This Sunday will be a busy day for me. I’ll be signing copies of The Warrior’s Touch at the Newport News, VA Borders in Patrick Henry Mall from 1:00-3:00 p.m. If you live nearby, please feel free to stop by! I’m signing with Sydney Croft, aka Larissa Ione. We decided to give away a $20 Borders gift card to a lucky shopper, so if you come, you can drop your name in for a chance to win.
I’m also guest-blogging over at Risky Regencies on Sunday. I’ll be talking about The Warrior’s Touch and my own inspiration for the book. If you’ve read it, bring your questions! If not, I’m also offering up a signed copy to someone who posts a comment on the blog.
I think at the end of next week I will pass out with exhaustion. Today I finished getting my classroom ready, signed books over at Super K-Mart and a few at Borders while I was talking to the manager, and ran errands. It occurred to me that I should buy lunch goodies for my son, who starts kindergarten on Tuesday.
I’ve heard more parents groan about packing school lunches than anything else. Do you think I could train my five-year-old to pack his own? Any tips from the trenches for those of you who’ve been there, done that?
It’s been a busy week! Between getting ready for my school’s Open House and trying to finish my AA’s by this morning, my time has been completely sucked away. AA’s, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, are Author Alterations. My publisher sends a printed copy of my manuscript, and I have to do a final proofread for typos, misspellings, or other word issues. (It’s a little different from galleys or line edits, since the changes are already typed in.) I’m not allowed to do any story revisions, per se, at this point.
My books are copyedited out of London, which is always an adventure for me since I’m not always familiar with British spellings. Thank goodness for dictionary.com because I’m constantly looking at spellings and thinking, “Do they really spell it that way?” For example, the word jewelry is spelled jewellery. The “our” combinations like colour and honour don’t bother me because I’m used to them. I’ll never forget the first time I saw maneuver spelled as manouevre. I just about passed out.
Anyway, I sent those off last night and celebrated by watching a movie with my husband. It was very much a guy film, the movie “300,” but seeing really strong, buff men fighting was good eye candy. I could imagine getting a few romance heroes out of those men, even if it was quite gory.
Today I was *supposed* to get my gestational diabetes test done. My OB’s office said that as long as I had fasted an hour beforehand, it would be fine. This is the first time I’ve ever had it done in the hospital because apparently they’ve changed all the guidelines. I didn’t realize that A) you have to have an appointment and B) you can’t have it done unless you’ve fasted for eight hours. Darn that cup of coffee I had this morning! When I called the lab, they told me that it would mess up the results. So, I’ll get that done Friday instead. I’ve heard horror stories about the glucose drink and I am NOT looking forward to it. Ick.
Mel tagged me with a me-me, but I think I’ll share something else instead. Hers was a middle-name me-me where you describe characteristics of yourself by using your middle name. Instead, I’ll share with you the fact that Michelle is my middle name. My real first name is actually Mary. I’ve never been called Mary by anyone, but it used to drive me nuts when people who didn’t know me would call me by that name. I swore I’d never name any of my children in that way because I remember how frustrating that was.
I’m entering the third trimester now, and munchkin baby is trying my patience. Normally, sleeping isn’t that big of a deal. You find a comfortable spot on one side and rotate throughout the night like a pancake. My husband is not a big fan of this, understandably, because with my new girth I can practically make the man go rolling across the mattress without much effort.
With my other two children, usually I was fine until month 9. After that, I would typically sleep in another room, surrounded by every pillow in the house.
But for some reason, this child is mocking me. No matter what position I sleep in, the child rotates and uses its Jedi powers to send shooting pains through my ribcage. Can’t sleep on the left side, right side, on my back, or sitting up. At one point, I got on all fours, wondering if there was a way to suspend myself in the air. Last night I ended up twisting my body into some bizarre yoga-ish pose, trying to find some way to get comfortable. Four pillows were involved, including decorative throw pillows designed to put pressure on certain spots. Though it didn’t work all that well, eventually I managed to grab a few hours of sleep.
In the back of my mind, it makes me wonder what this baby will be like. Will it be a child like my son, who slept through the night at five months old? Or will it be like my daughter who didn’t sleep more than four hours in a row until she was ten months old? I think that’s the fun aspect of pregnancy…wondering what sort of personality your child will have. Since my own two have polar opposite reactions to everything, I can’t imagine how this one will be.
It’s not unlike having multiple books. Each one has its own distinct personality, and each one makes you tear your hair out in a different way. Right now I’m doing copy edits on Her Warrior King and although that book was one of the hardest I’ve ever written, it’s fun to read it back and think–wow. It actually came together.
On another note, I found out that The Warrior’s Touch is now on the shelves in stores! Let me know if you spot it in a store near you. Better yet, take a picture!
This made me chuckle (brought to you by my engineering husband). I believe every author suffers from this malady, and we should all engage in the exercise prescribed below:
At the moment, I’m working on my Irish slave book, and I thought I’d share some of the inspiration behind the story. Last year, I visited Ireland and went to a reenactment village at Craggaunowen. One of the smaller ringfort exhibits had a woodworker’s shelter set up, as you see here. This is a model of an ancient lathe, used to turn wood and make furniture. Since my own father is a woodworker, I was interested in seeing how a medieval craftsman would create furnishings and carvings. The character of Kieran O’Brannon was born in my mind.
He developed even further when I saw carvings like this one at Bunratty Castle. Although this is a 15th century piece made in Germany, the carving techniques must have been passed down. I’ve seen sculptures and stonework from ancient Egypt that were every bit as detailed as this. I started imagining Kieran carving a woman’s face, the face of a woman he loved but couldn’t have. And the rest of the story evolved from there.
I wanted to take the love story of Tristan and Iseult and give it a happy ending. It will still be wonderfully tragic and heartwrenching in places, but ultimately, I want these two to have happiness.
Speaking of tearjerkers, have you read any books lately that have been deeply emotional? Any that made you sniffle? If not, what’s your favorite movie that made you cry?
Perhaps I should wear black today. I have to return to work. The summer absolutely flew by this year, and it’s hard to think of going back. Big sigh. I still have until after Labor Day before the students arrive, but it’s now time for the days and hours of meetings. I may have to pack a chocolate stash to survive it.
In any event, this week turned out pretty well for me. I did reach my goal of hitting page 200 before I returned to work. So I have roughly 160 pages left on SLAVE. I love this feeling of being relaxed under deadline. Not only am I going to meet the deadline early, but it will build in some maternity leave time for me. The second book isn’t due until July 15th. Lots of time. I’m also *slowly* starting to figure out my own writing process and instead of being stressed out, I remember–oh yeah. I did this last time and it came out fine. Don’t worry.
In other news, I got a sneak peak at my new book cover. You can see it a pdf file in the previous link or a jpg file here. (Some folks can’t open pdf files, I realized.
What better way to celebrate a new sale than to meet author friends for dinner? My friends Amanda McCabe(shown on the far left) and Diane Gaston (far right) joined me in Colonial Williamsburg for an authors’ night out. Both came down to tour Jamestown and the historic triangle, so we agreed to meet for dinner at the Kings Arms Tavern. If you’re a historical author, you just can’t miss out on an 18th century reenactment dinner. We toasted sales and spent a wonderful time together.
The servers at The Kings Arms Tavern are all dressed in 18th century attire, and there are entertainers who wander through the rooms, playing mandolins and singing. I absolutely loved this 18th century dress and couldn’t resist taking a picture.
Some of the foods they serve include savories (toasted bread with chopped ham and relishes) and Sally Lunn bread. They also serve a peanut soup, but I’m not quite brave enough to try it. The thought reminds me of drinking melted peanut butter.
If you ever come to Colonial Williamsburg, definitely try one of the taverns. It’s a fun experience, and one you won’t forget.
Have you ever been to a reenactment dinner of any kind?
I’ve been sitting on some good news for a few weeks while my agent was negotiating the next contract for me. Now that we’ve worked it all out, I thought I’d share. I’ve sold the new book Slave to Her Desires, along with another book, to Harlequin. We don’t have release dates yet, but that will come.
Now since I’m six months pregnant and can’t consume any alcohol, how about if the rest of you go and enjoy a glass of champagne, wine, beer, etc. on my behalf? I’ll raise a glass of lemonade on my end. Cheers!
….is when you convince your five-year-old firefighter wannabe that there are “fires” all over the garden. Especially the brown plants that are dying. He needs to put them out with his hose.
