Deb and I were planning on writing an exchange for today’s blog because our dear and darling Sophie is stuck, but between my trip to the Desert Dreams conference and my deadline in 48 hours, I completely forgot. And Deb herself is writing and promoting her Colby series (see yesterday’s post!) and she probably forgot, too. So we’re late this morning … apologies all around.

ANYWAY, one thing I definitely want to share is how much I love regional conferences. I’ve spoken to several, all between 200-300 people, and I think that number is perfect. Big enough to have a lot of workshops and conversations, and small enough to have a really hands-on workshop, intimate and casual conversations, and more time. Also, there are usually 4-8 editors and agents in attendance, and they are VERY accessible. Even though RWA National and Thrillerfest, the two conferences I attend every year, are fun, they are definitely high-stress. If you have never been to a conference and want something smaller than the 2500 people who usually go to RWA, definitely check out a regional conference like Desert Dreams or Emerald City or a host of others across the country.

After the conference, I signed at the Poisoned Pen, a fabulous mystery bookstore in Scottsdale. (I’ll be at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego this Saturday!) I signed with Christopher Farnsworth, who writes about a vampire who protects the president. All I can say is WOW. He read an excerpt and I’m sold. I don’t even like vampires (I like how his vampire is not a nice guy, he’s just nicer than the monsters he kills to protect the president.)

SILENCED is out, and I was thrilled to see it at the Phoenix Airport right next to one of my favorite people, James Rollins:

But it’s not just about me today! Our own Laura has some fabulous reviews on TWISTED and she hit the USA Today list (yeah Laura!) … Rocki’s BAREFOOT IN THE SAND has also some amazing reviews. Sylvia’s BARED TO YOU which I have been hearing tons of buzz about. And if you just look at the side bar, you can see how prolific and busy us gals at MSW have been.

I also want to share one of my favorite blogs with you all — it’s geared more for writers, but I think readers would get a kick out of some of the entries as well. Terrible Minds, penned by the Penmonkey himself Chuck Wendig, is full of great advice and kick-you-in-the-ass motivation. Yesterday’s blog — 25 Realizations Writers Need to Have — really hit home to me because I feel exactly the same way and have spoken about these topics often. Particularly this about the need for stories:

Stop. Breathe. Refocus. Media companies will rise and fall. Technologies come and go. The story remains constant. More to the point, our need for stories remain constant. Storytellers and writers aren’t going anywhere. They may need to bend with the wind. They may need to find new ways to thrive. But they — we — will always have a place. The audience will be there. We just have to find them.

Story is what separates humans from all the other mammals in the world. Stories, and thumbs.

Go read, go write, go do something today you feel good about. If you loved a book, write a review and share the love, or email the author and let her know! And if it’s a bad day? Hug someone you love. Works for me every time.

As I write this blog, I have three major things going on in my life (outside of the kids, which is always like herding cats or juggling knives, depending on the day.)

First, I’m writing a speech for the Desert Dreams conference this weekend in Arizona. When Rocki reads this, she’ll want to strangle me (fortunately, she lives 3,000 miles away) because she’s a staunch believer in writing, rewriting, and practicing speeches. I, on the other hand, usually have an idea, write it on the plane, read it out loud and edit when I get to the hotel, and then deliver something completely different than what I penned. In fact, I have one “stump speech” that I wrote for the New Jersey Romance Writers … and I have yet to give it. However, I’ve started it several times … Anyway, I had to give my speech a title. I called it “Through the Looking Glass.” I figure that’ll cover pretty much anything I want to talk about.

Second, I have a book due May 1. I was making great progress on it until I realized an entire branch of the plot did not work and yesterday I deleted over 6,000 words when that branch broke from the tree. I then wrote over 3,000 words to make up for it, but I’m still 3,000 words short of where I thought I would be. Meaning, I’ll be writing during my trip. This is not to say that I know what the final word count will be — my rough drafts (like this) are generally 70-80K words, and my final draft is generally 100-110K words. But I’m stuck on the ending because of that broken branch. Time to play what if games and see what sticks.

