Training Issues

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In the last week I’ve crossed over 20,000 words on my middle grade novel, The Spirit Binder. The initial goal was 30,000 words, and that’s fast approaching. Methinks I think I’ll be revising that goal before long.

The current stage is basically a training montage. The main character is Cleodora, who starts out at age ten. But if she’s going to trot out spellcasting and such, I thought her growth and training ought to be on the page. By the time she sets out at age 13, she’ll have had several years of preparation.

It isn’t something I had planned on, but possibly I’m also writing this stage in response to so many stories where a young protagonist is trained to be some kind of super-assassin or thief. Cleodora is learning how to avoid being grabbed, and how to get out of holds. Her spells are things like a shield that deflects attacks, and a light, rather than attacking people herself.

A couple of creeping issues have appeared. Most of the training is under the structure of the guilds I mentioned in an earlier post. I still haven’t come up with titles for the guild leaders and such. I really need to get going on that. Also, my characters in Minstrels of Skaythe used light spells and barriers a lot. I’m not anxious to be repeating myself with their magic.

More seriously, Cleodora doesn’t know who’s behind all the troubles, but she has a spirit companion named Tef who really should have at least some of the answers. I need to come up with a good reason for it to not clue the humans in.

I know I will, though. The first draft is for putting the plot and characters together. Second draft is for fixing plot holes.

I hope you’re all writing along without those creeping issues.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Coming Soon!

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I’m into preparations for RadCon, which will be in about a month. It’s one of my favorite SF conventions, held in the Tri-Cities, central Washington State, over February 16-18 (Presidents Day weekend). In addition to the usual panel appearances, I’m pushing myself to get out and sell some books.

I’ll be partnering with a fellow Indy writer, Sanan Kolva. I had applied for an Artist Alley table and she had applied for a Dealer’s Table. Neither of us has heard back yet, but when we do we’ll decide which table we want. If we both turn out to be on panels at the same time, my husband and kid will be there to cover. It should be good for both of us to raise our visibility and sell a few copies.

Red blood cells drift on a dark background. Title: "Borne in the Blood"

Our memberships and room reservation are already taken care of. Later today I’ll be filling out their form to volunteer for specific panels. I’ll probably also check in with Sanan on whether we need table decorations and so forth.

Aside from that, a couple of projects are moving forward with Wolfsinger Publications. Their anthology Borne in the Blood is in the final stages of preparation. I have a story in it. I’ve also received back the last author contract on Wee Folk and Wise. Later today I’ll be going over that ms one final time before turning it in.

January is going pretty well, in other words.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Woman at Work, January 2024

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What’s Happening? It’s still winter break for me, but I have a lot to do and I’m not wasting the free time. Tempus fugit and all that.

What I’m Working On. In pursuit of my goals (see last post) I am currently focused on The Spirit Binder. I got a lot of hand drafting done while sitting in airplanes and at my sister’s house, waiting for various ceremonies to begin. That’s all being translated into WordPerfect. Since I began this story in mid-December, I’ve slammed out over 11,000 words. That’s a blistering pace for me.

What’s Next? My next publication will be a short story collection, Aunt Anne’s Archive. This is the one I hope to have out by May. The big push is to select cover art. My downloads with Shutterstock expire on Thursday, and I have two more available. Once I choose the images, I can firm up the story sequence at my leisure.

Where I’ll be. My next planned appearance is at RadCon, next month. I’m taking a big step and trying to get a table in their Artist Alley. If I can, I’ll share with a couple of other Indy authors. That should keep expenses down. I just hope I didn’t dither too long and miss the opportunity for 2024.

Fun and Games. With everything that’s been going on, I need to catch my breath. I started a new island in Animal Crossing, where there is no fighting or mayhem. Your neighbors don’t even get mad if you accidentally hit them with your shovel.

We might not all get to civilize a desert island, but I hope you all get a good start to 2024.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Plans for 2024

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Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

Plans? What are those? We all know plans go awry and we have to figure things out as we go along. Nevertheless, I’m making a few resolutions for 2024. These are things related to my writing, and they are things that I, myself, can be responsible for. (As opposed to things a publisher or editor makes decisions about; I can’t control that.)

Resolution 0: Re-organize my cabinets. I have a lot of outdated paperwork to clear, and I need room to file new stories as I work on them. This process is already under way, which is why I made it number zero.

Resolution 1: Finish my current WIP, The Spirit Binder. If I only complete the first draft, that still counts. However, I would like to publish it in November of 2024 if possible.

Resolution 2: Reissue Aunt Ursula’s Atlas with an updated cover and interior layout. I’d like to get this done between February and May, so I’d better get busy!

Resolution 3: Host Queen Titania’s Court in June of 2024. It’s my way to connect with the Indy writing community. Plus, it’s fun to do! 

Resolution 4: Write 3 short stories and submit each one to three or more markets. This is where I need to push myself a bit. I’ll write a fun short story and then never do anything with it. Collecting rejections is so much fun, I don’t know why I let myself miss out on it!

Resolution 5: Make three or more personal appearances to support my writing. As a push goal, be present in the Dealer’s Room or Artist Alley, either on my own or with a group. I feel anxious about this because there’s a financial outlay, but I used to move a lot of books at bookstore signings, and I need to get back to that.

Resolution 6: Publish a new short story collection. This will come into play if I don’t have The Spirit Binder ready in time. As mentioned under Resolution 4, I’ve built up a stockpile of short work.

What about you? What are your writing resolutions for the coming year?

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

That Time of Year

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(This post was delayed due to holiday travel. Cheers, everybody!)

Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

It’s that time of year. I’m looking back on my writing resolutions for 2023. As ever, these must be related to my writing, and they must be something that I, myself, can do without depending on an editor’s decisions.

