N.E. White's Blog, page 5

Gnome Adventures Begin!

I spent this past weekend at my mom’s place for Mother’s Day. My mother lives in rural Fresno County on a small ranchette (that’s what they call them). She maintains over twenty fruit trees, cultivates a massive old nopales patch, and tends a veggie garden. While my mother never intends that we do work on the property during my visits, that’s just what we end up doing. She’s got a huge task talking care of all those plants, and frankly, I enjoy it.

We pruned two lemon trees, removed an old mint bush that had outgrown its pot and rooted into the ground, harvested zucchini, and helped build a shade structure for the blackberries. We also moved around some lawn furniture and watered her half-acre of lawn. All that between a tea lunch at the Meux Museum and Sunday brunch. Busy weekend.

You know what would have been helpful to have?

A gnome. More specifically–a garden gnome.

Would have been nice to have a little helper to take care of those pesky weeds and wrangle the weevils and grubs. As we toiled away with all the greenery, I couldn’t help but think of the most capable gnome I know–Ziggy Poppins.

You may be asking, who is Ziggy?

Well, let me introduce you to a MJ Fabel who happens to write about a little garden gnome…

Fantasy Author Confession

But first, here’s a taste of her latest book, Fractured Fumbles.

Ziggy Poppin isn’t your typical scavenger. He’s a quirky industrious gnome who helps his sister run the townlet’s local pub in Thimbleville. When Zig isn’t scouring for trinkets at the humans’ midden in the wee hours of the night, he ‘borrows’ from a farmer’s vegetable patch like it’s a free-for-all open market. But picking the cream of the farm’s crops comes to an abrupt halt when the owner is murdered.

Fractured Fumbles is another mystery I hadn’t planned on reading, but I’m happy I did!

Through this well crafted story, we follow Ziggy on a grand adventure through a realm full of magical creatures and magic. There’s no shortage of well applied lore and challenges our little gnome must overcome, but he’s smart, resourceful, and capable. He reminded me of a very short Indiana Jones–in the best way! And the mysterious adventure will keep you guessing until the very end. I very much recommend this cozy fantasy to just about anyone. It’s a treasure you’ll enjoy.

I reached out to MJ to find out more Ziggy Poppins. Without further ado, here’s a snippet of our conversation:

Q: Ziggy, the main character of your Ziggy Poppin series, is a gnome! But he’s no ordinary gnome. He’s resourceful, smart, and capable. Who (or what) inspired him?

As a child, when I wasn’t running around with friends, I read a lot of books, especially on rainy days when there wasn’t much to do. I prefer reading over watching television, although I’ll watch an occasion movie and am fond of cooking shows! While I don’t have as much time to read as I’d like, I do when I can.

The first Ziggy book was inspired by all the mystery books I read and whodunnit shows I watched as a child. And since I always liked Lord Of The Rings (I read both it and The Hobbit in the third grade), a mystery with a fantasy world filled with dwarves, fae, and elves made sense to me.

I came up with Ziggy one morning when I thought I’d write a short story for practice. I was working in my house and this idea hit me. It was about Zig and three fairies taking over his attic to investigate a missing beneficiary who provided some of their favorite snack items–for Ziggy that was turnips chips, for the fairies it was sugar cubes.

The initial idea ended up as the book’s first chapter; it expanded from a short story a few chapters long to a full-blown novel. When I write about Ziggy Poppins, I picture him being similar to a Frodo Baggins, only smaller. Both are “little folk”; Zig is a garden gnome where Frodo was a hobbit. But where Frodo is a ring bearer and has no magic, Zig has plant magic—like a superhero green thumb type of magic. And Zig is a scavenger, so he has to use his wits to stay out of trouble, although he has some powerful friends that can help him on occasion.

Q: Your books are set in a gorgeous fantasy world where magical beings abound at the fringes of a “normal” world. Or rather, the normal world is at the fringes of your wonderful fae realm. Do you often set your stories in this particular world?

I’m not totally sure how to answer. This book series has a world with realms; think of them as territories run by races: fae, trolls, elves, dwarves, dryad, merfolk and of course, humans. I’ve written other stories, not yet published that exist in other worlds. However, I envision a series of six or seven books about the Fractured Forest and characters from its realms. I’m finishing my second book with Ziggy and may write a third with him but have other protagonists in mind for some of the realms.

Q: You have very clever magical “systems”. Where do you get the inspiration for all the magic in your stories?

