Lori Devoti, paranormal romance and urban fantasy author

Sunday, November 4th–set the DVR!!
Meet the teams…

Has to be editing. I don’t mean revising where you figure out what is wrong and how to fix it–that can be fun. No, I mean taking someone else’s comments–frequently just noting repeated words, or missed commas–and trolling through your manuscript to fix them. BOR-ING.

So, as you probably guessed, that is what I am doing today. Actually, I started off the day tweaking a synopsis I wrote for a totally different project at the request of my agent. The trolling is on Wild Hunt which is due next week. The synopsis is for something not at all like my Nocturnes. Which brings me to goals.

I am big on goals. I even keep mine posted on my office wall. When I think of doing something new I check it against my goals. It can be something small–like joining another group, or agreeing to judge a contest or something big–like accepting a contract or starting a new book. But I always check to see if this will help me toward my goals.

The two most important thing (IMO) about goals is honesty with yourself, and keeping them real. For example, a couple of years ago a big name author told a room full of writers to write down their top five writing goals and to make them big. Write down NY Times list.

I don’t agree with this.

Sure, probably most writers would be thrilled to make the NY Times, but that as a goal lacks focus. It’s too far out in the ether. You need a goal that you can check those day to day things against. Then once you hit a certain level, you can add that NY Times list, but right now (in my world at least) there is no way for you to know what path would take you there. (In case you are wondering if you can ever direct yourself that way, certain publishers are known for being bigger on doing things to help their authors make lists. So, if the NY Times is your goal, you might actually choose to take a smaller advance to go with one of those houses, instead of one that didn’t give the list as much weight. If money was your goal, then you might not.)

The honesty part is probably the piece most people miss. Sometimes being honest about your goals means having to face things about yourself that you may not like.

For example, winning contests is not going to get you a bigger contract or sell books. (Okay, maybe a few books, but not enough to get you that bigger contract.) However, maybe validation (winning contests) is something you need.

If it is, that is enough to make it a goal.

Or maybe you just want your name on a book and you don’t care if you ever sell another book or if this one is available in Walmart or whatever other people tell you you should care about. That’s fine too.

All of these things could make a definite difference in what you set as a goal.

For me, the best part of having goals is it takes away some guilt. If I decide that winning a contest is something I want, then I don’t have to feel guilty when someone tells me it won’t sell books (that isn’t the reason I entered) or that I spent $25 on it. Or when someone starts touting whatever the next “big” thing is I can hold it up to my goal and decide rationally if going for it fits with my overall plan. If it doesn’t–I move on.

Goals allow you to pass up things you might have wasted time on, taking you off the path you want. They also give you reasons to do things you might not have done because other people don’t think they are worthwhile (things that don’t fit in with that person’s goals).

Goals are personal. Decide your own for yourself. :)

Lori

That’s right–I was a very good writer today and got in ten pages for my next Nocturne proposal. This one, if it sells, would be Nocturne #4. It features characters from my January Nocturne–Guardian’s Keep. Like Guardian’s Keep the hero/heroine know each other when the book starts. There are some major benefits to this set up–especially in a shorter book.

Anyway, this was my first day of “real” writing since school started and I got some quality time to myself. Before this I’d been doing revisions and plotting. I have a hard time judging my output on those days. But writing–you get the hard core word count to go by. Being a goal-oriented, deadline driven geek–I LOVE that. Yes, I chart out daily, weekly, monthly…annual…career goals. It scares some of my friends…

Lori

At RWAonline chat room…Come and chat with us on Thursday night from 9pm to 10 pm EST. Our author guests will include, Deborah Cooke, Lori Devoti, Cara Carnes and Marly Mathews! We will be discussing our books and the paranormal, futuristic, Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres. Doorprizes include, an ARC of Deborah’s Kiss of Fire, a signed copy of Lori’s Nocturne release, Unbound and a signed copy of Marly’s Twilight’s Kiss!
Get ready to have some magical fun!

Visit the chat room now.

I met Alex Bledsoe a few months ago when he came to a local RWA meeting. He had the honor of not only being the only man there, but also (because he was the only man there) being drafted to assist Kelle Z. Riley with her self-defense program. (Yeah, he got beat up…not REALLY, but that was basically the role he got to play.) He took both in stride.

