Phew! Finished!

[alex_beecroft]

Yay! Boys of Summer first draft is FINISHED!!! Woohoo!

64168 / 60000

Complete with horribly sappy romantic ending that may not make any sense, but I don't care because it's OVER! FREE, I'm free at last!  I owe myself chocolate and at least one day off :)

I didn't really enjoy writing this one - my first and probably only contemporary. There weren't enough alien invasions, pirates, warships, elves, weevils, tricorns or dragons.  However, I will now put it away for a short while so that when I come back and read it I can see what it needs to make it the best contemporary I can do.  I do love the characters, though; Darren and Tony, and Krissy and her family, and Caroline, and Kyle, Mrs. Goodchilde, Mr. Stokes and even Max, the villain.  Maybe Darren and Tony can get a sequel where they have to save the Queen from mutant, time travelling, octopii?

Meantime, what should I do with this book now that I've got it?  It's likely to be at least 70k once it's polished, if not 80K, and isn't at all explicit at the moment, though there are several places where a sex scene could go if required.  I can try and see if an agent wants it, or I can add sex scenes and see if MLR Press want it, or I can see if Samhain wants it with or without sex scenes.  I suppose the first thing is to try and find out if it's any good.  Anyone fancy giving it the once over for massive plot holes and things that make no sense?

Comments

[mrs-norrington.livejournal.com]

*claps wildly* Good for you!

Off to work now. There seriously needs to be a book about an archivist. LOL I don't know how you'd make it exciting, sexy, etc. but there should be one. ;)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

*G* Thank you! Isn't Ianto Jones an archivist? It depends what the archives are archives of - they could be archives of spellbooks or something :)

[mrs-norrington.livejournal.com]

I forgot about him, though I can't recall if he's actually done much archiving as it were. I know they say he's the archivist (is that canon or fanon?).

Spellbooks could be interesting or some major historical conspiracy ala Indiana Jones. ;) A girl woul be fun in this case (Though God please not be played by Angelina Jolie. Am I the only one that doesn't like her much?), who can still kick butt but has brains too without being too Elizabeth Swann-unrealistic.

And no, I don't plan on writing that anytime soon as my brain doesn't work with the needed puzzle/conspiracy, so no one start in on me writing it! ;)

RE: Angelina

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

I liked her as Lara Croft, but beyond that, I could take or leave her. Home-wrecker. :-P

Marian from the first two series of Robin Hood would probably fit the bill for ass-kicking intelligent female that isn't Mary Sue Swannish.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Go you!!!

There weren't enough alien invasions, pirates, warships, elves, weevils, tricorns or dragons.

Hey, that's a chief complaint of mine in general. :)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

LOL! Thank you :) I don't think I'm cut out to write literary fiction about people's real life problems - not unless it can be done in alliterative verse, anyway!

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Anyone fancy giving it the once over for massive plot holes and things that make no sense?
yes?

and congratulations on completing it!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

It's a deal! If you send me an email at alex@alexbeecroft.com I'll email a copy to you. Hee! Thank you so much!

[(Anonymous)]

You know your EXCELLENT work always has a home at MLR Press -- if it fits the erotic part of erotic romance, Alex! xoxox Laura

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Ooh! That would be wonderful, Laura! In that case when I do the second draft I will put the sex scenes in in the places I left for them, and submit it to you :) Thank you so much!

[the-sea-to.livejournal.com]

Congrats me lovely!

And thanks ;) I have assaulted the macaronis!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yes, I saw! I've been trying to get over there to comment all evening. In fact, instead of doing this, why don't I do that?

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Whoot! Congrats!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Vashtan! It's nice to have something new in hand, and also nice to know I can turn my attention to Dragon of the Fen, which has been clamouring at me, without feeling guilty about not finishing this one first :)

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

I'm exactly like that. It's like growing teeth in a shark - you've hardly started using one row, then the next one's already pushing. Jeeez, what a stress. :) It's even worse when one project's well under way and then for some reason you have to re-write and edit something you just finished. Gah!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! Especially as I tend to lose interest in anything I've just finished, almost instantly. I'm looking to the next thing - and if I haven't got a next thing to look forward to, then it feels like writer's block even if I'm actually working on something.

