Winter                                                                          Moon of the Winter Solstice

Been reading the Elder Eddas.  Here’s a quote that I think will start Loki’s Children:

“The sun darkens, earth in ocean sinks, fall from heaven the bright stars, fires breath assails the all-nourishing tree, towering fire plays against heaven itself.”

These ice landers had a way, an economic way with words.  Here’s another example:

“He is sated with the last breath of dying men; the god’s seat he with red gore defiles; swart is the sunshine then for summers after; all weather turns to storm.  Understand ye yet, or what?”

These stories captured my attention long ago and I’ve read versions, interpretations and scholarly material.  They have seeped their way into my own story-telling, not as templates or as immediate content, but as story evokers.  Sometimes I take bits, like a focus on Yggdrasil in Even the Gods Must Die.  Sometimes I take ideas, like Ragnarok and Loki’s children, as motivating forces, even characters inserted into the narrative I’m creating.

I treat them as inspiration, not material to follow slavishly.  I have the same relationship with the Celtic mythological material and have blended it into Missing and will continue to do that in Loki’s Children.

How long this immersion in them will last, I’m not sure.  Maybe a week of reading, maybe more.  Depends on how long it takes for Loki’s Children to press forward, demand that I get to work on it directly.  After this week I’ll have mornings free through July 1st.  That run will see me well into this project.

I also loaded into Scrivener one other full novel:  The God Who Wanted It All, a focus on Aztec mythology and Superior Wolf, a partially finished novel that I’ve struggled to get well underway.  Working in Scrivener is so much easier than the much clumsier methods required using word.

This guy showed up in some research I did.  His model for self-publishing looks very well thought out and creative.  Give him a look if that sort of stuff interests you.  He’s done a long piece with Beowulf as the backdrop.  Fantasy Castle Books.

Winter                                                              Moon of the Winter Solstice

As I’m writing the laser printer spits out the first copy of the revised manuscript.  268 pages single-space.  It’s cheaper for me to print them on my laser printer, then have Kinko’s bind them.  3 copies, two bound.  One bound copy to Lonnie and Stefan, one to Lydia.  Kate and I can read the loose leaf copy.

This time I’m going to put a full court press on finding an agent.  If you read this and have a way to connect me with an agent or an author you know who has an agent–and are willing to share–please let me know.

Kate said the other day that I preferred long projects.  I’d never thought of it that way.  But she’s right.  Getting to the point of proficient Latin translation still has some years ahead and I’ve already invested three.  I have more degrees than make sense and each one took years.  Then, there’s this whole writing thing.  I’ve been at it now for over twenty years, off and on.

Each book takes at least a year, sometimes more depending on the amount of delay in getting through the rough draft.  Then, there’s revisions.  And now there will be a serious quest for a publisher.  This time I feel good about what I’ve done.  Not necessarily a good sign since writers are notoriously bad judges of their own work, but there you are.

Anyhow it feels to good to have arrived at this point and tomorrow, I plan to start Loki’s Children, the second volume of the Tailte novels.

Samhain                                                      Moon of the Winter Solstice

Over this weekend I will print out my first draft of Missing, that is, the first copy after the rough draft.  This one has many more revisions in it that I had planned.  It will get reproduced and bound for my beta readers.  I’m hoping they’ll finish it by the end of January, then I’ll go at it again.   Meanwhile on Christmas Eve I’ll put initial key to electrical impulse on Loki’s Children.

Samhain                                                         Thanksgiving Moon

As I proceed in the revision of Missing, which has grown to include a couple of more scenes imagined before going to sleep, I’m beginning to be excited about marketing it.  I can see using Facebook, this blog, my tumblr blog, other lists to get it out there.  Partly thinking about how to market Kate’s work has lead me to think about my own.

I’m going to need Beta readers within the month.  A Beta reader reads the novel still in draft form and provides comments:  what works.  what doesn’t.  pace.  grammar.  typos.  plot. characters.  anything.  I’ve got some ideas, but I’m open to others.  Missing is fantasy, not a literary novel.