SCREENWRITING How do you decide?

I'm trying something new...namely...making a screenplay adaptation of one of my novels, and I'd like the input of people who've done it before...not just writing a screenplay from scratch, but adapting a finished product into the shorter format of the screenplay. I know plenty of people who write them from scratch, but that's a different process, in my mind.

My question is, how do you decide what to cut? I mean... I can see some things that don't need to translate to the screen or that won't translate well. I'm cutting down characters, events to the bare minimum to keep the story... And, I'm still running longer than friends in the business say I should be running, so... When push comes to shove, how do you decide what to keep and what not to? I've always been better at adding than deleting storyline, so this is difficult for me.

Oh...and I love this link a friend sent me.
http://theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com/2007/03/does-one-page-really-one-minute.html

So, what do you say, folks? How do you decide?

Phaze NEWS

NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!

First, I have a new release from Phaze. FATES MAGIC is a short story set in a new world for me, a world of magic users, governed by Fate and her sister Chaos. It might seem like a balance, but it's really a war. When one pushes, the other pushes back. You can get this story in e-book from Phaze.

Second... The re-edited reissue of LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE (which went on sale from the original publisher, eXtasy Books, in February 2003 (March 2003 for the SECOND SON portion of the release), went off sale in June 2006 and went back on sale with Phaze in July 2008) promptly took #1 bestselling e-book for Phaze in July 2008 (and was the bestseller for eXtasy when it released there...and for a bit at Fictionwise, as well, back in 2003). For the first time ever, this book is available in both e-book and print from Phaze. And thank you to my readers for making this possible! I love you all!

Happy dancing today!

change of title

You may notice that one of my titles has recently changed.

Originally, Gregory L. Norris and I were going to do an anthology of revisited (i.e. urban fantasy), unsanitized Grimms' tales titled ONCE UPON A TIME...YESTERDAY. When all was said and done, we'd each come up with between 65K and 75K of work for the anthology. They were all fabulous stories, and Greg's were interconnected, which meant we couldn't just drop anything out. So, rather than release a single 140K monster of a book, Terri at UTM decided to release two separate anthologies--one of Greg's work and one of mine, connected by theme.

Long story short? We obviously didn't want to have two books with a single title, and Greg's portion fit better with the YESTERDAY part, since his contains a time travel to the past and a generational type of story, including both past and present. All of my stories are set in the current time or thereabouts. After much deliberation, Terri decided that Greg would keep ONCE UPON A TIME...YESTERDAY, and my anthology will be titled ONCE UPON A TIME...TODAY.

UPDATED release schedule

You're going to notice some changes, of course. I have tentative dates for TYGERS and all the Grimms' stories I've written from UTM, for instance.

You'll notice that I have at least one release a month from July 2008 through March 2009. The Fall/Winter releases should end up somewhere in that range, as well. That comes out to 14 releases in 9 months. One of the down sides to having so many publishers is that they may all schedule you at the same time. It's never been this bad before, but...hey. It happens. I may have to push a few back a bit. So, stand by for more changes.

July 2008:

Last Chance for Love (K1) in e-book and print from Phaze

August 2008:

Fates Magic (FW1) from Phaze

September 2008:

Rites of Mating (K2) from Phaze

October 2008:

Matchmaker's Misery (K3) from Phaze

"Catch Me, If You Can" from Mojocastle/UTM e

November 2008:

Double Image (K4) from Phaze

TYGERS from UTM

December 2008:

"Three Wishes" from Mojocastle/UTM e

Fall/Winter 2008:

Written In The Stars (SM1) from Mundania Press, LLC.

"One-Hour Burial" in Pretty Scary from Dark Hart Press

January 2009:

Restrained (K5) from Phaze

February 2009:

"The Temptation of Eve" from Mojocastle/UTM e

March 2009:

Alien Encounters (K6) from Phaze

Once Upon A Time...Today in print from UTM (includes "Catch Me, If You Can," "Three Wishes," and "The Temptation of Eve")

Spring/Summer 2009:

Monsters of Myth from Mundania Press, LLC.

"Melting The Ice Queen" in Forbidden Love: Fire and Ice from UTM

Renegade's Run (REN2) from UTM

More coming soon!

