Thursday, February 25, 2010

Thursday’s Tale: the Heidrich Brothers

The warlocks being brothers, I thought it easiest for them to share a post. Though with the current book tensions, I don’t know how happy they will be about the idea.

 

There are seven Heidrich siblings. Their mother named them alphabetically: Anton, twins Brunhild and Corrina, Dagmar, Erwin, then twins Freya and Guntram.

Once the three brothers became old enough, their grandfather of gypsy blood came and took them to a place of power to inherit their magic. This new generation of warlocks was given their purpose: stopping Trinity Coven. Whenever this coven is formed, three brothers shall oppose it. Such it has been in the past, and such it shall be in days to come.

Anton is the leader, the protector. Each warlock has a different magical proficiency. Anton’s is air. His brown hair contrasts his blue eyes. He is observant and will question matters to get a full picture.

Erwin is young, but talented and famous world-wide. His skill, both magical and natural, lies in music. Tickets to see him play his harp are hard to come by, for his performances are enchanting. He uses his connections and fame to further their purpose. Anton is his manager. This comes in handy when arranging trips in their search for the coven members. Erwin’s hair coloring is the same as Anton’s, but his eyes are brown. He wears glasses and tends to rub his narrow mustache. He is always eager for new knowledge.

Guntram idolizes Anton, but is coming to grips with the changes in his life. Now that he’s graduated, he can tag along on tours, doing menial work. His magic lies in metal.

Here is their introduction in the story.

 

Text from Erwin: 3RD WITCH FOUND

Anton closed his phone and slid it into his pocket as he stepped off the tram. Now he was glad he'd decided not to stop at the pub. The light was still on at Engraved Wonders, and the door unlocked, despite the closed sign. Anton gave Freya a kiss on the cheek as he entered the art shop, and helped her balance the armful of frames she was putting up for display.

"What's with you? Meet a girl?"

He laughed. "Not exactly. Tell you later. Both upstairs?"

"Yup. Been sequestered up there all day."

Anton went up the narrow stairs in the back to join his brothers in the dim loft.

Guntram, the youngest at eighteen, lounged in the window seat, long legs somehow managing to fit in front of him. He flicked the remains of a cigarette out the cracked window that let in the muggy night air.

Erwin leaned over a laptop on the desk. Without looking up, he beckoned the eldest brother closer. Anton pulled up a folding chair and straddled it backward, resting his arms on the back as he scanned the images on the screen.

"This is her? An albino? How can you be sure?"

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

last Tuesday Tally of February

Last week’s goals:

  • outside feedback on two poems
  • send out more queries
  • TC: write twenty pages

 

Goals for this week:

  • TC: two chapters
  • send out batch of snail mail queries

 

Almost hit my twenty page goal. Didn’t write at all yesterday. Procrastinated the morning away, and then my mom called and wanted to take me to lunch. So by the time I got back from lunch and shopping, I only had a short rest before turning around and walking to the school to get B, signaling the end of my writing day. If I can squeeze three more pages between the half hour I have left this afternoon, and during American Idol if needed, I could cross that goal off.

I started to prepare some queries to mail today. Got frustrating. Examples of my incompetency today: had to look up business letter format (so used to email queries, mind was blanking), forgetting to sign query (remembering right after sealing envelope of course), forgetting to put header with name and page numbers on my synopsis before printing. Wasting ink, paper, and stamps here! Then my husband offered to teach me how to print on the envelopes so it will look all professional. I am perfectly happy setting the mess aside until he gets home. I’ll have to find the local post office so I can mail one that asks for sample pages.

Upcoming milestone: If I can get those three pages in, I’ll hit 100 pages! I have a feeling this novel will be much shorter than EotF. Which is fine, as it doesn’t have all the world-building of a traditional fantasy.

Next month I’m really going to push myself in my writing. Details on the 2nd.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Thursday’s Tale: Kaelin

I’m going to do a series of character sketches. Some background, personality, and maybe a mini excerpt. There are six major characters of Trinity Coven. Three witches and three warlocks. Each have at least a couple viewpoint scenes, though the majority are weighted toward Kaelin, with Anton a strong second.

 

Kaelin being the MAIN Character, I’m going to introduce her first. Born at Niagara Falls (see diary), and now living in the Canadian city of the same name, Kaelin Fontaine lives alone in a secluded house. She is albino. Ridiculed as a child, her parents protected her. She was homeschooled, never traveled. Her parents were wealthy, both through inheritance and fame.

Her condition leaves her skin and eyes sensitive to the sun. She has glasses that darken in sunlight, and tends to wear scarves and hats when outside.

