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Yearly Archives: 2010

Ye Olde Updates Post

September 10, 2010
about clancy, writing
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I have so many tales to tell but I can’t really wrap my head around getting things out. So many updates and things abuzz, but my brain is mostly abuzz, which makes everything cottony and hard to sort.

If that made sense to you, you win.

So I have another book accepted by Loose Id, date of release not yet settled on, but it’s about a firefighter and a cross-dressing actor. Tootsie meets Backdraft. Okay, not really. Very romcom and sexy, of course.

Aside from that, I’ve been writing and editing and submitting and getting rejected and adjusting and resubmitting and getting rejected again and again and again. I mostly blog about my victories, but let me tell you something, it ain’t easy out there for a pimp–writer.

But, I’ve learned interesting things. Like that promotion doesn’t really work nearly as well as writing a good book and producing frequently. So, that’s my marketing plan. Be good. Write a lot. This job ain’t nuthin but work. Fortunately for me, I have more tenacity than sense, so I soldier on.

Anyway, there’s a book cover contest going on that an anthology I’m in is part of. If you go to the site and scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN to slot 8, the cover is #509. Ifn’ you like it, please vote. You don’t have to have read the book, just approve of the castle and the boy butt on the cover.

#509, man. Elisa Rolle has way more intestinal fortitude than I do to set up over 500 images and poll thingies for a contest. Or any reason. Bless.

pee ess–I’m posting and reposting prettiness on my Tumblr

Three Dollar Bill Reviews “A Certain Pressure In the Pipes”

August 20, 2010
books, Noble Romance, writing
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Another encouraging review for “A Certain Pressure in the Pipes” is up on Three Dollar Bill Reviews.

“I honestly laughed out loud when I read the blurb about the pleasuring machine and when introduced in the story, the scene is not only hot but very enjoyable. It’s funny, tongue in cheek (both cheeks!) and sets up some great lines between the men. Conrad’s sense of the absurd really makes the story fun to read.”

Read the whole review at Three Dollar Bills Reviews

I’m very happy that the reviewer enjoyed the story and really seemed to “get” Conrad. It’s very exciting this story is doing so well because it was so fun to write. It came out of my wanting to experiment with the genre and reading books about Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln at the time, so I felt fairly comfy with the atmosphere. And making up pervy inventions? Well, that’s just fun.

A Certain Pressure in the Pipes Review

August 8, 2010
books, Noble Romance, promo, published
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I’ve been kind of flying under the radar as far as reviews have been concerned so it was great to be surprised by this when it came up in my google alerts. I’m terribly excited, which is dorky, but then, I’m pretty excited any time anyone reads my stories to start with, so there you go. I’m a dork. We all knew that.

“A Certain Pressure in the Pipes,” my Steampunk, m/m erotica story received a lovely review at Seriously Reviewed:

“A Certain Pressure in the Pipes was a surprise for me. I haven’t read much in the Steampunk genre and after reading this story, I’ll be picking up more. Historical meets futuristic. Add in some hot man on man action and campy humor and you have a story that I couldn’t put down.”

Read the rest of the review

Read an excerpt

Where to buy

Audio Post Announcing Release Date of Black Gold

July 27, 2010
books
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Black Gold has a tentative release date of November 23 with Loose Id! You heard it here first, literally.

Black Gold is a m/m glam rock fantasy about a punk rocker and a pop star finding love and making beautiful music together in a world of spin, fame, and money that threatens to tear them apart.

Inertia of too much to do

July 21, 2010
about clancy, blog, writing
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Hello. I’m Clancy Nacht and I’m an overcommitment addict.

(hello)

See, for a long time I wasn’t feeling very motivated to write things. You know how it is, you just left fandom, you want to tackle original stuff, but suddenly you have to deal with new voices, a new world, new situations. You’ve gone from a very controlled universe to Anything You Want.

It’s big. Too big. You don’t know where to start. So, you hit Duotrope.

And sure, it’s great for tracking your submissions, for knowing when things are due, when to follow up with a publisher. But it also lists calls for submissions. You read through one, and you’re inspired. you write it up, edit it, send it off, it’s accepted. Win! It’s such an exciting, euphoric feeling, like you not only got inspired, but you actually got someone to agree to not only read your non-fandom work, but also to urge others to read it as well.