Much of my magic systems are inspired by all the books I’ve read, both as a kid and an adult, and even a few movies. Reading fantasy and fairytales whether that be epic, urban, romance, or dark fantasy seemed to fuel ideas.

I don’t write dark fantasy but, movies like Pan’s Labyrinth, a very dark but imaginative fairytale, Avatar which was set in a sci-fi fantasy world, The Brother’s Grim, and Stardust which are pure fairytale stick out because they are so unique. Some of the Marvel and DC Comics movies also provide inspiration, although they’re more urban fantasy.

Still, anything with unique world elements and characters can spark an idea.

Then there’s a huge number of authors, but obviously fantasy books like Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugh, The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden, and fairytales like The Woodcutter by Kate Danley and The Fairy Godmother by Mercededs Lackney are all fabulously creative.

Q: What are you working on now? What’s next?

I don’t want to give too much away because I’m just beginning the third book which is very much still in its infancy. The story also is in the Fractured Forest like the Ziggy stories, but this time the protagonist is a human female who escapes into territory called the Sentient Wood.

Ruled by dryads, the living wood along with its caretakers isn’t fond of trespassers and considers humans to be the worst offenders of all. The giant trees choose who may live among them, but the wood faces a problem, a disturbance that won’t go away. There is a murderer on the loose and causing havoc.

But the dryad queen makes an exception for a very special human trespasser who must prove her worth. She’ll receive the aid from some of the queen’s favored confidants, including a massive ursine, also known as a mu or redwood Sasquatch. I wrote this as an urban short story for a contest and am now turning it into a fairytale fantasy cozy thriller. I’d also like to incorporate more fractured fairytale elements but I’m still working out details, so stay tuned.

Wow! So much inspiration and a rich world to captivate readers. Don’t miss it–Fractured Fumbles is available for free on Kindle Unlimited or at the very low price of $2.99 (current). It’s an adventurous mystery you can share with the entire family. Enjoy!

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Until next time, happy (indie) reading.

Murder, Mystery, and Fantasy

We all love a good murder mystery. Anyone watching Netflix’s new series The Residence? It’s hilarious and a fun little mystery. Hits all the tropes while delivering some candid social commentary. And there’s Australians in it! What’s not to love?

But you know what it’s lacking?

Witches. And fairies. And vampires. And all the usual fantastical creatures we adore in our fantasy worlds.

Well, let me introduce you to a writer who happens to fill that niche…

P L Matthews‘ Fantasy Author Confession

But first, here’s a taste of her latest series, starting with Murder by Code.

Skye is a shy, nerdy sylph and a tech mage, quietly running her magical security business in Sydney, Australia. She prefers code to chaos, and clients who don’t bleed on the paperwork. So when a vampire quite literally crashes onto her doorstep with a high-profile case — and a body in tow — her carefully ordered life gets a serious reboot. She signed up for runes, firewalls, and clean contracts. Not murder. And definitely not the kind of vampire who’s irritatingly handsome, frustratingly secretive… and very bad for her ability to focus.

I really enjoy Matthews’ style of writing that I discovered with her Green Witch Series. Her penchant for clever mysteries and quirky characters is evident in this new storyline, too.

While connecting with Skye in this first book, Murder by Code, took a bit, the rest of her parkour gang, especially her talking magpie, hooked me into their quest to find who killed, yes, the butler in a local vampire house. Shenanigans and witty banter ensue along with a bit of romance. It’s a very fun and quick read with clean prose you’re sure to enjoy. If you like cozy mysteries with magic, I highly recommend this series.

Speaking of Australians in The Residence, but it just so happens Ms. Matthews is from Australia, too. Note that she uses Australian spelling, so those extra ‘u’s are not typos! I was lucky to snag some of Ms. Matthews time for an interview to learn more about her work and inspiration.

Without further ado, here it is:

Q: Your books are set in an alternate reality fantasy world based in/near Sydney, Australia. What made you decide to feature your hometown so heavily in your writing?

They say to write what you know and love — for me, that’s Sydney. It’s where I live, breathe, and occasionally get stung by a jellyfish while trying to enjoy a swim. The mix of natural beauty, diverse people, and the right amount of urban chaos makes it the perfect backdrop for a magical world. It sits on land shaped by the world’s oldest continuing culture, with stories, spirit, and connection woven deep into the landscape. If magic were hiding in plain sight, Sydney feels like exactly the place it would thrive — bold, busy, and full of ancient magic.