[sarahf.livejournal.com]

Oh good God, yes, please! Me! Me! Pick me!

Although I'm quite swamped, so it'd take two weeks or so to definitely give you feedback.

And I'd suggest Samhain, but I'm biased.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

LOL! Thank you! Do I have your email address, so I can send it to you?

Two weeks or more is absolutely fine :) The Easter holidays start on Monday for two weeks, so I will be busy trying to keep my children occupied and I'd be doing no writing anyway. So that's excellent timing, in fact. Thank you!

[penster.livejournal.com]

Congrats!!! Treat yourself to something fun; you deserve it!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Thank you! There's a little shop in Ely which does hand made chocolates to die for, so I think I will treat myself to one of their £5 boxes, where you choose each chocolate individually ;) It's very decadent!

[wulfila.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! :) Enjoy your day off and your chocolate - you deserve both.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And I can take some books back to the library at the same time, which are over two weeks overdue! Then I will come back and answer your email :)

[delaese.livejournal.com]

NO WEEVILS!?

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I know! I felt very deprived :)

[delaese.livejournal.com]

How does that saying go? See no weevil, hear no weevil, eat no weevil...?

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Two weevils sat on the professor
The small one became the agressor
When it bit through his hide
The professor, he died
Though it was of two weevils the lesser
(can't remember where I learnt that, but it was when I was about 10!)

[delaese.livejournal.com]

ROFLMAO!! Oh that's precious!!! We have weevils here, though I'm not sure what kind they are - they're sort of sand coloured with HUGE eyes and HUGE feet. They look for all the world as if they are wearing sunglasses and snowshoes.

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[adn-heming.livejournal.com]

Aw, Marnie, congratulations! <3

I would like to take a look at it, depending on when you need it by. (sorry---Library Diploma is kicking my arse. To be specific, MARC [Machine readable code].

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It's nice to have a few days in prospect where I don't have to be thinking about writing. (Though I have started to research my Norman book.) Still, a change is as good as a rest.

Would you like me to send it to you, or would you like me to wait a bit until you've got a bit more free time? I don't want to end up just giving you work you don't need! Thanks for the offer though :)

[adn-heming.livejournal.com]

Yes, please, do send it over! I would not call it "work." I would call it "fun" and possibly "link to sanity." 8} I have some breathing room in Easter, and I need to do writing things, and I would like to read your stuff. I think I can finish it by May, if that's cool? But if you have another deadline you'd like me to work towards, I can work towards that. :)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh that sounds great! I can't work on it for the next fortnight anyway, so May won't be that far off by the time I can write again :) Thank you! Do I have your email address, so I can send it to you?

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

HUZZAH!

ANd, btw, I would read that sequel with the time travelling octopii, and not just because I love your writing. That just sounds like the crackiest crack that ever cracked. And I would pay good money for it, lolz ;-)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

LOL! Thank you :) And yes, there's just not enough crack fiction out there in the world. (Though have you seen the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/) book? I'm very tempted to buy it :)

[pearly-dreams.livejournal.com]

Yay!!! Bit delayed here, but YAY!! Congratulations. ^^ I really need to get my hands on your published stuff some day... preferably soon... *mopes*

Anyway!! Good on you!!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

*g* Thank you! Well, you know I won't discourage you from that decision ;) If you had to choose between the two, I would definitely say 'go for False Colors', as it's better, longer *and* cheaper! :)

[pearly-dreams.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd buy False Colors even if I didn't know you (as it were). Its just right up my alley. ^^

[hms-dauntless.livejournal.com]

Anyone fancy giving it the once over for massive plot holes and things that make no sense?
Of course !! Count me in ! :)

[so kind of you to offer such a wonderful pretext ;) ]

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

LOL! Hurray! And thank you! I will send it out to you right now. Though it may come as a bit of a shock, what with Darren's foul mouth, and not a single tall ship in sight (though there is a motor yacht ;) )

[feed-your-muse.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Whoop-whoop! Bit delayed - away form LJ for 6 days and people wrote lots! Who knew?

Merry

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

*g* Thanks, Merry! Yes, I was determined to get it finished before today, as it's the Easter school holidays for two weeks now, and that would have taken me half way through April before I could have started again. Now I will write nothing at all for two weeks :)