Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
My New Guest Blog Is Up at Chris Nuttall’s Blog
Folks, I am happy to report that Chris Nuttall accepted a guest blog from me about editing. I called it “Adventures in Editing: Going over A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE, 12 Years Later.”And it’s up now over at Chris’s busy blog, the Chrishanger.
Why did I write this, exactly? Well, back in May, I wrote about the struggles I had in going over my final edit of A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE. I ended up adding some scenes, pruning back others…I actually did more than my editor asked for in certain respects, because I felt my book deserved more.
And because ELFY was originally one book, I needed to write a brand-new first chapter, too, plus I added a “What Has Gone Before.”
I didn’t talk about all of that at Chris’s blog, mind. I thought his readership might be more interested in why I did what I did, and what the difference is between what I call a full-on edit (otherwise known as a full line-edit plus a conceptual edit plus a consistency read) and editorial changes.
Here’s a bit of that blog where I discuss exactly what the differences are between a full-on edit and editorial changes:
When you are dealing with editorial changes, you move more quickly through your manuscript – at least, I do – and you aren’t as concerned with the intrinsic wholeness. You have to believe in your editor, and trust that he or she knows your writing well enough that you won’t be steered off-course…and you have to trust that you will make the right changes in the right ways.
But in a full-on edit, you are looking at everything. Word choice, even if no one else has mentioned it. Whether you should add something at the beginning, because you now have two books where you once had only one. Whether you need additional scenes to clarify things, and if so, what?
And when you’re done with your edit, you go back and make whatever changes are necessary.
In other words, I analyzed my manuscript as if it were written by someone else. I saw where it had weaknesses, as well as strengths. I tried to shore up those weaknesses. And I looked for ways to be consistent, without messing with my earlier style whatsoever – as, over time, I’ve become a slightly different writer.
In addition, I added a short and funny excerpt from Chapter 2, which is a scene I decided to add after I was done with my final edit. (The only place this excerpt appears besides Chris’s blog is at the Twilight Times Books site in my sample chapters; this is at the beginning of chapter 2.)
But that’s not the only reason to read my newest guest blog,
Please do go and take a look at this guest blog, as I put in four tips at self-editing that may help you out a little.
And while I believe every writer needs an editor besides himself/herself, you can help your editor out a great deal if you at least try to go back over your manuscript and attempt to read it as if it were written by someone else.
Now Available in E-Book: A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE
Folks, I’m very happy to be able to finally report that my second novel — and the second novel in the Elfy duology — A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE has been released. It’s available right now at Amazon and OmniLit…the latter will be most useful if you need an e-pub version of the file.
Edited to add: Barnes and Noble link is now live as well. Now returning you to your regularly scheduled post…
If you have never seen anything at all about the Elfyverse — or read book one in the Elfy duology, AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE — this little blurb may help you with what’s going on:
Young Bruno the Elfy and Sarah, his mostly-human teenage girlfriend, are in deep trouble. Bruno’s Elfy mentor Roberto the Wise is about to be sacrificed by a Dark Elf, and Sarah’s parents have decided to help the Elf rather than the Elfy. Things look bleak and are getting worse by the minute, but Bruno and Sarah have a number of allies — human, Elfy, and ghosts — that the Dark Elf can’t possibly expect. Can young love, desperation, and great unexpected power win out despite it all?
And here’s a short excerpt — note, it first appeared here, as part of the Marketing for Romance Writers Book Hooks blog hop:
Bruno took Sarah’s hand and led her back outside. He looked with his mage senses, and felt nothing; no Elfy magic, no Human magic, and as far as he could tell, no Elf magic, Dark or Bright.
He put up a light shield that should help conceal their voices, and decided it was safe enough to talk for a bit.
“Tomorrow is Ba’altinne, Sarah.” Bruno rubbed his fingers through his hair and tried not to look too hard at Sarah. Goddess, she was beautiful. But he had to stay on topic. “That’s your May Day. Tomorrow.” He shook his head and tried not to frown. “How can we get everything together in time to stop Dennis the Dark Elf?”
“I have faith in you,” she said. Her eyes darkened. Bruno felt as if he were falling, before she gently brushed her lips against his.
