Thoughts, directions, and beginnings

Today, I took a leap.  I created my yahoo group.  It’s called Paranormal Society and I hope it can be a forum for active discussion on all sorts of things.  It is, first and foremost, a social loop.  Come join us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/paranormalsociety/ for all the fun, conversation, and the occasional update from me.

 I put a lot of thought about the loop and decided not to make it age restricted.  My work simply isn’t hot enough to need warning labels, so didn’t feel there was a need to put it in a restricted category.  That brings me to a blog entry from a friend of mine (http://authortk.blogspot.com/2007/11/huge-decisions.html) that’s all about directions and decisions.

Terra brings out a good point when she points out:  “It comes back to the age old advice: Write what you know.  Write what you feel truly comfortable at writing. Write from your soul. Write from your hear and the rest will follow.”

 I love writing.  I love spinning stories rich in characterization and plot while the romance happens however feels right.  A story’s heat index shouldn’t define the viability of the merits of the story.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do read and write the occasional hot and heavy scene, but just don’t feel like my stories should be based on that.

 I write stories that appeal to me as a reader.  Quirky, funny, a little outside the box and not quite what you expected when you pick it up that very first time is the reaction I’m aiming for.  Like everyone, my reading taste is eclectic.  Robert Jordon, God rest his soul, has always been an idol of mine because he wrote characters so vivid and lifelike that I felt like I knew them.  If I can make that happen, just once, I’ll feel like I’ve met my goal as an author.

 I’m rambling.  Imagine that?  *grins*  Anyway, come join the group and let’s see what kind of crazy things we can cook up - and give my friend Terra’s blog a look and maybe a comment.

Maggie Awards

Well, the Maggie Awards were a night to remember.

Yes, I won my category - and Chessie Welker came in second!  She’s a wonderful person and I can’t wait to see what she does next!

 Lessons learned?  When people say always prepare yourself to win?  Do it.  Because when you don’t, and you actually do win, everything sort of goes into a moment of crazy panic!  The rest of the night is a blur and so is Sunday.  It’s beyond crazy and wonderful - and I still think someone made a mistake, somewhere.

 The only thing that would  have been better would have been if Chessie won.

Since Angelic Avenger is a first person novel, I honestly thought it didn’t have a chance to win.  But - they called off the Honorable mentions…and then third.  Chessie and I looked at each other and had a moment of….OMG!

 When they called her name, I cried.

This was my last chance to enter the unpublished category and I’m so not ready to try to run with the real professionals.  Winning was both a shock and a dream come true.

Three cheers for all five of us who finaled and a special thank you for those who thought Bella’s story was worthy of note.

TOP 3!!

WOW! 

My Maggie Finalist manuscript is in the top 3 at the Romance Junkies contest!  Now, it’s off to Dorchester and the final round of judging.  I’m not really expecting to win; however, it’s very very cool to be in the top 3. 

Speaking of Angelic Avenger, the finals of the Maggie Awards will be announced this coming Saturday, so stay tuned for the results.  It’s going to be a busy weekend.

Dirty little secrets…

I was reading my October edition of my Writer’s Digest and there is an article by a guy who was talking about the different types of writers.  He mentioned the people who broadcast their intent to write the “Great American Novel” to anyone who would listen and those who treated it like a dirty little secret.

He says he’s the latter.  So am I…

But you see, in today’s world, it’s almost impossible to stay hidden.  Something totally unexpected happened a couple of months back.  I received this strange email from someone who had gotten my name from my local RWA chapter’s roster.

Not a big deal, really.  That’s why I was listed in the “Searching Critique Partner” section, after all.  In fact, I was excited to find out that there was someone who shared my passion in my backyard.  Literally.  She lives about a mile or two, by street, but about a half of a mile across the meadow from me, if you’re willing to risk walking across the swampy portion around the creek.

I responded to her email and rather belatedly thought to mention that my writing career was somewhat secret and that I’d appreciate her discretion since we are both locals.

That’s when the bomb dropped.  It would seem that she since she knew some of my neighbors, she had already asked them about me…and my writing…

I was…embarrassed?  Yep, that’s putting it mildly.  But, I let it go.

Well, with my Maggie nomination and the contract to Samhain, I reminded my mother that my writing was a private pursuit and that she still couldn’t talk about it with her cronies.  She snipped off a comment about why not unless I was ashamed of it?

This all brings things into a slightly hyper-focus.

