Submit and Send... Now What? Post by Jessica E. Subject

 

In my post from April, I talked about how I'd almost finished writing RET, the last book in my Kaddim Brothers series. Well, I've finished. And I'm currently in the final stages of editing. As I write this, I'm currently on stage 6 of my self-editing process, as I detailed in this post from November 2021. That means, I'm almost ready to submit it to my publisher.

But, what comes next?

There are so many possibilities of things to do when an author finishes writing a book and/or series. I'm going to talk about some of them, but feel free to add your own ideas in the comments.

1. CELEBRATE

It's a huge accomplishment to have finished writing a book and get it to the point where you're ready to share it with others. Many people have dreams to have a book published, but never start. If they do, they don't finish. So, celebrate this accomplishment.

2. READ

Some authors don't read in their genre when they're writing. These breaks in writing are a chance to read in your genre and see what's popular. It's also good to read outside your genre, to read wide and gain new perspectives. This can really help with your future writing. Reading non-fiction can also help with research and ideas for upcoming stories.

3. WATCH TV / MOVIES

This is the time to watch those movies and shows you've been putting off to finish your story. Enjoy! And maybe find some inspiration. I've been inspired by so many shows and movies over the years.

4. HEALTH CHECK

This is important. One's health can be another thing authors put on hold when finishing a story. Schedule appointments for this time to see to your physical and mental health. Go to the gym, or even just for a walk. Get a massage. Just be sure to take care of yourself.

5. BOOK PROMOTION

This is a good time to work on a promotion plan for your upcoming book if you're self-publishing or already have this series with a publisher. If you have backlist titles, you can also work on promo material for them, to remind readers that you already have other books out there.

6. START PLANNING OR WRITING THE NEXT STORY

I'm not an intense plotter, but I do spend a lot of time playing out my story in my head and then jotting notes down so I can remember it all. I use a basic 8-point romance outline that was shared by Stephanie Bond in a Romance 101 course I took several years ago. It works for me, and I know many authors have different systems to plot out stories that work for them. If you're you're a pantser, just go ahead and write that new story!

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Be sure to back everything up! You don't want to invest all that work into something only to find it suddenly gone.

As I finish up edits for RET, and am closer and closer to submitting, I am also intensely plotting the first book in my next series. There's been a few glitches I've been trying to figure out how to get them to work, but it seems to be coming together now. I look forward to the day I can share more about this book and series with you!

Wishing you all a wonderful July!

How Not to Write a Book (or Do, If You Must; Whatever Gets You Through) by Jane Kindred

It’s been a full year since I turned in the final manuscript for Kindling the Darkness to Harlequin, and with the close of the Nocturne line, I no longer had a contract with deadlines to meet, so I was a bit up in the air about what to do next. When I finally started writing again in June, I thought I could do it at my usual speed, which is three months for a first draft, but September came and went, and by the end of October, I was only at the halfway mark. That’s when I decided to force myself to finish by doing NaNoWriMo and getting the second 50,000 words written in one month. And I did (just barely, with literal minutes to spare.) But then I was left with a disjointed mess.

December was spent doing a read-through to fix typos and glaring errors and adding comments on everything that needed work, and it took the first three weeks of January to get through all the blanks I’d allowed myself to leave so that I could keep moving forward.

To give you an idea of how that phase goes, here’s a sample I posted on Facebook one night:

Things I have googled in the last few hours while going through stand-in text in my manuscript (this covers approximately 20 pages and doesn’t include the numerous thesaurus lookups):

What it’s called when you put an arrow in a bow
How to nock an arrow
How to describe drawing a bow
How to draw a longbow
How to string a bow
Term for shooting an arrow
How fast an arrow flies when shot from a longbow
Average speed of a thrown stone
Average running speed for a human
How the weights on a cuckoo clock work
Origin and first use of the word “tornado”
Types of flowers that grew in Pompeii
Kinds of wild lilies
Where wild lilies grow
The parts of a door
The difference between a sill and a threshold
Classical architecture terms
Military unit names
Military ranks
Victorian-era military uniforms
Herbs for a glamour
Victorian undergarments
History of the corset
Images of shifts
First use of the term “beck and call”
Victorian women’s shoes
Swarming behavior of bees

That last one’s my favorite—it was for a single metaphor.

And those were just what I looked up over the course of a few hours one night. I did this for three weeks, because there were some 1,600 “check this later” placeholders. Imagine the confusion of the FBI agent who almost certainly has to monitor my internet surfing thanks to some of the even odder things I’ve googled for research in the past. Combined with my personal lookups for various diseases I’m certain I’m dying of at any given moment, including Ebola, it must keep them amused.

Once all the blanks were filled in or corrected, the real work started. I took all my comments and made a list of every continuity problem and every scene that didn’t work and went through it one by one. There were 56 items on the list. Here are a few of them:

The title sucks.
Fix garbage scenes with the Keepers.
Decide whether it’s highwaywoman, female highwayman, or just highwayman.
Change name of Yliastr?
Do any of the other spells mentioned come up again? If not, why mention?
Fix references to what Aoife recalls about the glamouring—was she enchanted or not at the time they did it?
Determine topography of Mount Öde.
Is magic an Undine thing? Or just Keepers? Are Keepers sorcerers? Did Aoife become a Keeper because of her interest in magical practice?
Uhhh…where are the rest of the Sylph?
Track timeline and make consistent.

Now, that last one, OMG. I had to stop and make another list just to figure out what I’d screwed up and how to get myself out of it. Here’s how that looked for the first three chapters:

Prologue
Some years ago, who knows how long
Aoife and Ismene sneak into a men’s club. The spell begins to fall.

Chapter 1
Day 1, after dark
Ygraine up to no good, meets Aoife on patrol.

Chapter 2
Same night
Aoife performs ritual, pretends she’s still under the spell to keep Eris from suspecting.

Chapter 3
Day 2
Supply convoy to depart in the morning.
Day 3, evening
Highwaymen jump the convoy and are detained.
Arrive in Farstone, Eris delivers payload while Aoife watches prisoners.

So far so good. There are a few glitches here and there over the next dozen or so chapters—but then we get to Chapter 26. And here’s where things really went wrong (the red is everything that’s essentially impossible given the timeline):

Chapter 26
Day 54 (should be day 59 and 60)
Ygraine and Eris set out for Goblin country with the two conscripts. (Make it clear that it’s been a week before the expedition was approved; add a day to the trip, and have them camp overnight.)

Timing goes haywire here. Hopelessly f****d.

Chapter 27
Day 60
Aoife meets Severin again.
“Days” pass. A ball is announced. (Delete)
Day 63 (should be 60)
Aoife finds out Arania is pregnant on the morning of the ball.
Day 54 (should be 60)
Ygraine and Eris head back to where they left the boys, and only half a day has passed. (Make it night, so this can come after scene above.) They camp that night on the way back to the front.
Day 63 (should be 60)
On the night of the ball, Aoife leaves early after receiving a message from Severin and meets Maebh. (Need to revise this scene since previous Severin scene has been deleted.)
Day 64 (should be 61)
The following day, the blood court is announced.

And it’s pretty much like that for the next five chapters. This resulted in a list of 18 major time discrepancies that needed to be worked out. (And this is also the sort of thing I could have avoided if I’d kept a calendar of the book or even better, actually outlined.) <pause here for laughter> I gave myself permission to leave all of these things until after the first draft was finished, because I knew I’d never get through it otherwise, but I think I’ve pretty much cured myself of ever working this way again. I’m not a plotter, by any means, but I usually have some kind of structure to what I’m doing. I’m honestly amazed I managed to make any of this stuff come together in the end.

It took me eight months, but it’s done at last. Now it’s with my agent. Just waiting to find out whether I’ve been way too hard on myself in suspecting this is the worst thing I’ve ever written or whether I should change my name and run away to Costa Rica and live on a beach.

How I Took a Chance with Not a Chance

By Maureen Bonatch

Hello, my name is Maureen and I’m a panster. Most writers will recognize the term that causes readers to frown and assume it’s just another indicator that writers can be a little unusual. 

Most stories I write by the seat of my pants, instead of the most sensible, logical way. You know by starting with a plot and a plan for the story in advance. 

Believe me, it surprises me as well, because I’m an organized logical person. I’ve tried to force myself to plan and plot the story first, but alas, so far, it’s like putting a square peg in a round hole.

 Although I’ve found out there are some good things that come from writing in this manner. I mean besides the whole roller-coaster ride that I get to enjoy along with the reader as I discover the characters and write the pages to find out what comes next. 

That’s Not the Story 

Not a Chance is book #2 in The Enchantlings series. Book #1, Destiny Calling, was named after one of the triplets in the story. My original intent was to write a trilogy with each book highlighting the story of one of the triplets. Well, that didn’t happen. Not because I changed my mind, but because my character did. Hope kind of insisted that she continue to be the one to tell the tale into book #2. That was fine. I still intended for the story to mainly focus on her brother, Chance. 

But when you write by the seat of your pants, you’re taking the chance that the story isn’t going to go in the direction you originally planned—and it didn’t. We took a whole detour into the woods and then some to create a whole different story line.

The Reader’s Benefit When Authors Take that Chance

By not being set on the story, it enabled me to really listen to some of the feedback from readers of Destiny Calling. The characters they liked, what they thought might happen, what they wanted to see happen next. Since the story wasn’t completely structured, I was able to implement some of the suggestions I thought would fit into the story well. Plus, when you write paranormal and fantasy, you can bend the rules a little sometimes. At least in my book, you can. 

So, I took multiple chances with Not a Chance in my efforts to make the story better and engage more with readers. Because as a reader myself, I fall in love with certain characters and they become like dear friends to me. 

I can’t wait to see what happens next in their life, and I usually have an idea of what I want to happen. It's so wonderful to see how the story comes to fruition.

Have You Ever Taken a Chance on a Story?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four

seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazonand/or signing up for her newsletter

Throwing Fortunes: Plotting With Tarot by Jane Kindred

Every so often, I get a yen to do a tarot spread—otherwise known as throwing the tarot—for one of my characters. It’s helped me in the past when I’ve been stuck with where to go next, or when I can’t quite figure out my character’s motivations.

I’ve been throwing tarot since I was in my early 20s, and I’ve developed a bit of a tarot deck addiction over the years. I mean, I have a lot of tarot decks. I’m sure it’s not any kind of record, but at the moment, I count 11 decks that I could easily find in the house. (I don’t keep them in a drawer together or anything; each deck has its own box. And the boxes sit wherever they want to in the house. Sometimes a deck hides for a while. I can think of two others off the top of my head that aren’t anywhere in sight.)

Tonight, I’m using the Medieval Cat Tarot by Gina M. Pace and Lawrence Teng. (Did you know that tarot decks have authors and artists, and they get published much the same way books do? Each deck has its own little booklet of interpretations, and some have separate, full-sized books written to accompany them. I have eight full books on tarot that I can think of off the top of my head.) At any rate, I’m throwing the spread for my main character, Aoife, in my current WIP. Aoife is under an enchantment, so it’s difficult to figure her out, because she doesn’t know her true self at the moment. Hopefully, this will help me make some headway with her.

So here’s the spread:

I use a modified Celtic Cross layout (there are many different layouts, but this is one of the most common). Each position has meaning. The three cards at the center of this spread (collectively, the “Heart of the Matter”) are the Significator, which represents the querent at the present time, the Covering Card, which represents what’s influencing (and generally helping) the querent directly, and the Crossing Card, which represents that which is at odds with the querent in their quest.

Aoife’s Heart of the Matter is Knight of Wands, Six of Swords, and Eight of Cups. Loosely, these represent “conviction,” “moving forward,” and “taking emotional inventory.” This fits very well with where Aoife is right now. She’s just discovered that she’s being lied to and is determining to fight back, and at the same time, she’s experiencing emotional attraction to a woman she’s just met.

Next, we have the cards above and below the Heart of the Matter (conveniently called Above and Below). These represent what’s on the surface of the current situation—what’s outwardly visible—and what lies hidden beneath in the subconscious realm. Aoife’s cards are Ten of Swords and the Empress. Now, the Empress is one of the cards of the Major Arcana, which represent archetypes and forces outside our control—in essence, Fate. The numbered (pips) and court cards of each suit (there are four, like in playing cards: Wands, Swords, Cups, Coins) are referred to as the Minor Arcana. Here, the Ten of Swords represents the culmination of negative energy around the present situation. There’s nowhere to go but up. Yep. This is very true for Aoife. And the Empress is Mother Nature, the goddess of abundance, calling on the querent to gather her internal strengths and take what she’s learned on her journey to manifest her truth. Interesting; Aoife needs to stop thinking and start doing what she knows is right.

The next two cards to the left and right of the Heart of the Matter, are Behind and Before: the immediate past and the immediate future. Seven of Cups is Aoife’s past: daydreams of happy times, in danger of dissipating as an illusion. Wow. That one’s right on the money. And I was just contemplating having Aoife remember the beauty and riches of the world she once knew. I wasn’t sure if that back story should remain off the page or if we should see it here. I think I have an idea now. The future card, Eight of Wands, says opportunities are coming Aoife’s way, and she needs to take aim. This one could be literal. Aoife is a soldier, so perhaps she’ll soon be in a battle that can tip the war in her people’s favor.

Finally, we have the four cards on the right: Self (where the querent is now), Home (how others see and influence her), Hopes and Fears, and the Outcome. The Self card, Page of Swords, shows Aoife poised on a new undertaking that will bring her greater understanding. So far, so good. Home, Seven of Coins, represents a small harvest—Aoife has what she needs at the moment. Her Hopes and Fears card, Four of Wands, indicates that Aoife may be starting a new relationship, from which she should pause to take joy in the moment. And Aoife’s Outcome? She drew a Major Arcana card: Judgment. Judgment Day is literally depicted on the card. This means Aoife will ultimately succeed, but she’ll have to pass through the fires of suffering, fear, doubt, and toil.

So now we put this all together: Aoife is moving forward after accepting that her past happy life is gone, acting on her new conviction and exploring new feelings as she heads into battle. All around her is negative energy and enemies, but she possesses secret strength in her Empress energy if she will only embrace it. Poised on a new undertaking and understanding the truth being kept from her, she has what she needs right in front of her if she’ll only look—a new relationship that will bring her joy, despite everything that’s happening around her—and, ultimately, she will prevail against the evil in her world. But the fight is going to be hard won.

So there you have it: throwing tarot for a fictional character. What do you think? Silly game or helpful tool to unlock the unconscious?

I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again...with @MeganSlayer ~ A Journey of Writing, Rejection and Starting Over

When I sit down to write, I have a general plan for the story. General. I won't say it's ever a very well fleshed out outline. I'm not that organized. I have the idea and I'll start plotting, but usually the characters start talking and I end up with chunks of dialogue within the outline. Now, I know there's not a singular way to do an outline. It's a matter of preference. But it can be kind of confusing to anyone reading my notes. Outline, outline, outline...DIALOGUE! Heh heh. 

So I was asked to take part in an anthology. Sure. I had been debating doing this sub call anyhow and now that I was encouraged to take part, I set out to do it. I had this great idea. Planned the thing out. Like the whole thing. I even had chunks of dialogue. Like big chunks. I was jazzed. So jazzed...I might have written 2/3 of the story before I knew if it would fly for the call. I was excited. The story was flowing.

Then I heard from the powers that be. They didn't want it. What? How...

Instead of getting upset or knocked down and not getting up again, I dusted myself off. Now if you've been reading my blog, you'll see this isn't the first time recently that I've been knocked down so to speak. It's been kind of a rough couple of months. 

I could've hidden for a while and said to hell with what I was doing. I could've gotten angry and lashed out. But what would getting mad do? Up my blood pressure and give me a headache. Hiding isn't a bad idea, but I'm not the type to hide. The characters are there and when I can't write, I'm not happy. I write because the characters demand to speak.

So, I dusted myself off and dove into a new outline. I saw a photo that inspired me and the topic happened to gel with the sub call. I wrote the plot and waited. It fit the call! Needless to say, plugging along and keeping going worked for me. I started over and I'm back to my happy place. 

