Simultaneous Post/MY REALITY CHECK BOUNCED

Ah, sweet mystery of life. One day/week, my technology is working fine. The next I can't get the @#$(&@#( computer to do what I want to to save my life. Le sigh. Le great, big, heaving, highly irritated SIGH.

ANYWAY, I'm posting this simultaneously here and (by sending it to Cathy with a pretty-please) on the Midnight Divas' blog.

AGAIN WITH THE ANYWAY,

I'm working on Kate3 a/k/a Touch of Darkness. I'm not as far as I'd have like to have been. I'm running out of time (bumping up against the deadline. Still looks OK, but it will be closer than I'd like. I'm a "get it in early" kind of gal not a last minute, stress me to hell and back type.) I'm not going to RWA in big part because I need to get this baby DONE.

See, that's one of the things aspiring writers don't think about.

Their first book, their baby, the one that hooks the agent (crossing fingers), publisher ("Please, dear God, please"), and (hopefully) the readers can take them YEARS to write. They polish, critique, re-polish, fuss and suffer over practically every word until it's perfect. They desperately hope it will "break" them into the business.

But what if it does?

YEAH! YIPPEEE!!! WOOT!!!! Joy ensues.

UNTIL they find out they have to write a sequel, or another one. In a year, OR LESS. And that the baby they "finished" isn't. Not really:

(1) There will be edits. ("Dear Author. The secondary character John sucks. Flat as a pancake. Either beef him up or get rid of him. Love Editor. PS you need another subplot and to up the romance.");

(2) There will be copy-edits;

(3) and galleys.

All of which will be due in short order after you receive them, which will inevitably be when you are trying desperately to write like a lunatic on book 2 and are hitting the point of desperation because you don't write nearly as fast as you thought you did.

AND there is marketing and publicity, the conferences they will need to speak at, deliver goodies to, and meet (hopefully) their newly rabid fans (or soon to be rabid fans), booksellers, distributors, and reviewers at. Oh, and there's sending out those review copies, and doing signings and on, and on.

I'm not complaining. I LOVE THIS BUSINESS. I extra-special-especially love this business because I have a co-author who takes care of a lot of those things, and graciously splits the rest of the duties with me. Because I swear to you on a stack of bibles, koran's, torahs, talmuds, and any other holy books you want to drag out from the library that I would likely completely collapse under the workload without her. (Come to think on it, I owe that woman chocolates, a bottle of rum, or both.)

But it is very easy to get a little bogged down in the workload.

Which leads to yet another reality check.

It takes a while for you to make "real money" in the publishing business. Yeah, I know, Rowling has more money than the Queen. But for those of us toiling in the trenches, it takes a while. Because there are expenses (which, fortunately, can mostly be written off of taxes), and taxes (self-employment taxes are vicious). So the day job is a necessity for a long time and panic is the norm as the deadlines loom.

AND THE FINAL OVERDRAFT:

Life, the universe, and everything.

Yup, you heard me. Because as soon as there is a deadline life will (almost inevitably) intervene. Whether it is a brown recluse bite (Cathy), a house fire (Cathy again), a black widow bite (me), or a death in the family (a mutual friend who is also an author), life isn't going to conveniently come to a halt because something is due.

***********************

Am I saying a person shouldn't pursue the dream? HELL NO! Besides, it wouldn't do a bit of good. For an awful lot of us, writing is a compulsion. We couldn't stop if we wanted to and WE DON'T WANT TO. But unless a person wants to be a "one hit wonder" I would strongly suggest that they think about putting down the first mss long enough to write the SECOND one, and maybe even a THIRD before they send it out. It'll save them a load of stress and headaches. Because publishers have no sense of humor about missed deadlines. To them it's a business, and they expect the writers to act like professionals.

Okay, off of my soapbox and back to the mss.

Attempts to Blog

I have been ATTEMPTING to blog, and comment on blogs and generally be technologically savvy and market and all that good and happy stuff to stay in touch while I'm writing the draft to Touch of Darkness (the final installment in the Thrall series) and @#*$(&#$ it anyway I haven't been able to get it to work until now. Which is a day late for when I was supposed to blog for the Midnight site. Le Sigh. Le BIG HEAVING PAIN IN THE @$@#$ sigh.

Ah well, the book is going pretty well. I'd love for it to go faster, but that's not my style.

