The Resistance Release Day Has Arrived!

It's here, it's here, it's here! I feel like a little kid on Christmas. :D After almost three years from the start of writing it through all the rewrites and editing, Resistance, the first book of Ilyon Chronicles as well as the first book under my new pen name, Jaye L. Knight, is now available for Kindle! I’ve been publishing for quite a few years now, and though I’ve released several books previous to this, this seems so much more “real” thanks to all the awesome people who have been and are a part of it. One of the things that makes it so exciting and special is the awesome blog tour my publicist has put together. You can see the schedule here on her blog: http://seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/p/resistance-blog-tour.html Make sure you check out all the awesome stops through the week.

 

And now, of course, here is the button to the Resistance Kindle book on Amazon ($3.99).

 

 

As far as the paperback, I am expecting my final proof copy on Wednesday. Well, I hope it will be the last. Since the first proof was almost perfect, I have high hopes. If I can approve it on Wednesday, it should be available by the end of the week. I’ll also put in an order for my own copies and start accepting orders for autographed books.

 

As part of the festivities for the blog tour, I’m also excited to share a fun, Resistance inspired giveaway! This was especially fun to put together. It includes an autographed paperback copy of Resistance, a wolf necklace handcrafted by me and inspired by my main character Jace, a Better Homes and Gardens “Warm Rustic Woods” candle, which I have dubbed the official candle of Ilyon Chronicles, and a leather wolf paw bookmark from Lodgepole Leathercraft. So make sure to enter using the form below! (U.S. residents only.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“New Adult” Fiction

I just posted this on my Jaye L. Knight blog and thought I should put it up here too.

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Recently I posted on Facebook about my frustration with the young adult category for books. There's such a varying opinion on just what age range this is. I've always considered it 15-25 year olds. On another blog, I saw it classified as 12-17. YA and Teen seem to be used interchangeably. That presents a problem for me. Since I started writing Ilyon Chronicles, I've been calling it a YA series, but I consider it upper YA. I don’t want anyone to come along randomly and think it’s just another teen series, because it isn’t. Not that teens can’t read it, but only two of my quite a few point of view characters are in their teens at the start of the series. Everyone else is between 20 and late fifties. They’re all adults, or will be by the end of the series.

Now, I have read YA books with older characters, but I still balk at sticking Ilyon in the category. So what choice does that leave me? Let me introduce you to the “New Adult” (NA) category of fiction. I only just discovered this in the last few weeks. This category covers readers 18-25+ who are newly into adulthood. Definitely more what I was thinking for Ilyon. The category had me intrigued right away. However, after some research, I discovered that the vast majority of NA fiction is full of inappropriate material. It seems to be an excuse to write YA fiction and add all the R rated material that isn’t allowed in YA. With a stigma like this, I initially shied away from using the NA label. However, with a bit more thought and an email from a reader, I’ve given it more consideration. The fact that NA is filled with such books just presents the huge need for a clean, Godly alternative. That has been one of my biggest goals since I started publishing—to offer alternatives to what the world produces. The more I’ve thought about this, the more excited I’ve become. I feel like I’ve been given a mission to be a sort of pioneer in Christian NA fiction.

Some people wonder at the need for a category between YA and adult. If we’re in our twenties, why not just read adult fiction, right? We are adults after all. But I’ve always felt a need for something in between. I think it has to do with book style. I’ve always loved to read and write YA. It’s just different from adult fiction. I feel like NA presents a YA style book with older, more mature characters that we who are in our late teens and twenties can identify with better than, say, a 15 year old protagonist.
Another reason I love this new trend toward NA is it perfectly fits my growth as an author. As I’ve said, I love to write YA, but as I get older and mature, I naturally want to write about older, more mature characters. Yet, I don’t want to make the switch over to adult fiction. NA is the perfect middle ground for where I’m at. I can write more mature fiction, but still do it with a YA feel.

It will be interesting to see where NA goes in the future and whether or not it will be adopted by the Christian market. Either way, I’m quite excited about this new direction my writing is taking. After all, I’ve always gravitated toward doing things different from the norm.

Lose the Spaces—and Other Book Formatting Tips

As authors, especially published authors, we all know that, number one, we must have a good story, and number two, a good cover. These are imperative. That brings us to what I consider the third most important thing—the actual book formatting. As a reader, I can attest to how annoying poor formatting can be. As authors, if we succeed in hooking a reader with our cover and premise, the last thing we want to do is annoy them with poor formatting. After all, they’ll be spending the next few hours or days in this book. Trust me, glaring formatting issues can bump you out of a story world just as fast as glaring writing issues. This applies to both paperbacks and ebooks. I’ve come across these issues enough times that it’s prompted me to share what I feel are the most critical areas of book formatting for indie authors.

First, we’ll look at important things to consider when formatting a paperback.

1. Lose the spaces. Wide spaces between words or sentences strips the book of professional appearance. Just take a good look at a traditionally published book. Everything looks neat and tidy. There are no big gaps. What you will want to do, in whatever word processing software you format in, is learn how to condense the character spacing. In Word, this is in the Font options menu. In sentences with large gaps, this will condense the words and allow you to bring up a word from the line below that originally didn’t fit. This takes care of the ugly spaces and saves you from having to use a gazillion hyphens, which doesn’t look great either.  I use the condense tool all the time. It’s probably one of the most important things to know. A note of caution on that, don’t overdo with condensing. You don’t want your text so squished its hard to read anymore than you want the gaps. Sometimes a word just plain won’t fit on the line so hyphens will still be necessary to get rid of some gaps. Also, don’t use double spaces between sentences, i.e. you only need to use the spacebar once. We learned in school to do a double space, but that just doesn’t work in book publishing.
2. Not only should you lose the spaces between words and sentences, but also between paragraphs. There should not be a noticeable gap between every paragraph in the same scene. This is wasted space and makes it difficult to read without the story sounding stilted in your head because you automatically have a slight pause when you reach the space.
3. Another area that you risk having too much space is your indents. Don’t just use the Tab key’s default settings. This creates an indent that is way too big. It must be smaller to look professional. Learn how to reduce the space to match most traditionally published books.
4. Always, ALWAYS justify your text. Never, ever have ragged right edges. Just don’t. This applies to both paperbacks and ebooks.
5. Make sure all the formatting is consistent throughout the book. You don’t want anything to suddenly change halfway through.

Now for a few tips on formatting ebooks. They are much less complicated than paperbacks, but surprisingly, this is where I find the most formatting issues. And not just in indie books, but big name traditional publishers' too! Actually, most of these tips are the same as paperbacks and just as important.

1. Spacing. You have no control over the gaps that will appear between words in a sentence. This is just the way ebooks are since they’re read on so many different devices, but you can help by again not using double spaces between sentences and making sure there are no gaps between paragraphs. Always preview your book before you publish it to make sure it doesn’t have these issues.
2. Same as a paperback, always justify your text. I can’t believe how many ebooks I’ve read that have ragged right edges, and the majority have come from traditional publishers. Why this is, I’ll never understand. Please don’t fall into this category. Justified text looks so much more professional.
3. Make sure your indents are small in ebooks as well. Large indents look just as bad in ebooks (even worse if you try to read it on a small device like an iPod) as in paperbacks.
4. Again, consistency. I’ve read ebooks were the formatting goes from justified text to ragged right edges, and then back again within a few paragraphs. Not cool.

Sometimes I think we get so focused on a good story and cover that we forget the importance of proper formatting. This is how your story is being presented to the world. Each page is how a reader is going to dive into the story. You want to make these pages as eye pleasing and smooth to read as possible. I hope these tips can help in accomplishing that.

For more indie publishing tips, you can check out my publishing booklet, Where Do I Start? An Overview of Indie Publishing.

Ilyon Chronicles Inspiration Anniversary

I was looking in my journal yesterday and realized, today is a big deal. Today marks the two year anniversary of the first spark of inspiration that became Ilyon Chronicles. Crazy how far it has come since then. Just this morning I wrote the first kiss scene of the series, something I’ve been waiting almost three whole books for! ;) I'll always look back at that moment of inspiration as a milestone in my life, because this is seriously the coolest project I've ever worked on. In honor of that moment and how far I’ve come, I've decided to have a little weekend long party where I share bits of information and story snippets on the Ilyon Chronicles Facebook page. Also, if you have any questions about the series, I'd be happy to answer without giving away too much information. So, to join in and check out what I’ve posted so far, just head over to the page. It’s going to be all kinds of fun. :)

Ilyon Chronicles Page

Title of Ilyon Chronicles–Book 1

So here we are, first post of 2013! What better way than to announce the title of the first book of Ilyon Chronicles? That title is…*drum roll*… Resistance. It wasn’t the first title I came up with, but it fits the story perfectly, and I quite like one word titles like this.

Now, not only is the title finally revealed, but I’m also sharing a small synopsis. It’s the first look at the lives of my two main characters, Jace and Kyrin. Enjoy!

     Soulless. Monster. Animal.

     Could God ever love a half-blood who society looks on with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when tragedy shatters the only peace he’s ever known, all the lies and doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the past he longs to forget, but can never escape.

     Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair and her twin brother live every day under a pretense of loyalty and the threat of being discovered. After her unique abilities place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.

     As the emperor sets into motion long-devised plans to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, thousands of lives are endangered. But there are those willing to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and struggles as they become part of the resistance.

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Interested? I hope so. :) I can hardly wait to share more. Still no plans for a publishing date, unfortunately. But I actively update my Ilyon Chronicles Facebook page with all the latest news as I work through the series. So make sure to like it if you want stay up to date and catch any story snippets I post along the way. Also, if you’re interested, I have many growing boards for the series over on Pinterest. Lots of character, race, and setting inspiration for the story. You can kind of get a feel for the world there. It’s been one of the most fun aspects of writing this story.

Trust Cover and Synopsis

Well, after a slight delay in getting them both ready, I am very excited to present the cover and synopsis of Trust, the third and final book of the Makilien Trilogy!

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   “I just can’t understand this, Elohim. When is any of it going to make sense? I really need You to guide me.”

   Struggling to cope with the losses of battle, Makilien seeks to live each day in trust of Elohim’s plans. As the conflict of hope and reality war in her mind, a sudden arrival changes everything, bringing to light a new scheme wrought by the remnant of Zirtan’s men.

   Finding herself witness to a shocking act of treachery, Makilien is thrust into the very center of the dangerous schemes of the enemy. Trust is something she must give carefully as those who appear trustworthy fail even as those she would least expect could hold the key to success. Can she and those around her secure their safety and freedom or will they find themselves outwitted by their enemy’s final act of dominance?

Trust Cover Costume

With the release of Trust fast approaching (I’m planning on a November release date, if all goes well), it’s time to start sharing things such as the cover, synopsis, book trailer, and all that good stuff. To start it off, I wanted to share a little about the costume that will appear on the cover. This one didn’t have nearly as many pieces as the Courage costume, but it’s a costume I’ve wanted to make for quite some time.

 

First we have the shirt. I’ve wanted to make a dress or shirt this color for a long time. The pattern I used was New Look 6179. It was a wonderfully simple shirt to make. I chose it because the drawstring neckline reminded me of a historical shift, and I thought it worked well for a fantasy outfit. The only modifications I made were to the sleeve length.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we have the overdress. This was another piece I’d wanted to make for a long time. This was quite the project. I used a grand total of 350 metal eyelets! All put in by hand. It took about three days of working hours at a time to attach them all. But I love the result. It turned out just like I hoped. The skirt of the dress has eight separate panels, which I can either lace or leave open, obviously for the easy of riding, combat, and other such activities. For underneath I have a matching pair of khaki pants. Like my Truth dress, I used McCall’s 5499 for the pattern. I again modified it to lace up in the front instead of the back, and I removed the sleeves. It is made out of 100% linen in it’s natural color, which is gorgeous and really adds to the historical feel of the outfit. It smells very natural too. :)

 

 

The primary inspiration for this costume came primarily from this outfit worn by Marian in BBC’s Robin Hood (the first two seasons are fantastic, by the way). I LOVE the aqua shirt and how it goes with the gray.

 

 

 

 

Inspiration for the construction of my overdress came directly from this dress (another Marian outfit). I just loved the idea of all the skirt panels lacing together. It was very out of the ordinary.

