Keep it up, Portia!

Well, I've had a really good firs week on the Seventy Days of Sweat challenge. Yesterday, in spite of already having reached my weekly goal total, and thus being subject to the temptation to take a day off, I managed to clock up a tidy 1K words and maintain my output. Now, that means I could have a day off today... The total on the right shows that I've already 'done' today's writing, but I'm determined not to succumb to slacking this time round, so hopefully I'll be working.

The other big news is that crit partner Saskia has read all of KISS IT BETTER now and she really likes it and thinks it works! Wahey! Feel *so* much better now... I was so incredibly worried about this one. There are some tweaks and bits to do to it, but nothing radical, so it looks as if it's going to be ready nicely in time for the deadline. I also have to read through and polish a short story for a Black Lace anthology for around the same date, although that's not a commissioned piece, so crossed fingers will be required that it meets with approval.

My other ongoing projects are my two remaining Spice Briefs to finish [first of those is well on the way] and a couple more stories I'd like to write for subbing to two other Black Lace anthos. After that, who knows...

Readers, what would you like ol' PDC to tackle next?

Busy Week!

It's been a busy week this week!

Started out by reading through and editing my main WiP, KISS IT BETTER. Was worried about this book, but as I read it, I discovered that I didn't think it was quite as crappy as I'd feared, and ended up really enjoying certain bits of it. Even though I'd written it... It's a fairly frisky and sexy story, but there's also sort of reunited lovers angle in there too, that tends to make me go 'ah' a bit, even though I wrote it. Whether it'll induce that reaction in my readers remains to be seen, but preliminary news from crit partner Saskia is very encouraging. The first half at least gets a thumbs up from her, although I'm rather afraid that, thanks to me, she might never be able to put Lurpak spreadable butter on her jacket potatoes ever again! LOL

At the same time as all this KIB activity, I've also been participating in the Seventy Days of Sweat challenge... and trying to rack up *new* words on a different project entirely. This is unusual for me, as I'm the world's worst multi tasker, but actually, I've managed much better than I expected, and I've written about 5.5K words on SECOND TIME AROUND, which is a commissioned Spice Briefs novella, and the second story in my Risque Reunions trilogy. STA is about a couple who were married then divorced, but who meet up again at a school reunion. In the meantime, both have grown up, and learnt a lot about themselves. They discover a new perspective on their relationship, their sensual needs... and their love. I'm enjoying writing this, especially as Mr Daniel Craig has kindly agreed to star in the role of James. [honestly, I'd chosen the name and the storyline first... before I even cast 007 in the part!]

Lusting with Sven

SEVENTY DAYS OF SWEAT starts today! Click on Sven to visit the gym for last minute sign up!

Short, sweet but super hawt excerpt from IN TOO DEEP at Lust Bites today!

Click here to see what Gwendolynne does to take Daniel's mind off his troubles... ;)

I have another tough coach on my case!

It's nearly that time again...

SEVENTY DAYS OF SWEAT starts again on 10th November, and here's my new coach, joining the ever growing cast of motivating blokes necessary to keep me from slacking and frittering all my time away!

Why not zip over to the SWEAT70 SIGN UP PAGE and get ready to join the torture... sorry, fun!

Today's Hot Links!

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME - PORTIA DA COSTA @ eHarlequin

HOT ON HER TAIL - SASKIA WALKER @ eHarlequin

SEVENTY DAYS OF SWEAT - Round #4 coming soon!

Finally... some decent progress...

Finally, some decent daily word counts for the Seventy Day Challenge! The last couple of days have been much more productive, with a very handy 1.8K on Thursday and a useful 1.5K on Friday. I was beginning to think that I was flunking the current challenge completely, but it seems I might be starting to do a bit better at last.

My current WIP is a bit of an experiment, the first in a trio of three long short stories/short novellas about people who meet up again, after several years, at a school reunion. The one I'm working on now is a bit rough and ready, a bit scrappy at the moment, to be honest. But it's words in a file that can be edited, so maybe I can make something worthwhile out of it in the editing. It's the story of Caitlyn, who fancied both Drew and Steve in sixth form college, and ten years later, gets the chance to pick up where she would have liked to have left off... with both of them!!!!

I am not...

... quite such a deadbeat today!

Much to my relief, I'm back on the challenge horse and have racked up a tidy 1.6K words today, on a newish project. It's a novella, based on a school reunion, which might turn into three novellas if the ideas gel properly. It started out not going so smoothly, but now I'm more in the zone with it, and I'm liking my new characters more. It's a story about a woman who discovers that the boy she used to fancy madly at school actually fancies his male best friend... and that the two of them also fancy *her* too... ooh la la!

I've also had a pretty productive day generally, doing chores like sorting out promo, ordering author copies of my forthcoming titles, Gothic Heat and Gemini Heat, and ordering my new bookmarks and postcards, designed for me by the fabulous Frauke of Croco Designs.

I have another new coach!

Probably only the UK readers will get this one... :)

One Day Down...

Well, it was a pretty good first Sven day!

I edited about five chapters of IN TOO DEEP, and despite many qualms about this one, I didn't find it too horrifically bad. It's pretty light on plot, but I'm starting to really like Gwendolynne, and her fairly grounded attitude to life, sexy mindgames, and her larger than sylphlike size. She's excited by the sudden naughty goings-on that she's becoming immersed in, but she's pretty down to earth too.

