Off to a running start…

Whew! So far we’ve been running around like decapitated chickens!  The year started off with a huge bang with Kevin Hearne’s visit, but was then quickly followed by the  whirlwind of the Blogger Book Fair. Then, because that wasn’t enough, we had the MRFW Bloghop nipping at our heels. But, now it’s back to just me!

Time to catch you all up on the happenings.

SHADOW’S SOUL won First place in the Paranormal category for the 2013 Shooting Star Contest. I was told I’d get a nifty badge for my website, so as soon as I get it, I shall post away. There’s suppose to be a trophy as well.  If that’s true, I’ll take a picture and post so you can share the “Oooohhh/aaaawwww” moment with me.

I was humbled by my nomination for Blogger of the Year by The Book Boost.  The results should be in on Valentine’s Day, so hopefully we’ll get to add this to our list of accomplishments!

SHADOW’S MOON is now out and about in the query world in search of new home, so I’ll keep you posted on what happens there.

Want to spend an exciting hour on Twitter? Then come join me and the awesome Lynn Rush for a Twitter Party on February 20th at 8 pm Eastern time.  We’d love to hear from you and hope you’ll make it.

Thanks to Snarky, I will be making a regular appearance at Castles and Guns each month with posts, so come keep me company and add  in your opinions so I have someone to talk to, besides the voice in my head.  My first post goes up on March 4th!

Don’t forget to check out my Guest Post and Blog page for all my upcoming guests. We have some really awesome authors coming in the next few months so mark the dates!

Now that we’re all caught up, we’ll return to our normal programming next week…

Until then…be good (but not too good!).

BTW–HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

 

Merry Holidays and Happy Christmas!

MERRY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

May your season be filled with laughter and love!

We hope you continue to make the 7 Evil Dwarves a part of your blog world!

Love,

Snarky

Wicked

Eerie

Smokey

Dreamer

Red

Quirky

Mighty

To NaNo or Not To NaNo?

Did you see that blur? Were you able to make out the bits of green of Spring 2012? Or the shimmery waves of heat of Summer 2012?  Did you miss the burnished coppers of the impending Fall 2012?  I sure did.  As a matter of fact, when I bothered to poke my head up lately, do you know what was staring back at me?

NaNo.

Oh yes, it is time to start wondering the age-old question-To NaNo or not to NaNo.

Last year, I wimped out.  I used the fact I was tying up Shadow’s Soul not to participate, but let’s be honest…NaNo is intimidating.

For those of you not familiar with NANO, never fear, it will soon become the relative/friend who dropped by for a night and didn’t leave for years.  NaNo is National Writing Novel Month and is also identified by the name NaNoWriMo.  It happens every November–no matter if the Mayans are correct or not, it will still be here in 2013.  It will haunt your computer, stalk you in the wee hours of the morning, and taunt you late at night while you’re enjoying your primetime shows.  It whispers to you–”Come on, you know you could be putting these voices to paper here!”  One month, where every day you write-1 line or 1,000, doesn’t matter. What matters is you write–no Inner Editors allowed. They’ve been banned to the kiddie table in the corner and they are not allowed to speak.

So although I’m still working on Shadow’s Moon, trying desperately to drag it to completion by the end of the year, I’m actually starting to listen to the sibilant whispers of NaNo. Perhaps I’ll start doing some research, sit down for coffee with some characters and poke around, play God and create some new worlds…tempting.

Anyone else out there starting to get the itch to prepare?  Are you looking at a HazMat suit to get through it or are you more the flip-flop and Hawaiian shirt type? C’mon, share…we want to know who else is going to go insane in November.

PS–Come on over to Cynthia Woolf’s place on the 25th of August as I pop over for an interview.  If you comment you get a chance to win something cool!

 

–Wicked

Missing the Blog Train…

Sincerest apologies! Totally dropped the dagger on the blog post for last week–and honestly, I have no excuse.  Even the fact that the Prankster Duo have revved up their antics, the Hellhound has decided to start experimenting with strange growths near his butt, the Knight in slightly muddy armor has been fending off the dragons single handedly, and me…I don’t think I’ve slowed down since the week prior.

Summer is when the temps rise, so you laze around a body of water (hopefully flying kola free), drink something cold and fruity (maybe a new blush from the Werewolf Monastery), and watch the days pass on by while Swamp Thing’s new and decidedly more colorful garden blooms.  Right?

Wrong.

Summer is when you realize that although every other Swamp resident may get to sleep in, you’re SOL.  Because as soon the sun starts to burn off the miasma of Zombie stench, you should have already:

• hunted down breakfast for the Hellhound and presented it to him, making sure your presentation is up to Gordon Ramsay levels, because if it’s not you and the entire neighborhood will be forced to listen to his displeasure.
• made sure Knight’s armor is still slightly muddy, plus make sure he was able to find not only his lunch, but his assorted weaponry before he takes the loyal steed out for his next adventure.
• confirmed that Eerie’s Zombies did not breach the perimeter security during the night and invite Grandpa and Grandma Wizard to participate as snacks (‘Let’s eat grandma & grandpa!’ takes on a whole new meaning when it’s moaned!).
• yell at the computer as it slowly decides to find an electronic signal in North Timbuktu so I can do my quick pop in/pop out to all the overwhelming social venues I am now indentured to for the next eternity.
• straighten up the shack, including but not limited to, putting away the stack of dishes that have re-populated during the evening hours (I so don’t want to know what those dishes are really up to in the wee hours!), push/pull the Prankster Duo from their nesting spots with minimum of cursing, try to find the other boot that disappeared between taking it off and getting up (damn poltergeists!), shoving the detritus that is determined to conquer the entire cabin behind the boys’ doors, and then…
• discuss, rationally, the pros and cons of sugar coated sugared versus fruit and oats as a nutritional requirement for growing males.

And that’s just the first 30 minutes.  It grows like a snowball of doom after that.

So the fact that I’ve been buried under the avalanche of “responsibilities” has put some serious hurdles into getting Shadow’s Moon some alone time.  I’ve managed to re-write the first couple of chapters three (or is it four?) times now, but think Xander’s finally decided to settle down a bit and share.  Considering the annual trip of the Evil 7 (we’re currently at 8, but unlike Snowhite and the Huntsman, we haven’t decided which one gets to take the arrow yet!), is quickly descending, I CAN NOT WAIT!

Think about it…4 blissful days of no internet (except for research, of course!), no phones (did you know cell phones have off buttons?), no TV (no hardship there, it’s why DVR’s were invented) and no outside responsibilities to pull me away from my fantasy world and the nightmares that inhabit it!  Plus, there is enough food to feed a small garrisson of trolls, witty humor with others who understand the necessity of demonstrating the proper techinques behind breaking necks and can intellecutally debate the merits of various herbal poisons and sharp, pointy weapons.  Ah…nirvana!

Plus, the cherry on top?  Shadow’s Soul is set to hit shelves on JUNE 23rd!

All of this is what will get me through the next week…then I’ll be back and we’ll chat again!

New Year, New Story…

Okay so the New Year has arrived and it’s time to get back to writing.  Shadow’s Soul is out being eviscerated, I mean critiqued, by the other Evil Six so I decided to start the year off write…I began to plot out Raine and Gavin’s next adventure.

But to get to this point took time.  Here’s a little insight into the schizophrenic maze known as a writer’s mind. 

I’ve spent the last few weeks prepping the Prankster Duo, the knight in slightly muddy armor, and the hellhound for the holidays.  We had to hunt down holiday gifts, bind them and then deliver them out to the other Swamp residents.  The Swamp Thing family has had a rough time this season so we had to sneak in late one night to leave their gift on the doorstep in an effort not to be dragged into their “martial discussions”. The Prankster Duo managed to get in and get out without any major setbacks (fires, explosions, dismemberment, etc.) while delivering Smokey, Quirky and Jedi’s gifts.  The knight and I took on the tougher residents. Evading Snarky’s newest whip was perilous and dropping off Eerie and Mischievous’ gifts, well I won’t go into detail. Suffice to say the hellhound was in need of some bone therapy afterwards, and knight’s armor had a few more dents to add to his collection.  Don’t tell Eerie, but I think I lost a blade to one of the shambling hordes.

Regardless, we made it through the season.  The Prankster Duo has increased their weaponry supply with some new additions and they’ve been tormenting the zombies scuffling through the Swamp.  The hellhound was quite pleased with his decapitated duck and unidentified leg bone.  Overall it was a lovely Holiday!

While hunting down and setting sneaky traps for our holiday gifts, I decided to pare down the towering pile of nightstand books and got caught up with some of my favorite stories.  When I finished with that, it was time to face the ominous quest looming on my horizon… the creation of my next book.

For those not familiar with a writer, let me explain why your writer friends seem to morph into bi-polar maniacs with multiple personalities in-between their Works in Progress (aka WIPs).  We all fear the blank page or screen that mocks us with its whiteness. 

