Seressia Glass: Blog Me

Seressia July 2nd, 2008

My brain is actually feeling like a string of poppers right now, ideas popping up all over the place.  And the GREAT ATTEMPT TO MOVE UP continues…

I managed to squeak three more pages out on RODE HARD during lunch and some story tightening.  Jackie will be so pleased.
Now break out your flowcharts, cause I’m about to “talk” in code:

We’ve hit the five week mark on UNSOLD CONTEMPORARY PROJECT #1, still sitting at Avon.  I also did two more pages and some perfecting on UNSOLD CONTEMPORARY PROJECT #2, polishing the proposal (synopsis and first three chapters.) That’s also about the length of time that UCP#2 has been with Agent #1.  I emailed a query letter of UCP#2 to Agent #2 on Monday, whom I’ve contacted before with something else.  I heard back from her Tuesday.  She’s not looking for a project like this right now, but referred me to Agent #3.  (HOW %$#@! COOL IS THAT?)  So I emailed Agent #3 shortly thereafter after checking out the company’s website (most awesome sales record.)  Hopefully she’ll ask to see the proposal.

Another thing I did this past month was join PASIC, the Published Authors Special Interest Chapter of RWA.  So far, I’m enjoying my membership.  They are a very active group and full of information.  And they have industry chats, including one on Monday night with an agent, we’ll call her #4.  I talked to Agent #4 about the MC genre, and her agency is looking for international and multicultural voices.  I think I can qualify.  So after the holiday, I’ll send UCP#2 to her.

What, you thought all I was doing was writing on 4 projects at once?  Silly rabbit.

I’m driving down to West Palm tomorrow to hang with some friends of mine, and then I’ll start a new method of writing, called “The Anywhere but Home” method.

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Seressia June 30th, 2008

So the weekend wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped it would be, which is why I’m still sitting in my office, working on fiction. In fact, the next three nights will probably find me doing this.  I have no idea why I seem to work better here than in my own home, but it certainly doesn’t bode well for the whole dream of writing fiction full time does it? I mean, do you think they’d let me lease my desk after I quit?  Sure they will.

While I didn’t get a spectacular load of pages completed, I did send out two queries today, one to an editor and one to an agent, for two separate projects.  Query letters only at this point, though formal proposals are ready to be sent.  No, that’s pretty much all you’re getting from me.  I don’t want to jinx myself.

One agent that was on my list was someone I’d had a face to face with last year.  Here’s a tip, children: don’t procrastinate.  I let life and holidays and other crap get in the way of sending the requested submission in, and now she’s left the agency.  I’m happy for her, but it’s teh suckage for me.  Sure, she’s gone off and gotten hitched to a gorgeous romance-hero sort of guy with lots of money who gives her fireworks (okay, that’s all conjecture on my part) but what about me?

On the bright side, if I’d signed with her and she’d called to tell me she was leaving, I’d be far from calm right about now.

The writer’s life, it is like a road maintained by the city,a little bumpy, a little rough, with happy surprised spots of smoothness.

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Seressia June 19th, 2008

While I was away at Book Expo, Monica Jackson posted a wonderful post over at Blogging in Black (where I’m posting something less controversial on Friday) in which she asks:

My question why finding books by black authors in one place is more important than the principle a generation once struggled to achieve?  

She asks a great many more questions that I think are definitely worth a read.  So please click through.

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Seressia June 17th, 2008

Isn’t this look into the mind of a writer fascinating?  Not.

Must remember to order a real Mojito at dinner Wednesday.

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Seressia June 17th, 2008

Tuesday, I got six pages done.  On the wrong story.  It’s a side project that I’m hoping will be my first New York sale, so it needed to get done, but still…

Wednesday will be a low production day as I’m going out for lunch and typically meet with a writer friend for dinner as well.  I may have to break out the paper notebook.  I’m going to hope to have three pages before my midnight turn-in.

Shoulda bought a lottery ticket today.

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Seressia June 16th, 2008

I finished my script (yea for me) got handed something else but provided enough counter-argument to table it for a bit.  So the day job was very productive.  Sorta worked through part of lunch (note to self: wear noticeably large airplane-tech headphones during lunch) and had to get groceries, so the total today was only 5 pages.

Five pages more than I had though, and they are smokin’ hot pages too.

Tuesday’s goal is five pages, which may or may not include writing a synopsis apiece for RODE HARD and the upcoming THE SHARPEST EDGE.  Yeah, pantsing sucks.  Even though I live in my head 90% of the time and have the story in my head, it helps to also to have stuff written down (and printed out) to refer back to.  Especially given that I won’t be able to sequester myself this weekend, because I’ll be in Virgina with the fabulous Bridget Midway.

Now off to bed.

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Seressia June 16th, 2008

Here’s the new cover for the mass market release of my third book, Three Wishes, which will be out the first week of October:

Other than the fact that the guy doesn’t look like he’s old enough to have a seven year-old daughter or be a surgeon, I like the cover well enough.

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Seressia June 16th, 2008

Mercury is still retrograde for three more days, and I am a Gemini and I always feel it.  Nothing else explains how carrying my laptop from the cabin porch to my bed somehow turned the screen upside down.  I mean up was down and left was right and I was trying not to freak out.  I managed to correct it, but I took that as a sign to just enjoy my vacation and hit the ground running on the 16th.

So I’m home and the 16th is here.  Here’s my plan for today:  At work, I have a script to complete for a training video I am working on.  Day job stuff, of course, it completely outlined.  I do intend one day to apply some of those tools to writing but I need a break in due dates to make that work, and hopefully can put into some sort of templates that I can hand out in workshops.

Lunchtime is used for writing.  I allow myself one lunch break out of the office a week.  It’s when my friend Lynne and I go for Mexican and talk…writing.  Every other day, I’m at my desk with my sack lunch or carry-up from the cafe downstairs.  I am usually quite productive during that hour.

Stay at work until I finish the script (hopefully it will be complete during regulation hours).  Then spend a couple of hours at my desk with the laptop, working on one of my writing projects.  Come home and read email while watching Friday’s recorded Dr. Who, and the Adult Swim lineup from Saturday.
Hopeful time to leave work: 8 PM. Hopeful fiction pages created: 5-10.  Will update on Tuesday’s post.

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Seressia June 15th, 2008

I’m back from vacation, my week in the woods time to reflect.  I’ll be undergoing a re-direct of sorts, nothing too drastic.  But the blog may go away.  Or it may change into a writing process type of blog, if anyone is interested in the excruciating minutiae of how I forge my stories.  At the very least, this may serve as a guide to how not to get your stories done.
Right now, I am juggling three stories.  One is a novella due in just over a week.  Another is a short due in July, and another is a novella that hasn’t been started yet.

I should mention that I also have a full time career, in which I…write.

This is why my tagline for my weblog was “A blog a day means I’m not writing!” 

We’ll see how it goes.  It may go nowhere.  It may just be fodder.  And we may find something useful.

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Seressia June 1st, 2008

I’m propped up on pillows in Jackie Hamilton’s room, after soaking my poor tired pups in a whirlpool footbath for the past half hour. There is a margarita flavored wine cooler in the very near future, but I wanted to share a few tidbits with you:

Day 2:
Passed within touching distance of Slash. So wanted to go up and part his hair or steal his hat, but I’m a (mostly) good girl. Still very cool to see him though. Also spotted in the South Hall with the big dogs was Stephen Baldwin signing his Christian fiction book.

Passed out s many free books and gabbed with so many readers, librarians and booksellers. Fell asleep in the car ride back from BEA, but perked right up when we pulled into Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ place in Rancho Cucamonga (I just like saying that name) in the Victoria Gardens outdoor shopping mall.

It was my first time having kobe beef, and let me tell you, it lives up to the hype. It’s the most tender beef I’ve ever had. I wish they’d put one of these in Buckhead or Alpharetta, but alas they are only in CA right now. I was so tired when we finally got home that I tried to get five pages done but fell asleep at my keyboard.

Day 3:
I was in depserate need of coffee by the time we rolled into the convention center. The Starbuck’s gate was still down (and this after they closed at 3 yesterday even though the convention ran until 5 pm.) Luckily Stephanie Meyer bought coffee–all I had to do was walk around with a Twilight cup in my hand. Hey, give me a mocha and you’re on!

Was pretty much in the Parker Publishing booth all day, with occasional forays to the outside world. Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear did walk by our booth on the way to his signing, so that was my celebrity spottage for the day. Talked to several more people and got to hang with fellow writers Lena Matthews, Kelley Nyrae, JM Jeffries, Javan Shepard. Tonight was mainly about recapping the day and soaking my tootsies while getting my five pages done. Guess which one was the hardest?

Tomorrow is only a half-day for me, as I need to get to the airport by 2 PM. This has been an overwhelming experience, but I sure do miss my bed.

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