I have come face-to-face with something I had always hoped for but wasn’t sure would ever happen. That is, writing the next book in a series. Now, before I start sounding all new and everything, the truth is, I have written the first three books of the Mik Murdoch series. Even still, I wasn’t sure what the future of said books would ever be. In fact, I know books two and three are pretty rough so I have to do some serious rewrites. What is different, is there is now a need for those books. I actually have to take the time to ensure they are as good as they can be so they are publishable. That is the difference. […]
Read moreCategory: Irreverent Muse
Guest Post – Books that Inspired – Immortality through Writing – by Valerie Griswold-Ford
There were always books in my house. My parents are both voracious readers, and they imparted that love of words and stories on to their children. I can remember, when I was still very young, listening to my mother read us The Jungle Book and Bambi (the original novels, not the Disney versions), as well as Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, among others. The idea of being able to write and influence the world, even after death, was an amazing idea to me. The fact that I could tell a story and, hundreds of years in the future, someone else could read that same story was, to me, the true proof of immortality. The books that truly fired my urge to write, though, was the Dragonriders […]
Read moreKnowing Your Audience
I thought I would talk about audience today. Specifically, knowing who you are writing for and how you can ensure that you’re hitting the mark. I’ve been shown the value of understanding who might want to read my stories several times. When I sent in Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero originally, I kind of knew who I expected my eventual readership to be: boys, ages 9 – 15. Simple enough, right? After all, the book is about a boy in that age category who wants to be a superhero. I expected some girls might like it and the occasional adult too. Then my editor, Robert Runte, and I had the chance to meet last Fall. He told me that when he […]
Read moreGuest Post – Books that Inspired – Finding New Horizons – by Christopher Walker
I was a fairly dense kid while growing up. I wasn’t stupid. I easily managed A’s and B’s throughout school. I just wasn’t very aware of anything outside of my own immediate interests. I wasn’t aspiring to anything. I just ducked my head, hoping I’d make it to the next day, and missed out on lots of pop culture as a result. When my brother got me my first adult novel for Christmas when I was fourteen, I didn’t even notice that it was the last book in a series. “Star Wars: X-wing: The Bacta War” ignited my love for space opera and fantasy. I felt like I could have been Corran Horn in another life. I loved the starfighter […]
Read more