Liana Brooks

So... that happened...

2012-01-28T21:48:00.005-05:00

To say this week hasn't gone as planned is an understatement. My scheduled induction turned into a c-section when Baby flipped around and went breach with the cord wrapped around her neck. My scheduled departure on Friday afternoon was pushed back to Saturday, and then pushed back to Sunday when Baby suddenly lost one too many ounces. And that whole idea of getting to sleep the night before I left for home? Yeah... that's not happening at all.

This is what we call Real Life. The completely unplannable, worst-case scenario version that means rescheduling and readjusting your plans for the foreseeable future.

Stuck in the hospital torn between crying in frustration and giving in to the crazy and watching something on MTV (one of the few stations the TV here gets... in our hurry out the door the DVDs came with us but the laptop stayed at home until Friday night) I've been reading. Good fiction is better than drugs.

I'm sitting here, stressed out, panicking, in pain and I found myself joyfully sucked in to the world of Miles Vorkosigan as I reread YOUNG MILES by Louis McMaster Bujold. There's something about watching Miles' crazy mis-adventures that I find soothing. Maybe it's just the idea of Forward Momentum, when everything is teetering on the edge of certain failure you just keep running forward on the lip of the catastrophe curve.

Before I started in on my reread I finished the latest book in the CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA series - CAST IN RUIN - by Michelle Sagara. It's a down to earth high fantasy that caught my eye only because it is so different than the standard epic fantasy. With a few word changes the Chronicles could easily get shelved with sci-fi. You have to love a series that manages to have more than the standard fantasy stock characters of trolls, elves, and dwarves. And, you know, as stressed as I was during the emotional drama of Wednesday, I had no trouble being swept away into another world.

That's the magic of fiction, and genre writing in particular. A book isn't just a distraction, or a way to fall asleep at night (and if you ever say that you use my book as a sleep aid I will cry for hours - I really will!). A good book takes you to another world. It lets you ask all the what-ifs and experience all the adventures from the where you're sitting.

A good book gives you a new perspective. This week, I had days where I desperately needed a new perspective. I just needed to get my mind off my stress. The situation was out of my control and my mind was stuck in panic mode. I needed a reset, and yoga was definitely out of the question. A few good books did more for my blood pressure and panic than any medicine down in the pharmacy. That's a clinical statement, by the way, we tried a long list of medicines trying to calm me down Wednesday night and I now have a long list of medicines that don't work on me.

So that's where I'm at, buried under twelve thin blankets in a hospital room on the Gulf Coast with a tiny newborn girl sleeping on my chest. At 6 pounds 11 ounces she's my second biggest baby, and she's still in preemie clothes. And... she's waking up looking for her next meal. I'm going to go feed my baby and read another book. :o)
- Liana

The newest addition to the Brooks Clan. She needs an online nickname still, so drop some suggestions in the comment box.

BLOOD ORCHIDS by Toby Neal

2012-01-26T09:00:00.004-05:00

January 2012 Amazon Digital Services in tandem with BookSparks PR
Novel
Review Copy (Kindle)

Important Stats
Genre Crime Fiction/Murder Mystery
Re-Readable yes
Recommend to a Friend yes - if they like scary stuff with a psychological twist
If This Book Were a Movie it would be a major Oscar contender with a cast of unknowns who just found their way to stardom.

The Blurb

Hawaii is palm trees, black sand and blue water— but for policewoman Lei Texeira, there’s a dark side to paradise.

Lei has overcome a scarred past to make a life for herself as a cop in the sleepy Big Island town of Hilo. On a routine patrol she finds two murdered teenagers—one of whom she’d recently busted. The girl’s harsh life and tragic death touches a chord with Lei, and she becomes obsessed with the case. The killer is drawn to her intensity and stalks her, feeding on her vulnerabilities and toying with her sanity.

Steaming volcanoes, black sand beaches and shrouded fern forests are the backdrop to Lei’s quest for answers. She finds herself falling in love for the first time—but the stalker is closer than she can imagine, and threads of the past are tangled in her future. Lei is determined to find the killer—but he already knows where she lives.

My Thoughts
Don't read this book at night. Don't read it with the doors unlocked. Don't read it when someone might unexpectedly walk up and touch you on the shoulder because you'll scream.

Crime fiction ranges from cozy mysteries with cats to noir crime fiction, and BLOOD ORCHIDS is anything but cozy. Not quite noir, and avoiding the gore that would throw it into the horror genre, BLOOD ORCHID is sand-between-your-toes realistic crime fiction. Author Toby Neal is a mental health therapist and it shoes in the writing, the mind games and psychological horror of this are worthy of the best in the genre.

-- The Good --
Even if you can't afford a vacation to Hawaii you can go visit with this book. The author incorporates the details of the islands and the culture seamlessly with the page-turning plot. This isn't a book you can put down. The pacing is excellent, the characters realistic, and the action is intense. The main character's POV is perfectly juxtaposed with brief commentary from the antagonist, and that only ups the ante.

--The Bad--
If you're looking for a cozy murder that safe and slightly humorous, this isn't the book for you. BLOOD ORCHIDS is dark. There are layers of this book that touch on some of the most painful and heinous crimes of the human race. The only other complaint I can see is with the names, which are authentic Hawaiian names and not the usual Anglo-Saxon, Biblical derivatives you see in most contemporary fiction. For people who don't like non-standard names or are unfamiliar with the Hawaiian culture, this may be a stumbling block. A pronounciation guide at the beginning wouldn't have gone amiss, but I don't think the names will be enough to turn anyone away from the book.

Who Should Read This Book?
Anyone who loves crime novels, shows like CSI or NYPD, or wants a feel for what it's like to work an intense murder case. Fans of True Crime novels will appreciate the realistic feel of BLOOD ORCHIDS and sci-fi/fantasy fans looking to branch out into contemporary fiction will find the intelligent characters in an exotic setting appealing.

AUTHOR BIO

Toby Neal was raised on Kauai in Hawaii and makes the Islands home after living elsewhere for “stretches of exile” to pursue education. Toby enjoys outdoor activities including bodyboarding, scuba diving, photography and hiking as well as writing. A mental health therapist, she credits that career with adding depth to the characters in the Lei Crime Series.

The Anxiety of Writing a Sequel by Susan Jane Bigelow

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

I actually never set out to write a sequel at all. My first book, Broken, was supposed to be a stand-alone novel which would allow me to purge my brain of those characters once and for all, and get down to the business of writing Serious Literature about People Coming to Terms With Stuff instead of adventure stories about superheroes. But then I got an idea about one of the side characters, and started typing out a scene. By the time I resurfaced from my writing trance, I had the dim sense that I'd begun my second novel. I finished the rough draft about a year later.

It went through all kinds of ups and downs. At one point, after I'd waded through rejection after rejection for Broken, I tried to graft the two books together in the hopes of creating a Frankenbook that was somehow more salable. It didn't work and I separated them out again. I added characters, and took them out. I changed some of the characters beyond recognition. The books sold, and revisions changed them even more. You know, the usual process.

But sequels, I learned, can be different animals from stand-alones or first books. One thing I had to keep in mind was the relationship this book had with the one that had gone before. It turned out I'd casually established several things in the first book, like the spelling of certain organizations and a few throwaway bits of chronology, that loomed surprisingly large in the writing of the second. Also, because I hadn't planned on a sequel, there wasn't a lot in the first book to foreshadow the second. This may not seem like a big deal, but Broken's protagonist can literally see the future. This could get awkward. I added a few things during revisions for Broken and promised myself that when I wrote the next sequel I would do this better (I did).

I also had to make sure that I stayed consistent when it came to timeline, characterization and other things mentioned in the previous book. This became even more difficult when I started work on the third book in the series, The Spark. I kept digital copies open and left myself notes about this or that. It's a lot to keep track of. I still suspect I may have missed a few things.

There's also lots to worry about. Because the books are running in sequence, it's easy for readers to compare them. What if they don't like the new one as much as the book(s) that went before? What if readers don't like the way characters develop? I get anxious about book releases anyway, and it's just going to get worse with two sequels coming out this year (The Spark is coming out in November).

But writing sequels is also immensely satisfying in a way that writing stand-alone books isn't. It's amazing to further character arcs set up in previous books while exploring all kinds of new territory. Best of all, when readers tell me how happy they are to see the return of specific characters I feel like it's all worth it.

Now I have to figure out if I want to write even more books in this series! Trilogies are nice and neat, but I keep having more ideas. I do suspect that I'm not going to be getting around to Serious Literature any time soon, though, and that's just fine. I'd rather write science fiction adventure stories anyway.

***

Susan says... I'm a librarian, mostly, but I also write. I write on what might be called “a range of topics,” from politics in Connecticut to memoir-ish nonfiction to science fiction/fantasy stories and novels. I’m in my 30s and live in northern Connecticut with my wife and cats.

My first novel, BROKEN, was published this January. You can find more of my writing every week at the awesome Connecticut political website, CT News Junkie, where I write political opinion and analysis for the Nutmeg State. I also write monthly pieces (and sometimes reviews) for 30pov.com, an online literary magazine. From 2005-10, I wrote for and operated the Connecticut political blog CT Local Politics.

I also like biking, reading, walking, Doctor Who and all kinds of other things.

Deadline Met!

2012-01-23T15:35:00.002-05:00

Excuse me while I collapse into a babbling heap of brainless babbling. The edits for EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE are done and off to the editor.

People, never ever EVER schedule a deadline to coincide with your due date. Seriously. I can't remember the last time I've done something this crazy, and I've done some pretty crazy things over the years. But spending the last twelve hours doing a final read through checking for new typos while I time contractions and wondering if I'll have to finish the manuscript while I'm at the hospital? That's a new kind of crazy.

On the bright side, several of my regular readers, friends, and Tweeps have survived to the final round of editing. As have a few inside jokes that only I may appreciate. I should probably make blog buttons or t-shirts for the survivors: I Survived A Liana Brooks Novel!!!

As an added bonus, trying to figure out some tricky back story for EVFIL led me to start writing the full story of how the main characters met. With any luck, you may see this (currently untitled) project someday. I'm having a lot of fun playing with this superhero universe and I might just stay awhile.

Cover Art Reveal for EVFIL Coming Soon!

Help an Author Out !

2012-01-21T10:34:00.003-05:00

No, not me. I'll be begging for love and attention in April when EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE hits the virtual shelf. Today I want you to help some authors whose backlist is up for sale after lying dormant in the land of Out-of-Print.

This is a BIG DEAL!

Out-of-Print can be the death knell for an author. Books slip away, they're off the shelf, hard to find, and all the time and energy the author spent writing, editing, and marketing that book is nothing more than a memory.

Lowenstein Associates, the lit agency that has the talented Meridith Barnes, is bringing back their authors' out-of-print work as e-books at reprint prices (think the three dollar range).

So, help an author out. Go splurge on this little lost treasures. Who knows, you may find a favorite new author!

Deborah Camp (A mix of contemporary and Old West Historical romances...over 40 coming in the near future, but here is a list of 10 or so available now)
Lorena Dureau (Historical Romance: American Colonial South and West. Very Sexy)
Dan Streib (thrillers with a James-Bond-meets-Anderson-Cooper main character)
Barbara Keesling (her too-hot-to-blog nonfiction is here, here, and here)

P.S. Blog, tweet, FB, or otherwise share this info and you can get a free query critique from Meridith. Check out all the details HERE.

Bushels of Pink

2012-01-20T12:48:00.004-05:00

Time to donate some blankets...

I'm currently playing the waiting game with Baby and trying some of this "bed rest" the doctor has been recommending for the past three months. Really, it's "waiting for the in-laws to arrive so I can have the baby" combined with "too sick too see straight because I have a head cold" but we can pretend I'm being good.

The good news is that the first round of content edits for EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE are done! *throws a party* I'm doing one final read through and sending the manuscript back to my editor before I collapse from exhaustion. And... I've seen the preliminary cover art for EVFIL. You're going to love it! Expect a full cover reveal sometime in February.

But now for the important Friday Question: What should I take to the hospital?

I have bags packed, and I feel like I need a sherpa! Surely I'm over-doing it somewhere. Do I need books, a laptop, AND movies? How many books do I need? What movies should I watch while tied down by IV?

With Bambino I brought the entire VATTA'S WAR series by Elizabeth Moon to read, which became very surreal when I was drugged up and couldn't remember what space station I was on (true story - me and sleeping pills have a very odd relationship). Because of my medical history I know I'll spend a good three days lying in a hospital bed. Three days of sleep sounds great in theory, but in practice it's boring as watching paint dry unless my iron levels dip and I get to sleep the whole time. Funny thing about hospitals, they usually don't let the anemic patients go without iron... So I'll have energy and nothing to do!

Suggestions? What movies and books should I pack?

Seven Myths of Being a Published Author by Pippa Jay Green

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sure there's probably more than seven, but these were the keys ones that seemed to come up after I announced that I was going to be published. If you can think of others please leave them in the comments and maybe I'll do a 'Seven Myths Part Two' sometime. :D

1. You'll be rich and famous like JK Rowling or Amanda Hocking.
Very few authors achieve fame and fortune. I'm not sure of the stats, but the majority of published authors are relatively unknown except to their small group of fans. And rich? No. If you aren't a writer, you'd probably be shocked at how many authors actually have to work elsewhere for a living and write as a 'hobby'. I'd love to make enough to be able to stay home while my kids are still at school but it's unlikely. I have another year before my youngest starts full-time school, and then I'll be job-hunting. :( Most new authors are lucky to sell over a hundred books in their first year. Imagine - your e-book sells at £5 and you get £2 from that. £200 in a year? Well below the minimum wage, isn't it?

2. Once the book is written your job is over.
Ha! Unless you're with one of the big publishing houses, you'll have to do some, if not all, of your own book promotion. And even if you do have help with promotion, it makes sense to do some yourself. This doesn't have to mean paying out lots of cash on advertising. Social media makes it a lot easier to get your name and your book 'out there.' But you need to be careful. If you're using things like Twitter and Facebook, don't just pour an endless stream of 'buy my book' or similar posts onto them. I've unfollowed people for that. I'll stick with you if you mix your sales pitch in with blogs on interesting things. It doesn't have to be much. The odd link to something else, a funny picture, a news article. Think of it a little like a date but with the first kiss being to sell a copy of your book. Get to know your followers. Entertain them. Flirt a little. I have to confess I've used social media to actually ... well ... socialize! It's too much fun for me to see it as business.

3. Why isn't the book coming out until next year?
Sigh. Okay, it's taken me 18 months to get my first book written, edited, submitted, rejected, re-edited, polished, resubmitted and contracted. And I've been lucky! Now I'm starting the editing process, and the projected release date for Keir is May 2012. Why? There's a whole mess of things going on until then. The cover design, editing, formatting, more editing, lots of to-ing and fro-ing, and then even more editing. Being a UK author publishing in the US, I’ve had some very entertaining US tax forms to fill in. Applying for the copyright takes three months alone. And behind all that, I have other projects I want to write/submit/self-publish/promote. I have three kids to care for, and I'm on a promise to edit a fellow author's book. After Christmas I'll need to start promoting Keir. Even though the sequel is written, it needs a major overhaul and editing. All these things EAT time. And don't get me started on all the social media stuff that I need to keep on top of (besides being able to spend some quality time with friends and family).

4. Writing is easy.
Oh yeah? Okay, so maybe when that first blinding flash of inspiration comes and you have no distractions and plenty of time then, yes, it's easy. But in the real world? Writing takes work and practice, the same as anything else. You can't sit and paint like Picasso if you've never used a paint brush in your life. Unless you’re a genius of course. And that first splurge of words may be easy, but weaving into a whole, coherent story and editing it into a masterpiece is HARD! A popular quote that I see from authors on Twitter (and that I've used myself) -

There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith.

5. Writers are a special breed - I could never write a book.
Um, I certainly don't think there's anything special about me. Not unless sheer pig-headedness counts. It's said that there is a book in everyone, and I believe that. It's whether someone chooses to spend the time writing that book, working at their craft, and then polishing it to be fit for publication. I don't know why it was such a compulsion for me to write, and to keep working at it even when the 'I suck' demon sat on my shoulder and mocked all my efforts. It's like being a musician or a painter or someone who rescues animals. It's your passion - the one thing you want to do above all others. I don't believe anyone will look at me and go 'wow, an author!' In fact, friends have introduced me to their friends and announced 'BTW, Pip's an author', a comment which is usually met with blank stares.

6. All the characters in your books must be based on people you know.
Well, to a degree, yes. But you won't find my friends and family in my books. To be honest since most of my characters 'live' in my head, most of them are going to be based on me. Not because I think I'm that wonderful, but because it's easier to project aspects of my personality and my reaction to things onto my characters. A writer can't help being influenced by the things around them, but generally I don't put any specific happenings or people into my work. Not consciously or deliberately. (And referring to point one, I wouldn't be worth suing for it either!)

7. You have to have an over-active imagination to be a writer.
I've always said that I have one, but I don't think it's a requirement. Do you dream? Have you ever told a fib? Have you ever exaggerated? The old 'it was THIS big' fisherman's tale? Human beings are generally creative in one way or another. My husband isn't a writer, but occasionally he'll come up with an interesting twist or plot suggestion when I'm struggling. I don't think you even need to be a prolific reader in order to write, although it helps.

Did knowing (most) of these put me off the process? No. Very little short of complete disability or death would stop me WRITING. So far it wouldn't stop me submitting either. Do you find these facts a little daunting? Would you rather not know? I'm very grateful to the people who told me what lay ahead if I aimed for publication, and I hope this helps a few others to prepare for their own journey. :)

Pippa Jay

Stop SOPA

2012-01-17T22:07:00.001-05:00

Apologies to those waiting on the post by Pippa Jay Green. The 18th is the SOPA protest and this blog is going dark.

Pippa will be here bright and early on the 19th. :o)
-Liana

The Winner of THE FAIRYTALE TRAP by Emily Casey

2012-01-17T11:17:00.005-05:00

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat with Emily and enjoy the blog tour! It was wonderful having you all here. You picked some crazy fairy tales to get trapped in (Bluebeard? Really???), but that's okay, I'm letting a random number generator pick the winner.

Each person who commented was given one entry, numbers correspond to the order of commentary, Emily does not get to win a copy of her own book (sorry, Em) so her comments were not numbered...

And the winner is IASA!

Send me an email so I can send out your book. :o)

Still want a free copy? The next stop on Emily's tour is KAT'S BLOG, be sure to stop by for another chance to win, and for a free tutorial on how to make a Book Trailer.

Why Writers Are Off Their Rockers by Emily Casey

2012-01-16T09:05:00.003-05:00

Emily Casey is the author of THE FAIRYTALE TRAP, excellent Twitter company, and when of my local writing buddies. Welcome to the blog!

Thanks for letting me write on your blog. I’m really excited to be here! (I love this blog.)

When I tell people I’m a writer, the response I get is usually pretty positive. People think I’m creative and ambitious. I’ve even been called “cerebral” and “literary” before. This is very flattering, but I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut after that. Like George Costanza, I’ve learned to leave on a high note, because it’s all downhill from there.

Because if I open my mouth again, someone’s going to realize the truth: I’m actually insane.

It’s true. By most standards I think many writers are certifiable. Think about it. What do writers do? We sneak off to be alone where we can play in fictional worlds we’ve created. We literally entertain ourselves with figments of our imagination. And that’s not the worst of it.

Have you ever heard a writer talk about their characters? Let me give you an example. The main character in The Fairy Tale Trap is a teenage girl named Ivy. She’s spunky, sarcastic, and I think she’s really funny. But that’s not to say that I’m funny for writing her dialogue. No, no. Ivy came up with that. The words came to my mind as I was writing. I can’t take credit for that.

I’ve talked to my husband about how Ivy has been such a big help to me. “She changed me as a writer,” I’ll say. “I owe her at least a few books. Ivy deserves it.” (My husband, who is very supportive, usually doesn’t reply when I say things like this. Bless him.)

Writers sometimes have conversations WITH their characters, as if they were right there in the room with them. This can be done silently, within the writer’s mind; by writing the conversation out; or yes, even by talking out loud to the non-existent character.

Aside from characters, writers build worlds. Some of us go all-out and develop governments, religions, histories, languages, dialects, new forms of transportation, costumes, and species. Then we try to picture ourselves in these worlds and try to understand what it must be like to live there.

Then there’s plot. This is probably the scariest part of all. Imagine a story where the character gets his way all the time. Everything goes right for him, everything happens exactly as he planned. Sounds boring, right? A good story needs big problems. Cue the craziness.

The first draft of The Fairy Tale Trap, for example, was incredibly dull. During revision, I had a really hard time coming up with ways to shake things up. So I turned to a writer friend of mine. He writes thrillers, so I knew he would know how to bring disaster upon my characters. He gave me an idea that led to a huge problem for Ivy. When I was done, Beast wasn’t friendly any more. He had become a monster inside and out, snarling and snapping and generally trying to kill the other characters. And it was wonderful.

Seriously, if you follow writers on Twitter, you sometimes get some strange tweets. Like:
“I’m killing off a few characters today. It’s a good day.”
or “Let’s see her get out of THIS one.”
or “Dodging bullets, sharks, poison…what am I missing? I know! I’ll take all the oxygen out of the room!”

These are not the tweets of a normal person.

So next time your tempted to have a chat with a writer, consider this: You might not want to dig too deep.

Bonus Giveaway! Tell us in the comments what fairytale you'd like to be trapped in and one lucky person will get a free copy of THE FAIRYTALE TRAP!

The next stop on Emily's tour is KAT'S BLOG, be sure to stop by!

Maternity Leave

2012-01-14T07:51:00.003-05:00

I'm posting this in advance, it is not an announcement that Infanta has arrived.

The blog is going to be on auto-pilot from now until February 15th while I finish edits for EVFIL and prep for the arrival of Baby. Enjoy the guest posts!

Update Your Bookmarks!

2012-01-13T11:02:00.004-05:00

Prepping for the release of EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE in April I've gone and done something Very Adult and bought my own domain name.

I feel a little official now. I've gone from blogger to um... domain name! Eventually that means I'll hire someone to build a website for me, but let's not rush things just yet.

