L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 22

Welp…

My sister got Covid. She tested positive last Thursday.

She and I live in the same house, so I got tested too. I’ve tested negative so far, but I felt like absolute crap over Sunday and Monday. She’s doing fine now, just a bit congested, and I’m doing a bit better now too, but Sunday night/Monday morning was rough.

I actually couldn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time on Sunday night/Monday morning since my knees hurt so much. In general, whenever I have a flu/cold or anything like that...

The Queen of Shadows (Flash Fiction Fridays #23)

“It’s been a long time, master.”

Timmy looked up at the young woman seated on the obsidian throne. The hall around them was a nest of brooding shadows. Tenebrous teeth and claws quivered in the shadows cast by the flickering torches, and strange shapes shifted restlessly in the empty spaces between pillars and across the high, vaulted ceiling.

“I suppose it has.” His lips twitched. “I can’t say I like the decor. It’s, well, I don’t want to call it stereotypical, but if the shoe fits…”

Katie lean...

Nothing Is Too Ridiculous

When I was younger, I came up with all sorts of crazy ideas. In fact, I’m pretty sure all of this did. But as we get older, we develop mental filters that help us sort out the crazy from the sane. At the same time, however, I think we can also become a bit too quick to throw out things because they seem ridiculous. That can be useful, but it can also be detrimental. Sometimes, things that sound crazy actually end up working in the end, provided you’re willing to work on the idea and give it a ch...

Progress Report 22-07-2022 and Some Announcements and Reminders

Well, it’s been a while. After a variety of problems like technical issues and health issues, I’ve been making much better progress over the past couple of weeks. I’m about 55,000 words into the third draft of Attempted Adventuring. I’m thinking it’ll probably take two more drafts before it’s ready, but I’m hoping to get those done more quickly now that I’m back to my usual routine.

Also, I’ve got a couple of announcements:

A character profile for Gerald will be appearing soon. Obviously, it wi...

How To Learn From Another Story

Writing a story can be tricky and more than a little bit scary, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience to fall back on. One of the best ways to learn how to write a story is to look at other stories. But what is the best way to learn from another story?

The most important thing is to realise that reading a story to enjoy it and reading a story to learn from it are not the same thing. When you’re reading a story to enjoy it, you’re more interested in simply enjoying the experience it pr...

Weeding (Flash Fiction Fridays #22)

Katie followed her master. He could easily have left her behind since his strides were so much longer than hers, but he had slowed down enough for her to keep up. He had also offered to give her a piggyback, but there was no way she was going to agree to that. She might only be seven years old, but she still had her pride. Her legs worked perfectly fine. She could walk.

“Do you know why bandits are bad?” her master asked. He eyed the trees on either side of them with a critical eye. This area wa...

Cosmic Delivery Boy Is Now Available On Audible!

Cosmic Delivery Boy is now available on Audible! You can get it here.

In case you’re not familiar with it, here is the blurb:

Simon is the best delivery boy that Mr Edwards’s restaurant has ever had. He’s on time every time, and he’s gotten nothing but good reviews. But he needs more money.

His mother’s medical treatment won’t pay for itself, and his father is already working three jobs to try to make ends meet. But it might just be his lucky day: Mr. Edwards has another job for him.

It’s more d...

A Sword Name Regret (Preview)

Although I have not begun writing the next part of The Unconventional Heroes Series in earnest yet, there are nevertheless several scenes from that book that I have already begun working on. This is because apart from plotting a book out, I will usually have several scenes in mind long before I begin working on the book in a formal way.

One example of this is the scene where Spot hatches. I had that particular scene in mind long before I had the rest of the book plotted out. Likewise, the scene ...

What Is Best In Life? (Flash Fiction Fridays #21)

“I didn’t expect to see you back again so quickly,” Timmy said to the guinea pig perched on a rock next to Spot.

“What can I say? I like cookies, and you guys have some pretty good cookies on this world.” Cuddles continued to munch on a cookie. “It’s also interesting talking philosophy with Spot here.”

“Oh?” Timmy sat down next to the pair, and Cuddles cleared his throat expectantly. “Yeah, yeah.” He reached over to give the guinea pig a scratch on the belly. “What’s this about philosophy?”

“Spo...

Do I Have A Literary Agent

I’ve been asked by a few people about whether or not I have a literary agent. Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that my books are self-published, which gives the game away. I do not have a literary agent, and there’s an amusing reason for that.

I got rejected by every single agent I ever wrote a query too.

Yep. I struck out. Zero acceptances. Heck, I got nothing but form rejections, so I never even made it to the second stage. I’ll admit that was very discouraging at the time, but it also for...