Anna gives great blog!

Okay, so that's my really cheesy way of admitting I'm not too together on the blog thing today -- but she does! :-)

A day in the life? Hah! It's the end of summer crunch right now and I can barely remember today, let alone whatever a "usual" day looks like. I've got one book that has to be in before I run away for the weekend, three more I've got to get finished up by the end of September -- and a project I'd really like to squeeze in if I can find the time... Plus, because I'm nuts like that, I'm currently in the middle of a major site overhaul -- two a.m. this morning I finally got the damn drop-down menu working (thank you Fiona!) -- you should see my desk. There are, at rough estimate, forty-seven different-sized pieces of paper with notes, comments to myself, things I have to remember to do.... Every couple of hours I go through 'em, wad a few up, and chuck them in the vague direction of the trash can.

Oh yeah, and it's a release day :-)

Actually, even when they're as madcap as this one, release days are what make it all worthwhile -- another story out, done, published, and ready to be enjoyed. There is nothing like the feeling of getting a note from a reader, or getting the opportunity (which I have a couple of times) to watch somebody read your stuff, listen to them chuckle to themselves or even laugh out loud... That's the best. Well, that and being able to pay the electric/mortgage/car insurance/internet/groceries... Yeah, this is how I buy my shampoo. God, I miss Pantene!

Hopefully one day Pantene will be an option again. In the meantime, I am madly trying to keep up at the best job in the world, my wrists ache, my eyes are blurry, my dog is starving for attention... but there's another story almost done, and another after that just waiting to be told, and a shiny new website that really will be done eventually!

This is Sierra, signing off -- see you in September!

Just released! Shifter Sisters 3: Stray Cat Strut! Persia finally gets her story -- and her man!

Suburbarific-mom-writerness

Okay, so this post is stolen from a Thursday 13 I did awhile back but it totally captures a 'day in the life' of this gal. The only thing I forgot to mention is that I somehow manage to squeeze in about 2,000 words per day in here somewhere. Usually during the happy breakfast, lunch, and times when the child will take his dang nap.

Happy Wednesday all!

Anna J. Evans
http://annajevans.com

1. Happy Breakfast, accompanied by commentary on Sesame Street. I never have to worry what the Roo is thinking about, he's very comfortable sharing his entire inner monologue...



2. On the way up the stairs to 'see the babies'...mama's going to go sweat in the basement with the firemen. Yeah, they're kind of cute, but dumb as dirt as twice as loud...which isn't hard to do since dirt doesn't make noise...but whatever. Hard to relax with a bunch of doofus fireman watching to see if your shorts ride up while you're doing the squat machine. The one time of the day I get to be without a Roo on me/talking to me/fretting with me and they ruin it. Think I may have to add them to my 'dead to me' sidebar.



3. All done seeing the babies, we have to stop and look at our shadow a few times on the way out to mama's van because shadows are cool.



4. Back at the hissy, the purple turtle must be played with and sand thrown in hair. At least he kept it on himself this time, which is good since mama will use any excuse to avoid washing her hair. This whole 'long hair' thing the hubs likes is annoying. I liked it short and easy to scrunch and go.



5. The plant that I can't keep alive. I can't grow children and plants at the same time...hey, we all have our limitations...



6. Roo riding his blue teeter-totter...and some more empy pots behind him. My mother gives them to me for mother's day...like some kind of hint to spruce up my ugly yard or something....whatever, I figure she doesn't want her grandson or step-grandaughters dead so I don't invest any energy into putting things in those pots or trying to keep them alive. I've got my priorities straight. Kids before plants yo. (Kind of like bros before hos....)



7. The whale pool. I almost passed out after blowing it up. My lips buzzed for half an hour afterward, but the Roo had great fun and I got to finish my book in between throwing ducks and balls at him.



8. Into the house for some yummy sausage lunch (yuck, that stuff smells like dog shit), before going back out to the whale pool because the whale pool rocks. Mama agrees as she's now starting another book. Can't take the computer out there or mama might have found a way to squeeze some writing in...



9. In from the whale pool, and all bathed and dressed and out on the town getting a Care Bears movie (Big Wish, he had grown tired of Journey to Jokealot). Mama of course forgot her purse so we drove all the way there, and all the way back twice, thusly wasting even more time before nap, making mama POSITIVE Roo was going to go down easy on this particular day. It was almost 2:30 after all, and the dude was TIRED.



10. Birth Control aka Roo pre-nap....howling in protest to the injustice of being forced to rest...


11. Mama takes a shower and considers doing damage to herself with the eyelash curler because the Roo. is. still. screaming. 1/2. hour. later....



12. But he finally sleeps for an hour and a half, I bang out about 1200 words that probably suck because I'm so out of the groove and when he wakes up we get some letters ready to go to big'un at camp. Roo helps by opening all the cabinets and pulling out the pots and pans. I finally lose it and use big scary voice. He stops and cries. We kiss and make up and go to the post office.


13. It's 4:30, only an hour before the hubs gets home and I might be able to escape to use the bathroom by myself. As we're driving home I spot the three crosses on the hill and take a picture to remind myself about little baby Jesus in his fleece diaper....and I begin to wonder...what would baby Jesus do?



Baby Jesus would make mojitos...and tell me to drink them and be well...and so I did.

Normal? What's normal?

This week's theme of "A Day in the Life" is kind of hard to wrap my head around. I don't really have a typical day because my work schedule is always under threat of being changed at the last minute. I truly enjoy my day job, though, so it's not such a hardship. I have managed a few ideal days in the last few weeks, however.

My ideal schedule:
- Crawl out of bed with enough time to dress, eat breakfast and brush my teeth before I have to be at work.
- Work at the day job for about four hours.
- Come home for my lunch hour to eat and work on non-day job/other profession or writing-related, but not actually writing, projects.
- Go back to work for about another four hours.
- Come home and unwind by knitting, reading, watching tv, etc., eat dinner.
- Around 9p (if not a little earlier), hunker down to write for about an hour. If I'm on a roll, I can usually crank out between 600-1000 words in this time. To give you an idea, The Man from H.A.T.H.O.R. is about 13,000 words.

That's when I'm in writing mode. Now, for instance, I'm in editing mode. I've also got some non-day job/other profession projects breathing down my neck, so my "unwind" time is really more "what work can I cram in here?" time. My schedule is pretty wacky, but it works for me :)

Oh, The Glamour Of It All

So many times, readers and non-writers want to know what a typical day in the life of an author is like. Now, I don't know about Nora Roberts or Stephen King (but I imagine most days they're at the keyboard at least 7-8 hours, just like a "real" job), but my life isn't exactly glamorous, no matter which day you look at.

But I do try to write at least a little bit every day, with my most productive days being the weekend because that's when I have more time. During the week I have to devote 40 hours (well, 45 including travel to and from) to my day job. And I have found that if I haven't started writing by 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. at the latest, it ain't gonna happen that day. So, if I'm being good and not goofing off, here's what a normal weekday looks like for me:

5:00 a.m. Wake up to the soothing sounds of Celtic harp music. (I have accidentally set my alarm on "alarm" instead of "music" before, and I about have a heart attack when the alarm goes off. I do much better with soothing music. LOL)

5:00-5:30 a.m. Check emails, post blog, hit a couple of readers groups if I have time.

5:30-6:00 a.m. Treadmill. Or not.

6:00-7:00 a.m. Get ready for work. And, yes, it generally takes me an hour.

7:00-7:20 a.m. Put my food together for the day, turn off the laptop, and leave for work.

8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Work. Phfffft.

5:45 p.m. Arrive home. Get in comfy clothes, read my snail mail and relax for about half an hour. Check emails and try to figure out what I want for supper.

6:15-7:00 p.m. Fix and eat dinner, usually while watching the news. (I know, it's a no-no to watch TV while you eat, but I gotta do *something*.)

7:00-9:00 p.m. Write. If I'm being good.

9:00-10:00 p.m. Wind down, get ready for bed.

10:00 p.m. Crash for the night.

There are variations to this theme, of course. Sometimes I might meet friends for dinner after work, which means I'll get no writing done at all. And sometimes at work I have an opportunity during lunch to do some writing, but not usually.

See? Not glamorous at all.

Stuck in the middle...

Or really, the beginning...


I have a few projects that stalled, that I can't seem to give up on. It's hard to give up on a book anyway, because you liked it well enough to start it, but it's especially hard when you KNOW it could be such a good book but you're so swamped with other stuff you just can't seem to get there.

I have two medievals, one set in the 13th century and another in the late 15th immediately after the Battle of Bosworth. Being a Ricardian, the characters in this one are particularly close to my heart--she was a double agent working for Richard III, he was a soldier fighting for Richard who survived the battle and is blackmailing her to hide him. I'm so crazy about the characters and the story, but I just don't have time to work on it--I've had the first chapter or so written for almost two years.

I have a great idea for a paranormal I've been ruminating on and loosely planning for about a year.

I have a vampire paranormal I started a year ago that just needs a little more tweaking before I can send it in--I've been working on it on and off for months.

One day, I'll have time to write them all...sigh.

Man, I almost wish some of 'em WOULD die...

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The graveyard of shattered dreams...

Sometimes that's how I view my WIP/unplaced file--a sad, scary place where creative things have gone to die, peppered with the ruins of once great ideas. They're still beautiful in their partially formed state but just...not ready to walk among the living. (Poetical this morning ain't I?)

Some of the manuscripts in there are full stories that need such an overhaul of an edit that I haven't gained the strength to attack them. Some are partials that So-and-so or Whoeveritwas didn't request a full for, and were thereafter abandoned in hopes of finally figuring out exactly what will light Editor X's fire. Others are flashes of great things, with catchy titles and super fantastic hooks that....I haven't had the time to flesh out.

There are probably nearly fifty such documents in my WIP file. Maybe one third of them are PTWD (Projects that won't die). Somehow, no matter how long it takes, they'll find a way to force my attention upon them, compel me to give them the work they need to become full fledged stories. One of those stories is presently my WIP. It was a partial I completed a year ago and let sit for 10 months before beginning the full. Now that little 15k partial is a 40k WIP, on it's way to an ending and a submission to my new editor at Samhain (who liked the partial :)).

So there you go, never say die little projects. Never. Say. Die.

Anna J. Evans Who. Likes. Periods. Today.

Can't get them out of my mind

I have three different projects I've been working on in bits and pieces for almost two to three years. Normally, I hate talking about works in progress because I feel like talking about them jinxes the project. Considering how long I've already been working, enh.

Project #1
Short novel of historical erotica. I enjoy reading erotica from or set in the Victorian/Edwardian eras and I thought I'd try my hand at it. Lots of hawt sexual encounters have happened to and are in store for our heroine. Current status: 1/3 - 1/4 written depending on how long I actually let it go. Current plan for working on it: hope to finish it by February '08, and is officially #3 in my queue after I write a short story and review an older completed project to see if it can be whipped into shape.

Project #2
An erotic fantasy novel. Set on another world, the hero is sent on a quest to recover a kidnapped high priestess. His decreed companion: a female servant of the temple who is also pledged to the service of the god of sex, who happens to be his half-brother. Current status: First chapter and synopsis written. Current plan for working on it: maybe sometime in '08 depending on some feedback.

Project #3:
This is actually a series. Vampires, werewolves and witches in a post-apocalyptic world trying to co-exist with each other and the humans that are left. I have a short story already written in this world, but it's been proposed I lengthen it. As it's really more of a bridge story between the first story in the series and the third, I need to finish at least the first one before re-proposing it. The way the series came about is a bit offbeat as I got ideas for the first and third stories right around the same time. I didn't connect the two of them though, until I got the idea for the short story. I've been dying to finish working on this project, but I'm a little hung up on the first book. Why? Our heroine is introduced as she's murdering someone. Kind of hard to figure out why she's doing that as she's been pretty close-lipped with me. It's still simmering in my brain though. Current status: first story, 7,250 words written out of about 100K planned, bridge story complete, third story is simmering. Current plan for working on it: 2008, probably after project #1.

Projects That Won't Die

I come from a long line of folks who start a project, get part-way through and lose interest, and move on to something else. So it's definitely in my nature, and I fight it constantly. One way I've found that seems to work is that I don't pick a project that's going to last a long time--like more than a couple of months.

That may be why I'm so comfortable with writing novellas instead of longer works--I can write the first draft of a novella (say, up to 30,000 words) in about a month, give or take a few days and depending on how crazy my day job is. So I get it done and move on to the next short work.

Except for...

Beyond the Beast. This is a story that's been churning in my head for several years. It first took shape as a short story (basically just a couple of scenes), and then I decided to make it longer. Last October I finished it, and submitted it to several agents. I have one interested, but she suggested several changes. So I'm working on it again.

It just won't go away. Which, I suppose, is a good thing. :)

The Idea Bank

I sure wish I had one...

