Andrea Irving's Blog, page 5
July 30, 2017
It's still going great
I never know how long my novels are going to be. 50k words at a minimum is what is "recommended," whatever that means. In this day and age, it's not as important. At about 250 words per page, that's 200 pages. I'm nowhere near that in Earthquake, but I've made a huge dent in what I wanted to get done. The plot is rolling on, and we've got a new person's POV in chapter 12. Hmmm, I wonder who it could be? He's chattier than I thought he'd be, that's for sure! There will be more supporting character POV chapters going forward, as well.
I've also gotten the final edits from beta readers for my smutty novella. I finished the covers for that today, as well as finalized my pen name. As soon as I do my own final edits and final read-through, I'll be uploading that. You'll be able to find it if you search for my publisher's name, if you're interested.
I spent some time looking at more images for Earthquake and Rarity, too. Photoshop is... fun? I'm not an artistic person. Obviously my covers are very basic. Earthquake is going to tax my limits. I may have to alter a stock photo for Rarity. It depends on what I end up choosing. I try not to do too much, since I know that is not where my talents lie.
I spent way too much time on shutterstock today. Or maybe not...
I hope your summers are going great!!
I've also gotten the final edits from beta readers for my smutty novella. I finished the covers for that today, as well as finalized my pen name. As soon as I do my own final edits and final read-through, I'll be uploading that. You'll be able to find it if you search for my publisher's name, if you're interested.
I spent some time looking at more images for Earthquake and Rarity, too. Photoshop is... fun? I'm not an artistic person. Obviously my covers are very basic. Earthquake is going to tax my limits. I may have to alter a stock photo for Rarity. It depends on what I end up choosing. I try not to do too much, since I know that is not where my talents lie.
I spent way too much time on shutterstock today. Or maybe not...
I hope your summers are going great!!
July 25, 2017
6000 words later...
I'm sitting in my office at the clinic where I work, so I thought I'd post an update. I'm about to hit 6000 words (250 words/page) since I said I was buckling down and writing. I think it'd be more, but I hit a snag last night and it was painful to get through. It should edit fine later, and I'm excited to be past it. I've written a thousand words in between patients today, which I think it because we're finally hitting the part in the story where the plot takes off and it reels you in and gets good. I hope.
So I just wanted you to know that while Earthquake will be late coming out, it shouldn't be too late.
So I just wanted you to know that while Earthquake will be late coming out, it shouldn't be too late.
July 23, 2017
I'm sitting down to write right now!
I am behind schedule. I think writers are almost always behind schedule.
I went out of the country on vacation. Part of our vacation was spent in a lake cottage. I assumed (ha!) that I'd be able to chill and write. I got maybe 1000 words out. Everyone wanted to be social, and it's very hard to concentrate and write when people are trying to carry on a conversation with you. How dare they, right?! I got a bit more done on the way home on our layover. My 12 hour layover that turned into 16 1/2 hours. After a long day of seeing the historic sights in Philly (what we had planned for such a long layover), I was exhausted. I wrote some variation or other of "Sean is a dick" 3 times in as many paragraphs. I conceded to my fatigue, and turned off my laptop.
Interesting things that happened:
On our way to our destination, we flew over Kalispell, MT. I got to see exactly where the Montana School is. My husband just shook his head at me. My 7-year-old was not impressed. My 4-year-old was asleep. But I was excited. Glacier National Park is just gorgeous. From the air anyway. I've never been there in real life.
I get to write off a lot of this trip on my taxes. Part of Book 3 or 4 in The Program will take place in Philadelphia. That was my son's input. He was excited that I was taking his opinion into consideration. He hopes you like his choice when those books are written.
I ate my weight in poutine. The 7lbs I gained... Well, I know where they came from, and I'm not sad about how they came to be.
I love paddle boards. So relaxing. Man do they work out your core! All that balancing. Same with kayaks. My thighs burned. I think these activities are why I only gained 7lbs.
They make Olympic (and Paralympic) medals at the mint in Canada. They also make Star Wars and Avengers coins there, too. I saw a coil of gold ribbon that was worth like a million dollars.
We rode on a regional train, 2 subways, a bus, a car, someone else's car, the SkyTrain, and 2 airplanes all in one day.
I prefer Cheezies to Cheetos, Smarties to Rockets, and Canadian Smarties are just meh. I love Jujubes. I wish they sold Alexander Keith's in the US; I'll have a Kiltlifter instead though and be usually as happy drinking it.
