NJ Walters’ Anastasia’s Style releases today in the Ellora’s Cave Valentine Vixens series. I got to read this early, and the timing was one of those synchronicity things, because I have an estranged husband/wife reunion novella in Capture Me. It makes for a very interesting dynamic, powerful emotions, and lots of dramatic character arc.

Anastasia is sweet and hot, romantic and poignant and very erotic. It’s an interesting take on the husband/wife from different worlds scenario. He’s from the haves, she’s from the have nots. And she isn’t relegated to the stereotypical role. I loved how both the hero and heroine owned up to their mistakes and took responsibility for their part in their marital problems, and I completely believed they had put all the pieces back together solidly and had earned their happy ending. Tough job to pull off in a Quickie! Kudos to NJ for a job well done and for lucky readers everywhere, go forth and download the minute it’s for sale!

So, while I’m continuing to work in Fast Draft form, I thought I’d pause and post my thoughts on why it’s effective. It sounds insane on the surface; no time to write? Write 20 pages a day for two weeks! You don’t magically get more time or energy during those two weeks. Yet, the pages get done. Why? How?

First of all, it’s short term. If I told myself I had to write 20 pages a day every day forever I’d probably have a nervous breakdown on the spot. Also, without interruptions in the workflow the story is able to gain momentum. Start and stop is the worst way to write, for me at least. Every time I’m interrupted, I have to start all over again. It’s excruciating and progress is nearly invisible, which is discouraging. With Fast Draft, I have no interruptions. I build up momentum once and keep it. And I have lots of measurable progress every day, which is exciting and it builds my enthusiasm to keep going. Because I can see it’s working.

Possibly most importantly, there’s no time to second-guess and because it’s only one day’s work I’m a lot more willling to charge ahead knowing I may have taken a wrong turn that I’ll have to cut later if it doesn’t work.

For instance, I came up with a fix that resolved my lack of conflict (hero and heroine’s goals were too similar and they wanted to live happily ever after in chapter one). The next morning, I looked at my fix and thought, “that will never work”. Then I thought, well, write it anyway. If I go forward with this and it doesn’t work, I’ll find that out. I was willing to waste 20 pages because of the production mindset. In 2 pages here and there fits and starts writing, I didn’t feel I could afford to waste ANY because the clock was ticking and ever word counted.

And yes, the fix worked. It drove the entire plot and produced some absolutely brilliant stuff. That I would have chickened out on and not done, pretty much guaranteed, if I wasnt doing Fast Draft.

I can see that this is an invaluable tool for me, at least. I will continue to utilize Fast Draft and I think it’ll probably allow me to achieve my dream of taking a vacation this year. If I can be more efficient and get the work done faster it’s a lot more likely that I can actually take time off.

OK, I haven’t seen the cover for my Ellora’s Cavemen Seasons of Seduction anthology yet, but here’s Allyson James’. I dunno about you, but that’s just the inspiration I needed for my Monday morning.

I’ve been discussing the new site with the husband. Aha, you say. New site? What new site? Well, more a new look and better overall organization. The books all need their own individual pages, I want to give more space to the book covers on the blog page. All book information needs to be easier to find because my own cousin who reads my blog and visits my site every day does not know which of my titles are currently in print. That’s bad. In general I want a cleaner, brighter, better organized look.

And new colors. I like the pacific northwest theme I have, but I’ve come to realize that while a photograph from the Olympic Peninsula in the header is pretty and serene, it really doesn’t say anything about me or my books. Except maybe, “I’m growing moss in the rain forest.” And after what Jennifer Crusie has to say about moss, I’m having serious second thoughts about green as a color scheme for an erotic romance author. I’m thinking pink.

One of the big things under discussion is the limitations of the framework the main site is running on. WordPress is actually powerful and flexible enough to put the whole site on, not just the blog page. That’s a possibility. Right now it’s just a beast to update, so minor corrections that need to be made get put off because it’s too difficult to go in and change them. I want to make that easier.

So. New site in the works behind the scenes. Brighter, cleaner, better organized, easier to update. And not mossy.

Didn’t get a blog put up this morning, so here’s one at night. The weather’s been gorgeous, and it’s so nice to be out walking again. When there are high winds and floods going on, you can’t exactly go for for a walk. Not unless you want to sink up to your ankles, or get hit with a flying tree branch. Walked over by Rialto Beach today and the sky was that perfect blue with little white wisps of clouds decorating it. The toddler bounced rather than walked and the baby giggled in her backpack and we all just sort of reveled in the sunshine and mild temperature and the light breeze.

