Kayleigh Nicol's Blog: The Broken Wing, page 8
July 6, 2018
In The Hands of Beta Readers...
I sent the manuscript of Hunter's Retreat off to my beta readers, so for now, it's in their hands. As I'm waiting to hear back, I'll be working on the sorcerous siblings' short stories for the upcoming anthology and maybe a side project or two. I'll also be reading as many SPFBO entries as I can--there are so many good books on the list!
In the meantime, I feel like this blog has been really quiet. Too quiet. So...the first person who can tell me their favorite sorcerous sibling of Reshi's in the comment section will win a free physical copy of Sorcerous Rivalry.
Happy Reading!
In the meantime, I feel like this blog has been really quiet. Too quiet. So...the first person who can tell me their favorite sorcerous sibling of Reshi's in the comment section will win a free physical copy of Sorcerous Rivalry.
Happy Reading!
June 29, 2018
Slice of (Real) Life
Not too much to talk about in regards to Hunter's Retreat, except that edits continue. Since that's boring to read about, I thought I'd share a little slice of my life with you this week.
When I was school-aged, my family used to drive up to Connecticut every summer to visit with the grandparents. There wasn't very much to do in CT as the house was neither equipped with video game systems, nor cable, so the first time my grandpa offered to take me clamming in the bay with him, I thought "Sure, can't be much more boring than sitting around here doing nothing." So I carried an inner tube down to the community's private beach and watched Grandpa dig for clams. It was as boring as I expected it to be until I unexpectedly dug up my first clam using my feet. From then on, I was hooked. Grandpa would rake in the clams and I'd dig them up and we'd go home and cook up our catch on the grill.
Fast forward to last weekend, my first trip back to CT in years. Grandpa is about to turn 90 this fall and no longer to get out in the bay like he used to. I checked the tides before my visit, got myself a clam rake, a shellfish license and thought to surprise him with a cooler full of clams, just like the old days.
Guys, clam rakes are a lot harder to use than they look.
Pretty sure those clams were all laughing at me as I fumbled around looking for them. By the time the tide came in enough to carry my cooler away, I had only found 9 clams--and at least half of those I dug up with my feet! But by the next day, I had the hang of the rake and worked for a good few hours, netting nearly 50 clams! Grandpa was pretty impressed, and of course I told him it was all because I had a good teacher. Victory was pretty sweet, as we cooked up the spoils on the grill and I even had enough left over to try a few stuffed clams recipes. I'm thinking I might get a seasonal license and keep clamming out near where I live. For me, nothing says "summer" like fresh clams and melted butter.
Love you, Grandpa!
When I was school-aged, my family used to drive up to Connecticut every summer to visit with the grandparents. There wasn't very much to do in CT as the house was neither equipped with video game systems, nor cable, so the first time my grandpa offered to take me clamming in the bay with him, I thought "Sure, can't be much more boring than sitting around here doing nothing." So I carried an inner tube down to the community's private beach and watched Grandpa dig for clams. It was as boring as I expected it to be until I unexpectedly dug up my first clam using my feet. From then on, I was hooked. Grandpa would rake in the clams and I'd dig them up and we'd go home and cook up our catch on the grill.
Fast forward to last weekend, my first trip back to CT in years. Grandpa is about to turn 90 this fall and no longer to get out in the bay like he used to. I checked the tides before my visit, got myself a clam rake, a shellfish license and thought to surprise him with a cooler full of clams, just like the old days.
Guys, clam rakes are a lot harder to use than they look.
Pretty sure those clams were all laughing at me as I fumbled around looking for them. By the time the tide came in enough to carry my cooler away, I had only found 9 clams--and at least half of those I dug up with my feet! But by the next day, I had the hang of the rake and worked for a good few hours, netting nearly 50 clams! Grandpa was pretty impressed, and of course I told him it was all because I had a good teacher. Victory was pretty sweet, as we cooked up the spoils on the grill and I even had enough left over to try a few stuffed clams recipes. I'm thinking I might get a seasonal license and keep clamming out near where I live. For me, nothing says "summer" like fresh clams and melted butter.
Love you, Grandpa!
June 22, 2018
Hunter's Retreat Progress Report
Well, all my red-pen edits have been added to the manuscript and the first wave of rewrites have been completed. Still need a few read-throughs to double- and triple-check for smoothness and then hopefully it's off the the editor for polishing. In July I'll start working on the cover art (and by that, I mean, paying someone who can art, because I am woefully ignorant on the subject) as well as sending the manuscript to beta readers. That's a pretty boring update, sorry everyone.
In other news, I'm loading up my TBR with SPFBO books and trying to consume as voraciously as Cookie Monster at a dessert bar. I highly recommend "King's of Paradise" to anyone looking for a grimdark story with multi-POVs and I'm in the middle of "A Warden's Purpose" right now. I'm torn between reading another 2018 SPFBO entry, or reading last year's winner "Where Loyalties Lie" next. Any suggestions?
