Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Gracing you with one blog before school starts

Okay, so not really. I'm going to try and blog more, and not just have this be the last blog you get until May. But no promises. It's hard enough to keep up with school, dance practice, writing, and acquiring manuscripts. My blogging hardly gets any attention (though it should).

What have I been up to lately? Lots of dancing. I performed for the first time ever December 9th. And then again on the 16th. Talk about nerve wracking! Especially since one of the pieces I did on the 16th I'd only learned the Saturday before.

Christmas was good. I got lots of belly dance stuff for that too. Costume pieces, DVD's (instructional and performance). I'll have 'Christmas presents' arriving all of January. I actually kinda like Christmas like this. It's stretched out over all of January, which is fun. Fun to get almost weekly presents in the mail.

I've only just started to get back into the writing groove. I bought the Write Or Die desktop edition, and it really seems to be helping. Though it makes you think things like "if I can write over 900 words in 30 minutes, what could I accomplish if I wrote for like four hours"?

While I have been writing the past few days, everything I write still sucks. I need to start doing some rewriting to see if I can fix it. It has no tension, and nothing is really happening, which is really weird for me. Usually my books are tension and action packed. Meh, at least I have something to edit. It's better than having a blank page mock me.

What am I working on? The ménage I've been working on forever that I meant to do for NaNo. But my computer died in November so there was no attempt at NaNo. I'm hoping the story will be like 15k. I was hoping to finish a first draft by the end of this week, but I don't see that happeneing with the problems I'm having with it.

I've been reading Jaid Black's Viking series, and it's really good, so if you're looking for an interesting erotic romance, check out her books. Her book Warlord was also excellent.

I'm going shopping for more books tomorrow with Naomi. We're hitting a Recycled books. I want some yoga books and of course, I'll be checking out the romance section.

Until next time (when ever that may be)!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

NaNoWriMo...Kinda

"I can scare the stupid out of her, but the laziness runs deep." -Paris Geller from Gilmore Girls

So, I've known about NaNoWriMo for... eightish years now and have never done it. Yeah, this year isn't the year I'll be doing it either. Last year I didn't do it because I was in the middle of a novel I wanted to finish up. I think that's pretty much my excuse every year. Maybe I have commitment issues? Nah! (Yeah.)

This year, I found I wasn't really in the middle of anything, except an ugly battle to get the rights back from my (ex-ish) publisher on the book that I'd finished in the previous year. Long ass story, and one I can't really tell (though I'd really like to, but it would be petty, and beneath me... and maybe I'll do it next Saturday. Nah).

So why am I not doing it this year. Laziness. You know how hard it is to do 1,667 words every day? Impossible, for me. In fact, hats off to anyone who manages it! You deserve some chocolate or money or something. I also have school, which blows, and is quite enough of an excuse for me.

While I'm full of laziness I do plan to finish a novella during November. I want it to be a maximum of 20k. We'll see how that works out. This will probably be the only time I go OVER my goal. I always fall short. Anyway, at 20k I only need to do 667 words a day, which is much more manageable. Lol, but still might be beyond me. We'll see how it goes.

Okay, that's freaking annoying. Because I'm signed into blogger I can't get on my Acquisitions account without signing out of my blogger account. Guess I'll have to come back and add to this blog if I forgot something.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Interview with Steven Nedelton

Please welcome Steven Nedelton to Come Hither Pumps.

1. What’s your current project? My latest project title is Tunnel. I started working on it months ago but due to work on my books’ promotions I stopped. I am too busy to write right now. I have about 30K words done. Finalized 30K? Not yet.

2. What’s your genre and how did you choose it or have it chosen for you? I get my ideas from the everyday news, from the everyday events. My novel Crossroads was based on a a sentence I read in a local newspaper, in 92. The Raven Affair was based on the TV news about a court case/court proceedings in California, in the 90s, I believe. So my genre was dictated by the events. However, I do like suspense.

3. What advice would you give writers about rejection letters? One cannnot give a good advice. It’s a big struggle for most of us, it is so very hard to get published these days. I believe that some writers do succeed quicker because of their writing style. They get noticed. But I am not sure that they are better than others who have to struggle on. However, it is most important to have the MS professionally edited before submission.


4. Tell us about your writing place. Which is your favorite? What would you change about it if you could? Do you always write in the same spot all the time, or do you roam from room to room, area to area as the mood strikes?
I don’t have a specific writing place. I write where my laptop is. It could be here or there. Once I have a good idea, I can sit down almost anywhere and write.

5. Whose writing do you admire most? I like all good writers. I admire Mark Twain. I liked Hemingway in some of his novels. I admired Dostoyevsky, and Gogol in his short stories.

