Vixenwriter

Listening to Pearl Jam from Irvine I, 2003, what an amazing night that was! I love seeing them outdoors even if Irvine Meadows is not the most fantastic venue in the world. The crowd was so revved up, the entire bowl nearly up to the grass was all fan club and you could tell. Nothing in the world like a live PJ show filled with fan club seats.

Which is not really about writing per se, but I was thinking about the types of things I do when I’m editing and listening to music is one of them. When I’m writing I like to listen to the kind of music my female protagonists would listen to. Lee from Triad would listen to Jeff Buckley and Fiona Apple, Maya would listen to PJ and Sleater Kinney, Corri would listen to Liz Phair and Tess would listen to Rage Against the Machine and Kittie.

It’s odd to think about how a character’s flavor will take over the feel of the story and my own mood

I spend a lot of time writing and thinking about sex so it’s natural that I read about sex too. So while I do read a heck of a lot of romantica and erotica, I also read sex blogs. Sex blogs are (at least those I read anyway) can be intelligent and interesting and very informative. I don’t care about the pornographic sex blogs, that’s boring. I like the blogs written by intelligent people who have something to say about sex and sexuality.

I’m working out a BDSM storyline for a future book and so in addition to the research I’ve done books wise and about the lifestyle in general, I’ve also been reading a truly cool blog called Sweetness Follows. SF has journal entries from both the male (who is the dom) and his partner who is the sub. http://no-undies.net/ If you go to read, be respectful please, it’s a great blog and they are wonderful people.

Another favorite is Mistress Matisse http://mistressmatisse.blogspot.com/ She’s witty, smart and her blog is great reading and never fails to make me think or make me laugh, sometimes both.

Naked Loft Party http://www.nakedloftparty.com/ is sometimes about polyamory, sometimes about sex, sometimes aboutnothing. It’s a good read

Oh and http://monmouth.blogspot.com/ Rentboy Diaries. I love him. Not only are his entries very very sexy but they are also witty.

There are more voices out there that inform and delight. I find new ones from time to time. Some take me way out of my comfort zone and I tend not to visit again but that’s a good thing too. Others that I had grown to love have gone away - alas Belle Du Jour has ceased her blog and Red Whore is on hiatus.

The internet is an amazing place.

I hit my stride in the sequel to Triad last night and am happily humming along, I wrote a solid 5,000 words yesterday and I’m a happy girl. I still have to come up with a title though, the working title is awful and only in use because I need a place holder. Sometimes coming up with a title is harder than coming up with a story arc.

This one has a ten thousand year old faerie warrior, Conchobar, based on the Conchobar MacNissa of mythology. I am getting to use some gaelic, which is fun. The research is also quite enjoyable. Last time I got to research witchcraft and the occult and this time I get to research Faeries and Irish mythology.

I’m off to work! If anyone wants to toss a title my way, post one, if I choose it, you can win an ARC of the book when it comes out or some other similiar prize!

I am not feeling as obsessive now, two folks that I respect and trust have offered to be my crit partners. This makes me happy. It’s hard to have someone read your work who isn’t interested in the genre (like my husband who likes that I write about sex but doesn’t read romantica), the impressions they give aren’t going to be as accurate as another person who writes and who reads and enjoys the genre.

Went to B&N last night because I got to dinner a bit early. What a lame store it was, no erotica section at all, I was shopping for a friend’s baby shower and they had a huge section on dogs but not one single book about breastfeeding, how stupid is that? They didn’t even have the Ellora’s Cave books that other B&N stores are reputed to carry. Ah well, I got her The Baby Book instead, Dr. Sears writes great books about childrearing. Instead of buying smut, I had to content myself with the new Writer’s Market and the copy of Angela Knight’s newest which is on the way via the mail.

So I’m in the middle of one story when the idea for a sequel to Triad pops into my head and pushes everything else aside. This happens to me from time to time, I’ll be working on something but an idea will percolate to the top and I have to work on it. It’s good though I believe….

I finally finished my re-edit of Triad and sent it back to Ellora’s Cave. I hope she liked the changes I made. I really worked hard on this and I think the story is better for the changes she suggested. I expanded on the history of the big bad guy and of the reason for the Lee’s family being protectors of New Orleans.

I’m relieved to have sent it back to the editor there, now that it’s done, having worked on it forever and then working on it again to edit it I am able to turn my attention to the million other things I should be doing.

Next up, editing Room Mates, which I sent to EC last Monday but want to fine tune and getting back to my other paranormal, Velvet Night and/or a possible follow up to Triad.

So I’m over halfway through my re-edit of Triad and it’s a much better, tighter story now. I suppose that’s why the world has editors, LOL.

Heard back from EC and they are interested in Triad after I make some editorial changes. As it happens, the suggestions for fleshing out certain aspects of the story are really good and I’d already had notes along those lines so I’ve put everything else aside and am working back on Triad in the three minutes of spare time I have at 11 when everyone is asleep.

I’m feeling happy about this and about other people being able to share the world I’ve created.

It’s off. I’ve just hit send and sent off my synopsis and chapters to Ellora’s Cave. Now I’ll pretend not to be concerned about it until I hear back while I get to Raptor Flight. I’ve put aside Velvet Night for the time being, I’ve hit a wall a few times with it so I’ll work on something else for a while.

Finished the edit of Room Mates! I had to be ruthless with this edit, there was stuff that was superflous but I liked it, I liked the interaction of the characters a lot in three interconnected scenes and at first I used a tiny chip, getting rid here and there but I finally admitted to myself that it was all unnecessary and cut it. The story is much tighter now.

I’m off to write a summary, which I often find difficult because I always feel like it’s difficult to convey the nuances of the story in just one page but the more I do it, the better I become at it.

Once this one is out the door I’m back to Raptor Flight which I’d like to have finished by the end of the month.