Q: You have a great way of describing characters and their food! Admit it, you’re a foodie. Where do you get the inspiration for all those great details?

Absolutely guilty — I love food! I enjoy cooking, experimenting, and occasionally pretending I’m on MasterChef when no one’s watching. Food is the source of life, after all — and also a great excuse to procrastinate. I take inspiration from cafés I’ve visited, dishes I’ve tried (or tried to recreate), and the simple joy of putting flavours together. What could be more tempting than morsels of smoked salmon on cream cheese–slathered crispy toast, or chocolate-covered strawberries finished with a drizzle of local honey? I like using food to reveal character too — you can tell a lot about someone by how they cook… or how they eat dessert.

Q: What made you decide to write about a neurodivergent character? Is that how you would describe Skye?

My characters tend to be an odd mix of people I know or have observed. Lovely, fascinating humans who often don’t fit neatly into the boxes society loves to hand out, but who have so much to offer when given the space to just be. Skye came from that mix — a character who’s clever, intense, a bit socially awkward, and quietly extraordinary.

Labels are tricky things, though — they can be helpful, but they’re not the whole picture. I tend to think most of us sit somewhere on a spectrum, especially once caffeine and social expectations get involved.

At the core of it all is authenticity — and how hard it can be to hold onto that in a world full of expectations. Skye doesn’t always get it right (who does?), but she tries. The important bit is giving ourselves permission to stop performing, to stop fitting in, and be real — awkward bits, quiet strengths and all.

There you have it–a fantasy mystery with soul. You can’t beat that combination.

Murder by Code is available on Kindle Unlimited for free or at the very low price of $3.99 (current price). It’s really a fun mystery series you can share with the entire family. Great for a relaxing summer read. Enjoy!

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Until next time, happy (indie) reading.

Pound It

Daily writing promptWhat was the last live performance you saw?View all responses

Back in March (time flies!), my husband and I went to the Jarvis Conservatory to see Drum Revolution, a taiko drum ensemble.

The Jarvis Conservatory is a great venue. Small and intimate, but large enough for a small portion of the drummers to do their thing. It used to be a winery (of course, it’s in Napa!). The old stone walls reverberated the drumming nicely.

Prior to the concert, I hadn’t really thought about what we’d be watching. I got the tickets on a whim since I hadn’t been to a concert of any sort for a long time. Imagine my surprise when they handed out ear plugs…

I’m glad I used them!

The pounding on the big drums got loud enough to rumble through the seats and startle a few old hearts, but not obnoxiously so. The performers were great to watch. Taiko drumming combines both illustrative drumming performance using broad and expansive movement to tell a story, marrying it with interesting and rousing rhythms.

We enjoyed the short concert, and we’re disappointed when it ended so quickly. But it was just an indoor, afternoon performance with only a tiny portion of their cast. I’m bummed I missed their free, outdoor event during San Francisco’s Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival. Something to look forward to for next year.

Are you a drummer? What do you think of taiko drumming?

Until next time, keep to the beat.

Fantasy Author Confessions

Howdy Readers, Writers, and Random Internet Peoples (no A.I.s, please)!

I’d like to introduce a new series I hope to continue throughout 2025 and beyond. I’m calling it…

[insert drumroll, please]

Fantasy Author Confessions

Fancy, huh? I even came up with a nifty graphic!

Like it?

Okay, okay, it’s a little cheesy. But don’t we all enjoy a slice of gouda or a smear of brie every now and then? My current indulgence is haberno cheddar cheese – yum.

So, here’s what it’s about: Each Wednesday for the month of May 2025, I’ll feature four awesome self-published books from indie writers I’m sure you’ll love because I love these books and wanted to share them with you.

First up will be Murder by Code by P.L. Matthews on May 7th, Fractured Fumbles by MJ Fabel on May 14th, Ghost in the Trees by PC Nottingham on May 21st, and then a mystery book I have yet to decide on for May 28th.

If you haven’t already, sign up by email using the mini-form below to get the skinny on these great books I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

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Until then, happy (indie) reading.

BookSprout

Howdy Folks!

Are you on BookSprout?

If so, and you’d like to help me out, please consider reading and reviewing my book. It’s available for free until June 27th, 2025.

Don’t know what BookSprout is?

Neither did I until late last year with a writer asked me to review their book on BookSprout–which I did.

It’s an easy process to join up as a reader. You simply create an account (no money involved) and choose books to read.

