endings and beginnings

As I think I've mentioned before, I've been in a really good place mentally of late. It's not that anything great has been happening for me, but I think I've finally stepped beyond what ever negative funk has been hanging over me for the past year. I feel like good things are in store and I feel positive that I'm ready for them. :-)

Last night Deidre Knight spoke to our local chapter and she was just amazing. I felt like she was talking to me personally instead of a room full of people. Everything she had to say, all of the questions she answered, were all exactly what I wanted to hear. She comes across not only as a smart business woman but a very sensitive person. I was so impressed.

I'm counting the days until my sabbatical when I can have the time to write full time. I've never done that before and I'm excited to embrace the opportunity.

Until next time...

Post holiday blahs...

I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner and I love having company to the house. What I hate is the day after when I feel like I've been through a battle. I was exhausted the entire day and didn't do anything but lay around. Not that it's such a bad thing. I'm usually so busy that I meet myself coming and going, so laying around is a nice change of pace. Still, I actually had some time alone yesterday--which is rare--and instead of using it to some productive purpose, I sat like a lump in front of the TV and watched a 90s movie that I'd already seen three times and didn't like in the first place. Go figure.

On another note, I've been stewing over the book I just finished. I've had that "something still isn't' right" feeling about the story and I finally had my aha moment. I knew it was coming--just didn't know how long I'd have to wait for it. That said, I now have to work up some enthusiasm to get in there and get to work.

BTW, just finished CC Harrison's new book "Running From Strangers." I had the honor of blurbing for it. It's a great story and I'll keep you posted when it's out.

Now...to work.

Wow, busy month...

It's been a little crazy and only 7 days have passed! I went to Utah to see my friend Lynn for the weekend. She has an incredible place in Park City and visiting is like going to a resort. We spent about 8 hours of the weekend in the hot tub brainstorming our books, 8 hours drinking way more than anyone should, and 8 hours sitting in front of a toasty fire...still brainstorming our books. It was an intense weekend but when it was all said and done, we both have a lot of the plotting nailed down. It's a good feeling.

I got back form Utah and had to turn around and leave the next day for San Francisco for a work meeting. It was a quick trip, but very interesting. Of course being in San Francisco alone wasn't that much fun. I'm not one of those people who can just take myself down to the bar or a restaurant and not feel awkward. Thank God for room service.

Hey, if anyone lives in Southeast Arizona and is available on Saturday afternoon, please come visit the library:

Maricopa County Library District
Southeast Regional Library
775 North Greenfield Road
Gilbert, AZ 85234
602. 652.3000
www.mcldaz.org


On Saturday, November 10, 2007, the Southeast Regional Library’ will be hosting a Romance Panel event. The event is scheduled from 1-4pm on Saturday, November 10th in the Assembly Room.

They will be serving refreshments during the breaks in-between the panel discussions. Their Friends group will have a volunteer at the event to run a cash till for selling books.

Here are the directions to the library:

Take the 60 East and exit on Greenfield Road. Make a right onto Greenfield Road (heading south) and drive until you get to Guadalupe Road. Make a left onto Guadalupe (east). Turn right into the library parking lot. The library is on the southeast corner of Greenfield and Guadalupe, set back a little from the road.

The Assembly Room is located in the lobby of the library. When you come in through the main doors of the building, turn to your left and head all the way down the hallway to the large room at the end.

Hope to see you there!

Research...

I love to research...and I hate to research. It's incredibly fascinating and the feeling I get when I unearth some new fact that hasn't been written into a thousand other novels is amazing. I love having my facts straight--of knowing that if some expert somewhere down the road picks up my book and reads it, s/he will know at the end that I did my homework. I may not know everything about my subject matter, but what makes it into my books I have researched.

So where does the hate come in? When you write on a tight schedule--as I do--every hour is precious and when Sunday morning is suddenly gone because I got to a sentence where I didn't know whether to say tunic, kirtle or cotehardie and it's frustrating. In the end, I'll probably know more about all of them then I'll ever need to know, but that's the nature of the game I suppose.

My kids are pestering me to get off the computer and take them to Target. Ah the woes of a working mother.

