by Sarah | Jul 30, 2012 | Changing Tracks, The Muse, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”7665973486″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I have a new weakness. A new collection brewing. It’s small for now – just 3 items, but I adore them.
Last year I discovered a section at our local book resale shop (you know the one, I named it up there^^) called “Collectibles”.
Since discovering it I’ve been fortunate to find three items that manage to both bring me joy and inspire me all at once.
Three books with publication dates pre-1900 in pretty amazing condition.
Three books that one of my characters could have, and likely would have, in her lifetime.
[flickr id=”7665943684″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”]Jane Doe from Changing Tracks is an avid reader with an eidetic memory. She loves poetry, but reads just about anything she gets her hands on (she has even been known to read medical texts).
So even when I’m not working on Changing Tracks. I love having these books on hand. They make me think of her, and then in turn my other characters. They bring me inspiration, and a chance to focus on my characters and give them a little more depth.
None of them cost me very much (although I would have willingly spent more on each of them) – but they are books that will never leave my home. While I willingly resell books all the time to keep some space open in our cramped home, I have handfuls of books that never leave the shelves. These have and will maintain a prominent and permanent place in my home.
To me, they bring Jane to life even more than she already is in my head.
Let her out to breathe.
There’s no better inspiration than that.
by Sarah | Jun 3, 2012 | All About Me, Blogging Life, Books, Changing Tracks, Indiana Family of Farmers, Indiana Fever, Indy Geek Girls, Writing
[flickr id=”5074952547″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]The past twenty four hours have been a whirlwind. A crazy whirlwind of amazing awesomeness that I can hardly begin to describe.
Seeing as this is blog specifically for that, I’m going to try. All of the awesomeness will see its own post (or two) this week, so for now I’m going to bullet point the awesomeness and then start prepping posts for the rest of the week to fill you up.
* First my husband and I went to Vintage Indiana (Thank you, Indiana Family of Farmers). We sampled, we walked, we ate and we bought. We discovered a winery we didn’t know about and brought home a few bottles of deliciousness.
* After that I met my friend and neighbor and went to an Indiana Fever Game. They put us up in the Legends suite and it was amazing. Good food, good drinks, good friends, good game (side note: we won!)
* The ever beautiful Casey had a phone that I could replace mine with after the loss I suffered last week. My Thunderbolt is gone, but I welcome in the Droid Bionic w/ open arms. We came this close to agreeing to a date to see Barry Manilow together…but alas she will be at Blogher. Such a shame…we could have been part-time Fanilow’s together.
* Did I mention the Fever game? Yeah, that meant I got to hang out with the awesomeness that is the Indy Geek Girls. The blogging community in Indy is Da-Bom’…and I loves me ladies.
* After all of that fun I came home and checked my email – to find an offer on my novel!!! I literally fell off the couch when I read the email. Yes, literally. Just ask Erik or Denver – they were there.
* Once I finally got to sleep – I woke up to find another requested full for my novel. I’d entered a pitch contest on a whim and a tiny prayer – & that publisher wants to see it too!
* Today I found out what was causing Erik’s phone to be painfully slow and it appears to be fixed. The man is very happy.
So today I’ve been sending out emails, fulls and updates to those that have my work. I’ve contacted a lawyer to look at the contract I received to help me make this difficult decision (I may not like the contract, or get the answers I want to my questions). Even though I’ve waited a very long time for an offer – I won’t just jump on it. There are a lot of points to weigh and I plan on weighing each of them carefully and with as clear a head as I can.
So as the week goes on, you’ll learn more about much of the events of the past 24 hours. right now I’m still a bit giddy so you get the info dump! More soon, I promise!
by Sarah | May 15, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Shorts, The Muse, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”6818404384″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Thanks to some incredible luck, one beautiful person, and my attempt at a sparkling personality…I have a real editor critiquing my baby right now.
That frees up a lot of time for my muse to alternately panic (OMG will she like it?), and decide to plot up 5,000,000 more books.
Or maybe just two. ~insert the ominous for now here~
On top of the one book I’m in mid-rewrites of, and the other that she dreamed up a few weeks back.
She is insane (but we covered that already).
The problem is, that I now have 3 title-less stories wandering around in the realm of my imagination.
One of those stories has its blurb ready, I have the page built for it even – but no title to gift it with.
Changing Tracks took a long time to come up with – and the train isn’t even a huge part of the story, but the entire series titles revolve around the train. Of course those weren’t the original titles either.
I suck at titles.
Which sucks because I don’t feel like I can get much of anywhere without a title to round out the story.
Now just don’t get me started on the dreaded query…
by Sarah | May 3, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Writing
I was made aware of this competition through some friends. My novel is complete, and with a gentle (or not) shove from them I decided to give it a try. I was thrilled to make their narrow signup window and get my piece into the fray.
Changing Tracks has been a labor of love – and I’m very proud of this book and what it has become.
This contest is a wonderful chance for writers, so please make sure you click that picture over there and go visit some of the other talented people in this competition!
Many thanks to those running this amazing contest: Cupid, Monica, Brenda, and Krista.
Now, without further ado, my submission to the Cupid’s Literary Writer’s Voice post.
My novel is a 94k Historical Western Romance called Changing Tracks. It’s set in the Colorado Territory, 1871.
*~*~*~*
The Query:
There is nothing simple about forgetting your past.
Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in DominionFalls. He makes time with his women, makes a killing gambling, and exerts his power how he pleases. One thing he never does is let anyone in.
Until the day she falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. He saves her from the pine box, and finds he can’t walk away. The problem is, if he lets her get close he could relive his past – and he worked too hard to forget it.
