Woman at Work, Part 21

What’s Happening? We’re all in that “how did it get to be December?” phase around here. But, we have a lovely light snow falling outside, just in time to get our holiday tree today. That should be fun.

What I’m Working On. Getting the ball rolling with the Minstrels of Skaythe finale, The Tale of the Drakanox. As per usual, I started it off in the middle of some action, and immediately discovered that I need to back up or the action won’t make sense. I’ll find my way in soon enough.

What’s Next? I’m working on a post for a blog visit right now. That’s something to look forward to. I also have a few end-of-year chores to work in, like adding up my expenses vs. income. Big thrill, right?

Fun and Games. I’m about 2/3 through with Dragon Age: Inquisition, looking to stretch it out until Christmas because there’s such a likelihood that I will get a new video game then. In addition, Animal Crossing has just updated with a batch of new content that I’m happily exploring.

I wish you all peaceful holidays — and time for some writing, too!

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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An Appeal

With my latest e-book out, this is where I appeal to all of you friends to show a little love for Prisoners of the Wailing Tower.

Have you read it? A review on Goodreads of Amazon would be great. Or, just tell your friends who also read high fantasy.

Do you have a blog? I would love a chance to visit and spread the word.

Are you interested but want to know more? I’m always happy to answer reader questions.

Help a lady out?

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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The Chopped Ending

This is something I’ve been running into a couple of times lately when reading short stories. You get to the end and it just… chops off. Literally, at the bottom of a page, there is no story left. Turn the page, and the next story begins. It left me irritated and confused. Where’s the rest of it??

This happened three or four times in an anthology I’m currently reading. The first instance, I wondered if it was a glitch of some kind. Maybe they rushed through the proofing process and didn’t realize pages had been dropped.

But it kept happening, so that makes me wonder if it’s some sort of writing fad. To just chop the ending off and, I don’t know, make the reader puzzle out what might happen next? And then they’ll think you’re all edgy and stylish? If so, that doesn’t work for me.

Has anyone else noticed this?

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Updated Site

In addition to getting Prisoners of the Wailing Tower ready for publication, I’ve given my web site a full revamp. It’s something I do every couple of years, just to keep my public persona fresh.

So if you’re interested, wander on by and take a look! It’s always a work in progress, which means there’s the possibility of broken links, missing images, and so on. If you do find such a thing, I’d love to hear about it so I can make repairs.

Thank for your help!

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Next Novella, Part 2

As I go through the last proofing and setups on Prisoners of the Wailing Tower, I continue to dabble with the next novella. In preparation, I did a total read-through of the series. To my dismay, I discovered that I gave one of my characters a different name at the start of the series than he ended up with. That’s an easy fix, just a detail that needs to be made consistent with the other novellas.

(This is where I wonder if I’m kidding myself that anyone follows the series continuity that closely.)

The major thing I’m wrestling with right now is the title. I had been using “The Fall of Dar-Gothull,” which sort of telegraphs the ending. I’m mulling over the different groups and individuals that could feature in the title, like the Hornwood and the Minstrels, and even the drakanox. When I’m working on something like this, I like to make up lots of variations, so that’s what I’m doing. So far, everything I come up with sounds like an old monster movie or the third installment of a video game franchise.

The only reason I’m stressing about it is that the title needs to go in Prisoners of the Wailing Tower as a forthcoming novella. I’ll figure it out eventually.

In addition, I’m still working on who the POV characters should be. So far, they all seem to be the antagonists from the other novellas. That will be interesting, and I’m sure it will give a much more jaded perspective on the Minstrels. However, I do need to have some sort of POV on the Minstrels’ side, or readers will be left in the dark. But I don’t want to have too many points of view, either.

Yes, this is definitely a work in progress!

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Pre-Order Prisoners of the Wailing Tower!

ISBN 978-1-7339227-8-4

Yes, the latest e-book in my Minstrels of Skaythe series is now available for pre-order! I’m really excited to bring you this installment. Final tweaks are still going on, but the e-book will be out on November 20th.

All this time, it seemed like the Minstrels were getting away with their stealthy resistance. But even a light-bearing mage’s luck can run out…

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Prisoners of the Wailing Tower

Alemin only wanted to help an innocent. Instead, he was caught by the dreaded hunter-guards. Now he finds himself flung into the Larder, where the very walls are steeped in nightmares and his fellow inmates are vicious killers. Worse, Warden Ar-Lizelle seems intent on tracking down his friends, the Minstrels, who have devoted their lives to undermining Skaythe’s tyrannical regime.

On the outside, the renegade mage Lorrah receives a premonition of Alemin’s plight. She’s desperate to save a man she cares for, but the Larder is commanded by someone she has hated for years and can’t bear to face: her cruel sister, Ar-Lizelle. Luckily, Lorrah is not alone. She has help from the fierce women warriors of Badger Squad. Yet even their combined forces might not be enough to get Alemin free from Dar-Gothull’s Larder!

What are you waiting for? Pre-order now for just 4.99 from Amazon or Books2Read.

