Jordan Summers

You can check out my entry at Romancing the Blog. Tomorrow, I am going to share what I found at the Writer’s Store.

We received news that our brother and sister-in-law are coming for a visit. They should arrive sometime this evening. We haven’t seen them since 2004, so it’ll be nice to catch up.

Brother-in-law works in the movies. He directs and does special effects. If you think the publishing business is tricky, you should hear what someone in the movie industry has to put up with. :-O

A couple of months ago we ordered a credenza for our living room. (Dh doesn’t like to stare at equipment or wires.) It took us months to find one with enough slots to hide all our toys. You wouldn’t believe how many variations there are of this particular piece of furniture, and most aren’t pretty. We finally found the one we wanted in Ethan Allen. (A furniture store for those of you unfamiliar with the name.) They told us we might get it before X-mas, but that was soon changed to the first of the year. Weeks passed and we heard nothing. :-/ Finally yesterday we received a call saying they’d be here on Tues. Yah! So today will be spent touching up paint on the wall in preparation for the credenza’s arrival.

I’ve started reading my RITA entries. The book I picked up seems really good, but I have a question for those of you who read romantic suspense. Is it common to start a book out with three different threads? I have an entry where I was introduced to three different characters, only two of which seemed to have anything in common. Every time I think I’ve started to expand my reading world, I come upon something that reminds me that I’ve barely scratched the surface. Sigh.

Today is my ‘little’ sister’s birthday. She’s five years younger than me and off playing in a softball tournament. It’s funny, all the while we were growing up people always asked if we were really sisters. (She had blonde hair and well, I don’t.(wg) Our personalities are pretty night and day too. She was always the one who blew up in a fit of anger and then immediately got over it. I was more of a rolling boil. You didn’t want to ever get me beyond that stage because I never forget and I rarely forgive. *ggg*

Anyway, my pat answer to the sister question has always been yes. You don’t have to look or act alike to be a sibling. What you need is a common history, shared memories, and LOVE. So, Happy Birthday, sister. May you have many, many more…because I still need someone to fight with…and beside.

I read through a partial that I sent off to a publisher six months ago (because I’m thinking of sending it somewhere else). I knew the story was dark when I wrote it, but I never realized how dark until I finished rereading it. All I can say is wow and uhoh. Wow, because I didn’t think I had it in me to write this dark. Uhoh, because I can only think of a few publishers who’d print something like this.

There is no way to change the tone, due to the events happening in the book and the over all storyline. And even if there was, I wouldn’t. I purposely painted a dead world.

I suppose I could take the cowards’ way out and change the manuscript, but then that wouldn’t be the book I set out to write. And to be honest, I’m getting REALLY tired of compromising. When I say that, I’m not talking about thumbing my nose at edits. Goodness knows, I’m incredibly grateful to receive those. What I’m talking about is compromising your vision of a story because you’re concerned it’ll go over like a flying dog f*ck.

More and more of the stories I’m coming up with are dark and unapologetic. They get in your face, make you feel uncomfortable. Do I still want to write humorous tales? Sure. But I also feel like stepping into the pit occasionally, where darkness is a living, breathing entity that exists inside us all.

Do you have a writing yin and yang?

My EC editor, Bree wrote me today to tell me that my titles for the Phantom Warrior series have been approved. Yah!!! Bacchus and Saber-tooth welcome to the world of ebooks. *g* I edited/added 4K to Bacchus’ story to make it novella length. Saber-tooth will be an EC Quickie. Now, I’m just waiting on the contracts.

Today, I mailed off a copy of Revenge of the Sky Goddess to my agent. I thought he might like to read it too.

I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do with my category length book, Rose’s Rapture. It needs editing and some additions to address a few of the problems that my critique partner brought up. (For example, what to do with the sneaky gargoyle who’s trying to take over the story.;)

Tomorrow the cleaners come, so I’ll have to tidy before they get here. I hope everyone is having a productive week. If you haven’t caught Jo Leigh’s Romancing the Blog entry on fear, do so now.

