Posts Tagged ‘Rinda Elliott’

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Readers on Deadline (ROD #19)

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Dame Rinda

I have to break the cycle. Can’t miss the Readers on Deadline, can we?  No worries, I’ll share my “continuing” path to publication on my post in two weeks. It is still a work in progress. :)

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Readers on Deadline (ROD) is a monthly Deadline Dame feature where we post an intriguing image and invite readers to be inspired and share the results in up to 250 words right here in the comments.

There’s a two week deadline, so entries will have to be in by midnight when I post my next regular Deadline Dames post, which is midnight September 8th.   The Dames will pick the entry that most intrigues us, post that entry in the next month’s ROD  along with a link to that writer/reader’s site-if there is one.  And you get a prize!

( We’d like to add a request for our readers not to re-post pictures.  Some are stock photos and those are fine, but quite a few of them are used with written permission from the artist.  Thanks! )

We received some FANTASTIC entries last month. There were intriguing bits throughout, some intense and fresh descriptions. I had a blast reading them.  In the end, the Dames chose Lisa T. Congratulations Lisa!!  This is wonderful! Send us your mailing address so Dame Devon can get your A Cup of Normal anthology in the mail.

I dragged the overstuffed chair outside to wait and watch. Hoping the gathering clouds would clash and battle to form something uncontrollable and destructive. At least I would be comfortable while I witnessed the dangerous dance of opposing forces.

An ozone scented breeze raised goosebumps on my skin and rustled voluminous skirts up over my knees. As I smoothed the hem back into place, I craved the comfort of my favorite pair of jeans but he did ask nicely. I obliged him this time, even though he was late.

Maybe the clouds would approve of my spaghetti-strapped offering and reward me by reducing the dilapidated boarding house to a pile of useless rubble driving all of the shadows and whispers away. The ruin blighted the street with stench of secrets and muffled screams.

Lightning blazed and wind howled. I counted four heartbeats before I heard the thunderclap. Only one thing could make this long overdue spectacle better. Joe.

Rain pelted my face and plastered fabric to skin. I knew I should go inside before the gods themselves reclaimed the boarding house and cleansed the filth away. But I was transfixed as if the chair had grown roots. Eager to witness the power of nature as it righted an old wrong.

A hand squeezed my shoulder and a familiar voice approved of my drenched dress. I moved over and made room. He smiled and winked as a clump of shingles flew straight through him and continued on its way like tumbleweed.

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This next image is a bit unusual. Can’t wait to see how creative you guys get with this one!  It’s by Agata Urbaniak.

Dame Jenna is offering up a signed copy of Dame Keri’s DESTINY KILLS.  Good luck!

Desire calls. Danger Lurks.
But…When Destiny McCree wakes up beside a dead man on an Oregon beach, she knows only this: she has to keep moving, keep searching, and keep one step ahead of the forces that have been pursuing her from the heart of Scotland to this isolated spot. Why? The death of her lover has left her alone, with little memory of her past. A glimmering serpent-shaped ring is the one clue she has—and a bargaining chip in a most dangerous game.

Enter Trae Wilson, a master thief with a sexy, knowing grin and a secret agenda of his own. Destiny and Trae both have powers far beyond the human—and both are running for their lives. Together they’re riding a tide of danger, magic, and lust…but with killers stalking their every move, they must use any means necessary, even each other, to survive—until the shocking secret of one woman’s destiny finally unravels.…

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The Big Sit Down-Organization Day

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Dame Rinda

I have this habit of printing off pages of current works in progress, printing research notes from websites… printing off pages of ideas. I’ve had my computer crash so many times; I get a little obsessive about it. (Don’t worry, I use small print and use double sides to save paper.) I also like to curl up with coffee and read the research at night–gives my eyes a break from the screen.

All this piles up into mini stacks that become a few monster stacks at some point.  Throw in my bad habit of not instantly throwing away junk mail and keeping up with papers from the kids’ schools and it can get out of hand.

Why would someone who has been referred to as the Organizational Goddess do such things?

Truthfully, I think I like the organization process a little too much. Some of my favorite days are the ones I put everything back into perspective. I look at all the notes, read over all the ideas, gaze at all the character and setting pictures I’ve printed and I’m reacquainted with the excitement that work generated.

Granted, my method is a little insane. I know it. The hubby sure knows it. He doesn’t say a word but now that my office is in a sitting area in our bedroom, I’ll catch him eyeing the scary corner like he’s afraid he’ll get lost.

It’s usually time to commit fully to a project when The Big Sit Down Day happens. Sometimes, it’s triggered by a moment of panic.  Two nights ago, I couldn’t remember an incredibly important element of book three in my Norse young adult trilogy. I actually woke up at 3 a.m. in a panic about it. All I could do was hope I’d made a copy because I’ve lost too many computer files the last few months. (Trust me, I have solid backup now both online and in an external hard drive.) Oh, I found the important information, btw. ;)

So, what do I do in The Big Sit Down? I make one giant, scary monster stack, set up my big monitor with Netflix, plop a paper only trash can next to my office chair and I get to work. (We recycle old paper by using it to get firewood going in the winter.) I have two series ideas and a couple of short story ones going at once right now. I make stacks for each one and then I get one of these. I LOVE this thing-use it constantly.

Inside, it has pockets and four roomy folders. I organize all the notes and drawings (In my dystopian, I’ve actually sketched a layout of Scrap City.) into folders—one for each book or story. In the front pocket, I have important printouts from my agent or comments editors have made. I also have a couple of fan emails I’ve received from readers here who’ve enjoyed the excerpts. (You guys rock.)

Whenever I commit fully to a book, it gets its own binder. Here’s the one for FORETOLD, the first in my Norse YA trilogy. Usually I go for color, but this white one was handy at the time. I like the binders with the clear pockets on the front and back so I can put pictures inside.

I hole punch all my notes and line them up inside-sometimes with tabs. I used a lot of mythology in this book, so I highlighted anything that gave me ideas and into the notebook it went. There are so many mythological printouts in this notebook, most will actually move to binders I make for books two and three. Plus, I’ve written in notes for all three books throughout these printouts, so it’s necessary to keep them in one place.This trilogy has a somewhat unique timeline, so keeping everything together is a must.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but for me it’s a part of the beginning process of the book. When I first get an idea, I’m all over the place. I write down first thoughts, print off possible research, draw charts.  When it’s time to write the actual book, this is the important start for me. While I’m organizing the one binder, I’m going over what I plan to write. I’m getting back into character heads, reading over the research that got me excited in the first place. I’m mentally forming all those ideas into a coherent flow for the story. Once this is all together, I sit down and write the entire book. When I hit a saggy middle, I curl up with the notebook and reread highlighted areas, etc.

Big Tip!!!!  BTW, I’m printing much less these days because of one of my favorite organization tips that came from writer, Mel Odom. Whenever you use a website for research, click on the print icon in your browser and instead of printing it on paper, turn it into a document on your hard drive by choosing the Microsoft Office Document option. This tip has been priceless for referring back to a source because it saves the website URL and everything. I’ve actually started saving research sites for each book into a specific folder and then burning a CD–saves on the printing and I can plop the CD into a binder pocket for quick reference. 

And because I’m in a generous sharing mood, here’s a peek at my inspiration corner.

One of these days I’ll get my desktop repaired, but for now, it’s a prop. There are pics from current works in progress, the incredibly flattering fan letter from my first teen reader that I reread to remind me how much I love getting that sort of reaction from a reader. (She’s a doll–she wrote it to the editors. <g>)  And those books? They are from Dames Rachel and Jenna—each one has a wonderful acknowledgement inside and sometimes I reread them to give myself a needed jolt of enthusiasm. And to remind myself that I’ve worked hard and that one of these days, my name will be on the OUTSIDE of a book. ;)

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Dame for a Day- T.L. Schaefer

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

Dame Rinda

I am thrilled to introduce you to T. L. Schaefer. Not only has she become one of my best friends, she’s a great roomie at conferences and an all around cool person. (Our Runestone road trip is coming up soon, babe!)

She’s also a fantastic author. I had the privilege of reading an early version of Behind Blue Eyes and found it to be an exciting and romantic paranormal police procedural so I’m really looking forward to purchasing it to read again! It releases on August 3rd. Check out the book HERE and the excerpt HERE. 

