Writing, Interrupted

Posted in Romance on December 12th, 2008 by Cynthia Eden

Ah, holiday magic.  Such a busy time. Presents to wrap.  Gifts to buy so you can do that wrapping.

Busy.

Life interrupts my writing schedule a lot during the holidays.  Just one of those things. I’m trying to stay on track right now–I’m into my revising/polishing stage with the story I’m calling I’LL BE SLAYING YOU (my latest paranormal).  Instead of a daily page count with this one, I’m setting up daily work time requirements–i.e., I’ll edit/revise for 3 hours today and 3 hours tomorrow.  Sunday is a break day for me b/c my son turns 3 (3!!!!) and we get to enjoy birthday party madness.  But I’ll be back to work on Monday because I’m determined to finish up this book by next Friday.

You see…I want to start another story. Always, another story.  But if I’m not writing (and I classify my writing as a whole other beast from my revising b/c the process is so different), then I just feel…kinda lost.  I need to write to keep my mind busy; otherwise, I just seem to flounder about. So I need to write.

Last year, I just pretty much wrote off (ha) the month of December. I knew life would be crazy and productivity would be next to nothing. But this year–no, I want to write.  Before the new year comes, I could write a novella or churn out a good 200 pages on a new story.

But what about the other writers out there? Are you finding your writing has been interrupted by the festivities?  And if you’re not a writer, how about your reading schedule? I’ve been trying to get my pleasure reads in, but my time for reading has dwindled–okay, disappeared. (That means my TBR stack is just growing and growing…)

8CommentsTweet It

Cigars and Wishlists

Posted in Romance on December 11th, 2008 by Cynthia Eden

Hi, everyone!  Today, I’m guest blogging over at Love is an Exploding Cigar (don’t you love that name?), and I’m giving away an autographed copy of MIDNIGHT SINS to one commenter. If you get a chance, come on by for your chance to win!  My topic…pleasures. Yep–that’s all the info you get. You’ll have to check out the post for more details!

And now…for fun, let’s talk wishlists.  In the past, I’ve driven my husband crazy during the holidays because I haven’t told him what I want for Christmas.  Yes, I am one of those tricky women–I think the guy should just know and then I get grumpy when his “knowing” doesn’t translate into the gift I want. But I am trying to be better this year. Really.  🙂

So, I’ve given a lot of thought to my wishlist and I figured, hey, why not post?  I’ll post mine, you can post yours–and we’ll just see what all we want from Santa.  Not that Santa will necessarily bring all of these goodies, but…

Here’s my list anyway:

(Oh, and a quick note.  I do, of course, want world peace and happiness for everyone–just like Steve Martin said in his holiday skit, but this list, it’s gonna be all greedy me…)

1. Bookstore gift card.  This one is obvious. And I do beg the hubby every year to tell him mother to get me this.  There are SO many great books coming out at the end of the year/early new year. Christine Feehan has a new one, Jayne Ann Krentz does, Kresley Cole does.  Help a reading addict out–give me a gift card, Santa!

2. Books.  A walk down the Barnes & Noble bargain books aisle recently revealed a good dozen paranormal research books I’d love to have.  Or, hey, just stroll down the romance aisle.  Not like you could go wrong with those.

3. An Alpha Smart. Yeah, I said it. I want an Alpha.  I have this idea that I can squeeze more writing time out of my day. If I take that Alpha with me, suddenly my empty moments will be filled. Portable, a fantastic battery life–come on, I could use this, Santa!!!

4. Supernatural, Seasons 1-3. Because, um, I missed these seasons, even though I love the paranormal. I was so late to this boat and I wanna catch up on what I missed!

That’s my list. Now tell me yours!

Update: Just had to post this YouTube clip/soundtrack of Steve Martin.  I really love this bit!

12CommentsTweet It

Guest blogger: Zoe Winters!

