New Keepers of the Flame Scene -- March Website Update

Well, March is up and had to be done because I'm participating in "Horse" book contests now through the 16th. I'll be posting the contest each day here, too, along with a bit of advice or quote or something.

Anyway I rewrote Chapter 1 in Keepers of the Flame several times and I loaded one up. It's not quite the longest entire chapter...I had some yoga stuff and something a little more at their parents house, but it's up.

May you enjoy all aspects of your life.
Robin

Tommy

Mistral has the awful Rrroooowwwwwwwlllll when she can't find me...or she did yesterday morning. She likes being the only cat, I knew that, but I'll have about 4 weeks (1 at a time) where I'll be gone this year, so I thought I should get her/us some companionship. It would be nice to have a lap sitting cat, too, and an older one who might be more submissive.

Tommy is the second one over on the link. He is thinner and longer and livelier than I'd thought, and he "talks" like Mistral. Mistral hates me because I have betrayed her and loathes Tommy, only hissing. Tommy growls back. He is declawed but has most his teeth and is fast and can jump and run. Mistral has all her claws, but only one tooth, still has her cold and limps from what we think is arthritis in one hip.

It's been an interesting day and a half.

And, you know, Tommy has this awful rrrrooooowwwwwlllll when he can't find me....

May you enjoy the people in your day.
Robin

Three Stories in My Head

I did quite a few things yesterday, but since I've been thinking about the new story that I took to critique, and I went up to Georgetown (I'm going to model a new town in Heart Journey, book 2 of the proposal I'm sending to my editor), Heart Journey was in my head, and, of course, my insane deadline for the last Luna book is pressing upon me.

So, like the above massive sentence, they all messed around in my mind. I really wanted to work on the new story (and I think I've lost some of the bits I thought of yesterday), but that one isn't contracted for. So when I came down from the mountains winding through Clear Creek canyon, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about Helen D'Elcampane (or do you think it should be Helena?), and wrote the first three pages of Heart Journey.

Then, with many breaks, I opened a vein and proceeded with working on the last Luna book. (I continue to call it in my files, Singer for a World, I just can't get my mind around Echoes in the Dark). It went fairly well, and I am visualizing it being a shorter book, because it needs to be so I can make it a very good book, and it will definitely be more of an action book...at least the big battle in the end.

Anyway, I have other (personal) news I may talk about tomorrow. We'll see.

May your day go very well.
Robin

Opening POV

I was thinking about this yesterday when I looked at the opening of Heart Change (one of the two new books I'll be sending in a proposal to Berkley). It has a female POV to open the book.

Usually, and I think this is good advice, I open with whomever's story problem is the greatest, can give me the greatest hook, hero or heroine. Whose life will demand that they CHANGE the most? This is for ROMANCE, where I tend to write equally in the hero and heroine's point of view (though I haven't ever actually gone back and counted the pages).

For the Luna books, the focus is on my heroine and I start with my heroine (except in Guardian of Honor, guess there are always exceptions). The heroine's growth through the book is what it's mostly about, so I start there.

But so far in the Heart books the male has predominated:

HeartMate - T'Ash (m)
Heart Thief -- Ruis Elder (m)
Heart Duel - Lark Hawthorn (f)
Heart Choice - Straif Blackthorn (m)
Heart Quest - Ilex Winterberry (m)
Heart Dance - Dufleur Thyme (f)

Heart Fate, coming in September, is Lahsin D'Yew

So the upcoming two will also be female:
Heart Change (provisional title) Signet D'Marigold
Heart Journey (provisional title) Helena D'Elcampane

At least that's it for now.

May you be firmly grounded today (if you want to be).
Robin

Week Off

Last week I only wrote on Saturday as I was waiting for my editor to get back to me with direction. As it turned out, there was a miscommunication. Anyway, that is done, and the signing went well, and I'll talk more about it when I'm feeling a little better. I'm tired tonight. Did NOT do my drive and there's weather coming in, so I'm not sure when/where/whether I'll do my get away this week.

May you find it easy to keep on keeping on...
Robin

Signing Sunday with Carol Berg!

3pm at above addy, and I hope to see folks there. I don't do many signings, but Carol asked and she had this wonderful idea to make it unique....

32 Broadway, Denver CO 80203
Phone: (303) 733-3808

May you enjoy your Sunday.
Robin

Reading/Writing Genre

If you're going to write in a genre (romance, fantasy, sf, mystery) you MUST read in it. Otherwise you won't know the readers expectations, and more, whether what you are doing has already been done a zillion times.

May your course be true today.
Robin

Afternoon Out

Cat is sick with a cold (I've dodged that), and took her to the vet again today, which she didn't like. It was 2pm and after that I hit the road, wanted someplace close so decided to go to Lookout Mountain and see Buffalo Bill's grave. Hadn't done that since I was a kid. Went to the grave and through the museum and still wanted more. So I drove up to Idaho Springs which will be a small town in Heart Journey for research. Ate at the restaurant at Indian Springs. No formal tablecloths and napkins though, and that was fine.

My next afternoon away will be Monday since that's when my cleaning person comes and I may go back and book a spa. I'd like to go to Glenwood Springs, too, to double check some things in Heart Fate -- in the winter. Maybe next month.

Anyway, not as refreshed as the last couple of times that I got out, but have a modicum of peace. The Mt. Evans road, was, of course, closed but I drove up Ute River Road for a while anyway.

The Garmin had problems atop Lookout Mtn. SOMEONE hadn't plugged it entirely in and it kept showing itself being hooked up to a computer, which, of course, meant it wasn't connected but which I thought meant it needed to be updated. Much muttering under the breath because I've been lost a couple of times on Lookout Mtn. When I figured out the icon meant the plug wasn't settled, it was much better ;) and I used it to get to Indian Springs, the turnoff is tricky and it negotiated it well. On the way home it turned from day to night abruptly, disconcerting me because the glow of the sun behind the mountains was still quite bright.

So that's my adventures for the day. The cat seems perkier. I am thinking about getting her a companion and have one picked out (little does she know).

May you enjoy the rest of your day.
Robin

Quote, Searching for Docs...

I SEARCHED for this quote for one of Margie Lawson's classes (which I usually contribute to) last month and couldn't find it. So I finally made a separate document of it with words (unpublished/landscape) that were in my head mistakenly. And if I put it here I can cleverly search HERE next time...

Anyway, my FileHand Search isn't working on this machine, fine on the laptop but not here. Not sure why except probably too much stuff.

Here's the Quote:
In waiting for the glorious moment of that first book contract, writers must have giant reservoirs of patience. Yet they must persevere because they don't know the destiny that is being worked out for them. They creep humbly along the ground, without the spacious aerial vision of their lives that would show them the destiny in store for them. Ron Chernow.


May you enjoy your journey today.
Robin

Slug

I've been a slug the last few days with regard to the writing. Taking care of home stuff, emails, etc. (still not the website though, sigh).

I AM waiting to hear from my agent and/or editor about how to proceed, but if I was daring, I guess I'd just go ahead and write the story the way I want to...of course there is always the possibility that they would then reject the story...

Anyway, no excuses, just general slugishness. Bleh.

May you be vitalized today,
Robin

Suspension of Belief

What you want to do is the lowest common denominator in your stories, make them as absolutely believable as possible, especially if you are writing paranormal.

I just finished talking with my mentor about Kay Hooper's work (since I finished her new book today). My mentor is always very plot conscious, and also grounded in the here and now (as opposed to being open to a lot of woo-woo stuff, but she likes my work).

Kay Hooper doesn't work for her. I like Kay Hooper as long as she isn't killing off viewpoint characters. I stopped buying and reading her after one of her books, and am still a little leery, but as long as she doesn't do it again (or as long as we aren't completely in the viewpoint of the victim when being tortured -- she does use victim viewpoints), I can handle a lot of strange motivation and perhaps a slightly less than rational plot.

