NaNo Chaos!

My NaNo is turning into a No-no. I got off to a great start, averaging 2 k each day, but this November is so full of fun things and places I need to drive long distances to, that I'm just going to enjoy November and relax about the NaNo schedule.
This picture illustrates how NaNo starts out, strong and solid and then from behind roars the unseen monster wave... : )

This Friday my husband and I have great tickets for Nine Inch Nails at the Staples Center Los Angeles. I can't wait for that. Trent Reznor is a perfectionist who puts on a great show. The new album Hesitation Marks is wonderful. I think its his best work in years. The dark lord of goth has cleaned up his act, won an Oscar and become a dad but everything that made Nine Inch Nails great, subversive and a little scary is still present. I've got my glow sticks ready, flask filled and gel inserts in my boots so I can stomp around all night to Head Like A Hole and not be crippled the next day.

Also Loup-Garou For You has been getting some great reviews this week.

BTS eMagazine said: Loup-Garou For You really teases your inner bitchtress because right from the beginning the reader is thrown into a whirlwind of very intense sexual preparation for the coming rituals. Aubert starts the change quite frantically then in comes Corrine who isn’t as innocent as she appears to be. This is a very graphic read, so if you can’t handle intense and very detailed mix of sexual scenes and BDSM it may not be for you but the darker and deeper the sex goes so does the reader.

Katalina Leon does an outstanding job reaching into the darker desires of the paranormal romance genre.

Close Encounters With The Night Kind said: I have always had a fondness for Katalina's work, and this book will just be added to my collection of loves. She has the ability to completely sweep you up in whatever world she has created.  Her characters are usually flawed and oh so human!  Even if they are paranormal.  I truly enjoy reading whatever she is writing about and can't wait to get my hands on the next book!!  This book is a little bit on the kinker side, so vanilla's beware!!  lol

Ramblings Of A Book Lunatic said:

This was a most interesting book. I like the far historical aspect of it, taking it all the way back to the Crusades. That was pretty cool. This is technically historical paranormal romance, and while I usually don't care for historical romance of any kind, this one was good. Maybe it was the fact that they Katalina didn't really embellish too much about the past, and stayed focused on the story she was telling. I liked that this was a paranormal, but that the main character, Aubert, had no idea of his family's heritage. It made for a very interesting tale. I loved how Corinne made Aubert come after her, after driving him half-crazy. This was a highly entertaining tale, skillfully woven to include a tale far in the past and mesh it with the tale currently being told. The characters were believable, and I honestly felt bad for Aubert at the beginning when he had no idea what was going on. I like reading Katalina's work, she has never disappointed me. 

Loup-Garou For You available now:

http://www.amazon.com/Loup-Garou-You-Katalina-Leon-ebook/dp/B00FGUIA4W/ref=la_B00BIXI8BQ_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383689760&sr=1-6

Thank you everyone have a wonderful! Leave your email in the comment box and I'll send you a surprise eBook. 

XXOO Kat

The last word on NaNo 2011

I cannot believe the first week of December just zipped past! Where did it go?

Last month’s NaNo project went great. I enjoyed the experience very much. I was aiming for a mini-NaNo of 30k, but the story I was working on ran away with me. My WIP is currently at 45k and I’m going to wrap it up at 50k in a couple of days.

It’s true I didn’t follow the actual NaNo format, nor did I work as hard as some of you did, but this is lightening fast progress for a slowpoke writer like me. It was good for me to just write without judgment and constant going backward to make endless revisions, which I tend to bog me down…

I couldn’t do that with NaNo. I had to just keep pushing the basic plot forward. Added to all this, November had daily challenges and many distractions from the day job that had to be juggled into the mix. It was good for me to know that despite what was going on during the day, I could sit down and write something of significance that quickly built into a story, if I would just get out of my own way and allow it to happen.

In fact NaNo was such a positive experience I’d recommend it to any aspiring writer. I wish I’d done it sooner. NaNo may have taught me some habits and skills that I hope will carry forward and become a regular part of my writer’s toolkit. It was well worth it if only for that. The other plus is, I was doing this project with Amber Skyze and soon we get to swap WIPs and enjoy what the other wrote. That will be the icing on the cake for me.

XXOO Kat

PS. It’s my baby brother’s birthday today. Happy birthday Mark, I love you! Mark’s retired Navy, served mostly in the Asian Pacific and it’s ironic his birthday is also the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Be Thankful For Odd things

I love Thanksgiving. It’s such a beautiful holiday. I know it has its critics and its politically incorrect roots. I know many of us already eat too much, and many of us don’t have nearly enough. I know many of us don’t have loving families or friends to spend the day with and I know that must hurt.

Thanksgiving is still a great holiday. When we say what we are Thankful for, the easy things quickly come to the surface, as they should. Our families, loved ones, home, our jobs, health, our veterans, our religious and spiritual values, and of course the beautifully prepared meal usually fill the top of the list of things to be thankful for.

Before the hectic holiday season starts in earnest, may I challenge you to spend a quiet moment asking yourself what you are truly thankful for—within?

For instance, if you are a creative person, please give yourself credit for that and silently say, “I am thankful for my creativity, I can find limitless solutions.”

If you are able to forgive others, please take credit for that. Say, “I am thankful I am a forgiving person, my heart and the people around me feel lighter because of it.”

If you are persistent, be thankful and say, “I may not be the best or the first but I’m persistent, and I always reach my goal.”

See what I’m getting at? You can even go further and thank your lungs for fueling the fire, your immune system for protecting you, your skeleton for holding you up etc… There’s an endless list of things to be thankful for. So many little things work quietly within our lives like unsung heroes.

Remember women are the keystones of the household and the greater community. When we identify and tap into our strengths, those qualities thrive, and that’s what I want for all of you this season. I want you to thrive, and have lots to be thankful for in the coming year.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I’m very thankful you visited Seven Sexy Scribes.

XXOO Kat

PS. The dual NaNo project with Amber Skyze is going great! I love her story and I’m always thrilled when she sends new pages to read. My story is almost 33k and it’s sweeping along. So far, so good.

Nano is Go!

Happy All Saints and All Soul's Day!

Yesterday was the first day of NaNo and I have to boast Amber and I are off to a good start. It was a bit intimidating when Monday morning rolled around and I was still very unclear about basic details of our shared project. The kinds of things I haven’t even thought to discuss with Amber were suddenly priority one. I needed to know details such as what time of year it was or the age of our heroines and so on. I was still waiting for inspiration to hit when Amber emailed me her first 800 words, and they were good…

It was time to light a fire under me and start the pot boiling! With Amber’s help I jumped in by late-morning and didn’t stop until I had to pick my son up at school. The story started to flow and actually surprised me from page to page with where it wanted to go. It felt good to write this way. Five pages (2.2k) appeared effortlessly, which was such a relief. This summer I had days when I felt damn lucky to write a full page.

Now, most of the story is firmly playing in my head. I feel confident I have enough material to make this an interesting novella and I have Amber to thank for that. She’s a great person to brainstorm with and I always feel safe sharing even my worst ideas with her.

Writing can be lonely. It’s easy to doubt yourself or run out of steam. I’m finding it’s really wonderful to share the creative space with a partner. I’m enjoying the experience of writing as a team and I can’t wait to share the results with all of you.

So far so good. I feel like I cleared the first tough hurdle of just getting a new project moving.

XXOO Kat

NaNo Challenge

Today is the start of NaNo. In the past four years I’ve gone into the challenge with guns blazing. I’ve also managed to finish three books over 50k. Where are those three books? Sitting in the drawer of my desk. I’ve never edited them and subbed them to anyone. It’s sad really. Actually that’s a lie. I did edit the first thirty pages of one and subbed to my editor to see if it was worth finishing the edits. The book was written in 1st person and while she loved the premise she said it needed a lot of editing. I gave up on it. I did attempt to change it to 3rd person, but that fell by the wayside.
Here’s the thing…I loved the premise too. That’s why I wrote it in the first place.
This year I’m going in with my guns half-blazing. LOL I plan to complete a book, but one of only 20-25k. I don’t have time for stress and trying to reach a 50k goal would stress me out. This is also the first paranormal book I’ve ever written.
Someday I’ll go back to one of those full length novels and edit it, but for now I’m happy with my writing life. It works for me.
How about you? Will you be taking the NaNo Challenge?

