Pot Pourri

Yes, I've been very quiet lately. There just hasn't been much to talk about. Which is kind of a relief! However, with November fast approaching, I do have a few fun things to share.

First up, I've decided to sign up to do Nanowrimo this year. I have my doubts that I can actually be a winner (which requires writing 50k in a month--my current maximum production in a month is about 35k), but it's great motivation and I've got projects I really want to complete. If you're doing Nano, please buddy me...I'm there under the user name Jackie_Barbosa.

I'm also (partially simultaneously) doing Seventy Days of Sweat. The seventy days starts November 10 and ends January 26 (they built in an extra week for the holidays--wasn't that sweet of them?). The goal is a minimum of 60k, which should be a lot more doable than 50k in one month.

Between Sven and Nano, I'm hoping to get a great jump start on my single title historical, as well as perhaps polish off a couple of smaller projects on the side. (Yes, I'm promiscuous when it comes to WIPs!)

Finally, I have a new release coming out with Cobblestone Press on Friday, November 14. Comrades in Arms is an erotic short story set at the end of the Peninsular Wars. Here's the blurb:

Amid the horrors of war, Lieutenant Heath Wetherill has found comfort in the arms of his commanding officer, Lord Charles Langdon. But now, the war has ended, and the two men must return to their civilian lives as upstanding members of the British nobility. There’s no room for their torrid, illicit affair in stodgy old Mother England, especially not with Charles’s wife waiting for him.

But Lady Isabella isn’t a conventional ton wife, and theirs isn’t a conventional ton marriage. Maybe there’s hope for a happy ending, after all.

And here is the beautiful cover, done by the lovely and talented Bree Bridges:

I love the intensity of the expression of the man on the left. He's Charles to a T. And the guy on the right--a very yummy version of Heath.

And the blonde in the middle? She's one damn lucky lady, that's all I have to say! Who wouldn't want to be caught between these two hotties?

But, of course, I couldn't be satisfied with mere cover art when I could have a book video. I have to say, the whole process of creating them can really be quite addictive.

Of course, you can spend (i.e., waste) oodles and oodles of time looking for images that fit your story and even more trying to find just the right music. And when you do, you squeal like a three-year-old girl who's just received her first Barbie.


So, after a few days of procrastination, a few dollars on images, and an hour at http://www.freeplaymusic.com/, I bring you:

Quick Check-In

Yes, I know I've been remarkably remiss in posting of late. If you've cruised by the Mavens blog recently, then you'll know I managed to complete Behind the Red Door and submit it to my editor on October 1st. This afternoon, I received confirmation that the book has been accepted, without revisions (though there will be copy edits and galleys, of course), and is scheduled to be released in June, 2009.

Woot!

Now, it's onward and upward. I'm writing a couple of shorts and then I'll be getting started on the proposal for my option book, which I can submit in 30 days from today. Since I have to write three chapters and a synopsis, I may not be ready to send anything until the middle of November, but it's nice to have a target date in mind.

For the next couple of days, I'll be off to San Antonio for the day job. The last time I was there was nearly twenty years ago, when I went to an SCCA conference there with my father (who passed away in 1998). I have very fond memories of that trip and am looking forward to a stroll down memory lane at the River Walk on Wednesday afternoon/evening.

YOUR TURN: Whatcha doing this week? Any fun plans?

Random Post

I'm 1,200 words (give or take a few hundred) from the end of the third Red Door novella. It's due tomorrow. And yes, I'm going to make it!

That said, I had to share this from the Online Etymology Dictionary.

shrapnel
1806, from Gen. Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), who invented a type of exploding, fragmenting shell when he was a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery during the Peninsular War. The invention consisted of a hollow cannon ball, filled with shot, which burst in mid-air; his name for it was spherical case ammunition. Sense of "shell fragments" is first recorded 1940. The surname is attested from 13c., and is believed to be a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a dim. form of O.Fr. charbon "charcoal," in ref. to complexion, hair color, or some other quality.

Who knew?

Upping the Ante

Well, the work-in-progress is currently sitting at a little over 12,000 words. The minimum word count for it is 25,000. Which means 1,000 words per day just isn't going to cut it.

So, as of today, the daily word count goal is doubled to 2,000 words per day.

Eep! Better get crackin'!

Playing Catch-Up

I fell way short of my goal the past couple of days due to a raging head cold complicated by allergies. It's hard to write anything lucid, much less sexy, when you've got some fiend poking you in the temple with a sharp stick and you're either sneezing or blowing your nose constantly.

I've got my work cut out for me, but there is no try, only do!

YOUR TURN: How's it going? Cheer me up with all your wonderful stories of progress and success!

30k in 30 Days Challenge--Update

Cross-posted from the Mavens' blog.

I planned to check in a little more often than this, but actually doing the writing seemed to eat up most of my time. (Wonder how that could have happened?) I have been managing to update my daily word count over there on the right, but that's about it for updates so far.

So, yesterday marked Day 15 of the challenge. I'm a little shy of 15k at this point, but that's primarily because yesterday was Sunday, and Sundays are always iffy for writing (this funny little thing called "family time" seems to get in the way, lol).

The good news, however, is that this method seems to be working. Making sure I sit down and write every single day with a specific goal in mind has made a huge difference in my productivity. When I do get a good, solid block of time, I am writing faster and more efficiently, and finding it not that hard to meet or even exceed the 1,000 word goal.

Which is a good thing, because I've now completed two of the three novellas that are due on October 1, and it's going to take me more than 1,000 words per day to finish the one I'm writing now. My math tells me I now have to average 1,400 words to write THE END on that one by September 29, the last day of the challenge, giving me a whopping ONE DAY to polish it up before sending it in. Am I worried? Nah! I'm freaking terrified. LOL.

YOUR TURN: Update us on your writing progress for the last fifteen days. If you're in on the challenge, how's it going? If you're not, what are your current goals and how are things coming along? Remember, we love to hear from you, even if we are pretty quiet ourselves!

The 30K in 30 Days Challenge

X-posted from the Mavens blog.

Since I last posted right before leaving for the RWA National Convention, I've been swamped by the day job. My company holds a conference for its clients every year in late August or early September (depending on when we can get the hotel), and I'm a major contributor to the effort. This year, I gave four presentations, none of which were remotely close to being developed at the beginning of this month. I had four weeks to get my act together, and believe me, I needed every one of those weeks.

So NOW, I have another deadline looming over me. I've promised all three of the Red Door novellas by October 1st. The first novella is (thankfully) already complete, but the second and third are sitting at 5,000 words (of a projected 25K) and roughly 20.5K (or a projected 30K). Soooo, to finish and ship the printed manuscript off to New York in time, I've got to write an average of 1,000 words per day for the next thirty days.

That's more than doable, of course. But since I've been "out of the saddle" for a full month now, it seems more than a bit daunting. And so, in an effort to motivate myself, I'm setting down the 30K in 30 Days Challenge. My friend and critique partner, Emma Petersen, even created this graphic you can post on your blog or website if you decide to jump on the bandwagon:








The challenge officially begins today, Sunday, August 31 and ends Monday, September 29, but you can jump in any time with your own start and end dates. If you'd like to engage in periodic check-ins, support, encouragement, commiseration, advice, and the occasional ass-whuppin' when you need it, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll be posting again next week to let you know where things stand, and you can let me know how you're doing, too. In addition, I'll be keeping a calendar on my personal blog to show my progress. There's nothing like a little shame and humiliation to keep me on track!

YOUR TURN: Want to join the fun? Leave a comment and I'll blogroll you!