Blue Moon

New Year's Eve is a special night for many of us, but this year, New Year's Eve will be unusually special. This year, there will be a full moon. The second one this month, which makes it a blue moon.

And according to the statistics I've found, a blue moon on New Year's eve only occurs once every nineteen years. There's also going to be a partial lunar eclipse on New Year's eve. Those of us who live in North And partial lunar eclipse occurs just once every fifteen to twenty years.

So, wow! How special is this New Year's Eve going to be? What's even more spectacular is that these two events are occurring on a New Year's Eve that will be bringing to a close, the end of a decade. So, we have a Blue Moon and a partial lunar eclipse on the very night we end a decade. Is this an omen of evil? Or a sign of good things to come?

Or, do we make our own luck?

I'm a glass-half-full kind of gal. I say, we look at this as an awesome sign of good things to come in 2010. Let's make 2010 count for something amazing, people.

Peace on Earth, Health, Happiness, and a very Happy New Year!

Lilly

New Release Date!

I got a great early Christmas present today from my editor Lill. She sent me an email today, outlining a new release date for OUT OF THE DARKNESS! The new release date is two months sooner. I'm so excited. Instead of a July release date, OUT OF THE DARKNESS is now being released on May 28, 2010. Before the start of summer. And I can't wait.

Here's the info:
Digital Release Date: 2010-05-28
(Please note that this means generally by noon on release day, not at midnight.)Digital Price: 6.25

TENTATIVE Print Release Date: 2010-05-28
Print Price: 13.99

Print ISBN: 1-60154-730-7

Print ISBN 13: 9781601547309

Title: Out of the Darkness
Series Name:
Theme:
Imprint: Black
Length: Rose
Rating: Hot GLV? no
Keywo rds:
Page Count: 278
Author: Lilly Gayle,
Editor: Lil Farrell,

Blurb: Her research could cure his dark hunger if a covert government agent doesn’t get to her first.Vincent Maxwell is a vampire with a conscience searching for a cure to his dark hunger. But when a scientist looking to create vampire soldiers captures and kills a fellow vampire, Vincent seeks out Dr. Megan Harper. While researching xeroderm pigmentosum, a light sensitivity disorder, Dr.Harper discovered a link to vampirism and she could hold a key to a cure and the answers to Gerard’s death. But getting close to the beautiful scientist could endanger both their lives.When researcher Dr. Megan Harper meets Vincent Maxwell, she believes he suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum, the genetic disease that killed her sister. Sensing a deep loneliness within the handsome man, Megan offers friendship and access to her research files hoping he will offer her a position in his company. But they soon become more than friends and Megan learns the horrifying truth. She's entered the dark and unseen world of vampires and Vincent is her only hope of survival.

I guess now I have to step up my game and finish the sequel. OMG, it's going to be a busy new year!

Finding Balance

Finding balance in my life has always been difficult, especially since there are some areas in which I'm extremely anal and other areas in which I'm not so attentive to detail. Over the years, I've learned to let go of some of my weird quirks, like insisting my towels and washcloths match before stacking them in the linen closet.

Of course, my youngest daughter doesn't believe I'm cured of this anal retentive disorder. She says I cheated because I bought all white towels for her bathroom and all blue ones for mine. But the blue towels are not the same shade of blue, and it hardly bothers me at all.

So, why do things like mismatched towels, dirty floors, clutter, and unwashed dishes bother me, and yet, if you look under my bed or sofa, you'll find mutant killer dust bunnies that have been there for who know how long? And let's not discuss my closets and cabinets!

Closets, cabinets, and dust bunnies not withstanding, I don't claim to be a great housekeeper. I sometimes leave the supper dishes over night, hoping someone else will do them. But it bothers me. And if they're still unwashed the next morning or when I get home from work, I wash them. But I hate external clutter and mess. It's just the internal stuff that doesn't seem to bother me. It's like, if I can't see it, it doesn't exist.

Freud would have a field day with that one, wouldn't he!

