Characters

So I was Like….

| Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday everyone. Don’t forget to stop by the Scribes. My guest today is Sharon Buchbinder! Don’t miss a chance to say hello.

So here’s how my week has been. I’ve had this stuffy nose (either a cold or sudden allergy onslaught after the freak warm weather here in New England).

Needless to say, I’ve been dragging my sorry carcass around with a box of tissues and a grumpy attitude.

And when I attempted to write, my characters decided to give me crap.  Kind of like this:

Me: “Zephyr, I’m so sick of you.”

Zephyr: “Who me? I haven’t done anything wrong.” He spots a bag on the dining room table and reaches for it. “Is that a new book?”

Me: I ignore the question.  “Why are you making my life so difficult?”

Z: “Don’t look at me. It’s all in your head.” <plastic crinkles>

Me: “Sure be a typical man. Deny that you have any part in all of this. Why did you have to go and piss off the Fates? You’re making my life hell.”

Z: “If I hadn’t you wouldn’t have a story to tell, now would you?”

Me: “I don’t appreciate the cheek. If I wanted that, I’d go find Devlin.”

Devlin: “Did someone mention moi?”

Me: “No Devlin. I’m too stressed out to deal with you today.”

D: “Well pardon me.”  He turns to Zephyr. “Has she been like this all week?”

Z: “You have no idea.” He pulls out  J.R. Ward’s Lover Reborn and brandishes it in my face.

D: “Hey, she’s reading about those vampires again. What? We aren’t sexy enough for you?” He flexes his muscles. “And you have the nerve to complain that your word count is bad.” <wags finger> “For shame!”

I sit in the corner, chanting, “I’m the Author Goddess. I’m the Author Goddess…”

Zephyr, examines his nails. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Devlin, up for a round of drinks?”

Devlin says, “You bet your windy ass I am. Oh, mighty Author Goddess, have fun with the Black Dagger Brotherhood.  Too bad they aren’t going to write your book for you.”

They leave me muttering to myself like an idiot. I’m so pathetic even The Doubt Monster feels bad for me this week.

And on that note, I leave you with this great comic. Thank you Toni Andrews. You don’t know how badly I needed the laugh!

 

The Martini Club: Casey Wyatt’s Frozen Mocha

| Casey Wyatt

Happy Sunday. Today, I’m over at Penny Romance. She’s invited me to be part of The Martini Club. I’d love it if — .

Hey there everyone. Devlin Ward here. Today is bring your Satyr to work day. If you’d like to meet yours truly, then click on the link below:

I want to meet Devlin Ward because he’s awesome.

I make a mean froze mocha. Don’t miss it!

You know you want one!

Kitty, kitty, kitty

| Casey Wyatt
. 
Meet Pepito!

Happy Friday! Don’t forget to visit me over at the Scribes today – A Legend In Your Own Mind.

...and Madeline. Kitty in a box!

Today, I thought I’d try something different. All of my other pet blog posts have been after my beloved babies passed away. So rather than wait. . .

. . . I’d like you all to meet my two lovely cats, Madeline and Pepito. And yes, they are named after characters in the children’s book, MADELINE by Ludwig Bemelemans.

I’m happy to say these two are alive and well. The thirteen year old brother and sister pair keep me on my toes.

Anyone with cats will tell you that they never really get too old to play or get into things. I can’t count the number of times I’ve woken up to find my pens and pencils all over the place . And yarn, watch out! It must be hidden away lest I find it wrapped around every chair leg in the house.

Every Sunday, Pepito and I tussle over the newspaper. I try to read it and he tries to sit on it. See how that works?

I am the King of the Newspaper.

And there isn’t a  plastic bag that Pepito doesn’t like . The one below is from Pier One Imports. Both Maddy and Pepito loves to lick plastic bags. Does anyone else’s cats do this?

Plastic bag, anyone?

Like all cats, they think they own the house and, by extension, me. Pepito tends to get in my face while I’m at my computer for my day job. Once the day job is over, they switch off and Madeline becomes my new velcro attachment.

She thinks that my writing chair at the dining room table is hers. I’ve written many things while sharing half of my chair with her. Honestly, she is so cute. Sometimes I can’t kick her off…

This is my chair!

They are the only two pets that have made it into one of my books – Ascension. Two cats bear a striking resemblance to my kitties. Because I write paranormal, there is more to them than meets the eye. Sorry, but you will have to read the book to find out what the secret is.

One of the things I love about cats is that they tend to leave you alone, unless they want something. And they sleep for hours on end. Some days I wish I could do that too.

Ahh, the life of a kitty....

Tell me about your  four legged friends.  And, seriously, does anyone else’s cats lick plastic bags?

Something Old and Something New

| Casey Wyatt

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes – I Heart Ebenezer Scrooge!

Since the holiday is fast approaching, I don’t have much to report this week. I’m excited to be on vacation all next week and I hope to make progress on Devil’s Advocate. I had worked on it way back in May and June, then stopped to write The Undead Space Initiative.

Now, I’m in the process of getting back into the groove and submerging myself in the story. I’m excited about this one because it’s based on the very first novel I ever attempted to write. The book was never fully completed and it’s bugged me that I never finished it.

