Love the middle ages? The Cymry (Welsh) people? Battle? Reluctant heroes? Spunky heroines? Dastardly Vikings? Twuue Luurve?
If you love any of these things, you may want to check out a book...
PEACEWEAVER releases this Friday (yes! this Friday!) from Desert Breeze Publishing (www.desertbreezepublishing.com). Get ye there and check out the cover awesomeness.
Seriously, I love this story as it came together. It was a joy to write. I hope my readers will enjoy it, too.
Showing posts with label medieval romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medieval romance. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
A New Week, Another Terrific Author!
Minions, today please welcome Dina Sleiman. Dina is a writer by choice, a dancer by nature, and someone who's very special to me. Today we find out what makes her writing life tick:
DK: When you’re not writing, what do you like most to read? Tell us what are your reading genres of choice. What are some of your favorites?
DS: When I am writing, I try to read great books in the genre I’m working on. Right now that’s historical romance, which is probably my very favorite. But when I’m not writing my reading is much more diverse. I actually enjoy all sorts of genres. Literary fiction is high on the list, but I also adore sci-fi, fantasy, and spec fiction. Cozy mystery is fun. I even read some thriller novels. My least favorite is suspense, but I still end with some of those too.
DK: You’re smart to “stretch” by reading outside your chosen writing zone. If you didn’t write in your chosen genre, which would you write, and why?
DS: In addition to romantic historicals, I’ve also tried my hand at contemporary women’s fiction and creative nonfiction. I actually have smaller publishing companies interested in both of those books right now. I’m a very organic sort of writer, and for the first few years of my career, I wrote rather impulsively. The contemporary women’s fiction came from my experiences teaching college and traveling in the Middle East. I’m glad I wrote it, because I think it meant a lot to my Lebanese husband. The nonfiction sort of exploded out of a collection of poems I’d worked on years ago when I discovered that format.
At this point I’m growing more focused and intentional about my career. I do think my niche will end up being in the historical/historical romance area.
DK: Where do you think the Christian fiction market might head in the near-term?
DS: I’m really in no position to predict, but I have noticed that Christian fiction is growing more realistic. A lot of topics that were taboo even a few years ago have become more common. Tattoos, Christians who drink in moderation, etc. This is huge for me, because I personally have no desire to be a religious, outwardly focused Christian. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that my dance emphasis (found in all of my books) has been so readily embraced, even by older readers. Not long ago, a number of Christian publishers didn’t allow dance to be mentioned. I’ve noticed recently that several Bethany books have depicted dance in a very positive light. And Zondervan has a novel featuring a ballerina and the whole dance world.
DK: What has been your biggest challenge since you decided to seek publication?
DS: My first few books were not very marketable. I was turned down by a number of agents and editors who loved my work but didn’t think they could sell it. My personal interests didn’t match well with the current state of Christian fiction, and I didn’t do enough research on the subject in advance. I’ve managed okay considering. And DANDELION has received wonderful reviews.
Right now, I’m focusing on correcting the marketability factor. I feel God has put a new desire on my heart to be more of a career writer and to help my children through college. It took some time and prayer to come up with an idea that I loved and that would fit the market, but I think the book I wrote this fall fits the bill. I hope it will be the start of something new and exciting for me.
DK: We'll await good news, then! Who are a few of your favorite authors?
DS: Francine Rivers (of course), Lisa Samson, Julie Klassen, Siri Mitchell, and Roseanna White are at the top of my list. Three out of five are now personal friends, which is pretty cool. In some other genres, I also really admire Tosca Lee, James Rubart, Steven James, Karen Hancock, and Kathy Tyers.
DK: Care to share a writing habit you cannot do without?
DS: Not exactly a habit, but I didn’t start writing seriously until I got my first laptop. In college I wrote a lot, but I hated all the time spent tied to a desk. For years I didn’t write anything longer than a skit or a poem. But once I had a laptop, I could curl up on a couch or a bed. That’s how I do all my writing.
Dina, thanks for sharing what makes your writing Dandelion dance!
