Boo

Halloween is kind of a drag up on Mount Doom. Huh, with that name, you'd think it would be fabulous, but no. We do sometimes see bats. No trick-or-treaters though. We don't wear costumes, although sometimes when we're in full weather gear we look a lot like the Abominable Snowmen. The puppy has her new collar, very chic, but it's not particularly seasonal. And, the worst of it is, no candy. Not a Snickers bar within 30 miles. How can we survive?

I'm upset that it's already the 31st. I have 2 weeks to finish my book. Panic Writer Strikes Again! The good thing is, it's a pretty cool book. The bad thing is, I can't snap my fingers and have it finished. Don't you hate that?

Oh, check out Romancing the Blog tomorrow - I have a column up. It's very writerly. No gossip whatsoever.

Okay, since we have no Halloween up here, I need to live vicariously through you. What are you doing? Dressing up? Shutting the porch light so no one will know you're home, and eating all the Milk Duds yourself? Going to a bash? ::sigh:: I don't miss my youth much, but man, I miss Halloween.



10.31.05 @ 01:33 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Hot Damn

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm awesome! Okay, let me explain - did the walking thing today IN THE SNOW with snow everywhere and it was still snowing buckets, and we walked anyway! See? Awesome.

The puppy loves to frolic in the white stuff. She also loves to frolic with her sister, but we can't go down the mountain today because of…you guessed it. As soon as we can go, we will because they're so amazingly cute together.

Must write lots today, and it's hard when I'm so full of my awesome self. But once I look at how much I still have to do, my ego will go right back to cowering in the corner.

Your challenge today is to do something awesome. Something you didn't think you could. Or at the very least, something you didn't want to do, but thought you should. Let's be awesome together. Party hats all around!



10.28.05 @ 02:24 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Oh No! You Forgot!!!!

First, if you haven't read yesterday's post, please do! I need input! Input, I tells ya!

Okay, for today - I'm going to be gone for awhile this afternoon as we take our puppy on her first play date. My friend Debbi is getting her puppy today, and the puppies are sisters, and we want them to grow up together. While there will be no Barbies or Hot Wheels, we do have extensive chew toys, and of course, where Debbi lives, there are deer. Lots and lots of them. They like the apples.

Last time we took Jess down there, there was a small family of deer, eating apples from Debbi's hand, and looking very Disney-sweet. They were cool with me, with the DH, but when Jessie, the tiny black bundle of energy, came running toward the apple tree, the deer freaked out and headed for safety. There's been no living with Jess ever since. She now wishes to be known as Princess Jessie the Terror Of All Deer, but we're still going with Jess (or Good Girl, when she goes potty in the right place). I know, however, that when she's napping she's dreaming of all the terrified deer who quake in her presence. It's good to be her.

As for me, I re-wrote one scene a gazillion times yesterday. It's supposed to be suspenseful, and I couldn't get it, couldn't get it…then got it. I think. I have to read it today and see if it works. It needs to work because I'm heading into Panic Writer mode. (what's new?)

I don't need to join the NoWhatsIt, (the write a book in November thingee that's all over the net) because I end up writing a book in a month EVERY DAMN BOOK. But for those of you who are joining - my best wishes.



10.27.05 @ 01:06 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Survey help, please!!!

We're back, and boy did it snow last night. Very white. Very cold. Especially in the middle of the night when Jess needed to use the facilities.

On the plus side, I'm sticking close to home today to write. And write. I'm setting up a new schedule and we'll have to see how that works out.

I'm also working on a column for Romancing the Blog, and I'm looking at the information highway. Here's the question for today - what have you learned from blog hopping through romanceland? What information were you clued into that you wouldn't have learned if you didn't read blogs? This is versus (for writers) going to meetings or conferences. For readers, what do you know about the writing industry that you wouldn't have known. And do you like knowing this stuff? Would you prefer not to cross the author-as-person line, or does it enhance your reading experience?

Thanks in advance for any observations. You guys rock.


10.26.05 @ 12:56 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Road trip

We're outa here until Tuesday, maybe even Wednesday. Be good while I'm gone. I'll know.

10.24.05 @ 10:05 AM MST [Link to Entry]

Winners - at last!

Sorry about the screw up. We should have picked a winner on Friday, but with puppy watching and all, I forgot. So I put all the names into a bowl and the DH picked not one, but two, winners! So, for a books and a scarf the winners are:

Glenice and
Kim

Please send me your snail mail addresses at Jo_Leigh14@hotmail.com and I'll get them out sometimes this week. Also, let me know what book you want. Check out my backlist on my website at: http://www.joleigh.com/biob.html

Congratulations!