Happy Friday the 13th!
- Liana

ETA: I've just signed up for the St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop being organized by Carrie Ann Ryan. I'll be giving away an ARC of EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE and a pair of crazy St. Patrick's Day socks (or a gift card for SockDreams if green knee-highs aren't your thing - winners pick).

Unquenchable Thirst - a guest post by J.A. Beard

2012-01-12T08:35:00.003-05:00

Writing consumes me.

I stand at a street corner. I wait, my hands in my pockets, for the signal to change. As my thoughts drift, they settle upon different people who don’t really exist: a young Regency Englishwoman who cares more about scholarship than getting married, a teen forced to move far from her home, a tense enchantress. I can’t help it. These fake people dominant my idle thoughts. Only my family holds more sway in my mind.

The pattern repeats no matter where I am. If I allow my mind to wander, it keeps going back to these characters and others. Some are fully articulated with detailed histories and personalities. Others are the barest hint of an idea. They coalesce into plots, and those plots become stories.

These stories weigh upon my mind, and I begin to think them through, to experiment. I begin to ask myself questions. What if a certain character was placed into a particular sort of situation? Will my new plot idea seem interesting? If magic came into the world in the 18th century, how might that change things?

When the ideas crystallize, it’s time to put fingers to my keyboard. While I can use spare time during my busy day to think over my stories, typing up a story, let alone editing it, takes time. With a spouse, two children, and two jobs, there’s not much time left for writing. So I sacrifice the only thing I can: sleep.

It’d be easier if I didn’t want to write these stories. It’d be easier if I didn’t care, but I can’t. Writing is an addiction and an unquenchable thirst. I need the high of putting out a chapter, the satisfaction of making a fictional construct seem real. It’s too late for me now; the only way to stave off the thirst is to keep writing.

_______________________________________________________
J.A. Beard is an author of paranormal, fantasy, and historical fiction.

The first product of J.A. Beard’s writing addiction, THE EMERALD CITY, a young adult modern urban fantasy take on the Wizard of Oz will be released at the end of January. A WOMAN OF PROPER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, a Regency paranormal romance, will be out in mid-February.
J.A. Beard can be reached at bms.beard@gmail or at riftwatcher.blogspot.com.

Which would you choose: Star Trek or Wall-E? by Sarah Belliston

2012-01-10T09:07:00.002-05:00

Pretty obvious choice in my mind. I'd take intergalactic community over wandering in space any day.

Now think of this question: which are you more likely to believe is going to happen?

With NASA wrecking children's dreams of being astronauts and the prevalence of this I'm not holding my breath for captain Kirk.

And yet I want to hold my breath. I want to believe that the Jetsons is possible and not just because I want the hairdo machine.

I don't want to resign to the fact that Earth's natural resources will run out some day. Or that with the way things are going government is going to regulate my intake of sugar and make me run every day and tell me I can no longer waste my time in pursuits that do not benefit society. Basically I don't want to end up in a dystopian (how is this not a word in spell check, yet?) novel.

The trend of dystopian is winding down, thoug htere are still some great ones coming out. And based on the recent book sales I've heard of, I'm going to say 2013 is going to b e the year of YA Sci-Fi. I for one am thrilled, and I know I'm not alone in this. It's been far too long since Ender's Game (PSA: It's going to be a movie!)

I'm excited to see a new generation of writers imagine the future and give the scientist something new to think about. (Like revisiting molecular transportation.) And I can't wait for teens to geek out over solar systems instead of sparklely vampires. I love Edward as much as the next Twihard, but even Meyers has moved onto aliens by now.

But more than anything I'm excited to stop feeling depressed about a future where we are controlled by media. I'm ready to be optimistic for a future where the brightest minds make up amazing things.

What about you? What Sci-Fi book are you looking forward to?

Sarah Belliston received her BA in English from Brigham Young University. She lives in Kansas City with her husband, daughter and mother in a never-big-enough apartment. Sarah's at the beginning of the road to publication with her manuscript Conduit, which she blogs about here.

Who Owns Your Genes?

2012-01-09T10:08:00.005-05:00

Guess what? It's not you.

More than a quarter of human genes are patented, that means the belong to the patent owner.

The United States Congress has this to say from the Department of Commerce: United States Patent and Trademark Office (1-5-01)...

When Congress enacted the patent
statutes, it specifically authorized
issuing a patent to a person who
‘‘invents or discovers’’ a new and useful
composition of matter, among other
things. The pertinent statute is 35 U.S.C.
101, which reads: ‘‘Whoever invents or
discovers any new and useful process,
machine, manufacture, or composition
of matter, or any new and useful
improvement thereof, may obtain a
patent therefor, subject to the conditions
and requirements of this title.’’ Thus, an
inventor’s discovery of a gene can be the
basis for a patent on the genetic
composition isolated from its natural
state and processed through purifying
steps that separate the gene from other
molecules naturally associated with it.

Don't worry about getting a bill, if you're healthy. But if you want genetic testing for something like the BRAC1 gene that's linked to breast cancer? Yeah, that's going to cost you.

One company - Myriad Genetics - holds the patent on BRAC1 and BRAC2 genes. No other company can experiment with the genes or find a cheaper testing option. The lack of competition means the price of testing will stay high, well out of reach of the average American.

And, before you attack someone, this is currently being discussed in the Supreme Court with very valid arguments for why gene patenting is a Bad Idea.

What's worrisome at this point is that anyone actually thought this was a Good Idea at some point. Take the whole idea to its logical conclusion:

"We own your genes! By the way, you owe us... um... let's call it one million for sharing that genetic material of ours with your Significant Other last night. Oh, and you need to pay rent on gene ABCD3, or we're going to chemically extract it!"

That's a plan worthy of a Batman villain. And someone set up the law so it could happen.

I have a new proposal. All law makers and scientists should be required to read science fiction before doing anything. We'll call the class Worst Case Scenarios In Science, and then make them take a course in bioethics. Trust me, the fiction authors of the world have all thought out the extreme consequences of scary science. It makes for great books, but not for an ideal reality.

Now, knowing you don't really own your own genetic code, would you like to comment (there may or may not be a fee for using your brain).

The model of DNA appears courtesy of the Image Library of Biological Macromolecules based in Jena, Germany, and was found at the UCalBerkely website.

SFR Brigade Pitch Contest: Show Dr. Charm Some Love

2012-01-07T11:13:00.003-05:00

EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE is in preliminary heat 1 for the SFR Brigade Pitch Contest.

Go show the good doctor some love, and read the pitches for some other fabulous SFR novels.\

P.S. If you LEAVE A COMMENT with constructive criticism about the pitches you'll be entered to win a gift card for $15 from Amazon. Make sure you have your say, even if it is tearing my pitch apart. (I still love you.)

A Really Quick Question...

2012-01-05T19:56:00.003-05:00

Where do you like books to be set?

Do you prefer books set in a fantasy world, on other planets, or in cities you know?

Some of this will be determined by the genre you're reading, but I'm curious, how much do you notice where the story takes place? Do you like being immersed in the character's world, or would you rather the author content themselves with glossing over the fine details?

Minor Characters

2012-01-04T08:58:00.001-05:00

Minor characters make or break a book.

Feel free to quote me on that. I am an unabashed Minor Character Lover. I'll read a book for the first time for the plot and main character, but if I reread a book it's for the minor characters. All those little side characters that people tend to forget.

Authors tend to make one of two mistakes with minor characters:
1) To Many Minor Characters
2) To Few/Underdeveloped Minor Characters

If the author has dozens of minor characters who are fully fleshed out you wind up not with minor characters, but a huge cast of lead characters. The reverse is just as off-putting, a smattering of underdeveloped, poorly written, cardboard minor characters who the author threw in as an after-thought can ruin a book.

But a good minor character... ah... now that's worth reading.

What Makes a Good Minor Character

Has a Purpose - Good writing doesn't have fluff, likewise, a good minor character isn't there as a Token Character. A well-written minor character will have a reason for existing in the book, contribute in some way to the plot.

Has Their Own Story - The reader will only see hints of this, but a well-written minor character will have their own life, their own dreams, their own history separate from the lead characters.

Has a Goal - Even if the goal is to find a quiet spot to sleep on the job (Nobby Nobbs anyone?) a minor character will have a goal. Goals and ambitions keep a plot moving forward, every character needs an ambition or they will drag the pace of a novel down.

Has a Personality - The running joke for old sci-fi shows was that there was always one person whose sole job was to repeat what the computer said. Some authors turn their minor characters into nothing but a second copy of the main character, it's terribly boring, don't do that. An interesting minor character will have their own thoughts, and if they're lucky they'll get to voice them a few times.

Has a Life Span - This is a major issue I have even with well-known authors, and it's usually something that comes up when an author is writing a series: A really interesting minor character is introduced and then they die. Or - worse- they vanish from the series without comment. That isn't a character, that's a prop. Don't confuse the two.

If you hadn't guessed, Gimli is my favorite minor character from the classic literary canon, but I have others. What about you, which minor character do you love?

The image of Gimli is obviously from the movie and found on Google. Copyright to all the artists involved with those amazing movies (except Return of the King- I may never forgive Peter Jackson for butchering Faramir's character). Special thanks to John Rhys-Davies for living up to all my childhood expectations of what Gimli should be.

Meeting Emily Casey

2012-01-03T09:35:00.005-05:00

Emily Casey (THE FAIRYTALE TRAP) and Me on New Year's Eve 2012

Forgive the terrible lighting, and the blur, I need a new camera...

I'm an extrovert. I know you never would have guessed that from spending five minutes near my (over-active) Twitter feed, but I am. This explains why I love meeting new people, especially new people who understand that peculiar brand of insanity that comes with writing. Admit it, anyone who encourages the voices in their head is just a little out of touch with reality.

I ran into Emily on Twitter, and it turns out that she and a few other authors I chat with regularly live in the same general area I do! Go me!

After some arm twisting (and a promise of fireworks) I convinced her to come over with her family for New Year's Eve. So! Much! Fun!

The party was kid-safe, but still crazy with five families and fifteen kids running loose. We had two authors, a would-be author who hasn't committed yet, a psychologist, and an avid reader all running loose. We discussed books, lots of books.

Authors really do make the best friends. :o)

And, yes, I am THAT short. I wasn't joking when I said I was tiny!

Have you ever met an author in person? Was it at a signing? A convention? At a local restaurant? Were they as awesome in person as you hoped?

Still Alive!

2012-01-02T23:31:00.003-05:00

I feel like I need to check in, but I don't have time for a real blog post today.

I'm still alive! Still editing. Still pregnant. In my free time ( go ahead and laugh) I'm working on some blog posts for you. I even have a Science in Fiction post planned, I'm just swamped at the moment.

Keep an eye out for guest posts and giveaways later this month!

Looking Ahead to 2012

2011-12-31T10:07:00.002-05:00

The New Year is peeking around the corner. For some of my readers on the other side of the International Date Line 2012 may have already arrived. With the new years comes new goals. The standards are to lose weight, be a better person, or win the lottery. I'm not bothering with that.

Losing weight is a given, I'm having a baby in 2012! I may not be a size two in 2012, but a size two wouldn't be a healthy weight for my height so I'm not worried.

Being a better person is a vague goal. By whose standard should I be better? How do I measure progress? Unless there's a concrete, measurable standard the goal is just wishful thinking.

As for the lottery, well, I don't play the lottery so making a goal of winning it would be hypocritical and impossible to accomplish.

Instead, I'm setting some writing goals, and you can help me accomplish some of them! (Aren't you excited? No? Scared? Yes, probably.) My only requirement for goals this year be that they are concrete and measurable.

#1 - Hit All My Deadlines
Easy enough, but still a goal. I have a book under contract now and I want to finish all the edits by the deadlines my editor assigns.

#2 - Query JANE DOE
Again, I expect to hit this goal before mid-summer, but I'm giving myself a year to accomplish it just in case things get dicey in real life.

Note: This does not mean "find an agent" or "sell JANE DOE" all it means is that I will send queries. I can't control what agents or publishers do. And, as always, I have a back up plan if the query angle doesn't work out.

#3- Write JANE'S SHADOW
I want to have a complete draft of the second book in the Jane series by the end of 2012. I have a partial draft and an outline now. I might be able to write and polish JANE'S SHADOW this year, but it will depend on outside factors, like deadlines for EVFIL and what happens with JD.

#4- Write Another SFR Novella
This is a "Just For Fun" goal. I have several ideas of what I would like to write, and I know at some point I'll want a break from Jane. This is my fallback-for-sanity writing project.

#5- Schedule a Blog Tour for EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE
This is where you can help! EVFIL comes out in April (provided I don't run into any major SNAFUs), and promotion makes or breaks a book. Copies will be going out to reviewers, I intend to do giveaways and have a party on the blog, but I'd also like to take the book on tour and promote it around the blogosphere.

This means networking and planning, two things I need to work on. It also means that if you have a blog, and are looking for a guest author in the March/April time frame, I'd love to help you out. ;o)

If you don't have a blog you can help out by visiting the blogs where I'm touring. Everyone needs groupies, and other bloggers love the extra visitors that guest authors bring in. So grab your most atrociously matched outfit, a fruity drink, and come play tourist when I go on tour!

What are your goals for 2012?

Looking Back on 2011

2011-12-30T13:43:00.004-05:00

First off... WHEEEEE!!!!

EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE is off to the editor! First round of edits are complete!!!!

*happy dance*

Second, for the life of me I cannot find a post from last January where I made goals for 2011. I'm not really surprised by that, I moved twice in 2011 and there's not many situations more stressful than packing things up and moving across the country when you're trying to write on a deadline.

Even without the goals, 2011 turned out well.

I started the year with a vague idea of what I wanted, and part of a rough draft, for JANE DOE. I'm now on the eleventh draft and getting ready to query. That's not fast, not by any stretch of the imagination. Most authors who are publishing finish two books a year (rough draft to polished final product). The self-published authors who are doing well are doing two to four books in that same amount of time.

JANE DOE is also the first novel I've taken this far in the editing process. Hopefully, I'll get better at this and be able to write more than one novel a year!

When 2011 started EVFIL wasn't even an inkling of an idea. I played with the opening in the spring, and started writing it in the summer for the Samhain Superhero Anthology. I didn't get in, but it did sell and I've finished the first rounds of edits (I may have mentioned that already). For an unplanned project, that's not too shabby!

A year of editing has helped me grow as a writer, I think. I'm using commas accurately the first time, I'm catching aspects of the plot that won't work earlier, and I'm using my editing/writing time better. Not perfectly, but better.

Overall, I think 2011 was a productive year. I didn't conquer the world, but I'm moving in the right direction if I want to build a writing career.

How was 2011 for you?
- Liana

In the Dungeon

2011-12-26T11:10:00.002-05:00

With an editor comes a deadline, and I'm working on one. EVFIL is due at the end of the week, so I hope you'll forgive the lack of updates while I make my book even better.

- Liana
Dungeon stock by JackyStock of DeviantArt - used with thanks!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T12:09:00.002-05:00

Mele Kalikimaka, Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova, Natale hilare et Annum Faustum! Hristos se rodi, Feliz Navidad, Milad Majid...

However you say it, I hope you had a wonderful day. You don't need to celebrate to enjoy a season that involves a metric ton of holidays (I will happily celebrate all the winter holidays if there's good food involved) and food (did I mention I like the food?)!

I strongly suspect that our ancestors were just looking for an excuse to use up the old apples and have a party in the middle of the long winter nights. What else was there to do? It was too cold for a good battle, too mucky for gardening, too depressing for dancing... feast days were the appropriate answer. I can picture leaders of various cultures getting together over the centuries and muttering the same phrase, "Ye gads! I'm bored! What should we do tonight?"

Since world domination was out of the question the answer was: Really Big Parties... maybe with presents? Doesn't that explain so much? I think it does.

Hopefully it means you woke up to shiny presents this morning. If you're Mom and woke up to some cute drawings, a new pair of socks (I'm writing this on Christmas Eve and guessing), and a partially eaten cookie than you may need to provide your own presents. May I make a few humble suggestions?

A Gift To Everyone: Respect - You don't have to agree with someone, or even approve of what they're doing, to respect them. People are going to make choices that make your eyes cross, let them. Look for their good points, and agree to disagree when you need to.

A Gift To Yourself: Acknowledgment - Acknowledge that yes, you have a choice. We all have our bad days where we get trapped into the belief that we have no options. Unless you are sitting in jail reading this, yes, you have a choice. And if you are reading this from prison it's because of a bad choice along the way (yours or someone else's). If you don't like a situation, change it. Make a choice.

A Gift to The Future: Education - Donate books to the library, volunteer for a literacy program, sponsor a child's education, help someone prep for the college entrance exams, discover a new species... encourage education for everyone.

A Gift to The Planet: Hike - Get out of the car and explore your native habitat. You'll never save something you can't appreciate. Stop halfheartedly recycling cans when it's convenient and start learning to love nature. Then go plant a garden.

A Gift to The Homeless: Love - Donate some time to Habitat for Humanity. Have a sandwich and water bottle in the car for the guy on the corner. Volunteer with a shelter or food kitchen. Adopt a homeless animal from the shelter, or donate some kibble to your local No Kill shelter.

A Gift to Your Friends: Listen - Everyone needs someone who accepts them as they are, and we all have the bad habit of turning our friends into our Rant and Whine Sounding Board. Whine less, and listen more.

A Gift to Your Loved Ones: Forgiveness - No one is perfect, let go of the grudges. Have a proper funeral for them. Write the grudge out on a piece of paper and bury it, or burn it on the bonfire. If you love someone, you look for the good in them.

A Gift to Your Significant Other: Encouragement - Happy couples all have at least one thing in common: they make each other better people.

A Gift to Your Children: Time - More precious than gold, video games, and cookies... time. We never seem to have enough. Make sure you make the time to talk with your children and listen to what they say. Draw with your teen, play cars with your toddler, turn off the TV and be there physically and emotionally. They need it, and so do you.

A Gift to Your Pet: The Vet - Yes, puppy hates the vet, he still needs his shots. If you love your animals you will see they have a healthy diet (that means meat for your local carnivores) and regular visits to the vet for shots and check-ups.

A Gift to Your Health: Garden - It doesn't even have to be a vegetable garden. Seeing fresh flowers in the morning is a proven mood booster. Grow some herbs for cooking, or some flowers for cheer, or some veggies for dinner. Plant something!

A Gift to Social Networking: Think - Seriously, it's a social forum. Before you hit send on that tweet, comment, or FaceBook post consider what you want to say. Then spell check. I mean it, "teh" is not a word. Do not use it. Or else.

One Last Gift: Life - Learn first aid, donate blood, become an organ donor, take a self-defense course. You don't need spandex tights and a cape to be a hero.

Happy Winterfaire, and a Merry New Year!

JANE DOE - Deleted Scene 2

2011-12-23T22:28:00.003-05:00

Some days you have to kill your darlings.

Every draft is an evolution of sorts. The characters mature from rough caricatures of people into three dimensional individuals with their own thoughts and needs. Every time I fine tune a scene I find little pieces of the original draft that no longer fit, like dust leftover from the remodel it needs to be cleared away. Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes I agonize long and hard over cutting a scene.

In JANE DOE there have been some false starts as I've tried to work out the relationship between the two main character: MacKenzie and Samantha. The first deleted scene that I still miss is this here. I loved that scene! It was so MAC in so many ways. He's just a little socially awkward and repulsive, or he was, during the early drafts.

Mac has grown up. He has issues, those haven't vanished, but instead of a relationship (and rehab) that moves in fits and starts his addiction and recovery have come to span the entire book. This "morning after" scene no longer fits. Not that there was much to remember from the night before, but here Mac honestly doesn't remember how he spent the night....

Yawning, he shuffled to the bathroom, flipped on the light, and froze. The room smelled like woman, floral, flirty, and promising. Mac turned on the shower and stepped into the freezing shower of water to clear his head. There was a purple bottle next to his soap.

He couldn't imagine what had possessed him to buy a bottle of shower gel. He checked the label: Midnight Promise. The ad on the back promised the smell of summer gardens at midnight with a hint of wonder and seduction.

"They got the wonder part right." He washed quickly, watching the bottle in case it did something unwarranted, like produce a genie. You never knew with girl stuff.
The door creaked open.

Mac opened the shower stall slowly. "Hello?"

A huge head poked through the door at hip level. Add two more heads and the monster grinning at him could have guarded Hades. Hoss walked in, stuck his snout in the shower, and jumped back with yelp, flopping water and drool all over the bathroom, and on Mac's semi-clean towel.

"This yours?" Mac nodded to the purple bottle.

The dog just smiled.

Probably not then. He abandoned the towel and headed back to his room, dripping water. His phone buzzed again: three car wreck, eleven bodies to examine, the coroner wanted him in an hour ago. "Yes, got the wakeup call." He tossed the phone on his bed.

On his way out Mac got sight of a slight body curled in the fetal position on his couch. Rose. His hands shook as he pulled on his rain jacket. A lifetime ago he would have had the right words, known how to help. Call in sick to work, pull her into his arms, fight her battles for her. Slay a dragon. Save the day.

Photo courtesy of and copyright to Martin Haburaj. You can find his work, including the photo of Lucy HERE. She is almost exactly what I picture Sam as, although she's a little tall.

Even Villains Fall in Love - Coming This Spring From Breathless Press!

2011-12-22T20:56:00.004-05:00

I sold EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE!!!!

It's official, the contract is signed, and I have deadlines! Breathless Press is publishing EVFIL in late spring of 2012!!!

I have a real deadline! A non-self-imposed deadline!!!!!

*I need to stop with the exclamation points*

I'm just a teensy bit excited. You guys are going to LOVE this book so much!

This means I may vanish into the editing cave for a bit, or start weeping over impossible deadlines, or just drop off the face of the planet all together as I try to put this all together, but the pay off will be worth it. EVFIL will be amazing, and you will love it!!!

The Quantum Parallelograph

2011-12-21T12:57:00.002-05:00

The Quantum Parallelograph from Patrick Stevenson-Keating on Vimeo.

Guess what just got added to my base research for JANE DOE? Is that too much of a hint?

Subtle-Hints-R-Us!

I love the idea of getting a look at what could-have-been. What if you didn't say yes to that boy? What if you didn't say no to that job? What if you'd gone out that one night? You know the one. We all have a night like that...

Sometimes we get to find out. Sometimes, it's not pretty.

“On our way to the impossible, we might just find something eminently doable.” – NASA

This website has more information on the quantum parallelograph if you want it.

Why She Went Traditional...

2011-12-20T11:13:00.002-05:00

Roni Loren had a guest post earlier this week on Anne R. Allen's blog entitled Why One Author Chose Traditional Publishing--And How to Decide if it's Right for You...

I've been sitting on this over the weekend debating my thoughts on the process. Self-publishing is gaining ground, and I find I approve of it much more than I did a year ago when it was still untested (at least in my mind). I now know several authors who have done very well with the self-publishing route. I know even more authors who have dazzling careers with the small presses. When I first looked into publishing e-queries were almost unheard of. Now? There are some agents who don't take an e-query but they aren't at the top of my list.

That's why I really appreciated Roni's take of traditional publishing.

Do I need validation? Maybe not. I've seen my name in print. I've writing awards* for non-fiction (that's my dark shadowy past with skeletons in the closet so let's not go there). As a writer, I'm confident in what I do. More to the point, I like what I write and I don't need someone to agree with me to feel that way. Call it a point for self-publishing.

Deadlines? I love deadlines. It's a holdover from my dark and shadowy past. I like the structure of deadlines. I like planning my life out months ahead. A point for traditional.

Marketing? We all do marketing regardeless of how we publish. I consider this a null.

Genre? I can write cross genre, but the bulk of my ideas are sci-fi. I'm happy there. A point for traditional.

Flexibility? I consider this a null. Contracts usually apply to one genre or one length. I haven't heard anything about traditional authors being restricted from publishing short stories or novellas in other genres away from their agents and editors. I've seen them do it, in fact. If all else fails... Name Change! It worked for Kim Harrison/Dawn Cook.

Speed? This is where Roni caught me.

Indie publishing favors the fast writer. The more backlist you have, the better chance you have for making a good living. If you can bust out a quality novella in a month, then the thought of waiting 12-18 months (the normal publishing turnaround time for publication) may seem interminable.
I am a slow-ish writer--though I'm steadily improving. My deadlines are set up to have me finish a 90-100k book in 4-6 months. And that's a fast schedule because my books are going to be released every six months instead of once a year. If I was indie publishing, I wouldn't be getting anymore than two books out a year anyway, so the traditional publishing schedule doesn't hinder me any.

I am not a fast writer. I can write a 75,000 word draft in a month, but it takes me a year to edit. I spent five months writing and editing EVFIL. I've been working on JANE DOE for over a year. Waiting six months for a query response is a waste of time if I'm twiddling my thumbs. If I'm hustling to write and edit JANE'S SHADOW? All of a sudden six months isn't nearly long enough.

For me, this is a big point in favor of traditional publishing.

Control? A mother of four does not have time to be a control freak. At least I don't if I want to retain my sanity. I love the idea of delegation. Have you ever read the book THE FOUR HOUR WORK WEEK? The whole idea is that you delegate out to the experts rather than wasting your time (and thus losing money instead of earning it). You have to balance what you are worth in an hour against what it would cost to do something in that time. Designing my own cover art and being a control freak is not cost effective.

At the end of the day, writing is my job, it isn't my life. For me that's an important distinction. When I edit I have a team of beta-readers. Yes, they're my friends, but they're also people I can rely on to tell me what works and to do their job without my hovering over their shoulder. I'd rather have a competent team of experts to work with than try to DIY everything. Traditional publishing works for me.

Roni's article helped me settle my opinions. Where I'm at right now, both in my personal life and in my career, traditional publishing is the best route for my novels. Does that mean I'd rule out everything else? Of course not. I'm not here to burn bridges.

I'll spend 2012 trying to find a home for JANE DOE. If I get no interest by 2013 I'll look at why I can't get interest, and reevaluate. At that point I'll also have JANE'S SHADOW done and be working on the drafts of CHASING JANE, which will set me up nicely for self-publishing if that's what I need to do.

Nothing is set in stone in this industry, but now I feel confident with the choices I'm making. Thanks, Roni!

*Small writing awards from the local newspaper staff. *sigh* It turns out the skeleton in my closet is made of plastic. Isn't that heartbreaking?

Friday Random

2011-12-16T09:58:00.002-05:00

It's almost 80 outside and I'm tempted to grab the kids and hit the beach. Very tempted. It's a half-day at school too...

These are the sorts of distractions you deal with when you're a writer close to the equator. Seasons tend to breeze past in a matter of weeks. Spring, summer, autumn, winter, and then we roll right back to spring a week later. The peas in my garden are blooming and the yard smells of honeysuckle. And they'll probably all die come Sunday when the frost hits, but for now everything is beautiful and spring-like.

In writing news...

EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE is getting an edit. I'm expanding the ending a little, possibly adding a new scene or two. I'm in debt to my beta-readers who gave me such wonderful advice, and who were willing to pick it up over the weekend and help me with edits once again. You guys rock!

JANE DOE is hanging tough right around that 85k mark. I've spent the week shuffling scenes to tighten the timeline. The changes are cosmetic for the most part, I want to balance the two main plot lines a little better. No word from the beta-readers yet to tell me if it's working or not.

In baby news...

I am 33 weeks pregnant today, and on target to meet my 2012 New Year's Resolution of having a baby. I'd like Youngest to arrive in January, not December. This means extra time lounging in bed and no rock climbing, even with a safety harness. It also means I'm lining up guest posts for January and February. I'll update you with the big news, but Science in Fiction, Publishing, and On Writing posts will be on hold unless something really grabs my interest.

This also means I'm looking for new books to read while I'm stuck on bed rest. If you have a title to recommend, hit me with it in the comments section.

In other news...

It looks like 2012 will be a quite year here at the Brooks' Ranch. Hubby's new job is going to keep us here for at least another year, if not several. The kids are all adjusting well to our new house. Even Dog has forgotten his fear of non-carpet floors long enough to venture out to the dining nook and grab scraps. I'm planning a spring garden and looking forward to a quiet year without packing, moving, or significant travel.

2012 will be the Year of the Query. Unless something derails my current plans (see: pregnancy news) I intend to query JANE DOE this year. Depending on how that goes I'd like to write and begin editing the second book in the series. I'm also planning on writing/editing/querying two novellas in 2012 and a non-JANE novel.

I'm not tying myself down to any of those projects because I don't know how the querying and editing process will turn out for EVFIL or JANE DOE. If the stars align and books sell before July I'll be working on a deadline and other projects will become secondary. I know some authors (Rachel Caine, Ilona Andrews, Rob Thurman... just to name a few) can write over 5k a day. I'm writing this blog post with Bambino on my lap, and my word count is rarely over 2k a day, far less if I'm editing. Since I've never tried juggling an official deadline with writing new projects I'm nor sure it's feasible. Work under contract needs to come first.

On the other hand, if everything moves with the glacial slowness that we've come to expect from the publishing then I'll have plenty of time to edit, write, query some more, and cover my bases by writing something out of the JANE series.

So... what's your random?

Burning a Hole in Time

2011-12-15T19:24:00.003-05:00

I love it when a plan comes together!

In this case, I've been searching for the perfect mechanism to explain part of JANE DOE and JANE'S SHADOW, namely the machine everyone wants to use and that Sam winds up dismantling (temporarily). And thanks to our (semi-)reckless friends in Europe a laser capable of ripping apart the fabric of space/time in search of extra dimensions is being built!

The Extreme Light Infrastructure Ultra-High Field Laser is a grouping of ten lasers that will produce 200 petawatts of energy. I'm not sure what the Death Star produced to blow up a planet, but any evil genius worth his diabolical laugh is looking at the ELI project with interest.

Will it work? I haven't seen the original plans and don't know enough about lasers to venture a guess.

Will it destroy the Earth and all life as we know it? Call it a gypsy's intuition, but I'm going to say no. The laser is producing a ton of energy, but only in a short burst and a confined pin point area. I don't recommend stepping in front of the laser, but if you stay an arm's length or better away you should escape unscathed.

What if the Gypsy's Intuition is wrong? That, dear reader, is what we have the wonderful realm of fiction for. After all, in what reality am I ever wrong?

Enjoy your scheming!
Liana

P.S. A gold star to anyone who knows where that opening quote comes from!

Falling in Love With the Indie Press

2011-12-14T21:57:00.004-05:00

I don't understand why the Indie presses don't get more love. Part of the problem, I suppose, is that too many people don't know what an Indie press or author is. Conversations tend to look like this:

@NewAuthor - I'm an Indie Author! Buy my book!

@Me - That's great! Which press did you publish with?

@NewAuthor - Press? I'm an Indie. I used Smashwords.

@Me - o.O You mean you're self-pubbed... That's cool too. Link?

@NewAuthor - [link] But I'm Indie, really.

I usually run and hide at this point because someone who doesn't know publishing terms probably can't figure out spell check, and I just don't want to go there.

The root of the problem is the stigma against self-publishing. There are still people who think Self-Published means "Failure". Several years ago a group of self-publishers rebelled against the stigma, the false assumption, and the name declared themselves "Indie Authors", which was cute, but technically wrong.

It also makes the real Indie Authors very upset.

That's because the Indie presses have been around for a lot longer than people think. They are now, and always have been, the niche publishers. The quiet, small-time presses that specialize in publishing for specific groups. Back in the day the Indie Press was the home of poetry, small literary translations, and books on local history. Now the Indie Press is the reigning queen of the ebook.

Indie is still home of the niche novel, but the still quiet press is expanding. Some of them are destined to be major publishers. Why?

First, the Indie press combines the best of Traditional and Self-publishing: the author queries the press directly (cutting out agents and royalties), the editor works with the author directly, and the turn around from acquisition to publication is often under six months, and almost always under twelve.

Second, the Indie press takes everything, and I mean everything. They've knocked over the magazines and e-zines to publish everything from micro-fiction (under 5,000 words) to mega-fiction (over 120,00 words). Novels, novellas, flash... you name it and the Indie press will eat it up. Traditional publishing has a very narrow range for accepted word counts.

Third, the Indie press has a vetting system and standards. In the world of self-publishing there are some very good books, but there are also books that... well... sometimes you wish the author had run their work past a gatekeeper. Read: I Ain't Your Beta Reader by Krista D. Ball if you don't understand that concept. The harsh reality is that vanity presses (where you pay for someone to publish you) and self-publishing have no control system to keep the crazies out. While a majority of self-published authors are amazing people who write fabulous books, there are always a few that rise up in the Amazon charts because people really don't believe it's that horrible and buy the book just to find out.

Fourth, the Indie press has a support system, and in some cases it's better than both Traditional and Self-Published. When an author self-published they know that's it, they don't have backup, they're going to do it alone. It's part of the decision making process and it usually works out fine, even if it is stressful. Traditionally published authors expect to get support from their publisher, but they don't always see it, especially the midlist authors. Indie publishers are excellent at nurturing new authors, in building brands, and in promoting their authors full tilt.

With all of that in the Indie press's favor it's suprising more authors aren't giving it a try, but I've heard the objections.

"Indie only publishes erotica/romance." - Lie! There's an Indie press for everything.

"Indie books are never printed." - Lie! Most houses determine who gets a paperback depending on word count. Flash fiction and novellas may not be printed, but novels usually are.

"If I go Indie no one will ever read my book." - Lie! Indie authors are doing quite well with the small presses. Feel free to ask around if you don't believe me.

Just flipping through the titles of the books I've bought this year a good percentage of them are published by an Indie Press, over 50% I'm guessing. Of the new titles and authors I've bought (i.e. ones I hadn't read before 2011) it's almost 100%. I have a few self-published titles, and there are some major authors whose series I love from traditional presses, but 2011 has been the Year of the Indie Press for me.

What about you? Where is your reading list coming from?

P.S. I have a big announcement coming soon. If you look around at the pages on the blog (see the tabs at the top) you might just be able to guess!

Holiday Gift Giving

2011-12-13T13:31:00.004-05:00

I'm busy making holiday treats today. There are chocolate-dipped Oreos, spiced pecans, caramels, chocolate-peppermint bark, and possibly another batch of pomegranate jelly to make... A little something for everyone on my list. Which leads me to wondering: What do you do this time of year?

Which of all the holidays do you celebrate? Is there only one, or will you happily participate in any holiday celebration that means good food and friends? (I will!) Are you giving gifts, goodies, cash, or just ignoring the commercial aspect of the season all together?

Whatever you're up to, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season full of warmth, good friends, good food, and good cheer!

Want to Write a Guest Post?

2011-12-12T15:09:00.003-05:00

Things are winding down on the blog, as I'm sure you've noticed. Winter vacation is days away, the winter holidays are looming in the near future, then comes basketball season for the older Brooks children and the arrival of Youngest Brooks.

In between the festivities, feast days, holy days, game days, and birth days I'm trying to sell EVFIL (Note To Self: Write more queries!) and edit JANE DOE. Busy family days mean less computer time, and less computer time means less time for the blog. When all is said and done, the books come first (sorry! I still love you!).

What I would love to see between now and Valentine's Day in mid-February is YOU stopping by and guest blogging. Come by and pimp your book, or talk about science, or whatever.

If you'd like to be a guest blogger I do need a few things from you (none of them signed in blood because I'm nice like that):
- Date you would like to post
- Subject matter for the post
- Date you can have the post to me so I can schedule everything in advance

If you have questions, hit me in the comments section. Otherwise, hit the EMAIL ME button on my side bar and let me know when you want to stop by!

Publishing: Cards on the Table

2011-12-09T14:30:00.006-05:00

Publishing... there is nothing sane about the publishing industry. Probably because all the authors are a little crazy and when you build your business on crazy the end result is going to be screwy. It makes for great books, and horrible business models.

Most of the world ignores the publishing industry, aside from maybe being able to identify what an e-reader is. Don't ask them the difference between Traditional Publishing and Self-Publishing, too many people think the difference is Paperback vs. E-book. Feel free to cry a little over that fact.

For those of us in the industry in one way or another Publishing is a many-faceted alien creature that's always changing shape. We talk about trends, genres, awards, and the Who's Who, What's What of daily life. This is nothing to be ashamed of.

But there's an elephant in the room. A big, pink, furry elephant.

It's not that cute...

The big elephant in the room is seedy, backroom secrets of publishing. The houses that don't pay authors on time. The time lags between getting something signed and getting something done. The forgotten authors who are published in a flurry of forgetfullness and wishful thinking.

I've already talked about The Waiting Game on the blog, and I stand by that. Most of the time lag in publishing is in the editing/writing stages, but not all of it. The sad truth is that Big Publishing is staggering under the weight of tradition seemingly unable to pull their collective acts together and catch up with the 21st century. Some houses are doing better than others, but some seem unable to grasp the basic concepts of email, automated payments, or coherent communication.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has an excellent article entitled How To Make Traditional Publishing Writer Friendly, and if you want to publish traditionally you need to read it. In the article Kristine highlights some major issues with how the game is currently played, including multi-book contracts and breaches of contract some authors are unaware of.

The biggest issue is that authors keep trying to define themselves as artists, but publishing is a business. Take a minute to wrap around your mind around that if you need to (and feel free to argue with me in the comments section). Authors are artists, we create a world, and we're pathetically grateful that someone - anyone! - has taken the time out of their busy schedule to give us some attention. The Publishing Industry is built around the idea the authors will stay humble and pathetically grateful and never realize 1) that they are not artists and 2) that there's no reason for authors to be pathetic, humble, or grateful.

Dude! Turn your ego up to full blast for a minute!

You've spent years working on this manuscript, perfecting every part, aiming for publication, working with one goal in mind and you think you should be grateful that you made it there? Really? How many Olympic athletes train for years, put their best foot forward, run their race, and then blush at the finish line because they're just So Grateful that the referee put a piece of tape there for them to break?

How many of you will go to your day jobs, work your butt off, boost company earnings, and not expect a paycheck? You aren't grateful the boss remembered to pay you. No! You earned that money.

And when you set out to write a book for publication you earn that too. Unless you are scribbling in crayon and trying to submit the book to Smashwords by shoving it in the CD drive, you earned that publication. You wrote the book. You did the research. You edited and polished. And the goal all along was publication. Underline on the word GOAL.

An artist creates art, an author working for publication is a business person who not only creates something wonderful, but also intends to market and sell that creation.

You may now turn your ego back to the factory-prescribed levels.

When Traditional Publishing was the only game in town authors had to suck it up and take the short end of the stick. It's not the only game anymore, it hasn't been for awhile.

Self-publishing is becoming a viable alternative, there are authors building careers in the self-publishing world and making it respectable one book at a time.

There's the small Indie presses, always around, usually quiet, they've made a play for a larger chunk of the e-market and my prediction is that there are several Indie publishers that won't be considered "small press" by the end of the decade. They have the momentum to be major players, and the have amazing authors working with them.

This gives authors leverage. If a contract isn't what an author wants, they have the power to walk away. There are considerations, but you know what, Kristine has it right: authors have the power to negotiate favorable contracts and they need to exercise that power.

As for me, I'm a scientist at heart. I'm self-publishing my short stories, I'm sending my novellas out to the small presses, and I still intend to send JANE DOE out to agents and try for traditional publishing. I'm not dabbling, I'm experimenting. Until I try out all the venues I won't be happy settling on just one. You need to decide what works for you, and don't go into a situation blind. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. If you want to be a Speshul Snowflake artist than sit at home and write in crayon. If you want to be a published author, learn the business, know the industry, and work for your goals.

Breaking and Entering

2011-12-08T17:29:00.004-05:00

It all started when I grabbed the wrong set of keys.

There are two drivers in our house, two vehicles, and two sets of keys for each vehicle so that if one set of keys is lost (because of small children or other mishaps) the vehicle can still be driven. Three of those key rings also have a house key, so that anyone driving around all day can get back into the house later. There is even a fifth key ring hanging up with a bright pink key that only unlocks the house, just in case. All of the keys hang in a neat row on hooks by the back door.

Guess which key ring I grabbed while walking out the door with a screaming toddler in my hands? That's right, the keys to my husband's car that have no house key! I was outside, in the cold, juggling a screaming toddler with useless keys, and already running five minutes late to pick up my girls from basketball practice.

I live several miles from the school, and while we have friends in the area none of them live very close. So I called my husband to let him know I was locked out of the house. I'm a city born and bred kind of girl, I lock my doors. All my doors. And the windows. Locked. Locked. Locked. There was no way I was getting back into the house the easy way.

The toddler screamed, I told my husband to leave work early, and then I tried calling the school so I could let the coaches know I was running late. That didn't work either, the school office closes at 3pm and it was already half-past. I moved to Plan B: breaking and entering.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is always one window on a house that doesn't lock right. I'm not sure why this is the case, but it is. In every house I've ever lived in there has been one window that - with the right force applied at the right angle - will pop open thus making it possible for Teen Me to sneak in after curfew. Or, in this case, for seven-months-pregnant me to break back into my house, grab the right set of keys, and pick up my kids from basketball.

The only real deterrent is the locked in screen windows that aren't meant to be removed. Ever. It may be something to do with the hurricanes that rip through every few years, or maybe it's that someone thinks screen windows will prevent someone from using the window for breaking and entering. PRO TIP: the screen window won't stop anyone.

Dragging the toddler in my wake I confronted the screen window between me and my desired entrance point. Hubby and I have used this window before when a certain young someone (the screaming toddler) had locked us out of the house over the summer. At that time we'd been doing home repairs and had a screwdriver handy to pry the screen out. The screwdriver was now tucked safely in the tool box, in the laundry, in the locked house. I used a broken window shutter instead (P.S. Remind me to tell the landlord the shutters were knocked down in the storm last night).

Five minutes after my initial panic attack I was on the road with a still screaming toddler, a broken window screen sitting on the front porch, and the clock ticking from LATE to THE COACH WILL KILL YOU LATE.

Ten minutes later I was lost.

In my defense, the school my daughters attend is a sprawling complex with a labyrinth of interconnected buildings designed by the offspring of MC Escher and Salvidor Dali. There are not one, not two, but three full-sized basketball courts, two auditoriums that I've found, and two city blocks worth of land. It's a k-12 country school with no labels because everyone else who attends the school had parents who attended the school, and grandparents who attended the school, and possibly great-grandparents who attended the school. The school map is imprinted in their DNA at birth.

Me? I did laps around the school with a screaming toddler on my hip. This isn't the recommended practice when the doctor has ordered bed rest and no heavy lifting. The toddler (who is screaming because he's sick and hasn't quit screaming since 6am if you're interested) weighs close to 30 pounds, that's not fun to waddle laps with, and at this stage of pregnancy it is definitely waddling.

I found the men's basketball team, the weightlifting team, the ROTC crew, the cheerleaders, and a group of fourth graders doing debate but no one from the grade school practicing basketball. Finally I stumbled on a helpful teenager who had the right athletic build, a phone she was texting on, and knee high socks paired with gym shorts: a promising sign when looking for a student athlete. She pointed me to where the hidden basketball courts were hidden. They were empty, but a nice man stopped in his truck and asked what I was looking for.

Look... I'm a married woman and very happy with my life but after fifteen minutes of hiking several miles with a screaming toddler on my hip I was not above some shameless abuse of my good looks. I'm short, but I'm curvy, and there's nothing like pregnancy to add cleavage. Nothing short of a turtle neck is going to hide that fact and my cute v-neck wasn't even trying.

I may have leaned a little.

The nice man gave me a ride, so I can add hitchhiking to my list of afternoon activities. And flirting. And pretending to be a ditzy Pretty Girl, although maybe I'm just naturally ditzy when stressed.

As it turns out, there is a whole section of the school located across a major street. It's the North Campus that I never even knew I existed. And there's a set of basketball courts over there too!

Thirty minutes after I grabbed the wrong set of keys I'd done some breaking-and-entering, hitchhiked with a stranger, and thrown feminism out the window in favor of getting a ride and talking the coach out of yelling at me and kicking my girls off the team. The nice man gave me a ride back to our car, and I drove home with giddy girls and a screaming toddler.

I should be ashamed of myself. I'm not. I didn't have to resort to hot-wiring the neighbor's car. I didn't have a third trimester break down and sit there sobbing for thirty minutes while I waited for my husband to come rescue me. I did get all my afternoon goals accomplished and I had a fun story for Twitter afterwards. That counts as a win.

Achoo!

2011-12-08T11:07:00.003-05:00

Please forgive the lack of intelligent blog posts this week. All three of my children have caught a cold that they ever so kindly decided to share with me. I'm sneezing my way through the edits of JANE DOE Draft 11.

While I'm buried in Kleenex and red ink why not leave me a comment and let me know what kind of posts you want to see over the next month. More writing tips? More Science in Fiction posts? Something else entirely? Let me know!

Cello Wars... Because we all need a day off

2011-12-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

Where am I? That's a very good question. I'm posting the video Sunday night because someone showed it to me on and I love it, so I'm sharing with you. But I am probably anywhere but at home right now (unless I slept through the alarm again). This is one of those weeks where I'm more or less unplugged. I have a phone with me, but free time for blogging and Twitter are limited by everything else that needs to get done this week.

Forgive the lack of blog updates this week while I run around. I'll try to catch up when I have a chance to catch my breath. In the meantime, enjoy some classical music.
- Liana

When Did You Decide To Become An Author?

2011-12-05T07:50:00.001-05:00

Dear Liana,
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Signed,
Curious

Dear Curious,
I don't think I ever actively made the decision to be a writer. I never daydreamed about being an author when I was a child. I didn't scribble poetry during class in high school (okay, maybe a few poems, and a novel). I didn't go to school for a literary degree, and I've avoided reading most of the books that are called Classic Literature.

For better or worse I announced at the age of two that I was going to be a marine biologist. I liked swimming. I liked fish. I liked the ocean. And my parents had just informed me that the role of dragon-slaying heroine was out of the question because not only was Mordor fictional (killing my youthful dream of being an Evil Overlord) but dragons didn't exist either (heart-breaking - I cried all night).

My parents told the story repeatedly (big mistake), and somehow I decided that if I didn't become a marine biologist I would be failing life in some horrible miserable way and no one would ever love me again. Yes, I was a melodramatic child.

The marine biology thing worked out for me. I love science, I love getting messy, I love SCUBA diving, I love sharks, I love working in a lab, and I soaked up my science courses in school like a happy little sponge. All while passing every lit course half-asleep.

I love to read. While I was actively studying science I was escaping into fantasy and science fiction novels, unaware that the reading was a tuition of it's own. When I lost interest in economics class, I started writing stories in the margins of my notebook. I joined the school, and then the college, newspapers. On the good days I was reading a fiction book a day (and on the bad ones I was reading an economics chapter a day - that made me cry).

I graduated with a degree in marine biology, a husband, and a new baby. That isn't the recipe for grad school, not when your spouse already has a job waiting across the country. Keeping the family together meant postponing grad school, and for the first time in 21 years I was adrift. No job. No classes. No beach...

Writing was something I could do while the baby napped. So, in 2004, I started dabbling. At first I was just typing up the stories I wrote in high school. I figured that if I transcribed a page a day I would have a story within a year, and I could edit as I went.

You will never see that story. NEVER.

But once I started, I couldn't stop. I didn't start writing daily until a few years ago, and even then my intentions were half-hearted. I wasn't planning on publishing, I was writing for fun. Then I was writing because I had a fun idea. And then because my friends expected to see something. And then because failing to write meant I'd FAILED (which I hate doing - I'm sure you never would have guessed).

As it turned out, I never *wanted* to be a writer, I just was one. Like being born American, short, or with brown hair it wasn't something I planned on doing, but I woke up one morning and realized I was a writer.

I read a quote once upon a time that said, "If you wake up in the morning and want to write, you're a writer." It's true. The best authors are the ones who wake up thinking about plot lines and characters, not the ones who wake up and say, "One day I'll write a book."

Now, how is that for a long and rambly answer?

Happy writing,
Liana

A Fan Grrl Moment

2011-12-02T13:16:00.002-05:00

Mireya Mayor, the author of PINK BOOTS AND A MACHETE as well as a noted scientist, mother of four (!) is on Twitter! And she talked to me -well - tweeted me, close enough!

I love this about Twitter. More than once I've discussed a book I love with a group of names on Twitter, thinking they were all fans, only to find out one was the author. Scientists, literary agents, authors... they're all on Twitter and I love following the conversations these brilliant people have.

If you aren't on Twitter, or if the only people you follow are people from work, you're missing out. Expand your following sphere a little and find the fascinating people.

The Waiting Game

2011-12-01T07:17:00.003-05:00

Steve Laube from the Steve Laube Agency said a few words about waiting on Monday. One glance and I could hear the Militant Self-Published Mob screaming, "We told you so! This is why you should do it our way!" It makes me cringe.

First and foremost, you should never publish the same day you write "THE END" on your manuscript. Just... don't. There are entire blogs devoted to why you shouldn't do this, most of them run by self-published authors. One draft was enough to get you through a high school essay on a book your teacher has never read, it isn't enough to make readers who have handed over money in the anticipation for a good book.

Second, for every part of the traditional waiting game the self-publishing and Indie Press venues have an equivalent.

Start with the assumption that an author has done everything in their power to make their manuscript beautiful. They've written, revised, run the MS through beta-readers and critique groups, and done a final line edit. What comes next?

Traditional Publishing: Find an agent
Indie Publishing: Find a house
Self-Publishing: Find an editor

But, I hear you stutter, but I already edited! You did. You did a great job. But that Confirmation Bias we talked about yesterday comes into play in editing too. It made sense to you when you wrote it, you know where all the commas should be, and so your brain will miss mistakes even after dozens of readings. Every author needs an outside editor. Not a family member, beta-reader, or friend, but someone who has no preconceptions of the book and no need to flatter you.

The next step for all three is...... WAIT.

Everyone, from literary agent to professional publisher has a life that doesn't revolve around you. No one will see your email and push everything else aside to focus on your problems - er - I mean manuscript. o:-)

Next step for all three... REVISE.

It doesn't matter if you've landed an agent, a contract with a small house, or have sent your baby to a private editor you will be revising again. Maybe more than once. This is not the time to pull your Speshul Snowflake routine and insist that leaving out punctuation has artistic merit.

Next step...

Traditional Publishing: Sell to editor
Indie Publishing: Sign a contract (possibly after negotiations)
Self-Publishing: Find cover art (also includes a contract in most cases)

This is where the smaller houses and self-publisher cut out a step. The number of revisions may be the same, but Traditional Publishing has a two-tiered entrance system. The agents help you stumble through contracts, some which exceed 300 pages if anecdotes from friends are correct (I have no reason to doubt the source). Smaller presses and Smashwords have much shorter contracts. Be thankful.

Next step...

Traditional Publishing: Edit/format
Indie Publishing: Edit/format
Self-Publishing: Format for publication

In the final stages of publication all three forms look eeriely similar. It's a matter of final edits (fixing a typo, comma gone missing, ect) and making sure your manuscript fits the style guidelines for the house, press, or e-book venue of choice.

Next step...

Traditional Publishing: Cover Art and Publish
Indie Publishing: Cover Art and Publish
Self-Publishing: Publish

For everyone but the self-publishers cover art is largely out of your control. Sometimes you get to give a lot of input, sometimes you don't. It varies from house to house and editor to editor.

Next step for all three... WAIT FOR PAYMENT

The argument here is that in self-publishing or with an Indie press you'll get paid monthly. In theory, that's correct. But that theory relies on someone buying your book. With a larger press you're waiting for an advance of some form, and then waiting for people to buy your books. The difference here is that only one of the three is guarenteed payment of any form, and that's the advance from the traditional press.

... I can see you toe-tapping from here, you know that right? You want to know about actual calendar time, not wait-time equivalents.

The thing is, there is no standard. From finished final draft to publication usually takes 1-2 years with traditional publishing, but it depends on whether you're a debut author who needs to find an agent and editor or an established author who already has those waiting. For an established traditional author the turn around from THE END to ON THE SHELF can take well under a year.

The same problem applies to an Indie press. A debut author who is looking for a press will take longer to publish than one who can drop a quick email to their favorite editor and say, "Hey! Look at what I wrote!" I've seen Indie authors putting out a new book every few months.

Ditto for self-publishing. Professional editors are easy to find, but the ones who come recommended have wait times, sometimes over six months of wait time if you've never worked with them before. Once you have a working relationship with the editor that can change. An established self-published author can feasibly publish something every month, although it may not always be a novel.

The real determining factor in every scenario is the author. How fast can you write? How fast can you edit? How fast can you make changes on demand?

Self-publishing is faster, but only if the author is motivated and can put in the work that needs to be done. If you're someone who works better with external motivation then self-publishing might very well fail you.

It all comes down to knowing what's best for you and your manuscript. Do your homework. Find your market. And then sit down and write.

What Makes Scientific Reports Suspect

2011-11-30T07:39:00.004-05:00

There was a link running around Twitter last week that claimed watching FOX News made people less informed than people who didn't watch any news at all. It took me a day to track down the link people were referencing, and just reading it made me want to beat someone over the head with my keyboard, except I like my keyboard more than that.

Ignore the content of the study, that isn't necessarily the bad part. What is bad is what this represents as a whole, from the content of the study, to how the public views the results. If science were a gourmet meal this would be a moldy hamburger with roaches pulled out from under the dumpster. Sure, it's edible, there might even be people who enjoy roaches with their dinner, but it shouldn't have this kind of public approval.

Let's break down why this is Bad Science so that next time you too can tell if something is fact or fiction:

*NOTE* A poorly conducted study that qualifies as Bad Science does not mean the conclusion is untrue, it just means the conclusion is suspect and further research is needed.

1. Source Material
In the case of the FOX News article the source material most people referenced was an article in a rival news source. Huffington Post is usually a good source for news and they cite where they found their story fodder, in a poll done by Fairleigh Dickinson University which didn't just look at FOX News viewers but cited problems with other news sources as well (and praised a few).

For something as trivial as who knows more about the politics in Egypt this isn't a huge deal. I wouldn't ignore this information just because of the news source. But consider more serious things, like the choice to vaccinate your child or not. The doctor who originally published the study was barred from practicing medicine after being discredited, and yet someone will risk their child's life over that study.

When you see something touted as science, be skeptical. Ask for the link and the source material so you can see the research yourself.

2. Buzz Words
Notice the sensational headline "FOX News Viewers Known Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News: STUDY" even though the first paragraph correctly acknowledges that this was not a study, it was a poll. There is a difference.

The use of buzz words isn't new, but it is a little scary. Over in the genetics community people use the word "sexy gene" to describe a hot button buzz-word gene that catches both attention and grant money. Everything for "the depression gene" to "the warrior gene" are researched, although probably not as well as they should be. What garners the attention isn't good science, it's buzz words.

3. Sample Size
This is the biggest problem with scientific studies: not enough data.

In fact, Genomes Unzipped has an entire article devoted to why small sample size is Bad Science. In short, the danger of small sample sizes is that they very rarely have accurate results. A study done with 500 people might show a correlation that ceases to exist when you have a sample size of 5000.

The FOX News poll has a sample size of 612. That might be a good sample size if the topic of study was a rare disease that only 1000 people worldwide have. It is not a good sample size for the category People Who Watch Televised News.

This is really the biggest red flag for Bad Science. When you see someone claiming "90% of Men prefer X to Y!" it's time to ask them what the sample size was. Percentages mean nothing. I can go ask three children if they like to eat Brussel sprouts and get all three to agree that they love them. My research would then prove "100% of children love Brussels sprouts!" Would that be accurate? Of course not. My children are weird. That's the danger of a small sample size.

If you want to see something really scary, consider the original Autism/Vaccine study had a sample size of twelve. Feel free to recoil in horror.

4. Controlling for Other Factors
The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll does get points for trying to control for some factors, they asked which political party the victims/test subjects aligned with. It's a start, but not good enough. In a perfect world researchers are able to control for all possible variables. In the case of the FOX News poll the only controlled variable was Political Party. What they didn't cover was: age, income level, education level, primary source of news, other sources of news, work place environment, and social levels.

The poll focused on what people knew based on what televised newscast they watch, which makes the erroneous assumption that the television is the primary source of news for everyone being polled. Because the poll didn't address where the people were getting their news from, and how much of their news they picked up from conversations at work, online news, social networking, or other sources, it's hard to say how much of an impact the news shows really have.

Not a huge deal because all this will do is confirm some people's beliefs of conservative newscasts while it's ignored by everyone else, but this is a huge factor in other studies.

Take the vaccine example above. Autism is still being studied, there are still some people who debate whether the whole spectrum is one disorder or multiple similar disorders, and it's possible that there isn't one universal cause. Factors considered before the study was published: age, vaccination history, was the kid crazy... The tenuous link formed of the criminally small sample size was that all the children had their regularly scheduled vaccines, ergo the vaccines were to blame.

5. Cognitive Bias
As my friend said when I questioned the FOX News poll, "But I want it to be true!" And why not? A good percentage of the population already believes the headline, so why would they question the research? It simply proves what they've known all along, and a researcher is in more danger of falling victim to this than someone reading the results. This is called Confirmation Bias. People want to prove their prejudices correct and will seek out information that supports their beliefs.

Gosh! Could that possibly relate in any way to our FOX News example? Why, gentle reader, it certainly can. Viewers are most likely to watch a news station that tells them what they already believe, and the researchers (suffering from Experimenter's Bias perhaps) are most likely to interpret the data to reflect what they already believe. Just typing that makes me shiver in fear.

The human brain is not programed to question preset prejudices. When a scientist sees something they automatically agree with they must train themselves to remain skeptical. This is the most insidious part of Bad Science because we do it to ourselves. We see something that supports our way of thinking and don't read past the headline.

Bad Science kills people. Don't be a victim. Don't victimize yourself by passively agreeing with everything that supports your prejudices. Ask questions. If you see a fact thrown out in a discussion, check the data. Don't be content with the fluff news article, skip the hype and go straight to the scientific data. And don't be afraid to call shenanigans.

Questions? Comments? The box is just below, feel free to share your thoughts. All I ask is that you keep it clean and polite, and don't turn it into a political discussion.

Withdrawing Your Work

2011-11-29T08:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I blogged about what to do when an acceptance letter came in, this is part of that post expanded.

Unless you have granted exclusive rights (which I strongly suggest you don't) your submissions for small presses, large publishing houses, and to literary agents will all be done as simultaneous submissions (sim-subs). This means that you will eventually run into a situation where someone wants the manuscript, and more than one person is currently reading the manuscript.

-- If this is a situation where multiple large presses want the manuscript it's time to call in an agent (or at least a lawyer of some form) and start talking advances.

-- If this is a situation where multiple agents want to represent you it's time to work the phones, ask questions, and weigh your options. Talk to each agent about your career and where you want to go, see who is a best fit not just for this one manuscript but for your long-term goals. And if you still can't decide let me know and I'll put you in touch with an author who had four agents vying to help her career along.

-- If this is a situation where you don't have an agent and don't have multiple presses offering to mud wrestle for the privilege of publishing your work it's time to send a Withdrawal Letter.

There are two basic forms, the first is for everyone who has only seen the basic query, and the second is for the people you have already had contact with more than once.

Letter 1:

Dear Editor,

Thank you for considering my [novel/la] [TITLE] which was sent to you [date]. At this time I have a contract offer from another publisher. I look forward to working with you on future projects.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Letter 2:

Dear Editor,

Thank you for considering my [novel/la] [TITLE] which was sent to you [date]. At this time I have a contract offer from another publisher. If you are still interested in [TITLE] please contact me by [next week]. I look forward to working with you on future projects.

Sincerely,
[Your Name and Contact Info]

In my experience this will net you one of two responses.

Response 1: Form Rejection... Don't take this to heart. All it means at this point is that the editor/press is acknowledging that you are publishing elsewhere and the copying and pasting a form rejection on the response is the easiest thing for them to do.

Response 2: Congrats and good luck! ... Usually this message is accompanied by a personal note of some form. "We read this and really liked it, we're glad you found a home for it!" -type of thing. This can come coupled with a polite rejection "I liked it but we aren't accepting Genre Z right now" or stand alone. Again, don't read to much into it.

Possibly there is a third response, one offering you a contract with the other house. If that happens you need to sit down with their offers, compare what's available, and make the most informed choice you can. This is also why you don't sign a contract until *after* you've withdrawn your work from everywhere else.

As always, if you have something to add I'd love to hear from you in the comments section.

The Psychology of Attraction

2011-11-28T16:37:00.000-05:00

If you don't know Livia Blackburne yet you're missing out. She's not only a fabulous author, but one smart cookie (grad student at MIT smart in fact). While I tend to focus on the hard science aspects of fiction Livia is taking a look at the softer side: emotion, psychology, and the meaning behind actions.

Go catch her PSYCHOLOGY OF ATTRACTION series to add some depth to your writing.

What To Do When Your Book Is Accepted

2011-11-28T07:33:00.001-05:00

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer with any experience in publishing at all will know what a rejection letter looks like...

I have yet to run across an author who hasn't either tried querying a manuscript, or at least peeked into the wide world of query posts on blogs (usually followed by a scream of horror and the a solemn oath to only self-publish) during the course of their career. Rejection letters are like bug bites in the summertime, obnoxious, but expected. Acceptance letters are rather like stepping out into a fine summer morning and finding a pot of gold sitting on the front porch. Sure, you see the sparkly pot, but a sane person will walk away, convinced that they are either dreaming or hallucinating.

And while rejection letters rarely garner more than a glance and a shrug from me, an acceptance letter can lead me to question my sanity. When the letter came for SEVENTY I walked away from the computer. I would wander back every hour or so to see if the email was still there, but I didn't actually believe there was an acceptance letter in my inbox. I kept waiting for it to vanish.

Now that I have EVFiL making the rounds, and have plans to kick JANE DOE out of the nest in the near future, a little more forethought is required. These are the battle plans for querying a publishing house directly, literary agents are a topic for another day.

Step 1: Do Your Research Before Querying
You shouldn't be asking yourself if you want to publish with this editor/house *after* they've accepted you. It's your book, weed out all the trash before you send out a submission. Check the credentials. Check the sample contracts. Read books from the houses. Look at the covers they offer.

Step 2: Make Sure You Read the Email Right
Are they offering a contract, or are they asking for an R&R? There's a significant difference there. If it's a Revise & Resubmit you need to decide if the edits are right for you. If the edits are something you are willing to do, edit and resubmit. No other steps are required.

Step 3: Acknowledge Receipt of Offer
Once you've established that, yes, this is a contract offer it is considered polite to send the editor on the other end of the contract and email letting them know you are considering their offer. You don't need to sign anything yet, but let them know you are considering the contract and will contact them within the next five business days (or slightly longer if the contract shows up over a major holiday or when you're scheduled to have a baby... if the editor can't understand why you won't read contracts while having contractions you don't want to work with them anyway).

Step 4: Ask the Pertinent Questions
- How long are you signing the rights over for?
- What rights are being signed?
- How often will you have contact with an editor?
- Does the editor expect to see all your other work?
- When will a publishing date be set?
- When will you get paid?

With any luck you've seen a sample contract, talked to authors from the publishing house, communicated with the editor, or read an FAQ before you sent out your work. If you haven't, now is the time to ask. Most the acceptance letters I've seen (which isn't many but it's the data I have to go on) have an FAQ pasted in the email that will answer these questions.

Depending on what you're selling (short story, novella, novel, part of an anthology, poetry...) the answers will vary. I think anything over three years for rights is extreme and I expect payment monthly or quarterly for novellas and novels.

Step 5: Withdraw Your Submission (it only sounds kinky)
Most acceptance letters will come while you still have submissions with other houses/editors. This is normal. Ideally you will have sent the query in waves with your first pick houses getting the first shot at publishing your material, but we don't live in an ideal world and response times can be anywhere between a few weeks to a few months.

The polite thing to do is send a quick letter to everyone else who has your submission withdrawing the work from consideration. If another editor/house has a partial or full that they are reading let them know you have an offer and ask for a response within the next few days. There will be a post on this tomorrow.

Step 6: Dot your is and cross your ts
Read the contract thoroughly. Ask questions, get clarification, double-check with your writing mentors (friends, beta-readers, writing group, or any other author who has been in this boat before and can offer advice), negotiate anything that needs to be negotiated, be aware of what you're legally obligating yourself to, and sign the contract. Know what the escape clause is in case you need it, but go forward with a firm hope that everything will work out wonderfully.

Step 7: Have a Small Party
You can't announce much until the contract is official and the person on the other end gives to go ahead (saving face all the way around if one of you gets cold-feet at the last minute), but once the contract is signed it's time to celebrate your good fortune in a small way. The big party comes later.

Step 8: WORK
This comes as a surprise sometimes, but unless you've just sold a short story you are going to wind up editing again. Probably more than once. There's promoting to plan, cover art to pick, formatting to be done, and a hundred niggly fine editing details that will turn your pretty polished novel into a stunning beauty that grabs a reader's attention and doesn't let them go.

Step 9: Release Your Book, Throw a Bigger Party, Keep Working
These three all get wrapped up in each other. To start, if you've made it this far and your work has been released into the wild CONGRATULATIONS! That's quite an accomplishment. Second, throw that book launch party and revel in the glory of your finished work. Third, keep working because your new fans will be expecting another book about two days after this one hits the shelves. I know, I'm that kind of reader.

Now grab a writing cookie and get back to work!

Lost in the Holidays

2011-11-26T15:43:00.002-05:00

The turkey was eating, all the fingers licked clean, there wasn't a crumb of pie left to be seen.

The tree was unfurled, the penguins found, and the signs of "Winter Cheer" began to abound.

On with the lights! On with the wrapping! On with the old songs! On with the napping!

Hang up the tinsel! Hang up the bows! Hang all this "Winter Cheer" and let's hit the beach...

...

o.O

What did you think I was going to say? It's 80 outside. I live on the Gulf Coast. The palm trees are wrapped in lights with due care. We have the obligatory stuffed penguin standing in the corner, just there... And if I have to listen to one more rhyming song I will lose my mind! *cue the crazy music*

Whatever your traditions are, I hope you're enjoying your weekend.
- Liana

Anne McCaffery

2011-11-22T22:34:00.005-05:00

At age five I was precocious, an adorable little girl who loved the stories she'd grown up listening to and was stumbling through her first attempt to read THE HOBBIT all by herself. By age seven the stumbling was over and I was in a full on reading rut. If the book didn't have Gimli or Legolas I wasn't interested in the least. The other girls read NANCY DREW, I talked the neighborhood boys into chasing orcs and using sticks for swords.

