Back…Sorta

So, I went on vacation for two weeks last month.  I didn’t go anywhere special, really, just back home to Texas.  I had a fantastic vacation, got to see all of my friends and loved ones, and just generally had a really good time.  But I was super busy the entire time, so when I got home, I felt like I needed another vacation to recover.   And…I’m still not quite recovered, even though I’ve been back about three weeks.

I haven’t done any writing or revising at all.  None.  Zilch.  Nada.  Just…haven’t been in the mood, I guess.  Maybe too much going on mentally, and that, coupled with the physical tiredness, just hasn’t let me be in the mood to work on anything.  Hopefully that will change soon.  Regardless, about the only thing I’ve accomplished lately is reading a lot of books, so I’m planning to post about those this weekend.  ‘Til then…well, here’s to my complete mental recovery…I need all the help I can get.

What I’ve Read Lately

Okay, so I’ve been slipping lately. I haven’t blogged about books in…weeks. Sad. I know. I’ve been reading, I just haven’t had time to blog! But I’m going on vacation this week for two weeks (Yay for going home!), so I thought I’d do a quick and dirty review of what I’ve read lately.

Patrica Briggs, Silver Borne: I like this series a lot. Great MC, very nice love interest, and the character is always getting in way over her head. What’s not to like about werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires, and the fey all rolled up in one well-written story?

Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction: I just discovered Ms Elkeles (courtesy of Kristen Nelson’s blog), and was hooked from the first page of Perfect Chemistry. Rules of Attraction is about the brother of the MC of that book, and I was hooked just as quickly and just as thoroughly this time around. Gritty, realistic writing about teenagers in general, and teenagers involved in gangs in particular. I’ll be checking out her other books as well.

Diana Rowland, Blood of the Demon: I have a somewhat nebulous connection to the author (I know her mother), which is how I discovered her first book (Mark of the Demon). I read the first book straight through in less than two hours, and this one as well. Lots of action, tension, a flawed but likeable MC, not to mention a murder mystery, a hot cop, and a smoking demon. You better believe I’ll be buying anything else Ms Rowland writes.

Rachel Caine, Kiss of Death: I love this series (Morganville Vampires). LOVE. I loved this before I started reading Ms Caine’s other series (Weather Warden, Outcast), which I also love…but not as much as these books. This one didn’t disappoint, either. (Okay, confession time: I got four much-anticipated books in the mail in one package, which made choosing which one I read first QUITE difficult, but this one won, hands down.) Claire’s a great MC, and I love her to death, but I love Shane, Michael, and Eve, too, and they’re always getting in more trouble than I can even imagine.

P.C. and Kristin Cast, Burned: Another series I love. Although the previous book in the series ended in a devastating (for me, anyway) way, and I wanted to fling the book across the room. This book…was more about internal conflict. All of the characters struggled with major issues, but there wasn’t a lot of overt action. Still a good read, though. Can’t wait for the next one. (And, for the record, I think this series and the Morganville series are both WAY better than Twilight. Just sayin’.)

Jenna Black, The Devil’s Playground: I sound like a broken record, but…I liked this book a lot. The series is fantastic. Great premise. An exorcist with an attitude in a world where demons are not only known about, but they can legally possess willing humans? You gotta love the originality of that idea!

Lisa Shearin, Bewitched & Betrayed: Not only does the MC of this series have an awesome name, Raine, she has a great family background—they’re all thieves—and a smart mouth which lands her in trouble frequently. This book…okay, at the risk of sounding juvenile, I’ll just say it…ROCKED! I. Couldn’t. Put. It. DOWN! It was like it was glued to my hand! I was just as frustrated as Raine was with all the crap that kept getting dumped on her head, but I knew she’d figure a way out of it. I just couldn’t imagine how. And…Mychael. I love Mychael. He is one of the best male characters I’ve run across, and I’ve now officially put him on the list of Fictional Guys I Adore with Rhett Butler and Jaime Fraiser. ‘nough said.

Jamie Ford: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: This book is not my usual fare, being more mainstream and literary than everything else on this list, which is definitely skewed sharply in favor of fantasy. (I can’t help it. I love fantasy.) But this book…was very moving. Touching. Made me laugh. Made me cry. Made me want everything to work out just right so BADLY! If you haven’t read it, you should.

