Author Christine d’Abo

There is something to be said when your weeks fly by. I’m never bored to say the least. But man, I never seem to have enough hours in the day to get through everything I need to.

That said, I’m in the home stretch for my urban paranormal, and tonight my goal is to get 3k written. Insane? Yes. Determined? You bet! So I’ll be putting my nose down and will get ready to crank out the pages.

On another note, I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently. I’m just about finished No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong. It kills me every time I have to put the book down. I think if I get my 3k words written tonight, I’m going to stay up until I finish it. Man I love Kelley’s writing. Her characters have so much depth and her plots have tons of twists and turns. Perfect!

And don’t forget, The Bond That Heals Us comes out NEXT WEEK!! Wednesday can’t get here fast enough!

*does the snoopy dance*

I did it! I sat my butt down in my chair last night and managed to get some writing done. Just over a 1000 words, so I’m pleased with that. Tonight I have to take the girls to Girl Guides, so I won’t be able to get started until 9:00pm, but I plan to shoot for another 1000 words.

I’m determined to finish this puppy!

And a big YEAH!! that NCIS was back on TV last night. Everyone was in fine form, the story was interesting and a nice little hook at the end. I didn’t realize just how much I missed this show.

And I think my husband is officially hooked on JR Ward. He’s currently reading Dark Lover, and seems to be really enjoying the story. I’m glad because it means I can chat with him about them.

Speaking of which, has anyone read any good urban paranormals recently? I’m looking for a new author to try and am open to suggestions.

I survived Christmas! Well, so far I’m mostly in one piece. My girls were very kind to us this year and didn’t get up until 6:45 am on Christmas morning. We opened our Santa stockings and then had a wonderful breakfast. Then it was on to the presents.

This year I got several fablous sweaters from my husband, chocolates (no I haven’t checked how many WW points they are), and a manicure/pedicure. I can’t wait to book that one. I think I’m going to save it for a few weeks and then set a day. I have a feeling I’m going to need the relaxation later on.

We’ve spent most of yesterday and part of today playing Big Brain Academy for the Wii. We’re all having a lot of fun with it and it’s something even my little one can do. Great family game, highly recommend it.

I haven’t really written anything over the past week. I did finish the last three pages on my first chapter of my urban paranormal, and wrote two pages on a follow up story for Wizard’s Thief. Beyond that, I’ve been pretty good about enforcing my break. But it won’t last much longer LOL! I’m starting to get twitchy and am going to start working again really soon.

I’ve taken some time to do a lot of reading. I finished my ARC of The Bleeding Dusk (OMG this book rocks so hard), Julia Quinn’s latest book, Aubrey Ross’s Seducer, Shelley Munro’s Issy’s Infatuation (which also ROCKED!), and I’m now finishing up Eve Kenin’s Driven. All in all, it’s been a good break.

How has your Christmas been so far?

What a crazy, insane weekend. First off, we bought a house. We saw fourteen houses on Friday and out of all of those there were only two we liked. By the time we got around to making an offer there was only one of those left. Thankfully it was the house we wanted. We are super thrilled.

On the plane I got to read most of Lover Unbound. I’m not quite done yet (I’m reading fast Amy!!) and should be finished either tonight or tomorrow at the latest. OMG what a fantastic book so far.

Last week I managed to write about twelve pages on my novella and fixed a major problem with it. I’m hoping to get it finished this week so I can do some poking around in my paranormal. I had a dream about the plot last night, and was still thinking about it in the shower this morning. I really need to get to it soon. The wheels are starting to turn over time.

So I want to set my goals for this week.

• Finish the novella - approximately 10,000 words
• Plot out paranormal

I think with everything else going on, that will keep me busy.

What is everyone else up to?

I’m not sure if you know this, but I have very eclectic musical tastes. I’m more of a hard rock girl, but I love artists like Lorena McKennitt and Sarah Brightman as well. Who I’m not really a fan of is Celine Dione.

And then I heard her newest song this morning on the radio… Wow! I’d have to listen to it again to get a feel for whether or not this is a CD I’d want to buy, but it was amazingly different. I guess it pays to keep an open mind.

But I have to admit…I was a little bit scared…

I’ve been trying some different things this week as well. I’m reading a Stuart Woods book, which isn’t my normal reading genre. So far I’m really enjoying this one. I like how he’s built up the political backstory and the mystery. I’m also watching NCIS on DVD. My dad loaned me his copy and told me I had to watch it. Since I love Law & Order and the CSI’s I figured it would be worth a shot. I love it so far! I’m hoping he’ll pick up season two so I can watch it also LOL!