My parents, possibly alarmed by the fact that my only female role model at this point was a woman famous for killing someone, decided to step in and my father handed me what he probably thought was an age appropriate book. Keep in mind that my parents had some very liberal views on child-raising. It was the 80s, parents were very conscious of things like self-esteem and helping children assert their personhood.

The book my father handed me was DRAGON SONG, about a teenage Menolly who flees her abusive and misogynistic family to live in a cave... Think about that for a moment. From the perspective of a parent I have to wonder whether my parents had actually read the book, or if they just thought dragons were a good segue to get me away from LORD OF THE RINGS.

Whatever they may have been thinking, it worked.

I was hooked on the world of Pern.

When my world turned upside down (a new school and divorcing parents bickering at home) I found refuge in the world Anne McCaffery created. When reality failed to give me role models, I turned to the dragonriders and Harpers (and Eowyn because she will always be the epitome of womanhood). While I watched my parents marriage dissolve I looked for the perfect man in the pages of a book, and found F'nor, brown Canth's rider.

Sure, F'lar and Lessa are the main heroes, but F'nor was calm, quiet, steady and devoted. I have a weakness for secondary characters like that. Faramir is my favorite romantic interest in LOTR. Aragorn? Sorry, I could never wrap my mind around the appeal. Give me the quiet, steady guy who will love his lady from day one and never falter or leave her for stupid reasons just because the plot needs conflict. But I digress...

Pern became my second home. Fantasy was *MY* genre, the place I could retreat whenever I needed a refuge. I couldn't imagine ever reading a book without dragons or elves.

And then I went to the library. Our city library had an upstairs (with kid and reference books) and a downstairs (where all the adult fiction hid). I rarely was allowed out of the kiddy section, but on one chance occasion the computers upstairs weren't working and library check-out was moved downstairs. I was Alice without the drug references or confusion, I'd found Wonderland.

Sitting next to the checkout was a shiny new hardcover with clear plastic taped over it. I'm not sure I even registered Anne McCaffery's name as the author, I just remember the beautiful cover with a white-haired woman. I grabbed the book, and my mother absentmindedly checked it out with her books.

THE ROWAN was my first foray into the untamed wilderness of science fiction and science fiction romance. I devoured the book late at night while my parents fought. A week later it went back to the library, but that book haunted me. It took me years before I found it again (I've never been good at remembering title names), but I found it, and I fell in love all over again.

Anne had other sci-fi hiding in library nooks for me to discover. POWERS THAT BE... ACORNA... these were just names for the gateway to finding other sci-fi authors and branching out into the vast multiverse that the sci-fi universe represents.

Her books influenced my life in a million little ways. From my first discussion about sex with my mother (prompted by a fade-away scene in one of the Dragonrider's of Pern books), to my life-long reading habit, to my preference for complex characters and worlds. All of it started when Anne McCaffery sat down to write a book.

And she never knew.

I never wrote a fan letter. I've certainly never had the privilege of meeting Anne in person. I can't help but wonder if she ever had days like normal authors where she questioned why she was writing, or did she know in some secret way that she was making my life better in so many quiet ways. Surely, a legend like Anne McCaffery had to know. I hope she knew.

Now, if you'll please excuse me, I'm going to end this post abruptly and go cry for my childhood hero. She left an amazing legacy. She wrote more than books, she touched lives. Thank you, Anne, for sharing your world with us. You gave dreams to the dreamless.

Gratitude

2011-11-21T06:27:00.000-05:00

Gratuitous shark photo!!!

Ignore the shark. He has nothing to do with this post or the holidays. I just like sharks. Sometimes, that's all the excuse I need.

The real news is that I'm taking a week away from the blog to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. The Canadians celebrated a month or so ago, now it's the USA's turn. We have very few holidays that don't involve presents or fireworks, and this is one of them. Thanksgiving is a holiday all about food, gratitude, and spending time with loved ones.

My husband and I have an Open Door policy for Thanksgiving, we always have. Since our first Thanksgiving together shortly after we became engaged in college we've welcomed whoever shows up on the doorstep with food and good cheer. It's resulted in day long feasts with a revolving cast of college students, afternoon invasions of soldiers from a local army base who wanted to eat something homemade, and surprise visits from relatives we didn't know were coming. I enjoy the element of surprise.

I'm grateful, even, for a chance to fill the house with friends and strangers. To laugh. To share good food and stories with friends.

The past few months have been exceptionally hectic. I've been editing and writing at a mad clip while unpacking and helping the family settle into our new home. The moments of quiet have been few and far between.

But for this week? This week I am grateful for my free time. The blog will be quiet while I cook and spend time with my family. If you're in the area, stop by for dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Liana

The Dreaded "Yes... But!" - Revise and Resubmit

2011-11-17T17:45:00.004-05:00

When I sent EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE out I knew I was venturing into foreign territory. I'm not a romance author. EVFiL is not a typical romance story. It's the story about a superhero, and it's about romance. But it isn't a bodice-ripping, heaving bosoms, pants on salute romance.

From day one I knew there would be challenges to finding a perfect fit publisher for my novella. The first two rejections confirmed my worst fears. The first rejection was a quick note saying the publisher didn't take romances with married couples. The second was a personal note from an editor who liked the novella, but didn't feel the novella was "hot" enough for their house.

So I wasn't surprised to see an R&R note in my inbox this morning. I was dreading it.

For the rest of the world R&R means "Rest and Relaxation" in publishing it means "Revise and Resubmit". It means the publishing house (or agent depending on the case) likes the piece enough to consider, but wants some work done before they offer the author a contract. In some cases the offer comes with a contract. "If you are willing to change X to Y and add three thousand more words we can sign a contract."

In whatever form, this is a scary thing.

There are R&R horror stories circling through the Land of Authors. Tales of authors asked to change a character's gender or sexual orientation. Stories of authors asked to add, or subtract, half a novel. In frightening instance the author was asked to rewrite her modern thriller as a Regency Romance (she said no).

I've been chewing my nails and waiting for the R&R to come in asking me to add some heat. Maybe an explicit sex scene or three. I dread those two because they are things I won't do. I'm not comfortable writing explicit sex scenes. For all that I write SFR and enjoy the community of authors the "He inserted Tab A into Slot B" style of romance book has never made me do anything but laugh at how awkward it all sounds.

Romance is a lot more than exchanging bodily fluids and working up a sweat. At least, that's my opinion.

This R&R isn't what I expected. The edits are something I'm willing to do. The editor doesn't want me to change the heat level (thank goodness!). Which means it's a matter of editing, sending the manuscript back, and waiting to hear if anyone will offer a contract rather than an R&R.

Which could really make life interesting...

Where are you with your writing? Have you ever gotten an R&R letter? Are there some changes you just won't make? I'm curious, so let me know.

Smiles,
Liana

Just a Little Nudge

2011-11-15T21:42:00.003-05:00

I did something new and exciting today, I emailed a publisher asking why I hadn't heard back from them yet. The website said 2-4 weeks, and I waited an extra month on top of that. But after waiting I finally caved in, admitted it would probably be a rejection, and emailed anyway. Really, I prefer to know these things.

Guess what?

The query was lost. They have no record of it! The editor invited me to resubmit. Total time spent for email exchange and a second query to be sent? Less than six hours.

It doesn't take much to send a nudge.

"Dear Editor,
I am writing to inquire about the status of my submission, [title] by [name] that was sent [date].

Thank you for your prompt reply,
[Your Name]
[copy of original query email]"

Sweet and simple! Best of all, it works!

ETA: I went to double-check and make sure the new query had gone through only to find a full request waiting in my in-box. Being polite and persistent pays off!

How To Use Twitter

2011-11-15T09:39:00.009-05:00

Big companies, stay-at-home-dads, celebrities, royalty, and aspiring artist all have converged on Twitter. It's the big water cooler of the internet. A place to get breaking news live from people who will never paid as journalists, discuss science with strangers, or just catch up with friends. Twitter is a jungle, and a trap for the unwary, so let's go over the rules before the little bluebird leaves you in tears.

1. Get Some Face Time
No one likes an egg. The default Twitter avatar is a little egg, and for most of the Twitter-savvy people out there it marks you as a spam bot. Upload a picture of something: you, your dog, your socks, your book... something! Anything but the egg!
--- Don't know how? Click YOUR NAME in the top right hand corner, then choose SETTINGS. Then choose PROFILE. From there you can upload a picture from your computer and set up your profile.

2. Say Hello
While you're fixing up your profile don't forget to fill out your bio. Make sure it has your relevant information, like your web address and the title of your debut novel coming out in a month. The little things matter.

3. Communicate Effectively
Let's break this down... If you type something in and hit TWEET you have a tweet. If you start the sentence with @SOMEBODY than only Somebody and people who follow both of you will see the conversation. If you send a DM to Somebody than only Somebody will see your message. Know when to use those.
- Tweets are good for general information.
- @ replies are good for direct answers, saying thank you, or asking a question
- DM is best for anything private, personal, or controversial

4. Twitter Is Not For Spam
Too many companies and author hop on Twitter with the sole purpose of selling stuff to people. This includes everyone from the spam bots that list ten names and give a link in the hope you will be dumb enough to click (Pro Tip: Don't click) to the companies that target you if you say their name ("Looking for a couch? Come check out our sale!") to the authors whose entire Twitter feed is devoted to - you guessed it - their book!
--- You can promote your work on Twitter, but keep "Buy my book!" links limited to 3 a day: morning, noon, and right before bed. That way your tweeps in every time zone will get the news, but no one will feel spammed.

5. Share The Love
Did you find something interesting? Hit the Retweet button and share the thought/link/news/whatever. Retweeting is an excellent tool for networking. If someone announces they've just released their new book, published a new scientific article, or done something newsworthy you should share.
--- Don't know how? Hover over the tweet that grabbed your attention. You should see FAVORITE, RETWEET, and REPLY buttons appear. If you want to RT with a comment you need to copy, hit reply, paste, and then add your thoughts in front of RT (for retweet) or MT (for modified tweet - in case you cut something off).

6. Don't Flood The System
While a retweet is nice, no one wants to see a whole list of them. Nor do they want to see you filling up their Twitter screen with an endless list of names for #MM (Monday Mention), #WW (Writer Wednesday), #FF (Follow Friday), or any other cutesy name-game you come up with. A hashtag (#) followed by a list of random names is a good way to get yourself blocked or reported for spam. If you want to tell your followers about someone you think is great devote a tweet to them.

7. Be Yourself - In Moderation
There is a fine line between the spam bot who has nothing interesting to say and the TMI Person who is sharing too much. Personality is a big selling point on Twitter, for companies, author, and individuals, but there's a difference between sharing a funny experience (like misreading a sign while you drive to work) and endlessly tweeting about how many times you ran to the bathroom and the state of your toe fungus.

8. Haters Gonna Hate
Don't be one of them. Not everyone you meet is going to agree with your opinions, and that's a good thing. Before you tweet think about what you're typing. If what you're saying could be misread with offensive intent, change the wording. If you feel strongly about something, decide now if it's something that you should bring into your Twitter life. Remember, for most users their Twitter profile is a professional profile. Keep it that way.
--- Don't know how to handle the hate? Your first step is to UNFOLLOW the person if you're already following them. Click on their name and then tap the big green FOLLOW button until it turns red. If they aren't someone you follow, click their name, go to the right, hit the down arrow, click BLOCK.

9. Follow Wisely
This is an honest mistake every well-intentioned person makes their first time on Twitter: they try to follow everyone. Don't. There is no way you can follow 2000 people and stay interested (ETA - Or maybe you can, as Jamie says she does. You'll need to find your limit by trial and error). Your twitter feed is going to look like a mess. Skip that hassle and follow only the people that interest you and hand out good information. Don't auto-follow. Start by following some friends, then people who they follow who get your attention, respond to @ messages and if you're constantly talking with someone go ahead and follow. It will save you grief in the long run.

10. Have Fun!
Twitter should be a great place to catch up on the world, not a chore you need to check off the daily to-do list. Make new friends and enjoy the world water cooler. :o)

Twitter Bird logo found HERE and used under Fair Use Laws. Ph.D. Matrix comic found HERE and used under Fair Use laws with thanks and appreciation to an awesome comic strip. Go support them. :o)

REAL LIES Published

2011-11-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

Back in July I wrote about my Short Story Dilemma. Welcome to my experiment.

REAL LIES is a short story set in one of my favorite places in the world: La Jolla, California. I grew up swimming there, learned to SCUBA dive there, and could never work it into a sci-fi novel because I never seem to set them on Earth.

So I gave La Jolla Cove it's own story.

Those of you who get the newsletter already have a coupon for Smashwords and heard about the release a month ago (which is why you should sign up for the newsletter: free books!). I wanted to have REAL LIES available in more than one format before the formal release. And here it is! More formats will be available in the coming weeks, as will the occasional coupon on Twitter (@LianaBrooks).

I hope you enjoy the story!

P.S. Don't read just before swimming...

Available on:
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Diesel

To The Veterans:

2011-11-11T13:44:00.003-05:00

Thank you.

Fan Mail

2011-11-10T16:54:00.002-05:00

Can I tell you how much I loved waking up to this in my in-box? It made my gray and rainy Thursday fabulous.

Hi Liana!!

I absolutely loved your book!! Loved the characters, the plot, the science!! You did an excellent job not making the guilty party look obvious. There was a point in the book where everyone looked guilty, even Sam. I'm impressed. Usually it's SO obvious and it's not here.

I think my favorite character is [redacted]. He starts as such an unlikely hero/love interest. I didn't see that change, he was so revolting...and yet it did. LOVE IT!!

I left thoughts and notes throughout my reading. I started by double spacing, but was running out of time so I just stopped and moved forward.

I love the science!! It's like Dr. Who science, yet still very premature. Love how you reveal it through the coins!! Excellent. [Spoiler Redacted]. You left it wide open for a sequel!! YEAH!!

If you have any further questions for me, fire away! I adore this book! It's everything I love. Please let me know what I can do to help you get it perfect! This just has to get published, it's TOO GOOD!!

There is only one thing I am super bummed about, I can't rave about it on Goodreads...yet! :(

Have a wonderful day!
~Beta-Reader

Now all I need is for an agent and editor to give me the same response, and then I can have a few dozen emails like this every day!!! That's how fan mail works, right? Of course it is. What would be the point of fan mail if it weren't all like this?

The Kings of Self-Publishing

2011-11-08T18:10:00.002-05:00

... aren't really self-published, are they?

Sci-fi author Tobias Buckell makes a good point in his response to the "Switch to self-publishing or you're a slave!" faction. Publishing with the Amazon imprint is NOT self-publishing.

If you have an editor, cover-artist, and publicist for your book who don't get paid in advance then, no, you aren't self-published. They've switched publishing houses for better royalties. Good for them, but not necessarily good for anyone else.

More and more the publishing forums on writing websites are flooded with "You're stupid to go to a traditional publisher." -or- "Why are you sending a query? Just go to Smashwords!" Both ideas assume that the person publishing has the knowledge, resources, time, and energy to self-publish.

Let's not lie here, self-publishing means becoming your own publisher. That means more up-front costs (something not all new authors can afford), it means more time choosing cover art, it means more self-promotion (which is unlikely to compare to a major publishing house if you are a new author), but it does mean getting the book on the shelf faster.

Traditional Publishing is publication by committee. Self-publishing is an army of one (plus hired minion for editing and art work). The hardest part for a new author is getting the publicity. It's going to become a sticking point eventually.

The future trend might be that authors start with a Big 6 publisher and move up to self-publishing once they have an established fan base. Right now we have the reverse, and looking over the hundreds of self-published e-books newly arrived on any given day it's a wonder that any of them get significant sales. The vast majority of self-published work is wallowing and dying unread because authors put their book up and hope that someone will read it.

So where does that leave us?

I'm still of the opinion that you have to do what works for you. Educate yourself on the options. Make an informed decision looking at what you can do, what you want, and what you think the work can achieve. Know that once a decision is made and a book published it is usually the end of the question for that book...

... but - a little aside here - there are smaller publishers and e-publishers that will consider acquiring a previously self-published book. Usually they are looking for the first book in a series. Do your homework, the option is out there if you know where to look (*cough*Carina Press *cough*)

Ebook are opening up your options for publication. Just, look before you leap and don't make an uninformed decision based on hype.
- If you want to self-publish read everything you can on the subject (look up @goblinwriter on Twitter for tips).
- If you want to go Big 6 start reading the agent blogs and taking notes.
- If you want to go for a small press go find the author websites (Michelle Argyle has some great posts on working with a small press).

Before You Are Allowed To Publish You Must Pass This Test

2011-11-07T22:08:00.003-05:00

Dante has a fabulous little piece of the net marked out as Surviving The World, and I spend way to much time over there flipping through the archives. I *love* this challenge. And I completely agree. If you can't see a box as more than a box you need to spend more time getting in touch with your creative side before hitting the PUBLISH button on Smashwords.

20 things a box could be....
1. time machine
2. transmorgifier (go read Calvin and Hobbes)
3. soap box
4. storage
5. rocket ship to fly to the moon
6. clubhouse
7. boat (actually cardboard canoe races aren't uncommon)
8. airplane (doesn't work as well as the boat unless you have a really big umbrella)
9. Christmas present (coal was expensive)
10. house
11. part 1 of a transformers costume
12. improv TV
13. old school computer
14. giant lizard trap (see old Taco Bell commercial)
15. nest for a bird
16. ineffective fish tank
17. fire starter (does not burn like you'd think)
18. sled
19. shoes (just add laces and glue!)
20. book cover

What's your 20?

Relaxation...

2011-11-05T18:04:00.004-04:00

Ten out of ten Bambino's agree... this is what White Christmas should look like.

White sand beaches. Blue ocean stretching out into the infinite sky. The only thing that could make this more perfect would be staying to watch the meteor shower tonight, but we'll watch that at home from the back porch as we listen to the wind whisper through southern pines and sip hot cocoa.

Wish you were here!

Battery at 10% - Please Recharge

2011-11-05T11:13:00.004-04:00

Sigh... isn't he cute? Ten points to Gryffindor and a gold star if you know what this little critter is (Amy doesn't count because she sent him to me). Some days you just need to stop, smile, and play with the invertebrates.

Today I'm taking some time off from writing. Maybe going beach combing with the kids. Maybe just lazing around the house and enjoying a good book.

After a long week the brain needs to recharge, and so does the soul. I found myself staring at writing on Friday with no creative inspiration hitting me. Everything felt flat. None of my stories grabbed my interest. Even the house remodeling has ground to a halt in this chilly November weather. The only thing that did interest me was seashell hunting at the beach.

Why? I honestly can't say what the appeal is in a rationale fashion.

The good seashell beach is an hour away. It's not very warm out, and a little but windy, both which make for miserable days at the beach. And dragging three kids out for an adventure when I really want to nap in the hammock sounds borderline psycho ward time. But there's something soothing about walking along sugar sand beaches next to clear blue waters and picking up delicate gems of the ocean.

My favorite holiday memories all involve beaches. My favorite Christmas ever was a hot, humid Christmas spent on an island near Houston chasing crabs and peacocks, collecting seashells, and decorating the trees with dried chili peppers while lanterns flickered in the dark. The smell of wassail, chili, and Granddad's coffee in the morning mixed with a salty sea breeze and the sound of sailboats creaking in the harbor.

A writer needs those kind of memories more than chocolate. Before you can write about life, you need to have a life. We need to experience the wind in our face, the grass between our toes, the rain, the sun, the burnt dinners with friends, and the gourmet meals with family.

Friday my writing felt flat because I was flat. I've invested every spare moment to writing or editing for over a month. I haven't taken the time to stop and smell the roses, to experience life. So I'm off to the beach to recharge my battery and get some fresh air.

What do you do to recharge?

The Health Benefits of Beating Yourself Up Over A Mistake

2011-11-04T10:22:00.005-04:00

It's a common scene. You make a mistake, something simple, and you spend the rest of the day worrying it over in your mind. This sensation of "beating yourself up over a mistake" is closely tied to guilt and empathy, two things science says are good for you.

So what is the health benefit behind beating yourself up over every little mistake? THERE IS NONE.

Guilt is part of empathy. It lets you understand you've hurt someone else, or done something socially unacceptable.

Empathy is what separates adults from infants and psychopaths. The child who pulls out your earring and giggles while you scream and bleed doesn't understand you're in pain - they lack empathy. Hopefully the infant will outgrow this trait before they become and adult and start torturing people for fun.

Beating yourself up over small mistakes or social errors has no benefit. It is a symptom of depression, but other than being a warning sign it's not helping you at all. The good news is that depression is treatable. You don't need to beat yourself up over things any more! Awesome!

And if it isn't about depression? Let it go and be happy. Not sure how? If you don't feel like Googling "How To Be Happy" then here's the short list...

Volunteer - Doing something nice for other people is always a mood booster.

Get outside and Get moving - Sunshine and exercise are both great for mood boosting.

Get Some Sleep - Sleep deprivation not only causes hallucinations, but it makes you cranky too

Eat Something - Low blood sugar affects your mood (eat healthy!).

Address Underlying Causes - Undiagnosed illness, bad relationships, unhealthy habits... all those can lead to a state of near-depression where you find yourself beating yourself up over mistakes. Get out of toxic relationship and get your health checked.

Build Healthy Relationships - Even introverts need a few close friends they can go to when stressed. It doesn't matter if they're family or not, find people who understand you and can help you on the gloomy days.

Laugh - It really is the best medicine.

Don't Worry What Other People Think Honestly? Most people are way too busy wondering what you are thinking about them to have the time to judge you. We all get stuck in our own little bubbles sometimes, it happens. Don't assume it's all about you.

Find The Good Change the way you think. Instead of noticing all the negative things (something we're trained to do by society and mass media) look for the positive in people. On the train ride to work try to think one nice thing about everyone you see: cute shoes, nice hat, good smile... Then turn the trick on yourself: super cute shoes, awesome smile, fabulous personality :o)

Have a happy weekend!
Liana

Happiness photo found here and used under Fair Use license.

What should I work on next?

2011-11-03T13:48:00.004-04:00

JANE DOE is headed off to the beta-readers tomorrow. It's on the tenth draft and (I think) nearly ready to query. That means I have a few weeks of downtime while my beta-readers pick apart every flaw.

During that time I can't work on the rest of the JANE series, and it's probably best if I get away from the genre entirely. But I do need a project. Something with fewer ambiguous characters. Something that can stand alone.

Here's what's in the hopper, let me know what you'd like to see snippets from in the near future:

POISON - SFR novella (first draft) - Elin Drakana is an assassin never more out of place than she visits the space station Venus Ascendant, a pleasure palace for the rich and powerful. She's there as a bodyguard but circumstances soon spin out of control and she finds herself sleeping with the enemy.

STARLESS PATH - sci-fi novel (first draft) - Finding an alien artifact in the salvage of a sunken space vessel changes wreck diver Enniyah Alynn from a forgotten nobody on the edge of space to a player in a dangerous interstellar game of politics and intrigue.

THE FALL - fantasy novella (edit) - Sari is a god-touched, a person who hears the voices of the gods at all times. She's devoted her life to obeying the capricious will of Medea, goddess of innocents, when war changes everything. Abandoned by her goddess and her friends Sari must forge new alliances and fight for her survival as war rages in the city of Vondrin.

UNDER COMMAND - SFR novella (first draft) - War time pressures and a ship full of refugees force Marine Commander Emelia Kass to take a roommate, she never planned on refugee Adam Uppan - formerly of the fleet planetary force - moving in. Nor did she plan on finding herself married in name only to prevent malicious subordinates from charging her with behavior unbecoming. Professional demeanor and annulment are her watch words until one near-death experience too many pushes her into Adam's arms. One night. One kiss. Once more because death is stalking them all.

Or something else entirely... what do you like?

Not All Rejections Are Bad

2011-11-02T16:44:00.004-04:00

One of the submissions I'd sent out came back today with a rejection. There was a very sweet note attached. The editor liked the work, she'd like to see my future work, but the romance wasn't quite hot enough.

I already knew that about EVFiL. I knew it was going to be a tough sell because it isn't *quite* traditional romance. I know not all imprints are looking for romance that has closed-bedroom scenes.

On the scale of rejections a rejection with a personal note and a request to see future work is very close to acceptance. This is a million times better than a suggestion that I quite writing and start flipping burgers. It's an improvement over a vague rejection letter that means "Meh, just not enough there. Sorry."

At the end of the day I don't want 10 acceptance letters, I just want one from the right editor. In between, it's nice to know that an editor liked the work even if she isn't offering a contract.

The Rise of the E-Book

2011-11-02T11:13:00.002-04:00

Self-published.... Indie Publisher..... Small Press.......Big 6......

Do you ever feel like the argument here might be going the wrong way? Have you ever considered that maybe the question isn't WHO should publish your work but HOW the project should be published?

I ran into this while looking over an older manuscript that was bugging me. It's a good story. But three years ago? Three years ago there was no market for this book. Three years ago there was no way I could fit the mammoth undertaking into marketable fragments. Three years ago my options were limited.

So I shoved the novel into the depths of my hard-drive and moved on.

Looking at the market now? No, it's still not a novel that could go to the Big 6. The major New York publishers want something very specific. They have to because of how and what they sell. I suspect that will change, but right now Big 6 are very picky about what they put out. They don't venture far from market trends. They aren't interested in something wildly different. They want something a little different... and that works for a majority of novels.

Most novels really do fall into the boxes Big 6 publishing wants to fill. Most authors can publish with New York in the traditional manner that's been used for the past decades without problem. Most people can get their book to fall into the accepted word count that doesn't scare agents, editors, or buyers away.

And for everyone else there is the e-book.

Big 6 publishing is focused on print books, and print books have limitations. The e-books don't. New York is beginning to catch on to this, but they were slow on the uptake and the ground floor of the e-book kingdom is already filled with all the Indie/Small House publishers who realized there was gold in them thar' nanobytes.

An e-book costs the same to produce regardless of word count. There is infinite space in the land of the e-book so there is always room for another twist on a genre. There is always room for another book, a new niche, and a debut author.

What? You thought Amazon was making money selling Twilight novels and Stephen King? Those books are huge sellers, but there are millions of e-books and those nickles and dimes add up in a big way.

What does this mean for the novel I ditched? For one thing, it means that I can break it down into several 40,000 word novellas instead of parring back the story to fit a 100,000 word print mold, or breaking it into two smaller novels.

What does this mean for you?

Well... I won't lie. The e-book is not the perfect fix for anything unless your problem is having too much money and too little bookshelf space.

E-books are not easier to write. They are not easier to publish. They are not easier to market. One way or another, you will still need to work with an editor. You will need to either query and submit to a small publisher or e-publisher, or hire an editor and cover artist.

It does mean the market has grown from a few shops in the plaza to a mammoth Mall of America sized store where you can buy or sell just about anything. This is a good thing for anyone writing in a "fringe" genre. Steampunk? Biopunk? Paranormal sans romance? There's now a spot for you. E-publishers watch market trends, but they don't cling to them the way New York does.

Will the e-book kill printed books or publishing? No.

Formatting issues aside (like I can only read my Kindle books on a Kindle) most the world does not own an e-reader. I know this comes as a major shock to people who write for the Wall Street Journal and all bought iPads for their toddlers last year, but the majority of people worldwide do not own a smart phone, do not own an e-reader, and don't have the money for either.

Since authors often find their work published in other countries the rise of the e-book isn't a threat. Even the wave of self-publishing isn't as threatening to Big 6 publishing as people would like to think. Self-published e-books can sell internationally (think Canada, the UK, and Australia) but most self-published authors aren't getting their work translated, publicized, or sold in countries where a translation would be required.

I'll have to poke some friends for exact numbers, but I don't think most self-published authors are worrying about foreign rights and translations. Those doors are firmly shut. New York already has the contacts, agents, and abilities needed to publish out of the country. I imagine it's a lot like the film industry where a movie can tank state-side but be a major hit in Japan or Korea. You never know what the sales will look like until you push the piece out there.

I'd still like to see a universal format created so I don't have to buy new copies of a book if I want to switch devices. That may never happen because the brand creators don't want you switching from them to someone else, but it would be nice.

But while I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen...

I am going to work on the abandoned novel. I have plans for it. I'll probably try for the small presses and e-publishers first, but we'll see where the market is when I'm ready to query. Publishing isn't an industry where things stand still. Things are always changing around here, and what was good advice twelve months ago might be suspect now, so keep an open mind about all of this. Do what's best for you and what you write. And good luck!

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

2011-10-31T11:18:00.003-04:00

First, if you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, hop on over to the site and check it out. In its simplest form NaNo is a 30-day writing challenge. The goal is to have written 50,000 words in 30 days. Not a bad goal all around.

I've competed the past four years, writing PENUMBRA CHILDREN, THE MISADVENTURES OF SKIPPY THE WARLORD, DUNGEON CRAWL: THE FALL, and the first draft of JANE DOE... which really felt like cheating because it was already partially written.

This year? This year I'm sitting out the adventure. I love the concept of NaNo - I've used the same daily word count goal to write almost every first draft of a novel I've done - but my desk is covered. Even if I finished edits for JANE DOE and kicked them out the door tonight I have other projects waiting. Most of it is editing.

The projects I want to work on when the editing is over are all partially written. From experience you *can* write a started novel during NaNoWriMo but it's never worked for me. I prefer jumping in with an outline, and opening scene, and nothing else. It makes the writing that much easier because I have perfect freedom.

So, count me in as a Cheerleader this year. I'll be on the sidelines, shirt stained red by editing ink, and cheering for those of you making the marathon run. Just remember, drink lots of water and Write or Die is your best friend!

I just realized someone else wrote that...

2011-10-28T16:13:00.003-04:00

I picked up SILVER SHARK by Ilona Andrews last night because I like how they write (it's a husband/wife duo writing under a pen name) and because I like sharks. Half-way through the book I realized the culture used as a major plot device was the culture I wanted to use as a major plot device for one of my books.

Theirs is published. Mine is a pot-boiler because I failed miserably to capture the idea they so eloquently rendered. The question now becomes to I scrap the project entirely, let it linger as a pot boiler, or make plans to revamp the story?

I don't have the answer for this one. Thoughts?

Welcome to Base Camp

2011-10-28T11:59:00.002-04:00

When you head out for a serious expedition - say climbing Mt. Everest or invading a foreign country - one of the first things you do is establish a base camp. This camp serves as a staging ground, an area of retreat, and the place of protection for your support team. Without a base camp you are permanently behind enemy lines.

Guess what? Your blog is your base camp. Those followers on your side-bar are your support team.

A blog is your base of operations on the internet. When people Google your name you want them to hit your blog. It needs to have all the major information (contact, where they can buy your book, bio, you know the drill).

What it doesn't need - and what many people don't seem to understand - is that a blog should not be a three-ring circus.

Unless you are a professional blogger (i.e. someone who is paid to run a blog) you shouldn't be devoting hours of your day to blogging and blog-bling. \

Let's look at the difference...

PROFESSIONAL BLOGGER - Tom and Lorenzo - a fashion blog updated 3-5 times daily with relevant content. They make money on the ads. They have an established online persona and use the same style and word choice for all their posts.

Professional Review Blog - Fantasy & SciFi Lovin' News & Reviews - a review blog for the sci-fi and fantasy genres. What (if any) money is made from the site I don't know. There are ads and the books are review copies meaning they are free. There are 10+ posts weekly and the author has an established reputation in the review/reader community.

Professional Lit Agent's Blog - PubRants - Notice this is not a professional blog, but the blog of a professional. There is a difference. This is the personal blog of Lit Agent Kristin Nelson. She writes about all things related to publishing, what she's acquiring, and tips for authors. Note the simple background and the personal style. This is where you go to stalk an agent for information about them. New posts 4-5 times a week.

Professional Author's Blog - Lisa Shearin - personal blog of fantasy author Lisa Shearin. No ads. Background is genre/series relevant. Book covers are there and easily clickable. There is a simple list to make navigating the web easy. Blog posts once or twice a week between books, more frequent when a new book is headed to the shelf.

Casual Blog - The Southern Experiment - the personal blog of a college student. Created, used for a week for college class, abandoned.

Do you see the difference here? A Professional Blogger is making a career out of blogging. The blog is store-front, office, and ad all in one. Unless your goal is to turn your blog into a cash machine you don't need to do that.

If you are an author you want a personal site that gives people a clue what genre you write and what style they can expect from your books. People aren't going to read the blog daily.

Did I say that loud enough?

An author's blog needs to be updated enough to give fans updates and keep them interested. If you want to write more because blogging is how you wake up, or you need to think out loud, or you just can't fit a thought into the 140 character allowance on Twitter that's fine. But it isn't compulsory. Especially if you don't have a book to sell.

Worry about your book first.

If you are a casual blogger you need to worry about the blog even less. Put up a post often enough to keep friends from calling to ask if you died.

But wait! There's more!

Unless your job is a professional tallier of blog posts and someone pays you cold hard cash to find tidbits from the blogosphere you don't need to read five billion blogs daily. Not even this one. That's why Goggle was invented.

Go ahead and try it. Google a blog's name and subject. "Liana Brooks editing" Hey! Look! Old blog posts you may have never read but that are relevant to what you need! And over on the side-bar, what's that? Why it's a search engine and the labels so you can easily dissect this blog and find whatever you need whenever you need it.

CONFESSION: I do this all the time. Blogs are a wonderful resource. I love being able to find an author and their books with ease. I adore the agents who blog and have an updated wish list sitting next to a link for submissions. It makes to easy to find places to submit my work to.

A blog is your base camp. It's a place where people can find information about you. It is not where you come to linger. Get out on Twitter, Google +, or Face Book to network. Get to conferences to meet people. Get your book written. Let your blog be what it's meant to be and not the battlefield.

Despite Rumors to the Contrary...

2011-10-27T17:46:00.002-04:00

... I am still alive.

Forgive the lack of serious posts and research. My schedule this week is keeping me away from the blog, Twitter, editing, and everything else that requires sitting still for more than twenty minutes at a time.

For those who have asked:

EVFiL is still out on submission. I should hear something back from most of the editors before the new year. I'm expecting to hear from two of them by mid-November. One way or another, I'll let you know what the score is.

JANE DOE is on draft ten and will head out for the next wave of editing at the end of next week. Watch for query letters here, because I'm going to need help whipping those in shape.

SEVENTY is going to get re-released sometime this fall so you don't have to buy a copy of the old magazine it was originally published in, but I don't have a date set for that yet. As soon as it's out I will let the newsletter people know, and it will go live on the blog and everywhere else when it's on more than just Smashwords.

Why more than just Smashwords? Because I read all my ebooks on a Kindle app on my phone and unless it's the proper format I can't read the book. Rather than torture all of you who don't have an e-reader by making you download a PDF file the Official Announcement of anything I self-publish (or re-publish) will wait until there are multiple formats available.

- Liana

How To Be As Energetic As Your Kids

2011-10-26T21:40:00.007-04:00

Have you ever watched a toddler dashing around the house, literally ricocheting off the walls, and wondered, "How can s/he have so much energy?" Do you really want to know?

After nine years of intensive research the scientists here at the Brooks Institute have come up with the secret formula for youthful energy. And, guess what? You can make this magic formula right in the privacy of your own home! No special equipment needed.

Step 1: Start a bedtime routine an hour before lights out. Turn off the TV, computer, and put your phone on night or quiet mode. Turn the lights down and read a short, quiet book. Alternatively, meditate, listen to quiet music, write in a journal, stare at stars, or read vintage comic books.

Step 2: Go to bed 8-12 hours before the alarm goes off. Start with eight hours. If you wake up feeling tired go to bed fifteen minutes earlier. Adjust your bedtime by fifteen minute increments until you wake up well-rested a few minutes before the alarm goes off.

Step 3: Run everywhere. Have you ever seen a toddler walk somewhere? No. Of course not. Running reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, tones muscle, and makes it so you're always early for everything (if you run fast enough)! In places where you can't run remember to walk fast.

Step 4: Eat the rainbow. We all know Mom dumps everything healthy on a toddler's plate while she sneaks a cookie. There's a food for every color of the rainbow: green grapes, brown bread, yellow cheese, red meat, purple eggplant, orange carrots, indigo... um... forget indigo, you get the point. The average toddler diet is well-balanced, full of nutrients, and fresh fruit and veggie heavy. Their plates are stuffed, but that's fine because they eat off small plates. Built in portion control!

Step 5: Never get stressed. You see that person yelling and screaming and tearing their hair out over the vase you broke? Smile, give them a hug, and say "I love you." Problem solved. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Toddlers know that accidents happen. It doesn't matter what happened as long as you give the person a hug and say sorry afterwards.

Step 6: Enjoy life! Laugh as often as you want. Watch a toddler let loose on the world. Are they pensive? Are they worried? Are they even remotely aware that someone is watching them? Of course not! Toddlers are in the blissful stage where they are aware other people exist, and they vaguely understand that you have emotions, but the idea that might be judging them has never crossed their mind. In their world Toddlers are perfect! They like to learn, and they aren't afraid to get messy, but they will laugh when they want to. Stop letting other people judge you and enjoy life.

Step 7: Get dirty. Really dirty. You can judge how much fun a Toddler had by the amount of dirt at the bottom of the bathtub. If there's an inch of mud trying to drain it was a fantastic day! Don't be afraid of getting sweaty or dirty, soap was invented for a reason.

Step 8: Take a nap! Your body is tired for a reason. There are tons of studies to support napping. Go ahead and Google it... I can wait... See? Over a million results telling you to Take A Nap! It you can't nap carve out fifteen to twenty minutes of down time in the middle of your day. Walk to lunch, turn off the computer, leave your phone behind, put your head down, do whatever it takes to reset your brain midday. I highly recommend ear plugs, especially if the Toddler is still at home and he likes to sing at the top of his lungs while he falls asleep.

Step 9: Surround yourself with positive relationships. Hang out with people who make you happy. Love someone. Let someone love you. Spend time with those people having fun and doing things you love. Share your interests, and don't worry if someone screams because you just handed them a squished spider you captured in the backyard, they're just excited.

Step 10: Respect yourself. You know what? A Toddler won't play with the kid that hits them. They won't be friends with the kid that doesn't share. The whole idea of letting someone hurt you because they're a friend doesn't come into play until after age five (unless there are some serious problems at home). Before age five Toddlers label the Mean Person a MEAN PERSON and walk away. Save your energy for the fun stuff and get out of abusive relationships.

Step 11: Have fun with your work! Sing a song while you clean, dance while you put clothes away, party while you scrub the floor. Sure, the boring way gets things done faster, but is getting the work done two minutes sooner worth the soul-sucking misery of doing things the boring way? Of course not! Whatever the job is, have fun!

Eleven little steps to live and have the energy of a Toddler!!! Wearing buckets on your head and jumping on the couch is completely optional.

Query Contest with Lit Agent Suzie Townsend

2011-10-25T21:13:00.003-04:00

Do you know Suzie? If you write sci-fi or SFR (science fiction romance) she should be on your list of agents to query. She's super sweet, very approachable on Twitter, and now she's just moved to a new literary agency. To celebrate she's hosting a Query Contest November 1st.

She is looking for real queries, because if she likes something she plans on requesting it. If the query doesn't fly (or if she previously rejected you) you'll have some honest feedback to work with. If you've been following the blog for a while you know LUCK is just a way of recognizing opportunities (it's serendipitous that my last post on luck also involved Suzie). So go get lucky. Send Suzie a query next week and see what she has to say!

From her bio...

Suzie is specifically looking for adult romance (historical and paranormal) and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In childrens' books she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).

She's interested in strong characters and voice driven stories: she's particularly keen on strong female protagonists, complex plot lines with underlying political, moral, or philosophical issues, and stories which break out of the typical tropes of their genre.

Some of her favorite novels (that she doesn't represent) are Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, Jellicoe Road and Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Jeaniene Frost's Vampire Huntress series, Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series, and Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series.

When the Brain Needs a Vacation

2011-10-25T17:51:00.003-04:00

Three-day weekends are murder for my writing schedule. It's hard to get anything done with all the kids at home demanding attention and entertainment. I still had the best of intentions. I read the notes from my beta-reader. I made plans to edit come Tuesday morning. I conveniently forgot that Bambino was scheduled for a hearing test Tuesday morning... The hearing specialist called with a reminder so we wound up going anyway.

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon where I'm staring like a zombie at my manuscript. It's just a little edit. A few changes. Nothing too pressing. Really, even a trained monkey could do it!

Which proves that a trained monkey is smarter than I am, or hasn't spent as much time with this manuscript. I beat my head against the keyboard for a few minutes and tried to figure out what was wrong.

- Had I read the manuscript all the way through? Yes!
- Has I let someone else read and critique? Yes!
- Had I saved? Yes!
- Had I let it sit for at least two weeks? Um... *squeaky sound as I clean my ears* Come again?

Oh, right, the brain needs time away from projects. That's why so many agents blog about querying and writing something Completely Different! This is why so many self-pubbed authors have multiple series running at once, so they can work on one and move off to the other to change gears. Because if you don't change gears, you strip gears.

To switch analogies, think of baking bread. You spend five minutes kneading the bread, and an hour doing something unrelated. Yet you come bake and bake the bread. Are you working on the bread? Yes. Is it in the back of your mind? Yes.

The same goes for writing. Authors do a majority of their work away from the words. We plot while we clean, drive, talk, and earn money at day jobs. We mentally edit scenes in our dreams and our cars. We think up new ideas while grocery shopping and taking showers. Taking time to think (or purposefully not think) about a story is no bad thing.

So I'm switching gears until the first of November.

There's another project that's been patiently waiting for attention. The exact plot is vague, but the MC is snarky and fun. It's a different world, a different set of rules, a good way to cleanse the mental palate and get my brain back on the creative writing track.

How do you switch gears between projects or drafts?

Finding Ideas Isn't The Problem

2011-10-24T07:47:00.003-04:00

Come here. Yeah, you. I want to show you something.

You see this? This is what the inside of my story folder looks like. Each of those folders has details on a book... except the ones labeled by genre like "Sci-Fi" which looks like this inside...

Word documents with brief descriptors rather than titles. Each has an outline. Most have a few chapters written. One of those has half a novel. Almost all of them have the potential to turn into a series. And a series folder looks something like this...

Data points, pictures, and each novel has it's own folder for drafts, notes, editing feedback, and timelines.

Do you see my problem? It's not that I can't find ideas for what to write. It's that I have new ideas on a daily basis and I already have enough to last a lifetime or two. It takes me a month, bare minimum, to finish a draft. Editing or writing, it doesn't matter, I need 4-6 weeks to focus on that one project.

A finished novel takes... 10 drafts? 12? I really don't know because I've never polished a novel to QUERIED or SOLD.

A novella takes 3-4 months to go from rough draft to submission, but again, I haven't sold any novellas yet (fingers crossed for good news).

A short story takes two months to write and edit. Microfiction (under 5k) takes less.

My count as of Saturday was 71 novels outlined or in some progress. I think ten of those are three-quarters done or better. SEVENTY-ONE!!! Even if I did nothing but work on these ideas I wouldn't finish until I was 100.

The only solution it to freeze time, or learn to write/edit a lot faster. Freezing times sounds like the most realistic option...

So next time someone asks me where to find a story idea because they want to be an author, I'm going to offer to sell them a plot.

The Answer is in the Eyes

2011-10-21T20:50:00.005-04:00

Let's take a minute to discuss eye color, because whenever it becomes a major feature of a work of fiction the author is doing it wrong.

Let's start with what most people think they know about the genetics of eye color:

1 - Like most physical traits there is a dominant and a recessive gene and a mix gives you a third color (like flowers being red, white, or pink).

2- Brown is the dominant color and that's why so many people have brown eyes.

3- Blue is the recessive color.

4- Green must be a mix of brown and blue.

Options one through four are all lies, in case you hadn't guessed the surprise twist of this post.

There are not two alleles that code for eye color, there is a combination of at least three (on different chromosomes) and some studies cite as many as 17 different alleles that factor into eye color selection. Those genetic factors code for more than eye color, they code for pattern and pigment depth, because your eyes are really layers of color not a single solid sheet of color.

Brown eyes are dominant, but not because of the standard reasons certain features are dominant (like the genetics behind hair color - which is another post for later). Brown eyes are considered the base color for humans. Congrats! If you don't have brown eyes you are a mutant!

But eye color is not a set base like the red/white/pink flower analogy so often used to illustrate Mendelian genetics.
In basic biology classes students learn that traits look like this. Big A is dominant, little a is recessive, and a cross will be a blend or the dominant Big A will, well, dominate. Not so with eye color. First, you need a much bigger punnett square. Second, eye color is on a spectrum. The basic spectrum is roughly:

black - brown - light brown -gray - blue - green

Falling outside the spectrum are violet and red. True purple eyes are associated with albinism, as are red eyes. Elizabeth Taylor, the famous violet-eyed actress - actually had deep blue eyes and excellent makeup (poor color quality in some of her films didn't hurt either).

That debunks all the books where someone realizes the child is theirs because they have blue eyes and the kid has blue eyes but the "parents" both have brown eyes. Brown-eyed parents who are heterozygous (Aa type of thing) can have children with a variety of eye colors.

The other common problem I see in books is that Green Eyes = Irish Lass. Or some heroine from the highlands. Green Eyes and Red Hair seem to be two things people can't seperate in their minds. Which is sad, because the statistics say the Irish Lass only has a 16% chance of being Green Eyed. Now a woman from Iceland, she has an 87% chance of having blue or green eyes. File that under useful information.

Brown eyes are the dominant color world wide, but in Asia and Africa pigment is deeper than the "honey-eyed" European variants. Gray eyes are most common in the Middle East, blue and green eyes are common in Siberia and Scandinavia (also the Scots and Irish have some but that's genetic history and cross-breeding and invasions... long story).

The good news is that as we build international relations we're cross-pollinating our little hearts out. Sci-fi writers can decide if there are still phenotypes (physical appearances) that can flag genetic history, or if the characters have blended into a broader worldwide appearance.

Personally, I like giving my futuristic characters profiles we would consider mixed-racial in modern terms. I think it's unrealistic to say that vast majorities of people will have strong regional/ethnic features 900 years from now. There will be trends, and there will be mutations. But the more borders and mixed-racial taboos fall the more alike humans are likely to look.

Of course, if you're writing a historical novel you best pay attention to what your character is going to look like. The isolation that arose from limited travel and generations without waves of invasions (yes- it happened) gave rise to mutations like the blue eyes and to breeding for features in humans. That's why you can look at someone and guess their genetic nationality today. And why you probably won't be able to in a few hundred years.

Title Time!

2011-10-20T22:37:00.003-04:00

I'm have a new WIP, just a little something to keep me from checking my inbox every ten seconds for news on my submissions. *click click* And I need some help with the title.

Genre: SFR
Length: short story (10k)
Setting: A pleasure dome
Main Character: A female alien whose body chemistry is poisonous to most other species. Her own race was once enslaved as pets, and then hunted because they were effective assassins. She's at the pleasure dome as a bodyguard, but she's attracted to her Body's political rival...

Do you like:

POISON
POISONED FLESH
or something else?

Vote in the comments section!

Image found HERE. Thanks and copyright to original artist. Used under Fair Use Laws.

Neither a Plotter Nor a Panster Be

2011-10-19T20:40:00.005-04:00

Plotter: Someone who works out the details of a plot in minute detail before they begin writing.

Panster: Someone who takes a vague idea and begins writing, making things up as they go along.

Liana Brooks: Someone who kinda does a little of both it's not best to speculate what goes on her brain, really.

A few weeks ago Misa Buckley emailed me with an idea for an SFR (science fiction romance) anthology she wanted to put together. It sounded like a fun idea and I knew that after finishing this lastest draft of JANE DOE I was going to need some time away from serious writing so I could have fun and work the kinks out of my brain. And where better than SFR to get kinky?

I never start a book by opening a blank document and staring. I never have. That method works for some people but I don't have the will power to stare until ideas appear, I'll get distracted by something shiny - like a stumble button - and meander away.

No, I start by giving my brain a kick and telling it I needed an idea for a stand-alone SFR short story that fit the anthology requirements. And then I left it alone. A week went past before a character appeared. She had personality and a look, but little else. Over the next week ideas filtered in, other character appeared, and soon I had a story.

Which I guess makes me a plotter... only I miss that major requirement of writing detailed outlines. I do write outlines. They are very pretty. They also have as much in common with the story that I write as a duck has in common with a platypus. Yes, they both have beaks and swim but beyond that... my books all look like platypuses.

For me it's important to have all the background details, character traits, and world-building worked out ahead of time. Which led to this lovely comment on Twitter...

Fair enough, I did send her two pages of background data on my worlds. Excessive for a 10k short story? Not for me!

And that, I think, is where the whole Plotter vs Panster argument falls apart. I've seen people recommend everything from The Snowflake Method to note cards to throwing darts at random plotlines on a dart board and stringing them together. If it works for you, great! But before you run around in a panic know what works for you.

Try several methods if you need to (NaNoWriMo is a great time to experiment). Know what you need when you write, and don't let anyone pressure you into writing their way.

Sourdough Soft Pretzel Recipe

2011-10-18T19:55:00.002-04:00

I was talking about these on Twitter and decided to type up my recipe. It's posted over on my food blog (with Twin o'Mine Amy Laurens) Heart of the Home. Like everything else I do the recipe is cobbled together from various sources, and then warped by my own quirks until I have something I like.

It's funny, I write the exact same way. I take a bunch of random ideas, spin then around, and write a book I love. Enjoy the recipe! Pretzels are great editing good. Especially with spicy cheese for dipping.

- Liana

Would you like fries with that?

2011-10-17T22:50:00.002-04:00

No, that's not a college joke!

One of my favorite activities when I'm not writing is cooking. I even contribute to a blog about cooking! Very rarely, but it's there. Getting in the kitchen and making something delicious is my way of destressing. So it makes sense that one of my main characters also has this habit.

Food plays an integral roll on the scenes of JANE DOE. Entire scenes revolve around cooking, eating, and the interactions of people as they share a meal. Sharing food is such a rich part of human experience that I feel it needs to be included.

Well... that and I always used to wonder when people ate and went to the bathroom in books when I was a young reader. I could never understand how the characters in Lord of the Rings survived on, like, two meals the entire book! And they never once mentioned toilet paper. At age seven this was a very confusing thing for me.

*ahem* Off track :o)

Since food is a big part of JANE DOE my question is...

Do you want the recipes? Would you like steak with that scifi?

I have no idea what an editor would say to this idea, but I'm curious if readers would want the recipes. I'd include my original recipes, not recipes created by someone else (copyright and all), and they'd either be appended to the end of the book, or offered as a bonus material with publication somehow, maybe on the blog.

Let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in the cross-genre addition or if you like your fiction foodie free!

Failure IS An Option...

2011-10-15T21:09:00.002-04:00

KD Sarge has an amazing post called Failure IS An Option. Love it!

And I agree 100%. Life is about choices. It's about choosing what you want to happen. No one will hand you the world on a platter. Dodging consequences is immature. By age 18 you should know all the rules. You should know that driving too fast on icy roads and texting leads to car wrecks. You should know sex without birth control leads to pregnancy and STDs. You should know that skipping school or work won't get you good grades or a steady job.

On the other hand, hard work pays off, and that's a consequence you should understand too. It doesn't always pay off right away, and often not as soon as you want, but hard work always pays off. Putting your butt in the chair and typing every day will get a book written. Going to work every day and doing your job even when your co-workers make your eye twitch will earn you a paycheck. Sanding, and hammering, and measuring, and painting will turn raw wood (or broken tables) into working furniture.

You can fail; but only if you choose to fail by quitting. In the meantime, fairness has nothing to do with it. Decide where you want to go in life, then make the choices that will get you there.

Weekend Projects... Painting, Tables, and Books

2011-10-14T17:26:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I picked up some new-to-me furniture. A friend wanted to ditch her old, worn table and didn't have room for it. She was looking for someone to haul it to the dump, but after a quick inspection I decided I could make it work for us. It's a little on the small side, but perfect as a Holiday Table (IE the thing we drag out when forty people come over for dinner).

It is ugly though, dark teal legs, chipped top with flecks of purple and gold paint. I'll take pictures at some point but trust me, this is not a pretty piece of furniture. We have it in the dining area while we work on our big Fountain of Youth table and for the past week we've been debating over what to do with this thing. Sand it, obviously. Stain it. Maybe paint it. Anything to make it pretty again!

And then I stumbled over this tutorial... The 36th Ave. New Old Table ... (image courtesy of and copyright to Redoux)

I love what 36th Ave has done with the stenciling. The rustic look fits perfectly with out mismatched lives, and I love the touch of personalization. My only problem is that I have a leaf that runs down the center of the table and I want the table to look good with or without the leaf.

But that's a project for another day.

Today I'm off to paint the frame for our Chicken Wire Frame. I might paint a few other shelves while I'm at it. If I have time I'll even get the chicken wire on! But let's not go crazy...

Also in the works is something everyone on the newsletter already knows about. It was leaked on Twitter last night too, but the official announcement will have to wait for a few more days. If you click around the blog though, you might see a hint.

Enjoy your weekend!
- Liana

A Good Question Deserves An Answer

2011-10-13T22:02:00.002-04:00

This is for Rictheturtleryan who posted this on my newsletter post:

...I do have a question how long has it taken you to get your blog page and all the stuff on it done? How many years you been writing? I do not think that is like asking your age...

There are some very good questions there and they deserve more than a quick comment-box response.

1. How long did it take to get the blog page done?
- I started blogging in January of 2008. I joined a critique group in July of 2007 and heard about blogging and platforms. There were several false starts. Over the years the look and tone of the blog has changed several times.
-- If you're asking how long it took to set up the look of the blog... I'm not entirely sure. It takes about an hour to do a redesign of the basic blog when I change the background. The header took about four hours, but I'm using new software. There's a very basic tutorial on how to change the background of a blog HERE. You'll find more helpful hints under the label BLOG on the side bar.

2. How many years have you been writing?
- Eh... it depends on how you count it. I wrote my first book for competition in Kindergarten. The school district had a Young Authors competition and I wrote for it every year between kindergarten and fifth grade. It wasn't serious novel writing, but it kept me doodling stories through high school. I quit during college; science writing left no time for fiction. And I came back to writing seriously in 2007.
-- My count is two years of writing on a daily basis. Even in 2007 I was a hit-or-miss hobby writer. I had no plans to publish. I started writing regularly in 2009. Now it's a daily habit and I'm actively trying to build a career.

3. How old are you again?
It's no great secret, since I'm still young enough to enjoy my age. I'm 29. And yes that's 29 for the first time. Thirty doesn't scare me. Sixty scares me, but I imagine I'll outgrow that before I reach sixty. :o)

Newsletters, Cursed Manuscripts, and Cover Art

2011-10-13T09:23:00.005-04:00

Back in July I blogged about my Short Story Dilemma. I was collecting rejection slips not for bad writing, but because of the bad economy. Even worse, I had previously-published rights-reverted stories sitting on my hard drive doing nothing. The solution for me was to get some cover art and prepare to put those stories up through Smashwords and Amazon.

It was that or keep sending out my Cursed Manuscript and watch the collapse of modern society as it's dark powers destroyed small ezines. I figure Amazon won't collapse under the curse. If it does, I'm sorry.

Several eagle-eyed readers already spotted the cover for SEVENTY up on the Published Works page. It isn't for sale yet. The original story was published in M-BRANE and was very lean. I'm editing and adding back in a few scenes that took the story over word count originally, but that I want back in the book. Call it bonus content for the extended edition.

This morning I had more cover art in my in-box, this time for a contemporary short story. There are a few niggling details I need to fix (a dated reference to when the story was written that I may or may not leave) and that story will be made available.

That's where things get exciting for you. The blog now has a newsletter attached (look to the left under the search bar) and the newsletter means free stuff for you. I'm grateful for all the support and encouragement blog readers have given me over the years. There are days when a positive comment on the blog is the difference between wallowing in misery and drying my tears and writing the next draft.

Sending out freebies like coupons or newsletter-only giveaways seems like a good way to repay you. So feel free to sign-up (or not), and keep watching for cover art reveals later this month.

- Liana

A Watched Inbox Never Dings

2011-10-11T13:54:00.003-04:00

YOU'VE GOT MAIL!

... or not. At this point, not. Despite checking my inbox every five seconds or so (wait - lemme check real quick - no - nothing) I've crossed another submission threshold. October 3rd was the early "Thanks But No Thanks" date for one of the presses that is currently reviewing EVFiL. I've learned to dread that date.

During submissions a quick turn around is almost always a "No." It's very rare for an editor or agent to get a submission and commit to the project on the short end of things. A month or two seems like an eternity to an impatient author, but we're talking about people who are reading a few hundred queries/submissions a day. And before the author is given a thumbs up any number of people need to be consulted (marketing teams, other editors, the people in charge of the paychecks...). The more people who need to give the manuscript an OK the longer the process takes.

And as much as I can admit to this in a calm, rationale fashion it doesn't stop me from jumping up and down like a three-year-old petting their first elasmobranch* when an editor I've submitted work to says she has looked at every query submitted before 9-22-11 and is reading them this weekend. You know what? I submitted September 12th. She's reading *MY* work. MINE! There should be sparkles and confetti over that statement.

So even though I know not hearing anything for another month or two means my chances of selling EVFiL improve, I can't help checking my inbox (still nothing) every chance I get.

* Elasmobranch is a shark, skate, or ray... if you have never petted a ray you are sensory deprived and should go do so at once. They are soft, cute, and cuddly.

Cow-nosed ray image found HERE and used under Fair Use laws.

Writing a Killer Novel

2011-10-10T11:35:00.004-04:00

At the end of the day all novels boil down to sex and murder. Fantasy or science-fiction, thrillers or romance when you get down to the bare bones the plot is going to revolve around emotions or corpses. Sure, your novel has other stuff. There's probably angst, and doubt, and elation, and maybe dancing or drunken phone calls... but at the end the plot can't wrap until you tell the reader Whodunit.

That's where I went wrong with my ending this draft. I've spent days doing everything but write because I knew something was off. And then I realized... One little snippet of conversation. A few hundred words chopped, and now my Reveal Moment had vanished into thin air. Whoops! Glad I caught that before my beta-readers did.

Do you know how hard it is to tie up a plot when you never explain *why* all of this happened or who was behind it? Of course I hope that readers will have an Aha! moment at the end when they see who the Big Bad is and remember all the (hopefully) subtle hints through out. Still, nothing is going to replace the outright accusation.

So how does a cunning author reveal who the Villain truly is? There are some classic techniques...

The Monolog - always a favorite of villains seconds before the hero's daring escape

The Accusation - used by clever detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Pirot

The Obvious - favored by the fantasy crowd where no Evil Overlord is ever just misunderstood

The Aside - when a wise old muppet wanders up and explains why the Big Bad is bad

The Confession - a moment of tearful regret that takes place seconds before the villain dies

The Mob - whoever they hang must have been the bad guy (popular during witch hunts)

I'm leaning heavily to using a Monolog to reveal Big Bad's motivations. Too cliche? Let me write it and we'll both know!

Six Sentence Sunday: Good Memories

2011-10-08T23:00:00.001-04:00

After a rough night MacKenzie wakes up to his new housemate dragging him out for a run. He has other ideas on ways she could cure his depression...

Her predatory smile only widened. "Exercise is good for depression."

"I'm not depressed, I have flashbacks. The two are not the same."

"You'll have fewer bad memories if you make some new good memories."

Then get naked.

Intrigued? More JANE DOE snippets can be found HERE.

Catch all the other 6 Sentence Sunday posts on the website!

If you’d like to join in, the rules are simple:

pick a project – a current Work in Progress, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you’re published
pick six sentences
post ‘em on Sunday

Weekend Projects... because authors can have hobbies too!

2011-10-06T23:02:00.009-04:00

Allison Winn Scotch posed a very thoughtful question to her readers Thursday: What Else Do You Do? That's a very good question. Most of us have full-time jobs, we juggle careers, parenting, bill paying, and writing. Many authors struggle to find time to write their novels! So who has time for hobbies?

Um... that would be me again.

I feel so guilty. I was whining the other week about how horrible life was treating me, only to take a deep breath and realize I'm a very lucky girl. In the chaos I sometimes forget to be thankful that I have a roof over my head, wonderful children, a loving husband, the world's greatest beta-readers (yes I am sucking up - don't judge me), and the chance to pursue my career in writing without putting my life on hold. That makes me one in a million.

And since I've been jabbering on Twitter about all the projects currently hiding in my barn I figured I better do the promised blog post on all my work that has absolutely nothing to do with writing (really).

Project 1... A New Kitchen Table (cue the theme music for A New Hope)

Remember my blog post about the state park? This is the wood I gleefully collected for the tabletop. Off to the side I have a stack of timbers to make benches, table legs, and book cases! I need book cases!!! We've found ten more plastic tubs filled with books in the garage while we were unpacking. I swear books multiple if you read them after midnight. They're worse than gremlins!

Project 2... Decorating My Work Space

You think I'd post photos of my study in it's current state? Aren't you adorable! Not going to happen. Right now my study looks like the AFTER picture of a natural disaster. Boxes, wreckage, a dead dog... oh, wait, the dog is alive. He just sleeps like the dead.

We move a lot. Six official moves in the past ten years. Every time we pick up and go we run into a storage problem. As in: Why didn't anybody put a closet in this house??? I dream of having a perfectly organized, perfectly portable house. Built-in shelves that can travel as much as we do. These shelves were built using Ana White's $10 Ledge design and are the first step to achieving my dream. It also means having a shelf so high Bambino can't reach, but I digress...

Project 3... Somewhere to Hang the Fan Mail

My last kitchen table didn't survive the move. Glass table tops and incompetent movers don't mix. The frame arrived at our new house, but the glass game in a million sharp slivers. Being the Eco-concious, penny-pinching person that I am I stuffed the frame in the barn and hoped I wound find a use for it someday. We considered buying new glass, but Bambino likes to jump on the table after dinner and I'd rather he use the reincarnated foot bridge for his antics than a glass top that might slice his legs to ribbons. And then I found a tutorial by Megan Brooke on making chicken wire frames (with a photo by Lemonade Makin' Mama that I am happy to share).

Perfect for hanging everything from kid's art projects to outlining paraphernalia to fan mail (in case I feel like printing out an email I guess?). I'm enchanted by the teal color here. It matches some Moroccan lanterns I have.

That's what's in my wood pile right now. The shelves need about three hours to go from start to finish, and it's taken me a month to put them together. They aren't even on my wall yet! The framing project means sanding, painting, and stapling... And the table is a monster project. I don't expect to finish either any time soon, but they're there. Slowly but surely, here a little bit and there a little bit, I get things done.

What are you up to?

Novel Stats...

2011-10-06T18:07:00.003-04:00

Draft 9.3 is done! Sort of... I'm adding a few more scenes and then I need to smooth out the inevitable wrinkles, but by and large this edit is done. Here's a quick look at the novel stats:

Title: JANE DOE
Word Count: 82,000
Words Lost in this Edit: 7,000
First Word: Sam
Last Word: Corpse
Total Body Count: 8

Jane Doe Snippet: Nocturnal Activities

2011-10-05T17:14:00.005-04:00

It's time for a new snippet from my main WIP JANE DOE. Enjoy!

The kitchen door creaked shut and Mac cleared his throat. "Um, sorry. I... I brought popcorn. I guess I walked in on the wrong part of the conversation."

"Mac!" Bri gushed. "I'd jump up and give you a hug, but I'm not jumping much at the moment. It's so nice to meet you. Sam's been telling me all about you." Bri smiled up at him. "You have gorgeous eyes. Sam, why didn't you tell me he had nice eyes?"

"Because you're married."

"I could start a collection. MacKenzie, have you ever considered the benefits of living in a reverse harem?" Brileigh asked.

Mac coughed. "Um, no. Thanks though. I'll, uh, um."

"Mac isn't interested," Sam translated. "Not every breathing male on the planet falls flat on their face for you. Mac, how do you make this remote work? I want to watch the movie."

He reached down and hit three buttons. Light flared on the television.

"Thank you." Sam stared hard at the TV.

"Any time. I like to pretend I'm useful," Mac whispered by her ear, and her cheeks grew hot.

"You can cook!" Bri said cheerfully.

Mac chuckled. "I can pour things in bowls."

"Sometimes that's all that needs doing." Bri took a handful of popcorn and smiled. "You've had far creepier roommates, Sam. I approve."

Mac laughed. "You didn't tell her about the screaming."

Sam leaned her head back to look at him. Bri was right, he did have amazing eyes. She narrowed her gaze to a glare. "I'm still not talking to you, tattle-tale." He blinked, looking a little hurt. "Besides, what you scream in bed when I'm your room is none of Bri's business." She hit the play button while Bri squeaked a wordless demand for information. Mac left laughing, and Sam remained stubbornly silent on the whole subject of nocturnal activities while they watched the movie.

I promise, the nocturnal activities are not what you think!

Best Twitter Comment Ever!

2011-10-04T16:01:00.003-04:00

I regularly prowl Twitter for proper nouns when writing the first draft of my novel. Most times the names get changed, but every now and then something makes it all the way to the final draft and I realize I've slipped in a nod to my friends.

As of draft nine for JANE DOE there are several of these little nods. The titles of the books in one scenes are taken from a conversation with my writing group, one of the characters mentioned in the last chapter is named after a friend on Twitter, and the Misakat Award that a scientists brags about having won is also named after two friends who were brainstorming with me during that scene.

If the names survive until the book hits the shelves I will definitely have to buy them "I Survived A Liana Brooks Novel!" t-shirts.

Chapter 21... How Not To Write A Novel

2011-10-04T09:35:00.003-04:00

Chapter 21 is the perfect example of what happens when you have a great idea that fit in Draft 1, but doesn't fit after your novel evolves.

JANE DOE started like most science fiction novels - or really like any of my novels sci-fi, fantasy, or other - with a basic idea: a dead body who is identified as a living person. Against all logic, there are two copies of the person. That was my idea.

