R.M. Archer's Blog, page 16

Creativity & Rest

Recently I’ve been trying to navigate the concept of rest, and the balance of work and rest. Which might sound like a really silly thing to be having trouble with, but I have a tendency to struggle with balance and prioritization when it comes to projects and things to do… even if the thing to do is rest. So today I thought I’d discuss some ways that authors and other artists can rest and refill their creativity, and why rest is important in the first place.

The Importance of Rest

Despite what current culture might imply, we were not designed to go-go-go all the time. From the time of creation, God set aside time for rest. We see in Mark 2 that the sabbath is not meant to be a strict restriction from any possible work, but that “The Sabbath was made for man.” The sabbath rest was made for our benefit, because we need rest.

This is true in a general sense as well as in the specific context of creativity. I have mixed feelings about the saying that “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” but when it comes to creativity that’s a fairly true statement. Without new experiences and new media intake and new concepts you’re learning, you won’t be able to create new content; those new experiences and concepts, filtered through your unique worldview and creativity, are what fuel creation. When it comes to creativity, intake is just as important as output.

Sometimes creative rest just means taking a break from creating so that you can focus on living and refilling your creativity.

But actual rest is also important. Not only do you need rest from creating; you also need full mental (and sometimes emotional) rest. Sometimes instead of watching a movie or having a discussion with a friend, you need to instead take a walk in the woods or listen to worship music.

Keep both types of rest in mind. It might take some trial and error to figure out which type of rest you need at a given time, but differentiating will become easier the more and the longer you pay attention. Whichever you need, try to prioritize activities that will keep you rested and refilled on a regular basis. (Prioritizing rest is the hardest part for me.)

Ideas for Creative RefuelingWatch a movie/TV showRead a bookHave a discussion with a friendVisit someplace new (even just a new coffee shop or bookstore)Do a fun writing/art exerciseCreate a Pinterest boardSit and people-watchIdeas for Mental RestListen to musicGo for a walkStargaze/cloudwatch/sunbatheDo something physical (garden, crochet, build something, etc.)Take a napTake a bubble bath/take a shower/wash your face/etc.Listen to running water/nature soundsI’m Taking a Break…

I have a tendency to accumulate a lot of projects in December as I’m trying to wrap up the past year and prepare for the new year, and this year I’ve realized that it’s just too much.

I had planned posts for all of this month, on both of my main blogs, but I’ve decided to relax my posting schedule. I’d still like to post a couple of times on each blog (I have a couple of specifically seasonal posts), but I’ll be taking weeks off. It’ll be sort of an incomplete hiatus. So if you don’t see posts from me, I haven’t dropped off the blogosphere. I’m just resting, lol.

And in the future, I intend to take more complete hiatuses for the holiday season as a means of resting and recharging before the new year.

But back to you. What are your favorite ways to rest? Do you find rest comes easily or do you find it difficult to prioritize?

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November 2021 Wrap-Up

This month has been kind of crazy. It’s been a roller coaster as far as my mental health and productivity are concerned, which has left me feeling like I’ve gotten nothing done until I look back and realize I actually worked on some big projects this month. It’s a strange mix. But into the specifics.

Writing

My biggest project at the beginning of this month was National Indie Author Day. I ran four giveaways and an Instagram challenge and somehow managed to largely keep up with both. It was so much fun to work with the authors involved and I’m so excited to be sending indie books into the hands of new readers.

NaNoWriMo was pretty much a no-go for me this year, but I did consider rethinking that when toward the beginning of the month I ended up diving into plans for a novel concept that’s been sitting on my list since 2019. When I wrote about 4,500 of a draft and then other projects and the inconsistency of my motivation took me away from it, though, I didn’t push myself to do more than I could handle, so that project has returned to the back burner.

Calligraphy Guild is back from the editor! I got it back a couple of weeks ago and it took me about a week to mull over and process the edits before I made my final list of the edits I need to make. The book is in need of a lot more structural edits than I was expecting (or hoping), so I have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks to get it ready for its final proofread. The next step is to brainstorm solutions to all the problems I have to fix, which I’m hoping to finish today, and then the plan is to accomplish the actual edits by Christmas.

I’ve been trying to get another blog-related/newsletter-related project done, but it’s fallen by the wayside as I try to keep up with other things. I’m really hoping to have it done sometime this week!

Blogging

One thing I’m super excited about from this month is that I’m now published on Kingdom Pen! I’ve been wanting to write for KP for years and just never sat down to do it, but they’re running a contest that’s based on guest posting and each month has a category and topic suggestions, so I’ve been able to write several posts for them. This month’s theme was “writing doubts,” and I submitted three articles:

Is Writing a Waste of Time?

What if No One Likes My Book?

How to Take Feedback as Encouragement, Not Discouragement

I’ve submitted three more posts for next month and I plan to continue writing for the remainder of the challenge, but we’ll see which posts get accepted for publication in future months!

KP’s editor, Kathleen, has been great to work with, and I’ve really enjoyed polishing my articles with the help of her insight! If you’re ever interested in guest posting for a writing site, I definitely recommend putting Kingdom Pen on your list of places to submit.

And, of course, I’ve been posting here and on Within the Static. A recap of this month’s S&A posts:

Sanderson’s Third Law: When Should You Create a New World?

A Word on Productivity & Comparison

How to Care for Your Plot Bunnies (Without Neglecting Your Book Rabbits)

Building an Authentic Character Voice

(Should I bring back blog recaps as a routine part of monthly updates? Let me know in the comments if you find them helpful or extraneous.)

Reading

Currently reading

The Aeneid by VirgilOn the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (reread)

Finished

Archenemies by Marissa MeyerSupernova by Marissa MeyerThe Tolkien ReaderPhantastes by George MacDonaldWhat’s Next?

Surviving is my highest priority for next month. XD I believe I have some level of seasonal depression each fall/winter, and that’s been cropping up especially in the latter half of this month. So the aim is to get done everything on my project list (mostly Calligraphy Guild and my blogs), do Christmas shopping (yes, I’m a last-minute Christmas shopper; it’s a flaw), and not go crazy in the process, which should be plenty to keep me busy for the month. I also expect I’ll be starting my new job sometime this month, which will add some much-needed structure to my time but still allow me to get work done on my projects since there’s a high level of down-time.

How about you? How was this month for you? What are you most proud of or thankful for this month? If you participated in NaNoWriMo, how did it go? What are you most excited about next month? Do you have any big Christmas plans?

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Building an Authentic Character Voice

Characters are possibly the most important part of a book; the characters are who your reader will connect with. If your readers connect with your characters, they’ll willingly follow them through your story. But you have to make sure they connect, and character voice is a big part of accomplishing that. Your character’s voice involves all of their background and quirks, all of the personal behaviors and ways they speak that your readers will relate to. So let’s get into how to build a strong character voice.

Cultural Background

It’s important to consider what cultural worldview your character will be coming from. What are the common behaviors of the culture they grew up in? What behaviors are forbidden? What are common images in this culture that your character might use to illustrate concepts?

For example, Duyên is accustomed to taking off her shoes when she enters a building, and she knows that serving or digging into her plate before the head of the table has started is rude. She’s familiar with dragons as both companions and symbols of protection (drakes) or royalty (regular dragons), with phoenixes as symbols of wisdom, and with water sprites as symbols of innocence. She’s familiar with snakes as symbols of fortune, good or ill, and a number of other symbols connected to the Virilen pantheon of gods.

These will shape her interaction with other characters and with her surroundings, and the way she describes certain things.

Things that are out of keeping with a character’s cultural background will likely catch their attention more, as well. For example, Duyên would notice right away if a guest failed to remove their shoes upon entering a home. Awareness of your character’s cultural background can be a great tool for highlighting details you want to stand out.

Upbringing

The way your character has been treated over the course of their life will also impact their voice. A character who grew up with a loving family in a society where their views are largely accepted will have a very different way of seeing things from a character who started out as a slave and is prejudiced against.

Duyên grew up in a very wholesome family and therefore sees family as something beautiful and desirable, something she wants to be part of building one day. Her best friend, on the other hand, avoids home as much as possible because her family relationships are unhealthy. While Duyên feels perfectly at home in a guild she’s only been part of for a couple of months, Sairsha feels out-of-place and unworthy due to her being foreign and having grown up as a slave.

Look at your character’s history and consider how their upbringing will shape their perception of certain issues, of themselves, of those around them, or of life as a whole.

Physical Location

Your character’s voice can also be impacted by their physical location. A character who lives in the desert might use a lot of imagery involving sand, dunes, wind, heat, djinn, sun, etc., while a character who lives near the ocean might use more imagery involving waves, fish, sea dragons, breezes, salt, etc.

Duyên doesn’t live in a fishing village, but two of the neighboring towns have large fishing industries and therefore she’s familiar with the sea and with fishing. This comes through in some of her thoughts. For example:

The tension of the calligraphers seemed to weave itself into a net, wrapping around the group and pulling tight until it became hard to breathe.

…

Out of the net and into the shark’s teeth.

The catch with this one (no pun intended) is that you often have to establish the source of these comparisons. If you know that your character lives between two fishing villages but the reader has no hint of that, they’ll likely wonder where the fishing metaphors are coming from. So be sure to establish these before you use them.

Personal Values

How do you determine what your character is likely to notice? Considering your character’s personal values will help you figure out what to describe and focus on when writing in their perspective. A character whose community is very important to them will likely notice the people around them more. A character in charge of something will notice things that would impact their ability to lead effectively. A character who values beauty will notice the beauty in many things, sometimes in unconventional ways.

For example, Duyên notices when something is off with one of her friends because her friends are very important to her. Sairsha notices beautiful details about things because she values beauty (and because she’s an artist, but we’ll get to occupation and hobbies in a moment). Zen is the guildmaster, so he notices when things are going on with the calligraphers in his guild, especially when their behavior reflects how effective his leadership has or hasn’t been.

Occupation

Your character’s occupation or hobbies can also shape their voice. A fisherman might notice weather patterns more often than an artist, while an artist might notice small details or the lighting of a scene but pay no attention to the weather as a whole.

Occupations and interests can come through to varying degrees, either depending on how important a given interest is to your character or simply depending on the situation.

As an example, Duyên is an author and musician. She wonders about people’s stories, she practices prose in her mind, and she notices music in the mundane. A few specific snippets:

Duyên wondered, as she often did, what each patient’s story was. Did they have family? What was the cause of their madness? One day, she wanted to write all their stories.

–

Doing the dishes always gave Duyên time to think—sometimes too much time—but she let her mind loose to wander into stories of lives beyond her own, piecing together passages of prose in her mind to keep her thoughts away from the inevitable.

–

The village flew by in a blur, and wind whistled past Duyên’s ears like the treble to the bass of her pounding heartbeat.

Writing and music are integral pieces of Duyên’s life, and that’s reflected in her character voice. And, like I mentioned with Sairsha, part of the reason she notices small details is because she’s an artist and she pays attention to things she could paint and how she might do so.

Your character’s interests and vocations will shape the way they see the world and what they notice.

Personality

Your character’s personality will also impact the way they see and interact with the world. A character who values her community but is more introverted might notice that her friend is feeling down and decide to make a gift, while a more outspoken character might ask what’s wrong right away.

A character who is in-tune with their own emotions will likely use more emotional descriptions, while one who isn’t will probably have more matter-of-fact prose. (The challenge is to still show the emotions of the latter character so that the reader can connect with them, even if the character doesn’t notice their emotions themselves.)

A selfless character might see situations in terms of their effects on everyone else around them, while a more self-centered character will be very much in their own thoughts and the consequences for them.

There are an abundance of ways that your character’s personality can impact their voice and behavior.

Greetings & Farewells

Looking at more specifics of how your character talks, their more literal character voice, we’re going to start with what greetings and farewells are common in your culture. How do people generally greet one another? How do they say goodbye? Once you’ve figured this out, ask how your character would use or adapt these usual sayings.

In Virilia, the popular greeting or farewell used during the day is “Matroia shine upon you,” in reference to the sun goddess. Duyên generally uses this phrase in full. A character who uses briefer sentences—Tora, for example—might shorten it to “May Matroia shine.” Another character might say “Matroia shine today.” Because Sairsha doesn’t believe in the Virilen gods, she shifts the phrase and instead says “May the sun shine upon you” or some variation thereof. A character who’s doubting the gods might refrain from using or returning a religious-based greeting at all.

You can also ask whether your character is likely to be the first to initiate greetings or whether they’re more likely to wait for someone else to greet them before returning the greeting. Or your character might not return a greeting at all, or might return a verbal greeting with a nod or something else non-verbal.

Duyên is always the first to greet those around her; it’s important to her to make people feel seen. Sairsha loves people just as much, but is quieter and more likely to wait until someone else expresses interest in a conversation before returning their greeting, out of a desire not to bother someone who would rather be left alone.

Slang

What’s some of the slang in your setting? Do they have common metaphors or similes? Do they have sayings like “Give me a run for my money” or “Keep under the radar” or “Knock it out of the park”?

What about nicknames and terms of endearment like “kiddo,” “sweetheart,” “goofball”? What about more derogatory terms like “little miss perfect,” “bastard,” “dork”?

Does your character use these terms? With whom? In what situations? Do they use some of these terms differently from the normal use? For example, using “dork” as a term of endearment rather than an insult, or using “kid” in a condescending manner rather than an affectionate one? Are there only particular situations in which they use them this way?

Cursing

This isn’t going to be an argument on whether or not, or how, you ought to portray cursing in your book. That’s a separate issue. But you should know whether or not your character would realistically curse and why. This can refer to real-life curses or made-up curses (the latter of which I recommend for secondary worlds if you’re going to have characters who curse on-page, because real-world curses often feel out-of-place).

Does your character refrain from cursing because they believe it’s wrong, or simply because they think it’s unnecessary or uncreative? (If they think it’s uncreative, do they make up their own creative substitutes?) Do they curse because they see nothing wrong with it, or because it slips out when they’re frustrated? This won’t only impact what they say, but also how they feel about saying or hearing curses.

You might also have characters who consider different things curses. Maybe Character A sees nothing wrong with saying “snotbuckets,” but that’s a highly offensive curse to Character B. (Totally ridiculous example, but it conveys the point.) Or characters who simply have different views on cursing as a whole. This can create interesting dynamics and interactions between characters, and even internal struggles within more conservative characters who have friends who are less conservative with their language.

As you can see, a lot of elements can go into a character’s voice on the page. It can be pretty complicated to build a strong and consistent character voice. But I guarantee it will give you a stronger character that your reader will be better able to connect with.

Need some prompts to get you thinking about your character’s voice? Sign up to my newsletter and check out the character voice questions in the resource library.

What’s the hardest part of nailing a character voice, for you? What’s the most fun part of the process? Let me know in the comments!

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How to Care for Your Plot Bunnies (Without Neglecting Your Book Rabbits)

You’ve been focused on a particular novel for a while. You’re trying to stick to this project and only this project, not get distracted by plot bunnies. But… uh oh. Another plot bunny just hopped onto your desk and it’s really trying to get your attention…

I have good news.

You can take care of that plot bunny and get it to leave you alone so you can continue working in your main project. And it’s actually pretty simple to do.

Give the Plot Bunny What it Wants

…But only for a time. Give yourself a set amount of time to focus on the new plot bunny. I usually allow myself a week, but I tend to lose my initial interest in the plot bunny within 2-3 days. You’ll know best how long you need before a plot bunny leaves you alone.

For whatever time frame you set, let yourself work on this new idea without guilt. For me, entertaining a plot bunny usually means creating a Pinterest board, maybe putting together the beginnings of a story playlist, and scribbling down as many notes on the characters and plot as I can come up with. When I was younger, the process would look more like slamming out 3,000 words of a first draft and leaving myself with a bunch of loose ends that I came back later and had no idea where I was going with.

Your process will look however you need it to. (But I do recommend making note of any details you can think of so you don’t leave your future self with unanswered questions that you know you understood when you started writing).

You can work on your main project alongside this new plot bunny for your time frame, or you can let the plot bunny consume your time completely; it will depend on how much interest you have in each project and how tightly your brain latches onto new ideas. Either is perfectly fine. Remember, this is your guilt-free playtime with the plot bunny.

Why It Works

If you’re like me, you come up with a bright and shiny new idea and you get super excited about it… for about two days. And then it becomes work to shape the story into something that will support a novel and the interest fades.

What this method does is capitalize on that initial burst of interest while removing the guilt of neglecting your primary project for a couple of days.

Your novel will still be there in two days; the plot bunny might end up forgotten. And two days isn’t really that much time out of your novel. Even a week, in the grand scheme of a novel-sized project, is not that much of a time suck. And the break might even do your novel good.

If you don’t take a break, then the plot bunny will keep nagging at you and distracting from your main project, and you won’t work very effectively on either project. Giving your full attention to the plot bunny for a few days will prevent you from subconsciously splitting your attention, impairing your productivity and creativity, by allowing you to dedicate your attention to one at a time.

Meanwhile, you’re also collecting all of the most crucial information for a new project that you’ll be able to work on later. When you have the time to come back to this plot bunny and really work on it seriously, you’ll already have a starting point and you’ll know what was most important to you about the story. Maybe you made a lot of notes on the theme, or maybe on the aesthetic, or maybe the characters are the most crucial element. Your notes will let you know right up front.

Letting yourself work on a plot bunny for a few days is ultimately beneficial to both the plot bunny and your primary project, and it adds another story concept to the list to choose from later.

Have you tried this method before? How do you handle plot bunnies that crop up while you’re working on something else?

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Indie Author Blog Tag (and giveaway winner announcements!)

Happy National Indie Author Day!!!

As a day-of celebration, I wanted to start up a blog tag for indie authors! (And at the end I’ll announce the winners of the four giveaways from this week!)

RulesLink back to the original tag (here!)Link to the authors you mention (or their books) in your answersTag 5 other indie authorsQuestions

Why do you publish indie?

First, because I appreciate the creative freedom. I have the final say over every element of the finished product. Perhaps most importantly, to me, I don’t have to follow market trends and I can set my own writing pace. (As much as I would love to, I just can’t produce a fully published book in a year, much less keep that up year after year; maybe one day, but not yet.) My process and my work is my own and I get to not only direct it myself but also invite others into it as I go! Indie publishing allows me to build up a strong community around my work and connect with other authors and readers who are equally passionate about a given book and the indie publishing process in general. Overall I just really love the indie publishing process and the opportunity and responsibility of seeing through every part of the process and having a unique connection with the people I work with and the readers I impact.

What’s your favorite indie standalone?

Watson and Holmes by E.B. Dawson. I’m not generally a big fan of reading sci-fi books set in space (I don’t know why; it’s just a quirk), but this book did it right. And it was so much fun to see Sherlock Holmes reimagined in a sci-fi world!

What’s your favorite indie series?

Aaaaaaah. There are so many I love! But I think Hannah Heath‘s Terebinth Tree Chronicles probably win, since I always buy them as soon as they come out and I can’t say the same for any other indie series. They’re so good! And the worldbuilding is so cool.

What’s your most anticipated indie book release?

Besides my own (I’m so stinking excited for Calligraphy Guild to reach readers), I’m super excited for the next Terebinth Tree Chronicles book! I can’t wait to read Durran’s story!

What was your most recent indie read?

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen. Great worldbuilding; too much steam and language. (I have a full review here.)

What is your favorite part of being an indie author?

This answer is pretty much the same as why I publish indie, lol. I love the creative freedom and the community. And I get to learn and practice so many non-writing skills, like graphic design and formatting! Sometimes it’s more frustrating than fun, but a lot of the time I have a lot of fun formatting my books to look exactly the way I want and designing book graphics.

What’s the hardest part of being an indie author?

Having to do all the things. XD As fun as it can be, it can also be overwhelming. You have to write the book, edit the book, find the right professional editor for your book, find the right cover designer, pay for the editor and cover designer, format your book (or hire someone else to format your book), create attractive book graphics, market your book, set up a launch party and host it, etc., etc., etc. It’s a long and energy-intensive process.

Do you ever plan to go hybrid?

Yes! I would love to have a standalone or duology traditionally published one day. I actually have a few projects that I’ve specifically considered pitching one day, but we’ll see what ends up happening. Currently, traditional publishing is a down-the-road idea (though that might change in the next few months as I finish up Calligraphy Guild‘s edits and choose a new project, with a hopeful trip to RealmMakers next year in mind).

How many books have you released?

I’ve released three books, all short story-focused:

Lost Girl (standalone short story/novella)

The Mirror-Hunter Chronicles (a series of fairytale retelling short stories, or a novella in parts if you prefer to look at it that way)

Short Story Collection vol. 1 (a sampler of my work, including two stories from my sci-fi world and one from Deseran).

Where are you with your current project?

I’m in the latter stages of editing! I’ve been working on line edits, and those are what I’ll get back from Jane Maree shortly as well. I’ll have one more round to apply her notes and mine, and then I’ll send it back for the final copy-edits!!! I’m super excited to be getting so close!!

(If you’d like to help me out with promoting Calligraphy Guild in a couple months, you can sign up to my street team!)

Nominees

Grace Johnson

Jenna Terese

E.K. Seaver

E.G. Bella

Nicki Chapelway

Giveaway Winners

Fantasy Giveaway

Congratulations, Erin! You’ve won the fantasy giveaway!

Contemporary Giveaway

Congratulations, Mattie! You’ve won the contemporary giveaway!

Non-Fiction Giveaway

Congratulations, Mattie! You’ve won the non-fiction giveaway!

Sci-Fi/Dystopian Giveaway

Congratulations, CC! You’ve won the sci-fi/dystopian giveaway!

If you’ve won a giveaway, I’ll be emailing you shortly to orchestrate shipping. :)

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A Word on Productivity & Comparison

You scroll through your social media feed, reading post after post from your author friends: That one who somehow publishes ten books in a year; that one who can write 100k in a week; one who just landed a book deal; one who manages to keep up with three different projects all at once and still responds to emails from readers within hours. You love these authors, and you want to be happy for them, but envy twists in your gut so you hit “like” without really meaning it and keep scrolling past, berating yourself all the while for once again watching envy eat your excitement for others’ successes.

