Little Scenes

One of the fun things about writing the Jack Watson books is the little scenes. Sometimes, these are from the antagonist's point of view, and I use them to provide updates on what the baddies are up to, supplying (hopefully) an element of suspense. I also sometimes include them to define something about one of the characters.

But my favorites are those where I'm providing hidden clues and especially making up incidental characters. Those one-scene characters often must be memorable so that they pop into the reader's head when mentioned later. An example from "The Changeling Kill" is Little Bobby, an informant. In "The Janus Games," I just invented a gun dealer aliased as Jerry Nefarious. The killer goes to him for a weapon, complete with the sleazy dump of a house where Jerry conducts business and a code name the killer uses to gain access. As the two of them verbally circle each other, small clues are dropped. Of course, I'm only on Chapter 5, so they are very small clues. The setting is a great opportunity to paint word pictures.

Names for these incidental characters are fun, too. Since they are only mentioned once, I don't have to worry too much about name similarities. I believe I addressed this before (see the page "Observations for New Authors") where in an unpublished novel, I had a good guy named Michael and a bad guy named Maxwell. When they get into hand-to-hand combat near the end, it becomes confusing as to who hit whom because the names look so similar. For one-scene characters, I also don't worry about reusing a name now and then. It's only natural that anyone would encounter more than one Tom or Jerry or whatever along the way, but never in the same book.

The Good Stuff

Oooh, this is getting good! I just revealed a key piece of the puzzle in "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" and it will lead to some startling conclusions. Events are coming faster now, as they should at this point in a story, but I still find I need to go back and add bits of foreshadowing as I go. For example, I need one character to have a certain predisposition to react in a specific way to something scheduled for the big confrontation scene, so I went back and added a few lines here and there to give hints of it earlier in the book.

The drive to finish the book is strong now, but that is also in competition with a number of other things I wish to do with my abundant free time now. It's also a struggle to not fritter away that time with goofing off, which I sometimes tell myself I have every right to do if I choose. When I do goof off some, I usually wind up regretting not spending the time better. Ah well. Guess I'm just not as disciplined as I could be.

On other fronts, I've checked corrected galleys for "Game Faces" and "The Changeling Kill" print editions, and I believe they are ready to go. "Dabblers" paperback is also on the horizon. Being that I published three ebooks in 2012, I would like to keep up the pace by finishing "Seer" soon. Then I'm thinking it's time for the third Jack Watson book, although I've not had much time to think about it. I have an opening scene in mind, as well as a general plot, but I usually have much more than that in my head before I start putting words in a document.

After that, I have in mind a reworking of a previously written though unpublished novel. It has to do with conspiracies and an alternative view of how society really functions. I've been thinking of pushing the setting into the future a bit and extrapolating on current trends in setting the stage in a dystopian world. Since I wrote it once (or twice maybe) already, I have characters and a few scenes. The original plot will need some tweaking, and the main point of view character has already gotten an overhaul.

Then again, as I've worked on "Seer," I've begun getting a few ideas about a third entry in the series. But those are just fragments, not a plot or anything, so it's way out on the horizon.

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.

Recap of Day 1

Accomplished a lot of writing-related stuff yesterday. Lots of writing done on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend." I decided, since my post yesterday, that I did not need to figure out all the esoteric clues I was about to deliver. I can always go back and tweak, augment, and refine what I write. Once that scene was done, another one developed smoothly from it. And the reason it flowed so smoothly was because I let the characters take over. I let them be who they are as they tackled the situation.

Galley proof for "Game Faces" the print edition - done. Verifying corrections to "The Changeling Kill" print edition - done. In the process, I picked up some interesting editing info. I did not know that Gurney should be capitalized because it is a trade name for a particular type of stretcher. I also did not know that the Chicago Manual of Style says that the word "god" should only be capitalized when used reverently. When a character says, "Oh my god" - no capital g. Never knew that.

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!

