Dropping the ball

I hate the middle of book 2 in my Druids series, Dark Desire of the Druids 2: Sex & Subterfuge. I hated it so much I gutted it last week and wrote fresh. It's still not great. I don't know what's wrong, the first 1/3 has humor, sex, sexy banter, devious villains and their nefarious plots. The ending is full of heartbreak, climatic scenes, more sex, and lots of magick.

But the middle? Not so much.

I'm still in the process of polishing it, and I know it'll ever be PERFECT, but I hate to have anything less than stellar. So I forebare, going over scenes, cutting, adding, tweaking, and hoping the middle turns into something half-way great.

It's how I'm spending my Thursday night. At least it's too cold out to do anything else!

DON'T FORGET: Leave a comment on my Unusual Historical blog between now and Sunday 1/18/09 and enter to win a free copy of Book 1 in my Druid series, Dark Desire of the Druids I: Murder & Magick

Dark Desire of the Druids I: Murder & Magick

My first full-length novel is now available from Ravenous Romance! Dark Desire of the Druids I: Murder & Magick where we follow Raven Drake and Malcolm Preston from their initial meeting in Dark Desire of the Druids: Tryst through discovery and betrayal.

Losing her virginity can mean ruin for a Victorian lady. For Raven Drake, it means freedom to explore her sexuality. As a magicker in hiding, Raven subscribes to her culture’s less prudish philosophy. She wants to experience every erotic sensation imaginable.

Malcolm, Lord Preston, desires her from the moment he sees her, and doesn’t allow society’s rules to stand in his way. More than happy to introduce Raven to the pleasures of sex, he doesn’t expect to fall in love with her.

Their tryst is a welcome distraction from witch hunters and political maneuverings. But can it overcome the weight of another man’s ring on her finger?

Full of mystery, murder, and magick, The Dark Desires of the Druids series will leave you breathless!

Today's Goals

I have all day to write. I plan on doing just that. Maybe plotting, maybe breaking a new story, but definitely devoting an entire day to my stories.

1. Finish prequel to Raven's story
2. Flesh out Archaeology story broke last night
3. Continue Colonial Boston story
4. If time & inclination start Act I of Morganna's story

Between Posts

I didn't mean to go so long between posts, but things have been busy! Writing of course :)

My Christmas story is finished and The Dark Desires of the Druids Raven's story (formerly Birthrite now abbreviated to DDoD) prequel is moving right along. I also managed to break down each chapter for Morganna's story. In addition to enjoying the gorgeous October weather! How great is this!!

I hope you're enjoying the weather, and don't forget to register for an iPod Touch at Ravenous Romance!

Christmas story

I've finished that story, Memorable, Possessions, not sure which yet. Both work. One sounds darker than the other. Yeah, still can't decide.

Am now working on a short prequel to Raven's story. Had a little trouble starting it, despite the synopsis, but think I have it now. It's barely 5000 words but I still have to write them, so starting is always a plus.

Have you registered for your free iPod yet?

Ravenous Romance

The countdown is on! In less than a month, Raven's story will be available! If you haven't already, check out Ravenous Romance, my new publisher. They're new and the site isn't 'live' yet but it's still a pretty cool place to visit.

And hey, you can register to win an iPod Touch!

Next week I'll talk more about Raven's story and the complicated but fascinating world she lives in.

Recovery

I've been sick, so have neglected my blogs. I'm feeling better though not 100%, but want to get back to my life, this included.

Today's tidbit is sick time. As in if you have it, save it! I'm serious about this, I'm lucky enough to be able to accrue sick time, so have 90 working days worth. I've now used 20 of those days. Lucky I saved them! Let my illness be a lesson.

On a brighter note, I've sent in my Civil War anthology story to The Wild Rose Press, and have signed a contract with Ravenous Romance for Birthrite-Raven! My time in the hospital hasn't been dull, I'll tell you that!

Busy month for me, and I hope many more of this kind to come. (Minus the hospital stay.)

This & That

Still no word on Birthrite - Raven. I'm not a patient person by nature, and I know it'll take 2-12 months (yes months, your computer screen is clear, your eyes aren't blurry, and your brain isn't playing tricks on you. I thought the same thing when I first read that little disclaimer). But I dutifully check my email every day just in case today's the day they decide to let me know something. Of course with fingers crossed, I'm hoping it'll be that they want the entire thing!

As for other writing news, I've polished that title-less short story about a mythical planet with medieval-like rules and settings. It's hard to explain, but it's got a lot of sex! Not that that helps. If I had to pick a genre, I'd say...paranormal? It's got magick. Futuristic? Sci-fi? Not really, but it's a different planet, so who can say? They don't have lightsabers or phasers, though. Fantasy, probably. I'll be submitting this one within the week. AS SOON AS I THINK OF A TITLE! *sigh*

Who Needs Mistletoe? was on hold this past week, but I fully intend to pick it up tomorrow for all those lovely rewrites I know I need. Just reading what I had made me cringe. It so needs work. And a synopsis.

Chapter 1 completed!

Morganna's story starts off quite a bit differently from Raven's. Both jump right into the plot, but take 2 very different approaches. It's taken me a while to get into this story, I think mostly because I like Raven's story so much and want to spend a little more time basking in the finished-ness of it all.

Still basking...

Chapter 1 is completed, and I'm quite pleased with it. I better be, it's taken me 4 days to make it work. I'll wade back into it this evening, and spend most of tomorrow on it. Hopedully it'll flow a bit better than chapter 1 did.

Series?

I had intended to do a 1-shot with my Birthrite story. It was going to be an AU historical and I was going to be happy that my world-building was going for a good cause. The story itself didn't progress like that. Of course I watch a lot of the History Channel and got a few great ideas from their shows that I just had to incorporate. Never watch history when writing a historical. You'd think the 2 would mix but no.

Back to Birthrite. It became 2 stories. Then I thought, oh, but what about Gareth? And then there were 3. Now I'm thinking, as Book 2 takes shape, but what about poor Isadore? She has no story, and I feel bad for her. Eh, now it's a 4 book series. They each have their own ending, and will probably be able to be read on their own. At least that's what I'm aiming for. It worked in book 1, Raven's story!