2011: What's in Store?

2010 is wrapping up pretty quickly. Seems like I was just getting used to stop writing 2009 on checks when 2010 showed up. Now I've got to change again. So what's on my plate for 2011?

Currently scheduled 2011 releases:

Jan--Wolf Wanted (Total E-Bound-TEB)
Feb--The Lost Locket (Loose Id)
Aftershocks, print (TEB)
March--Guardian's Redemption, print (TEB)
April--Journeyman's Ride (Carina)
May--RetroCog (Loose Id)
August--Whispered Words (Loose Id)
Nov--Book 4 Power Up! series (Loose Id)

I have a finished project on hold, another romantic suspense I'm waiting to hear back from the publisher on. And a few projects I intend to finish this year. Thus far: 2 more Cougar Falls books, another romantic suspense, another 2 Voider books, and another steampunk. I also have in mind a more time intensive project, but that's on hold while I tie up some contractual obligations. And that's what's in store for my year, all subject to change of course.

It's never too early to start thinking about the next year.

Happy Monday!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Busy Busy Busy

So today I'm at Samhain's blog talking about Christmas traditions. No, I didn't copy my post from yesterday. Instead, I mentioned a common holiday tradition or two then shared two of my own. Check it out if you want to learn the Harte holiday song. :)

Peace!
Marie

Christmas Traditions Explored

Okay, so maybe not explored, but I've got a few interesting tidbits about Santa Claus, Christmas trees and mistletoe at Hitting the Hot Spot today. Go on over and take a look.

Back and Shiny With Lights

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree, how brightly colored your branches...

So the tree is up,the outside lights are bright, and the fireplace is burning. Cold down here in Georgia. Finally! I'm so excited to feel a good "brr" in the brisk air.

Since I last chatted via Blogger, I've sent my mother packing--back to snowy Oregon! I had a great time with her and am now back to--wait for it--editing! Copy edits on my fun steampunk that's due out in April. I love this story more each time I read it. Let's hope readers feel the same way. A funny thing happened today while I was going through it. An idea for another book set in the same world. Yea!

This time, picture a Viking who won't die, a Valkyrie sent to bring him in, and an adventure filled with dire wolves, cannibals, and Easterners who won't have much to do with the gods but everything to do with class, nobility, and whatever pleases His Majesty, the king. Lots of potential for trouble, there.

After my steampunk edits, I have to do a bit of admin for The Lost Locket, scheduled to release from Loose Id in February. Then I'll make time to write, write, write, which I haven't done for a while now. I plan to work around the kids being home this week by using that marvelous Wii and the television during the mornings. Yeah, bad mom, but I'll get some work done.

Oh, and before I forget, it's Ayla Ruse's birthday today. So I'm wishing her a happy, happy day!
Er, well, it was the 19th, but it's technically the 20th as I finish writing this. So I guess a belated happy birthday is in order? :) Cheers.

Excuses Are Like...These Guys?

Well hello. I've been remiss in posting lately,and it's not because I was waylaid by these two thugs hanging around my house. (To relieve your minds, the hockey killer and motorcycle ghoul left right after Halloween.) My excuse is that my mom's visiting from out West, and we're enjoying one another's company so much that I haven't been on my computer except to check email early each morning, and that's it.

I've for the most part finished up on pending edits for two works coming out next year. My current WIP is at a standstill as I celebrate the holidays, and yea me, I actually managed some Christmas shopping today. The house is decorated, except for the tree ornaments and the front lights which we plan to put up tomorrow.

So what's on your Christmas list? Books? Movies? Jewelry and clothes? I always tell the family I'm easy to shop for. Book store gift certificates, candles, soaps. I like to read and smell nice. EASY. I've bought some books for the kids and feel great about it. Nothing wrong with expanding the mind. Then it's okay for me to buy a few DVD's or those accursed video games. Games that I'm just too impatient to learn to play considering my kids pick up the mechanics in minutes.

So here's hoping Santa is good to those of you celebrating. Only 12 more shopping days to go...

A Very Bizarre Friday

So my mother has come to visit, and we're supposed to be having fun. Instead, I find a pair of yapping miniature poodles in my front yard. The canines were scratching at my front door and expecting to come in. Hello? Never seen the dogs before in my life. I already have 2 labs. We don't need more dogs.

Have I mentioned my mother is a dog lover? So now I'm waiting for some help to try to see if the dogs are microchipped, because they are too nice and well-groomed to be strays. sigh. I'm hoping the owners wake up and notice their dogs are gone. Geesh.

Happy Friday to the rest of you...

And the Weather Outside Is...

Delightful. Yeah, most people would say it's freakin' cold for Georgia. And hey, it is.(Hurray! Bring on the snow!) I have my gas fireplace on, which unfortunately doesn't extend to the room where I type, the spare room which has it's own AC/heater unit. I have to keep turning on the heater to heat it up, then turning it off so I don't get too hot. It's a pain, but with the door closed, the room heats up in no time.

