Kelley Heckart's Blog, page 66

Solitude

This word sounds so peaceful to me and makes me feel relaxed. I picture an empty meadow with bright flowers and sunlight. I’m one of those people that enjoy being by myself. The word solitude makes me think of that excitement when I’m by myself working on a story. Without solitude I wouldn’t have what I need to write or to think up my characters and stories.

As a teenager, I looked forward to those times when I could be alone with a book. The characters and settings in the stories kept me company and entertained me. I still look forward to being alone with my thoughts.

Sometimes I like some music with my solitude and sometimes I enjoy the quiet. If I’m not writing, I have a book in my hand or I’m working on crafts. Even when I worked outside the home, I liked a job that required as little human contact as possible. The main reason I was drawn to writing was because I liked the idea of working alone. Being alone is essential for me as a writer.

For me, solitude is a word that conjures up pleasant feelings.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

New Release!

Two mortals are caught up in the battle between the Titans and Olympian gods.

Buy links for Daughter of Night on author website: http://kelleyheckart.com/daughter_of_night.html

Using weather in a story

Ominous. This was the first word that came to mind when I saw these thunderheads gathering in the distance from my backyard. I had to take a picture of the scene with tiny houses being overshadowed by the enormous storm clouds.

This sight made me think of how I use weather in some of my stories, of how the storm clouds looming on the horizon are a metaphor for impending danger.

In my Arthurian romance, White Rose of Avalon, a gentle rainstorm reminds Lancelot how the rain cleanses the earth and washes away the bloodstains on the battlefield. In Beltaine’s Song, a thunderstorm creates different scenarios for the main characters. While seeking shelter from the storm, they encounter people they wouldn’t normally be caught hanging out with. For one character this unlikely encounter leads to his downfall. And in my soon-to-be released Daughter of Night, a sudden thunderstorm sends the heroine into the stables and she comes face to face with the hero. What happens in the stables is a key turning point in the story for them. 

Weather can create different types of scenes. A gentle rainstorm can be soothing, even romantic, while a vicious storm with heavy rain and wind can create tension. Weather can be a useful tool to add an extra ingredient to the story.

I’m working on a story right now and considering a scene where, in the aftermath of a rainstorm, the river crossing rises. This river is the only way the hero can get back to the heroine who is in danger. One of the challenges I have with this hero is that due to a curse, he is immortal. I have to create dangers for him that don’t involve dying. He wouldn’t die trying to cross the raging water, but he could be swept away and pushed even further from the heroine. This type of scene also adds some tension to my story.

As with any writing tool, using weather to enhance a scene should move the story forward in some way or work with character motivations or conflicts.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Writing difficult scenes

Being a writer means I can make up stories and the fates of my characters are in my hands, but it also means writing those scenes that are hard the write. I’m talking about the scenes that go against my own beliefs or the scenes that make me squeamish. As a writer, I have to put aside my own feelings and do what is right for the story and the characters.

This is different for each writer. For me it’s difficult to write scenes that involve an animal death. I hate to see animals die. I won’t even watch a movie if I know an animal will die. But sometimes these types of scenes are important to the plot. That still doesn’t make them any easier to write. I would never kill an animal or even a person for no reason. The plot has to be moved forward in some way by the death.

I’ve had to write a couple of these scenes. In one book, a dog’s death brought the hero and heroine closer. In another soon-to-be released book, the animal death was symbolic and also true to the time period in regards to sacrifices made to the gods. This scene was really difficult to write and I almost deleted it, but then decided I had to stay true to the time period and to the story. It was a necessary scene. My editor agreed. This type of scene may upset some readers, but that’s a chance I had to take.
Writing that difficult scene isn’t always easy to do, but a writer needs to put aside his or her own feelings and stay true to the story. After all, it’s our job as writers to move the story forward, not to write what we want or to coddle the reader. Sometimes those difficult to write, heartbreaking scenes are the ones that resonate most with readers.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Long Hair Hottie for July!

My pick for July is Judd Birza, the winner of Survivor Nicaragua. I came across a picture of him in a speedo and had to have him on my blog. I wouldn’t mind being stranded on an island with this eye-candy. His hobbies include surfing, skating and bike riding. With all that physical activity, it’s no wonder he has such tight abs.

http://bumpshack.com/2010/08/10/2010-survivor-nicaragua-young-vs-old-cast-photos-bios/jud-birza-survivor-nicaragua-cast-photos/

http://photofantasticmodel.blogspot.com/2011/05/judson-birza-photo-pic.html


Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Living with a Muse

I’ve heard other writers talk about their Muses as if they actually exist. I never gave it much thought before, but now I’m beginning to believe in my Muse.

The ancient Greeks believed in Muses and even had names for them. The ancient Celts had Brigit, a goddess of inspiration. The Norse god Odin was considered a god of poetry and wisdom. This belief in Muses is evident in every culture so there must be some truth in it, some basis for these beliefs to grow.