DK: When you’re not writing, what do you like most to read? Tell us what are your reading genres of choice. What are some of your favorites?
DS: When I am writing, I try to read great books in the genre I’m working on. Right now that’s historical romance, which is probably my very favorite. But when I’m not writing my reading is much more diverse. I actually enjoy all sorts of genres. Literary fiction is high on the list, but I also adore sci-fi, fantasy, and spec fiction. Cozy mystery is fun. I even read some thriller novels. My least favorite is suspense, but I still end with some of those too.
DK: You’re smart to “stretch” by reading outside your chosen writing zone. If you didn’t write in your chosen genre, which would you write, and why?
DS: In addition to romantic historicals, I’ve also tried my hand at contemporary women’s fiction and creative nonfiction. I actually have smaller publishing companies interested in both of those books right now. I’m a very organic sort of writer, and for the first few years of my career, I wrote rather impulsively. The contemporary women’s fiction came from my experiences teaching college and traveling in the Middle East. I’m glad I wrote it, because I think it meant a lot to my Lebanese husband. The nonfiction sort of exploded out of a collection of poems I’d worked on years ago when I discovered that format.
At this point I’m growing more focused and intentional about my career. I do think my niche will end up being in the historical/historical romance area.
DK: Where do you think the Christian fiction market might head in the near-term?
DS: I’m really in no position to predict, but I have noticed that Christian fiction is growing more realistic. A lot of topics that were taboo even a few years ago have become more common. Tattoos, Christians who drink in moderation, etc. This is huge for me, because I personally have no desire to be a religious, outwardly focused Christian. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that my dance emphasis (found in all of my books) has been so readily embraced, even by older readers. Not long ago, a number of Christian publishers didn’t allow dance to be mentioned. I’ve noticed recently that several Bethany books have depicted dance in a very positive light. And Zondervan has a novel featuring a ballerina and the whole dance world.
DK: What has been your biggest challenge since you decided to seek publication?
DS: My first few books were not very marketable. I was turned down by a number of agents and editors who loved my work but didn’t think they could sell it. My personal interests didn’t match well with the current state of Christian fiction, and I didn’t do enough research on the subject in advance. I’ve managed okay considering. And DANDELION has received wonderful reviews.
Right now, I’m focusing on correcting the marketability factor. I feel God has put a new desire on my heart to be more of a career writer and to help my children through college. It took some time and prayer to come up with an idea that I loved and that would fit the market, but I think the book I wrote this fall fits the bill. I hope it will be the start of something new and exciting for me.
DK: We'll await good news, then! Who are a few of your favorite authors?
DS: Francine Rivers (of course), Lisa Samson, Julie Klassen, Siri Mitchell, and Roseanna White are at the top of my list. Three out of five are now personal friends, which is pretty cool. In some other genres, I also really admire Tosca Lee, James Rubart, Steven James, Karen Hancock, and Kathy Tyers.
DK: Care to share a writing habit you cannot do without?
DS: Not exactly a habit, but I didn’t start writing seriously until I got my first laptop. In college I wrote a lot, but I hated all the time spent tied to a desk. For years I didn’t write anything longer than a skit or a poem. But once I had a laptop, I could curl up on a couch or a bed. That’s how I do all my writing.
Dina, thanks for sharing what makes your writing Dandelion dance!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Jump Start!
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned being a bit low because I didn't seem to be able to get any enthusiasm for PEACEWEAVER in its original storyline. I ranted and grumbled a bit...
...but then I did what I should've done from the get-go: contacted my awesome crit partner and vented on her. Janny did what the most brilliant crit partners do -- she promised to mull the story for a bit and try to come up with ways to make it marketable.
Well, let me tell you, she did over and above the call of any crit partner's duty. She sent me a reasoned, thoughtful, page and a half summary of where the plot might go if I revised it according to the publishers', and my agent's, recommendations.
Did I use the words "blindingly brilliant" yet?
I sat down, read it over, caught her vision instantly and began to rewrite. I had to gut the story almost from page 1, but I'm 75% done with the rewrite now and it's just perking along.
