Ramblings...I find that a funny term now. For those of you who aren't aware, I used that word in three of my books. They were all story collections and included that term in the titles. Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; and Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things. But, I guess I'm really digressing. Isn't the point of a blog...to blog? Thus far, I'm not sure I've done my duty as your blogger. Perhaps I've floundered a bit. Or maybe it's that my life is really hectic, and I haven't had the time. Who doesn't have that problem?
I'm going to bore you with this next rant, or shall I say ramble? Today I decided to tackle a big problem. Not that it did much good. LOL. My cat, Katerina (or really, better known as KitKat - yes, like the candy bar) is getting these terrible dreads in her fur. These knots are really driving me crazy. I find them when I pet her. She has about three of them. She is an Amazon, built rather large for a female. She has really shiny, fully black fur with a white patch on her belly. Adorable! But, I'm still digressing, aren't I? Anyway, I decided to finally rid her of these knots. I used a small comb and a cat brush. Did she thank me? Um, no. Said cat complained the entire time, like I was killing her. Hey, I was doing her a favor. And guess what? She couldn't even sit still long enough for me to get it done. Eventually, when she started to bite me (and I promise you I was very gentle with her - I love cats!), I decided, "Well...forget it." Maybe next time, I'll get that problem fixed, huh? Let's hope.
Then, I approached my next problem. So, if I haven't already mentioned it on this blog or in numerous interviews, I'm currently working on the sequel to Upon Your Return. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but I think people will like it. The issue I'm having right now is research. Research, research, research. The dreaded, but required thing in a novel. I am now at 90,113 words. That's 324 pages so far. That's actually 5,000 words less than where my first book was at when I submitted the manuscript. So, I think this one may or may not end up a bit longer, but I digress. Again. I know. LOL.
The research has been...interesting, shall we say? I am one of those people that sticks with something when I have made up my mind. So, in my first book, Upon Your Return, I chose a time period which made research difficult, to say the least. But, I did research it extensively. And I finished it. Obviously! Now, I'm faced with new challenges and yet some of the same problems of finding the right resources that will fit for the time period. The book is still Victorian in nature, set in the early 1890s actually. So, even though I have enjoyed writing it thus far, it has mainly been writing. I have done some research, but now I'm really getting into the heart of the research where everything gets challenging. I want it to be accurate, of course. This is why I wish I had access to a fairly large library. I would be drawn to it both for research purposes and because I love books so much. But, I live in a small town, which I'd be more than happy to trade for another place someday (preferably a beach). So, I trudge along, whittling away at the keyboard and trying to find the information that is so necessary to make my book what it should be.
There is a lot of pressure placed on a sequel, I've noticed. Because once you've done one, you have to make it equally as good or exceed expectations somehow. This is really the first time I've written a sequel. Most of my books have been stand-alone works. So, there are certain expectations readers will have, I'm sure, with the second book. It's sort of like the sequels to movies. Most of them really aren't up to par. I hate to unearth a pretty old series, but I'll use the example of The Matrix for lack of a better option at this point. The first movie was great! The second was as well, but it kind of left things unanswered. The third...oh, don't get me started on the third. Everything was all fine until they had to kill off the main characters (a major faux pas with regards to fiction, but certainly with films) and in my humble opinion, it is a cheap way to close up a story. So, that is one example of where the first movie was so epic that it built up a following and as the series progressed, there was kind of a letdown.
But, I'm digressing again. I have that habit when I ramble. I know I will figure this out just as I've figured a lot of stuff out in my life. I have to treat it like one book at a time, right? The historical romance genre is one of my major loves, but I am still fairly new to writing it. So forgive me if I'm only human. LOL. I wish I had a historian friend to help out, but that wouldn't be as fun or nearly as satisfying if I let someone else do it. It is my story after all, and the characters depend on me to tell it right. Wow, that sounded nutty, didn't it? As if my characters actually talk to me or something. Well, I suppose the muse talks to me. Oh, nevermind. If I get into how I come up with scenes, you really will think I'm crazy. But, writers are a pretty crazy bunch.
Hopefully, by the time I finish writing the Heiresses in Love series, I will have even more experience under my belt. Wish me luck, readers! I'm heading back into the research fray. I'll come up for air later.
Happy reading! And fellow writers, never stop writing!
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