Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 24

Monstrous

It’s almost October! Hallowe’en is prime time for creepy creatures and monsters. Which one do you think makes for the best story telling?

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

The Ice Witch

It’s been a bit since I promoted one of my e-books, so here you go. The Ice Witch of Fang Marsh is third in my Minstrels of Skaythe series, the high fantasy novellas about pacifist mages resisting a tyrant without resorting to violence.

As I began to work on the series finale, Meven’s situation stood out as having plot threads that were perfect to weave anew. So if you want a fresh look before The Tale of the Drakanox comes out in November, I hope you’ll read her story.

Meven is a renegade, hunted by the cruel regime of wizard-king Dar-Gothull. Her desperate desire is to lose herself in the treacherous Fang Marsh. Only there can she live the life she wants, in freedom and safety. To reach the marsh, Meven must sneak through the town of Eshur, where her old enemy, the wicked Countess Ar-Torix, commands dozens of spies and guards. It should be no problem!

What Meven doesn’t know is that she’s already being tracked. Ozlin was thrown out because of his emerging magic. Now he’s starving on the streets of Eshur. Caught stealing, he’s about to be imprisoned in the brutal temple school.

Until Meven recognizes his power and intervenes. Suddenly she has a new, desperate desire — to save this mageling boy, and maybe save herself as well.

Available from Amazon or in alternate formats through Books2Read!

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

Developments

A few things have been developing in the past weeks. One is that my publisher, Wolfsinger, has opted to re-issue an anthology I did back in 2016 called Wee Folk and Wise. I’ve been connecting with the authors and asking if they want to be part of a new edition. Most of them said yes. A lot of this week has been devoted to new contracts and such. Wee Folk won’t be back until at least 2025, but it’s something to eventually look forward to.

For a more imminent publication, proofing notes are coming in on The Tale of the Drakanox. Now that Wee Folk is a bit settled, I’ll be working through those in preparation for release this November.

Also in November, I’ll once again be part of Fall Folk Festival. I have my performance time, and I’ll share that closer to the date.

Lots of things going on for me. I hope you’re all thriving in what you do.

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

Schooling, Part 2

After my diatribe about bad schools in fantasy/sf, I have to confess that a bad school was one of the main things that inspired my Minstrels of Skaythe series. In the video game series Dragon Age, the society does a lot of things that I mentioned in my previous post. Young mages are conscripted (often by force) into the Circle of Magi, where they are isolated from their families and constantly hounded by Templar knights who harshly punish any who stray from doctrine.

This shouldn’t be a spoiler, by the way; the most recent Dragon Age game was released in 2014.

It was all very dramatic for game purposes, but as I played (and replayed) the games, I looked at it through the lens of a school worker. And I thought, no wonder so many mages go crazy in Dragon Age — they were traumatized in their most vulnerable stages of youth. This was one of the knots I was trying to untie with Minstrels of Skaythe.

If you’ve read the novellas closely, you know that young mages in Skaythe are forcibly removed from their families and imprisoned in the Temple Schools, where they are “trained” ruthlessly to become the violent rulers who terrorize the land. But you also know there was an underground movement by mages who understood the ways of vitalis. Most notable is Ar-Thea, who rescued her six magelings before they were imprisoned in the Temple Schools. (Or in one case, as she fled from a school.)

Rather than mashing all the magelings together and making them fight for dominance, Ar-Thea worked with her small group individually. Although they were constantly on the move and under a different kind of threat, they still had more freedom than they would have had. And, they all came out sane!

This is where I sneakily remind you that The Tale of the Drakanox is the capstone of that whole series, and it will be coming out in November!

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

Schooling

Do you know this feeling? There are a couple of kinds of books that I’m just tired of. Assassins and pirates, they no longer excite me. Sadly, I’m getting to the same point with books about magical or superhero schools. I know it’s a result of being a school worker, but so many authors seem to have no understanding about how schools work.

Believe it or not, there are laws about education. These laws state that special populations (super kids/magical kids) have civil rights. They should have individual education plans that address how their special abilities are trained.

School is not jail. (I know the students will sometimes disagree.) Headmasters/principals cannot snatch kids away and confine them for years, denying contact with their birth family. Even orphans have other relatives. And their relatives also have civil rights. Families must be consulted regarding their child’s education.

Schools should not subject students to violent or extreme training, including contests to the death. Schools should not make them into any sort of soldier. (Or superhero.) Recruiting children into the military is a war crime. Who knew!

Now let’s talk about the teachers in these books. This might seem dumb, but the teachers should have valid credentials. A lot of the time, the teachers are random random superheroes, or mages, or military officers, or even other students. In one series, which I otherwise adored, there were no teachers at all. The school was sentient enough to do the teaching. (And the student body was very traumatized, because no one was there to guide them.)

Speaking of student bodies — and I am not kidding you — the teachers should not have passionate love affairs with their students! (Do I seriously need to explain this?)

My husband laughs at me when I exclaim over how bad some of these fictional schools are. “It’s in a fantasy world. Their rules are different.” (The book was set in Pennsylvania.) Somehow I think that, even in a fantasy world, the families would expect their children to be safe and come back mentally well.

Also, education is not a fantasy. We educators are already being accused of so much stuff. Indoctrination, grooming, you name it. It feels like these school books are part of normalizing the propaganda against our profession.

So this is my appeal to fellow writers. Before you write a school book, educate yourself in our best practices. Find out about education law in the state/country/dimension where your book is set. IDEA, FERP, SEL, Inclusion, even Kelso and his choices. If you can’t bother learning about our profession, then please find a different setting for your violent, abusive, child-snatching story.

Like, just make it in a fantasy prison instead of a school. There you go — a whole new genre!

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

To Market?

Before I headed down to MosCon Revival — which was super fun — I did finish the next draft of the novelette I’ve been mentioning. After some pondering, I set the main character’s age at 15 and went with a YA category for it. Lucy D. Ford will be the byline on it. I don’t like the current title, however, so there’s at least that to keep working on.

This leaves me with my eternal problem of trying to find a publisher. There is no magazine market I’m aware of for YA novelettes. There are novella markets with some of the New York publishers, but a novelette is much shorter. Certainly I can self-publish, but I do try to reach a wider audience. So I’ll be researching that, and maybe also poking at cover art.

I also mentioned that I was reading through The Grimhold Wolf, which was published in 2017. That is done, and I have to say I’m amazed at myself. I really committed to that book, and you can tell. I’m very excited that Wolfsinger will be reprinting it in 2024. My question is, does it need a sequel?

Everyone loves a series, I know. I definitely could do one more. The characters managed to escape with their lives, but there were a host of problems surrounding them. I’m just not sure if I want to. The tone is very gothic and violent, and I’ve moved away from that as a writer. I wouldn’t want to force these characters into a new focus. It may be better to leave them where they are.

Maybe I’ll write a couple of chapters, and see how I feel.

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

MosCon Revival Schedule

Tomorrow is MosCon Revival! We were hoping to go down tonight and stay in a hotel, but it seems Washington State University is having a home football game on the same day. Not a room is to be found in Moscow or Pullman (both are university towns). Ah, well. It’s a relatively short drive to get there.

Thus far I have only a partial, tentative schedule. The image of it cuts off at 3 pm, so it’s possible I’ll be on other events besides what I know about. Or, the schedule might change before tomorrow. We shall see!

Noon, Fiske Room, “A.I. Generated Books, A Science Fiction Irony?” With Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor, Liz Wilmerding, and Sanan Kolva.

1 pm, LeCompte Auditorium, “Murphy’s Laws and Other Devices to Create a Plot Twist.” With James C. Glass, Liz Wilmerding and Sanan Kolva.

Of all the panelists, Rebecca is the only one I don’t already know. I look forward to meeting her, and catching up with many of my other friends. Hope you’ll all have a great weekend, too.

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

Woman at Work, September 2023

What’s Happening? I’m back to work as a Resource paraeducator in my local schools. My first day back was a bit frustrating as my laptop was locked in a desk and I missed some of the orientation webinars. Not my fault, but I’m still kind of stressed out. On the other hand, the students’ first day was a red carpet affair where we cheered each student coming in. That was a hoot.

What I’m Working On. August was a high-energy month for me. I wrote a substantial short story and a novelette. I’m also coming off the hot streak here about “essential reading lists.” Already, I have another story idea and two other blogs poking at me. Yes, it’s good to be productive, but it feels a bit out of control, honestly. I’m ready to slow down and let my next story develop more thoughtfully.

What’s Next? This weekend, September 9th, is MosCon Revival. I’m really looking forward to a one-day SF convention. After that, I’ll be trying to decide what my next project should be. The Grimhold Wolf might need a sequel, so I’ll read through it to see what ideas spark. On the other hand, Lucy D. Ford hasn’t published anything in quite a while. The new idea I have might be good for a younger audience.

Fun and Games. To celebrate finishing The Tale of the Drakanox’s final draft, I got Diablo IV. Although the basic experience is familiar (everything attacks you, so you just rush around slaying things and grabbing treasure) they pushed the narrative in a way that really worked for me. Possibly this is one of my upcoming blogs.

I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day, if you’re in the US!

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

Essential Reading, Part 2

You knew this was coming, didn’t you. It’s time to share the authors I consider to be essential reading in the 2020s. These are authors who are publishing NOW, not decades ago. I’ve tried to highlight work that has appeared since about 2015, to keep it manageable.