Happy Dance!

Do you have any idea how much time it takes to type in 92k-worth of novel revisions? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 hours. How do I know this? Because I did the entire type-in on the werewolf story this weekend! It. Is. Finished!

My legs and back ached from hunching over my keyboard. My eyes were crossed and bloodshot. My wrists hurt. I had finger cramps. But finally, at almost 11 p.m. last night, I finished it. Running spellcheck was almost anti-climatic.

I’ve been so focused on this revision for the past five months, that now, with it done, the sensation of not having anything to work on has me feeling a little lost. (Okay, to be honest, I’m feeling like one of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, but that’s another story.) I don’t do well with nothing to do.

Fortunately, I have a query letter and a synopsis to write. And beta readers to get the story out to. And a partially written novel to finish. And that other revision I’m in the midst of…

There’s no rest for the wicked…or is that the weary?

(Sorta) Finished

I’ve been working through the hands-on part of the werewolf revision for the past few weeks. Sunday, I finally finished going through the MS, which means I added 26k of new material (I lost 15k in the computer malfunction), and got to THE END with this story for the first time. Yay! I’ve mentally been doing a happy dance since then.

Now I’m going through the MS one last time, focusing on Style & Grace, Pace, and Beginnings & Endings. I was actually feeling pretty good about the story, until I picked up the new Mercy Thompson book yesterday and immediately got sucked in. I was unable to put it down. Which, of course, made me wonder: Is the pacing in MY story that good? Will a reader be so sucked in they can’t put it down, or will they be able to set it aside for a while easily? Is my Muse just messing with me, trying to make me feel inadequate, or is this a serious problem?

Now, if I only had the answers…

More YA Books!


Okay, so this time I read two books by P.C. Cast: Elphame’s Choice and Brighid’s Quest, which takes us back to Ms. Cast’s mystical world of Partholon.

I read her original Partholon books, the Divine books, several years ago, and loved them. They made me laugh. They made me cry. And they made me want to visit Partholon. (Sexy centaurs? Being able to control your own dreams? I’m SO there!) These two YA books kept the same familiar feel of the Divine books, but added another layer to the world.

From Ms Cast’s website:

ELPHAME’S CHOICE

Worshiped. Set apart. Unable to connect with others.

Though most girls believe they are different, Elphame knows she is. Odd. Strange. Unique. No one in Partholon has her abilities – or her connection to their goddess. And she has a destiny she is about to discover…

A restlessness has infused her, leading her to the other side of her country. There, the remnants of an evil war still linger. Will Elphame be able to redeem both her country and her soul mate, a survivor of that war? The choice she makes now may bring disaster – or a future in which she may never again be alone.

The characters are what I truly love about these books. Elphame was a great character, very easy to relate to, despite her obvious differences. I felt strongly for her, and how she’d always been apart from everyone around her. Then there’s her brother, Cu, who’s a fun-loving rogue, popular with the ladies–until he falls in love. Brenna–the scarred healer who has never allowed herself to be seen. And Brighid, the centaur Huntress who has broken from her family and herd to live her own life.

Both these books are coming-of-age stories, about finding your own path in life and doing what makes YOU happy, no matter what other people think you should do. That’s a hard thing to learn for a lot of young people (and even for those of us not so young anymore), and Ms Cast handles it well, all set against the vivid backdrop of Partholon.

Bodyslammed By Real Life…

In a BIG way, this week. I’m getting towards the end of the revision for the werewolf story, which means all my scene “revisions”…are writing new scenes from scratch (due to the great computer malfunction, a.k.a. sporadic backup habits). So each scene is requiring a little bit more work than just revising already existing scenes. The good thing is that I have written most of the scenes before, so I have a feel for what needs to happen. The bad things is, well, having to write them again. My own fault, but still annoying.

