I’m trying to get back into my edits and writing, something that was so easy for me before last month and the death of my daughter. It helps for me to have things to occupy my mind, but so hard to concentrate. It’ll take time, I know. Time used to seem to fly, but now it’s crawling. Probably because I want it to fly;  I know that time is the only thing that will help me feel better.

I miss her so much. December has been so difficult, to put it mildly, for the last two years. I only hope next December is better.

I just realized I didn’t really update here after writing that I wasn’t going to do NaNo. I’m doing NaNo after all because things worked out that way. I’m writing a book I titled Strange Familiar, an erotic romance about a witch and the shock she gets when she realizes her Familiar isn’t a cat like she’d thought it’d be.

Also, great news about Sanctuary! I received a contract offer yesterday from Loose Id, and am very, very happy about that! With a release date of April, 2010, I’ll have plenty of time for NaNo, Sanctuary edits, and concentrating on Etsy as well as the other books I have right now in submission.

I’ll keep you updated:)

Jaguar’s Claim — Ellora’s Cave

A groom in lust, an unwilling bride, one night of dominance both won’t forget.

Tanesha did the sensible thing when her Brazilian family arranged a marriage of convenience to another jaguar shifter. She made a run for it. Now living a cushy life as a call girl in Manhattan, she lost her virginity and her desire to have a lifelong mate in the same second. Up until the crashing stock market robs her of all her savings. Broke, she considers returning to Brazil.

Danilo, bitterly scorned when his virgin bride escaped from under his nose, is none too pleased to hear of her plans to return to Brazil. Gone is his desire to marry, even if a promise given still binds him. Seeking her out, he brings one million dollars, a leather cat-o’-nine whip, and the heated determination to settle a score.

And on her knees—the smacking sound of leather against her bare skin—Tanesha fights against surrendering to the carnal attraction toward the shifter she once scorned.

Jaguar’s Claim by Amy Redwood. Read excerpt here.

I’m getting closer to finishing Keeping Kai, my newest book. I was going to join NaNo this year, until I realized the trial will begin November 2 and NaNo starts November 1. The last thing I’m going to be thinking about is NaNo…

I’m off to watch Monster’s Ball again; I’ve watched it before but a very long time ago.

I hope everyone is having a great night.

Between watching the US Open and doing rewrites on Sanctuary, I haven’t gotten a lot else done! The rewrites are coming along, and then I’ll start on rewrites of Shifter.

I made up a lot of different things for Etsy to have a little shop going while I was doing rewrites, because I knew I wouldn’t be making anything else for awhile.

I’m off to put on headphones and listen to music while I finish rewrites on Sanctuary, which, by the way, I’ll be putting out under the name Cassidy Hunter.

We’re hosting an eBook challenge at Textyladies. Come on over and read all about it!

Yup. I’ve spent the last couple of days making dolls. And bookmarks. And stuff to go with the dolls. I’m not sure why the urge to make dolls, but here I am, ignoring my ms in favor of stuffing and sewing (which I’m really not good at. Must get sewing machine!) and beads and buttons. Maybe because I finished The Shifter’s Heart and Sanctuary so close together, I just needed a short break from writing. A vacation of sorts.

I put my dolls on Etsy if you’d like to take a look. Some of them, the yarn dolls, are really a piece of cake to make. Especially when compared with the doll I’ve named December, and her doll, Christabel! Here they are:

I made December the little doll named Christabel, and knitted her a crossbody bag that looks sorta like a demented frog, but she likes strange things. You can probably tell that from looking at her big crooked eyes. She’s wearing some jewelry, too.

Anyway, she and Christabel and the yarn dolls will be up on Etsy soon.

And the yarn dolls…

I also made tiny pink girl yarn dolls with purple boy dolls, and I’ll post those as sets. They’re safe for little kids, unlike Ms. December who has beads and all sorts of little kid un-friendly stuff.

Fun fun

I’ve posted a three part writing exercise at Textyladies. Come on over and participate!

There are many sites out there where you can illegally download copies of an author’s book. These sites pop up like weeds; if one goes down, three more sprout up to take its place.

The internet makes it easy for people to steal; music, movies, books…

As writers, we work hard at what we do. Very hard. And believe me, every sale counts. It’s discouraging to see so many books being downloaded for free. If you want the book enough to read it, please buy it. Don’t steal it. As author Lynn Lorenz points out, you wouldn’t walk into a B&N and steal the books off the shelves.

She writes:

“What we have to do is to attack the companies that advertise on the sites that offer pirated material.
Bring them to the forefront with a campaign like #Amazonfail, letting everyone know that such and such promotes the crime of illegal downloads.

And remember, as I’ve said before, it’s supply and demand. Pablo wouldn’t have wasted a moment of his time if the hordes of people clamoring for a way to steal music, video, books an movies weren’t so damn loud and insistant.

So, at the bottom of this pit lie the readers.

That’s right. Readers.

The same people who would never dream of walking into a B&N and stealing a book off the shelf, much less fifty books, but think nothing of downloading their equivalent from a pirate site.

Whe the demand stops, so does the piracy.”

Author Roscoe James wrote a fantastic post about the issue on his blog. There are some great comments there, too.

There are many loyal readers out there who buy the books and support the authors. We so appreciate you. Thank you

I’ve begun work on the Cassidy Hunter site, and it’s coming along nicely. It won’t be long before it’s finished. Come on over and have a look! www.cassidyhunter.com.

Soon, I’ll start getting set up with Twitter and all the other places, but I haven’t had time to get to that yet. If I can keep all that stuff straight, I’ll be happy.

Today I’m going to write until my fingers fall off or the keyboard keys are rubbed clean of all their letters. That’s the plan

I just downloaded and read Danielle Ferries story The Child Villain, which you can find here. The Child Villain stars an odd little girl named Tallulah Todd who has her own way of dealing with people she doesn’t like. Danielle’s writing is crisp and tight and the story is will send you looking for more from this talented writer. Great work, Danielle!

It appears as though Cassidy Hunter might be the winning name in the poll. Only one more day to vote and it is still in the lead.

Off to write!

There are only two days left to vote in the names poll, and Cassidy Hunter is now leading by one! I wonder if it’ll stay there? Kathryn Quinn has been giving it a lot of competition. We’ll see on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to creating a new, second website and identity. Fun fun!

If you haven’t yet, run on over and vote for your favorite! You’ll find the poll in the left sidebar.

In the right sidebar I’ve added a link to an excerpt from The Shifter’s Hope, sequel to the newly submitted The Shifter’s Heart. Let me know what you think if you read it. 

It’s chilly here today; last night the temp was in the 30s! It’ll get back to the hot humidity soon, though. 

I’m thinking of renting ‘Taken’ tonight. Have any of you seen it? What did you think?

Okay, I’m off to write!

Today is a little overcast and cool, but actually nice. One of those days where I could go out on the deck and write. And order in pizza so I wouldn’t have to cook, but seeing as how I’m on the diet from hell, I can’t be doing that. And that’s a shame, because pizza is one of my weaknesses

I plan on critting my friend Kiki’s ms, then settling in to write. I’m not sure if I’ll spend today mapping out the plot a little, or just writing what comes out. Maybe a bit of both.

I downloaded an application called Evernote last night; I signed up for the Evernote web app as well. I haven’t had time to figure it out yet, but from what I hear it’s a very handy program. If you want to check it out, you can find it here. I do love finding new programs for writers!

My writing exercise post is up at Textyladies. If you’d like to participate, I’d love to have you. Come on over!

HELP!!!