————————— End Excerpt ————————————-
If this has intrigued you (and of course I hope it has), but you aren’t sure you will like my book yet, I also have three sample chapters available at Twilight Times Books’ website — here’s the link for that: http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com/ElfyinBigTrouble_ch1.html
A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE continues to make me laugh. I’ve enjoyed writing about Bruno, Sarah, Reverend Samuel and his family, Lady Keisha, even Dennis the Dark Elf…and I hope to write more about them, ’cause I have a hunch their stories are not over.
At any rate, most of you know the labor of love that kept me working on Elfy for years. I’m ecstatic that both halves of my novel have now been published, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.
Anyway, both novels are available now as e-books. So what are you waiting for? Go grab a copy — or copies — today! (And be sure to tell your friends. ‘Cause, really…how can you go wrong?)
Friday Fun: Cover Reveal Plus Lineup, REALMS OF DARKOVER
Folks, it’s Friday. It’s been a long, hard week for many of us, especially due to the terrible acts of terrorists all over the world.
My heart goes out to the people in Mali, in Paris, in Lebanon, and elsewhere. There is so much strife, so many problems, and so much distress in this world…sometimes it can be hard to see anything good.
But good things still exist. I don’t know if they can be enough to outweigh all the terrible things or not. Still, we can but try — and a little diversion from the world’s problems can’t do any harm, right?
That said, I do have some good news to share. And I want to share it right now, as it seems appropriate.
My third story in the long-running Darkover universe (begun by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and continued by Deborah J. Ross), “Fiona, Court Clerk in Training,” has been accepted by Ms. Ross in her role as editor for REALMS OF DARKOVER (due in June of 2016). This is my third story about my character Fiona n’ha Gorsali and/or her family, who becomes Darkover’s first Renunciate judge and a prominent legal authority down the line. But this story is about Fiona’s first steps toward that goal — before she becomes a judge, she must first become a court clerk. And she decides to do this at the tender age of thirteen…
At any rate, I’m very pleased to have sold this story to REALMS OF DARKOVER.
But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the table of contents for REALMS OF DARKOVER:
Introduction, by Deborah J. Ross
Tainted Meat, by Shariann Lewitt
Snow Dancing, by Jane M. H. Bigelow
Impossible Tasks by Marella Sands
The Snowflake Fallacy, by Michael Spence
Old Purity, by Leslie Fish
A Walk In The Mountains, by Margaret L. Carter and Leslie Roy Carter
The Fifth Moon, by Ty Nolan
Sudden Tempest, by Deborah Millitello
Housebound, by Diana L. Paxson
Sea of Dreams, by Robin Wayne Bailey
Stormcrow, by Rosemary Edghill and Rebecca Fox
Fiona, Court Clerk in Training, by Barb Caffrey
(See? I’m restraining a happy dance, mostly because I’d probably pull a muscle if I did. But rest assured, I’m quite pleased about this.)
And all authors have been given the ability to let people know about this anthology — which is why tonight’s cover reveal.
So, without further ado, here is the cover for REALMS OF DARKOVER — enjoy!
A Writer’s Work Is Never Done…
It’s Friday, folks. And as such, I figured I’d give you all an update as to what, exactly, I’ve been doing this past week.
Most of the week was taken up with a major editing project, but I also found time to check over the ARC of A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE, do some work on CHANGING FACES, and of course write my blog complaining about the Milwaukee Brewers trade of Francisco Rodriguez to the Detroit Tigers for a single-A infield prospect.
I managed to get a great deal of work done, this past week. But of course there’s still more to be done — A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE should be out next week, just before Thanksgiving, and I have to read over the file one, final time just to make sure I have dotted my i’s and crossed all my t’s…or at least made sure I didn’t misspell Bruno’s name.
When I get this busy, sometimes it’s hard to remember which end is up. I’ve been juggling three major projects — the edit for someone else, A LITTLE ELFY ON BIG TROUBLE, and CHANGING FACES. While I’m good at prioritizing, and I am reasonably good at remembering just where I’ve left off at any given project, I only can do so much.
