Susan Buffum's Blog: Welcome to My World, page 2
February 26, 2019
White Bishop Among the Pawns
The third book in the Black King White Queen (warlock and witch) series is out just 10 months after receiving requests at last year's Articulture Arts & Literary Festival for a sequel to Black King Takes White Queen (shortlisted in 2016 for the OZMA Award), and Black Knight, White Rook which came out in late 2017 after being written at my 2017 NaNo novel. White Bishop Among the Pawns was my 2018 NaNo novel, but I struggled with it. When it was finished I stacked it on the dining room floor with other manuscripts and ignored it for a few months. Finally, I picked it up, blew a light coating of dust off the binder, sat down and read it (doing some edits and the proofreading while I was at it) and realized it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought t was. So, the book is out...and book 4 in the series is already partially written. Book 4 will have a completely different angle with a powerful spell being cast at Ivy as she's dining out at Phantom Pizza with her family and friends- sending her back in time several centuries where she finds herself with the original Romney Sharpe while the Ivy Morgan from the past is propelled into the future, finding herself with the present day Romney Sharpe and his and Ivy's children. The two Ivy's must find a way to switch themselves back to their own time before the present day Ivy is murdered with the original Ivy's husband, which would kill the Ivy from the past in her present day setting, and thereby destroy everything they've all worked hard to establish. It's a complicated plot! Meanwhile, I've also begun a book about Romney and Ivy's son, Prince Ezra, that begins when he's 23-years old and meets the young woman destined to be his Princess and future queen.
January 28, 2019
Third Book in Series Coming!
The third book in the Black King-White Queen series is available as of last night on Kindle as an ebook. The print copy will be available the first week of February. White Bishop Among the Pawns continues Romney and Ivy's journey into what they hope will be a peaceful future for all black arts and white arts practitioners. The novel's primary focus has been on Ivy's coming of age and adaptation to her role as the queen of all practitioners, something she had no idea she would be when she was twenty-years old. She's found herself suddenly and unexpectedly married to a powerful dark arts warlock who has become King upon the death of his father (Black King Takes White Queen). She's had to help her husband destroy his wicked black arts witch sister who wants him dead. (Black King Takes White Queen) She's become a queen, a wife, and is now the mother of two young children at the beginning of this third book. She's fought many battles, worked to save lives, including her husband's, many times. She's been put into difficult situations (she is terrified of snakes-Black Knight, White Rook), and had to kill a powerful black arts wizard in a place that should have crushed a white witch and killed her (Black Knight, White Rook). And she's also saved her husband by finding a way to heal his shattered heart (his mother callously threw out the first gift he made for her with his own hands at the family pottery-Black King Takes White Queen). Ivy has held her family together when her life has been falling apart. She's suffered loses, made new friends, had a face-to-face visit with her dead mother to set things right between them, been held captive and tortured, and led a raid on a evil warlock's stronghold to find a book that would save her husband and his best friend from ruin. Ivy is a young woman who's found herself in a place she never expected to be, has struggled and had to fight her way back, but who has ultimately risen to every challenge she's had to face to help Romney Sharpe, her husband whom she loves with her whole heart, become the King he is meant to be with the Queen she is destined to be at his side.
December 28, 2018
Living With An AutoImmune Disease
I have quite a few allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, and most likely a mast cell disorder. Combined, it seems like I am reacting to everything and anything some days. Stress can set it off. Something I eat can cause a bad reaction. The sun can make my face start itching like I've been bitten all over by no-see-mees.
I'm taking a short break from writing while recovering from this last third of the year. In September I began doing pen and ink drawings again, something I had not done for 18 years. I am doing small art, not large poster board-sized pictures like I used to do. I am doing mostly 5x7 inch drawings, as detailed as I can make them. I created BicycleCity Black Squirrels Pen & Ink Art Prints and launched it in October along with the first public offering of my most recent novel, The Worth of A Woman. The prints, that novel, The Clockmaker's Son, and The Hanging Man and Other Stories were all offered at PumpkinFest here in Westfield. In November I wrote book three in the Black King/White Queen series. NaNo novel challenge completed, I moved on to doing wildlife and domestic pet drawings. I had my 3 holiday novellas and 4 holiday story anthologies for sale at a church bazaar, and again on Shop Small Saturday along with the prints. In December I continued writing but haven't found the right way to tell the story I have in mind yet, while doing art on request and creating a special piece of art for my office manager. Throwing in the holidays and furniture shopping for Kelly's house, plus working full time, and a short trip to Maine, tonight I find myself teetering on the edge of the dreaded massive fatigue that can be a part of any auto immune disease. I am a huge puddle of can-do-nothing tonight.
The worst part of this is my brain can still buzz along with things I want to do, but the rest of me just wants to crawl into bed and sleep for a few weeks.
I like my job, I love writing, I love drawing. Writing and drawing have always been a part of my life. People tell me, "You're so humble about your talent, you shrug it off." But, I don't see it like they do. I see it as just a part of me that has always been there. I didn't study writing. I didn't study art. I could always write and I could always draw. To me, it's just me doing what I 've always been doing and enjoy doing. It's difficult for me to step outside of my norm and view it from someone else's point of view. I look in the mirror, I see me. I look at a story I've written and I see me. I look at a piece of art I've created and, again, I see me. My brother even commented on how I seem so normal, yet people come up to me at shows and events, buy my books and rave about them and want to know when the next in the series is coming out, or buy one of my art prints and tell me how amazing it is and I just say thanks and shrug it off because I don't think I've done anything special. I've just done what I've always done- that creative stuff I was born with. It amazes me that people want to buy my books and art. I have trouble comprehending that.
I do understand that not everyone has the gift to write books and draw pictures. I envy gymnasts, musicians, singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, race car drivers, and people who do all sorts of things I am hopelessly inept at. I see myself as flawed because I have none of those amazing talents.
I am disappointed with my body's cells for constantly attacking other cells in this same body. I've had allergies all of my life and remember being miserable much of the time, having to stay indoors in the air conditioning during pollen season. But, I am not the kind of person who lets health issues defeat her. I understand I need to take breaks from the hectic pace I live my life. I understand I have to suffer the frustration of my limitations at times. I know I am my own worst enemy because I push myself too hard, way too far...and then I crash.
In January,I will be proofreading and editing Kelly's NaNo novel, and then proofreading, doing some necessary rewrites, and editing my own NaNo novel. I ' shooting for having book three in the series out by April. I'll draw some more pictures. But I am also going to be lying low and resting, hoping my energy will return quickly. The unpredictability of this health issue is what I find most annoying. One day I can feel fine, the next I can feel like I'm slogging through quicksand with a heavy pack strapped to my back.
I'm also going to finish reading two books I started reading at the beginning of December. All authors should read as much as they can. I've been ignoring the stacks of books all over the living room and on the bookcase and floor in the bedroom. Oh, and I ordered the Fall issue of Dark Ink Magazine, a favorite of mine. When it arrives, I'll sit and read it cover to cover! That's my idea of R&R!
I haven't disappeared, I've merely ground myself down to dust and need to rebuild from the foundation up again. I'm thankful for my understanding family and friends, all my artist and author friends, and my wonderful co-workers who form the biggest and best support system anyone could ever ask for.
I'll have more to say about White Bishop Among the Pawns, third in the Romney and Ivy (Black King/White Queen) series near the end of January.
I'm taking a short break from writing while recovering from this last third of the year. In September I began doing pen and ink drawings again, something I had not done for 18 years. I am doing small art, not large poster board-sized pictures like I used to do. I am doing mostly 5x7 inch drawings, as detailed as I can make them. I created BicycleCity Black Squirrels Pen & Ink Art Prints and launched it in October along with the first public offering of my most recent novel, The Worth of A Woman. The prints, that novel, The Clockmaker's Son, and The Hanging Man and Other Stories were all offered at PumpkinFest here in Westfield. In November I wrote book three in the Black King/White Queen series. NaNo novel challenge completed, I moved on to doing wildlife and domestic pet drawings. I had my 3 holiday novellas and 4 holiday story anthologies for sale at a church bazaar, and again on Shop Small Saturday along with the prints. In December I continued writing but haven't found the right way to tell the story I have in mind yet, while doing art on request and creating a special piece of art for my office manager. Throwing in the holidays and furniture shopping for Kelly's house, plus working full time, and a short trip to Maine, tonight I find myself teetering on the edge of the dreaded massive fatigue that can be a part of any auto immune disease. I am a huge puddle of can-do-nothing tonight.
The worst part of this is my brain can still buzz along with things I want to do, but the rest of me just wants to crawl into bed and sleep for a few weeks.
I like my job, I love writing, I love drawing. Writing and drawing have always been a part of my life. People tell me, "You're so humble about your talent, you shrug it off." But, I don't see it like they do. I see it as just a part of me that has always been there. I didn't study writing. I didn't study art. I could always write and I could always draw. To me, it's just me doing what I 've always been doing and enjoy doing. It's difficult for me to step outside of my norm and view it from someone else's point of view. I look in the mirror, I see me. I look at a story I've written and I see me. I look at a piece of art I've created and, again, I see me. My brother even commented on how I seem so normal, yet people come up to me at shows and events, buy my books and rave about them and want to know when the next in the series is coming out, or buy one of my art prints and tell me how amazing it is and I just say thanks and shrug it off because I don't think I've done anything special. I've just done what I've always done- that creative stuff I was born with. It amazes me that people want to buy my books and art. I have trouble comprehending that.