So there it is, the Trust costume. Now all that’s left is to release the cover. Are you excited? Fantastic, because I’m setting the official release date of the cover and book synopsis for this Friday, October 5th. Make sure to check back! I can hardly wait to share this new cover.

Favorite Gluten Free Recipes

I’ve been very neglectful of my blog lately. Unfortunately, when I get busy, it’s one of the first things to slip. Just a lot of things going on, not the least of which is learning to live gluten free. (It has made a huge difference in my health and quality of life, by the way.) It’s been a challenge, but also fun at times. My mom and I have been doing so much baking and making things we would otherwise have bought at the store. I don’t know what we’d do if we did not have the internet. There are so many great recipes, so I decided to share a couple of our favorites we’ve discovered in the last few weeks.

Best Blueberry Muffins

Source: artofglutenfreebaking.com via Molly on Pinterest

These muffins are AMAZING, and that is coming from someone who LOVES muffins. I was so sad to think I’d never get to enjoy my favorite muffins again, but these definitely cheered me up. They are probably the best muffins I’ve ever made, GF or not. I didn't take time to make the jam for the top, and I just used frozen blueberries, but they tasted delicious anyway. 




Hamburger Buns

Source: artofglutenfreebaking.com via Molly on Pinterest

This recipe comes from the same lady as the muffins. (She has amazing GF recipes!) I love a good cheeseburger and needed to find some good buns to go with it. A lot of GF bread is dry or too dense, but these buns are wonderfully soft just like they should be.  






Focaccia Bread

Source: glutenfreehomemaker.com via Molly on Pinterest

 These were the first hamburger buns we tried. I thought they were too dense and not soft enough for hamburgers, but for sandwiches they are excellent. They have a wonderful taste and smell divine when you’re mixing up the dough/batter and baking them. A very tasty and simple recipe, especially if you were to add some spices.





These are just a couple of the recipes. There are many more we plan to try. We have a few birthdays coming up so I’ll be looking for good cake and pizza recipes, and I'll be sure to share what I find. :)

Gluten Stole My Ambition

It’s been a while. My strange post title is part of the reason. About a month ago I discovered that I have celiac disease. I can’t have anything containing gluten. Ever. That’s something that takes a long time to wrap your mind around. You would not believe how many things contain gluten besides bread and baked goods. It hides everywhere! It’s pretty overwhelming when you realize you’ll never be able to have an Oreo cookie again, or buy your favorite birthday cake, or bake anything normally. And I can’t just have a taste here and there. Nope. Even the smallest, invisible trace of gluten will make me sick (I’ve already experienced this). And it’s not just an annoying allergy. Gluten actually damages my small intestines, so it’s basically poison to me. Crazy, huh?

However, once I got past the mindboggling ramifications of going gluten free for the rest of my life, I was glad to know I had celiac. The thing is, I’ve been sick for almost three years. I suddenly got really nauseated one day, and it pretty much never went away. I had good days, but never felt normal. At one point, it got so bad that almost all I ate was crackers (which I now realize were just poisoning my body) and was down to 95 lbs. It was a scary time, and no one could tell me what was wrong! All my blood tests showed I was perfectly healthy. I eventually started eating more again, but the symptoms just wouldn’t go away. Then, last summer, I began struggling with depression. It lasted through the fall, winter, and early this spring. I’d completely lost all creativity and ambition, and even felt like I’d lost the ability to write! Now there’s a depressing thing for a writer. I was tired all the time no matter how much sleep I got. I attributed it to Seasonal Affective Disorder (which I get in the winter), but it didn’t go away with springtime and longer days.

Finally, and I think this was God stepping in after months of desperate prayer, I looked into celiac disease a little over a month ago. After reading through this page of symptoms, I knew that’s what I had. I found symptoms on there I never would have connected to my stomach issues, but it all started to make sense. I’ve been gluten free for four weeks now, and I’m noticing a huge difference. I don’t remember the last time I felt so healthy. My stomach problems have begun to disappear, as well as other symptoms, particularly symptoms I always thought were just bad allergies. And I’m even more sure gluten is bad for me after accidently glutening myself last week. I went from feeling amazing to being tired, depressed, and more stomach problems within a day. I’m finally now starting to feel better again.

