Sent!

Yesterday at around 3 p.m. I finished the revisions on "Shades of Grey" and sent the manuscript back to my editor at Severn House in London. Within minutes, I'd gotten a very nice response (which makes me wonder about the hours she keeps). I guess I must have been more keyed up than I thought, because I teared up as I read the last page and then suddenly felt exhausted. The cat was enjoying her midday nap, so I fitted myself into the remaining third of the bed and slept for about a half hour. Then I got up... and wrote 1,300 words on "Grey Matters," as I am tentatively calling the sequel.

Often I feel sad when I finish a book. I think I've been working on this one for so long that maybe that won't hit me. Maybe I'll just feel relieved?

The fear factor

It's now 2 p.m., and I've only read 14 pages. But hey, at least I've read 14 pages!

No, despite my post of a few days ago, I have not yet geared myself up to read my ARCs of Probable Claws. (I know! I know!) Instead, I'm back into a project that I put aside a few months back. At that time, I thought I'd focus on my pet-psychic mystery and I've been going great guns with that one. Having a blast. Jotting down plot points and bits of witty (I hope) dialogue on different colored stickies. Just loving it and making great progress.

But... someone wants to see the darker book. Well, is willing to look at it. And so I hit the breaks, felt the engine start to seize up, and managed to turn in time. It hasn't been easy. But two loads of laundry, a thorough cleaning and reassembling of the cat's water fountain, and much picking up and putting down of various pens and notepads later, I'm back in it...

so far, not bad!

Looking for a murder weapon

So after much back and forth and the kind of agony that involves getting a cup of tea. Putting it down. Walking around the house. Checking your email. Putting a load of laundry in. Making another cup of tea, and then realizing you already had one cooling. Checking on the laundry, which hasn't yet reached rinse cycle. Checking your email. Pouring out the tea because it has gone bitter. Checking your email. Finally putting laundry in the drier .... I think I've finally started writing again.

At any rate, today I am going to a nursery/garden supplies store. I'm getting ahead of myself, but if I can find what I hope to find, some of the crucial pieces may just fall into place. I'm looking for a murder weapon!

Process, process, process

How do you write?

I don't outline, really, but I do have a synopsis (partly because my editor demands one) and I usually start a book with a broad overview of how the story will go in my head. Despite these, I usually just sort of write, letting my characters sort things out between themselves, the plot resolution just a goal on the horizon, all subject to change. I do all of this on the computer. I type faster than I write and I love the clarity of type. I can read what I've typed easier than what I've written by hand, and the translation from mind to written word has long seemed easier this way, ever since I got my first Kaypro computer back 20 years ago.

But recently I've found myself writing long-hand notes, too. Lists, mainly, of plot points that I want to bring up in a given scene, and some lines of dialogue. Often by the time to write comes my notes are completely illegible, even to me. But the writing of them seems to serve a purpose.

Are you a list maker? An outliner? Do you write by hand or on the computer?

Dinner and a motivation

So, we had our buddy Chris over last night for lamb stew and "John Adams" on HBO, but of course we were all talking about our latest projects. Jon, my husband, is learning violin and has now been playing one year. Chris couldn't make his recital, so Jon reprised his three tunes, which sounded great. Chris told us about some issues with her work in progress – I don't want to reveal what it is until she gives me the okay, but take my word for it, it's going to be great. And we all agreed that at some point you just have to muddle through. The next phase will reveal itself in time. And I started thinking about my current WIP, "Probable Claws" (aka, Theda #4). I'd planned on a scene and I no longer remembered why that scene was in there. Jon pointed out that it would be fun to see the characters interacting, but I'm trying to work on my plotting skills, so I was thinking, "How will this scene advance the plot? What will readers learn in this scene that I need them to know, or what misdirection will be applied?"

Well, I came up with a list and now I have to do it. I don't know if it was the company of creative people or the wine, but I'm inspired! So, what are you working on? How's it going?

(Oh yeah, and me on the new Benjamin Black, "Silver Swan.")

Library cats

It must be something in the air. I guest blogged over at Jungle Red today in praise of libraries. And then I heard that another blog was starting a "library cat" blog, the idea being to solicit library cat stories for an e-book celebrating National Library Week this spring, April 13-19. No pay, but a nice way for writers – even unknowns – to get a little exposure. I mean, cats... books... what's not to like? At any rate, when A Library Cat's owner, Marisa D'Vari and I chatted, she offered to write "a little something," which includes an interview with her own feline bibliophile, Apricat:

Love cats? Love mysteries?

My name is Apricat and I convinced my human to create a blog called A Library Cat, and on it, collect stories of all of us felines who love to hang out in libraries and read books.

Of course, we don’t really “read” … personally, I prefer to curl up on top of a good book and simply absorb what it has to say. Personally, I visit the New York Public Library on fifth avenue every day. I like to see the lions in front of the Library (a symbol of the cat kingdom, even though they are inferior creatures) and like to give motivational talks to the stray and street cats in the area. My human is forcing me to say that my favorite books are Building Buzz: How to Reach and Impress Your Target Audience, and Creating Characters: Let Them Whisper Their Secrets, [both by Marisa - ed.note] but I prefer to read about the way people worshipped cats in ancient Egypt. Clea Simon and Musetta have invited me to interview my human about why she created this blog.

Q: Marisa (I always call my human by her first name) why did you create A Library Cat?
A: National Library Week 2008 is celebrated (April 13-19). It was created by the American Library Association in 1958, and is a reminder for people to visit and support their local libraries.

Q: Why are you asking cats to submit their library reading experiences?
A: As you said, Apricat, Cats love to absorb information – you are a curious species! Just like you love to read my books at the New York Public Library, other cats around the United States like to read books their humans have written personally or enjoy reading. Some cats just like to read books about other cats.

Q: What are you doing with the stories?
A: People can write stories under 500 words (see guidelines below) and send them to me in an email at mailto:cat@alibrarycat.com I will post them on the web. Then, about a month before National Library week, I will turn the stories into an ebook and make them available for a free download. People will find out about the download via press releases I will write to call attention to the holiday and the Library cat ebook.

Q: Why would cats (or their humans) want to participate?
A: If the cat or human has a web site or book to promote, I include live links to Amazon or their web site. The links will be live in the ebook as well.

Here are the guidelines:

Marisa D’Vari is collecting fun stories of under 500 words about what books your cat would read if allowed to spend the day browsing at your local library. Stories must include the name and a descriptor of your local library, and the title of the book your cat would read. And hey, if the cat happens to read the book you wrote, so much the better. A link to Amazon or your web site will appear in the header (see example below) and the text. An ebook of the stories will be put into a ebook to help celebrate National Library Week 2008(April 13-19), a holiday created by the American Library Association, and available for a free download from A Library Cat site. I will send out the press releases to promote the ebook and web featuring your story/links closer to National Library Week. Here is a sample of how Cynthia Baxter, author of "The Reigning Cats & Dogs Mystery Series" (Bantam Books) submitted her story.

Questions? Contact cat@alibrarycat.com