Later, when I'd done a good editing stint, I even went so far as to do a bit of writing on a different project too. Now this is a gamble, because I can usually only keep one set of characters in my head at once, but I thought I'd give it a shot, as I wanted to get some actual words laid down for the challenge, as well as just the editing. Plus, editing can be intense, and this other thing was like a 'refresher'... Not sure whether this new thing will amount to anything, as I'm not sure it's at all right for the project it's aimed at... but hey, it might come in for some other project at another time, or maybe turn into something suitable with editing.

I don't think I'll achieve nearly as much today, because I'm at a bit in ITD at the moment that needs some drastic reformatting. The characters are IMing each other, and the way I'd got it set out was confusing. So I'm having to do it a different way entirely... Plus, later, I'll be going out, so there'll be no extra evening working today.

Okay, let's get perspiring!

The fabulous Seventy Days of Sweat writing challenge starts again today! Bazillions of people have already signed up, but it's not to late to get on board and join the merry throng of writers all trying to achieve a wordcount per day of 1000 words or thereabouts. I'm one of the sponsors of this fun event, so hope to be attempting to offer encouragement as best I can to my fellow sweaters. As ever, I'm not sure what kind of example I am to others, but I always feel that if I'm not that great a role model, at least I'm showing the way you shouldn't do things, so others learn not to **** up the way I often do! LOL!

I'm actually starting off the challenge in editing mode, as it's now time to return to IN TOO DEEP the story of Gwendolynne, my buxom librarian and the ever so naughty Professor Hottie McHotstuff... It's about time I started posting some excerpts of this farrago of utter nonsense, so check back soonish and there might be a link to a frisky taster...

In the meantime here are some words of wisdom from the Prof...

And Mr Blue is fondling his UZI as we speak....

ps. Don't forget to visit the blogs of the other sponsors, who are HelenKay Dimon, Jaci Burton, Diana Peterfreund, Lauren Dane, Shiloh Walker and Larissa Ione.

an insane orgy of widgets

That's what my blog is turning into!

I'm especially fond of countdowns, and you'll see a new one on the left, already counting down to the end of the new Sweat with Sven Challenge that starts on Saturday! I'm sponsoring again, and I'll be trying to set a good, industrious example, but awkwardly, for the first couple of weeks, I'll probably be editing In Too Deep rather than adding new words to a WIP! But even if I'm not racking up the wordcount, I'll still be cheering everyone on and hopefully motivating everyone with words of wisdom. Not mine, 'cos I have no wisdom to speak of, but bon mots from the great and the good of the writing world!

Talking of the great and the good, check out the list of Sweatmates... there are some pretty big names amongst the throng!

Today, I sent my Victorian extravaganza to my lovely and long suffering critique partner and... she loved it! Yippee! I sort of knew it had a certain je ne sais quoi myself, but with me not being a regular historical writer, I really wasn't confident to judge. Any road up, Mrs. Sofia Harewood and her naughty 'educational' chums have been lobbed off to my agent, who will read their story, sigh at it's magnifience, then lob it off to the lovely editor, who will also sigh, think 'this woman is awesome... I need to give her a huge contract... for she is the next big thing'... and I will be in Tesco buying champagne instead of bottled water and alcohol free lager!

Sven's back... and so are my guys!

The new Seventy Days of Sweat Challenge starts on 1st March... so that's seventy days of writing 1K per day, hopefully, or doing the equivalent in editing and polishing. Most Sweaters will be under the stern thumb of Sven...


While I, of course, will be subject to my own coaches, Mr Blue and Professor Hottie, each with their own idiosyncratic approaches to making me write... :)









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Telly: Numb3rs, Strictly Ballroom
Choc/Yummy: fruit... yawn...
Mood: busy
Writing: editing Thief
Reading: nothing today
RSI/FMS: sore


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

The challenge is over, long live the challenge!

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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!

Mr Blue gets hardcore...

--
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!

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!

Kuffer has something to say...

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

Wowee, I'm posting at Sven's Gym today!

Go here today to read my thoughts on why writing is like cats... or summink.

Meanwhile back at base, despite the best efforts of Team Portia [Mr Blue, Professor Hottie and Kuffer's Claws of Death] I only managed to get around 1K of words done yesterday. Yes, I know that's meeting my target, but after several over-target days, it feels like a letdown. But I had so many bits of jobs to deal with, not least of all weird stuff with my bank account. Not bad stuff - in fact it might be good! - but it still takes time ringing up places to find out what's going on.

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While you're here, please, please, please pop over the the Night Owl Romance Awards and vote for me in the Best Erotic Contemporary Ebook!

If you love you some Portia click here and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE every day until 31st October!

Monitoring my progress

Here's a photo of Genghis Khat aka Kuffer, pictured with the high tech recording device that I use to log my Sweat70 progress.

Thankfully, I managed 2K words yesterday, and 1.5K so far today, so my lip is safe for the time being...


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While you're here, please, please, please pop over the the Night Owl Romance Awards and vote for me in the Best Erotic Contemporary Ebook!

If you love you some Portia click here and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE every day until 31st October!