Out of Hibernation

It's been a long time since I've been this busy.  I don't think I've ever had a stretch of out and out craziness since I started this blog.  Has it really been over two months since I posted here?  Wow!

Well, let's catch you up.

Editing has taken over long stretches of time at the Elf Killing desk.  Over the past few months, I've worked with a lot of authors both at Aspen Mountain Press and at Aurora Regency: Marguerite Butler two books--both Regencies in her Mad Hatterlys series), Kimberly Nee (two books, both historicals, in her McKenzie Brothers series at Aurora), Andy Dunn (a new author with a fabulous gay romantic comedy), Lizzie T. Leaf (two books--her Cougar Club hit Butterfly Kisses and the latest in her DEAD series of erotic paranormal romances), LB Gregg (two books: the fourth in her Men of Smithfield series In and Out and her really fabulous Halloween m/m erotic romance Dudleytown), Cindi Myers (two books, both reissues of her successful string of books from the nineties--A Willing Spirit  and  Patchwork Hearts), Jennifer Horsman (her re-release of Magic Embrace), Arabella Sheraton (one of our Aurora pre-launch Regencies The Dangerous Duke), Helen Hardt (her latest Cougar Club story, Calendar Boy, came out last Friday), Sloane Taylor (with three of her Naughty Ladies of Nice erotic romances), Cynnara Tregarth, Amber Skyze, Addison Avery, Colleen Stormer...so yeah, I've been swamped.  That's not even counting all the work we're doing to get ready for Aurora's official launch on October 15th.  Things have been hectic and wild and somehow, I'm managing to scrape through.

But things are also busy on the writing front. The second book in The Vampires Covenants series, Warding the Covenants, comes out this Friday.  Rob Graham and I co-authored that book and I'm so glad it's finally heading out the gate.  I've been really preoccupied with completing the final book in the series, Defending the Covenants.  This book is entirely mine--Rob is no longer involved with the project--and should be coming out from AMP in January.  I'm also still working on the fourth Mythos book, which I hope to finish before the end of the month.

And wait--there's still more--

It looks like my new fantasy project, Primordia, is going to be completed in time for me to pitch it at the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus at the end of October. I'm very excited about it--it's different from anything I've ever written before.

So we shall see.

At any rate, here's a peek at the cover for Warding the Covenants, which comes out on Friday, and the blurb.  I hope you're looking forward to it!

When Marcellin Dautin is named the Elder of Venice, fledgling vampire Marguerite and her husband Gunther agree to accompany him in hopes of learning more about the Russian revolt against the Conclave of Elders. After an ancient renegade vampire murders the Doge, they are drawn into a dangerous hunt for the assassin.

But as Marguerite's powers grow, so too does the danger. Some vampires oppose Marcellin's rule over Venice, the renegade has begun to stalk Marguerite and her old Russian enemies are determined to capture her and the Elder's sword she bears. While Venice dances through the Carnivale season, Gunther must lay aside all restraint to protect his young wife. Can they remain true to the Covenants they've pledged to preserve or will their love shatter under the strain of Warding the Covenants?

Mythos 3: Beloved of a Mortal Now Available

The third book of my mythological romance series, Mythos 3:Beloved of a Mortal, has been released and is now available through Aspen Mountain Press.

After a prophecy that Thetis’ son would be greater than his father, the male gods of Olympus shun her. She is now an outcast, wandering the mountains in Greece and seething against the petty motivations of the other immortals.
Peleus is a Greek hero and warrior prince. On a visit to the king of Iolcos, he fends off the advances of the Queen. When she lies to her husband and claims Peleus is in love with her, the King strands Peleus on a mountain. Only the intervention of a beautiful immortal saves him from a horrible death.
Peleus and Thetis fall in love, but their future is uncertain. Can Peleus overcome the obstacles the gods have set in his way? Or will Thetis be strong enough to fight for the man she loves? When a goddess is the beloved of a mortal, only the help of those who love her can save her from the anger of the gods.

I love release days.  They're always so exciting.  There's something really cool about seeing the link to your book go live and knowing that people who have read the previous books and love the series are going to be reading your work over the weekend and (hopefully) loving this book too. 

This book has a particularly special place in my heart because it's a story I've always thought needed to be told.  The myth of Thetis and Peleus was extremely important to the Greeks but has been overlooked by more modern interpretations of Greco-Roman mythology.  I mean--these two are the parents of Achilles, the greatest warrior of anitquity and the hero (albeit a whiny hero) of the Trojan War!  And while the relationship between Thetis and Peleus was extremely rocky after their marriage, the characters still genuinely loved each other and their son.

So why not tell it?

It won't be long before Mythos 4 is completed and I'll talk more about it in the weeks ahead.  But, until then, here's my latest offering and I hope you like it.

Time Off Comes to a Close

So, yeah--my time off from blogging is done.  I've been writing and editing, but after A Month In The Life, I figured you guys deserved A Fortnight Of Silence.

All done now. It actually works out fairly well.  I've had a not-quite-stellar couple of weeks physically, including a brutal bout of insomnia and (of course) a lot of back pain.  That aside, it's still been pretty productive though.  I finished the first draft of Harlequin, which may or may not be the sequel to Deception Enters Stage Left.  I wrote the story to make. the. characters. shut. up. (Ever have a story like that? One that just wants to keep on going? Some gene in my DNA makes me want to write years' worth of fantasy soap opera. Not such a bad thing...) I'm getting close to finishing the final Covenants story--Defying The Covenants. We're shooting for a Halloween-area release on that one at AMP.  Mythos has hit the backburner.  My editor has the third book and I'm holding off on number four until I get Covenants done.

All that being said, some interesting things popped up on my Google Alerts today--a pair of reviews for the last two Asphodel books: Tempation of Asphodel and Apostle of Asphodel.  Bitten by Books had this to say about Temptation:

"...excellent tales and everything a good fantasy should be. They are multifaceted with a sweet innocence for the heroine that is definitely in contradiction to modern urban fantasy which portrays women as hard and uncompromising. Tamsen is hard when she needs to be yet compassionate and questioning when warranted....I would definitely recommend for fantasy lovers of any ages. Celina Summers slays this series!"

Hard to find fault with a review like that, especially when they follow up immediately with this about Apostle:

"...This tale is EPIC! This is the final chapter to a grand series with all of the tales in it at four-hundred plus pages. There are several worlds with different races (former enemies of the elves, the humans, or the sorcerers) coming together to battle a great evil. This series has over a dozen significant characters coming together from several of the previous tales to unite in love and mutual respect to recreate a great battle in Ilia; hopefully this time all of the characters reminiscent of the past battle will prevail, stop several curses, and eliminate a god...I would recommend it for the young or not so young dragon or harpie slayer. Slay on, Celina Summers, I will be watching for you to produce the next Harry Potter, because you have the killer writer gene!"

I love reviews like these, not only because they are very flattering but also because this is the review of a reader who got it. Know what I mean?  Sometimes, at least for me, I find making that connection is more gratifying than the raves. (Yeah, Celina--right) I love it when someone finds the dichotomy in my main character (Tamsen was written intentionally as a response to the hard, brittle fantasy heroine. I wanted to make sure she retained her humanity even in a world of elves and centaurs--and a tender love coupled with crippling emotional blows make a character more credible, in my point of view at least) or recognizes the scope in which I've written the story (the battle in Ilia--the second Trojan War in my imagined world of Asphodel--and how that one event can culminate multiple story lines). And while I really hope I produce the next Harry Potter--who wouldn't?--the fact that this reviewer saw past the story and into what I was trying to do means so much and gives me something to build from as I move into other stories.

Which, considering that Asphodel is another one of those stories where the characters. just. won't. shut. up. is a very good thing.

Well. Back to work.  I'm glad to be back to blogging; it's time to kick my daily routines back into high gear.

Mythos 2:Daughter of the Sea Now Available!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's out!

Mythos 2: Daughter of the Sea is now available at Aspen Mountain Press.

The young gods of Olympus have pursued the sea god Nereus’ daughters, Amphitrite and Thetis, since they grew to maturity. The sisters are used to the adoration of immortal men and like the attention they receive. But when the imprisoned Titan, Prometheus, makes a prophecy that Thetis’ son will be greater than his father, the gods shun the beautiful nymph. Thetis hides herself away from Olympus, leaving her sister Amphitrite angry and in no mood to deal with the fickle tastes of men.

When the King of the ocean, Poseidon, watches Amphitrite dance at a feast upon Olympus, he falls instantly in love with her. His attempts to court Amphitrite end in disaster; she flees to the one place in the three realms where no Olympian can go. Can Poseidon find some messenger to break through her anger and win her heart? Or will the great god of the oceans be spurned by this daughter of the sea?

I have to tell you, I absolutely LOVE this story.  I liked writing Amphitrite--who is underknown in the Greco-Roman mythologies--because I could get away from proscribed personalities or tendencies.  I could make her (and her sister, Thetis, in the next book) more my own.  Amphitrite is a no-nonsense kick ass kind of heroine who makes Poseidon jump through hoops.  HER hoops. Literally.

Can't argue with that.

At any rate, you can take a look at Daughter of the Sea on the Aspen Mountain Press website for now and major third party distributors within the week.

And don't forget to enjoy the best abs in mythology on the cover, too.  Hard to argue with a god that looks like one. Special kudos to Tuesday Dube for the fantastic cover and a big shout out to Lori Basiewicz, my long-suffering editor.

Y'all enjoy!

Take a Gander at our Banner!

Yippee!

As you know, fellow AMP author LB Gregg and I went in on a banner for the RT Convention. Well, got out of the morning session and our banner is hanging in the bar!  Check it out:

More than a little stoked. The banner looks awesome and any time you have a banner in the bar at a writers/readers' convention it's got to be a good thing!

The morning session was awesome.  Jade Lee was back for more character development, while Linnea Sinclair and Stacey Kade taught a fantastic  workshop on staying inspired that was a lot of fun and very beneficial.  Bobbi and Judi gave a great lecture (and test) on self-editing that gave me a really good glimpse into what I should be looking for as both a writer and an editor in the manuscripts I'm working on.

The majority of the AMP writers are on their way, and I'll be meeting them this afternoon and still trying to figure out this darn promotional lane stuff. *sigh* But, this afternoon are the editor/agent panels in this workshop and I'm really looking forward to that.

Time for one more smoke (hopefully without rolling my ankle and falling on my ass like I did earlier) and then back to the workshop! Yippee!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010--Second Day of RT

Got a FANTASTIC new review yesterday for Mythos 1: Bride of Death from Siren Book Reviews.  The reviewer must have REALLY liked it. Check this out:

Forget everything you ever thought you knew about Hades, and dive into the Underworld, with the refreshed eyes of a virginal maiden goddess. Loose yourself in Celina Summers captivating tale of the Bride of Death.


Celina's vivid descriptions of the gods, their duties and the realms they rule, will give you a crash course in Greek Mythology, leaving you begging for more.

Wow.

She gave BOD four and a half out of five siren stones (stars, hearts, whatever) and finished up by saying this:

Hades' courtship of Persephone is romantic, even as the connection they share is overflowing with passion. The purity of his feelings for her, and her devotion to him remain profound even until the very end of the book.


Kudos to Aspen Mountain Press for the beautiful cover and near perfect editing, as it further enables the reader's enjoyment of Mythos: Bride of Death. I highly recommend this book and will come back to it again and again as a favourite read.

 
Wow, thanks!  You can read the entire review here.
 
More from RT later! I'm back in class and Jade Lee is here again. I need to listen. :)

A Month In The Life--Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Guess what I've got???!?!?!?

Holy hell!  Yes I do!  I have cover art for Mythos 2: Daughter of the Sea!

