Hey everyone, as intimated in my last post, I have a new (final) blog home.
So come on over to the new improved Crossed Wires.
I'll be leaving this blog up for awhile while to let everyone know what's happened but I won't be updating here anymore. All the archives are at the new blog, so I haven't lost anything (well apart from my list of aussie authors which is now on the website links page!).
If you were nice enough to link to me here (or subscribe to my feed) please update to the new blog for continued blogging insanity and occasional common sense from me!
February 14, 2011
February 13, 2011
Moving on
Okay everyone, it makes me kind of sad, but this blog is making part one of its move to Wordpress.
It's temporarily relocating to a WordPress.com version which is here.
Please update any links.
I'll be posting new posts over there but will make one more post here as I'm going to be moving to WordPress.org once I change webhosts!
The temporary version is missing a few things at the moment like the blogrolls which will either reappear once I move again or will be transferred to my site!
It's temporarily relocating to a WordPress.com version which is here.
Please update any links.
I'll be posting new posts over there but will make one more post here as I'm going to be moving to WordPress.org once I change webhosts!
The temporary version is missing a few things at the moment like the blogrolls which will either reappear once I move again or will be transferred to my site!
February 12, 2011
A change is as good as a holiday (or necessary, even)
I'm currently in the process of getting a new website designed (early in the process but still). I'm pretty sure that the new site will be WordPress based and that pretty much means converting the blog to WordPress as well. After some poking around the internet the less than exciting news seemed to be that one can only import blogger content to WordPress if your blog template is new blogger based.
Phooey. So, I have finally had to give up my claw hold on my classic template and convert and this is the result. I'm sure there will be tweaking etc in it's future but it's about as close as I can get to the old blog for now. Hopefully the white posts backgrounds are easier on the eyes anyway. So welcome to the new (for now) look Crossed Wires! Short may it reign and let me know if there are any issues you find!
Phooey. So, I have finally had to give up my claw hold on my classic template and convert and this is the result. I'm sure there will be tweaking etc in it's future but it's about as close as I can get to the old blog for now. Hopefully the white posts backgrounds are easier on the eyes anyway. So welcome to the new (for now) look Crossed Wires! Short may it reign and let me know if there are any issues you find!
February 05, 2011
February contest
In true Chinese New Year do-over fashion I find myself starting my contest back up again in February rather than January but better late than never.
This month I thought I'd turn my attention to Urban Fantasy and one of my favourite series in recent years.
February's contest prize is Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (who is actually husband and wife team Ilona and Gordon Andrews) who I share a publisher with (as unreal as that still seems).
Magic Bites is the first book in the Kate Daniels series which currently stands at five books, each of which gets better than the one before (and the first one is pretty darn good to begin with). It's set in a magic riddle Atlanta where vampires and werewolves and all sorts of beasties wreak havoc. Kate is a genuine kickass heroine and, even better, one who grows and changes throughout the series. The bad guys are genuinely creepy and bad in this series and Ilona draws in all sorts of interesting mythology. There is a romantic subplot to keep us romance types happy (with a hot hot hero in Curran) and really, this is one of the best true urban fantasy series going around. So if you haven't yet jumped on the Urban Fantasy train and want to start with a good one or haven't jumped on the Kate Daniels train, here's your chance. Simply comment on any blog post this month for your chance to win a copy of Magic Bites.
As usual, my reasons for the contest are here.
This month I thought I'd turn my attention to Urban Fantasy and one of my favourite series in recent years.
February's contest prize is Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (who is actually husband and wife team Ilona and Gordon Andrews) who I share a publisher with (as unreal as that still seems).
