Silk & Shadows

If you’ve never seen the series, but think someday you’ll want to, turn back now. There are a few spoilers in this list…

1. Throw them a curve ball: Take an ordinary high school cheerleader and give her an inescapable destiny as a vampire slayer.

2. Pit them against villains capable of killing them: Such as an ancient vampire who not only sucks the slayer dry, he leaves her face down in a puddle. Caveat: If you do this, you also need to give her friends who can conveniently save her life…

3. Make their nightmares come true: Afraid of spiders, clowns, or public speaking? Good. Because all the bad guys can’t be demons. Welcome to the slayer’s world.

4. Stomp on their hearts: Let her fall in love, only to discover that love can cause serious, earth-shattering problems, like awakening the soulless vampire buried in her boyfriend.

5. Kick them when they’re down: Ensure the only way to save the world is to run said boyfriend through with a very sharp sword.

6. And then just for the heck of it, kick ‘em again: When she finally gets up the courage to date again, have that guy dump her after one night of sex.

7. Take away all their support: Mentors? Fire them. Friends? Turn them into hyenas or magic-addicted dark witches. Mother? Make her a zombie, have her do the nasty with the mentor, then kill her.

8. When in doubt, make them sing: Literally, for a whole episode. And while she’s singing, have her blurt things she’d never say otherwise, wound all her friends, and almost go up in flames. Then blame it on a tap-dancing demon.

Fortunately, Buffy’s ego is never completely shattered by all that happens to her–she’s a terrific example of what doesn’t kill you (or does kill you but you come back to life) makes you stronger.

Any other Buffy fans out there?

First off — Happy Release Day to Jessa! Vowed in Shadows officially hits the stores today. Although I make most of my purchases via Kindle these days, I think I’ll take a trip to the bookstore so I can see that hot cover in all its glory.

Okay, now that I’ve got you all pumped up, on to my blog topic for this week: editing.

I divide each book into two very distinct phases—the writing part and the editing part. For some people, writing is fun and editing is like pulling teeth. Not for me. Writing is hard, hand-wringing, blood-sweating work. During the writing stage, I leave the computer completely drained and notoriously cranky. I drink too much coffee and eat too much junk food.

But the editing phase is a complete turn-around. I love tweaking and tightening my prose to deliver more punch. I love finding a powerful verb to replace those seven adverbs. I love layering in emotion, conflict, and clues.

Almost everything about editing makes me feel good—except ripping out whole sections, which is rather like pulling off a large Band-Aid. Ouch. But I digress. There’s something very satisfying about the improvement process.

I use two books to help me edit my novels, both of which I highly recommend:

Techniques of the Selling Writer, by Dwight V. Swain — My copy of this book has so many highlighted sections the text almost matches the bright yellow cover.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King — The subtitle of this book is “How to edit yourself into print”. It’s also a surprisingly easy read.

There are tons of other great editing references—anyone want to share one?

Currently working on: A mental breakdown
Mood: Ecstatic

I didn’t get as much writing done last night as I wanted to.  I blame summer.  Actually, I blame the cucumber-basil martinis, but those are definitely a taste of summer.

1. Pour crushed ice into a martini glass.  Set aside to chill.
2. Mix a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of hot water into a syrup.
3. Chop a chunk of cucumber (about 3 inches, peeled and seed-free) into small cubes
4. In a shaker, crush the cucumber together with 2-3 torn basil leaves along with the syrup.
5. Add vodka, a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, and ice.
6. Shake well.
7. Empty the ice from the chilled martini glass. Garnish with a rim of sugar and a cucumber slice.
8. Strain the cuke-basil mixture into your glass.  Eat the cucumber slice and count it as a serving of vegetables.
9. Relax and savor summer.

Because it’s almost gone!!!  A few days ago, I overheard the phrase “late summer” referring to where we are in the calendar.

Late summer?!  But I don’t even have a tan yet.  Well, okay, I don’t tan, but I haven’t converted my full year’s supply of Vitamin D from sunlight.  Late summer?  Noooooo!

Long days, warm nights, gardening, hiking, camping, lazing…  All play havoc with my writing schedule.  If August is late summer in the Pacific Northwest, then July is the only summer we have.  Winter is November through May.  June we just ignore because it’s too embarrassing.  (I won’t go into September/October; those are a well-kept secret ’round here.)

