At long last a LiveJournal by Jeri Smith-Ready

Hey kids, it's time for that annual self-flaggelation ritual--the Goals Review!

On January 2 I posted my writing/personal goals for 2008. It was fun to look at them this morning, because I hadn't actually given them any thought since, er, February?

With that in mind, let's see how I did:

( One more click in 2008 won't kill you. )

I guess I should start on my 2009 goals now. Sheesh, I haven't even started Item #1 on Monday's to-do list! I can't tell you what it is, because it has to do with a Supah Sekrit project I'll be spending January writing. Item #2 is polish the vampire proposal, and Item #3 is watch a movie about Bob Marley and brainstorm Noah's story.

Hey, maybe those should be my first three goals of 2009. Instant win!

Did you set goals for 2008? How many did you meet? (Note: this is not a contest.) What did you learn from them? Do you now doubt the sanity of your January 2008 self?

Sneaking a few minutes away from Bad to the Bone copyedits to let you know that I'm guest-blogging over at Paranormal Romance about the naughty little whippersnappers in my latest novel, The Reawakened. Sura and Dravek, I'm looking at you, you...book-taker-overs, you!

Leave a comment at the post between now and December 29 and be automatically entered to win your choice of one Aspect of Crow book (signed, of course!).

Now...back to the blue pencils.

Here's the link for the audio for yesterday's Blog Talk Radio interview, focusing on world-building (I'd hoped to have the embedded audio, but it's not working for me, so just follow the link if you wanna listen).

Also, today I've got blog duty at SFNovelists.com, where I bring up the question of not just where but when to set one's novel--specifically around holidays or certain times of the year?

Our greyhound Meadow just went into surgery to fix four ruptured discs in her back. We tried the "conservative" method, i.e., crate rest and pain meds, to no avail, so this was our last option. Her road to wellness will be a long one (6-8 weeks, maybe more), but the doc seemed optimistic about her chances for a full recovery. Not sure if we'll ever let her run again, and she's definitely hanging up her WWE title belt (do they wear belts?), but we'll be thrilled just to be able to take her for a walk without painful consequences.

Keep your fingers crossed for her!


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Now playing: Lisa Loeb - Do You Sleep
via FoxyTunes

I'll be on Blog Talk Radio today at 3pm Eastern discussing world-building with fellow urban fantasy authors Mark del Franco, Ilona Andrews, Kathryn Smith, Jordan Summers, and Cheyenne McCray, along with Harper Collins executive editor Diana Gill.

Fans can call the following number to listen from their phone and ask questions live during the show.

CALL IN NUMBER: (347) 826-9684
Or, listen to the show and ask questions online:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/AuthorsOnAir/TheBeyond/2008/11/20/Fangs-Fur-and-Fey-team-discuss-worldbuilding

If you go there now, you can set a reminder to receive an email just before the show starts. We recommend you check out the site ahead of time in order to login to the chat room discussion.

I'll post the whole thing here after it's over.  Hope to hear from you!


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Now playing: Donovan - Colours
via FoxyTunes   

I'm the Affiliate of the Month over at my favorite bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy, which means I wrote a guest blog post connected to my new release, The Reawakened.  "When 'The End' means THE END" discusses what it feels like to end a series on purpose (hint: there are smiles involved) and when an author knows it's time to say goodbye.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on when a series should end.  If you don't have a MySpace account, feel free to discuss it here.  I've copied the questions from that blog post here:

Is the "stand-alone trilogy" a thing of the past?  Are you more likely to start reading a series if you know when it will end?  Do you have different expectations for open-ended series versus those with a defined story arc?  Does it depend on the genre or subgenre?

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Monday I'll be sending out the Fall issue of my quarterly newsletter.  As always, I'll draw two names to win a prize just before it goes out and announce it in the issue.  This issue's prize will be an autographed copy of The Reawakened. 

And that's not all!  Newsletter subscribers will get a link to my new short story, "When the Music's Over," which depicts the weird and wild way Jim from Wicked Game became a vampire.  I swear, I was not on drugs when I wrote it, except Aleve and Tylenol.  The rest of the world will have to wait an extra week to read the story. 

If you haven't read the previous tie-in short stories, here they are: "Crossroads" (Monroe) and "Rave On" (Spencer).

To subscribe, just put your e-mail address in the SIGN UP FOR JERI'S NEWSLETTER box on the sidebar on my home page.  I'm getting really close to 1,000 subscribers, and I think there might be a special prize for #1,000.  Good luck!

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Now playing: You on the Run - The Black Angels
via FoxyTunes  

Found this app through one of my LJ friends (sorry, I can't remember which one you were!), and tried it out today on Jim's story, "When the Music's Over."  I wanted to do the whole 1500 word-story in 1.5 hours, but have to take a dog feeding/medicating break, so I'll do the rest soon.

	1028
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lab.drwicked.com

Not bad!  I just in the last few paragraphs scraped the surface of the weirdness this story needs to have, but it's getting there.  Definitely more humorous than the last two have been.  I decided it couldn't always be sad to become a vampire. Sometimes it would be pretty groovy.


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Now playing: When The Music's Over - The Doors
via FoxyTunes    

Are you left-brained, right-brained, or whole-brained? How does it affect your writing and editing process? 

Come take a Cognitive Style quiz on my main blog, leave a comment and be automatically entered to win a free lecture packet (a $20 value) from psychologist/writing instructor/guest blogger Margie Lawson.  I've taken all of her classes--Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors, Deep Edits, and Empowering Character Emotions--and they've helped my writing immeasurably.

Specifically, the latter two have helped my actual craft; the first one helped me sit my butt down and get things done, without which the craft couldn't happen.

I did one of the classes on my own, just using the lecture packet I purchased for $20 off Margie's website.  Since I'm really really bad at keeping up with online classes (my participation usually consists of my introduction to the group followed by a month of total silence), the lecture packet was a great way for me to get the information and complete the course at my own erratic and maverick-y pace.

So please stop by and leave a comment. You don't have to have a Blogger account to participate--just check Anonymous and mention your LJ username at the bottom of your comment so if you win I can get in touch with you.  Comments will be taken until Wednesday at 11:59pm eastern time.

Gotta go polish "Storm Reaper" so I can turn it in by 5.  See ya!

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Now playing: Remember Us - 300 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
via FoxyTunes   

A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Mindy Klasky at Capclave. Now I'm proud to count her as a friend, but I'm not here to talk about her warmth, her disarming sense of humor, or her inexplicable faith in humankind.

About a year ago I read SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL, the second in Mindy's Jane Madison series, without having read Book One, A GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT. This is not something I would normally do or even recommend (books are in a certain order for a reason, after all), but I was getting ready to write Bad to the Bone and was studying second books in series to see how other authors pulled it off.

Not only did I enjoy Sorcery immensely ("fun and charming" says my book journal), but I absorbed the characters and situation instantly. It was a masterpiece of seamlessly introduced backstory. This is a particularly tough challenge when writing in first person narrative. There's always the "Why would she be thinking this fact right now?" issue, and in most books I just accept the seemingly inevitable awkwardness.

I actually marked up my copy with a pen, bracketing every place where Jane introduced another tidbit of her past, so that I could go back and study how it was done, because the overall effect was, "I really want to read Girl's Guide, but not until after I finish this book." I was so thrilled to find a Book Two that truly stood alone while at the same time felt like it was part of a larger narrative tapestry.

Anyway, the conclusion of the Jane Madison series, Magic and the Modern Girl, comes out today, and I can't wait to see if (please please please) Jane ends up with David.

Here's Mindy to tell you more about the book, the series, her exciting new project, and her plan to raise charity dollars by making us all fat:

( Clicking tastes great, appears to be less filling )

Thanks for taking the time to ask these questions! I hope that people will stop by my website and/or email me any questions at mindy@mindyklasky.com.