November and December were insane, and January started off that way, too, but days like this are the norm and it’s why the Olympic Peninsula is paradise. There is no more beautiful place on earth. OK, some people are put off by the 140 inches of rain a year, but it’s a small price to pay for paradise.

I love Fast Draft. It’s done what I wanted it to do for me, got my momentum built up. And it’s a different rhythm then anything I’ve done before, but one that really seems to work for me so I’m going to keep using this.

I’ve tried book in a month and book in a week both. Book in a week is too overwhelming. It’s an impossible goal, so I feel like giving up before I even try. Book in a month is pretty manageable and fits my natural speed well. But I’m noticing a difference in the rhythm of Fast Draft, which is half a month. Instead of stopping at 2-3K and calling it good for the day, I push myself to go further. The results are interesting.

It’s not something you could do twice a month forever, but I think it’s useful in the project-switching life of a working writer. Because you bang out a proposal, than you have revisions for something else, galleys for another thing, promotional and business details, and all of them interrupt the flow of writing. If I can use Fast Draft to get my drafts done faster (the name is sooo appropriate) I have less interruption and don’t have to regain momentum from a dead stop.
I’ve really enjoyed the experience so far and I’ve gained another useful tool to add to my bag of tricks. Fast Draft.

Womens Fiction Book Meme - AKA Jordan tagged me

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
I have to choose? My palms are sweating. I feel anxious. I can’t choose! I want all 3!

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?

Depends. I like hardback for those books I would read to pieces if they were paperback, and also when I just can’t wait for mass market. But really, what’s between the covers is more important to me than format. I have all three on my shelves.

Heyer or Austen?

Heyer.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?

Amazon

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

B&N online!

Woodiwiss or Lindsay?

Tough. I have more favorites by Lindsay, but then she’s written about five times as many books. Woodiweiss has written one of my all-time favorite romances, though. My palms are sweating again. I could never pick between Angel by Lindsay and A Rose in Winter by Woodiweiss. Never never never.

First romance novel you ever remember reading?

Lord of the Far Island by Victoria Holt. Great book! Next one I remember, Fiesta San Antonio by Janet Dailey. I wanted to beat the sadistic hero over the head with a two-by-four and could NOT understand why the heroine didn’t leave his ass for the obviously perfect Travis who was not sadistic, totally hot, and thought she walked on water. Why? WHY? (I just looked it up and this was published in 1977. We will not discuss how early my romance addiction began. Or my age. Or the fact that I remember the title, author, plot, and characters’ names but not what I had for dinner yesterday. Thank you.)

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?
Alpha by author, with series in chronological order. Sheesh. Is this even a question?

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?

Keep. Occasionally winnow and donate.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?

Remove it? Don’t be silly. The dustjacket has the pretty pictures. And the blurb.

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake?

Love Anita Blake. Keep meaning to read Sookie but haven’t yet. Must do this in 07.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

I read like an alcoholic drinks; I stop when it’s finished and there is no more.

It was a dark and stormy night or Once upon a time?

What about, once upon a time it was a dark and stormy night?

Crusie or SEP?

Crusie. But SEP has written some terrific books. Speaking of which, she has a new Chicago Stars book coming out. Drool.

Buy or Borrow?

Buy to the limit of the budget, swap with other authors, borrow from the library. Love swapping. See alcoholic reader tendencies confessed above. The day will never come that the budget stretches to all the books I can read.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?

Usually I browse and pick out something that sounds interesting to me. But I’ve picked up many new to me authors/titles by recommendations from friends with similar tastes.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?

I guess tidy. Cliffhangers can be really effective, though.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?

Yes.

Series or standalone?

I am a series hoooor. Bring ‘em on.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

I never hear anybody but me frothing and raving over Swimmer in the Secret Sea by William Kotzwinkle. It is a beautiful, amazing book. You will weep when you read it. Then there’s The Midnight Examiner by Kotzwinkle. Tabloids versus the mob. Oh. My. God. So brilliant. So hysterical. I am chartreuse with envy that I didn’t write this book.

And now to share the love, I am tagging Shannon, Larissa, and Ellen.