Fun Friday–The Great Debate
I don’t usually stop on VH1 when I’m flipping through the channels—unless an episode of I Love the ’80s happens to be on. However, over the last few days, there’s been a new show that’s made me stop on the channel usually known for the dregs of “reality” TV. They now have a new show on called The Great Debate where their D-list celebrities take one side of an issue about something in entertainment (“Does Disco Suck?”; “Wildest Toy Craze: Cabbage Patch vs. Tickle-Me-Elmo”; “Best Old Lady Commercial: Where’s the Beef vs. I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up”). It’s absolutely inane but absolutely fun. So I thought for Fun Friday, we could do our own “Great Debate” episode here. Choose your side on any or all of them and go to town!
Favorite Female Celebrity Chef: Paula Deen vs. Rachael Ray
Best Disaster Film of 1996: Independence Day vs. Twister
Favorite Movie Pirate: Johnny Depp vs. Errol Flynn
Best Iconic Hair: Farrah Fawcett vs. Jennifer Anniston
Favorite Mr. Darcy: David Rintoul vs. Colin Firth
Ransome’s Crossing: Crewing the Ships
Yes, I’m once again blogging about casting characters. Why? Because I’m doing it as I write this post.
Because Ransome’s Crossing will introduce us to a whole new set of secondary characters—a few we’ve seen briefly on William’s ship in Ransome’s Honor and many more we’ll meet aboard HMS Audacious—after not just meeting but exceeding my word-count quota for Monday and Tuesday (quota = 1,500 words/day, total for Monday & Tuesday = 3,685, thank you very much), I’d already introduced one key Audacious crew member, the first lieutenant. And I needed to know who he is. I already have a scene written that fits in later in the story that deals with the crew of Audacious as well, so I figured it would behoove me that while I’m ahead of the game on wordcount, I’d go ahead and spend the time signing on the crew of HMS Audacious.
Because in the initial draft of Ransome’s Honor there were several more scenes that took place aboard Alexandra which I ended up cutting, I already had quite a few of the key crew members cast—drawing mostly from the Hornblower movies, and some from Master & Commander, and others from…well, you’ll figure out where! So in this first partial crew listing, if you’ve read (or are reading) Ransome’s Honor, you should recognize most of these names.
Crew of HMS Alexandra
Captain William Ransome (Paul McGann)
First Lieutenant Ned Cochrane (Ewan McGregor)
Second Lieutenant Patrick O’Rourke (James d’Arcy)
Third Lieutenant Angus Campbell (Jamie Bamber)
Fourth Lieutenant Horatio Eastwick (Ioan Gruffudd)
Fifth Lieutenant Eamon “Jack” Jackson (Orlando Bloom)
Sixth Lieutenant Robert Blakeley (Heath Ledger)
Steward Archibald Dawling (Sean Gilder)
Midshipman Walter Kennedy (Max Benitz)
Midshipman Josiah Gibson (Josh Groban)
Boatswain Allerdyce Matthews (Paul Copley)
Marine Sergeant Ryken (Samuel West)
Bringing up the rear of the supply ships William is leading to Jamaica is HMS Audacious, a smaller ship, at 64 guns, which means one less officer and a slightly smaller crew. In writing Ned Cochrane’s opening scene in the first chapter of Ransome’s Crossing, I learned that he and the first lieutenant of Audacious came up as midshipmen together, so are about the same age. And because the newly assigned captain of this ship needs to be someone who won’t resent coming under William’s command, I decided he needed to be a little younger than William’s thirty-four.
Crew of HMS Audacious
Captain Alban Parker
1st Lt. Montgomery Howe
2nd Lt. Griffith Crump
3rd Lt. Lewis Gardner
4th Lt. Millington Wallis
5th Lt. Richard Duncan
Midshipman Thomas Hamilton
Midshipman Cornelius Martin
Midshipman Francis Hacker
Midshipman Marmaduke Clerke
Midshipman Charles Lott
I Gave a Speech! (Part 3)
Yesterday in Atlanta, I gave a speech at a conference managers of independent Christian bookstores. Since all of my time and energy has been focused on composing it over the past several days, and since I won’t have internet access for about thirty-six hours, I thought I’d share the contents of the speech over the next few days. Hope you enjoy! I’ll let you know how it went soon!
