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Fireworks for tomorrow night at David Drake's house
I know I said that I wasn't going to blog today, but author friend Mark Van Name posted some pics on his blog this morning that I just had to share. Tomorrow night around 8:30 the cookout & eating portion of the 4th of July party at David & Jo Drake's will have concluded and the fireworks will begin. Dave & Mark do this up right every year. We're talking $2,000 worth of brightly colored combustibles. Mark posted photos of the pretty explosives in their crates. Dang, but that's a lot of boom! I'll see if we can get some photos to post. BTW -- the horseback riding photos from the beach only partially came out -- only the photo of Derek on his horse came out. I'll post it soon. You'll be glad to know that the plot/ideas/scene/dialog for Raine Benares books #5 and 6 are coming fast and furious, and I'm on track to have the synops written and to Kristin my agent for review/suggestions by the end of the month. The moment I send them off to Kristin, I start writing Book 5. BTW -- I've chosen the winners of the CafePress t-shirt design contest as of yesterday. I gave my designer the slogans I wanted and told her to let her creativity run free. I'll be meeting with her next week to discuss ideas so she can get started. I'll post the winning entries (and those who suggested them) on Monday. Prizes will be given. : ) Have a great holiday weekend for those of you in the U.S., and a great weekend to everyone else! Lisa
Book 5 synopsis writing progress
Well, yesterday I whittled down my book notes file substantially from almost 300 pages, to just over 100 pages. Apparently I had quite a few scenes in there twice and even three times. Yep, I'm obsessive about losing things I've written. Hey, better paranoid than pageless. I've taken out the duplicate scenes, read through the remaining 104 pages, and plot elements for the next book have started jumping out at me and I've written those down in bullet form. These are the things that I think will go into Book 5. There are about ten bullet points, which isn't unmanagable at all. As of yesterday, I now know how Chapter 1 starts, ends, and what the "big boom" is that happens during it. Yea, me! Now I've just got to weave all those bullet points together into a coherent plot. (snort) Wish me luck on that. Here's a really fun review of The Trouble with Demons over at Romance Reviews Today. Enjoy! Since I'm trying to get those synopses started for the next two Raine books (and get another book contract), I won't be blogging tomorrow or Saturday. It's also a holiday weekend here in the U.S. Saturday is Independence Day, and most companies (including mine) are closed tomorrow. Other than writing, my big task tomorrow is to wash my Jeep. I've had it for five years, and I think I've washed it three times. Derek gives me a hard time about my dirty Jeep, but hey, it's a Jeep. Dirty is it's natural state of being. Nothing says "art" like a good spray of mud down the side. In my opinion, mud covered is the sign of a happy Jeep. BUT, I bought a cool bumper sticker at the Outer Banks this weekend and I need to remove the dirt so it'll stick. So Jeep, here comes bath number four. Don't worry, I'll work fast and you won't feel a thing -- and you'll get a new bumper sticker that says "Outer Banks" with an uber cool pirate skull & crossed cutlasses. You'll love it, I promise. Saturday afternoon/evening, Derek & I will be out at David & Jo Drake's place for a cookout and fireworks extravanganza. Dave is a danged near legendary SciFi/Fantasy author and an all-round great & cool guy. We're looking forward to the burgers and kabooms. Lisa
Research books -- informative AND tax deductible
I bought another book last night to add to my research library: The Great Game: The Myths and Reality of Espionage by Frederick P. Hitz. It was recommeded by Tod Goldberg in his most recent Burn Notice novel, The End Game. (I love that TV series, and so do a lot of my other author friends. It's definitely worth checking out, and so are the books.) Goldberg's first Burn Notice novel is The Fix. The Great Game was one of Goldberg's favorite reference books. Since I'm dealing a lot now with goblin and elven intelligence agencies and their spies, I thought it was a must have. And a book that's always a winner if you're dealing with intrigue (and the goblin or elven royal courts): Book of Poisons: A Guide for Writers, by Serita Stevens and Anne Bannon. I like how they added "A Guide for Writers" to the title; it makes my reading material choice less frightening for the bookseller when I take it to the checkout. ; ) And the best thing about these books (besides just being fun to read) is that as research books, they're tax deductible for writers. Do you have any favorite research books connected with your writing? If so, what are they? Lisa
Getting started on the next Raine books -- what's next
Yesterday I began the first step in writing synposes for the next two Raine books to get another book contract -- reading through the nearly 300 pages (mostly single-spaced) of notes that I've accumulated over the years. What I'm doing now is reading, deleting stuff that I used in Bewitched & Betrayed, and if a scene strikes my fancy, I make notes to myself as to why I like that particular scene or how I see it being used. As I read through it this week, the bits and pieces that I really like will start to come together to form a loose plot. (At least that's the plan.) Once that happens, I'll open two new Word documents -- one entitled Book 5 and the other Book 6 (I don't have any titles yet) -- and I'll copy and paste the ideas/scenes/dialogue that I think I'll use into each file. This is Step 1 and it'll take me the rest of this week and probably into next week. Though I already know how Book 5 starts and have most of the scene in my head. Since getting that first chapter started can be the tough -- and you can't write the rest of the book until you have a beginning -- it's a relief to me that the beginning of Book 5 has come to me before I even have a full plot for the thing. Though I do have an idea as to what happens in Book 5 and 6 and how both end, also a nice thing to have. Once I have those two Word documents filled with ideas/scenes/dialogue for each book, I'll start writing the two plot synopses. Once I've gotten those written as tightly as possible and I know it's as good as I can get it, I'll send it off to Kristin my agent for her feedback. Then I'll make any necessary alterations and send it back to Kristin. Once the two synops are polished to our satisfaction, Kristin will send them to Anne, my editor at Ace Books. Then the acquisition/offer/negotiation process begins. My goal is to have the two synops finished and to Kristin by the end of July, sooner if possible. That gives me one month to plot Raine & Company's lives for the next two adventures. Wish me luck -- that's a tight schedule. That being said, all of that will get pushed to the back burner once Anne and Kristin get their feedback to me on edits needed to Bewitched & Betrayed. I'll have to stop what I'm doing with Books 5 & 6 and concentrate on getting those edits done. BTW -- I've selected the winners of the CafePress t-shirt contest, and I'll be posting the winners within the next few days. And Derek is having the horseback riding on the beach photos developed today, so I'll be posting those soon. Have a great one! Lisa
Back home from the beach
Well, we're back from the beach, and if you've never experienced North Carolina's Outer Banks, I have just one word for you -- "Go!" We went to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and it is absolutely, pristinely gorgeous. Derek took all of the following photos, and they're just a tiny sample. We took pics of the horseback ride and a walk on the beach with a disposable camera (we didn't want to risk Derek's nice digital camera). We'll have those developed in the next day or so and then I'll post them -- along with some cool stories. We don't have any pics of our couple's massage --yeah, yeah, I know how disappointed you must be. ; ) We went to Spa Koru which was in Avon on Hatteras Island. Ladies, if you're ever there, all I have to say is ask for Joshua. You will not be disappointed. And gentlemen, Derek was very pleased with his massage therapist, Jamie. This was the most fabulous, wonderful, and relaxing massage I've ever had -- and ditto for Derek. Now to the photos (click on any of them to see a larger version):  The view of the Atlantic Ocean from our porch.  A very happy & relaxed author on the porch. The water was incredibly blue, and the beach wasn't crowded. Very nice.  The view to the right of our room/porch.  The corner of our deck was this little guy's favorite perch.  The view to the left of our room. Note the little guy sitting there all cute & sweet, so I tossed him a small pretzel, and within a few seconds . . .  . . .our railing looked like the school playground scene from Hitchcock's The Birds. Fortunately I love birds, so I just went inside and got more pretzels.  