And the World Kept Turning

I woke up on June 15th expecting, oh, I don't know, something fantastical. No, no. That's not entirely true...the realist inside me said things would be the same. But the imaginative side just thought the whole world would be different. Like I'd wake up with a tell-tale sign that I was now an official novelist. Ooh, maybe an awesome and mysterious tattoo materializing on my forehead, "Novelist Here".

I don't know...something. But the realist won out (and of course was smug about it as realist personalities are when they're right). I got up, dressed, and went to my day job. I worked 8 hours and then went home. My husband and kids were actually gone camping so it was just me. (I know...didn't time that out all too well.)

So, why am I telling you all this almost two weeks later? Well, because now I'm antsy. Are my sales numbers good? Are my readers enjoying the book? Are reviewers interested?

I don't know yet. It's still too soon. But, as a business woman in a corporate role, I feel like I should know these things. I'm going cookoo banana's wanting....something tangible to analyze, fret over and try to fix if needed. I don't remember this being an aspect I'd realize having to face before it published. And it's a discovered characteristic I'm not very proud of.

I'm a control freak.

I was busy fretting about all of this Friday and babbling about it to my husband. He finally sighed, looked at me in that "Ash way" and asked, "What was your goal?"

"To have a book published," I answered. "But--"

He interrupted. "Did you want a book published and it to become an immediate bestseller?"

"No, but--"

"Did you want a book published and be immediately praised?"

"No, but--"

"Then you accomplished your goal. Congratulations." He smiled and went back to his movie.

I sat stunned, trying to decide if I should be pissed when it hit me. I did accomplish my goal. I have a book published. There was a publisher who felt my work was good enough to have their name and talent behind it. There are people reading my story. That's was my dream.

Everything else is icing on the cake.

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?

Picking Up Where You Left Off

Hey all, there's something difficult about picking up pieces to your life after you've dropped them. (Total "duh" statement, I know.) This happened to me a couple weeks ago, when my medical issue decided to take over my life. I was rushed to the hospital and then transferred to another, bigger hospital and went into surgery.

It was awkward timing to say the least. I had a contest going on that Saturday (my first ever) on my blog. My ARC for Duty and Devotion was nearing it's last rounds. And, I was in the middle of a large project at my day job (several actually).

But all that flew out the window as I drove in an ambulance across the Golden Gate Bridge. Truthfully, it was the last thing on my mind at the time. Of course after, when everything turned out fine, I had a whole lot of balls to put back into the air. It was a daunting task to say the least. As a mother, wife, writer, and project manager there are a lot of balls floating around.

So, today I'm going to take it easy and just give a writing progress update. To get back into the swing of blogging again.

• Duty and Devotion editing rounds are complete.


• The Telomere Trilogy Book One: Revelations of Tomorrow is almost done for its June 1st submission to my publisher.


• The Telomere Trilogy Book Two: Echoes of Regret is waiting in the wings to start editing phase.


• The Telomere Trilogy Book Three: Ending Eternity is almost finished.


• Lilly's Journey is still in progress.


• I'm also going to start a holiday Free Read that follows the sisters in Duty and Devotion, title still to be determined.

So that's that. I've got to reorganize my blog stuff and reschedule some guests so I'll get back to you on all that.

Writing Progress

Wow...haven't done one of these progress posts in a while. Okay, well, truthfully all my focus has been on my trilogy writing, which you can see the progress in the bars (top right part of blog). What prompted this crazy, spontaneous progress report?

I got short listed for a short story of mine. I know! I submitted Poseidon's Cube almost a year ago now and with the craziness of the last few months, forgot all about it. To my defense, the deadline is far away. It's not closed until May of this year.

Okay, what else we got?

Ah yes, Duty and Devotion is about to gear up for its release date in June. Publisher edits and cover art should be kicking off in the next couple of months. I've got to start planning blog tours, review submission preps, excerpts and the book trailer. (Lions, tigers, and bears OH MY!)

Current project, Telomere Trilogy, is chugging along well. I'll be starting house style edits and the cover input sheet for Book 1: Revelations of Tomorrow. I'm in final draft edits with Book 2: Echoes of Regret. And of course, I'm laying out the rough draft of Book 3: Ending Eternity.

My muse is already dreaming about my future projects...for after Telomere Trilogy. I'm holding her back with a whip and can of hairspray (couldn't find my mace). We'll see how long it works.

OH! A little odd ball news. I'm not sure what it means because I haven't really given it much time or thought but I ran across my Free Reads on Barnes and Nobles. I forgot Smashwords will publish to all the various sites. Any-who, I found them and was surprised at the rankings. Out of all the books on that huge site, Maka's Quest has a Sales Rank of 11,364 and Butterfly Cocoon a sales rank of 12,714. This prompted me to check my dashboard on Smashwords and found that several hundreds people have downloaded my Free Reads . At an average of 6 people per day! That was pretty exciting to me...hence the exclamation mark in the previous sentence. Now I just wish a couple of those readers would leave a comment or a review. I love to hear from people how they like or dislike my work.

So, those are my updates. What are you all working on?

Good writing and reading all!

When No Progress Equals Progress

Okay, I'm coming up for air and catching up with my blogging buds. Progress is going very well with Echoes of Regret...okay, not so much the writing. I hit a big snag and now put myself in a tough corner.

So how can I say progress is going well? Because -- for me anyways -- I think snags make for a better story in the end. Doubts creep in when I breeze through a story with few to no bumps. Did I challenge myself enough? Did I challenge my characters enough? Did I push the boundaries of my themes? Did I give the depth the story needed to match my vision?

With a few exceptions, my doubts are usually validated when I've reopened manuscripts where the stories just"flowed out" with no major glitches. I found the wrong answers to those questions. And, I have to reopen the manuscripts because those stories were never accepted for publication, because in the end, they just weren't good enough.

So progress on Echoes of Regret is going well because I'm using the tools of my writing trade to work through some big barriers, which in the end will hopefully give a truer result to my vision.

Good writing (and progress) all!

(OH! And I gave my first interview over at my publisher's blog, Desert Breeze Blog. It was a lot of fun answering the questions. Feel free to drop by and snoop me out over there!)

Annnd Its Hit

Oh boy has it! I usually go through some sort of new date sort of thing with my stories. Because Echoes of Regret is a continuation in The Telomere Trilogy I got a heads up. Unfortunately, the new characters were a bit shy and the POVs were heavily on the Book 1 characters. Then it hit.

Driving towards the grocery store for the rest of the birthday supplies and Freddy started nagging about her guilt. Damani started crabbin' about the changing ways of his calling. Piper, well, piped in about her distant and cold relationship with her mother. And Jace. Okay, Jace has been easy-going, busy worrying about his sister.

Argh!!!

They got very loud in my head all through the aisles. I kept having to look at my list to make sure I wasn't missing anything...having to backtrack twice to go back for stuff. I argued yet again with the self checkout due to my lapse in attention.

Finally getting home my characters were near anarchy as they found out I had to bake cakes first. Now, finally I'm on my laptop. The boys are watching they're chill out show. I've opened my manuscript.

"See that characters? Happy now?!"

Good writing all! (And if anyone has virtual duct tape for times like these, let me know.)

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!

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!

Those Darn Obstacles

Things aren't going well with my revisions. Am I having revision issues?? No. Am I having time constraint issues?? No

Then why aren't things going so well since Sunday evening? You might ask.

Because my laptop decided to hop on the crazy train. It has drunk the electronic kool-aid. I must now pull out my older laptop. But can I just dive in and continue on my happy-frickin'-way?

No, no, no.

My older laptop does not like my shiny new version and won't open the documents. So now, this evening, I must change my files to an older version. (Thank goodness I emailed them to myself when the new laptop started acting loopy.)

We all get obstacles. This one I can beat. If not, I'll take my mental explosives and blow it sky high. Or, if I want to be reasonable, I'll walk around it....nah. I like the boom part of explosions, even mental ones.

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!

The Red Pen (Enter Scary Music)

Yes, a weekend of revisions and even though most is additional information from my research, the red ink is like blood dripping from wounded pages.

It's progress, it's exhilarating, and it's....messy, red, smugged, wrinkled, with a drip of chai tea on page 16.

I know I'm not the only writer that does this, but when you print the first draft (yes, I print them the first couple rounds. I know bad AR, bad!) they're all crisp and clean and shiny new, new. I place them lovingly in my purple file folder. I may or may not hug it at this point...you'll never know.

Okay, okay. I do hug it. It's a reminder to myself that I love this work, even though in the hours and days that follow it'll pretty much be nothing but carnage with a few scraps left of itself.

