Because I Know You’re All Dying of Curiosity, Here’s What I’ve Been Up To

I had big plans for the fall. But we all know what happens to such things, right? I was going to edit LUCKY and publish DIRTY TRUTHS by the end of the year, and I totally though I could do it. I was all “Yeah, I don’t need sleep. Fuck it, let’s do this shit.”

But then I remembered that I am human.

The amount of time required to prepare LUCKY for publication next year, and also edit, publish and market DIRTY TRUTHS, prepare pre-marketing shit for LUCKY, work so I can feed my kids, and you know, have at least a slight resemblance to a life, required more hours than actually occur in a day. So DIRTY TRUTHS is temporarily on hold. I might even query it again. I’m not sure. Probably. Maybe. I’ll let you know. My query letter and synopsis suck ass, so it may never happen due to my ineptitude at such things.

Yes, I use big words like “ineptitude.” Hot, right?

I’ve been quiet over the past week or so, because I’ve been working on the first round of edits for LUCKY. Yes, I said first round. I nearly fainted when the editor tagged the email “Lucky, first round edits.” I was all, “Is this like boxing? I can’t go 12 rounds or however many rounds boxers have to go. Can we quit if I lose consciousness? What are the parameters exactly?” Apparently there will be three. The editor assured me that the first is usually the worst. It involved story and characterization, and she suggested a subplot I hadn’t considered. It meant adding 10,000 words and going through line by line to add tiny details to weave the subplot through the main plot, and I swore and cried and might have chanted a few curses, but you know what? The changes are fantastic. I am so glad she suggested them. The book is 100 times better after the changes.

Also, I wrote “that” over 900 times. 900. Let that sink in for a minute. Okay? I cut those down to about 200. You really can remove “that” from most of your sentences and not lose meaning.

And I have a book two. Well, I already had a book two. It was supposed to be Nefarious, which features Gavin, the demigod bastard child of Dionysus and a human, who gets Eris, sister to god of war, Ares, all hot and bothered, and who pisses off Tisiphone, one of the furies, but it was suggested by the editor that Dionysus should have his own story first. You know, the story that resulted in Gavin’s birth.

Duh.

Why didn’t I think of that? I don’t know. Anyway, I’ve written about a third of Nefarious. It’ll have to wait as I plan to write Dionysus’s story, which is not yet titled. I’m thinking of “Magnetic” or “Beguiling” or even “Seductive.” No? I don’t know. It’ll come. The titles relate to a trait belonging to one of the main characters. Not sure if I’ll use Dionysus or his love interest, Sarah. What’s a word that describes a person who out-charms a charmer? I do not know. That’s why I ask.

So, that’s almost done and then it’s on to round two edits. My fingers are crossed I’ll see a cover soon. I’m really anxious to see what the publisher comes up with. I trust they won’t give me Fabio, but there’s always that chance. Thanatos is not Fabio-ish. He’s more… he’s just not Fabio.

Other than that… Kurt came home last weekend. While I missed him, I kind of became set in my reclusive ways, and his presence this week (he didn’t start back to work right away) has been an adjustment. Okay, I’m cranky and he just has to breath to annoy me. The other night, he was doing something with his mouth when he should have been sleeping. I didn’t say anything for at least ten minutes, but then I snapped. He was all “Fuck, it’s a free country. I can do what I want in my bed.” I was all, “Just stop making noises.” The next day he bought me shoes and a giant box of tampons. I needed the shoes, so that’s good, and a girl can never have too many tampons I suppose. I’m ignoring the implication that I might be hormonal. It’s not that he does anything wrong, he’s just… in the way. Also, sometimes he irritates me on purpose. I don’t like that.

But everything’s getting back to normal, or as normal as shit can be in this house. I’m eager to get cracking on the second novel in the gods series. I also have this old manuscript to rewrite. I stopped mid-way through that when the edits for LUCKY arrived. It’s bugging me that I haven’t finished because I think I came up with a brilliant way to rewrite the story. I’ll get to it. Soonish I hope.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. You may all go back to your lives. I know it was horrible waiting and wondering.

 

Tagged: editing, life, Lucky, mood swings, Nefarious, publishing, writing