Writing War & Grace: It Feels Great!

On Writing: My Fearless Journey & Epic transformation...

I'm getting ready to go through the final proofreader's edits for Isolt's Enchantment and the moment feels quite momentous.

Last October, when I was collaborating with Billie Limpin on the first book in our Magic Cupcake series, I connected with editor Vince Dickinson. I immediately recognized that his tough stance on things like structure and action balanced my storytelling weaknesses. I'm big into characterization, authentic motivation, dialogue, and world building. So Vince's masculine editing style turned out to be the perfect compliment to my feminine writing/storytelling style.

(Okay, is there such a thing as a masculine or feminine style of editing and/or writing? Oh, yes. I believe there is. Our experience of gender filters the way in which we perceive the world. That does not mean that all women see the world in the same way, or that all men see the world in a diametrically opposed way! Indeed, it's quite complex when you begin to make room for the realities of people like Bruce Jenner whose masculine body houses a feminine psyche—and vice versa. My point is: Vince's editing style feels polar to my innate writing style, and with his editing, my stories feel—yes—much stronger!!!)

So...after Billie and I published Cupcakes & Kisses in December, I made a hard, but I believe, very sound decision. I decided to have Vince edit everything I'd written to-date. Well, I began this "project" with high hopes and much enthusiasm. But I'll be honest, it has been a long and emotionally painful haul.

In August of 2012, Half Faerie Publishing released it's first book: Nandana's Mark. I'd say it had mixed success. Readers in general connected with the characters and the story, while fantasy readers appreciated the world building. However, we didn't realize at the time how much we had to learn about publishing...which is a distinct endeavor from writing.

Since then, we've been working hard behind-the-scenes to produce the highest quality reads that we can. As well as diving deep into the process of cover design, we scavenged all my book reviews (I admit it!), and I dug in to work harder on my craft. Editor H. Danielle Crabtree played a huge part in the initial success of my fantasy series, The Queen of the Realm of Faerie. It was after a long discussion with her, that we made the difficult decision to unpublish the first three books in the series in January of 2014, and transform the story into a trilogy of three epic books, Daughter of Light.

It was another hard choice to send Vince Half Faerie along with Isolt's Enchantment and Half Mortal earlier this year. But we did that, because we want the trilogy to be cohesive, not only in story, but also in style and voice. Vince made very, very minuscule edits to Half Faerie. (What a relief!) But when I received his feedback, I committed to doing one final revision of that book. Which is now finished.

So...as I began, in a few minutes, to correct the scattered typos that remain in Isolt's Enchantment and Half Faerie, I am so excited! Because ... that means ... from this point on, we'll be moving forward with a wonderful fantasy series that I trust readers will love.

And it also means that ... Half Mortal is finally coming in July!

The Writing Brain: Lab Results

I've been contemplating doing a series called "The Writing Brain" on my blog for a long time. As mental illness (and its often accompanying brilliance) runs on my mother's side of the family, the health and longterm productivity of the brain has long been an obsession of mine. When my paternal grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's in the eighties, my obsession turned to research into diet and lifestyle. It's been quite a journey. I've probably tried almost every "healthful diet" out there from being a raw vegan to consuming high protein. (Ugh!) In the past year, my husband's mother passed away. That loss triggered another round of research and recommitment to the practical application of what I've learned over the past thirty years.

As a result, I made some significant dietary changes in March of 2014. I've just received the lab results from blood taken this Monday (January 12, 2015) and since it seems I'm still "healthy" I feel comfortable sharing more on this subject I remain so passionate about.

The results of the dietary changes I've made over the past ten months in terms of some numbers: my Fasting Blood Glucose dropped from 91 to 77, my Blood Pressure remained low: 100/62, but my cholesterol has shot up from Total Cholesterol of 246 to 282! The good news is that my ratio of HDL to Total Cholesterol remains below 4.0 (3.71) which is an indicator that it's not yet time to freak out about my "high cholesterol" since my HDLs are also high. Looking over my cholesterol numbers for the past seven to eight years, they've been gradually increasing, so I'm not surprised by the lab results. Especially considering the changes that I've made to my diet, which I'll get into in another post.

I'm sharing these numbers as a concrete way to describe the overall health of my body, which I've long believed affects the strength and health of my mind plus my all-important mood. The two tweaks I plan to make based on my recent lab results are to add some cardio back to my exercise routine. (I confess I haven't been doing any cardio for several years...) For the past four months I've been doing mostly just Pilates, which I love. I may also experiment with having a couple vegetarian nights a week, centered around the humble avocado (which I also love!) and a variety of nuts. BTW the one thing I really miss since we've left Southern California is the awesome Reed Avocados I've only ever been able to find there!

photo credit

I'll have my blood re-checked in about six months to see if this has changed anything. In the meantime, I'll be blogging about my journey, my research, and what it takes to maintain the health of our brains—thus not squandering the hard-won experience gained through living—in my new series "The Writing Brain."

*I'm not a medical professional. "The Writing Brain" posts are based solely on my individual experience and cannot replace professional medical guidance.

The Way They Speak!?!?!

I grew up in a bi-lingual household and lived in South America from the age of six months to two-and-a-half years old—english, varieties of spanish (castilian, latin american), spanglish, and broken english are all part of my ear, my life, and my experience on this planet. They all feel like home, and they've all contributed to how I perceive the world, and how I voice how I perceive the world.

