Category Archives: Inspiration

BayCon – go there!

Road trip!

No, not really. BayCon is going on in sunny SoCal, and my publisher and two of the authors in Paper Angel Press are going to be there. Go visit!

Writing non-fiction is a little harder than I thought. Some of the items that I’m writing about, I got from other sources but put my own spin on them. I plan on having a bibliography, but do I cite the sources as I go along? I don’t want this to be a research paper – I’ve seen other non-fiction books just mention everything at the end.

I’m writing about summoning your muse. It’s not really “summoning”, more of a “calling to”. I’m running into trouble, again, with source material. I’m getting it from three different sources.

Research is in order.

Switching gears

While waiting for the slooooowwwww download of CoX, I’m writing a new book.

I’ve stopped writing Blood From a Stone. I kept getting stuck, following the outline I had created for myself. I found out that I was forcing things to happen.

So now I’m writing a book for writers called Real Magic for Writers. It draws on my experience as a Sorcerer and Magician, as well as a writer of ten books.

I’m trying to keep the book conversational and easy to understand. The main point of the book is you can do the spells, but you also need to do the work behind them in order for the spell to succeed.

The good thing about this book is that the outline is clear. There’s no real room for diversion, once I can get the outline perfectly done up. With fiction, there’s rabbit holes even with outlines. With non-fiction, it’s pretty easy to go through.

I just hope that the people who read this book won’t go nuts if everything goes wrong.

Next Saturday, I will be appearing at the Providence Book Festival in the Renaissance Hotel. It’s a fancy joint, so I might have to dress up. and I have to pay an insane amount to park. Oh well; at least I’ll be with other Pulitzer Prize winning local authors (though I never heard of them). It should be interesting.

I might have one appearance in May, but on June 1 I’ll be in Woonsocket for their second annual Meet and Greet. I hope to participate in Pridefest on June 15 – it depends on when I get my tax ID. It’s the little things.

In the meantime, healthwise, I don’t feel like I’m getting better, and some days are better than others. Today is already rough; I can imagine what next week will bring. I have some tests the following week to decide whether or not I’ll need oxygen. If that happens, I might as well give up doing the outdoor events. Nevermind how the heck I’m going to get around.

Progress on Blood From a Stone is excellent. I’ve plowed through my manuscript, fluffed up some scenes, taken out some worthless characters, and told a story. It’s the how that is going to be the problem. I know what I want to say now, what I meant to say in the first draft; now I need to figure out how.

It’s going to take some significant rewriting on my part to get it to be the story I wanted. But it has some hope, unlike Yellowtree which has the only hope of a good title.

Speaking of good titles:

Review: Clean
I didn’t finish it. Maybe I’ll go back to it. Why?
The main character (A Level 8 telepath, whatever the hell that means) is a recovering junkie. I thought, okay, that’s interesting. But he brings it up in every chapter. In every other chapter, he keeps asking his superiors for help from “The Guild” and the superiors keep saying no. By the fifth time of all this happening, I’d had it. (Remember the rule of three, people. Reject it three times and then do something about it, or your reader will think you’re dragging it along like a dead horse.)

Review: Hot Lead, Cold Iron
I’m still reading it, though I’m getting really close to not finishing it.
The main character, Mick Oberon (probably that Oberon, I wouldn’t be surprised) is a 1930’s noir PI fae. I thought that was a great idea, too, except the narrator’s voice keeps switching from period voice to a more modern voice. It’s like hearing a high Victorian lady spout the f-word like a soldier. We’ll see if I finish it.

Editing

I will admit, I did some writing when I was in the hospital. When I got home, I typed it up and sent it to my editor.

Not my best work.

The stories that I had done before the hospital were pretty good. And one of the stories I wrote in the hospital, I thought, was going to be a hit. Not quite.

