I was a bit frustrated yesterday, because after writing a chapter and getting most of the plot in place Denver shut up on me. But today the secondary plot for Queen City Blues just clicked totally into place. I have NEVER had a plot work out so well. I guess when you're up to novel #6 you figure out how it works.

I now have:
Main plot
Secondary plot
Four big characters other than my POV character Denver
All the setting pieces for Seattle

The only thing I'm missing is the name for the Big Bad... off to search the name sites...

Don't forget penguinpop starts on Monday. I'll be talking about Dr. Horrible. If you haven't seen it or heard of it, I have to wonder what rock you're living under.

Last Winter I got an idea for a character. His name is Jack Dawson. Not from Titanic mind you, I've never even seen the movie. It was just the name that popped into my head for Jack. I've worked out who he is. What he does. What he's trying to do, and supporting characters to write a novel with him. But I haven't been able to come up with a definitive plot. Everything keeps falling back to it being an intro novel, since it's a new world from my other stuff. That's fine and all, but I don't much care for intro novels.

So I keep putting Dawson's Law on hold, hoping that a better plot will appear.

Yesterday I started up the sequel to Ashes to Ashes, called Queen City Blues. I was going to wait until September, but the words wanted out now. I have characters. I have a plot and I know exactly how it ends. And after months of frustration with Jack's world, I now know that the ending is the key. Without that ending, I'd just have the characters meandering about doing their own shit without a goal.

I'm sure if I had the ending for Dawson's Law in my head or jotted down on a scrap of paper, that I'd be writing that one. Of course now I'm hoping the DL ending doesn't pop into my head anytime soon. I have enough on my plate with demanding Denver and his saga plus editing Jace's two books.

Current Projects:
Ante Up - partial out, finish last edit where I toughen up Denver and cut out 15K. It is WAY too long for an Urban Fantasy.
Eighty-Sixed - I haven't looked at it since I finished the first draft. I've learned so much since I wrote it. It's going to have some MAJOR scrubbing when I do.
Ashes to Ashes - working on the 2nd and 3rd draft before I start pitching it to agents. Will be done by September.
Queen City Blues - write it. ;) Would like first draft done by November aka nanowrimo.
Dawson's Law - come up with an ending, so I can do the first draft for nanowrimo.
Smoke & Steel and Origami Moon - I do need to get back to Toya's world. These are the first 1.5 novels I wrote. Someday I really need to finish them.

I went over chapter 13 of Ashes to Ashes today, and found it good. This is not good. I should be seeing stuff that needs fixing. It makes me suspect that I've been on the project too long or something. I have ten chapters to go, but I think it's time to put it aside for a few weeks.

So next Monday, I'm going back into Ante Up. With the changes in Denver's past during A2A and the follow up book, he's going to have to have more of his shit together in Vegas than he does. Fortunately those changes won't effect the 100 page partial I have out with an agent. That'll manifest about page 110 if I remember correctly. A friend who critiqued the book thought he was too stupid to have lived for a hundred plus years as it was, and SHE has never seen Denver's own books. So a fixing I will go.

I'd also like to go float in the pool with one of my many TBR books, but it's just not hot enough. Hello, Mr. Sun, It's JULY in San Diego. Where is the heat?

On July 21st some very dear friends of mine and I will be starting penguinpop a group blog where we'll talk about Pop Culture - books, movies, TV and such. I'm Monday's Penguin. Hope you can come by and join us.

What's up with that?

My brain is in hypermode peoples. So many ideas. So, so many ideas.

Monday I got the plot together for Queen City Blues which is the follow up to Ashes to Ashes. It's taking place in Seattle around 1910. I am not committing to a solid day until I get that book of historical newspaper articles I nabbed the other day used on Amazon. Once I see what was going on in the real world, I can pick and chose where my fantasy world intersects it.

