Cassandra's Ramblings

I love to torture my characters, and my latest holiday short story, entitled Just My Luck, is no exception! Just My Luck is part of Torquere Press's holiday Sip series, and it falls under the "Nice" category (although there's a bit of naughtiness in there too, lol)

Blurb: When Greg Reynolds’ car breaks down on Christmas Eve, he's happy to accept a ride home from Seth Whitney, the sexy bookstore owner he’s had a crush on for ages. His bad luck doesn’t end there, though. A fire in his apartment building renders the place unlivable. With nowhere to go, Greg is sure his night couldn’t get any worse, at least until Seth makes a surprising offer.

Excerpt: He heard the crunch of footsteps in the snow behind him. He tensed, aware of how deserted the area was, until a voice asked, "Need some help?"

Greg relaxed. He didn't have to turn to know who the voice belonged to. Seth Whitney. Seth owned the coffee shop next door to Well Read, the bookstore where Greg worked. He'd been lusting after the man ever since he first saw Seth four months ago. But who wouldn't? Seth was about thirty, tall and slim but well-built, with eyes and hair the color of dark chocolate and a killer smile.

It wasn't only his appearance that Greg admired. He'd seen many examples of Seth's kindness as well, like the times Seth sat and chatted with elderly customers even though he had other things he needed to do. Seth probably had other things he needed to do now, too.

Greg sighed. "I'm fine, but I think my car could use some help."

Seth laughed. "Unfortunately, that's not one of my skills."

"It's not one of mine, either." Greg looked glumly down at the engine for a minute before closing the hood. "Do you have a cell phone I can borrow? I'll have to get a tow truck."

Seth's horrified expression told Greg what he thought of the idea. "On Christmas Eve? It could take a while. How about I give you a ride?"

Reflex made Greg say, "I can't ask you to do that."

Seth was having none of his protest, though. "You didn't ask, I offered. It's no trouble. I don't have any plans or anything."

"Okay, then. Thanks." Greg grabbed the few things he needed from his car, locked the doors, and followed Seth to the other end of the parking lot.

Buy it at: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2364

Things have been slow on the writing front lately, but I have lots of things to be thankful for. :)

1) I made the top 5 in the Loose Id Hot Hooks Contest! *Squee!* (The full manuscript, tentatively titled Healer, is due to LI by February 1 for final judging)

2) I signed a contract with Amber Quill Press. (The story they accepted, Quinn's Hart, was the story I missed a submission deadline for this summer, but I managed to whip it into shape after I received an invite to sub to AQP.)

3) I completed a Valentine's Day themed short, which I plan to submit after I do a bit of tweaking on it.

4) I have awesome people who help me catch errors, see storyline problems, and make my books better. (Thanks, Beth and Qwillia! You guys rock.)

5) Tomorrow is a half-day at the edj. :D

My entry into the Loose Id Hot Hooks Contest made it through the first round, so now I'm in the top 10.  I have to submit the first 1000 words of the manuscript for judging by Monday night.  At least I only have to wait until November 19 at the latest to find out if I've made the top 5. 

*crosses fingers and toes*

I've been sick all weekend, which puts a bit of a damper on any celebrations, but maybe something good will happen to offset me losing the majority of the weekend curled up on the couch.  At least I got a bit of reading done, when I wasn't dozing off at random times...

Check out my blog for Cocktoberfest over at EM Lynley's.  I did Halloween eye-candy, yum.  Commenters get a chance to win a prize!

http://www.emlynley.com/blog/

The other day I promised a big announcement yesterday. 

Well, here it is, a day late. 

One of my works-in-progress (working title--Healer) has been selected as one of the top twenty at the Loose Id Hot Hooks Contest.  The object is to "hook" the reader with a blurb and the first 250 words of the story.

I'd love to make it to the end of this particular contest, because the top 5 manuscripts get full critiques from Loose Id editors. 

To vote for me, and/or any other entries that catch your fancy:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ZE4pXvwJYpS5e_2fED9oEIXQ_3d_3d

***Edited to add that voting ends 10/29***

Here's my entry:

Healer by Cassandra Gold

M/M paranormal

 

Blurb: 

            For years, Dr. Tristan Matheson has hidden his abilities, pretending to be an ordinary doctor.   He’s eluded detection—until now.  When he’s targeted, Cam, a mysterious shapeshifter, becomes Tristan’s only means of escape.

