Joliet Author Fair and Updates

Received confirmation from the Joliet Public Library Black Road Branch for Author Fest in October. Here are some of the details:

Joliet Regional Author Fair

Saturday, October 12, 2013

11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Joliet Public Library

Black Road Branch

3395 Black Road, Joliet, IL  60431

This was such a great event last year, and I'm really looking forward to meeting people and having the chance to sell books. 

Looks like more of my ebooks are soon to be in print format--Dabblers, Game Faces, and Stranger Faces. That will mean ALL of them are available in both formats! 

Now then, for book #8, "Where Power Lies": still making changes and catching repetitions as I go. I'm starting to feel more of an itch to get onto the next Windsong Lake book, but I'm trying to exercise some discipline here. "Power" still needs editing, and a synopsis, and a blurb, and a cover...

More Paper Editions

Looks like "Dabblers," "Stranger Faces," and "Game Faces" will at last be available in paperback editions very soon. I can hardly wait to start stocking up for my two upcoming library events.

Working on "Where Power Lies" this morning, I realized two long sections of dialog will need to be revised. They both introduce a line of thought as though it were brand new, but that can only happen once. I know I'll still have to go back over the whole book and look for that sort of thing in other places. The only method I know of is to jot down notes in a separate file while I read of the important things that occur. Then I can more easily determine if I've got any duplication.

I've also started reading my first book for Windy City Reviews, and the book in question has passed the first hurdle--it drew me in. More on that when the review comes out. I also abandoned another book I was trying to read. It did not draw me in. Several pages into the book, I still had no idea who the main character was. I couldn't connect. I tried my old trick of turning to the back to see how it ends, but the last pages contained a whole different set of characters not introduced in the early part of the story. Ah, well . . .

Updates and Progress

I did some updating on this blog site yesterday, adding a page for "Seer, Tyro, Fiend." Added the same to my Google site, Kathryn Flatt, Writer . While I don't have a firm date on the book release yet, I thought seeing more about the sequel could induce some people to read "Dabblers" first.

Also yesterday, I sent the corrections for "Stranger Faces" the print book, so that one will also be coming out soon.

Now it's back to "Janus" for a while, at least until I get galleys for "Dabblers" the print book. The big scene I alluded to earlier is written, so the stalker angle is now evident to Jack and Tabitha as a concrete fact. So who fired shots into their bedroom? Someone stalking Tabitha? An old enemy of Jack's? A stalker of Jack? Someone concerned about the case he just started working on? All the characters will have their favorite suspect and motive, and I hope the result comes as a big surprise. That's always an issue for me, of course. I always wonder if I've made it too easy, either by what I put on the page or what is implied. Did I give the real antagonist too much face time and so subtly suggest this person is more important? I know who it is already, of course, and I know what the motive is. Now I just have to make sure the other suspects have equally believable motives.

The Purpose of the Scene

I've been concentrating on proofreading the galley for "Stranger Faces" and so have not made any real progress on "Janus" this morning. I have been thinking about it, however, and also did a little research earlier about guns, particularly rifles. My killer is going to buy one in a coming scene, most likely an illegal one, and I needed to know what sort of weapon would be the best, how it would be described to the dealer, and all that sort of thing. As usual, I'm not out to impress anyone with detailed knowledge within the story itself. I only need to know enough to make the passage plausible to a potential reader with their own knowledge of guns. Since my "baddie" is out shopping with a nefarious purpose in mind, that character will know what to ask for. I would not want any reader to say, "But no one would use that kind of gun to kill someone that way!" and then throw the book aside.

Which brings up another point in my mind, i.e., what to leave in and what to leave out. I just finished a scene which introduces the idea of a stalker, and the next big scene where the killer takes action is a ways off. How to fill the time in between? Should I just jump over the interval? I would if I could not think of anything significant that happens in it. The rule is, everything that is in the book should have a purpose. Maybe it's introducing a character or providing some insight about one. Maybe it's foreshadowing, laying the ground work for something to come. Is comic relief a "purpose?" If I were writing humor, maybe.