In a future with clones this isn't very hard to explain. It's not even wildly impossible in the defined universe. But it lays the base for questioning what defined us as humans, and what makes us unique as individuals.

From that foundation I went through draft one adding any ol' idea that came along. One of those ideas was a zany little side note where the two main characters wound up doing security work at the Dizzy Dahlia Flower Show. Hijinks ensued. The scene was funny, the character's were reacting. And if JANE DOE were a romantic comedy rather than a near-future thriller or science fiction novel, it would have worked. But it isn't a romantic comedy, and the scene doesn't work.

Chapter 21 kills the tension and pacing. As a an inexperienced author I often left scenes like this in because I loved them. The scene is fun. It makes me laugh. And isn't that enough? (The answer is NO in case you hadn't guessed.)

It's not just letting go of a good scene that no longer fits, sometimes authors fear letting the novel evolve. They don't want the story to change. Did JANE DOE change between draft one and draft nine? Yes. Of course. Why would I edit if I didn't want the story to change? The current draft is harder, darker, edgier in many ways than the original fluff. But the foundation has stayed the same. The base I started with is still there.

Chapter 21 no longer supports the weight of the story. It needs to go. Who know, maybe I'll turn it into a short story and offer it as bonus material. In the meantime, wacky hijinks are out, paranoia and distrust are in.

There Are No New Stories

2011-10-03T17:06:00.003-04:00

You've heard me gush over Anne Sowards before, she's the editor behind some of my favorites series. I shamelessly stalk her on Twitter. Don't worry, she knows. We actually communicate sometimes about random things like books and Korean television.

There's a story there. I blame her link to You're Beautiful, a Korean comedy-drama about a cross dressing nun. I was sick, it was brainless, and before you knew it I was picking up more about Korean language and culture than I ever intended.

Not that I object to studying new cultures, it's just that Korea was never one of those places that grabbed my attention. It's a place on the map. North Korea is politically interesting and the pictures that escape always have a dystopian feel, but South Korea was just... there.

Until I ran across a character archetype in the dramas that I liked. Until the character I liked didn't get the story I wanted. Until I decided that the idea boiling in the back of my mind might work in a historical setting.

Reading history is like winning the lottery for writers. I was mulling over a few possibly plot lines for my new character when I ran across the Mongolian invasion of Korea in 1231 while I was doing basic Korean language research. It was like walking out to find my van stuffed with $100 bills. The perfect conflict. The perfect set-up. Everything I wanted for my characters already neatly recorded.

There really are no new stories, just pieces of history we've forgotten. I'm not sure Korean history was even covered during my years of schooling. For me, it was a forgotten piece of human history that I was trying to recreate in fiction.

Does that mean I won't write the story? Don't be silly! I'm stealing ideas from history, not hard data. Research is just glorified plagiarism after all. I'm taking themes, cultural ideas, and a few names from the time period but setting the book in a fantasy world (without magic). A twist on the historical novel.

Still, every time I start building a new world I can't help think how writers try to reinvent the wheel when they start to create. We take something as simple as Boy Meets Girl and reinvent it a thousand times, each time finding a new variation and giving the idea a new meaning.

What about you? What have you stolen from history?

Occupy Wall Street

2011-09-30T16:51:00.003-04:00

I'm not a very political person. There are very few things I wholeheartedly support (like stopping shark finning and whale hunting). Occupy Wall Street is something I can get behind. Poverty is a way of life for to many people. Not just in third world countries, but here in the United States.

People talk about how horrible welfare hand outs are, and why high school dropouts are such failures. What they don't see is the single parent working three jobs to feed their children and pay rent, yet still not making enough. They don't talk about the kid who leaves school at sixteen because they can't afford text books for high school, or doesn't have a roof over their head. Forty percent of the homeless in the United States are families. People who have lost jobs and homes.

Yet somehow there are politicians and CEOs who feel justified in earning five times what the middle class Americans make? Congress and Wall Street will happily give themselves raises, and cut jobs, sending another family to the brink of starvation.

We're some of the lucky ones. I'm a full-time at home mom because we can live on one income. It's tight some days. There are days I whine and complain. I wish I had more, but do you know how lucky I am?

I have a roof over my head, most people don't.

I have food in my cupboards, most people don't.

I have insurance that means I can take my children to the doctor and dentist, most people don't.

I have running water and electricity, most people don't.

There was a time in my life where I lived with the single parent who worked three jobs. We didn't always have running water. We used a plastic container for a tub because ours fell through the floor. We went without electricity some weeks because there was four dollars left after rent, and we could pay bills or buy a loaf of bread. And you know what? My mom earned to much to go on welfare. She kept the car running and a roof over our heads. We were rich.

I look at the politicians and companies that promise social reform, and I can't help but wonder if they have ever gone hungry. Have they ever stayed up at night worrying about how they will take care of their children? Have they ever considered selling drugs, because it's the only job they can get? Have they ever had to grow their own food or starve? Have their children ever gone to a school where lice is rampant and the water gets turned off daily because the area is so impoverished the teachers won't send a kid home before lunch?

You know what? Mine have.

They went to a tiny rural school that hadn't been updated since the 1950s. There were a few hundred students, and eighty percent of them were given free lunches because their families didn't earn enough. During the summer, the school was open to anyone who stopped by with two free meals a day. Summer school was free because the district knew most of those children had no one to take care of them while the parents worked, and the school lunch was sometimes the only meal they had. Lice infestations were common, no one could afford the $15 box of RID. The water was turned off a few hours a day, that money was needed for food and not made up in taxes.

Poverty is a disease. It is a curable disease. There is enough land, food, and money to provide for everyone on this planet, and quite a few more besides. No one needs to go hungry, but they do. Because resources aren't managed well, children starve, they live on the street, they cry themselves to sleep at night. That needs to change. Now.

If you want to learn more about Occupy Wall Street you can follow it on Twitter at #occupywallstreet and you can this article in The Atlantic.

Happy Friday Everyone! You Survived!

2011-09-30T10:07:00.001-04:00

Why am I torturing you? Just because. Enjoy your weekend!!!

War and Money a guest post by Alberta Ross

2011-09-29T07:00:00.002-04:00

Thank you Liana for letting me guest here today, very kind when you have so much coming up. You have, I know, written before about the necessity of some kind of money/trade in any culture. I had a similar dilemma when inventing the future world for the Sefuty Chronicles.

Money was always going to be a problem in my series. The world’s economy crashed along with ‘civilisation’. Monetary currency ceased to have any value. For decades the population was split, between those within the comparative safety of the City and those outside. Those within the City have, though, traded their independence of self, thought and action for the protection the City promises. The settlements outside have traded-in their freedom of movement for the false security of the landmines encircling their land. Any survivors left with no help at all live the best they can and the strongest, more determined/violent win all.

This was all before my novels begin. War has almost ceased although disputes and battles continue. Now is the time to try to build from the remains and is the time for some kind of currency that has value. I thought a long time about whether money could have any relevance in this new world but decided against it. Trade was the way my world would have to go, trading and bartering.

I have long been intrigued with how early in mankind’s history trade between communities evolved, not just locally but overseas as well. How the real dangers of travel – land, river or sea – were considered worth the risk to bring back some desired, needed commodity. For, in those far off days of early trade, the risks were without doubt great. The history of trade is a fascinating one of daring and courage.

One of the earliest verified was obsidian, black volcanic rock which was so useful for tools and weapons. Flakes of obsidian dating to 12,000 years ago have been found, a hundred sea miles away from the original source and may be among the first traded objects. Many objects have it seems been offered as ‘payment’ in different societies, armbands, tools, shell and woven artefacts. Something with a value, real or imposed, could be/has been used by some society somewhere throughout time. Then there was reciprocal trading of food between societies – the system in my series.

What did my trashed world have to trade? Life outside the City’s walls had plunged back to the middle ages in its basics. I had made life really horrific for them by encircling their settlements with mines. Mobility between communities had completely vanished and they struggled to exist on whatever resources were at hand when imprisoned! Many had perished.

The most valuable commodities they possessed, therefore, were knowledge (contained in books), the ability to read, write and, most importantly, one which the City did not have – the ability to adapt and innovate. Also, each individual settlement had particular foodstuffs, i.e. apples or wool, which other settlements did not.

The City, still able to produce some power, had many skills and a compliant workforce. They had vast libraries, advanced scientific and medical knowledge and the army. They had though inbreeding and, by manipulating their gene pool into peaceful compliance, had begun to lose impetus and innovative behaviours. They were dying out as swiftly as the imprisoned settlements.

Despite initial suspicion from both sides trade began and the Child Exchange Programme was the first organised trade to be set up. Children from the settlements were brought to the City to study either skills such as medicine to take back to their communities or those which could be useful for the City. Children from the City went outside to learn about innovation and adaptability.

Food trade routes were the next to be set up and, as the series continues, these become a more complex network of routes with strategically placed storehouses set up in abandoned settlements against the ‘bad times’. Records are kept to ensure any favours asked are returned in kind.

Retired soldiers have come out to help establish the trade routes and escort the children in safety between settlements and City and offer their services as mine clearers, escorts and law enforcers in return for land to settle on. The settlers agree to this trade-off because of the vital mobility and security offered in exchange.

Sometime in the future more than these simple if essential trade-offs will be needed in my future world and then, well who knows, does the world go back to that love of money which is a root of all kinds of evil? Is it possible to produce a monetary system that will only produce good? Doubtful really given mankind’s propensity to forget the lessons of history!

What do you reckon could we produce a world with ‘money’ without the downsides ?

I am running a give away during the tour.

2 winners of draw will win an e-book edition of
The first two books of the Sefuty Chronicles
Ellen's Tale and The Storyteller's Tale

3 runners up will win an e-book edition of
Ellen's Tale
(unless already read in which case The Storyteller's Tale)

How to win

A comment on each visited host site gives you one chance to win, also on my sites on those days I am posting there during the tour

an extra entry will be given if you mention the post on Twitter or Facebook
an extra entry will be given for a mention of the post/tour on your own blog

Let me know where you have spread the word

Alberta’s Bio
I spent the first part of my adult life travelling the world, the middle years studying and now have settled down to write. From the first part I have endless photographs, memories and friends. From the second I have a BSc Hons, an MA and friends. Now in this part everything comes together.

Over the years my interests have expanded, as has my book and music collection. A short list would include reading (almost anything) science, opera, folk, gardening, philosophy, crazy patchwork, freeform crochet, ethics, social history, cooking (and eating of course) gardening, anthropology, climate change and sustainability.

My parents gave me, apart from a love of reading and music, an interest and curiosity in everything which in itself has become a total inability to be bored and for this I am always grateful.

Alberta’s official website where detail of her books, extracts, readers comments and contact details can be found

Alberta's blogs about writing and self publishing

Blogging about anything she fancies

Alberta can be followed on Twitter @AlbertaRoss

Author in Residence

2011-09-28T10:21:00.003-04:00

5:30 - Wake up, check Twitter, debate whether I should go workout or not

6:00 - Wake the girls up, spend fifty minutes begging them to get moving

6:50 - Give the kids cereal

6:55 - Eldest panics over forgotten test, try to teach science concepts in three minutes

7:00 - Frantic hunt for shoes

7:05 - The bus arrives

7:10 - Wake up Bambino and feed him

7:15 - Chase toddler so I can get a new shirt on him

7:20 - Leave for speech therapy

7:50 - Sit in the freezing waiting room waiting for the perpetually late speech therapist

7:52 - Bambino starts screaming

7:53 - Rescue Bambino's shoes, put them back on

8:00 - Try to remember all the words Bambino used this week

8:30 - Leave speech and drive home in a rainstorm

8:50 - Get home, give Bambino toys, open manuscript

8:51 - Bambino sits on my lap with a book "Read?"

9:35 - Distract Bambino from pile of books with morning snack and blocks, review outline, start to write

10:00 - Respond to emergency email from school, check Twitter

10:10 - Write three words

10:10 - Hear the front door open and slam shut

10:11 - Chase Bambino down the street in fuzzy pink socks

10:13 - Catch Bambino when he stops for a mud puddle

10:15 - Haul screaming, muddy toddler home for a bath

11:30 - Toss the muddy clothes in the laundry and make lunch, check Twitter

11:45 - Eat with Bambino

11:50 - Clean up lunch disaster before peanut butter dries on the ceiling fan

12:15 - Clean up the dog food soup spilled on the living room floor while I was cleaning up lunch

12:30 - Put Bambino down for a nap

12:35 - Sit down at computer with glass of water, check Twitter, check email

1:00 - Open manuscript, try to remember what I was saying because I stopped in the middle of a sentence

1:40 - Delete 800 words after writing 300 new ones

1:45 - Stop by Twitter to cry over editing woes, notice time, wake Bambino up

1:46 - Thunder crashes overhead and lights flicker, I hope I saved, I'm in the car going to pick up kids

2:00 - Dentist's office - pay $300 because someone lost a filling in gym class

3:00 - Feed the hungry savages, check Twitter, check to see if manuscript survived the storm

3:30 - 5:00 - Argue over homework, the proper use of past tense, and what 2+ 2 equals

5:00 - Meltdown, everyone starts screaming and Dog does his potty dance, Eldest screams that she has scouts tonight

5:20 - Return from tug-of-war with Dog and find cereal spread across the floor, Bambino is eating a candy bar and cheese, load everyone in car and drive to scouts

6:00 - Start dinner, clean living room, check Twitter, dodge question about how this chapter is going

6:30 - Eat dinner

6:35 - Clean up, run to pick up Eldest from scouts with two tired kids screaming for bed

7:20 - Tell the kids to take a "really quick" bath

7:50 - Tell the kids for the last time to get out of the "really quick" bath and get to bed

8:00 - Bedtime, reopen manuscript, check Twitter in despair, what was I writing again?

8:10 - "Mom, I don't feel good."

8:30 - Peek at manuscript again, is it really that bad?

8:32 - Start Googling "new hobbies" I'm obviously not cut out for writing

8:47 - Beta-reader sends an email demanding the next chapter

8:50 - Start writing again

8:54 - Someone starts throwing up, go clean up, administer medicine, send to bed

9:25 - Check email for inspiration of any form

9:26 - Read email: "It must be great to do nothing but write all day! I wish I could do that!"

9:27 - Reply, "Me too."

Flying Lessons from a Beta-Reader

2011-09-27T08:11:00.003-04:00

"You can't do that. Your character would crash..."
- Actual comment from beta-notes

One of the worst mistakes an author can make is trying to write in vacuum. I think I've heard every excuse under the sun, from the popular "But someone will steal my work!" to the humble "I want to make this my writing, no one else's, you understand." Authors like to believe they can edit without any help other than a spell check and the trusty Strunk & White (please don't even start on the S&W - and don't buy one either).

Here it is in black and white: YOU CANNOT EDIT IN A VACUUM

Period. End of discussion.

It doesn't matter what letters you have after your name, or what grades you earned in school, or even how long you've been a professional novelist, you need outside input. At some point during the writing process, you need someone to give you input. You need someone to tell you what works, and to find the dumb mistakes you brain glosses over.

Stop Making Excuses
Everyone who doesn't have a beta-reader has a reason why not. The only reason you shouldn't have outside editing input yet is because you're not at a stage that needs editing yet. By draft three, you need editing input. If you think you can write a novel in under three drafts, good luck. There are a few legend in writing who can pull off such a feat, but I doubt they read my blog.

Find A Critique Partner
I'm not sure I can recommend any one way of finding someone to edit your work. Over the years I've made friends with, and critique partners with a variety of people. Each has their unique "how we met" story. I've found beta-readers ...
- at an online critique group
- at book club
- at the library
- in class
- on Twitter
- on a blog
- chatting with strangers on a bus
- at the park after discussing a novel we were both reading

I have different beta-readers for each stage. One is my designated cheerleader, she's there to get me through the woes of rough drafts. Another excels at line edits. I have several who are good for all-around feedback.

They all see my work at a different stage, and they won't see every project. I don't always need a cheerleader. On a short story or novella I may not need all-around feedback, just a line edit. One a short story I might be able to have an all-around person do the line edits. It all revolves around what the project needs.

Learn To Edit Your Work
Despite the excuses and vanity, most young authors don't know how to do this. I don't mean young as in "under 25" I mean young as in "has been writing full-time for less than ten years" (a category I still fall into by the way). Editing a novel isn't like punching out an essay an hour before it's due. Even writers with near-perfect memories need character indexes when they have dozens of characters running around.

- Get your facts straight (no exceptions)
- Make a character index (eye color should not change three times)
- Read your work out loud
- Follow the rules you make
- Learn when to use the delete key
- Save old drafts
- Practice makes perfect (or something very close to it)

Image of the crashing key courtesy of and copyright to Fighting Darwin. Used under Fair Use Laws. I believe no one was injured in the crash.

The Emotional Eighteen Wheeler

2011-09-25T19:19:00.003-04:00

There are days where you wake up wondering how you'll find the strength to get out of bed. Every muscle in your body aches, the room is swirling, and you suspect that bad news is lurking in your closet just waiting for a chance to slam you into a wall again. Don't lie, we've all felt like that at least once. That day where you're standing on the edge of sanity and one more push will send you hurtling down.

That's been my week. A long line up of bad news, the threatening gloom of funerals, rejection letters in the in box, and jealousy. On the bad days even good news can get twisted.

I'm a fast writer, but a slow editor. Some people can edit in their sleep (I've seen newspaper editors do this), but I need a steady diet of sour skittles, icy water, and humorous photographers poking me awake to make it through editing (miss you, boys!). While I've been struggling over draft nine for JANE DOE, and watching EVFiL get bounced around I've watched friends publish novels, novellas, and short stories. They've started and finished projects in the same time it's taken me to fix part of a draft.

Green with envy? Oh, yes. It's hard not to be when they're so many bright stars in the sky. There are some amazing writers, and I'm proud to be their friend, beta-reader, confidant, and fan. So rather than moan and whine about my sucky week, I'm listing some great books for you to read. Mine isn't out yet (be patient with me please) but theirs are. You should go read and tell them how awesome they are.

Enjoy!

PAST JUMPER by Jamie Heppner (the second book PRESENT JUMPER is also out)

KNIGHT ERRANT by KD Sarge (she's super sweet and has several books out)

CERTIFIED by Amy Laurens (she's my twin - buy all her books so I get a good Christmas present)

SUNDERED by Shannon Mayer (Zombie apocalypse romance - how could you say no?)

THE COOKIE DUMPSTER by Shana Hammaker (she gives you sparkly balloons if you follow her on Twitter)

ENCRYPTED by Lindsay Buroker (fabulous steampunk with a twist)

MONARCH by Michelle Davidson Argyle (or you could pick up any of her other books)

THE REASON IS YOU by Sharla Lovelace (preorder now - you know you want to)

EVERYTHING by Rob Thurman (it's not a title, it's what you need to go buy)

COLLISION COURSE by Zoe Archer (and then tell her to write more SFR because she rocks!)

OF POSEIDON by Anna Banks (she's a home town writer and I'm going to her book signing!)

INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows (the butterfly mask book - you've seen it on Twitter)

TEMPEST by Jamie DeBree (ultra-hot!)

MIDNIGHT'S GHOST by Sara Brookes (SFR and a cover with guns - you can't say no to that)

JAQ'S HARP by Ella Drake (up for awards!)

PHOENIX RISING by Corrina Lawson (trust me - go read the book - okay it's pre-order - order the book and thank me later)

THE CLEARING by Anne Riley (she used to be a hometown writer, and then I moved)

TAKING LIBERTY by Jodi Redford (SFR - this is not optional reading I LOVE THIS BOOK!)

REX RISING by Chrystalla Thoma (YA fun)

Well, that's certainly not everyone I know, but that should be enough of a list to keep you busy while I finished editing. If you've already read all these books go check out the SFR Brigade Library and find some new books to love there.

Friday Random... updates and other fun stuff

2011-09-23T22:13:00.003-04:00

Another "quick" doctor's visit turned into a six hour marathon. It's funny how the doctor keeps insisting I need to watch my iron levels because I'm anemic, but keeps demanding more blood work. The end conclusion was that baby and I are both healthy. I'm no longer running, but I'm not on bed rest, and once I kick the cold I'll be doing some modified training for the Tough Mudder (with no plans to run it this year for obvious reasons).

Baby Girl will probably arrive at the end of January. I'll have some guest posts up and probably take a general blogging hiatus for a few weeks, but it depends on where I am with my various projects.

Speaking of which... EVFiL is still alive. The early news date for the earliest two markets is October 15th, so I'm not expecting to hear anything before than. JANE DOE is in-progress, but I'm a bit behind because of the cold that knocked me out earlier this week. If you're a beta-reader waiting to get the first chapters they are coming soon. :o)

What's your random?

Where to find me on the social network...

2011-09-21T10:17:00.001-04:00

Twitter.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I am not a fan of FB or G+. My presence there is limited to the bare minimum. If you want to find me check Twitter or the blog. Everything else needs an update.

Achoo!

2011-09-19T11:23:00.003-04:00

Please forgive my temporary absence. I seem to have caught a late summer cold, and I'm currently buried in plums. Once I've canned my way out and found a cold medicine that doesn't leave me babbling incoherently (and is baby safe) I'll return to my regularly scheduled blogging.
- Liana

Friday Pitch to a Publisher!

2011-09-16T08:36:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure how I missed this, but the publishing house of Allen & Unwin has a Friday Pitch session. The accept UNSOLICITED (as in no agent or anything) submissions in all genres of adult work both fiction and non-fiction (no poetry, straight romance.

The rules are fairly simple, and you can read all about them HERE. In brief...

- Finished manuscript (Do not put yourself in a situation where they want your book and it isn't polished.)
- Short synopsis of 300 words or less attached as Word document (Think 2 minute elevator pitch style.)
- First chapter double-spaced attached as Word document
- Title Information Sheet pasted in the body of the email and filled out appropriately (Don't send the email with _______ instead of your name. Even if you're nervous.)
- Subject line for the email should be the genre for your story (If you don't know what genre you write you are not ready to submit.)

Allen and Unwin publishes some amazing books, and several of the authors have moved through the slush pile this way. Good luck!