Monday Moons!

Sorta makes you want to go somewhere that mosquito nets are required, doesn't it?

If my posts have been brief lately, it's because I've been busy, not only with my writing, but at the hospital, too. You know how it is when you want time off for birthdays or vacations, etc. You end up paying for it at some point, and that point is now.

In between nights in the ICU, I've been working on edits to Double Desire, the first of the Sextet stories, due out June 3rd. The edits were minor, and I've also been working on Loner and the book I plan to self publish as an ebook at some point in the near future.

It was originally titled, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" more as a working title than anything, but I'm thinking of calling it Sex, Love, and a Purple Bikini.


What say you to that?

Thursday Thoughts

Looks like he's thinking about something very nice, doesn't it?

Me, I'm working T,W,TH this week, so all I'm thinking about is getting through it. Tonight's the last night, though, then I'm off until next Tuesday.

I've been working on Loner, and it's such a change from the Sextet stories, which move at a much faster pace and get to the fun stuff without all the buildup. Loner isn't going to have much in the way of love scenes until later in the book, and I'm still not sure how it will all play out. That's the scary thing about starting a full-length novel. You might get halfway through it and realize it's going nowhere, whereas a novella is easier to scrap.

Not that I've ever scrapped a story once I've started it. I keep fiddling and fixing until it works, and sometimes I don't really get it until well past the first few chapters. Then I have to go back and fix the earlier stuff to fit what happens later. It's putting the cart before the horse, I realize, but sometimes, that's just the way it works out.

Sort of like this fellow. He's all ready to ride, but guess what? No horse!

Monday Moons!

Don't you just love a pair of nice, wet buns???

I finished my contribution to the Sextet's toy story anthology on Friday night and started writing CSC #9, Loner, after the INRWA meeting on Saturday. I'm, already up to two thousand words. Whoo hoo! Only 88,000 to go. . .

Sam and I went to Walmart on Sunday to buy him some shirts for his new job, which he starts on Wednesday. He has to wear a red or black shirt with a collar, and, as luck would have it, there was no such thing hanging in his closet. He wasn't crazy about the idea, but I made him drive the truck, so I have now ridden with him! I should've had him be my chauffeur before this, since I go a lot more places and take different routes than he and Budley had gone. He's not quite ready to go it alone in town, but driving to his job should be easy. Navigating Walmart's parking lot was a bit of a challenge, though I did think of a way to make it simpler for him. Unfortunately, I didn't think of it until we were halfway home. Figures. . .

He's going to drive me to the bank today, which is close to where he'll be working. We'll also go buy some parts for the lawn tractor. I asked Budley to change the oil yesterday, which he did, but we didn't have any new oil filters. So, he put the old filter back on and then we tried to start it, but the battery was dead. I used to plan these things a little better, but with all the writing I've been doing, I tend to forget stuff like that.

But at least I haven't burned up anything on the stove lately.

Thursday Thoughts

Stud is all set to go to my editor tomorrow, thanks to the input from my beta readers, my agent, and my critique partner, Sandy James. All in all, there were five pairs of eyes on it aside from my own, and everyone had different questions and spotted different errors. Of course, the various editors at Sourcebooks will have still more issues.

I've already received the first review of Virgin from a well-known blog site, and the reviewer gave it a 5/5 Top Pick rating. I'm not supposed to say which site, since it hasn't gone live yet, but needless to say, I'm very pleased!

The tentative release date for Sharing, the first of the Sextet erotic anthologies, is May 13th. It'll be interesting to see if that Friday the 13th date brings us good luck or bad. I received my edits for my contribution to that volume (Double Desire) on Tuesday, but they were relatively minor, and I was able to get it finished that evening. I'm still not sure who to dedicate it to, but I have a couple of weeks to figure that out. I'll post the cover for the anthology as soon as I get it.

I'd like to thank all of you Yah Yahs for sticking with me through this long period between books. Ten months is a long time to try to maintain enthusiasm between releases, and for that reason, I wish the Sextet stories had come out a little sooner.

Still, the publishing business being what it is, it has always been the case that readers can read books faster than authors can write them, and WAY faster than a publisher can get them on the shelves. Siren, being an e-publisher, can do it much faster than print, so there will at least be a string of anthologies along with Virgin to keep you ladies happy between now and February 2012 when Stud will be released.

So, while I write Loner, I hope you ladies will hang in there and keep reading! Who knows? You might even find a hunk to read along with you!

Monday Moons

You would not believe the stuff I've been writing lately. This Siren deal has really given my imagination a boost, and I hope you Yah Yahs are ready for it. When the Sextet gets together this coming weekend, I have a feeling that even they will be surprised at what's coming out of the Cat Master's head.

Like what to do with these nice buns. Suffice it to say, I've written things that my DH would NEVER let me do to him in a million years.

Elizabeth has been hinting that something really big is in the works for our first Sextet anthology, but she's keeping it a secret until the weekend or our new publisher gives us a call, whichever comes first. She assures me that it's worth the wait, but sometimes anticipation has a way of ending up being better than the actual event. Sort of like Christmas is sometimes.

On the Cat Star Chronicles front, my first beta reader has given Stud an enthusiastic thumbs up. She and Elizabeth both think it's the best one yet. I'd like to think my craft is improving, but time, and harsher critics, will tell. Based on what they and a few other readers have to say, I'll give it another round of tweaking before it goes off to Sourcebooks on April 1st.

*sigh* Then it will be time to officially begin writing Loner, which will be the last of the CSC books.

Unless someone starts begging for more.

Whopping Weasel Wednesday!

Well, Yah Yahs, I have signed the contracts for the Siren deal, sent Virgin off to Sourcebooks for the last time, and, are you ready for this Suzy???? I have received the ARCs for Virgin. I mailed one of them to you yesterday. Feel free to share it with the other CBEBers as you see fit. I have three of them, and I'll send one to Cindy L if she ever emails me, but so far, I still haven't heard a word.

Now's the time to kick back and relax with a nice whopper.

No, wait... I've still got to write that Occupational Hazards story for the Sextet and start on CSC # 9, currently titled Loner.

No rest for the weary. . . .