Amber Devlyn

Name change

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 18:14:33 GMT

All of you know me as Amber, but under advisement of fellow writers I've decided to write under my real name. So, I'll be blogging under Lynnettebrogan through LJ instead of Amber. Now, you all know my secret identity.

Lynnette

Start New Series

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:09:20 GMT

Good Morning,

Well, as you all know I'm a writer. When I started my blog I told you I'd take you on teh writer's journey from beginning to end. Well, I've started a New series, The "Moon" series, the first of which is titled Winter Moon.

I'm about 25 pages into it now, not alot in the grand scheme of things as it needs to come out to about 400 pages, but it's a start. I have to do a lot of research on this one as it involves witches. I want the spells and ceremonies used to be authentic. Or as authentic as I can make them. So, a lot of my writing time will also involve researching the wiccan religion. It should be a grand learning experience, as I'm planning on this being a 12 book series. One book for each calendar month.

Well, I'm off to get working for the day. You all have a wonderful morning and great day (depending on where you are).

~Amber

Still no news

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 14:08:17 GMT

Well, it's 10 am here and there is still no word from my agent on Jewel. Of course, he is three hours behind. I imagine he has to finish reading it. I'm on pins and needles here. It's so important I make a good impression, but what's the worst he can say but "this part needs rewritten" or "this is too confusing".

I'm worried about the fight scenes, they may all need rewriting and that will be time consuming but I hope worth it if he asks.

Boy, I hope I hear something soon!!

~Amber

Another Hospital Visit

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 15:35:29 GMT

Well, Spent another fun-filled evening in the hospital. Got home about 6 am this morning and looks like I'm heading back if I can get my husband to get out of work to take me.

I swear I spend more time there than anywhere and I'm getting damn sick of it.

I won't get any writing done today and that just makes me mad, but what can you do?

Will be sending Jewel out to the agent today. I hope he likes it. He's not read it yet. Wish me luck.

Well, I better try and call my husband again. He may never return my call otherwise. You all have a great day.

~Amber

Just another day

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:06:22 GMT

well, it's just another day here. As I said before, a writer's life can be boring. I get to spend the next couple of days going through The Protector's Jewel with a fine tooth comb before sending it off to the agent.

I also have to critique partners to edit for, so I'll be an editing fool this week. Oh, the joy of it. Can you tell that editing is my least favorite thing in the world to do?

I could have gotten a big chunk of it done yesterday, but instead I put it off by sleeping most of the day. Damn those hospital drugs anyway from the night before, it only meant that I lost most of the day yesterday and slept like, well you know, last night. So i'm in a little bit of a mood. Oh well.

Time for coffee. Though I rarely drink the stuff, this will hopefully wake me up enough to actually get some work done today.

Hope you all have a good one.

Amber

I finished...

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 10:46:46 GMT

I wrote the end to The Protector's Keeper this morning. It feels so good to have another book behind me. Of course, that still leaves the edits to do, but the story itself it written. I'm so excited. I could just burst.

Now I can spend the next few days rewriting those few scenes I can think of In The Protector's Jewel that need rewritten. And to do those edits you have for me gamer_gal.

Whooppee...I wish I could celebrate with a nice steak dinner. I'll have to settle for a chocolate milkshake instead. Oh well. life's wonderful at the moment and even a liquid diet isn't going to bother me today.

~Amber

Saturday Morning Wake Up call

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:14:01 GMT

Received a call from my agent this morning. He wants me to go through the manuscript and change anything that could be construed as being similar to Christine Feehan's Dark Series. That may be a tall order to fill. I appreciate those of you who volunteered to read for me. I need a general overall feel for the story itself.

It appears that I'll be spending my weekend making sure that this book is as original as I can make it. I already know of one scene off the top of my head that needs to be rewritten so it will take some work to get this ready for submission.

When I was released from the hospital on Wednesday, they put me on an all liquid diet. I ate a sandwich last night. I couldn't take the pressure any more. Let's just say I won't be eating solids for a while. I'm still paying for it.

I'm this close to finishing The PRotector's Keeper. I had hoped to finish it this weekend but it looks like that is on hold for now. Maybe I'll get it done by next weekend. Anyway, I'm off to buy some printer paper. See you all next time.

~Amber

Change in Plans

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:17:34 GMT

Well, my agent contacted me this morning. He had an interesting change in plans for me. He suggested I take books two and three and make them my books one and two and take the first book that needs work and make it my book three. I'm very fond of this idea. I can then rewrite Book 1 (Now 3) at my leisure while I finish up the edits for the other two.

I think this is a grand idea as the second book, is completely original idea and has world building elements that are completely different than I've read anywhere else.

I have a proposition, I have two versions of book 2 (The Protector's Jewel) one edited one way, one another and could use someone's opinion on which they prefer better as a reader before I submit them to my agent. Any takers out there?

~Amber...whose determined to finish keeper before the end of the weekend.

Thank God today is over

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 02:16:19 GMT

Thats all I can say. It has been the longest day of my life as I hemmed and hawed over whether to rewrite my book from the beginning. I still have not come to a decision. I think I'm going to put it on the back burner for a little while while I think about alternatives for the story.

Here's what I wrote today on my newest Book as yet untitled:

If the curse were real, then in three days, Amanda’s life as she knew it was over.

She refused to believe in it, even as the same apparition who’d spent the better part of the week haunting her stood at the foot of her bed. She knew she was there, even before she opened her eyes. She felt her. Cold seeped into her bones, leeching the heat from her body, followed by the tingling in her nerve endings telling her she was not alone.