I LIKE paranormal, reading and writing, so the bar of my suspension of belief is higher than someone who really wants logical and rational stories, whose suspension of belief would be quite low.

Now I need to finish getting ready for my talk at Perl Mack library. It's not until 6 pm, but I'll be going WITH rush hour traffic, so I'm leaving quite early.

Take care and may you believe whatever stories you want to today,
Robin

Risk

Talked to a friend of my who is starting her writing career about risk today. The fact is, I've been used to risk for many years in one way or another. You DO get used to risk. I just try not to think about the fact that sometimes I feel like that princess in the fairy tale who had to walk across a deadly chasm on a bridge the width of a hair.

Writing is one of the riskiest businesses going.

She said she was risk averse and though I've known her for quite a while I haven't known her deeply enough to understand what caused that.

So this will be brief. Don't quit your day job to write unless you get an offer that will support you for three years. I think that's a pretty good rule of thumb.

May you have a lovely day without any risk you don't want. ;)

Robin

Speaking

Tip: Prepare to be a speaker. My improv experience was priceless. Also, make notes you can speak on and remember that even a new author will have stories to tell.


Just in from speaking at Northglenn Public Library, a small session but I had a good time, told many of my favorite stories, and will do it all over again on Monday night...except I'll get different questions. I only got lost in one diversion...and darn, it was a good point I wanted to make, and recalled a few minutes later when I was driving home.

I got more than my wordcount done today.

It's been a good day...even though I didn't know I should have looked more like my website photo (which is an impossibility unless I take a couple of hours), since that was the one they had of me.

Oh, and I took the cat to the vet and she is still in remission of diabetes and her blood sugar was in the lower normal range. So I won't be watching her fat intake as much, she's lost a couple of pounds too.

My vet is a Mom & Pop operation and I was told a couple of months ago that he had an accident with his hand. A couple of his fingers still looked bad. Seems like it was an accident with a table saw =:0 But he can still do surgery, which was a great relief to them. Being a very reasonable vet and a Mom and Pop operation, I know that that was a great concern.

So DON'T HAVE ANY ACCIDENTS WITH TABLE SAWS!!!

May you stay safe today.
Robin

Librarian -- Core Paranormal Authors

My Mom is an ex-librarian. My Dad had a library degree. I do too. So when anything hits the library world with my name in it (like when Library Journal said Heart Thief was one of the 5 best romances of 2003). I am thrilled. My Mom is happy.

Got this from a friend:

article
http://rusq.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/47n2/PDFs/alert_collect.pdf

May you have a very cool (and not bitterly cold or snowy) day.
Robin

"Pros" of Being a Full Time Writer

This is what I thought, BEFORE:

1) Sleeping in

The cat wakes me up at the same time and I am actually AT WORK IN MY OFFICE earlier. Or I get an idea and I am AT WORK IN MY OFFICE earlier.

2) No shoes

Shoes keep your feet warm. In fact, I now usually wear 2-3 pairs of socks AND shoes.

3) Write all day

Creating and writing is tiring, sometimes I have to think about stuff, and sometimes I have to let my subconscious figure something out. All takes up more time than actually getting words on the page.

4) No waiting on an irritating, clueless IT person to try and fix my computer.

I try many things and live with a balky computer, clueless myself.

5) No putting up with sports stories at work about which I could care less.

I am now without much conversation at all, let alone adult, and tend to ramble and babble when anyone calls. I field more telemarketing calls.

Five items seems like a long enough list...


Pros that remain pros:

Not having to stand out in the cold and snow and wait for a sometimes on time bus.

Not having to go out in cold weather at all.


Cons that remain cons:

Heating bill.

No air conditioning.

Think about your own list....

