Parallel is Free!

Parallel is free today!

We are legion

In universe 197439 the Earth is dead, decimated by an unidentified plague. No one moves in the streets. I still live there, but I've fallen silent. In universe 81345 the Earth is abandoned. No one knew of me to take me with them. In our own I hear the tales of nations quarantined as the disease sweeps across the planet.

If it is not stopped I may be the only survivor.

There are those who don't want it stopped. They may kill me, but they work without a full understanding of my greatest strength.

I am never alone.

I Don't Recognize Boredom

I didn't recognize it as boredom, since I've very seldom experienced that state. But in the Demons Bay world I've written The Guardian (2 books), the Demonborn Series (four books so far), Baystorm, Courier (2 books), FiaDeRoche, Oden, Hachi, The Heart of the Castle, No One Argued with the Mountain, Tradition (two books), several short stories, and started dozens more novels that are just waiting for me to finish. All in the same world.

The world itself is fascinating, the people, the culture, I'll never get tired of all the possible nuances. But writing in the same world for thirty years running...It was too much.

So yesterday I pulled out another story that I'd put away, one that isn't in the Demons Bay world, and suddenly I was excited again. I dove back into it with my old enthusiasm. I have other possibilities, so many other things crowding my back-brain, wanting their turn to shine. The urban fantasy world of Spirit (I still want to write Moma's story), the cross-genre world of the Shapers. Even a few stories that may turn out to be mainstream (anything's possible). I'd love to revisit Shalaylia, and I see ways that it could intersect with the Spirit world.

With hundreds of possibilities, why did I stick so long with one? Probably mostly habit. This world is old and familiar and comfortable. Every story brings out something new that I didn't know before, or a new way of looking at old information. The history is fascinating and their culture is opposite of ours, with the servants in control and the aristocracy kept as powerless wards. I love it.

But just as I sometimes need a break from writing (odd as that may seem) sometimes I need a break from a particular world. I've never needed a break from this one before, so it didn't occur to me.

So today I write on Spirit Ring and the editing for Tree Spirit. The plot edit for GloryRoad will be next, and I need to make sure that whatever project I start next isn't in the Demons Bay world.

At least, not until tomorrow. :)

Heart of the Castle Launch Party

Welcome, friends! Welcome to my launch party!

Here's the last puzzle piece. Link back on the facebook Party page or copy and paste it into a post.



If you're just visiting, and it's still December 23rd, come visit!

One point for everyone you invite who attends the party and posts your name on the party page. Everyone attending will receive a door prize, and the author will be there to chat and answer questions.

I got my book proof!

I got my book proof! I'm giggling as I do a happy-dance around the house. In the dark, and tripping over my cat. Instead of writing on my new story I've been gloating over the one I just published.

The Heart of the Castle is currently available in e-book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as Smashwords. Probably other retailers, but I haven't gone to check yet.

I got my book proof! In a few weeks (or less, if I can manage it) it'll be available as a paperback as well.

Happy sigh or happy dance, take your pick. :)

Heart of the Castle

I promised The Heart of the Castle would be out on December 1st, and December 1st it was.

Sort-of.

Doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) and trying to launch a book at the same time (as well as writers group stuff and critiquing stuff and looking for a job and illnesses and Thanksgiving and my winter garden...well, you get the picture) was insane.

Next year I need to add a 13th month that has NOTHING planned. I'll use that month for book launches. Suuuurrre. :)

So I finished 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo on November 28th. 27th? Whatever. I finished NaNoWriMo and got my book all ready to go, and submitted it (the process actually went better than I expected) and waited. And waited. The book is up on Amazon, and on Smashwords as of this morning, but it hasn't been approved for their premium catalog which means it hasn't been sent to BN or Kobo or any of the other vendors that Smashwords submits to. I'm going back to check the status about every three minutes (a slight exaggeration) hoping it will be sent this morning. Then it takes a while for some of the vendors to process...

I decided with earlier books that I didn't want to submit in January, April, or July. Now November. I really don't think there's a good month for a book launch.

On the other hand, Heart of the Castle will be available in a hard copy! It's over 70,000 words, so it's a relatively standard sized novel. It'll be large--Createspace judges the cost by the number of pages so it's cheaper for me to make it 6x9 and fewer pages than to make it 5x7 and more pages.

NaNoWriMo update

Sometimes I feel like a kid playing "Marco Polo." Don't know how many of you ever played that as a kid. One child is blindfolded and wanders around trying to catch the others. The child calls out "Marco" and the others respond "Polo" so s/he can locate them. It was rather fun.

So at the moment I'm running around blindfolded shouting "NaNo!" "Wri-mo!" "NaNo!"

I have so much fun with this it's indecent.

I hit 33,000 words last night and I'm beginning to suspect that the story (called "Infanta") will be longer than the 50k. Last year I topped out at 41k and had to start editing (i.e., writing new scenes) in order to reach the goal. I did reach it, though. That book is currently over 70k and will be coming out in December.

The main character in Infanta is Iat (the name will probably change). She is technically human, or at least she's descended from humans. I won't go into the history (the story doesn't) but her ancestors were deliberately changed as opposed to being changed by the mutagenic power of the Demons Bay. She has eight limbs (two legs, two hands, and two sets that can be either) and big blue white-less eyes. If you know about my primary world, you know that means she's descended from the Blod, the aristocrats of the world. She is also descended from the Soldier Clan, which causes some interesting tensions. Her skin is true black, iridescent. Others of her family have skin that ranges from white (for infants) to blue or green or black and in all shades of those colors.

She is the Infanta (or princess) of their race, and believes that this is only a matter of descent--she is the oldest child of the oldest child all the way back to the First-parents. Actually it's a great deal more. As she will soon learn.

For more information about the world this book is based in, use the tabs at the top of the page. Sample pages for other books are listed on the tab "In Other Worlds."

Title Contest

I'm currently writing a book tentatively titled Let Go. Which used to be Let It Go, but now every time I hear that title I hear the Disney song. Bleh.

Let's have a contest for a new title. Let Go is a contemporary suspense, a sort-of prequel to Without A Voice. If you haven't read Without A Voice and would like to, let me know or go to your favorite retailer. Without A Voice is the story of Mae, a young woman running away from a crazy ex boyfriend. It takes place when she's in her mid twenties and is technically religious suspense. Let Go is the story of her mother, and starts when Mae runs away at the age of 14.

I know, it's not fantasy, but I felt strongly that I had to write these.

You can give me your title suggestions here, or on Facebook. I'll post the top five choices and let anyone who wants to put in their two bits.

The person who submits the winning title will get an e-copy of both books, Without A Voice immediately and the other once (eventual title here :) comes out. If you know other people who might be interested in playing, share the post or point them in this direction.