Anna Hackett's SHORT STORY, BIG IMPACT workshop

I've been remiss in telling you about Anna's course -- it's on now at Colorado Romance Writers. There were still places available last night, and the sign-up link is still active, so jump in!

Anna, fabulous CP to Rach and myself, is one very clever lady (her new Nocturne Bites, ONE NIGHT WITH THE WOLF, comes out in March), and can spot a story soft spot from fifty paces. I cannot tell you how useful she has been to me as I find my feet in this business. So, if your short piece is lacking in punch, follow the links from Anna's blog to sign up.

Take care, E x

Getting up to speed...

You know how you feel like you've been insanely busy, but have very little to show for it? Welcome to My July.

The biggest, excitingest news from the last few weeks is that one of my lovely CP's, the very talented Anna Hackett has sold another Bites! It's a fabulous wolf story that Rach and I critiqued. The hero is majorly drool-worthy. Huge congrats, Anna! More when it comes to hand...

I've been working on my next potential Bites sub, working titled HIS DEADLY ECHO, for the most part. I did my usual "write four thousand words to start which will ultimately be binned" thing again. Not sure why I don't just write 5k and call it notes, then start the real thing. Nevermind. It seems to work for me. It's at about six K now, and I'm only just at the first kiss. I shall hack and slice at it later.

Had a SARA meeting on the third Wednesday of July, this time we spoke about online presence. It was all quite interesting, especially the bit about buying dot coms. Mmmmm.... To my neverending (for a few moments, anyway) shame, I didn't make my 6k goal for that meeting--only four--but I am well on the way to getting four for the next meeting. In my defence, a rogue Palm Cove holiday presented itself, so I lost a week or two whilst enjoying that.

Lots of SARA ladies are fired up about the RWA Conference. Have a great time!

Been reading. Gobbled up a few Showalters recently. THE PLEASURE SLAVE and THE STONE PRINCE. Not my fave GS, but seriously good, nonetheless.

I've just recently re-discovered podcasts, too. I was listening to one today, whilst pruning my roses (read: spliter torture at home). I think I like them, I had the Harlequin Nocturne one, plus Smart Bitch Sarah and Jane from Dear Author. Do you listen to industry-related podcasts? Any comments/recommendations? Thanks. :)

On a completely personal and possibly slightly self-congratulatory note, I also hit a weightloss goal this week. Not quite half way through that journey. I've rewarded myself with Chamilia bling. Purrrty. :)

Oh, and I got an iPad, from which I am posting. Works well, doesn't it?

Stoopidness and Mountains.

Life has been zipping past at warp speed lately--the most noticeable thing is that since we hit winter (seven days ago) it's sodding freezing here.  I am currently wrapped in a doona.

I downloaded some eBooks this week.  The May Nocturne Bites, Michele Hauf's HALO HUNTER and Mel Teshco's ICE-COLD LOVER, which is the second book in the Winged and Dangerous series.  I reviewed Mel's Bites HER DARK LORD a while back, and am really looking forward to this new release.  If I can stop looking at the cover.  How pretty is it?

I'm currently fiddling with MkIV edits of DARK SIREN.  I swear, I get dafter with each pass, but I am pushing through.  It's times like this I feel like a just started this writing caper last week, not nine years ago.  So much to learn!

Anna and Rach have been absolute GEMS when it comes to critiquing for me, if I've gotten any better as a writer over the last year, the credit has to be mostly theirs.  

I love having two CP's--lots of the time, they pick up on the same things, which are must-fixes.  But every now and then, and especially now that we're into small niggles with the WIP, they disagree, which I find fascinating.  It's a reminder that you don't have to please everybody (and really, it's an unrealistic expectation), but if you just happen to appeal to the editor you're targeting, you're in your way. 

I've been looking over motivational writing stuff this last week during a particularly bad "I'm sooo STOOPID!" stretch, looking for something, and I re-visited Chiron O'Keefe's motivational/inspirational blog.  Anna had pointed Rach and me to this last time we had a dull spot *hehe*, and I think Chiron is quite wonderful.  I thought this bit was about me at the moment:

Here's the thing. Published writers don't have a special key to unlock the doorway to success. They simply knocked longer and harder until someone opened the gosh-darn door and let them in.

Another thing to consider… The journey is damn important. I know the thought of being published is the dangling carrot that keeps our mulish self plodding forward, one page at a time. But I believe writing is more than a means to an end. I believe writing is an act of self-discovery. Each page you write is a testament to your strength, your courage and your perseverance.

"Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance." –Samuel Johnson

While much credence is given to those who can do everything from Dance With The Stars to Surviving on Creepy, Crawly Bugs in this Reality-Show driven decade, few of those characters could ever accomplish what we do. We Write Books. This is our mountain. Every time we complete another novel, we are planting a flag. Visualize those flags fluttering in the breeze and feel a tingle of pride because We Are Writers. Damn, but we're lucky.

"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." ~Sir Edmund Hillary 

Thus, I pick up Captain Pink and I keep going.  I feel lucky because I KNOW I'm learning and getting better.  I can see that myself.  It keeps me going, because at some point, I am going to have learned enough to write something that an editor wants to publish.

I PROMISE MYSELF THAT.  

And I promise Rach and Anna, because they've done the hard yards with me.  It's funny, but in ways, I keep going because I don't want to let them down after they've ploughed through at least three of my WIPs.  And ploughed is the word.  Or trudged.  Hacked with razor-sharp machetes?  

So, how's the mountain-conquering going for you?

If you write, what do you do when you get stuck/morbid?  What works to keep you scaling that mountain?  

Take care, Em x

How do you deal with your Inner Editor?

I wanted to call her the Inner B*tch, but I was being ladylike...

One of my gorgeous CP's  - Anna Hackett - has got a great post on her blog about how she deals with her Inner Critic.  I was delighted to read that even the published authors are dogged by little voices in their heads, spouting esteem-destroying nonsense.  

Go and see if what she says resounds for you.

Take care, Em x

PS - I'm hoping you haven't dropped by to see how my Bites pitch effort went.  Erm, it didn't.  I was a bit behind anyway, and life got in the way.  I had a fabulous blurb, but didn't want to send in a sub-standard story.  I'll finish it up and send it in via the usual channels...

A Review - "Savage Dragon" Anna Hackett - Silhouette Nocturne Bites 2009

The wait is over.

Anna Hackett's debut novella is SELLING NOW.

I think I was the second person, like, IN THE WORLD to buy this eBook presale. *Famous*

I read it and I loved it. And not just because Anna is my writing friend. The idea of a critique partner/group is to let you know if your work is sucky. It's our job. We will also tell you which parts of your work, well...work.

This latter part applies to all of SAVAGE DRAGON. I didn't read it before buying it - I have read Anna's work since. She submitted this one before we 'met'.

Here's the blurb:

Description
They call him the Savage Dragon: Rordan Sarkany, knight of the Order of the Dragon, charged with tracking and destroying those who let their dragon blood turn them into beasts. In the wilds of Hungary, Rordan hunts one such creature—along with fellow warrior Kira Bethlen.
Both Rordan and his inner dragon desire Kira...and she can't resist Rordan's dangerous allure. But even if she succumbs to their attraction, can she ever forgive him for slaying her beloved brother?

They say this at eHQN:

If you like this book, then you'll love...
The Vision by Heather Graham
Raintree by Linda Howard
Enchantment & Bridge of Dreams by Christina Skye

Not a bad list, eh? I know that Howard is one of Anna's faves. Must be a great feeling to be compared to one of your must-reads.

My take:

Rordan and Kira are tracking the same wild - a person with dragon blood who has turned, and lost most of their humanity. They are both Knights of the Order of the Dragon , and have a history, but ever since Rordan killed Kira's wild brother, she won't forgive him. So - the fight's on. And not only the fight to take down this new wild - but they're both fighting their rekindled attraction...

She'd thought her brother could be saved - Rordan knows he was too far gone. They agree to find the wild together - so long as they stay out of each other's way.

When they are trapped by the rogue dragon inside it's rockface lair, they both come to realise that they might have been wrong. Rordan starts to wonder if perhaps wilds can be saved, and Kira, hurt in the fight, realises that the wilds are not going to return to their original form.

Rordan is crushed under a rockfall, and... I'm stopping there!

Suffice it to say, there is some VHS (Very Hot Sex), while they are trapped alone in a cave.

Anna has a beautifully consistent writing style and voice - the temperate, even flow of her stories makes for strong, kick-ass heroines and equally appealing, self-aware men. There are no low-points, she carries the movement of the piece right through to the end.

Her world building is complex and well-researched, and she thinks of everything. Conflict, background, emotion - it's all there. Not once are we left wondering about character motivation.

So. You need to go out and get yourself this book.

Start a collection, because there WILL be more Hackett to come...

