Opening with too many characters

I am working on Glyssa Licorice's book, the public librarian, and best friend of Camellia Darjeeling D'Hawthorn, heroine of Heart Search. And I like the second scene (all right, I really opened with the hero). BUT, I think that if you forget who is who, or have never seen the series, I have too many people on stage. There's Glyssa at dinner with Laev T'Hawthorn and Camellia, and the women's other friend, Tiana.

THEN I move to the starship the next day and there are all of the above PLUS the intelligent ship, Nuada's Sword, and Dani Eve Elder. Who are watching a video showing the hero and mentioning three other people. That is Way Too Much.

I DO need the 3, Glyssa, Laev, and Camellia in the first scene, and though it pains me to cut interaction with her friends, I'm going to do it. Then, in scene three, there will only be Glyssa at first, then Laev and Dani Eve Elder (daughter of the Captain of the Ship) will come in. So rewriting already.

I know who all these people are and can picture them, but I've picked up middle-of-series books by other writers and been confused. I don't want that.

And thanks for letting me ramble. May you not need to rework anything today.
Robin

Series

Yes, I have one series finished and two running. The Heart books (should I sell more to Berkley, and that's looking very good), don't have an end in my mind (though they once did, but I'm still intrigued with the world and my cast. There were the five Summoning books, and I'm working on Mystic Circle (though I am at the end of my contract for that series and it's up in the air for traditional publishing, too), which I contemplate being nine books.

I aspire to be one of those authors that people will love all my work, not just one series or another. A "trust me, baby" author. Trust me to deliver characters you like, engaging plots with twists and turns, a writer people will follow through all her series.

And I understand if you only like the Lladrana books (more fantasy), the Mystic Circle books (set here and now), or Celta (Romance and the characters you know).

Yesterday I bought an ebook where I was piqued by the premise and the character and I enjoyed it greatly. I wasn't sure about the authors' other two series, because they weren't the same premise...and the characters sounded like they might be making the same mistakes the character I just read about did. But I bought a trilogy anyway, and I was disappointed.

It's a balancing act, giving people characters they like, but who are different, and I struggle to do this, and yes, some of my guys aren't gung-ho alphas in the Heart series, and yes, some readers only love alphas. I do my best, trust me, baby.

May you have a GREAT day,
Robin

Arcs, Char Naming (brownie!), Critique on Brenda Novak's Auction

If you like writerly stuff, you MUST visit Brenda Novak's auction to benefit research for Children's Diabetes. There are ARCS, meetings/critiques with editors and agents, trips... I am giving away an ARC of Heart Secret, and ARC of Enchanted Ever After, character naming in the Luna universe (probably a brownie, but you can talk me out of that...maybe the next heroine!), and a geographic name in the Celta universe. Since the next book (hopefully I sell) will be at the excavation of the starship, Lugh's Spear, it will show up there. Also giving away a critique.

And editors/agents give away critiques, other authors give away meetings and lunch and dinners...a whole lot of wonderful offers. I have an eye on a couple...

Please, go, look, bid...and the winner of the last Celta naming deal had her park (where a murder was committed), mentioned a truckload of times. ;D

Gray and cloudy here, and I'm heading on in to write...I have a story I'm thinking of epubbing under my own name, and maybe a couple under a pseud....

Robin

More good news, Hearts and Swords!

More good news, Hearts and Swords was chosen as Best Anthology of 2011 by Romance Reviews Today! It IS a collection, that is, all the stories are by yours truly. :)

May you enjoy your day (it's cool and gray here).
Robin

Two gold covers this year! (and art notes)

Luna gave me a gold cover with Enchanted Again.

And Berkley gave me this awesome hunk cover for Heart Secret! Below find the notes I sent to the art department...more about how the cover influenced the story later!)



I love both of them!

