writing

Come Visit me at Realmantic Moments!

| Casey Wyatt

If you’re here for the Indulgent Blog Hop – Welcome and please scroll down for more information!

Today I’m being interviewed at:  Realmantic Moments

I hope to see you there. Remember at the end of the tour, one lucky commentor will win a $25.00 Amazon gift card and an e-copy of Mystic Ink (either Kindle or Nook version).

And if you’re here for the Indulgent blog hop – One lucky (and random) participant will win a $15.00 Amazon gift card. Just leave me a comment with your e-mail address and tell me what your favorite guilty indulgence is (remember keep it clean or I’ll have to zap your comment).

May the guiltiest participant win.

When you’re done, remember to hop onto the next site.

Interview at Black Velvet Seductions!

| Casey Wyatt

Today I’m being interviewed at: Black Velvet Seductions Blog

Also, don’t forget to visit the 7 Scribes. My guest is Jill Archer – Creative Writing Tools- The Scene Summary.

I hope to see you there. Remember at the end of the tour, one lucky commentor will win a $25.00 Amazon gift card and an e-copy of Mystic Ink (either Kindle or Nook version).

Double Blog Day! The Bunny’s Review and The Book Connoisseur

| Casey Wyatt

Today I’m being interviewed at:  The Bunny’s Review and The Book Connoisseur

I hope to see you there. Remember at the end of the tour, one lucky commentor will win a $25.00 Amazon gift card and an e-copy of Mystic Ink (either Kindle or Nook version).

It’s Raining Books! Hallelujah!

| Casey Wyatt

Today I’m being interviewed at  It’s Raining Books

I hope to see you there. Remember at the end of the tour, one lucky commentor will win a $25.00 Amazon gift card and an e-copy of Mystic Ink (either Kindle or Nook version).

Virtual Book Tour: The Undead Space Initiative

| Casey Wyatt

I’m excited! I start my very first official Virtual Book Tour for The Undead Space Initiative.

For Mystic Ink, I scheduled all the blog stops myself and quickly realized (far too late) that I am really not good at writing a zillion unique blog posts in a short period of time. And it totally killed my writing schedule.

So this time around, I decided to hire Goddess Fish to the do the work for me. They also set up an interview only tour. While I had to answer at least 2 interviews a day for a solid week and half (and it was a bit much), it’s much better than what I did before.

I hope you will stop by and leave a comment. At the end of the tour, I will award one lucky commentor a $25 Amazon gift card and e-book copy of Mystic Ink (either Kindle or Nook version).

September 10:  Bodice Ripper Novels
September 10:  STOP 2  Magically Seductive Romance
September 11:  It’s Raining Books
September 12:  Rogues Angels
September 13:  The Bunny’s Review and The Book Connoisseur
September 14:  Black Velvet Seductions Blog
September 17:  Mark of the Stars
September 17:  For The Love of Reading
September 18:  Realmantic Moments
September 19:  Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews
September 20:  Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess
September 21:  Talisman Book Publishing

I hope to see you there!

Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

| Casey Wyatt

I saw an interesting quote on Facebook by John Rodgers – “You can’t think yourself out of a writing block, you have to write yourself out of a thinking block.”

Once again, I find myself at odds over the story for Mystic Storm. I don’t why Zephyr’s book is such a challenge, but there is no way I’m not delivering this book.

First off, I’m not suffering from writer’s block (honestly, I don’t believe in it), but I’m having what I think of as “organizational” issues. The book is plotted out and I’m proceeding according to my plan, however, I seemed to have strayed off the path.

How does that happen?

Easy.

I often let the story wander in other directions as I delve deeper into my characters. As a result, there are portions of the timeline that have been skewed. Rather than stopping completely to fix it, I’ve decided to re-read what I have, take notes, then keep on trucking.

Why?

Because the end is not changing. It’s only how I’m getting there that might differ. If I stop right now and try to fix the book, I know it’ll stress me out and I might never finish Mystic Storm.

Since I know there are people out there who would like to know what I did to Zephyr at the end of Mystic Ink, I can’t leave them hanging. Not to mention, I have Devlin’s book – Mystic Hero – waiting in the wings.

