The Novelty Girls

Nope….I’m not talking about anything as psychotic as the end of the world….(hell, at least I hope not *snicker*) or writing, well…I take that back. I am near the end with a couple of projects…but that’s not what my original thought was when I wrote that title.

The school year.

Yes!

Two more months. I know for some of you that means having your kids home all summer, but for me…it’s just being with “my kids” and not 300 other little teenage hormonal monsters. Yes, I’m going to miss my library and being surrounded by all those books, but I live for not having to get up at the butt-crack ass of dawn to be at work at 7:30a.

This summer also means the RWA Conference for most of you and Jamaica for me!!!! Whoohoo! I will definitely miss you guys but I’m determined to join you in San Francisco (it is San Fran in 2008 I think) next year.

What I’m also looking forward to this summer is totally focusing on writing a longer novel and that’s something for me. I plan to devote the entire summer to writing IT and nothing else, so whatever story ideas happen to pop into my head between June 1st and August 31st will just have to be put on the back burner. I’ll just write some short blurb about it and get back to the loooonnnnggg one.

So, what are you looking forward to this summer? What are your plans? Vacation, writing, or otherwise?

Have a great weekend!

Yeah, okay, Lori’s post is all happy about Spring Sprunging and life changing. I’m here to say bah humbug.
Ok…so I admit, I was REALLY excited to see little green shoots in my garden today.
And stoked about not having to wear a coat when I went out.
Turns out my kids aren’t evil balls of neediness, but they’re cute little mini-humans.

Ok, ok, so spring fever’s hit here in Canada, too.
BUT:

Today my oldest son turns 10.
Ten.
One decade.
Double Digits.

I maintain I am simply not old enough to be the mother of a ten year old child. There’s been some mixup somewhere. The math doesn’t add up. Oh, but it does. It’s not his fault I look in the mirror, still expecting to see my 18 year old self.
*Note: I vehemently refuse to be 18 again. Don’t want it, won’t do it. Just saying.
I just haven’t let my mental picture of myself age beyond 18.

But it does sort of put me in this odd position of seeing what my life is ACTUALLY like, and what I sometimes think it’s like. And it occurs to me this is a theme in my books. Only my books are fantasy, so…they get to butt heads with reality in really big ways. (Like rock giants and ogres.) while I’m looking at smaller things. Like having a ten year old.

This happen for anyone else? Do you ever look at something in your life and think ‘this is the way it is’ only to realise…it is so not? The extra weight from having, say, three kids? Those little grey hairs sneaking in? Maybe a few little lines around your eyes?

(not my eyes man, no way. I’m 18…)

Well, at least here in southern Bama it has. This is my favorite time of year, when it’s still bearable and we can live outside for awhile. Everything is blooming. The kids are psyched about school getting out in a couple of months. Excitement and newness in the air and all that good stuff.

I’ve been trying to get some balance in my life and the change in season seems the time do it. For the last couple of years it’s been all about the writing for me. Don’t get me wrong. It’s been a blast and a lot of fun, but too much of a good thing is…too much. I’ve started walking every morning (not this morning ’cause I have a job interview in about an hour!) and trying to stay off the ‘net in the evening to hang out with the kids. The great thing about the walking is I’m losing weight! And hopefully by limiting my writing time some I’m recharging those batteries.

What about y’all? What do you do when it seems like things are just completely out of balance in your life?

The new conversation appears to be the cover model. Maybe it’s because of RT coming up and the fact that there’s traditionally a cover model contest there. Maybe it’s due to Harlequin looking for “real” men for their covers. Maybe it’s just that we’re all obsessed with finding the perfect guy to grace the cover of our books.

So I’m curious as to the sort of guy you think would be perfect for your covers. Is your hero big and buff? Would someone like Vin Diesel or The Rock be a good match?

Or is your hero a slimmer, athletic type? Jake Gyllenhaal, perhaps. Matt Damon or Shemar Moore?

Maybe he’s not particularly rugged at all, but tends toward the “pretty” side. Jared Leto, Taye Diggs, Cillian Murphy, are they more your style?

Do you picture actors or models when you think of your hero, or do you make them up wholesale? I fall into this group. I don’t look to any real people for hero inspiration, and while I wouldn’t object to one of them representing my heroes on book covers, possibly, none of them will be a match for the guy who lives in my head.

