by Sarah | Aug 3, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Critters, Masked Hearts, Writing, writing tips
Line edits are awesome…
When it’s someone else’s work.
If the paper, book, webpage, word doc, whatever it is that’s in front of me was not written by my own hand I can swoop in and find the errors in an instant.
No problem.
When it’s my piece?
The one that I’ve worked on for X amount of years?
What errors? I don’t see them?
No, there’s a comma there don’t you see it? Oh wait, it’s all in my head isn’t it? Damn.
I miss far too much.
I’ve tried the tricks.
I’ve changed font.
I’ve printed it out on paper.
I’ve put it on my nook.
I still miss those suckers because my brain inputs them where my fingers did not.
But – it’s time for me to line edit.
Thank goodness I’m writing another piece in between. One chapter at a time with the line edits because I get cross-eyed and confused way too easily.
You want to do my line edits? I’ll trade you evenly – I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
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 | Jul 11, 2012 | General, Writing, writing tips
You’ve edited your manuscript to a fine work of art.
You’ve researched where you’re sending it.
You put your ‘baby’ out in the world.
Now what?
Authors, especially first time authors, have these horrifyingly bad-for-your-ego lengths of time where you wait.
Every email you get is hope that it’s “the one” followed by crushing disappointment that it’s spam, or just a family member, or anything other than the agent or publisher you’ve submitted to.
When the agents, or publishers, ask to see more there’s an even worse period. Now it’s more than the query. They have it all.
Having recently gone through a period like this (will not state whether or not I’m still in one) – I joked about a survival kit, and then got serious. I asked my friends what they’d put in a survival kit for an author in this position.
Overwhelmingly the answer was…
ALCOHOL.
Huh…go figure.
But we did get a few more fun & creative responses…
- Anti-depressants
- Man-candy (then again, we can use this all the time, no?)
- Chocolate
- Barf Bags
- A dark corner to put yourself in
- A box of tissues for your uncontrollable sobbing
- A book called “How to stalk potential editors – the RIGHT way (i.e. don’t be a creep)”
- Bath salts
- A movie with a kick ass heroine
- Video games (b/c those are always awesome)
- Tea
- Art/Photography – any visual stimulation
- The website One Hundred Famous Rejections
I think the most important thing that is missing from this list isn’t something you can put in a basket.
It’s friends who’ve been there. Who understand when you go to them and rail and cry and whine and let out those frustrations. Who support you and remind you where you’ve come from and how far you’ve gotten. Who don’t give up on you, when you’ve given up on yourself.
I’m grateful to have a circle of friends, old and new, that are right there fighting the good fight with me. That have been where I am, and both support me and offer me words of wisdom and helpful critiques of my work.
So…Mary, Jennifer, Fi, Eden, Sabrina, Ellie and Tonya…thanks for being in my life. On the days I feel like quitting – so glad I have you around to remind me why I’m where I am…and what’s coming just around the corner.
And lastly, the most important thing I have in my basket. The world’s most supportive spouse. Erik…you rock. When I had to make that incredibly difficult decision regarding my novel recently – you helped add in both a voice of reason and of incredible support.
So make up your basket today. Don’t forget that support system. It means more than all the man-candy and chocolate in the world.
by Sarah | Jun 29, 2012 | Books, Publishing Credits, Sirens Call, Writing
I’ve been working at this writing thing for a few years now. Always looking for that day when I could go from being ‘writer’ to ‘published author’.
I am notoriously incapable of writing anything shorter than a full length novel. So I’ve been struggling to get anything out there.
Now I have bridged that gap.
With a piece of flash fiction.
500 words.
Not of romance – oh no.
Psychological horror.
In the June 2012 of The Sirens Call eZine “Obscure Ink” I have a piece. Page 48 contains my flash fiction piece entitled “I Win.”
Buy it.
Read it.
I might just creep you the hell out.
*~*~*
Really, it’s $2. Buy it. There’s a ton of amazingly creepy stuff in there.
*~*~*
I won’t be stopping here. While I’m still writing my romance pieces I have another horror short in mind to submit for one of their upcoming anthology open submissions. I’ve made the leap and now I’m hungrier than ever.
by Sarah | Jun 27, 2012 | Books, Guest Authors, Reviews
All it took for me to review this book was the cover. Is that not just gorgeous?
Gorgeous cover aside, I didn’t know what to expect when I dove into this book. Obviously I read the blurb (see below) – but I hadn’t read any of Marie Treanor’s books before. This book is the start of a new series for her, but the new series is a spinoff of her Awakened by Blood Series.
While I hadn’t read that series I found it wasn’t necessary. Even though I didn’t know the existing characters (which make appearances), there was enough background information given that I never once felt lost.
I have to say that it has been a while since I devoured a book this fast. While I have been out of my ‘reading’ phase, this book made me forget that I took a few months off of reading. I read it so fast that I was incredibly sad it was over and already researching how much it would cost to buy the original series (side note: not a lot…I’ll be getting them very soon).
Mihaela is a damaged and lonely vampire hunter. She spent her whole life living for her job – but recent events have changed the rules she’s always known. While she’s trying to cope with the change in rules and the division of her loyalties and beliefs – she goes on vacation to Scotland.
Of course, what good vacation isn’t ruined (or is it made ages better?) by complications? The complications come in the form of a powerful young boy, an old vampire with whom she has a vendetta against, and an even older and far more perplexing vampire named Maximilian.