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Belief in the Product
While goals and deadlines are what drive sales people and writers to try to accomplish their quotas, what makes it worthwhile—what makes it a career instead of a job—is a strong belief in the product being sold.
What makes a sales person go out day after day, year after year, whether on the sales floor of a bookstore or out in the city to sell newspaper ads? The best sales people have a strong belief in the quality and effectiveness of the products they’re selling. In Christian bookstores, it’s the knowledge and confidence that the products you’re carrying—from the music, to the art, to the books—are going to make a difference in someone’s life, whether to edify Christians where they are, to encourage those who are downhearted, or even to reach out to the lost.
How many of you in the room would say you’re an extrovert, that you enjoy meeting other people, that you like talking to people who come into your stores about the products you offer?
Something you may not know about the majority of writers is that by nature, we’re introverts. We get stressed out meeting new people. It’s hard for us to go up and talk to someone we’ve never met before. And, for most of us, our writing is something so deeply personal that it’s hard for us to talk to anyone about it. So what is it that makes someone like me—who didn’t let anyone read anything I’d written, outside of school assignments, until I was thirty years old—go to a writers’ conference and sit down and tell professionals in the publishing industry about my story idea?
Well, it’s the same thing that makes you want to run a bookstore—belief in the product.
I always made up my own worlds, complete with fictional characters, growing up. When I was about twelve or thirteen years old, I wanted to remember those worlds, those characters, so I started writing them down. But even though I was a voracious reader, I didn’t know anyone else who wrote, so I kept quiet about it. Actually, I had a walk-in closet in my bedroom which was a great place to sit and have complete privacy as well as block out any distractions, so I literally was “in the closet” for many years when I first started writing. My senior year of high school, I discovered that if I took two English classes and two electives, I could be finished at mid-term and go ahead and start college. Since most of my friends had graduated the year before, I took that option—and the second English class I picked up was Creative Writing, with the teacher I’d had for AP English in 10th grade who’d barely passed me with a C grade. I could tell he had about as much trepidation as I did going into that first assignment—a short story. When he handed our stories back to us, I felt sick, because it was the first time I’d ever let anyone read anything that came purely out of my imagination. But when I turned to the last page, I read this: “A+ — I think you’ve finally found what you’re supposed to do.” Talk about a revelation.
So when I started college, I discovered that LSU had a creative writing major. Perfect for me. Little did I know, though, that they weren’t looking to actually teach young writers the nuts and bolts of how to write the types of stories we wanted to write, but that they expected us to already be writing in the style of Faulkner and Hemingway and other writers like that whose books I owned the Cliff’s Notes for because I’d never been able to read them. After somehow scraping out passing grades in both of my creative writing classes that I took in the three years I went to school there, I dropped out. I’d thought I’d been called to write, but my experience with those classes made me want to retreat back into a closet and never let anyone read anything I wrote ever again.
So, over the next several years, I wrote for myself, and I kept it to myself—my family knew I did it, but by then, I lived on my own, so I was once again “safe” to be able to do it and not have anyone trying to read over my shoulder.
But then I felt the calling again. I felt God pushing me, telling me that He’d given me the desire to write, the imagination to make up stories and characters, not for me to keep selfishly to myself, but to do something with it—along with the desire to go back and finish my education. That was in 1999. Now, ten years later, not only have I “come out of the closet” with my writing, but I’ve put it up on the shelf, proudly on display. Not to say “Here’s what I’ve done,” but to say, “Here’s what God is capable of.”
Because God gave me a belief in my “product,” I could confidently walk up to two of the top agents in the industry and ask them if I could submit to them. And that confidence wasn’t shaken with the first rejection came in quickly. I believed in my novel. I knew that God had told me the time was right, that it was the right story at the right time. And that belief in the product paid off, not just by landing me the agent of my dreams, but by sustaining me through the next year when every single Christian publishing house said no to it.
Novelist and former editor-in-chief with Simon & Schuster MICHAEL KORDA said: “To succeed, we must first believe that we can.”
