When I first started writing professionally I came across "wordsmith". It wasn't familiar so I looked it up in the dictionary.
Wordsmith: a fluent and prolific writer with a talent for words; a professional whose vocation is writing; a journalist.
It gave me a goal. More than anything else, I wanted to be a wordsmith!
Yesterday, an editor who knew nothing of me beyond my manuscripts described me as a 'Wordsmith" and, influenza virus or no, I felt good. It was, to me, the ultimate professional accolade.
As an aside, it seems Shadowrose Publications may release my early books taken off the shelf by the demise of Rocky River Romances, starting with A Fair Trader, the Americanized version of A Fair Trade. I've done the artwork questionnaire and am waiting for the edits.
More later.
Amy
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Four, and definitely counting
Shadowrose Publications offered a contract for A Fair Trader, the Americanized version of my Rocky River Romance book, A Fair Trade and I accepted it. This will be my fourth contract for this year and I have two possible additions in the pipeline. To say I'm a little elated is a major understatement.
Sleep last night was an unattainable illusion beyond a few catnaps and I was up early toiling away at administrative tasks such as updating my website and spreading the news. This is the last of those tasks before I open my WIP and get down to my real work.
It's a great life
Amy
Sleep last night was an unattainable illusion beyond a few catnaps and I was up early toiling away at administrative tasks such as updating my website and spreading the news. This is the last of those tasks before I open my WIP and get down to my real work.
It's a great life
Amy
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A Great Day at the Office
I began writing as a detailed planner, my engineering background demanded it. I’d take an idea and play with it until I could see its potential and then build a structure to present all its elements in a logical pattern, with mini climaxes dotted a precise intervals, subplots initiated and carried forward to their culmination, everything in its precise place. Only then would I start to write. (I tell the story of using a very complex project planning software, one I used professionally and taught others how to use effectively, to plan one story, complete with critical paths etc, and it’s true.)
These days I’m more likely to begin with a character, a general idea of how I’d like him/her to develop, and dump him/her into a situation I think might provide this development. I then write forward with the only goal of having my character react naturally and let the situation develop, making me as much the observer as the reader and probably with less idea how the story will develop(which requires a gigantic leap of faith on my part).
What happens next always surprises and delights me. A some point in the story, nearly thirty thousand words into it in this case, everything clicks together and I have the complete structure in my mind.(Not the details, just he structure.) My reaction is always the same. I sit grinning like a fool, then get up and prowl around the house, hugging to myself the feeling of success, until I can sit down at the keyboard and begin turning it into reality.
The two thousand words, I’d struggled to produce each day to this point, flow onto the screen so easily I’m tempted to keep going, but I don’t. I have a life away from the keyboard and it deserves my attention.
The end of the first draft beckons now, (from thirty thousand words in the future) with its final skim through before I put it aside and begin another manuscript and go back to the struggle until its time to return and do the hard work of crafting my creation into a readable whole. (It usually takes me twice as long as the first draft to achieve this and I have one waiting for me.)
Back to writing for me.
Amy
These days I’m more likely to begin with a character, a general idea of how I’d like him/her to develop, and dump him/her into a situation I think might provide this development. I then write forward with the only goal of having my character react naturally and let the situation develop, making me as much the observer as the reader and probably with less idea how the story will develop(which requires a gigantic leap of faith on my part).
What happens next always surprises and delights me. A some point in the story, nearly thirty thousand words into it in this case, everything clicks together and I have the complete structure in my mind.(Not the details, just he structure.) My reaction is always the same. I sit grinning like a fool, then get up and prowl around the house, hugging to myself the feeling of success, until I can sit down at the keyboard and begin turning it into reality.
The two thousand words, I’d struggled to produce each day to this point, flow onto the screen so easily I’m tempted to keep going, but I don’t. I have a life away from the keyboard and it deserves my attention.
The end of the first draft beckons now, (from thirty thousand words in the future) with its final skim through before I put it aside and begin another manuscript and go back to the struggle until its time to return and do the hard work of crafting my creation into a readable whole. (It usually takes me twice as long as the first draft to achieve this and I have one waiting for me.)
Back to writing for me.
Amy
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Critique Groups
I joined an online critique group a few days ago, my first foray into this area. I've always been wary of such things, partly because I'm not a natural joiner and few of the group forays I've previously made proved worth the time they consumed. (I find writing time precious and anything that competes with it has to pass stern tests)
I made my first critique too quickly, I should've read more of the previous crits first, and, because this was the writer's most obvious weakness, I chose to "show" rather than tell.
It was not well received and I wondered initially if it were worth the effort I'd put into it..
My second crit was more cautious (not in content, but in approach). The writer was much more competent and it only needed minor errors highlighted, but I'd discovered a basic fact about these groups--doing a crit requires much more trust than offering your work for one. (you can choose to ignore another's words)
It was a moderately long passage and I finished the crit(using their recommended method of inserting the comments direction into the text using capitals) and then I sat and read it several times (It is a measure of my focus that I still missed a simple typo that turned "think" into "thing"). Still not satisfied, I put it away for several hours and enjoyed the visit of all, bar one, of our grandchildren. After tea, when they'd been bathed and gone home, I sat and read it again. It was the balance between highlighting effectively what I saw to be errors and the method I had to use to achieve this that bothered me the most.
In the end, I sent it off and returned to my real work, Kayelle, having forgone five, possibly six, hours in the exercise.
It's a great life (but I sometimes wonder)
Amy
I made my first critique too quickly, I should've read more of the previous crits first, and, because this was the writer's most obvious weakness, I chose to "show" rather than tell.
It was not well received and I wondered initially if it were worth the effort I'd put into it..
My second crit was more cautious (not in content, but in approach). The writer was much more competent and it only needed minor errors highlighted, but I'd discovered a basic fact about these groups--doing a crit requires much more trust than offering your work for one. (you can choose to ignore another's words)
It was a moderately long passage and I finished the crit(using their recommended method of inserting the comments direction into the text using capitals) and then I sat and read it several times (It is a measure of my focus that I still missed a simple typo that turned "think" into "thing"). Still not satisfied, I put it away for several hours and enjoyed the visit of all, bar one, of our grandchildren. After tea, when they'd been bathed and gone home, I sat and read it again. It was the balance between highlighting effectively what I saw to be errors and the method I had to use to achieve this that bothered me the most.
In the end, I sent it off and returned to my real work, Kayelle, having forgone five, possibly six, hours in the exercise.
It's a great life (but I sometimes wonder)
Amy
Monday, July 16, 2007
Works in Progress
My current work in progress is the fourth story of the First Family from New Blood. It has the feel of a good story, particularly as I'm attempting a different structure from the others, but there are many more judgement calls to be made and each one has taken time. Achieving some success with the previous stories in this series has raised the bar considerably.
There are times when the work creeps forward as I juggle possibilities, sometimes even stalling as the moment of decision looms. Other moments have me jumping from place to place in the manuscript and writing furiously as a decision opens up unforeseen possibilities and I hurry to record them. Always my internal editor questions, demands excellence, derides foolishness and taps an impatient rhythm on my shoulder.
In the beginning there was occasional applause for this piece of writing or that from this conscience figure. Now, the best I can expect is grudging absolution and a demand for more and better writing.
It's great life.
Amy
There are times when the work creeps forward as I juggle possibilities, sometimes even stalling as the moment of decision looms. Other moments have me jumping from place to place in the manuscript and writing furiously as a decision opens up unforeseen possibilities and I hurry to record them. Always my internal editor questions, demands excellence, derides foolishness and taps an impatient rhythm on my shoulder.
In the beginning there was occasional applause for this piece of writing or that from this conscience figure. Now, the best I can expect is grudging absolution and a demand for more and better writing.
It's great life.
Amy
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Workaholic Blues
I was not always a workaholic.
The malady grew, undetected, through the years, parallelling my increasing responsibilities, until it became so much of me I had to arrange a physical separation between my work and my home life. The strategy worked most of the time, but there were outbreaks to be curbed.
It is more difficult now. My office is only a few steps away and writing has a tempo imposed by the release of new books. This makes it easy to impose self deadlines to meet some imagined advantage of keeping your name in the public eye, especially when the failure of a publisher reduces the body of your work available to readers. There's a terrible temptation to work harder, write faster, to replace those books in the market.
Marketing is another excuse. Small house publishers, the ones likely to take a chance on emerging and makee-learnee writers like me, do not have the funds to promote their books and the burden falls to the author. I've gone through the initial stage of frenetic energy, interrupted by trips to New Zealand and Europe/UK, and have settled to a level of measured effort directed as intelligently as I can, although the prime requirement still seems to be a sufficient body of work in the public domain to sustain interest.
I guess I'll just struggle along, trying to balance the conflicting demands of my family, my muse and commercial realities.
It's a great life. (I think)
Amy
The malady grew, undetected, through the years, parallelling my increasing responsibilities, until it became so much of me I had to arrange a physical separation between my work and my home life. The strategy worked most of the time, but there were outbreaks to be curbed.
It is more difficult now. My office is only a few steps away and writing has a tempo imposed by the release of new books. This makes it easy to impose self deadlines to meet some imagined advantage of keeping your name in the public eye, especially when the failure of a publisher reduces the body of your work available to readers. There's a terrible temptation to work harder, write faster, to replace those books in the market.
Marketing is another excuse. Small house publishers, the ones likely to take a chance on emerging and makee-learnee writers like me, do not have the funds to promote their books and the burden falls to the author. I've gone through the initial stage of frenetic energy, interrupted by trips to New Zealand and Europe/UK, and have settled to a level of measured effort directed as intelligently as I can, although the prime requirement still seems to be a sufficient body of work in the public domain to sustain interest.
I guess I'll just struggle along, trying to balance the conflicting demands of my family, my muse and commercial realities.
It's a great life. (I think)
Amy
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Demanding Muse
There are moments in writing when the muse needs wooing, others when she teases and tantalizes, but the toughest are when she demands total effort and is satisfied with nothing less than your best.
The fourth story of the First Family series creeps forwards, ideas tested and discarded. Six thousand words trashed because they led into a blind alley. What remains is good, but my muse demands more, forcing me to dig deep into all I've learned since I began this mad obsession with writing.
Kayelle, the heroine of this story, is twenty-two and younger than the others. Headstrong, willfull, hungry for life, she frets at restriction and is impatient with delay. Jean-Paul, on the other hand, is wary of his attraction to this beautiful child, particularly as he finds himself doing uncharacteristic things, his emotions taking charge and tempting him into what seems in retrospect, little better than rape in his eyes.
Kayelle doesn't see it that way.
I'll leave you and get back to the problem.
Amy
The fourth story of the First Family series creeps forwards, ideas tested and discarded. Six thousand words trashed because they led into a blind alley. What remains is good, but my muse demands more, forcing me to dig deep into all I've learned since I began this mad obsession with writing.
Kayelle, the heroine of this story, is twenty-two and younger than the others. Headstrong, willfull, hungry for life, she frets at restriction and is impatient with delay. Jean-Paul, on the other hand, is wary of his attraction to this beautiful child, particularly as he finds himself doing uncharacteristic things, his emotions taking charge and tempting him into what seems in retrospect, little better than rape in his eyes.
Kayelle doesn't see it that way.
I'll leave you and get back to the problem.
Amy
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Recycling is Hell
I'm back in the fourth story for the First Family series and my mind is made up. No more attempting to recycle the stories of my failed Australian publisher. If the two submissions I have in at the moment work, good. If they don't, too bad.
They were good stories, written for Australian readers and a time capsule of my writing style at the time, but Americanizing them and updating their style is surprisingly hard, particularly the style change. It's not just changing telling to showing, the characters themselves no longer ring true and it dates the storyline. Coming back to the present, so to speak, was such a relief and the unnamed fourth story is flowing along with only the story problems to occupy my mind.
This is the major change in my writing style. I know my characters, I know my background and I record their activities. It gives an immediacy to my writing and I experience the story as it happens, just like the reader.
As I've said before.
It's a great life.
Amy
They were good stories, written for Australian readers and a time capsule of my writing style at the time, but Americanizing them and updating their style is surprisingly hard, particularly the style change. It's not just changing telling to showing, the characters themselves no longer ring true and it dates the storyline. Coming back to the present, so to speak, was such a relief and the unnamed fourth story is flowing along with only the story problems to occupy my mind.
This is the major change in my writing style. I know my characters, I know my background and I record their activities. It gives an immediacy to my writing and I experience the story as it happens, just like the reader.
As I've said before.
It's a great life.
Amy
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A comedy of errors resolved
I sent off one of my WIPs yesterday. It was a rewrite, requested by a publisher, of a story first submitted in 2001 and subsequently published in 2002 as a print book in Australia by Rocky River Romance, which has subsequently closed it doors.
With the rights returned to me, I Americanized the spelling and jargon to find it another home and sent it off with a query letter to a US publisher. It came back within a week, just before we went to Sydney for our granddaughter's birthday, with a surprising run of editing suggestions and a request to see the edited version. When I opened the manuscript file, I found I'd accidentally submitted the original manuscript from 2001 and the comments related to my 2001 writing style. I'd gone to the trouble of renaming the manuscript to prevent confusion, but in the rush to finish everything before leaving for Sydney, I'd clicked on the line below and sent the wrong manuscript.
I sent an email explaining my error and that I would be away in Sydney for some time before I could respond, especially as two of the editing suggestions, still relevant to the updated manuscript, really interested me.
