Sarah Scheele's Blog, page 27
March 15, 2018
A Little Bit About Consuela
Consuela (Chronicles of Palladia) has been brought back, in a new, rewritten format that had the story switch settings about as drastically as is possible. I’ll be talking about the story in depth a little bit later on from now. Since Consuela was originally published much after the books I’m discussing now, I’ll put off saying much except that it’s now back on the market after being unpublished for about 3 years.It was quite a shock to me to transfer this story from a fake-history setting that was vaguely 19th century Italy to something more dystopian like the Palladia world. In fact, I’d expected this work to vanish altogether. It disappeared without a trace soon after being published in 2014 and I wasn’t even quite sure why I wrote it. I felt something about it was . . . not a world I wanted to dive back into. For years I didn’t even open the story, which was loosely based on some incidents in Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers, with women as the characters instead of men.
But this story, like so many things in the Palladia world, just showed up again and wanted in. It expected attention and it was quite sure about belonging to Palladia. As I worked with the characters again I grew to like them more. Nobody was more shocked than I was that Consuela was still here, let alone the direction it took. But whenever I write about Palladia, things don’t always go the way I’d expect. They go the way the world of the story has decided.
And there will be more updates.
March 13, 2018
Themes in The Birthday Present
The Birthday Present and the (at that time) accompanying Millhaven Castle weren’t published to tell similar stories. In fact, I meant them to contrast. So when I set about smoothing awkwardnesses between my differing versions of the Alyce world, I substituted a sample from The Prince’s Ball for that Millhaven Castle story. But that didn’t change the idea of contrast. The Prince’s Ball is not related to TBP and doesn’t have a similar point. That was part of the book’s structure.
The Birthday Present is about taking physical situations in this life too seriously. The humans, now represented by Lucy and a tiny group hiding in a mountain, accuse the more advanced GMFs of being materialistic and soulless. The GMF society values strength and physical power over emotional development, and ironically the GMFs are a bit inferior even though they can live for hundreds of years.
However, as Lucy reveals, it was really the humans who are obsessed with these things. In the past they didn’t think there was much outside this life. What was physical was absolutely important--and since humans age and are weak and clumsy, it was awkward to emphasize the body so much. And they still don’t seem to think there is much outside the body and human relationships. This is not shown as part of Lucy's worldview at any time, in spite of her constant discussion of emotions.
There’s a lot of rhetoric about the GMFs needing to turn back into more emotional, more sensitive humans, but the GMFs we see don’t seem particularly shallow. The humans appear just honestly jealous that the GMFs are superior and the humans are right back where they started—preoccupied with this life, with the body, and with relationships. Aure sees this and is gracious to Lucy, pretending to accept her demands and change back. At least, that’s how I interpret it. When of course he’s not going to be affected at all. Lucy has sensitive feelings about this topic, and you have to be polite when you see that in someone. Because it’s—well, it’s very human of them.
And there will be more updates.
The Birthday Present is about taking physical situations in this life too seriously. The humans, now represented by Lucy and a tiny group hiding in a mountain, accuse the more advanced GMFs of being materialistic and soulless. The GMF society values strength and physical power over emotional development, and ironically the GMFs are a bit inferior even though they can live for hundreds of years.
However, as Lucy reveals, it was really the humans who are obsessed with these things. In the past they didn’t think there was much outside this life. What was physical was absolutely important--and since humans age and are weak and clumsy, it was awkward to emphasize the body so much. And they still don’t seem to think there is much outside the body and human relationships. This is not shown as part of Lucy's worldview at any time, in spite of her constant discussion of emotions.
There’s a lot of rhetoric about the GMFs needing to turn back into more emotional, more sensitive humans, but the GMFs we see don’t seem particularly shallow. The humans appear just honestly jealous that the GMFs are superior and the humans are right back where they started—preoccupied with this life, with the body, and with relationships. Aure sees this and is gracious to Lucy, pretending to accept her demands and change back. At least, that’s how I interpret it. When of course he’s not going to be affected at all. Lucy has sensitive feelings about this topic, and you have to be polite when you see that in someone. Because it’s—well, it’s very human of them.
And there will be more updates.
