The HEA Cafe

Yep, I missed yesterday’s post. I even KNEW I was supposed to post, because I was a good girl and put a reminder on my Outlook. But then came the “I’ll do that just as soon as…” stuff and away went the day. Sigh…

Most of the day was taken up writing a short story. Oddly, it wasn’t a romance, but a horror short that I agreed to do for the program brochure of World Horror 2008, to be held in Salt Lake City in March. There aren’t many women who write dark fantasy/horror, and since Cie and I are both members in good standing of HWA (Horror Writers Association of America) they asked if we’d be interested in attending the convention as guests. I’m hoping the weather holds out, because who schedules a freaking conference for Salt Lake City in March?! For those of you who don’t know, there’s a reason why the 2002 winter olympics was there. Snowy, cold, windy—all the reasons I moved away from Colorado. Ick.

Anyway, it gave me a chance to finally write a story that’s been kicking around in my mind since the World Fantasy convention in Austin last year. It’s a Cthulu mythos story, set in the computer age. I’d originally planned to push it to either Weird Tales or Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, but this seemed just as good, if not better. All the right readers, y’know? But they needed it quick, by Friday, so I really had to jump on it to get it edited and to the printers by January.

Oh, and I got the chance to write a short holiday story (again on short notice) that’s going to appear in Affaire de Coeur in their December issue, so pick it up if they sell it near you! It features our original hitman werewolf, Tony Giodone, and the editor LOVED it! Yay!

But taking the time to do those during the day meant that I’m having to write on the ROMANCE novel during the night—because it’s due on January 3rd, and I’m not much more than half done. Aargh! again!  Normally, I don’t like pushing up against deadlines, but this book has been kicking my tail, both plot-wise and characterization-wise. It’s pretty much my first stand-alone fantasy romance. Cie and I write series, which gives you the opportunity to concentrate on the plot while doling out small bits of worldbuilding and backstory over the course of 3-5 books. But with a stand-alone, it’s all got to be there if it’s going to make sense. So, it’s been going slower than planned.

We also have been invited into a British anthology—The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance. It’s not big pay, but those “Mammoth” books are a lot like the “Dummies” books, with lots of built-in fans and they often get picked up for book clubs. So definitely worth the effort. Thankfully, that’s not due until March, so I can get the novel done first.

And, of course, there have been the “puppy issues.” A wound on one of the puppy’s neck abcessed in two places, even after two rounds of antibiotics. So, the vet had to do surgery and then put in a drain tube. It’s a really messy thing that we had to flush out twice a day with sterile saline solution and then pack with antibiotic fluid. Naturally, she had to wear one of those neck collars so she didn’t scratch out the tube, and hated it. Of course, that meant I had to watch her like a hawk every hour or so to make sure she didn’t chew it to pieces, have panic attacks or choke herself trying to pull it off. Tough to get into heavy duty writing while managing that level of puppy-sitting. Then yesterday afternoon, she was FINALLY able to go back out and run with her sisters and had a tumble. She came up yelping and couldn’t put weight on one front leg. So back to the vet we go this morning, because it not only wasn’t better, but the elbow was swollen. Three x-rays and an exam later, and no broken bones, so no cast and no anesthetic. Whew! She’ll be gimpy for a few days and need some anti-inflammatories, but at least I’ll be able to leave her in her pen for a few hours at a stretch. But poor thing! It’s been a rough month for her. 

Haven’t even got my tree up, but did manage to finish Christmas cards and about half of the shopping is done. I wish there were more hours in the day. Then I wouldn’t have to get up at 1:00 in the morning to sneak in an extra 2-3 hours of writing on the book.

So please forgive me for being a day late. I’m also a dollar short, but that’s another story.

Have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Yuletide, or whatever you celebrate, and I’ll see you next year!