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Yearly Archives: 2014

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More News for 2015

Posted on December 19, 2014 - 7:15 pm by 2

So last month I wrote one of those really annoying vague posts about how I had a lot of stuff going on in my non-blogging life, but then didn’t go into any detail. However, I looked, and I did say I’d write about it eventually, so maybe I’ll break even with this post.

Upon my return from my family reunion in the fall, I found out I’m pregnant. This was a very much planned-for thing, so we were excited, but then all of a sudden, there’s that feeling of being overwhelmed and wanting to RESEARCH ALL THE THINGS and otherwise being distracted, and so on. I made an appointment for my first ultrasound, and all my husband and I wanted out of it was to see a healthy baby growing in there.

And we did. And then we saw the second baby growing right next to him/her. Surprise!

There were a few days of shock, of course, but then more excitement. RESEARCH ALL THE THINGS mode involved even more things to research. Writing absolutely took a backseat, but I can’t say I feel any guilt about it.

Now that I’ve RESEARCHED ALL THE THINGS (well, a lot of them, anyway) and otherwise adjusted to the idea that we are going to have two babies in June (as much as one can adjust right now, anyway), I’m starting to settle down a bit. Obviously, I’m never going to give up writing, but I’m trying to figure out what my best course of action is. Do I try to finish up at least one of my WIPs and get it ready for submission before June, knowing that if I have to revise something, it wouldn’t get done for a while? Do I give up any hope of getting something ready for publication until we figure out our new schedule? Is there some sort of middle ground in there?

There aren’t any right answers. Luckily, it’s not a life or death situation we’re dealing with here. For now, the plan is to maybe get a solid first draft done of a WIP, but then hold off on submitting. I might also have some fun with some fanfic (especially since I finished my first playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition, more on that in a future post), and see if any good anthology calls come up where I can knock out a one-shot thing. As I said, I’m not giving up writing forever, but there are definitely some big changes coming up on the horizon!

Take Notes, This is How It’s Done

Posted on December 1, 2014 - 1:52 pm by

Dragon Age: Inquisition arrived at my house almost two weeks ago, and I’ve been playing it non-stop since then. (The game is MASSIVE, and I know I still have a ways to go. At least I’m getting my money’s worth! Writing can wait.) I’ll reserve my final judgment for when I finish my first playthrough, but so far, the game is living up to the high expectations and the massive amounts of hype, and I’m having fun.

The reason I wanted to blog about it before finishing, though, is to note that so far I’ve been really impressed with the character of Cassandra. I was “meh” on her in DA2 (not that she was anything more than a narration device), and I never watched her side movie thing, or whatever it was (though I might check it out once I’m done with the game). She’s the first companion you get, and she drives a lot of the plot in the beginning.

What stood out to me from the get-go was that it would have been so, so easy for her character to have been male. In other series or forms of media, she very well may have been. And then it saddened me to realize I was even thinking that. She’s strong, she’s tough, and she’s passionate about her cause, which has nothing to do with landing a man. Her armor actually looks like armor and covers everything that should be covered when you’re fighting many violent battles. As the game progresses, she does have her moments when she shows a little bit of a vulnerable or a light-hearted side, and those just make me appreciate her more. Not a single thing she says or does has had “even though she’s a woman/because she’s a woman” attached to it, which is the way it should be.

Even if I weren’t playing a female Inquisitor, thanks to her and the other female characters, the game easily passes the Bechdel test, many times over. Bioware doesn’t always get it exactly perfectly right, but their batting average is pretty good, and from what I’ve heard and read, they do a pretty good job of listening to all their fans, male and female alike. They try, and a lot of times they succeed. No matter what happens later on in the game (fingers crossed that there won’t be a colossal flop of an ending like the original end to Mass Effect 3), I’m sure the good will outweigh the bad, and they’ve already won favor with me for continuing to include female characters such as Cassandra.

My Mind is Everywhere Except this Blog

Posted on November 11, 2014 - 10:39 pm by 1

This is just a quick check-in so I can stop feeling guilty about the “last post” date whenever I sign in to Blogger. Writing has totally taken a backseat to other life goings-on…actually, not even a backseat. Writing isn’t even in the same vehicle. Everything’s fine, there’s just a lot of STUFF going on in the House of Landen right now (some of which I’ll actually write about at a later date).

I keep saying I’m going to set aside some time to write, and then it doesn’t happen, and truth be told, I’m not feeling terribly guilty about that. I obviously don’t have plans to give up writing forever, it’s just not a priority right now. I’m hoping some of the aforementioned STUFF will settle down soon-ish and I can actually write something useful, but until then, I’m just going to try and relax.

See you in a couple weeks or so!

3 Reasons to Write a 1-Night Stand – Guest Post by Tara Quan

Posted on October 25, 2014 - 12:00 am by 1

Halloween is just around the corner, and I’m thrilled to be hosting fellow Decadent Author Tara Quan today as she promotes her brand new book, Flirting With Fire! This time around, witches and warlocks turn to Madame Eve’s services for an unforgettable night. Tara’s here to talk about why the 1NS books are so much fun to read and write, plus share some information about her latest release!


Since
I’m visiting a fellow Madame Eve acolyte, it seemed right to wax rhapsodic
about this awesome line by Decadent publishing. Fans of the multi-author series
already know why these 1-Night Stands are a blast, so I thought I’d come at it
from an author’s perspective.


Here’s why I had so much fun
these past few months:

1. There’s a 20k word limit, so
every sentence had to count. Before attempting to write one of these, my works
tended to be in the 30-50k range, and boy was it a challenge to adhere to that
particular guideline. I had to go over each sentence and trim it as much as
possible. Though difficult at first, the exercise soon turned into a game.



2. My
pesky characters demanded a scorching happily-ever-after in 24-hours. As one
would imagine, this isn’t a piece of cake. While the story doesn’t have to end
in marriage, there must be a sufficient foundation for a committed
relationship. From a writer’s perspective, this means the chemistry needs to
fly off the pages.

3. I
get to devote a significant proportion of page-time to sex. What can I say–I
like writing naughty stuff. Since my hero and heroine enter the arrangement with
the expectation of some hanky-panky, there wasn’t much I could do to hold them
back.

On that note, I’ll thank Thea for
having me over today and take this opportunity to wish her an early 1NS book
birthday of her own. To celebrate my new release, I’m giving away a $15 gift
card. To enter, leave a comment here, and drop your details in the Rafflecopter
widget (at the bottom of this post, assuming the code works, or at my website: TaraQuan.com/FlirtingwithFire)
Blurb:

Apprentice witch Catalina Gato
is prohibited from assuming her human form in front of her new employer without
his express permission. Since he doesn’t know he’s a warlock, he can’t give it,
leaving her in a familiar’s limbo. To make matters worse, she’s barred from
leaving his house, and her attempts to enlighten him of his true nature results
in burnt notes, charred walls, and exploding laptops. 



On
All Hallows’ Eve, she gets one night of freedom. Deciding some no-strings-attached
sex might take the edge off the intense attraction she feels for her clueless
boss, she signs up for Madame Eve’s service. When she meets her masked mystery
date at the Castillo Capital, she realizes she might have gotten much more than
she bargained for. 

After
being gifted a one-night stand from his annoying best friend, attorney Leo
Difuoco reluctantly ventures to the Castillo Capital to celebrate Halloween.
When he meets his oddly familiar green-eyed date in a Cat Woman costume, flames
literally ignite, sparks magically fly, and life as he knows it changes
forever. 

Genre: Paranormal Romantic Comedy, Interracial/Multicultural



Buy Links:

About the Author:
Globetrotter, lover of languages, and romance author, Tara Quan has an
addiction for crafting tales with a pinch of spice and a smidgen of kink.
Inspired by her travels, Tara enjoys tossing her kick-ass heroines and alpha
males into exotic contemporary locales, paranormal worlds, and post-apocalyptic
futures. Armed with magical powers or conventional weapons, her characters are
guaranteed a suspenseful and sensual ride, as well as their own happily ever
after. Learn more at www.taraquan.com



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unplugged

Posted on October 16, 2014 - 9:24 pm by 1

I did the unthinkable recently. Really, I don’t know how I survived. It’s a miracle.

I went away on a week-long family reunion…and had no internet access. Gasp. Shock. Horror.

(Okay, to be honest, I had my phone, but I — unlike some other people there — didn’t want to spend hours a day on it.)

I wish I could say I used this time to get some quality writing done, that thousands of words of beautiful prose flowed forth from my fingertips, but I chose to do some knitting and reading during the downtime. It was a relaxing week, which was a good thing, since as always, I hit the ground running at work as soon as I got back.

So now that I’m back to civilization, I’m trying to get back into good writing routines. Easier said than done, but at least I have my beloved online resources at my disposal!