Not Above Begging

Made lots of good progress on "Seer." Now things are moving faster, which means soon I'll have to come to grips with the final big scene, what happens, and to whom. There will be a second climactic scene, but it's needed to sew up a BIG loose end. I hate loose ends and do my best to not create any.

Is it too soon to be thinking about my next endeavor? I already have a couple of candidates in mind, but neither idea is at a stage of development yet that makes me long to get into it. I think about both stories from time to time, but since I'm in the middle of a first draft of "Seer" and there will be much work to do on the book after that, I don't want to risk getting all excited about the next thing so early.

"The Changeling Kill" is slated to come out in a paperback edition, and I wish I could find a way to get some
reviews on it. I've tweeted about it, and posted on Facebook, but those venues are so fleeting, perhaps the plea gets missed. So I'm putting it out here on my blog today, hoping someone will want to read and review "Changeling" and maybe wind up with their review quoted on the back cover! Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Authors Den, another blog--anyplace at all. Anybody? Please?

Pantser

Added a few more pages to "Seer Tyro Fiend" today. I've also solidified the sequence of events going forward. And still I don't know exactly how the final scene goes. Having talked to a few authors at LIM, the term they use is "pantser" as in seat-of-the-pants writing. I was quite surprised at how many authors are in the same camp. One of them said it's more fun that way, discovering what your character will do moments before he/she does it.

My author's copy of "Two Faces, Two Faced" is on its way. "The Changeling Kill" is one step closer to being a print book too. Very exciting stuff. Now I need to find time and inspiration to do more promotional activities.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my new followers on Twitter and friends on Goodreads. It's really great to connect with readers and writers -- lovers of fiction. Since I also started putting these same posts on Authors Den, those blog entries have been getting a huge number of hits. To all you who read my blog posts, I'll try to keep the info coming and interesting, even in light of less time to devote to it for the present.

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.

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.

Winter . . . Booo!

Been nursing a cold the last couple of days, but progress has been made on a couple of fronts.

First pass of proofing "Stranger Faces" is done, and only 14 items to be changed. Must be some kind of new record. I wanted to print the galley and then read from paper, but my old laser printer decided to be uppity today and paper jam before page 1 even completed. I'll try again when I don't have to wipe my nose or sneeze or cough every 15 seconds as well.

With Love Is Murder 2013 on the horizon, I started putting together some publicity stuff to take along. I have chapbooks for "The Changeling Kill," although I don't know if I will just set them out for the taking or reserve them for people who buy "The Dreamer Gambit." I set up chapbook documents for "Dabblers," but the printing and assembling are more than my patience can handle just yet. I've considered making some bookmarks, as well as adding the two most recent books to a trifold brochure I made last fall.

I did add a few lines to "Seer Tyro Fiend" over the last couple of days, but no big surge of productivity there. Tomorrow is another day.

The Joy of a Series

Haven't blogged for a couple of days. Friday--company holiday party and then preparing for company at home. Saturday--more prep, company stayed until late, but we had a great time. Now I'm looking forward to Monday and Tuesday off to do some series writing.

"Stranger Faces" is slated for release February 1! Still have to proof galley when it becomes available. Feb. 1 is also the date for release of "Two Faces, Two Faced" print edition. And all of this just in time for Love is Murder.

Sequel to "Dabblers" is progressing well, socializing notwithstanding. I had a couple more ideas for the title, but I want to do a search and make sure there are no other books published recently with the same title. Don't want to cause confusion out there.

In regard to the subject for this post, there's a lot of good to say about writing a sequel. It means I get to explore the character more deeply. In "The Changeling Kill," sequel to "The Dreamer Gambit," I got the chance to delve into Jack Watson's past, specifically his hellish marriage. In the sequel to "Dabblers," it's digging into some of Stefanie's unhappy childhood, her early days of dealing with her psychic gift. In both cases, the past is reawakened by current events, so the retrospective angle becomes important and necessary. Applying more history to the character is fun creatively and turns him or her into a more real person, even to me. I get to meet them during their first novel and then we become closer friends, sharing our dark pasts and deep secrets, in the sequel.

