Back to Earth and Down to Work

Today was my first full days work since our return. Till now, I've been dabbling rather than writing, racing over to see our new granddaughter, dealing with a fractious computer, catching up with friends, etc., etc., etc.

I began the morning with a hard copy of the story so far and read it through to get the feel of it before going back to consider the storytelling and characters separately, scribbling comments in the margin as I went. (This one of the stories where I began with two characters clearly in my mind and a general idea of what I expected to happen and commenced writing). I finished mid morning and began working the comments into the story, continuing on uninterrupted until late afternoon, when some visitors arrived.

I've just read the revised story and it feels good. More importantly, I know where I'm going tomorrow and have a clearer idea of the probable outcome. I'm looking forward to the journey now.

Amy

A New Grand-daughter

Jasmine came into the world late Monday night and we saw our younger daughter with her first child about an hour later. I shall never forget the look of wonder, almost awe, on her face as she watched us take turns in holding her child. Her eyes only strayed momentarily when she answered a question or responded to a comment, returning immediately the distraction was over.
It was a touching moment. One of the memories you carry with you always,
Amy

An Unscratchable Itch

I'm not very smart.

That damned Fanlit challenge niggled at the back of my mind until I had another go. It didn't matter that the heroine's claim to be a Countess flew in the face of the laws of succession/inheritance for English Nobility and would have been laughed out of any Regency Drawing Room (My first attempt at least gave her a legal claim to the title) flawing the whole premise of the story. I was sucked in a second time.

The only benefit is that I've filled my quota of submissions and go back to productive work.

It still itches though...

Amy

A Weekend of Fantasy

I'm joining some other New Concepts authors, 16/17th September, to present a Fantasy weekend on the Yahoo Group for NCP authors and readers. We post excerpts of our fantasy books, run competitions and answer questions. It should be a lot of fun and everybody's welcome to join in and help it along.

The third book of what I'm now calling "First Family" stories, is developing nicely, now I've worked my way back into the story. It's set two hundred years after NEW BLOOD and the hero is Peter's grandson, part of the "First Family" and filled with the same quixotic ardor to right wrongs. I'm looking forward to seeing what he gets up to over the next forty thousand words.

See you on the weekend

Amy

Fools rush in

That feels like a perfect description at the moment.

I was browsing Shelley Munro's Blog, saw her link to Avon Fanlit and followed it to their competition page. The current task is to write a Regency romance, chapter by chapter, with each chapter being voted on progressively. They give an opening scene and you have fifteen hundred words to write it. (There's an amplification hidden elsewhere in the site that I missed)
The date is Spring,1815. It struck me that Napoleon had just left Marseille and was marching on Paris to begin the hundred days leading to his defeat at Waterloo,(You collect all sorts of trivia as you get older) and that the Waltz was introduced to London Society by the Prince Regent about that time (Fifteen months later actually). These two unrelated facts jelled into a situation that fitted the opening scene (but not the hidden amplification).

A wise soul would have sat on the thought, or stored it away for later use. Not me. With no experience of writing Regency Romances, I dashed off the fifteen hundred words required and submitted it, turning the heroine into a French spy and the hero into an arrogant sob. The voting so far reflects my folly, but you can read it if you choose. It's called "A Dangerous Game"

Back to more productive work.

Amy

The Old Routine

Our sleeping pattern is almost back to normal, we've unpacked the last of our clothes, caught up with our washing and our trip is finally over.
It feels a little strange. I keep waking and expectiong to be somewhere else. Walking through the house in the dark, I bump into things I normally avoided without thought. It's great to be home, but...
Amy

Back to Work

I've hit the deck running, energized possibly by the favorable reviews sitting in my in-tray when I returned.
I've just sent off a 2000 word short story to a national woman's magazine who've published my stories before and have started fleshing out an idea I developed while travelling, the words flowing well into the early hours of the morning.
It's a great life.
Amy

Reviews

A little mind candy arrived while we were away and I'll share it with you.

New Blood by Amy Gallow
Marlene Breakfield, Reviewer
Four Moons - Excellent work.
Class Two - Limited sexual content
Dael is an administrator in a remote outpost for the Hive--beings who share a Group Mind but must use humans to contain their entity. The Chosen humans agree to host a member of the Hive for seventeen years in return for better health, a longer life, and wealth. Samara, Dael's human host, has been a host for twelve years--since her early teens. Samara/Dael are kidnapped by Torred, who is following Peter's orders, and taken to a human settlement that has escaped the Hive's notice. Dael is confused and terribly upset, wondering how such a large settlement has escaped notice. Then, Dael meets Peter, a powerful being, who plans to change her world.
NEW BLOOD is a very unusual romance with a "TWILIGHT ZONE" feel. Although, NEW BLOOD is slow in the beginning--it took me awhile to familiarize myself with Ms. Gallow's complex world--I became wrapped up in the struggles of all the characters. Dael and Peter make an endearing and loving couple, and the secondary romance between Samara and Torred is very satisfying. However, the fantasy elements of NEW BLOOD take equal billing with the romantic elements, and Ms. Gallow creates a thought-provoking fantasy romance.

MITCHELL'S VALLEYby Amy Gallow
RT Rating: Three Stars
Category: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Publisher: Rocky River RomancePublished: May 2006
Type: Contemporary Romance (Paranormal)

When Cynthia Sheldon discovers that Andrew Mitchell, the man who saved her life during a snowstorm, went missing in 1886, she sets out to find answers. Her journey takes her to Mitchell's Valley, the ancestral homestead of her rescuer.It is there that she meets Drew Mitchell. The striking similarities in both appearance and mannerisms between Drew and her memories of Andrew are quite evident. And Cynthia is surprised to find that she shares an attraction and yearning for both men. Was the savior with whom she shared such an intimate connection truly a ghost or merely a hoax?

This is eloquently written and almost poetic in style, with great attention to detail. But readers must suspend too much disbelief to make the book totally credible. Gallow redeems this beautiful tale of the search for truth and the longing for love with her uniquely elegant approach, reminiscent of a classic love story. (May, 219 pp., $4.95)—Connie Ruebusch

I'm not sure how significant reviews are to book sales, but they're certainly a little music to the soul of a writer.

Amy

Home Again

Sixty-four days after we left, it was good to step through the front door again and feel the familiarity of the house enfold us. We'd seen much, met interesting people and made new friends as well as visited old ones.

It was a ball!!