Fiction Writing and Other Oddities

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Lots of good stuff

There's so much good news I hardly know where to begin! I've been working tons of overtime so I finally put some of it to get use. Our furniture was in pitiful condition. I have this odd idea that furniture is a permanent investment that once made, never has to be made again. Of course, my general cheapskate tendencies have always been strengthened by my family who love to give me their cast-off furniture so I never have to buy anything.

Well, I finally bought some brand, spanking new furniture! Got it delivered, too (instead of hauling it to the house sticking out of the back of our pickup truck). Went whole-hog.

That beauty of a chair my husband so loved, that leaned to the left and had the stuffing come out of it has been replaced. Even though the old chair is still sitting on our porch, waiting for us to haul it away to the "green box mall" (i.e. dumpsters) in the back of our pickup truck.

Yes. We're hicks. Which is an odd confession for someone who writes Regency romances set in the early 1800's in England. And who even went to school for a year at the University of Scotland in Aberdeen (a truly gorgeous place). But whatever. We are what we are.

And here is our NEW furniture! Looks just like the old junk, except the stuffin' has yet to come out. But give it time...


And the new furniture isn't all the "news fit to print" although some of it (the really, really GREAT stuff) will have to wait until it gets confirmed later in the year.

More good news: I've got two, count 'em TWO, new books coming out within the next couple of months!

The Bricklayer's Helper, a Regency romantic mystery, will be out August 6!

Vampire Protector, a contemporary paranormal romance will be out Nov 12!

And over the next few months, I've got all kinds of interviews and blogging dates with all kinds of wonderful people!
I've already got the following dates:

I blog with Romance in the Backseat the first of every month about gardening (another of my hobbies).

On the 3rd of every month, I blog with Voices of the Heart about whatever hits my fancy.

On the 18th of every month, I blog on my publisher's historical site, The Wild Rose Press Historical Authorshttp://twrphistoricalroseline.blogspot.com/, about all things historical.

The wonderful blog at  The LoveStruck Novice will be interviewing me on August 6, just in time for my Regency romance release.

And I promise there will be a lot more! Pretty exciting stuff.
I also have a third book coming out soon, a Regency romance entitled, The Necklace, from Highland Press. It's been a little delayed, but I still have hopes that it will come out this year. It is actually the "prequel" to I Bid One American. Once it gets released, I'll have three books in the Archer family series:
The Necklace
I Bid One American
The Bricklayer's Helper

Although they don't have to be read in any particular order, it does give a better "feel" for the family's history and interlocking stories if they are read (at some point) in that order.

Right now, I'm editing another Archer family book (it's gone through several titles, none of which I adore, but at the moment, I'm tentatively calling it: The Adventurers) as well as writing a contemporary mystery.

Things are moving right along, although they'd move a little more swiftly if I wasn't working all this overtime. :-) But I can't complain since the overtime did get me brand new furniture.

Finally, I added a picture from our garden, which is blooming with daylillies at the moment. Our veggies are also putting out all kinds of produce, including tomatoes, squash, and eggplants, so I probably need to get a move on and get outside. The weather has been atrocious with very high temperatures, so I'm spending a lot of time watering the plants (as well as the dogs and me).

Just for the heck of it, I also included a picture of the road to the mailbox. Despite the heat, the doggies enjoy romping through the cornfields on our 1/2 of a mile trek to the mailbox. It's not exactly uphill box ways, but that 1/2 of a mile feels like it on a hot day! But walking it does give me a much needed mile of exercise at least once a day.

Enjoy the weather and stay tuned--I'm hoping for more good news this summer, plus a release date for The Necklace!




5 comments:

Lilly Gayle said...

Love the furniture and your rustic living room that looks as inviting as any mountain retreat. No wonder you write so quickly and so well! And congratulations on all your good news!

Amy said...

Thanks!
Rustic is certainly the word for it, *wink*! But it's a good thing we live in a log home with log walls because with our dogs, we'd be staring out at the garden through holes in the walls if we had a traditional home!

Cathy said...

I agree with Lilly...what a wonderful setting you have for inspiration and writing. I love the long driveway to the mailbox...it actually reminds me of Forrest Gump, of all things.

Sherry Gloag said...

Great to know you have so much good going on and wonder how you manage to squeeze in any writing at all with that horrendous overtine schedule you've had recently.
I love your photos, you have an amazing setting.

Amy said...

You're right--time is getting more and more rare. Today I nearly had a nervous breakdown as I couldn't get everything (or much of anything) done at work and have another 5 hours of overtime tonight. My writing has suffered.

I've got to get back to writing more...somehow. We need more hours in the day!