The beginning of Lisa's adventure

Lisa's twin brother - who she thought was her cousin all her life - has been kidnapped by a dark power. The world she envisioned for her novels turned out to be real, and it is to this world she must go to save him.

They waited until the moon was up before slipping out of the house. Lisa directed her mom to one of the many lakes around the city. “I'm scared, mom,” Lisa said.

“I know you are,” Sarah said. “So am I. But you have to do this.”

Lisa nodded. She got out of the car and walked towards the lake. She heard the sirens. Three police cars screeched to a halt. Lisa continued walking into the lake. Water splashed against her calves. “Lisa Harper, come out of the lake,” an officer yelled.

Lisa heard it. The faint growl under his voice, the hint of darkness in his words. She ignored him and continued heading for the middle of the lake. “Get in there and grab her,” someone else said.

The bottom dropped out from under her. She surfaced long enough to take a deep breath before submerging herself again. She swam out to the middle and more towards the floor of the lake. Her lungs screamed and she fought the panic. She wanted to surface. She needed air. But she ignored it. She couldn't hold her breath any more. She let the breath out and drew in a mouthful of water. She choked but felt something growing deep inside her. She took another breath. Her vision blurred and she felt her body floating. A third breath and she lost consciousness.

“Who is she?” The voice was accented. Someone peeled open one of her eyes.

Lisa pulled back and sat up. A hand steadied her. She stared around at people who could have come out of her novels. “Tell me, young one, what is your name?” an ancient woman said with a gentle smile.

“Lisa.” She coughed.

“How did you get here? You're not from Harvelan,” a tall man said.

 “No, I'm from Jasperville,” Lisa said. “It's a long story. I'm not even sure I understand it all. I just know that my twin brother was taken by the Nykran and my mom told me to run for it. She said I had to get here if I wanted to keep the darkness from overwhelming my world.”

Gwillym's desperate hope

Lord Gwillym was married just the day before. Now he risks losing his daughter, who has been the most precious thing in his life since his wife died when Dairine was very young. In his desperation, he pleads with his daughter's playmates for help.

 Gwillym went down into the heart of the forest. He knelt before a short stone altar grown over with vines and flowers. He and Dairine were the only two who even knew this place existed. He clasped his hands in front of him.

“It is not normal for the father of the gifted one to come to us,” a voice said. He looked up and what once looked to be nothing more than a gnarled root turned over. A pair of black eyes peered at him through bushy eyebrows. It didn't take long for a group of beings to surround him.

“I've come to ask for your help,” Gwillym said.

“Where is she?” an ethereal spirit asked.

“Dying,” Gwillym said. “She burns too hot and her body is too weak.”

“When did this start?” the gnarled man asked.

“It must have come on her last night,” Gwillym said. “We were holding a ceremony my new wife insisted we perform. It is where a sprinkle of water from the important people is spread on the newlyweds. It came to Dairine's turn. She couldn't even hold the dipper. She dropped it and then ran off. We didn't find her until this morning, when the servants came upon her.”

“There is a darkness in your house that we cannot penetrate,” the ethereal voice said. “None of us dare step foot in there now. It would destroy us, and through us your daughter.”

Saturday Story Building - Putting it all together

I've talked about different pieces of building up a story. I've talked about the research, the character sketches, the world building. Now the question is, once you've gotten all this information, how the heck do you put it all together for a story?

The first thing you have to do is decide how much of that information you're going to use. You can have an entire novella/novel length book of world building, but is all of it really necessary for the story you're telling? Most likely not. You have to choose the most important items out of all of that work you did and find a way of putting them into the story. You might not have a purpose yet for that dissertation you wrote on the culture of a foreign country, but save it. You can use it in another story.

Characters. You've written these beautiful character sketches. If you're like me, they've got more information in them than you're likely to use. I tend to add a full background, a list of likes and dislikes, and maybe if I'm ambitious what their favorite foods/colors/etc. are. I don't do that lat one very often but I do tend to be very thorough in creating my character sketches.