What should you expect to find on this list? Why, all of the priorities I mentioned in the first post of this thread! Responses to climate change. Calling out oppression and inequality. Diverse casts (women, minorities, non-neurotypical characters) and diverse settings presented by Own Voices (authors who grew up in the cultures they describe). Gay relationships (and, increasingly, polyamorous relationships).

If any of this turns you off, that’s cool. You do you, as they said back in the 2000s.

So here are the authors. They are presented in alphabetical order because making people compete for places on a list is gross, actually.

Kate Elliot is known for star-spanning space operas, but the work of hers that most struck me was “Servant Mage,” a fantasy novella about an oppressed young mage who gets kidnapped into a civil war where both sides are not all that nice.

N. K. Jemisin has done several series about political upheaval. Her favorite of mine is The City We Became, where New York City fights off Lovecraftian horrors from beyond time and space. There are too many layers to list and the series was cut short, but it it’s still a standout dark fantasy.

Seanan McGuire is a mistress of glib urban fantasy, who stuns you with the depth beneath that shiny exterior. Her novella series beginning with “Every Heart a Doorway” examines the portal fantasy in a hilarious yet devastating way.

Naomi Novik started out writing military fantasy with dragons, but she’s really spread her wings since then (ha ha). Her Scholomance series is about teen mages struggling to stay alive when their fellow students and the school building itself might turn against them at any moment.

Martha Wells, interestingly enough, also started out writing a series about dragons. (Those dragons, they are everywhere!) However, her breakout work was/is The Murderbot Diaries, a science fiction novella series about a human/machine construct who is torn between doing its job as a ruthless security operative and its overwhelming desire to shut down and just watch videos.

That’s it, I’m stopping at five authors. Because I have very high standards and these writers consistently meet them. I don’t claim to be an expert, and I haven’t read absolutely everything. Some of you may think that other authors are great and I just haven’t read them yet. I’d love to hear about them, though! Feel free to name drop in the comments.

Also, if you feel like sharing my list, please ask first. That way I can brag about it.

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.

Essential Reading?

The reason for my ponderings about audience on Saturday is that there’s a list being linked around the Internet of “Essential Science Fiction.” I’m not sure if it’s the same list being copied, or a few different content writers saw the idea and each tried to put their fingerprints on it. Anyway, this list really bugs me. The names on it are all too familiar: Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke. Some of the lists stretch themselves and add McCaffrey.

Those are all great writers, so what’s my problem? It’s that their books are OLD. They were written in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. McCaffrey’s work, from the ’80s, is the most recent and hers are 40 years old. Speaking as someone in the 60+ age group, I’ve already these books. What good is a list like this, when it doesn’t offer me anything NEW to read and explore?

Every age has a worldview that seeps through. A zeitgeist, if you will. The underlying assumptions of family structure, wealth and power, whose voices should be heard. In all the listed authors, the worldview is more of a historic mirage. Unfortunately, there are segments of society that want to force us back into that ’50s era, where everybody except white men were straight-jacketed. This kind of “essential reading” reinforces the faux nostalgia that has been so corrosive to our democracy.

Our era has a zeitgeist, too. We may have a hard time seeing it, because we’re standing so close. But our readers are in the middle of it, too, and their expectations spring from the same zeitgeist. This is entirely appropriate. In our capitalist worldview, they are customers — customers who expect their entertainment to be tailored to their interests, a la Netflix. Successful authors are the ones who pay attention to their readers’ priorities.

The list I’m harping on brushes right over every major genre development since about 1995. Cyberpunk, military science fiction, urban fantasy, steampunk — all are ignored. Graphic storytelling is ignored. This has been a longtime battle, as some critics seem to feel the illustration is a sign of intellectual inferiority. I would invite them to visit my special ed classroom, where struggling readers find the pictures essential to reading comprehension. To me, this list almost seems like an attempt to limit what kinds of books are considered valid. If that doesn’t worry you, it should.

The list also passes over dozens of authors whose work was vital to the development of our genres. Katharine Kurtz (Deryni), David Eddings (Belgariad), Weiss and Hickman (Dragonlance) from the 80s. Octavia Butler (Parable), Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars) and David Weber (Honor Harrington) from the ’90s. Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson) and Jim Butcher (Harry Dresden) from the early 2000s. C. J. Cherryh, George R. R. Martin and Tanith Lee all published multiple remarkable novels all the way from the ’70s until the 2010s. Not one of them is acknowledged.

Okay, I’m telling on myself. Those are mostly fantasy writers, not SF. This is where I stop to catch my breath and open the floor. What writers from more recent decades do you think should be included on an “essential reading” list? I look forward to your thoughts!

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, Instagram and/or CounterSocial.