Consistency and other topics

I have heard that consistency is the key for getting followers when it comes to blogging.  When will I learn?  Anyway, I said earlier that I would let you know if my short story, “Maidenhood Sign” made it into the Anthology.  Unfortunately, it didn’t.  There were so many people who responded to the call that it just didn’t make it.  That’s ok. though, because I am going to resubmit it to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and hopefully it will find a home there.  If not, I will find a way to sell it through my blog and let you decide.  It is backstory for my book, Sword of Earth.

This winter has been a hard one because temperatures have been extremely low.  I fight with depression in the winter and this winter was no exception.  I found myself thinking of my characters, but not writing much.  I hope to rectify that.  I hope to be in draft three next year, and with that, I can concentrate on the description of things.  I tend to do the bare bones for draft one, which tells of what is happening mainly.  Draft two seems to flesh that out, adding some depth to my characters (at least I think so), and draft three brings in more description.  I am not sure of what happens in subsequent drafts, as I haven’t been that far with a book.

As for audioboo, I haven’t been doing that much at all.  I just haven’t felt much like talking and this has been the same for the podcast which I know isn’t good at all.  Pray for me please, for I know this is the Lord’s work.

I haven’t been writing much poetry either.  This is a real slump for me, but I feel I am coming out of it.  I have been able to get out somewhat, and then I got slammed by a cold.  I’m sorry that it sounds like I’m complaining; I’m not.  I’m just letting you know where I stand with regards to the writing and all.

There are a few positive things though.  I have received an email asking if I want to be in Heart of the City this year, and of course I said yes!  It’s going on June 7 & 8, although I will be there only on the Saturday.  That could change though.  You can keep an eye on things by going to Hearts Alive! on Facebook.  Secondly, I have been keeping up with some creativity.  I have done some marker art, some of which I have mentioned on Audioboo.  You can see some on the facebook page as well.  Things are looking up!

Well, I have to go now.  May your journeys be safe, take care and God bless.

A Bit Ditsy

Some of you who are looking at this post were expecting to read a poem.  Well, I posted to the wrong blog.  Well, God has a sense of humor, and that’s quite ok.  I haven’t written here in a while, and that needed to change anyway.

What has been going on?  Well, the Lord finally broke through something that I have been wrestling with for over a year, and that’s a long time.  It has been keeping me from doing what I need to here, and I am glad to be back.  Hopefully I won’t get overwhelmed again.  What was the whole thing about?  Believe it or not, it was about whether or not I am leading people to the Lord with my art and my writing.  That matters to me.  I found out that I am leading people to Him through the Holy Spirit when we were on our staycation this year.

So, I have finally come back to writing with a vengeance.  I have come back to working on draft 2 of Sword of Earth, and started draft one of Bow of Fire.  I have decided to write first drafts in the first person so I can get the feeling of the person.  The books are written in close third person anyway, so think it’s the best.  I’m doing the odd post on Audioboo, and I have written a poem for the King’s Poetry.

As for my art, I am illustrating for a children’s book, and am looking forward to its completion.  I am working using markers and illustration board.

Well, that’s it for now, and I pray I will be able to write again soon.  May your journeys be safe.  Take care, and God bless.

News and quirks

Hi everyone,

As you saw earlier, I posted something that had a date back in August.  It’s odd, but I had written it, and I thought I had posted it, but for some reason it didn’t.  I hope you enjoy it, as well as what I have written now.

So what has been happening in the past couple of months?  Plenty.  I have published more poems at The King’s Poetry, and I’m almost finished another podcast for The King’s Poetry Podcast.  I have also completed several pieces of art and hope to post it to Hearts Alive! News and Art Gallery, not to mention others.

Speaking of art, I had my art on display at Edmonton Expo, the local comic and entertainment expo.  The event was a success; some people grabbed some cards.  Nothing was sold though, but that’s ok.  It was all about getting the word out there that mattered.

