It's Official . . .

My blog is on hiatus. 

I have been meaning and meaning and meaning to get back here and update you on my progress (for example, 3rd place in the Golden Gateway and 1st Place in the Emerald City Opener, how my conference went, what I'm reading and *loving* right now, etc. etc.). 

But it's time to get real.  With the Golden Heart deadline looming, work, school, and the swiftly approaching holidays (including 6 birthdays in my family - sheesh!), I don't see when I will have time to do better than I have been. 

So . . . I'm officially hanging up this blog until January 15th 2010 - at which point I will launch a WHOLE NEW, improved, and very shiny Wordpress site.  And then I'll turn over a new leaf and actually, you know . . . blog about stuff. 

So - to anyone out there who is still reading this - thank you.  Enjoy your holiday season, and see you next year! 

~Gwen

Finalisms and Other Sundries

*taps dust of microphone*

Phew! It's been a while! And though I've been absent, I haven't been idle. ;)

I'm closing in on my final rewrites for my parnormal romantic suspense novel, Inner Eye. My goal is to have them complete by 9/15 and I should land thereabouts. It will be a *crazy* month and a half for me coming up -- lots of fun stuff!

On to the good news . . .

I'm happy to announce that I'm a finalist in the Golden Gateway's paranormal category again this year (different ms than last year). They haven't announced the finalists on their website yet, but I hear I'm up against some stiff competition. I'm just happy to final. It's good to know that the baby you've spent the better part of a year tearing up and piecing back together doesn't suck. Coming from fanfic roots, I'm a glutton for that reassurance.

And I'm equally ecstatic to announce that the same ms finaled in the Romantic Suspense category of the Emerald City Opener contest. (Okay, maybe slightly more ecstatic, because the prize for this one is PRICELESS.) I get a personal one-on-one appointment with an agent/editor at the 2009 Emerald City Writers' Conference. *squee-gulp*

Yes, that's the same manuscript in two different contests, in two different categories. It is a paranormal romantic suspense, so I've been entering it into whichever category I think fits the specific contest. In my next entry, Inner Eye will be in the Single Title category. What can I say? The story really doesn't want to be pinned down to one narrow genre!

Obviously, since I have an appointment with an agent/editor all lined up, I'll be popping my conference cherry on October 9th. I'm equal parts excited and nervous. I have to get a pitch together, get my hair done, and go shopping! Luckily, the members of the GSRWA have been very welcoming, and I already have a conference buddy.

I'll also be going to hear my mentor/cp Debbie Mumford speak at a Vancouver Writers Mixer on October 3rd. It's starting to feel like this writing thing is actually *happening.* Perhaps the most gratifying moment was one day on a vacation/weekend outing, hubby picked up my Crackberry, looked at the list of emails, and just about choked. "How do you keep track of all that sh*t?" he asks. Truly, sometimes I think my whole family believes I'm just screwing off on the internet all the time. Srsly.

I'm also going to be visiting with mah girls in Atlanta the last weekend of September. I'm sooooo excited! (Except for the flying part, but I have Valium, so I'm covered

My next goal, after all of these social events, is to launch my new website/blog. I'm aiming for October. (I know, I know . . . I've said this before.) In my defense, learning a new coding language ain't no bowl of cherries.

Then I will hit the grindstone hard polishing up Inner Eye and my first novel, Cloak of Deceit. I plan to submit both to the Golden Hearts this year, and to get them going on the query-go-round in early December. I have entered a few other contests, so I may have more good news to share soon *crosses fingers*.

Oh, and I'll definitely post a conference update or two. I've got to get back on this blogging horse . . .

TTFN!!

~Gwen

I'm Alive!

I thought I should put something up here before it gets too stagnant. There's been a lot going on the past month or so -- I have been a busy little bee, if I do say so myself.

First off, my critique partner Thomma Lyn released her debut novel, Mirror Blue!

*squee* I'm so excited for her - the reviews are starting to come in, and I just know people will love the book as much as I did.

