Relentless Release Date
Just got word from my editor that Relentless (book 4 of my series) will be released on July 9th of this year. That’s less than two months after No Turning Back comes out! At this rate, I’m willing to bet the fifth and final book, Absolution, will be out in the fall. Wow, I’d better start cranking out the next few books, or 2011 might be a little lean:)
You can see Vancouver’s gorgeous and distinctive skyline in the background of this cover. The book is set downtown, actually at the building with the white sails in the foreground (Canada Place). Of course it’s also partially set in my lovely town of White Rock, which is in the southern suburbs of the city. What can I say? I love where I live. Better brace yourselves though, because this and the next book are pretty, um…hot. *clears throat*
A Lesson In Perspective
This weekend I got a hard lesson in perspective, and it was sorely needed. My mother-in-law was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, and over the past week things have deteriorated at a faster rate than we had expected. My husband’s whole family and all the grandkids went to the hospital to visit her yesterday. Under the circumstances she’s doing pretty well, but her pain level is starting to increase. And I guess you’ve got to understand my hubby’s family. They all have an extremely strong faith in God, but they’re a little odd sometimes. As an example, my hubby is the first born and considers it his job to be the prankster of the family. He wanted to get his mom a card that said Have a nice trip. He couldn’t find one (thank God), so he went in and said it to her instead, and added she should pack a bathing suit since it’s hot where she’s going 🙂 They all laughed hysterically while my sister-in-law and I shook our heads. Gallows humor, I guess.
Anyway, this weekend I also started sending out queries to agents for my newest manuscript, so now I’m kind of on pins and needles and bracing for the rejections that are part of the querying process. Last night my MIL asked about my latest book, and I told her all about it and that I was shopping for an agent. When we left her sitting in her robe in her hospital bed, I had a huge knot in my throat because I know it’s only going to get worse for her from here out. I don’t want her to suffer, and I don’t want her family to have to watch it happen. I’ve lost loved ones to cancer and it’s always a wrenching experience.
Last night’s visit was a pointed reminder to me about what’s really important in life. First, our health, which we take for granted as much as we do our freedom and sometimes our loved ones. I’m extremely lucky to have my health, two healthy boys, and a husband that loves me. Those are the important things. When you look at it like that, everything else kind of fades away into the background. Having my books published by a NY house would be nice, but it’s not that important in the grand scheme of things. I need to remember that, and I need to be consciously grateful every day for all that I do have.
So for all of you out there struggling to attain your writing dreams, don’t give up, but make sure you put the rejections into perspective.
Done. Mostly.
Well, I’m done the first round of edits for Turbulence and it feels great. I’m going to put it aside for a day or two before looking at it again–or so I tell myself. I’ve been busy with Board meetings and sick children in the past couple of days, but I’m going to start plotting the second book of the series soon.
As an added treat, I received my certificate and silver pendant for my Laurel Wreath win back in November with Out of Her League. It’s hanging from my neck right now, and I think I’ll keep it on for a long while. Every time I get discouraged about writing or start to doubt myself, I’m going to look down at it for a boost.
Hope everyone had a great New Year’s!
Research Heaven
I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun researching a book. No, strike that. I know I haven’t. I’m an eyelash away from finishing the first draft, and raring to get to the editing stage where I can go back and add all the neat little tidbits I’ve picked up along the way in this researching journey.
I already posted about the Navy pilot I interviewed and the other contacts I’ve been put in touch with, but I just had the most amazingly informative conversation with an Army medevac pilot. He has a lot of experience flying Black Hawks (pictured at the beginning of this post), and took time out of his day at the firehall to go through a list of questions I had. The info and level of detail he gave me was incredible, and will hopefully allow me to add a depth of flavor to the manuscript that wasn’t there before. Used sparingly of course, like truffle oil or saffron in a gourmet recipe. I hope it seemed to him like I had done my homework and had a clue, but maybe not. I’ll have to ask my ball player buddy later on what her buddy thought of our conversation 🙂
My hubby came home from doing errands shortly after I’d finished the phone call and I immediately dragged him over to my whirring laptop to show him all the notes I’d made. He pasted on an interested smile and nodded a lot, but I’m sure he wasn’t even one percent as excited as I am. But what’s not to be excited about? This is fascinating stuff! Plus, my PJ contact (and can I just say that I have a huge crush on all PJs?) came through with some really valuable information, giving me as much as he could without compromising classified material. And to top it off, Santa bought me the book I’d asked for that came out recently about PJs in Afghanistan. Basically, I’m in research heaven. There’s not a lot of information out there regarding PJs (maybe because there aren’t very many of them), so this book is a really valuable source. Loving this! Now to finish off that pesky first draft…