When the keys click no more...(for now, at least)

It's done! Last night I typed the last words of my first novel: Lilith Rising. It finished at about 440 pages. I wasn't really sure how I felt about it at first (aside from the obvious pure elation), so I wanted to let my feelings simmer a bit before I blogged about it.

The pride I feel for my accomplishment is still in the forefront of my mind, but if I dig a little deeper there's the knowledge that I still have several more milestone's to cross before I can really relax. First, I've got to edit it, which will consist of a lot of chopping, particularly in the first half. I was still discovering my voice as a writer during that time, so I need to also retype it so that it's writing style is consistent. My goal is to try to cut it to around 350 pages, which will pose a hard challenge. I refuse to compromise my story to get it there, so we will see what I end up with.

After I edit it, I will be giving it to a good friend of mine to do a second edit. After she makes her suggestions, I will do a final edit. Then will come the task of sending off to various literary agencies.

Being a new author, this is the scariest part to me. I'm choosing to pursue the agent route because they know what mistakes not to make, and will push for the best deals, considering they make money when you make money. While I'm doing the editing I plan to do even more research on suggestions, tips, and anything else that I can find that will be useful to me during the process of trying to get to that end result...publication.

I will probably begin the second in the series as soon as the first edit is done. That story has been begging to be written since I was halfway done with the first one, and I don't want my muse to lose her momentum.

I believe that I've written something fresh that (if it becomes a successful publication) will add something to this genre of storytelling. I hope that my readers will too.

More to come...

Ayiyiyiiyiyiyi...

So I gave a little shout-out to Xena tonight in the chapter I'm working on. In a comical way, of coarse. :-)

Scatter-brained

So I'm off work, finally. This overtime is truly draining, but thanks to this amazing stuff called coffee, my muse feels appeased and has decided to allow my creative juice to begin flowing.

Lately, I find my creative thoughts so easily distracted by ideas for the next couple of books in the series that I've outlined. In my mind the story in the first book has been finished for months now, and Samantha is off to so many other adventures in my head that I can't write the material down fast enough. I guess that's a good thing, though. I'm just worried about not keeping up.

I'm just so thrilled to be so closed to being finished with book# 1. I'm excited, and nervous about the editing process and the whole trying to get published process. But I believe in my work, and stand behind it, and I'm ready for the movement forward toward success.

But for now, ideas for books 2-5 will just have to wait. I'm off to work on chapter 33 of book#1...Focus dammit...Focus!

My journey from starting my first novel to where I am now.

I'd been a writer of poetry (mostly spoken word form, and freehand) since I was a child, and had always wanted to embark on something more. It wasn't until about two years ago that my muse finally answered my call, and I knew it was time for me to write a novel. I love, and have been inspired by many books, and series featuring supernatural characters and story-lines. So I went with that inspiration, and began to wonder what kind of world I wanted to create.

I knew that I wanted to write a series, one told through the point of view of my heroine. I was raised by a single mother, and have always had strong females in my life that have influenced and astonished me, and I wanted my main character to be blessed with some of those same strengths that I've witnessed in my life. I also knew that I wanted a lot of minority characters in my series, written in a way that breaks through the stereotypes that often surrounds them. And lastly, I knew that I wanted to write a supernatural series that grounded my readers by presenting them with a world alot like the one we all live in today. Whether the character is a vampire, elf, faerie, demon, shape-shifter, or human, I wanted to write them in a way that they were relatable to the reader.

Then, the main character presented herself to me. I wrote in my journal for days, outlining her physical appearance, her personality, upbringing, career, life goals etc. Then came the villain, the main antagonist of the first book. After creating both characters the world began to fall into place, and I was flooded with other characters that would help shape the world that Samantha, my main character, lives in.

After several months spent creating the world inside my head, and A LOT of related research, I started my first page in Febuary, 2009.

It wasn't until I was about halfway through the book that I felt that I had truly found my voice, or style as a novelist. Currently, I am two chapters from completing the first book in the series, and have outlined the next five books. I am looking forward to the editing process, and going back to that first half and cleaning it up a bit.

This work in progress has literally changed my life. I now have a close relationship with my muse, and a confidence I have never had for my work prior to embarking on this journey. I've learned so much about how I work, as a writer, during the process, and have taken my mind to places creatively, that I never would've imagined going to before starting this. My hope is that people will enjoy my first book, and continue to enjoy the following books in the series. I hope they will embrace the world, and characters I've created and come to love them (or in some cases hate them), as I have.

More to come later...