I have a new book coming out. Believe it or not, it’ll be my 26th!
I had to think long and hard to figure that out. Which is really strange because I remember when I was young and fragile (unlike my present condition of old and fragile) and would ask seasoned writers how many books they had published. Rarely did they have a ready answer, and it seemed so odd to me that they could possibly forget. It would be like forgetting how many children one had, I thought. And maybe that’s true, if one had 26 children.
But after 14 years of publication, I now understand the situation a bit better. Because while my 26th book is about to be released, I’m doing page proofs for 27, wrapping up 28, considering 29, and gearing up for my first anthology. It gets a little confusing for a natural born schizophrenic like myself.
But I still feel badly. I mean, I can’t even remember all of my major characters’ names anymore, much less the minor people, of which there are, I estimate, somewhere around 1000. I can’t remember why I adored them and worried about them and thought they needed their own stories, their own happy endings. But I know they were, once upon a time, extremely important to me.
The process of writing books is not unlike that of gestating a child. As mothers, we worry about their future. Will they be happy? Will they be loved? Also, like babies, our stories will meet thousands of people and each person will have his or her own opinion about them. Once our books are out there, once they’re gestated and born and breathing their own air, there’s only so much we can do to protect them. To nurture them. Even though we rather desperately want to say, please love them. Please be kind to them.
Anyway, I digress. As I said, I have a new book coming out. The title is Bewitching the Highlander. It’ll hit the shelves on August 1st. And…well…please love it.
So, what’s your story? Are you a writer? Do you want to be a writer? What’s the most difficult part of the process for you? Do have any questions about the whole mad cycle? Ask away. We ladies here in the convertible have written and published somewhere around 200 novels (yikes!) and are ready and willing to answer questions.
11 comments:
Lois, CONGRATULATIONS! It's another hunky baby boy! On the cover, of course. And wow-- 26 books!
Okay, now I feel like a piker! I think I've done 26 or 27. . . and a few novellas. . . only I've been at it for oh, a whole DECADE longer than you have!!! Yikes!
Of course, I can plead "bookus interruptus" otherwise known as "life." But still. . . my production of late hasn't been sterling. Mostly because I spend so much time figuring out WHAT to write. So why don't I just get busy and write something/anything?
Ummmm. . . because that would be WORK?
Mega congrats Lois!! What a major accomplishment. I hadn't realized that you and I have been published about the same # of years. Longevity. I think that's one of the the keys to success in this business, don't you? It ain't for the faint of heart. To arrive, survive, and thrive, you must continue in the face of 'life', as Betina so aptly stated, and shifting markets and new competition. So I guess that would be what I've found to be the most difficult part of the process. Keeping your balance and forging on while the sand is constantly shifting beneath your feet.
Ain't it the truth. If I could just lock myself away in a bubble somewhere it would sure help the writing process. But life keeps marching on and taking me with it.
Congrats to you, Lois! (Hmm, I think that means we need to eat. Together. And much chocolate must be involved.)
And over 200 novels between us all? Wow! We're busy ladies. Very cool.
Do we feel wiser for the number of books we have under our belts? Or just more insane? I think I have a little of both depending on the day.
M
Congrats, Lois, that's quite an accomplishment.
I still remember when you'd just sold your first book - back about the time I finalled in the Golden Heart for the first time.
Wow, I'm old. Can't imagine having written all those books in the time it took me to publish my FIRST one!!
Pat yourself on the back, sweetie!
Lois-- Congrats! Love the cover. The thing that surprised me the most was how jaded I became about the process. I went from "Ooooh! My first page proofs!" to "Oh! Crap. Page proofs. When do I have to have these back?" LOL!
Yes, Deb and Lois and all-- and remember how in awe we were of editors? I was actually speechless the first time I met Ellen Edwards. And I remember not recognizing Linda Marrow and finding out later who she was and wishing I was dead.
Fun times.
And Lois. . . I prefer not to think about what people may do to my babies. I just "trust them to the kindness of strangers" with $7.99 in their pockets. It's too traumatic to think of them becoming somebody's "Harvey."
Thanks for the congrats. But at this stage of the game, one simply soldiers on, aye?? I mean, I have another book due in ahhh...two days.
Gotta run.
Yeah, Lois! I'm at around the same number of books (I don't have an exact count at the top of my head either). At conference, someone asked me about a character in one of my early books and I had this horrid blank spot it my mind. I couldn't remember a thing about that person without more jogging of my memory.
I never expected that to happen. Glad I'm not the only one! However, once reminded, I had this surge of love...sorta like looking at old baby pics of my now-big kids.
That happens to me all the time, too. Someonw will mention something I wrote in an early book, and I I'm like "did I write that? Really?"
I'm pretty sure I'm prone to using the same names without meaning to, too. But then, I can never call my children by the right ones, either.
Congrats on the new book. I would like to be a writer but I enjoy reading so much more. lol I am doing research for a book but we'll see how far it goes. :)
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