Changing of the Seasons

Not really a complete change though – technically the cooler fall weather and the leaves turning won't really start for a few more weeks around here. But summer vacation is ending, school is starting in a few days, so to me that signals the change. And I'm hoping it will bring a little more order to our little corner of the world.

It's been a busy and eventful summer. On the home front, I can now honestly say I can't wait for my daughter to get her driver's license. The chauffeuring gets old fast, and somehow she had somewhere to go nearly every night. Much easier when her friends come over here, but that brings its own set of dilemmas. At least now, I can say no to Tuesday night guests and not be made to feel like I'm the evil stepmother in Snow White!

I turned a lot of my focus toward revising my next vampire story, The Night Club. It's just about finished - I'm still doing some final revisions and adding a couple new scenes and just trying to get everything clean and logical. Which got me thinking ahead to my next vampire book. I actually began sketching it out. Just jotting down some ideas of what I think should happen, no real writing. Yet. You may remember Josh and Sophie from The Taste of Magic – well, they have their own tale to tell. So I started my spreadsheet for their story.

In the midst of that, I also began the sequel to Warrior's Vengeance. Rowan Langley is the hero in Warrior's Wrath, and if you read WV, you know him as Marissa's brother. He learns a few things about himself that turn him very angry and bitter. This doesn't bode well for the heroine, Aeron, a Welsh woman who steals from him. I'm having lots of fun getting this first draft down, and hopefully will complete it quickly. At the rate I'm going, there's actually a good chance of that.

I'm also doing some minor work on the sequel to Prince of the Universe. I had lost my fire for that story a couple months ago, but it's back. Christina and Reygar's story is a bit more difficult to pinpoint. I'm focusing on world building at this point, and making my usual lists - these are of various cultural customs and societal norms. With each one that becomes clear, the trouble between the Aldarran and "Earth Woman" gets stronger. This book will be set entirely on the planet of Aldarra – and civilization on that planet is very different from Earth's.

Lots of irons in the fire, which is kind of crazy, considering the insanity and chaos of the rest of my life. But my mind just works that way – I suppose because I'm a Gemini and there are way more than two of me in here! :D Each part of me wants to be focused on something, so to appease them all, I spend a little time on each planned book, at least so when I finish the two I'm neck deep in, I'll have at least two more to get to work on. The madness keeps me focused – I get 2 to 2 ½ hours a night to write, so I've been trying to use it wisely. With school starting, I may even gain another hour – no more kids staying up late because they don't have to get up in the morning! It's really hard to concentrate on medieval England when Mario's in the background trying to save the Princess!