Ansha Kotyk - Fiction Author

Who Moved My Blog? I did. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:29:00 +0000

www.anshakotyk.com/blog

Please stop by for a visit!! *(blogger is being mean, you'll need to cut and paste the url into your browser... THANKS FOR VISITING!!)

NaNo is here again- or the list of things I do to try and avoid doing NaNo each day

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:33:00 +0000

Okay so it's a long title for a short post. :) I've signed up to do National Novel Writing Month this year. Last year was fruitful. I wrote and edited a novella for a competition. It didn't make the cut, but hey, it was my very first novella, so I'm not heartbroken, much. :)
I planned to use NaNo this year to force me to do something I absolutely hate to do. Edit. My current WIP is a YA time travel. It's finished. Well, technically the extremely rough first draft is finished. Now I'm working on the "hopefully better, but still needs work" second draft. That's where NaNo comes in.
To become a writer, I have learned, that you need to really get in touch with yourself. No, I don't mean in any kind of metaphysical way. Find out what works for you by trying different methods to get the best work out of your brain. You need to push yourself to do things that you aren't comfortable doing. Like Editing and Revising a WIP. :)
You see with NaNo I am responsible for posting my progress to my peers at Romance Divas. This kind of accountability is what actually keeps me writing. So if you ever find that you just can't do it, find someone that can hold you accountable for your writing actions. It can make all the difference in the world.

My CP's book is out!!! Woo Hoo!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:08:00 +0000

Step into a world of glamour and fame where American youths are still raw from the war, music takes an edgier turn, and movie stars are practically royalty.

Charles Witmore is used to celebrities. As owner of the grand Winmont Hotel in Los Angeles, he has seen them come and go more times than he can count. But the experience is altogether different when silver screen starlet Bridget Phillips walks into his life and crashes into his heart. He's absolutely starstruck. Her beauty is exactly as majestic as has been rumored, but he wonders about the many claims laid against the woman, who seems to be so shrouded in mystery.

Initially claimed by prejudice, he sees nothing more than the ice princess she presents, beautiful and stone cold. But, the more time she spends at his hotel, the more he begins to see there is more to her facade than meets the eye. Soon, she becomes the object of his affection, and in an amusing ploy, his two best friends, Betty and Eleanor, and his cute assistant Tessa, set up the matchmaking scheme of a lifetime.

But will Bridget’s dark secret keep Charles from his happily ever after?

Coming Tuesday, September 25th 2007 from Freya's Bower!

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:35:00 +0000

September 22nd through the 29th is National Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week. Pulmonary Fibrosis is a debilitating disease marked by progressive scarring of the lungs that gradually interferes with a person's ability to breathe. There is no cure, and currently there is NO FDA approved treatment. The disease is fatal, within 5 to 7 years of diagnosis. Approximately 128,000 people in the United States have IPF, and an estimated 48,000 new cases develop each year. You can learn more about PF at The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis' website.

The Coalition for PF takes donations via check, credit card, even PayPal. You can donate by clicking the link below:

Blogging My Girl Dayna!

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:28:00 +0000

“Go Between” by Dayna Hart

Coming August 14th from Samhain Publications

Between two races that hate each other, at the doorway between two worlds, can Claire find the strength to be the emissary they all need?

Book One of The Curtain Torn series.

Halfway through her twenties, her divorce, and a bottle of rye, Claire opens her birthday present—a “pressed fairy” book.

One of the fairies is neither pressed, nor a picture. He’s the sinfully sexy Dell, who’s been trapped inside the book for twenty years. The moment Claire frees him, goblins attack her house. Dell and Claire’s only option is to use a “Between”—a rift between their worlds—to escape into the land of Fae.

There, Claire discovers the elven queen, Eliane, has a mission for her—one that has her keeping secrets from Dell. And ousting the goblins from her home is only the start.

Read An Excerpt Online

Three Weeks of Whining

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:29:00 +0000

So after about three weeks of whining about it I've finally picked up my WIP again and started working. I talked to my friend Isabelle Santiago about getting back to work and the other issues I've been having (she's so patient when listening to my whine). I knew I needed to get back to work when she mentioned note carding the plot and I got all excited. I'm such a geek.
So back to work I go. Another update will follow. Happy Writing All.

Plodding Along

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:11:00 +0000

Who knew writing could be so difficult. *smirk*
So I'm finally over the last few weeks of doing nothing on my draft except for bemoaning how impossibly hard it is to write it.
I've printed out the latest draft and I am currently editing it. I'm hoping this will get my head back into the story so that I can continue to pull from draft 1 and continue editing.
My goal is to work through all this drama and get the second draft done by the end of the summer, August 30th.
I'll keep you all posted! :) Happy Writing!

