Murder She Writes

Although it’s still winter, I’ve been doing spring cleaning since the start of the year. This “out with the old, in with the new” phase has affected every part of my life, and I am really invigorated by it. It’s wonderful how closing the door on something can open new possibilities.

On a personal level, my house is going through a transformation. I began with the downstairs. I’ve taken it room by room, so it doesn’t seem overwhelming. I have thrown out so many things and tackled “hot spots” where various unrelated items seem to accumulate (most of which should rightly go into the trash, but don’t make it that far). Anything that could even remotely be called clutter has left the building. I’ve replaced curtains, added furniture, tossed or moved furniture, fixed things that have needed to be fixed for far too long, etc. I’m not talking about expensive changes. More like the kind of low-cost changes made for “staging” purposes. The family room and living room are done, and the transformation within our family has been amazing. We all love hanging out in these “new” spaces more than ever. We kind of fell into a rut where we stopped seeing the details and no longer contemplated change. Does the sofa have to be there? Wouldn’t it be fun to have it over here?

I’m doing something similar in my professional life. I saw a lot of triumphs and successes in 2009, but it was also the toughest year I’ve had in my career. It’s only recently that I have come to appreciate the value of my experiences, as miserable as some of them were. I am a bit wiser, more circumspect, and more grateful for what I do have. I’m not sure I paid the dues I should have in the beginning; I am stronger for having paid some of them now.

So I’m doing some spring cleaning on the way I view and approach things. Just like with my house, even though the architecture hasn’t changed, my appreciation level has increased. I’m feeling good about a lot of things in my life right now, even though it’s been better, and that’s because of my investment in looking at things with fresh eyes. I wish I’d done all this clearing out sooner!

Oh, and I sent my latest proposal to my agent last week and I got a really excited phone call from her about it! That made my week.

On a somewhat lighter note, I thought you might enjoy this:

We went shopping for a new dryer on Saturday. We stopped by a few different places — Best Buy, Home Depot, etc. — before we went to Sears. I couldn’t believe the number of salespeople they had on the floor. The appliance center had at least a half-dozen people assigned to it. As “our” salesman was showing off the various features of the dryer we ended up taking home, I noticed something in his back pocket and had to snap a picture.

HQ Presents and Dryers

Yes, our 6+ feet, 250 lbs. salesman had a Harlequin Presents in his back pocket. I thought that was fabulous!

(Is anyone else watching Spartacus: Blood and Sand on Starz? Yum.)

Sorry to be behind with my Monday post! I left for Houston early Friday morning and came home late last night on a delayed flight. By the time I got one of my kids to school (late) this morning and settled down to draft my post, it was 10 AM here in California (and later in the day for those of you on the East Coast.)

As Sharon Sala and I were heading over to the hotel from the airport, we laughed at how we’d both once thought that being a writer meant we’d be able to write all day in our pjs. Who knew we’d be expected to be seen and heard so often?

“Writers should be read but not seen.” – Edna Ferber

“Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard.” – Daphne de Maurier

Hmm… I thought that was the way this writing gig worked back when I didn’t know the writing gig at all. It was reassuring to hear another writer say that she, too, thought authors were mostly invisible entities. Embossed names on a cover and a picture on the back flap, but not much more than that.

But even though the amount of traveling I do far exceeds my long-ago fantasies of what it would be like to write for a living, I’m not complaining because I find face-to-face time with readers, writer friends, and industry professionals to be so valuable. I learn so much about what my readers enjoy, what I did that pissed them off, what they’d love to see next (characters, storylines, settings, time periods). I brainstorm with friends and talk strategy with the pros. I’d miss out on so much if I didn’t travel as much as I do (I’m away from home several weeks a year). I have yet to return from an event where I didn’t think, “It was worth the trip.” (and that’s really good, since I have to publish this post then finalize travel arrangements for two trips in March and another in April…)

Still, it’s good to be home! I’m getting ready to open a new document and start my next historical romance. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple weeks now, and it’s time to get some words on the page. I’m excited! It’s an idea that I think is just so delicious, that I’m hoping I pull it off. *g* Plus… I have a couple books to read for quotes and a lovely, lovely stack of RITA books. I’m soooo excited about digging into those. So, despite being tired from the trip, I’m ready to jump into the week.

How about you? What’s on your agenda this week? Anything you’re excited to tackle?

For the last month, I’ve been working on a new paranormal romance series proposal. Two months ago, I was pretty certain it would take until spring, maybe summer before I could even begin to start thinking of a new series. The world-building involved is time consuming and arduous. It is a labor of love and an investment. I have to create something solid, then I have to love it enough to make it real and chance not selling it.

It’s the loving part that makes the work involved worthwhile. It is also what creates the risk. Will an editor love it? Will readers? Will I be able to complete the world? And biggest of all: Will I be able to do it justice?

The latter question has become very important to me over the last two years of my career. I started out by writing what I loved to read. From there, I began putting my own twists into storylines that I enjoyed and writing what I wanted to read but couldn’t find. All the while, I seriously challenged my characters, really ran them through the wringer. But I came to realize that I wasn’t seriously challenging myself. I was writing what I was good at and what I was comfortable with. There’s a lot to be said for going that route. It was a damn sight less stressful for me, for sure. It was also limiting. I reached the conclusion that I needed to start tackling ideas that were too big for me.

Will I be able to do it justice? If I wasn’t doubtful about the answer to that question, I put the idea aside. I knew I had to do something bigger, greater, more if I wanted to be a better writer and stronger entertainer (and keep my career growing). When I tackled my first over-my-head project, I sat down with the editor who bought it and said, “I’m going to need all the support I can get with this. I’m pretty sure it’s bigger than me.” (And God bless editors who love challenges like that. They’re worth their weight in gold.)

And now, it seems, I’m really addicted to that fear of inadequacy. There’s something oddly delicious about tackling a story idea that’s so big/involved/unfamiliar it scares the crap out of you. Something crazily exhilarating about sitting down at the keyboard and thinking, “I know what has to happen, but can I pull it off?” I’ve had moments where I am absolutely positive I’m in over my head. Fortunately, those usually come in the wee hours of the morning when I’m exhausted and when I wake up, I have forgotten how panicked I was the night before.

So I’ve spent almost a month working on this new proposal, with plenty of “What the hell am I hoping to get myself into?” moments. It’s exciting and daunting and frightening. I love the concept and the world. I know in the right hands, it could be something awesome. I’m not sure I have those hands, which is why I started the story. I just hope I can do it justice.

It’s the last day of November. Can you believe it? Sometimes I look back on the year and think it flew by. Other times, I think of certain events and it feels like they happened ages ago.

Still, it’s definitely feeling like winter to me. It’s 52 degrees outside. The heater is on and I’m bundled up in bed with my netbook. The Christmas tree is up, the lights are lit on the house, and the stockings are hung from the fireplace mantel. I haven’t bought a single present yet, but I’m looking forward to the wrapping when the time comes.

As the year ends, so does (do?) some of my favorite television shows. Sons of Anarchy only has one episode left before it goes on hiatus after a truly phenomenal sophomore season. Katie Sagal continues to blow me away in her role as Gemma Teller Morrow. Charlie Hunnam is bad boy-licious; he makes a girl want to do bad things. Ron Perlman is brilliant, as he is in everything he does. The storyline for this season broke all the characters (and therefore the club) into tiny pieces, then somehow managed to pull them all back together even stronger than they were before. It was a no holds barred ride that for many shows would have been final-season worthy. For SOA, it’s only the beginning. I can’t wait to see what happens next, and I hate that I have to wait until next year to find out.

Another of my beloved shows, Dexter, is two episodes away from the close of the season. I really enjoyed this year’s storyline. John Lithgow rocked the house as the Trinity Killer. Quinn’s animosity toward Dexter heated up. I wonder if he’ll catch on to Dexter’s Dark Passenger like Stokes did. I’ve adored Dexter Morgan from the first, but this year, he really won me. He grew as a character by leaps and bounds. He’s always had moments of dark humor, but they seemed much more evident this year. He came to some deep revelations about himself, which was fascinating to watch. I’m going to miss Dex. September is so far away…

At least The Tudors will be returning in the spring. It’s just too bad there has to be a gap in between.

How about you? Which shows are you sad to see go on hiatus? Which shows are you looking forward to picking back up again?

I’m writing this post from Nashville, where I’ve been since I left home in the wee hours of the morning on Friday. I’m here for the RWA Board of Directors’ meeting. Tomorrow will be Day 3 and another 10 hour day. Yes, I’m a bit tired, but it’s been a great trip in a lot of ways. There is so much to learn… bylaws, tax codes, policies and procedures… wow.

The hotel is the Gaylord Opryland and it really defies description. It’s very Disneyesque, with an amusement park sort of unnatural perfection. The property covers 57 acres; there’s no way to stay here and not walk miles every day. Everything is spread out and interspersed with lush greenery, rivers, and ponds. It’s not uncommon to turn a corner and see a pretty fireplace framed by intimate seating areas. There are so many little spots to sit and just enjoy the scenery. I’m really looking forward to attending RWA Conference here in July and share the fun of this place with my friends.

Last night, I went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw Martina McBride, Jake Owen, Rodney Atkins, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, and many others. I’m so glad I went. I’m not a huge country music fan, but I couldn’t pass up the experience. I had such a good time!

Rodney Atkins sung a song called “Friends with Tractors“. I think that’s going to be my new catchphrase. As Rodney was singing, I was thinking that I, too, have friends with tractors. Not literal ones, of course (except for one…) but I have friends who “pull you out and fix the road” and help me stay sane on this crazy publishing trail. I can’t wait to hang out with them here in Opryland.

If you’re an RWA member, I hope you plan on attending conference in 2010. I think it’s going to be awesome!

There’s candy all over my house. In bowls and bags, in the fridge and freezer, upstairs and downstairs. My kids carried their separate candy stashes around with them all day on Sunday, from room to room, inside and outside. I’m not sure why they do that. They really don’t eat the candy all day. Their Halloween stockpile takes weeks to get eaten and they often throw a lot of it out after a while because they get sick of it.

I suspect it’s a way to hang on to the excitement of the night. The fun for them is in the actual trick or treating, more so than the sugar high. Some neighborhoods go all out for the holidays, with neighbors competing against each other to see who can put up the most lights and decorations. In our neighborhood, Halloween is the big event of the year. The preparations begin weeks in advance. Giant spiders menace rooftops. Dead bodies hang from street lights. Graveyards take over manicured lawns.

There are fog machines, creepy movie music blaring from sound systems, and animatronic creatures. People pop out of full-sized caskets and copious amounts of candy is given out. One set of neighbors combine their two lawns to create an impressive “haunted house” featuring multiple rooms of horror, chainsaw-wielding maniacs, and other terrifying surprises. People drive over from all around the city to enjoy the thrill. There’s always a long line and plenty of screams.

Now, I’m a big scaredy cat. I never go inside the haunted house, despite the flow of people exiting with broad smiles and exclamations of “That was awesome!” But every year, I admire the dedication the families put into planning their attraction. It’s a labor of love, something they offer for free to anyone who wants to enjoy the show. Every year it gets bigger and more elaborate and most likely more expensive for them. It’s the heart behind the endeavor that I think is awesome. The celebrating of a personal joy and the gift that it is to the neighborhood and city.

I remind my kids of that every Halloween. That they should always nurture their inner child and give themselves license to indulge the odd whims that bring them happiness. Why not? You’re never too old to be a kid at heart.

I hope your Halloween was a great one and that you remembered to set your clocks back an hour. What will you do with the hour you gained?

So it’s nearly 1:30 AM on Monday and I’m coming off a 48-hour writing binge. I didn’t quite reach my goal, but I’m still happy with what I got done. I have a few more pages left to polish, but I edited most of the day today (Sunday) and I’m really happy with it. It’s solid work. I have to pack it in now, because this blog post is due and I’m tired enough to start making silly typo mistakes (if you find some in here, I hope you forgive them), but if I had more time and energy, I’d still be writing. There’s plenty more story waiting to get from my brain onto the page. Instead you’ll get an off the cuff blog post from me that I hope doesn’t make you cross-eyed.

