Well, maybe you don't care, but I'm telling you anyway. Here's what we have in store.

I've enjoyed my time off, but with My Valentine in the can, it's time for me to get back to work. On Monday, I'll be starting Doubleblind, book three in the Sirantha Jax series. Just fyi, I'll be doing my usual 3K a day until done, which will mean I won't be blog surfing much. If you want me, look for me here or via email. I'll still be blogging, of course, and I always answer emails. You know where to find me.

More exciting news.

My agent has a new website design, and I'm too thrilled to be on the homepage. Go on, click it! How cool is that? Gorgeous design, and there's Grimspace, looking mighty fine, if I do say so myself.

Oh, my editor's assistant, Cam, emailed me to tell me that I'm getting Grimspace proofs. Since she overnighted them, I should have them by Monday. I'm so excited over that, I can't stand it.

EDIT: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The FedEx man just delivered my proofs. I'm looking at them RIGHT NOW. I have a title page, dedication, acknowledgments...

It's SO beautiful!

Holy crapweasels. My contracts from Laura arrived at 1:42pm.

The goodness hasn't stopped either. The postman just brought me this:

Now I can read the Sonchai books over the weekend! Damn, it's been a good day. I think I need to buy a lottery ticket!

My writing gig has landed on the Autobahn, and I'm so on board.

And you know what? There's more. But I'm not talking. Yet. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Labels: random, WIP, writing

This thread tickles me. You can go read it for yourself by clicking the title of this post, but I'll share the crucial bit.

I'm no prude, but I hate reading about sex in SF, especially when it's pornographic or dirty. Am I alone in this, or do others hate it, too? Here is a small list of books which have had me wince, moan with disgust and temporarily throw the book down:
Dawning Shadow - Somtow Sucharitkul
Throne of Madness - Somtow Sucharitkul
Alien Years - Robert Silverberg
The World Inside - Robert Silverberg (THE worst book I've ever read)
Camouflage - Joe Haldeman
Cradle - Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee
Ringworld Engineers - Larry Niven

Of these authors, Gentry Lee and Silverberg are the most perverted. I read reviews that Rama II (written with Gentry Lee)was perverted so I haven't read that one. Anyone else has any more books to add and avoid?

I'm beyond astonished. Good grief, these books made him moan with disgust? *wide-eyed* But the funny bit is the addition of the word 'temporarily'. You think he finished the books as a mercy read?

The first thing that occurs to me, however, is that sci-fi has long been the province of adolescent males. Understandably so, the genre offers tales of adventure without the added weight of mature relationships, which carry with them the danger of sexual contact.

*whispers* Coitus.

I'm madly curious as to what's in these books that got them dubbed "pornographic". It's hard for me to imagine venerable authors like Silverberg and Clarke writing in a sweat-soaked frenzy to come up with something truly filthy, just for the sake of shocking this poor reader. Perhaps Silverberg and Clarke are dirty old men?

Heh. I must rebut!



In any event, it makes me wonder how 'classic' sf readers are going to respond to my work. The protagonist is a female -- and not a man in a woman's body, as some SF heroines seem to be. A real honest-to-God woman, complete with emotions and everything. Do you think people will complain that I'm smearing my girl cooties all over the purity of the genre?

We have our romance novels. Why must we write in other genres too?! SF should be a manly bastion without sex, emotion, or other squishy stuff, right? It should be solely devoted to killing aliens and flying ships and discovering new worlds. The male hero, if he ever had a relationship, should be alone now. Perhaps his wife died. Yeah, that works. That way, he's had the sex, but readers aren't confronted with the horrid reality of recreational coitus. (I said it again!)

Coitus.

So our lone wolf hero can sail away into the stars. Alone. Maybe he can have a robot as his sidekick. But not one who cusses, like Bender from Futurama. That would be dirty and perverted. And his adventures should always glorify violence, and show that the best way to solve a problem is with a ball-peen hammer. Or a laser pistol. Whatever. As long as something dies.

Why are emotional arcs and sexual content dubbed dirty / pornographic? American television is the same way. Insane levels of violence are permitted, but flash a little boob, and people freak out. It's definitely a yin / yang sort of thing, but yin is seen as more deviant than passive these days. So tell me. Why do we celebrate a cult of death and destruction?