Something a Little Different

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:01:00 +0000

Don't worry I'm still working on my book. But I wanted to post a link to my sister's friend's blog.
Martha and Dani have ditched their day jobs and are traveling the world for 6 months. How cool is that? They started in April by traveling the US to visit family. Hey, if you're going to travel the world you had better visit the relatives. They are now in Spain for the next month. Martha is a wonderful writer and her daily blogs are a great read. I highly recommend checking it out. :)
Meanwhile my hubby fantasizes about being able to travel the world.

Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Thu, 24 May 2007 00:42:00 +0000

Just keeping up the blog and letting you know how Draft #2 of The Book (I renamed it from The Librarian- I took out my librarian character, so the title seemed silly at that point).
As you can see I'm none too creative with my WIP titles.
That's okay, i can focus on that later.
Right now I'm happy to say I'm over 8,000 words on Draft #2 of what will probably exceed 50k. I'm pretty happy with that.
This second draft is definitely taking longer to add word count to. But I'm finding that I'm focusing on different aspects as I write it. Theme is a big one that I've been working on.
I think the theme of this story is: A boy trapped between worlds: the world between the comic book and the real world, and the world of the child he was and the world of the adult he is learning to become.

Okay so its passive phrasing. I'll have to rewrite it for clarity later. But you get the picture, external theme and internal theme linked. I like it. it took a while to come to this.
I kept focusing on my hero overcoming issues in his daily life, like the bully or his relationship with his dad. And then today it hit me that all of this is interrelated. I had been drawing arrows to it in my writing over and over. The adults in his life tell him he needs to grow up and behave like an adult and at the same time they continue to force him to play the child.
I find this theme fascinating because its something that we all go through during adolescence. The struggle between childhood and adulthood and the trauma that it causes in our lives.
So anyway, this is what my story is about. I hope I do it justice. (eh, positive thinking, I will do it justice with my current skill set... 10 years from now I'll read it and shake my head. ;)
Okay folks, I'm off to read and write!
Later.

Epiphany

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Sat, 05 May 2007 12:49:00 +0000

So I had an epiphany the other day.
Here's some background. My current WIP has been floundering. or at least i thought it was floundering. It really wasn't. I had simply finished my first draft. And it was what all first drafts should be, a pile of crap. BUT, importantly it was a pile of crap with some really good points. Its like creating a map of an island by feel. Its just not pretty. No nice aerial shots, its rough, its bumpy and its sure has areas where it just doesn't make sense.
The epiphany happened when I visited an author's website. She described her method of writing. Multiple drafts. As in starting over with Draft #2.
That's when the epiphany hit me. I didn't need to edit Draft #1 (thank god). I simply needed to start Draft #2. So there it is, simple but profound.
I'm now starting Draft #2 of The Book. I'm about 1500 words into it. I'm working on getting my groove back. I'll get there. With lots of hard work.

Keeping up the Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:42:00 +0000

So I've decided that I will keep up with posting on my blog.
I didn't want to do it because 1. I my blog to have wonderful grammar as a writer should, and seeing as I don't plan on massively editing each of my entries this is surely not going to happen.
and 2. I didn't want to 'waste' my time blogging when I should be writing. That's valid, right?
But I've decided that because I've been having issues with my WIP, I need a place to vent my frustrations. And the perfect place for the world to vent frustration is ahhh THE BLOG!

So here goes.
VENTVENTVENTVENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT VENTVENTVENT

Okay I feel a bit better.
Tomorrow I'll keep you posted on my progress with my WIP.

Okay its truly been a long time

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:43:00 +0000

I'm obviously not the blog to come to if you you're looking for a new post. :)
But here's an update from Ansha the YA novelist.
So far I'm about 28k into the story. Which is actually great seeing as I write a skeleton for a first draft. 28k right now is the whole story start to finish, minus a few subplots which are being a pain to write.
I have to work on the following to finish the story: 1. subplot of the villain- you'd think I would have worked this in already but no, not me, I live on the edge.
2. the subplot of the mentor... do i really need her. Yeah, I probably do.
3. subplot of the good but not so good dad/cop- he's in cahoots with our villain but I'd like him to redeem himself at the end. That would be nice wouldn't it?
So that's it. That's what I've been up to for the last month. Writing, writing and more writing. Just do it, was my motto for the month.
Next month, its Just Finish It!
Happy writing everyone!

It's been a while

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 20:14:00 +0000

Well, It's been a while so I figured I'd post again. ;)
Next week is the week I've decided to really sit down and start writing my novel. I've been brooding with my characters long enough, its time to get started!
So next week I'm starting my own fast draft. I'm going to try to write as many pages a day as I can. I'll try to keep this blog updated with my progress.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
:)
Ansha

Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 19:06:00 +0000

Thanks to those that left comments. :) I appreciate them a great deal more than I can say.
Some day I may elaborate on this story. Time will tell.
Right now I'm working with my Mentor, Rhonda, on plotting and writing a YA paranormal about a boy and a book... hee hee. I'm really excited about it.
I'll keep you all updated with our progress.

FREE READ

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:25:00 +0000

For more exciting FREE READS go to http://romancedivas.com/ebookchallenge.html for a complete listing

Okay folks, here is Ansha's Free Read. Your comments, as always, are welcome!

Titled: THE KISS by: Ansha Kotyk

Thomas Williams did not want to attend the Merriman's party. He was awkward at these events. But there was a chance that he would set eyes on his true love Maryanne tonight and so he must attend.

He had on his best suit and cravat. When he arrived at the house, a number of other carriages emptied in front of him. This was hopeful. He could slip in behind them and avoid all the awkwardness of formal introductions at the door. He pushed his spectacles on the bridge of his nose, smoothed his hair, and took a deep breath.

"Thank you driver, I'll be prepared to leave in approximately two hours."

"Very well, sir. I will return at 9 o'clock with the carriage." The driver reined in the horses and opened the carriage door for Mr. Williams.

Williams climbed out and as he did he caught his foot on the step and he fell face first onto the gravel drive.

A young woman in a green dress giggled and grabbed her friend's arm to point at the mishap. With a laugh of annoyance she said, "I believe that's Williams. Oh he's such a bore! I had so hoped that he hadn't been invited."

"Violet, don't say such things," said Elizabeth. "He can hear you!" Both girls walked into the house.

Williams picked himself up off the ground. He was fully aware what others thought of him, and this was why he hated attending the neighbor's events.

However, the thoughts of Maryanne were enough of an incentive to attend the party.

He brushed off his hands and smoothed his trousers and walked up the path to the house. Embarrassed by his fall he stayed back from the group in front of him and had to enter the house alone. Thus he had to endure the glaring stares of everyone as the butler announced his name when he entered. He fumbled in his pocket for his calling card. He handed the butler his card, and paused, as it was polite to do.

"Mr. Thomas Williams." The butler announced and he placed the card on the table.

Williams noticed groups of women clustered around the hall, but he did not see Maryanne among them. Her quiet smile would be enough to set him at ease.

She was the niece of the Merriman's so he had known her for only a short period of time. He had had the privilege of meeting her on other such occasions. She was a small girl with fizzy blond hair. Her features reminded him of a small bird. Others found this an unattractive quality in an overly shy girl, but to Williams this was the definition of quiet serene beauty. When she smiled at him, the brilliant light in her eyes shone on him as if he were royalty.

He had yet to proclaim his love for her. Every time he thought of doing so the strength left his body and he could no longer think clearly.

He looked around the room again and saw the table of hors d'oeuvres. He circumvented the room to avoid the groups of women.

The punch bowl was beautiful crystal. The small glasses were stacked in a neat pyramid. He took one of the cups, and ladled some punch, pouring it on his sleeve.

The girls who had witnessed his fall were standing nearby noticed and laughed under their hands. Determined not to let this affect him even though he was deeply embarrassed yet again, he slowly and carefully filled his punch glass. He tried to sip it but he had overfilled the glass and his hands were shaking, so a good part of the drink ended up on his tie. Williams turned away and looked over the crowd hoping again to see the face of Maryanne. He was feeling unsettled and out of place. He felt like an oaf. He glanced around every few minutes to see if Maryanne had arrived.

Doubt seeped into his thoughts. Perhaps she had seen his fall from the carriage or his mishap with the punch. Maybe she had looked on in horror as he fumbled so awkwardly. What woman would want the kind of man who could not behave properly in public? Within a group of friends and he still could not manage gentility. He couldn’t stand next to the punch bowl any longer. He did not want to be a social blunder. How could he possibly be good enough for Maryanne?

He looked back at the table at the puddle of punch and walked away. He stepped on the train of Mrs. Merriman’s dress. The weight of Williams’s shoe kept her dress from moving another inch, but she had continued to walk. A tearing noise and the back of Mrs. Merriman’s dress came loose. She let out a squeal as the tear allowed her undergarments to come into view of those nearby. Her husband quickly draped his jacket over his wife’s back side and gave Williams a disapproving look. Others came quickly to aid Mrs. Merriman and usher her upstairs where the dress could be mended.

