This was our second year attending and it was as much fun as last year. Even better, the weather was comfortable and we caught up with friends who were there for the first time.
If you live in the New England area, consider visiting the village. For the month of August, kids admission is free (ages 2-17). Old Sturbridge Village is the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast.
At the end of August, our town is hosting a pirate event. Can’t wait to attend that next!
I am so excited to have Michael J. Sullivan as my guest at the 7 Scribes today. I was lucky enough to meet Michael and his wife as ConnectiCon a few weeks back. He was very generous with his time and it was educational for me. Michael actually self-published five out of six Riryia books before signing a deal with Orbit.
Since the convention, I have read the first book – The Crown Conspiracy (LOVED it) and am now reading book two – Avempartha. Seriously, if you love fantasy or fun adventure stories, check this series out.
In other news, I am still cranking through Mystic Hero and Lachlan’s Curse. Progress was slowed by laziness during my vacation. I barely did any writing. But, on the flip side, I spent time with the boys and we had FUN!
Right now Mystic Hero is in the lead for word count. Sometime in the next week or so, I think I’ll be going full time with one novel until it’s done! Go Devlin!
First off, can you believe it’s already August? Where has the summer gone? There’s something about this time of year (and around Thanksgiving) where I feel like I’m on time’s roller coaster ride.
One minute it’s May and then suddenly August is here and I feel like the whole summer has flown by. I suspect the school calendar plays a part in this phenomenon because younger son would always start whining about having to go back to school (the infamous countdown would begin).
Well, not this year. Steady readers of this blog, may recall he graduated in June (my baby, my baby!). This year he and his older brother will be attending college together. So while they are still going to school, there is no complaining involved (well, except for the ridiculous cost of college texts).
All this thinking about time, combined with the recent birth of the royal baby (HRH Prince George) got me to thinking about how books are born in my brain. While pursuing two books at once (Mystic Hero is pulling to the lead, so by the time you read this, it might be the only book I’m writing), I’ve noticed that the story is often born while I’m writing it.
What?!? But what about all that talk of plotting and planning?
Oh, those things still happen. But like any story, I leave room for new ideas to hatch. I also rely on the characters to dictate how they react to the barriers I toss out. There is no way I can script every waking moment of the story. I decide on the big events and let the rest fill itself in.
So like a baby, sometimes a book can take forever (Mystic Storm – almost ten months) and others are done in less time (Misfortune Cookie – two months). The Undead Space Initiative poured out of my brain like there was a big hole in it and I could barely keep up! (Note: this is writing time. Not the time it took for me to plot and plan.)
And like babies, nature can’t be rushed. Some characters, like Zephyr, in Mystic Storm, gave me nothing but trouble. I think it may be because of the whole “cursed to be a woman by day” thing (which I am not apologizing for!).
Not to be too graphic, but any woman who has gone through labor knows that babies don’t just come out in one easy push. And neither does my writing. I can have a week of super productivity and then another week where I have to flog myself to sit down and write. However, I will add a caveat. I did have younger son in my bathroom (in under a half hour of going into labor). He was apparently so eager to enter the world, he couldn’t wait!
Just goes to show – you never know!!
Has anyone else had this experience? Do you have some books that just take forever to come out of your head?
A quick post today, since I am on vacation this week. And because I’m on vacation, I have a giant TBR (to be read) list. Oh, don’t worry, I’m still writing two books at once. Although it looks like Mystic Hero is winning the word count war.
I mentioned last week that I troll the Kindle Daily Deal everyday, so most of these books are on my Kindle purchased as a result of said “deal”. Here’s what I have on my plate (which is a slim fraction of the TBR pile):
1. The People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo – And the Evil that Swallowed Her Up by Richard Lloyd Parky – non-fiction, true crime
2. Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell- YA/Middle Grade
3. Money Shot by Christa Faust – Crime Noir
4. A Bad Day for Voodooby Jeff Strand – YA
5. Nightwings by Robert Silverberg – Science Fiction
And finally, earlier in the week I read The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (and in case you missed it, Galbraith was outed as JK Rowling). I read my local library’s copy because there is no way I’m spending $9.99 on a digital book. I really enjoyed it. The story sucked me in and I finished in about two days.
So you may (or may not) be asking yourself, with a week of vacation and nothing to do – why are you reading at all? Surely, the time could be better spent just writing. Well, I have been writing (I average about 3,000 words in about 2 – 3 hours).
I also believe, that to be a better writer and storyteller, I have to keep reading. Otherwise, life is no fun for me and my writing actually comes easier if I don’t spend all my time stressing about it.
What about you? What’s in your TBR pile? And if you’re a writer, do you find reading helps with the writing process?
I’m happy to report that I crossed an item off my bucket list. It all started with a Kindle Daily Deal and a book called Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan. Every day, since I purchased a Kindle Fire, I check Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals (very much like a junkie looking for a fix).
This particular day, Theft of Swords was the fantasy offering. I downloaded a sample, was hooked by the first page and immediately purchased it. And, because I happened to be in Goodreads that day, I sent a friend request to the author.
Long story short, in addition to accepting my request the author sent me a note and we started a conversation that ended with him agreeing to be my guest, here at the Scribes, on August 9th (Yay!). While researching his various social media sites, it turned out
Michael J Sullivan
he’d been invited to ConnectiCon as a literary guest, along with Brandon Sanderson.
Now, my hubby and I have discussed going to this convention for as many years as it’s been going on. Each year, it has gotten progressively bigger and more exciting. When Michael suggested we meet up at the conference, I was happy to accept.
I’ve been to the Connecticut Convention Center before for other events, but none of them come close to the size and scale of ConnectiCon. There was so
much to do: panels, Q&A sessions, book signings, gaming, vendors, and parties. So much that we barely scratched the surface. Check here for more information.
The best parts for me aside from meeting Michael and his wife, were the costumes (more on those in a
Tony Stark sighting!
moment) and encountering artist Dan Dos Santos. His artwork has graced the covers of Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thomas books and Diana Rowland’s white trash zombie series (among many others). Super nice man and very gracious. While we were chatting, Brandon Sanderson came up to the table (squee!).
Now, those costumes – fabulous, fantastic, well-made, top-notch. What more can I say? The variety was mind-boggling. And for the amount of people attending, everyone was polite and relaxed.
Overall, it was a great experience for me. Hubby was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer geekiness but there were plenty of comic book and movie characters. On the drive home, he was speculating what kind of costume he could make for next year.
So, if you live in the New England area (and even if you don’t) and if you love comics, anime, role-playing, manga, gaming, etc. don’t miss a chance to attend this con!
What Cons have you attended? What are your favorites? And if you haven’t ever attended one, would you consider it?
Has this ever happened to you? One day your computer works fine, then the next – nothing! Or maybe you’ve dropped it or spilled coffee on the keyboard.
Today over at the 7 Scribes, I’m talking about the importance of storing your data –To the Cloud!
On the writing front, I’m still working on two books. To date, each book is about 15,000 plus words. So, I’ve managed to complete 30,000 words, just not with a single book. I have vacation coming up later in the month and by then I want to choose one story and run with it!
I’m trying a little experiment – writing two different books at the same time. This way, I have no excuse not to finish something in the next few weeks.
So far my word count to date (as of 7/3):
Mystic Hero (Devlin’s book): 8,563
Lachlan’s Curse (new paranormal world): 13,537
At some point very soon, I expect to run with one book then come back to the other. Right now, the front runner appears to be Lachlan’s Curse. But we’ll see, Devlin might just pull an upset.
For my thoughts on my “experiment”, please come visit me today at the 7 Scribes – The First Thirty Thousand.
After a whirlwind week: younger son’s graduation, younger son obtaining his driver’s license, life is finally almost back to normal.
I’m happy to report some very good news – Misfortune Cookie is sold!! Soul Mate Publishing will be releasing it sometime in early 2014.
I’m also discussing the title of the book (and how it’s not so unique anymore) over at the 7 Scribes – How Many Misfortunate Cookies Can There Be?. Stop by and leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you.
I’m thrilled to have Riley Darkes as my guest today over at the 7 Scribes – Why I Love Savvy Authors by Riley Darkes. She is sharing her experience with joining a writing community.
In other news, almost no writing has taken place this week. My youngest son will be graduating from high school shortly (my baby!!) and year end activities have been eating up my time. I hope to be on track shortly.
Casey Wyatt 