What am I reading? The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cromwell, Pre-Christian Ireland from First Settlers to Early Celts, Peter Harbison and The Witchcraft Sourcebook, Brian P. Levak. In the CD player, The Book of Fate, Brian Meltzer. Still thinking about The Kite Runner.

How do I keep them all straight? Dunno.

Okay, off to do the Mommy Thing. :-)

How cool is that?

I got a package in the mail yesterday when I was home sick, feeling like crapola. Guess what it was? The Korean version of Echoes! Check it out:

I'm thinking, very cool.

So the week has been busy. Got my A list of queries out to new agents and had several bites. Yay! I'd forgotten how much "fun" it is to go through this. Ah well, for every career step forward there is fear and pain, right? Nothing ventured, nothing gained?

Okay, very trite but I'm only on coffee cup @2.

The disappearing blog

Well, I just discovered that my last two posts never actually posted--make that three. That makes me a little nuts. I'm sure I said something incredibly witty in both, but couldn't tell you what it was now. Sheesh.

Ah well, I know I probably yammered about being busy. (yada yada yada) Aren't we all busy? I'm thinking, yes.

I thought things would slow down once I got Beneath the Ruins out to my pre-readers, but guess what? No such luck. I'm just as busy now as I was then. I'm looking for a new agent, which is hard work, but exciting at the same time.

Also setting up my new identity--Roxanne Alcaraz (that's Alcatraz without the "t"). Roxanne is actually my middle name and Alcaraz my married name. (Erin Grady is my maiden name). But what's in a name, right?

Anyway, had a wonderful note from a reader (and future published author) Debra Maher. She launched her new website and as an author she's likes, has added my site to her links. Thank you Debra. You made my day. Check out her site: http://www.debramaher.com/ It's very nice.

Anyway, hopefully this post willl actually post.

Back to work with me...

It hurts to be beautiful

Did anyone else ever hear their mom say this one? Mine would throw it out when she was brushing my hair (translate--releasing her frustrations by ripping my hair out at the roots with a comb that was never meant for hair under the age of 10).

I've been thinking having my manuscript critiqued is a lot like the hair experience. My CP is wonderful--she always manages to get to the core of what is right--and what is wrong. I just got back a stack of bleeding pages and I'm thinking, I don't care if I'm beautiful. I'm just tired of the pain. But in truth, I do care and it's totally worth the pain.

I'm one of those writers that gets too close to my story and I often can't see the pages for the paragraphs...or is that the paragraphs for the words? I'm always a little stunned when my CP points out something that should have been obvious...but wasn't until she put up the flashing red light for me.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my pain. :-)

A month...gone in a snap

Well at least I can say I've been busy. I've gotten my final edits (except for last 50 pages) back from my CP and am almost through them. Yay! And the next book is forming up in my head so fast that I have to open a screen and speed-type to get it out. Can't wait to put this book to bed and start my affair with the next one. :-0

BTW, did you get a notice from Amazon.com about my new release--well if you did, don't. The book is In the Chill of the Night and it's an anthology that I was invited to do with 3 other terrific authors. Unfortunately, the publisher went belly up before the book could be released. Now all the rights are tied up in bankruptcy court so it will be awhile before the dust settles on that. I'll keep you posted.

Now that the first of my trilogy is finished, I'll be posting more regularly. The psychics say I'm moving into an exciting and positive trend of the future. Let's hope they're right. :-)

The process

My friend asked me how I go about writing/finishing a book (after the first draft is complete). I think the question was, do you do it all at once or a go through it a stage at a time and concentrate on dialog, and then prose, and then characters, etc. My first answer was no, I just go through it and do it all.

But now that I'm going through it and doing it all, I've changed my answer. The first draft is a dump of my ideas, arranged in the order I think they should happen--written toward a goal I hope to achieve. (ie, happily ever after, good triumphing evil, only the good die young)

The second draft (for me) is more "connect the dots" than anything. During the download of ideas I often (translate ALWAYS) stumble on other ideas that I'd never dreamed of in my original plan. Most of the time, I have to really adjust the beginning to match the end and foreshadow some of those ideas earlier in the story so it flows from one scene (dot) to the next.

