Like that’s new around here?

No, but this time I’m content.  It was bad enough when I tried to create a site (image) for my dark and light toned books–yeah, very confuzzling.  Now that I’m only incorporating the dark tone, it should be easier, but I don’t write one thing, like police procedurals or romantic suspense.

My sub-genres tend to be suspense with romance, psychological and supernatural thrillers, with cops, FBI, ghosts, alternate worlds, magical kingdoms, monsters and serial killers.  Do I import the handcuffs, haunted house, sppoky forest, case files, bloody phone or dug up bones?  Exactly!

So, I decided on the mask.  I think he says it all.  Creepy, unknown, villains that hide behind a mask and try to be unseen.  Kinda generic, no?  But not so much that it’s ordinary.  I love the sinister mask and what it implies to me.  And since fear is only scary when you can see it, it works perfectly for this site and my dark tone.

Fear is what my characters are up against–yes, there is something behind the fear.  They aren’t running from an emotion, but it’s that feeling that causes mistakes and heightens the intensity.  I just love being scared.  Don’t you?

Ok, so I’m perfectly aware this present look has nothing to do with crime, suspense or mysteries, but it’s pretty. *batting eyelashes*  And it won’t last.  They never do.  Someday I’ll have an image designed just for me (whatever that will be), but until then I will upload templates that appeal to me at the moment.  Like this one!

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On another note, I’m really getting into this write in the AM and brainstorm or do whatever the hell I want in the PM.  I can’t believe how quick the writing goes when I don’t care and when I’m trying to get to something else.

I keep reminding myself that it’s ok if it sucks, as long as I get it on paper, then I can fix it all later.  I’ve heard this countless times, but I’ve never wanted to deal with the amount of work the second draft would entail.  So, I’ve painstakingly tried to get the first draft perfect–which is impossible, at least for me.  This time I’m listening in a different way.  I’ll get down all the juicy tidbits, even if I’m telling half the time (one of my biggest problem areas) and then go back another time.  It’s better than sweating it so much that nothing gets done.

Well, I’m off to deal with Sydney and Antonio now.  They have so much baggage.

I spent the first half of my day editing chapter 2 into chapter 1. Yay! I’m realizing how much stronger it will be this way. Now, I’m set to start chapter 2. This all means my Stiletto isn’t finished, but soon enough. Definitely by the end of the week. It’ll put me behind schedule in terms of finishing the whole novel by the end of June, but what can I do. I’ll be roughly 61 pages behind, which means I may have to up my count to 10 pages for the remainder of this quarter. Eventually, I’ll start a book on time and not make changes or alterations until it’s done. Ha! What a novel idea.

As you can see, I’ve also change my blog appearance again. My plan is to go with my whims. Once I’m published, I’ll hire someone who can make me exactly what I want, but until then, I’ll change it when I get bored. Except for the chick’s man hands, I like this one. Fits my mood for today anyway.

Now, I’m going back to Giada and her predicament.

Have I mentioned I get bored easily? Sometimes it’s absolutely ridiculous. But, published writers advise that when you’re unpubbed, it is the time to experiment and find yourself. I have been doing that with my voice and my sub-genre, although I’ve always known my genre. Maybe finding my image is where my experimentation lies. Ah! That makes me feel not so flightly for having a new look every 3 months. I don’t even think I had the last one that long. This time, however, I didn’t waste precious writing time creating headers and web pages. Nope, I went with a premade template which fits pretty perfectly if I do say so myself. Back to my killer!

Today I chose to have my writing day off and not write.  Instead, I did the house, family thing and reorganized my bookmarks.  I’m very organized in that I have specific folders, but each folder contains many site addys.  I can’t stand scrolling through a list to find what I want, or worse, bypassing addys I never visit.  So I’m going through them, deleting ones I no longer need or haven’t looked at in a year or so.  It’s a bitch, boring and time-consuming, but feels great when it’s all cleaned up.

So, tomorrow I will get back to Brody checking up on Lind.

I’ve also been thinking about my business/writing image.  I change the look of my site (and tag) very often.  The tag is because I haven’t been satisfied much.  I really loved Murder, Magic & Mary Janes, but to me, it is very chick lit, which is what it was designed for.  I’m not writing CL anymore, so it no longer fits.  The one I have now, Once Upon a Crime…, I really love too.  This one may stick–hopefully forever. LOL  As for the site design, I believe I just haven’t found my soul yet.  Either that, or I really need to consider making designs for others, because I simply like doing them.

With this new tag though, and getting a closer bond to my writing, I’m starting to see I’m not exactly who I may have thought I was.  Not me me, but my writing.  While I adore reading gritty suspense, with police and serial killers, my writing is softer (with serial killers ).