Who Writes this Stuff, Anyway? Oh...Right...That Would Be Me.

Well, Christmas and the New Year are both over with, and it's a very ordinary January 2. My editor, Gerry, and I have both been very busy over the holiday. He, editing the vast majority of my novel while on a rural farm in Australia, and me, getting a pic taken for the back of the book, writing a synopsis and an author bio.

I think Gerry may have had the easier task, of the two of us. Okay, perhaps not. But having to kneel Japanese-style on a pillow tucked in back of my knees until my lower legs went entirely numb wasn't something I'd anticipated during the photo session, but we needed the extra height. (Read: I'm short. The better to be underestimated in a fight, my dear.)

We kept adding and swapping props, and adjusting the position of the katana so that it wasn't hogging the attention. Glittery blade much? You'd think this was an anime the way it tried to jump in there and gleam. I was suddenly very glad that its guard was generally octagonal in shape; we finally found an angle where it didn't blind the camera with the flash reflection, but you can still see that it's there, way down in front, if you're looking.

I suppose you'll all go look for the sword now. Go ahead; I'll wait. Bio Page  It's also permanently located in the Links of Interest on the right side of the screen.

Also, writing a synopsis of the book (as well as one of my relevant life) is just as hard as composing a short story. It took over an hour for each of those to get the way they are. As with short fiction, you have to add only the relevant details, and leave out most anything that isn't pertinent, interesting as it may be.

In the case of the synopsis, this is much longer than the book-back blurb, of course. It's over 400 words, which wouldn't fit on the back of a book at all. However, I considered that those who went to the IFWG Publishing site should get a little more information about the story than those that just see the book.

I also had to keep it mysterious, which is something that apparently comes naturally to me. I have a hard time coming out and saying what's happening in a story, just giving away all the details, even at the points where exposition is practically required. You'll see what I mean when you read The Wicked Heroine, though there's a massive scene of this kind in the first few chapters of its sequel, Oathen, as well.

I guess I like putting my readers in the same boat with at least a couple of my characters. Not only is there more fun in learning the full story slowly, over time, but there's a chance for more identification with those characters who are just as in the dark as you are. *smirk*

As I said, Gerry has given me the first-round complete edit job. I'm wading through it now. It's so exciting to have a professional opinion on my writing, catching things I am blind to. I look at the text now, down at the nuts-and-bolts level of comma placement and word choice, and it just sparkles. The before-and-after pictures, showing how much smoother it reads now, are so exciting. I swear, this'll make a real book yet!

It doesn't hurt that Gerry really enjoyed reading the book, either. When I can capture and impress a fellow fantasy writer, on both a content and writing-skill level, that makes me feel awesome. If you enjoy fantasy, adventure, and epic good vs. evil, with a solid grasp of worldbuilding and the natural and geologic features that support it, all written to a YA/adult crossover audience, I think you'll enjoy my book as well.

When it's ready for purchase, I'll set up a link to it here on my blog.