Monthly Archives: July 2010

Expectations…

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Yes, I’ve been quiet because I’ve been back in my writing cave. My email is starting to backup, and things have gotten buried, I notice my “draft email” folder is getting awful thick. So if you’ve emailed me in the past week, and I haven’t gotten back to you, mea culpa, but I am slowly plugging my way through my mail and will get to you eventually.

I’m working on the final little tweaks to Chad’s story — I really really really need to find a title for it. (It’s the next in the Hauberk series. But I don’t want to go with another title starting with Ps or even any sort of alliteration–not deliberately anyway.) There may be a poll going up about that soon, LOL.

I’ve also been working on the prequel to Texas Tangle. Yes, I’ve decided to go with the story that talks to me the loudest. Of course, last night as I was drifting off to sleep another story started talking to me, but this one I’ve managed to (almost forget) shove aside to write another day. In fact it really wasn’t much more than a scene that may only end up to be a short story…So it was very easy to shove it aside.

The writing has been between the Mom’s Taxi Service business I’ve been running lately. (Having one car sucks) A couple nights ago I went over to Anara Bella’s to work on a secret project, and yesterday I met a girlfriend for coffee at our local bookstore (which turned into a road trip to a bookstore in another town because it had a copy of a book she wanted our local store didn’t have in stock.) While we were there, I picked up a copy of an author who is an auto-buy for me. I don’t generally auto-buy authors–money is generally too tight to spend on a book that I may or may not like. Because face it, there are some books we like better than others for whatever reason no matter who the author.

Anyway, I started to read the story last night, expecting to be wowed by this author the way I normally am. Only I didn’t like the first page. I didn’t like the second page either. Or the third. Or the fourth. So I did something I rarely do–I started flipping through the book to see if it got any better. All I kept thinking as I was reading more and more about this heroine was…well, I’m going to redact what I was thinking but I will say I found myself unable to connect with the heroine in this book because her actions, her choices, made me dislike her. Not Too Stupid To Live, just against the ‘honorable code’ I expect of my heroes and heroines. The thing is I know women who have behaved the same way in real life as the heroine does; my sister in fact, which may be why it’s a bit of a hot button for me. But what it comes down to is I’ve already put the book down and figure I won’t read anymore.

(I am not saying it’s that a book is bad, it’s not. One thing you learn very quickly as an author is that reading is subjective. A best-selling big-name-authored book that one of my critique partners absolutely adores and is her go-to comfort read is one that makes me cringe and just cannot finish no matter how many times I try.)

Naturally enough, it’s made me nervous about whether my readers of my previous books will have a similar reaction to the next ones I produce. Which is making me go over those edits of Chad’s story yet again. Guess I need to learn how to deal with Second Book syndrome still…

Historical vs Contemporary: Which would you read?

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Do you buy an author no matter what genre they write, or do you buy each particular book based on the blurb?

I’m about to submit a proposal to my editor at Carina about a story I’ve got outlined and the first three chapters written. It’s inspired by a conversation in Texas Tangle a lot of people have commented on–the dinner scene with Gramma Barnett, where she reveals that her grandparents had been in a permanent threesome. The story I have planned would follow how the grandparents ended up in that arrangement. Which means we’re talking 1890s Texas–historical.

But I’ve also heard a lot of contemporary readers say they refuse to read historicals.

Which makes me wonder if instead of working on the prequel I should first work on a sequel, following Dillon’s brother Griffin.  I’ve got an idea of what I want to do with him; I’ve even written the first chapter. I have a strong idea of the external conflicts and the direction the story can go. (For Texas Tangle fans, yes, Dillon, Brett and Nikki will appear, as will Gramma Barnett, Dillon’s parents Faith and Jackson who will all be embroiled in the fallout over D/B/Ns lifestyle decision.)

This is Gandalf aka Merlin in Texas Tangle

I still want to write the prequel, the characters are really talking to me. Actually they’re yelling at me lately for even considering delaying their story. (I don’t need a psychiatrist. Honest. Other writers will understand that statement.)

Mainly it’s a matter of timing — do I write the contemporary follow-up to Texas Tangle first, then the historical prequel? Or the historical prequel followed by a contemp sequel?

Which do you want to read?

Libraries are Spicy!

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I’ve loved the Old Spice ads — I crack up every time at the “I’m on a horse” ad.


I was fascinated when the Old Spice man went on Twitter and responded to people’s tweets (and Facebook comments too) including to Alyssa Milano,


There are about four more videos, including a response by Alyssa (dressed only in a towel in her bathroom) and George Stephanopoulos (who asked what else President Obama could be doing…)




He even responded to someone asking him to comment on libraries:


Now it’s spawned a “New Spice” response — in favor of libraries and studying, who can resist?  (Thanks to Vivi Andrews who posted this over on her blog)