The Realms of a Fantastical Mind

The night crept up on the boat as the choppy seas rocked it.  Rain had began to pelt on the wooden deck.  Commands were shouted back and forth and the deck hands did their work to secure the rigging.  Below decks the people huddled together while other crew men secured the cargo.  The shifting waves made it all but impossible for the passengers to maintain a steady footing.  Lia brushed back her blond hair as she glanced around at the miserable human women and children.  The elf may have been smaller than them by height and build, but her hard heart made her feel sturdier than the whimpering people.  She stopped breathing for a moment, taking in the sounds of outside the protective hull.  Scrapping sounds whispered under the crashing waves and shouting men.  Taking one more look at the humans Lia grabbed onto the hilt of her sword and made her way up to the deck. Chaos greeted her as she eyed first the scrambli...

Blog Ring of Power Presents The Writing Life of Author Cole Gibsen BRoP Interview part 2  If you missed part 1, stop by T.W. Fendley's blog  Click Here When Cole Gibsen isn't writing books for young adults, she can be found rocking out with her band, sewing crazy costumes for the fun of it, picking off her nail polish, or drinking milk straight from the jug--provided no one is looking. She debuts in March with two young adult novels--KATANA on March 8 from Flux and BREATHLESS by March 27 from Crescent Moon Press. BRoP:  What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine? Do you use pen and paper or computer? Work at home or at the library/Starbucks, etc.   Cole:  I try to write every day, Monday through Friday. And I do the majority of my writing on my run down little laptop (even though I have a fabulous brand new PC upstairs. I know. It doesn’t make sense to me, either.) As long as my house is clean, I like to write at hom...

I've been focusing on tid-bits for writers on Wednesdays but this time I think I'm going to switch it up, again.  Don't worry, next week we will go back to our regularly scheduled tips and links.   I was tagged by fellow Blog Ring of Power host, Dean C. Rich and thought this would be fun.  The rest of the Ring has been tagged as well, I hope you check out their blogs to see the answers they provided. Blog Hopping Meme       1. What is your dream vacation? A week in a cabin, in the forest, with supplies to last us the entire time I'm there. While I learn how to hunt with archery. The supplies are for the fact that I'm not sure if I could really kill anything. 2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead? I'm more spontaneous than I should be.  I try to plan, but the plans are always loosely set, just in case I end up doing something else.  3. Tell us one thing you want to do but don’t ...

Ladarius stepped lightly, studying the walls with expert eyes.  His search for traps led him down the tunnel to find three things. Two doors, a strange glowing glyph on them both and no physical traps to disarm.  Disappointed he looked back at his companions, all watching him with weary eyes. "There is nothing here but some strange glowing markings." "Hold still." The mage insisted as he made his way to him. Taking a step back, Ladarious stepped on another glyph in the floor. He froze not knowing what to do. "You idiot! I had told you to stay still. This could blow you away, remain as you are while I study these.  Any movement may set them all.  We have no way of knowing what they will do until I've looked them over. Now stay still." Serral glided behind the mage, inspecting the glyphs with a trained eye. "I have a spell that can absorb the magic, but this is of a strength where I alone will not be enough." The mage nodded. "I ...

The Publishing War has begun. Amazon vs. Barnes & Nobles affects each and everyone of us. by www.epublishabook.com The Publishing War has begun. Amazon vs. Barnes & Nobles affects each and everyone of us. At first glance it looks like a corporate war between giants on the book market that is of little interest to the little people. Yet, the foot soldiers in that war are writers, especially those writers who finally began to believe in their chance to find fame and fortune through self-publishing. So what are the battle lines? On one side, we have Amazon, or more specifically, Amazon’s publishing arm KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) that now requires exclusivity from its authors. Last week, Barnes & Nobles responded to Amazon’s exclusivity’s policy by declaring it would refuse to distribute any books published by Amazon. B&N was soon followed by Indie Commerce and other smaller publishers, joining the movement to boycott Amazon. Some aspects of this boyc...

There is a lot of information out there.  So much to learn and so many blogs that have the point down. Do I need to repeat what others have said? I could give you the run down in my words, try to hook you with my own voice, but I like sharing.  I hate thinking of the blog sphere as one big competition to get attention when I can do some research for you fine folks out there, hook elbows with my writer buddies, and show you insight from where I've spotted it.  So, in taking a page from the great and powerful Joyce Alton who does this every now and again on her blog Yesternight's Voyage . Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors K.M. Weiland asks the question: Does your story have too many Characters? Her blog has many interesting facts and tid-bits that have helped me personally, so I wanted to share the love. The Bookshelf Muse: Guest  C. S. Lakin writes The Plot Thickens    Get into the concept with C.S. on the importance of layering plot. Its a ...

Welcome to a world where imagination entwines into reality. Thoughts take shape and dance with the written word. Several minds collide twisting as rings around a planet of ideas. Thanks to the brain child of an AQC friend of mine, T. Bruce, I'll be joining a group of fellow writers in a blog ring.  We have several ideas floating about waiting to become cross blog events.  It should be interesting, I can't wait to see this baby grow. There are six of us joining the ring, aspiring writers T. Bruce, Dawn G. Sparrow, D. C. Rich and well... me. We also have two published writers to grace our ring, Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, and T.W. Fendley. This should be quite the journey .  T. Bruce - Terri Bruce Net As I said, this is her brain baby, on her blog she writes about point of view and other helpful tips on writing.  She is very insightful and thought provoking. She has said that she writes   genre-crossing speculative fiction that defies labels - ...

Every writer needs a support group, a gathering of like minds to help that person grow and become more than just a teller of tales.  Most writers, I have noticed, are finding groups online or in their community.  With that in mind I had researched online and physical writers groups.  I've traveled the e-highways and was pleasantly surprised when I was searching for agents and stopped at Agent Query Connect. My search had ended, this was the perfect group for me. AQC is a forum for writers by writers.  This smorgusbord of information by hundreds of talented knowlageable and helpful people. It has been one of the highest assets of my writing.  Disscussing things such as the dreaded Query, (in short: a letter to agents asking for representation) to things such as what an agent looks for and how to make that pesky first sentence, paragraph and chapter able to hook the reader.  There is advice for any aspect of writing.  Each genre has it's own group...

Deep into the cavern they traveled, fleeing the orc horde that camped near the collapsed opening.  They needed to find a way out, a way to escape the army.  However, there was no way out, but there was a way in.  For each new cave that broke from the tunnels, unease grew among the companions. Reaching another large cavern the companions came upon a dead end.  The smell of decay and the putrid stench of the trolls they had slain gave the piles of soft plant life a repulsive edge.  The group hesitated in the tunnel, scanning the area for any other life. Mavra began to cast, the twisting of words echoing past the dripping of water from beyond the darkness. Lights began to glow, softly at first until they were bright enough to see around.  They danced in front of the dark elf, making his dark skin glow grey.  He pushed the lights into the beyond, searching for the next opening. There was nothing to find.  Stalactites hung low, reaching f...