Knowing the pleasures of summer are so fleeting makes indulging in them seem almost… necessary.  I eat too many blueberries.  I walk barefoot until my feet are permanently filthy.  I stay up too late and get up too early because the sun is out there and it’s calling my name.  Those are good memories to conjure against a dark and stormy Oregon afternoon.

Although I have to admit, I’m sort of looking forward to autumn this year.  Not only does my first book come out, but I’ll be working on Books 3 and 4 of the Marked Souls which sold last week to NAL Signet Eclipse!  Hence the breakdown mentioned in the status update above.  And now I think about it, that might also explain the martinis

What’s your definitive taste of summer?  It doesn’t have to be an actual taste.  Smells and sounds are good too.  In fact, anything sensual will do just fine.

As a writer, the bulk of my daydreams are about the worlds I weave for my books. Some of my most relaxing moments are just sitting in my La-Z-Boy, immersing myself completely in the sights and sound and smells of that magical place, where ever it might be. Even if the real world is ratcheting up the tension, I can de-stress in an instant simply by closing my eyes and following my characters into their adventures.

As a reader, all it takes is a skilled wordsmith with a flair for storytelling and I’m off visiting far-off lands and ancient times. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen into a great book only emerge hours later wondering how much time has passed. Unless I then discover I’m late for something, LOL, that’s a blissful moment. To be transported. Sigh. That’s what my book budget is really for.

I don’t do much spontaneous daydreaming. To be honest, I feel like I’m living my dream. But I do tend to surround myself with paintings and pictures of peaceful places I’d love to dive into.

Calendars of Scottish castles, paintings of houses in the autumn, pictures of winding country roads. A few images of the stars… And yes, some clear blue water and white sand scenes. They have the power to make me forget, just for a second, the phone bill and the laundry pile. Some days, that’s exactly what I need.

Do you have a favorite place to daydream? Inside? Outside? At the office, LOL?

Currently working on: Redesigning website
Mood: Giddy

This week’s topic here at Silk And Shadows is about “the best romantic scene in a book or movie.”  But I’m unable to compose a sensible response because I’m in love.

Shhh, shh.  Don’t look at him.  He’ll know we’re talking about him.  Tee-hee-hee.  Yes, that him!  My hero!  And he’s so strong, and handsome, and dreamy, and well-dressed.  And he has my name on him!  What’s not to love?

That’s the funny thing about those romance scenes.  They don’t have much to do with reality.    Which isn’t to say that romance doesn’t exist; just that it exists outside of the pesky needlings of reality, such as “So, isn’t your hero smart enough to wear a shirt in the middle of a Chicago November?”

That’s why when a new parent proudly displays her offspring with a cooed invitation to share her delight, your response can never be any of the following:

• “Well, he has the requisite number of limbs.”
• “At least he looks healthy.” 
• “Who’s the father again?”  (For the new author, this translates to “Who wrote this?  You did?”)

No, as the cornered audience, you can only warily reflect that the chemical soup of interally produced painkillers, muscle relaxants and mood destabilizers coursing through mama’s bloodstream turns her into something closely related to a sleep-deprived ninja, and enthuse in return, “Oh, he’s going to make all the girls cry.”

Whether your new love is 8 1/2 pounds of squalling infant or 6 1/4 feet of black leather-wrapped alpha — or the 7-inch cover slick of the aforementioned alpha — of course you know it’s not always going to be perfect, or easy, or even particularly tidy.  But you want that moment of illusion, the surprise and joy.  And you want everyone — no, really, everyone — to feel that same thrill.

Later (say, October 6, 2009) he’ll grow up, take off on his own, hopefully make you proud, and maybe even support you in your old age.  But whatever happens, you’ll always be able to pull out the baby picture and remember the moment you first fell in love.

And because who can get enough of baby pictures, here’s the backside.

No, not that backside…

We hope you all have a truly romantic day with the hero of your dreams.

The random number was 15, which means the lucky winner of SJ Day’s EVE OF DARKNESS ARC is Jane. Congratulations, Jane! We’ll be sending your prize out ASAP. Do drop by on April 14th when SJ is guest blogging with us and share your favorite parts.

Night Falls Darkly by Kim Lenox was nominated for Best First Historical Book of 2008!!  And Dark Temptation by Allison Chase was nominated for Best Historical Romantic Mystery/Gothic!!

The winners will be announced on April 24th at the Romantic Times Convention in Orlando! Congratulations to our authors and all the other nominees!