Scott Tracey's Blog, page 26

Just a Taste

It's been a pretty strange week.  But now that things have settled down, I'm trying to get back into old routines.  Writing being one of them.

The current WIP, which I'm calling Spirit Games, is in this perpetual state of "almost there."  Once I figure out what I'm doing with this beginning, I think I can finally start making some headway on the rest of it.  And then hopefully send it out to some of my betas and get feedback. At this point, I'd just be so happy to have a finished, workable...

Witch Eyes Info

Since a couple of people have asked now, I figured it was a good time to put up a little something about what Witch Eyes is about for those who don't know.

Witch Eyes is a cross between Smallville and a modern, gay Romeo and Juliet.  A deadly supernatural feud divides the town of Belle Dam, Washington.  In the search for the secrets of his past, Braden returns here after abandoning the only family he's ever known.  His gift of the 'witch eyes,' something he considers a curse, makes his magic...

An Exciting Announcement!

I am beyond thrilled to announce that WITCH EYES and a sequel are going to be published by Flux starting in the summer of 2011!

First of all, I could NOT have done this without my incredible agent, Colleen Lindsay.   She's kinda like that big sister I never had, who ADORES teasing me and doing the phone/email equivalent of mussing up my hair.  But she's believed in Braden's story since the beginning, and has been so great along the way.  I mean, this is a woman who told me that when she was...

Why Music is So Important

For me, a project's never really "in progress" until I have the music.  The soundtrack.  The beat.

I may mess around with certain scenes, or lines of dialogue.  But I need the music to really get into the groove of the story.  For me, having a soundtrack that can play while I write is integral.  It doesn't really matter after awhile though – I end up tuning it out and dealing with the story.  But in the beginning, its like a shortcut into that world.

My typical playlist is 10-20 songs, usually...

Fun Things

My friend Courtney was interviewed by Realm Lovejoy on her blog.  Check it out!

And if you've ever had a conversation with your cupcake, and felt annoyed when it wouldn't talk back?  Well, your prayers have been answered!  Victoria Schwab, author of Near Witch (recently acquired by Hyperion), answers questions while getting a head start on her Halloween-ing!

More about Series

So last time I wound up focusing mostly on trilogies.  I figured that this time, I'd focus more on series books, and things to think about or look at.

I feel like there's really two kinds of series books.  There are the stand-alone series, and the metaplot/contained series.  The former are books that follow a certain character with continually changing circumstances.  Each book is self-contained, and while it may build upon things that happen in previous books, the changes in character or...

Series & Trilogies & Companion Books, Oh My!

A couple of things the last few days have really had me thinking about writers, series, and everything in between.

But first, a little clarification on the differences.  A trilogy is a series of three books that are interconnected and reach a final resolution (of some kind) by the third book.  A series is usually more open ended, and as a result tends to have more self-contained stories for each volume. It can last for four, five, or ten volumes.  And a companion book is typically a book set...

Link Salad Friday

Because procrastination can only work for so long before I need to do something else.  But!  My apartment gets cleaner every day!

Book Transfusion – I hadn't heard about this last year, but I think this is such a great idea.  It's a home-grown idea, and something I never would have thought about before.  But now I'm determined to donate.  Check it out!

Leviathan trailer – And if you haven't already checked out the book trailer for the upcoming Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, do yourself a favor...

General Updates

Just a couple of updates on things I think are important:

My friend, and fellow TSer Victoria Schwab sold her first novel!  Go congratulate her!

And Courtney Summers is giving away an ARC of the mysterious (yet I imagine werewolf-hating) Some Girls Are.  You can enter the contest here.

Speaking of Some Girls Are, Victoria and I came up with the PERFECT way to snake our own copy of the SGA ARC.  It involves blueprints, cupcakes, and costumes.  How could it possibly fail?

One thing I forgot to...

The Hollow Releases!

I'm SO excited to see The Hollow by Jessica Verday finally on bookshelves.  Can't wait to go out and pick up my copy, that's for sure.

I had the opportunity to read an ARC of The Hollow (and even before that), and I've known Jess and her husband/official cheerleader Lee since before the book even sold.  I've even had the great pleasure to meet them for lunch at Red Robin (which was an amazing amount of fun).

The Hollow is the story of Abbey, recovering from the unexpected death of her best...