Nancy Gray's Blog: Feeding the Writing Addiction, page 2

I'm on it!

Hey Everyone,

Sorry it's been a little while since I've blogged. I've had a busy couple of weeks. First of all, I was sick with an upper respiratory infection for about two weeks and am finally over it. Then, when reading through Blood Rain and Blood Moon, I found some discrepancies with distances to various parts of the world that I really didn't like. I also found out that there are certain grammatical mistakes in both novels that I really need to fix.

So, long story short, I'm sorry for the delay in releasing Blood Moon, but it isn't ready yet. Rest assured, though, when the book is ready it will be worth the wait. I will also be releasing an updated version of Blood Rain soon with travelling time corrections and better editing. I apologize for these issues in the earlier version. I might also be including a map of Lacern for those that are interested, but it might have to be in another update when the map is more "polished" than it is currently. (I created a basic map for my own reference, but it could use a little work...) Also, when the edits are complete, there will also be a "print on demand" option for those of you who prefer a print copy of the novel.

In between editing, creating maps, and formulating correct distances, I've also started working on Blood God again. I've decided, though, that Blood God will be my project for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. Every November, many of my friends try to write a novel for this event. Writers living in the same general areas get together and bounce ideas off of one another, do writing exercises, and basically attempt to finish a novel by the end of the month. Even though I already have characters and ideas, I might just use this as an opportunity to spur myself into seriously concentrating on this novel and trying to reach my goal of having it finished by Christmas. Wish me luck. I'm exited about the idea of approaching this story again and this time finishing it. The outline is ready, and so am I.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I'm on it! I haven't stopped working, but I did have to slow down for a little while during my recovery. This was a very nasty virus that turned into something just one step shy of bronchitis. I haven't been this sick in a long time. I knew that having two kids meant that there would be illnesses when school started again. It comes with the territory. Anyway, I'll keep you posted about the novel and about my progress when I have more to report. In the meantime, please check out Blood Rain, and when the update comes out, please reload it. Thanks.

Hopefully, I'll have a book review for you soon as well. I've started reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. I'm working it in for at least fifteen minutes a day while I exercise, but if it can captivate my attention like I think it can, I might chew through it much faster. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Weird Al is a National Treasure!

Well, in spite of all of the bad things that have been going on lately, I can say that this has been a good week, thanks mostly to Weird Al Yankovic (and to my sister and brother-in-law for getting tickets for us). I saw his "Mandatory Fun Tour" on Wednesday here is SC and I haven't laughed that much in months. I can definitely say I had more than mandatory fun. As things turned out, I really needed a good laugh. Getting out and having a good time has put me in much better spirits. It's amazing what a little laughter can do.

I saw him the first time at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. He likes to make uncomfortable eye contact with people in the front rows, and then sing song lyrics directly to them. He did this to me and my sister. It was awesome.

As for this tour, his voice is still great, he moves like he doesn't get tired, and he is still making hilarious music. I was surprised to find out that he's fifty-six years old. I can't believe the amount of energy he brings to the stage. You can really tell that he loves what he does. I respect that in any musician and I've been listening to Weird Al since I was a child. Don't get me wrong, I do like the songs that he parodies, but I think some of the Weird Al's lyrics will be remembered longer than those of the original song.

I was surprised to find that we also had friends of ours that we haven't seen in a little while sitting next to us, so we got to catch up a with them little before the show. That was nice too. I expected we would see some of our friends there, but I didn't expect to be sitting next to anyone we knew. It was a great night, and while people are allowed to disagree with me, Weird Al Yankovic is a national treasure in my book. Speaking of my book, I've included a link to his song "Word Crimes" for your viewing pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H...

Blood Moon

Hey Everybody,

Just wanted to give you a writing status update. I'm almost done proofing "Blood Moon" and am planning to put it on sale on Amazon soon. My artist Joseph Lee has agreed to do another awesome cover. Most of the preparations should be done sometime in October at the latest, if all goes well. I'm very excited about it. I hope that you enjoyed "Blood Rain." This sequel picks up where the other book left off and follows Mercy through her journey to reach the Northern mountains to form an alliance against the forces behind the blood rain.

I'm also finished with a rough outline for the last novel of the series, "Blood God." The first forty pages are also done but need proofing. "Blood God" should hopefully be available by Christmas, but only if all goes well. Wish me luck and, if you'd like to show your support, please pick up a copy of "Blood Rain" and put a review on Goodreads or the Amazon store.

Right now, I'm concentrating on finishing the "Blood Rain" trilogy, but I still have other novels in the works. I haven't heard from all of the agents I contacted about my young reader horror series, "Junior Investigator's Club." I should've heard one way or another from all of them by the New Year. If the first story doesn't have an agent by then, I'll probably submit the second story and continue to look. I would like for my young reader books to be hard copies since most of the target audience probably won't be reading e-books, but we'll see. I'm keeping an open mind.

I also just wanted to say thank you to those that have purchased a copy of "Blood Rain" and that it feels wonderful to finally see some results. Books are meant to be read, and I have a lot of written books and ideas still in my head that need to find a home. I'm glad to see this series is finally getting to reach a larger audience.