Missy Sheldrake's Blog, page 6

Cover Reveal Tomorrow!

The epic conclusion of the Keepers of the Wellsprings is coming soon! To celebrate, tomorrow, I’ll be revealing the cover of Call of Elespen, Keepers of the Wellsprings, Book Five and offering Call of Kythshire, Book One, for free! Keep an eye here for details and news![image error]

Call of Elespen is On the Way!

Quick update, and then I’m back to writing!

First, I’m excited to share the cover for my fellow indie author, Christina McMullen’s upcoming book, The Princess Rebellion, which she revealed this week! I had a lot of fun painting it, and I love the text treatment she used. To read more about the cover and her upcoming release on her blog, just click here.

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Call of Elespen is on the way.

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Release day might be the end of November, it might be the beginning of December, but I promise book five is coming. I could tell you all the reasons why it’s not quite ready yet, but I don’t want to bore you with the craziness that is my life, so instead I’ll offer you some fun little tidbits about my process as I get through this draft.

I use Scrivener to write my drafts. I love it because of its organizational capabilities and its high level of customization. I also love that I can easily switch between my PC and iPad to write.  Here’s a screenshot of the beginning of my manuscript. As you can see, I color code my chapters: sky blue for Azi, desert yellow for Tib, and Sorcerous red for Celli.

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I listen to great music while I’m writing, too. Each of my main characters has an anthem, and there are certain artists who really speak to me when I’m trying to get into someone’s head.

For Azi, it’s Aurora:

For Tib, it’s usually Black Keys:

For Celli, it’s Sia:

Actually, that video is so Celli it gives me chills every time!

I have the cover for Call of Elespen ready to go, but I’m holding onto it so I can announce the release date and reveal the cover at the same time. I’m chomping at the bit, though, and as excited to share this conclusion with you as I hope you are to read it. It’s going to be epic! Check back for updates in the next week or so, or subscribe to my email list for all the latest news, and maybe a sneak peek! 

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I’m Still Writing!

I just wanted to write a quick note to let everyone know I’m still here, and I’m still writing! The conclusion of the Keepers of the Wellsprings is taking up every bit of my time and energy, leaving little time for blog posts.

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The majority of the book is already in the hands of my trusted beta readers, and is so far very well received. This ending is going to be EPIC, and I’m really excited to get it out to the rest of you.

I’m still hoping to release in November. Keep an eye here for news, and as always, I’d love to hear from you. Post a comment here to say hello or ask a question, or send me an email if you’d like! See you soon!!

Quick Update

The more I write, the more excited I am to share the next installment of the Keepers of the Wellsprings with all of you. Call of Elespen is currently up to 79,533 words and counting. I’m about to start chapter 24 this morning, and I thought I’d pop in quickly to say hello and let everyone know I’m still here and I’m definitely still writing!

Here’s my favorite tiny snippet from a recent chapter:

     “Rescue?” she whispers.

For a long stretch of silence, she looks me over. Her halfhearted gaze slowly drifts into the vast space above us. I follow, looking up into the chute as far as I can before the walls are swallowed into shadow. She doesn’t have to say a word. The hopelessness she feels hangs heavy in the air around us.

“Even if you could,” she sighs, “to what end?”

I won’t tell you who’s doing the rescue or who’s getting rescued, but I will share with you this sketch, which will definitely appear in the final version:

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Call of Elespen is the fifth and final book of the Keepers of the Wellsprings series, due out this November. I’ll be announcing a release date and cover reveal soon, so keep checking back here for updates.

One last thing! Call of Kythshire, book one of the series, will be free to download on Amazon September 12, so if you want to dive into the series before the last book is released, be sure to grab your copy! See you soon!

Contest Winner Announcement

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my print and signed book contest! Congratulations to Dan, who has chosen the Flitt print as his prize!

If you didn’t win this time, don’t worry. There are more contests to come! Keep an eye here for details.

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #104: Author/Illustrator Missy Sheldrake Returns Part 1 of 2

Recently I had a great podcast interview with author Josh Blum. Read more about it on his blog!

The Thirteenth Hour

Episode #104: Author and Illustrator Missy Sheldrake Interview #2 Part 1 of 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast104_201708/Podcast%20104.mp3

In this week’s episode, fantasy author Missy Sheldrake comes back to the show to catch us up on all the things she’s been up to this past year (find her first interview here).  We spend much of this episode talking about the creative process, how writing takes on a life of its own, illustrating books, and what a shame it is that books for former children tend not to have pictures anymore.

Here are some screenshots from Missy’s Instagram gallery, where she posts pictures of works in process:

This progression is of her character Tib, who was introduced in Call of Sunteri.

This guild portrait is the one we’re referring to in the podcast (the one that took 59 hours).  Click on the picture above to go to the actual post on IG.

