Beth Bernobich's Blog, page 9
December 31, 2011
the end is the beginning...
I'm in my office writing ALLEGIANCE, which is all about how the end of one story carries the seeds for the next. Just so the old year dies, and dying, makes possible the new.
So. Last year.
Last year was not a bad year. It had its share of stress and tedium and frustration. (The mountains of snowfall last winter. The three months of hellish commute. Selling house. Moving house. One hurricane, and one freakish snow storm, both with many days of power outage.) It also had some lovely shiny moments. (My son's high school graduation. Seeing him to college. Passion Play winning the RT Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Epic Fantasy.)
Things accomplished? Not nearly as much as I wanted.
Fox & Phoenix went through copyedits, galley proofs, and is now a Real Book.
A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories re-released in e-book form by me. I'm pleased with the cover design, and I learned a lot about making e-books.
Pig, Crane, Fox, the short story that comes before Fox & Phoenix, also re-released in e-form.
But what about new short stories? What about writing novels?
That's the problem. I wrote no new short stories in 2011. I did make progress on ALLEGIANCE, but not nearly as much as I wanted. (See above about hellish commute and moving house.) I also wrote notes for two new novels: a sequel to FOX & PHOENIX and a stand-alone fantasy that I'm calling my riff on Mansfield Park with polyandry and magic. And just a few days ago, I wrote notes for a short story in the world of the Seventy Kingdoms.
And there you have the seeds for my next year. I'll finish ALLEGIANCE and send that to my editor. While she's going to work with her red pen, I'll write the short story and send that to its intended market. And once ALLEGIANCE is well and truly delivered, I have seeds for more novels. I might plant them in 2012 or not, but at least I know I have them.
So. Last year.
Last year was not a bad year. It had its share of stress and tedium and frustration. (The mountains of snowfall last winter. The three months of hellish commute. Selling house. Moving house. One hurricane, and one freakish snow storm, both with many days of power outage.) It also had some lovely shiny moments. (My son's high school graduation. Seeing him to college. Passion Play winning the RT Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Epic Fantasy.)
Things accomplished? Not nearly as much as I wanted.
Fox & Phoenix went through copyedits, galley proofs, and is now a Real Book.
A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories re-released in e-book form by me. I'm pleased with the cover design, and I learned a lot about making e-books.
Pig, Crane, Fox, the short story that comes before Fox & Phoenix, also re-released in e-form.
But what about new short stories? What about writing novels?
That's the problem. I wrote no new short stories in 2011. I did make progress on ALLEGIANCE, but not nearly as much as I wanted. (See above about hellish commute and moving house.) I also wrote notes for two new novels: a sequel to FOX & PHOENIX and a stand-alone fantasy that I'm calling my riff on Mansfield Park with polyandry and magic. And just a few days ago, I wrote notes for a short story in the world of the Seventy Kingdoms.
And there you have the seeds for my next year. I'll finish ALLEGIANCE and send that to my editor. While she's going to work with her red pen, I'll write the short story and send that to its intended market. And once ALLEGIANCE is well and truly delivered, I have seeds for more novels. I might plant them in 2012 or not, but at least I know I have them.
November 29, 2011
free story...
Just a reminder that my short story "Pig, Crane, Fox" is available for free on Smashwords.
("Pig, Crane, Fox" was originally published in the anthology Magic in the Mirrorstone, and it tells the story of Kai's and Yun's first adventure.)
("Pig, Crane, Fox" was originally published in the anthology Magic in the Mirrorstone, and it tells the story of Kai's and Yun's first adventure.)
November 20, 2011
2011 RT Award Nominations are online...
...and my collection, A Handful of Pearls & Other Stories (2nd edition), has been nominated in the Indie Press Paranormal/Fantasy/Futuristic category. The full list of nominees is here. I am utterly stoked to be in such fine company.
October 26, 2011
at long last...
...I can share the new cover art for Passion Play and Queen's Hunt:
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