Why research is a good thing...I think

Hey guys,


So, I was skimming through some links from www.authonomy.com when I came across this blog by an agent's assitant calling themself the Rejecter. Their blogs were pretty insightful and I learned some interesting stuff.

And then I found out what it means to have your book type-set....it means each page only has 250-300 words on it. So, out of curiousity, I checked my word count and devided it by 250.

Which turned my manuscript from a little over 400 pages, to being well over 800 pages....Oi.

So needless to say, I have a lot of cutting to do when I get finished. The good news, however, is that this means since I'll be typing double-spaced instead of single-spaced I'll be done with chapters sooner.

In fact, I'm pretty much done with chapter 27. It just needs a hefty polish seeing as it's one of the roughest chapters I've turned out in a while. Tomorrow is a day off for me, so I'll put the polish on it then. Right now I have a painting to work on and laundry to run through.


Toodles!


~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken

New chapter finished!

Hey guys,

Another chapter is in the bag! I just finished chapter 26 and now I have only four chapters left to write before this book is finished.

I say book, and not story, because this is part of a trilogy. The story is nowhere near done. Next is the "A Child and a Prophesy" and I'm already getting little clips to scribble down.

It's freaking awesome XD

Since the next book is going to have quite a few of the mythical beasts showing up, I've been working on breeds and designs. It's also because of my current cast's journey through fairland in the book I'm writting now, but yeah. It needs to be done either way...plus it's fun


Anyway, thats all I have tonight. Work on chapter 27 will begin sometime Tuesday after my usual three day break. As for right now...it's bedtime.


Toodles!


~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken

Chapter 25 is in the bag

Hey guys,


Another chapter is done, and boy is it a long one. I just looked at the clock and realized it's 3:55am, so I'm going to keep this short.


I now have just five chapters left to write, and then it'll be time for the cover to cover edit/rewrite. It feels so wierd to be planning the details of those last few chapters, but awesome. Hopefully my characters won't have too many surprises for me.

I'm off to bed and to enjoy my three day break before tackling the next chapter. Since I got so many views on the last blog, I decided to go ahead and post a very small snippet from chapter 24. Its part of a scene between Kristal, and the villan of this story. Shadow calls him Saluh(means "nameless" in her peoples tongue) because they don't know his name, and because he's a sick bastard....yeah...

Anyway, here it is....

“I should’ve just let you die”, I rasped as the chameleon adjusted his grip and yanked my head to the side.

Saluh shrugged. “Maybe you think that now, but you didn’t then. And whether you like it or not, you’re going to help me again.”

“Over my dead body”, I hissed, “or better yet, yours.”

Yeah, I know...not much to it, but it stood out for some reason. Or maybe I just need to stop posting blogs in the wee hours of the morning. Either way, I'm heading to bed now.

~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken

A snippet for those who are curious...

Hey guys,


I'm still on my little three day break between chapters(chapter 25 will be started on the 22nd), but I thought I'd share a scene snippet with you guys. Its too small to be stolen and used outside of the story, but hopefully it gives you a peek ahead anyway.

This is a scene between Shadow and Ricardo...

“Why are you afraid to touch me?”

“I am not afraid”, I replied, my voice a low whisper as I tried to ignore the blush that suddenly heated my cheeks. His newly healed palm was hot against mine, and his touch sent an odd tingle through my flesh.

“Then why won’t you?”

I bit my lip, my eyes still locked on the sight of my hand in his. “It is improper for me to touch a male, any male, so casually. We are not blood-family, or courting. It is not for me to do such a thing without your permission.”

He did not speak, and after a moment I looked up to see him smiling at me. The light in his eyes was gentle, unlike the fire I had glimpsed earlier when I had healed his bruises. Slowly he opened his hand until our palms were simply resting against each other. “And how do I grant permission?”, he asked softly.


As you can see, its just a brief bit. I picked this one because a friend of mine liked it, and it stands out to me. Don't ask me why, it just does. And I like it too.

And thats all for me tonight, folks.

Toodles!


~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken

Another chapter in the bag

Hey folks,

I'm up waaay past my bedtime, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

 I finished chapter 24 about an hour ago. As with all my chapters, it needs to be smoothed over, but it's done. Shorter then I thought it'd be at 14 pages, but its solid. I might tweak the end of it, but not tonight. Right now it is time to take a break and goto bed.

I realized today as I typed in the end of the chapter, that I'm almost done...and I'm shocked. I think a part of me never thought I'd get this far, much less finish it. Its really satisfying to sit back and look at the work I've done and know I've accomplished what I set out to do.

Very satisfying indeed.

I found a wonderful website last week. Its a place for author(published or not) to display thier manuscripts for others to read. It is a site created by Harper Collins publishing company, and its as secure as they can make it. You can't download the chapters, and you can't copy and paste them.

The site only retains the right to display your work as long as you're posting it, and you can make your book private if you wish. Agents and other publishing companies look through this site too, and if your book reaches a high enough rank in the site(go see thier FAQ to see what I mean), it ends up on the editor's desk at Harper Collins itself.

The site is www.authonomy.com and if you like to read or write, you should check it out.

I myself plan to post my book there once it's complete. And when I do have it up, I'd love for you to go and give me your opinion on it, ok?

And on that note, I'm off to bed. G'night folks, and sleep well.


~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken

Chapter 23 is finished

Hey guys,


Chapter 23 is finished! As always, it still needs to be touched up, but I think it looks good. I now have just six chapters to go(seven if you count chapter 24, lol). I'm almost done with this book and I'm pretty excited.

I got my first quotes written down for the next book in this trilogy. I'd post it here, but it would make absolutly no sense to ya'll, so nevermind.

As it is, I'm kinda tossing ideas around for the preface, and I have a good idea on how chapters one and two will start. In the next book Kris will still be one of the view points, but instead of Shadow, she will be joined by another griffen named Cara.

I'm not about to list the cast for the next book, but I'll probably be listing the cast from this book once I'm done. In the mean time, you'll just have to wonder, sorry.

On another note, I've given up trying to figure out a date I'll be done. However, I don't think it'll be much longer as I have a lot of chunks leading up to the end. From chapter 23 on, there are a lot of pre-written clips. I won't be able to use them all(some things have changed too much in the story line), but a good many of them will make it in. Not to mention Kris and Shadow's relationships are making for...interesting writting.

At least, it's interesting for me.

Anyway, I have to work tomorrow, so I'm off to bed. It's time for my after-chapter writting break, so work on chapter 24 will begin on wensday. I'll keep ya'll posted as always.

Toodles!

~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken

Two more chapters finished

Hey folks,


Chapters 21 and 22 are finally done. I actually finished chapter 21 last week, but life and work has been so darned hectic that I haven't had the energy...not to mention the time to get on here.

And seeing as I've been plugging away at chapter 22 for the past four or five days straight, I'm kinda fried. Rewritting stuff you wrote a year ago really sucks....it just does. Take my word for it, and don't try it yourself unless you're desperate.

To be honest, I'm not really happy with twenty-two cause its so rough, and the ending is...odd. But if I look at it anymore I'll go nuts. So I'll let my beta readers tell me if it needs more revisions. Right now I just want to read my new books, and hit the sack. I've been running all day on four hours of sleep.

Not the brightest thing to do when you work at wal-mart, lol.

Anyway, I better get to bed before Paul notices I'm still up. I might do some work on twenty three tomorrow, but then again I might not. The chapter is from Shadow's view, so we'll see.

G'night!


~Sun and Moon

~Shaliken