January Report

So January has come and gone. I would have done this the very last day of the month, but my German Shepherd, Aya, passed away a few days ago and I needed time to recover from the loss. Now the pain has dulled enough to let me get back on track with my New Year’s schedule.

I’m actually quite proud of myself. I made it through January and left off right where I should have. I reached 50k words on Rogue–putting me over 2/3 of the way through the rough draft. And I also completed revisions for Priestess Under Fire and got that sent out to test readers for their feedback. All things considered I wrote over 120k words in January–a feat I never would have imagined possible a year ago.

I did learn that I needed to allow for a bit more of recovery time. I was sick for four days (and of course, I lost Aya) which made catching up on both stories rather hard. So I’ll take that into consideration from now on while following the schedule.

That being said February is a short month. It’s just as well the next book in the Shield series (After ROGUE) is a novella centered around Saithe Ryan’s partner, Korbin Copeland, and his heroine, Crosslee. A novella is typically defined as anything less than 50k words but they normally run around 20k-30k in word count. It presents its own challenges since I haven’t tried my hand at writing a complete story in so few words.

I’ll also be finishing up Rogue’s rough draft. Then I plan on taking a few weeks off before starting its revisions. Once those are done it will be sent off to its own round of test readers. (Hopefully the process will repeat with each book as I get it finished.)

And, depending on what I hear from Priestess Under Fire’s test readers, I’ll have final touch ups to do on PUF before sending it out for publishers. My goal is to get PUF in the hands of readers this year. If mainstream publishing isn’t willing to accept it I have considered getting it out there myself, but I need to do research on where to start.

Anyway, that’s January’s report and February’s to do list in a nutshell. I hope everyone else is having an easier time keeping to their resolutions this year! (If you haven’t decided to just totally abandon them–which is okay too)

Adding to the schedule

So after six days using the scheduled amount of time to work on writing Rogue–and having successfully kept at it–I decided to add another task to the list. Priestess Under Fire is ready for revision. So using the same guidelines placed with Rogue I came up with an allotted amount of time to work on PUF’s revision.

It basically all boils down to words per day. I like National Novel Writing Month’s 1667 words a day for new manuscripts. It keeps you from getting too bogged down but provides enough of a challenge and a nice amount of text.

Revision is different though. The concepts and scenes are already there (well, if they’re any good to start with, that is) so I felt I could push myself harder. I decided to give myself a maximum instead of a minimum–no more than 3000 words per day.

I did this so I don’t ‘burn out’ on the revision process. It gives my brain time to focus on just a small portion and therefore (hopefully) make it the best it can be. So far it seems to be working, too. Plus, having two projects going also keeps my interest alive. I can’t speak for everyone, but just working on one project non stop loses its appeal early on. This way when I feel stuck on Rogue I can simply shrug it off and work on PUF until my brain has time to decipher whatever was going wrong with Rogue.

Like I said, this might not work for everyone, but it’s certainly helped me. I’ve gone from “groan, schedules” to “wow, this actually works” in a handful of days. Let’s just hope it stays this way.

Still working

So far I’ve had no problems keeping to the schedule I made up on New Year’s day. I’m actually quite proud of myself for sticking to it–yeah, i know, three days big whoop, right? But schedules have always turned me into a rebellious brain dead couch potato. This year I’ve found it’s actually helping clear time for me to do other things, and having a time frame forces me to concentrate on just the portion I’m supposed to be working on.

So yay for schedules! And yay again for the progress on Rogue I’ve been making these past few days!

Don’t worry, I haven’t shoved Priestess Under Fire into some cobwebbed corner never to see the light of day again. In fact, I’ll be working on the first major rewrite in less than a week’s time. Then it’s time for Bridget to get passed around a few trusted and unbiased sources to see how she stands up to the scariest and strongest foe of all–the reader!

A work of art depicting the Green man with a human face and leaves spreading outward.

Happy New Year!