So, if you’re spinning your wheels on a plot, might I suggest skipping over that part and moving on? I’ve found that it’s much easier to keep writing and deal with it later because as John Rodgers suggests – the issue may solve itself, but only if you keep writing!

How does everyone else cope when the story is off kilter or not quite right? And do you agree with John Rodgers?

And if you have a free moment, visit the Scribes. I’m interviewing Gerri Brousseau about her debut novel – A Pirate’s Ransom.

Zephyr visits this lighthouse on his walks through the streets of Stonington Point, CT.

Stormy Weather

| Casey Wyatt

Finally. It’s Friday! It’s always tough to get back into the groove after a week of vacation.

It’s funny how 5 minutes on my work laptop can dissolve every ounce of tranquility.

Anyway, I wasn’t totally idyll last week. After completing the first draft of Misfortune Cookie and sending it off to my first readers, I moved onto Mystic Storm (Zephyr’s book) and Redemption (Galen’s book).

So far, Zephyr continues to resist me. Galen, on the other hand is being more cooperative. The only problem, Redemption is the next book after Ascension, which I still have out on submission. Normally, I wouldn’t spend time on Galen’s book, but he’s been itching for completion since I started in it in January 2010. Plus, he’s so much fun to write. I’ll miss him when the book is done (maybe that’s why I’m still working on it).

I have a theory that Mystic Storm is harder because it’s the next book in a published series. I admit there’s a small shadow of concern in the back of my mind. I don’t want to disappoint people who enjoyed the first book. I know I need to forget all that, but sometimes it’s hard.

I am happy to report I’m over the 30,000 word mark and that seems to be the “sweet spot” for me in my writing. I believe it takes me about 30,000 words to get into the groove of the story. At last, Kalli and Zephyr have come into their own and the story I’ve plotted seems to be flowing more smoothly. Yay!

Does that happen for anyone else? Is there a magic amount of words you need to get on the page before you know your characters?

If you have time, please stop by and visit me at the Scribes where I’m talking – Hootsuite!

Until we meet again next week, I’ll leave you with an image from my photo collection from Stonington, CT – Zephyr’s home.

This is the building that’s the inspiration for the Gallup Inn – Zephyr’s hotel/day spa.

Vampires in Space!

| Casey Wyatt

Hello my friends! I’m doing triple blogging duty today.

At the Scribes I talk about bad boys – Take a Walk on the Dark Side. If you’re an Avengers fan (or a Loki fan), this post is for you!

And over at the Soul Mate Blog – Let’s Hear it for the Doubt Monster.

If you have time, stop by and say hello!

Today’s post is short and sweet as I’m currently working on two books.

Or I’m trying to anyway. The idea is that I’m always working on one book or the other. At the moment, it’s working and I don’t want to mess with a good thing. And, much to my delight, I’ve even worked on Galen’s book too (but I don’t want to jinx it so I won’t say much more!).

Time is limited and I’d love to finish at least one draft by July, because . . . drum roll, please –

The Undead Space Initiative is coming out in July from Pink Petal Books.  Finally, the crazy book I crafted in July 2011, about vampires in space, will be available.

Here’s the story in a nutshell:

Cherry Cordial, vampire stripper extraordinaire, spectacularly messes up her life with a single act of kindness. How could she have known when she rescued gorgeous rogue Ian McDevitt that she would be implicated in the vampire queen’s murder? Soon, she faces the wrath of the entire vampire community. To escape retribution, she joins a settlement program to colonize Mars. Her choices are grim: hurtle through space to the red planet to face the unknown and possible death, or stay on Earth and face> certain annihilation. To make things even more complicated, a certain gorgeous rogue seems to be shadowing her every move…

I don’t have the cover art yet, but when I do, you’ll all be the first ones to see it.

And, in case you missed last week, I’m participating in Night Owl’s Summer Fun Web Hunt. I’m giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner. Check out the rules by clicking the image below:

Now, y’all have to pardon me because I need to get back to writing so I’ll have something new on my bookshelf for 2013 and beyond.

 What about everyone else? What are you all working on?

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!