We had a saying in our office at the newspapers: Seven nos means a yes. In other words, stick with it. Persevere. Keep going back—show the customer how much you believe the product will benefit them. And eventually, they’ll say yes. Nine months after the first submission, I talked to Barbour’s Rebecca Germany at the ACFW conference. And even though she’d initially said no to the proposal, when I saw her then, the business model had changed at the house slightly, and she was looking for trade-length contemporary romances. If I’d taken that initial ‘no’ and not followed up—if I hadn’t believed in my product—I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you today.
Conclusion
It’s been several years since I left the newspaper industry—for a position as an editor at a publishing house and now as a freelance editor working for several different publishers in addition to my writing. And while I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to have my “dream job” and not have to deal with the super-high-intensity lifestyle of working in a sales office with daily deadlines and multiple demands upon my time and attention every hour of the day, I am so thankful for everything I learned while working in that kind of environment. There are so many things that God can use our day-in-day-out jobs to teach us to carry over into our ministries for Him, such as goal setting, working under deadlines, or believing in the product—the ministry or service—He’s given us to do. So I’d like to close with the passage from the Bible that to me, epitomizes both my Christian walk as well as my career as an author, Hebrews 12:1-3:
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
I’m Giving a Speech! (Part 2)
I’m in Atlanta today giving a speech at a conference managers of independent Christian bookstores. Since all of my time and energy has been focused on composing it over the past several days, and since I won’t have internet access for about thirty-six hours, I thought I’d share the contents of the speech over the next few days. Hope you enjoy! I’ll let you know how it went when I get home!
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Living by Deadlines
In addition to setting and making goals, another very important lesson I learned working in the sales industry is that I work better with deadlines. There’s something about the adrenaline that comes from knowing a deadline is looming that sparks my energy and my creativity to get a job done. In the newspaper industry, those deadlines were a daily taskmaster. In many other industries, it’s a weekly, monthly, or quarterly due date that must be met. In writing, deadlines can loom five, six, nine, or twelve months—or more—away.
True confessions time. When I was in school—at least, before I went back as an adult learner who was working fulltime and attending school part-time—I was the kind of student who put off starting a paper until just a couple of days before it was due, and usually ended up pulling an all-nighter to get it finished on time. In my writing life, I would set deadlines for myself as to when I would have a manuscript finished, but because it was just me and some arbitrary date I’d set, it didn’t matter if I met it or not, right?
I know that most unpublished authors absolutely dread one thing when it comes to the dream of being published: deadlines.
Not me. I was thrilled to have deadlines imposed on me by someone else. You see, while I’m not good at meeting deadlines I set for myself, working as I did for so many years in an environment driven by goals and deadlines created in me a deep-seated determination to never miss a deadline. Part of that is my desire to please those in positions of authority over me; but another part of it is the pride and senses of achievement and confidence that come from completing a project and getting it turned in when—if not before—expected. I would never call myself an overachiever (though some others have)—simply because I know myself too well for that. I would call myself driven, determined, and deadline-oriented. You give me a deadline, I’ll meet it! Even if it means I have to spend an entire month—as I just did in June—focused on nothing but getting a manuscript finished so that I could turn it in by deadline. And I mean focused—I think I only left the house maybe six or seven days the entire month. But there was no way I was going to miss my deadline. And through hard work, determination, and my first all-nighter since finishing grad school, I met my deadline.
The actor Val Kilmer said: “Without deadlines and restrictions, I just tend to become preoccupied with other things.”
How true that is! Without deadlines, as well as goals, how easy it is to lose focus on what we’re doing and let the little things distract us. . .oh, look, something shiny! There are so many things both at work and at home that can distract us from the job we’re supposed to be doing if we don’t have those deadlines looming ahead of us—whether it’s family, friends, hobbies, our favorite TV shows, our Netflix subscription, computer games, or whatever. I’ve even been known to do something disgusting, like cleaning the house, instead of writing when I’m supposed to.