She had no idea what they wanted. She couldn’t even speak to them to find out. All she could do was absorb their riot of emotions before they disappeared into nothingness.

If someone had told her a year ago she’d start seeing ghosts once she moved to the picturesque little town of Cherry Hill, she would have laughed in their faces. Now all she could do was try to pretend she didn’t see them, or write them off as hallucinations. Anything but acknowledge the family prophecy might be coming true.

That's all I have to show for today's work. Pretty pathetic I know. I should have written loads more, but I just couldn't get in the groove.

Here's hoping tomorow will be better.

~Amber

I'm back....Again

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 12:44:47 GMT

Well, I disappeared into hospital hell again. Spending MOnday-Wednesday there this time. I was home less than twenty-four hours before having to go back in. Let's hope I make it a little longer this time.

I should. They've modified my diet to keep me from being hopsitalized so hopefully it will work.

Some good news came through the pipeline while I was laid up. We already heard back from Cerridwen Press. The bad news, the premise is too close to another well know author's so if I change things up and rewrite, they'll look at it again. But they did say that it was a good story.

So, hurray for that. I don't know what I should do. Wait and see if my agent can sell as is, or plan to rewrite the whole series and try and sell to someone who I knows already liked the story.

Any opinions?

~Amber

I'm BAAACKKK

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 06:00:00 GMT

Ok, so that was a little dramatic. But I'm beginning to feel like a yo, yo.
I spent the last few days in the hospital again. My poor gut doesn't seem to enjoy food at the moment. Everytiem i eat i end up looking 9 months pregnant. Anyway~~enough about that,

Well, as for my writing, its kinds hard to do doped up on morphine (Under hospital supervisions--kids don't do this at home) but, I managed to write two pages. Not too bad really.

I'm hoping to have the whole book finished this week, so long as I can stay out of the hospital that is.

An Exciting Day

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:46:02 GMT

Yesterday turned out to be an exciting day for me. I received a call from my agent that an electronic publisher may be interested in my trilogy. I'm about two chapters away from finishing it so I'm hoping to have it done in the next couple of days. But he told the editor that all three books were finished and Jewel and Keeper still need to be edited. So the pressure is on. Add to that, they wanted a synopsis of the alst two books only one of which was written, so I spent last evening writing a synopsis for the book I'm currently writing. In the good news department, I now know how its going to end.

SO, in a month or two I may know whether or not I have a three book deal or not as he emailed the package to them last evening. Cross your fingers and wish me luck!!

~Amber

Home from the Hospital

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 03:25:25 GMT

Well, It's Monday evening and I'm home from the hospital where i've been stuck since Friday night. Seems my gut has a strong dislike for several foods and made itself known after dinner at Taco Bell. Damn! I'm gonna miss eating there.

Anyway, I'm back, healthy but injured. It seems walking the halls is hazardous to your health as I've pulled a calf muscle and must now stay off it.

Oh, the adventure....

So, needless to say, I've written absolutely zilch since Friday. I have a lot of catchin gup to do.

~Amber

Time to start my day

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 11:15:01 GMT

Well, it's 7 am and normally I start my day already. But we have a temporary roomate who has become not so temporary and he's been laid off from work. He's asleep on the couch right now so I can't even set up my laptop and get to work. Talk about a pain in the rear.

Who's to say though that I would have gotten any new writing done, but its the priciple of the thing. I can't wait to get my house back.

Well, I'm gonna take a notebook and try to write longhand which means I'll have to transcribe it later--another waste of my time. Can you tell I'm in a bitchy mood?

~Amber

Submitting Destiny Once Again

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 03:40:50 GMT

After talking with my agent, we've agreed to try submitting The Protector's Destiny to Cerridwen Press. It's an E-book publisher that's fairly new but I'm hoping for positive results. Sure, I'd love to see my book in print but with hte computer age e-books are the wave of the future, or so I'm hoping. Wish me luck on both my submissions to the major print publishing houses and to the epublisher.

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a restful weekend.

~Amber

A sputter of life

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 20:47:18 GMT

After a five day hiatus while I recuperated in the hospital, I decided to breakout the laptop today. Although I'm not in top form, I managed to eek out an additional 2 pages today on my current project. It's not a great total by any means, but it's definitely respectable considering how down in the dumps I'm still feeling. Hopefully, tomorrow my writing and energy levels will be greatly improved.

I've gotten to the point in my book where i'm setting up for the final confrontation and pulling all the pieces together is taking longer than I though it would. Wish me luck on catching those fly away strings tomorrow.

~Amber

Writing has fizzled

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 23:35:35 GMT

Well, after spending the last five days in the hospital, I'd have to say my writing has come to a standstill. I plan on jumping back on the bandwagon in the AM but in the meantime I'm going to relax, put my feet up and enjoy this evening to myself.

I hope all my fellow writer's out there are writing away!!!

~Amber

New Blog

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 12:48:51 GMT

Welcome to my new blog. I'll be posting here fairly regularly. The life of this writer, however, is very boring. I'll be sharing my accomplishments and my disappointments with you as I take you on a writer's journey.

I'm currently working on the third book in a series that should be complete within the next two weeks. Then the process starts all over again. You'll join me as I struggle with plotting out the next novel and get frustrated right along with me when my dialy page counts either down right suck or are non-existant.

Watch and see how long it really takes to write a 400 page book. Share the experience with me. I dare you...

~Amber