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Christmas Fun!

It's been an interesting Christmas season so far. My cards are going out late, people who've gotten presents from me in the past will find their stockings empty, and those gifts that I have bought aren't wrapped yet. Why? Not due to a lack of funds, but because nearly all of my spare time has been swallowed up by this crazy second job I've gotten myself into.

However, in spite of the madness, some really cool things have happened. I received my very first Christmas card from a reader. Not an email, mind you, but a real card! She had won a copy of Warrior in a contest, and then utilized that return address label after I shipped it to her. This is something that I know I'll keep in my memorabilia box for a long, long time. In other news, Rogue has a dynamite new cover, and Lover now has a new title, Outcast, which I like very much. I've also started a new blog, which, though tons of fun, is also very time consuming.


On a slightly bizarre note, Slave has been nominated for a writing award given by the NLA--that's the National Leather Association. Don't guess I need to tell you why they liked it. . . . You just never know what audience you'll reach out and touch in this business.


I turned the copyedits for Outcast in on time, but finishing Fugitive by the end of January seems almost impossible now, but I'll do it. When I finally get going on the big action scene, I know I'll get swallowed up in it and keep going until I'm done.


This time I'm not going to worry so much about how perfect it is, because this will not be my last chance to fix things. There will be changes requested, some minor and some that only seem that way. One tiny little alteration can sometimes cause a ripple effect throughout the entire book. Other changes are more broad, like the personality of a character, but sometimes it just takes deciding which detail is the most important. In Outcast, one of the changes requested was to a scene where the dog gets to eat cake. Well, originally, it was just a regular white cake, but then I introduced a new character who was a baker, and so, the cake was changed to a decadent chocolate. But chocolate isn't good for dogs, so the decision was made to have him eat something else, but it just didn't feel right. The dog wanted to eat cake, for heaven's sake! So, the obvious choice was to take the chocolate out of the cake, rather than the cake out of the dog!


Never let it be said that writers don't pay enough attention to detail. Sometimes we get so bogged down in it that we can't find our way back out.

But enough about that. It's time for some fun!
So, break out the eggnog, the cookies, the rum!
Christmas is coming, it'll be the best yet,
Though often we don't like the presents we get.
But Santa has something all wrapped up in hay
In hopes that you might have some fun where you lay.
It's not in a stocking, it's not in a box,
But it comes guaranteed to knock off your socks!
Now I hear him exclaim as he turns out the light,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!























Hey, I never claimed to be a poet. . . . .

Comments

  1. A Chrismas card from a fan! Aw-w-w.

    I had to look up NLA to see if it was what I thought. It was.

    And as for details--oh lord! I thought I would never chase down all the inconsistencies in SEALed With a Promise.

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  2. Yeah, MM, it was kind of a aw-w-w-w moment.
    Those inconsistencies crop up all over because as you write, you don't necessarily remember exactly what you wrote two weeks ago. Then a month later, you'll want to change something, but there's always something earlier or later in the story that is affected by it. Sometimes you miss them. Thank goodness for copyeditors!

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  3. Marie,
    Yes, but I still think there's too much of it...

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  4. That's so neat that you got a Christmas card from a fan. I got one from one of my online writing students, so that was fun. :)

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  5. Merry Christmas Cheryl! And here's to an even happier 2009!

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  6. Terry,
    We'd probably get more things like that if people knew where we live! That's the great thing about the Internet and email; even people in Australia can find you!

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  7. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year right back at you, Danielle!

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  8. I don't know Cheryl, that hay looks pretty sparse to me!

    Congrats on the card from a fan! These moments are soooo worth treasuring, and I am sure you will have many more.

    Good luck on the edits and so on. I think I speak for all of us when I say: We feel your pain!

    Merry Christmas!!

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  9. Merry Christmas, Sharon!
    Yeah, we've all got pain, but we've had fun, too!
    Now I have to get to work on cleaning up all that hay....

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  10. Cheryl, that's actually kind of cool about the nomination...you really never do know who's going to notice your work!

    Congrats on your Christmas card. I got one too this year, and it was so sweet! YUCK on editing, because I always wind up more gummed up than I thought I would, but it's one of those necessary evils, I guess:-)

    Anyway, merry Christmas, and thanks for the poem and the picture! The hay definitely needs thinning, I believe:-)

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  11. OMG! I hope he doesn't have allergies! :-)

    LURVED your Xmas poem, Cheryl!

    Sharon's right, we all definitely feel the pain of edits and revisions, not to mention DEADLINES! UGH! But things like cards from fans definitely make it all worthwhile.

    Here's to a FANTASTIC 2009 and Bah Humbug!

    AC

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  12. Hi Kendra!
    Yep, edits are part of life, but the Christmas cards and the award nomination from the Leather Lovers are things you don't expect!
    Congrats on getting your own perks, and Merry Christmas!

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  13. Hey, AC!
    We sure missed you on the blog while you were in Istanbul! Good to have you back.

    Glad you enjoyed the poem; it was a lot of fun to write, but then, I WAS inspired!

    Yes, edits can be a pain, but I'm trying to see them as something of a challenge. The one about the cake was one of those "Eureka!" moments. Sometimes the solution is so simple it takes you a while to see it.

    Have a great Christmas and an even better New Year!

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  14. Cheryl, I can't agree more. Changes can sure muck up your prose and after you've read something hundreds of times its hard to see the wood for the trees, or the wood for the hay, as it were. Ooops. Too much Christmas fun.

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  15. Since I have an actual office in the house for the day job and that's the last place I want to be after hours, my "writing nook" consists of the sofa, a footstool, a laptop, a diet coke, the chaotic family all around me and my little yellow dog at my feet (the only one who doesn't bother mom when she's writing, which is why she's my favorite). I've decided the chaos is necessary to my process since I don't write squat when I'm alone in hotel rooms on work travel.

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  16. LOL! Michele!
    All that hay can sure obscure your vision, can't it?
    Part of the problem for me is that after I've read something a hundred times, even the mistakes begin to seem correct! I guess it's a good thing that the copyeditors take a little while to get their version back to you, otherwise I'd just go "Yep, looks fine to me" and turn it in.

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  17. LOL Marie!
    Don't think I could write that way. Hotel rooms during family vacations are bad because the guys always have the TV on right next to the table I try to write at and I get distracted. I think I'd do better if I was there alone.
    At home, my bedroom is at the far end of the house, so I'm out of the line of fire for the most part. Sam makes most of the noise and his room is next to mine, but I've learned to tune him out--most of the time!

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  18. My writing nook is a lot like Marie's and so much more comfier that way. Although I use an easy chair.

    It's the writing life. I love to use the story of having to add 10 pages to a book a week before Christmas when anniversary celebration and holiday parties were going on. Eggnog helped the writing go faster. :}

    Linda

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  19. Hi Linda!
    LOL on the eggnog story. These things always seem to happen at the worst possible time, don't they? Must be a writer's corollary to Murphy's Law or something.
    Speaking of eggnog, I had some mixed with Bailey's Irish Cream last night. I highly recommend it! Haven't tried it with tequila yet...I'll keep you posted.

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