Still, I gotta go and try.

Later.

Cie

Greetings and Salutations

I don't know if anybody is even coming by here any more. I'm not sure whether that makes me happy or sad. I like the friends I made here, but I need someplace to dump my baggage as it were, and who wants to read that? I miss Jim, and Yo, and. . . oh well. I'll write. Either people will come by or no. It's my own fault anyway, because I haven't been blogging nearly as much as I should.

ANYWAY, let's get off THAT depressing subject shall we?

Lucky the Wonder Dog is being a poop. Frustrating that. I need to get her a new harness because walking her with a collar is SO not working. Payday cometh. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

The cats are all happy and well. This is a good thing. I don't know if you guys go to MySpace, but if you wanna, you can go look at the pretty pictures.

I am not going to RT after all (at least not for the whole thing. If I can get away, I'll come up for the signing, but no guarantees on that.) Personal stuff. Not fun. Ah well. Life is what it is.

Good news is, we've got plans for books through 2009. There is a new Tony Giodone adventure on that list for those of you who have been looking for him (you know who you are!). More good news is we won a RIO for Touch of Evil -- against Sherrilyn Kenyon and Katie McAlister!!! (OMIGOD!) The fairy book is coming along nicely, but slower than I would like because the body is being uncooperative.

Our editor extraordinaire, Anna Genoese, has left Tor (she will be doing freelance stuff, but is not actually working for them full time any more.) This caused major upheaval as we tried to figure out what the heck (if anything) we were going to do in response. In the end, we are happily staying put.

James is doing well. He is happy in Denver and doing well both at his job and his second job doing videography. I am proud, happy, and miss the heck out of him. (I do not, however, miss the additional laundry and housework--go figure). I hope to go visit him sometime this summer, but I don't know when because there is a possible tour and stuff going on with Tor regarding Touch of Madness. (Buy this book. Buy this book--Subliminal and not so subliminal messaging to all readers--BUY THIS BOOK). I'm seriously proud of TOM -- and if you thought Kate was having a bad day in TOE! WHOOOO boy howdy have things gone downhill! Besides, it has one of my favorite secondary characters of all time. Carlton ROCKS.

I am still losing weight. I have no idea what size and weight I am right now. I'm wearing elastic waisted and drawstring stuff for the moment until things are a little more stable. This is a good thing and is probably in response to the hormones getting right again. I even have a libido again. (I know, I shouldn't mention that in a public forum, but it's such a SHOCK.) I'm not entirely happy with the way I look, but it's getting better. I do know that men are starting to notice. Some of them are even the men I want to notice. Unfortunately, most of them are not. In fact, one of them was SOOOOOOOO much a not that I was really seriously unhappy. I know, I should be flattered no matter who pays attention. But I can't help it. I wish I were a better person. I'm not.

For example. I am not interested in men old enough to be my father, or who are actually OLDER than my father. Really. No thanks. Too weird for me. I don't care about their money, or their car, or . . . whatever. There is an EWWW factor I can't get past.

Now is this fair? I mean, would I object to being the older woman to a sweet young hunk my son's age? I dunno. Maybe. It depends on if we had things in common and if he got the creativity/writing stuff. But I would be more likely to try it than give a chance to an older guy.

Completely unfair. I know. But I can't seem to get past it.

Actually, I would probably completely weird if I got one of the sexy cover model types. I would keep wondering what in the hell he saw in me.

Not that it is an issue in the current location. VERY small town, very few unattached males, none of them interested in me or vice versa--except for a little flirting and the one offer that I wasn't interested in.

OKAY, enough of the personal stuff. I gotta take care of things anyway. The puppy is hungry, the kitties think they should get fed first, and I probably should eat too. And then there's the writing. Yeah. I do need to do some of that.

Toodles.


Cie

Frustration (I'm Whining. You May Want to Skip This)

I'm frustrated. Very. VERY frustrated.

1) Lucky the Wonder Dog is being a major pain in the ass.
2) I've screwed up my bookkeeping.
3) I've been working mega hours at the day job to fix #2.

But right now what I'm frustrated about is Lucky the Wonder Dog.

The other day she slipped her collar, got out of the fence, and wound up in a fight with a (presumed) raccoon. Wound up at the vet getting healed up.

Since we couldn't find the collar we hauled out the harness I use for walking her and have been using it for everyday.

