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Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks

Beware, I have entered the Reading Twilight Zone.  I will not come out until I’m finished.  Hence, the perils of letting myself read when I’m supposed to be writing.

I finished book 2 of the Night Angels trilogy last night and it was as good as the first book.  Third book is well underway already this morning.

I’ve always loved assassins (e.g. Gregar), and Kylar doesn’t disappoint.  In this world, assassins are something to be sneered at, and he’s much, much more than even the standard “killer for hire,” aka wetboy.  He struggles, he dies, only to return to life, and only now has he learned the cost of those lives.  The characters aren’t strictly white or black, but a blend of mistakes, honor, morals, beliefs, and confusion.  People die (although this isn’t as bad as a George R.R. Martin wedding, snicker), and there’s a cost for everything.

I think the third book is suffering just a bit because of the demise of the Godking at the end of book 2.  There’s more inter-character conflict than any single antagonist to fight, and characters are trying to work out some of their mistakes.  It’s still good, just not as bam slam thank you ma’am action and surprises as the first two books.  The surprises were excellent.  I mean, when a character isn’t afraid to die, the surprises have to be intense.  Now, Kylar knows the cost he has to pay if he dies and comes back, and now, he’s going to have to face that fear.

I should finish book 3 today and I’ll post my final thoughts.

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The Best Read of 2009

As for reading pleasure, 2009 is starting off with a bang.  I just finished The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.  Note the time of this post.  No, I don’t have the day off tomorrow.  So I’ll be dragging myself up in a matter of hours for the Evil Day Job, but it was totally worth it.

The dang book was so good I had to read the bit of book 2 at the end even though it’s so late.

I’m too tired to wax poetic about the book’s qualities.  The book is dark.  It opens with children suffering, abusing each other in dismal poverty.  But Azoth took my heart and wouldn’t let me stop reading, and Logan, Jarl, Elene, Uly, Mamma K, and yes, even Master Durzo Blint, took another piece of me.  Azoth’s training as a wetboy was engrossing.  No blow was spared.  Even the terrifying Godking is an incredibly interesting character.

So if this is a sign of all the great stories I’ll be reading in 2009, my giddy reader’s heart shouts bring it on!  Book 2 in this series is next, and I have Stay the Night by Lynn Viehl winging its way to me, too.

Meanwhile, my writer’s heart is feeling rather guilty because all I finished today was a single chapter in the Mayan story.  But I did touch it, and I made some hard cuts.  I need to focus the story better and concentrate on the original concept that’s more unique than what seems to have become rather run of the mill. 

Now it’s an Advil for my eyestrain headache, and off to bed, with visions of lots of hot coffee in the morning while I plug away on my big project at work and steal lustful looks of longing at my stack of books and my waiting story.

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Passionate Pen Anniversary

I’ve been a fan of Jenna Petersen and her Passionate Pen website for years.  Her Agent List is one of the first places I check before sending out a new query.  Celebrating ten years of providing all sorts of great articles and information to aspiring writers, Jenna is having an incredible year of contests.  This month, enter to win a three chapter critique by Jenna’s own agent, the fabulous Miriam Kriss!

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2009 Goals

I’m a strong believer in setting goals and regularly checking my progress throughout the year.  I do tend to list pie-in-the-sky big goals that are humanly impossible, although I am doing better at setting realistic and achievable goals.  Would I love to finish every project on my plate next year?  Absolutely.  But I also have to be realistic.  I can’t write like a maniac for months on end and think my sanity, family, job, and health won’t suffer.  I have to work at balance, and that’s really hard for me.

Instead of listing things in some “priority order” that I’ll throw out the door as soon as I make a new sale *crossing fingers* or a new Bright Shiny Story shows up, I’m going to separate my goals into a couple of different areas.

Contracted or Promised/Committed Projects

  • The Road to Shanhasson.  Status:  Submitted.  Goal: Complete editor revisions as assigned. Deadline: TBD.
  • Return to Shanhasson.  Status:  First draft complete.  Goal: revise and submit.  Deadline: TBD.
  • Given In Fire.  Status: planning, plotting.  Goal:  draft, revise, submit.  First Draft target:  20-30K. Deadline: TBD.
  • Charon’s story.  Status:  Not started.  Goal:  plot, build, complete first draft.  First Draft target:  70K.  Consider as a NaNoWriMo project.

Ongoing Submissions

  • Letters to An English Professor.  Status:  On submission.  Goal:  Agent and/or Sell.

 

Current WIPs

  • Night Sun Rising.  Status:  Revision Xibalba in progress.  Goal:  complete revision and query.  Deadline:  1st quarter 2009.  TOP PRIORITY for 2009.
  • Arcana.  Status: first rough draft complete, some revision planning complete.  Goal:  devise final revision plan I can actually do, or file for later.  This story may be “beyond” me for now.

Pipeline Projects (aka Bright Shinies on the horizon)

  • Rayne and Crow.  Status: Idea stage.  Goal:  develop, plot, worldbuild.  Deadline:  1st quarter 2009.  First draft:  2nd quarter 2009.  First draft target:  70K.  SECOND PRIORITY for 2009.  Explore this idea and see if it’s a go. 
  • ANTs.  Status:  <20K first draft, notes.  Goal:  be prepared to pull proposal together if Letters sells.
  • Vicky’s story:  Only a go if Letters and ANTs sell (Vicky is Conn’s sister).
  • Equus story:  From a dream, consider under the Letters “brand.”

 

Personal Development and Other

  • Increase reading, targeting 52 books this year.
  • Write another short story to give away
  • Utilize spreadsheets to keep better track of progress (I did this in 2007 but got lazy in 2008).
  • Continue the Great Agent Hunt.
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2008 in Review

Let’s see how I did on my 2008 goals originally posted Jan 2.

1. Write every day. This is tricky, because not every day is going to yield new words, even if I’m working really hard on a story. That’s okay. When I’m in draft mode, I want 1K a day. Otherwise, I’ll be doing some part of writing every day, whether it’s career related (updating the website, requesting reviews) or revisions.

This is pretty much a given.  Even when I was supposed to take a vacation, I ended up re-reading my own work and making revision notes. 

2. Write 300K. I didn’t keep a spreadsheet this year, so I’m not 100% sure of wordcounts, so this is estimated.

Road to Shanhasson:  113,500

Return to Shanhasson: 104,900

Letters Revision (from 49K to 72K):  23,000

Night Sun Rising (hard revisions): 39,000

Prometheus Unbound:  2,000

RHP Revisions (unfinished): 6,000

Total:  roughly 288,400 words.  Not bad.

3. Write another draft of Arcana (formerly RHP), polish in first quarter 2008, and query. Started in January, but it wasn’t going well at all.  More research and planning is needed.

4. Write another draft of Night Sun Rising (the NaNoWriMo novel), polish in second quarter 2008, and query. Planning is complete; Revision Xibalba was in progress in Oct but not yet finished.  My first priority in 2009 will be to finish this.

5. Editor revisions (completed the third pass 12/31/2007, so this one’s close!) and promotion on The Fire Within.  Done.

6. Editor revisions and promotion on The Rose of Shanhasson.  Done.

7. Editor revisions and promotion on Beautiful Death.  Done.

8. Develop a revision plan to extend Letters to An English Professor from long novella to single title length.  Done, revisions completed, project queries floating about and continuing into 2009.

9. Finish a first draft of ANTs (may get bumped to the bottom of the list, but it bugs me because this story is 75% finished).  Not started.  No sense in working on this unless I sell Letters.  (The hero of ANTs is Conn’s brother, Victor.)

10. Write The Road to Shanhasson (not sure of timing yet).  Done!

11. Write at least one short story to give away as a free read.  Done! 

12. Revise the website for quicker downloads and easier maintenance.  Done again, including transferring my domain off yahell.

13. Read 52 books.  Ugh, failed miserably on this.  I didn’t keep a careful list this year, but I’d be surprised if I hit 25 books.  Must read more next year.

14. Finished Return to Shanhasson as my NaNo project.

15. Continued the Great Agent Hunt near the end of 2008 with no luck yet.  My prey is proving rather ellusive, which only makes the hunt more thrilling.

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2008 Winds Down

The last Christmas presents have been opened.  We celebrated our last family dinner yesterday with Granny, my Beloved Sis, and my brother’s family.  The last Chiefs’ football game is on today.

2008 is almost over.

So this next week, I’ll be writing up formal goals for 2009.  I’ll look back to last year and see how I did on 2008’s goals.

Meanwhile, I’m reading.  Not from my reward stack, although this has been a very great reward.  I started with The Rose of Shanhasson, then The Road to Shanhasson, and finally, I’m reading the first draft of Return to Shanhasson that I just finished.  Oooooh, it’s so awesome to see the story all laid out and complete.  So much love.  So much blood.  So much Shadow.  The last book still needs work to bring it up where it needs to be, but the theme is definitely carried through to the end. 

Love, the greatest gift of all, and the greatest sacrifice.

2009 goals will be forthcoming.

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In Too Deep by Portia Da Costa

It’s back to the Evil Day Job for me today.  Christmas is over, and so is my vacation, and since the book is done, I settled down with my first pleasure read last night, In Too Deep by Portia Da Costa.

Now I’ve “known” Portia online for years, but I think this is the first full-length book I’ve read of hers.  A mistake I will correct immediately.  This book was sooooo good.  I read it in one sitting last night.  Now THIS is what an erotic romance should be like for me.  It was spicy, absolutely, but the characters were so real and deep.  I just loved Professor Hottie and his Queen of the Library.  The mystery about who Nemesis might be, the man who began leaving naughty letters for Gwendolyne in the suggestion box, was wonderful.  There were just enough clues to make me doubt myself and keep me eagerly reading.

