I Get Every Season – But Why Now?

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Growing up with Hippie parents – not to mention LIVING through some of the times in question – child that I was – gives a unique perspective on life.

The gift that keeps on giving.

To Every Season

Turn Turn Turn

Dragon Core

For whatever reason I stumbled when trying to find the vibe for Aesop’s Cove.

The heartbeat of Dragon Core

I wanted – needed – to sit in a place that felt like the Seattle centerpiece of the series. 

To bask in vibes I could wear as I wrote.

No Dice

Damn Goldilocks

Like other Creatives the Muse is in charge

For years I traveled to and visited venues in and around the Seattle Metro Area

Dive bars, places that landed in one periodical or another…

Disrupting various lives – including my own – in search of the physical embodiment of of what I lived while writing those scenes.

Like I said – the Muse is in charge.

Turn turn turn

Unable to find the right locale [read vibe] I forged a way through a path of pain and uncertainty.

I couldn’t write until I had the soul pieces in place.

Muse again ya?

Turn turn turn

Enter Covid

The path forced me to take a break.

Or was it the Muse?

Turn turn turn

And so it came to pass that while I healed the world healed and – changed.

The one constant right?

One day I ventured to a place I’d been to but never thought of as a possibility for the Aesop’s Cove vibe.  Lo and behold they’d evolved and the locale was now a solid physical option to wrap myself in the vibe.

Weirdly Enough

On the other side of the post Covid energy evolution …

I stopped by the place that had been a place holder for Aesop’s Cove only to find I no longer connected to it.

Still wrestling with that and what it means

Circle Back

A tool I use in my writing

Years ago I asked an engineer friend of mine living in A2 whether – when we move – do we change or does what we left behind change?  His answer?  Both

Which at the time was totally irritating.

I now understand what my friend was trying to convey.

Relativity revisited.

I couldn’t find my Aesop’s Cove before now because not only did the place not exist I was not ready; something the theory of relativity explains perfectly.

Thanks G3!

And so life happens.

When and as we need it.

Old (Working) Habits Die Hard

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Decided to head to a local place to do a bit of a working lunch.

In addition to good food and good service it has a good vibe.

Unplanned

I wasn’t anticipating that the moment I stepped through the door I would be invited to sit near someone already there.  After a brief reflection – I’d planned on working – I decided perhaps the Universe was sending a message:  Don’t work through lunch – enjoy it.

The patron was a delightful conversationalist.

He left before my lunch arrived.

In his absence I got quite a bit accomplished toward the current project

Messenger of the Gods, a Dragon Core novel.

As I ate I considered the break in an activity I’d been doing since elementary school

Working Lunch

It was the nuns who first suggested we utilize time eating to study or otherwise do schoolwork, going so far as to suggest we learn to eat with our nondominant hand while writing with the other.

Forgoing time outdoors to focus on studies whenever possible.

Long after I left Catholic school I continued the tradition of working through lunch.

Corporate = Right At Home

In some respects corporate success depends on the ability to work through lunch.

I don’t mean lunch meetings.  

Many were the months spent working alongside fellow techies catching up or getting a head start, to the degree it was not only the norm, it was expected.

As were working nights and weekends.

If you wanted a Meets or Exceeds Standards on your review.

When considered in this context I realized that while I enjoyed the break, albeit a temporary one, to try to change such a habit would be to go against something I’ve done for decades.

Probably not worth the energy it would take to undo decades of programming.

Begs the Question

Does it Need to be Changed?

If I thought – or got feedback – the practice was harmful I would definitely be looking to change but given stepping out to a different environment has been tremendously beneficial to my well-being and my career, I have to think that in general, it’s not a bad habit.

One thing I know.  Spontaneity is never dull.

Valentine’s Thank You

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Just taking time to wish readers and visitors a Happy Valentine’s Day and to thank you for all the wonderful support you’ve given over the years.

I feel very fortunate to have had lifelong support for my dream of being a novelist

  • Family

Especially my parents and grandparents

  • Neighbors

Who encouraged my love of reading as well as writing and were ready to discuss books 

  • Teachers

Math and science teachers who took time to discuss universal what-ifs? and others who advised me on how to do proper research or just gave encouragement 

  • Classmates

Including those who weren’t close friends but who were quick with an encouraging word

  • Coworkers 

Some of whom were also aspiring writers and who never tired of listening to me talk of my dream

  • Readers

Without whom this wouldn’t be possible

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Elizabeth

Project Update

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Hello everyone!  Wanted to provide a quick update on various projects.

After much consideration I’ve decided to decomission Metatron’s Army.  

For details including an audio message from me, click here.

I will be releasing new material in both my Dragon Core and Port Gallatan series.

I’m excited about the new projects and anticipate new material being available by or before autumn.

Stay tuned!

To Find Your Voice Ignore the Rules

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I’ve known I wanted to be a writer since I was 3.  What I didn’t know was the convoluted path it would take.  Even as I was praised as a storyteller, winning fiction writing awards beginning at 6 of years age, I was getting pushback, the harshest coming from a woman of influence – my paternal grandmother.

