Kim Harrison's Blog, page 126

Onward

My back aches this morning despite my usual exercises.  I'd like to blame the weather, but I truly think it's because I spent yesterday monkeying around with my art program on my computer.  I always hunch forward, willing the computer to do what I want it to.  And if I'm working with pictures, that means I'm running full bore on the world book.

If you've not heard me talking about the world book, this is what took all my attention this last summer where I'd usually whip up a novella for an anthology.  The good news is that it's scheduled for this November, the bad news is that that means I've got to kick butt and get the rewrite done before I go on tour, 'cause there's no way I can do anything when I'm jumping planes and cars.  (I've tried. It doesn't work.)

The only way I can describe how I feel about writing this is to compare it to cooking.  You can be the best baker in the world, but if you have to make candy, the only thing in common is that you're still in a kitchen.  So I'm still kind of figuring this out as I go.  If I get a chapter done ever couple of days . . .

Snow Day!

Like much of the mid west and east, we are getting hammered with snow yesterday and today.  If you saw a woman out in boots and a robe shoveling snow off the lawn for her dogs this morning, that was me.  Seriously, it's higher than their ears.  And trust me, they are getting really good at finding their spot in less than 30 seconds.  Whizz bang!  They want to go in.  (Ah, no pun intended.)

So far, I still have heat and electricity, but one of my relatives doesn't, and I honestly think they are enjoying "roughing it" for a day.  If it goes on longer than that, we have options.  Being right in the city, I think we'll be okay.  However, there is no school today, and one of the drawbacks to working from home is . . . no snow days for me.  (booo)  I'll be working on the Hollows world book again today, and I'm starting to remember why I had such a blast with the rough draft.  Not to be a tease, but you're going to love it.

Just a reminder that the cut off for ordering a limited edition tour T is coming up in a few days.  The last day to order by check is come and gone, but if you have paypal, you can still get your order in and make the last print run.  Final day is Feb 7th, noon.  How to order . Pale Demon freebies will be available up through the end of the tour.  Freebies.

Oh!  If you were one of the recipients of the S&H Princess books, you should have gotten your invoice by now.  Guy thanks you for your quick response, and to be honest, the faster we move them out, the sooner we can have another Manic Monday.  The snow has us at a standstill right now, but as soon as it lets up, they will be in the mail, headed for you.

Chapter Four of Pale Demon

Chapter Four of Pale Demon is available for your reading and spoiler-age pleasure at the website! Chapter five will be going up on the 15th of this month, and then you will just have to wait for the rest!   -smile-

If you've missed them:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

For those of you who have been watching my marathon of rough draft pages . . . I made it, both in page count and chapter, and book eleven is safe in the cabinet, perking at rough draft.  (Which is why chapter four went up late this morning.  I watched a quirky movie last night instead of prepping the pages for  you.  I think it was called A Life Less Ordinary.  Really enjoyed it.)

So . . . Now I'm on to THE HOLLOWS INSIDER, rewriting it to my editor's suggestions and adding a few things I've thought of in the interim.

Yesterday I promised a picture of the chair I re upholstered, and here it is!  (click it for a bigger view) I've been working on this for about a month now, and I saw some vast improvements in me being able to get the final tacks looking nice.  I had some leftover fabric, so I redid a footstool to match, and then the scraps went into a pillow.  I'd never done a pillow before, so I bought one at clearance, tore it apart, and put it back together with my own cover and trim.  I'm not really happy with it, (I think a round pillow would look better on this chair to soften the rectangles) but for a first go, I'm content.

Next is a recliner.  I might try some edge work with this one . . .  Right now it's pink.  I'm going with light green and white.

Guy says . . .

Update:  Books are gone.  Guy and I thank you!  (We can use the space)

Guy says, "If you'll sign them, I'll send them."  And I'm calling his bluff.  So to celebrate Groundhog day tomorrow, we are having a modified give away.  This time, to help promote the awareness of my earlier work in traditional fantasy, we are giving away the two-book Princess Series, THE DECOY PRINCESS and PRINCESS AT SEA.

I've signed them, put them in a box, and sealed them with tape, so all we need now is an address and postage.  If you are interested, please email Guy at vampcharms@comporium.net for an invoice and see if a box is still available.  We have  27 sets, and I will edit this post when they are gone.  PLEASE PUT "PRINCESS BOOKS" IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR E-MAIL or Guy will not see it.  If you give him your address in your first email, he can make in invoice for you ASAP.

