Author: Jonathon

Just got back from dinner. Went to our favorite sea food restaurant here in town. Jon, Richard, and I took our friend Andrew out to celebrate that he got his certification as a personal trainer. Yea, for Andrew! Two of the guys are playing on the x-box, some shooting game with helicopter noises. Okay, Jon and Richard are playing. Andrew is reading. I’m about to call the evening. Apparently, Jon and Richard finally turned their weapons on each other. Jon also discovered you can, indeed, shoot down your own escape helicopter. Why you would want to do that, well, that’s a different question. It must be a guy thing. Though, admittedly, I don’t get computer games. I don’t get the appeal, I guess. Something to do with being a gaming widow in my first marriage.

We’re having the Thanksgiving meal with Jon’s family on the weekend. Trin is with her father at his new wife’s family for today. So, Jon and I turned necessity into virtue and had a blissfully quiet day. Just us, the puppies, and no one else. It’s been very nice. Seeing the whole family later in the week and doing the big meal will be nice too, but spending a thanksgiving day at home with just the two of us was a nice way to spend the holiday. Hope you got to do exactly what you wanted to do on your day off.

I’ve finished the read through of THE HARLEQUIN. I’m happy with it, except for a few things at the end. I tend to rush the climax of a book at the end sometimes, not always, but sometimes. I know this about myself as a writer, but I also know that once the first draft is done that a rushed ending can be fixed later. I rushed a few fight scenes, which I’ll need to flesh out and take my time with. I have a few questions on the metaphysics. I need to go back an reread some of the other books to find out what’s actually in print on certain topics. It’s always a throw away line that you forgot you wrote that will come back to haunt you. You don’t remember you wrote it one way, and it’s in print, so you write it now, and suddenly you have two mutually exclusive truths in print in one series. You try not to do things like that but when you’re writing book fifteen of a series, it’s a concern.
I hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving. I may actually take tomorrow completely off, so there maybe no blog tomorrow, not sure. I’ve done the read through, made my notes. The book looks like it’s bleeding sticky notes. Most of the notes are small things, like spelling of people’s names, does that minor character have blue, or grey eyes, that sort of thing. I gave a bad guy the same unusual name as a victim in an earlier book. I must like that name. Most of the notes that might actually need a rewrite are all at the end. Like I said, rushed the ending. I’ve made notes on things that absolutely must be fixed, and made more notes on things that could be redone. I’m not quite certain on a part of the fight and how it goes, but I think I’ll let the book sit until Monday. Let my subconscious work at it. If I feel particularly inspired I may sit down and start the first chapter of the next book, but I think that will probably wait until I’m positive THE HARLEQUIN is put to bed. I’ll see if the muse moves me early. For those who are new to the blog, at the end of most books, I open a new file on the computer and write the first chapter of the next book in the series. The voice, the world, everything is strongest and clearest at the end of a book. I write either all, or part of the beginning of the next book so that months from now when I sit back down to Anita I’ll have a chapter, or at least some pages and an outline of the beginning. It makes the writing go so much easier. Strangely, I didn’t write an opening for Merry 6, when I finished MISTRAL’S KISS. I have no idea exactly where to start the story. Normally, that scares me, but for some reason with this book, it excites me, as if the book wasn’t ready months ago to tell me where it began. Books are like people, they have their own personalities, their own rhythm’s. Not just each series is different, but each book is different, unique. For everything that is the same from book to book in the process of writing, there are a dozen, or a hundred things that are different. Experiences you only have with this book, this person, this moment. Anyway, I’m off. Happy Turkey Day.