Working on RetroCog right now. The title is cool, but too technospeak for this story, I think. I need to come up with something else. Retro-cognition is the ability to see the past. The opposite of precognition. And it's my hero's talent. The heroine has a ghost problem. The pair are currently in a town steeped in secrets, and the inn where they're staying was once a brothel. Leads to some heat between the sheets, I can tell you.

So back to my WIP. Stay warm out there!!

Mopping and Smiling...At the Same Time

I'm readying for my mother's upcoming visit. Writing, cleaning, shopping, everything all at once. But I never wear a smile like this when I'm mopping. Puh-lease. Yet I have to ask myself why I bother. My mother loves me. She had two kids at home while my dad worked, and she kept a really clean house.

Maybe that's why I feel so compelled to show her that my house can be as neat. When in reality, it's like, who the hell am I fooling? My kids and husband continually leave the place a mess. Ten seconds after cleaning up, there are new dirt tracks on the floor.

But I need to make sure the place is spotless for Mom. Weird. So this week I'm finishing work on a MS, working in some edits, and dusting like there's no tomorrow.

Mom is happy to visit. She loves the kids and even supports my writing, though she continues to ask when I'm going to write a children's book (sigh). I hope to have some fun with her while she's here. She can watch one of her grandsons recite his lines at the school play, watch the kiddos meet Santa, and help us decorate the tree. And a big plus for her, she gets away from snow in central Oregon and joins us here where the lows are in the 40's. A win-win, as long as I can get my work done on time. With that said, now back to my work in progress. Happy Monday to all!

Just Because

Christmas is coming...

Second Time's the...Charm?

Adjectives to describe me as a writer: creative, hard-working, focused, happy, neurotic. Yes, I'm neurotic. A bit crazy at times when it comes to second-guessing character motivations, reader desires, and a book's chance of success. Hence this post about Kate Undone, the recent source of my unease.

I've had the ideas for parallel worlds and Cross Step, Kansas in my head for years. Huge files full of characters, races and ideas for stories, some set in the future from when Namesake takes place. In fact, my Voiders folder has been transferred twice as I've upgraded computers over the years. When I finally decided to write Namesake, I loved the premise: Voids (wormholes) suddenly appear on earth in certain spots, and through them come Voiders, humanoids from alternate worlds. One type of Voider are the Ravagers, who equate to what we know as werewolves. Sexy werewolves. Bring on the romance.

I wasn't so sure about the heavy sensuality of the story. But it seemed a good fit for Ellora's Cave. One heroine, four heroes who later become two, then bump back up to three. Yeah, multiple heroes. But the story makes sense in the context of the Ravager family unit. One female to several males (3-6) make a pack. In Namesake, Vicki Fox claims the prime, his guard and one other.

Two of the initial heroes, who help make Vicki pack, drop out. They had their own female to claim, as well as each other. Perfect. I'd write the next story for Jesse, Logan, and Kate. Three Ravagers with some emotional issues to clear up before they can have their own happily ever after. An overarching plot of human watch groups, a crime lord with a hidden agenda, and Ravager politics round out the story.

I needed to be sure this story would stand up after Namesake's initial success. But so far, I have no friggin' clue how it's doing. I had one reader comment she liked it (thank you, Carrie Ann!) The ball in my chest eased. And then...nothing. No comments, no ratings, no nothing. I suppose no news is better than bad news, but I can't stop wondering about reader reaction.

Like I don't have other things I should be doing--wrapping up my current WIP before my mom comes next week, cleaning the house, decorating the house, starting my Christmas shopping... ACK! I can only hope Kate Undone does well enough that EC will accept my next novel about the mysterious crime boss in Cross Step--Mr. Tommy Chen. Chen is different than anyone else on the planet. No pack or clan, no family or relatives. He's the sole survivor of his people...or so he thinks.

Cross your fingers, and hope that his story will one day see the light of day. And that I can get my head out of my butt long enough to write it!

Have a nice weekend, and may the rest of your Friday be much less neurotic than mine.

New Release: KATE UNDONE

Released today from Ellora's Cave...KATE UNDONE

In the year 2078, Cross Step is home to strange portals called Voids, and the species who’ve come through are now a part of everyday society. Humans mistakenly compare Ravagers to werewolves, but Ravagers are so much more than myth. They’re real, and they’re here to stay.

Kate Savage should be the happiest Ravager on the planet. She finally has the two males she’s been lusting after for years. But her mates don’t seem to want her. To make matters worse, she’s in her first heat. But when she wakes up in a hotel room, tied up and confronted with two angry mates who feel wronged and abandoned, things really heat up.

Logan and Jesse are tired of tradition and waiting on Kate. They’ve decided to claim her themselves, and to finally get the stubborn female to see what’s in front of her. Love, lust and danger combine to make Kate’s heat the hottest thing ever. If the three of them have the courage to put their hearts on the line, they’ll have that happily-ever-after yet.

To read more, click here.