Last week, I regaled you with the question of outlining a novel and how I’ve progressed through that process. This week, I want to discuss what happens after the outline is in place.

When I first began writing as a teenager, I worked on a fanfic from Star Trek, the original series. I clearly recall that I never got beyond fifteen pages of written material. One of the biggest problems I’ve had to overcome is my constant editing of what’s already on paper. Continue Reading…

Things are gearing up in my neck of the woods, and it’s time I once more dusted off this blog in an attempt to keep people updated on what’s going on with me. This time I got smart — I did some research, and actually have topics to discuss, as well as a deadline. I’m aiming for a post every Wednesday.

Playing a little catch up:

Broken Trails is still in limbo at the moment. I’m waiting for the editor to either be assigned, or go over the manuscript and return it to me. PD Publishing has it scheduled for release in winter of this year. They’ve been through a lot of mayhem the last year, so seem to be a bit behind schedule. Cross your fingers!

Continue Reading…

3847 words written and edited on Broken Trails.  Chapter Twenty-Seven is complete.  Queuing up Chapter Twenty-Eight for tomorrow.  It’s now February at the Fuller Kennels, with lots of work to do for the race coming in March.  Lainey’s also beginning to come to terms with the idea that she’s an alcoholic.  I think I’ll add a new scene next, one where she speaks with the kennel’s handler, Miguel.  He’s a supporting character that hasn’t had a lot of weight throughout the novel, but I’ve made him a recovering alcoholic—time for Lainey to approach someone who understands what’s going on with her.

Working on the last of the Blood Books by Tanya Huff, Blood Debt.  I like the series, but I can put the book down pretty easy.  Not sure why.  It’s not boring, and the writing’s good.  The verbal play between the characters is hilarious… Yet I find myself needing to take a break from the book.  Weird.

Finished watching the third season of ‘Deadwood.’  It ended rather abruptly.  I guess they’d hoped to continue on, and it got canceled.  Too bad. I’d love to follow along more, though they’d lose some of the rough and tumble of the place with the coming of government into the territory.  (And Bullock losing the sheriff’s seat opens up a whole ‘nother can o’ worms…)  It could be similar to the reasons I don’t write a sequel to Tiopa Ki Lakota – I don’t want to see my characters on a reservation, or the sickness and oppression they’ll receive from growing contact with the whites.

I watched ‘Flash Forward’ on ABC.go.com yesterday.  Now I have to get the book! I’ll be following this one for sure.

Saw the season premiere of ‘Mercy’ this morning on NBC.com. Kate Mulgrew as the drunken mother was fun.  (Gods, I love that woman’s voice!  LOL!  “Gin Ricky!”)  She’s a supporting character, so I’m debating whether or not to watch the show on a regular basis.  I like the set up and all, and the characters are interesting as hel, but I’ve never been much for the medical dramas. I guess if I remember to watch it next week, that’ll be an indicator of interest, huh?

Well, off to feed cats, make lunch, and do chores before work. Have a great day, y’all!

Here I sit at the Urban Grind coffee house in the Pearl District.  I was impressed with the funky little place the last time I was here.  Unfortunately, thats’ when I got so deathly ill and I haven’t been back since.

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.

I’ve been published for about six years (off and on as I swapped around publishers.) I’ve always been pretty much a POD name, unfortunately. I know that there were some specialty book stores that ordered my titles for their shelves, but not in my town.

I found a website called BookFinder.com . . . On a lark, I plugged in my name. Came up with both PD Publishing titles. So I clicked one. Then I frantically back tracked and clicked the other.

BOTH of my books are at Powell’s! The King of bookstores! Here! In MY town! Mere blocks away!

Good gods! I have to go to Powell’s tomorrow just to be able to see my books on the shelves!

And I write. 1952 words, chapter twenty-six of Orphan Maker is complete.

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.

Work’s been busy, busy, busy, and I haven’t had a lot of time to concentrate on the writing, so it’s been slow going.

I just finished the final edits and added the dedication, bio, and acknowledgements for Tiopa. Whew! Since this is the final go round, I had to really pay attention to each and every word. What isn’t caught now ends up in the final product.

I’ve gotten through most the edits for Warlord Metal, as well. I’m waiting for the technical edit run through and then the final round with that, as well.

Tiopa Ki Lakota will definitely be available at Orlando Bardcon (complete with it’s spiffy new cover.) I think we’re still trying to push for Warlord Metal to be out at that time, as well, but I don’t know the timeline. Cross your fingers!

An announcement has been put out on the ‘verse about a former employee of Fortitude selling off the abandoned stock of titles. The books have been stored in her basement almost from the beginning of the company, and it will cost three or four hundred dollars to have the local waste management company haul them away.

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.

I really hope that when I swap over to day shifts permanently, I’ll be able to organize my day properly. Can’t seem to get anything done with any regularity except dishes.