 

            A member of the Delphic Institute, Cam is capable of taking the shape of anyone he’s ever seen.  Retrieving Tristan was supposed to be an ordinary mission, but the feelings he stirs are surprising and unwelcome.

 

            Tristan and Cam have a bigger problem, though. A war brewing between groups interested in “recruiting” humans with special talents could tear them apart before they ever get together.  

 

First 250 words:

            So tired. 

Tristan shook his head, hard.  Focus.  They were coming for him.  The instant the two suited, ominously similar men appeared on the security monitor, he’d known.  He had to finish before they found him.

            “It hurts.”  The plaintive voice of little Cara Mason broke into his thoughts.  She gripped his hand and struggled to make her brace-encased legs move the few short steps he’d asked her to take, her big brown eyes filled with pain.

            He smiled down at her despite his worry.  “I know, honey.  Hold on just a minute longer, and you won’t hurt anymore.”

            “You promise?” 

            Her hopeful yet skeptical expression broke his heart.  “I promise.”  He always kept his promises.  No matter what the cost.

Tristan knew he shouldn’t do it.  Each time he risked exposure.  Still, he couldn’t bear to leave Cara in pain.  Besides, they already knew he was here.  He had nothing to lose. 

After a quick look behind him to make sure Cara’s mother had left the room, he closed his eyes and focused.  Heat.  Cold.  Pain.  He shivered, but forced himself not to release Cara’s hand. 

Searing agony radiated down his spine and into his legs, nearly buckling them.  He let go and staggered backward.  For a moment the pain took over, blocking out everything. 

Cara cried out.  His eyes flew open.  Wide, happy brown eyes stared into his.  “I’m walking, Dr. Tris!  And I don’t hurt, just like you promised!” 

The demon story is finally rolling for me again.  I wrote around 5k on it this weekend, and it's developing just as I'd hoped.  The characters aren't going off on stupid tangents like my characters sometimes tend to, but they are turning out to be deeper than I had originally thought they'd be (which is good). 

Right now my word count is 15,4xx.  I'm hoping to wrap it up in another 10-15k, although for me, planning a final word count is nearly impossible.  I'm too much of a pantser to predict how much longer it'll take me to fully wrap up the story.  All my guesstimates end up off, and sometimes WAY off. 

The story I just finished now has a tentative title.  My beta reader liked it, and offered constructive advice to punch it up a bit, so I hope to have that one subbed by next weekend. 

In other news, I have a big announcement I'll be making tomorrow, or thereabouts... 

Discreet and discrete are not the same word.  They're not even synonyms. 

Discreet = careful

Discrete = separate

I'm reading a book that keeps using "discrete" where "discreet" should be, and it's driving me insane.  I hate when people misuse words that are not in any way related, especially if the words are homophones.  Every time I see the wrong word it pulls me out of the story.  Hello, editor?  Anybody can make a mistake like that (once anyway) due to a simple typo, and spell check won't catch it since it's an actual word.  That's where editors and line editors come in.

Anybody else have an issue with a pet peeve like this, or am I just the crazy grammar / word usage lady?   

After months of horrible writer's block (otherwise known as the Worst.  Writer's Block.  Ever.)  I finally finished something!  Woohoo! 

*happy dances*

A story I'd been working on since this summer is finally finished, and it clocks in at just over 34k.  I don't know if it's any good (off to betas as we speak), but it's done.  Where will I send it?  Not sure yet. 

I was starting to get worried I'd never write anything again.  All my writer friends on the f-list will probably be able to understand how much that thought freaked me out.  This is the longest I've gone without writing since more than three years ago, and it wasn't pleasant.  Right now I feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders.  

Now, off to bed.    

elisa_rolle just did a wonderful review of The Carpenter and the Fairy!  Read it here:  http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/820476.html
Her reviews are great because she brings up aspects of my books I hadn't thought much about. 

