It’s been a while since I posted, (I was a bad girl and missed my last scheduled day!), so I thought instead of posting about one thing, I’d post in a more general (and perhaps somewhat random) way about what I’ve been up to lately.
Publishing
My Nikki Glass e-novella, “Pros and Cons,” was recently released. It’s available in all the usual e-places, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. I also recently discovered that Tor is going to re-release my very first series, the Guardians of the Night. This is a paranormal romance series, the third book of which (Shadows on the Soul) is still one of my favorite books I’ve ever written. They’ll be released in trade paperback format, with the first, Watchers in the Night, due to come out on December 10 of this year.
Writing
I just turned in my revisions for Resistance, the second book of my new YA trilogy. I’m in the process of plotting out Revolution, the final book, which is going to be a doozy. And I just received ARCs of Replica, the first book, along with some queries from the proofreader. Way to work on three books in the same series at the same time! No, it’s not a bit confusing. (She says with tongue firmly in cheek.) I’m very excited about this series, which I feel is bigger and more ambitious than anything I’ve tried before. The first two have certainly been longer than anything I’ve written before, and I don’t suppose there’s any reason to think the third will turn out differently.
Knitting
I started knitting in July 2010, and I am now such an addict that I always have at least one project in the works. I tend to make socks and sweaters, because those are the only knitted items I actually wear. I’ve made so many pairs of socks that I have to give most away because I just don’t have room to keep them all. I sent a whole slew of them to a women’s shelter in December, and I suspect I’ll have an even bigger package to send next year when it gets cold again. My current WIPs are yet another pair of socks, and a pull-over sweater that’s made from sock yarn.
Dancing
I’m currently working on my showcase number for May. It’s a rumba/cha-cha combination to Fliptop Twister, by Rockapella. (The version on YouTube is slightly different from the one I’m using for the showcase.) The choreographer had a field day with this one, and it’s the most difficult showcase I’ve ever done. There’s some super fast footwork, and I’m glad I’ve still got almost two months to prepare.
Watching TV
My husband and I watch an awful lot of TV–part of the reason I took up knitting was so that all that TV-watching time didn’t feel like it was completely unproductive. My absolute favorite show we’re watching these days is The West Wing, which I never saw when it was on TV. I don’t know how I managed to miss this show. The writing is so fantastic, with razor-sharp, often hilarious dialog that goes by so fast it’s hard not to miss things. (Hmm, that probably means I’ll enjoy watching it a second time when we finish up, which will be soon. We’re partway through the final season.) My favorite current show is Justified. I love Raylan and his attitude, and I love Boyd Crowder even more. Those of you who’ve read my books know I have a soft spot for morally ambiguous characters, and Boyd fits the bill. I mean, he’s a bad guy and all, but he has his redeeming qualities and his sympathetic moments.
My weekend will be dominated by the ACC basketball tournament, and much of the next few weeks will be dominated by the NCAA tourney. I had never watched a basketball game in my life before I went to Duke, but it’s almost impossible to go to a game in Cameron Indoor Stadium and NOT become addicted to the game. I’ve been a big fan ever since. I tolerate my husband, even though he’s a UNC grad, because he’s not anywhere near as rabid a fan as I am.
Reading
My favorite pastime of all. (Writing isn’t a pastime, it’s a job.) I’ve been on a bit of an out-of-genre kick lately, reading mysteries with no paranormal elements in them. I read the entire Flavia de Luce series, which is a whole lot of fun and gave me some good chuckles now and then. (As with paranormals, I think you have to read these with a whole bunch of suspension of disbelief, but that doesn’t detract from the fun of them.) I also read the most excellent Before I Go To Sleep, by S. J. Watson, which made sure I didn’t go to sleep until way past my bedtime because it was such a riveting read. Next up on my list: an e-ARC of our own Dame Rinda’s Dweller on the Threshold, which I’m really looking forward to.
That’s it for now. It’s time to reward myself for sitting down and getting this post done despite at first struggling to come up with a topic. Shall I knit, or read? Decisions, decisions.
About Dame Jenna
I just recently found Justified and oh, it is sooo good. And yeah, Boyd kinda makes it. I started with the second season, so am now going back and seeing the first when he was more of a complete bad guy and it’s really a weird way to watch. I sort of think that if I’d started when he was spouting his white supremacy stuff, I wouldn’t like him at all, no matter what changes he goes through, but as it is, I have a serious soft spot for him. There’s something about the reformed (maybe?) bad guy character that is captivating.
I still managed to like him (in the way one can like a villain) despite the white supremacist stuff because I never really believed he believed any of that–everything about him in season 1 seemed like an act. (I’m still not sure if any of it was supposed to be genuine or not, but part of what I like about him is the complexity of his character.)
It’s amazing how much good television has been produced this century–probably more than in the entire 20th.
I can’t tell whether you would like Breaking Bad or not, but it’s really the best thing around. It’s whiplash smart, constantly surprising, and weirdly funny. You might remember a discussion we had decades ago about how it’s difficult to present evil in truly interesting and novel ways? BB absolutely masters that.
Kevin–you’re right about Breaking Bad. I do watch it, although I must admit I have a hard time caring about Walt. I pretty much hated him since before he went bad, and he seems to have no redeeming qualities left. I find Jesse and Mike more interestingly bad, although I am still fully able to appreciate how good the show is overall.
I don’t watch much tv but I am hooked on Justified, Timothy Olyphant is the perfect Raylan.
Just off the top of my head I can name 5 authors who knit! You are all talented in so many ways!
You’ll love Rinda’s Dweller. Beri O’Dell, fantastic. I’ve gotten obsessed recently with ZenTangles. Check it out on zentangle.com. Lot’s of fun and I can tangle while I watch TV too. Read? Zentangle? How to choose. Reading Robin Cook “Nano” and Kim Harrison’s new Rachel Morgan. Love those. Next, “Dweller” and the new Mercy Thompson book by Patricia Briggs. Working on “Dead Fairies” now that the galleys are done for “Fairy Dust.”