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Book Two Progress as of July 14

Can I say I’m feeling a bit excited about releasing this book? Maybe. Just maybe…

That final polishing I said would take a week ended up taking three. But it’s worth it. Some of these changes have really made this book what I hoped it would be.

We’ll see what my editor thinks. It’s in her hands now, for her final pass. And I’m going to take a much needed break à la a little Burn Notice or Orphan Black before my real vacation begins next week.

Because we all know taking two little kids to the beach for the first time ain’t gonna be no vacation.

Progress of THE TWO
First Draft: Complete (121,006 words)
My revisions: Complete
Professional editing: Editor’s final pass in progress
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Photography for cover art in progress

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Recommended Indie Reads: Intercontinental Moves, Interdimensional Travel

I got tagged again with the Four Q&As about my WIP blog hop, so instead of repeat the same questions and answers, I’m going to promote two great indie writers.

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Rosemary Whittaker is a British born author. She is an English teacher by profession. Since leaving university she has lived and worked in the United States, New Zealand, Australia and twice in Denmark. Her husband works in biodiversity informatics (cataloging all living species on earth) and this has entailed many moves. They have five children so the moves have been extra challenging.
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Her real love has always been writing and she has written several novels, variously set in the countries in which she has lived. She also writes for children. All her novels are available on Amazon and Amazon.co.uk.

Her recent novels, a set of four, all take the theme of British women who move, by choice or circumstance, to one of the four countries mentioned above. THE CINNAMON SNAIL is set in Denmark, where Rosemary currently lives.

The Copenhagen Post Publisher’s Corner: Review of ‘The Cinnamon Snail’

Rosemary’s Website | Rosemary’s Books on Amazon

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Eleanor
Jason Gurley is a writer I recently found. His book ELEANOR was released on June 27, but I received an early copy from his website.

I’m about 80% through ELEANOR, and devouring it. It’s a lovingly crafted book, a story I can recommend wholeheartedly even though I haven’t finished it. It’s a perfect example of why I love indie fiction, and why I’m so glad this book never found a traditional publisher. ELEANOR hasn’t been forced into any mold. It’s a story that takes its time to build, to immerse you, to wiggle in deeply so you can’t shake it off.

If you like magical realism, and exploring the barrier between life and the afterlife, you might want to check this one out.

Jason’s Website | Jason’s Books on Amazon

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Book Two Progress as of June 24

I cut 8,276 words. You can thank me later, because it was a lot of crap NO ONE SHOULD EVER READ.

And that’s after I added a whole new scene of about 500 words. So I actually cut more than that. Like, closer to 9,000. WHAT. Just what.

I’m doing some final polishing. Easy stuff. I should be done with it in less than a week and be able to send this thing off to my editor for her final pass. Yep, you heard that right. We’re almost there.

Oh! And I saw some shots from the photographer and they are gorgeous. He’s going to reshoot with a slightly different setup and some updated props I made. If the new shots are better than the initial ones I think I just might die. The cover is going to be amazing.

Progress of THE TWO
First Draft: Complete (121,006 words)
My revisions: Complete
Professional editing: Prepping for editor’s final pass
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Photography for cover art in progress

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Four Q&As about my WIP

Janna G. Noelle has requested I participate in her four-question quiz about my current work-in-progress, THE TWO, which will be published in a couple months. Like most of her blog, these questions require a degree of thought my poor brain might not be suited for right now after being abused by revisions for the past few months. But it’s worth a shot. Let’s hope what comes isn’t pure gibberish, or words crossed out and replaced by synonyms then crossed out and replaced by another synonym then crossed out and replaced by the original word. What? Yeah. Exactly.

1. What are you currently working on?

THE TWO, the second book in The Alignment Series. I wrote the first draft in 2009 and it’s had little attention since then. I knew it would be rough going in, but it’s proven me wrong. It’s not rough. It’s downright terrifying. Come-out-of-the-mirror-Carol-Anne terrifying. Someone please get me out of this mirror.

2. How does your work differ from others in its genre?

Well, for a fantasy, it’s very real. Approachable. Easy to digest. I think a lot of people stay away from fantasy because the entry into the world is jarring. Too many strange names, strange places…you won’t find anyone with an unpronounceable name in my books. Sometimes I think it falls closer to magical realism for this reason. And for a romance? It doesn’t follow the formula. I usually call it a love story to save my fragile human bones from sledgehammers wielded by hardcore romance readers. There’s no sugary sweet happily ever after here. Strap yourselves in, people. There are twists in this road and lots of bodies to roll over. And be sure to duck when the gunner takes aim.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I have no idea. It’s like taking in a stray animal. I didn’t choose this book. It chose me. And then it had kittens under my porch. (This happened to me with real kittens, too. Real kittens and metaphorical kittens seem to agree that my brain and my house are nice places to live.)

4. How does your writing process work?

I’m a pantser who has a hard time keeping up with the seat of her pants. So I take a lot of notes. Pages and pages of notes in files I review periodically to refresh them in my head. I email myself things when I can’t get to my manuscript. Lines of dialogue, scenes, ideas, anything. It’s all clear in my head but very unorganized outside of it. That dichotomy has me feeling a bit crazy sometimes. A bit unglued.

Many thanks to Janna, for prompting me to do this Q&A. Every time I do something like this I learn more about my books. She’s working on her own fantasy(ish) novel, set in 13th century England. You can read her Q&A here. I wish she’d hurry up and publish. I feel like I’ve been waiting for it since the Middle Ages.

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On My Birthday

I had the day off work. My three-year-old let me sleep past nine. We didn’t get dressed ’til 10:30. We watched almost an entire season of Adventure Time then wrestled on the floor. He did a cannonball off the couch, straight onto my shin. Tomorrow, I’ll have the bruise to prove it.

After picking my kindergartner up from school, we sat outside on the patio under billowing cumulonimbus and ate barbecue chips and drank lemonade. A hawk circled above. I told my son it wanted to eat his brain.

“Mom, would you be sad if it ate my brain?”

“What do you think?”

“I think yes.”

“Would you be sad if it ate my brain?”

Big smile. “Yes.”

Oh, the love between mother and child.

At some point, I got a call on our land line, from THE LAND LINE’S OWN NUMBER. No one on the other end. Thank god for that.

Because I was afraid it was going to be my future self, telling me I have a lot of editing to do. And it’s sitting on the kitchen table, waiting for me, and I shouldn’t be watching so much Adventure Time.
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I knew book two would need a ton of editing but I wasn’t prepared for the depth of hell I’ve descended to. I’ve switched to editing hard copy by hand, if that’s any indication. I can’t estimate my progress at this point. I can’t even see an end ahead.

I’m still aiming for summer publication, but it’s going to be late summer. To those of you waiting, yeah, I feel rotten this is taking so long. But be VERY GLAD for my red pen. I wouldn’t wish this draft on my worst enemy.

Oh, and I got a great review today. Thank you, Morgan.

I couldn’t have planned a better birthday.

Tonight, I edit until the witching hour.

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Recommended Reads: THE BRIDGE by Rebecca Rogers Maher

I’m not sure where I heard about Rebecca Rogers Maher‘s books, but whatever it was sold me for an instant read even though I have dozens of books waiting for me on my Kindle. I started with THE BRIDGE. Probably the best book I’ve read this year. I’m 50% into TANYA, the followup which was just published last month. TANYA’s plot is milder, but the romance is much more spicy, which I’m usually not into (graphic sex scenes bore me into a coma, go figure). But! The writing is so flippin’ good—that spice mixes with sweet and beautiful and it’s impossible not to savor every word. If all writers infused such compelling emotion into a sex scene I’d be signing up every time.
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While reading THE BRIDGE, I was confronted with the idea that the best relationships, the most fulfilling ones, are based on complete honesty. You could meet a person who’s your polar opposite, but if there are no games and no masks and no pretending, no small-talk pleasantries to keep a polite distance, no egos to stroke, no images to uphold, if the playing field is level and you’re both standing in the mud, then the only way to connect is on a simple human level. Which works every time. Unless you’re like, Hannibal Lecter or something.

But honesty, as a foundation, just might be all we need. Everything else–respect, sympathy, love, can grow from it.

THE BRIDGE is the type of love story I’m on a never-ending quest to find. I’ve added all of Rebecca’s books to my TBR list and I think I’m pushing them to the top.

THE BRIDGE by Rebecca Rogers Maher
Amazon | Goodreads | Rebecca Rogers Maher’s website

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Book Two Progress as of May 5

First the good news: I think the editing process for this book is only going to consist of three rounds. In an earlier post I’d guessed five. The first half of round 2 is complete, so we’re halfway there.

The bad news is this round will take the longest. I have a bunch of line edits from my editor to approve. It’s also when I read the entire book aloud to catch all the things that jump out when only read aloud. It’s time-consuming (and a bit nerve-racking to read my work out loud), but I make good progress every day. It’s not like my early revisions where I can spend three hours revising one sentence.

Progress of THE TWO
First Draft: Complete (129,282 words)
My revisions: Complete
Professional editing: Currently in 2nd Half of Round 2
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Photography for cover art in progress

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The Alignment on Indies Unlimited

Today THE ALIGNMENT is featured on Indies Unlimited, a source for high-quality indie books. The feature is permanent, so even if you’re not reading this the day I posted you can still link to it here.

They also have a Bookstore with so many great finds I blame them for adding pages to my TBR list. You’ll see THE ALIGNMENT on the first page of the Platinum Club.

If you’re hesitant to browse independent books because, let’s face it, there’s a lot to wade through before you get to the good ones, Indies Unlimited is a great place to start.

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Book Two Progress as of April 9

Someone on Pinterest said THE ALIGNMENT is “truly a great book, and an even better love story.” I don’t use Pinterest, but thank you, person on Pinterest. :)

Editing progress for THE TWO: We’re working on big picture items right now, so I can’t really give a percentage of completion. As of today, my editor has taken a turn and I’ve taken a turn. Now it’s back with my editor again. Let’s call this Round 1. Of how many rounds total? I’m guessing 5. But don’t hold me to it.

I think we can consider cover art to be started, too. A couple weekends ago I dropped some props off with my photographer, Keith Lee. We examined the props and discussed my vision at a table in a packed Jimmy John’s and I’m pretty sure the other customers thought we were larpers. And no, I’m not telling you what those props are. Sorry. Keith is experimenting with different setups and lighting as we speak. He’s a bit of a photography god. I can’t wait to see what he does.

Progress of THE TWO
First Draft: Complete (129,282 words)
My revisions: Complete
Professional editing: Round 1 Complete
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Photographer at work (shooting props)

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Giveaway Ends, Countdown Deal Begins

The latest Goodreads giveaway of 3 paperbacks of THE ALIGNMENT has ended. Congrats to the 3 winners! Your autographed books will ship tomorrow. To all the losers (wow, that kind of sounds mean): thank you for entering! I wish I could send a copy to all 1,013 of you. Subscribe in the sidebar if you’d like to receive announcements of upcoming giveaways.

But! If you lost the giveaway, you can get a Kindle copy of the book for $.99 today!

An Amazon Kindle Countdown Deal starts today for THE ALIGNMENT. Grab a Kindle version for $.99 today or tomorrow. The price increases after tomorrow by a buck a day for a final sale price of $3.99 on April 10.

Buy it, read it, be prepared for THE TWO when it’s released this summer. Right now THE TWO and I are in Editing Hell. I’ll post a status on that later. (But for the record, Editing Hell is awesome in that being-tortured-yet-kind-of-loving-it way. And the food is great.)