Kim Harrison's Blog, page 109

Bits and Bobs

I know I said keep an eye out for a manic monday today, but we didn't get our act together this weekend, distracted by the beautiful weather and family.  sigh  Next week, hopefully.

It feels like the good weather is ours on sufferance, meaning as soon as it remembers it's supposed to be cold and rainy, it will turn that way.  In case anyone is interested, my local home improvement store has all their plants half off, (apart from mums and pansies.)  I restrained myself, but just.  Even so, there are a new bunch of ferns gracing the empty spots.  I can't stand buying ferns at full price, so this is likely all I'll ever have.  -laugh-

Work's going well with a somewhat cleaner desk top now that I've taken care of the next step of  A PERFECT BLOOD and shipped it back.  100% of my concentration today is going to be on the rewrite in front of me, and it needs it.  When I started this, I talked about big shifts of character and movement, that the changes I wanted would eventually merge and the original story line would take from there.  I'm at that point, and the dovetailing isn't going smoothy as I would have liked.  Oh, it will still fit, but it needs a lot of rewriting, and progress is slow.  Now I'm seeing that the last chapter is going to have to be completely rewritten-but that's still about a week or so away.  Even so, I've got ideas . . .  The threads have lain in my thoughts all weekend, and now it's time to pick them up.

Ready, set, go!

 

Queen of delayed gratification

QDG.  Yep, that's me.  Delayed gratification has gotten me through the years of working for nothing when I was writing prepublication.  It got me through the first lean years after publication when I'd make enough for a new computer or printer, and that was fine with me.  Delayed gratification now sits in my pocket like a secret and grins as I work on something that I know you will not see for two to three years, keeping me moving forward with nothing but my own determination as a goad.  I've kind of gotten to enjoy delayed gratification, found ways to make it work for me, and I in turn, work for it for long hours at a time, for a thought, and idea.  It's become to be how I roll.  -laugh-

Some of you may have noticed that electronic version of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER is no longer available (or the release date has been delayed.)  I found out earlier this week, and to tell you the truth, I was more surprised when I found out they were going to try to make it work as an e-book then when I found out they were going to delay the release due to software limitations.

Before you dedicated e-book readers get upset, let me explain again that THE HOLLOWS INSIDER is tremendously graphic rich.  I've got about six different fonts, (that will be mutated) tons of pictures, tables and graphs, and even some photos from you (that might not show up on the right page.)  What happens to photo six when the font is enlarged on page two is hard to manage, especially when we're trying to make this work on multiple platforms.  This is exactly the problem I ran into when I was creating this monster and why I shied away from giving my publisher an electronic version and used up all that ink to give her a hard copy all the way through production.  All my hard work laying this thing out gone because of a computer error?  It's embarrassing, and trust me, I embarrass myself enough as it is.  Unfortunately, THE INSIDER just doesn't show right in all formats at this time, and in this book, visual is as important as the written word.  Besides, I cringe when an entire piece of work is trashed with a one-star review because the graphics didn't show properly.

Some books, as  my agent told me yesterday, should be real books, and this is probably my one and only shot at having that kind of a book, one with so many pictures, photos, graphs, charts, forms, and fonts that it blows the current software out of the water.  Soon as the software catches up to my vision, THE HOLLOWS INSIDER will be released as an e-book, but seriously, I wouldn't wait.  It friggin' glows in the dark, dudes!

P.S. Keep an eye out for another manic monday.

P.P.S.  My grass seed finally germinated, getting me out in my yard doing the happy-gardener dance yesterday.  One more spot buttoned down!  One more big spot to go.

P.P.P.S.  I'm thinking fresh-pressed apple cider and hour-old doughnuts.  Mmmmm  Have a great weekend!

Czech Republic Translation

I have something kind of cool this morning.  Most of the time the foreign editions of the books come out without my knowledge with no contact at all from the outside publishing house.  I never know they're there unless I go looking for them or the author copies mysteriously find their way to my desk.  Sometimes my translators will contact me about a phrase or word, and I might get a title.  Rarely they ask me for an interview.  Occasionally they share covers with me, which I count myself lucky for as trying to track them down is a hit or miss prospect.  For the third book out in the Czech republic, I hit the jackpot with a cracker-jack article and a beautiful cover.  I won't be able to get it on the website until later, but I wanted to show it to you here now while it was still brand new.  I love seeing how the books are presented in different languages.

We got our first glimpse of Jenks on a cover in the French editions, and her face in a handful of others.

