Meanwhile in the Dumpster...

Here's a photo of the Dumpster Office of Doom that shows real improvement!

I now have a desk. With a phone. And a lamp. There's still a mass of stuff to sort and get rid of, but it's sort of homey and more comfortable in there. I have a basket chair to sit in, with a proper back rest and a lovely purple velour seat cushion on order, as well as a pink faux suede footstool. I'm starting to go in there to eat lunch and read, as well as to shred paper and decide what to throw away. Haven't really worked, as such, in there yet, but I'm moving towards that.

I think when I make some more significant progress in the clearing out, and possibly get rid of a huge table that's still in there, and replace it with something smaller, I might indulge in a comfy office/gaming/recliner type chair too. I've bookmarked a few likely ones on Amazon.

Writing progress is still very stately. I don't have the attention span and focus I used to have [and I didn't have much at the the best of times] so my word count, though daily, is very modest. I'm still working on Her Lover's Secret, filling in the gaps I left in the first draft. I wish I could write faster. I wish I could spend more hours a day on it. But I just can't, at the moment. So I plug on at a very steady rate, and hope for the best.

Writing?

As you know, I've been writing a thing called Thing, a sort of generally romantic women's fiction non-plotted writing exercise just to keep my hand in. I've done about 8K of this 'thing' so far, and while I like it, it's not really going anywhere as, of course, it has no real structure, no angst, no conflict, and none of the other things that constitute a good piece of fiction. But, I'm not writing it to sell. I'm writing it to keep writing, in the hopes that soon I'll return to writing something readers will actually enjoy.

However, I'm now starting to feel inklings of an urge to return to the project I was working on when I stalled, which is a sensual romance romance novella, #4 in my Secret Pleasures series. It was called The Boss's Secret, but I've decided that doesn't really fit right. Lawrence, the hero, is more than Rachel's boss. He owns the company and quite a few others. I see 'boss' as someone that a character interacts with every day, on site, whereas Lawrence is a distant, lofty figure who only very occasionally might visit her workplace. So, a new tentative title is Her Lover's Secret, which I think is evocative and fits the story better.

Her Lover's Secret started out with one hero template, and now has a different one, probably just as unlikely. He's a gorgeous man, but not conventionally so. As Lover's Secret is an older hero story, he has white streaks in his hair, and he's in his late forties. He's also about 6' 7" tall!

Above is a draft cover I designed for Her Lover's Secret, but I'm not sure I'll use it. I may even go mad, and get a pro designer to do me a cover. It's rather difficult to find cover images when you have a very specific looking hero with silver streaked hair, so you generally have to go with a 'headless' cover in these cases. And show his chest rather than his face and hair! LOL

'Lawrence'

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Update

For everyone wondering what I'm up to...

Yes, I am writing. But I've had to put aside the WIP I was working on. Again. Even though I love the characters and their story, and have introduced some really fun elements, there are some aspects of the story that I just don't seem to be able to write well at the moment, so I'm giving myself a rest from it. Another rest.

I'm sure that mojo will come back in its own good time, but for the moment I'm tinkering with a different story. One that I'm really writing just for fun, as an experiment and to keep the writing muscle exercised. I refer to it as 'thing' and I'm not really sure what genre it is, and I'm not sure I'll ever publish it. It certainly would never be accepted by a publisher, as it's not commercial or in a hot category. If pressed, I'd say it's sort of romance, but with a side of very light women's fiction. It's just a 'thing'. :)

At the moment, I'm enjoying 'thing' and just puttering along, writing a few hundred words a day in this new world. Which is better than not writing at all, as I did on my recent 'hiatus'.

In other news, I like to think I'm being creative in another way. For a long time, I've talked online about the Dumpster Office of Doom, my office which turned into an episode of Hoarders, more or less. Well, I finally decided to do something about it. I mean, really do something rather than pick at the edges of the horrible mess of books and papers and general crap. I've been filling black rubbish bags, and bags of books/bric a brac etc to send to charity, and bags of paper to recycle. I've also bought a swishy new shredder, which is doing sterling service with the more sensitive stuff ie stuff with addresses and drafts of copyrighted work.

