Scarlet Letters

14,685 / 90,000 (16.3%) By the way, going back and reading your own published work is NOT recommended. You will see all the places the publisher took out perfectly good commas and that place where you used the same descriptive phrase twice in the same paragraph, and there's nothing whatsoever to be done about it. Research Today: • When shooting a major structure fire at night, you would still use a flash if you had firefighters in the foreground. Otherwise, they would not be clearly visible. The real key is the camera - some cameras can autofocus at night with varying light sources and some can't. It's a crapshoot. • Diptheria was a very gross disease, and definitely still around in the early 20th century. • A disturbing side trip that ended with the Wikipedia entry on the penis of the Mad Monk Rasputin, and I wish I could scrub THAT from my brain.

Once a month, I work on a weekend. We all gotta do it, on a circulating schedule decreed by our masters at the newspaper. On a week that you work a Saturday or Sunday, you get a weekday off to compensate. So once a month, I get a single day off work, with no kid. He's at school, and the paper just has to manage without me. It's my mental health day, or so I always think of it. Of course, it's crammed full of Stuff To Do, so it's not exactly restful. Sometimes I think of it as my Other Life Day, in which I get a brief look at what my life would be like as a full-time freelance writer instead of a full-time reporter/full-time mom/half-time writer/full-time juggler. Juggling in a house of cards, that's my favorite analogy. It goes roughly like today: 7 a.m. Alarm goes off. Smack it into submission. 7:20 a.m. Haul ass out of bed and kick child into motion. 7:30 a.m. Shower. 8 a.m. Yell at child for not being ready. 8:25 a.m. Take child to bus stop. (So far, same as a n...

8,043 / 90,000 (8.9%) Seems like I'm rolling, right? Heh. This is the EASY part. I haven't gotten to the WHOLE NEW FREAKIN' CHAPTER yet. Tonight's Research: RVs: Medium-sized RV show in St. Louis next month. Planning to attend so I can poke around a big residential-size RV without being expected to buy one. Asphalt: consulted old stories on REAL asphalt plant that caught fire twice in one year. I don't know if I'll stick with this technology. Can they sue me? Any other kind of factory that's prone to ginormous fires? Don't want to choose a denomination for Rev. Quinn's church, but I may have to. "Trinity" just isn't enough. Should I insult the Lutherans or the Presbyterians?

4,182 / 90,000 (4.6%) At least, that's the theory. This is the easy part. I've reimagined the beginning so many times that the rewrite is mostly language. The only flaw I've already run into is the fact that Cat Suarez lives in an RV and I've never been inside one. It's time to rectify that. How to get a tour of an RV without misleading the salesman into thinking I'm buying one? That's harder. I am determined to work steadily on this book, at least 2,000 words a night, until it is done. Finis. THE END. If there's something my career woes have taught me, it's that I don't write enough. The length of time between releases is unacceptable. More work, and faster. Not to mention I'm dying for YELLOW ROSES to make it into print. I can only hope the readers love it as much as I do. You can't get much more painfully angst-ridden than this book. (Well, except POLARIS, but that's another story. Heh.) Today's Research Included: ...

In 1872, the massive Iron Mountain sternwheeler left New Orleans with an entire flotilla of barges and 55 crew and passengers. It was last seen turning a bend in the river. The barges were found floating on the water by the steamer Iroquois Chief, following not far behind. The tow rope had been cut, not broken. But the boat was far too large to simply sink. The water was too shallow to hide the Iron Mountain's massive bulk. But no wreckage has ever been found. In 1873, the Mississippi Queen riverboat left Memphis on April 17. That's the last anyone heard from it. The steamboat and all its passengers were never seen or heard from again. Pirates? Possible - there were many river pirates working the water then. But how do you make an entire steamboat disappear in a matter of hours? This is not the Bermuda Triangle we're talking about, with unknown depths to hide its secrets. This is the Mississippi River, artery of the country, but there are lakes deeper than this waterway. Ma...