Happy Reading, everyone!
In other news, I'm loading up my TBR with SPFBO books and trying to consume as voraciously as Cookie Monster at a dessert bar. I highly recommend "King's of Paradise" to anyone looking for a grimdark story with multi-POVs and I'm in the middle of "A Warden's Purpose" right now. I'm torn between reading another 2018 SPFBO entry, or reading last year's winner "Where Loyalties Lie" next. Any suggestions?
Happy Reading, everyone!
June 17, 2018
Edits and Rewrites and SPFBO, Oh My!
SPFBO4 is currently live and accepting self-published manuscripts! If you know any indie authors that have not already submitted to this wonderful contest, make sure to tell them! Spaces are limited and filling up fast. Sorcerous Rivalry has been submitted, as well as many other truly remarkable works of fantasy, so if your TBR is looking a little low, be sure to check out the list of submissions here!
This past week I finished my first round of red-pen-edits on Hunter's Retreat and have started a few rewrites. My hope was to have at least half of the edits uploaded to the manuscript this next week, but that may be an ambitious goal considering all the rewrites I want to make. It's going to take a while, but I know the story will be better for all this work. I can't wait to share the next chapter of Reshi's and Kestral's story with everyone!
This past week I finished my first round of red-pen-edits on Hunter's Retreat and have started a few rewrites. My hope was to have at least half of the edits uploaded to the manuscript this next week, but that may be an ambitious goal considering all the rewrites I want to make. It's going to take a while, but I know the story will be better for all this work. I can't wait to share the next chapter of Reshi's and Kestral's story with everyone!
June 8, 2018
Book Two Working Title Reveal!
Today marks one month since I finished up the first rough draft of Book Two of the Mage-Born Chronicles. That means it's finally time to dust off the printed manuscript and begin making my red pen edits! After this first pass, I'll work on edits and rewrites on the actual manuscript and polish up the manuscript before it gets sent off to my editor and a few more beta readers. Barring any extraordinary rewrites, this book may see a publishing date this calendar year! Oh, and for now, this book's working title is...
"Hunter's Retreat: Book Two of the Mage-Born Chronicles"
Let me know what you think!
"Hunter's Retreat: Book Two of the Mage-Born Chronicles"
Let me know what you think!
June 2, 2018
Mage-Born Stargazer Laki
Working on Laki's story has been interesting. He had a smaller role in the book than the other characters I have written short stories for, so there's a bit more freedom for me as a writer. For those of you who have read Sorcerous Rivalry you know Laki isn't much of a fighter, so my first concern was: What kind of story will this be? So far, it's a little religion, a little political intrigue, and just a hint of magic. That might all change, but it's been fun so far. I'm hoping to finish his story this next week because....
I start Red Ink Edits on Book Two of the Mage-Born Chronicles on the 7th!!! I'm hoping to hear back from a few test readers for input, then I'll begin editing on paper and then editing on the computer and eventually...more readers and more editing. But hey, at least Book 2 will be that much closer to release. This means I'll be putting the next set of short stories on hold (Sorry Velyn and Cera!) but hopefully next week I can reveal the current working title of Book 2! So exciting!!
I start Red Ink Edits on Book Two of the Mage-Born Chronicles on the 7th!!! I'm hoping to hear back from a few test readers for input, then I'll begin editing on paper and then editing on the computer and eventually...more readers and more editing. But hey, at least Book 2 will be that much closer to release. This means I'll be putting the next set of short stories on hold (Sorry Velyn and Cera!) but hopefully next week I can reveal the current working title of Book 2! So exciting!!
May 25, 2018
Mage-Born Warrior Kila
It's been quite a week of publicity for my humble novel! Sorcerous Rivalry received two more utterly fantastic reviews by some amazing book reviewers. If you know an indie author who hasn't yet heard of Esmerelda Weatherwax's TBRinder Project, make sure you tell them! The reviewers are so wonderful and the community is beyond supportive. The links for the reviews are below (although you can also find them on Goodreads):
Ethereal Pages
Jenile on Reddit
I was also r/Fantasy's Writer of the Day on Wednesday and hosted my first AMA. I was nervous about doing it, but I actually had a lot of fun! If you missed it, I'll link it below. If you have any questions that weren't asked, please feel free to reach out to me through this blog or message me directly.
Writer of the Day!
Even with all of that, I managed to slog my way through a short story about the mage-born sibling Kila, who seems to be everybody's favorite character. I believe this story has been so difficult for me because I feel pressured to make it just perfect, as Kila is so loved. I'm not certain the story is perfect yet--in fact, when I come back to it in a few weeks, I can't promise not to scrap it and start all over again. She's a surprisingly difficult character to work with all on her own. It would be nice if I could tie her twin in somehow... Hmm...