Typing the last word on your last story is a relief, until you realize you have to start all over again.  Regardless if you’re doing a stand-alone or a series, beginning a story is terrifying.  Let’s follow along with my neurosis as I begin a new WIP.

First question that hits—can I do it?  Can I really get another three to four hundred pages that will keep a reader on the edge of their seat? Am I all tapped out? Was writing that last book, was that it?

A few deep breaths and a handful of chocolate later I’ve managed to smash that stupid voice into silence.  Yes, I’m a writer, damn it, I can do this.  I’ve done it before.

Next question—so do I continue with Raine and Gavin or do I let other characters have their own story? Should I go back to that other story line and take a break from Raine? If I continue with Raine, I’ll have to pitch to my editor for book three, if I don’t I’ll have to go back out to the vicious world of pitches and throw myself on the mercy of another editor.  What to do?

I re-read the 125 pages I have of the other WIP and it hits me…this isn’t going to work without some major re-writing.  Where do I start? Should I throw it away and just start from scratch? I mean, I really like some of it, but other parts are going to have me sporting a Sinead O’Connor look real quick.  Oh man, maybe it’s not so smart to go back to that one just yet….okay let’s think about Raine. 

What do I need to do next? Where is the overall story arc going? Every book has to accomplish something or why write their story? Fine, let’s torment the newly established couple, throw in some twists and turns and then…miracle of miracles, words are spitting across the page.  A plot emerges.  This is good, I haven’t lost the ability yet. 

Okay so I have a plot, but I’m still thinking this year I’d like to get two books done, so where do I focus?  How do I choose which gets to be done first? The massive re-write or begin Raine’s latest adventure?

Dear God I think the voices in my head are going to stomp my brain into mush and it will leak out of my ears and then neither story will get written.  ARRRGHHH!!!

I manage to piece together Raine’s story and I’m turning over how to re-write the other story, but in the meantime those around me are giving me a wide berth.  Maybe it’s the fact I’m continuously mumbling under my breath while wildly gesturing to get the voices to lower to a dull roar, or maybe it’s the fact that while eating a lovely dinner with family, I blurt out, “She’s being hunted by a psychic psychopath!”

Chairs scrape a few more inches away from me, the Prankster Duo just shake their heads, and knight simply responds in a gently voice, “Do you want some more chocolate, babe?”

And the year has barely begun…

Wicked!

T’was the Night Before the Zombie Apocalypse

Seasons Greetings to all of my minions,

As you can see we have rid ourselves of the local zombie infestation and replaced the decorations with more traditional bunting.  Of course the zombie population is ever-increasing everywhere else.  The muses are patrolling our borders for now.  There’s talk of a fence to keep them out, but that’s preliminary.

 I hope you’re ready for the big day.  If not, stop worrying about it, there’s always next year.  As Christmas quickly approaches, all the old traditions are getting dusted off and paraded out.  It is a season of giving, when music and stories abound.  In light of our current situation with undead strolling through the malls and caroling in our streets.  I thought I would give this old standby an update.  I hope you enjoy it.

T’was the night before Christmas when all through our shelter,

Not a creature was stirring, not even the smelter.

The mac-tens were hung by the chimney with care,

For the undead horde that would soon be there.

The guard dogs were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of raw meat danced in their heads.

Mom and her uzi and I with my launcher,

Had just settled down to plan for the slaughter.

When out on the lawn there arose such a racket,

I leaped from the bunker and put my jacket.

Grabbing my Kevlar I flew like a flash,

Turned on the search lights looking aghast.

The lights on the breast of the new fallen dead,

Gave luster of midday to zombies in red.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight zombie reindeer.

The driver was quick, his head wrapped in gauze,

I knew in a snap it was Zombie Clause.

More rapid than missiles his coursers they came,

He grunted and slobbered, and called them by name.

“Now, Femur! Now, Sacrum! now, Kidney! and Bicep,

On, Liver! On, Stomach! On, Colon and Tricep.

To the top of the porch and over barbed wire!

Now dash away! Dash away! Far from the fire!”

Above all the landmines and away from the moat,

They went higher and higher like some flying boat.

So up to the lookout the reindeer they flew,

With a sleigh full of entrails, and Zombie Clause, too.

And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof,

The prancing and pawing of each rotting hoof.

I switched off the safety and pulled back the hammer,

Down the chimney came Zombie Clause with quite a clamor.

