Amanda Meuwissen's Blog, page 17
May 18, 2015
TRR Sizzling Summer Reads Party June 1, 2015
Join the TRR Sizzling Summer Reads Party June 1, 2015! Play games and win (maybe even a copy of Incubus!).
There are over 350 authors participating, including yours truly, so just as many possible prizes. Be sure and check it out if you're as veracious a reader as I am, and help support your friendly neighborhood authoress while also supporting other authors as well.
TRR Sizzling Summer Reads Party!
There are over 350 authors participating, including yours truly, so just as many possible prizes. Be sure and check it out if you're as veracious a reader as I am, and help support your friendly neighborhood authoress while also supporting other authors as well.
TRR Sizzling Summer Reads Party!
May 6, 2015
Wizard World Minneapolis & The Incubus Saga Finale Fanart
In the end I should have known who I would commission to draw my anniversary finale fanart for The Incubus Saga, as she stayed with me for Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con this year, along with other friends:
Comic author/artist Katie Shaw, creator of Dragon Child.
Katie and I attended college together, and one of my most cherished pieces of art is a picture she did back then of me glomping on my favored character at the time, Valykrie (his story is a screenplay, but I might write it as prose someday).
So after scouring Artist Alley on day one of the con, I realized that night that what I would really love is a recreation of that art but with Sasha and Nathan.
It's perfect, and has the extra weight of also being an ode to that long ago art from Katie as well. Now all that remains is to prepare for the release of book 3, Sidhe, and to continue writing my next story.
Thank you again, all of you, so much for being a part of this journey with me, and thank you to Katie for this beautiful art.
For more on Wizard World, check out the BWN recap for details, and this awesome image of part of our giant Game of Thrones cosplay group which was featured on The Escapist. I love being Margaery Tyrell.
Comic author/artist Katie Shaw, creator of Dragon Child.
Katie and I attended college together, and one of my most cherished pieces of art is a picture she did back then of me glomping on my favored character at the time, Valykrie (his story is a screenplay, but I might write it as prose someday).
So after scouring Artist Alley on day one of the con, I realized that night that what I would really love is a recreation of that art but with Sasha and Nathan.
It's perfect, and has the extra weight of also being an ode to that long ago art from Katie as well. Now all that remains is to prepare for the release of book 3, Sidhe, and to continue writing my next story.
Thank you again, all of you, so much for being a part of this journey with me, and thank you to Katie for this beautiful art.
For more on Wizard World, check out the BWN recap for details, and this awesome image of part of our giant Game of Thrones cosplay group which was featured on The Escapist. I love being Margaery Tyrell.
April 28, 2015
Help Me Decide on the Next Incubus Art Commission!
Once again I will be attending Wizard World Minneapolis, and you can find me (and my books) in Artist Alley. The convention is this coming weekend, May 1-3 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I’ll have copies of both Incubus and Changeling, and will happily sign any copies purchased.
I will also be on the lookout for artists as I continue my tradition of purchasing an art commission at the convention. As The Incubus Saga is coming to a close this year, with the final book out in July (I think I may have said June somewhere at some point, which is incorrect) my goal is to get something Incubus related…but I don’t know what I want!
I have had SO MUCH Incubus fanart over the years, provided for me, and that I commissioned myself, so it’s tough to decide what to get.
I suppose I don’t have anything of Jim. Maybe something simple of the three boys all together?
Help me decide, folks! I’d love some suggestions, and of course I’ll scan and share the art as soon as I have it.
And if you’re in the Minneapolis area, please consider stopping by the con and seeking me out. I’ll be at the BigWorldNetwork.com table.
I will also be on the lookout for artists as I continue my tradition of purchasing an art commission at the convention. As The Incubus Saga is coming to a close this year, with the final book out in July (I think I may have said June somewhere at some point, which is incorrect) my goal is to get something Incubus related…but I don’t know what I want!
I have had SO MUCH Incubus fanart over the years, provided for me, and that I commissioned myself, so it’s tough to decide what to get.
I suppose I don’t have anything of Jim. Maybe something simple of the three boys all together?
Help me decide, folks! I’d love some suggestions, and of course I’ll scan and share the art as soon as I have it.
And if you’re in the Minneapolis area, please consider stopping by the con and seeking me out. I’ll be at the BigWorldNetwork.com table.
April 23, 2015
THE END of The Incubus Saga
Here we are, today, marking the airing of the very last episodes of Incubus.
Three years of running it on BigWorldNetwork, nearly eight since I first started writing it. It has been an amazing ride, and I cannot wait to get this last finished book out to you.
I've changed so much from what is posted on the site, fixed so many things, most of which because some of my amazing readers took the time to point something out that I looked at more carefully when doing final edits.
THAT is why I love BWN's serialized method, because telling a good story becomes a community project that evolves and changes and becomes something even better when the final book is ready for purchase.
Today I want to say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my evil, cliffhanger-happy heart. I nearly forgot what day it was until it hit me, and stopped me short, causing my heart to beat loud and wild as I stopped what I was doing and listened to the audio of the very last episodes, the very last words...
So before I start weeping all over my keyboard...til next time.
Three years of running it on BigWorldNetwork, nearly eight since I first started writing it. It has been an amazing ride, and I cannot wait to get this last finished book out to you.
I've changed so much from what is posted on the site, fixed so many things, most of which because some of my amazing readers took the time to point something out that I looked at more carefully when doing final edits.
THAT is why I love BWN's serialized method, because telling a good story becomes a community project that evolves and changes and becomes something even better when the final book is ready for purchase.
Today I want to say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my evil, cliffhanger-happy heart. I nearly forgot what day it was until it hit me, and stopped me short, causing my heart to beat loud and wild as I stopped what I was doing and listened to the audio of the very last episodes, the very last words...
So before I start weeping all over my keyboard...til next time.
April 15, 2015
Ask me questions about The Incubus Saga!
While exploring more of what I can do with Goodreads, I’ve opened up questions from anyone about The Incubus Saga, now that it is nearing its end. Sidhe should be out sometime in June, I believe, but I’ll keep you posted, so until then, fire away on my author page! I’ll try and answer questions as I have time.
I'm about halfway through final edits on Sidhe, and discovered a glaring plot hole I’d missed, but that a reader had pointed out and I’d foolishly thought they were mistaken about until I encountered it while reading. All fixed now, and wow, is editing important. It’s amazing how much you can realize about a story simply by reading everything back to back.
I had a wonderful editorial review of Incubus recently that has helped spur on many new readers for the start of the series, and I hope everyone continues on into books 2 and 3, especially since things get spicier as the tale develops. ;-)
“Incubus by Amanda Meuwissen is a riveting science fiction saga with a little romance on the side. Meuwissen has created an intriguing world of magic and mystique. Her characters are more than they appear, with a depth of layers that continue to reveal themselves as the story unfolds. The devotion and brotherly love between Nathan and Jim is heartwarming and sincere. Sasha is a funny and sexy character. The initial awkward scenes between Sasha and Nathan are exactly how I would picture someone like Nathan responding in the real world. Their budding relationship adds a bit of drama and suspense to the tale.”
Want to know more about The Incubus Saga? Fire those questions at me, and look forward to more as the release date for book 3 nears!
I'm about halfway through final edits on Sidhe, and discovered a glaring plot hole I’d missed, but that a reader had pointed out and I’d foolishly thought they were mistaken about until I encountered it while reading. All fixed now, and wow, is editing important. It’s amazing how much you can realize about a story simply by reading everything back to back.
I had a wonderful editorial review of Incubus recently that has helped spur on many new readers for the start of the series, and I hope everyone continues on into books 2 and 3, especially since things get spicier as the tale develops. ;-)
“Incubus by Amanda Meuwissen is a riveting science fiction saga with a little romance on the side. Meuwissen has created an intriguing world of magic and mystique. Her characters are more than they appear, with a depth of layers that continue to reveal themselves as the story unfolds. The devotion and brotherly love between Nathan and Jim is heartwarming and sincere. Sasha is a funny and sexy character. The initial awkward scenes between Sasha and Nathan are exactly how I would picture someone like Nathan responding in the real world. Their budding relationship adds a bit of drama and suspense to the tale.”
Want to know more about The Incubus Saga? Fire those questions at me, and look forward to more as the release date for book 3 nears!
April 1, 2015
Fanfiction Binge
It happens every so often that I either 1) suddenly want to devour every piece of fanfiction about a fandom that I can (like after seeing Captain America: The Winter Soldier) or 2) suddenly want to reread all of my own fanfiction about a particular fandom (like what recently happened to me when someone reviewed an old Saiyuki fic of mine).
For the uninitiated, fanfiction is just that, fan written fiction. The example I love to give is Harry Potter. Say you love Harry Potter, but you wish there had been more about the Marauders when they were younger, so you decide to write some stories about that yourself – that is fanfiction, and it can take many forms.
I started writing fanfiction long before I delved into original fiction because it helped me realize stories better and reach natural ends to my ideas. It taught me how to write, just as reading does.
So a few weeks ago, I got a new review on a very old fanfic (about a decade old), and it made me go…huh. And before I knew it, I had devoured the entire 3 story series, all 62 chapters worth between them. And wow, it amazes me every time as the years pass how there are scenes I just love, and wouldn’t change a word on…and then scenes that make me cringe, and whole paragraphs starting out chapters that I would literally delete and start, well, maybe even three paragraphs down if I were to write it again, because that is all driveling filler.
But it’s fun because it reminds me why I love to write, amazes me at some ideas that I’d forgotten I had, and inspires me toward my next endeavors.
As The Incubus Saga draws to a close, and I continue into the first few chapters of Life as a Teenage Vampire, which I am already fully in love with and cannot wait to share with the world, my next project after that is already stewing, and all because of a single thoughtful review.
The lessons learned? Readers, comment, review, let your authors know how much you love their work, whether original fiction or fanfiction, because it might just inspire their next masterpiece.
And writers, don’t knock your old work. Go back once in a while and read it again. Some of it will be crap, some will make you laugh or sneer, but some will capture your imagination and heart just as it did the first time, and it’s important to let ourselves fall in love with our own writing.
Ah, Saiyuki, a manga and anime that was one of my first literary love affairs.
For the uninitiated, fanfiction is just that, fan written fiction. The example I love to give is Harry Potter. Say you love Harry Potter, but you wish there had been more about the Marauders when they were younger, so you decide to write some stories about that yourself – that is fanfiction, and it can take many forms.
I started writing fanfiction long before I delved into original fiction because it helped me realize stories better and reach natural ends to my ideas. It taught me how to write, just as reading does.
So a few weeks ago, I got a new review on a very old fanfic (about a decade old), and it made me go…huh. And before I knew it, I had devoured the entire 3 story series, all 62 chapters worth between them. And wow, it amazes me every time as the years pass how there are scenes I just love, and wouldn’t change a word on…and then scenes that make me cringe, and whole paragraphs starting out chapters that I would literally delete and start, well, maybe even three paragraphs down if I were to write it again, because that is all driveling filler.
But it’s fun because it reminds me why I love to write, amazes me at some ideas that I’d forgotten I had, and inspires me toward my next endeavors.
As The Incubus Saga draws to a close, and I continue into the first few chapters of Life as a Teenage Vampire, which I am already fully in love with and cannot wait to share with the world, my next project after that is already stewing, and all because of a single thoughtful review.
The lessons learned? Readers, comment, review, let your authors know how much you love their work, whether original fiction or fanfiction, because it might just inspire their next masterpiece.
And writers, don’t knock your old work. Go back once in a while and read it again. Some of it will be crap, some will make you laugh or sneer, but some will capture your imagination and heart just as it did the first time, and it’s important to let ourselves fall in love with our own writing.
Ah, Saiyuki, a manga and anime that was one of my first literary love affairs.
March 25, 2015
Author Thank You Video - Amanda Meuwissen
"Amanda Meuwissen, author of The Incubus Saga and The Collector, offers her thank you to readers, as well as a few tidbits on her, her writing, and where to find more."
But sadly, Goodreads doesn't allow embedded videos in blog posts, so you have to watch the video HERE or you can check it out in my author videos section on my profile.
Read The Incubus Saga
Read The Collector
And above all, enjoy this less than 3 minute video where I give you, dear readers, my thanks.
But sadly, Goodreads doesn't allow embedded videos in blog posts, so you have to watch the video HERE or you can check it out in my author videos section on my profile.
Read The Incubus Saga
Read The Collector
And above all, enjoy this less than 3 minute video where I give you, dear readers, my thanks.
