Author: Cindy

I'm irritated because my posts won't publish.

If Things Look a Bit Odd…

…around the blog, you can blame me! For months now, I’ve been meaning to edit my blog’s style sheet so I wouldn’t have to manually left-justify the posts or worry about how long my titles are (they were full justifying, so I always had to shorten them so they wouldn’t go onto two lines and look all weird), and so I could make the font for the titles a bit smaller. I managed to do both, but when I saved my changes in Notepad, my nicely spaced style sheet scrunched itself into one huge paragraph, and now I’m terrified of making things worse by trying to fix it myself. This mess is all behind the scenes, thank God.

From your end, if you don’t look closely, you might not be able to tell that while the blog titles are smaller, the “Leave a Reply” font, etc. is not. They should match! And, with the smaller title font (which I like – the big pink always bugged me a bit), I’m wondering if the body font of the posts now looks a bit too big. Opinions?

I’d planned to make changes to the sidebar, like moving the Newsletter sign-up box below my book covers, which might have required installing a plug-in, and I’d also planned to experiment with my block quotes. But then I inadvertently screwed up the style sheet’s formatting.

I’ll figure it out sooner or later. In the meantime, if you find my goofs offensive, close your eyes!

Excuses and Realities

I fully intended to blog about something other than nothing today, but we had a storm last night and the lights kept dimming so I shut down my computer (I usually write my blogs in advance and schedule them to appear on a designated day). Also, my father had knee replacement surgery yesterday. Lots of hospital visits are on the schedule until he gets out. Can’t have him expiring of boredom.

I had an incredibly busy August. I thought I’d be deep into revisions on my cindypk ST by now, but I consider myself lucky that I’m finding time to brainstorm those revisions. Making excellent headway, too! However, the last two weeks in particular have offered up one big life circumstance after another, some bad, some not as bad. And here I thought that by not attending the RWA National conference this year, I’d have way more writing time. Now I’m beginning to realize that August is pretty much a write-off in that area in the same way December is. If I plan not to have much writing time in both those months, things motor along okay. If I don’t allow myself enough leeway, if I plan to actually write a lot during those times, I get frantic. Because it doesn’t happen. I need to remember to work my deadlines around August and December so I can enjoy one of those things I’ve heard referred to as “A Life.”

The problem with being a writer is it’s a never-ending job. There’s always something to do. If you’re not actually writing, you’re plotting or brainstorming or promoting or working on your website. Like any small business, I suppose. It calls to you when you’re making dinner, when you’re supposed to be doing housework or relaxing in front of the TV. I don’t know the true meaning of weekends. If I’m deep in writing a book, to me the weekends are for catching up on the biz of writing. Not that I’m complaining. I love what I do. But it’s definitely not a nine-to-five lifestyle, and I think sometimes we writers are bad at recognizing that. We can’t work 14 hours a day and expect not to get burnt out. We aren’t super human. We need to learn to schedule breaks…or sorta breaks. If that means August and December are write-offs for getting much accomplished, then so be it.

Well, whaddyaknow? I think I just blogged about something.

Welcome Guest Blogger Kylie Brant

THE MAGIC OF BOOKSbrant_pic

Like most authors, I’m a reader first.  I still remember being about four and asking my dad to read the comics to me.  As I sat on his lap, I recall thinking, “When am I going to be able to read?” 

“When you go to school,” was always my mom’s reply when I’d ask.  Imagine my disappointment on the first day of kindergarten when I trudged back home to announce with disgust, “I didn’t learn to read today.  The teacher said I had to wait until next year.”

Even as a small child I knew that being able to decipher those squiggly lines on paper and pages was going to lead to magic.

brant_waking_nightmareI’ve devoured books ever since.  My biggest regret about writing is that it eats into my reading time.  Since I’m still teaching, my free time is mostly filled with meeting deadlines (there’s something about accepting advance money that reeks of expectation :)).  I never had a TBR pile until I started writing but I have one now.  I put a serious dent in it every time we go on vacation.  The rest of the year I have to chip away at it when I can.

The writer in me is always a bit appalled when someone starts telling me about a fabulous book they’ve read and can’t recall the author’s name.  They often go on to admit that the names of the authors just don’t stick with them.  Gulp.  That’s a fairly daunting thought!  Titles don’t always stay with me, but I have always remembered authors.  How else am I going to find their next books if I loved the current ones?  I used to carry a list in my purse of favorite authors in order to make my monthly purchases.  (Okay, so it was before the Internet!)

Covers might intrigue me, but I’m not the sort of reader who’s ever bought a book just because I loved the cover.  It’s always the back cover copy that pulls me in.  I have to read what the book is about and then if it interests me, I’ll open the book and flip through a few pages.  I read almost entirely for author voice, and if I don’t enjoy the way the writer tells the story I know I’m not going to enjoy the book. 

If you could see the two huge bookcases in my office stuffed to overflowing, you’d know just how many I’ve enjoyed so much, I can’t bear to part with them!

What about you—do you remember author names?  How do you make your purchases for new-to-you writers?  What pulls you in, the title, the cover, or the back cover copy?  Are there any like me who have to get a taste of the writing before carrying the book to the counter?

