What do I do while waiting to hear back from publishers? I start a new project!

I admit it, right now, I’m feeling vulnerable about the fact that I have a ton of things up in the air…

ECCC is coming. It’s my biggest event of the year. I’m not even going to pretend that doesn’t freak me out.

Out for Souls & Cookies #5 is progressing a page a day just like normal. In fact I should be done by March 1st on my current schedule which will work fine, since that is when Maria will come down to Seattle to take a look at it prior to ECCC. And for everybody else…I hope you come back on March 1st for the cover reveal.

The Martlet is at Angry Robot. No word.

The Light Side of the Moon is at 48Fourteen.

I’ve three short stories out in the ether, I’m waiting to hear back from. One at Flash Fiction Online, another at Lightspeed and another at Analogue.

As always I’m crossing my fingers, but that doesn’t quiet the anxious voices. So what should I do? That’s right, go through the queue and find a new project!

On Monday, I started a new project from this idea:  Is the life of one worth the life of billions?

Dalya Hayes and her husband Oliver Fisher are locals who run a Museum of Oddities and the Visitor Service Center in the small town of Sitka’s Quay. They watch the summer crowds. Some visitors are just families out for an all-American vacation, but some visitors seek to restore their magic in the grove and lake outside the village.

One day, a visiting sorcerer, Jonah Leifson, comes to town. He believes these old Gods will bring back peace and prosperity to the world. Jonah gathers other sorcerers with the same political motives…..

Now for the rest of the blurb, sorry but you’ll have to wait. I don’t want to give away too much, especially if I change the plot half way through or something. 😉

Finished the outline, and wrote the first two chapters which right now I am calling Sitka’s Quay.

As I said, the protagonists are married…so I began writing. The rough draft of the first few chapters has been written. I started it with them in their museum. The antagonist enters.  They give him a map of the grove but wife senses the danger. 

So I think this book is off to a good start. I’ve researched some ancient Sumerian Gods, ancient ceremonies, running a search party, and small town life.

Note: I think the heat level is still sweet. Way more kissing and sensuality than I wrote for The Light Side of the Moon, but certainly not erotica. I would be embarrassed to write anything much more risqué. Seriously, not only am I known for comics, but my mom reads my stuff.

Special Guest Amber Skye Forbes!

 This week I’m welcoming author Amber Skye Forbes as she readies for her October release of her debut novel WHEN STARS DIE the first book in The Stars Trilogy.

Synopsis:

Amelia Gareth’s brother is a witch and the only way to save her family from the taint in his blood is to become a professed nun at Cathedral Reims in the snowy city of Malva. However, in order to become professed, she must endure trials that all nuns must face.

           
Surviving these trials is not easy, especially for Amelia, who is being stalked by shadowy beings only she can see. They’re searching for people they can physically touch, because only those they can touch can see them. Amelia soon learns why she is being stalked when she accidentally harms her best friend with fire during the third trial. Fire is a witch’s signature. The shadows are after witches.
           
Now Amelia must decide what to do: should she continue on her path to profession knowing there is no redemption, or should she give up on her dream and turn away from Cathedral Reims in order to stop the shadows who plan to destroy everything she loves?

Alright on to the questions,

So, Amber, when did you know you wanted to be an author?

It was in journal time in second grade when we all wrote in our journals for thirty minutes about anything we could think of. I used to write about things I just did everyday, but then I started to want to write stories like my favorite author at the time, Mary Pope Osborne, author of The Magic Treehouse series. It then became this compulsion, this need, and I knew I wanted to publish one day. There is no rationale behind why I want to be an author and be published an all that. I just know that I want to be.

I understand that. I have wanted to be an author as long as I could remember too. What has been the biggest thing you have learned in this process of writing a novel? 

The biggest thing I’ve learned in the process of writing this book is that just because the story isn’t working now doesn’t mean it won’t work later. I started it at 15, which was 8 years ago. The story definitely didn’t work at the time, but unearthing it at 21 and re-doing it with the new skills I gained definitely made it something that, after much work, would be worthy of publication. So I learned to never give up on a story. Novels take time.

What was the most challenging character to write?

Nathaniel, Amelia’s younger brother, was hardest to write because he is eight and much younger than Amelia. I had a really hard time trying to develop him as a character because of this barrier, and even now I still don’t think I fully succeeded, but I’m still learning and growing as a writer, and Nathaniel is going to be in the second book, in any case–he will be much better developed, mostly because he will be older.

Who is your favorite character in WHEN STARS DIE?

Amelia, of course. I like her determination and loyalty and her unfailing will to want to do something good for her world, even though she is restricted in a lot of ways.

Your cover is absolutely gorgeous, who designed it?

Viola Estrella of Estrella Cover Art.

Are the names of the characters in your novels important?

I wouldn’t say they’re that important. I mean they are because the names differentiate them, but they don’t hold any special meaning. I name the characters based off the time period and what names I happen to like at the time.

Okay now the questions are going to get personal. 🙂 What makes you laugh?

Just about anything can make me laugh because I am a very easygoing person.

If you could choose anyone to be a mentor, which author would you consider?

Libba Bray. She has been an inspiration this entire time, and I would say fans of A Great and Terrible Beautywould love When Stars Die.

What is your favorite book?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It’s one of those books that makes me want to cry just thinking about it, and a book has never done that to me before.

Most of the readers of my blog are other writers, any advice to share?

Make sure something happens in every chapter, be it plot or character development. I had to learn that the hard way. Also, I recommend an outline at some point during the writing process. I also had to learn that the hard way. And last, try not to get too enamored with “rules of writing.” If you follow them so strictly, your writing will end up coming off as flat and unoriginal.

Amber Thank you for taking the time to be here today. 

Want to know more? Ask a question for Amber in the comments!

Or follow this awesome new author on Facebook, Twitter Feed, Blog Reader

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmberSkyeForbes

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmberSkyeF

Blog: http://amberskyeforbes.wordpress.com
Webpage: http://amberskyeforbes.com

or add WHEN STARS DIE to your Goodreads TBR List

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18387010-when-stars-die