In Memoriam...

When I first began riding, Trevor was already ancient. 30 years young for an appaloosa is pretty darn impressive. That was five years ago.

Trevor and I had a tenuous relationship at best. He knew what he wanted to do and most of the time it was not at all what I wanted or expected from him. Being bossed around by a mostly blind, mostly white appaloosa is no bowl of cherries, I can tell you that. But I learned a lot from him.

My most memorable moment with Trevor came on a regular old morning as I was tacking him up for a practice ride. Apparently Trevor had other things in mind for his morning. When I turned around with his saddle in hand I found him lying on the ground, his head hanging from the pole where the rope was looped. I panicked (of course). His eyes were rolled back and he was unresponsive. My good buddy, Leslie, bolted off to get our instructor as I desperately tried to get the halter unhooked so that his head would lie on the ground and he wouldn't suffocate.

When Leslie returned with Debbie, we managed to get him unhooked and then tried, repeatedly, to get him to stand up, to no avail. Someone ran to get the vet, also a boarder at our barn. She came and checked his vitals... everything seemed to be fine. Trevor just wouldn't respond to any of us. In the meantime, I was in tears, fearing I'd killed this horse, or that he'd died while under my care at least...

Close to 10 minutes had passed by and Trevor was still on the ground with his eyes rolled back. Then Debbie had an idea. She ran to the tack room and returned with Trevor's favorite cookie. She waved it in front of him and, eyes still closed, Trevor lifted his head and sniffed eagerly. We all jumped back and Debbie lured that crafty horse to his feet with the cookie! The vet looked him over and pronounced him well enough for all that...

Trevor had just decided that he didn't want to go for a ride that day... and that scaring the life out of ME would be more fun. I never forgave him for that, really. And I'm sure he snickered to himself every time he saw me at the barn.

I learned a few days ago that Trevor has finally crossed the river. Wily trickster that he was, I'm sure he's living large on the other side. Hope you find all the green grass you could ever eat, old man.

What Are You Waiting For? Blogfest!!!

**Does a little happy dance** Yay for blogfest day and yay for people participating! I can't wait to read your entries!

If you still want to join, it's not too late!

Here's the idea: I really love flash fiction, so in 300 words or less, tell me about a character you are writing (or make one up) who faces a choice... and have him/her flip a coin to make a decision.

Post your entry on your blog TODAY!!! Wednesday 9/26 and leave a message in the comments so that I don't overlook you and so that the others can see what you've done!

Also, If you don't already know, I'm starting an editing business called Writing Refinery (website coming soon). Two lucky entrants will receive a free critique of the first 30 pages of your manuscript! So write craftily, grasshoppers!

What are you waiting for? Blogfest!

Ok, y'all... I've never done this before, so... we're flying by the seats of our collective pants here :) It's blogfest time!

I wanted to say hi to all my new followers! I'm so happy you are all here! It's because of YOU that we're "festing" at all! I look forward to many chances to dialogue with you all about life, blogging, writing, and more!

I read this quote today:

"When faced with two choices, simply toss a coin.  It works not because it settles the question for you, but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you are hoping for."

and I was inspired. Deliberation can so often lead to inaction. Sometimes you just need to stop worrying and make a decision!

So without further ado here it is....

I really love flash fiction, so in 300 words or less, tell me about a character you are writing (or make one up) who faces a choice... and have him/her flip a coin to make a decision.

Post your entry on your blog on Wednesday 9/26 and leave me a message in the comments so that I don't overlook you! If you don't already know, I'm starting an editing business called Writing Refinery. Two lucky entrants will receive a free critique of the first 30 pages of your manuscript! So write craftily, grasshoppers!

100 followers! Let's party!

Yesterday I passed a blogging milestone! I now have 100 followers! Hi guys! Yay! I wanna welcome everyone who is new. I look forward to our future crazy conversations!

In honor of reaching 100 followers, I'm going to throw my very own Blogfest/Giveaway! Next Wednesday, September 26th, please join me here for fun and prizes.

Thanks for being such a great community of encouragement, advice, and inspiration!

Genre Favorites Blogfest, Woot!

I'm happy to be participating in Alex Cavanaugh's awesome Genre Favorites Blogfest today!

One blogfest, four favorites!

List your favorite genre of:

Movie

Music

Books

And a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories!

Here are my faves.

My Favorite Movie Genre: Fantasy (and yeah, this particular movie would be a guilty pleasure...) I love Fantasy!

