It's been one of those weeks.

I've been bad and not updated, but fact is, I was feeling pretty crappy about a number of things and would only have brought y'all down. But today is the start of a new week, so here's wishing for it to be a bit more upbeat.

I've been plugging along on RSCF's expansion. I think I've come up with a workable solution to my do they/don't they dilemma. Shock and awe is great, and I was thinking the 'OMG what did we do' morning after might be the thing, but somehow that's not what I wrote, lol! I think for these guys they need to work themselves towards the final act, so to speak :D. Hubby is off to see Cape Canaveral with his friend from England today, so who knows, with the house to myself I might just get to that last scene today.

Would be nice to see it completed, as I've not quite felt like I've got much done lately. Which is odd - I finished FWB (which finally got through to EC with a little help, yay!), and I finished Accidentally Were? before that (tentatively a Early Nov release), and I'm working well at finishing RSCF ... but these were all stories I'd started earlier in the year and were bound and determined to finish. Maybe thats it, I've not really started anything new ... though I do have some plans afoot!

Synopsis, the pansters worst nightmare

I've been working on Friends with Benefits to start off the Sweat70. I'd always intended it to be short, so I finished it up, and I've spent the weekend going over it, editing, polishing, then writing the dreaded synopsis.

No "Hey Ed, I've got this great story, its about this, and that, and they do this while doing that, wanna take a read?" this time around. I'm sending it somewhere new. So that means cover letters, full synopsis etc etc.

Do you know how hard it is to write a synopsis when you totally pantsed the whole manuscript? Crap (amongst other bad words) was heard quite a bit around our house yesterday. I've never quite known if what I'm doing is right when it comes to a synopsis. Am I not being exact enough, do I need to be more blow-by-blow, am I being too blow-by-blow? It's as confusing as hell because everyone has a different opinion on it -- who's advice do you take?

Hopefully I've been doing something right -- after all I've managed to sell 3 books thus far -- surely someone would have said your synopsis suck arse by now ... wouldn't they?

So it's done, the emails sent, and tomorrow I have to start on something new for the Sweat70 while I wait, chewing my non-existent nails till I hear back on the new sub. Wish me luck!

Making Out is available now

I'm running a wee bit behind today. With the bathrooms finished bar the paint, we needed to get on with the last of the flooring, so I've dragged my aches and pains to the computer a lot later than I had planned!

All the links for Making Out will now take you to a fully functioning book listing at Loose Id so make sure to nip over and nab a copy!

Now me, my sore neck, my gimpy hip and aching hamstring are off to bed!

From yesterdays 13...

Here are the front runners:

Chrysalis take the top spot with 11 votes
Just Breathe, 2nd with 9
To Spite the Past, Bruised Pasts, Broken Pasts, 3rd with 4 each
Despite the Past, Telling Truths and Future Song with 2
Learning to Breathe with 1

And last, a suggestion of Bruised Truths, which is a title I rather like! I also have an addition for the list - Jaded Pasts.

So, I know I asked everyones opinion yesterday, but here's the short list:

1. Chrysalis
2. Just Breathe
3. Bruised Truths
4. Jaded Pasts

You know what to do, leave an opinion in the box!

The art work's in!

Check out the coming soon pages for other shorts from your favourite stories.

Whats wrong with colloquial writing?

I've been itching to get a hand on JR Ward's latest Lover Revealed. I managed to get out of the house yesterday and lay my hands on a copy, along with MJD The Royal Pain (for some reason every time I saw it I was $$ strapped - yesterday I wasn't, but hell it was released 2 years ago).

Liked it. Liked it for all the reasons lots of people dislike the Brotherhood series (yet still buy them anyway).

I'm not going to wax on about character growth, or how Marissa really had a voice, or how certain things seemed a bit 'convenient'. Instead I want to congratulate Ms Ward for creating a book for the '00 generation - what are we gen Y or something? For people like me who get the pop culture references, who understand the dialogue, who are part of today’s broad, disposable, technological, and possession orientated society.

