My family and I returned from a two-week vacation on Tuesday. It was, in a word, heavenly. Getting to spend all day long without my husband going to work? Awesome. Getting to see how much my girlies love their daddy. Love it. Getting to go to Arches National Park and seeing the incredible landscape there was worth all the stress that packing myself and three little people can induce. If you've never been, it's worth the trip. We hiked to Delicate Arch with the baby strapped to me (in the 95 degree weather I ended up being just a tad sweaty), my five-year-old walking, and our three-year-old in the jogging stroller. It's a Jeep so we figured, "Hey, why not." Luckily I have a strong, tough husband who lugged that thing there and back again. I don't think it'll ever be the same.
Then we headed to cooler weather and stayed with my sister in Colorado. We ate too much ice cream, fished, picked cherries, watched fireworks, and swam.
Now I'm back in the 100+ degree weather, but hunkering down under the A/C and the ceiling fan and typing. Why? I'm trying my darndest to get The Reaping out before the end of the year.
Showing posts with label The Reaping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Reaping. Show all posts
July 11, 2013
February 26, 2013
Surprises
I'm in the middle of writing the third book in The Burn series, The Reaping. Writing these books, I've had an outline every time, and it's nice to have a sense of where the book is headed. But I create loose outlines. I know basic plot points, but I don't always know how Terra is going to get from point A to point B. Case in point:
Today I've been working on (get ready for it...here comes a teaser!) Terra trying to sneak into a hospital. I've known this event would happen the whole time I've been working on this book. But what I didn't know is that she would find a secret door. And I didn't know what she would find behind that door. But I do now, and let me tell you, the government-run Burn is not a happy place.
How's that for some suspense? :)
Today I've been working on (get ready for it...here comes a teaser!) Terra trying to sneak into a hospital. I've known this event would happen the whole time I've been working on this book. But what I didn't know is that she would find a secret door. And I didn't know what she would find behind that door. But I do now, and let me tell you, the government-run Burn is not a happy place.
How's that for some suspense? :)
January 07, 2013
Back in the Swing of Things
The holidays have come and gone, and I'm sad about that. I spent the holiday in Utah with my family, my parents, and all my siblings and their families. There were three babies, three cute little girls, lots of games, and way too much good food. My five-year-old and two-year-old got to go sledding for the first time, and seeing the sheer joy on their faces as they slipped down the (albeit small) hill in my parents' backyard made the twelve-hour drive worth it.
Today was the first day hubby went back to work, and it's just me and the kiddos around the house, and I have so much to get done. I still haven't gotten the Christmas tree down, but honestly I'm not in a hurry to do it. The house is so bare when all the decorations go away. I have a huge list of the deep-cleaning jobs I need to do around the house. My babe is three-months-old, and now that I feel like I'm finally out of survival mode, the housework that sat neglected is now roaring at me.
And I need to write. I finally made myself sit at the computer last night and start plunking out the finally volume of Terra's adventure on the Burn. Yes, this will be the last book for Terra. There may be prequels (my husband asked my last night if I would ever write a prequel about the colonies being formed, and my brain instantly started churning as I thought, "Hmm...intriguing..." and then my brain jumped to, "Ooo...and a prequel about the Event!"--but there's no promises on that front right now. I have another project on the backburner).
So now I'm hunkering down. Today I already have: fed the kids breakfast, worked out, ran in the grocery store to get milk, vacuumed and mopped, started two loads of laundry, fed the girls lunch, cut some coupons, nursed the baby three times, managed to squeeze in a shower and a pinch of makeup, put the chicken in the oven to roast, deadheaded and watered my beautiful oversized pot of petunias, kissed a few owies, wrangled my girls into cleaning up their shoes and the family room, read two books with my girls, and wrote this blog post. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, at least :) Those people who say that a stay-at-home mom doesn't know how to work obviously have never done it!
Wish me luck. According to the outline I've written, this last book is going to be a doozy, and who knows how it will veer off when I'm in the midst of it. That's the great thing about outlines--they always change.
So Happy New Year to you! I hope this year is full of joy and love, and lots and lots of good books!
