Decisions, Decisions

As I take a break from working on the synopsis for the book I just finished writing, I have to think about the next project I will be working on. Okay, you all know me too well. I'm procrastinating my work on the synopsis. But, I promise to get right back to it once I am finished here.

Honestly, I really do need to figure out what I want to write next. In October, after getting home from the Magna cum Murder Crime Writing Festival, I was certain that I wanted to turn my attention to writing a contemporary mystery. I was so sure of it, that I worked on a strict mystery during NaNo in November. It was actually the second book in a series, I started the first one last year for NaNo. However, now I'm not so sure I want to leave the romantic suspense genre.

So, here I sit, close to wrapping things up on my latest romantic suspense and keeping my fingers crossed that a publisher will be interested in it, needing to figure out what to do next. Decisions, decisions. I actually have six different projects in various stages of beginnings. I have two books with five chapters finished, two with four chapters finished, and two with one chapter finished. You would think that I would go with one of them that is the farthest along, but no that's not necessarily the case.

I want to select the one that I will most likely stick to and get completed. At least one of those books, I have started and stopped working on several times. I need to choose the one that is the most interesting for me to write. Most importantly, I will have to decide if I want to stick with romantic suspense, since that's what genre my two completed books have been.

As I said.....decisions, decisions.

Carol

Happy Birthday, Mr. Poe

Today is the birthday of my favorite author, Edgar Allan Poe. I first became interested in his works while taking a Poe and Twain class in high school. I had always heard of The Raven, but at the time, I wasn't familiar with his short stories. I suppose it's the mystery lover in me that resulted in me becoming a fan.

One of the things I remember from my high school class was the English teacher bringing a Alan Parsons Project album (yes, those black vinyl discs) to class that were songs about some of Poe's works. I thought that was so cool. I'm still trying to find that album. My favorite was The Fall of the House of Usher, both on the album and the short story. I still love watching the Vincent Price movie of the same name.

I also remember when in college, taking every literature class the school had to offer, my fellow students always gave me an odd look when I would tell them Poe was my favorite author. I always wondered if they were a little afraid of me because of that.

A annual tradition started on his birthday in 1949 was when a mystery visitor would leave roses and a half-full bottle of cognac on his grave. Even with people trying to watch the grave, the mystery visitor was always able to leave his gifts undetected. For the second year in a row, the visitor failed to appear this year, causing speculation about why. CNN has put up a blog post about it here.

I think I need to go check and see if there is a Kindle download I can get of Poe's works. Now, that would be cool to have. Happy birthday, Edgar.

Don't forget, there's still a little time left to vote for me and my novel in the Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll. See my post below for details. Thanks.

Carol

Vote for Me - My Write-in Campaign

UPDATE: You no longer have to write my vote in. I'm now on the ballot for both my novel and as an author. I would appreciate your vote. Thanks.

I need a favor. There's a poll going on right now on the Preditors and Editors web site to vote for your favorite book, etc. I'm not listed, but there is a write-in field at the bottom of the list. I'm asking for your write-in vote for my book under the Romance category. You'll need to put my book's name, my name, link to my book, and my publishers name. I've listed the info below that you'll need. Just copy and paste the url, it's so long.

Love, Lies & Deceit
Carol Preflatish
Red Rose Publishing
http://redrosepublishing.com/books/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=254&products_id=399

Once you enter it, you'll get an email with a link in it to click to confirm your vote. It might take a bit to get the email, I just did mine and haven't got the confirmation email yet.

If you feel the spirit, you can write-in my name on the Author's Page, too.

Carol Preflatish
http://CarolPre.webs.com

Thank you for your vote. I appreciate it.

Carol

Searching for my Discipline

I've felt so out of control lately. I wake up on the weekends with good intentions of getting back to my writing, but then other things get in the way. There's laundry to be done, a vacuum cleaner to fix, packing an overnight bag to keep in my car in case of icy weather (may have to use that this week), and finally helping with a family emergency. Now, the family emergency can't be helped and it will probably continue for a while. The other stuff? Well, those are things that need to be done, but not right away. I've lost my discipline.

I'm not really surprised. It seems to happen about this time every year. I work hard during November on the NaNo project and then take December off for Christmas activities. January should be the month that I get back on track and so far, it hasn't happened. It's not for a lack of trying. I pulled out the partially completed projects that I have so I could decide which one I want to work on first and made that decision. I just can't seem to get out of the starting gate. It will happen, it always does. I'll wait for it and when it does happen, you can be sure that I will be out of that starting gate in a flash.

Carol