Michelle Styles:

I started my month's challenge of writing with all guns blazing and managed 17,500 words in 6 days which is great for me.
Going  caffeine free obviously works ( darn it)
Then last Friday morning my revs for Summer of Her Viking Warrior hit. They were doable -- lots of consistency and clarity questions. So I put the Wip to one side and worked on the revs.
I have finished them now and sent them back to my editor. I have also done the Art Fact Sheet. So fingers crossed, I have made this book strong enough. It is one which is close to my heart.
So now it is back to the NaNoWriMo and trying to get it done. It is a bit of shift gears and remember where I was moment. But I have time to reach 66 k by the end of the month -- she says optimistically.

My very lovely editor was super quick and sent me her thoughts before she went on holiday. They are mostly tweaks and one scene/chapter that needs to be reimagined.When I attempted to complain to my daughter, my daughter (dedicated romance reader and supportor of editors that she is) said -- oh good, I never liked that bit. I am glad you are going to have to change it!

So it is back to the drawing board to get the revisions done before my editor returns.

It will be stronger. It can  be done.

I now know how things don't work.

The Roman Undone has a title -- A Perfect Concubine which encapsulates the story very well. It will come out in February 2011.

The revisions for my latest one have also hit. My editor does like to push and inspire her authors but I feel really energised by her suggestions.  Normal service of this blog will resume AFTER I get the revisions done.

Drum roll please! My revisions are done and hopefully my editor will now love the book.

I now have to pack. My daughter has been going over outfits with me and vetoing things. *rolls eyes heavenwards!*

I am tremendously excited about the RWA. Updates will be on the Pink Heart Society as News Flashes. I will also do something for the Harlequin Historical Author blog. And then will do a full round up of all my doings when I get return!!! I do know what it feels like to be left behind.

Wish me luck.

The theme for this revision set is basically the same as the last one.
1. Make the sensual tension obvious, particularly in the first few chapters. They might be fighting the attraction but the reader has to know about the attraction. They have to be AWARE of each other. In this story, it applies to the hero.

2. Clarify the backstory and make it simple. My editor has some good suggestions on this.

3. Clarify secondary character reactions. Namely I went too far in changing certain characters. (Undones don't have this problem because they are intensely focused on the hero and heroine.)

In other words, my usual problems. Thankfully my editor told me that she thought the story was going to be great.

Can I say that I love my new editor? Her thoughts are going to help make this story so much better! It is great to feel energised and really wanting to do the revisions, rather feeling steely determined to do the revisions.

Anyway, I want to get them done before I go off to Orlando and I know it can be done.
They are the sort of revisions that consume me and make me want to work! It is good to get back to those sorts of revisions.

Yesterday, my editor emailed to say that my latest accepted ms now had a title -- Breaking the Governess's Rules. It fits the story because after a Disaster, Louisa has allowed rules to dominate her life. Only now she has re-encountered the man who ruined her life the first time... It is a March 2011 release in the UK.

My editor also mentioned that I was supposed to be hard at work on my revisions. I am (sort of) but think I have come up with a workable solution. My editor said it sounded fine as long as the emotional conflict was sustainable... Now to prove that it can work.

Oh and I have to fill out the Art Fact Sheet. Hopefully I will do it better than the last time...

My editor worked late and got me her initial thoughts. It is the Same Old Problem that has plagued me recently -- lack of attitude on the part of the heroine. What happens is that she becomes flat and the others around her are better defined. In short she is too bland and became a conduit of information rather than a Person in her own right.

The hero needs some adjusting as well.

But it is going to be a massive rewrite rather than simple tweaks. Luckily such things currently are par for the course with me so I am not phased. It is just a matter of working with it.

I did hear that the book that was accepted in March will be out in March 2011.

I have sent my revisions in. The manuscript is stronger and hopefully I have done enough.

On to revising the next manuscript, but I will say that the Manuscript Makeover has given me plenty to think about as has The Heroine's Journey. The whole question of illusionary v true romance. It is something where I think a lot of hard core feminist fail. They forget that true romance is where the partners end up equal, rather than in an abusive relationship.

I am working through my revision notes. Some of it I can see and others I think why didn't she see? There again, I can not argue with every reader and it is my job to make certain things are clear and upfront. My editor highlights problems. It is up to me to solve them, not to argue her around to my way of thinking.
Various characters might miss things but the reader should not be confused.
It involves rethinking and sometimes approaching things from a different angle.

Oh and subtext is king. The undercurrents need to be there. Sometimes as a writer I think they are there but from comments from my editor, she has missed them. And if she misses them, then the reader is going to miss them.
It can be about thinking what is on the page to actually having it on the page.

I am enjoying the Heroine's Journey and there are definite elements of it in series romance. In many ways because it is a psychological journey rather than a physical journey, it is helpful to think about the stages. I had never really thought about them before.

First of all, Sold & Seduced has a wonderfully enthusiatic reivew from Enduring Romance. The overall evaluation was 93/100, so this was a great boast to my writing ego.

My editor burned the midnight oil and sent through 6 pages of revision notes for my revised manuscript. They are tweaks and the book will be much stronger once I have worked them through. Her thoughts also lead me to conclude that I am on the right track for pinpointing my problems after reading The Manuscript Makeover. Sometimes it feels like coming out blinking in to the sunlight after being in a long dark tunnel.
Anyway, it is so important to get the book to be the best read possible and my editor has a great eye. I may wish she was a bit quicker, but ultimately it is the quality of the editing that counts and I do believe that she pushes me in a good way!