And here are the art notes for Heart Secret...as you can tell, I talk to the art dept. pretty much like I talk to you. :)

Tatts: If you are doing tatts: any kind of Celtic knot, or a heart shaped Celtic knot, or maybe a chain of hearts and daggers? Or a heart and a tear?

Weapons: If you are doing weapons, a long dagger and a long sword, or a long dagger and a blazer/blaser (stream of blue light?). Or an exotic knife (an exotic knife can be used in the murder), this would be shorter and must have a point, but let me know the size/shape so I can write it in.

Time of Year: Summer, heat with occasional rain showers

Settings:

1) Secret walled garden – day or night with a glowing turquoise pool and steam rising?

Hero: Garrett Primross, private eye, middle class. Has some feral animals (mostly cats) as informants. Has a leopard spotted KITTEN. Brown-blond hair, brown eyes, muscular, big.

BACKSTORY: Garrett was the sole survivor of the most virulent form of a disease that killed the woman he loved and her baby (not his child), as he was transporting them in a bus-all-terrain vehicle from a clinic to a quarantine area in the mountains. He is becoming known as a private investigator and his business is beginning to pick up. See general pics.

Oh, also, Garrett is a master at slight-of -hand, rolling a coin across his knuckles & making it appear and disappear.
*********

Hope you enjoy!

Robin

Upcoming - Heart Secret Blurb

Here's the blurb for Heart Secret, coming in August! Garrett Primross, P.I., Artemisia Mugwort, Healer. Cover tomorrow. :)

When a virulent disease killed the woman he loved and her baby, Garrett Primross was left alive, a reluctant survivor. Now, as a private eye, he strives to banish the memories of his past and rebuild his life. The Healers of Celta have something else in mind: Discover why he survived.

He is monitored by Healer Artemisia Panax—his HeartMate, a love he never pursued. Still mourning his loss, he refuses to acknowledge her. Since her family was publicly disgraced, she's used to such treatment. She wants nothing more than to guard her livelihood and protect the secrets she's sworn to keep.

Thrown together by duty, Garrett and Artemisia find the body of the last Black Magic Cultist who ruined her family. Suspicion flares, but they have little choice but to investigate the crime together. When their own lives are placed in danger, they realize that denying their HeartMates is only denying their own future.

******
Enjoy!
Robin

Enchanted No More Finalist in National Reader's Choice Awards!

Enchanted No More Is A Finalist in National Reader's Choice Awards! I am so pleased and thrilled and happy! It's been a while since I finalled in the National Reader's Choice award with a book. Worth dancing around the house for sure!

Thanks for all the support and good will!
Robin

Good News 1 of 5

Good News 1 of 5 (and yes, I am going to make you wait for the others). ENCHANTED EVER AFTER IS DONE and out to Beta readers, and, of course, I am biting my nails (not quite literally). This is the end of the contract (DOES NOT MEAN THE END OF THE SERIES...YET). I think the end of the story is the fastest plot I've ever done. And, just for being you, I have the original opening scene below (which has long gone by the wayside).

Twilight, Mid September, Denver, Colorado AND in the game Fairies and Dragons

"Oops."

Kiri Palger – Moonsilver – stared at her fallen partner, Saturnina, as giants jumped on her body in the Deathgulp Forest.

"Wha’ happened?" Shannon, the person running Saturnina, asked over her mic, a little tinny since it was electronic and Shannon was actually in her home across town.

For a minute Kiri considered lying. But she was the long-distance shooter and she loved her sonic bow and arrows. She’d be doing the same thing again.

She cleared her throat softly, so the mic didn’t amplify it. "You were fighting the giants next to a high explosive tree burl and I, um, shot it. Took most of you out."

"Dammit, they’re stealing my new wings!"

Kiri winced as the pretty transparent wings were ripped off Saturnina’s back. Kiri opened the email program and sent her friend some gold pieces to replace them. Least she could do.

Shannon said, "I think this forest mission is too difficult for us, and I’m wiped. It’s been a hard work week. Let’s call it a night."

