Updates and Miscellany

Yesterday afternoon, I received my print copy of "Dabblers," and frankly, the sense of satisfaction never diminishes with each book. One more print book left to receive, and I understand it's on its way.

I checked with the libraries where I donated books and was delighted to find "The Dreamer Gambit" in both their catalogs. One of them was even checked out! Might this lead to people discovering my other books, too? Sure hope so, because that was the whole idea about donating to the libraries.

Everything is prepped for "Where Power Lies" now, as I've pretty much settled on the most recent cover design, the one with the blood on it. That red spot really pops, I think, and more or less settles the fact that the woman beside it is the murder victim mentioned in the blurb. Anyway, I think it will work.

Back to Mongan Manor today. I need to sit back and consider the scene I'm working on next and what change it will bring about.  I think I know what it is, but it's just a matter of how I can reveal it.

Critical Passages

On to a new chapter in "The Janus Rule," i.e., Chapter 10. Another critical scene is underway, but even as I prepared to write this post, the thought hit me: Aren't they all?

I've seen advice to writers in a number of places that anything that does not move the story forward should be left out. Well, within reason, of course. I've read many a book where that advice was ignored. I find it annoying to read a number of pages about something the characters are doing only to find out that it really did not mean anything. It did not supply any new information, either about the plot or about the characters. On the other hand, writers are often told they need to flesh out the characters and add layers of imagery to put the reader in the scene, make the reader imagine what's happening. Conflicting advice? Not really, but hard to explain and execute. Granted, The Muse is hard to defy sometimes. The scene happens in my head and begs to be written down, even though the story will be fine without it. If that's the case, it gets cut during editing. Sometimes, a quick passage can pass the test just as comic relief. The key here is "quick." Okay, I guess this calls for an example.

In "The Dreamer Gambit," one of my main characters, Tabitha, is abducted by bad guys who want to know what she knows. She is then drugged and dumped on the street in a questionable part of town. She needs to be rescued. Two ladies of the evening find her and go through her purse while she lays there in a stupor. One of them has the kindness and presence of mind to call her emergency number which reaches Jack who was off meeting an anonymous contact with vital information. I got to play with a little humor in writing dialog for the two women as well as in their conversation with Jack, but it moved the story forward by solving the problem of how he could possibly find Tabitha in a big city.

In another passage, Jack and Tabitha take a trip out to the suburbs for some R-and-R. They go to a restaurant, they shop, she buys a music box. Over dinner, they discuss some aspects of her case, and Jack reveals some things about his past which help define his character. Basically, I got back to business in the space of a couple of short paragraphs. I believe this passes the test of what to leave in. BUT...and a big one...had I gone on in detail about the town they visited, the people they saw, the antique store and its owner who liked to entertain customers with magic tricks, maybe even inventing some dialog for him, that would have been too much. Creative, pleasant, memorable, full of imagery, but not essential to the plot. By the way, the music box does make an appearance later that opens a touch of conflict which leads to a turning point in Tabitha and Jack's relationship.

It's all about pacing, after all. Too much description or development of inconsequential stuff bogs everything down. For readers like me, it leads to a question at the end of the book, "But what about that business where they...?" If it did not add anything, I wind up feeling duped.

Anachronisms

While working on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" this morning, I caught a sneaky anachronism, one of those Gotchas. Most people think of the word as referring to a person, place, or thing showing up in a time period where it should not be. For example, a character in American colonial days leaning against a telephone pole, or making reference in a historical romance to California before the state even came to be. There's another type of anachronism that can happen in fiction, where things happen out of sequence. An example might be a character going upstairs when she is already upstairs.

Here's the one I found today: Stefanie has an art show at a gallery and some paintings are sold. Someone also commissions her to repaint a work that sold before they could buy it. Another painting sold is a very personal work that she did not want to include in the showing but did at the urging of the gallery owner. The next morning, she goes to her studio and meets up with her friend, Amy. She begins to tell Amy about the show and mentions the sale of the painting she did not want to include, along with a troubling encounter with someone from her past. Before they can pursue the subject, Amy must attend to customers in her store, and Stefanie goes upstairs to her studio. Later, Amy comes up and they continue their talk while Stefanie mixes paint colors. Amy admires one of them and asks if it is for the commissioned work.

