Posted by Christine on Jan 1, 2011 in General |
Every year I, like millions of other people, make “New Years Resolutionsâ€. However, I like to think of myself as different. ‘Cause you know, who wants to be like everyone else. So I try to make my resolutions more like goals. Goals should be attainable, realistic, and within our control right? Not ideals that we have no possibility of ever reaching or that we can strive for but are ultimately out of our hands – like for example – world peace. I would love to make one of my goals this year getting an agent, or seeing my name on the cover of a book. However, the fact of the matter is, I can’t control how an agent will react to my query or when Red and Grey will be published ;-). There are many thing I can control about my writing though. Those are the things I put on my “goal listâ€. (Yeah – I make a real list 😉 nerd here.) I decided to share a few of those goals here on my blog. – Read more – and read more genres. More on this one to come – in fact a whole blog post about this will be up next week. – Write Daily – I have two stories I’m “halfway†through. Meaning I have written over 50,000 words on. I really want to finish both these stories. Plus I have another story that is “nagging†at me and desperately wants to be told. I need to write, every single day, no excuses. – Send 50 queries for Red and Grey. Or, you know, as many as it takes to get an agent, maybe only two. :-) (If anyone’s wondering last year I sent 30.) – Attend Surrey International Writers Conference. Not so much a goal as a given – but I put it on the list because it’s easy to check off and makes me feel good to accomplish it. LOL So, what are your goals for 2011? Planning anything...
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Posted by Christine on Dec 29, 2010 in General, Monthly Updates, Randomness, Updates |
Happy December one and all. In our house we exchange gifts on December 25th. This year, much like many past years… and many future years I imagine… Christmas had a distinctly bookish theme. Yes, my family believes in supporting the publishing industry at Christmas each year. We do, after all, have a personal stake in seeing it not fail 😉 This years the total number of books my five person family swapped – 41. Yup – 41 books changed hands among us. The most went to my eldest son, he got 10. The lions share of his new books where series starters. We are trying to help him find some new and interesting addictions…I mean reads 😉 Others were continuations of a couple series he was already hooked on. I scored at the bottom of the list this year – I got 7. Not that I’m complaining, they are all books I am excited to read. Including an anthology of Steampunk short stories I’m itching to start. Just thought it was funny I ended up getting the fewest books- usually I get the most. 🙂 How has your month been? (mine has been good) Did you see the eclipse on Winter Solstice? (to cloudy here) What are you most looking forward to in 2011? Next blog post – My New Year...
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Posted by Christine on Oct 25, 2010 in General, Kudos, Randomness, Updates |
I know I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but just for that ever elusive “record†I love the Surrey International Writers Conference (SiWC). If there is a better conference put on by a more wonderful group of amazing and talented people, I’m not aware of it. SiWC is the perfect size, not so big you get lost in the crowd not so small that no one with a big name comes. Kathy Chung the conference coordinator this year did a spectacular job. All the presenters were amazing and in each session I learned some tidbit that will help me along as a writer, or a person. So yes, I love SiWC. In addition to all that, it was fantastic to see my writer friends and catch up with them, Rose, Elissa, Tyner, Pam, Peggy, and Angela (P.S. there is an interview with me on her site – more on that tomorrow) of the Book Broads not to mention the countless others I don’t have the space to name. Then there are all the new people I got to meet this year at Surrey. Allow me at this point to take a quick moment to say congratulations to Tyner for his story placing second in the Annual Surrey International Storytellers Award Contest. Excellent job. 🙂 Plus this year I got to meet in person two of my Tweeps who I have been conversing with all year on Twitter but never set eyes on(@natgreyangel and @LornaSuzuki) . That was way cool. Amidst all the wonderful, and there is so much wonderful, there are always a few moment or a few speakers that stand out. For me this year there are four people I would like to mention/thank in particular. kc dyer : I can’t begin to say what an awesome and inspirational person kc is. She has been so important to me as I’ve progressed as a writer. I’m not sure I would have gone past my first year of writing if not for her belief, encouragement, and support. This year sitting in her panel on steam punk and having a blue pencil with her was fantastic. – kc – thank you so much for our words of advise on how to strengthen my manuscript and for providing them in such an optimistic and encouraging way. I came home eager to get started and excited about the possibilities this year held. Arthur Slade: I’ve never stalked anyone before, this past weekend Arthur Slade was generous enough to allow me to stalk him around the conference. Meaning I attended each session he gave or sat on a panel in and even got behind – or in front –of him in line to eat a couple of times. Not too shocking given the size of the conference and my interest in the steam punk genre. 🙂 In all...