What about you?

That’s right, Nationals is just around the corner, and I’m starting my shopping early. Why? So I can pay off the bills quicker. And why else am I shopping? Because I am kid free the next two days…and I CAN shop. You realize how much that doesn’t happen? I had the best day!

One thing I’m refusing to shop for early is clothes. Because despite vowing I’d be down a size from last year, I can barely fit into last years size…and not the good way. I need to become best friends with Lean Cuisine.

So right now, I just picked up some shoes. Because my feet aren’t really going to lose or gain anymore weight. And let me tell you, these shoes are sexsay. I can’t do tall, skinny heels, so I did wedges. Big fatty wedges.

Then I got that Bare Minerals stuff for my skin, have you ever tried that? Maybe I got suckered into paying way too much, but I think it looks pretty good.

Later I accompanied a friend to the Coach store, and really just thought, ‘What the hell is the big fuss about? It’s just a bunch of C’s all over an ugly bag’ And my friend was gushing all over this $400 bag. I swear, I’m not sure I can be a handbag girl. Sorry Lori

But one thing I waste too much money on? Lip gloss…I swear I have sooo much. That’s my vice.

So what’s yours?

I was talking to R.G. Alexander about this very subject the other day. And then novelite Jennifer McKenzie asked me to help her write a blurb for an upcoming release.

I got to thinking about it. I actually like to write blurbs, but I bemoan, begrudge, and belittle synopses. They suck. I spit upon their very existence. How do people write those well? I mean, describe my book IN DETAIL in 2-10 pages? Ugh.

Anyway, back to my subject. Let’s talk a bit about the art of writing blurbs. The first thing to notice is that you only have to get the gist, the MOOD of your book. If you write dark, it should be dark. If you write funny, it should be funny. You basically have 1-2 paragraphs to get the FEEL of your book across.

The first thing to remember is that unlike an opening hook in a book, you don’t have time for description. The whole thing needs to be a hook. ALL of it needs to be tightly worded and exciting. The blurb is a way to sell the book.

Now you can’t introduce all the twists and turns in a book, but the main conflict should be in your blurb. Why are your characters at odds with each other? What might keep them apart? WHO are they? All of that needs to be in your blurb, and yes, it still needs to be exciting.

I’ll even break down one of my blurbs and tell you what I think I did right, and what I think I messed up on. Here’s the blurb for Revenant, my latest release.

Rue Daniels’ ability to talk to ghosts—revenants—landed her in a mental institution. It has also made her a target for recruitment. Both the CIA Revenant Division and their enemies want her on their side and will stop at nothing to have her.

John Weston cannot believe he has to fetch the Agency’s newest recruit. He’s spent the last few hundred years as a revenant paying for a life of rakish depravity. Working for the CIA might just be his last chance at redemption.

When they’re assigned as partners, they must work together to discover who’s out to get Rue. Neither expects to fall for the other…a human and a revenant? Each knows that’s a recipe for heartbreak.

Okay, in the first paragraph, I tried to hook people. I wanted them to ask WHY she’d ended up in a nut ward. What had she done to get there. I also introduce that this is a paranormal, and will have some suspense/action elements. I do like this paragraph.

I’m not as thrilled with my second paragraph. The first sentence just shows that John is not happy, but it doesn’t really introduce much about him–remember, every word has to count. The next two sentences are pretty good. They tell you that he’s a revenant and he was a bad, bad man when he was alive.

The last paragraph ends with a recap. You know that John and Rue partner up and that there’s for sure going to be action/suspense stuff. Last two sentences explain why they might not end up together. Human on ghost action if kinda iffy. What I do really introduce is what their conflict with each is ASIDE from the different planes of existence. Why don’t they like each other? That wasted sentence in paragraph two might have been a good place to put this. See? It takes thought and really tight wording to get this to all work out. Gotta love the blurbing.

So, how are you with blurbs? Love them or loathe them?

First of all, I want to thank these fabulous girls for letting me guest-blog today. What fun! I adore being a novelty!

So, I loved Crystal’s blog, How Do Moms DO this? Not just because she wrote about being surrounded by hot, sweaty, naked construction men (I’m a writer, I change things to suit my needs), but she addressed an issue I deal with every day: The Dreaded Interruption.

First of all, I only have one kid, so I double-bow to those of you with two, three or even more rug-rats. I don’t know how you do it. When I write, I kind of go into a trance, and God help the poor soul who interrupts me. Just ask Mr. Manroot. He barely escaped a flying vase one day when he opened the door to my office and asked what I wanted for lunch. “Turkey!” I screamed, hurling the pottery at his head. So, no, I don’t handle interruptions well.

But I’ve recently gotten slightly better. You see, Mr. Manroot has been away on business for the past few days, and I have a deadline looming, so I had to learn really quickly how to write with my kid constantly beside me. Here are a few things I did in order to get some writing done:

1) I spent the first half of the day getting him good and tired. The park, gymnastics, we even went to Wal-Mart. I just wanted all that toddler energy used up.
2) I gave my kid a new toy. I don’t do this very often, but that tractor kept him pretty busy. I used this time to edit some previous writing. I don’t need as much concentration to edit as I do to write.
3) Shrek. My kid loves Shrek, and now I do, too. I took my laptop, sat on the sofa with my kid and actually managed to write this way. Furthermore, I found Donkey really inspirational.
4) I used naptime to write. If I did a good job with number one, my kid would take an extra-long nap. One day I managed 1500 words in two hours!
5) I was constantly challenging my friends to write-offs. If my kid was even slightly occupied, I was like, “Shelli! Yo! Write off? You up for it? You want a piece of this?” It’s amazing what a little competition will do to me.
6) I learned to ignore. I had my laptop on the kitchen counter, writing while my kid pushed his tractor around my ankles. After a few days, this kind of writing became almost easy for me.

Now, four days of just me and the kid later, I’ve managed to write almost 5000 words. I really wouldn’t have thought I had it in me. How did I do it? I just did. I’m thinking it actually helped my writing—the practice of ignoring distractions helped me get in my zone faster. In fact, I’m writing this right now with my kid begging me for juice, asking me to take his coat off…all those things will get done. As soon as I finish this sentence.

“This” month has been totally unproductive…which is a shame since I was soooo productive in February. But actually, my writing usually goes like this. I finish a book or two and then go on a drought and take off for several weeks and read like a crazy person (see last Sat.’s post) because the creative part of my brain seems to shut down. Who knows why?

However, I’m not going to dwell on “that.” Next week several of the Cobb authors will be participating in a BIAW marathon..which should be stressful, and nerve wracking, and a whole lot of fun. I’m officially on spring break, the kids are going to spend several hours each day at the boys and girls club. So, I plan to use that time wisely and “write.” Hopefully this will turn my unproductive month into a productive one…coming in just under the wire of the end of the month.

I hope you have a great weekend!

When you finish a manuscript, and you’re feeling euphoric…what do you do?

I’m not big on finishing what I’ve started. (unless it’s chocolate related) It’s a sickness, really.
But tonight I finished my book, one that I’ve loved from word one, even while fighting it, angsting that I was killing it, and all the other fun mindgames writers play with themselves.

I’m sitting here at 1am, having woken one CP, and unwilling to wake the others, having bounced in my chair and generally annoyed superhubby with my chipperness (at 1 am) and now what?

Tomorrow morning, the high will wear off, and I’ll have to clean it up, write the epilogue, send it out to beta readers, and write the sighnopsis.

But right now? I’m superwoman

So what do you do? Treat yourselves? Drop into ‘post writing funk’? Start on the next thing? Inquiring, unfinished minds wanna know.
erm…that is…
never mind, you get it.

Thirteen Things you may not know about The Novelty Girls 1. We have two librarians, Crystal and Lyric. 2. We’ll have at least two first sale ribbons in Dallas. 3. Shelli, Sara, Crystal, and I are writing a series called Seasons of Change. 4. We have a grand total of 45 contracted books, novellas, and short stories! 5. Shelli has a purple belt in Tae Kwon Do. 6. I was an Army MP. 7. Yes, we can kick your butt. Naw, not really. 8. I’m the oldest. 9. Crystal is the youngest. 10. Lyric is the only Novelty Girl not going to Dallas. 11. We have ten kids between the six of us! 12. Yes, we know how that happens and we don’t need any more tv’s, thankyouverymuch. 13. At least three of us are trying to lose weight. Y’all do know diets are the devil, right? So tell us something we don’t know about you! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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