I totally love this cover.

Audrey and I worked for about eight hours straight today--not counting baby play breaks, of course--and the TO DO list is shrinking steadily.  We walked to the fabric store and picked up more supplies, and then spent a fun afternoon watching the baby in her bouncer and working on my display. 

A great day. Productive too.

A Month in the Life--April 3, 2010

Saturdays are usually my 'light' days.  Usually, I focus on house cleaning, managing whatever latest family tragedy is underway, take some time for some light reading, play with the cats--that sort of thing.  With Shannon going to school at lightspeed (he's finishing up his Microsoft certifications) my Saturdays are my alone day, to be divided up between taking care of the house and taking a much needed intellectual break.  I do get some writing in, but only if I want to or a story is driving me.

So yeah, obviously that didn't happen this week.

I woke up hurting worse.  One of the problems of any back injury is that you hurt at increasing levels for a few days after you've had some kind of impact or new injury.  It took a looooooooooong time to loosen up enough to get out of bed.  Regardless, I was still up and ready to start the day at seven-thirty--half an hour before I'm supposed to wake up.  A good omen, I'm thinking.  So, after hobbling to the kitchen to get my new ice pack, I set myself up on the couch and prepared to get busy.  I wasn't quite in the mood to write, so I decided to send out the previous day's two releases on to reviewers--thus freeing up my late afternoon on Sunday, which is when I usually do review subs. In addition to the usual round of sites, I added a few more for The God's Wife, sending it to about eight more reviewers than usual.  I then rearranged the release schedule for AMP, pushing back a manuscript that wasn't going to be ready and bumping up a release that was already in early.  One of my writers, Eden Elagbri,  wanted me to take a look at her book trailer--which led into an email exchange about promotional ideas.  Two new reviews came out yesterday including the first one for Mythos 1: Bride of Death, from Love Romances and More.  The reviewer gave me four hearts and said:

Everyone knows either one or another of the many interpretations of Hades & Persephone’s story and Ms. Summers delivers a fresh take on it. The intensity of her storyline completely took me away and you could almost feel the wind of the Underworld on your face as Persephone did the first time or the way Hades showed her what she looks like to him-beautiful and desirable. I could actually see it playing out in my mind like a movie, one I would gladly fork over money to see in the future. Ms. Summers is a masterful storyteller who completely captivates her readers from the first page to the last. With a broad stroke of her pen, she creates multi-dimensional characters, a fast paced storyline and sprinkles in a romance so tender it brings tears to your eyes. The sex scene didn’t take away from the story at all, but enhanced it as Hades shows Persephone the delights of passion. After reading BRIDE OF DEATH, I had to race to see when the next Mythos book will be out as there is a hint of who is next to fall to love’s (or Eros’s) arrow. If you enjoy a new romantic take on an ancient myth, then grab BRIDE OF DEATH. I highly recommend it and hope the author doesn’t leave us waiting too long for the next one.

I think she liked it.  Naturally, when an AMP book gets a great review, it's part of my job to post that information on the loops.  So that turned into an hour of playing around on the internet--which I'm entitled to, damnit.

During the process of which, I fell asleep.  It's only to be expected; I haven't been getting much sleep. I also hardly ever take naps--usually only if I'm sick or hurt.  While I was asleep, the dang ice pack turned into a puddle. (sigh)  It was then that I noticed the bottom of my foot (the one where the ankle rolled on me to cause the problem in the first place) was a nice lovely shade of black. Not blue. Not green. Not purple. Black.

Lovely.

While I was napping, I got a couple of completed manuscripts from two of my authors, so I decided to sit down and write out the Aurora editing schedule and added that into my daily schedules for the rest of the month.  Then I got the final edits for Mythos 2: Daughter of the Sea. I spent a few hours going through the manuscript, looking for any errors, and finally sent it back to my editor (Lori) with the feeling of a job well done.

By this time, it was after eight and Shannon was home.  I kicked his ass in a quick game of Monopoly (quick lasting two hours) and then got into bed and watched the Ten Commandments. I love this movie, and it's one of my Easter traditions. (My other traditional movie is Ben Hur, but I save it for tomorrow) Thank God for the DVR, though--I sped through all those damned annoying commercials and went through the movie in a mere four hours instead of five.  And then, I decided to go see what Shannon was doing in the living room.  I slid out of bed, catching myself with my left hand so I wouldn't land too hard, and a second later screamed in pain.

The other nasty side effect of an impact is bursitis, which is a painful inflammation of the shoulder. The first time I got bursitis was a few weeks after my father-in-law was acting like an idiot and pretending to drive through the garage door.  He slammed on the brakes at the last second and I slammed into the back of his seat, ending up in the ER two weeks later unable to lift my arm.  So now it's my right ankle, my left knee, the whole of my lower back and my left shoulder hurting--and I'll be honest enough to tell you that not even my formidable pain medication is working on it. Make no mistake--first thing Monday morning, my physician is getting a call.

Word count--light. Only 4k in and amongst everything else, mostly on the Terella WIP.  Total time spent working: also light. I only worked about nine hours between review submissions, editing, writing and business emails.

A Month in the Life--April 2, 2010 Good Friday

When I woke up this morning, I really kind of wished I hadn't. Everything that hurt yesterday hurt twice as bad after a night on the couch. (The cats were rampaging through the house last night and keeping me awake.  I ended up closing the doors to every room but the living room and kitchen and moving the butcher block in front of the cabinets so I could remove the noisiest feline toys from their access.  The cats punished me by drinking all the water out of the fountain and discovering a new way to use dry cat food as cat toys all over the house.) At any rate, when I woke up I was already two hours behind schedule.  My husband had stayed home to take me to the doctor if I thought I should go.

I did think I should go.  For one thing, going to the emergency room would not only cost a fortune, but since I'm a chronic pain patient they (a) wouldn't give me anything for the pain, which kind of negates the idea of going to the ER in the first place and (b) would tell me to call my doctor.  I figured I'd be saving a step by going straight to him.

Totally forgot it was Good Freaking Friday.  You guessed it--no doctor, and no chance of a doctor until Monday.  So I had to reevaluate the situation--could I make it through the whole weekend?  In the end, we determined that--since the ER would only do x-rays and tell me to go to my doctor who (as is his right on a holiday weekend) wasn't there, we might as well stay home and wait until Monday.

So Shannon, after making sure I had everything in reach I could possibly need and giving me brand spanking new ice packs, went on to Columbus to salvage what was left of his day and I turned my mind to the scheduled activity of the day--mailing out review submissions.

I'm the Review Coordinator for Aspen Mountain Press, and every week I set aside time to send copies of our new releases out for review. Depending on the genre of each book, I submit AMP books to a core of about fifteen sites--adding a few different ones for genre novels (sci fi, fantasy, historical and so forth).  The majority of our releases are either romance or erotica.  The two books I submitted on Friday weren't our latest releases: they were the releases from the past two Fridays. (I like to send out in bulk) So knowing I would have two more books to submit later that day, I went ahead and sent these two out.  Both books were gay (m/m) erotic romances, so they would go to the same sites, and both books were ones I'd edited so I wanted to make sure they hit all the review sites possible.

I always block out about four hours for review submissions.  Not does AMP submit to a lot of sites, but each site has its own submissions requirements.  At some sites, I have to fill out a review request form and THEY let ME know when they want a book to review.  Others want the books emailed in advance--and then want different information: some want the ISBN, some want the length of the book, some want you to describe exactly what might be offensive to a reader.  At any rate, it's a long process.  Not a single review site lets you attach the book and send an email that says, "Yo--here's the books this week. Peace out."

But while working on that for my allotted four hours, I got a brainchild. And, as is normal, that brainchild involves more work for me.  I decided to volunteer myself (and my editor Lori because I'm nice like that) to create a blurb/tagline writing workshop for the AMP authors.  The tagline and blurb are the only chances writers have to hook a reviewer--and by extension a reader. It's the writer's chance to sell his or her book. But some writers (like me) suck at writing blurbs.  I'm good with other people's blurbs, but for some reason the ones I write for my own work blow.  A blurb is basically the back cover copy of a book.  Online, that blurb is used as the mini-synopsis of the book. It's what readers use to decide whether they're going to purchase the book or not--or, in the case of a reviewer, review the book.  Those reviews are the best promotional tool a new writer has.  Great reviews will not only give your book publicity, but will also convince readers to give you a shot for the first time.  So you can't undervalue their importance. 

A few emails later, and I added another block of work/time to my schedule. Lori and I are going to get together this weekend and work on putting together an online workshop as well as worksheets to go to AMP editors and writers.  More on that as it progresses.

Then I wrote a guest blog post for Raine Delight's website.  Raine and I have been friends for many years--she's an up and coming erotica writer out of Buffalo, NY.  I'd promised her this blog entry a couple of weeks ago, but had scheduled to write it today.  So, with a fresh ice pack (I don't think my ankle is supposed to be as big as my blown out knee. Just sayin'...) applied to my technicolored appendages, I wrote out a long blog post about the resurrection of Regency romance.  You can check it out on her website. Not too shabby if I say so myself.  So having gotten that in, I crossed it off my list.

I then sent Lena Austin, a wonderful author and all-around classy lady congratulations on the release of her book The God's Wife.  (If you love ancient Egypt and a story of female empowerment, you need to check this book out.  Here's the buy link: http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/the-god-39-s-wife/prod_310.html .) I'd edited the story for her.  The God's Wife  is the story of Hatchesput and how she rose from just one of Tutmoses II's wives to Pharaoh in her own right.  Lena had released a version of this story earlier with another publishing company, but wanted to explore the story in greater depth. (One of the great things about AMP is that there aren't any requirements a writer has to meet with their work. I had one company tell me they wouldn't publish my work unless I cut the majority of the plot and added three more sex scenes so I know whereof I speak.) So we'd worked together on it.  I let her explore the story to her heart's desire, only reining her in if she was headed out on a tangent. I can recognize those from how many tangents I write into my own work. Tangents are fun to write and easy to move off on, but they inevitably fall to the editor's pencil.  At any rate, I sent her a note letting her know how pleased and proud I was of her and the incredible story she'd written.  Always good to spread a little love toward your authors, and spreading love to Lena is not only easy, but a pleasure. She's such a doll!

Then it was time to work. *By this time, it was already past three* I'm getting the Aurora Regencies ready for first edits and waiting for one manuscript from AMP to finish up before then.  so on Friday, it was all about writing.  I got another 18k written on Defying the Covenants, working around review requests and email exchanges. I set up a couple of conferences for Monday--one with an author and another with the head of the art department at AMP to discuss the overall theme and look of the Aurora Regency line. 

Shannon came home at six and spent much of his evening being an absolute doll, helping me out by doing all my running back and forth for me and worrying more than he probably should.  When at eleven I finally settled down in bed to try and get some sleep, he finally relaxed enough to go to sleep himself.  But I stayed awake--not sure why.  I watched a movie on tv (W.--Oliver Stone's ridiculous film about George W. Bush) thinking it would put me to sleep. It didn't. It just made me mad.  So I pulled the laptop back out and worked for a couple of hours, outlining the fourth and fifth Mythos books and getting about 6k down on the Terella WIP.  Total word count for the day--24,809 over the course of 8 hours. World building/outlining time spent: One and a half hours. Time spent on business--about six hours all said and done.

All in all, a fairly satisfying day, if pain ridden and somewhat slower than usual, I still met all my goals.

And More New Information~!

You may have noticed that the countdown clock is going...

