Better to be a queen than a pawn…

Kate Mossland is an ordinary teenager in a strange and dangerous land. She has crossed the gordath, the portal between our world and Aeritan, and may never go home again. She has accepted her new life as foster daughter to Lord Terrick and is engaged to be married to his son Colar, a young noble whose life she saved and whom she loves.

But all is not easy in the House of Terrick. The servants distrust her, the men-at-arms disdain her, and learning how to be a great lady is harder than it looks. Every misstep brings her closer to ruin, and Kate must walk a fine line between independent teen and modest noblewoman.

When the youngest son of Lord Terrick is kidnapped by armed thugs, Kate and a mysterious young girl named Ossen make a daring rescue. But her unladylike courage only strengthens her enemies’ hatred.

Then in a single blow Kate learns that her life is truly not her own. As Aeritan teeters on the brink of war, and promises once made are so easily broken, Lord Terrick demands that Kate submit to a new role.

But Kate is not so easily managed. Together with Ossen and the girl’s rough and roguish brothers, she leaves the protection of the only House she has known in Aeritan to choose her own path and find her true home.

I enjoy working with this editor very much. She’s professional and knows what she is doing and her suggestions make for a better story. I have worked with other editors who were at the beginning end of the learning curve. It’s frustrating. If they stick with the business they may get better, but unfortunately now more than ever the publishing business is so fragmented that anyone can call themselves an editor and not have the necessary background or aptitude. Those are always really negative experiences.

So, here’s a tidbit from Memories of Gravity to tide you over. I will let everyone know when the anthology comes out.

Transmission to: Captain Beatriz Sabatini, Bifrost Station    
Date: May 26, 2237
From: Maher, Craven, Edelweiss, and Stroheim, Attorneys at Law
Dear Captain Sabatini,
We regret to inform you of the death of your grandfather, Richard Aldo Sabatini, on May 10, 2237.

Almost at once I was thrown back into my childhood, reliving memories I had tried so hard to bury, so hard that I fled them off-world and halfway across the solar system.  The adults at the funeral home whispered over my head as I sat kicking my chair, sad and frightened, not even the pretty dress and the shiny shoes making up for what I knew.

What will become of her, poor thing?    

I heard the grandfather is taking her in.

Has anyone contacted her father?
The delicate laughter that followed and I strained to make out the words: Does anyone know which one he was?

I forced myself to concentrate on the present and read the rest of the message. It was simple, text only. My grandfather had left me everything, but owing to ancient Earth laws, I had to return home to deal with my inheritance in person. I could not assign a proxy, nor could I engage a lawyer off-world to represent me in these matters.

I sat back, staring at the frozen text hanging in the air in front of me. Out of habit I lifted my hand to the scar that ran from my temple to my jawline, the last gift of my grandfather before I fled his presence as far as I could. “How far do I have to go to get away from you people?”

The science fiction/gothic romance/ghost story takes priority right now though, as that deadline is coming up fast. I received excellent feedback from cryptopolis. The interesting thing is that the people who didn’t like it had very good reasons for where it failed, and the people who did like it had the same concerns. So I know where I went wrong and I also am confident that it is one of those stories that just won’t flip up everyone’s skirts.

It was an utter blast to write, though. Now I just have to make it better. And settle on a title.

Another factor is that the short deadline means I can’t fuss and bother over each word. I need a good, fast draft. Editing comes later. Granted, I did make some major changes to the draft as I went along, because they were deep structural and character changes that came about from understanding the story more, but in general, even when I’m writing a scene I know I’ll be condensing later, the most important thing is word flow right now.

There’s a saying: don’t let perfect mess up good. Writers need to tell themselves that.

All of this productivity has got me grooving on the other things I want to write. Creativity begets creativity — I can’t wait to set this work aside and ramp up on a series of short stories that are finally coming together.

Besides this story I am in the throes of production on The Crow God’s Girl. Very exciting! I hope to have a cover reveal soon.

I took the time out of a long writing day to see the movie Mirror Mirror with Julia Roberts. Lots of silliness and laughs, everyone in the cast is having a blast, and parents and kids all clapped at the end. When was the last time you were at the movies and that happened? Sweet, silly fun — go see it. Go!

Word on two short stories, and Duotrope says that a response should be coming any day now for both of them.

Royalty checks

The letter from the rich benefactor who wants to turn all of my books and short stories into movies

A short list, yes, but it makes the day a little bright with anticipation. Except for Sunday but that makes Monday’s mail all the sweeter. And while it seems that constant disappointment can dull that sharp edge, Wednesday’s mail delivered the cocaine jolt to the monkey brain.

Nothing like the next check of the advance money to hit the mailbox.

I’m still waiting on the rich patron, and the clock continues to tick, but I got my fix.

My friend Sharon laid that one on me at lunch a week or so ago. It’s perfect. It’s so true. We reminisced over Amaya’s Taco Village enchiladas verdes about Victoria Holt and all the wonderful gothic novels of yore. The cover design always had a girl…and a house. The girl is running from the house, waves are crashing on the cliffs, and the house looms in the background.

A girl and a house.