Labels: books, sci-fi, whatever, writing

And this is where you say, "I don't know, can you?"

The answer is -- yes, yes, I can.

I read the discussion over on Dear Author, called The Hysterical Reader, along with all the pertaining comments. It's a long bunch of stuff, which you can read (or not), as you like.

Well, I'd never tell other authors how to do their jobs and any attempt to regulate their behavior according to my standards certainly falls under that heading. But for me? That's something I'd never do.

I'd never post an excerpt from an email I receive, good or bad, without permission. If I get a fan letter that's particularly exciting, I still email and ask for permission to use a snippet on my blog or website.

I think it's matter of trust, honestly. I don't know if other authors feel this way, but I see readers as my customers, my clients. And if you work at Nordstrom, what's the first thing you learn? The importance of good customer service. That doesn't include using my 'status' to try and prove my own superiority.

The fact is, I'm not superior. I just write books. True, it's my dream job, but I still find myself dazzled to have it. Perhaps that will change, the longer I go on. But I hope not. I don't want it to.

Each letter I receive is important to me and I answer every one. Maintaining a good relationship with my readers is important to me. No, not everyone will like my books, but when I do get that sort of mail, I'll write back with, "Thanks for taking the time to express your thoughts. I hope you'll like the next book better." Now chances are, this person won't buy any more of my books. And that's okay too. If he or she goes on to harangue me further, I simply won't respond. I've acknowledged the first letter privately, and to my mind, that's all I need to do.

Further, it's all I should do.

I would never want to behave in a way that makes readers feel they can't trust me. I want them to be sure I can be relied on to keep their confidence (not that I necessarily want to become a personal confidante), but I want to be seen as an ethical person, someone who wouldn't share private information on impulse or because it might benefit me in some way.

I just wouldn't do that, in the same way I wouldn't kill off a beloved character on a whim. These are trust issues, and whether authors want to acknowledge it or not, there is a certain rapport that ought to be present. When authors consistently display disregard or disdain for their readership, it gives me a sinking feeling. Without readers, I'd just be jilling off by writing my books, a specialized form of mental masturbation.

And so it behooves me to treat readers with the same sort of respect I'd want to receive. I don't get to indulge in hissy fits, at least not in public. Because I'm a professional, and I don't roll like that.

Labels: opinion, writing

The wait is over!

Laura and I pitched an urban fantasy series a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure y'all remember me mentioning Good Touch from time to time. It's along the lines of Patricia Briggs, but with my own voice / twist on the genre. Anne Sowards, my editor for the Jax books, compared me to Ms. Briggs. Of course, she also compared me to Jim Butcher, and I nearly melted into a puddle of boneless goo. They're two of my favorite authors!

On Friday, Anne offered for my urban fantasy series on pre-empt -- three book deal! She and Laura did some negotiating and they've worked out an amazing deal. We've officially accepted the offer now, so I'm free to squee about it.

SQUEE!

I love working with Anne. She's brilliant, gifted, visionary, and she has a marvelous way of making my books better without dismantling them. This is a dream come true. So I'll be writing two series for Ace simultaneously. I'm still dazed, to be honest.

A little more information -- there are no shifters or vamps in this series. Magic exists, but it's ritual based, not point and shoot. Demons can be summoned and pacts are made, but by and large, mankind is responsible for all the evils in the world in one way or another. There are Gifted humans, who possess powers like TK, telepathy, pyrokinesis, clairaudience, clairvoyance, and psychometry. The heroine of the series, Corine Solomon, possesses the latter, which is the ability to read objects with a touch. Hence, this is called the Touch series.

I'm so excited I don't know what to do with myself, so I want you to come party with me. To share my good fortune, I'm giving away a $25 Amazon gift certificate just for the hell of it. Show me some comment love up in here, and you might get something back. You also won't want to miss contests I'm running on the Bradford Bunch and in my author loop, Action and Attitude. If you haven't already joined that, you should do so now, or you'll miss the September contest.

If you're having a hard time assimilating this much awesome, I'll break it down. Pre-empt. Three-book deal. Ann is writing two series for Ace.

Come on, y'all. Party with me!