Back from Sydney, re-energized by the break, I put everything aside and plunged into the rewrite. It has been the most difficult writing task, I've attempted so far, and I struggled because the story had changed so much from its 2001 version that applying the editing principles contained in the publisher's suggestions was like applying them to a different language. I hope my efforts satisfy the new publisher, but I have no confidence in them. I even toyed with putting it aside for a month or two, but decided against it. Perhaps I was wrong?
Amy
With the rights returned to me, I Americanized the spelling and jargon to find it another home and sent it off with a query letter to a US publisher. It came back within a week, just before we went to Sydney for our granddaughter's birthday, with a surprising run of editing suggestions and a request to see the edited version. When I opened the manuscript file, I found I'd accidentally submitted the original manuscript from 2001 and the comments related to my 2001 writing style. I'd gone to the trouble of renaming the manuscript to prevent confusion, but in the rush to finish everything before leaving for Sydney, I'd clicked on the line below and sent the wrong manuscript.
I sent an email explaining my error and that I would be away in Sydney for some time before I could respond, especially as two of the editing suggestions, still relevant to the updated manuscript, really interested me.
Back from Sydney, re-energized by the break, I put everything aside and plunged into the rewrite. It has been the most difficult writing task, I've attempted so far, and I struggled because the story had changed so much from its 2001 version that applying the editing principles contained in the publisher's suggestions was like applying them to a different language. I hope my efforts satisfy the new publisher, but I have no confidence in them. I even toyed with putting it aside for a month or two, but decided against it. Perhaps I was wrong?
Amy
Thursday, June 14, 2007
"We be Pirates, by God"
We're back from Sydney after a great time with our granddaughter (They grow up so fast!) and snatching a few moments to follow a discussion about pirates in the NCP group.
It started me thinking and I came up with a story idea about a Royal Navy Lieutenant, put on half-pay by the decommissioning of ships after the Treaty of Amiens, returning to his home in Jamaica and setting up as a trader to gather intelligence about the privateers turned pirates by the peace. 1802 lies outside the golden age of piracy, but there was a brief flurry of activity in this period which saw some quite horrific acts of piracy and it gives a lead in to the Lieutenant's family history in the trade for a possible series.
It would be nice to read a story of pirates that bore some resemblance to truth.
I've put it aside for the moment to concentrate on my two WIPs
It's a great life
Amy
It started me thinking and I came up with a story idea about a Royal Navy Lieutenant, put on half-pay by the decommissioning of ships after the Treaty of Amiens, returning to his home in Jamaica and setting up as a trader to gather intelligence about the privateers turned pirates by the peace. 1802 lies outside the golden age of piracy, but there was a brief flurry of activity in this period which saw some quite horrific acts of piracy and it gives a lead in to the Lieutenant's family history in the trade for a possible series.
It would be nice to read a story of pirates that bore some resemblance to truth.
I've put it aside for the moment to concentrate on my two WIPs
It's a great life
Amy
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Vampires, Werewolves and other things going bump in the night
Amid the rash of polls, blogs and other things about were-creatures and the like, one author wondered about the shift from demonizing such creatures to making them sexy and attractive-think of the shift from The Big Bad Wolf of the Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood to the countless heroes of shape-shifter romances and from Bram Stoker's Dracula to current vampires.
I think the answer is simple. When we feared these creatures, we demonized them. Now our healthy skepticism has revealed them for the figments they really are, we pity them and start conservation movements. The first step of any conservation movement is to popularize, casting the target in a favorable light to gain wide spread support.
Logically, the Devil must be due his day in the Sun soon, then we can expect the most misrepresented of them all to appear, although God as a sex object takes a leap of the imagination.
Global Warming shrinks in comparison.
It's a great life.
Amy
PS We're off to share out granddaughter's birthday in Sydney. See you in two weeks time.
I think the answer is simple. When we feared these creatures, we demonized them. Now our healthy skepticism has revealed them for the figments they really are, we pity them and start conservation movements. The first step of any conservation movement is to popularize, casting the target in a favorable light to gain wide spread support.
Logically, the Devil must be due his day in the Sun soon, then we can expect the most misrepresented of them all to appear, although God as a sex object takes a leap of the imagination.
Global Warming shrinks in comparison.
It's a great life.
Amy
PS We're off to share out granddaughter's birthday in Sydney. See you in two weeks time.
Friday, May 25, 2007
"Foreign" writers
An editor was lamenting in the Epicbiz Yahoo Group about the standard of English in the submissions he received from "Foreign" countries and others joined in with horror stories of the submissions they'd received.
While I sympathize with them, I was in the middle of Americanizing one of my stories and muttering to myself about the changes it imposed--American English is sometimes painful to the rest of the English speaking world.(Its passion for simplification often robs it of subtle nuances)
I toyed with the idea of responding to him with a submission and having a little fun with his guidelines (they were a little obscure in parts) purely out of annoyance, but better judgement prevailed ans I went back to my task.
He's possibly a very nice man, writing out of frustration more than real thoughts, and may even regret his careless use of the English language to define "Foreign" writers, but he was unwilling to forgive lapses in others, so he can't expect them himself.
Back to work for me
Amy
While I sympathize with them, I was in the middle of Americanizing one of my stories and muttering to myself about the changes it imposed--American English is sometimes painful to the rest of the English speaking world.(Its passion for simplification often robs it of subtle nuances)
I toyed with the idea of responding to him with a submission and having a little fun with his guidelines (they were a little obscure in parts) purely out of annoyance, but better judgement prevailed ans I went back to my task.
He's possibly a very nice man, writing out of frustration more than real thoughts, and may even regret his careless use of the English language to define "Foreign" writers, but he was unwilling to forgive lapses in others, so he can't expect them himself.
Back to work for me
Amy
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Busy, Busy, Busy
The demise of Rocky River Romance/Saltwater Press freed four books as the rights reverted to me and I'm busy finding them a new home, Americanizing the spelling and colloquialisms to make the stories more readily accessible to US readers.
One of them, Snow Drifter translated very easily, being part set in Aspen, the second is more difficult and I was tempted to take the Americanization further and relocate it as I did with Mitchell's Valley.
It's great, applying the several years of learning to stories I enjoyed writing, but it is also intense. I end each day with a stiff neck and an ache between my shoulder blades.
New Concepts has Snow Drifter and I'm waiting for their response while I work on the others.
It's a great life.
Amy
One of them, Snow Drifter translated very easily, being part set in Aspen, the second is more difficult and I was tempted to take the Americanization further and relocate it as I did with Mitchell's Valley.
It's great, applying the several years of learning to stories I enjoyed writing, but it is also intense. I end each day with a stiff neck and an ache between my shoulder blades.
New Concepts has Snow Drifter and I'm waiting for their response while I work on the others.
It's a great life.
Amy
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Web Traffic
It is bizarre what brings traffic to a website.
I received a huge boost when Saddam Hussein was hung, mainly from people searching for gallow, with or without the pendent s. The word is still responsible for a higher proportion of visits than any other source.
This type of information brings you down to earth with a thump.
It's still a great life
Amy
I received a huge boost when Saddam Hussein was hung, mainly from people searching for gallow, with or without the pendent s. The word is still responsible for a higher proportion of visits than any other source.
This type of information brings you down to earth with a thump.
It's still a great life
Amy
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Feodar's World has landed violently
New Concepts released Feodar's World today, rating it both sensual and contains violence. The latter puzzled me a little and I had to go back over the story to find the violence as I'd thought I'd skirted around the issue rather well.
The isolated acts of violence are referred to rather than described, but are integral to the story. It will be interesting to see how they rate Rachael's Return which has more violent acts and two battles integral to the secondary love story between Kamran and Helene. They had to be there to make sense of the story and I've presented them as non-confrontationally as possible without losing their reality.
It's a delicate balancing act. I hope I succeeded.
Amy
The isolated acts of violence are referred to rather than described, but are integral to the story. It will be interesting to see how they rate Rachael's Return which has more violent acts and two battles integral to the secondary love story between Kamran and Helene. They had to be there to make sense of the story and I've presented them as non-confrontationally as possible without losing their reality.
It's a delicate balancing act. I hope I succeeded.
Amy
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
A pleasant surprise
Melanie Grant, from Essence of Romance, a subscribed data base of books, contacted me and my books are now listed with them. It's always great when something comes out of the blue like that. I'd just negotiated an amicable truce with my current heroine, by doing precisely what she wanted, and she'd emerged from her trailer to give me another chance, so the story was flowing again. Along comes Melanie and I now have their banner on my website after a pleasant and painless exchange of emails, complicated only by the time differential between Melbourne and Washington.
It's the second time in less than a month where some reputable organisation has contacted me about my books and I'm feeling a little pleased with myself.
It's a great life.
Amy
It's the second time in less than a month where some reputable organisation has contacted me about my books and I'm feeling a little pleased with myself.
It's a great life.
Amy
Sunday, April 29, 2007
I'm in trouble
One of my work in progress characters has figuratively decamped to her trailer and is refusing to come out an play her part in the story.
"No way," she says. "I'm not doing that."
Since I've started creating real characters and plonking them in situations so I can record their activities, this happens more frequently. My mind runs ahead to plot twists and turns and I start feeding in the necessary circumstances only to be faced with mutiny. This time by the heroine.
She's sulking in her trailer as I write and I have to go back over the story to find out where I wandered off the track she'll accept, or where I created the personality trait that sent her to the trailer.
If I grovel a little, she may even tell me.
Amy
"No way," she says. "I'm not doing that."
Since I've started creating real characters and plonking them in situations so I can record their activities, this happens more frequently. My mind runs ahead to plot twists and turns and I start feeding in the necessary circumstances only to be faced with mutiny. This time by the heroine.
She's sulking in her trailer as I write and I have to go back over the story to find out where I wandered off the track she'll accept, or where I created the personality trait that sent her to the trailer.
If I grovel a little, she may even tell me.
Amy
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Shuffling along.
Feodar's World has shuffled up the coming soon queue and may be released soon. I've included the one-liner and blurb for your interest
Love freed her people from the tyranny of distance, reuniting them with their kin, but there was a price.
From lonely commander of a scout ship to liberator was a larger step than Gabrielle knew, but Karrel was there and she took it, starting a new era for wandering humanity. One planet triggered the change and paid the price, becoming Feodar’s World and their son returned to become its liberator with an epic voyage against the odds to reach the Treaty Port and Rachael to start yet another cycle.
The First Family from New Blood continue their exploration of Peter’s reality, gaining a beautiful recruit and embarking on another quest against tyranny.
I finished the setup of a Myspace page to celebrate and you can view it here. Please feel free to add yourself as a friend.
Amy
Love freed her people from the tyranny of distance, reuniting them with their kin, but there was a price.
From lonely commander of a scout ship to liberator was a larger step than Gabrielle knew, but Karrel was there and she took it, starting a new era for wandering humanity. One planet triggered the change and paid the price, becoming Feodar’s World and their son returned to become its liberator with an epic voyage against the odds to reach the Treaty Port and Rachael to start yet another cycle.
The First Family from New Blood continue their exploration of Peter’s reality, gaining a beautiful recruit and embarking on another quest against tyranny.
I finished the setup of a Myspace page to celebrate and you can view it here. Please feel free to add yourself as a friend.
Amy
Thursday, April 19, 2007
"There was movement at the station"
I write that with sincere apolgies to "Banjo" Paterson of "The man from Snowy River" fame, but The cover art for "Feodar's World" has arrived and I can see the scene within the story (small details excepted).Add Whiskey Creek Press announcing "The Widowmaker"'s release date, May 2008, and there's definitely movement at this station.
I'll leave you to admire the cover while I away to do a happy dance around my writing room.
Amy
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Happy Easter
Our eldest daughter went up to Castlemaine with her family and we had the job of feeding their animals while they were away. A new cat complicated the issue, so we had to sleep at her place to keep it company (fortunately only ten minutes drive away).
Our younger daughter had a family lunch today so we went from one daughter's home to the other with me trying to complete the edits for Feodar's World and write the one-liner, blurb and fill in the artwork questionnaire for Rachael's Return in between.
The new cat is five years old and has been retired by a breeder. She's a lovely gentle little thing, slowly coming to terms with her new home. Last night (our third night sleeping there) she decided to join us for the first time around three a.m. In the beginning she stayed at the bottom of the bed, but gradually crept up until she was curled between us. Then a little higher and eventually on my pillow. She experimented with under the bedclothes but woke me up when she decided it wasn't for her and wanted to go in the valley between us again. We'd rolled together and there wasn't room, but this didn't daunt her. She wormed her way into the gap and applied a gentle, remorseless, pressure until the gap widened to her satisfaction, purring contentedly, even as I clung to the edge of the bed to stop falling on the floor.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep well after that, nor get much work done today.
Such is Life
Amy
Our younger daughter had a family lunch today so we went from one daughter's home to the other with me trying to complete the edits for Feodar's World and write the one-liner, blurb and fill in the artwork questionnaire for Rachael's Return in between.
The new cat is five years old and has been retired by a breeder. She's a lovely gentle little thing, slowly coming to terms with her new home. Last night (our third night sleeping there) she decided to join us for the first time around three a.m. In the beginning she stayed at the bottom of the bed, but gradually crept up until she was curled between us. Then a little higher and eventually on my pillow. She experimented with under the bedclothes but woke me up when she decided it wasn't for her and wanted to go in the valley between us again. We'd rolled together and there wasn't room, but this didn't daunt her. She wormed her way into the gap and applied a gentle, remorseless, pressure until the gap widened to her satisfaction, purring contentedly, even as I clung to the edge of the bed to stop falling on the floor.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep well after that, nor get much work done today.
