Bent playlist, gelled book

Finally have a (more or less) complete playlist for Kiss of the Demon.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Deep Blue Something

Hurt, Nine Inch Nails/Johnny Cash

Theme of ‘Rome’, Danger Mouse

I Want You, Savage Garden

Gimme Sympathy/Black Sheep/Gold Guns Girls, Metric

Fast Five Suite, Brian Tyler (from Fast Five)

Despite my hiatus, both planned and unplanned, there are 4 books close to done and thus able to come out in short order once I’m done, you know, having contractions. They are:

Red Queen

Channeling Cleopatra

Black Magic

Kiss of the Demon

Meanwhile, music helps work out the kinks and keep the story alive.

Creative meme

Via
Paperback Writer
, a creativity meme! To play along, copy the list, bold the items on the list that you’re already doing, cross off the ones that don’t work for you, and star the ones you’d like to try.

For me, these are ALL bold. I’ve tried them all, and they’ve all helped at different points. (Rock & A Hard Place is my only collaboration, but both Sasha and I got a boost from working on our separate stories together.) And finishing things builds momentum. Your turn!

1. Make lists.

2. Carry a notebook everywhere.

3. Try free writing.

4. Get away from the computer.

5. Quit beating yourself up.

6. Take breaks.

7. Sing in the shower.

8. Drink coffee.

9. Listen to new music.

10. Be open.

11. Surround yourself with creative people.

12. Get feedback.

13. Collaborate.

14. Don’t give up.

15. Practice, practice, practice.

16. Allow yourself to make mistakes.

17. Go somewhere new.

18. Count your blessings.

19. Get lots of rest.

20. Take risks.

21. Break the rules.

22. Don’t force it.

23. Read a page of the dictionary.

24. Create a framework.

25. Stop trying to be someone else’s perfect.

26. Got an idea? Write it down.

27. Clean your workspace.

28. Have fun.

29. Finish something.

New week!

The long weekend was spent wonderfully unplugged, and then yesterday was spent celebrating a kid’s birthday amid wrapping paper and noisemakers, so today is kind of Monday, and it’s already Wednesday.

Things done while unplugged:

Visited
Deception Pass
on Whidby Island, since the last time we were there the kids were too little to really appreciate the view. And then we generally puttered about and ate at a Greek restaurant and enjoyed the spring sunshine.

Took kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2. An excellent sequel, well worth catching on the big screen.

Puttered around Poulsbo, a nifty little town which has an always-crowded bakery called Sluy’s that’s worth the trip all by itself. This kind of made up for having to forego Viking Fest due to advanced pregnancy. 

Visited bookstores everywhere, because summer and books go together like peanut butter and jelly.

And then it all culminated yesterday in chocolate cake and candles and singing, and since there’s plenty of cake left, let the revelry continue.

Work stuff: I am incorporating changes into Red Queen’s book structure and still seriously hoping the whole thing can be done before baby arrives. We’ll see how that works out. I also have some file formatting issues to attend to to get Men of Action available everywhere. 

Two things that have done miracles for this book’s issues:
PBW’s article on antagonists
which made the giant lightbulb go off over my head, and writing another story in the series (Mad Stone from Rock & A Hard Place). The next time I’m banging my head against a book wall, I will remember to do two things: write a short in the same series with same characters to see what breaks loose, and ask the all-important question of my antagonist: what is the worst thing I can do to you? I’ve been in the habit of asking that of my protagonists, but forgot to apply it to his/her nemesis.