T.L has THE KNOWLEDGE when it comes to epublishing and she’s sharing. She’s also offering up a really nice giveaway. So ask away, share experiences–pick her brain!

ePublishing…A Boom a Decade in the Making (aka All Hail the eReader)

 When Dame Rinda asked if I’d be interested in being a Dame for a Day, I have to admit I squeeeeeed quite unprofessionally for at least a full minute before taking a deep breath and calmly writing back “Are you freakin’ kidding?  I’d LOVE to!”  Then the awful truth of what I’d agreed to began to sink in.  What in the hell was I going to write about?  I’m not published by one of the big New York houses, so can’t offer advice, or even witty sidebars (really not all that witty anyway).  I don’t write full time (I work for the Air Force), and worst of all, I’m also an editor (gasp!!).

After hyperventilating for at least twenty minutes, I poured myself a glass of wine and unwrapped some dark chocolate in lieu of the cigars I gave up 18 months ago.  Hey, it doesn’t matter that it’s only two p.m. in Oklahoma, right?

So I pondered (and had another glass) and finally came up with a topic I sincerely hope will be mildly interesting…perceptions of the e-publishing industry–from someone who’s been there almost the entire time.

The tenth anniversary of my first published book rolls around in December (yes, you read that right…I epubbed a book ten years ago).  The Summerland was my publisher’s second offered work, and I’m happy to say they’re still around and kicking, but focusing more on the erotic side of sales right now.

It took me a year to write Summerland, and when I got ready to submit, I tried epublishing first for two reasons…1) I can be incredibly impatient *G*, and 2) I hadn’t read anything remotely like it in traditional publishing, so had no idea who to even submit it to.  I also wanted to see if it sucked or not. 

That’s not to say I haven’t pursued traditional publishing.  I’ve come “close” at least half a dozen times (according to agents and editors, not me), but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so I decided to stick with what makes me happy (see below), and maybe that will translate into a NY contract…or not.  Although I have to say, if paranormal police procedurals become the new “big” thing, I’m pushing my next “wow, this would be fun to try” manuscript under the bed for four years and then resubmitting, because that seems to be the curve I write to…grrr.

So now it’s almost a decade down the road, and I’ve written five full-length books and six novellas, all published by reputable ePublishers.  What have those ten years taught me?

First, do your research before submitting to a publisher, be they print or “e”.  I happened to get lucky my first time out the gate, but I know many, many authors who’ve been royally screwed over the years, and again, not just by “e” publishers, although that tends to be the majority of failures we, as authors, hear about.  These days anyone can make reasonably good cover art, run spell check and call a book “ready”.  That IS NOT getting published, at least not by someone reputable who’s gonna pay on time.  As authors, we all have to pay our dues, and part of those dues is going through the excruciating pain of edits *VBG*.  If it isn’t painful…if you don’t curse your editor at least a dozen times while looking at the “suggested” rewrites…then something’s wrong.

Second, when it comes down to it, write for YOU.  Yeah, that’s easy for me to say, since I’ve got a day job I’m going to hang with for the long haul, but I’ve tried writing to the market, and I’ve tried not eating, and neither sets very well with me.  In the end, writing what made me happy…well, it made me happy.  And therefore more productive, and more invested in my characters, and so on.

Last…the bonds you form with your brethren are not only important—they’re vital.  It’s too easy to get bogged down in life and let those friendships and partnerships slide.  I’ve been guilty of that myself, blaming it on the day job, quitting smoking, not writing, all manner of excuses, but at the end of the day, that’s all they were.  Excuses.  This is a solitary business, with almost all of the action going on inside our heads.  To have someone understand those dynamics is a treasure beyond compare.

Yeah, a decade has gone by.  I’ve seen the big “4” (at least IMO…EC, Samhain, Loose Id, and Liquid Silver) start up and flourish.  I’ve seen spectacular crash-and-burns by folks with no real idea what it takes to produce, market and sell books.  And in the end, I’ve found the freedom to write the kind of stories I want to write, I’ve learned how to become a better, more compelling writer through professional relationships, and I’ve seen my babies both on an e-reader screen and in print.  And who among us doesn’t want that?

Now that I’ve blathered on for a good looooong time, let me end with a caveat…each of our journeys is vastly different (just look to this blog to see excellent examples), so take my words with a grain of salt.  If print publishing is what you’ve set as your ultimate goal, then going with a straight-up ePublisher will be a disappointment, because it is a vastly different corporate enterprise.  Each of us has felt the pain of facing the blank page, of deleting chunks of narrative, of seeing those dreaded red marks from our critique partners.  At the end of the day, make the decision that will keep you waking up at night and reaching for the notepad!

For those of you who have made it through this RIDONCULOUSLY long post, comment about your experiences, ask a question, or whatever, and I’ll draw a random name for a signed copy of THE SAINTS OF MIDLAND and a $25 gift certificate to Amazon to celebrate my new release, BEHIND BLUE EYES.

Terri writes paranormal romance/romantic suspense as TL Schaefer, and erotic romance as Keira Ramsay.  She is a Medical Risk Manager for the Air Force by day, the Editorial Director of Liquid Silver Books by early evening, and an author into the wee hours.  Visit her at www.tlschaefer.com

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Readers on Deadline (ROD #18)

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Dame Rinda

Readers on Deadline (ROD) is a monthly Deadline Dame feature where we post an intriguing image and invite readers to be inspired and share the results in up to 250 words right here in the comments.

There’s a two week deadline, so entries will have to be in by midnight when Dame Rinda posts her next regular Deadline Dames post, which is midnight August 11th.   The Dames will pick the entry that most intrigues us, post that entry in the next month’s ROD  along with a link to that writer/reader’s site-if there is one.  And you get a prize!

( We’d like to add a request for our readers not to re-post pictures.  Some are stock photos and those are fine, but quite a few of them are used with written permission from the artist.  Thanks! )

The winner of ROD #17 is Karen!  This entry was wonderful! Full of intrigue and imagery. Congratulations!  Email us at the address in the sidebar with your address and Dame Jackie will get your copy of SHADES OF GRAY in the mail.

He lived under the stairs.

I can’t say I blamed him. It was a good choice – cool and dry. He didn’t ever have to worry about the sun touching his skin and turning him to stone. The building was filled with shadows where he could hide him from prying sunbeams and curious eyes.

Sure, the skaters came with their loud music and their devil-may-care attitude. Some of them even knew he was there. They would slip into the building and whisper his name. And he would shuffle to the edge of the shadows to talk.

They brought him things. Candy. Cigarettes. Worn old sneakers.

He loved the sneakers. He hung them from the exposed beams overhead and he would laugh as they moved in the breeze – shoes with no feet going somewhere that only he knew.

Sometimes the skaters would come at night with their boards and beer. They would build a fire beside the crumbling walls. He would sit under the shelter of the stairs just out of the firelight and tell them stories of the way the world used to be.

Before technology erased our kind.

When people still believed.

Sometimes I imagined myself joining them. I would walk right over and sit down beside him, take his old leathery hand in mine and urge him into the light where they could truly see him. See me.

But if I did that, he wouldn’t be there anymore. Safe from the sun.

He wouldn’t be anymore.

Like me.

This next image is a stock photo donated by our own Dame Kaz.  I just love this.

The winner of ROD #18 will receive a very special ARC of Dame Devon’s new book of short fiction, A CUP OF NORMAL, to be released in September. It has 22 stories of fantasy, science fiction and romance! Here’s the fantastic cover.

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From Draft to Dream (and a list of upcoming releases)

Monday, July 19th, 2010

by Dame Devon

The Dame readers have asked great questions over the last couple days. Please keep those questions coming! We might not get to it today, but we’ll try to pull questions and dedicate a full post to them, or answer questions in the comments. Feel free to ask us here on the site, or send us an email to the address, right over there on the right column. No question is too large/small/silly/serious, so ask away!

Today’s questions:
Amy R. asks: “When you’re writing your first draft, and it doesn’t seem like it’s matching up with that you have in your head, how do you keep from deleting it or throwing it out?”

Wonderful question, Amy! There are probably as many answers for this as there are writers. Here are eight tips:
1. Walk away. When a draft is so frustrating that all you want to do is throw it across the room, it’s time to step away from the keyboard.
2. Save the file. Even if you think it’s garbage. You never know when you’ll want to go back and ressurrect the story, or maybe dip in and steal a character or a descriptive line.
3.Come back to it in a couple days, a week, a month. You might see the good amidst the cringe-worthy and be able to roll up your sleeves and get the story going again.
4. Get an outside opinion. Sometimes the author is the least capable person on the planet to make an accurate judgement call on the quality of their prose.
5. Try again. If the story is so far off from what you want it to be, save it and start fresh. Focus on the core of the story–the spark of wonder that made you want to write it–and write until you feel you have your feet under you again.
6. Accept that your story probably never will live up to your vision. It is common for writers to feel they have yet to write something that matches the vision, emotion, scope and quality of what they had in mind for it. There will always be a slight dream-like disconnect between our imagining brain’s vision, and our writing brain’s power to express that vision with words. It is what makes us strive to improve no matter how long we have been writing.
7. Finish the story to discover the story. You can’t fully know what the story is until you write The End. At that point, you can look from beginning to end, and see what the story wanted to say, what it wanted to become. Maybe it’s exactly what you had in mind. Maybe it’s wildly different.
8. Keep trying. Keep writing. Keep going. Trying and failing and trying again isn’t bad. It’s the way we become intimate with story, our writing process, and the struts and trusses our dreams are built upon. Remember: “It’s the writing that teaches you.” –Isaac Asimov

And the second question from Jess: When are your next releases? (All of you.)

Great question, Jess, thanks for asking!  Here’s a fairly comprehensive list of what the Dames have cooking:

Upcoming Releases (as of July 2010)

Keri Arthur
MERCY BURNS –    May 2011
Debut novel (Dark Angels series)   -   August 2011

Toni Andrews/Virginia Reede
Book 3 (Carnal Magic) by Virgina Reede   – 2010
Nocturne novel (Mercy Hollings 4)   –   2011
“Nativitas” THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FUTURISTIC ROMANCE   –   2011

Jenna Black
SHADOWSPELL (Faeriewalker 2)   –   January 4, 2011
DARK DESCENDANT (new adult urban fantasy series, Pocket Books)   –   April 26, 2011
“Nine-tenths of the Law”(Morgan Kingsley, urban fantasy anthology, TOR Books)   –   May 2011

Jackie Kessler
HOTTER THAN HELL mass-market paperback   –   September 2010
HUNGER (The Horsemen of the Apocalypse/Riders’ Quartet)   –   October 18, 2010
“To Hell With Love” THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PARANORMAL ROMANCE 2   –   winter 2010/2011
“Hell Bound” THOSE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS   –   March 2011
RAGE (The Horsemen of the Apocalypse/Riders’ Quartet)   –   spring 2011
“Hell’s Fury” THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF HOT ROMANCE   –   spring 2011
“Where We Are Is Hell” AFTER HOURS: TALES FROM THE UR-BAR   –   spring 2011

Karen Mahoney
“The Spirit Jar” (Moth 2)  KISS ME DEADLY   –   August 3, 2010
“Dear Diary…” essay -  WELCOME TO MYSTIC FALLS (anthology devoted to The Vampire Diaries) – October 2010
THE IRON WITCH –   February 1, 2011

Devon Monk
A CUP OF NORMAL (short story collection)   –   September 2010
MAGIC AT THE GATE (Allie Beckstrom 5)   –   November 2010
MAGIC ON THE HUNT (Allie Beckstrom 6)   –   April 2011
DEAD IRON (The Age of Steam 1)   –   July 2011

Lilith Saintcrow
JEALOUSY (Strange Angels 3)   –   July 29, 2010
HEAVEN’S SPITE (Jill Kismet 5)   –   November 2010

Rachel Vincent
“Fearless” KISS ME DEADLY   –   August 3, 2010
ALPHA (Shifters 6)   –   September 28, 2010
Untitled (Tod’s) online novella   –   December 1, 2010
MY SOUL TO STEAL (Soul Screamers 4)   –   January 1, 2011
IF I DIE (Soul Screamers 5)   –   June 1, 2011
Debut novel (untitled adult series)   –   September 1, 2011 (date tentative)
“Hunt ” (urban fantasy anthology, TOR Books)   –   May 2011

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Posted in Ask a Question, Book Release, Devon Monk, General Posts, Jackie Kessler, Jenna Black, Karen Mahoney, Keri Arthur, Lilith Saintcrow, Rachel Vincent, Rinda Elliott, Toni Andrews, writing tips | 5 Comments »

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