Hopefully after the plastic surgery is complete, the wounds healed, and the dressings removed it'll be a better version.

Of course, that means I must do it all over again, and again...and again (Billy Murray in Groundhog Day flashes anyone? Anyone?)

Good writing all! (And lots of fun slaughtering - er - revising!)

Revision Progress

I'm really enjoying the first round of revisions on Revelations of Tomorrow. Yes, I know I still have the last few scenes to complete, but now that I've read it through and completed my initial research, the ending I envisioned might not be correct. So, I'm putting it on hold.

My first revision's focus is to integrate the various cultures and back stories of the characters. My goal is to flesh out the reason each ones makes the decisions they make and to highlight the weight of each revelation throughout the story.

There's something about a first draft, but I have to say even though it can be frustrating, I love the challenge of the revision phases.

And....I Have a Title

Oh thank goodness! It was a sticking point for me. Thursday night while writing, the working title for my sci-fi epic came to me. And drum roll please.....

Revelations of Tomorrow

You all probably already know, but I usually start my works with a title in mind. This epic, however, has been elusive. I think the reasons is because I'm doing some major layering of themes with this one. I had to wait and see what the dominate message was going to be...and then there it was shining right in my face and blinding my eyeballs.

Revelations, of both internal and external sources. Each character has some life altering revelation they are either suppressing, hiding, or don't even know about that comes out through the course of the story.

Good writing all! (What are some of your titles and what makes them perfect for your work?)

Chill Out

Okay, this might be driven a little by the Obsessive Introversion I'm hitting right now, but I have to say it...chill out.

Most of the time I don't mind the overly serious nature some writers take on their business, craft, art, or whatever other title they're giving their writing. I am usually impressed by those writers who delve into the framework of every friggin' aspect of the writing world...but geez.

Chill out.

The more you talk about writing, the more you talk about talking about writing, and the more you talk about those others who are talking about talking about writing (see the trend growing here?)...the less you're actually writing.

Just write. Write however you like to write. Research how you like to research. Friggin' spell it alright or all right...just string sentences together until you're done. If you don't have an idea...write incoherent thoughts until it starts to make sense.

Phew! My rants draining and I'm feeling much better, thank you.

That is all. Good writing all! (Writing, not talking about writing.)

Riding the Wave

Climbs out of the river of writing for a quick towel off.

Oh boy! There are times in writing when the words and ideas just take over. It's almost all you can think about. You fall into the pool of creativity and find out it's a raging river instead. All you can do is check her ducky floatie and plug your nose.

Saturday I was at a point where, even with a typing speed of 100, I couldn't keep up with the story. Muse was speed flashing it through my brain and didn't shut off until late into the night, when my brain just crashed on her.

6,500 words.

I woke up Sunday still having the story streaming through. My attention span was a little more fragmented but I still typed away for most of the day.

Another 4,300 words.

This morning I'm back at work, but I hear it, right at the back of my brain. Muse is in her shiny sports car, revving the engine. I hope she at least lets me get home before slamming it into drive and hitting the gas.

Good writing all!

Give it a Rest

Sometimes your thoughts just get jumbled, your candle burns too far on both ends, or the chaos has become too....well, chaotic.

I've been going full steam on the Sci-Fi epic, heavy projects at work, vacation preparations, and summertime. Needless to say, it hit me Thursday night. I finished writing to my goal, turned off my laptop, and laid on the couch drained.

After work yesterday, I decided to set writing aside and let my brain reset. I helped hubby at the store with the final vacation preparations. Came home and watched superhero movies with my little sons. Then, I headed to bed early.

Waking up this morning I was rejuvenated and ready to start writing again...of course, it might also be the fact that I'm off work for the next week. I'm super excited to have a week where all I have to worry about it hanging with the family and writing.

Family, beach, paper, and pen...that's the life!

Good writing all! (And remember, give it a rest sometimes.)

Kickin' Back into Gear

Okay. I'm back from my work conference...3 days, all day, of healthcare stuff. Now I'm back home and it's time to visit space a little bit. Helping this is the fact that it's Friday, which means A.R. can play - er - write all night if she so wishes too...which I do of course, Sillyhead!

Any-who. I'm thinking minimum 2500 words. M.I.N.I.M.U.M. I'll focus most on the Space Epic, but will move to my fantasy if Mrs. Muse turns into Mrs. Cranky Muse.

That's all folks.

Good writing all!