What I needed -- and what I would recommend to any of you who write -- is someone to take an objective look at the piece in terms of story, and suggest a solution that would get the fire burning once more. Janny did this. I re-caught the enthusiasm I had for the original version, and making it work for the rewrite.
Rejoice with me! Did I mention "blindingly brilliant" yet?
...but then I did what I should've done from the get-go: contacted my awesome crit partner and vented on her. Janny did what the most brilliant crit partners do -- she promised to mull the story for a bit and try to come up with ways to make it marketable.
Well, let me tell you, she did over and above the call of any crit partner's duty. She sent me a reasoned, thoughtful, page and a half summary of where the plot might go if I revised it according to the publishers', and my agent's, recommendations.
Did I use the words "blindingly brilliant" yet?
I sat down, read it over, caught her vision instantly and began to rewrite. I had to gut the story almost from page 1, but I'm 75% done with the rewrite now and it's just perking along.
What I needed -- and what I would recommend to any of you who write -- is someone to take an objective look at the piece in terms of story, and suggest a solution that would get the fire burning once more. Janny did this. I re-caught the enthusiasm I had for the original version, and making it work for the rewrite.
Rejoice with me! Did I mention "blindingly brilliant" yet?
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Back in the Box
Home from the ACFW conference this week, free to process what I heard and what I learned.
I don't usually share sorrows. But I'm in a heavy mood over this one. It's nothing serious -- my loved ones are in health and I've really nothing to complain over. But my dear-to-the-heart 973 Wales book is not going forward in its present form. The story I wanted to tell is not the story the publishers want.
I heard similar things from two editors. The summary I presented on the one sheet caused pursed lips and raised brows. I explained that my plot points were true to their time, but heard, "Yes, I'm sure they are, but our readers will not accept them."
Point: though young women often were given in marriage in their mid-teens, my heroine cannot be in her mid-teens. She has to be older. Readers will not accept a main character who's considered a grown woman and ready for marriage at 15.
Point: my girl's true love and her husband have to be the same person. The readers will not accept that she loves one man and must marry another for political reasons. This, too, was true to the age, but the readers will not accept it.
Get the drift? The story I wanted to tell, how a woman can triumph over stiff odds, can come to love the quest for peace, can come to terms with an unwanted husband...all that must be taken out.
The more outspoken of us Christian fic writers talk about "the box." This far and no further. Write this and not that. Show these characters and delete these others. Deal with these themes and not those. Some of us would love to kick the sides out of the box, and some, including people I'm proud to call friends, have kicked the sides with some success. I honor them for it.
But not this story, and not at this time. Back in the box, PEACEWEAVER. The readers don't want you. Or so I'm told. To pitch this project (hopefully with some success), I'm selling out to The Box. I'm gutting my story.
I feel sad about doing this. What will be left (and I'm 40 pages in to the rewrites) will not be the story I wanted to tell. It may be something more banal, something perhaps less interesting, something I might not want to read were it for sale in a store. I hope as I overtype my original manuscript that it will be a better book than its predecessor, but hoping is all I can do until I see what it becomes.
Many factors in this writing/publishing life are beyond my control. My story and how I tell it are the only things I can control. Heaven knows I'm trying for quality.
I'm not complaining that the market is as it is. My wail is over the fact that it cannot be allowed to spread to cover a little wider span.
I don't usually share sorrows. But I'm in a heavy mood over this one. It's nothing serious -- my loved ones are in health and I've really nothing to complain over. But my dear-to-the-heart 973 Wales book is not going forward in its present form. The story I wanted to tell is not the story the publishers want.
I heard similar things from two editors. The summary I presented on the one sheet caused pursed lips and raised brows. I explained that my plot points were true to their time, but heard, "Yes, I'm sure they are, but our readers will not accept them."
Point: though young women often were given in marriage in their mid-teens, my heroine cannot be in her mid-teens. She has to be older. Readers will not accept a main character who's considered a grown woman and ready for marriage at 15.
