Karen Mahoney

If you hear a sigh of relief...

Wed, 07 May 2008 20:20:47 GMT

... that would be me.

The Scene From Hell is finished. Longest 2,000 words of my life.

I am now going to watch an episode of Veronica Mars, and maybe eat some chocolate...

Book stuff...

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:55:54 GMT

Forgot to mention that I also bought Marie Brennan's Midnight Never Come at the weekend:

swan_tower's book looks fantastic - I can't wait to read it.

But I am going to wait, because right now I am reading the gorgeous:

By Venom's Sweet Sting is the second Hallowmere book, and I can't believe I took so long getting around to reading it. tltrent rocks! :)

'Doctor Who' fabulosity...

Sun, 04 May 2008 20:03:45 GMT

No spoilers, don't worry all the US peeps on my f-list. But... bloody hell. Yesterday's episode... Wow...

It's not so much the episode itself that was great (which it was), but the trailer for next week's. Episode 6 looks pretty jaw-droppping. The title is apparently: *mutter mutter* O_O Did I say, wow?

*faints*

Pondering POV

Sat, 03 May 2008 20:54:35 GMT

So I reached:

20,056 / 60,000
(33.4%)

on DOL, which is great news. But... hold the congratulations. *takes deep breath*

I think I might be writing this book in the wrong POV. When I first started this project I was writing it in 1st-person. Then I felt like it wasn't working, so I switched to 3rd and everything flowed. But now I'm not so sure. (I know, I know. I wait until I'm a third of the way through the bloody thing to start thinking about this! *g*)

The story is only told from my MC's POV - there aren't any other POVs - and much of the power of it comes from the transformation she goes through, and the emotional impact of that. I'm not sure that 3rd-person is allowing me to dig deep enough into her psyche and really mine that emotional content. I feel a little bit too distanced from her - and if I'm feeling like that, what about a reader? I mean, it's ok as it is I think... But maybe 'ok' isn't good enough.

Maybe if I try rewriting a chapter in 1st-person and see how it looks/feels... Contemplating this is a pretty huge deal, but I want it to be the best piece of work I can produce. Better to try it now than find it's something that needs to happen when the whole draft is complete!

Oh, and also...

Thu, 01 May 2008 20:56:40 GMT

... I did my civic duty and voted in the London Mayoral elections.

I am a firm believer in our right to vote, even if I don't think much of any of the main candidates! We just have to make the best of it and try to consider who will do the best job of managing our beautiful city.

Books read in April

Thu, 01 May 2008 20:01:37 GMT

These are the books I devoured in the last month. As you can see, it's been a month of YA fiction - both contemporary and fantasy:

Tithe, Holly Black (Finally! It took me long enough to read this gorgeous book.)
Ironside, Holly Black
Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher
Vintage, Steve Berman
Total Constant Order, Crissa-Jean Chappell (Wow!)
Firebirds Rising, ed. Sharyn November (still reading this anthology)

No reviews necessary - I enjoyed every single one and highly recommend them all.

Back on track

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:25:35 GMT

Took me longer than I thought - and I lost almost 2,000 words in the process - but DOL is heading in the right direction again. For now... ;P

I should hit 16k tonight before I switch off the laptop. I am aiming to make 20k on Saturday, even while taking a day off from writing on Friday. I need to make up those lost words!

Wrong turns...

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:35:29 GMT

Huh. I just took my first major wrong turn in this new book. It's not so bad - I don't think I have to go back too far to fix things and get my characters back on track.

*note to self* This is the problem with not outlining...

Back to work!

God bless the internet...

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:09:06 GMT

kt_coope is a Very Bad Influence for introducing me to Google Reader. I have just spent the best part of this evening subscribing to my favourite non-LJ blogs so I can read them all in one handy format. And check my email at the same time. *faints*

Luckily, I made time to write 1,100 words on DOL. Ha! Take that, procrastination! ;)

Goal!

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:06:07 GMT

Despite the family day yesterday, I put in some extra time on DOL late last night and managed almost 2,000 words. Today I've written a little more than 3,000 which means I made my goal of 5K for the weekend! Yay! *feels proud*

My head hurts, but I'm sure some chocolate will sort that out... ;)

15,145 / 60,000
(25.2%)

Hope you all had productive/relaxing weekends.

Writing v. children

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:56:05 GMT

*sigh*

Now I know why I don't have children of my own... My brother is here with my little niece. Plans for a good word count today have been thwarted.

Ah, well. Back to playing skittles in the garden. :)

A 'real' book...

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:14:45 GMT

It's starting to feel a bit like that, now. :)

YA urban fantasy - "DOL"

10,104 / 60,000
(16.8%)

Blog-free zone...

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:00:56 GMT

So I managed 700 words on DOL last night - a bit short of my goal. I am determined to make up for lost words later. :)

With that in mind, and also considering that I have a couple of busy days ahead, I am declaring this LJ a blog-free zone until the weekend.

I will catch up with you all then! As usual, I'll still be checking my emails so give me a shout if you need me. See you soon...

Just made it...

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:57:10 GMT

Yesterday I just about made my 1,000 words. I'm going to try to do the same later, now that I'm home from work. If I can keep that up during the week, I can boost my word count at weekends. That's the plan, anyway...

No teasers, as there were a couple of tiny ones at the weekend.

Today it was so warm! It feels like we missed out on spring entirely, and skipped straight to summer.

I am writing a book I love, I actually had fun at the Day Job and the sun was shining. Not a bad day! :)

Trying to write...

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:02:02 GMT

...but with a cat wrestling my laptop for space on my lap, this is no easy task.

*sigh*

Tagged!

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:51:31 GMT

I've been tagged by olmue. Wow! All this time on LJ and I've never been tagged before... *feels special* Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to whoever tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

Okay, so I'll play. The book nearest to hand at this moment in time is Elizabeth Bear's Blood and Iron, which I was actually considering re-reading. Here are the three sentences:

He grinned up at Fyodor, half human reassurance and half baring of teeth.

Fyodor twisted over his shoulder to stare at Keith, one curl falling across his forehead. "I have had enough of revolution, I think."

I love this book!!

I tag the following five people (though I know a lot of you are away at RT or just plain busy, so no pressure):
reneesweet, sora_blue, skarrah, queenoftheskies and stephanieburgis.

It's a good sign...

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:30:47 GMT

...when you're writing a scene and find yourself holding your own breath along with the main character, right?

I finally remembered why I love writing so much! Thank you, Writing Gods. That is all.

*goes back to inflict more pain on poor Max*

Great RT post

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:22:18 GMT

Here are reneesweet's notes from the editor/agent panel she attended at RT this week. She's taken the time to write them up and share some great info. Thanks, Renee! :)

Elizabeth Gilbert on writing...

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:43:22 GMT

Fantastic essay by the talented author of Eat, Pray, Love. Check it out:

Some Thoughts On Writing

Welcome to LJ...

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:43:13 GMT

relliott4 - the lovely Rinda Elliott!!

Rinda has recently accepted representation from Miriam Kriss of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Her long-running blog, The Write Snark, has been a regular haunt of mine for a while so it's good to see her cross-posting over here. When you get a moment, go over and friend her - please make her feel welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you over at fangs_fur_fey soon, Rinda! ;)

Birthday wishes...

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:29:16 GMT

Happy Birthday raeputtputt!!!

Lots of love and hugs. Have a great day!

Arrgh!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:05:01 GMT

I was just editing something minor on my last entry and... and... deleted the stupid thing by mistake, instead of saving it.

*sigh*

I'm so not awake yet.

There were a few comments I hadn't yet replied to, so I'm very sorry about that. *goes to find coffee*

Monday Moggies

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:14:15 GMT

Yep, in lieu of content today, you get photos of my cats... ;)

Here is Felix, showing himself off in the best way possible:

And here's Logan - he asked for a close-up:

ETA: For carrie_ryan:

Suburban Glamour

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:50:57 GMT

It's my ~~pleasure~~ duty to tell anyone reading this entry about the incredible mini-series (published by Image) by London-based comics creator Jamie McKelvie.

The final issue (for now) has just been released, but here are the details for the forthcoming trade collection:

SUBURBAN GLAMOUR VOL. 1 TP
story JAMIE MCKELVIE
art & cover JAMIE MCKELVIE

Life’s tough when you’re a teenager - homework, boy trouble and meddling parents. So when Astrid Johnson has to deal with imaginary friends turned real, monster attacks and faerie magic as well - that’s just not fair, is it? Collecting the critically acclaimed mini-series from the co-creator of PHONOGRAM.

MAY 7 • 104 PAGES • COLOR • $9.99

Anyone on my f-list who loves sub/urban fantasy - especially when it includes faeries - is in for a treat. This is freaking gorgeous stuff. I sincerely thank kt_coope for telling me about this amazing mini-series.

But don't take my word for it; McKelvie and Image have joined forces with Newsarama to provide internet users with the entire first issue FREE.

And here are the original covers of the four-issue series:

Check out the links to Jamie McKelvie's website and blog.

Seriously, give it a try. I haven't fallen in love with a comic in ages, and I can't believe this one contains everything I love in YA urban fantasy. If you enjoy books such as melissa_writing's Wicked Lovely or blackholly's Tithe, you should give this a try. I'm crossing my fingers that there'll be more SUBURBAN GLAMOUR in the not-too-distant future.

ETA: Just thought I'd better add a warning for adult content (language), being a responsible blogger, and all... :)

Today I went to Forbidden Planet...

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:29:06 GMT

...and here follows a photo-journal of my trip. Some of my LJ-friends might like to see their books on a London shelf. (Please excuse the poor quality pics; these were taken on my mobile phone.)

Here we have Forbidden Planet in Central London. This is where I go to ~~worship~~ check out the new releases each week:

Next, we jump straight into the 'New Titles' section. And who should I find there? Look, it's ilona_andrews's Magic Burns, which had just arrived:

When I went round to the 'A' section of the books, here's what I found:

OK, that's enough from Ilona. ;) Next we have...

Yes, it's antonstrout's Dead To Me, right in the middle there. And look again, could that be The Cipher, by difrancis, right next to him?

I also saw:

Chaz Brenchley, otherwise known as desperance, there's River of the World just like I told you. But, look! Since Monday they are already down to one copy!! How cool is that? :)

What else did I see there? Um... Oh yes, this one:

jimhines's Goblin War (sorry it's a bit blurry, Jim).
ETA: And of course, Jim is surrounded by two lovely ladies: mevennen and mizkit.

And finally, here's rkvincent's Rogue. I thought she'd be pleased to see that us Brits have placed her right next to Joe Hill:

That's all for now, folks! Us aspiring authors can only dream of having our books in the hallowed 'New Titles' section at Forbidden Planet. Ah, one day... *sigh* ;)