Darlene's Digest

For This I Suffered Through Hurricanes? I'm sitting in front of a blazing fire, drinking hot tea, next to a small dog huddled under the covers. It's 50F right now, at 5:30, but it's supposed to get down to 27F tonight. I think my plants will do OK. I might lose some of the impatiens in bloom, but I can always cut them back and count on them springing up within a couple weeks. I more concerned about my friends who grow blueberries. Last week the bushes were blooming--too early because of our mild winter--and if we get a hard freeze it could hurt the crop. But we'll see. In the meantime, I can look out the window and see my trailing flower pots (see photo) and hope for the best.

Why I'm not writing more, or excuse #285: Office painting So last week I had the room formerly known as "Guest Room", now known as "Darlene's very own private space that you'd better not enter without knocking first and don't even do that if I have the 'do not disturb' sign up" painted. I still love the whiff of oil paint that drifts down the hall every so often. But I'm not moved in yet, and all my books are scattered about the house. There's new hardwood flooring going in next week, and I got the bookcases painted. So, since we have the freshly painted bookcases in the middle of the room and the floor consists of torn up carpet with a lot of dangerous nails poking about, I can't get in there. I find myself unconsciously reaching to my left for the reference books that used to be literally at hand, on the shelf on the bookcase next to my desk. Alas! They are now somewhere under my dear husband's summer suits which also...

Boskone 44 Once again I'm off to Boston in February (brrrrr!) for Boskone 44 . The (M) means I'm moderating that program item. I feel especially prepared for that last item because earlier in the week I'm doing a talk to the University Women's Club on women pirates titled "Good Girls Go To Heaven, Bad Girls Go to Sea" . Here's my schedule: Fri 9:00pm Boskone in Death: J. D. Robb 2007 (M) Janice Gelb Darlene Marshall Priscilla Olson Sat 12:00 noon The Business Side of Writing Our experienced panel is all business as they discuss topics such as how to get, grok, and get along with agents and publishers; why keeping good records prevents bad karma; whether you can deduct Boskone from your taxes; and what to do after submitting your latest story. (Hint: start your next one.) Jeffrey A. Carver Gay Haldeman (M) Sharon Lee Darlene Marshall Sat 2:0...

Fun with Translations Amazon.de now has the German edition of Captain Sinister's Lady available for pre-order. It has a September, 2007 release date! And it has a lovely cover!! And it has cover quotes by NYT Bestselling author Diana Gabaldon!!! I hopped over to Babelfish to see if I could get a translation of the page and read all about it. What I've got is a title that translates as "Including and Swords", which I'm fairly sure isn't correct, and indeed, my translator just told me that Samt und Säbel translates as "Velvet and Sabers", which I like. And she's right, in German it's quite euphonious. Babelfish also says this is the translation from the Amazon.de site: "Darlene Mars-resound kidnaps the reader to an exciting adventure on high lake: Before the background of a romantic pirate window blind in the Karibik are the most different shapes: a Pirat against will, a young widow at the threshold to a new life, bandit and a robb...

Supper in Alachua I met last night with the book club sponsored by The Pink Porch in lovely Alachua, Florida. Alachua is a town a few miles north of Gainesville, and the club met at Conestoga's Restaurant for discussion of Captain Sinister's Lady and supper. We had a grand time discussing Florida history, writing romance, the steamy bits and books in general. I was thrilled that Rosanne, the owner of Pink Porch, picked my book to discuss. For some of the ladies this was the first romance novel they'd read, and I was pleased by their response to my book. I hope they'll go on to discover other romance writers who can give them that "getaway" experience romance readers enjoy.

Go Gators! It's Great To Be a Florida Gator! Dang, that felt good! Signed, a proud alumna of the Gator Nation.

We writers sometimes ask each other, "Are you a plotter or a pantser?", meaning, "Do you carefully plot out each scene and outline your books, or do you just sit down and churn out chunks of prose, writing by the seat of your pants?" I've always described myself as a pantser, but not anymore. Over at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels, Nora Roberts referred to herself as an "organic" writer, and that's what I'm calling myself from now on. So much more elegant than "pantser". I tried to outline a novel. Turned out a month later I was still working on the outline instead of writing the book. It's not a method that works for me.

