Started editing the next scene of that chapter, as well. Not finished yet. I need to show more of the residual awkwardness between Lainey and Thom Fuller, the result of Lainey’s drinking binge the previous month. I’ll continue on Saturday. (Tonight is Poison Night – arthritis meds – and I’m going to be worthless on Friday.  Friday will be my official day off of writing from here on out, I think.)

I’ve been reading the Blood Books by Tanya Huff lately.  Working on number four – Blood Pact.  I like them better than the television show they inspired.  (Was it True Blood? Don’t remember.)  Saw the first episode of that series and, while it followed the book quite well, I didn’t get into the characters or the sense of anticipation.  The book covers several days, so I think the loss came from cramming so much material into the one or two hour block required for TV.

Last night after work, I did some editing on my website.  I discovered that while there was a link to a short story called ‘Dancing,’ it had never been uploaded to the site.  The information page for On Azrael’s Wings also had the wrong excerpt (it showed Castle Walls, instead,) so I changed that, as well.

But today I have a purpose.

Last night while online, I became bored, really bored.  I think I’ve reached the end of my writing vacation.   The stack of books to be read remains the same height no matter how many I weed out of it, but I’m not so fired up to read anymore.  (I know.  I hear you.  “It’s about TIME!”  My wife agrees with you.)

I’ve been working my way through the Into the West miniseries.  Yesterday morning as I finished watching episode four, I got a major hankering to write.  Or rewrite.  Or something.

One things I’ve always said was that I didn’t care for CyberEpic.  People ask if I’ll ever publish it; my response has always been a resounding “no!”  When I wrote it, I knew what the average white American knew about American Indians.  (Well, maybe a little bit more, but not all that much.)  Now, however, I’ve done a mountain of research for the writing and rewriting of Tiopa Ki Lakota.  There are so many more things I can put into CyberEpic that was denied me by my previous ignorance.

That doesn’t change the fact that I still hate the title and the story.  LOL!

Today I begin writing a new novel, tentatively titled Red Wolves.  Same basic plot, same general characters, but I’m writing it from scratch.  I’m sure some things will remain the same, and others will change drastically.  Those of you who dearly adore CyberEpic, be warned.  Or be cheered . . .

When I first wrote that novella, I didn’t outline any of it.  Given my recent discovery that perhaps outlining isn’t for me, Red Wolves will be a return to those roots.  I have no idea where this story will go, or where the characters will take me.  Maybe it’ll help fire up my inspiration, and put me on the good written path I started on so many years ago.
A girl can hope.

Spent yesterday reading through the first seventeen and a half chapters of Born of Silence. Also went in to my audiologist to have my hearing checked and the aids looked over. The aids are doing fine and dandy, but the hearing is worse. I’ve got a name and number for an ear, nose, & throat specialist. The audiologist says that the outer ear appears physically fine and the inner ear has loss, but not to the extent of the total hearing loss. There’s a possibility that some correction might be attainable.

Then she asked me about my name. Usually this is followed by, “Are you Native American?” Totally blew me away when she asked instead, “Do you write books?” LOL! I’ve never had anyone recognize my name from my books before when I wasn’t at a convention. It was rather surreal!

Topped off the evening by breaking in our new propane grill. I’ve never cooked with gas before, so it was an education. The burgers turned out pretty well. (I used a recipe I found on The Food Network.) Grilled one ear of corn as an experiment; it turned out rather well. Next week I’m going to try chicken.

Today I finished the last of the reading and wrote 1153 words to finish out chapter eighteen. I’ve got at least one, maybe two more scenes to write from scratch before I get into the light editing phase. If it hadn’t been for that damned flu, I’d be completely finished with this, dammit!

Last week I reviewed the final .pdf of Castle Walls. That means it’ll be out soon! YAY!

LOTS been happening here. Mostly work. But this next month is supposed to be slower than molasses so I’ll have some extra days off. Not good for the paycheck, but fantastic for the RA recuperation and writing!