Me too.

But we’re not stuck! Envy is persistent, absolutely. It takes conscious effort to shut down that voice in your head that says, “They’re doing everything right and I’m still struggling; how come they have it so easy?” But I’m going to pick apart the lies we hear when envy sneaks in and help you learn how to combat them.

They’re Doing So Much; They Must Have it Easy

One lie that envy tells us is that because someone is successful, they must have everything figured out and never struggle to keep up. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I can definitely tell you that that author you’re envying has just as much trouble keeping up as you do and probably struggles not to feel like they’re behind the other authors in their feed as well.

First of all, writing is hard. Publishing is hard. Creating products is hard. And while you can learn habits and develop patterns and systems for getting things done, it’s still hard. You just end up with different tasks causing difficulties.

Social media is a highlight reel. You see the finished products, the stack of published books, the celebratory tea, or whatever.

What you don’t see are all the times that author didn’t want to work on the project. All the times they pushed through anyway, or the times they gave in to the lack of motivation and felt guilty for it. You don’t see all the times their computer crashed or their software glitched and they had to start all over. You don’t see the moments they came this close to giving up on the project altogether because they started to think it was a waste of time.

Those authors in your feed are just as human as you are. Social media makes it easy to forget, sometimes, but remember that.

Next time you’re tempted to scroll past a celebration post with a half-hearted like and some grumpy thoughts, take a deep breath, imagine how much work it took to get there, and congratulate them. Let them know how much you admire their dedication. It might not silence the envy entirely, but I can bet it’ll make you feel at least a little bit better and it’ll be a great encouragement to the other author.

I Can Never Achieve That

Okay, so to be honest this one might not be a lie. Maybe you can’t publish ten books a year. But maybe you can publish a book every couple of years and focus on your reader community and resources for writers while you plug away at drafts. Just because your success won’t ever look like that other author’s success doesn’t mean it’s any less of a success. That author is not you, and you are not that author. You both have different strengths, and that’s a good thing. God has given each of us different gifts, and we do better when we lean into our own gifts and interests than when we try to make our progress and our focus match someone else’s.

I don’t think I will ever be able to publish more than two books a year. And that’s if I count short stories. I’m pretty certain I’ll never be able to manage more than one novel in a year. But that’s okay. Because if I were to push myself to publish more in a shorter time, the quality of my work would suffer and I wouldn’t have time to work on other projects that I love, like this blog or my worldbuilding course or just hanging out in my Discord server to answer questions. It just doesn’t suit my writing process. But it suits other authors, and that’s great. They see a lot of success from publishing a lot really quickly. I choose, instead, to lean into my strengths and do a lot of different things steadily and more slowly.

You have strengths, too. If you can identify them and use them faithfully, you’ll be able to become the best author you can be, and the author that God designed for you to be.

Next time you see an author’s post and think “I could never do that,” remember what you can do and then celebrate the other author for their strengths! God designed you both, with your unique strengths and weaknesses, because you both have purpose and importance. So congratulate your friend on her third consecutive 100k week and then go work on your awesome coaching program.

Focusing on Your Productivity

That author that you’re admiring got to where they are by faithfully stewarding the gifts God gave them and pursuing the work He placed before them. The only way you can get to a place of contentment with your own work is by approaching it the same way. God has gifted you in some way. Whether you’re a really fast writer, a thorough editor, an encouraging mentor, or whatever the case may be, you have unique strengths that can be applied to your writing career. By figuring out what these strengths are and how to use them, stewarding them to God’s glory, you can make a lot of progress in your writing. If you’re faithful.

A great writing life doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of faithful dedication, trial and error, and continuing to change your methods when they no longer fulfill their purpose. But years are composed of months, composed of days, composed of hours, composed of minutes. So start being faithful now. Write that blog post. Add another paragraph to your book. Spend fifteen minutes on building your platform. You don’t have to take big steps. You just have to faithfully keep walking. God will bring you to the place you’re supposed to be.

And when you’re walking faithfully and you see someone else walking faithfully, you’re free to cheer one another on as your paths overlap. There’s space enough for both of you.

Have you struggled with envy lately? (I know I have. :P) How can you encourage the authors “ahead” of you? What strengths can you focus on faithfully stewarding today? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

The post A Word on Productivity & Comparison appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

National Indie Author Day: Sci-Fi/Dystopian Giveaway

Last but not least for this year we have a giveaway for folks who enjoy sci-fi and dystopian stories! The lucky winner will receive a copy of Azalei’s Riders by Miranda Marie, a copy of Malfunction by J.E. Purrazzi, and a signed bookplate from each author!

I have a review of Azalei’s Riders for those interested. I don’t have a review of Malfunction, but it’s an excellent book that looks at the sanctity of life through a very hopeful lens even amidst a dark, gritty world; it’s fantastically done.

I also have author interviews! Check out what the authors have to say about these books. ^-^

Miranda Marie

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write?

Of course. Hello, everyone! I’m Miranda, a previously homeschooled girl from the mountains. I grew up in the country, raised all sorts of animals when I was younger (including goats), and have been passionate about writing since around the time I turned ten. I’m dyslexic, which made reading difficult for me, so my mom set me free on Word and told me to write anything I wanted. Fourteen years later and I’m still writing.

Why did you choose indie publishing?

The simple answer is: I was 17 and not brave enough – or confident enough – to pursue a publisher or an agent. However, I wanted to share my stories with the world, so I decided to see what it would take to do it myself, and I’m really glad I did. It was a huge learning experience and it’s shaped my writing in ways I never could have predicted. I wasn’t ready for the high pressure environment of traditional publishing, and self publishing gave me the drive and experience to grow.

How does your faith impact your work?

I’m a Christian, and that definitely shapes my worldview. Themes in particular are important to me. I don’t write “Christian fiction”, because that’s not what I’ve been called to write. Instead, I focus on writing engaging, unique works that are clean enough for anyone to read, regardless of their age or content tolerance. This means most of the way my faith influences my writing is in the themes I discuss and the way I approach them – through a lens of hope, rather than despair.

What inspired The Fire Rain Chronicles?

I had a very specific thought on day when I was sixteen and preparing to do NaNoWriMo for the second time. “What if instead of technology destroying the planet (a common theme in Dystopian works), technology evolved enough to repair the planet instead?” Essentially, I asked myself what a futuristic world would be like where jungles and forests had taken over everything and humans didn’t need to use nearly as many of the world’s resources to sustain ourselves. I suppose I was just tired of all the doom and gloom outlooks portrayed in the usual dystopian worlds. I wanted to pursue a world in the distant future where the environment wasn’t the main issue. And The Fire Rain Chronicles was born from that thought.

Justice and putting things right are big parts of The Fire Rain Chronicles (especially in the last book). What do these themes mean to you?

That’s a harder question, mainly because those weren’t themes I was trying to include. I suppose that’s the whole worldview thing coming into play. My main focus thematically were the questions ‘what is freedom’ and ‘is it worth it to relinquish freedom for safety?’ But justice and self-government are a huge part of the answer to those questions, so its natural that they’d play a big part in answering them, even if it wasn’t the focus with which I went into the story. Justice and repaying mistakes is synonymous to me with repentance. You have to face that you’ve done something wrong to put it right. If you aren’t willing to accept responsibility for your errors, you can’t progress. In that regard, the characters who grew and made an impact were the ones willing to admit they were wrong and make new choices. Those who couldn’t accept they’d strayed were slowly driven mad by the weight of their mistakes.

This series has so many moving pieces that weave together exactly as they should. What were some of the challenges of creating such a complex world and plot?

I recall commenting to a friend at the time of writing the second book in the series (when so many things come into the light for the first time), “I wish I was as smart as Azalei. That would make it a lot easier to keep up with her.” So I would say that Azalei was both my main challenge as well as my biggest help. Most of the intertwining pieces of this series were orchestrated by her, so it was only a matter of getting into her mind and thinking, “What would Azalei do with this information?” The problem with that was that she has the ability to juggle sixteen steps ahead, where I can manage about six. Suffice it to say, editing was my friend. If I messed up, she would give me a gentle nudge in the right direction on the next read through, showing me one by one all the pieces she had in place.

What do you hope readers take away from reading The Fire Rain Chronicles?

I hope they take away the lesson to think independently and logically. It’s so easy to be swept up in a mob, where the frenzied and passionate voices of others can pull us along on a emotional-high. It feels good to be a part of something, to ride that moral high ground and think you’re doing what’s right. But misplaced passion can lead to very dark, very dangerous places. The conflict in the Northern Countries started from a desire for a peaceful future, spurred on by the pure passion of someone who loved those around him. However, acting out of passion and emotion, and blinded from logic, it lead to their ultimate destruction. If people learn anything from The Fire Rain Chronicles, I hope it is the skill to self evaluate their choices and to practice independent thinking, rather than following mob rule.

Can you tell us anything about your next project?

My next project, as is probably expected of me by now, is nothing like anything I’ve published before. I love trying new and wildly unique things every chance I get, and this project has held a very special place in my heart since before Azalei’s Riders was even a concept in my mind. It’s got a large cast of characters, including, but not limited to: Mal, an antisocial homebody just seeking some peace and quiet; Tauby, his conspiracy theorist, adventure-seeking bff (who may or may not accidentally get them kidnapped); Chance, a dark, grim criminal boy (who may or may not do the kidnapping), and Jade, a girl who simultaneously delivers dire warnings about the horrors of jail and offers everyone snacks. There’s a heist in the world’s most dangerous underground city, superpowers of all shapes and sizes, and so much lore it occasionally makes me dizzy (in a good way). I can’t wait to release it to all of you so you can love it as much as I do!

Thank you so much, Miranda!

J.E. Purrazzi

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write?

My name is J.E. Purrazzi, or Jill. I am a writer of speculative fiction, so I write science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Right now my focus is on gothic horror and cyberpunk science fiction. My goal in writing is to draw my reader into thinking deeply about subjects, taking a different view than they might have before, and finding truth, which is why I brand my fiction as “exploratory fiction.” Because of that, one of the most important facets of my writing is, for me, story theme.

Why did you choose indie publishing?

I considered traditional publishing briefly, but the more I looked the more I discovered that traditional publishing couldn’t offer me the things I most valued in a writing career. It seems to me that the main value of traditional publishing these days is to have someone to help shoulder the actual cost and work of the publishing (and thus, by nature, take away some of your creative input) and the benefit of having an established creator back up your work. But the downsides, most importantly having your success dependent on the subjective tastes of someone who will never be as passionate about your books as you are, seemed too great. I don’t mind if my books fail, but I would like to have the ability to get up, brush myself off, learn better, and try again. Traditional publishing seemed to take a bit too much power from the author in my personal opinion. Though I might consider trying a hybrid model at some point, I really just love the indie mindset.

How does your faith impact your work?

My faith is important in every aspect of my writing, though I don’t actually write Christian fiction. Some of my works have a heavier emphasis than others, but even those don’t seem to always come across as strictly “Christian” to unsuspecting readers (those who go in not knowing I’m Evangelical). I’d say the greatest impact it has on my writing is the fact that I believe that God uses creativity to his Glory for our good. I don’t believe the gospel should be made palatable through fictionalisation to “win” people to Christ, so I avoid direct preaching or allegory. Though if you know me well enough you can find my theology and philosophy in anything I write.

I constantly think about the passage “Seek and ye shall find” when I write. So my goal is NOT to bring people to the Lord (I believe that’s the work of the Holy Spirit) but only to get them to start asking questions and “seeking”. I believe that, if you shake a person out of their comfort zone and get them to start asking hard questions, you have already done a very effective work in opening them up to truth. As such, my target audience is typically the unbeliever who is just starting to question some of the things they have taken as truth. While I think my fiction can be enjoyable for believers, I typically don’t recommend it to believers because I feel like it’s more likely to feel a bit too jarring if you aren’t expecting violence, language, and characters who don’t always pick the moral route the first time around.

What inspired Malfunction?

I have inspiration from EVERYWHERE. I’d say the main seeds that started the idea of Malfunction was some interesting science about manipulating the brains of cockroaches using electricity, as well as some aspects of the children’s story City of Ember. I was just starting out as a “serious” author when I started it. I had written a massive fantasy inspired by Lord of the Rings… as one does… and I had wanted to try something different to escape the idea of a “second draft”. The “short story” I started turned into a large, complex trilogy and an entire universe. But I couldn’t be more happy about that.

The sanctity of life is a big theme in Malfunction. What does this topic mean to you?

Sanctity of Life is a major theme. I took a few directions at this, including addressing concepts like abortion, human trafficking, and abuse. But also playing around with ideas of subjective morality, personhood (and where it begins and ends) and justice. It is not, by any means, exhaustively explored. I do hope there is a start to some genuine exploration and seeking, however.

The two biggest themes would be those of Human Trafficking and abortion. I grew up overseas in a culture that, more than most, views women as property. The girls I grew up with and played with were being married off and having children before I was in highschool. Many died in childbirth. Most were abused. Violence, especially towards women and children, was expected and commonplace. Despite the fact that I was really sheltered, I did see and understand enough that when I started learning more about human trafficking and other related topics like child marriages, it wasn’t something I could easily move on from.

As far as the topic of abortion, it was not something I felt personally attatched to until my then fiance told me that he had lost two children to abortion. I dreamed that night (I have several sleep disorders so it’s not strange for me) that two boys around my brother’s age came to speak with me. They called me ‘mom’ and talked about all the moments they would have liked to share as my step-children. It sounds a bit strange, as I had no real connection to them, but knowing how my step-children lost their lives, and watching my husband struggle through that, made abortion a much more personal subject. As has years of working in childcare and with children of all ages. It’s become a topic I am quite outspoken about and it came pretty naturally with the story of Malfunction.

You published the last book of the Malfunction trilogy earlier this year. What has it been like to transition out of a project you’ve worked on for so long to work on something new?

The transition out of writing the Malfunction series has been hard. Especially as I finished my second series not long before. I needed a long break, just figuring out what my plan was and shifting around a few times. I pretty much have an idea of what the future will look like now, but it was great to be able to just play with some “fun” projects for a while. I do want to get back into a clear rhythm for my brand and start another Cyberpunk series soon, but life has been a bit crazy and not allowing me to work as consistently as I once was. So we will see when they are able to start coming out and what it will look like. But the next series is plotted and started.

What do you hope readers take away from reading Malfunction?

This is an excellent question. As my main theme for Malfunction is the issue of “personhood” (in the philosophical sense), my main hope is to first allow people to empathise with some pretty extreme situations, and then perhaps start asking some deeper questions. My hope is that the excitement and relatively high level of violence, will help inspire anger at injustice and a passion to protect others. And I want people to see that correct motives, or correct goals, do not make for moral actions.

I want to call into question the idea of subjective morality and subjective concepts of personhood. This is why the tagline for the first book is “They say the ends justify the means.”.

My hope is that readers will see that this mentality doesn’t serve the protagonists any better than the antagonists and the only healing comes from changing that mentality. But I do trust that my readers are intelligent enough, and that the Lord will use the Holy Spirit to convict or comfort each person as is needed. I really hope that readers can make the story their own and draw out their own meaning and find absolute truth whether I thought of include it or not.

Can you tell us anything about your next project?

I CAN! So I have several projects in the works right now. Tawhiri is a relaxing, slow paced, pacific-island inspired fantasy about sea nymphs, adoption, and belonging. It’s basically a vacation in a book with a little bit of a thematic message about growing up and finding our place in the world around us. That is due to come out around summer, once I do some significant edits.

The second (and the one I’m currently drafting), Within, is a Gothic horror that might not be coming out until next October now. I’m still chewing on the publishing plan for that. It’s about a young woman who moves to a small town to reconnect with her son after regaining custody, However the town is attacked by an ancient evil in the forest which takes on your physical form and all your worst desires before consuming you completely.

But the one that will be most interesting for Malfunction readers is a Cyberpunk series which is already plotted out to be seven books long (though there are more to add). If you have read the free anthology from the Phoenix Fiction Writer’s newsletter, you will be familiar with Stealing Life. That is the story I’m expanding for this series. So think Ocean’s Eleven with cyborgs and a bionic cat, trying to take down an evil corporation that experiments on orphans. My hope is to start publishing that in 2022 or 2023.

Thank you so much, Jill!

Giveaway

Enter to win these awesome books here!

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Let me know in the comments: Do you have a favorite theme in sci-fi or dystopian stories?

The post National Indie Author Day: Sci-Fi/Dystopian Giveaway appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

National Indie Author Day: Non-Fiction Giveaway

This one is for the authors! Today’s books are Dear Author by Laura A. Grace and Not Write Now by Kyle Robert Shultz, which are both such encouraging books!

The winner will get both books as well as a signed bookplate from Kyle Robert Shultz and a signed sticker from Laura A. Grace! (This copy of Dear Author came water-damaged; while there’s nothing wrong with it aside from a messed-up cover, I will be sending a different copy in better condition to the giveaway winner.)

I have a brief review of Dear Author for those interested; while I don’t have a review of Not Write Now, I can tell you it’s a 5-star read, it’s super fun, and it will almost certainly serve its purpose.

And we have author interviews again today! :D

Laura A. Grace

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write?

Hey there! I am SO excited to be here! My name is Laura A. Grace and I am a manga creator and YouTuber who reviews clean manga. I didn’t imagine that when I “grew up” I would be writing manga or even trying my hand at fanfic poetry, but it’s something that has brought me deep joy. While I really enjoy working on my own stories that are filled with hope (and usually take place in the “real world” with a touch of fantasy or paranormal), I also love talking about manga and my favorite anime characters! I often write reviews and articles for a website called Beneath the Tangles, a website that blends discussion of Christianity and anime. If I’m not writing, reading, or filming YouTube videos, then I’m hanging out with my family talking about the newest show we’re watching together, playing Legos, or playing video games.

Why did you choose indie publishing?

I chose indie publishing because I felt it has been the best option for my books and stories. I also have quite a few friends who are self-published and they have portrayed the publishing process as at times hard, yes, but also extremely rewarding. I felt confident in that I could also follow the same path and that if I needed help, I would be able to get sound advice.

How does your faith impact your work?

This is a great question! I feel my faith has a huge impact on my work and honestly is the only reason I am pursing writing. As I shared above, I never imagined becoming a writer as for whatever reason, I don’t recall the fondest of memories with anything writing or English related. However, as an adult, writing has been a freeing experience and I feel it’s an opportunity for God to speak to me and help me grow in Him. Not every story I’ve written has open Christian themes, but each story I have written has been a blatant and beautiful reminder to me that there is always hope.

What inspired Dear Author?

Dear Author was written in a time where I had to walk away from some of the ways I had been supporting authors (such as coordinating blog tours) to actively raise a family. I don’t regret that choice whatsoever, but I wanted a chance to share all the love I have for indie authors and that even if I could not support them the same way I had before, I wanted them to still know I was cheering for them. Dear Author came directly from that desire of wanting indie authors to know they are seen, they are loved, and that someone is always rooting for them.

What books have been most impactful to you as a reader?

Wow! What a tough question! The first one that comes to mind is Sara Ella’s Unblemished Trilogy. I absolutely love her series and it was the first time I was introduced to the concept of portal fantasy. That was life-changing for me as a reader and writer! I would also say any of Melody Carlson’s YA books. I discovered her when I was in high school and I remember being blown away that there was Christian YA with characters who were just like me and faced similar situations and problems. I didn’t even know there were books like that! I quickly purchased and devoured all the books readily available, which at the time had been her True Colors series and The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor. That has probably been one of the most impactful moments in my life as a reader (outside of discovering Winnie the Pooh was a book, which lead me to reading all of the Nancy Drew books).

Dear Author is all about encouraging authors to keep going. If you could give only one piece of encouragement to the authors reading this interview, what would it be?

There are so many things that come to mind that I want to say, but if I could only say one thing only it would be your words still matter.

My heart and desire for indie authors to know this since the release of Dear Author is still the same. There may be millions of books out in the world and new challenges that authors are facing due to the effects of the pandemic, but their words still matter. They are still important and still need to be shared.

What do you hope readers take away from reading Dear Author?

I think very similar to what I shared above, but I also hope they have a feeling of excitement and inspiration to continue to work on their stories. I hope it brightens their hearts and stirs the reminder that what they do, the time, heart, and tears they pour into their stories, is never in vain.

Can you tell us anything about your next project?

 I would love to! Though I confess there isn’t much to share as I have sort of been between projects. I have been receiving recent updates from my manga artist that my Christian manga, Gathering Faith, is getting closer to completion and should have the final pages by the end of this year! It has been in the illustration stage for over a year, but the wait has been oh so worth it!

For a most recent project, I finished working on a one-shot manga called I Need That Manga on My Shelf!! It was inspired by my experience of trying to find manga titles in the current manga shortage as well as a conversation I had with a friend. I’ll share the working blurb in case you’re interested reading it!

What lengths would you go to get a manga?

Meg Lewis is desperate to get that one missing volume of her favorite manga. It doesn’t seem to matter how much she searches in store or online, no one has it. Lucky for her, she unexpectedly finds a local bookstore has the volume in stock, but unlucky for her it’s in the center of a gang-infested part of town. Will Meg brave the streets to get a hard-to-find volume or will her luck run out when an unexpected stranger crosses her path?

Thank you so much, Laura!

Thank you so much for letting me share and stop by! I had so much fun!

Kyle Robert Shultz

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write?

I’ve been writing and publishing fiction since 2017. My usual fare is fantasy that retells myths, fairy tales, and other familiar stories in new and unexpected ways. Most of my stories are connected in a shared universe called the Afterverse.

  Why did you choose indie publishing?

Indie publishing had always seemed preferable to me due to the greater degree of control it offers writers, and as I researched it in more detail, I realized that it was far and away the best option over traditional publishing. I like having full creative freedom; I don’t think I would ever be happy working under a traditional publishing contract.

