Lori Whitwam

I apologize for the length of time since I've updated. I imagine some of you might be wondering where we stand on the road to publication.

For a while, I think I got a little ahead of myself. Shortly after I finished Make or Break, I made a few submissions to agents... and in retrospect, I should have waited. I purposely chose agents that looked like a good fit but did not require a lengthy (or brief) synopsis. Because I had not yet written a synopsis, of course! Those submissions provided some valuable feedback, but no representation.

Since then, I've done a couple of rounds of editing on the manuscript, including one fairly major one. There aren't any big changes to the chapters posted here, other than a few phrases or sentences removed, and cleaning up word choices, so what you see here is still pretty close to what's in the current version of the manuscript.

Editing is something that could go on indefinitely (at least for me), but I've decided to lay off further revisions for now. Honestly, I let the whole thing sit for the entire month of September, and finally completed the latest read-through yesterday.

Now... it's time. Time to write that synopsis and refresh my memory on the agents I've chosen for the next round of submissions. I need to get those queries out there!

In the meantime, I've been making notes and character sketches for the "Gold" mystery. I have a fairly clear idea of where I'm going with that project.

But then something happened. I was reading a paranormal romance (I read about 70% paranormal these days) and got a fabulous idea! I'd always known I'd write a paranormal someday, but wasn't sure what "otherworldly" creatures would inhabit it. So many paranormal races (species?) have already been done, and done well. I know, because I've read most of them. But my idea hasn't been done yet as far as I can tell... at least not in the way and with the twist that I plan. So now I'm thinking about that book. I don't know if it will be written before the "Gold" mystery or after. I'm still waiting for my new characters to take hold and start whispering in my mind, telling me just what their story is going to be.

I opted not to undertake NaNoWriMo this year, because my focus right now needs to be polishing Make or Break, and getting some submissions out there. Also, I have the two other projects fermenting in my head, but I'm not quite ready to launch into them yet. If I were going to complete either of them in a month, I'd need to far exceed the 50,000 words stipulated by NaNoWriMo. Think... "double." I could either shoot for double the daily word count, or I'd have to extend my deadline to two months instead of one. Which would make me a NaNoWriMo failure. Who needs that? Once I start a project, I'm my own biggest slavedriver. Or my characters are. They keep me up at night, wake me early in the morning, and force me to spend 14-hour writing days. Sure, they're pushy, and naggy at times... but they also tell me when I got it right. Until Mitch (my "Gold" mystery heroine) or Shay (my paranormal heroine) start talking to me like that, it's not time to start. We're still getting to know each other.

And that's all the latest from Lori's Literary Land or whatever this place is! If you've read the first two chapters, please sign the guest book and let me know what you thought!

(Posted 7/24/09)

Help me name my new book!

Having finally completed a book, I can no longer imagine not being in the process of writing one. My next book will be more "straight mystery," whereas Make or Break is more a romantic suspense. In actuality, the new book is one I started a couple of years ago, but I wasn't at the point in my personal development to be able to see it through. I got confused and frustrated, and didn't know where to turn for guidance, so I archived it and gave up. Then Make or Break hit me, and I did whatever it took to get that story told. Now, I'm ready to move on to the next one, while simultaneously working to get Make or Break into publication.

The premise for the new book is a mystery, involving a 30-ish woman who owns a pet supply shop in a community shopping center in fictional Arcadia County, located in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Her name is Michelle "Mitch" Donahue. She is a coordinator for the area's golden retriever rescue group, and has two wonderful goldens of her own. When she goes to drop off a new foster dog at the home of her friend and mentor (name still being determined, but for now let's call her Olivia), she finds Olivia dead in the kitchen, and the woman's male golden and male foster dog missing. Her female dog is cowering under a table. The police are quick to dismiss it as Olivia having interrupted a burglary, and the two dogs simply ran off when the killer left the door open. Mitch, however, knowing Olivia's male dog well (he's litter mate to the female dog, as well as one of Mitch's dogs), she knows he would never leave Olivia or his littermate. He is too well-trained for that. She believes one of the dogs was the reason for the break-in and subsequent death of her friend, and sets out to locate the dogs and find out why.

There will be some interesting supporting characters, including Mitch's best friend, Rose, and her long-time friend/convenience date-boyfriend Jamie. However, her romantic interests shift (since she and Jamie aren't really "involved," per se) when Olivia's nephew, Evan, comes to town for the funeral and to deal with the issues surrounding Olivia's house, dogs, and estate. Mitch knew Evan slightly growing up, and had a bit of a crush on him, but he was five years older and didn't take much notice of her other than occasional teasing and practical jokes. She hasn't seen him since she was 13 or 14, as he and his family lived in (Pittsburgh? Cincinnati? Still deciding.) He becomes involved in helping her solve the mystery, and consequently becomes involved with her.

This will be a portrait of the area in which I grew up, and the wide ranging personality types of the residents. We'll have the huge, odd, but kind-hearted neighbor family, hillbillies and displaced urbanites, dog people and dog-idiots, rescue volunteers and shop owners, and whatever else I can think up.

I'd originally planned to use a title something like "Recycled Gold," or something with "Gold" in the title, due to the golden retrievers. I am approaching this as an eventual series, and "Gold" could be the common element in the titles. But I'm not locked into this idea.

So, help me out here! Based on what you know, do you have suggestions for a working title for the new book? I'm about to start writing out my character sketches for Mitch, Evan, and Jamie. Once I feel I "know" them (because that's how it worked best for me with Make or Break... gotta know the characters so they can tell me their stories), I'm ready to get down to work on those crucial first few chapters!