Monday night a third major player popped into the plot. This morning the Monday night villain decided he wanted to be someone else - Quinn Boudreaux. I don't know if any of you remember me mentioning Quinn before, but he is Denver's blood brother. They have the same vampire sire. Quinn was supposed to be a slick, manipulative bastard from the eighties. Now Quinn wants to be a morally bankrupt priest at St. James' Cathedral in Seattle for QCB. And if you're wondering where Quinn's awesome name came from - he wanted to sell me drugs to get a bigger penis. That's right, I got his name from my SPAM filter.

And you know something? Quinn's dead right. I think it'll be a great point of origin for his character, and it'll mean he can fuck with Denver for close to a hundred years by the time we get to Jace's book in the present.

I love it when a plan comes together. But once it a great while, it would be nice for it to be MY plan, not my characters'.

This is a scene I've cut from Ashes to Ashes. It'll go on my website once I have it remodeled. It's about Denver's first, well second, attempt at hunting after being turned by Lady Xue Ying. It is set in the late 1890s in San Francisco.

( Dead Blood )

Denver Sinclair and Xue Ying are my creations - do not use them without my permission - thank you.

I'm not talking about noises keeping you from writing, or that tempting book by someone else that you want to read instead of working on your project. I'm talking about being at a party, watching people, chatting with people, while part of your brain is going over scenes, dialog and plot ideas for your next project.

The sequel to Ashes to Ashes is taking up considerable brain space. I've settled on Seattle being the setting around 1909, when Pikes Market Place was founded and some other tidbits of history I've been able to piece together. Seatlle history is an ellusive beast. When I was researching A2A, I found a ton of stuff on the 1906 quake, follow up, death rolls, incident reports, first hand survivor's letters and more. Too much information for one 85K book.

But Seattle information is sorely lacking. Last night I did find an out of print book that has newspaper articles from the city for the past 150 years. Hopefully it will give me some basis in fact for the plot. I do like to build on a real foundation before the fantasy comes in. That is the whole point of UF, no?

I've got a few characters in mind besides Denver and Lady Xue Ying, and quite a few plot options that I'll need to sort through too. But I want to get the A2A and Ante Up edits done first before I start writing a new novel.

Looks like J. Lee Moffatt is the winner. Even my mother thinks it's a good name to write under. And like I told a few of my friends I'd rather start with something close to my everyday name and then work up to using my real name. I do have a few names that have nothing to do with reality that I am going to save for future characters or projects.

I just got back from a week or so visit with my family in Eugene. It was a wonderful trip. Very relaxing and tons of fun since my mom got my dad a wii. We played that damned thing almost every afternoon. I even tried doing the wii fit. For those of you who don't know, I'm disabled. Was born that way, so I don't talk about it. It's just a fact of my life - ya know? I couldn't do it without my crutches, but I still had fun giving it a try. Someday I might try to get a set, but not until they cost less than 10 tanks of gas.

While in Eugene, I worked on a requested 100 page partial for Ante Up. I was shocked as hell by the request. I'd only emailed the agent 12 hours before she asked for it. I checked my email right before I left for the airport, and there it was. I was pretty much beaming the whole day. "Oh you want to strip search me? That's ok! An agent wants to read 100 pages of my book." "Full cavity search? No problem. Did I tell you an agent is interested in reading my book?"

Oh yes, I was incredibly happy and nothing could bring me down. Nothing has yet actually, and it's been almost 2 weeks. The hardest part was that I didn't have my critiqued copy of Ante Up on my laptop or thumb drive. So I had to get those 100 pages polished on my own. Thankfully I'd read the BDC (Big Damned Critique), and while I didn't know exactly what needed to be changed I figured it out. The agent got 99 pages, 7 full chapters with a nice cliffhanger.

I know not to put my eggs all in one basket.... But it doesn't hurt to think positive. I've got to finish the Ante Up edit and the second draft of Ashes to Ashes. I'd like to finish them both before Comic Con. Speaking of which, anyone going?

I have a question for my writerly friends and readers out there. How do you feel about reading a book told from a male's perspective being authored by a woman? Would you hesitate to pick it up on a shelf? Would you doubt that a chick could get it? How about the other way around?

