Skip to main content

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Knitting writers unite!

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.08.2009

I’m just back from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference where I was a mentor in the Head Start mentoring clinic. What a blast! I loved my mentor group and the conference was a lot of fun.

I also got a lot of knitting done.

Especially for workshops or lectures, I like knitting because it helps me to focus my auditory skills (of which I have very little, just to warn you). I don’t know why, but having something in my hands helps me pay better attention.

(I wish I’d knitted in college—I might have gone to more of my classes. Doh!)

I can’t tell you how many times someone came up to me to see what I was knitting and to say something like, “I used to knit” or “I crochet but I left it at home” or “I’d love to learn to knit.” To which I’d usually reply, “I learned to knit on the internet!” (Knittinghelp.com, people. Faboo site!)

I also met a fellow knitter, Lisa (I think her last name was Babcock but I don’t remember exactly ... sorry, Lisa!). I admired the beautiful sock she was working on and we had a rather frenetic moshing about her way cool yarn. (I’m almost positive the yarn was Claudia Hand Painted Yarn in Maple Leaf color)

Lots of knitting writers! Who knew?

I like sock knitting when I’m away from home since it’s small, portable, and the yarn takes up less space in my suitcase. Also, I can have an easy stockinette stitch sock that I don’t even have to look at while I knit, and a more complicated sock if I want to take a more challenging project.

I took two socks with me this weekend. Here’s my easy stockinette stitch one, and I added a tabi socks split toe (my modified pattern) so I can wear these with my house slippers.



I found the yarn at a shop in Illinois, but I also recently saw the yarn online at SimplySockYarn.com. It’s Online Savannah Color, collection #94, color 1033.

I didn’t finish it because I forgot to take the second ball of yarn (I started with a half-used ball), which made me rap my forehead with my knitting needles for a minute or two (but size 1 needles really don’t hurt as much as, say, a door). So I moved to my other project.

I took these more complicated (but not too complicated) socks in Trekking XXL yarn, color #305 Shades of Pink (PINK! PINK! PINK! I LOVE PINK!)



I’m trying Jane’s Hedgerow Socks pattern plus my tabi socks split toe.

There you have it! Knitting writers! Cool yarn! I’ll post pics of Mount Hermon when I get copies from people. I forgot to take my camera out of my suitcase. I know, I know, I’m lamer than lame.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I almost MUST have a sewing project in hand when I'm listening to a lecture, otherwise it goes in one ear, gains speed and goes out the other. My mind just hops around unless my hands are busy. I also love listening to audio books while sewing. :)

~Lita
Emily said…
I just learned how to knit...I LOVE it! It's relaxing and helps me de-stress. I've been amazed by how many young people I know that knit and/or crochet. I thought I was kind of a dork for learning. I'm making baby blankets right now...
Camy Tang said…
Lita--I love listening to audiobooks, too! I'm listening to THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY right now.

Emily--I just bought a ton of yarn for some baby blankets! I FELT like a dork while I was learning to knit, but I love it now. As you can tell, I'm not shy about knitting in public, either. Except some people don't like to be seen with the lady with the pointy sticks... ;)

Camy
My mum is trying to teach me to knit. I can crochet and have found spent the Australian summer making scarfs. I love buying wool especially the integrated colours. My house mates have banned me from buying anymore wool until I have given away from latest lot of scarfs. I have found that I do listen better when I'm crocheting cause it helps me to concentrate better. otherwise when i'm taking notes and the speaker is taking me through a mind maze my thoughts go off track and I start thinking about other stuff.
Camy Tang said…
I'm glad it's not just me who needs something in my hands during a lecture!
Camy
Carmel said…
A year later I am reading this blog post because I followed the trail from lesson 2 of the characterization class!!

I find that I have trouble making myself freewrite. I was just thinking this morning that if I had some knitting in my hands, and a pen and paper beside me, rather than sitting at the computer (which I love but feel it's not healthy to be in front of all day) maybe the knitting would keep me grounded and the thoughts would flow more easily.