March 19, 2015
Favorite lines from books - God speed, Sir Terry
Today at BWN, the current Incubus episode has one of my favorite lines in the whole book, and always makes me tear up a little.
"I am what I am, Nathan. And I am for you."
Of course you'll have to go read it to know who says that. :-)
I have so many moments like that, lines that I love no matter how critical I am of other sections (we're all our own worst critics, right?). Just like I have favorite lines from other people's books.
It surprised me a little how much Sir Terry Pratchett's passing affected me. Honestly, I haven't read many of his books, just have a long list of must-reads I never seem to get to, but Good Omens, which he shares with fellow amazing writer Neil Gaiman, remains one of my favorite books of all time.
When Pratchett passed I was overwhelmed with a desire to reread some of my favorite parts of the book, and so I did. Three particularly wonderful scenes for me are of course when Crowley and Aziraphale get drunk and plot out preventing the apocalypse, when they run over Anathema, and when Crowley reaches the final scenes in his burning car.
"That's probably because your car is on fire."
Makes me laugh every time. :-) I go back and read my own work in similar fashion - I'm doing it now with a few things, as I find it really helps inspire me when working on a new story, which I'm also doing now, and oh are you all in for a treat when my new boys are ready to roll.
I can only hope that there are others out there who - while I doubt it could ever be to the extent of fans of Pratchett - are soothed and filled with joy rereading some of their favorite lines from my stories. When it has happened to me in the past, where people let me know they recently reread my work and loved it just as much as the first time, somehow that means more than an initial review.
To memorable moments in our writing and in the stories we love! To Sir Terry and all the books I have yet to read!
Any favorite lines and scenes you fine folks would like to share? Please do!
"I am what I am, Nathan. And I am for you."
Of course you'll have to go read it to know who says that. :-)
I have so many moments like that, lines that I love no matter how critical I am of other sections (we're all our own worst critics, right?). Just like I have favorite lines from other people's books.
It surprised me a little how much Sir Terry Pratchett's passing affected me. Honestly, I haven't read many of his books, just have a long list of must-reads I never seem to get to, but Good Omens, which he shares with fellow amazing writer Neil Gaiman, remains one of my favorite books of all time.
When Pratchett passed I was overwhelmed with a desire to reread some of my favorite parts of the book, and so I did. Three particularly wonderful scenes for me are of course when Crowley and Aziraphale get drunk and plot out preventing the apocalypse, when they run over Anathema, and when Crowley reaches the final scenes in his burning car.
"That's probably because your car is on fire."
Makes me laugh every time. :-) I go back and read my own work in similar fashion - I'm doing it now with a few things, as I find it really helps inspire me when working on a new story, which I'm also doing now, and oh are you all in for a treat when my new boys are ready to roll.
I can only hope that there are others out there who - while I doubt it could ever be to the extent of fans of Pratchett - are soothed and filled with joy rereading some of their favorite lines from my stories. When it has happened to me in the past, where people let me know they recently reread my work and loved it just as much as the first time, somehow that means more than an initial review.
To memorable moments in our writing and in the stories we love! To Sir Terry and all the books I have yet to read!
Any favorite lines and scenes you fine folks would like to share? Please do!
March 11, 2015
Prettier Than You - My Foray into Non-Fiction
I'd like to discuss a budding project of mine that is non-fiction. Now, I'm not a stranger to non-fiction. I regularly write content for my day-job, and handle most of the copy-editing and blog posts for BigWorldNetwork.com, but I have yet to publish any non-fiction books. This project is actually quite dear to me.
Prettier Than You is a non-fiction book idea I have about how we are trained from an early age to think of the word ‘pretty’ in a certain way - and how this needs to change.
My husband once said to me that whenever men enter a room they can’t help scanning for other guys and asking themselves (subconsciously or otherwise), “Could I take him?” I wondered how that translated for women, and realized that we do it too, only the question we ask is, "Is she prettier than me?"
Our self-worth shouldn’t be based on how we stack up against others, and being pretty shouldn’t be the most important thing on our minds. And yet it happens. Being pretty tends to be the be-all end-all for little girls and how the world tells them to think.
And thus I have put it out to some of the women in my life to help me write this book, getting their stories as well as my own to explore this idea. We're excited about where this can go, and hope to eventually donate our portion of the proceeds to charity.
