So, as I mentioned yesterday, I did a little cable access channel promo spot for one of my regional libraries. Wheezley and I were talking about this later, and he said that he didn’t know if he could do something like that because it was basically public speaking.

Maybe I’m weird, but public speaking doesn’t bother me anymore. At least, not much.

That’s one of the things nobody ever seems to mention about this author gig — you have to do some public speaking. Schmoozing with folks at conferences, giving workshops, talking to folks at book signings. It’s all really public speaking. And if you’re lucky enough to blow up big like J.K. Rowling or Nora Roberts, more folks will want to hear you talk — heck, some will even pay you to come and talk to their group/conference/whatever.

Don’t get me wrong — I always get a little nervous before speaking, especially if I’m doing something like an RWA workshop. I start out talking really, really, really fast for a few minutes before I manage to relax. But once I’m in my groove, I can usually breeze through the rest of it. A good, interested crowd always helps too. And Q&A sessions? I totally rock at those. 😎

I’m also pretty good at dealing with people one-on-one. As a journalist, I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years, and I can almost always find something to talk to people about. With book crowds, it’s easy because we all love books.

I don’t like actually reading from my books, though. I always think my Southern accent sounds completely hillbilly (think Paula Deen on crack). And I think the give-and-take of a Q&A session is more interesting for folks in the audience than me sitting on a stool droning on about character development or reading quirky descriptions of spandex costumes. 😉

What about you guys? Do you have the dreaded fear of public speaking? Share in the comments.

So I met with my critique group last night. I’d sent them some sample chapters of Quiver, my young-adult fantasy, to look over. The general conscensus was that my second effort – making my main character, Gwen, more of a Robin Hood-type outlaw — was much better and more in keeping with my voice.

That’s good and made me feel like I was going in the right direction with the book …

Until this morning, when I had yet another idea — to make Gwen more of a Scarlet Pimpernel-type character and basically switch her role with that of her love interest’s.

I think it’s an idea that has merit, but argh!!! :hulk:

Now, I don’t know what to do — keep going with what I’m doing or go back to the beginning again and start over. I’ve never had such problems deciding what to do with a book before. Sigh.

But at 36,000 words in my second draft, I think I’m just going to keep going and finish this draft out. Then, I’ll let it sit for a few weeks and see what I’ve got. Hopefully, even if I do decide to change Gwen’s character yet again, I’ll have enough good stuff from the second draft to help me make the changes relatively quickly.

Oh yeah, and sometime during all this, I want to start working on the rough draft of Elemental Assassin 4.

So hello, computer. I think you and me will be spending a lot of time together this weekend … :rolleyes: