Listen to me ramble for 12 minutes! Learn bad Korean! Listen to my dog bark in the background. Hear what I sound like without enough coffee and the lingering effects of GayRomLit!
I try to answer some questions about Korean words. Mostly I ramble. You will not be tested on this later and by no means are you required to use these pronunciations. Hell, if you’re pronouncing Jae as Ralph, it’s all good. *grins*
The bane and happy of any writer is a review. Seriously, getting a two- or one-star review* guts me. Even more so if it comes from a reader who liked the first book or someone who picked up the books because someone said “Hey you need to read these”. Honestly, I have to temper this with the knowledge that not everyone liked everything. And it’s a bitch because really, deep down inside… I want everyone to like every single word I’ve ever used.
I’m not going to say written because in truth… the words are there. It’s just a matter of which ones to use.
So back to reviews and the gutting. It’s a natural thing. Deep down inside, past all of the bravado or introverted behaviour, writers have egos. God knows, I have a huge ego. I want to be the best. Be the most solid. Be on top. It’s a sickness and what drives me. I agonize over every word and see if something feels right. So to have someone say it sucks… feels…bad.
But not so bad that I should stop. I do have a story to tell. Or five.
Postive reviews are as much of a pain in the ass as negative ones. There’s a pressure that builds up inside of me. Can I meet expectations? Will I deliver? Can I keep someone entertained? Reviews are by and large, a win-lose situation. You can learn a lot about what people like and dislike. Therein lies the trouble… what to glean from a review?
Bottom line, glean very little. Make notes of valid points. The big ones for my books:
Korean Names
I know the Korean tends to be hard to follow. I have to balance that out for non-Asian readers. I won’t homogenize the names because well, they’re Korean. And well, Cole’s gotta write them down too. Can’t say I’ll use them less. Not in this series. But I can say I do try to make it clear. Hopefully, I’ll keep everything straight. *crosses fingers*
More Sex
That’s what I didn’t expect. I usually have the boys do the nasty when it feels right for them to do so. I think I’ll continue with that. I don’t think C&J are in a position to do it like bunnehs all over the place. Trust me, as much as I hate writing sex scenes because I want to keep them fresh and…well…smexy… I’d like the boys to do it more often.
Lots of Guns and Cole Getting Shot At
Guns are easy to use. Also, Los Angeles does have a lot of gun violence. I shoot at Cole a lot because well, it’s fun. Also, I’m writing fiction. He’s gonna get shot at more than anyone else. It would be boring if he were a normal guy sitting around watching football…however that would leave more time for Jae to crawl into his lap. Also, knives hurt more and you’ve gotta get in close. Trust me on that one.
So…. How is Dirty Laundry doing? Honestly, at this point, I don’t know. I’m halfway in…the point where I really hate the story. It’s always that way. I hit a mark and I hate everything about where I’m going. We’ll see how I feel in a couple of chapters. Or maybe even six chapters.
So if there’s anything you’d like to see more of or less of, let me know. Can’t say I’ll write to it but I’m always interested in opinions. *grins* Sometimes, I even have one of my own. Actually I have them a lot. Mostly about people not using enough garlic when they cook.
* This is not a call to go tromp on people who leave two- or one- star reviews. Because really, I’ve been there. I’ve read books in a series that just didn’t do it for me. And I so understand. I do. I do thank them for the time they’ve spent reading my books. That’s very sweet of them to do so.
** There’s no reason for the bunneh to be here. I just wanted one.
I wanted something more like comfort food today. We ate rich at ABQ and Los Angeles so my guts are all… hey! want something nice and warm. Like Home Food! Damn It! Rice or Noodles!
My stomach has some definite opinions.
So today, lunch is miso ramen with a shrimp broth base, roasted pork, egg omelette and peas. With shoyu. ‘Cause you know… one needs shoyu.
I’m adding a picture of the wonderful Heather and me. God I look like I have no neck. Honestly, I do. I was all puffy-cheeks and body this weekend. Needed more water. *coffs* and less alcohol. Seriously, it was a drink all night kind of weekend. *grins*
Since my beloved sister-in-Coffee-Lust/h is Amish…I am posting these here. Husbands is a brilliant comedy written and starring Brad Bell, a lovely man and a fantastic actor. His fellow writer comes from Buffy fame, the witty and adorable Jane Espenson. Seth Hemeon plays Cheek’s out and sorta proud husband, a professional baseball player. Check out the episodes of season two and play name that guest star and where you know them from. Also, visit the youtube channel for Husbands and see the Behind the Scenes and watch season one. You can watch season 2 without watching season 1 first. I did.
Episodes are in order. Probably NSFWish. Maybe.
Landed in San Diego last night. Stayed up long enough to make sure everyone I knew who was flying had landed and was either in bed or heading home. Then I died. Passed out.
First off, Heather, Nikyta, Sadonna, Marguerite, Jay and sheesh everyone whom I met and didn’t catch names you all rock. If you leave me a note to tell me your name, I’ll add it to the list…any my apologies for the brain dead. Damn, okay I’ve not had enough sleep so there you go. And Cole Riann from Armchar Reader. SUCH A DELIGHT! And damn it! HOW COULD I FORGET BOXSTER SUSH!? You were love! Are Love. I need more coffee.