Gwendolyne might be willing to experiment with dominance/submission play, but she’s no fainting weakling.  She pushes and challenges, never backing down, but she understands the game and what it means to him.  I don’t want to give away spoilers, but the last scene between them right before Daniel is forced to leave nearly moved me to tears.

…I recognize that, even though I’m on fire for him, this interlude is about Daniel, about him being in control, about him losing himself in the game and forgetting what lies ahead of him.  My intense frustration, the torment of temporary denial – these are sweet gifts I can give him to distract him.

I hope the rest of my reward stack of books proves to be so good!

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Merry Christmas!

A near Santa catastrophe was averted.  The stockings are hung.  Mom has keeled over on the couch with a glass of wine after a day of baking and Christmas Eve celebrations.  I made bon bons and truffles, along with Settlers’ Beans and Suzanne’s Ultimate Breakfast Casserole for tomorrow.  I really wanted to make peanut brittle, but there was nary a bag of raw peanuts to be found!

Whatever your family traditions, I hope you’re having a lovely holiday!  The monsters blow hugs and kisses to you all.  (Watch out for their chocolate faces.  They loooove bon bons.)

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Twas the Night Before Story

Twas the night before Story, when all through my head
Not a character was stirring, not even a Fred.
The worldbuilding and rules I had already begun,
In the hopes that my character would soon to me come.
The photos were nestled all snug on my board,
While I knew how he looked, he still made me bored.
No hero to journey, and me without plot,
My Story was doomed to molder and rot.
When in my head there arose such a clatter
I sprang to my keyboard to record the sudden chatter.
In my scrapbook bible I wrote in a flash,
A few mannerisms I kept in my stash.
Like tugging his hair when lost deep in thought,
Or his palm rolling to and fro an ivory rahke.
When, what in my wondering mind should appear,
But shades of people, real people, my dear!
Key phrases only he would ever say,
A silver ring he wears night and day. 
A dark, dark secret held close to his heart,
The ratty blue shirt from which he refused to part.
With quirks and flaws, so interesting to see
How such little things were obviously the key.
More lively than cardboard, my character breathed,
Rounded and rich, I swore he would bleed.
And then in a twinkling, I heard a new voice,
His clear words to listen I simply had no choice.
Defining moments from my hero’s past,
Darkest secrets he shared with me at last.
Friends and family, and his enemies, too,
All his troubles and fears were mine to review.
How many times he had fallen in love,
What gods he honored in the heavens above.
His hopes–how they shone! His fears, how dread!
His secrets were like ghosts from which he fled!
His heart lay shattered like fragile spun glass.
No matter his goals, his past ne’er surpassed.
And now I knew the path I should set,
How best my hero to torment and fret.
His arc I saw like a gleaming thread,
A steep, dark ravine I would send him to tread.
The darkest moment, his innermost fears to face.
The elixir to lure him through this dangerous race.
His character scrapbook and his hero’s journey,
Soon gave me the framework for his grand story.
I spoke not a word but went straight to work,
And began plotting without a single shirk,
And laying the journey over ten even blocks,
And at my hero I threw bigger rocks.
I opened up Word, to my scrapbook a look,
And away my Story flew like all really good books.
But I exclaimed, ere I typed chapter one,
“Remember character is plot, and well you’ve begun.”

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NaNo Decompression

So now the real fun begins.

What I really have is a bunch of disconnected files.  Some are numbered in the correct order (001, 002, 003, etc.) but some are not (Mykal_001 or devalki_notes).  My job now will be to read through each file, smooth it a little, and begin forming a coherent “first draft.”

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on revisions right now, but I will be smoothing things and fixing notes to myself as I go.  Stuff like [go back and change two days to three] or [lay this thread earlier] or [Sal needs to say something pithy here].  This will give me a complete picture of the draft.  Did it succeed?  Did I carry the heart of the Story all the way through?

I know I did on this one.  It gave me chills to come back full circle and use all the elements that are precious to this story one last time.  Gregar even got in an arse competition.  *laughs*

This part isn’t work, not really.  It’s time to wallow in the words I wrote.  Luxuriate in the story I didn’t allow myself to stop and read while slamming toward the end.  Once I get this draft completed, I’ll set it aside to marinate while I return to Revision Xibalba.

Now *that* is a hard revision.

Meanwhile, I plan to read myself silly.  I have the entire Night Angels trilogy by Brent Weeks ready to go, along with In Too Deep by Portia Da Costa and of course the upcoming Stay the Night release by Lynn Viehl.  I also know that Santa brought me two Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C.S. Harris.

Come January, it’ll be back to Revision Xibalba while I plot and worldbuild the Bright Shiny.  I need a name for it, don’t I?  Hmmm.  Until I get a better title, I’ll call it Rayne and Crow, two of the characters.  More detailed 2009 goals will be forthcoming later.