Black Widow
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hi everyone -

Just a quick post to let you know what's going on. It's official: Tiger Publications has disbanded, which has once again orphaned my Abraxas series. I'm starting to feel like a black widow because I keep shutting down publishers with my Abraxas books! So far I've shut down the YA division of one publisher after they published Stones of Abraxas, and now Tiger has closed completely before they could print my sequel. I just received the "Reversion of Rights" letter yesterday that gives me back my rights to the books and voids my contracts with the publisher.

I'm trying really hard to find a new publisher for the Abraxas series, but I keep shutting down publishers before "Heroes of Abraxas" gets to the printers! That's not going to stop me, though. I'm going to keep trying until either Heroes of Abraxas is in print or every publisher in America is shut down. :) For instance, today I got a rejection from a literary agent for a different manuscript, so I promplty replied to the email and asked if she was interested in representing a great YA fantasy series. The woman probably thinks I'm insane, but that's OK. I'll leave no stone unturned to get my Stones into readers' hands. (good pun, huh?)

Wish me luck - back to work!

Kim

1:26 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Disappointing News
Current mood: depressed
Category: Writing and Poetry

It's painful for me to write this. It's been two days since I got the news, and it's taken me this long to pull myself together to share it with the rest of the world. As soon as I tell everyone, it will be impossible to bury my head in the sand and pretend that it's not true. No, I don't have a terminal disease. I suppose I should be thankful for that, at least. The horrible news is that Tiger Publications, the company that was going to publish my first two Abraxas books, is declaring bankrupcy. They are leaving the publishing industry, and taking with them my hopes of seeing Heroes of Abraxas published in the near future.

Needless to say, I'm horribly disappointed. It took a year and a half to find a company that was willing to publish my Abraxas sequel. They even agreed to re-print Stones of Abraxas when its original publisher took it out of print. So Tiger was going to publish Books 1 and 2. We had gotten as far as cover art for the new Stones of Abraxas edition. In fact, I had just gotten the cover from the artist on Wednesday morning. I was thrilled with how beautiful it was. Then, Wednesday afternoon, Tiger notified its authors that it would be declaring bankrupcy. That timing was a cruel irony.

Now I don't know what to do about the Abraxas series. I have one book that needs to be re-printed because it's officially out of print, plus a completed sequel that needs to be published for the first time. I've been working on Book 3 in the Abraxas series, but after Wednesday's news, I find it too depressing to pick up that notebook.

This is uncharted territory for me. I have no idea which publishers are willing to re-print something that another publisher already released two years ago. I do know that I had a heck of a time finding a publisher for the Abraxas sequel when Medallion left the young adult market and could not publish it. Now I feel like I'm back to square one in the Great Abraxas Publisher Search.

I want to offer huge apologies to everyone who has patiently waited for Book 2 (and Books 3 through 5 for that matter). Please know that I'm working hard to get this straightened out, but every time I make a little headway, it seems like the universe puts its huge, smelly foot in my path.

Well, wish me luck as I start looking for a new publisher. I'll keep you informed of my progress. But before I do anything, I think I need to take the weekend off to relax and think about something other than my failed attempts at literary success. Then first thing Monday, it's back to total immersion in the publishers listed in Writer's Market.

Peace and a wealthy publisher for your fantasy series,

Kim

12:10 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

It’s spring! Get out of the house!
Current mood: energetic
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hi! I just wanted to offer a couple of opportunities for people to get out of the house in the next couple months. And what better way to celebrate spring than to hang around indoors with a bunch of authors? :)

Anyway, for anyone who lives near Chicago, there's an Open Mic Night coming up at the Yorkville Public Library in Yorkville, Illinois. If you write poetry or prose and would like to read some of your work in public, this is your chance. If you prefer, you can come listen to others as they experience stage fright. Either way, you get cookies! This is scheduled for Friday, May 23 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. If you want to read, you have the option of signing up in advance, or you can just show up. This event is free and is being organized by the Yorkville Library and the Yorkville Creative Writing Group.

Then, on Saturday, June 14, the Gotta Write Network is sponsoring its annual AuthorFest at the Schaumburg District Township Library at 130 S. Roselle Rd. in Schaumburg, Illinois. There will be lots of great authors there who will speak on a variety of topics. Also, a book seller will be there so you can purchase books and get them signed. It's free and should be fun. Here's a link to the web site: http://www.gottawritenetwork.com/Authorfestparticipants2008.html. As of today, they haven't updated the speaker list yet to include me and my cousin Annmarie Ortega (she writes romance for adults), but we're going to be there.

Hope to see you out this spring. I hear the weather is beautiful. Now if I could just get away from this keyboard, I could see for myself.

Kim

9:23 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Spring Fling conference
Current mood: sick
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hi everyone!

I just returned from the Romance Writer's of America Spring Fling conference in Deerfield, Illinois. It was a lot of fun. I appeared on a panel about small publishers and e-publishing, and a literary agent to ask to read the first 30 pagets of my new vampire romance manuscript. I also got to meet many other writers who were so much fun. The conference included some great meals, a big book signing where I was able to promote "Stones of Abraxas," and a chocolate reception which was just as yummy as it sounds. Sadly, by late Saturday night, I wasn't feeling well, so I was eager to get home yesterday.

Oddly, this wasn't the first time I got sick during a writing conference. In February I attended the Love is Murder conference - also near Chicago - and by Day 2 I had a fever that even Advil wouldn't keep at bay. I was feverish for my agent appointment at that conference, yet they still asked to see my work. Go figure. Maybe I'm more coherent when my temperature is over 100 degrees?

Anyway, I'm wondering why it is that the last two times I've had flu symptoms in the last several years were both at romance writing conferences. Is this God's way of telling me to stop writing romance? Maybe I should stick to fantasy. I felt great when I went to the DragonCon science fiction and fantasy convention. I've always felt terrific during book signings for "Stones of Abraxas." Yet when I'm trying to get more deeply into the romance genre, my fever spikes and I go dashing for the bathroom.

So what to do about this problem? Well, here's my solution: I've decided that this doesn't necessarily have to do with writing romance instead of fantasy. Instead, maybe this is the universe's way of telling me to stick with writing YA books instead of adult stuff. The two agent pitches I did at the conferences were both for the adult version of my vampire romance manuscript. Fortunately, I have a YA version of my vampire romance manuscript that I like just as much as the adult version (what a coincidence!). So when I send off to the agent today, she'll get the YA version in which my main character is a 17-year-old high school girl.

Hopefully I'm reading the signs correctly and I'm doing the right thing. On the other hand, maybe I keep getting sick when I leave home because hotel rooms don't have the high concentration of cat hair and dust that I'm used to in my home. Maybe I'm suffering withdrawal, and that's why I"m getting sick. On the other hand, I was healthy at DragonCon, and during that conference I stayed in a hotel for 4 days. Of course, at DragonCon, the amount of hair from Chewbacca costumes probably made up for what I was lacking from my cats at home.

Peace and good health,

Kim

8:36 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Wasting time online
Current mood: busy
Category: Quiz/Survey

Hi everyone! You know how sometimes you’ve got so much work to do that you can’t seem to get started? In the olden days, a person in that situation might have to find some meaningful procrastination activity, like reading a book or trying to cure polio. But thanks to modern technology, we no longer have to resort to such drastic measures. Today, when we want to seem busy while putting off important tasks, we have the Internet.

I’m currently working on three manuscripts and teaching two college classes. My floors are filthy and my yard is a mess. I should be dealing with those pressing matters. Instead, I’ve discovered the most amazing web site. It’s "How many five-year-olds can you take in a fight?" Seriously. It asks you about 20 questions about your physical size, abilities, and general moral compass that will help calculate how many little kids you can beat in a fight. Isn’t modern technology amazing? Here’s the link: http://www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com/

Turns out, I can take 16 five-year-olds in a fight. That’s pretty good for an old lady like me, I think. So good, in fact that I might want to become a kindergarten teacher. If things go bad in the classroom, at least I know I’ll probably be able to escape with my life.

Do you want to waste time, too? Of course you do. You’re reading this blog, after all. So find out how many little kids it would take to crush the life out of you. Have fun and be careful - it’s a playground jungle out there. Oh, and while you’re there, there are other links to other time-wasters, including one about how good you’d be as a human shield against both ancient and modern weapons. How many of us can say we’ve never wondered?

Kim

9:09 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

New Abraxas Publisher!
Current mood: excited

Great news, everybody! Tiger Publications has signed on to publish Book 2 in the Abraxas Pentagram series! Hurray! And they're going to be re-printing Book 1, too! I can't seem to stop using exclamation points! Someone help me!

OK, I'm better now. But I'm still really excited. As you might know, I've been looking for a publisher for the sequel to Stones of Abraxas for more than a year. Medallion Press had announced that it was getting out of the young adult market only a few days before Stones of Abraxas was released back in July 2006. That was a huge disappointment for me because I had sent them the sequel, called Heroes of Abraxas, months earlier and had been assuming they would publish it. I think it's even funnier than Stones of Abraxas, so who in their right mind wouldn't want to publish it, right?

Anyway, YA fantasy no longer fit in with Medallion's publishing plans, so I had to start looking for a new publisher for the next book in the Abraxas series. That's not an easy job when some other publisher has already released Book 1. No wonder I got a lot of rejections from publishers and agents over the past year and a half.