NEW REVIEW

NEW REVIEW!

https://www.darkangelreviews.com/Last_Chance_for_Love.html

"LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE is an ambitious, lengthy Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance that truly delivers! Ms. Lyons does an excellent job of creating the world of Kegin, giving it customs, mores, language and life while keeping it believable and realistic. Her character creation is also fantastic as even secondary characters are well rounded and ready to jump off the pages. The plot contains mystery, romance, adventure, betrayal, redemption and love—both for mates and family. I really loved the depth of this story, it was engrossing and although too long to read in one sitting, I was always anxious to return and find out what happened next. Each section had new facets to recommend it; Susan and Jole's story sets the stage and setting and I feel is the most romantic, Mik and Danellan's story the most heartwarming, Alex and Lyssa's is the most exciting and Pyter's the most heartbreaking. The romance is exciting, sensual and sexy and although graphic I truly would consider LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE to be erotic romance as opposed to erotica. Since this is touted as Book One, I can honestly say I am looking forward to reading Book Two as I would be very happy to revisit this world again!"
Reviewed by Sandi Potterton for Dark Angel Reviews 4.5 Pixies!

To purchase LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE, now available in both print and e-book, visit Phaze!

first time in print

Not me, of course. I've been in print a few dozen times now. No, I'm talking about one of my best-loved worlds (Kegin) and books (LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE). A Dream Realm Award Finalist in 2003, the book has been re-edited and now includes the matching novella SECOND SON. For the first time ever, this book has released in print from PHAZE! An e-book version is also available, for those who didn't catch the stories the first time around and prefer e-book.

What's the story with Kegin? Simply put, Kegin is separated into several distinct timelines...the legendary/mythological Kegin stories, the historical Kegin stories (including THE LAST OF FION'S DAUGHTERS and CONQUEST), and the contemporary Kegin stories (including LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE).

In the contemporary timeline, Kegin is a world fighting back genetic decay and attempting to cross-breed genetically-strong women to save their world.That wouldn't be quite so traumatic to the women if they knew what they were and were raised to the idea, but they weren't. Once they reach adulthood, the age of 20, they are brought through the gateway to Kegin on the next gateway cycle and presented to their mates, problematic at best...and all the worse when the American government becomes aware that there are aliens living on Earth.

The current game plan is to release the next 6 books in the series in quick succession, so those who've started with LCFL and RITES OF MATING (EPPIE Finalist 2006) will get a chance to find out 'what happens next?'!

sharing the MUSE SALON

Okay...everyone has been after me for pictures since I announced that my new office was finally finished, and since Rob just helped me get the new doors up (thank the puppy for me NEEDING new doors) and the art hung, here she is...

The entire space is about 8'x12' or so. As you can see, I have heavy folding doors to close the room off from the rest of the house.

The entire left wall is covered with bookshelves of course.

If you've ever wondered how I organize myself, the last bookshelf is a half-size. On it, there's the Love-Me Shelf and two shelves of current research material and written scenes/stories. In addition, I have boxes and shelves (elsewhere) of finished drafts and edits.

In front of the bookshelves, I have my reading chair and the hand-woven rug Rob bought me in Bahrain in 1992 or so. I've been waiting all these years to have a place worthy of displaying it!

Above the organization shelves, I have the single window in my office, capped off with a lace curtain and a rose quartz drop (unfortunately still partly-covered in paint tape...snicker). To the right of the window, I have a picture of the muse. The picture is an ink drawing by the wonderful Robert Quill! If you haven't checked out his work, you should.

The right wall starts off with a set of heavy shelves that contain my promo gear and supplies. Draped on it is a Celtic cross shawl that Rob bought me in Scotland in 1996. I've always hung this in my office space.

To the left of that is my half-size file cabinet, and above that...THE ACCOLADE, topped with a second lace curtain. Rob bought the painting for me in 2001, and it has hung in every office since then.

The centerpiece of the room is the computer desk, a huge corner desk that usually houses both my desktop computer and the laptop. As you can see, the laptop is away from the desk, at the moment.

