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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Stephen Tremp: On Re-Editing and Cats

If you are looking for my IWSG post, you can find it here: 5 Steps to Deal with Writer's Block because today I've handed my blog over to Stephen Tremp, intrepid writer extraordinaire.We've been blogging buddies for many years now and he's always inspired me with his can-do attitude. Take it away, Stephen:


My family of kids has just grown to four. That’s a pretty good size family. Sure, my focus is on my new baby Salem’s Daughters. She just entered the world and I’m busy oohing and ahhing over her.

But I do have other kids. Three as a matter-of-fact. And as much as I love my newborn, I can’t neglect the rest of the family.

So I’m re-editing the Breakthrough series in preparation to release as a box set.

My first book Breakthrough has been a real problem child as I had to do a lot of editing and bring the book up to date. Since I use real establishments and some have closed down, I needed to replace them with new restaurants and resorts and such. It’s amazing at just how fast that book became dated because of various references to people, places, and things. And there were a lot of typos and such to correct.

Opening took a lot of tweaking but not as much as Breakthrough. Escalation was in much better shape, but I had quite a bit of experience under my belt by the time I wrote that.

Oh, and I have Salem’s Daughters discounted this week to $0.99 because of Halloween.

Fun Facts Cats can be allergic to you. According to a 2005 Study feline asthma—which affects one in 200 cats—is on the rise thanks to human lifestyle. Since cats are more frequently being kept indoors, they’re more susceptible to inflammation of their airways caused by cigarette smoke, dusty houses, human dandruff, pollen and some kinds of cat litters. And in rare cases, humans can even transmit illnesses like the flu to their pets.

Did You Know Cats have similar illnesses as humans. They are susceptible to more than 250 hereditary disorders, and many of them are similar to diseases that humans get. Felines even have their own form of Alzheimer’s Disease, and, like us, they can get fat—in fact, 55 percent (approximately 47 million) of American cats are overweight or obese.

Have you gone back to re-edit or tweak books you’ve previously published?

Short Blurb: A four hundred year old evil is unleashed when the daughters of those killed during the Salem Witch Trials find a new generation of people to murder at a popular modern-day bed and breakfast. 

Come on Lucky Number Seven
Stephen Tremp writes Speculative Fiction and embraces science and the supernatural to help explain the universe, our place in it, and write one of a kind thrillers. You can read a full synopsis and download Salem’s Daughters by Clicking Here.

Stephen Tremp posts weekly blogs at his website Breakthrough Blogs.


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Thanks, Stephen. I'm looking forward to reading Salem's Daughters. To everyone, if you haven't already, don't forget to visit me over at the IWSG website: 5 Steps to Deal with Writer's Block. I'd love to see you there.

87 comments:

  1. Stephen, that's cool you are re-editing your first books. I got the opportunity from my publisher to re-edit my first book and I really appreciated it. You will be surprised at how much you've grown as a writer.

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    1. I am surprised. And a bit shocked. Yeah, I've grown as a writer. Lots of cleaning up was performed on Breakthrough.

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  2. Hi Lyn! Hi Stephen! Yay, I love editing, but I can see a good argument here for making up your own establishments in your stories. Quite a pain having to rewrite those bits. But it will be good to see the whole series boxed up! All the best for Salem's Daughters! :-)

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    1. And I forgot, Lyn. I will be delighted to appear here in December. I'll email you re date!

      Thanks, Denise :-)

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    2. Hi Denise!, awesome, I'll look forward to your email.

      I'm in favour of making up establishments as well, unless something is particularly iconic in the area.

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    3. Thanks Denise. I'm almost there/ 1,200 pages to edit.

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  3. I also did some re-editing awhile ago, and was glad I decided to do that, since I found a couple of typos and missing text (from a conversion back and forth among different word processing programs) I'm rather embarrassed I didn't catch before.

    It's amazing how quickly some books lose their contemporary feel. All the real places I've ever used are established department stores, museums, libraries, etc. I kind of like using places that no longer exist in my historicals, a reminder of a time when people still went to those amusement parks, swimming pools, and department stores.

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    1. Carrie-Anne, in this age real establishments, people, and events quickly fade. Something to remember when writing.

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  4. Hi Lynda and Stephen - interesting that the places have suffered in the down turn and thus your book needs editing. I'm glad you're taking the time to update your Breakthrough novels ... I enjoyed the read. Good luck with Salem's Daughters ... lots of exposure around .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Thanks Hilary for your always encouraging words of support!

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  5. I didn't really think about cats being allergic to things like cigarette smoke, etc. But it totally makes sense - I am involved in a cat rescue, and we have a couple of cats who are 'heavy breathers' (sounds wrong... I know!) and seem to have some sinus issues. One may have a bit of asthma. Might have to ask her foster mum if she's a smoker indoors ;)

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    1. Trisha, that's a good idea. Glad to hear of anyone involved with animal rescue

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  6. Is that what's wrong with my Rocko - she's allergic to me? No, I think she's just crazy.

    When writing my series, I used a mixture of real and made up places. I bet some of those have closed, too, Stephen.

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    1. Diane, good chance of it. The reader might think you made them up and they never existed.

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  7. Awesome that you're re-edting your book. I had no idea cats could get asthma and all these other human diseases.

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    1. Natalie, I'm learning so much about cats this blog tour that I never knew about them.

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  8. I've been thinking on re-editing my first ones. My cats have allergies big time, have to watch what they get into.

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    1. Just don't re-edit your stuff George Lucas Style.

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    2. Takes a lot of calories to have allergies
      All that sneezing and wheezing drains your batteries
      Just think of the torture to the olfactories
      It's like the noses are factories for unnaturally hatcheries for catteries

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    3. Very, very, very bad. Okay, maybe I should've written 'extremely bad' instead.

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    4. No, I like "Very, very, very bad." It has poetry.

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    5. I teach my students to be concise. Don't tell them I have been very, very, very bad....

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    6. Dear Blue students... Blue has been very very very bad so no apples for him! ;)

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  9. I find re-editing those already out in the world really intriguing. Do you approach it differently than when you first edited it? I wonder if some of those techniques could be useful in other areas of revising/editing. Gosh, you've got me thinking. Best of luck with all of it!

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    1. I can't answer for Stephen, but i find when I go back to re-edit something, I have fresher eyes than I ever did before and the editing process is a lot easier. If the piece is previously published, then I try not to change it too much, mainly sticking to typo fixes, correcting bad sentence structure/grammar. If it's a piece that's been lying around for a while, then I hack into it and am more willing to work on the developmental level.

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    2. SA, editing is a never ending job. That's all I can say about i.

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  10. Very cool that you're re-editing--as we learn and grow as writers, we often look back and see things we'd like to change. And if you're using real-life places that change, that's a good reason too! I'd never heard that cats could be allergic to humans! Interesting. :)

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    1. Carol, neither did I. I'm learning so much about cats that I never considered.

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  11. The more we write, the more we learn about writing. It never ends. Interesting facts about cats.

    Hi, Lynda!

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    1. Hi Carol! That learning process truly never ends.

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    2. Carol, it just never ends. Ever. Sometimes we have to get to the point that we just have to let it go.

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  12. My son, who is somewhat allergic to cats, will find it pleasing to know that some of them might be allergic to him.

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  13. And I'd always heard the problem child was in the middle. However, it make sense that (in the book world) the first would be the trouble maker. Best of luck.

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    1. Southpaw, now I'll need to take a closer look at Escalation.

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  14. I'm just tackling my first huge edit. Haven't reached the place of re-editing. Where is that? At the end of Writer's Lane? I must visit. Great post. Wishing you a super November.

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    1. Nah, you take a left at the end of Writer's Lane then a right into OhmygoshImissedthattypo Alley.

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    2. Nicola, then keep going on the Never Ending Freeway.

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  15. Thanks Lynda for hosting me today and thanks to everyone for stopping by! I'll be back to check out comments after work.

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  16. Yay, Stephen! Editing. The beast that never ends, eh?

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    1. Crystal, the beast is like the Energizer Bunny. It just keeps going .....

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    2. You could edit your life away if not for a deadline.

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  17. Love the cat info and yes, I've done my fair share of digging into an old story. Mostly it is rewriting. I've changed so much over the years. More than I thought I had.

    Congrats on the new addition. :-)

    Anna from Elements of Writing

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    1. emaginette, stories are indeed like children. We're always trying to make them better. Because we care.

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    1. Patsy, thanks! My nephew designed it as he did for all my children ,errr ... books.

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  19. Thanks Lynda for hosting me today and thanks to everyone for stopping by! I'll be back to check out comments after work.

