Robin Rivers's Blog, page 2

Launching The Novel With The People I Love

Last week, friends and supporters celebrated the launch of Woman On The Wall at Ninth + Vine Studio in Vancouver’s historic Kitsilano neighbourhood.

I was so honoured to be joined by four incredibly talented artists who identify as women including Seattle linocut painter Rebecca Woodhouse, Vancouver textile artist Corrina Hammond, Lower Mainland home decor designer Alyssa Wood, and Vancouver abstract painter Maxine Woogman. These lovely friends came together to install the art and celebrate. I got super teary-eyed. They are the best!

The talented and charming Seamus Heffernan emceed the evening. We talked shop about writing and publishing far too long, but the wonderful audience indulged us.

Thanks to everyone who made this evening possible. Years in the making, it was a celebration to remember.��Check out some of the photos from the night.

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And The Newsletter Giveaway Winners Are . . .

There was a massive response to the newsletter giveaway contest that ended today. Thanks to all of you who entered to win an exclusive WOMAN ON THE WALL swag bag, including a tote, a notebook, a pin, a sticker and two bookmarks, as well as a signed copy of Woman on the Wall!

For those whose names weren’t drawn, don’t forget about our other giveaways including:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/351114-woman-on-the-wall

LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/ner/detail/45497/Woman-on-the-Wall

And our BookRiot giveaway for Canadian readers begins tomorrow: https://bookriot.com/category/canada-giveaways/

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The Simple Truth of Motherhood and Art

NOTE FROM ROBIN: Today on the blog, Seattle visual artist Rebecca Woodhouse jumps in to give us all a moment to consider the common myth that motherhood and art are at odds with each other.

She’s amazing, really, and I don’t say that because I’ve had the honour of her friendship for the last 20 years. Her abstract linocut paintings start with carved words pertaining to her personal and political life. She then creates texture overlaying dozens of layers of geometric patterns.��

Although more comfortable in a mosh pit than in an art gallery, Rebecca has exhibited widely on the west coast and is represented by WaterWorks Gallery in Friday Harbor, WA.����She is also a writer, working on essays about her positive experiences integrating motherhood and her profession��� working against the stereotype of the dysfunctional artist.

Conceptual art, conceptual art. It���s all the art world wants right now.�� Yet, I don���t come up with an idea and work from there.�� My work reflects the human condition because it reflects my life. Once you take a look, there is more to see.�� I am a process-oriented, abstract artist. My work is the embodiment of entwined identities, artist, mother, all of me, and only in writing this did I realize that the work I have been doing for years, the work the blurs the lines between printmaking and painting also holds more than one identity. ��

I fight against a lot of the stereotypes our culture holds about artists.�� We���re not all men. We can be happy and live secure lives.�� We can choose motherhood. Within these truths is the minutia all humans go through, the ups and downs of life.

Rebecca at WaterWorks Gallery with her son, Owen.

Sometimes, I wonder about the stereotype of artists being moodier. I think we just have a physical measurement for it.�� We have each painting, each series. We have our writing for the day, our collection of stories or poems. The progress on our novels, our music, our plays. Every piece involves a plethora of decisions, successes, and failures. Messing up as we go is an infuriating necessity of the process.��

At The Crossroads of Gender Roles

Parenting involves the same qualities. To circle one���s life around two subjective pursuits can seem crazy but far from impossible. I hold such joy in choosing to be an active parent and such anger for people who told me I had to choose art or motherhood.�� Why not motherhood and art? If women don���t support each other, society never will.

Every woman I know has felt judged for being childless or for having a family.�� Every mom I know has felt judged���especially in early motherhood���for choosing to stay home, for choosing to go back to work, for choosing part time work or full-time work. It can feel like a lose-lose situation.

Finding Inspiration in MotherhoodWinter Memories

Despite being told I needed to hide my motherhood from galleries, I have used the image of my pregnant body, my children���s writing and drawings, their music, and my musings about parenting in my work.  My linocut-paintings are made from dozens of linoleum and rubber blocks, used repeatedly within each linocut-painting and from piece to piece. I have a pattern to everything and use each block corner to corner, one color at a time. But I always need to break things up after a while.  I���ll throw in random elements like brushwork or a layer of white to cover everything. Each linocut-painting has at least a couple dozen layers of color, and I���ve counted 60 more than once.

Traditionally, printmaking is either hand-pressed or made on a printing press.�� Since I work large, I work on the floor, and I���m really using my feet instead of doing anything that resembles tradition. It is, in fact, much more like the pace and requirements of motherhood. I move up and down so much, I often need to stretch and do yoga right on the work while my body weight is pressing the color down for me, rather amusing to watch.

Making Art In A Pandemic

Inadvertently changing my artist identity from painter to interdisciplinarian or multimedia, or mixed media artist or whatever I���m supposed to label myself, I recently, I added collage to the mix. As a result, I started the series at my kitchen table early in the pandemic.

Made of my printworks, the collages reflect the process of deconstruction and reconstruction COVID-19 has brought. We have reconstructed our lives around a new reality of mandates, social distance, and remote work. We try to hold on our pre-pandemic lives.

Yet, the new realities and restrictions are woven in. It parallels weaving of artist-mother identities. Limited by space and continual interruptions of distance-learning, I began slicing pre-Covid paintings and recombining them into more structured pieces.�� They retain the colors and textures of what came before, but gaps and separations are introduced, creating new synergies and harmonies.�� Now, back in the studio, I can work on both series, letting each medium inform the other.

Motherhood and Art – Not One Or The Other

You already have a glimpse of how my art has changed in motherhood. Some would say this is one basic reason why parenting and art don���t mix. I have heard it argued that parenting takes too much time and energy away from art, that it is different from full-time employment because it is all-encompassing. After nearly 15 years of entwining the two roles, I have to say that my drive for studio time is greater than sans ni��os.  I need to prioritize it like never before, because of all the other demands on my time.  I���m not sure energy even matters, because my need for solitude and self-expression is magnified by the daily rollercoaster of parenting. 

In the end, judgement and fierce competition have no real place in feminism.�� We need to support each other. Take up space, use our voices. Put our time and money where our hearts are, read female authors, put art on our walls by female artists, sing women���s lyrics, and spread our knowledge. And we know men can be feminists too, right?��

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Word of the Day – Portmanteau

A portmanteau bag is one of those classic vintage beauties that made so much sense to include in Woman On The Wall. Listen in to my latest TikTok video for a quick hit from me on what exactly a portmanteau is and why I included it in the novel:

@robinriversauthor #greenscreen #wordoftheday #writertok #frenchwords #novel ��� Je te laisserai des mots – Patrick Watson

Today’s word of the day is portmanteau – derived from the French word portemanteau (from porter, “to carry”, and manteau, “coat”) which once referred to a travelling case (luggage) even though today it mean a coat rack.

What Exactly Is A Portmanteau?

The leather luggage often had a handle and opens in two equal parts. I knew this was the perfect piece of luggage to have in the novel because they were most popular in the late 1800s and likely shoved in an attic or cellar somewhere in Paris. This makes them not so fashionable, yet likely to be able to scrounge up for carrying all kinds of interesting bits.

Why Does Marie Have One?

The Sibylline Chronicles

At the beginning of Woman On The Wall, we find Marie hauling around cans of Rinderbraten left in Paris bunkers by Nazis. She trades them for coffee for her team at the Louvre.

The bag, old-fashioned even in the 1940s, lets her get her contraband cans and coffee around town without too many questions.

Robin, You Have A Mis-spelling in the Video

Yes, yes I do. Autocorrect likes to remind me that I need to double and triple edit my work before posting it. Today, I failed. I left it, though, because life is just like that at times – not quite perfect.

If you like the Word of the Day feature, consider subscribing for more exclusive content.

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Word Of The Day – The Significance of Muguet

The word of the day today is MUGUET, or Lily of the Valley in French.

Woman On The Wall is set in France. So, there are plenty of French words I’ve included in the novel. This is the first in a series of words of the day associated with the book. Each has its own little story attached as to its cultural significance, history, and why I included it. I hope you enjoy.

@robinriversauthor #greenscreen #muguet #fetedumuguet #paris #mayday #novel #booktok ♬ Clouds – Luke Faulkner

May Day is known as Fête du Muguet or Lily of the Valley Day in France. May 1 has been a holiday since the 16th century, with a rich tradition of honoring friends, family, and community.

Fête du Muguet In Paris

It is the only day of the year when one can sell flowers fro the side of the street without a license. A gift of muguet signifies friendship and good luch. Sprigs of it hang from every Parisian doorway.

Muguet in The Novel

As Woman On The Wall begins on May 2, 1945 in Paris, I have dropped in references to muguet to celebrate this cultural traditions. Look for them in your copy of the book. Pre-sales begin June 1. Make sure to sign up for the newsletter to get all of the latest news on those pre-sales and other exclusive subscriber content.

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Finding Magic in the Paradox of Post-World War II Paris

Post-World War II Paris was a paradox. The pousse-pousse carts transporting people up and down the Seine and scenes of the Eiffel Tower romanticized it. Yet so much of it remained in chaos.

This week, I took to Tik-Tok to look back on Parisian life in 1945. The short video includes some of my favourite historical photos from that time. These and many more inspired me to start Woman On The Wall on the streets of Paris. Read on for the rest of the text from the video. Watch it in full:

@robinriversauthor #greenscreen #monalisa #paris #worldwar2 #liberation #booktok #novels ♬ World War II – Jeffrey J. Torres

Men fighting, resistance factions, bread lines, the vigilante punishment of horizontal collaborators, all stood in stark contrast to Paris as the City of Light.

Woman On The Wall begins in May 1945.

With the liberation of Paris having occurred nine months earlier, the city still found itself submerged in the political, social, and personal strife brought on by the Nazi Occupation. I chose this moment in post-World War II Paris specifically because the Mona Lisa was not officially returned to the Louvre until June 1945. I wanted the two timelines to match Leonardo da Vinci’s actual death date of May 2. He passed away in Amboise, France – just a few hours south and the main setting for the historical timeline.

I found myself inspired by the beauty, spirit, and chaos of Paris and French people at this time. The paradox allowed me to recreate a moment in time when the Mona Lisa really was not yet rehung upon the walls of the Louvre and ancient mysteries could very well have surfaced in the heart of such a place.

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Book Cover Design – Create A Powerful Story With One Image

Today, concept illustrator and designer Ken Henderson is here on the blog to talk about his process for illustrating a world with one image and the importance of getting your book cover right as an indie author.

Book cover design is all about one thing – compelling readers to engage with a story with one image.

The cover has to capture the story or a compelling moment in that story. It has to embolden the reader to not only pick up the novel, but open it up and start to share in the experience. It is, in many ways, the first advertising a reader may see for the novel so it has to grab their attention. The visuals are what will catch the eye in a sea of other novels on a book shelf or display.

Woman on the Wall is a sweeping historical fantasy novel with dual timelines spanning 500 years, and opening the door to the fascinating herstory of the Siybilline. So, when I was asked to create the cover artwork for the novel and all that it implies you can imagine that it was a little bit daunting.

Full disclosure, I am married to the writer.

Robin and I have worked on projects together for years, so our collaborations come very naturally. However, this novel had some very particular considerations. Here’s a look into the hows and whys behind the creation of the cover for it.

Visuals: “How Did I Decide On The Imagery?“

As a veteran production artist in animation, TV, film and games, my art has always been created to serve the story. The reason for why an object, character or setting exists is always story driven. When working on this book cover design, I had to consider how to capture the broader story and how to instantly pique reader interest.

The obvious choice was to use the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. It was not just because the painting plays a key role in the story, but because of its iconic nature. The question became how can I use that famous image in a way that evokes the broader story. I wanted readers to see it as the Mona Lisa and something even more.

The answer came in how I decided to crop the image. By doing so in a way that cuts off the top half of her face, we play off the age old question of ‘who is the Mona Lisa?’ This feeds into the novels main story line. The identity of the next Sibyl, a woman so powerful that she can control the fate of humanity, is hidden in this painting. By not revealing the full face, it opens the reader up to wondering who she is. As well, it opens the door to the mystery. It invites them to look inside and discover the answers for themselves.

The image also exists in both time frames represented in the novel. So, the crop lets the reader understand that we are interpreting those timeframes differently. The novel is not simply telling the same story twice.

Book Cover Design: Fonts and Colors

With the imagery chosen, I had to figure out how to adjust it to fit the story I needed to tell. Some of that was in the cropping, as I mentioned. However, I also tweaked the colors a bit to emphasize the fantasy element of the novel.

Historical fiction has its own book cover rules. But, historical fantasy needs more than a relatable historical moment or figure for readers to understand the magical elements. For the title, I wanted to evoke a sense of time. I then wanted to blend timelines to capture an old world vibe. As always, I do a lot of work searching for fonts.

When I found ‘The King and Queen,’ I knew it was perfect for “Woman.” Its uppercase font has an illuminated manuscript feel. I loved the handwritten/feather inked feel of the lowercase font. It made a statement. It caught the eye and it reflected the historical time line in the novel.

For the other font in the cover, I chose the very standard and grounding ’Times New Roman.” This was in part to play into the more modern timeline. It also helped let ‘Woman’ on the cover really shine. I borrowed the color from the Mona Lisa’s skin tone. Then, I added a canvas texture to it to, again, reflect that historic timeline.

The design which appears behind the title is based on the Orders of the Siybilline. Each symbol represents a different order/rank within the sect of ancient women. I wanted to show that. By using the ‘antique’ green/blue flame, I played on the magic and power of the Siybilline. To really enforce that, I darkened the image of the Mona Lisa even more. The color relationships were also every important. The complimentary color structure of blue/green and orange/brown supports the logo, magic and historical imagery equally. 

Designer Questions: “What should authors ask a book cover designer when looking for one?”

The reality is that the author may be looking to bring on both an illustrator and a designer, as those are two different skill sets (or at least they can be). The author has to have a starting point idea of what they want to see, what their hopes are for the book and, if possible, even have a ‘brief’ of what they want for the cover created. 
That brief should include:

– Synopsis & Title of the novel. Be sure to include the tone, genre, and target audience.

– Key characters the author may want to highlight.

– Key moments or turning points in the novel.

– Imagery that gives some visual direction (can be photos, other novel covers, paintings etc., anything that has inspired the novels creation could work BUT try to keep it to around 10 images that really speak to the author).

– Specs needed for the cover’s creation (size, templates if they have them etc.)

– The budget you have for the work.

The author should use the imagery they have gathered and see if there is anyone they are aware of that can create that type of work. Maybe even contact the artists or designers of the reference imagery they have found as a starting point.

There are numerous resources out there that provide these types of services, but make sure you find a designer/illustrator team that work for your story, that can help capture it and sell it to the reader.

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Indie Authors: The Powerful Practice of Leveraging Your Professional Anxiety

A few days ago, my daughter sent me this text: “I’m so happy about your book mom. You definitely made the right decision.”

She had good reason to toss up a digital high five. I’ve been writing Woman On The Wall since 2019, scrapped the entire first draft for a new main character and rewrote the whole thing in six weeks. It went through another massive edit before I spent a year in the traditional publishing query trenches with five full requests, six partials and a whole lot of rejections. 

There were no rejections that day, though. I’d had my Goodreads Author profile approved, another small step in the larger process of birthing this project that began long before Woman On The Wall. The website was humming, a steady stream of people subscribing, strong support from my networks. I had even just finished a day at a virtual conference with Publishers Weekly. Everything seemed right in the world. My daughter was right. The decision to become an indie author was shaping up as the right decision for my writing career.

I thought about it all for a moment before responding. Should I go all stoic or send back a little confetti? That seemed like the response that most people are up for when they send that sort of note. However, it’s my kid—my 16-year-old kid who is going to graduate from high school next year and get smacked with the reality of the world. 

So, I opted for the truth. “Thank you. I’m scared every moment of every day about it.”

Professional Anxiety Is Real When You Challenge Yourself In Unfamiliar Spaces

I am scared. It’s true. This whole thing is stinking terrifying.  And this is coming from a woman who has built businesses from scratch, failed hard, travels alone most of the time, lost babies, immigrated to another country, scraped back when life handed us a couple of years of financial hell, and whose father often quips that my willingness to play the long game is strong.

Lately, though, the long game is a brutal slog. The anxiety comes in waves. There are times, like the moment I saw “Goodreads Author” next to my name, when the foundation I’ve started to build solidified a bit more. The realization of little dreams like this make an excellent pay off for the other times when Mailchimp wants more money for me to be able to accomplish a simple task like sending a follow-up email, or I read a blog from a famous writer telling me that I’m going to have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in advertising to get this book of mine in the hands of the masses. 

There’s so much to do and learn, even through I already have a huge machine around me. My husband does my cover and graphic design work. A friend and excellent copy writer is crafting my blurbs and marketing pieces. I’m so grateful for a strong developmental editor and endless support from writer friends who aren’t afraid to tell me when I need to get some next-level help. I want my own experience as a marketer to pay off too. So much has changed, though, since I was in that arena. Now, I feel like the ancient frog in the youthful pond. It has given me new-found respect for the work that goes into traditional publishing. It also makes me wonder how I will ever stand out in the proverbial sea of stories. 

Enter endless anxiety.

Leveraging Your Professional Anxiety As A Part of the Creative Process

While some wins are juicy, other moments that should be full of celebration and wow are, in fact, huge triggers. On Sunday, my husband finished the absolutely gorgeous full book cover from back to front and sent it to me for proofing. It was, and I mean it, a phenomenal moment for both of us to see that ready to go. How many nights has he sat up with me discussing novel scenarios, passing me a glass of whiskey when I got yet another rejection on a full manuscript, read the entire novel from front to back doing line edits and making recommendations? This book constitutes so much of the two of us over the last three years. To see it this close to being published made us both cry. Then, it made me sick.

Will it live up to expectations? Did I screw up the back cover copy? Is the Mona Lisa public domain artwork? (I already knew it was, but I totally panicked) Did I give Ken the right measurements? Is the ISBN code right? What THE HELL am I doing?

This happens at least once a day right now.

Yes, going it on my own is the right thing to do. Yes, it’s 100% the best choice for this novel and the rest of The Sibylline Chronicles series to come after it. I believe it in my very core.

The anxiety of going it on my own, though, is so very real. It’s the great paradox – go it on my own and I have complete control over my work. I own my Intellectual Property outright. I have the final say on all of the creative decisions. It’s so beautiful to not have to conform to the capitalist mentality that you must create what is in demand right at this moment. I’ve always hated the idea of chasing trends as an artist. By the time I move through the production cycle of a novelist (about a year), those trends are whimpering out. I’m stuck with a book I didn’t want to write.

However, the other side of that paradox is when I go it on my own I have complete responsibility for everything. I take the financial risk, the artistic risk, sales, no sales, appeal, no appeal, quality, no quality. At least if someone else who has spent a career in publishing vetted and shaped and approved me as a traditionally published writer I could take a whole lot of that risk out of the mix. 

Or, could I?

What I do know is that my professional anxiety keeps my ego in check, my desire to race through the process in low gear (steep learning curve is humbling). My understanding of all of that allows me to leverage the fear of screwing up to keep going. I cover my bases, invest in the necessary tools, don’t scrimp in areas that I know I have absolutely no expertise. I seek out advice, lean into the support of my writing friends, savor the moments when my kids are proud of me. I’m building a publishing house and a brand here. I’m not wasting all of this worry by quitting.

So, here I am at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, still in my pyjamas, on my third cup of strong black coffee, Ramin Djawadi’s movie soundtracks giving me all the feels, powering through today’s wave of anxiety. 

Later, I’ll make a TikTok about something book related, write half a chapter in my latest novel, take a webinar on WooCommerce for Idiots. I’ll probably panic again over having no clue how to set WooCommerce up on my website. I’m working on getting used to being really, really scared. I’ve worked my whole life to not suck at this novel writing thing, for that moment when Woman On The Wall goes on sale and I slide a copy of it onto my shelf. The Sibylline are my absolute obsession. Their stories are what I have to share with the world. I keep telling myself I can’t let the anxiety of the risks take me down. 

So, I look at my daughter’s words again and again and remind myself that it is okay to be scared every moment of every day as long as it’s all a part of leveraging your professional anxiety for a greater purpose – and achieving dreams is the most sacred purpose of all. 

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Weird S%*t I Read – Discover The Stone of Vengeance!

In today’s instalment of my ongoing series, Weird S%*t I Read, occult researcher and author Claude Lecouteux takes us on a wild ride through the realm of sacred stones that will seek their vengeance upon you, if you aren’t careful.

@robinriversauthor #booktok #novel #historicalfantasy #magic #magick #ancienthistory #ancient #stones #bookrecommendations #sibyls ♬ Creepy Song – False Memories

I first discovered French occult researcher and author Claude Lecouteux in late 2019. I’d started researching ancient beliefs about the magical properties of stones (think the choshen (breastplates) of the kohen gadol (high priests) of the Old Testament). I’d read so much about these choshen mishpat and the twelve gems in them that are said to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. That gave me an idea. What if the Sibylline had a similar artifact that represented the different Orders of the Sibylline? I also wanted it to come apart so that the pieces could be separated in times of trouble, protecting the powers contained within each stone and the artifact.

Lecouteux, a former professor of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne, surfaced. He proved to be the most prolific academic and writer on the topic, along with many, many others that fascinate me. I ordered Lapidary of Sacred Stones and six (yes, six. I have issues) other books from him. As soon as they appeared on my doorstep, I broke into them. I knew Lecouteux and I understood one another.

I pored through the Lapidary, fascinated by Claude Lecouteux’s discoveries:

In La Réponse du Seigneur (The Lord’s Answer: II), Alphonse de Châteaubriant declares, “People say that stones do not speak, they do not feel. What an error!” The stone has been regarded as a living being, a male or female creature capable of reproducing, believing, and having feelings.

– Claude Lecouteux – Lapidary of Sacred Stones pg. 4

Mah ghad! At that point, I found myself geeking out in a huge way.

Some stones, such as the aetites, are pregnant. Some cry out for vengeance (Habakkuk 2:11) . . . They open to conceal the fugitive from her pursuers, as in the case of Saint Dietrine and Saint Odile.

Apparently, stones often only give up their secrets or powers to the worthy, make themselves seen to those who need to see them. Jacob slept on stones to bring about divine visions while he slept. The Council of Arles condemned those who worshiped or gathered around stones.
Then, this:

As mediators between man and the supernatural powers, stones held a very important place in the mental world of our ancestors.

That being said, the importance of stones proved such a key to power that many a king, priest, and religion sought to eradicate all worship of them, while embedding those stones in their own artifacts.

Take the crown of Charlemagne and the coronation sword of French kings on display at The Louvre:

I got to see both sets of artifacts for myself on my trip to France in 2019. The use of stones as symbols of invulnerability, protection, and divine power proved so very evident. Clearly, stones never really lost their appeal, men (as usual) just got selfish about who could use them for, you know, magical stuff. (gasp, heresy.)

Stones in Storytelling Are Nothing New, But . . .

I get it, lots of folks use stones in their fantasy storytelling (Thanos, hello). However, when you get into the legends of it all and you see the potential for stones to have carried with them some real magic, those stones take on a whole new level of meaning. Finding a new and interesting way to integrate that sort of ancient belief into the world of the Sibylline proved exciting for me.

A majority of the book after this provocative opening is all about different stones and the powers they contain. I picked nine and crafted what would become the Seals of Annach from them.

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A Lasting Impression – 5 Books I Love

I walked into Comparative Literature 101 and lingered upon the professor who stood in front of us. Small in stature, but I would learn mighty in experience, he passed out the syllabus. On our first day of university, I received a novella that would shape my literary world forever. From that moment, there would be five timeless historical fantasy novels that appeared in my life at unsuspecting moments like that one.

They transformed me, drove a deep knowing inside me, made me question myself and give in to the nagging urge to write. Now that I’ve gotten all existential on you, let’s get down to the novels and novelists that shaped me as a writer.

Novel #1 – Aura by Carlos Fuentes

Carlos Fuentes’ beautiful, dark novella Aura showed up in my life that day in 1989 at university. From the moment I met Felipe Montero and experienced the magical realism that permeated Latin American literature at the time, I fell hard. It was the first of five timeless historical fantasy novels I’d come to cherish.

Having grown up in a very Conservative, religious household, books on my childhood reading list were restricted. Fuentes proved to be my first step into the sweeping world of literature. I never turned away from it in any form after that.

From there, I discovered loves such as Rosario Castellanos, Gabriel García Márquez, and the art of Frida Kahlo, which opened me to a realm of imagination and experience I didn’t understand, but really wanted.

Aura opened the door to history and the fantastical dancing together to tell amazing tales, which lead me to my next life-changing read.

Novel #2 – The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You by Dorothy Bryant

In my mid-20s, I spent most of my days in the cozy corners of a bookstore in Spokane, Washington. This became my escape from a whole lot of mental stress in my life. A year earlier, I’d been on the news staff in a little town in Illinois the night our colleague was murdered. We spent weeks reporting on it, and I had never really dealt with the impact even after I took a job working the police beat at the Spokane newspaper. I was a mess. Reading let me disappear. One afternoon, I picked up Dorothy Bryant’s The Kin of Ata Are Waiting For You.

This novel took me on a journey deep into dreams and creativity, breaking out of the bad place I’d worked myself into and discovering the magic of having a rich inner life. It came to me at just the right moment and I knew I wanted to write novels like that one.

Then, came another that made me reconsider.

Timeless Historical Fantasy Novel #3 – Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

If there is any novel I refer to time and again in terms of what drove me into the type of writing I do now, it would have to be Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. Discovering this novel was like discovering the holy grail, but not because it was about the holy grail. I experienced the dual timeline format for the first time with this novel and I was hooked.

You mean I could have a modern timeline character and one with its own historical POV? Mind blown.

Mosse thrills us all with Alaïs and her Medieval life in Carcassona. The brutal, compelling narrative is balanced by the modern world of Dr. Alice Tanner, who is on a dig in the Languedoc and discovers the secrets of the Holy Grail along with her relation to Alaïs. My love of archeology and grail lore tossed me into the deep end and I became an eternal Kate Mosse fan.

Following that, I went on a years-long binge of dual narratives with strong female leads.

Novel #4 – The Eight by Katherine Neville

I NEVER expected to love The Eight by Katherine Neville. It was about chess. Not my thing. However, nuns hiding magical chess sets from Charlamagne, that’s my thing. North Africa, that’s my thing. So, I started reading.

This dual timeline gets right into the thick of things in the historical timeline. Nuns murdered, ancient oaths, French kings. Swoon! The modern timeline and its unusual starting point in Algeria in 1972 thrilled me. I’d never read a novel based in that time period, much less one with a cool, mystical historical timeline. Cat and her search for the fabled Montglane chess service turned me into a thriller lover.

That’s when the Sibyls arrived at my doorstep.

Timeless Historical Fantasy Novel #5 – Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan

About ten years ago, a dear friend of mine from the Middle East sat around the dinner table with me talking about Hypatia of Alexandria. We debated late into the night as we tossed back coffee after coffee. Was she something more than the historical record makes of her? Both of us knew she must have been extraordinarily powerful to run the Neo-Platonic School in Alexandria. Yet, neither of us could reconcile the missing pieces.

I left that night with my head buzzing. For months after, I read everything I could get my hands on about Hypatia and the women surrounding her at that epic turning point in the history of the world. The Sibyls and their prophetic powers showed up over and over again. Then, one day, my friend handed me a book.

Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan transformed the way I viewed Hypatia and the root of good and evil in a way that has shaped everything I write even today. The novel, which follows a Coptic monk and his obsession with Hypatia along his route from Alexandria to Syria, began my obsession with Arabic literature and is truly one of the most provocative examinations of faith, greed, and corruption of the mind.

From there, Hypatia and the Sibyls took on a new meaning for me. It marked the spark of what would become The Sibylline Chronicles and the driving force of my writing life.

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