They’d only been playing an hour, but Kiri agreed. "Yeah."

"‘Porting to the Dome," Shannon/Saturnina said.

"Kk," Kiri said as she hit the spacebar on her keyboard to do the same. During the few seconds it took to zone to the safe area, her game concentration and adrenaline faded and dark weariness filtered through her, muzzying her mind. She let her shoulders slump.

When she was in the Dome, a safe lounge for good fairies, she saw the sparkly Saturnina rise with a groan and shake her limbs. "Got the gold pieces, thanks," Shannon said.

"‘Welcome."

"Kiri, have you talked to your neighbor, Jenni Weavers yet?"

Kiri’s heart stuttered for real, even as she let Moonsilver sit on a couch. Jenni Weavers was the best writer for the game, Fairies and Dragons. The woman had moved into a developer position.

"No."

"But you sent in your resume and application for the job," Shannon pressed.

"Yes."

"And your docs have your Mystic Circle address on them, so she knows you live in the same cul-de-sac."

"Yes."

"Following the plan then. Go, Kiri!"

"I intend to say something to Jenni tomorrow at the block party. Sure you don’t want to come?"

"Unlike you, stalker-girl, I have a man."

"Yeah, yeah."

Shannon’s voice softened. "I know how much you want this."

"Work sucks."

"IT always sucks, especially end-user software support. Nature of the business. By the time they get to us, users can be fuming."

"The game developers are opening that new area in the game next year, Pegasus Valley. I know I have good story arcs for it," Kiri said.

"I liked them," Shannon said.

"Thanks. It’s real luck that the folks who bought out the company are based here in Denver. I’ve got a shot at the job. I have the background and some credits."

"You can do it."

"Good to hear that," Kiri said.

"It’s true. See you Sunday brunch," Shannon said.

"Right. Later."

"Mmmmm," Shannon purred. Her guy must be doing the neck-kissing thing on the other end of the line.

"Smooches to Averill," Kiri said.

"Mmm. ‘Night." Shannon’s mic thumped and sounds of smooching came. Shannon’s character began the logoff countdown.

Kiri just stared at the computer screen. Blinked. Her shoulders and fingers ached, but sometimes the game beckoned more than reality. And once you began spending more time in the game than anywhere else, you were in trouble. She logged off.

***************

May you enjoy your work, even that which isn't quite right, today.
Robin

Call for Beta Readers Enchanted Ever After

Call for beta readers, Enchanted Ever After #3 Mystic Circle. This is a rough draft, want a quick read and general comments and absolute discretion. Many thanks, email robin AT robindowens .com

Restrictions that make your work better

Restrictions that make your work better: Some while ago I had to send in info of what I'd like on the cover of Enchanted Ever After, and I said I wanted a mermaid on a log or a rock in Maroon Lake, under the famous Maroon Bells, in the fall.

Well, it came to revising the scene in the lake, adding detail (which I usually mark as ** RESEARCH), and I was appalled to find out that it was only 9' deep. Not very deep for a mountain lake, or for my new human-geek-girl-turned-mermaid. But the more I researched the details, the more I felt that I could make this work better than the original scene. I wanted Maroon Lake for the scenery, and the depth was disappointing as opposed to, say, Snowmass Lake...but...but...maybe a shallower lake would be better for my new mermaid/naiad.

And it being shallow and popular -- well, she'd have to learn how to do illusions better to hide from humans, too, wouldn't she? Which I hadn't described before (and I'm quite happy with that paragraph). And it might be more accessible than other mountain lakes in early October. Not to mention that, unlike some mountain lakes in the area, Maroon Lake is stocked with Lake Trout. That turned out to be important. From what I researched, Lake Trout can live for decades and can get as large as 102 lbs. Just perfect for what I wanted in this scene.

And the Maroon Bells area has some beautiful pink crystals...

Yes, about 3 hours of research for a few paragraphs to enrich the setting, but I am very pleased.

