lagilman: coffee or die (Default)
It's not all doom and gloom on the financial front: CURSE THE DARK (book 2) and BRING IT ON (book 3) are [finally!] being reissued as $6.99 paperbacks! Yes, I can say this with assurance because I have on my desk the solicitation covers for both books.

Numfar! Do the Dance of Mass Market Joy!

Alas, it is delayed joy, because they will not be in your hot and needy (and fiscally prudent) hands until March 2009. But you will be able to pre-order them! When? Soon! I promise. In the meanwhile, though, if you like having all your books in one format, I'd avise ordering the trade editions before they go out of print...


Meanwhile over on Smart Bitches, they point out that the male model for "Dreamcatcher" was recycled from another earlier (print) book. Before anyone faints away in horror, let me assure you that this is not uncommon in series* books (if you look at a lot of media tie-ins, you may notice that the actor/actress is simple redressed and placed in a different backdrop, courtesy of Photoshop, not that I'm naming any *coughMurderSheWrotecough* names). There's only so much budget, and model fees are expensive, while stock art is cheaper. Same goes for anthologies or backlist reissues. Plus, in my case, "Dreamcatcher" is an e-book only so the cover is really a moot point -- why hit the budget for that?

For the record, I am amused rather than po'd, and have tweaked my editor on the topic already (it's an art department/publisher thing, so all editors can do, realistically, is lodge a protest and say "toljaso" when they get busted).

That said, there's been a run of the same thing on higher-profile books, especially in the chick-lit and literary end, and apparently people are less amused by that. I understand -- I'd be seriously pissed if this happened with Luna, or Pocket. Individual titles have different expectations from series, and nobody wants to discover that their highly anticipated novel got someone else's redressed hand-me-downs....


* 'series' does not mean "related books by one author" but "books published as part of a series imprint, i.e. Nocturne." Confusing, I know.
lagilman: coffee or die (BiO)
Whichever, I am feeling a nice warm glow right about now, and I'm going to give the credit to the luuuuuv.

First: SF Site's review of BRING IT ON

The all-important quotable bits:

"The third book in the Retrievers series by Laura Anne Gilman, Bring It On continues to raise the stakes for Wren and Sergei, keeping the action, the mystery, and yes, even the romance moving along at a steady pace....Of course, Bring It On's true strength is that it's a ripping good urban fantasy, fast-paced and filled with an exciting blend of mystery and magic... Gilman has fast established her credentials as an urban fantasy writer of talent, and will appeal to fans of Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and that ilk. As I've said before, this is a paranormal romance for those who normally avoid romance, and the entire series is worth checking out."

*purrs*

And a couple of other reader-reviewers have said nice things about the fact that the Council/Silence/Talent politics are tricksy and entertaining and a nice counterpoint to Wren & Sergei's personal plotlines. I am a happy meerkat, and at this moment in time think maybe I don't suck as a writer. Take a snapshot...


Second: I am informed that my post-apocalyptic SF-horror short story "End of Day" has recieved an Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Science Fiction 23, edited by Gardner Dozois. This is part of the "Dragon Virus" series and it's one of those werd-ass stories that makes you wonder about the brain it came out of.... (it was available in Aeon4, originally, and should be up on Fictionwise.com as soon as they start processing new files again.)


In other self-promoting news, I can't recall if I posted the link to the interview at Out of the Blogosphere or not. So here 'tis.


And, purring done, back to work I go. Feel free to leave praise and flowers at my doorstep. ;-D
lagilman: coffee or die (BiO)
"The romance between Wren and Sergei is powerful and beautiful even when they work at cross-purposes from each other and keep secrets from their partners.  Fans of Charlaine Harris, Kelly Armstrong and Kim Harrison will find Bring it On a very special treat.  The author is an expert worldbuilder and creates characters that are easy to care about." ***** (five stars) -- Affair du Couer



The fact that I'm getting rave reviews from romance-genre magazines is really... scary. Nice, but scary.


Now to see if the glow from this will carry me through a weekend of revisions of Burning Bridges...
lagilman: coffee or die (I rawk)
Got this in e-mail today:


Mysterious Galaxy Bestseller list for June 2006:

Trade Paperbacks:

1) BRING IT ON by Laura Anne Gilman
2) JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL by Susannah Clarke
3) CARTOMANCY by Neal Stephenson Mike Stackpole, assuming the title listing was correct, not the author




Thanks, guys. I needed that. :-)
lagilman: coffee or die (BiO)
Okay, is it really bad that I'm depressed that I'm back down to 'only' four stars (out of a possible but very rare five), after getting four and a half for Curse the Dark?

Still. Four stars for Bring it On. And comments like "charming," "as exciting and volatile as ever" and "Wren's an engaging heroine, and it's a joy to spend more time in her world" totally rock my day. :-)

*does little happy author chair-dance, while still maintaining decorum befitting... okay, there's no decorum whatsoever. *


I have celebrated with a pistachio torrone bar. So very bad, and yet so very very good for me... :-)



Note: our own EBear and Sarah Monette also get four-star reviews on the very same page. LJ rocks the house!
lagilman: coffee or die (BiO)
The first review for Bring it On. Behind the cut because Harriet never met a spoiler she didn't like -- the fact that she gets the plot details wrong has never bothered her, either...

Read more... )

The important bit's here:

"...an action-packed romantic fantasy....Laura Anne Gilman is in the same league as Laurell K. Hamilton... (she is) a great world builder who makes readers desire to believe her world actually exists."


While I don't think I'm anything at all like Laurell either in storyline or style [or level of smut], I'm not at all adverse to sharing in some of her readership...

In related and more professionally pleasing news, got an e-mail yesterday from another reviewer who just finished the book and, well, let's just say that the e-mail made my day.

So. The book may not suck. I get to live another few months (until Madame Editor gets her pencils into the new one, anyway).
lagilman: coffee or die (brain.  hurts.)
Proofs for Bring it On have arrived.


Tonight, I am slothful. Tomorrow, I shall barricade myself with pen, post-its, and caffeine, and gird myself to read this thing one. Last. Time.


Wish me luck, patience, and a minimum of 'whatwasIthinkingtowritethisdreck!' attacks...
lagilman: coffee or die (Default)
Courtesy the wonderous Adam at Luna, your first glimpse of the new cover....

and lo... )
and the back cover copy )


Yip!
lagilman: coffee or die (Default)
'She' being the revisions to BRING IT ON, in this case. They are done, and the file has been put to the side to cure for 24 hours (or more) before I do the final polish.

I would have been done sooner, but for taking some Thanksgiving Recovery Time, which included a number of Bogie and Bacall movies and feline cuddling.


Now to get back to A Certain Very Patient Client, while I wait for madame agent to get back to me on a pending project...
lagilman: coffee or die (plot octopus)
And lo, the author settles in with manuscript, pages of notes, a glass of wine, and her laptop.

And various felines acting as midwives and toe-warmers.

The text merge begins.
lagilman: coffee or die (plot octopus)
When last we heard from the Author, she was busy reading and rereading her revisions letter, scribbling down notes and ideas and fixits, and communicating with her editor about some of the same (and also blueskying over the title for #4, but that's another topic entirely)


The past few days have seen me move into phase two, which is where I take those notes and ideas, and turn them into Story. This involves:

1. Going through the manuscript itself, page by page, and adding a line here, a line there, to correct small details and oversights pinged by madame Editor. This is the easy part, mostly, and allows me to look at the entire manuscript with a new perspective. I also find things there that she might have missed, seeing with my new critical eyes. I have, at this point, gone into Editor Mode -- my brain has forgotten that I wrote this, y'see, so it's Just Another Line Edit, and I can be cool and professional about killing my darlings. Mostly.

