Megan Hart

I don’t think it’s really that cool to recommend your own book or beg people to read it in like, the Amazon.com forums and whatnot.

I’ll beg you to read my book, sure, but here on my OWN blog.

I also sorta kinda think it’s a little bit ewww to use your author bio to detail your sexual history and why it makes or does not make you qualified to write erotic stories. Because…um…ewww. I don’t want to know about your sexual history. Really.

PLEASE BUY MY BOOK. I promise not to regale you with tales of my sexual history.

I’m off to St. Louis today! Yippee, yahoo! I’ve got my bag packed and I’m simmering in that anxious traveling way, hoping I don’t miss a flight and can find the shuttle, hoping I remember to stop and get some cash so I’m not stranded without money, hoping I can make it through security without getting frisked…oh, wait, I promised not to talk about my sexual history.

Please buy my book!

M

Today’s To Do:

clean off desk
my office
pack for the NINC conference in St. Louis
prepare all flight information, hotel, etc. for NINC
clean kitchen
shower (maybe that should be first)
clean everything else
make dinner

Hmm, I don’t see “write” anywhere on that list, but guess what, I finished the draft of my MIRA book on Friday (I think it was Friday) and so now I’m between projects, just in time to travel. So I don’t think I’ll be writing today. Oh, yeah, I have stuff I COULD write but it’s senseless to start today when I won’t be working again until next week. I will take work with me to do if I have time, but it will be revising and polishing sort of work, I think…working on another older manuscript to see if it can find new life.

I have some breathing room before my next deadline, and while I do want to get a nice head start, I am going to take today to clean my house and pack and get ready to go. Yep.

And how’s that for an exciting blog entry? Wow. I bet you’re glad you stopped by today. But yannow, here’s the thing…I’m really glad to know people read these little bits-n-bobs, so I *try* to be either informative or entertaining…but all I can do is try. If someone has a question about writing or publishing, I’m happy to answer if I can but really, I don’t always know the answers. I can talk about writing but I’m not sure I could tell anyone else HOW to do it, or that even if I told someone how to do it, that it would be the right way for them to do it…I don’t think there’s only ONE TRUE WAY anyway.

So this blog isn’t really meant to be an advice blog — it’s not just a promotional tool, either, since I do mention what I’m working on or what I’ve got coming out, but I don’t want to talk ONLY about myself. That would be soooooooo boring. It’s not entirely personal and not entirely professional but a little mix of both, but the one thing that remains consistent is this: I write what I feel like writing.

Sometimes, you’re going to like it. Sometimes you’ll be bored to tears. Sometimes you’ll be annoyed, and that’s okay. You don’t have to read this blog in order to read my books. This is all just blather, most of the time, anyway.

So if you do stop by, thank you. I’m glad you found my corner of bloglandia interesting enough to check out — that’s great! If you like what you read, stick around. If you don’t…well, life’s too short to spend a lot of time doing stuff you don’t like. I try to do as little stuff I don’t like as possible, and that’s what makes the world such a great place to live in!

Okay, off to shower and clean and pack and cook and do all that domesticly type stuff…

See you in St. Louis!

M

Hmm. What do you think this is? I’m going to guess Stranger. Can’t wait to see the cover.

I’m going to guess that this is Stranger in French.

Yay!

M

It’s due out October 6th, 2009. Yep, that’s in…13 days! I bet you’ll see it appearing in the wild before then, too, sometimes that happens. But for right now, you can pre-order it here! Or from Barnes and Noble.com

And if you’re so inclined, an excerpt.

Interestingly, the cover art’s changed slightly. I wonder if it will have foil on it, like its sister book, Pleasure and Purpose

BLURB:

It was at the request of Lord Gabriel Delessan that a handmaiden of the Order of Solace be delivered to his manor house. For young and ingenuous Tranquilla Caden, it would be her new position of service–devoted as she was to fulfilling every demand of her new master, to stimulating his mind, stirring his soul, and arousing his body. Yet something happens that Quilla never counted on: she was falling hopelessly, dangerously in love with the enigmatic–and very married–man she was required only to service.

By the by — The Order of Solace is not a sex-based religion. Handmaidens have myriad ways to provide solace to their patrons, and no two ever require the same service. The perfect cup of tea, a kind word, a merry story, all can provide solace. Some Handmaidens never make love to their patrons at all.

But I write romance. Sometimes, explicit romance. So the chances of you reading any books about Handmaidens who do NOT make love to their patrons (whether the book’s erotic or sensual, they’ll all vary so don’t be surprised!) are pretty slim. I mean, I could write one about a Handmaiden who doesn’t fall in love with her patron but then it wouldn’t be a romance without someone falling in love somewhere along the way, so…yeah. You probably won’t read any like that.

Just sayin’.

M

I’ve successfully added about 13,000 words to my manuscript — one word at a time. Don’t laugh, BBs — I mean one word or two words per sentence at a time, a few longer sentences here and there. But overall it’s been cut three, add one, add another, cut a few more.

This is grueling.

It’s not like writing, where I can just…go. It’s not like my normal revising, either, because honestly by the time I’m done with a book even in first draft it’s in pretty decent shape. Typos, sections that have to be added or switched around or deleted, sure, but not this painstaking one sentence at a time gleaning for content.

I’m approximately halfway through the current manuscript which means less than half since I need to add sections. Not just words for the sake of length, but pieces I left out of the original story — remember, I wrote this about six or seven years ago, and it was too short, then.

Even so, it’s not yet 9 am and I’m going to take a shower (late on that today) make some coffee and get to work. Buckle down. I planted longer term crops in Farmville so I don’t have to check it as often. THAT my doves, is dedication.

If you’ve not yet acquired your copy of Pleasure and Purpose, might I kindly suggest you do so, as its sister book, No Greater Pleasure, is due out in a couple weeks. Not that you have to read both to understand them individually, because you don’t. But you might want to.

NGP is less explicit than P and P and I actually wrote it first. Quilla was my first Handmaiden, Gabriel my first patron. I wrote THAT book a long time ago too. It seems like projects I thought would never see the light of day are having their turn, now.

Interesting.

In other news, I would like a t-shirt that says “There’s a very short list of people who get to tell me what to do, and you’re not on it.” Sort of like “I can only please so many people a day and you’re not one of them” Either that or the shirt might say SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED.

But ya know, a good ruler is benevolent, and having people give you what you want because they hate or fear you instead of doing it because they want to please you, well, that’s just not any fun!

I have a big “life event” coming up in the next few months and wow, there’s a lot of planning involved. And a lot of minutia (how the heck do you spell that) that simply shouldn’t, in my opinion, be the focus. Imprinted cocktail napkins? Really? C’mon, life’s too short to fuss about that sort of thing.

Head down. Back to work. Just keep swimming…

M

I really don’t like it. Because I can’t seem to fall asleep at a reasonable time and therefore, am still tired when I’m supposed to wake up. I don’t like it! I don’t!

Also: I do not like Windows XP and the fact I have to put it on my beautiful Mac laptop makes my stomach hurt, fuhrealz. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. It makes me shudder with distaste.

I’ll tell you something I do like, though: Switch
is available for pre-order!

Here’s a question for you — do you pre-order books? I don’t, usually. I don’t know why. It’s not like they charge you for the order until it ships. I just don’t pre-order. But if you want to, g’wan witcha bad self, because Switch is due out in January.

Today I hope to get through at least 150 pages of edits/polishing/rewriting/writing on this book.

I can’t stop yawning.

M

Ok, so I’m *almost* finished with True Blood, three episodes to go, so please don’t spoil me!!!!!

Team Eric? Team Bill? Pardon me, there is no team, nothing but a delicious Eric/Bill sammich please and thankya.

Also almost finished with Jericho and season two of the new Dr. Who. And Heroes starts up again tomorrow night. Haven’t really talked much about Supernatural on here lately either, not for lack of love, just time.

I had a whole bunch of other stuff I wanted to say but in the end decided not to — because I write this blog for myself. I write about what excites or interests or infuriates me, simple as that, and sometimes I will blog more often, sometimes I will blog less.

But in the end, my work’s not my blog and this blog is not my work.

M

I WILL hit page 100 today in these slow, painstaking and incredibly torturous edits! I WILL DO EEEEET!

I sort of think if I’d started this book from scratch it might be taking me less time than what I’m doing which is basically ripping apart every sentence, word by word, and revising. Yikes.

Even so, the progress is slow but steady and I’m pleased, sort of, with how it’s coming out. I say sort of because I’m still biting my nails about the book. I guess I should be used to it by now!

In other news, I’m going to make an apple honey cake today.

In other other news, I think I might take a hot shower in about ten minutes.

In other other other news, I would like a nap.

M

Read this. As in click the link to an article I’m linking to, right here.

Look, I have downloaded music from Limewire, a long time ago. I didn’t know better. I was a douchebag. I’ve since deleted those songs AND nine times out of ten, purchased them again from legitimate sources because I want to support the artist. I don’t do it any more. It’s beyond wrong and illegal, it’s douchebaggery of the highest type of fuckery.

I have never downloaded a free movie or a book, and I never will. That’s wrong, too.

And if you’re doing it — what you’re doing is wrong. It’s stealing. And if you keep doing it, eventually (and not so eventually, but soon) the artists and authors you “love” so much won’t be able to afford to create the content you love so much you have to steal.

I don’t come into your house and take your laptop just because I like it and can’t afford it. Don’t steal my books. Or music. Or movies. Don’t steal.

You’re not entitled to it just because you love it.

M

ETA: I just lied. I have downloaded free movies and music and books recently — from legitimate sources giving them away with the permission of the copyright holder. Christopher Dallman’s giving away free songs right now. Amazon.com has free reads for the Kindle. iTunes has several free selections every Tuesday. You can find free stuff. Just don’t steal it.

In the car last night:

son: “what’s a gay nose?”
me: “…you mean a nosegay?”
son: “a gay nose. You know, a bouquet thing.”
me: “…that’s a nosegay.”
son: “no, it’s a gay nose!”
daughter: “no, a gay nose is a nose that only likes other boy noses”
Me: “what if it’s a girl?”
son: “well, that’s a lesbianose.”