Point: my girl's true love and her husband have to be the same person. The readers will not accept that she loves one man and must marry another for political reasons. This, too, was true to the age, but the readers will not accept it.
Get the drift? The story I wanted to tell, how a woman can triumph over stiff odds, can come to love the quest for peace, can come to terms with an unwanted husband...all that must be taken out.
The more outspoken of us Christian fic writers talk about "the box." This far and no further. Write this and not that. Show these characters and delete these others. Deal with these themes and not those. Some of us would love to kick the sides out of the box, and some, including people I'm proud to call friends, have kicked the sides with some success. I honor them for it.
But not this story, and not at this time. Back in the box, PEACEWEAVER. The readers don't want you. Or so I'm told. To pitch this project (hopefully with some success), I'm selling out to The Box. I'm gutting my story.
I feel sad about doing this. What will be left (and I'm 40 pages in to the rewrites) will not be the story I wanted to tell. It may be something more banal, something perhaps less interesting, something I might not want to read were it for sale in a store. I hope as I overtype my original manuscript that it will be a better book than its predecessor, but hoping is all I can do until I see what it becomes.
Many factors in this writing/publishing life are beyond my control. My story and how I tell it are the only things I can control. Heaven knows I'm trying for quality.
I'm not complaining that the market is as it is. My wail is over the fact that it cannot be allowed to spread to cover a little wider span.
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Conflicting Projects, Conflicting Emotions
Writer's angst. Which of us hasn't experienced it?
My conundrum: I'm told my medievals aren't wanted. They won't sell. To make matters worse, instead of working on something that may sell, I've got a first century story niggling at my brain, trying to get out.
So what am I doing on these writing-Wednesdays? Working on the third medieval time-travel story, which I'm told will never see the light of day.
It's going very, very well -- probably because nobody but me will ever glimpse it.
Discouraged? You bet.
My conundrum: I'm told my medievals aren't wanted. They won't sell. To make matters worse, instead of working on something that may sell, I've got a first century story niggling at my brain, trying to get out.
So what am I doing on these writing-Wednesdays? Working on the third medieval time-travel story, which I'm told will never see the light of day.
It's going very, very well -- probably because nobody but me will ever glimpse it.
Discouraged? You bet.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
No Post for a While, and Why That's a Good Thing
It's a good thing because I'm pleased to say I finished writing PEACEWEAVER! Yes, you heard me -- the 973 Wales book is done. For a brief period I thought I might never hit the ending. Then once I did, I was strongly tempted to change it.
"Don't," said Janny, my superlative and wonderfully honest crit partner. "It's a boffo ending. Touch it, and I get out the Righteous Nerf Bat."
I obeyed, of course.
In other news, I had a book I won't name, submitted for review. I was anxious to read it, since it's set in medieval England. But I bailed 40 pages in. Why?
Anachronism. Flaming, yank-you-out-of-story anachronism. Words and concepts that didn't exist until the 20th century, inserted into the 14th. Sorry. No excuse. There exist ample sites to research when a word or concept came into general use. I won't be finishing the book, no matter how keen I was to read it. Unfortunately, the author made finishing it impossible for this reader.
"Don't," said Janny, my superlative and wonderfully honest crit partner. "It's a boffo ending. Touch it, and I get out the Righteous Nerf Bat."
I obeyed, of course.
In other news, I had a book I won't name, submitted for review. I was anxious to read it, since it's set in medieval England. But I bailed 40 pages in. Why?
Anachronism. Flaming, yank-you-out-of-story anachronism. Words and concepts that didn't exist until the 20th century, inserted into the 14th. Sorry. No excuse. There exist ample sites to research when a word or concept came into general use. I won't be finishing the book, no matter how keen I was to read it. Unfortunately, the author made finishing it impossible for this reader.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Two Bits of Good News
My super crit partner, Janet Butler, has sold her VOICE OF INNOCENCE to Desert Breeze Publishing! Yay! This was/is the book she calls her "400 lb. gorilla" though I think by now it's gained some weight. Sure it is that it's found its wings! Congratulations, Janny.