I totally missed characterization of one of the main characters, having him be a cardboard cut out, and I didn’t realize it. This is what happens when you’re on drugs in the hospital. (lol)

I’m so glad I have an editor who is honest enough to tell me where I went wrong and what I need to do to improve the story. Because that’s what the point of an editor is: to tell you what’s good and what might need improvement. Line editing is something almost anyone can do. But editing both the story and silly things like punctuation and the overuse of words (mine is “just”) takes a special kind of person.

Over the past couple of days I’ve been editing. I have to rewrite my last story that I sent him, and I have three stories to go for Grimaulkin Collected. For some reason, though, these three stories seem to be the hardest to generate. I have them at top of mind, but I can’t seem to get started. I don’t understand why.

The other thing is what am I going to write next? I’ve been writing shorts for about a year now that I’ve almost forgotten how to write novels. I tried with Yellowtree, and it came out like crap. That is causing a writer’s block: What next? There has to be a What Next…

I’m so jealous of people who can writer 100K novels, when I have to struggle to write 30K books. I used to be able to write 50-60K without breaking a sweat. I feel like I need to get something out there, something fast. I also write like a journalist, not a novelist, so description is extra-far down the list of things I need to write.

I have three stories to get done by the end of the month. Provided I don’t get sick again.

Tree

In the Lenormand card deck, the tree is the card of health. When it comes up in a reading, you have to look at the cards around it to see whether health is good or bad.

The Tree came up on one of my readings, but I don’t remember the cards around it. I think Mountain was one. Mountain means “an obstacle to climb.”

If it’s what I remember, it came true with a vengeance. Somehow I got pneumonia about 2 weeks ago, and it hit me as just shortness of breath. No coughing, sneezing, fevers (though yes, to chills). I learned alot about hospitals and protocols and rules and how they handle blood transfusions (yes, I got one of those), so these things will probably make it into one of my books or stories someday.

That’s the funny thing about how things happen in your or a close person’s life–it ends up as fodder for a story. As a patient who is a writer, you’re part patient, part anthropologist, documenting everything later for use in a scene or something.

And all that endless television watching. I watched NCIS: Los Angeles all day Sunday with the sound off predicting, “Oh, they’re gonna do this, and this is what’ll happen.” And most of the time I was right. I suspect I got the police procedural story formula right!

So although I’m feeling a little better, I’m not 100%. That may take some time. Air will be out next Wednesday (Valentine’s Day!) though it is available for pre-order for only $2.99 on Amazon right now. I had a lot of fun with this book, and I think it’s got one of the best stories of the lot in there. I worked really hard on the history, so I hope people notice.

While in the hospital I wrote a scene for Grimaulkin Collected, not realizing I had already written it. But the second scene was better. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called a rewrite, not a revision. I usually do revisions. I hardly ever do rewrites.

My next event will be next week (fingers crossed I don’t end up in the hospital…again…) at the Cumberland Monestary. It’s the same place mentioned in the Grimaulkin series. Come down and see the place! The stage is gone but the buildings are still there. I’ll be there from 1-3.

Also, I’ll be there looking for writers for my publisher’s new anthology, Corporate Catharsis. Go take a look if you’re interested in participating. I will be entering with a working title “The Hex Office.”

What I’m Reading:
Blackbird in the Reeds
Dustin comes home to find some weird stuff taking over his childhood town. Getting a little slow to start up, but I’m hoping things pick up pretty soon or I’ll be moving on.

Buckling down

With Air in the can, I’m supposed to concentrate on Grimaulkin Collected. The key here is “supposed to”. I will admit that this week I hardly wrote much, mostly because I was recovering from surgery. I had expected to write every day, but couldn’t seem to bring myself to the keyboard.

I have to get Grimaulkin Collected completed by April. If i write a scene a day, I can do this.

What I’ve read:

Writing the Mystery.
Tell me something i don’t already know. If you read enough mysteries, you don’t need this book.

