Blog of Author Christine d’Abo
I’m the first to admit that I was really bad with blogging last year. Granted, I had a crazy amount of releases, new stories written and editing, but that’s no reason to ignore the insanity that is my blog. So New Year’s resolution for 2012, get back to the blog!
Continue reading ‘So I don’t know what to blog OMG A ZOMBIE!!!’
On the writing front, 2011 has been a pretty stellar year for me.
It’s easy to forget how much progress has been made when you’re neck deep in writing new stories, doing up proposals for agents (getting rejected by agents), working on edits on top of everything else that is going on. It’s nice to sit back and take a look at what’s happened over the past year and see where I’m hoping to go in 2012. So that’s what I’m doing. If you haven’t given yourself the opportunity to take a moment and look back at the positives of the past year (even if they may be hard to see), you should. 
Releases
This year saw the most releases I’ve ever had at one time. Not only did I have seven publications hit the stands, I got to work with three new publishers! It’s been a crazy, wild ride and one that I hope doesn’t come to an end anytime soon.
No Master – Ellora’s Cave
Girls Who Bite – Cleis Press
Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance – Cleis Press
Double Shot – Carina Press
A Shot in the Dark – Carina Press
Pulled Long – Carina Press
Agony/Ecstasy - Berkley Heat
New Words
On top of the edits and promotions I did for the above books, I’d somehow also managed to get 230,700 new words written. That’s on five manuscripts, one that was published (No Master), two that are contracted and are coming in 2012 (Spectral Bond, Scorched Retribution), and three stories that I’m in the process of finishing/editing (an Exotica for EC, an erotic steampunk I hope to try and get an agent with, book 4 in the Long Shots series, and a partial for Blaze).
It’s a bit crazy…
Reading
I’ve also made a point of doing more reading in 2011. I took the Goodreads challenge and set a goal for myself of reading 50 books. I’m technically 3 books behind on the challenge, but I have actually read well over the 50. I won’t post any reviews of books I don’t like (I try to only say nice things online) and there were a few I read that didn’t float my boat. This was good for me and I found it helped keep me motivated with my writing. I plan to do this again next year.
Looking Forward
I’m already very excited about what is on the horizon for 2012. I have two releases ready to go. Spectral Bond, a new story in the Eternal Bond universe will be out early 2012. Scorched Retribution is a story I have in the new Cleis Press She-Shifters anthology coming out in July. I also hope to have Josh’s story (book 4 in the Long Shots world) out in 2012. I also will be finishing up the Blaze (even if I get a no on that one), work on a few call for submissions that have caught my eye, and I have plans for two new novella series.
In other words, I’ll be busy.
I hope you are all ready for 2012, and I hope it is as productive (and happy) for you as I hope it will be for me.
*does a snoopy dance*
Well, I’m not entirely sure where November went, but it’s definitely December 2nd, according to my calendar. That is the one downside to NaNoWriMo, time seems to evaporate on me.
I really try not to be lazy, but sometimes I let things slide when I shouldn’t. There’s been so much going on with me on the writing front that I forgot some simple things that I could be doing to make things easier for readers.
I’m sitting here at my desk looking at my calendar. August will be done next week. DONE! I have no idea where the summer has gone. I was planning on taking most of it off from writing to focus on other things (snort) and instead had a bunch of submissions.
Worse problems to have, right? Continue reading ‘Coming to an end’
I have to say, I’m very happy that summer is here. This past spring was incredibly busy for me on many fronts. But with June almost done and July around the corner, I’m looking forward to taking some much needed time off.
My edits for most of my fall releases are done. No Master will be out in seven days (OMG!) and I’ve decided to take it easy on the writing front for a few weeks.
My master plan is to play video games and hang out with my children. World domination will soon follow.
I also want to take the opportunity to get caught up on my reading. I’ve been able to get through a number of novellas and short novels that have been sitting on my e-reader for a while in recent days. I’ve posted some reviews over on Goodreads, but I’d recomment getting the following if you are looking for something new.
Do Over by Mari Carr. If you have been married for any length of time, you will appreciate this beautifully written novel. It’s about a couple who have a special weekend getaway to get reacquainted with each other. I cried more than once.
Sweet As Sin by Inez Kelley. This is another book that had me crying. The struggles of the hero and heroine in this book prove that sometimes love isn’t enough. The resolution was immensley satisfying.
Outcast Mine by Jamie Craig. A well written m/m sci-fi romance that had be flipping the pages at a rapid rate. Great action and hot sex.
I’m traveling for work this week, but when I get back I’ll officially slide into summer mode. How about you? Any special plans for the summer?
Wow, I’ve been neglecting the old blog again. But I promise, it’s a result of good things!
