We've had a number of members resign recently because real life stuff has made it impossible for them to participate.  As a result, DII has the highest number of openings its ever had since we first started accepting members in 2002.  A quick overview:

Any genre
Any writing level (from beginning to expert)
2 Crits a month to maintain membership
Any other participation is optional
Will need to be on an elist and signed up for our forum

Applicants do need to be 18 and older.

DII was voted into the top 10 of the P&E Reader's Poll 2008 and P&E has listed us on their website and likes our rules.

We currently have 16 openings.  If you've been thinking about an online workshop, we'd love to see you!  You can find us at http://www.dreaminginink.com/

After nearly 6 weeks of working on a freelance editing job (I don't take many of those, and this was really bad timing, but we really needed the money), I'm finally back to writing.  I'd actually have more work to do on the freelance project, but after looking at the comments I wrote on the first half of the novel, the author is not quite sure where he wants to go from here.  Doing any more work would be a wasted effort on both our parts if he decides he needs to rewrite it with my comments in mind (which was my suggestion).  For now, he's going to focus on other things that seem to be going along pretty well, which releases me to get back to my own work.

These things happen.  I hope Assassin's sells, and I think it's well written, but I secretly suspect it's either going to be a novel out of time (as in, the kind of novel not being bought/read at the moment) or require yet another huge rewrite if it does get accepted.  Either one would be depressing, but both are often the name of the game in publishing, and you have to be able to roll with it.

I'm hoping to finish A.C. v5 before we close on our house on the 31st (house thing is a whole 'nother story that I don't want to get into other than to say who knew buying a house was such freaking WORK).  It can then percolate and I can consider some of the changes I know I need to make in next round while doing repairs, moving, and settling into new house.  When all that's done I can get back to it, make the changes I've determined I need to make, make one more pass based on crits, then get the whole mess out to beta readers some time after the holidays (it might be done before the holidays, but I would not put a 500 page manuscript on anyone's to do list during that time).

I'm also working on another, unrelated, Alden novel that's part of a 5 book series and my first urban fantasy.  They give me soemthing to work on between rounds of revisions on A.C., but A.C. is the priority.  Really want to get it on the market-go-round early next year.

This MySpace blog is mostly for author type updates, and of late there's not much to update.  Which is not to say nohing is going on, just there's not much new.  Here's a bit of what I've been up to of late:

I'm no longer working for Lilley Press, which leaves me more time for writing, and a lot of writing is definitely going on.

A.C. is almost done with v5 revisions: 4 chapters left.  Still have some new fixes to put in, but it's almost ready for beta readers.

I've started working on and subbing shorts again.  I'm just making sure to do so in a less stressful manner.  Shorts do not earn enough money to turn them into the stressful time sink they became for me.  So now, I poke around, if I find a market for a piece, great; if not, I don't keep looking until I'm crazy.  I watch for new markets, but feel free to just set pieces aside if I'm having trouble finding markets for them.  I also do very little snail mail subbing any more: it has to be a pro market that I really want to get into to entice me to spend a stamp on it.  I've set that limit to to make the process a bit more profitable.  It's useless to me if I've spent $20+ on stamps, envelopes, ink, and paper and the market that finally accepts only pays $10.  Email costs nothing but a little time and I don't end up in the hole when a piece is finally accepted.

I've also begun working on a new alternate project called Blood Charms.  It's in a genre I enjoy reading but have never attempted to write.  I'm really enjoying it right now.

Finally, the pre-rough draft of the first book in another Alden novel, Phoenix Rising, is almost done, which means world building and the rough draft are right around the corner for it.  Like most my other work right now, it has some elements I've never worked with before, in this case, politics.

Because, you know, I'm an author who believes in challenging herself and never doing anything easy.  ;)

I mostly use MySpace to update on writing related things, so it's been pretty quiet over here for me.  I'm still busy with Assassin's Choice and way behind on my deadline, but I do like how the new version is coming out...as do the critters so far.  I recently took up my short work again for a couple of reasons: first, they provide a brain break from A.C. -- a better one than switching to another novel, actually; second, I'm going in with a new approach.  I'm not going to drive myself crazy trying to get them published.  I will hit the markets I want to get into, if they don;t find acceptance, I'll just move on.  It isn't worth the time and frustration and lack of funding to keep hunting for new markets that pay nothing or next to nothing.  I figure as long as I keep that perspective, the shorts will provide a nice alternative to the novel work and I still keep my stress levels and time input fairly low.