I now understand she was putting the burden of her need to live in reflected glory/accomplishment on my young shoulders.

My education drove very strict grammatical rules into my head.

Most of which didn’t and still doesn’t apply to published works.

I excelled.

Was reading college level at age 7 – tested 99th percentile in the country – qualified for the new Mensa for children program.

All of which did little to help with my dream of becoming a published storyteller.

Arbitrare This!

Oh – is arbitrare a word?

Fast Forward through a successful multi-decade career in tech to 2003.

Enter Fate!

A merger from hell led me to know that if it was ever going to be –

The Time to Write is Now!

I’d wanted this for as long as I could remember and yes – I remember being 3 and giving my mom a poem I’d written [to her] in gold crayon on a red construction paper heart I cut myself and declaring I was going to be a writer.

Yeah but

Back to 2003

Even as I was working to publish Kerry’s Game – I was working on a doctoral thesis in holstic medicine.

Another passion.

This necessitated I not only spend hours in the scary basement of the science library at Stanford

Hey – it’s dark and creepy in that corner!

It required I purchase a book on the accepted writing style and grammer for a doctoral thesis.

My Masters’ thesis didn’t require this.

Detour Ahead!

My literary plans were derailed by Fate when an adjunct professor who read my thesis encouraged me to turn it into a book.

Which I did.

And detoured further via EMF Sensitivity which led me to publish nonfiction first.

I had multiple individuals begging me to give them unfinished work which I refused to do – on ethical grounds among other reasons; as in it wasn’t finished.

Skipping around a bit – including the impact of Smashwords on the industry …

Once I  published and subsequently dealt with the fallout of that lifetime achievement award I returned to my original dream.

Published storyteller.

I invested in my dream.

Time and money.  LOTS of money

Classes and conferences and more time.  

I ran into rather interesting challenges.

No one told me not to quit my dayjob. Quite the opposite.

I received a hand-written letter from an editor at Tor-Forge explaining their slots for a particular paranormal fiction angle were currently filled and inviting me to submit more of my work for consideration.  

Aspiring published writer gold.

Fate intervened

Beyond the scope of this article.  

Then intervened again.

Cue Mark Coker founder of Smashwords.

The man who upended the industry I was just breaking into had watched his wife suffer the hoops of fire aspiring novelists are put through and decided to do something about it.

For details visit his site.

By the time I was listening to him speak at a conference in Anaheim I was self-pubished and on my way to a flourishing writing career.

My dream.

I didn’t feel an imposter.  That didn’t mean I wasn’t ill at ease. 

I was writing by someone else’s rules and the vernacular that went with those rules. I hadn’t found my voice.

Full Circle

It was while reading one of my favorite books [I’d written] that it came to me. I’d written my stories as if I was working for the Big 5 when I wasn’t!

Their rules. Their voice.

Smiling from the Aha! moment I began editing with the warm feeling of someone who has found their voice!

I can finally write as me as opposed to a representative of a corporate standards list.

Stay tuned!

A Smidgen of This: Writing Real Life

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Just reading Redemption, a Dragon Core novel,and appreciating a scene.

Brought back memories.

I wrote from experience for this one.

In the scene the heroine is explaining to the hero she’s taking a “staycation” to do a bit of painting.

Gilotti’s – core to the plot of the series – are some of my favorite characters to write!

She elaborates she’s behind in unpacking because she spent Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays working.

So colleagues with families could spend time with them.

As did I

Once upon a time.

I drew from this experience for a plot device that fit nicely into the bigger novel picture.

Lived It

It started as a great way to earn money.

I was doing the work of a salaried professional while paid hourly wages.

I didn’t mind.

It was good money!

I was single; they had families.  

I had a lot more flexibility.

It was a great way to learn on the job.

I had to do some quick thinking for some of those emergency (sometimes middle-of-the-night) customer calls.

It became a wonderful yearly tradition.

I connected with customers and coworkers who were in the same boat including some out-of-the-country or from cultures that didn’t observe our holidays.

It played a significant role in becoming a Supply Chain expert.

I fielded calls from people across the globe – including C-suite folks – flabbergasted if not outraged the automotive industry as a whole followed GM’s mandatory 2 week shutdown and that it bled over into tech – and a number of other industries and companies.

When I told my boss at a subsequent employer I was more than happy to work holidays he was thrilled.

Then called me at home to ask what the deal was. There had to be a catch, right? Nope.

Plot Device

Though my character’s industry, along with the region she lives/works in, are different, it was easy to tap real life experience to create a believable scene.

Believable in the explanations if not arguments she gives as to why she’s spending her vacation working.

I have fond memories of those days.

Memories that live on in my work.

And maybe – just maybe – someone somewhere on our big blue marble remembers “that woman” who picked up the phone over the holidays.

And saved their sanity.

I worked Halloweens too.

So they could be home to take their kids Trick-or-Treating

C’est la vie.

Cool song by Emerson Lake & Palmer.

Plot Why Knot: A Piece of the Whole

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Untangle this.

