Darlene's Digest

Goodbye to all that 2010 saw steady sales of The Bride and the Buccaneer , and winning the Beacon Award was the cherry on top.  More people have been checking out my backlist as they load up their Kindles and Nooks.  I finished Castaway Dreams and started writing (working title) The Hot Pirate's Secret Baby [alternate working title: The Naughty Pirate and the Very Strict Governess].  I went to Aussiecon4, toured Australia, saw friends and enjoyed myself immensely. I expect to sell at least one book in 2011 and hope for more.  I'm looking forward to attending Boskone, and Renovation (Wordcon 2011) and maybe Epicon.  I'm doing a talk next week and my son will be in town, and I may be able to drag him along if I promise him dinner and drinks after. Life is good.  I hope your New Year's celebrations are safe, enjoyable, and that you begin a new year with all that you need even if it's not all that you want. Now it's time to stir the black-eyed peas an...

Went to see The King's Speech last night.  What an amazing movie.  Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were both astoundingly good in their roles, Firth in particular. I'm often asked if I have Hollywood actors or actresses in mind when I'm envisioning my characters.  The answer is generally "no", until I've finished the novel.  For example, Firefly started airing after I'd written Smuggler's Bride , but as soon as I saw Nathan Fillion as Captain Tightpants Mal I knew who I'd cast as Rand Washburn, the hero of Smuggler's Bride .  I'm still waiting for Hollywood to call. Anyway, the exception to this is my recently finished manuscript, Castaway Dreams .  As I was writing the character of my grizzled, world-weary British naval surgeon, Alexander Murray, I kept seeing Colin Firth in my mind's eye.  So now my job in 2011 (in addition to writing my next novel) is to get Castaway Dreams published, and wait for that call from Hollywood.

Happy Boxing Day !  No, I'm not celebrating it, but this is the day I would be giving my live-in servants their new uniforms, if I had such minions.  I'm still hoping for Raul the Cabana Boy after I hit the bestseller list.  I'd even get a cabana.  And his uniform wouldn't have much fabric at all...Mmmmm... Where was I? Oh yeah, it's the day after Christmas.  If you were fortunate enough to receive a new Nook, Kindle, iPad or other device suitable for reading ebooks, now's the time to stock up on digital editions.  Don't you need some relaxing reading now that the holidays are over? What could be better than a tale of naughty guys and gals in a nautical setting?  All my editions are available in a variety of electronic formats to suit your needs.  You can purchase them from the publisher (links at my website) or from your favorite bookseller, and kick-back with a good romantic tale! Enjoy your Boxing Day, and have a happy and healthy New Year....

Outline or Organic?  Kind of a "Paper or plastic?" question since different writers have different methods that work for them. I'm organic, or a "seat of the pants" writer.  I spent yesterday morning trying to outline my new novel, and realized at lunchtime that I'd pretty much wasted a morning when I could have been writing.  I do find sometimes that if I pause midway through my first draft and then try to outline, that can work.  I need to get some structure down on paper and look at it to determine where the plot holes are and how I'm going to reach that all important Happily Ever After (or at least, reasonably happy and optimistic about the future) ending. We'll see.  As usual, I've got a vague idea in my head of where I want to go with my naughty pirate hero and my stern and disapproving heroine, the plot moppet the hero isn't aware he fathered, the missing heir, the murder plot and so on and so on.  I know though that eventually, if...

I was at the monthly GAWN (Gainesville Area Women's Network) luncheon today where we heard more about our signature project, support of the Displaced Homemakers Program.  DHP is funded through Florida's fees for marriage licenses and divorce filings--most appropriate for this group, because DHP helps women enter or get back into the workforce when they're middle-aged or older. Interestingly, monies for DHP are down because the economy is down.  People both marry and divorce less in tough economic times.  Our group supports our local DHP with donations, job referrals, acting as employers in fake interviews to prepare the women for real job interviews and more.  I'm glad to be a small part of the effort, and it was wonderful today to hear from two of the program's graduates talk about how having employment has made a difference in their lives.