I'm very visual and I really enjoy that you can make up the rules for the world (i.e. people can fly and do magic) and that characters and places can be as beautiful or as gruesome as you imagine then to be... that Unicorns and Fairies exist there and that people wear such unusual clothes!

My Favorite Music Genre: Folk and Anti-Folk

I love these two genres and the juxtaposition between them. The lyricism, flow, and social commentary all speak to me deeply... 

My Favorite Book Genre: YA Fantasy

I like this genre for the same reasons I like Fantasy movies... anything is possible! You create the world, you create the rules, you tell us what happens. (It's why I write it, too.) I love diving into other people's worlds and learning how things work.

In YA I feel like the characters, even if they start out jaded and hardened by their pasts, have so much potential for growth... that they don't always have to end up as jaded as they start out... because they're younger, perhaps, I feel like they are more resilient and more likely to experience dramatic change.

Hope.

My Guilty Pleasure: It's funny because fantasy used to be my guilty pleasure... I was a Lit major and have been known to be very serious with my reading list... I guess my guilty pleasure is reading new books (that have just been published) and best sellers instead of just focusing on the classics.

That's all for today. We're off to the mountains for the end of the week, so I should have some fun photos for you all when we return.

Blogging frequency: A guide for blogging introverts

A person can only do so much to change their nature. After that, you have to figure out how to be in the world as who you are.

My name is Elisabeth and I am an introvert. Today I want to talk to you for a moment about blogging as an introvert. I often look at my Twitter and Facebook feeds and the frequency of posts by other bloggers and wonder if anyone will even hear me in this tree-filled forest of posting maniacs. Does that happen to you, too?

I have pondered and struggled with this topic ever since I started blogging. How often should I publish new posts on my blog? Inability to keep up with frequency of posting is one of the main reasons that new bloggers drop out of the cyber-community, sadly, usually before they ever begin to discover its real benefits. I've found (and researched to be true) a few points about blogging frequency that I'd like to share, though, that will hopefully encourage those of you other blogging introverts to keep at it.

Firstly, you may be tempted to set yourself a rigid and ambitious goal for posting based on the "Well, everyone else is doing it" principle. If you're a machine of discipline, this can be beneficial, and it's likely how you approach most aspects of your life. Good for you! For the rest of us, let's set a goal of posting at a schedule that is realistic and attainable.

Don't start out at seven posts a week! Even you extroverts may find out that (shockingly) you don't have that much to say after the first week or so! Consistency is important, so shoot for something you can achieve at first (a couple of times a week to start) and then ratchet it up from there based on reader engagement and consistent content creation.

Consistency does not necessarily mean regularity. We writers are artists, after all. We needn't always post at the exact same time on the exact same day every week. Give yourself a break! Blogging should be fun! If it's not, you're missing the point. (Same goes for writing, actually. Huh... that's nice to hear from myself today.)

Now, more posting means more traffic on your blog, and that's a good thing. Search engines love new content and your place in the SEO indexes will rise. But you have to consider your goals. If your goal is for your blog to show up on the first page of a Google search for "zombie apocalypse", then get cracking and make sure you mention the zombie apocalypse no fewer than 2 times and no more than 5 in each post (too many times and your posts will drop off because of key word stuffing... interesting, huh?).

For those of you who are interested in QUALITY of post content... less means more. The better your content, the more likely you are to hook new readership and engage your current readers. This is good news for introverts! We can be thoughtful and move at a slightly more slow pace and still have an active, engaging blog. You'll have slightly less, but infinitely more meaningful, traffic on your posts. Yay!

Thing is, just posting on your blog isn't going to get you the traffic and engagement you want. If you want people to connect with what you're saying in the blogging world you have to engage with them, too. (This is where the introverts out there cringe.)

Here's the good news. Especially in this community of amazing and inspirational fellow writers, everyone is super awesome and supportive! When you see an interesting post, comment on that post. Don't be shy. If your response is thoughtful and polite, the author will be ever so grateful and will likely return the favor! And when you run up against the inevitable trolls (those that are neither thoughtful nor polite), the amazing community that's out there will come to your rescue. I've seen it happen.

Blogging can be an introvert's dream. It's a great way to engage in the dialogue relevant to your interests, and can be as high- or low-impact as you want it to be. So dive in! And don't stress about "doing it right." Just be yourself!

Top Ten Books That Make Me Think (About The World, People, Life, etc.)