Obviously, from the first paragraph, you can deduce that I have an iBook now. It’s a few months old (my wife’s. We replaced hers,) but fine and dandy for me! I’ve actually gotten writing done after work!! WOOT! Part of my problem has been an inability to wander off to Coffee People and write — my new Palmie, while nifty in the extreme, doesn’t have a Dvorak keyboard driver for the keyboard. No Dvorak, no type, no writing. It’s been the cause of a year’s worth of dead time. By the time I arrive home at work, I get too comfortable and nothing gets done unless it’s my day off.

That’s changed, though. When I’m positive I’m going to get off work on time (or early! SQUEE!) I bring the iBook to work and hit the coffee shop on the way home. It hasn’t doubled my production by any means, but 500 words two or three days a week is better than none.

Right now I’m drinking an organic mocha with a touch of cayenne pepper in it. Not at Coffee People, my favorite place to be, but at the Urban Grind in the Pearl District. Yesterday I went to CP after work but it was packed (misty rainy weather brings out the coffee drinkers.) So no writing cuz I went home. Today’s a day off, and I figured I’d check out the local hot spots with wi-fi and get some writing done.

Rewrites on Born of Silence are going well now. I’ve added over ten chapters of new material and have three more new scenes to write before another spate of editing only. I’d like to get these three scene written this weekend (or the lion’s share anyway) so I can whip through the edits. A couple of weeks ago I blasted through four thousand words in a day.

Castle Walls is up for edits, too. I’m nearly through with them. The publisher wants to add a paragraph or two at one point and I’ve been mulling over the options there. This WILL be done and sent back by Friday. I’m not sure what happens next as far as editing goes. It’s due out sometime this summer.

After that, who knows. On Azrael’s Wings is still calling, but I think I may reread Iditarod. My publisher may be interested in it and it seems that a lot of folks are asking about a book.

Went to see Varrakai!, a Cirque du Soleil act here in town. Very nice. We sat third row to the side. The set was marvelous and the acts were terrific. Lots of aerial acts, though. Had I really paid attention, I would have gotten seats further back. We ended up with cricks in our neck from constantly looking skyward.

What else?

Went bowling for the first time in a dozen years. It was a department outing. Only went for two games before it got too much for me. My highest score was 108. I would have done better, but the ol’ body was starting to rebel. My thighs were killing me and it messed up my already messed up foot for a couple of days, but things are back in place and muscles no longer aching. The boss let me go home early the day after and I slept a solid three hours that afternoon!

My wife is sicker than a dog right now. She went to Seattle to visit her sister and niece. The kid’s sick and passed it along. The wife spent last night on the couch in the living room to avoid infecting me; she was up and down all night. I’ve spent the morning in the bedroom with the iBook and decided to get out of the house for a bit. (She had a fever last night but it may have dropped some today.)

All right. Enough dithering. Time to get some writing done. I’ll try to post a bit more regularly, at least to mention word counts. (Promise, jrosestar!)

Orycon totally rocked, of course. I had a blast and went to many panels (writing oriented.) Learned some good stuff. I think there’s a 60% chance they’ll come back next year. My fellow associates kicked butt in wowing the attendees this year. There were very few hassles and only one pain in the butt issue (slow elevators.) The event manager in charge went on vacation, so negotiations are on hold until she gets back. Here’s hoping!

Then I worked another seven days in a row. Our biggest and busiest convention of the year is on Veteran’s Day weekend. So what happens? The other supervisor resigns his position and one of our less dependable associates called off. So, we were two people short, and I had to swap in the middle of the week to swing shifts to cover. Ugh. Twelve hour days (and nights) ain’t fun, but it could have been much worse. Had yesterday off, worked a swing last night, have today off, and tomorrow I’m back to days. Next week, though, I’m on nights.

During some of that down time, I’ve reread Orphan Maker and think I have a good idea where to go next. It’s dropping off my outline and I had to let it sit and stew for a bit, since I didn’t know where it was going. It’ll get to my planned ending, I know, it’s just taking its own sweet time getting there.

Also went over Warlord Metal again, the final .pdf for PD Publishing. That should pretty much be the last of THAT one. Again. LOL! It should be out this month. I’ve been through the initial editing of Castle Walls, but that’s not due out until next summer, so I don’t know when I’ll get the next round.

