Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 32

Resolutions 2023

Now we get into resolutions for the coming year. Again, these are related to my writing and keeping my career in motion. All resolutions have to be something that I, myself, can do without depending on editorial decisions, etc.

Resolution 1: Write 3 short stories and market each one to three or more magazines. This will keep me focused on new work while also revising The Tale of the Drakanox. It will also prod me to keep submitting my stories and not give up after the first rejection.

Resolution 2: Host Queen Titania’s Court in June of 2023. Not only is it fun to do, but it’s a way to build community and lift up independent fantasy authors.

Resolution 3: Make three personal appearances to support my writing. COVID restrictions are pretty much a thing of the past, and I’m comfortable wearing a mask among the unmasked, so I need to keep my name out there.

Resolution 4: Reissue Masters of Air and Fire, the middle grade book I got back from my former publisher, as e-book and trade paperback. I’d like this to appear in May and be featured in Queen Titania’s Court. Stretch goal: Also reissue my self-published short story collection, Aunt Ursula’s Atlas in the two formats.

Resolution 5: Publish two new e-books, one in May and one in November. Ideally, I’ll finish revisions on The Tale of the Drakanox in time for a November release. If I don’t manage that, I might do another combined “Minstrels of Skaythe” volume encompassing The Renegade of Opshar and Prisoners of the Wailing Tower. It’s also possible to do another short story collection. I’m leaving myself wiggle room here.

Let’s see if I can do as well in 2023 as I did in 2022.

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 Twitter.

Resolutions 2022

As I promised (or maybe threatened) it’s time to take a look at my 2022 resolutions. Let me preface by saying that I only make resolutions around my writing. These are goals that will help me focus where I want my career to go. Resolutions have to be things I myself can control. I could not, for instance, resolve to sell stories. That is the editor’s decision. But I can and do resolve to submit work.

So what were my resolutions for the year?

Resolution 1: Write the first draft of the sixth Minstrels of Skaythe book. Did I do it? Yes! I expect to finish the first draft later today. (I’m writing this on December 27th, so I’ll make it by four whole days!) Confession: I had a secondary resolution to publish The Tale of the Drakanox, but since I hadn’t finished the first draft, let alone done revisions, that became moot.

Resolution 2: Host Queen Titania’s Court in June of 2022. Did I do it? Yes!

Resolution 3: Make two personal appearances to support my writing. Did I do it? Yes! I was at RadCon SF convention, SpoCon SF convention, and Fall Folk Festival.

Resolution 4: Get back the rights to my books from the publisher who has ceased operation. Did I do it? Yes! I have a publishing contract for one book with Wolfsinger Publications, and verbal agreements on two more. The others are mine to do with as I please.

Resolution 5: Submit short stories to at least 3 markets before giving up (assuming there are appropriate markets for them). Did I do it? Um… Yes. I’m currently marketing “Hag” from 2021, and “Mistress Henbane” from 2022. In fact, each of them has received encouraging rejections from some important markets.

Looks like I chose my resolutions wisely. Let’s see if I can do as well for 2023.

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 Twitter.

We’re Down To It

The end of the year always sneaks up on me. Tempus fugit and all that. I’ve started a few of the year-end writing chores, like adding up my income for tax purposes. It was a good year in terms of sales. I sold over $200 in books. Now, if I was also tracking expenses, I probably lost more than that. But, since I no longer try to deduct that as a business expense, I am free to focus on the positive. I sold books and made money, yippee!

I’m also racing against time to finish The Tale of the Drakanox. Over the past week I rammed out 5,350 words to a very rough ending, but there will be a lot of work left to bring it into a finished state. My characters keep wanting to banter with each other. However, they’re in the midst of a multi-sided magical brawl! I think it’s my way of delaying some of the painful points. But, there’s just no time for idle chat. A lot of that will have to be cut in the second draft.

As far as the Twitter Wars go, I’m still present there. The Dragon Age and comics fandoms are important to me. However, I am liking it on CounterSocial. When I open up Twitter, I see angry shouting about “Trump should be in jail!” When I open CounterSocial, I see “I watched the sun rise over the mountains and it was beautiful.” I’m sure it has to do with who I follow and how I curate my feeds. The contrast is pretty striking, all the same.

My next main chore is resolutions. I do them around my writing every year. So my next couple of posts are probably going to deal with that.

Tomorrow is a big holiday, which not everyone celebrates. So I’ll just wish you a lovely day, tomorrow and always.

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 Twitter.

Life or Death

I made the leap and am writing madly toward the conclusion of The Tale of the Drakanox. As I’m pulling the threads together, there’s one thing I didn’t really consider before I got to this point. Will all of my characters survive the experience?

In previous posts, I’ve mulled over how authors decide whether characters should live or die. Sometimes a character is “bad” and needs to be “punished,” so they die in the end. Or they’re “good” and deserve to live by whatever contrived means. (Thinking of all those movies where it seems like a character is dead, but then they start breathing again.) Sometimes the author is looking for a juicy twist. Sometimes, they seem to feel that victory must have a cost. These can all be valid reasons, or they can be manipulations.

Or, both. As they say, two things can be true at the same time.

What I’m thinking about here are three main issues. First, as a pantser, I follow the most logical outcome of situations. If a character dying is most logical, then I should let it happen. Unless I need that character for later in the story. Then I will revise the situation so escape is more logical.

Second, I consider the reader’s reaction. Will they be disappointed if nobody dies? Grieving for fallen characters is a thing that some readers seem to enjoy. Other readers may be upset if the “bad guy” lives to tell the tale. Should I bump off a character to satisfy those readers?

Third and perhaps more important, I consider the underlying theme of the work. With the Minstrels of Skaythe series, it’s resisting a vicious regime through non-violence. If I end the series with a major bloodbath, that would undercut my own point and I’m certain it would disappoint readers who value my theme.

Before I go farther, I’ll probably make up one of my charts that lists all the possible outcomes. Just looking at them all laid out like that sometimes gives me a knee-jerk “yes/no” reaction that helps me. I might even roll dice for some of the choices.

Looks like I have some decisions to make!

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 Twitter.

Here We Go Again

Another surge of disease has struck my school. Not only COVID, but also respiratory flu and a stomach flu. Many classes are down by 5 or 6 ill students. The teacher I report to has had to leave early a couple of days this week. Good thing I was there to oversee all the kids coming in to take breaks from the excitement of holiday parties.

It reminds me of last January, when so many teachers were sick and no substitutes could be found. My district shortened the school week to four days because of it. Then, I was the only one of 3 staff who didn’t get sick. Since then, I have always kept my mask on at work, even when restrictions were lifted.

“Why do you wear that mask?” asked a student who was out sick 4 of 5 days.

This is why. It might sound like I’m complaining, but actually I feel fairly heroic. Ms. Fredericks for the win!

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 Twitter.

On the Precipice

Yes, I’m nearly there with The Tale of the Drakanox. I have just the big finale to complete the first draft. Huzzah!

What has me hesitating is the scale of this last part. A huge force of mages is converging on my dauntless renegades. How will they survive without giving up their pacifist beliefs? There’s so much to remember, drawing on the endings of previous novellas, the fates of all my characters, not leaving out anyone/anything… It’s a lot! And I know it will take me until the end of the year to finish up.

But… but… that’s only two weeks! And there’s holidays and stuff at the same time!

I know I can do this. I always hesitate in this part of the book. I’ll leave you with a famous line from Dragon Age II, where the witch Flemeth gives advice to the hero, Hawke. “We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment… and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly.” (The voice of Flemeth is Kate Mulgrew, by the way, in an outstanding performance.)

Flemeth always knew what she was talking about, so I guess I’d better leap!

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 Twitter.

Author Recommendation

Lately I’ve been re-reading some of the paperbacks on my shelves, checking in on authors whose work inspired me in the past. The author I’m revisiting at the moment is Barbara Hambly.

Hambly was an important author of the ’80s and ’90s. I used to watch for her and buy any new books I saw. But around 2000, I guess there was a change in tax law that led to a lot of publishers slashing their lists. Hambly any many others were simply dropped and have faded from public attention. She does continue to write and appears to be self-publishing novelettes in many of her series.

The series I’m currently revisiting is Sun Wolf and Starhawk, but Hambly wrote several series and trilogies. Her work is fantasy of the darkest kind. Apocalyptic invasion, demonic possession, political machinations — not to mention a dose of feminist comment on the patriarchal assumptions of fantasy.

Every author is a product of their time, and stories resonates differently in new eras. I find that Hambly’s work holds up well, 40 years on. If you get the chance, you should seek her 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, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Looking Forward

At last, I have some publication news to share! I was able to reach the publisher at Wolfsinger, the small press that is taking up some of the contracts from my previous publisher, Sky Warrior. It looks like Seven Exalted Orders will be reprinted sometime in spring of 2023 and The Grimhold Wolf in fall of 2024. If all goes well with those two, there will be a sequel to Seven Exalted Orders the following spring.

In addition to that, we agreed that my middle grade fantasy, Masters of Air and Fire, is not a good fit for Wolfsinger. The full rights are back with me, and I’m planning to release a second edition of that when my schedule allows. Just another reason that I need to hurry up and finish the first draft of Tale of the Drakanox, so there’s room for other things in my schedule.

A lot could happen in that “if all goes well” frame, but that’s the plan right 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, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Woman At Work, December/2022

What’s Happening? Welcome to December and the mad holiday season. We’ve had almost a foot of snow already. Believe it or not, this isn’t a complaint. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas to me if we don’t get snow.

What I’m Working On. The Tale of the Drakanox. Yes, still! The current total is about 102,000 words. New bonds are being forged, and old ones are being broken. I’m at the beginning point for the ending, if that makes sense. There’s just nothing else that needs to develop, plot-wise. Completion within the month is possible.

What’s Next? My next firm plan is to revise Aunt Ursula’s Attic, my short story collection under the Lucy D. Ford byline. Aunt Ursula was my first effort at self-publishing, and I’ve learned a lot since then. The e-book is probably ok, but I think I can make the paperback look better. If I have enough new short stories, I may even come up with a second collection. That’s something that requires further exploration.

Fun and Games. Skyrim is my main game, with Animal Crossing and Ruya as more casual backups. I often get new games for Christmas, so we’ll see what turns up.

The holidays are hectic, so I hope you’ll have at least some time to chill. Take care, everybody!

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 Twitter.

Winter Has Come

Yep, we have a major snow storm going on. Woke up to 3″ on the ground and a prediction of 8″ by the end of the day. This isn’t the worse storm in my memory. We once got 6 FEET of snow over two days. But it’s enough to close the schools (not unexpectedly). My husband had to go in, and I let him borrow my Subaru, so here I am at home.

Among my tasks for the day is to keep our walks shoveled. I’m using it also as a sensory experience as I work through scenes in The Tale of the Drakanox where Meven, the Ice Witch, is exerting her powers. It’s easy to forget, as I sit in my warm house writing, what cold feels like. How it stings on exposed skin. How it burns its way into your lungs. Fingers and toes feel the cold build up, and they warm more slowly. The longer you’re out there, the more painful it becomes.

Just a little peek at the writing life!

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 Twitter.