I see on many blogs, in how to write books, articles and the rest - don't date your manuscript with current/trendy colloquialism. It's right up there with don't use other people (stars) to describe physical characteristics of your players (which I heartily agree with).

Has no one else ever had to break out the dictionary/encyclopedia/google when reading the classics because you had no clue what the writer was referring to?

Yet, these are classics. We are supposed to come to great realizations about our life and worth from reading them, even though they have very little social relevance to our lives now. Psychological? Sure, but not a hell of a lot of practical reality in this century.

What’s so wrong with creating works for the here and now? Stories that appeal to this generation - the techno-savy, we want it, hip-hop emo rock generation? After all, what is the one thing that all publishers are saying? The younger generation is not buying books in the volume that their older generations do/did. They want their entertainment with the ADHD rapid eye movement speed of Lost and 24 that only to be found on the big or small screen.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but publishing companies aren't expecting mass reprints of most of their books in 50 years time. So what’s wrong with dating ourselves with current terminology and slang if it sells books? After all, in 75 years time I doubt I will be around to enjoy my royalties.

Are we all here to make a great psychological impact to be felt through the next 5 generations, or provide our readers now with quality entertainment?

Some days I feel that I might have the next 'Ohmigawd, you changed my life' epic hidden deep down waiting to be found. And I know some people believe that writing is all about the almost religious, ethereal, dignified nature of literature; that at the end of time literature will be the one thing left standing, that bards and information keepers will rule the world.

And chances are they’re right - no matter what happens, if we have books, we have knowledge.

But what’s so wrong about wanting to make a buck today while entertaining the masses? After all, it's one thing to starve for your art and find your muse through self denial, but has anyone forgotten these guys only became famous once they were dead (and their revelations found through the haze of delusion) - you can't bank your royalty cheque when your six feet under.

So I say good on you Ms. Ward, this hip-hop emo pop rock chick enjoyed your book - hell, the whole lot of them - not just because they're damn good, but because they suit the times.

(PS: please dawg, don’t bring out the fo shizzle. That would be taking a Ferragamo shod step too far.)

(PPS: I’m guessing the chances of Butch, Marissa and V getting together are slim? Go on, I dare ya, make it a mmf lover triangle for us m/m ménage fangurls. That would so take my Brotherhood got-to-have-it-right-now factor through the roof! Hell, I’ve said that I hate buying hardback, but if you bring it hardback fashion, I’m so there baby!!)

Romantic Times Review

Here's the review:

The McCabes:Persuading Jo
Anne Douglas
3 Stars

Three best friends come to terms with changes in their relationship. Character development is limited by the short word count, and there are same-sex encounters, menage-a-trois and anal sex elements. This is definitely not a story for the faint at heart.

---

Summary: Jo has been jealous of the close relationship her friends Matt and Brian enjoy. She knows they’re lovers, yet she can’t help but wish she was part of their loving circle. When the rules change and they begin to pursue her, will she give in to the passion and attraction that has ruled her life for so long, or will she walk away?

Reviewer: Kristi Ahlers

I'm happy to get a review, don't get me wrong, because I thought that I might not, but surely the reviewer could have done more than just make a list of the sex scenes?

Most other reviews have at least another cm of column space, was the story that lacking that there was nothing the reviewer could find to say about it? I really don't mind the criticism - I know you might think that odd, but at this point, I don't feel I have earned enough experienced writer points to feel offended, I need criticism to learn to write better - but surely there was something else the reviewer could point out? Maybe that the heroine was plus-sized? Or maybe how the characters interacted? (though maybe that falls under the limited character development).

I do notice though that this listing of the sexual elements is typical of all that particular reviewer's reviews, so maybe its more that short and sharp is her style rather than she dislikes everything she reviews. I do like the short blurb, though, it's succinct and to the point.

Though I'm happy to see my name in lights, so to speak, I'm a little disappointed; proud as punch to see my first print ad and review (and that it received 3 stars), but a little disappointed, nonetheless.

I'm still cutting them out and framing them though.