An example comes to mind from "Stranger Faces" of how I broke the rules in a way. One big rule is to get some conflict going as close to page one as possible, but I didn't. The start of Chapter 1 serves to establish the setting, the time frame, and to reestablish Tracy's personality, but the mystery at hand does not really start until the last half of the chapter. HOWEVER, there is another purpose behind the opening scene which follows Tracy doing her job of solving problems--the characters in that scene will return later to fulfill different but pivotal roles in the action. Even as I first wrote it, I felt this might be a risky move, but I let it stand with the hopes that potential readers would have read the first two books in the series and have an interest in Tracy, enough to keep them going. I'd also hope readers who have read my other novels would know that I hate loose ends and like to tie everything together in a neat package by the end of the book.

Ah, Proofreading

This morning, I picked up the galley files for "Stranger Faces" the print book and I started reading. Once again, I find myself itching to change little things that don't really need it--a phrase reused in too short an interval, a word, a paragraph change--but I know I must resist. I'm on Chapter 4 now and have only found one real correction.

I also added a bit to "Janus Games" first thing, having jotted some notes on ideas the night before. At times it seems that my subconscious knows the plot before I do and supplies those ideas as needed, surprising me with how well things fit together. Even when I have to devote some time to proofing galleys, I try to keep adding to my current work in progress so the story doesn't lose its allure in my imagination. I also think about how great it is to not have a regular day job to get in my way.

As for things that get in my way, in 15 more days, I'll get rid of one of them--the cast on my arm.

Series Updates

This morning, I had to redo the cover for "Stranger Faces" print edition in order to get the images properly centered. That took some time. Now I'm hoping to get back to "Janus Games" a little bit today.

On the plus side, I am finding I can almost type with both hands again. I am hitting keys with my left ring finger, which is above the bone that is broken, and there is relatively little pain in doing so. The cast still makes typing very clumsy, though, as it does so many tasks. Hopefully, I'll be out of the cast in another couple of weeks.

On May 2, I received an email from the Illinois Center for the Book/Illinois Authors Database asking me for a picture. I sent one, and now my profile on that page has been updated. Here's a link:

http://www.illinoisauthors.org/authors/Kathryn_Flatt

It's a good feeling to have places I never knew about asking me for stuff to put on their site.

Zowie!

So far today, 21 hits on this blog, up there in the record books. My inclination is to believe that it had a lot to do with the wonderful comment I received on yesterday's post. Any author who doesn't publish with the big houses knows how much effort must go into self promotion, and word of mouth is a huge component of that.

Now I must confess something. In a way, I broke one of the rules in my sixth novel, "Stranger Faces." Usually, I'm the first one to cite the rule about getting the story's conflict out there as close to page one as possible. In "Stranger Faces," I tried something a little different which stretches that rule, and I'm going to explain why I did it. My POV character, Tracy Wiley, is your basic amateur sleuth even though she's not investigating a murder in this one. She's a shoot-from-the-hip, seat-of-the-pants type of problem solver, figuring out moves to get herself out of jams on the spur of the moment. (How's that for overloading on cliches?)

In her latest adventure, she's hired by her old friend, C.I.A. agent Kevin Fox, to accompany him on a road trip to Chicago to help him figure out who betrayed him on his latest assignment. He wants Tracy along to throw anyone watching him off guard since they won't know who she is or why she's with him. He's out in the cold (oh, do the cliches never end?) and doesn't know who in the intelligence community he can trust. He gives her very little information to work with, so she's flying blind. Later, she gets dragged back into his troubles, in serious danger, and must figure it all out for herself.

Now, back to the broken rule. The book opens with Tracy doing her normal job, which is solving people's non-legal issues for an hourly fee. Later, after her trip with Fox, she does another routine job for a regular client, and then further on, a third one, not so routine. These mundane jobs are the set up for her problem solving skills, giving her someone to turn to for help when she needs it. While the situation with Fox is presented in Chapter 1, the heart of the conflict and the dangerous situation she faces are unveiled more gradually. Since it's all told in first person from Tracy's viewpoint, I wanted the trouble to be unclear to her (and the reader), unfolding as she investigated it.

Okay, confession over. In a way, I did follow the rule about getting the story started as close to page one as possible, but I did it sort of sneaky. Maybe even a little bit of a refreshing change?

Something I wrote here triggered a Gotcha for today. cite/site/sight You cite a rule or regulation. A building is erected on a site. What you do with your eyes is sight.

Who Are These People?

A bit of a departure this morning, since I've not really accomplished much on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" today. Still trying to decide how to do something. The "fiend" is going to contact Stefanie, but I'm not sure how just yet.

Anyway, the departure: how I name and develop characters.