Nano is like a sleek rocket car dipped in personal lubricant...

Warning: this is your brain on Nano! Being fast isn't always smart. Be cautious and practice sound judgement before you hit the afterburner.

I’m having one of those weeks that offers so much. I have to be choosy about where I spend my energy and time when I really just want to run away and get lost in a corn maze!

Its fall break from school and I have kids at my house all day and sometimes all night for so-called slumber parties, which are just squealing, retina burning game marathons that hold me at the threshold of REM sleep. 

We have zombie movies, pizza and popcorn on hand in case they wander out of the room seeking entertainment—or a snack of human brains!

I’m also planning a mini-Nano challenge for the month of November. You know Nano, it’s the sprint to the finish line, uber self-discipline, take no prisoners, make-mine-a-double-shot-espresso, balls to the walls, puffed-up sense of accomplish challenge where writers complete a 50k manuscript in 30 days.

I’m not exactly doing that.

I know myself too well. I’ll drive myself nuts, get coffeed-up and flame out 1/3 of the way from the finish line. I’m taking a shorter, softer approach to Nano. I’m aiming for a single short story of about 20k and I’m going for quality over quantity. I’m going to try a couple of new things, a slightly different “writing voice”, and a writing partner.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog I’m really looking forward to collaborating with the very talented and lovely Amber Skyze. I’m going to spend the next few days doing a little plotting and planning so the first story rolls on greased wheels like a sleek turbo jet rocket car, dipped in personal lubricant and strapped to the railroad tracks.

I wish! We shall see… Actually, I’m really excited about this. I’m excited about the collaborating part—not so much the greased turbo rocket car. That fantasy will have to wait.

Have you ever done Nano, or challenged yourself with a writing goal? If you have I’d love to hear about your experience.

XXOO Kat

Moving at a Turtle's Pace

Today was the first productive day I’ve had in a long time. I added 1500 to my wip. You wouldn’t mind but it’s under contract. I have to write it. Which leads me to wonder – am I blocked because I have to write it?
Words normally flow from me easily. I can plow through a 25k book in a month. Yet, it’s been six weeks and this has 6400 words. Yes, I’ve been busy with other things in my life, but writing always took priority.
Lately I find myself sleeping in rather than waking at 4am. I’m sure the change of season plays a part. November has always been a productive month for me. In the last 4 years I’ve participated in Nano I’ve accomplished the 50k goal. I don’t see that happening this year.
I’m not beating myself up about it. I’ve had a good year. Scratch that I’ve had a GREAT year. I’ve had a release every month in 2010, except February, BUT, I had two in March, two in June and three in September so it all averages out.
I think I feel the pressure of not having anything planned for 2011. Yes, I have the contract for All or Nothing, so that should be published in 2011, but other than that – nothing.
Am I freaking myself out? Maybe. Before long I’ll be setting my goals for the New Year. What heights do I want to reach next year?
What goals do you want to reach in 2011?

This and That

November is here and Nano has begun. I’m not off to great start! LOL
First, I had to change my writing plans. I won’t be working on The Cheater’s Club, at least not right now. Why? Because I was offered a contract from Loose Id! Now I have to write the story. I subbed a proposal which they liked. Then they asked for a partial. I subbed the first chapter and a few hours later the contract arrived. YAY!!!
Talk about performance anxiety. The story, titled All or Nothing takes place in Vegas. My sweet friend Kat sent me some "sweet" inspiration to write the story. ;)
Yesterday I managed to get 732 words written – only 1k shy of the daily goal. LOL it’s okay though. I’m not pressuring myself.
In other news, I’m also working on making changes to Sex on the Beach. Loose Id liked this story but asked for some minor changes. I say minor, but now I have to weave bits and pieces throughout the entire book. Hopefully I’ll get that done by weeks end and they’ll like the changes.
I’m having 2 contests in my newsletter this month. One for my birthday and one for my new release coming out November 17th. My cougar challenge book. You must be a subscriber to win. Here’s the link if you’re interested!
authoramberskyze-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

And lastly, I’m off to Salem MA this weekend for a family reunion. I’m really excited, because I’ve never been.
Til Next Week!

