Changing Gears

I have to say that pregnancy has really taken the creative energy out of me a lot. It's been frustrating to some degree because I'd hoped to be able to get another rough draft of a YA novel done before my baby girl arrived, but with only 3 months left, it's pretty clear to me that that's not apt to happen. I have, however recently been inspired to write a children's book. Given the nature of children's books (especially their short length), I'm hoping I WILL be able to get a draft of it done before my baby's arrival.

I have also potentially roped in Amanda Williamson to illustrate the book. If her name rings a bell, then you may recognize her as the awesome photographer who created the beautiful cover art for Faith's Demons (that's also the current background for this website)! She is a talented artist in more than one medium (and also a skilled editor), so I feel lucky to have her on my team.

Exciting News

You may have noticed that I've been a little quiet on the blogging front of late, and that's because I've been a little quiet on the writing front as well. I have a good reason, though. My brain has been a little distracted and my energy has been busy being used up by something else. Something that looks like this:

That's right! I'm pregnant, and expecting in February!

Now, my personal goal is to have a rough draft of another book done by the time the baby arrives, but the fact of the matter is that I haven't had a lot of creative energy of late and I don't want to force the words. Hopefully they'll start flowing soon, and I have been thinking about the two projects I'm currently working on (one of which is the prequel to Faith's Demons), so maybe that's promising. In the meantime, I'll keep putting my creative energy into building a person from scratch. I have to say, it's a weird experience, but it's also pretty cool.

Free Kindle Edition of Faith's Demons 7/1-7/2

July 1st is my birthday, and I'm celebrating by offering the Kindle edition of Faith's Demons for free on the 1st and 2nd of July! Tell your friends and enjoy!
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Wolvish

As my husband and I were driving through New Hampshire this past week, we happened upon this sign:

Abenaki is the language I used for the wolves' names and the inspiration for their language. It is also called Abenaki-Penobscot after the two related tribes that once spoke it. Elders in the Penobscot tribe are currently trying to revive it, and I found the language really interesting as I was looking for a language for the wolves. I knew that I wanted to do something Native American, and this fit in perfectly.

For a pronunciation guide (so you know you're saying the names right) check out this page: Abenaki Pronunciation Guide

The Strawberry Jam Incident

Note: This is a short story I wrote several months ago. It's a suburban fantasy vignette piece. Feedback is welcome. Hope you enjoy! Now, without further ado...

Gender in Magical Worlds

I came across this in some of my internet browsing today (in between packing boxes and Doctor Who marathons): Why Gandalf Never Married. I found it incredibly interesting, and still remarkably true given that Terry Pratchett said these things over a quarter of a century ago. There are definitely people who have made strides (conscious or otherwise) to destroy those stereotypes, but not nearly enough.

I confess to not giving this much thought when I was creating the world for the Dúlra Coven Trilogy (or at least when I was writing Faith's Demons), but it seems that I have unintentionally worked against some of these stereotypes (I hope, at least). The males with magic in my books are witches (though Tristan does joke that he prefers the term "warlock"), and the females are both good and bad. Their magic is neither good nor evil; it is what the individual uses it for.

It was always my goal to have a strong female character surrounded by other strong female characters. In fact, when my nephew first read the book, one of his initial comments was "I noticed that my mom and my dad were in it, and Grandmum, but there's no character named after me." To which I replied, "Well, you might have noticed that there weren't a whole lot of boys in the book in general." I didn't want Faith to be a character who was all good and fine until a cute guy came along, and then she'd revert to being a love interest. That's why, what little romance there is in Faith's Demons is secondary and really not focused on.

After reading that piece, I think I'll now have other gender concerns on my mind as I write the prequel. I'll take my queues from writers like J.K. Rowling, who had a strong, intelligent, stubborn, magical female character in Hermione as one of the central protagonists in the Harry Potter series, and Terry Pratchett, who created the incredibly clever and headstrong Granny Weatherwax, and the often crude and consistently hilarious Nanny Ogg when coming up with witches to populate the Discworld. All three are women who break through magical stereotypes that Pratchett mentioned in his talk (which was given before he created the characters I've just mentioned). I'll do my best make sure that Faith, Trinity and Emily remain strong and stubborn (and because they are humans, not just witches: flawed) women. They will not be old crones who give people warts and live in gingerbread houses. Nor will Tristan and Shane become strong wizards who can do no wrong with magic. They're witches (or warlocks, if you ask Tristan) and they will remain such, using their powers, just like their female counterparts, for good or evil, as they see fit.

Poll's Closed

So now that the poll has closed, the response all seemed to support me posting my short story online. Watch this space. It will be posted soon. (Just let me move into our new house first!)

Take the Good with the Bad

I got some bad news last week. The anthology that my short story got accepted to has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. I'm now trying to come up with other ways to share it with the world. I may post it on here at some point, but I'd like to see if there are other things I might submit it to first.

I've also been quite stressed of late, which has left me with a massive bout of writer's block. (Until yesterday, when I figured out how to wrap up chapter 3 of Hunting Trinity - the working title for the prequel to Faith's Demons. Woohoo!) The reason for all of the stress is that my hubby and I are buying our first house! It's nerve-wracking and exciting all at once, but hopefully we'll be closing next month, which also means moving again, which is also stressful and keeps me from writing.

So all in all, I'm taking the good with the bad and pushing forward. Here's hoping that the brief burst of inspiration yesterday gets drawn out into more inspiration, and that I actually have time to write in the coming weeks.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Faith's Demons is available for FREE on Kindle - today only! My Valentine to you!

Faith's Demons Kindle Edition

xx

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know it's already almost February, but time has a way of getting away from me when I'm writing a lot. So far this new year I have been writing up a storm.

Last post I mentioned a book that I'm calling Interwoven, and I am happy to say that I have finished the rough draft of the first third of it. (It will be a story told in three parts, so I've finished the first.) I'm extremely excited about where it's going, though the characters haven't filled me in on everything yet.

I also mentioned a short story that I had written that I was submitting to an anthology in my last post. I have very exciting news about that: it has been accepted into the anthology! I don't know anything about when the anthology might come out yet, but I'll let you know when I know.

For those of you waiting for the prequel to Faith's Demons, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it! Progress is being made on that front as well.

I hope everyone is enjoying their new year so far!
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Happy New Year!!