Labels: the squee heard round the world, writing

"YOU'RE WRITING A SEQUEL TO GUIDE?! I mean, it's OFFICIAL, right? It's past the "maybe someday" stage, right? Is it still going to be about Deanna? Are Ash and Ellie going to show up in it?"

I love when I get questions because it means I can answer them for my blog topic. So...

Yes. It's official and past the "someday" stage. In fact, I've had the contract signed for a while, but I needed to focus on my NY books. Now that I have some breathing room (all my Jax deadlines are met for the nonce), it's time for me to get cracking on the Guide sequel, My Valentine.

Because so many people have asked what happens between Maya and Darnell, they get the next story. It's definitely hot, and it may surprise you. It's not as light as some of my other Annie Dean work. I'm not claiming it's Joey W. Hill in Ice Queen, but it's certainly a side of my writing you've never seen before, including light bondage and domination. And yes, Ash and Ellie will make appearances in My Valentine.

It's so titled because that's his name -- Darnell Valentine, and it will have a coordinating release date in Feb 2008. If everything goes according to plan, Deanna will get her own book in the third and final installation in the series.

Let me introduce you to the hero and heroine then. This is Darnell. He's a stockbroker and according to Ash "can spot a hot stock from space." He reads Forbes and he likes messing around the financial pages of The Wall Street Journal on Sunday morning. He used to be a geek in high school (chess club, Mathlete, all that), but as you can see, he's filled out just fine. He has just one problem: he's been in love with Maya Hanoush since they were fifteen.

And the girl won't give him the time of day.

Meet Maya. She's model gorgeous and has no trouble getting men, but she runs them through hoops just to see what all they'll put up with before they leave. She has her reasons for keeping Darnell at arm's length, crazy though they may seem to anyone else. Like she told Ash, "I was afraid if we got into a relationship and it didn't work, if he saw all the stuff that's wrong with me, then maybe I'd lose him as a friend, too. I thought if things stayed the same, I'd never lose him. You know?"

Deep down Maya thinks Darnell is adorable, always has. That's why she cracks on him so hard; she doesn't know what she'd do if he ever figured out that she melts like butter where he's concerned. She even likes the goofy black glasses he wears to read the paper. Because of a dark secret, she guards the status quo like a junkyard dog.

But Darnell is tired of waiting, tired of playing by Maya's rules, and this year, he'll claim the woman he's always wanted. Can a beta go alpha?

Find out this February in My Valentine.

PS -- Tomorrow I'll be blogging over at SEx about Boundless along with Bonnie Dee and Dionne Galace. We're running an awesome contest with a truly delicious prize, so don't miss it.

Labels: WIP, writing

Yesterday I had a great telephone conversation with Eileen Wilks, wherein we made some good progress in planning our workshop for RWA 2008.

One thing we touched on (and I think is worthy of its own blog post because we're not covering it as part of our panel) is how writers can sometimes fixate on process. So-and-so does this, and she sells a bazillion books a year, therefore I should do it too.

Personally, I think that's bollocks.

Truly I think each author needs to find his or her own method and go with it. Same with subject matter, same with stories. I don't think it's possible to maximize your own potential if you're emulating someone else. This is a helpful tool to learn how to write, but after a while, it becomes imperative to develop your own style.

That goes for process, routine, and voice. I've attended seminars where the speaker talked as if her method was the only one and if you don't follow her steps, then you're doing it wrong. That drives me crazy because it's so patently not true. Don't panic if you don't outline. Don't panic if you do.

Some writers use outlines, character cards, storyboards, and a whole lot of tools that seem impossibly complicated to me. I have a friend who was flabbergasted to find out I don't plot anything.

She said, "Do you not outline ahead of time? Are you one of them lucky folks who can just sit down and write? Not me. I need the whole thing, chapter by chapter outlined and plotted. Otherwise, mermaids and shit start popping up all over the place and it's a straight contemporary."

Shit, sometimes I don't even have character names, basic story, nothing. It just comes while I write. I know the important components of a story and how they are constructed (exposition, rising action, etc), but I don't break it down or deconstruct what I'm doing to see how my work fits the four act dramatic structure. I just write.

For other people, that would not work at all. They would find it impossible to keep track of various plot threads without having it all diagrammed. I would suppose that's because they're more visual than I am, and they need to see their scenes laid out to get a feeling for the flow of the book. Both ways are good. Both ways work.

