Hello? Is this thing on?

She’s alive! Aliiiiiiiive!

Ok, I’m pretty sure I’ve used that joke before.

But no, really, I am alive. Haven’t updated this blog in forever, which is my bad. But been working through some mental stuff, and it’s kinda stifled my writing drive, even up to and including blogging. I even forgot my day over at the League a couple of times, ‘cause the mojo just wasn’t working. More on that further down. (I still refuse to learn the difference between further and farther, much to The Editor’s frustration)

I’ve been telling myself, “I’ll blog when I have news to report”. Only, there hasn’t been any news to report. And it finally occurred to me (this morning, actually) that this blog was never about only reporting news when I had some to report. From the beginning, it was supposed to be about my process, and about the trials and tribulations of just being a writer. So I guess part of being a writer is that sometimes, there’s nothing to write about.

You all know that A WOLF AT THE DOOR is coming out on August 7th. I should have copy edits to do on that one within a couple of weeks, and hopefully a cover reveal in that time frame too. I’ve seen the rough draft of the cover, and there are no words for how in love with it I am. Theoretically, after that, we’ll have the usual spiffiness of ARCs to give away, signings to schedule (Got one scheduled here locally, so anyone in my neck of the woods, I expect to see you! More details to come later), guest blogs & interviews to write. (Hopefully. Haven’t been asked yet)

Speaking of, if anyone wants me to do a spot on their blog or what-have-you around the time of my release date, go ahead and get in touch with me now. I feel better having those kinds of things done early, so I don’t risk leaving anyone hanging.

And speaking of getting in touch with me, it’s been pointed out that not everyone in the world knows how to find me on the interwebz. So here’s a few ways for you to reach out and touch me. (Note: Actually reaching out to physically touch me will probably result in serious bodily harm to your person. I hit my husband with a car twice, and I LIKE him.)

Email address: kari(dot)stewart21(at)gmail(dot)com
Facebook: JJD Series
Personal Gibberish
Twitter: tasmin21

A few notes about email: I love getting fan mail. I do not love getting crazy mail. One will get a nice reply, the other will get you blocked and/or reported to the FBI, depending on the depth of the crazy.

A few notes about Twitter: I don’t auto-follow folk, but I really like to reply to @ messages, so go ahead and chat me up! If I’m at work, it may take me a while to respond, but I’ll get to you when I get home (and back into the realm of viable cell signals)

And finally…the topic you’ve all been waiting for… No news is still no news. We haven’t had the talk yet about the future of the JJD series. The limbo I feel myself in has resulted in a rather crippling form of indecision. Part of me says “Go ahead and start on book 4, so you have it partly done already!” Part of me says “Start on something new, just in case!” And as a result, I waffle back and forth and can’t seem to write anything at all.

Luckily, my lovely agent has ridden to my rescue in recent days. She asked to read the first two chapters of several different projects I have in the wings. Two of those were Nano projects that I’ve talked about before (A Night of Fire and Ash and Peacemaker). One is a project I’ve been kicking around for years called Tactile. The Agent says she really likes all three, but asked me to go ahead and finish/polish Peacemaker so she can read it in its entirety. That’s what I’m working on right now, and honestly, it’s a relief to be writing SOMEthing, even if it’s just in an editing capacity. I truly am a happier person when I’m putting words on paper, for some bizarre reason.

And that's where things stand right now. I hope to have the new, shinier version of Peacemaker back to The Agent within a couple of weeks, allowing time in the middle for copy edits on Wolf. And after that, I may go ahead and finish/polish A Night of Fire and Ash, too. Just because I can, and there's no reason that I shouldn't be writing SOMEthing.

She's a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

((Cross posted at The League of Reluctant Adults))

Yes, I know I should probably be doing a Christmas post, given the proximity to that particular holiday, but I’m not gonna. No way, not gonna make me. ‘Cause honestly, Christmas is my least favorite holiday. I know, you probably think this is going to boil down to a “commercialism at Christmas” rant, but I swear it’s not. What it really amounts to is that I am a lousy gift-giver.

No, I don’t have any trouble picking out presents for people. (well, most of the time) See, I’m smart enough to get a list and much like Rachel in Friends, STICK TO THE LIST. Shopping isn’t my problem. Where I find my downfall is that I’m supposed to WAIT to give these people these totally awesome gifts that I know they want!

What kind of sick, sadistic holiday IS this? “Here, it’s wrapped up all shiny and ribbony, just waiting to be torn asunder and enjoyed! But not yet!” Seriously?

