Sigh Factor to Start the Week

Okay, so for this post I'm going to put on my romance hat and try to keep my SF hat off. (Don't laugh at the heart bobbly on top of it. Remember, it could be the aluminum hat.)

Anywho. If you want the science behind kisses, you can check out the post I did HERE. What I want to focus on today is the emotions behind the kiss. And let's face it, the adrenaline rush you get not just when you give or receive a kiss but when you read or see one.

I know that when I read a good kissing scene, my heart races a little quicker and my face flushes in anticipation. The next thing I know, I can't wait until I see Hubby again to kiss him and feel the full force of that experience firsthand.

It may just be that geeky SF in me, but my fellow SFR authors have some pretty fantastic kissing scenes. Today I want to celebrate a couple of them. Warning, blushing may occur. Let's start with a good blogger buddy of mine, Allie Ritch. She puts the wow in wowser...

When she nipped his lower lip and played her fingertips over the rounded points of one ear, he groaned into her open mouth and took the kiss deeper.
Alien Sex 101 by Allie Ritch
Buy HERE
Website/Blog: http://allieritch.wordpress.com

Oy... okay... phew! Let's paused from Allie a sec and hop over to Jaine Fenn's Guardian of Paradise:

The kiss ended, and it was like the world ending.
Guardians of Paradise by Jaine Fenn
Buy HERE

Now that tapped at the soft gooey sigh I get with Pride and Prejudice. Very lovely, Jaine, very lovely. Now, to keep this emotional roller coaster going, I'm hopping back to Allie for another hot hit of sizzle. (Kids, turn your eyes.)

Crushing her to him, he took her mouth and demanded entry. He let his hands roam wildly over her body, but he was very deliberate with the stroke of his tongue.
Mating Season by Allie Ritch
Buy HERE

Geez, LOL, that borders on what I put on the blog here. Wonderfully heated and passionate. We gotta go cool things a bit again. Let's go to one of my stories with a sweet kiss.

He brushed her lips with his. Heat flushed along her neck and her heartbeat quickened. 
Revelations of Tomorrow by yours truly, A. R. Norris
Buy HERE

Okay, now, I wasn't sure whether to end this with heat or sweet... oh, who am I kidding? Flame it up, baby!

The kiss burned its way through her body, whispering in tongues of flame, telling her everything.
Keir by Pippa Jay
Buy HERE

Well, there's nothing much else to say to you all other than... you're welcome and Happy Monday. ;)

Brainstorming Thursday: Plant People?

Who's to say that the intelligent alien we encounter is humanoid or insecticide, or canine, cat like or any other species that we consciously think of as "animal"?

What if the this intellectual being is actually, say, of the plant variety?

I know, I know, your mind is probably jumping to gigantic Venus Fly Traps... and singing one of the songs from Little Shop of Horrors. But I want to think outside the bubble of SF normality for a sec. Come, come with me my geeky buddies into the realm of Outside-Box Land.

What triggered this thought is an episode of Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole titled "How Do Aliens Think?" (LOVE that show by the way.) It put a challenge to watchers about what aliens would actually be when we met up with them. Part of the episode delved into the cognitive processes of plants.

Did you know that plants have several "intellectually charged" behaviors. They are just so much slower, quieter and differently executed than us. They can smell, touch, taste, and possibly hear. Researchers believe they might even have a form of "talk".

For example, there is a problem-solving vine. They don't have roots and they don't thrive through photosynthesis. These ropey vampires attach to other plants and suck the life out of them. To find their next food an "offshoot vine" searches and grows until it finds its next host, smells to detect if its healthy and then begins its feast.

Oh, oh! Then there are plants who can release an odor to call for help from insects to ward off pests. This scent/odor then communicates the dangerous situation to other plants who respond by releasing their own defensive odors.

Now, of course, that doesn't mean they are intellecutally conscious as we mighty humans define it. That takes the special "self-awareness" aspect that seems special to only us. But, wouldn't it be fantastic if plants on another planet had developed self-awareness? What if they had little families, dreams and aspirations, and a sense of community.

There could be dynamic communities of plant "races" and "species" trying to live and exist peacefully together. They could have a partnership with an alien insect that pollinated their community... heck could even be protectors like the wasp when a caterpillar tries to start munching on a plant's leaves.

What do you think? Too farfetched for today's "mature" SF? I know they had killer plants and whatnot in the pop SF of the early days but it seems to have trended away.

On a slightly side note, this post reminded me of a scene I did for Echoes of Regret (Telomere Trilogy, #2). Here it is for the fun of it.

* * * * *

"Beautiful," she (Brenda) whispered then blushed when she realized Captain Yourimoc overheard her and smiled.

"Yes, I agree. Look, all the flowers."

"You notice the beauty? Most men wouldn't," she commented, pleasantly surprised.

"I notice beauty in all things," he said, regarding her with a direct stare for a long moment.

She forced herself to meet his gaze. He grinned and then returned his attention forward. To calm herself, she took in the flowers he'd gestured toward. Vibrantly showcased by the green forest, the flowers posed. Purple blooms with narrow bodies and three petals spun up and then out at the tips. Pink flowers, with tightly packed petals, grouped along the ground. Blue ones, similar to roses, rested on vines, wound around and along the trees. Yellow flowers, soft and puffy like a ball of cotton stood tall and stiff near rocks.

Brenda peered into the trees and spotted a huge blossom growing on the branch of a tree. Folded downward, she only saw a single petal, soft blue with muted purple veins streaked from the base, curved along the body of the petal and accentuated its curves and dips.

The petal vibrated and the purple shimmered. Slowly unfolding, they revealed a petite form curled underneath. What had been mistaken for a petal was in reality a wing, one of two attached to a body of light dusty pink.

"Captain," she whispered. She touched his forearm with one hand and raised her other for the group to stop. She then pointed. The captain's body stiffened, tensed. What power underneath, she couldn't resist noticing, even in the moment.

The creature, skin smooth and shimmery like the wings, stayed in its curled position as the wings unfolded to its sides. The move revealed arms infused into the wings, hands with extremely long fingers extended out at the top corner edge of the spans.

A small head lifted to stare at the group, bright purple eyes stared intently. Ears, long and willowy like petals, rested high on the sides of the head. With no eyelids or eyelashes, the face was round without cheekbones or apparent nose. Small lips indicated a mouth, which seemed to purse together. Cocking the head to one side the creature took on an almost human characteristic, curiosity.

Its lower half, originally tucked down, slowly straightened to show long lean legs and claw-like feet. What had seemed like a small creature was in actuality a very long creature, with more leg than torso. Its chest had no breasts, nipples, or belly button. There was no distinguishing gender.

* * * * *

Purchase Links: All Romance, Amazon, BN

New Distribution Sites

Hey blogger buddies! Super excited and had to share.

Just heard from my publisher that their books have been added to a couple more distribution sites. Bonus is, these two sites sell books at discounted prices. GROOVY! GROOVY!

Here are the new sites with links to the books, if you're interested.

Google Books (priced at $4.61)
Duty and Devotion
Revelations of Tomorrow (Telomere Trilogy #1)
Echoes of Regret (Telomere Trilogy #2)

Books on Board (ranging in price from $3.59 to $4.49)

Duty and Devotion
Revelations of Tomorrow (Telomere Trilogy #1)
Echoes of Regret (Telomere Trilogy #2)

2012 Great SFR Pitch Tournament

Yay! The SFR Pitch contest has started on SFR Bridage. Stop by and vote for 3 pitches in 3 heats. My new release, Revelations of Tomorrow, is up in Heat 3 if you want to vote for it.

Here's the link: http://www.sfrcontests.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-sfr-pitch-tournament-weekend.html

And here's the official contest details:
"We have three Tournament heats of eight pitches each. Readers can vote for three pitches per heat through Sunday at 6 PM Pacific Time. The two pitches receiving the most votes in each heat will advance to the final round (which we hope to kick off Monday).
Readers who leave comments with feedback about what they liked will be entered in a drawing for an Amazon e-Gift Card. I hope this results in some valuable feedback as well as interest in all the stories!"

Argh! Time Constraints

Why, oh why can't there be several more hours in a day? 24 hours...seriously? And 6-8 of those we're sleeping, unless we're insomniacs. I often only sleep 4-5 hours myself, but not consistently enough to consider thinking I'm an official insomniac...it's just Mommiac. Depending on the number of kids the acute Mommiac symptoms can last 18-25 years and then to some lesser extent forever.

Any-who.

I've hit a fork in the road. I know which path I have to take -- due to deadlines -- but it's frustrating. I have to sit NaNoWriMo aside for a week or so for manuscript edits.

I received the last response from my friends and beta readers on November 2. They were awesome to take the time out of their own busy 24 hours to read through and give feedback. I always do a quick look-see at the responses and then set it all aside for about a week or so. This gives me time to mentally prepare for the changes that need to be made.

So, starting tomorrow I will be diving into the final edits for Echoes of Regret. This time will be a bit harder. I'm coming into this a changed woman. There are disabilities I'm still trying to recover from as a result of the brain surgery in April. This edit will help me determine the extent of recovery I will have to do, which in turn might affect my publishing goals for the next year.

But enough of that depressing bit.

There's not too many changes I need to make to Echoes of Regret. Mostly it's weird grammar mistakes my brain doesn't compute these days (using he/she intermittently as one example). There are some subplots and gaps in my antagonist storyline that I need to beef up. And then some facts/story points I took for granted and carried over from book 1, Revelations of Tomorrow, that I didn't clarify enough.

Oh, and I have to finish my cover art input sheet so Desert Breeze's groovy artist can make yet another fantastic cover. She does a really great job tying the look and feel of series and trilogies so I'm excited to see how Revelations of Tomorrow compares to Echoes of Regret.

I knew this would happen at the same time as NaNoWriMo and prepared for it. It still sucks, but it is what it is. I'll be picking up my NaNoWriMo and catching up during the week of Thanksgiving, which I have off.

So wish me luck folks. (Don't worry, I have band aids and antiseptic on hand in case Captain Noah Bonney gets pissed off at the changes I'm making.)

Captain Bonney's Out

Revelations of Tomorrow, The first book in The Telomere Trilogy is now available.

Blurb

The crew of Daring Star salvages a load capsule and finds the beaten body of Jetta McCree. Turns out Jetta's discovered her employer has developed a biochemical droplet and is contracted with terrorists to manufacture on a large scale. Captain Noah Bonney fights off corporate security forces, her ex-husband's pirate fleets, and carnivorous beasts to keep the young woman safe and transport her to the safety of the Imperial Home Port.

But the adventure brings to surface demons Noah's been suppressing and secrets from her people's history she's tried to forget. Now, she must face them if she's to reconcile with her daughter and keep the love of her life from leaving. With 450 years under her belt and nothing but eternity ahead of her, she's built a thick shell… one she's not sure she can break.

Excerpt
"I haven't been that innocent for many rotations." Noah placed her holster and weapon next to the hat, closed the drawer, and unbuttoned her jacket.

"Yeah, but being 450 years old, that's a long time ago. How can you possibly remember?" Lieutenant Matthew Amherst smiled at her through the mirror from across the room where he set the last piece of silverware on the small table.

Noah scowled at him with a warning finger point. He only winked at her, slipped his hands in his trousers and strolled over. Part of her wondered how she remembered so far back. Sometimes it was easy, and other days the distance of it smacked her in the face. Matthew stepped up, wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He peered at her through the mirror, gave her a lopsided grin, and wiggled his eyebrows. She laughed again and reached back to rest her hand on his cheek. The worrisome thought slipped from her mind.

She grinned at him. "You younglings don't realize Telomere rotations are nothing in my circle."

"That is true." He pinched her sides and released her. "That is true," Matthew said again as he guided her to the table.

They sat to eat. Noah and Matthew usually ate in the mess hall with the crew, and usually separate. Occasionally, though, Matthew called a private evening. She couldn't resist, and in this instance she had a feeling it would be the last in a while.

"Have you given any thought to our arrival strategy?" Matthew asked in between bites.

"Yes. It's too late to feign ignorance, or hide her. I'm not sure how we can avoid altercation with space port security."

Matthew scowled over his food and mumbled, "Damn, pompous security. Love pestering Imperial vessels."

Noah suppressed a chuckle. As lead officer for the hangar and cargo areas, he had to deal with port security more than most. Catching her humorous look, he flashed a grin and shrugged.

"You're not going to give her over, are you?" he asked once his mouth was clear.

"Hell, no. That girl is too young to know what she's gotten into, but I'm not. We're Merchants." She stabbed at her food a little too vigorously, the fork clanked against the plate, and she glanced up.

Matthew stared at her, his eyes intense and smoldering. He reached over and ran a thumb down her cheek, causing her heart to race and her skin tingled. Sea green eyes twinkled against the tan of his skin. He'd showered so his black hair lay disheveled and curly. Her hand itched to run through the wet locks.

"You're such a wonderful person, Noah," he whispered. "Be with me, always."

Sadness pressed down on her and pushed away the lust. Noah searched for her voice, trying to find the right words. "I am, Matthew." But always is such a subjective term.

Though his eyes dimmed, he tapped her nose good-naturedly. It hurt Noah more knowing she was the cause of it. There was nothing to do about it, though. "Your eyes give you away, love. You're worried. The differences between us, I don't care about them."

Noah pursed her lips. Sharp pain of emotions ached in her heart, intensifying. She pressed her hand to her chest and turned to stare out the window for a moment. How could he ever understand? Only in his thirties, he had barely scratched the surface of life. Guilt pulled at her conscience. She shouldn't be with him, if she were honest with herself. But the happiness and affection she felt toward him took control when she saw him. It wouldn't end well, that she knew for certain.

"You don't understand. I can promise you your always. You can't promise me my always. I just can't do that to myself, or to you, Matthew."


Purchase Links
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, Desert Breeze Website All Romance Books

Editing Abyss

AR grabs the ledge and pulls. The rain pelts down, drenching and chilling her, but she perseveres. Some of the dirt layering -- now turned to mud by the torrential weather -- slips. She grips harder, her ice cold fingers digging to the rocky underlying. She risks a look down into the abyss of editing hell...

Oh, hey... didn't see you there.

Yes, I am still alive and well. I didn't fall into the abyss, though it was close. The whole month of July was pretty much dedicated to manuscript editing. My final publisher edits for the first book in the Telomere Trilogy, Revelations of Tomorrow, and final edits of the holiday free read short story, Lasting Bonds, were due to the editor.

Remind me never to do a free read again. A couple reasons, but first, let me say that I love the final book and am excited to close some open loops for Nettie and Rinny. HOWEVER, I realized something about myself during the adventure of writing the Telomere Trilogy, which I overlooked when I signed up to do a free read for Desert Breeze Publishing.

I am not a monogamous author.

I can't keep characters going over several books. And truthfully, the characters aren't monogamous either. The characters slip into my mind, we flirt, and we all get excited and explore the journey. Once that journey is complete, I'm done and they're done. They drift off into the world I created for them and I never hear from them again. For me, the flirting process has started with a new story and characters. I'm too distracted with the new adventure.

So, any-who, August 1st came around and I sent Lasting Bonds to my editor and let out a huge sigh of relief. Then, within five minutes (could've been sooner, I wasn't watching the clock) the characters from my new novel started beckoning me. I went straight into it and spewed out over 8,000 words. Yes, 8K in 3 days... needless to say, my creativity was pent up.

My new heroine is amazing. I'm so impressed by her resilience and saddened by her past. I hope I can do her justice... plus she's got some really cool genetic make-up that is almost superhuman. I'm still working out my hero and I'm not sure if I like him much, but I think that's the point. He's got some serious jerk issues and shoulder chips, and he's going to change/evolve through the storyline into someone worthy of my heroine's love. The problems with the hero I think will benefit my heroine, and help her realize her own hang up and issues she needs to let go of if she's to find her own peace and happiness.

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?

Writing Frenzy Just Kicked Off

I just completed and submitted the final manuscript of Telomere Trilogy Book 1: Revelations of Tomorrow to my publisher. You know, the ones with the house style edits complete. I'm so happy with the final product, though I know my editor will tear it to shreds here in a couple weeks.

But hey, I'll worry about those tears later. Right now it's celebration time!

I'm relishing in a job well done...and looking forward to the next project. I'd been in this editing nightmare with several novels in the editing phase at the same time...now the genie's (that's Her Highness the Muse) is out of the bottle and refuses to be put back in. So much so that I woke up at 3:15 Monday morning with my brain revved to get going.

I've got the Duty and Devotion's prequel. Or so I thought, until I had a dream and it actually flipped around to a sequel. I'd been working on that in between the Revelations of Tomorrow edits, so it's about halfway done. I've decided to title it Lasting Bonds. When you read it you'll understand why. I just couldn't get into the life before the war for these girls. They'd moved on. I'd moved on. No looking back to what they were, right?

In this dream I saw a couple loose ends wrapped up from the main story and felt compelled to write it out. So, we'll see how it turns out when the Free Read comes out. Let's just say both girls get something they wish for, for the holidays.

Oh! And I have my pet novella project, Lilly's Journey. I've been sneaking in time to work on it so that's going well. I don't know what I'm going to do with this manuscript when it's completed. I've fallen in love with the innocence of Lilly and her adventure, but I just don't know where it would fit in anything. I guess time will tell.

I know I'll have to reign my Muse in eventually, I mean Revelations of Tomorrow's editing rounds will start here shortly. But, I mine as well let her -- and me -- enjoy the freedom while it lasts.

So, what are all you up to right now?

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

I've been hearing this whisper, which has been slowly growing louder...."Six Sentence Sunday". After looking into it and seeing the fun some of my blogging friends have been having, I decided to join in. For those of you who don't know, in a nut shell it's posting six sentences of any writing you have. WIP, unpublished, published...whatever.

I thought it might be fun to mix things up a bit and put six sentences of the first book in my Telomere Trilogy, Revelations of Tomorrow. (Remember, this is contracted with DB so things might be revised during the formal editing phase.)

This is it:

"Jetta McCree opened her eyes to blackness streaked by white. Panic set in on the first cold-seared breath fogging the surface in front of her. She fought to control it. Tentatively, she touched the clear glass and cringed at the burning cold. She slid her hands to eye level. The black silhouette of them contrasted with the whir of stars in the background."

Well, not too painful and...yes...quite fun. I think I'll definitely make this a weekly thing.

Good writing all!

The Telomere Trilogy has a Home

I heard earlier this week that my series is being picked up by my publisher, Desert Breeze! I sent them the first manuscript in the series along with the series synopsis and they wanted it.

The Telomere Trilogy Book One: Revelations of Tomorrow will be released October 2011 with the next two books coming out in 2012. I'm so excited I had to dance a little bit...and might have squealed. (Most likely.) Here's a little bit about it:

"After a load capsule careens into Captain Noah Bonney's interstellar vessel, she must face her inner demons and the sins of her people if she's to open her heart to the love of both her daughter and her lover.

The crew of Daring Star salvages the load capsule and find the beaten body of Jetta McCree. Jetta's discovered her employer developed a biochemical droplet and contracted with terrorists to manufacture on a large scale. Noah fights off corporate security forces, her ex-husband's pirate fleets, and carnivorous beasts to keep the young woman safe and get her to the safety of the Imperial Home Port.

But the adventure brings to surface demons Noah's been suppressing and secrets from her people's history she's tried to forget. Now, she must face them if she's to reconcile with her daughter and keep the love of her life from leaving. With over four hundred years under her belt and nothing but eternity ahead of her, she's built a thick shell…one she's not sure she can break. "

I'll keep you posted on the progress of all this as it goes along.

Good writing all!

Keepin' on Keepin'

Just wanted to drop in some various updates. Let's see...

I switched up my header menu a bit. Now that I'm dedicating more of my time to novel writing versus short stories, I've deleted my Completed Works section and replaced it with a Free Reads section. However, you can also access free material if you check out my Published Works section where several of my works appear in free e-magazines.

I uploaded a new free read titled Maka's Quest through Smashwords. I'm sure some of you remember it. It's my Native American inspired SF story. Please feel free to download it and --hopefully-- enjoy. Let me know what you think either here or in the review section on Smashwords.
Pill Hill Press' anthology, Bloody Carnival, is out with my contributed story Sorcerer's Carnival. Sorcerer Barabin, trapped for centuries, is working to gain the power to free himself from his dimensional prison...and he's only got two more souls to go. A fun evening at the carnival turns dark and dangerous for Lilia and James when they find out they're Barabin's final selection.

My Publisher (heehee...that's still neat to say) has their October releases up and it includes an awesome SF up, Borealis: A Space Anthology, which includes great SF writers, PI Barrington, J. Morgan, and Gail Delaney. Head over to Desert Breeze Publishing and check it out if you have a moment.

What's next...oh, I'm fighting off the need to chew my nails away from nervousness. My first book in the Telomere Trilogy, Revelations of Tomorrow, is still in submission review. I'm not sure what happens to time...but slows when you've got a big submission out. And now that I'm not actively submitting shorts, it's the only submission my anal brain has to focus on. Ah! The joys of authorship!

Good writing all!

Done!

Revelations of Tomorrow is done! I'm excited. I'm relieved. I'm mentally exhausted.

This one ran at full speed. I didn't hit many road bumps, but the ones I did hit were huge and flung me around quite a bit. I was worried this would turn into another manuscript I tucked away. Instead, I found myself very happy with the characters, their story lines, and the evolution of the theme along the way.

It's the first in a trilogy. I started the second during my round of edits, but have decided to pause and break. I know the characters are in my head, tapping my skull to get going on their lives...but I really need to creatively recover, at least for a few days.

This will be my first attempt at a series, so I'm reigning in my excitement of a new endeavor. Next week I'll have two guest authors visiting to talk about their approaches to writing book series.

Okay, off to eat a salad for lunch...Oh, who am I kidding? We all know I'm going to grab a cheeseburger.

Good writing all!

This, That, and the Other

Hear that screech of excitement? Yup, that's me. Revelations of Tomorrow is drafted. I'm now working through my editing phases. You know, adding the needed layers to produce a story that will accurately portray my vision. Some items I usually focus on in my first round edits include:

1. Plot and story structure
2. Character arch and consistency
3. Cross-referencing my technical components for consistency, clarity, and plausibility (if not plausible, at least enough to suspend the readers skepticism)
4. Major sentence and paragraph wonkiness

This will be several pass throughs and usually adds about 8-10K to my overall word count. I also know the ending is sparse...it's usually the last bit I flesh out. I've already spotted 2 characters that really should be combined into one character and expanded on. With all these initial points identified, I'm adjusting my progress bar to add 10K. This visual will help keep me focused and reduce any procrastination risks.

The difference with this manuscript that I will be working out for the first time is the trilogy factor. I've already started brainstorming and sketching some plot ideas for book 2. My goal is to have book 2 and 3 outlined by the time book 1 is complete in December. To help me, I'm going to be interviewing some series authors to seek some of their tips and tricks.

Okay, that's all I've got for now.

Good writing all!

Solar System, Galaxy, Universe, Oh My!

How do you decide how far out your sci-fi story is gonna go? (Totally assuming you write sci-fi…of course, we all know what assumption will make out of you.)

So far, I haven't gone out of the Solar System…well once for a short story, but it was a super quick reference and no more was said about it. In Revelations of Tomorrow, I've been trying out a world build where civilization has grown to plant themselves throughout the Galaxy. There are lots of references and people mingled in who've traveled in from other regions. Like The Black Rose concept. (It's the story where a couple of medieval men head off into the wild unknown of China to explore the wonders and mystery, only to return and have no one believe them.)

Even with this concept, however, the actual story stays within one region of the Solar System. (Think a slice of pie - or bit of crumb - within a slice of pie, if you will.) This is because the pure concept of a single story crossing throughout the galaxy is just so over-consuming it boggles my still Earth-based mind.

Now, Saturday night I had a weird dream. It was about characters in Revelations of Tomorrow, but the story itself was different. All Sunday morning I tried to push what I thought was a subplot into my plot line. No matter which way I worked it, molded it, meld it, meshed it, or mashed it, it just wouldn't fit. Then my Einstein moment (don't laugh…I can hear you) smacked me as smartly as a Dallas character.

It may have been the series discussion I was participating in with some of my publishing house author buddies, but here it is: I think I might have actually spawned my very first viable series!

Once that thought binged me in the brain my Muse was off and running like she O.D.'d on Red Bull. Being so excited about this series thing, I eased my timetable a bit to allow a little planning on my idea for a book 2. This will allow me to explore writing throughout the galaxy - who knows, maybe even the Universe - without over stressing about the feasible technology so much.

I think that's why sci-fi lends itself so well to series, operas, and mega books. The world is so huge, depending on the level you build (solar system, galaxy, or universe). I mean, just within our little solar system things are millions of miles apart…millions…with a longggggg S. We're not talking a plane flight from here to China people.

Things just can happen within a few Earth days. Imagine how bored you get in just a 4 or 5 hour flight? Keeping a story interesting during a travel multiplied by goodness knows how much and you got to have some serious skill.

Well, that's my tidbit of randomness for today.

Good writing all!

Author Page is Up

Hi all! Super excited. Checked this morning and found my Author Page is up at Desert Breeze Publishing. Wow, this is getting more real every day.

I need a breath here...and a little less coffee in the morning.

Manuscript preparation is going well on Duty and Devotion. I should be ready to send it to my Editor by the end of August, maybe first week of September if things get crazy at the Norris household. (Most likely, things will get crazy.)

I'm also still moving on the revisions with Revelations of Tomorrow. It's going a bit slower, but still heading in a good timeline. I should have the first draft completed by beginning of November. Then it's straight editing time. I'm hoping to have the manuscript completed by January.

Okay, that's the update from this edge of space.

Good writing all!

Order in the House

The little Project Manager inside me woke up this morning and just about had a heart attack. Poor little guy saw the workload, dropped his coffee all over his new shoes, and keeled over faint. Once he regained consciousness, the little man got out his mental project board and started shuffling, panic still in his fierce little eyes.

He even created a list:

Publication preparations for Duty and Devotion. Lots of requirements sent over by the Editor in Chief (heehee, that's so cool to write/say). Author information sheet, cover art input sheet, manuscript preparation checklist, house style modifications, and banners and images to put on my Internet world. This all before the real editing phase begins and I cry a flood of tears from the Editors first scratches onto my work.

Completion of Revelations of Tomorrow. Halfway finished with round one revisions. I have two more focused revisions before the editing phase begins. This means I must prepare for and schedule two more rounds of research and several mini writer meltdowns.

Blogging. Blogging keeps me sane. Blogging keeps me on the path. Blogging is fun. I need to ensure I do a minimum of two blog entries a week. I've been really having fun with daily posts, but realistically I'll probably be riding near the minimum for the next six or so months.

Okay, three major headers with many activities in each. Project Manager created a worksheet.

First Column: Major tasks
Second Column: Subtasks
Third Column: Estimated hours/days needed to complete each subtask
Fourth Column: Date Needed by
Fifth Column: Completed Y/N

Now my little Project Manager is happy as a lark and my Muse can continue on with her business of creativity. And me? Well, I don't lose my mind.

Good writing all!

Re Vision

I had it all laid out. I thought the creature planet scenes were outlined just how I wanted them. They fit the vision I had...and they didn't work. Re-reading it, I realized two things:

1. The order of events were not natural
2. The action and reactions of both the characters and the creatures were wrong

Okay, okay. Not a major disaster. I'll just grab the scenes, throw them onto my revision document and rework it a little bit.

Uh...the scenes equalled 13K words. Oh boy. 36 hours later I had cut of 5K words from original, added 6K new words in, performed a complete wobble shuffle of scene order, and totally reworked 2 main character's motives.

You'd think I'd feel frustrated, disappointed, and discouraged. You'd be wrong. I'm feeling exhilarated, content, and productive. A year ago I would've felt all those first ways, but I've learned some things on this journey.

The writer's original vision of a story is not always going to be the final vision. Sometimes it is, but for the most part it's just the spark. That spark is just a spontaneous moment of idea, either through an "ah-ha" or a dream. You as the writer need to take the spark and mold it into a real story, which means some parts of the spark have to be revised to be true to the overall theme, motive, and reasoning.

So remember, look beyond your inspired moment to see the real story beyond.

Good writing all!

Groovin' Along

I can't help it. I'm in a good mood. My Revelations of Tomorrow revisions are going well, the characters are clicking (or not clicking depending their dynamics), and the subplots are weaving nicely with the main plot. Even the red pen and I are happily getting along.

Yup, AR's a happy writer at the moment. Of course, all us writers know it won't last. It's inevitable that the bumps and walls will come. I'll be cruising down the creative highway and BHAM, my imaginary sports car will crash right into it.

There will be blood, gore, and all around grossness. My hair will be in tufts, my eyes blood shot, and a look of confusion and frustration etched on my face. Maybe I'll climb out, turn around in wonder at how fast it happened. Or, maybe I'll be stuck in that imaginary sports car when the sparked gas fire reaches the engine and KAPOW! Eek, I hope it's not a convertible...

Sorry, my imagination got away from me for a second, but I'm back (sort of).

For now I'm going to enjoy the scenery, the curving roads, and the speed. I mean, I don't want to be an frumpy grumpy pessimist or anything.

Good writing all!