2012 plans

02
Jul
2012

The To-Do List of Silk

I just finished reading that, by the by. The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz is the first Sherlock Holmes novel authorized by the Conan Doyle Estate. A very credible job, and I enjoyed  it greatly.

So… it’s been a few months since I last updated the state of the writer. Not much is going on right now — my son is out of school, and my writing time is strictly curtailed. So, for the summer, I’m doing some fun writing (aka Sherlock fanfiction. Bringing that series to a close), and working out the outlines for Tales from the Arena and The Navigator (which I used to call Steam and Screw.)  I’m also planning on finishing From Dusk ’til Dawn, which I might need to break down and outline — a first for me, since I usually don’t outline a short piece.

Off the old list, Oh, Promise Me has found a home. Kidnapped by Pirates may have found a home . So might Sapphires and Gold. Got an agent call for Nomad’s Moon out of nowhere (two YEARS after initial query) but that went nowhere. Still waiting on a publisher who seemed interested in a seven books fantasy series (if they take it, I will be sending a thank you note to George RR Martin.)

And, the big news, Princes of Air was nominated for the Passionate Plume, a RWA award for erotic romance. I can’t be in Anaheim to see the awards ceremony, and I’m up against last year’s winner, so we’ll see what happens on the 26th. But, to celebrate, Circlet has put Princes on sale for the rest of the month — use the coupon code RAVENPRINCE over at Circlet to get a copy for half off.

So, on to the to-dos:

To Revise:

To Write:

  • The Willow Sword
  • From Dusk til Dawn
  • Sea Prince (To be written with Danielle Jones)

To Outline

  • Tales from the Arena
  • Coral Throne (sequel to Sea Prince)
  • Hidden Things (Mystere Book 1)
  • The Lady and the Sword (Mystere Book 2)
  • Ashes and Light (Mystere Book 3)
  • Tablets of Stone (Mystere Book 4)
  • Rainbow Wars (YA)
  • Holy Orders ( Sequel to Heart’s Master)
  • The Navigator

To Sell

  • Nomad’s Moon
  • Exile’s Moon
  • Sapphires and Gold
  • Kidnapped by Pirates
  • Heart’s Master
Posted by EASchechter in 2012 plans, Princes of Air, progress, summer, Ta-da, Tales from the Arena, to-dos, 0 comments
17
Apr
2012

Post novel ennui

Last week, I sent the manuscript for Heart’s Master in to Circlet. That makes my third complete novel in just over a year and a half.

And now my brain is feeling it.

I have that whole laundry list of things to work on, and I cannot settle on ANY of them. I started to work on The Willow Sword, and that went exactly nowhere. So I went to work on the synopsis for Holy Orders, which will be the NEXT Drum Mage book. Got halfway and stalled out. Had a new idea pop into my head while putting together a short piece for an anthology call. But I don’t know what happens there yet, and the Muse is apparently on strike. The creative mind had dried up.

Now, I knew this could happen. I knew I was probably overdue for it. Elizabeth Bear talks about post novel ennui (which is actually a scientifically proven phenomenon!) But I’m not used to being idle — not after a year and a half!

So, I’m trying something new. I’m taking a few days to just be. I might do some research. I have reading to do for contest judging. I have a hat on the needle for a friend undergoing chemo. I’ve been wanting to hit the Morse Museum and see the Tiffany wing. And I have a lunch date for Thursday.

The one thing  I’m not going to Do? Force words — if I do, they will more than likely be crap. Time to be gentle to the writer.

Posted by EASchechter in 2012 plans, circlet, Drum Mage, Heart's Master, post novel ennui, Ta-da, 0 comments
05
Apr
2012

I really do need to post more often, don't I?

I just realize that it’s been a month since I last posted. I’ve been busy. Mostly with writing — Heart’s Master is done, and finished going through the crit group yesterday. So now I’m waiting to hear from my editor if she wants to see it first, or if it needs to go to the general Circlet slush. Then there were the three short stories — two of which I actually finished (the other got parked for me to figure out where it was going). Between O, Promise Me! and Sapphires and Gold, I write 20,000 words in a  month. I think I burned out, because March was mostly noodling. I worked a bit on The Sea Prince, and then put that aside again, since Danielle is working on Nomad’s Moon. Then I went on to doing some final research. The plan was to start April 1st on The Willow Sword, and finish it by Memorial Day (60 days, 60,000 words. I can do that!).

Never start a project on April Fool’s Day. Just sayin’. Because I got an email from my other favorite editor (I have two), who asked “Are you going to submit something to my new anthology please say yes?”

So I said yes. That will be a rather fun bit called Kidnapped by Pirates, the title of which is inspired by a Tom Smith song called “Kidnapped by Pirates” is Good. That one will go off sometime next week, but it also inspired another new novel that may turn into ANOTHER series (I will never  have time to write all of them. I REALLY want to get to the Mystere books, Muse! Do you hear me?!?)

Yeah, right. She never listens to me anyway.

So. Here’s the state of the writer:

To Revise:

  • Playing For Keeps (short story to launch Tales from the Arena)

To Write:

  • Kidnapped by Pirates
  • The Willow Sword
  • From Dusk til Dawn
  • Sea Prince (To be written with Danielle Jones)
  • Wanderer’s Moon (next book in the Midnight Moon series. Not to be done until we sell Nomad’s Moon)

To Outline

  • Coral Throne (sequel to Sea Prince)
  • Hidden Things (Mystere Book 1)
  • The Lady and the Sword (Mystere Book 2)
  • Ashes and Light (Mystere Book 3)
  • Tablets of Stone (Mystere Book 4)
  • Rainbow Wars (YA)
  • Holy Orders ( Sequel to Heart’s Master)
  • Steam and Screw

To Sell

  • Nomad’s Moon
  • Exile’s Moon
  • Sapphires and Gold
  • Heart’s Master
  • Holy Palmer’s Kiss
Posted by EASchechter in 2012 plans, annoying-muse-is-annoying, inspiration-strikes-OW, Ta-da, to-dos, WIP, 0 comments
18
Dec
2011

An update is in order

Since I finished Heart’s Master, I need to update the to-do list. So here’s the queue, going in to 2012.

I’m bumping Tales from the Arena down to the outline list,  because I need to figure out where that story is coming from and where it is going. Which means that my first 2012 project will either be the YA romance The Willow Sword, or diving back into Sea Prince with Danielle (who I worked with on Nomad’s Moon).

And I might spend the holiday break doing the outline for Holy Orders, which will be the next in the Drum Mage series. Yep, another Nick and Steven novel. Since I have them on the brain, planning out the next one might not be the worlds worst idea (especially since Holy Palmer’s Kiss is ALSO a Nick and Steven story!)

To Revise:

  • Holy Palmer’s Kiss (due end of January)
  • Heart’s Master

To Write:

  • The Willow Sword
  • Sea Prince (To be written with Danielle Jones)
  • Wanderer’s Moon (next book in the Midnight Moon series. Not to be done until we sell Nomad’s Moon)

To Outline

  • Playing For Keeps (short story to launch Tales from the Arena)
  • Coral Throne (sequel to Sea Prince)
  • Hidden Things (Mystere Book 1)
  • The Lady and the Sword (Mystere Book 2)
  • Ashes and Light (Mystere Book 3)
  • Tablets of Stone (Mystere Book 4)
  • Rainbow Wars (the teach-in idea. Definitely a  YA. And it needs a better title)
  • Holy Orders ( Sequel to Heart’s Master)

To Sell

  • Nomad’s Moon
  • Exile’s Moon
  • Infernal Machine (reprint, sent to Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica)
Posted by EASchechter in 2012 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, Drum Mage, Heart's Master, Ta-da, to-dos, 0 comments
28
Nov
2011

To-Dos and Ta-Das.

Time for the round-up.

Sold in 2011

  • Princes of Air (novel)
  • House of Sable Locks (novel)
  • Fools Rush in (short story)
  • Silk Skin (short story)

Rejections:

  • Coffee (poem) – once
  • Bread/Knife (poem) – once
  • Nomad’s Moon (novel) – twice
  • Princes of Air (novel) – once

Revise and Resubmit:

  • Holy Palmer’s Kiss (short story)

Still out in the wild

  • Coffee (poem)
  • Bread/Knife (poem)
  • Nomad’s Moon (novel)
  • Infernal Machine (short story, reprint)

This is the object lesson — KEEP ON PLUGGING ALONG! Keep on writing, and keep on submitting. Period. If you give up, you will never sell it.

End of lecture. On to the To-Do list. Yeah, no fancy title this time. Too tired.

Playing for Keeps is turning into an interesting project. I may not pitch it as an anthology. The world is too intriguing. I may keep this one and develop it into the novel for third quarter 2012 delivery. That would push Willow Sword back to first quarter 2013, though. So we’ll see.

To Revise:

  • Playing For Keeps (short story to launch Tales from the Arena)
  • Holy Palmer’s Kiss (due in January)

To Write:

  • Heart’s Master (used to be Drum Mage)
  • The Willow Sword
  • Sea Prince (To be written with Danielle Jones)
  • Wanderer’s Moon (next book in the Midnight Moon series. Not to be done until we sell Nomad’s Moon)

To Outline

  • Coral Throne (sequel to Sea Prince)
  • Hidden Things (Mystere Book 1)
  • The Lady and the Sword (Mystere Book 2)
  • Ashes and Light (Mystere Book 3)
  • Tablets of Stone (Mystere Book 4)
  • Rainbow Wars (the teach-in idea. Definitely a  YA. And it needs a better title)
  • Holy Orders ( Sequel to Heart’s Master)

To Sell

  • Nomad’s Moon
  • Exile’s Moon
  • Infernal Machine (reprint, sent to Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica)
Posted by EASchechter in 2011 plans, 2012 plans, Ta-da, to-dos, 0 comments