I'm jumping on the bandwagon this morning and participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish blog with a different top ten, book related list theme every Tuesday (see the full list here).

This week's theme: Top Ten Books that made me THINK. Here they are, in no particular order...

1. Of Mice and Men - I can remember reading this book... I was in middle school. I cried. If I tell you why, though, it'll give away the ending. John Steinbeck really made me think about innocence (and the loss of...) and  responsibility. Haunting.

2. Everything is Illuminated - Profoundly beautiful and devastating, all at once. Jonathan Safran Foer... I am humbled to think that he is the same age as me... his writing, his storytelling, blows me away. The second World War features large in this book, as does the theme of forgiveness.

3. The Wicked Day - This is the 4th book in Mary Stewart's Arthurian series... and she once again worked her magic. Mordred, a classic villain, became a sympathetic character to me. So much so that I had to ask myself questions about fate, unavoidable destiny, and evil.

4. The Longings of Women - I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that. Marge Piercy (my absolute favorite poet) has written a zillion novels too... and this one's affecting characters will make you reconsider the assumptions you make about strangers and near strangers (like the girl who works at the coffee shop, or your housekeeper...).

5. My Year of Meats - I wrote a post about this a couple of years ago here. This book, by Ruth Ozeki, isn't designed to convert people to vegetarianism... but that's just what it did for me. A thought provoking look at American culture (as marketed to the rest of the world), the media culture (as part of that marketing machine), the meat industry (doing the marketing), and marketing (as a vehicle for telling the story you want, whether it's true, or applicable, or none of the above)... all wrapped up in an ironic novel full of sarcasm and humor.

6. Wicked - Another book that made me reconsider a classic villain... and how the face of evil, and the face of beauty, sometimes changes with knowledge and perspective. Gregory Maguire... you really know how to mess with the establishment. Thank you.

7. The Other End of the Leash - This is a non-fiction entry by Patricial McConnell. Yes, I'm one of those people that spends an inordinate amount of time staring at my dog wondering if he's content, what he's thinking, how to make him understand what I am thinking... and this book really lays it out in detail. It's a beautiful way to open the door of understanding between you and your canine companion.

8. Of Wolves and Men - Another non-fiction entry by Barry Lopez. This comprehensive look at wolves (biological, historical, mythological, political) really shed some light on the world of wolves... the people who demonize them and the people who romanticize them.

9. More Ready Than You Realize - Back in 2003, this book by Brian Mclaren pushed me outside of my comfortable little conservative Christian bubble... my life has not been the same since. Non-fiction entry.

10. Little House in the Big Woods - yeah, sure, we all read Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder when we were kids... and we joke about the "purity" and the "simplicity" of it now... but you want a picture of how daily life went for the pioneers? You want to take the time to really think about how harsh that simple life really was? Read it again as an adult... and think about how few generations removed we are from that reality. I tell you, it boggles the mind.

So that's all from this kid for today. I hope you'll share some of your own significant reads with me, too. I'm eager to read books that make me THINK.

IWSG! Self-doubt

I don't think I could be more clear in my choice of topic today for Insecure Writer's Support Group (thanks Alex Cavanaugh for hosting).

Trouble is, expressing it... self-doubt... is not as easy as it sounds. It creeps in for me in more places than just in my writing... I find myself leaving projects undone because I feel that no one will care but me, that my creation is amateur, juvenile, worthless.

And then I remember the Artist's Way, a book given to me by my awesome Uncle Pat (everyone should have an awesome Uncle Pat, by the way... he's an inspiration. Remind me to tell you about him sometime). In the book, Julia Cameron talks about allowing your creations to take form, about not having expectations of yourself that each thing you create (especially the early attempts) be perfect.

It's helpful for me to think that way... that each thing I create (story, painting or stuffed cat) is a step along my journey... and each step is beautiful, even if it seems awkward to me.

Sigh... so I'm here, finishing things that I've started now and being happy that I'm a step closer to where I want to be.

Anyone else feel this way? Just me?

Blue Moon rising

The blue moon peeked through the trees out back on Friday night before unfurling its luminescence, washing the landscape in its milky glow. We had a fire in the pit and spent some time basking in the moonlight. I am often surprised at the turn of the season, at how quickly it comes up... it's time for new things now. Hello September... Hello Fall.

Writers' Week 2012 is coming!