That’s how they hook you.

You see, it started off small with a few short stories, but it’s grown into an untamable beast of WIPs, stories in revision, stories that are sent out, stories that you sent out and you’re editing. Folders upon folders of drafts, outlines, notes, research, but too little time to focus.

And that’s when it sets in. The block.

It’s not for lack of knowing where to go. You have these stories outlined. The research is done. Characters are named, their quirks documented. All you have to do is sit down and do it.

But then, where to start? Is it that WIP that you’re 20k into that you decided needed at least another 20k to feel complete? Is it that new story you just got all hot and bothered for, but isn’t due for a few months? Or do you go for some easy wins with anthos that you know you could knock out in a few hours?

I don’t know. That’s my problem. I don’t know when to stop. I try. Believe me, I’ve tried. I don’t even log into Duotrope anymore. I trash their weekly emails, not even looking for new calls for submission.

But then, there are more. Twitter wants attention, I should be blogging, too. Oh and that chat, you need to be witty in chat. And what about those lovely authors that comment on your blog? You really need to go read their blogs and comment.

Too much. And all of it things I want to be doing.

But that’s why I’m here. Because I don’t know how to stop. Or where to start.

Surely I’m not the only one. What about you? Start to finish WIP and bugger the rest of it? Keep nipping at each story, calling it progress each time?

Anyway, I’ve recognized that I need help and that’s why I’m here. Thank you.

(wasn’t that brave?)

Doing my fanfic roots

July 19, 2010
about clancy, blog, writing
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Sometimes I get nostalgic for fandom. Over the weekend, there was a Harry Potter convention in Orlando. I’ve never gone to any Potter conventions. Conventions, in general, are counter intuitive to me. Usually I have to be paid to make myself available to throngs of people, not the other way around.

Even though it is theoretically a convergence of people who have the same interests as me, being social on demand is difficult. Especially in person. Frankly, I find it a miracle I even get through a 40-50 hour work week without busting a cap in someone’s ass. Sharing a room at a convention? Feggetaboutit.

But really, conventions are a small part of fandom. And in spite of my curmudgeonly attitude about being social, I do miss the social aspects of sharing my stories. I miss having people quote back parts of my work they found hilarious or scary or whatever. I miss the world and the characters (though arguably, Draco’s never left.)

There were a lot of reasons around pulling away from fandom and not many of them have changed. I see an LJ post by an old friend and recognize the names responding. It makes me a little sad to have lost touch, but then, I also feel like I needed to move on.

This isn’t to say that some of the same issues that haunted fandom don’t haunt the professional world. If anything, some of these darker aspects are heightened because now there’s money involved. But there are also a lot of professionals who don’t make everything personal, who keep that distance, and can agree to disagree.

As much as I’d love to write more fandom work, I’ve gotten myself so obligated professionally, it would have to be pretty short and sweet. I’m hoping the new season of “Merlin” will shake something loose. I keep getting notices from FF.net that people are discovering those shorts I posted and it makes me smile. But we’ll see.

How about you? Did you come to writing from somewhere else and get homesick?

Research: Pioneer Farms

July 13, 2010
picspam, writing
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I found out that there was a “living history park” not far from where I live. Unfortunately, the day I went, history was not coming alive. Only a couple of the houses were manned by people. Wasps—and I’m talking wasps as big as your hand—were out in full force.

Plantation House

It was in the upper 90s and a lot of the trail was directly in the sun. So it was pretty darn hot. But that in itself says a lot about the area and the kind of work that people were doing out in that kind of weather.

Outbuilding stove

I think the photos turned out well. The yellow house is the plantation house, which is right about the size I was hoping for. There are out buildings for not only the out house, but the kitchen, the loom/weaving area. And, of course, the well. Something out there bit my toe and I had to sit down for a few and rub the ouchie. A wasp kept buzzing me and eventually landed on my husband’s sleeve. Brave girl that I am, I ran away and let him deal with it.

