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A Lesson Learned During 2020
A Lesson Learned During 2020
Life as a creative is full of lessons.
And this year I’ve really been struggling to learn one about my writing life.
I went into 2020 on a high from 2019. I had the plan and hope of publishing a short story every month or two, of pounding out Canens #3 and #4 this year, one after the other, without interruption. I had goals, baby! I had every intention of kicking my career into a professional,…
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Today I’m so pleased to have S.A. Edwards joining us! I’ve had the pleasure of reading some of her Mage series drafts and they’ve been fun adventures involving Nephilum and all sorts of imaginative monsters and creatures.
Hi, Sophie! Thanks for joining us today on the blog. I’m so thrilled to see your trilogy was published in complete form this month! Congratulations on that awesome achievement!
Without further ado, let’s get to the interview!
Q: Did you publish the first book/story that you wrote?
A: Haha no! That book will never see the light of day. As much as I was – and still am – so proud of having achieved a finished novel, the writing was terrible. I’ve learned so much since. But it was great experience, and it showed me that if I put my mind to it, I can achieve anything.
Q: My first ones were awful too! That’s such a good mindset to have though. How many books and short stories have you written? (And how many of those early ones were never published?)
A: I am currently working on my seventh novel. I wrote several short stories before giving a novel a go, but I lost count along the way. My debut novel was my fourth attempt at publication.
Q: Seven! Awesome. Are you published? And if so, traditional or indie?
A: I have two books published through Idris Press Publishing: Mage: The Guardian’s Oath and Mage: The Ancient’s Might. Book three is due to be released in July 2020.
Q: Congratulations on those publications! I’m thrilled to be able to share the links to those works down below at the end of this interview.
What is the best advice you could give an aspiring author?
A: Learn all you can. Take a course. Join Scribophile. Write. And read. And write some more. Because the longer you spend learning, the better you’ll become, and one year, two years, ten years down the line, when you look back on previous writing, you’ll see a huge difference in your knowledge and skill, and you’ll be one step closer to writing ‘The End’ on a novel, to reaching publication or touching someone’s heart.
Q: Those are all great suggestions. What project are you working on now?
A: I’m working on a new novel now, a new series, but I won’t say much more of that for the time being. Updates will be released on my page in the future.
Q: Ooh, mysterious! All right, we’ll let you keep your secrets for now. How did you get started writing?
A: As long as I can remember I’ve been a daydreamer, often living my childhood in fantasy lands instead of focusing on what I should, but the thought of writing a novel had never occurred to me until my mother suggested I give it a go. I found the idea intriguing and loved the thought of having my very own book as a book rather than stapled-together pieces of paper, as had previously been made. And from there, I believe, my writing journey began.
Q: That’s awesome. I think so many writers start out like that and feel the magic when we turn our thoughts to paper. What is your favorite non-writing activity?
A: I love photography, especially photo manipulation.
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Q: Oh that sounds fun. I love photography too, but don’t put nearly the time into it I should to get better. But let’s return to writing. What inspired your most recent story?
A: A dream inspired the start of my series – The Nephilium Lands. It caught my attention enough that I knew I could do something with it, and the rest, as they say, is history. If you’ll pardon the cliché.
Q: Consider it pardoned! 😉 What’s your biggest writing distraction? How do you combat it?
A: The days I can’t be bothered. Maybe I want to play about on Photoshop or watch a programme or sit in the garden on the rare occasion we have sun warm enough to lounge in. The only way to combat it is to push through or set a time limit or make myself write. Or I just take my phone outside and lounge in the sun while I keep writing on my notes!
Q: Great tips. What is the single most challenging thing about being an author?
A: Patience. When you sit at a computer and know there’s still at least 80,000 words left until the end of the book, and then several rounds of edits and criticism and work to go until it’s finally finished, it can be discouraging and overwhelming. Without patience, I would have struggled to finish. Looking ahead, after all, is a distraction in itself. I can get so caught up in how much more I have to go that I forgo living in the present and focusing on one thing at a time. One word at a time adds up. I just have to keep going.
