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Most agents expect to see a brief biography in your query letter. “Brief” is the key—a few sentences are all you need. Don’t share your life details unless they relate to the story—e.g. you’re a brain surgeon and you’ve written a medical drama. Keep your bio relevant to the manuscript you’re querying and keep the focus on your writing achievements. Include your traditionally published works, if you’ve got any. Mention writing awards you’ve won if they’re notable and recent. If you don’t have literary accolades to share, say something positive about your writing experience and move on. Self-publishing is writing experience, but it’s not an accomplishment that traditional publishing views as proof you’re a talented writer. So unless your self-published book sold a million copies within a year, don’t include details about your self-publishing endeavors, beyond perhaps mentioning that you’ve done it. Provide your website or links to your work only if the agent requests them. Keep the focus on the unpublished manuscript you're querying. Be confident in your query. Don’t denigrate yourself or your manuscript. Keep everything positive. However, a fine line exists between confident and arrogant. Don’t stray into, “You’ve never read anything like my work,” or “You’re going to love my book.” Just present the story. Let agents make their own judgments. Agents who reject your query seldom give feedback. You’re lucky if you get a form response telling you your work doesn’t fit their list. Usually, if they’re not interested in your project, you won’t hear from them. If they bother to provide comments, consider yourself blessed and pay attention! Feedback can hurt, but don’t get upset. Agents know what sells. Take their advice. Do you have to change your manuscript based on an agent’s remarks? No. But you’d be wise to consider applicable rewrites. They might make the difference between a hard no or a request for the full manuscript on your next query. Three keys for querying: keep it Short, Relevant, and Positive!
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When I was in my teens and early twenties, I queried many publishing houses about several manuscripts. Traditional publishers no longer accept queries from authors. To pursue traditional publication, writers need an agent.
So, I’m querying agents for a manuscript that isn’t part of the Dragon’s Fire Series. And I’m learning stuff along the way. Disclaimer: nothing in my posts is a guarantee that you will land an agent. The quintessential idea I’ve discovered is to keep your query short. Most sites I’ve read recommend one page or less. I say less. Much less. Three or four paragraphs, at most. Agents are busy. You're part of a massive slush pile. They won't spend five minutes reading your query looking for the good parts. So make each paragraph count. Pitch your book. Offer a SHORT and relevant bio of yourself. Include anything else they've asked for. Close. Write your query so they can read it in about 30 seconds. Don't waste space with excessive niceties. "Thank you for taking the time to read my query today..." "I'm sending you my manuscript because I'm looking for an agent..." Agents know you're looking for an agent. Your query on their desk is their first clue. Cut straight to the key points and convince them they want to read your book. Be polite, but don't waste words. Your query is a business proposal. Keep it professional. Agents aren't interested in the book's backstory or how dear the story is to your heart. They're looking for material they can sell. Don't kill your chances with a "why I love my book" paragraph unless they’ve asked for one. If they ask, focus on how what you love about your book will make readers love your book, too. Query one book at a time. Don’t offer the agent a smorgasbord of the sixteen manuscripts on your hard drive and expect them to pick. Query one specific title. Don't expect to send off 100 queries a day. Each one will take time, energy, and careful attention to detail. It's best not to have your book in the slush pile at dozens of agencies, anyway. If one signs you, you'll have too many people to contact saying, "Never mind about my query..." Maintain a steady querying pace, focusing on quality over quantity. Preparing the first query is the hardest part. I needed several hours to fine-tune my pitch and my bio, choose an agency and an agent, and assemble my submission package. The next queries went much faster. Each agent wants something slightly different, but the bulk of your material can be pasted and tweaked. Follow submission guidelines and send each agent what they ask to see. Wondering how to sum up your amazing story in a few short sentences? Start by identifying your protagonist. Share the inciting incident—what starts your story? Tell the main character’s goal and reveal what the conflict is. For example, a short pitch for Dragon’s Fire might read: Princess Ciara of Caledon is named the Guardian of the Dragon’s Fire by the mysterious Mystic Order, but she has no clue what the Dragon’s Fire is or how to find it. Ciara’s search for the Dragon’s Fire brings unexpected powers into play, and she discovers that her most dangerous enemies are those she thought were her friends. That’s an abbreviated version of what appears on the back cover of the book. Your pitch should equate to a back cover copy that entices readers to open your novel. Start with those four key points—main character, inciting incident, goal, conflict—and then polish your pitch. Next time: what to include in your biography and how to handle feedback.  I enjoy working on two writing projects at once. This allows me to indulge in editing a book while drafting one, and the change of pace between the manuscripts is welcome. Editing can be intense and exhausting, though I enjoy it. Creating is fun and relaxing (usually).
At first, I started the next book while I was waiting on Beta reader or editor feedback on my current project. But last year, I got into the habit of writing a young adult fantasy that isn’t part of the Dragon’s Fire Series on Sundays. I called that weekly change of pace “Book Adultery,” and the manuscript, Small, is now seeking an agent. After completing Small, I started Book Nine while editing Eight, and I’ve finished the first draft. I’ll be well into the second or third draft by the time Eight publishes. In the past, I’ve only written a few chapters of a first draft before launching the previous book, because I didn’t take Sundays as “creator” days. Having a draft finished is an unusual accomplishment. What does that mean for readers? A faster turnout for Book Nine! If Nine is ready for editing when Eight launches, I might release it within six months of Eight’s publication. AND I’ll be starting the first draft of Ten while editing Nine. I can't wait to write Ten. I promised to take the series out with a bang, and I can deliver. Sooner rather than later!  Self-publishing the Dragon’s Fire Series is a huge undertaking. Independent publishers tackle every aspect of producing a book, unlike in traditional publishing, where a team handles the project. Between myself, my Beta readers, and my husband, I have a team, but it’s a small one.
The first step is writing the story. The idea in my head progresses to a fleshed-out novel in stages. First, I write a plot. Usually. Myrhiadh’s War never had a plot—it just spilled out over 33 days, and I finished it before I realized I had put little planning into it. The Rose of Caledon also didn’t have a written plot, because I’d been thinking about it for seven months before I started typing. The other titles have plots to guide the general direction of the narrative. (Characters invariably take over and change the storyline—Book Nine is currently not even pretending to follow the plot.) The first draft is just me telling myself a story. Grammar and syntax are irrelevant—I want to get the ideas onto the page. Later drafts focus on plot development and character arcs. Some books only require two drafts before they’re ready for editing. Others need more. The Assassin’s Redemption had four drafts; The Mystic’s Mandate had seven. Beta readers help me during the drafting stage, looking for plot holes and character inconsistencies and making suggestions to improve the story. However many drafts I write, the final one is a blend of drafting and editing, where I give the text a quick read-through for continuity and clean-up any glaring errors. Editing begins once I’m satisfied that the story and characters are solid. The first editing pass is huge. Here I focus on style, wordiness, repetition, clichés, grammar, overuse of words and phrases, sentence length, diction, dialogue and tags, sensory development, and passivity. I pore over each paragraph and analyze every word. It can take four or five hours to work through one chapter. The next editing passes are easier, but I keep working on the text until I can read it and find few things I want to change. This can involve any number of passes, but never fewer than four. During the editing stages, Beta readers help by reading for continuity and enjoyment, and pointing out details I’ve missed. Next, the manuscript goes to my editor, who happens to be my husband. He’s a computer guy—very logical, and he does technical writing and editing at work. He never gets lost in the story, and he makes me account for every word I’ve left in the text. Medieval technology in a scene? I’d better be able to satisfy him that what I’ve described would work, or I rewrite until he is. Lapsing into too much retrospection and characterization (he thinks it’s boring)? I’ll have to fix the pacing. Missing information? He’ll catch it. Flaky characters, implausible situations, poor syntax or confusing sentences? If any have survived my scalpel, he’ll find them. Sometimes, he gets a hearty laugh out of my inadvertent mistakes. After that exercise in humility, the manuscript gets a final check for continuity and to ensure that we introduced no new errors. And then we format it. Formatting for publication is a tedious task. My husband excels at it. He sets margins, analyzes pages line-by-line, decides where to insert hyphens to perfect the justified words, and designs my covers to Amazon’s exacting specifications. I could not do this without him. (We buy the cover art and credit the artists in the books—we are not artists.) After one more quick proofread, the manuscript and cover get uploaded to Amazon so you can read the book! By this time, I’m sick of it, but proud of it—and I’m always glad to hear how readers love it! Readers buy it and read it in a few hours and demand the next one. Which is fantastic. If only I could write them as fast as people devour them!  I’m working on the fourth draft of Book Eight in the Dragon’s Fire Series, The Assassin’s Redemption. Readers are familiar with the protagonist, and they don’t like him. The key to creating a main character readers will root for is to make him or her relatable, compelling, and preferably likable, but any character who played the villain in an earlier title has several immediate strikes against him when he steps into the role of the hero. The Assassin’s Redemption takes place in 1587, sixteen years before Myrhiadh’s War (in which my hero was an antagonist.) Joseph Callahan held a dark role in War, and readers know how it ended. Redemption shows Joseph’s history, which I hinted at in War. My problem was how to make him a relatable/likable hero without compromising his character and turning him into someone readers won’t recognize. He can’t present as a helpless victim of his circumstances, and he must remain true to his character in War, at least enough that readers won’t say, “Now I don’t believe he is the person he was in Book Three.” I put a lot of thought into how to move Joseph from villain to hero. First, I’m giving him a believable motivation for his actions—one that will make readers say, “Yeah, I might do that, too, under those circumstances.” Second, I’m giving him relatable feelings, flaws, and limitations—he’s a human yearning to succeed in a trying situation. He faces hard choices, and his responses and actions show that inside, he isn’t a monster. Third, I’m showing how the aftermath of 1587 turned him into the person he was in 1603. Contrary to my usual practice, I rewrote the first 100 pages of Redemption three times before I had finished the first draft of the story. At first, I couldn’t figure out why I was doing that, but the reason finally clicked. I didn’t like Joseph. After all, he was the villain who confronted my favorite heroine! I needed to forgive him, and those three rewrites enabled me to empathize with him. We became friends in a way we never could while writing War. And knowing what happens in The Assassin’s Redemption will make Joseph’s role in Myrhiadh’s War that much richer for readers. Get caught up on the series before Book Eight launches!  I’m a happy landlubber. I grew up in Alberta, a landlocked province on the north-west edge of a vast continental prairie. My family weren’t boaters, nor were they into water sports like swimming or fishing.
My boating experience includes a handful of paddleboats, a couple of canoes, one outboard motorboat (all on lakes), a few ferries, and a gigantic cruise ship. I was in charge of none of them, though I helped pedal and row in the smallest of them. But I gave Caledon a centuries-long passion for the ocean and made them a race of master ship-builders living on a remote island in the middle of the North Sea. While writing the Dragon’s Fire Series, I learned a lot about boats, and although I have creative license under the genre “fantasy,” I like to stay close to reality where I can. Caledon’s formidable navy is the reason that Langdon and Zandor both founded their capital cities inland. The seagoing history of the Caledonian people gets its first in-depth details in Guardians of Caledon with the rumors about the Neach Gwynt, and Finnian’s building of the Lann Sciath. Both ships are speedy, with the latter sporting a double mast, a feature which did not become common in reality until the late middle ages. The former’s spectacular speed came from engineering; she lifted her bow out of the water when the wind hit her sails, scudding along with an upturned nose. Fast and maneuverable, Caledon’s warships struck fear into the hearts of her foes, and she ruled the seas around the island from the early 360s until the modern day. Each ship of significance in the stories has a name. Most of those names are Caledonian words specific to the ship’s role or the quirk that makes it stand out from the rest. In Book Eight, I have created a small rowboat and named it, too. Eahlu means “escape.” In Dragon’s Fire, the Suainydd patrolled the coasts for pirates. Her name means “tranquility.” In The Mystic’s Mandate, the Bwaydh, or “victory,” carried passengers east toward Zandor. And mentioned in Guardians of Caledon, one of three ships that landed on Caledon’s remote shores after fleeing a Roman invasion was the Saorsa, whose name means “freedom.” About a year after publishing Dragon’s Fire and a few months before releasing The Curse of Caledon, StoryShopUSA employed me to edit their book, A Most Excellent Pirate Adventure. This story is an updated re-release of a 1922 novel titled Blackbeard Buccaneer by Ralph Delahaye Paine. Paine knew his ships, and his naval vocabulary was beyond me, so I kept the dictionary to hand as I worked. Most people don’t read for pleasure with a dictionary alongside them, so I suggested to StoryShop’s executives that we include a handy glossary in the story. Writing it fell to me, partly because of the research I had already completed for the Dragon’s Fire Series. I won’t take up glossary composition as a steady part of my career. The assignment was less-than-thrilling, but I learned a lot while I was doing it! I now have a copy on my computer and in the novel by StoryShopUSA. Blame the glossary project if you find too many ship terms in my books for which you need a dictionary. I love watching Caledonian ships sail in my imagination, and I admire vessels in real life. Mostly, though, I’ll keep my feet on solid ground; I’m content to write about grand boats and the brave people who sailed them. Meet two more characters from The Mystic’s Mandate.
Captain Colin Grenleigh “I rarely eavesdrop on people’s prayers, but if you have a direct line to Morrigan, lad, say a good word for all of us, won’t you?” Birthdate: 1260 Age at the time of this story: 27-28 Physical Characteristics: 6’1”; 173 lbs; blond hair, blue eyes Colin is the grandson of Queen Ciara, the second-born of her youngest son. Raised in a wealthy home with every comfort and advantage, Colin visits Caledon Castle often throughout his childhood and youth. Aware of how distant his claim on Ampleforth’s throne is behind uncles, cousins, and nephews, Colin seeks to influence history through outstanding service in Caledon’s army. As a young man, he abandons his royal title for a military one. Life in the army tents is far different from the prince’s pampered upbringing, but despite his reputation as a scatterbrain, Colin adapts and moves up the ranks, earning promotions and honors with speed and bravery. Defending Ampleforth and the Black Cliffs from Langdon’s attacks is a never-ending and dissatisfying task as men and weapons dwindle, and the line never makes lasting gains in ground. Colin holds to his assigned position until the day his cousin, King Benedict, tells him to handpick a small team for a special mission. Though Colin views his assignment as hopeless, he seeks to fulfill the king’s orders without wasting time or manpower. An experienced commander should have little trouble checking items off a list and finding information, but daunting challenges face him, and unexpected surprises lurk within his unit. “I am tasked with the almost impossible: drive Langdon back from Ampleforth and reclaim the salt mines, lost to Langdon seventy years ago. The mission itself is not insurmountable, but Caledon has no forces to replace those I lose. No men. No horses. No weapons. No boots. Seven decades of war have decimated our resources. So we take them off the dead. Anything we can use. But the dead, while I can commandeer their clothes and weapons, cannot fight for me. And therein lies the worst of my dilemma. Our ranks are dwindling. Two weeks ago, I added a fifteen-year-old boy to my foot soldiers. A mere child! I am ashamed to rob cradles, but what else can I do? I need every man, or boy, I can get. The fear in the lad’s eyes when I told the men we would meet Langdon tomorrow smote me to the core. He will probably die. Like so many others. War. The glory and futility. When will it end?” Background Information: Caledonian Titles All the king’s children inherit the title of prince or princess. The spouse of the prince who will inherit the throne gains an equal title with full powers, so long as the blood royal lives. Courtesy titles are given to spouses of princes and princesses who will not ascend the throne—these hold little power but bestow a level of prestige upon the bearer. The hereditary title of the father will pass to his offspring, but courtesy titles are never handed down. When a noble marries a person who already possesses a title, the couple can claim the higher of the titles if they wish. If a lord marries a duchess, he can assume the courtesy title of duke. However, he might choose to keep his hereditary rank so that his title will pass to their children. The king or queen might bestow an honorary title on anyone who has engaged in outstanding acts of service. Men’s honorary titles get handed down to their children, an ongoing legacy worth striving for. The title of knight or lord is the most common honorary title for men, and a woman will receive the title of lady. The spouse of a person who earns an honorary title will receive a matching courtesy title. Titles, including hereditary titles, can be revoked for a variety of offences. If a person loses his or her title, any living or future spouses or descendants of his lose theirs as well. Langdon and Zandor observe the Caledonian customs regarding titles within their respective royal families and nobility. When the Republic of Caledon formed in 1876, titles became a badge of dishonor—a relic of bygone times and the tyranny of the monarchy. Those who held them ceased to flaunt them or to pass them on to their children. In the 1930s, a new law abolished any remaining titles, making every Caledonian equal. In the 21st century, some families still carried the royal surnames of Grenleigh, Bramston, and Zandor. Many of these could trace their lineage to a royal family, but bragging about one’s ancestry marked one as a snob. People who knew of royal roots and past titles in their families kept their knowledge to themselves. Caledonian titles in order of descending rank: King/Queen; Prince/Princess; Duke/Duchess; Earl/Countess; Baron/Baroness; Lord/Lady; Knighthood. Brigid Kerry “What is truth? Truth is perception. Who will you believe?” Birthdate: 1271 Age at the time of this story: 6-16 Physical Characteristics: 5’8”; 135 lbs; light brown hair, brown eyes The daughter of a Zandorian baron, Brigid