Jaci Burton’s Muse

So Shannon asked me in the comments to my blog post below about my method for writing.

She’s been a writing whirlwind lately, experimenting with writing sans editing. The ‘don’t look back’ method. I think it’s working for you, isn’t it Shannon?

My method is a weird mix of sometimes I write without editing, sometimes I edit every freakin paragraph until I make myself insane. But in all honesty, I think it’s is a blend of both the nonstop don’t edit it variety and the meticulous edit as you go.

Does that make sense? Probably only to me *g*

As I sat and pondered my writing style (which always scares me when I do that), I realized that I’ll typically knock out a few pages, then go back and add a few sentences here and there. Typically I don’t edit, per se…I add. I’ll forget something I wanted to put in and if I don’t add it right now, with my overfilled brain, it’s hasta la vista baby.

I probably have the lousiest writing method on record. But it works for me. I can’t seem to write nonstop without looking back because if I stop for the night and open up my document the next day, or God forbid I should take a day off in between, I have no idea where I left off. So I have to go back and reread. And if I go back and reread, then I find something else to add. But I try to leave the editing ’til later, because I’m going to edit anyway.

Though I might sneak in a tweak or two.

I really want to try the no-edit, don’t-look-back method. Maybe with ADIF.

So, like Shannon, I’m really curious about everyone’s writing style. Are you ‘hands off’ or ‘fix it now’? Tell me tell me.

So I’ve been blogging about reading lots of books (which I have been doing *g*)

I’ve also been buying lots of books, too. But I’ll talk about those ….uhhh later.

I’ve actually been kicking some serious writing ass lately.

I had finished up my novella contribution to the Ellora’s Cave upcoming hardcover book and turned that in about a week ago. I’m doing one of my Devlin Dynasty werewolves for that book and I’m really happy with the story. Love those wolfies *g*.

Last weekend I finished an Ellora’s Cave book that I had started, believe it or not, a year ago. *gasp*. Unheard of for me, but other commitments and ’stuff’ happened and I put this one aside. I finally opened the file and knocked out the rest of it and turned it in this week. I’m SO excited because I haven’t had an EC book release in awhile. It’s the sequel to Bound to Trust, my futuristic BDSM. Titled Demand to Submit, it’ll be out…well I dunno when it will be out, but I’ll keep y’all posted. :-)

Then, instead of going back to A Demon Is Forever I decided to go ahead and plot out my second Berkley HEAT single title since that’s due in about a month. Tentatively titling it Born to Be Wild. Isn’t that a great title? Hey, a Harley is featured prominently in the plotline…the title just fit. *g* I’m having fun with this plotline, though the romantic suspense angle in it is kicking my ass a bit. The sex parts are fun to plot though. hehehe. I’m hoping to get that finished up next week and maybe get a few people to look at it for me so I can get rolling on ADIF without any other interruptions except edits here and there.

It’s nice to make some writing progress. Finally.

Yes, I’m one of the lucky few to have been gifted with an ARC of JR Ward’s Lover Awakened.

(And no, it’s not for sale. It was personally signed to me. It’s a precious gift and it’s mine forever. It goes on my keeper shelf. It’s not going on Ebay. So don’t ask *g*)

It’s going to be very difficult to write a review of this book because JR spills so many secrets in this one. Secrets I’m not going to divulge. I can say that once I started I couldn’t put it down. I held my breath. I cursed. I wept. I broke out in a cold sweat. My heart palpitated. I drooled. I searched out my husband for relief *g*. And then my heart tore in two. For so many reasons that I can’t say.

What I can say is that when I began the journey of the Black Dagger Brotherhood with Dark Lover, I had no idea what I was getting into, or how much I would enjoy the journey. When my friend Angie told me to read that first book…okay forced me to read that first book *g*….I hesitated. I didn’t have time to read. But I eventually caved. And oh, am I glad I did. Wrath was amazing. A story like I had never read before. I was hooked. I emailed JR like a gushing fangirl, begging for Rhage’s story. I whined, I begged, I cried like a whiney baby. hehehe. She took pity on me and gave me Lover Eternal, Rhage’s story.

Rhage was everything I could have hoped for and more. He and Mary took me on a journey of hope and redemption and it was oh so sweet.

