Rainy Days, Reviews & Revisions

I'm in full on revision mode. This book was a lot of fun to write and finish, but now the real work begins. Everyone has their own process and mine is that I have to write the story to figure out the story. Weird, I know, but I've learned to embrace this process and own it. I am writing cleaner first draft now, but much of what I throw down on the page is like an outline with complete sentences. Revision is taking the big picture, cracking it apart, restructuring pieces, omitting pieces, and building new pieces to create a stronger picture.

Revision is hard work. And it doesn't brook interruptions well. I'm eager to get the first half of the story nailed down. That means a little lighter blogging schedule and whole lot more writing real stories.

Meanwhile, life is busy. And it's rainy. We've had three days of rain and colder weather blow through Northern Alabama. This means football season, dressing in fun clothes, and tucking under blankets to read. I also kept up with the other blogs I'm contributing to during this month.

You can read about my adventures with going blonde on the Petit Fours & Hot Tamales Blog here. And if you want to know my take on suffering and how to respond to it, head over to the Romance Magicians and read about it here. Stay and play awhile. My sister bloggers have great blogs, too.

Monday was a super rainy and blustery day. The teen and I stayed home and read all day. I read Kerrelyn Sparks THE VAMPIRE AND THE VIRGIN from start to finish. It was a great, fun read and just the pick up I needed. I think you'll enjoy her books and her fun family of Vampires. Check her website out here. Right now I am reading Lexi George's book DEMON HUNTING IN DIXIE. Her characters are colorful, well-drawn out, and down right sizzling. Great book and great debut author. You can read about Lexi George's first time publication adventures on my Celebration blog here.

This week I have not written as much as I would like, but I have taken care of a teen, run the household by myself, taken the car into the dealership to replace the battery at Woody Andersen Ford, and continued taking care of myself. I've also emailed good friends, talked to my darling hubby via Skype and caught up with my dear sister friend via Skype as well. The time differences mean stopping my writing to talk, but sometimes real people are more important than fictional people.

I'm taking a break till next week Monday so I can get my revisions rolling. Plus I have a darling husband to welcome home after a long business trip so I'll want to spend time with him, too. So I'll see you next week.

Have a great writing week!!

Break Out the Bubbly & Dark Chocolate--Celebrating Amy Atwell's Debut Novel LYING EYES!

I'm very happy and excited to open up a bottle of my best champagne for my fearless GIAM (Goal in a Month) leader Amy Atwell. Amy is an inspiration to me as a mentor, writer, and friend. We're celebrating her debut novel, Lying Eyes, which releases today! 
Pop! Pouring bubbly and breaking out the dark chocolate.


Hi Amy, welcome to the veranda. 
Thanks for inviting me to join you and meet your readers, Christine.  The verandah, by the way, is lovely.
How did you end up becoming a writer?

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A rather circuitous path. I wrote throughout my childhood and adolescence.  Poems, songs, short stories.  I was fascinated with dialogue and comedic timing on television and would scribble notes while I watched shows.  In high school, I joined the drama club—and no, it was not nearly as cool as Glee, although it was a lot of fun.  But that led to studying theater and Shakespeare and then years of working in regional and community theaters. Play scripts and the stories in them were my love, and one day I realized that what I really wanted to do was write.  I quit the theater and got a job and started writing my story ideas in my free time. Back then, it hadn’t occurred to me to try to make a career of it.

What is your favorite genre to write?

No fair!  I love all the genres I write.  I started writing Regency period historicals because that’s what I read for years and years. Then I had a crazy notion to write a romance about the theater scene in New York.  Then I moved to Chicago, so I wrote about Chicago. Then even though I know next to nothing about medievals, I wrote a medieval romantic suspense.  And then Cosmo knocked on my door, and I wrote Lying Eyes.

 

I'm intrigued already. Can't wait to meet Cosmo. Are you a plotter or do you follow the muse?

I see characters and scenes in my head.  Maybe because of all the years in theater, I hear dialogue very clearly.  So, I generally let the muse run free for much of the first draft.  Then I roll up my sleeves for some plotting analysis.  Lying Eyes was different because I had editors waiting to see that story.  Most of the material in that story—except the opening 30-40 pages—is close to first draft.  I plotted a few chapters ahead as I wrote and prayed my critique partners would help me clean up the mess if I derailed the story.  They kept telling me it was fine.  My editor agreed.

How do you relax after a writing day?

Don’t laugh. I run an online writing community, and I have a lot of little tasks that make me feel like I accomplished something. I like to check things off lists, so these little tasks make me feel successful and relaxed.  Oh, and I can do most of them over a cup of coffee (morning) or wine (night).  I’ve also been known to turn off the computer AND the phone for Mad Men, Dr. Who, The Office and 30 Rock.

As a member of your community, I can say it's a great way to unwind. The *cyber support* is balm to a writer's soul. 


What do you read? What are your favorite genres? And your favorite authors?

I read anything that has a story that captures my famous.  I love romance and women’s fiction, but I also enjoy a good mystery or thriller. And I find I’m peeking at some YA stories to see what all the hype is about.  Favorite authors?  Jenny Crusie, Madeline Hunter, Jane Austen, Jean Auel, Tom Clancy, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dick Francis, Georgette Heyer, Elswyth Thane (I’m dating myself with those last five).  A new author who stunned me with her work is Therese Walsh.
What is your current project? What can we look forward to reading next?

