BREAKING NEWS! Craig was in my local library today. That was surreal but lots of fun. Apparently, he did usually pull partons over the counter for a big hug while sounding like Elvis. 'Gimme some sugar.' That sort of thing. We also had an earthquake in our neighborhood. According to the maps on the news, we were almost on top of the epicenter. It was fast, but it did feel like the building had been picked up and dropped. Still, I went right back to sleep. We are such Californians.
Reader Questions
I get interesting questions all the
time. The theme of the most recent ones have been 'You don't talk
about x anymore. Are you still doing that?' I seldom completely
abandon a practice or an idea. Usually, when I stop talking about
something in the blog, it's because I've hit a dull patch with said
activity. I mean, I don't know if my readers want to hear me wine
about every time the bread doesn't come out right or how the macarons
are mocking me after the many failed attempts. Yes, they are mocking
me, especially the supermarket macarons. I am still learning
Japanese. Some very kind friends have gifted me with the two major
audio learning systems that I use along with the books. The audio has
done wonders with my pronunciation. The manga has done wonders with
my kanji reading. I'm recognizing more and more on my own. My
favorite question from a reader about my learning Japanese was 'Am I
tempted to say Anjin-san after I say Konnichi wa (good afternoon). I
must admit that I really have to fight saying Konnichi wa, Anjin-san
to that poor supermarket clerk at Mitsuwa market. He's just stopped
being afraid of helping me. I think that is because he understands
the words coming out of my mouth. Okay, folks, that's two pop culture
references in one paragraph. No one knew who I was referring to in
the blog covering the Green Eyed Monster a couple of weeks ago. The
character was a homunculus called Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist. I
don't know how you all didn't know that. :) Anjin-san was the name
given to Richard Chamberlain's character by the Shogun in James
Clavell's Shogun. The upshot is that I'm still studying and
practicing and trying to to be irreverent to people who wouldn't get it..
Yoga is another matter. I still do the
warm-up exercises, but I didn't take to practice as a whole. I was still dealing
with pain issues when I started. Perhaps, due to that, I kept
thinking that I was injuring myself even with the mildest of the
movement. Tai Chi was suggested to me as an alternative by the
clinician providing acupuncture. While looking into it, I discovered
that very elderly people with all manner of aliments practice the
martial art without hurting themselves. I've seen reports that
indicate that Tai Chi can reverse a lot of conditions that cause
pain. The I've just begun learning the routines, but I am feeling an
impact from just the warm ups.
Dormant Books?
I think the single biggest surprise
I've had during the months and months I've been home is that I still
have to fight to find time to write fiction. Before I was discharged
from the hospital, I was plotting stories and contemplating a very
ambitious publishing schedule. Well, that was silly. Even if I set
aside all the physical things profoundly slowing my output, there
were the hours and hours of phone work to keep my insurance from
becoming a mess and other bureaucratic craziness from overwhelming
us. Those problems are not as frequent, but now there are other
obligations to my business partners or the people who give me
freelance work. Promoting any independent project is a time devouring
monster. Spending time with my own characters is very difficult for
me to justify on any given day. Today, for instance, I have to finish
this blog and move on to a trailer script that I need to get out in a
few days.
All of the above is an explanation for
why some books I'd hoped would be long out are still in various
states of undress as it were. And then, there is a problem common to
writers. Characters from one project will be speaking more clearly to
me than those in another project. Even though I started one book long before
the other, this can happen. It did happen with Ensnared. Lord Darius
Galetea is the most arrogant character I have ever written. He is
even more arrogant than Simon Molinar which he proved when he
shouldered his way past A Soldier's Destiny for my attention.
Granted, I was having trouble meshing Simon with my more established
characters, Rik and Vincent. But Darius is one of those super hot bad
boys that is impossible to ignore. He is still vying for another
book. Not right now, milord. I've figured out what was going wrong
with the narrative in this Soldier's book. And I have a hard
deadline. That helps a lot, it seems. I'm getting a whole lot more
fiction out since we decided to get a booth at the West Hollywood
Bookfair. I also intend to finish the Vincent Greven Cookbook that I
started years ago. I think my problem with writing a cookbook is that
I never thought of myself as someone who had original recipes. That
has changed markedly since I began that book. I've also been given a
great deal of information from cookbook authors and food bloggers on
how to attribute a recipe from another cook in my book. This book is
a giveaway for people who have purchased my yaoi titles. I am
thinking of writing a cookbook for myself, but that's still in the
pondering stage.
There is one more project that's been
gathering dust for a number of years. That was a script about at
Dominant/submissive relationship between a powerful businessman and a
woman he had known since she was a child. It's called The Proposal. I
began writing it in response to a very bad film about such
relationships. The film never found a distributor, so I won't mention
the title. However, with all the stuff and nonsense over the idiotic
50 Shades of Gray, I feel that I must respond. My leading lady is as
powerful as the Dominant in many ways in this book. I want to show
that you can have as hot and kinky a read with a real exchange of
power and true informed consent. Irritation and a deadline make for
some swift but always thoughtful writing. It also helps that I had a
full treatment and half a script. I hope it will be finished. The cut
off is four to six weeks before the event to make sure we have print
copies for the table. If not, I will provide free sample chapters in
a booklet and online.
So the answer is that I have no dormant
books. I am working on all of them more diligently. If all holds as
it has, I should have most of them published by the end of September.
Thanks for the questions. Keep them coming!
Personal Update
Next week, I'm scheduled to have tests to see if I am
still in remission. Wednesday is the CT scan which means a long and
not so pleasant day. Thus, it's not likely there will be a blog on
Wednesday. I should be in full paranoid panic mode by Sunday. It may
be sooner. Everything points to my being fine. Panicking is just a
thing I do.
Stay tuned.
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