Happy Holidays!

2010 is drawing to a close. So many year-end things to wrap up, so little time.

In a last-ditch, madcap, doomed-to-fail rush to get some things done, I’ll be taking a little blogcation until next year.

Be sure to visit that first week of January though. I’ll be hosting one of the nicest ladies in the thriller-writing business, Karen Dionne, author of FREEZING POINT. As part of the blog tour for her new release BOILING POINT, she’ll be blogging about something fascinating. According to author David Morrell, “Karen Dionne is the new Michael Crichton.”

Trust me, you won’t want to miss her visit! (Have I ever steered you wrong?)

 

Happy Holidays to all! See you next year!

The Proof is in the Galleys

Finished proofing the galleys for KILLER ROUTINE. Whew!

Here are a few observations:

There were many occasions when I’d come across a sentence (or even a paragraph) that I didn’t recognize. As in, “Who wrote this? I didn’t write this, did I? You kidding, I wrote this?” You’d think after spending so much time writing and revising it, I’d have memorized the entire manuscript.

There weren’t too many instances where I wanted to change something (really change, not just fix a word). I guess that’s good.

Most of the “fixes” were of the stylistic consistency type. You know, spelling out numbers, capitalization of certain things, spelling of slang—stuff like that.

I didn’t find any things—situations, events, timing—that would present problems for the sequel, which is mostly written. Those things I did find should be easily fixed (in the sequel).

It’s better than I remembered. Which is nice.

My copy editor is terrific.

Luddite No More

After some dilly-dallying and some shilly-shallying, I finally got an ereader.

Just call me Kind-Al!

So far, I haven’t done much with it. Downloaded a few samples. Downloaded a few games. Downloaded one of my manuscripts to see how that process worked (well!).

I tried the text-to-voice feature, and it reminded me about an internship I had in eleventh grade at the National Bureau of Standards (now called NIST). I was working in the computer department, on PDP 11/45 minicomputers, which were the size of large refrigerators. (Now, there’s probably a hundred times as much computing power in your digital watch than in those things, but back in the day, they rocked.)

To me, a mere eleventh grader, the coolest thing was their text-to-speech function. You typed something on the terminal and two giant speakers spoke it aloud. If you listened very carefully, you could even recognize one or two words out of every twenty.

We’ve come a long way.

Thanks, C.H.!

Right now, I’m in the midst of proofing the galleys of KILLER ROUTINE. Luckily, I have a terrific copy editor; she’s certainly worth her weight in gold (cliché. Try “she’s sublime.”). Thanks, C.H.!

So far, I haven’t found any egregious errors (which is good). In addition to my search for typos, style inconsistencies, and the like, I’m also reading this book with an eye toward the next (which is almost finished). I need to make sure I haven’t written any contradictions between KILLER ROUTINE and its sequel. Of course, if I do find something amiss, most likely I’ll be changing the sequel, not KILLER ROUTINE.

It’s times like these when I wish I was more of a details guy.

Perooz This!

I’ve joined a new book site, called Peroozal, where “Your Favorite Authors” recommend “Their Favorite Books.”

It’s a neat concept and it’s growing fast.

As an enticement to participate, they’re giving away a free ebook, Watchlist, from ITW. Simply visit the Peroozal site and click on one of the free book offer ads (this offer good thru Dec 21).

While you’re there, see which books your favorite authors really like!

Eclectic or Messy?

So I happened to be looking at the design of my blog’s sidebar and realized that there really is no design. Just a bunch of pictures and info and widgets, slapped up there.

Just like how I used to decorate my apartments before I got married.

I’d find a new piece of art, or a new calendar, or a photograph and I’d hammer a nail into the wall and hang my new acquisition.

What do you all think? Is my sidebar too jumbled? Are there any cool widgets you’d recommend that I try? I’m always eager to pull out my hammer!

Not the Best Speler

Required viewing for all writers.

Crank Those Dials!

Today I’m at InkSpot blogging about how working a soundboard is like revising a manuscript. Click over and say hi!