Pat Rice here
It’s summer, the temps are in the 90’s, so is the
humidity, and my brain is fried. While I’m sitting here scribbling away on the
next historical and tossing ideas around about the next contemporary, most of
NYC is off playing in the mountains or attending conferences or otherwise
gallivanting about. In other words, nobody is working up there. So I have no
one breathing down my neck for pages, no frantic last minute phone calls
telling me the title has already been used and we have to come up with
another
one right now, before the sales catalog goes to print. I
ought to look on this as a lovely vacation, but I’m a writer. I need FEEDBACK
or I don’t exist.
So wenchly readers, you’re my next line of support. Roll
the dialog please!
I just perused the list of questions we amassed earlier
from readers, searching for a blog topic my fried brain could handle, but the
poor molten mass couldn’t remember which ones had been answered and 
which ones
hadn’t. But a great number of your questions had to do with how a writer works,
in one manner or another, from pitching books to booksignings.
I know I’m going to regret this, but I’d like to
experiment by keeping a daily log of my writing progress. There are seven of us wenches, and we only
write every other day, so daily progress reports won’t work here. But I’ll try to keep it up on my
(patriciarice.blogspot.com) blogger page. For a
while, just to see what happens. (and since I'm heading out on a last minute trip, hotel internet will figure into how quickly anything gets posted!)
As a sample of what I’m thinking about doing, I’ll set up
the beginning here:
The first of my new Mystic Isle series, MYSTIC GUARDIAN,
was released at the beginning of July, and I’m
tracking sales because I'm hoping this fantasy historical combo will sell well enough to allow me to dabble much longer in my mystical world.
Watching sales can be torturous, and I’m not into suffering and pain (which is why I don’t
normally read reviews—I never remember the good ones, only the bad ones). The
book has hit the top 100 Bookscan list the first two weeks of sales,which is supposed to be a Good
Thing. If readers keep buying it, it will be even Better, 'cause that means it has legs. (so does my mermaid, but that's beside the point. )
My first review on Amazon was a two and obviously demonstrated the reader’s lack
of insight. Things are looking much more intelligent over there lately, not that I'm looking, mind you. I’m a wee bit jaded by this new release business. Reviews and numbers give me cold shudders. Aside from creating books, I prefer getting my jollies by talking to readers. That, and I get to wear
PJs to work.
I turned in the manuscript for the second book of the
series, MYSTIC RIDER, at the beginning of July. My editor won’t have time to
read it and get back to me before mid- August, which is one of the reason I’m
blathering now.
Lacking anything more productive to do, and with a fresh
story burning up my fingertips, I started on the third in the series, MYSTIC
WARRIOR while the characters and plot arcs of RIDER are still fresh in my mind.
I’ve even carved out a 3-page summary and a 13-page summary for it, one for
publicity and sales and the other for my editor. Not that I’ll abide by it.
I’ve already veered off the beaten path. But it gives character arcs and
whatnot and is sound enough to make back cover copy. (I don't know a good graphic to illustrate pages piling up, but how about a cute picture of my son diving down?) 
Monday—on patriciarice.blogspot.com---I’ll go into what’s happening with the contemporaries—including the dreaded pitch--provided the hotel cooperates. I don't do technology well.