Yep. We have a release date! Mythos 2: Daughter of the Sea will be released by Aspen Mountain Press on May 7th!  Want to hear more about it?  Okay--here we go:

The young gods of Olympus have pursued the sea god Nereus’ daughters, Amphitrite and Thetis, since they grew to maturity. The sisters are used to the adoration of immortal men and like the attention they receive. But when the imprisoned Titan, Prometheus, makes a prophecy that Thetis’ son will be greater than his father, the gods shun the beautiful nymph. Thetis hides herself away from Olympus, leaving her sister Amphitrite angry and in no mood to deal with the fickle tastes of men.


When the King of the ocean, Poseidon, watches Amphitrite dance at a feast upon Olympus, he falls instantly in love with her. His attempts to court Amphitrite end in disaster; she flees to the one place in the three realms where no Olympian can go. Can Poseidon find some messenger to break through her anger and win her heart? Or will the great god of the oceans be spurned by this daughter of the sea?

Heh. I love that storyline.  At any rate, the adventures of Amphitrite and Poseidon will be released on May the 7th and I'm excited about it!
 
In other news...
 
I've received two new reviews this week.  ChrisChat Reviews  posted articles about both The Asphodel Cycle 3: Temptation of Asphodel and  Vampire Covenants 1: Breaking the Covenants.
 
About  Temptation,  the reviewer said in part:
 
"...As a reader, we all love tightly written tales. Stories which move quickly and have moments of calm where we can breath a little, where the characters can relax before the next surprise, the next battle. As a reviewer, these tales make my day. I love books which carry me away with their telling and have me forgetting I’m suppose to be looking for the positives and any negatives. Ms. Summers continues to capture the reader in me, while making me, the reviewer, forget what I’m suppose to be reading for..."
 
About Breaking the Covenants, co-written with Rob Graham, she writes:
 
"...In BREAKING THE COVENANTS you will be introduced to many other characters…the characters that guide, hinder, protect, and use Marguerite and Gunther. My favourite is Marcellin. I don’t want to tell much about Marcellin—he’s a character one must discover for oneself—I’m already hoping for a story of his own.Truthfully, there are other characters within BREAKING THE COVENANTS, which could easily carry their own separate story. Ms. Summers, Mr. Graham, was that a subtle enough hint? I am eagerly waiting book two. .."
 
ChrisChat Reviews gave both books a FOUR out of FOUR. Not too shabby, eh?
 
And, so--today some of my promo items came in for the RT Convention.  I'm excited--the little document stands look great and are a really nice gift for readers.  Everyone wants something to hold up a document when they're typing, right?  And instead of the big, bulky ugly metal ones, what could be nicer than a small, red, portable document stand...with my name and website address on it?
 
Right! Nothing.
 
*grin*
 
OW.  That hurt.  The emergency root canal turned into TWO root canals this morning.  I was in the dentist's chair from eight am until just before three and my jaw is SCREAMING at me.  That's enough blogging for today.  See you next time!
 
Oh, by the way--want a document stand?

Breaking the Covenants Moving Up Bestseller List!

Oh forgot this too--

Breaking The Covenants, the maiden novel in the Vampire Covenants series I'm co-writing with Rob Grahqwam is now at 32nd on the Fictionwise Bestseller list for Dark Fantasy! We're catching up with books by Charlain Harris and Stacia Kana so I'm totally excited!

AND...

Right now, Aspen Mountain Press' top two bestsellers at Mobipocket are BOTH my books!  Mythos 1: Bride of Death tops all other AMP books while The Asphodel Cycle 4: Apostle of Asphodel  is in second place.  So yeah--I'm having a GREAT week in sales.  Thanks to all of you for that!

Way Too Much To Do

It never fails that on a day when you have way too much to do, your body suddenly sits up, screams, "Hell, no! I'm not doing squat!" and provides you with the fabulously entertaining afternoon of trying to explain to the rest of the world why you're not getting done what you need to be getting done.

For example...and don't be so modest. You knew it was coming.

For example--I have two of my own books in edits right now. Both Covenants 2: Warding the Covenants and Mythos 2: Daughter of the Sea are with two entirely different editors.I am also editing two--no, three!--manuscripts for three entirely different writers. Plus, I am writing three...no, four contracted works at the moment and really busting my ass to get Mythos 3: Beloved of a Mortal in shape which means, naturally, that the muse wants to work on any. story. but. that. one.  The kids are coming home next weekend for our wedding anniversary, which means I need to get the house in order and the guest room de-catted.  Then I'm sending the girls with their girls to go get Easter portraits made for all the grandparents and great grandparents.  Then I'm still waiting on my promotional document stands to get here for the RT convention; they have to go in the closet by the sports bottles I got last week. Plus I need to make all my promotional gear for RT--business cards, postcards, bookmarks, cover flats, CDs and covers, table decorations, gift baskets and so forth--NOT TO MENTION the costumes for the two costumed events and work on my pitch and get my other agent-ready manuscripts finalized and start promotion for the nest Mythos book and the next Covenants book AND I have to do review submissions for AMP AND work on royalties AND wade through the slush pile for Aurora Regency and start to whittle it down to viable submissions AND I'd intended to do so much of this this week, starting today, so I sat down for a minute to eat a roll and watch my new favorite and only non-TIVOed television show (Undercover Boss on CBS at 9 pm EST on Sundays--the only show my husband and I both like and watch together so it's our weekly date) and as I bit into the roll--a soft yeast roll, because I love them--something strange happened and...and...

The tooth I was going to have a root canal on the week after this snapped off at the jawline.

The WHOLE tooth, save for a few purgatorial spears of bone, came out in my hand when I spit the strange hard object from my mouth.

First off, I'd just like to point out that considering how much I'm paying for dental care, this really annoys me.

Second, a big I TOLD YOU SO!!! to my dentist who insisted last month that the tooth would make it five more weeks until the root canal.  No, Doc--sorry. It didn't.  And I wasn't chewing ice. I was eating a soft yeast roll.

And, naturally, my third thought was OUCH!

