Sam Mariano's Blog - Posts Tagged "irreparable"
Finishing Stories
Finishing stories has always bummed me out.
I’m referring more to writing them than reading them—that sucks too, but when I have to finish writing a story with characters that I love, my entire being rebels against the idea. They aren’t just players taking the story from Point A to Point C for me by this point (and if they are, I’ve done something wrong) they’re people with lives that I’m interested in.
When I used to write only for myself (occasionally I still do) I wrote lengthy content that would be unreadable to anyone else—anyone who isn’t invested in them like I am, and that’s fine, because that’s on par with a journal. If I want to write it upside down and in Latin I can; it’s meant for my eyes only.
When I make the decision to share my characters and their story with everyone else, however, there comes a point where I have to say goodbye. And that makes me sad.
Last night—I should say this morning, because while I hadn’t slept yet, it was definitely morning—I was pounding out an important part of Irreparable Damage, and when I finally finished the last of the “night’s” to-do-list scenes, I heaved a sigh of accomplishment, shielded my eyes from the intrusive sun peering through the slats of the blinds, and then realized… I’m almost done with this book. Provided I get some writing done this weekend, the rough draft should be completed by Monday.
I expected to feel excited—this is the fastest I’ve ever finished a story before, and I already have a cover ready and waiting…this brings me one step closer to putting one more book out there into the world!
But it still made me sad.
Which is weird, because in this particular instance, there’s a book two featuring the same characters! So it’s not even goodbye, it’s just, “see ya later!”
Still, book two is not book one, their lives won’t be precisely as they are now, and even though the characters will come back and I will get to write them again, for now…it’s basically over. Just a few more crucial scenes to write, some things to tie up or set up, and then the journey is over for a while.
Plus, then I have to start editing. I hate editing.
That being said, I expect Irreparable Damage to be released in the very beginning of October (maybe even a little sooner, depending on how editing goes) and I’ll get to try out the pre-order feature for the first time!
Look for a blurb and maybe some teasers to pop up very soon! :)
I’m referring more to writing them than reading them—that sucks too, but when I have to finish writing a story with characters that I love, my entire being rebels against the idea. They aren’t just players taking the story from Point A to Point C for me by this point (and if they are, I’ve done something wrong) they’re people with lives that I’m interested in.
When I used to write only for myself (occasionally I still do) I wrote lengthy content that would be unreadable to anyone else—anyone who isn’t invested in them like I am, and that’s fine, because that’s on par with a journal. If I want to write it upside down and in Latin I can; it’s meant for my eyes only.
When I make the decision to share my characters and their story with everyone else, however, there comes a point where I have to say goodbye. And that makes me sad.
Last night—I should say this morning, because while I hadn’t slept yet, it was definitely morning—I was pounding out an important part of Irreparable Damage, and when I finally finished the last of the “night’s” to-do-list scenes, I heaved a sigh of accomplishment, shielded my eyes from the intrusive sun peering through the slats of the blinds, and then realized… I’m almost done with this book. Provided I get some writing done this weekend, the rough draft should be completed by Monday.
I expected to feel excited—this is the fastest I’ve ever finished a story before, and I already have a cover ready and waiting…this brings me one step closer to putting one more book out there into the world!
But it still made me sad.
Which is weird, because in this particular instance, there’s a book two featuring the same characters! So it’s not even goodbye, it’s just, “see ya later!”
Still, book two is not book one, their lives won’t be precisely as they are now, and even though the characters will come back and I will get to write them again, for now…it’s basically over. Just a few more crucial scenes to write, some things to tie up or set up, and then the journey is over for a while.
Plus, then I have to start editing. I hate editing.
That being said, I expect Irreparable Damage to be released in the very beginning of October (maybe even a little sooner, depending on how editing goes) and I’ll get to try out the pre-order feature for the first time!
Look for a blurb and maybe some teasers to pop up very soon! :)
I'm Alive!
So...I haven't been around very much lately.
I apologize for generally disappearing off the face of the planet since this year started. Basically, if anything at all has happened since January began, I don’t know about it. If you have read/reviewed/rated/thought about my books, thank you so much! I have done exactly zero promoting this year, so the few books that have sold have been a lovely surprise.
Unfortunately I’m really behind at life right now. I had planned (though only a few people knew this anyway) to have the sequels to Irreparable Damage and Because of You out by April. This is not going to happen for a few reasons. One, my cover designer also disappeared for a little while and I couldn’t get in touch with her, and I cannot release After You (Because of You #2) without a cover even if it was finished. But also, it isn’t finished. It’s half-finished, as it was in January, which is the last time I touched it. Irreparable Lives is in exactly the same place–first draft half finished, hasn’t been written since January.