So, now I have an answer to all those months of inactivity and lack of ambition. Never want to go through that again. I may mourn the loss of many of my favorite foods, but none of them are worth feeling sick all the time. My ambition is finally coming back. The problem now is how out of practice I am in my writing. It’s been a struggle to really get back into it again, but I’ll keep working. I’m sure it will get easier and easier to get back to normal the longer my body has to heal. It’s been a lot to take in and learn, and I’ve still got a long way to go, but I am so thankful to finally have answers and understand what’s been going on. It’s definitely something God has used to teach me patience and trust.

New Author–Pamela Kay Murphy

I am very pleased to introduce the new Living Sword Publishing author, my mom, Pamela Kay Murphy! After everything she has taught me over the years (I wouldn’t be where I am today with my writing if not for her), it’s been so much fun watching and helping her get to the point of publishing, and it’s especially fun to have her published through my company. Her first book, Wooing Sam Walker’s Widow, a contemporary Christian romance, is available in eBook on Amazon and Smashwords right now. In a few weeks it will also begin to show up on other eBook retailers like Barnes & Noble and iBooks. She just ordered her first proof copy of the book so it shouldn’t be too long before the paperback is also available. To find all the information, you can visit her blog here:

http://pamelakaymurphy.blogspot.com/

You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamelaKayMurphy

If you like contemporary romance and family relationships, make sure to check it out!

Publishing Website Makeover

With some amazing new templates just added to Weebly, I’ve given my publishing company website a makeover. I’m thrilled with the outcome. It looks far better than it did before. Not only that, but I will soon reveal a brand new author on the website! You can check it all out here: www.livingswordpublishing.com. I will share more information once the new author’s book is ready. :)

Pinterest Inspiration

I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to get sucked into Pinterest because I knew how much time I could waste with it. However, I did end up signing up and it has become one of my favorite writing tools. I do still end up wasting time sometimes, but the inspiration to discover is endless.

Now here’s a question. Have you ever wondered what celebrities an author might have in mind while they are writing a character? I have, and many of my own characters have been inspired by photos I come across or celebrities I see on TV. I never really considered sharing much of my inspiration before, but Pinterest presents a fun way to do that. So, whether or not you have Pinterest, if you’d like to see a some of my inspiration for characters and settings, you’ll find boards for all of my latest books. And here’s something exciting, that even includes my new fantasy books I’m currently working on. I will continue adding to it as I go through the series. With my inspiration board, you can get little bits and pieces of what it’s going to be like. Just follow the link to check it out.

http://pinterest.com/authormollye/

The Secret New Project

So, after a long absence, I thought it only fitting to fill you in on what has kept me busy, at least in the last couple weeks. I call it secret project just because I’m still not giving away too many details. I mentioned this new project briefly at the beginning of this year. After the worst bout of writer’s block or whatever it was that kept me from writing anything the last couple months, I finally had a breakthrough a week and a half ago and have been writing like crazy. I’ve basically accomplished writing 9 chapters in 10 days. That’s a big thing for me. It’s made me really excited, and I hope to finish book 1 within the next couple months, but then who knows what might come up in the meantime. A release date is still a long, long way off, but, considering this is now my main project, I wanted to share a little bit about it, so I decided to compile a list of fun facts about the series that don’t give too much of the plot or details away. Here it is:

