Still Editing

My progress on KILLING MEMORIES is pretty steady. I'm pretty sure I've increased it by a few pages (not to bad, actually) and I'm more than halfway through. I'm probably not going to finish it by May 1st, perhaps by June 1st. I can promise within the next three months. Can someone say Summer Blockbuster!?!? (haha, totally joking... well, just a little bit)

How cute/perfect is this option for "Hostile Kisses"?

Whenever I edit I worry that I'm taking out too much of Estela's quirkiness, and then I read something (I'm currently re-reading KM3: KILLING MOMZILLAS) and laugh out loud at how dumb she is. I'm glad that I can make myself laugh. That's gotta say something. One thing that I noticed about Estela that I may fix (especially in KM3)... she's kind of a cry baby. LOL. I mean it's been over four years since I wrote these books... maybe I was a cry baby back then. I probably won't alter her sensitivity and insecurities too much (maybe just cut 1-2 scenes), but I will edit so that she grows as a character and gains some confidence. I'm about 60 pages from the end of book III, so we'll see if I accomplished character growth with the first draft.

http://deborahharkness.com/

In other news. I mentioned that I was reading A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES in my last post. Well, I finished it and I really did love it. The writer is a historian so the book is STUFFED with history. I like history, but to be honest most of the time it goes in one ear and out the other. What I appreciate about this book is how much "fact" (about witches/demons/vampires mixed in with actual human history) she weaves in. It brings a sense of authority to the writing. Deborah Harkness knows what the heck she's talking about. The book has ebbs and flows, meaning that it goes in and out of the plot line. Sometimes we're just living in the moment with Diana (witch) and Matthew (vampire) and other times there are moments where the characters are like "but we really should focus on that manuscript that everyone wants!" I don't know that this is a bad thing. I'd have to read the novel again to see if the "ebbing" moments enhanced the story at all. Not that it matters really. The next book in the trilogy is SHADOW OF NIGHT (due July 2012). I'm excited for it.

A Warning To FictionPress Users

In the past week, I've had two separate people ask to buy the rights for "Chemical Games." I feel like I need to warn people against agreeing to sell the rights to their work to random strangers. If I had agreed to sell my rights, they could take my story and do whatever they wanted with it (including publishing it and making a great deal more than what they offered me). It's flattering to have someone offer money, but it's not smart to take it. In doing so, I'd just be giving away everything that I worked really hard for. So, I just wanted to give people a warning to really know what they're giving up if they agree to sell. Especially if you feel confident in your work and your ability to be published either traditionally or in ebook format. Because once you sell your rights, you can never publish that work as your own. The owner of the copyright can though.

A few red flags went up for me when I had two different people ask (or maybe they were the same person). I feel like folks are trolling FictionPress looking for work to buy up and sell off. I could be wrong about all of this, but the warning bells definitely went off. So... wanted to pass that on. 

In other news, I'm reading A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES now. It's actually really good. I like the scientific/historic aspects of the creation of witches, vampires, and daemons. It's a long one--I'm not even half way through yet. I don't know why I get so daunted by big books. Probably because it's heavy and cumbersome. That being said, I'm still a paperback/hardback girl at heart. My Nook doesn't get much use, unless I'm reading my own stuff. But I still can't bring myself to buy e-books over $5.

I'm almost halfway through my edit of KILLING MEMORIES. And since I shared possible covers with you before, I'll post a few more here. So, I'm leaning more toward the top graphic. I think it shows trust, which is kinda what the first book is about: Estela trusting herself and Caleb enough to break through bad memories of the past. The bottom one is more fun (and fits in with Dr. Pervo perfectly). The only problem is that I want all three books to have a similar look to them and the bottom image is pretty much the only one like it (and Estela is Hispanic so the pale legs wouldn't really work out). Also, it's really hard to find vector (I think that's what the silhouette graphic is called) image with plus-sized women (or ethic women for that mater). Anyway... thoughts on these?

So... yea

It's been a while since I've posted... I really should be better about it, but sometimes I'm just forgetful or feel like there's nothing really to write about. So a few updates:

• I'm about 90 pages into my edit of KILLING MEMORIES. I think it's going well, for the most part. I've been changing the tense from present to past (since the other books were past). That's taking up a lot of time. I think I've found possible book covers as well. I've been looking into royalty-free images on shutterstock.com. It's incredibly difficult to figure out what a good cover would be for the KM series. I need more creative people to do that. Here a couple examples of what I'm thinking... a kinda funky background with basic text (title and name would go int hat center circle). I don't know if it's eye popping enough, but this is kinda what I'm thinking. Thoughts? I just don't know that it really screams "Estela and Moo," but it's way too hard to figure it out how match a cover and a novel. I don't feel smart enough. Anyway... editing is going okay, I suppose. Slow and steady. We'll see if I can get it done by May. If not then, definitely summer.
• I haven't worked on THE SPIRIT KEEPER since my final edit a few weeks ago. Part of me feels guilty about this. I feel that I should be pounding ahead, writing books II and III. Instead, I've been thinking about an entirely different novel to write. I'm not sure what that means. Well, I do. I'm overwhelmed by the enormity of the project AND by the idea that it might never go anywhere (always at the back of my mind).
• I just finished THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy. They're easily the best YA books that I've read in a long time. I think it might have depressed me actually, how good they are. I put off reading them for a really long time because I just had a feeling that I knew how good they were going to be. Sometimes, as a writer, reading a really good book is the key to depression. I don't know if I should read something crappy to feel better about myself or if I should just keep on pushing on. I was indifferent about the movie until I read the books. Now I'm excited to see the movie.
• The last few days have been... blah. I've been on this "get healthy" kick and I've just slammed into the wall. The mountain seems insurmountable. Can you hear the little violins? Seesh.

I guess that's all for my updates! Hope everyone's well.