As you know if you read last Wednesday's post, RR Wednesday was supposed to BE last week... but yours truly got a little preoccupied with other things and forgot to get the post up. Well, I'm actually glad I did because in the meantime, the lovely and unpredictable Lana wrote another post for Un:Bound. And while I liked the original one, this is SO much more suited to Lana's character! Lana is, shall we say, a bit of a wild woman. Anyone who stopped by our last RR Wednesday with C. Margery Kempe as our author for the day, will know this if they read the comments.Lana is a wonderful new addition to the Ravenous author crowd, if rather unpredictable. Heh. Let's just say in addition to the usual snacks and beverages, I've also taken the precaution of adding lots of soft, squashy pillows to the furniture, lining the floors with thick fur (faux, of course) rugs, and put hangings up on the walls just in case Lana decides to go bouncing off said walls! I am pouring myself a glass of bubbly (Linden, a lovely sparkler from California) in preparation to welcome Lana Griffin, as she talks to us about (appropriately):
Mayhem and Madnesswith Lana Griffin
Hi, everyone. It’s Lana Griffin, back to cause more mayhem here at Un:Bound. As soon as I display the obligatory book cover and links (see below), I’ll dive into today’s topic, appropriately called Mayhem and Madness. But first, links for Dusk!
Mayhem is the condition of a writer who’s working on multiple projects seven days/week. Madness is the result of this pace after a few years.
You might be asking (or you might not care at all), “How does a writer juggle lots of projects at the same time? Hey, I want a piece of this mayhem!”
A piece of the mayhem might be nice, but the whole enchilada is something you might not want just yet. You have to build up to mayhem and madness.
To enter the zone where chaos rules, open your calendar. Now compare the daily entries to my calendar, which runs something like the following sample every single day of every week of every month in 2010:
- Sunday, Feb 7: 5K, 1K, 0.5K, torture rack
- Monday, Feb 8: 4K, 1K, 0.5K, iron maiden
- Tuesday, Feb 9: 3K, 2K, 0.5K, sleep deprivation
- Wednesday, Feb 10: 2K, 3K, 1K, root canal
- Thursday, Feb 11: 5K, 1K, 1K, electroshock
- Friday, Feb 12: 2K, 3K, 1K, branding
- Saturday, Feb 13: 3K, 1K, 2K, chocolate hearts
For complete mayhem, add cooking, cleaning, laundry, and family responsibilities to the mix.
Sleep deprivation is common while juggling multiple projects. I fall asleep everywhere, and at conventions, you’ll see me napping in bath tubs, closets, and boxes of books; on luggage racks, in the spaces between the doughnuts and bagels at the breakfast buffet, and on writing panels.
Also, I must forewarn you that I have no time for anything other than writing -- not even a shampoo or haircut. So if you see me in 2010, you’ll think I want these dreadlocks.
There are glamorous aspects to the job, of course. Obviously, every writer gets plenty of freebies from publishers, such as:
- Mansion with butler and servants
- Limo with chauffeur
- First-class plane tickets to Paris, the Caribbean, and the Riviera
- Endless supply of martinis and chocolate hearts
If you’ve seen any movie featuring a writer, then you know all of this is true: yes, we all get free yachts with mahogany walls and built-in cherry bookcases, leather sofas, and whiskey decanters. All male writers get free cravats and Oxford English accents. All female writers get free silk dresses and cosmetic surgery.
In reality, the fun part of writing is that I get to play with vampires, ghosts, men and women of all ages, crazy people, villains, angels, satan: whatever I want. I can set these characters anywhere in the world -- or on another world. There are no cravats and no freebies -- unless you count the Fritos and cola at conventions.
Whether I’m Lana or “real name” author, I spend my time creating stories, settings, characters, and plots that excite me. My life is mayhem, but at least, it’s fun mayhem.
Of course, there’s one pesky problem that comes with all this mayhem: madness.
You probably think there’s a way -- there’s gotta be a way -- to get the fun without the madness.
Hahahahahaha! Sorry, but if you write seven days/week for 15-20 years, you will get both mayhem and madness. There’s no way around it.
But don’t worry. You’ll get to wear dreadlocks and eat chocolate hearts on Saturday.
XOXO,
Lana Griffin
New York Times Best-Selling Author
(http://lanagriffin.blogspot.com)
DUSK (Ravenous Romance,
Synopsis:
Alexandra Leveau comes from an ancient voodoo priestess clan that's been feuding with sexy vamp Vadim Blerinca's family for centuries. The mysterious "bad blood" between the Leveaus and Blerincas is what keeps Alexandra and Vadim burning for each other, yet it also makes them a very dangerous match: by making love, each could kill the other.
