Thursday, April 19, 2012

Writing is easy. You just open a vein and bleed.

One of the themes for this month's blog is 'streamlining'. So, here's my take on it.

For the past few weeks I’ve been in ‘edit’ mode. I recently sold my paranormal romance, Dark Obsession, to Adam’s Media’s new imprint Crimson Romance. Because I will be one of the launch authors, I had to jump into my edits and revisions in a timely manner. Which, for me, is soooo much easier than writing a full book. However, this time around, doing revisions before the actual edits were a bit more difficult because I had to cut the story by about fifteen thousand words (in order to meet their word count). That’s not easy to do when you’re as married to your words as I tend to be.

It took me about a week to get my head into it. I couldn’t just go in and cut a scene here or a scene there, because every scene in my story had a purpose (as it should). So, revisions became a bit of a rewrite. I not only had to cut scenes, I also had to redesign them and restructure what came after so it made sense. Thanks to my wonderful critique partners, who gave me some terrific suggestions, I was able to get through it without the need of a transfusion. :)

I turned the book in two days early of my deadline (yay me) and I have to say I’m pleased with the results. This was the second novel I’d written (many years ago) and I was as determined to see it published. It’s a great story (if I should say so myself) and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all.

The book comes out June 4. Here’s a quick summary of what it’s about.

Ramon (Ray) Chavez, a 33 year old farmer from the Rio Grande Valley doesn’t believe in visions or omens or the mysticism of his Mexican/Indian heritage. When he’s awakened by the spirit of this great-grandmother with a message that something is coming, Ray passes it off as a bad dream. But he may just reconsider his position when he finds Lexie Solis stranded on the edge of town, in search of a new life. Ray feels an instant attraction, as well as a connection, to the s ittish young woman, and he pursues a relationship with her. But what Lexie doesn’t tell Ray or his family, is that she is on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend and he may be more powerful than even she wants to believe. When Lexie is assaulted by an unseen force, they learn that the man she is hiding from is a master of the dark arts and his obsession with Lexie goes beyond his need to control her; he wants to possess her soul as well. As their past lives parallel, Lexie’s only hope for salvation is in Ray’s hands. But can he accept his destiny in time to save the woman he loves as well as his own life?

6 comments:

Paty Jager said...

How coincidental. I just did a major revision to my latest story after a workshop I attended by Larry Brooks. I took out five scenes and tightened up the whole story structure and found while I'm still not a fan of revisions(I'm a start from scratch kind of person not a mender), I'm not so scared to dig in and do it.

Judith Ashley said...

Thanks for the inspiration, Terri. I've 12,994 words to cut ... the other point of inspiration is your dedication to your story. You love it enough to make sure it is ready to be published as a commercially viable book.

See you at Desert Dreams soon. In fact I'll be there a week from today. The rain is coming down hard right now and I'm in a sweatshirt - those 90 degree days will be a shock to this Pacific Northwest girl!

Terri Molina said...

it's so funny how every writer has their own habits to writing. (as they say) what works for one, won't work for another.

Back in 2004 I started working on a story about three sisters who'd been estranged for ten years (I think). I was about thirty pages in and had to stop to work on something else. Then my computer died and I had to get a new one, needless to say, that file got story in the transfer. I tried to rewrite it, start from scratch, but it wouldn't happen. I just couldn't rewrite what I had written before so the story is in limbo.
All though on the bizarre front, this Christmas I got another laptop and while trying to find the software for my old laptop I found an old disc that I had transferred alll my work to...and lo n behold, there was my story!!

=)

Terri Molina said...

Thank you Judith,

I'm always happy to inspire. ;)

Looking forward to seeing you again.

Have a wonderful trip!

Sarah Raplee said...

Hi Terri,I'm glad you found a home for your story. I have a first novel that I want to revise and shop around. I love the characters and the story; they just won't let me put them in a drawer and abandon them!

Your characters and story sound like they need to be heard! Very cool. And congratulations on being chosen to launch a new line!

Terri Molina said...

Thank you Sarah....I'm both excited and nervous about the launch. hah