I already have the cover for Irreparable Lives, so that one is under control. As soon as the writing/editing/etc is finished, I will be able to release that one. After You…I’m not positive when it will be released now, because I haven’t heard back about the cover yet. (Also I have to finish it.) The cover is my main concern though, it usually takes a few months because the designer is pretty booked.
I’m very sorry the books haven’t been released. I’m sorry they haven’t even been finished. This was very much not my plan, but as the Fresh Prince would say, “my life got flipped, turned upside down.” (Are you too young for that reference? You might be; I’m getting old.) The start of this year was the start of a really destructive shitstorm in my personal life and many days just getting out of bed to take care of my kid seemed like far too much to ask. I don’t usually get writer’s block, and I wasn’t technically even blocked, my brain was just fried, I had no motivation, and my plate was just too full to add writing to it. Particularly what I needed to be writing. The themes of these books made writing them during this time particularly impossible, so rather than force little bit by little bit to meet an arbitrary deadline that was only in my mind, I decided to steer clear of both manuscripts until I could get my head back in the game.
Which I think was a good call.
I am finally getting my personal life back into some semblance of order, so if not today (probably not today, as my schedule is pretty full) then tomorrow I am going to get back to work on Derek and Nikki’s story, as well as Ethan and Willow’s conclusion. If you’re one of the people who has been waiting for them, I’m so sorry they aren’t ready for you yet. I will do my best to get them finished as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I’ve decided to have a little surprise sale!
On Wednesday, March 25th at 7pm PST, Because of You will go on sale for $.99! If you miss that, on Friday it will go up to $1.99 before finally returning to its original price of $3.99 early Saturday morning.
If you haven’t met Derek and Nikki, here’s your chance!
Once again, I apologize for the unexpected delay. Life just sucker punched me and I wasn’t ready for it.
Thank you for your continued interest and support! My readers are pretty much the best. ;)
I apologize for generally disappearing off the face of the planet since this year started. Basically, if anything at all has happened since January began, I don’t know about it. If you have read/reviewed/rated/thought about my books, thank you so much! I have done exactly zero promoting this year, so the few books that have sold have been a lovely surprise.
Unfortunately I’m really behind at life right now. I had planned (though only a few people knew this anyway) to have the sequels to Irreparable Damage and Because of You out by April. This is not going to happen for a few reasons. One, my cover designer also disappeared for a little while and I couldn’t get in touch with her, and I cannot release After You (Because of You #2) without a cover even if it was finished. But also, it isn’t finished. It’s half-finished, as it was in January, which is the last time I touched it. Irreparable Lives is in exactly the same place–first draft half finished, hasn’t been written since January.
I already have the cover for Irreparable Lives, so that one is under control. As soon as the writing/editing/etc is finished, I will be able to release that one. After You…I’m not positive when it will be released now, because I haven’t heard back about the cover yet. (Also I have to finish it.) The cover is my main concern though, it usually takes a few months because the designer is pretty booked.
I’m very sorry the books haven’t been released. I’m sorry they haven’t even been finished. This was very much not my plan, but as the Fresh Prince would say, “my life got flipped, turned upside down.” (Are you too young for that reference? You might be; I’m getting old.) The start of this year was the start of a really destructive shitstorm in my personal life and many days just getting out of bed to take care of my kid seemed like far too much to ask. I don’t usually get writer’s block, and I wasn’t technically even blocked, my brain was just fried, I had no motivation, and my plate was just too full to add writing to it. Particularly what I needed to be writing. The themes of these books made writing them during this time particularly impossible, so rather than force little bit by little bit to meet an arbitrary deadline that was only in my mind, I decided to steer clear of both manuscripts until I could get my head back in the game.
Which I think was a good call.
I am finally getting my personal life back into some semblance of order, so if not today (probably not today, as my schedule is pretty full) then tomorrow I am going to get back to work on Derek and Nikki’s story, as well as Ethan and Willow’s conclusion. If you’re one of the people who has been waiting for them, I’m so sorry they aren’t ready for you yet. I will do my best to get them finished as soon as I can.
In the meantime, I’ve decided to have a little surprise sale!
On Wednesday, March 25th at 7pm PST, Because of You will go on sale for $.99! If you miss that, on Friday it will go up to $1.99 before finally returning to its original price of $3.99 early Saturday morning.
If you haven’t met Derek and Nikki, here’s your chance!
Once again, I apologize for the unexpected delay. Life just sucker punched me and I wasn’t ready for it.
Thank you for your continued interest and support! My readers are pretty much the best. ;)