Q: That’s so true. And such a great way of phrasing it. What author (living or dead) would you most like to chat with?
A: Anthony Horowitz. Or Steven Moffat. I’m a big fan!
Q: Where can we find you after this interview?
A: You can find me here on Facebook, where I post inspiration on writing and news on upcoming books.
Where can we find your publications? Amazon
Mage: The Guardian’s Oath (UK link) (US link) – Available Now
Mage: The Ancient’s Might (UK link) (US link) – Available Now
Mage: The Eternal Realm (UK link) (US link)– Released July 4th 2020
Thanks so much for joining us, Ms. Edwards! It’s been a pleasure chatting.
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Author Interview: S.A. Edwards Today I'm so pleased to have S.A. Edwards joining us! I've had the pleasure of reading some of her Mage series drafts and they've been fun adventures involving Nephilum and all sorts of imaginative monsters and creatures.
Book Review: Heart of the Curiosity
Book Review: Heart of the Curiosity
Heart of the Curiosity H.L. Burke
Oh boy this was a sweet read.
A romantic slow burn, a sweet, clean romance, with action, adventure, and a Sherlock Holmes quality feel, this book is so worth it.
Every book that I read by Burke is really a great novel. Some resonate with me more than others, and I really found this one to be one of her best. (The other one I really enjoyed for its depth of…
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Common Writing Mistake #3: worrying about originality
Common Writing Mistake #3: worrying about originality
I saw this quote the other day:
“Some writers confuse authentic, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.” – W. H. Auden
(Thanks to @authorrachaeljack on IG for this quote.)
It reminds me or another quote, this one by Oscar Wilde:
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
There is so much out there for authors about being “original.”…
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5 Ways I’ve Changed as a Writer (since starting this blog)
5 Ways I’ve Changed as a Writer Since Starting this Blog #writingcommunity #authorlife
I waited until the last minute to put together this blog post. Seriously, Thursday night here, folks. Since I’ve recently been contemplating rebranding my blog, and I know I have a lot of old writing articles posted on this blog that still (might) have something worth reading, I figured I’d just go back to an early one and share it with you tomorrow (well, today).
Only, I got there and realized…
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Today on the blog I’m thrilled to have an author interview. I’m part of a new JL Anthology that releases later this month, and some of us are participating in a blog tour with interviews. If you’ve been following along, thanks for joining us today. If you haven’t been following along, then check out the prior interview, here.
Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today, Shannon! I’m so excited to have you here! I gotta say, I loved your short story based on the Emperor’s New Clothes… “An Empire of Fools” was awesome, so I’m thrilled to get to have the chance to interview you today regarding your new short story, “Sands”!
Okay, first, some icebreaker questions:
Q: What is your favorite hobby? (Besides reading and writing.)
A: I like to keep busy with home improvement projects. Shelves, painting, upholstery… maybe I should make a bookshelf. Also way too much Netflix than is healthy for an aspiring writer. Looking forward for when the kids are older so I can get back into martial arts.
Q: Ohh, maybe I should have you over to my house to do some home improvements for me! What are two things that not many people know about you?
A: Not many people know that I write. And that I enjoy making banana bread to cheer people up.
Q: And how did you get started writing?
A: I took the first step. Write a word. Then I just didn’t stop. Then I realized that it was all wrong and writing is really in the editing and planning. So then I wrote another word–then another. I started writing the same way everyone else can; instead of saying “I’ll get to that novel someday,” I said, “I’ll get to that novel.”
Q: Awesome. I’m so glad you finally decided to pick up the pen and start! Okay, now on to the “real” questions about your upcoming release. What inspired you to retell/write this legend?