The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest in the U.S., and from what I understand, climbing to the top is the equivalent of walking to the top of a 12-story building -- 268 steps of sheer, lung-rasping agony. Dang, but I've got to spend more time on the treadmill. Though my problem was that I should have let Derek take the lead -- I always set too fast of a pace, and I paid for it this time. It didn't help matters any that it was over 90 degrees outside of the lighthouse. The humidity . . . well, if you've ever been in the southern U.S. in the middle of summer, being able to sprout gills would make it a lot easier to breathe. My bottle of water (and stops every 50 steps or so to gasp & wheeze) got me to the top. Spectacular view!  This is the original lighthouse keeper's residence. I believe the lighthouse was built in 1803.  The base and entrance to the lighthouse.  The view from the top: the actual Cape Hatteras in the distance.  4-wheel-drive Jeeps, SUVs, and trucks parked along the beach. People come from all over to fish from the beach at the cape.  The view from the lighthouse back toward Buxton, where we were staying.  Derek's vertigo-inducing view up the center of the lighthouse staircase.  A full shot of the lighthouse from the beach.  On the drive back from the lighthouse, Derek took a great shot of dozens of turtles in a marsh next to the road.  A heron in the center of the marsh.  On the south end of Hatteras Island is Hatteras Village. Here are a few of the houses along the sound, with a lovely bridge through the marsh.  A close-up of one of the houses. Most of the homes are available for rental.  I LOVED this one! In the next day or so, I'll post photos of our incredibly fun horseback ride with the wonderful ladies at Equine Adventures and our REALLY close encounter with some deer while on our ride. And our walk on the beach that evening and getting up close & personal with a creature you wouldn't expect to find on a beach. Lisa
Happy 2nd Birthday to my blog!
 Today is the second birthday of my blog. It's at nearly 600 posts and going strong. We'll be leaving this morning for the Outer Banks of North Carolina -- our first beach vacation in nearly three years. There is no Internet access where we're going, so I'll be on "radio silence" from this morning until Sunday evening. I hope to post some photos on Monday from our trip, but it may be later in the week. Also on Monday, my writing break is officially over and I start writing synopses for the next couple of Raine Benares books to get another contract. : ) In the meantime, pop over to A Jedi's Musings to read an interview that I just did. Thank you, Ruthie, for inviting me over to your blog! See you all when I get back! Lisa
Book signing photos & more
As promised, here are a few photos from last night's signing/panel discussion at the Cary, NC, Barnes & Noble. As always, we had a wonderful time! Thank you to Linda Maloof and her fabulous staff (Hi Buck & Butch!) for hosting us again! We'll definitely be doing it again.   From left to right: David Drake, Mark Van Name, James Maxey, and moi -- yep, I have really short hair now.  Mark answering a question as Dave looks on. Linda (the B&N Community Relations Manager (aka CRM) had us using a mic. A first for me.  Mark and James Maxey.  And you know I had to get my shot with the sound system.  Derek -- my hubby, manager, and delectable arm candy. Photo courtesy of Amy Griswold, one of our fencing coaches. (Derek took all of the other photos.)
 Part of our audience. We had about 40 in attendance. A very nice crowd, who asked some great questions. You can contribute to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by clicking here. This will take you to James's personal fundraising page; just click the button that says "Support James." Then, to get your signed copy of Dragonseed, just email him your mailing address to nobodynovelwriter@yahoo.com. He's set aside 50 copies for this cause; if he gives them all away by the end of July, he's pretty sure he can get his hands on another 50.
I lost my mother to breast cancer 28 years ago before there was anything remotely resembling a cure. I've already made my donation to James's fundraising effort through this wonderful organization and James brought my signed copy of Dragonseed to the book signing last night.
The Susan Komen Foundation is an incredible organization, and for a donation of any amount, you can get a free signed copy of James's latest book -- a win/win for everyone -- especially the search for a cure!
Lisa
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