The third draft I do in hard copy because it reads different. It always has, it always will. End of story. Something about the relationship between black words on white paper transforms the story. In this draft I'm looking for holes, weak areas and things that don't add up. I'm also flipping back and forth between scenes adding one sentence clues or thoughts to scenes either before or after. These are those little details that take it from ordinary to Ooh. I'm also looking at my prose, my settings and my characters and especially the continuity of my story. Is it Monday on one page and Saturday on the next? Raining and then sunny? Morning and then night?

By the end of the fourth draft, I'm ready to send it out to readers. I pick two or three, and ask them to read it for enjoyment--not for mistakes or typos. I don't want them to be editors because I've already done that work. I wanted them to be readers. I ask them to give feedback on a select number of things that are above and beyond the "is it good?" question.

I want to know if they were confused at any part of the story? Did they find themselves skimming anywhere? At any time while they were reading did they catch themselves "checking out" to think about what they needed at the grocery? Did anything make them mad? (we've all read books we want to launch across the room because the characters or premise is so inane.) Does it pass the "would she really" test? (You know this one, heroine in the dark house all alone because everyone else has disappeared or been found dead. She hears a sound. It's coming from the basement. She thinks, I should take this butter knife and go investigate.... And in the audience we are shouting, YOU IDIOT. Come on...would she really?)

The last, and one of the most important questions I ask is, did you want another outcome? Did you think I was leading you to one ending only to find yourself at another? This one always brings a jackpot. If the answer is no, the ending was satisfying and I loved how it wrapped up--ah, it's a wonderful thing. But if the answer is yes, I wanted it to end like... Well, sometimes you discover that you've laid the groundwork for something even better than you'd imagined. It's also a wonderful thing.

This is how I do it, anyway. It's a lot of drafts, but when I'm striving for the best book I can write, that's what I need to do. :-)

Whassup?

I've been blogging over at Romantic Inks this week and it's been so much fun. They are so nice over there and I always feel as if I come away with way more than I put in.

One of my big "take-aways" was reconnecting to the blog. I was very diligent for awhile about posting but then the summer was so busy and I was so absorbed in my book that I slacked off. Now I'm realizing what a mistake that was. Writing these blogs helps me stay focused.

This morning I'm working on the first hard copy read of my new book. I have to get it out to my readers and I'm anxious to get through it. At the same time, I know my tendency is to rush the process and I don't want to do that. I want this book to be as perfect as my vision for it is.

Putting some of my thoughts out in the blogs I did this week helped me hone in on some of the issues I have with the book. I cut out a big chunk that was weighing it down and now I have to find a fast-paced bridge to put in its place. Rewriting is my favorite part of the process, so I'm up to the challenge.

I only have a couple more hours before my family begins to wake and my solitude is shattered, so I'm off to get at it. Hope you all are having a great day. :-)

This week...

I'm a guest blogger on Romantic Inks stop by and chat with me there. It's such a nice group of people and they ask great questions.

Romantic weekends and other stories from the zone...

My husband took me away for a romantic weekend. We've been married 19 years and just celebrated our anniversary on the 6th. Actually, celebrate is a strong word, since we both had to work late and then run kids around for their various commitments. We did manage to say Happy Anniversary in passing and we knew we'd have time to slow down when the weekend rolled around.

We had a wonderful time and it made me realize just why I've stayed with my husband for so many years. He's a good man and I love him very much. We still find things to laugh about. I think humor has been our most important success factor. It's never a bad thing to laugh with the one you love.

Hope you find the time to smile today. :-)

The Gothic...

My good friend Lynn and I were talking about the gothic novel yesterday and what we love about them. If you've read my books, you know that I love that gothic feel. I love the dark, turbulent storms, the shadowed corners in the rooms, the gardens that flourish with violent blood red flowers. What I am for when I'm writing is to hit that chill down the spine level of suspense, while making you fall in love. Yes, I am twisted. :-)

I actually didn't know what gothic was until my books were reviewed and they called me a fresh gothic voice. In fact, I wasn't entirely certain I hadn't been insulted. I associated gothic with the 70s and 80s and not in a good way. But then a reader sent me a definition of the gothic and the light went on in my head. Yep, that's me. I love every element of it:

The Gothic novel flourished through the early nineteenth century. Authors of such novels set their stories in the medieval period, often in a gloomy castle replete with dungeons, subterranean passages, and sliding panels, and made plentiful use of ghosts, mysterious disappearances, and other sensational and supernatural occurrences; their principal aim was to evoke chilling terror by exploiting mystery, cruelty, and a variety of horrors. The term "gothic" has also been extended to denote a type of fiction which lacks the medieval setting but develops a brooding atmosphere of gloom or terror, represents events which are uncanny, or macabre, or melodramatically violent, and often deals with aberrant psychological states.

