I'm really torn about this--what would you do?

...because, well, the illo for this choice is from the cover of CONTACT IMMINENT. Jean Pierre Targete is the artist. I loved the painting so much I bought it. JP has done the covers for all my books so far and while some folks haven't cared for them, I've liked them.

This is, technically, a copyright violation.

Then again, it's cool to see the cover of my book in a Quizilla quiz.


SCI-FI! - Neuromancy and technical wizardy! You are
compelled to write of the Future and what might
be a thousand years from now or next week! Is
it a visit to an Alien Culture? Or a
breathtaking new form of Technology? Isaac
Asimov and William Gibson are your guides.


What Kind of Novel Should I Write?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm really torn about this--what would you do?

...because, well, the illo for this choice is from the cover of CONTACT IMMINENT. Jean Pierre Targete is the artist. I loved the painting so much I bought it. JP has done the covers for all my books so far and while some folks haven't cared for them, I've liked them.

This is, technically, a copyright violation.

Then again, it's cool to see the cover of my book in a Quizilla quiz.


SCI-FI! - Neuromancy and technical wizardy! You are
compelled to write of the Future and what might
be a thousand years from now or next week! Is
it a visit to an Alien Culture? Or a
breathtaking new form of Technology? Isaac
Asimov and William Gibson are your guides.


What Kind of Novel Should I Write?
brought to you by Quizilla

My new puppy

Drat that rolanni

My new puppy

Drat that rolanni

In other news

It's raining here, and could rain for most of the evening!!

So exciting.

In other news

It's raining here, and could rain for most of the evening!!

So exciting.

Mistakes writers make

Well, I've committed a cardinal sin. I've fallen in love with a scene, which means that when the time to edit comes, I'll resist cutting it even it if it needs to go. Even if I know it needs to go.

Refusing to cut something that needed to go almost cost me a blurb from CJ Cherryh. She had been asked to give one for LAW, but the old first chapter--which contained so many images and so much dialogue I liked a *lot*--turned her off big time. She almost quit on the book--didn't like Lucien, but more importantly, didn't like Jani--but persevered. Wound up telling her editor, iirc, that the book took off after chapter two, and wondered if I would reconsider rewriting chapter one. I had about a week and a half to do it, and it cut into my go-over-the-copyedits time, but, well, sometimes you ignore comments like that and sometimes you don't. Thing is, I knew in the back of my mind that she was right. The old first chapter wasn't working. The tone was wrong--it made Jani seem the wrong sort of hard, and it didn't set the stage for the conversation with Niall and all that came after.

But in the old chapter one, Jani sees Lucien off at the train station. They don't touch. They don't kiss goodbye. As his train pulls away, he remains standing in the car entry, and they stare at one another like animals in adjacent cages.

Ok, you may not care for it, but I really, really liked it.

One of these weeks, I am going to have to post an edits page on my website. "And this section was hacked out of LAW...and this one was razored out of CI..."

Mistakes writers make

Well, I've committed a cardinal sin. I've fallen in love with a scene, which means that when the time to edit comes, I'll resist cutting it even it if it needs to go. Even if I know it needs to go.

Refusing to cut something that needed to go almost cost me a blurb from CJ Cherryh. She had been asked to give one for LAW, but the old first chapter--which contained so many images and so much dialogue I liked a *lot*--turned her off big time. She almost quit on the book--didn't like Lucien, but more importantly, didn't like Jani--but persevered. Wound up telling her editor, iirc, that the book took off after chapter two, and wondered if I would reconsider rewriting chapter one. I had about a week and a half to do it, and it cut into my go-over-the-copyedits time, but, well, sometimes you ignore comments like that and sometimes you don't. Thing is, I knew in the back of my mind that she was right. The old first chapter wasn't working. The tone was wrong--it made Jani seem the wrong sort of hard, and it didn't set the stage for the conversation with Niall and all that came after.

But in the old chapter one, Jani sees Lucien off at the train station. They don't touch. They don't kiss goodbye. As his train pulls away, he remains standing in the car entry, and they stare at one another like animals in adjacent cages.

Ok, you may not care for it, but I really, really liked it.

One of these weeks, I am going to have to post an edits page on my website. "And this section was hacked out of LAW...and this one was razored out of CI..."

Oh, look. Another meme...

Gacked from mizkit


Best fictional character to . . .

. . . be at your side after the apocalypse: Granny Weatherwax
. . . be at your side fighting a war: George Smiley
. . . take over the world with: Miles Vorkosigan
. . . run your country with: Gregor Vorbarra
. . . be stuck on a desert island with: the Luggage...because we would be off the island in no time
. . . marry, grow old and have children with: Lord Peter Wimsey
. . . wander the wilderness with: Samwise Gamgee
. . . sail the seven seas with: Francis Crawford
. . . be your mad scientist: Bunter
. . . ride off into the sunset with: Travis McGee

Oh, look. Another meme...

Gacked from mizkit


Best fictional character to . . .

. . . be at your side after the apocalypse: Granny Weatherwax
. . . be at your side fighting a war: George Smiley
. . . take over the world with: Miles Vorkosigan
. . . run your country with: Gregor Vorbarra
. . . be stuck on a desert island with: the Luggage...because we would be off the island in no time
. . . marry, grow old and have children with: Lord Peter Wimsey
. . . wander the wilderness with: Samwise Gamgee
. . . sail the seven seas with: Francis Crawford
. . . be your mad scientist: Bunter
. . . ride off into the sunset with: Travis McGee