1. So far, I still have the series planned for seven books total. It should stay at that number, however, with this series, I’m not ruling out any major changes.
2. It is another fantasy series. To describe the world in one sentence, I'd say it's ancient Rome set in a medieval world with some somewhat modern society twists.
3. I cover a few modern day issues, which has been and will be quite interesting.
4. This new fantasy world has five races of peoples (one more than I originally had planned), each one very different from the others.
5. The entire series covers a three year period of time.
6. I have my two primary main characters, a girl and a guy, as well as two secondary main characters, both guys.
7. The characters are some of the most flawed and troubled characters I've ever written about, but I love them dearly.
8. This whole monster of a project started with one small spark of an idea for a character who is now the main guy. Everything else has just exploded and grown around him.
9. I'm barely half finished with book one, but I probably have more notes for this series than all of my other books combined.
10. As frustrated as I get and as hard as I've tried at times to write something else, this story keeps pulling me back to it.
11. And lastly, inspiration for this series has come from a huge array of places. That’s part of what makes it so much fun. I never know when something else might come along and add even more to it. Here are just a few of the completely random things that have sparked my imagination and given me inspiration for characters, plots, scenes, or just random little details: DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul, The Mentalist, a commercial for Unforgettable, The Hunger Games, Thor, Non-Stop Music, Future World Music, The Eagle, Unearthing Ancient Secrets: True Gladiator (Science Channel), The Errant King by Wayne Thomas Batson, and Robin Hood.

I very much look forward to sharing this series one day in the future. It’s seriously unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It is stretching my writing abilities in every way possible, which is good, yet can be very frustrating and trying. But I am completely in love with the story. I’ve never followed so many lives and plotlines before. I’ve barely begun and it already feels like I’ve been on a journey with these people. It certainly has the largest cast of characters I’ve ever worked with, each character bringing a unique aspect and view on things. And the craziest thing is, even though I have a general plot to follow, things are constantly changing and growing, and I’m just going with the flow. It’s quite an adventure. Sometimes I look at it and think, what in the world have I gotten myself into? After all, with seven books planned, this is a project that will span the next few years at least. That is a huge undertaking and a little overwhelming. But, when I think of the end result, there is no way I can turn my back on this thing. I’ve come way too far and the characters have way too tight a grip on me to step away from it now. So, whether it takes the next couple years or the next ten, I look forward to someday being able to let others share in the adventure. And don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated along the way. ;)

An Interview and Update

I have been especially bad lately at updating my blog and responding to everyone I would like to. I’ve had so much going on in the last few weeks. First of all, I was interviewed on a great blog called Virtuous Girlhood. You can see it here:

http://virtuousgirlhood.com/2012/03/interview-saturday-molly-evangeline/

I’ve been so busy lately with both book and personal things. It has taken longer than usual for me to get the paperback version of Courage to the point where it is available. I’ve had to order a few proof copies trying to get the colors right. Blue is notoriously hard to get to print the exact shade you want it. I finally settled on something I’m happy with, so I will hopefully have paperback books available in the next week or two.

Personally, my focus lately has really turned to homemaking. I’ve been having a great time collecting and trying recipes, researching different home remedies, and really getting into different aspects of the home, more so than I ever have before. It is one of my greatest desires to someday marry and have my own home, and I believe God is using this particular time to really prepare me for that. So my focus on that has really cut out a lot of my effort to stay updated on my writing and social networking. But I hope to get back to updating a little more regularly, and hopefully even start sharing some of the interesting and helpful things I’ve been coming across pertaining to the home.

1,000 Books Sold

With the closing of 2011, I reached another milestone in my writing career. I have now sold over 1,000 copies of my books. It’s been a goal for a long time, and with the popularity of eBooks and the success I’ve had with them, I was able to make that goal a lot sooner than I would have otherwise. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has bought my books, reviewed them, shared them, and spread the word. I am also very thankful for how God has directed me in all this and blessed me with success in something I love so much. I hope I can continue touching many people with the gift He has given me. And with 2012 already looking promising, I’m very excited to see what goals I’ll meet this year.

On to 2012

So, I’ve decided to go into the new year with a fresh new blog theme. It’s been a while since I had anything different. It’s always fun to start a new year with a change.

2011 was an interesting year. It was certainly my best as far as book sales. I was incredibly blessed with the number of eBook sales I had, particularly last month. I’m very thankful and encouraged by it. I guess you could say it was a good year for writing, though a lot went on that distracted me from focusing on my books. Writing Trust in the spring and publishing Truth were my biggest accomplishments of 2011. I think 2011 was the year I really figured out who I am as an indie author/publisher and settled into what I am doing.