So don't let anyone convince you that they've worked out a foolproof way of doing this or that. Your system is fine. Don't let anyone tell you you're doing it wrong. There's no one right way to do this job. Paraphrasing Nora Roberts, whose Q&A was the best I attended at RWA this year: whatever way works for you is the best way.

Labels: writing, wwnd

I'm still in Cozumel, and I have a bunch of email to catch up on when I get home. But this is too good to keep to myself. I couldn't wait. Official cover -- it's been approved and Deena is in the process of plastering it all over my website. Isn't it awesome? I've been gazing at it with awed admiration for the last two weeks, and the wonder still hasn't worn off. That's my book. Seriously, right? Grimspace releases on Feb 26, 2008.

And here's what people are saying about it:

"A tightly written, edge of your seat read with intense characterization - plus one pounding, hot SF plot."
--Linnea Sinclair, RITA Award Winning Author of GABRIEL'S GHOST and GAMES OF COMMAND


"An irresistible blend of action and attitude. Sirantha Jax doesn't just leap off the page -- she storms out, kicking, cursing, and mouthing off. No wonder her pilot falls in love with her; readers will too."
--Sharon Shinn, William L.Crawford Award Winning Author of ARCHANGEL and READER AND RAELYNX


"A terrific first novel full of page-turning action, delightful characters and a wry twist of humor. Romance may be in the air. Bullets, ugly beasties, and really nasty bad guys definitely are. Skip lunch - buy this book!"
--Mike Shepherd, national bestselling author of the Kris Longknife series


"Grimspace is an exciting, evocative and suspenseful science fiction romance, reminding me of Firefly and Serenity. Characters and a world you'll think about long after the book is done. Fascinating!"
--Robin D. Owens, award-winning author of HeartMate


"An unflinching tale of survival, redemption, and serious ass-kicking. Jax's brutal eloquence will twist your heart when you least expect it."
--Jeri Smith-Ready, award-winning author of EYES OF CROW

Don't you wish you could run out and buy it right now?

Labels: cover goodness, the squee heard round the world, writing

After a three-year dry spell, Ellie would settle for Mr. Warm Pulse. Ash thinks he just wants some peace, but Ellie makes him want a piece of her. 30 days, no strings, what could possibly go wrong?

As advised by QB, now in charge of online publicity as I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground in that regard, I revised this post. The contest celebrates the release of my book, The Average Girl's Guide to Getting Laid. Read the first chapter here. You can buy it on April 17th from Loose Id.

CONTEST!

Here's the picture. Told you I'd pick something with a monkey. Now for the rules. To enter, just write a caption and put it in comments on this blog post. Funny is the goal, but any caption will do. No new posts while this contest runs, as I want to be sure every interested reader has a chance to enter. I think a week is ample. For a second entry, blog about the contest sometime during the week, and then post "I blogged about it!" along with a link to your blog in the comments. Simple, right?

At contest close, I will write down all the names of those who entered (and write a second entry for everyone that blogs about the contest), put the names in a bowl and have my son draw the winner on April 17th. People who blog about the contest will have a small advantage, but not a huge one because even if you have ten blogs and post about it one each one, you still only get one extra entry.

Prize is a $50 Amazon gift certificate and a free copy of Guide. Wanna write some captions? Ready, set, go!

Labels: contest, Random Tuesday, writing

I've heard aspiring writers say they'd rather throw a manuscript away than sell it to an epublisher. That startles me. I just want people reading my stuff, I don't necessarily care what format it comes in. However, the argument can be made that some epublishers are choosier than others about what they accept, some have bigger promotional budgets and such.

The sales are making the big boys take notice, though. Jane from Dear Author writes about HarperCollins taking the plunge. She notes that she advocated authors building an online following via epubs and then leveraging that into larger sales. Do you guys think that's a viable plan?

One thing she said I wonder about as well:

Having Harper Collins enter the million dollar ebook publishing industry makes me wonder what will happen to epublishers such as Ellora's Cave and Samhain. My hope is that it raises the standard of what is going to be published while not diminishing the diversity of offerings.

I hope the giants don't stomp out the little guys, but I'm pleased to see recognition of a fellow author, though I don't know Delilah Devlin from Adam. Congrats Ms. Devlin!

