Kalayna Price

So I just found out the artist for Grave Witch's (absolutely awesome) cover is Aleta Rafton. Her website with more of her art can be found here . I recognize quite a few of her pieces from other books, so how cool is that? (If you haven't seen the Grave Witch cover, scroll down to Friday's post and check it out.) In other news, Twice Dead is spending its third week in the top five bestselling dark fantasy list! Thank you everyone who has made that possible by buying books and telling friends about the series! The second book in the Alex Craft series is due April 1st, and I am hard at work trying to get it all shiny by that date. (Okay, maybe 'shiny' isn't the right word for dark fantasy. LOL) As I was reading over the first few chapters the other day, I realized that my characters are eating in 6 in of the first 15 scenes. Perhaps a little too much food. At this rate, Alex won't be fitting in that awesome outfit on the cover of Grave Witch. ^_^ Well,...

Well, this is the goal day for the completion of HB2's first draft. I'm happy to say I will definitely cross 90k today. Unfortunately, 90k was a projected number of words, and at this point, I am quite confident in saying that this draft will run over that projection. I still hope to hit those magic words tonight ("The End" for those unsure which magic words I'm referring to) but I honestly have no idea how long this draft will run. Usually my first drafts are short with lots of filling in of details to do and a serious need for secondary characters and subplots. Not so much with this draft. I must run away and write now. A lot to accomplish tonight. HB2 Progress: 89004 / 90000 words. 99% done! [Aside: I had a wonderful time at ConCarolinas this weekend. I will post more about the Con in the coming days.]

This weekend I will be attending ConCarolinas in Charlotte, NC. This is a great little fantasy convention that is close enough to be considered 'local' (and give broke me the option of daytriping.) I attended last year with Tori and Darlene , and we had a great time, so I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Recently, I've noticed that my views on conventions have changed. In past years, I've gone to cons hoping to learn lots of new cool stuff. While I still hope to learn stuff, the reason I'm looking forward to this con is to connect and see in person writer friends I usually only talk to online. What a change! Among the people I am excited to see are these very cool women (and wonderful writers) Marcia Colette , Misty Massey, and Faith (Gwen) Hunter . If you are near the Charlotte area, you should definitely check out ConCarolinas . HB2 Progress: (I'm getting there!) 79840 / 90000 words. 89% done!

The title of this post is a bit misleading, as 1) I don’t drink coffee and 2) I want to talk about how useful mornings can be. Yes, you read that correctly. I said mornings can be useful . Now, before going any further, I would like to point out that I am not a morning person. Given half the opportunity, I revert to a schedule where I sleep through most of those pesky morning hours. My 9 to 5 doesn’t give me that opportunity. (Why do they call it a 9 to 5 anyway? I have to be here at 8:30. . . ) Usually my mornings consist of me staring at my alarm clock, willing the time not to go by so I don’t have to go to work. When I finally get up (late) I have to bustle to get to work (still late) then I drag myself through the rest of the morning. If you’ve been following my twitter feed, you know that I recently moved. This move turned a 45 minute commute to work every morning into five minutes. I could sleep those extra forty minutes (or stare at the clock) and probably would have, but with ...

Throughout the first draft of HB2, I’ve had trouble with one of my characters refusing to talk to me. This character has been suffering major behavior and emotional changes from scene to scene as I’ve forced him to participate (when he obviously has had no interest at all.) A couple of scenes he has clicked in, but more often than not he falls flat on the page or acts in a manner completely out of character. This is problematic to say the least, but it is a first draft, which is basically the same as the early rehearsals when the actors still have scripts in their hands and miss most of their cues. Later drafts will be ‘dress rehearsals’, and we are still a long way from ‘opening night’. There is still time for him to fill in his role and bloom into a real character. So, for now, I’ll let him mumble his lines and refuse to take blocking cues. The next draft though . . . Despite a noncommunicative character, progress is moving right along. I have just over a week to meet my goal, which...

In the past, I've often set goals for when I wanted to complete a piece of writing. The key word in that sentence is wanted . Up until recently, I haven't had an hard deadlines in my writing career. Things have changed. The first book in my contract is due in October of this year. After that, I have books due every year until 2013. I have deadlines now. Real deadlines. Which means I probably need to spend more effort making sure I meet my imaginary deadlines. I have one coming up soon. I'm supposed to finish the first draft of HB2 by June 3rd. It's not a hard deadline, but it's the goal I set for myself, so I'm pushing for it. (Not to mention that week is SIMS 3 is released and if I want to squeeze in some guilt free playing, the two weeks while I let the draft sit are the perfect time. Also, fellow Tri Mu Sarah has threatened to taunt me with game facts if she gets the game first and I am still writing--yes we are geeks.) So, I have about 13 days to finish ...

