IWSG: My Favorite Work

I hope everyone had a good September! My husband and I were able to take a week-long vacation in Boston. We enjoyed the perfect weather and saw a lot of interesting places and things. It's hard to believe how quickly a month seems to pass when you're busy.

Anyway, it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Learn more about the IWSG on their website and Facebook.

Our hosts this month are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Catherina Constantine. 

Our question this month is a difficult one: What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? Why?

 It's very difficult to pick a favorite story. I was very pleased with how I developed themes and symbols in Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes. I'm very fond of my four Season Avatars, but how could I choose a single book from my five-book series? So I'm going to choose something completely different, a story called The War of the Hs, which I've published on Archive of Their Own. This is a Good Omens fanfic I wrote about a quest Crowley (demon) and Aziraphale (angel) must complete to free Crowley from Hell. I particularly like some of the original characters I created for this story, plus this is one of those stories where I just had fun with it and threw in all sorts of crazy but fun bits. For example, here's a bit about angels trying to figure out silly string:

A nearby angel who’s been studying his can removes the green cap and presses something on the top. With a hiss of air, something snakelike shoots out. All the other angels scream and dodge. A couple of them bump into Michael and send them into the path of the material. Green matter clumps onto their chest and arms. Some of it even gets into their hair. Michael tries to miracle it out, but nothing happens. The material is so soft it spreads as Michael tries to brush it away.

 What's your favorite story? Feel free to tell me about it in the contents. 

IWSG: Second-Guessing Your Work

 Summer seems to leave as quickly as it comes. Here we are at August already, which means the school year will be starting soon for many children. Of course, we must mark the new month with another post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. If you're not already familiar with them (though I assume most of you reading this post are here because of the IWSG), you can learn more about them on their website or Facebook page.

Our hosts this month are Kate Larkindale, Diane Burton, Janet Alcorn, and Shannon Lawrence.

Here's our question for August: Have you ever written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let it stay how it was, take it out, or rewrite it?

I think it's quite common for writers to feel conflicted about their work, particularly if they're writing about something political or controversial. One example from my writing career comes from Twinned Universes. In an early draft, the quartet of main and secondary teenage characters experience an episode of casual racism. (Two of them are obviously biracial and one is less obviously multiracial. While they're shopping for clothes, the store owner assumes they're planning to steal from her.) My white editor thought this kind of thing didn't happen, and I rewrote the scene to remove the incident. Several years later, it finally occurred to me that due to white privilege, she wouldn't have personal experience with this kind of racism. I debated restoring that incident but decided it didn't work as well anymore in the revised scene. However, the heroine of my Abigail Ritter Cozy Mystery series is half Filipina, and I do include in this series incidents where she wishes she was blonde or where other people don't believe that she was really born in a small Wisconsin town. 

Have you changed your work due to someone else's suggestion and then wished you hadn't? Feel free to talk about it in the comments.

 

 

 

April IWSG: Audio Books

Welcome to April! If you're participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, I hope it's going well. These days, I'm challenged enough to keep up with a weekly blog, but I still have time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Learn more about the IWSG on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.  

Our hosts this month are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jemima Pett, Patricia Josephine, Louise-Fundy Blue, and Kim Lajevardi.

 Here's our question for April: Have any of your books been made into audio books? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?

My science fiction books Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes are available as audiobooks. I produced them myself through ACX, which is no longer available. It's been several years since I made them, but I remember the main challenges (besides paying for them) were finding a suitable narrator (especially on a budget) and reviewing the audiobooks. I haven't sold many audiobooks, so I probably wouldn't bother doing it with my other books unless they become popular enough to justify the expense. If you're an indie author who wants to make audiobooks, Draft2Digital partners with Findaway Voices to create them. I would take that route if I decide to produce more books in that format. 

Have you created audiobooks of your work? If so, feel free to share the details in the comments.

 

LBGTQIA Characters in My Writing

As an author, I believe a diverse group of characters, if written with empathy and knowledge, can enrich a story. Diverse characters bring different perspectives, goals, and values to the story, leading to conflict and/or collaboration. That said, it's important when writing someone who's different from you to treat them as a three-dimensional human being, not a stereotype or a trope to serve the main characters. Writing the Other is a lifelong project. I've learned a lot about creating characters with a different gender or sexual orientation than mine.

In both of my main series (Catalyst Chronicles and The Season Avatars) there are secondary characters whom I originally envisioned as straight (even giving them partners) but later revealed to me that they have crushes on the same-sex main character. (I don't want to name them in case of spoilers, but one character has lesbian moms and the other a gay son. Refer to Twinned Universes and Chaos Season.) I have a couple of different ways to give the bisexual characters a Happily Ever After; I just have to get the stories written.

