grey_gerou

Well, that didn't last long, did it?

In my defense, last Thursday was the first day of spring break for my kids, and we celebrated by going for a picnic and kite flying in Valley Forge. I love saying that. Yes, we were flying kites where George Washington and all those others slept. For a Midwestern girl, having real world access to all these historical places really is a buzz. They were never real to me as a kid, more like Narnia or Oz or something, places you read about in books but don't really see. And now I go kite flying every spring in Valley Forge. It's just...weird. Cool, but weird.

And then the weekend happened, and with it #amazonfail. For more of my thoughts on it, you can check out my blogpost on Dual Voices. By Tuesday, all my books had been re-listed, but I'm still cautious. I do feel that this happened for a reason, even though Amazon has now said that it was an error. It may have been an error to capture so many books in whatever net they cast, but they still cast it, and I'm suspicious of their intent. We'll see what happens now. They know they're being watched more closely, so hopefully that will help keep them on the up and up.

Writing is going...slowly. I've been agonizing about a new project, and had finally resolved to start another historical threesome that wasn't quite ripe yet but was pretty much all I had. And then some of my characters rose up and reminded me that I had had a sequel to Sanctity of Marriage planned, and those characters and the plot are all fully fleshed. So I spent yesterday reacquainting myself with that world, and tomorrow I'll start writing it. For those of you who have read Sanctity, this is the story of Eleanor and David and what they do with the knowledge of her sister's unorthodox relationship. I think it will be fun and naughty and enjoyable. I can't wait to introduce Josie... Plus Emery and I are cranking on a new novella and have two other sequels to our various series (serii?) in the works, and most exciting for me, she is writing like a mad thing, which means I get new good stuff to read! That will probably slow way down next week when she moves, but still, it's progress and that thrills me.

Things are growing. It must be spring.

There are days it's hard to remember I'm a romance writer.

Those are the days where the laundry's piled up, there's shopping to be done and sweeping and dusting to catch up on, when no one wants to practice their violin and everyone has major projects due TOMORROW and I haven't been able to find time to shower in three days.

Doesn't matter. Still have to write.

I've been good this week. After last week's field trips (for details see here and here), I came back recommitted to the process. So far, so good. Monday I kind of short shifted timewise, but I was there at least and hour and got about three pages done. Wednesday I met Scarlett for what is now our official writing together time, but I just didn't have it in me to write. Instead I transcribed (that whole writing longhand thing), which turned out to be even better, as I really wasn't happy with what I'd done on Monday. I'm trying to get to the end of a project I started a year ago that's just been hanging over me and inhibiting anything else I wanted to do. Word to the wise, children, never write to someone else's plot specifications. I had an editor ask me to write a light, fluffy het novel. I never should have agreed, but I wanted to make her happy. Never, ever again. That opportunity dried up with the economy, but still I was stuck with this story. I'd done enough and cared enough about the characters that I couldn't just chuck it overboard, but I just wasn't getting anywhere with it. In November I bailed on the idea of novel length and decided to make it a novella just to get it done and off my plate. That helped. Some. Our annual writer's weekend helped a little more. But they just weren't wrapping up the ending. It was dragging on and on and on and I still didn't have anything approaching that last line. As I was transcribing the drek, I even stopped at one point and noted for the edits, "Should stop here, but they won't let me!" Two sentences later, I thought, "Well, why not?" A quick rewrite, the shedding of three pages of trite triteness (I are a owther) and I was ready for that last line. Which still wasn't coming. To which my inner editor said, "Fuck it. Send it anyway! If you can't think of one, it probably doesn't need it." So, off it's gone to my beta team. It's still missing one ER scene and a party disaster, but I need to get the rest of it into shape and know where I'm at with it before I go back. And honestly, I don't know if I could even look at it right now. But it's done enough to finish quickly should the right home for it show up, and I can now try to find the list of plot ideas I've been keeping and see which of them is ready to rock my socks.

Or I could knit some new socks. But that's another distraction for another day.

I have been sternly reprimanded by my PR guru for never updating my author blog. Well, that ends today. It won't be often, but it will be weekly. I've got my electronic calendar set to nudge me any everything.

So what have I been up to? Knitting Making the odd transition so many have to the ranks of the unemployed. At first I was, "Oh thank god I'm out of that insanity and have time to write!" But reality settled in soon after, and just the daily effort of changing the way the household is run has been fairly time consuming. And yes, I have been knitting. I have discovered a hitherto unexpected passion for making socks, maybe because no one else in my very crafts talented family can. And I think to a certain extent it satisfies the creative drive I have that a stubborn case of writer's block has denied me. And maybe it's a teeny weensy bit of a crutch...

