Jennifer Blake Newsletter, May 2010
Greetings:
April was a quiet month with little going on except work. I completed the first round of author revision for BY LOVE POSSESSED, book #2 in my medieval trilogy. (Actually, that was finished just this morning!) I'll give it a final polish over this next month, and then send it to my editor around June 1.
Most writers don't spend two months working on their finished manuscripts; they read through the rough draft and that's it. I discovered some time back that that's not enough. When my editor is ready to prepare this story for publication months from now, I'll be in the middle of a different story entirely. It would be difficult to get back into this book enough to make editorial changes. More than that, I'd likely be given a two-week window, or less, for returning the editor revision. Frankly, I'd rather try to get it right the first time around!
So what is the next project? The proposal (read synopsis) for book #3 of the trilogy is due on my editor's desk on July 1. The story, untitled at this point, is already under contract, so the purpose here is to show what I "propose" to write and insure no other book of a similar nature will be acquired just now. The normal length of a synopsis for me is five to six pages. I have this much already written with only two or three more paragraphs required to flesh out the story. The proposal should be submitted well ahead of its deadline, then. This finished book will be sent in on April 1, 2011. That's just four months before the trilogy is scheduled for publication, in August, September and October....
Some have heard it before, but this is my favorite time of year. My antique roses are blooming, also the iris, wisteria, magnolia, daisies, perennial gladiola, stokesia, amaryllis, verbena, and a dozen other things. The oleanders planted along the drive are budding, and the grass is so green it's like slivers of raw emerald. Temps are perfect for having breakfast, lunch and dinner on the screened porch while watching the lake and listening to the wind chimes. Of course the lake is white-capping today, splashing against the sea wall. Guess everything can't be perfect!
As I write this, I have a list of questions waiting for another online interview, this one for a Spanish language web site, El Rincón Romántico, The Romantic Encounter. The questions are in English but will be translated into Spanish by the interviewer. The interest, as you might guess, is because of the many Blake titles that have been published in Spanish speaking countries since the 1980s. To see how this turns out, check the web site near the end of this month: www.elrinconromantico.com
If you're wondering how I might have been affected by the huge oil slick off Louisiana's coastline just now, the answer is very little; we're well inland from it. The new restaurant in our town which serves fresh shrimp and oysters may have a problem, as these delicacies come from the shrimp boat of the owner's brother. Also, a national guardsman I know may be called up to help deal with the crisis. Otherwise, I watch the news and shake my head, fearing for the livelihood, wildlife and beautiful beaches of the gulf coast.
Summer is the traditional vacation time for a lot of people. It's mine this year as well, since I'll be ready for R&R after turning in my June book. The Big Plan is for a cruise with my two daughters and their children, a total of nine of us. We'll be sailing the Mediterranean out of Venice aboard the Costa Fortuna. My granddaughters want to ride the donkey caravan up the cliff at Santorini, as in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", and why not? I can't wait to see this area through their eyes, though I hope they will also view it through mine. The world is such a wide, wonderful place with so many marvelous things to see: it would be grand if they inherit the adventurous spirit needed to travel it all.
With warmest wishes for adventures and flowers in your life,
Jennifer
April was a quiet month with little going on except work. I completed the first round of author revision for BY LOVE POSSESSED, book #2 in my medieval trilogy. (Actually, that was finished just this morning!) I'll give it a final polish over this next month, and then send it to my editor around June 1.
Most writers don't spend two months working on their finished manuscripts; they read through the rough draft and that's it. I discovered some time back that that's not enough. When my editor is ready to prepare this story for publication months from now, I'll be in the middle of a different story entirely. It would be difficult to get back into this book enough to make editorial changes. More than that, I'd likely be given a two-week window, or less, for returning the editor revision. Frankly, I'd rather try to get it right the first time around!
So what is the next project? The proposal (read synopsis) for book #3 of the trilogy is due on my editor's desk on July 1. The story, untitled at this point, is already under contract, so the purpose here is to show what I "propose" to write and insure no other book of a similar nature will be acquired just now. The normal length of a synopsis for me is five to six pages. I have this much already written with only two or three more paragraphs required to flesh out the story. The proposal should be submitted well ahead of its deadline, then. This finished book will be sent in on April 1, 2011. That's just four months before the trilogy is scheduled for publication, in August, September and October....
Some have heard it before, but this is my favorite time of year. My antique roses are blooming, also the iris, wisteria, magnolia, daisies, perennial gladiola, stokesia, amaryllis, verbena, and a dozen other things. The oleanders planted along the drive are budding, and the grass is so green it's like slivers of raw emerald. Temps are perfect for having breakfast, lunch and dinner on the screened porch while watching the lake and listening to the wind chimes. Of course the lake is white-capping today, splashing against the sea wall. Guess everything can't be perfect!
As I write this, I have a list of questions waiting for another online interview, this one for a Spanish language web site, El Rincón Romántico, The Romantic Encounter. The questions are in English but will be translated into Spanish by the interviewer. The interest, as you might guess, is because of the many Blake titles that have been published in Spanish speaking countries since the 1980s. To see how this turns out, check the web site near the end of this month: www.elrinconromantico.com
If you're wondering how I might have been affected by the huge oil slick off Louisiana's coastline just now, the answer is very little; we're well inland from it. The new restaurant in our town which serves fresh shrimp and oysters may have a problem, as these delicacies come from the shrimp boat of the owner's brother. Also, a national guardsman I know may be called up to help deal with the crisis. Otherwise, I watch the news and shake my head, fearing for the livelihood, wildlife and beautiful beaches of the gulf coast.
Summer is the traditional vacation time for a lot of people. It's mine this year as well, since I'll be ready for R&R after turning in my June book. The Big Plan is for a cruise with my two daughters and their children, a total of nine of us. We'll be sailing the Mediterranean out of Venice aboard the Costa Fortuna. My granddaughters want to ride the donkey caravan up the cliff at Santorini, as in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", and why not? I can't wait to see this area through their eyes, though I hope they will also view it through mine. The world is such a wide, wonderful place with so many marvelous things to see: it would be grand if they inherit the adventurous spirit needed to travel it all.
With warmest wishes for adventures and flowers in your life,
Jennifer
posted by Jennifer Blake at 3:43 PM
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