In the same vein, I got to meet the fabulous Debbie Mumford in the flesh yesterday. We had a great lunch, talked shop, and she is even cooler in person! Her novella The Silver Casket is releasing from Freya's Bower on August 18th, and I'm totally in love with her cover art. I had the pleasure of reading an early version of this story and highly reccomend it. :)

I've also joined a start-up critique group, run by Lynette Labelle. She's pulled together a good mix of writers and we even have a name: The Rumored Romantics. I'm excited to get started. I've never been a critique group before and look forward to trying out a different venue. You know we writers are always looking for extra sets of eyes. The more opinions the better, in my mind. I haven't decided which project I'll be throwing at these ladies for starters, but I'm sure it will be a fun learning experience.



On the writing front, I'm at the halfway point with my re-write of Inner Eye. As I get closer to the end, the rewrites will be less extensive, so I'm hoping to have this one wrapped up and shelved in the next few weeks. I've submitted it to 3 contests to sort of test the waters. Then, I just have to polish my query packet and start throwing it at some agents. I'm both excited and nervous. I've put A LOT of work into this book, and if it doesn't find a home, that will be hard to swallow. On the flip side, I know the number one thing that keeps people going in this business is believing in themselves, so I do have hope!



I've done a little bit of reading recently, but not a lot. I think the most surprising was the Vampire Queen duo by Joey W. Hill. I enjoyed the Storywitch's writing so much, I even went and bought one of her early Ellora's Cave titles. The emotional depth, well-woven backstories, and top-notch writing have really made me re-think a lot of my own prejudices against the erotic romance genre (which I didn't even realize I had until I was surprised by how good these books were. *g*).



I'm still working down my list of exciting releases I mentioned in the spring. Devon Monk's 2nd in her Ally Beckstrom series lived up to my excitement. I have yet to read Lover Avenged, though from the sounds of it, BDB fans are pleased.



I've decided to nail myself down with an actual deadline for my new blog/website. Rain or shine, it will launch August 15th, so I've got my work cut out for me. I'll try to ease into the blogoshere between now and then, and spread the word. I have a few ideas for a little launch party. We'll see.



Time to get rolling!


~G

The Blog that Wasn't . . .

*sigh*

I wish I had a legitimate excuse. Instead, I have a bunch of illegitimate ones, disguised as an update:

1. The idea of composing a review encompassing a four book series is daunting. I read Curse the Dawn, and loved it. Haven't made a peep otherwise.

2. My mom stole my copy of Lover Avenged. (I know!)

3. On the heels of being bookless, I entered into a phase of The Artist's Way known as reading deprivation. This deprivation includes blogs, so even opening google was a downhill slide I just decided to avoid. Consequently, I was very productive that week, and *extended* said deprivation just to see what would happen. (Apparently I reached a balance-point between being productive and being depressed because I couldn't read, so no worries - that's over now. :P )

4. The sun has been shining like mad in Seattle! (Don't tell anyone.)

5. I went to my first RWA meeting, but Ciara put my write-up to shame.

6. Working lots of overtime, but took a fantastic vacation to the coast.

7. I've been working like a madwoman on my new website/blog which will relocate to Wordpress. I'm shooting for the end of June to make the big switch-a-roo. Until then, blog play is more than likely suspended. If I do happen by some time to generate content, I'll probably save it for the new site.

8. RE-WRITES!!!! It's been brought to my attention several times, that the first step of getting anywhere in the publishing business is having a solid product to sell. So, that continues to be my focus. The first third of my current novel is getting a total over-haul and the rest will be hacked, trimmed, and then polished. I'm not sure how long this is going to take me, but I will definitely be having a party when it's finished.

Think that about covers it.

TTFN!
~Gwen

Quick and Dirty

Update time!

Rewrites are coming along. I've done some major restructuring and have finessed the first 5 chapters into something I'm proud of. I also toiled (and toiled) over a synopsis and now have a full contest submission packet of Inner Eye ready to go. I'm planning on entering it into some contests in May.

