writing retreat

Hello! Remember me?

I am relieved to say that the first draft of my novel is now with my editor! Yes, the first step in the long publishing process has begun, but "Every journey must begin with a first step," is how the Chinese proverb goes, right?

But getting to that first step was pretty hard! After missing, um, three years of deadlines I was finally determined to make this last one. However, as I was nearing the end,  I needed huge, extended chunks of uninterrupted time and that is something I can't get at home, so I was starting to feel a bit desperate.

And that is where my good friend and fellow author Libby Koponen stepped in. Offering me her spare room in her place by the sea (very apropos for my book),  we created our own two-person writing retreat.

the view from my borrowed writing desk!

Libby was a fabulous hostess (as she always is):

Fresh tea every couple of hours and a pajama dress code!

And we both got a lot of writing done! I worked from the wee hours of the morning to the wee hours at night--I slept less than when Rain Dragon was a baby! But, (as you know, but I must repeat it because I am a bit disbelieving) I finished my first draft!

I watched the sun rise!

It went so well that we are talking about running real writing retreats, offering it to other authors besides ourselves. I think it would be great, don't you?

But in the meantime, I am just thankful that I had this one!

two writers in our work uniforms!

nose to the grindstone

revising the first draft of the new novel!!

Recently, I've come up for air to attend events like the Virginia Hamilton Conference and the Richland Library's Augusta Baker's Dozen Storytelling Celebration. It's been great (thank you to all the came! So fun to meet all of you!) but it's back to work I go! I miss writing regularly here at my blog, but I hope to be back soon! I'm on the first revision on the first draft of the new novel, which would be exciting except that I usually go through at least five of these, so there's still have far to go. Right now, the tentative title is "The Silver Waves of the Sea." What do you think?

In the meantime, I'm still going to be using my newsletter as my main source of outgoing news, so please sign up! That's where you'll first hear all about the novel when it's finally finished!

on my desk monday

I usually don't do any drawing until all the writing is done, but this time I had an image in my head that I wanted to get down before I forgot:

Maybe it'll morph itself into the cover of the book!

on my desk monday

So, I'm pegging away at the new novel. I've had to elaborate on my scrawled map  from when I was writing Starry River of the Sky so that the geography matches with that book as well as Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

My big dream is that three books are put in a box set and I can include a beautifully drawn map! But I guess I should really just dream of finishing this book, first...

on my desk monday

Really, on my floor! These are all my research books (so far) for....my new novel! Yes, I'm a working on the new novel, another (and I think last?) companion book to Starry River of the Sky and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon!

Belated Hong Kong post: Temple Inspirations

Last time I was in Hong Kong, I visited the Tin Hau Temple. I remember being completely captivated by its unpretentious, haphazard reverence. It was, though I didn't know it at the time,  the initial seed of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

So, I was eager to see it again! There was a bit crowded this time but the temple still had its charm:

And I said hello to an old friend:

Can't place him? Think of those red ribbons as red threads...

This fellow might show up in my new novel...

though Rain Dragon would probably prefer this character:

We'll have to see...

Luckily, there's plenty of inspiration to choose from!

on my desk monday

On my desk is a brand new usb drive, a gift from the Sasquatch:

This is actually a very, very thoughtful gift as every time I start a new novel, I usually buy a new usb drive for backing it up.  For the last few novels, I've been buying "themed" drives to help me remember which files are on which drive.  So, what this really means is that I've finally begun a new novel! And the turtle shape is very appropriate, but you'll have to wait to find out why!

Can you guess which novels were on these drives?

I hope you aren't sick of me...

So, it's official! I am super excited to say that I am now contracted for THREE more novels! Yes, three. I really hope you are aren't sick of my books because there are three more coming down the pipeline. Right now, the ideas for them are:

1. DUMPLING DAYS: I did a quick little poll on my facebook fan page asking if people would rather another fantasy like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon or a sequel to The Year of the Rat. It was close, but the majority wanted to find out what else happened to Pacy. Well, the Writing Muse can be finicky and contrary but this time it was rather amenable. Because DUMPLING DAYS, as I am calling it now, will be the further adventures of Pacy--specifically the summer she visits Taiwan with her family and experiences the Ghost Festival. If you notice, the Writing Muse was not, however, willing to make the story into "The Year of the Pig" or "The Year of the Tiger" but you never know. Writing Muses are very fickle. The book is slated for publication in Fall 2011

2. RETURN TO SKY: After writing, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, I realized there were so many stories that I wanted so badly to use but was not able to. Those "leftover" stories have twisted around and are beginning to form a new story, which will be RETURN TO SKY. It will be another folktale/fantasy like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon but it will not be a sequel. It will be more like a companion book (I have sneaking suspicion one of the characters from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon will show up). I am pretty excited about this one, but am glad it is not slated until Fall 2012 because that gives me plenty of time to do it right.

3. NEEDLE AT SEA BOTTOM: This will also be a folktale/fantasy companion book to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and RETURN TO SKY. I have lofty aspirations of making the three into a trilogy of sorts. This book idea is actually inspired by a tai chi posture (for a short while I was learning tai chi, I need to find time to get back to that...). If all goes as planned, I will be writing a boy as the main character! The book is not expected out until Fall 2013.

And after that, what will I do? Who knows? Maybe something completely different. A mystery? A romance? A cookbook? Or maybe just go on vacation. (A travel book sounds nice, doesn't it?)