I finished this spring’s novel. The School clocks in at just a hair under 66K words, and features someone new for me — an asexual main character.
Needless to say, I will be having people reading this to make sure I did it right.
In the meantime, I have two and a half weeks of school left. What am I going to do with myself???
(I know. I know. Editing!!!)
I just realized that it’s been over a month since I last posted anything here. Not good, Writer. Not good at all.
Granted, it’s been a busy month. We had a road trip (four days travel, one day with family…. ummm. I think we did that wrong). We had recovery from said road-trip, and the upper respiratory infection that kept a certain small boy of my acquaintance out of school for a solid week. We had drama with one thing or another.
The one thing we did not have nearly enough of was writing. Because my wonderfully creative, wonderfully sadistic muse fed me a fantastic sub-plot for Tales from the Arena. It’s good. I like it. A lot. It works perfectly in the story, and the synopsis still kinda sorta works, so I don’t need to figure out where the story will end. Just the parts between what I’ve written up to the point when that sub-plot came in, and the end. Which is mostly the same track. It is, in my mind, similar to walking across Manhattan by going down 57th Street instead of 53rd. You will still eventually end up in the East River, you just won’t see the same things along the way.
But that means I’m not done yet.
I was supposed to be done YESTERDAY. The last day of school.
What this means is that I’ve given myself the new deadline of Friday the 7th. There WILL be a finished manuscript off to the beta readers on the 8th, or else. (Or else what, I’m not sure.)
I’ve also painted myself into an interesting corner. Tales has worked itself into the same model as Princes of Air — three intersecting parts. The interesting thing is that, while there are only five years between the second and third parts, between the first and the second parts? Forty years. So I’m thinking that I no longer have a long novel (I’m projecting 100K plus words when I call it a draft). Instead, I have a shorter novel, and a prequel novella of nearly 36,000 words. 36,000 words and some 70,000 words of BDSM erotica? Not a bad thing to have, really. Much more manageable. And marketable.
And BOY, is this thing being fun to write! I’m getting to play with the “Okay, current kinky things… and what happens if I take it into the future? Oh… yes. That’s fun. Things like stim-play combined with conductive body paint…)
Yep. Can’t wait to see how this ends.
Which means I need to write it.
Back to work!
I’m working on Tales from the Arena, and it is now humming along nicely. I’ve slightly more than a third of the way in, with a June 1st deadline.
And some of these scenes, oh, boy…
“I’m honored,” Gavir said. He took Iras’ hand in his and squeezed her fingers. “I just wish I were in better shape right now. I’m not in any condition to see to you the way you’re needing, Iras.”
Iras arched an eyebrow, feeling a surge of indignant anger. “Really? And what do I need, Kian-ti-os?”
He didn’t rise. He just smiled, gesturing to one of the gray-clad novices who acted as servitors in the Lounge. He didn’t say anything until a pair of drinks had been delivered to the table. Then he leaned forward, and his voice was a low growl when he answered, “You need to be bound. Bound to my whim and paraded on a lead throughout the Arena so that everyone knows you are mine. You need to be beaten, often and thoroughly, so that you never forget just how much regard I have for you and how dear to me you truly are. And you need to be taken, bent over a table and savaged until your screams of pleasure and your cries for mercy ring from the very rafters. That, my dear, Iras, is what you need.” He sat back, raised his drink, and smiled. “Unfortunately, it’s not what I can give you. Not tonight. Would you settle for dinner?”
That is, I think, one of the hottest scenes I’ve written to date.
Welcome to the blog hop!
What is a blog hop? Basically, it’s a way that readers can discover new authors, because with bookstores closing and publishers not promoting new authors as much, we need to find a way to introduce readers to authors they may not see in their local bookstore.
Here you have the chance to find many new authors. You’ll find information about me and my upcoming work. But that’s not all! Also see links below to other authors you might like to check out.
I’d like to thank fellow author Tof Eklund for tagging me to participate. Here are links to Tof’s blog, and the sites for Autumn Harvest and The Unconventional.
https://bigworldnetwork.com/site/series/autumnharvest/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Autumn-Harvest/2232791078005180
http://www.spectaclepmg.com/books/uncon/
In this particular hop, I and my fellow authors, in their respective blogs, have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about our current work in progress as well as some insights into our process, from characters and inspirations to plotting and cover decisions. I hope you enjoy it!
Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!
1: What is the working title of your book?
The working title of my current work in progress is Tales from the Arena. It started much like Princes of Air did, with a short story. Unlike Princes, though, I could see that there needed to be more to this. I just needed to find the more.
2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
Same place all of my really good ideas come from — deep in my subconscious. I had a dream. It’s rare for me to remember my dreams, so when I do remember a dream, I pay attention. This time, I dreamed about a man being strapped into some sort of machine, and basically being tortured. But he was very obviously enjoying himself, so I gave it some thought, and came up with the world in which this took place, where Rakesh (that guy in the machine) is one of the Collared — deep masochists who contract to serve in the Arena for five years, as playthings for the genetically engineered, sadistic super-soldiers who basically saved the world. And he’s in deeply in love with the man who was doing this to him, but he can’t leave the Arena to be with him, because what is fine in the Arena is illegal everywhere else. They can’t ever be together the way he wants.
3: What genre does your book come under?
Science fiction BDSM erotic romance. There is a happy ever after ending (actually, there are three — this is three stories making up one novel, just like Princes.)
4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Hrm… assuming that they could ever MAKE this into a movie, the only one I’ve gotten in my head so far is Rupert Graves, who is very clear in my head as Vi-Rin, Rakesh’s love interest.
What surprised me is that there aren’t any characters in this one that are based in ANY way on Benedict Cumberbatch.
5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
One sentence? I’m lucky I did it one paragraph!!!
6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
I’m hoping to send this one off to Circlet Press when it is finished. All of my other books (with the exception of two) have been through Circlet. I love them to bits, and they’ve been really good to me.
7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m hoping to put -30- on the page and call it a draft by June 1st, so I can spend the summer getting crits and editing.
8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There’s a very Kushiel’s Dart vibe to this one, I think. Which tickles me to no end, because I want to grow up to be Jacqueline Carey (and I’ve told her that!)
9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Like I said, this one came to me in a dream. No idea what the source was or what inspired it. I’m not looking too closely, either! Like the centipede, if I think about how I coordinate ALL THOSE LEGS, I might not be able to do it any more!
10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Well, I’ve had to come up with interesting BDSM of the future. One scene (that one from the dream) involves nerve induction. Another involved using the Collared as a canvas… and painting designs on her skin with conductive paint (I’m still — pardon me — working the kinks out on that one.)
Below you will find authors who will be joining me by blog, next Wednesday. Do be sure to bookmark and add them to your calendars for updates and exciting developments.
Lynn Richards: http://lynnrichardsromance.blogspot.com/
Wynter Daniels: http://www.wynterdaniels.com/
Happy Writing and Reading!
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:
To Write:
To Outline
To Sell
One persnickity Muse, in particular. Who has let me know in no uncertain terms that Drum Mage isn’t a good title anymore, and that the title of this book is now Heart’s Master. Which I have to admit is more appropriate.
Pulling out the sections of Drum Mage that aren’t working dropped the wordcount from 54,158 to 38,796.
Damn, I’m WORDY when I’m heading in the wrong direction!
Oh, yeah. I have a blog.
Sorry. Been busy working on synopsi, doing worldbuilding and taking online classes. The Willow Sword synopsis is done. Drum Mage is almost done. The worldbuilding for Tale from the Arena is started, and is going to be a lot of fun to flesh out. I might post some maps, if I can work out just how to get the GIMP to clean up my scanned drawings.
And these classes? Are the number one reason I love the Romance Writers of America! Members of the RWA get free classes, taught by people who really know their stuff. This lovely website is courtesy of an RWA class. Right now, I’m taking one on Three-Act structure, which has really shown me where I need to work on Drum Mage.
So I’ve been plodding along, working on things, and trying not to think about the fact that we’re in the final countdown to two major milestones — the first day of kindergarten, and someone’s fifth birthday, both of which happen on the same day.
Just so you know, in three weeks, I’m going to be a BASKETCASE.
>I went to start working on House of Sable Locks again, but the words weren’t flowing. And I have two deadlines coming up, so I figured, let me work on one of those. Nothing in the creative brain for Like a Cunning Plan yet. But Nick and Steven are always ready to play….
Yep, I’ll be submitting a Nick and Steven story for the Circlet advent calendar. Working title is Snowbound, and if you remember these two from The Hand You’re Dealt, you know that’s a bit of a double entendre. Oh, and if I have to tell you that this is NSFW, then someone hasn’t been paying attention.
Want a taste? Now, this is pretty raw — complete stream of consciousness stuff. So it might change a little before I’m finished. But here’s the beginnings of this new scene:
*****