Top of MY mind right now is preparing for the release of THE DRAGON'S DAUGHTER AND THE WINTER MAGE. This book ended up having a very tight turnaround. So tight that, as of this writing, I'm not guaranteed to make it. The clock is still ticking for my upload deadline of tomorrow evening. BUT, I'm feeling optimistic that I'll make it! I finished writing the book on Wednesday afternoon, did a final polishing pass on it Thursday morning (Including notes from beta readers who read the final chapters as I finished them), then sent it to my copy editor/proofreader. She's promised it to me by this evening - and it's looking good, as I just paid the invoice - at which time I'll make the final corrections and send it off to my formatter. (Yes, I pay a formatter rather than doing it myself. There's a lot of good reasons for that, but I won't go into them here.) My formatter is amazing (part of why I pay him to do it) and has promised me I'll have the formatted versions tomorrow. So... I should make it. Light a candle for me and show your faith by preordering :D
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Scraping Under Those Deadlines
Sunday, August 22, 2021
Cover Reveal! The Dragon's Daughter and the Winter Mage
I'm headed out of town so today I'm just sharing a cover reveal for my September release! The Dragon's Daughter and the Winter Mage comes out September 24 and isn't this cover stunning??
Sunday, June 27, 2021
Winter Magic in Summer - THE LONG NIGHT OF THE CRYSTALLINE MOON
Just out today, I give you THE LONG NIGHT OF THE CRYSTALLINE MOON.
This is a prequel novella to my Heirs of Magic series, previously published in the UNDER A WINTER SKY anthology, and now available as a standalone. If you want a bit of wintery magic, this story will transport you to a fantasy world where the longest night is celebrated at Castle Ordnung. A circle of grown-up childhood friends gather to dance, drink, celebrate the rare sighting of the full Crystalline Moon - and perhaps attempt to rekindle a long-lost love affair.
For a short time, you can snag this novella for only 0.99c from my website store. As the retailer links go live, you'll find them here - THE LONG NIGHT OF THE CRYSTALLINE MOON - and the price goes up.
Sunday, April 11, 2021
How to Write Shorter Works Successfully
This week at the SFF Seven, we're examining the differences between writing a short story, novella, novel, series. We're asking each other: Do you prepare for length beforehand or edit down (or add new stuff) afterward?
So, I have Strong Opinions about this. Something that may come as a surprise to exactly none of you.
I am primarily a novelist now and the shortest works I write are novellas that are typically no less than 25K words. (My novels range from 90K-120K.) When I first started writing, I wrote essays and short stories. My first book - Wyoming Trucks, True Love, and the Weather Channel - was an essay collection. Writing those shorter lengths came naturally to me from work in school.
When I transitioned to writing novels, it was MUCH more difficult than I expected. I had this idea that it would be like writing a really long essay.
Reader: it was not.
I had to learn the rhythm and pacing of a novel, which feels like an entirely different art form than writing novellas or shorts. Because... it is. It's a common error for an author to attempt to stretch a short story concept into a novel. Readers notice that the story feels "thin," stretched out for too long, and filled with stuff that's boring because it's unnecessary. Or, sometimes, a story that's novel-length gets wedged into a shorter format. Then it feels rushed, over too soon, and never fully explored.
So, my answer is that I *always* prepare for length beforehand. The story concept MUST fit the planned length. It's a matter of choosing a story with the correct scope for that length. Shorter works have fewer secondary characters and more straightforward conflicts. Very short works should explore a single idea. One surefire way to confine a story to a shorter length is to have it take place over a much shorter span of time. For example, my novella, THE LONG NIGHT OF THE CRYSTALLINE MOON, which is the prequel to Heirs of Magic, takes place over the course of a single night. This helps to make up for the fact that I have a lot of secondary characters - more than any other novella I've written. It wasn't ideal, but I made that choice because I was introducing a new series.
Naturally, there are no actual rules. Or, if there are, they're made to be broken. But I do think that adding or deleting to winnow a novel into a short, or fattening up a short to make it a novel, almost never works.
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Choose Your Own Religion
Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is "That Old Tyme RELIGION: Does Religion Change the Course of a Story?"
My answer? It depends!
