Thursday, May 11, 2006

Excuses, Excuses (and Some News)

So my excuse for not blogging for a week is pretty lame--I play adventure video games in my oh-so-ample spare time when I'm stressed, and I got sucked into the latest CSI-for-the-PC installment. Which, in my defense, I'm thinking could feasibly be written off as a tax deduction, because A) the game requires you to solve murders just like your friends on the CSI TV show by using forensic tools to collect evidence; B) I'm a kinesthetic learner, so if I can DO something with my hands rather than read about it or hear it, I remember it better; C) ergo, I now remember exactly what one does with dental stone, mikrosil, ninhydrin, and more, thanks to the game, whereas before I was continuously consulting my Forensic Handbook and Forensics for Dummies books; and D) it's just plain ol' nerdy fun to impersonate a crime scene tech, even via your laptop. So if you write suspense and like PC games, you might give it a try.

Anyway, now the news: two weeks ago I put a partial into the mail for Intrigue, and I found out yesterday they're offering me another three-book contract. Huzzah! The first is for Renegade Ridge, the fourth book in my Mission: Family trilogy. (Yes, I know "trilogy" technically means three, but hey, if Douglas Adams can do it....) So all of you lovely people out there who wrote and asked if Sabrina was going to have her own book, this is it. The rumored release date (i.e. not set in stone in a contract yet) is April 2007. I'll put a blurb and excerpt up on my website as soon as I find an excerpt that doesn't make me want to throw myself under a bus. (Did I mention I always hate what I'm working on until I get past chapter five?) As for the other two books in the contract--uh, I never quite got around to sending the two-page synopses I was going to send, so they're basically tabula rasas (or would that be "tabulas rasa?" "Tabulas rasas?" Any Latin scholars out there? Anyone?) at the moment. I have some ideas, but I'll have to get them approved before I start advertising their existence.

So after a year of not writing, I'm back with a vengeance. Rather than seeking balance, I guess I'm going to try not to neglect my children, lose my job, be late with the books, and alienate all of my friends by being utterly unavailable for anything, ever, because I'm writing. Should be fun!

10 comments:

K.A.S. said...

Yay Tracy! Gratz on the contract.

I get sucked into MMORPG's. Unfortunately, you never actually WIN the damn things. I've had to go cold turkey lately - I don't just disappear for a week, it can be for months. Many, many months.

Mmmm. I got a beta email this am. No! Must! Resist!
Ahem. I'm ok now.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's wonderful news! I can't wait to hear what you come up with for the two other books!

DH bought me the CSI game and I haven't gotten around to playing it. I have a strange love-hate relationship with video games. I like the concept and I usually enjoy them for about ten minutes, and then I hit a difficult puzzle and get too frustrated to continue. I still have the X-Files game, all nine-gajillion disks, as well as Myst somewhere in my closet.

Tracy Montoya said...

Karen, what does the MMO stand for? Are those the ones you play online? I need games with a definite ending, or I'd never get anything done! (Good luck resisting. : ) )

Tracy Montoya said...

Mariann, I can't wait to hear what I come up with, either. (Heh.)

As for the CSI game, all you have to do if you get stuck is type "CSI walkthrough" into Google--someone out there in cyberspace has usually solved your problem for you. Although I have to say, most of the puzzles in the third CSI game are ridiculously easy. Fun, though.

Jennifer McKenzie said...

Yayyyy on the contract. I loved your book "House of Secrets". It was terrific. Thanks so much for sending it.
The CSI game sounds good. I'm thinking I'll need "Forensics For Dummies" 'cause I know I get all that stuff wrong.
Good luck on the new ms. I hate everthing AFTER chapter five. LOL.

kris said...

Tracy!!!! Oh, what wonderful news! (And dang, what an incredible turnaround time!) I'm so, so happy for you. This is a fabulous offer and you deserve every bit of this.

Oh, and I just consulted with the geek in the basement. The plural of tabula rasa is tabulae rasae. I knew that kid would come in handy sometime!

Tracy Montoya said...

Thank you, Jen. You're very sweet. The Forensic Casebook is quite good, too. (I called it a Handbook in my post. Bad Tracy.)

Tracy Montoya said...

ROFLMAO!! Chris, your kids are awesome. Send the geek in the basement my deepest thanks. That was driving me nuts. (I KNEW I should have taken Latin in college instead of French.)

K.A.S. said...

MMORPG = Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. So yes - it's online, with thousands (millions for a few of them) of people. It can be fun to pretend to be someone else for a while ;)

Tracy Montoya said...

Ah, thanks for the clarity, Karen. Those look fun, but I know I'd get sucked in and never come out, so I stay away....

About Me

My photo
Tracy Montoya writes romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue.

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter