Posts Tagged "Books"

• One Hundred Days of Write-itude

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  The Romance Writers of America conference is in less than ten weeks! I wasn’t planning to attend this year, but after finding out that AN INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE is a finalist for a Golden Heart award, I immediately changed my mind.

  So, I’m going to DC, where I intend to meet the other lovely ladies I’m becoming acquainted with online, attend some great workshops and retreats, sightsee in our nation’s capital, and party my heart out until the awards ceremony. But, there is much to do before I get to Washington; while finding a dress and obsessing over shoes will take some significant thought, the main focus is trying to finish the first draft of Madeleine and Ferguson’s story. Obviously, I hope that I sell MARRIAGE and that all my wildest dreams come true, but I’m not holding my breath — and I think I’m on to something special with these characters, so I would like to have a finished draft in time to submit to the 2010 Golden Heart in December.

  This is doable; I’m about as far with them right now as I was with Amelia and Malcolm last year, so finishing by December is feasible. It just won’t be easy, given the demands of the day job, my summer travel schedule, and all the little things that seem to conspire against me.

  My hardcore writing was supposed to start today, but instead I did five loads of laundry, reread segments of a great book (Robin McKinley’s CHALICE — a nice blend of old-timey high fantasy, romance, and beekeeping), and talked to my parents for Mother’s Day. But, starting now, I’m recommitting to my hermitage; spending the next hundred (or, hopefully, only seventy) days holed up and working on Madeleine and Ferguson’s story should give me something complete enough that I can start working on the second draft after the RWA conference. I will either return elated and eager to get back to the book, or despondent and in need of a distraction, so having something to edit will be key.

  You can tell by the length of this post that I’m procrastinating No more of that — it’s time to get back to business!

  
  | Books | Hermitage | Procrastination | RWA Nationals | Sloth |
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  Posted 10 May 2009, 6:52 pm

• 2008 Reading List Recap

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  2008 was a so-so year for reading. I read 28 books (plus parts of another 5 books that I didn’t finish) — good for a usual year, bad given the fact that I had six months off and should have read much more than this. But here’s what I read, in reverse chronological order:

  VISCIOUS CIRCLE - Mike Carey

  THE BELL AT SEALEY HEAD - Patricia A. McKillip

  THE GRAVEYARD BOOK - Neil Gaiman

  THE LIVES OF THE ENGLISH RAKES - Fergus Linnane

  MR. CAVENDISH, I PRESUME - Julia Quinn

  THE MYSTERIES OF UDOLPHO - Ann Radcliffe (dnf)

  THE DEVIL YOU KNOW - Mike Carey

  ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT - Stephen King

  FORTUNE’S FOOL - Mercedes Lackey

  CHALICE - Robin McKinley

  NEW MOON - Stephanie Meyer

  TWILIGHT - Stephanie Meyer

  THE DARKEST PLEASURE - Gena Showalter

  THE DARKEST KISS - Gena Showalter

  THE DARKEST NIGHT - Gena Showalter

  WOMEN & MONEY - Suze Orman

  WHITNEY, MY LOVE - Judith McNaught

  THEN WE CAME TO THE END - Joshua Farris

  HOW THE SCOTS INVENTED THE MODERN WORLD - Arthur Herman (dnf)

  SEX IN GEORGIAN ENGLAND - A.D. Harvey (dnf)

  GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE - Amanda Foreman (dnf)

  NORTHANGER ABBEY - Jane Austen

  NATURAL BORN CHARMER - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

  DARK DESIRES AFTER DUSK - Kresley Cole

  DARK NEEDS AT NIGHT’S EDGE - Kresley Cole

  WICKED DEEDS ON A WINTER’S NIGHT - Kresley Cole

  NO REST FOR THE WICKED - Kresley Cole

  A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER - Kresley Cole

  TO WED A WICKED PRINCE - Jane Feather (dnf)

  THE ART OF SEDUCTION - Robert Green

  THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM - Julia Quinn

  LAMB - Christopher Moore

  BREATHING ROOM - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

  This doesn’t count the rereads that I did of several of my favorites (THE GRAND SOPHY, DEVIL’S CUB, THE MASQUERADERS, and THE UNKNOWN AJAX by Georgette Heyer, SUNSHINE, BEAUTY, THE HERO AND THE CROWN, and THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley, and various others). It also doesn’t count the bits and pieces I read out of a variety of historical research books, or the travel guides that I bought, or some items that ended up languising on my TBR shelf. I bought 47 books from Amazon alone, not counting items that I picked up at Borders or used bookstores, so I did my part to help the publishing industry stay afloat.

  For 2008, my favorites were:

  Best romance: A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER by Kresley Cole. It was paranormal, but I thought her world-building was outstanding and she’s created enough interesting scenarios for many intertwined books. Book six comes out this week and I’ve already ordered it from Amazon.

  Best research book: THE LIVES OF THE ENGLISH RAKES by Fergus Linnane. The thought of treating syphilis with mercury vapors made me a bit ill, but it provided some great background into the crazy people of aristocratic England.

  Best fantasy: THE BELL AT SEALEY HEAD by Patricia McKillip. I prefer the linguistic stylings of Robin McKinley (and loved CHALICE), but THE BELL AT SEALEY HEAD had a fantastic story, a wicked sorceror, a kind princess, a shy innkeeper and his rich, bookish love interest, and all sorts of other interesting characters. Highly recommend, even if you aren’t usually into fantasy.

  Best fiction: THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Mike Carey. Actually, this may be fantasy — but it’s more of a noir detective story, it just happens to have ghosts in it.

  The overall trend seemed to be that I was into paranormal-type books. Other than the research books and a couple of random contemporaries, almost everything I read had vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, or some mishmash of everything.

  For me, I think I have trouble reading historical romances when I’m actively trying to write, which was the state I was in for much of the year. But paranormals provided me with the romantic elements I craved, while avoiding the historical elements that made reading historicals seem like work rather than pleasure.

  What were your favorite books in 2008?

  
  | Books | Reviews | TBR |
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  Posted 18 January 2009, 2:31 pm