The Jennifer Blake Newsletter-October

Greetings:

An October sky, you have to love it. Our summer sky here in Louisiana is so faded to white by heat that we forget how blue one can be. Then comes fall's cloudless aspect and deep cerulean with a hint of violet brought by cooler weather and voila, beautiful again. On the other hand, I'd dearly love to see clouds or even a storm just now. It's been 50 days since we had real rain, and everything is parched for it. Me, included!

September was a fairly uneventful month for me. Most of it was spent actively writing: I'm now past the halfway point on the rough draft of book #3 in the medieval trilogy. The plan is to be done by November 1 to avoid the distraction caused by the holidays. Fingers crossed. But I've already planned my reward for this two months of intense work. I'll be heading to the International Quilt Show in Houston in early November, along with a dozen friends from the Magnolia Stitchers Needle Arts group. Fun and fabric shopping: great incentives to be done in time.

Another reprint from Sourcebooks, Inc. has been scheduled, this one for February 2011. It will be FIERCE EDEN, originally published by Fawcett/Ballantine in 1985, and set in French Colonial Louisiana during the uprising of the Natchez Indians.. The gorgeous new cover for this title is up on my website, along with a blurb about it. Check it out at: http://www.jenniferblake.com/sourcebooks.cfm

I continue posting a "Writing Tip of the Day" to the web site blog. At present, I'm up to Tip 181, and exploring the different viewpoints (POV) and their uses. The original idea was to do at least 364 of these tips for a future calendar. Who knows, I may try for a book with 1001! At least posting these online on a regular basis keeps me working on the idea. You'll find the blog at: http://jenniferblakejournal.blogspot.com/

Another place where I'm posting is the Mira Authors Blog. This is a new venture, just started in mid August. Messages there will be random thoughts and happenings pertaining to writing. My first blog went public on September 9, and my next will show up on October 9. Other authors published by Mira Books post great insights on different days of the month. Take at look here: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/mira-author-blog

And just a reminder that I'm on FaceBook. I'm been posting the number of words written every week and other bits about the WIP (pronounced "weep" but an acronym for Work in Progress,) plus notes on selected events and gripes in my life. If hearing from me on daily basis instead of once per month sounds okay, I'd be more than happy to confirm you as a FaceBook friend.

With warmest wishes for blue skies this month—and a Halloween only as scary as you want it,

Jennifer

Jennifer Blake Newslettter-September

Greetings:

It was pleasantly cool—still T-shirt weather but not hot—when I walked the dogs this morning. Somehow it felt as if fall is just around the corner though I know it will be November before we really see it. A part of it was the slant of sun as it moves more to the south, also the drift of dead leaves caused by dry weather, the late wildflowers that are blooming and the buds showing up on the goldenrod. Whatever the cause, I'm ready. This has been such a busy summer: my husband and I were in Colorado in late May to open the summer house there; my two daughters, six grandkids and I cruised around the Mediterranean in June; I hosted a 10-day quilting retreat at the Colorado house in July; and then my husband and I spent a few weeks in the mountains to escape the August heat. Play time is over now, and the new book is calling.

Many writers swear that driving jump-starts their creativity, something about occupying the logical left brain with a monotonous task so the creative right brain can play with ideas. Riding while someone else drives works better for me! I plotted two books and jotted down beaucoup ideas for the work in progress during the drive home from Colorado last week. Maybe I should head out again, after all, when the aspens turn in October?

Book 3 of my medieval trilogy is progressing slowly but surely. I'm on Chapter 4 and putting 1000-2000 words on it every day. The goal is to finish the rough draft by Halloween. That will give me several months to go over the manuscript—I usually revise once for content and then run through it again to polish the language. The deadline for this story is April 1, however, so I had better stay on schedule.

This past month has seen several new publications, foreign and otherwise. ROYAL SEDUCTION, from 1983, was released in the Classic Reprint program from Sourcebooks; DAWN ENCOUNTER (book 2, Masters at Arms series) was published in Japan, and TRIUMPH IN ARMS (book 6, Masters at Arms series) was brought out in the United Kingdom, also in Germany as Im Wirbel der Gefühle. The brown truck keeps bringing more editions for the author copy book shelves, but I'm running out of room.

I've embarked upon a new endeavor. I'll be doing a monthly blog post in cooperation with other writers who work with my publishing house, Mira Books. A different Mira author will post every day, with my first effort appearing on September 9. To check out all the insights and happenings from this crew go to: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/mira-author-blog

I'm excited! My younger daughter is buying a house less than a mile from ours here on the lake. (You may remember that her husband was killed in a car accident in February.) She and her four children will be moving from Mississippi when school is out next year. It will be great to have her closer: someone to walk with, shop with, lunch with and, hopefully, work with on book projects. I'm also looking forward to more time spent fishing, quilting, traveling and keeping up with the grands.

With warmest wishes for better times and lovely fall weather wherever you live—plus a glorious Labor Day weekend coming up!

Jennifer