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A new author collective is born today!

We are the BookSworn and we are hosting a Masked Ball with a Grand Giveaway in celebration of our first week of blogging!

Head over and see how to win, then come back every week for posts about writing, genre fiction, and sometimes we'll even tell you what we really think.

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misunderstandings and more woerld-, er, world building

Art supplies, tracing paper, atlases, and the trusty laptop commandeered my kitchen table as I exercised cartographic muscles I didn't realize that I possessed. My husband took one look at the mess and said, "So, let me understand this: you are using a map of places that DO exist in order to construct a map of a place that DOES NOT exist?"

"Yes."

And that, my friends, is essentially what I've done with Woerld from the beginning. I am giving you your world back to you--regurgitated in a different form--maybe better in some ways, maybe worse, but it is an alternative world/Woerld of my imagination. However, in order to do that, I wanted to build upon the familiar.

I talked about it in another post that I wrote sometime ago when a reviewer, who wasn't very linguistically savvy, intimated that I made up the the word "Woerld" because "woe" constituted the first three letters. Woerld, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a medieval spelling of the word "world."

The word inspires the familiar. The spelling throws a twist into an otherwise known factor. Most readers got the twists and turns in Miserere, others focused primarily on the familiar.

Michael C. Hayes, in his superb cover art, picked up on the familiarity of the Templars as Christian knights. Hayes projected his thoughts onto the cross on Lucian's chest (and on the swords and other insignia in the cover art), which is a Templar cross. There was nothing wrong with this at all, by the way. I'm just using Hayes' art to show you how we all project our own experiences into the stories that we read.

The cross, Templar or otherwise, is not the Citadel's emblem. The Citadel's emblem is the alpha and omega combined to create an overlapping image. This was also deliberate on my part.

I could have used a crucifix, which is symbolic of the passion, or a resurrection cross, which is symbolic of the eternal life thereafter, or even the Templars' cross, which Hayes favored. Instead, I chose a symbol used most often on scholarly publications--the alpha and the omega. I always saw my bastions, all of them, as being much more like universities.

The focus on the Christians and the Citadel was due to Lucian and his biography. The time period and location of Lucian's birth would have made him an Eastern Orthodox Christian. A lot of people confused Eastern Orthodox with Catholic, and part of that was my fault. In creating the Citadel's rites and rituals, I went back to many early forms of Christianity that predated the schism between the east and the west. While I tried to remain true to Eastern Orthodox rites, it is, frankly, hard to beat out the Roman Catholics for flash and glamor--hence the exorcism performed in Miserere is Roman Catholic.

Unfortunately, Miserere experienced something of a Christian-anathema, and this attitude created a backlash that I wasn't prepared for--not just among fans but among a few other fantasy authors as well. For a while, I was mistaken for a Christian fiction writer, even though Miserere can in no way be categorized as Christian fiction. People who attempt to pass Miserere off as Christian fiction do not fully understand the Christian fiction market--or Christianity, for that matter.

Fortunately, a lot of fantasy authors have praised the book. I've even had atheists tell me that they've enjoyed the story, because it is not about religion but about people. When people read Miserere, some of them remark that they see the romance, others see an epic story, while others see only the religion. What they see is a reflection of themselves in the world that I created.

If you had asked me, last year this time, if I was going to write any other novels set in Woerld, I would have said no. Never.

However, a lot of people are asking for a second book--enough people are asking that I intend to work on Dolorosa. I'm curious what they will see this time. I am not afraid of those who misunderstand my intent. Those kinds of people only see reflections of themselves and their own prejudices in everything.

I've made a map of Woerld and am working with a friend to bring it to life. Like everything else in Woerld, it will be a familiar reflection of what is here on earth. Once I have acclimated you to Woerld and its hierarchies and bastions and places, I want you to get ready, because in Dolorosa, we are going to Hell ...

a new page for Woerld

I've been working this weekend to create something new for the website. When writers submit a novel to an editor, we are sometimes asked for something called a series sheet. While I went over my notes on Dolorosa, I have been referring back and forth to the series sheet that I created for Miserere. I needed to refresh my memory as to the rules I constructed around Woerld. As I worked through those maps and notes, I thought some of you might like to see my brief history of Woerld.

Thanks to everyone on Facebook who checked links (*waves at Andy*) and who caught pokes for spokes (*waves at Tammy*), and special thanks to Mihir for his wonderful help on checking names and titles for the Mandir and the Mosque.

Anyway, Woerld is finally live and ready for everyone to peek at. I'll be adding bastions to the page when I have time. When I've made significant changes, I'll update you all through a blog post.

tips for the debut author & happy release day to Zachary Jernigan

Happy release day to Zachary Jernigan, author of No Return!

Over the weekend, Zachary wrote a post about his own hard truth about being a writer. His post made me realize, once again, that while everyone online has tons of advice about how to write a good story, get an agent, publish a book, etc., etc., etc., but you rarely see blog posts with advice for what happens AFTER you become published.

So here are my tips for the debut author (from one slow writer to another):

#1 -- You are a good writer. Otherwise, you wouldn't be published. Remind yourself of that at all times. You worked just as hard as any other writer to get where you are today. You deserve your success. Period.

#2 -- Don't compare your book to anyone else's book. Your novel is what it is, but more than anything else, it is a part of you. If you compare your work to works by George RR Martin, Octavia Butler, Madeleine L’Engle, or any other author, you will always find ways in which your work is lacking. When you engage in this behavior, you are cheating yourself, because you do not, will not, cannot write like them. You write like you, and you are unique. Be proud of your accomplishment. Not many people make it as far as you have.

#3 -- Lasting success takes time. Lasting success comes from building goodwill and trust with your readers. You accomplish this by continuing to write the absolute best possible novel that you can write. Some people write very quickly, others do not. If you, like me, fall into the latter category, remind yourself that to throw shabby work at your readers betrays their trust in your ability to entertain them.

#4 -- Deadlines are inevitable. However, you can sometimes negotiate those deadlines. Most publishers are very understanding, especially when you are dealing with circumstances beyond your control. Don't allow someone to pressure you into releasing a work that is not ready, because when doing so, you hurt yourself, the publisher, and, worst of all, your readers.

#5 -- Don't feel pressured to accept every, single blogging invitation immediately. When you don't have time for an interview or blog post, be honest. Book bloggers are wonderful and they will work with you. There have been times when they have asked me for interviews or blog posts and I had to tell them that I would love to, but that I couldn't do it immediately, and they worked around my schedule. On those occasions when they had a scheduled series and couldn't negotiate the timetable, I bowed out and they quite often asked me back again for a different series.

#6 -- Whenever possible, go to cons. Cons are where you will find other writers, publishers, and editors who totally understand what you're going through. And trust me, you need their wisdom, I know I do.

#7 -- There is nothing wrong with writing slow. I write every evening between 7pm through 11 or 12pm. I edit on weekends. I work 40 hours a week, have a family, and a social life--sometimes I get sick. I need all these things (except getting sick--I could happily forego getting sick), and I devote a great deal of time to writing. Given all of the things in my life, I write pretty freaking fast. So the next time you think of yourself as a slow writer, take an inventory of the things you've done that week. You might be surprised that your time was spent more productively than you think.

#8 -- Thinking about the storyline counts as writing. Plotting and daydreaming count too. Sometimes I don't think we do enough of either.

#9 -- Don't feel pressured to read everyone else's novels. There are only so many hours in the day. Read when and what you can. If you don't get to read a colleague's novel immediately, trust me: we understand. We all have been where you are now.

#10 -- Follow your heart and enjoy life. That is where the stories are.

When I talk about religion

I am working on a much longer blog post about writing for publication later this week; however, last week, I sent out a tweet that Miserere isn't about religion and my friend Glinda asked me what prompted the tweet. I wanted to answer her question but not in a flip 140 character tweet. Nothing in particular prompted the tweet--it was more like a conglomeration of issues that accumulated over a long period of time.

I think people see the word "Christian" and immediately associate the work with religion. Amazon.com helps perpetrate this fallacy by placing Miserere in the "Christian Fiction" category, which is based on computer algorithms and probably picks up the word "Christian" from the blurb.

So I thought I would clarify things for you.

When I talk about religion, it looks like this: The Book of Daniel as Apocalyptic Literature. When I talk about how religion and religious beliefs impact culture, it looks like this: Christian Dogma from the Classical Period through the Reformation: Paving the Way to Christian Apathy.

What I write for your enjoyment is fantasy, and that looks like this: Miserere: An Autumn Tale.

I'll be around later this week with a real blog post for you.

StellarCon 37 panel schedule is here

I'll be at StellarCon 37 this weekend and my schedule has arrived! I'll also be hanging out around the con and will be at the author meet and greet on Friday. You can find the whole schedule and more information about who, what, where, and when here.

I hope to see you there!