He was dressed all in fur from head to the floor,

And his clothes were all bloody and splattered with gore.

A bundle of severed limbs on his back,

He sat himself down to have a late snack.

His eyes—they were sunken, his flesh was so pale,

His nose was held on with a bright shiny nail.

The stump of a leg he held tight in his teeth,

As I pulled my new sword clear of its sheath.

He was rotten and putrid but looked quite surprised,

As I sliced off his arm and poked out his eyes.

He ran to the chimney forgetting his snack,

So I picked up my shotgun and gave him a whack.

Sticking a finger far up his nose,

Giving a nod up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the led from my pistol.

I heard Zombie moan, as he flew through the night,

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good bite.

To You and Yours,

Have a Scary Christmas and a Happy Ghoul Year

Eerie,  Mischievous and the whole crowd at the swamp

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

 Since the holidays are now fully upon us, I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas season and a fantastic New Year.  May it be filled with laughter, love and joy!

I’ll be back in January with new posts.  I may even explore the whole guest blogging idea!

Until then….be good and have fun!

In search of my muse

When last we talked I heading to the Slice Your Own Deli to enlist the help of the muses to take out the zombie horde.  Well the muses have been difficult to track down.  Mischievous and I have searched everywhere.  Mischievous just heard from a reliable snitch that a new drinking establishment called The Swamp Shack recently opened.  He also heard that it has been inhabited by a raucous crowd all week.  We are heading there now.  Of course I don’t know what kind of shape they’ll be in if they’ve been drinking and fighting all week.

“Eerie look over there, it’s the Hummer for sure.”

“What a dump.  And the name, you think it took an advertising genius to come up with Swamp Shack.”

“That might be false advertising.  I don’t think it meets the building code standards for a shack.”

“Let’s have a look inside.  Keep close.”

“I can wait for you out here Eerie, to keep a watch out.”

“Come on my fearless feathered friend.”

“Hey, what happened?  It’s bigger than it looks from the outside.”

“Yeah, a lot bigger and nicer too.  This is–well, something only a muse could imagine. I’ll do the talking.  Pardon me, have seen a big guy, jeans, work boots, plaid shirt, a little surly maybe?

“Even the bird is big, judging by your size shorty. Who should say I say is asking?”

Eerie Dwarf, it’s matter of grave importance.

“Is it a life or death thing?” he sneers.

More of an undead and gone thing.  Is he here.  He may be traveling with a beautiful but scary looking woman.

“Their here, upstairs in the private members only lounge.”

Great I’ll just go up and–

“I can see you’re short, but is your hearing impaired too?  I said PRIVATE, as in members only.”

Yes, but you see i must–

“You must order a drink or find your way out the front door.  They left specific instructions not to be disturbed.”

“Eeire, a word.”  Mischievous tugs me a few paces from the bar.

What is it?

“I think if you order a drink and pay the man far too much, you might find him a little more sympathetic to your cause.”

“Excellent.”  Turning back, “We’ll have two of the house specials, thank you.”

Two Swamp Heads coming right up.”

I scribble a message on a scrap piece of paper while the bar keep toils away mixing our drinks.  They arrive a murky brown liquid swirling slowly in tall glasses and a grey fog clinging to rim.  I give Mischievous a questioning glance.  He shrugs, but says nothing.

“That’ll be five furlongs.” The bartender wipes away a couple drops of water that condensed on the glasses and dripped onto the otherwise immaculate bar.

I slide two twenty furlong notes across the polished bar along with the note.  ”If  this note somehow found its way upstairs I would appreciate it twice as much.”

His bald pate wrinkled and a smile briefly visited his lips as he swiped the two bills and the note off the bar.  ”I’ll see what I can do.”

Moments later two figures are stumbling down the steps giggling like children.  ”Eerie, drink up we’ve  got zombies to decapitate.” my muse bellows then laughs heartily.

Mischievous leaned in whispering in my ear, “The broad has a broad sword.  How quaint.”

“I heard that.”  At the same moment a knife stuck into the bar top inches from Mischievous’ wing.

“Eerie you are on your own, I’m flying back.”  As quick as the knife arrived Mischievous departed leaving one shiny black feather sashaying to floor.

You’d better go too. I’ll see you next week with the zombie infestation under control I hope.  this weeks quote comes from H P Lovecraft.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is fear of the unknown.”

