Rani Divine's Blog, page 21

What editor?

Hi guys! I’m back, to tell you even more about me. This feels strange, for me, because I really feel like I do this kind of series all the time… even though by my records, it’s been a very long time since we’ve talked about who I am and what I do.
Again, welcome to all you newcomers out there! It’s great to have you as a part of TMBTC!
Tuesday, we talked about my being a writer. Today, the logical progression… I’m an editor
This too started in college. Many things do, don’t they?
While I was beginning my writing career, I simultaneously started my editing one—without really realizing it. See, I started editing by tutoring, in my freshman year. My English professor was struggling with one of the other students, one who spoke Arabic as her primary language. The professor asked me to help, since I sat beside the student anyway, and was easily gliding through the class. So I did. I essentially tutored her through the class, and helped her pass with high marks. From then on, I started helping students in all my classes. Whenever there was a paper that needed doing, I made it very clear that I was more than happy to help anyone and everyone pass with high marks, and that the only payment I required was food (it was college, after all).
I honestly don’t remember how many of my fellow students I helped. This is actually something I still do, from time to time. If any of my friends who are still in college need help with their term papers or assignments, I’m more than happy to help them. I love learning, I love reading, I love editing. So it’s not hard for me to take time out for things like that, especially when it's in a topic in which I don't generally work. Then, I get to learn something too.
Before college was even over though, RAD Writing had come into play—as had Mavguard Magazine. And Mavguard asked me to come on as their primary editor.
I had so much fun!
Mavguard is a literary and art magazine run by RAD Writing. They publish short stories, art, and poetry from all over the states—and I had the chance to edit these amazing pieces, and fit them together into a beautiful magazine.
My relationship with RAD Writing only advanced from there. Over the years, I started working as a freelance novel editor for RAD, until last year, when they brought me on as an associate.
So now it’s something that I not only do for fun, but something I do for a living.
It’s one of the biggest things that I associate myself with. I’m a writer, yes, but I’m an editor. Editing is as much my passion as writing. I love words, I love finding truth and mystery in them, I love discovering through them. That’s also why I blog. I just can’t get enough words in my days.
I’m Rani Divine, you know. And I’m an editor.
Next week, we’ll talk about a couple more things, which you might not know about me.
[love]
{Rani D.}

Divine who?

Hey everybody!
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about who I am as an author (and as a person), and since we have a lot of newcomers here at TMBTC, I thought I’d spend this month telling you guys a little more about me. :)
I’m Rani Divine.
If you didn’t know that… well, then you’ve probably never been here before, so, welcome! I hope you stick around. Mostly, we talk about writing and editing, with some book reviews and fun stuff thrown in for good measure.
Why?
Because I’m an author.
I started my writing career back in 2013, with Telekinetic: Book I of the Advanced Saga (which, sadly, has never seen a sequel, even though I have most of the series finished). The series is dystopian sci-fi, in the vein of Marvel’s X-Men, but I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s not my best work.
See, I started writing novels in college. Literally, I got bored in my classes and started writing this story that I’d been dreaming for the past several nights. Within a semester, it became Telekinetic. Within two years, I had written Telekinetic, Telepathic, Teleporter, and most of Totalitarian. Twins was to be the finale… but then my genre changed. I began to prefer fantasy over science-fiction…
And so I switched.
I stopped writing the Advanced Saga.
By that point, I was about to release Telekinetic, through Xlibris (don’t work with them; I had a horrible experience), and determined that I didn’t ever want to self-publish again. The book wasn’t even out yet, and I was done.
Then, in yet another class, I started writing the Druid Novels. When it started, I had no idea it would be a series. In fact, I was incredibly excited to finally be writing a standalone novel. But by the time I finished Coetir and took a summer off to write another project, I had the ideas for Cedwig and Dwr. The series was born while I was in process of publishing Coetir, this time through the small press that had only just been born: RAD Writing.
Today, I have five books on the market, plus a short story. Telekinetic, Coetir, Cedwig, Dwr, Mynidd, and Letters From Hell. They’re my babies, the projects I’ve spent years working on. And the Druid Novels aren’t done yet.
Though I’ve finished writing every book in the series, editing and publishing takes a lot longer than you might think. With one release per year, it takes a while for the whole series to be on the shelf. Two books of the Druid Novels remain: Anialych and Cayau. I’m also working toward releasing short story books for each novel, to fill in some of the gaps and bring the story together.
The best part about the Druid Novels though? 
Because I didn’t know it was a series when I first started publishing, each novel is essentially a standalone. They all fit together into the grander universe of the druids, but they can be read in any order. The only one I’d recommend reading last is Cayau, and only because it’s the grand finale to the series.
So, who am I?
I’m Rani Divine. I’m an author, primarily of fantasy, right now. But I also dabble in science-fiction, I write short stories, and occasionally, on a strange day, I write poetry too. That’s not very good though.
If you’d like to know more about my books, check out RAD Writing online. The majority of my work has been published through them (because, hey, it’s weird to publish somewhere else when you work for the company that offers you multi-book deals).
Later this week, we’ll talk a bit more about that, shall we?
[love]
{Rani D.}

I like what I do... usually.