Did you set any goals for 2013? Instead of losing weight or winning the lottery I’m more interested in schedules this year. In fact, I’ve already got a calendar loaded with writing deadlines for this brand spanking new year. First up, of course, is Priestess Under Fire and Rogue.  Though I do have some other plots ready to go once those two are in full swing.

I guess you could say my ultimate goal for this year is to get Priestess Under Fire (or PUF as my friends call it) published. As far as that goal is concerned, I’m working on the next draft and will soon be calling out for volunteers to do test readings and critiques. Once those are implemented it’s off to the godly hands of the publishing world.

I’ve also asked CML (the gorgeous and slightly crazy artist who designed the above header image) to design the cover for PUF (smirks as she imagines puffy demons) just to prove how confident I am this time round.

I know some of you are saying “Wait a minute, hold up, what happened to my Saithe?” so let me assure you he’s still with us and raring to go this year. Yes, 2013 is going to be a good year for both Bridget and Saithe. I can feel it!

Priestess Under Fire Update

Finishing up the first draft just in time to ring in the new year. I know a lot of people are impatient to see the final copy so I’ll have my work cut out for me in the following months. But before that I’ll take a small new year holiday to recharge the old brain–please ignore the SoCo eggnog lining the fridge–and relax before the final shove.

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas? Check out the letter Bridget wrote to Santa at https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaBlakesWorld and tell us whether Santa stopped by your house or not.

New FB page

Hello, everyone!
Just opened a facebook page for my paranormal worlds. You can keep in touch by following this link:
https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaBlakesWorld Enjoy and give me a like, please!

Priestess Under Fire

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) was a big success this year. Not only did I and several of my writing friends win with goals of over 50,000 words I also have a completely new story project. Priestess under fire is the first in a set of stories following young Bridget Feblood as she comes to terms with what her heritage has in store for not only her but those she cares about. She’s about to learn two things she’s always longed for can be just as dangerous as they are liberating: truth and change.

I’ll try to get a sneak peek up asap, but I need to wrap up the story first.

For now let me give you a quick rundown of the main characters:
Bridget Feblood
Age: 19
She’d totally dress goth if it didn’t cost so much to buy the powder needed to hide her natural tan skin. So she makes up for it by singing for her best friend’s metal band, Night Howls. Both Conlan and Bridget work at the Boiling Kettle part time (a cafe set in a historical house within Indianapolis run by the gorgeous and somewhat tyrannical Felix.)

Felix
Age: ? Looks to be in 30’s
Not only does he own the Boiling Kettle, but he also donates time and energy to the community through Big Brother and various volunteer services. He’s an amazing baker, great with money, and the crush of Bridget’s life. However, Felix is hiding more than just his last name. And finding out his secrets might cost Bridget more than her life–it could crush her heart.

New Start at the end of an old year

Well, I realize it’s been almost a year since I last posted anything here. Bear with me since I admitted at the start I’m not good at keeping people updated. I’ve also had a hectic year and had to take a vacation from writing. But with the successful conclusion to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month for those out of the loop) I am now refreshed, energized, and ready to go! My 50k in a month project for this year was a book centering around a young girl coming into womanhood at the same time as magical powers. She’s dropped into the world she’s always wanted only to realize not every fairy tale is light and airy. Look for more updates later!

Long time no writee

So I apologize for the big lapse. Things have been hopping in the world off the computer. Sad excuse but there it is. Plus I had a long and terrible severe lack of inspiration. Hopefully that’s in the past and things can get hopping here again.

I also joined a writing group where those who are so inclined can read small samples of my work. You can follow this link straight to it. http://www.writerscafe.org/sereneshield

As for Shield I feel ashamed that my attention has wandered from my dreamy warriors. I shall make an early new years resolution to complete the second draft within one month’s time!

The Marked

While those selected to read through Rogue are finishing up I’ve started working on the second book in Shield’s series, The Marked. Get ready for everything you think you know about Shield to be blown out of the water as Den Blake, Indiana’s Shield Commander, is forced to walk on the other side of the night.

Add in nature photographer Hana Leith and a handful of photos showcasing the abnormal wolves of the Noche clan and Den’s life will never be the same.