Let’s face it. I had no idea what I was doing back then! It’s better if that story never sees the light of day. Yet, I couldn’t forget my heroine. Devil’s Advocate is my attempt to breathe new life into her.

I still have some decisions to make – first person POV or third? Urban fantasy or romance?

(Who am I kidding? Romance always sneaks into my books.)

Whatever I decide, I’m hopeful to add another manuscript to my completed pile!

Have a safe and wonderful holiday season! Leave me a note and let me know how you plan to spend the holidays!

Hits and Misses

| Casey Wyatt

Happy Black Friday everyone! Please be sure to stop by the Scribes and check out – You’ve Got a Friend in Me.

I mentioned a few weeks back that I’m participating in NaNo. I hit the 50,000 word goal on Day 20. I plan on finishing the novel by 11/30. That will make two completed novels in 2011 – The Undead Space Initiative and Redemption (book 2 of my Aethera series).

Sadly, I did not get to finish plotting The Devil’s Advocate or Mystic Storm (sequel to Mystic Ink). But, hey, there are so many hours in a day. And I’ve learned a lot about my writer self this year.

  • I’m not Nora Roberts or Dean Wesley Smith, capable of pumping out high volume, superior quality manuscripts nearly out of the gate. Plotting and characterization takes time (for me anyway). I have to be totally on-board with the characters and plot, otherwise, I can’t finish the book.
  • I can write a novel in a month. I did it twice. See above – I have to know what is going to happen in my books. I don’t need to know the how or even the why. Those details can come out when I write. I don’t have my million words in yet. But I’m working on it.
  • If there is a zombie apocalypse, I won’t survive long-term. I like modern conveniences way too much.
  • I love Twitter. A lot.  See my post here – Twitterpated.
  • Oh, and the big one, I can sell a book!

    A new day is dawning

I won’t be kicking back anytime soon.  I have a busy 2012 coming up, including promo at other blogs, working on edits for Redemption, writing other books, and I’ll be CT RWA’s new Media Director.  Busy, busy.

How’s your 2011 going? What are you looking forward to in 2012?

Show me the Cover!

| Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday everyone. Please stop by the Scribes as we wrap up our first theme week – joining an organization.  Check out my post – Don’t Go it Alone!

I received something very exciting this week –  the cover art for Mystic Ink!

When my editor sent me the cover questionnaire, I realized that I had no idea what I wanted. In the past, I had a few ideas, but they were all kind of nebulous and strictly in my head.

The questionnaire was a reality check. Mystic Ink needed a cover because it was going to be published.

OMG I sold a book!!

Right.

I did. It’s real. I didn’t imagine it.

Take that Mr. Doubt Monster.

So, I thought long and hard, then responded with my preferences and information about the story and characters.

I was eager to see the cover for the first time. With my name on it!

Needless to say, I was thrilled with the results.  I now have something tangible to look it.

Next hurdle, edits. When I get those, you can be sure I’ll share that experience too.

Tell me, when have you anticipated something? Did the reality meet your expectations? Or would you do things differently?

Lynn Kurland at the Scribes!

| Casey Wyatt

Hi everyone,

Please stop by the Scribes today. We have a very special guest – three time RITA Award winner and New York Times bestselling novelist, Lynn Kurland!!!

Click here to read her interview  – http://wp.me/p1wdXo-q4

Be sure to visit the Scribes on Saturday, when we post the second part of the interview.

Now the Fun Begins!

| Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday everyone.  Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes today and say “hi” to our special guest – Frankie Robertson. She’s discussing her move to indie publishing and her new, traditionally published book – Veiled Mirror.

After a few weeks of waiting, I’ve received critique for The Undead Space Initiative. The overall reception has been positive. The book isn’t perfect (nothing ever is) and I have a bunch of questions, comments and “things that may need more explaining” to sift through.

To my beta readers and critique partners – thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read and comment on my book. The book will only be better because of you.

How should a writer deal with feedback? Gracefully is always a good place to start. Try not to stress about it or take it personally.

But, practically, you also can’t please everyone. Nor can you re-make the book is someone else’s image. Balance is necessary. Take what works for you and discard the rest. But don’t toss it completely away (more on this at the end of the post).

One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn is what should be changed or not changed based on critique. Monday’s Scribe – Jamie Pope- has done a great blog post on critique and I urge you to read it!

The two questions I always ask myself – Do I agree? Will the change make the book better?

Notice, I didn’t ask, “Do I like it?” It doesn’t matter if I like the feedback or not. It doesn’t matter whether I want to hear that I might need to change something.  If I agree, I suck it up, start evaluating, and make the changes.

Also, notice I said,  “If I agree.”

And I always try to apply the unused, technique-related feedback to my next novel. That way I can grow and improve as a writer.

Besides, I’m still the Author Goddess. And what I say goes.

I Did It My Way

| Casey Wyatt

Happy Friday everyone. Please remember to check out my Friday post over at the 7 Scribes. Today’s topic – Casting Call – If my book was turned into a movie.

Last week I was in a bit of a tizzy about the beginning of my WIP – The Undead Space Initiative. I’m happy to report that I have moved past it. I’m more that halfway through the editing process right now. And I’m so excited to share this book with my trusted first readers for their reaction.

I have set an aggressive goal: complete revisions by the end of this weekend!! Can I do it? Time will tell.

Tune in next week to find out!