Magic Bites is the first book in the Kate Daniels series which currently stands at five books, each of which gets better than the one before (and the first one is pretty darn good to begin with). It's set in a magic riddle Atlanta where vampires and werewolves and all sorts of beasties wreak havoc. Kate is a genuine kickass heroine and, even better, one who grows and changes throughout the series. The bad guys are genuinely creepy and bad in this series and Ilona draws in all sorts of interesting mythology. There is a romantic subplot to keep us romance types happy (with a hot hot hero in Curran) and really, this is one of the best true urban fantasy series going around. So if you haven't yet jumped on the Urban Fantasy train and want to start with a good one or haven't jumped on the Kate Daniels train, here's your chance. Simply comment on any blog post this month for your chance to win a copy of Magic Bites.
As usual, my reasons for the contest are here.
Enough
Well, yesterday was not the most stellar writing day and today was worse.
Yesterday I wrote 700 words in a rush only to accidentally hit the off button on my netbook and lose it all. Then Cyclone Yasi's tail decided to drop about a month's rain on Melbourne in a day and I had more pressing issues to deal with like bailing out my backyard. I did eventually write another 1000 words or so but only by staying up too late.
After waking up every few hours to listen to what the rain was doing last night, I'm tired today and have been trying to get some heroine POV onto the page on and off all day. So far I've crawled up to 300 words or so but she's being unco-operative. So I'm going to give myself a pass for the day by saying an extra 700 yesterday counts. Or else I'll do 1700 tomorrow but either way I'm done for now!
Yesterday I wrote 700 words in a rush only to accidentally hit the off button on my netbook and lose it all. Then Cyclone Yasi's tail decided to drop about a month's rain on Melbourne in a day and I had more pressing issues to deal with like bailing out my backyard. I did eventually write another 1000 words or so but only by staying up too late.
After waking up every few hours to listen to what the rain was doing last night, I'm tired today and have been trying to get some heroine POV onto the page on and off all day. So far I've crawled up to 300 words or so but she's being unco-operative. So I'm going to give myself a pass for the day by saying an extra 700 yesterday counts. Or else I'll do 1700 tomorrow but either way I'm done for now!
February 04, 2011
February 03, 2011
Fumbling
1011 words tonight. So goal is met. This book is proving interesting so far. Usually I'm pretty clear on my first scene and write it quickly. But this book, well, I've had about four different starts now and keep having to pull back and change tack. I started with the hero, thought perhaps maybe it should be the heroine, changed my mind again and went back to the hero in two different situations. Nothing felt quite right but today I think I might have cracked it. We'll see. Of course, that probably means juggling around some of the words I've fought for so far and going backwards in word count at some point but we'll deal with that when it happens.
Two things helped.
One, this post by Jenny Crusie is brilliant and made me realise I was trying to smooth out my hero too much instead of letting him be his acid tongued messed up self.
Two, I realised I didn't really know what his initial goal was. Some poking and prodding at the muse with pointy sticks at lunch today gave me a glimmer of an idea on that one and so far it seems to be working. Now I just have to figure out the heroine. Oh and how to wrap up all the pesky plot threads I've set in motion in the last two books. Why did I think writing a trilogy would be a good idea again? If there was a magic potion I could take right now to turn me from pantser to plotter I'd be on that thing faster than Neo and his little red pill. But given I'm pretty much stuck with my own brain and my own crazy process, I guess I'm just going to have to screw up my gumption and remember that it will all come to me eventually if I just keep writing and letting the weird storyteller part of my brain do its thing.
In other words, I need to remember to look at this which I have perched on my noticeboard near my desk!
(Get your own here)
And now, time for enjoying the results of some other poor writer's self torture aka curling up with a good book before I go to sleep! Catch you tomorrow when maybe I'll go crazy and write more than 1000 words!
Two things helped.
One, this post by Jenny Crusie is brilliant and made me realise I was trying to smooth out my hero too much instead of letting him be his acid tongued messed up self.
Two, I realised I didn't really know what his initial goal was. Some poking and prodding at the muse with pointy sticks at lunch today gave me a glimmer of an idea on that one and so far it seems to be working. Now I just have to figure out the heroine. Oh and how to wrap up all the pesky plot threads I've set in motion in the last two books. Why did I think writing a trilogy would be a good idea again? If there was a magic potion I could take right now to turn me from pantser to plotter I'd be on that thing faster than Neo and his little red pill. But given I'm pretty much stuck with my own brain and my own crazy process, I guess I'm just going to have to screw up my gumption and remember that it will all come to me eventually if I just keep writing and letting the weird storyteller part of my brain do its thing.