Also ran errands today. Picked up my month’s prescription, did some banking, and went to the audiologist to pick up my new ear molds. There’s a definite improvement in hearing with them. The rubber and plastic get old and less flexible; that interferes with their ability to conduct sound.

Castle Walls has been through the editing process. Next is tech edits and then it should be finished. I’ve already had a peek at the cover. Of course, it’s fantastic, as all Steph Solomon-Lopez’s covers are. Once it’s officially okayed, I’ll upload it to my site.

Nearing the end of the Iditarod posts. I’ll post another section this weekend, but I’m fairly sure it’ll be completely online soon. I’m attending Orlando Bardcon this year and leave on the 20th. I’ll post the next week’s section at that time and, if there’s only one or two following that, I think I’ll post them, too.

For those of you attending Bardcon, I’ll be signing the new edition of Tiopa Ki Lakota at the PD Publishing table. Come on by! I’ve dropped out of the Sunday breakfast, though. I’m shy. The con will be plenty of attention for me! LOL! I will be involved in the morning Round Robin. I’m really looking forward to that.

Been without DSL for almost a week, then had to spend an hour on the phone with support to get it back up and running. Sheesh. I’ve spent the last two days doing nothing but wallowing on the web. Now I know why relapsing heroin addicts invariably OD . . .

Yesterday, I read a couple of online fics that were . . . fantastic! I’m gobsmacked! (And I ain’t English!) Go! Read! Both of them! (And thanks, ! Your review is what sent me there!)

It occurred to me this morning that Castle Walls is due to be sent to the publisher by August 1st . . . and I haven’t even touched it since we negotiated the contract. Oops! Guess what Redhawk’s doing this morning?

And lastly, I’ve uploaded the next to chapters of the Iditarod tale. Enjoy!

I can see her point, honestly. Fortitude didn’t pay her for storage and, when the company folded, ignored the legal notices sent to them to take care of the remaining product. The woman does have a valid reason for doing this to receive some sort of compensation since the former CEO appears to have washed her hands of the issue.

But let’s get something perfectly clear. Several months ago, I was told by this person that she would be discussing various avenues with the authors involved in liquidating the stock once all legal hoops were jumped through. Then, last week, I received an email telling me the same thing she’s posted on various lists in the ‘verse – that she was selling it off on her own, to defray costs of storage and in lieu of paying another company to haul it to the landfill. There was no discussion to be had.

According to my contracts with Fortitude, royalties will not be paid in the event that the company dissolves. So what she’s doing is legal (which I never doubted.) Unfortunately, all three of my titles are going to be republished through PD Publishing . . . both Tiopa Ki Lakota and Warlord Metal will be coming out by around Orlando Bardcon. Castle Walls will be out sometime next year.

So, if you absolutely must have those first two titles, knock yourself out. Or you can wait a few more months and see them in all their shining glory with the nifty new covers done by Steph Solomon-Lopez. (I think you know which I’d prefer! LOL!) I know that Tiopa hasn’t changed significantly from the second edition, but haven’t begun editing Warlord, yet.

Edit to add:

I’ve been reminded that no agreement between Fortitude and the individual in question was made regarding storage of product. It was only after the company folded that storage fees were demanded and refused.

Additionally, this person was a corporate officer of the company, not an employee. Her actions do represent the company (and our contractual agreement) as opposed to someone trying to see compensation for money spent.

So . . . legal or not? I don’t know. It’s in the gray area. Technically, Fortitude no longer exists, my contracts are defunct, and no royalties are due. But she’s not selling second hand books – she’s selling unsold copies – and she was a corporate member of the company.

Anyhow, just thought I’d clarify the muddy waters for folks. We all do what we need to do in life. You make your own choices.

Castle Walls, 2nd edition by D. Jordan Redhawk, available in the Summer of 2006. Also from Redhawk, Tiopa Ki Lakota, 3rd edition and Warlord Metal, 2nd edition, both available Fall 2005.

The next stretch after that will be short and sweet with only a mandatory 8 hour break in White Mountain. I think I’ll be done in three more chapters. Whew!