Fidget spinners were on sale for $3.99 Canadian at GT. My 7-year-old's mind was blown when we told him that was half what he'd spent on the glow in the dark one he got at home.
Tim Horton's jelly donuts are excellent. There are lots of Dunkin Donuts in Philly. AZ does not have many donut places at all.
OK, I'll stop. Thank you for your patience. I'll just get back to writing....
I went out of the country on vacation. Part of our vacation was spent in a lake cottage. I assumed (ha!) that I'd be able to chill and write. I got maybe 1000 words out. Everyone wanted to be social, and it's very hard to concentrate and write when people are trying to carry on a conversation with you. How dare they, right?! I got a bit more done on the way home on our layover. My 12 hour layover that turned into 16 1/2 hours. After a long day of seeing the historic sights in Philly (what we had planned for such a long layover), I was exhausted. I wrote some variation or other of "Sean is a dick" 3 times in as many paragraphs. I conceded to my fatigue, and turned off my laptop.
Interesting things that happened:
On our way to our destination, we flew over Kalispell, MT. I got to see exactly where the Montana School is. My husband just shook his head at me. My 7-year-old was not impressed. My 4-year-old was asleep. But I was excited. Glacier National Park is just gorgeous. From the air anyway. I've never been there in real life.
I get to write off a lot of this trip on my taxes. Part of Book 3 or 4 in The Program will take place in Philadelphia. That was my son's input. He was excited that I was taking his opinion into consideration. He hopes you like his choice when those books are written.
I ate my weight in poutine. The 7lbs I gained... Well, I know where they came from, and I'm not sad about how they came to be.
I love paddle boards. So relaxing. Man do they work out your core! All that balancing. Same with kayaks. My thighs burned. I think these activities are why I only gained 7lbs.
They make Olympic (and Paralympic) medals at the mint in Canada. They also make Star Wars and Avengers coins there, too. I saw a coil of gold ribbon that was worth like a million dollars.
We rode on a regional train, 2 subways, a bus, a car, someone else's car, the SkyTrain, and 2 airplanes all in one day.
I prefer Cheezies to Cheetos, Smarties to Rockets, and Canadian Smarties are just meh. I love Jujubes. I wish they sold Alexander Keith's in the US; I'll have a Kiltlifter instead though and be usually as happy drinking it.
Fidget spinners were on sale for $3.99 Canadian at GT. My 7-year-old's mind was blown when we told him that was half what he'd spent on the glow in the dark one he got at home.
Tim Horton's jelly donuts are excellent. There are lots of Dunkin Donuts in Philly. AZ does not have many donut places at all.
OK, I'll stop. Thank you for your patience. I'll just get back to writing....
June 13, 2017
I'm still here, I swear!
Apologies for not posting in so long. I haven't been up to much. I did crank out a 21k word smutty novella that I may publish under a nom de plume at some point. Sadly, I read a lot of that genre, and it's pretty repetitive. I'm poking fun at a lot of the more common themes you see nowadays. We'll see how my editors like it. I've never written anything like it before (maybe some steamy fanfic like 15 years ago), and I'm not sure how the humor will come across. We shall see. If there's interest, I'll post the pen name. Once I finalize it. I'd rather my students, patients, and family members not read something of that nature. I'd never be able to look anyone in the eye again!!!
I did just write about 2000 words in Earthquake tonight. I'll be writing more tomorrow. I haven't been super inspired, so I've been going through a bit of writer's block. I'm hoping that's done because I'd love to be finished writing Earthquake before I go on vacation with my family next month. The current plan (and it was the old plan before I started to feel ambitious) is to get Earthquake published by the end of August. I'm hoping to have at least half of Rarity written by then to put me on track to publish it by February at the latest. I know this will disappoint some of you, and I am sorry for that. Since I don't write full time, it comes in fits and starts when I can fit it into my real life.
Speaking of real life, I'm performing in a ballet recital this weekend. So other than tomorrow and maybe Friday morning, I'll be a dancing fool. Here's to hoping I'm productive when I can be!!
I did just write about 2000 words in Earthquake tonight. I'll be writing more tomorrow. I haven't been super inspired, so I've been going through a bit of writer's block. I'm hoping that's done because I'd love to be finished writing Earthquake before I go on vacation with my family next month. The current plan (and it was the old plan before I started to feel ambitious) is to get Earthquake published by the end of August. I'm hoping to have at least half of Rarity written by then to put me on track to publish it by February at the latest. I know this will disappoint some of you, and I am sorry for that. Since I don't write full time, it comes in fits and starts when I can fit it into my real life.
