True to form, Book 9 isn’t even out the door yet and already Book 10 is demanding my attention. Good thing I love writing! Speaking of Book 9, SPY HIGH is on schedule to be released this Friday, January 16/15. As usual, it’ll be out on Amazon and Smashwords first, followed by all other channels within a week or two. I’ll keep you posted!
Damn, I wish I could write as fast as you. Maybe my books need to take some nagging lessons from yours. *grin* Though my current WIP IS screaming at me pretty loudly right now … I better get to it, so I can reward myself with your #9, which is currently burning a hole in my Kindle.
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I think you should definitely give in to your WIP’s nagging – I can hardly wait to read Ciel’s next adventures! 🙂
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Oh my! I just finished #9. It’s not too often, ask anyone that know me, that I am speechless. I don’t know where to begin. It’s a masterpiece would be o.k. I guess, but that doesn’t really describe it. Better than the last? Maybe? Of course? But the last one was then better than the one before that, and so on, all the way to the beginning. This one, this one had me going from page one. The suspense was superb. The description of the commune was spot on. How do I know? LOL I am a product of the 60’s and spent a wonderful week in Northern Oregon with some “close” friends. Been there, done that. Had my Aura read by experts. Diane, you are a Master of your craft. This had me with a tear in my eye at one point to laughing out loud so long I couldn’t focus for a bit, during the “meeting” in Ayden’s tent. I am still smiling at the whole story. Kudos, double, triple and if I could nominate you for an award I’d do it in a heart beat.
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Thank you so much! I’m pumped to hear I got the commune right. 😉 I had a lot of fun writing this one (but then again, I had fun writing all of them). And I giggled myself silly writing that scene.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thanks again for your kind words!
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I so remember what it felt like to sit and kneel on wet moss! The rain and dampness, the smell of mulchy leaves, water seeping into tennis shoes and in my case, sandals. Campfires were rare and basically quickly made and quickly put out. Rangers kept too close a watch on us for just that activity. LOL Oh yeah, reading about the scenery sure brought it all back. We didn’t have fancy snacks, just raisins and nuts and whatever else we could scrounge. That’s one of the things I love about your books, you do so much homework about your scenes etc. that it just makes it real. While I had fun then I’m glad I had enough sense not to embrace it as a constant way to live. I figured there’s still way too many other things to explore. Even now, it’s still true. So much more to explore. I have your books in order on my Kindle and am set to read them in order, again. That may take me through till you get #10 done. HA! OH! I’m kinda liking that British guy, MoonJava. I can see possibilities there. Hmmmm? hahaha.
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I love to visit the west coast rainforest because it’s so different than our dry mountainous climate here, but I don’t know if I could live there. I think your one-week sojourn would have been enough for me, too!
And I was thinking there might definitely be possibilities for Orion. I’m not sure what they might be yet, but… hmmm… 😉 I have so many ideas for Book 10 right now I don’t know which way I’ll end up going!
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And there’s poor ol’ Tom back at the ranch holding down the fort…and holding the bag. 🙂
Not to worry about all the different ways to go. Those are where Books 11 through 50 will come from.
I’m holding out for a movie franchise, but I’d settle for a TV miniseries. Maybe.
No pressure… 🙂
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LOL! I don’t know about 50. But then again, I expected Book 1 to be ‘once and done’, so what do I know?!?
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I’ll wager the soft drink of your choice that I’m closer to correct than you are. I got confidence. 🙂
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Ah, Diane… you sound like me (or is it that I sound like you?)
I have very similar thoughts, although in my case Book One still hasn’t been started… that’s doing some serious screaming, I can tell you!
But, I’m sending you all of the energies needed to complete book 9 and start book 10 forthwith and distraction-free!
By the way: Love your cartoon strip once again!
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Thank you, Tom! Your energies must have been good – Book 9 is out the door. I’m still in the throes of the release-date paperwork, but I’ll be starting Book 10 soon!
In the meantime, I’m sending you the energies to get started on your book! The more you think about it, the more daunting it seems, so my best advice is to just jump in. I can’t face a whole book at once, so I just start writing and figure out what’s going to happen as I go along. If I begin to feel overwhelmed, I remind myself to just tell the story. The first draft doesn’t have to be perfect, so just relax and enjoy writing. Once you start to see words appearing on the page you’ll get a big boost! Good luck! 🙂
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Your persistent thoughts are very interesting. Mine usually die of loneliness.
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Aw, that can’t be true! I’ve read your blog… 🙂
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Here it is, the 16th. I’m at my computer, left hand tap, tap, tapping the desk, right hand hovering over the mouse. Amazon keeps wanting to time me out but I REFUSE to be ignored! I just refresh or sign in again. Hubby wants to eat and I holler at him “you know where the fridge is….go for it!” He knows by now that when your books come out I am useless around the house until I have the book and have read it. After 8 books he should know, right?
LOL, it hasn’t really gotten quite that bad yet, but it’s really, really close.
I can’t believe I slept 10 hours straight! That’s just never happened.
I’m back to my other tab now and continue my watch at Amazon.
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I’m glad you got some sleep – wow, ten hours! You must have been exhausted!
SPY HIGH is up at Smashwords now: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/511119 but still no word from Amazon. Grrr. Soon, I hope!
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You and me, both, kiddo, you and me, both. 🙂
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…and it’s live at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SC7DO0G! Woohoo! 😀
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I GOT IT! WhooHoo! WHEW! (picture large exhale here) :0>>>>>
Oh well, emoticons I’ve never mastered.
I am so happy right now. Supper over, hubby down for a nap and I……..am starting to read!
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I hope you like it! 🙂
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Old news. I’m already near the 25% mark! 🙂
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And done! Yep, Spy High is another winner! These books really do need to be movies. They really do.
Go ahead, Diane. Take a day or two off…before you start pounding away relentlessly on Book 10.
Go spend the weekend with friends. Eat a good, thick, perfectly done steak finished with a reduced bourbon and butter sauce. With some lightly salted, buttery garlic wedge cut potatoes. Maybe some grilled asparagus with sesame seeds. And a nice salad with fresh raspberries and toasted pecans, of course. And a good Texas beer or two or three.
Or maybe you’d prefer a nice pork chop, say, an inch and a half thick, the size of your hand, finished with a light garlic butter and wine reduction?
Personally, I’m okay either way.
If y’all lived a little closer, I’d be glad to help a sista out. No pressure, though.
You done good, Diane. Thank you for all the hard work. It doesn’t go unappreciated. You THO rock, thithter!
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Thank you! And oh, YUM!!! Now my tastebuds are whimpering… 😉
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Thanks for the good thoughts Diane. We made it through the tests o.k. I guess. I say “we”, LOL, but while he had the tests done I had to battle the “guest” bed. Yes, there really is such a thing as torture. I have seen it and experienced it. It didn’t break me tho’, I stared it down and I won. I had no sleep of course, but I survived it.
Your cartoons are so great. And here I thought I was the Queen of Procrastination! I bow to your superiority in that department. I’m still glad there will be a #10! Soon as I get a little sleep tonight I will be checking continually with Amazon for #9. Ahhhh, it’s so cool to know that good things are still waiting for me.
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I’m glad you both made it through the tests – I hope you get caught up on your sleep soon! I’m checking Amazon frequently today, too – I put the book up around suppertime last night, but I never know exactly when they’re going to get around to releasing it.
Sometimes I get impatient with the whole process, until I remember that only a few decades ago none of this was possible. Ah, progress… 😉
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Reblogged this on Life Is What It Is, Has Been and Will Be and commented:
Awesome! I’d like to get it
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Congratulations! Hope all goes well.
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Thanks, Suzanne! 🙂
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Just shows that you are meant to write! Hilarious cartoon. 🙂
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Thanks, Sue! Yes, it’s funny – I always swore I’d never write fiction, but once these characters started talking in my head I couldn’t ignore them. (Hope there are no mental-health professionals reading this…) 😉
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I think as long as they are only telling you what to write all is good. 🙂
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Ha ha ha. That is how I often feel and going through.
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I’m glad I’m not the only one!
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Even I’m glad too for not the weirdo ones. I thought I am a weirdo.
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Ah, where’s the fun in being normal? 😉
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Good question 😉
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Reblogged this on Daily Echo and commented:
This I had to share 🙂
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Thanks for the reblog!
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Really is my pleasure… recognise this all too well 🙂
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Brilliant 🙂
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Thanks, Sue. 🙂
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This blog earned a Bean Pat as blog pick of the day. Check it out at: http://patbean.wordpress.com
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Thanks for the pat, Pat! 🙂 It’s nice to see you’re still wandering the countryside, and your photos are lovely as always!
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You go girl!! Soooooo glad you love to write, because I LOVE to read your books!! I still think Julianne Moore would make a great Ayden Kelly!! Come on Hollywood, give Diane a call!!!!
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Thanks, June! But I think if Hollywood called I’d probably figure it was a prank and hang up. Maybe they should email me instead. 😉
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No, no! Kathy Griffin! Definitely Kathy Griffin! 🙂
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So many great choices for casting; so little chance of it ever coming true… 😉
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The more I think about it, the more I’m sure the adventures of Aydan and the gang would make a superb movie franchise. Whoever makes those decisions is missing a sure hit. No kidding. This is good stuff here.
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Absolutamundo! The James Bond series is over, done, that cookie has been baked to death. The Spy series would be perfect for the big screen. It could be THE next big action series ever! Now THAT would be Oscar material for sure as long as Hollywood didn’t butcher it with “their” own touches. Perfect the way they are.
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Couldn’t agree more.
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Aw, thanks, you guys! 🙂
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To paraphrase Groucho Marx:
“Outside my brain, I see the world;
Inside my brain, it’s too dark to see anything.”
Inspiration can sometimes be a pest.
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LOL! It’s very dark and scary inside my brain, and the voices just won’t stop… 😉
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I’m always polite and ask people nearby if the voices inside my head are bothering them.
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I bet that guarantees you a seat all to yourself on public transit!
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I wish you could send some of that enthusiasm my way. Every time I look at my manuscript, I start to get the sweats because I can’t seem to get into editing mode. Crap! OK maybe one day soon…or not…
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Aw, that sucks! I don’t know what your editing process is like, but I know I’d be totally overwhelmed if I had to tackle my whole manuscript all at once. I edit as I go because I can’t write new words until I’m happy with what I’ve got, but when I’ve finished the whole thing I still go back and edit it over and over.
The only thing that makes it less daunting for me is to concentrate on one thing per pass. For example, on the first couple of passes I’m only checking for continuity and accuracy of details. On the next pass I’m adjusting story arc and character arc. Then I’ll concentrate only on dialog tags and making sure my paragraphs are formatted to make it clear who’s speaking. On the next pass I’ll read for emotion, making sure each scene creates the feelings I want. Then authenticity of dialog to keep the words true to the character; then removing all extraneous details to only tell the reader what they need to know at a particular time; then cleaning up my own particular writing tics (I pull so many commas and instances of “just” and “that” out of each manuscript it’s almost funny); and on and on.
Maybe for some people the thought of making that many passes through a manuscript is just as scary as tackling the whole thing at once, but breaking it down into manageable bites is what works for me.
Hang in there, Nelson, you can do it! Just take it a step at a time. 🙂
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Thanks Diane. That’s good advice. 🙂
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This is so me this morning. But I vow to make this my last blog comment, after which I’ll march right over to Scrivener and open up my WIP. Here I go. Thanks for the inspiration. Bye byyyyyyyyyye…
(Cute cartoon!)
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Look at you go! Good luck with the WIP! 🙂
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Thank you. Just wrote 1500 words so I’m pleased. I can have lunch now. (Deprivation technique…)
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Well done! You rock!
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Perfect! I totally get that! Every panel ringth true. You got it bad, thithter! But alwayth remember thith; you THO rock! Can’t wait for the thikthteenth! Looking forward to Thpy High!
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LOL! Thanks! Yep, I thought you might be able to relate. 🙂
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I’ve been described in the exact same way.
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Aging is mandatory; maturing is optional!
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Well put. Dad always said, “I may grow old, but I’ll never grow up!” For all that, I’m pretty sure he wished I would, though. Sorry, Pop, maybe next time. 🙂
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My sentiments exactly. I’m for sure getting older but I don’t have to think old! I am so happy that #9 is here, almost. I can finally quit fidgeting and getting antsy with worry. I’ll be spending the night tonight at the Biloxi VA while hubby goes through yet another set of tests and then the sleep test again. They screwed up the first one. Figures. I will be scanning over the #’s 7 and 8 books to bring me up to speed, salivating for the upcoming #9. AND, happy, happy, Joy, Joy, a #10 in the creative areas that is Diane Henders brain. This is what loving life is all about. LOL
TYTYTYTY!
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Thanks, Moondance – I hope you enjoy Book 9! I had a lot of fun writing it!
And I’m sending good thoughts to you and your Hubby – here’s hoping the tests go well.
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