But then she gave me a glimpse of Z and Bella. Oh, such heartache. I had to know.

So she gave me Lover Awakened.

And she gave me hope. And love. And joy. And she broke my heart. And there’s so much more.

But now I’ll have to wait for Butch’s story.

I think she’s trying to kill me *g*

For those impatiently waiting Lover Awakened, all I can say is that it will be well worth the wait. It is an incredible book. One that you won’t forget weeks after you’ve read it. This one will stay with me for a long, long time.

J R, you are amazing. I’m in awe of your talent.

Can I have Butch now? *g*

Since I have a rabid fascination with all things demon, I’m always scouring the internet for research fodder.

Writing the Demon Hunter series has put me in touch with massive demonic weirdness.

This has to be the best one yet.

Check out this link

Now being the good little Catholic girl that I am, anything that spouts about the true existence of Hell and demons gives me a rousing case of the heebie-jeebies. But this conspiracy theory goes a bit far, dontcha think? *g*

You have got to read it. I love the ‘don’t get involved in game shows’ part. I just knew Bob Barker was up to no good…hehehe.

And make sure to check out the links at the bottom right of the page. The problem with researching is I can get lost in these types of pages and links for hours. . .and there goes my writing. But dayum do they give me story ideas!

hehehe

Okay I’m not titled, but the second Demon Hunters book is.

Finally.

I’ve never had such difficulty titling a book before. My editor and I went round and round and round on titling this book. She pretty much hated everything I submitted to her (and rightly so, because believe me, I had suggeseted so many I was getting down to the lame and the ridiculous *g*)

But we finally came up with one.

The second Demon Hunters book will be titled:

A DEMON IS FOREVER

And it will release Summer of 2007

*wiggle*

And the title fits the storyline…perfectly. *grin*

So yesterday hubby had to listen to my 3,497th rant about our washing machine. The agitator has become possessed in the past several months and takes off, flying around the washer during the spin cycle with a rather loud and annoying clang, clang clang. After my diatribe of cursing (which was rather colorful, I thought), he said we should just go buy another washer and dryer.

Typically I don’t buy appliances until they die. However, the washer and dryer and refrigerator (which came with my current husband *g*) are, he tells me, from the 80’s. Those I would classify as antiques. Not energy efficient. Really freakin old. Ugly. (I’m justifying shopping here - work with me). And while we were at it, the refrigerator was a dinosaur too. So that got added to the list.

So off we went to Sears and Loews to shop. Whoa. It’s been years since I’ve appliance shopped. Apparently Star Wars has infiltrated appliance wear. Seriously state of the art, futuristic, what the hell is that button for? kind of stuff. Of course with it mostly being me and Charlie now, I just needed basic washer/dryer and fridge. Found a decent washer and dryer that did basic stuff. Found an awesome refrigerator on sale with the icemaker in the door (hey, this is a big deal to me - our icemaker died twice in our old fridge and we’ve been doing the by-hand ice trays for a couple years now - suckage).

They delivered today. Color me happy!

Some women go for diamonds. I’m happy dancing over major appliances.

Though I think Charlie just placated me so he can go get his Harley now *g*

Of course I forgot to post that I’d be gone *g*

#2 son and I took a short, two-day trip to St Louis to see my mom and family while he’s here visiting. And we saw Phantom of the Opera at the theatre for the thirtymillionth time. It was fabulous, as always. *grin*

While we were doing that, hubby was out of town for a business trip. Daughter is in California for a school related trip. Are we mobile this week or what?

Road trips are exhausting. But the good thing about having all that time in the car was reading time. I read Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl. (Yes, I got an ARC…neener neener neener.) I could tell you all about the book, but then I’d have to kill you….hehehe. All I can say is you WANT this book in a huge way. I’ll talk more about it later…but honestly, it’s a phenomenal read. Order it NOW.

I seem to have been reading a lot lately. I read J R Ward’s Lover Awakened, too. I’m going to blog about that next. (Yes, I got an ARC of that too….neener neener *g*). That one ….dayum. It’s hard to even find the words. Working on a blog post that’ll do that book justice. Just….dayum.

Anyway, it’s been nice to take some down time and read. I tend to get so wrapped up in my writing that I forget I used to love to just read romance. And for awhile there I stopped doing that, which was really a bad thing, because the main reason I became a writer of romance was due to my love of reading it.

I also think the writing muse needs a freakin break to rest and recharge the batteries. I’m terrible at driving myself too hard.

So this year I’m making a concerted effort to read. Of course having all these cool ARCs to read doesn’t hurt any *g*

So…uhh…everyone send more ARCs and I’ll read more. *snicker*

And check out the awesome counter for Surviving Demon Island that Shan put up for me in the top right corner….isn’t it awesome? I figured since everyone else was putting them up, I should steal the idea. *grin*

Shannon Stacey’s 72 HOURS

Shan sent me her book to read. I was in the middle of a deadline.

I made the mistake of opening it.

Bad me.

I read it in one sitting.

I hated Shan the entire day for making me open that book. *g*

It’s a phenomenal read. Non stop action, superb characterization, a roller coaster ride of chills and thrills with secrets revealed, secret agents, bunches of bad guys, explosions and gunfire and a reunion romance thrown in the mix. It has everything a reader of romance action and adventure could want—the kind of book where you have to stop reading for a second just to catch your breath and let your heart stop pounding. Alex and Grace are nicely flawed and not picture perfect, their banter is right on, their emotional turmoil is heartfelt and real.

Shannon’s comedic touch is threaded throughout the book, even in the most anxiety ridden, nail biting scenes. The sex ain’t too bad either! *g*

It’s probably one of the best Shannon Stacey books I’ve ever read. When I finished the book, I was clamoring for the sequel immediately. (Get to writing that, will ya Shan?)

GET.THIS.BOOK.NOW!

On sale right now at Samhain Publishing.

Jaci

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

72 HOURS

The Devlin Group: A privately-owned rogue agency unhindered by red tape and jurisdiction.

Grace Nolan walked away from the Devlin Group carrying Alex Rossi’s child in her womb and his bullet in her shoulder. But a ghost from the past has kidnapped her son, Danny. The ransom—Alex Rossi. To get her son back, Grace will have to step back into the life she’d left behind and reveal her secret to Alex.

With vengeance for his mother’s murder nearly at hand and a deadly substance on the loose, the last thing Alex Rossi needs is to find himself at the business end of Grace’s gun. Now the clock is ticking as they race to save a child and stop a madman bent on destruction.

But Alex has a secret of his own, and it may be the ultimate betrayal.

Shan redid my blog colors and header to reflect the Surviving DemonIsland cover. Isn’t it pretty?

I’m not allowed to mess with the template for my blog.I tend to blow things up. For some reason, I have never gotten the hang of this html thing. So Shan and sometimes Angie take pity on me and do all the prettifying for me. In payment, I offer up first born children or pens….they usually just take the pens *g*.

The blurb in the blog post below with the cover is THE official publisher blurb. I think it rocks…obviously the editorial/marketing staff at Bantam Dell is way better at this blurbing thing than I am. *grin*

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Isn’t it gorgeous? I love it I love it I love it! It’s perfect for the book!

UPDATE: I JUST received the OFFICIAL back cover copy from my editor!!!!! Here it is:

She’s all curves and combat boots.
He’s six feet of lean, dangerous male.
Join them in a game of survival
That’s as real—and hot—as it gets.

What’s America’s top female action star doing on a tropical island shrouded in secrecy? To Gina Bliss, competing in a survival-type reality show is a nice change from fending off on-screen villains. Until she meets real-life action hero Derek Marks. A survival specialist in a tight black T and sexy stubble, he’s arousing every bad-boy fantasy she’s ever had…and testing her survival skills to the max.

Martial arts, jungle warfare—Derek’s done it all. But his latest mission is more dangerous than a stick of dynamite. Try telling that to the sexy, adrenaline-pumped actress who’s got his libido racing off the charts. As the heat rises between them and real-life violence erupts, suddenly Derek and Gina are on the run…and when they uncover a secret so explosive it could blow the lid of their so-called reality show, these two unlikely heroes are about to discover what surviving’s really about….

Releasing December 26, 2006 from Bantam/Dell.

*grin*