At this point in the week, I intended to have six new scenes done. How many do I actually have done? Two. Yep. Just two. But I have a plan…I have an appointment for academic advising this morning, then I’m going to the job early, to spend some quality, internet-free time writing before I actually have to BE at work. I’m hoping that will get me another couple of scenes. Then, possibly, I’ll have time to do some extra tomorrow and/or Friday. Which leaves me with Saturday (again, my goal is only two scenes), and Sunday–to finish up all of the “hands-on” part of the revision.

The angel story is languishing a little bit right now, but I’m hoping to get a few lessons in on it this week, too. And I wouldn’t be quite so behind, except I’m baby-sitting a 4-month-old puppy this week. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do ANYTHING when there’s a puppy with severe separation anxiety around, one that insists on being underfoot every second, and whining and howling when he’s crated for the night? NOT EASY, I tell you. So I’m not sleeping much this week, either….

Magic Under Glass

Okay, so I finally managed to read an actual book this week: Magic Under Glass, by Jaclyn Dolamore.


From Ms. Dolamore’s website:

Nimira is a music-hall girl used to dancing for pennies. So when wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing accompaniment to a mysterious piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it will be the start of a better life.

In Parry’s world, long-buried secrets are about to stir. Unsettling rumors begin to swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry’s involvement in a group of corrupt sorcerers for whom the rules of the living and dead are meant to be broken for greater power.

When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing fairy gentleman is trapped within the automaton, she is determined to break the curse. But even as the two fall into a love that seems hopeless, breaking the curse becomes a perilous race against time. Because it’s not just the future of these star-crossed lovers that’s at stake, but the fate of the entire magical world.

I was drawn to Nimira from the opening lines of the book–I felt immediately sympathetic for her and her situation, and wanted desperately to see her dreams come true. She comes from a life of privilege, yet she’s forced to dance in a troup that barely earns enough to keep her alive while she dreams of more. And Holln Parry seems like the answer to her prayers.

Then she meets Erris, a fairy prince enchanted in the body of an automaton, and everything changes for her. I loved how expressive Erris was, even trapped in a wooden body, and I immediately fell for him myself, and wanted to help him. The world had a very Victorian, Old England feel, and it was vividly done, down to the details of the society that looked down on the “trouser girls” like Nimira. I will say I was so quickly drawn into the world of this story that I finished the entire book in one day. I loved it, and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out (whenever that is)!

Still Eyeball-Deep…

…in revisions on the werewolf story, but I think I’m making progress. Well, I feel like I’m making progress, anyway. Still loving this story, and the characters, even as I’m modifying them a bit. I’m getting close to the parts that will have to be totally-rewritten, which is something of a daunting idea, but I’m still excited about it.

The angel story is coming along well, too. Finished up the focus outline, and Muse tossed me some neat bits to help thicken the plot. Little things, but I think they’ll add a lot of depth and conflict, so I’m looking forward to adding them into the mix.

Apart from that, it’s SPRING here! Everything is beautiful and blooming, and the sun is shining. I get spring fever and want to spend lots of time outdoors. Not exactly conducive to getting a lot of writing done…

Nothing Doing

Or, to be more accurate, I’m not doing much of anything. The revision is still going. No writing. Making progress on the angel revision as well. Other than that, nada. I haven’t even had time to read! I hope someone out there is making more progress than I am!

The Shifter

I’ve only read one book this week. Too busy with everything else—real life was a real you-know-what this week—for me to have any time to read anything at all, much less anything for pleasure. However, I did read The Shifter, by Janice Hardy.

From her website: Fifteen-year-old Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person and storing it inside her own body. But unlike her sister Tali and the other Takers who become Healer’s league apprentices, Nya’s skill is flawed: she can’t push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store person to person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she’d be used as a human weapon against her own people. Rumors of another war make Nya’s life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purpose. At first, Nya refuses, but faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say, principles are a bargain at any price, but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?

From the moment this book opened—with Nya caught red-handed while stealing eggs—I was drawn into the story, completely hooked. The magic system, Healers who can take and transfer pain from injuries, was fresh and new to me, and I immediately sympathized with Nya’s need to keep her true abilities hidden, as well as her urge to protect her sister. Her struggle for survival in her war-riddled home was vividly done, and even the secondary characters felt real. This book was fast-paced and kept me turning pages long after I should have been asleep. Definitely a good read, and I recommend it.