His debut novel, The Sword-Edged Blonde, received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, and Alex agreed to stop by and chat about it.

Welcome, Alex!

Q.) First tell us about The Sword-Edged Blonde.

AB.) It’s a heroic fantasy novel written in a 40s hard-boiled style. Eddie LaCrosse, a “sword jockey” with a dark history, is hired by his old friend King Philip to find out if his wife Queen Rhiannon really did kill their infant son. The search takes Eddie into his own past in unexpected ways, and ultimately deals with gods and the mysteries of belief. It’s also got romance, action and I hope, humor. “Raymond Chandler meets Raymond E. Feist” is how Publishers Weekly defined it, and that’s pretty accurate.

Q.) Why 40’s noir?

AB.) I stopped reading traditional fantasy because, frankly, I felt that the emphasis changed from people and story to what is now called “world building.” Societies, geography and history were worked out in excruciating detail, and then two-dimensional characters with unpronouncable names and utterly predictable stories were set loose in them. Yet there is something fascinating, almost primally so, about a warrior with a sword and a princess in danger. I wanted to find a way to write about those archetypes with the emotional immediacy I found in the great novels of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and current practitioners like Andrew Vachss and Robert B. Parker. So I transposed the style, gave my characters normal names like Eddie, Cathy and so forth, and told a fantasy story with all the traditional magic and adventure.

Q.) I love the title. Can you tell us the significance?

AB.) It refers to the character of Queen Rhiannon, who has two distinct sides, both of which put the hero in danger, like the twin edges of a sword’s blade.

The impetus for the title came from my publishers. Originally the book was simply called “Rhiannon,” after both the character in the story and the Fleetwood Mac song that indirectly inspired it. They felt it was too Fleetwood Mac-y, and rather than imposing a title, asked if I had any alternatives. I wanted something that said both fantasy and mystery, and The Sword-Edged Blonde seems to do that.

Q.) As a debut author you go through a lot of emotional ups and downs. How have you found the trip so far? Have you learned anything new about yourself?

AB.) It’s happened very quickly: my book was sold this past February, and the editing was very light, which I took as a compliment. Now I’m doing my first interviews (like this one) and scheduling readings and signings. I suppose the biggest change is just the knowledge that something that is really important to me and says things I think are valuable, is now out “amongst it,” as my family in Tennessee would say, in stores and libraries and people’s hands. And it now has to stand on its own merits, and be judged in ways I can’t anticipate. It’s probably good practice for when my sons grow up.

Q.) Night Shade Books is your publisher. Can you tell us a bit about them?

AB.) They’ve been in business for about a decade. Based in San Fransisco, they started by doing reprints of classic SF, horror and fantasy that had gone out of print, and have eased their way into publishing hardcover and paperback originals. They’re incredibly well-respected among genre writers, and they’ve been absolutely wonderful to work with, too.

Q.) You also have an interest in writing a paranormal romance. Do you have anything in the works? What type of paranormal romance do you enjoy reading?

AB.) I’m currently working on an erotic thriller, based in Madison, WI, where I live, about a woman who has a mystical and sensual connection to the area’s ancient spirits. The contrast between modern and ancient, and a woman who’s closed herself off to one in favor of the other, seems interesting territory for romance, thrills and eroticism. Reading-wise, between my own writing, raising a toddler and having another one on the way, I’m far behind on my library stack, although I did just read Kelle Z. Riley’s “Dangerous Affairs.” Not paranormal, but definitely romance, with a gritty edge.

Q.) Anything else readers should be on the look out for from you?

AB.) You can find an exclusive Eddie LaCrosse short story, “Things That Flit,” on my website at www.alexbledsoe.com .

I have a critical essay, “Mal Contents,” in Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon’s Firefly, available now from BenBella Books. Next summer I’ll have a humorous piece called “To the Batpole!” in a collection on Batman from the same publisher. And the second Eddie LaCrosse novel will be out in October 2008.

Q.) Thanks for taking time to answer my questions. Where can readers find you on the web? How about The Sword-Edged Blonde?

AB.) My website is www.alexbledsoe.com, and I’m also on MySpace at www.myspace.com/alexbledsoe.

The Sword-Edged Blonde is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders, or direct from the publisher at www.nightshadebooks.com.

And thank you for having me, Lori.

Win great prizes from seven authors of dark romantic fiction: Eve Silver, Caridad Pineiro, Lori Devoti, Michele Hauf, Pat White, Vivi Anna and Nina Bruhns.

One winner gets it all! Here’s what’s in the prize package: Nina Bruhn’s Silhouette Romantic Suspense ghost duet, Ghost of a Chance, and The Forbidden Enchantment; autographed copies of South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man and a T-shirt for Holiday with a Vamipire by Caridad Pineiro; Inferno by Vivi Anna; Michele Hauf’s set of Luna novels: Seraphim, Gossamyr, Rhiana, and some chocolate; autographed copies of Dark Prince by Eve Silver and Driven by Eve Kenin; copy of Pat White’s Intrigue, Silent Memories; and an autographed copy of Lori Devoti’s Unbound, plus an “Official Hellhound Lover” sticker and more chocolate!

To enter, visit the following web sites and find the answer to the corresponding question. Then email all your answers to contestdarkwriter@gmail.com.

One winner will be picked at random from all correct answers. (One email entry per entrant—email must contain correct answers to all seven questions to qualify. Please include entrants name with entry.) Last day to email entries: Saturday, November 17, 2007. Winner will be posted and contacted following week.

Eve Silver
http://www.evesilver.net
Question: What “brotherhood” does Ciarran D’Arbois, the hero of my October release, Demon’s Kiss, belong to?

Caridad Pineiro
www.thecallingvampirenovels.com
Question: Name the Spanish Lord turned vampire who finds love, only to find that death may steal it away from him.

Lori Devoti
http://www.loridevoti.com
Question: Name the hero from Lori’s January 2008 Nocturne, Guardian’s Keep, and what kind of being he is.

Michele Hauf
http://www.michelehauf.com
Question: What is the title of the third book in the Bewitching The Dark vampire series Michele Hauf writes for Nocturne?

Pat White
http://patwhitebooks.com (enter dark side)
Question: In Pat White’s Saving Destiny, what is the hero, Kadenshar, blackmailed into doing?

Vivi Anna
http://www.valorianchronicles.comQuestion: What is the name of the heroine in Dark Lies?

Nina Bruhns
www.NinaBruhns.com
Question: What kind of car is Nina thinking about buying?

My January Nocturne…

And you can pre-order it at Amazon!

I added a page on my web site for articles on writing by me. Right now I only have three up, but thought I’d post a link here in case anyone was curious. They pretty much cover my plotting process.

I’m not real sure what all is happening, but I think there will be prizes–and chatting and fun. Stop by… Just post your questions, etc. in the comments on that page.

Lori

First spam–how annoying is the stuff? And who actually responds to it? Anyway, I’ve been busy battling it–starting at my web site. I added a delete automatically rule–so if you send something to me and I don’t reply…well, post here. I already channel everything through gmail when I can, which has a great spam filter, but I also had to add some new filters to Outlook. Now I am eagerly awaiting some spam that makes it through the first three barriers so I can see how the Outlook thing works out. Weird waiting for spam…but there you have it.

Now for the process thing. I’ve said it before, but every book I’ve written I’ve used a different process. This worked for me until the last book–Wild Hunt. The book was sold and I had lots of time until it was due, so I got lazy. I followed very little process. Big Mistake! I got lost somewhere in the middle. Ugh.

Of course, all is well now. I went through and edited and finished the darn thing, but bottom line, it was much more difficult than it had to be.

I do not want to do that again.

So, I’ve been looking at my process again. I’ve also built a database to keep track of all the characters in my Unbound series–so if I use them in a later book I know what they look like, etc. and so I don’t reuse a name by accident. I’ve also tweaked a map of Yggdrasil to match my version, and nailed down where all the worlds are. I need to know things like that. I’m a tad concrete. Oh, and thanks to my experience revising Wild Hunt, I’ve also worked out a revision checklist I plan on using from now on.

So, I’ve been busy. Oh! And today, I started what will be the fourth in the Unbound series. I still have to nail down some things, but I feel a lot more in control.

I also need to finalize some of the checklists, but that’s next on my list–then I will be prepared for anything. (ha!)