Speaking of real life, I'm performing in a ballet recital this weekend. So other than tomorrow and maybe Friday morning, I'll be a dancing fool. Here's to hoping I'm productive when I can be!!
May 14, 2017
Happy Mother's Day!
To all my readers who are moms or have moms or know a mom! This includes fur babies.
I've been hard at work this weekend. I do have two sons, aged 7 and 4, so this weekend has been pretty much all about me. They've mostly left me alone, which I'm always appreciative of. But that doesn't mean they haven't snuggled up to me making me only able to type with one hand. Very, very slowly. So I've been able to write about 60 pages, which I'm sure you're all thrilled about
I've been hard at work this weekend. I do have two sons, aged 7 and 4, so this weekend has been pretty much all about me. They've mostly left me alone, which I'm always appreciative of. But that doesn't mean they haven't snuggled up to me making me only able to type with one hand. Very, very slowly. So I've been able to write about 60 pages, which I'm sure you're all thrilled about
April 30, 2017
The final tally
Almost 3 chapters for each. They're both moving along nicely. So excited!
April 28, 2017
You might be interested to know
I'm at the annual continuing medical education conference that I go to. I'm required to have 20 hours per year in order to maintain my medical license. I go to the same one every year. It's very good. This year, I've learned all kinds of cool stuff about diabetes (there's always more to learn about this), Parkinson's Disease, concussions, menopause, thyroid disease, and several other things. And it's not even the end of the 2nd day!
I've also written about 3000 words. Maybe 2000 in Earthquake and 1000 in Rarity. My chapters are usually around 1500 words, to give you an idea of how long that is. Common was about 55,000 words total, and Wildfire was around 80,000. It doesn't sound like a ton, but it is. Every word brings me closer to the end of the book.
I've finally gotten over the "start of the book" hump in Rarity, so I think it'll be a little bit easier to write from here on out. The middle of the book is usually easy to write. There's always writer's block, of course, but the middle is usually pretty smooth sailing. The end is.... I'm not great with endings, as you know. I find it easy to get there, but difficult to get them exactly the way that I want. I'm not surprised by the "it just ends" reviews I've gotten. But the beginning... It's so hard. It has to get you interested. It has to make sense. It has to set up the rest of the book: the characters, the tone, the pace, the plot... You know that in Rarity that it's going to start with the midwinter ball. I've known this for a couple years. But how did Catty and Lora get there? Did the craziness happen right away? Was it mellow? Who's in the scene? How long is the scene going to be? Well.... Now I know. At least partly.
I've also been scouring Shutterstock, which is where I've been getting my cover photos. I have the image for Earthquake that I want to manipulate. It will have the same lightning circle overlay as Wildfire. I've been talking to the photographer who took the cover photo for Common. We may or may not come to an agreement about more photos with the same model for Rarity and other Lora Fletcher books. I'm excited either way. The cover is usually the last thing I do, but I'm a planner. I like to have everything just so from the get go.
I'll send out another update on Sunday hopefully.
I've also written about 3000 words. Maybe 2000 in Earthquake and 1000 in Rarity. My chapters are usually around 1500 words, to give you an idea of how long that is. Common was about 55,000 words total, and Wildfire was around 80,000. It doesn't sound like a ton, but it is. Every word brings me closer to the end of the book.
I've finally gotten over the "start of the book" hump in Rarity, so I think it'll be a little bit easier to write from here on out. The middle of the book is usually easy to write. There's always writer's block, of course, but the middle is usually pretty smooth sailing. The end is.... I'm not great with endings, as you know. I find it easy to get there, but difficult to get them exactly the way that I want. I'm not surprised by the "it just ends" reviews I've gotten. But the beginning... It's so hard. It has to get you interested. It has to make sense. It has to set up the rest of the book: the characters, the tone, the pace, the plot... You know that in Rarity that it's going to start with the midwinter ball. I've known this for a couple years. But how did Catty and Lora get there? Did the craziness happen right away? Was it mellow? Who's in the scene? How long is the scene going to be? Well.... Now I know. At least partly.
I've also been scouring Shutterstock, which is where I've been getting my cover photos. I have the image for Earthquake that I want to manipulate. It will have the same lightning circle overlay as Wildfire. I've been talking to the photographer who took the cover photo for Common. We may or may not come to an agreement about more photos with the same model for Rarity and other Lora Fletcher books. I'm excited either way. The cover is usually the last thing I do, but I'm a planner. I like to have everything just so from the get go.
I'll send out another update on Sunday hopefully.
