Friday, March 3, 2017

And Then My Puppy Ate My Homework

I'm not exactly sure what happened to February.

Well, true, the first part of the month I did have a couple of days of vacation. The annual island retreat with my sibs--I LIVE for those sisterly retreats.

And of course, February IS a short month (and every day counts in this biz).

That said, the month started out really well. Very productive, lots of writing -- particularly on The Monet Murders and the surprise, secret project Writing Killer M/M Suspense and Mystery. (Nice cover, eh? He seems very relaxed about the possibility of having to shoot someone.)

But I'm not just an author. (Is anybody "just an author" these days?) I also run my own publishing empire, so there were also contracts to read and sign (specifically two Thai and one German publisher), print collections to arrange (trying to do a holiday collection...waiting to hear from Carina Press on a couple of titles there) translations to arrange (Italian -- the good news is So This is Christmas will be released by Triskell Edizioni in December and The Monet Murders will be published through my own imprint in the summer), audio to arrange (and then files to listen to because I Trust No One).

Oh, and then Samhain announced that, Oopsie! Yes, they were actually closing as previously announced at the same time last year. Which meant scrambling to prepare those 6 titles for re-release: cover art, formatting for print and ebooks... Although, given Samhain's vagueness on when the titles will actually officially revert, I'm wondering if we really did need to scramble. But the point is...TIME. Precious time being gobbled up in chunks of minutes.

So...all those Samhain titles are pretty much ready to go, we're just waiting on the word. I will give readers a heads up: I'm not re-releasing The Dickens With Love until the holiday season--and I might not release Mummy Dearest until I have Bite Club ready to go. But all the other titles will be immediately available, once Samhain releases them to me.

Tick. Tock.

Big, big time suck there.

And there is this First Ever Mini Writer's Retreat, which also took up some time. If that should turn out to be a fun and productive thing, we might even do it again. Every couple of years. Maybe you would want to come?

Oh, and then of course I have a book release this month. Fair Chance, the final book in the All's Fair trilogy, is being released on March 13th.

And there is a blog tour! For which I had to write a LOT of posts. :-D

Here's the line-up:
Tour Schedule: 

Monday, March 6th - Tome Tender - Guest Posts
Tuesday, March 7th - Alpha Book Club - Guest Posts
Wednesday, March 8th - Books,Dreams,Life - Interview (Author or Character)
Thursday, March 9th - Rainy Days and Pajamas - Guest Posts
Friday, March 10th - Gay Book Reviews - Guest Posts
- -
Monday, March 13th - Joyfully Jay -
Tuesday, March 13th - The Silver Dagger Scriptorium - Guest Posts
Wednesday, March 15th - Bayou Book Junkie - Guest Post
Thursday, March 16th - http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com - Interview (Author or Character)
Friday, March 17th - Bewitched Bookworms - Guest Post


I won't be live and in person at any of these blogs because--as I mentioned--I'll be at my first ever writer's retreat. (Meaning first ever that I was "responsible" for--usually I am privileged to be the person asking everybody where my hotel is.) But I did write posts and offer a few giveaways. That said, most of the giveaways will be occurring at the Launch Party on my own Fan Page.  I don't want people just showing up to win stuff, but I have to admit, my mods give some seriously cool gifties away. So if you are a fan or do genuinely like to read M/M, you are very welcome to the party. Come! You'll have fun.

I'm hoping that you're seeing a pattern here, and that pattern is...there were a lot of interruptions to the writing. And then came the biggest interruption of all...my laptop died.

Which...you know, I still have a desktop, so I'm not sure why this felt like the end of the line (aside from the fact that I lost all the initial chapters of the writing book--and maybe some other files too) but the truth is I don't "create" at my desktop. I create on a laptop while sitting in a giant, comfy chair in front of a fireplace in my bedroom. :-D My desktop is on a desk in my downstairs office and I have to sit on a yoga ball and be sensible. That is really not what writing fiction is about.

When we come back from the writing retreat, we will have house-guests (beloved house-guests) for a couple of days, and then I have a concert (coz that's a thing in my life) and then, then, THEN I will finally be able to get back to writing The Monet Murders.

You see what I'm getting at.

I had promised to deliver The Monet Murders ahead of schedule--because at one point that looked very doable--and even Blind Side ahead of schedule. But that is not looking realistic now.

Now it looks like I will need to put out a short story in the interim. Plenty of Fish. Because I love short stories, short stories take me about a week to write and I need money.

Yes! I admit freely that as a professional writer, money is the fuel that keeps the engine cranking.

I read the funniest comment in a review a while back. Something to the effect that Josh Lanyon put this book out simply to earn money.

LOL

Uh...why yes. You are correct, little person. I put all my books out to earn money. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. I publish to earn money. I can write for my own pleasure. I need not involve anyone else in that alarming process. To make the hassle and stress of publishing worth it, I need to earn money. That's how I earn my living.

This is not a comment on people who choose to live in their mom's basement. Just saying I have to earn a living. Or why the hell would I go to the exhausting and stressful extreme of publishing my work?! Nobody publishes who doesn't hope to earn money. End of story.

Usually.

But I digress.

This is a very long explanation of why I'm having to recalibrate my previously stated plans. I'm genuinely disappointed at having to delay The Monet Murders and Blind Side.

The Monet Murders is being shoved back to its original April release date. Blind Side...should come out about six weeks later. But. Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.

So I hope no one is too disappointed. Or at least no more disappointed than me. The books are coming. And I do genuinely believe that it's better they come a little bit late than that I try to shove them through at top speed. I think you would rather I take my time and deliver the best possible product, right?







27 comments:

  1. Can't wait to get my hands on it. "Man oh Man" is one of my favorite writing advice books.

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  2. Oh!!!! I thought it said "kipper", but alas, it said " killer".
    I'm sure you can find a way to include kippers. I could kill for a good kipper.

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    1. I had a whole chapter on how to properly dispatch kippers, but my laptop ate it. I will try to rework as red herrings. I bet you like those too.

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    2. Oh, yes, I do love red herrings.
      Miss Butterwith once read me a book that had five....

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  3. Nice shoulders.

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  4. How interesting. I'm not a writer so I never read a book about the 'schemantics'. But I guess it could be interesting (for a non-writer) as a look behind the curtains.

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    1. Maybe? The book is definitely designed for all those wannabe mystery authors who have trained for the occasion by watching CSI. :-D

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  5. Fitting, as he looks like he's ready for all sorts of things!! Looking forward to reading about your crafting and artistic process. :-)

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    1. Holy wow, nothing showed up except the first pic and paragraph the first time I looked here... and now I see ALL the hugely busy stuff and I'm tired for you just reading it. What a ton of work! And I hope you make piles of $$ ;-)

      Yes, come one come all to our launch party next weekend on the fan page!! Shenanigans and prizes! :-D

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  6. I don't mind the delay and any true fan doesn't. I'm just happy we are getting a books from you :) .

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  7. You don't owe us an earlier publishing date. You're ready when you're ready.
    In the meantime I can work on my obsession of Jason and Sam and should stop picturing scenes like the green-eyed long-haired (don't ask me why) art collector who flirts shamelessly with Jason and Sam goes all growly and HOW DO YOU LIKE THA SAM KENNEDY???
    Until April I may have my life back ;-)
    Wish you a happy Saturday!!

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  8. I came back and this blog post had grown. Considerably. Like mice reproducing. Seemed appropriate to add a whole new comment. About mice.
    And mini writing retreats. To which I will bring a mouse. For everyone.
    And you can share your vast knowledge of Writing Kippers...uh I mean Killers...
    Have you tried herring in mustard sauce?

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    1. Er, no. But I do like smoked oysters dipped in spicy sauce. :-D

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  9. I'll read whatever you write whenever you write it. I can't decide if I'm more excited about Monet Murders or Blind Side. Some things are just worth waiting for.

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  10. Two of your books in two months is fine with me. I very much agree on making plans vs. real life. Never woks. So you do your part and we'll do our, reading your books.
    All the best

    goge

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  11. I have a strong affinity for your way of writing. (I know, that is a surprise for you.)
    I am also very willing to wait.
    It's funny, that some people are thinking, that if you work for free, the work would be better, or more worthy. These theory would mean, that only very rich people could afford to write books or to work at the fine arts in general.

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  12. Now I kind of pride myself on being aware of all of your books, but had to look up Blind Side on your website. Which is a roundabout way of saying that your level of productivity is exemplary, and humbling to me (even with my excuse of long teacher's hours). And you still manage to make time for family and friends and fans and hopefully squeeze a bit for yourself (swimming, etc. when the pool warms up). Looking forward to all the upcoming treasure, and meanwhile re-reading is a pleasure. Best wishes to you and all the attendees of the mini-conference!

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  13. However long it takes, the quality of your work always makes the wait worthwhile. Very admirable considering your previous month! And imagine that. An author writing to make money. Lol. Hoping March treats you better than February Josh :-D

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  14. Looking forward to Writing Killer M/M Suspense and Mystery! And before that - soon, very soon! - looking forward to Fair Chance! And the blog tour. :-) Enjoy the mini retreat!

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  15. I'm okay with waiting. I'm never put out to re-enjoy my favorite stories. Just know that reading the product of your labor represents the most relaxing part of my day. There's got to something satisfying about that!

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