I’m much more of an instant gratification kinda girl. For example: Hubby and I agreed not to do presents for each other until after Christmas. Which means, of course, that there are no less than three presents hidden around the house at this very moment for the man. The only reason I HAVEN’T given them to him yet is because I’m absurdly proud of my hiding places. (He’s reading over my shoulder right now. I think the only reason he hasn’t dashed off in search is because he’s well aware of my aforementioned weak will. He knows he’ll get them soon anyway.)

I love watching people open presents that they know I want, and I see no reason that I should wait until some pre-determined day of the year to indulge myself in this particular pleasure. This is why I’m notorious among my friends for giving them “wrapped” gifts. (Wrapped = in the bag I bought it in) Hey, they have to open it, it counts!

My child has figured this out at even her tender young age. She knows very well if she asks “Mommy, can I open one early?” that she’ll wind up with ALL of them open sooner rather than later. I know, I know, it’s a sickness. I can’t help it!

Right now, at this very moment, there are presents stashed all over this house, just screaming to be given. The voices, they haunt me.

Gone Between

I woke up this morning to the news that Anne McCaffrey, one of sci-fi/fantasy’s great legends, had passed away. And while I always find it sad when we lose one of our greats, as the day has gone on, this one has settled heavily on me.

I don’t remember how old I was when I first read one of her books. I’m pretty sure it was Dragonsdawn, the prequel to the Pern series. I know that after that, I devoured anything I could get my hands on. I fell in love with Pern and all its inhabitants, from the beautiful gold dragons all the way down to the lowliest watch-wher. Oh, how I wanted my very own fire-lizard. A bronze one. He’d have been awesome.

It wasn’t just her dragons, though. The Rowan and her descendents found a special place in my heart as well. I think those books were the first time I actually remember feeling fear and joy and anguish right alongside the characters. I bled with them, because of the power of the words on the page.

And I think that’s what I learned from Anne McCaffrey. I learned about the kind of stories I wanted to tell, and the kind of writer I wanted to be. Some of the first lengthy things I ever wrote were essentially fanfic, either in the Pern world or in the Rowan’s world. Always for my own entertainment, of course. I don’t think I ever showed anyone those stories. They were just because I didn’t want those worlds to end when I was done reading, I wanted to live in them a little while longer.

I’m pretty sure she knew the kind of mark she left on the world. Her fans are legion, and very vocal. They have conventions, and role-playing games, and forums and all kinds of things. She didn’t, of course, know what influence she had on little old me, or on a lot of other writers I know who are all thinking over what her death means right now. Maybe we don’t even know for sure how her writing shaped who and what we are today. All we know is that it did.

A great lady has gone Between. She will be missed, and never forgotten.

And the Beat Goes On

Last night, I turned in my revisions for A WOLF AT THE DOOR, and a lot of people have asked me “Okay, what happens now?” So, this is my attempt at explanation, which is sadly way less informative than I (or anyone else) would like it to be.

First and foremost, WOLF has to be officially accepted. This is an actual contractual term that basically means when your publisher says “Okay, yes, I like what you’ve done here, we’re definitely going to publish it.” The alternative to this would be them coming back and saying “Hey, could you do a few more revisions first.” I don’t expect that to happen. My editor, the amazing Anne Sowards, always knows just the right notes to give so that I get it right the first time.

As for time frame on official acceptance? I have no idea. Depends on how soon someone has time to read through it AGAIN (and trust me, so many people read through a book multiple times in its process, you have no idea), make sure it’s all they had hoped it would be. Whether or not someone has time depends on how many manuscripts are lined up in front of mine, in various stages of their own production. I expect/hope to hear something before the end of the year, at the very least.

In the meantime, other parts of production will continue. For the past two books, I’ve always had cover art somewhere in mid-ish November, so I’m hoping that pattern will continue. There’s always something fun about being able to go to my family’s place for Thanksgiving and saying “Hey, wanna see what I got?” Also, since my birthday is at the end of the month, it always seems like an early birthday present.

So once Wolf is officially accepted, it will go on into copy edits, and then through page proofs, and then drift magically toward the August 7th release date.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, people are still wanting to know “Will there be more JJD books?” And the answer to that is, I don’t know yet. We haven’t had That Talk yet. Do I want to hazard a guess as to what That Talk will entail? Oh hell no. The publishing world has changed drastically over the last few years, not the least of which was the closing of all the Borders stores. While it remains to be seen how that development is truly going to play out, I know how it’s affected me and my sales personally, and it isn’t a happy situation. I’m in the same boat a lot of authors are, for the same reasons, none of which have anything to do with our skills as authors.