Then this mess will be off to three content beta readers and I’ll dump it onto my mailing list for a month. After that, the first draft will be removed from list archives and I’ll begin rewrites.

Not sure what’s next as far as projects go. Orphan Maker calls, as does Born of Silence rewrites. Or maybe I should do a full rewrite of CyberEpic for publication. I’ll take a week off and see what slaps me upside the head most.

Steph Solomon-Lopez has been working on the cover for Warlord Metal. Good gods, this woman rocks! I liked the original cover from Fortitude, but this one . . . flabbergasted. Yep. That’s me. Once it goes through the publisher and we get an okay, I’ll post it.

And someone asked me about the ’3rd’ edition of Tiopa Ki Lakota. This book will not be appreciably different from the 2nd edition published by Fortitude. The same goes for Warlord Metal, I think. Those of you who already have a copy of the 2nd edition do not need to buy the 3rd in the hopes you’ve missed something!

Which is not to say the last three weeks have been a total loss. I’ve edited a total of 241 thousand words – all three of my previously published novels.

I scoured Castle Walls yesterday and submitted it to my publisher. If I’m lucky, they’ll want it, too. I couldn’t believe the errors, though. And I’m not talking thing that got through the content editing and such. I’m talking published errors that had shown up in the .pdf file but none of us caught. I checked the book and there they were. Whoops!

Tomorrow I’m back to that 1k a day thing. My buddy, Advocate, has given me the chance to beta her latest. I can’t read it until I’m finished writing this or I’ll get distracted again! My betas are going to be up in arms if I stop again!

Been working and writing. I’m now on the fourth chapter of the Iditarod story. I also started a companion piece to my short story, Want. It’s entitled Need, and is from a young Margaurethe’s point of view the day after her thorough ravishing by Elisibet.

The Dvorak switch is plugging along. Takes me twice as long to get things typed, but I’ve already noticed a lessening of pain in my left hand. I’d probably feel it in both, but I use my right hand more, and it’s been really busy at work.

Yesterday, I saw S and N and gave S an autographed copy of Castle Walls. Then saw J and did the same. Then wandered over to Coffee People to have a Velvet Hammer and pumpkin bread while I reaquainted myself with my Tiopa Ki Lakota rewrites.

Got home and uploaded a couple of programs from Anna’s Road Scholar CD for my Palm. Played around online. Saw my best friend on AIM. Cleaned off my desk.

Today, I got all the remaining copies of Castle Walls ready to be mailed out to their respetive owners. Paid a couple of bills, balanced a couple of savings accounts. Cleaned the bathroom. Fought with my wife’s Mac and Palm again – this time it was her using the same port for the printer as the Palm. Had to reboot the puter and find some other port for her to plug her Palm into. Then she couldn’t find the Wordsmith documents she’d made at school. When I found them, I couldn’t use MicroShaft Word to open them because we were on the network and I was already running the program.

What a rip, huh? Last time we were on a network, I typed some code or other into the terminal. It was the only way we could both use the program at the same time. Seems that when we moved and disconnected the network, it cleared the terminal command. Had to relocate it and enter it again. *sigh*

And edited Tiopa. 5,601 words today. Don’t know that I’ll get much more done tonight. My eyes are tired.

However, I can’t go to sleep. The boss called and left a message today. My schedule has changed from 2pm to 10pm – a graveyard shift. Joy. I have to stay up as late as possible now or I’ll never make it through tomorrow night.

Back to Tiopa. Or maybe Orphan Maker. How about the Iditarod adventure? Perhaps notes on the Sanguire. *grumble* Why does my muse always insist on doing EVERYTHING at the SAME time?

I’ve also got all the copies signed that need signing. Next week, six of them will hit the US Snail, and two go to people here in Portland.

On the Tiopa Ki Lakota front, I just finished a new scene where young Anpo receives her new name. Originally, the shaman gave it to her after she told he and her father of her vision. Now, I realize she would not have had her father there when she spoke with Inyan; she’s an adult (at the tender age of 12,) and would speak to him on her own. Not to mention the fact that the shaman wouldn’t give her a name right then – he’d meditate on it and pronounce it publicly.