Friday March 1, 2013

4 p.m. - 5 p.m Influences on Writing -- Writers discuss the various things that influence stories and how to make the most of them.

8 p.m. - 9 p.m. Historical Horror: Horror Through the Ages -- A brief retrospective of everything that's terrified man since the dawn of time.

9 p.m. - 10 p.m. Reader Expectations and Stories -- How do authors balance reader expectations and their work, and how should fans manage their own expectations?

Saturday March 2, 2013

10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Hell - How Does It Work? --Authors discuss their favorite fictional depictions of the afterlife and what it might bring.

9 p.m. - 10 p.m. Goat Sacrifice - How Does It Work? -- Authors discuss the dark arts and how to work it into genre fiction.

10 p.m. - 11 p.m. Killing People - How Does It Work? -- Authors discuss the worst things they've ever done to a character.

Sunday March 3, 2013

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Underutilized Love Story Monsters -- Nobody's done "Twilight" for the Mummy or the Creature from The Black Lagoon.

Q&A on Gender at Fantastical Imaginations

Dominick's Question and Answer series on gender continues at Fantastical Imaginations (apologies to Dominick for not getting a redirect up yesterday--I was a bit under the weather). This is a three-part interview series where I join authors Francis Knight, Elspeth Cooper, Anne Lyle, and Courtney Schafer to talk about gender in SFF.

You will find all the links at Fantastical Imaginations as well, but just in case you've already read one part and not the other, I'm including links to all three: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

gender today, StellarCon this weekend

This morning, I join authors Francis Knight, Elspeth Cooper, Anne Lyle, and Courtney Schafer at Fantastical Imaginations talking about gender. Also, as much as I love that picture of the mighty warrior woman and the eviscerated male at her feet, I must warn you that no one is getting killed. Of course, there haven't been any comments at the time of this post, so that situation could change rapidly.

Moving on ...

I'll be at one of my favorite cons this weekend: StellarCon 37! I'll post my schedule as soon as I have it available. I'm greatly looking forward to meeting new friends and catching up with old friends this weekend. So if you're in the Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem area, I'd love to see you.

picks and pans--Dolorosa

This scene will probably be like my scene with Diago and Miquel in Garden in Umber--the essence of the scene will remain the same, although the context will change as the story matures. Here is a quick peek at Miserere's sequel, Dolorosa.

“Lucian?” Rachael held her candle higher but the feeble light barely illuminated the parlor that she and Lucian shared. Coals shimmered in the hearth and blinked sparks up into the chimney. Across the wide room, the door to Lucian’s bedchamber stood open. On the nightstand beside the empty bed, a lone candle fluttered against the darkness.

The humpbacked shapes of furniture rose from the shadows, but Rachael barely noted them. Lucian stood beside the chamber’s sole window and gazed down into the courtyard, his profile etched in darkness. As her eye adjusted to the gloom, she picked out the soft white of the cotton shirt he wore beneath his robes. He leaned against the casement, his left hand clenched at his side, his cane rested against the wall within easy reach.

She discerned the reflection of his features in the frosty pane and noted the downturn of his full lips, the rigidity of his stance. If he turned his head, she knew his eyes would sparkle with fury.

my bookshelves--the living room collection

I've been busy writing guest posts for other blogs this week, so I'm giving you a little something different today.

Here are pictures of my bookshelves. These don't include the about twenty or so fiction and nonfiction books scattered about my house (my husband swears there are more and that they're breeding under the bed--and they say that I have the imagination). I also maintain bathroom and bedroom collections, but these are not for public viewing--you should really thank me for that.

The shelving units below are arranged in no particular order; that is the summer project that I intend to undertake along with getting rid of that striped wallpaper and repainting my stairwell.

The first unit is often referred to as: that great bunch of books by the stairs. These shelves contain fiction and nonfiction, including a four volume set of The Taoist Classics, a three volume set of The Art of War, a four volume set of The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, and Montague Summers' work Werewolf.

Note the expensive cat toys beneath the sofa but no cat. That's because he is off in another part of the house, busily playing with a piece of paper.

Here is a close-up of the top shelf:

I call the next shelving unit my Santa Muerte shelf for obvious reasons (the Saint Death on the top shelf/left side is a DVD, not a book). Here we have works on paganism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, in addition to some of my favorite books for research: Satan's Rhetoric, The Apocalyptic Imagination, Demons and the Devil, and The Devil.

I found the cross at a flea market and purchased it for displays. As you can tell, my cats also love their scratching post, which they always use ... good kitties.

So what's on your bookshelves?