Tate Hallaway's Blog, page 49

The Book That Wasn't (3 of 3)

This is the third and final "book that wasn't" in the Garnet Lacey series. Ironically, when I finished writing this proposal I realized I'd neatly come up with a point which could have been "the end" for the entire series (although I stressed to my agent that was NOT my intention.) After receiving these proposals my agent wondered if Garnet was sustainable now that Sebastian and she were married. I argued strongly that they could have been. After all, in my personal life, I believe that r...

The Book That Wasn't (2 of 3)

Here's the synopsis for the book that would have been Garnet Lacey #7, which I'd called LADY IN DEAD:

Note: This is in synopsis format, which requires third person, present tense. As you'll see, each book builds on the last, which I thought was mighty clever. ;-) Also, I thought this one was going to be one of the funnier ones....

Ever since an incident when her Book of Shadows went missing and endangered her first vampire lover, Daniel Parrish, Garnet Lacey has been trying to practice a...

The Book That Wasn't (1 of 3)

Some time ago, I promised to post the proposal for the Garnet Lacey books that didn't get the greenlight. Here's the first one, which would have been book 6, which I called DEAD AND MARRIED:

Note: This is in synopsis format, which requires third person, present tense.

Do you ever have one of those days when you can't find anything? You put down your keys for a second and poof! They're gone. Garnet Lacey has been having one of those months. But, really, given everything she and her...

New Cover!

Here's the preliminary (but 99.99% finished) cover for my new young adult novel, ALMOST TO DIE FOR, which is scheduled to be an NAL Trade in August 2010.

In case you've forgotten, the back cover copy says:

On her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker's present winds up being the shock of a lifetime. When her mom referred to her absentee dad as a deadbeat it was actually half true—he's a vampire. And a king, no less. A king who wants his daughter to assume her rightful position at his side...

Slacktivist on Vamps

My friend and fellow writer Naomi Kritzer pointed me to this post on vampires and the effect of the Christian cross on the Slacktivist's blog. Even though I'm not a Christian, I like this interpretation quite a bit, especially when you consider what the Slacktivist says about what s/he considers "true" vampires.

The question comes up: why does garlic work? The answer I always heard was that it was a well-known folk cure to thin the blood. Those of us with heart problems in their family...

Twitter Dweeb

Someone from another group sent out a link to Inkygirl's blog Twitter for Writers (Part 1). And, I have to say, I feel like a complete idiot. I had no idea about any of this stuff. Twitter chats? Wow. Who knew? You kids and your interwebs. You're so inventive.

Happy Endings and Personal Taste

Interestingly, they were talking about happy endings over at Wyrdsmiths yesterday. I was thinking of this on Sunday, because I had a chance to finish a book I checked out from the library called THE MAP OF MOMENTS by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon (Bantam, February 2009), which I rather enjoyed.

The story follows a history professor, Max, who returns to New Orleans for the funeral of an old lover, Gabrielle, who died in Hurricane Katrina. Gabrielle betrayed him with another man and Max ...

Happy Labor Day

I don't know how many people really celebrate this particular holiday, but my family always gathers in LaCrosse, Wisconsin (my hometown) to sit on a curb on the northside of town to watch local union members march carrying flags and toss candy. I wish, actually, I'd remembered to pack my National Writers Union t-shirt that reads, "Metaphors Be With You" on the front and shows the united autoworkers logo on the back (the NWU is a sub-local of the UAW, which always made me weirdly happy.)

After...

Writing and Such

I realize I haven't posted here since I dropped the no-more-Garnet bomb, and I feel compelled to at least tell you all what I've been doing lately. As you may remember, the first of my new young adult series is due at the publisher October 15. That's like, well, TOMORROW. Okay, that's how it feels anyway. In order to get that done I have to write at least a couple thousand words a day. Which isn't so hard right now when what I'm doing is translating what I had written in third person into first,

The End of an Era

I'm not sure what the on-line etiquette is in this situation, but it seems like important news to pass on so...

First of all, may I have a moment of silence while I speak the benediction? "Gucci, Gucci, Garnet. You were a good series."

Yes, Garnet Lacey is no more. The book I finished this year, HONEYMOON OF THE DEAD, will be coming out in May of '10 as scheduled. However, my editor turned down the proposals my agent and I sent for books 6, 7 and 8. As far as I know, all the previous books are sti