May you have a lovely day in all ways.
Robin

Tools, Getting Out, Daily Tip

Last Friday I had lunch with a friend in Boulder, but couldn't find the place and neither could Virgin Mobile (cell phone), finally asked. I am speaking in two Adams county libraries this month one of which is "hard to find." So I moved the Garmin GPS unit up on my priorities list and bought one last night. I think it will be good. I'd never thought I'd want one but that changed last November at retreat when Gabrielle had one, just put in the address to gardens we wanted to see in the unit and away we went, no pouring over maps ahead of time, or keeping an eye on one.

This unit has voice which I may turn off. If I don't go the way it wants it says "recalculating" in a very long suffering tone of voice which amuses me now but might be irritating in the future. It also can't pronounce "Zuni" properly, and definitely not the way native Denverites do. Zoon-I.

Anyway, I put it in this am to take me to my mechanic. It was wonderful. I never go to the car place the same way, always try to figure out the best way. I liked how it directed me.

So now, having eaten breakfast while waiting for the downtown library to open, I am here at the library. It is a beautiful day and I liked the walk from the restaurant to the library. My mechanic will drive me to downtown but not home. I am sitting on the second floor, listening to my subliminal music and having just downloaded and installed Firefox again. The DPL now does NOT charge for connection, which I'd been prepared to pay. Lovely. I am looking at the back, southeast side of the structure that I used for SupremeGrove -- the outside "highest court" in Heart Thief. I am feeling good even though I know I'll have about a $550 car bill for new brakes. After all, you can't say "No, thanks, I'll wait on the brakes," can you? Well, I did in November, but it was slated to happen last month but I was too poor.

I know I've talked about introversion, cocooning, hermiting, huddling, before. I know I've said that I need to get out more. I know I've MEANT to get out more. I just haven't. Now I think I need a sacred date/artist date with myself to actually drive somewhere once a week. The drive last Friday was wonderful, and the walking around today has been great (I'll walk back to the Adams Mark and pick up a cab to my mechanic, bus really doesn't run close). The time researching in Idaho Springs was lovely, with drives every day. So, again, as long as the weather is good, I'll be taking a drive once a week.

I forgot to bring a book, so I observed in the restaurant and worked a little on my fantasy story.

Now I have to check the email to see if I have anything from my agent, editor, or the library where I'll be speaking on Saturday. Then I DO have to work. I'm usually done with my am work by this time and just getting started, but...I feel good.

Tip: If you're an introvert, particularly a SINGLE writer, get out at least once a week to restore your well.

May the sun shine on you today.
Robin

Motivational Quote

"The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has."
- Michelangelo

Solar Heat

SOLAR HEAT by Susan Kearney
(TOR Books, February 5, 2008)

WATCH the book video here: www.susankearney.com

Is she an indispensable ally. . . or his worst enemy?

When Intersolar Mining entrepreneur Derrek Archer rescues Azsla from her emergency sleeping pod, he's confounded by his desire for her. An inexplicable desire. An irresistible desire that causes Derrek to wonder if he's been drugged or hypnotized.

Is she better off with him . . . or without him?

Azsla's attracted to the sexy asteroid miner, but she fears getting close to Derrek might compromise her mission and reveal her secret. A secret that she's an enemy spy and her facade hides a complex and powerful woman—one capable of enslaving Derrek and destroying everything he holds dear.
Will Azsla's devastating secret destroy them . . . or save them?
When a cataclysm of deadly proportions threatens Derrek's world, they must overcome their distrust, suspicion and opposing loyalties. But while uniting forces might save a planet, working together might tear them apart or bring them together. Forever.

ABOUT SUSAN KEARNEY
Susan Kearney used to set herself on fire four times a day, now a USA TODAY BESTSELLING author, she does something really hot—she writes paranormal romance. With over 50 books in print, she can still apply the old rule of "write what you know" and never run out of ideas for characters and plots. An All-American and professional diver, expert in martial arts, sailor, real estate broker and owner of a barter business as well as women's fitness and three hair salons, she has enough material for a lifetime.