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Now playing: Sad To Be Alone - Sonny Boy Williamson
via FoxyTunes

Today I'm undertaking a special project with some of my fellow SF Novelists authors. The Plot Synopsis Project was started by Compton Crook Award nominee Joshua Palmatier (author of The Skewed Throne, The Cracked Throne, and The Vacant Throne, the Throne of Amenkor fantasy series).

Joshua explains it here:

Essentially, I gathered together a group of authors who were willing to post an entry about their own plot synopsis writing technique as well as a sample copy of one of their own plot synopses OR post an entry about how they got published without using a plot synopsis, to show everyone how different people write their synopses, and that it isn’t necessarily required to get published.

So today I'm honored to take part in...Plot Synopsis Project II. Because in science fiction and fantasy, we loves us a good sequel!

At the bottom of this entry I've included links to the other PSP2 participants, whose synopses are undoubtedly better than mine, or at least shorter. But not self-deprecating-er, I bet.

I'll present the synopsis with which I sold the Aspect of Crow trilogy to Luna Books in February 2005. I sold the trilogy on proposal, which means I didn't write the entire book before selling it, but only three chapters and this eighteen-double-spaced-page synopsis.

It's fascinating (and rather hilarious) to see how much the eventual book changed from the original synopsis. With Book One, Eyes of Crow, the changes were relatively minor [and are presented in italics and brackets with self-directed snark].

With Book Two, Voice of Crow, almost the entire story changed from my original conception, because I came to my senses and decided, what the hell, let's NOT kill off the hero of Book One.

And the synopsis of Book Three (what eventually became The Reawakened, which comes out November 1) bears no resemblance whatsoever to the final version, other than the Descendant occupation and ultimate good-conquers-evil ending.

NOTE: It should go without saying that these synopses contain THE ENTIRE PLOT OF THE FIRST BOOK, which means HEY, SPOILER ALERT. I hope that even after reading it, you'll still want to read Eyes of Crow and its two sequels. (I swear, the books are better written than the synopses. Check out these excerpts if you don't believe me. Oh, and this one, too.)

***To raise those hopes, I'll give away one signed copy each of both Eyes of Crow and Voice of Crow to one commenter. I'll draw a name at random from my three blogs next Thursday at 11:59pm eastern time.***

Here we go--the synopsis as submitted to Luna Books in 2004. For those short on time, just read the stuff in italics.

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( Unlock the guaranteed key to publication! Make Money! Money! Money! )

And here are my fellow PSP2ers:

Alma Alexander (Will post on the 20th instead.)

Sam Butler

Diana Pharaoh Francis

Daryl Gregory

Simon Haynes

Jay Lake’s comments and his synopses

Kelly McCullough

Joshua Palmatier

Jennifer Stevenson

Edward Willett

(another LJ-exclusive post!)

Still putting the finishing touches on Spencer's story, "Rave On." Heard back early yesterday from my other beta reader, who had one tiny nitpick but otherwise thought it was fine.

So what's the problem?

She said she "liked it."

I thought, hmmmm. She loved Monroe's story but just liked this one. And my first beta reader said she "really liked it" but her reaction lacked the breathlessness she had after reading Monroe's story. So no negatives, but none of what we at Ruby Tuesday's used to call the "WOW Experience" (at least, for the four weeks I worked there in 1996).

Curse my perfectionism, but I can't bear the thought of any work not kicking the ever-loving ass of its predecessor. So I spent all of last evening and today trimming and polishing and knocking out weak words. I realized the love lust interest had no appeal aside from her (un)natural vampire charisma.

None of the story changed, aside from a few minor details. Mostly it was the choice of language.

The biggest challenge with this story (aside from figuring out the plot from scratch) was writing compelling prose from the POV of a plainspoken, matter-of-fact man like Spencer. He's not bright and funny like Ciara, or mystical spooky like Monroe. He tells us what happened and, to the best of his ability, why it happened. A man from his place and time (Memphis 1959) wouldn't indulge in endless psychobabble about his inner child. We have to figure out a lot of what goes on in his head based on his words and actions.

Tightening the prose was another challenge.  Southerners do not employ economy of language, so some sentences had to be a little wordier in order to sound like him.

Quick example: instead of "against the wall," it's "up against the wall." Horrors! An extra word!! Rap my knuckles with the Strunk & White Ruler of Shame!

I'll let it sit for an hour, then read it out loud for the thirtieth time.  Then hopefully post it and send my newsletter tonight.  Tomorrow I start Supah Sekrit Project that will consume my next week.  Also, as a reward for finishing the story, I finally get to open my new CD, The Black Angels' Directions to See a Ghost.

How do you know when your work is done?  Do you ever find yourself at that last stage slaving over each word?  Does it show professionalism or obsessiveness, or both?  How do you get from LIKE to LUUUUURRRRVE?

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Now playing: If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day - Robert Johnson
via FoxyTunes    

Yesterday I managed to tear my eyes away from the Sarah Palin Train Wreck long enough to write my newsletter and, um, read part of a book. OK, not the world's most productive day.

But over the weekend I finally finished Spencer's story, or at least a first draft. Still waiting for comments from my second beta reader. My first reader basically just said what she liked but had no ideas for improvement. Sigh...nice ego juice, but it doesn't help much.

It took me nearly a month to write this 5K-word story (not working all day every day, just from the time I started until I finished, including research and taking several days to work on other projects). Monroe's story was relatively easy, because he basically told it in Wicked Game. (Of course, he fudged some of the details.)

But Spencer is relatively enigmatic. The only clue I gave myself (and readers) in WG was his speech at the Smoking Pig debut party, where he talks about rock 'n' roll being about immortality, but more importantly about eternal youth--hence the parallel to vampires.

“Thank you all for coming out to hear our little show.” He holds the mike in one hand and shifts the stand in a gesture of false bashfulness. “Along with playing some tunes to get you moving, we’ve been asked to tell our stories tonight. Stories of how we became vampires.” The crowd emits scattered snickers, but Spencer’s face bears such an earnest look of wild innocence that most people just stare.

"Some of us wanted to live forever," he says. “Some of us just wanted to live.” His Adam’s apple bobs once, and his eyes go far away for a moment so brief I’d have missed it if I’d blinked.

“But for all of us,” he continues, “it was about the music. The music turned us as much as the blood.”

That's all I had to work with. That and the fact that he was from Memphis and died in 1959 (but not necessarily in Memphis).

But I'm very happy with it now. I love fleshing out the WVMP universe this way, from points-of-view other than Ciara's.  The things I discover while writing these stories will no doubt give me ideas for Bad to the Bone and beyond (if there is a beyond *fingers crossed*).  In Spencer's story, for example, we get to see and feel what happens during and after the Change. 

I hope y'all like it. Newsletter subscribers will get to see it by tomorrow, a week ahead of everyone else. (You can sign up for the newsletter on my home page.)

And since I cannot look away, I thought I'd link to this excellent post about why Sarah Palin's lack of experience is so scary. Fivethirtyeight.com is a fantastic site for political junkies who want something a little more solid than the average poll watch sites.  The analysis is staggeringly robust, and makes me fondly recall my days as a Statistics tutor.  (Yes, writers can do math!)


So what did you do this weekend?

I've decided to start posting little mini-updates here, mostly writing-oriented, on my off-blogging days.  (The "Blogging Days" being MWF, where I cross-post to jerismithready.com and MySpace.)

Uh-oh, now that I've said I was going to do it, I probably never will.  Hate commitment.  So let's pretend this is a one-time thing.  A one-day stand with casual blogging, if you will.

Mini-news:

1) There's a bit of drama on Ciara's MySpace blog.  A marriage proposal from Shane? 
2) I found out last night that a character in THE REAWAKENED has the same name as Barack Obama's older daughter: Malia.  So cool! 
3) Speaking of TR, I'll be posting the full cover along with an excerpt tomorrow.  Oh, crap, I've said I would do it.  Now it won't happen.  Stay tuned....


Yesterday I felt super-productive for the first time in weeks.  I turned in a synopsis for a short story I've been contracted to write.  I'll announce details once I get the signed contract itself--hopefully before the story itself is published (ha!).  I'm very excited about it, especially now that I've outlined the events and conflicts. It's set in a geographical area that's always fascinated me--the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern VA.  Road trip ahoy!

I also made good progress on the revisions to my YA proposal.  Last night I read the chapters to my husband.  He loved it, but that wasn't the point.  I always read my works out loud at the last stage. Amazing what you pick up on by hearing the words--repetitive phrases, unfortunate rhymes, and dialogue that just clunks, Things your eye skips over when you read it silently.

Some of the descriptive language in one scene sounds off--too poetic, distant, third-persony.  I get that way when I describe music--swoony and hyperbolic.  It just doesn't sound like the MC's first-person voice.

This fine-tuning could make a huge difference in impressing an editor, so it's worth taking the time.  Ultimately I know that an editor makes an offer based on the idea and the voice, not the minor details. But minor details can add up to an overall experience of "Hmm, it's not bad, but I won't fight hard for it in committee." versus "OMFG WOW! *falls off chair, runs down hall to beg boss to write big check*"

So how do you know when your submission is ready to go?  Is it a gut feeling or do you have an obsessive multi-step process?  Or does one result from the other?

If you've ever wondered why I often don't blog on Mondays (yes, I'm sure you've pondered this mystery for hours on end, perhaps speculating with friends over appletinis at the local fern bar), it's because that's the day I post the Topic of the Week over at Fangs Fur & Fey.

Each Monday I present a question on a writing topic--sometimes urban fantasy-related, but usually more general. Then we discuss! Both Members (published UF authors) and Watchers (fans and aspiring authors) are encouraged to participate. Anyone can submit a Topic, but when the submission well runs dry, I make up my own. It's a great way to get a lot of people sharing their experiences.

Today's topic is How We Begin, what gives us the spark that makes us start writing a new project. Titles? Characters? Story? Scene?

Here are all the Topics of the Week in one place.

Anyone can be an official Watcher in the FFF community. All you need is a LiveJournal account (a basic one is free) and an enthusiasm for Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy or Paranormal Romance.

And just to read the blog? You don't need nothin'! Here's a list of the fabulous FFF authors, many of whom can be found commenting there every week.

It's the place to be, so stop on by!

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Now playing: The Raveonettes - Somewhere in Texas
via FoxyTunes   

Still untangling the end of Bad to the Bone (important lesson: sometimes when a scene doesn't want to be written, it means it wasn't meant to exist), so I've only got time for a quick Furface post.

Turns out, Annie got adopted (yay!), so we'll just be fostering her sister Beanie, beginning next week (Wednesday, I think).



Must.  Hug.  Now.

I mean, Blog Tour.  If you're not already sick of reading my inane babblings, here are three more opportunities to have your brain cells coated with my thoughts (I recommend a nice vinegar rinse afterward).  One of them has something in it for you.

Interview at Ann Aguirre's blog.  Find out my secret celebrity boyfriend, my favorite drink, and whether a dolphin could take on a ninja.  Or a pirate, I forget.  Anyway, one lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Wicked Game.

Interview at Fangs, Fur & Fey. Rachel Vincent asks about my favorite scene from Wicked Game, how I researched the book, and why the hell I chose to write in first person present tense.

Big Idea at John Scalzi's Whatever blog.  This is one of my favorite blogs going way back, so I'm tickled and terrified at being featured on it myself.  The Big Idea is--well, just go look.  It's pretty short.

Thanks to Ann, Rachel, and John for picking my brain!

