I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain’s Log, Supplemental
Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Thursday book giveaway is
The Cubicle Next Door
by
Siri Mitchell.
My Monday book giveaway is
Calm, Cool and Adjusted
by
Kristin Billerbeck
You can still enter both giveaways. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for the The Cubicle Next Door and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!

Click to join Camys_Loft
Myths of the Fatherless: My online friend Kathy Holmes just published her book. Here’s a blurb:
Myths of the Fatherless
One Daughter's Discovery
Every little girl loves her daddy. But what happens when that daddy is missing? Or another man steps into his place? Society has accepted many myths about what that means to a child.
MYTHS OF THE FATHERLESS attempts to dispel those myths by sharing the author's story of her search for her father and eventual reunion with him. Throughout her journey, she discovered she was not alone, and despite her denial, fathers are very important to a woman. And whatever the reason the father is missing, not knowing him affects a woman's relationships with men and her entire life.
But fatherless daughters are not without hope. There is a Heavenly Father, who is called the "father to the fatherless."
Find out more about Kathy’s book at http://thefatherless.blogspot.com.
FYI for writers: I just got my official notice that my publisher has accepted my revised version of my manuscript, book one in my series. I had worked with my editor and she turned it in on November 1st, I think.
The reason I’m excited about the letter is because now I get paid! I don’t know how much writers will be interested in this, but I thought I’d explain.
When I got my contract, it spelled out my payment schedule. The contract was for 3 books (they even gave me my ISBN numbers, if you can believe that).
For each book, the contract said that I get about 1/2 of my advance upon signing the contract, about 1/4 when I turn in the Marketing Info Sheet for the manuscript, and then the remaining 1/4 when I turn in the revised manuscript and it’s accepted.
(Not all publishing houses are like this, just so you know. Some of them don’t give the money in three parts, some give the remaining 1/2 of the advance upon receipt of the rough manuscript. Others wait until the manuscript is revised and accepted. Some wait until actual publication.)
Since the contract was for 3 books, upon signing the contract, I got 1/2 of the advance for each of the three books. It was a nice chunk of money right there, and for two books I hadn’t even written yet.
I had already turned in my Marketing Info Sheet for book 1 in May, so I also got 1/4 of the advance for that book.
In September, I turned in the Marketing Info Sheet for book 2, and got 1/4 of the advance for that book.
I turned in the manuscript for book 1 earlier this year, but it wasn’t through substantive edits and revisions until my editor turned it in November 1st. After she turned it in, it was accepted. I get the remaining 1/4 of my advance for book 1 sometime next month.
I turn in the rough manuscript for book 2 on January 1st, 2007. It will go through substantive edits and revisions, and once that’s turned in and accepted, only then will I get the remaining 1/4 of the advance for book 2.
I will not get royalties until I sell enough copies of the book to “pay back” my advance.
And, of course, I still have to pay taxes on all this.
Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.

The Cubicle Next Door
by
Siri Mitchell.

Calm, Cool and Adjusted
by
Kristin Billerbeck
You can still enter both giveaways. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for the The Cubicle Next Door and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!
Click to join Camys_Loft
Myths of the Fatherless: My online friend Kathy Holmes just published her book. Here’s a blurb:
Myths of the Fatherless
One Daughter's Discovery
Every little girl loves her daddy. But what happens when that daddy is missing? Or another man steps into his place? Society has accepted many myths about what that means to a child.
MYTHS OF THE FATHERLESS attempts to dispel those myths by sharing the author's story of her search for her father and eventual reunion with him. Throughout her journey, she discovered she was not alone, and despite her denial, fathers are very important to a woman. And whatever the reason the father is missing, not knowing him affects a woman's relationships with men and her entire life.
But fatherless daughters are not without hope. There is a Heavenly Father, who is called the "father to the fatherless."
Find out more about Kathy’s book at http://thefatherless.blogspot.com.
FYI for writers: I just got my official notice that my publisher has accepted my revised version of my manuscript, book one in my series. I had worked with my editor and she turned it in on November 1st, I think.
The reason I’m excited about the letter is because now I get paid! I don’t know how much writers will be interested in this, but I thought I’d explain.
When I got my contract, it spelled out my payment schedule. The contract was for 3 books (they even gave me my ISBN numbers, if you can believe that).
For each book, the contract said that I get about 1/2 of my advance upon signing the contract, about 1/4 when I turn in the Marketing Info Sheet for the manuscript, and then the remaining 1/4 when I turn in the revised manuscript and it’s accepted.
(Not all publishing houses are like this, just so you know. Some of them don’t give the money in three parts, some give the remaining 1/2 of the advance upon receipt of the rough manuscript. Others wait until the manuscript is revised and accepted. Some wait until actual publication.)
Since the contract was for 3 books, upon signing the contract, I got 1/2 of the advance for each of the three books. It was a nice chunk of money right there, and for two books I hadn’t even written yet.
I had already turned in my Marketing Info Sheet for book 1 in May, so I also got 1/4 of the advance for that book.
In September, I turned in the Marketing Info Sheet for book 2, and got 1/4 of the advance for that book.
I turned in the manuscript for book 1 earlier this year, but it wasn’t through substantive edits and revisions until my editor turned it in November 1st. After she turned it in, it was accepted. I get the remaining 1/4 of my advance for book 1 sometime next month.
I turn in the rough manuscript for book 2 on January 1st, 2007. It will go through substantive edits and revisions, and once that’s turned in and accepted, only then will I get the remaining 1/4 of the advance for book 2.
I will not get royalties until I sell enough copies of the book to “pay back” my advance.
And, of course, I still have to pay taxes on all this.
Comments
I can't wait to read your first book!
Put me in the drawing for Siri's book. Thanks
Thanks, too, for the mention of my book. It's so cool to know this book is touching lives around the world - from the US to Australia to the UK and on to South Africa. It'll be so awe-inspiring to see what the Lord does with it all. I am so thankful for being given this opportunity.