How does your faith impact your work?

Mostly in subtle ways, but the effects are definitely there. For me, the emphasis isn’t so much on writing “clean” fiction (though I’d say my work is very family-friendly) as on proving that writers motivated by a desire to serve and glorify God are capable of creating fiction that stands out in the market and truly grabs readers’ attention. I think many readers tend to assume that Christians write tame, easy stories. I want to challenge that notion with stories that truly excite readers and make them think.

What inspired Not Write Now?

I wanted to write a book on writing, but I wanted it to be different. And funny. Turning the whole premise of a how-to book on writing on its head seemed a logical choice. Especially since I would say that there was a time in my early writing career when—due to great mental turmoil over what I should write and how I should write it—I actually was looking for somebody to tell me not to write at all. It would certainly have made things easier, though I’m glad that I ultimately decided to embrace my creative drives instead of squelching them.

Not Write Now is your first non-fiction piece, correct? What was the transition like from fiction to non-fiction?

There’s a bit of a fictional veneer to Not Write Now, given its style, so it didn’t feel like that big of a shift, to be honest. It was more of a switch from writing straight fiction to writing humor, which wasn’t too hard for me because I tend to use humor a lot in my fiction anyway. Actually, I find non-fictional content easier to write, on the whole, because it’s more straightforward and there are fewer moving parts to keep track of. That said, while fiction may be harder, I still enjoy it the most.

Wit and clever use of language seem to be staples of your writing. Were there any authors you particularly read to hone those skills?

There are a lot of writers whom I gravitate to because of their unique use of language, but the most prominent ones are P.G. Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett. I’d describe Pratchett as the Wodehouse of fantasy (though I suppose he could just as easily be called the Wodehouse of sci-fi, given that the Discworld includes elements of both genres).

If you could give just one piece of encouragement to authors reading this interview, what would it be?

At the end of the day, the only thing that you have to be is a writer. It’s easy to get so caught up in the noise of trying to cultivate an author platform these days that you feel inadequate if you don’t succeed at being an influencer, a marketer, a productivity master, and so on. But while it’s useful to cultivate skills in some of those areas, the most important thing is to write books that people will want to read…and the best way to do that is to write books that you would want to read.

Can you tell us anything about your next project?

Actually, no. :) My current policy is to be ultra-secretive about everything I’m working on until it’s actually ready to release. But I am working on things, and they will be published. Eventually.

Thank you so much, Kyle!

Giveaway

Here’s how you can get your hands on these books!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let me know in the comments: What’s your favorite book for writing encouragement?

The post National Indie Author Day: Non-Fiction Giveaway appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

National Indie Author Day: Contemporary Giveaway

For those who prefer their fiction set in the real world, I’ve got a contemporary giveaway going on! Enter to win a print copy of each Love and the Sea and Everything In Between by Brian McBride and 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get bookplates or interviews for either of these. But the books are both excellent! If you’d like, you can check out my reviews:

100 Days of Sunlight

Love and the Sea and Everything in Between

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let me know in the comments: Do you prefer lighthearted contemporary or serious contemporary?

The post National Indie Author Day: Contemporary Giveaway appeared first on Scribes & Archers.

National Indie Author Day: Fantasy Giveaway

I am so excited to bring you the first National Indie Author Day giveaway for this year! We’re kicking things off with fantasy, since that’s my personal favorite, and I’m giving away some great indie fantasy books. I have a copy of Colors of Fear by Hannah Heath, Steward Stories by Beth Wangler, and Women of Kern: Book One by Maris McKay, and one lucky winner will receive all three, plus signed bookplates from the authors!

I’ve reviewed all three of these books before, so you can check out those reviews if you’d like:

Steward Stories

Colors of Fear

Women of Kern: Book One

And as a super cool bonus, I was able to interview all three of these authors! :D

Beth Wangler

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write? 

I’m a nerdy woman who loves Jesus and stories. I started writing around third grade. I was reading a Magic Treehouse book on my bedroom floor when I realized I could add books to the world, not just consume them, and that was that. I write stories to inspire hope and wonder, which requires looking honestly at the way the world and humans are.

Why did you choose indie publishing?

When I indie published The Weavers’ Blessing, I really just wanted to accomplish a life-long goal of being a published author. Since then, I’ve come to love the creative freedom to write the stories I want to tell, the scheduling freedom to write at my own pace, and the incredibly supportive indie community.

How does your faith impact your work?

God is the source of my creativity. My stories are a response of worship toward him. Because of that, I strive to grow in excellence as I write. I also try to write truthfully about myself, the world, and him. That is why my stories always have an element of hope or wonder in them, since I believe that God is a loving and gracious host who is in the work of restoring our fallen world to what he created it to be. My faith is also behind my fascination with the Protestant Bible, especially the Hebrew scriptures portion, which directly inspires my The Firstborn’s Legacy saga as the stories from that series are mostly inspired by Biblical stories.

What inspired Steward Stories?

Well, on that note, the Steward Stories were broadly inspired by the book of Judges, specifically the theme that “in those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Only a couple of the Steward Stories were based more closely on specific judges, though, and those more loosely. “Tailor Eilamir” is more inspired by Ehud, and “Steward Duecatoh” by Samson. But I draw inspiration from many different avenues—the glowing caverns in “Irellia the Night Walker,” for example, were inspired by a love of geology I discovered in a science elective in college, and the family dynamics that I tend to focus on in all my stories stem from the value my family has always placed on family.

There are strong themes of family and community in this collection. What do community and family mean to you?

Oof, this is a tough question. Family and community can mean a lot of different things. I believe we were designed to flourish in community, but also that community can be a source of great pain and suffering. Families can give us our deepest wounds, but they can also be a place of safety, identity, and understanding. We are born into families, but we can also choose who we consider our families. That’s why there’s diverse family dynamics in Steward Stories.

Another thing I love about The Steward Saga is the worldbuilding. What was the most interesting or fun part of developing the world?

I may have given myself away earlier talking about the glowing caverns, haha. Worldbuilding is one of my favorite things, though, and a huge part of why I love writing fantasy (and sci-fantasy). I loved designing the cultures of the Aimarines, Coarnomites, and Xendroqites so that they would each be distinct from each other and each would pose different challenges or temptations to Maraiah. Talking animals are always fun to develop. But this short story compilation posed a unique challenge and opportunity in that I got to develop the history of the Maraian people over the course of about 400 years in their history. I loved exploring what traditions would stay the same for them, as well as gradually morphing other aspects of their culture as time went on. So, I haven’t answered your question—I don’t know if there was one most fun part of developing the Steward Stories or The Firstborn’s Legacy saga as a whole. I love all of it. Except that worldbuilding cities is really hard.

What do you hope readers take away from reading Steward Stories?

I hope that readers find themselves in one or more of the Stewards, so that they leave the stories feeling seen. What stood out for me when writing the stories is how gentle and faithful God is, so that he will forgive us and even use our mistakes to bring good. I hope that is a comfort to readers.

Can you tell us anything about your next project?

My next project is The Steward’s Apprentice, novel #2 in The Firstborn’s Legacy saga and follow-up to Steward Stories. A few characters from Steward Stories will show up in that book, and some threads that weren’t tied up at the end of the compilation will be addressed in the novel. I love this book and am working on giving it the time it needs to be the best version of itself for you.

Thank you so much, Beth!