Ha! Stefanie had not yet said anything to Amy about the commissioned painting! An anachronism. This was easy to fix by having Stefanie mention it in her first discussion with Amy before being interrupted by customers. Because of my haphazard approach to writing, there may be more.

Actually, there's an anachronism in "The Dreamer Gambit" that has been there since it was published. Oddly, only one person has ever made note of it, and that was a good friend of ours. Other reviewers have never seemed to notice it (or were too polite to say they did). Because "Dreamer" had been rewritten and revised so many times, I'm not a bit surprised.

Don't think for a minute I'm going to give it away! I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has noticed it or finds it.

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.

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.

On Progress, Character Creation, and Reviews

Excellent progress made on "Seer, Tyro, Fiend" yesterday, and some this morning, too. The story is really coming together well. A fair amount of the action involves Stefanie's odd and tortured childhood, and I often find myself somewhat depressed after writing any passage in which she recalls significant events. Perhaps that says the emotion really comes through, although Stefanie reacts to them with anger instead of sadness. Her character keeps getting stronger as she works through her feelings while at the same time facing a mystery.

I've probably mentioned I will be on a panel discussion at Love Is Murder next week, about writing more than one series at a time. Naturally, this has me thinking about writing sequels, as does an email from the panel moderator with some sample questions which might be presented at the session. I suppose that when I begin to develop a character for a novel, I build a past for him or her which forms the basis for the way they think, feel, act, and react. I seem to have a penchant for tortured souls. Jack Watson certainly fits in that category, although Tracy Wiley not as much. A second book in a series allows some exploration of the character's defining past, drawing out the details that would have been too much to include in the introductory book.

I suppose this is where I should state that my own past is no more troubled than anyone else's. There were no major trauma, no huge obstacles to overcome. No drama. Drama is what I try to create for my novels, though. I find it rewarding and stimulating to make up stuff that happened to my character, weaving a past for them that explains who they are at the time of the story. Is the creating of a tortured past an attempt to elicit empathy from the reader? I don't consciously approach it that way. I'm not thinking, "What will make this character interesting?" In Stefanie's case, she has an unusual mix of traits and talents which made her childhood equally unusual, and being different is what she fears. She wants acceptance, to have the kind of life she sees other people having. In "Seer," she feels she has some of that acceptance from her small circle of people, and she is starting to explore her differences in a more positive way, looking to them to make her stronger even if that means being different.

On a side note, yesterday, I did a Google search on my name, which I occasionally do to find mentions of my books, and I came across a review of "The Dreamer Gambit" on a blog page. The reviewer gave it three stars out of five, and commented that one detriment was its length, i.e., whenever it seemed the story should be over, it kept going. I think I see where that opinion could come from, but I believe it is important to tie up all the loose ends at the end of the story. "Dreamer" was a complex puzzle involving lots of people with different motives, and it required a fair amount of wrap-up after the big action moment. I've seen this done by best-selling authors all the time, so after thinking about it more, I decided to take the criticism with a grain of salt. After all, you can't please all the people all the time. At least the rating of three stars was meant to indicate it is worth reading.

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.

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.

BookFest Recap and Miscellany

Yesterday was Glen Ellyn BookFest. I actually sold a book! Also handed out fliers and business cards which I hope will lead people to check out my ebooks and various web locations. I got to meet people and talk about writing with other authors which is always a great experience.

I decided at the last minute to get in on Pitchfest to give a one-minute sales pitch on "The Dreamer Gambit." Because I did not plan and rehearse, it was something of a disaster. I probably should have read the blurb off the back instead of trying to ad lib. And having a one minute time limit adds another layer of stress on top of facing a sea of people. Funny thing is, I managed to do the same thing--give a quick description of the book--to a number of people who came to the authors' tent looking to buy books. Guess I just do better in the one-on-one, which leads me to the conclusion that I need to work on speaking to larger audiences. I've had some experience with that in the past--giving a training class at the City of Naperville many moons ago and speaking to the Lunchtime Rotary Club on the City's Y2K plans--but it's been a long time and I was prepared for those. Perhaps the larger lesson here is to always be prepared. I need to be ready to talk about my work to any audience, from one to a hundred, anytime, anywhere. This is something I had not previously thought much about, and I'm considering it a lesson learned, thanks to BookFest.

