Blogging Today at Slip Into Something Victorian

I'm over at Slip Into Something Victorian blog today talking about my Civil War weekend. My husband and I spent last weekend in camp for the 28th Pennsylvania's annual Civil War encampment.






To get a peek into the life of a reenactor, visit: http://slipintosomethingvictorian.com

Hope to see you all there.

April Goals?

Hmm.

It's April 30th, so I thought I'd better go over those goals I made at the start of the month.

I've been buried in edits for Erin's Rebel, added to that the excitement of the past few weeks with the release of Eternity Waits and all the promo that went with that. I also had my first Civil War reenactment of the season this past weekend. So, I don't think I completed all my writing goals, but I didn't do so bad.

1) Complete revisions for Katie Rose.
This one I did manage to complete. Now, after a short break, my plan is to start line edits in May.

2) Complete outline for my new vampire story.
I didn't complete this one, but I have a lot done. Since it's another short story, there aren't that many scenes, so the outline is really shaping up. It's fun to work on something new after all the revising and editing on the other stories.

3) Start first draft.
Well, I didn't get to that. Want to get the outline finished first. But I do have a title for my new story. I'm calling it, Sweep Redemption.

The hero is a Civil War Union captain who was once a Catholic priest, but left the church. Now he's being stalked by a vampire and he needs the help of a Southern widow to fight the vampire off.

Let me know if you like the title.

My First Ever Review!

I just got my first ever review. It was for my new release, Eternity Waits. Three and a half books out of five from The Long and Short of It.

Here's the link: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-eternity-waits.html

Eternity Waits Is Out!

Today's the day! My short vampire romance story, Eternity Waits, is a new release on The Wild Rose Press site. I'm so excited, it's hard to think.

Here's the final excerpt and a link to purchase.

Eternity Waits
Black Rosette, Sensual

Excerpt #3

Alexandra Ivanov gazed with longing at the tall, manly soldier before her. His musky, masculine scent caused her to shiver with desire. Sandy-colored hair fell in waves on both sides of his tanned face. Alexandra had spied him on her forays through the outskirts of the army camp. Each time she'd seen him, he'd been alone, but she'd waited until tonight to approach him.

Since the war began, she'd not lacked for fresh blood. These lonely, young soldiers, so far from home, were all to willing to allow a strange, loose woman to wrap her arms around them. The army blamed the deaths on a vicious, nocturnal animal roaming the woods at night.

But this man carried the essence of her long-lost love. Alexandra felt drawn to him, like to no other. Centuries ago, she'd lost the one and only man she'd ever truly loved.

She moved closer to the soldier, his long, lean-muscled form not unlike Dimitri's. He gulped, but lowered his rifle and didn't back away.

"Why are you here?" He clawed absently at his collar while his gaze locked on hers.

Heat swept through her at the sight of his throbbing pulse. Although hungry, she wouldn't take too much from him. She didn't wish to kill him. Yet.

To purchase your copy of Eternity Waits, click here.

I've Been Tagged!

Nicole McCaffrey just tagged me and, although she says it's fun, it doesn't seem like much fun to me.

The rules:

1) Link back to the person who tagged you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post by posting links to their blogsites. 5) Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their site. 6) And let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Now I have to post six random things about myself.

Yech!

1. I was always good at math and worked as a bookkeeper for 13 years. I finally burned out and now hate to balance my checkbook.

2. I'm a big science fiction fan. Although I read tons of sci-fi books and stories as a teenager, the original Star Trek series was what got me started. I've even been to a Star Trek convention.

3. I'm also a big vampire and paranormal fan. I was hooked on the daytime soap Dark Shadows back in grade school. For years, I've wanted to write a vampire story and when I finally did, I couldn't sell it and stuck it in a drawer for 4 years.

4. My husband always wanted a girl, but when I popped out our third son, I told him, "Three strikes ... you're out!"

5. I never had any interest in baseball, until after my sons started playing little league. At first I always made sure I had a book with me, but soon decided I had to learn the rules of the game and show some support to keep my boys happy. Now, even though they're all grown up and don't play anymore, I've discovered all those hunky big league players. I'm now a die-hard Philadelphia Phillies fan.

6. I'm running out of things ... let's see ... now that I'm finding more and more time to devote to writing, I'm happier than I've ever been in my whole life.

Well, there's my random facts, but who do I have left to tag.

I choose:

1. Bess McBride

Mainly because she's already linked to my blog. Nic already got everyone else and I don't know anybody else well enough to tag, so I guess that's it.

And the Winner Is ...

Ashley Ladd is the winner of the $10.00 gift certificate for The Wild Rose Press!

