Wednesday, July 7, 2010

One down, one to go


Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been busy! DOGS DON'T LIE, the first Pru Marlowe mystery, is finally through revisions and on track to be published by Poisoned Pen Press next April. This cover isn't final, but it looks pretty good, doesn't it? (If you don't think so, please tell me - and why - before publisher commits to it!) Cover will have "A Pru Marlowe pet noir" on it somewhere, I am told.

Now I'm finishing up the third Dulcie Schwartz mystery, GREY ZONE. I'm now doing one of my favorite tricks - reading it through in a different typeface. I find I catch so many more errors and awkward passages that way. For me, Times Roman is the norm so reading a printout in Helvetica pushes me just enough out of my comfort zone. And, yes, I do recycle.

GREY ZONE is due to its publisher, Severn House, at the end of the month, which has had me feeling like I had plenty of time. Except that yesterday I got an email from my editor, asking if all was on track and could I send her a blurb. They'd like to publish GREY ZONE in December! (That's UK publication, US is usually three months later.) December 2010!! Yikes.

So it's back to work for me. One down, one to go....

2 comments:

Ingrid King said...

Wow, you have been busy! Can't wait for Grey Zone and Dogs Dont Lie.

Love the trick about reading your ms in a different typeface - that's brilliant!

Clea Simon said...

Thanks, Ingrid. Yes, a little too busy... but that trick of reading a printout of your ms. in a diff. font? Wish I could tell you who taught me that - maybe Caroline Leavitt? It really works! Especially when you have to revise something before you have had a chance to put it away and forget it a little, it's a lifesaver.