I do understand that not everyone has the gift to write books and draw pictures. I envy gymnasts, musicians, singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians, race car drivers, and people who do all sorts of things I am hopelessly inept at. I see myself as flawed because I have none of those amazing talents.
I am disappointed with my body's cells for constantly attacking other cells in this same body. I've had allergies all of my life and remember being miserable much of the time, having to stay indoors in the air conditioning during pollen season. But, I am not the kind of person who lets health issues defeat her. I understand I need to take breaks from the hectic pace I live my life. I understand I have to suffer the frustration of my limitations at times. I know I am my own worst enemy because I push myself too hard, way too far...and then I crash.
In January,I will be proofreading and editing Kelly's NaNo novel, and then proofreading, doing some necessary rewrites, and editing my own NaNo novel. I ' shooting for having book three in the series out by April. I'll draw some more pictures. But I am also going to be lying low and resting, hoping my energy will return quickly. The unpredictability of this health issue is what I find most annoying. One day I can feel fine, the next I can feel like I'm slogging through quicksand with a heavy pack strapped to my back.
I'm also going to finish reading two books I started reading at the beginning of December. All authors should read as much as they can. I've been ignoring the stacks of books all over the living room and on the bookcase and floor in the bedroom. Oh, and I ordered the Fall issue of Dark Ink Magazine, a favorite of mine. When it arrives, I'll sit and read it cover to cover! That's my idea of R&R!
I haven't disappeared, I've merely ground myself down to dust and need to rebuild from the foundation up again. I'm thankful for my understanding family and friends, all my artist and author friends, and my wonderful co-workers who form the biggest and best support system anyone could ever ask for.
I'll have more to say about White Bishop Among the Pawns, third in the Romney and Ivy (Black King/White Queen) series near the end of January.
December 13, 2018
What's Going On Around Here
I'm not a very good blogger. Most days, although I'm a writer, an author, and a journalist...I don't have a whole lot to say. My brain is chock full of fictional people, places, and events waiting in a queue to have their existence come more fully to life on the printed pages I type. The smidgens of space devoted to my everyday life seem almost trivial, although they, too, are important to me. I can't write about my job which is where I spend the large part of my day five days a week surrounded by colorful coworkers who all lead more interesting lives than I do.
In November I wrote the sequel to Black King Takes White Queen, and Black Knight, White Rook. It's tentative title is White Bishop Amid the Pawns...but when I finished I realized that there really wasn't a whole lot about the character who is the white bishop...so I have to go back and fill in to show how he becomes the white bishop. Also, at the beginning of the book a relationship between two characters if described one way, but near the conclusion of the book a surprise relationship emerged that caught me off guard, so now I need to go back to the beginning and tweak it some to bring that relationship into alignment with what is revealed at the end of the book, without giving it away.
I was kicking around the idea of a modern day boy finding himself transported back to the 60's, having to adapt to black and white TV, no remote control, no hundreds of channels, rotary telephones, pay phones, no cellphone, no computer and internet, no video games-cultural shock sort of thing. Still perking in the back of my brain at this time.
Between writing projects I've squeezed in some art. I've always been able to write, but not a lot of people who know me as an author knew that I've been drawing since middle school or earlier. In high school we experimented with a variety of mediums-acrylic paint, pastels, charcoal, pencil...and OMG! Pen and ink with dip pens. Bam! The Victorian in me could relate to a pen with a nib and a bottle of ink.
I drew all sorts of pictures in high school and college. My dorm room wall was all various size pen and ink drawings, some black & white, but many in color, that I had drawn myself. My writing and my art always battled one another. Writing was always more prolific than drawing, but from time to time the pen and ink came out and I'd draw.
In 2000 (Y2K) I drew some black squirrels for the store I was working at. A black squirrel silhouette I drew became the logo for a line of The Black Squirrel hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other items sold at the store to locals and tourists. I did four realistic black squirrels in pen and ink at that time, and one cartoony black squirrel standing before a map putting up the letters that spell WESTFIELD- the black squirrel putting Westfield on the map. In 2007 the store closed and I went to work as a medical secretary. I didn't have the energy to draw, so I wrote, only occasionally breaking out the pen and ink to do projects with Kelly.