Such is Life
Amy
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
I weakened
I try to wait a month between the completion of the first draft of a story and my return to it, but Rachael's Return, the third story of the First Family series started in New Blood, slipped under my guard and I rewrote some parts and submitted it to New Concepts early.
I signed a contract with them today, so it wasn't as disastrous as I feared.
My work in progress is flying along in spite of today's diversion and I'm playing with the idea of a fourth story in the First Family series.
It's a great life.
Amy
I signed a contract with them today, so it wasn't as disastrous as I feared.
My work in progress is flying along in spite of today's diversion and I'm playing with the idea of a fourth story in the First Family series.
It's a great life.
Amy
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Busy Days
I chose a new story and began the first chapter, then received the edits for Feodar's World from New Concepts and we went on a boat trip on Westernport Bay, visiting a decommissioned submarine and the seal colony at the Nobbies, a rock formation at the western end of Phillip Island. We went very close to the rocks and were downwind so it was both malodorous and noisy, with seals swimming around and under us the whole time. We went elsewhere to eat because I don't think any of us could have faced a barbecue in such company.
The edits were great. Lots of thought provoking comments on my writing style and effective suggestions on how to improve it. I love edits, because I'm aware how much I have to learn and have taught long enough to read between the lines.
The new story is rolling well, one chapter down and the complications emerging. I'm looking forward to a good days work.
Wish me luck
Amy
The edits were great. Lots of thought provoking comments on my writing style and effective suggestions on how to improve it. I love edits, because I'm aware how much I have to learn and have taught long enough to read between the lines.
The new story is rolling well, one chapter down and the complications emerging. I'm looking forward to a good days work.
Wish me luck
Amy
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Educating Rita
We are subscribers to three amateur theatrical groups and go to 10-12 productions every year. Lat night it was Willy Russell's "Educating Rita" presented as a "two-hander" (only two players).
It was great. The staging was imaginative, filled with subtlety, and the performances were crisp. We left the theatre eminently satisfied.
It was a great antidote to thought because our younger daughter heard me discussing my dilemma about the next story for Whiskey Creek Press and threw another story into the mix. It is set in 1972, the year I wrote it, and tells the story of a young dancer, living in Brisbane, becoming involved with two men in the Australian Coastal Shipping Industry. It was the first novel length manuscript I ever produced and was written ten times on a small portable type-writer as I learnt how to write. It's her favorite, (mine too, I suppose) because every character was drawn from life and set in a world I knew intimately.
Like Rita, I've been "educated" since then and am a better writer, so it is tempting to go back.
Amy
It was great. The staging was imaginative, filled with subtlety, and the performances were crisp. We left the theatre eminently satisfied.
It was a great antidote to thought because our younger daughter heard me discussing my dilemma about the next story for Whiskey Creek Press and threw another story into the mix. It is set in 1972, the year I wrote it, and tells the story of a young dancer, living in Brisbane, becoming involved with two men in the Australian Coastal Shipping Industry. It was the first novel length manuscript I ever produced and was written ten times on a small portable type-writer as I learnt how to write. It's her favorite, (mine too, I suppose) because every character was drawn from life and set in a world I knew intimately.
Like Rita, I've been "educated" since then and am a better writer, so it is tempting to go back.
Amy
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Quo Vadis
The literal translation of Quo Vadis is supposed to be Where are you going and that's exactly how I feel at the moment.
Rachael's Return and The Widowmaker are behind me for the moment. Where do I go next? I've sorted through my works in progress and sifted my story files pondering the question.
Whiskey Creek Press publish general fiction as well as romance and I'm tempted to try my hand in a different field. There's a couple of offshore oil industry tales in my story files that nag for attention, but I have a contemporary romance completely plotted, with the first chapter written.
The result is me reading all three stories and thinking hard. The safest course is the contemporary romance, but ...
Wish me luck.
Amy
Rachael's Return and The Widowmaker are behind me for the moment. Where do I go next? I've sorted through my works in progress and sifted my story files pondering the question.
Whiskey Creek Press publish general fiction as well as romance and I'm tempted to try my hand in a different field. There's a couple of offshore oil industry tales in my story files that nag for attention, but I have a contemporary romance completely plotted, with the first chapter written.
The result is me reading all three stories and thinking hard. The safest course is the contemporary romance, but ...
Wish me luck.
Amy
Monday, March 19, 2007
Whiskey Creek Press
The first draft of Rachael's Return sits temptingly in my computer and I resist its charms by reviewing a manuscript already submitted, but now overdue, pondering two things. How can I improve it and where do I send it next. Enter Debra Ann Womack of Whiskey Creek Press with contract in hand. She has a pleasant, businesslike manner and I am prepared to love her instantly.
The Widowmaker is a contemporary romance set on Phillip Island, near Melbourne, Australia, and revolves around the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on arguably the fastest racing circuit in the world. We went down there to research the story and had a marvellous time visiting the haunts of my youth and great changes that have occurred since then.
So I face acquainting myself with another publisher, another editor, knowing I will learn much from the experience, and looking forward to it.
Amy
The Widowmaker is a contemporary romance set on Phillip Island, near Melbourne, Australia, and revolves around the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on arguably the fastest racing circuit in the world. We went down there to research the story and had a marvellous time visiting the haunts of my youth and great changes that have occurred since then.
So I face acquainting myself with another publisher, another editor, knowing I will learn much from the experience, and looking forward to it.
Amy
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Hello again
We took a break after the wedding (we needed it) and then I settled down to serious writing, finishing the first draft of the third book in the First Family series.
I surfaced a few days ago to find life had gone on around me (It's always a surprise), the silence from one of my publishers had taken on a deathly tinge and the submission period of another had stretched a month beyond the normal response time. The latter is not unusual. The response time for Feodar's World was seven months (the file went missing on somebody's computer) and an early submission to Harlequin took nine months for a response.
It's a writer's life.
Ending a draft is always a time of evaluation. Questions like "Which publisher do I want to target?" "Do I like the direction my writing has taken?" "Which story line do I feel like exploring?" tumble through your mind, trying to displace the world you've just left. If they didn't, you wouldn't be able to approach it again with fresh eyes when the time comes.
I always try for at least a month between drafts. It's not easy, but less time than this hides the flaws in familiarity and I fall into the same mind traps.
Wish me luck
Amy
I surfaced a few days ago to find life had gone on around me (It's always a surprise), the silence from one of my publishers had taken on a deathly tinge and the submission period of another had stretched a month beyond the normal response time. The latter is not unusual. The response time for Feodar's World was seven months (the file went missing on somebody's computer) and an early submission to Harlequin took nine months for a response.
It's a writer's life.
Ending a draft is always a time of evaluation. Questions like "Which publisher do I want to target?" "Do I like the direction my writing has taken?" "Which story line do I feel like exploring?" tumble through your mind, trying to displace the world you've just left. If they didn't, you wouldn't be able to approach it again with fresh eyes when the time comes.
I always try for at least a month between drafts. It's not easy, but less time than this hides the flaws in familiarity and I fall into the same mind traps.
Wish me luck
Amy
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
It was a Great Day
Our younger daughter was married on Sunday in a small Yarra Valley winery.
The ceremony was conducted in the open air, on the lawn overlooking an ornamental lake and we had a long lunch afterwards, sitting at a single long table, Italian style, and eating superb food from noon till after five pm. A gypsy girl sang and then led the guests in an impromptu belly dance. The bride was beautiful, as only a bride can be, and the groom ecstatic.
Everything was perfect because it suited the characters of the two people involved and a bus was provided to take the guests to their homes to allow complete relaxation and enjoyment of some excellent wines.
I can't remember a wedding I've enjoyed more.
Amy
The ceremony was conducted in the open air, on the lawn overlooking an ornamental lake and we had a long lunch afterwards, sitting at a single long table, Italian style, and eating superb food from noon till after five pm. A gypsy girl sang and then led the guests in an impromptu belly dance. The bride was beautiful, as only a bride can be, and the groom ecstatic.
Everything was perfect because it suited the characters of the two people involved and a bus was provided to take the guests to their homes to allow complete relaxation and enjoyment of some excellent wines.
I can't remember a wedding I've enjoyed more.
Amy
Friday, February 09, 2007
Pay Day
Some publishers pay royalties quarterly and some every six months and the sad reality of the publishing industry is the uncertainty about anything coming at all. Not only do people have to buy books, but the publisher has to receive the monies from distributors and the distributors from booksellers, a chain of events that slows the process to a crawl. One other imponderable, is the survival of the publisher themselves and I've been caught by the demise of two so far. (it's a risky business for small publishers)
Coincidentally, this month all my royalties are due and the first one arrived today, a small one. No matter, I know that publisher has survived another quarter. I must now wait to see if the others have been as lucky.
It's a great life.
Amy
Coincidentally, this month all my royalties are due and the first one arrived today, a small one. No matter, I know that publisher has survived another quarter. I must now wait to see if the others have been as lucky.
It's a great life.
Amy
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Poor Poetry
It is a common reaction of poets, even poor ones like me, whose only skill is the bush ballads of my father, that reading one poem causes an itch to reply and we fiddle with words until it's satisfied.
A fellow author penned a poem in praise of werewolves and posted in a group we both follow and my partner found me muttering to myself as I stared at it.
Here are my first three verses (with profound apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
You’ve heard the song of the Halflings. My brothers they are not we.
They yowl at the moon in mindless lust to tear at a hairless throat,
And the law of the pack is not for them. My brothers they are not we.
They slaughter the weak to earn man’s despite in the guise of our furry coat.
Then cow from the light as half bred curs. My brothers they are not we.
We spurn the claim of the Halflings. My brothers they are not we.
Not half, nor quarter, nor even a tithe; not fit to plunder the forest trails.
Or the steppes of the endless East. My brothers they are not we.
By night, they turn from our rightful prey to snuffle at woman’s tails
And mate with the hairless weaklings. My brothers they are not we.
We reared the twins in the hills of Rome. My brothers they were not we.
Gave them the strength to rule the world, but the blood it thinned in time,
And they fell to the Huns who followed our trail. My brothers they were not we.
They took our name for the U-boats who braved the Atlantic’s rime,
And harried the plodding convoys. My brothers they were not we.
There's more unfortunately, but I'll keep them to myself.
Amy
A fellow author penned a poem in praise of werewolves and posted in a group we both follow and my partner found me muttering to myself as I stared at it.
Here are my first three verses (with profound apologies to Rudyard Kipling)
You’ve heard the song of the Halflings. My brothers they are not we.
They yowl at the moon in mindless lust to tear at a hairless throat,
And the law of the pack is not for them. My brothers they are not we.
They slaughter the weak to earn man’s despite in the guise of our furry coat.
Then cow from the light as half bred curs. My brothers they are not we.
We spurn the claim of the Halflings. My brothers they are not we.
Not half, nor quarter, nor even a tithe; not fit to plunder the forest trails.
Or the steppes of the endless East. My brothers they are not we.
By night, they turn from our rightful prey to snuffle at woman’s tails
And mate with the hairless weaklings. My brothers they are not we.
We reared the twins in the hills of Rome. My brothers they were not we.
Gave them the strength to rule the world, but the blood it thinned in time,
And they fell to the Huns who followed our trail. My brothers they were not we.
They took our name for the U-boats who braved the Atlantic’s rime,
And harried the plodding convoys. My brothers they were not we.
There's more unfortunately, but I'll keep them to myself.
Amy
Friday, January 26, 2007
To Travel Hopefully
I'd always believed this to be quotation of Lord Byron until I researched it for a book and found it attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson and he added "is a better thing than to arrive and the true success is to labour." at the end.
It's a good description of the third book about the First Family of the Blood, especially the addendum.
Like the second book, it picks up from the end of the last story and continues, this time with Jack and Rachael, before changing direction to follow another character into another development of the Family. All three of these books have been written the same way, becoming voyages of discovery rather than journeying from one known point to another.
I'm finding it a fascinating way of writing, all the more so because I'm working on another story at the same time which has been plotted and outlined to death and written as episodes out of sequence for eventual joining together. (I believe most movies are shot this way and only joined up at the end.) I'm having fun with both stories and enjoying the comparison of writing methods without thinking either is necessarily the best. A case for "horses for courses' it seems.
Happy Australia Day to all
Amy
It's a good description of the third book about the First Family of the Blood, especially the addendum.
Like the second book, it picks up from the end of the last story and continues, this time with Jack and Rachael, before changing direction to follow another character into another development of the Family. All three of these books have been written the same way, becoming voyages of discovery rather than journeying from one known point to another.
I'm finding it a fascinating way of writing, all the more so because I'm working on another story at the same time which has been plotted and outlined to death and written as episodes out of sequence for eventual joining together. (I believe most movies are shot this way and only joined up at the end.) I'm having fun with both stories and enjoying the comparison of writing methods without thinking either is necessarily the best. A case for "horses for courses' it seems.
Happy Australia Day to all
Amy
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The rich tapestry of life?
Our elder daughter tore a muscle in her lower back five days ago and a six-week-old baby and an energetic four-year-old made life impossible so we've been spending most of our time there while her husband is at work. The younger daughter is having sleeping and feeding problems with the three-month-old so a division of labor seems imminent (or some form of shift-work).
My writing has slipped down the food chain a little while this is happening and walking around the house pacifying our newest grandchild has aggravated the tendinitis in my right shoulder. (It's not incapacitating, just painful)
I wouldn't miss this for the world, but I'm sure it will be better looking back than it is now.
Amy
My writing has slipped down the food chain a little while this is happening and walking around the house pacifying our newest grandchild has aggravated the tendinitis in my right shoulder. (It's not incapacitating, just painful)
I wouldn't miss this for the world, but I'm sure it will be better looking back than it is now.