Came home from work today to find she'd chewed through the harness, escaped the fence, and was running loose.

Bought a new collar. Decided to take her for a walk so that she'd be calm inside tonight. She slipped the collar and was not cooperative about coming back. I finally caught her playing with a pair of the neighborhood tomcats. Of course this is at night, after a full day of work, when I'm already tired out of my mind and symptommatic.

I love the dog. Normally she is a good and cooperative dog. She's been responding to training better. But today she was a disobedient little shit. I don't dare leave her outside now when I'm not here because of her Houdini act. You see the streets here are relatively busy (it's a small town, but people drive fast and don't pay much attention. I can't tell you how many dead animals I've seen that have been run over), AND she doesn't like bicyclists. I don't think she'd deliberately hurt anyone, but the kids on bikes don't know that, and she could certainly scare them enough for them to wreck. Which is WHY she is tied, and behind a fence. (Insert vehement swearing!) I also know that there are folks around this area who actually put out poison to kill "stray" animals and/or would use a bb gun or "whatever it takes". They really don't hesitate about it. It makes me crazy and scares the crap out of me. I don't know what I'm going to do.

I'm worried about her. I'm worried about me. I'm frustrated because damn it, I'm trying and she KNOWS better and life is currently SUCKING anyway so I don't need any added frustration.

The only good news--and it is VERY good news, is that we won the Reviewer's Choice (RIO) award for Touch of Evil with incredibly stiff competition (Sherrilyn Kenyon and Katie McAllister among others). I am writing. I am trying not to let everything get me down, and this helps. But tonight, honestly, not as much as it probably should.

Happy St. Pat's

Happy St. Patty's Day to all who celebrate it! For fun I did the google search that Debra Parmley suggested. I put in "Cie needs" and got:

(From An Phoblacht [Sinn Fein Weekly] no less) CIE needs a hike in investment not fares. I think I'm a little insulted. I do not have "fares"! Although frankly investments would be good.

BTW for those of you who are (or aren't) interested:

1) Lucky the Wonder Dog is recovering from her run in with what I am assuming was a racoon. She'll be on antibiotics for a bit, and we'll be making sure not to delay the rabies renewal, but she's okay, with just a few scars to show she's tough.

2) Howling Moon is doing well. If you're having trouble finding it on the shelves, feel free to order it from the Waldenbooks at the Sunset Mall in San Angelo, Texas. They have autographed copies of it (and all the other books in both series) available. Of course if you DON'T want it, then. . . well . . . PHOOEY ON YOUEY!

3) Cathy and I will be going to RT. I'm still up in the air as to whether I'm going to make it to RWA. There are people going I really would love to see, but it's a bit pricey to do both. So I'm dragging my feet and pondering a bit.

4) Whatever happened to Deno Russo?

Wong Foo/Julie Newmar

Hi Guys!

Last night I watched To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything. Julie Newmar. It was a fun little movie. Who knew that Patrick Swayze would look so good in drag? His jewelry was utterly FABULOUS!

I needed to lighten up things a bit. The body has been acting out considerably. I did something seriously stupid that I have to fix financially. (Actually a couple of things, and they're significant.) My uncle died. One of my dear friends is suicidally depressed. All in all, a nice, fluffy comedy was just what the doctor ordered.

On the other hand, the books are going well. I have people and animals who love me, and the errors I've made ARE fixable.

Someone wrote quoting the blog too. They want me to send them what I've written of the post-chick lit book I referenced. Made me smile that did. Unfortunately, because of other obligations, there is nothing yet to send. Still, I do WANT to write it--even if it may never find a home with a major publishing house.

Ah well, such is life.

I do hope that things go well this year in the career. Keep your fingers crossed.