It’s finale day!
I’m always a little bit sad when this day comes, because it’s always the end of a series that I’ve greatly enjoyed. It also usually means that I have to scramble for a new topic for the next month… which is exactly where I am now. (if you have any ideas, let me know! I love suggestions!)
I think, however, that for this series, I’ve saved the best for last. Sometimes, I don’t like to tell people about my books.
Yep. I said it. Sometimes I don’t even want anyone to know that I’m a writer. Seriously. I don’t. There are many circumstances in which I won’t even tell anyone what I do for a living, simply because I’d rather talk about anything else.
There are days when, even as a writer who greatly loves what I do, I would rather sit in the background and be nothing more than another person in the room, another professional here to learn, another human here to enjoy the show.
You know what though? (I’m sure you do by now)
That’s completely okay.
We don’t have to be professional writers all the time. Even if that is our day job, even if that is the way we make our living, it doesn’t have to be the only thing that defines us. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Writing is what you do, it’s what you love and what you enjoy, but that doesn’t mean it’s the entirety of who you are.
See, I’m a writer. You knew that. I’m also an editor. I’m a daughter. I’m a sister. A friend. A Christian. I’m snarky. I’m silly. I’m happy. I laugh even when it’s inappropriate to do so, and I don’t know how to stop. I’m a volunteer, an employee, a person. Writer is the main thing I tell people I am, yes, but it’s not the only thing I am. It might be one of the the biggest parts of me, and the part people see the most, but it’s not the only part of me.
It shouldn’t be the only part of you, either. And you shouldn’t let it be.
So, on those days when you don’t want to tell people about your books, don’t. Leave it as something in the background, something you do, something you are, but not everything you are.
Sometimes, those times are the nicest of all, because in those times, you don’t have to be the writer, the thing everyone expects of you. You can just be you. And it’s pretty great to be yourself, no matter who or what you are.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

I like people... right?

Hey all! I hope you’ve hopped on over to RAD Writing or Amazon to order your copies of Mynidd: People of the Hills. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have this book on the market. It’s one of my favorites that I’ve written, and I’m looking forward to finding out what you all think of it.
But for today, we’re back to our series on the human side of being a writer.
Thus far this month, we’ve talked about not liking to write, read, edit, or really, work in general. And I have two more things to share with you this week, before we close out the series.
Sometimes, I don’t like to be social.
Okay, I’ll be honest. There are a lot of times when I don’t like to be social. I’m an extroverted introvert, so though I do like to be social sometimes, after a while I can find it incredibly draining and taxing. And we all know how horrible taxes are. ;-)
For authors, there’s a big portion of life that has to be social. Whether it be online or in person, we have to be the social butterfly who’s constantly sharing information about their books and events they’re doing… and it gets old, really fast.
Many of us are introverted. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the majority of writers are actually introverted, which means that it can be a lot harder than you might think, for us to get out there and do the things we need to do to promote our books.
You know what though?
That’s okay.
Promoting our writing is the way we’re going to work on getting ourselves out of our boxes, but it’s completely okay to go back into your box when you’re done. Finish your event and go curl up on your couch with a good book. Go hide for a while, in a place where you can’t see anyone and no one can see you. Go do something that involves nothing of a social nature at all. Go binge watch a television show.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being introverted. It’s a facet of who and what you are, and it’s not something you should even try to change.
Work with it. Use it. I’m guessing it’s probably easier for you to be social online than it is in person, so try to do as much online marketing and events as possible. Be a face on a screen, rather than a face in person. Do as much as you can from your box, and then go outside it when you can.
Nobody’s asking for anything more than that. And if they are, you probably don’t need them in your life.
Just being honest here.
[love]
{Rani D.}

Tell me something...

