I have a series!

May 17, 2013 by 2 Comments

I’m so excited to finally announce my big news! I’ve been waiting until I had the contracts in hand. And I do. They are now signed and delivered.

I have been offered and accepted a 3-book contract for my “knights” books with Ellora’s Cave for their Blush line. It’s officially a series! And the series title is… *drum roll please*

REALM OF HONOR

Isn’t that the coolest thing ever? I LOVE the series title. When searching for one, I brainstormed a bunch but my husband came up with this one. The others were too long but this one was just right. These are epic fantasy romance stories full of adventure, romance, elves, faeries, dragons and villains who want to destroy the Otherworld. This series is very special to me because I’ve always wanted to write fantasy romance and I’ve always wanted to sell on proposal. I managed to do both.

I love writing for EC and my editor. When I was a young, fledgling author I looked at the EC guidelines and knew that someday I would write for them. It took me nearly ten years to get here but I finally did it.

Here’s the official series blurb:

Chivalry, honor and bravery still thrive on the other side of the veil in the Otherworld, a mythical realm hidden from humans. Peace has reigned for thousands of years, but when a meddling Faery princess alters time, it sets into motion events that turn the Otherworld upside down. With the threat of war from long-dead and long-forgotten enemies, Elves, Fae and dragons are forced to take up arms together. And when the lives of the knights’ ladies are threatened, they will do whatever it takes to protect them.

Books 1 and 2 are currently available (One Knight Only and Only for a Knight, respectively). Books 3, 4 and 5 are coming soon!

Book 3, A Knight to Remember, is the story of Henry (Maggie’s father) and Queen Maeve. It was so much fun to write! How does a Fae queen who detests humans put aside those feelings to fall in love with a human masquerading as a Fae knight?

Book 4, A Knight Like No Other, is the story of Sir Drake and the Elven Princess, Sobriel. Sir Drake has lost his heart to the Elven girl but their match is forbidden by the Elven king. When Sobriel is kidnapped and her murder planned by an evil lord-regent who hates the Fae, Drake will put his life on the line to save her. Will her rescue be enough for the Elven king to grant his request to court his daughter?

Book 5, Her Fierce Knight, follows the story of Prince Ainthas. With his father ailing, he takes over the realm to fight the band of Fomorians who have been released from their watery banishment. Fire Elf and princess, Laerwen, comes to Ainthas to ask for help when her people are massacred by the Fomorians.

I have a lot of writing to do! Plus I intend to finish out my Guardians of Atlantis series as well as re-release the third book of my Coffee House Chronicles. I am one busy gal but it’s really in your best interest, beautiful readers.

One of the most powerful promotional tools an author has is word of mouth from fans. If you’ve read and liked my books, would you consider posting a review on Goodreads, Amazon and B&N? And tell your friends? If you HAVE posted a review, please send me the link and your mailing address and I’ll send you some swag!

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How I track my words

April 18, 2013 by

photoSomeone in the comments of my Tracking Words post asked me how I do this. So I thought I’d take a second to write down my process. It’s a little anal. ;)

Every book I write is different and my process for getting started is always different but one thing I do that’s the same is I track my words on the first draft. This could also include editing, as well, since I tend to edit and write at the same time.

I have an iPhone so when I start a new book, I open the Notes app and start a new page. I name it whatever shorthand I’m using for the book title and then “tracker”.  Then I put the date. Then the total word count of the day. Sometimes I start a project without putting down word count and rather than try to reinvent that, I just start with whatever I have.

You can see an example of this in the graphic here.

I record my word count for the next day and then subtract what I did the previous day to give me the total words.

THEN because I’m super anal and want to track how many words I write in a week/month, I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of this as well. I plug in the daily word count and do the same subtraction to give me the total count for the day, then add up the daily count to get the total for the week and so one.

This is probably an imperfect system but it works for me and I can see what my progress is and how I’m doing. My goal is to write 5000 words a week. Sometimes I make that. Sometimes I exceed it and sometimes I miss the mark altogether. But it gives me a guideline of where I need improvement and pushed me to write faster.

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Tracking Words

April 8, 2013 by

At the end of March, I reviewed my 2013 goals to see where I was and how I was doing. I had put down that I wanted to write 2000 words a day or 5000 words a month. I always do a tracker for each project I start but I really didn’t now how many words per week/month I was getting down. Because I’m totally anal, I put together a progress tracker just to see how I was doing. I was excited by the results.

