Daily Tao ☯ 5.16.17

Greeting, salutations, and warm hellos from the great mountainous west! Lovely flight out this morning (outside of the dope who kept kicking my chair—worry not, I unleashed my inner librarian on him!)  

I got a lot of work done, and it was fun work. First, transcribing some notes, then dumping scenes onto the page without worrying about where they go or being linear with the story. A big part of my natural resistance is the desire to write in a totally literal fashion, from A to B to C to D. When I’m outlining, though, the only way I can make it work is to dump out all the scenes that are in my head, and THEN try to put them into some semblance of order. So far, so good!

Tomorrow we have to stock up on groceries, because… drumroll please… there is going to be a snowstorm. A BIG storm. The latest Winter Storm Watch has us possibly getting 1-2… FEET. Do you have any idea what kinds of happy dancing I’m doing? 

So tomorrow is stocking up, and tomorrow night it starts to snow, and it’s not supposed to let up until Friday. I’m going to snuggle down in what might just be one a monstrous blizzard, take my cough medicine, drink lots of Earl Grey, and, so long as the power stays on, write my tail off. (Just took my last antibiotic but I'm still coughing, dang it!)

Found out today LIE TO ME is a Buzz Book at BEA, which is totally cool. I'm starting to see the book cover pop up across social media, which is at once exciting and terrifying, because it means it no longer belongs to me, and is now yours, to do with as you will. Love it, hate it, recommend it, burn it... the book is officially out of my hands. (But wow, I hope you love it!)

Sweet dreams, and Go Preds!

Daily Tao ☯ 5.15.17

I’m feeling a wee bit cheetah-ish today. I’ve been going going going since I woke up, and have only now sat down to eat, have a glass of wine, and catch my breath (and do my daily Tao). I had to cancel a dentist appointment this morning, because who wants to lie in the dentist’s chair when you’re not feeling 100 percent? All of my calls and appointments rang long today, and staff with Amy was truncated because there was just too much to cover. But! I capped off the day with a super fun Skype call with a library in New Jersey. There’s really nothing better than talking to book people. What fun!

Why the rush today? Because I’m back on a plane tomorrow afternoon, heading west to see my parents, who I haven’t seen since February. That’s way too long. We talked about me rescheduling, but to be honest, the idea of having some mom and dad time—i.e.: mom and dad taking care of me time—that’s too enticing to pass up. I will get good sleep, good food, and lots of chill time to write. Just what the doctor ordered. I rarely allow myself to be mothered and fathered, but I sense it’s exactly what I need. 

I’m looking forward to the quiet of the flight to really dig in to the new book, too. I love to fly. I love that I have no obligation to talk to anyone, that I can turn inward and focus solely on my words. I get some of my best writing done on planes. Tomorrow, it will be character building and outlining. Maybe a little classical on the headphones to really block out the world. Bliss!

I once heard a (possibly urban legend) story about an author on a desperately close deadline who booked a round trip flight to Australia (or Singapore?), wrote all the way there and all the way back, and met the deadline. Not sure if it's true, but I applaud the sentiment. 

Sweet dreams!

Daily Tao ☯ 5.12.17

Home again, home again, jiggity jig! And let me tell you, I have a couple of very happy cats who’ve been alternately running around in joyful leaps or purring on my lap. Always nice to be wanted, right?

So New York was a monstrous success all the way around. Catherine and I pulled together a solid story and characters for THE BLOOD CABAL. Next week I will take everything we did and put it into a cohesive narrative so we can get this puppy outlined fully. We have the first 6 chapters already set, and wow, this one is so cool! 

Thursday was full from start to finish. Several hours of plotting with CC, then lunch with my publisher and editor at MIRA, which was a blast. I admit, I rather enjoy sitting in a dark wood paneled New York steakhouse plotting world domination. I had a lobster Cobb salad that was divine, too. We are all getting excited for LIE TO ME, and BEA is right around the corner!

I spent part of the afternoon reading a blurb book, then we met up with Catherine for dinner, which was a hoot. Mexican food in New York is interesting, to say the least. I asked for queso and the waiter was confused. Enough said. But the tacos were yummy!

And then we had second dinner with a dear friend who we haven’t seen in months, and that made the trip for us. A long walk back to the hotel, a little blood orange and lemon basil sorbet for dessert, and a well-earned glass of wine topped off a very pleasant evening. I stayed up half the night reading the book I was blurbing—I will absolutely share links when this one comes out. It’s great. 

The flight home was uneventful, happily, outside of the woman who spilled her double vodka on my bag (she was having a VERY bad day). Warm cuddles with the kitties more than made up for that. Tonight, it’s a quick supper party with friends, and then, my dears, I collapse. My doctor (who was my first call upon landing) kindly called in some antibiotics, so this sick puppy should be feeling better in no time. 

Sweet dreams! 

Daily Tao ☯ 5.10.17

Very late to the blog tonight, but here I am, stuffed full of Barolo and branzino, the most delightfully delicate pears wrapped in prosciutto, and incredible chocolate and coconut soufflés, courtesy of my lovely publishers at Gallery Books. They took Catherine and me to dinner tonight after jam packed afternoon—a couple of interviews, lots of great meetings and planning sessions, and a champagne social with the most adorable cupcakes ever! There is really nothing cooler than meeting the people who take our manuscripts and turn them into the gorgeous creations you pick up at the bookstore. Book making people are the best people, I say. They sure do know how to eat!

Had a fun dinner with my agent last night, as well. We had a celebrity sighting — the most divine Isabella Rossellini — which I took to be a sign, as Catherine and I had just named a major character in THE BLOOD CABAL Isabella. What are the odds?

More Blood Cabal work tomorrow, then another lunch, two dinners and one drinks date with friends… I’m going to waddle home at this rate, with no voice (I'm still husky, coughing and sneezing. Better, but not great. I love adrenaline.) An image, right?

I hope your day was advantageous. Sweet dreams, my dears!

Daily Tao ☯ 5.9.17

And so it begins… Brit #5 is underway! Catherine and I met this morning, tossed around some ideas, and settled on a course of action. I had a yummy lunch with my awesome publicist at Má Pêche, then did a quick phone interview about LIE TO ME, in which we were wildly diverted by the appearance of garden gnomes (I swear, the codeine has not gone to my head!)

And now I'm ensconced in the hotel with a big cup of tea, a cozy sweater, and my fat notebook, pulling together the ideas we cooked up into a more cohesive format for tomorrow morning’s session. Today was ironing out motivation, tomorrow will be plot, plot, plot. Then publisher meetings all afternoon. Super fun!

When I’m starting a book, I go in with a series of questions which are, in essence, a glorified version of who, what, where, when, and why. The why is always the most important, and can be the biggest stumbling block. Villains can quickly become one-dimensional mustache twirlers if you’re not careful with their true motivations. For me, finding the why behind the villain/killer is the key to a successful story. 

And I’m pretty sure we nailed it this morning. I’m excited to see where this takes us!

Hope your day was awesome!