The Day After

My wings are tired! After all the buildup, all the secrecy and all the hype, the day after Christmas is usually a letdown for most. For me, the day gives me an opportunity to reflect on how far I've come in the year.

I'm still working [yeah!] at a job I find I can do fairly well and don't mind dragging myself out of bed to go to, my health is definitely better than it was this time last year and my extended family has become closer with each passing day. Can it get any better? I think not.

I would love to have had my dragon book, Dragons Among Us, sell a million copies; doesn't every writer dream of the same? But my sales are getting better with each day and I'm currently working on the next book, Dragons Among the Eagles, in the series.

I have to share my best gift -- ever. I have a large extended family [I counted 24 yesterday and a few were missing]. Because of the size, we draw names for present exchange. This year we did ornaments. I didn't know who drew my name as the name drawing is "secret". When my oldest daughter handed me the small package, I was intrigued. I opened the tissue paper and pulled out a gift that left me smiling for the rest of the day.

My daughter and grandkids had used the back cover of my book Dragons Among Us to copy the dragon talon shown and create a paper mache, green with red toenail talon exactly like the picture. It's the best present I've ever gotten and pretty darn accurate!

She laughed that it kind of looked like a chicken foot but to me the talon is perfect. It sits on my desk next to my computer where I can look at it every time I write.

Is there a better present than family? I think not.

Sable Angel

Home For Christmas

Holidays has always meant family, but I never really understood until my youngest daughter moved to Brooklyn. All I want for Christmas is for my daughter and her husband to be home with the rest of her family. Thankfully I am getting my wish. She will fly in tomorrow morning and stay through Christmas.

I have been so busy getting ready for their arrival I forgot it was my day to blog. I guess Angels don’t have perfect memories. And thanks to Sable I was given a gentle reminder.

The Angels are getting ready for the release of a St. Patrick’s day tale and I am excited about the story. It’s not really an anthology because all three stories are interconnected. I think it will be a fun read while celebrating in fine Irish fashion.

Merry Christmas to all and I hope everyone has a truly great new year.

Allana

THE TRADITION OF CHANGE

Um, yeah. Holiday traditions.

When I divorced and became a single mom, flexibility took the place of tradition. My sons had double the number of places to go for the holidays. When they grew up and grandkids came along, the number of relatives wanting time at the holidays increased again. Add to the mix that two of the grandkids have birthdays in December--one on the 22nd and one on the 26th--and scheduling grew to spreadsheet size.

Guess that means our "tradition" is that each holiday season is different. I usually manage to put up a tree and a few decorations, although last year I was so busy helping some friends with their pet sitting business that didn't happen. No one was at my house but my doggies and me, and they didn't complain about the lack of Christmas decor. :)

This year the urge to decorate a tree has been nagging at me. However, I'm obsessively focused to finish up house projects and keep moving forward on writing my nine-book series. I slid in some shopping earlier this week, but that may be my allotment of holiday-related time for the year.

But don't worry, I've got the holidays covered. My dogs will get extra kibble, and the kids and grandkids will get presents. So our tradition is intact: each holiday season is different!

I hope you'll share your most unusual holiday celebration. I can always use ideas for next year!

-Amber Angel

Holiday Traditions

This is the time of year where family traditions are a major part of our lives. With our busy schedules there are years we neglect to put up the Christmas lights and the Christmas cards are still blank long after New Years Day but there is one tradition my family partakes in every year without fail.
Our church serves a turkey dinner Christmas day for the community. My family's tradition is to deliver dinners to families who are not able to attend the meal at church. We visit mostly lonely elder people whose families are faraway and unable to see them. This tradition has given us the opportunity to see no matter how much we struggle in our daily lives there are others who have larger obstacles to cross everyday.
Our afternoon of giving has become a bonding time for the family. We still exchange gifts before we deliver the dinners, however, our presents to each other are not the focal point of the day. For us this tradition has become the true meaning of Christmas and enhances our lives.
May you and your family enjoy your traditions during this Christmas season.
Happy Holidays!
From the Indra Family

Writing Month of Insanity

It nagged at me, constantly, brutally until I planted my angel wings in the chair and wrote. But life has a way of interfering with our plans and while I had such high hopes of finishing the NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month] a winner having put 50,000 words on the page in one month, I fell shy by about 6,000 words.

I wrote 44,000 words and got a roaring start to the second novel in the dragon series, Dragons Among the Eagles. I've a personal goal to have it to my publisher by the first of January 2011. Hopefully with all the magic Rogue Phoenix Press manages, the novel will hit the book shelves in June 2011. That's the plan.

Stay tuned.

Sable Angel

Meet author: Angela Verdenius

Did you jump into writing and rocket to contest fame, or did the process happen over time?

LOL - I wish it happened to instant fame! No, it was a process over time. I wrote from as young as I can remember, but what sticks with me the most is the first book that I wrote - I submitted it to a publisher and it came back with the suggestion to keep my fantasies to myself! So I got mad, wrote another book and submitted it, which she accepted after a lot of cutting that I had to do myself - the book was massive, I admit it. *sheepish grin*. Unfortunately, the publisher went broke and I had to look elsewhere. I stumbled across Wings ePress, and the first book, Heart of an Outlaw, was published.

We’re all writers, whether our efforts are emails, grocery lists, or notes to our children’s teachers. You’ve done technical writing and published a number of articles. How do the skills you learned in those endeavors contribute to your novel writing?

I guess it taught me to use words that are needed and not to meander all over the place. Keep the writing tight and focussed! Or at least, that's the plan...

Writers face many challenges. What are some of yours?