Plot in 8 Parts
Not unlike Holly Lisle, who believes that every scene is a mini-story, this book tells you how to come up with plot points in 8 sections. I stopped after reading the second plot point, because it wasn’t too unlike The Hero’s Journey.

Flash! Writing the very short story
Fun stuff at first. I’m still reading and doing the prompts. They’re fast and easy.

The Erotic Formula

I’ve read a few gay erotica books, two by the same author, and found out that she follows this formula.

  1. Introduce the two men as forbidden fruit to each other.
  2. They find out they’re gay.
  3. One has an issue being gay (he was bullied because of it or he’s normally straight).
  4. One is in control and eventually loses control.
  5. First sex scene is kissing, hugging, touching.
  6. Second is nude, but they separate afterward
  7. Third may include penetration, but mostly oral
  8. Fourth includes penetration
  9. Subsequent sex consist of breaking down of barriers of the “top”.

The story itself is secondary to the erotica (obviously). There are a few twists and turns to keep the story going, but in general, the end is the bad guy offers his “listen to my evil plan” speech, and dies at the end.

Now, in short stories, I might have trouble following this formula, as I don’t have time to go through four or five incidents of sex. As a novel, yes, I think I can do this.

An update: Last quarter I sold 77 books! That’s combining my erotica with my Paper Angel Press books. I was amazed. Thank you all so much for continuing to support me!

Air is slated for release on February 14 (natch). Audio version probably a month or so after that.

Grimaulkin Collected is slated for May. I have to get writing a little faster on this one.

What I’m reading:

Shiver. After a break, I finished this book, and glad I did. Even though this book was very like her other book Deadly Lover, it had a nice twist at the end that I didn’t expect at all. I’ll pick up her other books to see if she pulls the same formula out.

Steele My Heart – Tatum West
Sweet romance. Not my thing. Got to chapter 4 and tossed it back to Kindle Unlimited.

Fractured Truth – Ashe Winters
Vampires. Okay…I’ll try it. Only on Chapter 2, but finding it interesting.

Where’s the beef?

I started to revise Yellowtree using class notes I had from a few years ago when I did the rewrite for Grimaulkin, around 2012. Using these notes, I realized a few things.

  1. There’s no conflict.
  2. There’s no antagonist.
  3. There’s no reason for the title.
  4. The sword has nothing to do with the story–it’s a cool prop, that’s all.

Oh, how that hurts.

Now, normally, I would just toss the whole thing in a circular file and call it a day. But I have a story that has to get done, and this is the only one that’s promising (right now, anyway). So I’m going to suffer through the 22 week (compressed, of course) course and do the rewrite as best I can. It will be a better story, because right now, it’s a wreck.

Air is in its final stages and on track. I am also writing Grimaulkin Collected, the anthology with some stories in the Grimaulkin universe. I’ve done Ritter and plotted out Chevalier’s back stories. Now I need to work on the Grey Man from the Atheneum and maybe Mike’s marriage proposal to Scott. I already wrote that in the game–I just have to remember it.

What I’m reading now:

Shiver – Jocelyn Drake and Rinda Elliot (obviously not their real names)

Yes, another Jocelyn Drake book. I liked Deadly Lover so much I wanted to read more by this author. There’s a lot of heavy-handed “cold” motifs in this book. It’s the first in the “Unbreakable Bonds” series, which includes short stories in the series.


However, in this book so far–I’m only on chapter 2.5–I don’t care about the characters. Snow (yeah, see the heavy-handedness?) is too rough, Lucas is too cardboardy, and Rowe is Justin from Deadly Lover. Whoever the writer is for the fight scenes, though, knows what they’re doing. The detail is fantastic, even though my eyes glazed over after page four of the description. I want to write like that when I grow up.

Air completed (V1)

Due to surprise complications at work (basically, IT decided my department wasn’t a priority), I had some free time to finish writing Air. The editor said that I seemed to have more fun writing these. I wouldn’t say it was fun – it was very experimental for me. I wove real history into my stories, using actual historical figures.

