Rediscovering Childhood Joy… part 2 “The Dark Crystal”

Tags

childhood, doing the impossible, Jim Henson, magic, memories, movie, never giving up, other worlds, self-discovery, The Dark Crystal

“Another world. Another time, in an age of wonder…”

These fabulous words open this movie, one I know by heart, one that left its images, ideas, and feelings etched lovingly on my soul.

The Dark Crystal… Jim Henson and his amazing crew, 1982.

Jen, a Gelfling, the last of his kind, leaves his home on a great journey to heal the crystal, to save his world.

Once again Henson genius gives us marvelous characters and creatures wrapped in a wondrous world. And we all know how much I LOVE other worlds. The creativity. The magic.

Scared and unsure, Jen embarks on his quest without a clue as to what to do. Yet finds friends along the way.

Aughra gives him the crystal shard, what he needs to complete his mission and explains of the Great Conjuction, the meeting of the three suns when the world will end… or begin. For 1000 years ago the crystal cracked, spiraling the world into darkness. The Skeksis appeared, taking over the Castle of the Crystal, using the power for their own selfish purposes.

Kira… WAIT, Jen isn’t the last of his kind!… and her fuzzy pet Fizzgig join Jen on his journey to heal the crystal before the suns meet in the sky. As Jen was raised by the kind-hearted, knowledgeable (and a bit hippie-ish) Mystics,

she grew up in the care of the fun-loving (simple-minded) Podlings.

For the race of Gelflings had been destroyed, taken by the Skeksis, their essence drained, granting immortality to the evil race.

Now they want Jen and Kira, but not just for their essence… because of the prophecy.

I know, there’s always a prophecy. The Skeksis’ power will end by Gelfling hand.

The scheming Skeksis send their henchmen the Garthim to capture the two travelers.

Our two heroes head out on their journey, facing the danger, running from the Garthim, and learning the truth of their race.  And finally arrive at the Castle of the Crystal.

Even thought Kira is captured, Jen continues, desiring the end of the mission and finds the Chamber of the Crystal.

Kira fights her way to freedom and meets him there. Jen jumps onto the top of the crystal, but loses the shard, the missing piece of the crystal. Thinking only of saving the world and defeating the Skeksis, Kira braves the danger, retrieves the shard, and tosses it to him.

But the Skeksis will not give up so easily. They grab Kira, threatening her life. When Jen heals the crystal, they kill Kira.

The Mystics arrive, knowing the time of the Conjunction is near.

The crystal, now returned to its true form, merges the good with the evil into a new whole, returning the world to its former glory.

And breathing life back into Kira, so she and Jen can begin to rebuild the Gelfling people.

“We leave you the Crystal of Truth. Make your world in its light.”

This is the first movie I ever owned, receiving the VHS tape for my birthday when I was a kid. Of course, now I own it on DVD. The music, the visual effects, the story trapped my heart and imagination and never let go.

Jen leaves his home, the only place he’s ever known and enters the world, a big place full of the unknown. Like we all do. He finds friends and love. He finds himself, completing a task he thought too great for a simple Gelfling to accomplish. He faces the shadows, learning of the evil in the world, and does not give up.

And saves the world.

Maybe in our lives we can’t save the world, but we can save OUR world.

For when things go wrong and life seems to shatter into a million shards, we can put the pieces together.

Until next time, for part three of this wonderful trip down memory lane, sharing all the movies that touched my heart… “The Last Unicorn”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sachael Dreams Release Day!

Tags

book, fantasy, Melody Winter, NA, release day, Reuts Publishing, romance

IT’S HERE! I don’t know ’bout the rest of you, but I have been hearing all sorts of things on Twitter about this… I have been gazing at all the pictures Melody has been posting related to her story. I’m talking pictures of dreamy guys.

AND NOW SACHAEL DREAMS GOES OUT INTO THE WORLD!