Tina at Two Lips Reviews gave Saving Ciaran 5 Lips!  http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4407&Itemid=36

Marame at Rainbow Reviews gave the Friction Anthology (including my story "One Night Stand") 4 stars, with some very complimentary words for my contribution:  http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=1821

Chrissy at Romance Junkies also reviewed Saving Ciaran, and had good things to say.  Read her review here:  http://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/paranormal/Outcasts_Saving_Ciaran.shtml

In other news, I'm wrapping up edits for Fantasies: Christmas right now (due out in December from Red Rose).  Outcasts: Claiming Ciaran is due out October 23 (from Cobblestone Press).  And I'm still mostly stalled out on writing but I made a bit of headway the other night, so I'm hoping the Worst.  Writer's Block.  Ever.  is nearly at an end.  

Also, I've got an important announcement I'll be making in a few days...  

I'm not a quitter.

I have come up against many difficult situations in the course of my education, career, and personal relationships. Normally, when I get into one of those situations, I don't just throw up my hands and go, "Oh gee, it's getting hard. I quit."

So I'm wondering...Why do I do that with my writing?

Sometimes (more often than I care to admit), I run into a snag in my writing and just toss the story aside. I have what I refer to as a WIP graveyard, where works in progress go when I get annoyed with them or decide they won't work. A few of them are legitimately unworkable stories, especially the ones I started years ago. Others were good ideas that, if I had persisted, just might have become published works. In fact, two are finished. They needed more revision than I had the time for then, and I've never picked them up again.

What I have to ask myself is this: Why do I accept giving up when writing gets hard, when I would never allow myself to do that in life? And better yet, what can I do about it?

I'll tell you what I'm gonna do! I'm resolving to go through my WIPs and finish some of the stories that I gave up on because of a silly problem.

Anybody else have the problem of giving up too easily, in writing, reading, or real life? What did you do about it?

I would assume they are drunk, or making up a story to interest / impress / freak out others.  While I enjoy watching shows and reading books about the paranormal, I'm a skeptic through and through.

To all the authors on my F-list:

The Midnight Seductions Authors group is in need of some guest bloggers for the coming months.  You can blog about anything book-related, no matter how loosely connected.  Your bio and website link will also go up, along with a book cover (or photo of yourself, if you're brave!)

Free promo!  Anyone interested?  Comment here or send me a PM if you are.  

RRP First Love Contest

 http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/contest_sep.php

 

This is my entry for the RRP First Love Contest.  This month's prize is a Fictionwise gift certificate!  Since I no longer have a personal blog, I'm posting it here.  I have a feeling what I came up with isn't much like what the other participants wrote, but we'll see...

This little snippet is set after another flashfiction story I wrote called “Revelation.”  Read that story here:  http://www.cassandragold.com/revelation.html
 

Denial

 

“Hey Anderson, you coming?” 

 

The sound of his teammate’s voice pulled Luke’s thoughts back from where they’d wandered off to.  He lifted his gaze from the math book he’d been staring at for the past half an hour and shook his head.  “No, I have to finish this assignment.  I’ll catch you guys later.”

 

Barnes gave him an exaggerated frown.  “Okay, fine, go all nerd on us.  See you later.”  The big, loud linebacker left, two of their other teammates trailing behind him. 

 

With a sigh, Luke returned his attention to his book—or tried to, anyway.  He hadn’t been very productive this afternoon, despite exiling himself to the library.  And really, if he wanted to be honest with himself, he’d admit he hadn’t come to the library just to study.  He’d overheard someone mention that the school’s GLBT and friends/family group met in the library after school on Thursdays.  He wasn’t going to go to the meeting, of course.  He couldn’t do that.  But maybe he would be close enough to hear a little bit, without anyone knowing what he was doing.  He’d chosen a table back in the corner so no one would see him.       

 

The library door opened, and two girls came in, chatting and laughing.  He recognized one of them from math class.  She always wore combat boots and black lipstick, and she had rainbow patches sewn to her backpack.  The GLBT Alliance meeting would be starting soon.  Would Del be here?       