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Posted by Christine on Oct 21, 2010 in General, Randomness |
Do agents really care if my bra matches my panties? Probably not. In fact, I’ll go out on a pretty safe limb here and say no. They couldn’t care less. So why was it so important I have my favorite set of matching bra and panties clean to take with me to SiWC? I know my husband was wondering that very thing when I told him they had to be washed before we could leave thereby delaying our trip at least a few hours. I could see the wheels in his head turning. “The agents won’t see your bra – just wear a different one.†Yeah, I know that… But when I was little, my mother used to tell me when I was scared or nervous that looking my best would help. So I’ll spend hours picking just the right clothes to wear on the outside and I want to know that I am wearing something pretty underneath too. So when I walk into my ten minute pitch session wearing my pink polka dots, will it make me pitch any better? No, the bra has no magic pitch mojo. However, I will feel more self confident knowing I am “dressed for the part†and that may very well affect the way I pitch. So we wait for it to dry and it’s traveling with us to Surrey to make it’s non-appearance and work it’s non-magic. But I’ll know, even if the agents never do....
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Posted by Christine on Sep 14, 2010 in Godmothers and Brothers, Snippets |
Because I feel like it, I thought I would share with everyone a little snippet from Red and Grey today. So here is a tiny taste of one the characters in Red and Grey. Enjoy. The Past The blade pierced him. Cold steel slid through the soft, warm, flesh of his body. Pain seared his abdomen, and not just pain of the flesh. A deeper, brighter pain overwhelmed him. Shining, glowing, heat raced like fire under his skin. How had that damned prince acquired a magic blade? Who dared give him such a tool? He growled in his mind, knowing the answer even as he asked the question. The young woman standing at the prince’s side shone in his dimming vision. Her silver blonde hair shimmered down her back as her body emitted pure, bright power. The power was so close and yet beyond his reach. Once again he was too late. In the final seconds of the body’s life, he fled. The sword weakened him, but it didn’t destroy him as whatever Godmother created it no doubt hoped it would. For long moments he simply was. He observed as the prince withdrew the sword from the now dead flesh. The beautiful woman leaned into the prince’s arms, kissing his lips. They stood in each other’s embrace, reveling in their victory, unaware that the sword had failed to eliminate him completely. Remembering the feel of her body, he blocked his seeing, but not in time. The prince drew her closer, his hand caressing her back. He should be the one holding her. Too late again. But he couldn’t think of that now. He needed to find a new host to give him form and shape. Moving free of a body was painful and slow. The air pushed him in every direction and he willed himself to move with difficulty. If any of his Brothers stumbled upon him now, they would devour everything he was. His existence would end. That could not be permitted. He must find an acceptable form to fill before his weakness drew their attention. The sword depleted him more than he liked to admit. He let the wind carry him away from the ancient stone castle. His home for over two hundred years was lost. He couldn’t feel the chill of the wind, or see the blazing autumn leaves. Color was lost to him until he once again had a host to support him. The wind blew north, a village was close. He could sense it with the magic innate to his being, the core of who he was, or who he had been, once. He forced himself to move in that direction despite the pain. Why had she done this to him? Why bring the prince down on him? He offered her everything. He never hurt her physically, and still she chose some weakling...
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