Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 21

Fussy

I blazed through the first third of The Spirit Binder and have come to a resting point. I can’t go further without making some decisions about the world of Tenebira.

First, their governance. I chose to avoid any sort of monarchy. Those are done so much, I feel like it’s lazy writing and it activates a whole bunch of tropes. (You probably thought of three tropes just when you saw the word “monarchy.”) Tenebira is governed by a council of trade guilds who are independent of each other. My job: decide what trades the guilds control.

Second, the magic system. Majia are one of the guilds and are going to be important in the plot. My job: decide what kinds of magic they do, and how they do it. Plus who is in charge and how they will relate to my young protagonist. The majia concept is something I’ve been weaving into other short stories for a few months. I want to make sure their appearance here is consistent and useful in future stories.

Third, the nature spirits. As with the majia, I want to avoid tropes and not use the standard elements of earth, air, fire and water. My job: if not those, then what kind of spirits are they? What abilities will they have for my protagonist to draw on?

Lastly, there are some specific word choices I have to make. When you think of guilds, you think they’re run by Guild Masters, with Journeymen and Apprentices working their way up. This is how it went in our world’s history. Unfortunately, when you have “masters” you may also have “slaves.” This is content I choose not to include in my work, the same way I don’t have anyone to be raped. For the world of Tenebira, I don’t want to have a warrior class, or any sort of underworld, either.

A world without kings, crime, sex abuse and slavery? What a fantasy! But that’s exactly my point. It’s a fantasy, the challenge I set for myself is to build it in a way that will offer young readers alternative concepts to the usual patriarchal tropes.

Anyhow! My job: if not apprentices, journeymen and masters, then what? If not warriors, then what?

It might seem like I’m being super fussy with this, but pausing now will mean I don’t have to stop later and try to figure something out. That sort of thing can really derail a story. Besides, this is the fun part of writing for me. Creating something that shuns negative tropes and invites readers to broaden their horizons.

It will be worth it when I’m finished.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Woman at Work, January 2024

What’s Happening? It’s still winter break for me, but I have a lot to do and I’m not wasting the free time. Tempus fugit and all that.

What I’m Working On. In pursuit of my goals (see last post) I am currently focused on The Spirit Binder. I got a lot of hand drafting done while sitting in airplanes and at my sister’s house, waiting for various ceremonies to begin. That’s all being translated into WordPerfect. Since I began this story in mid-December, I’ve slammed out over 11,000 words. That’s a blistering pace for me.

What’s Next? My next publication will be a short story collection, Aunt Anne’s Archive. This is the one I hope to have out by May. The big push is to select cover art. My downloads with Shutterstock expire on Thursday, and I have two more available. Once I choose the images, I can firm up the story sequence at my leisure.

Where I’ll be. My next planned appearance is at RadCon, next month. I’m taking a big step and trying to get a table in their Artist Alley. If I can, I’ll share with a couple of other Indy authors. That should keep expenses down. I just hope I didn’t dither too long and miss the opportunity for 2024.

Fun and Games. With everything that’s been going on, I need to catch my breath. I started a new island in Animal Crossing, where there is no fighting or mayhem. Your neighbors don’t even get mad if you accidentally hit them with your shovel.

We might not all get to civilize a desert island, but I hope you all get a good start to 2024.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Plans for 2024

Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

Plans? What are those? We all know plans go awry and we have to figure things out as we go along. Nevertheless, I’m making a few resolutions for 2024. These are things related to my writing, and they are things that I, myself, can be responsible for. (As opposed to things a publisher or editor makes decisions about; I can’t control that.)

Resolution 0: Re-organize my cabinets. I have a lot of outdated paperwork to clear, and I need room to file new stories as I work on them. This process is already under way, which is why I made it number zero.

Resolution 1: Finish my current WIP, The Spirit Binder. If I only complete the first draft, that still counts. However, I would like to publish it in November of 2024 if possible.

Resolution 2: Reissue Aunt Ursula’s Atlas with an updated cover and interior layout. I’d like to get this done between February and May, so I’d better get busy!

Resolution 3: Host Queen Titania’s Court in June of 2024. It’s my way to connect with the Indy writing community. Plus, it’s fun to do! 

Resolution 4: Write 3 short stories and submit each one to three or more markets. This is where I need to push myself a bit. I’ll write a fun short story and then never do anything with it. Collecting rejections is so much fun, I don’t know why I let myself miss out on it!

Resolution 5: Make three or more personal appearances to support my writing. As a push goal, be present in the Dealer’s Room or Artist Alley, either on my own or with a group. I feel anxious about this because there’s a financial outlay, but I used to move a lot of books at bookstore signings, and I need to get back to that.

Resolution 6: Publish a new short story collection. This will come into play if I don’t have The Spirit Binder ready in time. As mentioned under Resolution 4, I’ve built up a stockpile of short work.

What about you? What are your writing resolutions for the coming year?

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

That Time of Year

Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

It’s that time of year. I’m looking back on my writing resolutions for 2023. As ever, these must be related to my writing, and they must be something that I, myself, can do without depending on an editor’s decisions.

Resolution 1: Write 3 short stories and market each one to three or more magazines. Did I do it? Partly. I did write three short stories, and I did submit them. Some went to anthologies and at least one was accepted. Others are waiting for submission windows to open.

Resolution 2: Host Queen Titania’s Court in June of 2023. Did I do it? Yes!

Resolution 3: Make three personal appearances to support my writing. Did I do it? Yes! I attended RadCon, MisCon, Moscon Revival and Fall Folk Festival.

Resolution 4: Reissue Masters of Air and Fire. Did I do it? Yes! I had a secondary goal to reissue Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, which was back-burnered. Something to think about for 2024.

Resolution 5: Publish two new e-books, one in May and one in November. Did I do it? Yes, though delayed. I published Renegades of Skaythe, the second Minstrels of Skaythe collection in July, rather than May. It was a paperback rather than e-book. The Tale of the Drakanox came out in November, as scheduled. It was both an e-book and paperback.

I met a lot of goals in 2023. Maybe I need to push myself a bit for 2024.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Break Time

Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

The time has come to travel for my father’s funeral, which is out of state. I will also be spending Christmas with family and traveling back the following day. Thus, this blog will pause for a week.

I hope your holidays will be wonderful and relaxing. See you in seven days.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Wild Ride

Smashwords has their End of Year Sale going now. My self-published books are 50% off, Lucy D. Ford’s are also 50% off, and Wolfsinger’s are 25% off. Here’s the link to my catalog!

Aside from that, a lot went on this week!

The major thing was that I came into my classroom on Monday and the room was almost empty. The Special Ed teacher I report to had quit. She cleared out her things over the weekend. No word to any other staff. Administration didn’t want us to tell the kids anything, which seems wrong. But, they are in charge, so I’m doing my best.

Anyway, it was mind-boggling. A substitute had been arranged for, and the two of us scrambled to keep groups going in a mostly empty room. I’m having to take the initiative on things that aren’t in my job description, and that makes me anxious. In all, it was pretty surreal, and I didn’t start to feel like myself until about Thursday.

The other surreality continues, that I’m writing final remarks for my father’s funeral in a week. I have a memory book put together from stories he told me over the years, and that needs to be printed in its final form. Just at this time, my printer has decided not to print anything in black. It’s an older printer, so I get to buy a new one. Like an early Christmas present… to myself?

In the realm of purposeful unreality, the map is mostly drawn for my next novel. I just need to add the tiny little forest trees and such. No title yet, but I’ve started writing the first chapters, getting to know the characters and setting. It’s nice to have something positive to focus on.

Hope all of you are having more real than surreal experiences just now.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Book Sale Incoming!

Beginning this Friday, December 15th, Smashwords is having their End of the Year Sale! All the books I have personally published through Books2Read are also available through Smashwords, and they will be on sale for 50% off until January 1, 2024.

The sale includes my entire Minstrels of Skaythe series, plus novelettes The Weight of the Souls and The Gellboar, and the blog compilation, Wyrmflight. This link will show the full listing, just be aware that the special price won’t be active until December 15th. Books by Lucy D. Ford are included: Masters of Air & Fire and Aunt Ursula’s Atlas. I am uncertain whether any books published through Wolfsinger will also be on sale.

If you have some holiday travel planned, and might want an ebook or two to pass the time, I hope you’ll check it out.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

A Dream

Well, I haven’t got a firm map and names yet for my new middle grade novel, but I have been developing other things. The characters, the spirits, how they interact. One thing I hadn’t got a good idea about is the antagonists. Until last night…

I woke up from half a dream. You all know that that’s like. But in that half dream, I realized the basic approach I could take for who the antagonists are and why they might be capturing nature spirits. I’m not clear yet on how they do it, but that will come.

Basically, I want to have a family dynamic among the antagonists. One of them is a disabled kid, and his parents are forcing the spirits to compensate for his disability. I’m mulling over possible backgrounds for them, from outright evil, like a crime lord, to more gray areas like an ambitious nobleman, a rich business man, or even someone like a judge. People with prestige who would want to spare embarrassment for their child or themselves.

Or, if I’m feeling cynical, the kid might be the antagonist, with their parents unaware. However, I do like the angle that even someone who might seem “evil” still cares about their child.

Hmmm, I wonder what I’ll dream about tonight!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Maps and Names

I am still working on my dad’s obituary and family stories for the memorial, but that new story idea is germinating as well. One of the first things I want to do is make a map and put some names on things. This will be a middle grade novel, so it won’t be an expansive world. It’s easier for me to plan out plot events if I have a firm vision where things in relation to each other, and what landscapes lie between. For this I may try to sketch out something of my own, or I may take a look on Shutterstock and see if something there is useful.

Those of you who are fellow writers will know that names can be a particular challenge. I don’t want too many personal names to be similar, or it will create confusion. Yet they should sound like they come from the same place and time. And the names from different cultures should be distinct. I also don’t want the government to be too bland and predictable. Predictable = boring. So I’m working on what the institutions are, and who the antagonists are, and all of that.

Should be fun!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.

Woman at Work, December 2023

What’s Happening? I am in the midst of writing my father’s obituary. This is rather surreal, to be honest.

What I’m Working On. There’s at least one more draft to go on a short story, “Poppet.” This is the one where a young man is asked to curse someone with a Voodoo doll, but decides not to.

What’s Next? A new novel has begun stirring. This one has to do with a land in severe drought because someone has kidnapped all the nature spirits. At least, I think so. It’s in very early stages. The author will be Lucy D. Ford, and it will be for middle graders.

Where I’ll be. My next planned appearance is at RadCon, during February of 2024.

Fun and Games. There’s nothing so relaxing as slaying demons in Diablo IV. Unless I decide to play Hades and slay ghosts. Either one or both might happen!

Happy holidays — whichever ones you personally celebrate.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.