I loved those books.

I have such exciting news about Lady of Temia and I can’t tell you yet. Well except this — Lady of Temia has been renamed The Crow God’s Girl. And the cover is luscious and gorgeous. I can’t wait to show it off to everyone. And The Crow God’s Girl is going to be available for purchase in a few short months.

Did I mention that the cover is gorgeous? Just wait til you see it.

Views & Brews: The New Pornography of Violence

Then on a more cheerful note, hopped over to BookPeople for Stina Leicht’s signing for And Blue Skies from Pain, the follow up to Of Blood and Honey. I’m looking forward to more Liam. Then again, with Stina’s books about the Troubles, maybe the evening had a theme to it.

I have some good news coming up about the next book in the Gordath Wood series, and can’t wait to tell you! But all in good time…

Yes, we all have to start out learning how to write. HOWEVER, as grownups there are certain things we should already know when we sit down to write, and those things are grammar and punctuation. When an adult comes in to a writers workshop and doesn’t know these basic tools, it’s embarassing. Except these beginners aren’t embarassed at all.

If you don’t know how to punctuate dialog in your sentences, it tells me one important thing about you — you don’t read books. That’s right, you are in a writers workshop, wanting to write books, but you don’t read them.

If you don’t understand basic grammar, it tells me you don’t care about the basic tools of the trade you are trying to break into.

Both of these things show contempt for the craft that I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to get better at. So it makes me cranky.

Inevitably, the people who think these basic tools don’t matter also tell crap stories. Everything is off — plot, character, pacing, setting. Nothing is fixable.

And the problem is, workshops encourage these beginners to pay their money and sign up (or sign up for free, depending how the workshop is run). I think workshops should actively discourage beginners. They soak up time and energy and make very little progress.

Instead, if you are a beginning writer, here’s what you should do. Read, first and foremost. And read carefully, so you can see how the writers you love string words together. Write, every day if possible, even on the days when the words don’t flow and your muse is sulky.

And most importantly of all, get yourself a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, and read it. Use it. Refer to it. You don’t need AP Style, or the Chicago Manual of Style. Just this one slender book with all the rules for grammar and punctuation is all you need.

You’ll know when you’re ready for a workshop. A good rule of thumb is that when you’ve sent out work to a magazine or online market, and the rejections start coming back with personalized notes, that’s when you are ready to workshop. But if you are only hearing from family members and friends, or if you are vanity publishing on an anything goes site, you aren’t ready. Do yourself a favor; wait to workshop until you know you are getting there.

And for Pete’s sake, the comma goes inside the quotes.

The book signing was really wonderful. It was great to meet Alyssa Goodnight and Jennifer Ziegler after much correspondence and planning. As it happens, Jennifer and I are actually neighbors. Not in, we live in the same city kind of way, but in the “we live three or four blocks away from one another and our kids go to the same school and we have the same friends.” How it happened that we never crossed paths before I have no idea. Well, sort of – I’m an introvert.I think I need to reach out more. It did make me realize that there are probably lots more people in this neighborhood — a once working class and now funky, laid-back yet gentrifying enclave — who are creative types. Like, every other house even.

So on the way back we decide to stop in at the Brenham Saddle Shop in Brenham, to check out saddles. I know, I don’t have a horse yet, but I just wanted to check out saddles and prices. Imagine my surprise when we get in and they don’t actually sell saddles. Okay then. So we looked at the pretty boots and western wear and Ben wanted to check out the hats, and I looked one last time at the boots, and well…

So I had to bring them home. I was assured that I could ride in them but they are the most expensive pair of footwear I own, so probably not unless conditions are absolutely perfect. Damn, though — they look and feel great.

Oh, and I bought books too. Alyssa’s Austentatious and Jennifer’s Sass & Serendipity, and I’m looking forward to reading them.

Reviews:

The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells is the sequel to her 2011 fantasy The Cloud Roads. It continues the saga of the Raksura shapeshifter Moon and his new clan, the Indigo Cloud people. Wells creates a world so richly imagined that even the people and places that are not part of the main plotline captured my interest. The world lives on even when the book is closed. Plus the main character of Moon is so relatable, and the Raksura are so well realized in all their irascible, cranky glory, that it’s just plain fun. Add in a fast-moving plot, and now I can’t wait for the next one, coming out next year.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. My new YA book crush. A young princess has been marked by God as the Chosen One to save her people. She is sent to another kingdom in an arranged marriage, and she discovers hidden strengths. Carson takes all the cliches of fantasy and turns them on their head. The arranged marriage is described humanely, with all the awkwardness that comes with two strangers expected to get along; the princess is dismissed as useless by everyone, even herself, but she comes into her own. Carson also treats the religion in the book, a Catholic analog, with respect, which is unusual in fantasy.

I have a stack of books about a foot high as a result of going to back to back book signings (Robin Hobb, Elizabeth Moon), so I have forbidden myself from entering a bookstore (well, except for the Houston Barnes & Noble this Saturday) until I get through the stack. A writer must have discipline*. Stop laughing. We must. Really.

*A writer must have discipline or a writer will have a zero balance in her bank account.