Writing Marathon, Day 3 Today's the final day of our writing marathon. I knew I wouldn't get as much done today because of prior commitments, a library foundation board meeting and the dog's bi-monthly acupuncture treatment (really), but I found myself going back and inserting a new scene in an earlier chapter, so I guess that counts as fresh writing. Six pages total, but more importantly, I feel like I've had a fresh start on the book. I've got momentum now, and I'm not going to lose it. Next week I'm hitting the ground running.

Writing Marathon, Day 2 Six pages of new material. Would have been more, but I got sidetracked by an idea that in hindsight wasn't as good as it sounded. But no effort is wasted effort.

Writing Marathon, Day 1: I signed up for a 3 day writing marathon at Books and Writers Community over at Compuserve. I needed this to jumpstart my WIP, and I've reached my goal for today of ten pages. For me, that's a lot. I know I'll have some conflicts tomorrow and Thursday, but I'm hoping this will kick me in the butt enough to keep moving forward at a faster pace.

Why Book #4 isn't done yet I was thinking about this during a discussion over at Compuserve's Books and Writers Forum, and other than sheer laziness, I'm sure a small part of it is fear. I'm about 2/3 through the first draft, but it's a slog. One of the things I miss is my innocence. Back when I was writing Pirate's Price I didn't know how badly I could screw up my writing, so I just wrote . Now I wrestle with demons while writing because I know more about the craft than I did three books ago. But I'm hanging in there. I know when I finish the first draft it will be a lot easier. I love revisions, because I'm working with a framework, whereas with the first draft I feel like I'm flying through the air without a net. An extremely mixed metaphor, but I rather like it. Happy New Year, one and all. Here's to more writing and great reading in 2007!

I got a call from an acquaintance last night, a 93 year old gentleman. He wants to publish a book about his life, and wants me to write it for him. He's sure it will be a bestseller. I gently explained that I'm a novelist--people pay me to lie to them--and I wouldn't be the right person to collaborate on his autobiography. But I also have no doubt that his story is interesting. How can you live for most of the 20th century and into the 21st and not have some great stories to share? He did say he was thinking of using a tape recorder to make an oral journal and I strongly endorsed this idea. The University of Florida has an oral history project, and even if he can't find a home for his memoir there, it's still the easiest way for him to tell his life's story. I was sorry I couldn't help him. As more and more of our elders pass on, I know we're losing a treasure trove of history. Perhaps our blogs will become the journals of our generation, preserv...

From the SB site: My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Grand Duchess Darlene the Antediluvian of Old Throcking in the Hole Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I'm an Eppie Finalist! Two of my books, Captain Sinister's Lady and Pirate's Price are finalists in the Historical Romance category for the 2007 Eppie awards . The Eppies are awarded by EPIC, the organization for electronic authors and publishers. There are only three finalists in this category, so I'm thinking I better make plans to attend Epicon, the annual convention where the awards are given out. It's March, in Virginia Beach. More on this as it develops.

Thanks to my BFF Janice, I was able to snort coffee through my nose this morning while reading this cover model's lament from The Onion.

Today the Baltics, tomorrow, the NYT Bestseller list! I got a payment for my Estonia sale yesterday, which made me want to break out into my usual "A royalty check arrived!" dance. It's not enough to pay off the mortgage, but it's a start. And it's just cool to be able to drop into conversation that I'm romancing Estonia (with a nod to "The Daily Show" for that pun) and who knows where my pirates and smugglers will travel next?

We had a good time at Jonesberry Books last night in the Tioga Town Center. It was one of those evenings when all my brain synapses were firing and I could call up a host of piratical trivia during my talk. I signed all their Darlene Marshall stock, so if you didn't get out there and you're in the Gainesville area, stop by. The Tioga Town Center is 3 miles west of I-75 at the Newberry Rd. (SR 26) exit, and if you're traveling south for the holidays it's a great opportunity to get off, stretch your legs and do a little holiday shopping in a clean, well-lit space.

Book Signing Tuesday, Dec. 5 I'll be at Jonesberry Books, in the Tioga Town Center, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5. I'll do a talk about Florida pirates and sign books. I'll have a booty chest full of chocolate coins on hand! Tell your friends and bring the family, 'cause pirate romance novels make great holiday gifts!

Go Gators! It's Great to Be A Florida Gator ! Woo Woo! On to the National Championship!

Hey! I'm 20 years younger than it says on my driver's license! This was an accurate reflection of how I feel mentally, despite the bad knee and sagging bits: You Are 31 Years Old Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. What Age Do You Act?