Write On,

Eerie

Book Faery Blog and Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Thanksgiving was a blast, but now that I’m full and lazy, it’s time for a really short post!  Next week we’ll go back to the craziness that is this blog, until then…

You have to go check out the last guest blog post I did for this year.  Yeah, yeah, I know, there’ve been lots, but this one is really cool and you have to go see it.  Plus you may even get a free copy of Shadow’s Edge.  See? It’s a wonderful thing right before the holidays!

Now here’s the link to the Book Faery Reviews:  http://tbfreviews.net.  So go have a fun week and check it out!

Plus, if you’re itching for a new Kindle Fire, go over to the left and click on the Kindle giveaway.  Go on, it won’t bite.  Click on it, fill out the info and we’ll all cross our fingers!  It ends soon so hurry up! Entries are only excepted until December 15th and trust me, that’s right around the corner.

Until next week folks…

Happy Thanksgiving…7ED Style

It’s the time of year when everyone does the Why I am Thankful blogs, so I thought I’d join along in my own unique way.

Here in the Swamp there are many things to be thankful for this year.  Let’s begin, shall we?

I am thankful for…

…the Prankster Duo.  Who else in my life would make me consider the deep, dark mysteries of the world  with  such scintillating conversation gambits such as:

                “Mom, can I borrow Siri for a second?”
“Umm..sure…why?”

“I need to look up a word.”

“What word?”

“Fart.”

Startled silence… “Why?”

“My friend said he did and it was ‘an explosive sensation from between his legs’.”

I try really hard not to hit my brakes and cause a five car pile-up as I try to find air to drag into my lungs.  My precious 9 year old…oh dear…. “Um, honey, perhaps you should think of another definition.”

“Why?”

Right, how to answer this one without him thinking his mother is a pervert…oh wait…. “Okay, because that definition could be interpreted in a way you would find really gross.  How about  ‘explosive flatulence’?

“Hmm…okay…should I ask why it would gross me out?”

“It has to do with boys and girls…”
“Okay enough said, I’ll stick with ‘explosive flatulence’.”

…my knight-in-slightly-muddy-armor who has stayed beside me while Eerie’s Zombie’s have trashed our yard and the hellhound has seeded the same yard with many landmines.  Not only has he braved that terror, but he has successfully save many an electronic devices from being tested for aerodynamic properties when they refuse to cooperate with me.  Considering how often that temptation occurs, he’s my hero, because recovering drafts from broken pieces of plastic and wires is really hard!

…my hellhound, without whom my floors would not hold themselves down, but float away into oblivion.  Only he could figure out the strategic points that will keep them grounded and still manage to be where ever I have to walk.

…Starbucks and the lovely baristas, because they have saved many an unsuspecting person from violent death while supplying me with my needed caffeine fix that makes sure all my edged accessories stay sheathed!

…Snarky and her bloody whip.  Let’s be honest, without the combo of the two there’s no way I would have dredged up enough courage and armor to brave the pit of submission hell and finally, FINALLY got a contract!

…Eerie, Mischievous Raven and the herd of corpses that tend to trample my lawn.  Not only has he obtained some seriously good wine from the Werewolf monks, but he shines forth humor in the darkest moments and that is truly priceless.

…Quirky for reminding me why cynicism is not always the best thing to use for protection.  His ability to strip down situations to bare bones makes him invaluable to the Evil 7.  Beside it’s fun to watch him squirm!

…Smokey and his fabulous recipes.  However, I’m still not to sure about the octopus and whatever that was that one time in the Swamp where he and Eerie got together.  Strange, but if you don’t tell me what it is, I won’t think about it! It’s nice to know that even if you can’t pronounce character names, you can cook!

…Jedi and her bravery.  I mean, really, think about it.  How brave would you be to walk into a steamy Swamp filled with gods-only-know-who, talk to the short. stumpy guy with the beady eyed raven trying to pry a zombie arm from the Swamp Thing while the Prankster Duo goes screaming by with some weird contraption spitting flame, while Snarky tries to hold back the horde parked outside her porch with a 12 foot whip?  Really, our neighborhood doesn’t need a watch, more like napalm.  We’re glad you survived the welcoming committee and decided to stay!

…BFF, Ang, because who else would dare take me to a move about a sparkling vampire who hatches kids from eggs and an alpha wolf that doesn’t kill for leadership and can’t pronounce his someday mate’s name, and then let me go Science Mystery Theater on it for two hours.  She even held back the prepubescent horde armed with lip-gloss and sparkle and their mothers from trampling me under their keds.  Only a BFF like that can be trusted at your back.

…to all of you for taking the time to follow along, even when the insanity that lives inside me spews outward!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!