I'm a big of a mixed bag, religion-wise. I grew up in an Irish Catholic family who were pretty much all lapsed, to the point that my stepdad was a former Catholic priest and my mother flunked theology in (her all-girls, Catholic) college because she stormed out of class after arguing with the nun. Extended family included an ex-Carmelite nun and a lifelong Catholic priest. On the other side we have Missouri Synod Lutherans, which my father left behind to convert to Catholicism, a wedding surprise for my mother, who had hoped to escape by marrying a non-Catholic. There's some kind of inverted Gifts of the Magi shiz going on there.
So, while I grew up well versed in liturgical debates, I mostly considered myself Catholic in the same way I'm Irish - by weight of ancestry. In (my co-ed, liberal arts) college, I majored in Comparative Religious Studies, along with my primary major of Biology. My honors thesis compared Meister Eckhardt's (an excommunicated Catholic priest and scholar) sermon On Detachment with Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.
For a long time I described myself as spiritual, but not religious - which didn't seem to explain anything to anyone. Now I just say I'm a practicing Taoist. Since almost no one knows exactly what that means (including, arguably, other Taoists), that at least gives me space.
All of this is by way of saying that, in my books, religion crops up a surprising amount. Or maybe it's not surprising. I find spirituality and the religions that grow from spiritual study fascinating. One of the terrific aspects of creating alternate fantasy worlds is that I can make up my own pantheon of deities - and I can use the worship of those gods and goddesses to explore and comment on religions of our world. The religions I've created have ranged from distant gods (Forgotten Empires) to a trio of goddesses who interfere with fate to the point of taking avatars (The Twelve Kingdoms and the Uncharted Realms).
In only one series so far have I included absolutely no hint of religion or deities: Bonds of Magic. Those of you who've read DARK WIZARD should feel free to write an essay on why that is. I can promise you that it's a deliberate choice.
In fact, I'd argue that religion always affects the course of a story. Even in its absence, there is a consequence on the world and how the characters live in it.
Sunday, January 31, 2021
Should You Reference the COVID-19 Pandemic in Your Writing?
So exciting! DARK WIZARD, Book #1 in a totally new series - new world, new magic system, new everything! - is coming February 25, 2021. You can preorder now.
Available at these Retailers
Yes, I know I just released a book last week, but sometimes this is how balancing an Indie career with a Trad one works out. Probably we could do a theme week on that topic. Suffice to say, I'd already planned out and begun the Heirs of Magic series, when this book - finished and very sparkly to my eye - was returned to my aegis. I could have sat on it. Or I could just launch this series, too!
You all know me (or you should, by now) - I checked my Gantt charts and decided to go for it.
Our actual topic at the SFF Seven this week is *not* filling the pipeline with projects in order to juggle the demands of a career as a hybrid author. It is, however, not entirely unrelated. We're discussing topicality and making choices about what to write and publish - "In These times of plague: Writing about the real world in fiction."
I recall, lo these many years ago, when I was a newbie author and soaking up All The Advice, a writing professor at my university pronounced (you may add stentorious tones, if you wish) that we should eschew anything of popular culture in our work. Such references only dated the work, and made it less than. I vividly recall everyone nodding along sagely and making erudite remarks about the banality of popular culture. So much so that, for once, I kept my mouth shut.
Though I didn't agree.
People sometimes support this argument by pointing out that Jane Austen doesn't mention Napoleon in her novels, though that was the overshadowing political force at the time. She does, however, include the presence of the regiments. The movements and stationing of The Officers! (feel free to read in Lydia's excited squeal) are omnipresent to the milieu of the stories. They're such a seamless part of the world that we don't really remark on it. Except... why are there parades of uniformed soldiers marching through these idyllic, rural hamlets?
My point is that, even if we make the conscious choice not to mention Napoleon, the tenor of the war will invade the story regardless.
I've seen a number of authors in various groups asking about whether others are including the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-2021 in their books. Do we show characters in lockdown? Wearing masks? Avoiding public superspreader events?
Putting those realities of our lives in this extraordinary time into our books feels... fraught. Do we really want that stuff in our escapist fiction? And yet, the alternative - at least for contemporary fiction - is to pretend it never happened, or risk our characters looking foolish, cavorting maskless in a pandemic world, coming within six feet of PEOPLE THEY DON'T KNOW.
I don't know about you guys, but I flinch now watching movies where people attend parties in close spaces, embracing and kissing on others. It didn't take all that long, relatively speaking, for my habits and worldview to change.
