News

We’ve heard from some people at Virgina Tech. That they do indeed use my blog as an escape. I’m sorry that yesterday’s blog wasn’t an escape for you. You do have our prayers, and will continue to do so.
There is also a blog below this one that is about what’s happening, but for those of you who want an escape and not more discussion about headlines; this blog is for you.
I got seven pages done today on A LICK OF FROST. We are teetering on the brink of loosing one of the major men. One of the people Merry cares about, deeply. I had to stop today before it was a done deal. Now I have to decide whether to pull a rabbit out of my hat and save him, or whether to let the plot take the turn it is fighting to take.
I usually get into trouble when I fight my plot or characters. I also know that I’m tired. Physically and emotional drained. I hadn’t recovered from writing THE HARLEQUIN when I had to set down and begin this book. It’s called deadlines folks. I’m successful, beyond my wildest dreams, but it comes with deadlines. I’m big enough now that I could say, wait for me, and they would wait. They wouldn’t be happy but they’d wait.
I am strangely loath to do that. I missed some deadlines when I was going through my divorce. Something about your world falling apart and remaking itself just sort of upset my apple cart. With two big book series, and I mean big in page count as well as how it’s doing, you get behind and you never really catch up. So now that I’m sort of caught up, I don’t want to get behind again. Especially, simply because I’m tired. It just doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to disappoint you guys, or myself.
I put a preview in the back of the last paperback, DANSE MACABRE, one as a sort of movie preview of THE HARLEQUIN, but also because it was a way to let you guys see a major portion of the next book way early. I am going to put some of the book up on the web site, but having trouble finding a chapter that doesn’t give away either the mystery or a relationship plot. I’m so bad at sharing without over sharing that I may get Jon and Darla to help me vote. Heck, I might even get my editor Susan to give a suggestion.
You guys do realize that you don’t have the complete first chapter in the preview, right? It’s only part, because it’s like a movie preview, bits and pieces, scenes. I was going to put in the rest of the first chapter on the web site, but a lot of people have asked for something completely different. A different point in the book. If you want something completely different, I may only be able to give a partial chapter, or a scene, because of plot over sharing.
I’ll try to decide this week and have Darla put it up next week. Or maybe this week, if we can decide on what to share.
We finally have Edward on stage again. He’s always so fun to write.
But I’m getting a major Edward fix with the comic special that Jon and I are writing together, because it’s one of the first times Anita and Edward work together. So I get to do lots of scenes with them. In fact, I had to cut a bunch of dialogue, because I just loose my head when Edward steps on stage. I always have to cut a lot of cool dialogue. He just has a way with words.
One of the many things Jon brings to the collaboration is an ability to keep me on track and keep track of how much space we have. I’m used to working in hundreds of pages. A comic script is under forty for each piece. Well under. It’s the shortest thing I’ve written in years. It’s both nice and hard.
One of the good things about a series is you can save outtakes for possible use later on. Good Edward dialogue is always nice to keep around.
Anyway, we’re off to bed. Dinner is done. Dishes are washing. The kiddo is tucked in bed. Just put the dogs to bed, and the day is done.
Our toads came back to our water feature. We were afraid the cold had killed them, but there are even more now than there were before the freeze. Go figure.