Kate Lowell's Blog, page 34

New Books For Me!

As if my TBR pile isn’t big enough.

Story Trumps Structure I heard about on another blog. It purports to be a writing process book for pantsers. I haven’t had a chance to get into it yet, but the recommendations are enthusiastic. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything about craft, so I’m looking forward to another viewpoint on the process, and maybe picking up a few pointers.

Confessions of a Sociopath is research for my Byzantine fantasy world, and one of the main characters. I’ve worked with people I could confidently identify as sociopaths, but it needs more than that to be able to accurately write one. I have several scholarly texts on the topic of sociopaths and psychopaths, but this is the story of someone who actually is a sociopath. While the other books will provide the limits and possibilities of the character, I’m looking to this one to provide the voice.

Three-quarters through final revisions on the werewolves before I send it off to beta. Waiting to hear from Storm Moon on whether they’re still interested in the sequel to the weresquirrel. And having strange conversations with my editor that result in me being told to go set something on fire.

Okay, back to the trenches.

Filed under: writing Tagged: mm romance, research

Coming To The End

I’m in the homestretch on Bite Me Later (what a crappy name–what was I thinking?). Only a couple thousand words to go to get the body of it done, then there’s nothing but the tweaking and the crying left. And there will be crying. And gnashing of teeth and wondering why I ever thought I could write in the first place.

In aid of maintaining at least a semblance of normal mental health during this stressful time, I raided the local grocery and feed stores today.

First off, I made sure I don’t have to make an emergency run to town for food for the beasts. I have fish food, cat food, hamster food, and horse food. We’re good.

Next is to make sure I have food. Specifically, snacks.

Relatively healthy snacks. There’s also grapes and oatmeal cookies, avocadoes, coconut milk for curry, raspberries and blueberries and apples. I tend to stop cooking at this point in a manuscript, so there’s things the kitten can make for herself–tuna, pizza pockets, perogis, salmon, peanut butter, eggs. I’m a grumpy cat at the end of a book, and it is therefore much better for everyone’s health and personal safety if they can keep a certain minimum distance between us.

To go along with the snacks, there’s the staple of every writer’s cupboard. Coffee.





This is not all the coffee. Not by a long shot.

After eating all those snacks, it’s doubtful I’ll still fit into any of my regular clothes, so comfy writing clothes are a must. It’s been ridiculously warm and humid here the past week, so I’m prepared. I can always put my parka on over them, right?

And finally, when it’s all over, even the crying, there’s two fancy plastic wine glasses that I bought on a whim because they made me think of a castle. Until the book is finished, there’s no alcohol in the house. Despite alcohol’s amazing anti-anxiety properties (true story–look it up at any reliable medical website.), it also has a tendency to depress creativity unless you can walk that fine line. And, for those of us that suffer from anxiety, it’s a line that’s easy to miss while you’re enjoying your temporary reprieve from the constant, low-level freaking out that is our daily existence. So, no alcohol, until the werewolves and the weresquirrel are GONE. Then it’s all alcohol, all the time. :)

Not really.





This also means withdrawing a bit from the world. I’m skipping Tuesday Tickle this week, so if anyone has a book they want to pimp, drop me a line at katelowellbooks (at) gmail.com. Twitter convos are hit and miss–I’m leaving notifications up, but not much else. Facebook–well, it’s not like I put much up there anyway, right? I suck at social media.

And let’s hope for a Happy Dance post on Monday or Tuesday that the darn thing is gone to beta.

Filed under: writing Tagged: author quirks, finishing, mm romance

Conversations With My Editor

I do seem to have a lot of these…

Me: sends (amusing) snippet of Work In Progress to tease editor

Editor: You realize that every time you send me stuff like this, I have complete mental images of you snickering madly and talking to yourself while camped out in your office.

Me: Umm, did you have a camera installed in my office?

Editor: Editor: all-knowing

Needless to say, I get undressed in the dark now. Just in case.

Filed under: Conversations With My Editor Tagged: lol, weird things editors do, weird things writers do, writing

Tuesday Tickle: Bite Me Later

Back to near the beginning of the story. I should be turning this in by the end of the month. I added another chapter today, so we’re at 22 now, and looking to finish out at something close to 72 or 73 K. Which, as anyone who knows me can tell you, probably means that the final manuscript will be closer to 80K.

Every time I touch these things, they get longer. (Go ahead and giggle. I did. :) )

So, after the bite, before the ‘everything else’:

Trevor followed Zachary’s orders to the word. There were never any fewer than four people in the cabin with Levi, and he was never left alone, even in the bathroom. He was fed, often, and sent to bed whenever he showed an inclination to roam.