knows the rules. She knows how to behave when her father takes her with him to the palace, though she can’t fathom why he does it. Grymwalde’s palace is the most boring place Brigid has ever had the misfortune to be, but when she’s there, she knows what to say to whom. And she only speaks when spoken to. But Brigid often wishes she could say and do what she wants, instead of following the prescriptions of her strict culture. When Brigid is eight years old, her mother dies, leaving her to the tender mercies of a procession of governesses hired to tend to the girl’s education and upbringing. Brigid’s best friend after her mother passes is her maid, Adine, whom she treats as more of a confidante than a servant. Brigid enjoys drawing with charcoal and painting landscapes. She would love to travel to Langdon’s mountains or Caledon’s cliffs to see more exciting scenery than Grymwalde offers, but while the nations are at war, she’s stuck at home. “Sit still. Be quiet. Mind your manners. Rules. Life is a bunch of rules. And the rules for girls don't allow for half so much fun as the rules for boys. See Prince Laurence over there, peeking through the door with that mischievous smirk? No one's making him sit still. He even winked and stuck his tongue out at me! But I have to sit here, silent. I'm cold, but I daren't move closer to the fire, for Father told me to sit here, not there. The room is full of men. How many? I can't tell. The torches cast strange shadows. There might be thirty men, or perhaps only five and twenty-five ghosts. Regardless, they all speak to each other, and never to me, as though I don't exist. I want to get up and run around the room, and shout, and dance, and laugh, but I sit, because I am expected to sit, and I don't get a say. I wonder if there's any way to make anyone hear me? Zandor is not a good place to be a girl.”  The Mystic’s Mandate involves a longer time-span than any other title in the Dragon’s Fire Series. Excluding the prologue, the book covers from 1274 to 1287. Some characters take part in the plot longer than others, so you’ll see a discrepancy in age spans throughout the sketches. Characters who are present from the start show a wider range of ages than those who join the story late or leave it early.
Maygan Moore “Cowards! All of you! If you don’t go, I will!” Birthdate: 1267 Age at the time of this story: 7-20 Physical Characteristics: 5’7”; 148 lbs; auburn hair; brown eyes The fourth generation of a Mystic family, Maygan has been steeped in the Order’s lore and tradition since birth. Her father, Derrick Moore, was working to become a High Priest, but died of typhoid before he attained the position. Her mother, Johna, is a knowledgeable herbalist. Maygan is gifted with visions: images of the past and the future that no one else can see. The High Mystics admire, even envy, Maygan’s abilities, but she dislikes the visions—seeing what others cannot makes her uneasy. Urged to follow in her ancestors’ footsteps, Maygan studies hard to attain a high standing among her people. A quiet and compliant child, Maygan has a stubborn streak she conceals from others. She despises the Mystics’ home in the caves, and suffers from a breathing disorder on account of the smoky, stale air. Though comfortable with the darkness of the dragons’ lair, Maygan craves the light and longs to return to the way things were before the war. Her intelligence and determination earn her an enviable ranking in the Order at a young age, but her hatred of a Mystic prophecy and her frustration at the Order’s pacifist stance drive Maygan to take the future into her own hands. “Caledon has been at war my entire life. And it will be at war for the rest of my life, and far longer still. How do I know? The gods reveal things to Mystics that they don’t share with other people. We live in the dragon’s lair, in the dark, like moles. Caledon battles to keep Langdon away from the Black Cliffs, losing soldiers by the day, but will the able-bodied men hiding in the caves take up arms to defend their king and country? No! Because we are all brothers, the Archmystic says - us and our enemies. We do not make war against our own blood. Cowards! Langdon would kill us without a second thought - payment of an old debt. And we wait here for them to come, priding ourselves that we are higher than they - more noble - more enlightened. What a crock. I’m tired of sitting here, waiting to die. It’s time we took control of this situation and used our powers to alter our history and our future. The cost will be high, the Archmystic says, but history stole my tomorrows before I was born, and I want them back. I will restore my future or die trying! After all, what’s the point of living if there’s nothing to live for?” Background Information: The Mystics Caledon’s elite religious leaders have held a place of importance since the nation’s founding in 358. The common citizens hold the Mystics in awe as worshippers of the Dragon’s Fire, keepers of Caledon’s history, and predictors of its future. Mystics preside over marriage and death rites, possess vast knowledge of herbal medicine, and serve as advisors to the king. The Mystics prefer to keep their secrets within the “family.” An outsider’s chances of being accepted into the Order are greater if he has a relative who is part of the group. Women will not gain admission to the Order unless they are born into it, with one or both parents already in places of prominence. To acquire an official rank in the Order, an applicant must complete ten to fifteen years of study. A high-ranking position, such as High Priest, Ovate, or Archmystic, requires twenty years or more. The successful candidate will master:
Laurence Zandor “I can’t abide stupid people. Brainless heads hit the ground far faster than intelligent ones.” Birthdate: April 20, 1270 Age at the time of this story: 7-17 Physical Characteristics: 6’1”; 165 lbs; brown hair, brown eyes Great-grandson of Adrian Zandor, Laurence has been groomed from infancy to take the Crown of Zandor and overthrow Caledon. A series of traumatic childhood events scar the young prince, leaving him burdened with a secret he dare not share for fear of his life. Laurence withdraws emotionally, attempting to stamp out his feelings altogether. Upon the death of Laurence’s father, a succession of regents governs for the prince until he is old enough to take the throne and impact Zandor in unprecedented ways. He rules with a stern fist, but underhanded deals threaten his authority, and he clings to power by a narrow thread. Counsel from his wife and his regent conflict, and Laurence finds himself caught between two warring forces within his house, while fighting to hold on to his throne and his sanity. “They call me the King of Zandor, but I have no power until two years from now, when I will be old enough to wear the crown. Until then, the Regent makes decisions. Oh, he consults me, but he can override me on a whim, so what’s the point? Once I have all the power, Zandor will see what I’m made of. A lot of things are going to change around here - starting with the removal of every trace of Caledon from Zandor’s laws. It’s time I made this nation a powerful entity, not a shadow of Ampleforth, pining for the castle on the cliff. The weight of the crown is a tremendous responsibility - one that I anticipate and dread at the same time. But nothing could instill such a burden as the secret I’ve carried for the past seven years. This secret fills my every waking thought and my nightmares. If I reveal the secret, I will die, like everyone else who possessed this knowledge. I am haunted, taunted by knowledge I can never share with anyone, yet somehow, I must, or the consequences to the island of Caledon will be severe indeed.” Fergus Ulliac “Have you considered who will take your throne if something happens to you?” Birthdate: 1249 Age at the time of this story: 28-38 Physical Characteristics: 5’11”; 220 lbs; brown hair, brown eyes Fergus is the son of King Adrian’s closest advisor. He works as a palace bookkeeper, with an eye to gaining proximity to the throne and the ear of the king. A wizard with numbers, he holds the royal purse strings and a position of great trust. Fergus knows how to manipulate others to better himself, and how to ingratiate himself to those in prominent positions. Biding his time to claim a higher position, Fergus presents himself and the books with flawless perfection whenever required. Events combine to position Fergus in an optimal place to serve young Prince Laurence, and they forge a friendship that will have long-lasting implications for Zandor and the Crown. “A wise king surrounds himself with many trustworthy advisors. After all, no one should make decisions that affect nations and hundreds of thousands of people without proper counsel. But some counselors get closer to kings than others. My family has been that counselor to the rulers of Zandor for nigh on seventy years now. It’s an excellent position to occupy. One would have to try very hard to irritate the king enough to be banished from his side - with the proper balance of praise, fawning, and sage advice, one’s position is secure. So many envy the king’s place - his wealth, his comforts, his power. What they don’t realize is that the power doesn’t belong to the one who wears the crown. The power belongs to the master behind the scenes who controls the strings.” Join me in May for more characters and background information for The Mystic’s Mandate! Book Four, The Brigand’s Promise, until now, held the title of Toughest Book in the Series to Write, primarily because I made the villains the protagonists. It also contained a giant plot hole which plagued me for months and required me to introduce a new character in the fourth draft. Now, Book Seven, The Mystic’s Mandate, has stolen that dubious honor.
My protagonist, Maygan, did not exist at first. The initial idea for Mandate followed a lead character from Zandor, Brigid. Several plot attempts fizzled at the midpoint of the story—no climax or resolution, just a sad ending after a narrative of history. That wouldn’t do at all. I relegated Brigid to a secondary and created Maygan, who would reach a satisfying conclusion and whom readers could root for. I rewrote the plot, and while still not pleased with it, began the first draft, figuring that the story arc was decent, and I would fix the details later. The first draft was like pulling teeth. Maygan felt and worked like a last-minute addition. The other characters were uncooperative. My three “bad guys” were vying for the role of “Villain Supreme,” none of them willing to take a backseat to the others. The story was dark and rambling, and the extensive timeline plagued me. Upon completion of the first draft, I wrote yet another plot, attempting to crystalize the key points of the story so I could hone it and shorten it. The monstrous first, second, and third drafts reached more than 122k words—close to the size of The Curse of Caledon. Curse has the story to carry such a weighty length. Mandate was just long. Subsequent drafts attempted to whittle the word count while intensifying the story, strengthening the characters, and making the narrative make sense. I couldn’t shorten the time span, but I worked on making the passage of years easier to follow. After five drafts, the story had come together at last. The characters were cooperating, and I knew them well. So began editing and more killing of the word count. In one infamous pass, I dropped over 12k words from the manuscript, losing none of the important elements of the story. By the time my editor got the manuscript, I had worked it down to 103k words—the length of Guardians—and I was pretty proud of it. He made me cut two words from the very first sentence. Then followed more cuts: repetition, dragging scenes, character inconsistencies… damn, I thought I had found all those! The story came together with our joint effort, and The Mystic’s Mandate is now a book I am proud of at 91,287 words. I hope nothing ever snatches its title of Toughest Book in the Series to Write, because I’m not sure I’ll survive another manuscript like this one! Book Seven released November 5th. Do you have your copy yet?  I never expected to become a fantasy writer. As a child and teen, I wasn’t allowed to read or write fantasy books, except for the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. Fairy tales, myths, and legends were taboo. My parents insisted that my books—on my shelf or in my head—be realistic and preferably religious.
In fourth grade, a creative writing assignment for Halloween revolved around the usual topics: ghosts, witches, haunted houses. I wasn’t permitted to dabble in such subjects, so I wrote a story about a plane crash. Everyone died. Suitably grim, I hoped. My teacher was less than impressed, and she wrote in my report card that I had “no imagination.” I had an imagination. When I wrote stories for myself, I could see my characters, and they talked to me. But when I told my parents that, their reaction was negative in the extreme, and I learned to keep the vibrant world in my head a secret. In my forties, I discovered that I have a condition called hyperphantasia, or an overactive imagination. This explains the high-definition imagery in my mind and my ability to perceive places and people in my field of vision, superimposed on reality. Hyperphantasia also explains how real my characters and fictional worlds become to me. When I imagine a scene, I see and hear everything, and with less intensity, experience tastes, textures, and smells. The constant images and incessant internal dialogue in my brain are exhausting, especially when I try to process all of it alongside reality. Writing helps to keep the ideas in manageable order! But as a child, I concealed all that, thinking something was wrong with me. In my late teens, I started writing historical fiction. A novel I wrote in my early twenties, Fool’s Gold, was published online by Reconciliation Press circa 2000. Many years later, when I began the Dragon’s Fire Series with what became the second title, The Rose of Caledon, I intended to produce more historical fiction. It bothered me, though, that I had set the story in a made-up land, instead of placing my characters in England or Ireland. A third of the way through Myrhiadh’s War, when James and Myrhiadh came up with the plot for Dragon’s Fire, a hint of magic crept into the book. I loosened the reins on my imagination that I’d stifled for so long and let it run. I love writing fantasy. The Dragon’s Fire Series is low-fantasy, or magical realism. Through it, I’ve discovered who I am as a writer, and to a great extent, who I am as a person. I’m learning to embrace my imagination instead of viewing it as a disease or even a curse. The novel I mentioned earlier, Fool’s Gold, will be re-released in print at a later date. An editor who went over the text, having never met me or had any interaction with me, commented, “She would make an amazing fantasy writer!” Such a comment 20 years ago would have terrified me. When I wrote Fool's Gold, I didn't dare let my imagination take over, but the editor noticed it, just the same. The Dragon’s Fire Series has taught me to embrace who and what I am, and to appreciate how fun a soaring flight of unhindered imagination can be. I hope my fourth-grade teacher reads them. |