Life Update

I have slacked off from blogging. I’m lucky if I do one post a month. Life is just crazy, you know. There is the house to take care of (not doing such a great job at that though) and four animals, my aunt, and a few hobbies that I have. Then I am working with my two novels: the first WIP I am promoting to secure an agent for and I am doing my level best to complete the second WIP. The hunt for an agent continues. WIP #1 was originally written so that I may have a foot in the door of the publishing world. Along the way I fell in love with it and consider it my story-of-convenience (which is ironic, because the novel is about two individuals who enter into a courtship/marriage-of-convenience). I had thought it would be snatched up right away since the plot, themes and characters correspond well with everything else that is out there in the Christian market. To my surprise, most of the Christian agents have no interest in it. It is the secular agents that have been more compassionate and kind about it.

The second WIP is at the half-way point, I think. As for quality of writing, it has surpassed the first. It is a story I am passionate about. I want to finish it to see it published, but in a way I will hate to see it end because I love it so much. So, I am toying with the idea of sequels for it. It has to have a solid plot though, that way it will live up to its predecessor. Anyway, WIP #2 will be difficult to market. There are subtle Christian themes woven throughout the story, but the plot deals with spousal abuse, violence, marital rape and adultery. Not the typical Christian romance, right?

I’d like to do a blog post about the books I have read within the last year or two. If only I can get around to it. Recently I finished “Vanity Fair,” by William Makepeace Thackery. Super great! Rebecca Sharp makes a brilliant anti-heroine, even more so than Scarlet O’Hara. In my person opinion, Scarlet was too abrasive and annoying. I know that was part of her disposition and she couldn’t be any other way. But Rebecca Sharp is so manipulative and conniving, that she is almost likeable. She constantly slips into trouble, makes trouble and loves trouble, but somehow gets out by the skin of her teeth. Just when you think she has sank too low into the abyss; she rises up out of it. Right now I am reading “The Portrait of a Lady,” by Henry James. His style is different than what I am accustomed to, but it is enjoyable. His heroine Isabel Archer is endearing. I like good, strong heroines who know their own mind. They may have their flaws and stumble into all sorts of mischief, but it doubles the pleasure to watch them repent and learn their lesson.

I can’t believe “Downton Abbey: Season 2” is already over! I spent the last year sniffing around the internet, looking for spoilers. When the season debuted here in the US, I knew most of what was going to happen and it spoiled most of the surprise. This year I am going to do my best to avoid websites, articles and pictures that will give away the plot. Most of my favorites are still my favorites: Anna and Bates, Dowager Countess, Matthew, Thomas and O’Brien. Interesting enough, my appreciation of Mary and Edith raised and my respect for Sybil and Branson vanished. Last season Sybil was my favorite of the Crawley daughters and I thought her little romance/friendship with Branson was cute. But this season they irritated me. I had thought that when news of the Romanov massacre had come to light, that Branson might condemn what the Bolsheviks did. He merely shrugged it off as a worthy sacrifice for the cause, and Sybil said nothing. So, they are no longer my favorites. And Lord Grantham, what is wrong with you? What is with the mid-life crises dalliance with the maid? Well, at least you showed Mary mercy for her mistake. “Downton Abbey” is such a soap opera, but I love it! Can’t wait until next January! Why, oh, why can’t it air here in September as well?

The Blog Entry without a Title

I finished the first draft of my newest novel. Whenever I complete a first draft on anything, I allow myself a week’s vacation to rejuvenate. This time I am giving myself two weeks. Originally when I conceived this story, it was to be something simple and nothing complicated. But now I have gone and fallen in love with it and it is becoming epic to me. The topic is not commonly covered, at least not in the Christian market. Oh, it has been touched on, but not they way I am doing it. I fear that the heroine might be considered too feministic, but I can’t have her any other way. My heroine must remain strong, independent and intelligent. I can’t dumb her down and make her weak to mold her into one of those cookie-cutter heroines. I can only hope that once I’m finished with the novel that someone might see how true to life it is.

While I’m on this little break, I am trying something new. Throughout all of my endeavors to be published, family and friends alike have advised me to write some smaller pieces for Guidepost or Reader’s Digest. I’m actually going to try that. I wrote what amounts to a little more than a page about my paternal grandmother.

So my fingers are crossed. Wish me luck!

Blah-Blah About My So-Called Career

Well, within the last month or so I have queried four agents. No response, except one of them did promise to review my proposal. So that is something. I haven’t been out and out rejected so I guess anything could happen. I do worry that with the economy as it is, that agents may be wary of taking on new clients and the publishers will not be as open to unpublished authors. I can only hope that someone will see something in this novella and believe it is worthy of seeing the light of day.

This novella isn’t like most of what is out there. That can be both good and bad, I guess. Good, that it is unique. Bad, that it may not be what an audience is accustomed to. It is nothing epic or outstanding. The description isn’t flowery or lengthy and the dialog isn’t anything remarkable. There are no villains, evil or hatred to overcome or great moral lessons to learn. The best way I can describe it is that it’s a simple, little historical romance based in 1915 and set in a tiny town in Indiana. The Christian market has published thousands of books exactly like this, so I originally thought it would fit right in. I still think it would; only now I see it is not going to be as easy as I had assumed. Well, when you assume, you make an a-- out of you and me. I am so good at doing that.

I suppose a month is nothing and that I ought to be patient. In the meantime, the current story I am working on is going well. I completed chapter six the other day. I average about two chapters a week. I’m not like most authors who can write for eight-hour days. Four hours is my maximum. There are other things that I must do during the day, so my life doesn’t revolve around writing.

That is all that is going on in regards to my career. Ta-ta!

Writes of Passage

Last spring I set my epic novel on the shelf and started on two new ones, one small and one big. As it turns out the bigger one requires much more research so it must be set aside for the time being. Now I am pursuing the smaller story. At times it frustrates me. Though I generally write pieces of work that feature a romance, I would not classify myself as a romance novelist. In all honesty, I know nothing about romance and would rather tackle something a bit more challenging. And yet that is precisely the kind of story I am working on. A Christian historical romance to be exact. I have set it in my own beloved state and attempted to add some comedic elements to it. This is probably the first novel I have ever written that actually has a shot at getting published. As of late, this is what the Christian market specializes in.

Underneath all of my optimism lies a layer of insecurities. I have approached agents for representation and publishers for publication and the end result was the same: rejection. Of course the two stories I had advertised were epic novels and this one is not so epic. It’s a simplistic little novella based in a fictional town in pre-WWI Indiana. There is nothing scandalous or shocking in it and even if it is published it will probably be soon forgotten as these sorts of stories usually are.

Even if rejection is all I will ever know in my career as an author, I have to pursue my dream. It’s a compulsion for me.

I. Must. Write.

I know not how to do anything else. It is both my passion and obsession.

Stuff and Nonsense

It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve written on this blog. In reality, we have been without the Internet for a couple of weeks. Surprisingly enough I did not self-destruct. Yesterday when I was able to check my e-mail I had like 140 e-mails and I ended up deleting like 98% of them. I have a lot of writing-related research to catch up on. So I’ll be glad when I can get back into the swing of things.

I finished my little writing hiatus last month and have resumed working on my newest project. The old project that I had been working on for the past seven years is now on the shelf indefinitely. It is chock-full of historical inaccuracies, its no wonder that no one would take me on as a client. At first I was devastated but now I look back on it as a lesson that needed to be learned. That story will always be the darling of my heart and someday it will appear in print (after much revision, of course).

In the mean time, as I have mentioned earlier, I am working on a new novel. It’s the story of two couples and their stories, separated by sixty years. If ever published, it will probably be categorized as a romance. At least I hope that it’s not predictable or cliché. When I was younger I always assumed that I would try and be published in the Christian market. But my current story wouldn’t fit in that mold. Some of the characters curse, smoke and drink wine (gasp!). I have discovered that working on this newest novel is quite liberating for me. I was so limited in my last project.

With this one I feel like I am embarking on a journey into the great unknown. And it is thrilling.