I just turned in the manuscript for A Case for Love, the third book in my series with Barbour (due out in February 2010, by the way), on July 1, and my next book, the second in a historical series with Harvest House, isn’t due until December 1. So you’d think I’d be able to take it easy for a while, just focus on my freelance editing work and setting up lunch appointments with friends, right? While that would be wonderful, and while I did take off several days this past weekend and did nothing writing-related, I know that if I’m going to meet that December 1 deadline, I have to work every single day on that manuscript. So I’ve set daily goals of writing an average of 1,500 words every single day—or about 10,000 each week—so that I can have the first draft finished before the first of October to give myself time to check my research, get feedback from beta readers, and make all the necessary changes so that I can turn it in before I leave for Arkansas for Thanksgiving—so that I can enjoy my holiday with my family. So even though that deadline is five months away, I have to live like I did back when I worked for the newspaper: like I have daily deadlines that must be met. Otherwise, it’s far too easy to go chasing after all those “shiny object” and forget to do what I’m supposed to be doing.
So try to do what I do—don’t look at a deadline as something dreadful and oppressive, look at it as God’s way of making sure we stay focused on the task we’ve been called to complete.
I’m Giving a Speech (Part 1)
I’m traveling to Atlanta today to give a speech at a conference managers of independent Christian bookstores. Since all of my time and energy has been focused on composing it over the past several days, and since I won’t have internet access for about thirty-six hours, I thought I’d share the contents of the speech over the next few days. Hope you enjoy! I’ll let you know how it went when I get home!
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One thing that’s not usually mentioned in an introduction of me, or even in my bio that goes out in marketing materials, is that I worked in the sales industry for almost thirteen years. I fell into it by accident—or perhaps by Providence—about a year after dropping out of college. At twenty-two years old, I took a job as a sales assistant at a newspaper, not knowing that job—that high-stress, high-pressure, high-intensity job for which I hadn’t really been prepared when I first started in the industry, would become a comfortable place where I would learn some of the most important lessons I would need many years down the road when I became a published author: lessons about setting and meeting goals, living by deadlines, and belief in my product.
Setting and Meeting Goals
In the newspaper advertising industry, everything is driven by sales goals, and much of my work over the years was in setting, tracking, and analyzing the goals assigned to the sales staff. I would imagine in the book-selling industry, it’s much the same. Stores have sales quotas, which means that those working in the stores have sales quotas. Goals are set to inspire the workers to challenge themselves to rise above what they think they’re capable of and accomplish something that exceeded expectations. But a sales person is only as good as the next goal—because those quotas aren’t going to stop coming.
Working in the sales environment for so long, I learned the importance of setting goals in my own life—goals that would challenge me to strive for them. When I turned thirty years old, I had recently returned to school to finish my college education. I set the goal for myself that I would be finished with my bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and be “well on the road” toward becoming a published author by the time I turned thirty-five. With that goal in mind, I worked hard to finish my degrees and write something that would be publishable. The year I turned thirty-five, I received my M.A., I won second place in the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Genesis contest for unpublished authors, and I signed with my agent, Chip MacGregor. Within another year after that, I received my first book contract, for Stand-In Groom.
I’d met my goal. Yay for me! But wait . . . just like in sales, an author cannot rest on the laurels of having signed one book contract. An author is only as good as her next book contract. That’s why I continue to learn, to write, to practice my skills, to come up with new story ideas, to set new goals for myself, to go to writing conferences and network with editors, agents, and other authors.
Goals for writers come in big and small sizes. I have career goals I’m pressing toward—such as signing another book contract for more contemporary romances, now that my first three-book contract is complete with the submission of the third book in the Brides of Bonneterre series last week. But I also have smaller goals—such as daily word count goals and goals for the number of hours each week I’ll spend working on marketing or how many books I’ll read in a given period of time. I’m continually setting big and small goals for myself so that I’m challenged to keep climbing, keep growing, keep improving, keep surpassing what I thought I’d be able to do. Ten years ago, I wasn’t even thinking about being a published author. But once God put that goal on my heart, I not only had to meet the goal, but surpass it.
J.C. PENNEY said: “Give me a stock clerk with a goal, and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”
Let’s keep setting and reaching for our goals.
Fun Friday–The Great Book Hunt
So yesterday, as planned, I spent the afternoon driving around town (or at least around the areas of town I frequent) visiting bookstores to see which ones had my books out and which ones didn’t. I put almost 60 miles on the car, and couldn’t have chosen a better day for it, as it stayed in the low-80s with a good breeze blowing all afternoon.