The remedy for that is, of course, to make myself write again. Which is my goal for next week. MWF, every week, from 10-12, I commit to going *somewhere* and writing. I'm not even going to worry about word count at this point. What's more important is just to get back in the groove of writing. I've got a couple of very exciting projects I'm working on with as part of our India Harper persona, but not a whole lot on the solo frontier. Time to get that going again. And time to finish the India Harper website, from the looks of it. Ouch.

For anyone who's interested, I'm heading up to Hudson, NY this weekend for a signing at the Spotty Dog bookstore and bar Saturday from 4-8 p.m. If anyone's in the area, I'd love to have you come by! I'll be in NY again in May for a signing in Middletown, so watch for details here. At the moment I'm putting promo materials together for those signings, punching holes, attaching buttons, that sort of thing. And waiting for the FedEx truck with the book cards for our new books that I need. Those are always a lift! But of course, in the meantime I'm procrastinating something fierce. But it's not really procrastination if it's just another form of promotion, right?

Yes, ma'am, I'm getting back to work right now. See you next week. With pictures!

emery_sanborne and I (along with viviendean and Pepper Espinoza) are involved in a new blog about team writing over at It Takes Two. Anybody who frequents ANY of our journals is probably already familiar with the various ways we write, but if anybody's interested in seeing all the different ways the process can work and talk to some fascinating women who do it, come on over and check us out!

One of these days I'll actually get a chance to post when I'm not in a complete frenzy. This week has been a flurry of parent/teacher conferences, insane demands at work and desperately trying to get ready for a weekend away. Ah, if only it would be restful! Tomorrow night I'm off to New York for the 20th Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair. If you're in the city, come on by on Saturday and keep me company! It's at the New York Center for Independent Publishing at 20 West 44th Street in New York City, and best of all it's FREE!! I'm still coordinating all my travel plans (had a major snafu at the last minute that would have been UGLY if I hadn't caught it before Saturday), but all my lovely promo and purple kisses are packed, so at least I should make a good showing. I hope I sell enough to make it worth it. On the plus side, there's a panel on erotica at noon Saturday, so people will be all geared up for the hot stuff!

Okay, back to packing. I'll report in when I get back!

We got our first review on Fire, and I'm totally psyched because the reviewer totally got what we were trying to do with these characters! That's the problem I have with a lot of reviews. They basically just rehash the book and tack on "I liked it" or "It sucked". This one actually had a little lit crit to it. The kind of thing I live for! Anyway, if you're curious, you can check it out here.

My next post will include a lot less "totally", I promise.

As promised yesterday, the official announcement of my OUR new release!

Embrace the fire…

For months Harvard anthropologist Morgan Gregory has been searching for a holy relic, a medallion that will allow him to translate a mysterious ancient text. But what the enigmatic professor finds in the little antiquity shop in South Boston is equally compelling—former lover Rachel Alexander and a rare painting.

Rachel Alexander has been popping in and out of Morgan’s life for years. Drawn to one another’s magic, consumed by mutual lust and desire, their encounters have always been sizzling. Add in a secret that will tip the balance of power between them and a wanton siren willing to seduce them both to get what she wants, and the passion becomes dangerously explosive.

Together, Morgan and Rachel follow a scavenger hunt laid out in ancient rituals and artifacts. One secret seems only to hide another, and another, until soon neither are sure of the truth or themselves. Can the couple put aside the past in time to fight for the future? Only if they can admit their burning need and control the fires within, fires that can comfort or consume them.

To whet your appetite, there are excerpts both at the Linden Bay site and at my website, and be sure to join me and mydeira emery_sanborne at the Linden Bay MySpace blog all next week!

Don't forget that today's the day! My big Philly coming out party, as it were. I'll be signing books (although at the moment it may just be book cards, as none of my books actually came in in time) at Robin's Bookstore, 13th and Sansom Streets, here in Philadelphia today from 4-6 p.m. Come on by so we aren't all alone so we can sit around and talk about writing and what romance means in the 21st century. Cuz that's when it all changes...

::slaps inner fangirl::

Okay, I was sure I mentioned this in a previous post, but I guess my brain is deceiving me. So, at the command of my support group...



(Sorry, they told me to shout)



Along with some other amazing writers, I will be at Robin's Bookstore in Olde City Philadelphia this coming Saturday, October 13, from 4-6 p.m. signing books and talking about the newest trends in romantic fiction. Come on by and check it out, and if you hang around long enough, you might even get to come along with us for dinner after! ;)

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=180

I'm not sure whether to laugh, nod or shudder...