So it is revising HRG and then finishing the editing of TPE. After that, I will write a Roman Undone as I know the ending to that one.

I finished my revisions today and have turned them in!

Now all I have to do is to finish my over due manuscript!

My very lovely editor sent the latest revisions for the Governess yesterday. She was apologetic as it is Easter weekend. I was very happy. It was then it struck me -- writing for most authors is a vocation. We do it not only because it pays the bills but because we love it and we believe in our characters. If someone gives me the chance to make my story stronger and better, I look on this as a gift and not a chore. And with her thoughts, I am certain that the book is going have more intensity of characterisation etc plus I can trail the now agreed sequel. Hooray for revisions!

Courtesy of the lovely Carrie Lofty, I discovered a very positive article about Romance in the New York Times. As with an severe economic turmoil, the romance genre is proving resilient. It remains to be seen though if the other maxim holds true, and society morals start becoming more conservative... The Blake Snyder blog from a few weeks ago still intrigues me. How the full frontal nudity of the 1920s films went to separate twin beds for married couples in the 1930s films.

And because it is Good Friday, I have been making the Elizabeth David recipe for hot cross buns. It is all well and good to buy the loss leading hot cross buns at the super markets (Tesco has 6 for 30p) BUT there is a certain satisfaction about using fresh spice, yeast and making your own. This means I can put in nutmeg and freshly ground cloves, raisins and mixed peel instead of currents And I get to have fun rolling the dough into snakes to make the crosses. Both my daughter and my youngest have already asked to help with the making of the crosses.

My revisions are done. The manuscript is stronger. But I really believe in this story, so if my editor sees any more problems, I will fix them.



I now have a week to relax and think up new ideas before seeing my editor and sr editor for lunch on the 16th.



Some moments are made to be savoured.

You do not want to know what my house looks like...

Every scene needs to turn. If the characters feel the same way at the start as at the end, particularly the POV character, what is the point of the scene?
A simple enough concept. You would think I had learnt that by now. Or about dissipating tension in a scene by having it go on too long. Guilty as charged. But can I figure out how to change? Where is going to make the most impact when you know in your heart a scene needs to be there.
Then there is muddled backstory. Simply, simplify.
Ah my old friends, the Crows of Doubt have to call. Always good to have them drop in at this point in the revision process.

I checked the mole traps -- they were all fine. No moles, no collapsed tunnels. Nothing. There are no new mole hills either. This has been the case for a couple of days. Hopefully the mole has packed his bags and decided to visit a water vole or something.

The revisions are coming on. I am trying to make sure that the conversations are not over long and actually do have a point...the relationship does need to move.

Today is my birthday. I am halfway to 90 and very happy with my age. It has been a quiet birthday. My husband insisted on celebrating over the weekend so I had a gift each day -- books in the main.We have also had several nice meals. I had a lovely cake this morning, followed by cards and a few more presents. It is good to be remembered. As the card that my sister sent said: birthdays are the icing on the cake of life.

I sent my Viking in again today, hopefully for the final time. It is a far better book and I do agree with the tweaks that I was asked to make. In the end, if the story flows, that is the main thing and I park my ego at the door...It is Ivar's story in case anyone was still wondering. And I was bound to hit a book like this. Tomorrow, it is back to the word mines and writing the mainstream single title.

My ego took a boost over the weekend. Jayne from Dear Author posted a B review of Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife. As I remembered from her review of Taken by the Viking that the Viking period is not one of her favourites, I was pleased that she liked it. You can read the full review here.
I have thought and thought about why the cover for Viking Warrior Unwilling Wife is not my favourite. I love the background. The woman is quite pretty. But the man neither engages the reader with his glance, nor does he engage the woman. Instead he appears to be lost in his own world and is not inviting the reader in. The picture on the inside front cover is much nicer and shows a tender moment where the coupl are actively engaged with each other. However, there is nothing to be done about it and I am allowed to have favourites.

Yesterday, I turned my revisions to the latest Viking in -- please God let me have closed all the plot holes and not made any ones. Please let me have made my characters strong and compelling enough. This is a prayer from the heart.

Personally I think the book is a far better one now and I can understand why my editors saw what they did. It is always far better to have someone point out the problems...

Today I am going to attempt to get my latest newsletter out. I wanted to get it out last Friday but really the revisions took up a lot of my time.

The house is a complete and utter tip though. And there are unconfirmed rumours that Christmas is about 6 weeks away.

The rowing is continuing and the benefits are clear to see. I can now row for 30 minutes without stopping and my time has been improving. This has caused me to be able to fit into some of my trousers again. I also feel far more energetic and alert.
My creativity appears to have returned or at least I am seeing things more clearly. Why I could not have seen them six months ago is a vexing irritation but now, I am excited about the possibilities.
It remains early days but I am ever so glad that we subcumbed and got one.
The three ducklings are now at the fluffy dinosaur stage. If you want prehistoric beasts, you should see them. The mother duck will occassionally go off with justo ne duckling, leaving the other two on the lawn. The garden echoes to the sound of weep, weep, weep.

I am starting to get a handle on my revisions -- in part thanks to the rowing -- it should be excellent once it is done and dusted. Sometimes, I think I am like Thomas Edison and have to find 9,999 ways it doesn't work first until I finally find the right way. But really, what I was thinking about? Fundamental to good story telling is The Hero Leads and does not simply react. Make the turning points active. Luckily I have nice editors who trust me to turn it around.