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!  🙂

As you probably know, CLAIMED has a very cool cover and now I have coverflats!  What you don’t know, is that the fabulous Cynthia Eden was kind enough to give us a cover quote.  Here it is:

CLAIMED is paranormal romance at its best! With intense action, fiery hot scenes, and a hero worth dying for–literally!–CLAIMED is a book not to be missed.

If you’ve read my blog, you know Cynthia is one of my favorite authors.  So receiving such an awesome quote from her is exciting…and humbling.  I just can’t thank her enough for taking the time out of her very busy, multi publishing schedule to not only read CLAIMED but to write a quote.

Here’s the back cover:

A DARING RESCUE

Emma Paulsen is a geneticist driven by science.  But she’s also a psychic, so when a dark, good-hearted vampire frees her from the clutches of the evil Kurjans, she realizes he must be the man who’s been haunting her dreams.  But with a virus threatening vampire mates, Emma may discover a whole new meaning of “lovesick”…

A DEADLY DECISION

As King of the Realm, Dage Kayrs has learned to practice diplomacy.  Still, it’s taken three hundred years to find his mate, so he’ll stop at nothing to protect her–even if it means turning his back on his own kind…

So…how about we give away a cover flat of CLAIMED along with a bookmark for FATED?  I’ll leave the contest open for a week or so.   Just leave a comment–about anything you want.  If all else fails, just say ‘hi.’  🙂