Wednesday, September 27, 2006

corrected cover . . .


As you can see to your right over here, my publisher sent me the updated cover for (the title I'm still getting used to) KISS OF MIDNIGHT -- complete with cover quote from the fabulous New York Times Bestselling J.R. Ward!

Now the anticipation builds (at least, for me) on the arrival of the cover for KISS OF CRIMSON, which is currently in the works . . . as I barrel toward the finish line on the manuscript.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Thank you to all of the kind souls who friended me on myspace recently. I feel much better now that I'm not alone over there, even if being registered on myspace feels somehow squicky in and of itself . . . .

Monday, September 25, 2006

still here, still chained up . . .

I made some good progress on KISS OF CRIMSON this weekend (which just went up on Amazon), but then today I ripped out a lot of what I wrote because it just . . . wasn't working. Played a little scene reshuffle today, changing the sequence of a couple of events and I think it's on a better track now. I hope.

I also contacted a web designer (thank you, Larissa and Jaci!) and I'm awaiting a reply about spiffing up my site and blog. Time to get that ball rolling.

In other news, I joined MySpace -- here's my page. It plays one of my favorite Collide songs, worth checking out for that alone! :-) Right now I am a friendless loser, except for that Tom guy, but I suspect he'll friend just about anyone. So please friend me. Please?

Friday, September 22, 2006

happy weekend . . .

TGIF! Although Friday doesn't mean squat when the deadline is breathing down your neck. . . .

I heard from my editor the other day, after she read the first half of the monster-in-progress (aka, KISS OF CRIMSON). Quite relieved to hear her say with a smile in her voice, "Now, what exactly did you think was wrong with this so far?" :-) Rest assured, there are a few problems, since it's all first draft rough work, but at least she was happy overall. So, I'm forging ahead and nearly finished with the rest of it! Woo-hoo! Then I get to go back and tear the whole thing apart in revision (as I'm prone to do). Yippee!!

Blog-related: I've added a few new links on the sidebar, including one to my own website (d'oh!), which contains a teensy couple of lines about the series now. Sigh. I really need to get busy and hire a designer! Any suggestions/recommendations on that front, guys?

Sunday, September 17, 2006

trailer envy . . .

Since I'm still locked in my office and not able to come out and play, I thought I'd post links to a couple of sparkly web toys that I wish I had for myself. Click and enjoy!

Anne Frasier's PALE IMMORTAL book trailer

Colleen Gleason's THE REST FALLS AWAY book trailer

I wish I knew how to embed the vids into my blog, but alas, linkage will have to suffice for now.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

officially rechristened . . .

As of today, it looks like the new title, KISS OF MIDNIGHT is official. Now to see how long it takes Amazon, et al, to correct their listings! Hopefully before May 1st, that's all I ask.

In other news, I think I broke my blog yesterday when I permitted anonymous (non-blogspot) comments. I don't know if anyone else noticed it, but the topic appeared to be locked after the first one (hi, Jaci!) and I couldn't get in there to reply to save my life. So I shut off the anonymous permission a few minutes ago and "Viola!" (as my uncle likes to say) it worked again. I'm wondering if my template code isn't designed to handle anon comments . . . ? If I figure it out, I'll reopen the permission. Meanwhile, sorry for the annoyance!

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

kiss of something . . .

Le sigh.

Looks like a title change looms on the horizon for KISS OF DARKNESS. It turns out that some little upstart writer by the name of (NYT Bestseller) Heather Graham just came out with a vampire book called KISS OF DARKNESS. Argh!! To be honest, I noticed this little snafu a while ago browsing Amazon, and after much cursing and forehead smacking, I just prayed like the dickens that it wasn't going to impact my book.

Well, it has. So, the new title sitting at 99% approval at Bantam Dell right now is KISS OF MIDNIGHT. What do you think? My series is called The Midnight Breed, so it kind of ties into that. Personally, I like KISS OF MIDNIGHT (it was my suggestion, after all) but it's just not . . . DARKNESS.

Look for a revised cover coming soon. Meanwhile, congrats to Heather Graham for snagging the fabu title, and for the recent NYT placement of her new book. Damn it.

Me? I'm off to console myself with 85% dark Lindt chocolate and a Red Bull, since my ankle is still chained to my desk on deadline. Unlike SOME PEOPLE who've wrapped up their first draft early and are happy to gloat about it.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

book haul . . .

Since I've been such a good girl, working diligently on my monster-in-progress, I decided a quick trip to the bookstore was in order. Truth be told, the kitchen pantry was bare except for oatmeal and crackers, neither of which are suitable nourishment for a writer on deadline. So before I was tempted to gnaw off my own arm, I had to shop. And then buy books. All right, and not in that order. Plus one book--THE book--required trips to three bookstores before I hit paydirt. Mission accomplished. Now I's happy. :)

Here's my haul:

IT SLEEPS IN ME by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (who is utterly new to me, and whose book I bought just based on the cover and intriguing title)

PALE IMMORTAL by Anne Frasier (whose blog I recently discovered and enjoy)

SLAVE TO SENSATION by Nalini Singh (new to me, and whose book I heard of via the "viral blogging" experiment begun by the Dear Author site)

THE C.I.G. TO WRITING EROTIC ROMANCE by Alison Kent (whose blog I love, and with whom I share a brilliant agent)

and the one you just know I was gonna mention, it being September 5th and all . . . LOVER AWAKENED by the Challa Goddess of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, J.R. Ward!!!

Now the big question is, when can I start reading? It's hard for me to read (fiction, that is) near deadline time because I generally need every writing hour I can get, and it's too easy to fritter away time immersing myself in someone else's world, but dang, the BDB book is tempting. Must. Resist. Zsadist.

Oh, hell. Maybe just a teensy peek . . . .

Sunday, September 03, 2006

deadline hell . . .

Eureka! I see light at the end of the tunnel as I near the final few weeks of my deadline for KISS OF CRIMSON, the second book of my Midnight Breed series. I know there will be revisions on the horizon once I'm finished with the draft (my own fixes, and, no doubt, a few from my editor), but that's all right. I am one of those bizarre creatures who actually likes revising a manuscript, as noted in an earlier post to this blog. For now, though, I'm just trying to get all of the story down on paper and hoping it comes close to the way I envision it in my head.

Hopefully I'll be coming up for air soon . . . .

Kiss of Midnight

About me

  • Hey. Lara here, currently spending time on the dark side, writing a sexy vampire series for Bantam/Dell. Stay tuned for news on KISS OF MIDNIGHT, KISS OF CRIMSON, and the rest of the Midnight Breed!
My profile

SIGN UP FOR LARA'S
PRIVATE NEWSLETTER!
E-mail address:
Full Name: