Just Found This

Twitter told me this morning that it's Rachel Morgan's birthday, so I wanted to send her a card.

(And yes, she is a fictional character. What are you saying about my mental stability?)

So a quick google search sent me to this website, HashLove.com. Has anyone else been there? It's pretty cool. There's not a tonne of different cards to choose from, and I'd love some more control on the design (though that might just be the designer in me) but it sounds like they're fairly new. And the options they do have are varied enough that I'm sure you can find a card suitable for whoever your recipient is.

Anyway, it let's you pick a card, add a message, and choose your twitter recipient. It adds a post to your timeline saying who you sent the card to, what your message is, and adds a link to the page to go view it. Like I said, it's pretty cool.

This is the card I sent to "Rachel"...

Anyway, that was my early morning discovery. Hope Friday is good to you all.

S.

Hey, look!

A whole week went by and I didn't really notice. Hm.

Nothing got done this week. Well, not much. I was sick, the playoffs are on, and my garden needed some serious attention. Plus, I picked up and re-read Veronica Roth's Divergent, since the sequel comes out this week.

Hopefully this week will be more productive. I'm feeling better, the playoffs are in round two (meaning less games...) and it's supposed to rain all week, so no gardening.

Happy writing out there!

Good Reads: Game of Thrones

There isn't much praise or complaint I can make about the Song of Ice and Fire series which hasn't already been said. To simplify, it's really good.

Not much, I know. If you're a Tolkien fan, read it. It's not quite the same thing but there's a good chance you'll like it. And if you think stories that include dragons, wargs and magic aren't really your thing, give this a try anyways. It's not high fantasy in the traditional sense. The fantastical elements always seem to be in the background, being part of the world, but the story is all about the characters and their lives.

And lots of war. Death n destruction a plenty.

Like so many others, I picked up a copy of Game of Thrones after watching the show. If you enjoyed the HBO version, you'll like the book. GRR Martin has been involved with the writing and production of the show, which is probably part of the reason is follows his storyline so perfectly.

A bonus: one of the complaints I've heard about the book is the difficulty in keeping track of the many characters, their viewpoints and their storylines. If you think that's a problem, watch the show first. Once you have a face and personality to match to the character, keeping them clear while you read is no problem at all.

Happy reading!

Good Reads: Cast in Ruin

A good read is such an evil thing.

I took yesterday off work for two reasons: to clean my house and to write. House cleaning happened, which was good, because I started first thing in the morning. Then I stepped out onto the deck to run a quick errand and BAM! there was a book in my mailbox.

Michelle Sagara's CAST IN RUIN had finally arrived! So I devoured it. That was just barely afternoon, and I then proceeded to lose my entire afternoon and evening to reading. I'm not sure I put the book down once until I finished it, ten hours later.

But damn, it was worth it. If you haven't checked out the Cast series, do it now. The characters are beautiful, the humour frequently makes me laugh out loud (much to Husband's annoyance), and the fantasy world is so well developed it should serve as a lesson point for all little fantasy writers like myself.

If you're already well into the series, you'll love this one. Kailyn learns and grows magically (which usually happens) but this time around she also matures somewhat in terms of the men in her life, and has a bit of an epiphany in terms of growing up in general. And while this book answers a whole lotta questions about the Dragon Court and the Empire, it opens up a plethora of new mysteries. The egg? Bellusdeo? There wasn't enough Nightshade for my liking, but I'm sure we'll see plenty of him in the next installment, CAST IN PERIL, since they're heading to the West March—ostensibly together.

Because I read the thing so damn fast, I'm going to go back and re-read. Maybe at a sane person's pace. But once I've done the re-read... let the countdown to PERIL begin!!

Good Reads: The Hunger Games

I know, I know. That I'm only just getting around to reading The Hunger Games is pretty bad. I've heard so many good things about it, and it's been on my reading list forever—but then, my reading list is only about three miles long...

But I have finally read it, and I can tell why it came so highly recommended... It was great!

I would say Dystopian isn't normally my thing, but really, Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of my favourite novels ever. I love Atwood's Handsmaid's Tale and Lowry's The Giver. I finished Veronica Roth's Divergent just a few weeks ago and I'm already impatient for the next installment, Insurgent. Maybe it's time to add some more Dystopian titles to my already-too-extensive reading list... 

Including the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy!

I found it a bit harder to connect with Katniss than, say, Tris, but I loved the premise. Collins' world is so well-built and the pace was perfect—a great balance of story-telling and action. I read it in one go, six hours straight, finally putting it down at four this morning... yikes! Good thing it's the weekend.

So, any other great new Dystopian novels to recommend for my list?

Unexpected Side Effect

My throat is sore. My voice is all raspy and low. Why?

Copy editing.

The story is written. I've edited the plot and structure four or five times, until I'm perfectly happy with the result. I've given the draft a few months of shelf time so the writing and ideas could percolate in peace. I've triple-checked continuity, built a solid world around Deyl, and I've scrapped every useless datadump and every sequence that slowed down the plot.

All that's left is what I'm doing now: the copy edit.

I find (and I've heard other writers say the same thing) that reading the story out loud really helps ensure the words flow smoothly across the page. It's definitely working (IMHO) but unfortunately reading aloud all day means MY THROAT HURTS!

And that's my complaint for the day. I'm more than halfway through the novel so I'm still on track for getting this edit done by Tuesday. Yay!

Oh, and I just saw today the casting post for the Hollywood version of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Then I saw the release date for the movie: 2012. Damn. I wish I was a more patient person. This wait is going to be brutal.

Off to read for a few hours... night all!

Sunshine, Vodka Coolers & Writing. Happy.

First, I was going to comment on how lovely it was to work on my final copy edit outside in the gazebo, under a brilliant blue sky with temperatures well above 20°C.

Then I looked back and realized how much, between here and twitter, I comment on the weather.

Is that a bad thing? Maybe. Boring? Probably. But I can't help it. You see, I'm Canadian. We talk about the weather. It's just what we do—a lot. 

So moving on. The copy edit is going really well, and really fast. I'm hoping to have it done before Tuesday, so that I can take the evening off and stay up all night reading PASSION by Lauren Kate. Let's face it: I'm going to do that anyway, thus it would be nice to have I HAD TO FALL all wrapped up so I can do the final spell check and formatting before I get lost in a new book.

On a side note, I've also made a lot of progress with my German lessons. I should be done Level II before I go on holidays at the end of July. I only wish I actually knew someone here who speaks German, because I could really use the practice. Maybe I should just book a flight to Deutschland... Ha, I wish.

And as for you New Yorkers sweating it out at 99°F (about 37°C) let me only add: I'm jealous.

Fine Tooth Comb

That's where my re-write for I HAD TO FALL is at: word-by-painstaking-word editing. Double-checking (or am I now at triple- or quadruple-checking? hm.) every paragraph, sentence and word to make sure that it reads with a nice, smooth flow. I hate being jarred by awkward sentences or poor word selection when I'm reading, so I'm being extra picky at this stage.

Though, being able to work outside under the sun makes it much more enjoyable...

It's slow going, but the end is so close I can taste it. After just over a year of outlining, writing, editing, resting, re-editing and copy editing... I'm excited!

But I gotta hit the pillow right away here. I know, I know... sleep is for the weak. Unfortunately, I stayed up until about 3AM last night (this morning? ugh.) finishing TORMENT by Lauren Kate. Getting ready for her new release next week. So I'm only running on a couple hours of ZZZs. And feeling it.

Night all!

Winnipeg Jets?!?!

Ha, bloody brilliant! It's official - Winnipeg has an NHL hockey team once again! Not that I live close enough to go see any games there anymore... but exciting nonetheless. I was devastated when the Jets left. Especially since I was too young to have really appreciated them like I should have... I think I was ten or something. Heh.

Also very excited to find out that Rammstein is planning another North American tour for next year, after their success with the last tour. I'm totally going to go see them again. The concert in Edmonton a couple weeks ago was probably the best stage show I've ever seen, and definitely one of my top five concerts of all time. Ticket prices weren't even that bad.

You may also notice that I've added a countdown widget for Lisa Desrochers' ORIGINAL SIN, the next book in her Personal Demons series. It's there partly for a contest on her blog to win an ARC copy. I would pretty much kill a man for that (maybe...) so adding a countdown was no problem. Also, I keep a nice little file on my MacBook dedicated to counting down for book releases, and this kinda just falls in line with that. Maybe I should go check and see if the Canadian release date is earlier. Sometimes it is. Love that.

