No NaNo 4 Me

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As October hits, it’s the hot question: “Are you going to NaNoWriMo?”

I’m even getting emails from “Your Novel” with the subject heading, “Please write me this November.”

Every year, I dutifully sign up, donate funds, go to write-ins and I get a lot done. But I never win.  Most often, I tend to write short. A full-length novel comes in at 50K. I’ve turned in 52K and had a copy editor suggest cuts in order to get it down to the required length. While writing, I usually “finish” at 45K and then edit, smoothing out transitions, flushing out descriptions and adding in those last 5K.

Some years, I’ve signed up knowing I was shooting for a 30K novella. Although I finished it, I still didn’t “win.” Well, officially. I completed the novella and got it published so that definitely counts for something, right?

I’ve met some local writers through the process, and had a blast hanging out with Kara Lennox, Rob Preece and Tari Lynn Jewett at IHOP and a local grocery store with our laptops. There’s nothing like 10 writers, clustered together working, without talking, garnering attention. People stared.

Why not this year? *shrugs shoulders* I fully support writers signing up, and working hard to complete their novel. I’m taking a realistic approach, and know I have three projects I’d like to finish in the next month:

1) The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A Wolfe in the City – The manuscript is about 47K right now, and it needs to be completed.

2) Second For Men for Ellora’s Cave: The Quickie is more than halfway done, and could be finished up within a week.

3) R&R for Decadent Publishing: Need to polish a few areas, and get it back in. It’s been on the burner for when the other two items were finished.

Plus, I have another 1Night Stand rattling around in my brain. With the recent release of A Dance with Death, this character is clamoring for a HEA.

So officially … no NaNo for me. I’ll be cheering on my friends, and you can send me some good thoughts for wrapping up my projects!

Louisa Bacio

http://www.facebook.com/louisabacio

http://www.twitter.com/louisabacio

When Characters Behave Badly …

Over the years I’ve heard other authors complain about a character surprising them, or acting out of character. I’ve nodded, related and then snickered silently. I mean, come on: We’re the creator; we have the ultimate control, right?

Wrong.

The Evil Within.

No, I’m not that snooty and as a panster – a writer who doesn’t plot often but flies by the “seat of my pants” – I’m used to characters taking over and leading me through the story. Maybe that’s why I feel so close to the main players in my erotic paranormal series, The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf. They’ve come to life. Literally, I hear their voices in my head. At this point, there are five primary: Lawrence, Trevor, Lily, Silver & Nick, with a few recurring supporters. Right now, Silver wants center stage, but I’m not working on her story.

Currently, I’m writing book 3: The Voodoo King. The problem I’ve run into is with a new character that refuses to listen, or act in a way that I deem appropriate. He’s downright evil, and I don’t want him to be. 

During the past two books, he’s been illusive, hiding in the background – as if he didn’t want to be known, yet. This time around, he’s using power to fuel his own greed, and in some instances feeding his own sexual amusement (and not in a good way).

Within this series, I’ve written some dark moments. In fact, good friend, fellow OCC/RWA writer and sometimes beta reader Bren Aubrey told me that she stayed up late – afraid – while reading the first book, A New Orleans Threesome. I didn’t purposely write it scary, but with Stephen King as one of my favorite authors I’ve always possessed a dark side.

It’s a tough situation, because I don’t want to make him do anything that would be contrary to his personality. Unfortunately, within life some people are simply evil. In fiction and films, readers and viewers tend to want a happy ending, not a reflection of real life. Bad things happen to good people.

For right now, I’m going to keep writing and hope that at the end he comes up with some additional complexity, a redeeming quality that ties it all together.

Until then, been there, done that? Any advice for me? 

Partying at The Romance Studio: Nick the Vampire Hunter

For months I’ve been looking for images that capture the hero from my latest release,

The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: Chains of Silver. Nick seems to defy reality.

The read a description of the love interest, stop by the happenings at The Romance Studio Thanksgiving Party.

Plus, you can enter to win some goodies, and who doesn't want that!

Nominated for Best Erotic Paranormal – Wizard or Witch

Good news travels through “innocent” Tweets!

Here I was, minding my own business and right before I went to turn into bed, I checked onto Twitter. Oooh, I had a few “mentions.”

Shay MacLean musing on a series title to encompass her novella “Shooting Stars” and upcoming full-length release, “Falling Star.” (Don’t you think “Wish Upon a Star” sounds like a great series title?)

Wait? What’s that one from @RachelFirasek?

@Louisabacio Hey, congrats on your TRR nom. […] Goodluck!

(And Rachel’s up for an award, too, for her book Piper’s Fury!)

The Romance Reviews nomination? I was nominated? Whoo-hoo! Thrilled to announce that The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome is up for Best Erotic Paranormal Romance in the category of Wizard & Witch.

Voting runs through Nov. 30, and now comes the plea! Please go vote! (Big puppy-dog eyes …) Please!

Here’s the magic link:

http://www.theromancereviews.com/bookvote.php

Now for a little tease! Got a glimpse of my cover for the upcoming sequel Chains of Silver. The art designer/magician at Ravenous Romance is not holding back at all! Yes, it’ll be coming soon!

Grazie! 

Guest Blogging on "Fantasy Unbound"

Read the scene where my vampire, Lawrence, and werewolf, Trevor, meet up for the first time. I'm over on  Fantasy Unbound with Rachel Haimowitz today. Who says werewolves and vamps can't be friends ... or more than?

Starting a New Manuscript: What’s at Stake?

A certain mixture of joy, anticipation and trepidation comes along with starting a new manuscript. The characters in The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome refuse to leave me alone. Their story isn’t finished, and although I turned in a manuscript just a few short weeks ago, and I continually insist that I’m not a *fast* writer, I’m writing again.

Woke up at 6:30 a.m. for no good reason, and in the quiet morning hours figured … let’s write. And then before bed I pushed past 1,000 words for the day. Now, this routine doesn’t mean that I’m going to write every day – or so I’m telling myself – I’d like to get a little mental/physical break, and I do have other duties to do (ahem, cough: editing, grading, chapter newsletters to lay out).

But the story is speaking to me, and I need to listen.

So I’ve officially sunk into the Dungeon of SavvyAuthors (isn’t that the perfect name?), nails scraping the sides of the stone staircase in protest, and opened up my new book file in order to track the progress of this novel.

More time than available also was spent searching for an image to correspond with a new character, Nick Stake. Nick’s the love interest for Trevor’s sister, Silver. He’s tall, muscular, dark skinned with shoulder-length blond dreads and these light brown, haunting eyes. Unfortunately, I failed to find anything visually that would match up with the image in my mind. And let me tell you … I looked.

Did I mention that Nick’s also a vampire hunter and he doesn’t differentiate between rogue, and let’s say Lawrence?

How do you think Nick’s going to take to his girlfriend’s newfound “family?” Odds are there will be some growing pains involved. 

You can see why I’m so excited about this story. Not only do I get to revisit some very close friends in my original characters Lawrence, Trevor and Lily, but the new ones are oh, so, tempting.

______________

Reviews: Coffee Time Romance & More gives The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome FIVE cups of coffee! Go see what the reviewer has to say! 

Watch the Trailer -- "The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf"

We're partying over at the Goddess Fish Party Pavilion. Come watch the new trailer for "The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf." Unveiling at Goddess Fish.

Meet Lawrence “Law” Justice: Can you keep his secret?

When Melissa from WereVampsRomance came around asking questions, Lawrence from “The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome” did his best to ignore her. But with her kind words about how his story kept her up to the “wee-hours of the morning” and “fogged up her reading glasses,” and her promises not to reveal his true nature to those who don’t “understand” the world of The Others, she won him over.

For Lawrence’s first-ever interview, visit: WereVampsRomance

Can you keep a secret?

Got Ghosts?

In the darkness of night, the seam between reality and The Other blurs. The trip to New Orleans mixed business with pleasure. While visiting, I hoped to find inspiration and gather information on setting for my latest novel The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome.

Little did I know that I’d get way more than I wanted.

Read the rest of the story on my guest column on the Book Boost Blog.