Now, what is in store for 2012? Well, I still have quite a bit of work to do to publish Courage. We’re going through the final edits now. I’m still in the process of putting together the costume for the cover. It’s MUCH more involved than the last one. By involved, I mean sewing a vest and skirt, making vambraces, and putting together some chain-mail. It’s a very big project for sure. I was always in a hurry to publish Courage before now, but I decided to slow down and really take my time with it to make sure everything is perfect, and that’s been really nice. But I’m definitely excited to publish. I think this book might be my favorite of the trilogy…maybe. I also have a LOT of editing to do on Trust, the final book. I’ve been working on it slowly, but my focus has been Courage. Once that is finished, fixing up Trust will definitely be one of my main projects of 2012.

So what am I actually going to be writing this year? Seems like I always have this type of announcement for the new year, but here it is -- I have actually been working on a brand new fantasy series. I haven’t said anything about it until now, and am not going to share too much, but I’ve been working on it since June last year and am nearing the halfway point in book one. It’s definitely going to be the biggest project I’ve ever undertaken. At the moment, it looks like there will be 7 books total. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a series where I’ve had such an abundant flow of ideas. I’m terribly excited about it. I’ve completely fallen in love with the characters and their stories and struggles, and hope future readers will as well. The whole story centers around corrupt government, persecution, and rebellion, so it’s very action packed. At times, it’s also the most tragic story I’ve written so far, and the characters are wonderfully flawed. It sets the stage for some excellent character growth. I especially love the family dynamics in this story. There are some very interesting relationships. The world building has been a blast. For this fantasy, I have four intelligent races besides humans. Figuring out their characteristics and histories is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in writing. Hopefully the last half of book one will go quickly so I can move on to book two, and maybe start sharing more information over the next year. Not sure when an estimate publishing date on the first book will be. I think I’ll have to have at least three of the books written first, so it will probably be a while, but we’ll see.

Besides that, we’ll see where God leads me. I’m hoping and praying for a great year in my writing. With this new series, it’s certainly starting out exciting.

F is for Friendship

Friendship is one of the biggest themes in the whole Makilien Trilogy. So many of my characters would have been injured or worse if not for the aid of a friend. There is nothing like a friend who understands you and would do anything for you. It’s friendship like that I wanted at the center of Makilien. So for this post, I’m going to focus on a few of my favorite friendships from Truth.

 

Makilien and Aedan—I love their sibling-like bond and how Aedan is always there to sympathize with Makilien. I’m not sure how Makilien would have been able to bear the years of questions and frustration with life without him. Though Aedan hated their situation just as much as she did, he could always offer some encouragement and comfort.

 

Makilien and Halandor—Their friendship is just about my favorite of the whole trilogy. It’s the one friendship that completely carried over and was perfected from my original version of the story. Makilien said it herself, she didn’t know where she would be if not for Halandor. She surely wouldn’t have survived those first few days outside of Reylaun without him. He was the one to teach her all of the most important things she had to learn. He helped her gain strength, confidence, and character. He helped her become a better person, and that is the greatest thing about their friendship. In return, Halandor was able to experience being a father again in a way, something he so tragically lost.

 

Torick, Elandir, and Elmorhirian—This one just makes me laugh. The fact is, Elandir and Elmorhirian drive Torick nuts. The older he gets, the less patience he has for their mischief. However, though he’ll happily watch them take some heat for their actions, he’d never just stand by if they were truly being harmed. He may deny it, but the two of them are like family to him. And despite all the pranks and teasing, Elandir and Elmorhirian love Torick. It may be hidden behind a whole lot of practical jokes and mischief, but their friendship is just as strong as anyone’s.

 

Makilien and Sirion—I love the friendship between these two. From the moment they meet, they’re looking out for each other. Sirion is the last close friend Makilien makes in Truth, and he’s a little different than all the rest. She admires him and is inspired by him. He always has an encouraging word for her, and something about him makes her want to be more. Though she really did nothing to try, Makilien is one of the not too many people who have won a special place in Sirion’s heart, a place he usually keeps guarded for fear of loss.

 

Makilien and Meniah—And last, but certainly not least, the most important friendship in the story. This was both the most difficult and the most fulfilling relationship to write. There are so many portrayals of Christ in fiction, and for mine I wanted to focus specifically on His love. I wanted to capture His tenderness and care toward someone who really had nothing to offer and who didn’t even fully return the love with faith until everything was falling apart. That is what I hope I accomplished in this friendship.

