Where has this month gone?

Well I'll tell you where it's gone--to hell, ha ha. Actually it's just been one of those months that has moved at the speed of sound. Between family, work, school and writing, I've been torn in different directions. I've barely had the time to put in my page count, let alone blog, but that's life and I can't complain. I'm employed, have a roof over my head, have good friends and wonderful family. I am blessed.

One fun thing I did this month was talk to the Red Hat East Valley Divas. What a great group of women. I really enjoyed myself and they all love my books ECHOES and WHISPERS so it was a fabulous night for me.

Don't forget to check out my monthly contest! I have a few more days of September's contest featuring an autographed copy of one of my titles and an autographed copy of Cassie Ryan's hot and steaming Ceremony of Seduction.

Next month I'll be giving away an ARC of The Dragon Master (out Nov. 2008). That's right, a PREVIEW copy of Jennifer Ashley's November release. You will get to read it weeks before it gets to the bookstores.

And so it goes...

I've been busy lately between the day job, school and writing. Frustrating when the writing wants to be in the front seat and take all my free time but the other two won't allow it. It is what it is, so it does not good to complain--but when has that ever stopped me?

I'm supposed to get cover copy this week for Haunting Beauty! Can't wait to see what they have created for my new book. I'm now T-11 months until it comes out and it still doen't feel quite real.

If you haven't checked out my contest for this month, please do. I'm giving away two books, one of mine and one of talented author Cassie Ryan's. Details are at www.erinquinnbooks.com (click on contest link).

Also, entries for the SDSU scholarship will be closing soon. If you've thought about entering, now is the time!

Productive day...

I'm still so excited about the quote from Diana Gabaldon that I want to tell everyone I meet. Of course, the people who don't know me are really starting to give me strange looks, but who cares. Diana Gabaldon called HAUNTING BEAUTY "A complex, mysterious and very satisfying story!"

Today was productive although it didn't start out that way. I began with taking care of business. I updated my website, announced last contest winner and posted a new one. This month I'm giving away a copy of CEREMONY OF SEDUCTION written by Cassie Ryan who just happens to be a friend of mine. It's hot and steamy (as you might guess by the cover) and it's the first of a series so if you're a fan of erotic romance, be sure to enter.

Then I found myself doing a bunch of busy work and accomplishing nothing. It wasn't until this afternoon that I finally started writing with any focus. Once I got my head into the game, I made progress and that felt good. This is my first time to write a book that is part of a series and it comes with its own challenges--new ones that are a bit daunting. It's only natural for readers to compare book one to book two, right? Well it's only natural for authors to live in fear of readers comparing the first and second and finding one lacking. I hadn't really thought of that going in, but now that it has occurred to me, gulp, I'm shaking in my shoes.

Challenges, challenges, challenges....

Highlights and lowlights....

I've been hard at work on my WIP. First draft is done except for the ending, which I usually don't write until the end of the second draft anyway. I write about 3-5 drafts before I feel it's ready for readers, so I'm still early in the process. But I like what is going on with the story and I feel like it's all coming together as I envisioned. I'm so behind on my life, though! Sheesh. I need to send out my contest winners, update the website, take care of all the other little details. It's never ending.

This weekend I received some great news. Diana Gabaldon has given me a quote for HAUNTING BEAUTY! I can't believe it. She read the manuscript and she liked it. I think I'm as excited about her name being on my cover as I am about my own, LOL. This is what she said:

"A complex, mysterious and very satisfying story! I'm amazed that anyone can fit such a good story into so relatively few pages."

I'm just pleased as can be. Still waiting on the cover art so I can do a redesign on my website and start spreading the word about the book.

On the downside....day job continues to suck the life out of me. I need a vacation.

Where's Erin?

Wow, the past couple of weeks have been insanely busy and sometimes completely wonderful, sometimes not so much. The day J-O-B is taking its toll on me, but trying not to let it completely run my world. Trying being the key word of that statement. There was no writing day for me this week and my so-called vacation was spent on line, on the phone or worrying about the fact that I wasn't online or on the phone. sigh. My kids returned to school this week (and my baby started high school!). Very hectic and exciting all around.

But the wonderful part took place last weekend in San Francisco at RWA national meeting. Wow, what a fabulous conference this year. The location was stellar, of course, but I think for me the best part this year was that I knew so many people. 4 years ago I went to Dallas (or Houston? Can't remember which) and I knew 3 people. After that I joined my local RWA chapter with one goal--meet some fellow authors. I got so much more than that out of my membership that I could blog for a week and not cover it, but suffice to say I did reach my goal.

