November 4th, 2011 | by KateDouglas |
Okay. I like to think I’m a relatively intelligent woman, but then something will happen to remind me that I ain’t nearly as smart as I thunk I are…
Those of you who follow my work might be aware of the fact that I write more than one series. Just this past week I did page proofs for CrystalFire, the final book in my Kensington Zebra DemonSlayers series, wrote another novella for my online Demon Lovers series, finished writing the first full-length novel of my Kensington Aphrodisia Dream Catchers series, and signed a contract for another series called Spirit Wild, which is also with Kensington, though I’m not sure yet which imprint. That one launches my new series of stories about the second generation of Chanku. And yes, for those fans of Wolf Tales, Lily Cheval’s tale is first.
And if you haven’t figured it out, her father Anton Cheval is a wonderful hero but he’s a real pain in the ass as father to an almost thirty year old woman, a powerful wizard in her own right.
But I digress…okay, so like every other busy author, I’m juggling a lot of stuff. There’re the website updates, the blogs I need to get written, the three to four hours’ worth of email I handle every morning, promo stuff for my publisher, Twitter, Facebook, and—oh, yeah—writing. But let’s go back a couple of weeks ago, to October 18…
I’m really moving along beautifully—Dream Bound, the first Dream Catchers novel, is half way done and due November 15 and I’m right on schedule. The story has turned out great, I’m in love with ALL the male characters and since this is Aphrodisia, they’re uniformly hot and much more fun to write than they really should be.
And then the contract for Spirit Wild comes and I’m reading through it to compare some of the terms to the contract for the Dream Catchers series. I pull out the older contract and happen to glance at the due date for the book I’m writing now.
Ever discover you’ve really REALLY screwed up? I mean, not just a little mistake, but one of monumental, “oh, I am SO fu&^ed” proportions? That feeling where the stomach doesn’t just flip over, it sort of takes a nosedive and hits the ground?
Right there, in bold print—due date says OCTOBER 15. Not November. It was, at the time, already three days late. And only half done. So I immediately contact my editor and relay my stupid move of the day, and luckily she’s running behind and said the November 15 date will work. But that means no wiggle room AT ALL for getting this sucker done.
But ya know, sometimes the muse smiles on those who are truly desperate, and this story took off until it was moving along at mach speed, and as long as I managed to keep track of which imaginary world I was working in (not all that easy when moving between worlds, ya know?) it went great. I think it’s going to be a terrific novel.
But the one that introduces Dream Bound is coming out in a few more weeks, on November 28 — Dream Catchers is my novella in the upcoming NightShift anthology. The setup for the excerpt below is fairly simple—Mac is the hero of the story, a computer geek who has fallen in love with a mysterious woman. His best friend, Dink, is gay—after a fight with a mysterious group of men, Dink goes to Mac for help. Mac knows his buddy has always loved him, but Mac’s not into guys that way…until he and Dink and Zianne spend an amazing night together. This scene is that sometimes but not always, awkward “morning after.” 
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Excerpt from Dream Catcher in the Kensington Aphrodisia NightShift Anthology:
Mac heard someone moving near the bed and slowly opened his eyes. Dink had just showered. He had a towel wrapped around his slim hips and was going through Mac’s closet, obviously looking for something to wear that wasn’t covered in blood.
There was no sign of Zianne. “Where ya goin?” Mac shoved himself up and leaned against the headboard.
Dink smiled at him, and there was so much love in that look that it made Mac feel guiltier than ever. “I’ve got a freshman class to cover for the professor. It’s almost eleven.”
“Did you see Zianne leave?”
Dink shook his head. “She was gone when I woke up.” He sat on the edge of the bed next to Mac. “That was really something, wasn’t it?” His soft laugh was filled with a sense of wonder.
Mac swallowed back a flip answer. “Definitely.” Damn, he was so screwed. “Dink? You know I love you. You know I want to do this again, but…”
Dink tilted his head and shot a lop-sided grin at Mac. “I know, Mac. You’re never going to feel the same for me that I do for you. I get that. I’m okay with it. But last night…this morning.” Slowly he shook his head. “It’s more than I ever imagined. I do hope we do it again. You okay with that?”
