Newsletter is out!

The latest issue of my newsletter is available tonight. The new format matches my website, and looks a lot nicer than the plain text. To subscribe, click on the link to the left. In other news, I've started a chat group for readers to get together and talk about reading, writing, life...whatever they feel like chatting about at the moment. *g* To join, click here. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. Happy Halloween!! Lis

What I've learned from writing a series...

1. That quite a few reviewers will pick up a book in the middle of the series, without having read any of the previous books, and give the book a so-so rating based on the fact that they missed out on backstory since they hadn't read the other books. I really, really appreciate the time they took to read the book and write reviews, but IMO it's hard to offer an objective opinion when you don't know the whole story. 2. That I need to keep more detailed character description sheets. Going through books 1 and 2 to get descriptions for characters in book 5 can waste a lot of time that could be spent writing. *bg* 3. That they're really hard to write. Keeping all the little details straight was tough for me, being a pantser. LOL All in all, it was a fun experience. I plan on doing it again--with a series connecting to Dark Promises--but after that I'd like to take a break and write single stories for a while. *g* Lis

The blinking curser...

Blogger's block--I think I still have it. Not much has been happening lately on the writing front, so I don't have much to write about here. Writing has taken a backseat since family life has been on the hectic side. My oldest son is going to his first school dance tomorrow night. I swear I'm not ready for this. And soon he leaves on a field trip--and will be gone for 4 days! He's really excited, but mom's having a little bit of a hard time with the whole thing. *g* Being a typical middle-schooler, he can't wait to get away with his friends for a while, even if it is in an educational setting. Lis

Blog slacker

That's me. *g* I guess I've had blogger's block--haven't been able to think about what to write. I'll have a long post later today or tomorrow, just wanted to check in and let everyone know I'm still around. Lis

Question for readers

Okay, I know there are some of you out there. *g* I'm going to be revamping my newsletter soon, and I'm curious what kinds of things you like to see in an author newsletter. What makes you keep reading? What features do you want to see? Thanks in advance! Lis

Website updates

I just finished doing a bunch of them. Tarnished and Grave Silence are listed on the bookshelf page, this month's contest is posted, and the blurb of Divine Intervention is up on the coming soon page. October newsletter number 1 is going out tonight, with a special Halloween contest announcement in it. If you aren't a member and want to join my newsletter list, click on the link to the right or see the sign-up box on my website. Lis :)

Divine Intervention

I've been offered a contract with Loose Id for Divine Intervention, a paranormal ms I've been working on off and on for a year or two. I'll be getting a blurb up on my website and in my newsletter soon. Lis

What kind of novel?

I saw the link for this quiz on Maria Brown's blog and I couldn't resist taking it. EROTICA! - Wet, salty and delicious You are driven to excite the reader into a literal froth with your literary talents! You are a connoisseur of the carnal side of humanity from Kink to high-speed BJs in the front seat of a speeding jag! Sex is GOOD. Penthouse and the Internet after dark are your inspirations! What Kind of Novel Should I Write? brought to you by Quizilla

More on story writing

The post about outlining has me thinking. How do you write your stories? Do you write them from beginning to end without editing? A chapter, written and edited at a time? Do you write the scenes out of order and string them together? Myself, I write the book in order, unedited, up until the second to last chapter. Then I go back and do the revisions, write the last chapter once I know the story is going the way I want it to go, and then give the book a final pass to check for the ever-present spelling and consistency errors. Every once in a while a scene jumps out at me and needs to be written out of order, but usually I go from start to near-finish without stopping to revise. Lis

Outlining

I started outlining a year or so ago, when my editor asked for a synopsis of what I was working on next. Having an outline worked well for that book, and I was able to finish it in less than a month. A former pantster who never outlined anything before writing, I decided to start outlining everything I wrote in hopes of making the story easier to write. But lately I've noticed a flaw in that system--when I outline, I don't want to finish the book. My critique parter described this perfectly--with the outline written, it's like the story has been told and there's no real urgency to write the book. I know outlining works really well for a lot of people, but I'm not one of them. As much as I tried to make myself more organized by plotting the story before I start, I generally find myself unable to write the story once I know what's going to happen at the end. So, I'm back to my original system of just writing and seeing what happens as I go along. I still envy the people who are organized enough to be able to write an outline, though. *g* For all you writers out there, do you outline first or write as you go? Have you ever tried it the other way? Lis