Posted in Romance on December 9th, 2008 by Cynthia Eden

Today I’m happy to welcome Zoe Winters to my home on the web.  🙂  Zoe has a great paranormal novella, KEPT, that she is offering for free to readers on her site.  (Come on, free! That’s the best kind of Christmas present.)  Welcome to my blog, Zoe!

* * *

Persona

I’m learning VERY slowly, that I cannot regurgitate every single thought in my head the second that I have it as “Zoe Winters.”  For a long time I believed not doing that, to have any kind of “persona” was an act of dishonesty.  But more and more I see it as playing smarter chess.  People who stumble upon me on my blog don’t know me well enough and don’t understand my thoughts and feelings in context of everything else in my life enough to not misread me sooner or later.

In order not to come off as a bitch, or a jerk, or a know-it-all, there are times when I will have to learn to be more diplomatic.

We all have personas. (And sometimes I wonder if my bitchier side is a persona even I’ve fallen for.)  Probably very few people in our lives know everything there is to know about us and all the nuances surrounding it. Everybody is on a “need to know” basis.  Your garden club knows different things about you than your church friends, or your family.  Your spouse probably knows more about you than anyone, though there are probably sides to you he/she doesn’t see.

In my current release, KEPT, Dayne is a sorcerer who is very much a hermit. A few decades before this story (magic users have very long lifespans), he fell in love with a werecat named, Jaden.  But she wasn’t what she appeared.  She’d been sent in to play the femme fatale and lure him to his doom under pretense of rescuing her.  Being a good guy, he was “in the way” of the tribe’s plans.

The tribe underestimated both Dayne’s love for Jaden, and his power, because when he went to “save her” and found himself in a trap, he’d juiced himself up with enough power and strength that he was able to escape.  Though not without killing a large portion of the tribe.

Word got out that he was evil.  A dangerous sorcerer.  It wasn’t true, but he’d been burned and didn’t want to be burned again, so in order to protect himself from doing something so stupid again, he let the rumors spread and let the reputation build.  That’s Dayne’s persona, at least until he meets Greta, someone from the same tribe who actually IS in trouble.

Do you have a persona?  Do different parts of who you are come out with different groups?


KEPT is a paranormal romance novella and is available as a free download here: http://zoewinters.wordpress.com/kept/

Zoe Winters

24CommentsTweet It

Immortal Danger

Posted in Romance on December 8th, 2008 by Cynthia Eden

Quick note:  The IMMORTAL DANGER excerpt is up!

6CommentsTweet It

Booking It

Posted in Romance on December 8th, 2008 by Cynthia Eden

(I think I’d like another day to recover from my weekend, please!)  Wow–this was a busy weekend. Yep, I did the Jingle Bell charity event on Saturday. And yes, I did have five-year-olds speeding past me. Such is the way of my life.  Joan took pictures, so I’ll try to post some later this week.

A quick reminder:  Karin Tabke‘s awesome first line competition kicks off today. This is a great contest!  Head over to her blog to check out full details.

The Witty and Wicked Book Club (the book club I’m in that only selects romance novels) pick for December is a great holiday read:  TO DO LIST by the talented Lauren Dane. I loved this story. LOVED it. So, when it came time to pick a holiday read for our December pick, this story came instantly to mind.  A fun, sexy novella–perfect for reading during the hectic December days.

This novella has recently been released in an anthology, HOLIDAY SEDUCTION. The anthology also includes a tale by Jaci Burton. (I am all about Jaci’s demon hunters–have you read them?)

In other book news, Bradford author Beth Williamson has just released the third installment in her Devils on Horseback series.  ZEKE definitely sounds like a book I would enjoy–a very tortured and less-than perfect hero, a strong heroine, and wild ride in the old West.  You can read an excerpt of this story here.  Congrats on your release, Beth!

And what’s on your reading schedule for the week?

(By the way, I’ll have an excerpt from IMMORTAL DANGER posted by the end of the day. I’ll do a blog update when the excerpt goes live.)

8CommentsTweet It

Close

Cynthia’s Newsletter

Already signed up or just not interested? Dismiss for good.