Tracy Wiley, on the other hand, did not work out the same way, but that's because her personality flaw, i.e., her withdrawal from people when her mother and brother died, has left some aspects of socialization underdeveloped. Her naivety in that regard is part of what gets her into trouble. Ah, well, if people were all the same, what a dull world it would be.

Gone and Done It

First draft of "Stranger Faces" complete! Now there's the editing, the "layering" of details, proofing, etc.

I've also been hunting for a cover concept. A few ideas have occurred to me, but I'm not sure what I want to do with it. While it must follow the theme of the first two covers, my early attempts have come out looking like a rehash. And according to my own rules, the cover should be constructed out of elements that set up the story and pull the reader in without jumping too far into it. In fact, the cover should catch the eye first. Then the blurb hits on the same elements as the cover and gives an idea of how the story starts. This is a lot of requirements to have to pull together.

In the background, I've been thinking about a sequel to "Dabblers" (and it's not even out yet!) as well as a third entry to the Jack Watson series. I have a plot concept for the latter, but I'm thinking of introducing a new POV character, introduced as a secondary character in "The Changeling Kill," but I don't know this person well enough yet. In one of my writing reference books, there's a list of questions designed to foster building a sketchy idea into a real person. I may hit on that. Mostly, it's a matter of dividing my time and inspiration.

I am also concerned for my friends at Write Words out in Cambridge, Maryland, where Hurricane Sandy is bearing down. I hope they and everyone else in the storm's path is prepared and comes through the ordeal unscathed.

Another Book to Go Paper

"The Changeling Kill" paperback edition is getting underway, as noted on my publisher's blog page. That will be three out of four published books in hard copy. Very exciting stuff. I should be able to get copies of "Two Faces, Two Faced" to sell at Love Is Murder in February, but I don't know about "Changeling" yet. Guess I'll be updating my promotional materials again.

I started thinking about cover art for "Stranger Faces" which is in the final wrap-up chapter. While that does not mean the book is "done" by any stretch, I figure I need to start on the cover now in order to have it all done at the same time to send off to Write Words.

And for my next project? I've been working on ideas for the next Jack Watson book. I have more ideas for a sequel to "Dabblers." I've also toyed with doing a short-story collection. Another Faces entry? "Stranger Faces" will leave the door open for more. There are also five other older manuscripts that could be whipped into shape for publication. Some of them require more whipping than others, and some were never even finished in the first place. The decision may balance on how "Dabblers" is received. Perhaps the interest in things paranormal will continue with readers for a while more.

Gearing Up

With various medical problems now behind me (I hope), I am gearing up for the Joliet Public Library Author Fair on October 13. This weekend will be for preparing signs and handouts.

After considerable debate and wringing of hands, I am adding an email address to my blog. You'll find it down at the bottom of the page under CONTACT ME. I seriously hope I don't wind up with a ton of spam, but I do plan to watch for emails and reply to any that request a reply.

Nothing sent to this email address will be used on this blog without the consent of the sender, so please don't be shy.

I've also made a bit of progress on "Stranger Faces" and started thinking a little bit about the cover art. While the notion of making up my own artwork was daunting at first, I've grown to like it a lot as a creative outlet. And since I've gotten more familiar with and adept at using different graphics facilities, I think the covers are getting better and better.

Still, "Stranger Faces" requires a good deal more writing on the first draft and then the addition of enriching layers. Soon (I hope), galleys for "Dabblers" will arrive and I will have to work on that. My publisher also mentioned a paper edition for "The Changeling Kill" which means another round of proofreading. I'll add the search for my next project to the list as well.

And having outlined all that work to be done, I feel invigorated, excited, because this is what I love to do.

An Annoying Interruption

Been under the weather for the last few days. The doctor said it's called torticollis, a spasm of the big muscle that goes across the shoulder and up into the neck. Very painful. I am on the mend now, but not quite 100% better. Over the last weekend, I did little or nothing in the way of writing. I didn't think anything could disable me enough to do that, but it did. Between the pain and the sleepy effects of the muscle relaxant, I could barely stay awake most of the time.

There are a few updates, however. My publisher asked about doing a print edition of "The Changeling Kill," and I noticed that the cover art for "The Dreamer Gambit" on the Amazon site has been changed to reflect the fact that it is part of a series. Since stuff is getting loaded to Amazon, maybe "Game Faces" will show up there soon, too.

Back to work on "Stranger Faces" until the galleys for "Dabblers" make the scene. I'm really hoping that one gets out for Christmas. The quarterly payout for book sales will be coming in the next couple of weeks. It is the only indicate I ever have of how many books I have sold. Unless . . .

Anyone reading this page who has read one or more of my books, please feel free to tell me so via a comment. 

Don't know what I'll get out of that, but you never can tell.

Joliet Library Author Fest

Saturday, October 13, I will be at the Joliet Public Library's Black Road branch selling my books--ebooks as well as signed paperbacks of "The Dreamer Gambit." I look forward to meeting people there and talking about my books. "Dreamer" will be sold a special reduced price, and purchasers will receive a free chapbook for "The Changeling Kill", i.e., the first three chapters.

I'm going to try my hand at printing business cards myself. The forms were readily available at WalMart. I have the ink jet printer. Printing my own has the advantage that I can print a small number at a time and then be ready to update the content as needed. Can't do that very easily with business cards from an office store, where you have to buy hundreds of them at a time.

Finished second proof of "Two Faces, Two Faced" for the print edition. Only 12 changes, and they are very minor--some lost italics, a couple of misspelled words, a couple of word changes to prevent confusion to the reader. I've gone over the cover art several times. I think I'm done.

Hope "Game Faces" shows up on Amazon soon. Work on "Stranger Faces" has temporarily taken a back seat to other stuff, like promotional activities and proofreading. "Dabblers" galley should be ready in a few weeks, and I'll get to work on that.

Ever Onward

Today I drafted a query letter for "Dabblers" and plan to send it tomorrow. I still find things to tinker with in the manuscript, but they are small things, a word or two here or there. The story itself is solid and all the loose ends tie up nicely at the end. I think it's ready.

Created a Face Book ad today for "The Changeling Kill." The page has 9 likes so far, so I'm hoping to see a lot more.

As soon as "Game Faces" shows up at Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble, I'll do an ad for that one too.

Also have an idea for a new Google ad. And of course, there'll be stuff to do on Goodreads and Authors Den.

Then back to Tracy 3 (still untitled, although it will have the word "faces" in it somewhere). I've pretty well worked out who did what and how it ends, along with the final "big scene" and the wrap up. Eager to get back to real writing.

A Promo Day

Spent some time on promotional activities this morning. First, I sent an email to a reviewer at Windy City Reviews to submit "Two Faces, Two Faced." Of course, I've no way of knowing if I'll be sending it or, if sent, if the review will be positive. It would be great to have a quote to put on the back of the print edition cover.

I made some revisions to this blog page as well, as noted in the welcome message at the top. Now each novel has its own page with a synopsis, reviews, etc., much the same as my Google site (see link at left). Unfortunately, the purchasing links had to go, but the books are not hard to find at the usual places.

Getting ready for the release of "Game Faces" in just a few days. Once it hits Amazon, I can set up a Facebook page and run an ad. I'm thinking I should also do an ad for "The Changeling Kill" while I'm at it. And there's all the other places like Goodreads, Authors Den, and Google. And let's not forget Twitter (which I sometimes do). I should probably tweet more. I recall reading an article about promoting yourself as an author which mentioned that it's easy to spend so much time promoting on the web that you have little time to write. It's a tough balance to strike, but I don't think I'm anywhere near the tipping point yet. Not with two books coming out and two in the works!