A new week

I was hoping that the renovations on the bathrooms would be finished last week, but it looks like (since they have been gone half the day) there will be no end in sight till at least Wednesday.

Sigh.

I had really been hoping to be getting my life back today. Instead kiddo is home sick, the contractor has been, but gone again, and I haven't written a word on McCabes 2 today. I did manage around 4k at the end of last week, and I'm working on getting to a point where the new content merges back into part of the old. Once I'm finished I think I'll be looking at approx 40k, not to shabby all things considered, it might be more depending on where the story takes me. I also managed about 1k of the start of McCabes 3.

I'm glad I got a chance to write a short story based on Matt, Brian and Jo from Persuading Jo, it whet my appetite for knuckling down and getting the McCabe stories done.

Now if only I had a nice, new, finished bathroom to write them in!

Preds & Ed's Readers Poll for 2006

Preditors and Editors have posted the results of their 2006 Readers poll.

Persuading Jo was entered in the Category: Electronic Romance Novel and finished 4th overall. And in the Category: Author pages I finished 7th equal!

I guess this means that I can flash around one of these :) :

I guess this is where I'm supposed to give one of those stuttering Oscar speeches thanking my cat for her constant company while I'm writing, and my husband for being kind enough to by me a laptop then not complain to much when 10mths later I want to trade it in for a new mac laptop instead, and my sister for kindly telling me "this paragraph is a load of shite" and "oooh, this bits good!", and my editor for putting up with all my seriously wacked diva tantrums and tears (seriously, you know thats sarcasm right...I'm so not the queen of Diva...well except when hubby hasn't put out all the rubbish bags yet again - I mean whats so fucking hard about going arund the house emptying the rubbish bins and the fridge from things that jump out and try grab you?).

Oops, sorry B that was a bit of one of those run on sentances you keep telling me off for.

Anyway, isn't that cool beans? Oops, and before I forget - Loose Id, thank you so very much for publishing me! Can't have any of those horrid rumors going around that we are on rocks and about to divorce because I forgot you in my acceptance speech. But then again, I was only a top ten finalist not number one so the tabloids probably wouldn't give a shite anyway!

Seriously, everyone that I nagged begged politely asked to vote for me, thankyou!

It's only Tuesday? sigh...

It's been along week already. Kids do that to you when you are left in limbo worrying about them. But, at least we have some diagnosis', now we can get help. It sucks being a writer and voracious reader with a kid who has troubles reading.

On a totally different note, did you notice Denise Rossetti popped in in the post about Tailspin? Gimme a fangurl squee everybody!! Seriously, I don't recommend books to people because I always end up disappointing them (blame it on too many art house movie appreciation classes, I just get stuff others necessarily don't), so for me to wax lyrical it's got to be good.

Plus us Southern Hemisphere chicks need to stick together! Well as long as there is no Rugby, Sailing, Netball or Cricket involved.

Debut a Debut

I forgot to post this earlier in the week



Check out this contest, it's a great way of finding new authors to read and love!

No Midsummer Heat for me

Oh well, you have to be in to win, right?

I was however encouraged to expand the story and send it back. And they're right. Red Skirt, Cool Fountain really begged to be longer.

So I guess that's what I'll do. You know, I don't seem to be having much luck with shorter length stories. I think I might make a resolution - if its less than 25k, it doesn't go anywhere. (Well, other than the sequel I want to write for PV for next Xmas telling Nick's story, I don't think that's going to be a long one).

My trouble is that I can't plan for shit - well I can, but at the end, it's just not right. Instead, I sit down with a ghost of a story in my head and just start and see where it takes me. I guess that's organic writing, is it? I'm not exactly up with the play with all the writing jargon, I just write and figure it out as I go.

That wasn't what happened with McCabes2 - I planned it all out, and it didn't come off right. And instead of being on McCabes3 by now, I haven't sat back down to pick apart McCabes2 to send it back to B. But I will.