10.23.05 @ 01:46 PM MST [Link to Entry]

New Book A'Comin'

Here's the cover of the January Blaze:

This is the 24 hour book. I would have though they'd focus the cover on the hero, but what do I know? So? What do you think?


10.21.05 @ 12:26 PM MST [Link to Entry]

TV and a little knitting

Well, we've entered the Tivo generation. I haven't figured out how to use it yet, but since we're going away on Monday, we'll test it out. Yay for having something electronically cool that works on Mount Doom!

Question for those of you who knit - if you're doing a complex pattern, how do you keep track? (Complex, hah. For me that means knit 1 purl 1, and I have screwed up a LOT). I tried writing down the stitch ever time I switched, but that only worked some of the time.

Question for those of you who watch TV- WTF is with Invasion? It's produced by Shaun Cassidy, who did the amazing and wonderful American Gothic. I was ready for intensity, spookiness, edge-of-your-seat plot twists. So far it's an amazing snooze-fest. I think I've given it enough time, and so far, zzzzzzzzzzz. Damn. I also gave up on Supernatural, because, well, been there, seen that. What about you? Give up on something hopeful? Fall madly in love with a new show??? Tell me.



10.20.05 @ 01:34 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Of Dogs and Covers

I'm listening to doggie dreams, which is fun. She sounds so cute when she's sleeping.

It's snowy and cold, and still, we're going for our walk, which I think is just damn heroic. I also have a mini trampoline for when it gets way, way too snowy, but that's not yet.

Got my cover for the January book, which I'll put up here soon, and I have to wonder why the marketing team at Harlequin thought it was a good idea to focus on the heroine instead of the hero. Mind you, she's hot, but still. Blaze? Primarily a female readership? Primarily a heterosexual female readership? Allison Kent, who also has a book out in January, has a faboo cover. Go to her blog to see it. But buy both of our books, okay?

Just so you know, I'm very involved in three things at the moment: Jessie the Wonder Pup, The Book, and my exercise/eating regime, and because I'm old, that doesn't leave a lot of room for other stuff. Like coherent speech, for example. Not to mention clever and insightful blogs. I imagine things will even out, and that I'll be able to expand my mental horizons soon, but for the nonce, the blog thing is going to be your basic See Spot Go Potty. Thanks for understanding. And feel free to be witty and erudite on my behalf.




10.19.05 @ 02:30 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Research on research on research

Here's what I wish someone would do:

Put together a research database for those of us who write contemporary books. Categorize is by topic, and then give a concise list of the things one is likely to find in the book.

I need some info on the latest spyware (not computer) available, and there are lots of books listed at Amazon, or on spyware sites, and I've bought a bunch of them only to find that they really didn't have what I needed.

On the other hand, a writer who's name I can't recall recommended a book on the Delta Force which is better than I could have imagined.

I adore research, but I don't adore researching the research.

So, um, someone brilliant, with a lot of access to what writers need, please do this data base, and send it to me. Preferably this afternoon, before 2:00 Mountain Time. Thank you.


10.18.05 @ 01:05 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Weekend Update

We had a snowfall, a gorgeous full moon, lots and LOTS of puppy doin's and (gasp) some work was accomplished. Not a bad weekend at all.

I came to a halt in the book for a day when I realized I had a lag in tension leading up to act II. So, back to the drawing board and the whole issue of rising cycles of tension. What I got was that while I'd increased the stakes for the romance, I hadn't sufficiently increased the stakes on the suspense. Yeah, I have some big flash-bang moves in act II, but what about second act? I had to really look at each plot point and re-focus. After much worrying and shifting, things came together with the blessed thunk. And then I could write again.

On a wonderful home-front note, my best buddy Deb, who moved to my small town just two weeks ago, surprised us all by getting a puppy, too! Not just any puppy, but Jessie's sister! So now we can schedule play dates and baby sit for each other. So excellent!

How was everyone else's weekend????


10.17.05 @ 12:49 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Introducing...

The newest member of our family!

She's 6 weeks old, a Weimaraner, Border Collie mix, and her name is Jess. We're totally in love, which is good, because well, she's a pain in the ass. Worth it. Completely.

10.15.05 @ 12:38 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Two questions

Here's a simple question for those of you who are unpublished: What makes you think you can get published?

