Tuesday 27 November 2007

Gothic Day

Well the plan with the Gothic Heat proofs was to read through a third of the book each day, then, after three days, start again on the second pass, with one day left to write up all the corrections...

But instead, yesterday, I read through the whole thing in one long sitting! Maybe it was because there weren't any particularly major proofing snafus to deal with, or maybe it was because the new trade format has bigger, clearer print, I don't know... I only know that once I got started, I felt compelled to push on through and relive the story all over again.

Now this is rare. I used to devour one, maybe one and a bit Harlequin Presents novels in a day, when I was reading those, and I have been known to read large, large chunks of something like a Thomas Harris in a day, but lately, I must admit that I've become one of the slowest readers on the planet, even with books that I'm thoroughly enjoying. But somehow, Gothic Heat, my own creation, gripped me. Even though I was reading it for proofing purposes and checking for typos and whatnot... I found myself liking Paula, my heroine, and falling for Rafe, the hero, all over again. And also enjoying secondary characters like Michiko the white sorceress and her lovers Hiro and Balthazar. I even, in a backwards about way, felt a smidgen of sympathy for the villainess, Isidora... although only a smidgen, I must admit.

Shall I read the whole thing through again today, for the second pass? [I always, always find more typos on the second pass, even if I think I've got them all on the first.] Probably not... I'm two days ahead on the job, so I think I need a mind clearing day before I tackle it again. Perhaps I'll spend a little time later on, checking some of the flagged up things against the manuscript... or perhaps I won't? We'll see...

But it does feel strange to have enjoyed my own story so much. Mainly because Gothic Heat was a difficult book to write, and during its writing I often felt I'd made a mistake agreeing to do it because a] it's ten years since Gothic Blue and b] I began from a standing start, with virtually no plot or outline or anything, just the simple commission to write 'a sequel'. And yet, it all turned out okay, or at least it seems to have worked out okay. I've ended up with a story I really like, with quite a touching love story at the heart of it.

I don't know what readers and reviewers of Gothic Heat will think of it, and I'm sure they'll find plenty of faults and shortcomings in it - but at least I've enjoyed reading it again! :)

Does this all sound big-headed? Do other authors feel this way about their work?

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Telly: not yet
Choc/Yummy: not yet
Mood: okay, but strange
Writing: checking Gothic Heat
Reading: Claiming the Courtesan
RSI/FMS: tired, achy, same old, same old


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Sunday 25 November 2007

a lovely compliment

My writing buddy Dayle A. Dermatis took this picture in a Powells Book Store in Portland, Oregon. Isn't it wonderful? :)

In spite of having proofs to correct, and an ever mounting list of jobs to do, yesterday was a complete washout. I had a naggling migraine all day, and with it being a weekend, and a shorter day due to a lie in, nothing whatsoever from my list got done. Spent most of the time either drowsing, or watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3. The latter was good, but not as good as the first in the series. I liked the lightness and colourfulness of the first one better, this was a bit too plot heavy. Okay, but not great...

Today is a shorter day too, and I'll probably not get a great amount done, esp. when himself gets back from his clay pigeon shooting and we get involved in chatting and maybe watching TV. We'll also be going out later [cos we didn't yesterday] so there'll be no evening work.

But tomorrow, I will be good and get on with those proofs and my other jobs! If I'm not around much, don't worry, I'm just a bit busy. :)

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Telly: Natural History of Britain
Choc/Yummy: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: okay
Writing: nothing yet
Reading: nothing yet
RSI/FMS: not too bad


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Saturday 24 November 2007

fear and loathing of page proofs


Agh, those GOTHIC HEAT proofs have arrived! And I'm skeert to death of them!

I hate checking proofs. There's a pleasure in seeing the book as it's going to look when it's on sale, and it makes it all very real... but I'm always terrified, that, no matter how much checking I've done before I lobbed the thing off to the editor, I've committed some almighty continuity boo boo that has also slipped by in the copy editing process. Some stupid plot loophole that renders the whole thing ridiculous... I'm looking at the envelope with the proofs in now, and I feel slightly sick to my stomach. I've put them back in there because they make me shudder just to have them out in the open. But I've got to see to them, because, as usual, there's not really a great deal of time in which to scrutinise them.

All of the above means that my Sweat70 progress will grind to a shuddering halt for a while, unless I can somehow manage to just do a bit in between rounds of checking...


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Telly: not yet
Choc/Yummy: iced bun... for breakfast!
Mood: terrified
Writing: proofs... shudder...
Reading: Claiming the Courtesan - Anna Campbell
RSI/FMS: usual


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Friday 23 November 2007

A Serious Dilemma...

Should I start watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3? Or save it until this evening or over the w/e? It arrived in the post this morning, and it's taunting and tempting me... but I need to:

1. write some of IN TOO DEEP
2. think about another possible novella idea and maybe write a bit of that
3. polish a guest blog bit I'm doing
4. do some other blog related thingoids
5. finish adding all my widgets to this blog
6. do my accounts, sorely out of date
7. brace myself for incoming proofs of GOTHIC HEAT [oh God!]