Today was the first day hubby went back to work, and it's just me and the kiddos around the house, and I have so much to get done. I still haven't gotten the Christmas tree down, but honestly I'm not in a hurry to do it. The house is so bare when all the decorations go away. I have a huge list of the deep-cleaning jobs I need to do around the house. My babe is three-months-old, and now that I feel like I'm finally out of survival mode, the housework that sat neglected is now roaring at me.
And I need to write. I finally made myself sit at the computer last night and start plunking out the finally volume of Terra's adventure on the Burn. Yes, this will be the last book for Terra. There may be prequels (my husband asked my last night if I would ever write a prequel about the colonies being formed, and my brain instantly started churning as I thought, "Hmm...intriguing..." and then my brain jumped to, "Ooo...and a prequel about the Event!"--but there's no promises on that front right now. I have another project on the backburner).
So now I'm hunkering down. Today I already have: fed the kids breakfast, worked out, ran in the grocery store to get milk, vacuumed and mopped, started two loads of laundry, fed the girls lunch, cut some coupons, nursed the baby three times, managed to squeeze in a shower and a pinch of makeup, put the chicken in the oven to roast, deadheaded and watered my beautiful oversized pot of petunias, kissed a few owies, wrangled my girls into cleaning up their shoes and the family room, read two books with my girls, and wrote this blog post. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, at least :) Those people who say that a stay-at-home mom doesn't know how to work obviously have never done it!
Wish me luck. According to the outline I've written, this last book is going to be a doozy, and who knows how it will veer off when I'm in the midst of it. That's the great thing about outlines--they always change.
So Happy New Year to you! I hope this year is full of joy and love, and lots and lots of good books!
August 26, 2012
What's in a Name?
Well, quite a bit actually. Some of the feedback from my beta readers made me ponder the title of The Reaping. One wasn't quite sure how well it matched the story, and so I started thinking about other names and thought about how attached I was to the title I picked (which honestly started as a working title, but stuck). After thinking and brain-storming and discussing, I am pleased to bring you the new title for the sequel to The Burn:
Infraction
It's an intense, loaded word, and with what goes on in this story, there are so many infractions against so many people on so many levels. So there you go. I hope that's a tantalizing teaser for you, and I just think it's a great snippet of good things to come.
Infraction
It's an intense, loaded word, and with what goes on in this story, there are so many infractions against so many people on so many levels. So there you go. I hope that's a tantalizing teaser for you, and I just think it's a great snippet of good things to come.
August 23, 2012
Another One Bites the Dust
I've gotten the feedback from my beta readers, so I've been working on my next draft of The Reaping. Can I say I love my beta readers? It's so nice to know I'm not writing in a vacuum. Sometimes it feels that way, and getting outside opinions is an enormous help.
One of the best advice for this book from one of my beta readers is to eliminate most of my adverbs. As I've been reading and rereading my draft, I realized that oh boy do I ever love my adverbs! So I've been cutting and cutting and hacking away. I've left some, but most of them have now seen the bloody end of my vicious red pen.
One of the more choice examples that I've eliminated?
"quietly whispers"
Seriously? Oh, yes, it was in there. Not only is it redundant, but a perfect example of a useless adverb. Does a reader really have to be told that a whisper is quiet? No I trust you, my lovely readers, to know that a whisper isn't a shout. What was I thinking?
But that's why beta readers are essential and wonderful. Getting someone else's eyes looking at my work helps me take a step back and see it more objectively. So here's to more adverb slashing!
One of the best advice for this book from one of my beta readers is to eliminate most of my adverbs. As I've been reading and rereading my draft, I realized that oh boy do I ever love my adverbs! So I've been cutting and cutting and hacking away. I've left some, but most of them have now seen the bloody end of my vicious red pen.
One of the more choice examples that I've eliminated?
"quietly whispers"
Seriously? Oh, yes, it was in there. Not only is it redundant, but a perfect example of a useless adverb. Does a reader really have to be told that a whisper is quiet? No I trust you, my lovely readers, to know that a whisper isn't a shout. What was I thinking?