She has a younger sister, who is married and has two kids. Six months ago, Kaelin’s parents were shot by a carjacker while they were visiting Washington DC.

Kaelin has always been different. Besides the unusual circumstances surrounding her birth, and her albinism, she has had fish leap out of water to land at her feet, her nocturnal dragon eels come out during the day to greet her. She is drawn to water. Unbeknownst to her, that is where her magic lies. It merely waits to be awoken.

Kaelin learns her parents left her their house in Castle Combe, and her sister has convinced her to visit the house for herself. The following excerpt takes place just after she learns her sister leaked the news to the town gossip. She is sitting in her car.

 

She dug out her new cell phone, which Tali had insisted she buy for the trip, and rang up her sister.

"Miley showed me the article in the paper. And told me all about your web journal thing. How could you?"

"You never said to keep it secret. Besides, you'll be in London for the summer, who cares what they're saying here? You're already packed, and your itinerary is planned. Just go."

Kae actually hung up on her sister. If Tali asked, she'd say it was an accident. These cell phones were new to her. She dropped the phone on the passenger seat and rested her head on the steering wheel. Maybe she should turn around, go home. No need to endure an airport, fly millions of miles away, and meet some stranger she'd only spoken to once. She could stay home with her fish. No one would know she wasn't in England.

No one except Tali. Kae straightened. Even her own sister would agree to the recluse bit. She couldn't shut herself away forever. This was her chance to get away from the publicity. Maybe in Europe her coloring would be exotic rather than strange. And if Mum and Dad hadn't told her about the house, maybe there were other things they had sheltered her from. There was a whole world out there. Waiting. This was her chance. Surely she had a calling, more than recluse and volunteer at an animal shelter.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tuesday Tally mid-February

Last week’s goals:

  • TC: finish current chapter and next
  • poetry: revise two poems before submitting 
  • get feedback on revised query (itching to send it out again. patience, young grasshopper)

 

Goals for this week:

  • outside feedback on two poems
  • send out more queries
  • TC: write twenty pages

 

Poems still not quite ready. A couple lines I’m not happy with. Going to submit them to critique group. I did get the one chapter finished, just not the second.

Going to do something different, trying page count goal instead of words or chapters. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I completely forgot about Monday being a holiday (President’s Day here in USA) when I made last week’s goals. Didn’t even get a happy holiday. Most of the day was taken up by a funeral (husband’s uncle). Hoping you all had a better Monday, and a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Excerpt Thursday

Not the most clever title. Ah well. A new regular feature! An excerpt of writing every Thursday. Most likely it will be pieces from my main WIP, but I may share bits of other projects, or even poetry.

Here’s a quick excerpt from the current chapter of Trinity Coven. Kaelin, MC of Trinity Coven, has found her mother’s diary. Her parents were famous magicians, and have been dead for six months. The latter of which is technically irrelevant to the entries themselves, so… bonus info! There are a couple entries between these two, which shall not be revealed at this time.

Dear diary:

The doctor has confirmed the good news. After ten long years of trying, I am pregnant! Luc has disallowed me from doing magic. How am I to go seven more months without it?! Our next tour starts this summer. I am to be relegated to assistant status. Why does he get all the fun? I do understand his concerns. My family has a history of miscarriage. My mother lost three before she had me. All precaution must be taken.

Dear diary:

I have a daughter.

Luc tried to dissuade me, but I insisted on this one last stop. Niagara Falls called to me. What an amazing sight. So much mist and water and noise. And the rainbows. Looking over that rail, I felt part of something bigger. Then the pain began. Water everywhere. Between my legs, in my head, from the waterfall despite the blue poncho, soaking me. Something came upon me, entered me, and I felt as if I had drowned. Luc told me what happened next. I collapsed, and the child came quickly. There was no time to get to a hospital. When I came to, she was already in his arms as we rode in the back of an ambulance. Such a pale child, like she was born from the mists of Niagara. I knew then she was no Alexis, no Selina. I spent all morning looking through a baby name book here at the hospital. She is my waterfall pond. My Kaelin.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tuesday Tally

Last week’s goals:

  • finish query revisions
  • add to my bliss book
  • write two chapters in TC

 

Goals for this week:

  • TC: finish current chapter and next
  • poetry: revise two poems before submitting 
  • get feedback on revised query (itching to send it out again. patience, young grasshopper)

 

Guess who got sick again? Yup, me. That’s what, once a month since school started? SO tired of cold and sick and headaches (especially the recent, cold/sick related sinus headaches which medicine doesn’t help much with). Started Thursday-ish, probably back up to 90% healthy today. What being sick again did help me to realize (I’m slow, m’kay?) is how much time I waste on good days. I need to be more focused, have more productive days to carry me through the slumps (both physical and emotional).