(adapted from A Glossary of Literary Terms)

What's not to love about that? Anyway, my new book is probably my most gothic. I am having such a great time writing it. Actually, it's finished now. I'm sending it out to my readers--with, I might add, the same anxiety I had when I sent my first book out to readers--and I hope to be submitting it for publication within the month.

Wish me luck. :-)

Where's Erin?

I haven't been blogging lately because I've been too dang busy with the WIP. I'm on revisions now and they are going great--but heaven help me there just aren't enough hours in the day.

I'll be back at it soon though and I'll be more faithful to the posts. BTW--I'm looking for 1988 trivia for my book. What do you remember about that year?

Long time, no blog

(pictured left to right, fellow authors Kallie Owens, Calista Fox (aka Ava McKnight), Erin Grady, Rick Watkins (aka Terry Watkins) and Mary Leo at Thrillerfest in NYC.

I haven't posted in too long, but it's not because I haven't had alot to say, it's just that there hasn't been the time.

Last week I was at Thrillerfest--great time, although the conference wasn't what I'd hoped for. Being in NYC, I'd hoped to network with publishing professionals as well as with other writers. Unfortunately, the set up wasn't conducive to networking. Published authors were identified on their badges, but agents and editors were not. Perhaps they wished to remain disguised, but in the past when I've spoken to them at conferences they usually say the opposite--they are there to meet people and network too.

Anyway, I'm in the heated revisions of my book so I have been very focused and hording every free moment. Translate: no blogging, no talking on the phone, no updating website, minimal email--you get the picture. Speaking of pictures...here's one from NYC. We're in a bar that made the most incredible raspberry and pomegranate martinis. I think I was drunk every night and hung over ever morning. But it was a grand time. :-)

progress, progress, progress

So have I mentioned I work at Intel for my day job? I do and although I harbor the dreams that most writers do of working in my jammies and eating bon bons while my books compete with each other for the #1 slot on the NYT bestseller list, the reality of it is, I'll probably be working there for many moons to come. It's not a bad place, I like my job and it's a great company.

Why I bring it up now is because I've been thinking of how Intel has changed me. Intel is one of those data driven establishments. You want to make a point, show me the data to support it or get the hell out of the conference room. So I decided to apply that thinking to my writing. I took my creative process and put it on a spreadsheet. That's right. I began to track my productivity. How many pages in how many hours? What projections can I make from the average of a month's worth of writing? How can I match my goals to my output for success?

And guess what? It's working. I've had myself on a timeline for two months now and I am (drum roll please) one scene shy of THE END. Actually, I hit the end this morning and then realized it was a screeching stop that needed a bit more build and alot more wind down so I'm doing that. But wow, I wrote it in record time and I'm here to tell you, IMHO, it's my best work yet. Time will tell if anyone else thinks so, but I'm very pleased with it.

Anyway, it's late and I have an early morning appt with my laptop, WIP and my spreadsheet.

Wednesday I'm off to NYC for Thrillerfest and 4 days of solitude for rewrites. Sick woman that I am, I can't wait.

Saturday, up at at'm

Characters. For me a character is built by his or her actions. I don't do drawn out character sketches, I don't draw up story boards on their lives. I start with a sense of who they are and then I start moving them around in my story. Maybe it's not the most efficient way, but it works for me. I have tried the other methods and I end up burning thousands of calories on the outlining only to discard it later when I begin writing.

I just stumbled over an article in RWR (from a back issue) titled "Are you writing your novel backwards." It was really good information and it made me think. My past two novels have definitely been written backwards and the problem with it isn't the end product--it's the fact that at the end, I have no idea how I wrote the book. That means I'm also baffled when it comes to duplicating the process and writing another. I took a hard look at this when I started my new book and decided to try another method.

