Reader here

So someone made a comment to me the other day about how my life must have changed since selling, and how I've gone from a reader of books to a writer of books -- the assumption being that now I primarily spend my time writing and have had to give up reading, and that I no longer need to read as much since I can just read my own stuff. Um, no. Far from it. And I know I'm preaching to the choir here since you all are writers and readers, but . . .

I'm a fangirl of the written word. I get chills when a new book from a favorite or an exciting new author comes out. I gush over books I love to anyone who will listen. I have trembled and tripped over words as I've had books signed by amazing authors. And if I have my camera, I get pics, too. :D

I have, and always will be, a voracious reader. Selling doesn't change that. Yeah, my time is a bit more limited than before, but I make time to read. I must. One, because I love it. Two, because it's part of the business I'm in. And three, because I still learn something with every book I read. Prime example was last night. I stayed up until 1 A.M. reading MAGIC BURNS by Ilona Andrews. What an amazing book! But also an excellent lesson in tight writing, show-don't-tell, and amazing dialogue. Eagerly awaiting my copy of MAGIC STRIKES now! Seriously, if you haven't read the Kate Daniels books - Go. Now. Read.

Reading feeds my soul, keeps me thinking and imagining. It inspires me and makes me a better writer. And the list goes on and on... I suspect most writers would agree.

On my Book Blogs link to the right, you'll find a list of great sites devoted to books (mostly sci-fi/fantasy, urban fantasy, and parnormal romance). Some of these are new discoveries and some are ones I've had around for a while and remain my favs. All of which are great resources that feed my appetite for books, and might feed yours, too. ;-)

EDITED TO ADD: And if anyone has a good site to recommend that is not listed, just post it in the comments!

Home is where...

Daughter saw a one of those small gift books at B&N entitled, HOME IS WHERE MOM IS. She gasped, read aloud, and then said to hub and me: "Oh, my gosh, that is so true, 'cus, Mom, you are home, like, all the time!"

Heh. It's true.

Cover comments

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who commented on my cover. It's great to get feedback and hear what you guys think. I loved all your comments, both online and off.

Two comments made by several folks regarding the cover is the Tomb Raider type look of the model -- which is awesome in my opinion, cus Lara Croft rocks. And (this is hysterical) but I've had six people thus far say 'she looks like you'. It must be the hair style b/c I wear my hair like that a lot, and my hair is dark. Other than that, I don't see the resemblance (except maybe the tough look the model has might resemble me when I'm pissed. Ha!).

Off to work on Book 2...

PW article - 'When Love is Strange'

Gwenda Bond has written a fantastic article in this week's Publishers Weekly on paranormal trends in romance, as well as a bit about urban fantasy. She was kind enough to mention The Better Part of Darkness in the article, which is the coolest thing evah and deserves an enormous 'thank you' from me.

Gwenda follows up with some additional thoughts on her blog -- a must read. Check out her "Some Things I learned". Great stuff.

My cover!

Suddenly I'm at a loss for words . . . *Trying again*

With permission, here is the cover for The Better Part of Darkness! This is not the final cover (a few details might change), so please no reposting, but feel free to link, of course! :-) One really cool feature (besides the awesome Chris McGrath artwork) is the title will actually be a gold-colored foil treatment. I cannot say why for certain, but the shiny stuff really makes me happy. (And you can click the pic to make bigger...)

EDITED TO ADD: You know what I really like about this cover? The dark, urban, gritty feel of it. It mirrors the story and tone of the book so well. Plus, the model fits so completely and naturally into that landscape. And she looks like she can totally kick ass -- which, incidentally, also mirrors the book ;-)

On multiple projects

I think I might have a slight touch of insanity. Or maybe the better word is obsession. I write during the day. I consider this my job -- my hours of operation, ya know? And I love, love, love my job. The obsession comes in when I continue to write on weekends and at night on a secondary project -- like its my hobby. It should be overkill, but somehow it is not.

I have never, since I began writing seriously ump-teen years ago, written on one project at once. (And kudos to those who write this way, and have found what works best for them). I've actually tried that, and it stifles me completely. It's very constraining to my creative process. So, I'm always writing a rough draft of one thing and then polishing something else on my free time. Or revising a main project while making notes on a new project. It's like I need or thrive upon the creative fuel of multiple projects. One feeds the other in amazingly positive ways.