When I lived in Hawai'i after graduating from College I got more job interviews using J. Lee Moffatt than I ever did as Jennifer Moffatt. That Lee made me possibly either Asian or male - both a plus in the Hawaiian culture.

I've been told that you cannot tell that a woman writes for Denver or Toya. I pride myself on being able to write either sex convincingly. But would you buy a book from me?

And would J. Lee Moffatt keep me on the SCIFI Fantasy side of the bookstore without explaining that my books are not paranormal romance?

Opinions?

Wicked Game
Jeri Smith-Ready
May 13, 2008
384 pages trade paperback


WVMP, The Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll. Real Music for Real Vampires.
Located in Sherwood, Maryland, our signal reaches Baltimore, Washington, Harrisburg—and beyond the grave.
Come on in. Look around. Bites by request. Ciara Griffin

From the author's website:
Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin is trying to live the straight life, even if it means finding a (shudder!) real job. She takes an internship at a local radio station, whose late-night time-warp format features 1940s blues, 60s psychedelia, 80s Goth, and more, all with an uncannily authentic flair. Ciara soon discovers how the DJs maintain their cred: they’re vampires, stuck forever in the eras in which they were turned.

To boost ratings and save the lives of her strange new friends, Ciara re-brands the station as “WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll.” In the ultimate con, she hides the DJs’ vampire nature in plain sight, disguising the bloody truth as a marketing gimmick. But the “gimmick” enrages a posse of ancient and powerful vampires who aren’t so eager to be brought into the light. Soon the stakes are higher-and the perils graver-than any con game Ciara’s ever played…

( Spoiler Free Review )

Feast of Fools: Morganville Vampires Book Four
Rachel Caine
June 3, 2008
256 pages
YA

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though—especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town’s living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It’s only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he’s set for Morganville.

( Spoiler Free Review )

Yep I'm writing more fic of my characters to get my brain working. Since Denver comes from a different 'Verse where the supernaturals are out of the closet...I've dropped him into Dawson's very human world.

When Denver Met Dawson
The best part about going to Vegas, besides leaving the wife back in San Diego, was that whole everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. My appointment with my paying client hadn’t lasted too long, afterwards the guilty as sin son of a bitch took me out on the town. Got to admit though that when Aaron said he wanted to take me to paint that town red that I was a little worried that he meant it. I wasn’t his highly paid legal counsel for back taxes and unpaid parking tickets. Oh no Aaron decided that he liked his business partner’s heart on a platter.
( Read more... )

Hey look a fanfic of my own character - LMAO.
This is for seajules I've owed her this for months and MONTHS.
Denver Sinclair is mine. This story is set in Neo Frisco that belongs to wedschilde. Grace belongs to seajules

( I Lost My Heart in Neo Frisco )

The House of Night series is the second YA vampire series that I've gotten into. The other is the Morganville Vampires by rachelcaine. While Rachel's series is set in a world where the vampires hide and the characters are college age (or almost in Claire's case). The writing in Morganville is sharp, and I enjoy the hell out of them.

House of Night by PC Cast and Krisitin Cast is for younger readers. The characters are in mid-high school. The writing is done first person from the main characters POV. Zoey is quite possibly the most Mary Sue character I have read in a long time outside of a Merry Gentry novel, and thankfully she's not that much of a ho. It is jarring for me to read 16 year old Zoey's thought processes, but then it's been a hell of a long time since I was a 16 year old girl. Hell when I was 16, I was reading Salem's Lot, Harvest Home and devouring everything else that Stephen King churned out. I was a ghoul, and I was proud of it.

Now before you freak. Yes Zoey is the pinnacle of vampyre evolution with more power in her pinky than anyone else, but I don't mind. I can't believe that I don't mind. If I was reading an adult UF novel with a lead like Zoey, I'd toss the book to my dogs to eat. But I like Zoey. I just press the "I believe button," and let the story flow by.

