Sorry I have been dark so long. No blog posts. No newsletters. If not for a few tweets and Facebook posts, you guys might have decided I dropped off the face of the earth.
Other News first:
A Blog Series – I was recently part of a series of blog posts put on by the lovely Sarah Addison-Fox on what does it mean to write clean/Christian fantasy. You can read my post here, but it is worth reading all of them starting with the introductory post, then authors Hope Ann, Claire Banschbach, Serena Chase, Lauricia Matuska, and Kate Willis. Lots of different perspectives and food for thought!
Black Friday Sale – I will once again be a part of a Black Friday sale put together by fellow Christian indie authors. I think we have over 36 authors participating this year, which is huge considering we had about 7 of us the first year. Check back here on Friday for a link to the sale.
Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to answer the poll I posted a while back! Of the 90 responses I received, 62% mostly read fantasy (which is good. Fantasy is my first love and I struggle to write anything else). When asked if you would like to see more Blades of Acktar, over 75% answered either Yes, right away or Yes, but let’s see something new first. Very, very few said they don’t want to read anything more in The Blades of Acktar.
I was also surprised by the number of people who asked for either more about Ranson or more about Brandi and Jamie. Good news is, I have ideas for both of those characters that I would like to write someday, so there is a good chance you’ll see more about them in the future.
If you would like to still take the poll, here is a link to it.
If you took the poll, then you probably already guessed, but the current project I’m working on is a Christian allegorical fantasy. It has been a tough book to write, as allegorical elements are much harder to make sure they come across the way I intend since they aren’t as clear as writing full on Christian fiction the way I did with The Blades of Acktar.
But while this book is allegorical, it isn’t an allegory. What does that mean? Well, an allegorical book still has lots of story elements that aren’t necessarily part of the allegory. Think Chronicles of Narnia. A full allegory would be a book like Pilgrim’s Progress where nothing in that book doesn’t have some sort of symbol or meaning.
Due to the trickiness of writing allegorically, this book has been tough. My word counts have been drastically reduced compared to what I did each day when writing The Blades of Acktar. BUT I am ALMOST finished. If I keep on track, I’ll finish either before the end of November or early in December. That means I should be able to start telling you details, back cover blurbs, and stuff like that by the end of December or early January. Yay!!!
I’m both excited and nervous to share this book with you. Some days, I can barely write I’m so terrified this book will not only disappoint, but offend and turn away readers. That’s the chance every author takes with every book, but especially when I know many of my readers personally. I don’t want to disappoint a single one of you!
You probably guessed this one. Of course Martyn is Eugene. They both adore sarcasm, have a bad attitude about pretty much everything until they finally start to warm up to it, start out as very reluctant heroes, but end up sacrificial in the end.
This one was probably my hardest to decide. I decided Kristoff in the end because both Jamie and Kristoff are the sort of guys who go great lengths for their friends without asking or expecting anything in return, especially if the girl doesn’t see them as more than a friend. They both find their families through being more-or-less adopted into one. Jamie, though, tends to be a bit cleaner than Kristoff.
Renna especially reminds me of Cinderella, especially as portrayed in the 2015 version. Not only does Lily James look a lot like how I picture Renna (except that Renna has straight hair and blue eyes), but the whole “have courage and be kind” motto is pretty much Renna’s motto. Both Cinderella and Renna are strong because they are kind to those around them even in difficult circumstances. They are even kind to those who hurt them. It is that kindness that attracts them to others and helps them triumph in the end.
Another tough one. Brandi could’ve been Mulan, since she runs off to fight like Mulan does. Or maybe even Merida from Brave. But I think Anna best captures Brandi’s personality. Both are very spunky, lively, appear naive, and do a lot of growing. Both look after their older sisters. Both end up fighting when pushed into a corner because they are feisty like that. Both tend to say the first thing that comes to mind without always thinking it through.
Jolene was the hardest one to pick. I know, I’ve said they were all hard. But even I didn’t get to know Jolene as much as I would’ve liked in the books. All her good scenes ended up getting cut in revision. 😦 But, I finally decided she was most like Merida. They are both good at archery. Both have very formidable mothers that they love but don’t always understand. Jolene’s mother, though, tends to encourage Jolene’s archery skills more than frown on it. And Jolene would’ve loved to have three little brothers (even if they were terrors) like Merida.
Courage could cost him everything. 
If you’re looking for the ocean, you won’t find it anywhere near Acktar. It’s a land-locked country of rolling prairie for hundreds of miles in nearly every direction. Its northern border is the Sheered Rock Hills, a stretch of mountains covered in scrub pine and juniper. The Spires Canyon, a deep trench with the Ondieda River at the bottom, marks the eastern border. Beyond the northeastern corner of Acktar, a desert known as the Waste stretches in miles of dusty earth where even the water is too contaminated to drink.
Tricia Mingerink 