Today also I wrestled the 973 Wales book, PEACEWEAVER, into submission and sent the proposal on to my agent. Now begins the bane of the publishing industry--the wait. Pray for me. Patience is not my greatest strength.
Today also I wrestled the 973 Wales book, PEACEWEAVER, into submission and sent the proposal on to my agent. Now begins the bane of the publishing industry--the wait. Pray for me. Patience is not my greatest strength.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Gotta Crow!
Pleased to announce that SEASONS IN THE MIST won this year's (2010) Grace Award in the speculative fiction category! I'm more honored than I can say. The Grace Award is an inclusive, reader-nominated, reader-voted award that spreads its arms to welcome small press, large press, e-published, and self-published works in Christian fiction. There's a lot of work out there that never gets attention from the more mainstream awards. So I'm cranked and thrilled!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Focus is a Good Thing
I recently finished reading Jean Auel's THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES, which continues the story of Cave Wonder Woman Ayla and her Hunk Muffin Mate. 755 pages. 300 could've been edited out and done the book no harm whatsoever, in my opinion.
The core problem? Failure to focus. Storytelling is a lovely pastime, but it cannot amble down every last tangential path. Some novelists seem to enjoy rabbiting away down this side route or that narrow opening into who-knows-where.
Not my thing. I'm still working on the first draft of PEACEWEAVER, my 974 Wales romance, and my biggest challenge is to stay on target. Stay focused. Tell the story I'm meant to tell and not follow these characters down too many cattle-paths. It's tempting. I know. I've been there. My books are better when I can dwell on one conflict, one main plot, one set of characters, and not wander all over the landscape, attractive as that is.
Thoughts?
The core problem? Failure to focus. Storytelling is a lovely pastime, but it cannot amble down every last tangential path. Some novelists seem to enjoy rabbiting away down this side route or that narrow opening into who-knows-where.
Not my thing. I'm still working on the first draft of PEACEWEAVER, my 974 Wales romance, and my biggest challenge is to stay on target. Stay focused. Tell the story I'm meant to tell and not follow these characters down too many cattle-paths. It's tempting. I know. I've been there. My books are better when I can dwell on one conflict, one main plot, one set of characters, and not wander all over the landscape, attractive as that is.
Thoughts?
Friday, December 03, 2010
Coming Soon -- SNOW!
Our first big storm is heading this way. Oh, joy -- Chicago, road salt, loony drivers, shoveling, more road salt...need I say more?
I'm determined to put a good face on this by spending the weekend working on THE HEALING TREE and biding close to home.
That said, tomorrow (Saturday), I'll pick a winner of the jewelry I'm giving away. Some of you prefer necklaces, others prefer earrings. It'll be winner's choice.
One way to make a snowy lake-effect day tolerable: give something away!
I'm determined to put a good face on this by spending the weekend working on THE HEALING TREE and biding close to home.
That said, tomorrow (Saturday), I'll pick a winner of the jewelry I'm giving away. Some of you prefer necklaces, others prefer earrings. It'll be winner's choice.
One way to make a snowy lake-effect day tolerable: give something away!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Fired Back Up!
Writing news today, plus a mini-rant.
The good news is: I'm afire once more. Those peripherals I discussed in the previous post will have to wait -- a story burns!
More than once in the past I've discussed with Janny the idea of a series, centered around a container of some kind that the characters use to store mementoes in -- items that figured in, or remind them of, some sort of crisis of faith. The items can be anything: a rock found on the beach that day they prayed and got answers; a bead from Grandmother's paternoster; a note from a friend thought lost.
The concept was originally the Bag o' Religion, shamelessly borrowed, but it's morphed into an ancient reliquary. PEACEWEAVER, the piece I'm brushing up (and trying desperately to finish) will be the introductory story. After that I'm fleshing out a previously written medieval, set later in the period, for the second book. Working title: THE STRANGER GUEST.
Janny's question was, "Stranger than what?" That needs answer, but not right now!
Mini-rant follows. Those of you who don't care, now's your chance to opt out.
ACFW in their forward-thinking mode has decided that e-books are no longer acceptable as Book Club selections. They selected Shawna Williams' NO OTHER as their first ever e-book. All 'round cyberspace, e-authors were applauding. ACFW "gained face" as they say in the East.
Now that's all over. One e-book was permitted for discussion, but not any more.
C'mon, ACFW. Get with the times. Do we always have to be two years behind the industry? Or this once, can we put on our Big Girl Times-They-Are-A'Changin' Hat and try, at least, to get on a level playing field?
Pah!
The good news is: I'm afire once more. Those peripherals I discussed in the previous post will have to wait -- a story burns!
More than once in the past I've discussed with Janny the idea of a series, centered around a container of some kind that the characters use to store mementoes in -- items that figured in, or remind them of, some sort of crisis of faith. The items can be anything: a rock found on the beach that day they prayed and got answers; a bead from Grandmother's paternoster; a note from a friend thought lost.
The concept was originally the Bag o' Religion, shamelessly borrowed, but it's morphed into an ancient reliquary. PEACEWEAVER, the piece I'm brushing up (and trying desperately to finish) will be the introductory story. After that I'm fleshing out a previously written medieval, set later in the period, for the second book. Working title: THE STRANGER GUEST.
Janny's question was, "Stranger than what?" That needs answer, but not right now!
Mini-rant follows. Those of you who don't care, now's your chance to opt out.
ACFW in their forward-thinking mode has decided that e-books are no longer acceptable as Book Club selections. They selected Shawna Williams' NO OTHER as their first ever e-book. All 'round cyberspace, e-authors were applauding. ACFW "gained face" as they say in the East.
Now that's all over. One e-book was permitted for discussion, but not any more.
C'mon, ACFW. Get with the times. Do we always have to be two years behind the industry? Or this once, can we put on our Big Girl Times-They-Are-A'Changin' Hat and try, at least, to get on a level playing field?
Pah!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Season after Season
Halfway through edits on SEASONS OF RECKONING. I'm really captured by this hero. He's smart, sensitive, sexy...have I left anything out?
Well, now that you ask...
He doesn't seem to have a sense of humor. I'm editing and editing and I'm like, "Why doesn't he think this is funny?"
Some people are serious. I simply cannot believe I've written one. Marc's sense of humor must be in there somewhere!
(Scrabbling through Marc's large leather travel pouch, in his coffer, under the straw tick on his bed, under Brengy's saddle. I can't have left it out!)
Say it isn't so!
Well, now that you ask...
He doesn't seem to have a sense of humor. I'm editing and editing and I'm like, "Why doesn't he think this is funny?"
Some people are serious. I simply cannot believe I've written one. Marc's sense of humor must be in there somewhere!
(Scrabbling through Marc's large leather travel pouch, in his coffer, under the straw tick on his bed, under Brengy's saddle. I can't have left it out!)
Say it isn't so!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The End!
News hot off the press for all three of you -- I finished Book #2 in the "Seasons of Destiny" series! Well, at least I told the whole story. Isn't that what this blog pretends to be about?
Yeah, right.
Anyway, thanks to my superb crit partner who never lets a good turn of phrase go unpraised or a *clunk* go unpunished, I hit on a boffo ending (we think) and sat down and finished the book! I feel good.
However, its title is still a botheration. I originally called it SEASONS OF RECKONING, and changed the working title to APRIL'S PILGRIM because, at the end of the day, there really isn't very much reckoning going on in this book!
My Historical Writers yahoo loop is weighing in on the choice, and so far it's 3-0 in favor of RECKONING. I dunno what I'll do.
Anyone want to weigh in? I chose APRIL'S PILGRIM because it puns on a main character's name: Ebrel means "April" in Cornish. Also the point-of-view character does take a convoluted journey through various trials in the book--something like a pilgrimage. But now (perverse woman!) I find myself liking SEASONS OF RECKONING better.
How say you, minions?
Yeah, right.