I was going to talk about my day off and how wonderful seeing SPAMALOT was, thanks to Mitchell for making it so special for all of us. Instead, though, I’m going to have to address a problem. Sigh.
The second GUILTY PLEASURES comic book hit the stands, and there’s something missing on the nude ratman. Genitalia. They are smooth as Barbie dolls, which is definitely not how I describe them in the books. When I first saw art from Daebel brothers, the ratmen had the full equipment. The pictures that crossed our desks here for this issue showed smooth. Admittedly, I have some trouble visualizing the pencil sketches, but I knew the ratmen weren’t packing. I didn’t flag it, because my understanding is that we were up against a deadline. The choice was to fight for full frontal nudity or get the issue out. Also, if we do full frontal then we are a mature comic, which means odd things about distribution and who will shelve it. I didn’t know that for a fact, but suspected it. If we’d had the time in the schedule I would have suggested the movie and television fix of a well placed knee or shadow. But I made the decision that it was better to get the issue out on time and stay on schedule then to fight it. Yes, I have carte blanche I could have thrown a fit, and said no, full frontal, or nothing. They’d have done it, eventually. But you wouldn’t have the comic yet. A lot of shops won’t carry something with that level of explicitness. Check out the comic codes, guys. Think of the comic books as a movie. If this was a movie would you expect to see full frontal male nudity? If you did get it, then the rating for the movie would be a NC-17 or even X, if they still do X as a real rating. The real problem with this comic having the smooth parts, was that Anita commits on how small the genetalia is of the ratman, and she kicks him in the balls, which he doesn’t have. It was a very unfortunate time to not have time to address this problem. Honestly, though I’d seen the words separately, and the art. I had not seen them together, and I’m having some trouble putting them together in my head. So it wasn’t until I opened the comic and saw just how unfortunately awkward the lack of balls to bust was, that I realized, crap. But, would we rather have delayed the comic? Would we rather have delayed not only this comic, but all the rest of them, while we tried for a solution? I decided to make the deadline. I’m an artist, but I’m also a professional, and that means you make your deadlines if at all possible.
We have new artwork today, and we are discussing with the artist, with Marvel, and the Dabels what we can do about this particular problem. We are discussing various solutions, and we will be discussing them in more detail. My goal is that we will have something other than the whole smooth Barbie Doll thing, which I hate as much, or more than any fan. Come on guys, this is my baby, you know I wanted it the way I wrote it, but I’m also realistic enough to know that we aren’t getting full frontal in the main edition of a mainstream comic book. It ain’t happening. But we will come up with a solution other than neutering our male wereanimals. No more of that, okay. I just didn’t realize how much it would bother us all until I saw the finished product. Other than that this problem though I’m very pleased with the comic. I think it looks gorgeous, we’re just missing some bits. We’ll work on it not happening again, but it will be work to get it fixed. And while I’m trying to get this fixed, I’m also editing THE HARLEQUIN. Sigh, again.

I did a blog, because of miscommunication you don’t get it today, maybe tomorrow. I’ve been editing THE HARLEQUIN. I’ve got about two hundred pages read and sticky noted. The manuscript is about 690 pages, but that has nothing to do with how many pages the actual book will be. Depending on type face used it can be bigger than that in print, or half that size. So when I tell you guys how big a book is in manuscript, it tells you only how much info, or story is in the book, not printed page count. The book reads well, I’m happy with it so far, which is pretty good since I haven’t quite recovered from writing it. I got past one of the scenes today that I did so many versions of that I honestly didn’t remember which version I kept. It was interesting to read the final cut, so to speak. That’s it for me today. Good night, folks.

Good morning, everyone. I walked into my office and the windows are shuttered, even the skylights. I thought I wanted lots of light, but I find the closed feeling sort of comfy. Maybe a little cave time is what I need now. I wanted to explain, briefly, that when I typed done last night, that it’s not done in the way you might think. Done means first draft. Done means still need to go gun shopping; talk to some experts in various fields; go back over the draft and see how many things were in my head but didn’t quite get on paper. I also know, now, that there are about two pieces of plot business that have to be cut, because the book didn’t go in that direction. It went in a totally different direction that worked better, but the earlier bits are like false advertising. It doesn’t happen, so out it goes. Done, means I’m taking today off expect for this blog. Done means tomorrow I begin to print out a complete hard copy and begin edits. (Part of that early deadline so that the book hits the shelves in June instead of October of ’07 is a real pain in the butt for me. I can’t have a week to let the book rest. I have to start editing it tomorrow, there’s no room in the schedule for waiting. Ick.) But it’s done. The last thing I will do is find the perfect, or nearly perfect end line or paragraph. I put an end on it last night, knowing that it would change, or rather be added onto. The last taste in the book should feel complete, but leave you wanting to read the next one. Complete but eager. I almost always change the last paragraph of a book more than any other paragraph. Every writer has their piece of book that they agonize a little on. For some it’s the first line, but I find those easier than the last line. But it is done in some form it is done. My rough drafts are not nearly as rough as some I’ve seen, but for me it’s rough. And more than that, I know it’s rough. I already have a list in my head which I need to put on paper of things I know need cut, or changed. Anyway, I’m off to take a long bath, if I can manage the time. It’s my day off so it’s packed full of stuff. Isn’t that always the way. But it’s fun stuff, and I feel oddly energized rather than depleted. I have wanted this book finished for so long. It has loomed over me for months, and now, I can say, it’s done. Yee-freaking-ha.

Done. The Harlequin, Anita book 15 is done. Thirty-two pages in one session, with a break for dinner, and I’m done. It’s 3:11 A. M. Damn. There is a reason I’m tired. I’m going to bed now. See ya.

