Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 22

A Pause, Part 2

We come again to the part of the year when I do a sort of double take, wondering how it got to be December all of a sudden. I usually take a brief hiatus for the most intense part of the holidays. However, a new development has confirmed my decision to pause on writing new words, for now.

My 94-year-old father has been declining for some time, and it appears his final days are at hand. This isn’t a surprise, given his age. I’m not even very sad, knowing what a rich and rewarding life he had. Dad is a natural storyteller — the apple didn’t fall far from the tree — but now he can’t even talk. I am certain he is ready to go.

But with that, I need to focus on a new task. Dad and I had some long phone conversations over the years, and I wrote down some of his stories afterward. My new task is to transcribe that notebook into a form that can be shared at Dad’s eventual memorial service. If I can, I’ll get it published in some way that I can give to siblings and other family. Even if it’s only a pdf of his stories.

So that is going to occupy my writing time for a bit. I have other stories to work on, of course, especially when I feel emotional and need a break. Or just take time to prepare myself for the inevitable.

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 Pause

My latest short story is called “Poppet,” and it’s about a person who casts curses via Voodoo dolls. They’re part of a guerilla war to keep some invaders from occupying their land. I’ve finished a solid first draft, but now I have a quandary.

The issue is that guerillas fighting occupiers could readily be taken as a reference to current world events. At the time I started working on this story, Hamas hadn’t yet opened the new front in their long conflict with Israel. My story is set in a fantasy world, and the main characters are Elves. Even so, it’s a sensitive subject to even hint at.

I’m conflicted because I don’t like abandoning a story for any reason that doesn’t involve the story itself. I also don’t want to censor myself. Censorship is bad. At the same time, it’s important that writers “read the room,” if you will. Writing something that inserts myself into the Israel/Hamas conflict seems inappropriate and potentially harmful.

Maybe it won’t matter. Publication can be a long journey, and it’s possible that matters will be more settled by the time I actually get to submitting this story, let alone see it in print. However, I’m taking a pause on “Poppet.” The reissue of Wee Folk and Wise needs my attention, and working on it will give me time to mull things over.

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.

Another Possible Ad

I appreciate the comments from all of you on my ad idea last time. Now here’s a second approach I’m working on for The Tale of the Drakanox. This one brings out the more intense colors in the illustration, which is something I like. Also, the other one was kind of busy, and this is simpler.

I should say that if I get one I like, I’ll make them for all of the Minstrels of Skaythe paperbacks.

Again, I’d love to get your reactions.

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.

Possible Ad Layout

One of my jobs over the last week has been to experiment with advertising layouts for The Tale of the Drakanox. This is one I’ve come up with.

I’d love to hear what you think, especially any of you who have done ads or similar publicity material. Is there too much info, not enough info, or just not the info you think a prospective reader would want?

Let me know!

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.

Three Favorite Books

I mentioned before that Book Shepherd invited me to share my three favorite books released between November, 2022 and October, 2023. That list has now been published! You’ll probably recognize them from my blog posts over the year. See it here.

Book Shepherd also has a general list from more than 950 participating authors, if you’re interested. This is that link. I thought we were tapping new releases, and many of them are older titles. Maybe I didn’t read the instructions carefully?

Anyway, it’s worth a look because this is such a panoply of incredible books. You’ll surely find a great read here.

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.

Call Me King (Reprise)

Today I’m at Fall Folk Festival, reading work by my pen name, Lucy D. Ford. For those who can’t make it in person (which is everyone, really) I’m sharing one of her stories with you today. Enjoy!

Call Me King, by Lucy D. Ford

The farmhouse door slammed open, and little feet pounded down the rickety steps. A young voice yelled out, “Call me king!”

The farm wife glanced up sharply from weeding her cabbages. Nap time was always over too soon. She watched the boy run through the farm yard. A ragged blanket flapped behind him.

“Call me king!”

Chickens scattered, squawking, as the simple-minded boy slashed at them with a large tin spoon. The farm wife sighed to herself. She’d been so careful to pick up every stick from the yard. Naturally, the brat got into her kitchen drawer instead.

“Call me king!”

A spotted dog galloped after the boy, barking madly. It nimbly dodged a swipe from the spoon. The farm wife shook her head. The boy was lucky to have such a friend, but did he care?

“Call me king!”

She knelt to dig out a particularly stubborn dandelion root. The boy spotted her. He raced up, flailing the spoon at the air. Dirt flew as he skidded to a halt.

“Call me king!” He swirled his blanket, wild-eyed, wrapped in the game. When he grinned, a gap showed where one tooth was missing.

“Stop that. You’re getting dust in my eyes.”

He ignored her protest. “I am the king! Call me king!”

Slowly, firmly, she answered, “No.”

“Call me king!” he demanded yet again.

“No.” The farm wife reached out in a half-hearted attempt to reclaim her spoon. The boy pulled away, and she ended up rubbing his curly head, instead.

“I’m tired of this game,” she said. “There’s work to be done.”

The boy grabbed her wrist, his little fist sticky and tight. “You have to call me king!”

“Let go, please. What I have to do is finish the weeding.”

The boy held on tighter. A fierce, mad spark lit in his eyes. “Go to the dungeon,” he babbled. “I’ll chop your head off. I am the king!”

The farm wife lost patience. She stood up tall and stern. “Then you must call me witch!”

A cloud passed over them. The dog cowered and whined. The boy blinked, then jumped away. After a moment’s confusion, he jabbed the spoon at her.

“Aaah! There’s a witch here!”

He darted around the yard, seemingly with no aim in mind. For several minutes, the chant of “call me king” was replaced by “there’s a witch.” Barking dog and squawking chickens added to the cacophony.

The witch fumed as she turned to weeding the carrots with extra vengeance. It was a good thing none of the neighbors lived close enough to hear. They all understood that the boy was simple-minded, but you never knew when a label like witch might stick in the wrong ear.

After some time, the boy’s racing became more of a trot. He shook the tin spoon at the cow in its shed. “Go to the dungeon! I am the king!”

By then, the witch’s fury had given way to sorrow. Five years ago, she had abandoned her oath and committed a terrible crime. She had reduced an unhinged monarch to a squalling infant and stolen away with it. The sentence for her deed was this endless watch over her victim. A simple-minded child in a quiet farmyard could do little harm, even if he managed to hit you with a spoon. But a mad king was a peril to all the world.

“Call me king,” the tiny tyrant ranted. “I’ll chop your head off!”

Softly, she murmured, “And that is why I had to lay the curse upon you, King Liam.”

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.

Fall Folk Festival

Coming up this weekend! I’ll be making a personal appearance at Spokane’s Fall Folk Festival. It’s our annual celebration of heritage music, dance, crafts, and more. It goes Saturday and Sunday at Spokane Community College.

My part is to read from short work by Lucy D. Ford. I’ll be doing that in the Skitch Conference Room, at noon on Saturday, November 11th. Books will be for sale in the festival store. It would be great to say hi to a few friends there, hint hint.

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.

Status Update

On my social media presence, that is. Social media is an essential for us Indy authors. It’s how we try to reach the public. For me, this has been a turbulent year.

Previously, I was hanging on with Twitter. I was active there for a long time, and had been able to prune my algorithms to exclude most of the nasty stuff. Fan groups like Dragon Age and comic fandom were still fun for me. However, when the name was changed to something ridiculous, and the owner announced he was going to scrape all our posts to sell for so-called “training of A.I.” that was unacceptable. In defense of my artistic rights, I had to delete my account.

Like many of us, I experimented with other social media. I was enjoying Counter Social, but that didn’t work out. So I’m still searching for places to reach other authors and readers.

Presently I’m becoming more involved with, Pinterest, Instagram and my Facebook author page. I’ve had these for a while, but they were more passive. I’m putting up more book covers on Pinterest, plus other interesting photos on Instagram, and posting more day-to-day author posts on the Facebook author page. I’m not completely easy with this, since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, and Meta’s record of corporate responsibility is questionable. But, it’s what I have for now.

I’m interested in Blue Sky and some of the other options, but haven’t explored them as yet. The one thing that has become clear (and probably should have been obvious all along) is that authors shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket, as it were. We can be left scrambling (ha ha) when corporate situations change.

Anyway, if you’re on these platforms and we haven’t connected, I’d love to do that. Links are in my footer, below.

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, November 2023

What’s Happening? The Tale of the Drakanox, that’s what! All the setups are set up and it is available for your pre-ordering pleasure. The novel is available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback (after November 15th). Other formats are available through Books2Read.

What I’m Working On. I’m just finishing up a short story for another anthology, which I will let rest until closer to the submission date. I also have a submission I’ve been holding onto until the window opens — which is today!

What’s Next? I’m currently seeking my next project. It might be Impecoven, a sequel to The Grimhold Wolf. Or it might be something else. We shall see.

Where I’ll be. Fall Folk Festival is coming to Spokane Community College on November 11th and 12th. It’s a two-day festival devoted to folk arts, and I’ve been reading there for several years now. My reading will be on at noon on Saturday, in the Skitch Conference Room.

Fun and Games. After several months slaying demons in Diablo IV, I’ve inherited a plant shop in Strange Horticulture. The locals tell me their ailments, and I try to figure out which plants they need. But, I seem to be tangled up with a couple of cults, so we’ll see how strange it all gets.

I hope all is well as we glide down toward the end of the 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 and Instagram.

Pronouns, Pronounced

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about some complexity I was encountering with a character’s pronouns in my latest short story. The character is a cloud elemental, neither male nor female nor even necessarily appearing human. The standard he/she pronouns didn’t seem to fit.

Several of you kindly answered my plea for advice, so here’s what I decided. It’s an experiment for me to write a character like this, so I looked into alternative pronouns. There are more than you think! Em/er, ze/zer, te/ter, xe/xer… But ae/aer, also written fae/faer, seemed appropriate for a magical being.

Plus, aer would be pronounced just like “air” and how could I resist such a pun? So I’m hoping in the near future to be telling you about Vayle and aer adventures when the antholoy I’m writing it for is published.

By the way, the anthology is “Midnight Menagerie,” with stories set in circuses and carnivals. Submissions open on June 15, 2024. Here are the guidelines if you’re interested.

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 and Instagram.