Unfortunately, at the moment I'm in the assembling stages of a sweater. But when that's finished, I'm on to a pair of socks!
Camy Tang said…
Carmel, you don't have several projects going at once? I always have an easy project to do while I'm writing (usually socks) and also a harder project to do in front of the TV (I have a pair of opera gloves I'm knitting for a friend). I say, go for it and cast on for the socks!!!!

Popular Posts

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Prelude for a Lord now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited

The new, extended version of Prelude for a Lord is now available on Amazon! I am re-releasing Prelude for a Lord , which was originally published by Zondervan but I got the rights back. Zondervan had a strict word count limit, so I cut about 20,000 words from the manuscript, but now that I have the rights back, I’m releasing the extended version before I cut the words out. The book is now about 120,000 words (the Zondervan version was 100,000 words). Don’t worry, I’m still working on the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series. I’m just re-releasing this book since Zondervan is no longer selling it and some people wanted to read it. I’ll work on the Gentlemen Quartet series after I finish the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series (Lady Wynwood is projected to be 12 books). There will also be some neat cross-over between the two series! I’ll eventually do annotated chapters with Easter Eggs and behind-the-scenes content for Prelude for a Lord , but for now, they’ll only be available to my Launch Tea...

December 16, 2024 Weekly Roundup on Camy’s Patreon

The latest on my Patreon: REMINDER (Tier 3 book boxes): Be sure to answer the question at the end of the update post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/117341237/ Ebooks: Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster  ebooks have been sent out to all paid subscribers! https://www.patreon.com/posts/117882802/ BONUS: Check out Elizabeth’s Droolworth Shoes from Protection for Hire https://www.patreon.com/posts/117282261/ New early access AND bonus annotated chapters this week: (Tier 3: Miss Nell’s Assistant and higher) Protection for Hire : Prologue and Chapter 1 Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain (bonus story for Tier 2 and higher): Prologue and Chapter 1 Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster: Completed posting Access to older chapters has been opened up to other tiers. https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-98508510 Thanks again for being my subscribers! Subscribe to Camy’s Patreon

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

I GOT A CONTRACT!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.29.2006 I had a wonderfully funny blog post planned for today, but I got sidetracked by some news yesterday! Zondervan has offered me a three-book contract on my Asian chick-lit series ! I’m still stunned by everything that’s happened. The series is actually a 4-book projected Asian chick-lit series about four cousins who fall under the infamous family title "Oldest Single Female Cousin," and their ruthless, wealthy grandma applies pressure on each of them to improve their lack of love interests. I think the first book is tentatively scheduled to be released in August 2007. The blurb on the series is on my website here . Brandilyn Collins posted to the ACFW loop about my writing journey, and Tamara Cooper asked that I share it. And since you all know how much I like to talk , here it is. My writing journey: Like most writers, I have wanted to write since I was very young. (In high school, I wrote a fantasy novel that will never see the light of day ...

Merry Christmas! Enjoy The Spinster's Christmas

As a Merry Christmas gift to all my blog readers, I’m going to be posting my Christian Regency romantic suspense, The Spinster’s Christmas , for free on my blog! I’ll be posting the book in 1000-1500 word segments every Tuesday and Friday. (When I do the calculations, it’ll finish around the end of May.) Why am I posting a Christmas story when it won’t be Christmas in a week? Because I can! :) The Spinster’s Christmas is the prequel volume to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . Right now I’m editing volume 1 of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, and it’s on track to release in 2020. (If you’re on my Camille Elliot newsletter , you’ll be sure to hear when it’s available for preorder.) I anticipate that the Lady Wynwood’s Spies series to be about ten volumes. I think the series story will be a lot of fun to tell, and I’m looking forward to writing up a storm! Below, I’ll be listing the links to the parts of The Spinster’s Christmas as I post them. (I created the html links by hand so please ...

Camy's (last minute) Christmas sale

Free Christian Romance novels, free Christian Romantic Suspense novels, and free Christian Regency romance novels Camy’s sale is here! Sign up for my Camy Tang newsletter to get  Weddings and Wasabi, White Soup, Unshakeable Pursuit,  and  Necessary Proof free! Sign up for my Camille Elliot newsletter to get  The Spinster's Christmas and The Gentleman Thief free! Shop Camy’s Sale