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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The Process, Part 3

I’ve been sharing my process as I go through revisions on my children’s short story, “The Lonely Dragon.” Here is the second draft, and probably the last I’ll be showing you. It’s time to finish this thing up and let my lonely dragon fly to some publishers.

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The Lonely Dragon, by Lucy D. Ford

A very long time ago, there was a dragon who lived high in the Skyclaw Mountains. Her silver scales barely shimmered, her lush mane was ragged, and her sharp horns had become blunt. Yes, the dragon was very old. She was also very lonely.

Sometimes people from the valleys down below would climb the rugged peaks and creep into her lair. They wanted to steal from her hoard. The dragon didn’t really mind. If she heard the sly crish-crish of footsteps, she would quickly set a trap.

Once the thieves were caught, they would tremble and cry. They thought the dragon was going to punish them. But as she grew older, the dragon had also grown wise. All she did was bring a pot of tea and ask about the goings-on in the valleys. Sometimes the people told her their problems, and she gave them good advice. When the tea pot was empty, the dragon would let them go back to their homes.

After a while, people stopped sneaking up the mountain to steal from the dragon. They just came to talk to her. She told them tales from long ago, and if they spoke about their problems, she still gave them good advice. Even mighty rulers came to seek the dragon’s wisdom.

Once, the dragon learned that two kings were about to send their armies to war. She invited them both to have tea with her. Instead of fighting, they signed a treaty. The dragon was glad that all the soldiers got to stay home with their families.

She was still very old, but she wasn’t lonely any more.

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Woman at Work, Part 20

What’s Happening? I have the very mundane task of signing up for medical and dental insurance. Yes, it is as thrilling as it sounds. Especially when I answer security questions exactly as I wrote them down, but the system insists I got them wrong and there doesn’t seem to be an obvious way to get customer support. Computers are wonderful, aren’t they?

What I’m Working On. Production has begun on Prisoners of the Wailing Tower. I can do a lot of the setups while also making final corrections, so I hope to have it up for pre-order soon.

What’s Next? Early work is under way on the next Minstrels of Skaythe novella, where it all gets tied together. Since it’s very early work, there isn’t much more to say there.

Fun and Games. My other games kept crashing, so I’m off on a new playthrough of Dragon Age Inquisition. In Animal Crossing, I decorated my village for Hallowe’en and went trick-or-treating. A good time was had by all.

That’s it, just a quiet month around here. How about all of you?

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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The Process

Last week, I was leading a small writing group, and our prompt was “once upon a time.” Fifteen minutes later, my page was full and I had to remind myself that they were supposed to be doing the writing.

Anyway, I ended up with about 150 words of a very basic short story. I thought it would be fun to share my process as I shape this rough draft into a finished story that I can submit. I don’t know if I’ll go all the way to the final draft, as some publishers would consider it a reprint. We’ll see.

For now, let’s get started with the original paragraphs from the prompt.

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“Once Upon a Time…”

Once upon a time, there was a dragon who lived on top of a mountain. She was very old and wise, but she was lonely. Sometimes people would come to her lair and try to steal from her hoard. The dragon didn’t mind. She just trapped them for a while, so she would have someone to talk to. She asked them for news of the goings-on in the valleys below. If they told her their problems, she gave them good advice. Then she would let them go back to their homes.

After a while, the people stopped coming up the mountain to try and steal. They just came to talk to the dragon. She told them tales from long ago, and she still gave them good advice. Even kings and queens might come. Soon, the dragon wasn’t lonely any more.

Pretty simple, right? I like the way it gives the dragon a problem that people might not expect, and uses some of the typical dragon lore in a fun way. It needs to be fleshed out with rich details and description, though. Next time I’ll share my first real draft.

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Next Novella

I’ve started work on the next Minstrels of Skaythe novella, which is tentatively called The Fall of Dar-Gothull. Honestly, I’m not sure about that title. It might give away too much. “Gosh, what do you think will happen by the end?”

Anyway, there isn’t much to report as yet. It’s mostly exploratory work right now.

The whole premise of Minstrels of Skaythe is that this group of renegades (so called because they reject the cruelty of Dar-Gothull’s oppressive regine) had to split up and each one used their own strategy to find safety as they could. To get going on the finale, I have to figure out where these characters were at the end of their novellas, who their allies were, and then basically claw back what they thought they had achieved.

Fun!

The other thing I need to get a handle on is who the viewpoint characters should be. After five novellas, there are a LOT of characters. It would be great if all of them could return, and we see what they’ve been up to in the several months since their last part of the story. Repeat appearances are one of the great things about a series.

At the same time, I don’t want to repeat exactly the same POVs. Those who told the story before have had their arcs and their growth. The readers already know them (I hope?). With this volume, the telling needs to continue through new eyes. These characters may previously have appeared, but they have their own growing to do.

For this while, maybe until the end of 2021, I’m going to be hopping around and exploring all the avenues. I’ll probably also do a total re-read, as well, to avoid inadvertently skipping important details. Ultimately, I’ll keep what I can use, store the rest (I never dump work if I might need it later) and start my somewhat vague process of plotting and writing the actual next novella.

Onward!

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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 web site, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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