In other words, I need to remember to look at this which I have perched on my noticeboard near my desk!
(Get your own here)
And now, time for enjoying the results of some other poor writer's self torture aka curling up with a good book before I go to sleep! Catch you tomorrow when maybe I'll go crazy and write more than 1000 words!
February 02, 2011
Wednesday
Was very busy but 1155 words were achieved, so all is good.
Back tomorrow, no brain left for blogging tonight.
Back tomorrow, no brain left for blogging tonight.
February 01, 2011
It's a start
1003 words achieved. Using the time honoured, write bits that spring to mind method. This is going to be one of those teeth pulling jigsaw puzzle books unless the muse and the girls come up with something brilliant in short order.
Do over
It’s February. Which is a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in others. Given that January was pretty much a write off for me due to getting sick and various other things, I officially completely failed to do much of anything I planned to do in January. Including blogging. So I’m calling a do-over on the start of the year! (After all, it’s sort of Chinese New Year right now, so that’s good enough for me). We’ve had floods and fires and all sorts of weirdness here in Australia over January so I’m imagining there are quite a few people who’d like to join me.
In order to kick start my new new year, (and to claw back some lost writing time) I’m setting a goal of writing a thousand words a day in February and to keep me honest, I’ll blog my progress daily (or mostly daily)! I’m also trying to get back into some sort of exercise routine as the one good thing about being sick for several weeks is that I lost 5 kilos and don’t intend to put it back on (indeed I intend to see that I lose quite a few more), so I’ll report on that as well. The internet can keep me honest.
I will also be re-instating my contest which went on a longer than expected break over Christmas, so stay tuned for the next contest post!
In order to kick start my new new year, (and to claw back some lost writing time) I’m setting a goal of writing a thousand words a day in February and to keep me honest, I’ll blog my progress daily (or mostly daily)! I’m also trying to get back into some sort of exercise routine as the one good thing about being sick for several weeks is that I lost 5 kilos and don’t intend to put it back on (indeed I intend to see that I lose quite a few more), so I’ll report on that as well. The internet can keep me honest.
I will also be re-instating my contest which went on a longer than expected break over Christmas, so stay tuned for the next contest post!
January 01, 2011
A year in books (fifth anniversary edition)
Well my annual reading review post is a day late. I finished up 2010 with a bit of a stomach bug (I think brought on by my fridge which has decided its job isn't to keep things particularly cold anymore), so no posting yesterday.
I've been doing a lot of re-reading for the last few months while I finished my book, so my total new books read is down this year (again, I've probably missed some on the list...this year I'm thinking about just keeping my list on GoodReads as I update there and here and it gets confusing as to which I've done). I've also rarely been reading on the train to the day job. Mostly I listen to audio books (most of which are re-reads) or podcasts as it's easier. Now that I have my e-Reader that might change a bit next year but given that the average audiobook is 9 hours or longer and I can read around 3 mass market paperbacks in that time, the audiobooks have definitely reduced the total books read.
I've also probably spent more time writing and doing craft this year, so reading time has had to give (even though I still read every day...just less). Hopefully I've found the good balance between my writing and reading for fun because I'm definitely not one of those authors who can't read while writing. Pretty much the opposite in fact.
Anyway on to my favourite books read this year (in no particular order).
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen Magical realism done beautifully
Maybe This Time - Jennifer Cruisie Her first solo novel for a few years was spooky, romantic and a damn good time.
The Queen of Attolia/The King of Attolia/A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner I adore this series and can't wait for number five!
Pegasus - Robin McKinley New McKinley is also good and even though Pegasus is slightly torturous because it's the first book of two and I WANT TO KNOW THE REST, it was fabulous.
Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay - First new Kay for a while and it was lovely. This was actually a great year for my favourite authors having new books.
I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett The witches have always been my favourite Discworld characters so continuing to follow Tiffany Aching as she grows into being a witch is awesome. As with all Pratchett, thoughtful, funny fantasy.
Singing the Dogstar Blues - Alison Goodman SF Young Adult which has been out for a while but I am late jumping on the bandwagon. Eon which is more epic fantasy by the same author was also pretty good. And she's an Aussie : )
How To Bake a Perfect Life and The Secret of Everything - Barbara O'Neal I loved both these. Gorgeous women's fiction with a hint of magical realism and glorious food. Don't read while hungry : )
Dark Road to Darjeeling - Deanna Raybourn The latest installment in the Julia Grey novels was fab.
Power and Majesty - Tansy Raynor Roberts Another aussie's debut fantasy novel with a different and ruthless world.
The Forbidden Rose - Joanna Bourne Another great historical romance by Joanna.
Special Delivery - Heidi Cullinan Wonderful smokin' hot m/m romance
Untameable Rogue - Kelly Hunter Kelly continues to be my fave category romance author. Wonderful sexy, witty, sparkling romance.
So there you go. I read lots of great books this year, so these are just the favourites. I hope your reading year was great and that 2011 is full of more brilliant stories for us all.
I've been doing a lot of re-reading for the last few months while I finished my book, so my total new books read is down this year (again, I've probably missed some on the list...this year I'm thinking about just keeping my list on GoodReads as I update there and here and it gets confusing as to which I've done). I've also rarely been reading on the train to the day job. Mostly I listen to audio books (most of which are re-reads) or podcasts as it's easier. Now that I have my e-Reader that might change a bit next year but given that the average audiobook is 9 hours or longer and I can read around 3 mass market paperbacks in that time, the audiobooks have definitely reduced the total books read.
I've also probably spent more time writing and doing craft this year, so reading time has had to give (even though I still read every day...just less). Hopefully I've found the good balance between my writing and reading for fun because I'm definitely not one of those authors who can't read while writing. Pretty much the opposite in fact.
Anyway on to my favourite books read this year (in no particular order).
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen Magical realism done beautifully
Maybe This Time - Jennifer Cruisie Her first solo novel for a few years was spooky, romantic and a damn good time.
The Queen of Attolia/The King of Attolia/A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner I adore this series and can't wait for number five!
Pegasus - Robin McKinley New McKinley is also good and even though Pegasus is slightly torturous because it's the first book of two and I WANT TO KNOW THE REST, it was fabulous.
Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay - First new Kay for a while and it was lovely. This was actually a great year for my favourite authors having new books.
I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett The witches have always been my favourite Discworld characters so continuing to follow Tiffany Aching as she grows into being a witch is awesome. As with all Pratchett, thoughtful, funny fantasy.
Singing the Dogstar Blues - Alison Goodman SF Young Adult which has been out for a while but I am late jumping on the bandwagon. Eon which is more epic fantasy by the same author was also pretty good. And she's an Aussie : )
How To Bake a Perfect Life and The Secret of Everything - Barbara O'Neal I loved both these. Gorgeous women's fiction with a hint of magical realism and glorious food. Don't read while hungry : )
Dark Road to Darjeeling - Deanna Raybourn The latest installment in the Julia Grey novels was fab.
Power and Majesty - Tansy Raynor Roberts Another aussie's debut fantasy novel with a different and ruthless world.
The Forbidden Rose - Joanna Bourne Another great historical romance by Joanna.
Special Delivery - Heidi Cullinan Wonderful smokin' hot m/m romance
Untameable Rogue - Kelly Hunter Kelly continues to be my fave category romance author. Wonderful sexy, witty, sparkling romance.
So there you go. I read lots of great books this year, so these are just the favourites. I hope your reading year was great and that 2011 is full of more brilliant stories for us all.
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