They come from the oddest places, really. I might overhear a snippet of conversation, and something just pops in my head. Or I might be in the shower (where most of my best ideas come to me) and suddenly there's a character, doing something interesting, and I have to figure out why they're doing it and who they are, and what the rest of the story is.

Mostly it's a bare plot idea first, not even enough to hand a scarf on much less a book. But then a character will appear, and another, and then whole scenes--usually the set pieces I talked about last week--and before I know t, there's aplot and a story ready to be told.

News articles, songs, chats with my husband, stuff I see online...I never know where one will come from, but come they do.

The hardest part is doing them justice.

It takes two, baby!

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Inspiration

It strikes in the strangest places...if you consider the highway strange. I always get some of my best ideas while I'm driving. On our trip down to the Florida coast this past week, I had some doozies. They're still swirling around in my mind, waiting for me to write them down.

Which I will do as soon as we get back home. I'm still at the beach and the didn't sell my kids to the circus-no matter how long I left them in that gift shop, lol. So not much time to write. Have a fabulous end of your summer!

Hugs,

Anna J. Evans

Out of thin air

Sometimes even I wonder where I get my book ideas from. One time, I started a book based on a very weird dream I had. It was too freaky not to become the germ of a story :) About half the time, I have a theme or specific directive I need to tie a story into. The story I'm currently working on is for the DNW group. We built the shared world together, so my story elements had to conform with the world. However, I got to choose the time period for my story and the "family" line for my characters. These two elements are what really drove the story development. The "family" of my main characters are relatively well known, and certain characteristics of the family helped me to build the base for Tera and Darius. I even chose their names because of their meanings.

You can see I use a lot of little layers in my stories, and I think that's really how they come about. I get a germ of an idea and just keep painting on the layers until the story snowballs. It can be quite fun, and frustrating.

Where Do Ideas Come From?

We get asked this question a lot, and most of the time my response is a shrug and a 'I don't know. They just come.'

Well, for my current work-in-progress, I have a different answer.

For a while there I was watching the Discovery Channel show "It Takes a Thief." It's about two guys who'd been in a lot of trouble as teens (mostly for theft). Discovery held auditions for this show, and two men--Matt and Jon--were chosen. They scope out a home--well, Jon scopes it out, Matt's along for the ride. Once they've chosen a home, Matt meets with the homeowners and tells them what they want to do. They place cameras all throughout the house, then Jon does his stuff. Breaks in (sometimes pretty violently) and steals everything he can put his hands on. (He does this when no one's home.) The family comes home to find out they've been robbed--most are very upset, even though they were expecting this to happen. And when Jon has done damage--such as break a window or something inside the house, they get pretty emotional. Which is what he wants--"if you don't feel something, you won't change." Then Matt steps in, "debriefs" the family and gets them set up with new security systems. Jon comes back in a few days and tries to break in again to see how well the family is using their new systems.

Anyway, both guys are pretty cute (I'll admit, Jon's my favorite), and it got me to thinking. I'm signed up for an Amber PAX involving twins. Hmmm. What if my two security experts are brothers. And not just brothers, but identical twins? And they've wanted the heroine, but she's a little skittish?

That's when you have "It Takes a Thief or Two." Due out in December 2007. I'm already about a third of the way done with it, and the manuscript is due to Amber Heat in September, so I'm doing good.

Set Pieces

When it comes to actually working, I'm a bit haphazard. I too practice BICHOK--but I give myself breaks, I laze about, I try not to force it too much if I'm not inspired.

I don't really outline, aside from a sketchy synopsis.

But I do plan my set pieces.

In a film, a set piece is a big action sequence, or a big Important Scene. I plan my books this way. I try to make sure I have at least five or six of them, something to keep the tension high and the action flowing smoothly. That way they come along steady as heartbeats, ever five chapters or so, each one bigger than the last.

Sometimes as I write I worry things are moving too quickly. Probably because I don't plan a detailed outline, I always hit a point--usually a couple of times--where I worry there isn't enough story.

Then I remember my set pieces. The touchstones on the way to the story's climax. And I realize even if I cut out everything else in the entire book, those scenes alone will probably equal forty or fifty thousand words.

So I relax. I write from A to B, then B to C, and C to setpiece, and the story churns along smooth under the surface, and before I know it I've written a book and my hands hurt.

My goal is 2500 words per day. I don't always make it, but I do well enough, especially since when inspiration really strikes I can easily do double that amount.


And that's it. If I plan the high points and the low points, the rest tends to fit in. :-)

Clackity-clack, don't look back!

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Sorry to be boring!!!

But I'm right there with the other two ladies this week. I'm a BICHOK-er too. I set goals, I force myself to stick to them if at all possible and I get it done. That's it. No magic except that I refuse to admit that there is such a thing as writer's block, lol.

I do make a three month plan as well, to let my mind know what we're in for so it won't seize up on me. (Just finished my plan through December tonight...it's a doozy so I'm feeling a little intimidated but what the hell. I'm going to try to make it happen. The worst I can do is fail.)

Oh, and I also try to write something every day, just so the writer muscles don't get wimpy.

That's it!! Boring Anna!! lol.

Anna J. Evans

BICHOK

Ever heard that? Probably not. BICHOK is writer-ese for "Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard". And yet, I still have a hard time getting there. My excuse is for every time I wrangle myself out of extending a commitment, another one comes down the pike. People often ask me how on earth I juggle so many balls between my day profession, my writing life, and my personal life. My answer: I know which ones are rubber. And I know when they change material.

During July, my writing was totally rubber. With my personal commitments completed, and a time sensitive nature (in my mind) for the completion of a story, writing has turned back into glass. Since I was a little kid, I've listened to music to block out all other distractions when I need to focus on a project. The music changes depending on what I'm working on. Lately, I've found the "Move Along" album by The All-American Rejects has a perfect beat for me to write to. I also tend to write later at night. This is because I'm in no way a morning person, and I have a day job :) So, that's it for me.

How Do You Do It?

One of the questions writers are asked frequently is "What's your writing process?" or words to that effect. "What sort of rituals do you go through to get yourself in the groove?" is another way it's been asked.

My answer may be disappointing. I don't have rituals. This is a job to me--albeit one that doesn't offer much monetary support. Yet. But just as I don't have any rituals to get me in the groove for my day job in Human Resources (other than my almost daily whining of "I don't wanna!" LOL), I don't have any rituals to get me in the groove for my writing job.

I just park my butt on the sofa, put my laptop on my lap, and jump in. I usually re-read a few pages where I've left off so I can get back into the scene.

But that's it. No lit candles, no specific music, no mantra chanting...

Disappointed?

Some plugs. For me!

First, the most important thing. I have added an Amber Alert ticker to my sidebar (on my individual blog). Mine is the US code; there is one for Canada as well.

I urge all of you to click on the link above and add it too, and make a donation if you can.


Second, Anna J. and I got the cover for our January EC release, Demon's Triad. Check it out:




It's a pretty hot cover, no? Except I hate the chick's tacky earrings and necklace. The tank top isn't great either. But all in all, I think it's awesome. Very sexy, very reflective of the mood of the book. (Yes, this is the one we think will be X rated.)

AND, the latest issue of JERR (Just Erotic Romance Reviews) came out, and Blood Will Tell got a 5-STAR review!

"Explosive, orgasmic, riveting are just a few adjectives that describe Blood Will Tell by December Quinn. Ms. Quinn has taken an age-old tale, thrown in modern day lust and action, and has written a story with enough drama and sex to keep you rooted to your spot until the last word is read...Bravo for a story well written."

Until the next issue comes out, the entire review is available only through the JERR Yahoo Group, but once it's been moved to the archives I'll post a link to read the whole thing (or you can join and read it there!)

So color me VERY happy, five stars from JERR makes me feel pretty good indeed!

'Til Death do you part?

As writers and readers of romance, we're very familiar with 'happily ever after'. Many times, that means a marriage and a little bundle of joy on the way for our hero and heroine, even in the edgier, paranormal and fantasy story lines that have become so popular in the past several years. Hell, I've got two stories that end with a couple married and knocked up, one couple with their second child on the way (they have a baby they're trying to rescue in the book, "Decking the Hollisters" is the one...if you want to check it out ;)).

But is this realistic HEA in these times of high divorce rates? I mean, simply slipping a ring on each other's fingers and saying 'I do' does not necessarily mean the hero and heroine will be togetha forevah. Having children together doesn't solidify anything either as anyone who's been a single parent knows.

For my own part, I don't *need* a wedding to feel the end of the story is solid and hopeful for the future, but I have to confess I do enjoy seeing my characters make that kind of commitment, whether it's realistic or not. But then, when have romance novels ever been accused of being too realistic :).

Thoughts?

Happy Wednesday,
Anna J. Evans

http://annajevans.com