Yes, I have returned! I think the Cold From Hell(tm) has been defeated and I am now on the mend. Coughing my way through most days and nights, it's true, but still... A big improvement. I hate leaving my blog so quiet, even for just a few days. Though I was on Twitter regularly - it's much easier communicating in 140 characters at a time when you're sick. ;)

I've done lots of reading, so I should do a roundup of all the great books I've consumed. Um... I'll definitely do that later this week. Right now I'm re-reading Justine Musk's brilliant YA novel Uninvited. I am a Justine fangirl and totally unashamed; can't help myself. She's just started a new blog (as well as her LJ), Tribal Writer: Notes From a Novelist's Life in LA so you should check it out. Especially this post To Develop Your Writer's Intuition, You Must First Read Like a Maniac, which is crossposted to various places.

Oh, and talking of great blog posts, I linked to this one on Twitter but it bears repeating: Scott Tracey (fellow future Flux author!) wrote this winner on How to Create Your Own Fake Town. Well worth the read - it appeals to me because I've always liked made up towns and cities in fiction (which is why I created one for THE IRON WITCH).

Once again, I'm really sorry to pull the plug on KazNoWriMo, but for those who are disappointed check this out! My friend Liz (lilifae), along with esssjay, has set up IndyWriMo to keep the idea going. This is so cool as it means the concept of a 30K writing month in November still lives on, but I don't have to organise it! ;) Not sure if I'll be participating as I'm expecting my editorial notes any day now (eeek!), but we'll see. Check it out and sign up if you're feeling too wimpy for NaNo! Heh.

Novice Authors Must Promote Themselves, Since Publishers Won't, says today's Washington Post. (Thanks to JC for sending me the link.)

The article won't come as a surprise to many of us, but it still makes for interesting reading:

* "Being an author has become much more of an ongoing relationship with your audience through the Web, rather than just writing a book and disappearing while you write the next one," says Liate Stehlik, publisher of William Morrow and Avon Books. "You have to be out there in the online world, talking and participating."

* "There's so much you can do for free in Web promotion that it's just crazy," says Christopher Jackson, executive editor at Spiegel and Grau. "There's been a lot of money wasted in publishing on slickly produced author Web sites that, in the end, really didn't lead anywhere."

* "[Many other authors] are actually selling their book long before they sell the book," says Richard Pine, a literary agent for three decades and co-founder of InkWell Management. These people, he says, are establishing who they are and what they have to say and are building an audience years before they actually have a book on the shelves.

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That final point, about "building an audience" years before you have a book on the shelves, reminded me of something I saw just the other day. I was looking through the Creative Writing section in Foyles, and this book really made me think about how things have changed for writers:



Get Known Before the Book Deal looks like a good read, but I wonder if it tells us anything we don't already know simply from being part of the online community - whether here on LJ, Twitter or the many writers' boards out there? I'm still pretty curious about it though; it probably has some good marketing tips that would apply during any stage of an author's career. If anyone has read it - or anything about it - let me know! :)

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And finally, speaking of marketing I love the Shrinking Violet Promotions blog. It's billed as: marketing for introverts, and I can't get enough of the archives! I wish I'd discovered this great site earlier, but have been making up for lost time and reading it avidly for the last few months.

1) Catching up a bit, here is a photo of the view from triciasullivan's doorstep. I mean, srsly (tm), this is what she looks out on when she's at her kitchen sink:



It was so lovely to see Trish after all that time knowing each other in letters (yes, even good old-fashioned handwritten letters!) and emails. It's strange to think that I first became aware of her and her work back in 1999 when she won the Arthur C. Clarke award for her third novel, Dreaming in Smoke. Now, ten years later - and thanks to meeting on LJ over 2 years ago - we're great friends and I'm so grateful to have her in my life. :)

2) I have to post this awesome book trailer. Fellow Deadline Dame and amazing urban fantasy author lilithsaintcrow has her first YA book coming out TODAY (!), Strange Angels (written under the name Lili St. Crow). I absolutely can't wait for this one, and am even more excited since seeing this:


3) I've discovered some cool new blogs recently. This one, for example, is called Tales of a Ravenous Reader and has some great content. It seems to focus mainly on YA and paranormal romance, but has a good variety up there. I might be slightly biased because I discovered this site after they highlighted 'The Eternal Kiss' yesterday. ;)

4) Another blog I've discovered recently is a new project by urban fantasy author Chloe Neill. It's called Write What You See and focuses on visual inspiration for writers/artists. I love it!

Now, back to the Day Job. I really need to concentrate - I had the first Migraine of Doom(tm) in a while yesterday and am still feeling spaced out.

ETA: I keep forgetting to blog about this, so thanks to suzannemcleod for the reminder:

** Monday 18th May, 6.30pm SHOREDITCH, LONDON EC1 **



Murder One Film Club presents an evening with Rachel Caine, author of the bestselling Morganville Vampire series, at HOME (101-106 Leonard Street, Shoreditch EC2) including a book signing and a screening of her favourite vampire film Lost Boys (complete with popcorn!). The 80’s classic starring a very young & cute pre-24 Kiefer Sutherland. This exclusive event is only open to Murder One Film Club members (Not a member? Just order any Rachel Caine title from Murder One, and you are automatically a bonafide, card-carrying member of their Film Club) and asks just for a ridiculously low £1 at the door. Please RSVP to trisha@murderone.co.uk or call them on 0207 739 7796.

As I didn't post a Friday Five yesterday, here are six kinda random things for you.

1) Great quote by agent Jim McCarthy (via azhure):

“If you think you can give up writing, then give it up. If you can’t … if you know that no matter how much stress or rejection or frustration you face, that you can never stop writing? In that case, never give up. Publishing is too hard to face if you aren’t in it for the right reasons. But it’s not too hard to break into if it’s what you need to do.”

I needed to hear this today, and I know a lot of my friends feel the same right now. This is from an interview that Jim did here.

2) It's been a fab week at the Deadline Dames, finishing up with a bonus post today by Dame Jenna. Please check out our donation to romance author Brenda Novak's auction to support diabetes research. The Dames have contributed a basket filled with signed books and other goodies. Yes, it's true... Keri Arthur has even donated Tim Tams - the national biscuit of Australia*. You don't want to miss that! ;)



3) SciFiGuy has a great guest blog by debut author Diana Rowland. I met her at RT and she's awesome - I'm really looking forward to her urban fantasy novel, Mark of the Demon, which is due out next month.

4) I am now working on THREE projects. *sigh* I know, I know, project-hopping isn't always a good thing. But! I justify myself by saying that while I still don't have a book deal, I can play around with various things until I hit on the one that sticks. Right? Right?! BND still needs an outline, OUW (the adult sekrit project) is in its very early stages, and now I am being lured away by the siren call of a book I've wanted to write for...oh, about a year now. I've resisted it this far for what I thought were sensible reasons, but a few things that've happened lately make me want to dive in. I've run it past Agent M so we'll see. I might write it on the side, anyway, just for fun. Those are sometimes the best projects - no pressure, no deadlines, but mad love for the protagonist and concept.

5) I've been reading a LOT of good books. To match my writing works-in-progress I am reading three novels at once. Why yes, I am a Gemini... How did you guess? ;)



6) suzannemcleod has an awesome contest to win a signed proof copy of THE COLD KISS OF DEATH, Spellcrackers.com Book 2! Check it out. And make sure you check back each week, as she's hosting weekly giveaways for 11 weeks until the book is released!

And finally, don't forget there's still plenty of time to enter yesterday's giveaway.

*I made up the "national biscuit of Australia" part, but who knows? It could be true...

Just a list today:

Evermore - Alyson Noel

Dead Witch Walking - Kim Harrison

World's End: Book 1 of 'The Age of Misrule' - Mark Chadbourn (Two more to go!)

Kitty Raises Hell - Carrie Vaughn

Some Girls Bite - Chloe Neill
This one was an ARC sent for review. I'll post more on that soon, and the fabulous Chloe Neill will be stopping by to guest blog at the Deadline Dames on Saturday, then she'll be here for an interview & giveaway next Monday - the day before SGB releases. It's her debut novel, and I really enjoyed it!

From Asgard to Valhalla: The Remarkable History of the Norse Myths - Heather O'Donoghue (Research book that I ended up reading all of - great stuff.)

I am still waiting on my copy of Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower for the 50books_poc community. In the meantime, I've just started The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

A couple of great writing links:

Outlining - Now With Lists! by Devon Monk, over at the Deadline Dames.

A wonderful piece about discovering a writing process that works by Julie Leto. (Thanks to Heather Harper for the link.)

And finally, I have to post this as it's such a gorgeous cover. My pal stacia_kane has been blessed by the cover gods. This is for her October 2009 release:



Isn't it great? :)

ETA: Stacia has just put up a an interesting post discussing sex in the Urban Fantasy genre, and the distinction between UF/PR. Check it out and leave a comment!

First of all, I have joined the 50books_poc community. It's a reading challenge where you try to read (up to, or more than!) 50 books by people of colour. I'm really excited, because some of the books on the recommended reading lists are books I haven't read but wish I had. I don't know why I haven't, but the next 12 months is going to see me make an effort to do something about it. First up is this:



Honestly, I'm not sure I'll manage 50 because I barely manage one book per week right now as it is, but at least I will read as many as I can.

In other news, melissa_writing posted the link to a preview of her new manga (coming out next month). It looks so gorgeous! Check it out, and there's more info about Wicked Lovely: Desert Tales, Volume 1: Sanctuary here.

Fellow Deadline Dame Devon Monk is holding a contest for an ARC of her next book: Magic in the Blood. Go here and leave a comment!

...look no further than this post by Justine Larbalestier.

I can relate to pretty much all of this right now. So much of our time as writers is taken up with focusing on the journey towards publication, rather than the writing itself. When we actually stop to think about it, we all know something's wrong with that! I am as guilty of this mindset as the next person - although I don't always find that easy to admit. Justine reminds us of something that we already know but often lose sight of while we wait to hear from beta-readers, agents, editors, marketing teams, booksellers, readers... The list is a long one! But:

All you can do is write the very best book you can.

It will get published or it won’t. It will find its market or it won’t. It will sell or it won’t. It will win awards or it won’t. None of that matters if you’ve written the best book you can.

Go and read the whole post if you're thinking too much about the other side of the writing life - the side that doesn't involve putting words on the page and crafting the next story.

Okay, I'm off to write a few more pages of my current project. Rather than dwelling on the manuscripts I've completed - the ones that are in the hands of my agent and now out of my hands - I'm going to work harder on the things I can control... Thanks, Justine. :)

...please make it this one by the wonderful Jonathan Carroll. He doesn't write much about process, so be sure to listen when he does.

I love it because it's so contrary to the Butt-in-Chair 'school' of thought. I'm not saying that either approach is right or wrong, I just enjoy reading stuff like this. It inspires me, and it's great to see how Great Authors work. :)

One of my favourite parts:

I never, ever grab Writing by the neck and say you sit back down here and go to work. I'd never treat a friend like that, nor would I treat a tiger like that. So why treat the thing I love as much as my creative ability like that?

But you really need to read the whole thing in context.

Lots of things... First of all, the fabulous Jackie Kessler has posted on Day 2 of the Deadline Dames launch extravaganza. Just click on the banner to check it out, and don't forget to comment to be entered into another giveaway:



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More linky-goodness:

My friend Liz (lilifae) is running an amazing competition for children in the UK. Go take a look and pass the word to your local schools and libraries!

The always awesome triciasullivan had a thought-provoking post about her outlining process, which sparked lots of great discussion in the comments.

mroctober makes a cool analogy when he talks about writing as dating.

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Last, but by no means least (to all my American friends - and beyond):

Happy Inauguration Day!



I'm looking forward to watching the ceremony on the BBC news. :)

This is the final day for entries in my 8 Days of Christmas giveaway, where eight lucky people will win lots of fabulous books - in total, there are 36 books on offer.

I'll be drawing winners tomorrow (Monday 5th Jan), but it might be late in the day due to Day Job & Real Life stuff. Thanks again to all the many people who entered and made the contest a lot of fun! :)

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A couple of links:

Literary Escapism has a great Newsletter with urban fantasy & paranormal romance news, covers & links. It's a wonderful resource.

The Book Smugglers have exciting news about the brand new-and-improved website they are launching next week. I can't wait to see it! :)

...this?



Then head on over to reneesweet's LJ where Renee's dog Logan interviews carriejones's dog, Tala. Yes, really. Woof! ;)

Go here for interview and contest

...courtesy of SciFiGuy.

What a fabulous list! I can't wait to get my hands on some of these books... This is my personal pick of the bunch:

The Book Smugglers are having a Halloween Week, with lots of reviews of books, film and television. Every day, from Sunday to Saturday, will be jam-packed with features - don't miss it!

Fantasy Book Critic has an amazing review of Jonathan Carroll's latest book, The Ghost in Love. I envy people who have such great reviewing skills, and I couldn't have said it better myself. I really couldn't have done:

"And we end the book changed, as in an alchemical process. That’s it: Carroll is a true alchemist of the spirit."

Finally, the technical issues are getting resolved - which means I can post this link, a little later than I'd hoped:



This looks like a great new market:

Drops of Crimson is a new online zine specializing in quality Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Gothic Fantasy, Steampunk, and Horror stories, non-fiction and artwork.

For more info and requirements, please see the original LJ entry and the Drops of Crimson website.

Yeah, I know these things are usually done on a Thursday, but today I got a fabulous package in the mail. I know she probably won't read this here - and that's okay because I already thanked her a million times by email - but Paperback Writer rocks!! We all knew that, anyway, but... wow! I received my recent contest prize today, and was amazed and so incredibly touched to find a LOT of extra stuff in that package. She's one of those rare people: truly generous and genuine. I read her blog every time she posts something new, and I always get something out of it. Today's post, for example, is about synopsis-writing and is filled with useful links.

Thank you, Lynn. :)

priya_is says: I believe every novel asks a question.

Head over to her blog to read her post (it's only a short one), and maybe share with her what questions your work asks. It's an interesting topic.

...but here are few links:

It is sora_blue's birthday today. She's in Japan right now, having a wonderful time, and you can keep up with her adventures (with some cool photos) over on her other blog, Dreaming in Red. Happy Birthday Chandra!!

My friend kt_coope - the talented artist who is making my new website banner - has a book out now: How To Make Manga Characters. Check it out! In fact, buy a copy!

Also, the lovely lilifae has made her first book trailer. Read about it here. She did a great job - I think I'll be hiring her myself, one day... ;)

Finally, Neil Gaiman is home from China. Phew! Reading blogs hasn't been the same without his regular updates.

Six Non-LJ Blogs I Like To Read:

1) I know I've linked to these guys before, but I ♥ The Book Smugglers. Ana and Thea recently ran a week dedicated to dark fairy tales, including reviews of Melissa Marr's two novels and a great interview with Melissa.

2) I always read The 5 Randoms - a great blog run by five YA authors (including LJ regulars angie_frazier and amanda_marrone ).

3) I adore Wil Wheaton's blog, WWdN: In Exile. Not that he needs me to link to him - he has a ton of readers already - but if I was stranded on a desert island and could only take one blog with me, Wil's would be under serious consideration. He makes it cool to be a geek. 'Nuff said. ;)

4) The five authors who run Magical Musings have some interesting things to say about the craft of writing. They also post regular guest blogs/interviews and reviews.

5) Author Jennifer Estep's blog is always entertaining; I especially enjoy her regular and thoughtful book reviews.

6) Finally, here's a new blog that's just begun. Unusually, it's dedicated to Young Adult Science Fiction, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops.

There's so much I want to write about and link to here, I think I'll have to do some now and the rest over the weekend.

Let's see... First of all, Actual Writing progress was derailed by the Migraine of Doom (MOD) and then the headaches I had on the following days. But all seems to be well today (*touches wood*) and I have begun to catch up on wordcount. I don't think I'll write as much as I hoped this month after all, but we'll see. I could have a crazy 4k or 5k day next week, so I guess you never know.

Newly titled YA urban fantasy - BND:

13034 / 60000 words. 22% done!

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I really do think my writing process is starting to take a more 'definite' shape. I'm learning that I don't find it so easy to push out 3k per day on a regular basis. Sometimes, even 2k is a struggle. I don't have any trouble with a regular commitment of 1,000 words a day - and those words are generally GOOD words, because I am able to think about what I want to say and end up with a draft that isn't too far off a 'final' draft. Of course, it'll need revisions, but I do tend to write fairly polished first drafts - as long as I stick to around 1k per day - maybe 1,500 words max. When you consider that the average YA manuscript is 60k, that's still only 2 months of writing for a first draft that is in pretty good shape. I don't leave gaps or skip scenes or avoid description. It all goes into that first draft. I enjoy crafting tight sentences, and I am thankful to this month of writing alongside Rinda (relliott4) for helping me find the writing method that best suits me. Fast-drafting isn't for me - I know that now. But neither am I a 'slow' writer. I'd say I write steadily, which is good enough for me!

Having rambled on about all that, I've decided not to do NaNoWriMo this year after all. Sorry fellow LJ-ers doing NaNo! I have instead signed up for jonowrimo, run by the lovely jbknowles, which runs 15th September to 1st December and gives writers 2 1/2 months to complete whatever goals they set themselves. I like that idea, as I still like to write alongside other people and have some way of keeping myself accountable. I enjoy the sense of community.

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I have some Good News to share, but I don't think I'll be able to say more until Monday. No, it's not THE news, so don't get too excited. *g* But it's still pretty cool. *goes all mysterious*

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Talking of exciting things, I have commissioned the amazing and talented kt_coope to make me a banner for my website. She is drawing a couple of my characters to go on it, and showed me preliminary sketches yesterday... OMG!! I had tears in my eyes they were THAT freakin' good! I know I'm strange, but to see two of my favourite creations sketched so beautifully... It was like KT had pulled them out of my head - one of them especially made me Very Happy. :) I can't wait to see the finished article and show everyone.

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I had my hair cut and coloured yesterday! About 3 inches taken off, and I had a red/brown colour all over with some golden highlights on top. I love it, but it's a bit... um... redder than I thought it would be. At least that part's only a semi-permanent, so it'll soon fade.

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A couple of links:

Making Dreams Work is a new blog about making a living from creative enterprise by my almost-namesake Karen Mahony (note the different spelling of her surname). As she herself told me: "It's more of an account of how I did things - and what I've learned - than a 'how to'. I'm not trying to sell anyone a methodology or anything, more just provide some talking points. Later if it's gets comments going and there is some discussion, I think that will make it truly useful." Karen is also here on LJ, and in this post tells more about the new blog and its purpose.

There are already some wonderful posts up there, and I think this is going to be an interesting experiment. I hope people will take a look. Karen co-owns the Baba Studio and Magic Realist Press in Prague, where she and partner Alex Ukolov create everything from Tarot decks to messenger bags.

Finally, my friend Rae's cousin is in a band called the Peanut Albinos, and they just released their first CD. Check it out! :)

So the basic website is done, there's a lot of work still to do (more content!) but for now I need to get back to writing fiction. Which means starting the Actual Words on TGS (*sigh* this book really needs a title that I like)... I'm going to write alongside relliott4 and we're going to see how much we can get done on our projects by the end of September. I need something to kickstart the writing while I wait to hear about various things.

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I wanted to mention a couple of books and links. First of all, I recently read this:



Patrice Michelle's SCIONS: RESURRECTION (Book One) was a surprising read - surprising in a good way. I loved the word-building and can see this being expanded beautifully in the next two books in the series. Despite it being a bit more geared towards romance than I'd normally choose, the premise and characters won me over. Check out the beginning of the blurb that hooked me:

Everyone believed vampires were extinct.

Everyone was wrong.

When Ariel Swanson wrote a novel about vampires, she hoped it would exorcise her fear of the creatures that had, not so long ago, terrorized the human population.

Instead, it brought her to their attention...

Book Two is out already, with a third to follow. Patrice has just unveiled the cover for Book Three on her blog - it's gorgeous!

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I also love - LOVE - The Book Smugglers blog, where Ana and Thea review romance and speculative fiction of all kinds. The way they approach their reviews is always fun and unique, with indepth insight into the books they read and write about. Their blog offers regular features like joint reviews (where they discuss the same book), crazy polls for your inner-geek (*g*) and themed weeks focusing on a particular author. One of these really took my attention, back in June, when the girls did a 'Neil Gaiman Week'. Some great content, especially Ana's Introduction to The Sandman. Really impressive, and a great way to ease yourself into Gaiman's awesome Sandman series if you're overwhelmed at the thought of diving in. They also cover movies and graphic novels, and offer interesting author interviews - it's currently my favourite reviews blog.