Hell I might do it this weekend while I'm away with the girls. It's supposed to be a scrapbooking weekend, but I usually take a book and the laptop (I'm a tech geek of course it goes with me! I don't do all that journaling by hand - are you kidding me?). But maybe I will conflab with the girls and get some inspiration.

Lucky there is no Internet at the cabin, there could be some wild and wacky blog posts come Sat night if there was - we usually have a daquari or colada or three. LOL, It sounds like I'm a rolling drunk, but seriously I'm not - I just appreciate that sometimes a good glass of wine or something enitely too fruity can be good for you :)

On a different note, I went all PC today and got one of these (it's a (PRODUCT) RED so part of the sales prices goes to fighting Aids in Africa) :

It's just a pity that the reason why I got this new piece of geekery was because of the little shits who stole my purdy green mini out of my bright orange Honda Element (aka The Pumpkin) - hrmm, I might wear black all the time but I like colour in my life, go figure! (the dayglow pink hair clashed a bit though).

They better watch out though, we are heartily sick and tired of the 'gift's' being left on our doorstep and front lawn, and the congregating on our driveway when we are out - we are getting spy cams. You bet your ass we are going to get the little fuckers.

Oops, ranting just a little bit wasn't I? Sorry 'bout that.

One of my sisters is a CP of mine (shes my 'average reader, this shit doesn't work for me' person). I had emailed Accidentally Were? off to her for an opinion. She IM'd me yesterday (or was it the day before, this week is a bit blurry - hence no TT 13 this week) and told me that she liked it - she hadn't finished what I had sent her yet, in fact she was only at chapter 3, but she was laughing so hard she had to stop reading so she didn't go to work looking like a racoon. That bodes well, because AW is supposed to be laugh out loud funny. Tell me what you think:

“Where are we going?” The small voice from the other side of the cab broke Rex from his reverie. “And why are we going there?” He was starting to smell her fear over the pervading scent of the woman’s heat.

“You are kidding me, aren’t you little Bitch. I’m taking you somewhere safe before the pack descends on you and you end up in the middle of a winner takes all orgy.”

It didn’t take any special were senses to feel or see her bristle with indignation.

“What did you just call me?” Her shoulders were back, her spine ramrod straight and there was a furious red flush across her cheeks and Rex was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the dirt road as it wound through the forest. “You need your eye’s checked mister! For one, I am obviously not little, and two, I am not a bitch! You can accuse me of being overly prim and proper, because I am, I can’t help it with my parents. But don’t you ever call me a bitch!”

She was winding up good and proper now, to really yell at him. It was a breath taking sight to behold, and Rex was no slouch at appreciating an attractive woman, even if she was more riled than a rattlesnake.

“I let loose for one night, one bloody night in thirty-one years, and wake up alone; ‘cause my one night stand obviously couldn’t leave fast enough, four hickeys; complete with bite marks.” The tall lace collar of her blouse was ripped down to expose two of the fore-mentioned love bites. “Then, every damned stray in town wants to hump my leg, and now, now I have been kidnapped by a huge, sexy, bear of a man, who calls me a bitch instead of asking my actual name.” When Rex took his eyes off the road, he half expected her to be frothing at the mouth with her hair standing on end, and her nails ready to take a fresh strip from his hide.

Rex smiled at the straight laced she devil beside him. She thinks I’m s-e-x-y. Obviously the smarmy grin wasn’t appreciated, as she gritted her teeth and a rumbling growl echoed across the cab. Alpha male or not, you don’t mess with a bitch in heat. Not if you want to find your balls right where you left them. There was no way Rex was going to try stare her into submission; he turned his eyes back to the road.

Well, off to re-download my emo/goth/popchick/newage whale snorts/old rocker playlist - I'm nothing if not eclectic!
(PS keep an eye out for The Wreckers, they were todays download for me...And I might go get the rest of Daughtry's album - he's pretty damn good)

EDIT: What do you know, there are 13 paragraphs of randomness! I did make a TT13 after all!

Tailspin

I'm not usually one to wax lyrical over authors and their books, mainly because I read so many. I have read many that touched me, made me laugh or cry, and of course many that were in between. Many memorable, and a lot of them not - although they were a satisfactory read at the time.

