• Deep freeze …

    4 Comments

    It was 3 degrees where I live this morning — 3 degrees. And I don’t even want to think about what the wind chill was. I went outside, and my face just hurt from the cold. Brrr!

    Yes, Virginia, it can get mighty cold down here in the South. And we’re not even getting the worst of it. One of my friends lives up near Erie, Pa. I’m betting her temps were well below zero this morning.

    I plan to hibernate in my house this weekend, clean off my desk, and crank out (hopefully) several thousand words on my YA fantasy, Quiver.

    What about you guys? How are you beating the cold? Share in the comments.

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    ‘Tis done … for now …

    So I’ve finished my latest round of edits and finally sent Assassin 3 to my agent for her reading pleasure. It clocks in at 99,267 words. Huzzah! I’m always glad to finish a project and move on to something else. And hey, now I can mark this one off my 2009 resolutions list. :ww:

    I’m kind of anal-retentive (i.e. insane) about working ahead. I like to get things done well in advance. Just to let you know how crazy I am about working ahead, here are some tidbits: Assassin 3 isn’t due to my editor until June, and it won’t be published until October 2010. But I’ve passed it on and gotten the wheels rolling, even if they do grind slowly at times.

    I’ve got a bit of a lull now while I wait for my agent to read Assassin 3 and get back to me with comments/revision suggestions/etc. So I’ve decided to try my hand at writing a young adult novel. I’ve never written a YA before, and I’m wondering if I can even do it. Can I get the voice right? Will it come off as cool? Or just stilted and dumb?

    Those are the kind of thoughts I have with every book, but more so with the YA since this is uncharted territory for me. But I’ve got my concept and overall story in mind, and I’ve even decided on a working title: Quiver. Think Robin Hood meets the Scarlet Pimpernel. With magic and stuff. (And yes, I totally know there’s a Green Arrow graphic novel with the same title. But you can’t copyright titles.)

    Right now, I’ve feeling pretty jazzed about writing Quiver. I bored poor Wheezley to tears last night talking about it. We’ll see how I feel when I’m 50,000 words in, my wrist is killing me, and I think that it’s all crap. Ah, well. It will be a learning experience if nothing else …

    What about you guys? What projects are you working on right now — writing or otherwise? Share in the comments.

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    One down, lots more to go …

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    Well, I can mark one of my 2009 writing resolutions off the list. I’m doing a final read-through and edit of Assassin 3 before I send that to my agent to read. I should be done with it by the end of the week.

    I always love sending projects off to the agent. Makes me feel like I’m actually accomplishing something, instead of just wasting hours in my office typing like a madwoman. 😈

    Next up, I think I’m going to venture into new territory and try to write a young adult novel. I have an idea that I’ll share when I get it a little more fleshed out.

    What about you writers out there? What are you working on right now? Share in the comments.

  • 921 and counting …

    7 Comments

    Finished Then You Hide by Roxanne St. Claire. This is the second book in her Bullet Catchers romantic suspense trilogy (and fifth BC book overall) about the search for three sisters who were given up for adoption 30 years ago.

    In this one, potential BC and sharpshooter Wade Cordell is sent to the Caribbean to track down Vanessa Porter, who is one of three sisters the BCs are looking for in order to find a bone marrow match for their dying, imprisoned mother. Wade thinks the job — getting Vanessa to come back to the States and have a bone marrow test — will be easy. Until he meets Vanessa and realizes what a dynamo she is. Vanessa is searching for her best friend, who abruptly resigned from his job and claims to be enjoying life in the tropics. But Vanessa is suspicious and rightly so, since people she know keep ending up dead …

    I have to say that Vanessa is one of my favorite BC heroines thus far. She’s smart, tough, and doesn’t take crap from anyone — not even Wade. She’s a driven, selfmade woman who loves her job and is totally committed to it. I also liked the fact that Vanessa was the one who had commitment issues and more casual attitudes about sex than Wade. The role reversal was a nice chance of pace.

    I would say that this book leans more toward the suspense end of the scale than romance. In addition to Vanessa’s search for her friend, we also get several scenes about the overall mystery — who framed Eileen Stafford for murder and fathered her children. But I enjoyed the emphasis on the mysteries, and the villian in regards to Vanessa’s arc was completely surprising. St. Claire throws in a nice twist there.

    Overall, a good continuation of the overall plot of the trilogy and a nice, main mystery to try to puzzle out. I’m looking forward to finishing the next book. Thumbs up.

    Up next: Now You Die by Roxanne St. Claire.

    Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

    What about you guys? What are you reading in the new year? Share in the comments.

  • 920 and counting …

    Finished First You Run by Roxanne St. Claire. This is the fourth novel in her Bullet Catchers romantic suspense series and the first in a BC trilogy that came out in 2008.

    In this one, hunky Australian BC Adrian Fletcher is sent to track down Dr. Miranda Lang, who may be the daughter of Eileen Stafford, a woman wrongly convicted of murder. Eileen gave up her baby some 30 years ago and is now dying in jail from leukemia. A bone marrow transplant is her only hope, hence the search for her daughter.

    But Miranda has her own problems. She’s written a book on the Mayan doomsday prophecy, and someone is trying to silence her – permanently. Good thing Adrian’s around to offer his professional help. Too bad he’s lying to Miranda about his motives and is on the verge of falling for her …

    This book is a little different than the other BC titles in that it’s part of a trilogy within the series, and the plot cuts back and forth between Miranda and Adrian and former BC Jack Culver, who’s trying to prove Eileen’s innocence. But I enjoyed the two overall plots and thought that they were nicely balanced.

    St. Claire brings her usual dose of sass and suspense to this book, as Miranda and Adrian fall for each other and try to track down who wants to hurt Miranda and why at the same time. I thought the romance was well done in this one, although the suspense part of the plot (and the bad guy) wasn’t quite as good as in previous BC books, especially Thrill Me to Death.

    But overall, another solid entry in the series and the start of a promising trilogy. Thumbs up.

    Up next: Then You Hide by Roxanne St. Claire.

    Books in my TBR pile: About 20.