“Rest. You’ll need your strength,” they told him, over and over.

“I’m fine,” he’d growl. At first, they’d just laugh at him and manhandle him to wherever they wanted him. By noon the next day, the laughter had mostly stopped, and by late afternoon, they’d taken to shooting questioning glances at each other every time they redirected him.

By the way, probably the last one for this book. Gotta keep something for later, right? :D

Filed under: Bite Me Later, Tuesday Tickle Tagged: mm romance, werewolves, witches

The Question of Chapter Titles

Some people use them, others don’t. I know one editor of a rather large publishing house who calls them an “author’s conceit” and states she doesn’t like them. Other editors don’t seem to care, or find them amusing.

I’m not sure why other authors do or don’t use chapter titles. Personally, I find them useful, for a number of reasons.

One, because Liquid Story Binder needs an identifier for each chapter or section in a story planner. I could name them Chapter One, Chapter Two and so forth, but with my non-linear method of writing, I’d spend a lot of time renaming chapters as I added others.

Secondly, because I find it helps keep me on target with the theme or emotion of the chapter. It reminds me what I need the chapter to do for me. I can look at the chapter titles and follow the overall progression of the various arcs. I have a chapter called ‘Hunting Grounds’, which is a description of Glyn ‘hunting’ his ‘prey’. ‘Into the Woods’ is the beginning of the story. Levi goes on a camping trip and is attacked by werewolves–the title is both literal and metaphorical.

Thirdly, I usually have an idea before I start a chapter of what I need it to do, but coming up with the right title often helps me refine what it is that I need to have happen during it. Sometimes the title itself requires research that helps me unstick a part of the story, or opens up other, better possibilities for plot points and situations to put the characters in.

And, lastly, I simply find it amusing. I enjoy puzzles–finding a chapter title that perfectly represents that section of the story is a fun test of my brain, my ingenuity, and my memory for random facts and quotes.

I suppose, in a sense, titles are like a mini outline that keep me on track and help me sort out the story before I write it. Which is weird. Does that make them my pantser-outline? Is that a thing? Can it be a thing? Can it also include cabana boys to rub my feet while I puzzle over new chapter titles? Because that would be totally awesome. And probably make for longer books, with lots of chapters.

Because I like puzzles. :)

Filed under: writing Tagged: mm romance, outlining, story structure

Bursting My Little Girl’s Bubble

This post came across my Twitter feed yesterday. (Warning: this piece is triggery in the extreme) It took me three tries to get through it, I was that mad. I wanted to hit someone, to start a campaign against the people who would perpetrate something so degrading without the explicit and informed consent of everyone involved. If I knew who they were, I’d never buy another book that they’d written, worked on, or recommended again.

But it made me think. I have a daughter, thirteen years old. Lucky girl, she got a lot of her father’s genes. She’s taller than me, prettier than me, more outgoing than me. She’s the kind of girl I would have liked to have been when I was her age. She has lots of friends, both girls and boys. It’s been a loads of fun, watching her explore her new relationships with boys and girls. Her excitement about starting Sex Ed made my week.

We’ve had the talks about cyberbullying. We’ve had the talk about older men masquerading online as teenagers. She’s appropriately paranoid, I hope, without being paralyzed by fear. It’s a fine line we have to walk when educating our daughters.

But seeing this post yesterday, watching the news reports of the killings in the US–it’s reminded me that I have one more serious talk to have with her.

I have to educate her about rape culture.

I have to explain to her that all these boys she chats and jokes with, the ones she texts constantly, the ones she giggles about with her friends–they live in a very different world from hers. It’s made more complex because her father was a man to whom the idea of perpetrating force against a woman was so foreign that she’s never experienced that sense of inequality and fear. The idea that a man might look nice but mean her harm is so alien that convincing her of it’s possibility is like convincing a four-year-old that there really is no room in the back yard for a pony. But it’s what I need to do.

I need to teach her that if she goes out with a boy, he may mistake ‘no’ for ‘maybe’ and uncertainty or politeness for ‘yes’. And he may subsequently become deaf to anything after.

I need to teach her that she is absolutely allowed to say no and make it stick. And that no one has the right to tell her she has to do something if she feels uncomfortable or unsafe.

I need to teach her that she has to choose her clothes carefully, because the first question that will be asked if she is assaulted is not “Who did this to you?” but “What were you wearing?” or “Did you lead him on?”

I need to teach her that she can never leave her drink unattended, or accept an already opened one, especially if there are a large number of people around.

I need to teach her that if she does make a mistake and gets roofied, or experiments with alcohol and gets drunk, that she can’t count on friends being there to save her from any more serious consequences.

I need to teach her that at least some of her female friends will turn on her, because something like sexual assault is frightening and they need to convince themselves that they have the power to prevent it. Regardless of the sad truth that these assaults have everything to do with the man and nothing to do with the woman.

I need to teach her that even if everything goes well and her assailant is convicted, it will likely be her that has to change schools, leaving behind all her supports and everything she knows, because his friends and some of those who once were her friends will make her life miserable. And the stigma and the questions and the innuendos will follow her.

I need to teach her that none of this is her fault if it happens. That there are steps she can take to reduce her risk, but that she can never entirely eliminate it.

I need to teach her that she should not stop living her life because of all this, nor should she mistrust all men, though that would be the easiest and safest route to take.

I hope she already knows that I will love her with all my heart, no matter any of this.

I hate this. I hate this with a passion that curdles my stomach and brings my Irish/French temper boiling to the top. I hate looking at my boys and knowing they are automatically suspect. I hate that all men have to be painted with this brush because there is no sign or signal or test for this, short of being assaulted. It’s not like we can pin a special licence plate to their forehead to warm potential dates. Or dip them in

What do we have to do to teach our boys to be trustworthy, so we don’t have to teach our girls not to trust?

Filed under: rant Tagged: motherhood, rape culture, teenage girls, trust

The Great Interactive Wall of Penises

Peni? Is my Latin showing? Here’s a link to the article, which contains several videos. I, personally, think this is the best of them.

The best part of the article is where they mention it can be programmed to show fluctuations in the stock market. I’ll leave the jokes to your fertile minds.

Filed under: Random Weirdness Tagged: 12 year old humour, 3d printing, really weird art, what will they think of next

Tuesday Tickle: Five-Alarm Blaze

My firefighter, paramedic, genie short. Lol. The Erotica writers of Absolute Write are at it again–another anthology to support the forum. This time, we’re working on the colours red, blue, green, and black. I’m thinking about throwing another one in for black, but it’s a side-story from something else I’m working on and I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet.

So, Cody doesn’t know he’s purchased a genie in a dusty old bottle. He washes it and…

“Damn soap.” He rinsed the bottle off, dried the stopper, and braced it between his knees. This time, the stopper slid out easily. Too easily, because he nearly punched himself in the face. Standing straight again, he turned the stopper over and frowned at the foggy crystal.

“Well, you didn’t think I was going to let you open it while it was in the sink, do you? That would be all I’d need—a century of being stuck in my bottle, ended by the equivalent of a biblical flood. With soap. Yuck.”

Cody dropped the bottle and spun around. The bottle hit the floor, but instead of breaking, it bounced twice and settled sturdily on its base. He looked up from that amazing circumstance to see something even more amazing.

Standing in the middle of his kitchen was a man. A short, slender man wearing a bright orange shirt that stopped inches above the waist of his ragged skinny jeans and, incongruously, a pair of two hundred dollar sneakers. His scorching red hair was clipped on one side and long enough on the other to fall over his eyes. The guy grinned and waved cheerily at him. “Well, maybe not entirely a century. Sure felt like it, though. Boring in there.”

Filed under: Tuesday Tickle Tagged: Anthology, firefighter, gay for you, genie, GFY, mm romance, paramedic, short story

Hot Summer Flash Blog Hop

Kate Lowell:

This is a fun little test of your writing prowess and a chance to tell one of those stories that didn’t fit into the novel or novella when you wrote it. Open to everyone!

Originally posted on velvetpanic:

The House of Manlove, our critique group, is hosting a Hot Summer Flash blog hop.

We are looking for Flash M/M Romance of 1200 words or under with one or both of these themes:

Fourth of July: The Freedom to Marry (established couples)


photo credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via photopincc

Midsummer Madness: (summer flings)


photo credit: henke via photopincc

You do not have to be previously published. Your story can be about established couples in a universe or setting from your own previously published work or WIP.

We do not want scenes or excerpts. We’re looking for story with all the story elements, and that elusive Flash ending that makes you laugh or nod your head or go “awww.”

Click the link below if you would like to accept this invitation. I’ll send you the badge and answer any questions you might have. I’ll also get a…

View original 21 more words

Filed under: Uncategorized

Conversations With My Editor

Me:

I think I’m doing a Neil Gaiman here, but promise me you’ll help me fix this pile of sh!t into something that resembles a coherent story?

Editor:

1) I promise.

2) It’s not a pile of sh!t.

3) That applies regardless of which story you’re talking about.

The amount of hand-holding and encouragement editors do is awesome. Which means that editors are also awesome. I know mine is.

Filed under: Conversations With My Editor Tagged: author nerves, mm romance