Cie

Euphoria and Things I Shouldn't Talk About

Hi Guys! I'm posting both here and on Blogger. I am EUPHORIC today. First:

WE HAVE PLUMBING!
Okay, this is not something other folks usually make a fuss over. I mean, let's face it, most of us have indoor plumbing now. But mine has SLOWLY been getting worse and worse and finally I just CALLED THE FRIGGING PLUMBER. And now it WORKS PROPERLY. (Insert Hallelujah Chorus here.)
(Space and time to sing. . . "For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! For the Lord God omni. . .")
Secondly, I did a painting. Just a fun honest-to-God screw around and enjoy myself painting that, if it worked will go on the wall, and if it doesn't will go the way of all things. BUT IT WAS FUN!! I even FINGER PAINTED part of it! I can't tell you how long it has been since I just relaxed and let myself do a painting for the sheer joy of it without angsting over all of the realism and details, and it's a gift and what if it doesn't turn out, and oh CRAP I can't do this any more. (I was never better than a B talent, but there are times when I've fallen to an F- due to lack of practice and TENSION.) But I DID IT! It is entitled "Chocolate Bed Spins" and while it didn't turn out the way I originally envisioned it, I don't even care. Because I had fun--something I've kind of forgotten how to do over the past few years.
Haven't heard from James in about a week. Hope he calls. I think he's probably fine--I know he's been busy. But I LIKE him, and I love him, and I like hearing from him. SO SUE ME--I'M A MOM DAMMIT!!! I do find the irony of this exquisite since I now know EXACTLY how my mother worried about me. Karmic justice at its finest.
Oh, and they've finally got the thyroid meds right. You know how I know this? (1) My hair isn't falling out. (2) I don't feel like a barely animated corpse. (3) My skin isn't so dry its cracking. (4) I'm not swollen, bloated, and looking something like Bhudda without the good disposition. (5) I HAVE A LIBIDO. (6) I'm losing weight.
Holy crap--I have a libido. I haven't had one of those in. . . well, not since the thyroid went totally wonky a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago. This is, of course, a mixed blessing. It is good that I am getting healthier. But there is not, shall we say, a wide selection of available men in the small town in Texas where I currently reside. Also, it is a small enough town that everybody knows EVERYTHING about everyone else and LOVES to talk about it. No, dating here would be a BAD THING.

Well, the dog is fussing. I have to get cleaned up. Have a great day.

Cie

New Blogger/Taxes and Valentine's Day

First, I am now on the new Blogger. We'll see how it goes. I don't much like change when something else has worked reliably for me for years. It's like the new Windows Vista. Maybe it'll be a wonderful thing in a year or two (after any bugs have been worked out) in the meantime I'm a little whiny about a big change.

Taxes -- I believe in them. I pay them. But I HATE HATE HATE getting ready for them. I've been a very bad and disorganized girl, and it is going to cost me a FRIGGING FORTUNE which I HATE HATE HATE, mostly because it's my own blasted fault. Sigh. Still, I'm scheduling a full day (preferably one that is warm with sunshine when the puppy can be outdoors and not distracting me) to get them DONE and off to the accountant. WISH ME LUCK!

Valentine's Day -- I posted an opinion here, tried to copy it over to MySpace and wound up cutting and pasting instead. (Don't ask.) ANYWAY, I'm just bummed at the pressure being put on people acting like they have to spend a fortune and get the PERFECT thing or they will never love or be loved again and they will look like idiots. What ever happened to "It's the thought that counts?" Isn't it just good that they thought enough of you to put out an effort? I mean, it's a cheesy manufactured holiday anyway. SO LET'S GO FOR THE GOUDA AND CHEDDAR! Give me a 6' hot pink Gorilla with a big red bow clutching wilted flowers and a box of (probably melted) off-brand chocolates; or maybe a hand-made card with REAAAAAAAALLLY bad poetry; or maybe an amateur singing telegram ("You really got your best friend to DO that?") with silly lyrics. Or maybe just tell me you love me, and really mean it.

Greetings and Salutations

Guten tag.

I'm getting ready to write on the fairy book again. I've been moving more slowly than I'd like on it, but I think (I HOPE) I'm on the mend.

With regard to life, the universe and everything: James is doing well. Don and Cathy have almost got everything back together after the house fire. (UGH--major sympathy for them!). YO HAS A BOOK OUT!!!! WHOO HOO!!! I'm behind on my paperwork. The puppy is responding well to training (I'm doing it based on what I've been watching from "The Dog Whisperer" and have read and seen elsewhere. I haven't completely screwed up the elbow (only moderately screwed it up.) I still need to spend more time on Myspace, but haven't done it. And so on.

Basically, life is just being ordinary. What a wonderful relief. :)

Weird Ramblings and a Rant or Two

Weird Ramblings and Ranting
I mean because actual ramblings would be... like... boring... seriously.