Around 2016 I wanted to participate in World Art Drop Day which is like the first Tuesday in September. I wasn't drawing anything at the time, so I dropped a book and left clues. In 2017, the same thing, I dropped a book on Art Drop day because writing was my literary art. Pushing the envelope, because there is a book drop day, but I don't remember when that is. So, this past September, I decided to drop some actual art, got out the pen and ink and drew two pictures, two different black squirrels. On Tuesday morning before going to work, I drove down the street to the shopping plaza and tucked one print (and a book) in a huge plantar in front of our local pizza shop, snapped a picture, posted it on facebook and headed to site #2. Before I even got there, the art at site #1 had been scooped up! In less than 5 minutes! And people were wanting clues to site #2's location...and I hadn't even gotten there yet! Well, Kelly hadn't been able to drop her artwork where she had intended to on her way to work, so had dropped it at my site#2, leaving me to scramble for a second site for a black squirrel original drawing. I ended up at a location about a half mile from work, that wasn't open yet when I got there, but a man inside let me in and agreed to give the picture to the first person to come in and ask for it. I then went to work where I was still posting the clue on facebook when a woman who had just missed the grabbing the first drawing desperately pleaded for a clue as to where the second one was. I finished my post, texted her a clue...and before I had walked from my car to the employee door she was posting that she had gotten the second drawing! One of these two women also scooped up Kelly's RR logo drawing and short story about a ghost train.
How the art was received so enthusiastically, and how much I had enjoyed drawing the pictures set me off on a drawing binge, drawing a total of eighteen different black squirrels which made their appearance on my book table at PumpkinFest in October. I sold a few more prints than I did books.
I did a church holiday bizarre with just books and did well. Then did Shop Small with books and black squirrel prints and again sold a few more prints than books.
From there I have begun writing the Garnet & Quella novel once more, and branched out into different wildlife, adding a chipmunk, a fox kit, a black bear cub, a fawn, a raccoon and a great horned owl to the wild kingdom. On the domestic side, I drew an adorable kitten. Some images have color (the fox, the chipmunk, the kitten, and the owl.)
So, along my author journey I've crossed paths with my artist self, reconnecting my two passions. Now, I'm thinking of doing a picture book that combines my pen and ink black squirrel drawings with a local photographers images of scenes of historic landmarks around town, adding some text and creating a sort of souvenir of Westfield book.
While I'm not a diligent blogger, it doesn't mean I haven't been working hard on new books and now art projects. I guess you can say I'm twice as busy as I used to be while still working full time!
In January I will begin doing the edits, continuity corrections, and rewrites of White Bishop Amid the Pawns. I needed a break from it for a month to deal with Christmas and Kelly moving closer to moving into her own house where she's been busy doing renovations and repairs, however, I am happy to report that she wrote a novel in November as well. She just completed her edits and proofreading of it and handed me the binder this evening, telling me it was my turn. She also warned me I would cry around page 55. I guess I'd better have my blue Flair marking pen and a box of tissues handy when I sit down to read what she's written!
So, that's what's going on around here!
In November I wrote the sequel to Black King Takes White Queen, and Black Knight, White Rook. It's tentative title is White Bishop Amid the Pawns...but when I finished I realized that there really wasn't a whole lot about the character who is the white bishop...so I have to go back and fill in to show how he becomes the white bishop. Also, at the beginning of the book a relationship between two characters if described one way, but near the conclusion of the book a surprise relationship emerged that caught me off guard, so now I need to go back to the beginning and tweak it some to bring that relationship into alignment with what is revealed at the end of the book, without giving it away.
I was kicking around the idea of a modern day boy finding himself transported back to the 60's, having to adapt to black and white TV, no remote control, no hundreds of channels, rotary telephones, pay phones, no cellphone, no computer and internet, no video games-cultural shock sort of thing. Still perking in the back of my brain at this time.
Between writing projects I've squeezed in some art. I've always been able to write, but not a lot of people who know me as an author knew that I've been drawing since middle school or earlier. In high school we experimented with a variety of mediums-acrylic paint, pastels, charcoal, pencil...and OMG! Pen and ink with dip pens. Bam! The Victorian in me could relate to a pen with a nib and a bottle of ink.
I drew all sorts of pictures in high school and college. My dorm room wall was all various size pen and ink drawings, some black & white, but many in color, that I had drawn myself. My writing and my art always battled one another. Writing was always more prolific than drawing, but from time to time the pen and ink came out and I'd draw.
In 2000 (Y2K) I drew some black squirrels for the store I was working at. A black squirrel silhouette I drew became the logo for a line of The Black Squirrel hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other items sold at the store to locals and tourists. I did four realistic black squirrels in pen and ink at that time, and one cartoony black squirrel standing before a map putting up the letters that spell WESTFIELD- the black squirrel putting Westfield on the map. In 2007 the store closed and I went to work as a medical secretary. I didn't have the energy to draw, so I wrote, only occasionally breaking out the pen and ink to do projects with Kelly.