Owowowowowowowowowowow--man does that hurt!  So, despite the hectic schedule this week and the work that is piling up faster than bonbons on a conveyor belt when Lucy is manning the line, everything comes to a screeching halt while I try to coordinate enough time--not only on my schedule but the dentist's--to get this little problem corrected all the time not looking in the mirror at my homage de la Alvin and the Chipmunks facial swelling and seeing double anyway.

All that spring forward crap? I sprang forward--and it looks like I sprang right into a brick wall.

Oh, by the way--I'll blog more about this tomorrow BUT be sure you head to my friend Gini Koch's website on Wednesday, March 24.  She's interviewed me for her site and you might find it funny.  Gini's sci fi novel Touched by an Alien is about to be released by DAW books and is available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. 

Gini is one of the most prolific writers I know. She writes faster than I do, and that's some trick. She's also a hell of a damn good writer with sharp characters and completely amazing world building skills.  I don't say this about many writers so you know I'm telling it like it is.  Hop on over to her website and check it out.  You'll enjoy it--I promise.  Be sure you take a look at Touched by an Alien too.  I've already pre-ordered my copy and you won't regret picking yours up too.  I guarantee you--she's a future Hugo winner! I have faith in her.

Um... So What Exactly Do I Say?

So, at the Romantic Times convention, I have an appointment with an agent and also with an editor for a major publishing house. I'm thinking the chance for a sit down one on one pitch session is a chance for me to excel.  After all, I was a professional actor for a long time. A nationally recognized public speaker. A bartender.  I can talk to anyone. Right?

Yeah, but what do I say?

Let me think: 

"Hello, Mr/Ms Big Time New York Agent/Editor For A House I Would Die To be Contracted By!  My name is Celina Summers. I write speculative fiction with a heavy dose of romance. I focus upon strong female protagonists and I'm really headed for the top!  Now--fork over my contract or I won't buy you a drink in the bar..."

Nope. Not it.

"Yo, babe. My name's Celina. You can call me Your Majesty.  I have the best manuscript in the world, the next great American novel--a guaranteed blockbuster that will make JK Rowling and Stepheny Meyer look like rank amateurs..."

Nope. Not it either.

"Um...hi.  Um...I wrote this book, you know? And it's about weird people who fall in love.  And magic. Can't forget the magic. And I like cats..."

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Wrong answer.

"You know, I queried you last week/month/year and you didn't request my manuscript so I figured I'd show up here and tell you why you were wrong..."

Next!

"My name is Celina and I am an alcoholic..."

Nope. Not a good idea.

"Hi. My name is Celina Summers.  Right now, I have five manuscripts completed in the genres of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and high fantasy.  Three are standalone books and two are the first books of potential series.  Chances are if you tell me what you're looking for, I have a manuscript that'll fill that need..."

Not bad, but the subtext would be "...and if it's not, I'll damn sure make certain it is before I send it to you..."

So let me think. What would I say?

This makes me fall back on the long days of cattle call auditions.  When you're auditioning for a role, you not only want to do a great job interpreting the script but you want to make certain you're memorable to the casting director.  Now, there were many occasions that I was memorable--mostly because I face-planted on the way onto the stage or did something completely stupid like tucking the back of my skirt into my panty hose.  (I don't recommend that as a good way to get a role, by the way--although I did manage to land that one for some odd reason)

So I'm going to have to rely on instinct.  Let's see where that takes me.

In a one on one situation, the best way to be memorable is to be personable and unaffected.  Fortunately, I'm very comfortable speaking with strangers.  I like to put people at their ease.  In an eight minute scheduled appointment with an agent or editor, I need to be able to do that swiftly.  I need to be able to get across as much information as possible as quickly as I can.  That means being able to boil my pitch (my query letter) down into three or four well-chosen sentences.  I need to relate my experience, publishing history and strengths as a writer without sounding like an overbearing asshat.

My manner, which in my debate days was kindly described as "formidable" and somewhat more accurately called "bitchy," needs to be calm and pleasant. And above all, I need to arrive at a point as soon as I possibly can where the agent/editor can ask me questions--and THAT means I need to make them interested in my work.

So to start off with, I think my best bet is to get that presentation as efficient as I possibly can and then work from there.  Keep an eye out on the blog--I'm going to make notes as we get closer to convention time and let you know what I'm thinking.  Then, as I'm planning an extensive blogging experience at RT, I'll let you know how my plans worked or if they didn't.

Oh, I haven't mentioned that yet have I? I will be updating my blog a minimum of three times a day at the RT Convention and I'll share as much as I can of the experience.  I'll be heading into it with a lot of momentum too.  Mythos 1: Bride of Death  is currently AMP's #1 seller on Mobipocket and Breaking the Covenants is currently ranked 35th on the Fictionwise Best Seller list for Dark Fantasy.

Aha!  Something else I can say.  Amazing how that works.

Plotting and Plotting

It's all I seem to be doing these days--plotting.  No, not against people. Plotting new storylines. Or, in the case of Terella, replotting. 

Every writer plots.  Not all of us outline--personally, I prefer to sit around and make notes and then just let the story happen as it may.  But, regardless of what I'm writing, there's one thing I absolutely know whenever I poise my fingers above my keyword and prepare to type "CHAPTER ONE."

The ending.

I always know how the story is going to end.  If I don't know how it's going to end, how am I going to fully develop the path the story takes to get to the end?  It's impossible.  There's no way I could have written Tamsen's story if I hadn't known that at the end of The Asphodel Cycle, one of the primary characters was going to...erm...die.  I think I would have written that character differently if I hadn't known; the character almost certainly wouldn't have taken on the importance that he/she ultimately did if I'd not planned that death.  The death serves a purpose, not only for the main character at that moment of the story but for any--ahem!--future Asphodel stories that I may or may not be working on at the moment.