I picked up a few new ebooks yesterday. Read the whole damn lot of them to - my eyes feel like someone stabbed them with a fork - and have finally found an eBook that I can safely say I will read again by the end of the month.

Denise Rossetti's Tailspin.

I read the first book of this series, Gift of the Goddess and it, too, was a wonderful read, but Tailspin, Oh my Lord! This chick gets her tongue around some vivid, vivid imagery - and I'm not talking about kinky sex here. Although the sex is hot, I won't deny it - I'm about to run off for a cold shower, wishing I had a spare tail hanging around.

There is no way you could ever call this a bare bones, leave you lots of space to fill in your own details, kind of book. No way, just none. You understand every sense, every touch - Jesus, I can feel how Mirry and Jan's feathers would feel beneath my hands as I oiled them down! And this is with me reading 1/3 of the book close to stoned needing sleep, but not being able to move from the computer screen because it was too good! See why I need to re-read this?

I am all about being able to see the images the words make in my head; experience them - hopefully I reverse that loop when I write, I'm not sure I always succeed, and it's probably at a detriment to dialogue as so much happens in my Characters heads - in Tailspin I can see, hear and almost taste Ms Rossetti story. The deep black of Jan's feathers glistening with swirls of abalone, Mirry's old gold and copper burnish...mmm mm m!

Read the Gift of the Goddess first, it will help with a few of those pesky world building things, and explain a reference or two - that's not to say that you just get dumped in the middle of somewhere with no information, just that you deserve to go from really good, to even better!

Menage lover (which you can tell I am by my writing) or not, you can't miss these books. I have had a few hit and misses from EC lately, one short so horrible I can't and don't want to remember the name of; but this, oh yes, quake in your books top selling print authors, there is a new girl in town and if she doesn't get snaffled up in a New York minute by a major house I'll bury all the batteries so my Rabbit never works again!

World Domination!

So I'm a Pinky and the Brain fan gurl - I'll happily admit it. So when I found myself making a Pinky and Brain quote to Racy in an email, I had to share...

"What'd you do last night, Brain?"
"Plotted to take over the world one erotic book publisher at a time, Pinky!"
"That sounds like a good plan, Brain...SNARF!"

Alrighty then...my geekness assured, I'm off to hit the send button on that sub I have been moaning about for the last week. It's done, its edited (Racy kindly gave me a couple of things to think about with it), there's a synopsis and blurb, now just to suck it up and hit the send button.

Anyone else second guess themselves right at that moment?

Story stuff's

I blurbled on a bit about a short story I was trying to write that just didn't seem to want to...well...write.

Today I decided to bite the big one and give up. It was a tough thing to do, I haven't had to do that before now. It's not deleted gone, but it's off the 'lets write something here today' list.

Thus far everything I have written has been pretty good straight off the hoof, so to speak (Okay, except for Position Vacant's first draft, which sucked arse - but its really good now!). Maybe needing a little added extra here and there to help bring things together or show extra depth since my stories aren't big 'otherworld' builders being mainly contemporary set. Essentially I started, I wrote the story, and I finished. Now good is of course subjective - I mean it flowed, I didn't have to stare at the screen for hours waiting for the brain fart that was going to tell me where my story was going etc. I wrote and wrote, pondered a bit, and wrote. It was all there and ready to go in my head.

This one just wouldn't do that. I would sit and stare; I would write a sentence and go get a coke. Write another and go get a cookie; a word and do the washing (not the folding mind you just the putting it in the machine then the dryer). I sat in front of the TV and instead of knocking out 1500 words I managed 150 and discovered all over again the shock and awe trainwreck of American Idol auditions. I haven't even gone back to see if they were 150 usable words!

Instead, I found a notebook this morning that I had written in with a couple of other ideas for the same submission, and realised one of the half page, half formed, hand-written synopsis/storylines I had started was 100 times better than what I had been struggling with.