About Sachael Dreams:

Twenty-two-year-old Estelle Bailey has had enough of busy city-life and her hot-tempered ex. She escapes to the seclusion and peace of her family’s clifftop home in Ravenscar, where the soothing solitude whispers to her soul as strongly as the sea itself does. But her newfound contentment is interrupted when a mysterious man—a Sachael, master of seduction—joins her midnight swim unexpectedly.

Estelle struggles against his charm and the overpowering attraction she feels for him. He offers her a life she never could have imagined, a life beneath the waves . . . but at what cost? Before she can decide, she’s captured, ensnared by the Sect, a secret enemy of the Sachaels, becoming a pawn in a war she knew nothing about.

Now, she’s left with a new choice—escape the clutches of the Sect and flee into the ocean, or side with her alluring, intimidating captor and destroy the Sachaels forever. Can she turn her back on the man she might love, or will the secret of her heritage change everything?

Set against a picturesque backdrop, Sachael Dreams is the first in a new series, exploring themes of romance, love, and identity, and the struggle that happens when all three collide.

Get Sachael Dreams Today!

 

And there’s a trailer! Go see it!

Everyone wave to the author, Melody!

Growing up, Melody Winter showed a natural ability in art, a head for maths, and a tendency to write far too long English essays. Difficult to place in the world when she graduated, she pursued a career in teaching, but eventually ended up working in Finance. Melody is convinced the methodical time she spends working with numbers fuels her desire to drift into dream worlds and write about the illusory characters in her head.

Melody Winter lives in North Yorkshire, England, with her husband and two sons. When not dealing with football, rugby, and a whole plethora of ‘boy’ activities, she will be found scribbling notes for her stories, or preparing for another trip to the beach. With an obsession for anything mythical, Melody revels in reading and writing about such creatures. In fact, if she wasn’t such a terrible swimmer, she’d say she was a mermaid.

Sachael Dreams is her debut novel, and the first in her New Adult Romantic Fantasy series—the ‘Mine Series’.

You can view more of Melody Winter on her website, Twitter or Facebook.

 

 

Rediscovering Childhood Joy… part 1 “Labyrinth”

Tags

adventure, goblins, Jim Henson, Labyrinth, magic, movie, wishes

My Twitter header picture is a bunch of goblins, from a movie I love, yet a movie I don’t expect a lot of people to know. When a few people commented on it, saying they love that movie too, my little heart leapt with joy.

People DO know this movie, but what of my other childhood favorites? So I tweeted pictures from those.

Lo and behold, people not only know them, they love them. So I want to share three movies that forever changed my life in a blog series. Three movies that I owned on VHS and now own on DVD. Three movies that I discovered have touched others’ lives as well.

Movie magic, people. Magic.

Today, I want to share…

Labyrinth (Jim Henson and George Lucas… 1986)

Fifteen-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) wants to live in a fairytale, where no one can tell her what to do, where to go, or who she has to be.

She desires adventure, but the only excitement her life holds is babysitting her little brother, who won’t stop crying. So she makes a wish, that’s all it takes. The goblins scamper into the room and take Toby.

But Sarah isn’t exactly happy. I mean, who really thinks the Goblin King’s minions will actually grant a wish? Jareth, the Goblin King, (the fabulous David Bowie) comes to her… expecting gratitude, he saved her after all, but she demands her brother back.

Okay, sure. No problem. All she has to do is solve a labyrinth by a certain time… and she can have her brother back. *gulp*

So Sarah journeys into the maze to get her brother, solving riddles and meeting friends. Jim Henson’s genius shines in this movie. The puppets. The characters.

Sir Didymus on his trusty steed Ambrosius, Sarah, Ludo, and Hoggle. Aren’t they great?

Well, there is a bit of creepy weirdness. The Fireys… well, scare me.

As Sarah battles her way to the center of the labyrinth, Toby is having a grand time with Jareth and the Goblins.

And, of course, there is music… hello, David Bowie. I own the soundtrack. *hums*

But Jareth worries… what if Sarah can solve the riddles and make it to the center of the maze? So he tries to throw her off, trapping her in an oubliette, making her think she is home, and luring her into a ball.

But, in the end…

She finds herself at the center, facing Jareth, finally deciding what her life will be, what is important. To get her brother back. To save her family. Even though the Goblin King tried to help her, to give her what she desired, she won’t give up her brother’s life, his choices, for her own selfish wish.

Sarah takes control of her life, stops blaming the outside world for all her troubles. Something we all do now and then.

If only the Universe would stop being cruel…

If only so-and-so would get their act together…

If only…

There are things in life we can’t control. But one HUGE thing we can… ourselves, how we react, how we push forward.

Life isn’t easy. Life is work. You don’t get to live a fairytale because you want to, and we can’t blame others if our lives aren’t turning out exactly how we imagined. The life we have is ours… no one else’s.

So look at the world and all the problems it throws you and say…

Until next time, when I will share my love of The Dark Crystal…

May you conquer the labyrinth that is life.

 

 

Favorite Screen Characters Blog Hop

Tags

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Who, Farscape, Favorite TV characters, Firefly, Fringe, Haven, Merlin, Orphan Black, Psych, Supernatural

One of my newest Twitter friends Rae tagged me in this blog hop, celebrating something I love. TV. Movies. Characters.

Rae is fantabulous! Seriously, she’s great fun and a great short story critiquer. Go check out her blog here.

Instructions: For this quick, fun blog hop, you just name your 10 favorite characters from movies or TV, then tag 10 friends to do the same!

I stuck with TV, so that I didn’t go completely insane trying to narrow the list. And I stuck with one character from each of my chosen shows, which hurt. HURT! A few of these show… I love everyone.

On with the fun!

1. Willow Rosenberg played by Alyson Hannigan. I love her.

Either the light…

Or the dark version…

 

2. John Crichton played by Ben Browder. This show, people. This show. ❤ All the characters… Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), Ka D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan (Virginia Hey), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), Dominar Rygel XVI (voice by Jonathan Hardy) They’re all in the gif… so call me a cheater if you will.

 

3. Sarah Manning played by Tatiana Maslany… of course, being clones, Sarah plays them all.

 

4. Dr. Walter Bishop played by John Noble. Favorite crazy genius.

 

5. Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds played by Nathan Fillion. Shiny.

 

6. Duke Crocker played by Eric Balfour. It’s good to be bad.

 

7.Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and Burton “Gus” Guster (Dule Hill)… yes, two. They go together.

 

8. Dean Winchester played by Jensen Ackles. *sigh*

 

9.Merlin played by Colin Morgan. What’s not to love about a sorcerer, and the relationship with Arthur in this show… simply amazing!

 

10. The Fourth Doctor played by Tom Baker. Jelly baby, anyone? He is my favorite, but let’s be honest, I’ll go on adventures in the TARDIS with any of the Doctors.

And there you have it.

Now I am supposed to tag people to play, but I’m not gonna do it. If this seems like fun? DO IT!!!!! Let me know so I can see! I love TV and movies.

Happy Saturday!

 

Liebster Tag… Round Two

Tags

fear, horror, Liebster tag, Midnight Society, random facts, writing

I have been tagged!  Woohoo! Everyone is screaming with joy! I did this once before, you can read it here.

But when the wonderfully spooky Kira Butler challenged The Midnight Society crew…

… and since I will be joining them in the land of everything scary…

YES! They asked ME to join them! Me! I know!

I thought… why not do it again? I love these awesome, horror-loving gals! Go read Kira’s post, because why pass up the fabulousness?

Why?

Since I did this once, I will skip some of the pleasantries and go right for the meat. BRAAAAAAAIIIIINNNNSSSSS!

Excuse me.

Kira has posed 11 questions, which I will now attempt to answer in a semi-intelligent and somewhat strange way. Well, we are talking about me.

Ahem…

1.What is your favourite thing about writing horror?

Horror allows us to peer into the darkness and face our fears. It allows us to explore everything that makes our hearts race and minds spin. Horror lets us glimpse what might be lurking in the shadows, what waits for us beyond the veil of what we see. That noise you heard in the other room? Yeah, that… what MIGHT it be?

2.Tell us about your writing process.

I live with my characters and idea for a while (like months), writing down everything they tell me, getting to know them. I draw pictures and maps, filling notebooks with a jumbled mess of everything. Scenes flash into my mind and I write those down. I’ve tried outlines and they just don’t work for me, but I do like having a calendar so I do tend to know what happens when. Mostly. The characters have been known to go their own way, which is allowed. Finally, I can’t help but type ‘chapter one’ (and a witty title, because chapters need titles) and write it from beginning to end.

3.Where does your inspiration come from?

Everywhere. I wrote a ms because of a tree. I wrote a short story because of a strange building. Last October, I wrote 22 flash fiction pieces because of a word. TV and movies will spark weird thoughts in my head. A name will inspire a character, then I wait for them to tell me their story.

4.Do you ever scare yourself? How do you break past the wall and dig deeper?

I scare myself all the time. That thudding on the stairs? That’s me running up them to escape the dark first floor.

In my current short story, which I am getting ready to sub, my mc revealed that he killed someone… he had so much rage after being abused that he killed the guy. I’m no killer. So facing that type of anger throws me off kilter. But his story needed to be told, I tapped into his wrath, revealing what he had done, letting the emotions drive the story. The monsters living within each of us scares me, but needs to be explored and understood.

5.What’s your biggest fear?

The unknown. What happens after we die? Though I believe in ghosts… I believe there is something after this life, the fact is no one really knows.

6.If you could summarize your writing style, how would you describe it? Paint us a picture.

Words link together, creating a tangled web of detail and emotion. The scene sets the mood in each starry twinkle or shadowed corner. Tension builds with every creak. Fragmented thoughts leave wonder, fear.

7.What’s your recent most favourite sentence from a book?

“There came a time when you realized that moving on was pointless. That you took yourself with you wherever you went.” – Stephen King in Doctor Sleep

BUT THERE ARE SO MANY MORE… and more I probably never wrote down. *cries*

8.What was the first horror novel you read and loved?

When I was 16, my dad handed me The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. One night, I was reading in my room, upstairs, the rest of the family was downstairs. Jacky and Wolf were riding a train through a wasteland and harsh whispers came from the dark around them. Creeped the crap out, I lifted my eyes from the book. My door lead out to a dark hall. The lamp by my chair was the only light. I ran to the hall, flipped on the light and continued downstairs, where my family held normal conversations about everyday things. All was well, except for me. I remember feeling as if I had been put back in my life, but changed. That’s when I became a true fan of horror. I finished that book and went after more.

9.Describe your writing ritual.

Ritual? First I sacrifice most of my time to the life of stay-at-home mom. Chores. Laundry, cleaning, taking care of whatever… only when I have those mundane tasks complete can I sit, which usually means after dinner. I have my glass of water, sometimes gum. My dragon and my squishy monster Grunt sit next to me. A stack of notebooks, filled with scribbles fill the cushion to my left. I can have music without words. No TV, or I am too distracted. However, resisting the call of Twitter is difficult. I am weak.

10.If you could hang out with your favourite character for an evening, who would it be and what would you do?

Ummm… well, I would love to go hang out with Danny Torrence and go to the Overlook Hotel. However, the whole hotel exploding thing kills that dream… not to mention the fact that the, if the building was still intact, it would probably murder me. Hedge animals… *shudder*

So… I would love to hang out at Hogwarts with Harry. *grabs my magic wand*

11.What’s your big dream as an author?

One day, I want to walk by someone, look down, and realize they are reading MY book. As long as there is enjoyment on their faces… Life made. That’s not very big. Oh well, I love the little things.

 

Onto MORE fun random facts about me! Oh my… and since I am now known on Twitter for my gifs, let’s use those.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.Yes, within all my happiness lurks darkness. That surprises people.

Thank you for joining me for this fun! Go check out The Midnight Society and all the great people who share their love of the weird and just plain terrifying.

