Things I googled today.

I’m doing a final pass on Dowser 8 before I send it back to the editor for line and content editing. At this point I’m scanning the entire book, checking on and (hopefully) resolving anything that I’ve highlighted in my previous pass(es).

Highlights usually denote new sections that I’ve written (in response to the editor’s story notes) that I want to go over a few more times. I also highlight certain words that are bugging me (this happens a lot while I’m writing) and things that need to be double checked – timeline, background, etc.

And some highlights are things that need to be verified by google. Because I often don’t want to take the time while writing to go online and possibly break my flow.

So I thought it might be fun to make a list of the things I googled while doing a final editing pass on Dowser 8.

Is there a a series recently built brick townhomes on the corner of Vine Street and West 2nd Avenue in Vancouver? Nope! I’m mixing up streets. According to Google Maps, the red house with the tiny picket fence is still there!
Are there lights along the seawall path by Kits Pool? Google Maps confirms yes!
The menu at Browns Socialhouse.
Amedei Porcelana Chocolate Bar (I have one in the house, but I was too lazy to go look at the label).
Was BC Place built for Expo 86? Answer: Nope. 1983. Removed reference in text.
I also spent A LOT of time poking all around Gastown on Google street view.

Also, for fun, here are a few things I had to double check from the other books during my final pass:

Was Jade wearing cupcake pajama pants in Dowser 4? Answer: Yes.
Jade first met Yazi four years ago? Answer: July 2013. So almost four and half.
Was the Southern Pack mentioned in Oracle 2? Answer: No! I changed the name to the Gulf Coast North American Pack
Are there laurel hedges at the top of Gran’s driveway? No specific mention in Dowser 1, so I went ahead and added them.
Double checked the description of Pulou’s knife. Seen in Dowser 4: a nasty-looking blade with a gigantic emerald embedded in the center of its guard. And in Dowser 6: shortsword with the huge emerald embedded in its guard.
Description of the treasure keeper’s ivory Buddha. In Dowser 4: a three-foot-tall Buddha carved out of some sort of tusk. And Dowser 6: The three-foot-high carved ivory statue was still wearing my mangled katana like a lopsided crown.
Pulou’s age: 600? Answer: Nope. 500+
Taste of the elf’s magic in Dowser 7: “It came with the smell of rain after a terrible dry spell … a storm on the horizon … and, underneath the wildness, sharp woodsy notes — cedar and sap, perhaps.”

I need to go over the final scene again but I’m going to leave that to tomorrow when I have fresh eyes.

Dowser 8: the trick was …

Even beyond elves running amok, the tenor of Vancouver was changing. And it always got worse before it got better, didn’t it? The trick was getting through the worst of it without losing anyone in the process.

Or murdering anyone, I supposed.

And I had yet to pull off that feat.

– Dowser 8, Chapter 3, fourth draft

And, because you might ask, I haven’t set a release date yet. 🙂 Late-spring/early-summer, best guess.

***

Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

It might not look like it …

… but I’m working through the editor’s (aka SFG’s) story notes for Dowser 8 today.

I’m three-quarters of the way through knitting armwarmers in Gauge Dye Works’ self-striping merino twist yarn in the Sweet Baby James colourway. If knitting updates interest you, I usually post more on my Instagram page.

Yep, this is what brainstorming a ‘missing’ scene looked like earlier this afternoon.

I’ve also spent the day trying to convince myself that I have absolutely no need for a new iPad, even if I would totally have fun writing with the pencil.

And .. that’s editing in a nut shell. For this book, at least.

The shadow leech strikes after midnight.

I wrote this note to myself for Dowser 8 over a two months ago. Bring Freddie back? Where? It has been stuck to my desk through writing the third draft of Dowser 8, the entire first draft of Dowser 8.5, and the second draft of Mory’s novella in D8.5. Frustrated with it taunting me, I stuck it to the front of my current notebook a few days ago.

Then, last night while lying in bed and trying to will myself to sleep (as I do every night) and not even thinking about the Freddie hole in Dowser 8, I was was hit with ideas for not one but three scenes (in Dowser 8, Dowser 8.5, and Dowser 9) involving Freddie. Concerned I might forget, I scrambled to find my glasses in the dark (I didn’t want to wake Michael) and email the ideas/scenes to myself. Actually, it probably would have been easier to get out of bed and grab my laptop. Ha.

My point? The muse moves in mysterious ways. And I have absolutely no idea why – after racking my brain for months for a good way to weave Freddie further into the three books – I suddenly figured it out while lying in bed and trying to fall asleep.

There you go.

Bonus: finding emails with scenes sketched out in my inbox the next morning. Plus I didn’t sleep badly after that at all!

I’m working on the second draft of Rochelle’s novelette in Dowser 8.5 today! Fun! Fun!

Dowser 8: cupcake short list

Okay, I put out a call for cupcake names for the two new cupcakes featured in Dowser 8 last week. And you all submitted A LOT of amazing possibilities. I took some time this afternoon to short list a bunch of the suggestions, attempting to pair them together in a way that worked for me.

So without further ado here is my shortlist.

Cupcake #1 (first row): chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint buttercream

Cupcake #2 (second row): chocolate mint cake with mint buttercream

Chill in a Cup Tingle in a Cup

Brisk in a Cup Shiver in a Cup

Snuggle (or Snug) in a Cup Satisfaction in a Cup

Rush in a Cup Quiver in a Cup

Flutter in a Cup Frisky in a Cup

Spark in a Cup Seduction in a Cup

Awe in a Cup Exhilaration in a Cup

Now, I’m going to send this list to Michael to see if he can help me narrow it down. I’ve only done a first pass, so I have a feeling a few of these pairing might be swapped around before we settle on just two names.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit. It was difficult to narrow the pairings down. I actually had a bunch of single entries that I really liked but I couldn’t get them to really work with any of the other entries.

Reminder: some of the suggestions were doubled/tripled/etc. When the final two names are selected, the FIRST person who submitted the name for consideration will be contacted and awarded the prize/credit.

Thank you for playing along!!

_____________________________

Edited:

Michael’s (and my) finalists:

Snuggle in a Cup Frisky in a Cup

Chill in a Cup Tingle in a Cup

And now I think I’ll need to write the recipes and test bake the cupcakes in order to decide which of the two options suit them best. So you’ll have to give me until next weekend to finalize the giveaway!!

Fun!

Story editing and an excerpt

I finally got Dowser 8 off to the editor (aka SFG aka Scott Fitzgerald Gray) for story editing this morning. Though I nearly lost my mind trying to output the manuscript from Scrivener (the software I use to write) into a WORD document because the compile function had been updated/upgraded. Anyway, an hour and half later, I dropped the book in Scott’s inbox. YAY!

And, because some of you might ask, I haven’t set a release date yet. There are three stages of editing – story, line/content, then proofread. And those tasks depend on other people’s schedules as well as at least two, if not three, more drafts of the novel, plus a polish, that depend on me. Late spring/early summer is my best guess right now.

To celebrate I thought I’d share an excerpt with you.

“Treasure Keeper.” I struggled to keep my tone smooth. “Thank you for coming. I do have some questions. Would you like to step inside the bakery?”

He tilted his head, making a show of thinking about it. “Are there cupcakes?”

“Probably not. Nothing fresh, at least. But I believe we were just about to order sushi.”

Pulou grimaced. “Raw fish.”

“We could order some tempura.” Yes, I was cajoling one of the nine most powerful beings in the world with deep fried prawns and veggies. I had a feeling it was that, or give into the need to beat him around the head until he apologized — for locking me up and not telling me about the elves. “And there might be some leftover petit fours.”

“That will have to do then. Not created by your hand, alchemist, but I shall have to endure, I suppose.” He offered me a smile.

I returned the smile, with less teeth. I wasn’t fooled by his attempt to charm me. Seriously. A girl knew when her former mentor would like nothing better than to kick her ass and retrieve the instruments of assassination.

– Dowser 8, Chapter 8, third draft [selectively edited for extreme spoilers][unproofed]

Dowser 8: the bachelor party, part two

Below is the excerpt I promised yesterday. I just added another 2100 words to Mory’s story (which opens Dowser 8.5) bringing it to 12k with at least six more scenes left. So it will definitely be a novella once it’s finished, not even including the addition of Rochelle and Jasmine’s stories. Fun!

Now I’m going to make Michael his birthday lunch (grilled cheese – medium cheddar cheese from a local dairy on garlic cheddar bread from a local baker), then settle in with my knitting for a Thor movie marathon with the birthday boy. Later there will be cheesecake and individual pizzas.

Warner leaned forward. “And if I’m about to leave the country, I’d like a moment alone with you. Upstairs, perhaps?”

Placing a hand on his chest, I pushed him slightly away. He allowed it with a grin that told me he was content to be compliant. For the moment, at least. “Leaving the country? With Kett?”

He shrugged. “We’re bringing Drake. And your father and Qiuniu are joining us at some point. So what could possibly happen?”

My mind momentarily boggled at all the craziness that could possibly occur under those exact circumstances.

– Dowser 8, chapter two, second draft

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

The boss has scheduling privileges.

I know, I know, I made this big announcement about how I was going to cut back and refocus, including taking Saturday mornings off. And then I worked all day last Saturday (I really, really just wanted to get the first draft of Dowser 8 done) and now I want to spend more time with Mory (aka the opening novella of Dowser 8.5) this morning.

But being self-employed has to have some benefits, doesn’t it? And tomorrow I’ll reward myself with a chocolate milkshake and buying/planting a pear tree (I’ll try to remember to take a picture. It’s a two combo espalier and I’m planting it in the raised garden bed outside my office window).

And really, the recycling/groceries/mail can totally wait. Ahem, ah, yeah, confession time, if you won a copy of Dowser 7 from me like a long time ago, I still haven’t managed to get it in the mail. Sorry! But the padded envelopes I needed finally showed up yesterday, so the paperbacks will be on their way soon!

Now where did I leave Mory … oh, yes, Mountain View Cemetery. Where else would she be?

It’s a gorgeous morning on Salt Spring Island. The ravens and eagles have been playing in the wind and the snow has all melted (yay!).

Dowser 8: hunting with misfits

Okay, this tiny snippet made me laugh out loud yesterday. I thought you might find it fun as well.

Feeling the teenagers behind me becoming restless, I wrapped my hand around the hilt of my knife. Someone was going to have to teach Peggy and Maia to be patient hunters.

Unfortunately, I was concerned that person was supposed to me and I was honestly getting bored myself.

– Dowser 8, chapter one, second draft

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

Daily writing schedule, 2018 edition

So I’ve decided to change up my daily writing schedule in 2018. Normally, I work on one project/novel/screenplay at a time, taking it through three drafts, then story edit, then another draft and polishing pass, then content/line edit, then final read through, then proofreaders, and then the book is released. Meaning that after I write the first draft, I don’t really write any ‘new’ words until the story is with the editor (I add a ton of words, and move them around, but I’m still working within the same main story). So this often results in me struggling to get back into the habit of daily writing when a book is being released – at a time that I often feel a bit tired (if not actually a little burned out).

So! For 2018, I’ve decided to try something new. I’ll write two thousand words a day, every morning, five days a week. And in the afternoon, I’ll work on the 2nd/3rd drafts or edits of the novel that is next to be released. Setting Saturdays aside for audiobook recording.

So this will likely mean that the period of time between Dowser 7 and Dowser 8 releasing will be slightly longer than normal, but it should also mean that Dowser 8.5 and Dowser 9 actually release quicker. If all goes as planned and I can actually write two novels at once (that does remain to be seen).

Anyway, this is long way of saying – YAY! I get to start writing Dowser 8.5 today, as well as the second draft of Dowser 8 this afternoon.

A pile of Kleenex is all that marks the final words of the first draft of Dowser 8. Let the second draft commence!

Oh, FYI. I seriously hope the test prints of the new T-shirt designs from Dowser 7 arrive at Elizabeth’s this week. But they still haven’t shipped. Yes, the ones I ordered on January 12. 🙁 Fingers crossed! I’ll do a couple of giveaways when they’ve been approved! And hopefully Elizabeth will take some modelling shots. 🙂 I will also write up a post about getting a good fit (using your chest measurement, not the size printed on the T-shirt) and how international readers can get their hands on the designs (since the T-shirts themselves still only ship to US addresses).