Ask Myndi Shafer discussion
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The Darkening
BOOK TWO - Questions? Ask here!
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Myndi
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Feb 28, 2013 06:11PM
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How did writing and publishing The Darkening vary from your debut novel? (Wishing you HUGE, ever-growing success!)
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As far as the writing went, I felt more pressure. Deadline pressure (which I originally blew past like a trucker asleep at the wheel), pressure to make sure this story was as good - if not better - than the first, basically pressure to not screw the whole thing up. The Hubster and my editor can attest to my many breakdowns through the whole process. Thankfully I came out of it relatively sane. :)
As far as the publishing went, in lots of ways it was easier because I'd already done it once. That said, there are things I'm thinking about doing a little differently with the next one - things to do with ISBN numbers and choosing to go through individual retailers to publish instead of Smashwords meatgrinder (Don't get me wrong - I LOVE Smashwords, but I'd just like a little more control with formatting and stuff...no big complaints. :))
Such a learning curve, right? Sounds like you're working your way through with flying colors. So glad you have a great team to help you through breakdowns... Thanks for the insight, love!
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How long did it take for you to write book 1 and book 2?
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Oh my goodness - a long time. These two books started out as one rough draft; it went through several metamorphoses. From start to finish, for these two, it took about four years. During that time, however, I completed the rough drafts for books 3 and 4, so hopefully my turnaround time on those titles will be much, much faster!
better be!!! ;-D I thought waiting a year for more Rein was hard enough!
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SIX months, Chris!! Maybe it FELT like a year, but it was only six months...
*grin*
no way!!! It was at least a year since Merryn looked at me strangely and said... "Yes. Rein left. Didn't he tell you?" *sigh*
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LOL. Einstein thought time was relative, right?
Hey! So I would love to know how you researched/created names, like the en ghaeo, or the style of clothes. When I read the description for one of Aydan's shirts--deep green cotton, embroidered with ivy on the hem, I was thinking, Where can I buy that? :)
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Hi Coleen!
As far as the names go, most of the Archethenian ones are a mix of actual names from our world. I LOVE this website for name hunting: http://www.behindthename.com/
The word en-ghæo specificially...I don't remember how I came up with it. I think it just kindof blathered out of my brain onto the page. :)
As far as Aydan's clothes (the things Helena made for her), I tried to imagine what Aydan's crappy drawings looked like, and how Helena might of interpreted them. Aydan had tried to depict jeans and t-shirts; I think Helena saw wide-legged pants and loose, flow-y shirts. But Helena is pretty good at what she does, and was able to make Aydan's relatively ugly drawings into something pretty and flattering. In my mind they're almost bohemian. And Helena's trademark is her fabulous embroidery - she (like so many craftsmen and women in Archethenia) believes that the beauty of most things lies in the details.
I imagine much of what she makes for Aydan would look a little like this: http://www.freepeople.com/clothes-top...