I’m currently working on the sequel to Lying Eyes. This one is Cheating Hearts and features another of Cosmo’s daughters.  Of course, I also have a mainstream historical set during the Wars of the Roses calling me. And then there’s this pesky pair of characters out in San Francisco who have the beginnings of a great suspense story I’m jotting down. 

You have a lot of ideas and stories floating in your head. Fabulous! I can't wait to meet Cosmo's next daughter. What is the most difficult part about writing for you? 

Oddly enough, the hardest part for me is focusing and getting started on one story.  Once I’m into a story, I’m all there.  But if I’m multi-tasking life or additional stories, it can be a bear to get me to sit down and write.  (And I can name a dozen people who will read this and agree.)

I completely understand how multi-tasking zaps focus. 

Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

Everywhere.  Honestly, I trip over ideas.  I have a lengthy list of them on my computer.  For Lying Eyes, the title came when I was listening to Eagles’ song on the radio one day.  Liked the title, realized that “lying” would be an important factor. More than that, I wanted everything in the story to be a lie of some form or another.  That’s when Cosmo Fortune, my heroine’s father, popped up and announced he was a magician.  A master of illusion.  Then I made my heroine not just a jeweler but a costume jeweler. I just keep piecing things together that work. What doesn’t work, I toss.  

Cutting ideas is part of the creative process. *sipping my bubbly* Ah, but it is necessary for writers to learn. 


How long were you trying to get published before you got the “call?”

Ten years, give or take.  I took a couple writing breaks.  I had a big corporate job transfer that stalled my writing for over a year. Then my mother died suddenly in 2005. About nine months after her death I stopped writing for nearly 18 months. I stayed connected with my writing friends through WritingGIAM and when I returned to writing, I came back determined.  Still, it took nearly two years to sell Lying Eyes. When we first marketed it, Carina Press didn’t yet exist. In publishing, part of the equation is timing.

Amy, I am sorry you lost your mother. *hugs* But I'm very glad you returned to your writing with the determination to get published because now we get to read your stories. 


What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Write. Write what’s in your heart. Study. Study the market, but don’t it let completely change those stories of your heart. The market is always changing. Your stories are you and no one but you can tell them. Share them with the world.

Oh, and find a support network. It may be local, it may be online. But connect with other writers. Writing is a very solitary endeavor, but that doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.  I would have given up writing if it weren’t for GIAM.

What encouragement can you give writers who face rejection?

Let me be your poster child!  I swear, I’ve been rejected by top editors and agents. I’ve received painful comments about my work from industry professionals and contest judges.  If you’re familiar with Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® contest, I had one entry that received a “9” (their highest scores) and a “1” (their lowest score). 

Reading is Subjective.  Repeat that. Not every reader will love your work, but in publishing it often takes only one person to get behind you to turn the tide.  A rejection is nothing more than a single person’s opinion of a specific submission on a given day. 

Thanks so much for having me, Christine!  I’d love to offer up a digital copy of Lying Eyes to one of your readers. 

I'm so glad you joined me on the veranda. Thank you for offering a digital copy of Lying Eyes to one of my readers. I can't wait to see who gets their name pulled from this week! Congratulations on your release!!  

Amy Atwell worked in professional theater for 15 years before turning from the stage to the page to write fiction. She now gives her imagination free rein in both contemporary and historical stories that combine adventure and romance. An Ohio native, Amy has lived all across the country and now resides on a barrier island in Florida with her husband and two Russian Blues. Find Amy online at her website, What’s the Story? blog, Facebook, Twitter and GoodReads.

Lying Eyes is available from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers.

Reading: A Lost Art of the Writer

Well, today I worked on my MS. I fiddled with a scene, printed out the rest of the WIP, internalized some ideas (not all great--worry abounds), and then I allowed myself READING TIME. No, not reading contest entries. Not reading blogs (tho' I love them). Not reading forums and loops to stay in the know. Not reading craft books (tho' that's on my to-do list). Nope. I attempted reading for pleasure.

Remember that concept, my writing friends? Reading for pleasure. Reading for the sheer joy of being immersed in a book and loving the characters and just flipping the pages till you reached "the end?" Ah, that's why I became a writer. I love to read.

I used to be a proverbial book slut. There's no other way of putting it. I read any and all genres, non-fiction and fiction. I read classics by Wilkie Collins and Willa Cather and Bronte. I read pulp fiction. I read Fantasy. I read Romances. I read self-help books. I read Inspirational books. I read WESTERNS (yes I did). I read children's books. I read Young Adult books. I read cheap thrillers. I read Mysteries.

I read a lot.

Now I write. And there's barely time to read a published book unless it's a new author I want to support or a book about writing. I do read at night with my reading glasses perched on my face and my brain weary. I fall asleep with the glasses on my nose and the book on the floor (will a KINDLE survive my abuse? Doubtful).

I read books in my genre and pick them apart. When did she hook me? Or how did he make me turn the pages? How long are the scenes? Where are the PPPs? And on and on.

But today I tried to "read for pleasure." It was hard at first. Really hard. I kept counting pages and scene lengths (uh, I am thinking of going to Single Title length and this book's a ST, RS). I kept looking and marveling at how the authors had spun the tale so beautifully (and comparing it to my own crap writing -- still having a bit of a PPP here). And I had the most difficult time just getting into the story.

But it happened. Slowly. I did just start flipping the pages and enjoying the sheer joy of being transported into another world and not worrying about the technique and the pacing and the plot. I just read.

Remember that? Reading for sheer joy? When's the last time you read for pleasure?