Okay, I would like to start with a couple of weird quirks. Have you ever really looked at some of the things we say as "turns of phrase?" I mean, "baited breath," what? Their breath smelled like worms and stink bait? EWWWWW. Or how about "It cost an arm and a leg?" Graphic violent content -- and WOW aren't those prosthetics amazing.

On to the next -- I have a problem. My dog eats cell phones. Actually, not the whole phone. No. Just the soft chewy BUTTONS.. Which makes operating it. . . interesting. I try to remember NOT to leave it lying where she can get it. But I am occasionally careless and a doofus, particularly when I am late to work, or exhausted from work. (The day job, not the writing. Writing does not have health insurance and is oddly energizing until you've done it for twelve hours straight and your body is locked in the keyboard sitting position. But I digress. . . )

Item third -- Cathy and I were talking about writing. (Co-authors occasionally do that, but don't tell anyone.) The discussion brought home something that has been occurring to me more and more lately. There is this HUGE difference in perception from the person you are in your twenties to the person you are in your late forties AND MOST OF THE TIME YOU DON'T NOTICE IT because it was so gradual. My mother told me once that you spend your entire life feeling like you're the same age and everybody else keeps getting older. (Particularly the kids. The biggest shock for her? "When in the heck did my GRANDBABY get old enough to have a baby?") ANYWAY, I'm having a hard time. For example, text messaging? I don't get it. Why? I'm serious. I've zoned out in meetings, planned my days, nights, and book plots while someone droned on (and on) about things I didn't care about. But I still don't think that is nearly as rude as texting would be. Also, it DRIVES ME CRAZY that texting has created a culture where spelling is completely irrelevant and grammar sucks. And it carries over, into blogs and forums and (from what I have heard and read in critique spots) holy **** people are actually submitting MANUSCRIPTS like this? I don't think I'm a literature snob. I actually don't LIKE most 'serious literature.' But basic grammar and spelling are important to me. I like being able to actually read a book without an interpreter and massive brain farts.

Item fourth -- What IS it with people creating malware? WHY? WHY? You don't even KNOW me and you're picking on me. For CRYING OUT LOUD (another phrase -- see second paragraph above) all I'm trying to do is run a bit of a blog, stay in contact with my family and friends, do a little basic research and marketing, and write the books. AND YOU @#@#(&@#$ have polluted things to the point where it is difficult bordering on impossible to do any (let alone all) of the above without layers of protection. Let me put it this way. YES I believe in condoms and safe sex. NO it does not FEEL the same. YES I believe in all of the protective software. NO I don't enjoy having to scan every time I turn around or risk losing my life's work.

Anyway, I want to do some "friending" but I haven't done it (even though I know it is a great marketing strategy and gets my name out there) because I've had to reformat my computer twice, clean it of viral crap more times than I can count, and I'm JUST LOSING PATIENCE WITH THE WHOLE THING.

THERE, I got that rant out of my system. I feel much better. Now I need to go out and live my real life.

Take care.

Go Rory!

I love hockey. I love hockey because it's kind of the blue collar underdog of professional sports. The salaries aren't (on the whole) out of the stratosphere. The season is long and grinding with a lot of games. The violence got out of hand for a while, but that was years ago. The lock-out sucked, but they've gotten past it. The new rules were an adjustment, but I do think it helped bring the game back from the brink of extinction, so I'm cool with it.

So, for the all star game there was a movement to get a "grinder" a mid-level player who just works his butt off into the game. Since it's fan voting, it was possible (even easy apparently) to tinker. Even though computer auto-voting wasn't legal, it happened in a big way. Rory was the recipient.

SO the league tried to tinker.

I'm thinking that was stupid. They had this big publicity phenomenon going on. The folks cared enough to rig the votes. If a presidential election can have dangling chads, I don't see why Rory can't play in the damned game. I mean, really!

I still love Blogger

First, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

OK, I'm on MySpace. I'm blogging (as much as I ever do). But I missed Blogger. I LIKE Blogger. So I'm probably going to be very schizoid and post both places. Different blogs too. Go figure.

Fey book is coming along. I need to write faster, but at least it's moving forward. I'm going to do a bit of writing today, but also I'm going to get rest. I've noticed that being exhausted to the point of slurring my words does NOTHING for my creativity. Go figure.

I've been working through some of my issues again. As with everybody in the world, there are things I just have a hard time with. Learning is never a straight line progress. It's up and down. Lately, I've been down. But it's the new year and I'm coming back with a vengeance. RAWR!