And I'm really making progress! I can see huge areas of floor that haven't been visible for at least 10 years! I got rid of one of the 3 large tables that were taking up space, and I'm roaring through the heaps of paper and magazines and whatnot. I'd estimate I've maybe done 40% of the job so far, and my goal is to reclaim the office as a usable space by the end of 2016. It's very tiring work, especially for an oldie like me, who also has fibromyalgia and some arthritis. But it's like the writing. A little bit of meaningful work each day on the task will get me to my goal eventually. :)

I'm also keeping up with my Mini Habits of reading each day, and journaling each day, and I'm delighted to say that my calendar with glittery stars for each achievement has never been lacking. I've always been able to stick on my full quota of stars each day. I've also added a new 'habit' of one promotional/online presence thing per day. It doesn't matter if it's the tiniest, most unobtrusive item, maybe just one Tweet, but it's just a way to let people know I'm still around, and even if I'm not publishing much, I'm still working towards it, in my own way.

This blog post is today's promo/presence 'habit'. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

January Roundup

January has been a reasonably productive month. Not stellar, but at least I've made some progress on a variety of fronts. THE BOSS'S SECRET is moving forward; fairly slowly, but at least it's moving. Which it wasn't at all for the last third of 2015. I'm not sure how long a story it's going to end up being. Probably between 40K to 45K words, which is a chunky sized novella.

I've also done a lot more reading in January 2016. I've read quite a few Jean Plaidy novels, but I'm taking a rest from them now. Historical novels very often feature figures from history who had very imperfect lives that do not end up happily. And while this makes for fascinating reading, it's also a bit depressing too. So sue me if I like happiness and good outcomes! That's why I like romantic stories with 'happily ever after' endings.

I've also been reading non fiction, especially the Mini Habits book, and another book from that author, How to be a Perfectionist. Both these have been enormously helpful to me in my outlook on productivity and life in general. They both promote acceptance, rather than being hard on oneself. And help one to develop a realistic and more contented way of dealing with the past and moving forward. It's all so simple, and many thanks to Stephen Guise!

I've also been thinking about redoing my web site. I decided that I'm not going to pay ridiculous annual license fees to Adobe in order to continue using Dreamweaver, so I've had to look for alternatives. Mac alternatives now that I'm a thoroughly committed Mac user. In the last week or so, I discovered Rapidweaver, and this seems to be the solution I've been looking for... and fun to use! I'm only footling about with test sites at the moment, but sometime in 2016 I hope to produce a new Portia Da Costa site. It won't be swish and glamorous like some author web sites. Not a 'cult of me' site. One of the reasons is that I don't have much in the way of author photos, and I won't be getting any new ones. I'm a fat, haggard old blob now, and due to allergies, I can't wear the makeup that might make me look marginally more presentable. That means the only pix of me going forward will be the horrible truth, in the form of goofy selfies, taken with my iPad! LOL

Things I'd like to do in coming months are finish BOSS, hopefully start something new, and maybe get some of my self published work into a print format. Maybe by bundling short things together. I've also got stuff I really, really need to get out there. It's no good to anybody just festering on various hard disks of mine.

I'm sure progress will still continue to be snail like compared to most writers, but I do feel positive and optimistic, and I hope to enjoy myself. And that's what's important to me! :)

Thoughts in the shadow of a gathering migraine

I think I might be getting a migraine today, which is a bit annoying, because I've been doing quite well so far in 2016 achievements-wise. With luck though, I might be able to fend off the worst with meds. Fingers crossed.

I was looking at my publishing schedule this year, and I discovered that I don't really have one! The only firm title is a Black Lace reprint, MASTER OF THE GAME, which comes out on the 11th February.

Master of the Game is really Continuum, an older title of mine, but hopefully a new name and a fresh new cover will bring it to the attention of readers who haven't discovered it before.