They will come Priority Mail, and we are limiting this to paypal simply so we can hurry things along.  Domestic shipping runs $8.74, Canada is $14.74, and International is $16.74.

Good luck!  And don't forget, tomorrow is the release of chapter four of PALE DEMON at the website!

I've got one more day in my 5 days/100 pages marathon, and I think I'm going to make it.  All I have left is the last chapter.  Whoo-hoo!  Tomorrow, I'll show you the chair I finished upholstering this weekend.  Here's a before shot.  OMGosh . . .

Empty fish tank

It was a good long run, but Mr. Fish, who sat on my desk and kept me company, has finally gone to the big pond in the sky.  :-)  Unlike most fish that I've had, I watched him slowly falter over the span of a week, and it looked peaceful.  There was no ick involved, and the temp has been steady, so I think he was simply old.  Good by, Mr. Fish.  Long live the new Mr. Fish!  (Which I will get sometime this weekend along with a piece of foam to upholster my kneeling chair.  I've been sitting on a pillow this week, and the extra inch has really helped get my arms in line for extended typing and reduced my shoulder stress.)

If you are following my self-imposed marathon of 100 pages in five days, I am on day four, and feeling the mental strain, as expected.  That it's Friday should help.  That I will take two days off before I finish will make Monday a snap.  Yesterday, I did 19 pages and ended at a natural chapter break.  I have two chapters to go, and if I get done today what I want, it will leave the comfy, cozy, coda for Monday.  Whoo-hoo!  This ms isn't actually due until December of next year, but I want it done so I know how to edit the one I just turned in, and I'm already seeing changes.

Now I have an entire nine months to edit one ms, edit the world book, sign off on graphic novel pages, and put together an anthology for you–which will give me the chance to write some new short stories about characters that might turn into the next series.  Ahhhhhh, can you just feel the stress fall away?  :-)

Ow

It's day three in my five-day marathon, and I'm starting to feel the fatigue of the pace, making me glad I'll have the weekend to rest my little bunny brain.  It helps that I'm working on the conclusion and the pace is fast.  It also helps that Trent showed up in the 21 pages of not-so-bad text I hammered out  yesterday–his presence far stronger than I had intended.  (21 pages and I still had time to go out for waffles for dinner.  Yay!)  As usual, Trent got the better of Rachel with his cool, in-control mien, even when he wasn't, but there was a major concession on his part which has her seeing him as less adversary and more arms-length team member.  And where in the heck did the gargoyles come from?  Glad they showed up, too.  I have a very cool image in mind that I wanted to share but had no idea how to do it.  They make it easy, and even better, logical.

Today I might be able to bring Al back in as I start the final wrap up, and I'll have my two favorite men on the page at the same time.  I still don't know what the final comfy cozy coda is going to be.  I usually have some idea at this point but all I'm seeing is a horse race and the people who are there.

Rachel, I think you managed to keep your ruby glass slippers out of the fire one more time.  Phew!

We are the sum of our parts

Part of an author's job is recognizing traits and patterns in behavior.  Everyone is different, obviously, but the sixteen personality types of Meyers/Briggs personality test have been one of my greatest tools in my toolbox when it comes to nailing down the hard-wired responses of my characters. (If you write and haven't found Meyers/Briggs, do some research and be prepared to spend hours.  It is AMAZING.  Most successful dating site use a modified version of it, but M/B came first, and you really need the original to correctly identify the rare personality types.)

My M/B file is seriously about a ream of paper, and though I used to use it extensively, I now refer to it only when something isn't quite gelling on the page.  Most people have a good grasp on what's in there anyway.  You know how your friend is going to react to any given situation before it happens, but this is after a lifetime of interaction.  It's harder with a character, brand new and shiny, and knowing their personality type helps give you the bones to shape your character.  When they break out of their M/B accustomed patterns, it's even better.  No one always follows their personality traits, and when we deviate, it's because something extraordinary has impinged upon us.

Why am I bringing it up?  Because I saw one of my own character traits poke its head out this week and remind me that I'm a creature of the sum of my parts as well.  I have been sitting on pleasant news since Monday, afraid that if I mentioned it, it would go poof in the sun and disappear.  But after taking it in, digesting it, and analyzing it to death, I'm braver now.