“You know I am.” He smiled at Dink. Then he looked closer. Where were the bruises? The split lip? The black eye? “Dink? Do you have any idea how you managed to heal so quickly? I mean, you were a mess last night and now…” His voice trailed off as Dink quickly stood.
“It was Zianne. I don’t know how, but when she touched me last night…” He shrugged and moved away from the bed. “I dunno, Mac, but if you ever figure out her story, I want the details. Hey, I’m going to borrow some of your stuff, okay? I need to get moving or I’m gonna be late.”
Obviously Dink wasn’t ready to talk about it. Mac nodded. “Meet me at Sloan’s this afternoon, okay?”
Dink nodded. “I can’t get there ‘til after four. That work for you?”
“Yeah. That’s cool.” Mac watched as Dink grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans and quietly slipped out of the bedroom. Then he flopped back down on the bed. Zianne. All the questions he had always came back to her, but why? And why, when she was near him, did he quit asking?
Shit.
She’d left last night to find something that was supposed to help him with the mess surrounding the grant, but she’d never mentioned a thing when she came back. Of course, none of them had done much talking. “Who am I kidding? The three of us didn’t talk at all.”
He sat there a moment longer, thinking of Zianne, thinking of Dink, but all of his thoughts merely confused him more. Finally Mac rolled out of bed and headed to the shower. His head was spinning, and it wasn’t from the sex. It was spinning around the mystery that was Zianne.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Dream Catcher is a stand-alone story, but it’s also the introduction to the new series. It takes place in 1992, at the dawn of the “personal computer” craze—the series starts off in the present.
Now, I’ve spilled my guts about my latest dumb move—I want to hear one of yours. C’mon…dish! You know you’ve got something in your closet! Winner will be selected from those leaving a comment—you’ll have your choice of the new NightShift anthology as soon as I get my author copies, or one of the very few ARCs for CrystalFire that just showed up a couple of days ago.
My personal Facebook page is now full, so if you get a chance I’d love it if you’d “like” my author page. It’s at http://www.facebook.com/katedouglas.authorpage and you can follow me on Twitter @wolftales
Hi Kate
Gosh you’re so busy my head is spinning. My dumb move – turning up to my friends birthday party a day late! I missed the major celebration.
by Bronwen Evans · November 4th, 2011 at 12:56 amLOL…you make me feel SO much better. This was such a stupid thing–I mean, we took a week’s vacation because I thought I still had a month to go. It was not good, though the vacation was really nice!
YOu mean your friends didn’t go ahead and celebrate AGAIN?
by KateDouglas · November 4th, 2011 at 1:05 amOmg Kate, I’m so glad it worked out for you!!!
I had an experience at a job where I booked a meeting room at a hotel and comfirmed the date with the hotel rep, she put the wrong date con the contract – I did not catch it and my supervisor did not catch it and sign. And I was the one who got blAmed and written up for it. We had to pay for the mistake because the contract was signed.
That is (was) the biggest error I’ve ever experienced. I am more careful when booking things these days!!!
Hope I can create a new tree for SW! Let me know!!!
by mischa · November 4th, 2011 at 2:58 amMy big goof up happened this past summer. I was finishing up packing for the move from
by cyndi welding · November 4th, 2011 at 7:19 amCalifornia to Texas. The movers were scheduled to pick my stuff up on a Friday morning. They called Wednesday night to ask if they could come Thursday afternoon (they were ahead of schedule). No problem, figured I’d be done packing anyway. They called again Thursday morning asking if they could come at 11am. Stupid me said yes. I was scrambling to finish up. After they came and left I kept finding stuff that should’ve gone with the movers. All the stuff I forgot to send ended up in the car with my boyfriend, my daughter, a guinea pig and cage and my self. Made for a very crowded 3 day drive to Texas.
i think you are amazing!! and i can’t to read the dream catchers series!! keep up the good work!!
trisha rupert
by TRISHA RUPERT · November 4th, 2011 at 8:54 amtrupert00@comcast.net
Kate, You are amazing! No wonder with all you’re writing, the date slipped up! My bissgest mess-up was a day I was out of the classroom at a wrokshop. My school called to ask where my sub was – I forgot to call for one! Luckily, they were able to find someone to come in about an hour later.
