July
3
40 Comments

State of the Author, early July 2017 edition

Posted in DAW, Essalieyan, writing.

Well. I wrote over 30,000 words while in Australia, and War is not yet finished. There was much teeth gnashing and hair pulling and I am back in Toronto, still working on War. This means: I have not yet finished the (two) short stories that I have booked from the pixel project fundraiser, either =/. War had ‘two chapters plus epilogue to go’ when I landed in Brisbane. And… it still has two chapters plus epilogue to go, even with the addition of two and a half chapters. Alpha reader thinks that West readers will actually like the book, as written, which is a bonus, because the book isn’t finished yet. Ahem. I promise I have been writing, and will … Continue reading →

May
31
23 Comments

State of the Author, May 2017

Posted in Elantra, Essalieyan, writing.

This is a bit late. Again. But at least it’s in the right month… The first half of May was Michelle revising first draft of Cast in Deception (as noted below, I messed up the title because, umm, it’s not War >.<). so it could become submission draft. This took a bit longer than I had originally planned. The second half of May was War and the start of the as yet unnamed Severn story. But mostly, it was War. Which is not finished yet. I’ve mentioned that I work on two different books simultaneously until I reach the end of one of them, at which point, I don’t have the mental space for anything but the book that is ending. It’s … Continue reading →

May
3
35 Comments

State of the Author, April 2017 (late)

Posted in writing.

April’s end was all about taxes. Taxes, taxes, more taxes. I filed my fiscal 2016 taxes on the 29th of April (due 30th). Yesterday I filed my HST 2016 report (due June/2017), and I am officially done with taxes until the same time next year. Before taxes consumed four days of my life, I finished Cast in Deception. HOWEVER… when I say I’m finished, what it means is, I’ve figuratively typed “the end”. I have gone from page one to page 500+. When my editor says I’m finished, it means an entirely different thing. When I say I submitted Cast in Deception (which has not happened yet), it means that, having typed “the end”, I have started at the beginning … Continue reading →

March
25
35 Comments

State of the Author, March 2017 edition

Posted in DAW, Elantra, Essalieyan, writing.

March was eventful for me, since I usually stay at home and hide under large rocks. I participated in the pixelproject fundraiser. As of this morning, I have mailed or hand-delivered two of the three books that donors chose in that auction (the third is not finished, not published, and promised to the third donor when both of those things occur); I have had the absolute pleasure of speaking with the readers who chose the 30 minute hangouts. During the month, however, I continued my normal writing schedule, with a brief break of two days to attend a convention. So, this is where the writing currently stands. Cast in Deception, as it is currently called, is due in April; it … Continue reading →

March
8
100 Comments

Upcoming appearances and pixelproject fundraisers

Posted in writing.

Because I’ve worked in an SF/F specialty store since 1986, I haven’t attended conventions in Toronto as an author; during those, we have a table at the convention and we also need to keep the store open, so I’m seldom an author in Toronto, because: bookseller. BUT: I will be at the Ad Astra table at the Toronto Comic Con, for those of you who are local, or close to local, on the 18th and 19th of March, 2017. It’s at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. During the signing times, we’ll have books for sale, but if there are specific books you want signed (ummm, by me–and yes, I have signed other author’s books at customer request, but only once), … Continue reading →