If you follow my twitter, you've probably noticed that things have been crazy in my parts recently. I traveled for the last part of last week/ first part of this week, which did a number on my wordcount. (Writing while traveling is rather hit or miss.) But, HB2 is moving right along. I've passed the first turning point now, and I'm currently completely immersed in a subplot (there will be some cutting back of what is on the page with this one.) Things are quickly spiraling from bad to worse for Kita and gang, and unfortunately for Kita, things will only be getting more complicated for her. She has a lot of hard decisions to make in this book, decisions that will really force her to stretch herself and mature. She hasn't completely rebelled and walked off the page yet, so I'm counting that as good. ^_~ Current wordcount: 34002 / 90000 words. 38% done!

I don't usually link to lots of news, but some really exciting things have crossed my inbox and twitter feed over the last few days. For starters, many of you probably heard back in January that the amazing fantasy magazine, Realms of Fantasy, was closing . The announcement marked a sad day for many, myself included. I'm a long time reader of the magazine, and always intended to submit a short story (but I don't write a lot of short fiction, so never did.) Well, I found out today that Tir Na Nog Press purchased RoF earlier this month! They are not yet open to fiction submissions, but the magazine will return in July. Welcome back Realms of Fantasy ! In other, completely unrelated news, the Knight agency is currently running a cool contest for unagented writers called Book in a nutshell . The challenge it to write a compelling 'query/pitch' in only three sentences (150 words.) Twenty of the best queries will be requested by agents at the Knight agency, and feedback...

I've been trying to blog regularly, but I totally failed at that goal last week. I didn't post once on my personal blog, though I did post about why I keep a scrap file over at the Tri Mu blog. Speaking of the Tri Mu blog, we are in the process of revamping the site. We added two new members at the beginning of the year and created a new (and much improved) blogging schedule, so a new look was also in order. I designed the newest layout (see the image at the right) and worked out the coding over the course of the last week or so. We are still creating some of the content, but the site is now live and coming along nicely. So check it out and let us know what you think! (It's been a lot of fun, and we had a 'Tri Mu picture day' yesterday. You can see some of the images at the site, but I'll post more here in the coming days, so stop back by soon.) Other than my work with the Tri Mu, I haven't felt very accomplished recently. I spent several days extremely i...

This weekend wasn't as productive as I would have liked. I always hope weekends will be my chance to pull ahead, after all, they are theoretically less busy than the chaotic work week. But, alas, I fell behind instead of pulling ahead. It was my own fault. I should know by now that I am always busy. I seriously need to utilize my time better. But, hope is not lost. During my lunch hour I finished the last scene in chapter 2. The next chapter includes a scene I love and can't wait to write, and then the chapter after that (I think) introduces a new character to the series who is one of my favorite secondary characters in the book. So, hopefully the next couple chapters will fly off my fingers. That said, sometimes the scenes I look forward to most take the longest because ideas get lost between the picture in my head and the keyboard, and I struggle to get the scene right . Does that ever happen to anyone else? Well, wish me luck. I'm supposed to cross 10k tonight, but I...

Wow, it's already Thursday and the fifth day in March. There is so much going on right now that I feel like I'm behind on everything. But, I'm right on target with my word count. I haven't done my writing for the day yet (darn day job getting in the way) but I'm moving along in my gradual crawl, so I should cross the 5% mark. Okay, its not a grand mile marker, but it's progress! Word Count for HB2: 4,167 / 90,000 (4.6%)

This weekend I attended the SC Book Festival. I have been going to this particular festival regularly for the last three or four years, and I always enjoy it. This is a readers festival, not a writing conference, so I don't go expecting to learn much (though this time I did pick up some grisly details about decaying bodies from an author who co-writes with the man who started the body farm.) But, I do usually come home with a new writer (or, at least, new to me) to read. This year I went to a panel with the very interesting J. T. Ellison , and I will definitely be looking for her thrillers next time I stop by the bookstore. In other news, the the Tri Mu started a writing challenge this weekend. We had planned to have a writing challenge at some point later this year, but as I need HB2 written sooner rather than later, NLBerger recently discovered a shiny she couldn't wait to write, and Tori needed a push to finish her WIP, we moved up the date. My goal during this challenge i...

I've decided not to make any big, year-long resolutions for 2009. I thought about possible resolutions, the list of goals, the things I'd like to achieve this year. . . I didn't write them down. I'm not going to. Not now, at the beginning of the year when everything is blank and unknown. It's the tradition, but I'm opting out. There is a time and a place for pushing yourself hard and reaching for the glimmering goal in the distance. While the beginning of the year sounds like the perfect time to gaze that far ahead, it's really not. At least, not for me. Not this year. Currently, I'm looking at the little goals. The goals that are ten steps ahead, instead of the full mile. I'm gazing across the day, week, or month, instead of across a whole year. With that in mind, I have one goal. A goal for this month. By the end of January I want to have the second draft of my WIP complete. Currently, the first draft has 272 pages. As I work, this number will go...