The deal is, if you download a book, you do have to commit to actually reading the book and posting a review.

For my “review compaign”, I’ve allowed plenty of time to read/review the book. If you choose the book, you’ll have until July 6th. That’s sixty-seven (67) days from now! One of my reviews said he finished Mapmaker–Book 1 in just two (2) days. I’m sure you’ll be swept away by the story and the review will write itself. (I hope.) Give it a try.

Frankly, none of us likes a chore added-on to our reading pleasure. But the BookSpout system makes it easy to not only post a review on BookSprout, but they have handy-dandy reminders to post the review where ever the author needs the review most (i.e. Amazon, GoodReads, or some other venue).

What do you get out of it other than a free read?

My undying gratitude.

And a bookmark!

Front Back

If you post a review via BookSprout, I’ll send you a bookmark (or two or three or more–how ever many you want). When finished, send your postal address to nilaewhite (at) gmail (dot) com, and I’ll send you the coolest bookmark in your stash.

Until later, happy reading!

How to Self-Publish a Book, The N.E.W. Way (Part 4)

We’ve made it to the end of this never-ending list–woohoo!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you might want to start with Part 1 of this blog post series. Or, you know, check out this guy. He’s the real expert.

Regardless, here’s the continuation of how I managed to self-publish three books.

Step 7 — The Book Description (or Blurb)

If you decided to print a paperback version of your story, you’ve probably already hit this step back in Step 6. Which is, of course, fine! These steps are by no means meant to go in order. It’s just the order I’m putting them in for the purposes of this series of blog posts. But you know, you do you.

So, what is the book description or blurb?

Lots of folks use the term ‘blurb’ to refer to single sentence endorsements from other authors that are included on the cover or the interior of a book. But some also use ‘blurb’ to refer to the book description–which is usually a two to three paragraph description of your story.

It’s not a mini-synopsis. It’s not a logline. It’s an enticing, short description of your story that’s meant to tease the reader and get them to read the first page of your book.

This is not an easy thing to do. At least, it is not easy for me to condense the story and plot of a 90,000 words novel into five hundred words or so.

Check out this article on Reedsy.com for some guidance.

Step 8 — Keywords and Other Stuff

Whether you self-publish your book on Amazon.com, Draft2Digital or any other platform, there’s stuff you need to assemble about your books–the meta-data.

Here’s what Amazon KDP requires for an eBook only:

Book TitleBook Subtitle (if any)Book Series Title (if this is the first in a series, you can skip this for now)Edition Number (if any)Author NameContributors (other authors who have contributed to the work, for example, like a co-author or the authors contributing to a short story anthology)Description (this is the book description described above)Categories (Genres)Keywords (likely search terms)

The categories and keywords can be important. I’m not savvy enough to offer advice on either, but pick the ones that seem pertinent to your book. For example, for my upcoming dragon fantasy book, I pick those Categories (or genres). Here’s what mine looks like:

For the keywords, think of words or phrases that describe your book that you think someone searching for your book might enter into a search engine. For example, if I’m a reader interested in an adventurous tale with dragons, and you just happened to have written a story with adventure and dragons, then enter those keywords or phrases. You only get seven, so choose wisely!

Step 9 — Assemble the Parts

So, what are the parts of your book? Easy peasy, at the bare minimum it is:

Your completed, edited and formatted manuscript. For Amazon it would be in KPF format, for Draft2Digital it would be in EPUB format, and for other platforms adhere to their guidelines!Your eBook cover formatted per your publisher’s guidelines. This file is usually in JPG or TIFF format.ISBN number (optional for an eBook).

That’s it! It sounds so simple, but there are tons of things that go into developing your story and its cover. But essentially, that’s why we see so many self-published books on the market. It really is that easy to self-publish.

Step 10 — Set your price!

Oh, my goodness. You made it. You’ve survived the gauntlet. It is time to set the price of your precious eBook, paperback, or hardback, and send it out to the wild.

For as many folks who self-publish, there are that many different strategies for pricing your eBook, paperback, or hardback. You could do tons of market research to try to figure out the best price for your book (and all its versions). Or you could check out what similar books are selling for and price your books accordingly.

Again, I’m not an expert, but remember, your price is not set in stone. You can change it any time. And you should! When determining an initial, base price for your book, keep in mind that you’ll want “room” to offer discounts and other price-drop promotions.

That’s it!

In ten relatively easy–no, don’t be silly, they are super hard–steps, anyone can self-publish a novel.

