Sleep?
Ack! Is it really my turn to blog again? I'm not ready!
Here I was, sitting at my desk and basking in my freedom, thinking of all the things I DIDN'T need to do today. And then "bing," my outlook reminder popped up to say, "RWQ Blog today."
Oh boy. I forgot all about it. But I do have a good excuse.
Late yesterday, I FINALLY finished my current work in progress. :::dancing!::::
It'll be the 1st book of my new contract with Hqn, and it needed to be written way in advance because I have 2 more to finish so that Hqn can put out 3 related books, back to back, in 2011. Tentatively, they're scheduled for June, July, and August.
(In 2010, I'll have 1 single title romance, "Back in Black," in February. But I'll also have some new novellas, and a lot of reissues.)
I've never done this planned trilogy thing before. It's very taxing. I don't have the type of brain that plans ahead 3 books. I write a book, winging it from daily inspiration, not from any set plan, and if a secondary character gets my attention enough to warrant his own book, he gets it.
None of my "series" ever started out as series.
No wait, I take that back. They weren't planned in advance of the 1st book, but I knew as soon as I wrote "Sawyer," from the Buckhorn brothers, that I would also write stories for the other brothers, too. But prior to writing "Sawyer," I didn't know that.
Ditto with the Winstons. As soon as I wrote Cole Winston's novella, for the "Hot Chocolate" anthology, I had story ideas for his brothers.
But this time, Hqn wanted me to come up with 3 related books from the onset, and that's a big bend for the way my brain works. How do I know which characters will speak to me, until I've written them? So far, though, so good. I think I have a handle on things. (ha!)
The 1st book (the one I just finished) will probably be titled, "If You Dare," because the hard edged, mega capable hero is named Dare. (Long ago I figured out that readers liked it when I put the hero's name in the title, because it made it easier to recognize each book.) But then that gave me a kink, because the hero for the next book, Dare's good friend, was named Jace. And how in the world do you put Jace in a title?
In the end, I changed his name to Trace, so that titles would work. LOL.
Without a Trace... how does that sound?
Yeah. Titles are NOT my forte, but I was trying to think ahead, knowing there'd be 3 related books.
So on top of writing the book, I had to think about other things too. Very taxing! (Quill authors, how DO you do it!?)
Always, by the end of a book, I'm mush. Those last few weeks of writing, it becomes very difficult for me to sleep because my brain won't stop going over the plot, trying to remember any little twists that I haven't tied up, all the details, or any emphasis that I meant to make but forgot about. I keep notepads and pens all over the house, but especially next to the bed and the bathtub.
My desk is a hazard zone. I have 6 candles sitting out (because the scent of candles helps get me in the zone) and I have treats for the dogs on hand, plus treats for me on hand, plus notes and notes and notes EVERYWHERE!
I do a lot of munching when I write, but I think I burn up a lot of calories too, because I don't gain more weight. I just maintain.
Added to the craziness of getting to "the end," we've had some spectacular full moons, and they ALWAYS mess with my sleep.
This one was taken from my front yard, and I zoomed in for a shot that was a little way up and across the street.
Pretty, isn't it? That moon hung so low in the sky, it was incredible. It literally lit up the area like a street lamp.
And it kept me from sleeping soundly. Whenever I have a particularly tough time sleeping, I can almost always blame a full moon. I don't know why, but they mess with my head. LOL
This next photo was taken by my brother. The lake you see is the place where I spent my childhood. Every year, as soon as school ended, we packed up and went to the lake. If you read about a lake in any of my books (and I write that in often) this is the lake I'm picturing in my mind. Many, many wonderful memories there!
We'd spend our days water skiing, swimming, boating, and sunning. We pretty much lived in our swimsuits. Even dinner was usually spent in a suit because you ate at the picnic table in the side yard, or on the deck out front that overlooked the lake.
Dad, who just turned 86, sold the cabin on the lake a few years ago. I miss it horribly, but of course I supported his decision.
And speaking of my dad's birthday - his was the 17th of November. Mine was the 14th of November, and my husband's is the 22nd of November.
How did I spend my birthday? WRITING! See, my book was due last Monday, and I was determined NOT to be any later than I had to be.
Now with the book done, I hope to catch up on sleep, maybe shop, and let my husband treat me to a few dinners out with a movie thrown in.
What about you? Are you a person affected by the full moon?
Is there a weather condition that helps you sleep or keeps you from sleeping? (I sleep better when it's raining, but not if it's thundering with lightning, because that'll wake me up.)
Do you sleep more or less when you're stressed? (The endings of books always stress me.)
Seems the older I get, the more of an issue sleep is for me. Every little thing keeps me from sleeping soundly. I wonder if I get to Dad's age, if I'll stop sleeping at all. LOL
Forgive me for the rushed, not all that interesting blog - but cheer me for getting this book done! I'm going to take a week off to read, shop, and relax, and then I have to get writing again. I have a novella due February 1st!
Hugs to all,
Lori
aka
L. L. Foster
http://www.lorifoster.com/
www.LoriFoster.com/Fun/Contest.php
posted at 4:47 AM