Book One - Marked - was great. I had a ton of fun reading it. The world was down right silly, but it was fun. It was fun fluffy fanged filled fun. (Go ahead say that three times real fast)

Book Two - Betrayed - started us into the big bad story arc. I actually cried when a character I don't even like died. I couldn't believe it. Jaded Jenn cried when (I'm not going to tell you) died. And yes let me tell you, the betrayal was evil as hell.

Book Three - Chosen - I just finished this one. It took me quite a bit of time to get past the opening chapters. Quite frankly the first 50-70 pages were just dull stereotypical character introductions. I swear series books need a chapter one for people who have read the other books and a chapter one for virgin eyes. But instead of giving up, I did finally get to the new bits that were enjoyable. The big bad is manipulative and evil as they should be. Zoey is strong, but she's finally not perfect. Zoey got cocky and she screwed up. That was good to see. Because if she kept being perfect, I was going to have to start hating her.

I do wish there was a complete story in each book. I much prefer a single plot with a long going sub-plot in my series books. Book Three could really have been cut back to 100 pages shoved between book 2 and 4 with ease. Hopefully Book Four - Untamed - gets back some of the fun of book one and two.

These books are listed for grade 9+. The writing and the character works for that age group, but although the sex isn't described there is sex in book three. There is making out in books one and two. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's something high school kids have to deal with, but if you're a parent, you might want to know it's in there.

I am still not happy with the first chapter of Ante Up. It's an action chapter now, which is the norm for my genre. But I don't think it grabs the attention. I love Jace. I think she is a terrific character, but it is in her nature to be cool and professional. She is not the typical leather wearing shoot them and ask questions later lead for an Urban Fantasy. She's a complex creature, but you have to get further than the first chapter to see that.

Denver on the other hand is a highly entertaining SOB. Only one person who has ever read him in Ante Up or Ashes to Ashes didn't like him. Chapter Two is Denver's intro, and he finishes up building my world. But I think I need his humor and disregard for society sooner to get the attention of my readers/agents...

So once again, I will be reworking chapters one and two. I don't think it'll be hard. I just need to swap scenes with the breaks that are already there. It shouldn't be too hard.

I write Fan Fic - I freely and proudly admit it - so thought I'd pimp my comm.



This is where you can find all my fanfic. I post to the comm from the different Muse LJs. Silly - I know - but I got in the practice RPing them that way, so that's how I write their fic too. Besides they get more icons that way too.

All members can reply/comment on posts, but only the muses can make entries.

Please do join. As you can see, I'm not too good at writing women. But I do love the bad boys.

TWO MONTHS - Holy Shit! How did that happen?

Honestly I have no idea. Had some fun. Had some sadness. Had some voyages. New Project. New Goals.

The Fun - Discovered Guitar Hero. I swear I do not play it every day. I do play a few hours a week though. I love it. So much fun. I used to play classical guitar, but I was never able to learn to play electric. The problem was all the theory most music teachers want to teach you. I don't want theory. I want to learn songs. Playing the game is learning songs....

The Sad - One of our dogs suffered heart failure. He rallied for a month on new medication, but his heart was just too far gone. The house is so quiet without Draven. He was the smartest dog ever a Scotty/Cairn mix. His brothers miss him too.

The Voyages - Went to San Jose for a day to see my Nana who will be 96 in July. Caught the plague from her. Thought I was going to die for a couple of weeks, and as soon as I was better we headed north again to Frisco for the Chinese New Year Parade. Frisco was great. The Parade was drenched in a pretty rough winter storm though. I have never been colder in my life. But I was wetter the last time I went to Chinatown for the Parade in 05. But it's the Year of the Rat now - my year.

New Project - The weekend before last a new character popped into my head. His name is Jack Dawson. He has no redeeming qualities. I mean none. He's a hot shot rich lawyer in San Diego and married to a beautiful woman that he wants dead. The problem is - she's not human - and her daddy is going to punish Dawson's evil ass for his crimes.

New Goal - It does feel good to be writing again. My goal for 2008 is to be better about editing/revisions though. I'd much rather just write, but a pile of first drafts does not a published author make.


( Dawson's Law Snippet )