Other than that... I didn't get much re-writing done last night, but I made up for it tonight. Resolved a few minor problems and fixed up a few bigger issues, and I feel good about all of them. Good way to end the night.

To search, or not to search?

Another solid day of editing in the bag. Not ten hours like yesterday, simply because the garden was calling to me. After a week of rain the yard really needed my help! Tomatoes planted, strawberry patch weeded, vegetable garden turned and enriched with a bit of fresh compost nutrient, and the grass cut once again.

So now, at the end of the evening, I'm looking for something to kill the weekend. My first thought is, hey, I'll just go check out some recommended reads, find a great new author I haven't read yet. Problem: as I've mentioned before, I have a bit of an addiction to reading. Like, can't put the book down. Ever. I'll read until four in the morning and then try to get to the office for eight. I'll put the rest of my life - including my own writing! - on hold. Even the cat will feel neglected.

Maybe I shouldn't search for something new to read.

Maybe I should just re-read an old favourite. Or watch a movie.

You'll know what I decide to do: If I've found a great new book or series, you won't see a post from me here until I've finished reading!

Personal Demons, Personal Laziness

Posting this from my iPhone. Why? Good question. Well, the truth is I'm just finishing a second e-book read of Lisa Desrochers' PERSONAL DEMONS and I'm quite comfy. Don't want to head downstairs for the laptop.

And even though I'm a firm believer that sleep-is-for-the-weak, I'll be hitting some ZZZs right away. I'll be back tomorrow to fill you in on the changes in Deyl's world and my usual progress update for the re-write of I HAD TO FALL.

Oh, and for you Americans out there, happy long weekend Friday!!

Rachel Hawkins kept me up all night.

I have a problem. An addiction, you might call it. It derails my life, to the point where friends and family worry about my sanity and health.

Reading.

Or more accurately, obsessive-compulsive-reading. Goes like this: Monday was a Canadian holiday, which was nice. Around ten pm I finished a long day of rewriting (working out the kinks in Deyl's relationship with another main character) and was itching for a good read. This is when I discovered something wonderful...

E-books are released at midnight on book release day. Midnight EST. I'm out here in Calgary in MST, so not long after ten I was actually able to purchase the e-book of Kim Harrison's SOMETHING DEADLY THIS WAY COMES, instead of waiting until after work on Tuesday. So, I started reading at ten, stayed up til about two or three am reading it, caught a few zzz's and finished reading it in the morning, before I had to be at work at noon.

Well, that was fine. Still got enough sleep.

Unfortunately, I found myself on a reading binge. I searched around for some new titles and read a couple sample chapters of Rachel Hawkins' HEX HALL, a YA urban fantasy. I absolutely fell in love with Sophie's sarcastic humour and literally could not put it down. This is my addition. I started reading Tuesday evening and didn't put the e-book down until around three am, when I finished it. And then I had to get up and go to work for eight. Yikes.

And then I laughed about how I have a problem... and proceeded to spend all evening today finishing the second Hex Hall novel, DEMONGLASS.

Sigh. Hopefully that's enough of a reading binge for now and I'll get back to re-writing tomorrow!

Is it possible to survive without sleep?

Not needing to sleep is one of the strange fae-factors of my main character, Deyl Parker. What I want to know, is it possible for me too?

Because that would be nice.

So many great books to read, so little time in the day. I got back into my usual routine today, as hoped, but that only leaves about an hour or two a day for reading. Simply not enough! Last week, I finished Divergent by Veronica Roth in 12 hours (yay for flying, airports and long drives!) which was f'n awesome. Loved the premise. Sort of The Giver meets The Last Airbender. 

I also finished Wings, Spells and Illusions by Aprilynne Pike, nearly in one sitting. It was at the point where I was falling asleep, eyesight blurry from reading off my iPhone, but simply refused to put it down. So good, I'm re-reading again at a less-manic pace.

So, the question that always haunts me afterwards: how long do I have to wait for the next book in those series?!?

Too Long.