And finally, my 18th book was published on Tuesday.

SILENCED was hell to write, but in the end I was happy with it. When I read the final page proofs I was stunned that the story came together. I had a big picture in my head, but the details stymied me, so when everything was wrapped up I kind of surprised myself.

What surprises me even more, though, is that SILENCED is my 18th published book. I feel like I should know more about this business, that I should understand the hows and whys of decisions–the decisions of readers, of fellow writers, of publishers. And I don’t. I don’t even understand me sometimes … but I suppose I should take that up with my therapist (if I had one.)

SILENCED is the fourth book in the Lucy Kincaid series, but the first book with a new publisher. Last year, I moved from Ballantine who published all 17 of my previous books, to Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press. It was a good move for me, exciting, but scary nonetheless. Change always is.

Change is hard. I’m really going to miss Rocki on this blog. Rocki is a lot like me — we’re stubborn, opinionated, and passionate. Rocki can drive me crazy as much as she makes me happy. I tried to get her to stay, but I think that was more for me than it was for her. As you know, Rocki has another amazing book out this week: BAREFOOT IN THE SAND. It really doesn’t matter if she’s writing romantic suspense or women’s fiction or YA, you know you’re going to get a great story.

Good luck, dear friend. And you’d damn well better write another Bullet Catcher book or your name is mud.

I have some good news to share. Our own Laura Griffin hit the USA Today bestseller list with TWISTED. I can not tell you how thrilled I am! She is an amazingly talented writer. And organized — far more organized than me. I can say that with total honesty because we’ve co-written a couple articles for RT. The final product, I think, has been terrific, but it’s because Laura keeps me focused and directed. (I have a suspicion that she is a plotter, but I like her anyway.) In the RT Book Review newsletter for the June issue, Carol Stacy wrote:

“Allison Brennan and Laura Griffin talk about their new releases (SILENCED and TWISTED respectively) and their experiences writing gritty thrillers with their mom status intact. These “mystery moms” are always amusing when they write an article together, but this time we get a better idea of the duality of their lives.”

And on my own doorstep, SILENCED garnered my first ever Associated Press review. I don’t know all where it was printed, but it’s posted all over cyber news sites. In part:

“Brennan throws a lot of story lines into the air and juggles them like a master. The mystery proves to be both compelling and complex.”

Writing, for me, is always hard during release week, but I’m managing. Tuesday was kind of a waste, but yesterday was better, and today will be better still.

I write all day, take a break when the kids get home, then write at night. Late — usually around midnight or one — I call it quits and unwind with TV. For example, I watched the first six seasons of BONES in three months.

Anyone here watch GRIMM? I was thrilled it was renewed for a second season. And of course, JUSTIFIED’s season three finale was amazing. Can’t wait until next January! I’m currently on season four of NCIS (why, oh why, did I never watch this show before?) And I’m eagerly awaiting the return of HAVEN this summer. What are you happy about in TV land?

And I almost forgot! St. Martin’s created this fabulous trailer for SILENCED. What do you think?

So I got a new phone last week.  A brand new touch screen Twitter/Facebook/Pandora-friendly smart phone to replace my beloved but ancient BlackBerry.  Okay, maybe that old BlackBerry wasn’t the smartest phone on the market but it could do one thing that my high-end, app-heavy, super-duper EVO Shift cannot — adjust the font size of the email list.  (I can make the body of the emails larger, but not the list.)

Now don’t get me wrong…I don’t need reading glasses or anything.  With my “bare naked eye” I can see the dot on an i on that screen.  But since childhood I’ve had abysmal distance vision; I couldn’t see your eye if you were were standing five feet in front of me and I wasn’t wearing contacts.  But when I correct my distance vision, my close up vision gets blurred.

So you got that, right? I don’t need reading glasses.  That would make me…old.

However, with this new phone and my contacts in, I spend half my life fishing for “magnifiers” (that I don’t really need) so I keep pairs of drugstore reading glasses everywhere, but still can never seem to find one when I want to check my email on the phone.  I even bought one of those chain things to hang the glasses around my neck, prompting my daughter to say (and I am quoting directly): “Now you can look even more like an old lady.”