May your work please you today.

Robin

Rough Manuscript vs. Published Book

My rough manuscripts are that, rough. Then I read and revise, then send out to beta readers, then revise again pursuant to comments. So my published books are rarely exactly the same as my rough drafts. I make mistakes, I have plot holes, I have too many scenes with secondary characters, motivation may be weak or wonky, the plot arc a little wobbly.

Then, of course, there are the copy edits and page proofs and the plot and characters become even more defined.

I know Enchanted Ever After is too long, and messy, and scenes and redundancies will need to be cut.

And Heart Secret (whose page proofs a friend is working on NOW for me), is significantly different, with added scenes and more refined character motivation, than the beta manuscript I sent out.

Just sayin'. May you have a lovely day.

Robin

Light At the End of the Tunnel

I have been pounding away at Enchanted Ever After, my human-geek-girl-becomes-a-Lightfolk-mermaid story in a frenzy, mostly because it's overdue. However, I am hopeful that I might finish it next week.

Notice: I ANTICIPATE THAT NEXT WEEK I WILL BE ASKING FOR BETA READERS FOR ENCHANTED EVER AFTER, YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CARE TO ACCEPT IT, IS TO READ THE MS. AND POINT OUT GLARING HOLES OR STUFF THAT REALLY BOTHERS YOU IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, LIKE 2-3 DAYS. I don't believe that I will have the time to do any line editing changes, especially if people DO find large holes or cringeworthy things I need to fix. ;)

The manuscript, now, is very scattered, with about 18 chapters ready up front, lots in the middle, some of the end, and some scenes (including the main battle, though I have several in the story), that I'm looking forward to writing.

Yes, light at the end of the tunnel.

And I am hoping that my cover will have the famous Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake on it, with my dear Kiri as a mermaid in the lake or on a log...hmmm, I do need to write that scene, also. Learning to eat live (or kill and eat nearly dead fish). Ewwwwww.

Robin

Update

All right, I've had some car problems (tires) and house problems (hot water heater failing), and am currently working on Enchanted Ever After, my human becomes a mermaid story for Luna.

I do have an awesome cover for Heart Secret, but am not going to reveal that until I am out of the Lightfolk universe. I am consumed with that story, now.

I've been zipping around the world in research (alas, only on the internet) -- the Mariana Trench, the Puerto Rico trench, the Mississippi River and the Grand Isle, Louisiana, not to mention the local Maroon Lake, near Aspen, Colorado.

Someday I hope to have enough money to go to everywhere I want to research.

Many thanks for the prompts, and I had an AWESOME Titanic Tea at a friend's house yesterday, one of the best days of the year for me, more on that later.

Robin

New Computer

Yes, I've been down for a while trying to keep up with work and transferring my files to a new computer (and installing most of my software). The 8yo desktop that lost a drive two years ago was getting increasingly iffy.

I have a new little whiz hooked up to large monitor and also new keyboard.

And, like, did I say that the cat put his claws in my exercise ball chair and ppphhttt? So new exercise ball chair, too...

And working. And revisions and copy edits for Heart Secret. And playing with lightning and the Mississippi River in Enchanted Ever After...

May you have wonderful Spring holidays...and, yes, I know I need to post the Heart Secret cover, but I am deep into Mystic Circle.

Robin

Story Threads...

I recently read Patricia Briggs' new novel, Fair Game, and saw a couple of things and figured, "this is a story thread, I wonder what she'll do with it in the future?"

And, yesterday, a writing buddy commented that she couldn't cut the seemingly excess object because it was a set up for a future book.

So, yes, I do set up books in the future, and sometimes I add bits that may be a little extraneous at the time. That doesn't mean that every detail I add is a set up, or that I remember them all, or that when I get to the books, the set up entirely works and I have to finesse around it -- since I'm a pantzer, writing by the seat of my pants.

I think the last big set up scene (which also worked withing Heart Search), was the Salvage Ball, as I'm sure most of you noted. And yes, there was a pretty big thread in the novella Noble Heart...and in upcoming Heart Secret, I have a stray Fam who will be a major Fam in another book.

So, naturally, when I see stuff in others' works, I wonder about it, and it makes me smile.

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again,
Robin

St. Pat's Enchanted Again Excerpt

St. Pat's Enchanted Again Excerpt: St. Pat's evening Tiro the brownie had disappeared after a lofty remark about celebrating the holiday with Irish brownies. Why magical folk, some of them no doubt older than St. Patrick himself, would celebrate a Christian saint's day was a mystery to Amber. But maybe brownies just liked to party. She'd noted that the chocolate milk she'd bought earlier in the week had also disappeared from the refrigerator and thought that if that was Tiro's contribution, he would be a hit.


Blessings,
Robin

Merfolk Name: Working on Enchanted Ever After

Merfolk Name, working on Enchanted Ever After

My mermaid name is Glimmer Deep Dancer
(subluceo profundus)
With silvery scales over much of the body, the subluceo reflects light, glimmering and glinting as it reflects the sun below the waves.
A dweller of the deep, the profundus often travels to sea vents many miles below the surface to lay its eggs in the hot, dark streams of water.
Note: Romantic and graceful, this subspecies is truly a ballerina of the oceans.
Get your own mermaid names from The Mermaid Name Generator!

Enchanted Again Timeline

The timeline for Enchanted Again is running NOW! Actually, it "started" last Friday...

So I'll be posting some small excerpts from the book As We Join The Story:

March, Denver, Colorado

If she'd aged naturally, Amber Sarga would have been twenty-six. But her gift for curse breaking cost her – days, weeks, months...years........She turned. And saw a small brown being in her garden. Her mouth fell open. He was plucking a bloom from the heavy mass of her violets and dropping the flower into a jar.

He was nothing human. Small, under three feet, thin, triangular face and large triangular ears, he was definitely magic.

***
RAFE'S FRIEND, CONRAD, HAS JUST GONE THROUGH A DIVORCE, LOSING CUSTODY OF HIS INFANT SON

former wife, infant son, and her attorneys vanished as soon as they’d left the courtroom. No sign of them, hide nor hair.

Rafe dreaded the words Conrad would say pretty damn soon.

"It’s the curse," Conrad said.

Those words. Everything in Rafe stilled. Or maybe his muscles froze and his blood pumped hot. One of the strange things that had brought them together in college, the fact that they'd both come from "cursed" families. Weird in the modern world.

**********
I'll be doing this all month, as we progress through the story.

Robin

Contest: Need Heart Book Title

Contest for next Heart Book Title: Today I am working on the next Heart books proposal. Next up: The Swashbuckler and the Librarian (Race Bayrum and Glyssa Licorice).

This will take place primarily at the excavation site of the starship, Lugh's Spear.
I can't promise the title will be used, but I will submit it if it rings my bell. :)

Gift: Heart Secret ARC (as it is now, before copy edits).

Reply to http://robindowens.blogspot.com You CAN be anonymous, OR email me at robin@robindowens.com

Love, Robin

Research Trip Pic

A pic from yesterday's (very short and relatively close) research trip. I'm thinking about rolling a bus down the hill and into I-25 traffic...magically, of course.

Have a good time today!
Robin

Today's Research

So, just to tease you, and no, I didn't know about Faraday Cages before.
Robin

Working on Character Images

Today I spent a great deal of time working on character images. This first one is from City of Heroes, though I think I have Kiri on Sims Medieval, too, on the laptop.

Robin

Pantzer/Plotter/Organic

I spent an hour this morning talking to my mentor about a turning point, that I, organically felt worked and others (plotters) did not. They were right, but it took more than an hour of squirming under hard questions just for me to UNDERSTAND the problem. And that's what hurts. Many, many years of writing and I just didn't get what my readers were saying or how to fix it.