Has this ever happened to you? A thing you thought wouldn't knock you down did, but you kept going? I'd love to hear about it. :-)


Chasing Sparks by Megan Slayer 

A FREE Read Available from Loose Id
Part of the Battle Scarred Series
M/M, Paranormal, Contemporary, Vampires
Coming Soon!
http://www.loose-id.com/ 

Two vampires have the chance to step into the sunshine without being charred. Most creatures of the night wouldn’t chance losing their undead life for good. But Anders and Galen have heightened abilities. They won’t char. What are they going to do? Celebrate summer, being together, and sunshine. Mix in hot sex under the veil of stars and fireworks…who wouldn’t want to take a step and chase sparks?

http://wendizwaduk.com/indexMegan.htm

Megan Slayer - It's Always Fun to Squirm

Subscribe to our newsletter ~ http://ymlp.com/xgjmjumygmgj 

Guest Augustina Van Hoven Talks Plotting @augustinavhoven

            I’m a plotter.  I’ve tried to just sit down in front of the computer and write whatever comes to mind, but I usually find myself staring at a blinking curser or writing scenes that I have to cut later because they don’t really move my story forward. I need a road map to lead me to the happy ending of my novel.  Since I write paranormal romance, I have to create the world I’m traveling in as well as all the details on the map before I can take my first step.  This has actually become one of my favorite parts of the writing process, taking the kernel of an idea, planting it and watching it grow with a series of ‘what if’ questions until I have the universe in which my story takes place. 

            World building is a very detailed process.  An author must know a lot more about the story and the world it plays in than the reader will ever see on the page.  An example of a true master of world building was the author J.R.R. Tolkien.  In the final book of THE LORD OF THE RINGS there are six appendix sections containing family trees, histories, short stories, an explanation of calendars in the Shire, a timeline and a section on languages of the various inhabitants of the Middle Earth complete with alphabets and grammatical rules.  All of this detail made his stories feel more like history than fiction.

            My current work in progress is my first venture into a new genre. Futuristic romance.  The first book will be out this fall.  There is a lot of world building necessary for this series.  I’ve had to create home worlds for the various species along with their governmental structure, politics, myths, legends, customs, religions, technology, as well as the physical appearance of the planet and its inhabitants.  With all this structure in place it is no possible to create the outline or road map my human characters will be following as they enter into this new and strange galaxy.  If I have done all of my world building correctly it will be a fun and interesting experience for my readers.

The Bloom of a Rose

Rachel Bartlett doesn’t expect to meet the man of her dreams at a funeral.  But a chance conversation with Paul Miller inserts her in a political game between good and evil.  Her political strategist mother has other plans for her, and they don’t include romance.  Paul is the wrong guy for her, but sometimes it takes someone from the opposition to show you the way out of the maze.

Paul Miller is fighting battles on multiple fronts, and he doesn’t have time for an infatuation with a pretty graphic artist, no matter how blue her eyes or how sharp her wit.  If his trust is misplaced, then a betrayal can cost him the game.

What the couple doesn’t know is that they are not alone.  Supernatural beings battle behind the scenes—and humans are all pawns on a chessboard.  The outcome of the game will determine not only what the future might be. . . but whether there even is one.

Excerpt:

            Paul reached for the sweet and sour chicken trying not to let his hand shake.  “Did you come to a decision?”

            She set down her fork and stared at her plate. “No.”

            He let out his breath and his chest relaxed a bit.  “Are you leaning one way or the other?”

            She looked up and he could see the tears sparkling in her eyes.  He set down his food, reached out and gathered her in his arms.  She leaned against his chest and he could feel the moisture of her tears dampen his shirt. 

            “It’s all right.  I’m here, I can help you.”

            She wrapped her arms around his waist and cried.

            After a while she let go and straightened up.  He handed her a dinner napkin and she wiped her eyes and nose then took a deep breath. 

            “It’s cheaper for me to go back to school.  There are some low rent apartments available not too far from a bus route that will go right past the school.  The school has a list of places willing to hire students.  I can also apply for some of the art scholarships provided by some of the school’s patrons.  Because of the time I’ve lost since I came to Boise, it will take me a year and a half to two years to finish my studies.”  She ran the napkin over her face again.

            “If I take the online option, it will take two to two and a half years to finish.  It is more expensive to live here and I will have trouble finding a good job because of my mother.”  She sniffed and used the napkin again.

