Waiting and Plans for the Rest of 2008

So, I'm still waiting.

No word from the editor at Samhain who has It's Only Make Believe other than to acknowledge she has it. It's only been a couple weeks though, so I am not surprised.

No word from Resplendence either so I can at least assume they didn't reject it out of hand I guess. Although they don't seem to acknowledge receipt either.

In the meantime, I'm about 1/3 of the way done on the next chapter of Trust. The way I am working it now is I do a chapter of Trust, then one of Beyond the Norm. I hope in this way I will have them both done around the same time. Then I decide where I submit them. I'm already at over 11,000 words on Trust so it will definitely be a novella length story. I'm some where around 7,000 or 8,000 on Beyond the Norm but they haven't even done anything yet so that will likely also be novella length. Both EC and AQ don't go to novella length until they reach 18,000 words.

After those stories are finished, hopefully by the middle of September, I will attempt to wrap up A Knight For All. It's due by October 01 and I only have about 6,000 words done it. I need at least 5,000 more to make the extended kiss length required.

Then my other stories for AQ for the remainder of 2008. I have almost 8,000 words done on At Long Last and it isn't due until November 01, so I am not worried there. I have plenty of time for The Other Side and Jake's Regret too as they are due December 01 and January 01 respectively.

Maybe even once Trust, Beyond the Norm, and A Knight For All are done I can start Hollington's Story (Regency gay story). It would be nice to be able to start it this year.

Stop the Madness

It must be a sickness. Too many ideas-itis or something.

This morning on the bus going to work I am plotting out my next Regency gay romance. What? Crazy, you say?

Yup. I have the butler's name, Hollington. Yes, a butler. And the third son of a duke, Lord Christian. Hollington and Christian. I even played out some scenes in my head.

Okay, but so what? That does not mean I have to write it any time soon. It can wait until 2009. Really it can.

Um...yes...

I am in full waiting/stalking mode again. I'm beginning to wonder what I would do with myself if I wasn't!

Anyway, waiting to hear on It's Only Make Believe. I also sent off a partial of Sinful to Resplendence. I doubt I will hear soon on that unless it is a quick no, because it says it takes them up to 12 weeks. And of course I am stalking for Sorcerer's Lover edits.

And of course I am itching to have something under consideration elsewhere, too. So, by the middle of September I hope to have both Trust and Beyond the Norm done and ready to go somewhere. That's my goal.

Then I really must finish A Knight For All. Damn, that story has become a thorn in my side. I am determined to see it through if only to challenge myself.

Only one week to go until the release of Another Chance by Ellora's Cave. Really Aubrey and Daniel were my first attempt at a gay erotic romance (The Squire coming slightly after), and I am really proud of my guys. Can't wait for them!

Insert Clever Blog Title Here

So this morning stalking my email before leaving for work paid off in that the editor at Samhain I sent It's Only Make Believe to acknowledged receipt. She also said she would try to get to it soon. That was good news. Since it is likely to be a rejection (she may feel the heroine is unsympathetic too or there might be some other reason specific to her tastes or even Samhain requirements), once I hear back I can move on to placing it elsewhere (if that is to be what happens).

I finally did receive my contract from AQ for Sorcerer's Lover. Sent it back signed already too. Once they receive it I should get my edits from my editor. Will it make its release date in September? Only time will tell. If not, I am sure it will be out in October or something.

Only a little over a week until Another Chance is out from Ellora's Cave. My first and only erotic gay Regency. Will I write another one someday? Hmmm, could be.

Some of my deadlines have changed for AQ so I have more time to work then I originally thought. Which is a good thing. I did make significant progress on At Long Last though and think I will have it done well before its new deadline of November 01.

Today's Blog

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Amber Heat & Amber Allure Authors

Waiting...

I hate waiting. Really. I don't have the patience for this career, I think.

Now I don't think I used to be this bad. It's been since I actually sold that I became so impatient for writing news. Not that I don't have a certain amount of impatience in day to day life. But I recall only a year ago last summer when I hadn't made a single sale I was not this impatient.

Heck, I waited three months from when I first sent my partials of the Duke books to Cerridwen before I even got a request for the full. I didn't agonize over it. When I sent the fulls to my now editor, I didn't check my email obsessively for a response. So, in fact, when three weeks later, I got offered contracts I was shocked because I hadn't expected such a quick response.

