This n that

I finished ‘Home Killings’ last night. Although the ending wasn't quite what I'd wished for (ie it had the 'villain confesses all to the victim' scene) I still enjoyed this one very much, and would recommended it. I’m definitely going to read book number two (looks like the romantic subplot--which I really, really, liked; it was complex, with lovely sexual tension, and a 'dark' hero--continues it’s arc into the next book….)

Tried to read Kearney’s ‘The Challenge’, again. Still no go. I guess her voice doesn’t work for me. I never did warm up to either the h/H, and never recovered from the switch from the opening kick-assed action scene in the first chapter, to a more ‘romancey’ vibe for the rest of the book. Also, I wasn’t "feeling" the sentient on-board computer with the sassy ‘tude. gg. Yet I kept *trying* to read this one because every time I flipped/skimmed ahead, I’d come across a really interesting scene. Oh well, this book will probably work for someone else.

I’m now reading: Ghoul by Michael Slade. I felt like good horror, and this book not only has 'recommend' blurbs by Alice Cooper, Bruce Dickenson of Iron Maiden and Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, on the cover, the ‘Thank You’/acknowledgments page lists Stephen King and Howard Phillips Lovecraft, plus it’s published by Penguin books. Normally I don't give a fig about cover blurbs, but these weren't your run of the mill ones. After this read, a couple of lush, very sensual, Historical Romances are next up.

**update: I couldn't find a link for this on Amazon or Indigo-Chapters and Googled it, just realized that link I have is to review that's not overly enthusiastic about the book. gg

I was a little down about *not* writing, even though I knew I was too tired to write anything but crap. Then I realized, yesterday, that my lovely subconscious is still working away at Odil.

I realized that I was noticing every prematurely graying man I crossed paths with in daily life—-the way he moves, holds his head, the contrast between dark brow and white hair, etc. I realized that I suddenly knew Odil’s favourite type of music (not the genre I had ‘given’ him), and that it’s tied to happy childhood memories for him. I now know--and can giggle about--his idea of what looks good for dressing up (er, a bit on the cheesy, disco, pimpfantastic side. gg) He plays the piano. Not classical stuff, jazzy. And he does it really well. I know his mom taught him to play. And the secondary cast is falling into place--the various villains and red herrings. So while I’d still like to be actually writing, in my head, things are happening.

I’m going to cool it on the submissions thing. Not that I have anything out there. Just the GH submission, plus one other thing. But I know I’m not a fast writer (no kidding), and I also know that I am heavily in a learning curve, a place I’d rather explore without the pressures of deadlines (like that was a current problem for me. gg), plus when (if) I do sell, I’d like a bit of a backlist for a cushion. Once you start writing in earnest and you're online, it's soo easy to get caught up in the immediacy of things--the contests, the submissions, the agent hunt--sometimes way before you're actually ready as a writer, or otherwise, to be doing any of it. Still, it's all part of the learning experience.