Barn and Equipment

The barn is more of an immigrant barn, but it had some of the tools of the trade I thought were important.

Beautiful Tree
We checked out the Native American area, but there really wasn’t a lot there. I did fall in love with that giant tree and took many shots of it. I think that tree will make appearances in many stories.

See the whole Pioneer Farms Slideshow

Do you see me, do you care

July 9, 2010
about clancy, picspam, writing
13 Comments

So.

I’m still working out this whole marketing thing and one thing I see and hear a lot is: Readers want to see your picture. They want to connect with you.

And, if you dig around not very deeply, you’ll find a picture of me. A slightly older picture from a modeling shoot I did a couple of years ago. And really, a couple of years. Not the “a couple of years in the grand scheme of the age of the world, 20 years is barely a blip” sort. The make-up and shadows are dramatic. You may or may not recognize me on the street. But it’s me. If you’re just dying for a face.

But here’s the thing: is that really what readers want?

Now, I’m in a semi-unique situation in that what I write is primarily gay. I sort of think my mug (no matter how great the picture) is distracting and maybe worse, a real turn off.

I’m up front about being a lady—I am who and what I am and don’t have the cash to change it. It’s not that I’m hiding that. And I don’t think I’m horrible to look at. But I just don’t see why anyone would want to see the man behind the curtain.

I’m going to say this with love, and don’t get offended (she says, knowing what’s about to come out of her fingers) but there are certain author sites I’ve seen where the author is working as the model and face of their work that made me embarrassed for them. They were primarily het writers and maybe that has its own set of rules, but really, I mean, really?

It makes me wonder whether the author pic isn’t a function of an author’s ego rather than what a reader wants. I really don’t know. I can only speak from experience in the mild disappointment I felt in how Chuck Palahniuk looked. Not that it mattered or that I stopped reading his work…but the not knowing let me make him what I wanted him to be.

But, it also told me that he wasn’t putting himself in the stories. Maybe it’s just me, but when I see the author’s photo and then read their stories and their heroine or hero looks exactly like them, it totally creeps me out.

Rationally, I know that stories are often fantasies, wish fulfillment that you can share with an audience. It’s not really how I write (another reason for m/m? you tell me) but I get that a lot do. And, if the heroine is a dumpy brunette who is whisked off on an adventurous life with a vampire, that’s pretty easy for readers to identify with (ouch, hurt myself with that one—covers dumpy brunette hair.) But do you really want to see how dumpy and brunette I am?

God. I just realized that all this time I’ve missed the point of the song “Words” by Missing Persons by thinking she’s asking “Do you see me? Do you care?” But no, it’s “Do you HEAR me?” which would make sense, since you don’t see words.

I mean, other than on a blog. Or a book. You know what I mean.


But seriously, look at her. I can’t concentrate on what she’s actually saying. Dayum. I forgot how hot she is.

Softcore History

July 8, 2010
about clancy, writing
6 Comments

I’m currently doing some research for a new novel/novella I’m writing. I actually started this story from a dream I had, but as all dreams need, there are details that have to be nailed down, hammered out, and otherwise put in their place.

As this is a historical story that I’m pretty sure will be antebellum South, I’m reading about plantations and slaves. No, it’s not a slave story. But it’s part of the life of a planter and they will figure into the plot at some stage, so I’m pawing through some fairly depressing history.

Back when I was 12 I was one of a few students that represented our school in a Texas history competition. This wasn’t because I’m so damn smart as much as my a fairly gossipy Texas history teacher who told great stories got me hooked and the rest of it just stuck. It’s the stories that are interesting, not the dates. At least, to me. And sort of the story of how we are here. Why there are so many damn German towns in Texas, things like that.

What I also discovered were a number of historical houses and tours right here in Austin. There’s even a historical reenactment place not far from my home. History is so much more interesting when you can touch it. Anyway, that’s what I’m currently up to.

Also, I’m going to fire a gun. I know, right? I live in Texas and don’t own a gun or a horse. Actually I did shoot a gun before and rode a few horses, both of which I chalk up to a misspent youth. Now I have to do it alllll over again. Once more, with feeling.

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