While in the authors' tent, I was approached by someone from the Glen Ellyn Library about possibly coming to do a talk of some kind. I hope she did not see my performance at Pitchfest and change her mind. I think I could handle sitting with a small group and discussing my writing experiences and the craft itself. Just being asked was a thrill, another milestone in feeling like a Real Author.

A few more take-aways from the event: I will probably sign up for the Chicago Writers Association which I learned more about at the authors' breakfast. Randy Richardson spoke to the group about it, and it sounds like something else I should get into. Also, I spoke to some people who were at Love Is Murder in February, and I know I have to sign up for the 2013 event. Who knows? I might get another opportunity to be on a panel.

Ahead in July: Kindle Book Review is going to announce the semi-finalists in the Best Indie Books of 2012 contest. "Two Faces, Two Faced" is my entry. If I make the first cut, i.e., my books goes to the judges, I'll have bragging rights on that, which would be great ad copy with the sequel coming soon. Later in July, I should be getting some idea of what I sold in the appropriate quarter (Apr-Jun for Write Words, Jan-Mar for most everyone else). Let's see what my publicity push accomplished!

For the nonce, back to writing.

Ready . . . Set . . .

Stocked up and getting prepared for Glen Ellyn BookFest next Saturday. I bought more ink cartridges, a sign holder, and a tray, and then got to work printing. The letter-style tray will hold a single-sheet summary of all my published books. I printed about 50 of those. The stand up sign holder is for the price sign for paperback copies of "The Dreamer Gambit." I'm thinking about creating chapbooks for "The Changeling Kill" to be given to anyone who buys "Dreamer." The paperbacks will have a special gold label on the binding. I printed a sheet of those too, but I need to trim them a tiny bit before applying to the books.

Further preparation--I've got my eye on a small blue toolbox that formerly held -- tools! -- to use as my cash box. It needs to be cleaned out first, and I've found a small padlock to use on it. I'll also get the opportunity at the event to give a one-minute pitch to the audience as it gathers for the keynote speaker. One minute can be horrendously short or excruciatingly long or both. What to say? I have some idea, but it will require polishing and rehearsing.

As for progress on "Dabblers," my first pass is up to the final wrap-it-all-up chapter. I hope to complete at least a second pass before the editor at Write Words sends me galleys for "Game Faces." I have some ideas for cover art for "Dabblers" that I'm mulling over. Of course, since "Dabblers" is a new story line, it will have to be sent to the Write Words committee for acceptance. I guess I shouldn't get the cart before the horse here and take it one step at a time.

Updates and News

Received confirmation that I will be participating in Glen Ellyn BookFest 2012, sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Public Library on Saturday, June 23. I will have a table in the tent where I can sell copies of "The Dreamer Gambit." There will be more sales opportunities inside the library before and after the speakers--one-minute pitches to the audience--as well as a morning program about promoting your own books.

I've already put together a single-sheet summary of all my books which I can give away. Books will be deeply discounted and signed. I also need to make up signs, and I'm contemplating doing something extra. One idea was, in line with the chess theme of the "Dreamer" cover, offering Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies to passers by, maybe attached to the summary sheets.

Should be a great promotional opportunity!

The Changeling Kill - Soundtrack

As I've probably noted before for my other novels, music plays an important role in inspiring me in my writing. Sometimes, the words of a song strike a chord (no pun intended) and spark an idea for a scene. Other times, something I happen to hear seems to mesh with a bit of the novel already written, as though it was made to be played in the movie if the novel ever became one.

Now that "The Changeling Kill" is published -- still waiting for more vendors -- it's time for IF MY BOOK BECAME A MOVIE. I'll list these by the name of the song in the book.

We Can Soar - This is Tabitha Solo's big number in the concert that is the setting for the big denouement. While it is not an actual song, it was inspired by "Running" from the Sarah Brightman disk "Symphony." Both the real and the imagined song feature orchestra and choir. Both start out in a more classical mode with a rock band featured in the middle section.

Smooth - An actual song by Carlos Santana with Rob Thomas doing vocals. In the book, it's being played at a party.

Taking Care of Business - Old song by Bachman, Turner Overdrive from decades ago. It gets mentioned as the ring tone Tabitha uses for her manager.

Cover Me - The Bruce Springsteen tune which Tabitha sang to Jack in "The Dreamer Gambit." She now uses it as her ring tone for him.

Love Awake - A nonexistent song I made up at the end of "The Dreamer Gambit." Tabitha wrote it for Jack and people tell her how much they like it.

Next come the songs not actually mentioned in the book but which I heard and felt connected to it.

A Girl Like You - by Edwyn Colllins. There's a lyric in there: "Now my hands are bleeding and my knees are raw. 'Cos now you've got me crawling, crawling on the floor." This one relates to Jack's relationship with his ex-wife, Victoria.

Suddenly You Love Me - Old song by the Tremeloes (hope I spelled that right). Another song for Jack and Victoria. "Oh there's never been a woman who can treat me like you do . . ."

Jack's tortuous relationship was only hinted at in "The Dreamer Gambit," but it takes center stage in "Changeling" since it's Victoria who hires him and pulls him into the plot.

Next up, casting. While the main characters were cast in the blog post for "Dreamer," there are a number of other roles to fill in "Changeling." I haven't really thought about them in depth, but will for a future post.

And We Have A First Draft

Wrote the final chapter of "Game Faces" today, completing the first draft. Of course, there's still a lot of work to be done on it, as previously mentioned: adding sensory details, verifying consistency of facts, fleshing out characters, adding more description to action sequences. My piecemeal approach to writing generally requires this additional checking/expanding step. I'll be in the middle of, say, Chapter 10, and realize that I need to go back and set up something or explain something much earlier so that it doesn't bog down the part in Chapter 10. It's all part of my process. There may even be an element of not wanting the story to actually end yet once I've written that final line. I go back and re-read and tweak and augment because I want to stay in that world.

"The Changeling Kill" is days away from publication. I will, of course, need to get into publicizing it, mainly through my various web outlets.

And there's the book fair in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, in June. It's not far from where I live, and it will be a chance to sell books. I'll have paperback copies of "The Dreamer Gambit" but I'll take along promotional materials for "Two Faces, Two Faced" and "The Changeling Kill." This will be a new experience for me, sitting on the other side of one of those tables trying to sell something. At this point, I'm not sure if it's nerve wracking or exciting.

Scattered Progress

More added to "Game Faces" yesterday, bringing page total up to 275. Not nearly the progress I've made under more favorable working conditions. Problem is, I feel like the story is concluding too quickly. Of course, once I get through a first draft, I'll be going back over it to be sure I've provided enough information at various stages to make the Big Scene make sense and be sure Tracy has all the clues she needs to put things together when she needs them.

The most recent segment is proving somewhat troublesome. While she's been through a lot to this point, Tracy's a tough lady. But how tough can she be in the current circumstances and still be believable? She's not meant to be a superhero, but if she isn't at least a bit more capable than ordinary people, she won't be as interesting and her getting into these adventures won't seem plausible. It's a fine line to tread.

On a side note, I received the "Love Is Murder" newsletter yesterday, and it mentioned a book fair in nearby Glen Ellyn, Illinois, coming in June. While I did not find any info on the Glen Ellyn site about securing "a place in the tent," I'll keep watch. I have paperback editions of "The Dreamer Gambit" I can sell, and I can make chapbooks for "Two Faces, Two Faced" and "The Changeling Kill." If I can get this set up, it will be a new experience, to be on the other side of the sales table at a fair!

Scattered

Making progress on a number of fronts. Proofing of "The Changeling Kill." Further experiments in cover art. Ramping up advertising on Goodreads and Google with tie-ins to "The Dreamer Gambit."