Here’s where I ended up for the first three months of the year:

January – 19797
February – 18829
March – 43694

Wow. March was a big month for me! I was determined to finish one of my works-in-progress.

Here’s how that breaks down:

I finished my third Knight book in February with a final word count of 83205. But I was also writing the secret project, which I finished in mid-March. I was determined to get that book done by the time I went to the Dallas conference. I completed that at 85399. But I was writing a lot during a two-week stretch. I did over 12,000 words one week and over 11,000 words the next. As soon as I wrapped up that book, I started on my second Atlantis book.

I’m exhausted just reading about it all. ;)

Here’s the most telling data of all. I start tracking progress in July 2012. My year-end total for those months was 72396. At the end of March 2013, I’m at 82320. So what this tells me is I need to keep shooting for 5000 words a week (I only write during the week; not on weekends). If I can do that, I’ll end up with 20,000 a month and a whole lot of new material. That’s what counts, right?

What the tracker illustrates to me is I have improved my output quite a bit. I’ve also managed to train myself to writer faster and more. Now if I could just train myself to write better and perfect, all would be right with the world. :)

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Secret Project Fun

March 11, 2013 by

montacuteI’ve been writing like a madwoman these last few weeks. I’m trying to put the final touches on a WIP and call it done. Last week I wrote just over 11,000 words. I felt great!

This weekend I spent a lot of time thinking and researching. This book – the entire series actually – is constantly in the forefront of my mind. I think about it lot and have a hard time letting go of the characters when I’m not writing. I know that sounds insane. But it’s true. I realized I hadn’t really nailed down some important locations. I needed to know where the family estate was, where my main character worked and lived. Ya know. Important stuff like that. Oh, I had a general idea but no detail.

For me, it’s all in the details.

So I spent hours looking at Google Maps and street view and screen capturing things I wanted to remember and notate. I figured out where my main character lives and what her apartment looks like. I found a floor plan I liked for her but it’s just not perfect. My husband is going to do a CAD drawing for me. He rocks! I also figured out what her apartment building looks like from the outside. Where her business is and the name of her business. You know, it took me a while to come up with that. I had to know if things were within walking distance or if she needed a car. I had to know where the bad guys hangout was (I chose a cemetery for ultimate creepiness).

My next order of business was to tackle figure out where her family estate would be. It took me some time to figure that out but I loved doing the research on that. (It’s in England, by the way.) I spent a lot of time on the National Trust website looking at all the fabulous estates and dreaming of what it would be like to live there. Heck, I’d take a visit there. I found floor plans of the house I liked as the fictional estate. I saved off photos of all that. The picture I’ve posted here is what my imaginary estate looks like. ;)

I really wanted to have them all in one place I could access easily. I’m on Pinterest so I create a new board to put all my ideas and pictures. I love it! I only have a couple of people pictures. I haven’t found representations of my other characters yet. It’s hard to find that ONE image that depicts the characters and I’m picky. :D

Anyway it was great fun. I loved doing the research and finding places. I also went out and bought some maps for the next book–Istanbul. I can’t hardly wait to “walk” those streets (all in my head, of course).

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My Writing Process

March 7, 2013 by

inkwellI know there are tons of blogs on writing and process. I also know people are probably sick to death of blogs about writing. You can guess that today’s post is about writing process, can’t you? *grin* It helps me focus and analyze what I’m doing. I try to learn something from every new experience as I go along this writing journey.

I started thinking about my process and how I construct things. Every book is different. Some are easier to write than others. Some write themselves. Some are born and then nag you until you have to write the story. Some are so difficult it takes shear perseverance to get to the end.

I’ve tried plotting. I used storyboards. I used character sheets. I used outlines. I answered lengthy questionnaires. Did that work for me? No. Every single time I force myself to plot anything I get stuck. It’s like all the creative juices shut down and the muse takes off on vacation. She’s a fickle thing. Especially when I want her to do something she doesn’t want to do.

I have resigned myself to being a Pantser with a side of Plot. I usually start with a character. This is not always the case but it is 99% of the time (ONE KNIGHT ONLY started with a jousting tournament). If I know who my character(s) is then that will usually dictate the story to me. Once I know that, in order for me to write and finish a novel, I next have to know the high points of the book. Not necessarily the climax or the black moment or any of that. But maybe just a scene or two that I want to include. Maybe a conflict. Maybe just an idea.