Jack Watson: Oddly enough, when I began writing "The Dreamer Gambit," the private detective was meant to be a secondary character. I decided my main POV, Tabitha, should find him attractive, but he would want to stay purely professional. The next question was why, what motivated him. Thus began background development of the detective--stuffy upbringing, strong on ethics, recently divorced, disastrous marriage. He started to interest me more, and about the same time, I found that making him a POV would help to take the reader where the action is and could set up some tension in certain scenes. Why Jack? I don't know. The name popped into my head. Why Watson? His full name came out to be John Holmes Watson, Junior, but I wasn't even thinking of a Sherlock Holmes connection when I found the name Watson on a website of surnames. Then it fit. Make him an ex-cop and let his old connections tease him about Watson the Private Eye. With "The Changeling Kill," Jack sort of took over the series.

Tabitha Solo: Since the story of "The Dreamer Gambit" revolved around her, hers was the first name I had to come up with. The inspiration for "Dreamer" came from the dream sequence, and for no reason I can really explain, it started with Scott's voice calling Taaaa-bith-aaa. Her surname was Solokowski, which seemed like a good name for a Chicago girl, and HONEST, I SWEAR, I didn't think about naming a singer "Solo."

Tracy Wiley: Okay, I confess on a little word-play on this one. Once again, the name Tracy just popped into my head, but I chose the last name as applicable to her tendency to crack jokes.

Elena Griegos: Tracy's Doppelganger in "Two Faces, Two Faced." I wanted a name that sounded exotic, foreign, but perhaps not definitely indicating one country or another. Didn't want to target another culture or fall into any cliches about countries. The other consideration was that it be easy to pronounce. I don't want readers to struggle with the name every time they encounter it. The resulting name could come from a number of countries, but in the end, the character came from none of them!

Christian Roosa: Believe it or not, the sexy police detective of "Game Faces" and "Stranger Faces" was about to be called Jefferson, short form, Jeff. A friend of mine who could hardly wait for a followup to "Two Faces, Two Faced", didn't like it, and I wasn't all that excited about it either. Then I thought of Christian, which is kind of an antonym because the character is a womanizer. His last name? I once worked with someone with the last name Roos and was told it was Dutch. I remembered this as I passed a street on my regular route to the grocery story--Roosa Lane. Bingo! The detective has a last name!

Stefanie Durant: When I first wrote "Dabblers," some of the names were different. Stefanie's last name had to say "French" because of Paul and I chose Devereaux. Her friend Amy's maiden name was Parker, and her husband was Nathan. Then some good friends turned me onto the TV show "Leverage." It had characters named Nathan Ford, Sophie Devereaux, and Parker. Oops. Purely coincidence. I looked up French surnames on a website and found Durant, which means enduring, and I liked the underlying meaning for Paul. Amy's husband became Adam, and I changed her maiden name too, but it only gets mentioned a time or two and isn't really important in any way. By the by, I spelled Stefanie with an "f" instead of a "ph" because people call her Steffie, and it's easier to make the mental connection by sticking with the "f" all the way.

Today's Gotcha: Envelop/envelope The first one's a verb meaning "to surround." The second is a noun, meaning something that surrounds. The trick? Past tense of the verb is enveloped.

Retirement - Day 1

So here it is, my first day without a salaried job in almost 40 years. Facebook asked me how I was feeling this morning. I feel mighty fine. Throughout the day at the office yesterday, a lot of people asked me what I was going to do next, and many were shocked to learn of my literary pursuits. While working, I made it a point to NOT talk about writing except during more personal, friend-type conversations with people, because I did not think it would be ethical to market my books while on the job. As much as possible, I strove to keep my two worlds separate. Of course, as I prepared to leave employment, the rules changed just a little. I mean, when people asked the question, lying would then be unethical, right? (I'm sure Jack Watson would cringe.)

Once I arrived home, I had some time to work on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" but stalled at another crucial juncture. Stefanie is about to receive some clues that will solve the missing-person mystery, but those have to be somewhat esoteric, like pieces of a puzzle that must be put together to make sense. Deciding what those should be led me to another thought regarding my own fair-play rules. I started to wonder if I have provided just enough clues as to the identity of a major villain. This person (see how she cleverly declines to provide a hint with a gender-specific pronoun) does not have much time on stage so far, and the easy answer is to "beef up" that scene some more. Would it then be too obvious due to the drama it would entail? But another appearance might also be too big of a hint. The other option is to mix things up so that the reader isn't all that sure who the baddies are.  Ah, well, I'll have more time to work on it now!