 

Photo by AJC1

E is for Elandir and Elmorhirian

Because, really, you can’t have one without the other. It’s the two of them together that makes them so entertaining at times.

 

Elandir and Elmorhirian are Elf brothers in Makilien—sons of an Elven lord. As I have mentioned before, I love writing about sibling relationships. These two were especially fun. They are the comic relief in the story, and they love that. They love mischief, yet at the same time, they can be very serious when the situation calls for it. They’re an interesting duo, much the same in many ways, but opposites in others. Take their appearance for instance. Elandir has their mother’s golden hair and deep blue eyes, while Elmorhirian is dark-haired and brown-eyed like their father. They’re typical brothers—highly competitive, quick to throw each other under the bus in less than serious situations, but when it comes to life and death, they’d die for each other.

 

Elandir is the oldest and more of a leader than Elmorhirian. He likes to think he is more mature than his brother, though Elmorhirian is quick to dispute that. Being the oldest, he will be the next Elven lord of Elimar so his father expects him to be a part of many of the decisions affecting their city. I don’t think he always likes being dragged into mischief with Elmorhirian, but in the end, he can’t help himself, though he will pin it on his brother if he gets the chance.

 

Elmorhirian is the middle child and youngest son. He’s all for adventure and a good practical joke. He loves to make people laugh. He’s more easygoing than Elandir, and is usually the mastermind behind many of their misadventures. But despite his impish behavior, he’s very kindhearted and quick to defend his family and friends. He’s a bit more caring and patient than Elandir can be. I have a real soft spot for Elmorhirian because of this.

 

Elandir and Elmorhirian have been a part of Makilien since the beginning so I really don’t remember much about their creation process. I’ve never been the best comedic writer, but these two always take over with their scenes, especially in this final version of Makilien. One of my favorite things to come out of writing them has been their interesting relationship with Torick. It was never in the original version and was never planned for this one. It just came to be in the first scene we see Torick and Elmorhirian in together and grew from there. Since then it has had me giggling delightfully on many occasions.

A is for Aedan

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed the A-Z posts on other blogs and how fun they looked. I thought it would be an interesting way to promote the release of Truth by writing A-Z posts pertaining to Makilien. I won’t completely follow the rules because I will space my posts out instead of posting every day, but it will be an interesting way to share some “behind the scenes” information about the book.

 

So for this first post, I chose Aedan. I have a couple of A’s in Makilien, but none I love as much as I love Aedan. Though Aedan’s character is only in 4 out of the 27 chapters in Truth, he is one of my most favorite characters and has much more involvement in the next book. Actually, Courage is almost as much about him and his story as it is about Makilien. He has some very big things ahead of him as the trilogy progresses.

 

At the start of the trilogy, Aedan is Makilien’s closest and truest friend. They share the same questions and desires to know what is beyond the little village they call home. Though not truly family, they are as close as any brother and sister would be. Two years older than Makilien and very mature, Aedan has been looking out for her since they were small children. Aedan is the one who tended to caution and kept Makilien from doing anything too rash as a result of her rather spirited nature.

 

The majority of my characters in Makilien have carried over from the original version I wrote when I was 13, but Aedan is a new addition. Makilien needed someone to share her burdens with who completely understood how she felt. I love sibling or sibling-like bonds, and I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a protective older brother, so Aedan fit into that role for Makilien.

 

What I love about Aedan is his maturity and how he has fully stepped up to perform the role as protector and provider as a result of his father’s death even though he is still a young man. Though I hated to leave him behind in chapter 3 as much as Makilien did, his choice to stay and take care of his family rather than give in to his longing to escape with Makilien perfectly shows who Aedan is as a person, and that was important in developing his character.

 

Though it isn’t obvious in this first book, Aedan has a lot of questions, and there are a few mysteries surrounding him. Truth is only just the beginning of his journey.

Truth–Now available in paperback!

The paperback version of Truth (Makilien Trilogy – Book 1) is now available for order on Amazon for $12.99!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Makilien-Trilogy-Book-1/dp/0983774005/