Day in the Life of an Idiot

 It's not officially official yet, but I just signed a contract with Wizard Tower Press for the third book in the Alex Connor series (this is the book that started with Precinct 13.)  The current working title is Infernal Affairs (or maybe Infernal Medicine?? SUGGESTIONS WELCOME IN COMMENTS--I'm looking for some kind of legal or medical term--the heroine is a coroner--that is a play on 'infernal' or other demon-related words) because one of the things it will be dealing with is Alex's "step monster," the demon. 

Whoo!!

So, that's a heckuva a way to start the week, eh?

Maybe 2013 is going to be the year of the glowing review or the year of the e-book... because here's an amazing review of Archangel Protocol (e-book) from a Spanish site called Sense of Wonder (Sentido dela Maravilla). http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com/2013/01/archangel-protocol-by-lyda-morehouse.html

I almost started a post about this elsewhere with the comment, "I wish people had said such nice things about the book when it first came out," but I deleted that after a moment of thought, because, you know, they did. Archangel Protocol came out to rave reviews and it won two awards: the Barnes & Nobel Maiden Voyage award and the Shamus (for best original paperback featuring a private eye.) I really can't complain about then or now, especially considering that it was my freshman effort and there are some turns of phrase in the book that my partner knows she can randomly quote if she wants to watch me squirm in embarrassment.

Also, I had to smile when I read the Sense of Wonder reviewer's comment "the ending seemed a little rushed." I think that's a phrase that appears in pretty much every review of anything I've EVER written EVER. Probably a review of my grocery list would say, "Well organized, creative and innovative spelling, but the ending seems a bit rushed."

I wish I could say that I've improved in this regard, but there's something about endings that continues to baffle and challenge me. I do TRY. I swear one of my goals with each new novel is, "Stick the *^%! ending!" But, then, after my writers' group, my partner and my editor all make me go back and revisit the ending to see if I can't "slow it down," the reviews will come out and at least one of them will say, "But the ending seemed a bit rushed."

Ah well. At least I have something to improve on. Or perhaps I can use it on my tombstone, "Here lies Lyda Morehouse: The Ending Seemed a Bit Rushed."

FRIDAY 8pm
I Knew this Panel was Trouble when it Walked into my Office

It seems like “noir” is being tacked on to just about every sub-category of the genre these days: fantasy-noir, science fiction-noir, vampire-noir, and so on. And even if it isn’t attached to the genre label, the word appears on book jackets and in reviews in droves. But what do we mean when we say something is “noir”? What are the touch-stones that make something noir: must noir be gritty, violent, dangerous, or require a mystery be solved? How do our genre versions of noir compare to the classic examples of the style? Is what we call “noir” truly “Noir”, or is it just a shadowed reflection and a surly mood?

With: Doug Hulick, mod.; Rebecca Marjesdatter, Lyda Morehouse

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SATURDAY 11 am
Villainry for Dummies

So one day you look around and realize that YOU are the bad guy and that twerp whose father you murdered a decade ago might turn out to be the hero. Now what? Tips on surviving beyond the last page of the book (or the credits of the movie)...at least through a couple of sequels

With Naomi Krizter, mod.; Kelly McCullough, Lyda Morehouse

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SATURDAY 2pm
Unraveling the Mystery: Big Bang Theory

Come talk about what you like and/or don’t like about the physicist sitcom Big Bang Theory.

With: Tony Artym, mod.; Eric M. Heideman, Kelly McCullough, Lyda Morehouse, Brian K. Perry

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SATURDAY 3pm
Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading

With Catherine Lundoff, Lyda Morehouse

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If you come to MarsCON over the weekend, you will see me in the hallways or at least on these panels. I *thought* I had another one about hearting femme fatales, but that panel might have been moved/removed or I missed it in my recent search and I'll be there too.

In other news, I got some great shots of our snow fort before Mason collapsed it. Although I have to say that much of it had to be rebuilt. Seems that it's getting too warm for snow and our main wall collapsed in the heat over the weekend. Mason and I rebuilt a lot of it yesterday, and then he had a great time destroying it with a crochet mallet. Destructo-boy!

I will have the internet speed and technology to upload some of the pictures tomorrow. So, if you're interested, check back.

In Tate news, I don't know how official this is (so don't spread it around too much), but it seems that the Garnet Lacey books have been bought in-house to be reprinted by Berkley Sensation as mass-market paperbacks starting (tentatively) in December of 2011. Hooray! I have to say that I'm a huge fan of mass-market size, so I'm glad these books will get a chance to try out the smaller format. My editor isn't sure, but they *may* get a new cover make-over as well.

That could be very cool.

I've NEVER had a book go from one size to another before, BTW. I know a lot of authors have hardbacks that then become paper, but not me. Until now, I've always stayed whatever I was original printed in.

Speaking of that, hold on to your copies of APOCALYPSE ARRAY. I just went through my inventory for taxes and there are exactly 5 left in the universe. After those go to Uncles, there will be no new copies in existance anywhere on earth. (Presumably, you'll still find them used on Amazon and through other used bookstore venues, but... no more fresh, unbroken spines!!)

I also got edits for my short story "Jawbone of an Ass" which is going to be printed in an anthology of Biblical Horror stories called SHE NAILED A STAKE THROUGH HIS HEAD by Dybbuk Press at some point in the near furutre. I'll keep you posted when that's available. It's one of my better short stories, if I do say so myself. I'm not really very good at shorter works, but this one came out very atmosphere, IMHO. Plus, while it doesn't take place in the AngeLINK universe, it is about God and religion, so it's got a signature flavor to it, as it were.

I'm also working on some proposals for Tate... my editor is passing down the pike the humorous chick-litty ones I wrote (including the "solid cow mutilation mystery," as Shawn called it). I guess Berkley Trade isn't doing as well with the funny stuff. They're going darker in their urban fantasy, which makes sense. I see a lot of that out there these days. Elizabeth and I were talking about that, in fact, when last I was at Uncles (which, btw, is still a great place to pick up your new copies of all my books.)

Anyway, I'm trying my hand at some darker ideas (though those funny ones aren't dead yet.) Wish me luck.

When Mason goes back to school next week, I'll be working on the young adult sequel of Tate's which is due in July.

Oh! And I forgot to tell you a funny story. When Mason and I were walking home after dropping mama off at GoodWill (we joked we're trading her in for a newer one), we got to the far corner of our block. I saw a pigeon on the ground that looked injured. I tried to pick it up. It was so disoriented that it actually smacked into my thigh. But it was well enough to get back in the air again, so I shrugged, and was turning to Mason to explain the rule "if you can't catch them, you have to leave 'em in the wild" when ZIP! Out of the clear, blue sky swoops a Cooper's hawk who slams into the pigeon and takes her down!! Munch, munch, gooble, munch, that pigeon became lunch! Mason and I stood there a moment with our mouths open, and then I said, "Well, that's nature in action, I guess."

"Yep," said Mason and we went off to play in the slushy ice puddles.