While looking on Google Images for a picture of Wells cathedral on a misty morning, I came across Stephen Spraggon’s website and blog. He is a photographer in Somerset, England, and has a marvelous eye for capturing color and light. He lives in the place where the Muirwood series has its setting, so it was inspiring to see some of the views where he has been.
Check it out: http://www.spraggonphotography.co.uk/blog/
I finished the final touches on The Scourge of Muirwood this week, wrapping up a trilogy that has been several years in the making. There is still much to do still – like re-reading the entire trilogy to see how it flows and blends, but having finished the series is a great relief. Some of my friends (Brendon and Jeremy) probably did not think I *could* finish a series. Well, it’s done.
Once the massive editing begins to close, I’ll start thinking about how to produce the three novels so that if someone wanted a physical copy, versus reading on an iPad or a netbook, they can. More on this later. For now, I’m going to take a deep breath and wait for the feedback from my early readers to see if they like the ending.
“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Eccl 1:9)
I’ve heard the cliche before (no new thing under the sun), but I experienced it recently working on Scourge. I was in the middle of writing a very tense set of chapters, about a terrible lair full of snakes and bad things and the torchlight fading fast. At the same time, I was taking the shuttle back and forth from Folsom to Santa Clara as part of a new-hire workshop I was helping with, and of course brought a book I’ve been meaning to finish reading – Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Why on earth have I been reading a book that was done around 2,000 years ago? Because I had learned through a documentary (PBS’ “In Search of Shakespeare” - go Netflix!) that Ovid was a huge inspiration to the Bard as a younger man. I was intrigued and wanted to see in what way he was inspired, and saw some of the themes and elements in the stories told within Metamorphoses. For those who like the Percy Jackson series, it’s basically a bunch of Greek legends retold with a running theme of characters being transformed into various plants, animals, snake-haired ladies, and even from girls to boys.
As I was sitting in the shuttle lobby, reading Ovid, I came across many scenes and stories that reminded me of Muirwood. There’s the tale of Atalanta, a girl hunter who was renowned for her hunting and fighting skills and her famous sprints to prevent marriage. There was the magic of Medea and her spells for living a long life through ancient rites and potions. And then the frightening Tisiphone, a Fury, who used snakes to poison the minds of her victims and make them insane. All elements I’ve used in Muirwood.
I guess Ecclesiastes was right. But I can firmly avow that I had thought up all these ideas before ever opening Ovid.
A few favorite quotes from the book:
Thanks again to Emily and Mel for early input on Scourge. It’s hard to read a book 50 pages at a time and have to wait a month for the next installment. I appreciate it!
I also had fun on Friday reading Wishing Lantern to my 2nd grader’s class. That was a treat.
I’m impressed with Brandon Sanderson. I first learned about him back in the days of Deep Magic, the e-zine that some friends and I published many years ago. He had just come out with his first novel (Elantris) and I managed to interview him for the ‘zine and also enjoyed the book. He teaches creative writing at BYU (one class, I believe) and writes and writes alot. After Robert Jordan died, he was chosen to complete the magnus opus that Jordan didn’t surive to write. So, in short, he’s someone who has impressed me because he’s living the dream.
I learned about something crazy he decided to do with his latest novel Warbreaker. He decided to post it on-line as he wrote it and allow anyone to read it who wanted to. Instead of feeling that he’s giving away his career, he takes the point of view that if people read his work, and like it, they will want to buy it or share it with their friends. It takes guts to do something like this. Here is a link to his website that talks about his reasoning. I believe the future of publishing is heading in this direction. Authors will be establishing their own networks of readers and as a result, the publishing companies will come to them.
http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Warbreaker
I like Brandon’s thinking – how he is going against the prevailing wisdom and trying something new. It’s kind of like becoming a pirate. Sign me up. So, hoisting the jolly roger and with a nice hat, I’ll be posting electronic copies of my books on this site. I have some other ideas that take me a little farther afield than Brandon. But I’ll save that announcement when I’m finished writing Book 3 of the Muirwood series. Ahoy mateys!
I am about 200 pages into SCOURGE right now and things are heating to a boil. I wish I had more time to write, but at least I have been able to keep pace with a chapter a week. Lately I have been mulling the technological transformation that is currently shaking up the publishing industry. We have the Apple iPad launch, Kindle, and Hewlett Packard coming out with a new tablet. There are those who like to read their books on a comfy couch copy in hand, those who like to read from a computer screen, and some (like myself) who listen to books from Librivox or the library during my commute to Folsom every day (grabbing Peter and the Starchasers this weekend!). There are companies springing up to help bring words to life in different formats. Companies like CreateSpace which sends me at least an e-mail a week trying to get me to publish with them. Or Lulu.com. Offers to design, edit, and print a book on demand.
There was an article recently about how the advances in technology make it easier to do motion picture special effects at home. These are then made into Youtube clips that rival most of the sci-fi movies from 20-30 years ago: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/26/be-a-special-effects-wizard/
Over the next few years, there will be a variety of ways to get books and enjoy them. What I wish technology could invent was a faster way to download a story from my head.
It was interesting (or ironic) that I was going to write a blog posting today and happened across an article in the LA Times. Gotta love Google News feeds.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-endurability7-2010feb07,0,4119789.story
What struck me about the article is how broken the publishing system is today. It has not transformed fully yet and the processes of submitting to agents, weeding through the submissions, taking risks on new authors, losing money on books that get returned, etc, etc, — it really highlights the difficulties of being a writer today. As I read the article about the hopelessness and despair, it made me appreciate the fact that I have a great day-job (that I’m not earning my income as a writer), that I enjoy writing regardless and will continue to, and it has also made me appreciate those who have read my books and offered feedback. That is the true payoff of a writer.
The future of publishing will be writers using self-publishing venues (there are plenty) and then getting the word out themselves. Rather than relying on a network of bookstore owners and publicists and marketing folks, I think writers will carve their own niches, find their own audiences and use the tools of the internet to make their work available more cost effectively. Those that prefer to read on a Kindle or an iPad can consume it that way. Those who prefer audio books will get the content that way. Those who want it in hard-cover or soft-cover, or in any shape or size will pick what they want and it will show up in the mail or pop out of an Espresso Book Machine (which Google has been touting lately). The consumer will get the content in the form factors they want.
That is the future of publishing.
During the holidays in December, I was able to start on the third installment of the Muirwood series. I have completed the first 80 pages so far and hope to finish the project by September 2010. There are a lot of words to write between here and there, but I am excited about finishing this trilogy and especially for the feedback coming in on the series. There is an Army dentist in Iraq reading it right now (yes, he’s my brother-in-law) as well a group of moms with little kids in Caldwell, Idaho. There is also a 12 year-old daughter who steals her mom’s copy when she’s not looking. It is definitely motivating me to keep writing and enjoy the process. Wish I could write as fast as people like Chelsea can read. But that’s impossible.
Being an amateur Photoshop-ist myself, I have been brainstorming some ideas for covers for the series. These are just ideas to get the creative juices flowing. I would love it if anyone else has thoughts for scenes or cover ideas for the series. Just for fun. The first block hais more of an “outdoors” feel, and the second I’m calling “reflections”. No people on the covers in these versions, but it’s a start. Any/all ideas or suggestions welcome.
It was a treat in mid-November to visit H. Clarke Powers school in Loomis, CA. I was invited to be the guest author to a group of kids who had read all the required reading in their classes. There were about forty to fifty kids there and I read them an excerpt from Wishing Lantern, signed copies of the book, and answered questions. It was a great experience.
The feedback I have gotten from Blight is very positive so far. I’m excited to start writing the final book in the trilogy, Scourge of Muirwood. I’ll try to go back to the rhythm of a chapter a week and see how long it takes to finish. I’ve been outlining the destinies of all the major and minor characters and now it’s time to start laying tile again – piece by piece. The first tile is a flashback to Lia’s father. Time to start setting the stage.
Releasing a book into the hands of readers can be exciting as well as anxiety-producing. I love getting feedback, positive and negative, because it helps my become a better writer. While writing BLIGHT, I was getting regular feedback from my sister and my niece during the process. Now that I’m done, I have started to let people read it and the feedback is coming in. Very positive so far. Just yesterday I was sent an e-mail of an instant message exchange between my sister and her friend Melanie as they discussed the book late the previous night. It is so helpful to see the different interpretations that exist, the opinions about what will happen next, as well as the spots where I’ve confused readers by not identifying the pronouns (gasp!). But general positive tone makes me eager to start writing the final book. If all goes according to plan, I’ll start in December during the holidays.
I have PDF versions of WRETCHED and BLIGHT available for readers. As I just said, getting feedback is very helpful as a writer. If you’re interested in reading, shoot me an e-mail.
October 1, 2009 – finished the first draft of Blight of Muirwood. Right now, it’s around 450 pages, so longer than the first book and I’m heaving a sigh of relief for being done. Last weekend my wife read it all and we’ve had some good discussions about it. I need to read it again for continuity (I know there are some inconsistencies in there), but after that, it will be ready for some proofreaders.
It’s funny how writing can meld into reality sometimes, so here is a funny story. One of the ongoing elements of this series is Lia’s fascination with Muirwood apples (Fuji apples in our world). I’ve found that certain kinds taste the sweetest and showed my kids how to spot the tell-tale signs. Well, my wife told me this week that the kids will stare at the apple bin with the fridge door open for *way too long* trying to find the ‘best’ apple to put in their lunch. I admit I’m pretty picky myself. At Intel, our Corporate Services group provides free fruit to employees in the cafe and so I pick one up every day and always linger over the apples to find the best one. This week, I found an especially promising one and brought it home and my daughter’s eyes widened with delight. She would have picked that one too.
Glad to be done with book 2 of the series. After doing some proofreading over the next month or two, I’ll probably start on the final book in January.