Why didn’t I want a lot of people to know?

Simply put, writing is my dirty little secret.  I write under a pen name so that no one will realize that book they’re about to trash is my dream turned into print.  I don’t want people feeling obligated to tell me they loved it (when they secretly were thinking…”What was she thinking?”…if they’d bothered to read it, at all) or stopping me on the street to actually tell me how much they hated it and why.

But there’s more.  You see…

I was raised to be a literary snob who scorns popular fiction.  My degree is in Literature.  In fact, I specialized in the classics of the Victorian era.  I’m an alumna of a private liberal arts college that hosts a fascinating literary program that includes a resident author fellowship.

But…

I’m not trying to write the Great American Novel that will still be read a century from now and analyzed for what it says about our society.  I don’t immerse myself in social issues and write vivid manuscripts about the struggle of the human condition.

And what’s worse?  I don’t want to.

I write genre manuscripts for pure entertainment purposes…and if that’s not enough, I write fantasy, paranormal, and the occasional romance.  Yes, I heard that gasp.

Instead of living in the current reality with my finger on the pulse of change, I create my own with its own issues and drama.  I write stories from my heart and from my imagination without a care as to what they say about society at large.

I do it because I enjoy it.  I do it because there’s no better feeling than having someone sit down and read over my latest WIP and burst out laughing at all the right moment or some other reaction that I’d hoped for at just the right moment in a scene.  Yes, I have someone who does that for me (reads the tough scenes after I write them right in front of me so I can gauge her reaction and tweak it appropriately) and it’s invaluable to my process.

So, simply put, my dirty little secret is out, but I’m okay with it.

Editor’s Creed…

http://debbie-mumford.blogspot.com/2007/08/editors-creed.html

This was shared with me and I thought I would  pass it on.  It’s certainly worth a look…and due thought.

 *grin*

Waiting and Moving On

*sigh*

The excitement is dwindling down around here.  Three weeks until we find out about the Maggie Awards, where my long manuscript is in the finals in the Paranormal catagory.  I’ve got my outfit ready, my hotel reservations for the conference in hand, my new business cards ready to go, and working on my pitch.

 My contracts to TFP and Samhain have been signed and sent.  Now, it’s just waiting for the editing stage on those.

 Then the reality sunk in…

 I need my next project.  After a couple of days of letting my mind wander, I latched onto a new Urban Fantasy idea and started working on it.  I’ve only got the first chapter done, but the outline is coming along nicely.  Now that my youngest twin is beginning to adjust to preschool, I’m hoping to have my days back so I can write some more.

 Having said that, I do have a website address, but I don’t have the site up, yet.  I’d like to thank Celia Kyle (www.celiakyle.com) and Literal Seduction (www.literalseduction.com) for what they’re doing for new authors like me.  She’s graciously agreed to host my site.  The address is www.kayechambers.literalseduction.com, but it won’t be up until the end of next week.  The designer has presented a format that I love, so now I just have to get the information to him to put in the text.  Building a website is a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Stay tuned for more updates and teasers for my contracted teasers.

 Kaye

I got THE CALL!

http://nicemommy-evileditor.com/blog/

I got THE CALL.  Actually, it was the email, but HEY, it’s the same thing.  Bottom line:  I’m going to be published.  Not only published by Samhain Publishing, but ebook and print, too.

I’ve been pinching myself since Monday.  Once things settle down, I’ll give more details on the story.  Lord, my heart is still in my throat over this.

 I’m excited over the novella with Twilight Fantasies, but this one is totally mine.  WOW!

 It’s been a great month around here.

*grins*

Hello world!

Welcome to my world where the voices in my head rival the chaos around here for supremacy. 

 First, a little about me.

 I’m a military wife, mother, and author. 

 What do I write?  I’m so glad you asked.  *grins* Mostly urban fantasy with a few romance novels thrown in.  In fact, I entered my long manuscript (96,000 painful words) in the Romance Writer’s of America’s Golden Heart contest.  It didn’t final, but did so well that I entered it into the Georgia Romance Writer’s Maggie Awards, where it did final.  We’ll find out at the end of September if it wins or not, but I’m excited just to be nominated into the finals.

 And…*drum roll*…I’ve finally contracted my first book.

 Well, it’s a cowritten short with my best friend titled Leaps of Faith and will be available in early 2008 from Twilight Fantasies - www.twilightfantasies.com - if you’ve a mind to check it out.

 Stay posted for more news!