Hey guys!
With Mynidd coming out this week, I thought we might as well take a week off to do something fun. 
Below, I’m answering some of the top questions I’ve been asked by fans and friends, concerning the Druid Novels.
Read on!
What was your inspiration to write Mynidd? If you’ve read Cedwig, you know that I discovered the Mynidd while writing it (don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler). I dreamed an image of Hythdor, the witch of the Mynidd, one night, and the next day she popped into Cedwig. From there, I was itching to write the book. I actually wrote this one before I wrote Dwr, but I thought the progression would work better to release them out of writing order. 
My biggest inspiration for the Druid Novels in general though, was my Viking Mythology class in college. I know, that either sounds lame or weird, but it worked! The teacher said something about the druids, I can’t even tell you exactly what he was talking about, but I rolled with it. I’d been wanting to write something new. I’d been trying to write a story about a city under the ocean, but it just wasn’t working the way I wanted it to. Then that day in class, I ended up writing a few thousand words of text. That text (now edited and tweaked many times over) is the first few pages of Coetir.

What’s your favorite Druid Novel? That’s like asking what child is your favorite. Seriously. How do I choose? I love all of them, and I like each of them to different degrees. At the moment, I will say that Mynidd is my favorite. But I do usually say that whenever a new book comes out. If I’m being totally honest though, my favorite will be Cayau. It isn’t Cayauright now, because I’m dreading having to edit it, but it will be. The book is an amazing and perfect conclusion to the series, which I cannot wait to share with you.

What Druid Novel should I read first? Whichever one you want! Honestly. I designed the series to be non-continuous, a series of standalones that link together into one unified story. The more you read of them, the more pieces of the puzzle you’ll put together, but they in no way have to be read in any order, nor do you have to read the rest of the series to understand what's going on (though I think you'll want to, after you've read one). What I will say, is this: 
If you like a love story, start with Coetir. If you like intrigue, start with Cedwig. If you like thrills, start with Dwr. If you like battle, start with Mynidd.

How did you get started in writing/editing? I got bored. At least, that’s what I tell people. I don’t have a ton of memories from growing up, but I’ve been told that I was always writing as a kid. I remember writing a series of short mystery stories with my best friend when we were in our tweens (they were awful), and I recall writing a few flash fiction pieces in junior high, along with an attempt at a novel shortly after Fellowship of the Ring came out on DVD, but I can’t tell you how writing really began. I think I just always loved to tell stories. I used to make up my own bedtime stories, and tell myself a tale to help me fall asleep at night, when I was very young. As for real novel writing, I started in my first year of college, out of sheer boredom in an English class I should've tested out of but didn't for homeschooling issues.
As for editing, that started in college. My English teacher asked me to help a fellow student, who was only barely fluent in English. I helped her pass the class with high marks, and went on to help several of my fellow students ace their papers, for payment in food (because, college).

What other books do you recommend, for fans of the Druid Novels? I can’t tell you what books to read if you liked the Druid Novels! I can’t! I’ve never read anything like them. I know, I know, for shame—but I haven’t. I do a lot of reading, but I don’t read the genre in which I write. I will say that I highly recommend the Circle series by Ted Dekker, and the Ender’s Saga by Orson Scott Card. Two very differing options, yes, but both very good series’ and well worth a read. I wrote the Druid Novels, and those two are a couple of the best series’ I’ve ever read. Hopefully that answers your question.

If you guys ever want to know anything else, drop me a comment or send me a Facebook message! I’d love to answer questions, take requests for blog topics, or chat about writing, editing, and the publishing world in general.
[love]
{Rani D.}

MYNIDD!!!

Today is the day! Ohmigoodness you have no idea how excited I am.
Mynidd: People of the Hills hits shelves TODAY!
Tales of the druids did not fall on deaf ears. We expected them, when the village of Jaiyrun was founded in the hills. For years, we kept alert, waiting for them to appear. They never did, and our people believed the stories no more. Eighty long years, we lived in peace—until our attempt to expand into a second valley. The druids came from the shadows, fierce and enraged, built for war. And war they would have.
Five years, the battle waged. Five years, my people have barely held them at bay. Five years is long enough.
My name is Aeronwen, and I will bring an end to this war.
Whatever it takes.

“Be ready to lose yourself in a new world where you will never want to come home again.” Indie Book Connect
“Complex characters take center stage at the foot of the mountains where swords clash and races collide in a bitter struggle, and a sleeping terror threatens to swallow both borders entirely.  Divine’s Myniddis an adventure of war keepers and peace makers and all the perils that lie between.”  - MJ Neal, Dreamer

Whether you’ve started the Druid Novels or have yet to dive in, Mynidd is the next book you need to add to your shelf. And I’m not just saying that because I wrote it. ;-)

Prefer your books on paper?
RAD Writing has just what you’re looking for! Head to RAD-Writing.com to order your copy (and don’t forget to add-on a copy of TL Boehm’s Haunted Shores—it’s some of the greatest poetry I’ve read in a long time). 

Read on Kindle?
Head over to Amazon and order your copy. 

Read on a different eReading device?
Hop on over to rad-writing.com and purchase their eBook—it includes both .epub and .pdf files, so you can read on whatever device you own. (oh, and it’s DRM free, so if you’d like to share your copy with someone, you’re more than welcome to!)

Already ordered or purchased your copy? Let me know! If you order a paperback and it hasn’t shipped by the time you’ve contacted me, I’ll be sure to sign it before it leaves the warehouse!
[love]
{Rani Divine}

I like my work... don't I?

This month, it’s all about the parts of being a writer, which people don’t often talk about. We’ve talked not wanting to write, edit, or read… but there’s another part of being a writer, another thing we don’t always like to do… and it’s the thing that often pays the bills.
Sometimes, I don’t like to work.
Yeah, yeah, who does? Work isn’t exactly the most fun topic on the table, but I wanted to make sure we fit it into the month.
For many writers (by which I mean most writers), writing isn’t the biggest breadwinner in our lives. We have jobs for that. Yeah, I do too. I’m an editor—that’s how I bring in the money to pay the bills between getting books on the shelves. And let me tell you, it’s extra difficult being an editor to make money for being a writer, because it’s not easy to switch back and forth between writer and editor brain.
We don’t like that we have to work, that writing isn’t the thing that makes us the big bucks. And for most of us, we weren’t ever under the allusion that writing would be the thing we made our living on. Really, writing is just something we love to do, and something we wanted to share with the world.
So, we have to work, or else we don’t have a way to keep writing books. We don’t want to live on the streets!
Unfortunately, this time I have difficulty telling you that you can take frequent breaks. But I do firmly believe that it’s okay to get tired of work, and that it’s okay to take a day off here and there.
Make sure you don’t waste those days off. Do something with them. Go somewhere. Do something fun, something you enjoy (whether that be writing or not).
Work is how we make our money, yes, but if we work too hard, we’re more likely to burn out along the way. If you have a good employer, they probably know this. And let’s face it, no employer can honestly expect their employees to be there every day of every week of every year. Employers expect that you will take time off, here and there. That’s normal. That’s life.
So use it.
Take some time off. Have a staycation. Better yet, go on a vacation.
Just do something. Don’t burn out, whether it be on work or on writing.
Let yourself breathe, let yourself relax, and let yourself get your mind off all the things you have to do. Your body will thank you, and believe it or not, your employer will probably thank you too.
After all, if you’re starting to burn out, it’s not good for business.
[love]
{Rani D.}
p.s. Remember! Order Mynidd by the end of the day today and it’ll ship tomorrow—before the book hits shelves! Get priority shipping and it might even arrive early! Click Here to order now!

I like to read... occasionally

This month, we’ve been talking about the human side of being a writer—by which I mean, talking about the not-so-glamorous parts of writing. And let’s face it, there’s not a lot of glamor involved in writing. Mostly, we just sit on the couch and do our thing.
Last week, we talked about not wanting to write and not wanting to edit, and how to overcome that feeling and be okay with feeling it in general. This week, I have two more such topics.
You know, while I’m a writer, while I’m an editor, while I’m someone who’s always been fond of reading… Sometimes, I don’t like to read.
Actually, the last book I read, I really didn’t like reading. If you’ve been paying attention, watching my Goodreads and hanging out at Divine Reads, then you probably know I’ve been reading the Witcher novels. Well. I’ve been trying to read the Witcher novels. The last book was a struggle for me to get through, for very many reasons.
Primarily? I didn’t want to.
And you know what? (you guessed it) That’s okay.
As writers, we work with words. We’re always writing, and editing, and therefore reading what we’re writing and editing. It’s perfectly normal to get tired of reading, to want to do something (anything) else. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, there’s something right with it.
If you can read, write, and edit all the time without ever burning out or getting tired of it, you’re my hero. I don’t know how you do it.
Most of us need a break. That’s just the way life is. And it’s perfectly fine to take a break. If you still want to be reading, maybe try audiobooks. I know, I know, that’s cheating—but at least you’re still listening to a book and thinking about story, without having to make your eyes read more words off a page.
Sometimes, it’s our eyes that say it’s time for a rest. When that happens, definitely listen to them. Your eyes know best.
But really, make sure you take some time for other things. Take a break. See people. Do things outside your house. Cook a meal. Watch a show. Do something in your free time that has nothing to do with writing, instead of reading a book.
There are days when that’s just what you need to do, and on those days, you need to listen.
Not everything is about work, and whether you think of it that way or not, that’s exactly what writing is when you do it for a living. It’s work.
[love]
{Rani Divine}
p.s. Ahhhhh only a week until Mynidd releases! Have you preordered your copy yet? Order by Thursday and it’s guaranteed to ship Friday (which means you might even get it early)! Click Here to order now!