The religion of Challen in The Season Avatars gives me plenty of opportunities to explore gender. The people of Challen reincarnate after each life, and they often switch genders between lives. (The exception is the Fall Avatar, who is always female.) Most Challens don't remember their past lives, but they have a slightly higher chance of not being heterosexual or cisgender than people from other countries in their world. Fortunately, the Four Gods and Goddesses of Challen provide a socially acceptable alternative to traditional marriage. People who don't want to marry someone of the opposite sex and raise a family can pledge themselves to either the God of Summer or the Goddess of Fall. (My short story "Rob's Choice" is about a pledging.) These people are commonly known as Summersmen or Fallswomen. Some of them may devote themselves to a business or creative calling, but many of them become layservants for the Four. They may be healers, archivists, assistants to the Season Avatars, or other types of respectable roles. I expect to include more of these characters in the still-unnamed spinoff series.

I have future stories planned that include genderfluid and transgender characters. These types of characters require more research on my part to portray them accurately and compassionately, even though they're not in our world.

I plan to finish off Pride Month by highlighting some LBGTQIA authors I know. Come back next week for some good recommendations!

Birthday Sale!

My birthday is on Sunday, so I'm giving out a treat. All of my novels are sale-priced at $0.99 through Saturday, May 4th. Lyon's Legacy is a novella and still permafree. Here are the universal store links to the rest of my books:


Twinned Universes (sequel to Lyon's Legacy)


The Season Avatars series:

Seasons' Beginnings
Scattered Seasons
Chaos Season
Fifth Season
Summon the Seasons

Enjoy!

Two Fictional Beatles Books

As a Beatles fan, I always enjoy finding new books about them. And if these books are written or edited by my friends, I have to help them get by, right?

Randee Dawn, a writer friend from Broad Universe, is co-editing an anthology of alternate Beatles stories. It's called Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles. They're currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund it (see the link). The project is about two-thirds funded, with about two weeks left. Authors currently signed on to the anthology include Spider Robinson, David Gerrold, Cat Rambo, Gail Z. Martin, Jody Lynn Nye, and many more. If the project meets certain stretch goals, the editors will open up a few slots for submissions. I used to write Beatles fanfic, so it would be nice to get back to where I once belonged....

Actually, my Beatles fanfiction used to be on the e-zine Rooftop Sessions, which was run by my Beatles friend Susan Ryan. Unfortunately, I don't think the site is live any more, though you can learn more about it here and even access back issues. (You might even find very early versions of Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes, along with other stories of mine, through the Wayback Machine.) Susan's husband, Jim Ryan, was another contributor, and he recently collected some of his alternate Beatles stories in Alt Together Now: The Rooftop Sessions Fiction of James Ryan. It's been a long times since I've read them, but they include references to Live Aid, The Twilight Zone, Lord of the Rings, and Doctor Who. Sounds like a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Please support both books if you can. In the meantime, I need to see if I can find my old fanfics. It would be interesting to see if they're worth republishing. Hello Goodbye for now...

Project Update 10/24/18

I figure if I'm going to reduce my blogging to once a week, I should use the time to let people know how my myriad projects are doing.

Writing: I have four (yes, four!) projects in rough draft. Dryads to Discover, my urban fantasy novel, is the farthest along at about 41,000 words. I started this one last year, but I took breaks from it to work on some short stories. I also have another novel in the works, this one tentatively called Medium's Quest. I'm about 11,000 words into it. I have a few hundred words on each of two short stories, one targeted for a solarpunk anthology that opens next year and one I might submit to pro markets--assuming I ever get them done.

These projects are all new worlds for me. I've decided I'm going to trunk "The Unnumbered World," a short story in the Catalyst Chronicles universe. This story was going to be set after Twinned Universes and follow one of the minor characters from that book. The plot isn't working out, at least for now; maybe someday I'll go back to it and figure out what to do. In the meantime, that clears the way for Catalyst in the Crucible, the next novel in that series. But before I can go back to that one, I'd better finish some of the other stories I currently have drafting.

Publishing: I wrote a short story about Robbie, one of the minor characters in the Season Avatars series, but I'm still not satisfied with the title or the blurb. It can be harder to blurb short stories than novels, at least for me. Once I manage to work that out, I'll have Maria create a cover for it. I'd like to publish it this year if possible. I also have a completed short story prequel to Dryads to Discover, but I'm going to hold that one until DtD is ready to publish and put them out close together.

Crochet: I'm currently finishing up a poodle, and then I want to make an infinity gauntlet. (Click the link for the Etsy store with the pattern.). The first gauntlet will probably be for my son, and then I may make a couple to sell. I still have to finish up a couple of other amigurumi that I started a while back.

Costuming: I really need to replace my Jawa robe, which has gotten a lot of wear in three years of trooping. I have one mostly sewn; I just need to finish some seams and weather it. I may need to make another hood to match the dye lot. Once I finish that, then I'd better make my Santa Jawa robe. The holiday parade I plan to wear it in is only a few weeks away!


So, are you working on any interesting projects? Feel free to share them in the comments.

New Ideas and Old Characters

I saw a cartoon on Facebook recently that perfectly captures some of the frustrations of the writing process. It starts with a shiny new idea (or ideas), which connects to starting a new project but not actually finishing it. (I don't remember what the last part of the comic was, but it probably led to another new idea.) I have so many projects that I want to work on, not just writing-related, but also crocheting and sewing projects. Hopefully after the comic-con on Saturday the sewing/crocheting projects will feel like less of a priority. (I still need to make the Santa Jawa costume in time for the holiday parade in late November.) I think I need to list all the various projects I want to work on so I can prioritize them.

