This porridge is just right

So, I finished the revision of Curse Me A Story to make it a YA book. It's now with betas who hopefully think, as I do, that's it's now complete at 72, 500. It felt more like a simple outline when I was trying to make it into a MG. Now, it seems much better. I like it a lot. After they're done with it, I'll send it back to the agent with fingers crossed.

I still haven't sent Versus the Bounty... and I'm just not sure what to do with that one. The husband is beta-ing it... sort of. He's been really busy and I snarled at him one night over a valid point he had... so I think he isn't as motivated. Plus, he just broke his ereader, so he might even be done. I might print it out on Lulu and ask my friend to beta it for me.

I've been rereading the Honor books with a plan to do a serious revision. I opened Honor One only to discover that I'd done a serious revision in January... and it didn't take much this time around. I'd totally forgotten that I'd done such an intense revision. (Having a poor memory keeps things interesting.) So, I just finished the revision and I think I'll throw it at some betas for some ideas on whether certain scenes need to be cut and how the pacing is. I'll probably move on to a revision of Honor Two while I'm waiting on betas for these other projects. I should be working on a WIP but I like being in Honor's head.

The last few weeks have been really rough on me. The kids are... complicated right now. We have a lot of financial stress. Then, there is the insomnia. Thus far, in September, I've slept more than four hours during a night about... five times... maybe. The weeks are building and building and pulling me down. September, October, April, and May all nail me due to the season change and the stress of school starting or ending. So, my normal insomnia patterns of one week of insomnia followed by a recovery week... go to two or three weeks of insomnia with a two or three day break. Napping causes worse insomnia... and, unfortunately, I have to be up at 7 a.m. every morning... even if I don't get to bed until 5 a.m. Today, I'm sick too... I've picked up a vile cold. My throat hurts so bad. I'm going to overdose on Nyquil tonight. (By overdose... I mean... take the maximum dosage.)

Well, this is a rather lame blog post, but my head feels a bit foggy from being sick and lack of sleep.

Have a good... what day is this... oh... Tuesday. Have a good Tuesday!

Friday--I'm in love

This has been an intense week. T is really struggling with his sensory issues. I've been spending an hour a day in the therapy room with him and two hours on Wednesday. I've been trying to adjust my OCD meds with some success and some failure. Also, I sent out a bunch of queries this week and I've now sent in five submission requests. (Two on Honor, three on Scorched) I'm really excited, but trying to remain pessimistic enough so I can deal with whatever comes with some degree of dignity.

T's therapy has made this week intense. B has been having a bit of a "week" also. She's been very emotional.

I'm so glad my husband is so wonderful and supportive. He's been so good about letting me do this writing thing... and hasn't complained that the house is in chaos... and things don't always get done.

I did get two feet of hair cut and donated to Locks for Love. (It was down past my waist, but not as healthy as I would like it.) The kids haven't noticed yet. Actually, few people I've seen since my hair cut have noticed. I assume that's because of my "stealth" mode of living. I'm like James Bond... really.

That's my week. Some good. Some bad. Some hair loss. Same old... same old...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yay... not bad for a Monday

I sent out a few queries on Scorched yesterday, and already had a request for a full today. I'm excited. So, today, I wrote a synopsis and sent out a few more queries, but I spent so much time on each one that I'm tired now and my brain is hurting. Anyway... yay... I'm back into querying. I've had a few rejection-free holidays so I think I've broken the holiday rejection curse.

Everyone is really backed-up, though, so I might not hear on the manuscripts or queries for a while.

Keep your fingers crossed. :)

Running through....

I've got stuff to do today, so I'm just really streaking through here today. (It's true. Underneath all my clothes I'm naked.)

Through a strange twist that I just realized.... my 100th followers contest announcement... was my 200th post. Go figure.

My good friend, Amber, is having a birthday today... and is in crisis mode. (It's silly because she looks like an infant, of course... well... slightly older than an infant, but anyway.) Happy Birthday, Amber!

I'm still working on adjust my OCD meds so my sleep cycle is completely insane right now. My body wakes up after four hours of sleep no matter what I do. I have no idea why. So, my brain feels a bit... slow to the starting line.

My good friend scheduled our all girl Disneyland trip for the end of April yesterday. It's official. My "Save My Sanity" weekend away from the kids is almost here. My sister, Heidi, is coming with us this year. It'll be awesome.

T is not doing well... in fact, I haven't seen him this bad for a while. He's very, very manic. He got his hair cut a week and a half ago, and that might be the problem. Well, not just the haircut. It's being out of therapy, getting a haircut, losing some of his teeth, and school. He's started having accidents again and has been getting violent and manic. It's really not good. He's officially outside our insurance's acceptable age for neuro-developmental therapy now also. So, if we don't get it under control and handled... we'll be paying $120 per 50 minute session until we can. I don't think we'll need to do that, but it's been a while since I've seen his sensory system this disorganized. He's also taken to wandering around muttering to himself all the time. I gave him caffeine gum before school to soothe him when he tried to take a swipe at me while shouting. Oy.

Tomorrow, B has her big school project due, and the husband is coming home early to help her prepare. She is doing a presentation (probably Power Point) on computers.

The husband is very stressed out. He was "on call" all last week and, then, some of the servers he's responsible for having been acting up. (I think it's something to do with that anyway. My memory is very, very, very short due to the meds right now. I keep having to look to see what day it is. Yesterday is completely gone in my memory.) Also, the husband's commute was extra-long due to delays at every section... including someone leaving their car on the ferry by accident. (Some people alternate between walking on and taking a car and forget and leave their car.) So, the ferry got held up at one spot while they made sure the car didn't belong to someone who'd committed suicide by jumping overboard. (It's so strange and sad... and the ferry would have to turn around and comb the waters if they hadn't reached the person. It was just a forgetful commuter, though.) So, the poor husband didn't get home until 7:30 last night. (It was nearly a three hour commute, I believe.)

Okay, so that's what is going on right now. I heard back from that one hour query thing. I'd submitted Re:Straint. Her primary recommendation is that I don't mention the Mom's POV. It was a pass also, but I was really looking more for help with my query anyway.

So, I have a full out on Scorched, and a partial out on Honor... and no queries out really. (There are a few I'm calling "no response" on.) So, I really need to get some focus and concentrate on something. I should have queries out, but... I'm feeling a bit "meh" about it.

Some other day, maybe.

Have a good.... uhh... Tuesday... or whatever day it is for you.

Honorary Post about All Things Honor

Four years ago, Honor woke up in a meadow... naked... yes, naked and with no memories whatsoever. Well, she knew her name was Honor but that was it. She was immediately chased by a shadowy monster, but she escaped with the help of local campers. In the hospital, she discovered she was completely colorblind among other things. They also pointed out that she was short. (They got kicked for that.)

Life is not kind to the cute and short... and after she left the hospital, she was picked up by someone who assured her that they knew who she was. Instead, she was drugged and thrown into a closet where a madman calling himself "Laird Tiger" told her that she was about to be tested via running for her life. If she lived... she'd be the new "Mrs." If not... well... the others hadn't. Not one to be intimidated, Honor told this freak where he could shove it. He cut her wrist and did something with their blood that meant they could speak into each other's minds. When she grabbed his nostrils and slammed his face against her closet door, her running started early. He sent more of those shadow monsters after her. She escaped him... and the shadow monsters... but the darkness has followed her these four years.

Honor moved whenever Laird Tiger would find her. She'd never seen his face but his voice dogged her steps as did the shadow monsters she took to calling Vugs. Discovering a penchant and ability with a knife, she killed the Vugs by stabbing them in their giant glowing eye. That's been her life for four years. You can't exactly form healthy relationships when the darkness moves and hunts you. She stayed too long in L.A. and Vugs killed her roommate and best friend, Pamela.

After learning to kill the Vugs more effectively, she moved to Seattle where she is followed by these strange pale men that she's run across before. One night, one of them is attacked by a Vug while following her. She doubles-back to save him and is slashed by the angry Vug. Though dying, Honor tries to do mouth-to-mouth but the man keeps muttering strange things including "I'll give you what is mine to give" and telling her he is "Hunter Thief." Their blood is mixing. Utter chaos... even before he melts into the ground and vanishes. When she arrives home, she's completely healed besides this weird scar on her wrist that looks like an arrow made of ivy.

