Monday, August 13, 2012

One into two

No, it's not magic. At least, it certainly doesn't feel that way. I've officially decided to convert the ever lengthening Created into two shorter, yet still long in their own right, novels. I'm not finished with either one, so don't start jumping in your chair just yet. I'm still shooting for October as a release date, but still not sure if that's going to happen. I want to release them both at the same time.
I was brainstorming with a fan/friend last week and we came up with excellent title ideas and a percolating synopsis and cover art for the second book. I'm not too terribly worried about those two things as I usually don't do them until the books are finished anyway. I may still wind up putting the two back into one, but I doubt it. I'm keeping my options open. :)
The first is going to remain Created as it's quite literally the story of how Victoria became a created vampire. It is very, VERY dark. This book takes me to places even I don't want to go. After some scenes, I need a major chick flick movie break. The second is Consumed. Natasha and Stephan return in this one. It's full of romance, power and my emotional roller coaster that I love to take you on. ;) I still haven't seen all the twists that occur here. It's very exciting and I must say... I love Logan!
Anyway, I'll keep you posted as things develop. Cross your fingers and toes that things continue jamming and I can actually get these both out before October comes to a screeching halt. TTFN - I'm off to bed.

Friday, August 10, 2012

To the Ignorant.

One of my fellow Indie authors sent me a link to an interview with Ms. Grafton of the alphabet series. I have never read or purchased any of her books, and quite frankly, after reading this interview, I never will.
As you, my faithful followers, know, I've thought long and hard about publishing traditionally. You all know this is still something that I still think about from time-to-time. However, I'm Indie. In my heart and my soul, I'm an Indie author through-and-through. I've posted YouTube videos showing how I do the cover art for the books, you've read the frustrations and challenges I've faced as I try to figure out formatting, scenes, marketing and so-forth. Being an Independent Author is extremely difficult, frustrating and rewarding.
Ms. Grafton was stated as saying something to the effect that Indie authors were lazy, taking the easy road out and not perfecting their craft. She states that Indie authors don't take the time to develop their characters, do research or bother to edit their books before publication. We (The Indie authors) simply spew out some drivel, publish it for all to read, and wait for our multi-million dollar paychecks because we wrote a book and that's what we deserve.
After reading her interview I became rather angry and saddened by the ignorance of Ms. Grafton. Now, I will fully admit, there are authors out there who probably do fit her description. They're not solely in the Indie author field though. There are Traditionally published authors I refuse to read simply because they had someone else writing their books and they just went through and fine-tuned it, putting their name on it and spewing out dozens of books a year. There are other authors that even when traditionally published, their books are crap, in my humble opinion. They either start spewing out the same repetitive drivel over and over, or don't even bother sending them to the editor before publication.
I can't speak for every Indie author, just as I know in my heart, Ms. Grafton doesn't speak for every Traditional author, but I can tell you what I do when writing.
I don't expect millions when I write a book. I don't even think about the paycheck as I write my books. I rarely think about it after the book is out. I simply write a book that I want to read and hope that others enjoy it as much as I do and then move on to the next as the muse directs me.
I develop my characters. Perhaps I don't do it like everyone else, but that's the beauty of being an individual. I let my characters talk to me, think about their story, and tell me how they want it to go. Sometimes, when I try to explain my writing to others, I feel a bit schizophrenic. It's not quite like that.
I do research for all my books. I'm constantly researching things. Wether it's in the other books in the series, or sitting in the library reading up on ancient Incan civilizations, or mythology of Atlantis, I'm constantly trying to make my books believable, even though they are complete fiction.
I work full time nights. Anyone who's ever worked the night shift can understand what that does to a person. Those of you who haven't, well, we're a tad sleep-deprived and a little wacky. Things have to be done during the day time hours that cannot be done at night, errands have to be meticulously planned out and our lifestyles completely change because we work when our bodies want to rest. My husband works day shift. On the weekends, I stay up for 24+ hours so I can revert my schedule to a day shift and actually see him for a few hours. During the time when I'm not cooking, cleaning, working, or dealing with family dynamics that I will not discuss here, I write. I have to figure out time to talk to my wonderful fans on FB, Twitter, Blog, and other social media sites during the time I have set aside to write. I have to still try to get my novels out in a timely manor so that you, my beloved fans, don't cause a riot. lol.
This economy sucks. I'd love for nothing more than to write every day, all day long. I'd love to not have to go to my "real" job and have my writing pay my bills. Someday, I hope this happens. Those that know me personally, will tell you that I've always stated that I just want to live comfortably doing the thing I love doing, with the people I love around me. That to me is the perfect life. I've never wanted or expected millions. I don't want the uber-fame of JK Rowling, but I'd like my stories read. When people come up to me and discuss the books, what they liked and hated about them, that's where I get my rewards. Watching them light up as they discuss how the characters have endeared themselves to the reader, that's why I write. I love it.
Are my books absolutely 100% perfect. No. Are there any books out there without an error or two in them? Absolutely not. Do I strive for perfection in my books? You bet your ass I do. I go over my books repetitively. I can't afford to have someone else edit them, so I do all my own edits. I sit and meticulously read and re-read my novels until they look and sound like something I could be proud of. While I know there are probably a few grammatical errors throughout the books, I'm not perfect, neither is anyone else. I try. I do the absolute best I'm capable of doing with the resources I have available to me.
Most of the time, you, my wonderful readers, simply talk to me about the story line and how much it impacted your life. Very rarely do I have someone talk to me about grammar or sentence structure. My sister, who's a fanatic about spelling and sentence structure reads every book and helps me to make sure I'm not flubbing up and distracting the reader with commas, or lack there of. I think my books have increasingly gotten better since I first started writing. I'm very proud of how they've turned out.
As a rebuttal to Ms. Grafton, I work my ass off every day to try and put out a well-written and well-told story that people are going to want to finish. I love writing.
I think that any traditionally published author who believes what she's said, should try publishing a book Indie-style. I challenge anyone who believes Indie authors take the easy way out, to publish independently, without any type of income or name to stand behind. Create your own website, gain your own followers, market, promote, edit, format, copy rite, and publish your own book. Then, and only then will I listen to you. If you can still say to me that I've taken the easy way out, then and only then, will I quit writing.
In closing, she said something to the effect of "I think we’d all be well-advised to ignore the opinions of others." I both agree and disagree with this statement. I will ignore Ms. Grafton's ignorant opinion of Indie authors, but never will I ignore the opinions or reviews of my readers, wether ill or good. You are why I write. Your smiles, your tears, your frustrations, your giggles, your blushes, your "special" times after reading one of my books, this is truly why I write. I love writing. Listening to my characters, talking or reading reviews from y'all, and reading the story when it's finished, is amazing to me. Every time I finish a book I read it and think, "holy crap! I wrote this! I don't believe it!" I'm in awe. Reading or talking to you guys about my books makes it worth while. Even negative reviews are good to have. They help me learn and grow. Also, if someone were to take the time to post a heated negative review about my book, I know I must have touched a nerve, and therefore have still succeeded as an author. I write to impact, to bring emotions to the front, to help you escape from your everyday life. I write because I love it. I wouldn't know if I was succeeding as an author if I ignored the opinions of others. 