Sometimes the bread lands jelly side up.  This morning I opened up the box to change the battery for our home alarm, an every 3-4 year procedure, and the box had some animal droppings inside.  I was horrified, thinking it was mouse poop.  Fortunately, our pest control tech (a Florida necessity) was scheduled to come by today, so I left it as is for him to pronounce judgment. Turned out they were lizard droppings, not mouse droppings.  He showed me how to tell the difference, but I don't want to burden you with TMI.  Now, you may ask yourselves, "Why is she pleased about lizard sh*t in her house?"  The answer is, lizards don't carry the same diseases or breed like mice, and most importantly, they eat insects in the house.  In Florida, having lizards running around is a good thing because they're a natural form of pest control. Life in Florida--it's just one damn thing after another, but sometimes it's not as bad as it could be.

It's winter in North Florida and the only one who seems thrilled by this turn of events is the dog.  For an animal who loves to spend the entire day sleeping under the covers, she's enjoying these temps in the 40s and her brisk morning walk.   As for me, I'm taking advantage of these days indoors to upgrade to a new computer system.  It's a bit of a hassle, as always, but I know I'll be glad when everything is transferred over and I'm able to find what I'm looking for.  I do have a jumpstart on getting it all together because my brother, the family's computer whiz and resident tech dude, helped me migrate my most important files--my writing and my online presence. I expect to have this done within a day or so and be left with just minor tweaks, and I'll have more time to work on the new novel. Later, gators! 

Feasting With Friends, Florida Style Before we celebrated US style Thanksgiving in Florida (the Spaniards celebrated Thanksgiving at St. Augustine long before those latecomer Pilgrims set foot aboard ship) we had cane grinding in the autumn to share the work and feast with friends: From SMUGGLER'S BRIDE:      As the shadows lengthened, the men began gathering around the tables like wasps drawn to sweet fruit, cozying up to their women, and trying to talk them out of some of the food before the feast officially began. Ma Ivey ruled her dirt yard like an empress and wasn't above slapping a reaching hand with a wooden spoon when they drew too close. Finally though, the last of the cane was put through the mill and the syrup cooked down, and as the night sky filled with stars the feast began to a chorus of tree frogs and crickets serenading the workers. They lined up before the platters of roast pig and venison, quails, turkey, and doves. Even a possum or two join...

I have often heard other writers say that thinking about writing is not writing, researching is not writing, complaining about how your book is progressing is not writing.  Only writing is writing. Having said that, I freely admit that with the visit of my best friend (all the way from Australia!), Thanksgiving, and a family friend's son's wedding coming up, I'm not writing much this week. I am doing some thinking about writing my next book, researching the next book, and trying not to complain that I need to get started on my next book so I can talk about its progress. Once Thanksgiving and the weekend is behind us, I will be doing some writing.  I've done enough research to this point that I feel like I can gather my notes and get cranking.  In the meantime, if I don't get back to this blog sooner, have a lovely Thankgiving with plenty of good food and good times.

Image via Wikipedia Today is Veteran's Day, and Armistice Day.  I want to thank the men in my family who served, and fought, at Pearl Harbor, in the South Pacific, in Viet Nam.  I want to thank the ones who were in the Air Force, the Army National Guard, the Naval Reserves.  I want to thank the young man next door who baby-sat my boys, and when he was grown enlisted in the Marines and served in Iraq.  I tell my now-grown sons, "When your kids whine, say, 'You think you have it tough?  My babysitter was a Marine!'." So thank you, all of you who fight and serve for our country.  Our job now is to fight for you and ensure you get the benefits and help that are your due.

“I am not sure I should have to always do what you tell me to do, or not to do, Dr. Murray. I know you are a natural philosopher and learned, but in America they let men vote equally, the stupid ones as well as the clever. Not that I am stupid, I am just not as learned as you are. While we are here on this island, just the two of us, we should be voting as equals, don’t you think?” He looked at her in astonishment, setting down the gourd. “I am amazed, Miss Farnham, that a properly brought up Englishwoman would take the riff-raff in America as her model for appropriate behavior." --Castaway Dreams, Darlene Marshall (WIP) Be like Daphne.  Do the American thing and vote today.

I haven't been blogging as much recently because I realized my TBR (To Be Read) shelf had morphed into a TBR bookcase that was overflowing.  That doesn't even count what's on my ereader.  So I've been trying to spend less time online and more time reading all those books I've purchased or borrowed from the library. Some of what I've been reading is for research.  Right now I've got Amanda Vickery's Behind Closed Doors--At Home in Georgian England and I'm enjoying it very much.  I  also have on Inter-Library Loan The Republic's Private Navy: The American Privateering Business as Practiced by Baltimore During the War of 1812 by Jerome Garitee and Men of Marque: A History of Private Armed Vessels Out of Baltimore During the War of 1812 by John Phillips Cranwell. The ILL books have a short check-out period so I need to get those two wrapped up, and that will keep me offline, reading and note-taking for a while.  