The first novella (one I have read... yay, me! I loved her hero in it) of her WindKeepers Series - WIND KISSED, FIRE BOUND, comes out in September for Nocturne Bites. The second WindKeeper story will be released in October and is called TAKEN BY THE SOUTH WIND, (Again, great hero, and excellent story) has recently been given the go-ahead. And the winds come from the four corners of the earth, so you'd imagine there's windy weather ahead.... :)

Here are the links you'll need to start your Hackett online shrine (like mine - hee):

Anna's website
Anna's Blog, Midnight Confessions
The link to eHarlequin, where you can buy SAVAGE DRAGON

Go on, get at the forefront of the wave for this exciting new paranormal romance author. If I run my hands over my crystal ball - I can see great things in the future of Anna Hackett...

E x

On Presale@HQ - Anna Hackett's debut "Savage Dragon" - Silhouette Nocturne Bites

Excitement factor is hitting warp-speed here at the laptop.

Anna Hackett's Bites - 'Savage Dragon' is out on pre-sale.

I've read some of Anna's work - and it rocks.

She writes fabulous, solid stories in excellent worlds, with sexy, strong heroines and dead-yummy heroes to die for.

But I haven't read 'Savage Dragon' and I really want to. I've bought it pre-sale at the eHarlequin eBook store because I want to get it as soon as I can... Then I'll go buy it at eReader for the iphone. Chill, E. Only a few more sleeps... :)

Here's a taster...

They call him the Savage Dragon: Rordan Sarkany, knight of the Order of the Dragon, charged with tracking and destroying those who let their dragon blood turn them into beasts. In the wilds of Hungary, Rordan hunts one such creature—along with fellow warrior Kira Bethlen.
Both Rordan and his inner dragon desire Kira...and she can't resist Rordan's dangerous allure. But even if she succumbs to their attraction, can she ever forgive him for slaying her beloved brother?

Buy it here. Check Anna's webbie, or her blog. The blog is great - sometimes you see elove there!

Keep an eye out for Anna's 'WindKeeper' series - coming in September...

Whipping up the WIP...

I love Anna Hackett.

And not because she writes very excellent stories (I have read the draft of one, and it rockED. Y'all get to buy one in July - 'Savage Dragon' ).

But because she is a very excellent CP. I can feel a girl crush coming on... .

I had come to a standstill on my Bites WIP.

I hated something, lost enthusiasm and fell into a dirty great mud-filled rut with big spikes in the bottom, like a tiger pit.

Anna made a few suggestions based on my blurb and a shaky synopsis - saw things I didn't/forgot to/was ignoring. I bounced an idea or two off her - and voila! WIP back on track...

So, thanks Anna. You are a rock chick.

What are your experiences with CP's?

GTG and write... E x

elove whispers, "I sent it in."

OH MY GAWD!
Pour me a drink, I did it.
I send that manuscript in.
Egad, who ever would have thought it would take me such a long time. I have got to learn to do this better, because I can't spare the time not to.

Oh, and my poor little ms. I bludgeoned it. Not to death - in fact, it looks better - but I ripped the original piece limb from limb. Already, I think I'm a better writer for it. Lordy, I hope so.

I am sorry to my three CP's (Rach, Neoindra, Anna Hackett - "Savage Dragon' debut coming out for Nocturne Bites in July - yay!), who had to read the piffle that was my ms a few months ago. I resolve, here and now, to make it better for you next time *g*.

I cannot WAIT to get into project three - two is on the backburner, because I'm just too dang excited about three - I want to pitch this one online in a month.

Hubba hubby says I have to go to bed. Herbert Hooper the Party Pooper.

E x

((Neo)) - Don't. Keep at it...

Quite happy with being flayed alive...

I got my ms back last night from Anna (Anna Hackett - new Author for Nocturne Bites - coming out soon...). Thanks Anna!

I thought it was pretty tight, and I was sending it to her to just polish a bit - check it would be okay for subbing to Bites.

Lordy me, it sucks!

Before anyone jumps up and says, "Keep at it, Tiger!", I agree wholeheartedly with Anna. There were repeated bits in there that I should have culled out aaaeeeges ago. Am a bit shirty at myself that I didn't find them and save her some work, but I have some difficulty getting distance from my work. It's happened before...

I am actually very happy with her wielding the whip. She put a while new light on my ms. I am jibbering with excitment as I start going through and making changes.

One of the things she said is that I use ! too much. What?! Really!

I talk like that, too!

I've said it before at eHarl, I love my CP's. They do fabulous work.

So, for Anna, Rach and Neo, kisses all round.