In high school, I studied Latin, root of the Romance languages. I’ve dabbled in the study of Italian and French. My maternal grandmother was fluent in German, and I would often randomly ask her: Say something in German, grandma. I didn’t care what she said, I just wanted to hear that other language so different sounding from my native tongue(s). I’ve always loved music, and wrote songs for over a decade.

Language and words are my playground.

This is a mural sold by www.muralunique.com

The sound, the rhythm. How it stops. Starts… and flows. My ears are always alert for another way of using words.

In my twenties, I immersed myself in the works produced by academic and radical feminists: Betty Friedan, Mary Daly, Andrea Dworkin. They espoused a different way of viewing the world, life, experience, the father god. Hip Hop, Rap, Texting, Twitter, we’re constantly tearing down the walls of formal expression.


Destruction for destruction’s sake? No, the purpose of all this breakdown is to cut closer to the bone, to excise that which is superfluous to expression, and thus increase the bonding and connectedness of shared human experience. Tear down those walls, I say:D

What about the novel? What about the novel as art?

Dare we mangle formal/accepted/traditional usage/rules on behalf of our characters?

My latest release, The Tree Hugger, employs a dialect. The kids in the Free Territories have grown up without the benefit of any formal education. Most days, survival is at the forefront of their minds. Where would they learn proper English? Why would they care?

I know, I know, phonetic dialect is UGH! No. Oh, please, no! And yet, I’ve had readers who have loved the dialect as much as the story.

I’m currently collaborating on a paranormal romance with an author whose first language isn’t English, it’s Filipino. It’s such an honor and opportunity to work with someone who lives on the other side of the globe and experience her way of seeing the world. Our main character is a nineteen-year-old witch with a best friend whose parents are of Hispanic descent. If you’ve ever been around someone with Latin blood you know: They’re often emphatic, passionate, and emotive, never flat. After working with Billie Limpin, I've discovered the same can be said about Filipinas!?!?! (What can I say? It's infectious:D) And it seems to us, when the two young women in Cupcakes & Kisses get together, one exclamation point just won’t do!?! It just doesn’t capture the volubility of their exchanges!?!?!

I know the pleasure I experience with playing with language and dialogue—including punctuation!?!—comes from my own verbal history and the verbal gymnastics I appreciate. It feels appropriate to bring this reality to my novels.

What about you? As an author, would you ever mangle the English language on behalf of a character? As a reader, would you be offended if an author did? Are rules made to be broken? Or when it comes to proper English in novels... are the rules inviolate?

There's a Reason the Guru Stays on the Mountain

For a long, long time... I've been fascinated by the spiritual, the things we can't see, yet we know must exist. How do we know they exist? Because they're the things that give our life meaning, by nourishing our hearts with emotions that fulfill and satisfy us. And even when those moments are fleeting, they provide touchstones for our journey through life.

Of late, I've been in my own process of reconnecting with that THING.

When I look back at the path I've taken, over the past couple years, my head spins. And I realize, that in many respects I lost my way, my connection to that THING. It's too easy when starting a new endeavor to be overtaken by external voices and opinions... how true for embarking on the path of Indie Author.

What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to do it? There are so many answers, some tried and true, others full of hope, storming in upon a tsunami of distraction. Add in the nuts and bolts of the trade, the ecstasy of sales, etc. and one can find one's Self treading the ocean of information as the shore of deeper meaning and purpose fades from the horizon.

How to recalibrate? 

For me, there's been some soul searching, much inner quieting down, and considerable contemplation about why I write what I write.

The one thing I've decided with certainty is: There's a reason the guru stays on the mountain.

No distractions. No daunting pull of others' needs and desires. No market forces to mess with one's serenity, and if the THING exists in some realm above us, the mountain top offers sheer proximity.

And yet, the valley calls...

And spring blooms...

And I find myself renewed and hopeful...

2014 Personal Challenge by Bookish Treasures

After being invited to join the 2014 Personal Challenge by Bookish Treasures, I decided to join up because I thought it would be a great way to stay committed to the reading/writing/blogging goals I have this year.

In 2014, I plan to spend a lot more time writing.

My writing goals:

1. Complete the final two installments in Daughter of Light: Half-Mortal and War & Grace.

2. Complete the first installment of my new writing project with co-writer Billie Jean Limpin. I'm very excited about this. Billie and I met through our mutual friend Rachmi on Goodreads. Billie is an AWESOME blogger, creative, fun, and playful. We had a chance to do some writing exchange when she "interviewed" me on a couple of those blog tours. It was so much fun and we really played off one another. When I was discussing with her ANOTHER writing project that I'm hoping to start in 2015 she jumped in with recommended reading. I couldn't help but think: How fun and cool would it be to write a romance about a sexy, sassy, young witch with her! Of course, I was over the moon when she accepted to co-write said series with me. It's officially called our PINK COLLABORATION and we're hoping to release the first installment by the end of the year. Stay Tuned. You're going to love this!

3. If I have any more writing time, it's going to go towards more novellas in the Once Upon a Time Today collection. The next one up: A retelling of The Little Mermaid.

My reading goals:

More fairy tale retellings and spin offs!

My blogging goals:

More Eating Magic posts. Those are my first person stream-of-consciousness posts about books that I'm enjoying reading. I really miss doing them.

Thank you, Laura for creating this challenge!