Found a book I've been missing. This is way cool as it is out of print and now hard to get hold of. It's called: Go For It and it's by Dr. Irene Kassorla. I refer to it as "the cheerleading book." On those occasions when I've been at my worst and most depressed this and Tony Robbins CDs gets me back on track.

I know, I know, people make terrible fun of the whole motivational industry. I also know there are people who have spent WAY more than they could ever afford on going to repeated seminars and "coaching" etc. But the fact of the matter is, this book and those CDs really do work for me. When I'm stalled and can't get moving, these two things get me energized and moving in a positive direction. So I recommend it in moderation. It's like alcohol. One or two drinks will relax a normal person and not hurt them. More than that and you could get trashed and wind up with a hangover and/or serious consequences. Use with caution and wisely.

ANYWAY, they work for me. Enough so that I've actually recommended them to other people. (Who it hasn't worked for, sadly.) I even loaned out my copy of the book to somebody who needed it [twice]. Sadly, both times they promptly lost it, leaving me without a copy. I'd pretty much resigned myself to having to go through one of the book search groups to get it [at a painful price probably] when POOF, it showed up on the used bookshelf in an antique shop in the dinky town where I live. I grabbed that puppy and RAN to the cash register.

Well, I actually have the opportunity to sleep in. The dog is back inside having "done her business." So I'm off to bed.

"Adios, au revior, auf weidersein. Good night." (CHALLENGE -- NAME THAT QUOTE)

Multiblogs

OK, I'm still new at all the MySpace stuff. BUT, I have a name now. I am listed under CTAdams (no spaces, no punctuation). Cathy is going to come over in a day or so and we will try to get me to make friends. We'll see how that goes. Maybe I'll be better at it than I think.

ANYWAY, Howling Moon is now available to order. It is officially out January 2. BUY THIS BOOK. (LOL).

Please check it out!

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&pop=1&indicate=1

MySpace

OK, I'm here, but I'm also there. Very schizoid of me, I'm sure.

I've always liked Blogger, BUT Myspace is considered a huge marketing tool. So I'm trying it. Which means that I've uploaded pictures, got a blog there, etc. SO, I am asking y'all to stop by there. PLEASE. PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE?

THANKS!

Cie

Hello Again

OK, have you ever just been really good at annoying people? Sometimes I just piss people off. Usually it is when I'm seriously stressed. I am (THANKFULLY) getting over this right now, but for a few weeks there everything I said or did got misconstrued, misquoted, or generally caused havoc and annoyance. I AM SO VERY VERY GLAD things are getting back on track!!

ANYWAY, guys, I mean well. REALLY.

I screw up. I'm human. But I really do try hard. So please cut me some slack. If there's a good way to take something, and a bad way, PICK the good way. Assume the best, give the benefit of the doubt. PLEASE.

Thank you!


Cie

Stuff

Greetings and salutations.

Let's see. I know it's been a while, but I don't have a lot of time, so I'll try (Laugh) to be brief.

Life was hard in November and early December. It is getting better.

James is doing well! WHOO HOO!!!!

The puppy is being a demanding pain in the patootie.

We have finished the books for this contract except for edits which are proceeding apace. Until we have another contract there is time to work on something new. I am giving myself until the end of January to do the first draft of the first book in an entirely new world. I hadn't realized how much I missed world building. Things like creating geopolitics, religion(s), criminal justice systems (or lack thereof), geography of both the actual landscape and the cities. It's so flipping cool. The book is going to be extremely dark sci fi/fantasy with some romantic elements.

I am drafting a MySpace space for Cathy and I. Since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing it should be interesting to say the least. Still, what the heck. I'll give it a shot.

My computer is still not behaving properly. This is a pain in the patootie as well. I'm managing, but finding it very frustrating.

I haven't been visiting websites because I've been sleeping more and worldbuilding. (Some worldbuilding is actually done best with eyes closed. Aw darn!) It has also been cold. I get sore and stiff and consequently grumpy when I am cold. I am, however, not going to whine too much. I am, after all, in SOOOOOOOO much better shape than the folks in the midwest who had the ice storm and lost power for who knows how long. Nope. Life is pretty darn good thank you very much.

I want to see Yo's blog. I want to hear from Jim. I want to get the silly book written.