Around 2016 I wanted to participate in World Art Drop Day which is like the first Tuesday in September. I wasn't drawing anything at the time, so I dropped a book and left clues. In 2017, the same thing, I dropped a book on Art Drop day because writing was my literary art. Pushing the envelope, because there is a book drop day, but I don't remember when that is. So, this past September, I decided to drop some actual art, got out the pen and ink and drew two pictures, two different black squirrels. On Tuesday morning before going to work, I drove down the street to the shopping plaza and tucked one print (and a book) in a huge plantar in front of our local pizza shop, snapped a picture, posted it on facebook and headed to site #2. Before I even got there, the art at site #1 had been scooped up! In less than 5 minutes! And people were wanting clues to site #2's location...and I hadn't even gotten there yet! Well, Kelly hadn't been able to drop her artwork where she had intended to on her way to work, so had dropped it at my site#2, leaving me to scramble for a second site for a black squirrel original drawing. I ended up at a location about a half mile from work, that wasn't open yet when I got there, but a man inside let me in and agreed to give the picture to the first person to come in and ask for it. I then went to work where I was still posting the clue on facebook when a woman who had just missed the grabbing the first drawing desperately pleaded for a clue as to where the second one was. I finished my post, texted her a clue...and before I had walked from my car to the employee door she was posting that she had gotten the second drawing! One of these two women also scooped up Kelly's RR logo drawing and short story about a ghost train.
How the art was received so enthusiastically, and how much I had enjoyed drawing the pictures set me off on a drawing binge, drawing a total of eighteen different black squirrels which made their appearance on my book table at PumpkinFest in October. I sold a few more prints than I did books.
I did a church holiday bizarre with just books and did well. Then did Shop Small with books and black squirrel prints and again sold a few more prints than books.
From there I have begun writing the Garnet & Quella novel once more, and branched out into different wildlife, adding a chipmunk, a fox kit, a black bear cub, a fawn, a raccoon and a great horned owl to the wild kingdom. On the domestic side, I drew an adorable kitten. Some images have color (the fox, the chipmunk, the kitten, and the owl.)
So, along my author journey I've crossed paths with my artist self, reconnecting my two passions. Now, I'm thinking of doing a picture book that combines my pen and ink black squirrel drawings with a local photographers images of scenes of historic landmarks around town, adding some text and creating a sort of souvenir of Westfield book.
While I'm not a diligent blogger, it doesn't mean I haven't been working hard on new books and now art projects. I guess you can say I'm twice as busy as I used to be while still working full time!
In January I will begin doing the edits, continuity corrections, and rewrites of White Bishop Amid the Pawns. I needed a break from it for a month to deal with Christmas and Kelly moving closer to moving into her own house where she's been busy doing renovations and repairs, however, I am happy to report that she wrote a novel in November as well. She just completed her edits and proofreading of it and handed me the binder this evening, telling me it was my turn. She also warned me I would cry around page 55. I guess I'd better have my blue Flair marking pen and a box of tissues handy when I sit down to read what she's written!
So, that's what's going on around here!
November 13, 2018
The Hanging Man named Finalist!
The Hanging Man and Other Stories was named a Finalist in the Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest. If you go to the American Book Fest site and click on Awards 2018 you can find The Hanging Man and Other Stories under the Fiction: Anthologies category.
As a local author who self publishes her work (only since May 2015) I am thrilled to have been shortlisted for Black King Takes White Queen for the OZMA award in 2016, shortlisted for the PARANORMAL Award in 2017, and now named a Finalist in 2018 for the Best Book Awards. Being shortlisted twice and named a finalist once, this tells me my compass hasn't steered me wrong and I should keep moving ahead.
I'm grateful for all the local support I receive from my hometown indie bookstore proprietor (-s), to the wonderful and creative people I serve on the board of directors with who all support culture and the arts in Westfield, MA, to a local beekeeper who bought the original artwork for the cover of The Hanging Man and Other Stories to add to his amazing collection of macabre and horror pieces that he has showcased in his home, to the woman who "adopted" me and became my "Mom" last December after meeting at an author event in town, to all my co-workers who have read me from the very beginning and celebrate every step forward with me. I also need to thank all the amazing authors I've met, many of whom have joined the writers/authors social and support group Kelly and I founded in June 2017. We all share a passion for the written word and have a lot of fun when we get together. And finally, thanks to my husband who doesn't really understand about authors, who has never read one of my books although he reads other authors, to my daughter who has read everything I've written and has been my loyal proofreader and editor since middle school, and my sister and brother who always cheer me on, cheer me up, and help me out at local author events.
I'm tremendously grateful for everyone who has taken a chance on a no-name author and read a book I've written and left me feedback, or sent me an email message, and even written me a letter. This has been immensely helpful. Without readers there would be authors writing their hearts out for no one but themselves....a pretty lonely and unfulfilling prospect, don't you think?
So, my eternal gratitude to all of you. In just 3.5 years I've been recognized for my writing 3 times already.
