Anya Bast

My all time favorite poet, Charles Simic, has been made U.S. Poet Laureate. Here is my favorite poem by Simic, Crazy About Her Shimp. Go read! You won’t be sorry.

Do people really read poetry anymore? Am the only one? Tell me, do you read poetry? What are some of your favorite poets and poems?

To sweeten the deal, I’ll make it a contest. Everyone who replies to this post will be eligible to win one of my EC books (from backlist). Share with me your poetry predilections. The contest will end whenever I want it to. *g* So post now!

Trying to get writing done today, but need to clean the house, go grocery shopping, ect. Oh, and load songs into my new iPod. *g*  I do have a children’s play list in my new iPod and on it is every song Elizabeth Mitchell ever produced. Kid’s music that adults can listen to too. If you have kids, you might want to give her a listen.

Domestically, I bought a floor sweeper I have to take back because it’s missing a piece. AND! I bought a speaker plug-in thingie for my new iPod (that lets you listen to music on the iPod as if on a stereo, instead via ear buds) and even though it says it’s compatible with the nano, IT. IS. NOT. Not in this dimension, anyway. Argh. So frustrating.  That’s going back too.

Been thinking a lot about my writing process today. I am not, actually, a plotter. I’m not a panster, either. Really I’m some combination of the two. I write out my synopses, but before I actually start the book I don’t know for certain how true I’ll stay to them. This is because I don’t know my characters until I start writing them, not really. No amount of character charts or character interviewing lets me know them as well as actually writing them. Once they start “acting” within the limits of the plot, making decisions, reacting to stimulus, do I actually start to truly understand them.  I know that sounds crazy, but there you have it.

Now, back to The Darkest Kiss.

That’s right, I’ve entered the new millennium (quite a few years late) and bought an iPod. Now I’m faced with the prospect of loading it with new songs and selecting my favorites from my current MP3s. I’ll have to make playlists and cruise around iTunes. Oh, and I can load pictures into my iPod, make slideshows and set them to music. Intriguing!

I foresee many opportunities to procrastinate on my writing.

I wish I could listen to music while I write. Many writers can do this and I think it’s cool…helpful, even. Music invokes emotion and feeling emotion when you’re writing romance is a good thing, well, as long as you can transfer it to the page.

Music engrosses me too much, though. I can’t listen and not be caught up in it completely. So no iPod for me while I write, not unless I set the volume down so low I can barely hear it.

But I do have an iPod! And, as you can tell, I’m excited about it! Got any music recs for me? I tend to like all kinds of different things.

I blogged about the romance novel heroine over on the Bradford Bunch blog today. Please go on over and share your thoughts with me!!

This week was about getting synopses done and proposals finished. Happily, I accomplished that goal. So, again, didn’t get as far on The Darkest Kiss as I would’ve like, but it was because I was working on other projects. Now those projects are DONE. Woo!! So next week is all about The Darkest Kiss. Also, I’m finally pulling myself out of the middle of the book. Hallelujah!!

For all that, I’m still well on target to meet my deadline for TDK.

53,366 / 85,000 (62.4%)

*flogs the middle of The Darkest Kiss*

Bad, middle! Bad, bad, middle!

47,120 / 85,000 (55.3%)

The Darkest Kiss

I didn’t get as much done on The Darkest Kiss this week as I’d hoped. Book proposals slowed me down. So I have been working, just not always on The Darkest Kiss. But I am over halfway finished with the book and this makes me happy.

About 7k last week.

Here’s a wee snippet:

He traced her collarbone with his index finger. “You’re going to hate me in the morning.”

“I don’t care about the morning.”

I haven’t updated. I’m sorry! I’ve been writing, that’s why. Not so much on The Darkest Kiss, but on proposals/synopses. I’m plotting the third elemental witches book this week and writing up a synopsis. I’m also writing up a proposal for the fourth (and final) book.

But probably you all aren’t reading my blog anyway. *g* Probably you’re all closeted away with Harry Potter. I haven’t read the books yet. I will one day, I’m sure I’ll probably like them too. I do know who dies, though. :p

In other news, I know there’s a big debacle about costumes at RWA National. (There’s always a big debacle somewhere) I’m wondering if there isn’t more important things to be talking about than Liz Maverick and Marianne Mancusi‘s attire. Personally I found their get-ups cute and an imaginative way to build buzz for their books…in a world where it’s incredibly hard to build buzz. Here’s hoping they got some sales out this deal. (I put Wired on my Amazon wish list yesterday, so there’s my sale at least.)

As for Sherrilyn Kenyon…she’s Sherrilyn Kenyon! Dewd, let the woman wear what she wants! As long as she keeps producing Dark Hunter books, I’m happy. I don’t have more to say because I’m busy…writing.

Enjoy your Saturday!! What do you have planned for the weekend? (It’s absolutely geeeeooorjessssss where I am)

…oh. It gives me zee tingles.

Missing is the Prince of Fire, by Linda Winstead Jones (it was on my coffee table when I took the picture).

As you can see, there is lots of romance in my pile right now. I’m on a romance kick at the moment. Normally you would see lots more fantasy and less romance. I think because I write it, it kinda feels like work to read it. But right now I’m craving it. I picked up Venetia, by Georgette Heyer because it’s supposed to be a classic and I’ve seen it raved so often I finally had to give in. Same with Lord of Scoundrels, by Loretta Chase.

I joined Shelfari yesterday after being flooded with invites from other people who did. So if you want to friend me, go ahead.

I uploaded my TBR list there, if you want to look, plus a few other books I’m rereading, or just are perpetually in my pile. I think I could get down with Shelfari. Seems cool. However I couldn’t find Magic Lost, Trouble Found, by Lisa Shearin on there to add to my shelf. *grumble* Nor could I find The Eternal Rose, by Gail Dayton, but maybe that’s because the book isn’t out yet.

Now for another edition of books I have read lately…..

The Vampire Queen’s Servant, by Joey Hill

I liked it. Very dark and not for the faint of heart. Deliciously dark, in fact. There were a couple scenes that made me cringe, no doubt. I’m intrigued by the characters and definitely by their motivations. I want to know more, so I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next book. I’m a Joey Hill fan from way back, so I snatched this book right away.

Taking Chase, By Lauren Dane

Yes, Lauren is a friend, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy her writing too. This was actually a reread. I liked it as much the second time as I did the first time. Cassie Gambol is a great heroine and enjoyed her story very much. As an aside, from a distance, the man on the cover looks like Nicholas Cage.

~*~

Prince of Magic, by Linda Winstead Jones

I rarely will buy a book for its cover. I believe what my mama taught me about judging things that way. But when I saw this one, I wanted to lick it. This cover has a hawt man on it. Yum. That coupled with the fact its an historical fantasy romance (love!), made me buy it. It’s the first time I’ve read anything by this author. I loved it! The hero, Sian, lives up to the cover. I loved his character. I also very much enjoyed Ariana, the heroine. So, anyway, hooked on the series now.

I’m blogging over at the Bradford Bunch blog today about villains. There’s a contest too.

And…just a little rant. I could do a big long one on this subject because it’s one of those things that presses my buttons, but I don’t have time.

I get really sick of authors pushing their silly publishing hierarchies. As if an author who writes for a small press is inferior to authors who write for large presses. Wake up and smell the ink, people. You made it to NY, good for you. Kudos. That means you have talent, are damn lucky, or have benefited from some combination of the two. But just because you got there, doesn’t mean you’re going to stay there.

This is not a career with a lot of job security, and you’re only as good as your last book. You’re only as good as the readers think you are. Sadly, most likely you’re not as good as you think you are.
So, don’t get too cocky. Don’t get too arrogant. Try some humility. You never know when you might get knocked off that high horse and the landing’s easier if you’ve created some mental padding.

That is all. One very rare rant from me, the non-drama loving romance novelist. (I only like drama when it’s in my books.)