Jolene

Suzy

T. A. Brock

Melinda

Amy

Faith

Jennifer

Have a great day… and don’t worry about that noise. It’s nothing.

 

Dare to Dream… Release Day!!!!!

Tags

book, Dare to Dream, fanyasy, release day, Reuts Publishing

 

I am thrilled to be a part of this fabulous release day! I have a copy of this book in my hot little hands and will definitely be sharing my thoughts after I get to read it. For now, check it out and if it looks good to you, go buy yourself a copy.

 

Blurb:

The world was going to end. Of that, Maggie Trafford was certain.

Fourteen-year-old Maggie Trafford leads a normal life. Well, as normal as being crammed in a three-bedroom house with four siblings and a single parent can be, anyway. But despite being somewhat ignored at home, Maggie excels, earning top grades, a best friend who would do anything for her, and stolen looks from a boy in Maths.

It’s not until the dreams start that Maggie realizes “normal” is the least of her problems. Every night, she lives the same nightmare—red lightning, shattered glass, destruction. But nightmares are just that, right? No one believes her when she says it’s an omen. At least, not until the already mysterious pillars of Stonehenge start falling.

No longer alone in her fear, Maggie and the world watch with bated breath as one after another, the historic stones tumble, like a clock counting down. But only Maggie knows what it means: when the last stone falls, destruction will reign. And when the world ends, there’s only one option left—survive.

Horrifying and raw, Dare to Dream is equal parts tragedy and hope, detailing the aftermath of apocalyptic catastrophe, the quest for survival, and the importance of belief.

Buy DARE TO DREAM by Carys Jones today!

 

And there is a trailer! But I am too tech-challenged to figure out how to post it on my blog, (I tried SO HARD! *cries*) so I will link you to it… HERE!

 

And introducing the very excited author… go congratulate her on Twitter and EVERYWHERE!

Carys Jones loves nothing more than to write and create stories which ignite the reader’s imagination. Based in Shropshire, England, Carys lives with her husband, two guinea pigs and her adored canine companion Rollo. When she’s not writing, Carys likes to indulge her inner geek by watching science-fiction films or playing video games. She lists John Green, Jodi Picoult and Virginia Andrews as her favorite authors and draws inspiration for her own work from anything and everything. To Carys, there is no greater feeling then when you lose yourself in a great story and it is that feeling of ultimate escapism which she tries to bring to her books.

Find more of Carys Jones on her website, like her on facebook or follow on twitter.

Happy reading, everyone!

Facing Our Fears

Tags

encouragement, facing fear, fear, short story submissions, step by step, thoughts, writing

I read a post yesterday that spoke to me. My fears, staring at me. And someone’s encouraging words, telling me to do what I can, to not be afraid. The fabulous Julie Hutchings shared her struggles with getting back into writing. Go read it here.

My confession:

I am scared to death to start a new manuscript.

But… but, Kathy, you have several manuscripts finished. Why would writing another one scare you?

It makes no sense. Yet, it does. The last ms I finished was in 2009. Since then I have revised them, going back over existing words. A comfortable place, really.

The thought of staring at a blank page makes me want to, well…

Don’t get me wrong, I have written new words. Since finishing Doors last revisions, I have written all sorts of short stories. I LOVE THEM! In October, I posted something like 22 flash fiction pieces on my blog… an exercise in horror. In November, I wrote four short stories for the ProjectREUTSway story contest. I have subbed two shorts since then, am working on one for another anthology, and have been asked to sub to another literary journal. And Julie Hutchings is hosting a March Madness flash fiction celebration on her blog and I am doing a piece for that, read about it here (and SEND HER WORDS!).

So three more shorts, then I am going to tackle the sequel to Doors. I have lots of notes. I still have some world building and character sketching… very possibly I am avoiding that to avoid actually writing. Very possibly.

But it’s time.

I’ll have CP fun to do. And eventually edits for Doors will appear. I am excited for all of it!

Yet, the fact that I will stare at a blank page, page one of what will probably be an 80K ms… MAKES ME SHUDDER IN MY BOOTS!

I can’t keep sidestepping. Hiding. I have to write the story, tell more of Bryn’s tale. She will get upset if I don’t. And nothing good can come of that.

Hello! Characters here with a story for you… let us in…

So I look back at Julie’s words. A step at a time. Little by little I can get back into the mindset of writing a book. It won’t go smoothly everyday. It will cause frustration and screaming, maybe a few tears. And eating of all the chocolate…

I can pretend to give myself a schedule, but that won’t work because life happens. I don’t do word counts, because I will obsess about the numbers and face insanity, then NOTHING will get done.

I’m not focusing on the top of the mountain, but on the next foothold. I will get to know and love my characters, enjoying the journey of creating, of storytelling. One scene at a time. One word at a time.

 

Wait… It’s Been a Year?

Tags

achievements, emotional, friends, life, thoughts, writing

I began blogging one year ago.

Wow. It’s been a year already?

And. What. A. Year.

When I posted that first blog on February 10th, 2014, I had no idea what I was doing. And in all honesty, I still don’t. But my blog became an outlet for me, for all my feelings, thoughts, ideas. Kinda like therapy. Just pour my heart out on a public site, perfectly normal.

I struggled last year. Self-doubt plagued me as I stood at the edge of a cliff, knowing something was coming, but what? I could feel my life beginning to travel a new path. Weird, but that’s what it seemed like. And then things started to happen. My words were getting out. On blogs. In a book. People asked me to read their words. I was invited to join a Skype critique group.

I had two offers to publish my manuscript. And signed with Reuts Publishing.

I learned so much last year. About the world of writing and publishing, about myself. I turned 42 in December and living in the land of forty-something is freeing. I care less about what people think, I care less about what I can’t do perfectly, and I care more about trying, taking chances, being present and living life.

Over the next year, I’ll write more, some good, some bad. I can’t wait to make all my relationships stronger and meet new people. I will hopefully do a lot more CPing, because I love it. In a year, I’ll be preparing for the release of my debut book. And whoa, the rush of feelings that attacked as I wrote that…

For someone who feels pretty darn happy alone, I have to say that the people in my life have made all the difference (and, yes, most of them live in my computer… I am not ashamed). My family, Mom and Dad, my sisters, my husband, and kids, who love me just the way I am… My dear Twitter friends, who are always there to share a smile or just be crazy… my writers’ group, who push me to be my best. I couldn’t have made it through last year without all of you.

So go forth into this big, wide world and spread the joy of you. I’m certainly going to continue to annoy everyone with my form of weird!

 

The Liebster Award

Tags

fun, Liebster Award, random facts, thoughts, writing

The lovely Jenna DeVillier has tagged me in this blog hop, and, sounds like fun. I like sharing odd facts about myself.

Jenna’s questions…

1) What was your first novel?

The first novel I read? That was a long time ago, but something I’ll always remember is the first book my dad handed to me. With a grin, he said, “You might like this.” It was The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub. That hooked me on horror.

The first novel I wrote. Well, that sits comfortably in the innards of my computer. It’s titled The Darkness of Magic and follows Ella as she learns she has magic and faces what happens when you let your fear of being evil become a reality.

2) What is your favorite book of 2014?

Oh dear. I didn’t read nearly enough books last year. But my favorite was Revival by Stephen King.

3) Spring, summer, fall or winter?

I live in NE Indiana, so get the full blown glory of each season. I love the newness of spring, the way the world wakes up after a long nap. I love the summer days at the pool and all my flowers. I love the way fall paints the world with color. But overall I love winter best. The silent snow falling, washing away the noise. I love Christmas and sledding. I love cuddling under a comfy blanket.

4) If you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go?

My dream is to travel to the Isle of Skye in Scotland… the header pic at the top of my blog? Yeah, there.

5) What is your favorite food?

Pizza. That is all. However, if chocolate suddenly vanished I would die.

7) What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Teaching myself how to write. Yup. I had no idea what I was doing when I set out on this journey. And now I have several manuscripts in various draft stages. I have stories that have been published. And I have signed with Reuts Publishing to pub my debut novel. Yea me!

8) Sum up your current WIP in one word (or sentence, to be less cruel)

My current WIP is in planning and plotting (though I don’t do much of that) stages… but… DISCOVERY.

9) If you could save one book from your bookshelf in the zombie apocalypse, what would it be?

AH! *paces nervously* I DON’T KNOW! The Shining? The Deathly Hallows? OMG! The Book Thief? There are too many. I’m going to move on before I hurt myself.

10) What was your favorite class in school?

Art. ART!!!!!

11) Do you have a secret skill?

I can draw. However, that secret isn’t so secret anymore.

I’m finished! Do I win something?

No? Oh.

Moving on… random facts about myself… hmmm…

1. I am obsessed with Little House on the Prairie. I own all the TV shows on DVD. I own all the books, not just the Laura years, but Margaret, Charlotte, Caroline, Laura, and the Rose years. My sister and I took a trip to Mansfield, Missouri to see the actual house where Laura lived with her husband Almanzo. THAT WAS FABULOUS! WE SAW PA’S FIDDLE!!!! My brother-in-law brought me presents from Smet, South Dakota, where the Ingalls lived for years, because he knew I would love them.

2. I played the violin for nine years. I love classical music. Sadly, the poor instrument has been forgotten under my bed, but I think I could still play.

3. I took Tae Kwon Do for six years. I had a mean tornado round house kick. It’s been awhile, so I do fear injury if I attempted it now.

4. My proudest moment was walking 60 miles in three days with my sisters to raise money for the Susan G. Koman organization. The best weekend ever.

5. If I am in a room with a group of adults on one side and a group of kids on the other… I will go talk with the kids.

6. I am married to a police officer, yet have never fired a gun and have no desire to do so.

7. I love color. Every room in my house is painted a different color… blue, green, purple, brown, gold, red… it makes me happy.

8. I believe in the paranormal. Ghosts, faeries, demons… all exist on the other side of the veil. And some people have the ability to see them. Sadly, not me. But my wish is to have a paranormal experience.

9. I love to volunteer. I helped for years with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop. School field trip needs a chaperone? ME! ME! PICK ME! (and my kids ask me to volunteer and seem to like it when I go) I have been a Big Sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters since 1997. I am assistant coaching my daughter’s volleyball team right now (well not as in this moment, but you get the drift). When people are looking for CPs (critique partners) I love saying YES! But I have to stop, because so many CPs.

10. I am a perfectionist. Over the years I have learned to shove it down in the darkness of my mind, but it’s still there. As a kid, if I wasn’t completely sure I’d be able to do something perfectly… I would NOT try. This also ties into my fear of failure. Eeesh.

11. I have a sonic screwdriver, and I am not afraid to use it.

Now, I am supposed to tag people, but I hate rules. So if you read this and it sounds like a good time (maybe you have no idea what to blog about and need something) join in the fun… drink the Kool-Aid… take the blue pill. Heck, I’ll even give you a few questions to answer. Or just make up your own… that whole rules schmules thing.

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

2. What is the last book you read? Did you like it?

3. What’s you favorite TV show?

4. What’s your favorite holiday?

5. If you could live in any time, (past, present, or future) when would that be?

6. I sit the Sorting Hat on your head… What house would you be sorted into? Or if you don’t speak Potterese… What faction in Divergent would you choose?

7. Puzzles or video games?

8. Party or quiet night at home?

9. Do you believe in fairies?

10. What is your favorite childhood memory?

11. Coffee, tea, or wine? Or none of the above?

Thank you Jenna! That was fun!

Until next time, dear readers. Celebrate you and all your wonderfulness.

 

 

 

The Road So Far

Tags

contests, learning, life journey, publishing, rejections, thoughts, writing

 

After the fabulous announcement of my signing with Reuts, I thought I’d share a bit of how I got here.

About ten and a half years ago, I came up with this crazy idea to write a book. The story had been in my head FOREVER, and suddenly it all came together.

In the summer of 2004, I began to write. The completed first draft of The Darkness of Magic, book 1 in what would be a 4 book series, sat before me in the winter of 2005. WOW! I wrote a book.

Now, the world of publishing was a mystery. So naïve little me, sent out letters (I can’t even call them queries, because… ug, they weren’t) to publishers. It pretty much went like this (and I am not proud, but we all start somewhere):

Hi! My name is Kathy and I wrote a book. Would you be interested in publishing it…

Good heavens. I never got rejections, cause I’m pretty sure those lovely words went straight in a trash can as the people reading them doubled over in laughter.

Past-Kathy had not a clue! But, I liked this writing thing so that same year I wrote book 2 of that series The Beast.

As I continued typing away, I bought books and took classes on how to get published.

I WAS DOING IT ALL WRONG!

What I learned:

1. First time authors were less likely to sign with a series. (I know that’s all changed now!)

2. Query letters are IMPORTANT! And there are rules to querying. Cue me feeling like an idiot.

3. You need publishing credits to be noticed by publishers. What? I have to be published to get published?

Okay. No problem.

I set aside my series and had an idea for a stand alone book. I finished my first draft of Doors in February of 2006. YES, THIS IS THE BOOK REUTS JUST SIGNED AS MY DEBUT. I wrote it nine years ago. Nine!

I also delved into short stories. I looked into the Writer’s Digest short story competition and magazines that pubbed shorts.

My short story Cinda (which has now been completely torn apart and is called Voices) received an honorable mention in the 75th annual Writer’s Digest competition. I was thrilled! Their letter said the fact that I placed spoke of my writing talent. Holy WOW! Maybe I could do this writer thing.

Later that year I wrote Everlife, a YA fantasy that still lurks in my computer until I figure out exactly how to deal with it. It might want to be MG… don’t know. A magically enchanted forest with a dark heart and a grumpy talking leaf. *shrug*

With two stand alone books and not quite sure how to do this query thing, I went back to my series and wrote the third one… The Heart of Darkness, which I finished in 2007. That year I entered the Writer’s Digest competition again and won another honorable mention with Xan and Zeke.

Through all this, I constantly revised. Alone. Looking back, I had no idea what I was doing. I just wanted to write.

In 2008, I wrote Faerie Wind, YA fantasy. Faeries. Evil little buggers that cause problems. I began to really delve into what it would take to be published. I read everything I could find. Yet I was still doing it alone.

But a breakthrough! My short story Marked was accepted for publication by Leading Edge Magazine! There it was in print, heck a beautiful color illustration for my story adorned the cover. I died. Seriously.

In 2009, I wrote Fate’s Mistake, YA magical realism. That one is waiting its turn for serious revisions – Doors had last year, Faerie had the year before (and collected all sorts of rejections!).

Also in 2009, I had a short story pop into my head and I gave the Writer’s Digest competition one last shot. I wanted a top ten, people. I wanted my name in the magazine. And A Ring of Mushrooms placed ninth. The tears that day!

Sometime after this I took a writing class, just to see what I could learn. During the class, a woman approached me and told me about a writers’ critique group to join, if I was interested.

A writers’ group? Light bulb moment! Doing this alone wasn’t going to cut it. I had done okay, but I needed other people, who knew more than I did… pretty much everyone.

And I stepped out of my solitary existence.

Over the last four years, I have worked hard on polishing different manuscripts and learning all I can about the writing and publishing world. I have built great relationships on Twitter and become a solid part of my writers’ group. I have found a great love of short stories, entering contests and subbing them here and there, and even ventured away from fantasy to horror.

Don’t you love evolving? Changing? Growing? Learning? This is life, my dears. A marvelous ride. If we’re lucky it never has a destination, just beautiful spots to visit along the way.

And next? The sequel to Doors (The Children of the Travelers, a possible title) swirls in my mind. Turns out the story needed more than one book. Who knew?