Amy
Friday, January 19, 2007
The King is dead! Long Live the King!
The contracts for Feodar's World are signed and dispatched, the one-liner and the blurb written, and the fourteen questions of the Artwork Questionnaire answered. Now, until the edits and the artwork return, it makes way for its successor and becomes history. I will have one last chance to change things, but time will be pressing by then and I'll probably accept the edits and return to what I'm writing. The King is indeed dead.
The third book in the series about the First Family of the Blood is one of my works in progress and the enthusiasm of the publisher's response has lifted it to the top of the queue again. I've just read the first two stories to refresh my memory and am fiddling with a hard copy of the twenty thousand words already written, doing a bit of cut and paste to juggle events into a more logical progression and sharpen the beginning hook. I normally do this at the end of the first draft, but there's been more interruptions than normal in this one. (Our elder daughter has just torn a muscle in her lower back and our grandson is barely a month old and his sister nearly four, so it's all hands to the pumps to help out until she recovers - just another thread in the rich tapestry of our lives)
I sat for a long time with the email from New Concepts. Accepting their contract virtually locks the remaining books of the series to this publisher and I've already expressed my reservations about the match between what I write and they publish. My partner was more pragmatic. "Accept the contract and get on with your writing. You're wasting valuable time sitting there."
Good advice, probably.
Amy
The third book in the series about the First Family of the Blood is one of my works in progress and the enthusiasm of the publisher's response has lifted it to the top of the queue again. I've just read the first two stories to refresh my memory and am fiddling with a hard copy of the twenty thousand words already written, doing a bit of cut and paste to juggle events into a more logical progression and sharpen the beginning hook. I normally do this at the end of the first draft, but there's been more interruptions than normal in this one. (Our elder daughter has just torn a muscle in her lower back and our grandson is barely a month old and his sister nearly four, so it's all hands to the pumps to help out until she recovers - just another thread in the rich tapestry of our lives)
I sat for a long time with the email from New Concepts. Accepting their contract virtually locks the remaining books of the series to this publisher and I've already expressed my reservations about the match between what I write and they publish. My partner was more pragmatic. "Accept the contract and get on with your writing. You're wasting valuable time sitting there."
Good advice, probably.
Amy
Monday, January 15, 2007
Feodar's World
Feodar's World, the follow-up to New Blood, has been accepted with some enthusiasm by New Concepts Publishing. Their reaction to the book is good for the soul, but I'm left to weigh my options carefully before I sign the contract.
The advantages of having both books, and the third perhaps, with the same publisher have to be balanced against my perception that my stories fall outside the niche they have created in erotic romances. One reviewer labelled New Blood as mildly sensual and I have no argument with the classification. Feodar's World, has a little more sensuality, but not enough to move it into the class of the books around it at New Concepts.
I suspect I shall sign the contract because I have twenty thousand plus words written of the third book and some more interesting ideas to explore in its environment.
Amy
The advantages of having both books, and the third perhaps, with the same publisher have to be balanced against my perception that my stories fall outside the niche they have created in erotic romances. One reviewer labelled New Blood as mildly sensual and I have no argument with the classification. Feodar's World, has a little more sensuality, but not enough to move it into the class of the books around it at New Concepts.
I suspect I shall sign the contract because I have twenty thousand plus words written of the third book and some more interesting ideas to explore in its environment.
Amy
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
A Writer's World
As a late-comer to writing, I find it both fascnating and frustrating.
The creative side is great. I get up each morning filled with energy and plunge into the work in progress and have to tear myself away to eat or any of the other mundane chores of life. Were it not for my spouse, my social life would cease to exist for great blocks of time, our home would settle into the dust of disrepair and my body would become a brain and its interface with the computer. None of these things happen, which is just as well.
The business side, publishers, promotion, etc., is frustrating. I navigate my way through it like a ship entering an unknown harbor, taking frequent soundings, searching for leads towards my goals and extremely conscious of my uncertainties. The publishing world is a mass of rumors and innuendoes. Nothing is quite as it seems. Caution steered me clear of Commonwealth Publications and I survived the closure of LTD Books, but things are so tight out there that every statement has to be tested and good will is no guarantee.
I'm too pragmatic to expect change, so I'll just muddle on as before, enjoying what I can and enduring the rest.
Amy
The creative side is great. I get up each morning filled with energy and plunge into the work in progress and have to tear myself away to eat or any of the other mundane chores of life. Were it not for my spouse, my social life would cease to exist for great blocks of time, our home would settle into the dust of disrepair and my body would become a brain and its interface with the computer. None of these things happen, which is just as well.
The business side, publishers, promotion, etc., is frustrating. I navigate my way through it like a ship entering an unknown harbor, taking frequent soundings, searching for leads towards my goals and extremely conscious of my uncertainties. The publishing world is a mass of rumors and innuendoes. Nothing is quite as it seems. Caution steered me clear of Commonwealth Publications and I survived the closure of LTD Books, but things are so tight out there that every statement has to be tested and good will is no guarantee.
I'm too pragmatic to expect change, so I'll just muddle on as before, enjoying what I can and enduring the rest.
Amy
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Settling into the New Year
A detailed edit of Feodar's World is my entry point to this year's writing and I'm accumulating a list of points not adequately explained in this continuation of New Blood.
As it could be with an different publisher, I can't rely on the reader knowing the previous story and must clarify the references adequately. The whole thing is an exercise in clear thinking and is blowing away the writing cobwebs accumulated in the festive season distractions.
I enjoyed most of them.
The 100th birthday celebrations for my aunt yesterday turned into a massive family reunion with more guests than her years and she coped remarkably well with both the heat (35 degrees Celsius) and the excitement.
Our son, a soldier himself with an earned combat rifleman's badge, saw the obituary photo of my uncle and made a comment perhaps only a soldier who'd seen action might make.
The photo was taken before Jim went north to a campaign that saw half his platoon become casualties. My son identified the "braveness" of the smile as being the way Jim wanted himself remembered if he didn't make it and it clarified the picture in a way no other words could.
There are experiences that change the way we see the world.
Amy
As it could be with an different publisher, I can't rely on the reader knowing the previous story and must clarify the references adequately. The whole thing is an exercise in clear thinking and is blowing away the writing cobwebs accumulated in the festive season distractions.
I enjoyed most of them.
The 100th birthday celebrations for my aunt yesterday turned into a massive family reunion with more guests than her years and she coped remarkably well with both the heat (35 degrees Celsius) and the excitement.
Our son, a soldier himself with an earned combat rifleman's badge, saw the obituary photo of my uncle and made a comment perhaps only a soldier who'd seen action might make.
The photo was taken before Jim went north to a campaign that saw half his platoon become casualties. My son identified the "braveness" of the smile as being the way Jim wanted himself remembered if he didn't make it and it clarified the picture in a way no other words could.
There are experiences that change the way we see the world.
Amy
Friday, January 05, 2007
The Festive Season
The new grandchildren are settling down, the family visits are coming to an end and normalcy lies just beyond the horizon-I hope.
I'm not sure whether it's because I've grown older or because this festive season was even more hectic than usual, but I have a guilty pleasure in its ending and the prospect of going back to a more humdrum pace, writing regularly rather than snatching the odd moment, waking less than exhausted by the pace of events and revelling in the privacy of our home once more.
In the meantime, The Romance Studio have added me to their Featured Member list for January with a interview and an excerpt from Mitchell's Valley, which you can see here.
Congratulations on surviving the festive season and my best wishes for the new year
Amy
I'm not sure whether it's because I've grown older or because this festive season was even more hectic than usual, but I have a guilty pleasure in its ending and the prospect of going back to a more humdrum pace, writing regularly rather than snatching the odd moment, waking less than exhausted by the pace of events and revelling in the privacy of our home once more.
In the meantime, The Romance Studio have added me to their Featured Member list for January with a interview and an excerpt from Mitchell's Valley, which you can see here.
Congratulations on surviving the festive season and my best wishes for the new year
Amy
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Lest We Forget
My 83 year-old uncle died peacefully in his sleep just after midnight last Friday, succumbing indirectly to cancer. A veteran of the 2/6th Cavalry Commando Regiment in WWII, he stands tall in my memory, a big man in every sense with a merry grin that made light of adversity. We'll lay him to rest today with all the familiar rituals and take what comfort we can from them.
"Bomb Happy" was a common term just after WWII. It referred to the state of mind of many returning veterans who, having seen hardship and action aplenty, came home with the happy certainty that nothing in the future would ever seem so bad. The term was never derogatory and I knew several to whom it applied. All of them faced difficulties with the same elan, smiling at some secret memory that shrunk the present dilemma to its true size. I'm not sure I would like to pay the price they paid to reach this state, but I admired them unstintingly.
James Henderson Stacey was such a man.
Amy
"Bomb Happy" was a common term just after WWII. It referred to the state of mind of many returning veterans who, having seen hardship and action aplenty, came home with the happy certainty that nothing in the future would ever seem so bad. The term was never derogatory and I knew several to whom it applied. All of them faced difficulties with the same elan, smiling at some secret memory that shrunk the present dilemma to its true size. I'm not sure I would like to pay the price they paid to reach this state, but I admired them unstintingly.
James Henderson Stacey was such a man.
Amy
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Congratulations to all the Eppie Finalists
A heartfelt congratulations to all whose books made it into the finals of each and every category. You undoubtedly deserve to be there.
An equally heartfelt congratulations to the judges and coordinators. The system is demonstrably fair because I've read at least one of the finalists and, while it wasn't to my taste, it still got up and made the finals, probably on the basis of writing and story-telling.
Amy
An equally heartfelt congratulations to the judges and coordinators. The system is demonstrably fair because I've read at least one of the finalists and, while it wasn't to my taste, it still got up and made the finals, probably on the basis of writing and story-telling.
Amy
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Back to Normal (???)
Our daughter came home from hospital yesterday, reuniting the family and allowing us to step back to the more passive grand-parenting role. It was great for a few days, but we both breathed a sigh of relief when it was over.
The vegetable garden is fully planted and everything seems to have survived both the patch of hot weather and persistent smoke from the bushfires to the north and east of us so my excuse to work outside has flown and it's back to work on the next story.
This one is interesting. I'm fortunate enough to run short courses in creative writing in our adult education system and part of the exercise in showing how to turn an idea into a story is watching a scene from an entirely forgettable movie starring Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman. There is no backstory given and no explanation, just the scene in isolation. From this we develop a synopsis and outline the highlights of the story drawn from individual personal experiences. It comes a third of the way through the course, when they know what a story is and what elements it must contain and has proven successful in bringing together the work covered to this point and giving a common thread to the rest of the course.
The Better Man is my own example of the exercise and I use it to illustrate the steps needed to take a simple idea and turn it into a story. It has a synopsis and six highlight scenes written, but no more and each course I'm asked when I intend to write the complete.
When the next course starts in February, I'll be able to say "Now."
Amy
The vegetable garden is fully planted and everything seems to have survived both the patch of hot weather and persistent smoke from the bushfires to the north and east of us so my excuse to work outside has flown and it's back to work on the next story.
This one is interesting. I'm fortunate enough to run short courses in creative writing in our adult education system and part of the exercise in showing how to turn an idea into a story is watching a scene from an entirely forgettable movie starring Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman. There is no backstory given and no explanation, just the scene in isolation. From this we develop a synopsis and outline the highlights of the story drawn from individual personal experiences. It comes a third of the way through the course, when they know what a story is and what elements it must contain and has proven successful in bringing together the work covered to this point and giving a common thread to the rest of the course.
The Better Man is my own example of the exercise and I use it to illustrate the steps needed to take a simple idea and turn it into a story. It has a synopsis and six highlight scenes written, but no more and each course I'm asked when I intend to write the complete.
When the next course starts in February, I'll be able to say "Now."
Amy
Saturday, December 09, 2006
He is come
Declan Harold arrived last night at 11.35 pm. We were called away from the Christmas function and nudged the speed limit all the way to their house to take over the care of Isabella while they raced to the hospital. He threatened to arrive in the car, but they made it and he weighed in at 9lbs 12ozs. Mother and baby are doing great and we're on our way to the hospital to greet him officially.
It's a great life.
Amy
It's a great life.
Amy
Friday, December 08, 2006
The end is nigh
Our elder daughter's pregnancy was reached full term and we are in the nervous final days before the Doctors take matters in their own hands. There's movement afoot and we are on standby to look after Isabella when Christine goes into labor. We spent the night at their home because the arrival of our grandson seemed imminent, but things settled down again and we came home again this morning.
We're off to a Christmas breakup party tonight with cell phone on silent vibrating alert, just in case.
Amy
We're off to a Christmas breakup party tonight with cell phone on silent vibrating alert, just in case.
Amy
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Dad's Army
A former England player labeled the current Australian Test team as Dad's Army, so it was particularly sweet to see two of those "aging has-beens" so intimately involved in a stunning victory at Adelaide.
It went some way to balance the bad news of bushfires, 80 year-old uncles battling cancer, fellow writers involved in similar circumstances.
I am re-reading a book after a gap of twenty years and it bothers me that there are entire passages I no longer remember reading. It's never happened before and the story is gripping enough to have stayed in my mind long after the book ended. It is tempting to think I was wrong in thinking I'd read it, but circumstantial evidence is against the theory.
Perhaps it's the first sign of enlistment in Dad's Army?
Amy
It went some way to balance the bad news of bushfires, 80 year-old uncles battling cancer, fellow writers involved in similar circumstances.
I am re-reading a book after a gap of twenty years and it bothers me that there are entire passages I no longer remember reading. It's never happened before and the story is gripping enough to have stayed in my mind long after the book ended. It is tempting to think I was wrong in thinking I'd read it, but circumstantial evidence is against the theory.
