Jordan Summers

Okay, not literally. I have been cruising along with the vampire regency as of late. Did a little research on Scotland last night and dug up some really cool info that can be added to the story. I’m also making notes for my contemporary. My dh helped me brainstorm and came up with two different versions of the same story. Now I don’t know which one to choose. Seems like it’s a simple enough thing to do when one story is similar to the style of my other contemporary work, while the other is darker. But it’s not. I’m still drawn to the murder adventure/darker story. I just don’t know if I can pull it off…yet. What to do? What to do?

Today is Columbus Day, or as it’s known for everyone who doesn’t have a government job, a regular work day.;-)

Sad news on the entertainment front. Superman died. Christopher Reeve did a lot of wonderful work in the last years of his life, leaving a legacy of hope for victims of paralysis. May his good deeds continue. And may he finally be at peace. Goodbye Superman.

I plan to get back to writing today after taking the weekend off. My vampire is calling me. Hope everyone is having a good day. Hug your loved ones tight. Until next time…

Today is a dear friend’s 40th birthday. I’m sending out long distance greetings and hoping the big day was full of joy, love, and much happiness. May that wish come true tenfold. Birthday Hugs!

I was visiting Wendy Woo’s site earlier and she brought up an interesting question. Does one wrong choice in your writing career destroy your chances of achieving success?

I personally don’t think so. I do believe it can delay success, but I think the choices we make are right for each of us at the time the decisions are made. I refuse to believe that we cannot change our circumstances.

As an example, I debated whether to go straight to the NY publishers when I first started writing. While continuing to write and ponder the above quandary, I found a ‘little’ epublisher that sounded like a good place to get my writing feet wet. I had no intention of abandoning NY. I just wanted to see if I could get published. It took me a year and a half to decide whether I’d submit to the epublisher. In 2002, I took the leap and ended up at Ellora’s Cave. They were still building a name for themselves and hadn’t become RWA recognized or a paperback publisher. Little did I know that the company would become a springboard into the NY market.

I guess my point is you never know what direction your career will go in. Even if you made EVERY decision correctly, it doesn’t guarantee success.

I didn’t mean to frighten everyone with the earlier rant. LOL! I simply needed to vent. We’ve all been there a time or twenty. I appreciate having the venue to do so on occasion.

On the plus side, I feel MUCH better now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest. So much so, I had a terrific writing day. Made my weekly goal a day early because of it. I’m really liking this new vampire. Yummy! I hope everyone had a similarly productive day. Until next time…

I thought about writing this rant yesterday, but to be honest I was too frustrated to keep it clean. :-O I don’t know about you all but when I started writing romance(high school) I thought the hardest part of the journey was just finishing the book. Ha! It’s pretty sad when writing the book is the easiest part.(And we all know how hard that is.) I never realized how apt the saying, ’staring at the page until your forehead bleeds’ was until now.

As an unpublished writer you dream of the day you can submit your work and have someone outside of your family say they love it. You build this moment up to be so huge that by the time it actually happens it’s rather anticlimactic.

I mean, you’re happy, but the euphoria doesn’t stick around long before the worry takes over.

I now understand all those bestselling authors who’ve said the real stress and work begins after the deal has been signed. I’m not saying that I’m not grateful for the opportunity to play in the big leagues. I’m simply saying I had no idea that my stress level would triple long before my books ever hit the shelves(or I signed the contract).

I know right about now you’re asking yourself ‘what does she have to be stressed about’? Well, if you’re unpublished, let me flip a Tarot card and give you a glimpse into your future. If you’re published, you already know exactly what I’m about to say. Now that you have the book deal you get to worry about whether or not the publisher will like the books you turn in. Oh yes, it’s true. Just because you have a book deal doesn’t mean the publisher will like your next book. Ask Karen Moning, who I personally think is a wonderful writer. If they do like your books, then you can worry about how the reader will receive them. To make it more fun, you get to stress about whether or not you’ll ever get another book deal. If your sales aren’t great, you won’t. This of course doesn’t take into account contract mishaps, writers block, bad reviews, changes in the marketplace, etc. The only thing you have control over is the story itself, so make it a good one.

Bette Davis said it best, ‘Old age ain’t no place for sissies’. I’d like to add, ‘The writing business ain’t no place for sissies’ either.

Rant over.

Today I was reading Sidonie’s blog. She was talking about wanting to regain some of the enthusiasm she had when she first started writing. It made me think about how I’ve been viewing writing over the last six months. When did it become a job/chore to write? And how do I break out of my mental funk?

Now before you flood me with how wonderful writing is and how it’s not a job or chore, keep in mind I realize that’s the case. I haven’t stopped writing. I couldn’t if I tried, and believe me, I’ve tried. I know the burnout I’m experiencing has to do with circumstances beyond my control.

The question is how do you regain that early wide-eyed enthusiasm while still keeping a wary eye on the business?

If you’re a writer, what story are you working on currently? If you’re a reader, what book are you reading that you can’t put down?

As I said in an earlier blog, I couldn’t put down the Hot Blooded anthology. It was fantastic. I seem to be on a paranormal reading kick lately. I’m finishing up Bad Boys Immortal and have two more anthologies to get through.

I’m currently writing three different stories, which is a first for me since I don’t tend to normally be able to do that effectively. For now, it’s working. When I get stuck in the contemporary, I jump to the historical. If I get stuck in the historical, I jump to AQ4. It’s been a nice change of pace. Here’s hoping I can keep it going.

On a completely different subject, I’ve added an author blog section to my links. So check out all the blogs when you get a chance.

Wow! I know I’m a little slow on noticing these kinds of things, but did you all know that there’s a bill that’s been presented that would draft men and women age 18 to 26 making the rounds right now? Apparently, if it passes, it could go into effect as early as April 2005. Yikes! That means my niece and nephews could be drafted. Not good.

Yesterday and today I worked on two different stories that have unusual heroines. Well that’s not exactly true. The heroines aren’t unusual, but their professions are different. One was a prostitute and the other was a dominatrix. What do you think about heroines who have a tainted past? Can they rise above their circumstances? Or will you never be able to get past their professions? Just curious, since I have no plans to change either one of these stories to be more politically correct. LOL!