Jordan Summers

My mood is a little bit better today. No, I’m still not over Moonlight’s cancellation, but I’ve resolved to simply ‘dislike’ the powers that be. It works for me.

I had to work on a partial yesterday, so I didn’t manage to start my third book. I did get the partial in and it’s being sent out with my other partial, so I now have a few things circulating. Yay! I have finally received the movies I wanted. I find it helps sometimes to get ‘in the mood’ for a book, if you watch films that are similar in setting. (Note: I didn’t say story.) I have friends that watch historical documentaries and dramas before they start their books. It puts them in the right mindset. Other authors put together playlists for their books. I haven’t done that because I find lyrics distracting. In another life, I used to write songs, so it’s easy for me to go off on tangents. I can listen to music beforehand or if there are no lyrics involved (ie soundtracks, classical, etc.), but movies work best for me since they help with visualization. Anyway, those are my plans for today. (ie watch movies and write)

I do need your help. This plea goes out to readers and writers. I am going to try to put together homemade bookplates hopefully without them looking homemade. What I’d like to know is if you’ve seen any bookplates that you’ve liked? If so, why did you like them? What information do you expect to find on a bookplate other than an autograph? Thanks ahead of time for all your help.

I can’t tell you how bummed out I am. I just found out that Moonlight has been cancelled. I’m sure CBS is going to replace it with one of those reality shows or lame sitcom because there aren’t quite enough of those on TV. Soon I’m going to be down to watching nothing but DVD’s. Sigh. I’m going to REALLY miss this show.

The weekend went well. Our friends got married. It was a great day. The weather was fab. Lots of sun and good food. On Sunday we finally made it to Iron Man. It was everything we heard and more. Robert Downey Jr. definitely made the movie. I did think he and Gwen had great chemistry. Would definitely recommend it, if you haven’t seen the flick yet. Next up Indiana Jones. And no, I don’t care what kind of reviews it’s getting. I’m going.

I did receive a pleasant surprise yesterday when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find two boxes of RED arcs waiting for me. YAY! I’m not sure if I’ll have extras to giveaway yet. I have to see how many I need for bookseller promo first. There are two exceptions–Shiloh (now you can stop yelling at me *g* ) and the Brenda Novak auction. If you can’t bid on the ARC, you can always try to win THIS. Yes, this is a shameless plug.

Along with the ARC surprise, I did manage to get a few things hammered out on a couple of ideas I’m working on. Yes, these will hopefully be future books. I just have to get a few more gaps filled before I can put them together and send them off to my agent.

Other than that, I’m working today. It’s exciting I know. *g* What is everyone else up to? Any news? Great books read? Sales made? Now is the time to share.

This message comes via Shiloh Walker.

I’ve got an auction up on ebay to help raise money for the cyclone victims and I’m trying to get the word out.

Right now, it involves a couple of ARCs, several books, but more have added, and a GC to Barnes and Noble.

It’s up on ebay thru missionfish-the charity I chose was SAVE THE CHILDREN since they already have people in the country and have had some success getting much needed supplies. And they have an excellent rep for putting their money where their mouth is- 90% of all monies received go to their programs, which is beyond excellent for a charity.

I know some people feel not doing anything might be best considering the actions of the junta and hold off waiting until that situation changes, but I don’t think letting people suffer is a viable option either if there are ways of getting help in.

From Save the Children’s 5/9 update-
Westport, Conn. (May 9, 2008) — The death toll in Myanmar continues to rise as a result of Cyclone Nargis and hardships for hundreds of thousands of survivors left in its wake are increasing. With 500 staff on the ground, Save the Children has reached 72,000 people, 24,000 of whom are estimated to be children, through the distribution of food, water purification tablets, plastic sheeting for shelter and other needed supplies

And this is part of the reason why I chose them-they already have people inside the country and they seem to be a trusted by those within the country, making it easier to get help in.

