Happy Interdependence Day! It's been 25 years

For those of us in the US, today is Independence Day, celebrating the day we
as a nation decided not to be ruled by England. In other parts of the world,
though, it's just July 4. But wherever we are, no matter what culture we're
currently in, today is Interdependence Day for my husband and me, because it's
our anniversary.

We got married on July 4 in Brooklyn, NY, 25 years ago, in the restaurant in
the tallest building in Bay Ridge. We chose that spot because that's where we
lived; we loved the area (the southernmost tip of Brooklyn, right before the
Verrazano Bridge, which leads you to Staten Island), and by having our
reception in that building, we could see the fireworks over in Manhattan. It was one day
that we knew most everyone we wanted to invite would have off, and
surprisingly, neither the church nor the restaurant were booked. It was a lovely, sunny
day (okay, it was summer in New York: It was scorching, the church wasn't air-conditioned,
but the sky was a beautiful blue), and we remember it fondly still.

Eventually, we moved away -- across the country, even, to Washington state --
but we had the opportunity to go back to New York a few years ago, just in
time for our anniversary. We had dinner at the restaurant at the top of that
same building, and watched the fireworks over in Manhattan again. We remember
that fondly, too.

How is any of this relevant? Well, I write romances. And our wedding was
romantic. And it's Interdependence Day. So Happy Interdependence Day, one and all!

It's about a guy, see, and he's dreaming about a girl

ECHOES OF PASSION releases today! It's part of the sci-fi Hunters for Hire series available from Ellora's Cave and Cerridwen Press! Here's a bit about it:

Neotia Prime… The home world of the Neoti and the Vozuans was destroyed by a doomsday device twenty years ago, but the troubles and unrest that led to the event still plague those who resettled on the twin planet.

When Daegon Bosaru arrives on the unnamed world, determined to uncover who is out to smear his dying father’s good name, he discovers that the tragedies of that civil war still haunt those who remain. Not only that, the mysterious, beautiful woman he’s been seeing in his dreams over the past twenty years may have information he needs. But when he finally meets Imreen Dal in the flesh, she seems not to know him—and furthermore, she runs from him every time she encounters him. Why?

Rumors persist that the crazed dictator who set off the doomsday device may still be alive…with fresh plans for conquest. Bosaru needs to find out how his father, the mysterious Imreen and the madman are related…and stop another world from being destroyed.

Buy it now (since I have no shame left) at: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-7007-echoe..s-of-passion.aspx

The countdown begins ... well, it continues

I got my author copies of ECHOES OF PASSION yesterday, and I was pleased. For one reason or another, I didn't see the book after I turned in the manuscript, and so I was in the dark as to whether it had weathered the editing stages. As a rule, after I finish writing a book I don't revisit it (I mean, if it's done, it's done, and I don't see any reason to go back unless it's to look something up), but it had been so long since I had seen it I felt I had to do something. So I did: I sat down and read my book. 

As I did, a few memories of the writing process came trickling back, little by little. I remember writing descriptions, piecing together the descriptions of a war that was waged twenty cycles (approximately two and a quarter years) ago, the battles and the outcome. I remember writing the descriptions of a settlement that had seen more than its share of sorrow and mystery, the descriptions of a lover who never was. Sometimes the descriptions came on like a waterfall, while other times ... well, they didn't. (I'm sure you know that feeling.)

Most of all, as I was reading, I remember shaping the people. The green skin of the Neoti and the golden skin of the Vozuan, so close in so many things cultural and physiological but so far in others. And I remembered why I write; shaping those people, the places, the stories can be an amazing experience.

Only 15 more days until launch! I can't wait!

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Voice is picky

So many other people do articles on craft, so I tend to shy away from them. But something happened a few days ago and I felt compelled to comment. (If I didn't feel compelled I don't know what I'd be doing writing about it. But anyway.)

I work with someone at the Day Job who's not much of a reader. In fact, she jokes (but not really) that she reads one book a year, and she chooses it just before she goes on vacation for a week to the family vacation place beside a lake. The place has no Internet, barely electricity, so reading is the way to go. She's got a dozen books that she's started to read at the lake but never finished. She'll finish them someday, she says.

This year, though, she may finish the book she chooses. Recently, she saw the movie Twilight, and got so curious about the story that she picked up the source novel ... and LOVED IT. She devoured it and had to read the next ... and the next. She can't imagine what those people who disparage these books are thinking, she says. She's never read anything like them!