And Lord knows the print publishers take even longer. So, therefore, why, oh why, do I now think an entire week is like agony?

I sent It's Only Make Believe off to another editor just a week ago yet it's making me a bit loony that I haven't received a response.

When I send new stuff to my editor at EC I know I can expect to receive a response within eight weeks but I also want it like two days later. Am I nuts or what?

It's also making me slightly nuts that I haven't received my contract for Sorcerer's Lover even though I am told it is coming, there is no problem, and we have plenty of time. Yet every damn day I am checking my mail box for it.

I think it must be my CPs influence, LOL. She has turned me into an email/mail stalking monster!

August 21, 2008

So I asked my editor at EC about the elements I have in Trust and Beyond the Norm to see if they would be objectionable as I suspected. To my surprise, I was told the elements were acceptable. Now obviously I would still need to execute them in a readable, entertaining way. I have no real worries there.

That leads me back to the possibility of Trust for EC. Honestly that is who I originally targeted Trust for. As for Beyond The Norm I am still thinking Amber Allure for that one (or possibly Loose-ID), but it's nice to know I have options should I decide to go the EC route with that one after all.

I didn't quite escape final line edits for Another Chance (coming out in just under two weeks), but they were such tiny changes I made them in literally less than two minutes. Probably the easiest ones I will ever have. I'm pretty excited Aubrey and Daniel come out on September 03, 2008!

I am blogging this coming Saturday, August 23, on Amber Quill's Author Blog. I am intending to post a tiny snippet of my upcoming release there, Sorcerer's Lover. If only the contract would actually arrive. Sigh.

Monday Brings the Blues

So I'm finding myself a little more bummed about EC rejecting It's Only Make Believe then I first thought. I'm not sure why. I've been rejected before and I'll certainly be rejected again. But I'm still smarting a bit. I think it is most likely because I really believed it would be an offer. In the past when I have submitted my work there I always had it in the back of my head that it might be rejected. But it never was. Everything else I submitted there was accepted. Now, when I was so sure that IOMB would be accepted, it was rejected. It's thrown me a bit.

I think another reason is the explanation for the reject. I mean obviously no one has to give you a reason other than the standard "not right for us". But the reason given, "her behavior is too much like cheating" just doesn't make sense to me. I guess it would have made a little more sense if she'd said, "her behavior is too immature" or whatever. But cheating on a non-boyfriend just leaves me scratching my head.

I think the final reason this bothers me more than I originally thought it did was I really have nothing in the works now for EC and I'm in a bit of a panic about it. I lay awake last night trying to think of what I could write for them next. I had a vague idea of a detective working a murder case and finding out he knew the victim and his sister from years earlier. But the problem is I couldn't think of a lot of conflict for the couple. I can think more on it, but we'll see.

I'm working on Beyond the Norm but honestly I don't see that or Trust as EC. If IOMB was rejected there's just no way Beyond the Norm would be offered a contract. It's themes would be just too much I think. I think my next thing for EC would have to be a m/f pairing given the direction my boys are currently taking. I'm guessing Amber Allure for both of those stories right now.

So yeah, my current work is scheduled through February 2009 but I am still in panic mode. I want to keep work at all my publishers. And because I have nothing planned for EC at present I am troubled.

As for It's Only Make Believe, I have sent it to an editor at Samhain but I am not really hopeful on that score. I just decided I may as well take a chance that I could get in there as well, but I know the chances are small, realistically. Nicole (Ava) just got offered a contract for With Him, a lovely Regency gay story and I am very happy for her. I can add her to my list of must buy authors at Samhain. Now will will have one there and one at Loose-ID. I agree that her voice matches more with Loose-ID then it does with Ellora's Cave.

Anyway, even though IOMB has been sent to Samhain I am not going to stalk my emails. I am sure it will be weeks and weeks before I get a response. Whatever that may be. And if it is a rejection, then I have another publisher in mind for it. I love Sebastian and Melody and want to see them published.

I am stuck again on A Knight For All. I have several thousand words to add to make the word count and I am having trouble writing one word. I think what I have so far is good, though.

I have two releases coming in September, Another Chance coming September 03 from Ellora's Cave and Sorcerer's Lover coming September 27 from Amber Allure.