Got eight pages today. The most I’ve gotten in about a week. I am happy with the eight pages, but I was hoping to bridge to the next scene since I seem to have such trouble bridging scenes in the last part of this book. But as has happened several times with THE HARLEQUIN my computer had other ideas. Jon has no idea why it’s done it’s latest flaky thing, but it’s reformatted the entire file, all the book. It did this once before. I swear if he gets it back to the way it was, I’m making a copy and sending it to New York to my publisher for safe keeping. Part of the concern is the great disc crash when DRIVE SAVERS had to save our cookies. But also, as I’ve mentioned several times in the blog, the computer has been acting flaky off and on during the entire writing of this book. I think my main computer is just nearing the end of it’s bug free life. I’d said weeks, or months, ago that when I finish this book the computer will retire and I’ll have to get a new one, but the problem today has just highlighted it. The computer actually did this exact reformat crap once before during this book. Jon managed to monkey it back into shape, but neither of us can remember how he did it. Frankly, most tech people will admit that sometimes they don’t know why something breaks, or why it starts working again. Sometimes computers just do stuff. Any tech person who denies that is either new to the job, or like some doctors, doesn’t want to admit that they don’t understand everything about their job. Computers are mysterious things, or can be. I’d just like them to be a little less mysterious until I finish the final fight scene.

I have a few pages today. Hard won pages. But it’s progress. I’ve got the scene beyond, but I’m still having fits bridging the two scenes. Sometimes that means you don’t need the bridge, and the scenes work just fine cheek to cheek, but not this time. I need the bridge, or a small scene in between. Richard has been trying to cooperate this book, but I can’t really blame him for wanting to bail. He’s been a good sport, but there is a limit, and he’s allowed that limit. But it may endanger us all. Sigh. I actually did something I seldom do, and printed out the last chapter and let someone else read it. Jon got picked for the duty. He told me what I’d begun to suspect that there was nothing wrong with the chapter and everything wrong with the inside of my head. If you are not a writer I don’t know how to explain how ugly the inside of the head can get during a book. The fact that it happens on every book without exception for most writers doesn’t make it less unpleasant, but you would think I’d have figured it out sooner. I think the reason it took so long was that even for me this has a been a wildly productive year, and I’m tired. That part of you that the writing comes from, needs a break, a little time to refill the well. I’ll get it, when this book is done, but this book has loomed like a huge wall before me. The best analogy I can come with is that I’ve been staring at what felt like the Great Wall of China, no way around, or over, just an impassable barrier. Today, Jon helped me look at it honestly, not just through the anxiety and tiredness in my head. It’s a wall, yes, but it’s more like those little walls they have around decoritive gardens. You know the kinds that are mostly for keeping out the rabbits? Well, I’m on the other side of the wall now. The garden seems like a wilderness, but there’s a path. I know where I’m going, I just have to figure which characters are going with me, and who wants to sit this one out.
I’ve divided the day between the new Evanescence album and “The Secret Garden”, the Broadway album. Maybe that’s where all the garden metaphors are coming from. Probably. I haven’t had to pull the Christmas music out, yet, but I have written long hand most of the day. For those of you new to the blog, when the writing is going badly, I change from modern music to musicals, and if the writing continues to go slow I break out the Christmas music. It’s always bad when I’m listening the Christmas music in July. Only moments ago did I type in some of the notes, and make actual pages. Long day. I guess long night now. It’s a blustery night here. We were supposed to get snow, but luckily it warmed up, because we’ve had a lot of rain. I can’t imagine how many inches of snow it would have turned into.

Did the dragon win today, or did I whip it’s ass? Neither. It took me all day to do an essay for an interview. I got it done, but I didn’t get to touch the book that’s actually due. So did I slay the dragon, or did I not take the field at all today? I don’t know. I have a hard time seeing anything but actual pages on the current book as real work. But the interview and the essays are writing, are work, but . . . I don’t know, though I’ve worked all day I come to the end of this day and feel as if I’ve done no work. I have pages to my name, but not on THE HARLEQUIN. I’ve asked for some help from New York on some of the shorter pieces, just give me some ideas and how to do it. Short is one of the hardest things for me to write. I just don’t think short. I find it especially difficult to write short about a book I’ve already written. I mean if I could condense it down to a poem, it wouldn’t have needed to be a book, right? I’m outta here for tonight. Even though the pages didn’t get me a bit closer to the end of the current book, the pages did take energy out of me. I’m tired now. I’m done for the day, and yet, the book is no closer to completion. Weird. So I’m off to put a chicken in the oven. I’m actually cooking the main dish tonight, instead of Jon. He’s not particularly fond of roast chicken, but he’s letting me cook it, and he’ll eat it, but it seems to be rubbing salt in the wound to make him cook it. Now I’m off to rub salt into the skin of the chicken. I know, I know, some people say no salt, but I think it makes the skin crispier. Roast is the only chicken we do skin on, and I want the skin crispy. If I’m going to be unhealthy, I want it to be good.