And those are only the most critical jobs that need doing, there are a zillion more... and yet I keep feeling myself being ensorcelled by Captain Jack's siren call...



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Telly: LOCI
Choc/Yummy: iced bun
Mood: oppressed
Writing: nowt yet
Reading: Claiming the Courtesan - Anna Campbell
RSI/FMS: tired, achey


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Wednesday 21 November 2007

He's getting impatient with me...



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Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Tuesday 20 November 2007

New Look!

I'm feeling so not like writing at the moment, so inspired by my buddy Madelynne Ellis, I've given this ol' blog a slightly new look! Still got quite a few of my sidebar bits to reintegrate, but I had too much crap there anyway, so maybe that's a good thing! :)

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Telly: Top Gear etc
Choc/Yummy: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: fed up
Writing: not
Reading: not
RSI/FMS: sore and tired


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

my alter ego?

I've found my 'separated at birth' twin at ICanHasCheezburger.


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Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Monday 19 November 2007

Ack, it's one of those Mondays!



--
Telly: classic Mission Impossible
Choc/Yummy: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: low, exasperated, powerless
Writing: nowt
Reading: nowt
RSI/FMS: weary, unable to focus mentally


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Friday 16 November 2007

50%







--
Telly: Band of Brothers
Choc/Yummy: custard creams
Mood: goodish
Writing: 1.3K In Too Deep
Reading: not much
RSI/FMS: bit weary


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

a very strange pattern...

This has happened a few times in the last week... I spend the entire day fuzzed and befuddled by 'stuff' and I don't have the energy or the inspiration to write. Then, come evening time, panic, and the combined disapproval of Kuffer, Professor Hottie, Mr Blue and Sven, all bears down on me and I feel compelled to at least try and write a bit. I usually just scrape to the 1K mark with some very inferior prose, but that's about it.

I'm getting the words down therefore, but I still worry that what I've got is a pile of irredeemable horse plop that's gone entirely in the wrong direction...

--
Telly: nothing yet
Choc/Yummy: mini battenburg
Mood: low
Writing: nothing yet
Reading: Along for the Ride, Michelle Pillow
RSI/FMS: sore, esp. wrists


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Thursday 15 November 2007

Mr Blue gets hardcore...


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Telly: Top Gear
Choc/Yummy: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: stupid
Writing: none
Reading: none
RSI/FMS: tired


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

retooled GH cover

Here's the new, slightly reworked trade paperback sized cover of GOTHIC HEAT. Much the same as before, although I must say I preferred it when you could actually see the kiss. But, I can't complain at the size of my name... it's gigantic. The print, that is, not my name as in my rep as a writer! LOL

In other news it's a v. slow start today. For one reason or another I was up until 1am this morning, surfing the web and watching stupid television, and now I'm knackered. Not conducive to clear thinking and story telling, no way... And something has dawned on me about IN TOO DEEP in the last day or so. I'm approaching the half way mark and there hasn't been an actual shag yet!!! Loads of looking, teasing, fiddling about, erotic challenging, fantasising and exchanging of rude letters and sexy IMs... and even a blow job. But no full on how's yer father.

Some kind of weird erotic romance novel, eh?

--
Telly: nothing yet today
Choc/Yummy: soon
Mood: okay
Writing: thinking about ITD
Reading: WebUser
RSI/FMS: tired, achy, so what's new?


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Wednesday 14 November 2007

bribes v. threats

The Prof is trying a different tactic with me, as opposed to the threats I endure from Mr Blue and Kuffer! Will it work? We'll see...

Yesterday was tough going. As usual, I got sidetracked by something, as I mostly do and didn't do any writing during the actual day time... I spent most of my time trying to find out about standard book sizes, as it now looks like my Black Lace novels will be published in a trade paperback size from next April onwards. Gothic Heat will be the first one in this new format, so watch this space for the slightly revised cover. Quite similar to the first version, only my name is freaking enormous!

Any road up, tortured by guilt I was driven to start writing in the evening, and actually managed a fairly presentable 1.1K. As usual the value of said words remains debatable, but at least it's something to edit. I do often wonder if I should try and get more action into my writing [no, not that kind of action...]. A lot of writers have their characters racing around fighting villains or supernatural beings or going to places and generally being energetic, whereas most of my writing seems to feature just two people sitting in a smallish room playing games of psychological and erotic oneupmanship with each other... and as often as not, it's not even actual shagging! I suppose this is because I'm sadly depleted in the plotting gene...

So, what's your preference... Loads of fights and actions scenes and derring do? Or enigmatic smiles and staring each other out while the inner arousal level climbs to critical mass?

--
Telly: not yet
Choc/Yummy: not yet
Mood: okay
Writing: not yet
Reading: Along for the Ride - Michelle Pillow
RSI/FMS: bit sore, tired


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Monday 12 November 2007

flippin hawt....

Got a fabulous mention over the weekend at Bella Michelle's wonderful Romance B[u]y the Blog. I just swung by as I usually do, to see what was cooking... and found this wonderful post featuring me along with a couple of other erotic romance authors and a fascinating discussion of the sub genre.

