Have you written a novel? Come and see my monthly Museful Monday post on Author Sandra Sookoo’s blog. I’m just about done my latest Sci-Fi and I’m talking about that wonderful feeling of completion. A sense of accomplishment!
Have a great day! 🙂
Latest
I’ve Missed My Muses
I know. It’s been a long time since my last blog post. Christmas sneaks up on you sometimes and the speed the days went by shocked me. I had a few days off, but felt like I never stepped away from work. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a little time with my family though, so I definitely won’t apologize for focusing on them at my favourite time of year.
Now with Christmas and New Year’s behind us, a completed course in Illustrator, which I passed with flying colours (pats herself gently on the back), I have returned to writing! I sure missed my muses.
Good thing for the outline I wrote as I started my recent sci-fi, which I’ve named “The Falleran”. The name could change. I usually struggle with up to five titles before I pick one. My characters had been left at a crucial point in the story and it had been killing me to leave them there, but I had priorities above and beyond their needs. Since finding more time to attend to them in the last couple of weeks, I’ve brought them forward by about 5000 words. Should the story get published, I’ve crossed the threshold for print, which is what I strive for. E-books are great, but in Canada they are not as popular as in the US. Nearly everyone I know asked me when my last one would be out in print. I would say about a third of them had e-readers, but used them sparsely, preferring instead to hold a book in their hands.
So here is a little snippet of “The Falleran”. This is the start of Chapter One, after a Prologue which sets the stage for what happened in the year 2033. Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors, as I’m literally in the first draft and I’m not watching for those issues while I pound the story out on the keyboard. The story is in the home stretch. If I can find time to keep focusing on it, I could have it done before the end of the month.
Roman sat bored in his chair while the man went on about his encounter. “It just disappeared into thin air!” The man waved his arms wildly as if he were reliving his story at that very moment.
“Why do you press this matter Xerin?” His indifference forced the young aid to stomp his foot like a frustrated child. Roman knew the young man was eager to please, but he was going about it the wrong way.
“Sir, we have to find them. They are a detriment to our society.” Xerin insisted, running his hands through thick blonde locks surely better served on a woman. With eyes as blue as his father had told him the oceans once were, Xerin caught the eye of many women in Truche. His reputation for being a ladies’ man was confined only by the fact he remained untouched below the belt by anyone recently other than his current interest.
“How so?” Roman rubbed his chin, feigning some interest in the debate.
“It’s not natural.”
“Sounds to me you have been on the other side of the mountains listening to the drivel the aliens preach.”
Xerin’s mouth dropped. “I have not!”
Roman laughed, his deep brown eyes flickering like deep topaz in a hint of sunlight reaching through a window high above them. He pulled away, pretending the intense light did not hurt. “Xerin, you mustn’t be so serious. Those eyes of yours will turn grey before your hair.”
Xerin pouted. “I would never…”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“King Roman, if I may ask, why are you so content to let these – these things – go on living? The Rhuka believe it is wrong.”
“Perhaps it is the Rhuka that are wrong.”
Xerin’s back straightened. “No. The Treaty says Human and Rhuka shall not mate. It’s against the law.”
“Laws made by Rhuka and Human. Old Mother Nature clearly had other plans.”
“It’s disgusting.” Xerin spat, crinkling his nose as if the very word caused an irreproachable stench to surround him.
Roman took in a breath just as Evander stepped out of the shadows. “Excuse me Roman, but I’m concerned about the time.”
His mouth still open, preparing to mouth words he had now forgotten, he brought his finger up, pointing at the aid. “Leave them Xerin. They are not a threat.”
“But…”
“I have a prior engagement.” Roman began taking the steps down from the stage where he stood to address his troops. “I really cannot break this commitment in favour of further discussion on a matter that in my opinion is closed.”
I hope you enjoyed a little taste of what is to come from yours truly. I have three other projects yet to finish; two to be written and one I wrote prior to the publishing of “The Oathbreaker’s Son” that needs a little TLC. I want to edit the story so badly and have the story seen by the world.
Have a great day!
Robyn
MUSEFUL MONDAY
Come on over and visit me at Author Sandra Sookoo’s blog where I am discussing some of the tools for writing!
http://sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-tools-for-writing/
Autoreply: Out of Mind
Sometimes, you just need a break. If all writers are like me, they don’t get a break very often. I have recently bitten off far more than I can chew. I’m proud to say I’m passing my Illustrator course with flying colours (93%), but at the expense of my poor muses. The course takes up far more time than I expected. My last assignment took nearly 2 weeks to complete, so every minute my laptop was cradled on my lap, I was drawing. So here is my masterpiece, which I got 100% on by the way!
On Monday this week, I found myself struggling to stay awake by 6:30 pm. No hockey, no ringette and my next assignment wasn’t due for two weeks. Yes, I had housework to do and as the Chief Referee for my local ringette association, I could have been working on the ref schedule, but my laptop stayed tucked quietly in its case while I stay tucked pleasantly under a woven Mexican blanket my sister-in-law gave me, pretending to watch TV. My son curled up in front of me and the only reason I got up was when our dog jumped on my chest because she had to pee and I wasn’t paying attention to her cold-nose flicks of my arm. The sandman called me somewhere around 8 pm and I went for a little frolic with him until my children had to go to bed. After they were placing calls to the Sandman themselves, I rejoined him for the night.
