Tag: writing

A rambling update

On By MikaelaIn Writing

I have been busy editing Daughter of the Dark, and I’m reminded how much I love this story. And I’m also reminded of how much better I am as a writer now, since I last revised it 2009. Which is almost 5 years ago, now. And I have written a lot of stuff since then.  Anyway, the editing of the first part of the duology is done. I think I cut close to 1000 words, mostly in the shape general tightening . And there were some bloopers. I’ll post it one of them next year.  🙂

I also spent sometime creating a mock up for The Queen of Sind, which is Sherezade’s new title. I decided to retitle it, since I didn’t want to confuse people. Even if the premise  is *based* on the set up for Thousand and One Night, it is not a straight retelling.  I have taken the premise, made Shah-Riar a lot less bloodthirsty, but looking for a new wife, and added lots of palace intrigues.  I had a lot of fun writing it, and I look forward to publish it late 2014/ early 2015.   Maybe my Christmas Gift to you next year will be a new book, instead of just the first chapter. 🙂

I also made a mock-up cover for the sequel to Daughter of the Dark, which is called Shadow of Love. What love? You’ll  find out next year!  My plan for the next two years is to release 1-2 e-books/ year. Next year, it will definitely be two, maybe three. Next year, the new story will either be the Clan War short story I’m planning on writing ( although technically it is based on a Historical Fantasy short story I wrote a couple of years ago), or The Alchemist’s Apprentice, which is a prequel to The Queen of Sind. It might be that I include that one in The Queen of Sind, or offers it as a freebie, though.  I’m leaning toward the Clan War story, since it is set in Dhurig, which means there would be a theme in the books.

Next up:  Short story! Probably the Clan War story, although I need to do some research, first.

Oh, and I had an idea about the Brownie Liason, which would make my main character elf, and the brownies gnomes.  🙂

Teaser: Daughter of the Dark

On By MikaelaIn Writing

I am busy editing Daughter of the Dark, but here is a tiny teaser from the Second Chapter. Even if it isn’t perfect, the draft will be much better when I’m finished.  Which should be, since the last time I revised it was 2009, I have improved a lot as a writer since then.

And then, I’ll start looking for an editor in earnest. I’ll probably post the revised first chapter in January. Or maybe on Christmas eve. 🙂

The hounds  howled in pain and rage. The closest hound ran towards me.
Oh crap. I dropped the crossbow, and unsheated my dagger. I dodged the attack, and slashed with my dagger. I felt a fierce satisfaction, when a thin blood read line appeared on the fur.   The Hound growled, and leapt at me. The next moment 150 pounds muscle knocked me to the ground.

The dagger slid from my grip, landing out of sight. I gasped for air, and looked up in to the face of Death. I wriggled, but the Dhu Annwi growled.

Another teaser from Daughter of the Dark

On By mikaelalindIn Books, Writing

I spent yesterday creating a cover for Daughter of the Dark. I am really pleased with how it turned out. Simple, yet it doesn’t scream home made to me. Best of all? All the elements in the stockphoto I found is tied to the plot.

So here comes a tiny snippet from Daughter of the Dark:

 

I knew that the wool was expensive. Very expensive. The money I would get if I sold a bolt of that wool was enough to feed me and Rhiane for months, maybe even a year if we lived frugally.

Daughter of the Dark should be out in early 2014 :). If someone wants to beta read it, leave a comment, email me or catch me in the war room.

So many plans!

On By mikaelalindIn Writing

I have been talking about selfpublishing several times, but it has stayed at talking. Not this time around.  I have already settled on which story is going first ( Daughter of the Dark, since it is stand alone), the cover artist I want, and the editor.  I plan to contact the editor later this month, and the cover artist next month.  Why not immediately? Because while they are well within my budget , they want half the fee in advance, and I don’t want a big credit card bill. So I am spreading it out a bit.

And later in 2014?  I introduce you to the Sultanate of Sind. First out is Sherezade, which will probably be retitled to the Sultana of Sind ( or The Queen of Sind)

To tease you, here is the first 200 words from Daughter of the Dark:

Standing in the shadows, I watched the house on the other side of the street. At the surface, the imposing brick house with its walled garden looked like the rest of the houses in this neighborhood. But that was just the surface, beneath the surface I could sense the wards. I knew that if I looked, a rainbow of colors would meet my sight.

I winced in sympathy. Unlike many other realms, this realm’s magic were hidden. In other words, using Elemental magic for spells hurt. A lot. Whoever owned the house had put a lot of effort in the magic defenses. Why? Why would someone ward a residence?

Unease slithered down my spine. Maybe it is the wrong house.

I dug into the pocket of my tunic, and got out the wrinkled paper scrap. I squinted, staring at Toni’s uneven writing.

Loraine Street. I glanced at the street sign. The silver letters gleamed in the moon light.

Yep. That’s here.

I froze when I heard the eeringly familiar howls in the distance.

Tea, Life and Writing

On By mikaelalindIn Life

I bought a small tin of Kusmi Tea yesterday, and made a cup. It was really nice( except that I should have let it steep longer), so nice that my mouth protested when I had a cup of Twining’s Lady Grey last nice. sigh.

My dad made the most yummy fried rice yesterday with mild turkish peppers, garlic and mint. I was a bit suspicious that the pepper was feferoni, since dad loves it ( I don’t. Too strong for my taste)

Carrie Ryan posted about plot structure on Magical Words yesterday, and something clicked. I have felt that I have slid backwards when it comes to plotting the last year. ( Which shows in the number of partial drafts I have. ) So I cannot wait to give her structure a try!

And life… I am maybe, maybe moving sometime next year :). ( It is complicated, uncertain and a bit sad)

The Evolution of an idea

On By mikaelalindIn Writing

For me ideas comes in two shapes:

The fully fledged ones and the “Someday I want to write this.”

The fully fledged ideas are the ones were suddenly  I have a character clamoring for me to write their story NOW.  I have learned the hard way to write it down, and jot down the plot immediately, or I’ll lose the idea.   Aeryn was one of those fully fledged ideas that clamored for attention.   Hopefully I’ll get back to Caetia, Demer and their intrigues later this year, or early 2014.

The other category is when I read something, and think  Ooh, I would to write a  Post apocalyptic Fantasy, but I don’t have a world,  or a story.   Sometimes two cool ideas merge into a stronger one.  When it comes to the Post apocalyptic idea,  I have a main character, and I have ( I think) a world too.   The idea was spurred on by a idle thought when I recently saw a headline about Princess Madeleine: What if something happened and she had to take the throne? ( Not that I WANT anything to happen to the Swedish Royal family) Suddenly, I saw a princess watching as her family was slowly lowered into graves.    She was sent to a cloister when she was really young, so she isn’t used to  court intrigues.   That said, it isn’t quite ready to be written yet.  I think.

So how do I know which ideas are viable? I don’t.  Over the years, I have developed a routine of writing a proposal package, I suppose is the best word, containing the first 10 k, a sketchy plot and some notes.   Some turns into first drafts, some doesn’t.   But at least I have enough information to continue writing the draft, if I decide to.

( Except I seem to have forgotten this process when I switch to Swedish. *winces*)