But apart from this, I have no firm publication dates. Nothing. Nada. It's my own fault, because of my hiatus and the problems I've been having with motivation, but it's still a bit of a shock for me after all these years of steady output and releases.

I'm currently working on The Boss's Secret, which is part of my Secret Pleasures self published series. I've been working on this a long, long time. I wrote a fair chunk of text before my hiatus, but all the time I was writing it, I knew it wasn't coming out right, so I ditched the whole lot and started again, completely from scratch, switching from an alternating first person present viewpoint to third person past, again alternating between the heroine Rachel's POV and that of Lawrence, the hero. I haven't done all that much yet, but it seems to be working okay. I've also altered the plot a bit, such as it is. I was getting myself all tangled up with the old version. Even for an unlikely romantic fantasy it was a bit stupid.

I think what I really need to do now is write a proper outline, so I know where I'm going... and I also need to work out what the boss's secret actually is!!! LOL

So that's my task ahead, if I beat the migraine!

Most unexpected...

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

Quick Saturday Update

Nothing much happening here at Casa Da Costa at the moment, although I'm alarmed at how fast this year is speeding by! October already... I can hardly believe it.

IN THE FLESH has now been sent to my editor. She's a very busy lady, and won't be able to read it immediately, but she has said she's looking forward to it immensely. Here's hoping it lives up to her expectations. :)

I've now finished a first draft of A GENTLEWOMAN'S RESCUE and I'm letting it settle a bit first, before I edit it. I originally intended this to be a slightly frivolous, almost fantasy interlude, but it's turned out to a wee tad deeper, touching on issues of self image and self esteem. Not a message piece, but maybe it's a bit more meaningful and a bit less silly than the original concept. I'm now mulling over ideas for the next Spice Brief, which has a working title of A GENTLEWOMAN'S FOIBLES, and is about a member of the Ladies' Sewing Circle who was initially a little bit prim, but has eventually loosened up, after listening to her friends' frisky talk. Mrs Mary Brigstock quickly becomes as kinky as the rest of the Circle, taking to naughty pervery like the proverbial duck to water! Much to the delight of Mr Brigstock!

Hope it's not too long before I'll be able to post excerpts of both of these stories.

In other news, I've been migrating. From one laptop to another. After serving me magnificently since around 2005, my original lappie has started throwing blue screens. It still works, but it's on borrowed time, and as I'm always reading horror stories of writing buddies and others who lose critical work due to failing hard disks etc, I thought I'd take action sooner rather than later... and end up regretting it. Last year, I bought a 2nd hand but refurbished laptop, similar to my existing one, and over the last couple of days I've been moving over my documents and programs and whatnots to the new one. I've got the majority of the necessary stuff transferred now, and backed up, so I can breathe easy for the time being.

Forward momentum...

After a day and a half of backtracking, in order to re-engage with my characters after a brief writing hiatus, I'm pleased to announce I'm now moving forward with the plot again. Yeehah!

Have just written a prickly little scene that deals with the aftermath of Beatrice and Ritchie's 'first time' ie. the first time they doooo eeeet, as opposed to all the sensual play they've been indulging in up until now. As Beatrice was a virgin, it's a bit of a big deal for her, and already, rightly or not, she's staring to forge deeper feelings for Ritchie than she knows she ought to, given their relationship is grounded in an 'indecent proposal' arrangement. Ritchie too senses that he's getting in deeper than he planned [ooer missis] and being a guy with a shed load of emotional baggage and complications in his life, that could lead to even more of the same ahead.

It's going to be a bumpy road for these two, I guess...

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Eating: more swiss roll
Watching: bit of British Superbikes
Reading: stalled on about four books, planning to read something different
Writing: IN THE FLESH
Feeling: fairly chipper

Back and forth

Have been back at work today on Victorianoid after a few days of procrastinating and doing other things.

I mostly find that when I've had a few days off from a book, I need to backtrack a bit to re-engage with the characters and the plot, and in this case, I went back about three [short] chapters, to rewrite and refine. I was going to change the 'action' in these scenes quite a bit, to follow what I laughingly call my outline, but on rereading the scenes, I think I'll keep the interaction between Beatrice and Ritchie pretty much as it is, and just change the outline! In my synopsis and outline thingoid, Ritchie was always the one pretty much calling the sexual shots, but as I've been writing, Beatrice has very much developed a mind of her own in these matters and is more sexually aggressive than I'd anticipated. I'm not sure how 'of her times' she is in this, but I'm sure that beneath the prim exteriors of many a Victorian miss or matron, there was a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to reach out and take hold of it... much like Beatrice, beneath the tablecloth in the restaurant of Belanger's Hotel. Think about it... ;)

I've also been thinking about length again [much like Beatrice during her under the table manipulations!] and have been reworking the outline with that in mind too. Have cut out some scenes, and some unnecessarily non-relationship type aspects, to leave more space for Beatrice/Ritchie emotion and sensuality. I know a novel needs *some* plottiness, but not at the expense of the love and sex stuff in this kind of book ie. an erotic romance.

Anyway, feel better to be writing again... even if my wordcount has shrunk today, having cut out 300 words of dead wood and cringe-inducing clunkiness. I don't think super fast drafting will ever be for me, because the absolute tosh I write when I'm racing just makes me wince. I'd rather work more slowly, and go back and forth with the thing, and then know/hope that the prose isn't too horrendously awful when I've finished the first draft. :)

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Eating: a lot of chocolate swiss roll
Watching: Victorian Farm/Victorian Kitchen Garden
Reading: my outline
Writing: Victorianoid
Feeling: not bad

The Long and the Short of it

Over the past couple of days I've been procrastinating. Not an unusual thing for me. I've actually been doing some quite useful stuff while I've been 'not writing', in that I've made inroads into some long needed tidying up and sorting out of both my web site and the book sidebar on this blog. You probably won't notice a great deal of difference in either of them, but it's part of a process of creating more order and uniformity [don't laugh]. It's not finished yet, but both in the blog bar and on the homepage of my site, I've been streamlining links and centralizing all the info for each book on its own individual excerpt page, hence the sudden appearance of a smattering of 'Info/Excerpt/Buy' type clickables [that one leads to IN TOO DEEP, picked at random].

Anyway, while I've been engaged in all this techy/semi creative type activity, hopefully my higher brain function [yeah, right...] will have been mulling over thoughts and issues to do with IN THE FLESH aka Victorianoid. The main thing at the moment is that it's turning out as if it's going to be far too long! I always start out each book worrying if I'm going to 'get the wordcount' ie. whether my undeniably tissue paper flimsy plots will stretch to the required number of words for the publisher's guidelines. I do always manage it, because all sorts of things occur to me as I'm writing and the stories usually turn out richer than I dared dream of when I began... But this time, with IN THE FLESH, I seem to be heading for a massive over-run if I don't streamline the plot a bit. Yes, even the slight plot I've developed for this one seems to be very complex by my standards and needs a goodish bit of wordage. Plus, it's a historical, and the defining historical characteristics of setting and world-building are like extra characters and plot twists in themselves. So they need space too.

So, it's a question of constant monitoring and balancing... One thing that HAS to stay in is masses of delicious, naughty sensuality between my characters, and their emotional and psychological voyage of discovery. Those elements are the bedrock and the raison d'etre [oooh, posh] of my writing and my readers expect and are entitled to those elements... in very large amounts!

I can do this. [I once wrote a 100,000 word long book under another pseudonym] And the challenge is exciting and fun and good for me because I need to grow as a writer. But it does need a fair bit of brain bashing and the occasional step back to review and reassess. Which is what I've been doing these last few days... And the good thing about a little 'holiday' from the writing is, I'm absolutely dying to get back to Beatrice and Mr. Ritchie and find out what incredibly sexy and scandalous thing they're going to do next!

Writing a baddie!

In the last couple of days, I've been thinking about and writing about the baddie in my WIP. Now this is tough for me, because I'm a sucker for sympathetic characters, even when they're sexy, somewhat domineering alpha heroes... but the dastardly Eustace Lloyd's actions have a pivotal effect on the plot of IN THE FLESH, so I don't think it'll work to have him simply referred to, rather than put in an actual appearance. In fact, come to think of it, a dirty trick that Eustace plays on my heroine, Beatrice Weatherly, initiates the entire plot of the book. Not that there's a *huge* amount of plottiness. I'd be the first to admit that my stories depend mainly on characters, erotic interplay and emotions, rather than a lot of racing around doing things.

Because I mostly like 'nice' characters, I don't write many nasty ones. I think the last proper villain I wrote ie. one without much in the way of redeeming features, was Isidora, the wicked sorceress in my GOTHIC duo, Gothic Blue and Gothic Heat. Now she was a very bad girl, and totally ruthless, and didn't care what she did to people as long as she got what she wanted. Readers seemed to like her, and I must admit, she was fun to write, so maybe I can channel some of that irredeemable mojo into Eustace... although I'm already looking for reasons for him being the way he is. Not that I'll have much time to go into his back story. I've nearly got three quarters of my wordcount done, and I'm only half way through the plot!

Looks like this book is due some stringent and carefully considered cutting and compressing in the editing... or it's going to be a helluva sight longer than the projected 95K words!

Now then... shall I do a bit more Eustaceness? Or return to Beatrice and Mr. Ritchie and their delicious bedroom games? Hee hee!


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Eating: far too much sweet stuff
Watching: The Mentalist, Numb3rs etc
Reading: Patience - Lisa Valdez/Sherlock Holmes for Dummies
Writing: IN THE FLESH aka Victorianoid
Feeling: so so

Chugging along...

Despite yesterdays mini tantrums over the state of the office, I'm still managing to keep the first draft of IN THE FLESH chugging along. It's pretty rough and ready at the moment, but I plan enhance and polish and layer in both deeper emotion and more historical detail as I work on the second draft. What I'm putting in place now is really the skeleton, although I think some good little bits are already there.

This morning, I've been doing more work on a scene between Beatrice and her brother Charlie, and trying to paint their complicated but basically fond relationship. I enjoy the fact that I'm working in a slightly longer form for a different publisher now, where I can go into areas like this, instead of it constantly having to be *all* sex, sex, sex, with no room to expand on the rest of the characters' lives! Of course there will be masses of eroticism and naughtiness, because that's the centre of the story, and what drives it, but I like being able to surround that by more richness of detail and a more fully developed world for the characters to be sexy and outrageous in. :)

Ah well, must get on. I have a zillion other things to do today, as well as working on ITF... so must get to them, busy, busy, busy.

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Eating: grapes
Watching: nothing
Reading: Molesworth - screamingly funny!
Writing: In The Flesh
Feeling: not too bad

Why?

Do I suddenly have to keep signing in, again and again, to Blogger? Up until not long ago, I could sign in once in a session, then edit my sidebar thingies on the fly, from the page... not so now. Very annoying.

You'll be pleased to know that I've now begun moving forward again with IN THE FLESH. I spent yesterday pootling about with the 12K I'd completed and doing little tweaks and adjustments to reflect thoughts I've had and research I've uncovered since I first worked on it, many, many months ago. I was pleased to discover that I clicked with Bea, the heroine, again immediately. She's an interesting girl, brave and feisty, who looks on the positive side. She's made silly mistakes, but she's learning from them so she doesn't slip up in quite the same way again. I'm not sure that she's a totally strictly accurate Victorian young lady in her thinking, maybe... but she has to be what she'll be, that's the way I write. And I think I can avoid any super ridiculous anachronisms... ITF will be a bit wallpapery, but not too much, I hope.

Ritchie, I'm already liking very much again too. Especially his ruthless sexiness at this stage. I hope to bring out his more tormented and angsty side later, although it won't be black, bleak, miserable angst, just a guy trying to make the best of the hand life's dealt him.

I'm also, currently, opening the door to the mind of Charlie, Bea's brother, who's an unwise character although not a villain. I hope to make him grow stronger through the book, although at the moment he's teetering on the brink of an erotic tryst in a moonlit garden with another man... Very foolhardy indeed in an age where homosexuality was against the law, and he could go to prison and serve a term of hard labour. Eek, Charlie, be careful!



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Eating: chocolate finger biscuits
Watching: nothing yet
Reading: nothing yet today
Writing: IN THE FLESH aka Victorianoid
Feeling: quite positive

Bad blogger!

Ack, another blogging hiatus! I'm terrible, aren't I? I wish I could say it's because I'm pouring out thousands and thousands of shining words, but it isn't. I'm just foofing about wasting time, as usual.

I am working today though, on a short novella/long story for Spice Briefs. It's the second in my as yet unseen 'Gentlewoman' series, and it's about Mrs Prudence Enderby who gets abducted by an exotic rogue and made to perform erotic naughtiness for him in his luxurious perfumed hideaway. Hee! At the moment, she's being 'prepared' for him by his two hunky minons, Clarence and Yuri, who are very well set up lads, shall we say. Cue much perfumed massage and pampering... Frisky Prudence ought to be far more scared and ashamed than she actually is. She's a somewhat randy Victorian miss, and likes to go with the flow... LOL

Watch this space for more news of this mad but fun story!

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Eating: Tesco Value Jaffa Cakes
Watching: Snooker
Reading: Private Arrangements - Sherry Thomas
Writing: A Gentlewoman's Ravishment, 5K words so far
Feeling: nil bastardi carborundum

Jay's finally left home...

... and gone on to his HEA with his beloved Sandy!

The proof corrections have now left the building and I can move on to new projects! Glory Halleluia!!!

Today, I'm returning to a WIP that I originally worked on several years ago. It's fun and kinky story that I really enjoyed working on at the time, but boy do I see shortcomings in the writing now! I'm always raising the bar for myself, always expecting more of myself, and what satisfied me a few years ago, falls short today.

But returning to older work like this is extraordinarily satisfying. It's like a makeover show, and every change and improvement in the story is like... yes, I can do this, this is so much better!

So, a much pleasanter working day ahead for me... especially after the traumas of proof corrections! :)

I should never get off the Merry-Go-Round!

I've come to the conclusion that I should never completely get off the merry-go-round of writing, no matter how ill or tired or uninspired I feel.

If I ever stop writing for a day, it's twice as hard to start again the next day, and three times as hard if I leave it a couple of days... and so on, and so on. And so the feeling grows and perpetuates until writing becomes some horrible, hated monster I just can't face.

I've been falling off the merry-go-round quite a bit in this last month or two. Health problems, other worries, life crap and other disappointments have all put me again and again in a 'I'll take a break today' mood and those 'day' breaks have turned into longer and longer intervals between writing. And this just won't do!!!!

These gaps make me easily forget that I *can* actually write, and even if I'm not one of these golden, talented writers who everybody adores, I am quite good at some aspects of the craft, and quite a few people *do* love what I do! :)

I also forget how much I *enjoy* writing, if I don't do it. I somehow manage to block all memory of the pleasure I experience from writing, and only remember the hard aspects of it, like coming up with plots and ideas... I focus on my shortcomings instead of relishing and celebrating my strengths.

So, from today onwards, I will be engaged in attempt no. #23,742 to write a little bit of something every single day, even if I don't feel like it and haven't the foggiest idea what project to work on! Call this me getting an early start on my New Year's Resolutions!

What's going on...

Ack, another terrible gap in my blog, so better check in and report what's going on around here.