Here's a question for those of you who are published: What makes you think you can stay published?




10.14.05 @ 01:04 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Walls

On one wall in my office I have (framed) my two RITA and one GH finalist certificate and a framed little writer bear with a messy desk that I got at some craft fair. On my other office wall I have my first sale cert, my RT award, my Pike's Peak award cert and a cell from one of the movies that I worked on showing my name as associate producer.

These walls don't just hold the roof up, they hold me up when I most need them. It doesn't seem to matter that I've written more than thirty books. Each time I do it again, I'm convinced I've forgotten how to write. I flounder, wondering if this is it, the inevitable moment when my reservoir of talent has gone dry. So I look at the wall. Proof, you see, that I can do this thing, if I just keep my ass in the chair and continue to type.

Often, when I'm in one of these paralyzing moments, I will type the most fundamental words, no nuance, no personality, just what happens. For example:

Joe walks to the door. He opens the door to find Mary. Mary asks if she can come in. Joe steps back. He looks at her ass as she walks across the room.

When I do this, it usually doesn't last too long, because I can't stand looking at it, and my brain will refuse to type such tripe. So the words get a little better, the flow a little stronger, and before you know it, I'm writing. Yeah, I have to go back and edit the crap I started with, but that's okay, because it's on the page.

The longer I write, the more tricks of the trade I use. Stuff I never dreamed I would have to when I started writing. I use the wall, I use the 'just type crap' technique, I switch POVs, I read books that inspire, and yes, I just cry sometimes.

Of course, sometimes the writing is so cool, so swift, so perfect, that I am transported into another plane of existence. It's fleeting, unpredictable, and mind-bending when it happens. When the writing gods have whacked me with a scene that transcends. But it's so amazingly neat that I will go through months, Months, of hardship in the hopes that I will get the Amazing Moment.

So - what's on your wall? What tricks do you use to get through the crippling moments?


10.13.05 @ 12:57 PM MST [Link to Entry]

I Enjoy Being A Girl

I got the new Allure magazine yesterday, with its Best of Beauty winners. Lots of tips for makeup, hair care, face care. Now that I'm 'of an age' I'm having to change the whole routine of caring for my face, and it's intimidating as hell. I have no plans to get a peel or Botox or any of those things, so whatever I do, I'll do here. It's odd, because I don't consider myself a girly girl, but man, do I love to play with beauty treatments. I love manicures, pedicures, I love facials and massages. If I could, I'd go to the spa every week.

Unfortunately, I can't, and I also can't afford to get those really pricey unguents and ointments, although I covet them. I am, however, willing to expend a few bucks on finding out how to shrink the bags under my eyes. Anyone found something wonderful for this?

I have a couple of personal fave things, like Cetaphil lotion. Best evah. And I also use a lot of Vitamin E cream. But I want to win one of those contests where you get a bazillion dollars to buy out the cosmetics counter. In fact, I believe my destiny is to become a very wealthy woman, and I think there's something fishy going on that I'm not there already.

What secret girly things are you into? And what cool stuff should I run out and buy?




10.12.05 @ 12:59 PM MST [Link to Entry]

A Blog and a Scarf - Contest!

Let's do a new contest! The winner will receive a book from my backlist and a scarf. There will only be 1 because, well, I don't have that many scarves (yet).

Here's the deal - please comment and let me know your two favorite blogs (not mine) and -here's the important part-why they're your favorites. Make sure and add a link, so others can go see and maybe find another blog that will delight and inspire.

The contest ends Friday with a random pick from the DH.



10.11.05 @ 12:27 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Snow and then Serious Inquiry

Sure enough, we got snow. Not as much as predicted, but it's snowy out there. And we've been walking, twice a day, three circuits around the lodge. Soon, we won't be able to do that, because the snow gets really deep, and it builds on the rooftop. Being under that when it falls it not wise. Instead, I’m going to use a mini trampoline. I hope that will give me the aerobic workout I need. I like the walking outdoors thing, though. I just don't have a lot of choices when there's no getting about outside. Well, we can always shovel snow.

Work went well this weekend, and I'm chugging along with the book. I got my Delta Force book which I'm reading, and boy, the country should be really grateful our defenses don't depend on me. We'd all be toast. Those guys work damn hard. I'm always amazed at people who willingly walk into scary/hard/dangerous situations to do heroic things. I'm thinking policemen, firemen, army folk. I admire them, but I also don't truly understand them. Is it because I'm selfish? Maybe. But I think there's something else going on there, too. Something in our makeup that's honed from birth. Although I like to think I'm generous when it comes to those in my inner and even my peripheral circle, my giving tends to settle somewhere in my comfort zone. But these people - either their comfort zones extend very far, or they're willing to walk outside that zone on a regular basis.