The Progress Goes On
The books continue to be sorted and the blog goes on developing. Each time I write or examine my own posts to see which are most popular, I only see more steps in the process of organizing my work and speaking about it clearly. My website and publishing career have never been so exciting.
Consuela (Palladia #2) is now available in print and ebook. Editions should link on Amazon soon if they aren’t already. This story is also listed on the Chronicles of Palladia book page here and concerns a poor young invader girl who gets into a lot of adventure when she runs into an elderly EC woman, a pampered EC family, and a Dragonak’s revolution
The Birthday Present will get a new cover. I want a cover idea that might at last work for BOTH The Birthday Present and the Prince’s Ball teaser. In the past I’d chosen a pic that went with The Prince’s Ball, but now that stories just a teaser I think the cover should include TBP in its art.A Year with the Harrisons is coming along. I once planned to add a lot of additional little bits, but now I realize the book is already novel-length and even has a few areas that need trimming. Only one small section that didn’t appear in the original release—when some amusingly questionable people have an interest in Lamia—will be added.I feel the interest in Alyce hasn’t quite disappeared even though the book was unpublished years ago. As I work on the Prince’s Ball later, I’ll sort through Alyce and see if I can bring it into any sort of harmony with the larger story. If not, it will be discarded permanently even if that leaves questions in the air.And there will be more updates
Consuela (Palladia #2) is now available in print and ebook. Editions should link on Amazon soon if they aren’t already. This story is also listed on the Chronicles of Palladia book page here and concerns a poor young invader girl who gets into a lot of adventure when she runs into an elderly EC woman, a pampered EC family, and a Dragonak’s revolution
The Birthday Present will get a new cover. I want a cover idea that might at last work for BOTH The Birthday Present and the Prince’s Ball teaser. In the past I’d chosen a pic that went with The Prince’s Ball, but now that stories just a teaser I think the cover should include TBP in its art.A Year with the Harrisons is coming along. I once planned to add a lot of additional little bits, but now I realize the book is already novel-length and even has a few areas that need trimming. Only one small section that didn’t appear in the original release—when some amusingly questionable people have an interest in Lamia—will be added.I feel the interest in Alyce hasn’t quite disappeared even though the book was unpublished years ago. As I work on the Prince’s Ball later, I’ll sort through Alyce and see if I can bring it into any sort of harmony with the larger story. If not, it will be discarded permanently even if that leaves questions in the air.And there will be more updates
March 8, 2018
Men in TBP
Since a lot of people haven’t been keeping track of my work, I’ll start at the beginning and talk about The Birthday Present and Millhaven Castle, my first publication. This actually works great with my plans to talk about guys in my stories, because TBP is chock full of them. If Lucy is removed as mostly a placeholder, like my heroines usually are, then the story has about a 95% male population. Basically it’s about a bunch of guys who run into this girl and have to decide what to do with her. This is because some other guy, long in the past, had a huge, mysterious fight with yet another guy who now runs the entire world. This story is set in the future.TBP is quite male-dominated. Lucy isn’t quite a puppet—she is consciously accepting of her father’s mission, to the extent she understands it—but she’s so focused on fulfilling it that she’s a pretty limited character. The moral actions all come from guys, including her father in the past. We have three boys who seem to be teenagers, a middle-aged military commander who is partially deaf and completely clueless, some scientifically-altered soldiers who can’t think for themselves, a very shadowy man in the past who helped create this culture and now wants to change it—and a remote, rather creepy man who is a thousand years old and rules this society from afar.
TBP feels like a pessimistic story, but actually the men in it treat Lucy pretty well. They are harder on themselves and often fight with each other, or perform subjugation activities like Aure with the altered soldiers who don’t have independent wills. Lucy’s father seems a bit selfish in sending her out with a one-note mission that is questionable, but it’s he and Aure who have the real issues going on with each other. The boys are generally protective of Lucy even when it will get them in trouble.
So I’d say the guys score well, though that seems strange given the story’s tone and atmosphere. If there’s a problem, it seems to come from women. Lucy generates the whole plot and creates a lot of trouble by following her father’s strange orders, and her aunt is shown more negatively than her uncle. So perhaps I should post on Lucy later, although she is hardest to describe of any of my characters.
And there will be more updates.
Step by Step
As I’m working through A Year with the Harrisons (formerly American Homeschooler) to get it ready for publication, I’m struck by how much time has passed. Over 8 years, in fact, and I wrote bits of the story before. This is really an early book that I’m publishing to give it some finality. I didn't quite trust the popularity this book acquired and sidelined the story for a while until I could figure out what was going on. It was nice to get so much interest—people were actively following it on my FB page each week as I posted and unlike many times the reception was overall great. I had loads of likes and comments, even online book signings for Facets of Fantasy, which was published right before.
Since this story had prominent young women who had been homeschooled—my background—it was natural to have a few questions about whether this was based on my experiences. I always laughed because it wasn’t at all. Anyone who knew my parents and sisters would think resemblance to the flamboyant Harrisons was ridiculous. Of course, people might be curious about that and that seemed harmless. But I never did put my finger on what was going on with that little explosion about AH and something about it bothered me.
So, strange though it might seem in the face of so many requests for prints and exclamations about the book, I retired it. Let it disappear for a while. Many of the followers were personal acquaintances on FB, so maybe I felt it was getting too close to those real relationships. Making me more of a curiosity being stared at by friends than a serious writer who had written a real book. And I’ve never been sorry I put it aside until I could present it to an audience with more distance between me and the readers.
The more I’ve published other books and seen reactions to them, the more I’ve felt sure there was something about all that AH stuff. I hadn’t realized how much I’d grown to dislike the story. When I opened it again, I was surprised to find it wasn’t all that bad. I’m giving it a polish and some trimming, and soon it should be published. Now I’ve had some years pass, it should be okay for the story to return.
And there will more updates.
Since this story had prominent young women who had been homeschooled—my background—it was natural to have a few questions about whether this was based on my experiences. I always laughed because it wasn’t at all. Anyone who knew my parents and sisters would think resemblance to the flamboyant Harrisons was ridiculous. Of course, people might be curious about that and that seemed harmless. But I never did put my finger on what was going on with that little explosion about AH and something about it bothered me.
So, strange though it might seem in the face of so many requests for prints and exclamations about the book, I retired it. Let it disappear for a while. Many of the followers were personal acquaintances on FB, so maybe I felt it was getting too close to those real relationships. Making me more of a curiosity being stared at by friends than a serious writer who had written a real book. And I’ve never been sorry I put it aside until I could present it to an audience with more distance between me and the readers.
The more I’ve published other books and seen reactions to them, the more I’ve felt sure there was something about all that AH stuff. I hadn’t realized how much I’d grown to dislike the story. When I opened it again, I was surprised to find it wasn’t all that bad. I’m giving it a polish and some trimming, and soon it should be published. Now I’ve had some years pass, it should be okay for the story to return.
And there will more updates.
March 6, 2018
Hidden Messages
One of the reasons it can seem to be a problem that my heroines are not actively critical of behavior in the stories, is that almost all the worlds I explore have a bad message. By not throwing a fit, my heroines could seem supportive of that. But actually, the opposite is true. I make them hold back and be placeholders so we can see the world of the story around them. In short, so we can see the bad message or situation in that book for exactly what it is.
If the heroines become too active, they mess with the story and then we don’t see the characters with honesty. People seem different. If a girl is very feisty, for instance, it makes it appear that the others allow her to be opinionated—but perhaps that’s not the truth. Perhaps they are repressive of opinions and only want certain things said. By letting her throw a fit, I’d actually be more supportive of this story’s bad message (people should do what they’re told.) If she sits back, we don’t have a quite imaginary plot in which she asserts herself. Instead we have the clarity of a real plot. They never want her to voice a complaint, so she doesn’t--and when she doesn’t we know what’s what they really wanted. And that’s a terrible message if ever there was one.
Sitting back can be much less supportive in the long run than making noise. (As I know from personal experience—I tend to throw a fit, but when I let go and stop, I actually win more.) Making the heroines flashy conceals the other people and what they’re really about. Of course, the way to behave if you want someone else to be caught—make yourself less visible. People who don’t get what my stories are about are used to seeing the message obscured as it is in virtually every other book these days. But I don’t want the bad message obscured. I want it seen because it’s harmful. And sometimes the best way to achieve something is to pretend you’re doing the opposite.
And there will be more updates.
If the heroines become too active, they mess with the story and then we don’t see the characters with honesty. People seem different. If a girl is very feisty, for instance, it makes it appear that the others allow her to be opinionated—but perhaps that’s not the truth. Perhaps they are repressive of opinions and only want certain things said. By letting her throw a fit, I’d actually be more supportive of this story’s bad message (people should do what they’re told.) If she sits back, we don’t have a quite imaginary plot in which she asserts herself. Instead we have the clarity of a real plot. They never want her to voice a complaint, so she doesn’t--and when she doesn’t we know what’s what they really wanted. And that’s a terrible message if ever there was one.
Sitting back can be much less supportive in the long run than making noise. (As I know from personal experience—I tend to throw a fit, but when I let go and stop, I actually win more.) Making the heroines flashy conceals the other people and what they’re really about. Of course, the way to behave if you want someone else to be caught—make yourself less visible. People who don’t get what my stories are about are used to seeing the message obscured as it is in virtually every other book these days. But I don’t want the bad message obscured. I want it seen because it’s harmful. And sometimes the best way to achieve something is to pretend you’re doing the opposite.
And there will be more updates.
Easy Come, Easy Go
When I visit online places—for work or just for browsing—I’m always impressed by a relaxed attitude to my visits. It shows me the site or person has confidence. I know that if they let me hang around for even a year or two, certainly a few months, before reviewing, choosing work, clicking on links, or subscribing, that they are successful. They’re sure many people are interested and if I leave or don’t show activity for a while, there’s no need for them to sweat it. There’s plenty more people out there where I came from, so they don’t need to be clingy of me.
I always respond negatively to sites or authors that force me to be very involved right away, deactivate my account after such and such time without activity, or seem to hold me on some sort of leash. “If you don’t show up, open emails, choose a book, or click on something, you’re useless.” This makes me feel watched and irritated. Maybe I just couldn’t get back for even a year or more because I got really busy. There’s no need to throw a fuss, because I might come back when I’m ready. People do have lives. Things happen. And I’ve often found the best things in life are the ones that lurked in the background for awhile. After a lot of other situations—junk if you will—are dealt with, I’m able to come back to those things and they're still there. That’s a sign of quality.
In the same way, I have a relaxed attitude to my followers. If you don’t feel like downloading—fine. I’ll keep offering the books. If you unsubscribe for a while, that’s okay. Maybe I wasn’t for you, or perhaps you’ll suddenly know I’m there and come back in a year or two. If you leave, that doesn’t hurt my feelings. People drift in and out of things—like Star Wars, for example—all the time, as it is or isn’t meeting their needs. If you lurk in the background for literally years, that’s normal. I am not clingy or protective of my online presence or my work.
And there will be more updates.
I always respond negatively to sites or authors that force me to be very involved right away, deactivate my account after such and such time without activity, or seem to hold me on some sort of leash. “If you don’t show up, open emails, choose a book, or click on something, you’re useless.” This makes me feel watched and irritated. Maybe I just couldn’t get back for even a year or more because I got really busy. There’s no need to throw a fuss, because I might come back when I’m ready. People do have lives. Things happen. And I’ve often found the best things in life are the ones that lurked in the background for awhile. After a lot of other situations—junk if you will—are dealt with, I’m able to come back to those things and they're still there. That’s a sign of quality.
In the same way, I have a relaxed attitude to my followers. If you don’t feel like downloading—fine. I’ll keep offering the books. If you unsubscribe for a while, that’s okay. Maybe I wasn’t for you, or perhaps you’ll suddenly know I’m there and come back in a year or two. If you leave, that doesn’t hurt my feelings. People drift in and out of things—like Star Wars, for example—all the time, as it is or isn’t meeting their needs. If you lurk in the background for literally years, that’s normal. I am not clingy or protective of my online presence or my work.
And there will be more updates.
March 1, 2018
The Simple List
Since I don't have time to figure out if people truly do like (or hate) a story of mine, I just go with the ones they say they like. This is intuitive and very sensible. Even if I suspect they really liked a story they claim to hate, I don't argue with it. They've only identified that work as weaker in some way, most likely. So here's the list of my books, from top to bottom, based on how people have spoken about them.1 Jurant. Always #1. Always. There is only one Don and he is the best hero of all time.2 Millhaven Castle. People wish there was more romance at the end, but they love it. 3 City of the Invaders. An exciting world and compelling heroine many readers can relate to.4 The Birthday Present. I'm not sure what they think, but they seem to like it. 5 Ryan and Essie. A bit weird, but Ryan is such a real, normal boy and Essie is so cute. 6 Consuela. (I'll put this here because the old version was liked, if boring. There is a rewrite.)7 The Amulet of Renari. The story was lovely and well-developed, but the characters were unlikable. 8 Victoria. It could have been a lot better, but there are some great moments that capture Spain.9 Alyce. So much potential--setting, plot twists, etc. But the characters were BORING and the politics . .ugh. 10 Halogen Crossing. Convoluted and charmless, although the worldbuilding was fantastic.11 The Test of Devotion. Boring, heavy, monotonous. Not an interesting story and not appealing. 12 Bellevere House. Well-written and Faye was updated pretty well. But it was a trashy disappointment otherwise.
Now that might not be what people really think. (Or it could be, it's hard to know exactly about a LOT of people all at once.) But it is most likely the truth, so I'll go with it.
And there will be more updates.
Now that might not be what people really think. (Or it could be, it's hard to know exactly about a LOT of people all at once.) But it is most likely the truth, so I'll go with it.
And there will be more updates.
The Backwards Game
A few years ago I heard an extremely funny line in a TV show. A boy was trying to disguise something he had been doing and had to make something up on the spot. He wasn't very good at it and said he had been watching a superhero show called Captain Backwards. "He saves the day at the beginning and does all the boring stuff at the end." Then he added, reflectively. "It's a terrible show. I don't know why I watch it."
Similarly, most people I've ever run into talk backwards. They simply lie. They say the opposite of what they mean. I am quite aware that all feedback I've ever received on anything in my life, from my height, to my weight, to my stories, has been the opposite of what the person really thought. Even if they believe that they mean what they say, it's obviously backwards--obvious to me and to everyone else. I think this is a terrible idea and I don't know why they do it. What is the point of a show that there's no reason to watch after five minutes? And what is the point of saying something negative you don't even mean, or praising something you don't even like?
I say what I mean because that is a much smarter thing to do. If I hate bananas and claim to praise them, you know what will happen? People will believe me and start giving me bananas. They will always order banana sundaes for me and buy me banana yogurt when I'm sick. They will get me fried plantains and smile sweetly about how they know it's my favorite. Since I hate bananas--which I do, by the way--I will be miserable. And all because I lied and said the opposite of what I really think. I didn't want to admit I hated bananas, for some indiscernible reason, and now I'm living the banana nightmare.
Honesty really is the best policy. I don't throw a fuss when people do certain things because I'm hurt. It's because it was the wrong thing for them to do. They were just lying and I despise lying. It's idiotic. I don't have time for arguments, so I'm just going to believe what you say. If you wanted to make friends--cursing at me and saying I was stupid and fat was a foolish move. I'm not going to bother unraveling people's psychology. I'm just going to agree with them. So it isn't the best idea to say something you might regret my agreeing with.
And there will be more updates.
Similarly, most people I've ever run into talk backwards. They simply lie. They say the opposite of what they mean. I am quite aware that all feedback I've ever received on anything in my life, from my height, to my weight, to my stories, has been the opposite of what the person really thought. Even if they believe that they mean what they say, it's obviously backwards--obvious to me and to everyone else. I think this is a terrible idea and I don't know why they do it. What is the point of a show that there's no reason to watch after five minutes? And what is the point of saying something negative you don't even mean, or praising something you don't even like?
I say what I mean because that is a much smarter thing to do. If I hate bananas and claim to praise them, you know what will happen? People will believe me and start giving me bananas. They will always order banana sundaes for me and buy me banana yogurt when I'm sick. They will get me fried plantains and smile sweetly about how they know it's my favorite. Since I hate bananas--which I do, by the way--I will be miserable. And all because I lied and said the opposite of what I really think. I didn't want to admit I hated bananas, for some indiscernible reason, and now I'm living the banana nightmare.