April 25, 2017
School's out for summer...
At least, it is at the university where I teach!
And you know what this means?
Oh yes.
More time to write!! ::happy dance::
Tomorrow night, I head out of town for a conference. What do I do for 9-10 hours a day at this conference? Well.....
I write.
I do pay attention. If the speaker is good, I'll stop writing. If a subject is interesting, I'll pay attention tot he speaker. But many of the topics are very dry, so....
I write.
That is all.
And you know what this means?
Oh yes.
More time to write!! ::happy dance::
Tomorrow night, I head out of town for a conference. What do I do for 9-10 hours a day at this conference? Well.....
I write.
I do pay attention. If the speaker is good, I'll stop writing. If a subject is interesting, I'll pay attention tot he speaker. But many of the topics are very dry, so....
I write.
That is all.
April 16, 2017
It's been awhile...
I just looked and it has been nearly a month since my last post. Apologies for that. I am still here. It's the end of the semester and the powers that be have deigned that half the semester's points must derive from assignments due with only a couple weeks left in the semester. Or something.
My students both love and hate when I grade essays. I am a hard grader, but I give a lot of feedback. They know it's coming when they find out that I write, but some of them still haven't figured out the simple things. Like spellcheck. I definitely give credit where it's due though.
In a week and a half, I will be done teaching until the fall. I'll be at my annual CME conference. I will get a ton of writing done. Plus there's the summer. The snow birds go back north. My clinic gets slower. The boys play fewer sports. More time for writing.
On that note... I'm off!
My students both love and hate when I grade essays. I am a hard grader, but I give a lot of feedback. They know it's coming when they find out that I write, but some of them still haven't figured out the simple things. Like spellcheck. I definitely give credit where it's due though.
In a week and a half, I will be done teaching until the fall. I'll be at my annual CME conference. I will get a ton of writing done. Plus there's the summer. The snow birds go back north. My clinic gets slower. The boys play fewer sports. More time for writing.
On that note... I'm off!
March 28, 2017
You know you've hit the big time when...
...you discover your book offered for free, illegal download on a well known pirating website.
I am not rich. I am an indy author. I write because I love it and the voices in my head insist that I share their weirdness with the world. The small amount of money I have made from Wildfire and Common isn't going toward my mortgage or anything. It has paid for ISBN's (they are the numbers that identify a book and they are not cheap), photoshop membership, shutterstock membership (you like the covers? I made them myself using stock photos I purchased the rights to and made fancy in photoshop), my un-fabulous website, and a few other little things. My laptop is old and dying, so I am using the royalties to buy a new one. Get the picture?
I am not trying to get rich off my writing. But to find my work offered for illegal download? I work long hard hours to bring you works with reviews that are titled, "MEH." I am being ripped off by folks who won't fork over $2.99 for an ebook or the monthly KU membership subscription. I am now offering a formal apology to all the musicians I illegally downloaded from in the late 1990's before Napster was converted from free to fee.
It sucks.
The worst thing about it? There was a forum post on the website where several people were giving virtual high fives to the OP who uploaded my blood, sweat, and tears.
I'm currently trying to get the book removed, but time will tell.
On a happier note, I did get some writing done last week. My brother will be happy to know that Lora is back in action. Wildfire fans will also be excited to hear that Sara is also whispering in my ear again. Yay.
I am not rich. I am an indy author. I write because I love it and the voices in my head insist that I share their weirdness with the world. The small amount of money I have made from Wildfire and Common isn't going toward my mortgage or anything. It has paid for ISBN's (they are the numbers that identify a book and they are not cheap), photoshop membership, shutterstock membership (you like the covers? I made them myself using stock photos I purchased the rights to and made fancy in photoshop), my un-fabulous website, and a few other little things. My laptop is old and dying, so I am using the royalties to buy a new one. Get the picture?
I am not trying to get rich off my writing. But to find my work offered for illegal download? I work long hard hours to bring you works with reviews that are titled, "MEH." I am being ripped off by folks who won't fork over $2.99 for an ebook or the monthly KU membership subscription. I am now offering a formal apology to all the musicians I illegally downloaded from in the late 1990's before Napster was converted from free to fee.
It sucks.
The worst thing about it? There was a forum post on the website where several people were giving virtual high fives to the OP who uploaded my blood, sweat, and tears.
I'm currently trying to get the book removed, but time will tell.
On a happier note, I did get some writing done last week. My brother will be happy to know that Lora is back in action. Wildfire fans will also be excited to hear that Sara is also whispering in my ear again. Yay.
