It's Done!

 

Fantasy is much harder to write than my paranormal thrillers. Of course, it didn't help when I created seven lands with creatures, weather, cultures, topography, and people instead of settling on one. (I've always challenged myself, and this was certainly a challenge.) The world building was so complicated I actually used a spread sheet to keep it all straight! 

I have used spreadsheets for other books, but mostly to keep track of character names. This was much more complicated. I did find some wonderful resources to help.

Fantasy Map Generator; How to Create a Magic System; Etymology Dictionary; and the one I used a lot: Fantasy Names and Description Generators

For the map, I used the generator and then manipulated the image in my photo software. 

I referred to this map often during writing. It helped keep me from straying too far from the natural topography. 

Now, I'm ready to start another fantasy. This time there is only one world/land to create. Should be an easy process after Plighted, right? Then, there's always the Writer's Curse. Ha ha

This is the blurb for the book: 

Plighted: to solemnly pledge one’s faith or loyalty; an unfortunate, difficult, or precarious situation.

 Ilona agreed to plight with the captain of the Garridin, but she did not agree to leave her beloved Immara in search of some fabled paradise. Beset with challenges and dangers the farther they travel from Immara’s border, the more she suspects The Assembly deceived her.

When she finally learns the truth, it shatters everything she understands about her Weoreld and her husband. Yet, she must forgive the lies and continue with the journey, or she condemns their Weoreld and everyone in it to cataclysmic and violent destruction.

One heart-rending sacrifice will save them.

Is she strong enough to make that choice?   

Available on Amazon in print and eBook. It is also in Kindle Unlimited. Plighted

If you are a writer, which is the hardest book you've ever written? For readers, what captivates you most about a genre or a particular story? 

Strength from Weakness Despite the Devil

Photo by Prettysleepy2 @ Pixabay

Once again I considered unpublishing the first book in my series. I’ve struggled with this story from its conception and have re-edited and re-published it too many times to count. But before I jumped in and did something I might regret, I skimmed the manuscript. Maybe I could salvage it if I did one more edit even though doing so would mean another long delay in finishing book five. Was that what the devil wanted, to keep me mired down with doubts and fears and stop me from writing?

It turned out the book wasn’t as bad as I remembered. The last edit improved the writing enough to leave it as it is — for now. Doubts and fear will creep back, and I’ll march down this same path again unless I can find some way of getting off that merry-go-round.  

Matthew 6:24-34, one of my favorite scriptures, popped up in my devotions. Consider the lilies, don’t worry, don’t be afraid. God knows what we need. Trust him.

Trust...

That reminded me of the book I’m reading. It is a savage fight between good and evil, and I expect the worst outcome with each new peril the characters face. I almost put the book down until I realized the author intends to get the heroine out of trouble, and I should read out of curiosity rather than fear.

The same goes with everything else in my life, especially my writing. If I can’t trust the ultimate Author to come up with a solution to whatever I'm facing, who can I trust?

So, I press on, pushing past those emotions the devil throws at me and take courage from St. Paul’s words in Corinthians 2:7-10.

“And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me. For which thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. For which cause I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress, for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am powerful.”

Okay, this isn't funny. Well, maybe sort of....

I woke this morning tired and a little grumpy. The vine I've been battling for two years won't stay dead. After cleaning out all but some roots, my husband and I put plastic sheeting over it last year and thought that would end it's life. When we removed the plastic this spring, the vine looked dead, but it wasn't.

As you can see from the picture, it's back, growing like a green monster.

The thought of putting who knows how many more hours ripping out its fingers, toes, trunk, and whatever else I can reach soured my thoughts. Some of the  roots are as big as my arm!

After removing seventy, yes seventy, pickup loads of debris from our yard last year, I really thought we were done with major projects, and we only had to maintain the flowerbeds and mow the lawn.

Deciding to procrastinate over one  more cup of coffee, I opened my emails and perused book sales, usually a sure fire way of making even the worst days better.

However this morning, one of the titles hit home a little too close, and I don't find it remotely funny. Well, after I think about it, maybe it is a little funny.

What are the chance of this happening on this particular day? 

I'd say God sometimes has a weird sense of humor. Then, maybe He's trying to tell me to lighten up a bit. After all, my vine isn't exactly as sinister as this one, is it?  The Vines

It's Done!

Finally, after months of editing and rewriting, the revised edition is out. It was a huge learning curve on what to leave in and what to take out (to the tune of over 20,000 words deleted). Yes, I killed many, many darlings. However, I didn't weep. They needed to go. The new scenes are better.

Is it perfect? No, but at least a giant step up from the first version.

I am not the first author to rewrite an already published book. Tolkien rewrote The Hobbit. In the first version, the ring wasn't as emphasized as much as in in the rewrite. Other authors have bit the same piece of bitter fruit and revisited earlier works. Admitting the need is the biggest hurdle.

New Synopsis:

What would you risk to save a child?

Half a world away in Zimbabwe, Africa, a demon-god roared in rage. His ancient priest flinched, eyed the rising flames of his cooking fire, and scuttled back.  

The demon narrowed his eyes. “So, my old enemy, Raphael, has once again disguised his angelic form as that old Indian and now woos the woman to interfere!”

With the movement of a gnarled limb, he sent the old priest sprawling toward the fire. The old man screamed and scurried backward.

“I’ll destroy her just as I have destroyed all who have dared to oppose me! She’s weak. Her faith won’t hold when she’s alone and terrified. She’ll falter, just as they all have. And then, I will take her.”

The old priest nodded, rose, and entered his hut. He descended the rickety wooden ladder into the ceremonial chamber. The nganga, the cauldron filled with blood, animal parts, and things unimaginable, simmered over a small fire. The ceremonial sticks leaned against the near wall. The old priest brushed his hand over the rough surface of the wooden altar.

The demon’s raspy voice whispered. “Yes. Let it run red.”

Now Available: Lions Among the Lambs - Book Two of the Lions and Lamb Series

It's finally done!

Evil takes many forms. Some times as beauty, sometimes as beast.   

In this sequel to And Then Came a Lion, Susannah Daniels faces an adversary who takes evil to a higher level than any predator she has yet encountered. This monster uses the innocent only as a means to his end - a personal Armageddon.

Yet, things are not always what they appear to be. How can Susannah tell who is the beast and who is not? She must trust an old Indian spirit, a divine messenger sent to lead her through a maze of supernatural challenges expertly orchestrated by a creature universally known for his deceptions.

And so begins the game of Cat and Mouse. Who will win? The predator or the prey?

Available on Amazon: Lions Among the Lambs

What Really Matters

While many authors will never win a Pulitzer for literature (particularly yours truly), we all aspire to that coveted list: the NY Times Best Sellers. It is akin to winning the literary lottery and the idea that success means huge sales and a large bank account sucks you in the moment your book goes on sale. I know better, and yet the siren still calls.

Of course, all authors write in order to have their book read, but for the Christian author their audience is dictated by their genre and ultimately by God. A wonderful book just released by Terry Burns and my friend, Linda Yezak, Writing in Obedience, confirmed this insight. In Lions and Other Things (Why I Write), I explain how I came to write this particular book, And Then Came a Lion. Terry and Linda validated that experience. I am not alone in this regard, as their book clearly illustrates. I have joined the ranks of thousands called to write for the Christian market. Some receive a calling while others offer their work to Him. Both are following His will.