I’ll be honest in saying I hadn’t expected to really have anyone approach me so I’m still kind of overwhelmed at meeting all of you. So thank you. Very much. It was a blast.
And for those of you who weren’t at GRL, secrets were leaked. But what is said at GRL…well it can be gossiped about.
GRL was a LOT about talking about books. With fans and other authors. Most of the authors, including myself, were doing the boobie name tag check, gasp of OHMYFUCKINGGODILOVEYOURBOOKS and then hugging the author. James Buchanan is just so fucking seriously cool. Love her. Aleksandr Voinov is so fricking classy and adorable. Aleks, I shall send you Bisquick and tell you how to wait for the small bubbles to rise and pop before flipping over the pancakes. Rowan Speedwell… SO MUCH LOVE. PM Singer is adorable.
My partners in crime from Yaoi Con, Amy Lane, Shira Anthony, Venona Keyes and EM Lynley, were still and always will be fricking incredible. It was good to see them again. Wave from Jessewave… god she was so sweet. I adored meeting her. Ethan Day… he is so cute. TJ Klune I wanted to take home with me. He’s adorable.
Amy Lane and I were always ships passing and hugging. She was a whirlwind and we were passing snark across the aisle of the Writers Meet. I did however get to feel alpaca fur donated by Felix the Alpaca. Soooooo nice.
My tablemate at the signing was the glorious Jacob Z. Flores who is an incredible up and coming author for Dreamspinner. He and his husband Bruce are seriously the most delightful, fantastic people. I wanted to steal them and take them home. They were our dining companions for two nights, along with Jamie Fessenden, DH Starr, Michele from Top2Bottom Reviews, Rick R Reed and Lisa Horan whom I will glorify like the angel she is later.
The first night dinner we were at Embers and thankfully we had a private dining area… someone please remind me to shut the fuck up when my brain becomes unhinged. I demand it. *nods*. Dear God…. Second night saw Ariel Tachna join us and Bonnie was a delightful addition to our evening’s group.
Jamie introduced the frozen cosmo to the Hard Rock Albuquerque bartending crew and they were drunk all night and then on to the next day.
I gave away swag… which I’ll offer to you guys as soon as I get my crap together. Really, they are small purple poufs with a card and tagline. I only had to bring about 20 back. Life is good.
Honestly, I could go down the authors’ list and just put stars near everyone’s name. Rick Reed however does owe me a picture of him in his knickers while in the hot tub. Just saying.
Food was eaten. Drinks were had. Stories were told. Stories were made. And songs were sung. The piano cabaret was fricking hilariously good and um… Sorry about your eardrums, Shira. Jacob and Bruce were there… I cannot tell you how much I love and adore these men. God, LOVE THEM.
Now I have to donate a huge section of love to my roommate Lisa Horan from The Novel Approach. She put up with all my crap, my babbling, my need for coffee, my spinning brain, and my scattered attention. We’ve been friends for about two years now and meeting for the first time in the skin and bone was fucking incredible. She is warm, sweet and delightful. A delectable personality and I can admit that I was going to end Dirty Laundry one way but while lying in bed thinking about it, I couldn’t do that to Lisa. *grins* So I’ll write just beyond that point.
I do not have the cold Rowan Speedwell, Clare London and Lisa caught. I’m sure it’ll arrive tomorrow.
Okay, off to write the rest of Chapter 13 of DL. Wish me luck. *winks*
I hope that we see more of you there next year. It’s in Atlanta. If you are in the area…and even don’t do the con… if I am there, let me know. We can do coffee or something. *hugs you all*
Oh and I’ve stolen Lisa’s photos since I didn’t take any. I’m a bad Asian. Did not bring camera. MUAH HAH HAH!
I’m just going to leave this right here for now.
So I’m at GayRomLit. Probably drinking more than I should… but then so is everyone else. And it dawns on me… Sinner’s Gin’s going to be out in a couple of months. So…. I should probably show you all what the cover looks like.
Here is Miki and Kane. *grins* I’m looking forward to you meeting them.
I have a group of very close, sweetheart friends. Seriously, these people are probably the keepers of rainbows and black winged angels. I might call them minions but in truth, they are the spaces in between my heartbeats.
This is Bi, Ren and Hoshi. I’ve known them for years. Loved them for years. They are my little sisters in so many things… and are great fun. They spent one day at Yaoi Con dressed as female Dean, Sam and Castiel. The rest of the time, they were their own awesome selves.
Ren was Sam. It’s cause she’s GINORMOUS. Well, okay so she’s a wee bit of a coffee bunneh but so much love. Her soul is bigger than her body can contain.
This is Bi. She was Dean. Seriously, unicorns look at her and want her spirit. Being around Bi is like sipping a chocolate rainbow with sprinkles.
This is Hoshi and was their Castiel. She’s a fantastic slice of dark blended coffee and delight. I adore her. She makes me laugh and gets my sick jokes. She also is more than willing to sit next to me in the Firebird and have AC/DC set to earbleed as we go down the highway.
These are my minions… and I am so grateful they were with me at Yaoi-Con. Heh… and the Bishi Auction with them was a riot. Much love. Coffee Love.