So far, the auction includes
Signed copy of Private Places, historical romance anthology, not due out until 8/08 with stories by Robin Schone, Allyson James, Claudia Dain & Shiloh Walker
-The Perfect Ten, signed, donated by Janice Maynard
-The Legacy & bookmarks, signed, donated by Beth Williamson
-Hard as Nails, signed, *7/08 release* ARC donated by HelenKay Dimon
-Signed books donated by Rosemary Laurey-titles to be listed at a later date-
-Hunters: Heart and Soul, signed, by Shiloh Walker
-Hunting the Hunter, signed, by Shiloh Walker
-Hunter’s Salvation, signed, by Shiloh Walker

Recently donated but not yet listed items include books from Patrica Sargeant, Ann Jacobs, Charlene Teglia, Kate Angell & a gift card from the Brown Literary Agency for Barnes & Noble.

Anybody interested in bidding on the auction, it can be found here.

It’s been a busy week. Busier than what I anticipated. The door took longer than expected. I had appointments on the days the workers weren’t here–except today. Tomorrow our friends are getting married an hour outside of town, so we’ll be up bright and early tomorrow to make the drive. Did I mention we’re picking up the groom? So today I’m going to try to get something (anything) done on the book. I’d hoped to be ready to go on the writing front by now, but it hasn’t happened. I’m still going to start Crimson on Monday. Can’t delay any longer.

I am hoping to catch Iron Man. It’ll have to be on Sunday, which means it’ll be slammed because of Mother’s Day. Yep, that’s right. It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday. I’ve mailed out my cards, but I haven’t managed the gifts yet. Have I mentioned that it’s been a BUSY week? Sigh. Hopefully you all are more on top of it.

Have a great weekend. Oh, and do not forget to watch MOONLIGHT tonight. It only has two more weeks to go! I really want them to renew that show. Please help me out.

Bernard asked a question in my last post. He wanted to know how detailed my outlines get. I answered him in the comments, but I thought I’d add to it here. When I first started writing, I was a total pantser. I didn’t outline at all. I just waited for the words to flow. It was kind of like taking dictation. This explains the ’style’ of my first four or five books. *g*

As time went on, my stories became more complicated. I could no longer rely on keeping the book in my head. I had to start writing things down so I wouldn’t forget important bits. I began to chart things out. At first it was only a few chapters at a time. Eventually that grew into the whole book. I now try to chart out the book by writing a sentence or three for each chapter. If I’m having problems doing that, I go back to the characters and ask them to tell me their story from the beginning. This tends to fill in any gaps the book has in the first/second pass. I also go over each chapter, using the sentences I came up with, and expand them until I have a paragraph per chapter. If I can, I break the chapters down even further into scenes. I try to have three scenes per chapter. Some of the best advice I ever read was to pretend each chapter is its own little book. (ie it should have a beginning, middle, black moment and/or twist and a conclusion) I wish I could remember who said that. Anyway, it stuck with me. I try to keep that in mind when I’m doing my three scenes per chapter. (BTW, I believe I got the three scene thing from PBW.) And that’s it. I don’t go into any deeper detail than that. My outlines are relatively short. Maybe twenty pages with REALLY big writing. I do them long-hand. For some reason, it’s easier for ideas to flow when I’m writing them on paper.

As an aside, I appreciate everyone who is bidding on my Brenda Novak offerings.

The door is currently being installed. Hopefully it’ll be done soon. Once that occurs, I’m going to work on fleshing out the Crimson outline I wrote up this past weekend. I need to get to writing the manuscript if I want to be finished with a rough draft by the end of June.

I’ve decided to put something else up on the Brenda Novak auction. So not only will I be donating a critique, but you can also bid on an Advanced Reader Copy of RED.

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the past few days. I went into work over the weekend with dh and managed to chart out my third book. Obviously having spotty internet access has its perks. *g* Today I’m hitting the ground at a run. I’m meeting a friend for brunch. When I get home, I have two sets of work-men arriving at the house. One will be putting a door up and the other will be putting in a blind for a very large window. The door will probably take longer since they have to build a frame.

To keep you company, you can find me at Romancing the Blog. I need help with setting goals.

Yep, it’s that time a year again. Brenda Novak is trying to earn money for a very worthy cause and I’ve thrown my volunteer hat into the ring. If you’ve always wanted me to critique your first three chapters and a synopsis, then here is your chance. There are a LOT of wonderful prizes to bid on. If you have a few extra dollars floating around in your wallet, throw them her way.