What am I, crazy?

I must be.

First, I'm in the middle of editing two manuscripts.

And I'm doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) which means 50,000 words in 30 days. It does not include time off for Thanksgiving, my anniversary or my birthday.

After all my prep work--character sketches, outline--I've decided to go with something else. So that means tonight, while son fences for 2 hours, and whatever time I can grab tomorrow with all the Trick-or-Treaters, I'll be doing another outline, more character sketches.

I hope my family still loves me by December 1st.

Check back in; I don't know how much I'll be posting with NaNo, but I'll make an attempt to keep up.

For anyone else doing this insanity, (like Shannon Delany and a few other YA writers I know), good luck! May the word count always be higher than you hoped!

Char

We Need A Break

My author friends and colleagues and I need a break.

We're the struggling authors; the un-famous, ignored by press, public, and Hollywood, and we're tired. We write our novels, revise them, send them off to be picked down to bare bones by critique groups, agents, and editors. We organize and attend events to meet eager readers, share our stories, sell a few books--and then no one shows. Or they show and don't buy. Large chain bookstores shoo us away, holding out for the few superstars. Bravely, we appeal to independent bookstores only to find they are ignored by most of their neighbors in favor of a deal on the internet. We spend more money than we make on promotion, traveling, cases of paper. and toner.

Yet, we continue to write, submit, revise, promote, and show up to sign our books against the stacked odds not in our favor.

Exhausted, sometimes demoralized, we continue to dream--and do.

So be kind--post a tweet, write a letter, send an email telling us not-so-well-known authors how much you enjoyed our books and that you look forward to our next work, and that you'll tell your friends to read it.

You just might save a writing life.

Char

I'm Waiting....

You know who I am.

But in case you're slow-witted and forgot, live in a dank hole and don't know, or had your brains eaten by a zombie, I am Hades. Ruler of the Underworld. Eldest brother to Zeus and Poseidon. Greek god. And besides being the best looking, best dressed, and best everything, I am also The Boss.

For certain individuals anyway.

Tomorrow is International Bosses Day.

That means I will expect accolades, gifts, adoration, and whatever else I can get from my minions and those whose contract is still enforceable. (You really didn't think the Sirenz got off after only two assignments, did you? No.)

So look for celebrations and praises for ME from my Sirenz Margaret and Sharisse, and my biographers Nat and Char.

I would encourage you to emulate them.

You never know when I could show up, offering you a deal. And it always helps to be on the boss'es good side....

Hades

I'm not in a position to argue with the 'Boss' man...

Char

It's International Name Your Car Day

Really.  I got this off a list of (obscure/fun/strange) holidays from http://buildbookbuzz.com/blog/

So, in honor of my new car, a 2013 Honda Accord, I had to come up with a good name. My previous car (shhh, keep this on the Q-T because Mariah [They Call the Wind Mariah, not Mariah Carey]) doesn't know she's up for sale... I'm getting choked up, I love that car.

Middle son suggested "Car-lee." (You can tell he's not a writer type- even though I love bad puns, I passed.) Hubs rolled his eyes. Youngest son walked away. Oldest son laughed and continued texting.

Being that the car is Japanese, it has to have a Japanese name. So I searched Japanese names (I'm not particular if it's male/female gender name--it just has to 'strike' me.  Mariah and I were gal pals, and she's not replaceable in my car love, so I'd prefer a male name. It would be especially fitting because this car has all kinds of buttons, knobs, electronics- very confusing, hard to understand, time sucking to learn, and frustrating, like the males in my house.

The winner: Takara! It sounds punny enough and it means 'treasure.' While it's not a Porsche or Lambo, I'll treasure this car as long as it's dependable, gas efficient, and I can avoid all the rest of the whack jobs on the road (already had to deal with one, but that's another story).

Here he is:

(You can see Mariah on Craig's List- 2002 Impala.)

The whole idea Build Book Buzz was getting at was ways to increase attention to your book by taking advantage of these 'holidays.' (Hey, I didn't create them.)  It's kind of fun (really, I name all my cars). But linking it to my book?

I just finished writing and several revisions- I haven't even seriously submitted it to my agent, so I can't really use this holiday to promote Lethal Dose. It's a sci fi book and the main character, Dalen Steele, has a space ship that's small, sleek, slick, and super fast. He loves that ship. Not as creative as moi, he calls the ship his 'Baby,' much to the confusion and chagrin of Myca, his Lexian mentor (they have no sense of humor anyway). I'm hoping next year I can use this holiday for promo purposes, but in the mean time, Dalen & I will continue to name our modes of transportation. It seems only right when they are sometimes all that stands between you and certain death.

Goodbye for now from Takara and me,

Char

What My Son Didn't Tell Me...

Computer genius that my son is (2 sons are my IT people), he neglected to tell me that Google will not allow me to post my blog without allowing the gazillion ads. In other words, you can't activate the AdBlock.

So my posts have sat in the draft pile.

I have enabled the annoying, irrelevant, and tedious ads so that I can blog again. Sometimes, the corporations win, what can I tell you? I'm powerless.

So.... catch up and I'll be with you regularly again.

*shakes head, grumbles about stupid restrictions on technology.

Char