Recommended read and my new baby

Night Creatures was selected as a Recommended Read at The Road To Romance. Thanks Tracey!! This afternoon the kids and I bought our new baby. Brady, a green cheek conure. We have to get the cage set up, and then we'll be picking him up next weekend. Lis

Tarnished

I got a peek at the cover. It's *exactly* what I asked for--my favorite scene in the story. I don't have a large version yet, but you can see what it looks like here. It's the first one in the third row. The book will be available in a couple of weeks. Lis

Quiet today

Not much happening around here. I got a little bit of writing done, but now that I've had time to sit down and think about it, I'm probably going to scrap the whole thing and start over. I just wasn't getting anywhere with it, and I think I know why. It's going to be a novella, and the way it was going would have made it too long and meandering. I think I've come up with a really interesting plot twist, so we'll see what happens. The kids and I are leaving in a little while to go pick up their instruments for school band. One clarinet and one trumpet. I think this might be the last afternoon we have peace and quiet for a good long while. *g* Lis

New Look

Being the Gemini that I am, I have a hard time sticking to one website design for too long, so I've done some work on my site and revamped my blog to match. I'd love to hear your opinions on it. Lis :)

The glamorous life...

Not! *g* Ants have invaded my kids' cereal boxes in my pantry. They haven't touched anything else, but my son poured himself a bowl of Cheerios this morning and found ants in the bowl along with the cereal. Gross. The box tops were closed and the bags rolled down, but I found ants in 5 cereal boxes. I had to go out today and replace all the cereal, plus buy plastic containers to keep the cereal in, in hopes of keeping the little creatures out. My very picky middle child had Ritz crackers for breakfast since there was nothing else in the house he liked. *g* Lis

Website updates

I've posted this month's contest on my website. This month one reader will win a download of Dark Promises: Midnight. Since the last book in the series will be out next month, I thought it was fitting to give the first book in the series away as a prize. Also, the new Featured Author spot is up. This month I grilled... er, interviewed, Phyllis Marie Campbell. Lis

The cover for Grave Silence

Here's the cover for my next release from Cerridwen Press. What do you think? I'd really love to hear your opinions on it, good or bad. Lis :)

To critique, or not to critique...

This is a very controversial subject in certain writing circles. *g* The good thing about critique groups, and critiques in general, is that it helps you polish your work before you send it out into tbe big, bad world of publishing. The bad thing about critiques is that they're very subjective and can be harmful to the story you're telling. Critique groups can be an invaluable resource for learning the mechanics of writing. But inexperienced critiquers can over-critique, changing your voice to their own and making the story lose its heart. There has to be a balance between negative comments and positive ones, and the critiquer's style has to mesh with your own or else you won't be gaining anything much from the critiques. Support is so important in this career. There are too many letdowns--and high points non-writers don't understand--to go it alone. I have a terrific group of authors that I work with now for my mainstream manuscripts. (I still have yet to find someone brave enough to read my erotic stuff LOL) We critique each other's work for plot holes and inconsistencies, and we brainstorm when someone needs a little help. We also cheer for each other when things are looking up, provide a shoulder to cry on when someone gets bad news, and give a kick in the rear when someone starts to get down on themselves. For me, this works. I get the advice I need from people I trust, people who get my voice and my style. If they tell me that my ms needs work, I know it probably does. Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox now. *g* I'm a little behind on website updates, but the featured author page for this month will be up in the next few days. Lis

Auction to help Larissa Ione

There's still time to bid on items to help author Larissa Ione, who lost everything to hurricane Katrina. I've donated a critique, and one of my critique partners, Marjorie Jones, has donated her designing services for a 10 page website. The entire list of what's available can be viewed here. Lis

Supernatural

I watched the show in Tuesday night and loved it. That's exactly my kind of show. I love anything paranormal, the darker the better. Rescue Me just ended for the season, so it'll be nice to have something else to watch on Tuesday nights. I don't watch a lot of TV, maybe 2 or 3 shows every season, but this one will be on my Must Watch list along with Desperate Housewives and maybe Reunion, if the next few episodes are as interesting as the first. Lis