2. Pulling out a pad of lined paper and writing new scenes to fix, replace or otherwise correct things that weren't working properly. This is tougher than #1, but more fun -- I'm back into Creative Mode, here.

Next up: fitting all those new scenes into the existing manuscript. Then I do another read of the entire thing, to make sure the bits all fit and flow, and I haven't introduced new ohshits into the text. Some folk read it out loud -- my voice isn't strong enough to do that, although I will read passages to the cats, if I find myself uncertain about something. They generally tell me to kill it and start again. Cats are like that.
lagilman: coffee or die (Default)
[livejournal.com profile] edeevee asked if I would share the revisions process. I can only speak for myself -- everyone has a different way of approaching it, just as everyone has a different way of writing the draft.

For me, the first thing I do is skim the revisions letter. This allows me time to storm off and rant a bit about my otherwise-beloved editor, without actually doing any damage to the process. That usually takes a few hours, and lets me sleep on it.

This also allows me to think "hey, the letter was only five and a half pages long. That's not too bad for a 100,000 word novel. I've given out much worse."

The next morning, pending any other obligations (I've put aside the New Project for now, as the two writing styles are miles apart) I make a pot of very strong coffee, eat a good breakfast, and settle down with a print out of the letter and several colored highlighters. Each color signifies a different part of the letter (in this case: A plot, B plot, Wren & Sergei's relationship, secondary characters, and Other Details).

Then I go over the letter several times, highlighting each section and jotting notes to myself in the margins as thoughts or fixes strike me. This is what I'm doing right now.

This is where the editor earns her gold stars. It's your story, your brain, your responsibility to fix it. However, a good editor can point to what doesn't quite work, both globally and in the small details. A great editor can point to what doesn't quite work and offer some thoughts on WHY, thereby triggering your own critical and creative juices again.

This often leads to a sudden moment of authorial 'gotcha!' which is occasionally followed by either "okay, that bit's got to go, I can't fix it" or "fuck I'm brilliant." The latter moment actually just happened, so I'm taking a break right now to let the fix expand and solidify in my brain. And with that realization, an entire chain of needed plot-fixes fall into place. They're not DONE, but I know what needs to be done.

The doing comes next. But for now, more bits to highlight and hammer at. And more coffee to drink.



ETA: I looooove my editor. Even when I'm cranky. She gives good brain-poke.


ETA2: No. More. Coffee.
lagilman: coffee or die (plot octopus)
Long-awaited revision letter has arrived.


Bye, all. See ya at the other end of the tunnel.

done!

Sep. 27th, 2005 12:37 pm
lagilman: coffee or die (gecko)

Surrender the Manuscript Surrendered the Manuscript!






And lo, BRING IT ON is gone to Madame Editrix.


I now get to take the afternoon off, spend a few days playing with the short stories (and proposals, yes, madame agent, if you're reading this) waiting impatiently in the back-brain, and start prepping for the revision notes on GRAIL QUEST #3, which are scheduled to land on my desk next week...
lagilman: coffee or die (Default)
pretty much but not totally final, to tease, tantalize, and taunt the reader-beast....



Nobody said juggling a career and a relationship would be easy...

Wren Valere used to have a simple life. Her partner Sergei would negotiate the terms of the Retrieval -- all right,
the theft -- and she would use her magical Talent to carry it out. Paycheck deposited, on to the next job.

Now? Her relationship with Sergei's even more complicated (sex will do that). Her fellow lonejacks are trying to
organize against the Mage's Council. The non-human population of Manhattan is getting fed up with being ignored and
abused. And the Council? Well, they have an agenda of their own, and it's not one the lonejacks are going to like.

And Sergei is far too involved with the Silence, his former employers, for Wren's liking.

When it comes down to choosing sides, the first rule of the lonejack creedo is "don't get involved." But when friends
are in danger, and the city you love is at risk, sometimes getting into the thick of things is all you can do...

BRING IT ON
A Retrievers Novel

available July 2006

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