This week I’ve been eyeball deep in edits for the Long Shots series. The first round for the first two stories are done, and I’ll be moving on with them later this week.
I’ve also had news of two sales! I’m still waiting on the official bits before I can share the details, but I’m very happy with both. I hope you all are too.
Today’s Friday funny came from a day job co-worker. Please don’t hate me for getting this song stuck in your head. Have a fantastic weekend!
What a week! Life in the d’Abo household has been clipping along at a good pace. We are in the process of selling our house, which means LOTS of cleaning and decluttering. The minions aren’t very happy about the extra work, but they will survive.
I do have some excellent news about a new contract coming up, but I can’t quite share it with you yet. I hope everything will be finalized next week and I’ll be able to give you the deets. Needless to say, I’m ecstatic. 
I’ll be participating at the Toronto Romance Writer’s March critique session again this year. I hope I’ll be able to offer a bit of advice to the new writers in my group. Thankfully J.K. Coi is my critique partner, so they will benefit from her expertise as well.
Seeing as it’s Friday, I thought I’d share another funny video with you. This one isn’t safe for little ears or work (unless you have headphones). I laughed my ass off!
Happy Friday everyone!
…and walked out with an Oscar.
I know I’m not alone in my lovefest for Colin Firth. Hell, even my husband thought he was kick ass after I made him watch Pride and Prejudice (side note – my husband rocks!). When I’d heard Mr. Darcy…err Firth had been nominated for the Oscar this year, I knew I had to go out and see The King’s Speech.
I won’t gush over the movie because really, it rocked. But what I found wonderful about the movie was the bravery of the King himself. It really pointed out to me as a writer that we don’t necessarily need to throw our heroes into a blood bath (I’m also watching Spartacus) to give them the opportunity to be heroic.
I’m also reading What I Did For A Duke, by Julie Ann Long. I’m remiss to say I’d never even heard of Ms. Long before I saw a shout-out for this book on Dear Author. I’m so glad I did! Like King George VI, Duke Alex (because what an awesome name) has his own internal demons he’s struggling with. I’m only about halfway done the book, but I’m hoping his growth (with Genevieve’s help) will be as rewarding as I think it will be.
What am I getting at with this post? I don’t have a clue. Maybe because I’m struggling with my own dark characters right now, I’m finding myself tuned in to how other writers work through that emotional journey. How these men battle their demons without giving up that essence that is who they truly are is something I’m desperately working toward.
If the King can get through his speech (and win the Oscar), then I can get my heroes to behave.
Onward and upward, Bertie.
Whenever I sit down to do up my New Year’s resolutions, I always feel a bit silly. I’m normally a pretty goal oriented person to begin with, so doing up special goals for the whole year don’t always have the impact on me that they probably should. That said, the year I put down “I will get published” on my list I actually did. So I’ll keep doing it just to keep the positive vibes going.
So sit down and brace yourself, kind readers. Here are Christine’s Goals for 2011!
The Goal List
Blog More. Yeah, yeah, I know, blogging is sooooo 2010ish. I didn’t get a chance to do a lot of blogging last year due to health and laziness issues. I don’t want to necessarily focus on writing as much as I have (thought that will be a big chunk still), but throw in some more interested bits for you to read. Don’t have a CLUE what they are yet, but I’ll figure it out.
Get an Agent. Yeah, yeah, I know, getting an agent is soooooo 1990ish. I also know this is something out of my control to a certain extent. But what I’m more interested in doing from my own perspective is not rushing my submissions to agents. I’m taking a look at the material I’m writing and how I can make it more marketable to a larger readership. Those are the projects I need to start pitching to agents and only to agents who I’ve done enough research on. Starting with the book I’m editing right now. 
Be Forgiving. I like to think I’m a nice person, but I have a bit of a mean streak in me. Thankfully, most of the time this is directed at myself and not others. In 2011, I’m vowing to give myself a bit of a break. Not from accomplishing the goals I want, but when I don’t quite live up to my own expectations. This will be a hard goal for me to meet.
Write, write, write! Goes without saying, doesn’t it? But my writing goals for the year are as follows.
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Promote. I suck at this. I need to do a better job at getting out there and getting my name known. This is the one aspect of publishing that I’ve always struggled with (mum raised me not to brag), and I know I need to do better.
Exercise. Yeah, yeah, I know, this is so…well, insert any year you want. One of the things I realized in 2010 was that I think better when I’m consistently exercising. So my vow is to do this not only for my physical health, but for my mental health as well. A less mental Christine means more writing accomplished. Lord did I just write that…
Well I think that’s good enough for now. I like to keep busy and this will certainly do that for me. I hope you all meet any goals you set for yourself in 2011!
*does a snoopy dance*
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