A couple of days ago I wrote about 500 words on Orphan Maker. Deleted them today and rewrote them. Only 500 for the day. But I also got the next round of Tiopa Ki Lakota edits finished today, so it’s not a total bust. Tomorrow will be better.

Got off work yesterday, ready for 5 glorious days off. Got plastered last night while in chat. It was fun, actually; better than a bar! LOL! Not to mention less smoky.

I think I’ll spend the rest of the day watching The 4400 and working on Orphan Maker diagrams. Still have to get the Loomis homestead and floorplan finalized.

Sooooooo . . . getting up at 4am sucks! Getting off work at 1 or 2 in the afternoon? Priceless.

No writing on Monday afternoon due to the apartment investigation. The one we were looking at has been rented . . . dammit. We don’t want any others, but the manager insisted that we get the preliminary paperwork done for the one acroos the hall from us. He said all the 2 bedroom apartments had the same floor plan and larger decks. On the way home from the complex office that afternoon, we wandered around the back side of our building to have a gander at that deck . . . don’t know what that guy’s been smoking, but the deck on that particular apartment is as small as our current one. (I’ll give him the benefit, though. The rest of them appear to be larger, if not as large as the one we’ve been lusting over.)

Anyhow, the people move out on the fifth, so we can’t actually look at it until after that. Doesn’t make any difference. We’ve decided to hold out for our dream apartment. Sooner or later whoever moves in there will leave and, since they have such a tough time selling 2 bedrooms, we’ll step up to the plate and slide right home. (Oh, and one of the maintenance guys is a friend of ours. He said that half the apartments they rent don’t get moved into. Maybe these folks will bail on the final paperwork and we’ll get in now!)

Wrote some yesterday. Only 505 words. Another flashback from the past, showing the escalation of skirmishes between the Riddicks and the townies. Riddick’s got a hard on for taking my MC, Loomis, down after her public win of their brawl. He’s not going to let it go.

And, received the next round of Tiopa edits. Haven’t looked at ‘em, yet. I know of at least one more to go through. (Have I mentioned edits SUCKETH MIGHTILY?? More than getting up at 4am!)

(reprinted with permission)

“Couldn’t the novel simply focus on the love between Anpo and Kathleen…and the conflicts would arise from some of the cultural practices and how they (Anpo & Ketlin and the Lakota) deal with them. Throw in some suitors for Anpo and see what happens. Can both husband and wife take a second mate? Have there been exceptions to the rule? Anpo’s father didn’t “throw his wife away” so perhaps there were those who simply refused to take a second mate. Of course, I have no idea what I’m talking about as regards Lakota practices so please excuse my ignorance. But, there you see. Another reason to write the sequel….to educate people like me. It’s a lot more fun learning about other cultures when you can see the culture at work with characters you already love.”

My response:

The Lakota lifestyle is a live and let live sort of culture. There isn’t going to be much in the way of clash there, not as much as there was for Kathleen. Most of the conflict in the first book is from her Western upbringing, not the Lakota’s response to her.

That means that any conflict for a potential sequel would be an exterior one. And that’s what I’m finding difficult. It has to be something outside of their current situation that causes friction or there’s no story. I’ve done the research in the time period, and there’s mention of a white woman killed when Teca’s about fourteen years old.

In 1793, the Dakota see a white woman in proper European dress for the first time.

In 1794, one band says a white woman is killed at night and another says she was killed with an arrow.

In 1795, they saw a white man that came from an unknown place.

Two years later, in 1797, Little Beaver shows up in winter. Little Beaver was a white trader.

If I can figure out how to tie this all together, I’ll have a plot. But again, Anpo’s second wife would be a reality, and I’m fairly certain my readers will not be happy campers with her existence.

Two Spirit people emerging as tales are told

You may have to register to see the article. It discusses the re-emergence of the two spirited Indians across the United States.

Thanks to MacD for the link!

Had some interesting questions emailed me yesterday. I thought some of you might want to hear the answers to them, and received permission to post them here.

Continue Reading…

Tiopa is back to the publisher. I’m told there’ll be another round of edits from a different set of eyes. Then we’ll begin working on Warlord Metal. (And I think that one’s going to need a little more work. The start is pretty slow. Don’t know how to beef it up, but there you are.)

I’m now 500 words into chapter seven of Orphan Maker, with a minimum of 500 to go. If I get into it enough, maybe I’ll finish it out today. I don’t know.

On the apartment front, the wife was able to sneak in (it’s good to have connections with the people working here.) She’s not particularly impressed with the place. We’re going to see if I can get inside for a look-see today. Then we’ll talk over the pros and cons. Maybe we won’t be moving the weekend of the fourth.

P.D. Publishing is proud to announce that we will be publishing the following books:

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.