Monday, February 27, 2006

Sold!

I'm very excited to announce that Lord Night has been contracted by Samhain Publishing! You can read an excerpt at my website, www.jessieverino.com.

I'm still surging, but the story I originally went with completely fizzled out as a short story. It's now on the back burner, slowly simmering, and I'm sure it's going to be a great book -- someday. Meanwhile, I've started another story for the Surge contest, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, when they're not typing, that I can finish it in time.

Peace,
Jessie

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Fizzling Out

I've gone from surge to fizzle.

Some writers feel they are sculpting a fine work of art from a lump of cold stone, and they work skillfully with hammer and chisel to produce their masterpiece. Me? I feel like I've got a jackhammer in my hands and shards of rock are flying everywhere. Bits and pieces of my story showering around me, dropping at my feet, and stirring up a cloud of dust that is choking the life out of my manuscript. I'm considering nixing the whole thing and moving to the next lump of cold stone.

Yeah, right. That's the problem. I can't let go. Even if I don't complete the story in time for the Surge promotion, I'll keep it, and keep hacking at it, until I sculpt something recognizable.

Peace,
Jessie

Thursday, February 16, 2006

I'm Surging

Literally. Phaze has a call for another set of themed Heatsheets for spring entitled Surge, and I'm trying to finish one before the March 10th deadline. For more info on entering, visit www.phaze.com.

Lord Night is finally finished, past the first edits, the beta readers, and is out the door! I've posted a new excerpt on my website, as well as a new excerpt of my Phaze release, Spellbound. Please stop by and check them out.

The weather is absolutely georgeous in East Tennessee today. I went out at lunch, and it's a beautiful 68 degrees with a slight wind. Considering we had snow last Saturday, I'll take the 68 any day in February.

Peace,
Jessie

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Happy Birthday to...

Me! Yep, another year I survived. Thankful, I'm very thankful.

So far, it's been a wonderful day. I received flowers from someone very special, and he took me to lunch. It was very fairy tale.

And, I finished my self-editing on Lord Night (finally, only a few weeks after my self imposed deadline) and have sent it off to my beta readers. I was very excited about this story all the way through, and I loved the ending. There's a small snipped on my website now, from an earlier version, but I plan to have excerpts of Spellbound and Lord Night on my site this weekend when I update.

Next week, I'm playing listmaven on the Phaze e-mail loop. This is my first time hosting, so please drop by and give me some encouragement. And, since next Tuesday is Valentine's, I've got some romance tips and tricks to share. To join the e-mail loop, visit www.phaze.com and click the join box at the bottom. Every couple of weeks or so, another Phaze author will host for a week. This week, Leigh Ellwood, author of the Dareville series and Muse, is hosting. Please drop by and tell her hello.

On another note, Phaze has just announced its theme for the spring heatsheets -- Surge -- and it looks yummy! Please go to www.phaze.com and check out the guidelines. We'd love to see new authors submit, and it's a great way to get in the door! I love writing these short stories, and I've already got one started.

Phaze also has a new author blog with excerpts, reviews, and the ten things you've always wanted to know about the Phaze authors but were afraid to ask. Check it out at www.phazeromance.blogspot.com.

Peace,
Jessie