Archive for September, 2010

September 30, 2010 • 4 Comments

This week has been so hectic I don’t know whether I”ve been on my arse or my elbow!! My son has left for the USA and then is heading to Europe after a few months, so we’ve had all that to sort out….. he was still packing 10 minutes before we were due to leave for the airport…. and when you’re an anal Type A person like me, it isn’t good for the stress.

My daughter is working on a Masters paper and I’ve been helping her proof…. so that’s a job and a half. And proofing isn’t my strong point!

The NZ government, in its infinite wisdom, decided to increase GST (Goods and Services Tax) to 15% from 12.5%….. omg trying to sort that one out is a living nightmare, all sorts of adjustments have to made for goods bought before Oct 1 but paid after and ditto for rooms we’ve sold in the motel… and let’s not forget the people whose stay with us straddles the date!!!!

Anyway, rant over………….. something very good and very exciting is that my CP and very good friend Amanda Ashby has just posted the back cover copy for her new book Fairy Bad Day, so I thought I’d post it too. This book is so funny you’re going to love it:

My life seriously couldn’t get any worse.

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under me by Curtis Green. Sure, he’s really cute, but that doesn’t give him an excuse.

On top of that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you’re thinking—how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won’t STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be the GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately…it’s Curtis.

It’s going to be a fairy bad day.

How awesome is that??????

Anyway, I’m heading back to the land of the anally retentive and stressed!!! Hopefully normal service will resume soon (aka chatting on the phone, msn convos, some writing…….)

September 18, 2010 • 2 Comments

So it’s spring in NZ and where we are the weather is fabulous – probably not the best day for me to say this seeing as NZ is in the middle of being hit by the worst storm ever apart from where we are in the east.

Anyway, storm aside, I love coming out of winter because it means summer is not far away, and for me in an ideal world there would only be one season…. summer. I could happily live with blue skies and sunshine everyday of the year – I realise we need rain, but rain can fall when I’m asleep!!!

Of course, spring also signifies change…. and yesterday we put our motel on the market, hopefully for it to be sold early next year so we can head over to Sunshine Coast in Australia around July time!! I’m very excited about that, so watch this space!!

Other news, on the writing front I’m working on a new book, and trying to make it as scary and creepy as I can!!! Who knew after all these years of loving stuff tied with a little pink bow, I’d get such pleasure from being so creepy?

That’s it for now….. no point in me saying I’ll try to be a better blogger because that’s a bit too much like the girl who cried wolf!!!

September 8, 2010 • Comments

I’m thrilled to be touring Lucienne Diver and her latest book Revamped a sequel to her book Vamped.

About the book:
In Vamped, Gina and her minions defeated a vampire vixen, a psycho-psychic and the vampire council of Mozulla, Ohio. Gina was all ready to expose vampires to the world in all their fanged fabulosity…until the Feds arrived to sweep everything under the rug and make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

In ReVamped, Gina and her boyfriend Bobby are sent undercover to infiltrate a New York high school where some seriously weird stuff is going down. Worse than that, Gina’s new super-secret identity is as goth-girl Geneva Belfry. No color palette to speak of. More chains than a bike rack. And don’t even get her started on the shoes. At least she won’t be too worried about blood spatter when kicking the butt of her newest nemesis, who’s decided that the high school makes a perfect playground.

And now for the usual questions:

What inspired the plot for your book?
The need to horrify my heroine. Seriously! There’s just something irresistible about messing with the mind of a fanged fashionista by taking away her freedom of couture…er, choice. In the first book in the series, Gina wakes up dead (undead anyway) and has to cope with an eternity without tanning options. In ReVamped, I upped the stakes. She’s still fanged, but this time not so fabulous. Her first mission working for the Feds, who came in at the end of Vamped to sweep everything under the rug, is as emancipated minor and goth girl Geneva Belfry. A closet full of blah-black and an apartment that smells of feet. As if that’s not bad enough, just as she starts coming to the realization that goths are people too, she’s got to face the possibility that one of her new BFFs is behind the weirdness she’s sent to explore.

In her own words: “Responsibility sucked rocks. Until a few months ago, I hadn’t been responsible for anything more than color-coordinating my wardrobe. But foil one vampire vixen bent on world domination and suddenly people expect all kinds of things. Some days it just didn’t pay to wake up dead.”

Why did you decide to write in this genre?
I didn’t pick it so much as Gina picked me…. The character just started talking in my head, demanding to be heard. Ignoring her just wasn’t an option. (She’s kind of a diva, but don’t say I said so.)

What is your writing process like?
I’m a definite pantser. A character will start talking in my head or the kernel of an idea will come to me, and I’ll let them steep for a little bit until they’re ready to burst out onto the page. By then, I’ve figured a few things out and have a general sense of where I want to go, but at first I just sort of let things flow. Then I’ll plot a few chapters ahead, write, plot a few chapters ahead, etc. If I try to plot whole novels from beginning to end from the get-go, I find that within just a few dozen pages, it’s gone off track because something didn’t feel right for the characters (or because they insisted…cough, diva…on a new direction). I guess I’m a gut writer. Also, I freehand everything out first and type it into the computer as I go. I find I can write articles on the computer, but I need a pen and paper for creative writing.

What are you working on now?
A kidney stone… Oh, you mean writing-wise. I’m playing around with a few shiny new ideas before I settle down to write the fourth contracted Vamped book, Fangtabulous. I’m looking forward to it! Gina and her gang are just so much fun.

What do you do when you’re not writing?
Working, reading, mommying, um, is wifing a word? Seriously, outside of writing, work and family I have no life anymore. Not that I’m complaining! It’s what I signed on for, but as soon as Vamped came out and contracts started coming my way, my other hobbies fell by the wayside. I used to make jewelry, scrapbook, work puzzles, sleep….

Who do you like to read?
I adore all of my authors, so we can start there! (For those who don’t know, I’m a literary agent by day, a writer by night and comatose between times.) I don’t have as much time to read outside of work as I’d like, but some favorites are Joshilyn Jackson, Janet Evanovich and Sharyn McCrumb. Also, I’ve just discovered Suzanne Collins’ HUNGER GAMES (I know, after half the known world) and am completely hooked.

Bio:
Lucienne Diver is a writer by night and a literary agent by day.

Websites:
Publisher: www.fluxnow.com
Author: www.luciennediver.com
Author blog: http://varkat.livejournal.com
Gina’s blog: http://ginasgems.livejournal.com