Other than that, I've been playing with a lot of graphics stuff, getting ready to make the transition over to wordpress. I've been out of the graphics groove for too long, it is actually a thrill to get back into it. Ideas springing up all over the place. Whether or not I can master php well enough to make them a reality. =D

Oooooh! And I'm going to my first GSRWA meeting this weekend - I'm sooo excited! I was going to go last month, but I was heavy into the final chapters of my WIP and rudimentary hygeine was a challange. (Probably too much information, but still true.)

Other than that, I've been trying to take advantage of every second of sunshine, because around here, you never know when you're going to see it again.

The Joys of Manuscript Revision, or, All Good Writing was Written More Than Once

I swore I would never be that 'type' of writer. And I say that like there are 'types' of writers, which really their aren't - everyone is an individual.

But when I read that a favorite author of mine writes with a process along the lines of, Write it once, keep half of it, write it again, keep 2/3 of it, write it again, keep 3/4 of it, I laughed.

That's waaaaay too inefficient, said Gwen. I'll just write my books once, and do it right the first time. I'll use an outline, and be way more organized....

*cough*

Yeah. Maybe there is something to being a professional at what you do, after all.

I wrote my book once. I even had an outline. And it took me 45K words more than I thought I needed to tell the story. Now I need dig for the gold, and re-write the rest.

But it should be an adventure . . . . And result in a much better finished product. So, I've called in some help - bought some books, and I'll be using those as I sort of experiment with this whole 'rewrite' thing, to see how it works for me.

Because all of us writers are individuals -- even if some laws are universal, like this one:

All good writing was written more than once.

Consider this post a warning for the forthcoming whining.

The Sun Found Seattle!

This weekend was glorious! Blue skies, warm temperatures, and the trees started budding overnight. It made me feel sorta like this.

Despite the arrival of spring (Finally! Did I mention we got snow on April 1st?), what did I do all weekend? Pretty much spent the whole thing locked away in the writing cave, as I closed in on the end of my first draft of my second novel, Inner Eye.

My husband has taken to calling me his vampire. And when he did manage to drag me out of the house (baited only by a promise to visit B&N), I realized that's not too far off base. I'm so pale I glow. =P

The good news - 1st draft is DONE!
The bad news - I'm 45K words over budget, so the work is just beginning.

Over the past few weeks, in preparation for the 're-write' phase forthcoming, I have read several great books on the craft. I plan to do a blog post on each of them. And to tie myself down to a new reviewing schedule that I think is much more doable. I also plan to get some more free reads posted, and to start to chronicle my journey through my WIP. Perhaps my experience of what works/what doesn't will be useful to someone.

I'll let this post stand for now as a placeholder: changes are coming. In fact, now that I have a drafted story to work with, the pressure is off of writing for a bit and I'll be putting some effort into a total website/blog re-design and possible move to Wordpress.

Hope the sun is shining down on you too!

Hiding . . .

It's been a bit since I posted anything.

My thoughts, worthy enough to share, have been rather dark lately. I didn't want to drag you down with me. It must be this dismal winter weather. Or maybe it's just that rewrites = ugh.

This just about sums up my viewpoint of late.



o.o

Dark Side of the Moon

No, not the Pink Floyd Album. Though . . . if that is the first thing that came to your mind, you're cool in my book.

Today is what we moon-keen folks would term the 'new moon', meaning that the moon is back at the beginning of its cycle (of course 'beginning' is relative, since it depends on when you start counting, but go with me here). It's perfectly aligned between the earth and the sun at the moment, therefore all the sunlight hitting it is, well, reflecting back at the sun and skipping us. So we are looking at the 'dark' side of it. If you were to step outside and look for it, you would find *maybe* a tiny sliver, most likely a spooky sort of ringy silhouette. I love the New Moon. I think most people don't even realize it's happening, but I always feel the moon, even if I don't see it.

The new moon is supposed to be a time of reflection. A rest from the business of life to pause, take a breath, and plan. Maybe to study up or prepare for something. It's a time to break bad cycles and begin new, better ones.

Hence why tonight, I decided to go and post all the things I had *intended* to blog this month so far. I know . . . it's cheating. But I figure the blogger folks wouldn't have given us the backpost feature if it weren't intended for procrastinators like me. Right?

Back Post # 2 - Critiquery

Song of the Moment: Love Lockdown – Kanye West

Depending on what order you’re reading this in, you may or may not know that I have had a prayer answered in the form of my new critique partner. I haven’t been this ecstatically, frenetically involved in my current work in progress since I outlined it over New Year’s weekend 2007. Since then, I’ve been distracted by submission calls, diverted into a totally unrelated novel, and managed to bury myself in excuses to let the very first ‘book of my heart’ slide by the wayside. No longer!

I’ve set a very optimistic goal to have this one ready to start querying in Mid-to-end-February. And if it doesn’t happen, it will be entirely my own fault. Working with my new crit-partner, I’ve discovered what needs to be done, and plotted my course. Now we’re on to the execution. And, for the time being, I’m juiced! So, let this serve as excuse number one for why I haven’t tackled my goal to blog more this year.

And I know what you’re thinking . . .

See. Nothing slips by me.

Resolved.

Well, it's that time again . . . the time when we reflect on what we've accomplished over the past 365 days and lay down some of our plans for the future. I'm all about accountability, so I'll share mine here, and take a page out of Thomma Lyn's book. Another good post on setting goals for the year can be found here (thanks Debbie!).

Also, if you're interested, I wrote an essay this year titled Building a Goal Pyramid. Which you may or may not find useful. No guarantees, no refunds. =P

Rather than list all the tiny steps I took this year in the general direction of my goals, I'll just list the five most valuable things I discovered and/or did, then move on to goals for 2009.

In 2008:

1. I wrote 1.9 novels, 3 novellas, 2 shorts and a mishmash of flash
for a total of a whopping 250K words. That's half of what I wrote in 2007,
but I think my quality (and the amount of sleep I got) increased
three-fold.

2. I met an amazing number of people who are just as obsessed with this
*cough*hobby*cough* as I am. I've been inspired, consoled, and had a whole
lotta fun. I feel so much less alone than I did at the start of all of
this.

3. I ventured into the publishing world, queried, and entered contests
- some with positive results. I also earned (yes EARNED) my first few
rejections and learned that with practice (and lots of chocolate), getting back
on the horse after those devastating form letters *does* get easier.

4. I have amassed a huge amount of knowledge and resources on the craft
of writing, and on the publishing industry. There are still a great many
mysteries yet to be uncovered, but at least now I know what I'm aiming
for. Much better than diving in blind!

5. I achieved a level of balance I'm comfortable with between my
personal life, and my writing life. This was much harder than it
sounds. Srsly.

Now! . . . On to 2009. Armed with all the tools, weapons and knowledge I so greedily gathered this past year, I plan to:

1. Become more active in the writing organizations I belong to: attend
local meetings, network, enter contests, and *hopefully* go to my first writer's
conference.

2. Break 100 blog posts, including: > 20 book reviews;
> 10 essays; and > 10 flash/short reads.

3. Re-design my website and blog(s) and centralize them in one
location.

4. Submit/query my first novel to at least 10 other spots. (Spots
meaning contests, agents, editors, etc.)

5. Submit my second novel to at least 10 spots.

6. Write 2 more novels. (I have about 5 ideas on the backburner,
and as soon as I finish revisions on novel #2, I will pick one. More info,
and inevitable whining, will follow along soon.)

7. Perpetuate the balance I've found between work, school, real life,
and writing.

8. Find the perfect critique partner. I know you're out
there somewhere . . . I'm waiting for you! (Ad placement to follow.)

Well, there ya go. It's not a concrete goal, but I hope to be more present in the blogosphere too. I wish everyone a fantabulous year . . . on your marks, get set, GO!

Cheers,Gwen

Oi! I'm allergic to blogging!