Resolution 1: Write 3 short stories and market each one to three or more magazines. Did I do it? Partly. I did write three short stories, and I did submit them. Some went to anthologies and at least one was accepted. Others are waiting for submission windows to open.

Resolution 2: Host Queen Titania’s Court in June of 2023. Did I do it? Yes!

Resolution 3: Make three personal appearances to support my writing. Did I do it? Yes! I attended RadCon, MisCon, Moscon Revival and Fall Folk Festival.

Resolution 4: Reissue Masters of Air and Fire. Did I do it? Yes! I had a secondary goal to reissue Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, which was back-burnered. Something to think about for 2024.

Resolution 5: Publish two new e-books, one in May and one in November. Did I do it? Yes, though delayed. I published Renegades of Skaythe, the second Minstrels of Skaythe collection in July, rather than May. It was a paperback rather than e-book. The Tale of the Drakanox came out in November, as scheduled. It was both an e-book and paperback.

I met a lot of goals in 2023. Maybe I need to push myself a bit for 2024.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Wild Ride

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Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

Aside from that, a lot went on this week!

The major thing was that I came into my classroom on Monday and the room was almost empty. The Special Ed teacher I report to had quit. She cleared out her things over the weekend. No word to any other staff. Administration didn’t want us to tell the kids anything, which seems wrong. But, they are in charge, so I’m doing my best.

Anyway, it was mind-boggling. A substitute had been arranged for, and the two of us scrambled to keep groups going in a mostly empty room. I’m having to take the initiative on things that aren’t in my job description, and that makes me anxious. In all, it was pretty surreal, and I didn’t start to feel like myself until about Thursday.

The other surreality continues, that I’m writing final remarks for my father’s funeral in a week. I have a memory book put together from stories he told me over the years, and that needs to be printed in its final form. Just at this time, my printer has decided not to print anything in black. It’s an older printer, so I get to buy a new one. Like an early Christmas present… to myself?

In the realm of purposeful unreality, the map is mostly drawn for my next novel. I just need to add the tiny little forest trees and such. No title yet, but I’ve started writing the first chapters, getting to know the characters and setting. It’s nice to have something positive to focus on.

Hope all of you are having more real than surreal experiences just now.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

A Dream

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Well, I haven’t got a firm map and names yet for my new middle grade novel, but I have been developing other things. The characters, the spirits, how they interact. One thing I hadn’t got a good idea about is the antagonists. Until last night…

I woke up from half a dream. You all know that that’s like. But in that half dream, I realized the basic approach I could take for who the antagonists are and why they might be capturing nature spirits. I’m not clear yet on how they do it, but that will come.

Basically, I want to have a family dynamic among the antagonists. One of them is a disabled kid, and his parents are forcing the spirits to compensate for his disability. I’m mulling over possible backgrounds for them, from outright evil, like a crime lord, to more gray areas like an ambitious nobleman, a rich business man, or even someone like a judge. People with prestige who would want to spare embarrassment for their child or themselves.

Or, if I’m feeling cynical, the kid might be the antagonist, with their parents unaware. However, I do like the angle that even someone who might seem “evil” still cares about their child.

Hmmm, I wonder what I’ll dream about tonight!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

Woman at Work, December 2023

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What’s Happening? I am in the midst of writing my father’s obituary. This is rather surreal, to be honest.

What I’m Working On. There’s at least one more draft to go on a short story, “Poppet.” This is the one where a young man is asked to curse someone with a Voodoo doll, but decides not to.

What’s Next? A new novel has begun stirring. This one has to do with a land in severe drought because someone has kidnapped all the nature spirits. At least, I think so. It’s in very early stages. The author will be Lucy D. Ford, and it will be for middle graders.

Where I’ll be. My next planned appearance is at RadCon, during February of 2024.

Fun and Games. There’s nothing so relaxing as slaying demons in Diablo IV. Unless I decide to play Hades and slay ghosts. Either one or both might happen!

Happy holidays — whichever ones you personally celebrate.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

A Pause

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My latest short story is called “Poppet,” and it’s about a person who casts curses via Voodoo dolls. They’re part of a guerilla war to keep some invaders from occupying their land. I’ve finished a solid first draft, but now I have a quandary.

The issue is that guerillas fighting occupiers could readily be taken as a reference to current world events. At the time I started working on this story, Hamas hadn’t yet opened the new front in their long conflict with Israel. My story is set in a fantasy world, and the main characters are Elves. Even so, it’s a sensitive subject to even hint at.

I’m conflicted because I don’t like abandoning a story for any reason that doesn’t involve the story itself. I also don’t want to censor myself. Censorship is bad. At the same time, it’s important that writers “read the room,” if you will. Writing something that inserts myself into the Israel/Hamas conflict seems inappropriate and potentially harmful.

Maybe it won’t matter. Publication can be a long journey, and it’s possible that matters will be more settled by the time I actually get to submitting this story, let alone see it in print. However, I’m taking a pause on “Poppet.” The reissue of Wee Folk and Wise needs my attention, and working on it will give me time to mull things over.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.

My Best Book List

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I mentioned before that Book Shepherd invited me to share my three favorite books released between November, 2022 and October, 2023. That list has now been published! You’ll probably recognize them from my blog posts over the year. See it here.

Book Shepherd also has a general list from more than 950 participating authors, if you’re interested. This is that link. I thought we were tapping new releases, and many of them are older titles. Maybe I didn’t read the instructions carefully?

Anyway, it’s worth a look because this is such a panoply of incredible books. You’ll surely find a great read here.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my blog, Wyrmflight, or follow me on Bluesky, Facebook or Pinterest.