It was a busy evening at the riverside tavern called Ganymede’s Cup, a tavern with a reputation up and down the coast. It was that reputation that had earned the tavern its better known name, The Greek Boy, for the sign swinging over the door featured a young man in a skimpy chiton. Simpkins, the innkeeper, stopped wiping a dirty rag over a dirtier mug, staring at the man stooping under the doorway. “Why, Julius Davies, as I live and breathe! I’d heard you was hung!” Julius smirked and rolled his eyes heavenward. “La, my dear, you don’t know the half of it!” His companion coughed delicately into his fist. “Who’s your friend?” Simpkins nodded in their direction. Julius put his arm around the man’s shoulder. “Allow me to present Captain Christopher Daniels. He’s new to the area and I’m showing him the, uh, local sights.” --Pirate's Price, Darlene Marshall Someone asked me about the references to "Ganymede's Cup" in a conversation at another site.  Ganyme...

“There are alligators in this creek?” “Not now that you’ve screamed your head off there ain’t. Ooowee, I thought a bobcat could screech, but you got them beat all to hell and back! I imagine there’s not a gator within twenty miles of here now, but it’s no problem, I’ll stay here ’til you’re all done and protect you. You take your time, darlin’.” --Smuggler's Bride There are plenty of Gators around here today.  It's Homecoming at the University of Florida and as a proud member of the Gator Nation I wanted to share with you a bit of Florida sunshine and my favorite Gator orange cover. Have a super weekend, and Go Gators!

Saw a woman reading a Kindle at an outdoor cafe, stopped to admire her sweet little bichon, and I gave her (the reader, not the dog) one of my bookmarks.  I know a marketing opportunity when it slaps me upside the head.

If I've been absent from the blogosphere these past few days it's because I'm deep into edits of Castaway Dreams so I can get it ready to be sold.  Later, gators!

Image by State Library and Archives of Florida via Flickr "Miss Deford, your value to me just keeps increasing by the hour. That gentleman wanted to make a trade, all right. He wanted to trade for you. " "He wanted to trade the deer for me?" Now Jack's grin looked like it would split his cheeks. "No, he acknowledged you were too small to be worth a full deer. He wanted to trade two possums for you." And with that he started laughing so hard he had to sit down in the sand. Sophia resisted the urge to kick him. "Opossums? Aren't they some sort of rodent?" "Oh, Miss Deford, I would not trade you for just any kind of rodent! Possums are ugly rodents!" And it set him off into a fresh round of laughter.  -- The Bride and the Buccaneer,  Darlene Marshall     My elderly, but intrepid, dachshund treed a 'possum last night.  Well, OK, "treed" is an exaggeration.  She kept him at bay in the woodpile.  I recogni...

Image via Wikipedia I was interviewed by the wonderful Kim Adams over at SOS Aloha for "International Talk Like a Pirate Day".  Kim is a SOS Military Liaison in Hawaii, helping families while their loved ones are serving our country.  Kim's a veteran and a military spouse herself, and knows how important this work is. Hats off to Kim and all the other hard working men and women offering support to our armed forces and their families!

 It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  My plans include pillaging some heavily laden merchant vessel and perhaps taking the handsome first mate captive.  But I have to wait until after the ACLD Library Foundation Annual meeting tonight, darn it!

Here's a recap of what's been happening in my life these past weeks: I returned only mildly jetlagged from an amazing trip to Australia.  Did the usual tourist things with my husband, but didn't see nearly enough of the country.  This was my second trip and it was wonderful to revisit.  I don't know when I'll return, but I'd love to go back again. My panels at Aussiecon4 (World SF Convention) in Melbourne went quite well.  I was tapped to be moderator on both of them.  The first one was "Girl meets boy meets dragon: Romance in fantasy".  The other panelists were Tracey O’Hara, Fiona McIntosh and Nicole R. Murphy and part of the fun of attending a Worldcon outside North America is meeting writers who I might not otherwise get to spend time talking to.  This was a lively group to have discussing romance and fantasy, and the program item was well attended.  Plus, I have some new books on my "To Be Read" list, thanks to the other panelists. ...