Perhaps it's the first sign of enlistment in Dad's Army?
Amy
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Water Restrictions, Gardens and the Second Test at Adelaide
There are bushfires (wildfires in the US) within sight to the north and east, snakes are being driven into suburbia by lack of water and destruction of habitat and water restrictions have been tightened because the reservoirs are at their lowest for many years. We are fortunate in having two rainwater tanks with a gravity feed watering system for our vegetables, but hand watering is required for the rest. It takes time, but the exercise is good after a day's writing and we planned our garden for low water usage and implemented many water-saving procedures into our daily routines.
Like everyone else, we must endure.
That's a good description of the Second Test in Adelaide. Our beloved enemy lifted their game to score 551 runs in their first innings and we replied with 513. They're batting again now, with only a day to play, so a drawn game seems inevitable. It's great to see them making a contest of it, something that seemed unlikely after the First Test in Brisbane.
I played golf yesterday and drew for first place, losing only on a countback. The course was in great condition in spite of the drought and the company was good. One of my companions had just come back from a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest and we compared notes between the coach and the barge as a means of touring. They sailed during the night and spent the days at the wharf, except for the most beautiful section of the Danube. There, they sailed during the day. One great advantage was they unpacked when joining the barge and didn't have to pack again until they left it fifteen days later.
That sounds great after a coach tour.
Amy
Like everyone else, we must endure.
That's a good description of the Second Test in Adelaide. Our beloved enemy lifted their game to score 551 runs in their first innings and we replied with 513. They're batting again now, with only a day to play, so a drawn game seems inevitable. It's great to see them making a contest of it, something that seemed unlikely after the First Test in Brisbane.
I played golf yesterday and drew for first place, losing only on a countback. The course was in great condition in spite of the drought and the company was good. One of my companions had just come back from a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest and we compared notes between the coach and the barge as a means of touring. They sailed during the night and spent the days at the wharf, except for the most beautiful section of the Danube. There, they sailed during the day. One great advantage was they unpacked when joining the barge and didn't have to pack again until they left it fifteen days later.
That sounds great after a coach tour.
Amy
Friday, December 01, 2006
A Shared Responsibility
Apart from some administrative duties, the computer has been abandoned for the garden until yesterday as we rearranged garden beds, altered paths and removed weeds.. It's been very productive, very restful.
An email brought it to an end with a request to lighten the load of another volunteer judge to meet the contest deadline and I found myself plunged into another's writing for a day. It's done now and I can turn to more pleasant pursuits (like the opening sessions of the Second Test). I don't like judging. It makes me very uncomfortable and all the entries were published e-books
As writers, we share the responsibility for our books with publishers. They provide the outlet, the format and the cover art. They do an editorial audit of the manuscript and suggest improvements, bring fresh eyes to words we have read repeatedly. My limited experience of editors has been generally good. I have not always agreed with them, but I've always understood their criticisms. The authors in the entries I've judged have not been so fortunate because the level of editing has been poor generally and appalling in places. Such low standards feed the critcisms of e-publishing.
Publishers and writers must lift their game.
Amy
An email brought it to an end with a request to lighten the load of another volunteer judge to meet the contest deadline and I found myself plunged into another's writing for a day. It's done now and I can turn to more pleasant pursuits (like the opening sessions of the Second Test). I don't like judging. It makes me very uncomfortable and all the entries were published e-books
As writers, we share the responsibility for our books with publishers. They provide the outlet, the format and the cover art. They do an editorial audit of the manuscript and suggest improvements, bring fresh eyes to words we have read repeatedly. My limited experience of editors has been generally good. I have not always agreed with them, but I've always understood their criticisms. The authors in the entries I've judged have not been so fortunate because the level of editing has been poor generally and appalling in places. Such low standards feed the critcisms of e-publishing.
Publishers and writers must lift their game.
Amy
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Test Cricket
For half the world at least, Test Cricket is a complete mystery, for the rest of us, it's an addiction.
Our favorite foes are in Brisbane for the first test of the Ashes series and my writing has taken a serious hit for the first three days. The result is almost a forgone conclusion now and my interest has waned a little. Perhaps my writing tempo may recover.
It's a strange game. We love beating the Poms, but we admire them individually. Flintoff, the English captain, was arguably the most admired man on the field yesterday as he toiled to lift his team to competitive standards.
Let's hope he succeeds.
Amy
Our favorite foes are in Brisbane for the first test of the Ashes series and my writing has taken a serious hit for the first three days. The result is almost a forgone conclusion now and my interest has waned a little. Perhaps my writing tempo may recover.
It's a strange game. We love beating the Poms, but we admire them individually. Flintoff, the English captain, was arguably the most admired man on the field yesterday as he toiled to lift his team to competitive standards.
Let's hope he succeeds.
Amy
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Let the Writer Beware
A friend of my elder daughter received a provisional acceptance from a Kiwi publisher and asked for my advice. I went to their website and navigated my way through all the information and came away undecided. There's nothing directly questionable, but they've been in operation for two years and have only one book avaiable to booksellers.
Writers, particularly beginning writers, are very vulnerable. I managed to navaigate away from Commonwealth Publications (now the subject of a class action by those who didn't) but have wasted enough time on those who stroked my ego to have paid my dues in this area. It comes down to never accepting what you're told without checking.
The organisation in question may well be genuine, just a little more honest than most, but question marks always need to be resolved before you commit your work.
Amy
Writers, particularly beginning writers, are very vulnerable. I managed to navaigate away from Commonwealth Publications (now the subject of a class action by those who didn't) but have wasted enough time on those who stroked my ego to have paid my dues in this area. It comes down to never accepting what you're told without checking.
The organisation in question may well be genuine, just a little more honest than most, but question marks always need to be resolved before you commit your work.
Amy
Thursday, November 16, 2006
The Longest Journey
The motorcycling story is on its way again, renamed, with large sections rewritten to reflect the criticisms. It's part of my search for a different publisher, one which reflects more closely my preferred level of sensuality.
It's quite difficult to step away from a publisher where you have found acceptance because there's comfort in dealing with the familiar and I have no real complaints of New Concepts, we're just not suited.
I've gone back to my work in progress, re-reading it from the beginning (82,000 words now) and settling myself back into its environment. I'm enjoying the process, which says something.
Hopefully, it will make the next ninety days a little less daunting.
Amy
It's quite difficult to step away from a publisher where you have found acceptance because there's comfort in dealing with the familiar and I have no real complaints of New Concepts, we're just not suited.
I've gone back to my work in progress, re-reading it from the beginning (82,000 words now) and settling myself back into its environment. I'm enjoying the process, which says something.
Hopefully, it will make the next ninety days a little less daunting.
Amy
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Romance Writer at Large
That's the title of my page at The Romance Studio. I think they've done a great job, but I may be biased. Have a look and judge for yourself.
They have a copy of Mitchell's Valley on the 26th of this month in their Book-a-day giveaway.
I was interested that their review highlighted the complexity of the world building in New Blood. It is a common feature of all its reviews, yet I'd merely followed the logic of the original premise, each feature leading inevitably to the next. It's one of the downsides of creating new worlds that they must be able to work.
Amy
They have a copy of Mitchell's Valley on the 26th of this month in their Book-a-day giveaway.
I was interested that their review highlighted the complexity of the world building in New Blood. It is a common feature of all its reviews, yet I'd merely followed the logic of the original premise, each feature leading inevitably to the next. It's one of the downsides of creating new worlds that they must be able to work.
Amy
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Swings and Roundabouts
After the rejection of Beyond the Barriers, it was pleasant to come across the following review for New Blood at The Romance Studio
Amy
New Blood
Amy Gallow
Paranormal romance
Available from New Concepts Publications ISBN: 1-58608-857-2
March 2006
Dael is part of a Hive, a group Mind of elite rulership. As such, she and the others of the Blood incarnate in flesh, take over control of the body. Telepathy and Mind control are just two of their amazing abilities. The Blood cannot function without flesh bodies, because essentially they are just mental constructs. Each individual chosen as a host body gives up control for seventeen years, but is granted untold wealth and social power as well as an extended life span for their sacrifice.
When her host body, Samara, is kidnapped, Dael is astonished to find soothing words spoken telepathically from the kidnapper, who is a Commoner, not Elite. Then she is excluded from the group Mind and fears exile equaling her death. In actuality, Samara has been removed, not kidnapped, by a henchman acting on the orders of another Mind, Peter, whose access to her mind she has allowed.
New Blood is an intriguing tale with a massive amount of complexity in its world building. I had to truly concentrate from the first sentences in order to understand this world, which is very detailed and fascinating. While some readers may find it requires concentration to understand this very new and different fantasy world, it is definitely a tale worth reading.
Overall rating: Four Hearts
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual
Reviewer: Annie
November 6, 2006
Amy
New Blood
Amy Gallow
Paranormal romance
Available from New Concepts Publications ISBN: 1-58608-857-2
March 2006
Dael is part of a Hive, a group Mind of elite rulership. As such, she and the others of the Blood incarnate in flesh, take over control of the body. Telepathy and Mind control are just two of their amazing abilities. The Blood cannot function without flesh bodies, because essentially they are just mental constructs. Each individual chosen as a host body gives up control for seventeen years, but is granted untold wealth and social power as well as an extended life span for their sacrifice.
When her host body, Samara, is kidnapped, Dael is astonished to find soothing words spoken telepathically from the kidnapper, who is a Commoner, not Elite. Then she is excluded from the group Mind and fears exile equaling her death. In actuality, Samara has been removed, not kidnapped, by a henchman acting on the orders of another Mind, Peter, whose access to her mind she has allowed.
New Blood is an intriguing tale with a massive amount of complexity in its world building. I had to truly concentrate from the first sentences in order to understand this world, which is very detailed and fascinating. While some readers may find it requires concentration to understand this very new and different fantasy world, it is definitely a tale worth reading.
Overall rating: Four Hearts
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual
Reviewer: Annie
November 6, 2006
Rejection Dejection
Rejections are part of a writer's life and, no matter how nicely they're couched, they hurt.
This one began with a list of the things the editor really enjoyed before it reached the stumbling block about motor cycle racing and the hero's motivation to ride the "Widowmaker", a bike with a radical suspension and a habit of killing its riders. She knew very little about the sport, as would most of the targeted readers, and found my descriptions confusing and his motivation unbelievable.
This highlights the difficulty of describing something you know very well to a group who are likely to know nothing. From my perspective, I verged on over-explaining.
The hero's motivation is a more vexing question. Is it my familiarity with the sport and the people who follow it that makes it believable to me? Or is there a more basic problem?
I reread the manuscript yesterday pondering those questions and am still no closer to the answers.
Amy
This one began with a list of the things the editor really enjoyed before it reached the stumbling block about motor cycle racing and the hero's motivation to ride the "Widowmaker", a bike with a radical suspension and a habit of killing its riders. She knew very little about the sport, as would most of the targeted readers, and found my descriptions confusing and his motivation unbelievable.
This highlights the difficulty of describing something you know very well to a group who are likely to know nothing. From my perspective, I verged on over-explaining.
The hero's motivation is a more vexing question. Is it my familiarity with the sport and the people who follow it that makes it believable to me? Or is there a more basic problem?
I reread the manuscript yesterday pondering those questions and am still no closer to the answers.
Amy
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
A Century Young
Yesterday we drove down to have lunch with my life partner's aunt, who will be a hundred on January 3rd. She's an amazing woman. One of the genuinely nice people you meet along the way. Her daughter was there too and we looked through photograph albums, recalling the past and sharing memories when she was a single Mum raising a daughter on her own.
Her story makes you realize how lucky most of us are
Amy
Her story makes you realize how lucky most of us are
Amy
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Overdue
Our trip away allowed the accumulation of maintenance tasks around the house and in the garden and the better weather has provided a window to get them done.
There's gates, a wrought iron fence, the facia and the external windows to paint. The garden beds need weeding and mulching. We'll do most of it ourselves (with the help of the family) and be ready when the real summer comes. The work in progress is almost done and it will need to sit for a while before I start rewriting so the timing is good.
The spectre of down-sizing to a town-house, or something similar, has raised itself once more and we will have many discussions in the near future. Maybe this time, we'll do something about it, because we both realize it will have to be faced some time.
Probably not.
Amy
There's gates, a wrought iron fence, the facia and the external windows to paint. The garden beds need weeding and mulching. We'll do most of it ourselves (with the help of the family) and be ready when the real summer comes. The work in progress is almost done and it will need to sit for a while before I start rewriting so the timing is good.
The spectre of down-sizing to a town-house, or something similar, has raised itself once more and we will have many discussions in the near future. Maybe this time, we'll do something about it, because we both realize it will have to be faced some time.
Probably not.
Amy
Thursday, November 02, 2006
The Wee Small Hours
I got up to work because of a bad dream that needed time to dispel before I could sleep again.
It, the dream, is an old friend. A recurrent theme from my past, my subconscious drags out when I am worried about something else. Knowing why doesn't make the dream less real, nor solve my current dilemma, but writing allows me to escape for a while even if elements of the dream work their way into the story.
As in my currrrent story, where the hero has just realized an unpleasant fact he can share with no one, which is difficult because his companions are telepaths.
I don't worry too much. There's always the rewriting stage to remove irrelevancies created in the wee small hours
Amy
It, the dream, is an old friend. A recurrent theme from my past, my subconscious drags out when I am worried about something else. Knowing why doesn't make the dream less real, nor solve my current dilemma, but writing allows me to escape for a while even if elements of the dream work their way into the story.
