Friday, February 27, 2009

A personal plea regarding Nalini Singh's Angel's Blood

I first heard about Nalini Singh's Angel's Blood (book one of the new Guild Hunter series) on one of the livejournal blogs mid January. The premise had me hooked. What's better than vampires, vampire hunters and archangels. I love the tag line "When archangel's play, mortals break." I couldn't wait for it to come out. It immediately went on the list I gave my local indie bookstore of books for them to get me.

A week went by and Nalini announced a contest. The prize, one of the ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies). I put my name into the hat. On Jan 20, I found out I was one of the winners. It arrived two days later. It doesn't have the pretty artwork. It's bright yellow and sticks out on my bookshelf.

When it came, I told my kids "This is the neatest thing ever." Their response, "I thought we were the neatest things ever." After I assured them that Mommy loves them, I went upstairs and devoured the book. I've been trying to figure out my review of it ever since.

I told myself that it was because I wanted to read it again. It was the first book I've read this year, where the urge to immediately reread it was overwhelming. I reread it and still wasn't able to write my review. Last night, I figured out my problem.

Writing this without being spoilery is next to impossible. The writing is superb, the characters are interesting, the pacing is dead on and everything else that makes a book great is there in droves. I can picture every detail from gleaming Angel's Tower with the angels taking off an landing right down to the beauty of the angels' wings. This book is truly beautiful. I want to see it made into a movie, just to see the various angels' wings. She creates a world that both makes the angels fit into our world, yet at the same time keeps them elevated. Oh, and these aren't cherubs with harps.

That isn't what I want to talk about. No, strike that, that isn't what I need to talk about. It is the relationship between the vampires and angels that has me emailing her to ask her how she came up with the idea. It is the ending that has me needing to know where the series will go. This is one of the most creative ideas I've ever seen.

I wanted to win that ARC very badly. Well, be careful what you wish for. Since I got an ARC, I can't go online and talk about this. Never since Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air has the need to talk about something been so great.

So here's what I want you guys to do (see me on my knees), please please go out and buy this book. It's available officially March 3, but I saw it in Waldenbooks Wednesday, so you may be lucky. Please, read it so I have someone to talk about it with. Then come back here and talk to me.

If you don't, I'll explode.

Monday, February 23, 2009

What a Great Night

Last week, I got thrashed when I submitted the first paragraph over on Ilona Andrews' blog, but that is really good. I need to be able to deal with bad reviews. I've changed the beginning, so that isn't even the first paragraph anymore. Comments I received over at helped me see some areas that needed work. Also, changing from UF to paranormal romance lets me focus on different things.

I put the end of chapter 12 over at Miss Snark's First Victim's blog. Hopefully, I'll get more positive comments.

Today, I started the first round of rewrites. I still have two chapters to write, but decided those would get done in the rewrites. As of right now, the first chapter has been split in two. The new first chapter is done. Five pages of something I'm actually happy with. It is tighter than before, full of tension, really puts you in Janie's head and introduces Janie and what she wants much better. The first 3 pages are completely new. Tomorrow I will create the icon of the cover I've designed.

And I won something!!! I enter so many contests, the law of averages is that I have to win occasionally. I won a signed copy of Jeanine Frost's Halfway to the Grave, her One Foot in the Grave and Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark (original cover, not the post HBO sextacular one). Is it May yet? I need my Eric fix.

I need to crit tomorrow and I need to write my review of Nalini Singh's Angel's Blood. More importantly, I'm in the mood for my rewrites, so hopefully, tomorrow I can knock out chapter 2 and maybe even 3. Some chapters need more work than others, so hopefully, I can do more than one chapter some days.

I'm doing my first round of rewrites. I can't believe it. I might actually stick to the schedule I've set for myself. Maybe.

Yikes!!!

Friday, February 20, 2009

My first post

I need to transfer a lot of stuff from my old blog. This is the first post I'm making here.

Two more chapters and The Fallen is done. Then I get to start the massive rewrite and I mean massive. I've taken 10K words out and moved them to the second book in the series. That leaves me at 71K now. This is good, since there are sections I greatly need to expand.

But that isn't what makes me on writer heaven.

I have the rough outline for the third book and damn is it good. If the first doesn't sell, this one definitely will. It is heavier on the UF and less on the Christian mythology. Other than Azazel, there isn't really anything biblical in it. And there are werewolves!!! Witches and werewolves and a vampire and a fallen angel. What's not to love?

This means that I have to change the name of the second vampire/Grigori that Daniel fights, but that is a small thing. John thinks I should name her Mel. Maybe I will. Let's see, research time. Melanie comes from the Greek for black or dark. Hey it works! So Azazel is now Mel.

Semhazai still works for the last vampire they face. Need a good name for the first one. Was going to be Sariel, but I think he needs a new one. Maybe I'll rename him Wayne for the Great One since he's a hockey fan. No. That 's what's the word? Oh yeah, lame.

Let's see. The Quebec Nordique's first coach was Maurice. Maurice means dark skinned. Not quite right. Their first star was JC for Jean Claude. (gotta love wikipedia) That might work. He can even be called JC, Wait, I remember what John means, seeing as I'm married to one and that definitely doesn't work. Besides I already have a Janie.

My favorite hockey player was Mario Lemieux Mario means manly. I think I have a winner. YAY!!!

Vamps:
Daniel: God is my judge. I liked the name and it ended up working perfectly
Mario: Manly
Melanie: Black/Dark
Semhazai: Heaven seizer
Maggie: who has her name for a reason that will be revealed book 2
Janie: wonder if she'd change her name when she becomes a vampire. Nah. That would get too confusing. Daniel/Lucifer is bad enough.

So, did you like that peek into a writer's mind?