Well, not really. But all my excuses are lame. I've just had a serious case of ADD the past month and have been self-medicating with mochas and books. Lots and lots of books.

Oh, and nothing too exciting to report. So, for now, a quick December re-cap and I'll zip off again until I have something worthwhile to share.

1. I'm closing in on the finish of my 2nd novel (Working Title 'Witch Hunt', 'Inner Eye', and 'Zyne Legacy' - take your pick.) This one is about 25% longer than Cloak of Deceit, but allowing myself to meander to the ending is a double-edged sword. I seem to have a problem wrapping things up, picking up all the strands I've laid down and weaving them together. But I willl FINISH it - damn it! And then I will rewrite it.

2. My querying/contest entering has come to a standstill. My own fault, but I'll take another gander at that horse after the new year.

3. I also seem to be allergic to all internet-related activities. Either that, or X-box live has officially trumped me. (The epic battle-o-the-internet-usage continues at my house. Hmph.) FYI though, I have my favorite blogs on my RSS feed and I am with you in spirit. o.O

4. SNOWPOCALYPSE 2008. A little bit of non-rain, and the people here in Seattle forget how to do every-day things . . . like drive. I've been spending 2 hrs on the bus to work each way, and those powderpuff football days come in handy when jokeying for position. I've also become quite adept at flipping pages one-handed while holding onto the 'oh shit' strap.

5. Reading. I lost count, but I have averaged a book every-other-day for the month of December. And I will officially never catch my reviews up to my reading capacity - unless I figure out how to bend time back on itself.

Alas, I will do what I can. I'll only write reviews for books I really love and highly recommend. I'll comment on blogs when I can grab a spare moment at the day job, and I will tackle my husband to the ground and earn my share of the bandwidth so I can post more regularly.

But don't expect any of that until next year.

Congratulation on surviving 2008. And all the best to you and yours!

~Gwen

Unwillingly Dammed

MISSING MY WIP

I'll try to make this post more ponderous and less whiny, but I can't make any guarantees to that effect. As you can probably tell, my blogging has been non-existent lately. That's fitting in right along with all other forms of writing. The honest-to-goodness truth, not an excuse but a reason, is simply this: I haven't had the time.

I'm the sort of person who over-extends herself on a regular basis. Being short on time is something I'm used to. Being under a deadline? No problem. Having lots of work piled up on me? Yeah, that's old hat. Running a website, two and a half blogs and a forum in addition to twittering and poking my nose in various cyber-spaces? Well... yeah.

But somehow, my firm purchase on the actual work of writing (the art of applying but to chair and fingers to keyboard) has slid towards non-existent. I'm chewing through lots of books on the bus ride to and from my new job - but that is really just making my hunkering to write even worse. And here comes the whining...

A lot of writers complain that they sit down and the words won't come. Or that they find themselves shuffling writing to the bottom of their list and making excuses *not* to do it. At the moment, I envy those writers. If I had the time to talk myself out of writing . . . well, I'd be writing. Sadly, my case is something else entirely. The words are there. The ideas are flowing. They are just piling up behind the dam built by my brain in order to let me deal with the more pertinent issue of . . . well, survival. (At the moment.) I have so much work to do, I can't even allow myself to dawdle in my make believe worlds, or to ponder characters or stories, or anything. I'm effectively cut-off from my creative flow. And not by choice. It's like a forced block. And it's frustrating as hell.

It comes down to this: I miss my WIP. I *WANT* to dive into it, to finish the story of the people I've come to care deeply about in the past months. I *WANT* to add in my new ideas, and yes, yes - even to trudge through edits because I know the editing process inside-out now and know that the end-product will be more than worth it. But . . . woe is me . . . I can't do that. Yet.

Soon. Soon, I keep telling myself. I miss all of you guys too - if there is anyone out there still reading this. I'll say the same to you. Soon I will be filling your head with fluff, or maybe even something more substantial, telling your what I've read and what I thought, expanding my reperatoire of writing-issues, finally tackling the projects I've been talking 'bout for months, and generally poking my nose in your business again. Soon.

Signed,
Unwillingly Dammed Writer

Where am I?

Somewhere between the edge of sanity and the end of reason . . .

I'm a total slacker! Bad Gwen! Bad!

*sigh*

But really, my life is still just in a topsy-turvy uproar, and though I've been reading a lot, I haven't had time to write reviews, or commit anything substantial to my WIPs. My current design project is up next Wednesday, and once the dust settles, I'll re-evaluate.

Currently, I'm reading the MacCarrick Brothers trilogy by Kresley Cole. I'm liking it. Not sure if that is opening the door to historicals for me, or simply because I love her voice so much.

Not much happening on the writing front. I'm not at a standstill idea wise, but just haven't logged the keyboard time I need to get them out. I still have lots of feelers out there, which I'm waiting to hear back on. And I'm toying with the idea of entering the Golden Heart.

Thus far . . . I have resisted the Red Bull. I think I may have finally conquered that demon! Woot!

Gosh, Golly, Gee . . .

Some of you may have noticed I've been MIA. Things were a little rough there for a while. It all started about a month and a half ago when I lost my wallet and I've been floundering since, just trying to keep my head above water. My laptop died, I quit my job, and my cat got diabetes. *sigh*

I'm happy to announce I think that bout of ill luck (hey, I'm all for the universe being in balance - if it means it has to screw with me sometimes, so be it) is officially OVER!

I'm writing this post from my brand spankin' new Macbook (yeah, baby, yeah!). I have a freelance graphic design job to float me for the next month and a half until I find something permanent (and the job prospects are looking up from a few weeks ago). This also means my graphic design business, which I started two years ago, is now officially in business (website to come). AND, to top it all off, I got some really great news on Friday:

Cloak of Deceit, my first completed novel, has finaled in the FTHWA Golden Gateway Contest. My first sub to an RWA contest, and I finaled! It feels like Christmas. I'm ecstatic with them apples. And really, really glad to be back on course.

So . . . I'm back in the saddle and in the mood to celebrate! You got any good news to share? Hit me up! If you don't, I'm gonna look like this . . .

I. Do. Not. Suck.

Contrary to what the past week or so has indicated, I am not one of those people who frequently just leaves their blog hangin'. I just haven't had anything interesting to say. o.o


A bit stalled on the writing front as I put some things in my life back together (hopefully better than they were when I busted them up, heh).

And then I'll be back. I have LOTS of book reviews to write and we have some exciting news coming up on the Writer's Retreat Blog.

Other than that, I've been doing The Artist's Way workshop with Catherine and I have to say - Julia Cameron rocks my socks off. I want to meet her. And hug her. And generally tell her how I'm only up to Chapter 3 and she's changing my life. Literally. As we speak.

Oh, and I quit my job. *ducks and runs*

Bright Sunshiny Day

Warning: This post is a bit more twittery than usual. Mayhap because I cashed in my 'treat receipt' and had an extra mocha this afternoon. And yes, I know I should be ashamed, but when I went through my massive editing binge a few weeks ago, I totally fell off the 'caffeine-free' wagon and landed in a pool of Red Bull. What can I say? I'm still paying for it . . .

Srsly, they should make a patch for people like me. Or a support group. But anyway.

*cough*

Oh yeah, I decided to write a no-particular-reason post because, well . . . I feel damn good today. For no particular reason. And it's been a while since I've had one of those days. You know - the ones where nothing gets you down? You hit all green lights, and despite the fact that you have an actual *LIVE* chat with an editor you're hoping to impress in T-minus 40 hours (but who's counting?) you just have a big stupid grin on your face and not a care in the world?

That's me today. The sun is shining, and my boss yelled at someone else for a change. Just thought I'd share, since it's such a rare occurrence.

I leave with my favorite LOLCat of the day and hope the stupid grin is catchy . . .

