Literary Agent Michelle Grajkowski’s take on NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) is up today on my I Write THOSE Books column. She’s an amazing, motivational industry player. Writers, don’t miss it!
I’m also guest blogging about my paranormal series at Fresh Fiction–Legacies Are Wonderful Things. Leave a comment over there for your chance to win a signed copy of Dark Legacy!
Yes, it’s a busy online day ;o)
Now, back to ready the gallies for The Firefighter’s Secret Baby!
Dreams are absorbing me into their mystery again. The side effect of writing my next Legacy novel. So, expect regular dream musings for a while ;o)
My current obsession… Ocean dreams. And, why yes, I DID just spend ten days by the sea…
Three years ago, I first worked out the high concept for my first two Legacy novels at a South Carolina sea shore, when I had no idea if I could execute something so challenging. Was this really the type of story I could thrive telling? Two years ago, at a retreat on another SC beach, I began detailing the synopsis my agent said she’d have to see before she could tell if I had something she could sell. Last November, we’d sold the series and I was drafting the first book with ocean waves rolling outside my window again. And now, I was rough drafting and reworking it’s sequel at the same magical place. My ocean dreams are coming true…
From the very first page of Secret Legacy, Sarah Temple’s dreaming about the ocean–you’ve seen a very rough draft that I’ve revised at least a dozen times since. And there you have it–Sarah’s obsession with the sea… What they say about pieces of an author finding their way into story is true. What’s surprising is how long it’s taken my love of the shore to find it’s way into the series I dreamed into being there. But from that simple beginning, Sarah’s responsible for her own journey ;o) So, what would that be? (more…)
Rule of thumb to keep in mind… When you go away to recharge from the stress of your life, stress builds up to fill every available second once you’re back ;o)
That’s okay, because I have visions like this (my last day at the beach) to sustain me…
And I’ll need it.
In my office waiting for me this fine Monday (while sea sounds play on my white noise machine) are:
So, I’m back and not going to be bored any time soon.
But I’m also feeling better and determined not to let stress take so firm a hold again. We need to breathe easy, if we’re going to be all that we’re meant to be. At least I do.
Here’s me breathing… And sharing some of the bounty with my blog buddies (enjoy a playlist AND an excerpt, while I clear my desk…):
Yeah, it took me longer to get back online than I thought. First, because I was working most of the weekend (and playing with one of my best friends, my agent Michelle Grajkowski, who’d come to the beach to work with me all weekend, but we played every chance we got which left no time to get online, what with the working and the playing…)
But mostly, this is why I’ve seemed so distant…
Well, and this…
And that was just the first sunrise, from the balcony of my second-floor (third, really, if you count the basement of the beach house).
Today, it’s storming, so there’s this…
and this…
Which is just fine with me, as I watch Season One of Dead Zone on DVD, listen to the storm and surf, and write Secret Legacy (which is riddled with dream sequences that deal with searching for the truth amidst turbulent ocean imagery). (more…)
I’ve been losing myself in story all my life–since I was a child and my parents couldn’t get me to stop daydreaming. Stories have always been my life. At times, I think looking back, I’ve let them become more important than my life. But with age comes a bit of wisdom, I hope. Now I can say with absolute confidence, most of the time, that I tell stories for a living, not live for my stories.
Most of the time…
But as I look around the house I built with my family, the family that I love with all my heart, and pack for 10 days of teaching how to write and then writing like a maniac, I’m smiling because story is about to become a magical beach destination. I’m about to embark on one of those periods where I’ll live for story again, for just a little while.
I become that child again, each time I dig through the ucky, crusty stuff that’s the beginning of every book, until I find myself lost in the middle of something new and wonderful. Tomorrow I’m leaving those I love and live for, so I can find that wonder again. And they’re letting me go, because they know how much story feeds the parts of me they love most.
Time away renews us. Time with friends and with what fills our souls. For me, that’s storytelling and the sound of the ocean and knowing that I belong where I am, writing on my own, as much as I belong where I’ll go back to–a family that understands why the stories in me sometimes need a little space of their own before they’ll come to life. (more…)
I Write THOSE Books launches today with my newbie and “publishing insider’s” view of NANOWRIMO. Check out the new column and give us your take (reader, writer, bemused, disinterested… ;o)
I’m full-on drafting Secret Legacy this month. I’ll also be excerpting The Firefighter’s Secret Baby some more (which is up on amazon now, in case you’d like to pre-order, though I don’t have the cover yet, pout…)
Oh, and my NYC Barnes and Noble booksigning was covered by Romantic Times in their December Issue. I’ll scan the page and pop a pic up here soon.
Plus, I’ll let you know when all prizes are in the mail, because I know you’re waiting paitently (tapping your toes, checking your mailboxes, grumbling, tearing up your copies of my books in frustration…).
I have new hunky guy photos to share from my New Jersy conference. Because a little hunky guy in your day is good for the soul…
And I’ll be working at the beach soon–so lots of lovely beach photos to come, too.
So, basically, I’ll be blog posting more in November, NANOWRIMOing in November, mailing prizes in November, hopefully finishing the draft of Secret Legacy in November, and contributing to PopSyndicate.com with I Write THOSE Books in November. Join me, won’t you!
Okay, I’m scrambling to write Secret Legacy’s draft and to prep for the retreat I’m teaching this weekend with my agent, and to ship out all the prizes I’ve announced so far. Sooooo….
Bear with me, and I’ll announce the winner of the Godiva Lollies soon. You guys were wonderful with your helpful insights into your Dark Legacy experiences. I cherish each and every comment, and they’re all helping me as I craft the sequel!
To keep my blog friends happy, I’m sharing a very brief, very early excerpt from Secret Legacy’s opening. This is the recurring dream sequence that will drive the entire book, and it will change/be tweaked over time as I write the rest of the book (at the moment I’m tweaking daily, as I write/rewrite each subsquent scene). But I think you’ll get the idea ;o)
And before we jump into the excerpt, as promised here are a few tidbits from the iTunes Playlist I’m building as I draft the story. These are a few of Sarah’s songs (in no particular order), since the excerpt is hers. (more…)