LP is getting ready for the next release date -- another 2 books with a special release the first week of December for the holidays.  This is keeping me pretty busy as well.  In fact, the next week or two will be almost entirely devoted to editing work since I need to go through 2 galleys and have the December release to do the second round of edits on.  Deadlines are tight, and I've been sick this past week which only makes them tighter, so the lion's share of my attention needs to go to the job until everything is approved and out of my inbox.

Finally, my oldest and her daughter will finally be moving in with us this weekend.  I have to pick her up at 5:30 AM on Sunday, which means lots of cleaning and prep that needs to be done to get the house ready for a toddler between now and then.

Like I said, busy.

And now I need to get ready to run to the bank.  Later this evening, I pick up the husband from work.  Plus I need to get kiddos started on their chores ASAP.  Better get moving!

With the health issues out of the way (thank God!) and the editing work almost caught up on, I'm finally feeling capable of and have the energy to go back to working on my novels.  I've already revised one chapter and have another in process with 13 to go after that.  I probably won't be ready for betas in October like i had hoped, but it shouldn't be too long after that.

It's so nice to be able to get back to work and writing again.  Actually, it's just nice to get back to living.

So the novel that I've been working on is stalled, not because I'm having writer's block or anything, but because of health issues.  Not having a laptop is severely limiting the time I can work on it, especially with the editing schedule for Lilley Press becoming more and more full and requiring what little time I can manage on the desk top.

Hopefully the doctor can figure this out and I'll be able to work more consistently again.  In the meantime, I do what little I can.

I know I haven't updated here lately and thought I would pass along why I've been so quiet.

For one, MySpace isn't my primary blog -- my LJ is.  You can find it here: http://domynoe.livejournal.com/

Secondly, I finally stopped working on and marketing my short work and am focusing on my novels.  Shorts take a lot of time and effort, both in being written and in marketing, for very little return.  Most short markets do not pay well, most pro markets are next to impossible to get into.  It often takes me hours to find a market for a single short -- hours that I feel would be better spent working on my novels.  The process is made even more frustrating by the fact that most markets are looking for very specific types of stories and mine rarely fit even if they fit the genre.  I can't write to spec.  I have to write the stories in my head, and they often do not fit what is currently wanted.  Every now and then I get lucky -- the story not only fits but is also to the editor's tastes, but that's after sending the story out repeatedly and spending hours looking for each market.  And since what we each like in a short story is so subjective, the return comments (if there are any) are often not helpful at all.  One of my stories got four totally different suggestions from four different editors: one wanted the beginning revised, another felt the middle didn't work, a third found the ending too predictable, and the fourth wanted a totally different story that focused on a different character.  The problem with all this is that none of them actually got the underlying message of the story.

So, I'm not sending out my short work any more.  I have a couple of pieces that might eventually go to Anthology Builder, and I have a few newer pieces that haven't gone out to many markets that might end up being sent out to some of the markets I want to get into, but I'm not focusing on them and not in any rush.  This means less updating here since I primarily use MySpace to note publication news and the like.  Other news will eventually be posted here as well, but for that to happen, I have to finish my first novel (and my next, and the one after that, and so on) so I actually have something other than website updates to report.

Voices of Autism, scheduled for release this month, received its first rave review from Library Journal:


The fifth entry in the Voices anthology project from the Healing Project, this work includes over 40 different stories and vignettes written by parents, teachers, and people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) that showcase how families and caregivers measure perseverance, understanding, and success. Many of the selections stand out, including an author's account of her autistic son, a seventh grader's perspective on her two siblings with autism, a memoir by an adult with autism who relied on a tire advertisement to get through tough times, and an account of the challenges of dating an adult with Asperger's. The book's real strengths are the adult-penned passages, which will give readers a better sense of what autism truly is. Taken individually, the stories show glimpses of the impact that autism has on individuals and those they love. Taken collectively, they paint a rich landscape that many will find familiar. Highly recommended for public libraries and academic libraries with disability collections.

-- ­Corey Seeman, Kresge Business Administration Library, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor


Amazon.com link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1934184055/domynoescom-20

The Helaing Project: http://www.thehealingproject.org/

"In the Blood" is now available at AnthologyBuilder.com.  AB is a site that allows users to create their own anthologies with all anthologies created are offered to the public for $14.95.  It’s a great way to get an anthology of stories/authors you know you’ll love or to create a sampling of new authors you’ve never read.  You can find the direct link on my profile.

"Intended" is now available in the current issue of Sounds of the Night.  Click on the link in the About Me section to order your copy.