Just my morning observation... turning in Le Super Secret YA project to my agent last night made me think of the way I write, the way it works best for me, and ideally what kind of career I want to have, and what kind of writer I am most comfortable being.

And fingers crossed for the YA, folks!

Weekend find

So I found this cute/creepy little doll at the flea market over the weekend, and bought her for a quarter. I think she was in a McDonald's Happy Meal. LOL. Her skin is more green than in the pic, so are her eyes, but she's very intriguing, and I like her. ;-)

Friday wrap-up

Go Canes!

Up late last night watching game 7 -- Hurricanes v. Boston. Sudden death overtime. The Canes pulled it off once again and advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh. Woot!

In other news: Had a fantastic two days of writing. Good stuff. Got a lot accomplished and am hoping to get even more done today.

Got a look yesterday of the basic text of The Better Part of Darkness -- the font, the chapter headers and stuff like that. Looks great!

Le Super Secret YA was finished a while back -- don't think I mentioned that. Been polishing it up here and there on nights and weekends, and that baby is almost ready to go forth into the world.

That's about it for now. Have a good weekend!

Tuesday tidbits

Since the hub was out of the country over Mother's Day, we're celebrating later this week instead. Over the weekend, I was able to get some sporadic writing done. It was enough to give me a leg-up on this week, so today I'm taking part of the day off to see Star Trek. So excited. And I'm even more excited b/c I had no idea that Karl Urban plays Dr. McCoy, and I'm a huge K.U. fan since his days as Ceasar on Xena. I know, I'm such a geek . . . :D

Oh, and yesterday I had thee most amazing idea for another series. It's O. M. G. worthy, and something no one has done before. At all. Not even vaguely. And it's full of good stuff that it gives me chills. *sigh* This is why I love writing. This is also one of my biggest distractions -- new ideas.

Unfortunately, I cannot give this my attention now. There isn't enough time in my day, and I don't want to lose the momentum I have with Book 2. But I did make some notes, so that I can pick this one up after turning in B2 (which is surprising me at every turn, and taking Charlie places I never thought she'd go. Yay!) and after polishing up Le Super Secret YA.

Cover artist

So as some of you might already know from reading my guest post yesterday or on Twitter, I have seen my cover. :D

I'm sooooo happy that Pocket chose Chris McGrath as the cover artist for The Better Part of Darkness. His style fits in so well with the dark, urban feel of the book, and the model is gorgeous and mysterious, and totally looks like she could kick anyone's ass or die trying. I can't wait to show it to you guys!

Today I'll be working on Book 2, which now has a title (I'll see if I can share that with you all), and possibly putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. We'll see about that one. ;-) All in all, it should be a productive day...

I'm at Fantasy Debut today!

Please come on over and say hello! I'm blogging about passing the revision and copy editing milestones, as well as sharing a little news about my cover. Hope you guys can drop by!

Also, I'll be checking comments, so if you have any wrtiting/publishing questions feel free to ask!

Take a look . . .

. . . at a very cool interview featuring my agent, Colleen Lindsay, at Follow the Reader. Check it out. Well worth the read.

Linkage, pimpage, and whatnot

Morning. Shocker, I know. :-) I'm getting my post in before noon for once! It's been a while since that has happened...

First up: Two of my fellow Pixie Chicks (2008 Golden Heart finalists) have sold and have releases this month! Please check them out. They are fabulous!

Kris Kennedy and Tracie Sommers.

Second: I'll be guest posting again at the wonderful Fantasy Debut on Thursday. I'll talk about reaching a few more milestones in the publishing journey -- oh, and I have a bit of fun news to share there as well.

And third: because it's cute... Look who I found in the bathroom sink this morning. Sebastian:

Pic as promised

It's still healing, and looks pretty 'muddy', but after it peels and heals -- heh -- it'll be sharp and pretty. A lot of that black will actually be a dark orange color. And taking a pic of your inside ankle while looking through a camera lens, no small feat after working out and very sore. :D

Another title schmitle

Allergies are kicking my ass. I cannot breathe. It's like there are two corks stuck up each nostril. Ugh. I know, you all probably didn't need that visual. :D

Gonna go pass out now . . .

Oh, and check back next week because I'll be posting a pic of the awesome tattoo I got yesterday, and I'm doing another guest post at Fantasy Debut on some milestones I've completed. So please stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!