Send me an email at susanmacatee@aol.com to claim your prize. I want to be sure I have your correct email address before I forward the certificate to you.

Congratulations!

And thanks to everyone else who entered. I've enjoyed reading all your posts.

Time For Another Excerpt

Eternity Waits come out next Wednesday. Yay!

I've waited so long for a new release. Can't believe it's so close.

Here's another excerpt to whet your appetite:

Eternity Waits

North of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
July 1, 1863

Caleb Weathers tensed at a rustle behind him. He swung his Enfield rifle in the general direction. A hoot, followed by the rustle of large wings left him staring into the wide-eyed gaze of a Barn owl. When the bird took flight, he breathed a sigh of relief. The scents of pine and fetid soil calmed him a bit.

The thickness of the forest made him all to aware of how vulnerable he was to attack despite the weight of his weapon. Caleb sensed a presence behind him. He broke into a sweat and the hairs on the nape of his neck rose. He whirled and aimed the barrel of his rifle at the form that appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where'd ya come from?"

The woman smiled. Blood-red lips and luminous blue eyes captured his gaze. Her raven hair glinted in the moonlight.

"I am Alexandra." Her low, throaty voice held a guttural accent.

What is a beautiful woman doing in camp alone in the dead of night? She couldn't be up to any good. And yet, as he watched her, a thrill of anticipation raced through him. Something about her seemed familiar. A memory he couldn't quite reach.

He swallowed. "You'd best skedaddle, ma'am. You can't come through camp without a pass."

"I can for you, my darling." With one fluid motion, she moved closer.

He cocked his rifle. "Stop right there."

Her exquisite lips drew into a pout. "I would never harm you, Dimitri."

At the sound of the name an eerie sensation swept over him.

"Who the hell is Dimitri?" he asked. "My name's Caleb."

No Blog Ideas

I know I should be posting a new blog about now, but can't seem to come up with any ideas.

I guess I've been too intensly involved in my characters' lives to come up for air. I did finish my revision for Katie Rose, one of my April goals. I'll put Katie and company aside for a few weeks before I start final line edits.

I'm also deeply into my outline for my new vampire story. I even came up with a title, Sweet Redemption.

Right now my brain's so fuzzed, I can't think of anything beyond my works in progress.

Signing off for now.

Distractions, Distractions ...

Now that I have to spend more time on promo, because I've finally got something new to promote, I have to spend more time online than ever before. And that leads to lots of distractions that can easily waste my writing time.

The biggest is email. I'm now a member of 5 large email loops that I try to keep up with as much as I can, but just reading all the posts could take me a day and a half.

My strategy to deal with this is to take turns paying visits to the major promo loops I've joined. Sometimes it's hard to keep all of them straight. I've decided not to start actively promoting on the new loops until I actually have something available to buy. It's too easy to forget that great excerpt after a few days, if you can't buy or put in on a wish list immediately.

Also, I'm trying to keep up the social aspect of replying to others on my loops, but it gets harder every day.

I try to stay offline until late in the morning, when I'll take a quick peek at my email, then stay off for the entire afternoon, coming back on after dinner.

So far, it seems to be working and I'm able to get some writing and edits done each day.

How does everyone else deal with promo and email eating into writing time?

Blogging at Slip Into Something Victorian

I'm doing the Tuesday Ten over at Slip Into Something Victorian today. The subject: Victorians & Vampires.

Hope you'll join me at: http://slipintosomethingvictorian.com

Making Time for a New Project

Since I have to get edits done on my contracted book and I also want to finish the revisions on Katie Rose, I've been having a hard time figuring out how to fit my newer projects into an already busy week.

My solution was to make time on the weekend and work exclusively on the outline for my new, short vampire story. After splitting my writing time this week on edits for Erin's Rebel and revisions for Katie Rose, I spent my whole morning today working on my new outline and doing some needed research for that story.

The result was a needed break from editing and revising already written projects and focusing on something brand new. It really frees up my mind and I'll feel fresher on Monday when I get back to those edits.

How do all of you manage working on multiple projects?

April Goals

Happy April Fool's Day!

I've got my April writing goals figured out.

In addition to the edits for Erin's Rebel I have to complete by May 1st, here are the goals for my other writing projects for this month:

1) Complete the revisions for Katie Rose.

2) Complete the outline for a new short vampire story.

3) Start first draft of that story. I'd like to write at least three pages per day.

I'll post at the end of the month how I did.

And remember, anyone who comments on this post will be entered in my contest to win a $10.00 gift certificate for The Wild Rose Press. Scroll down for details.

Contest Starts Today!