As in my currrrent story, where the hero has just realized an unpleasant fact he can share with no one, which is difficult because his companions are telepaths.
I don't worry too much. There's always the rewriting stage to remove irrelevancies created in the wee small hours
Amy
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Normality at last
Yesterday was great.
Judging duties were behind me and my day fell into a work day pattern of writing, promoting and correspondence. Everything was up to date for the first time since the end of June when we left for the UK/Europe.
This morning, it took me less than ten minutes to deal with my inbox and post two excerpts on a Yahoo Group before settling down to writing. Two hours later, I having a coffee and taking a break to write this while I ponder the dilemma of my two protagonists. Both of them are hiding their despair in the physical act of love and only I know the logical surprise prepared for them in the next chapter.
There's always a fine line between preparing the way and telegraphing story elements and I'm trying to tread this one very carefully.
It's great fun.
Amy
Judging duties were behind me and my day fell into a work day pattern of writing, promoting and correspondence. Everything was up to date for the first time since the end of June when we left for the UK/Europe.
This morning, it took me less than ten minutes to deal with my inbox and post two excerpts on a Yahoo Group before settling down to writing. Two hours later, I having a coffee and taking a break to write this while I ponder the dilemma of my two protagonists. Both of them are hiding their despair in the physical act of love and only I know the logical surprise prepared for them in the next chapter.
There's always a fine line between preparing the way and telegraphing story elements and I'm trying to tread this one very carefully.
It's great fun.
Amy
Thursday, October 26, 2006
A Sigh of Relief
I've read all the stories, gone back over my notes, reread the sections I noted and studied the judging criteria before grading each entry. I put aside everything to get it done because I found it so uncomfortable to be criticizing other writer's dreams.
It's different when you teach. Criticism is constructive and the student can change the passage and learn. Published works can't be changed and I know how uncomfortable my mistakes in print make me.
Still, the job's done and I did my best, so I can go back to my writing with a relatively clear conscience, even if I'll have to think very hard before I attempt it again.
Amy
It's different when you teach. Criticism is constructive and the student can change the passage and learn. Published works can't be changed and I know how uncomfortable my mistakes in print make me.
Still, the job's done and I did my best, so I can go back to my writing with a relatively clear conscience, even if I'll have to think very hard before I attempt it again.
Amy
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Never Volunteer!
Military service should have engraved those words on my forehead.
I put myself forward as a first run judge in an award run by a writers' group and was given a number of published books to read in two categories and some broad judging criteria.
I began the first one as soon as they arrived and my discomfort level escalated quite rapidly when I found myself struggling to continue reading the antics of some grotesque caricatures from a comic book. Technically, I could admire the smoke and mirrors expertise of the writer in maintaining the story line, but I had no connection to any of the characters. They had no reality outside the printed page. I ploughed on and completed the book, keeping notes as I went, then gave it a gut reaction mark.
I'll complete all the others and then go back and review my reactions before I submit them, but I'm terribly uncomfortable with the task. I know how much sweat and blood goes into a book and I could see the thought processes behind the writing and admire the technique, but none of the characters were real.
Wish me luck with the rest.
Amy
I put myself forward as a first run judge in an award run by a writers' group and was given a number of published books to read in two categories and some broad judging criteria.
I began the first one as soon as they arrived and my discomfort level escalated quite rapidly when I found myself struggling to continue reading the antics of some grotesque caricatures from a comic book. Technically, I could admire the smoke and mirrors expertise of the writer in maintaining the story line, but I had no connection to any of the characters. They had no reality outside the printed page. I ploughed on and completed the book, keeping notes as I went, then gave it a gut reaction mark.
I'll complete all the others and then go back and review my reactions before I submit them, but I'm terribly uncomfortable with the task. I know how much sweat and blood goes into a book and I could see the thought processes behind the writing and admire the technique, but none of the characters were real.
Wish me luck with the rest.
Amy
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Eureka!
The story I'm working on began with two characters in the environment established in NEW BLOOD. There was no clear end in sight and I had little idea what would happen in the story. I just started writing and followed my characters, letting them react naturally to events. This was possible because I knew their environment and its rules.
Other characters came into being as the story progressed and each of them added to the mix until I realized my original goal was only a staging post along the way and we traveled further, this time with even less idea where it was leading. The story problems mounted and the solutions seemed distant- until last night.
I'd had an injection during the day and suffered a reaction that drove me from my bed in the early hours of the morning to sit in front of the computer for an hour or so working. Deciding I was too tired to continue, I went back to bed and found the reaction just as uncomfortable so I let my mind roam where it might to provide a distraction from my discomfort.
It did.
Suddenly all the disparate threads of the story gelled into a coherent whole and I had my ending drawn from threads I'd already established without planning. It felt great and I was thinking so hard I drifted into sleep without realizing it, the discomfort of the reaction forgotten.
I woke this morning and started writing, only to lose a thousand words when a power surge dropped the computer offline and the auto-save hadn't worked. It didn't stop me. I just went back and retyped a revised version before manually saving it and continuing.
It's a great feeling.
Amy
Other characters came into being as the story progressed and each of them added to the mix until I realized my original goal was only a staging post along the way and we traveled further, this time with even less idea where it was leading. The story problems mounted and the solutions seemed distant- until last night.
I'd had an injection during the day and suffered a reaction that drove me from my bed in the early hours of the morning to sit in front of the computer for an hour or so working. Deciding I was too tired to continue, I went back to bed and found the reaction just as uncomfortable so I let my mind roam where it might to provide a distraction from my discomfort.
It did.
Suddenly all the disparate threads of the story gelled into a coherent whole and I had my ending drawn from threads I'd already established without planning. It felt great and I was thinking so hard I drifted into sleep without realizing it, the discomfort of the reaction forgotten.
I woke this morning and started writing, only to lose a thousand words when a power surge dropped the computer offline and the auto-save hadn't worked. It didn't stop me. I just went back and retyped a revised version before manually saving it and continuing.
It's a great feeling.
Amy
Saturday, October 07, 2006
A Common Problem
A fellow writer agonized over an online interview, certain she'd have nothing of interest to offer, and other writers offered comfort. It highlighted a common problem.
Writers, largely speaking, are ordinary people. It is both our strength and our weakness. It gives us the common insights with our readers that illuminate our writing, but makes it terribly difficult to maintain our self confidence when challenges arise, like interviews, book-signings, personal appearances, etc.
Even a stable of published works with different publishers can't dispel the feelings of being an undiscovered fraud. We revisit them occasionally, anxious for reassurance, only to find every mistake, every piece of sloppy writing, glaring at us from the page. We can only hope our readers are less critical and more forgiving before we go back the solitary hours of writing, beset with the doubts that make us try harder.
I've yet to meet a writer who is complacent about any aspect of their writing at any level except the public face we display to the world. It seems to come with the territory.
Damn!
Amy
Writers, largely speaking, are ordinary people. It is both our strength and our weakness. It gives us the common insights with our readers that illuminate our writing, but makes it terribly difficult to maintain our self confidence when challenges arise, like interviews, book-signings, personal appearances, etc.
Even a stable of published works with different publishers can't dispel the feelings of being an undiscovered fraud. We revisit them occasionally, anxious for reassurance, only to find every mistake, every piece of sloppy writing, glaring at us from the page. We can only hope our readers are less critical and more forgiving before we go back the solitary hours of writing, beset with the doubts that make us try harder.
I've yet to meet a writer who is complacent about any aspect of their writing at any level except the public face we display to the world. It seems to come with the territory.
Damn!
Amy
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
True Writers?
There's a message thread in the New Concepts Reader's and Authors group about romance writers not being true writers and it's excited some passions, including the dichotomies between male and female writers, literary and popular writers, etc., etc., etc.
Personally, I find it rather irrelevant. I write stories. If I write them well and they are good stories, people read them and come back for more. It's what I enjoy doing. The better I write, the more I enjoy it. It's all very simple.
To give more people the opportunity to read my stories, I have to find publishers who believe they can make money selling my stories. This sometimes means that the stories I choose to write are of a specific genre, sub-genre, etc. I still enjoy writing the stories and the only people who have the right to judge my stories are the people who read them. If they enjoy my stories, they will read more.
End of subject.
Amy
Personally, I find it rather irrelevant. I write stories. If I write them well and they are good stories, people read them and come back for more. It's what I enjoy doing. The better I write, the more I enjoy it. It's all very simple.
To give more people the opportunity to read my stories, I have to find publishers who believe they can make money selling my stories. This sometimes means that the stories I choose to write are of a specific genre, sub-genre, etc. I still enjoy writing the stories and the only people who have the right to judge my stories are the people who read them. If they enjoy my stories, they will read more.
End of subject.
Amy
Monday, October 02, 2006
Changing Direction
I began writing category romance in 1997 and my first book, Mitchell's Run, was published in 2000 by Rocky River Romances in Australia. (In 2006, an Americanized version of Mitchell's Run was released in the US under the title Mitchell's Valley) It was followed by three other books, A Soldier's Woman, A Fair Trade and Snow Drifter. A fifth story, Beyond the Barriers completed a five book contract, but has not yet been released. Snow Drifter is scheduled for release in the US in April 2007.
In 2004, I wrote a paranormal romance targeting a Canadian E-publisher, LTD Books, having downloaded every free excerpt they allowed and aiming the story somewhere in the middle of their range. I wanted to see what E-publishing was first hand. They accepted the story and we exchanged contracts, but the company folded in 2005 before it was released.
Left with a story considered good enough to publish, I looked for another publisher and a writer friend suggested New Concepts Publishing. They seemed to fit the bill so I sent them the manuscript and they accepted it, releasing New Blood in March 2006. It has since received favorable reviews in the US, as did Mitchell's Valley.
Both books have a level of sensuality in the middle of my comfort zone, more romantic than erotic, and New Blood is the first in a series about a group called The First Family, for reasons that have nothing to do with the White House. I have written the next two with the intention of submitting them to New Concepts, but remain uncomfortable with the company they will keep there. I neither denigrate nor decry erotic literature, I'm just uncomfortable writing it and do not believe my books fit well in its company.
This means striking out again, doing my research and finding a publisher whose line suits my stories, then reformatting them to meet their submission requirements.
Wish me luck.
Amy
In 2004, I wrote a paranormal romance targeting a Canadian E-publisher, LTD Books, having downloaded every free excerpt they allowed and aiming the story somewhere in the middle of their range. I wanted to see what E-publishing was first hand. They accepted the story and we exchanged contracts, but the company folded in 2005 before it was released.
Left with a story considered good enough to publish, I looked for another publisher and a writer friend suggested New Concepts Publishing. They seemed to fit the bill so I sent them the manuscript and they accepted it, releasing New Blood in March 2006. It has since received favorable reviews in the US, as did Mitchell's Valley.
Both books have a level of sensuality in the middle of my comfort zone, more romantic than erotic, and New Blood is the first in a series about a group called The First Family, for reasons that have nothing to do with the White House. I have written the next two with the intention of submitting them to New Concepts, but remain uncomfortable with the company they will keep there. I neither denigrate nor decry erotic literature, I'm just uncomfortable writing it and do not believe my books fit well in its company.
This means striking out again, doing my research and finding a publisher whose line suits my stories, then reformatting them to meet their submission requirements.
Wish me luck.
Amy
Thursday, September 28, 2006
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
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
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
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
It was a touching moment. One of the memories you carry with you always,
Amy
Thursday, September 14, 2006
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
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
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
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
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
Sunday, September 10, 2006
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
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
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
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
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
Monday, September 04, 2006
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
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
Sunday, September 03, 2006
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
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
Saturday, September 02, 2006
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!!
It was a ball!!
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Wow!!!
Forty days into our trip and that is a perfect description of my reaction.
We're staying in the English Lakes District for the next few days as a breather, catching up on washing etc., and enjoying the view.
We began in Dubai, staying for two days and doing the tourist thing-a great place for shopping, but it was the beginning of the trip and our bags were full, so we controlled ourselves.
On to London and the beginning of a twenty-four day coach trip through Europe. Amsterdam, Cologne, Strausburg, Heidleberg, Lucerne,Vienna, Venice, Rome, Florence, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Lourdes, Bairitz, Bordeaux, Paris and back to London. The highlights were too many to list and our disappointments few. Coached on enough language to be polite, we were treated well everywhere, but my accent probably put Anglo-French relations back twenty years. My attempts to speak the language were invariably greeted with a pained smile and the admission that the listener spoke English.
England and four days in London saw us doing the tourist thing again before we picked up the hire car, moving from youth hostel to youth hostel where possible. It's a great way to travel and considerable more economic than B&Bs or hotels.
The south of England first, ending in Bath and Jane Austen territory. (Met a fellow writer and had a ball in Exeter.)
North to Shrewsbury and onwards to the Lakes District.
Next it's Scotland, and the Edinburgh Tattoo, but I'll tell you about that later.
We're staying in the English Lakes District for the next few days as a breather, catching up on washing etc., and enjoying the view.
We began in Dubai, staying for two days and doing the tourist thing-a great place for shopping, but it was the beginning of the trip and our bags were full, so we controlled ourselves.
On to London and the beginning of a twenty-four day coach trip through Europe. Amsterdam, Cologne, Strausburg, Heidleberg, Lucerne,Vienna, Venice, Rome, Florence, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Lourdes, Bairitz, Bordeaux, Paris and back to London. The highlights were too many to list and our disappointments few. Coached on enough language to be polite, we were treated well everywhere, but my accent probably put Anglo-French relations back twenty years. My attempts to speak the language were invariably greeted with a pained smile and the admission that the listener spoke English.
