#touchthatfire

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Part III of art inspiring writing: the moment I saw this portrait, again in the Musée d'Orsay, I knew that the Roi, the French King in Book II, would have to have a cane. To some degree, I modelled the Roi off of this portrait, although it will be safe to say that regality and elegance are not the most dominant personality traits of Ninon's brother. As we all have ample opportunity to witness these days, those in power often do not need particularly winning personalities. This is definitely a portrait the Roi would have made of himself in any case; the way he wants to be seen.

Exciting news: TOUCH THAT FIRE has been sold to Turkey! Pegasus will publish it in Turkish. This is incredibly important to me; I grew up in an area called the Ruhrgebiet (it has many famous football clubs and some very good contemporary writers; not so much coal anymore, though) where Turkish is an ever-present language. I have been wanting to learn it for years, and this will be an added incentive. Besides, with the situation being what it is in Turkey, I cannot help but think about how a story’s significance changes depending on which context you put it in.

Friday, 20th January 2017

9:17 AM: After a break on Wednesday to do the last edits on Book I before my amazing  editor at Blanvalet gets to work on it and to teach on Thursday, I am back to Book II today. Here we go!

10:33 AM: 700 words, so one third of today’s count. I will have to begin setting higher goals, but for now, this is good, because I still need to do some world-building and have approximately one billion e-mails to answer.

Tuesday, 17th January 2017

Wednesday, 9th November 2016

Still devastated by the election of Trump, I came home after watching the election all night to find an e-mail from Thérèse, telling me that Random House had made a wonderful offer for the TOUCH THAT FIRE trilogy in a four-way auction!

Thursday, 25th August 2016

9:51 AM: I truly have become abysmal at getting up on time. Something to change once I have moved to Paris. Anyway, last read!

9:59 AM: All clear. Really, they were minor changes. So, this is it. We should probably read through the entire ms once more just to make sure there are no glaring mistakes (I spotted a few just yesterday in the edit); maybe I could do that on the train. Let’s also see what Thérèse thinks.

Wednesday, 17th August 2016

Okay. Starting the day at 8:46 AM, that’s a good time. A very good time. And here we go!

10:20 AM: 100.913 words! Yippieh! 500 words, and they took me a while, but that is alright. I am getting there. I am on page 195. Cannot wait to see how much I still manage to cut like this.

It is really good going through the entire manuscript again, by the way. I have spotted a few egregious mistakes that I wouldn’t have liked to send it off with.

This may also be the first time I have used the word egregious.

12:37 PM: 99.825 words! And I was so engrossed I didn’t even notice it happen. Page 230. I feel like it is slower going now, as if there isn’t as much to cut as in the first half, but I remain optimistic. René and the Count are about to make their first appearance – I cannot wait to explore more of them in Book 2!

I love the club scene, by the way. René has just turned up – I love René. He will always be Santiago Cabrera to me.

1:37 PM. 99.490! And page 247, so lots cut. Thought every 500 words could be a milestone now. Only a few more to go, after all – seven times 500, plus a couple more for the scenes between Rea and the Prince.

1:47 PM: Oh, I have forgotten how much I enjoyed keeping this diary! Well, I’m off for cake and tea now with a friend. I wouldn’t need a break, but I take my social life very seriously. You have to when you’re a writer, I think.

4:35 PM: Until 4 at Lotte’s plus food, which was too long, but very enjoyable. Just hit 98,933 words. Going very well.

6:16 PM: 97.997 words. This really is going splendidly. I’m supposed to go to a BBQ soon. I’d much rather go on. Did I mention social life is important? It really is.

Favourite line of the day (just written, too):

We do not fit within their lines. So they make us hate ourselves. Hide ourselves. Hurt ourselves.

6:26 PM: It is no use. I need to go. I am doing well though. Maybe I can come home early today and still get some work done.

10:58 PM: We got back at around ten. It was an incredibly fun evening. But continuing to cut is also very good. I have cut an entire scene, between the Queen and Rea. I believe I can live without it very well. At 96.711 words thanks to that.