So here’s where I went:
To begin with, I started this map off at the Kroger where I stopped to air up a tire that looked a little low—because with as much as I love my blog readers, I didn’t really want to put a map straight to my house on the web for everyone to see! So those are points A and K on the map.
B. Barnes & Noble, Opry Mills Mall. About two months ago, I stopped there and left my marketing materials with the Community Relations Manager. She seemed interested in my books . . . at least to my face. But, alas, no books on the shelf, and no hole between Kathryn Cushman and Ted Dekker where they might have been. But I did treat myself to a tall Caramel-Light Frappuccino so that it wasn’t a completely wasted trip!
C. LifeWay Christian Resources store, Downtown Nashville. This store, one block up from the newspaper offices where I worked for ten years, was the first place I saw my books—all three of them—on the shelves. Which included Menu on the secondary “LifeWay Recommends” shelf—right next to pal Mary Connealy‘s new release, too!
D. Borders Books, West End Ave., Nashville. This was the first time I’ve braved traffic on West End to visit this store. The Religion/Christian Fiction section is a the top of the stairs . . . and isn’t comprehensive. They had none of my books, which is odd, because I thought they were carrying at least SIG chainwide. But maybe they sold them and didn’t reorder. That seems to be the case with other Borders stores I’ve been in.
E. Borders Books, Franklin Rd., Brentwood. Last time I visited this location, they had two copies of SIG, and they let me sign both of them. As you can see, they still had one of the signed copies. So I pulled it off of the shelf which was above head-level for me (and I’m 5’9″!) and I moved it to the eye-level, face-out featured title shelf, as you can see. I then went over to the Romance section. They had two copies of the hard-cover edition of Mary Balogh’s Regency, Seducing an Angel, which caught my eye because the dress on the girl on the front cover is gorgeous (though the back of is late-Victorian, not Empire!) on one of the top shelves. So I stuck a postcard for RH in both copies. I then also stuck a postcard in every copy of every Georgette Heyer book they had on the shelves.
F. Barnes & Noble, Moore’s Lane/Mallory Lane, Cool Springs (Franklin, TN). I probably spend more time in this B&N than any other bookstore. It’s my “go-to” location when I need my fix of being in a bookstore, smelling that new-book smell, looking at covers, reading back-cover copy, and seeing what’s on the bargain tables I might never have heard of before. Again, last time I was in this store, about a month ago, I talked to the CRM and left my marketing materials. And apparently it worked! They had two copies of SIG! (But no copies of MFR or RH.) Since the shelf they were on is at knee-level, I moved one of them to the end-cap where there was an empty space amongst the Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Karen Kingsbury titles. I also stuck an RH postcard and an MFR bookmark in each copy.
G. LifeWay, Galleria Blvd., Cool Springs (Franklin, TN). It looks like right now, LifeWay is the only store that has received Menu and RH chainwide. I know there have been a few scattered sightings of one or the other at some other chains across the country, but here in Nashville, this was the only chain that had all three of my titles (if any at all!). Once again, they had several copies of both of the new books (but only one of SIG, and I think the other LW only had one or two of SIG). A few weeks ago, last time I was in the area, I spent quite some time sticking RH postcards in most of the historical novels on the shelves, so I didn’t bother doing that again. I did, however, hand an RH postcard and an MFR bookmark to a lady who was browsing the fiction section.
H. Borders Books, Cool Springs Blvd., Cool Springs (Franklin, TN). This is the store in which the Religion/Christian fiction section is right next to the restrooms. They’ve had a freestanding small display case in front of the main shelves displaying about 50 copies of The Shack for at least six months, and they haven’t sold very many of them (I know, because I put SIG bookmarks in almost all of them six months ago, and the 40 or so still on the shelf still have bookmarks in them.) The most copies of SIG I’ve seen at this store was two, but this time there weren’t any. But a salesperson did stop me on my way out to see if there was anything he could help me find. I told him why I was there, and he explained that even when books come out on the first of the month, they don’t usually get their shipments until a Monday because they always put new books out on Tuesdays. Since I’ll be driving back from Atlanta on Tuesday, I’ll have to go back by the Borders stores next Wednesday to see if they’ve received them or not.