Now, nothing is officially written yet, mostly ideas flowing right now, but here's a little snippet of some of my thoughts when I first came up with the concept:
It isn't about the fault only lying with some unattainable goal of being like the models we see on TV or on magazine pages. The fault is also with us. When we’re little girls we adore beauty pageants and models because we want to be just like them. When we realize that isn’t going to happen, we try to at least outdo those around us. What may actually make us happy is being the prettiest possible version of ourselves, beating out ourselves, not other women.
Now don’t mistake my intention here. I’m not saying we have to be ‘pretty’ to be happy or to have self-worth. What is pretty anyway? That’s a whole topic within itself. I’m simply using it as a general term to mean we should be happy with ourselves—who we are AND how we look—regardless of whether we’re prettier than the next girl or fit any societal standards of beauty.
Prettier Than You is a non-fiction book idea I have about how we are trained from an early age to think of the word ‘pretty’ in a certain way - and how this needs to change.
My husband once said to me that whenever men enter a room they can’t help scanning for other guys and asking themselves (subconsciously or otherwise), “Could I take him?” I wondered how that translated for women, and realized that we do it too, only the question we ask is, "Is she prettier than me?"
Our self-worth shouldn’t be based on how we stack up against others, and being pretty shouldn’t be the most important thing on our minds. And yet it happens. Being pretty tends to be the be-all end-all for little girls and how the world tells them to think.
And thus I have put it out to some of the women in my life to help me write this book, getting their stories as well as my own to explore this idea. We're excited about where this can go, and hope to eventually donate our portion of the proceeds to charity.
Now, nothing is officially written yet, mostly ideas flowing right now, but here's a little snippet of some of my thoughts when I first came up with the concept:
It isn't about the fault only lying with some unattainable goal of being like the models we see on TV or on magazine pages. The fault is also with us. When we’re little girls we adore beauty pageants and models because we want to be just like them. When we realize that isn’t going to happen, we try to at least outdo those around us. What may actually make us happy is being the prettiest possible version of ourselves, beating out ourselves, not other women.
Now don’t mistake my intention here. I’m not saying we have to be ‘pretty’ to be happy or to have self-worth. What is pretty anyway? That’s a whole topic within itself. I’m simply using it as a general term to mean we should be happy with ourselves—who we are AND how we look—regardless of whether we’re prettier than the next girl or fit any societal standards of beauty.
March 4, 2015
The Incubus Saga Fanart - Sasha and Nathan Slow Dancing
I can't believe this commission is almost 6 years old, back in the early stages of Incubus, before I was ready to share the original story with the the world.
This is a slightly tweaked version of the fanart from Fiouri who I commissioned at y!gallery in 2009. I'd link directly to the site for you, but it's NSFW. :-) Google if you dare.
I wanted to capture when Nathan and Sasha are slow dancing late at night in a missing/alluded to scene, and I think this is just about perfect. And hey, one of the few times I've gotten Sasha's wing tattoos in a picture. Very cool design choice. I always have a hard time describing exactly how they should look, and love seeing different interpretations.
I think getting fanart of my characters and stories is one of the most exciting things. It's actually a tradition for me to get some sort of commission whenever I go to large enough conventions that they have an artist alley, like at the upcoming Wizard World Minneapolis.
Last year I got an amazing picture of me cosplaying as Rogue from X-Men, but as The Incubus Saga is drawing to a close, I think I'll have to think of a new commission for the boys...
This is a slightly tweaked version of the fanart from Fiouri who I commissioned at y!gallery in 2009. I'd link directly to the site for you, but it's NSFW. :-) Google if you dare.
I wanted to capture when Nathan and Sasha are slow dancing late at night in a missing/alluded to scene, and I think this is just about perfect. And hey, one of the few times I've gotten Sasha's wing tattoos in a picture. Very cool design choice. I always have a hard time describing exactly how they should look, and love seeing different interpretations.
I think getting fanart of my characters and stories is one of the most exciting things. It's actually a tradition for me to get some sort of commission whenever I go to large enough conventions that they have an artist alley, like at the upcoming Wizard World Minneapolis.
Last year I got an amazing picture of me cosplaying as Rogue from X-Men, but as The Incubus Saga is drawing to a close, I think I'll have to think of a new commission for the boys...