Along the wall behind the right side of the desk, there is a picture of my youngest and her 'twin cousin,' what my sister and I refer to as our 'bookend babies,' one of the three fairies I've attached to the walls, a picture of Rob and I when we were dating, a plaque of the Irish Blessing that I've hung in every house we've owned since 1994 (I bought it when I was pregnant with my oldest), and my two inspirational pieces to keep me motivated.

For anyone who doesn't know, the 'inspirational piece' on the left is a fan letter from 2004 that so touched me, I still have it hanging on the wall. The one on the right is a couple of mentions I got in magazines, my first Romantic Times review, and the printout of Oct 17, 2003 (when Fion's Daughter and Second Son were #1 and #2 rated in erotic at Fictionwise...and Emma Holly's Menage was #3).

Above the left side of the desk (the far wall of the room), I have my animals (have to bring the skunk my youngest keeps trying to steal back down from my bedroom) as well as a couple of my certificates for finaling in awards.

The crowning glory of the room is the leopard painting hanging above the desk. This has a particularly fond place in my heart, at the moment. When Rob took me on vacation for our 20th anniversary this month, he actually bought the painting off the walls of our first hotel room at Adventure Suites, just because I liked it.

And THAT...is the grande tour! Now you know how I work...nice and cozy in my little nook...when I'm not on the edge of the couch with a lap desk.

Brenna

summer news part 1

It's been a while, and I'm just getting back online. So, what's been going on with me?

The last month of school for the kids is always a mess, of course (chorus, band, track and field, academic league, math league, etc.)...and add to that four of the five household members with the flu, medical emergencies, conferring on cover art, doing edits for books coming out soon, orthodontists, and so on...

You'd think summer would be a relief, but it's not...unfortunately. I always have grand plans of visiting my sister and getting writing and editing done, but it never quite works out that way. I love her dearly and wouldn't have her any other way, but vacations with Lisa always end up as working vacations. To top it, we couldn't go outside the house much, because there were two wildfires (including the Dismal Swamp burning) that meant you couldn't see the next block.

Being home, strange as it seems, is more relaxing than vacation. As per my doctor's instructions, I'm trying to both work out and keep the stress down. Among other things, that includes a daily walk in the park with the kids...

After almost two impossible weeks of trying to get online at Lisa's (imagine 12 people, two of them professional writers, trying to share a single online computer...wince), I came home full of plans to write and edit.

Read part two to find out what happened next!

NEWS UDATE! BIG NEWS!

Kegin fans will be happy to hear that the series is coming back out with Phaze books, new and old works both. You can already purchase The Last of Fion's Daughters in both e-book and print and Conquest in e-book. But the plan is to release the other six books over the next 9 months! All that waiting just paid off!

Coming first! LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE (for existing fans, the new re-edited version contains SECOND SON, couched into its proper place in the time line). LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE (Dream Realm finalist 2003) will be releasing in e-book and print the second week of July 2008, so mark your calendars.



Next up... RITES OF MATING (EPPIE finalist 2006) is currently scheduled to release mid-September 2008.



Which brings us to the new works... MATCHMAKER'S MISERY is scheduled for Halloween 2008 weekend.



DOUBLE IMAGE is scheduled for a Thanksgiving 2008 release.



RESTRAINED is slated to release just after the New Year (2009).



Leaving ALIEN ENCOUNTERS, coming the second week of March 2009! Can't wait to see them up, and I know the readers have been asking for a long, long time! Told you I was working on it.



Now, what else is in the works? A ton, of course. I'll have a lot of cover art to share in coming months, but here's the updated information, as I have it, at the moment.

FATES MAGIC, the first Fates War story, is scheduled to release in e-book from Phaze the first week of August 2008! That's right. I started a new series. Three new series, actually, but the first stories/books in the other two series are on submission, at the moment, so I have no release news for them.

Big news for people who've known me a while. One of the two new worlds on submission is on submission to an agent. That's right. I'm trying the agent route again. In all fairness, I have nothing against agents. Never have, but the last time I tried them (2002), I was a first-time author pitching two books (well, three, since one was a serial novel of two books) that came in at 214K collectively for the serial and 156K for the stand-alone novel (which is now a series). They didn't know what to do with me. Now, I've got more than 60 publications under my belt, awards, a dozen existing universes I've created and am pursuing series in (13, counting the newest that just turned into a series on me...grinning)... It's time to try the agent route again, I think.