I intentionally freaked myself out tonight. My son had a HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 party at the YMCA tonight. Five uninterrupted child-free hours, which any parent (particularly a single parent) will tell you is worth its weight in gold-pressed latinum. While I was tempted to a) be social or b) spoil myself, I knew the only way I was ever going to move forward with the YELLOW ROSES project was to take advantage of this time. The next step required a marathon session. So the binder, the notebook, two reference books I haven't finished and my index cards took over a corner table at Sacred Grounds, my favorite coffeeshop. How funny is it that as I walked up to the counter, the barista said, "Cheese quesadilla, no salsa, extra sour cream, right?" I'm getting predictable in my old age. Stoked on unlimited caffeine, I finished THE GHOST HUNTER'S HANDBOOK and set to the real task: outlining. Each scene in the first draft got an index card with summary. Then I laid them out o...

I tell you, sometimes it really pays to read the blogs before sleep comes. This past weekend, the marvelous force of nature known as Sara M. Harvey was finishing a panel at Pi-Con when her fella hopped up to the dais, fell to one knee and popped the question before the world. Naturally, the squees have been echoing among those of us who know Sara, a terrific friend and wonderful writer whom my son has dubbed The Glitter Lady because of her habit of wearing sparkly makeup. And as I clicked off of the pictures of Sara's beautiful engagement ring, I dropped by Brian Keene's blog for a quick read before sleep. Well well well. Though I'm quite sure he doesn't read me, congratulations, Brian. Seems the Zombie King himself is going to be a father at the age of 40. Let's all start taking bets on how many stuffed Cthulus and "Horrified B-Movie Victims" will grace the baby shower. (This is a roundabout way of saying you'd better catch Brian at his signing this S...

Back from I-Con, my first experience with the Springfield, Ill. con and I can report the natives are friendly. While I must honestly say I didn't sell all that well, the people made the trip definitely worth my while. Many thanks to John Beachem, E.E. Knight, Shane Moore, Glen Cook and Charles Embrey Jr., authors and gentlemen whose presence made the slow sales somewhat more bearable. Muchas gracias to guest coordinator Shane Beningfield, who ran his feet off taking care of us, and extra thanks to Shane Moore, who recruited the authors and coordinated between us and I-Con and Borders. And a thousand thanks to my wonderful assistant, Katie. As regular con flunky, she is willing to strap herself into a corset and hawk my books with cleavage and savvy. She brought her son, which gave my boy someone to play with, and their presence made the trip seem less like work and more like a mini-vacation. I do wish that we'd sold more books at the signing, as the number of books ordered outp...

Research into ghost lore of the midwest continues, and it's FUN. I'll get back to providing you with Random Ghost Facts later. But last night, just for laughs, I watched GHOST HUNTERS on the Sci Fi Channel. And with all due respect, it was awful. They investigated two sites: a lighthouse and a museum/old house. We watched the team go through each location loaded down with technical equipment that was never really explained. Ooh, a plasma injector with a Heisenberg compensator! They also didn't find any ghosts. Or evidence of ghosts, other than a slight cold spot in a 100-year-old lighthouse. Hmm, ya think? Okayfine, I wasn't really expecting disembodied spirits, but some discussion of what they were looking for, a dissection of the history of the location... we got about thirty seconds of background in the midst of fifteen minutes of "We're really looking forward to this" nonsense. But worst of all... it sank endlessly into personal Drahmah between the gho...

The Alton Prison was built in 1833 as one of the worst designs in history. It was a stone building in the middle of a marsh. The cells were so brilliantly designed that a prisoner could effectively block the inward-opening cell door by lowering his bunk. A prisoner once famously held off the guards for days this way, holding a guard hostage inside the cell. The prison was closed in 1860, but the need for POW space during the Civil War reopened it a year later. Nearly 12,000 Confederate prisoners would pass through its gates, and many of them would die, usually of yellow fever, pneumonia and dysentery. The number of dead prisoners was so high that they were trucked out to an island in the middle of the Mississippi because the local residents wouldn't allow diseased bodies to be buried near town. The island, of course, is said to be haunted, though most believe it to now be underwater. In lighter days, the bodies would be carted up the bluffs to be buried. Keep in mind that only subs...

This weekend, while hanging out with my new family members, I had the good fortune (?) to pass the juvenile detention facility for our little corner of Illinois. This small stone building is the focal point of several government-issue outbuildings, in the middle of a nicely-cleared glen along Route 100. There is no front gate, but there are hilarious signs warning us DO NOT PICK UP HITCHHIKERS. Darn rascals. But the miscreant kids of Illinois are, in fact, on one of the more historically significant areas of ghost history. Once upon a time, Grafton (population 650 or so) had 26 saloons frequented by miners, quarrymen and pirates. Yes, real pirates working the rivers, and none of them looked anything like Jack Sparrow. The River House, which would eventually become a juvenile prison, was the most famous of these saloons. Deals were made, brawls were fought, men were buried (or not) in the woods behind them. Once, supposedly, a trio arrived with a herd of horses to make a deal. They didn...

From GHOSTHUNTING ILLINOIS, here's this neat tidbit: It is traditional for a Sicilian woman who dies in childbirth to be buried in her wedding gown. Such was the case for the Italian Bride (so named by people who don't know the difference between Italy and Sicily), who died in childbirth in 1921. Julia Buccola Petta was buried in her wedding gown. Her mother immediately began having dreams about her daughter begging her for help, pleading that she was still alive. For six years, her mother tried to convince the authorities to exhume her daughter. Finally, six years after her death, Julia was exhumed. Her body was found in an "incorruptible state" - after six years underground, her body had not decayed at all. Someone took a picture, which is often touted on pro-ghost web sites and books and immortalized in a stone carving on her grave. Julia was re-interred at Mt. Carmel Cemetery under her life-size statue, still clad in her wedding gown. Of course, people say she hau...

Because I'm getting these in the email.... • SULTRY SUMMER FUN is out on Amazon but Borders says it's not and Barnes & Noble never heard of you! Help! Yes, SSF is now available on Amazon (and nobody's reviewed it!). Borders is a little slower on the restocking, and they're cutting way, way back on their paranormal romance orders because of some pretty lousy non-Harry Potter sales. If they don't have SSF on the shelves, get them to order you a copy! It doesn't cost you anything extra, and they might order an extra copy while they're at it. As for Barnes & Noble, Ellora's Cave just struck a deal with them similar to the direct-sales deal they have with Borders. Instead of ordering through Baker & Taylor, they'll order direct from the publisher. Again, however, they won't be ordering the entire catalog, and they will only order me if you ask for me. Of course, you can always buy from Amazon, or direct from the publisher at http://cgi.eba...

A terrific addition to the summer schedule: I-CON, Aug. 10-12 in Springfield, Ill.! and... BOOK SIGNING! Borders Express in White Oaks Mall, 2501 W. Wabash in Springfield. 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 I won't be the only author, either - there should be a slew of us! Author Shane Moore (he's on Myspace, natch) is the man to be held responsible - er, we should thank for this - he organized it all and got me in. I am always amazed at the wonderful friends I have made on the circuit. AND it looks like SULTRY SUMMER FUN is now available at a Borders near you! Go forth and buy!!!! Okay fine, you could get it on Amazon.com where it's currently ranked in the 155,000s and has no reviews yet saying "TANDEM by Elizabeth Donald is the coolest part of this anthology and her NOCTURNE rocks too so you should go buy her ENTIRE COLLECTED WORKS, baby!" ... But of course I don't care about such things.* So.... in closing: Shane Moore rocks. So does my friend Katie, for agreeing to...