A: Being an immigrant working between two worlds myself, I wanted to explore the duality of what it meant to be two different people as a whole of yourself. In my life, names play a great part of what defines you, and while researching myths to write about for the most recent anthology, I came across the Egyptian myth of Isis and Ra. In one version of this myth, Isis poisons Ra with a snake and compels him to tell her his true name, giving her power over him, in exchange for the antidote.
This inspired me to use names as a stepping stone to work through two main characters that were torn between each other and who lived two different lives depending on the name they themselves decided held power over them. In the modern sense, it was easy to choose the children of Chinese immigrants to America on a study abroad trip to Egypt to accomplish the story.
Q: So what did you wish to accomplish with your retelling? What feeling did you want your reader to walk away with?
A: I wanted a reader to seek the true story. The myth worked as a nice window-dressing for the underlying story of a torn family, and ultimately helps the two main characters overcome their animosity toward each other. I hope the reader comes away from the story learning that not everything is set at face value, and sometimes the answers we seek are buried deep within.
Q: That’s so true, and one of the reasons I love “Sands.” Now, I know you’ve written retellings before, but how do you find them different from writing other types of stories? Are they easier or harder than coming up with a story from scratch?
A: I find myself trying to keep the heart of the original story at the core of my retelling, staying as true to the source material as I can while offering a new spin on it. I feel that straying too far from the source moves a story from “retelling,” to “inspired by,” and if it strays too far, “an original story with elements of X.” If I change a character’s name and the original story is nowhere to be found, then for me, I have failed at a retelling. Of course, that’s just my policy, and I do enjoy original, fresh takes on old tales.
Retellings are no more easier or harder than original stories, I think. Each story needs scaffolding to build upon. Even if that scaffolding has been erected before you begin building, it still needs to be torn down and examined to make your own home.
Q: Were there any difficulties in writing “Sands”? How did you overcome them?
A: So many. I had trouble telling the story without blatantly saying outright what the characters were feeling, their family history, and their past. I wanted to keep it ambiguous, but while still dropping enough hints for the reader to figure everything out. I fought back and forth putting things in and taking things out. Ultimately, I allowed the judgements of beta readers to guide my final edits. If anyone said “I want more info, but I THINK this happened…” I knew I was on the right track. If a reader told me they couldn’t make heads or tails of what I was on about, I revised. Admittedly, this was one of the harder stories I’ve had to write.
Q: What draws you to retellings/legends?
A: I’m a fantasy enthusiast at heart, so anything with other worldly charm draws me to it. I get enough modernity in my life–I’d rather read about the impossible.
Q: Where would a reader look if they wanted to know more about the legend you used?
A: The myths themselves are a bit jumbled, being so old and written and rewritten by the ancient Egyptians depending on what God was popular at the time, so I based my retelling on several myths, including the journey of Ra across the sky, Sekhmet and Hathor, the eyes of Ra (another bit of duality), how the murderous rampage of Sekhmet was calmed with beer, the unmaking of the world through Atum, how Isis obtained Ra’s true name and how it gave her power, and others sprinkled about the story to be discovered. A quick visit to your local library could house hundreds of different variations of the myths.
Q: Who (book or author) inspires you, your writing, or this story? What is it about them that inspired you?
A: I’ve always been inspired by Stephen King. While I don’t write horror, I enjoy his process and his ability to tell a straightforward, character-filled story. He inspires me by creating something from nothing, and then twisting it into something else entirely.
Q: If a reader wished to read more by you, where would they find you and your writing?
A: They can check out earlier anthologies. I contributed to JLA8 with the whimsical “Of Orphans and Magic” and, as mentioned, JLA7 “An Empire of Fools.” I occasionally release shorts on my dust-gathering wordpress site, https://syfieldwrites.wordpress.com/, which honestly I promised I would update for sure soon.
Q: Are your other pieces similar to your legend?
A: I try to create tones with stories like a musician develops songs. So while all my other works (and works in progress) have similar beats, the music is unique to each. It’s all about that underlying rhythm.