The advantage of writing alternate fantasy as I do is that I don't have to worry so much about this kind of thing. On the other hand, this is the world *I* live in, and - like The Officers! - aspects will infiltrate the milieu of my stories.
I've seen a number of interviews now with directors talking about how the pandemic changed their films in profound ways, leaking in where they didn't expect it. I also saw Locked Down (Baby's First COVID-19 Movie™) and enjoyed it very much. However, filmed in London in early 2020, it already felt dated in marked aspects.
Cue sagely nodding of sycophantic students. "See?" they say. "Dated. Less than."
I disagree. Capture the moment, if that's what calls to you. As artists, we observe the world and reflect it through our own lens. That includes *gasp* popular culture.
Besides, it's going to leak in anyway.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
New Fantasy Romance: The Golden Gryphon and The Bear Prince by @JeffeKennedy
This week our favorite hard-working, award-winning Sunday blogger, Jeffe Kennedy, released the first book in a new fantasy romance series Heirs of Magic!
Heirs of Magic: Book 1
A Legacy of Honor
Crown Prince Astar has only ever wanted to do the right thing: be a credit to his late father’s legacy, live up to his duties as heir to the high throne of the Thirteen Kingdoms, and cleave to the principles of honor and integrity that give his life structure—and that contain the ferocious grizzly bear inside. Nowhere in those guiding principles is there room for the fierce-hearted, wildly free-spirited, and dizzyingly beautiful shapeshifter, Zephyr. Still, even though they’ve been friends most of their lives, Astar is able to keep Zephyr safely at arm’s length. He’s already received a list of potential princess brides who will make a suitable queen, and Zephyr is not on it.
A Longtime Obsession
Zeph has wanted the gorgeous, charming, and too-good-for-his-own-good Astar for as long as she can remember. Not that her longing for him—and his perfectly sculpted and muscular body—has stopped her from enjoying any number of lovers. Astar might be honorably (and foolishly) intent on remaining chaste until marriage, but Zeph is Tala and they have no such rules. Still, she loves Astar—as a friend—and she wants him to at least taste life before he chains himself to a wife he didn’t choose. There’s no harm in him having a bit of fun with her. But the man remains stubbornly elusive, staving off all of her advances with infuriatingly noble refusals.
A Quest to Save the World
But things change when a new terror threatens the Thirteen Kingdoms. Following prophecy, Astar and Zeph—along with a mismatched group of shapeshifter, warrior, and sorceress friends—go on a quest to stop a magic rift before it grows beyond anyone’s ability to stop. Thrust together with Zephyr, Astar finds himself increasingly unable to resist her seductive invitations. And in the face of life-and-death battles with lethal monsters, he begins to lose sight of why having her, just once, is such a terrible idea…
The Immortal Spy Series & LARCOUT now available in eBook and Paperback.
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Sunday, January 10, 2021
Career Leveling Up: What Jeffe Is Doing
Sunday, November 15, 2020
A Pre-Release Peek at UNDER A WINTER SKY!
And now, Chapter One and a glimpse of Chapter Two of The Long Night of the Crystalline Moon from UNDER A WINTER SKY!
~ 1 ~
Castle Ordnung came into view as
the dragon dropped beneath the thick cloud cover. From Rhyian’s perspective on
dragonback, the white towers and high walls looked only slightly less white
than the snowy landscape. The high queen’s crimson banner flapped furiously on
the heights, all the pennants of the subsidiary thirteen kingdoms arranged
below. Though it was still afternoon, the thick snowfall dimmed the light to a grim
gray, so gloomy the thousands of burning torches lining the parapets shone
clearly.
Rhy snorted to
himself. So much for mossback’s much-anticipated viewing of the crystalline full
moon. With that overcast, no one would even see it. To think that he could be
at home in tropical Annfwn, celebrating the Feast of Moranu in the traditional
way—on the beach, shapeshifting, dancing, and drinking in the warm night.
But no. His mother
had issued a royal command that Rhy absolutely would attend the ball
celebrating the quarter-century anniversary of High Queen Ursula’s prosperous
reign. Nothing less could’ve forced him to attend. Not that Rhy didn’t love and
respect his Auntie Essla. But it seemed likely Salena would also attend. And
he’d rather be anywhere than in the same place as Salena.