I disconnected in order to get so much done. I shut off my Outlook and all my instant message programs. I ignored the phone. The family did all the cooking. In the vacuum created by the lack of distractions, I connected with my characters and my story in a way I needed to and I hit “the zone.” I love that. I’ve missed that.

When I first started writing in Fall ‘03, I wasn’t a member of RWA. I used the internet for sending e-mail and Christmas shopping, but that’s it. When I sat down to write, there was nothing to get in the way. What else would I do at the computer? E-mail was sparse and social networking wasn’t around yet. Or if it was, no one I knew was aware of it. How times have changed.

But that’s okay and I’m not complaining about the things that take us away from writing. As the burden of book promotion continues to fall more and more heavily on the author, it’s to be expected that the promotional avenues that are inexpensive or free of monetary cost require an investment of time instead. And let’s face it, social networking can be fun and rewarding.

Being more accessible online is just one of the many changes that have been happening in the industry since I first began writing. Looking back to those days when I first started, so much is different now.

Some of the bigger book news from last week:

B. Dalton bookstores are closing forever — Wow. I’m so bummed about that. The bookstores in malls are always a stop for me during holiday shopping. Now some malls don’t have any bookstores at all. Waldenbooks has been steadily closing for years. Soon they’ll be gone, too.

Walmart jumps into online bookselling with both feet — not only that, but they’re starting a new program called “America’s Reading List” through which they’ll be offering give 50% off or more on 200 current bestsellers. (I remember when they cut the size of their book departments just a couple years ago. This big push for books is quite a turnaround from that.) Most bookstores, including the chains (who usually sell books at full sticker price), can’t compete with that. And why is $9.99 for an ebook “unrealistically low”?

Barnes& Noble is getting ready to unveil a hot new e-reader — I’m hoping more of these devices are all-inclusive when it comes to file format. And I’m dying to see what Apple’s iTablet will be like.

What do you think will be next? How different will book selling and publishing be in a year? Two years? What do you wish would happen?

And I can’t forget this: Lorena’s comment number was selected by Random.org to win my Brava backlist. Thank you, everyone, for your comments.

It’s been almost one year (short by just ONE day) since I posted my first blog here on MSW. Where has the year gone? An ENTIRE year?

Despite my shock at the passing of time, it certainly feels like October today. It’s fifty degrees outside right now, which is pretty darn cold for Southern California. If I weren’t contaminated by the conference bug I picked up at Lora Leigh’s RAW last week, I’d welcome the change in temperature. As it is, though, being chilly while sick is no fun.

Looking back on the past year, I have to say that things haven’t turned out at all the way I anticipated. What I thought would come to fruition by this time, hasn’t. And things I NEVER thought would happen in a million years, did. I’m not lamenting the way everything turned out or even that I couldn’t have predicted any of it. A lot of it was fabulous, and I love being surprised by the twists and turns that life takes. Unpredictability keeps me on my toes and keeps things interesting. Which is the fodder for fiction, of course.

However, the passing of Kate Duffy has been a huge blow. She was very dear to me. In addition to buying twelve books from me in three years (to the very day), she held my hand through the trials and tribulations I experienced through multiple agents and editors. She was a tireless champion for my work and a wonderful mentor. She taught me so much about writing and the publishing industry. She was blunt and truthful to a fault, which I adored. She was rare in her ability and willingness to nurture authors. No matter what premise I came up with, she’d let me run with it. “You lead,” she’d say, “I’ll follow.” She never hesitated to make an author feel special and valued. Whenever the negotiations for new contracts was finished, she’d call me and say, “Thank you for allowing Kensington to publish your wonderful books. It’s an honor.”

It was an honor to write for her. I feel so blessed to have had the chance to do so for as long as I did. I became a better writer because I strove to earn the esteem she had for me. Through her, I learned how wonderful the author/editor relationship can be. I hope one day soon I’ll be able to think of her without crying, as I’m doing now.

Sylvia Day, Kate Duffy, Jill Shalvis

To celebrate my one year anniversary here at MSW, I’m giving away my entire Brava backlist (the books I wrote for Kate) to one commenter. Thanks for chatting with me over the last year!