But the good thing is, the first editorial pass is complete, with the first corrections in the can. It’s on course to be released for February of next year.

Next is Grimaulkin Collected, an anthology of Grimaulkin stories. I’m going to start doing what I did with Air’s stories–plot them out with enough wiggle room to “discover” the story. Even though my plot cards may not survive contact with the page, at least I have a bit of a guide of where I want the story to end up. Before, I would keep it in my head. Now, setting it down on paper solidifies the ending for me. Also, I can decide whether or not the ending is actually any good.

Switching between Grim’s stories will be Yellowtree. Although I have a story on the page, I can’t seem to answer basic questions. What’s the theme? Who is the antagonist? Why did the protagonist do what he did? Why is the antagonist (if there is one) doing what they’re doing? And most of all, what’s the plot? Until I can answer questions like that, I don’t have a story–I have a protagonist acting and reacting.

So between that and double XP on Champions Online, that’s what my holidays will consist of: writing and gaming. Oh, and reading:

What I read this week:

A new feature of this blog, I think, should be what I read or am reading over the past week. That’s right, I got so much copious free time. Actually my reading time is an hour in bed before my sleep meds kick in.

Be Counted – D.R Perry.
This is a local RI author. She’s really very good, very funny, and, as we say in RI, wicket smaht. This is the second book I’ve read of hers, the first being A Change In Crime. I liked this one, with a couple of exceptions.
1) Errors in name and age. The main character’s sidekick is either named Scott or Patrick. His ex-partner’s partner is named Weintraub or Tierney. The main character himself is, I think, 25 or so, which is way too young to make detective; and his best friend, who is the same age, acts much, much older.
2) Snarky goes so far At first, the snarky comments were amusing. Then they just got irritating. I’m impressed that the author kept up that level of snark, because I couldn’t.
3) Personal preferences. No chapter titles/numbers. Formatting on the Kindle created no indentation of paragraphs. And most of all, the entire novel is in present tense. That is something I can’t do at all and, again, I am impressed by it.
I gave it four stars because I liked the premise, the writing was good, and something I might want to emulate. But, mind you, I didn’t finish the book. Why? The snark level had gotten to me.

Deadly Lover–Jocelyn Drake (in progress)
Okay, so i have a type for romance–enemies that become lovers. I just love to see how other authors can make that twist because I can’t seem to do it. This one is about two mercenaries, alpha males, who are gay, hide it, hide everything from each other even while they circle around trying to pierce each one’s armor. I’m learning a lot about how mercenaries work, how some special ops can quickly go sideways, and how to recover. I don’t think I could write a book on special ops using this book–need to read a lot more Tom Clancy, I’d guess. But this author keeps things tight and tense, and has kept my interest for 35% of the book.

Leaves of Grass–Walt Whitman (up to poem 45)
Whew, fan yourself after reading this! So much masculine love. I needed to read the poems for “Aquarius” (you’ll see why when it comes out). I didn’t read him in college. I remember a long time ago, finding this book in the wild in downtown Providence. I picked it up, leaved through it, didn’t get it, and left it there. Now that I’m older and coming at it from a gay perspective, I can see what he was trying to do. Hot stuff for the 1850’s!

Flotsam

Next weekend is Autumnfest, so I’ll be there for three days with Paper Angel Press stuff, in addition to my own stuff.

I have a podcast ready at Dark Mystic Quill, and it’s about history in writing.

I’m still working on Air, which is due in February. Fire will be out in October. War Mage is finished and ready to be out on the 1st. It’s short, and I apologize, but I couldn’t get a whole novel no matter how I tried.

I have no idea what to do for NaNoWriMo. My Vegas Fey character is intriguing, with a communicative sword,”with the attention span of a gnat on meth.” I’ll have to take him out of Vegas, though. Put him off the coast of Newport maybe? On a houseboat? Hmmmm…

Time to break out the little booklets and plot books for ideas.