This post is more about markets, though. If you were going to sub to an epublisher, which one would you choose and why? Who is your dream publisher in NY? How come?

Labels: Workshop Wednesday, writing

Sometimes it can be hard getting to the finish line. Without a contract, we don't have deadlines unless we impose them. We don't have somebody cracking the whip over us. In effect, writers are their own bosses. Working in your jammies all day is a perk.

This past two weeks I've been tested as I never have been. I'm not one for self-discipline. I'm a creature of impulse. I do things for reasons I don't entirely understand. I write in fits and starts, sometimes with such singleminded passion that I don't want to eat or sleep or bathe until the muse is finished with me.

Sometimes I'm a slack-ass. I just want to watch a movie, take a nap or play one of my gazillion computer games instead of anything productive. When I get like this, I could go weeks without writing anything. I try not to do that, try to reserve it for the downtimes when I'm cleansing my mental palate after completing a project, but I'm taking a rest before beginning something new. Typically I break for two weeks after wrapping up a book, though I have screwed around for as long as month before getting back to work. Good times.

Now I'm on the cusp of completing a project, 8800 words to go. I'll write at least 2200 more words today, maybe as much as 3300 if the writing is good. Tomorrow I will wrap things up. More than once, over the last fourteen days, I wanted to say fuck it and screw around instead. Not that I don't love writing, but this schedule has been grueling. But I stuck to it.

To do that, I dangled little carrots (and yes, I fell for it). Once I met my goal for the day, I could do something fun. Watch a movie, whatever. My incentive for completing the project is a nice dinner out with my husband and new handbag from a store at Mundo E that imports delightfully gaudy purses from India. I'll post a pic of the one I buy as a reward for finishing.

How do you guys keep yourself focused?

Labels: Workshop Wednesday, writing

Meet Dev from TEMPTATION. No, it's not perfect. I picture him having more golden hair and skin, longer hair. But the face is pretty close.

And here's Teresa. I picture her hair as being wilder, wavier when it's down but the overall look is right.

When I'm working on a project, I almost always find an image that represents the main characters. Sometimes I cast the whole book in my head. I find it helps me to describe the characters better if I look at actual faces. I try not to make the comparisons because that's lazy and it might date the book, but in my head...

So how do you guys bring your characters to life?

Labels: Workshop Wednesday, writing

Editors are awesome people.

They have minds that work utterly unlike my own. They notice such pesky details as, "Manhattan doesn't have a 54th Avenue" and "Whatever happened to the glass of iced tea Ellie was carrying around?"

To which I respond airily, "I write my novels in accordance with the Carrell principle of truthiness, truth unencumbered by the facts."

Generally, I am then rewarded with a laugh and an instruction to do a little research and make my book agree with consensual reality. Did I mention that I hate research? Yet I never stint on it. I took a trip to NY when I was writing Guide. I made notes, visited all the locations I intended to use in the book. Clearly I didn't get everything right, though. That's why editors are so great!

I've done the wackiest things in the name of research. There was the great diet experiment and sperm taste-off of '06, for instance. Just recently, I read a study that listed lavender and pumpkin pie as having the greatest effect on penile blood flow in men (40% increase!). So I did what any sane author would do. I went to Sensia and ordered a bottle of each from Demeter. Last night I put on both scents in place of my usual CK Escape. It's a bit strong, so if you repeat my research, use it sparingly. I'm going to log how it affects my man and if it affects random passersby for that matter (although judging 40% penile increase by crotch-staring may earn me a weird reputation). Still I think it's worthwhile. Anything for science.

What's the weirdest thing you've done in the name of research? This question isn't just for writers. Think back to your college days.

Labels: Workshop Wednesday, writing

Sometimes when I'm listening to a song, I could write a story, just based on the lyrics. I'm not a melody person at all, but I remember lyrics, sometimes all too well. Here are some songs that beg me to write about them:

Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
Run - Snow Patrol
Desert Rose - Sting (with Cheb Mami)
Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash
If I Could Be Where You are - Enya
Longshot - Antigone Rising
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
If God Made You - Five for Fighting
Far Away Boys - Flogging Molly
Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
Almost anything by Coldplay

What are yours?

Labels: muse, writing