The blog tour makes its first post-publication stop today at Southern Fried Chicas, where I discuss the concept of "brainspace" (I think I made this word up).  Basically, how do writers settle into "the zone," what interferes with it, and how to tell if distractions are getting the best of you.

I'm giving away a signed copy of Wicked Game to one commenter.  You have until noon Eastern time tomorrow to comment, so let's hear your strategies for conquering the Enemies of Brainspace! How do you resist the internet, television, and other things that clutter up your mind?

Also, my final answers to the intriguing questions at Fallen Angels blog are up.  Find out something shocking about me, where I got the idea for the playlists, and more!

My Blog Tour continues today, with an interview at Darque Reviews.

Find out which character I'm most attached to, why I hate first drafts, and how much potential I have for becoming a crack addict.


Beginning now, I'm taking a long weekend off to do some intensive work on Bad to the Bone. I'll fill in plot holes, untangle storylines, and oh, I don't know, maybe finally figure out what happens in the last chapter. And whatever happened to the disappearing journalist. And that other guy.

May your weekends be full of fun!

I'm kicking off my Blog Tour with an interview at ChickLitGurrl's blog. Find out how I got the idea for Wicked Game, which three songs would be on the soundtrack to my life, and my single biggest piece of advice for writers.

Excuse me while I go follow that advice....

And you are...?

That's probably what you're thinking, since I haven't blogged (first I typed "blooged," which shows you how out of practice I am) in ten days. This morning I turned in the rewrite for The Reawakened (yes, you will cry buckets, but not until November) and found out I'll be getting the line edits back in ten days, before I've had time to forget what it's all about.

Line edits, basically, are when the editor gets a little more nitpicky than the first go-around (where he or she discusses major issues, such as character and plot and I dunno, maybe the fact that the manuscript is twenty-five thousand words too long, just as a fr'instance). The author makes changes as quickly as possible and sends back the manuscript so it can go to the copyeditor.

For both of my publishers, the line edits are done on paper, which means I write each change on the manuscript, and then the editor (or her lovely assistant) types in my changes. Some publishers are moving toward electronic edits, which I imagine involve Microsoft Word's comment and track changes functions (anyone with electronic edits, feel free to enlighten).

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So, the latest updates:

( Click here for things more fun than edits )



I think that's it for now. As you can tell, I'm a bit fried. Tomorrow I'm thrilled to be doing an interview with Fast Forward TV. Wish me luck, and a complete lack of stuttering stupidity!

I'm today's guest over at the blog of author Jaye Wells, as part of her Adopt a Vampire Novel Month.  The topic is "Vamp Like Me: In Defense of Defanging," in which I discuss whether vampires have gotten too mushy and romantic in today's literature.  Find out how feminism and Archie Bunker have entered the argument.

Oh, and I'm giving away an ARC of Wicked Game to one lucky commenter.  But you only have one day to comment, so skedaddle!

Speaking of prizes, the winner of a signed copy of Justin Gustainis's Black Magic Woman is...Lori!  Lori, please send your mailing address to jeri AT jerismithready DOT com, and I'll pass it on to Justin for your prize.

You have until Monday to enter the giveaway for a signed copy of Rachel Vincent's new book, Rogue.

I finished the rewrite of The Reawakened last night (okay, early this morning), and today I start the revision stage.  I'll explain the difference in more detail in a post soon, but basically in the rewrite I change the story, rip out scenes, and add new ones.  For instance, in this draft of The Reawakened, three characters who died in the first draft get to live, while three (edited: four) others who lived get to, well, die.  The ending of both Parts One and Two are completely different.  The epilogue is the same, though (except without those formerly living characters).

Revisions, on the other hand, consist of going through the manuscript to see if the rewrite makes sense, filling plot holes and smoothing out character inconsistencies.  The final pass is the polish, where I make every scene and sentence as strong as it can be.

Have a great weekend!

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Now playing: Evenstar - Various Artists
via FoxyTunes