Yeah, if I'd tried to be any more coy than I just was, my fillings would have jumped out of my teeth.  Suffice to say that while some writers have elaborate and detailed plot outlines of their stories, still others like myself don't outline at all.  Regardless of which method you prefer, I think it's fairly important that you at least know where the story is going to end up.  The Mythos series is pretty sweet that way--I don't have a choice about how the stories resolve.  Since I'm sticking to the original classical sources, anyone with Google-fu or Morford's mythology books would be able to determine the ultimate outcome of those stories.

So here I sit, like a spider in a web, stringing out my plotlines in my head and trying to determine how to make them work.  Terella has been giving me fits now for how long? Two years?  The main reason I'm having such trouble with it is because I didn't have the ending planned before I began to write. (Darn that NaNoWriMo stuff anyway!) But now that I have an ending I'm pleased with, I figure I have to cut at least 40% of the manuscript in order to get the storyline back on track.

Color me contented--I like a challenge.

Mythos 1: Bride of Death Now Published!

The first book of my new Greco-Roman mythology series, Mythos 1: Bride of Death has just been released!  The series is fantasy, but with a healthy dose of sensual content--after all, the Greco-Roman gods were a randy lot. Although I remain faithful to--and cite--the original classical sources, these books are most definitely for adults.

Bride of Death is available now at http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/bride-of-death/prod_304.html and will soon be available from major online retailers as well.

Synopsis:

When the mischievous god of love targets Hades, the god of death falls hopelessly in love with the spring maiden Persephone, the one immortal most ill-suited for his dark domain. Her mother Demeter will never allow the Lord of the Underworld to court her beloved daughter. The king of the gods proposes an unconventional solution: Hades may kidnap Persephone and take her to the Underworld to woo her. If Persephone agrees to marry hades, Zeus will support the match.

But neither god has reckoned on Demeter's inconsolable grief at the loss of her daughter. If Persephone is not returned to her, the goddess has vowed to destroy all life. Can Hades win Persephone's heart before her mother discovers who has taken her? Or will Persephone make her own wishes known as the intended bride of death? Even in the world of immortals, time is not on Hades' side.

Go check it out today!  And get ready--there's a lot more Mythos coming out this year!

Voting Now Open for LRC Best of 2009 Awards

Hey, everyone.

I'm just getting my pimp on for The Asphodel Cycle 4: Apostle of Asphodel's multiple nominations in the Love Romances and More E-Cafe Best of 2009 Awards.  If you want to vote, here's how you do it:

You need to send an email to dawn_roberto@yahoo.com with "LRC's Best of 2009 Awards" in subject line. Without that subject line, the email will be deleted. Then you vote by writing


Best Cover of 2009--Apostle of Asphodel (cover art by Renee George)

Best Fantasy Novel of 2009 -- Apostle of Asphodel by Celina Summers

Best Novel of 2009 -- Apostle of Asphodel by Celina Summers.

Feel free to copy and paste.

Voting runs from 2/15 to 2/23 and the results will be announced on 2/25. If you want to see the full list of nominees, you can do so at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesCafe/files/ but you have to be a member to access that page. You can join LRC by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesCafe. It's a fun place to meet authors of all genres in case you're into that sort of thing.

Stay tuned, too.  I'm getting ready to roll out all kinds of great stuff for the first Mythos book, Bride of Death--which comes out in ten days!  Lots of excerpts and other fun this week, so let's get to it!

Guess What????

We have cover art!

The cover for Mythos 1: Bride of Death was created by artist Tuesday Dube.  Ain't it cool???

And, as you may have noticed, the countdown clock is underway too.  Eighteen days?  Wow, that's close.  Might want to stay tuned--I have a feeling that tomorrow I'll have some exciting news to post. *grin* And, as soon as I get settled in after moving into my new house, I'll get back to blogging regularly too.

Eighteen days.  Wow.

Until then, GO COLTS!

News! News!

Well, I told you this was going to be a busy year for me so let me clue you in on something.

I have a new series coming from Aspen Mountain Press.  No, it's not another Asphodel series.  The series is entitled Mythos and it's a collection of reimagined Greco-Roman mythology.  You all know how I love my Homer and my Ovid. Well, now that love is bearing fruit.

Allow me to explain.

When I was in high school, I learned Latin and the classics from probably the best teacher I've ever encountered in my life--Grady Warren.  Because of Mr. Warren, I went to four state championships and three national championships and placed (or won) in the category of mythology.  I loved mythology. I adored it.  I was the mythology specialist on our certamen (quiz bowl) team and my nickname was Fauces, which is Latin for Jaws.

Yeah, I was a meek, shrinking flower even back in the day.

At any rate, that love of classics has stayed with me to this day.  Asphodel was a reimagining of the Trojan War. Mythos is comprised of modern retellings of classic Greek myths.  I wanted to write a series of novellas about some of the forgotten romances in mythology, the love stories that might not be as well remembered as the big ones like Helen of Troy and Paris or Odysseus and Penelope.  I wanted to look at minor deities like Persephone and Amphitrite, at surprising love affairs like Pygmalion and Galatea or Peleus and Thetis.  And above all, I wanted to breathe new life into these myths.

I wanted them to live again.

And so, Mythos.

The first book in the series is entitled  Bride of Death. It's the story of Hades, the god of the Underworld, and Persephone--how he abducted her and made her his Queen.  I always thought it was fascinating that a goddess of Spring could morph into a goddess of Death. I also thought it was such a lovely story in many ways--how the Spring Maiden could bring light into the realm of Death and its lonely ruler. 

And so--the big announcement: Bride of Death will be released by Aspen Mountain Press on Friday, February 26th!

These reimagined myths remain true to the original classical sources but they are definitely told in a modern narrative style.  A little bit smartass, a little bit elegant at times, but always told from a tight perspective and somewhat true to their original forms in that these myths are decidedly spicier than the classical sources the Victorians and medieval monks cleaned up beyond all recognition.  These are most definitely NOT teaching aids for children. The myths are R rated beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Which, of course, makes them a hell of a lot of fun to write.