I’d love a copy of Crystal Fire or the NightShift anthology. Either would be wonderful. Thanks.
Maria E
by Maria E · November 4th, 2011 at 11:15 amCyndi, you reminded me of our move to Sonoma County from our home in the mountains east of Fresno–Husband went on ahead and I had to do the move on my own-ON MY 40th BIRTHDAY. And yes, we’re still married…but the move was made with a three-legged cat, an old, crippled lab, a younger really bored lab and a neurotic terrier…oh, and two kids, and it was a two day trip. Never again! Talk about traumatic.
Thanks, Trisha, but I think the descriptive word is “numb.”
Maria–how awful! What’s funny is that I remember that happening when I was a substitute teacher and would on occasion get last minute “panic” calls. That was almost forty years ago.
by KateDouglas · November 4th, 2011 at 3:54 pmFirst I have to say I’m sad that Crystalfire will be the last of the Demon slayers. And the excerpt from Dream Catcher was great, can’t wait to read it.
As far as screw ups lately. I’m usually pretty organized with my appointments but this summer. I ended up showing up a day early for a doctors appointment. At least I wasn’t late.
by JoAnna B · November 4th, 2011 at 8:47 pmYou’re right–early beats late! I planned the DemonSlayers series as a four books series so I could try writing within a complete story arc–it was a fairly new thing for me to do, and I enjoyed it. I’m planning Dream Catchers for just two books, but I think that’s because I really want to concentrate on Spirit Wild once I write the final book. I plan to start it next week, while the story line is still fresh in my mind.
by KateDouglas · November 5th, 2011 at 1:48 amLoved the excerpt! It makes me sad that the Demon Slayers series is ending but I am eager to know more about Spirit Wild and all the other great books and ideas you have in mind. A big congratulations to you for your new releases and all the books you have happening right now.
by LadyVampire · November 5th, 2011 at 3:48 amMy mistake was in my spelling. I made a birthday cake and did not spell the lady’s name right. It was for a friend’s friend that I didnt know and I was doing her a favor. lol Some favor right? But I did see my error before I handed over the cake and was able to correct it. The extra piping and designs on the cake made it look even better afterward and no one knew about my mishap.
LadyVamp–that is so easy to do! I used to do a lot of calligraphy for awards and such, and sometimes you get so caught up in the art that you miss the details–like spelling. Glad you were able to fix it!
by KateDouglas · November 5th, 2011 at 12:04 pmSO glad it waorked out for you. I can’t wait for the next generation of Chanuk stories. These have been great reading. SO glad we do not have to say goodbye to them. Love the excerpts of the new books. One of my biggest mishaps was arriving 1 week early for my mom and dad’s anniversary party and not even remembering they were still on vacation. So stupid. Left their gift on the kitchen counter with a note to them about remembering the time. They are still laughing about that one.
by Marie Lisk · November 5th, 2011 at 12:15 pmOh, Kate – ouch! As a paralegal, scheduling is a big part of the job, but occasionally…We have 3 courthouses nearby. I sent my boss to one of them (interrupting depositions) at 11:00 am, not 2:00 pm. By the time he got back to our office, everyone had scattered for lunch; the out-of-town attorney was not reachable by phone, and by the time we finally corralled the parties, it was too late to finish the last hour of the depo and he had to go back for his hearing. To top it off, the judge then moved the hearing back an hour and he had to sit in the courtroom and stew…
Truly bad day! lol
by KimG · November 5th, 2011 at 12:21 pmYou have been a very busy person. Congratulations on the upcoming release and contract. The two cover pictures here are amazing, and I enjoyed the excerpt.
Lets see, honestly I am the type of person who has a lot of dumb moments, but when they are good they are great. Something though that I really messed up on was sending out a birthday present to someone and sent it to the wrong address. Thankfully though it got sent back, and made it there in time for her birthday. Something little I do all the time is forget that I have ethics homework due about 10 minutes before the deadline.
by Tiffany K · November 5th, 2011 at 12:44 pmok you are so busy right now that you make me want to do more! lol
i love that you are writing so much,cant wait on the wolf tales series.cant say that i have read deamon slyater sreies yet! i would to,just have to make time! and i really want to read nightshifer it looks great!! thank you for all of your wonderful books! and congrats on the new grand baby!!
by mandy · November 5th, 2011 at 12:53 pmMy goof up is also time related. The govern’t wants their money on time. Always. After 14 years of looking after my husbands business books (he’s self employed) I woke up at 2am one tday to realize that I was 2 days late with a remittance. I was SICK about it. I emailed our accountant to ask what to do, what to do. WHAT TO DO. He (laughing privately I’m sure) told me to send it in and the govern’t would either assess me a penalty or not. But either way, they’d let me know. And no, I wouldn’t go to jail this time. LOL
by Peggy · November 5th, 2011 at 12:56 pmWell you know my goof. Wasn’t paying attention and I lost my wallet. I just didn’t need that added stress but I think it’s basically “someone” trying to tell me that life is mostly out of my control.
But Kate… I wanna be in controllllllllll! Wahhhhhh!
Some goofs are manageable…others, not so much. Happy that it worked out for you tho’!
by Jay · November 5th, 2011 at 1:52 pmI would love to have a Crystalfire Arc.
by Colleen Wright · November 5th, 2011 at 3:36 pmJust reading about all that you juggle is enough to make me feel a little tired.
Most recently, my daughter has been busy with advanced classes and on the cross country team. Being a teen means that she sometimes procrastinates on top of the busy schedule she holds. After a particularly exhausting practice, she was unable to finish studying for a test being given on the next day in one of her classes. I agreed to wake her early, so she could do last minute cramming. Then, I failed to set my alarm clock to the new time to awaken. Boy, did I get my fill of angsty, hormonal, teenage tirades that morning. She received an A on the exam, by the way…largely because we parents are kind of stern about keeping up with normal class stuff. But I did feel like the worst mom in the world for awhile.
by Little Lamb Lost · November 5th, 2011 at 6:20 pmMs kate … u could never do any wrong .. ok so u a few daysbehind .. with all u have going on .. u are amazing in all ways possible and all ur hard works edit thoughts nothing has gone unoticed .. but cherished .. I have them both on preorder on mya nook
but id love whichever one u give me .. can’t wait for ur excerpts oand reality of spirit wild to come out tho …
Anxiously waiting and always loving .. jc : ) :*
by j c · November 6th, 2011 at 6:29 amHI Kate – so glad it all worked out. My lastest screw up was not really so bad cuz it did work out. I had 2 Dr appts and 1 dentist appt all in the same week – Dr’s both at 9:15am and the dentist was at 8:15am – bright me, got confused and showed up at the dentist at 9 – they were great about it and saw me anyway.
Would love either book, NightShift or the ARC of CrystalFire.
Enjoy your down time with the Grsndkids.
by Robin Shafer · November 6th, 2011 at 12:23 pmI’m late catching up–but the ms. went off via email to my editor last night, so I can now think about the next book!
And I love reading about everyone’s screw ups–so nice to know I’m not alone. And Robin, I did that with a doctor’s appointment a while back–had two scheduled and showed up an hour early for the first one, thinking it was the other appt. Felt like a complete idiot…
Thanks, jc…you’re always such a sweetie!
LLL…that’s where you’re supposed to remind your daughter that it’s HER test and HER responsibility. You have no reason to feel guilty!
Though I understand–you’re a mom. Guilt comes with the title!
Jay, you ARE in control when you get my first drafts. I listen to all your suggestions, don’t I?
Sort of… so sorry about the wallet. That sucks.
Peggy, I’ve done that with our quarterly taxes. TOTALLY missed the date–the one that throws me off every time is June. I think it should be July. You’d think I’d know better by now!
Thanks, Mandy. You really should give DemonSlayers a chance. I think the stories are a hoot–not as dark and angsty as Wolf Tales, but the characters are fun.
I think of them as “demon lite.”
Tiffany–you’re lucky you got the gift back! And think of it this way–homework done in a rush is sometimes better than the stuff you agonize over. At least that’s what I tell myself when a deadline is looming and the book’s nowhere near done.
KimG, I think you win on the screw ups! Sheesh…I bet you wanted to crawl in a hole by the end of that mess! Poor baby…you have my sympathies.