The way my writing comes and goes makes me think there might be a force behind my creativity. Some days I can’t think of one word to write, while on other days, I can’t stop the flow of ideas. I think I have a Muse, one that is capricious. Somehow I need to learn to understand him—yes, I am sure that my Muse is male. I gave it some thought and this is what came to me—my Muse is a male faery named Thorndrake. He is happy when I play music and his favorite music is Icelandic or Symphonic metal like Apocalyptica, Nightwish, Sirenia and Evanescence. He prefers female singers but also likes David Cook, one of the American Idol winners.

I am living with a Muse. Now I can talk about him as if he really exists. Hopefully, I won’t say anything that offends him or he will give me writer’s block. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and turn on some Nightwish.

Do any writers out there have a Muse? If so, what is he or she like?

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Long Hair Hottie for June!

My pick for June is actor Jack Huston. This British hottie is the nephew of actress Anjelica Huston. His most recent roles have been on Boardwalk Empire and Twilight Saga: Eclipse, but I found him in a SyFy movie called Outlander where he played Wulfric, a Viking warrior. Click on the slideshow below:

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2167848192/nm1658935


Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Memories of Xena

We lost our female dog on 5/5/12 to Lymphoma. After her diagnosis, Xena went downhill very fast, but like her namesake, Xena: Warrior Princess, she was a fighter to the end.
I usually don’t post about anything other than writing related stuff and my collection of hunky longhaired men, but this seemed appropriate since she was an inspiration to me in many ways. We shared the same medical condition, colitis, but while I complained and felt sorry for myself, she never showed any signs of illness, always happy, enjoying the sun on her face and eager for belly rubs. She also inspired my writing. A white wolf in one of my books is based on her.

Xena had a special bond with my husband. She shared my husband’s love of peanut butter and music. She was an accomplished singer. When Mike would strum his guitar, she would sit in front of him and sing along to the melody. She also had an awesome wolf howl.

She loved her stuffed animals and would gather them around her.
At Christmas, she would proudly show off her latest stuffed animal.

At an outside New Year’s Eve party at my parents’ house, she sampled any plates or drinks that the guests unknowingly placed on the ground by their chairs. She was so stealthy, no one noticed her but me.

When she played with her brother, she would make him do all the work. While he ran around and got tired, she would remain in one spot and lunge at him as he ran by.

I will always remember her playing with White Boy the Chihuahua, chasing him around the coffee table at a high speed at my parents’ house.

She loved belly rubs the most, well maybe after peanut butter.

When she hurt her leg and was walking on three legs for a while, she chased a rabbit on only three legs. Her nickname until her leg healed was Hippity Hop.

Sock wars. Xena and her brother would play in Mike’s pile of freshly washed white socks on the bed.

My husband would leave the bathroom door cracked open a little in the morning and she would burst in on him, eager for the treats he would give her later.

While sitting in his recliner eating something with peanut butter, Mike would see an eye staring at him from the corner of the footrest. It was Xena, hoping for a lick of peanut butter.

Xena was strong to the very end and we will never forget her. RIP, beautiful girl.

1998-2012

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Long Hair Hottie for May!

My pick for May is an actor named Michael Graziadei. I found him on the CW’s The Secret Circle where he plays a bad boy who likes to play with voodoo, but he is best known for his role as Daniel Romalotti on the daytime drama The Young and the Restless. This hot American actor also plays guitar and writes music.




http://secretcircle.wikia.com/wiki/Callum


Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

The Writer’s Curse

This is something that continues to confound me and I know I’m not the only one. What I’m talking about is not being able to ‘see’ my own mistakes in my writing. Even after rounds of self-editing, I still miss some things like dangling modifiers or those pesky body parts that insist on taking action. Or the ‘ing’ words that keep popping up despite my best efforts to tame them. This became more apparent to me while working on edits for a manuscript that was contracted four years ago and is about to be published. Eek. I’d like to think that my self-editing skills have improved in that time, and they have, but it was a real eye-opener and made me appreciate my editor so much more.

The really weird part for me is that I can easily spot these things and other editing fixes in other writer’s work, but I’m blind to them in my own writing. This is what I call the writer’s curse. It’s possible that over time we writers can train our eyes to better spot errors, but I think that it is always best to have someone else take a look at our writing. This is why it’s important to have a critique partner and if you self-publish, an editor.

One thing is for sure. As long as writers are plagued by this curse—editors will never be without work.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Long Hair Hottie for April!

My pick for April is hunky Dustin Clare. This Australian actor is best known for his starring role as Gannicus in the Starz mini-series Spartacu: Gods of the Arena. Of Scottish and Irish blood, he is the image of a fiercely handsome Celt. Who knew gladiators could be so hot? I want one.

http://www.starz.com/originals/spartacus/cast/Gannicus/DustinClare/Pages/DustinClare.aspx




Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.