So I'm judging a contest. Got the first entry done. Three more to go by September 07th.

I finished the first chapter of Beyond the Norm. You can check out the excerpt page on my website for an updated excerpt.

Excerpts,WIP,Coming Soon

I haven't quite decided on which publisher I'll submit it to. I guess it depends on how long it is, the content, etc...

Just a little over two weeks until Another Chance is released from Ellora's Cave.

August 16, 2008

So moving on from the disappointment of the EC reject, I have submitted It's Only Make Believe elsewhere. I'll see what happens there. If that too is a reject I have somewhere else I can submit it. I am fairly confidant It's Only Make Believe will find a home at a publisher. It's a good, fun story and deserves to be published, I think.

I began Kyle's story today. I have about 1500 words done and it's pretty early still. I am calling it Beyond the Norm. Tentively I am planning on Amber Allure for it, but we'll see where it takes me.

And finally, I hope to have A Knight For all done by next weekend. Think I can do it? I'm going to try!

Not Always Good News

So, my editor at Ellora's Cave rejected my latest submission to them, It's Only Make Believe. Bummer. Basically it wasn't the writing, but the content. EC has some specific stuff they won't publish (and no I don't mean the sexual no-no's most publishers have) and apparently this story had something in it that they are not comfortable with. Even though there is no element of cheating in the story, my editor felt that it could be perceived that way. Okay, fair enough. It was a business decision on their part and I'm not taking it personally.

Now I will pursue other opportunities on behalf of It's Only Make Believe. I'll update on that as I have news.

But certainly this means Ellora's Cave will not be the right home for Trust with Brad and Justin. Brad does cheat on Justin, that is why they break up.

What does this mean for my next story at EC? I don't know. I probably won't have anything new to submit to them until sometime in 2009 and at the moment I can't even think of what my story would be. I have too many other stories going to too many other publishers first. But I will eventually write something to submit there again. I want to keep all my publishers happily publishing me.

Can't Stop the Ideas From Coming

As if I need another story to work on, I thought of a new story I'd like to write. Well I don't really even have a plot to be honest. Just a character I want to write about.

Now keep in mind besides A Knight For All (which I will have done this month), I have At Long Last, The Other Side, and Jake's Regret to Write for Amber Quill. These are stories I've already agreed to write for them. Plus I intend to write a sequel to Sorcerer's Lover and maybe even The Squire at some point. And this doesn't even take into consideration that I intend to finish Trust before the end of 2008 for submission to EC. If that wasn't enough, I could still write my third duke book for Cerridwen if I had a mind to and that doesn't even count my books on Graham and Morton. Whew.

So the last thing I should be thinking of is writing another book, right? But there you have it. I want to write about a goth gay guy. Fairly young, though obviously of legal age. I see him with the black hair hanging in his eyes, which are either brilliant blue or soulful brown, pale skin, a stud in his nose, wearing a long black trench, black painted fingernails, and even maybe smoking (I know this is especially strange for me as I am so against smoking). But the character is very vivid right now in my mind. I even have a name for him. Kyle. Kyle the gay goth guy. What sort of partner will such a character get? I think I'd want someone pretty different. I've been thinking of giving a character a tattoo and this might be the one who gets it. Anyway, this is my latest idea in my head. It's hard to turn my brain off sometimes.

The No News Day

I have absolutely nothing to report. Nada. No new news whatsoever.

I've received all the covers I was expecting to receive and posted them. My websites are up to date. I finished my edits for The Prisoner and chose my excerpt, so I am done there. I haven't received my contract for Sorcerer's Lover so I have nothing to post about there. Just in limbo. I am still waiting to see if It's Only Make Believe is a go at EC (and waiting and waiting). So nothing there. I have months to wait for any final line edits on my future releases (November, December and February releases). I haven't finished any of the works I am working on for the Amber Quill Paxes, so again nothing.

I even already posted about my friend being offered a contract from Loose-ID. The story formerly know as "The Switch" is now known as "Bound by Deception by Ava March." and should be released in September as long as everything goes smoothly (contracts, revisions, etc.). I look forward to seeing her cover and of course purchasing a copy when it comes out.

My visitors leave tomorrow very early. This hasn't been the most fun visit for them or us. My mother has been in the hospital pretty much the entire time. It will be kind of good to have some normalcy back in my life when they leave.