Honesty really is the best policy. I don't throw a fuss when people do certain things because I'm hurt. It's because it was the wrong thing for them to do. They were just lying and I despise lying. It's idiotic. I don't have time for arguments, so I'm just going to believe what you say. If you wanted to make friends--cursing at me and saying I was stupid and fat was a foolish move. I'm not going to bother unraveling people's psychology. I'm just going to agree with them. So it isn't the best idea to say something you might regret my agreeing with.
And there will be more updates.
February 28, 2018
Let's Talk Facets of Fantasy
I’ve completed posts on all the heroines who appear in the two Facets books except for Katia and Alyce. They have their own books, so they will be discussed separately in connection to those books. I’d like to devote posts to the male characters as well, and to the role of parents and family in Facets (as well as in all my books.) But I’ll just give a brief rundown of Facets of Fantasy.
This was my second book, published in 2009. It contained 5 novellas that explored varying angles of the speculative genre—everything from epic fantasy to light fairy tale-with-castles work. Two years later I made another volume with all the stories edited and two of them rewritten. At the time I didn’t realize I could just upload those changes into the existing book—so now there are 2 Facets books.
Over the last 6 years, I’ve used the second Facets book as a way to sort the first one. I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the reaction to Facets of Fantasy—something, though never fully developing into the Wicked Twins of Ranter and Recluse, has always felt shady about reader’s reactions. And no matter what they said, I could never quite figure out which story they really liked; really disliked; really thought was interesting; and really thought was boring; and why they thought any of that. Facets of Fantasy became a bit of a problem. I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
I rewrote Halogen Crossing and The Amulet of Renari for the second book. Nothing. (Except people have always let slip a faintly snotty remark about Renari.) I enlarged The Trouble with Taranui a lot longer and eventually made it its own book. Nothing. I tried to make the much-acclaimed Jurant a single, but somehow that didn’t work at all. Nothing. I worked Millhaven Castle into a different story, Alyce, and I’ve already posted about problem that book created. And still nothing. Nothing about why a boring collection of stories seemed a problem in my writing life—something that was a bump, a roadblock, and in a way a big secret.
I’ve now added Victoria into the mix because reactions to it were similar. I’m retiring the first Facets book and carried Jurant and Millhaven Castle (always mentioned together) into the second book, adding Victoria. I’m also going to make The Amulet of Renari a single ebook again. Whether this will solve the problem, I don’t know. But eventually I will whittle it down and find out why Facets of Fantasy is THE book I need to do something about.
And there will be more updates.
This was my second book, published in 2009. It contained 5 novellas that explored varying angles of the speculative genre—everything from epic fantasy to light fairy tale-with-castles work. Two years later I made another volume with all the stories edited and two of them rewritten. At the time I didn’t realize I could just upload those changes into the existing book—so now there are 2 Facets books.
Over the last 6 years, I’ve used the second Facets book as a way to sort the first one. I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the reaction to Facets of Fantasy—something, though never fully developing into the Wicked Twins of Ranter and Recluse, has always felt shady about reader’s reactions. And no matter what they said, I could never quite figure out which story they really liked; really disliked; really thought was interesting; and really thought was boring; and why they thought any of that. Facets of Fantasy became a bit of a problem. I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
I rewrote Halogen Crossing and The Amulet of Renari for the second book. Nothing. (Except people have always let slip a faintly snotty remark about Renari.) I enlarged The Trouble with Taranui a lot longer and eventually made it its own book. Nothing. I tried to make the much-acclaimed Jurant a single, but somehow that didn’t work at all. Nothing. I worked Millhaven Castle into a different story, Alyce, and I’ve already posted about problem that book created. And still nothing. Nothing about why a boring collection of stories seemed a problem in my writing life—something that was a bump, a roadblock, and in a way a big secret.
I’ve now added Victoria into the mix because reactions to it were similar. I’m retiring the first Facets book and carried Jurant and Millhaven Castle (always mentioned together) into the second book, adding Victoria. I’m also going to make The Amulet of Renari a single ebook again. Whether this will solve the problem, I don’t know. But eventually I will whittle it down and find out why Facets of Fantasy is THE book I need to do something about.
And there will be more updates.