So, how do I find time to work ten hours a day, four days a week at my regular job as a mammographer, try to keep a house clean, spend time with my family, and write?
It's hard, but it's gotten easier now that my girls are grown. When they were little, I felt as if I were depriving them of "mommy time" whenever I was at the computer.

But life has always been a balancing act for me because I've always worked full time and never had the luxury of being a stay at home mom. And once I decided I wanted to write, that was just one more thing dividing my time. Luckily, my husband has always been supportive and understanding. He bought my first computer.

I started out writing children's stories in 1995. In 1997, I wrote my first full length manuscript, a medical thriller with romantic elements. It read like a radiology text book with sex in the middle. It was so horrible I destroyed every copy and not one single version exists today.

I've since completed several manuscripts. Some show great promise. Others do not. OUT OF THE DARKNESS is my first and thus far, only published novel. It will be released on June 18 from The Wild Rose Press.

During the week, I get up at five o'clock. I shower and dress by six so I can spend about thirty minutes on the computer before leaving for work at six thirty...that is if Facebook doesn't suck me in and my husband doesn't decide he wants to talk that morning.

My husband is a route salesman with unpredictable hours so if I get home before him, I spend another thirty minutes to an hour on the computer before he gets home. My oldest daughter is married and living in Germany. My youngest daughter is in the x-ray program at the local college so she still lives at home. But she divides her time between work, school, and her boyfriend.

She and the boyfriend eat at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that's family night. But Monday and Wednesday are my days. I write and do laundry after work. And I'm off on Friday so that's house cleaning and writing day. Saturday and Sunday are up for grabs, but I try to spend a few hours each day at the computer, and if we go to the beach, I always take my laptop!

Now, with Christmas fast approaching, I'm having a hard time writing. Well, maybe it's not so much the holidays but these long winter nights. I hate the shorter, colder days, and I look forward to December 21. After the winter solstice, I know the days will get longer and then, spring will soon be here.

I do love the warmer weather! But I'm getting ahead of myself. I must get through the holidays, and this year, my oldest daughter and her husband will not be coming home for Christmas so I have to mail all their packages to Germany.

They were home last year, and we took a lovely family photo.

I still have so much to do and so little time, but my tree is up, most all of the presents are bought and wrapped, and I'm getting in the holiday spirit! Now, if I can only keep my but in the chair and write!

I suppose, getting published has made it easier for me to write. I guess it's like being in school and having a home work assignment. I seem to work more consistently with a deadline! If I know what I have to do and when it's due, I push myself and get it done.

So, why can't I just pretend I have a deadline and finish the sequel to OUT OF THE DARKNESS?

Good question. And I have a lot of excuses!

One excuse is my former agent. She suggested I rewrite two historical novels and make them inspirational. I did. Then she suggested I write an Amish story. I don't do Amish. Now, I'm rewriting the historicals back into traditional romances.

Lesson learned: Write what you read and remain true to your voice.

I guess I should have known from having published with TWRP. My fabulous editor, Lill, never tried to change my voice or OUT OF THE DARKNESS. She just helped make it a better story.

That's what an agent is supposed to do. If he/she truly loves your work, he/she will try to sell it as is with minor tweaks where needed. If an agent doesn't love your story, then you need to find an agent who does.

And if you find a good critique partner, keep them. I have one, though I think I neglect her. But, with Amy Corwin's help, I think I've figured out why I haven't been able to finish INTO THE LIGHT, the sequel to OUT OF THE DARKNESS.

Not that I've shared my revelations with Amy, but I think I know why I have too much backstory dumping in the first three chapters.

I'm writing a new story, but I'm trying to pick up where OUT OF THE DARKNESS ended. For INTO THE LIGHT to make sense, there's a certain amount of information the reader needs almost from the beginning. Instant backstory dump!

But as Amy pointed out, INTO THE LIGHT must stand alone. So, how do I balance a new story with information from a previous book?

Other writers have done it successfully. I know the secret is to feed the information in gradually and not force the information into the first chapter. But do I really want my sequel to be a continuation of the same story? Or do I want something fresh. A new twist in the old story? Can I have a fresh story if my characters have too much history? Do Tina and Gerard know too much about one another? Or are they just getting acquainted?

I know I want a new romance. Not a continuation of OUT OF THE DARKNESS. And since I want to start fresh and not pick up where I left off, then something has to change.

So, how am I going to do that? Do I change my characters? My plot? Or just the starting point of my story?

Hmmm. Stay tuned.

Feeling Thankful

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the things we're thankful for. As always, I am thankful for a forgiving God, good friends and my wonderful, supportive family. I'm also thankful to be cancer free. December will be my second anniversary as a breast cancer survivor. Yay me! I'm also very thankful that after 13 years of writing, I will finally see my name in print on something other than the editorial page of my hometown newspaper.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is still slated for a June 18, 2010 release date.

I'm also thankful for the men and women serving in our armed forces who sacrifice so much for our freedom.

My son-in-law is in the army and he recently completed a brief tour in Romania. Before his tour, I never knew much about the country other than the things I learned about it while researching vampires. But I've since learned the Romanian Parliament building in Bucharest is the second largest building in the world.

The country has also made strides toward economic and political reform since the fall of the iron curtain.
It's located North of the Balkan Peninsula on the Black Sea, so there are beaches in Romania, and I'm a big fan of beaches.

And after seeing some of my son-in-law's pictures, it's hard to remember that this is the country where the darkest of vampire legends was born. Like most European countries, modern architecture coexists beside historical structures from bygone eras.

There are bustling cities and lush green fields. But it's the pictures of these lonely pastures that inspired my imagination. I picture the pastures at night under a full moon. A woman traveling alone experiences car trouble. She can't get a cell phone signal. And a tall, dark-haired handsome stranger stops to offer his assistance. She's immediately drawn to him. His dark, hypnotic eyes. His alluring, old-world charm. He exudes sex appeal like an expensive fragrance. He's incredibly sexy and impossible to resist. Is it just a coincident that his family hails from Wallachia?

Vampire Legends

Lurking in the shadows throughout history, there have been creatures who exist in legends and myths who feed on the blood of the living. The names and attributes of these creatures may vary as do the countries of their origins, but they all have at least two common denominators. They are returning spirits or the undead, and they feed from the living in some form.

Some Hebrew legends claim that Adam had a wife before Eve, and her name was Lilith. Unlike Eve, Lilith was said to have been made at the same time as Adam and she refused to be subservient. Because of her constant disobedience to God, she was banished to the demon realm. Naturally, Lilith was pissed and was just waiting for her chance to get even with Adam.

Later, God created Eve, and Adam and Even produced two sons. And of course, we all know what happened between Cain and Able.



But according to this same Hebrew legend, when Cain killed his brother, God cursed him to walk in darkness for eternity. And because Cain had wanted his brother's blood, God cursed him with an eternal craving for blood. Hence, two vampire myths were born.

Later, Lilith became a succubus, a female demon who seduces men in their sleep. And so she seduced Cain, taking his blood and giving him hers in exchange, thus awaking him to his immortal nature.

Afterward, Cain spent years wandering the desert, ashamed of what he had become. Then he returned to the mortal realm and built the city of Enoch. He chose three mortals and created a second generation of vampires. In turn, those vampires created a third generation, but fearing God's wrath, Cain forbade the creation of other vampires.

Years later, a great fire destroyed Enoch and Cain left his fledgling vampires behind. Without leadership, his vampires created a fourth generation who rose up against their elders and destroyed all but a few. Those who were left swore they would never kill mortals needlessly nor create others of their kind.

It is said, that if a vampire repeatedly breaks either oath, Cain himself will rise up from his self-imposed tomb and destroy him.

And so, the modern legend of American vampires has its roots in Hebrew mythology, complete with built-in explanations as to why there are so few vampires running amok throughout major cities around the world.

They're obviously afraid of the Wrath of Cain.

But there are so many legends and so many creatures similar to vampires in other countries.

The Upior is an undead creature from Poland who consumes blood through his forked tongue rather than via enlarged incisors. The Upior has an insatiable thirst for blood. He even sleeps in blood. To avoid becoming an Upior, Polish people would bury their dead face down with a willow cross under the armpits, chest or chin. The body was also buried deep to prevent the dead from rising. And family members of the deceased who might become Upior would eat blood bread, made by mixing the vampire blood with flour and baking it. Eating this was thought to make them immune to vampire attack.

Staking and decapitation were the recommended methods of destroying a Upior.

In Germany, the vampire is known as a Nachtzehrer or Night waster in the Northern provinces and a Blutsauger or bloodsucker in Southern Germany and Bavaria. One usually became a Nachtzehrer by one of three ways. The main way was by an unusual death such as violent accident or suicide. But if there was an epidemic of some sort that claimed many lives, the first to die was branded a Nachtzehrer and accused of sucking the life from subsequent victims. And the third and most bizarre way to become a Nachtzehrer was for the family not to remove the deceased's name from his burial clothes.

Upon death, villagers in Northern Germany would place clumps of earth under a potential vampire's chin, place a coin or stone in his mouth, or tie a handkerchief around his mouth to prevent the deceased from becoming a Nachtzehrer. In extreme cases, the corpse would be beheaded or a spike would be driven through his head to pin him to the ground so he could not rise from the dead.

Those not baptized Roman Catholic, witches, and anyone who'd committed suicide or lived an immoral life in Southern Germany and Bavaria were in danger of becoming a Blutsauger. Others in danger of becoming the undead were those who ate an animal killed by a wolf or had a nun jump over their grave.

Of course, I have to wonder if grave jumping was something nuns did a lot of in Germany...

At any rate, to protect themselves from these bloodsucking creatures of the night, the villagers smeared garlic over their doors and windows and placed hawthorn around the house. To kill a Blutsauger, one had to drive a stake through the creature's heart and stuff garlic in his mouth.

The Hungarians, Turks and Romans all had myths about vampires and vampire-like creatures but Romania gives us our most famous legends. In regions like Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia, where Vlad the Impaler was once known as Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, vampire tales are more abundant than in any other country.

Romanians believed a child born with a caul over his face was cursed from birth to become a Strigoi (male) or Srigoaica (famale) better known as a vampire. They also believed children born out of wedlock and those who died without being baptized could become vampires. The seventh son of the seventh son or the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter was also at risk.

Of course, being bitten by a vampire could transform a person and those who committed suicide or practiced witchcraft were in danger of becoming the undead upon their death.

To prevent the endangered dead from becoming the undead, garlic was placed in the deceased's mouth and a stake driven into the ground above the grave, in the hopes that the creature would impale himself should he rise from the dead. Sometimes, an iron or wooden stake would be driven into the deceased's heart or navel.

There are as many legends about vampires as there are names for these walking dead. And whether you like your vampires hideous and homicidal or heroic and hunky you're bound to find a vampire story to your liking.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS just happens to have a heroic, hunky vampire seeking a cure for his dark hunger. You can read about Vincent this summer when my book is released from The Wild Rose Press June 18, 2010.

Check it out this summer and let me know how you like your vampires!

Website news

Website news

My website has been updated with a link to this blog and my Facebook fan page. Check it out at www.lillygayle.com.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is also listed on The Wild Rose Press's website as a coming soon novel on their home page. If you go to www.thewildrosepress.com and click coming soon, then scroll down to paranormal and find vampires, if you click that link. OUT OF THE DARKNESS is the first book listed. Sadly, the website gives a release date of 7/9/10 as opposed to the 6/18/10 release date I was given in an email from one of the owners of TWRP, but either way, I'm expecting a summer release and I couldn't be more excited!