I'll never be the kind of writer who has detailed outlines and knows every aspect down to how their characters like their beef cooked. But I have taken that instinctive process that got me through my first 3 books and identified steps that I can duplicate. I use a loose version of the Hero's journey and it gets me from point A to point Z and tells me which points I need to hit in between. I still don't know the exact details that will occur at every point--but I don't want to know those details until I get there. That's where the magic comes in and that's where my love of craft is firmly rooted. Writing a book has to be as exciting and unpredictable as reading a book is. Without the surprises, where is the joy?

So yes, I've changed my ways and use a structure and roadmap now. There are landmarks in my plan that will keep me moving in the right direction. I have a process I will use for each book I write. So is it still backwards? Maybe, but I don't care. It works and in the end, that's all a writer can really hope for.

By the way, I have a Myspace now. Of course I still don't know how to use it, but I have one. :-) Come visit me and be my friend: ttp://www.myspace.com/erin_grady

Long time, no blog

I haven't been ignoring my blog, I've just been very, very busy. First there was the weekend in Colorado. It was a celebration honoring my mother, who just turned 70, my sister who will be 50 this year and my eldest niece who will be 30. But it was also a celebration of all the women in my family. We are female heavy (not to be mistaken with heavy females) and so there are many of us. All but 3 (my brother's wife and two oldest girls) were able to make it. We called ourselves the Generation Sensation and had a wonderful time.

Then, my girls and I came home for two days and we left for Mexico. We went to Rocky Point which is one of my favorite places and lounged on the beach for 4 days. It was paradise. I read like crazy and didn't even bring my computer.

But now I'm back at work. I can't wait to finish my book. No, I can't wait to introduce my readers to Sean Ballagh, my new hero. I am really loving this guy..

NYC is around the corner for Thrillerfest. Exciting, exciting.

Cool stuff

Yesterday was a cool day. I heard from fellow author Kathryne Kennedy who just received the cover on her knew book ENCHANTING THE LADY. I was lucky enough to be an advanced reader of it and I loved it. She's done something unique and wonderful with her story so be sure to look for it in January 08 when it's released. And guess what? My quote made her cover. I think it's quite an honor.

Then, I heard from the conference coordinator of Thrillerfest where I plan to be in July. It's in NY this year and the line up of authors is enough to humble even the big names. I expected to quietly attend and lurk in the corner--possibly spill something on my blouse during the welcome reception--that's kind of my MO. But wait, I've been asked to be on a panel. Wow. On the panel are: Deborah LeBlanc, Laura Benedict, Dianne Emley, yours truly, Erin Grady AND Rebecca York, who in addition to being a terrific bestselling author, also blurbed for the cover WHISPERS. I've never met her in person so I've very excited about it. The panel is called: The Devil's Alternative, Protagonists who hover at the edges of humanity. If you're going to Thrillerfest, it will be Friday, 3:00-3:50 pm. Please stop by and say hi. :-)

And to make it all that much better, I'm literally channeling the new book. I've said it before but have to say it again--I think this will be my best to date.

Fun and news

Well the week has been a fun one. My daughter turned 16 on Thursday and we had a great day with her. We bought a car for her -- actually, as much for us as for her because we didn't want to share our own cars. It's not a new car but it runs and is in decent shape and she was thrilled to get it.

Monday (not telling this in chronological order, obviously) I picked up a message on my voice mail letting me know Whispers was a Book Buyers Best finalist in the paranormal category. Whispers was also a finalist for the Award of Excellence and the USA Booknews Best Books. It's always so exciting and rewarding to have my books recognized like this.

Speaking of books--wow, it's amazing what focus will do for a girl's writing. I've really cranked up the discipline factor and have been writing on a very rigorous schedule. I want to have my first draft of my new book completed by July 1 and I am tracking on schedule. Amazing what a spreadsheet and unlimited supply of coffee can do--even for someone like me. :-)

Hey, thanks to everyone who played tag with me last week. That was so much fun and I learned quite a bit about people who I thought I knew. Check out the Tag, your it post if you missed it.