Month: April 2022

Veronica Gets Her Own Book

~ Jenny ~ 39 Comments

I put Rosie in Crazy for You (and called her Katie). I put Wolfie in Faking It (and called him Steve). I put Wolfie and Milton in Dogs and Goddesses (and called them Wolfie and Milton). Mona is in the Riven series (as Muffin). And now, finally, the glamour girl of the bunch is getting her due. Veronica is in Lavender’s Blue (as Veronica). (Veronica was a sort of stand-in for Marlene in Fast Women, except Marlene was brown and a con artist.)

For those of you new to Argh, this is Veronica:
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The Collaboration Process in E-Mail: You Really Shouldn’t Have Asked To See It

~ Jenny ~ 34 Comments

Somebody here asked to see the collaboration e-mails and I said something like, “They’re not that interesting.” So here’s proof.

On Wednesday, Bob e-mailed me at 9:06 AM about publishing. I got back to him at 10:15, which is the crack of dawn for me, and agreed with him. Forty-six e-mails from me and fourteen from Bob later, it was 4:48 in the afternoon. Bob was finishing up Acts One and Two, getting ready to send them to me, and we had some back and forth trying to figure out how some things worked (no conflict, just discussion). Omitting spoiler e-mails, here’s how the rest of the day went (warning: it’s chaotic and boring, but you asked):

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This is a Good Book Thursday, April 28, 2022

~ Jenny ~ 156 Comments

I am mostly reading Lavender’s Blue, Acts One and Two, getting revved up for Three and Four. And then come the rewrites, but we’ve been rewriting all along so with any luck, we’ll be able to just shoot it off to beta readers and start brainstorming Book Two. Or, as Bob says, “Let’s finish this one first.”

What did you finish reading this week?

Working Wednesday, April 27, 2022

~ Jenny ~ 61 Comments

I’m writing this on Tuesday to set to post on Wednesday, and after several months of watching 2022 speed by (How did it get to be April already? What do you mean, it’s May in a week?), I have now degenerated to “How the hell can it be Tuesday? It was Saturday a minute ago. No, wait that was Sunday and I missed the Happiness post. Crap.” But the book is going well, mostly because when I start to wander all over the place, Bob grabs me by the metaphorical neck in e-mail and says, “The story is HERE.” It’s still got a cast of thousands with a lot of gossip and conflict and a nice slow romance, but it’s a lot more focused now. So that’s what I’m working on.

What are you focussed on this week?

This is a Good Book Thursday, April 21, 2022

~ Jenny ~ 135 Comments

I keep going outside and thinking, “Wow, it’s really warm now, spring came early.” Then I realize it’s April and spring is right on time. Yes, we’re a third of the way through 2022. Remember when we thought nothing could be as bad as 2021? Good thing there are good books to read. I’ve just started David Chang’s Cooking at Home Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes (And Love My Microwave) and I love it. It’s a non-recipe cookbook and very laidback and free and non-judgmental and I need all of that right now.

What are you reading that you need right now?

Working Wednesday, April 20, 2022

~ Jenny ~ 83 Comments

This week I’ve been working on a book with a guy known for fiction with a high body count. We do a lot of trouble-shooting in e-mail, and when we were trying to figure out a particularly vexing problem, this happened:

Bob: Let’s just kill everyone. Simple plot.

Jenny: You’ve used that one too many times.

Bob: But then they come back as zombies. Liz and Vince are the only two left.

Jenny: That’s Book Three.

Bob: And then the aliens land.

Yes, folks, that’s how we work. On a book that will have zombies and aliens over my dead body. Which Bob is okay with.

What did you work on this week?

Random Collaboration

~ Jenny ~ 30 Comments

NOTE: I put Deb Blake’s author post up two weeks early by mistake, so it’s going up again in May. My apologies to Deb and everybody who tried to get the book now. Here, have a different post as an apology.

So Lavender’s Blue is moving along at a much faster pace now that Bob’s on board. Of course he’s also writing his sequel to Shane and the Hitwoman and now he’s taking three days off to go mountain climbing, so on Thursday when he gets back, I’ll be waiting for the “book done yet” e-mail that will lead me to say cruel things to him. In other words, it’s just like old times. Continue reading →

Happiness is No More Snow

~ Jenny ~ 81 Comments

My pal Krissie lives up in Vermont, and it’s still snowing up there. I’d be nuts by now if I were her, I almost didn’t make it to April down here. It’s balmy every day now, often with rain, and the bulbs are up and the trees are in bloom–there are trees on the way to our shopping center that are absolutely loaded with white blossoms and they’re gorgeous–and the breeze is soft, and of course I’m inside trying to write a book, but I know the world is warming up out there, and that makes me happy.

What warmed you with happiness this week?