Now, I have to admit I've never read anything by Stephenie Meyer. Like my coworker, I figure I'll read 'em someday, but they're not really in my bailiwick (I've read enough vampire novels in my day, and I can't imagine that these YA versions are much different from the adult romance version). But my coworker was raving about them, and that makes me curious. I know it's got to be the voice -- and voice is, as we're told, over and over, what makes all the difference.

Two examples. Stephen King. Brilliant writer of short fiction and nonfiction, but his horror novels leave me cold. But I know it's the voice that brings 'em in. I've read two of his novels, and I remember admiring his technique, but while I recognize his craft, it's not something that hits my heart or gut. Will I have nightmares? Eh. I applaud him for everything he's done, but it's not to my taste for the most part. Next.

Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Mertz. My personal favorite. Her voice spoke to me the first time I read Ammie, Come Home, and it has greeted me like an old friend every time since. I've always loved her work, but I know others have only nodded and said, "She's okay." 

And that's mostly voice. Does it suck you in? Does it transport you to a land not of your choosing, and do the characters appear in your dreams? If so, damn but the author's done his or her job. And won a convert to boot. 

My coworker is afraid that she'll finish the fourth book in Meyer's series before her vacation, but I pointed out that even if she does, there ARE other books out there that she'd probably like just as well. I could suggest a few (more than a few, in fact), but of course, it's her own personal journey to find that voice that speaks to her in quite the same way. 

And it's every writer's wish that a reader makes that discovery of his or her own books!

ECHOES OF PASSION: 7.2.09

Only 29 more days to launch!

Technology stares me in the face

Technology is an underlying theme in much of what I write, mainly because it both fascinates me and alarms me. And the fact that I managed to destroy three computers at work in three months has a little something to do with it too. 

So knowing that, what does The Hub get me for my birthday? That's right, technology. He got me a Sony eReader because, as he explained, an epublished author needs to have a Reader. Or a Kindle, but the Reader was closer, and he could examine it (and I have certain reservations about the Kindle).  I spent the entire day (because I took a vacation day) on line trying to find out how to make it compatible with my Mac, because of course it's Windows only. And I found the software to do it, and so I rubbed my hands together with glee!

And could not get it to work. Not unusual; my learning curve for tech has always been fairly long, and this was no exception. And managed to run down the battery completely, so the next day I had to go out and get an AC adapter. And then I charged it, and sat down to work with it again. 

And managed to wipe out the data that already came with it. Sigh. Still couldn't upload any  books. The next day either. 

It's been a week and it stays there, mocking me. I may have to break down and see if I have any better luck on the Windows machine downstairs. Sigh.

But at least I have high hopes that I'll be able to read my next book on it -- ECHOES OF PASSION is coming out on July 2, so one way or another, I will! I will!

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Only 43 more days! I will conquer the Sony  beast. I will! I will!

I'm starting to wonder

I managed to kill computer no. 3 at work today. The third in three months. I'm starting to wonder about the jokes I've made through the years, about how technology doesn't like me. I DON'T THINK IT'S A JOKE!

Meanwhile, in decidedly nontechnical matters, I'm down to my last three teas in the house. Well, there are six, but I've decided that the liver tea etc. will stay where they are. Until I feel like drinking icky-tasting tea. The other three teas I have left are a motley bunch -- one of them is Market Spice tea, from Pike Place Market; one is unnamed, but I prudently put it into what used to be a Superman peanut butter jar (which gives you a clue when I got both the jar and the tea, which is to say, a long, long time ago); and a tea from a foreign country not Japan or China, but somewhere in Africa, if I can make out the postmark. The end is in sight. I cannot wait. Fresh teas, somewhere ahead!

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Only 55 more days to launch!

Does it ever change?

I have a book coming out from Cerridwen Press on July 2, and I find myself looking forward to it. And I'm amused by that, because I thought I was over that kind of thing. ECHOES OF PASSION is my fourth book with CP, and I figured I was pretty much in the groove, downright blase, for the routine -- you know, you write the book, you submit the book, you get the book accepted, and then your editor takes over. (Oversimplified? You betcha!) 

But the deal is, everytime is a little different. The first one is different from the second one (the first one is WAY different from anything else!) is different from the third. The first you're terrified of doing something wrong; the second you're wondering if you're going to do something wrong; the third you're fairly sure if you keep doing the same thing you'll be okay, but the fourth ... can you make any new mistakes? 

And the answer is, of course you can. You just don't know what it is yet. So I'm keeping that in mind. And because I've changed editors, the way things get done is a little different too; it's something else to remember.

But the big thing I have to remember is that it's only 57 days until ECHOES OF PASSION comes out. It's still a thrill!

ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09!