Oh, and today is the first holy day of obligation this year that I've actually remembered early enough to go to mass. I mean, it's only mid-December, why rush this sort of thing. (Cie pounds head into imaginary wall).

Oh, back to world-building. Someone wanted to know how you do it. I can't speak for everyone. Cathy and I do it by thinking of things, asking questions of each other and ourselves. Things like:

Society -- is it rural or urban? Mixed? What's the level of technology? (Are we talking rocks, swords or lightsabers?) Transportation? Multiracial or monoracial? Trade? At war or at peace? With whom and why?

Religion--do they have one, more than one? State sponsored? State banned? Is it monotheistic or polytheistic? Basic tenets?

Anyway, you get the drift.

Oh, and minor annoyance of the day. I needed an aerial photo of the Pentagon because my cities in this Empire were all built to a standard form as the empire expanded. It is a pentagon with concentric "rings" that are zoned for particular uses. But since 9/11 it's difficult to get good aerial photos of the Pentagon. YES I can draw one, but it wound up being amateurish and a pain. I realize that there are security concerns. But JEESH. I'll check in the old physical encyclopedia and make some photocopies. But I was trying not to have to go to the library because it's FLIPPING COLD TODAY.

Well, I need to get ready for church. Since I DID actually remember in time, I really should go.

Hasta manana. (I hope).

Cie

OOPS UPDATE

Oh, a last minute reprieve was given the secondary character who was going to die during the edits. Just FYI.

Ahhhhh

Alas, as soon as I complained that Howling didn't appear, it did, making me look foolish.

I, however, and more than capable of looking foolish without technological help. My life, in case most of you haven't noticed, is frequently an "I Love Lucy" episode in some ways.

Today, the dog ate my cell phone. Actually not ate. All pieces were accounted for. They were, however, in PIECES. Well mangled and chewed pieces.

I feel like one of those little kids giving an excuse to the teacher. But no, really, It was freaking freezing outside last night (Besides which, the dog always sleeps inside anyway. What is the good of having a watch dog who isn't watching?) Apparently she got cross because she was restless and didn't get a walk. Or perhaps she was bored. Or it may be that she's just a puppy and they chew things. But sure enough, I forgot my cell phone. It was in reach, and. . . well, the rest (at least the cell phone) is history.

So I got to have everything changed over to a new phone and then have them keep the old number, transfer the minutes and do all that foo frau. UGH. But it is now done.

Also done and sent are the revisions to Timeless Moon. This is the last book for the contract so we are actually (TAH DAH!!!) caught up for the moment. Which means that I need to get cranking so we'are actually AHEAD OF THE GAME instead of rushing around in crisis mode.

WHOOO HOOO.

I also hope that sometime this weekend I will clean and decorate the house. Oh, and get all the other stuff done that has been on the back burner. Wish me luck!

But now I am out of time. I have a society to plan. I have the religion. I have the city maps. I even have a vague idea of the politics (need to work that out more). Also need to work on more character backgrounds. This is more a fantasy with a romantic subplot than the other way around. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!


Cie

Hmnnn

OK, I am kung fused. I thought I changed my profile so that the cover of our next release "Howling Moon" that comes out at the end of December would be the picture in my profile. When I'm on the dashboard, it shows Howling Moon's cover. When I get to the blog, POOF, it has magically transformed back to Touch of Evil. Now, don't get me wrong, the cover for TOE is SERIOUSLY COOL, but, hmnnnn.

Cathy just got "Timeless Moon" back to me. We have a couple of changes to make and then it goes to Anna tomorrow. This morning I had another one of those "Holy CRAP it's a BOOK moments." I don't know if every author has them, but every once in a while I find myself stepping back and blinking (a lot) when I realize that a world, people, and the stories that started out as wisps of thought in my head are now transformed into something real and solid that people all over the world can pick up and experience. I mean, "Holy CRAP!" This book will be out on shelves, then it will be in libraries and homes, then used bookstores, then more homes, for years and years. That just is so amazing. I can't even explain it. But it makes the hard part of the job worthwhile, and believe me there are some VERY hard parts to this job.

But today and tonight, edits. These are the kind of things where changes were made between drafts that created plot holes that need to be filled. Little things like, a person can't be in the front seat and the back seat of the car at the same time.

Well, gotta run. The world awaits.