On Writing

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    The first RT post …

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    My significant other (who will henceforth be referred to as Wheezley Blighter — and no that’s not his real name) and I actually left for the Romantic Times convention on Tuesday so we could drive up to Erie, Pennsylvania.

    My friend Super Librarian Amy (as she will henceforth be known) is the head honcho at the Corry Public Library in Corry, Pennsylvania, a small town about thirty minutes from Erie. Since Pittsburgh is only about 2 1/2 hours from Erie, Super Librarian Amy asked me to come up, do a book signing, and hang out. I was happy to oblige. :buttercup:

    So we packed up the car and headed that way early Tuesday morning. I’d only been to Pennsylvania one other time, and I was curious about where my friend lived (she’s originally from the area).

    Pennsylvania is really flat. And swampy. And there are more dead deer by the side of the road than anywhere else I’ve ever been. Seriously. Super Librarian Amy told me to watch out for the “suicidal” deer, but I didn’t believe her until we got up there. We’d pass a great big deer lying dead by the side of the interstate every other mile or so. Weird.

    After we cruised by Pittsburgh, there wasn’t a lot to see until we got to Erie. I thought my part of the world was rural, but Pennsylvania was more so. Guess it’s all the farmland up that way. Anyway, we only got lost once on one of the back roads and made it to the library right on time.

    The Corry library is really nice, especially for a small-town library (the photo above shows the inside of the library). The library collection is around 90,000 books — and there are only about 1,500 people who live in the town. That’s a pretty good book-to-person ratio. Color me impressed. I sold six books, which wasn’t bad considering this was a Tuesday night. But more importantly, I got to hang out with my friend, meet some of her family, meet her fiance, and went out to dinner — it was all good. :blossom:

    So thanks Super Librarian Amy — we had a great time.

    Also, if any writer out there in blog land lives in Pennsylvania or the surrounding area, you can contact Super Librarian Amy through the library’s Web site. She’s always looking for authors to come to the library and do events.

    Up next: More stuff from RT.

  • I’m back …

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    I’ve finally returned from the annual Romantic Times convention in Pittsburgh, Pa.

    Whew! It was a lot of fun, but I’m exhausted from four days of workshops, mixers, dinners, and networking.

    Anyway, I’m going to blog all about it this week (hopefully with some pictures of the various events).

    So stay tuned! :bubbles:

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    Turn, turn, turn …

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    Is it just me or has this year flown by so far? It seems like I get up in the morning … and then I’m getting up the next morning … and then I’m getting up the morning after that. Almost like I’m stuck in a time loop like in Groundhog Day or something. Or this one episode of Xena: Warrior Princess that I remember was pretty cool.

    When I was a kid, the days (especially school days) seemed to drag on and on. Now, I blink, and I’m a week in the future — and not quite sure how I got there to start with. And the previous week? Well, it’s pretty much a blur.

    It’s mid-April — already. And I’ve accomplished very little of what I set out to do this year. I’ve only finished one book — and I wanted to finish at least four.

    I did get the Web site updated (finally), and I’ve been on a pretty good reading clip recently. But still … ack! Too much to do, not enough time. Must be more productive.

    What about everyone else? Are the days flying by for you too?

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    It is done … for now …

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    I e-mailed a new book to my agent yesterday. Well, not really new. It’s called You Only Spy Twice and is the second book in my proposed urban fantasy series about Abby Tome, a Druid and bookstore owner who’s forced to become a spy to stop some magical terrorists.

    I’ve been working on the book since last summer and had about 87,000 words. My agent wanted to see some pages, so I kicked it into high gear and finished the whole thing so I could have a break for the RT convention. Final word count: 98,000 and change.

    My agent also wanted a bunch of synopsi for various projects we’ve been talking about. In addition to finishing You Only Spy Twice, in the past two weeks, I’ve also written:

    1) Spy 2 synopsis — titled You Only Spy Twice

    2) Spy 3 synopsis — titled A Spy Never Dies

    3) Assassin 2 synopsis — titled Gin With A Twist

    4) Heist synsopis — titled The Southern Cross Affair (about a group of Robin Hood-like thieves who steal from the rich and give to the poor)

    I’d guess this all adds up to about 25,000 words total. Whew! My wrist needs a break before it, you know, actually breaks. :bubbles:

    Now, my goal is to decide what I want to write next, while I wait for my agent to read and for other stuff to happen. I’m leaning toward Assassin 2 or Heist, although there’s one problem with Heist — I haven’t come up with a supercool way to do my actual heist yet.

    Plus, I have two more ideas — a Southern romantic comedy about a high school reunion and assorted hijinks. That one’s called Do Me Over. Then, I have an idea for (yet) another urbanish fantasy titled Charm Queen. That one would have an Old West vibe crossed with fairy tales.

    Argh! Too many ideas, too little time … What would you guys be interested in reading from me (or in general)? More fantasy or something else?

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    Another event …

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    While I’m talking about events, I want to mention that I’m going to be one of about 25 authors appearing and signing books during Lora Leigh’s Reader Appreciation Weekend. The event will be held in September in Huntington, West Virginia.

    I’ve never been to RAW before, but I hear it’s a lot of fun. There are lots of great authors attending, like J.R. Ward and Nalini Singh, and I know I’ll be just as much of a fangirl as anyone else. I’m looking forward to it! :cool:Â