            “I don’t want to leave you but I don’t see how I can stay.”

Buy links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VY8GL16

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bloom-of-a-rose-augustina-van-hoven/1125970586?ean=2940154295168

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-bloom-of-a-rose

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-bloom-of-a-rose/id1215289929?mt=11

http://www.inktera.com/store/title/d32aea80-24c7-4b80-843a-acc3836cdbef

https://www.scribd.com/book/341849511/The-Bloom-of-a-Rose-Rose-Series-3

Bio

Augustina Van Hoven was born in The Netherlands and currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two dogs and three cats.   She is an avid reader of romance, science fiction and fantasy.  When she’s not writing she likes to work in her garden or in the winter months crochet and knit on her knitting machines. 

Other links to include

www.augustinavanhoven.com

Twitter:  @augustinavhoven

FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Augustina-Van-Hoven-Author/336028986575129

Pinterest: Augustina Van Hoven, Author

Lurking Plot Bunnies...

We’re approaching the Chinese New Year and once again I feel the tickling of plot bunnies. For years the idea of writing a series based on the Chinese zodiac has dangled like a shiny object in the distance. Most of the outlining (more than I do for most of my stories) is done but I so far I haven't been able to fit into my writing que.

It would have a twelve year span (the Chinese cycle). Twelve Princess are under an enchantment and when they turn twenty they have an opportunity to shatter the spell. So at the beginning of year the princess is presented with her ‘opportunity’.  To fail would mean they disappear forever. They characters would assume some of the characters of the ‘year’ of their story.

For example 2014 is the year of the horse. So my heroine, Charlene, is popular, quick-witted, charming, cheerful, and talented. Her vices (or the makers of the story) she has a weakness for members of the opposite sex, is impatient and hot-blooded. So when an injured hero shows, she MUST help regardless of the cost even if it means she won’t be able to break the spell. And hiccups in the story are the results of her impatience.

Have you ever as a writer had an idea that sparked your muse but just couldn’t bring the idea to light? Or as a reader have you thought something would make a really good story?

Best wishes for this new year :D

Is it a furby??? Or a flesh eating creature???

Today, I'm talking about making believe out of the reality or in my case - world building. I'm working on a new sci-fi so I'm elbow deep in developing a world. Planets – how many? What are they liked? What lives on them? Etc. Since I'm a big fan of not reinventing the wheel I look for inspiration in things that already exist.



The picture shows a cute little furby something you would want to give a child to cuddle BUT in the second book in my young adult series - The Warrior Queen they morphed into deadly flesh eating creatures of the underworld. The humpback angel fish lives in my sci-fi world – I mean how could it not? I'm still developing the charactists and it's role. It will play a part in the farming community and will probably not be a fish but some sort of herding animal.

Writing is all about taking something 'normal' and adding a dash of your imagination. An ordanry couple becomes interesting when dead bodies start showing up in their bathtub. A dreaded boring business trip becomes life altering when the CEO's of the competing companies are kidnapped by terrorist. Of course, they find each other incredibly attractive;)

What were some of your favorite everyday situations that an author twisted into an exciting plot?

Reading Kick, Plot Musing, Etc

I've been on a reading kick lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm always reading. I just rarely choose it over writing. Lately, that hasn't been the case. I think a lot of it has to do with crazy overlapping release dates. It's like all my favorite authors got together and said, "Let's all release this week. Wheeee!" In a way, that's cool. It's almost like Christmas. In another way, my wallet is giving me the stink eye. LOL

Topping my list was Eternal Rider. (Writing this is actually reminding me I haven't blogged about my deep love for the series that comes before it, the Demonica series.) ER is set in the same Demonica world (yay!) but is a very cool continuation of the series handled in a way that will keep the old characters alive, but inject the series with fresh blood and new obstacles. It's really the perfect template for anyone contemplating writing a series. Instead of allowing a series to drag on aimlessly for nine or ten books, I much prefer this method.

I really think, now that I've finished all of Demonica (five books) and have read Eternal Rider, that I'll start a re-read. Larissa makes beautiful plot circles. Really, the whole series is perfectly plotted, but I love being able to see the circles so clearly.