Ok.  Now on to the writing that I have been doing.  I have written some poems, but I haven’t been putting them up.  One new one, as well as a revision will be up soon, not to mention a poem of a featured poet, Leah Pauls.  I will also be putting up links to the appropriate podcasts.  I have a lot to do, and that’s the truth.  I have a little more written on Sword of Earth.  I am still on chapter 9, but it’s coming.  I am also working on a lot of short stories.  I know, but I plan on kicking it into high next gear soon.  I have needed a break, and now it seems that I am thinking of Horsemaster more and more again.  She is once again becoming a part of me again.  I know she is always a part of me, but somehow I think we could have been at odds with each other due to description.  I wasn’t willing before to describe her homeland or show more, but now that I am, especially after attending a workshop entitled “Show, don’t Tell” at Pagemaster Publications Services on November 7.

I am going to be restructuring this site in the next few weeks.  I will be making up an area with interesting links to not only my accounts I want you to know about, but also to sites and blogs I believe you would want to hear about.

I pray all is going well with you.  May your journeys be safe.  Take care, and God bless.

A LOT of News

Hi everyone,

Much has transpired since I last posted a note here. I have received my piece back, and I found out that I have a lot to learn with regards to writing, and I may take a course, but I do have an idea of how I might be able to work through it and make it a better story. That’s good.

I have since written some poems and revised others making the King’s Poetry blog a bigger place, but I’d like to make it even better. My only problem is that I don’t want to add illustrations yet because when I put the chapbook together, it’s going to have illustrations and photos. I will still put in the odd one to entice people, but I’d like to keep it to a minimum. What do you think?

Thirdly, I have finally started the King’s Poetry Podcast. Look for it In itunes, or under my name in Spreaker or Sound Cloud. There are two under my belt right now, and I’m hoping for another before the end of the day.

So what’s going on with sword of Earth? Not much, but it is going. I don’t know, after I lost the data again, I just couldn’t start again, but I finally gave myself a kick in the seat of the pants and I have been writing it. I’m going on vacation this week, and I don’t know if I’ll be writing anything in the book. It all depends whether I will be taking my computer with me. I still will be writing, but I have another tool, which I’d rather not mention at this time.

In the art field, I am working on a course on drawing fantasy characters through going through a book. I’m really getting to understand how the human body is put together with it. Not only that, the author is helping me with various careers that a person can have, and giving me lots to think about. If I can, I will take a picture of one of my sketches. I can hardly wait.

So, what’s going on the Audioboo front? Not much. I have been doing a boo here and there, and I know there is a lot to do. I hope to have another entry soon.

Well, I think that’s all for now. May your journeys be safe, take care, and God bless. Bye for now.

Summer Begins

Hi everyone!

Yay!  Summer is actually here!  We have been getting a lot of rain in our province and the southern end of it is actually in a lot of trouble due to them.  Our city itself is under flood watch right now.

The news on the home front is that our community garden has just been planted.  It is late in the season, so it will be interesting as to what comes up.  I am growing squash, carrots, turnips, zucchini, corn, beans, and for something pretty, some snapdragons.  We are in a raised bed this year, so this makes planting easier.  I loved it.

On the writing front, I have made some progress.  I have submitted Maidenhood Sign to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, so I am waiting on pins and needles as to whether it will succeed or not.  If not, I will try one more time, and if it doesn’t succeed, I will publish it myself on Fantasy’s Fancy.  I have just published the poem “Who?” on The King’s Poetry, and it already has a like, praise God!  Ok, now on to the really juicy news!  I have mentioned the Kent Chronicles, I’m certain of it, especially in the past few blog postings.  I have decided to do it like a chronicle, or a blog of members of the city.  For the moment, they will be around Mary and her journey.