So, Wanbli (Anpo’s father) holds a feast in honor of her special vision, and many people are in attendance. It’s at this time that Inyan gives her the new name of Wi Ile Anpo (“the sun is burning at dawn.”)

I’ve gotten a bit more extensive in the discussion of Anpo’s place in her village. Not only is the vision of the white buffalo a very important one, but her mere existence as a wicakte (two souled woman) is vital. Her standing among all the people is extremely high, even at her age. It will be quite a responsibility for her, and I’ve tried to show the beginnings of that.

When I first wrote the novel, the first chapter was 20k long. Then, when Renaissance Alliance published it, they said it was overlong for a chapter and divided it in half. Now that I’m rewriting, I discovered that it’s even longer than I thought. The ‘first’ chapter is actually five now. I’m now beginning work on ‘chapter 2,’ Winyan Ki. Things should go a bit faster for awhile as I’m only editing what’s already done. It’ll no doubt slow down when I reach the point of Kathleen leaving her family to return to Anpo – I skipped over that scene and at least one person has been quite adamant of seeing what happens when Kathleen tells her parents that the homesteading way is not for her, and she’s going to return to the heathens.

But . . .

Where are MY copies? I’m supposed to get ten freebies! I’m hearing how wonderful my book looks and I haven’t seen the blasted thing!

*sigh*

Then I went to Cirque Du Soleil.

BINGO! The princess would run into a traveling circus!

Tonight, I attended another Cirque Du Soleil, this one 'Allegria.' And as I sat in the audience, marveling at the talent before me, I realized that the story I wrote – Castle Walls – was now officially in print. The announcement came only two days ago.

Cool, huh?

Castle Walls by D. Jordan Redhawk

Princess Sabine Katerina Annaatje of Dulce is on the run outside the castle walls from a vicious invader who has killed her entire family and usurped her father’s throne. With only one man at arms and a faithful handmaiden, she barely escapes the Invader’s clutches as he has vowed to leave no blood heir alive.

Stumbling into a camp of itinerant performers, Sabine hides her identity, becoming Katerin of Aimsbury. She learns to trust the leader of the traveling circus, Ros Adamsson, a bawdy woman who is half-rogue and half-gentlewoman. Trust may eventually blossom into more if Katerin can overcome her fear and conservative upbringing.

Meanwhile, the Invader is still searching for her. A rumored uprising in theDulce Province, a royal summons for the Adamsson Circus, and a traitorous servant all collide to reveal a secret even deeper than Katerin’s identity.

ISBN: 0974137812
Price: $13.99
Pages: 148
Released: October 2003
Genre: Fantasy

The Wrong Trail Knife by Jane Fletcher

The absence of men on the planet doesn’t mean that there aren’t any problems.

Indeed, Sergeant ‘Chip’ Coppelli has seen more than her fair share of them. She escaped her family’s manipulative plots by running away to join the militia. After nine years in the elite Rangers, fighting thugs and wild predators, Chip has learned to spot trouble coming.

Katryn Nagata joins the 23rd squadron under highly unfavourable circumstances. Katryn is clearly worried, and not ready to tell anyone why. The first time Chip sets her eyes on Katryn, she knows trouble is on the way.

But Chip wasn’t expecting murder.

ISBN: 0974137820
Price: $13.99
Pages: 213
Released: October 2003
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery

If you are attending the DC BardFest and would like to pre-purchase any of Fortitude's titles, you may do so now through September 30 (or while supplies last). We'll have your books set aside for you to pick up at any time on Saturday. You won't have to wait in the regular line. Save time, save money by avoiding shipping costs, and be assured that the titles you want are there. Pre-purchase your titles today! Go to: www.fortitudepress.com.

If you are attending the DC BardFest and would like to purchase any of Fortitude's titles while there, we will have a table set up and will be accepting cash, checks, money orders and credit cards. However, as we will only be taking a limited quantity of each title to the event, we cannot guarantee your favorite book will still be there when you drop by. We urge you to make use of our pre-order website.

We look forward to seeing you there!

—–

Yeeeeehawwwww!

Went to bed and had a rude awakening a few hours earlier. Food poisoning. Blech. Laid in misery for about an hour, uncertain in which direction I'd lose whatever was in me. I sincerely hoped for one and got the other instead. I hate throwing up. *shudder*

Much better today. A bit of acid on the stomach, but nothing else. So, just a touch. Whew! Still haven't figured out exactly what it was, as my wife and I had dinner at a buffet place and pretty nearly had the same thing. Who knows?

So…very late start today. Didn't even begin writing until almost 1pm. Stared at the screen for an hour and did dishes instead. (Good thing, too. Haven't done dishes in three days. We were beginning to wonder where the hel the kitchen had gone!) Now I've got just over four hundred words. I'm slowly getting back into the swing of the scene.

I think I'm closer to the end than I thought. Maybe even before this 1k is finished. We'll see.

My goal for today is not 3k, due to feeling tired and uninspired from feeling icky. I'm going to do 1k, take a nap, and see what happens later. If I'm close enough to the end, I'll probably slog through it.

And then READ, READ, READ! I've got three library books and a book on full time RVing piled at the end of my desk for my perusal.

Saturday was spent catching up on all the chores I hadn't done because I was working my butt off the previous six nights. I only just got the mountain of dishes done this morning! No writing to be had (and haven't had time for two or three days before Saturday, either.)

On Sunday, I buried myself in Castle Walls. ARGH! I thought the LAST time was the last time! Six hours of heavy duty editing. Gods! I hope I only have to read a proof now! I’ve been through this manuscript seven times!

Nobody told me that writing was work! LOL!

And to cap the night, I found a really cool set of templates for my revised website. I'm going to give it a professional appearance. For those of you who enjoy the writing there, I'll warn you – I'm not going to have links from the main site to the stories. I will, however, leave the stories there. The reason for this is that there are several places where the links to the individual tales are listed. I don't want to cut off people from reading what's already online, but I also don't want to turn off potential publishers by having fanfiction on my site. It's a sticky situation. I mean, if anybody REALLY wanted to find the stories, all they'd need to do is search.

Fanfiction is my skeleton and I'm constructing the closet. LOL!

Anyway, if and when the Sanguire series is published, I'm also going to put the Sanguire Encyclopedia online. And now I'm going way beyond simple html programming. The templates are frames and I spent a couple of hours futzing around until I fgured the links out. Now I've got to consider MySQL and PHP programming. Yikes! I want to remove my email address from all areas of the site and simply put a comment form down. It'll help divert the spam I've been receiving. I was also thinking about using one or two line quotes from my stories as a teaser on the main page – that's why MySQL. I want it a random quote to come up every time someone goes to the site.

AND I'm writing 1k a day, editing On Azrael's Wings, brainstorming my future media kit, etc, etc, etc.

I wish I didn't have to work full time!

Have a good day, people!

Been reading a book called Guerrilla Marketing for Writers. It’s somewhat interesting; talks about the need to market one’s self (something I’m woefully lacking in,) and gives many suggestions for same. It’s not bad, but not exactly what I was looking for, I guess. Very general overall. I suppose it would be much more helpful if I was writing how-to or self-help books. Then I could go like gang busters with the ideas there.

Last week was a stress free, few work days kinda week. Loved it. Had five glorious days off overall. This week, I’ve got one day off and no going home early. So . . . which week did my editor return Castle Walls for ANOTHER go round? Why, this one, of course! ARGH! I’ve only gotten 50 out of 195 pages done. Thank gods, I’m not currently on a deadline!

Off to do dishes, change sheets, pack lunch, get ready for work, blech!

If I'm lucky, I'll only have to read it one more time when I get the proof.

And then there's the heat wave that's acing my buddy, Nicosian. I'm quite a distance from her but it's just as bad here. UGH. When it's cold, my joints don't like to work because of arthritis. When it's hot, my feet like to swell up so I hobble everywhere. Can't win for losing, man!

Anyhoo, wanted to check in and let folks know I'm still here.