She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief that someone wanted her dead. With no name she keeps ‘Jane Doe’ and tries to carve out a life. She finds herself drawn to Cole, and they start a fiery relationship that sets the whole town talking. Their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – keep them from admitting the depth of their feelings, but they find they only trust each other.
Through the chaos of renegade Indian raids, an abandoned husband and her recurring nightmares they fight to find the truth of what happened to her. She soon learns that sometimes the truth is the last thing you want to learn, and she starts to think it may be best to leave the past where it is.
That past isn’t that willing to let go. A stranger proves that he’s willing to kill to keep his secrets safe. If Jane doesn’t remember soon, everyone she loves will be in danger.
*~*~*~*
First 250 Words of the Manuscript:
Drip. Drop. Drip.
A drop of scarlet hung from the ragged ridge of flesh. White bone poked out, muscle red and oozing around it. The red drip shivered before falling in slow motion into the growing pool of crimson.
White snow cradled the hand like a pillow in the middle of the tracks. Bile rose in her throat, threatening to spill over when a finger twitched.
Her eyes remained glued to the sight, knowing if she looked up she’d see him – the rest of him. Murmurs around her started to sink in, saying she’d pushed him. In an instant time raced forward.
With a gulp she lifted her eyes to the mangled mass of man left over, his blank stare ripping her heart out through her gut. A cold sweat broke on her forehead and she unleashed a terrified scream.
Wrenched deep from her soul, pulling on seven years of horror, suffering, anger, regret, and intense fear – a scream unlike one she’d ever heard. She wanted them to worry, to fear, to take her away and hide her from the continuing evil. They could kill her and it would be less painful than this never ending torment.
The murder had been her undoing and she welcomed the end, letting her screams echo until her voice grew hoarse and not ceasing even then. The sharp sting of a syringe followed by the burning heat of medicine is the only thing that brought silence. That ended the tortured scream.
by Sarah | Apr 28, 2012 | Changing Tracks, General, Writing
[flickr id=”6367108607″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I’m not schizophrenic, I’m a writer. ~Me.
A handful of years ago, before I started writing toward the goal of publication I took part in another form of creative endeavor. That’s how I met Jess, and how I got introduced (properly) to my muse. A group of us would sit around brainstorming, and one night one of us took it upon themselves to name all of our muses. I had to laugh at the muse she assigned me, Terpsichore. The muse of music and dance. Considering my previous life as a dancer/singer/theater person and the fact that I’d been in love with the musical Cats (where they mention Terpsichorian powers) – I thought it was perfect.
Since then Terps has been my (relatively) constant companion. When she’s not off getting drunk or high in Mexico, she’s presented me with some insane stories, and some awesome ones.
Along the way, a couple others have joined. The two ‘others’ are sort of shared between Jess and myself. As we often write together, they alternate who they wreak the most havoc with.
The older of the two is one we affectionately named Canada. Why? Because whenever the craziest crap went down in our stories we’d start singing “Blame Canada.”
The other is newer. Even more chaotic than Canada. And far more moody than every other muse. This one? This one appears to be a male and his name is simply “NoName.” Yes, you read that right. Never thought I’d see the day a man was moodier than a woman, but NoName pulls it off rather well.
In turns these creatures have inspired and terrorized me. Left me in tears and filled with joy. They are a part of me and speak to me as much as (if not more) than the characters they help me bring to life.
What about you? Have you named your muse? Do you have more than one?
by Sarah | Apr 18, 2012 | Changing Tracks, General, Writing
[flickr id=”6367108607″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Side Note: I am featured on Band Back Together this week. Post went live today. Please click on over to read “Broken Trust“.
A month ago I had that ‘lightbulb’ moment when you face the great errors of a manuscript you’ve set aside for its ‘resting’ period. My Historical Western Romance had made a round on the agent circuit last year, and I have plans to go through the epub submission rounds very soon.
The Muse (the crazy, demanding bitch) giggled, “Just two minor character changes. We’re going to shove a backbone into that one, and turn this guy into a slimeball bastard that makes you gag just with his presence. Simple. A few minor changes.”
Simple.
Three weeks later I’m half done with a partial rewrite (we have added 5 chapters at this point) and editing overhaul.
Now the crazy bitch…~ahem~ Sorry, that’s “The Muse” is impatient. She wants to start submitting the beast all over town when we aren’t even done.
Oh, and did I mention we have another novel that hovers in mid-draft as well? The Paranormal Romance blasted through my free-write of 4 books and now sits half done with the second draft of book 1.
We have reached the “head spinning” realm of too much to do.
So this week writing sits on the sidelines. The Muse is heading off to Mexico to drink tequila and get high on whatever recreational drugs she so chooses. She needs the breather (and to chill the f*ck out) – and so do I.
Fortunately her vacation falls in the most timely way. I am heading to St. Louis w/ the husband for a combo business trip/romantic weekend. On Saturday I’ll have my ‘business’ portion of the trip (Bloggy Boot Camp – which includes a writer’s workshop Woohoo!), but the rest of the time it’s me & the hubs. No kids. We might be just a little excited.
Once I return, the blog will face its overhaul & redesign. Even if The Muse returns refreshed and decides to get down to business so we can start submitting again – the blog will be cleaned up. She needs work – but i’m already working behind the scenes to prepare for it.
Maybe the conference will beat me over the head and get me to manage my time better so that I can do it all?
I know…I need a damn [amazon_link id=”B004A7XQNM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]egg-timer[/amazon_link].