I maintain a list of where the rights have been sold at the media page if you want to know if the books will be coming out in "a language near you."  There is a lag-time of one to two years before the books start showing up on the shelf once they buy the rights, so it won't be an immediate thing, and rarely do they buy the entire series at once, so it's usually the first three, and when they do well, they buy the next three.  Germany was one of the first foreign outlets, and as you can see, they are very proactive about getting the books on the shelf in a timely manner.  They even have some of the novellas out under their own covers, and are going to have the HOLLOWS INSIDER.  If you are interested in seeing some of the foreign edition covers, I have an incomplete listing of them here at the drama box on the side pages, and a more finished list of them at the individual book pages at the website.  Dead Witch Walking

You should be able to click the images here for a better look.

owls

Just as I was drifting off last night, I was woken back up by the sound of an eastern screech owl.  It took a few minutes online this morning to identify them by their calls, but I'm sure that's what it was.  They sounded like little horses whinnying.  If you check out the link, it's song B Eastern Screech Owl

I can't tell you how good it feels to hear owls again.  We heard/saw barred owls quite frequently down in South Carolina, and I missed them.  Balance, balance.  Owls are good, but if I start finding luna moths, I swear, I'm going to squish them flat.  I'm not superstitious, but if anything momentous happens in the next four days, I'm going to be blaming them.  -laugh-  They were right outside my window.  I wonder if I make a box big enough for them if they would use it, or if I'd just get 'coons.

The leaves are just starting to think about shifting over, bits and pieces of them showing up on my lawn.  I'm keeping a close watch on the patch of lawn that I reseeded last Thursday.  It's been a week, and though it's been cold, it should be germinating soon.  I know I'm pushing it, but I really need this grass to come through for me.  I don't want a mud pit all winter.  Here's hoping.

And for those of you who wondering about yesterday's post, I have decided not to do that wicked thing.  You can all breathe again.  Everyone lives.  Mostly.  -grin-

 

Cluttered Desk

My desk is so cluttered, I'm having a hard time thinking this morning.  It's not that I can't work in an untidy area, because when I get plotting, there are papers everywhere, but right now . . . I've got layers of stuff to do, and it's all sitting on my desk.  Blahhhh.

This morning, I hit the alarm and crawled back into bed to daydream about Trent.  (grin)  Seriously, I called it work.  I've got something wicked I want to do, and only a week or so to think about the ramifications.  Guy is helping me kick around my new ideas, but he likes anything I come up with, so when all's said and done, I have to figure out the plausibility on my own.  I find I'm back to weighing possible future actions and what kind of story I want to tell.  LIke I said, I've got a week just for dreaming, and then I've got to get serious about it.

Cha, cha, cha, changes . . .

Manic Monday charm bracelets (at noon)

Bracelets are gone!  Thank you, Guys!  Guy is contacting the winners right now, so if you don't hear from him by the end of today, you are on a waiting list for the non-payments.  We do have some loose charms left over, so we'll be combining them up at some point and offering them to you.  As promised, we are clearing out Guy's shelves as we prepare to shut down Vampiric Charms.  This week, we have turned our eye to the charm bracelets.  The bracelet comes with Rachel's original star, moon, clover, and heart.  It also has a burning bunny charm, Al's blue butterfly, a tomato, bloody hand print, and Ivy's wish coin.

Guy will begin taking orders for these at noon today, EST.  (Don't email him now.  Wait for noon.)  One set per person, please.  The cost covers the shipping and handling.  USA shipments will take two weeks from when we ship, International will be a bit longer.

Shipping and Handling is $15.50 in the US, $17.50 outside.  We can't ship to Germany as they get hung up in customs  To make this as painless as possible for Guy, we are taking Pay Pal only.  Unfortunately we can't combine any other merchandise in with this, but you will get a collector card that is promoting both THE HOLLOWS INSIDER and A PERFECT BLOOD (It's got the cover on it.  Bea-u-tiful!)  They will be coming parcel post.

If you are interested, at noon, EST today, (no earlier) send an email to Guy at vampcharms@comporium.net with the words charms in the subject line.  If you are among the first forty, he will send you an invoice for shipping, so please include your shipping address in your initial email.  If you do not include your shipping address in the initial email, he can not ship you your charms, and your order will not be acted on.  PayPal doesn't always put the address in, and it's frustrating.  We don't do anything with your address but ship you your charms.  We don't have the time to do anything wicked, and I hate it when people sell mine, so . . .

These will not go as fast as the manic monday books, (I'm thinking the window will be a few hours) and as usual, I'll update this post when they are gone to help avoid confusion.  If you miss out, I'll be having more shipping and handling give aways.  We also still have the Pale Demon Freebies available for the price of two stamps, which are also going out with the Pale Demon, Hollows Insider collector card.

If you by chance are on the waiting list for the mug give-away, check your spam folder tomorrow.  We have had a few non-payments, and Guy is going down the line in order.

One more day

I've got one more day to work on this rewrite before I have to set it down and do the page proofs for A PERFECT BLOOD.  For those of you who are interested, page proofs are produced at the same time as the ARCs, and therefore will still have mistakes and errors in them.  My publisher doesn't like it if I have to make more than typo changes, but if there is an error of fact, I can change it while trying to make minimal shifts in the text.