For example, in ONE KNIGHT ONLY, I wanted to write about a jousting tournament. I wanted my heroine to be put into a position that she would have to joust. This just didn’t make sense as an historical, which is how it started. I had too many critiquers shred that idea right off the bat. So I went back to the drawing board and fiddled with the character who turned out to be a woman from present day who befriends a Fae princess. The story went from historical to paranormal. There is a lot of history in the book but for the most part it is a paranormal. It has magic and time travel. A jousting heroine. A sexy hero who has a gambling problem.

The second book in the series, ONLY FOR A KNIGHT, was easier. I knew I wanted to write Elyne and Derron’s story which I set up in the first book. I knew a lot about what I wanted the story to be as I wrote it which made it so much easier. So that book started with character. Once I had a good foundation for the story and where I was going, I stopped and wrote up character sheets and a quick two-page synopsis. Did I follow it? Not exactly. But for the most part the entire story as I imagined is there.

Book three, A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER, also started with character. It is a continuation of book two but features the queen as the main character. I didn’t always know where the story was going and there were days I wanted to toss the book in the trash. But I kept going. I put placeholders for the things I didn’t know and moved past to the part I did know. I allowed the story to unfold organically. I trusted my characters to tell the story the way they wanted. And then I got stuck. I have found that when I get stuck like that, stopping to write a 1-2 page synopsis helps me push past that barrier and get back to the meat of the story. I figured out the ending. Did I stick to the synopsis? Not exactly. :)

Stephen King says, “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” I believe this. I didn’t really understand it until I’d read On Writing. Nor did I understand it until I started putting it to practice. There is a story truth to your books as much as there is real truth in your life. You have to allow the characters to tell the story as truthfully as possible. If feels wrong, it probably is. Go back and dump however many words you need to make it right. It may kill you to cut those pages and words. You can always save them to a separate document in case you want them later.

When I realized this was how I constructed a story, it was very freeing to me. It allowed me to write the story as I needed. Not as someone told me I should be doing it. Don’t let anyone say your process is wrong. It’s not wrong. It’s just yours. Trust your writing. Trust your characters. And trust the unexpected. That’s what makes this the best job in the world.

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Tuesday Teaser

March 5, 2013 by

books

Becuase I can:

“It is forbidden for him to enter Hell without permission from the Heavens.”
Crap. “Is that why his wings have black feathers?”
“His wings have black feathers?”
“He told me it was a side effect of removing the poison from you and me,” I say.
“He removed poison from us.”
“Yes, by God, he did. Why are you repeating everything I’m saying?”
He leans back heavily and closes his eyes. “Yes, the black feathers are an indication that he not only removed the poison but he will be punished for entering Dante’s Cave. The cave of Hell.”
“No. He can’t be punished. It was because of me he came.”
“Nevertheless, he will be. It cannot be undone.”

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Determined #Writing

March 4, 2013 by

inkwellOh HI! It’s March. Where did February go?

I don’t know about you but last week was an excellent writing week. *grin*

I’m determined to finish this book. Damned determined. So I’ve been writing like crazy. I’ve pretty much trained my creative brain to work between 12 and 1 on my lunch hour. Now I’m trying to train my creative brain to work in the evenings. Something I have NEVER been able to do.

But because I have a wonderfully supportive husband who gets it… I’ve been trying. I call my hour, plug in my iPod (I seriously just nearly typed eyepod; what is wrong with me?) and go to town. I don’t always write the full hour in the evening. I think because my brain is already tired from the day. But sometimes I can hit a stride and my fingers fly over the keyboard.

I also keep a tracker of my word count for the day. I find this helps me see progress and see how long it takes me to write a book. I can finish an 85,000 word novel in about 6 months but that’s not writing every single day either. The current project I’m working on now – dubbed the secret project – I started brainstorming back in the summer. Then somewhere along the way I started handwriting the story. I typed up my first draft on December 28. That was just over 35,000 words. I’ve been writing via Word since then. I’m now at just over 66,000 words and still going. I tallied up my words for the week. Since Monday I’ve written 10,597 words.

I’m excited about that. I’ve never done that much in one week before. It’s a great feeling! I love seeing the progress. I love knowing the story is moving along and I’m getting the words down. It’s exciting. I have a self-imposed deadline of March 29 but I’d like to have it finished a lot sooner. I may just reach that goal.

My next task is to train my brain to write on the weekend. That is going to be hard since the weekends are always jam-packed. I’m going to give it a shot this next weekend and see how it goes. Wish me luck.

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Six Sentence Sunday for Mar 3, 2013

March 3, 2013 by

6sentence

This week’s snippet comes from my “secret project”

I think I know what’s behind me. What’s following me. I think I know it’s more demons. Or minions. Edward is in no condition to fight. And I’m in no position to fight.