First, I’d like to start by saying that I finally mailed my Blaze. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Now say it twice more, but faster. *g* The manuscript is currently winging its way to Canada. Oh Canada, oh Canada…I can’t remember the rest of the words. Yes, I’m in a goofy mood. I think it’s because I’m swamped. Every time I check something off my list, something else gets added. Fun. Fun. Fun. Now to the ’serious’ portion of the blog entry. *ggg*

As a writer, there are certain things that give me the willies. One is single title length. I so envy those writers who can lay down 400 pages without breaking a sweat. How do you do it? I don’t have a problem whipping out 80 to 90K, but as soon as I go past that page count my pulse starts to race and panic sets in. I can do it, but blood will flow–my blood.

The other fear is first person POV. Why? I have no idea, but for some reason I find writing in that POV daunting. I think it takes incredible skill to write an entire book in first person, while holding a reader’s attention. The latter is the key. I’m one of those readers who don’t like many first person books. The voice has to be ‘just so’.

Here’s my dilemma: when I write in first person, I think it’s some of my strongest and freshest writing. The characters pop off the page, the mood of the piece becomes richer and more vibrant, and I, as a writer, invest fully in the story. It’s weird, but it almost feels like a different person is doing the writing. (I told you it was weird.

I don’t understand why this happens. Why can’t I experience the same thing when writing in third person? You’d think it would be easier, but it’s not. And yet, I get palpitations at the thought of writing 400 pages in first person. You’re talking about combining my two greatest writer fears. I suppose I could just put those stories aside until I’ve gained more courage as a writer. Trouble is I don’t think that would stop the little voice inside my head, daring me to try. It’s a double-edged sword.

Sometimes I think if I could just plow through a manuscript (kind of like ripping a Band-Aid off quick) it would make things easier. Then I remember how slow my writing pace is when I’m working in first person and dismiss the idea. Yes, even my writing pace changes when I switch from third person to first.

My question is what do you do when you fear what should be your greatest strength?

We just went to see Underworld 2. The mythology and history are evolving as fast as the blood flows in this latest venture. We learn more about how vampires and werewolves began. (They trace back to a single family.) We also learn why Seline is so pivotal to the world’s existence.

This addition to the Underworld series is no deeper than the first release, but it is action-packed. I’d sit through it again just to see one particular vamp, that annoyed me to no end in the first film, bite it. *ggg* The ending is a double threat showdown that lays the foundation for another installment (big surprise). If you liked the first film, you’ll enjoy this one.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the evolution of writers as I watch several of my peers begin to soar. Some of the paths they’ve traversed are easy to trace. You can see the changes taking place, the planting of seeds, and understand how they’ve arrived at their current location.

Others are less distinct. I’m not talking about talent here. They’re ALL very talented. That’s a given. What I’m talking about is evolution. I’ve seen how a ’simple’ change in writing or an aggressive stance in business have taken them from good to great.

So I’ve started to wonder, how does writing evolution take place? I’m mainly talking about the writers whose paths are less clear. We know that in the animal and plant kingdom that if you don’t evolve you die…unless you were created as a near perfect species. (sharks and crocodiles come to mind) Is it something that happens over time? Is evolution dependent upon productivity? Is it something learned? The latter is how most animals evolve and adapt, but is that what writers do? As you can see, I’m full of questions…among other stuff. *g* I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

I’m so sorry for the lack of posting gang. (Sorry Chey;) I have been reading through this manuscript one more time to make sure the changes I made make sense and work with my original idea. The sad thing is after spending the last two weeks combing over the pages I can honestly say I have no idea. I’m down to the last two chapters and then I have to type in my changes. It feels like I’m working on the never-ending story.

Here are a few things that I’ve discovered about myself since the beginning of the month. 1) I’m not a writer who can take any significant length of time off. I must write something at least six days a week, even if it’s only a paragraph, or I’ll get out of the habit. 2) I find contemporary romances without paranormal elements the hardest thing on the planet to write. *g* 3) I should’ve started reading other genres a long time ago because I’ve missed out on a lot of wonderful books. 4) I thought I was busier than a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest–until I spoke with Sylvia Day. 5) I need time to allow my work to sit. Unfortunately that’s a luxury I don’t have.

Now it’s your turn. What have you learned since the beginning of the year? I know a lot of you have signed up for Jo’s Uber-challenge, but it doesn’t have to be about writing.