Mihaela has to learn how to adjust to the new rules – and her own changing heart – as she races to save not just the little boy, but the whole world.
I instantly fell in love with the damaged Mihaela. I’m a sucker for damaged characters, and Mihaela fit the bill. I truly enjoyed the fact that while she was damaged, she was fiercely loyal – but also not opposed to learning the new rules and seeing how things would go. Granted, her willingness to do that added another layer of trouble to her life, but it also added more layers to her.
Maximilian took me a little to warm up to – but only because I could see easily see him through Mihaela’s eyes. Of course, he won me over fast and thankfully he at least made dents in Mihaela’s wall early on. I think the moment he truly won me over though was when, despite his intense needs and wants – when he was told ‘no’ he walked away. Pretty sure I cheered out loud at that point.
Together the two had the kind of fiery but fun relationship I adore. The love scenes were smoking hot and intense. The relationship had it’s flaws from the start and at the end things weren’t “perfect” – but the issues were on the table and everyone agreed to work to keep it that way.
[amazon_link id=”B0088Q23F8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Blood Guilt[/amazon_link] is definitely one of my favs for the year so far and I look forward to book 2. Until then I’ll be satisfying myself with [amazon_link id=”B005B1H9X4″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Blood on Silk[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”B0064XCOH4″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Blood Sin[/amazon_link], and [amazon_link id=”0451234723″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Blood Eternal[/amazon_link].
*~*~*~*
BLOOD GUILT
(Blood Hunters, Book 1)
By Marie Treanor
eBook coming 5th June 2012
The first of a new vampire romance series, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy.
Natural enemies, deadly attraction…
Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She’s taking a much needed vacation inScotlandwhen she sees a little boy being chased through the streets ofEdinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems – two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.
The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex – and maybe even happiness.
Author Bio:
Marie Treanor lives inScotlandwith her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.
Marie Treanor has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was herNew York debut with NAL.
Website: www.MarieTreanor.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Treanor-Paranormal-Romance/105866982782360
Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marietreanornewsletter
Blog: Marie Treanor’s Romantic Theme Party:
http://romanticthemeparty.blogspot.com/
by Sarah | Jun 20, 2012 | Guest Authors, Guest Post, Writing
*Today Sasha Summers, author of [amazon_link id=”B007WSV5JI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Medusa: A Love Story[/amazon_link] is visiting. Check out my review of her book here.
Thanks for having me on the blog today! I thought I’d share one of my ‘tricks of the trade’ – something that is ‘required’ for me to write – successfully anyway. Honestly, I have a very hard time writing without mood and tone set firmly in place, sucking me in to my pages. Yes, I need a coffee and my laptop. But I also need music.
Medusa is a unique kind of story. So I needed unique songs – music that stirred all sorts of… sensations and feelings. I knew how I wanted to ‘feel’ when I was writing it. So I collected a list of… emotional and moody tunes. But that fit – check out Medusa’s tagline:
It’s said that love can change a person. Medusa wasn’t always a monster.
Yes, the book is a love story, but not in the traditional sense. Why? Well, we all know what happened to Medusa, right? If you don’t – I’m not going to spill the beans. I’ll encourage you to read my book instead 😉
I’m going to give you a song. You listen to it and then come back. I’ll tell you which scene I wrote to each song. Ready?
Song 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3hsYkGQMeM&list=PLECD8D3D604769D10&index=5&feature=plpp_video
This song (from a movie I adore) helped nail the sense of desperation Medusa and Ariston were feeling as they parted. He’s heading off to war against a terrible adversary. Neither will admit how terrified they feel.
Song 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN1MeSbYOiE&list=PLECD8D3D604769D10&index=3&feature=plpp_video
This one was when Ariston goes to Hades realm to beg for mercy, and again when Medusa is waiting to sabotage the Persians on the beach.
Song 3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RST0Fzx5SPc&list=PLECD8D3D604769D10&index=27&feature=plpp_video
This is Ariston going to war.
Song 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c1x55t51uc&list=PLECD8D3D604769D10&index=18&feature=plpp_video
And this is Medusa after Ariston has found her.
Song 5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTKy0drMatc&list=PLECD8D3D604769D10&index=16&feature=plpp_video
And when they’re reunited at the end.
I think you can hear the tone I was going for. As I put this playlist together, listening to them again, puts me right into that scene. Medusa’s story is still intense and vivid in my mind.
Thanks so much for letting me share the music of Medusa, A Love Story’s with you.
*~*~*~*
Author Bio:
Sasha Summers is part gypsy. Her passions have always been storytelling, history, and travel. It’s no surprise that her books visit times past, set in places rich with legends and myth. Her first play, ‘Greek Gods and Goddesses’ (original title, right?), was written for her Girl Scout troupe.
She’s been writing ever since. She loves getting lost in the worlds and characters she creates; even if she frequently forgets to run the dishwasher or wash socks when she’s doing so.
Luckily, her four brilliant children and hero-inspiring hubby are super understanding and supportive.
Sasha is an active member of RWA and several Texas Chapters. A self-proclaimed movie-addict, she is full of all sorts of useless movie tidbits and trivia.
Facebook Author Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sasha-Summers/213036208773108
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5759214.Sasha_Summers
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sashasummers/
Twitter: @sashawrites
Webpage: http://www.sashasummers.com
Line edits are awesome…