When I was much younger, I did search and rescue in L.A. It was a fascinating experience, which was fine until it got too real. I was part of a search party for a downed plane, and I came upon something too disturbing. I quit after that. Way too real and I didn't have the fortitude to just move on. Others in my group dealt with the situation much better than I did. So I went on to work for the End Hunger Network, putting my efforts into the workings of the organization and producing a telethon.

Why bring all this up? Because I'm writing a front-line hero, and I want to get why he does what he does. Why face that kind of danger? I'm not looking for the obvious. I want the formative events in his life that helped him develop into the man he becomes. So I'm looking to biographies and personal experiences of those who've walked that path for enlightenment.

Anyone with experience in this arena, please - share.


10.10.05 @ 12:49 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Saturday goodbyes

My monitor died last night. No goodbyes, no last words, just…gone. So we went to the nearest town (3 hour round trip) and bought a new one. It's smaller (17" vs the 21" I had) but this is actually destined to become the spare. I'm going to research monitors and find one I'll love, that has that big old screen I'm used to. Then we'll put this one away. Living where we do, it's important to have spares. Because there are times when we absolutely cannot get to a store that has computer stuff. So we're going to get a spare everything - computer, keyboard, etc.

We also went to the lake for the last time this year. Tomorrow, predictions are for snow. Big snow. So we fished, caught a few, waved goodbye, and put our fishing gear away. ::sniff:: I suppose I'm ready for winter. The best part is the productivity rise. The worst part is chains on the car. Ugh.



10.08.05 @ 01:11 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Keeping My Eyes On My Own Paper

I'm one of those people who don't read what I write when I'm writing. I find inspiration in a variety of books, magazines, fanfic, the back of cereal boxes, anything that has printed words, but when I read the kind of book I'm writing, I get a little crazy. Mostly, I worry about inadvertent stealing.

I've always been a mimic - when I was in Mississippi I called my mother, and she didn't know it was me. I hadn't even realized that after a week there I'd developed a southern accent. It happens with writing styles, too. I've even noticed it after reading a Dave Barry column, for heaven's sake. So I have to be very careful.

I tend to stick to non fiction when in the process, but I'm just about to begin a book - Dark Lover, by JR Ward, which was recommended by several folks on trustworthy blogs. I just hope that no vampires show up in my book, because, well, there's a time and a place.

Oh, and to give you a really big clue to my mental state and the state of the book-in-progress, I cleaned my desk yesterday. (Yes, that was the disturbance in the force, for those who wondered). I've learned to accept that seeing the actual desk is a fleeting pleasure. It will soon be covered in paper, books, knitting, magazines, post its, bills, the occasional dish, CDs, lotions, lip balm, index cards, and more. When the pile is at its height, I'll be in full panic mode, writing furiously, cursing my characters, wanting to be anywhere but here, but there will be the famous light at the end of the tunnel. So, yay for Desk Mess!

Okay - on with the day.


10.07.05 @ 12:11 PM MST [Link to Entry]

The Subtext Challenge

In the current WIP, I'm doing something different. In the beginning of the book, the h/h are strangers. They're in a dangerous situation, which takes center stage. They are aware of each other and their mutual attraction, but it's subdued because, well, danger! So there's three chapters already where they aren't having any of the sex. The sex isn't going to happen for awhile, actually. Maybe mid-point, maybe later. So to make it the Blaze that I've envisioned, there needs to be oodles of sexual tension.

I read some fan fiction awhile ago which was maybe the best I'd ever read, where the characters didn't…and didn't…and didn't, so when they finally did, I was dying for it. I loved that they kept denying the attraction until it exploded. It was one of the most satisfying, sexy reads ever. Which is what I'd like to do in this book, but man, it's tough, because I'm used to putting in the sex a lot sooner.

So what's happening in my brain is that I keep thinking, I should do more here, and thinking about what the reader expectation is for a Blaze, and generally making myself crazy. What I want to do is just write it the way I plotted it - complete with delayed gratification.