That’s where I’m looking for an app or something I can use online.  I am using Edmonton loosely as a place.  Numbered streets as well as avenues will be replaced with names, and buildings will be relocated to keep their locations more secret.  The only difference is that I would like to put them on points of interest on a map. I don’t want to put it on something like FourSquare because they will be different from our town.  I want this to be as interactive as possible so that if someone were to come to Edmonton who read the blog, if they chose, they could see where Mary “lived”.  I would want to do it with hashtags, and have it link to the posting on the blog.  If anyone has any ideas, feel free to post.  Thanks.  Feel free to read The Kent Chronicles.

Ok., maybe that wasn’t the really juicy stuff.  For months now I have been mentioning that I was going to have a podcast for the King’s Poetry.  Well, the introduction to the podcast is up!  I will be doing the first podcast episode in a little over a week.  Here is the link. 

Just as an afterthought, I am planning on working on the art for the King’s Poetry Chapbook as well.  Lord willing, it will be ready for publication in five years.  Also as an afterthought, and I can’t believe I did this, I am again working on Sword of Earth with precautions so that if something happens to my computer, I can always work on it.

So, things are growing, just as things are in the garden and in the world around us.  All I have to do is praise God, for it’s all His.  He’s growing it.  Thank you for reading, and may your journeys be safe.  Take care, and God bless.

A Lot of News

Well, Spring has come around yet again…or is it supposed to be summer?  Technically, not until the 21st, but here in Edmonton, it has been really rainy.  We had 30+ degree temperatures at the beginning of the month, but now, it’s pretty rainy.  That is indicative of the change going on in my life too.  I have to quit making it so long between updates.

Our church is going about a move, so I am having to move my paintings from there back home; there is no room right now because I have to declutter my home.  It’s really tough to know they have to live in the back porch for now.  I know this is a blog about writing, but some of those paintings are of a fantasy nature…thus, they could all be story ideas.  Some of my marker paintings are, but it doesn’t matter as much for them because they have a portfolio.  It’s sad.

I am working with some of that sadness in a way.  I finally created a blog called “The Kent Chronicles.” I know that there is a series of books called that, but this is of a magical city called Kent.  It’s loosely based on Edmonton Alberta Canada.  The streets are not numbered though.  They are names of people that have had an impact on my life in one way or another.  The reason I call it the Kent Chronicles, is that we hear about what goes on in Kent through the journals of its citizens, starting out with Mary Anne DeRoss.  I just have the intro up now, but I’m hoping to have the first entry up soon.

I have also made another addition to the boosounds blog.  It’s about our community cleanup last year.  I am hoping to continue to add to it soon.

Speaking of talking, or podcasts, I have finally decided to get working on the King’s Poetry podcast.  I am going to do the intro tomorrow, and hopefully, next week I will have the first episode on the way.  I will let you know when it’s up.  As for the blog, another poem is up.  The King’s Poetry is approaching 100 posts – not all of them first issues, but there is more to come!

Ok, there’s lots of news, but you might wonder, what’s happening with Fantasy’s Fancy?  I might make that into a blog where I invite people to send in their short stories.  I don’t know because I have enough work of my own. I’m thinking I might have to rethink the blog and make her the host…that way she, as a sprite can live without me visiting her.  I don’t know.

What’s going on with Sword of Earth?  I am finally working on it again, and I will be uploading my updates to google drive.  I used to poo-poo the clouds, but now, I think that’s the best way to go.  Five gigabytes is a lot when it comes to text.  The complete drafts go onto skydrive.  Why two?  Then if something happens to one, there’s the other.

So there you have it – the weather, blogs, to my book – there’s a lot going on, not to mention editing my draft of Maidenhood sign.  Keep coming back, and maybe you’ll see some progress.  Do you want to hear my opinions on something?  Just ask.  I don’t know everything; what I don’t know, I’ll research.

Anyway, as Horsemaster says, “Great Terranna!  It’s time to go!”  May your journeys be safe, take care, and God bless.

Winter Wonderland

Hi everyone,

Well, winter is here, and with it colds and cold weather.  For the past two weeks I have had two strains of the cold; the first was just a head cold, and the latter had both a head cold and a cough.  It’s been tough because I haven’t got much writing done.  I have done a lot of thinking though.

It’s really snowy here in Edmonton.  A few days ago, we got about six to eight inches of snow, and I can’t help wondering how my characters would deal with snow.  L’Eaua, Storm, and Horsemaster are mountain women, but Scarlet and Shayue are not.  Actually, Scarlet is too, but her mountain home is not a cold one, and Shayue would be able to aclimate to anything.  Hmmm, I just realized that I haven’t figured out where Shayue’s parents are from.  I need to think of the equivalent of Bethlehem.   It’s something I have to pray and ponder about.  After all, this is His book.

Speaking of praying and pondering, I have a new character in my head.  Her name is Losa.  I don’t know if she’s going to be a part of the Sword of Earth series, or if she’s a part of some other world.  I just know her name is Losa and that she has brown skin.  I might have to interview her.

I am looking forward to working with the writer’s group I have on Tuesdays.  I have missed two days.  I really enjoy the time.

What’s going on in the poetry front?  Well, I will be posting another revision soon, and then I can start podcasting.  I have decided to podcast the first and fifteenth of every month, hopefully starting December.  At that time, I will be embedding the player into the poems so hopefully you will be able to read and hear the poem, not to mention hear what inspired me to write it.  I hope you enjoy it when it comes.

So, even though it’s a winter wonderland outside, I hope and pray you’re warm inside…I know that some of you are warm all year around, but I still hope you are well.

I almost forgot.  I have almost forgotten my podcast of the week.  It’s called Journey Into…  Journey Into is a podcast where both old radio shows and stories meet to have a wonderful mix of radio shows and stories written by authors.  When the stories are read, he, Marshal Latham and a host of others, make Journey Into… like a real journey.  I especially liked the episode where he and his family read The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde.

Take care, and remember, wherever your journey’s take you, safe journeys and God bless you.

Michelle

October updates

Hello everyone,

It’s been a while since I last posted – since thanksgiving, I think.  A few things have happened since then.  Today I’m going to finish the second draft of my book, Sword of Earth.  In fact, as I have been working on this post, I have finished it.  Now comes the spell check and getting it off to my beta readers.  I am so excited!  I am still working on chapter 2 of its sequel, Fire Bow, and the first draft is always an adventure.  I’m only editor of the first drafts, because usually the first drafts are filled with crappy writing that needs fleshing out.  I’m also almost finished a short story from Horsemaster’s past.  This story won’t see the internet unless I choose to submit to an online e-zine.

What else am I up to?  Well, I’m working on a fantasy painting as well.  I’m hoping to do a series of photos with one from start to finish at Fantasy’s Fancy, my art and writing blog.  It’s a bit all over the place, but someday, I might do something with that where I can make a chapbook or something like that.  I don’t know.  Not everything has to be a project.  I’m still thinking about putting a donate button on my page to help with things like getting the King’s Poetry project underway, and so forth, but I wonder if anyone would donate.  Is it worth it? I don’t know, but I would be very serious about wondering what peoples’ expectations would be.

Anyway, I’m hoping to get another recording and feature up for boosounds up either today or tomorrow, so I hope you’ll check it out.  Thanks to everyone who visits and tolerates my ramblings.  😉

Ok.  Here is my podcast pick of the week.  Another podcast I listen to for stories is Podcastle.  This is one of the places where authors can submit their work and have it read.  The stories are of superb caliber, and the host, Dave Thompson, is very professional.  They invite people to comment through twitter and through their forums.  I encourage you to try out Podcastle if you like fantasy, as well as their other podcasts.

Well, that’s it for now.  I hope you enjoyed today’s post.  May your journeys be safe ones.  Take care and God bless.

Michelle

Thanksgiving Update

Hello everyone.

It’s a sunny day here in Edmonton, but it hasn’t been the warmest weeks.  Frost has come to the city, so that means the end to the community garden for the year.  The garden has brought so much learning to my brain that I can hardly believe that a gardening season is complete.  What does this have to do with writing?  Well lots, if you think of Aylanna Horsemaster, my heroine.  Her existence is based on the earth, its animals, and its plants.  Her family would have had a large garden because there would have been five mouths to feed.  Knowing something of the garden helps me with her.  I’m still on chapter 8, but it won’t be long before I am on chapter 9.  I’m also working on a short story from Aylanna’s coming into womanhood.  I’m hoping to get them published into print at some magazine.  It could help me if I decide to go the traditional route for publishing my series.

Speaking of the series though, I have written the prologue and Chapter one of Fire Bow. I am enjoying what I am finding out about Scarlet.  She is very hot headed.  I’m doing short stories for her too.

So, what’s going on with my poetry?  I have just revised “Beauty for Ashes.” I’m waiting until there are four poems; then I will be recording “The King’s Poetry Podcast” on Podomatic.  I know some people say that putting them on a site isn’t a good thing, but I have to do what I can.  It’s free; I don’t have any money to do things like pay for a domain name, pay for sites, etc.  I am thinking of putting a donate button here as it has been suggested though, and if there’s an affirmative response to this, I’ll do it.

So I hope that brings you up to date, but now I would like to tell you of another podcast.  It’s James Kelly’s Free Reads Podcast.  He reads much of his work, and keeps us up to date on what is going on in his life.  This can be found on itunes or on his website.

Well, I am Rude!  For all you who are celebrating Thanksgiving out there, happy Thanksgiving!  I am so thankful for all who are reading this blog and enjoying its content.  I hope you have lots of turkey, lol, and remember what to truly be thankful for.  Well, until next time, take care, safe journeys, and God bless you.

 

Updates and Podcasts

Hi everyone,

A little bit has gone on since I last posted here.  A writing group has started at the Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse, and I have begun to go.  We are just working on prompts right now, but I’m hoping for a critique circle time soon.  I also listen to podcasts, some of which are writing based, like “I Should be Writing”, and others such as Clarkesworld Magazine.  Both are wonderful for their own reasons, and I’ll tell you about them a little later.

I have been working on some stories from my characters’ lives before they went on their journeys to Hardtra, the city of Love.  I hope to send these to various magazines to gain publishing credits, which is important in the publishing world if you’re going to go the traditional route for a novel. I haven’t decided for sure, which I’m going to do, traditional or self published, but I have to plan for whatever needs to happen.

Secondly, I have been working on Sword of Earth.  I’m still on chapter eight, but the fleshing out is going well.  Bow of Fire is doing well too.  A recent idea has made the book pregnant with possibilities, and I won’t go further than that.  🙂

In the last post, I mentioned that I was going to create a blog called Boosounds.  Boosounds is going to be an extension of an audio blog I have on Audioboo.fm.    Boosounds on WordPress will be a place where you can hear the boo and learn more from me about the place, or about the event.  There may be more photos, a video, etc.  I hope you’ll join me there.  My cooking and gardening will go there as well, so this means that the Food Tunnel will no longer be active.  I hope you enjoy it.

I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, as I said earlier.  The first is Clarkesworld Magazine,  Clarkesworld Magazine is a magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy which is well edited, and Kate Baker does an excellent job of narrating each story.  There is a good balance of news and story, which makes the podcast easy to get into. You can donate to keep their magazine and become a “citizen” and recently, they have made subscriptions available through Amazon and Weightless Books.  To find where else you can subscribe, click here.  

The second podcast is Mur Lafferty’s I Should Be Writing podcast.  Her podcast is about navigating the writing field, and she has a great balance between news from her writing life, interviews, feedback, (answering the questions she gets through twitter or email, etc.), and what’s going on in the publishing world.  It’s through her, I have learned to give myself permission to write “crap” in my first drafts.  I feel encouraged and challenged when I listen to her shows.

I hope there has been balance here as well.  Keep on writing, and if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please feel free to do so.  I will try my best to answer comments promptly.  Enjoy your day.  Take care, and God bless.