*Tell us a bit about yourself: I am a 31 year old mum of 1, with a passion for reading and living authentically. I love food, books, living in each moment, my family, crochet, camping, fires, the ocean… I’m vegan and was brought up as a vegetarian. I suffer with anxiety and OCD, and have found that being open about this helps others to realise that we all have our demons, but they don’t make us bad people, just human. I got a triple distinction in my National Diploma in Performing Arts from Truro College in Cornwall. I am trained as a dental nurse, started training to be a midwife (!) and am finally now living my life-long dream of narrating audiobooks!
How did you become involved with audiobook narration and production? I have wanted to be a narrator and voice actress for as long as…
One of the greatest challenges in War of Nytefallis going to be having Clyde grow throughout the series. He’s already a physical powerhouse and has an intimidating reputation. There’s very little that will change there because any stronger and it would get fairly obscene. It can’t stay that way since this isn’t a one-shot. After all, a main hero who stays the same isn’t that interesting and could harm the story. So, one has to wonder where I can go with him.
One focus is that while I can’t increase Clyde’s power, but I can have him struggle to control his abilities. There’s a savage blood lust that is unique to Clyde, which he runs the risk of succumbing to if you pushes himself too far. Imagine a creature built for destruction trying to create something and you’ll get an idea of how he is going to be fighting part of his nature. This brings in the possibility of him falling completely too, which changes him from a hero to a villain. The other Dawn Fangs wouldn’t go on a world domination or destruction campaign with Clyde, which means he stands at the edge of an abyss that he will fall into alone. Control is all he can do and that’s not going to be an easy thing as the pressure of his war mounts.
Another evolution/development area for a character like Clyde would be on the social side of things. His growth can ebb and flow depending on his relationships. This makes the supporting cast even more important because they can direct him in some fashions. The biggest example is Mab, who has the closest bond with Clyde. He will change depending on how they are getting along since she acts as an anchor for his dwindling humanity. If they’re fighting then he’ll be more on edge and start getting closer to that abyss. This isn’t to say the other Dawn Fangs and his enemies aren’t important. Each one will have a connection in some fashion that Clyde will take some strength from. You might think that’s strange for the villains, but consider the he’s so powerful that he runs the risk of getting bored. Having opponents, even weak ones, gives him something to battle and entertain himself. Not wanting things to end quickly, he can restrain himself and this will help his progression as well. For Clyde, this would teach him how to hold back whether he realizes it or not.
The final area that Clyde can evolve in is his personality and outlook on life. He began rather carefree and wanting only to have fun with his gang. Now, he’s responsible for an entire species and worries that exposure will get them killed. Considering he was a thief for centuries, you can understand why he’d want all the Dawn Fangs to stay in the shadows. He’s also a character who has spotted the pattern of destiny in Windemere where a great evil appears and Gabriel the Destiny God sends heroes to wipe the threat out. Clyde wants to avoid this, but it also means being a different type of leader than he used to be. So, you’re going to see him try to grow into what he thinks he should be, which isn’t going to go smoothly. He has warlord instincts, but lacks the real desire to rule with an iron fist. That doesn’t mean he won’t try.
All three areas are going to be touched in War of Nytefall: Lost. Clyde is going to run into a problem that can’t be solved with the tools that he has developed. His self-control, relationships, and personality are going to come into question to some level. It all has to do with an unexpected Dawn Fang named Lost.
A few weeks ago, I shared a couple of brainstorming techniques that help me when I reach a dead end while writing. A few other things that help me is to take a walk to refresh my mind or even putting aside my project for a day or two. Most often I come back from these breaks with a fresh perspective.
Today I’m going to share another technique that I sometimes use. True plotters and those who outline will probably cringe when they read this. I’m a planster, which means I create a basic plot that allows room for the story to develop itself as I write. I admit the technique I’m about to share isn’t for everyone, but it works for me.
I write out of order.
What? No way! You’re crazy.
Before you think I’ve gone off the deep end, consider this scenario: I’m in the middle of…
So, this is almost a filler post, but I’m fairly confused. Mostly because I got notifications throughout the week from WordPress. Apparently, I’ve posted once a day for the last 807 days and that’s a daily milestone that I get. Feel a sense of pride here, but also a childish stubbornness that I don’t want it to end. This leaves me with a question:
Since I can’t do my anxiety journal due to job hunting, what can I do on Thursdays?
I was thinking of a funny picture post since I keep looking at them throughout the week and I see others doing it over the weekend. This does smack of desperation to stay active and November is probably going to derail things anyway. Still, I think I’d like to try and keep it up for as long as I can.
Speaking of November, I might be able to schedule a few posts for that month, but I’m lacking topics. It’s usually a slow month too, so I was wondering if I could do character interviews after a poll. Looking for anything here because I’ve realized that job hunting alone is driving me batty. Need something to break the frustration. So, I’m throwing stuff out into the air.
Almost forgot: I still have Derailing Bedlam. Maybe I can start making that the Thursday post once Raven’s Wrath is completed. This would be November. I’m trying to decide between Thursday and Sunday for this one. Still means that I need to figure out Thursdays for the rest of August and September though.