One of my priorities for this is is finishing the first draft of Dryads to Discover. While I'm made slow but steady progress on it, the characters don't grab my imagination the way old, familiar characters do. I'm itching to tell more stories about the Season Avatars (particularly Gwen and Jenna), and Paul and his friends from Twinned Universes. It's hard to pants new stories when old characters are still occupying your head. I do want to continue with both series, and I do have a sense of where they would finally end, even if I don't know the entire path that leads there.

Do you ever feel that writing past or writing future interferes with your writing present? If so, how do you manage to focus on your current work? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Hope Never Dies and Real Person Fan Fiction

First of all, I'd like to wish my husband, Eugene, a very happy birthday today! You'll always be my knight in shining armor.

If you loved all the Obama-Biden memes (particularly the ones after the 2016 election such as this one), then you might like Hope Never Dies: An Obama-Biden Mystery, by Andrew Shaffer. I read about this book a few weeks ago and immediately put it on hold at my library. I finally had a chance to read it last week. Basically, after an Amtrak conductor dies in what everyone else assumes to be a suicide or accident, Obama and Biden team up to discover the truth. Biden is the first-person narrator. I've never gotten closer to either man than through the voting machines, so I don't know how accurately they're portrayed. Certainly some of their escapades seem a bit unreal, and other reviews I've read say Obama comes across as more remote than he actually is. Still, the pair do make a fun Holmes-Watson couple.

Since I used to write Beatles fan fiction, I was interested in the real-person fan fiction aspect of this book. In the New York Times article I read about Hope Never Dies, the author relates how he met Biden but didn't tell him about this project. The standard disclaimer at the beginning of the book says that "All characters--including those based on real people, living or dead...are used fictitiously." Celebrities do give up some of their rights to privacy, and we live in an age where YouTube can make someone a celebrity (notorious or not) overnight. I still don't think I'd be too comfortable using a living person as a character. Even if I was inspired by a certain aspect of their personality, I'd rather remix with other traits and disguise them. While I may have been able to get away with using John Lennon as a character in Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes, he might have drawn attention from the main characters. If I ever get past the block I have with the next installments of the Catalyst Chronicles, then the story will go in a different direction anyway.

How do you feel about using real people in fiction? Does it matter if they're contemporary or historical? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

IWSG: Writing Pitfalls

It's a new month and a new post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. My regular readers should be familiar with them, but if you're not, check them out on their website, Facebook, and Twittter. Our hosts this month are Erika Beebe, Sandra Hoover, Susan Gourley, and Lee Lowery.

For this month, we've been posed the following question: What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey?

I think the most important pitfalls to be wary of are scams. There are all kinds of scams directed at writers, from agents who recommend "book doctors" to people who overcharge for publishing services. One of the best sources to learn about such scams is the Writer Beware blog. I also recommend Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Business Musings blog series. She doesn't just discuss scams, but also practices in traditional publishing that are harmful to authors.

As far as writing craft goes, I think one pitfall to avoid is overwriting or putting your work through countless drafts. As a beginning writer, I did this a lot. If you're part of a crit group or writer workshop and getting feedback from multiple people, it's tempting to revise your story to try to please all your readers. Unfortunately, that's impossible. I definitely did learn a lot from participating in workshops such as the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror and getting feedback on Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes. However, some feedback I received on them didn't fit the vision I had for those stories. Eventually, it's possible to get sick of a particular work. You'll learn more by releasing that story into the world and working on something different.

What writing pitfalls have you encountered in your journey? Feel free to share them in the comments.

IWSG: Names and Titles

Welcome to the June 2018 post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, a group to support fellow writers. Learn more about the IWSG on their website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed. Our hosts this month are Beverly Stowe McClure, Tyrean Martinson, and Ellen Jacobson.

Our question for this month is What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

I would say book titles are more difficult for me because I change them more often than I do character names. For example, Twinned Universes was originally called To Thine Own Self Be True, then Across Two Universes (which I decided was too similar to Across the Universe, which was used for a YA SF title before I published my book) before I settled on the final title. Lyon's Legacy was originally titled Move Over Ms. L.,which was the title of a John Lennon song I quoted in an early draft. I ended up writing my own song lyrics instead to avoid legal issues. Short stories can go through several name changes as my understanding of the story evolves during writing and revising.

I generally don't change character names so often because they are core to the character. It does happen, however. In the Catalyst Chronicles series, Paul's full name was originally Paul Richard Lennon Harrison, a reference to the four Beatles. Currently it's just Paul Lyon Harrison. Sometimes I change character names if I decide to change their background. Julia is a secondary character in the Catalyst Chronicles series. I don't remember what her original surname was, but when I realized she was half-Navajo, her last name became Kee. Finally, in my current work in progress, I changed the name of a dryad prince when I realized I'd been naming the other dryads with adjective-noun combinations (Redbark, Longleaf) instead of more traditional human names. Now I just realized another character doesn't follow this naming convention. Back to brainstorming!

How often do you change names or titles? Feel free to share examples in the comments.