I usually make an event out of page proofs, clearing my desk and radically changing what I'm listening to.  Sometimes I move out of my office entirely.  I try very hard to find typos–but what I'm most interested in is the movement of characters so that Rachel doesn't stand up twice without sitting back down between them, or that she remembers to take her purse if she walks out of a room.  I like physical movements, almost as much as my dialog, and often use them to remind the reader of where we are, what time of day it is, or the mood she's in.  ie "Arms over her chest, Rachel sat down, her bobbing foot, catching the morning sun that slipped in past the kitchen's small window."  But you can't just stick a line like that in without making sure everything follows.  This is typically the last time I will EVER read any given piece of work, and when it's done, I don't look back.  Sometimes, it takes chocolate.

After today, I should have enough changes made in the next book so that I can use the page proofs to find where I left the emotional state of everyone, and then begin my rewrite over to lightly tweak it to emotional smoothness.  Timing is everything.

It's also Friday, thank all that is holy in the world.  I need some time to push back and regroup.  No plans for the weekend, but I might make tapioca pudding from scratch, as in soak-over-night scratch.  I've also got a pie I could make from my home-grown pumpkins.  It's definitely going to be a kitchen weekend.  We've already been threatened with the first frost of the year, and though I know we will have some warm afternoons yet, it's clear that summer . . . is over.

Keep your eyes open for another manic monday.  We're going to move out some jewelry next.

Good Day

Had a great day at the desk yesterday, though the page count movement doesn't really show it yet.  I managed to push through the chapter I'd been snagged on, but in the doing, I cannibalized from a chapter about four chapters up.  (Yay)  It had always felt to me that the two of them were doing the same thing, and bringing them together feels very solid.  Today should be easy-peasy as I'm working with two chapters that will not change much apart from the emotion.  (of which I will be an emotional wreck by the end of the day and will need some garden time to shake it off properly.)

I should be able to get into the half-eaten chapter as well.  It needs a new beginning, and I've got a perfect idea, one that will help me get rid of the gun on the mantel left over from the previous book. (As in if there is a gun on the mantel in the first act, you'd better shoot it in the second.) It will also open up a new avenue of trouble between Rachel and the demons, and a path of understanding between Rachel and Trent, and maybe Al.  All in about five pages–because I moved something forward where it belonged in the first place and made an opening of opportunity.

Wish me luck.  I'm not sure it's actually going to fall in place the way I see it.  -laugh-

Rain here, but I got the last of the year's grass seed down just as it started.  That's a good sign.  Slowly but surely, I'm getting my yard back from large summer projects.  Now that I think about it, my yard is undergoing a rewrite and we're just getting out of the ugly, scattered, messy stage where everything has been torn up and raw earth exposed.  Gotta get it buttoned down before it snows . . .

wash, rinse, repete

It's going to be one of those weeks where you just keep pushing forward.  At least, I hope it is.  I've got a lot to get done by the end of the month.  Seriously, I don't have much to say this morning since it's same old, same old right now.  I went to bed thinking of the chapter I have to work through today, and I woke up thinking about it, but unless something happened in my subconscious in the middle, I don't have anything new to bring to my computer this A.M.  We'll see in about an hour.  That's the thing about the subconscious–it's, ah, subconscious.

Trent, you annoy me so.

weird day

I had a weird day yesterday, getting a very late start but managing to tie off a lot of ends, ends that hadn't been hanging around very long, but did tend to . . . clutter things up.  It started with working on the website to begin setting up for the HOLLOWS INSIDER release coming up, fitted in there was laundry, (which did not get done on the weekend for some reason,) a chat out on my lawn with the city about the trees in the street lawn. Back to my desk to go through the lined pages of the next graphic novel, (Which looks majorly cool, by the way.) mailing a few things out that had been fermenting too long, settling a few dates for the mini-tour, and then even got to some honest to goodness work on the rewrite, backtracking to fix something that spanned two chapters and made my transitions better, not to mention answered a few logic questions. This is why I like rewrites.  It's the only time I let myself go back and fix things now.  Filed a few things to find the top of my cabinet.  Capped the day off with dinner out with my folks to celebrate their wedding anniversary and my dad's birthday.  (He is a smart man, my dad, getting married on his birthday.  I keep forgetting mine . . . )

So, a lot of weird things in one day, which makes me itchy to push forward today into new/old material.  That big character shift I mentioned a week back is going well, and I'm glad I got brave and cut and slashed what didn't work anymore, much as I hated to lose it, to make room for new things I hadn't thought of yet.  Those new things are starting to materialize, and it feels more solid and not so complex  you need a playbook to follow the action.

I am so ready to put some good butt-in-chair time.  It doesn't hurt that all the windows are open and I have a new tree to look at outside my window.  It was just what my office garden needed.  I got Chill on my Sirius this a.m. and as long as they keep the vocals out of it, the beat will keep my fingers moving.  Me at my desk, puppies content in their beds, Mr. Fish occupied watching Mrs. Egg Cover.  -grin-  He has come a long way from the pale, almost-dead fish I bought last year.  It's going to be a good day.