Kim Harrison's Blog, page 117

Last Hollows Insider Contest!

Winner of the concert shot is B and T Rowe for their picture of wild enjoyment at a concert.  Congratulations, B!  There were an amazing number of entrants, and it was a tough decision, but B's won out for sheer enthusiasm.

The Hollows Gazette photo contest submissions are just about over as we move closer to the page-proof stage.  Just a few more pictures to go.  I'm going to re-open submissions for the shot of the fountain as I didn't get enough to choose from and may have to go to a stock photo or one of my own, and if I do that, I'm going to give  you guys a second chance as well.  If you think you have a suitable photo of the fountain in Cincinnati, check out the requirements at the website here and send me your best.  If I have to resort to stock photos or something that I or my editor took last spring, then I will choose a winner for the signed copy of the Hollows Gazette and page from BLOOD WORK from the entrants at random.

I have what is going to be one of my favorite contests starting today. I'm looking for mug shots of two reporters, one male in his late 30′s and a female, much younger in her 20′s to early 30′s.  Though small, they still need to be fairly sharp, so photos taken with your computer probably won't make the cut.  (sorry!)

Picture Ten: Devin Crossman is in his late 20′s, to 30′s.  He's a reporter for the Hollows Gazette, and he is the narrator for the book. He's smart, clever, and a bit too inquisitive.  He makes a lot of mistakes, and I'm not saying how it ends, but it's not good for Mr. Crossman.  -grin-

Picture Eleven: I'm also looking for Sara Jane's sister, Winnie Gradenko, fellow reporter for the Gazette.  She's a farmer's daughter, tough as nails and has a smile that could make the sun come up in the morning.

Because they are two different contests, please send Crossman's  and Gradenko's photos in separate emails.  :-)  Rules and how to enter are at the website here.  This is the last one, people, so have fun!

I've gotten a bunch of Kalamack supporter pictures, but I will continue to accept photos until later today.  You guys never cease to amaze me.  Wow.  I'll have my favorites up tomorrow but if you want to try to get me one yet today, the requirements are here.

Last call for rally pictures

The cutoff for accepting political rally preparation photos is this coming Monday, so get your friends and have some fun making Vote for Kalamack signs this weekend!  I will only be having one last pair of contests after this, and then the chances to win a Hollows Insider will be over!  ;-)   Phew!  What a ride!  Some of these photos showed a dedication that completely stunned me.  You guys are great!  :-)  I should have the winners of the concert and fountain by Monday as well.  We got very few fountain pictures, so I may have to fall back on one of my own with a better resolution, in which case I will draw a winner for the prize.  My editor and I are still checking.  Rules, how to enter, past winners . . .

My work computer has not been on all week, and if you missed it, it's because I've been taking two weeks to sketch out in fairly heavy detail a few concepts for some stand alones, novellas, and a new series.  I've not done anything with the Hollows all week, and it's been totally refreshing.  (I'll work on my Hollows ideas next week.)  Yesterday and today I'll be focusing on a long lost love, Grace, moving her from a non-industrial setting to modern-day.  It's been going better than I had anticipated, and after spending all day yesterday at it, much of the old story that birthed her has faded, leaving only her character which I love all the more for her stoic strength and personal tragedy.  The process of moving her character to a new story puts me in mind of the idea of reincarnation, the same soul in a new situation, working out the same issues until growth occurs.  I've never moved a character before–ever.  I like making new ones too much, but as I've said before, Grace is special and never got her day in the sun.

It seems odd to be talking about a book that might not see the light of day for years, if ever, but that's got a certain joy in itself.  Secrets and hidden treasure–the sparkle in my eye.

 

 

Ahhh, summer . . .

A picture of my pumpkins this morning.  You can see where hail damaged some of their leaves last week, but they are doing fine, and I'm hoping for some pumpkins by fall.  Last year's never set fruit, but I'm very much a believer in that "if at first you don't succeed, add more shi- ah, compost."

I've been enjoying myself immensely this week as I sit outside with my clipboard and sketch out the next book I'm going to be working on.  I only get a chance to do this once or twice a year, and the weather has been cooperating beautifully.  It's been lemonade and ice tea–and then a little mixed together all week, sort of reflecting what is landing on the page.  This time, my plotting is a bit different as I'm not working on just one book, but several ideas as I plan out the main structure to my next five years.  Don't get me wrong.  I still have a couple of Hollows books to write, but with the last Madison book on the shelf, my schedule has opened up and I've been throwing ideas on the paper like mad–ideas that have been perking in my head for a very long time.  Some are Hollows oriented since I've got a novella to write before the end of the year and I think it's going to be Hollows, some are not.

Yesterday, I finished a very rough, chapter by chapter outline on a weird stand alone that has the potential for a second or third book.  Still UF, but a very, very different feel, and I'm excited about it.  It's using a style of writing I'm not familiar with.  I may lose the first person POV, but for now, first line: "They say on average that in their lifetime, a person swallows three spiders in their sleep.  I'd always thought it was an urban legend, until I woke with one sitting on my nose.  That was the morning Gram died."  I never know the first line when I start a book, and this one will likely change, but it has a feeling of legend, family, and sudden aloneness that I was looking for–and I like it.

The pages are ugly, messy, and have holes in the plotting you could throw a cat through, but I'm dropping it and turning my attention today to Grace, a book I started while Dead Witch Walking was being shopped around.  It's traditional fantasy, and I'm throwing out everything but the characters, the first 100 pages of rough draft gone, gone, gone forever.  I've gotten the question before from readers as to what comes first, the plot, or the character, and usually I tell them they evolve together, but if I can pull this off–yanking a character from an already established story line and put her in a new setting and let her go–then I think my answer will be the characters come first in my mind, then the story.  I wouldn't want to try to do this with just any character.  Grace is special.  She is so beautifully flawed that she could walk down my sidewalk and I would know her in an instant.  She is who I've  been aching to write for years and years, and I hope that I can turn to her, but if not, she will wait for me, and I'm good with that, because I know there will never be anyone on paper like her.

So maybe ideas are like plants.  They can sit in the back of your head for years until you pull back the branches and give them light–and a huge helping of compost.

Sneakie peekie at The Hollows Insider

Mark Rude, the artist who did most of the pencil work you will see in THE HOLLOWS INSIDER, has a few pictures, (and a creepy twilight-zone moment) at his site today.  Some of you long-time posters will remember seeing his work ages and ages ago when he came to me with artwork of the characters he'd drawn up on his own time.  They were among the first reader-art I'd seen, and they impressed me with how well he knew the characters, so when the first inkling of having illustrations in the world book crossed my mind, Mark's name quickly followed.  Go take a look for a nice sneak peek of what you'll get in THE HOLLOWS INSIDER.  Mark Rude

I also have my favorite shots for the fountain and concert photos up at the website today!  The concert photos, especially, were hard to make a choice as there were so many good ones.  This contest is over, and I hope to have the winners for you soon, but I'm still taking entries for Kalamack supporters preparing for a rally.  Monday is the last day to submit for this one and a chance to win a copy of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER and a signed print from the upcoming (July 12) graphic novel, BLOOD WORK.  Rules, what I'm looking for, how to enter, and past winners are at the web site here, and the pages up for grabs from BLOOD WORK, are here. I'm working on brand-new stuff today and the rest of the week.  Edits are off my desk, and I'm spending the day on my porch again with pencil and clipboard, sketching out 4-6 ideas as to what I might be doing series and novella-wise for probably the next five years.  You can imagine I'm both excited (about new ideas) and careful (that these ideas are rich enough to keep me occupied for that long.)  So far, it's looking good, and the relief to be working on something that has been occupying the back of my thoughts for almost as long as the Hollows has been in print, is understandably immense.  Unfulfilled ideas make for ugly regrets.

New photo contest and guest post at SF Signal

Antonio's question last week about female protagonists in UF becoming more concerned with getting their man than their antagonist sparked a thought, and a deeper answer to him has been expanded and guest posted over at SF Signal this morning.  SF Signal  Go see!  And please don't come away from this thinking I'm dissing romance.  (sheesh!)