 

Luke clenched a fist under the table, his heart pounding in sudden terror.  He should leave.  Someone would see him here and wonder why the quarterback of the football team was studying in the library on a Friday afternoon instead of hanging out with his buddies.  Then somebody would put two and two together to make five, and by next week people would be muttering “fag” at him in the hallway.  He shifted, ready to bolt.

 

The door opened again, this time to admit a tall, skinny guy in a black jacket.  His black hair fell over what Luke knew were bright blue eyes, obscuring them.  He made his way toward the table where the two girls sat, his strides long and graceful.

 

Del.  He was here.  Luke watched him walk, his heart pounding for a different reason now.  Before he’d met Del in the hallway a few weeks ago, when they’d both stepped in to defend a classmate from a bully, he’d been able to ignore his feelings and pretend what he knew about himself wasn’t true.  Then he’d met Del, all skinny confidence and bristling attitude, and suddenly he couldn’t stop thinking about the guy.  All the fantasies he’d pushed out of his head had come flooding back, starring one tall, scrawny emo kid.      

 

Over the past few weeks, Luke had gone out of his way to run into Del in the hallway and the cafeteria, even though they didn’t hang with the same crowd.  If they hadn’t met in the hallway that day, he might not have ever known Del existed.  Now he couldn’t stop trying to think of ways to see him. 

 

Luke dropped his head into his hands.  This was stupid.  He shouldn’t have come here.  It wasn’t like he could go up to Del in school one day and ask the guy out.  He knew his place—quarterback, co-captain, macho straight guy, perfect son.  If that wasn’t always enough, it was too damned bad. 

 

“You okay?” 

 

Luke jerked his head up at the soft question to find himself staring into a pair of familiar blue eyes.  Del stood close to his table, hands in his pockets.  Luke’s chest tightened.  “I’m fine.  Just getting frustrated.  I’m going to go home and finish this later.”

 

Del smiled.  The expression held a hint of challenge.  “You’re leaving?  Sure you don’t want to stick around and join us?”

 

Part of Luke wanted to say yes, but he shook his head.  “Nah.  Places to go, people to see.”  Truth to deny.  He gathered up his books and stood.

 

“See you around, jock.”  Del gave him a salute and went back to his friends.

 

Luke watched him for a few seconds, longing to run after him.  Then he turned and left the library, his steps heavy. 

 

CONTEST QUESTION:  Where is Luke studying?    

*****Don't answer the question here!  The contest page at RRP (see top) has instructions on what to do if you want to participate in the contest.  If you want to leave a comment on the story here, feel free.  :)  *****

FOLLOW THE TRAIL
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BTlV_2fEVgDThi_2fQ4MHMHaqA_3d_3d

l_prieto challenged me to write 10 in what was left of the month a while back, and I'm sorry to say my progress hasn't been stellar. BUT, on the bright side, I made 1568 today. Not too bad, especially considering how horribly I've done on the writing front lately.

My progress so far: 

 

3327 / 10000 words. 33% done!

I've been focusing on an as-yet-untitled demon story, which is up to 6,948 words.  I'm hoping it will be 30k-ish when it's done.  My goal for the week is 3k, with the rest of the 10k next weekend. 

Next month we're planning to try another 25k in 30 days challenge.  I'm crossing my fingers that the evil day job will have settled down by that point.

Today I received the cover art package for my upcoming sequel to Outcasts: Saving Ciaran (which came out in June). 

Outcasts: Claiming Ciaran will be out in October, as part of the Cobblestone Press Octoberfest paranormal month.  I'm thrilled with the cover, which was designed by the always awesome Frauke of Croco Designs.  She's never let me down yet. 



Ain't it purty? 

Claiming Ciaran is a bit darker than Saving Ciaran, and it's got a lot more action.  Some of the unanswered questions from the first book are answered as well.  There will be one more book in the trilogy (which is not yet titled), and then I plan to write a book for a character who popped up in CC.  He's clamoring for his own story.  :)  

I've been pretty quiet around here lately (mostly due to my return to the edj), so I'm posting my latest MSA blog.  This is a subject that I've been thinking a lot about lately.  I hope a few of you will offer some opinions. 

No, this is not a post about *that*. Get your minds out of the gutter, people! :)

What I am interested in knowing is how long you like your books / stories to be.

Recently, I read a post somewhere complaining about how the author disliked short stories and novellas. The blogger in question wanted to read novels only, the longer the better, and anything else was too short.

As for me, I'm an equal opportunity reader. Depending on my mood, I'll read anything from short stories to epic novels. I often like to pick up anthologies, short stories, or novellas when I know I won't have a lot of uninterrupted time to read. I can get the satisfaction of finishing the novella or short story in one sitting, whereas I probably won't be able to do that with a novel.

Of course, I expect there to be plot and characterization in anything I read, no matter how short or long. The blogger who only liked novels did not believe it was possible for an author to develop a plot and characters in a short work. I disagree. I've seen it done many times.

Writing-wise, I've written mostly short stories and novellas. My one completed (short) novel is due out in October. I try to provide sufficient plot and characterization no matter how long or short the work, which often requires me to tighten up the writing and cut out the excess "fat."

What do you all think? Do you like short stories, novellas, and multi-author anthologies? Can good characterization and a fully realized plot exist in short works?

The horrible writing slump I've been in for nearly a month ends here and now!

l_prieto challenged me to write 10k in what's left of this month.  I needed something to get me going, so of course I agreed.  Next month, we're going to tackle another 25k in 30 days challenge, but that seemed too daunting this month (at least for me). 

The most annoying part about this whole slump has been that I actually have ideas to write on, I just can't get motivated.  Well, I'm determined to get SOMETHING done by the end of the month.  Whether it's WIP 2 from July (still unnamed) or my latest WIP (I'm calling it the demon story for now, lol), I WILL write, and I WILL finish something!!!!!

That is all. 

Jessica Freely spotlighted me for her Friskbiskit blog.  She asked a lot of cool questions.  If you've ever wanted to know whether I prefer Kirk or Spock (among a lot of other facts), check out the interview at:  http://www.friskbiskit.com/2009/07/author-spotlight-cassandra-gold.html

On the writing front, I've done absolutely in over a week.  I've been reading a lot, trying to get my motivation back.  Sigh.

I'm hoping to get a couple of things done before it's time to go back to the evil day job for another school year.  We'll see how successful I am...

As you all know, last month I made a writing challenge for myself and some others who participated with me.  I wrote just over 50k in 30 days, the most I've written in a very, very long time.  I finished the sequel to Saving Ciaran and started a new piece, deadline earlier this month. 

With the help of a couple of good friends (I'm looking at you, B and Q), I managed to get WIP 2 up to more than 30k.  I was pushing myself like crazy to finish it before the deadline.  I came close.

Then--a work conference that took up two whole days.  Then--vacation loomed.  The night before I left for Las Vegas, I stayed up nearly all night, pushing myself to finish the ms before I left.  Hubby and I had had a bit of a tiff over me taking the laptop on vacation, so I didn't want to have to do that.  At about 2:15 I realized there was no way.  I wasn't going to finish.  It was a crushing realization. 

I'm not at my most emotionally stable at 2:15 am after being up for a loooooong time, so I bawled like a baby, went to bed, didn't sleep, and was up at 4:00 to get ready to head to the airport.  I'd worked so hard trying to get the story done in time, and to fail was discouraging to say the least.  Thinking of the missed opportunity broke my heart.  I also couldn't help dwelling on the other people I'd let down by not making deadline.  

Vegas was fun, if exhausting, and I mostly managed to put my disappointment aside.  Now I'm back home, and I've taken a couple of days to just read and relax.  I've already missed the deadline for the sub call, so I don't really need to rush now.  *shrug*  

I've read several fantastic books over the past few days (and a couple on the plane / during layovers).  It's nice to take a break and remind myself why I love writing in the first place.  It's about the characters, the story, and the joy of creating something.  All I got from pushing myself so hard during those last few days was even worse insomnia than usual and a big old case of burnout.   

Now I just need to pick myself up, dust off the disappointment, and move on to the next opportunity.  After all, that WIP's not gonna finish itself.   

It's vacation time.  Hubby and I are off to Las Vegas with some friends, so I won't be around.  I hope I can survive the internet withdrawal!