Done

It's official- I mailed back the signed contract on Lost and Found (Mark and Josh). I'm very excited. *vbg*

Gwenna Project Update

Gwenna Project: Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- Good news on this- finally! That's right, it got accepted! :) I can't say more at this point, I still need to sign the contract and such but I'm thrilled beyond words that it's being picked up!

Gwenna Project: VN2 (Nate and Ian)- I'm still tinkering with a few things but admit I've done no writing on it. Thank god for the four day weekend as most of it is mine and I can seriously get back to work on this.

Gwenna Project: Melody Blue (Dennis and Holly)- Some new research books I ordered came in, including one my husband found for me. The outline is pretty solid at this point and I'm continuing to dress out the additional characters needed to support this. I also know how I'm starting this and wrote all of that down. (Need to translate it to my computer now.) Like VN2, I'll be juggling a lot of characters and action scenes and such but I really thrive with that. I still need more research on southern England, about the countryside, small towns and villages and the weather during high summer, but those are details I can continue to work on while I start to actually write on this one.

Gwenna Project: Imperial City- Still remains stritctly in the preliminary stages as I continue to gather information concerning the battle itself. I've only got some vague ideas of what I want to do and how to approach it but nothing suggested yet for specific characters. I have decided to stay with two Marines so some work there on my part is needed. Thankfully, I have an "in" there. LOL.

And that is the state of Gwenna for this week. I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a lovely Thanksgiving. If you are traveling, take care and be safe.

This came across my radar this morning, as I'm a knitter (although not a very good one...) Anyway, it's a great organization that helps our military troops out and they've got a lot of Christmas stuff lined up so if you want to make Gwenna happy and make sure that a soldier isn't alone for the holidays, check out Citizen SAM.org. I'm currently looking at trying to make a helmet liner, but there a lot of NON-knitting activities you can be part of if you want. My son served in Iraq for a year as a combat medic- believe me when I say he and his buddies were always so thankful that we back home supported them.

Gwenna Project: Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- still out with Lyrical with no word one way or another.

As for the various other projects I'm juggling, I can admit I didn't get much of anything done. No writing or research at all as I went to Washington DC for a long weekend to meet up with my closest friend and just got back late this afternoon. We had a blast and I did get a lot of pictures of a Vietnam era Huey at the Air and Space Museum- which for me is so completely awesome. I don't know what it is but I just have such a fascination for Hueys!

Now that I'm back, I hope to get back to my projects.

onwards

Gwenna Project: Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- This went out today to Lyrical, who have treated Elle so wonderfully. We'll see what happens when it happens. But keep your fingers crossed for me.

Gwenna Project: VN2 (Nate and Ian)- Did not get as much writing done on this as I had hoped for a variety of reasons. Part of it was, there was some parts that I wanted to correct that I'd already done and that was nagging at me, making it impossible for me to move forward. Current word count: 20,539

Gwenna Project: Melody Blue (Holly and Dennis)- continue to outline and set the rest of the characters on this one. I've got the storyline/plot pretty much set here and continue to do research on exactly where I want to create my fictional airfield and village.

Gwenna Project: Imperial City- Based around the events of the Battle of Hue- Vietnam 1968. My research materials are coming in and I'm having a blast working through them. I'm starting to piece a plot together but won't get too attached to anything until I'm sure it's plausible under the circumstances of the actual battle. I have no characters marked up at this time and probably won't for a while.

So there is the state of Gwenna for this past week. Lost and Found is back out the door and the other three projects are cooking along. In four more weeks I'll get a break from my second job and plan to make a major push on VN2 before the next semester starts up.

Research materials

One of the books I ordered for my research on the Battle of Hue came in the mail today. It's called Battle for Hue Tet 1968. And my husband, knowing I'm researching this topic again, taped a program off the History Channel that was solely on this battle. This one is starting to come together for me much as Melody Blue is so I'm excited. I love research anyway, especially about Vietnam. It remains a fascination for me.

I now also have a working title for this Gwenna Project: Imperial City.

Not unexpected

When I started this blog and my LJ, it was to post the failures and the victories. Having said that, I got turned down by Samhain for my Mark and Josh story. In my heart I had a feeling, I was aiming as high as I could and it was a real long shot. Of course it's disappointing. I'll wallow in it for a few days and set it up for my next choice of ePublisher.

This publishing world is so different for me from 20 years ago. I haven't given up, I'll still shop it around, it would be foolish not to and I won't give up that easy. But I'd be lying if I said this hasn't shaken my confidence up some.

There are dozens and dozens of ePublishers. I'm hoping that it being a contemporary m/m romance with a military background with men who are older was simply not a good fit for Samhain and the reason why it wasn't picked up and not because my query and synopsis sucked.

I'll post when I send it out again, hopefully, this weekend, and of course keep everyone updated who is interested.

Gwenna Project: Lost and Found (Mark and Josh)- Still out for consideration. Still keeping the good thought that if I've heard nothing, then I haven't been rejected yet. Should I be lucky enough to actually get this picked up by someone, I've already got a sequel in mind.

Gwenna Project: VN2 (Nate and Ian)- Word count 20,533K. I'm writing again on this one, was able to write both Friday and yesterday and it's feeling good. I'm pushing the boundries way out on my original concept and I have to say, I like the results. It's dark and edgy and gritty and that's what I really want in this. Hope to get between 500 and 1000 words done today.

Gwenna Project: Melody Blue (Holly and Dennis)- WWII period piece set in England. I've got the basic rough outline in place and the two main characters down. I'm also working with a friend who lives in England for a feel of the countryside and the weather and other specifics I need to give it the realism I want. I am using my research and supporting characters from my traditional fiction story that I've shelved. Next step will be to set the rest of the characters, name my fictional town and airfield and then flesh out the rough outline into a full detailed one.

Gwenna Project: Hue- This is still only in the barest of research phases. I've pulled my notes from when I worked with my Vietnam veteran friend and ordered a couple of books on the battle that took place during the Tet offensive. I'm 95% sure I'm going to stick with two young Marines in this, but there was an Army presence there with MACV. But the Marines were the real story there, as well as what was up until that battle, a beautiful city. This was a long battle involving a lot of different aspects and I'm going to define it down to a specific point and around these two specific men. I have some ideas of flash backs from these two of time spent together in the beautiful city set against the reality of the firefight they are in. Once I have the books and some other research done, I can define it more in my head and get the outline down. I'll have a working title at least too. For now I'm just calling it Hue.

On the subject of research. I've discovered I LOVE Bing.com. I've always relied on Google like everyone else, but I get tired of sorting all the flotsam out of a serach to get what I need. Bing.com seems to cut to exactly what it is I'm looking for. If I want a map of the United Kingdom during WWII showing locations of American airfields, that's what I get. If I want material having to due with the Battle of Hue, or GI slang specific to the Vietnam era then that's what pops up. It's become a huge time saver for me. If you need to do research like I do since I work on so much period material, Bing.com in my opinion, can't be beat.