Of these words, I’ve completed five chapters for Born of Silence and will finish a sixth one by early tomorrow. Six chapters in just over three weeks is a major record for me! When I began writing, it would take me two weeks to finish one chapter on average. I’m going like gang busters!

I've also put in 4300 words on the Sanguire Encyclopedia. I've still got plenty of character building to fall back on if I have a problem getting into the groove with the writng and over a month to hit my goal of 8000 in this section.

I’m having difficulty slipping from a medieval fantasy to contemporary vampires (go figure!) I had the same problem the last time I went through CW. Took me three days to get back into BoS. Can’t afford that this time, however, if I’m going to keep up my grand a day for the Forward Motion Dare. This is day two of no joy as far as word count.

Tomorrow morning I think I’ll get back into the swing of things. Write the grand for BoS before work. Then, when I get home (which will be early cuz we’re REALLY slow at work) do the final bit of CW. I’ve got a list of repetitive phrases I’ve got to sort through. Brainless work, actually. Just a matter of finding them all and replacing them with more inventive things.

And now I’m waiting for my buddy, Shawn, to get her butt home from work so I can talk to her on iChat.

In the meantime, for those of you who wish to ask about outlines, the answer is yes, yes, and yes. LOL! Oh, all right, I’ll answer a little better . . .

Yes, I work from an outline. At least I am with BoS and I have with Warlord Metal and Tiopa Ki Lakota.

Yes, I work without an outline. At least I did with the fanfic series I was involved in. Those were done on a chapter by chapter basis because each chapter equated with a single day. I’d decide “Okay, it’s the following day, what’s everybody doing?” I also didn’t work from any sort of outline with CyberEpic and got about halfway through one that’s been tabled (Kou Itten) without an outline.

Yes, I have an alternative method. Or at least I’ve tried several. With Castle Walls, I didn’t use an outline so much as the index card method. Tiopa was the result of historical study where I had to keep good track of time. (There really was a year known as the Year of the Horses by the Lakota.) With Born of Silence, I found a Mac program called Omni Outliner that’s fantastic!

I would highly suggest going to Forward Motion and registering there. They have online classes and they also have the transcripts from past classes. You’ll find one by Holly Lisle about how to outline. It helped me a lot!

So, here's the summary:

Princess Sabine Katerina Annaatje of Dulce is on the run outside the castle walls from a vicious invader who has killed her entire family and usurped her father’s throne. With only one man at arms and a faithful handmaiden, she barely escapes the invader’s clutches as he has vowed to leave no blood heir alive.

Stumbling into a camp of itinerant performers, Sabine hides her identity, becoming Katerin of Aimsbury. She learns to trust the leader of the traveling circus, Ros Adamsson, a bawdy woman who is half-rogue and half-gentlewoman. Trust may eventually blossom into more if Katerin can overcome her fear and conservative upbringing.

Meanwhile, the invader is still searching for her. A rumored uprising in the Dulce Province, a royal summons for the Adamsson Circus, and a traitorous servant all collide to reveal a secret even deeper than Katerin’s identity.

And just an FYI to everybody, there's going to be a minimum of four new chapters involved. Pretty much what I was complaining about last month. LOL!

Went to work Saturday afternoon. Mediocre night, the usual. Unfortunately, it was almost 1am before I clocked out. My last bus had left a half hour before. I had a choice of staying in the hotel I work for or catching the final bus out of town. This would plant me over a mile from my house and I'd be walking home on arthritic feet and knees. I don't think so.

So, spent the night in the hotel. Had a glorious shower (the hot water never ran out! Gotta love it!) Went back to work this afternoon. I saw from the window that it was a drop dead gorgeous day, but I wasn't fortunate enough to witness it first hand, alas!

Slaved away some more and am finally home. Whew! I'm off tomorrow. Think I'll nap a couple of times and get some writing done.

Couple of things have been plaguing me tonight, story wise. Castle Walls is off to the editor and I should be getting back to Born of Silence again. Unfortunately, as is always the case when I'm halfway through a novel, something else is rearing it's enticing head and beckoning me away. *sigh* I hate it when that happens!

