meredith_shayne

Hello blogland, long time no speak! While I admit that I am a terrible blogger under usual circumstances, I am not generally this bad. But when your book suddenly decides that it wants to be 20,000 words longer than you originally thought, and you'd like to get it done before the end of the century, there's no choice but to put your head down, your bum up, and not stop until the very last word is written. I'm thrilled to be able to report that the last word was written last night, and it has been submitted. After I submitted it I felt a lot like how I used to feel when I was at Uni, after all my exams were over: like a weight had lifted from me, and I was free at last, free at last. Tonight I feel a lot like how I felt when I submitted my PhD: vaguely nervous, somewhat unsettled, and like I should be doing something instead of lollygagging about. Every time I remember that I'm finished and I've given myself a couple of weeks off writing, it's a little bit of a shock.

So, anyway. The novel is called Metal Heart, it's around 88,500 words, and it's the same story that I talked about in this post, when I posted a little snippet of it. I'm not very good at waiting, but hopefully I'll hear whether it's been accepted soon. Cross your fingers and toes for me, poppets!

In other writing related news, my good friend LJ Labarthe interviewed me for her blog, and the interview is posted here, so you can have a look at that if the mood takes you. I do a fair bit of waffling about being Australian, and about Brokeback Mountain, and also say why I am a cactus. Who wouldn't want to know that, I ask you?

Brief Encounters reviews also reviewed my Torquere Press Color Box, Rust Red: Galvanized, here, and gave it a B, so yay to that! In her review, Tam says:

I really enjoyed this follow-up, watching the guys work it out, seeing Chris’ fear but his determination not to be that guy who nearly lost Adam in the first book. I liked the author’s voice, and those who enjoyed the first one will equally enjoy this glimpse at the guys.

Which is very nice of her. And let's not forget that the prequel to Rust Red: Galvanized, Eyes Wide Shut, is available as a freebie in various places, and freebies are always good.

Right, that's me done, I'm off to read a book, because I can do that now, and hopefully it won't be another two months before I post again!

At the end of this week I'm going to have quite a lot of work to do, because I've got publisher edits on a novella due and I'm also trying to write something new in time for a deadline of September 1st. So of course I'm procrastinating like my life depends on it. I do have a cover art questionnaire open even as I speak, but I keep getting distracted by pictures of the West Australian outback and lovely panoramic photos of Perth. But if I don't write down anything about these photos I'm looking at one the questionnaire, then I won't get them on my cover, will I? No. No, I will not.

But mostly I'm thinking about getting a puppy. An opportunity has presented itself, and while it's the absolute worst time for me to be getting a pet I am seriously considering it. Because I am the least practical person in the world when it comes to tiny, supercute little puppies. And I haven't had a dog in a long time and I'm finally starting to miss it.

Anyway. I'll make that tomorrow's problem.

Today's problem, which is not a problem at all, is that Equilibrium has gotten a lovely review on Amazon. Greek Reader gave it 5 stars and said:

I liked this one a lot. Both main characters and those surrounding them are described in well-rounded and lively detail. Michael has flaws and issues, some of which he'll always struggle against, but he tries not to wallow and ultimately won't be defined by them. Ryan has led an easier and more charmed life, but he has a streak of realism that allows him to understand Michael and to stand by him.

It's a rather quiet and tender love affair, as they often are in real life, but never boring. Highly recommended.

So that's got me all warm and fuzzy today! Puppies and a good review = a pretty good day, really.

This morning, I was 3,000 words behind where I wanted to be in the current thing I'm writing, and now I'm not. I even managed to get all of it done before NCIS, which was even better.

The current thing I'm writing needs to be at least 20,000 words for me to submit it where I want to submit it. This morning I thought it wasn't going to make it, but now I think it will, which is good since I dislike useless padding intensely. Also, the stuff I wrote on Thursday night is absolutely shithouse and needs to be deleted, but I want to finish the thing first before I go deleting anything. It's at 14,200 words now, and there's quite a lot that needs going into the back end, so that should be fine. Plus, I've been skipping around writing the scenes which take my fancy in order to just get stuff done (I've come to realise that if I force myself to write a scene I'm finding difficult first before writing anything else that comes after it, all I'll do is brood over it and not write a thing. At least if I skip around, I'm writing something and not nothing), and I'm realising there's some stuff going into the back end that really needs foreshadowing before then, so that will have to go in, and there's also half finished scenes all over the place which I've just highlighted so I know I have to go back to them (I do this at work too. That way when I've left something until last and then forgotten I have to do it - which I always do - I see it when I'm scrolling through the document one last time before I send it off I see it, and think, "What's that highlight...OH. BUGGER." and can do it. Saves sending something off and then having to email back with the right version, haha).

So. Long story short - should make 20,000 fairly easily. Excellent.


Speaking of writing, the Care and Feeding of Demons anthology has gotten a five-star review at Rainbow Reviews! How weird and exciting that is. The lovely reviewer called Reasonable Force 'stylish', a description which thrills me to no end. I will hug it and love it and call it George.




In other, more disconcerting news, here is a story demonstrating how someone can write exactly the same story as somebody else, completely by accident. The most horrifying part was probably this part:

I spend the rest of the day (that would be two weeks ago last Monday), reading and doing a cross story analysis. And I came up with one very definitive truth – I could not write the book I’d been writing.

Similarity included: the triggering event, the fact that this event happened around 20 years in the past, the villain, deaths of old friends, and, of course, the location. I’m just being general here. Trust me, the core elements of the stories were very similar.

Granted, the way I was telling the story, and the way the other author told their story were different, but it didn’t hid the fact that there was too much the same.

How awful. And what are the chances, god. But still, it can happen, and this is why in cases where someone is accused of plagiarism - where the accusation is a similarity of events rather than a wholesale copying of text - I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt until there's actual proof of wholesale copying. They do say that there are no new ideas under the sun, after all.

Anyway, that's enough for now. Bed is calling, because it's work tomorrow, woe. Monday comes around with such monotonous regularity. If only the weekend came around so quickly and lingered so long.






Crossposted to all my journals today, because I'm lazy and want to go to sleep. Apologies to those who see this multiple times.