I did write half a chapter. Not the two I was planning on, but still progress. This week we’ll aim for finishing the one and a half carried over from last week.

I love the comments I’m getting on my excerpts, good confidence boosters, so I’d like to continue those. The question: Continue to include excerpts with Tuesday Tally, or feature them in a separate post (probably Wednesday or Thursday)? Preferences?

Current research location and dream vacation: villages of Castle Combe and Avebury.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Agent Blog + Contest

Kathleen Ortiz, Associate Agent at Lowenstein Associates, has started blogging! Her blog is Neverending Page Turner. She’s got a contest running right now, and the prize is a query critique. Head on over!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tuesday Tally: Be Free

Last week’s goals:

  • send out more queries – revising again
  • joined a challenge on Writing.com to add 10,000 words to my novel (TC) this week. Need to make up for not writing last week. – not even close
  • hunt down and post all blog awards to sidebar – done!

 

Goals for this week:

  • finish query revisions
  • add to my bliss book
  • write two chapters in TC

 

I got some new feedback on my EotF query which brought up some good points. I whined to hubby about difficulty pinning down and voicing those points. Hubby saves day by pointing out underlying themes and motivations which I need to highlight. Thank you dear husband! So, revising query with new theme in mind, and more focus on the main character.

I plan on not neglecting my new bliss book to the point I don’t realize its gone. I pulled some stickers and pictures from my scrapbooking supplies which connect with me and put them in a special folder. Each day I want to add something to my book: a new quote, a sticker, a poem, a happy little drawing. Something that makes me happy that day. I didn’t have a strong mantra/theme for old book. This time while writing my purpose the perfect phrase came to me: Be Free. Free my muse, free my writing, free me from doubt and fear, free me from burdens that I may fly.

Lots of distractions last week, so didn’t have the big writing numbers. My husband was sick, I spent a day with my mom, and had some other projects demand my attention. Still on track to finish T.C. by end of March though. Need to be steady, consistent.

I was going to share another excerpt from Trinity Coven, but decided to instead stay on the theme of Be Free. Here’s a little something I wrote for a prompt last year. It will most likely be a part of Fly With Me, my other contemporary fantasy.

The wind whips her long black hair into her face as she smiles at me. "Believe in me. Believe in yourself. Remember the story of Peter? You can do this!"

I look at the parachutes sitting beside us. A safety net. I look into her bright eyes. "I want to believe."

I reach for one of the packs, but she blocks me. "Those are only crutches. Go!"

She shoves me with all her weight. Her laughter is ripped away by the air screaming at my fall. Was she crazy? How could she test me this way? I pinwheel, my heart beating out of my chest. I look down. The ground is spinning, churning my stomach with it. What did she say about Peter? The apostle who walked on water. But he sank! The ground is getting so close. Peter did walk on water. He only faltered when he lost faith.

I scream out, "I believe!" I close my eyes. Spread my arms. And begin to somersault until my head is once again above my feet. Finally looking up, I see her circling above me, ready to dive and catch me if I falter. Smiling, I fly up to meet her.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Bliss Book

Fairy Bliss BookI first started a bliss book during Tamlyn Leigh’s workshop at the Muse Online Writers Conference.

 

What is a Bliss Book?

A book with all kinds of things that make you smile, just a small journal, with pictures pasted in it, poetry that brings a smile on your face, quotes that remind you of the good things in life.

 

Read about creating your own bliss book here.

 

Whenever I was feeling like my writing sucked, or generally depressed, I could open my bliss book and bring on a smile. I used a lovely illustrated fairy journal. I put in pictures of unicorns and teddy bears, inspirational quotes, excerpts from acceptance letters, journaled about some of my best writing moments. My book made me happy.

And now it is gone. It had a place on my desk, easily at hand. Last week I went to add something, and realized it was gone. I scoured the entire house, even checking under beds and in my son’s closet. Can’t find it. Gone. Gone gone. You know how I was sick lately? I had the garbage can next to my desk for easy tissue disposal. I’m afraid I or my son knocked my book into the garbage. I simply don’t know what else could have happened.

I wish we had back-ups for physical items like we do virtual. I grieved. All that creativity and pictures gone. Sadness is counter-productive to the purpose of the book though. Life moves on.

On a positive note, I have an identical journal. I had bought one, then shortly after received one as a gift. Now I have a use for that second journal. Find new pictures, new quotes. It won’t be exactly the same, but I’m sure I will find the same bliss. Time to start anew.