Marie, that’s funny, though remembering early is probably better than forgetting until too late!
by KateDouglas · November 6th, 2011 at 1:37 pmAs u can see im full of faults … completely not answering ur questioning and just blabbing .. to one and all im just a left foot tripping over right foot human of sorts … xoxxoxo ms Kate
by j c · November 6th, 2011 at 2:09 pmI don’t want the ARC, lol, Kate you know why…
The stupidest thing I have ever done… Wow only you Kate can get this shit out of me.
This was about 12 years ago I was a teller at SunTrust and when I went to leave work I couldn’t find my keys, now everyone is watching me walk to my car (security) so I just keep walking thinking WTF? I get to the car and not only are the keys in it the car is running!!! At least I didn’t lock it but yeah I went out for lunch and just jumped put of my car with the keys still in it, the engine still running, and I had just filled the damn thing up and had gone threw a whole tank of gas!
by Nicole M · November 6th, 2011 at 4:31 pmNot faults at all, jc, and I always look forward to your posts. Thank you!
Oh. Wow. Nicole…there are no words. Well, none that we can print, anyway!
You’re lucky the car was still there when you got back! Sheesh….I’m gonna remember this one. Definitely! 
by KateDouglas · November 6th, 2011 at 6:04 pmYup one of my extremely blond moments
by Nicole M · November 7th, 2011 at 12:37 amok so the dombest thing i´ve done.
once my mother asked me to be her escort to a wedding, she was so excited about the thing that i had to say yes no matter that i didn´t know a single soul on the event.
long story short we took separate rides to the wedding when i got there i enter the salon and took a sit half way to dinner my mother still wasn´t there, so i went to the bride and groom congratulate them and asked them about my mom ( the groom was one of my mom´s coworkers) any way when i asked about her, he said he hadn´t seeing her.
so i sat again finished eating and danced with a guy that asked me too, like half hour later my mother texted me asking where i was.
and i said at the wedding she said she´s been waiting for me for hours and to met her at the lobby.
imagine my shock when i was at the door and she came from the opposite side of the hotel.
That day i crashed my first wedding, she ROTFL all the way to the actual wedding and told everyone abot it.
dumbest thing i´ve ever did lol!!!
by Karla H.C. · November 7th, 2011 at 6:53 pmNicole:
Karla, that’s hysterical! Did you ever figure out who’s wedding you went to first?
by KateDouglas · November 7th, 2011 at 7:34 pmKate, I need a nap just reading all you are doing. lol
Biggest mistake I made that I can think of right now was a few years ago we had just moved into a new apartment building and we were the 5th apartment in a row of 9. I was walking by my open window one night and thought I would play a prank on my daughter and hubby and from the outside I threw open the curtains and screamed.
The 4 people inside screamed and started running at me. I had screamed into the wrong apartment window! and scared the holy cauliflower out of everyone in the apartment. LOL My apartment was right next door…the very next one and when my hubby heard me scream and heard the others screaming he came running out and I was just mortified and trying to explain what happened.
Afterwards they all found it funny and would razz me about it when they saw me, but omg I was so embarassed that night.
by Mary Kirkland · November 8th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Mary…that would just make me want to curl up and die of embarrassment! Sheesh…I BET you were embarrassed! 
by KateDouglas · November 9th, 2011 at 12:21 amOkay, guys…time to announce winners–and yes, I’m picking two of you. My random number picker came up with 13 and 27, so that’s Kim G. and Karla H.C.
Drop me a note at katedouglas13@gmail.com and let me know what book you want–choices for this blog are either an ARC of CrystalFire or a copy of the NightShift anthology when I get my author copies, which should be any day now. (and I’ve sent you emails as well)
Thanks, everyone for stopping by!
by KateDouglas · November 9th, 2011 at 4:53 pmShucks
CONGRATULATIONS! !
and ENJOY
by j c · November 9th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
I have made so many I can’t remember.
by Tracy Nickels · November 10th, 2011 at 2:10 pmOooo love Night Shift! Want it, want it! Okay, when I
discovered Wolf Tales I ordered WT 5. Had to get 1-4
plus the Sexy Beasts. Don’t know if that was a dumb
move or not.