Hey y'all! I wanted to make sure you all know about Writers' Week 2012. It's happening September 10-14 and is hosted by the FANTABULOUS Emily Suess over at Suess's Pieces.

This year's theme is "Self-publishing". Whether you're just getting your feet wet in the publishing world or you're an old pro, come share and learn and meet others who are going through the process, too. Full details are on Emily's blog.

So come on over to Suess's Pieces. It's where all the cool kids are at.

Veggies that I grew!

Remember all those weeks ago when I posted a picture of our seedling adventure... weeks, sheesh, who are we kidding? It was MONTHS! Anyhow, looky what I pulled out of my garden this season. I'm so proud!

Yes those carrots are red. They are still orange on the inside, but they're a brilliant red variant called "Dragon". The golden cherry tomatoes are the sweetest things ever, too! And that's just one of the different heirloom tomato varieties we grew. I've been enjoying tasting the literal fruits of our labor this harvest!

In other news, guess who got to go see the premiere of the new Doctor Who series in NYC yesterday? ME! That's who! I'm one lucky girl! And Stephen Moffat did NOT disappoint. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan were there, too!! Which is all well and good, except that I really want Matt Smith to be The Doctor and not Matt Smith... oh well.

Now to get started growing my T.A.R.D.I.S.

Important Tip from Internland: Research Your Submissions!

I am sure that you have heard this recommendation before, but in case you haven't and because you probably need to hear it again:

Research the agent and/or editor to whom you are submitting your manuscript!

People, I cannot stress this enough. How much time and energy you put in BEFORE you hit the "Send" button can make a world of difference between a publishing contract and a rejection letter. Never mind the fact that you should probably pay an editor to review/copyedit/develop your manuscript a bit more for you (let's face it, none of us can see all our own flaws, and our friends are often a little too kind to point them out, either). Acknowledging that agents and editors have specialized genres/areas of interest is more than just smart for you to do for yourself. It shows respect for the agent/editor's time and that you are invested in the success of your book (and they should be as well).

Seriously, people, if you wrote a non-fiction book about family law practice, don't submit it to a Romance novel editor (Yes, I've seen this done). There's no chance that your book will fit into the scope of that editor's publishing. All you end up doing is forcing the editor to waste their time rejecting you. That kind of character development is just plain unnecessary for you to have to endure.

The more you research and understand the nuances of the genre you are writing in and match it to the genres/areas of interest of the agents and editors you submit to, the higher your chances of success. If you really want your book published, give it the best chance you can! The world is not holding you back. You can be the architect of your own success!

Now, get out there and hire some freelance editors (me) to help you sculpt your manuscript so that when you submit it you really are putting your best foot forward!

Steppin' out

Back in January I read a blog post from Brightened Boy in which he mentioned his internship with a literary agency and it sparked something in me. I thought to myself, "I want to intern with a literary agency." And so I sent out 6 applications.

Within a month I had landed an internship with an agent, and so began my education. By the end of April, I had landed a second internship with an independent publishing company. I have learned a lot in the last 7 months. And all thanks to a blogging buddy who posted about his own journey. That's the magic of our little blogging world.

Now Brightened Boy is joining the ranks of professional agent. I am so excited for him! And to think I knew him when. ;)

I, on the other hand, am taking on the mantle of freelance editor. My internship is up at the end of August. Before the month is out I should have a website to point people to for information. I'm not expecting millions of people to beat down my doors wanting service. But I hope that some people will. I think there are a lot of brilliant manuscripts out there that just need a little bit of refining.

I wanna help them stand out.

WHAT IF? Fairytale Madness Blogfest!

Get ready y'all! It's here! And YOU can still sign up!

WHAT IF?

Fairytale Madness BlogFest!

AUGUST 13th – 17th

Hosted by: Cassie Mae, Morgan Shamy, Leigh Covington, and Mark Koopmans

Rules

To enter, think of your favorite "well known" fairytale and ask "What If…!" Then, pick one of these four categories: (be sure to mention which category you're joining, during your blog post!)

Finally, write a scene(s) illustrating a new detail of the fabled fairy tale that changes our perspective.
To recap,

• Is it a plot twist? (Cinderella gets knocked up by the Carriage Driver…)
• An unknown romance that comes to light? (Snow White dumps the Prince for Grumpy…)
• A tragic loss occurs? (The Three Little Pigs are too late to save their house…)
• A little comic relief? (Hansel and Gretel win a trip on Euro Rail, sponsored in part by M&M’s…)

Whatever the change…It's limited only by your imagination – but please keep it PG-13

Other Rules:

• Post your story during the week of August 13 to 17.
• Flash Fiction – 300 WORD MAX. (You don't have to tell the whole story in three hundred words. Pick what works to illustrate your point.)

JUDGING CATEGORIES and the respective judges:

• Best Plot Twist – Cassie Mae
• Best Love Story - Morgan Shamy
• Best Tragedy -  Leigh Covington
• Best Comic Relief - Mark Koopmans

PRIZES!

(Prize will go to the winner of judge's sponsored category. For example, Leigh's prize goes to the winner of Best Tragedy, Mark's prize goes to winner of Best Comic Relief, etc.)

• Leigh is offering: A Paperback Copy of "Save The Cat," by Blake Snyder!
• Morgan is offering: A full manuscript critique!
• Cassie Mae is offering: $25 Amazon Gift Card
• Mark is offering: a $25 Hawaiian care package (incl. $5 USPS Priority Shipping) Winner can choose from any number of small items such as candy, trinkets, Kona Coffee, etc.

So go!!! Please! Sign up and join me next week in coming up with some cool twists and turns to our favorite fairy tales! See you around!

Florence songs are awesome theme songs

Today has had its share of ups and downs and "I'm really confused about how I should feel"'s... so the theme song for tonight is by Florence and the Machine. I LOVE Florence. Shakin' out the devils on my back.

Lyrics:

Regrets collect like old friends

Here to relive your darkest moments

I can see no way, I can see no way

And all of the ghouls come out to play

And every demon wants his pound of flesh

But I like to keep some things to myself

I like to keep my issues drawn

It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind

I can never leave the past behind

I can see no way, I can see no way

I'm always dragging that horse around

And our love is pastured such a mournful sound

Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground

So I like to keep my issues drawn

But it's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back

So shake him off, oh woah

I am done with my graceless heart

So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart

Cause I like to keep my issues drawn

It's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back

So shake him off, oh woah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back so shake him off

And given half the chance would I take any of it back

It's a fine romance but its left me so undone

It's always darkest before the dawn

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't

So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope

It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat

Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me

Looking for heaven, found the devil in me

Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back

So shake him off, oh woah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back

So shake him off, oh woah

Whew... I feel better now.

Ravens' landing...

Not much to say in the way of writing today. Here's a link to a humorous new post by Keith Miller, though.

In other news, I was still creative this weekend. Two new paintings and a third one started on the easel... here are the two I finished:

I find my inspiration at the oddest moments. I think I like painting because of the instant gratification (relative, I know)... writing takes a long time and a lot of effort and the end result is not quite... THIS... I keep working at it though. But for now I'm pleased with my Ravens.

Here's to a new week and lots to do!

Top Ten Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With For 24 Hours

I jumped on a bandwagon and decided to follow a meme for the rest of the year (as much as I can)... the Top Ten Tuesday meme here! Sadly, it's Thursday... but I am undaunted!

Here are my top ten characters I'd switch places with, in no particular order.

1. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) - not that I could ever be her... she's brilliant... but I would love to live in a world where magic like that was real.
2. Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia) - because I want to meet Aslan!
3. Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice) - How amazing would it be to be part of that world for just a little while? Fancy dresses for balls, servants to cook and clean, parties to attend... and she's not too good for the rest of the world.
4. Morgaine - it's definitely about the magic, and the time period... this character from Arthurian legend, as portrayed in "The Mists of Avalon,"... I'd love to walk around in her shoes for a little while.
5. Gemma Doyle (A Great and Terrible Beauty) - her life seems so exotic, and with the magic she discovers, anything is possible!
6. Bean (Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow) - Bean had it hard, but for the chance to know Ender, I'd switch places with him.
7. Arwen (Lord of the Rings) - Daughter of an Elven Lord... need I say more? Plus, she has a love affair with one of the most honorable and heroic characters in literature (IMHO)...
8. Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden) - I know she loses her family and struggles to find her place in a very unforgiving world, but she shines through it all... and the garden is alive and beautiful.
9. Peter Pan - What I wouldn't give to have adventures, fight pirates, and be able to fly!!!
10. Alec Ramsey (The Black Stallion) - I read these books when I was young and I have always been enchanted by the Black... and Alec's relationship with him. Fearless. Incredible.

What do you think of my choices? Are there any you would add?

Top 10 books I love to read over and over again

Hey ho everyone! It's been a while since my  last post! I need to get back on the wagon for real! So I thought I'd start today with a list of my top 10 favorite books to re-read and why.

Re-reading is not for everyone, I hear. Some people devour a book the first time through, addicted to the rush of not knowing what will happen next (or at least to the illusion of not knowing what will happen next). I call this "plot-angst." When the plot is discovered and the characters all reach their destinations in life (literally and/or figuratively), the non-re-reader's angst dries up. That's all they need from those characters. It's like a one-night stand, really.

Not me! One of my favorite things about reading a book is re-reading. I hurry through the first time to get the "plot-angst" out of the way. Of course we're all drawn in by "what's going to happen" in a good story. But that's why I love to re-read. Without the distractions of "plot-angst", I can focus on the characters... I can really dig in and enjoy who they are. In a good re-read, the characters become like old friends I revisit again and again and again. I want characters I can build a relationship with that will stand the test of time.

Here are my top picks for re-reading (starting at the bottom):

10. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein - Here's a wonderfully told tale by the master of storytellers. Adventures, dragons, battles, treasure, what's not to love? Whenever I pick this book up I feel I'm going home.

9. The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis - I could fill up my entire list with separate books from this series, but that wouldn't be fair. Though some I love more than others (The Last Battle, Voyage of the Dawn Treader) this entire series is a wonderful re-read, and the characters fill me up every time.

8. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte - A tragic love story whose characters and plot always leave me puzzling over how their lives and loves could become so painfully desperate.

7. A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray - I just re-read this book (first in a three book series) the other day and I loved it even more than the first time! The setting and the plot are both so intricate and the characters really stand out to me. I'm hoping the rest of this series will hold up as well.

6. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen - God I love this book. Darcy and Elizabeth steal my heart every time I read and I love to mull over the burgeoning feminism that Austen laces her characters with... wit, intelligence, independence. Sigh...

5. The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart - What an amazing story this is. Stewart made King Arthur and Merlin seem real to me... her use of history and mythology woven together to create a world like no other will have me going back to her novels (and England) again and again.

4. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card - The Ender books will always have a special place for me. You'd think this is one series that would lose it's luster once you know the ending, but it's not so. Ender's tortured soul stole my heart from day one. I can't help myself.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling - Epic. If you leave off the 17 years later tag at the end, this is a masterpiece of a work for me, and after following the characters all the way through their journey to defeating Voldemort, the pay-off is worth every bit of ink.

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling - This book really struck me deeply. Why? Not so much the main characters... Harry, Ron, Hermione all go through a lot of changes in this novel and that's great. But Neville steals my heart in this book... he grows up and becomes more multi-dimensional... and I love him for it.


1. The Book of Flying, Keith Miller - Sheer poetry and whimsy. I will always enjoy re-reading this modern fairy tale. I highly recommend you give it a try as well. Miller's writing is stunning and his story goes straight to the heart. It's something to aspire to.


What are your favorites and do you re-read often? What does it take to get you to crack a book for a second time?

My first guest post!

Look! I wrote a guest post here for Emily Suess's "Break Into Freelance Writing" program and I got paid to do it. Please go visit her blog and give me a little comment-luv!

World-Building ups and downs

I am a little ashamed to admit this, but I have a hard time with world-building... I know, what kind of a fantasy writer AM I? I get myself confused and turned around trying to figure where things are and how long it takes to get there, and what happens in the meantime... 

Although I love being able to break "Earth rules" in a truly fantasy world, I find it's easier to set my fantasy on good old planet Earth, in exotic locations. The distances and basics suddenly write themselves! Of course, I still can't decide which island and town my MCs hail from... and that will matter in the long run... but at least I have a starting point.

My current WIP is set in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. I visited last year... of course, I've been smitten with the islands for years now. I first read about them in Mary Stewart's Merlin novels... then in T.H. White's Once and Future King... and then when I looked them up, I stumbled on Orkneyjar, the most rich and fascinating website! I've spent hours falling down rabbit holes and following my nose... and the research that I've done has really helped me to see the settings I'm trying to write about.

The Orkneys really are thrilling, beautiful, and full of folklore. Who could ask for a better setting for a fantasy? And then! Something amazing like this happens. I could've made that up, but having it be REAL is so much more exhilarating! Don't you think?

What do you do about the details of world-building? Does it come easy to you?