing about this, not to complain, but because I think people usually imagine published authors having unlimited amounts of time to write. They look at their busy lives and think, no way -- I just can’t make time to write. Granted, I’m the sort of person who is highly motivated by a deadline (oh, and honestly, a the paycheck that comes with book delivery), but I think that six hours a week is really very do-able. Keep in mind, I often take the weekend off from writing (although I wrote last night to make up for a particularly lax writing week) – so you really don’t even have to sacrifice family time for your craft. I don’t, anyway.

Hopefully, you feel inspired now. Go write. :-)