Anyway, I'm recovering from my daughter's birthday yesterday (part two of four), so I'll leave y'all with a reading rec for Pleasure Unbound. I would have made that Eternal Rider, but your reading experience will be greatly enhanced by reading Demonica before starting the Lords of Deliverance series.
(Plus I have a bit of a thing for Eidolon. <3)

In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life…

She’s a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure—but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.

Two lovers will dare to risk all.

Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his desire to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable—and let Tayla possess him, body and soul…

Hatching a plot

Yes, that’s right. Vacation is over and it’s time to write again. I’m so excited!

So let’s talk plotting. Whether you sit on your idea and incubate it like a prized egg or you dream up your idea from a mere sliver of a concept, you’re all doing the same thing: plotting.

It’s simple to say no book can exist without a plot. I know you want to say “Duh, writer girl” but you’d be surprised about how many books, novellas or shorts are published daily and there’s no common thread, no spine, to hold them together.

Without a spine, you’ve got a lot of loose ideas flowing around and nothing to anchor them in. Your story requires a butterfly net in order to keep a reader’s attention and that is not a good thing.

Plot can either be character-driven or event driven.

Hmm, I can hear the groans now. Need an example? (Here’s me rubbing my hands together and cackling) Now remember, I'm by no means an expert and this is just the concept as I see it. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :-)

Let’s say our hero is your average guy, content with his life working in a bookstore. Now let’s say this bookstore specializes in the rare and the obscure. Life’s great for our guy. In walks a customer. Normal, unassuming woman who’s innocently browsing the books, looking for oh let’s a say a reference book on ancient curses and hexes since she’s a writer. Because she’s got no clue about the darker side, she cracks open a spellbook, reads one of the entries aloud—and opens up a swirling vortex of a time portal which immediately suck our hero and his unwitting sidekick inside.

That’s an event. With huge potential. How to get back home? How to deal with the new world on the other side?

Or, if you want the more mundane, hero is behind the counter, heroine is browsing books and an earthquake happens, leveling most of the street, putting countless lives in danger. Another event where countless things could take place. How will the h/h survive the trauma? Will they help people along the way? Or perhaps hero needs to reach a loved one across town.

Need another example?

Let’s say our heroine is a chef of small acclaim. She rules the roost of a local bistro. Life’s good until our hero shows up with more credentials to his name and is there to critique her work and teach her the finer points of cooking.

Reaction between the two is fast and immediate. She hates him because he’s arrogant and bossy, flaunting his skills around. He dislikes her because she refuses to learn and thinks her way is the best. Tying the two together is sexual tension and the common thread of shared interests—cooking.

This is character driven. The story hinges on emotions and reactions to each other and will drive your plot forward toward a common goal—dominance in the kitchen and the relationship. Working together to make a better product.

Sure, in both of these examples we don’t know the characters’ back story, but that’s the fun part for a writer. Your plot is built up of conflict, great or small.

Man vs. Man—the battling chefs. They both want to bring the other down but they’re also battling their feelings toward each other.

Man vs. Nature—the hero in the bookstore when an earthquake happens. This will require your hero or main characters to acquire confidence to overcome the situation and call on inner strength to survive

Man vs. Self—Let’s say our hero is afraid of natural disasters because he lived through a hurricane or some other major event. Or let’s say our heroine was abused by men all her life and wants nothing more than to succeed in a man’s world.

Man vs. Work—Or, especially in sci-fi, let’s say our hero has done experiments with genetic bending on himself. The results of these tests makes him a monster, bent on killing, etc. Or let’s say he’s a biologist who’s released a contagion into the water supply of the city, as an experiment gone wrong.

I could go on and on, but then you’d get bored.

Anyway, speaking of plot, might I remind you that I’ve got a book releasing on Friday? THE ART OF FANG SHUI is finally going to be set free into the world for all of you to read and enjoy. I’m very excited about this because it was super fun to write and it’s the book that triggered my love of the paranormal.

Wanna know more about it? I’m talking it up at the Nights of Passion blog. Please join me over there! http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com/

Or you can already purchase it for your Kindle through Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fang-Shui-ebook/dp/B0032AMDGY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262747302&sr=8-3
Until next week, happy writing and reading kids!