Is it on my mind? Oh yeah. All the time. Part of it is just that I don’t want to fail at this. Being an author was/is/always will be my dream, and I don’t want it over before it really gets started. Part of it is that it would break my heart to leave Jesse’s story unfinished. And more than that, even, I don’t want it to remain unfinished for everyone who has followed along with me so far. People invested time and money in me, an author they knew very little about, and for that at least, they deserve to know what happens next.

Folks have asked me “What can I do to help?” And to them, I say this. Just go buy books, either physically, or on your e-readers. Not just my books, ANY books! ALL books! If you love an author, let it show! If you can’t afford books (and face it, we've all been there, especially lately), go check them out from libraries. Libraries buy books too! Request books you’re looking forward to from your favorite bookstore or library. Requests turn into orders, orders into numbers, and hopefully numbers turn into more books from all of the authors that you love.

Remember, only YOU can prevent forest-...er...wait, wrong message.

You guys know what to do. Go forth and conquer.

I love this holiday...

This may be old news for some, looks like it's last year's, but I think it's freakin' awesome! (it should also be noted that I'm easily distracted by shiny objects, so...)

Zombies. Denied.

((Cross-posted at The League of Relucant Adults))

Anyone who has more than a passing acquaintance with me knows my one great phobia: zombies. Can’t explain why, but they freak me out like nothing else in this entire world. Yes, I know they’re fictional. No, it doesn’t help. And for some reason, even knowing that they scare the bejeezus outta me, I still feel the need to poke at that open wound. Hence, watching the AMC series, The Walking Dead.

(It should be noted that I watch a lot of it with my eyes closed)

In discussing this show with others, it has been brought up that they never use the word “zombie”. (they call them “walkers”) And of course, in my mind, this is because a “zombie” was never part of this world’s mythology, and therefore they don’t HAVE that word. I find this simple concept interesting, however, because it tends to illustrate one of my key theories* about the concept of a zombie apocalypse. (*key theory also translates to “things I will rant about for hours if you don’t walk away first”)

My theory being this: A zombie apocalypse canNOT happen in a world where zombies are part of the known mythos. Bear with me here, I shall ‘splain.

I am willing to hazard a guess that at least 75% of the world** has heard the word “zombie” or whatever that translates to in their language of choice. (**all statistics pulled directly out of my butt) A good chunk of that 75% goes even further and has read/watched/heard enough about the monster called “zombie” to know how to kill one, and how to avoid infection by same.

Therefore, the surprise and bewilderment element that seems to be so key in the early days of a zombie apocalypse would not apply to our world as we know it.

Picture this, two guys sitting on their front porch, and they see a half-decayed corpse come lurching down the street.

Guy 1: “Hey, Ralph, you see that?”
Guy 2: “Holy shee-it, that’s a zombie!”
Guy 1: “Dude, get the camera, I’ma grab a ball bat. We’re gonna youtube this shit!”

No pause of “hey, that guy’s hurt, we should get him to a hospital!” No trying to save Uncle Jethro because we love him and he just had a little bite from the crazy neighbor guy across the street. No spread, no epidemic, all done.

Now, it has been mentioned to me that “Not everyone sits around with a shotgun saying ‘Bring on the zombies!’” To which I answer, “They don’t?” I don’t have a single friend who has not put at least minimal thought into a plan for a zombie apocalypse. I know, ‘cause I took a poll. Some are more thorough than others (ie: weapons stashes, bug out bags, survival training, etc.). Some are no more than “Hey, I’ma go find Kari & her hubby, ‘cause they have swords and they’re mean!” But still, it’s a plan.

And really, think about it. The original gaming generation has now reached adulthood. How many of us grew up on the original Romero zombie movies, blasting away at zombies in almost every video game ever made? (even Mario Brothers has walking skeleton dudes. Just saying) We’re comfortable with the idea of killing zombies. More importantly though, we’re all ADULTS now. (for some loose definition of the word) That means we have our own expendable income, and the legal ability to buy weapons. This isn’t just guns, this is swords, and crossbows and axes and all those things your parents would never let you have as a child.

We’re an entire generation of armed, zombie killing machines, people! Just let one of those undead mofos raise his head and we will bust it into tiny plague-ridden bits. No zombie apocalypse for me, thank you very much.

And there you have it, folks. Proof that I have put WAY too much thought into a totally fictional disaster scenario. What are your thoughts on the subject?

On Editing

I babble a lot here. My apologies. Also, video quality is not what I was hoping. I seriously have to figure this thing out.