Go Home Muse, You're Drunk

Ah, wife work.

It's Tuesday morning, and I wake up from the most incredibly vivid dream. I start my daily routine (make coffee, iron, feed the kiddos), and my brain just won't stop thinking about it. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that it had the beginnings of a really interesting story idea.

SO as soon as I have a moment, I pull out a notebook and pen and start jotting down notes, needing to get it on paper before it leaves my head forever. But the notes turn into a weird rough outline, and my outlines ALWAYS turn into actual writing. When it's time to get my oldest ready for school, I'm reluctant to leave my spot on the couch where I'm surrounded by scrawled-on paper... but I have to. I'm distracted though, itching to get more thoughts down. When I finally get her out the door (basically pushing her into her grandfathers hands, since he is her morning chauffeur), I toss a bottle in the general direction of the baby and run to my computer and write.

And write.

I look a little like this... but a little crazier.
and not a man.

I'm a maniac. Gleefully typing away, and only coming up for air when mine or the babies bodily functions require it. Before I know it, it's three o'clock and my oldest is back from school. I look down at the computer and realize I've spent the entire day at my computer, and had written a whopping (for me) amount of words for the day.

That night I took my notebook to bed with me, the only compromise I could come up with since I desperately needed both SLEEP and more writing time (to be fair, I always desperately need more sleep). Wednesday morning I pumped out another complete chapter no problem, and yesterday took a fair amount of notes (I was too afraid if I sat down to type that I wouldn't get back up again)...

My muse has FINALLY settled enough so that I'm not constantly thinking about it. Which is good, because a little Ms. Anise needs to have her story written asap. Plus the whole Gathering Water book 2 thing.

... Not this type of fantasy.

What does this mean for you? Nothing really, other sometime in the (probably distant) future you'll be getting a story that is completely outside my current preferred genre of YA. Because this is not YA, at all. Or NA....  Strictly adult fantasy.

The point of this blog entry??? Um... I'm not sure. But, I can now officially consider myself an artist, since an idea for a book came from a dream. Haha. I'm one of 'those people' now. I HATE 'those people'. 

I'm joking, of course.

Also... no children were harmed, or ignored, while I was writing. For reals. 

What's next?

Okay, so this last saturday I officially became an Author... well, I published my first book at least.

You can get it on Amazon.com by clicking here.It's only $2.99. Yes, that's cheaper than your favorite coffee!!! If you're an Amazon Prime member, and have a Kindle device, then you can also borrow it for FREE.

But that's not what this blog post is about. Not really at least. I'm really letting the world know what other projects I have in the works... You know, if I tell people about them, then I HAVE to finish them, right?

I just started a short story earlier this week. It's based in the same world as Gathering Water, but centers around Della's (Gathering Water's protagonist) grandmother. It's a little more romance than fantasy, and borders a little more on the NA side of the genre. If you've read Della's book already, then you know about Anise through the journal entries, and this will be her story. One of young love, and heartbreak, and how that can change a person. I'm hoping to release it by late April, and it will be FREE. I have several other short story/novella ideas based in this world, so this will be the first of MANY.

Of course, I have book 2 in the Gathering Water series. Release will be this upcoming Fall if everything goes a planned, and will deal with Della's discovery at the end of Gathering Water. We'll find out more about the Elfennol world, what the Clades are really all about (are they really evil, or just a darker shade of gray?) and Della's place in it all. Working title is Tempering Earth... but don't hold me to that. Haha.

There's also this project that I am IN LOVE with. I was working on it before Della started screaming in my head for attention. It's more adult fantasy, and each book in the series will be a VERY loose portrayal of a fairy tale. Because I love me some fairy tales. I have NO IDEA when it will be finished, or released, since the Gathering Water series will trump anything new until book 3 is out.

Stay tuned for updates... I'll be posting about a GIVEAWAY tomorrow, so be sure to check in an enter!!!

Why I Write What I Write

A little over a week ago I published my first novel, Gathering Water. Since then, I've been... amazed by the great feedback I've gotten for it. Of course I love my book, and I love my characters... but to have other people love them too? People that don't know me to love what I write, well, it gives me a very warm and tingly feeling.

I wanted to tell you a little about why I chose this genre (as much as any author chooses what to write, at least). I have two daughters. Funny, crazy, brilliant daughters. I want them to read, want them to love the written word as much as I do. I want them to be influenced by the words they read, to find meaning in books, find glimpses of other worlds.

One day, I took a look around at this YA genre that has been going crazy on my Kindle the last several years, and I didn't like what I saw. There were too many "Bella's" and not enough "Hermione's". That is, the heroines in the stories weren't the type that I wanted my daughters to emulate. There weren't enough role models. While I'm THRILLED that so many young women find solace in books these days, I'm worried about this generation that has grown up reading about irresponsible, codependent, unhealthy people... Yes, it's fiction, and no I don't expect fictional characters to be perfect OR perfectly realistic. I'm also not going to say it's wrong to write about "instant-love"...

But...

Life imitates art... I believe that. Really, I do. So, instead of furthering antiquated stereotypes about the over-protective boyfriend saving the naive and incapable girl, I wanted to write a story where the girl is the hero. Not the 'heroine'... the hero. Someone who, while taking help from those around her, is still self sufficient. Someone who is still growing, and might make some mistakes but learns from them. Someone who has been dealt a really crappy hand in life, but doesn't let that define her.

A coming of age story. That's what my book is, first and foremost. Yes, there is a paranormal aspect (yeah, a big one). There's even a little romance thrown in. But my story is really about a broken girl discovering herself; discovering her path, her destiny. Everything else I consider a subplot (even if I'm the only one that does).

I'm going to step off my little soap-box now,

If you haven't yet, go read my book (you can click this LINK). If you have Amazon Prime, and a Kindle device, you can borrow it FOR FREE for the next few months.

Later this week I'll let you know about what I'm working on, so be sure to check back in here!