Revisions ARE like brain surgery

I'm deep in edits for book 1 of my paranormal romance series. I mean, DEEP in edits. Some of the changes meant I had to disconnect some of my scenes, change the transitions. When I write, the rhythm of the book is extremely important to me and when I mess with that...I have to ensure I build it back up again so the flow is seamless. It's as if I need to make sure those fine emotional threads aren't thinned out too much throughout, that they hold firm and don't let the external plot overshadow them too much. I know. It's weird. I'm weird, because I love this process. I love to finesse with a book, I love to review words and phrases to see what could be made better and I love getting to spend time with my characters again. And although it's not "hard", revisions really are like fine, delicate, intricate brain surgery LOL.

Oh, and by the way? The book just got bumped to an August release. Yay!! And I hope to actually have a title soon...

Wanna know what an author does when...

...she has sick kids home from school? Whimper. A lot! That didn't help much so I had to find something else, something that allowed me to be somewhat productive. I'm revealing it all here. Well, it's what I do anyway :).

Coming Soon!

Well, Septemberish... The first book in my new series will be out around that time frame and I thought I'd start sharing a little bit about the series and the book. Although not too much 'cause I'm evil like that :).  I don't have a series name yet and the first book's title will also be changing, but I'm currently in edits and I can't wait for it to be out. The first book kicks off a paranormal romance series with an overall story arc about regaining hope, re-establishing trust and loyalty, reclaiming glory and seeking redemption, the themes in each of the books. They're fast paced, action packed and hot. If I do say so myself LOL. The relationship and emotional journey of the characters are still my first and foremost as each book deals with a couple struggling to come to terms with who and what they are and how they fit, especially with each other. Oh, and there are no vamps, weres, dragons, ghosts or angels in sight. This is something a little bit different, but grounded firmly in the contemporary world, which I love so much.

Look forward to sharing more of Seth and Devon with you soon!

Overused Words

Every writer probably has a group of words they tend to overuse in their writing. And that group could be large or small. Me? I seem to use God and f$%k a lot in each of my first drafts. Yeah, interesting combination, right? And then I have what I call "local" overused words, or words that are overused only for a particular book. I blame my characters for it. Totally. When I write, the characters become very real, actually they are real to me. As such, they have specific mannerisms, ways of thinking, moving and talking. I tend to write the book so a phrase or words that are very character specific end up being used a lot. My current manuscript? Nix. I seem to be using that a lot. "he nixed that idea" or "nix that". LOL. It fits with the tough, aggressive, in-your-face feel of my hero, but it's something to watch out for.

I'm always surprised to read a published book and pick up on them because I spend a great deal of time during the editing process to ensure readers wouldn't be aware of this issue. I recently read a book where the heroine's eye color was mentioned so often, it pulled me completely out of the story. The hero was always gazing into her "violet hued eyes". It kinda ruined the mood for me in several scenes.

As a reader, have you ever noticed a book that had overused words or perhaps a phrase? What were they? If you're a writer, what words do you have to watch yourself with :)?

And the winner is...

Wow! I had such great posts for Valentines Day memories. I hope everyone had a fabulous day and enjoyed doing whatever you wanted to do. I loved reading all the comments, especially considering I don't celebrate it. That is, my hubby doesn't celebrate it. But that's fine. Really. He doesn't need a special day. He does just great for the entire year...but don't tell him I said that :).

And now, the winner of my giveaway (chosen by random number generator) was LISA wolphcall(at)bellsouth(dot)net. Lisa, I'll be contacting you shortly to coordinate your gift card and to figure out which of my books you'd like!!