So, keep an eye out for them! I expect to release a Mythos story every month this year.  I'll keep you posted on this blog and my website Shoot The Muse! about more pertinent details. 

Two Thousand Words A Day...or Lowering my Expectations

I have a huge contractual commitment this year.  I have to crank out all sorts of manuscripts in order to keep up, while still editing for my authors, editing previously submitted materials, continuing to submit outside of the contracted work and maybe even eke out a few minutes of my day for my family and home.  For the past few weeks, I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to meet--or exceed--my obligations. And, for the most part, I'm doing well.

But I think I want to follow my own advice.  I think I want to step back for a little while. It's like this:  the Mythos series I'm working on is comprised of novellas.  Those need to hit anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 words when complete.  Now then--when I do writing challenges, I average about 2,000 words per hour. So, thinking logically, I can complete the first draft of one novella every seven to ten days simply by sitting down for an hour and writing straight through.

So now, I need to figure out how to accomplish that.  If I work at my desk, I'll see all my plot outlines and worldbuilding notes tacked to the walls around me.  It distracts me easily and I'll get sidetracked very quickly, like I did last night.  I looked over at my husband in the middle of writing and behind him was a picture of a coral reef I'd tacked up on the board for use when describing a setting.  All of a sudden, I said, "Damn~! I don't even know what the name of that yellow fish is!"

On to Google.  The yellow fish question led to the "does that blue starfish have a name?" and from there to "where do dolphins like to be scratched?" and from THERE on to "are dolphin's young called calves or pups?"

Boom. Forty-five minutes down the tube.  I emerged from them wiser about all manner of affairs oceanographical (the answers are sunfish, no idea, anywhere but near the blowhole and calves) but vastly unproductive when it came to actually putting words down on the paper.

So working at the desk is out.  So is the living room and the bedroom.  Why? Television and the phones.  My daughter LOVES to text message me.  I love talking to her so I'll text message her back.  Before I know it, I'm typing my ass off--but on the cell phone and not the keyboard.  As for television, well, what can I say? I love paranormal shows and I have a TIVO. Diligence FAIL.

I swore when I got my new laptop that I was never going to hook it up to the internet.  My reasoning was that I'd used my old laptop for web surfing and keep this one pristine (and virus free) by using it only for writing and editing.  Well, that idea was flushed when my other daughter's laptop broke.  Now, every time I get on the computer, I always have to go check my email--which usually leads to an email I have to answer, and then I just cruise by Facebook, and then I just run to check my standings in the P&E Readers Poll, at which point I feel the need to go promote and push people to vote for me and...well, you get the picture.

I could always write longhand, but I can never find a good pen.

So here's my plan: I'll do that mandatory 2k at night, after all humans in the house have gone to sleep. There's never anything good on TV in the middle of the night, I won't get text messages from my daughters who are busy being new and sleep-deprived mothers, there's no one to hang out with online and even the people who need me to buy something from the 5k check they're sending me from Malaysia and oh! I can keep the change! won't send me more junk mail until seven am Eastern Standard Time.  You know--right before the banks open. So, I'm going to make it a rule: I'll write my daily blog entry first, then run off and do my two thousand words before I go to sleep.  If I stick to my schedule, I can reasonably produce a novella every two weeks and still have time to write on my big WIPs as well as edit the rest of the time.

Okay. Whew!  Glad that problem's solved.  Off to write.

My Mantra for 2010

"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist." -- Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)

I very rarely bother to follow the advice of other writers.  Usually, it just annoys me; every writer's journey is different, after all.  Some got their lucky break because their wife pulled a manuscript out of a trash can; others got their break because of their family's connections; still others sent out manuscript after manuscript for decades until they finally hit upon the right combination of story-agent-editor-publisher and found themselves inexplicably at the top of the field.  But Asimov's advice is one that really resonates with me.

In a nutshell, he claims that persistence is the secret of success.  If there's one thing I've got, it's persistence.

Now granted--I have had some small measure of success. And yet--I dream of more, of bigger, of prolific production of quality manuscripts that entertain the majority of people who read it.  I find that lately in my work, I'm getting bolder--I'm exploring issues and relationships and conflicts that once had no place in my creative mind.  I, who was once inordinately fond of the tropes of genre fiction, am now looking for a way to break out of them.

And still, the weary round of submissions goes on.  Every time I hit "send," I'm sending a little bit of my soul out to be examined and judged.  Now that bit of soul is twisted, warped perhaps from my comfortable, familiar world of fantasies and romance and long-dead honor into something where faith is questionable, where romance is an obstacle and where fantasies grow darker and more intimate.  Am I doing the right thing?

Who knows?

It doesn't matter.  I'll still keep working on them, wrenching them into a condition where I can sit back and say, "I trust this story on its own. Let's see what it can do."

I woke up this morning infused with a new, stronger sense of purpose.  I feel empowered, like something is waiting just around the corner for me if I have the guts to reach out and take it for myself.  I went through my works in progress briefly, analyzing them, looking at them from glasses that are no longer rose-colored, but more of a steely grey.  And you know what?

I like what I'm seeing.

So aside from the Mythos  and Covenants books, I'm going to dedicate a great deal of my focus and attention on the darkest work I've ever written. Terella is my new pet, rising in all its onyx glory to push past my other work. I think I've finally matured enough to really explore the depths of that work and the ideological horror it emerges from.  It's time to give it the attention it deserves.

If Asimov is right--if persistence is what leads to success--then well, I've got that in abundance. All the trepidation I've always felt when submitting to agents or publishers has vanished.  Now I'm looking at it as a challenge and not the soul-sucking agony I've felt in the past.  While Deception is still alive and kicking on a few desks across the country, its successor will be polished and shined until it's like obsidian--shiny, stygian and sharp.  Then we'll see if my currect instinct about my work is correct--if I'm more suited to creating the darker side of speculative fiction than the heroic side.