6. What kind of activities do you do to clear your head? I believe that the best way to clear my mind is through exercise. Like riding a bike, anything physical seems to help. Just getting away from writing, if possible.

7. What’s the worst piece of writing advice you ever got? To self-publish.

8. Was there a special moment that told you “I’m a writer”? I don’t think so. I read a lot in the past because I started reading fairly early. And so I began writing in my teens. Together with a few friends of mine. I knew then that I could write.

9. What books would you recommend on writing? Any good novel, any good short story should be a good guide for a writer. One learns by reading quality writing, by reading different authors.

10. Which character was the most difficult for you to write? Why?

My novels are in suspense, at least I try to write suspense, though I do go much deeper than simple action. And so I develop my characters through events. I try to fashion them, mold them according to various situations. I didn’t have that much difficulty in creating any of my characters in the past.

11. Welcome to the shameless promo part of the interview. Please tell readers about your latest release and where they can find out more about your work.

My last published novel is titled The Raven Affair. It was based on the hunt for an exceptionally sadistic mass murderer, Anton, who committed indescribable atrocities. The story also involves two priests living in San Francisco, Father Dominic and Father Joe, who had never heard of this criminal, and the Interpol agents who are hunting Anton, unaware that one of them is leading a double life and operating clandestinely as a high priced hit-man ‘Raven.’ Then there are Mick and Lynnie, living in San Fran too. Mick, ostensibly the well liked maitre d’ at the Westin St. Francis’ Michael Mina Restaurant, yet—unknown to Lynnie and his employers—also the dreaded underworld figure known as ‘Clerk.’ Thus, there’s a romance with a very questionable character and much, much more to read, wonder about and discover. Based on this blurb, some might conclude that The Raven Affair is no more than a thriller. But they’d be dead wrong. For the novel was called ‘frighteningly good’ by one reviewer and ‘a superb instant classic’ by another. There was a reason for that. To find out why, one has to read it. All information about my books is available on the web site, www.suspense.web.officelive.com, or, www.snedelton.com.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

It's reading time!

Hello everyone. Its been forever.. I know. I'm horrible at this whole blogging thing. I have good news though, I have nearly finished my novel Lost in Moonlight. Its only taken me two years to even get close to finishing. Once I finish I still have to work on getting published, but mark my words, I will do it! Even if it takes me forever. (It better not take forever, I just might lose it.)

I have also just finished reading Kresley Cole's newest edition to her IAD series, Demon from the Dark. I am close to nearly worshipping her, lol. She is my favorite author and never fails to leave me inspired by her writing. Here is the trailer for Demon from the Dark. I hope this inspires to pick up one of her books. Who knows, maybe she will inspire you too? :)

Friday, August 6, 2010

Strapless Release!

My new short story, Strapless, was released today! Get your copy now!

Strapless
By
Honoria Ravena





Buy it here.

Reviews:

"It held my interest from the first word to the last..." -Violet Harper of The Pagan & The Pen

"If you want to read something very short, something hot, and something fun, then this story is for you." -S. K. Fero of Got Erotic Romance

Blurb:

Suffering from heartache over her broken engagement due to disapproval from her ex-fiance's parents, Nadia has sworn off men. Elisheba, who has been a good friend throughout the break-up has always stood by Nadia—but somehow her friend wants more.

Excerpt:

She blew her bangs out of her face with a frustrated breath and shook her head. "You need to get back out there. Plastic toys are no substitute for human contact."

I grinned. "They’re not plastic."

She rolled her eyes. "You miss my point."

"No, I ignored it. I’m not ready to deal with a man yet."

"Then you should be with a woman."

I choked on my tequila shot. My eyes watered as it burned down my throat.

When I stopped coughing, she asked, "What is so funny?"

"I’m straight. In other words: I heart cock."

It was her turn to choke on her drink. "I’m going to have that put on a T-shirt for you, and I’m going to force you to wear it."

"I don’t swing that way. And I don’t know anyone who does."

Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief. "Occasionally I do." She brushed the back of her soft hand down my cheek. "For you I would. You have soft, expressive eyes, and a body with curves in all the right places."

I could feel the flush creeping into my cheeks. Thomas had never given me such a compliment. A little thrill of excitement curled through my belly. I cleared my throat and sat back in my chair. I wasn’t really surprised that she was bisexual. She was the kind of beauty that made everybody’s head turn. Her laughter would make guys cross the bar to talk to her.

But she was hitting on me? This was new territory. Now how to solve this tactfully so I still had a friend in the morning…

Buy it here.