Archive for the 'Real life' Category
There’s a natural human tendency to overvalue what we lack and undervalue what we have. I always envied my poplar opposites. Learning to appreciate who I am is ongoing journey.
As recently as the pre-writing stage of the third mech adventure, I longed to add humor to this installment of the seduction mission series. Seriously, a lighter version of the dystopian world seemed like a brilliant plan. Deciding to compose an upbeat blues number would be equally ridiculous. 
I love reading frothy romances and I admire authors who write delight romantic commedies, but I’m not one of them. This is okay, because my absolute favorites to read and to write are dark fantasies.
Do your reading preferences run to the light or the dark side?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
Is there something a bit firece about that picture of the Statue of Liberty or is it just me?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
A nostalgic whim took me back to five years ago. I was waiting to hear from editors about multiple submissions. Ah the good old days when I had a backlist of unpublished stories polished up and ready to send.
Alas, nowadays there are no more old manuscripts lurking on the hard drive ready to submit. Even my previously published titles need work IMHO before I’m pleased to reissue those early releases… Worse yet, I take a lot longer to write and polish a story than I did largely because I’m much more critical about every aspect of writing craft. There are aspects of blissful ignorance I miss, but once I grasp new information there’s no recapturing that state of innocent cluelessness.
I can, however deliberately ignore rules… Romance encompasses a wide range of different kinds of stories. Could you forgive a hero who cheated on the heroine? How about an uncertain ending? What makes a book a wallbanger for you?
Would you overlook an uncertain ending?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
Reading has always been a source of comfort, joy and frequently enlightenment. Currently I keep two book wish lists. One for recent releases and another for favorite authors’ titles missing from the Kindle. I’ve purchased the same music and movies in more than one format so re-acquiring books I’ve already read doesn’t seem strange to me.
Reading a new author promises the thrill of the unknown much like visiting a new city. Rereading offers the ease of coming home. All my favorite books whisk me into a different world either the past, a fantasy realm, the future, or an alternate reality. Most of these stories were penned by people long dead, yet their words live.
Do you enjoy revisiting already read stories or do you prefer fresh adventures?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
And back to work on the next mech warrior adventure…wish me luck!
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
In the schoolroom I was rewarded with a gold star, either literally or in the form of perfect test score or an A+ on a report card. These were the prizes for knowing the right answers. Later, in the workday world my gold stars came in the form of bonuses or promotions, salary replaced grades as the measuring stick of success. The actions needed to achieve these rewards was an ever evolving target, making success more challenging.
I was well into my thirties before I figured out mistakes were my best teachers. Phrases such as: “I don’t know” and “I could be wrong about that” began to pepper my speech. Strangely, I did even better. This led to a pivotal realization, no one likes perfect. Perhaps because subconsciously we sense the lie? People come in many varieties, but in my experience never perfect.
Flaws are the essence of humanity–much more likable. Even more strangely, my flaws are what endears me to those who love me best. And so it is with the most memorable fictional characters.
Do you have a favorite flawed literary character? What made them resonate with you?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
I’ve been on a happiness kick lately. It started with reading The Happiness Project, which lead to investigating what makes me happy.
Much of what I’ve learned so far I already knew. Family, friends, flowers, good books, doing my best, sleeping in, writing “the end” all make me happy.
Then there are random pleasures that I really can’t explain, but I recognize them when I find them. The sneakers below are an example.
I bought them last summer and they’re still available here. Every time I wear the old-school tennies I smile more. The shoes always garner compliments, so it’s not just me.
What makes you smile?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
Writing those longed for words always makes me smile. The smile doesn’t last long. Usually within a day, I’m pining for more of the last couple’s story. Sometimes I get little glimpses beyond their happily-ever-after. These peeks into the future add extra motivation to writing series.
Do you like reading about what’s happening now to favorite couples or do you prefer an entirely fresh adventure?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
I love tidy classifications, but I never seem to fit into any of them. Of course all real life people are impossibly complex and full of contradictions. Creating characters that seem real and are reasonably consistent is much trickier than I ever dreamed, but I digress.
The other day I read a discussion about simplicity v. lavish as a defining style type. I’m assuming the participants recognize few of us are a pure extreme at either end of that spectrum. But most people queried were able to put themselves in one camp or the other. I admire both. The spare elegance of simplicity draws my eye and feeds my soul. Alas, so does the completely lavish over-the-top dripping drama and color scene.
Do you lean toward simple or splendor or both?
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
Indie publishing has great appeal–faster releases, editorial freedom, creative control. What’s not too like? Amazon, Barnes and Noble and All Romance all are super-author friendly. I plan to continue reissuing my backlist and quite possibly writing new self-published titles. But I also plan to keep releasing from established publishers too for several reasons. Loose Id and Ellora’s Cave market way better than I do. They both have brilliant cover artist and gifted editors, to say nothing of an army of copy editors, line editors, proofers, formatters, and accountants. Both publishers invest their time, money and expertise in my books. Each title I create needs all the same services the publishers provide, but as an indie author I pay up front. So far I’m still waiting to breakeven.
A few years ago when I first began work on Camille’s Capture, I envisioned the story as the third Enyo Chronicle. Between those early version and the actual manuscript, A Taste of Scarlet released from Loose Id. I decided to reframe Camille’s story, setting it in an alternate reality and changing the triad’s dynamic. Loose Id contracted and published the revised erotic adventure.
More time passed, now I’m working on revising, enriching and reissuing my backlist of NCP titles, beginning with Dalila’s Choice. This month the right to publish Joon’s Temptation reverts to me. I’m going to try to reissue the second Enyo Chronicle this year. Initially I planned to write a new story to complete the series, then it dawned on me I already wrote that book, other than for a little history and geography, I simply titled it Camille’s Capture and left off the Enyo connection. I may be oversimplifying the work involved in making the three adventures work together. Experience has taught me imagining the adventure and actually writing it coherently are two entirely different things. 
Posted by Evanne @ 4:00 am |
