Updates

Got word from my pub that they needed additional paperwork to be able to sell my book through third party vendors, so got that in. Hopefully that's the last step before a release date!

I read an Emma Holly short story last night and whoo-wee it was smoking hot. There's another woman who can write! I am going to use her as inspiration for my writing as well. I find it helpful to pay attention to how she words things, what vocab she uses, what hit me right, what hit me a little "off". Sort of helps me get ideas without plagarizing in any way, then making it my own.

Back from Thanksgiving Break

OK, I'm back from Thanksgiving Break! It was wonderful. I have vacation brain. Fuzzy, fuzzy, fuzzy. So nice to not have to think for a while!

So getting the show on the road, I read a book by Angela Knight, Master of Swords, while I was out. Many that woman can write a hot sex scene. They really, really popped. Unusually so. Loved it. So I think I am going to use her writing as an inspiration in this book I'm working on right now. She'd very creative and there's something about the words she uses that makes it seem, just so that.

Tick, Tick, Tick

I am so excited and anxiously waiting to see my cover and find out what my release date is. I can't wait! But guess I shall have to, dangit.

In the meantime I have been passing the time by working on my next book and also getting my house ready for the holidays. Those are my two projects right now. Of course, I'd also love to be embroidering, playing Xbox (god I love Fallout 3), etc. but one has to prioritize or one will never get anything in particular done. :-)

Contests

So I was talking with some folks about contests and how challenging they are. There are several pitfalls to them that I can see:

1. The judge doesn't like your writing style, even though it's perfectly publishable, and docks points for it.
2. Judge has a misconception about something and docks points for something that's really OK. For instance: info dumps. If you read pubbed authors, there's ALWAYS an info dump or two somewhere, just gracefully handled in small bits woven into the story. But then you get a judge that thinks info dumps in any form are bad and docks you points "just because", which isn't really fair.
3. Some people love you, some people hate you, so you get the extremes in scores which middles you out so you don't even final.
4. Some judges are just plain mean and don't critique with graceful language and are even sometimes harsh, crushing the hearts of budding writers everywhere.

On the bright side, if you get a judge that takes the time to give you ample, constructive feedback, it can be very helpful. Of course you can also get that for free from a critique group. :-)

Also on the bright side, if you happen to actually final or win a contest, then you have something to advertise which can be very helpful when querying people.

So I guess bottom line is: take contests with a grain of salt and don't let it drive you crazy. Or at least any crazier than you already are. HA.

Strategies to keep moving

I have a weird mental thing that sometimes stops me from writing. So now that I have a writing schedule, I have been doing great with it. But yesterday I missed a day (thanks a lot Fallout 3). There is the irrational - and yes, I mean totally irrational - temptation to feel like I've failed now and therefore should let up on the pressure that I put on myself. Which is silly and ridiculous, but I can't deny it's there. Perfectionist issues anyone?

Now that I've voiced it, I'm over it. Thanks everyone for listening, LOL.

Back to writing...

Romanticon 2009!

I am so excited. My publisher, Ellora's Cave/Cerridwen Press, is going to host their first Romance Writer's Convention in Ohio next October 2009. Check it out:

http://www.jasminejade.com/romanticon/

I've registered, booked the hotel and I am so there! I think it's going to be totally awesome to meet my fellow authors, the editors and such, and also meet readers. Hopefully by then some of them will have read my book! If not, I will encourage them to do so. :-)

This is going to be great. And, my best friend from Florida is going to come too so I will have good company and moral support. Perfect!

Writing Schedule

Well, good news! The writing schedule is working great so far. Have 50 pages already. Although I need to get to 400 so not out of the woods yet. On the bright side it's working out so I only have to stick with it until I get the rough draft out. Amazing how much work writing a book is. No wonder so many people try but end up not finishing them.

The most challenging thing at this stage is to try not to judge my initial efforts too harshly and get discouraged. Some people call it the "Don't Look Down Draft". The idea being that you have to just write it out, first pass, without letting yourself stop to go back over parts you've written and bog yourself down in revisions until you throw up your hands and don't finish the book. So that's what I'm doing. I keep reassuring myself that I can always go back and fix it later, or cut scenes if they're not working out.

Easier said than done. I definitely like the revision part more. It comes to me easier so the temptation is always there to stop and go back over things. Noooooo.

Writing Plan

So far the writing plan is a success. But it remains to be seen whether I will manage to stay on schedule through end of December. If I do, I'll have the book written out and ready for layering and polish. Yay! It's an intense schedule, but I can do it.

So in the middle of all this I also worked out a chore schedule (lol) to remind myself that if I get a little of this or that done every night, then Saturday cleanup isn't such a nightmare. I swear i have a selective memory. I know there's something I could probably be doing, but after a long day at work and then after writing, suddenly it "escapes" my mind. lol.

Instead, I've opted for a schedule so I can just look at it and go, oh, I have to do such and such tonight and then not feel that guilty, nagging feeling like I'm missing something and should get my butt up off the couch. :-) I hate that feeling! I am hoping this new approach will also allow me to enjoy my precious free time more freely because I won't be sitting there feeling guilty for not getting to something.

Anyway, that's the plan. I love how I'm a fully grown adult and still fiddling with my organizational skills or lack thereof. HA. All well - better late than never I guess!

Setting writing goals

OK, so I have been thinking about setting steady writing goals. I usually just fit it in wherever, but that often has spotty results that I'm not happy with. I'm thinking that if i just do 2 single space pages per day, that means I'll have a book written out in 3 months. Then another 2-3 to polish and voila! So that's the plan.

Biggest challenge is that I work all day at my day job, which requires me to think, then the last thing I want to do when I go home at night is think some more. So I've settled into a plan - I go home, eat dinner, take a 20 minute nap, drink 1/2 cup of caffeine, then write. That seems to work the best to give my body and brain a refresh.

No, I don't have kids. I don't know how ya'll with kids do it all!

Getting back into the swing of things

So I have renewed my membership to RWA (http://www.rwanational.org) because I had sort of let it lapse. Not because of anything other than I just sort of forgot to renew. Thankfully my slackerdom didn't have any resounding effects. I got my same rwa member number back and all is well again.

I was considering attending the rwa event this year in DC, but then I found out that Ellora's Cave/Cerridwen press is having a conference next fall 2009 - so if I had to pick one I'll definitely be going to that instead. Can't wait! Here's the detail:

***
Start saving your pennies now for a trip to Ohio, in the fall of 2009. That's when we're going to host RomantiCon, the first Ellora's Cave/Cerridwen Press/The Lotus Circle Convention, featuring workshops, awards, parties, luncheons, a book fair and all sorts of other fun stuff and opportunities to meet your favorite authors and cover models. The event is open to authors, readers and aspiring authors, and we've already had a huge and excited response from our authors.

The event will take place at Quality Inn & Suites in Richfield, Ohio.

If you're interested in learning more about it, send your name, postal mailing address, email address and phone number (optional) to event organizers at conventions@ellorascave.com and weíll keep you posted as plans progress.

To help us plan, please also include the answers to the following in your email:

Are you an ECPI author, aspiring author or reader?
How many guests, excluding yourself, are you likely to bring?
Do you prefer a hotel room with one or two beds?
Do you need a smoking or nonsmoking room?

Building a Book

So I realized I have a certain preference for how to build a book. I like to get as much down on paper as I go as possible so I have the feeling that there won't be much to fix on the back end. Of course, that's totally not true, but it gives me a sense of control and keeps me from getting discouraged. :-)

Because truth be told it is a LOT of work. I try to view it like building a quilt - which takes forever - but at the end you have something amazing to show for yourself so it's totally worth it. Just take it a little at a time and you'll get there eventually. Patience in all things.

Plus, it's amazing how if you keep at it the book builds fairly quickly. Then the back end work of adding layers, working on the dialogue and polishing the writing is the part I like the best so it's gravy train from there!

EXCELLENT NEWS

OK, so since the last time I wrote in this blog my editors have now accepted my book in final form and I am waiting on the release date and what the cover will look like. I am so excited!!

This is my pub house, btw: www.cerridwenpress.com

And this is my new website, rarin' to go: www.aliciamaddox.com

Please go visit both! I will update ya'll as soon as I know more. In the meantime, I am writing the sequel to my book, plus thankfully have two others written so should be able to keep this ball rolling now that it's rolling. I am so happy.

Editing Phase

Sorry for the hiatus. The holidays were a whirlwind of activity! Lovely though. And oops, I gained 4 pounds. So irritating how one can put it on much faster than one can take it off. :-)

OK, so I have put my book in the format the publisher wishes and sent it off to them so we can start the editing phase. I'm so interested to really see what a professional thinks of the book, what thoughts occur to them as they read it, and what things they will ask for. The book has been read throroughly by my critique group, but now someone who does this for a living will look at it, so yay!! Should be very enlightening.