Next up: Laki's short story! Can't wait!
Ethereal Pages
Jenile on Reddit
I was also r/Fantasy's Writer of the Day on Wednesday and hosted my first AMA. I was nervous about doing it, but I actually had a lot of fun! If you missed it, I'll link it below. If you have any questions that weren't asked, please feel free to reach out to me through this blog or message me directly.
Writer of the Day!
Even with all of that, I managed to slog my way through a short story about the mage-born sibling Kila, who seems to be everybody's favorite character. I believe this story has been so difficult for me because I feel pressured to make it just perfect, as Kila is so loved. I'm not certain the story is perfect yet--in fact, when I come back to it in a few weeks, I can't promise not to scrap it and start all over again. She's a surprisingly difficult character to work with all on her own. It would be nice if I could tie her twin in somehow... Hmm...
Next up: Laki's short story! Can't wait!
May 18, 2018
Mage-Born Fire-Starter Eagan
You guys, Eagan might just be my favorite character. I know, he's not the nicest guy...or even a good guy. But I still love him. I finished writing his short story in only three days, which is a record for me. I hope I get to share these short stories; they've been so much fun to write.
I tried starting Kila's short story this week, but had to delete the whole thing and start over. Kila has a lot more fans than I expected and she's a fairly complicated character so I feel pressured to give her a really great short story. I'll keep working on it until it's perfect. In the meantime, hopefully Laki will open up to me a little about his story.
The big news for this week is that Sorcerous Rivalry received a wonderful review on Way Too Fantasy. If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link:
https://waytoofantasy.com/2018/05/18/...
And next week's big news is that I will be r/Fantasy's Writer of the Day on Wednesday, May 23rd, so please come by and Ask Me Anything!
I tried starting Kila's short story this week, but had to delete the whole thing and start over. Kila has a lot more fans than I expected and she's a fairly complicated character so I feel pressured to give her a really great short story. I'll keep working on it until it's perfect. In the meantime, hopefully Laki will open up to me a little about his story.
The big news for this week is that Sorcerous Rivalry received a wonderful review on Way Too Fantasy. If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link:
https://waytoofantasy.com/2018/05/18/...
And next week's big news is that I will be r/Fantasy's Writer of the Day on Wednesday, May 23rd, so please come by and Ask Me Anything!
May 12, 2018
Mage-Born Mystic Reina
To stave off my anxiety over book two getting its very first beta read, I have begun working on the short stories I plan to include in a Mage-Born Anthology. This week I worked on Reina's tale and teased out a bit more about Reshi's reclusive, scholarly sister. If you can think of anything you would like about in more detail concerning Reina, please message me or ask a question on the Sorcerous Rivalry page. I want to make sure I address any questions that may arise over the mage-born siblings.
In other news, I just got my first piece of fan art today!!! Waaaahh!! I'm so happy, I could just cry (totally did cry)! Please, if you ever see any fan art for Sorcerous Rivalry, always send it my way. It would make me so happy!!
In other news, I just got my first piece of fan art today!!! Waaaahh!! I'm so happy, I could just cry (totally did cry)! Please, if you ever see any fan art for Sorcerous Rivalry, always send it my way. It would make me so happy!!
May 4, 2018
Mage-Born Chronicles Book Two rough draft complete!
I have finally completed the rough draft of book two of the Mage-Born Chronicles! Huzzah!
So now all that's left to do is...everything else. Editing, beta readers, more editing, cover art, rewrites and then more editing. Ah, the life of an indie author. So most likely, the book is still a few months away from being publishable, but at least it has a solid foundation to begin building upon. Book two does mark the completion of the journey Reshi and Kestral originally set out on, so as of now I do not have any plans for more books in the Mage-Born Chronicles. Unless, perhaps, I actually have fans who would like to see the story continue. So let me know what you think!
Have any questions about Sorcerous Rivalry or the upcoming sequel? I would love to answer any questions you might have!
So now all that's left to do is...everything else. Editing, beta readers, more editing, cover art, rewrites and then more editing. Ah, the life of an indie author. So most likely, the book is still a few months away from being publishable, but at least it has a solid foundation to begin building upon. Book two does mark the completion of the journey Reshi and Kestral originally set out on, so as of now I do not have any plans for more books in the Mage-Born Chronicles. Unless, perhaps, I actually have fans who would like to see the story continue. So let me know what you think!
Have any questions about Sorcerous Rivalry or the upcoming sequel? I would love to answer any questions you might have!
The Broken Wing
Come in, sit a spell, enjoy a drink or two, but beware what gifts you accept from fairies!
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