Anyhoo, the group in-house was 4H. Those of us with some rural background will recognize the organization. Right across from the office door, the Alaskan contingent had a display. Now, I've already got two Alaska ideas in the works – one being a modern day run of the Iditarod and the other being a mail order bride arriving in the 1800 wilderness. Now I've a different one coming to mind – modern day <I>chica</I> nicknamed Trog who saves the life of the President of the United States. No, it's not about how she does it. It's about the reporter who follows her around trying to get an exclusive 'people soft' type of story out of the incident. (And she's nicknamed Trog because she literally lives in a cave – i.e. trogladylte.)

I'm weird, I know.

Tomorrow, I'm going to go over my original At First Blush anthology entry that failed to make the grade. I think if I flesh out the bits and pieces to show rather than tell why the character is second guessing her current relationship, Fortitude might accept it for their next anthology, On Second Thought. Wish me luck. I've got to have it completed, contract signed, story sent in by the Ides of March!

Nitey winky!

Just sent the new and improved version of Castle Walls to my editing goddess, Cindy Cresap. Word count jumped 20k with all the added material. While I'd like to say I'm finished with it, I'm not. Knowing Cindy, she'll rave at the new additions, find several things that need tweakng and then ask for an additional five or six scenes regarding something or other.

And she'll only use one of 'em. LOL!

On the work front, my boss discovered I should have had my performance evaluation last July. Do you know how many hours I've worked since then? 797! And I get a raise! With retrograde pay next week! WOO HOO! Choices, choices . . . do I get that additional 512mb RAM for the Mac? Or perhaps I should go with a backup system. Maybe a program or two that I'm needing.

Off to prepare for work! Aloha!

Anyway, before hitting the sack, I finished that scene! 591 words down; 91 words over my limit for a work day. WOO HOO! Now I've gotta write a minimum of one more between Ros and Emerita to portray their relationship a little better and flesh out the rebellion that Dominic and Liam are involved with. Wish me luck on the latter – I haven't a furkin' clue what to put there!

Aloha and nitey winky, folks!

In less than half an hour, Anna has a reading coming to the house. One of the lucky winners of the auction, no less, who lives in the area. Should be interesting since I write in the living room (the same place the reading will be done.) Good thing I'm mostly deaf, eh? LOL!

Off to finish breakfast and get started on writing.

Spent a couple of hours in an online class tonight – Writing the Novel Series workshop. Not a bad class. Got lots of food for thought.

Also got that frickin' frackin' critique done for Jeri and sent off. W00t! All my writing goals met for the day! Can't beat that!

My dad called. Apparently he's having trouble with his email and hasn't received my last couple. Whatever it was has been figured out as of late this evening. It was really difficult to hear over the phone and I had the volume jacked up as loud as it would go. Thank gods I'll soon have enough put aside for a hearing aide. I might have enough by the end of the year for TWO of 'em! What a concept!

Off to read and goof for the next hour and a half! WOO HOO!

One thing no one ever thinks of when they become a writer is the sheer work involved!

Received an email from a friend of mine – Pagan Personal Ads. Good for tons of giggles, I'll quote a couple of entries here:

Dianic:

Large Masculine Woman seeks same for loose creative time.
Non-hierarchical and very earth based fun. No men allowed so
that you may feel bathed in the spirit of your sisters
without the patriarchal oppression bearing down upon you.
No need for deodorant, conditioner, or makeup here. Be
natural, just the way the Goddess made you.

Asatru (which I am):

Furry and socially backwards man seeking biker babe for grunt
sessions. Don't really care what you look like as long as you
will follow as I say. Must be willing to listen to me ramble
on and on about the Gods and the sacred texts while I get drunk
with libation from my horn cup.

Druid:

Man of the Forest seeks Wood Nymph for nature sex. Think me
hunter you village woman. I have an assortment of different
wands that we can try out in various ways.

*snicker*

Feeling very well this morning. Guess it pays to forget medication for 5 hours and almost double up before bedtime. Made for an easier night – not painless, but not enough to wake me everytime I rolled over. *yawn*