Here goes. Welcome to my blog. We’ll see how much fun I have, and how much of my limited time it uses up!
It’s a writing day, today, which means I’m not booked to do other work elsewhere. I’ve started out by creating this blog, so that counts as writing-related work. Yesterday I had some bonus writing time, between working and meeting my step-sister-in-law for dinner before going to work again. I sat in the bright and beautiful atrium of the Health Sciences building out at UBC, and wrote for a couple of hours.
What am I working on right now? I’m continuing to revise, as well as market, my first fantasy novel, currently titled Dark Elf’s Warrior, which was a finalist in this year’s PNWA writing contest. (Hooray!!!!) I continue to revise because to my mind, it’s a work in progress until such time as it is published and on bookstore shelves. But I’m marketing because it’s awfully easy to hold onto something forever because it’s not “perfect” yet.
I’m looking forward to revising the sequel, (the Serpent and the Sage… or maybe Dark Elf’s Warrior: Deception, I don’t know which is better. And it’ll probably change later anyway). I’m looking forward to it, because I’ve learned so much in recent years and have fixed up book one so much that I want to apply all those things to book two!
My new project is what I call a Modern Fantasy. The term Urban Fantasy seems to indicate werewolves and vampires and so forth, which is entirely inaccurate for this one. It’s simply a fantasy that takes place right here and now. It’s about a girl named Griffin, who’s dying for validation as a musician, (she’s a guitarist), as well as a decent relationship. Her Big Chance to make a good impression is ruined by an ex-boyfriend’s drug-induced thrasher solo accompanied by many insults and expletives. But then she meets Rickenbacker Topiary, a manager of the Salamander House of Music and Pudding, who is also a self-proclaimed Finder of People and Things. He promises to find her the lead guitarist of her dreams. Which he does. And that’s the beginning of a most bizarre period of life for Griffin…
I’m having great fun writing this story. It’s funny and crazy and because language is not limited by the medieval-ish world of my first two books, I’m finding that simile, and metaphorical descriptive passages are coming much more easily than ever before. I’m getting great feedback and terrific reactions from my writer friends, and my writing partner Ron is grilling me for more detail, forcing me to think of background info I haven’t thought of yet, mainly because I’m writing off the top of my head. Fun stuff, anyway.
Ok, I think that’s probably enough for the first one. It’s time for lunch, and then I must get back to finding out what’s going on in Griffin’s life, poor thing, innocent victim that she is.
Innocent victim, my ass. Griffin is no ‘to-be-done-to’ character! I will admit you ARE hard on your characters, but this is what lets them show their depth and keeps your innocent readers orbiting in that ever-tightening spiral of fantasy addiction. Gratz on the the blog start, wench. I look forward to arguing with you in a whole new medium! Grin.