Not something he
could or would confess to anyone. And even the queen’s son must obey royal
commands—particularly when his father, the king of Annfwn, did nothing to save
him. So there Rhy was, tricked out in the fancy dress outfit his mother had forced
him to wear via yet another royal command—the silver-trimmed black velvet making
him look like a mossback—plunging into bitter winter, and counting the minutes
until the following dawn when he would be free again.
The longest night
of the year had a lot of minutes.
Hopefully Salena
would just ignore him tonight. It would be a big event in a huge castle. They
should be able to avoid each other. After all, they’d managed to avoid each
other for seven years since the incident. And she’d been the one to flee
Annfwn, clearly to avoid seeing him ever again. He couldn’t imagine she’d want
to see him now any more than he wanted to see her.
Zynda landed in
the cleared field set aside for the dragons. The cold wind whipped them cruelly
as soon as Rhy’s sorceress mother released her magic bubble that had kept them
warm on the journey. Zynda waited only long enough for them to scramble down
the rope-harness ladder before shifting into an elegant ballgown and furred
cape. “Brr,” she declared, joining them. “I always forget how cold it is here
in winter.”
“I don’t,” Rhy
replied caustically, but subsided when his mother glared at him. They rushed up
the cleared walkway, the torches lining it providing some warmth, though the
flames whipped and guttered with the wind.
Guards saluted,
shouting hails for Queen Andromeda of Annfwn, some giving Zynda’s husband, Marskal,
the Hawks’ salute, though he was long since retired from the high queen’s elite
guard. Finally, they made it inside the castle, and for once, Rhy appreciated
the thick walls. The stone edifices mossbacks favored might be as confining as
a cage, but they did cut the brutal winter winds.
It was like
stepping into a different world—and a different Ordnung than he’d ever seen
before. To honor the goddess Moranu’s rule over shadows and the dark of night,
the rugs, table coverings, and other hangings were all in deepest black. They
created a somber backdrop for the remaining decorations, which all celebrated
the return of light. Silver and gold threads wove through all of the black
fabrics, catching the candlelight. Crystal plates and goblets sparkled with
fire, everything in silver and gold. White gems of all shapes and sizes studded
everything, like thousands of stars, and garlands of evergreen boughs sporting white
moonflowers that gleamed like sweetly scented living pearls festooned the
walls, windows, mantels, and every other possible surface.
The elaborate
crystal candelabras—some suspended by silver wires, others perched in clusters
on every surface—held white candles blazing with light. More moonflower
garlands dripping with flashing crystals, and possibly diamonds, hung in
graceful swoops from the high ceilings.
Scribes sat at black-draped
tables scattered throughout the busy reception hall, using flashing crystal
implements to take notes for fancily dressed folks speaking earnestly to them.
In other places, hammered gold bins held countless rolled scrolls of paper,
with empty tables beside them, writing implements at the ready.
Rhy had no idea
what that was about, but he had to admit—silently, in the privacy of his own
head—that the mossback celebration of Moranu’s feast outstripped the one in
Annfwn. Certainly more elaborate. But then, mossbacks always did like things.
“Rhy!” Astar,
wearing a fancy velvet getup very like Rhy’s, came striding through the busy
hall, his twin sister, Stella, right behind him. His cousin embraced him,
thumping him on the back. Stella hung back, giving him her serious smile and a
courtly wave. Her sorcery gave her extraordinary healing skills but also made
her sensitive to people’s emotions and physical pains. She’d learned a lot
about shielding herself from the Sorceress Queen Andromeda, but not touching
people helped more than anything. Still, a crowd like this couldn’t be easy for
her.
Rhy gave her a gallant
bow, then clasped Astar’s forearm. “Happy Feast of Moranu, Willy and Nilly,” he
said, using their childhood nicknames, originally assigned by exasperated
adults exhausted from chasing rambunctious shapeshifting twin toddlers, and now
used gleefully by their friends to annoy them. Surreptitiously scanning the
throng, Rhy didn’t see Salena anywhere. Last he’d heard, she’d been off in the
Aerron Desert making it rain. Maybe Moranu would look on him favorably—not that
She ever did—and Salena hadn’t come tonight.
