It's autumn, right?

California does not know what season it is. Well, that's pretty much true all the time, but right now my state REALLY does not have itself together. We're in the middle of a serious drought and there is no rain in sight. Rain is the only way we know it's fall or winter. Here's hoping the end of the month brings cooler temps and wet weather. I have a lot of hoodies I didn't get to wear last year.

Now that that bit of scintillating information is out of the way, let me tell you what you probably came here for.... no new snippets today from Never Too Early. I know, I'm sorry. But the good news is that release day is only 24 days from now! And if you're really hankering for some more good stuff about Jake and Tor and Chance and Tucker, my good friend Keira Andrews was nice enough to host a character interview.

Go HERE for that, and while you're there, take a look around her site. She's an excellent author and one of my favorites.

As always, you can click the covers below to buy Bareback and Heat so you're all caught up on the boys' backstories before November 5. See you in a week or two with more goodies and a contest!!

Project Update!

I haven't done an update in quite a while - it's been a crazy..oh...year or so.

Right now I'm working on the following projects:
* Music of the Heart (m/m erotic contemporary BV novel)
* Deepest Night (m/m erotic contemporary BV novella)
* In Service (m/m erotic steampunk sequel novel to Impressed)
* Desert Alchemy (m/f steampunk)

Just a few irons in the fire!

Bran's Visions is my celtic rock band (yah, I know. I can hear people whimper "not ANOTHER band" but trust me - they're interesting and can be sweet!) I've been working on Music of the Heart and had to cut a scene I really liked because it just didn't advance the story but then got a chance to rework it into a Yule story. Now to get it done asap - my editor doesn't need excuses to kill me :)

I'm still toiling away on Music of the Heart as well but right now In Service is a bit on a back burner. Too many projects and I don't get anything done!

New and newer

I had to sit down at a different computer to write this blog post. It doesn't happen often, but I have a novel in my head that is writing itself. On the one hand, uber-yay! It makes it a lot easier when all I have to do is type what the main character says. I've never had one who's quite this talkative before, either, but then she is 13 and so I guess shouldn't be surprised. That said, though, it means that if I boot up my laptop, I'm there for the duration, taking her dictation and not getting anything else done. Hence the writing this post on a different computer. I know, I know: Shut your whinging, Maia. You could have way worse problems than that. ;-P

In other news, my novella, False Dawn, releases on MONDAY 26 JULY! Whee! I will be partying over the weekend, starting Friday because all weekends should start on Friday, right? Too right! Of course, being on the other computer means I don't have my pretty pretty cover to upload for you, but you remember it, yes? Sun flare over a planet; lots of stars; and a hunky guy. Sure. You remember. Pop over to my blog, Just add coffee, Friday through Monday and comment to win a prize! There will be an excerpt (maybe two, we'll see) and a release day bonus scene and I don't know what else because I tend to host by the seat of my pants, rather like how I write. I hope to see you there!

Patience - I don't haz it

I see I'm not the only one with waiting on the brain. ::waves at Marty and yesterday's post::

Right now, though, I'm waiting on fewer people and fewer projects than I was a bare fortnight ago when last we met. I'm waiting on edits of my m/m space opera novella. (At least I know when to expect them.) And I'm waiting on my critique partner's beta of two of my manuscripts. (She promised the first of them when she gets back from the big RT Convention - yay for long fights and laptop batteries!) So, what am I doing while I'm waiting? Well, I've been waiting for so many things for so long that I wrote a sequel to my GLBT paranormal novel, recently revisited an unfinished f/f manuscript--for which I think I might have figured out how to solve The Big Conflict, so yay that--and have been beta-reading an enormous ms for a friend. Oh! And I've begun putting together notes for a third GLBT paranormal. (Gee, d'you think maybe I should submit the first one somewhere before I start the third? ::rolls eyes:: Yes, well, that falls under the waiting category again and I don't want to wait.) I think this goes beyond multi-tasking into the realms of brain-fry, and yet... I'm really excited to add more! I can't wait to dive into the m/m/f novel that my CP is beta-reading so that I can polish it for submission! Of course this means writing a synopsis, which (again, it seems, like Marty) I DO NOT ENJOY. I always sucked at book reports, and this is nothing but a grown-up book report. And then there will be the whole waiting-to-hear-from-the-publisher thing again. But even that cannot but momentarily dampen my enthusiasm. What does all this waiting teach me? It teaches me that I am not a patient person. I'm not. I'm really not. I'm totally hooked on instant gratification. And yet... Every job has its good and bad aspects, right? Even the jobs we love to do. And this is no different--except that, if I want to, I can do that job in my pajamas. ;) And so I pretend I am patient, and I wait, and I write more things while I'm waiting that I will just have to wait on again when they're written. It's a vicious cycle, but it's worth it.

Don't you hate the wait after sending in a manuscript to your editor? I have a huge weakness when it comes to writing a synopsis (no matter how many classes I take *sigh*), so I've found it much easier to complete the story before sending it off. I've only accepted a contract before the story was completed once, and well...the stress was way too much for me. Especially when the story, mostly the end, completely changed from the synopsis I sent. After some compromise between myself and my editor we ended up with a good story. And I swore never to do it again.

Anyway, I get off topic. (like the below picture ;) )

So what else does a writer do once the recent story is out of her hands? Start a new project, right? But how do you choose which plot bunny to work on. Usually I have two or three screaming at me at any given moment. Choices, choices. I try to go with the one that is yelling the loudest or the most clear in my mind. Sometimes it works, then again, sometimes another one pops up and decides to take the lead. It's a wonder I get anything done. lol
I'm happy to say that the two projects I'm working on are both m/m stories. :) I hope to get them completed soon...if my real life will calm down enough. But then, my kids are going on a school field trip to DC this week, so I'm hoping to have at least two days to really get a lot of work done. *crossing fingers*
So, if you are an author, how do you choose your next project? Any certain ritual?

Have a great week!!!