It was a lovely surprise to find this... as I'd no idea it was going to appear! :)

Flippin' Hawt


--
Telly: various
Choc/Yummy: mini choc brioche
Mood: mixed
Writing: nothing yet
Reading: ComputerActive
RSI/FMS: bit achey and all that


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Saturday 10 November 2007

It lives!

After three days of downtime due to stress and crap IN TOO DEEP is finally moving slowly forward again! Have just done a thousand words... thank God for that!


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Telly: Numb3rs extras
Choc/Yummy: various
Mood: better
Writing: 1K In Too Deep
Reading: nothing much
RSI/FMS: sore and tired


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

so tired...


Not one of mine but very cute... and the graphic says it all.

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Telly: not yet
Choc/Yummy: not yet
Mood: dull
Writing: none
Reading: none
RSI/FMS: see above


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Thursday 8 November 2007

Lost in Space

Drifting aimlessly, lost my tether, knocked off trajectory by crap and stess... letting down my 'boys'...

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Telly: Numb3rs
Choc/Yummy: various
Mood: dispirited
Writing: not a bloody thing
Reading: not a bloody thing
RSI/FMS: tired, run down, aching


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Wednesday 7 November 2007

BUDDIES at LUSTBITES


I'm posting at the Lustbites blog today with a fun Q&A [questions posed by my chum Janine Ashbless!] a hot excerpt and a prize draw for people who comment on the post there.

So go here: BUDDIES DON'T BITE

And don't forget to leave a comment so you get a chance of the prize... it's a copy of the Lustbites vamp anthology and a copy of Gothic Blue!!!

--
Telly: Numb3rs S.3
Choc/Yummy: Lindor Dark
Mood: foul/chainsaw
Writing: nothing yet
Reading: nothing yet
RSI/FMS: tired, achy


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Sunday 4 November 2007

scraping by...

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Professor H, I should be trying to do a tad more than my basic 1K... but it's been a struggle these last few days, to be honest. It's 11.13pm now, and I've just scraped by my goal wordcount. And I'm not sure that the actual words themselves are any good... the text feels a bit dead at the moment.

Thing is, I'm allowing myself to get stressed about things that I really shouldn't get stressed about. Stuff that's just not worth it... meaningless in the grander scale of things. But anyone who visits here regularly will know how I am... I fret over things that I ought to laugh off because they're stupid.

Any road up, crap words or no crap words, I've now officially done a third of In Too Deep! So even if it is total horse plop, there'll be time when the first draft's done to fix it.

And that's a comfort...

--
Telly: Moto GP, Top Gear
Choc/Yummy: Lindor
Mood: fed up with various stuff
Writing: 1K In Too Deep
Reading: nothing much today
RSI/FMS: very sore generally, plus wrists


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Friday 2 November 2007

thanks to Saskia!!!


And the delicious skinniccinos and toasties at BB's... I'm in a much, much better mood today!

Writing is a bloody lonely business and while online friendships and associations can be enriching and rewarding, there is nothing, but nothing to beat a face to face with a like-minded chum who's really on the same wavelength. I think the lunches I share every month or two with the wonderful Saskia Walker really help to keep me sane in a world that's sometimes utterly crazy and perplexing.

As usual we were in 'frightening the natives mode', and pretty soon an exclusion zone established itself around us as punters with delicate sensibilities swiftly moved away to tables out of earshot of our frank and occasionally even so slightly raucous [me] talk about writing, erotic romance, publicity, blogging, other authors, promo, editing... and the general bonkersness of the romance author's life. Safely away from the internet and being eavesdropped on by any actual authors/bloggers/online personalities, we can dish the dirt with a delicious lack of inhibition. I would imagine by the time we're finished there are quite a lot of furiously burning ears dotted all around the globe. Saskia, of course, is wiser, kinder and far more generous-spirited than I am, but she tolerantly smiles and listens to my repeated and extended tirades of venting!


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Telly: nothing much
Choc/Yummy: cheese and ham toastie
Mood: good
Writing: not yet
Reading: ARC
RSI/FMS: tired and achy, but not too bad


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!

Thursday 1 November 2007

my mood today

There are so many people annoying me today that I don't even want to begin to list them. I'm in one of my moods of general poisonous resentfulness and ill humour... but fortunately I have one or two nice things that will lift me out of it presently...
  • out to lunch tomorrow with fabulous buddy Saskia Walker!
  • hair looking splendidly blonde now, due to the ministrations of Anne, my hairdresser supreme
  • I still have 20 Eppesodes of Season Three of Numb3rs to watch... mmm Charlie goodness!
  • mmm too for mini choc chip brioches
Not sure if I'll achieve my writing goal today, or tomorrow, but I'm nicely in hand and hey, writing isn't everything in life.

--
Telly: see above
Choc/Yummy: see above
Mood: see above
Writing: not yet
Reading: not in the mood
RSI/FMS: sore and tired


Don't forget Portia's Promos - new stuff being added all the time!