Every corner I turned, every elevator ride or stroll through the lobby, I ran into someone I knew. It was joyous. There were smiles and excitement and hugs and well wishes. Fellow Desert Rose member and author Calista Fox and I hung out together, did the bar thing and found ourselves in a dive that should have probably been condemned but made an awesome sirloin burger. Calista has a single title coming out next year that sounds amazing. The next day I had lunch with my lovely friend Sylvia Day who is fun and kind and knows more about our industry than I could ever hope to know. Sylvia has a new series coming out from Tor under the name SJ Day. EVE OF DARKNESS is the first book and I picked up an advanced reading copy at the Tor signing. So far it's nothing short of fantastic.

I was invited to a wine and cheese party hosted by Harry and Susan Squires--friends from the pre-published days. Two nicer people you'd be heard pressed to meet--and both exceptionally talented. Susan's books are fabulous (and many, starting with her first which won the Golden Heart, called Danegeld.) Harry writes as HR Knight and his What Rough Beast is exceptional. At their party I met Barbara Vey of Publishers Weekly and learned that I have definitely missed the boat when it comes to Buffy the Vampire slayer. I must see get those dvds and watch that series.

Then my CP and bestest friend Lynn flew in and we had several days of good food, good drink and great company. We brainstormed until our poor brains were mushy and both of us worked out major plot issues with our WIPs. What a relief and a great session.

Then came lunch with my editor Kate Seaver. My first lunch with my editor--but I hope not my last. She is as bright and charming as I could hope and I am very excited to be in this creative partnership with her. I'm looking forward to many books to come. :-)

By the time I reached the airport on Sunday, I was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted. But no rest awaited. I found more friends on my same flight and the hour before we took off was spent happily talking about, you guessed it, books and writing.

I came home with great memories, 31 books I can't wait to read, and total motivation to get on with my new book. Now, if I could just get the day job to give me a break, life would be close to perfect!

At last...

After days on end of making zero progress, I finally got some traction yesterday and moved forward. Whew, those are the hardest days, I think. Last weekend I advanced my story a grand total of 4 paragraphs. And they weren't even good paragraphs. I wrote more on my blog than I did on my book.

But yesterday I hammered out 13 pages so I'm feeling much better. Those pages took me past that sticking point and now I'm hitting the home stretch. My goal has been to have my first draft completed before I go to RWA in San Fran. I may not make it, but I think I'll come in close.

I'm really looking forward to the trip. I have lots of friends who are going to be there and my CP and friend, Lynn, is coming as well. We both really need a brainstorming session and she surpasses all for that. Of course there will be copious amounts of alcohol consumed and probably queasy stomachs and headaches the morning after, but it will be fun. :)

Focus, or lack of....

I've been out of focus lately. Mostly because I'm on that first draft and it's just plain draining. I think one of the hardest parts is keeping the focus on creation and not perfection. While I'm creating, I often feel surges of emotion, of ecstasy, of brilliance. You know it when you feel it--those moments when you've just unlocked some great mystery hidden inside your story--something you didn't even know was lurking there beneath the text. Or you hit the nail on the head with the chemistry which up to that point in the draft you'd been penciling in, but never capturing. Those times are amazing.

But for the other countless moments, it's hard, grueling work. Conceiving an entire, well thought out book from a few random ideas or images is difficult at best, impossible at worst. A lot of the time it feels like you're writing cover copy for the back of a cereal box. The characters are place holders because you don't know them yet, the story structure is flimsy, the details painfully vague. And it's hard to get up and at it day after day when this is what you're faced with. Don't forget there's generally a devil on your shoulder telling you that you're a one-book wonder. Or your readers are all going to flock to someone better as soon as they start this drivel.

But to get to the second draft, you have to get through the first one. And in the second draft, things become more coherent. You discover that those places when the words felt wooden are actually pretty good and with a little polish and a little foreshadow, they could be great.

It's all a process. Very few things are created perfectly the first time. There's always room for revision. Even when a book is sold, there are revisions. A book an editor absolutely LOVED and couldn't wait to buy, will still get edits. It's the nature of the beast.

So I'm going to get back to it. Focus, Erin, focus...