REVIEWS for Solar Heat

Romantic Times 4 ½ Stars Top Pick

Susan Kearney writes futuristics as good as anyone in the business. Her world building is fantastic, but yet doesn’t overpower the characters or the inherent love story. Sparks fly off the pages of SOLAR HEAT, be careful you don’t get burned.—Cat Cody


Susan Kearney has written another great futuristic romance. The characters reach out to the reader, even through the galaxies. SOLAR HEAT is definitely hot! -- Lori Sears


"A hot and sexy sci-fi fantasy set among the stars."
Reviewed by Mandy Burns Fresh Review

SOLAR HEAT is one sensual roller coaster that will speed up any reader's heart rate. I give Solar Heat 5 Moonbeams.

Veronica
Strictly Romance Reviews


Website: http://www.susankearney.com

Out of Contract

Now that I've submitted Heart Fate, I am out of contract on the Heart books. This is always an iffy time, will they want more? I usually don't think about this until I start working on another proposal in the option clause, but my agent was in New York last week and met with my editor. Haven't heard anything, and I tend not to announce until the contracts are actually signed.

OTOH, I liked Heart Fate, it wraps up the last of all the previous relationship dangling threads (though I have at least one villain floating around out there if I want to bring him back).

We'll see. But Out Of Contract can be scary.

Take care and enjoy your day,
Robin

PEARLS!!!!

Wordcount is done and Mom and I are going to a local restaurant close to her place for lunch instead of downtown because it's so cold. I wanted to give her a treat of oyster stew, but we've decided to save that for a warmer day. I'll leave in about 45 minutes. I usually have mousaka but I didn't like it the last time, the top wasn't as thick and tasty as it had been, so I'll give it one more chance. Mom likes the burritos. :)

Anyway, I've been focused on doing this blog pretty quick of a day, but I finally have a bit of time to announce that I HAVE BEEN HONORED BY PARANORMAL ROMANCE READERS AGAIN with two PEARL nominations -- and note the logo will change this year, so I'm hoping I get a new one or both to put here and on my website.

FEARSOME competition, and I'm honored to be in such company.

FUTURISTIC
SILVER MASTER by Jayne Castle | Jove
THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES by Linnea Sinclair | Bantam (Dell)
HEART DANCE by Robin D. Owens | Berkley
INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL by Rowena Cherry | Dorchester Love spell
HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS by Susan Grant | HQN


SCIENCE FICTION or FANTASY
ALL TOGETHER DEAD by Charlaine Harris | Ace Books
A LICK OF FROST by Laurell K. Hamilton | Ballantine Books
GAMES OF COMMAND by Linnea Sinclair | Spectra
BLOOD BOUND by Patricia Briggs | Ace Books
PROTECTOR OF THE FLIGHT by Robin D. Owens | Luna

Other finalists...oh, that's a spot on my screen, not a misplaced apostrophe...

ANTHOLOGY
CAT O' NINE TALES by Deborah MacGillivray | Highland Press
MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL HONEYMOON by Jim Butcher, P. N. Elrod,
Marjorie M. Liu, | St. Martin's Press
LOVE UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Leanne Burroughs, Deborah Macgillivray,
Amy Blizzard, | Highland Press
WILD THING by Maggie Shayne, Marjorie M. Liu,, Alyssa Day, | Berkley
Sensation
NO REST FOR THE WITCHES by Mary Janice Davidson, Lori Handeland,
Cheyenne McCray, | St. Martin's Paperbacks
ON THE PROWL ANTHOLOGY by Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance, Eileen
Wilks, | Berkley

FANTASY / MAGICAL
ATLANTIS RISING by Alyssa Day | Berkley Pub Group
TOUCHED BY DARKNESS by Catherine Spangler | Berkley
WICKED MAGIC by Cheyenne McCray | St. Martin's Press
DEVIL MAY CRY by Sherrilyn Kenyon | St. Martin's Press
OVER HEXED by Vicki Lewis Thompson | Onyx

NOVELLA / SHORT STORY:
A VERY SPECIAL MAN by Deborah Macgillivray | Highland Press
THE MAN HAS A SWEET TOOTH by Diane Davis White | Highland Press
THE DUCHESS AND THE DIRTWATER FAIRY by Jacquie Rogers | Highland Press
LIGHT OF HOPE--- ROMANCE UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR by Jill and Julia |
Highland Press
FOREVER LOVE--LOVE UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Leanne Burroughs | Highland Press
ALPHA AND OMEGA by Patricia Briggs | Berkley

SHAPESHIFTER
LORD OF THE DEEP by Dawn Thompson | Kensington Aphrodisia
BLOOD LINES by Eileen Wilks | Ace Books
CARESSED BY ICE by Nalini Singh | Berkley
VISIONS OF HEAT by Nalini Singh | Berkley
DARK LIES by Vivi Anna | Silhouette Nocturne

TIME TRAVEL
DARK SEDUCTION by Brenda Joyce | HQN
DARK RIVAL by Brenda Joyce | HQN
PARALLEL DESIRE by Deidre Knight | Signet
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE by Lynn Kurland | Jove
DOWN AND DIRTY by Sandra Hill | Berkley

VAMPIRE
DARK POSSESSION by Christine Feehan | Berkley
BLOOD MOON by Dawn Thompson | Dorchester Publishing
THE BROTHERHOOD by Dawn Thompson | Dorchester Publishing
LOVER REVEALED by J. R. Ward | Onyx
LOVER UNBOUND by J. R. Ward | Signet

NEW AUTHOR of 2007:
C. L. Wilson
Jeaniene Frost
Vicki Pettersson
Kimberly Adkins
Rachel Vincent
Tabitha Shay

BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE of 2007
THE BROTHERHOOD by Dawn Thompson | Dorchester Publishing
RIDING THE THUNDER by Deborah Macgillivray | Dorchester Publishing
WHITE LIES by Jayne Ann Krentz | Putnam
FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE by Kim Harrison | Eos
THE DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND by Lilith Saintcrow | Hachette Book Group USA
(Orbit Books)
DEVIL MAY CRY by Sherrilyn Kenyon | St. Martin's Press


Thanks to all my readers and love to all. May you enjoy the warmth of the day.
Robin

Choreography - Maps

Ok, haven't been writing because I needed to visualize where my secondary heroine is going:



Playing with maps is so much easier!

Robin

Keeping On

It's cold and snowy here. Just out of bed and the sun is rising. May go back to bed until the heat really gets going.

I've been doing my wordcount since Monday (took Sunday off), but no extra than what the spirit moves. It's difficult to work on the last Luna book since my editor needs to get back to me regarding the direction she wants the last book of five to go, character motivation. I really don't want to write a book and have it rejected because it isn't what Luna wants. So I've been working with a secondary character, but I'm not sure how long this can go on unless I move to the hero and what I believe will be his reactions to my heroine's motivations...does that make sense?

Anyway, working regularly hasn't been too hard (knock on wood), especially since I now have a couple of social engagements I put off during the last push with Heart Fate.

May you know where you're going today,
Robin

And after the book is in...

Wow. Gray day so the sun didn't wake me at a usual time. Just got up. Mistral tried to nudge me awake a little earlier, maybe a half hour ago, but I didn't want to get up. Next thing I knew I was walking down the middle of a long hill of a 4 lane street in the winter, no cars. I think it was Federal Blvd. For reasons that are unknown to me and that I just realized, I sometimes spend a lot of time walking home from junior high. It was the longest walk I had to and from school and could be very cold. I still occasionally drive down the street, so it's still in my memory.

Then I was stuck in a gray cubicle like my last years at work, with stacks and piles of paper everywhere (not unlike my office and dining room here), wondering which to start on first, talking to an attorney whom I didn't recognize. I do recall that I was grounded in the right time. We were talking about February. He had started his professional career one long ago February, and my Dad was born in February...Then I woke....You know that feeling where you come straight out of REM sleep, a vivid dream? In the cubby I think I was looking for financials that I'd reviewed the day before.

Urgh.

Anyway, Friday I got home from the PO at about 6, I ate and did some email and stuff and went to bed.

Saturday I slept in, then a BRAND NEW IDEA for a book slipped into my head, set in the same urban fantasy universe I've been thinking of for a while, and I got up and wrote the whole first scene. I have no clue where it's going, and stuff came out in the first scene. I like it, but I'm wondering now if the set up's been done to death...then I went to a bookstore far, far away since our local Waldens was closed by the merger and bought the new Jayne Ann Krentz book, Sizzle and Burn, and fell asleep reading. I crashed until night. Wow.

So that's a couple of my standard reactions, new ideas and the crash. I hadn't expected the crash to be so hard, though, even though I'd worked 8-16 hour days on the editing over the last week.

Yesterday I had brunch with a smallish group then went to a new (franchised) tea shop and got their most expensive black tea ($18.50/2oz) as a reward for turning in the book. Luckily it's and "eh" tea for me, I might buy it if it were $5.00, but won't at that price. Bought more books, Charlaine Harris' Grave mysteries (those in mmp) and her new librarian book and read them and crashed.

Today I need to tidy up stuff and work and get my wordcount done. My editor needs to respond to an email regarding direction for the main character of the last Luna book (whatever it may be called and the more I think about it the less I like Echoes of the Dark and like PERSON of SOMETHING-CHARACTERISTIC/WHATEVER but Singer for a World didn't work for them and neither did my other titles in the same vein), anyway another email to my agent to nudge more, but I guess for today I'll work on the hero or a secondary character's scene.

Mistral is driving me crazy needing food, and I think the locked loading programs that has started happening where I can't get into my wp program for about a 1/2 hour has finally cycled through (gotta get that fixed), so I will go.

May you have a bright day today.
Robin

Heart Fate Stats

Once again I managed to cut 60 pages...which was mostly tightening. Some paragraphs did squeak a little when I cut, but a lot of it was sloppy writing...Many "I thinks....." and "Now" and "Even" and "Still"

Stuff sorta like: He thought he might consider how to decide regarding....

instead of: He decided...

Anyway here are the before and after stats:


I'm very pleased with the polishing and the book...paced a lot yesterday when I rearranged and cut some scenes...then, of course, the printer screwed up and it took me 3 hours to print 2 copies....

Sigh.

May all your electronics work smoothly today!
Robin

Birthday

My Mom's Birthday is today, I've already called her up and sung in her phone but I don't think she's home (and she gets up at 5 I think). Anyway, I wished her a Happy Birthday.

One whole year I called her "Mumsy" My family will not let me forget this. Obviously I thought I was being way cool and everyone else was thinking I was being strange (as usual) and laughing behind my back. I laugh now.

Anyway, I'm working on the first chapters of Heart Fate that I have critique from my critique group. There's a section that's really rough. It's one of those the-writer-is-figuring-out-the-book sections so much CAN be cut.

The photo of my desk a couple of days ago was a coupla years ago (or one) but I was surprised how much my desk looked like that now when I compared. The purple feathered mask is gone, did not escape the cats, and under it was a stack. Like this morning. That stack is chapters I've taken to critique for the current book and its now downstairs on the dining room table ready to be tackled.

Body is stiff from sitting in hard chairs hunched over keyboards, so bath has been run, then I work on the book, then will print the sucker out (need more paper, but I have new toner ready, the last has been fading) and mail it. Tomorrow am at the latest...It will, of course, cost me a fortune, two mss. at 500 pages+ and a diskette overnight. Urgh. My own fault of course.

So, fiddling today, a last spellcheck. Did all my ** yesterday evening. I've uploaded it to a gmail account several know JUST IN CASE.

And that's my rambling...off Mom again. Well, I'm gonna take her out for oyster stew and give her Heart Fate.

Love to all, and may you be cheerful today.
Robin