New title

Whoo hoo!!!  My agent loved the revised version of the manuscript, and she even admitted she cried twice at the end.  She suggested three minor fix-ups, and I need to prepare a bio and other such info to help with the submission, but then the novel is heading out to publishers.

She suggested an altered version of the title:

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

The new name certainly adds to the dark tone of the book, plus it's more original than the single-word title (there are a few books already called Blackbird).  I switched the name in the "Books" section of this site, and I like how it looks sitting there in big, bold print.

While the novel embarks upon its journey into the world, I'll be keeping busy with a month of guests and giveaways at Suburban Vampire in February.  We'll be celebrating vampire love over there.  Come over for a visit.

Celebrating with Christopher Walken and Edgar Allan Poe

Inspiration hit me as I was ridding the house of sick-kid germs today.

In my last post I mentioned I was rethinking my title, Blackbirds, because my latest critique partner said the blackbirds references are too subtle. While the vacuum was humming this morning, the gears in my head were spinning, and I figured out a beautifully creepy way of incorporating my theme of dark birds into a crucial part of the plot. I can't reveal my idea yet, but I'm doing a happy little dance as I type (well, not really, but I'm dancing on the inside). I love it when inspiration strikes me like that!

In celebration, here's a clip of Christopher Walken reading Poe's "The Raven":