I have an editor and he’s great. He checks my spelling, grammar, verb tense, etcetera. That’s important, right?
Well, he just showed me that he’s worth his weight in gold!!
For the first time ever, I wrote a complete (10K-word) story that I just wasn’t sure worked. That’s a lot of time and effort on something I wasn’t sure would ever amount to anything! Sure I’ve worked on things and then abandoned them. Who hasn’t. But while working on them, I believed in them 100%. Until, of course, I didn’t believe in them anymore.
But this time, I was unsure right from the start.
Why did I keep working on it?
Because there was something there. I just knew it.
I can write characters that readers feel for. I can write snappy dialogue. I can certainly write sexy scenes! But a mystery? Where I needed levels of… mystery stuff? Where things all needed to add up? Where readers are going to pick every little detail apart? I may have more than my share of personal insecurities, but I never lack confidence in what I create.
So for the first time ever, I asked someone (my editor) to read a story that I wrote THAT WAS STILL IN PROGRESS! I hadn’t “signed off” on it. I NEVER let anyone read my work until it’s completed. My husband doesn’t see anything until it’s done. My creative co-workers don’t see anything until I’m finished with it. NO ONE sees ANYTHING that I create until it’s done.
Now, it would be very writerly of me to say that I sent it off to him with great trepidation. But that’s just not true. I couldn’t wait to send it off to him! To have him shoot all of the holes into it that he could! Why? Because I know that he has my work’s best interests at heart. He will read the story, comment, and the story will be so much better because of his input.
I sent it off.
Then checked my email about every hour for the rest of the day. A few times in the middle of the night. First thing in the morning. Part of me thought that maybe – just maybe – he would say my story was kind of crappy and that I should just stick with what I know. But that was only a small part of me. I knew that there was something there and I knew that he would see that, too.
That’s the trust and faith that I have in him.
Fifteen hours and forty-three minutes later, I got his assessment of my latest story.
He liked it!
And he shot holes into it from start to finish.
I haven’t started rewriting the story, yet, but I read through his comments and he’s right about most of them. A few things that he commented about were things that will make sense in future parts of this series (yeah, I was confident enough that there was something in there that warranted a series out of me), so I probably won’t change those, but he made a lot of good points.
It just goes to show how important an editor is. Even one that has sent back more than a couple stories with the comment “I have no edits.” I still want him to read everything I write before it “goes live” to the readers.
Now, of course, I can’t leave you without a little sexy teaser!!
Here’s part of the “Akari Series” that I’ve just started working on.
Akari stepped towards her, wrapped her arms around Maureen’s waist, and kissed her. Then Akari slowly lifted Maureen’s shirt up and off of her. She reached back around Maureen and unhooked her bra, slid the straps down her long arms, and released Maureen’s small but full breasts. Akari stared at them both for a moment, and then placed a tiny delicate kiss on the tip of each nipple as Maureen purred deep in her chest.
Then Akari unbuttoned and unzipped Maureen’s pants, letting them fall to the floor. Akari placed both of her hands on Maureen’s slim hips and knelt down in front of her. She gently rubbed her nose against the triangle of cotton between Maureen’s thighs, lingering for a delicious moment to enjoy the musky scent of her lover’s sex, then gave it, too, a tiny delicate kiss and stood back up.
With Akari still in her boots and Maureen just in socks, they were closer in height, but still Akari looked up while Mareen looked down and their eyes locked. Their noses touched. Their breath mingled. Without releasing each other’s gaze, Akari and Maureen worked together to wriggle Maureen’s panties down past her buttocks and then they joined the pants pooled around Maureen’s feet.
“Are you ready for your striptease,” Akari sighed into Maureen’s half-open mouth.
“Yes,” Maureen breathed into Akari’s.
Unblinking, the two girls stared into each other’s eyes. Maureen’s placid and steadfast. Akari’s deep and mysterious.
And then Maureen saw a tiny twitch in her girlfriend’s eyes and before she knew it, Maureen had been thrown back onto the bed. “I’ll be right back,” Akari told her as she ran from the room.
In anticipation, Maureen scrambled under the covers and propped herself up on a couple of pillows.
Less than a minute later, Maureen heard the clomping of workboots and then Akari trotted back into the room with her portable radio. She placed it on the dresser, searched the dial for a few moments, and finally landed on a sexy love song. She turned around with a seductive half-smile on her lips and looked at Maureen lying in bed and her smile froze. “You already started?”
Maureen grinned a toothy grin, one hand underneath the sheet and stuffed between her outstretched legs. “Yup! Now get on with the strippin’!”
I hope you enjoyed that!
Love,
Frey