Truckin' Along

Engines are revved and I'm trying to keep up. Thought I'd pause to lay out my progress.

Duty and Devotion (D&D)
All the prep work is done with this one. It only has to release on the 15th. My blog tour kicks off this Friday at TK Toppins blog. Submissions to review sites are in...that'll take at least a month of waiting.

The Telomere Trilogy Book One: Revelations of Tomorrow
Just got word from my editor and she's begun reading through and marking it up. I should receive first round edits by end of week. It was a relief to find out it's the same editor as with my last book. I'm used to her editing style and she's refreshing and honest to work with...so yay!!! I probably won't see my cover art for a couple more months yet, it's still early. I'm curious because this trilogy has a very different feel than D&D.

The Telomere Trilogy Book Two: Echoes of Regret
I just finished my editing rounds with this one. I've tucked it away for a couple weeks before I start checking and cleaning up for DB house style.

Duty and Devotion Sequel: Lasting Bonds
First draft of this short story is completed. I fell in love with these sisters all over again and can't wait to release this for the holiday free reads. It's now put away for a week, to stew, before I pick it back up and tear through the revision and editing phase.

So, what should I work on now?

I've got a few things in the wings. I've got the third installment of the Telomere trilogy, Ending Eternity, to finish. I also still have my pet novella, Lilly's Journey, I want to finish drafting up.

Hmmm...what to do? What to do?

Oh Yeah...We're There

Oh boy! My brain (and eye balls) are ready to explode. It's the major editing saga of March, which will drone on into April. I'm just coming off of first round edits with my publishing editor on Duty and Devotion. Now I'm wading through the sluggish zone of "Editing Land" for Revelations of Tomorrow. It has to be done, and yeah, it's bad timing...but those are the breaks when you have deadlines to meet.

I'd wanted to get the first draft of Ending Eternity done so I could revise and edit all the Telomere Trilogy books together before having to submit the first to my publisher. However, my "Muse" decided to strike on me with the last 8K of Ending Eternity first draft. The reason? A conflict on the direction of the story. I feel someone needs to die, she feels I chose the wrong character to kill off, yet won't tell give me an alternative option.

I have mixed feelings about Muses. I know in reality they don't exist...not in the harps playing mirror looking human representation kind of way. I call my creative thought process my Muse. It's the little part of my brain that is always on imagination overload.

So, what do I do when my "Muse" and I are at odds? Well, it really means that two parts of my thought processes are at opposite ends of the spectrum. This usually means I'm not seeing the whole picture of the vision for my story. One or the other needs to share their little secrets so I can re-imagine what needs to be done.

With all the editing deadlines mentioned above, I know I have time to wait out this OK Corral moment and let it unwind itself in its own pace. It'll come to me...of course, at the most inconvenient time. But hey, don't look a gift muse in the mouth. Right?

What are you all working on right now? Mostly editing or mostly writing or some mix of both? (Of course, you could also be world building or outlining...don't mean to leave those two out.)

Six Sentence Sunday

Okaley dokaley...it's Six Sentence Sunday time. Let's see. Let's see...Oh! I know!

I'll pull something from my current WIP, Book 3 of the Telomere Trilogy, Ending Eternity. This'll be out next year. The first in the series will be out this October though, which is exiting. 'Kay, here we go...

"I'm not paying you all to be frightened, Rafferty."

He leaned forward, waiting for Reith to break eye contact. "It ain't fright that keeps people away from the demon planet…it's common sense." He sneered. "Ain't no one going to go near Asatru. I was lucky enough to get a couple vessels once they heard Bonney's made 'em allies."

I know, I know. You're wondering why our favorite gruff old cowboy's image is used for a space story...I can't help it. My Muse kept planting his face and voice in my mind whenever a scene involving Rafferty came up. And, really, what will our civilization come to if gruff old men like this died out?

Make sure to check out the other authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday. Some pretty cool quick reads.

Fuzzbucket!

Yes, fuzzbucket. It's the "frustration" word I use when I've realized a case of stupidity in myself.

I figured it out. It clicked, of course, during a moment when I couldn't jump in and make repairs. I had to wait the WHOLE work day. WHOLE work day...that's like 8 hours and then the walk home!

What am I talking about?

The reason I've been fighting with Telomere's third book, Ending Eternity. I started in the wrong place. I forgot the cardinal rule. Never, ever, ever, snever (yes, it's a word, an AR word) start in the beginning of the journey.

I started in the "we debarked and headed out" part. That left weeks -- space travel people, which SMPVH (Solar Meter Per Vessel Hour) or not takes a while. All the characters did were fret, worry, and think about their problems. No action...just..."duh, look at me sitting here thinking and worrying about what's going to happen" instead of "look at what the heck is happening!"

How did I come to this smack me in the face moment? I was waiting for a report to run and thought about the book as a whole. The beginning of the mental reel started about 2 chapters in. I couldn't even discern what the first couple of chapters were telling the reader.

So, now that it's figured out I'm feverishly backpeddling to fix the beginning of the story. Thankfully, most of the beginning's emotional introspection can be infused later in the story, in more reactive settings where it's natural. I don't think I've lost that many thousand's of words. Maybe, like, 2k at the most.

Well, good writing all! (And hope you don't have too many fuzzbucket moments like this...)

Procrastinating My Procrastination

Oh Boy! Muse has gone and done it. And we'd been working soooo well together. Now I know the looks you group of writer friends who don't believe in Muses are giving me...This is what I title my creativity.

There's really not a little Warrior Chick in a short skirt, long jacket, and high heeled boots with a whip in my head. No matter how much my Hubby wished there were...of course there was that one time, in Lake Tahoe...oops TMI, TMI! (Heehee)

Here's what it comes down too.

She's all excited about this new series I dreamed about a couple month ago. She's been all excited and still geared about the Telomere Trilogy, but her flaky interest shifted fully today. It's been constantly on her mind and hence, she's pushed it into my mind.

Needless to say, I've been battling with her to focus all day on the current WIP. I'm losing the battle. I need to write a waterfall scene, just a simple waterfall scene...and what do I get? Nothing.

N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

ARGH!!!!

Now we're at a stand off. It's dry and hot. There's Clint Eastwood western stand off music in the background. I swear, a tumbleweed crossed my path...I think I'll have a toothpick sticking out the corner of my mouth too as I toss out a heavily crowfeet squint. There'll be the long dust jacket....AND SPURS! I've got to have silver spurs! I want a ivory handled gun resting in a holster riding low on my hip....

Dang it! I've gone and got distracted again. Now I'm procrastinating my procrastination!

Good writing all (or as in my case procrastination daydreaming)...