Hol-mogoly Cow - I'm a blog intervieweeeeee!

Kylie Griffin has me featured over on her blog today. Weird!

Welcome to everyone visiting via Kylie's invitation.

Further background info - I'm a thirty-nine-and-three-quarters mother of two and step-mother of one. My eldest daughter is Aspergers and she definitely gets it from me (I absolutely DO NOT think in a very neuro-typical way and my social skills can dip into the inept end of the scale).

My heroines tend to be fiesty (my husband would probably say this is from me too) and my hero's are tough with a touch of honesty and integrity - thank the heavens.

I love being a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand where I've met wonderful people like Kylie who - wonders upon wonders - speak my language.

I'm a member of the C2C chapter (central north island) where we have a number of accomplished authors and newby writers. Everyone gets support to the level they require and the meetings are fun and typically lively - especially when we're talking the technicalities of sensual scenes.

Thank you, Kylie, for the interview spot - and I hope you all enjoy your visit.

Homework Post the Post

If there's one thing I hate about starting a new manuscript - it's the Homework.

LOL - too much information!

I have fairies coming out my ears (oooh, that's actually a good idea, wait - a - minute - while - I - write - that - down (with a pen that doesn't run out of ink))

I need to type at about 1000 words per minute to keep up with the story in my head - and it's getting complicated. Frustrating much.

Gotta admit though - I'm probably more on edge because I'm waiting for the announcement of the finalists for the Clendon and the RWNZ First Impressions contests. I absolutely can't wait to meet Jessica Faust at the conference, and if I can win ten minutes with her I'd be over the moon.

Speaking of moons - and therefore shapeshifters - I'm about to take a break and pick up Nalini Singh's latest "Kiss of Snow" - just to get a different tone in my head for a while. I've been waiting for this romance - I can't wait to see how Nalini handles the age gap. Definitely a must read.

Doing the Homework

I have to admit - one of the biggest thrills I get out of starting a new manuscript is the 'homework' that needs to be done to ensure the details are right.

For some reason my gladiator got railroaded by fairies and I'm now deep in the Irish Sidhe sorting out kings and warriors and who belongs in a fairy court. Gotta say Irish history and fairytales make for facinating reading.  I always start at Wiki and Google then surf from there.

So far my world building is at the stage of figuring out what details are important to the story; and what details I can gloss over.  Detail affects pace. Too much at the beginning and a reader will throw in the towel at chapter two.  Too much later on and a reader will want to curse me for stopping her in the middle of a chase to explain why the colour yellow on my heroines dress aides her running skills (it doesn't btw - I just made that up as an example :-)  ).

Also - this is the first time I've had a full-on fairy book (or two) stuck in my head.  I'm not sure why it's fairies - except, I love the idea that fairies can't lie, which means I have to write some pretty clever dialogue for my bad guys. (Gives me the happy-shivers just thinking about it.)

Happy writing - Happy reading.
Tyree

Pottermore

Pottermore???  Youtube teaser??? What is she up to now?  Author marketing at its best!!

(BTW: The Youtube page is a teaser extra-ordinaire! - try it out, you can't subscribe (unless you go down the bottom) the 'likes' number is static, etc etc etc - it's a teaser within a teaser - probably a code (because that's what JKR does) - this brain teaser will keep the population hooked for the next five days.)

Romance under fire

Is this inspiration for a Romance Writer? - you can bet your sweet Canuck it is.

This guy - an Australian...who knew they could be that heroic? (Kylie you don't need to answer that) - kissed his girlfriend as he comforted her after she got caught up in the Canadian riots.

It's a moment captured in time - it's not sexual - he is absolutely, my hero!

Photojournalist Richard Lam took the photo and it's gone viral. Girl - Canadian, Boy - Autralian. Gotta love the big boost the two countries have got for their international relations. *sigh*

Chasing Bulls, Second Place and Nailing the Synopsis

It's a mouthfull of a heading - I know - but it's been a very hectic two weeks!

Bull Leasing has started with a handful of winter bulls doing the rounds for the 'early' ladies. I have to admit that they're big brutes and drafting in the yards is fairly intimidating. I had a go at drafting two bulls myself, which went well (I'm still alive), though standing still while they charge towards you is not my natural reaction to a threat! (cut and run would be more like it)

No words written - just a handful of edited pages on two manuscripts. The RWNZ is running three pitch competitions for the August conference and I intend to enter all of them. Jessica Faust is the guest agent and  I'd love a face to face. She requested a partial from me this year; it wasn't successful but she's a top agent I'd like to work with - so I'll bother her with another manuscript and see if that's more to her liking :)

The results of the Chapter Bookshop Short Story arrived last night and I placed SECOND. 
Woop Woop!


Very stoked with the placing - my little mouse story was fun to write and I'm glad it hit the right note with the editor of Womans Day. Now I'll get it off to the magazines and see if I can get a wee sale.  It's a definite boost to the slightly tired writing muscle.

As a small note - we were given the option to utilise the feedback from first-round judges and then forward a re-edited manuscript to the final judge if we wished. I did this. The feedback was brilliant (and very similar from all three judges). It critiqued the weaknesses in the story really well. I put forward a tighter manuscript which took me from sixth equal in the first round, to second place in the finals. Well worth taking on board the feedback. Yayee first round judges!

Also, I received my results from the Great Beginnings competition last night. I didn't make the final cut but again the feedback has proved invaluable. It was the synopsis that let it down. With no more than 500 words to play with I didn't convince the judges of the "conflict" between my protagonists. I received top marks for my writing (at least my voice didn't get lost in the change to a medical genre) but defining the conflict of my story is a weakness - excellent - a skill I can now work on improving.

All in all - Life's Good!

Short Story Success

What a great week!

Started off by receiving notification that I've finaled in the Chapters Short Story competition. Yee ha!

 It included fantastic feedback from the judges which I used to tweek the manuscript before I sent it for the final judging. Now it's fingers and toes crossed.

Competitions are a fantastic resource for writers. Not only do they get you on the right desk if you final, but they provide invaluable critiques.

To bring me back to earth I've spent my first few days with the bulls - and I love it. I'm going to enjoy the new challenge. We went to the sales yards yesterday - cattle everywhere. It's a real social occasion for farmers, they come to town for the livestock auctions and a bit of a food shop - I could imagine a few romance stories here. A couple of characters jumped into my head straight away - crikey, what market would a bull farmer romance fit into - Harlequin Category?

I've managed 13,000 words this week, plus editing - the gladiator is taking shape.