Soon after, another guy starts following her. He has silver hair and eyes... and strange ways, but he's also smoking hot. So, of course, she yanks out her switchblade, Tuck, and threatens him in a book store. This guy has the nerve to tell her that she is marked for death and she is dying. THE NERVE! He keeps asking her about the guy... the guy she'd seen melt into the ground. He keeps following her and, in a nearby park, he pledges to give her whatever she asks for in exchange for her story regarding "Hunter Thief." To seal the pledge, he cuts his hand and her hand... which Honor was totally not on-board with. He also licks his hand... and commands her to lick hers. (She's already learned he can work some sort of mind mojo and control people.) After they've sealed the handshake, Honor is bound to finish the pledge.

Deep beneath the city of Seattle, Honor finds the caverns of Vampire and another race called Hunters or vampires. Born of Father Rock and Mother Earth, they're not the monsters of legends. They exist to keep the mortals, offspring of elementals and Mother Earth, safe as they go about their lives above-ground in Empire. True--vampires are immortal and their blood is used to create binding pledges, but they're the guardians that keep the mortals--Beings--safe from the shadow monsters known as Shifts. Beings can't see the Shifts nor can they see their immortal half-siblings, vampires, unless the vampires wish it.

The one Honor just bound herself to--is a Steward whom she calls Reeve. However, Honor isn't dying of the Shift bite that has marked her. She is a Shadow Hunter, the daughter of Mother Earth. That pledge Reeve made... to give her whatever she asked for... wasn't finite. That other Hunter she'd seen die had been a vampire Thief and had traded his life-force for hers. Honor is the newest member of the Seattle Sovereignty and Honor Thief.

In Honor Among Thieves, Honor must find her place in this weird new world and outrun Laird Tiger. She'll kill a bunch of Shifts along the way, because that's what Shadow Hunters do best. When they're all a pile of ash... it'll be her and the new guy, Reeve... who looks so hot when he fights.

Key Players:

Shift/Vugs= Formed by violent emnity--there are always more in this violent world. Shadow Hunters can see their giant eyes to stab as well as the six inch retractable claws, monster teeth, and their eight foot forms made of liquid rock but vapory as shadow. Honor favors throwing stuff at them and has wicked aim. Vampires see a "Shift of shadow" and kill by climbing them and stabbing. Shifts eat humans. They prefer to bite them and then wait for their poison to cause the human's blood to boil. It's like calling for a family bbq... and boiled blood is the scented invite. They also like Honor's blood even though she and vampires are immune to their poison. They REALLY like Honor's blood.

Honor= Shadow Hunter, short (but pissy about it), cute (even more pissy about that), and color-blind. She wears camo, attitude, and her switchblade named Tuck. She's been killing Shifts practically since she woke up. She's haunted by her friend's death and has vowed to wipe the earth from its never-ending supply of Shifts. Her favorite retort: "Bite me." She's also known for being a poet of profane hand gestures. Oh... and for the first time in her four year life, she is hot for a male... who just happens to be bound to her. Talk about your lucky breaks.

Reeve=Vampire aka Hunter. Over four hundred years old. His calling as Steward means that he takes care of those above and below ground. He is forced to kill those poisoned by the Shift's bite in order to dispose of their bodies before their blood boils. He's bound himself to Honor... thinking she'd be dead within hours. Vampires aren't known for emotions--they're trying to learn them by associating with the emotional mortals of Empire. Honor is certainly helping him experience some emotions. After all, he likes weapons... she likes weapons. He likes the way she smells and biting her... she keeps shouting "Bite me." There could be worse things.

The Master= Master vampire of the Seattle Sovereignty which includes Thieves, Warriors, Trackers/Scouts, Provision Hunters (vampires only eat the meat of carnivores), a Healer, Keeper, and a single Steward. He's closing in on his thousandth birthday... but doesn't look a day over twenty-five.

Ming's= Honor's favorite Chinese restaurant

Canadian Donuts= Honor's favorite food

Whipped Cream= Honor's favorite condiment

It's the end of the sanity as we know it... and I feel fine.

So, as a... literary experiment... I put Honor on Twitter yesterday. Psychotic? Possibly. Reason? Mostly because it just seemed fun, but also... for more exposure for her. I have a question, though. I know there are seven of my followers who will "get" what Honor is talking about, but I'm not sure about the rest of you. I'm wondering if I should post some sort of explanation on the world of Honor... or what... What do you think?