B&N Privilages Suspended

Hubby says I can buy no more books until I whittle this pile down some. I have to admit, I have a lot of reading to do, thanks to my birthday last month, and a lack of time since. I'm looking forward to taking a load off from the writing and editing the next couple of weeks and diving into some of these.

Have you read any and enjoyed them? (No spoilers!) Which should I go after first? *rubs hands together gleefully*

Gwen's TBR Pile:

The Firey Cross - Diana Gabaldon
Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey
Thriller Anthology - E.b. James Patterson
Bitten - Kelley Armstrong
Fangs for the Memories - Kathy Love
Night Pleasures - Sherrilyn Kenyon
Grave Sight - Charlaine Harris
The Devil You Know - Mike Carey
Rogue - Rachel Vincent
Swimming Without a Net - MaryJanice Davidson
The Accidental Vampire - Lyndsay Sands
The Darkest Pleasure - Gena Showalter
Nightkeepers - Jessica Andersen
Through the Veil - Shiloh Walker
Storm Front - Jim Butcher
Personal Demons - Stacia Kane
Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione
Claimed by Shadow - Karen Chance
Full Moon Rising - Keri Arthur

Oh, and not that this will actually stop me from buying more . . . I'll just have to do it sneakily.

*Ping*

Is it just me, or do people suddenly fall of the radar when summer hits?

It sucks on this end, because I feel like I've spent the last few months sorta shouldering people off, slacking on blogging, letting emails go three or four days without responses . . .

I had a legitimate excuse, mind you, but still. Now I'm freed up for the summer, ready to play and I can hear my own cyber-echo.

Where did everyone go? I know I still have to catch up on your blogs. I know I have crit work to get back to you. I know I've been a passing ship in the night (or day or whatever time it was for you when I was online for that three minutes in May) but c'mon! Are you punishing me, or is the sunshine just umm.... shinier than me?

*checks inbox again*

*sighs*

Back in the Blog Saddle

The past two weeks have just been nuts, and it wasn't until I got back from a recent business trip that the 'I'm away from my Blog' post I thought I had left was apparently eaten by Scribefire, along with one for the WRB.

Anyhoo - a quick rundown:

I finished the Sweat with Sven challenge. It was the third round, though the first time for me. I think I could have gotten more out of it if I hadn't had so much on my plate otherwise. I went into it with big plans to be the ultimate cheerleader and fell woefully short of that goal. BUT I did at least complete the challenge - rather early too. From that aspect, it was a good motivator.

My first draft of Cloak of Deceit, is finished and being edited and slowly re-worked and re-written with the assistance of The ABC. I've sent off a submission package to a contest and am planning to possibly enter a few others this summer.

I'm still chugging along (albeit slowly) on my mentorship with the fabulously inspiring Debbie Mumford, whom I'm sure will be a very successful YA author soon, and on my Fiction Writing Workshop with A. Catherine Noon on the Writer's Retreat Forum. I'm not giving either of these as much attention as I would like, but c'est la vie - for now.

My next goal is to tackle a Nocturne Bite submission. I have plans to write and submit at least three possibilities for this. I'm 3K words into the first one and finding it challenging, but am very excited about the premise for the story. It's set in my Zyne Legacy universe - the one from my second novel project, Witch Hunt.

Two more weeks left of school and I can safely say I am completely crazy for thinking I could do all of this at once. I should manage to pull okay grades, but just by the skin of my teeth. I'm looking forward to having the summer off in order to focus on writing and maybe enjoy a bit of leisure time.

I have a stack of book reviews to do, and some already written. I'll be posting them over the next month rather frequently. Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series is one of my new favorites. I breezed through three of them on my trip and liked each one better than the last.

We've hosted a shrunken down version of the Flash Fiction Carnival on the Writer's Retreat Blog. I'm not sure if it is my fault because I didn't actively recruit enough, or if it is a mix-up because of the admin change - but in any event - major kudos to those who submitted - Catherine, Susan and Unhinged. I will have the posts up with a link hopefully tonight.

That is May in a nutshell so far. What have you been up to?