Rory Ni Coileain

I started writing Chapter 20 in Gale Force from the point of view of Josh, my human lead, who’d been brought over into the Fae Realm unexpectedly, to hide him from an enemy. But I soon figured out that the story needed to be told from a different point of view, which meant Josh’s thoughts had to be cut. But I like them. So I offer them to you. *winks*

Vertigo, and panic, and sheer terror, yeah, that about summed it up. What had looked as simple as stepping through a gap in a curtain turned out to be anything but; he’d blacked out for a few seconds, and awakened in Cuinn’s arms, dizzy and sick and his heart still hammering with the nearness of their escape from what could only have been the Marfach, the monster Tiernan and Kevin had described. The gap through which he and the Fae had come had been nowhere in sight. And everything around him looked… well, wrong. Beautiful, yes. No question about that. But too beautiful. His human eyes, his human mind couldn’t encompass what was around him. Even Cuinn, Jesus God the man was breathtaking, here in his element. The Fae, he reminded himself. Not the man. He’s not human, any more than Conall is.

I’ve been sitting here tonight working on Book Two of the Soulshares, and waxing philosophical about the act of writing (which my Muse likes to do when I try to push her to write before she’s ready).

I’m also waiting to hear back about my first edits on Hard as Stone; I asked to keep in some things that my editor wanted to take out, and I don’t know if I’m going to have to make one more pass through the book before it goes to the line editors. And having the two things going on at the same time got me thinking about how writing Hard as Stone is different from writing Gale Force (or whatever it ends up being titled, my editor tells me I’ll probably have to make it naughtier).

I think being seriously edited for the first time is a lot like losing your virginity.

(waits for the snickers to die away)

Seriously. What was once a solitary activity has now become, at least in part, about pleasing your partner. Knowing what he or she likes, and trying to provide it the second time, so you don’t get quite as many of the “that was interesting, dear, but could we maybe try it THIS way?” moments as you elicited the first time. I’m not as spontaneous as I was the first time… which is sad, in a way, but maybe it’s pushing me to do better the second time. I hope it is, and that it’s not just pushing me to write the way someone else wants me to. After all, good sex makes you a better partner, but GREAT sex also makes you more yourself.

Miss me? *winks*

I’ve been off being technophobic… and also writing like crazy, having entered into a contract with Ravenous Romance as of July 1, to deliver four Soulshares books in, let me see, 14 months. Pretty much everything I’ve had to say since then has been going into my manuscript, with scant time for blogging.

And it’s not like my Muse has been grabbing me by the scruff of the neck and dragging me to my blog. I’m still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that there might be people out there who are interested in hearing more from me than what I put into the books, or the day-to-day wisecracks I post on Facebook. But enough of you have assured me that you’d be interested that I’m willing to give it yet another shot. (Just do me a favor, please — if you start reading this, and I stop posting AGAIN, come find me on Facebook and kick my arse, ‘k?)

I’ve had (and been given) some wonderful ideas for content, actually. The notion that my readers might like a look inside the Realm, the hidden land of the Fae. And possibly a chance to get better acquainted with characters who don’t have major roles in the books — yet. I’ve also been invited to participate in a couple of cooperative blogging efforts. Which has me quaking in my technophobic boots, but I’m willing to give it a shot. (Hey, if I’m willing to get tied up for the sake of research, blogging ought to be a piece of cake, right?)

See you soon… really.