Thursday, March 17, 2011

Saying Goodbye to the Past and Hello to the Future

So the Twitter Novel was a bust. I quit posting just before I reached the climax. I also abandoned this blog. Both felt a little like talking to yourself in a darkened room.

I sent Phase Shift to Luna this week, an imprint of Harlequin Romance. I figure one of three things will come of it. The obvious one is that they will pass. The next is that they will publish it as is, which is highly unlikely, given Harlequin's propensity for graphic sex scenes in their novels. While publishing as is would be the best outcome of this, my $24.00 lottery ticket, there is one last option: they will publish it as long as I sex it up. I would be fine with that, though it would be the most difficult thing I'd ever have to write. I dabbled in Harlequin when I was younger, but the genre never stuck. I chose to send it to Luna after reading one of their novels that included adventure, ghosts and, yes, sex. I enjoyed the story but could have done without the sex.

I'm not a prude. It's not that I have anything against sex, it's just that I'd rather have the romance. I think that's what Molly and Palmer have. They love each other. They touch each other, caress each other, enjoy each other's touch, get excited when they are together, but I always end the chapter there. I am interested mostly in story, and I get excited writing the scenes when Molly and Palmer are together, but...I don't know.

I gave this URL to the people at Harlequin/Luna and, if they are reading, I want them to know that I understand why some women might want the scene to go further. My primary interest in sending out my manuscript is in seeing it published. Though the "sex" in it is fairly tame right now, if I have to "sex it up" to get it published then I will take a stab at it. I want to be published so badly, I can almost taste it at times.

I am currently teaching Writers' Craft via Virtual School this semester and I love it. I have read so much about the writing craft that I relish the opportunity to share that information with burgeoning authors. But I also have been craving writing myself lately, and it's not like I don't have anything to write about:

The Latest Molly/Palmer Novel - Someone plants a skeleton on Molly's site and then Schliemann shows up. It is a combination murder investigation/epic archaeological dig with Sci-Fi undertones that takes place on the streets of Toronto. I've been focusing on this endeavour lately. I just wrote the scene where Molly and DC Crestwood question someone Molly believes is guilty of looting her site.

The Last Molly/Palmer Novel - a time travel story including aliens and once and future alien technology left on Earth.

The Maranda Saga - a detective/love story in which the main character may or may not have Mercury poisoning (I'm still wavering on that - hard to go back to that dark, Mercury-induced place now that I've been free of Mercury for 4 years).

The Revenant - a sort of Vampire story that includes a Buffy-type Scooby Gang where everyone is some kind of paranormal-powered person, aimed at a teen market. In it, the revenant searches for his long lost love who may or may not have been killed more than a century ago.

Lately, I've been focusing on the current Molly/Palmer story. I don't know what it is--probably the fact that I've been living with them in my head for about 30 years now--but the characters speak to me.

Harlequin/Luna people, if you are, in fact, reading this, please know that I am 100% dedicated to writing and to working with you to get Phase Shift published. I have been working hard at my craft and have reached the point where I LOVE what I write, which is quite a change from the days when I threw everything I wrote out because I couldn't stand the way it sounded. I am determined to get something published eventually, and I believe in Phase Shift and my writing ability. Please take a chance on me.