So I dreamed I wrote a blog post. And, unlike many of my writing dreams, where I come up with a “brilliant” solution to whatever problem I’m having with my manuscript in my sleep, only to wake up and realize that, beyond the limits of dream-logic, the solution doesn’t make any sense, this blog post actually rocks a fair bit. But I don’t have time to write it right now.
Thank you, everyone who dropped by yesterday to congratulate me on my sale. And all the lurkers, too. I got over 600 hits on my blog yesterday, which I think must be some kind of record.
To answer a few questions that were raised yesterday:
HelenKay wonders: “…Are these already written?”
No. I sold them on the basis of a proposal. I’m very excited to dive in, however!
Caesar’s Ghost asks: “If they were de-virginized, would they still be able to hunt the unicorn?”
That’s a “read the book” question. But, as I said yesterday, why do you think “her birthright is seriously messing up her social life?”
Patrick asks: “When do the zombies come in?”
First of all, nice cover, on your blog, Patrick! Secondly, I don’t know. Ask Justine. Or maybe another reader of this blog who shall remain anonymous. There is no current plan to write about zombies around here.
Speaking of Justine, I do believe it’s time to publicly come out in favor of her anti-unicorn stance, though against her anti-unicorn-book stance. Because, obviously, I’m big into unicorn books. However, unicorns are dangerous, dangerous creatures in need of constant monitoring and culling by the proper personnel. I mean, just look at these monsters:
Bill Clark asks: “Query: Are *all* your older mss and story ideas going to find publishers now that you have street cred?”
Do I have street cred now that I didn’t before? Cool! Also, this isn’t an “older” story idea in the sense that I dreamed it up/began working on it AFTER I sold Secret Society Girl. I have no current plans to revive any of the stories I worked on before 2005.
Regarding the various inquiries into my finances…
No, I never posted my net worth on my blog. I think you’re thinking about Scalzi. I am not him. I live in DC, not Ohio, have never worked for AOL, do not have a wife or a daughter, and my hair is quite a bit longer, to boot. I have no plans to post my net worth or income on my blog. In addition, attempts to deduce such information based on industry trade announcements isn’t going to get you very far. I appreciate your concern, but I’m good to go.
___________
Moving on, some cool news for other folks:
Barry Lyga’s debut, The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl was just optioned for film!
TJ Brown just sold her first book, a YA, to Simon Pulse! Go, TJ!
Have you seen the trailer for Susan Kearney’s new romantic suspense, Kiss Me Deadly:
May 31st, 2007 at 9:42 am
600 hits is a record, I’d say!
I absolutely cannot wait to read these new books. I still have a unicorn calendar somewhere around here… 
May 31st, 2007 at 10:15 am
Congrats Diana!! I have a friend who once said she liked unicorns and now her room is filled with them. People just keep giving them to her as gifts. I hope Sailor Boy doesn’t mind sharing your apt with a couple hundred unicorns LOL.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:31 am
So I dreamed I wrote a blog post. And, unlike many of my writing dreams, where I come up with a “brilliant” solution to whatever problem I’m having with my manuscript in my sleep, only to wake up and realize that, beyond the limits of dream-logic, the solution doesn’t make any sense, this blog post actually rocks a fair bit. But I don’t have time to write it right now.
Such a tease, Diana! How long do we have to wait?
BTW, if I’m wrong re the net worth thingie, I apologize. As I recall it, you’d hacked around with an on-line program call “Net Worth Finder” or some such, and arrived at a figure of $1.x million, to which your comment (I thought) was, “Doesn’t seem like much, does it?” There was a link to the site, but since I wasn’t in the mood that day, I didn’t click on it.
I think the whole post was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as though to make fun of some of the stuff that can be found out there on the Internet. But maybe I just dreamed the whole darn thing…or *you* dreamed it, and I somehow read it in *my* dreams…who knows, and at this point, who cares?
Again, my apologies if the neurons misfired on this one. But I hope it’s OK to say that I really *am* pleased at your commercial success as a writer. Well-deserved, IMO!
May 31st, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Wow, Bill. Way to comb the archives! That post was from Feb 2005. Trust me, if I was worth 1.7 mil then, I wouldn’t have been living in SB’s parent’s basement frantically searching for a job an an apartment. (Both of which I found in March.)