Sadly, they wouldn’t take her at the orphanage, no matter how I begged.

I have found, however, a simple solution.  (For the eyesight problems, not the teenager.) If I wear regular distance glasses, all I need to do is look down below the lens and I can read the phone or anything right in front of my face perfectly.  There’s only one problem:  I am slightly vain.

Still, the convenience and ease of wearing glasses for distance and using my “naked eye” to read close up has tempted me to try the “hot for teacher” look.  Or…not so hot.  I need votes…

<–The Nerd is fashionable, right?

 

 

 

 

How about The Librarian stuck in the seventies? –>

 

 

 

<–The Bodybuilder sports glasses?

 

 

Trendy Novelist specs  –>

 

 

And speaking of a whole new look born of a visual challenge (and creative promotional seques)...my web site has a whole new look, too!  There is a completely redesigned  www.roxannestclaire.com and I hope you’ll check it out.  Trust me, this new site posed a daunting dilemma!  How do you create one cohesive brand/feel, but promote three different book genres?  I write romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and young adult all under one name, so how could I appeal to all those different readers at one site? Which genre do I embrace?  All? None? One on a cyclical basis?

My genius web designer came up with the idea of a branded landing page and “portals” to the three sites, all created using the same “footprint design” but with different colors and images to convey the mood and style of the books. I’m really happy with the new look — please check it out and let me know what you think.

And please weigh in on the final decision on the glasses. Yes or no?

<–Right now, I’m wearing these.  Why?   Because my daughter said the magic words: “They make you look younger!”

We joke, but loss of vision isn’t funny.  When I was in my twenties (which wasn’t so long ago, ahem), I volunteered to read to the blind through an organization called the National Federation for the Blind.  This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I’d like to give to that amazing group again.  So, for every comment we get today, I will donate one dollar to the National Federation for the Blind!

Please comment on the glasses or the web site and help someone who can’t see.  It’s very simple…click comment and don’t forget to say the magic words.

 

Karin is traveling today, so the remaining gals here at Murder She Writes thought it would be fun to have another “Ask Us Anything!” Q&A. The rest of us will pop in all day to answer questions — about our books, reading, writing, television, movies … just ask.

Is there any better feeling than accomplishment?  Oh, I know, there’s crazy hot sex, chocolate covered potato chips, and that first sip of ice cold chardonnay at the end of a tough day.  All pretty good stuff, but for me, meeting and beating a daunting challenge is one of life’s ultimate highs. That’s why I’ve been walking around with a loopy grin for the past few days, punching my fist in the air when I’m not patting myself on the back.

I just finished revising a manuscript.  Sounds simple enough, right?  A routine accomplishment for a career author, especially when you consider that this was my 30th book.  But nothing about this revision was routine.  A few months ago, I blogged about fast drafting this manuscript, which is titled Barefoot in the Rain and will be the second in my new Barefoot Bay series.  My editor loved the story, I’m happy to say, but also had some absolutely brilliant insights on how to make the manuscript stronger.  One of her suggestions had to do with the backstory and the idea really resonated with me…even though it changed the entire book.

Okay, the revision note maintained the the essence of the story — we never even had to rework the sales catalog copy I’d submitted — but “how” that story unfolded changed completely.  Revisions tend to have a domino effect — every change can mean another change and all those changes impact characters, motivation, story arc, plot points, conflict, scene order, emotional revelations,  turning points, and darn near every line of dialogue and introspection.  Still, I wanted Barefoot in the Rain to be all that it could be, even if that challenged me on every level.

I started the rewrite on February 1 after an editorial call to clarify some points and several hours of highlighting and annotating the revision letter.  I took the marked up manuscript, laid the first ten chapters out on the floor and shared it with one of my readers.  “Bow wow, Bacon Lady,” Pepper said to me.  “You need a whole new opening scene.  No, scratch that.  You need a whole new book.”

You know how that felt?  Well, have you ever been mountain climbing?  Have you ever stood in the foothills and looked up at the summit of a mile-high mountain knowing you’d committed to reach the top and you’re just not sure you are made of the stuff you need to conquer that climb?

Neither have I.  (I mean, really, have you met me? I don’t climb mountains!  I shop!)  But I imagine the climber is thrilled, scared, anxious, and pumped at the beginning…then ragged, exhausted, lost, and ready to quit about half way through…and finally high on altitude and the sweet taste of success as the end draws near.

That’s pretty much how the last 39 (but who’s counting?) days were for me. Some days were exhilarating because I knew I’d nailed the emotion; some days were dark and difficult because I veered off the path or stumbled into scene after scene I had to cut.  I admit to a few tears, a lot of prayers, and the occasional bad word.  But when I dragged my sorry behind up to that summit (AKA the Epilogue) I felt I’d finished one of the most powerful, most emotional stories I’ve ever written.  I reveled in that marvelous sensation of having accomplished something extraordinary.   When I stabbed that flag of glory into the highest peak (okay, I just hit send, but you get the idea), I was on top of the world.

Throughout this difficult climb, I learned a lot about myself, about storytelling, and about these characters.  For example, I learned that I can not write a love scene until I truly understand the hero and heroine’s deepest, darkest emotions.  I realized last week, when I was rewriting a love scene for the bajillionth time, that in my last five manuscripts, the scenes I revised the most were the love scenes.  I change the point of view multiple times, adjust the setting, restructure the dialogue, even alter what they do and how often they do it.  Because that scene isn’t about sex, it’s about the character’s fears and hopes and a lot of times I just don’t know what those are until I’ve finished the book.

I also learned I’m good for one chapter a day (about 12  -15 manuscript pages) — in revisions, not fresh writing.  After that, my brain is mush, my vocabulary is the equivalent of a second grader’s, and anything I write will need to be completely rewritten the next day.  But that means a thirty-four chapter, 100,000 word book can be done in six weeks.  (No days off, ever.)  For those of you trying this at home, remember: this was a revision.  I’d already written the equivalent of a 65,000 word synopsis.

I learned that the journey cannot be undertaken alone.  Unlike the “fast draft” which I did (twice) for this manuscript, a true revision requires at least one other set of eyes to help you see where you may have veered off track and/or suggest ways to fix story problems.  Ideally, this person is an editor, but a rock solid critique partner or beta reader can be an excellent guide up the mountain, even if all they do is carry the water.  With me on this climb was my beta reader, our own MSW regular commenter Barbie Furtado, who did far more than water duty.  She read scenes, chapters, and A WHOLE MANUSCRIPT (minus the last two scenes — how mean am I?) overnight.

And you also can’t climb that mountain without some really understanding, funny, supportive and loving friends who will let you call or email daily (hourly?) to quit cry for help drunk dial talk about how great it’s going.  (I beg you, please buy every book ever written by Louisa Edwards and Kristen Painter.  Ever.  Go, off to Amazon, now.  I’ll wait.)  I also kept a running commentary/update on my FB author page and got a ton of encouragement from readers who shared the ups and downs of this process.

I also discovered I have some serious writing crutches.  Like the word just, and the over use of italics, and the phrase “He just stared at her.”  Oh…and…ellipses.  Sometimes I think my name should be Roxanne St…Claire and my default reaction line is:  He…just…stared at her.

Lessons learned, mountain climbed, and the difficulties of the journey are forgotten while the sense of satisfaction lingers.  Now all I have to do is get down the other side…also known as copyedits!  Another blog!

So let’s talk triumphant achievements!  What is something you’ve done that’s given you that deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction? What challenge have you faced that felt like a climb up the Matterhorn, but you made it?  Let’s celebrate success!  

One commenter will win an ADVANCE REVIEW COPY of Barefoot in the Sand — the first Barefoot Bay novel that hits bookstores on April 24 (and another mountain I climbed a few months ago!)  Good luck!