Thank you for interviewing me! I enjoyed the conversation!

Hannah Heath

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write? 

Absolutely! I’m an author of Christian Speculative Fiction who loves comic books, science, and swords. I write mostly YA and mostly fantasy, and have a penchant for writing stubborn, brash characters, colorful cultures, and strong themes. All of my stories take place within the Torn Universe, an expanded universe with everything from comedic space opera to underwater sci-fi to desert elves. Think MCU, but with more swords and more disability representation.

Why did you choose indie publishing?

As someone with a clear creative vision, as well as someone who exists as a disabled college student, I liked the idea of having the flexibility to write to the beat of my own drum. I knew indie publishing would allow me to publish to my own schedule, to lay out my expanded universe exactly as I wanted to, and take breaks as needed to focus on my health and/or my education. I also really loved the uniqueness of other indie published stories and was drawn to the supportiveness of the community.

How does your faith impact your work? 

Quite heavily. Due to my chronic illnesses and watching family members live with similar health problems, I’ve had a lot of faith struggles throughout my relatively short life. I rarely read Christian fiction that shows what it is to feel abandoned, or that confirms that you can still maintain faith even if you’re angry with God or struggling with a deep spiritual pain. Because of this, it’s important for me to use my work to encourage people out there who are just barely clinging onto their faith. I showcase this type of messy, painful, ever-so-hopeful faith in the characters that I write, and hope it helps people feel less alone.

What inspired The Terebinth Tree Chronicles ?

I grew up absolutely loving fantasy movies and especially loved the ones that had prequel-like clips play before the opening title. My family and I termed this “The Movie before the Movie” and I’ve been fascinated with the concept ever since. The Terebinth Tree Chronicles are a sort of “Story before the Story” that introduce readers to the main characters and world of my yet-to-be-published novel.

There are a lot of family dynamics in these stories, and especially sibling relationships. How has your family impacted your writing journey ?

I’ve always been fascinated with how very different each of my family members are from each other, but how we each still share strong bonds. I like to explore this concept in my stories by showcasing complex, deep relationships between siblings who are very different, but who still have each other’s backs through thick and thin.

I love the worldbuilding in The Terebinth Tree Chronicles. What was the most interesting or fun part of developing the world? 

I love being able to get weird with things. I usually spend a few hours research different traditions, animals, or settings from around the world, then twist them around so they fit into my vaguely apocalyptic fantasy world.  Doing all of this while trying to keep the world feeling grounded, vaguely gritty, but still beautiful and magical is a really fun challenge.

What do you hope readers take away from reading The Terebinth Tree Chronicles ?

That fearful people can be brave, that just because you feel broken inside doesn’t mean you can’t find healing, and that being lost doesn’t mean you won’t ever find your way. I hope this series helps readers feel encouraged, strengthened, and less alone.

Can you tell us anything about your next project ?

I can give you a little sneak peek, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. My next project is the fourth installment of The Terebinth Tree Chronicles and will feature Durran, an anxiety-riddled assassin who makes some rather…unfortunate decisions while trying to keep his family safe. There may or may not be an underwater scene that involves magic-infused sharks.

Thank you so much, Hannah!

(Blogger’s Note: I am soooooo excited for Durran’s story. It sounds EPIC.)

Maris McKay

Could you tell us a little about you and what you write?

I’ve always loved storytelling. Some of my earliest memories are of telling my mother stories that she’d write down in a big scrapbook so I could cut images out of magazines and illustrate them. Maris McKay is my pen name for writing fiction, and though I’ve only published fantasy (so far) I also write science fiction and historical fiction. I also publish Christian non-fiction through my blog LikeAnAnchor.com.

Why did you choose indie publishing?

Short story collections are particularly challenging to pitch to traditional publishing, especially from new authors. I’d previously self-published non-fiction under my “real” name and had a great experience with Kindle, so I decided to try that for Women of Kern as well.

How does your faith impact your work?

I’ve always struggled with how much of a role faith should play in my fiction. Christianity is such a huge part of my life, but even though I’ve written some (unpublished) Christian historical fiction the constraints of that genre often frustrate me. I also love writing fantasy, but I’m not that interested in writing obvious allegories.

For something like Women of Kern, I make it very clear that even though it is fiction written by a Christian and certain stories have moral or religious themes, it is not “Christian fiction.” It’s also not really a “clean” read. Content in the stories varies quite a bit, but overall I’d describe it as PG-13 for violence and sex. Adults and older teens are the target audience.

What inspired Women of Kern?

The name “Sanjay.” It just popped into my head one day, along with a fully formed character. I didn’t have a story for him, though, so I started writing and worldbuilding around him. “Daressa” was the first story I wrote and at that point I’d fallen so in love with the world of Kern that I wanted to keep filling it with interesting women. “Peri,” “Metim,” (both in Book One) and “Nikit” (from Book Two) are also stories related to Sanjay.

Some of the other stories were inspired by songs, TV shows, and my personal life. For example, Lelihatha’s story was inspired by the song “The Midnight Well” by Celtic Thunder. For the story “Rivkah,” I wrote the scene where she meets Verad after seeing Richard Armitage in a trailer for The Hobbit. That story went through several major edits, finally ending up in its final form with Rivkah as part of a persecuted minority religion after I joined a Messianic Jewish church and heard stories from Jewish people visiting or attending there.

Women of Kern is full of women with varied strengths and interests. Who are some of the strong women who have inspired you?

My mother is one. She homeschooled me and my two siblings from grade school through high school, all while helping my dad run a business out of their home. My sister is another. She’s overcome some tough things in her life to become a talented chemical engineer with a dark, witty sense of humor.

I’ve always been fascinated with the Bible stories of Leah, Ruth, and Ester as well. They’ve probably influenced Women of Kern more than I realized until writing out an answer to this question. I love stories of women who carve out spaces for themselves within their own cultures, stay true to themselves and their beliefs, and are strong in a variety of different ways as they face unique challenges.

The world you’ve created is another big part of Women of Kern. What was the most interesting or fun part of developing the world?

The geography. I love map-making and that’s where I started when developing Kern. It actually began with Arel and Endan (two countries which don’t appear in Women of Kern), and then grew from there. The nations and cultures emerged during that map-making process. I had so much fun researching different cultures in our own world, then mixing and reimagining them and adding my own elements to create believable cultures for each location.

What do you hope readers take away from reading Women of Kern?

I hope reading these stories takes readers on an adventure, and that the stories make people think about what it means to be a “strong female character.” So much of modern media presents “strong female” as a woman who kicks butt, dominates men, wears skimpy clothing, and sleeps with whomever she wants. There are so many other ways to be a strong woman.

Can you tell us anything about your next project?

I’m currently in a master’s program, so my fiction writing has gone on hiatus for a while as I’m focusing on academic writing and publishing. I haven’t completely stopped writing fiction, though, and I do plan to release more stories in the world of Kern. My next project will most likely be the Heart of Endan duology (which you can read more about here). I started writing the first version of that story more than 10 years ago, and I’m excited to revisit that and share the story with new readers.

Thank you so much, Maris!

The Giveaway

Okay, okay. I know you want to know how you can win these books (especially after reading the authors’ thoughts, right?), so here you go. Entries are specifically designed to support these and other indie authors!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comment down below which book you’re most excited about! Or, if fantasy isn’t your thing, which upcoming giveaway you’re most excited to see!

The post National Indie Author Day: Fantasy Giveaway appeared first on Scribes & Archers.