So I sat down, did a little naming research because one of the characters is going to be part Indian (India Indian here not American Indian - think smooth skinned , cafe coloured bollywood hotty here folks), figured out my main players, and about 3pm today I sat down and started writing. In the mean time, hubby came home from gym and needed me to rub down a muscle he had pinged, kiddo came home from school so there went another half hour, we needed to eat so we went to do that - another hour or so down the drain. Now it's 9.20, I have been blogging here and elsewhere for a good 30mins and I still have 2400words done, on what was a clean slate at 3.30 this afternoon.

OMG! No fissing, no fuddling, the scenes just bloomed in my head, the people know where they are going (well, they soon will once this first confrontation gets out of the way), it's descriptive, it doesn't sound like 80's porn (well we haven't got to the sex yet, but it doesn't sound like the prologue movie scenes to 80's porn). WTF did I sit round so long trying to make the other work. In roughly four hours I have done more than I did in the last five days on the other!

Eh, figuring this writing gig out can sometimes be...um how can I put this remotely politely? A Pain In My Ass!

But I now have Alison Kent's "Complete idiots guide to being a Romance Writer" ( FYI, Alison, if you happen to see this: I had to wait and order it online, as not one single damn seller in all of Jacksonville stocked this book!). It came in the mail today, and I've even learnt something - I bet I was the only one who had no clue what the favoured little term "Deus ex Machina" meant. It was worth 12bucks for that alone - though why I didn't think to Google it before now I don't know - vagaries of the mind and all that.

So maybe I will learn something about the great challenge of being a writer courtesy of Ms Kent. Here's hoping...here's hoping.

Books, glorious books!

I having been browsing blogs (got to love feedburner!) and spied a little section on Racy Li's blog about planning to keep a track of what she has read this year, and I thought to myself that might just be an interesting idea.

So Racy, I am shamelessly stealing your little idea, with a few twists. I enjoy a few snark blogs, and although I think I could snark with the best of them, I would rather spend my time creating manuscripts for others to snark. So I am going to simplify my snark.

There will be three lists: Books I have finished, Books I read half way through, then skipped to the last two chapters, and finally Books that were such a trainwreck that I probably finished them and wish I hadn't, and now want my money back.

Now, I'm not an author snob, you might find an author in all three piles. I will generally give a well published author a second try, although I have encountered a few I won't touch again with a barge poll.

The sad thing? This will be the first time I have actually kept a tally of books and I am really not looking forward to seeing how much a really do read.

A new review for PJ

Yay! A new review for Persuading Jo, and its a good'un and all!

Joyfully reviewed

Anne always does a great job of portraying the emotional aspects of a story, but I was still surprised by the intensity of the emotions in this story on all sides. The sex was hot and extremely well-written, but above all, Persuading Jo is a reminder that love takes many forms and not always what you expect.

Tidings of the season...

It's Christmas Eve for thsoe of us on this side of the date line, and I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, Cheery Kawaanza, and hope that next year brings you good things.

Looking back over this year, some big things happened. A surprise trip home to NZ, writing my first story, then having it and my second manuscript published, some front teeth missing (well that was the kiddo, not me), starting home renovations (never, never again - getting the professionals in from now on!), and many other good, and of course some not so good things that make the world go around.

Thank you if you are a reader or a publisher, or indeed family or friends for putting up with me over the last year, I promise I will be just as fun next year!

Having you been keeping up with Kissmas?

Loose Id has been running a twelve days of Kissmas promotion that you can catch up on at my main website www.annedouglas.com.

There are lots of goodies, like discounts on LGBT and Polyamorous romances (If you wanted a discount on a copy of Persuading Jo, here you go!), and you get a link for free amorous art by some of the great LI cover artists!

Print books are on sale as well, along with a discounted rate for next years VIP Club. If you purchase a lot of ebooks, and a number of them from LI, this is well worth it! I can save 25-50c/book!

LI also have some short story stocking stuffers for you from some wonderful LI authors. And if you join the IdBits newsletter you can also get a daily Kiss from Loowis!

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