Let me clarify — since the link to the actual website from which I got the information has apparently broken in the two and a half years since I posted it — that’s an internet quiz. An internet quiz which, among other things, asked me for my shoe size, SAT score, height, etc. in an attempt to determine my price on a hypothetical open human market. It has about as much validity as the one that asks which character on Firefly I am. Doing the quiz will never make me Gina Torres, no matter how much I may wish it.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I see that there is no comment on me being on your cover.
Technically, it’s not a Romance, so it’s not on my list of goals, but I’d still be happy to be on the cover. I could be Alexander!
I was thinking of Justine’s great Zombie\Unicorn debate and having just read two Zombie books, thought it was a fair enough question.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:16 pm
*Whew!*
Just glad to know I’m not ready for the dementia ward yet!
Thanks for clarifying, Diana!
May 31st, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Are you going to share your Net Shoe Size?
May 31st, 2007 at 12:30 pm
eight and a half
May 31st, 2007 at 12:41 pm
AH HA! so that puts your bowling average at 112.
Let me check my charts to see what else that means.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Since starting off in this whole novel-writing experiment, in 2002, I’ve written four books, half of another, and a novella:
1) Contemporary category romance. Not viable — total training project. Rejected at partial stage.
2) Contemporary category romance. Award winner. Requested full under consideration.
3) Half of contemporary category romance, put aside to complete Book 5.
4) Contemporary romance novella.
5) Contemporary action adventure with romantic sub-plot.
6) Contemporary romance. Award winner. Requested full under consideration.
Books 1,2 and 3 were written for the same line. Book 6 began as a sequel to Book 3, but then morphed beyond category constraints. Books 1,2,3,4 and 6 are all the same tone: modern, sexy, contemporary romances. Book 5 is a modern, sexy, contemporary action adventure with a romantic subplot. Book 1 ain’t working, Book 3 needs a bit of reworking due to the craft advances I made while working on Books 4,5 and 6 (Book 2, by the way, was almost completely rewritten after receiving its request for this reason). I wouldn’t try to market books 4,5 or 6 without an agent, which I’m in the process of trying to land now.
So, where is the “all over the map” statement coming from? Perhaps from my newest projects?
7) Partial of chick lit.
Just started YA chick lit.
OK, Diana, you got me started on this….
These are *your* words from February 2005. Enquiring minds want to know:
Is #7 SSG1?
Is #8 the killer unicorns?
And why are you being so mean about not sharing #1-6? Sounds like at least two of them generated publisher interest.
Just hoping you might reconsider….
May 31st, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Congratulations – that’s exciting stuff! And the unicorn picture is hysterical (I think I know a guy or two I’d like to sic one of those creatures on…)
May 31st, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Diana, that picture rocks!
mmmm… zombies….
May 31st, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Oh, I LUUUUUURVE the picture of the unicorn spearing the businessman. That is hi-freakin-larious. Where in the world did you find that? Classic!!! = )
May 31st, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Bill – I’m trying to decide if you’ve reached a new level of creepy stalker-ism or if this just matching a previously established high.
I’m pretty sure you matched this.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I think I may agree with Patrick here.
Bill, #8 is Secret Society Girl. I was re-educated as to what actually constituted YA.
May 31st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Marley, the photo is mine, taken this morning. I have a killer unicorn figurine…
June 1st, 2007 at 3:32 am
Bill’s not being stalkery, he’s just being procrastinatery. That’s waht I’m doing whenever I read through people’s archives. I thought that’s what archives were for!
June 1st, 2007 at 8:26 am
Congrats again, Diana! And thanks for the shout out. People are so nice!
Teri
June 1st, 2007 at 8:44 am
“Procrastinatery”? “Stalkery”?
All I can say in my own defense is that when I first discovered Diana’s blog I devoured all the “back issues” because I was learning so much by reading them. As y’all may recall, I have suggested before that they would make a great handbook on the art and science of writing and getting published.
Then there’s the problem of my velcro memory, to which tidbits of knowledge stick like burrs until they fall off again. Thus it was with the $1.7 million post.
So when yesterday Diana pointed me back to February 2005, I reread that post and discovered the book listing nearby…which prompted me to raise the questions I did.
Sigh…I plead guilty to being a huge fan, but innocent to all other charges…except perhaps procrastination, which has always been a besetting sin.