Q: If not, what can the reader expect from your other pieces?
A: Whatever moves me at the moment. 🙂
Thanks SO MUCH for joining me on my blog today. I’m so glad to have you here. It’s been amazing to learn how another writer works and to know that we aren’t alone with our struggles in writing.
Don’t forget! Our new anthology is out the end of April (the 27th to be exact), and there are more author interviews to check out, linked below. Follow the blog tour by checking back sometime next week,
Shannon Yukumi works as an interpreter and translator, ghost writes, creates fiction in their spare time, and parents two children in Japan. Language tends to get away from them, but they claim that that isn’t their fault.
Feel free to poke around their Twitter account (@WritesSy) or website (https://syfieldwrites.wordpress.com).
Blog: https://syfieldwrites.wordpress.com
Twitter: @WritesSy
You can find Shannon’s other works here:
“An Empire of Fools,” Fractured Ever After, Rowanwood Publishing, LLC
“Of Orphans and Magic,” The Magic Within, Rowanwood Publishing, LLC
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In case you missed the other interviews:
https://83louross.wordpress.com/2020/03/30/author-interview-renee-frey/
https://blog.reneefreyauthor.com/2020/04/author-interview-i-love-reading-and-i.html
Seeds of Lore
Steeped in tradition and universal truths, mythology and folklore are two sides of the same coin. In this collection, nine stories reshape such legends into new tales brimming with adventure and magic.
Deities don’t always have the answers: a mother goddess and her loyal queen bee search for a cure as the land withers around them; a war goddess chooses a mortal champion, but her gift of power comes at a price; and a grieving god travels to the underworld to rescue his best friend.
The trickery of fae is a legend of its own: a clever young man must outwit a wily leprechaun; a lost girl finds herself at the forest queen’s mercy when she stumbles upon a solstice celebration; and a rebellious girl must find her phone after a gnome steals it to punish her disobedience.
Even mortals can become myths in their own right: a determined prince rides out to discover who keeps stealing his father’s golden apples; a dissatisfied youth charged with keeping Excalibur safe fights against the tradition forced upon him; and a teenage boy has mere hours to prevent the end of the world after his father accidentally releases an Egyptian god.
Step into ancient worlds and new locales as you rediscover old truths.
Pre-order today
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Author Interview: Shannon Yukumi Today on the blog I'm thrilled to have an author interview. I'm part of a new JL Anthology that releases later this month, and some of us are participating in a blog tour with interviews.
Book Review: The Stolen Kingdom (book 1)
The Stolen Kingdom (book 1) Bethany Atazadeh
The Stolen Kingdom (link to Amazon) took me a little while to get into the book. The main character, Arie, suffers from a jinn gift that could get her killed—she hears other people’s thoughts about her. She’s plagued by this, but she can’t confide in anyone because she’ll have her gift severed, which equals death. For reasons that remain unexplained,…
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Common Writing Mistake #2: writing yourself into the story
Believe it or not, this happens a lot to new writers. When they’re trying to come up with a character to carry their book’s plot, they unwittingly (or purposefully) insert themselves into the main protagonist spot.
Why would you do such a thing? Well…it’s easy, really. Instead of having to create a character from scratch, you follow that old writing advice of “write what you know.” And what could…
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10 Ways to Meet Your Writing Goals When You Have No Time
We all have lofty goals, don’t we? But we’re all a bit tight on time, even during this pandemic #amIright? Somehow, it seems like you don’t have any time when you should have more than enough. (Social distancing, anyone?)
I’m a stay-at-home mom during non-pandemic times, so I know all about distractions and feeling like time is God’s most precious resource.
It’s a dilemma, isn’t it? We all have…
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Book Review: Plotman to the Rescue
Plotman to the Rescue: A troubleshooting guide to fixing your toughest plot problems by James Scott Bell
I’ll be honest, I haven’t read much of Bell’s fiction, but his non-fiction, boy it’s useful and full of common sense advice for how to be a better author.
This book is no exception.
It really doesn’t do a lot of teaching how to plot or how to develop a story idea. Those things are assumed, and…
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Thoughts on a Story Bible
I’d you’ve been following me on Instagram, you might have caught my posts about creating a Story Bible a while back.
If you haven’t, here’s my admission:
I’ve never created a “real” story bible before.
It’s true.
Why? Simply because I haven’t written a series before. Before now, I’ve been able to cobble together a plot and keep characters straight by just keeping track of them in Scrivener. I…
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Common Writer's Mistake #1: Head-hopping
Common Writer's Mistake #1: head-hopping & how to tell when you're doing it #amwriting #writetip #writermistakes
In giving critiques and editing manuscripts, one of the most common mistakes I see new writers make are point-of-view (POV) errors. And I understand why. POV errors are incredibly easy to make and sometimes incredibly difficult to detect, even for the average reader.
But what kills me is how often these errors end up in published books too. And boy, as a reader, it bugs the heck out of me.
To…
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10 Activities that Make You a Better Writer
10 Activities that Make You a Better Writer #writetip #amwriting
We’re all trying to be better writers, aren’t we? But not everything we do makes us better writers.
I mean, binging on Netflix, eating an entire plateful of cookies, or taking a nap all probably won’t help you develop writing skills or work your way through that plot problem you have in your book.
There are far more distractions to our writings that are harmful than helpful, and we writers are…
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Why I Don’t Force Myself to Finish a Book (Anymore)
Why I Don’t Force Myself to Finish a Book (Anymore)
So when I titled this blog, I realized that there are two ways to take this title, especially post NaNoWriMo.
1. finish reading a book.
2. finish writing a book.
For this article today, I’m going to take a break from writing and talk about reading. (I hear your collective little sigh out there.)
The world is your oyster.
These days there are—literally—millions of books available to almost every…
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How Writing a Novel is Like an Unruly Child (part 2)
How Writing a Novel is Like an Unruly Child (part 2)
Well, I’m back. It’s the end of November, and it’s been a doozy, as it always is. But I’ve stuck with things and accomplished some amount of work at least. How about you?
And I’m super excited today because book 2 of the Canens Chronicles is finally out. 🙂 So if you’ve read and enjoyed Fog & Mist (book 1) , then hop over to Amazon or B&N or Apple Books or Kobo, and buy Fire & Frost! 🙂 Paperbacks…
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It’s almost time. I can’t believe book 2, Fire & Frost is out in LESS than a week. 😨😱 <— Me panicking. - That means Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK, folks. 🤯 Are you ready? - I’m not. 😱😱😱 Not for release and not for the holidays. But, by God’s grace, both will go well! - By the way, if you’ve read Fog & Mist and have been waiting for Fire & Frost to come out, I suggest preordering. Price will go up after November 25th, so make sure and snag your copy early. - And stay tuned here on IG, because I am planning an epic giveaway for my followers. It will definitely include some signed copies of the series, but also some really cool things I’ve accumulated for this reason! - bit.ly/2N6PXId <— go here to preorder on Amazon. - #fireandfrost #fogandmist #canenschronicles #snowwhite #cinderella #christianwriters #indieauthors #authors #newrelease #ebook #fairytales #fairytaleretelling https://www.instagram.com/p/B5EcUmNgFNp/?igshid=rzej5euhfo7a
How Writing a Novel is Like an Unruly Child (part 1)
How Writing a Novel is Like an Unruly Child (part 1)
This month, if you haven’t yet heard, is National Novel Writing Month.
That’s when crazy writers like me (and maybe you) attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 short days.
Oh it’s a great month. Experienced novelists and first-time writers jump on their computers or pen and paper on November first with great enthusiasm.
That’s probably you, if you’re a novelist who has heard of NaNoWriMo and are…
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