Stone of Wrath's Cover

Nice eh?

Updates

Paid for Shawn's ad that will be in the Romantic Times December edition. Cost $150 just for me. I don't know that I will do that again, but hopefully I will get some exposure for it. The ads themselves are more than a $1000. Pretty outrageous for a magazine ad if you ask me. The ads in the RWR are much cheaper if anyone ever wants to think about those.

Sent off the edits for The Prisoner and chose my excerpt. I think I chose pretty well. I'm worried about it fitting their guidelines, but I'll see.

Speaking of The Wild Rose Press I am participating in their Sony Ereader promotion for Fall. That only costs me $12. Anyway, during that time if you buy my book, A Man Not Her Own, you can enter to win the Ereader. Then they load the Ereader with excerpts from all the authors participating.

A Man Not Her Own just made the current top 10 bestseller list for The Wild Rose Press, too. I am there at #10 after only a week. So that's pretty cool. Don't know the criteria but I'll take it anyway.

I've got a little under 5,000 words done on A Knight For All. I need a little more than twice that to reach the minimum word count. I need to have it done by the end of August, but I think I can manage it. I'd like to do it before the end so I can get busy working on At Long Last, too.

Still waiting to hear from EC on It's Only Make Believe. It's been nearly a week and I am stalking my emails. It's a sickness we writers have!

ETA: My good friend, Ava, has been offered a contract by Loose-ID! I am thrilled for her! It is well deserved

August 07, 2008

I have finished edits on The Prisoner. I will be sending that back to my editor tonight.

Someone asked me recently when I mentioned my fourteen contracts how I managed to keep track of them all. Good question.

The contracts themselves aren't that difficult since they are with three publishers and I know which ones are with which publisher. And three of of my regular romances contracts have already been published. One of my erotic romances has also been published and two more will be published next month.

I think more than keeping track of my contracts and what goes with which published, I need to keep the stories straight. I know some writers keep some sort of chart or other tool to keep track of characters. I suppose I ought to do that. Probably easy enough with Excel.

The biggest issues are my gay romances. I am starting to forget what each man looks like. I have several I am writing now, three I have yet to finish, and one I haven't yet started and I need to keep track of their looks and names, soon, I think.

I have the next four days off from the day job. Well, two of those days (the weekend) I would have had off anyway but I also took off Friday and Monday. I am really looking forward to sleeping in.

A Tale of Two Covers

I've received the cover for The Prisoner already, my next release from The Wild Rose Press. Don't have a release date for the book, but the cover is lovely.

Here is my cover for my September release from Amber Allure. I started this book several months ago and only recently decided to finish it. I'm glad I did.

Wanting Sam's Release Date is...

February 27, 2009

WRP Edits

Started the edits for The Prisoner today and am making good progress. It's not a tremendous amount of edits so that helps. Mostly minor tweaking. Anyway, I've already been through 50 pages or so. I anticipate maybe even being done with them this week so I can send them back to my editor at WRP. At that point I will be forced to choose an excerpt. It's difficult because of the constraints for this particular publisher's excerpts but I'll choose something.

I'm giving myself the day off from any new writing. I did a ton of it over the weekend and decided I deserved a break today. I'll get to work again tomorrow.

Huge Progress

Well I am thrilled to say I got over 5000 words done over the weekend! And I finished It's Only Make Believe and sent it off for consideration to my editor at EC. So now I wait.Technically I could wait for 8 weeks but I doubt I will.

I also did all three of my forms for Sorcerer's Lover for AQ and sent them to my editor there. Still waiting on my contract but I've done all my parts.

Now I have no excuse not to finish A Knight For All and to do my edits on The Prisoner. Definitely what I must now make my priorities.

A Man Not Her Own

A Man Not Her Own is released today from Wild Rose Press

Nicholas Fitzroy has problems. The castle treasury is bare. His brothers are acting as brigands and attacking travelers on the road for coins. His family's sworn enemy has abducted the woman he was to marry, and his nephew has disappeared. But his biggest problem is Marion Montrose - his nephew's betrothed. With his nephew missing and his estate in serious need of her coin - Nicholas can think of only one solution to the problem of Marion Montrose. Marry her himself.


http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=906&zenid=2cc86d1cfa554bd8676e931d62a18256