The newest word on ONCE UPON A TIME...YESTERDAY (co-written with Gregory L. Norris) is that the individual stories in the anthology will be releasing as e-books from Mojocastle Press, one per month. At the end of the eight months, it will be releasing in print from Under The Moon. No word yet on the start date for those e-book releases.

There's also no updated information on the release schedule for the Renegades series from UTM (TYGERS and EPPIE 2005 finalist RENEGADE'S RUN) or for CAPA 2004 finalist WRITTEN IN THE STARS and my straight-genre MONSTERS OF MYTH from Mundania Press.

I've been accepted to another great Dark Hart Press anthology, PRETTY SCARY. My piece is another of my straight-genre works, "One-Hour Burial." I don't have an exact date, but I know the book is supposed to release in the late fall of 2008! Cover art for all unscheduled books will be posted, as soon as I have it to post.

Keep reading. Lots of news coming soon.

UPDATE Been A While

It's been a while, and I have a lot of news. So, what is there to update everyone on?

To the Kegin lovers! I have the release dates for the next two Kegin novels from Phaze. LAST CHANCE FOR LOVE (which now includes the novella SECOND SON) is releasing in July 2008. RITES OF MATING is releasing in September 2008. For those who don't recall, LCFL is my Dream Realm finalist from 2003, and ROM is one of my two EPPIE finalists from 2006. Alessia is coordinating the covers with me, and they are looking hot so far.

In addition, "In Her Ladyship's Service" is submitted to COMING TOGETHER: AT LAST (to benefit Amnesty International). I won't know whether or not it made the cut for a few months, but Kegin fans will see it out again, come hook or come crook.

To the Night Warriors lovers! All nine books, new and old, of the Night Warriors world, both Warrior books and Beast books, are signed to Mundania Press. No release dates yet, but that's where you'll see them coming out.

A new world! FATE MAGIC (Fate War Series) has signed to Phaze for their OZ Heat Sheets and will be releasing in October 2008, which makes it my official birthday release of the year. For those new to this, the first book I have scheduled for October each year is my "official" birthday release. The second release in this world, CHAOS MAGIC is WIP (work in progress) at the moment.

A new world! Yes, another one! "Claim Mate" (Born Investigator Series) is submitted to COMING TOGETHER: AGAINST THE ODDS (to benefit Autism Speaks). Again, I won't know if I've made the cut or not for a few months. Mysteries aren't really my strongest suit, but it's a mystery set in space, so I may make an impression. The second from this world, as yet untitled (which you don't hear me say often), is WIP.

As you can probably tell, I support the COMING TOGETHER anthologies, as much as possible. I'm so proud of "The Fire God's Woman," my piece in COMING TOGETHER: UNDER FIRE (to benefit the victims of the SO. CA. Wildfires of 2007).

I'm not an author in COMING TOGETHER: FOR THE CURE, but I have to note that it just took finalist in Next Generation's Indie Book Awards' anthology category and won the erotica category. KUDOS to all the authors involved, the editors, publisher, et. al.

To the Renegades lovers! I don't have any news for you, unfortunately. Last news on both the Renegades Series and my co-authored (with Gregory L. Norris) urban fantasy erotic romance anthology, ONCE UPON A TIME...YESTERDAY, was that they were with the artists for both covers and the internal art. Can't wait to see what they come up with, but I admit to being antsy. I'll let you know as soon as I have a fairly firm date for releases.

Another new sale! "One-Hour Burial," a straight-genre horror story, sold to the PRETTY SCARY anthology, being released late summer by Dark Hart Press. This anthology is all female horror writers.

Another submission! "Comfort Food," a straight-genre horror story, is submitted to the NORTHERN HAUNTS anthology, being released by SHROUD MAGAZINE. This is another charity anthology, benefitting the American Cancer Society. Since three of my dear friends have been affected by cancer in the last few months, this is close to my heart, and I hope I'm accepted to it.