Also, the photo contest for photos seven and eight is now officially over, and a new, almost-last contest has begun.  Thank you, everyone who entered their photos of concerts and the fountain at Fountain Square at winter.  They are all fabulous!  I'll have my favorites up tomorrow.  However, you still have three chances to win a copy of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER, or perhaps even more cool, a chance to have your photo in it.

This week it's going to require a bit of arts and crafts on your part.  It's election year, and Trent Kalamack is running for Mayor of Cincinnati!  The caption will read "Kalamack supporters prepare for tomorrow's rally."  and I'm looking for a group of people doing exactly that, writing up posters, preparing flyers, wearing election hats, etc.  :-)  A posed picture of supporters won't do.  It has to look like a shot snapped on the fly.  Think newspaper, and have fun with this one!  Winner will receive a signed copy of THE HOLLOWS INSIDER when it goes to print.  As a second thank you, winners can choose one of the signed, frame-worthy pages from the upcoming graphic novel BLOOD WORK (July 12)  I'm trying to get something special for everyone who enters this one, so keep your fingers crossed that all entrants, win or lose, get a signed cover from THE HOLLOWS INSIDER.  (I think there will be enough to do this for all the contests, so don't be surprised if I come to you for your address at some point.)  So get out your markers and poster board, and get busy and VOTE FOR KALAMACK!  (grin)

I'll be accepting Kalamack supporter photos until Monday noon (June 6th)  Rules, previous winners, and how to enter: here.  Images of BLOOD WORK up for grabs are here.

I hope you all had a safe, happy Memorial Day holiday.  I watched the parade, ate too much picnic food, and planted a few bushes in my yard.  I think I'm done planting bushes.  Now they just have to grow.  :-)

Looooong weekend!

And boy am I ready for it!  It's the Memorial Day weekend, where tradition dictates that we should spend the day outside enjoying the weather, eating hot dogs, having picnics, fishing, and getting too much sun.  I will likely be in the garden if the weather cooperates.  If not, I'll be in the garage, painting an area so we can start to use it more efficiently.  I'm hoping for sun, even though getting more usable space would be nice.

Because of the long weekend, this week's contest for concerts and pictures of Fountain Square will continue until Tuesday noon.  I'll have a new contest for you then.  It might be the last.  I'll have to see how it crunches out.

See you on Tuesday, and have a safe weekend!

World Book Copy Edit

Ahhh, the joys of copyedit, where facts, figures, and logic issues require checking and working out.   My inner Ivy is in heaven.  Most copyedits involve my character map, sun and moon tables, and whatever style sheet I've got for the book, but this one was different.  The lengths I've gone to here is unusual, with all the above aids along with a card of information on each series character, place, or institution.  It makes for a messy desk, but a tidy manuscript.  I'm keeping the cards when I'm done.  They make a great fact-checker.

The world book came at a perfect time for me as I start to wrap things up in the Hollows, a refresher of sorts to remind me of a few threads that I need to pull back into the story line and finish off.  You're actually only seeing about half my fact-checking aids here.  The other half is on my open file cabinet, serving as a horizontal surface on which to pile things.

More winners! (and a tiny peek at the Hollows Insider)

My editor seems to be as excited about this contest as I am, and we all ready have a winner chosen from the entries of demon damage and protesters!  It's hard not to be excited when the

wonderfully creative shots come in, and as you can see at the website, there were some great shots to choose from.  But as they say, there can be only one–or two in this case, and the winners are J Linetsky for his demon damage, and S Clark for her concerned protesters.

Congratulations, J and S!  And thank you everyone who entered.  S and J will each be getting a signed copy of the HOLLOWS INSIDER when it's printed, and a page from the upcoming Blood Work, (due out July 12th)  If you missed out on this contest, I'm still running one of the last few, looking for shots of concerts and the fountain at Fountain Square, Cincinnati.  What I'm looking for, rules, and how to enter is at the website, here.  I have images of the past winners and some of my favorites at the same page.    And to see the pages of Blood Work that are up for grabs, click here!

I'm trying to get a special, very small token of thanks for all of you who have been entering the contests, but want it in my hands before I say more than that.  (I'm evil, yes I am.)