In that fan piece I read, what made it work so well was that while they were aware of each other, the sexual tension was all in subtext. Nothing at all overt. It came to a head when a) one character became jealous of attention paid to the other, and b) the danger got so great that the characters were certain they'd never see each other again. I'm telling you, it was so well done that my respiration changed and I literally held my breath (not for too long, but you get the idea). So in thinking about this, I realized that what the writer had done was made me a co-conspirator. Which is, I believe, the best thing that can happen in fiction. I was completely invested in the outcome, and it was imperative that these people see what I had already seen. If the writer had clunked me over the head with them thinking about why they couldn't have sex, why it wouldn't work, and all that other mental masturbation, I would have been distanced and I certainly wouldn't have had the visceral reactions when they finally gave in.

For me, at least, this is a fabulous lesson, but one that isn't so easy to duplicate. Mostly, I think, because I've gotten used to reading (and writing) category romance where very little is in subtext. I want to change this. I'm working on it, but man, it's a much bigger challenge than I'd anticipated. It means I have to trust my instincts and not fall back into old patterns. It means I have to trust the readers more than ever. I think it'll be worth it, if I can pull it off. Huh. That's the question, isn't it? Can I do this? Geez, I hope so.


10.06.05 @ 12:59 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Cold, Knitting and oh, yeah, Writing

Damn, it's cold. My hands are freezing. I guess I'm going to break down this winter and get a portable heater. I think it's cheaper and uses less power than turning on the wall heater upstairs, yes?

Anyway, thought I'd share a pic of the first snowfall, especially for those of you still in 100 degree weather. Yeah. It's as cold as it looks.

On a completely different note, I'm knitting yet another scarf, but this one is harder. It's so complicated (for me, at least) that I have to keep a running tally of what I'm doing every row. Here's what it looks like:

I think it's gonna be great.

I'm also writing. And writing. I want to get this book done by the end of Oct. Will I make it? Who the hell knows. But since it's already the 5th, and I'm on chapter 4, um, well, yeah. Writing. It's a hard thing.


10.05.05 @ 12:16 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Snow and games and dancing

Okay - it snowed. I'm thinking summer might be over. Damn. On the plus side, I do get a lot of writing done when we're snowbound. No, it didn't snow that much, but trust me. It will. So I'll work, and work. Which is a good thing.

I've also been walking a couple of times a day. The DH and I go out and traipse around the mountain. I have a small trampoline to use when the snow is too heavy, and also some tapes that I can sweat to. (Such an appealing image, no?)

I also have to switch out the clothing today. Put the summer togs on top of the closet and bring out the heavy, wooly, warm stuff. I'm not thrilled with the task by since my maidservant isn't here -ever - I must.

Of course, this is living 9,700 feet up, which is probably not where you live. Is it still warm where you are? Fall? Getting chilly? Any snow yet? Isn't it fun that we all get to chat from wherever? I love computers. I also love Myst. We do the game together, me and the cute guy. Well, I move the mouse. He reads the walkthroughs. Yes, it's true. We cheat. Because, I mean, come on. Whoever can figure out these puzzle things have way more time to play than we do. It confounds me how they can figure out that you have to press three levers and four buttons and then take two steps and turn yourself about…wait that's the Hokey Pokey. Still, thanks to those intrepid computer geeks who let no puzzle go unsolved - showering be dammed!

I also love watching Ellen. Just so you know. I don't, however, like the segment where the cameras are on the audience dancing. Too embarrassing for me. So I tend to get coffee then.

Well, I suppose I should get to work now.


10.04.05 @ 01:30 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Nothing big...but still good

No cows for several days. They don't call, they don't write. And I have all these cookies…

Actually just had a good weekend. Lots of work, many walks, eating right, knitting, playing Myst, End of Ages with the DH. Knowing I'm a lucky SOB. Also read O, the magazine, which if you don't already get it, you'd better or I'll come to your house and say rude things to your pets. I'm not kidding. There's so much I love about this magazine that I can't recommend it enough. It gave me an idea for my post at Romancing the Blog, which is cool.

My friend has finally moved to the little tiny town, which is just so great I can't stand it. They're still schlepping boxes and stuff, so it'll be a bit until she's found her routine. But she lives right down the mountain!!! And she also writes for Blaze! And we can plot and read and talk and see each other all the damn time!!! Weeee!

Okay, I'm calmer now. And I need to get to town to pick up my book on the Delta Force.


10.03.05 @ 01:39 PM MST [Link to Entry]

Just for the pleasure

We went out today to catch the leaves, and I had to share just a few. They're so gorgeous. I wish you could all see them live.

10.01.05 @ 02:21 AM MST [Link to Entry]