Sigh. Sometimes I still feel like a tiro.

Robin

Signing today

I'm signing at Who Else! Books, part of the Broadway Book Mall this afternoon at 3 p.m.

Yes, it IS cold and snowy. I will be reading from Hearts and Swords. And yes, this is last minute, but Heart Secret came back from editor with a request for revisions, my car battery died, I'm housesitting for the parents again and yesterday the overloaded bookcase on my desk fell (the small one, not the huge one, or I would not be sitting here, seriously)...and that does sound like whining doesn't it? Sigh. This hasn't been a good decade for me so far. ;)

Anyway, the signing: myself, Alastair Mayer (The Chara Talisman), Courtney Schafer (The Whitefire Crossing), and Rob Ziegler (Seed).

That’s the Broadway Book Mall, 200 S. Broadway (in Denver, just north of I-25) at 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 11. Come on out! I WILL be there!

May you enjoy your travels
Robin

Snowing and Teatime

There's six to eight inches of snow here (according to top of neighbor's fence), and it's supposed to snow all day. So I drug out a tea photo for you, to keep you (and me) warm and cozy. I think, right now, it's less tear-making than one of my thousand pics of a South Carolina beach...and I think the fingertip-less gloves on my desk will soon be on my hands.

Wherever you are, grab a calm moment and enjoy!
Robin

Number 1 Mystic Circle

Yes, I am in the depths of the next Luna book, titled (I think) Enchanted Ever After, featuring my geek heroine Kiri Palger who has just moved into Number 1 Mystic Circle, the smallest house in the cul-de-sac.

This is a general picture of Number 1, a craftsman bungalow (again, in my neighborhood), though Kiri's has a "bump out" bay window where she's set up her computer desk. She has a lot of house and little furniture. :)



May you enjoy your own neighborhood today.
Robin

Cutting and Revising

Still cutting and revising Heart Secret, got last beta reader's comments last night. I WILL have to also add words to make some scenes clearer. But you can see how I'm working so I can cut the least amount of full scenes. This DOES modify my voice and my characters voices, but it's better than whole scenes going.

So, into the 12-15 hour days.

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.
Robin

Elements of My Books

I juggle various elements in my books, in Celta it is the romance, character development (including Fam comic relief), a small mystery/suspense, world-building, a dash of the past and set up for the future. I admit that I am reluctant to cut any world-building/Fams and set up. I should probably cut more, but I am of the opinion that ESPECIALLY in the Celta books, my fans like the world-building, like knowing about HouseHearts or magical systems...or a touch of a different religion. And set up...well, I'm working on the intelligent Turquoise House right now....

Merrry meet and merry part and merry meet again.
Robin

Heart Secret is DONE!

Whew! I thought as late as this morning that I wouldn't be able to finish. But it is done, and as always, WAAAY long, 112K+, so I'll be cutting about 6-7K, hopefully just tightening will be sufficient.

Whew.

Robin

Climax Settings Quick List

Climax Settings Quick List: I keep lists to try and avoid duplicating myself. Like opening scene settings, etc. Here's today's :)


Climax settings;

HeartMate, estate grounds
Heart Thief, councilroom chamber
Heart Duel, city street/castle courtyard
Heart Choice, house mainspace
Heart Quest, warehouse/street
Heart Dance, laboratory
Heart Fate, park
Heart Choice, estate (previous in river)
Heart Journey, car/road
Heart Search, warehouse/street
Heart Secret, gulch

As always, may you enjoy the worlds you visit,
Robin

Pandora Music Genome

Music Genome: Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Film Score: Finale
by Danny Elfman on Music From The Films Of Tim Burton

Features of This Track:

a tranquil mood
a bittersweet sentiment
a well-known composer
a Romantic-Era style

That pretty much describes a large part of my music, and, well, maybe me. May you love what you hear today.
Robin