Something else I just remembered that I could use some advice on. War of Nytefall: Lost will debut in September, but October is a daily post for Raven’s Wrath. Is there any way I can promote the new book on at least a weekly basis without undermining the story? I was thinking of a weekly or bi-weekly ‘Don’t forget this book’ post like on Mondays and Thursdays.
Riffling through my files the other day, I came across a poem I wrote, over 40 years ago, when I spent nearly a week in an English hospital with pneumonia. Since I recently returned home after a two day stay in hospital to have my knee replaced, here in Canada, I couldn’t help but reflect on the differences and similarities of those experiences.
All those years ago, I was reading Victorian poetry and became interested in the work of W. E. Henley. His most innovative series of poems was “In Hospital”, inspired by a stay of three years in the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. He had contracted tuberculosis in the bones of his leg and was still an adolescent when he had to have one of his legs amputated. Later his other leg was at risk but a determined fight to save it conducted by the famous surgeon, Sir Joseph…
Well . . . I’m still here in some capacity, but this week was busy. My son and I had a bunch of doctor visits and I was trying to figure out a job search. The situation is still a raw wound that I’m trying to come to terms with. For some reason, I forgot that putting in an application doesn’t mean I’ll get a quick response or a job. No idea why my addled brain skipped that obvious fact. So, I didn’t shed as much anxiety as I’d hoped. This is another reason why I won’t touch my writing. God only knows how terrible it would be if I tried to write while in this mental state.
On the plus side of things, I am doing some good research on work-from-home positions that might help me in the short term. I can get a job with flexible hours that allow me to continue taking care of my son when he’s not in school. It’s going to be a long shot and I still don’t know if my resume is going to be good enough to help. I’ve always had trouble here and my jobs have routinely come from me getting in as a temp or happening to know someone already inside. Still, it looks like these would be easier to get started than the applications, so it could bring something in quicker. I’m checking out civil service tests as well, which is a long term possibility.
This topic is a little boring, but I don’t have any story ideas to report. War of Nytefall: Lost is still slated for September 7th, but War of Nytefall: Rivalry has been pushed back until March. I can’t afford to do much with it and I need to redirect the time I’d use for editing. It’s better to delay it then make an attempt that has a very big chance of failing horribly. This leaves me with no Christmas releases, so I might do a sale on pre-existing books like dropping both Legends of Windemere bundles to 99 cents for the holiday or something. Nothing is planned yet, so don’t think that’s a promise. No idea how I’ll even attempt to write the 4th book too considering my time constraints. Might drop to 2 releases a year (March and September) unless things change, but that’s not looking like a possibility.
There was some fun to be had this week. We had a family outing to the big zoo last Sunday and had a blast. A few animals that typically stayed in hiding were out, which is always exciting. Later in the week, we went to one of the aquariums in the area and he had a few big adventures. They have a bird feeding area and one landed on my son’s hand. He didn’t get scared like in the past and was happy. He got poked by an albino hedgehog by accident and got to feed the rays too. In Mystic, Connecticut, he was told the proper way to feed rays, so he didn’t let a single fish go to waste. The biggest surprise for him though was getting a picture with a sea lion. He got one where he’s getting kissed on the head and that made his day.
I might do some blog salvation work this weekend and week between parenting and job hunting. Nothing major since one site I’m going to sign up with has skill tests that I plan on taking when I have time to myself. Mostly, I’m going to try and schedule the M-W-F posts for November and maybe December. I know I said that I’d cut things down, but I can’t do job hunting and stressing alone. Since I don’t dare touch my notebooks and projects when I’m this tense, blogging might be a better path to relax. That actually gives me an idea for a topic (mental health in fiction). I have a post coming up tomorrow that asks for ideas, but I should do it here too. Anyway, let’s put a few goals on there:
You may remember Elaine Bennett, a marketing specialist-turned blogger, currently writing for Bizzmark Blog. She recently shared with us 4 Simple Marketing Strategies for Promoting your Book. Today, she’s dealing with another hot topic, that of the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence.
Not born of fang
Or blood of Clyde
This breed is something else
Forged by intimacy
Long indulged by the near dead
Without fear
The primordial consequence
Has returned with life
Yet nobody saw the truth
Abandoned
Cast aside like corpses
To grow in darker shadows
Not knowing
Who or what they are
The time has now arrived
For the Womb-Born to march
I was originally going to go into details about the Womb-Born Dawn Fangs, but that info is in the book. Part of figuring out how they work is a plot point. All I will say is that they are what you think they are. Vampires born from sex instead of mortals turned by getting bitten or old-world vampires that drank Clyde’s blood. This is an unexpected event that throws a lot of chaos into the war. Especially when you consider that these vampires were being born for 16 years, but nobody knew about them until recently. Makes you wonder about the details and where they’ve been.
A few weeks ago, I shared a couple of brainstorming techniques that help me when I reach a dead end while writing. A few other things that help me is to take a walk to refresh my mind or even putting aside my project for a day or two. Most often I come back from these breaks with a fresh perspective.
Riffling through my files the other day, I came across a poem I wrote, over 40 years ago, when I spent nearly a week in an English hospital with pneumonia. Since I recently returned home after a two day stay in hospital to have my knee replaced, here in Canada, I couldn’t help but reflect on the differences and similarities of those experiences.
Legends of Windemere 