check this out, then make sure you visit the Dames blog on Monday (US time) when the truth is revealed…

In other news, Dark Angels (aka Risa 1) is finished!!! Mucho happy dancing has been done in the Arthur household (the dogs are now convinced they’re living with a loon. lol) I’m very happy with the end, and I even shed a tear or two. So, now I have to go back and edit it, adding in the bits and pieces that need to be added in (ideas I got in the latter part of the story now need to be woven back through the beginning) then it’s off to my lovely agent and a few readers to get a critical opinion. (because we authors always think our stories rock, but that’s not always the case. As my editor will tell you. lol)

After that, it’s on to Risa 2. And I already have the first line (can’t tell you, because it’s a major, major spoiler)

Okay, I’ve been a bit…shall we say slow?…about getting the next chapter of With Friends Like These up on my website. I have to apologise for that. No excuses, other than I’ve been busy writing and doing the galley edits for Moon Sworn. I will try and get the third chapter up sometime today (I have to do a run-through of it first, to make sure there isn’t too many dumb mistakes in it) and will try to get the remaining chapters up on time. But no promises–I’m afraid the stuff I’m getting paid to write has to come first, and right now, that means trying to finish (and then edit) Risa before the deadline looms too large!

It seems like I’ve been reading Dick Francis’s books forever, and it’s hard to believe that he’s now gone. And that, worst still, after the release of the next book, there won’t be any more. Dick Francis wasn’t only one of the few writers who inspired me (James Herbert being the other), he was the one writer I always wished I could emulate. When I pick up one of his books, I know I’m going to get lost in the world he creates. I know that I’ll care about his characters and I’ll need to keep reading to find out what happens to them. His books have made me laugh, they’ve made me cry, and he has had some the very best ‘hooky’ first lines I’ve ever read. For example:

They both wore thin rubber masks. Indentical. From Bonecrack (one of my favs, and one that made me cry)

“You’re a spoilt bad-tempered bastard,” my sister said, and jolted me into a course I nearly died of. From Flying Finish. (another one that made me cry)

I looked at my friend and saw a man who had robbed me. Deeply disturbing. The ultimate in rejection. From High Stakes.

Some people have complained that his later books aren’t as good as his earlier ones, and to some extent I agree. The earlier ones were filled with wonderful, bone crunching action that kept your heart racing and made you wonder how the hell the character was going to get out of it. But though this was missing from the later ones, you still had what was always the heart of his stories–great characters you cared about. He was a master at that, and I really will miss my yearly trip to the bookstore to buy his book. He was the only one I ever bought in hardcover.

So rest in peace, Dick Francis, and thank you not only for the many fabulous characters you’ve given us over the years, but the many hours of reading enjoyment.

if you’re a reader or a writer, and you’ve been on the net over the last few days, then you’re no doubt aware of the Amazon / Macmillan stoush. There’s been plenty written about it on blogs and websites, but the best two blogs I’ve come across were by the ever practical John Scalzi, and Charles Stross. For my part, I think it comes down to one thing–choice.

The publishers want you to have it. Amazon don’t.

Yeah, yeah, Amazon would have you believe that it’s all about the money and the price of books, and that the publishers are the big bads wanting to over price books, but let’s be realistic here. Amazon want to corner the market. They want to make themselves THE place to get ebooks. That’s what the Kindle and the 9.99 price point is all about. Amazon lose money selling ebooks at that price, but they don’t care because to get that price, you, the reader, have to buy a kindle. And guess what? They make lots of lovely money on the kindle.

Personally, I’m glad Apple decided to step into the ring with its IPad. It once again opens the field and gives the marketplace another option. Up until that point, Amazon and it’s kindle was looking like the only viable option in town when it came to easy-to-get ebooks–and tell me, since when has a company achieving a monopoly ever resulted in cheaper prices?

Anyway, enough of that. Onto the writing update:

Story–Dark Angels

New pages – 10 (over the weekend)
Current page count – 363
Intriguing things – The bad guys kidnapped one of Risa’s friends. Bad, bad move.
Annoyances – Muse would rather watch Supernatural!
Music – Eco Zen 2
Taking care of Keri – dieting, exercising, crap like that. lol
Muse food – promising the muse a supernatural season 5 blitz once this story is finished!