Here's your chance to win a $10.00 gift certificate for The Wild Rose Press!

Just leave a comment on any of my blog posts between today and April 19th and you'll be entered in a drawing to win.

The winner will be announced here on April 21st, two days before the release of Eternity Waits. So, if you leave a comment, be sure to check back to see if you won.

Here's the blurb and excerpt for Eternity Waits again:

Alexandra Ivanov has wandered the night alone for the past three hundred years. The only man she truly loved had been taken from her on a bloody battlefield centuries ago. Now she finds herself drawn to Caleb Weathers, a virile soldier who sets her heart racing.

Caleb, a Confederate soldier stationed in Gettysburg in 1863, is intrigued by the beautiful, exotic woman who calls him by the name Dimitri. When she touches him, she sets his body on fire. But is she the devil in disguise?

Excerpt:

Alexandra rose from the cave where she'd slept and stretched luxuriously. The moon beckoned, a pale, silver glow. He awaited her.

Her mind called out to him. Dimitri.

And he answered her. Alexandra, lyubof, come to me.

A chill raced down her spine as she thought of her lost love. How could it be him? Was it possible for the soul to be reborn in a different body? Her mere existence proved stranger things possible. Was she deluding herself? The young American couldn't possibly be Dimitri. But she'd felt his presence since the first time she'd come upon Caleb guarding the outposts of the Rebel camp. She watched him from the shadows, his body taut, on alert. He stared at her, then lowered his gun and reached for her.

She moved toward him, a question in her eyes.

"Dimitri, my Dimitri," she murmured into his ear. Their lips met. She took his mouth greedily. Memories of Dimitri lying beside her, his body entwined with hers, sent her passion soaring. She slid her lips along his throat.

End of the Month Already?

I just realized it's the end of March. Time to recheck those March goals.

I wasn't sure how much I would actually accomplish this month, since my second set of edits came in for Erin's Rebel. I'd decided when they came in, I'd clear the decks of my other projects.

And I'm not complaining. I've waited a long time to get something new published, so it feels good to have a contracted book. I figure when these edits are complete, I'll have four works in progress to get back to.

And, looking over my goals for the month, I actually didn't do so bad.
1) Enter Katie Rose in the Romance Through the Ages Contest.
Done

2) Make a clean printout of Katie Rose so I can start revisions.
Did this too, and am nearly at the end. I do have to insert a few scenes and just have to figure out where they'll fit best in the story.

3) Work out the outline for a new short vampire story.
I started on this, but had to put it aside. I do hope to spend a little time on it this weekend, though.

So, surprisingly, I got more accomplished than I thought.
Next, I'll come up with some April goals, keeping those ER edits in mind.

I'm Having a Contest!

In honor of the release of Eternity Waits on April 23rd, I'm having two separate contests here and on my website: http://susanmacatee.com

Prizes for both will be a $10.00 gift certificate for The Wild Rose Press.

The contest for both locations starts on March 31, 2008. And it's easy. All you have to do is leave a comment on any one of my blogs from March 31 to April 19th. So, be sure to come back and pay a visit.

And if you enter my website contest, too, you'll have a chance to win another $10.00 gift certifcate.

Details for my website contest are at: http://susanmacatee.com/News.html

Guest Blogging Today

I've been invited to guest blog today on Title Magic. I'll be talking about the five years it took me to get my time travel romance, Erin's Rebel ,published and the many detours I had to take to realize my dream of having the book of my heart in print.

Hope to see you all there: http://www.titlemagic.blogspot.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I want to wish all my readers a Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Enjoy!

New Victorian Blog

Just posted a new blog on Slip Into Something Victorian on 1860s cosmetics.

See you all there: http://slipintosomethingvictorian.com

Joined Another Group

I got an invite from my friend, Cynthia Owens to join another writer-reader group, called Romance Book Junction.

Here's my page: http://romancebookjunction.ning.com/profile/SusanMacatee

I'd like you to take a look and if you think you'd like to join, just click Sign In and use my name for your invite.

I'd love to see you there.

Promotion

Now that I have a story coming out next month and a book under contract, I've decided I have to start stepping up my promotion efforts.

I already have my website, www.susanmacatee.com and this blog, along with my group Victorian blog, Slip Into Something Victorian slipintosomethingvictorian.com, but I've been investigating more sites where I can be visible to readers.

One I just joined is a new site called Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction. I've set up a page at: http://romancewriterandreader.ning.com/profile/SusanMacatee
I've also decided that to keep my promotion from interfering with my writing, I'd keep early evening hours to work on promotion.

We'll see how it goes.

How does everyone else handle working in time for promotion?