And on the 6th day, she took a breather…

It seems like I’ve been writing on my sci-fi romp forever. Actually, when I look at the calendar, I started the project back in November of last year. I spent four weeks going over the plot, checking for potential holes, building the backstory and filling out the cast of characters. Then I created the skeleton outline, my own personal diagram and trip tik so I could navigate the storyline and not get confused or lost along the way—which I did anyway, of course…

Then when the holidays hit, my mother became very ill and I dropped most of what I was doing and focused on my mum. When I wasn’t at her place, I played house in Second Life, putting up holiday decorations on my dream villa and taking a breather from my writing, planning to regroup in January.

Of course, nothing ever goes as we plan it, does it? Only a couple of days after Christmas 2009, my life did a 360º and everything I thought I knew had changed. I won’t go into the details of my tailspin, but it took me several months to regain my footing and even want to write something more creative than a grocery list. My nerves were shot and I felt up in the air about so many things, basic things I thought I had nailed down. Like where I would live, where my home was and who I’d be sharing it with.

I did a lot of growing as a person and realized some of the fault lay at my own door. I’d become complacent. And fallen into a serious rut. The person I used to be had changed over the years and I wanted her back!

So I started going to the gym again, I worked out, I started eating right and taking my vitamins. And as I lost weight, I realized I needed new clothes, so I rediscovered the love of shopping for wearable items. You see, before I hated clothes shopping because nothing ever fit the way it should, due to my size. But having lost two dress sizes made enough of a difference, that I could now shop with ease and find something that fit me without a struggle. Was I skinny? Hell no! I have a gene pool full of obese people, but at least I could see a glimmer of daylight.

I started writing again, small things, mostly angry letters I didn’t send and a few that I did. lol. Then, as I was going through the cancer scanning again, facing my own mortality yet another time, I realized I needed to get back at my writing or else give it up and admit defeat.

Now, I’m sort of stubborn in case you didn’t know, and the idea of simply giving up pissed me off. So like everything in my life, I fought and I pushed through my own angst and mental barriers by picking up the threads of a story I’d pushed to a back burner the year before. The story was a departure for me, almost pure erotica and probably the kinkiest shit I’d ever attempted. ::insert blush here::

I decided at the onset that I wouldn’t try to publish it through my usual avenue and would branch out a little and try something new since it was a new kind of story for me, especially since the ebook was also going to be below the word count required by Amber Heat, my publisher.

Earlier in the year, I’d uploaded my freebies to Smashwords, to reach a new audience of readers, and the response was incredible. Thousands of downloads and even a few nice reviews came from the effort. So I decided to create a couple of stories I’d place on Smashwords for sale and release them as 99¢ ebook specials.

The first of these stories is The Deal Breaker, and will be available to purchase on Smashwords starting June 11, 2010.

With most of the hard edits done on Deal Breaker, I returned my attention to my sci-fi romantic comedy, Earth to Elena. I’m happy to say the first draft is complete and now I’ll start the second of my 99¢ ebook specials and will try for a July release depending on how it goes. That way Elena can sit and ‘cure’ and I can get a little distance, so when I pick it back up in a couple of weeks, it’ll seem fresh again and I’ll be able to spot the mistakes easier…at least that is my hope. ::wide grin::

Not sure where I’ll send the story, since it’s less erotic romance and more romantic comedy. E to E (as I’ve nicknamed it) is also a full fledged novel, sitting at just under 100k, so that will also make a difference. But before I look at where to send it, the story will have to go through its paces, which in C.C. speak means about three to four drafts. Yeah, I know. How some authors can do a single draft, then simply edit and be done has always astounded me. I wish I knew their secret. I have to reread the story from scratch, agonize over ever sentence and red pen the printed out version until my fingers bleed ink. lol.

Oh yeah, I did move out of my house, just not the one in RL (at least not yet, lol). Nope, I moved out of the Villa I had in SL, so those pictures I took of myself there are bittersweet, but nothing lasts forever and in the case of SL, that is doubly true I’ve found. For the hell of it, one day I went through all my landmarks, some 200plus of them, and went to every location. I found that well over half no longer existed or had been changed and were now something completely different. Nothing like going back to your favorite hat boutique and finding it’s become a virtual gay country western bar. lol. Ahh well, cie la vie.

Until next time…

Cass