Cover on Amazon - Can the release date be far away?

I'm still polishing THE WARLORD'S BRIDE -- once again thinking, I should be able to go through this chapter pretty quickly...and three hours later, still at it. However, I just discovered that Amazon has the cover up on the page for A LOVER'S KISS. So it's not too long before Drury's story hits the stands! I've only waited five years to be able to tell it, so...not too excited here. Nope, nope, nope.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya.

But now, back to medieval Wales with me!

Crunch Time

I thought I had my manuscript under control. This time, I really did.

So of course, the gods laughed.

I have discovered I went off the rails toward the end, which means some backtracking and rearranging and fixing and...

no more blogging until the book is done.

Also way more "every man for himself" dinners, laundry's on a desperation basis and as for my garden...good luck, perennials, 'cause you're on your own.

Until later, folks!

Old and New and ooh la la

Quickly, because not only am I revising like a mad thing, I need a nap, big time. If it's not the night sweats, it's the cats. And the coughing, because Daughter has brought home another cold. Thanks, kid! Fortunately, it seems much milder than the last. Heck, croup would seem milder than the last...but I digress.

Managed to get out of the house to see Iron Man and also rest my non-iron fingers and carpel tunnels. I really enjoyed it. Robert Downey Jr. does not disappoint. And may I just say, that guy has great shoulders.

By Sunday night, I was in need of more rest and had a wonderful time watching Cranford on PBS. It's my kind of historical show. It's not all about lords and ladies; you've got yer common folk, too, and the focus is on the women. Love it! Thanks again, Elizabeth Gaskell, who is forever dear in our hearts because of North and South . However, Simon Wood is in it, as a love interest, and I must say, having been watching Season Two of Rome again? I have seen a tad more than I care to of Simon Wood and I can't quite forget it while watching Cranford. =8-0

The deadline loometh...

I have a month to left to polish THE WARLORD'S BRIDE. That may sound like a lot, but it's not. Not the way I work. I'm still at the stage where it can take me two hours to go through a scene. That's about par for the course, because here's what I'm using those hours for:

I'm trying to ensure that the pace is right. I'm still doing slashing and moving and rewriting -- a lot.

I'm making sure I've got information where it works best, and not somewhere else.

I'm smoothing out the tone, so it sounds like I sat down and wrote this in one afternoon, not over several months, during which I wrote through a host of moods and life events that had an impact on the tone of the work on any given day.

I'm trying to weed out anachronisms, or anything that sounds too modern. I'm not a fan of the "thee, 'twas, 'twere" school of medieval setting, because I feel that it gets in the way, rather than enhancing the story, but I do try not to use anything that sounds too 20-21st century.

I'm adding description, particularly of setting, clothing and meals.

I'm trying to make the love scenes more sensual and emotionally powerful.

I'm trying to make sure my characters' motives are clear and understandable, and that the secondary characters aren't stealing the show (two scenes with secondary characters have either been severely shortened or cut -- the jury's still out on the second).

I'm also trying to take a daily walk and get my recently delivered antique china cabinet ready for the china, and moving around other items. I'm only doing a bit a day on that. I still make dinner and do laundry (got my clothesline up -- yeah!). And spend time with the family and friends. I don't shut myself away and have meals brought to my door.

Law and Order reruns (original and SVU) are out, except for the first half-hour of Law & Order at 1 p.m., the bits with Lenny, because a girl has to eat lunch sometime and it's Lenny!

I'm still watching my evening TV shows, because after a day on the writing, the brain isn't much good for anything else except vegging in front of the TV. I also need breaks, or the shoulders and back aches.

Unfortunately, it means I won't have much time for anything on the computer except working, because of the time involved and muscle issues, so blog posts will be at a minimum.

So until next week, adios and think of me, with my sharpened #2 pencils and computer, trying to make it sound like I just sat down one day and decided to tell a story.

Tension ...or Anticipation?

I was thinking about the last episode of The Office this morning, and it struck me that we writers can be lead astray by the notion of dramatic tension. I believe it stems from those two particular words, dramatic and tension.

Dramatic means, to quote the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online:

1: of or relating to the drama (a dramatic actor)
2 a: suitable to or characteristic of the drama (a dramatic attempt to escape) b: striking in appearance or effect (a dramatic pause)
3 of an opera singer : having a powerful voice and a declamatory style — compare lyric


Drama means:

1 a: a composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical performance : play — compare closet drama b: a movie or television production with characteristics (as conflict) of a serious play; broadly : a play, movie, or television production with a serious tone or subject (a police drama)
2: dramatic art, literature, or affairs
3 a: a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces b: dramatic state, effect, or quality (the drama of the courtroom proceedings)

Tension means:

1 a: the act or action of stretching or the condition or degree of being stretched to stiffness : tautness b: stress 1b
2 a: either of two balancing forces causing or tending to cause extension b: the stress resulting from the elongation of an elastic body
3 a: inner striving, unrest, or imbalance often with physiological indication of emotion b: a state of latent hostility or opposition between individuals or groups c: a balance maintained in an artistic work between opposing forces or elements
4: a device to produce a desired tension (as in a loom)

There's one thing the definitions of drama and tension have in common, and it's negativity, even hostility. Conflict, stress and lots of it.

Dramatic indicates a big reaction.

So it's easy to think that dramatic tension means big conflicts. Lots of stress. Danger. Guns, chases, big arguments, serious issues.

But that's not what had me on the edge of my seat watching The Office last week, although my condition could certainly be classed as one of "unrest". I was giddy with anticipation.

Anticipation is defined as:

1 a: a prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action b: the act of looking forward; especially : pleasurable expectation
2: the use of money before it is available
3 a: visualization of a future event or state b: an object or form that anticipates a later type
4: the early sounding of one or more tones of a succeeding chord to form a temporary dissonance — compare suspension

Yep, it was "pleasurable expectation" and then some. And it occurred to me that that reaction is every bit as valid, as interesting, as exciting a reason to keep reading a book, as the resolution of a serious conflict or escape from danger.

And there's absolutely nothing "lesser" about pleasurable expectation. I was on the edge of my seat watching The Office. I'm never on the edge of my seat watching Law and Order, or Damages or other "serious" shows.

That makes me wonder if this isn't one of the differences between genre fiction and literary fiction. Genre fiction, no matter how serious the issues or risks to the characters, is going to either end happily, in the case of romance, or at least provide some kind of resolution. We can read it some expectations, and that in itself can be pleasurable. Literary fiction, however, makes no such promises to readers.

For my money, I prefer pleasurable expectation, so it makes sense I write genre fiction.

That no doubt also explains how I can read the same books or watch the same movie several times. I know what's going to happen, and it's a pleasure to anticipate it.

Old Bailey Online!

Just quickly, because this is one of those days I have a lot to do:

Since the hero of A LOVER'S KISS is a barrister, I had to do some research into the British legal system. I discovered a great site called The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, which had transcripts of a few trials, including one for a duel, which was cool. However, there's a new site, Old Bailey Online, which has all the transcripts from trials at the Old Bailey from 1674 to 1913.

Need some good external conflict ideas for a historical? I bet there are more than a few there!

Antidotes

Yesterday I discovered a less-than-glowing review of one of books on the web.

I was disappointed and dismayed. It felt like I'd failed an exam. Not a life-shattering experience, but certainly not pleasant, because I worked really hard on that book, ya know?

Then I watched Carrier, on PBS. They took cameras onto the U.S.S. Nimitz and let 'em roll.

Now, I have a soft spot for the navy -- any navy -- because my dad was in the navy during World War II and I was in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. Let me tell ya, that was a pretty unusual job for a teenage girl in the 1970's. It was a wonderful experience, and a great way to learn self-discipline. There's no negotiation or whining in the military. Well, okay, there is -- surreptitiously. And we will not speak of the abduction of the petty officers' beer.

My pity party ended in about a second and a half.

I'll be watching and/or taping the rest of Carrier this week.