England and four days in London saw us doing the tourist thing again before we picked up the hire car, moving from youth hostel to youth hostel where possible. It's a great way to travel and considerable more economic than B&Bs or hotels.
The south of England first, ending in Bath and Jane Austen territory. (Met a fellow writer and had a ball in Exeter.)
North to Shrewsbury and onwards to the Lakes District.
Next it's Scotland, and the Edinburgh Tattoo, but I'll tell you about that later.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
SNAFU
A venerable saying, weighted by usage, and completely appropriate - Situation Normal All Fouled Up - or something similar in sound.
Our packing is complete, our house sitter briefed and ready, only one more fairwell party to go and our twenty-year-old wall oven cooks its contolling circuit board rather than the evening meal. Spares are no longer available and repair is impossible.
Damn!
Our packing is complete, our house sitter briefed and ready, only one more fairwell party to go and our twenty-year-old wall oven cooks its contolling circuit board rather than the evening meal. Spares are no longer available and repair is impossible.
Damn!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Countdown to Departure
All the tickets are in our hands, we have drawn up a detailed itinerary, have selected the clothes we're taking and even had a trial packing of our suitcases to ensure everything fits. The communication channels are set so we can be contacted in an emergency and we've familiarized ourselves with the tourist information available, all with six days to go before we board the first plane.
It's time to relax a little, enjoy the farewell parties and other celebrations and go back to a little light writing on the 3rd book of the Blood trilogy, tying in the 11,000 words I cut from the second book to the 9,000 words already written.
I'm still not decided about this story. It is a further shift in genre from the first with the two main characters separated for most of the story, each fighting to survive, each using the other as a goal to focus their efforts and the villain is oddly likeable. I'll make up my mind when I return.
SNOW DRIFTER is due for release in April 2007, assuming my Australian publisher's foray into the US market continues. It's set in Sydney (Australia), the New South Wales snow fields and Aspen and we had great fun researching it, walking, skiing and driving the same paths as its characters.
Bye for now
It's time to relax a little, enjoy the farewell parties and other celebrations and go back to a little light writing on the 3rd book of the Blood trilogy, tying in the 11,000 words I cut from the second book to the 9,000 words already written.
I'm still not decided about this story. It is a further shift in genre from the first with the two main characters separated for most of the story, each fighting to survive, each using the other as a goal to focus their efforts and the villain is oddly likeable. I'll make up my mind when I return.
SNOW DRIFTER is due for release in April 2007, assuming my Australian publisher's foray into the US market continues. It's set in Sydney (Australia), the New South Wales snow fields and Aspen and we had great fun researching it, walking, skiing and driving the same paths as its characters.
Bye for now
Monday, June 19, 2006
The Pause that Refreshes
"New World" has been submitted and I can now turn to the preparations for our trip with a clear conscience. I transferred the two chapters to the third book, even though it makes this one seem a little truncated to my eyes. We'll see what NCP think of it.
On the family front, our son is off to Iraq with the security detatchment for the Australian Embassy. He's keen to put his training into practice and we can do little more than provide support to him and his family until he returns.
My posts will be a bit more sporadic over the next ten weeks, but I'll log in when I can and keep you updated.
On the family front, our son is off to Iraq with the security detatchment for the Australian Embassy. He's keen to put his training into practice and we can do little more than provide support to him and his family until he returns.
My posts will be a bit more sporadic over the next ten weeks, but I'll log in when I can and keep you updated.
Friday, June 16, 2006
A Writer's Dilemma
I have reached the final stages of "New World" Re-reading, polishing, correcting typos and the simple mistakes caused the length of time I've worked on it and faulty memory. Generally speaking, I'm satisfied with it, except...
That's a dreadful word, isn't it.
Midway though the story there's a two chapter diversion which explains something of the past and sets up the third book of the series and I've realized this is its only function. It provides no psychological or emotional development of either the heroine or the hero and I probably wrote it with the 60,000 word target in the back of my mind. It's survived two major rewrites, but this last one has marginalized it even more by shifting events to where they belonged rather than as asides to link the diversion to the main story.
There's one more shift I would have to make to complete the process and I am sitting in front of the computer steeling myself to make it and cut the diversion entirely.
It wouldn't be lost, just shifted to the third book - where it really belongs.
Damn!
That's a dreadful word, isn't it.
Midway though the story there's a two chapter diversion which explains something of the past and sets up the third book of the series and I've realized this is its only function. It provides no psychological or emotional development of either the heroine or the hero and I probably wrote it with the 60,000 word target in the back of my mind. It's survived two major rewrites, but this last one has marginalized it even more by shifting events to where they belonged rather than as asides to link the diversion to the main story.
There's one more shift I would have to make to complete the process and I am sitting in front of the computer steeling myself to make it and cut the diversion entirely.
It wouldn't be lost, just shifted to the third book - where it really belongs.
Damn!
Monday, June 12, 2006
Four Roses for Mitchell's Valley
Romance Reader at Heart reviewed Mitchell's Valley and gave it four roses. This is what they said.
RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:
If you’re in the mood for a modern romance, look no further! Amy Gallow’s MITCHELL’S VALLEY is just the book for you. With its interesting characters and beautiful settings, you’re sure to enjoy this book.
Cynthia Sheldon has just been rescued from near death by the handsome Andrew Mitchell. After a passionate kiss goodbye, he gives her a trinket and asks that she never forget him. Once Cynthia is finally recovered, she realizes that the trinket Andrew gave her was a golden nugget! Intrigued by this man and the memory of his kiss, Cynthia goes on a quest to find him to thank him again for his generosity, and perhaps reenact their parting kiss. But what she finds instead is a mystery that she is committed to solve, no matter what.
Drew Mitchell is a descendent from the legendary Andrew Mitchell, for whom his ranch is named. Drew is one hunky cowboy! When Cynthia finds Drew, she swears that he was the one who rescued her. But Drew denies it, and claims instead that it was his namesake, the deceased Andrew Mitchell who saved her instead. Could it be? A ghost who saved her and kissed her? Although Cynthia is willing to play along with Drew’s story for a little bit, she can’t help but think that maybe he’s telling the truth. A ghost did save her.
MITCHELL’S VALLEY sizzles with the romance between Cynthia and Drew! I loved that Ms. Gallow added the mystery of Andrew Mitchell as the driving force to bring together Cynthia and Drew. She keeps you guessing as to whether it was really Andrew Mitchell’s ghost who rescued Cynthia.
I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading MITCHELL’S VALLEY. I breezed through the book and I was satisfied with how it ended. All in all, a very good read!
Julie Kornhausl
My smile makes house heating redundant on a cold winter's day.
RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:
If you’re in the mood for a modern romance, look no further! Amy Gallow’s MITCHELL’S VALLEY is just the book for you. With its interesting characters and beautiful settings, you’re sure to enjoy this book.
Cynthia Sheldon has just been rescued from near death by the handsome Andrew Mitchell. After a passionate kiss goodbye, he gives her a trinket and asks that she never forget him. Once Cynthia is finally recovered, she realizes that the trinket Andrew gave her was a golden nugget! Intrigued by this man and the memory of his kiss, Cynthia goes on a quest to find him to thank him again for his generosity, and perhaps reenact their parting kiss. But what she finds instead is a mystery that she is committed to solve, no matter what.
Drew Mitchell is a descendent from the legendary Andrew Mitchell, for whom his ranch is named. Drew is one hunky cowboy! When Cynthia finds Drew, she swears that he was the one who rescued her. But Drew denies it, and claims instead that it was his namesake, the deceased Andrew Mitchell who saved her instead. Could it be? A ghost who saved her and kissed her? Although Cynthia is willing to play along with Drew’s story for a little bit, she can’t help but think that maybe he’s telling the truth. A ghost did save her.
MITCHELL’S VALLEY sizzles with the romance between Cynthia and Drew! I loved that Ms. Gallow added the mystery of Andrew Mitchell as the driving force to bring together Cynthia and Drew. She keeps you guessing as to whether it was really Andrew Mitchell’s ghost who rescued Cynthia.
I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading MITCHELL’S VALLEY. I breezed through the book and I was satisfied with how it ended. All in all, a very good read!
Julie Kornhausl
My smile makes house heating redundant on a cold winter's day.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Beauty and the eye of the Beholder
I received an odd email this morning, purportedly from an American living in the Philippines, asking what was the most beautiful Australian city in a cliche sense. My first reaction was to delete it as spam, but I attempted to answer it in spite of my reservations because I found it difficult and difficult things attract me.
Sydney makes the loudest claims to beauty, but Sydney is the loudest in everything. The Gold Coast runs it a close second. Melbourne shares with Vancouver (BC) the tag of being the world's most livable city (or did.) and the environs of Hobart are spectacular. Albany (in WA) has King George's Sound and Perth (also in WA) has the Swan River and Fremantle (named for one of Nelson's Band of Brothers). Their diversity creates confusion when considering them in terms of beauty. It's much easier to name personal favorites, which I won't, or the most uniquely Australian (Darwin).
I hope my answer made sense to the American, if the inquiry was genuine, or my spam and virus filters work well enough if it wasn't.
Sydney makes the loudest claims to beauty, but Sydney is the loudest in everything. The Gold Coast runs it a close second. Melbourne shares with Vancouver (BC) the tag of being the world's most livable city (or did.) and the environs of Hobart are spectacular. Albany (in WA) has King George's Sound and Perth (also in WA) has the Swan River and Fremantle (named for one of Nelson's Band of Brothers). Their diversity creates confusion when considering them in terms of beauty. It's much easier to name personal favorites, which I won't, or the most uniquely Australian (Darwin).
I hope my answer made sense to the American, if the inquiry was genuine, or my spam and virus filters work well enough if it wasn't.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
The Home Stretch
The days are counting down to our departure for the UK/Europe and I think the two days we'll spend in Dubai are going to be very welcome because every day before we leave is now accounted for - glitches will not be welcomed.
Our son didn't go to East Timor and it appears a thankless job because years of guerrilla fighting is no preparation for governing a country. It's understandable, but a great pity. The Timorese deserve better. My family's connection to the place goes back to WWII when an uncle, left behind in the retreat, lived in the hills and fought the Japanese until his group cobbled together a radio from stolen parts and made contact with the Army again. He still speaks warmly of the Timorese and we owe them a debt.
No time to waste. Shoulder to the wheel, nose to the grindstone etc.
Our son didn't go to East Timor and it appears a thankless job because years of guerrilla fighting is no preparation for governing a country. It's understandable, but a great pity. The Timorese deserve better. My family's connection to the place goes back to WWII when an uncle, left behind in the retreat, lived in the hills and fought the Japanese until his group cobbled together a radio from stolen parts and made contact with the Army again. He still speaks warmly of the Timorese and we owe them a debt.
No time to waste. Shoulder to the wheel, nose to the grindstone etc.
Friday, June 02, 2006
A little touch of Magic
Every successful story has a little touch of magic, a moment that gells all the elements and makes them real. I discovered the one for "New World" just before five am and lay there while my mind raced through the story, making adjustments, adding scenes and deleting others. It took nearly an hour and then I had to get up and work.
It's now seven thirty am and I am temporarily sated, having spent ninety minutes at the keyboard typing as fast as my fingers would go. I still have much to do, but the moment of magic now has a physical reality and the coffee in my mug tastes great. I will be tired later, but the exhileration deserved to be enjoyed and shared.
These moments make writing great.
It's now seven thirty am and I am temporarily sated, having spent ninety minutes at the keyboard typing as fast as my fingers would go. I still have much to do, but the moment of magic now has a physical reality and the coffee in my mug tastes great. I will be tired later, but the exhileration deserved to be enjoyed and shared.
These moments make writing great.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Writer's Block
Mandy Roth started a thread in the NCP Reader's group about writer's block and some interesting views emerged, showing how personal a subject this is and how different are our definitions for Writer's Block.
The traditional one, made famous by countless movies and novels, shows the disheveled author in a crisis of confidence, unable to type a coherent page, surrounded by crumpled sheets of paper, chain smoking with a near empty bottle of liquor at his elbow.
Computers and word processing packages have removed the crumpled sheets of paper, the anti-smoking lobby has stifled the chain smoking, the medical profession have confiscated the liquor bottle and our partners have frowned on dishevelment. Only the crisis of confidence remains.
Something I've yet to suffer because I began with the knowledge I knew nothing and learnt my craft step by step. A stumble sends me back down the path I trod to get here, retracing my steps until I can see my way ahead again, applying the same old lessons yet again to the story I'm working on until I see my way clearly once more.
"New World" has been beset by every possible interruption. Overseas trips, family crises, reviews of "New Blood", the launch of "Mitchell's Valley, etc., etc., etc., and I've had to pick up the pieces more times than is reasonable, but I've never lost confidence in either the story or myself. It's a writer's life to do these things.
In a month's time, we're off overseas again and I would love to have "New World" submitted before we go. The odds are good that it will happen, but real life has a habit of interposing itself into my calculations. If it does, I'll mutter a little and accept it because submitting a manuscript before its ready is not the act of a professional writer.
Therein lies my self confidence!
The traditional one, made famous by countless movies and novels, shows the disheveled author in a crisis of confidence, unable to type a coherent page, surrounded by crumpled sheets of paper, chain smoking with a near empty bottle of liquor at his elbow.
Computers and word processing packages have removed the crumpled sheets of paper, the anti-smoking lobby has stifled the chain smoking, the medical profession have confiscated the liquor bottle and our partners have frowned on dishevelment. Only the crisis of confidence remains.
