I nearly dropped my laptop when I saw this photograph because it is so like my own casement window and the wet, lush, very green view of our woods. So here you have it - a look from my rain-spattered windowpane. I don't do drapes but the rest is uncanny. Perfect writing weather. It's taken me a few years to appreciate Washington State. If I still lived in sunny Kentucky I'd not get as much done. So count your blessings, name them one by one...Speaking of work, I've been editing away on The Locket, praying the galleys for Courting Morrow Little don't coincide with my Kentucky trip. I used to dislike juggling books but it's good to set one aside while editing another. Distance lets you see all sorts of glaring things you miss otherwise. And I don't mean typos. I've used a different last name for one secondary character and changed my hero's eye color:) Among other things.
For those of you who care about such things (the rest of you can yawn without guilt), here's the word count on these last three books:
The Frontiersman's Daughter: 121,835 words
Courting Morrow Little: 108,120
The Locket: 104,829
I just noticed the titles are getting shorter, too! I hope my editors are reading this as it will make their day:) I'm so excited to post this next book cover when I get the green light. In celebration, I'm going to hold a book giveaway. For a copy of Courting Morrow Little, of course. It's going to release a month ahead of schedule - July 1, which means it will probably be in stores by mid-June. Also, for you writer-types out there, I'm going to give away a new copy of Donald Maass's The Fire in Fiction, as I picked up an extra copy at the ACFW conference. So please keep coming back for a visit. Fun things ahead!
I'd love such a peaceful wooded view! Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYour word counts give me hope. If another writer who naturally writes long can write novels of more acceptable length, then maybe I can, too.
I have a well-marked copy of The Fire In Fiction, but would love to win a copy of CML. :)
I just wanted to let you know that I love your blog and have added a link in my blog with a picture of your new book..I Hope that is O K..Go to my blog and check it out when you have time. Hope you enjoy your trip to KY to see your Mom
ReplyDeleteOh Nancy, I'm just delighted! So good to hear you like my blog - I sure love my readers. I'll be sure to enter you in the drawing for Courting Morrow Little. If you'd like to be entered for the Fire in Fiction I can do that, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting my book on your site - I consider it an honor! Am off to visit you there now...
Thank you!
Hi Lori,
ReplyDeleteConsider yourself entered for CML!That makes me smile.
I thought of you as I racked up the word counts. Lael went on such a drastic diet and I felt every lost word but now it's much easier for some reason to stay lean. I know you can do it also. In fairness to my head editor, she has always told me that content trumps word count. Yet I'm always aware that higher numbers mean higher production costs, etc. And many pubs want historical fiction well under 120,000 words (excepting Gabaldon and Donati and such!).
Have a blessed day down south!
As a reader, I can tell you that I love reading long books. I can see why the publisher would like less wordy books, but I don't mind a bit! :-)
ReplyDeleteI would love to be entered to win a copy of CML.
I also love your view of the woods. I can only imagine how peaceful that must be for you when writing. I am always afraid of all the bugs that come with living in the country. I guess I am a city girl through and through. It is sad really... ;-)
Stacey
Love "your" windows and the view!
ReplyDeleteWe had a nice and cool rainy day here, as well.
Would love to be entered in the drawings for both books. I'd be very pleased to win either one.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I've procrastinated enough and I'm finally getting started on some cleaning and cooking :)
I'm so excited you are working on your third. You are on FIRE girl!! How exciting. I can't wait to read them. Hope your day is going well. And yes, the Washington weather does make it easier to curl up with your laptop and fall into writing a good book!! God Bless
ReplyDeleteHi Stacey,
ReplyDeleteSo glad to put your name in the hat for CML:) I'm excited to see what people think of Morrow after Lael as they are so very different.
I love longer novels, too, as you become more attached to the characters and get every ounce of pleasure squeezed out of each additional page. I always hate for a good book to end.
And I had to chuckle at your comment about our woods and bugs:) Out here it is slugs - millions of them in all shapes and sizes and they just make me squirm. I found one on some freshly dug carrots yesterday and screamed and made Randy come and take it away:) NO carrots for me, thank you. At times like these I miss the city:)
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!
Mary,
ReplyDeleteConsider yourself entered for both! You're the only one in the pot for The Fire in Fiction thus far:) Great odds, huh?
Hope you've had a cozy weekend with the rain. After all your hot weather you probably like a little change. I'm sitting by our woodstove as I write this, thanking the Lord for a little heat. Bless you today!
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteOh I love your "on fire" comment. I needed that:) I'm such a s...l...o...w writer usually. But The Locket did seem to unwind pretty quickly. Well, in a year or so. Now I have to go over and look for holes:)
I hope you are having a great day where you are - with a good book to boot:) Bless you for your comments! So happy you want to read those upcoming books:)
Looking forward to seeing the cover! I've seen a bunch of covers for Bethany House books releasing around when yours does, so hopefully yours is soon to follow!!!
ReplyDeleteIs The Locket another colonial book?
Please enter me in the CML contest as well!
Consider your entry for CML in the hat, Rebecca - thank you for that! I just went over to peruse your great Amazon lists again (#70 is my favorite) and was very happy to find that one of my favorite authors, Ann Rinaldi, has a new Colonial book coming out next April. I didn't have a clue but now I do, thanks to you:)
ReplyDeleteAnd I expect to see Morrow's cover posted any day like you said.
Yes, The Locket is another colonial book set in 1779 Kentucke on the banks of the Ohio River/Kentucky side - a frontier fort, to be exact. I've had such fun learning about the Continental Army, etc. Quite a different direction for me.
Hope this is a great reading week for you!