Baby, I Was Dead-Ass Broke!

Banks. I hate 'em. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Well, you can, but don't let your neighborhood Nike boys know that.

So what's broke mean? When you've got lint in your wallet and no job? But what if you have $25K computer system at home (purchased in better days)? You could probably get at least $15Gs for that. So are you broke, or do you just have a cash flow problem? What about the guy who's got trust funds galore, but can't get to them (or a job). Working as a waiter with $30M in the bank.

Take my sister. When she says she's broke, she's down to four figures in her checking account. When I say I'm broke, my checks are bouncing around like hydrogen molecules over the fire.

Maybe it's like if you have nothing right now but have access in the future, you ain't broke. But if you've done already sold everything you can sell, like your car, your neighbor's car...and you've got nothing left that might bring in a coupla coins, maybe that's when you can say you're dead-ass broke.

Thoughts?

(I know, weird topic)

Speaking of Fishing...

Ah, the timing was perfect. Seemingly minutes after I wrote that post about agents and publishers being fish and writers the fishermen, I received two nibbles within days of one another. One from a publishing house, another from an agent. Is this a case of "build it and they will come?" Naah. I think it's more coincidence. But a lovely coincidence all the same.

First time I've gotten past the query stage. Keep that good mojo comin' folks!

Black Rose Press

is not a reality, but I reserved the domain name the other day. Since starting this journey, I've always said I'd like my own publishing house. It doesn't matter whether I'm the only client, or if I have a stable. I'll tell you this, though--it'll be an e-book concern. That's the way of the future. It's about data storage. As many books as I can fit on a Kindle, a Sony, or the Nook, I don't have in my library. And my shelves are full. So anyway...

I'll be saying goodbye to blogspot pretty soon, abandoning it for my own domain. It's too isolated. And it's time I got seriouser about this writing business.

Promise Fulfilled

I remembered to bring my camera to CapClave. I did not use it. But I brought it, and that's what counts, right?

No. I'd promised to post some pictures, but I don't have any. So technically, I reneged. The whip, please...

Met up with old friends and made some new ones. Jeez, I just love cons, even small, weird ones like CapClave. It's a literary con as opposed to media. Books, books, books.

Attended a couple of interesting sessions. One was on reading to an audience, especially on radio or podcasts, things like that. It was moderated by Jim Freund, host of "Hour of the Wolf" on WBAI, 5-7 AM, 99.5 FM in NYC. I loved what he said at the end. To read on his show, "you don't have to be famous, you just have to be good." Now if I can only get my ass published...

I Promise

CapClave is tomorrow. This time I promise to bring a camera. Whenever I go to cons, I always make that promise, but I rarely follow through. I think the last time I brought a camera to a con was a couple or three Balticons ago. When I come back from CapClave, I will post pictures.

I promise.

I also think I'll start doing podcasts and posting them here. I'm doing two next year for Broad Universe, and I've already bought the mic. Personally, I think it's a wonderful idea. Add some content besides my own rantings. Of course, reading from my works technically qualifies as rantings but we'll just leave that minor point aside.

You, of course, will be the guinea pigs. But I promise not to post pictures of my paintings. I do reserve the right to change my mind if I come up with a good one.

Did I tell you I bought a couple of disco balls? No, the real thing. I'm going to hang them in my living room. One's silver, the other gold. Saturday Night Fever, look out! Actually, the reason I bought them is because I wanted to be reminded of what Melera's eyes look like. Hence the gold mirror ball.

Who's Melera? She's the alien star of my book, The Underground.

About that camera--better check the battery before I head out the door...

Gone Fishing

It occurred to me as I was eating my broiled trout that agents and publishers are like fish and we would-be writers are the fishermen. We dangle our query letters in front of them, hoping they'll be interested enough to take the bait. Most of the time they aren't and don't. So the fisherman moves on to other waters, hoping he'll have better luck. When the agent/publisher does bite, now begins the fight to get the fish over the gunwales. Sometimes the fish wins, and the fisherman has to start all over. But each time we get a bite, there's always the hope that we'll reel our fish in. If so, we say we've "landed" an agent or publisher, just as if they were literate marlins.

Today, someone took my bait. Only question is whether I can wrestle him into my boat.

And if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, get your mind out of the gutter.

An Author's Work Is Never Done

Rewrote my query letter because my editor had some suggestions. I think it's a better letter as a result. So I edited all my models (saves time) both for "mainstream" and erotica publishers.

One publisher's entry in Writer's Market said authors who have marketing ideas for their manuscripts have a better chance of getting published. How's this for an idea: swing clubs that have BDSM'rs into science fiction/fantasy, and who don't mind seeing the genres bent. Worth a shot...

And, They're Off!

A couple, anyway. I always try to send the email queries first. The paper ones come later. Lucky for my and other wannabe authors' budgets, email is usually the preferred means of communications. At first I thought the rest were Luddites, but then I realized what better way to weed out those who aren't serious by putting them through all kinds of absurd hoops in hopes that some editor will at least glance at the damned thing before throwing it in the trash? So I hope Edge likes what I sent...

Wish me luck. Again.

How Does She DO That???

Okay. I showed my editor what I'd done. She said I was still trying to cram too much information in my one-liner, and took a "stab" at it, and sent it to me.

It was damned near perfect. And she's only read the first and last sixty pages of the book--just under a third of the ms!

So of course I'm going to use it in my queries. I mean, she cut it down (way down) from what I'd written, so some of the words are mine, right? You know, I really hope this sort of thing comes with practice, because I was ready to tear out what little hair I have left over this.

I almost dread having to come up with a one-liner for Jahannan's Children.

Round Two

Here's a second stab at writing a one-liner for The Underground. Fifty words. Twice as long as the panelist at the RWA conference recommended, but she also said that fifty is okay. Not great, but okay. I'll take it.

This time I left out a whole bunch of stuff because it feels like I'd have to explain rationale, motives, da-da da-da da-da. Melera particularly comes off as a helpless damsel in distress. In distress? Yes. Helpless? Hell, no. But I'm trying to get agent/publisher eyes to at least read my query letter, and since TU is anything but business as usual, I guess boiling it down to its understandable aspects is the only thing to do. And, since TU really belongs to Parker, it only makes sense to make him the actor in this one line cast of characters.

"A werewolf, humiliated by how his mage lover had tricked him into serving a vampire he hates, must prove that the beautiful, amnesiac alien he rescued and then fell for isn't the serial killer stalking the city before civil war erupts between preternaturals and humans over the murders."

I sent it to my editor and asked for her opinion. I'm almost afraid to see what she says.

Bitch Session

Okay, I know you're tired of hearing me whine about computers, but get over it.

Found out that Acrobat 8 may not run on a 64-bit platform. Tech support told me "we've never tested it, but you're welcome to do so yourself." Excuse me? Test a product of yours on my brand new computer? Bitch, you best check yo'self! And then I look on the website and yes, there's an Acrobat 9 that'll support what I have. It's just $449.00 bucks. Not much more than what I paid for 8 a couple of years ago. Not exactly what I'd call a good return on my hard-earned dollars, either.

I've a couple more people to ask about this type of thing too...hopefully, it won't mean that I paid big bucks for apps that are, well, outdated.

*raises fist and whirls it around* Onward and upward in a left-handed spiraling motion...

Duh...

Forgot to mention that I'm no longer twiddling thumbs over MSO 2003. Finally occurred to me to just download what I wanted on the thumb drive, load it, and go on from there. So now I'm puttering happily about on Dr. Asus. Sometimes it just takes me a while, folks.

Anyway, now that I'm using Dr. Mac more (like right now), I'm going to get it upgraded so I can install Snow Leopard. Then maybe I can make up my own Administrator name and password so I can do stuff that I can't do now because I can't remember the damned password...

*sigh*

Capclave RFR...Wow

Capclave is coming up really soon, and the Broad's RFR is on Saturday Oct. 17th from 1-2 pm. So far, there are like three folks signed up. Of course, more could sign up between now and Oct. 12th--the organizer's drop dead date--but Mother, if there will only be three of us...that's a lot of reading. Assuming the panel plans for an hour, given the minimal time it would take for introductions, the three of us might each end up with 20 minutes. Of course, we do want to leave time for Q&A, but still...

But not to fear, for I'm certainly up to the challenge. I've got two chapters, one from The Underground and the other from Jahannan's Children that I'll read. One or the other, that is--not both. They're pretty clean as far as my writing goes, but if there are any little kids in the room, I'll tone down the one or two curse words. Is PC still in?

You know, it's just occurred to me that it'd be fun to learn some new curse words, huh? Make some up, even?

I'm game. How 'bout you?

She Hated It

Sent my editor my 40-odd word summary of The Underground. The title of this post says it all. *sigh*...back to the drawing board.

Dr. Compaq's replacement, Dr. Asus, is working fine. Kudos to the folks at zt Technologies for being so helpful. Turned out to have been a bad HDD. But here's the great part. On September 30, I was told by the order desk that UPS would pick up the defective box within three to five days of that date, and that the replacement would show up sometime between October 5 and October 12. UPS showed up on October 1 (glad I'd packed it up the night before). The replacement was delivered October 2. How's THAT for fantastic service?

So no more whining about my personal problems. Back to the writing life.

But did I tell you about my adventures with the lawn tractor and the weed whacker?

Twiddling My Thumbs

While I'm sitting here without access to my MSO 2003 docs, the only thing I can really do is think up more stories. So I've thought up a romance based on Zechariah Sitchin's controversial theories about the origins of the gods, human beings, civilization on Earth, whatever. Whether his theories are valid is not within my purview, but what is within my purview is that they make for a hell of a good story.

I'm still fleshing out the synopsis, but essentially it's about a high priestess in Ishtar's temple in the Sumerian city of Uruk who is forced to leave her beloved home in order to tend a technologically advanced outpost in the northlands where she eventually falls in love with the village's barbarian chieftain.

The only scene I'm certain of is where he rapes her. Or is it really rape? I'll let the reader decide.

Stay tuned on this one. It might actually sell.

You're Not Gonna Believe What Happened...

...so I won't tell you. Suffice it to say it's almost enough to make me think about embracing the Luddite movement.

If you don't know what a Luddite is, you are either a) young, or b) unread, or c) both.