I have to say, this season of “Hell’s Kitchen” was the first one I’d ever watched. I couldn’t see what the hype was with Gordon Ramsay, but now having followed it, I can say that it sucks you in like a chocolate addiction. It’s fascinating to see how a kitchen truly works (Okay, I know they dramatize it, but still….).
When Rock picked his team last week, I was a bit worried about him getting Josh. For whatever reason, Josh tends to flip out under pressure and starts burning things. And sure enough, the boy couldn’t make crab cakes to save his life. What I liked about Rock was his way of building up the team, of encouraging them to do their best. Bonnie, in contrast, was just bossing them around. Even in a crisis, Rock kept the team together.
He deserved to win. But in the end, I was worried that they would give it to Bonnie, simply for drama’s sake. She didn’t deserve to be head chef at a restaurant, whereas Rock really gave it 100%. I was so glad to see him take away the prize, and I’ll admit, I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I see a grown man crying and holding onto his wife and family, knowing that he’s changed their lives for the better.
I hit page 176 on the new book, and I’m feeling good about the progress. Right now it’s very bare bones, but I think the skeleton is strong. It will need a bit of fleshing out and development, but I usually do that a little later. I often write several chapters raw (maybe 80 pages worth) and then when I go back to fill them in, it sets me up for the next portion of the book. It’s an odd process, but it works for me. I think do I about six drafts on a book, all in all. Many of the “drafts” are done along the way, but I still have to do a massive revision pass at the end. That’s when I do some serious deleting (perhaps 40-50 pages of deleting), but then I also go back and add in the scenes that were missing, along with any emotional development that wasn’t there. Then a final proofreading pass, and I send it onto my editor. She does a wonderful job of finding “undercooked” scenes and areas that need more exploration.
Depending on when I’ve sent it, I have to fill out an Art Facts sheet so that the creative department can begin working on the cover. That’s the only input I have, and even then, they may not choose anything I suggested. My first cover, for example, had almost none of my ideas. Which is fine by me because I love what they came up with anyway. They did do a few things that I thought were interesting. Bevan MacEgan is a scarred hero, but I didn’t want them putting a hero on the cover who had a heavily scarred face. Their solution was to show only part of his face. For Connor’s book, they made a very subtle nod to the plotline. Connor’s hands are crushed in a fight, and a good deal of the story involves a hero who cannot touch the heroine or take care of himself without her help. The art department drew Connor with one hand on his sword, and the other hand isn’t in the picture. I like that.
I’m dying to see Patrick’s cover. So far I feel very blessed to have such wonderful book covers.
So, is there anything you ever wondered about the publishing process? I’d be happy to answer whatever I can.
I could imagine getting a few romance heroes out of those men, even if it was quite gory.
So, I’ll get that done Friday instead. I’ve heard horror stories about the glucose drink and I am NOT looking forward to it. Ick.
Better yet, take a picture!
At the moment, I’m working on my Irish slave book, and I thought I’d share some of the inspiration behind the story. Last year, I visited Ireland and went to a reenactment village at Craggaunowen. One of the smaller ringfort exhibits had a woodworker’s shelter set up, as you see here. This is a model of an ancient lathe, used to turn wood and make furniture. Since my own father is a woodworker, I was interested in seeing how a medieval craftsman would create furnishings and carvings. The character of Kieran O’Brannon was born in my mind. 
He developed even further when I saw carvings like this one at Bunratty Castle. Although this is a 15th century piece made in Germany, the carving techniques must have been passed down. I’ve seen sculptures and stonework from ancient Egypt that were every bit as detailed as this. I started imagining Kieran carving a woman’s face, the face of a woman he loved but couldn’t have. And the rest of the story evolved from there.
The summer absolutely flew by this year, and it’s hard to think of going back. Big sigh. I still have until after Labor Day before the students arrive, but it’s now time for the days and hours of meetings. I may have to pack a chocolate stash to survive it. 
What better way to celebrate a new sale than to meet author friends for dinner? My friends 
The servers at The Kings Arms Tavern are all dressed in 18th century attire, and there are entertainers who wander through the rooms, playing mandolins and singing. I absolutely loved this 18th century dress and couldn’t resist taking a picture. 
We don’t have release dates yet, but that will come. 