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  20. Thanks Lynda for hosting me today and thanks to everyone for stopping by! I'll be back to check out comments after work.

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  21. Good luck on the re-edits! It'll be neat to have a nice, shiny box set.

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    1. Nick, I'll have it ready just in time for Christmas.

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  22. I love this analogy and have enjoyed learning about Stephen's kids.

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    1. Toinette, books are like children. They are our offspring and much loved.

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  23. I'm learning so many interesting facts about cats from following Stephen around. That's a huge percentage of fat cats.

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    1. Susan, cats are saying the same thing as they follow us around gathering valuable information.

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  24. I did do a bit of re-editing in the last year to my first book - I had a reader come to me with a bunch of errors and I fixed them. It was a bit embarrassing, but now - no more! :)
    I think those are some interesting cat facts. I let my cat go outside for short periods of time and she's been one of the healthiest cats I've had in my house. (I almost said owned, but I didn't want her glaring at me.)

    Congrats, Stephen!

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    1. Tyrean, it's all part of the learning curve. And great to have people point them out so we can fix them.

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  25. Stephen's newest baby sounds like such an exciting read! Wishing him the best of luck with is he edits. I didn't know that about cats- wow!
    ~Jess

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  26. Yikes, I hope my cats aren't allergic to me. My husband... more than likely.

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    1. Joylene, as science continues to discover and explain our univers, I think cats will be their last. If ever.

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  27. I like that - your fourth baby and still paying needed attention to the other three. I'm glad you are re-editing Breakthrough. We learn as we go along.

    My cat is every bit as fat and sassy as me. He doesn't mind going out in the rain to do his business though.

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  29. Congratulations on your fourth baby, Stephen. I love the short blurb for your new book. Thanks for the cat facts, its especially helpful for me since the book I am editing has cats in it.

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  30. I made the mistake in my earlier works of dating them. I now try to be vague about real life things.I just downloaded a copy of Stephen's book. I've been seeing it all over.

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    1. Medeias, so very cool! Thanks for your support and enjoy!

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  31. your cat being allergic to you... the dog would laugh so hard

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    1. Lynda, last night Dezz had a nightmare in which he dreamed he was allergic to me. What do you reckon that means? :p

      Hi Lynda!
      Hi Dezzzzzzmeister!

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    2. It means he ate too much vegetarian pizza ;)

      Hi Blue!! (I'm just back from a wonderful cruise in the South Pacific... bliss!)

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  32. Sorry I'm late commenting trying to NaNo-no headway yet. I've already have a copy of Stephen's book to read.

    Speaking of cat facts---Have you read that thing going around the internet and I've heard the tv, some new research, about if house cats were larger like dogs they would kill their owners? My roommates were talking about it last night. I have not looked it up yet, not sure I believe them.

    http://www.junetakey.com/

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    1. I'd believe it. I had to remind my cat often about who was boss. And most of my scars come from cats too, lol. All accidental during play, but still.

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  33. Sorry I'm late commenting trying to NaNo-no headway yet. I've already have a copy of Stephen's book to read.

    Speaking of cat facts---Have you read that thing going around the internet and I've heard the tv, some new research, about if house cats were larger like dogs they would kill their owners? My roommates were talking about it last night. I have not looked it up yet, not sure I believe them.

    http://www.junetakey.com/

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  34. Well I love cats but never knew those facts! :) And no, I hate to go back to my older books to fix, I would rather start fresh!

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    1. I'm with you on that one! (But sometimes it's a necessity, especially for self-publishers or short stories you'd like to resell)

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  35. Congrats to Stephen! Interesting cat facts. Our family will be adopting a cat next month, so it's nice to know these sorts of things. :)

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  36. Thanks Lynda for hosting me! As always it's a pleasure to stop by. You have a terrific following!

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  37. Congrats on SALEM'S DAUGHTERS, Stephen! It sounds great! Also, interesting cat facts!

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  38. Love the cat facts. Always good to inform the public who may not know this. Many congratulations on both Salem's Daughters and the re-release of the boxed set of previous babies. ...Wouldn't it be nice to have something that I could update and publish again. Hopefully some day. Thanks or sharing this both Lynda and Stephen.

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  39. Very cool:) I'm sure it'll be better than ever after the re-edits:)

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  40. Many congratulations to Stephen and good luck with the re-edits. All the best.

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