Sometimes I wish all of my evenings could be so laid back and easy. I needed the break. With a little extra sleep and a refreshed frame of mind, I have returned with a vengeance, trying to squeak 400 things into a sixteen hour day. That’s only 25 different tasks an hour – easy peasy! It’s a good thing I’ve got lots of energy, at least most of the time. My sci-fi novel had to take a backseat and it’s killing me, but the course will be over before Christmas and I have a few holidays coming. Instead of taking a break from my mind, I’ll just take a break from other tasks and get the darn book finished! I hope.
Have a great day!
Times Have Changed
Come and visit me over at author Sandra Sookoo’s blog for my monthly Museful Monday post. I’m talking about how the world we live in has changed. How has it changed for you?
The Oathbreaker’s Son E-book on sale 50% off!!
My publisher is offering all of their e-books for 50% off after Hurricane Sandy. If you want a copy of The Oathbreaker’s Son, use code Hurricane50 to get your copy at half off!
The Oathbreaker’s Son is the tale of Zoe Striking, a shy reserved young woman looking to change her life, but never expects her new house to force it upon her! Not only do things go bump in the night, they show up in her mirrors and put their cold hands on her body when she least expects. With two 5-star reviews, The Oathbreaker’s Son is a great Halloween read.
Have a great day out there!
Rain, Rain Go Away. Come Again When I Can Focus!
Five solid days of rain have already passed with a forecasted three more still to come. Staring out the window, the remaining leaves on the trees wave at me violently as if each one begs to be brought in to sit by the fire. Those that have fallen cover the storm sewers, creating lakes along the roadside large enough to drown the dog. Speaking of the dog, she is antsy, nudging me daily to the door only to step outside and immediately turn back around, the brown of her eyes blackening as depression sets in. Now, with Hurricane Sandy on her way to whip Southern Ontario around for a few hours, I feel caged in. I have so much to do inside – writing, reading my Illustrator course lectures and completing my assignments, a Halloween costume to sew, an online hockey coaches course to complete – yet all I want to do is go outside. One or two days of rain are welcome. When I feel like I should invest in a rowboat and sell my minivan, perhaps Mother Nature has been a little too cruel. I live in Canada after all, not England.
I’m staring at my laptop knowing full well what I should be doing, but instead I write a blog post about the pouring rain. Storms are emotional for me. If I had a covered porch, I’d be wrapped in blanket outside listening to the wind tell me its tales or singing a rap to the raindrops drumming the rooftop. Since my deck and front porch are wide open, I have to be content to sit inside, ponder my life and wonder how I will ever keep up with what I need to do. Life is like that I guess. Always striving, always working, never enough time to get everything you want to do, done.
I don’t need time management skills. What I need is for some miraculous addition of about four hours to the day. Of course if my wish were granted, two of those hours would be gobbled up, as I’m most certain labour laws would change to grant businesses an extension of a legal work day. I most certainly would take at least one hour away for sleep, since I’m seriously lacking there anyway. What would I do with an extra hour? Probably none other than waste it at the TV or playing a game.
Zoe Striking faced a storm of her own. Read about her in The Oathbreaker’s Son – available at the links below.
On Amazon
Sweet Cravings Publishing
Enjoy your day!
The Oathbreaker’s Son now in print!
I’m so excited, I could EXPLODE! The Oathbreaker’s Son is now available in print. As soon as I have a minute to breathe, I’m going to order at least 10 copies. The moment I hold my baby in my hands will be nothing less than pure contentment. After a year of writing and editing that novel, seeing her in black and white (colour cover of course) with my name in red across the front will bring the circle to successful completion. Five years of rejection, questions, writing and re-writing other work, research and editing has put me exactly where I wanted to be – PUBLISHED! Thanks to everyone for their support so far. I’m looking forward to completing my sci-fi and starting the process anew.
The Oathbreaker’s Son has two 5-star reviews, one on Amazon and one on Goodreads. You can purchase a print copy of The Oathbreaker’s Son on Amazon.com here:
Have a great day!
Interview with Zoe Striking of The Oathbreaker’s Son
Would you like to learn a little about Zoe Striking from my novel The Oathbreaker’s Son? She was interviewed by author Raine Delight. You can view the interview on Raine’s blog today.
http://authorrainedelight.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/welcome-robyn-seitz-and-her-heroine-zoe-striking/
Have a great day!
Winner of Where in the World are our SCP Authors Blog Hop!
Thanks to you all for participating with me in my first blog hop!!
My answer was indeed Toronto, Ontario, Canada (although a couple bloggers found my exact town!)  🙂  I live about an hour from Toronto.
My winner has been drawn from all of those who got it correct. Â The winner is Melissa Bourn! Â Congratulations! Â I will be emailing you a PDF copy of The Oathbreaker’s Son in just a moment!
Again, thanks so much for participating. Â I had a great time!
Novel Seitz Blog 