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Win a Print and a Signed Book!

I had so much fun with the last contest, I decided to offer another one! Enter to win a signed paperback copy of Call of Kythshire (or another book in the Keepers of the Wellsprings series, if you already have that one), AND a print of your choice. I have 8.5″ x 12″ prints of either Flitt, or Tib’s ship up for grabs. These are matted in a 12″ x 16″ white mat.

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AND THIS:

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All you have to do is post a comment on a recent post here on my blog. Click here to visit the Rafflecopter page for details!   The contest ends Friday, August 4th at midnight. One lucky winner will be announced the following Monday, August 7. Good luck!

 

***Continental US only, no purchase necessary.

Call of Elespen Update: New Illustrations!

I know I’ve been quiet here in blog land, but I have a great excuse. I’ve been busy writing and illustrating Call of Elespen! I’m up to Chapter 13 now, with a total word count of 41,069.

I’m not going to tell you anything at all about the following illustrations, posted in no particular order. I’ll let you wonder what’s happening based on what you see. You can click on each pic to see a larger version.

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Which one do you like the most, and why? Let me know in the comments! Feel free to ask a question if you have one. I’ll answer anything that’s not a spoiler.

Win a Print and a Signed Book!

I decided it was high time I had a contest, so here ya go! You can enter to win one print of your choice (out of the two shown above), AND a signed paperback copy of Call of Kythshire! No purchase necessary, but you do have to live in the continental US.  Just click here to visit the contest on rafflecopter to enter!

The contest ends July 8 at midnight EST. One lucky winner will be announced on my Facebook page Monday, June 10. Good luck!

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Inspiration for Elespen…

If you’ve read my books, you know each title refers to the place where the book is set. The series starts with Call of Kythshire, which focuses mainly on Kythshire and the wide variety of fairies who live in its enchanted glens, forests, and mountains. From there we have traveled to Sunteri, Brindelier, and Hywilkin.

The Known Lands, as I call the world of the Keepers of the Wellsprings, are as vast and varied as our own. Like ours, so are its people, geography, and creatures. Look at the map above, and you’ll notice one continent which has been largely ignored in the series up until now: Elespen.

I’m not sure I’ve made an official announcement yet, and so I’ll take this opportunity to do it. The fifth and final book in the Keepers of the Wellsprings series will be titled Call of Elespen!

Elespen is a land of jungles and deserts, geographically inspired by areas of Africa and India.  I love the idea of long forgotten ruins, overgrown with lush jungle plants and inhabited by stealthy, mysterious magic.

You can see a few more inspiring images on my Elespen Pinterest board.

Elespen has been mentioned a few times in my previous books. Mya was born there, and Tib sailed down its Jairun River on his way to Cerion in Call of Sunteri:

(AUTHOR’S  NOTE! Don’t be afraid! The following excerpt is spoiler-free!)

We sail into the mouth of the river they call Jairun. I don’t like it. We move slower here through the center of Elespen. The jungle creeps into the water on both sides of us. Days more of this. Days of watching jungle become village and jungle again, and then sand and only sand as far as I can see. An ocean of sand. Too much like Sunteri. Too much like the home I never wanted to see again. I feel the panic rise in me. I don’t want to be in the desert.

“Sleep.”

Yes, sleep. I curl up in the safety of the fore nest, and when I wake the stars stretch out endlessly above me. Noise. Lapping and chatting. Laughing and shouting. Bargaining. Unloading. The thud of the hull against the pier as they tie it up.

“Boy!” Cap shouts. I slip down the ratlines and drop to his side. The deck is deserted except for the pair of watch guards at the gangway. I stand straight and look Cap in the eye, as he has told me to do. It keeps a man honest, he says, to meet his crew’s eyes.

“Sir!” I shout. He taught me to do that, too.

He tells me I’m a hard worker. I have earned five copper, which he jingles in a pouch. I like the sound of it. I have never held coin before. It has more weight than I expected. He tells me I can go ashore if I want to, and then he goes back below. I peer out at the city. Cresten. Capital of Elespen. It’s different from Zhaghen. Cleaner. Brighter, even in the starlight. Noisy, but the noise is happier. They don’t have towers here to watch and rule over them. Just a castle, low and sprawling. Music drifts merrily from the taverns into the street. People in beautiful colors dance in the glow of torchlight. Others toss coin at them. Even in the night, merchants in booths cook and sell. The aroma is exotic and flavorful. My mouth waters.

I hope you’re as excited as I am to finally get to Elespen, where tribes of elephant riders lurk in the dense jungle, and even the vegetation itself can’t be trusted. I won’t say any more here, you’ll just have to wait until the end of the year when Call of Elespen is released, and read for yourself!

Check back soon for more updates, and be sure to click here and join my mailing list for upcoming contests and promotions!