As a local author who self publishes her work (only since May 2015) I am thrilled to have been shortlisted for Black King Takes White Queen for the OZMA award in 2016, shortlisted for the PARANORMAL Award in 2017, and now named a Finalist in 2018 for the Best Book Awards. Being shortlisted twice and named a finalist once, this tells me my compass hasn't steered me wrong and I should keep moving ahead.
I'm grateful for all the local support I receive from my hometown indie bookstore proprietor (-s), to the wonderful and creative people I serve on the board of directors with who all support culture and the arts in Westfield, MA, to a local beekeeper who bought the original artwork for the cover of The Hanging Man and Other Stories to add to his amazing collection of macabre and horror pieces that he has showcased in his home, to the woman who "adopted" me and became my "Mom" last December after meeting at an author event in town, to all my co-workers who have read me from the very beginning and celebrate every step forward with me. I also need to thank all the amazing authors I've met, many of whom have joined the writers/authors social and support group Kelly and I founded in June 2017. We all share a passion for the written word and have a lot of fun when we get together. And finally, thanks to my husband who doesn't really understand about authors, who has never read one of my books although he reads other authors, to my daughter who has read everything I've written and has been my loyal proofreader and editor since middle school, and my sister and brother who always cheer me on, cheer me up, and help me out at local author events.
I'm tremendously grateful for everyone who has taken a chance on a no-name author and read a book I've written and left me feedback, or sent me an email message, and even written me a letter. This has been immensely helpful. Without readers there would be authors writing their hearts out for no one but themselves....a pretty lonely and unfulfilling prospect, don't you think?
So, my eternal gratitude to all of you. In just 3.5 years I've been recognized for my writing 3 times already.
October 31, 2018
NaNoWriMo=3rd in Series
NaNoWriMo begins in Massachusetts at midnight tonight. After numerous requests I've decided to write the third in the series of the Romney & Ivy books, the first having been Black King Takes White Queen and the second having been Black Knight, White Rook. In the third book the danger for the black warlock King and his white witch Queen intensifies as local factions attack them, endanger their children, and go after their closest friends and allies. A stunning betrayal staggers Romney and Ivy and tests their commitment to one another and the unity they have worked so hard to achieve. The challenge is to get this novel written in 30 days! This is my seventh NaNoWriMo...here we go!
September 14, 2018
NewNovel- The Worth of a Woman
I've scuffed my feet on getting this one published as The Worth of a Woman is totally different from anything that I've previously written. There are no ghosts, witches, vampires, werewolves, or other supernatural/paranormal beings. This project has put me through the wringer multiple times.
The setting is the future, but not hundreds or thousands of years into the future. The government has imploded, Society has fractured. Male dominance prevails. Girls are sold in auctions at age 15 to the highest bidder and are little more than sex slaves to the men who buy them. They serve their masters and also perform routine chores in the compounds they are brought to- like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Men can sell their females to other men, or simply kill them when they get tired of them. It's a bleak existence for females.
Jade comes up for auction. She is not a compliant female and is aware of her precarious existence in a male dominated society. Archer immediately has his hands full once he's paid for her. At first he's willing to let her die, but when she survives injuries she's caused herself, he has to start rethinking what he can do to break her. Gradually he begins to realize that she is a tenacious girl who can be hurt, but not broken. He has to rapidly rethink everything he knows about women when Jade jolts his world.
It's not a warm and cozy read. It's brutal, graphic, and disturbing.
That's all I'm saying about this novel. It should be available on Amazon early next week.
The setting is the future, but not hundreds or thousands of years into the future. The government has imploded, Society has fractured. Male dominance prevails. Girls are sold in auctions at age 15 to the highest bidder and are little more than sex slaves to the men who buy them. They serve their masters and also perform routine chores in the compounds they are brought to- like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Men can sell their females to other men, or simply kill them when they get tired of them. It's a bleak existence for females.
Jade comes up for auction. She is not a compliant female and is aware of her precarious existence in a male dominated society. Archer immediately has his hands full once he's paid for her. At first he's willing to let her die, but when she survives injuries she's caused herself, he has to start rethinking what he can do to break her. Gradually he begins to realize that she is a tenacious girl who can be hurt, but not broken. He has to rapidly rethink everything he knows about women when Jade jolts his world.
It's not a warm and cozy read. It's brutal, graphic, and disturbing.
That's all I'm saying about this novel. It should be available on Amazon early next week.
August 17, 2018
New Novel Soon
I have The Worth of A Woman out in the hands of beta readers right now. This is a totally different type of novel for me as there is no magic, no supernatural or paranormal elements, no vampires, witches, warlocks, werewolves or anything else. Just ordinary people.
This is a big step outside my comfort zone novel. It is set in a future time when males dominate females (a regression to old ways), using them solely for their own pleasure and for doing menial chores. They're possessive of their females and have the right to kill any man who dares mess with their woman/women.
Fifteen-year old Jade comes up for auction. She has been raised in a breeding compound, has some education, and knows what is expected of her, but she has difficulty controlling her feelings and refraining from vocalizing her opinions, which are punishable offenses, and give her master the right to kill her or sell her to someone else.
Jade falls into the hands of Archer who has no experience with persistently fractious females. Beatings and punishments have always resolved any problems he's had with females. But Jade is her own self. He's often angry with her. She suffers abuse and other emotional and psychological hurts...and is eventually sent away when Archer takes another female who is more compliant. But, he does have plans for Jade.
Both Archer and Jade have things they need to learn from one another. When a doctor is brought in from the west coast, where changes have begun to be made in regards to the relationships between men and women, Archer is already beginning to institute some changes, but they aren't being well received which puts his life and Jade's in danger.
Its raw, brutal, difficult to read at times, and unlike the majority of my books, it doesn't have a happily ever after ending. I wrote the final chapter at breakfast and cried all the way to work. My co-workers thought someone had died. I just shook my head and said, "No, I killed a main character this morning while eating waffles." I was so miserable I couldn't even open the file on my computer for several days. I had to write the epilogue to show that something good did come of it all...and cried as I wrote that, but it still has an unsettling ending.
One beta reader, a coworker who knew I had cried when writing the end of the book read it and reported that she cried, too, but not as much as I had because she knew what was coming...but overall, she liked the book. Her daughter is reading it now.
I'm waiting for reports and feedback from two other beta readers, and for Kelly to read the book because she always has excellent insights and advice, and can spot continuity errors like a bloodhound!
Looking toward a late September launch.
This is a big step outside my comfort zone novel. It is set in a future time when males dominate females (a regression to old ways), using them solely for their own pleasure and for doing menial chores. They're possessive of their females and have the right to kill any man who dares mess with their woman/women.
Fifteen-year old Jade comes up for auction. She has been raised in a breeding compound, has some education, and knows what is expected of her, but she has difficulty controlling her feelings and refraining from vocalizing her opinions, which are punishable offenses, and give her master the right to kill her or sell her to someone else.
Jade falls into the hands of Archer who has no experience with persistently fractious females. Beatings and punishments have always resolved any problems he's had with females. But Jade is her own self. He's often angry with her. She suffers abuse and other emotional and psychological hurts...and is eventually sent away when Archer takes another female who is more compliant. But, he does have plans for Jade.
Both Archer and Jade have things they need to learn from one another. When a doctor is brought in from the west coast, where changes have begun to be made in regards to the relationships between men and women, Archer is already beginning to institute some changes, but they aren't being well received which puts his life and Jade's in danger.
Its raw, brutal, difficult to read at times, and unlike the majority of my books, it doesn't have a happily ever after ending. I wrote the final chapter at breakfast and cried all the way to work. My co-workers thought someone had died. I just shook my head and said, "No, I killed a main character this morning while eating waffles." I was so miserable I couldn't even open the file on my computer for several days. I had to write the epilogue to show that something good did come of it all...and cried as I wrote that, but it still has an unsettling ending.
One beta reader, a coworker who knew I had cried when writing the end of the book read it and reported that she cried, too, but not as much as I had because she knew what was coming...but overall, she liked the book. Her daughter is reading it now.
I'm waiting for reports and feedback from two other beta readers, and for Kelly to read the book because she always has excellent insights and advice, and can spot continuity errors like a bloodhound!
Looking toward a late September launch.
July 27, 2018
My Review of Teleport
Okay, I am the author's mother, but I am not a sci-fi fan. It took me months before I could even open the manuscript copy of the novel to proofread it for her...bad me. I struggled at first because the word "physics" strikes cold dread in my soul...but once I got over my own issues and into the story...well...she won me over. Here's what I have to say about Teleport by Kelly Buffum, written when she was 23-years old in 2014 and finally self-published in 2017. (Yeah, she reminded me last night that I never reviewed this book for her!)
Mom's Review of Teleport for goodreads:
"This is what happens when brilliant, yet quirky, and in one particular case, anxiety ridden, geniuses get together and tamper with physics. Science that should be life altering really does begin to alter life, but not in a good way! Physics goes awry in this second novel by Kelly Buffum, a talented newcomer to the world of self-publishing. However, I find the development of the relationships between the characters as interesting as the scientific concepts explored in this slim, and at times chilling, little novel. Friendships and kinships are forged as angst ridden HC Riley races to correct an unforeseen, terrifying side effect of his invention of a teleportation device that has transformed how people travel from point A to point B. Sacrifices are made while bonds are strengthened during the race to correct a mistake before it destroys the world."
This would make a sweet little beach read!
Mom's Review of Teleport for goodreads:
"This is what happens when brilliant, yet quirky, and in one particular case, anxiety ridden, geniuses get together and tamper with physics. Science that should be life altering really does begin to alter life, but not in a good way! Physics goes awry in this second novel by Kelly Buffum, a talented newcomer to the world of self-publishing. However, I find the development of the relationships between the characters as interesting as the scientific concepts explored in this slim, and at times chilling, little novel. Friendships and kinships are forged as angst ridden HC Riley races to correct an unforeseen, terrifying side effect of his invention of a teleportation device that has transformed how people travel from point A to point B. Sacrifices are made while bonds are strengthened during the race to correct a mistake before it destroys the world."
This would make a sweet little beach read!
July 21, 2018
Literature & Art
I am currently writing a new novel, but in between chapters, I'm taking some time to work on miniature artworks in pen & ink, which has always been a favorite medium of mine since middle school when I first had the opportunity to use a dip pen in art class. That sparked a passion for drawing in ink. I bought my first advanced Speedball lettering nd drawing set at Johnson's Bookstore in Springfield, MA (now out of business). I loved going into the city and visiting the various departments in this iconic downtown store on Main Street. I also loved exploring all the stacks and bookcases full of used books after traversing the tunnel beneath the sidewalk that connected the front and rear portions of the store. The toy section was also fun to explore. I added some teddy bears to my bear collection from Johnson's.
Right now the novel I am writing is a dark romance with paranormal overtones (ghosts) that link past and present events. One of the main characters is the embalmer in his family's funeral business. The other main character has worked in her grandmother's antiques shop that specializes in antique and vintage mourning items, accessories, and apparel.
I share a hobby with m daughter, Kelly, also an author. We are taphophiles who enjoy visiting cemeteries where we appreciate the art and grave decorations, documenting some of our more interesting finds in photographs. The cover of The Girl With the Ivy Tattoo has a photographic image of a statue here in town that I shot a few summers ago. This statue stands at the rear of the upper portion of Pine Hill Cemetery on Western Avenue.
Kelly recently visited New Orleans where she and her traveling companion, the President of the Connecticut Trolley Museum where she is Assistant Trolley Restoration Shop Manager and a Director on the board. While in New Orleans, they explored many f the cemeteries. Some of the images she captured caught my Imagination and sparked a renewal of my passion for pen & ink drawing. I am currently working on a series of 13 draped/veiled cemetery urn monument drawings that will be displayed in a frame designed to display 2.5x3.5 inch school photographs and a central 5x7 inch central opening. I'll draw twelve 2.5x3.5 pictures of different draped urns and a larger central image.
I may draw a funeral hearse coach to grace the cover of the new novel...we'll have to see about that though as I'm good at drawing objects but horses may give me trouble!
Watch for the giveaway for The Hanging Man and Other Stories to come up. I may also do a giveaway for The Clockmaker's Son (a werewolf novel) published recently by Dark Ink Press under their Inklings imprint. Both books are currently available on Amazon and Kindle.
Right now the novel I am writing is a dark romance with paranormal overtones (ghosts) that link past and present events. One of the main characters is the embalmer in his family's funeral business. The other main character has worked in her grandmother's antiques shop that specializes in antique and vintage mourning items, accessories, and apparel.
I share a hobby with m daughter, Kelly, also an author. We are taphophiles who enjoy visiting cemeteries where we appreciate the art and grave decorations, documenting some of our more interesting finds in photographs. The cover of The Girl With the Ivy Tattoo has a photographic image of a statue here in town that I shot a few summers ago. This statue stands at the rear of the upper portion of Pine Hill Cemetery on Western Avenue.
Kelly recently visited New Orleans where she and her traveling companion, the President of the Connecticut Trolley Museum where she is Assistant Trolley Restoration Shop Manager and a Director on the board. While in New Orleans, they explored many f the cemeteries. Some of the images she captured caught my Imagination and sparked a renewal of my passion for pen & ink drawing. I am currently working on a series of 13 draped/veiled cemetery urn monument drawings that will be displayed in a frame designed to display 2.5x3.5 inch school photographs and a central 5x7 inch central opening. I'll draw twelve 2.5x3.5 pictures of different draped urns and a larger central image.
I may draw a funeral hearse coach to grace the cover of the new novel...we'll have to see about that though as I'm good at drawing objects but horses may give me trouble!
Watch for the giveaway for The Hanging Man and Other Stories to come up. I may also do a giveaway for The Clockmaker's Son (a werewolf novel) published recently by Dark Ink Press under their Inklings imprint. Both books are currently available on Amazon and Kindle.
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