Obviously, all that lovely information isn't going to make it into the book. If it does, you're probably going to bore your reader. So how do you decide which is the most important information? Think about how your story is going to go. Pinpoint the most important details that you can share in the story and make note of them. Those are the details you're going to use for your story.

Now, about that research you did. You've probably done a lot of reading and note taking on several different subjects. At least, you have if you're like me. You have all this lovely, useful information. The question again is how much are you going to use? That obscure culture you researched and referenced in your notes may be wonderful for a story some day but is it pertinent to the story you're working on now?

Once you've sorted your information out, then you can start writing your story. And even here you've got options. You can be a plotter - build yourself an outline, lay out precisely how your story is going to go, and work from that. Or you can do what I do - figure out the beginning and the end, and come up with a rough idea of some of the events you'd like to have in the story. And then just start writing and hope everything comes out all right in the end. Or you can avoid all of these steps and just start writing. Hey, it's all fixable in edits, right?

Writing Wednesday - WIPs...how many do you have?

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of projects that I want to work on. I've got an entire list of stories that I want to write, and I'm coming up with new stories on a regular basis. I have a running folder on my computer filled with half written story bits and notes for possible stories.

I have trouble just sticking to one story at a time. I usually want to work on more than one project. If I get bored or stuck, I always have another project to work on. The problem is I don't always go back to the first project until months later and by that time I've forgotten where I was going. So I'm trying an experiment this time around. I'm giving myself a time limit and I have to finish my first draft in that time limit.

I can't mess about with any of my other half finished manuscripts. I have to focus on this one. And it's hard. I'm used to jumping from story to story and I keep getting random ideas for other stories that I want to work on. But I'm standing firm and I'm going to achieve my goal of finishing this current first draft by the end of July.

That doesn't mean I don't have multiple WIPs though. Right now, counting the one I'm working on right at this moment, I have six stories that I could be working on. All of them are in varying states of completion. Two of them only have the first page written but I could always go and add some more to them, no problem.

How many WIPs do you have, and how do you decide which one you'll be working on?

Sunday Snippet - Marked

Here's a brief little snippet from my current WIP - Marked, formerly known as Only A Name.

It was a beautiful night. The moon was full and cast its silvery glow over the countryside. The stars were bright against the velvet blackness of the sky. Lord Mikhael looked out over his garden and not for the first time cursed the gods who had made him High Lord of Sorran Hold. He turned to his wife. “They’ll be here soon.”

Lady Rowan nodded. “We don’t have much time.” Even after all this time her voice still held a hint of the northerner’s speech. “Emberlie, come here.”

“Yes milady?” The dark haired maidservant stepped forward.

“Bring me Sorcha,” Rowan said. “Be quick. There’s not much time.”

“Yes milady,” Emberlie said. She ran from the room, her hair flying behind her.

“This is the only way, Rowan,” Mikhael said.

“I know. But she’s just a child. She shouldn’t be left alone like this,” Rowan said.

“If we aren’t here when they come, they’ll hunt for us. That would put her at greater risk. At least this way there’s a chance,” Mikhael said.

“I will miss her smile,” Rowan said.

“As will I,” Mikhael said. “If we survive this night, we will meet at the shrine. She’ll be there waiting for us.”

“I know,” Rowan said. Unspoken between them was the certainty that neither of them would live to see the dawn.

WIP Blog Hop: Burning Dreams

Well, the wonderful KD Sarge tagged me for a blog hop, and like any good friend I accepted her invitation. You're supposed to answer ten questions about your current work in progress. Then you tag five other writers/bloggers and link to them. So I'm going to give it a shot.


1) What is the working title of your book?

I call it "Burning Dreams" because Raghnall is a fire elementalist and because it's not a happy book.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Raghnall showed up about 5 incarnations of this world ago as a minor character and worked his way into becoming a major character. His story has changed drastically over those 5 incarnations to what it is today. Where today's specific idea came from was a brainstorming session with Himself because I wasn't happy with how happy/fluffy/cheerful my stories were.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

High fantasy

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I really don't know who could play Raghnall and Elan. It would have to be a pair of young actors and I'm afraid my knowledge of the younger crowd is sadly lacking. Both would have to be incredibly fit. The one for Raghnall ideally would have to be a martial artist because Raghnall is a fighting monk as well as a mage.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Raghnall must learn to control his powers as he watches the world burn in the fires of war.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I haven't decided yet.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'm writing it right now. It's my NaNo project so I hope to have the bulk of it written this November and to finish it by January.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

That's a tough question. I would say the Last Herald Mage books by Mercedes Lackey have some elements of this story. Possibly her  Brightly Burning story as well. Also Soulforge and Brothers At Arms by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weiss.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Some of what happens to Raghnall mirrors the abuse I suffered as a child. Most of it, though, came out of a desire to tell a story that was completely different from what I'd done before.

10) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

A demon has possessed the Emperor and is orchestrating the destruction of Lytharia to fuel its power, and the chosen servant of the God of Balance is on the run for his life. A dragon guards a spell so powerful it can utterly destroy all magic in the area it is cast in, to the point where magic can never be cast there again.

And now who to tag...

Miriam
Murphy's Lawyer
Angela
Heather

Reading, writing, and articles

First, an article I just read made me laugh.

You mean it's strange to be an adult and read teen lit?

I've been reading books that were outside my age group for most of my life.  When I was younger (we're talking elementary school here, folks, so figure almost 25 years) I was reading books that were for kids that were in middle school/junior high.  I got to junior high age and I was reading Anne McCaffrey (Pern, the FT&T telepath books, the Crystal Singer books), Andre Norton, Piers Anthony, Mercedes Lackey, and others like that.  I was reading books that were at a college level by the time I was a freshman in high school.

I still read books like that, but is it so strange that when I'm looking for something to give my mind a rest I turn to YA literature?  The Twilight series, the books by Tamora Pierce (her first 2 series at least), and the Harry Potter books are just a handful of those I've read that are classed as YA.  It's restful and fun, and they're easy reads when I want something light and fluffy (ok, so they're not exactly "light" and "fluffy", but compared to my usual authors of choice they are).

I still prefer Neil Gaiman, Joshua Palmatier, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, et al.  Every now and then, however, I want a break from the books that make me think and want something I can read and not have to worry too much about it.

Barnes & Noble is selling out?

I don't think Barnes & Noble closing a few stores that aren't doing as well and putting a little more focus on the Nook is a bad thing - except for those poor people working for B&N's stores that may be closing.  Their stock has dropped.  So have their sales.  But check out book sales over all.  E-books are rising, regular books are falling.  It sucks but people are after convenience and you can carry dozens if not hundreds of books on your Kindle/Nook/iPad while you should only conceivably carry 2-3 books at a time (unless you're like me with 5+ books lingering in your purse/backpack/duffel bag.)

I've been really against e-books since the beginning.  I'm an old fashioned reader.  I like my paper copy books.  The truth is, though, with our increasingly digitalized society, e-readers are going to continue to drive regular book publications out.  Eventually, and my guess is within the next 5-10 years, we're going to see less of a market for mass market paperbacks or trade paperbacks and more of a market for the e-books. What that's going to mean for people like me - who are struggling to get published - I can't say.  But here are some different things I've read about the whole ebook debate.

Short blog post by Dan London
Good point...what about the libraries?

In regards to my writing...

• "Jehnna's Tale" is written, and in need of editing.  I've got a 7500 word limit and I'm sitting at over 11,000 words right now.
• "Project Solange" is in general outline form - as in there's a few short paragraphs about how the story is going to go.  I'm going to start that one relatively soon.
• "Platinum and Shadows" is also in general outline form.  That's another one I'm starting very soon.
• "It's Not Easy Being Green" - my submission for a horror contest - is halfway done.  I expect to have it finished by the end of this month and edited by mid September.
• WIP is...well, a WIP.  I have to rewrite a bunch of Book 1 because I hit a major plot blockage.  When I finally cleared it, I realized it changed way too many things.  *sigh*