There are some other writing-related tasks high on my to-do list. I need to finish up proofing on "Game Faces" for the paper edition and check the corrected paper galley for "The Changeling Kill." A paper edition for "Dabblers" will be showing up before long, too.

And just yesterday, people were warning me that I'd get bored after a couple of days without a job!

If My Book Became A Movie...

Somewhat belated, I'm doing a casting piece for "Stranger Faces". Some of the entries remain unchanged from earlier volumes in the series.

Tracy Wiley - Michelle Monaghan (hope I spelled that right). She sort of reminds me of younger Stephanie Zimbalist who is really what the character looks like in my head. Think "Remington Steele."

Alex Laughlin - Simon Baker. Never thought anyone else came close.

Kevin Fox - Ryan Cartwright, who I mentioned in another post, probably for "Game Faces" as a perfect fit for Fox, originally inspired by Pierce Brosnan, also from "Remington Steele".

Chris Roosa - Bradley Cooper. It's that smile that does it, but he'd have to wear special contacts to get the amber eyes of the character.

I may do another post with some additional characters when I can find time to hunt up the talent.

Still making progress, albeit slow, on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend," but a couple of pages a day ain't too bad. I'm about to start a really exciting passage, as I mentioned a day or so ago, and I'm almost afraid to get started on it because I'd have to stop in the middle.

Whirlwind

"Two Faces, Two Faced" is ready for print edition. "Stranger Faces" is out on numerous vendor sites. I have a contract to complete for print edition of "Dabblers". "The Changeling Kill" print edition has been proofed. "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" is about half done. The developments keep coming so fast, I can hardly keep track of them. But it's great. I'm certainly not complaining, unless it's about not having enough hours in the day to work on it all.

One memory from Love Is Murder keeps coming back to me. Last Saturday night, between the last session and dinner, there were tables set up for authors to talk to people and sign their books. One woman came up to me and said she had bought three of my books at Barnes and Noble and asked if that had in any way "messed" me up. I assumed she meant since I had copies of "The Dreamer Gambit" in the LIM bookstore. I told her no worries. My publisher get my books out for sale at lots of places. But she bought three of my books! How cool is that?

Earlier this evening, I was talking about some serious stuff with my husband, things about our individual childhood years, and it struck me at the time that part of "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" is about that for Stefanie, and perhaps for me as well. My childhood was nothing like hers, of course. If my childhood were written up as fiction, it would probably be about as interesting as reading a telephone book from cover to cover. A Chicago telephone book. Or maybe New York. Anyway, I heard myself say something to my hubby that could have come from Stefanie just the same. Writing this now, I find myself thinking about other things I heard at LIM, particularly, authors in panel discussions of various subjects, talking about how real-life people inspired their characters. I've never done that, but I guess, in light of all the above, that my characters are somewhat based on me. Perhaps that's an inescapable fact for authors, because facets of each fictional person will come out of the writer's imagination and so must represent some part of them. I think that may be so even for characters based on real people.

Or am I the only nut case out here?

Promotion and Other Stuff

Updated blog page, Google site, Goodreads, and AuthorsDen with info about "Stranger Faces." I still need to add the cover image to my Twitter profile, but I'm wondering how useful the Facebook pages are. FB ads can get "likes" but do those translate to sales? Is it worth it? (Anybody care to chime in on this?) I did update my Goodreads ad to promote "Stranger Faces," although I need to load an image for it, so I'll see how that does once approved. And then there are the Google ads which are low on funds and may require updates.

I finished the first proof of "The Changeling Kill" for print but haven't built my corrections document yet. Mostly, the errors are "lost" italics, generally for showing someone's thoughts that are a paragraph all their own. Italics that are combined in a paragraph with regular text never go missing.. Proofing the print edition galley isn't nearly as intense as the e-edition, i.e., the first real editing pass, but it can sometimes be an eye opener. I also tend to notice things I would like to change, as a matter of artistic preference, but those changes are a no-no.

Itching to get back to "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" as more of the scenes develop in my head. There will be much more "mystical" stuff in this one than in "Dabblers." Stefanie is learning to control her psychic ability and is learning it is an enormously powerful thing. Conflict arises as she fears what she may have to sacrifice to embrace it fully. More conflict in that she knows she's changing, becoming stronger and more different, yet how will her husband and friends feel about the changes? And there's the mystery of a missing woman to solve as well as the resurfacing of Stefanie's dark past. Should she seek revenge or offer forgiveness?

Oh, yeah, we got conflict.

Busy, Busy

Half way through my first proofreading of "The Changeling Kill" for the print edition. Since galley readings are mainly for formatting errors and the outright typos, I itch to change things that I see which hit me as needing to be said better than the original, but I must curb the urge.

I'm eager to get some new advertising out there, but I'm holding back on it until more vendors pick up "Stranger Faces." Since my time for writing pursuits has become somewhat limited, the preparation for that which I would normally do must wait a bit.

Thinking more about the contest idea. I thought I would put up a quiz with questions about "The Dreamer Gambit" that can be answered by searching various websites where there are samples of the early pages/chapters. I have the questions ready, but I need to research the cost of shipping the printed books to the winners and deciding how many there will be. This could also tie in with the print release of "Changeling" in early April, but I'm not sure how just yet.

More and more ideas about "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" keep coming into my head, and I also long for a good heads-down writing session on it. Still not certain about the final climactic scene, but it's coming. It's coming.

Catching Up

Well, Love Is Murder now over for 2013. I had a good time there, talked to a lot of people, generated a few sales, and conducted myself rather well I think on the panel discussion. At first, only a handful of people showed up at my session, but the room filled out later. I managed to answer questions without sounding like a stuttering fool, and maybe even sounded knowledgeable. The biggest thing about attending LIM, though, is that being surrounded by other published authors as well as those who want to be published provides a feeling of having accomplished something. I've crossed the line since my first Con in 2009 from being an "un" (unagented and unpublished). Still don't have an agent, but I'm working on my 7th novel. Not half bad.

"Stranger Faces" showed up on the Write Words, Inc. site on Friday, as scheduled. "Two Faces, Two Faced" print edition shouldn't be far behind. I'll need to do some updating of my various websites as soon as "Stranger Faces" shows up on Amazon. I could do it earlier, but my computer time of late has been so limited. Then there will be the advertising stuff . . .

Eager to get back to work on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend." So eager, in fact, that I had some free time at LIM and began handwriting a difficult scene on paper! The imagination just will not be silenced for very long before the words have to come out.

Meetin' and Greetin'

I'll be heading out to Love Is Murder in a few more minutes after some last minute printing this morning. My panel discussion isn't until Saturday, but oddly, I don't feel nervous about it at all. Public speaking has never been my strong suit, but I'm working on it because an author needs to get out there and promote. I have copies of "The Dreamer Gambit" for the book store as well as chapbooks for "The Changeling Kill." I made up business cards and a brochure about my books as well as a one-sheet summary of my three series to hand out tomorrow.

I've checked the Write Words, Inc. site a couple of times this morning for an appearance of "Stranger Faces," but it's still early, not even 8 a.m. "Two Faces, Two Faced" should be out in print, too. "The Changeling Kill" is scheduled to go paper soon (I believe galleys are on the way), and I have contracts for a print edition on "Dabblers" to sign and send.

I still manage to make progress, in small ways, on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" and I hope following the conference here, I'll have more time to do some heads-down writing.

Showing Versus Telling

My computer time has been curtailed quite a bit lately for various reasons, but I'm doing my best to keep up with all my contact sites.

The other day, I was jotting down a passage for "Seer, Tyro, Fiend," and I had an epiphany of sorts. Everything I have ever read about writing fiction advises "show, don't tell." Okay, sometimes you do have to tell, such as when information must be given but it is not special or critical enough to warrant a lot of elaboration. Sometimes, you just have to say it and move on.

I had often thought that the first person point of view allowed some latitude on this, since the narrative is the character telling his/her story. One literary agent I worked with said it should be like the character telling it to a best friend. But the way one talks to one's best friend is telling, and it can make for very dry reading, not putting the reader in the shoes of the POV. An example:

"I stepped back to get a viewing perspective of the sketch and got a nasty shock."

Revised:

"When I stepped back to get a viewing perspective of the sketch, I gasped and dropped my pencil."

The difference is obvious. What she did shows her surprise instead of telling she was surprised.

Show versus tell has always seemed a somewhat slippery distinction in my mind, especially in first person, but I think I've stumbled upon a way to overcome. I'll be reviewing the manuscript for "Seer" at some point for just this sort of opportunity to put the reader "in the moment."

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1: "Stranger Faces" in ebook and "Two Faces, Two Faced" in print! 

FUTURE: "The Changeling Kill" and "Dabblers" going to print!

A Bit More Progress

Cadged a bit more writing time this evening and pounded out a few lines of "Seer, Tyro, Fiend". I'm coming up on a tricky part, where Stefanie will talk to one of the antagonists and try to elicit information from him without him suspecting she's onto his tricks. It's a turning-point passage and will have a huge impact on the story going forward. While I can always go back and tinker with it after the fact, initially I have to figure out just how much information will be revealed and how it will be revealed.

One week to go until Love Is Murder. Really excited about the opportunity to talk to readers and writers, to be on a discussion panel, to learn more esoteric information from experts about crime and criminals. I've already used some of the bits I gleaned from last year's conference, especially from the retired government agent. In fact, his talk planted the seeds of inspiration for "Stranger Faces."

Eagerly awaiting final copies of "Stranger Faces" so I can update all my websites. Then I'll have to get onto promotion as much as time allows. Ah, to be a full-time writer . . .

Put It To Bed and Start the Promo Machine

Sent off the corrections for "Stranger Faces" this morning, which stamps a big "DONE" on that project. The story closes with some avenues for future books still open, although I have not given the next one too much thought. (Okay, I've thought about it some.) I like Tracy, and she's easy to write, probably because there is a lot of me in her.

I'll be focused more on getting some publicity done for "Stranger Faces" as well as "Two Faces, Two Faced" which is coming out in paperback. There are websites to be updated, advertising campaigns to update, etc., Love Is Murder is also on the horizon, where I'll be on a panel discussion about writing more than one series at a time.

Back to work on "Seer Tyro Fiend" which is turning out to be more fantastical than "Dabblers" was. Stefanie is trying to explore her psychic ability in more depth, to learn to control it, but there are no guide books for doing so. She must feel her way carefully, torn between the euphoric sense of gaining control and the fear of where it will lead. Sort of like the first time you drive a car at high speed.

One "Seer" is done, it will probably be time for a third Jack Watson book, although I continue to wrestle with the new character I want to introduce as his partner and new POV character. I think the real question I have to answer is one of the first two in the plotting recipe I've referred to: "What does this person want?" I have a fair idea who she is, but what does she want? What motivates her in the decisions she makes? I can answer in terms of the plot I have in mind, but I need the overall, her worldview.

Even if I'm only writing one book at a time, I guess I'm always working on more than one at a time.

The Home Stretch

I managed to get my laser printer working (98.8% anyway) and printed the galley for "Stranger Faces" for one more read. I've already found a couple of things to fix, so I guess it was worth it. The cover is ready, everything else is ready. Once I finish this final pass on the ms., it'll be time to prepare all the web materials for this site, Google, Authorsden, Goodreads, Facebook . . . whew!

More updating needed on promotional materials to take to Love Is Murder, too. I have brochures--black and white, but with a blurb on each book, all 6 of them. I have the business cards. I'm also considering redoing the fact sheets I made up for the Joliet Library Author Fest last fall. This format is 2 pages with color thumbnails of the book covers. I thought this would be something good to hand out at the panel discussion I'll be on at the Con. I really intend to pull out all the stops on this one.

Laying in bed last night, I did some imagining for "Seer Tyro Fiend" which created a great scene, a dream sequence. I've also added some more to the manuscript, although not a lot, but enough to give me a sense that it is moving forward. I think I've identified the first casualty in the story, too.

Circumstances at my day job may get in the way in weeks to come and prevent me from blogging as much as I would like. I'll do my best to keep providing content whenever I can.

Torn

Well, I have one more week before corrections on "Stranger Faces" are due. I've read the galley straight through twice, gone back and covered segments of it, and my list of corrections is about a page and a half. I'm not sure if I should be proud or wary. Should I look for more? Should I try to fix the problem on my laser printer and get a hard copy to review? Or is that just killing trees?

I'm also in the midst of preparing for Love Is Murder which is the week after that. I made up some new book brochures and printed some more of my homemade business cards.

I think they look pretty good. Used Print Shop Deluxe to create them and special card stock to print them on. Not too shabby for someone who didn't know squat about computer graphics programs not so long ago!