I. Wal-Mart Supercenter, Mallory Lane, Franklin, TN. Anyone who knows me knows I dislike going into a Wal-Mart for any reason, but if they’re going to not only carry, but feature my books, I’ll make the effort. I’d been told by the publicist at Barbour that Wal-Mart would be featuring Menu for Romance on a “Featured New Releases” shelf. However, not only did I not see a shelf like that at this WM, I didn’t see anything but one copy of SIG on the shelf. No MFR, no RH. However, while I was there, I did go ahead and pick up a new spiral notebook (with a purple cover, naturally), for the writing of Ransome’s Crossing, along with some purple two-pocket folders—because they’re purple and they were four for a dollar.
J. Sam’s Club, Mallory Lane, Franklin, TN. In addition to finding out that MFR is supposed to be “featured” at Wal-Mart, I’ve also been told that it’s supposed to be carried at Sam’s Clubs. Although this Sam’s had a well-ordered display of several Christian fiction titles, mine was not amongst them. Maybe it’s too soon? Maybe they, like Borders, won’t have them out until next week?
With Stand-In Groom‘s releasing a couple of weeks before its January 1 release date, and seeing it and hearing about sightings of it all over the country in the days leading up to and just after Christmas, it’s a bit disheartening that Menu and Ransome aren’t already out everywhere I know my books have been/are supposed to be carried. But I know I just have to be patient. Everyone who preordered them from Amazon should have them by now—or should receive them within a day or two. And LifeWay stores have lots of copies of the two new releases. Ruth saw Menu at the Hastings store in Murfreesboro, TN. So they’re slowly getting out there.
If you’ve seen either or both of the new books at a store near you, please let me know!
Now What?
Now that A Case for Love is all squared away and turned in, what’s next? Take a break? Um . . . not really.
In case you haven’t noticed, I took the word-count widget for A Case for Love off yesterday, and I reset the counter for Ransome’s Crossing to zero. That’s not because I’ve trashed the bits and bobs of scenes I’ve written that may (or may not) be used in it. It means that I now need to start at the beginning writing it. And that means that starting next Monday, July 6 (the day I’m driving to Atlanta, as a matter of fact), I need to average at least 1,500 words per day to reach my goal of having the first draft finished before the beginning of October. With a due date of December 1—which really means I have to get it turned in before I leave for Hot Springs for Thanksgiving—the month of October will be a vital time for me to be able to have people read RC to give me feedback. (And no, that’s not a call for volunteers. I already have my readers lined up.) Because of the nature of writing a historical novel, feedback is vital. I have to make sure I’m not over- or under-explaining things—especially since this book takes place in large part aboard ship. Because it’s the second book of a story that takes place over three books, I have to make sure that it gives a full, satisfying story while making the reader yearn to read the third book. And I have to make sure all of my research is accurate and that I’ve filled any holes that I didn’t research while writing the book.
So how am I getting started with this project?
Well, my first step, I’ve already started—which is re-reading Ransome’s Honor. Yes, I’m actually reading the printed book. I’ve also made a calendar/list of events that need to happen in the beginning of the book while they’re still in Portsmouth, before they set sail. But before I start writing, I need to figure out where I’m starting this story. Do I pick up the moment that the first book leaves off? The next day? A few days later? I only have them in Portsmouth about seven days before the ships leave, so I can’t have too much of a time gap. Then, once I do start writing, how much backstory do I include? Do I write it assuming that the reader has read the first book? Do I try to make it a stand-alone and pretend like I didn’t write the first book and just pretend like I’m starting a brand-new story with this one? And do I need to spend more time plotting this one out to make sure once I get started that I’m going to have enough story to fill 105,000 words?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about delving back into the Regency world, especially since there’s more opportunity for some action scenes and to really explore the workings of the Royal Navy as well as delve deeper into certain relationships from the first book. But it’s also a daunting thing to realize that in less than five months, I have another book manuscript due—one that takes a whole lot more work than just writing the story and revising it to make sure it works (okay, yes, there is research that has gone into all three of the contemporary novels—but nothing like what goes into the historical). And I already know there are going to be a lot of distractions while I’m trying to get it written: going to Atlanta next week to speak at a booksellers’ conference, ICRS the week after that, a few book signings I’m already talking to people about. Teaching at MTCW every month, interviews and marketing, spending time with friends, the ACFW conference in September (if I can afford to go), working on the edits I get back from Barbour on Case, football season starting in September, and…what am I forgetting? Oh yeah, let’s not forget, the freelance work I need to be doing every week to be able to support myself without taking a full-time job so I can have the time to write.
Can you tell I’m stressing myself out needlessly before really even getting started on the next book? Which is why I’m taking the holiday weekend to do things like go around to the bookstores, Wal-Marts, and Sam’s stores around down to see who has MFR and RH out like they’re supposed to. Packing up books to take to the post office to mail out to contest winners. And watching movies. Over the next three or four days, I plan to watch all eight of the Hornblower movies, every single Austen adaptation I own (which includes all of the old BBC adaptations from the ’70s and ’80s), and Master and Commander. (Okay, no, I really don’t have time in four days to watch all of those movies, but I’ll do my best!) I’m going to pull out all of my research notes and start reviewing them. I may even pull out a couple of my favorite research books and start flipping through all of the Post-it Note marked pages. And I’m going to try to get back on a more regular sleep schedule. This staying up until three or four in the morning and then sleeping until eleven or twelve may have worked for cramming to get the book finished, but I must get myself back on a normal work-write-play schedule so that when I do have plans—such as the Saturday MTCW meetings every other week—I’m not having to set four alarms just to make sure I get up in time to go and then drag through the rest of the day. Plus, if I’m going to start walking again and take off this five or six pounds I’ve gained this month from eating take-out and fast-food while finishing Case, it’s better to do it earlier in the morning before it gets too hot outside.
So that’s what’s next for me.
Pop Open the Champagne!
Woohoo! A Case for Love has been turned in! And I think I like it. I definitely like the ending. I wasn’t certain enough (and didn’t really have enough time) to write an epilogue—any time I started to, it felt forced, too cutesy. Plus it leaves the door open in case we ever decide to revisit Bonneterre and the Guidry family.
And today is the official release date for Menu for Romance and Ransome’s Honor. I’ve received copies of both from Amazon (yes, I pre-order one copy of each of my books from them so I know when they’ve shipped). Ransome came yesterday, and Menu arrived just a couple of hours ago. (And I still haven’t received my author copies of Ransome, which is starting to annoy me, since I know several people are awaiting copies of it from me.)
However, I know they haven’t hit shelves everywhere yet, but hopefully by this weekend they’ll be out everywhere (including MFR at Sam’s and Wal-Mart!).
Here’s another chance for someone to win a copy of Menu or Ransome’s Honor:
http://wordvessel.blogspot.com/2009/07/two-new-books-by-author-kaye-dacus-book.html
So I thought to celebrate their official “birthday,” I’d share the review that Menu received in the July issue of Romantic Times:
Dacus’ latest novel in the Brides of Bonneterre series is filled with love, hidden secrets and a haunted past. Drawing back the curtains on two families, the author provides a touching story that uncovers the flaws behind one seemingly perfect family, and the devastating effects of a tightly hidden secret on another. Dacus weaves together a story that penetrates your heart and provides hope for the darkest situation. ~Reviewed by Jennifer Reyes
Guest Blogger on Seekerville Today
Want to know my take on deadlines—especially the one I have tomorrow? Well, I blogged about it for Seekerville today: http://seekerville.blogspot.com/2009/06/living-and-dying-by-deadlines.html.
If you’d prefer, you can listen to my “podcast” of the article here:
Kaye Dacus’s Blog Casts #1 – Living and Dying by Deadline
Also, since all of my readers are so good at it, hop over to fellow Nashville author Ramona Richards’s blog today and help her cast a hero in a novel she’s developing: http://ramonarichards.blogspot.com/2009/06/cast-hero-win-book.html—and your comment will make you eligible for the drawing to win a copy of Ramona’s next book.
Guest Blogger on Barbour’s Edit Cafe–Chance to Win Menu for Romance!
I’m the guest blogger on Barbour’s Edit Cafe Blog today. They’re giving away a copy of Menu for Romance, so be sure to stop by and leave a comment on their blog for a chance to win!
http://editcafe.blogspot.com/2009/06/guest-blogger-kaye-dacus.html
KayeDacus.com 