But that's why beta readers are essential and wonderful. Getting someone else's eyes looking at my work helps me take a step back and see it more objectively. So here's to more adverb slashing!
June 30, 2012
I Try Not to Read Them
One of the best pieces of advice I've ever read (and I can't even tell you who said it--probably just about any writer who's ever written) was to not read reviews of your work. A good review can set you soaring, but a bad review can tear you to shreds.
I read that advice, and I said, "Whatever, I can take a bad review. Constructive criticism, right?"
Kind of.
The problem with bad reviews is that they fall into two categories: 1) people who actually put thought into them and do legitimately offer good advice on improving your writing and what could be improved in the story, and 2) people who just don't like your book but can't articulate why and instead rip you up one way and down the other.
So I started with every intention of reading bad reviews with the intent to find ways to improve my writing, but I quickly ran up against that second kind of bad review. You can guess how depressing the second kind of bad review can be. But it's like a car crash--no matter how gruesome the wreckage, you just can't look away. But finally I stopped and breathed a great big sigh of relief. Because no matter how hard I work and how much time I put into making my story the best story possible, there's always going to be someone who doesn't like it. And that's okay.
So the purpose of this post (I realize it got away from me!) was to thank book blogger Pam from Between the Bookcovers for the kind words she posted about The Burn. The book has been out for nine months now, and it still makes me giddy when someone new likes it. So thank you, Pam.
And for those of you wondering where The Reaping stands, I just finished another draft. One step closer :)
I read that advice, and I said, "Whatever, I can take a bad review. Constructive criticism, right?"
Kind of.
The problem with bad reviews is that they fall into two categories: 1) people who actually put thought into them and do legitimately offer good advice on improving your writing and what could be improved in the story, and 2) people who just don't like your book but can't articulate why and instead rip you up one way and down the other.
So I started with every intention of reading bad reviews with the intent to find ways to improve my writing, but I quickly ran up against that second kind of bad review. You can guess how depressing the second kind of bad review can be. But it's like a car crash--no matter how gruesome the wreckage, you just can't look away. But finally I stopped and breathed a great big sigh of relief. Because no matter how hard I work and how much time I put into making my story the best story possible, there's always going to be someone who doesn't like it. And that's okay.
So the purpose of this post (I realize it got away from me!) was to thank book blogger Pam from Between the Bookcovers for the kind words she posted about The Burn. The book has been out for nine months now, and it still makes me giddy when someone new likes it. So thank you, Pam.
And for those of you wondering where The Reaping stands, I just finished another draft. One step closer :)
June 06, 2012
Hot, Hot Summer
So summer has come in with a bang. After reaching 112 degrees last week, I said, "Yup, it's here." I think I was in denial. Major denial. But that's Phoenix for you. Enough to melt you into a puddle. So we've had swim lessons and hours in the pool and popsicles and playing in the sprinklers in the backyard. Usually this time of year rolls around and I just want to sit on the couch where I'm in reach of the ceiling fan's breeze and do nothing.
But after a week of having little to no motivation to work on The Reaping and procrastinating until it wasn't even funny any more, I've hit a groove. Phew. I was starting to get worried. Because, confession: there's a big reason I haven't had the energy to work on it. Okay, it's technically a little reason, weighing no more than about a pound at the moment, but here it is: another little cute girl will be joining our family in October. And needless to say, my energy has been at about a zero. So big hooray for hitting a groove.
It was about time.
And I'm sure glad it's hit because Terra's story is looking pretty exciting right now, and I'm thrilled to be working on it.
But after a week of having little to no motivation to work on The Reaping and procrastinating until it wasn't even funny any more, I've hit a groove. Phew. I was starting to get worried. Because, confession: there's a big reason I haven't had the energy to work on it. Okay, it's technically a little reason, weighing no more than about a pound at the moment, but here it is: another little cute girl will be joining our family in October. And needless to say, my energy has been at about a zero. So big hooray for hitting a groove.
It was about time.
And I'm sure glad it's hit because Terra's story is looking pretty exciting right now, and I'm thrilled to be working on it.
May 21, 2012
The Reaping: The First Draft
I finished the first draft today. 68,000 words. This was a monumental task for me. I've never found a draft to be so hard to get out. Which means working on the second draft won't be a piece of cake, either, but I'm excited to get into it and see how I can make Terra's story better.
Going into the sequel, I thought, "Oh, how hard can a sequel be?" New flash...very hard! I was under the misunderstanding that having characters in place and knowing how I wanted the story to develop would make this a cinch. Nope. Anything but. I've never worked so hard for a story in my life.
The first half was really hard to write. The second started flowing a lot easier and went pretty fast. So I'm betting the first half will need quite a bit of work. So as I read through this first draft, I'll be interested to see how many times I'll tell myself, "What were you thinking?!"
So hopefully the second draft won't be quite as arduous as the first, but I'm planning on quite a bit of work for it.
After the second draft, then I'll send it to my beta readers and see how many times they also say "What were you thinking?!" That's the beauty of beta readers. They tell it to you straight (if you have good beta readers) and make the story infinitely better than you could on your own.
Going into the sequel, I thought, "Oh, how hard can a sequel be?" New flash...very hard! I was under the misunderstanding that having characters in place and knowing how I wanted the story to develop would make this a cinch. Nope. Anything but. I've never worked so hard for a story in my life.
The first half was really hard to write. The second started flowing a lot easier and went pretty fast. So I'm betting the first half will need quite a bit of work. So as I read through this first draft, I'll be interested to see how many times I'll tell myself, "What were you thinking?!"
So hopefully the second draft won't be quite as arduous as the first, but I'm planning on quite a bit of work for it.
After the second draft, then I'll send it to my beta readers and see how many times they also say "What were you thinking?!" That's the beauty of beta readers. They tell it to you straight (if you have good beta readers) and make the story infinitely better than you could on your own.
May 03, 2012
Good News
Bound has shipped to all the other ebook retailers Smashwords distributes to (Apple iBookstore, B&N, Diesel, Kobo, etc.) so if you've been waiting for it to reach those shelves, be on the lookout. It usually takes these retailers a week or two to get the data up, so it should be any day now!
In the meantime, The Reaping update: I've written over 50,000 words. If that doesn't have a lot of context for you (like my husband said, "I don't know what that means"), The Burn was about 61,000 words. The Reaping is definitely going to be longer. As I'm growing as a writer, I'm developing a better sense of what needs to be developed more and what needs to be cut. The Reaping definitely has a fuller story, and I'm not even done with the first draft yet! There are exciting things still to come for Terra.
In the meantime, The Reaping update: I've written over 50,000 words. If that doesn't have a lot of context for you (like my husband said, "I don't know what that means"), The Burn was about 61,000 words. The Reaping is definitely going to be longer. As I'm growing as a writer, I'm developing a better sense of what needs to be developed more and what needs to be cut. The Reaping definitely has a fuller story, and I'm not even done with the first draft yet! There are exciting things still to come for Terra.
December 31, 2011
Happy New Year
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. I have. I'm exhausted now. From being with family, eating gobs of food with family, running around the park with the kids just about every day, going to the museum, eating more hand-dipped chocolates (my mother-in-law's specialty--a blessing and a curse!), watching football, eating more treats, and just having a good time, I'm tired to the bones.
And now I get to make new goals for the year. I need to go running more. My hips and rear demand it. I want to be a better wife and mother. And I want to write. Golly, do I want to write. I'm going to finish Bound (I'll be finishing up the current draft within the next week. Then we'll see where I stand on it.) I need to write and finish The Reaping. And I have ideas tossing around in my head for a fun, decidedly paranormal series that I've got the itch for. It'll be a good year.
And now I get to make new goals for the year. I need to go running more. My hips and rear demand it. I want to be a better wife and mother. And I want to write. Golly, do I want to write. I'm going to finish Bound (I'll be finishing up the current draft within the next week. Then we'll see where I stand on it.) I need to write and finish The Reaping. And I have ideas tossing around in my head for a fun, decidedly paranormal series that I've got the itch for. It'll be a good year.
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