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Muse

One never knows just when or where the muse will strike. For me, today, it was while I was driving home from work. Last night I spent my limited down time doing some much needed edits as I still didn't feel great and didn't want to write. I've divided Changed into a two-parter and am very happy with that decision. That all said, I've been working on the first half, the much darker half, of the story for the past week. I was editing the second part last night. I have no intensions of adding to that story just yet. I want to wait until I'm closer to the end of the first half.
Whew! Now that the background is taken care of, let me tell you about this morning. :)
While driving home, listening to my headphones, the muse decides to hit me up with an incredible scene. I'm 20 minutes away from my house and work. In the middle of freaking NOWHERE with no pen, no paper and no recorder. Not that I'm all excited to use a recorder, but... (I hate the sound of my voice played back. I always think I sound like I'm 12) So I hit the pedal just a tad and replay the scene in my head, over and over and over, along with the cd I was listening to.
I got home and promptly sat at my desk to write 1760 words in less than an hour.
This scene is great. I'm super excited. I also want to strangle my muse!
A. I don't want to write in this book yet
B. I'M DRIVING!!!!
C. I'm nowhere near where this scene is yet
and D. What happens next?!?! Argh!
She does this to me all the time, gives me a snippet of awesomeness and then hides to see if I can come up with anything nearly so amazing without her. We usually work very well together, but sometimes she has a stroke of genius and pops into my head with amazing scenes. I can't wait to get to this scene. I can't wait to finish these books. Victoria's story is so complex, so amazing and so much frigging fun to write! I totally and completely LOVE writing!!!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Thoughts

I've been very overwhelmed lately about Created. I'm already at 200 pages and I haven't even reached the half-way point. I'm not sure if I should keep going or separate the book into two books. I've been talking to my beta readers and some adults I know that enjoy reading, and so far, everyone's thoughts are that I should separate the book.
I am apparently in the minority when I say I like long, epic books. Now, I have nothing against the average sized books, heck, I write them, but sometimes I really enjoy a 700+ page book. Not all the time, but I like being able to get into the story and have it last for a long time.
That all being said, I think I may divide up Created and publish both halves at about the same time. There's just so much information and so much involved in this story I feel like I wouldn't do it justice if I cut or abbreviated scenes to keep the book at a reasonable length. Even with separating it, I think they both may reach or exceed 300 pages.
I'm excited. Victoria's story is deep, dark and so much fun to write. She's such a complex character that has such heart and spirit, I love examining her depth. She's such a strong woman (vampire) and I absolutely adore Logan. I can't wait to share them both with you! I'm shooting for an October release date, but not sure if that's going to happen. Wish me luck! :)