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I’ve been holding onto this until I dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.

Something Like Hope has found a home!

It all went really fast.  After an exorbitant amount of panicking and some long distance hand holding, I was able to hit the send button and submit it for consideration.  And then a relatively short time later, I heard back from Amber Quill Press, offering a contract.

You’ll soon be able to read Aaron and Lucas’ story.  Because it looks like an end of June release.  Yeah, you read that right.  June.  Of this year.

I’m excited and scared and thrilled.  So, you know, usual mix of feelings for me.  I really can’t wait for you guys to read this story.  I’m really proud of it as is, and I know it’ll get even better through the editing process.  It’s a fun story, with characters that wormed their way into my heart and are good and stuck there.

And it’s the first of a series.  😀

Look!  Look!  Catt Ford made me a pretty!

Blurb:

So there’s stuff going on!  It’s great!

I’ve got some good news that I’m not quite ready to share yet, but I will be soon.  Hopefully really soon.  But I’m super excited about it and I’m trying to get everything settled before I shout about it.

I’m just about ready to start writing the next book in the trilogy.  You know, it’s funny.  When I wrote Something Like Hope I intended it to be a single title.  I had not thoughts, for once, about writing a series.  It wasn’t going to happen.  Then the Admiral started reading it and told me he wanted another character’s story.  My first reaction was: “But he’s straight!”  And then…oh.  No he’s not and I know how and why.  And that was going to be the second book.  And then the other characters happened, and I realized quickly that no, that’s the third book and there’s another one in between (because the timing works out that way better) and a trilogy was born.  Of which both remaining books are plotted.  So I’m nearly ready to start getting those words on the page.

Even though it’s the Admiral’s fault, I guess I can’t blame him too much.  I’m looking forward to diving in to these other two books and telling these stories as well.  Book number 2, Something Like Trust, is looking to be a long novella.  Book number 3, Something Like Love, will probably be a little shorter, but still in the larger novella range.

And after that?  Well, there’s a couple of things that I have in the pipeline.  A couple of ideas are swimming around, and though they are on hold until I get some books written, they are waiting patiently.  I’m very glad they are.

I’m on the verge.  Of sharing good news, and starting a new WIP.  Of it being a really great writing year.  And of getting a new writing space that is sure to help the creative process even more!

You know everything that’s been going on in Indiana.  And that is just the latest example of idiocy and hurt and bigotry.  So it’s time to push back.  It’s time to support worthy, inclusive charities.  Ones that are trying to make a difference in the lives of LGBTQ youths.

Head on over to Diverse Reader.  Get the full story, and be entered in a chance to win.  Donate a little money, donate a little time, let us know about it there, and you’ll go into the drawing for a book.  There are 224 participating authors and bloggers, so that’s a lot of fantastic prizes.

It’s worth it, don’t you think?  LGBTQ people, and the young ones in particular, really need help.  They can’t wait for laws to change and so we need to do our part now.  Seriously, get involved.

Want to see who’s all involved in giving stuff away? Check out the video to see a list of names of authors and bloggers who have donated a book as thanks for you getting involved.

Let’s make a difference.  Every little bit helps.

It seems my little mishap earlier this week messed up notifications. So. You know. My fault. And I promise to be more careful in the future. Anyway, it’s up for real now. Check it out by scrolling down! 

Tomorrow, after work, I’m finally getting to head on my little vacation.  A weekend away.  Just my sister and me, holed up in a hotel, taking in some pretty sights, and basically, just relaxing.

I need it desperately.

I need to decompress in the worst way.  I need the demands of life to be put on hold for a brief time.  I need to take a step back from the normal.  Getting away, even though it’s not far and even though it’s nothing extremely special, is exactly the right thing for me.  I’ve been looking forward to this actual event for weeks, and the abstract thought of a vacation for more than a year.

The laptop is coming with me, of course.  There’s no way I could go so long without it (and thankfully the hotel has free Wi-Fi available).  The Kindle will be coming with me as well.  And also yarn.  Do I expect to make use out of all of those things?  No, probably not.  But I want to have them with me.  I am hoping to spend some time getting words on the page, and hoping that a change of scenery will help the creative process.

So I’m going to take the weekend to relax and get my head into a happier place.  I’ll still be around some, but probably not as much.  Enjoy the heck out of tomorrow’s flash fic, and if you stop in before I head out, I’ll definitely respond in a timely manner.  😀

And hey, don’t forget to stop by on Saturday too, where there is going to be an awesome and exciting announcement!

So I’m working on polishing up my story, and it’s going to take a few more weeks.  I’ve heard back from all quarters with some good input, and now I can edit and tweak and make it as shiny as possible.  This is the fun and daunting part of the work, because it makes me think and really push myself.  Of course, I’m also a little bit in love with my own words so sometimes it’s hard to change them.  I’m working on it though.

Now, this is the first in a trilogy, and I have the next two books roughly plotted as well.  So that’s good news.  When I get to them, I’ll be ready to write.  I also tentatively had another story on the calendar after I write those.

But in the meantime?  Something other is flitting in my brain, and I can see the beginning and some of the middle, so I’m going to put a bit of that on the page.  Because I need a diversion, a little something with a different feel, something to keep my creative juices flowing.  This one I think I’ll be working on in the in between, in and around the series.  I wouldn’t say it’s a complete departure from my norm, but it’s got a little bit of a different flavor, and that’s going to be fun.

At any rate, I’m working, working, working.  Edits and polishing and new things alike.  Because if I don’t get the stories written, then I can’t get them out into the world.

Enjoy your Wednesday.  Friday the flash fic will go up, for real this time (gah) and Saturday, there’s a special announcement.  And I’ll see you tomorrow too. 😀

While I’m writing, I frequently (and sometimes obsessively) go back over what I’ve written and fix and edit and tweak.  So when I finally get the entire manuscript on the page, I can’t really call it a first draft.  It’s already gone through several revisions at that point, at least most of it, so it’s really more like a third or fourth draft.  But just because I’ve got all the words on the page doesn’t mean that the work is done.  (If only that were the case!)

Then it becomes time to read it through, start to finish, and figure out if it makes sense.  Fortunately, it usually mostly does.  Some more tweaking and fixing ensues in this stage, and also trying to catch all my typos.  I’m really bad about typos.  So I read it through, and fix more stuff.

And then it’s off to the betas so they can give me their opinions.  They’re great about finding the typos I missed (damn typos) and telling me where things need additional work.  Where a sentence doesn’t work or isn’t needed.  Where what I was going for didn’t come across clearly, or the emotion is too big for what I wanted, or not big enough.  They give me all the bits and bobs to polish and make it shinier.

Now everybody has got a different opinion, and what works for one person doesn’t always work for another.  I’ve got people who like my stuff (because why would they read for me if they didn’t!) but also have varying degrees of what they like and don’t like.  I value my betas more than I can say, and welcome the feedback with a fiery passion.  But I’m the writer, and I get final say. So it’s up to me to weed through the critiques they give me, decide what I agree with and what I don’t, and make the changes appropriately.  Sometimes that’s really hard, and I get a pain in my belly when I do it.

And that’s where I’m at right now with Something Like Hope.  I’ve heard back from some, and am waiting for others.  And as I go through all the critiques and try not to cry (:P) I’m making a better book.  So by the time I send it to the publisher for consideration, it’s the best book I can make it.  Editors will have their own say, of course, but that’s a whole other blog post.

Despite all the frustrations, second guessing, worry and fear, and the multitude of other issues I encounter when writing, the simple fact remains that I absolutely love it.  I wouldn’t be doing it at all if I didn’t.  I’m not some huge name (which is fine with me) and I’m not making piles of money doing it.  Would I like to be a full time writer?  Of course I would!  Think of how much more I could write if I didn’t have to go to the evil day job!  But even if I never get to that point, even if I never publish another word, I’ll still be writing.

My story is the familiar one.  I’ve been reading and obsessed with books since I was a young child.  I devoured anything I could get my hands on and one memorable punishment when I received when I was about 13 was that I couldn’t read for fun for a month (I don’t remember what I did to deserve such a harsh punishment, but it must have been pretty bad).  When I was in fifth grade, I leaned about the creative writing process, and dabbled on and off with writing for the next few years.  When I hit high school and college, I wrote a lot, but tucked the pages away, filed in a crate.  Eventually, I found M/M romance, but it still took me four years to write something and actually have the guts to send it in.

So I’m a writer because I need to be. Because there is always a story in my head, and I see my guys lives as if they were playing as a movie in my brain.  Because if I didn’t get it out on the page, I’d go stark raving mad.  And though it’s sometimes scary and daunting to put my stories out there for public consumption, I do it because I think that they may bring some of you a few minutes, or hours, entertainment.  And that’s the joy for me.  Writing is not only fun, but a necessity, and I get to share it with the world.