To try to make up for the general evilness of authors, I do have a tiny, little smidge of the cover to the HOLLOWS INSIDER to show you today!  I've seen the full photo, and it took my breath away.  The designer is the same man who puts the regular Hollows books together, and I can see his hand in this one.  Mmmm, but you can't because I've only shown you the title.   Okay, maybe my attempt to make up for my evilness is even more evil, but I'll have the full cover to show you soon.  Just a few more hoops to jump through.

Madison is on the shelves!

Madison's third and final entry, SOMETHING DEADLY THIS WAY COMES, is on the shelves this week! Go Madison, go Madison, go Madison.  -grin-  In a lot of ways, Madison is more grown up than Rachel, and her world is closer to ours than Rachel's, most definitely.  If you have a reader who is not quite ready for the Hollows, or simply are young at heart yourself, give her a try!  I've got a bunch of stuff at the website and her page of tweet-scapes, fan kits, and a link to FB for those who partake of FB.  Also, if you missed it, itunes has an app available for the Dark Days Of Summer tour featuring 11 young adult books with teasers, book trailers, and sample chapters that might get your teen reading all summer.  Dark Days of Summer App

Submissions are closed for the demon damage and angry protesters, and wow did you guys come through!  It was extremely hard to pick a winner, and I'm glad it was on my editor's shoulders.  -laugh-

I am delighted with all the entries, especially the protesters.  I sit with my mouth agape.  You guys are one dedicated bunch.  (And no one got arrested for protesting without a licensee.  grin)  I'll have the winners for you tomorrow, but you have to go look and see.  Contenders for the Gazette photo five and six

Joys of Spring

Birds claim their triumph

Printer hums, instilling joy

I begin once more

Yep, it's spring, and I've finished the editorial rewrite for the next Hollows book, titled A PERFECT BLOOD.  Windows are all open, and I can feel the rain in the coming wind, so it should be an interesting day as I finish printing this sucker out and ship it to NY.  Some authors remember the day when they first hold their first book in their hand as the day they say they made it.  What sticks in my mind is the first time I EVER mailed off a manuscript and I knew someone was actually waiting for it–after years of "thank you, but it is not what we are looking for at this time."  It still feels good.

So . . . It's a new week, and a new contest!  I'm still accepting photos for demon damaged buildings and protesters until noon today.  I am seriously floored by the response that came in this weekend.  I can't wait to show you tomorrow!  I have some fabulous, fabulous shots from some tremendously creative people, and I am thrilled down to my toes.

We are almost to the end of the contests, but I've got a few more photos needed to finish out the newspaper articles in the HOLLOWS INSIDER.  This week, I'm looking for shots of concerts and Fountain Square.  I'll accept photos until May 30th.

Photo Seven: Something for you guys who live in, or have visited, Cincinnati!  It's the dead of winter, and the banshees are starving.  A pair went to Fountain Square for the New Year festival and trashed the place, soaking in the fear as the fires burned and people fled.  What I'm looking for is a shot of the fountain taken the morning after, and the caption will say "Little remains to show last night's damage thanks to work crews."  This is going to be difficult because it's supposed to be winter, and I'm sure they've got their spring flowers in now, but perhaps a closeup of the fountain or taking it in a way to avoid the spring trees might work.  And as always, I'll accept pictures that you have taken in the past.  (I know I have one of me freezing my butt off in front of the fountain in winter.  ha!)

Picture Eight:  Dig out your photo albums, this one is going to be tricky as well.  It's late October, and Takata is putting on a benefit concert to help the homeless.  The caption will read: Concert goers enjoy the music while helping the homeless."  I will consider wide shots of a concert showing lots of people as well as close ups of someone wildly screaming out lyrics.  (I'm wondering if a picture of a football crowd (or any crowd for that matter) might work, too with a little photo shopping?)

Enjoy!  Have fun!  And keep it safe!  Rules and how to enter are at the website.  Winners of the contests will receive a signed copy of the upcoming THE HOLLOWS INSIDER, where their photo will be used.  They will also receive a frame-worthy, signed photo of the upcoming Hollows graphic novel BLOOD WORK.   Winners are already starting to make their picks, but you can see them all here.