Sunday, August 30, 2009

Guest blogger at Live Journal

Charlie Doyle, from CURSE OF THE PHARAOH'S MANICURISTS, is blogging at my LJ tonight.

http://valarltd.livejournal.com/1015060.html

A few words

Good morning, faithful readers.

In the next few weeks you're going to be asking "Holy cow, how does she write so fast?" I have two short stories coming out in mid-September, a novel in October and one in December. This on top of a novel in February, two in July and today.

That makes six novels and three short story collections for 2009. Maybe four, if Queer Dimensions comes out.

So, how do I write so much?
The answer is simple: I don't.

What you are seeing, friends and neighbors, is the fruit of two, sometimes three years of work. And it's all coming ripe at once.

Niko-Chan was started in Jan 2006. Glad Hands was written in November 2006. Alive on the Inside came from November 2007.

So as the wheel turns into autumn, enjoy the cornucopia of Brooks and Sparrow. Because next year? There won't be much. We've been editing all year long and only produced three short stories and a children's book.

Book Announcement


Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurists
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Historical/Paranormal/adventure
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-566-9 (Electronic)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-843-1 (Paperback)
Release Date: 08/30/2009
Length: Novel


Blurb:
In the roaring '20s, Charlie Doyle, the ink still wet on his Dartmouth journalism degree, answers an ad for a job as secretary to Edward Kilsby, Lord Withycombe and renowned flying ace of the Great War. The ad leads him to expect excitement, but Charlie never expects quite so much.

When Edward is hired to find missing archaeologist Sir Alexander Spencer, Charlie is about to go for the ride of his life. A whirlwind tour of London, the Paris nightlife, a kidnapping by Edward's jilted fiancée and rival, Cairo, the Valley of the Kings, even the Orient Express all pale compared to what awaits Charlie and Edward in the tomb of Ni-ankh-khnum and Khnum-ho-tep, Overseers of the Manicurists in the Palace of the King.

But not mummies nor jilted lovers, not malaria nor Anubis himself can stop their quest...or their growing love for each other...

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Today's post of content: Editing

Editing.

Oh dear Bird, I hate editing.
I have been stuck in that special place called Editing Hell all year.
It's been worth it. I have three novels and a short story currently out, two more novels and two shorts forthcoming before the end of the year.

What bugs me most? The time. The time it takes to read a novel for the fifth time (that's four novels I can't add to my 50 Book project list!) hunting out stray commas and missing words. The time I'm not creating, despite screaming muses.

On the other hand...I've read half-edited books.
Even well-edited ones occasionally miss something.
The last two mass-market paperbacks I bought had editing errors, but only 1 per book. It was a your/you're confusion for one and an its/it's.

My favorite bit of bad proofing is a priest telling his acolyte to "light the censors."

And that is why I edit. So no one can say I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground the difference between censors and censers and sensors.

The Ticky box went out for ice cream three questions ago

Hi.

I'm very bad about keeping up this blog. I tend to treat it as a promo place and do all my real stuff over at Live Journal. I want to change that.

So, the new idea:
I'll post at least once a week.

My readers have said they would like to see, in this order
Book announcements
Writing process posts
Book reviews of what I'm reading.
Missing scenes, whether fully written or just in chat

There might even be the occasional guest blogger, despite the fact most weren't interested.

Leave a note in the comments for what else you might like to see.
I'd eventually like to have this become more of a conversation and less me shouting an ?empty? room.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Finally winding down

All my edits are in.
My con plans are made. I'm about ready to order my book stock for Dragon Con.

I get a break, for a while.

A good thing too. Nick has been bugging me to write something new.