It's going to be a long, cold winter! So snuggle up with a good book from one of my HCRW writer friends or one of the many talented writers from TWRP. You can find hundreds of great books at www.thewildrosepress.com and some fabulous, home-grown NC writers at www.heartofcarolina.org and click the HCRW author link. My critique partners, Amy Corwin and Jenna Black both have books listed on that page and both are wonderful writers. So, snuggle up this winter. Stay warm. And enjoy a good book.

Coming soon!

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is listed on The Wild Rose Press's main page as a coming soon release. Check out the link! http://thewildrosepress.com/publisher/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=16&id=70&Itemid=106

The release date on The Wild Rose Press website is 7/9/10 but I received an email yesterday that said the book would be released on 6/18/10. Either way, it's going to be one hot summer because OUT OF THE DARKNESS is a hot paranormal romance!

Okay, I hope folks think it's hot. Guess I'll find out when the reviews start rolling in. :)

I have a release date

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I have a release date!
OUT OF THE DARKNESS will be released on 6/18/10! Not quite as soon as I would have liked but the original release date was moved due to some in-house shifting of other titles. This could work to my advantage as there should be less competition with other vampire and wolf stories if it were released near lets say, Halloween. And OUT OF THE DARKNESS will make a good summer read so be sure to get your copy before heading to the lake or beach in late June of 2010. You can order a paper back version from www.thewildrosepress.com, www.borders.com, or www.amazon.com. Or you can use the ISBN to order it from most bookstores.

Print ISBN: 1-60154-730-7
Print ISBN 13: 9781601547309

But, the book will also available in electronic format at a lower price. I don't own an e-reader myself but I want one. I saw a woman reading from either a Kindle or Sony e-reader on the beach and while I was fumbling with pages and bookmarks and trying not to get suntan oil on the pages of my paperback, she touched a screen to turn the page. And I was amazed that the sun didn't make it hard to read. I could see the clarity of the screen from my beach chair, six feet away.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS received a HOT rating. There is no graphic language or violence but there is some profanity and folks do die. After all, some blood must be shed. It IS a vampire romance! OUT OF THE DARKNESS is part of the Black Rose imprint of The Wild Rose Press and my editor, Lil Farrell has been fantastic. She really did make this book better with her suggestions.

Thanks Lil!

To find out more about OUT OF THE DARKNESS please visit my website at www.lillygayle.com

Line from Out of The Darkness

"A fairy tale only ends happily because that’s the point where the
storyteller stops telling the story. I’m sure even Prince Charming and
Cinderella had a few quarrels after they got married, but that’s just
life..."--Dr. Megan Harper. from OUT... OF THE DARKNESS, coming soon from
The Wild Rose Press. www.thewildrosepress.com

Thanks to Bernie Delgado for giving me the idea of posting a line from my book here on the internet. He'll receive a free signed copy once the book comes out. Congrats and thank you Bernie! And check out my web page at www.lillygayle.com. You can also find me on facebook and myspace!

Final Reader comment

Before a book goes into production, it is sent to a final reader who looks for mistakes and makes comments. Lill, my editor, just sent me an email regarding my final reader's findings.

...the final reader found very little, a few line breaks from the formatting, a couple of missing words and a missed quotation mark. Her final comment... EXCELLENT STORY!!

I'm so excited and pleased. But I could not have done it without the help of so many people, whom I've thanked in my book, on my blog and on myspace. But there is one person I've never thanked who truly has made this a much better story. My wonderful editor from The Wild Rose Press, Lill Farrell.

Thanks Lill! You rock!

View of Clarksville, Virginia from Kerr Lake

Since part of Out of the Darkness is set in Clarksville, Virginia, I thought I'd post this picture of the quaint little town taken from Kerr Lake...or as some folks in Clarksville call it: Bugg's Island Lake. Check out the town's website at www.clarksvilleva.com

Galley Completed!

Finished my galley today and sent it off to my editor, Lill. Now, it's just a matter of waiting for reader feedback and the final galley. Then, if I don't want to go over it again...which I don't...then, that's it. Lord, if I go over it again, I'm bound to want to change something. I think I'm just anal that way! But once the galley is finalized, it goes back to production, and I'll finally get a release date.

I can hardly wait!

Galley

Received my book galley tonight. And I have 10 days to read it and make changes! The pressure is on. And I love it!

Basically, I have to read through the book as it will appear once it's been published, looking for typos and any changes I want to make. And being the anal personality type I am, I have to restrain from making petty changes that aren't really necessary!

I can't make the changes on the actual PDF file. I have to send line edit changes in a separate document with a list of the changes I want to make, line by line, page by page, to my editor, who will forward it to a final reader. This, I'm assuming is the final stage before publication.

And it still doesn't feel real!

My Cover

Life is sweet! I have a book cover and I absolutely love it! Please check it out and let me know what you think. Personally, I think Angela Anderson, the artist at The Wild Rose Press did an awesome job!

Mock Galley

I'm learning new terminology. A mock galley is an edited copy of my manuscript printed out in the book font and format, using the same page size and margins so it looks pretty much the way the book is going to look once it's printed. That's where I am now in the editing process. I'm going over the "mock galley," checking the manuscript for errors, one last time and making sure that it reads the way I want it to.

This is my last chance to make changes and after the number of times I've read through this, one would think I couldn't possibly find anything else to change. Wrong! I'm still finding minor changes I want to make. Mostly, it's places where I want to delve deeper into the character's POV. I think getting inside the characters head strengthens the story and adds depth to the characters.

But will my editor like the changes?

Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Excerpt from Out of the Darkness

Megan took another step back and bumped into the recliner again. She sat on the arm and looked up. “But if Steve’s still pursuing the protein therapy research, why won’t you work with him? He has resources I could never match, and he can get you into clinical trials I can’t.”

“I won’t work with Steve Weldon. Not now. Not ever.” He pulled her to her feet. His eyes were dark. Intense. “I want to work with you--that is if Timmons didn’t take everything. He didn’t, did he?”

He still held onto her hands, and she didn’t have the strength or the desire to pull free. His cool, smooth skin pressed against her palms, warming her from the inside out.

“Just about,” she said, and there was an unintentional invitation in her voice.

There was strength in Vincent’s grip but no calluses on his palms. He might work out, but he didn’t work with his hands.

Damn, if she hadn’t always been attracted to the witty, cerebral types. But she did not want to be attracted to Vincent. He had XP and came with more baggage than a 747. And she had enough emotional baggage of her own.

She cleared her throat. “The files you saw on the dining room table the other night were in a back storage room,” she said, thankful her voice sounded normal. No lingering traces of seductive huskiness. No unconscious invitations. “I had boxes stacked in front of the door so the colonel didn’t know the door was there. But it’ll take months to transfer the raw data into another computer, and that’s all there is. Raw data. Hand-written notes, unofficial reports, and previously published articles and files from the internet.”

He released a tired sigh and her hands. Megan’s heart gave a little lurch she tried to ignore. Despite the risk of heartbreak, she was drawn to Vincent--his intelligence, his tenacity and wit, but most of all, to his loneliness. She could see it when she met his eyes—-feel it in her own heart.

Vincent looked away, as though he’d seen something in her eyes that scared him as well.

“At least we have something to work with,” he said tiredly. “Why don’t you show me what you have and then make me a list of what you need? I can’t replace the actual research, but I can get you a new computer and whatever else you might need from Lifeblood’s labs.” Then he headed down the hall toward the basement as though it was a done deal.

Megan rushed to catch up.

“I’m glad you prefer working with me over Steve,” she said, “but I don’t like being manipulated. You should have told me he was still interested in XP research.”

“He’s not. That’s why I came to you.” Vincent didn’t spare her a second glance as he opened the basement door and stepped down. The sound of his boot heels striking wood echoed up the steps as he disappeared into the darkness.

“But--” Megan switched on the light and hurried after him.

“The first thing you need down here is a table and some chairs,” he said when he saw the stacks of unorganized data and reams of paper scattered across the floor.

“I have a desk.” She pointed to where her monitor and keyboard still sat. The hard drive was gone. Loose cables dangled to the floor.

“We need room to spread out. Do you mind if I bring the table and chairs down from the kitchen?”

“No.” She turned back toward the stairs. “I’ll help you bring them down.” It would give her something to do while she sorted through the confused thoughts and emotions tumbling around inside her head.

Vincent touched her arm and heat shot straight to her belly, turning her insides all warm and fuzzy.

Warm and fuzzy was not good.

Warm and fuzzy made her think of more than just heated sex. It made her think of cozy evenings snuggled up under a blanket and shared feelings. It made her long for an emotional connection she couldn’t risk. Not with Vincent. Not with a man who could potentially die a slow, lingering death.

“I’ll get it.” He let go of her arm and stepped back. “You start going through those papers and find that report you wrote comparing XP to vampire myths and legends. I’d be interested in seeing it if you still have it.”

He turned to go back up the stairs and Megan shivered. Why had Steve mentioned the vampire report to Vincent? And why was Vincent so interested in seeing it?

Vincent the Vampire.

Round One Edits Complete!

Round One Edits

I came home from the beach on Sunday 7/26 and found my first round of edits waiting in my email box. Of course, I was terrified. I had no idea how bad it was going to be or the magnitude of the changes my editor was going to request. But, as it turned out, it wasn't that bad.

I started making the changes Sunday night and worked on them again Monday night after my day job and then again tonight when I got off work. And I completed the task by 10:30 Tuesday and sent the revisions back to Lill.

The biggest change I had to make was reworking my explanation on a vampires ability to travel at such high rates of speed. I had gone into great detail using Einstein's theory of relativity and 4th dimensional travel that my editor thought too weighty and technical. In short, she didn't think it added anything to the story. So, I used the KISS method of explaining. Keep it simple stupid. Basically, I just kept it as simple as possible and limited my explanation and details. I'm anxious to hear what Lill thinks of the changes.

I also had to reduce some of my scientific detail and change a few other minor things, and there were some POV switches that Lill fixed and some spelling problems, but overall, there weren't as many problems as I expected. Especially considering the number of "red" marks I get on a single chapter whenever I have my critique partner, Amy Corwin, look at something.

But I guess all those red marks I got from my critique partners on this book, Amy Corwin and Jenna Black paid off. Thanks Amy and Jenna!http://www.jennablack.comhttp://www.amycorwin.com

Count down begins?

Just got an email from my editor, Lill. And if all goes as expected, I should get my edits tomorrow. Then, the editing process begins!

I'm not sure what to expect. I'm not even sure how extensive the edits are or what she wants changed, but I'm looking forward to moving forward and getting something accomplished.

I just hope I can do the job she expects and that the manuscript will be better after the changes are made. I'm so looking forward to holding my first, printed book in my hands. Maybe then, it'll start to feel real.

The Waiting

I feel as if I'm in limbo.

I am working on a sequel to Out of the Darkness. This will be Tina's story and I'm calling it Into the Light. But it's hard to get the creative juices flowing when I'm not sure how some of the editorial changes my editor is going to want for OTD will affect ITL.

Minor changes won't affect how I write the second story, but if she suggests something major, like, lets say a name change, then that could be a problem. Of course, I can always do edit, select all, and change, but I'd rather not do that if I don't have to. Technology isn't always my friend and I've made changes like that before only to proofread later and find weird text changes, despite selecting "whole word only" and "match case."

So, those kinds of edits are things I'd rather avoid if I can. But I am writing. I'm just slow. Then again, I've never been the world's fastest writer. Life and my "real" job have a tendency to get in the way of my fun job. And writing is fun. I love it when everything clicks and I know exactly what comes next. It's when I don't know what's coming next that I hate. And that usually happens in the middle. And I hate the middle. That dreaded sagging middle.

One thing I have learned about myself as a writer is that I don't mind edits. In fact, I sometimes think I'd rather edit than create. Once I finish a book, I sometimes edit it to death because I can always find some way to make it better. I think I'm anal that way.

I once opened a fortune cookie and it said, "Be satisfied with one chapter at a time."

I taped it to the base of my monitor and have taken the advice to heart. I think maybe that's one reason I write so slowly. I try to perfect each chapter before moving on and then I just get bogged down. And then, once I finish a manuscript, I still want to edit it to death. So, that's one reason I don't think I'll have a problem making line edits. I think what's going to drive me bonkers is seeing mistakes I didn't catch myself after the thousands of times I proofread it!

So, for me right now, the biggest problem I'm having with my writing career is waiting.

I can't say it's easy.

Out of the Darkness

The Blurb:

Her research could cure his dark hunger if a covert government agent doesn’t get to her first.

Vincent Maxwell is a vampire with a conscience searching for a cure to his dark hunger. But when a scientist looking to create vampire soldiers captures and kills a fellow vampire, Vincent seeks out Dr. Megan Harper.

While researching xeroderm pigmentosum, a light sensitivity disorder, Dr.Harper discovered a link to vampirism and she could hold a key to a cure and the answers to Gerard’s death. But getting close to the beautiful scientist could endanger both their lives.

When researcher Dr. Megan Harper meets Vincent Maxwell, she believes he suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum, the genetic disease that killed her sister. Sensing a deep loneliness within the handsome man, Megan offers friendship and access to her research files hoping he will offer her a position in his company. But they soon become more than friends and Megan learns the horrifying truth. She's entered the dark and unseen world of vampires and Vincent is her only hope of survival.

The "Email"

After 13 years of writing, I finally got the email on May 10th of this year. And let me tell you, it was the best mother's day gift ever!

Lill Farrell from The Wild Rose Press sent me an email to let me know that my request for contract on my paranormal romance, OUT OF THE DARKNESS, had been accepted for publication!

After so many years of writing, one would think that I would have been thrilled, but I'm holding off on the happy dance because I've been this close to publication before and if fell through. Still, I am very optimistic and smiling widely.

In late 2006 I went through two rounds of revisions for Out of the Darkness (then called something else) with an editor from a well-known New York publisher, but before any contracts were signed, the editor moved to a different line and the editor who took her place requested different changes to the story. By the time I made those changes (which were totally different from the changes requested by the first editor) the second editor "just wasn't in love with the story" and she asked if I could send her something else.

Well, I'm not the world's fastest writer. I have a day job as a radiologic technologist/mammographer that actually pays the bills, so I didn't have anything new to send her. And time passed and I moved on.

Then in 2008, I sent my manuscript to The Wild Rose Press because my critique partner, Regency and mystery writer, Amy Corwin (http://www.amycorwin.com/) had had some success with TWRP and suggested I send my manuscript to them. And so I did. And I waited.

And my luck being what it is, the editor I sent it to at TWRP left. But then I was asked to send manuscript to another editor in November 2008 and I got a positive answer in May, faster than I had ever heard from other publishers. Wow!

I've already signed the contracts and filled out numerous forms: manuscript information sheets, author information sheets, and a marketing form and now I'm just waiting for my first edits to arrive so I can get started making Out of the Darkness into the version that will get published in both e-format and print.

I've also set up a myspace page at www.myspace.com/lillygayle and have contracted agwdesigns at http://www.agwdesigns.com/ to design my web page. When the page is completed, the web address will be http://www.lillygayle.com/, so check that site often to see when it's up and running! I can't wait to see it.

And I can't wait to see my book in print!

Until then, I'll post updates on what happens when a new author finally gets a contract. I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm willing to learn on the job!

And I'll keep you posted on my progress!