Something I've yet to suffer because I began with the knowledge I knew nothing and learnt my craft step by step. A stumble sends me back down the path I trod to get here, retracing my steps until I can see my way ahead again, applying the same old lessons yet again to the story I'm working on until I see my way clearly once more.
"New World" has been beset by every possible interruption. Overseas trips, family crises, reviews of "New Blood", the launch of "Mitchell's Valley, etc., etc., etc., and I've had to pick up the pieces more times than is reasonable, but I've never lost confidence in either the story or myself. It's a writer's life to do these things.
In a month's time, we're off overseas again and I would love to have "New World" submitted before we go. The odds are good that it will happen, but real life has a habit of interposing itself into my calculations. If it does, I'll mutter a little and accept it because submitting a manuscript before its ready is not the act of a professional writer.
Therein lies my self confidence!
Friday, May 26, 2006
Four Roses from Romance Reader at Heart
New Blood received four roses from Romance Reader at Heart and I have a very large smile on my face.
Here's the Review:
RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:
Dael is essentially a person within a person. She lives inside of a host, whose name is Samara and is a healer. She has this great personality that is all her own. Dael and Samara literally take turns using Samara's body, and they communicate with one another through telekinetics. Their bond is very strong, and before they were through sharing a body I had come to think of them as sisters.
Upon discovering a new life and a new way of doing things when Samara—and Dael—are stolen from their hive, Dael uses the help of a man named Peter to make changes to herself. She literally creates herself a body, right from the very first cell. What Dael doesn't understand is that Peter is a very powerful being and he is manipulating her to get her to do his bidding. He wants to create a better way of life for his people, and knows that Dael and the son that they will have is the answer to his prayers.
While a little disillusioned when I began to read NEW BLOOD (mainly because there is a lot of information, and at first, everything is not explained very well), I ended up really liking this story. Dael and Peter conquer great odds to be together and with their son, Karrel, they become a force to be reckoned with. Theirs is a very strong familial unit and I grew to love them while reading their story.
This being my first experience with this type of paranormal book, I was pleasantly surprised while reading Amy Gallow’s NEW BLOOD. It was an interesting read and helped to show me a new aspect of paranormal romance.
Kristal Gorman
Here's the Review:
RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:
Dael is essentially a person within a person. She lives inside of a host, whose name is Samara and is a healer. She has this great personality that is all her own. Dael and Samara literally take turns using Samara's body, and they communicate with one another through telekinetics. Their bond is very strong, and before they were through sharing a body I had come to think of them as sisters.
Upon discovering a new life and a new way of doing things when Samara—and Dael—are stolen from their hive, Dael uses the help of a man named Peter to make changes to herself. She literally creates herself a body, right from the very first cell. What Dael doesn't understand is that Peter is a very powerful being and he is manipulating her to get her to do his bidding. He wants to create a better way of life for his people, and knows that Dael and the son that they will have is the answer to his prayers.
While a little disillusioned when I began to read NEW BLOOD (mainly because there is a lot of information, and at first, everything is not explained very well), I ended up really liking this story. Dael and Peter conquer great odds to be together and with their son, Karrel, they become a force to be reckoned with. Theirs is a very strong familial unit and I grew to love them while reading their story.
This being my first experience with this type of paranormal book, I was pleasantly surprised while reading Amy Gallow’s NEW BLOOD. It was an interesting read and helped to show me a new aspect of paranormal romance.
Kristal Gorman
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Life goes on
"Mitchell's Valley" gained three stars from RT.
I haven't read the review yet, but its importance shrank with the news the Australian Army is taking troops out of the Solomon Islands and deploying into East Timor again. Our son is currently in the Solomons with a rifle company. and has been to East Timor twice before, once with INTERFET and once with the UN. He'll be keen to go again.
The preparation for our next trip goes on, checking bookings etc., and another trip to NZ has appeared on the horizon(back to the North Island again to see the rest of it), both our daughters are happily pregnant and the night course I teach in the adult education system has reached its halfway mark with signs of success.
The rewrite of "New World" is progressing steadily with growing satisfaction on my part, although I'm no longer sure I want to return to this environment again for the third book( a decision I'll make when the time comes)
As you can see, writers have a normal life as well.
I haven't read the review yet, but its importance shrank with the news the Australian Army is taking troops out of the Solomon Islands and deploying into East Timor again. Our son is currently in the Solomons with a rifle company. and has been to East Timor twice before, once with INTERFET and once with the UN. He'll be keen to go again.
The preparation for our next trip goes on, checking bookings etc., and another trip to NZ has appeared on the horizon(back to the North Island again to see the rest of it), both our daughters are happily pregnant and the night course I teach in the adult education system has reached its halfway mark with signs of success.
The rewrite of "New World" is progressing steadily with growing satisfaction on my part, although I'm no longer sure I want to return to this environment again for the third book( a decision I'll make when the time comes)
As you can see, writers have a normal life as well.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Rewriting is Hard
The discard file of "New World" is growing and contains a half dozen scenes that were very hard to put aside, even when I acknowledged their replacements were better, or the scene itself was redundant. A little piece of me weeps when I transfer a scene to the discard file (I can't bring myself to simply delete it) because I know it will never return. I promise myself I'll cull the discard piles one day, but I probably won't and they'll continue to clutter my computer memory until some disaster wipes them for me. (Given my propensity for tinkering, disasters happen frequently enough to prevent me reaching saturation point on my hard drive.)
I was muttering to myself about how long this story is taking to complete when my more logical other half overheard and stood ticking off the points on the fingers of an outstretched hand, listing the New Zealand trip, preparations for the UK/Europe trip, first sequel story, "Mitchell's Valley" in the US, and a myiad of family events, all exciting and distracting. I'm not sure I was convinced, but it did make me feel better.
Finishing the rewrite will make me feel even better, so I'd better get back to it.
I was muttering to myself about how long this story is taking to complete when my more logical other half overheard and stood ticking off the points on the fingers of an outstretched hand, listing the New Zealand trip, preparations for the UK/Europe trip, first sequel story, "Mitchell's Valley" in the US, and a myiad of family events, all exciting and distracting. I'm not sure I was convinced, but it did make me feel better.
Finishing the rewrite will make me feel even better, so I'd better get back to it.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
It gets better by the day
"Snow Drifter", my fourth book with Australian publisher Rocky River Romances, will follow "Mitchell's Valley" into the American market in April 2007, probaly with a changed cover as they reused this one for "Mitchell's Valley" in the US.
It's set in Sydney, the Perisher snowfields in New South Wales, on top of nearby Mount Kosciuszko and Aspen so it has a built-in American connection as it tells of the love between a footloose ski instructor and a girl recovering from a tragic love affair and clinging to her past and her home.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
It's a Great Life
"Mitchell's Valley" has hit the bookshelves at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Wadenmart and Powell's Books and will be part of a full page ad in the Romantic Times. The Austalian publisher of Rocky River Romances is on a promotional tour for the four books of this release in the US and "there's movement at the station", as "Banjo" Paterson might say.
In addition, my first royalty payment came unexpectedly for "New Blood". Only a month's sales, but a delightful surprise none the less.
Writers are not supposed to have favorite stories, other than the one they're working on, but the one on the right will always have a special part of my heart and I was very glad to have the opportunity to apply a five-year learning curve to a great yarn before its American release.
There's more about it and "Mitchell's Run" on my website http://www.amygallow.com
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Damn! Damn! Damn!
I've been struggling with the second book of the "New Blood" series since we came back from New Zealand. No matter what I did to it I wasn't satisfied. The story is good and my writing felt fluent, but the sense of reader engagement wasn't there.
In the early hours of this morning, I realized why.
I'd used the same structure to tell the story, emphasizing the inevitable similarities growing out of being set in the same world as the previous book.
I've been working on it since, the words flowing effortlessy from the keyboard, my mind racing ahead in the buzz of creation.
Why does it take so long to recognize our mistakes?
In the early hours of this morning, I realized why.
I'd used the same structure to tell the story, emphasizing the inevitable similarities growing out of being set in the same world as the previous book.
I've been working on it since, the words flowing effortlessy from the keyboard, my mind racing ahead in the buzz of creation.
Why does it take so long to recognize our mistakes?
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Todd Russell, Brant Webb and Larry Knight
Along with every other Australian, I've shared the high and lows of the fourteen days since the mine collapse on Anzac Day and Larry Knight's death. I was awake when the two survivors were finally freed just before five am local time and shed a silent tear when they walked from the pit-head cage and took their name tags from the board showing who was down the mine. Their black humor during the rescue made me chuckle, their determination to exit the mine as they entered it, on their feet, made my throat tighten.
I'm a proud Australian this morning, happy to share a bond with these men, however tenuous.
At one pm, when Lary Knight's funeral begins, I will be silent, remembering him and giving thanks for the miracle that spared the others.
This morning, and doubtless in the days to come, many claimed these men's conduct grew naturally from their nationality, their upbringing and their industry.
All nonsense, of course.
Courage, humor and grace under pressure has no nationality. We should salute them as individuals and be thankful that they exist as guidons for the rest of us.
I'm a proud Australian this morning, happy to share a bond with these men, however tenuous.
At one pm, when Lary Knight's funeral begins, I will be silent, remembering him and giving thanks for the miracle that spared the others.
This morning, and doubtless in the days to come, many claimed these men's conduct grew naturally from their nationality, their upbringing and their industry.
All nonsense, of course.
Courage, humor and grace under pressure has no nationality. We should salute them as individuals and be thankful that they exist as guidons for the rest of us.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Things I should've learnt from Scheherazade
I'm sitting muttering to myself as I contemplate the tatters of a manuscript...all that remains of 64,000 words. It's the second book of the New Blood series that I'd put aside before going to New Zealand. At the time, I'd thought it just needed a rewrite, a bit of cut and paste and a polish to be ready for the publishers.
Now I realize the magnitude of the task.
What does this have to do with the lady at the centre of the Thousand and One Nights?
She survived, not by the number of stories she knew, but by her craft in telling them. "New World" is a good story, but I'd allowed myself to be gulled by its connection to "New Blood" and depended on the credit and knowledge already established instead of crafting it as if it were completely fresh.
Damn!
Now I realize the magnitude of the task.
What does this have to do with the lady at the centre of the Thousand and One Nights?
She survived, not by the number of stories she knew, but by her craft in telling them. "New World" is a good story, but I'd allowed myself to be gulled by its connection to "New Blood" and depended on the credit and knowledge already established instead of crafting it as if it were completely fresh.
Damn!
Friday, May 05, 2006
A Dark Fantasy?
When Fictionwise catalogued "New Blood" as a dark fantasy, my first reaction was to blame the cover art and mutter to myself, but then I reconsidered. A fantasy world created by a dying soldier in which the underlyng logic of his decisions takes charge to twist his creation out of shape does have dark elements, regardless of the outcome.
The same argument makes the next two books in the series dark fantasies as well, which will make the choice of cover art interesting. Will a lighter approach change the category Fictionwise applies to them?
I'm finding this series fascinating. Every development is controlled by the initial premise that this is an environment created by a man born in 1898 and dying in 2005. Nothing can be introduced that he wouldn't know, even when I venture into his distant future and the story's distant past. It simplifies the science considerably, because speculative discoveries he didn't have the tools to understand are barred.
This type of cogitation is what makes writing fiction so enjoyable.
It's a tough life.
The same argument makes the next two books in the series dark fantasies as well, which will make the choice of cover art interesting. Will a lighter approach change the category Fictionwise applies to them?
I'm finding this series fascinating. Every development is controlled by the initial premise that this is an environment created by a man born in 1898 and dying in 2005. Nothing can be introduced that he wouldn't know, even when I venture into his distant future and the story's distant past. It simplifies the science considerably, because speculative discoveries he didn't have the tools to understand are barred.
This type of cogitation is what makes writing fiction so enjoyable.
It's a tough life.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
At last!
It's eight days since we arrived back and today is the first normal work day. I've finally dealt with stolen cell phones, lost credit cards, taught the introductory lesson of the evening course and this morning I settled back into the comfortable routine of writing rather than snatching moments between distractions.
Routine is my saviour. It makes it easy to keep writing and ignore distractions.
How about you?
Routine is my saviour. It makes it easy to keep writing and ignore distractions.
How about you?
Monday, May 01, 2006
Fresh Eyes
Holidays are great, but returning to a task refreshed is the real benefit. I've prepared the first week's lessons, reread the first draft of "New World" and started the next draft, rearranging large blocks of the story and confining others to the cutting file to be discarded when the story is published.
It's a different world when you have the whole story in a physical form, even though I've hacked it about a lot, and this is another enjoyable stage. You know where you're going and exactly what you want to achieve. I have to force myself to take breaks and the seven week course is great because I have student assignments to drag me away.
Teaching is great fun, particulalry with motivated students who've paid money and given up their evenings to attend the course. It imposes a responsibility to ensure they get value for their money and use their time effectively, but there's always time for a laugh and lots of opportunities to learn a little more about the craft of writing. I can't think of a more effective way to learn a subject than to teach it.
Perhaps I should be paying them rather than vice versa?
It's a different world when you have the whole story in a physical form, even though I've hacked it about a lot, and this is another enjoyable stage. You know where you're going and exactly what you want to achieve. I have to force myself to take breaks and the seven week course is great because I have student assignments to drag me away.
Teaching is great fun, particulalry with motivated students who've paid money and given up their evenings to attend the course. It imposes a responsibility to ensure they get value for their money and use their time effectively, but there's always time for a laugh and lots of opportunities to learn a little more about the craft of writing. I can't think of a more effective way to learn a subject than to teach it.
Perhaps I should be paying them rather than vice versa?
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