PALE DEMON was the recipient of a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, and it has me doing the happy author dance, scaring my dogs.  I've gotten decent reviews from publishing's top industry magazine before, but getting that starred review in genre fiction means they thought it was outstanding in what it accomplished.  Which is a very fine thing to know indeed.  -grin-

 

P.S.  I "ran" very well yesterday.  I have 21 pages of messy, ugly text, and am aiming for the same today.

Getting my grindstone on

A few weeks ago, I mentioned seeing a runner go past my window, remarking on it because it was only ten degrees Fahrenheit and he was running in shorts.  I thought him amazingly and enviably dedicated, knowing that he didn't just decide to go running in the snow that morning, but that he had a pattern of running behind him stretching months, if not years–a slow build up in skills and determination, of will and dedication, of understanding of his own limits and how he can push through them.

A reader, (I'm sorry, I don't remember which one of you) commented that metaphorically, I ran in shorts as well, which I thought humbling and an honor.  I don't think I quite run in shorts in the snow, but maybe with a pair of long johns and a face mask.  -laugh-

Well  . . .  this week I'm going to try, making a sprint to the finish line of this rough draft, using every ounce of will I've got.  I have 80 to 100 pages to write to see the end, and I want them done by Tuesday.  (no working on the weekend)  It's going to be a hard, difficult sprint, but by golly, I'm going to try.

Wish me luck.  I'm running in shorts this week.  In the snow.  And it's getting cold . . .

Guy says . . .

Are you taking German?  Know someone who is?  Or is German your first language and you'd like a couple of signed books?  Guy says, "I want more room."  So I say, "Box 'em up!  You've been threatening to for almost two years."

Which means, if you send me shipping and handling, I'll send you the first four Hollows books translated into German.  I've signed them, put them in a box, and sealed them with tape, so all we need now is an address.  (grin)  If you are interested, please email Guy at vampcharms@comporium.net to see if a box is still available.  (I will edit this post when they are gone.)  We have only a few sets of these, so please don't pay pal the money until Guy confirms that you have one with your name on it.

They will come Priority Mail, and we are limiting this to paypal simply so we can hurry things along.  Though the shipping feels high for "free" books, you are getting Dead Witch Walking, The Good, The Bad, and The Undead, Every Which Way but Dead, and For A Few Demons More, and they are _huge_ compared to the US mass markets, the size of say a trade paperback.  Domestic shipping runs $17.78, Canada is $32.14, and International (including Germany) is $52.33.

I will be working like a mad dog this week.  I want the rough draft done by Groundhog day.

Friday Wrap Up

It's been a busy week, both on the book front and PR, but I got a lot done.  PALE DEMON is still a month away, but it is creeping up, and there are a few deadlines (due to shipping) that are fast approaching.  I wanted to take a day to recap, because there is nothing more miserable than getting to the wrong store or finding out the last day to order was "yesterday."

First, the tour is pretty much set.  I have it up at the events page with stores and hours.  If you plan on coming, please check it.  We've already had one time change and a store policy you will want to be aware of if you are coming to the Austin event.

Pale Demon T- Shirts.  Guy took a look at his schedule and moved the last day to order T-shirts up by a week.  We're still using our old printer, and he forgot to include shipping time from there to here, so if you have been holding off on ordering a tour T, the new cut off date is Feb 7.  This will be the last print run for these.  If we don't have your order by then, there simply won't be a shirt available.   He also says thank you for your patience for those who have ordered.  We don't print until your order is placed, so the lag-time is frustrating.  Shirts are still going out, but if you think you should have yours by now, tell Guy the email associated with the paypal account you used, and he can give you some info.

 

Freebies are still available for the price of a SASE!  Guy stuffed envelopes for two hours last night processing what came in Tuesday, so you should start to see them in your mailbox!

 

Chapters one, two, and three are available for your reading pleasure at the website!  Next chapter will be available to read Groundhog day!

My publisher has made a high-res wallpaper for your personal use.  Enjoy!  It's be-u-tiful.

 

And to round it out, something new!  I just became aware of a very cool site called Bookperk where  my publisher offers signed books, unique deals, and unusual offers for a limited time.  Richard Kadrey has his KILL THE DEAD up there right now, which I think is majorly cool.  I've always enjoyed his work.