Anyway, thanks to my superb crit partner who never lets a good turn of phrase go unpraised or a *clunk* go unpunished, I hit on a boffo ending (we think) and sat down and finished the book! I feel good.
However, its title is still a botheration. I originally called it SEASONS OF RECKONING, and changed the working title to APRIL'S PILGRIM because, at the end of the day, there really isn't very much reckoning going on in this book!
My Historical Writers yahoo loop is weighing in on the choice, and so far it's 3-0 in favor of RECKONING. I dunno what I'll do.
Anyone want to weigh in? I chose APRIL'S PILGRIM because it puns on a main character's name: Ebrel means "April" in Cornish. Also the point-of-view character does take a convoluted journey through various trials in the book--something like a pilgrimage. But now (perverse woman!) I find myself liking SEASONS OF RECKONING better.
How say you, minions?
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
The Home Stretch
I'm getting close to the end of book #2 in this series, tentatively titled SEASONS OF RECKONING. The working title, which I don't greatly care for, is a botheration, but I cannot seem to come up with anything I like better. Pah! My crit partner and I tossed ideas back and forth throughout our two-day writing retreat last weekend, and came up with some titles that were beyond ridiculous.
Anyway, I digress. One of my besetting sins is the tendency, when wrapping up a story, to speed-write through the thing. Of course, it feels rushed. I need to s l o w d o w n and "just tell the story" without worrying about how long it takes! Don't I? Oh, you bet I do.
That said, RECKONING is at about 81K words, winding up nicely. One current issue is that I'm concentrating on plot points and not including enough emotion. Bad romance writer! Bad!
The other issue is that this one is NOT pointing toward a Happily Ever After ending. Oh no, it is not. What to do!? I think this one will have a bittersweet ending...that's what the characters seem to be driving toward, having taken over the story a long, long time ago.
Thoughts? Is a non-HEA ending even permissible for a writer who's always cranked out Happies?
Anyway, I digress. One of my besetting sins is the tendency, when wrapping up a story, to speed-write through the thing. Of course, it feels rushed. I need to s l o w d o w n and "just tell the story" without worrying about how long it takes! Don't I? Oh, you bet I do.
That said, RECKONING is at about 81K words, winding up nicely. One current issue is that I'm concentrating on plot points and not including enough emotion. Bad romance writer! Bad!
The other issue is that this one is NOT pointing toward a Happily Ever After ending. Oh no, it is not. What to do!? I think this one will have a bittersweet ending...that's what the characters seem to be driving toward, having taken over the story a long, long time ago.
Thoughts? Is a non-HEA ending even permissible for a writer who's always cranked out Happies?
Sunday, May 09, 2010
A Tasty Read?
Fellow Desert Breeze author and ACFW member Shawna Williams is waiting to read SEASONS IN THE MIST, but is in a holding pattern. Her 13 year old apparently got to it first.
She reports, "My oldest daughter likes to read outside, so she took the book with her to the goat pen. We love our goats...anyhow, she has this goat named Precious, who was happily sitting next to Lexi while she read. Lexi got distracted by a bug and set the book down to swat it. When she turned around, Precious was walking off with the book in her mouth, and Lexi had to wrestle it away. The book is fine, only slight teeth impressions. But now it seems that not only am I having to fight my daughters for a turn to read it, the goat's trying to weasel in, too."
I'm honored & humbled that a goat loves my book. But a tad bit bummed, alongside.
See, I had visions of fans reading it, not eating it...
She reports, "My oldest daughter likes to read outside, so she took the book with her to the goat pen. We love our goats...anyhow, she has this goat named Precious, who was happily sitting next to Lexi while she read. Lexi got distracted by a bug and set the book down to swat it. When she turned around, Precious was walking off with the book in her mouth, and Lexi had to wrestle it away. The book is fine, only slight teeth impressions. But now it seems that not only am I having to fight my daughters for a turn to read it, the goat's trying to weasel in, too."
I'm honored & humbled that a goat loves my book. But a tad bit bummed, alongside.
See, I had visions of fans reading it, not eating it...
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