Boiling Eggs, Birthdays, and Book Giveaways

How is boiling and egg like writing a story?

You get the water boiling, pop a few eggs in, and set a timer, right? Easy as that. But what if your timer wasn't reliable? What if time wasn't steady? What if your egg ended up in a metaphysical bubble?

The IWSG question this month is:

When do you know your story is ready?

This is easy to answer: YOU DON'T.

No matter how long you've worked, how many times you've rewritten a book, or how optimistic you feel about a story, there is never a solid "THIS IS PERFECT, THIS IS DONE" moment. (Ten years after a book is published, most authors cringe at their own work.)

However, there are a few ways to discern a story MIGHT be ready...enough.

1. Beta readers. A variety of them--and I'm not talking about Mom or your best friend. I'm talking about people who are in the industry and regularly tear apart their own work. Yes, you actually have to let people read your work, AND you have to listen to what they say. It doesn't mean everything is valid or even worth listening to, but you have to be able to take a step back and weigh it like it is.

2. If you aren't up against publishing deadlines, time is a great test. If you can step away from a project for 6 months, a year, two years, and you come back and are blown away by it, it might be ready.

3. Querying. (Terrifying, right?) If you query 30 agents who rep your genre with a sample and don't get a single nibble, it may be that your writing needs a little more work. (This test works with short stories too.)

4. Hire a professional editor. And I'm not talking a line editor. I'm talking a developmental editor. They will strike at the heart of the story and find any underlying elements that aren't working. (What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, eh?)

How do you know if that egg is boiled? You crack it open and slice it to the core. As painful as that sounds, it's only way to know an egg is done.

Speaking of being done... *deep breath* TIMELESS is out to advanced readers and reviews are starting to trickle in. (This is the most terrifying time for an author, btw--the real proof that the book was ready.)

AND today is my

To celebrate, I'm hosting myself for a truth or lie game today. (WHAT!?!) That's right. This will be one of the ONLY chances to win an eBook of TIMELESS. (No kidding.) Actually, I'm giving my entire series away to one lucky winner. (Provided they don't already have half the series. Then I'll have to supplement with another cool prize.)

Releases November 1, 2016

TIME IS THE ENEMY.

In 1771, Alexia had everything: the man of her dreams, reconciliation with her father, even a child on the way. But she was never meant to stay. It broke her heart, but Alexia heeded destiny and traveled five hundred years back to stop the Soulless from becoming.

In the thirteenth century, the Holy Roman Church has ordered the Knights Templar to exterminate the Passionate, her bloodline. As Alexia fights this new threat—along with an unfathomable evil and her own heart—the Soulless genesis nears. But none of her hard-won battles may matter if she dies in childbirth before completing her mission.

Can Alexia escape her own clock?

Preorder Now

Here's my two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to win an eBook of THE MAIDEN OF TIME SERIES. (Open internationally.)

You have until Tuesday, October 11 at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on October 12, 8 a.m. EDT when there will be another giveaway from our very own Roland Yeomans!

TRUTH OR LIE

1. My first draft of Timeless was 42,000 words long. (150 pages.) Of those original 42,000, only about 10,000 survived to the final draft (85,000 words). (How's that for insight into the process?)
2. One of the main characters in my Maiden of Time series, Kiren, has been with me since 1994. That makes him his approximate physical age in the series (22).
3. I hate cheese.

This is the LAST CALL to sign up for the blog tour of TIMELESS. (Nov 1-21.)

So sleuths, which is the lie? How do you decide when a story is done? What do you do to celebrate birthdays? (Leave me some cheese in the comments, eh?)