Also... is this idea just so lame... or crazy that I ought to up my dosage of medication?

I'm still waffling on the whole Honor to DAW thing, but I think I'm going to send it. Maybe. Possibly.

Re:Straint is out in that submission contest with Knight Agency. Scorched is out in Full from that pitch contest. Two agents have queries on Honor (but I'm considering calling them six weeks silence same as no.)

That's my life in a nutshell. (Help! I'm in a nutshell. How did I get in this gigantic nutshell?) Yeah... I didn't sleep well last night. :)

Work in Progress Wednesday

I have so much to do today, but my asthma is already kicking my tail. This does not bode well. So, I'm still trying to decide on what to work on now. I'm also still trying to decide what to query and so on. Gah... clearly not a good day to be making useful decisions.

I have decided, however, that I'm going to send in Honor Among Thieves to DAW. Magic 8 ball doesn't think it's a good idea, but you really can't trust them not to be biased. I had it sent out on query, but I think I can assume I got their six weeks "no reply-not interested." It's really difficult for me not to rant about this subject. Give me a form rejection over no reply. Anyway, life moves on. So, I really need to push through Honor... again... and print it out. I might beg some query/cover page help on that this week.

Other than that... B and T are at school today. T had a rough start this morning. (Going back after a holiday is always tough.)

I was busy with a Twitter project this morning and was late to Yoga... by a lot. Then, one of them asked if I had a job in the morning and that's why I was late. Doh! (Of all the things to fess up to... yeah... awkward. Nothing like admitting to a room that you're going public with an imaginary friend.)

So, this morning, I have dishes to do. I should clean. More laundry. Blah blah blah and so on. Hopefully, my lungs start working. Happy Wednesday. For those of you that don't celebrate Wednesday... Happy pre-Thursday.

Pitch... it's the new naughty word

Above is the cover I used for my hardcopy beta readers before I changed the name a little.

Okay, so I need to work on my pitch for Re:Straint today. I'm wondering if I should focus on Scorched and Re:Straint as far as querying and so on goes. Honor kicks tail, don't get me wrong, but it might be difficult to convey how Honor isn't your typical vampire book and is genuinely funny.

Oh... I should post a link to that Submissions Festival I keep bringing up:

http://nephele.livejournal.com/117703.html

So, I need to write that pitch for Re:Straint. I still have my full on Scorched in with CJLA. I have a couple Honor queries out, but I'm sure I'll get my rejections of those on either Valentine's Day or President's Day... or both. ;) If I do... it's seriously okay. Honor is really hard to query because of the over-saturation of vamp Lit. out there. Rejections on Honor have been much easier to take because I just know you can't get across Honor's voice in a small excerpt and a query letter. I've barely touched queries on these other two because I've been distracted with writing actually. So, I think Re:Straint has been queried once which went right to partial... and Scorched... maybe two or three times. Maybe. So, this will be new and fun to query on Re: Straint.

On the pitch, I'm going to use a tighter cut of the blurb below, but it needs to be one paragraph. So, that might be interesting. I've also had a really nice slushpile reader offer to critique my query on Re: Straint, so I'll work on getting that to her today.

I guess that's it. Hmm. I'm going to go visit blogs this morning and try to be a good blog friend instead of the twitterhead I've been lately.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

The Predicament

I'm not a patient person. I'm not saying that I get frustrated. I just obsess and it gnaws at my brain. So, Scorched is now in with Caren. Her site says to expect a 4-8 week response time. (Does that sound like less or more time when you say one to two months?)

I've decided not to do ABNA with Scorched. I suppose I could still polish up Re: Straint and use that for ABNA. I also need to work on Honor, though.

Huh... that's an interesting thought. Re: Straint for ABNA.

Bah. The thought of staring at another manuscript for fifteen hours makes my eyes bleed. I should really tackle my house today. It's scary.

I'm also rethinking the possibility of Honor at DAW. At the very least, I really need to rethink my approach at that query letter and take a second look at the first bit for the millionth time.