“I’m so happy you
joined us, Rhy!” Stella beamed at him. “We weren’t sure you would, knowing how
much you hate to leave Annfwn, especially in winter.” As dark as Astar was
light, Stella looked very much like Andromeda, with storm-gray eyes that shone
almost silver like her argent ballgown. Her dark hair—the exact same unusual
rusty black as Rhy’s mother—was up in a complicated style that shone with red
glints where the light hit it.
“I wouldn’t have
missed this for the world, my gorgeous cousin,” he replied with his most
charming grin.
“Moranu save us
all,” Queen Andromeda said in a very dry voice as she joined them. “It’s
capable of polite speech. Who knew? Happy Feast of Moranu, niece and nephew,
it’s good to see you.”
“It’s wonderful to
see you, Auntie Andi,” Stella replied after Astar finished hugging their aunt
for the both of them. “Mother and Auntie Essla are getting dressed now. I’m to
ask you to join them in Her Majesty’s rooms.”
Queen Andromeda
dusted off her leather riding pants unnecessarily. “Ah. Time to confront
whatever Glorianna-inspired creation my baby sister intends to dress me in.”
“Auntie Ami is
dressing you tonight?” Rhy asked, beyond surprised.
“Yes.” His mother
wrinkled her nose at him. “Which is something you’d know if you’d listened to
anything I’ve said for the last three days instead of sulking. Ami insisted on
designing gowns for the three of us sisters. Essla, too. We’re frankly
terrified,” she confided.
Even in his rotten
mood, Rhy had to smile at that. As the avatar of Glorianna, goddess of beauty
and love, his Aunt Ami embraced all things frivolous. “I’m amazed you agreed.”
His mother
grimaced. “We’re all making concessions so this event will be a perfect
celebration,” she replied meaningfully.
“I’m here, aren’t
I?”
She straightened
his collar, smiling wistfully. “I know you hate this,” she said quietly, “but
you look very handsome.”
He batted her
hands away, but relented and gave her a hug. “Good luck. I’ll pray to Moranu
for you that the dress isn’t pink.”
“She wouldn’t do
that to me,” his mother replied firmly. “Would she?” She shook her head. “I’ll
see you all later.”
Once Andi left
them, Astar clapped Rhy on the back. “It’s been too long.” He waggled his blond
brows. “And we have a bottle of Branlian whiskey waiting to properly kick off
this celebration.”
Rhy whistled in
appreciation. “How did you get that?”
“Being heir to the
High Throne might be the bane of my existence, but it does have a few perks.”
Astar shoved back his golden curls, grinning cheerfully.
“And Jak has
promised to bring aged Dasnarian mjed,” Stella added. “He sent a message that
Jepp and Kral obtained a few casks of the good stuff, and he’s bringing one.”
“Then we might as
well start on the whiskey,” Rhy said, “so we’ll be ready for the mjed. Who else
is here so far of the old gang?” There. He’d asked that nonchalantly enough. Please
say Salena isn’t coming.
“Jak arrived this
morning. Otherwise, only we have joined the party so far that I’ve seen,” Astar
replied. “But I’ve had a salon set aside for us to all meet up. Jak is keeping
a lookout for the girls to emerge from their primping, and he’ll bring them to
join us.” He smiled, every inch the golden prince. “It will be good to have all
seven of us together again.”
“Won’t it,
though?” Rhy said, scanning the crowd again with increasing dread. All seven
of us. So Salena was coming. In fact, it sounded like she was
already here. And they were going to be crammed into a tiny room together.
This night would
be endless.
~ 2 ~
And there he
was. Rhyian. Like night made into flesh, Moranu’s loving hand all over him,
crowning him her Prince of Shadows. Salena couldn’t look away.
Amid the glittering
crowd, laughing with Astar and Stella, Rhyian stood tall and languid, black
hair in glossy disarray as if he’d just crawled out of some girl’s bed.
Probably had. He wore silver-trimmed black velvet, perfectly tailored. And, even
slouching with indolent grace, hands stuck carelessly in his pockets, he
dominated the room with dark radiance. Astar, ever the golden prince, dimmed in
comparison as he gestured widely, saying something with a wide and happy smile.
Rhyian nodded, clearly not paying much attention as he scanned the crowd.
Looking for his next conquest, no doubt.
Don’t be
bitter, she reminded herself. After all this time, she couldn’t possibly
care what he did.