It’s a Quiet Thing

Posted on September 30, 2014 - 10:55 am by 3

I’ve mentioned a couple times here and there that I used to be a teacher. My husband is still a teacher. His mother is a teacher. His cousin and his wife are teachers. My mother is a retired teacher, as well as her best friend/my godmother, and one of my aunts. And since I used to be a teacher in a number of different schools and went through education programs in college and grad school, my facebook feed is filled with teachers. Are we noticing a trend here?

Back in the day when my husband and I were both teaching, we kept similar schedules. We both went to bed early on weeknights. We both had summers off (minus music camps and continuing education and whatnot). Now, not so much. I work year-round, and since I rarely have to be at work before 10:00 a.m., I can stay up later at night, as that’s what works with my natural body rhythms.

There’s a commercial that my mom and the other retired teachers in that first paragraph love. I forget exactly what retailer it’s for, but it comes out at the end of every summer, it’s set to the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, and has parents frolicking through the aisles, picking out school supplies, while their sullen children look on with a decided lack of enthusiasm. From what I’ve heard from my friends with school-aged kids, it is 100% accurate.

And now that I’m on a non-public school schedule, I have to admit – I LOVE this time of year as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband and everything, but now every summer is an adjustment of having him home and here and I have to feed him and, well, he is all up in my business. By mid-August, I’m usually all GET OUT OF MY HOUSE. (Said with love, of course.) It’s just that the rest of the year I’m settled into my own routine, and all of a sudden, there’s another person in it. Nobody likes change, right?

But now we’re about a month into the school year. My husband usually goes to bed around 11:00 on school nights, and since I can sleep later than him, I usually go to bed between midnight and 12:30. And let me tell you, that hour to 90 minutes late at night is blissful. The house is quiet, I know there won’t be anyone or anything bothering me, and I can wind down all on my own. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I usually get some of my best writing done in that block. It’s amazing. I love it. And it’s a looooooong way to June! 😀

Elysium (or, My Sudden Bout of Shyness)

Posted on September 12, 2014 - 10:59 am by 2

So I signed another contract this week. It’s for another novella for the 1Night Stand series, titled Elysium. I started work on it right after I finished The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions and blazed through all 20K words of it in about a month.

Truthfully, I’m not quite sure why I didn’t blog about it here. I knew I was taking a little bit of a chance with the premise, as it’s definitely not the most conventional of love stories, and the framework and plot devices do require a little bit of a leap of the imagination. I’d gone over the plot with my good buddy Boobulon and had him beta the first two chapters (one of which eventually underwent some major revisions) and he gave it his stamp of approval. It’s not that I didn’t believe in the story. In fact, it might be the exact opposite.

This might be the best story I’ve ever written.

You’d think that with those feelings, I’d be singing my great ideas from the rooftops. And again, I don’t really know why I didn’t do that. Maybe it’s because I felt so attached to the story, such an intimate personal connection to it, I was afraid to release any details about it into the world until I was sure it was actually going to be published. (Whether or not that defeats the purpose of a writing blog, who knows.)

But enough speculating and navel-gazing. It’s been accepted for the 1NS series, and I am beyond thrilled and excited! Here, have a blurb!

Two years have passed since April Patterson’s husband was shot and killed in the line of duty, trapping her in a haze of grief and uncertainty. Her cousin, having grown frustrated by all other efforts to engage her in activities where she could meet new people, arranges for her to go on a date of her choosing via 1Night Stand. April isn’t thrilled with the idea, and when she contacts Madame Eve, she requests the impossible: she wants a date with her deceased husband.

Brilliant software engineer Drew Monroe created his company, Elysium, to help give closure to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one through the use of virtual reality. Though passionate about his work, being constantly surrounded by heartache and death has taken a toll on his mental health. When he accepts the case of a young widow referred to him by Madame Eve, her tragic tale depresses him further, but he commits himself to programming April the romantic date she desires.

April arrives at Elysium and prepares to enter Drew’s virtual realm. Will she find the solace she seeks within?

Copycats

Posted on September 8, 2014 - 2:43 pm by 2

It’s been said for a while that there are no truly original ideas anymore. Which, well, maybe. I haven’t decided whether I agree or disagree with that, but I subscribe to the concept that it’s all about how you spin an idea and make it your own, and not whether the core ideas are similar to That Other Work.

I also believe that it is absolutely possible for two different people to come up with strikingly similar ideas at the same time. Without getting into the dirty little details, I’ve engaged in the Hunger Games vs. Battle Royale debate with a former writing buddy before. Now, I’m sure I’m biased as I did enjoy the Hunger Games series, and I’m also sure I wasn’t as well-informed going into the debate as I could have been, as my knowledge of Battle Royale comes from friends who have read it and wikipedia. From what I’ve learned from those two sources, though, while the general concept might be similar (coincidentally or not, we’ll never know), there are more than enough differences in execution and overall setting to make me roll my eyes at the people who are still harping on about how Suzanne Collins plagiarized another work and shouldn’t be as successful as she is.

Most writers want to be regarded as having a unique voice to convey whatever scenarios their imaginations conjure, I would think. We all want to have those fresh ideas that make readers marvel, to be ahead of the trends so we can stand out. Yet, if we really are working from a limited pool, that’s easier said than done.

Without sifting back through the archives, I’m fairly sure that I blogged about my “oh shit” moment when I was halfway through writing the first Disintegration and learned that it had a lot of similarities to the movie Robocop (the remake of which was in the works while I was writing). I panicked, but was talked off the ledge by a friend who had both seen the movie and knew my plans, so he could assure me there were enough differences to set me apart. No one’s come after me with a lawsuit yet (or even whined at me about it), so I guess it’s all good on that front.

So why this blog post now? Because it happened again. *headdesk* Since I got the contract, I went to scan through The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions just to reacquaint myself with what I actually wrote, since it had been a while. And what did I find? There’s a scene in there that is quite similar to a scene in Dragon Age: Origins.

Well, damn.

It’s even documented on this blog that I wrote TFotMS well before playing DAO, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t start second-guessing myself. I tried to remain as spoiler-free as possible, but in my perusing of DA2-related stuff, did I come across something related to that scene and it got stuck in my head? Are the circumstances not as accidental as I thought? I mean, the common thread is admittedly not the most novel of concepts, but that they happened so close together in my life had me scratching my head a bit.

I’m not going to change it, of course. It’s not exactly the same, and the characters, setting, etc. are certainly different enough. Will someone come across that scene and think, “Hmm, this seems a lot like that game I played”? Maybe. But for now, I’ll just stick it in the “coincidences” file and not worry too much. Suzanne Collins got past it, and I can, too. 😉

It’s Only Words

Posted on August 13, 2014 - 11:51 pm by 2

It took some time, but I seem to have finally gotten some writing mojo back. I finished up the first draft for a short story I plan on submitting to an anthology, and I’m starting to get super excited about the projects I intend to work on next.

Writing for anthologies is always an interesting exercise. This time around, my biggest challenge was the word count. This call specified a range of 2500 to 5000 words, which I consider a pretty good length: long enough to develop a plot and characters, but short enough that it doesn’t become a massive undertaking.

Here’s a confession: I was never all that good at estimating word count for myself. For many of my longer words, I just sat down and started writing, and wherever I wound up, I wound up. I mean, when I’m sifting through the ideas in my brain, I can usually differentiate between, say, “short story idea” and “novel idea”, but I was never one for saying, “Okay, I am going to write X and it will come out to be approximately 60,000 words.” To give an example, I figured The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions would end up being around the same length as its predecessor…and then it went about 10K longer. Oops. But since I didn’t have any strict guidelines for it, no big deal.

So this anthology submission. I liked the theme, I mulled over some ideas, and came up with something that made me say, “Oh, I can definitely tell that story in 2500 to 5000 words!” I started off and everything went according to plan…until I started encroaching upon the 3000th word and realized I still had a lot of story to tell. Eeek.

I soldiered on, and when I didn’t feel like writing new words, I went back to cut some of the previous ones to give myself some wiggle room. The 4000th word came and went and I started sweating again. When I only had the final scene to go, I did the only thing that could save my sanity and let the prose just flow out of my fingers: I turned off the word count display.

I merrily wrote the conclusion of this fun little story without concentrating on the bottom corner of the screen. (All right, I confess that I cheated and peeked twice just to see where I was.) I wrote the last word, capped it off with a period, and right-clicked for the results.

5015. DAMN IT, SO CLOSE.

It was getting late at night, but no way was I going to bed without finding 15 unnecessary words to chop. I did a quick skim, got rid of them, and now the story’s waiting at 5000 words on the nose for revisions and edits. (And, uh, a spell check, because I haven’t done that yet.) My editing usually involves more cutting than adding, so I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ll keep it under 5000.

And if it doesn’t get picked up after all that? Maybe I’ll add the 15+ words back in and release it as a freebie. 😉

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