My NaNo Project

The Cheater’s Club
This is the tentative title for my NaNo project. I’m torn between Love’s Spy and The Cheater’s Club.
The book follows three best friends who have been cheated on at least once in their life. Harlow, the main heroine, is sick and tired of men and their cheating ways. After walking in on her boyfriend doing the nasty with his secretary on his desk, she decides to start a business to help women find out if the men in their lives are cheats. She’ll go undercover in the name of the love.
But what happens when this private investigator discovers one of her friends has turned to an illicit affair? How about when she gives her other friend bad information, which could ruin her budding relationship? Or how about when she does the one thing she swore off when opening her business – she becomes attracted to a man she’s following?
I started writing this book two years ago in December 08, but my life took an unexpected, yet happy turn. I received my first contract and rushed into edits. Things moved so quickly from there that I never got back to this story. Now, with 20k under my belt, I’ve decided to pick it back up and add at least 50k during NaNo.
Nano for those who haven’t heard of it is: National Novel Writing Month. A fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. The daily average word count is 1667. For some reason I manage this during Nano, but ONLY during Nano. Once it’s over I go back to 1k a day. It sounds crazy doesn’t it?
Anyway, my hope is to have this story ready to go by the end of the year. I’d like to sub it to agents. If I don’t have a contract by the time NEC rolls around in April, I’m going to use it for my editor/agent appointments.
So, there you have it – my Nano project. Nano begins Monday November 1st.
Are you up for the challenge? If you’re participating what are you working on?

NaNo Writing

This month I joined two author friends for our own version of the NaNo challenge. It's been a great experience for the last three years and I hoped this year wouldn't be any different. I'm pleased to announce it's been just as successful this year.
For those who don't know what NaNo is, it's a National challenge to write a 50k book in a month. Last year and the year before I finished to romantic comedies of more than 50k. This year my focus is a little different.
I've been in a funk for the last two months and couldn't find a way out. Suddenly as of November 1st, I'm writing 1,700-2,200 words a day. My normal average is 1k. I've finished a novella that had been sitting since August. Now I just need to polish it up and sent it off to my editor.
I'm a few thousand away from finishing another novella and plan to finish the other two in the series before month's end. If I don't finish both I know I'll come close.
I can't explain why, but November and NaNo have been freeing for me. I'm not going to question it, I'm just going with the flow.
And this year I'm having lots of fun doing research for my three book series. It's about a club where three women will live out their fantasies. Along with researching women's fantasies for the books, I'm also planning a short story for one of my editors based on role-playing. So, one idea is leading to another. I'm stock-piling these ideas for when the well runs dry, because it will or come very close in a few months when I get burned out from writing so much. :) But that's okay, because I'll have books out to editors to hold me over.

Off to do more research! :)

And don't forget to check out the Carnal Reunion authors releases today: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/53.html

Fran Lee, Taylor Tryst, Paris Brandon, Cindy Spencer Pape, Anny Cook, Regina Carlysle, and Tessie Bradford. You can't go wrong with any of these wonderful, talented authors!

Editing

I went to my local chapter writer's meeting on Saturday and a lot was discussed on what types of writers we are. I'm a self-proclaimed pantser thru and thru. It wasn't the type of writer I am that surprised me. It was how much writer's love editing. At least 2/3 the group went on and on about how much they love editing. Me I dislike it - immensely! lol

I don't know why really. Maybe by the time I get to the end of the book I'm tired of it. I don't mind when I go thru edits with my editor's. Well, that's not completely true. If I have to do more than two rounds I get grouchy. My husband will take me to dinner and keep the kids at bay.

I'm not a perfectionist by any means, so it's not that I think my work is perfect. Tho, I won't lie, I wish it were. lol I think it's just when I finish a book I'm done. If I let it sit too long I won't edit it.

It's sad really because I have three contemporary romantic comedies that have potential - if only I'd edit them. I wrote them during NaNo the last few years and when I was done, I was done. I haven't looked back.

As a writer who wants to do this full-time some day it's not a good thing. I need to find a way to commit myself to these books that haven't been edited. These are the books waiting to be submitted to agents. And if all else fails, they'll go to an e-pub.

If there are any writer's out there who are like me and despise editing can you share tips with me on how to just do it? Please? :)