Then, in early December 2007, I got an email from Tiger Publications, a new publisher that's located right here in Illinois. They had read the first chapters I'd sent them and wanted to see the rest. "Hurray!" I said, slipping back into my addiction to exclamation points. Just a couple of weeks later, Tiger contacted me again, this time to say they were interested in publishing Heroes of Abraxas!What a fantastic Christmas present! (Don't say anything about my punctuation. I'm in a 12-step program to deal with it.)

So I contacted Medallion Press and told them the good news. All along they had been very encouraging and supportive about me finding a new publisher for my sequel. When I told them I had a new publisher, they released all my rights to the first Abraxas book so it could be re-printed by Tiger, if Tiger wanted to publish the first two books together. I told Tiger that Stones of Abraxas was available to be re-printed, and they were eager to sign on.

I'm so excited now that the first two Abraxas books will be released by the same publisher. Tiger is enthusiastic about promoting the books and helping me get it into as many hands as possible. The book covers can have a common look, and I know from my experiences at book signings when Stones came out that readers love books in a series. I can't wait to have two Abraxas books on my book signing tables.

The only downside to this is that Stones of Abraxas is now officially out of print at Medallion, since they returned the rights to me. It will be over a year before Tiger releases either of the Abraxas books because, let's face it, the publishing world moves at the speed of that 150-year-old lady who works at the DMV. They have a lot ot do to get a book ready for publication, from editing, to cover art, to talking authors down from rooftops when we flip out over the editing and cover art. 

In the meantime, though, I will not technically have a fiction book in print. That's a strange feeling. I'm looking forward to my Libya book coming out this fall, but that's nonfiction for the school and library market, so it's not really the same thing. It's not the kind of thing I can promote at signings and stuff. But I'm not complaining. This all worked out better than I could have dreamed with my new publisher and two forthcoming novels.

So now I have to get back to work on Book 3 in the Abraxas series. All along I'd been planning for this to be a five-book series called the Abraxas Pentagram. I already have outlines and bits from each book written, including the very last chapter of the very last book. However, I put aside Book 3 (Rulers of Abraxas) over a year ago when Medallion told me they weren't going to be publishing Book 2. I've been working on other things since, but now I need to get back to David and Amanda and the gang. Book 3 was about 1/3 done when I put it down, so I've still got a lot of work to do. I love those characters and that world, though, so it isn't even like work to write it. It's more like re-visiting old friends.

Peace and the joy of having everything work out for the best.

Kim

11:42 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Finally finished Harry Potter
Current mood: disappointed
Category: Writing and Poetry

OK, so I'm about 6 months behind the rest of the world. What else is new? But I've finally finished reading the last Harry Potter book. It took me half a year to gear myself up to read it because I already knew my favorite character died. How crappy is that? Anyway, I figured it was stupid for a person who writes YA fantasy to not read the whole series, so I managed to shame myself into reading it.

It turned out to be my least favorite of the seven books. No surprise there. Have I mentioned that my favorite character DIED? And lest you think that the whole 750 page book was ruined by a little senseless slaughter, let me explain what else I didn't like about it. First, Harry spent literally the first half of the book wandering aimlessly through the woods. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs and scanning pages as he lurked in the trees and pitched his tent in different locations. Surely there could have been a better way to make time fast-forward by 9 months so a baby can be born and a school year can be nearly concluded.

Second, there wasn't anything particularly fun about the book. I loved the early books because of their humor. Fred and George were always hilarious. The kids did goofy things with magic. Ron burped slugs, for goodness sake! This book didn't have any of that. Fred and George made a couple of ear-related jokes early in the book. That was about it. It bothers me when authors change the tone of their books so drastically. If I had wanted to read a serious thriller where everyone is miserable then they all die, then I would have. There are plenty out there. But I wanted funny and light excitement. I wanted a quidditch match. Is that too much to ask?

Also, my favorite character DIED! Brutally and for no good reason.

Fourth, the concluding explanations went on forever. If you need more than 50 pages just to explain why things worked out the way they did, then there's a problem. I still don't fully understand the intricate details of why a wand will obey one person and not another. And why exactly couldn't Dumbledore have just explained things to Harry, instead of leaving everything to chance and making him take 9 months in the woods to figure it all out? The book tried to explain, but it was opaque at best. Meanwhile, as Harry's clueless and camping, people are dying and being locked in Azkaban. Lots of people. I still don't fully understand why that was necessary.

I did like the epilogue because I like happy endings. I'm glad I have closure on the series. My husband thinks this final book was the best of the series. He disagrees with my complaints. He also suggested that I stop reading when, at page 350, Harry was still cooking over a camp stove, and I was pulling my hair out in frutstration.