I like to edit... right?

This month, we’re talking all about the human side of being a writer, the things that none of us really like to talk about, and yet the things that we go through all the time. Like this:
Sometimes, I don’t like to edit
Honestly, most of the time, I don’t like to edit. I enjoy editing usually, I’m good at it, I know what I’m doing and I can craft a heck of a story, but some days I really don’t like doing it. It takes a long time, it takes a lot of focus and thinking and consideration, and sometimes… I just really don’t like it.
And just like Tuesdays topic, this is okay too.
Editing can be stressful. In fact, I think of it as a lot more stressful than writing itself. Where writing is the enjoyable side, the explorative side, editing is strict and rote and set in stone. Commas go in specific places. Dialogue tags are only used in specific circumstances. Paragraph and sentence lengths need to be varied. Word use needs to change.
That doesn’t always sound like fun.
I’ll be the first to admit that there are days when I have a grand time in my editing. Some days I can sit down and go through well over a hundred pages in editing, and I have so much fun going through it and I’m positive that I’ve made everything amazing and beautiful. But then there are other days when I look at the editing that needs to be done, and I think to myself… I could do that later, couldn’t I?
It’s not that I don’t like editing, or that I don’t like the stories I’m working on (remember, I’m usually editing anywhere between two and five projects at a time), but that some days I don’t like the act of editing. I’d rather be doing anything else.
But that’s okay.
Editing needs to take a lot of focus, and if I can’t offer that focus to editing right now, then I probably shouldn’t be working on it anyway. Fortunately, I have a bunch of other things I can also be working on, but I know that’s not the case for all of us.
In which case, I have one simple piece of advice for you:
Take a break.
Whether it be fifteen minutes, three hours, or two days, take a break. If you’re not feeling the editing, it’s probably not a good time to edit. And editing is, despite popular opinion, something you can’t force yourself to do. If your brain isn’t up to it right now, don’t make your brain do it.
Nothing wrong with that, in the slightest.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

I like to write... usually

Hey guys!
This month, I wanted to do something a little bit different. Lately we’ve been talking a lot about craft and ways to hone your writing, but I thought it’d be good to talk about the human side of things. We’re all people, after all. We all have our struggles with writing, editing, even reading. And so that’s what I’m talking about in the month of March. The struggles of being a writer, and how I personally work through them.
First up? Sometimes, I don’t like to write.
I know, that’s quite the admission, isn’t it? But it’s true. There are some times when I sit down to write, and I just don’t like what I’m doing. It’s not that I don’t like what I’m writing, that I don’t like the story or the characters, or even that things aren’t flowing the way I want them to—it’s legitimately that I don’t like the act of writing.
And I’m convinced that it happens to all of us, at one point or another. After all, this is the thing we spend most of our time doing, and after a while, it’s bound to get old.
That’s okay.
That’s what I have to continually tell myself, when I’m struggling to get words on a page because I’m tired of getting words on a page. It’s okay to want to take a break from what I’m doing. It’s okay to not want to write today. It’s okay to take a day and not write at all. Actually, it’s okay to go on hiatus for a bit, if that’s what you need to do.
You don’t want to burn out. I don’t want to burn out. Writing is something that we, as writers, love doing. We straight up love writing. But if it’s getting to the point that it’s getting old, rote, wearisome, then it’s okay to take some time away from it.
Taking time away from it will help you not to fall out of love with what you’re doing. It’ll keep the act of writing fresh and new, as beautiful and mysterious as the day you started writing.
For me, that’s the goal.
I want writing to be as fun fifty years from now as it was when I started to pen my very first novel. I want to always be enjoying what I’m doing.
But there are days when I don’t, and on those days, I just remind myself that that’s normal, and I work on something else for a while.
There’s always editing to do, isn’t there?
[love}
{Rani D.}