First Cup of Coffee – August 29, 2018
//Tag: The Arrows of the Heart
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Meet My Awesome Cover Designer
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Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is Cover Artist Praise. Come on over to hear about mine!
First Cup of Coffee – August 10, 2018
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Living in the Future – and Waiting for the Money to Catch Up
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It’s morning glory season here in Santa Fe. I love these gorgeous blooms – maybe even more so because they’re so temporary.
Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is an open one – whatever’s on your mind. I’m talking about how writers work for the future – and the difficulties in balancing a fluctuating income.
First Cup of Coffee – August 1, 2018
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First Cup of Coffee – July 31, 2018
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Strategy Games and Martial Arts in SFF Worldbuilding
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When I was in Denver for the RWA National Conference, my friend and writing buddy, Darynda Jones, and I took a lunch break at Ship Tavern in the Brown Palace Hotel. While there, I spotted this guy and snapped a pic. It seemed like a good omen, because I finished THE ORCHID THRONE during our mini-writing retreat there, and now (finally!) am going back to THE ARROWS OF THE HEART. This image is highly relevant to the story, for those of you who’ve studied the cover.
Once I finish this blog post, I’m diving back into THE ARROWS OF THE HEART. It gave my own heart a little stab to see I haven’t opened the document since March 20, 2018. That’s over four months ago. A third of a year! Where has it gone??? I have no idea.
Anyway, our topic this week at the SFF Seven is: If you had to invent a sport or game for your novels (or ever have), what would it be? Come on over to find out mine.
Prisoner of the Crown – #1 Best Seller!
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So this happened. Super exciting! I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve hit #1 Best Seller on Amazon on my own. We did with AMID THE WINTER SNOW (which is no longer up for sale, though the individual stories are – mine is THE SNOWS OF WINDROVEN). Much of the credit goes to Monday’s BookBub ad and the .99 cent sale, but still! And the sale continues on all retail sites, so you can still grab PRISONER OF THE CROWN for that fantastic price. It should go back up any minute now, so hie thee on over for the clicky goodness!
Otherwise I’m working on a fast-turnaround new project. I know, I know – so many OTHER ongoing writing projects for me to be working on, but this one isn’t my fault! an opportunity came through Agent Sarah and it has a Movie Thing attached. I’ll tell you all more if it becomes an Actual Thing rather than an Exciting Possibility. Once I get this out, I’m back to THE ORCHID THRONE, and after *that* I’m definitely for sure finishing THE ARROWS OF THE HEART. I greatly appreciate your patience in this. I never dreamed it would be a year between it and THE SHIFT OF THE TIDE.
Where has the time gone???
I promise I haven’t been lying about eating bonbons and watching daytime television.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that… 😉
The Artful Juggle: Planning Future Books While Keeping up with Current Deadlines
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Our topic this week at the SFF Seven – the challenge of maintaining a writing schedule and trying to prepare for future business – is an apropos one for me right now.
Because, boy howdy, have I been wrestling this particular challenge lately. Come on over for more!
The Arrows of the Heart Has a Cover!
//Yesterday we revealed the cover of THE ARROWS OF THE HEART!
Isn’t it pretty?? Plus: CLUES.
And yes, I’m writing it and it’s coming along. Here’s a little snippet that amused me greatly:
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Finding myself staring, pruriently fascinated, I decided to pour more [tea]. “Why do you refer to Her Highness Queen Andromeda by her title, but Her Majesty High Queen Ursula you call by any number of irreverent nicknames?”
“Irreverent nicknames,” he echoed, sounding vastly amused. “Because, my sweet Dasnarian, Queen Andromeda is my queen, Queen of the Tala. No matter how many documents my mossback cousin might draft declaring her majestyness, Annfwn and the Tala don’t belong to her and her cluster of acquired realms.”
“But Annfwn is the thirteenth kingdom of The Thirteen Kingdoms,” I pointed out. “That’s the law. Doesn’t such irreverence make you a—” I glanced about, to be sure no eager ears lurked nearby to overhear. “A traitor,” I whispered.
“A traitor?” Zyr shrieked, clutching his hands to his heart. He’d popped his chair up onto its two hind legs, so it wobbled wildly with his gesticulations, threatening to pitch him over the edge. “Oh, no! Save me, someone—the big, bad mossbacks are coming to get me!”
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There’s a bit of insight into my process, too. The [tea] in square brackets like that means I haven’t decided what they’re drinking yet. So, rather than get distracted while I’m writing, I just put square brackets around anything I need to revisit. Then it’s easy to go back later and search for those.
So, I know I hoped for May on this, but some deadlines imposed by my traditional publisher got in the way and I had to set this aside. I’m hoping for June, but it might be July. Very early July, though! I notice my assistant is judiciously saying “Summer 2018.” She is wise.
But, once I’m confident of my progress, etc., we’ll get the preorder links up.