A guest that walked by looked on Williams with contempt. He quickly walked out of the room and found the study nearby. It was darkened except for a small fire burning in the fireplace. He walked in and sat down on the settee his back to the commotion outside.

All the trauma died down as people began to enjoy themselves. The quartet played music and Violet and her friend were asked to dance. Maryanne arrived and looked meek and pale in a yellow dress that matched the color of her hair. She scanned the room looking for Williams hoping to find him. She knew how much he hated these events. She had heard about the unfortunate accident with her aunt’s dress. But all was mended now and it really was no bother. She thought him quite appealing in his clumsy way.

She saw Violet across the room and decided to ask her if she’d seen him.

Violet sipped from her punch glass and peered over it to reply, "Maryanne, I'm sure he has left by now, I wouldn't want to stay if I had caused such a scene."

Maryanne walked away.

"Why does she like that oaf?" Elizabeth asked Violet.

"She probably thinks she can change him." Violet shrugged her shoulders. She thought of her own beau who she had yet to see this evening. She did want to change her dear Reynolds to something a little less philandering. Her hope was that one day he would settle on her for his wife. But she knew he had to work very hard before he could ask for her hand and she worried that the strain was too much for him. This was why she convinced herself that she had seen him with other girls. But she knew in time he would have his finances in order and be able to marry her.

Elizabeth's beau jauntily walked over to them. "Have you seen Reynolds?" Violet asked him.

"I think he was headed to the study."

The study, where they could be alone and talk about their future together.

Violet pinched her cheeks and looked over her green dress in a nearby mirror. She quickly walked down the hall to the study.

The room was dimly lit by the fire to the left, on the right was a huge pane glass window revealing a deep starry sky. The glow of the fire reflected on the dark wood furniture. The scent of cherry tobacco lingered in the air. She stepped in the doorway. In the center of the room was the settee and on the settee sat her prince. He rested his face in his hands. She could feel the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. The fire light made his skin golden. His strong hands were a simple shape but were able to hold her world. A lock of hair fell over his hands in such a way it made him look vulnerable. She longed to be near him.

The passion she had for him overwhelmed her. Her slippered feet made no noise as she ran across the plush carpet. She leaned over the back of the settee and whispered in his ear, "My love." So close she could feel the warmth of his skin. Her full lips slowly touched his jaw line and she gave him a kiss.

Williams couldn’t move. He wasn't sure what had just happened. Here he sat cursing himself and an angel out of nowhere had awakened him with a kiss. By the time he came to his senses his sweet seraphim was gone.

He eagerly looked about the room. Williams saw no one. He touched his jaw. A kiss. Obviously Maryanne had found him brooding alone. She had wanted to stir him from his reverie, and finding him in such a state she could think of nothing less than a kiss to rouse him. He knew how reserved she was. It must have taken a great deal of courage to compromise herself in this way. What a woman his dear Maryanne was. And she called him "My love". His flaws were nothing to her. She loved him regardless of his clumsiness in public. This knowledge awoke in him a nobility of character. He felt the awkwardness fall away. He felt a strength in his being. A spirit in his arms and legs made him stand taller. Williams was invigorated with a sureness in his step. He saw the world differently. Colors were brighter, the world more pleasant.

He left the study with a confident step. A smile on his face knowing he was loved; that Maryanne would need him to be her guardian, her friend, her confidant. He would be the man she needed. Strong, sure of himself, able to take problems in stride. Her love had buoyed him. He walked into the ballroom a new man.

He saw Maryanne across the room and walked a straight and steady course to her side. He put his hand on the small of her back.

She smiled at him.

"Dearest Maryanne, you look brilliant tonight." He held her hand firmly and smiled back.

Free Read - soon to come

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:14:00 +0000

I promise by the end of today I'll have a free read for you!
Sorry for being late!
It's a historical sweet romance. :)

Howdy all

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:02:00 +0000

I haven't posted in eons. So its time I did it.
I have to tweak the blog for the upcoming Free Read on Valentine's Day.
Romance Divas is having a Free Read string going, and I'm planning to be a part of it. Yippee!
I just have to edit my little story. :)
I've had the flu for the past week. So forgive my short, inarticulate post.
To all my future readers, have a wonderful day!
Ansha

Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Ansha Kotyk) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:16:00 +0000

Day one on the blog.
Not much to say. Busy plotting my latest novel. Getting ready for NaNo