I’m giving away a signed copy of my September dark romantic thriller, WAKING NIGHTMARE, to one lucky commenter today!  Be sure to check out the other two books in the trilogy at my website at www.kyliebrant.com and my multi-author blog at http://ridingwiththetopdown.blogspot.com.

***

To read the back cover blurb for WAKING NIGHTMARE or to check out Kylie’s bio, please see yesterday’s post.

Kylie Brant Guest Blogs Tomorrow!

I’m returning from my Universe Dump Hiatus to announce that dark romantic thriller author Kylie Brant will visit the blog tomorrow. Kylie’s giving away a copy of her brand new release, WAKING NIGHTMARE. Here’s the back cover blurb:

With a serial rapist loose on the streets of Savannah, hot-shot detective Ryne Robel needs all the help he can get for his task force. And he needs it now, before another woman falls victim. But Abbie Phillips isn’t what he bargained for. Sent from an exclusive group of the best criminologists in the country, she’s smart, fierce…and distracting. She may be a brilliant forensic profiler, but Ryne needs answers, not pyschobabble and head games.

However, Abbie convinces him that head games are exactly what this elusive suspect is all about. The seemingly random acts of torture are actually calculated to match each victim’s darkest fears. And the stakes are rising. While they study the devious psychopath, he’s watching them—the next objects of his horrifying obsession.

Shiver me timbers!

About Kylie:brant_pic

Kylie Brant is the author of twenty-five books for Silhouette Romantic Suspense and three dark romantic thrillers for Berkley. She’s a two- time Rita finalist and a five-time Romantic Times nominee. Kylie was a 2008 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award winner, and twice won the overall Daphne du Maurier award for mystery and suspense in 2004 and 2009. One of her books is included on Romantic Times magazine’s All-Time Favorites list.

For more information about Kylie and her books, please visit her website.

Of Note

I’m feeling tons better, and life is slowly getting back under control. So, ta-da, one blog post before the weekend. Watch, now no one will comment because I said I wouldn’t be here again until next week.

Not getting any writing done, but on Monday I had a 90-minute long Skype brainstorming session with a former critique partner, and now I have a ton of excellent revision notes for SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE. Really looking forward to solidifying my approach to the revisions and digging into that book again. Will pass the notes by a writing friend who critiqued the full first, though. I have another manuscript I can work on in the meantime.

Guess what? I’ve already received, signed and mailed back the hard copy of the contract for the HEAD OVER HEELS manga rights. When I approved the contract via email (last week) and my contact in the Tuttle-Mori contracts department said I would receive the hard copy contract soon, she wasn’t fooling. I don’t think I’ve ever received a contract that quickly.

Also, I find it interesting that this contract was the easiest to understand and read of any I’ve ever purused for either myself or Penny. In other words, the easiest to read and understand contract from any North American publisher with whom I’ve dealt. The legalities are all in place, but not in a “foreign language,” to speak. They’re written in plain English. What a switch! 

Bad Things

I’m taking a break from blogging this week. The universe decided to dump all over my family over the last few days, and I don’t have the wherewithal to draft posts. First, a member of My Liege’s immediate family was rushed to hospital for the second time in a week in very serious condition. She spent the weekend in the ICU, and although she’s back at home now the details of her condition remain a mystery. We hope to find out more by the end of the month.

The day after that happened, we learned a lightning strike had created a fire on our woodlot. My Liege had to deal with that (the fire’s contained now, as far as we know). No idea of the damage to the timber.

The same day, we finally got our new stove, only to discover an 18-inch long gouge in the side. Back to the store it went, and we’re waiting for another.

We thought that was Bad Thing #3, and we couldn’t possibly receive any more grungy news.

Pitiful humans. A gouge in a stove doesn’t even count as a Bad Thing, it appears.

Yesterday, just as Eldest Son was leaving on a four-day camping trip without cell access, we learned that the room in the private home he was to move into in two weeks for his last year at university was damaged in a fire that occurred while the owner was on vacation. The repairs won’t be finished until October, which leaves him a month without a place to live. We have fantastic friends in his university town, and they offered to let him stay with them while repairs were underway. But I’ve been in that position before—staying in one home for September before moving into the “permanent” spot in October, and it’s not the best situation in the world. It’s hard to dig into your studies when you don’t feel settled.

So…yesterday, I quickly gathered information for the remaining available housing. He and I went through them, and our friend in the university town checked out the only two of the seven or so that responded. The good news is Eldest Son has a new place to live, not quite as private as his former situation, but cheaper, so he’ll be happy when he comes home and learns that’s settled.

Then last night I awoke in the early hours of the morning with the worst sinus headache I’ve had in years. I’m still battling it.

Today is Youngest Son’s 19th birthday! That’s the best news I’ve heard all week. I’m doing nothing more strenuous than baking him a cake, reading, relaxing, walking the dog, fighting this cold, and maybe going over some notes for a manuscript revision that, at this point, I don’t even remember brainstorming with a writing friend yesterday afternoon over Skype. Good thing I was typing while she talked!

Tuesday, September 1st, romantic suspense author Kylie Brant is guest-blogging. Her promo post will go up on Monday. Unless I feel markedly better between now and Friday, that’s the next time you’ll hear from me. The universe had taken this round. I know when I’m beat. 🙂