As if this wasn't enough balls in the air... I also had insomnia really wicked last night. It took me several tries at one hour lengths to get to sleep at around four a.m. My dystopian wants to be finished. It really, really, really wants to be finished. The words are streaming into my head faster than I can write them down which means I'm staring at the ceiling with dialogue etching its way onto my brain. So, not writing them down might mean sacrificing sleep or having to take full-on sleeping pills to override them.

You know... I went into full-on writer mode a little over a year ago in October of 2008. It feels like it's been one obsessive moment to the next.

There are some moments that I couldn't and wouldn't live without of this whole thing. I love telling stories. I love when my characters whisper into my heads and tell me what they're really thinking and saying. Sometimes they surprise the heck out of me. Last night, Tyler from Versus the Bounty came up with a seriously ingenious way of getting across a monitored area without their body temperatures setting off sensors. It was seriously brilliant. One day last week, I had another character call out an insult at Tyler using a slang word that I'd never heard that I can remember, but turned out to be an actual insult meaning "freak." I love that part of writing. I love the whisper of voices and thoughts and plots.

I hate the way it gnaws on my life, though. I feel like sitting down to type is feeding an unhealthy addiction at times. I've considered increasing the dosage of my OCD meds to see if it will dampen the obsession enough that I don't lose sleep over it. On the other hand, what if I get stuck in a plot, unable to finish writing? What if I can never recapture whatever it is that helps me write? What if that keeps me from sleeping even more than it does now? That terrifies me. I'm afraid to bump the status quo.

I also don't like opening myself to critique and ridicule. My stories feel so personal. I've been bullied in my life and this feels a little like that at times. It's exposing a weakness. This is the way I think... I believe... I dream.... Okay, now tell me what's wrong with it.

Wow. This post is very, very random.

I think until I get a response from Caren I'll consider that an exclusive for right now. So, I'll take Scorched off the querying table.

That leaves Re: Straint, Honor, and my current WIP Versus the Bounty to think on.

Should I quickly run over Re: Straint and get it ready for ABNA?

I should get some laundry started and mull these things over.

In all honesty....

Which, of course, implies that I regularly lie to you.

It's true. I do.

No, I don't.

(This is why I shouldn't post at 4a.m.)

Since I'm awake, I was thinking about the query I sent out yesterday. I took a query break over the holidays, so I just don't have many queries out there right now. I was stumbling around blogs yesterday and read someone's advice that out of three agents, you'll typically get one that responds immediately, one that responds in weeks, and one that either never responds or responds in months. The follow-up advice was to always have multiple queries out there so that you always had an immediacy of a few queries.

While I hadn't intended to send out a query right away on Honor, I have. (It wasn't that the manuscript wasn't ready. It just went through it's eighth or ninth deep revise.) My intention was, for better or for worse, take another stab at DAW. (The agent I spoke with in the chat room thought I was nuts, btw, for this. I probably am. I'm a very instinctual person when it comes to my writing. Some of my instincts are insane and illogical.)

Anyway, since I'm up ridiculously early due to an oncoming migraine (it'll nail me in a few hours) I might as well send out two or three queries, right? I take queries seriously--probably too seriously. It'll take me all morning to send out just a few. It just seems stupid to send out one. Besides, I really haven't shopped Honor around. I don't know why. It's the manuscript that has fans I don't even know. One of my hardcopy beta friends sent it (and the other Honor books) to her mother in California and her mother wants to buy copies for all her friends and asked to be notified when she can. (Yes, it's bizarre. My hardcopies made some friends that I don't even know. I feel like I should have people sign the copies after they read them just so I could keep track of the random people that helped look for typos.) Anyway, I believe Honor has been read by several dozen people when you include all the people that passed it around within a family and "sent it to a friend." On the other hand, it hasn't been seen by a dozen agents. That's weird, huh? I think it's because I'm overly protective of Honor because I like her so much. I don't know.

I'm all rambly today. This post really doesn't have much going for it other than a stream of consciousness dialogue about my intentions which are all waffly.

Okay, I think I'm looking over my list of agents and formulating a plan.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

MWF seeking writerly relationship with DAW

Except... DAW doesn't stand for anything--that I know of.