I do try to keep up... • ABADDON. Yep, it's still on line for a Sept. 27 ebook release from Cerridwen Press. No, I don't have a cover yet. I know www.nocturnalurges.com is a boring site, but I'm going to try to jazz it up before the book releases. I've been reading the opening chapters at conventions this year, and for the most part I seem to be holding their attention, particularly since most of the folks at the last two readings were new to the series. I will note that by my admittedly vague perceptions of audience attention, the point where their attention drifts is, I would think, the least likely point in the reading. Shows what I know. When will it be out in paperback? I don't know. I don't have a date yet. The instant I know, believe me, you will too. Because I'll be launching a massive promo campaign and book tour and signings and all sorts of things. But those of you saying, "Well, I'll just wait for the paperback"... please don't?...

I am offering a special short story titled "Rabbit Hole Day," featuring several characters from my published works (and SANCTUARY), to benefit Relay For Life. Go to my website shop page and you can buy this short story for only $2! Or better yet, indicate you'd like to buy multiple copies on your purchase page, and you'll be giving even more money to help the American Cancer Society fight the disease that is affecting far too many of us. Note: the story is rated R for language. What, you think the Muse can talk without the F-word? Also, please remember that everything sold off the website in May benefits Relay for Life. T-shirts, buttons, magnets, even copies of SETTING SUNS! Now's the time to shop! The fight continues. Help if you can. Thank you, as always, for your support and for spreading the word. http://www.elizabethdonald.com/shop.html

As many of you know, I'm captain of a Relay for Life team. Our goal this year is $2,000. Last year we raised $1,700, in part because of your support. I know everyone reading this email knows at least one person who has fought cancer, and too many of us have lost friends and family to the disease. For the month of May, the profits from everything I sell off my web site - T-shirts, SETTING SUNS, etc. - will go to Relay for Life, the fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. If you've been waiting, now's the time. Buy something. Donate directly - links are available on the site. Buy a luminary in honor of someone who has battled cancer - they will be lit at the event and light our way as we walk all night. However you choose to give, GIVE. Please. Thank you for your time, and as always, for your support. www.elizabethdonald.com https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=191162&lis=1&kntae191162=21DE685392394152A52843FF95B00B07&supId=155978935

CON REPORT Well, I'd like to say I learned something about anime by being part of ShowMeCon/Anime St. Louis for a weekend, but I'd be lying. That's not entirely true. I learned what yaoi is. I learned what "glomp" means. And there is some connection between anime and the delicious cookie sticks known as Pocky that escapes me. I also learned that anime teens read, and they have energy, and I hope they come to our side of the Force soon. I spent most of my weekend at ShowMeCon in the Authors/Artists Alley, hawking my books beside Van Allen Plexico, Shane Moore, Barri Bumgarner, Sara Harvey and Angelia Sparrow. I am happy to say that I sold out of nearly everything I brought: buttons, magnets, books, T-shirts... oh wait, I forgot to BRING THE T-SHIRTS WITH ME. *thumps self* All I brought home was a handful of SETTING SUNSes, a stack o' money and a smile. I'd also like to recognize two young ladies, whose names I do not know. One of them wanted to buy my book ...

Rest in peace, Mr. Vonnegut. As related in the prologue to one of his short-story collections, here are Mr. Vonnegut's rules of writing: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things - reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the end as possible. 6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them - in order that the reader may see what they are made of. 7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia. 8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they c...

I just had the fastest rejection of my career. Digging through the laptop, I found a couple of utterly silly super-short horror pieces. They were serviceable, though not incredible. So I fired them off. One, "Bargaining With Spiders," I sent to a low-pay webzine at 10:37 p.m. Response came at 8:58 a.m. "Thanks for submitting this, but unfortunately I'm going to pass. Thanks again." Wow, I've got whiplash. Hey, the story isn't any great shakes. But it's a good reminder that despite what some dear, sweet readers said, I can't get my laundry list published quite yet. Not that the spider piece is my laundry list, I actually rather like it. But then I never did have much luck with magazines. Putting my ego back in the Sucrets box...