Oh, well, that's my take on the book. I'm sure I'm in the minority, and I apologize to everyone who loved the book. I think that books 1-4 were more my speed. And those were written for the youngest readers. Yeah, that sounds about right. :)

Peace and books you enjoy,

Kim

8:19 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Happy holidays and good news!
Current mood: optimistic
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hello and happy holidays to everyone! Today's the winter solstice, so I hope you're all tucked in nice and warm for three months of recuperation before we have to blossom again in the spring.

I've got some good news to celebrate over the holidays. First, I finished my book about Yugoslavia. I submitted it to my editor one whole day before its deadline! Am I a professional, or what? :) Now I'm doing some editing on my vampire romance so that after Christmas I can send it out to a few more agents and publishers.

Here's the best news of all: I'm in negotiations with a publisher that wants to publish the sequel to Stones of Abraxas! Hurray! Thanks so much to everyone who read the first Abraxas book and has been waiting patiently for news about the sequel. The book is called Heroes of Abraxas, and it starts up one year after Stones of Abraxas ends. It's been finished for a while, but you might remember that the Stones publisher, Medallion Press, couldn't publish it because they ended their young adult line around the time Stones of Abraxas came out.

Since the contract isn't finalized, I can't do a formal announcement about who, what, where, when, etc. yet, but I will let you know as soon as all concerned parties have signed on the dotted line. In the meantime, I've dusted off my notebooks for Book 3 in the Abraxas series. It's called Rulers of Abraxas and it's not quite half finished. I want to have that one ready to go by the time Heroes of Abraxas is released.

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy your holidays and I hope to have more specifics about the Heroes of Abraxas release shortly after the beginning of the new year.

Peace and good news,

Kim

12:01 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Hurray for free expression! Ban my book!
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Writing and Poetry

I know I've been uncharacteristically quiet for a while, but I've been buried in my nonfiction manuscript about Yugoslavia. The good news: Yesterday I finished it! Well, most it - I still have to finish the appendices and make sure all my footnotes are in proper format, etc. But still, this is well in advance of the December 15 deadline that Lerner had given me. I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief. It's beginning to seem that Christmas shopping and being able to work on something besides Yugoslavia some day are realistic goals.

On a semi-related note, I've recently heard some controversy about the Golden Compass books and movie. Apparently some people are upset by the fact that the author is a self-proclaimed atheist and he included some of his ideas in the books. They think people ought to keep their kids from seeing the movie or reading the books. They're worried that parents might not know what kind of "offensive" ideas are in the Golden Compass, so they should be warned.

After spending months researching the oppressive communist government in the former Yugoslavia, I'm feeling especially grateful for the right to read and write what I please in the United States. I love the fact that our marketplace and libraries are home to a variety of perspectives. Sure, people might not like everything that's out there. Some of it will be controversial and make people uncomfortable. The advantage of a free society is that we can say what we like, regardless of whether other people agree. The disadvantage is that we have to tolerate other people's right to say things we don't agree with. When I weigh it out, it seems like a fair bargain to me.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't read the Golden Compass series yet.  Yes, I know that I write YA fantasy, so maybe I should actually READ some now and then. Now that I know about the controversy, though, I'm intrigued. I'll have to support free expression by taking my son to see the movie and pick up a copy of the first book. Isn't it funny that the best way to increase book sales is to get on a "banned books" list? I wish someone would get Stones of Abraxas banned for me. I don't think I could do it myself, unfortunately. It would be really great to sell a few million books right before Christmas. Driving into the new year in a brand new Porsche would be excellent!

Peace and reading banned books,

Kim

10:41 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

My first-ever guest blog!
Current mood: excited
Category: Blogging

Hi everyone! I'm really excited about being a "guest blogger" at RavenHappyHour.com on Nov. 14. They're hosting real-life, true stories that are spooky. My story really happened to me in college and I still get goose bumps when I think about it.

Important Disclaimer: Raven Happy Hour is a site designed for adult readers of dark romantic fiction. IT'S FOR ADULTS ONLY! YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 TO SHOW UP! Seriously. We will tell your mother if you visit and you're not old enough. Then you'll be sorry. Anyway, the story I wrote is just a real life spooky story that's not only for an adult audience. It's for everyone, but you still need to be at least 18 to visit the site because of other stuff that might be there.

If you're old enough to go, please visit http://ravenhappyhour.com/ravenblog/?p=219  on Nov. 14 and read the story. Then you can post comments and everything. It's my first 'guest blog' so I'm not sure what I have to do. I'll show up on Nov. 14 and try to post a comment or something. I'm worried about doing something wrong, but the nice woman, Michelle Pillow, who runs the site assures me everything will be fine.

Hope to see you there, and I hope I don't destroy the Internet with my ham-fisted attempts at doing a guest blog.

Peace and technological skill.

Kim

10:37 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment