I started a blog post yesterday with Never-Ending Things that Suck and Never-Ending Things That the Opposite of Suck. The second list only had two things on it, and they were stretching it. The first list had a couple of things I'd come up with to make it longer, but you know what it really comes down to?

Housecleaning. And it sucks.

Sunday, I spent 10 hours cleaning my house (minus two 5-minute breaks for dessert [I skipped lunch] and to check e-mail and a quick run to the store for a new shower curtain and printer ink). My husband and kids worked even harder than me, though they took 4 hours off for the football game. My body ached, my hands are still all roughed up, and we're out of cleaning products.

And within 12 hours there was more laundry to be done, dishes in the sink, cat litter on the floor, and a toilet bowl that needed scrubbing again.

It's enough to drive you insane. In fact, it's probably responsible for half the insanity in the western world.

Anyway.

I originally wrote the rest of this post about why I haven't been posting. How lame is that? You've heard it all before, so I'll spare you. Especially since...LOOKEE!

My cover art for Fight or Flight (coming March 28, 2011, from Carina Press)!



March still seems very far away, but maybe just a little bit closer. :)

Next week I'll analyze 2010 and see what kind of a year it shaped up to be. In the meantime, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it) and an excellent New Year.

Hi Natalie! I'm so pleased to be here. Sure, it was a long swim from Australia, but I had my waterwings and—apart from the odd collision with a cargo ship—I made it easily. The exercise was a great way to work off some of my excitement that Angel Thief is releasing Monday. Monday! Happy, happy, happy.

Like me, Angel Thief has an Australian background, so I thought I'd use this post to share with the world three things that they mightn't know about Australia.

One. We put all our politicians in jail as soon as they're elected. It saves time.

Two. We smear a concentrated mush of veggies boiled in beer on our toast.

Three. We drink BEER.

Oh wait. That's Terry Pratchett's The Lost Continent. Australia is nothing at all like that. Nope, never drink beer, never eat Vegemite, never elect crooked politicians. Boring, really. Just stunning landscapes, unique animals, friendly people, sunshine, beaches and barbeques.

So, how about three facts about me as a writer?

One. My earliest reading obsession was with the work of Enid Blyton before I graduated to Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon and the Asterix comics. After that, there was no holding me back. I read and read, and that led naturally to writing.

Two. I'm a caffeine addict. Coffee in the morning. Tea in the afternoon. I can't imagine the writing life without caffeine. Actually, I can't imagine life without caffeine!

Three. Becoming a writer has increased my respect for all authors. I know now how tough the journey is and how inescapable. The other day I was wondering why the hell the Rolling Stones are still touring when they're wealthy enough to do absolutely nothing. Then I imagined (and it was a stretch) being a millionaire author, and I realised I'd still be writing. It's not about the money (though we need it to live). It's about an addiction to creativity. Once your brain has learned the thrill of storytelling, there's no going back.

***


Angel Thief releases November 29 from Carina Presshttp://bit.ly/AngThief

She’s breaking the rules. Again.


An archivist in the heavenly library, Sara must follow protocol when it comes to curating the knowledge of the universe. But "liberating" an ancient text from the collection of a human—an Australian drug lord—could save a boy’s life. Sara has no way of knowing that one of the man’s other treasures is a sexy-as-sin djinni, bound by a wish to guard the estate.


He’s only following orders.


Filip is compelled to turn over intruders, even celestial ones, to his master. When he catches Sara in the library, he isn’t above indulging in some sensual kisses with her, or using her to trick the mobster into wasting a wish. It’s what he must do to preserve his facade of freedom and protect his heart.


But the kidnapping of the drug lord’s daughter forces Sara and Filip to work together—bringing out the hero that lurks within the soul of the djinni, and the passion within the angel.

***
You can find Jenny:
at her website
blogging
or on Twitter @Jenny_Schwartz

On Friday, I'll be hosting guest blogger and Carina Press author Jenny Schwartz right here!

A little about Jenny, from her website:
I live in Western Australia where the Indian Ocean is bluer than heaven. Not that I live beside the sea -- I wish. Seaside prices are astronomical. Fortunately, I'm a big fan of suburban living -- friendly neighbours, backyard visitors (birds, lizards and ladybugs) and room for a straggly herb garden.

Confession (because every bio requires a deep, dark secret): Perhaps the best thing about being a writer is that you can read and read and read -- and call it research!

Jenny's Carina Press release Angel Thief releases on Monday, November 29. But join us here THIS Friday (in your post-Thanksgiving or post-shopping stupor) to laugh and learn. See you then!

No spoilers! :)

I took Number One to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter Thursday night. Yes, it was a school night for her and a work night for me. She was dying to go, so a couple of weeks before, I told her that if she could get all her teachers to certify that she had no tests or quizzes and would not suffer academic deficits, I'd take her.

To my amazement, they all signed. Most with laughter. One said he was proud of me. (I think the same one who ended up giving her a quiz anyway, but at least they could use their notes.)

So we left the house at 10:30 and headed over.

( Gushing behind the cut... )

Now I can't wait for July. :)

So, I'm annoyed.

In 1982, I was 11 years old. I remember Tron, but I remember it iconically. I don't think I ever actually watched the movie. I get the basic premise, but that's it.

So we're about a month away from Tron: Legacy, and I want to see the original. Makes sense, no? I know the consensus is that it sucked, especially from the viewpoint of the future, and even people who love it unconditionally say it sucked. I don't care. I still want to see the sequel.

But I can't find it. Netflix doesn't have it, though it did a few months ago. I can buy used copies online, but I don't want to own it. I did find a listing at Disney for the 20th anniversary DVD, but you know what happens when I click "Buy It"? I'm brought to Disney's home page, which has no mention of Tron. I can't get it from my local Blockbuster or a Blockbuster Kiosk.

I thought maybe it was about to be reissued, so I did a search, and guess what I came up with?

Conspiracy.

Theories.

In the first link, commenters totally pooh-poohed the idea, saying Disney probably wants to release it at the same time as Legacy. Do these people not pay attention? No one puts out something they want to hit big without hyping it months in advance. There's no release date. No preorder options at Amazon or movie stores. The guy who remastered Tron doesn't know when it's supposed to come out.

So I'm buying into the conspiracy theory, and I'm annoyed, and maybe I'll skip the sequel just to get back at Disney for ticking me off. Who's with me?

I'm blogging today at The Gab Wagon about what's making this week such a good one for me. Check it out! :)

I'm writing a new book for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and doing so in the full spirit of the event. In other words, I'm writing crap, ignoring that it's crap, and focusing on moving forward. Every few lines, I have to give myself permission to leave it alone, but I'm not comfortable with putting out crap. It seems as if the less I focus on quality-first, the less quality comes out.

At the same time (well, alternately, not at the exact same time, that would be impossible), I'm reading a book that's just amazing. The richness of each sentence, the clarity of description and action—but perfectly chosen, so it's not getting bogged down in detail. I'm in awe. And it drives me nuts.

Because I can't do it. That's how I feel right now. It's ridiculous. I know for a fact that it doesn't come out that way for her, she's said so. First drafts aren't supposed to be polished. I've written books I'm very proud of, and all of them took many, many passes before they became that way. Still, as the words flow from my brain to my fingers onto the screen, other words join mentally join them:

Boring.

Common.

You used that word six times already.

Vary your sentence structure.

Stop using "then."

You'll never be as good as her.

I'm well aware of the dangers of comparison, and I generally avoid it. But this is a special case. I mean, she's a Patriots fan. We both write romantic adventure, so I feel we have a similar audience. When a book is nothing like mine, I'm not as humbled by its awesomeness (like, say, anything by Megan Hart).

So I have a couple of choices. I can let it get to me, and lament my apparently diminishing skills. Or I can finish reading her book before I go back to writing.

I think I'll go with plan B.

I'm sure this blog has been abandoned by readers, since I've been going for longer and longer stretches between posts. Things have eased back a little again, though, yay!

My line edits for Fight or Flight are done, turned in, and accepted.

Soccer is over, so no more practices and games taking up five days a week.

The fall play is this week, so paint crew is over, so no more daily pickups at school.

Freelance work has evened out, mostly. *knock wood so it doesn't dump on me again!* I like it spread out, of course.

( Read more... )

I just read Mo Ryan's review of "You Can't Handle the Truth," and that inspired me to finally(!) post here about Supernatural, despite the boatload of work waiting for me and the fact that my husband is about to arrive home after several days out of town.


Caution: There is a spoiler in this rambling based on the preview shown at the end of the episode.

( Click here for the rambling... )

Okay, it's now Sunday, and I think I've rambled on QUITE enough. Your turn!

Natalie very generously invited me here to blog today. Thanks so much, Natalie.

I was thinking about what to blog about when I was struck by the concept of imagination.

IMAGINATION—power to create in one's mind

I have 3 full-length novels published. The first one is set on a ranch in Montana, the next two in Scotland. I’ve written other books set in South Dakota, Ireland, Northern Labrador, NYC, and England. Sometimes I use locations or jobs I’m familiar with but no matter how familiar I am with one aspect of a book there are still myriad details to research.

RESEARCH—examination, study

So I research like crazy, everything from location details to historical fact, witchcraft, psychic powers, police procedures, medical conditions, flying helicopters, and the psychology of everything from serial killers to phobias to growing up without a father. The first story I ever wrote was called Her Sanctuary and is published by The Wild Rose Press. I love this story, but at the time I wrote it there was no information on how the FBI dealt with art fraud so I made it up—I had to. But after Her Sanctuary was published there was a whole TV series on how the FBI dealt with art fraud and counterfeits. I was so mad. :) I’m still mad because I hate getting facts wrong, and yet it is impossible to know everything about everything. And although there is such thing as poetic licence, I’ve noticed that nowadays people like much more fact with their fiction.


When researching Sea of Suspicion (Carina Press) I contacted a Fife police officer and swung a tour of the St. Andrews’s Police Station. I’d lived in the town for years but never had reason to visit the local nick. I set the story in the Marine Lab where I’d done my graduate studies so there was no need to do endless research on the location—it’s in my bones :). But I didn’t know anything about octopods (the heroine’s area of expertise) and found myself immersed in research on a subject that probably only takes up a few sentences in the book. I now know a lot about octopods.


Storm Warning (Carina Press) is also set in Fife, although down the coast in a town called Anstruther where I lived for 6 wonderful years. But although I knew the area, I still had to spend a solid week reading books about psychics. I interrogated spoke to a psychic lady in my writing chapter (Kiss of Death) who answered all my questions about what it felt like to be psychic. The main problem writing that book was that my heroine is as ignorant as I am and didn’t understand the sensations she was experiencing at the start of this book. I also gave my hero hydrophobia (not rabies, which is what the copyeditor suggested) from a childhood incident with a couple of bullies in the local swimming pool. I know a bit about phobias but needed to see how I could make the story work with an alpha hero who is scared of water and surrounded by the stuff (my previous agent told me never to use the word fear in association with a hero—any thoughts on that?).

Research and Imagination go hand-in-hand when creating a story. I like to think of the research as the structure and the imagination as the flow of a story. I’m about to dive into another story and hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

So my question to you is how important is it to get the facts right in fiction?

Toni Anderson is a former Marine Biologist whose first Romantic Suspense novel, Her Sanctuary, was released in 2009, and her Scottish novels Sea of Suspicion & Storm Warning are available from Carina Press. She writes about her life and travels on her blog, Facebook and Twitter. Readers can sign up for her occasional newsletter and check up on her latest releases on her website and Facebook Fan Page.