Until next time, enjoy the journey and feel free to share your self-publishing tips and tricks.

The Neighborhood Vegetarian Restaurant

Daily writing promptWhat is your favorite restaurant?View all responses

My husband and I have been vegetarians for over thirty years. Independently, we took on the “lifestyle” before it was considered semi-cool.

Back in our youth, vegetarian restaurants were rare things. Unless you were in Ithaca, New York, or some major metropolis, going to a restaurant that only catered to non-meat eaters was a rarity.

And they weren’t huge money makers. They were someone’s labor of love, so they couldn’t afford swank locations in the best of downtowns or uptowns or any town. You almost always found the veggie establishment in the seedier parts of a city. You know, next to the tattoo shop or stripper’s bar. Many times as we wandered around looking for a parking spot next to a new vegetarian eatery, we’d wonder how long we had before the car would get broken into.

But that’s all different now. Thanks to millennials, who supposedly are responsible for the rise in vegetarianism, or at the very least, making eating out at vegetation restaurants semi-acceptable, we can now find hip, new veggie places in just about every town.

And there even might be one in your very own neighborhood (not in the red light district).

My favorite vegetarian restaurant is not in my neighborhood, but it is in this one: Golden Gate Heights of San Francisco.

Yes, I know, San Francisco is a major metropolis, but what can I say? It happens to have my favorite veggie place.

Enjoy Vegetation Restaurant

The name says it all. Located on the corner of 12th Ave and Kirkham St, it is a tiny place. Among its four or five tables, you could probably get twenty people in there. So, it’s quaint. But the food is something else.

Despite having a large menu, the experienced chef and cooking staff punch out phenomenal food consistently. In the five years we’ve been visiting this establishment, we haven’t had a bad meal. And while we haven’t tried all their dishes, I’m confident they are all excellent.

If you’re ever in the neighborhood, check it out.

I’m on YouTube!

I know, everyone is on YouTube. Even if you’re unaware of it, you’re probably in the background of someone’s video.

But this is different. My Mapmaker Trilogy is the focus!

The incredible Jon Writer of the AuthorAlly’s subreddit is doing author interviews and posting them on his YouTube channel.

Anyone can participate. Just fill out this form. If your book catches Jon’s interest, then he’ll schedule an interview.

Enjoy!

Other ways to listen:

Apple Podcast | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-7-feat-n-e-white/id1800106805?i=1000703319948Spotify Podcast | https://open.spotify.com/episode/5AkkxkeRUcva8BfwSao0Uz?si=af00ee7776bf42a7Amazon Music | https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a1b2073c-7f7a-4b01-b5c6-2157483d93a8/episodes/bf6e7f7e-d601-4b9f-b79a-fea9bd7fb2ef/authorally-episode-7-feat-n-e-whiteiHeart Radio | https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-authorally-269705582/episode/episode-7-feat-ne-white-272391018/

Book Sale!

If you were thinking of trying the first book of my trilogy Mapmaker–Book 1, but you didn’t want to shell out $4.99 to try a new series, through this weekend for five days only, it’ll be priced at only 99 cents.

What a bargain!

For under a buck, you’ll be transported to a Romanesque world where a plucky, winged heroine is snatched by religious zealots and goes on a gripping fantastical adventure.

Here’s what one reader thought of it:

 Mapmaker was a really fresh breath of air for me in this genre. The fantasy races were unlike what I’ve seen so much in fantasy without being bonkers. The races all felt believable for this fantasy world and that made the characters more relatable. ~ P.C. Nottingham on Goodreads

Buy on AmazonBuy on Draft2Digital

Because There’s Nothing Like a Great Tragedy

Daily writing promptWhat book could you read over and over again?View all responses

I have to be honest, when I first saw this WordPress daily writing prompt, my first impulse was to say:

My books! (Check it ’em out here.)

However, I know me. If I read my books over and over again, I’d be tempted to change the story.

So, if I can’t choose my own books, I’m confident I can name at least three books I can read over and over again because I have.

Here they are:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Peruse my in-depth review of this book in this blog-post series.)

Watership Down by Ricard Adams (I don’t have a review of this book. I will remedy that in the near future, but instead here’s the Wikipedia page.)

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher (A modern classic. Here’s my pathetic excuse of a review over on GoodReads.)

All three are rather tragic stories. I’m drawn to stories where characters face terrible challenges that they may or may not overcome.

What books have you read that made you immediately start over again from page one?