Swans of Westermere, a novella

You know, it's funny. But I got to comparing this novella with Mists of Blackfen Bog. Near the same length, they are both ghost stories. The structure of the titles is similar. The biggest differences, I guess, are that Mists takes place in the world of Tanerra, while Swans takes place in our world; Mists focuses on a priestess who has lost her faith, and Swans is told from the PoV of a twelve-year-old girl.  What is it with me and ghosts and novellas? I don't even believe in ghosts, but I love writing ghost stories. They're pure fun, albeit dark fun.

So what are we looking at in this promo image? A swan, a cloudy sky reflected in a still lake, scarred shadowy edges, strange symbols, and angry crows. All but the crows show up in Swans of Westermere, though I suppose I could add some crows.

The scarred edges and antique look of the image are meant to convey the look of a tintype. Tintypes are key to the mystery surrounding the century-old curse that Jocelyn Tanner uncovers as she roams her ancestral home. It was way back in college that I studied the birth of photography, so I must've dragged this element from the dregs of my brain.

But, come to think of it, my brain was more supple eight years ago. Yep, I wrote Swans eight years ago, but it's one story I haven't been able to forget. It has all the cliched elements of a thousand other ghost stories, but there's just something I love about this tale. How can I not adore the idea of the devil being locked in a box on Grandma's mantelpiece? I mean, really. It's just too much fun.

Look for Swans of Westermere

HALLOWEEN, 2014

image credits:

background: Kreatiques-x
tintype texture: AllThingsPrecious
swan: Drezdany
voodoo symbols: RavenGraphics
magic symbols: nomuh

Burnout Blues ... A New Release!

What do you get when you write non-stop for 14 years? A little case of burnout. Yep, after fighting it for about a year now, I'm having to admit it to myself. I have burnout. It got to the point where sitting down to put two words together was comparable to climbing K2. I just wanted to sob every time I thought about writing.

So, I have taken off for two weeks, and I'm one week in and I already feel better. I tried to spend this time "writing something new," but even that proved a frustration. My husband finally said, "Stop! Don't write anything for two weeks." It's the first time I've ever felt a release from guilt during those days when the words won't come. I can breathe.

In addition to not writing, I'm having to make some other changes. Painful changes. Not only am I having to admit to burnout, I'm having to admit that I'm an addict. When burnout started taking over, gaming started compensating as an escape, until the point where it became a full-blown addiction. So during these two weeks, I've pretty much hospitalized myself in my house, and I warned my husband, "Prepare for withdrawal. It won't be pretty." It wasn't. The first two days I was a wreck. Yet I prayed fiercely through those times when I felt restless, agitated, when all I wanted to do was log in. "No," I told myself, "you desire words. You have a passion for words." I have been reading and reading and reading, even when the idea of consuming more words feels like eating another bite I can't stomach.

Strangely--and very quickly--the creative urge resurfaced. I dragged out an old story that's been haunting me lately (pun intended), one my husband keeps mentioning, even though he read it six or eight years ago. Rereading it, I decided it would be fun to have it in print, so I've been editing it and building a book cover for it. I hope to publish it sometime around Halloween--which is only fitting for a ghost story.

Here's a little promo image for it:

image credits:

background: Kreatiques-x
tintype texture: AllThingsPrecious
swan: Drezdany
voodoo symbols: RavenGraphics
magic symbols: nomuh

"Twice Upon A Time," a fairytale anthology, coming soon!

I am so excited about the upcoming release of Twice Upon a Time, the first release for The Bearded Scribe Press. The collection of stories, from what I can tell, promises to be quite dark and strange.

Joshua was gracious enough to accept my story, "The Bone Harp," for the collection, and I'm flattered. This little bit of macabre fiction first appeared in Realms, a now defunct publication by Black Matrix, in 2010. And it remains one of my favorites. I simply loved writing this story. I hope you'll enjoy reading it -- when it comes out. So close now. If I had specific dates for the release, I would pass them on, but for now, we're hoping for November.

As for the promo image, I'm not sure it conveys the sinister aspect of the tale. That's one vengeful swan, though it might just be swooping in for a hug. Anyway ...



Credits for the artwork:

girl by faestock
swan by LubelleCreativeSpark
background by kreatiques-x
pixie dust by rL-Brushes
fog by BBs-Brushes