Added to the erotically charged mix is Alexandra's ex-boyfriend, the poetic wraith Skipp, as well as a gargoyle who is devoted to Alexandra and will kill anyone who tampers with her. Add one more wraith to the mix plus an insane vamp sire and the true Venus de Milos. Now mix in elements of murder and mystery: the deaths of elderly citizens for unknown reasons.
A sexy, romantic romp of forbidden love and lust!
http://www.ravenousromance.com/fantastica/dusk.php?flypage=0
51 comments:
オナニー
逆援助
SEX
フェラチオ
ソープ
逆援助
出張ホスト
手コキ
おっぱい
フェラチオ
中出し
セックス
デリヘル
包茎
逆援
性欲
Wow! Our first comment was in... Chinese? Japanese? I am not sure...
Hi Dana, I do believe our first comment may have been spam, but hey ho.
Hi Lana, welcome to Un:Bound we are delighted to have you on our team too. I love my Ravenous Romancers here. :)
Really looking forward to Dusk it sounds great fun and wow I think I would desend into madness pretty quickly with your schedule.
Hi, Hagelrat and Dana. Thanks for hosting me at Un:Bound. (Lana likes it here!)
Yes, the schedule's quite hectic. Today is the root canal. It's a good thing that all writers live in palaces with butlers. Jeeves, my good man, bring the car around and set the GPS for the oral surgeon's office.
{In reality, I'm in a basement office, and if I need a root canal, heaven help me with the oral surgeon's bills. Oh, and I suggest that every writer name her cat, Jeeves.}
Lana hahaha I like the idea of writers getting together at functions with a whole bunch of cats called Jeeves.
Hi everyone!
Lana, DUSK sounds familiar to an old Kentuckian; I mean feudin', fightin' and fussin'. Heck one of the feud leaders was even known as "Devil" Anse!
No voodoo weapons though. Just old fashioned firearms. And the usual crop of pig-headedness.
At least your professional life is anything but dull.
Dana, may I share some of that bubbly please? It is GREAT to be back!
Adele, if we name all the cats Jeeves can we name the dogs Wooster? LOL.
Hi Jack, I think we would call the dogs Mr Twelvetrees (that may be lost on everyone since if so I am happy to go with Wooster).
Good morning, everyone! Nice to see familiar faces here so early (and really wondering what our foreign spam comments says). Can I get anyone a Belgian chocolate mocha? Espresso? Latte? Mimosa? G&T? Plenty of snacks on the snack bar... this is pretty much like the Enterprise commissary. Your wish is my command!
Welcome, Lana! So nice to have you back here! I relate to your hectic schedule. Oh, how I relate... I have multiple cats. Do I have to rename them ALL Jeeves?
You rang, milady?
You must grow some VERY polite canines in the UK.
I don't think we have to name all the cats "Jeeves" Dana. Besides the cats just wouldn't stand for it. (Do you really thinkl Tsavo or Foster would permit it?);-)
Tsavo and Foster have a song in their honor that I sing, so probably not...
Lana, I love the dreadlocks, btw! :-)
Hello -- catching up, or at least attempting to do so. A week of illness has put me well behind. Mid-teaching day: one done, the other in a bit, and a proposal to give at our school meeting, so I'm a bit harried.
So champagne sounds good.
Peel me a grape, Beulah!
I've created my own "Jeeves" for a new series (under a different name, LOL), so you'll have to get accustomed to the name of Winifred Collier soon (I hope). And my cat's name is Kipper, so I doubt he'll want to change.
Margery! A glass of lovely bubbly and one peeled grape. Sorry to hear you've been ill. Flu? Cold? Not enough bubbly?
Insufficient bubbly and acute sinusitis which I just figured was a cold until I hurt myself coughing and not sleeping for a few days. Slowly healing, still coughing but less.
Which always gives me a craving for champagne, to steal from Waugh (steal from the best!).
The worst thing is the loss of all that writing time; I'm with you Lana on the need to keep to that hectic schedule. I am not getting enough done lately!
I'm with you on the not getting enough done due to outside circumstances... trying to catch up now! But not willing to do the dreadlocks thing. I'll take the free dresses, though!
Afternoon all! Between snow, rain, snow, the threat of a blizzard, and a bonus day off, I'm behind in my blog reading. Actually, I napped too. Which was lovely!
Lana, I don't think mayhem and madness quite describe when you've just described. Wow. And I thought my weeks were bad between job, writing, family, cleaning (no laughing! I DO clean. Honesrly!)
Nice to have you here, tho. Make for ammusing posts. :)How do you keep it all straight? Notes? Booze? Oh wait...seriously, though, since you work on multiple things at once, who do you juggle it all?
I am going for the pink sparkly wine please loves. And if you will forgive I am going to settle myself into a big pile of floor cushions and pull up some chocolates to enjoy my evening with you all. :)
I wonder if electroshock goes well with pinot noir.
Hey, what kind of crazy comment is that first one up there with all the foreign symbols and the one word in English and all caps ? Yeah right, just what I was thinking..
I wonder if it's too late in life to become a goat catcher or a banjo player. Am I stuck with writer? Are there truly no options?
Maybe I can trade jobs with Jeeves. I can learn to like cat chow. I know I can!
Welcome back, Adele! Chocolates and wine are now yours...
Lana, just insist on people food (cooked chicken, fish, etc.) if you're a cat. Heck with the kibble!
Oh yeah, Lana, and EVERYTHING goes well with pinot noir. Bring on the electroshock!
I think I'd rather be a writer than a cat. Can cats drink G&T? See? Did not think so.
I'm sure there is a world where cats have their equivalent of G&T's, but since it's not ours... I'll stay human too.
Have a G&T, Isabel!
I have a question for our guest author. Lana, what sparked the idea for Dusk? You have a lot of elements going on in there (the real Venus, age-old spirits, vampires, voodoo, Marie LaVeau...LeVeau? Sp?! ANd I understand you wrote it in a very short time span. Considering the very high quality of the writing, how the heck do you do this? Talk, Lana, Talk!
Hi, Lana! Love your post--I think just about any serious writer can sympathize with the madness and mayhem you describe. Sleep? What is ... sleep?
I wish I had time to stick around and chat today, but the madness and mayhem await. ;-)
Hi there, all!
Great post - I feel worn out just reading that "daily author" mayhem and madness! :)
Glad to see you have a little time left for torture, I mean, chocolate hearts. LOL
Sassy
:)
Hi, Lisa! Sorry you can't stay, but so glad you could at least swing by for a hit and run visit! :-)
Hi, Sassy! Can I get you a drink? Might perk you back up after the exhaustion of reading about Lana's schedule!
Dana -
Okay, I'll try to address some serious questions.
You ask how I came up with the ideas for Dusk.
It's hard for me to explain how ideas come to me. I read a lot of non-fiction in a wide variety of areas, and I've been doing this since I was extremely young -- 6 years old, perhaps. Maybe my brain ties a lot of facts together to concoct new twists and ideas. I honestly don't know.
Sometimes, I'm lucky; sometimes, I have no luck at all. I do find that ideas are easy to come by -
What truly matters with fiction is whether it strikes the right chord in a particular reader on a particular day.
Let's say you write a humorous partial of 50 pages and send it to a few editors. One editor might love it. The second editor had a fight with his lover that morning, he's in a bad mood, so he doesn't like your partial. The third editor just signed three humorous books and isn't in the market for humor today. Feh.
Too many beginning writers think that rejection is personal. Or they think that rejection means that the X Publishing Company is stocked with jerks. Not so!
The key is to keep writing and submitting material. Eventually, you hit the right reader on the right day when he's in the right mood for your particular submission.
...more serious thoughts coming up...
Dana also asks how I wrote Dusk so quickly.
Honest answer: again, I don't have a clue!
I do edit as I go. If chapter 1 isn't working for me, I don't write chapter 2, eg.
When the writing is going well (knock on wood/etc), I tend to write in near final format.
When I'm free to write what I want in my own style, the writing pours out more quickly and in near final format. When I feel constrained to write in a style or manner that doesn't seem natural for me, then the writing moves more slowly.
I had fun with Dusk and felt free to write in my own style, and hence, I was able to write the novel in near final format at the "draft" stage.
I left the end with some mysteries for the future, but I made sure to tie up the threads of this "first" Dusk novel. So everything's open for a second Dusk novel, yet the first book is complete as a standalone, if necessary.
Btw, thanks very much for the kind comments about the writing in Dusk. I really appreciate it. {big smile}
Lana, I absolutely agree with you regarding the subjective nature of submitting work to various editors. You just never know what all the factors are when your submission hits someone's desk.
I'm still fascinated by how you drew together those various elements in DUSK and shaped them into such a fun and cohesive story! And there MUST be a sequel because I want one!
Isabel asks how I juggle multiple projects. OMG, it is hard! I joke about it in my post, but it's actually very difficult to write every day and keep the work on track.
I schedule word counts on my calendar. If I hit the word counts for various projects per the calendar, then I know that I'll meet my deadlines. At times, this can be a nightmare! But it works (within reason).
You have to juggle in time for plotting and research, too.
The real killer is when I get behind due to illness, family responsibilities, etc. You can't schedule these sorts of things, so I tend to do most of my word count long before the deadlines...just in case...
Dana, I would LOVE to do a sequel to Dusk. I'm supposed to write another paranormal for RR followed by another (non-Dusk) novel if certain conditions come to pass... and there's talk of a Dusk sequel. I do have extremely tight deadlines for a non-romance novel and a non-romance short story collection - both under contract. I'm trying to figure out how to juggle everything and DO everything-- because I WANT to do all of these projects very much!
Writing for RR was a lot of fun, and I very much want to continue.
Lana, your word count schedule is a great idea. I'm actually getting very inspired by this post and your comments, which is a good thing 'cause I've been in a real rut due to family illness/death, and have had a hard time reaching reasonable word count when I write.
But...but... no dreadlocks!!! I'd look goofy.
What drives all of you to juggle your lives to make sure you have writing time?
All writers cope with this issue regardless of personal circumstances.
Lana, I get exhausted just looking at your schedule. But I certainly loved the fruits of you insanity. Dusk was good.
Dana, great interview, Darlin' I missed many of your posts so do let me know when you post and I'll be here. I love your spot here!
Sia, so nice to see you here! And thank you for the compliment, but I just introduced the lovely Lana. :-)
I love doing our Ravenous Wednesday spots too. It's fun learning so much about my fellow RR authors... plus all the unbridled drinking and such!
ooh, in answer to your question, Lana, part of it is just love of writing (I've written since I was old enough to string a few words together) and, as I discovered recently, part of it was to prove a point to my father.
I have deadlines now and that helps motivate me to work around my job et al. Honestly, though, when the writing is going well, it's just plain fun!
Unbridled drinking?
kicking off black boots
I need some rum. Ravenous Wed is almost over. Make that four bottles of rum. Different flavors.
Don't bother with a glass.
I'm SURE I mentioned the unbridled drinking to you earlier...
*throws open cupboard, displaying a booze collection that would put most bars to shame*
Go for it, m'dear.
Sorry to leave for awhile: I'm currently fighting a stomach/intestinal bug which has thrown me for a loop.
Lana and ladies, you write because you have to. There is nothing more tyrannical than a demanding muse. And I fear the only compensation is that millions of us readers are completely dependent upon your creations. Words are poor responses to all you endure but please accept the heartfelt thanks of one reader for accepting your special gift and for running with it.
Dana knows how deeply I mean this. LOL.
I juggle academic writing, my erotic romance writing and just recently "regular" romance writing with a weekly column, several blogs, teaching and -- increasingly -- administrative work (which I am trying to reduce).
I think deadlines are rule one. I don't have specific word counts per day because I know myself and I rebel against a too specific schedule (i.e. when I feel trapped I dig my heels in -- in all aspects of my life).
You really have to make it not just a priority, but THE priority. As I aim to transition away from full time academic life, my goal is to make more of the writing pay directly which means changing the kinds of writing I've been doing.
I know many of my fellow RR writers juggle other writing and other careers: how do you manage it? Do you need a specific word count/day?
Jack, perhaps a little grappa to settle your stomach? I've found it works wonders for me...
Writers are nothing without our readers, so you are at least as highly valued to us as we are to you. :-)
Thanks Dana. Grappa sounds excellent!
I hope to be able to stay the rest of the day.
Amen to what Dana says! Writers LIVE for readers who want to devour our stories. We need you! And each other -- most writers are avid readers, too, if they're any good.
I struggle to maintain a day job, the reading/reviewing cycle and husband and cats, thank god I am not an aspiring author or a parent too.
Keep writing and we will keep reading, Margery! LOL.
Some grappa for Jack! And Margery? Vodka martini?
I mean, Kate! D'oh!!! Damned alter-egos...
Margery and I will share a double vodka martini! Thanks!
Thanks, Jack! You're such a sweetheart -- none of us will ever get tired of those kind words of encouragement. Soon, we'll be triplets, so we'll need even more!
All the best to you, Kate and to the new ID. Stressful as writing is, it HAS to be better than the daily wade through academic red tape and the accompanying BS!
I know there are rewards as well; such as persuading students that Beowulf isn't a series of simplistically atupid movies. (Though I did enjoy Eaters of the Dead. The other takeoffs left me cold. Too PC.)
Soar ahead, all of you!
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