I'm a great procrastinator. I'd rather sit and read or watch a movie than finish that pesky section of my current book that just won't work properly.... or keep putting off starting a new book until tomorrow, 'cause I can get a bit more reading done in the meantime or play on the internet. Someone smack me!


Are you a Pantser or Plotter?

Oh, definitely a plotter. I have a basic outline, so I know my main hero, heroine and setting, and a rough idea of the storyline. From there, things can change, so I always have paper and pen beside me on the desk to jot down changes and new characters and ideas. But a rough outline helps keep me focussed on the story and plot.


Are your books plot-driven or character-driven?

That's hard - I'd say character-driven, because nothing is going to happen unless the characters do something! (apart from drive me mad because they won't do as I want them to all the time).


Do you go with the flow or follow a schedule?

I try to follow a schedule, meaning anytime I can write, I rev up the computer. Once I'm working on a book, I keep plugging away every chance I get.

Is your research in advance or as you write?

That's the beauty of my genre - sci-fi/futuristic romance. My research is my imagination (scary thought, I know). I make my own rules, laws, worlds and monsters!

How do you write the best with noise or quiet?

I like it quiet around me with the music playing softly. I can't write without music. Well, I can if I have to and really try, but music is always in the background when I write.


Our characters claim much of our time as we spend hours in front of our computers capturing their stories. However, each of us has a cast of real life characters who inspire, encourage, and support us. Who are some of the many members of Team Angela?

Jemma, Rae, Kerstine and Theresa are always supportive. I'd have to say Bee is one of my main members. She's saved a few characters from being killed off when I have a fight with them! LOL Bee is the one I moan to, and send teasers through to when I'm writing.

What are you working on now?

A new sci-fi/futuristic romance, something different to the Heart & Soul series. It's going well so far.

What are five things Angela has around her when she writes?

Diet Coke, CDs, paper, pens, and a stack of notes that needed to be looked at like - oh, last month....


Do you ever have writers block. If you do, how do you overcome it?

I have never had writers block - until last year. I had a really hard time writing, nothing would come together, I left my job in March (I'm a nurse and worked at the hospital for about 8 years) , came back to my old job in August and now everything is flowing smoothly again! Not something I'd recommend for anyone with writers block LOL. I had a lot of personal issues to get through, and once they were sorted, everything was fine writing-wise as well.

On the other hand, if it comes to writing myself into a corner and nothing will work and the characters won't co-operate, I find having a shower helps the mind to flow and clear the cobwebs, or even just leaving the writing for a couple of hours or a day or so, and then coming back to it. Ideas usually come to me in the shower or when I'm driving in the car with the music on. I've even had an idea come to me when walking down the corridor at work!

Let's talk writing mechanics. How many drafts do you do? How many books can you complete in a year?

I don't do drafts. I write the book, check things as I go along, do a re-read and fix-up at the end and submit. I can do 2 full novels a year, sometimes a novella or two inbetween, and if I didn't have to work for a living as well, I could probably do 4 novels a year!


Do you have a method for promoting your books?

I try to do chats, I hhve a newsletter and website, I usually have postcards and magnets for new releases that I submit to the bookshops in Australia that carry my books, and I submit books for reviews. Promo is always a hard trail.

Was writing fiction something you have always wanted to do? Did you write stories as a child?

Oh yeah, I've written from as far back as I can remember. I was always reading and writing.

To write requires discipline. Do you follow any writing schedule or particular process that works best for you?

The only thing I do is once I'm working on a book, I try to write every day. About once a month, when I have a day off from work, I'll take it off from writing as well and just have a slack 'Angela day', where I watch TV, read and do nothing without feeling guilty . Otherwise, I just write on my days off and inbetween work.

Discipline is one of the most important things for me in writing. It's too easy for me to slack off!


In your writing career, anything you would do differently?

I wouldn't have been so shy about my books when I first started.

Do your characters talk to you? If they do, what kinds of things do they talk about?

I don't think they talk to me, as such, but when I write them, I live them. I've cried when writing scenes, laughed, frowned, scowled, smiled, felt mad - I feel their emotions as I write their scenes.

What is next for you?

I've always wanted to do a horror novel, and have one sort of planned. Also an urban fantasy with a difference (don't we all want to do that Differnet Story?), and I'd like to try a contemporary comedy romance. I have plots and things, it's just getting the time!

I have an e-book novella coming out in Februray 2011 from Eternal Press - a futuristic romance titled "Blast from the Past", and book 18 in my Heart & Soul series, "Shattered Soul", is tentatively set for February 2011 as well. A great start to a new year!

Thank you so much for letting me share!

Angela

Happy Thanksgiving to all

This has been a banner year for me.I had a story published in February and my dragon story published in August to great enthusiasm from the people who've read it.

As with every story I begin, I rush into the first four or five chapters then the story slows while my characters tell me where they want the action to take place. Yes, I know, it sounds crazy but almost every novel writer will tell you they only facilitate the story. It's the characters or the storyline that determine the outcome.

I chose to begin the second in my dragon series, Dragons Among The Eagles, for a writing challenge I've been doing for the month of November. By November 30, I hope to be 50,000 words into the story. The challenge has set a pace I need to continue if I'm to get all the series books drafted by the end of 2011--and that's my personal goal. Let's hope I can accomplish my goal without going to divorce court.

As someone once pointed out to me, if I write just one page a day for every day of the year, that will be 365 pages. Even if I throw out 30% as garbage and unrelated ranting, 244 pages is a decent sized novel.

I must be on my way. I've 3,500 words to put on the page today. The countdown is close at hand.

I am thankful for all those friends and family who support me. Most of all I'm thankful for my husband whose faith is unfailing and constant.

Sable Angel