I’ve been so busy finishing book 5 and promoting Hunted that I’ve ignored my blog a little bit.  I apologize and will try to do better.  There will be some character interviews coming up that I think might be fun.  Lately I’ve had a few readers write to ask about the writing process, so I thought I’d give a quick lowdown to people who are just starting to write, or who are curious of one process.  (Keep in mind that everyone is different).  So for me, it goes like this:

1)  I sit down and have a fun idea for a scene to write.  It’s usually the first scene of the book, of how a hero and heroine meet, so I just write it.  Yes, I have about 10 first scenes written right now that I’d love to turn into full length books at some point.

2)  Then…I have to figure out who the heck these people are, what they want, and what’s going to stop them from getting what they want.

3)  I write the book.  Beginning to end.  The first 25,000 words, I love the book.  The second 25,000 words, I hate the book.  The remaining 40,000 words, I just want to get the book finished.  🙂

4)  After that first draft, I go back and add anything I’ve missed.  Then I go through and clean up/edit the book.  Then I print it out and do a hard copy edit–then go make those changes.

5)  The book is mailed in hard copy to my amazing agent.  She writes all over it (sometimes phone numbers or grocery lists) – once in a while there’s crayon or sports stickers from her kids.  (I love those).  She also sends editorial notes…like, expand this idea, or bring this out more…stuff like that.

6)  I make those changes and email the manuscript to my wonderful Editor.  She reads it, accepts it, and then emails some editorial suggestions, which I make.  Then if we don’t have a title chosen, we choose one.

7)  Months later, copy edits arrive.  Copy edits are commas, punctuation, misused words…(did you know that pistoning is not a verb?  Yeah?  Well, I didn’t.  Now I do.)  Copy editors are amazing and catch stuff most of use would never catch.  I love copy edits.  So, I go through and either agree or disagree…and then those go back usually within 7-10 days.

8)  Then, usually, we have a cover.  YAY!  This is always fun.  Then coverflats arrive!  Months later, usually ARCs arrive.  (Advanced Reader Copies).  These are the book without corrections and are sent to reviewers and used in contests.

9)  A few weeks after that, page proofs arrive.  Page proofs are a stack of papers that show what the book will actually look like on the page.  These have been typeset in, so there are some mistakes.  I go through it, and about 4 other people at the publisher go through it to catch any mistakes.  These are due back within 7-10 days.

10)  Finally,  my awesome editor sends me early promo copies of the actual book–usually around 6 weeks before release day.  (I also get author copies according to contract, but those come closer to release day).  Then…RELEASE DAY.

So, that’s a snippet of the publishing process.  At least, it’s a snippet of the process so far for me.  I hope that clears up the questions anybody sent.  Have a great weekend!  And remember, HUNTED releases NEXT TUESDAY!  🙂

The Pacific NW is engulfed in a snow storm.  A very fluffy, persistent, kind of cool…snow storm.  When I arrived at work, I remembered to lift my windshield wipers.  Okay, I saw a bunch of other windshield wipers lifted…and then I remembered.  The thought occurred to me that those of you living in tropical places…you might not know to lift your wipers so they don’t freeze.  Now you know.

I worked all day and then came back out to see my car under tons of snow.  And you know what?  While I remembered to lift the wipers…I forgot to bring a snow scraper.  So today I used a file folder and a big ruler.  Hey, it worked.

Got home…and Big Tone had already let the puppies out.  They wanted back in…NOW.  The smaller one can be quite persistent when she wants.  (Also…tune in early next week because I’ll be giving away ARC’s of HUNTED.  Shhhh.  Don’t tell anyone.)

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.  ~~Phillis Diller

Hi all!  First, CLAIMED is out in the wild today!  Emma and Dage’s story is available in bookstores starting today…go out and hunt it down!  I thought I’d run a fun contest since CLAIMED is out there, and the winner will be sent the first ARC of HUNTED, which is book 3 in the Dark Protector Series.  All you have to do is take  a picture of CLAIMED on your e-reader, or find a copy of CLAIMED in a store, take a picture, and email it as an attachment to:

Claimed_darkprotectors@yahoo.com

You have until I receive the ARCs of HUNTED for me to draw a name.  HUNTED will be released on May 1, 2012, so I should have ARCs several months before that.  I’ll also feature pictures with photo credit on my blog once in a while. 

The e-format of CLAIMED should be downloadable starting NOW next Tuesday, November 1st for your computer or e-reader.  (Mine just downloaded to my kindle).

Here’s the blurb for CLAIMED:

While geneticist Emma Paulsen appreciates vampire king Dage Kayrs rescuing her from the evil, pasty, creepy Kurjan leader who wanted to mate with her, she wouldn’t have needed rescuing had the vampires not gone to war.  And while she’s willing to spend one night fulfilling her fantasies with Dage, no way does she plan to stick around for good.  Whether the king happened to brand her flesh or not.

That is until her pregnant sister, Cara, contracts a Kurjan virus that will not only destroy the baby but strip Cara’s chromosomal pairs until she’s possibly less than human.  A virus that turns shifters into werewolves.  A bug that requires science, magic and physics to be quashed.  Emma will have to suspend her every belief in science and to trust the vampires in order to save her sister.

Dage Kayrs has waited three centuries to find his mate.  As King of the Realm, he’s accustomed to diplomacy and design, although he’d rather rip his enemy’s head off than negotiate.  He’s tired of hiding his true nature.  He’s tired of being alone.  But the greatest challenge of his long life will be in learning to compromise enough to keep Emma, his learning to bend during a time of war when his oldest friends might become his greatest enemies.

If you read CLAIMED, please drop me a line and let me know what you thought.  Also, feel free to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, Etc.  Thanks!