This weekend I plan on finishing my Caveman story, and then will send it off to my wonderfully, beautifully and talented critique partners…I love you guys!! My daughter has two birthday parties to go to this weekend, so that will keep us hopping as well.

So what are you up to this beautiful Friday? What are your plans for the weekend?

Yesterday was a crazy day for me. My youngest had a Girl Guide event at a local farm from 2:30-5:00. Of course this is the same day she had her first soccer game…starting at 5:00! These two events were naturally at the opposite end of a very long road. Somehow I managed to get her from one to the other, changed and out onto the field and was only a few minutes late. She was really excited because she got a purple soccer jersey this year, and still got her number. She loves purple and apparently the number 10.

Once we got home at 6:00, we finally got to eat, I gave both the girls a quick bath and threw them into bed. In between loads of laundry I grabbed my laptop, sat down and attacked my new WIP. Surprisingly, thinks seemed to click. I managed to write a little over a thousand words before I collapsed from exhaustion.

So today I’m pumped, ready to dive back into the story. I don’t have a title for it yet, which is bothering me, but I’m not going to let that hold me back. I plan on getting some writing done today at lunch, and then later tonight. My goal is to get between 1500-2000 words a day until it’s finished. That would mean I’d have the whole story written in ten to twelve days. Then I can start tearing it apart and cleaning it up, giving me plently of time before the Brava contest.

I’m also going to start reading Rises The Night tonight! I know it’s going to suck me in so I’ll only allow myself the treat of reading if I’ve reached my writing goal for the day. It’s my reward.

I don’t know why but last night I officially started my countdown to the release of The Bond That Ties Us. Maybe it’s the OCD coming out in my personality, heck maybe it’s just nerves, but I needed to know.

43 Days.

I’ve come to the realization that I haven’t done much in the way of marketing to get the word out that my book is coming soon. I need to correct that. I’ve talked about doing this before, but now with only 43 (eek) days left the urge to get off my butt and take action is growing.

So, I’m going to get some book covers made up, and maybe some magnets. And I’m planning on running a contest in July. Other than that, I’m not sure. People have sent me lots of resources on what/how to market, I just need to take a look at them.

Other than writing and starting to sweat (43 days…) I’ve been reading. I bought and devoured Gideon by Jacquelyn Frank. I’ll do a review on Friday, but I have to say I really enjoyed this book. Next on my plate is Rises The Night by Colleen Gleason. I can’t wait to get more Max…love Max. I’m sure I’ll read that one quickly too. After than I have the first four books in J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover series. Until the pile on my night stand drops, I’m not allowed to buy anymore books.

Must read faster…

I feel like I’m in super hyper mode for some reason. I’ve made some really good progress writing wise this week. I finished my first draft of the Halloween story. Renee and I still need to go through and make sure everything fits nicely, but with only a little tweaking I think we’re mostly done. We’ll submit it to our editor either late next week or early the following.

My Duke’s story is coming along as well. I’ve gotten a good start on chapter 2, and will be diving hard into that this weekend. My goal is to get it mostly written. I’ve started this chapter off from his POV and I’m finding the switch interesting. Not wanting to give it too much of a historical feel, but trying not to use modern phrasing with him. He’s the opposite of my heroine. It’s a great challenge, I just hope I can pull it off.

I also want to start the novella I have planned for the Brava contest. I’ve been pulling my hair out because the idea I had, quite frankly, sucked eggs. But I think I came up with a better one last night when I was at the grocery store. People were looking at me funny so I must have been smiling.

So now I’m not really sure what I want to focus on this weekend. Tweaking of the halloween story, finsh chapter 2 of the duke, or start the novella. *sigh*

Of course all of my writing plans are being pushed off until I can get home tonight and finish Robin L. Rotham’s Alien Overnight. I sat down last night after some running around (I had to make 5-layer dip for a potluck at work today) and started the book. I really didn’t want to go to sleep, but I had no choice. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS?!?! ARRR!! So I’m not writing a word until I can read the rest of the book.

This weekend will be busy on the family front too. My oldest has an under eight soccer team try out. We’ll see how she makes out. Then on Sunday both the girls have an end of year event for Girl Guides. So lots of running around.

What are you folks up to?