I've been silent for a couple weeks, and I apologize. Lots of stuff has been happening on my side, writing and otherwise. Among other things, I've recently been mulling over a very difficult decision. It's one of those things I don't want to jump into (or out off) blindly. That said, I think I've finally made my choice. Now just to take a deep breath and follow through with it. Wish me luck! In other news, because I haven't updated recently, you'll notice I passed my short story 'goal' by about 1k. You might be thinking that means I wrote THE END. Well, I didn't. I realized after I hit the 15k point, and I was only about half way through my plot. So, I started looking at the main line because well, I'm pretty sure I could write longer. What I learned was that the story was way, WAY, off what either line wanted. (See what I get for trying to write outside my genre and targeting a line?) I seriously considered scrapping it after that realizatio...

My self-imposed deadline for finishing my short story is fast approaching, and I'll admit, it's going to be a crunch. I want to write those magic words this Saturday, April 5th. I slowed down a little, not writing a word this past weekend, but I still intend to finish on time. If I don't, I'll have to put it aside and that will bum me out. No fun. Plus, deadlines are good for me. You might be asking, what changes after April 5th? Well, April 6th is the day the Tri Ms decided to begin our first Fast Draft challenge, which pretty much guarantees two weeks of total writing insanity. I discussed doing a FD challenge once before , but those plans fell through, so I'm excited the Tri Ms decided to give it a shot this time. But, more on Fast Draft on a later date. Today I'm talking about my short story, and on meeting deadlines. My current word total is 7,260 words. My goal, as close to 15k as possible (I'll give you a hint, I'm not worried about being low.) I...

Well, after a very busy week and weekend, I finally got out those last few words and wrote, you guessed it THE END on my WIP. Granted, the word count came out a little lower than I expected for a first draft, (though only about 700 words less than I was projecting) but I know with the way I write, the second draft will flesh out what I wrote in this one. I also realized during the middle of the climax that I sort of forgot to kill someone (I know...how could I have forgotten something like that? But I did) so there are two scenes or so I didn't write, but I'll catch them in the second draft. Final wordcount: 79,287 / 79,287 (100%) Now, I will commence in a little happy dancing, and then put this MS in the drawer a couple weeks while I work on something else. There are a lot of projects I've been thinking about, so I'm not sparse on ideas. The question is what to work on next? Isn't that a great dilemma? ^_^ Happy Monday everyone!

Let me start this by going ahead and splashing the progress meter up: Current Progress: GW 74,824 / 80,000 (94.8%) As you can see, I'm just an inch above 5k from hitting the goal. Now I'll be honest, at this point I'm not sure if the first draft will end up a little over or a little under that 80k goal, but I'm thrilled to see such a tiny sliver left. I'm even more thrilled that I reached the climax scene while writing at lunch today. I was neck deep in the final confrontation between the MC and the 'bad guy' when the little 'ding' sounded reminding me to run (no time left for a casual stroll) back to work. So, I know it won't be long now until I'll be writing those two little, elusive words at the bottom of the MS. I can't wait! Have a great day everyone!

Recently there has been a lot of chatter about music, and what music writers use to 'set the mood' or what they see as 'soundtracks' to their novels. A couple of my favorite books from last year even came with a note on music in the back. (I believe both Kim Harrison and Carrie Vaughn do this, but as I am at work, and my books are at home--where I have no internet--I'm not 100% sure on that.) So, it got me thinking, do most writers create to music? Is it specific music? Do certain books have soundtracks, or is it more particular songs resonating with critical scenes? Personally, my music tastes are very eclectic. I might be listening to broadway one day, rock the next, and J-pop the day after that. Usually I think of music as white noise. If it's not there, I go nuts, but if there is too much (or something I don't know well enough to filter) it will distract me. But, I do gravitate toward certain types of sounds during the highest points of emotional scenes....

They say you learn something with every word you write. Well, I'm certainly learning today (I hope.) Today I'm tackling something new, and if you're glancing at the title of this post and trying to guess what it is, I'll you a hint: I've written LOTS of fight scenes. That's right, I'm writing my very first love scene today. Yes, I've written two novels with romantic subplots before, and while there is (hopefully) a lot of sexual tension and some 'hot' moments, the relationship doesn't progress all the way to the bedroom (though if I ever write the rest of the books plotted for the series, they will get there.) I also wrote a short story last year that included a heavy hand of romance, but I copped out and (if you will humor me by accepting a film-technique analogy) panned out at the bedroom scene. This WIP is different. I knew, almost from the get-go, that my main characters would end up rumpling the sheets at some point in the book. I starte...

Wow, what a hectic week last week was. The good news: all our stuff is out of the apartment and at the cabin, and our apartment has been cleaned top to bottom, passed inspection, and the keys have been turned in. We can wash our hands of it. The bad news: now all those boxes we packed have to be UNpacked. As promised, here are some pictures of the Cabin. These were taken before we moved in, so some of the previous tenant's stuff is still around, but you can see the attraction. I feel like I'm living at a writing retreat. Out one window I can watch the sunset over a spring-fed pond, and out another, the sunrise over the woods. There are deer around, and once in awhile I catch sight of my neighbor's horse on the other side of the pond. The cabin is rustic, and not real high on modern conveniences (or inside doors) but I'm hoping the lack of distractions will inspire me to get more work done (once we finally finish unpacking.) The hubbie an I actually made lots of progress...