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Category Archives: DAW

July
17
45 Comments

State of the Writer July 2013 edition

Posted in writing, Cast, DAW, Elantra, Essalieyan, Queen of the Dead.

The writer’s brain is melting. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who lives in and around Ontario; it’s been record temper­a­ture hot. I spent longer than I had antic­i­pated in revi­sions on Touch, the second book in the Queen of the Dead trilogy. It’s gone back to my publisher, and the publi­ca­tion date is January, 2014. However, it’s a move in the schedule; it’s the time at which my Michelle West novels have been published for the last few years. And War is not finished. It’s not really close to being finished. I’m sorry =/. I lost more months that I can bear to count on Touch, ironic given that it’s the shortest book I will publish all year. In terms of raw words, … Continue reading →

April
9
78 Comments

State of the Writer, April 2013, and an apology

Posted in Elantra, Essalieyan, Luna, writing, Books, DAW.

So far, 2013 has been a more produc­tive year than the partial disaster of 2012. I have finished and submitted Cast in Sorrow, which, given the exis­tence of a cover and a publi­ca­tion schedule, is a good thing. It’s not — I know this will come as a great surprise to all of you — short. I have finished, but not submitted, Touch, the book that broke my writing schedule for, in retro­spect, not very good reasons. I am in a state of perpetual revi­sion there, but I have committed to finishing and submit­ting it by the end of April. This April. I will reit­erate the one thing that I’ve been forcibly retaught: do not attempt to break your own process. Every­one’s process is indi­vidual; no two writers work the same way. Some­times, attempting to … Continue reading →

January
9
116 Comments

Battle spoiler thread & Sun Sword Kindle news

Posted in Essalieyan, DAW, ebooks.

I am on the last arc of TOUCH now, and it is going much, much better — thank you all for your words of both support and encour­age­ment. On the other hand, I am so far behind in every­thing by this point that I expect 2013 to be…hectic. I try not to angst too much on-line, because in the end, it’s not entirely rele­vant to the finished novel. Ten years from now – or maybe twenty – I won’t actu­ally remember which parts of any given book gave me ulcers and made me grind my teeth to crowns; the frus­tra­tion, the doubt, and the rewriting, are wed to the process. On the other hand, I was also happy to know that people who are writing found the post encour­aging.  … Continue reading →

December
18
55 Comments

State of the Writer, December 2012 — and Battle preview

Posted in DAW, Elantra, Queen of the Dead, writing.

It’s been over two months since I last posted. My brain is still mired in October, the month in which I had to scrap Touch for a third time and start it from the begin­ning. Again. In a week, it’ll be Christmas. Did I mention I’m still mentally stuck in October, the month of doom? So: an expla­na­tion for my absence. It’s unlikely to be short. I am on-line in various places because I write. And because I want to be acces­sible to people who read what I write. I am known to tweet, to post occa­sion­ally on Face­book, to blog. I reason­ably feel that people who other­wise don’t know me seek me out because they like my writing, and this makes me happy. But. (You knew there was a but, right?)  Writing … Continue reading →

October
4
46 Comments

Two bits of news, and a link

Posted in Audio books, DAW, Elantra, Essalieyan, Queen of the Dead.

I have mentioned else­where that I’m more than a bit behind, and I’ve been working steadily in the hopes of digging myself out. I love writing. I love being able to write for a living. But writing is an inher­ently creative process; it’s an art. Being able to write for a living neces­si­tates the melding of the creative art with profes­sional neces­si­ties, and some­times, they don’t co-exist in an entirely optimal way. I am a big, big believer in the butt-in-chair school of writing, but I’m also aware that some­times the fifty thou­sand words I’ve just written do not work. I try not to consider them lost time — but the truth is, they are. When I reach a point where the words do not work for me, I have no sunk … Continue reading →