Not a great deal to be honest. At the moment, I seem to be bouncing around between quite a few writing projects and finding it hard to settle on just one. My head is a pot luck stew of ideas, all milling around together, rather than gelling into strong story concepts. My jottings notebook has bits and pieces from across about half a dozen different stories, novels and novellas. I find it a bit disquieting, to be honest, too, as I'm an author who usually likes to immerse herself in one big project and really get inside my characters and live their story.

I think I'll be more settled when I hear some news from publishing land. Apart from one remaining Spice Brief, I'm pretty much out of contract at the moment. I have some stuff 'out' and my agent is pursuing it, so hopefully, I might have something to focus on soon. But it's tough right now, for obvious reasons, and horror stories keep floating around. Authors dumped, lines contracting or disappearing, publishers cutting back all round. Very scary. As my agent said, though, all I can do is keep writing my fiction. Actually, she said 'the wonderful fiction that you write'... so I'm hoping that I can manage to be wonderful enough to snag a new contract of some kind soon. :)

On the home front, the recession or whatever you choose to call it is hitting hard too, just as it is for many thousands and thousands of families, small or larger, across the globe. Like everyone else, himself and I are looking to cut our bills a bit, and squish any tendencies towards extravagance. Looks like we'll be plumping for supermarket own brands and cheaper options more than ever from now on.

And it's certainly looking like yours truly will *not* be winging her way across the pond to RWA in 2009, much as I'd love to. I had such a ball this year, and met so many fabulous buddies, but a major, major expense like that is just out of the question in the short term future.... Wah!!!!!

Anyway, to cheer me up, and to cheer you gentle readers up, here's a goodie I found at Cute Overload that has me chortling every time I watch it... Enjoy!

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'm a rubbish blogger, aren't I?

Sorry for not blogging much lately. I have been pretty busy, what with one thing or another...

I've been trying to do a regular writing stint each day, towards a weekly total of 8000 words. Not massive by some people's standards, but enough so that if I keep chugging along at this rate, I'll reach my deadline on KISS IT BETTER fairly comfortably with time to spare for a good edit. Which it'll need!

This week, I've also been prepping an excerpt post for LUST BITES in Friday. This is a bit from IN TOO DEEP. I find it very, very hard to choose excerpts for these sorts of thing. I can never pick out a piece that seems to be standalone, and yet a good sample of the book. The bit I've chosen for Friday is pretty naughty stuff, so I hope anyone who reads this, will nip along and read and hopefully leave a comment. There will be a prize!

I've also been hanging about on Twitter quite a bit, something of which I'm unashamed. I love Twitter and I love my buddies there. I originally started tweeting as a way to have micro updates to this blog [see right] but inevitably, I got hooked into Twitter itself and the interaction with other Tweeters... But it's easy to do, and not too taxing on the grey matter. Just like chatting with a bunch of buddies, really.

Have been doing some reading and DVD watching too. I'm reading the Belle De Jour memoir and at the same time, watching the telly version on DVD. In some ways they're very different, but in others, the essence is the same. Am enjoying both. Belle is a very good writer. I didn't read the blog very much at the time the entries in the book were posted, but I like her conversational style. Dare I say that in some ways, it reminds me of my own first person writing?

Grovelling apologies...

... for being a rubbish blogger.

It's the usual excuses. Busy trying to engage with the old WIP and not doing so great. Trying to come up with some ideas for new book proposals. And generally feeling a bit rough and under the weather. The latter is nothing serious, nothing to worry about... just basically the knackerage of old age and damp weather produce aches and twinges.

Still slogging away with KISS IT BETTER, which you'll see by my counter is nearly a third done. I really need to buckle down and crack on with this though. Time is flying by, and the deadline of 1st December is fast approaching... along with Christmas!!!! Agh!

Proposals-wise... well, it's always a struggle. I am so crud at coming with new ideas! Have a few bits and bobs slowly coalescing, but my agent would like to be sending stuff out sooner, rather than later, so must try and focus on that too!

Keep watching my Tweets on the right, by the way. Even if I'm not doing full blog posts, I mostly twit on a bit, several times a day! :)