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Writing to The End

February 25, 2013 by

booksI had set a personal goal of finishing the third “knight” book by March 1. I’d been working on it steadily for the last few months and trying really hard to get it done.

I’m excited to say I managed to finish it last week. It was a thrill to be able to put that final piece of the puzzle into place. See, the thing about me is I don’t always write in sequence. I knew the end and knew how I wanted it to end so I wrote that somewhere along the way. I wrote the last 25,000 words a few months ago while I was still in the first 50,000 words.

I have to admit I had a hard time writing from that point to the end. Of course it didn’t turn out as I thought it would but it did turn out. I managed to piece it all together and have the emotional, wonderful ending.

I’m pleased with the story overall. Now comes the hard part – editing, writing the synsopsis and the blurb. Luckily I have a rudimentary synsopsis that I can use as a go-by to get started. I actually edited as I went so the editing wasn’t all that intense. It’s in the hands of my critique partners.

For fun… here are the opening lines of A Knight To Remember.

Henry Chase knew someone kept a watchful gaze on him even while he feigned sleep. A chill ran through him making all the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention and his scalp tingle. He scented the soft aroma of something decidedly feminine in the stale air of the hotel room. He heard the faint rustle of clothing. He shifted on the lumpy mattress and cracked open one eye to peer through the shadows at the tall, lithe, curvy body standing rigid.

If he’d been in his own bed he would have reached for his baseball bat. One could never be too careful. Since he was in Dumfries, Scotland, he had no weapon. No way to defend himself from the intruder.

Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders in silky waves. Who she was, he didn’t know. How did she get into his room? He’d locked the door. She couldn’t have climbed through the window because it didn’t open.

© Michelle Miles, 2013

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Six Sentence Sunday for Feb 24, 2013

February 24, 2013 by

6sentence

From my newly completed novel, A Knight To Remember

He thought his ears might bleed. And if glass were anywhere in the vicinity it certainly would shatter. When she realized what had happened she ducked, missing the bolt of light by mere inches.

That pissed her off.

Never a good idea to piss off the Goddess of War.

Henry pushed to his feet, still holding the sword.

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Six Sentence Sunday for Feb 10, 2013

February 10, 2013 by

6sentence

 

“The goddess took Maeve to the underworld.”
“Shit,” Henry said under his breath.
“Gods!” Derron said.
“We have to get her back,” Elyne said.
“How?” Henry asked. “Do you know how to get to the underworld?”
“There are ways, Henry,” she said. “And I have all my mother’s magic to get there.”

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Six Sentence Sunday for Feb 3, 2013

February 3, 2013 by

6sentence

Today’s offering is from my current work-in-progress:

Maggie pressed her fingertips against her lips. “You mean like date her? I don’t think you can exactly ask her to dinner and the movieplex. Besides, you’re a human.”

“And I’m also a grown man with feelings and needs.”

She scrunched up her face. “Ew, Dad.”

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Six Sentence Sunday for Jan 27, 2013

January 27, 2013 by

6sentence

I’m sure most of you have seen the 7-7-7 meme going around Facebook. I got tagged and thought I’d share those 7 lines here. So it’s a Six Sentence Sunday Plus One. This is from my current WIP, A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER. Queen Maeve is speaking with the black dragon, Nero. Ital indicates the dragon’s speech.

I did as I was commanded. You have my apologies, my queen.

Dragons were not fickle. They chose their rider and never wavered from that choice until one of them severed the link. That rarely happened. There were exceptions, though—like when Maeve put them into shadow to hide them from the hunters who were so desperate to kill them. Now it appeared Nero had chosen her. She placed her palm on his nose, the scales cool to the touch.

You are hunted by the Goddess of War, aye?

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Six Sentence Sunday for Jan 20, 2013

January 20, 2013 by

6sentence

“I’m the Keeper.”

Recognition flashes across his face and he bows his head in a brief nod. “My apologies, Keeper. I did not realize who you were. Even so you must return the relic to its rightful owner.”

I sort of wished he’d bent on one knee and called me “your majesty” or something but that doesn’t happen.

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Six Sentence Sunday for Jan 13, 2013

January 13, 2013 by

6sentence

A little something I’m working on:

“Do you wish to know why we seek you?”

“Not really but you’re going to tell me anyway.” I can’t keep the sour note out of my voice.

“You, my dear, are going to help us get what we want.”

“And what is that?”

“Redemption.”

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