WHEN HE WAS BAD should now by on the shelves in a bookstore near you.  🙂  Yay!  Just in time for the summer reading season.

In “Wicked Ways” (my contribution to the anthology), my hero is a jaguar shifter.  As I was researching jaguars, I discovered some interesting facts:

(Okay, interesting to me, anyway…)

*The jaguar was once worshipped by several early cultures–like the Aztecs and the Maya.

*The word jaguar roughly translates to mean “the killer that takes its prey in a single bound.”

*During mating, jaguars in the wild “can copulate up to 100 times a day.”  Seriously.  That fact kinda blew my mind.

I have an excerpt from “Wicked Ways” on my site–so if you haven’t already taken a peek, do go and read the sample from the story.  (Who knows?  You might find more fun jaguar facts…)

I can’t believe how quickly time is flying by! On Tuesday, WHEN HE WAS BAD will be on store shelves! (Okay, I’ve already gotten reports of some sightings, but the book will be “officially” out then.)

I decided to make a little teaser for the book–hope you enjoy it!

Poking my head up from editing mode (I should be at the half-way mark before I sleep tonight–yay!), to wish everyone a fantastic holiday weekend!  Be safe and have fun!

My dad is a veteran and when Memorial Day rolls around, I know that he always takes a bit of time to remember those he served with–and lost so long ago.  So, please, do take some time to remember the fallen this weekend.

And, on a brighter note…on Saturday, The Bradford Bunch will have a great guest blogger:  Angie Fox.  Angie has what looks like an absolutely fabulous (and hilarious!) new paranormal coming from Dorchester.  THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER will hit stores shelves on July 29.

(I love this cover!)

Different writers have different methods for crafting their stories. Some writers stop and edit their work as they go; never moving forward until the previous scene is perfected.

That’s not really my style.

When I write, I begin by pounding out a rough draft first.  I only go back and change a scene at this point if something just sticks out in my head as being wrong. And by sticking out, I mean I get this nagging in the back of my mind that just won’t go away. A feeling that the story flow is off–and when I get this feeling, I do edit.  Usually, I’ll create two versions of a scene at that point and I’ll choose the one that fits the best.

After I complete my initial rough draft, I take a few days rest from my story to give me a chance to get some distance from the work.  When I’m too close to a story, it’s hard for me to see the errors. When break time is over, it’s time to begin my first read-through.

When I begin a read-through, I always start by having an old-fashioned journal at my side.  As I read through the story, I make notations of any phrasings I don’t like, any plot points that seem shady, and any character inconsistencies.  I edit as I go on the read-through, but these notations are for me to double-check once the full review is complete.  Usually, I aim to complete a review of at least 50 pages a day.

Time permitting, once this first read-through is finished, I like to do once more full review, just as a precaution.

Some writers use critique groups or beta readers to review their material.  I’ve never used either of those methods, but others swear by them. Different strokes for different folks.

If you’re a writer, what’s the method you use for your story and editing?  I’m always curious about what works or what doesn’t work for other people!

On Sunday, I traveled to New Orleans for a long overdue family day of fun at the zoo and the aquarium. My son was particularly looking forward to seeing the elephants–and, as fate would have it, they are pretty much the first animals you get to see after you walk into the zoo.  Two very large elephants (are there any other kind?) were chilling in the mid-morning light, just kind of swaying back and forth. Then, they must have sensed that I was there (they had their backs to me and all I could see was um, elephant butt) because they became giddy with excitement–one urinated and one pooped–right in front of me.  My string of good luck was obviously continuing.

A bit later, I tried to move in for a close-up view of a rhinoceros.  He was lounging in the sun, trying to hide from me. I crept forward, inching ever closer–until my dad stopped me.  You see, what I hadn’t realized–a snake was on the ground right in front of me. About two feet away.  Not INSIDE the animal’s secured area. Right. In. Front. Of. Me.  (And my two year old son.)

So not cool.

Now, my dad has much more experienced snake eyes than I do, and he said the snake looked like a water moccasin.  I wasn’t gonna do a close-up survey.  I got my son and we got out of there–fast. My dad lingered a bit to warn others with kids to stay away until the zoo folks arrived and took charge.

I hate snakes. Have I mentioned that?  And the kicker for me–less than a week before, a snake was in my front yard. Slithering his way up my drive like he was a welcome guest. So not.  And now this…What? Do the snakes think I’m their leader?  I’m not–they need to stay away from me!

I did have a fun time at the zoo. Come on–it’s the zoo!  Jack loved pointing at all of the animals and we even had an ice cream break for lunch.

After that, time for a trip to Canal Street and a visit to the wonderfully air-conditioned aquarium.  I love to go to the aquarium because I so enjoy watching the sharks swim. For some reason, watching them soothes me.

I didn’t travel too deeply into the heart of the city.  I wanted to see more–see what was being rebuilt, what still needed help.  Perhaps next time. I considered this my gentle re-introduction to the city–and New Orleans is, for all its recent troubles, a beautiful city.

In the past, I’ve enjoyed strolling in Jackson Square and taking Haunted Tours around the city–and I know I’ll do that again.  Perhaps even later this summer–I’m considering attending Heather Graham’s New Orleans Conference.

But it’s getting late now–and I just finished watching my taped episode of House. So that means (anybody who watched the show will know what I’m talking about) that I have a headache from crying.

On a writerly note, I’m working on my first read-through of my recently finished rough draft.  I’ll post tomorrow about my read-through method. Every writer seems to have a different method–different strokes for different folks.

Night!