I'm really eager to get back to "Game Faces" since it is in the most exciting part now, just pages away from the confrontation whether Everything Is Revealed. Need to do some sketches of the scene layout to get it straight in my head and make sure Tracy makes all the right turns and nobody winds up doing the impossible.

This weekend, I must spend time completing my tax returns (ugh).

Now That I'm Unstuck...

Page 145, most of the way through Chapter 9. My chapters tend to be about 15 pages each, give or take. Sometimes if I really get going, I don't bother with making a chapter break and then redistribute later. The important thing with chapters, though, is that each end should prompt the reader to want to keep on reading. A book on writing that I read a long, long time ago had its own chapter titled "I Just Couldn't Put It Down" that discussed pacing and making the reader do just that.
So between the closing sentence of one chapter and the opening one of the next, I've also added chapter titles which (hopefully) hint at what's coming next.

Today, I also called the folks at Google advertising to try to get my Google ad up and running. The instructions provided on the website were not terribly clear about display vs. destination URLs, but I think I got it fixed. It may take a couple of days to be approved, they said.

I'm hoping, too, to set up a quiz on Goodreads. The idea is that if readers can answer 10 questions about "The Dreamer Gambit" (things you can't find in any of the previews on the net), I'll send the first five (or some other number) a free, signed copy of the paperback edition. I'd like this to be a lead-in for "The Changeling Kill" when it comes out. While I tried to write "Changeling" in a way that reading "Dreamer" first is not essential, I hope it will grab a few curious readers who like to read a series in sequence.

Planning

Page 135 and now starting Chapter 9. I would have produced a lot more except that I spent some time working through details of who does what to whom and why. When it comes to the actions that move the plot, even the minor characters need believable motivation. While what each one does based on those motivations may be good or bad, there must be a reason.

Although I am writing fiction here, I feel it's important to make it as close to real life as it can be in the important ways. Very rarely is any one person totally good or totally evil. Sometimes we cannot agree with their choices or actions, but those should at least be understandable and come from a reasoning process that people can relate to. It would be easy to just label this character or that character an evil person and not try to rationalize what they do, but I think that's more like comic-book fare. Figuring out all the motivations involved in "Game Faces" was a challenge because there are a lot of different factions involved.

On a side note, a friend just finished reading "The Dreamer Gambit," and her praise for it and my abilities made me blush. She said something very interesting,, though. She commented that after reading the book and being a bit awed by the intricacies and the ideas, to be sitting there talking with the person who wrote it inspired even more awe. Meanwhile, from my perspective, I don't feel very awe inspiring. I'm just a person who likes to make up stories and weave mysteries which I am fortunate enough to have read by others.

Love Getting a Great Review

I posted the first chapter each of "The Dreamer Gambit" and "Two Faces, Two Faced" on Writers Cafe, and received some great reviews.

On "Dreamer" from Steve R.:

Great stuff. Raises lots of questions, like is Jack or Burt one of the guys who killed Scot C? Starting out with the different plot threads that I'm sure get tied together keeps the reader eager to read more, I think. No wonder you have a couple of novels published already. Description of the bar is well written. Descriptions of the people too. Enough to give an image without being overwhelming.

On "Faces" from Chris:

...And so it begins... You set a mood, began the intrigue. Not overly stereotypical. The pace was good. I liked the grasp of humor and the character interpretations.

The best thing is hearing that people get the humor, actually find Tracy's jokes and quips funny. Humor is not that easy to do as I've been told by many writers far more experienced than I am, so it feels good to know I managed to get it right.

Now the challenge will be carrying through that aspect of Tracy's personality in the sequel. Yes, Virginia, there is going to be a sequel. I've got quite a few ideas and am working through the plot, now that the heavy-lifting for "The Changeling Kill" is done.

Speaking of "Changeling," after searching through more image websites than I can remember (or want to), I think I may try staging the cover for it myself. A few props will be needed, but they should be easy to acquire. I just hope it winds up looking reasonably professional.

Maybe I should have a Plan B, just in case.