Rereadinng Shadow of the Gods.

One of my favorite Dragon Core novels.

I love the characters.

Though I pay attention to every detail character development is a particular passion for me.

Characters are people and the myriad complexities associated with.

A brilliant challenge plucked from life.

A Little Goes a Long Way

Less is more.

Though I’ve included longer snippets  from novels in previous posts I felt – after reading this scene – it did the job nicely.

Illustrating my style.

Context

It’s Christmas

Hey, it’s after Halloween.  Tis the season!

Details

Cayden is a raven shifter.  Mica?  Human.

From Shadow of the Gods.

“I love you, Cayden.”

“If you think -.”

She gave him an understanding smile.  “What I think, Cayden, is that you have nothing from your childhood, though you definitely had one.  You did not hatch from an egg.”

He didn’t appreciate the levity but at least she had his attention.  Or that could have been that she’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse.

Spooky Fun At Work

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Happy Halloween Readers and Visitors!  Thought I’d share another “coincidence” and a bit of spooky fun.

In a recent post I mentioned that many times I’ve finished a novel only to see plot devices or the actual plot appear in headlines.

Well after I’ve published the story.

Yesterday I came across another in a string of “Oh look – what a coincidence!” headlines.

Great horned owl caught in barbed wire.

A 2 for 1 deal!

Two books, same series.

Dragon Core.

This series – one of my favorites – centers around the lives loves and adventures of shape-shifters in our midst.

The Headline Connection?

Not only do I use a bird caught in barbed wire as a plot device in Redemption, I have a bird of prey as a significant part of the plot for my favorite in the series Shadow of the Gods.

Though I use a cooper’s hawk, I was inspired to introduce this predator after a barn owl landed on my balcony one night.

It apparently enjoyed  watching us play Scrabble as it stuck around for quite some time, watching unblinkingly.

Experience

A source of inspiration.

There’s a bit of dialogue between Mica and Cayden in the presence of the hawk that was inspired by witnessing how one was showcased at a hotel in Arizona.

I really felt for the bird being stuck with such a grumpy handler.

These are just a few examples of adventures that guide my writing.

The Psi Side

Another example of art imitating life.

The Psi Adventure Series follows the lives loves and adventures of a team of paranormal investigators and while they live and work in San Francisco, I thought this Washington article timely and worth sharing.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

An Author Reads

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As I was sitting rereading one of my very favorite Dragon Core Stories – Shadow of the Gods – I wondered briefly if other authors reread their own work.

And if they did was it to do the endless editing we’re known for or because they absolutely loved everything about that moment

The moment being

  • The characters
  • The story
  • The setting
  • The memories

Characters

Readers and visitors will note I regularly mention strong independent characters who steer/direct their destiny… Character driven fiction is the priority for me because it’s a reflection of my existence as an observer of the world and those in it.

Story

For me the story flows naturally – from feeling.

The process of a tale fighting to get out is more psycho-emotional than cerebral

As an author, rereading my work ignites the same feelings and psycho-emotional responses that were at work when I first put fingers to keyboard.

It isn’t a high, just a happy feeling of accomplishment.

Setting

Setting is a natural extension of the above.

When I write I can see the setting as if I’m there.

Memories

Memories can be tricksters, jesters hiding in shadows waiting to feed their need for perverse entertainment

At your expense.

Memories associated with an event such as writing and/or publishing a story can be associated with what was going on in your life at that moment, life memories evoked while putting fingers to keyboard, or anything that happened as a result of releasing that work into the world.

Mixed bag.

Of all, I believe memories the most challenging as they tie in multiple variables including memories of where you thought you would be once you released your art to the world.

And how you thought the world would react. Hahahahahahaha

Mental Minefield

It turns out Time holds the key to healing incongruencies

Even when reality surpasses expectation memories can be a wrench in it all

Healing

Time has been an element of fascination and passion for me for as long as I can remember

And – at times – my nemesis

One thing Time has done is take pity on me as the author wading through my favorite works by its passing blunting the edge of emotions that might ruin the joy of reliving creative expression through reading a work of art given to the world to spread joy.

And love.

Just in time for Halloween: Life as a Costume Party!

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Hope everyone is enjoying life if not the weekend.  Had a lightbulb moment and wanted to share.

It’s up my holistic – aka body mind spirit – alley.

But first

Making progress figuring out “next steps” in website/career update.

Feeling more at peace with it. But – it takes time.

As usual [for me] the universe is directing the energy – but – it’s coming round that the energy will be pulled in – put to good use.

I’m feeling better!

I wanted to share the perspective that popped into mind.

Perspective is everything!

Many of us are searching – in one form or another – for ourselves.

Searching for meaning, searching for what our Divine Purpose is, searching for the winning Powerball numbers…

Got a bit of insight as to why it’s been so difficult for some of us to find ourselves

Imagine…

Showing up to a costume party where you’re trying to see if you can figure out who’s who only to find you don’t even recognize yourself

because…

Your soul is housed in a damn good costume!

Maybe too good ya?

Good things coming!

Eager to share!

Stay tuned!