Phew, I'm whipped already today, but I'm determined to finish this rewrite of Honor Among Thieves. (For a while, I was abbreviating it as HAT--but then I couldn't find anything and I kept thinking "What's with all these hat documents?") This morning was my family's turn to clean the church building. So, two and a half hours of mostly vacuuming has wiped my energy. I'd make a lousy janitor, I think. Our turn rolls around about twice a year and it's a testament to how much I believe in my church because, with no paid clergy and manned/staffed entirely by the voluntary efforts of the members, a lot falls onto the plate of the members. Nothing less than a strong testimony could inspire me to vacuum for two hours--trust me. I'm tired.

Anyway, so, I need opinions. Anyone responding to this post will be expected to render an opinion of some kind. Got that? Good. Here are my questions:

1. What would be your upper personal word limit for an urban fantasy for adults?

(a.) 125,000 words

(b.) 100,000 words

(c.) 75, 000 words

(d.) 42

(e.) none of the above

(f.) all of the above because I'm contrary

(g.) celery

2. If you read that a publishing company had a policy of exclusivity, would you assume this included not querying agents?

(a.) yes

(b.) no

(c.) I'm waffling.

(d.) none of the above

(e.) 42

(f.) chicken lips

(g.) bacon

3. If you received a rejection that included specific and personal advice on what your manuscript needed in addition to a comment to "consider them in the future," would you revise and resubmit the same manuscript?

(a.) yes, that's what they wanted in "publishing speak."

(b.) possibly--if I felt like I'd addressed their issues

(c.) no, a rejection is a rejection

(d.) no, but I might submit a different manuscript

(e.) the voices in my head have no opinion

(f.) 42

(g.) it's a secret

4. If you did resubmit, would you include a copy of their previous comments or refer to them?

(a.) 42

(b.) yes, a copy

(c.) yes, I'd refer to them in my query

(d.) no, start fresh

(e.) no and it's all just a big conspiracy

(f.) I always wanted to be a pirate

(g.) snakes have no arms that's why they don't wear vests.

5. If you've read Honor Among Thieves, how did you feel about the exposition of the lore of "Vampire", "Mother Earth", "Father Rock", and "Vesuvius" with the Master in the council room?

(a.) It got a little wordy and could be spread in other places.

(b.) I loved it and I love you to death, Wendy.

(c.) 42

(d.) It could be slimmed down.

(e.) I don't really have an opinion.

(f.) I haven't read Honor Among Thieves--or HAT as some might call it.

(g.) chowder

6. If you've read Honor Among Thieves, how did you feel about the flashbacks that Honor has in her dreams?

(a.) LOVED THEM! Seriously, I adore you in every way, Wendy!

(b.) Some were good, but the one with (the Shift Hunts, the funeral, her waking up, her in the hospital with the colorblindness thing) could be cut.

(c.) The Shift Hunt ones should be condensed somehow.

(d.) I hated all of them and I nearly ripped my eyes out and threw them against the wall.

(e.) 42

(f.) turtle

(g.) Seriously, I haven't read it--what's with the third degree?

7. If you've read Honor Among Thieves and you're familiar with DAW publishing, do you think this is a good fit?

(a.) 42

(b.) Yes, go for it!

(c.) I think other publishers might work better.

(d.) Go back to concentrating on the agent thing.

(e.) penguins are cute

(f.) Enough already! Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

(g.) I'm torn on this--literally.

Random Comments/Praise/Insults/Muffin Jokes: (Psst. This isn't multiple choice. It's fill-in-the-blank or essay.)

Okay, so those are the questions. Answer these seven. Start at the beginning and when you get to the end, stop. These seven are to be answered. If you're too afraid, go back while you still can. They are not to be answered in random order. You must be over the age of two and still breathing to be considered eligible to answer these questions. If you answer 42 to every question, I'll know that you are a geek--and seriously, could you have been less helpful?

Here is how the answers shall be scored:

Those scoring between 0-20 points will be shot. 19-37 points will meet a stranger today and fall hopelessly in love. 30-31 points will receive $20 in the mail from Microsoft. 38-1425 points will experience a Saturday in the near future. Those scoring negative points will be forced to experience the same day over and over until they get it right. Thems the breaks.

Okay, so, good luck. Oh and you will be timed--just for fun. Don't use a number two pencil on your monitor, btw. It won't end well.

(I should warn you that my muffin joke is the best, and I wouldn't even bother trying to top it.)