Saturday, February 06, 2010
In the Bright Light of Day
Sometimes I’m too hard on myself and that makes my character Anita Blake too hard on herself. Merry Gentry cuts herself more slack than either of us. I’m not sure why, but Anita does take the brunt of my near punishing standards for myself. Example in point, last night’s writing session. I expected Anita and myself to be able to go from seeing one of THE most violent crime scenes she’s ever seen, plus video of another murder where the bad guy is taunting Anita personally, to being able to do cocktail party talk and flirting. It’s what was up… Read More
Personal • Writing •
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Atlanta Signing Tonight, Imbolc, and Ground Hog’s Day
Flirt, the newest Anita Blake novel, is out today! Thanks to everyone that have already told me they’ve gotten it, and are reading as I type this, or even have already finished it. Thanks for the love it comments. Thanks also for not over sharing with all the people that have not finished the book yet.
It’s also Ground Hog Day. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so six more weeks of winter. Our snipers failed.
Happy Imbolc which is the celebration of the rekindling of the light as we prepare for spring. In our faith the Goddess, Brid, pronounced Breed… Read More
Blogging •
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Counting Blessings instead of Chores
I did an amazing, even by my standards, 27 pages today. Oddly, I did the same number last Sunday, but in two writing sessions instead of the one massive one I did today. Apparently, I write very productively on Sundays. Early in the book, any book, I have days when 4 to 8 pages is a very good day. I tend to pick up speed the closer I get to the end of a book. It’s just a natural rhythm that I’ve always done, but some books will have days of twenty plus pages and some books if I do… Read More
Blogging •
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tempted
One of the things I like best about fiction is being able to rewrite. It allows you to fix all your mistakes with a clear-eyed 20/20 vision that real life rarely gives you. But just because you can fix the “mistakes” does that mean you should? We had deaths of characters early in “Bullet”. I cried, I got depressed, I put it out on the Internet, and let all that emotion spread. Not sure if I’ll do that again, by the by, but once I did it there was no taking it back. So since I have already shared, I’ll… Read More
Blogging •
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Funeral was Yesterday
We had a funeral yesterday. Great-Grandma Helen was nearly a hundred so her death was not unexpected, but in the end that doesn’t take away the grief, it only changes it. She had been sick for a very long time, and she rarely remembered present day or knew exactly what was happening around her. So that in many ways she was gone long before her body knew to leave. I have had grief both after long illness and age, and the sudden, shock of young, healthy people dieing. If I had to choose, I will take the grief of the… Read More
Blogging •
Monday, January 25, 2010
Crystals
I’ve heard from a lot of you that shared similar, or different, early life traumas. First, thanks for sharing, and glad my blogs have helped you deal with some of your own issues, even if its just to know that you’re not the only one. I thought I’d share with you some of the pitfalls that I’ve found in working my own issues, and meeting others that are working theirs. One of the biggest traps for those of us with serious early abuse whether it be emotional, verbal, physical, or sexual, or any combination thereof, is getting caught in the… Read More
Blogging •
Friday, January 22, 2010
Monsters
I’ve tried to pretend my mood was better than it truly was today. Sometimes it works to act as if. Act as if you’re happy. Act as if you’re not overwhelmed. Act as if you’re more confident than you are. I’ve found that often if I act ‘as if’ that I feel braver, happier, and it becomes true with positive energy put into it. But today, it just hasn’t worked.
I’ve sat at the computer and got no pages. It’s an Edward scene and that usually writes very fast, and is a lot of fun, but today the page sits… Read More
Personal •