That said, during the past week I also worked a little bit on two other projects — because three major projects obviously aren’t enough, right? (Must. Have. More.)
Anyway, the major edit has been turned in. A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE is wrapping up, and will be out — thankfully, as I know many people have been waiting for it and have asked repeatedly why it’s not out yet. (Patience, my young friends. And old ones, too — ’cause I don’t want to leave anyone out.) And I get closer to finishing my final edit/rewrite of CHANGING FACES every time I work on it…the hope there is, I should be done in time for a Valentine’s Day launch.
Finally, two of my paranormal romance stories are included in the forthcoming Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology, this time to be offered via Amazon (and priced at ninety-nine cents USD). I’ll try to get you links when the anthology goes live…and I hope you will enjoy them.
Guest Author Stephanie Osborn: Why I Like Writing Sherlock Holmes
Folks, it is my great privilege today to welcome back author Stephanie Osborn to the Elfyverse.
Stephanie and I have known each other for several years, and she’s been a strong supporter of my writing from the get-go. But that’s not the main reason why I’m so happy to have her back today.
Nope.
Instead, it’s because she has a great new novel out called SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MUMMY’S CURSE. (Yes, when Shiny Book Review gets back up and running, I definitely plan to review her novel soonest.) And I asked her if she wanted to stop by and discuss her novel, and anything else she felt like talking about…thus this post, about why she adores writing about one of the world’s most beloved characters, Sherlock Holmes himself.
Take it away, Stephanie! (And do go buy her book.)
——————————————————————————————————————-
Why I Like Writing Sherlock Holmes
By Stephanie Osborn
I like Sherlock Holmes. Pretty much have, from the time I was a kid – though my first encounter with him was nearly my last.
See, someone gave me a copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles for my birthday, when I was all of maybe 8 years old. I loved Holmes, but think about it: An 8-year-old kid with a vivid imagination, who dreams in color, and who has what would later be diagnosed as anxiety disorder, reading about a spectral cu sidhe that goes around killing members of an aristocratic family? Yeaaaaaah, no. It was years before I FINISHED the book, let alone picked up another Sherlock Holmes story.
But when I did, I kinda went nuts. I discovered that big ol’ compendium – you know the one, with the mustard and rust colored dust jacket – in my high school library, and I checked it out and kept it until I read the whole thing, cover to cover. Twice. And then I wrote my first ever pastiche.
It was a short story. I don’t even remember now what it was about; this was well before the days of personal computers, and I had to get Mom to type it up on the electric typewriter. (Yeah, so I’m old. Sue me.) And I submitted it to the school literary magazine…
…Which threw it out. First ever rejection notice and I wasn’t even out of high school. And it was a HIGH SCHOOL PUBLICATION. Problem was, the submissions were blind-judged – nobody knew who’d written anything – and the English Lit teacher, in her “superior knowledge,” decreed it was a direct, word-for-word plagiarism of one of Doyle’s actual stories. (No, she didn’t even try to check that big ol’ mustard-and-rust compendium.) At the end of the year, she discovered that I was the one who wrote it and she knew, straight-laced kid that I was, that I would never have plagiarized it. She also knew that I had the ability to write something like that.
I don’t think the story was that great, to be honest. I didn’t at the time. In fact, today I don’t remember the name of the story, or even the plot. See, I was still learning how to put stuff like that together, and I knew there were some plot holes when I wrote it, though I disguised ‘em well. But it was still pretty good for a kid that age, if I do say so. I think the whole episode might say more about the teacher than about my story, but hey.
And I watched the various and sundry films. I would have liked the Rathbone films better, I think, if Nigel Bruce hadn’t played Watson as a bumbling oaf; I simply couldn’t stomach that characterization, and it spoiled the films for me. Some years later, I discovered Jeremy Brett’s Holmes…and Holmes came to life for me. But I never tried my hand at another Holmes story.
Until I was already in the whole writing/publishing milieu. I picked up an anthology of Holmes science fiction and loved it. I thought it was something I’d probably adore writing. But it was all Victorian, and I tended (at that time) to feel a bit limited by Victorian science. It’s pre-relativity, pre-quantum mechanics, pre-everything that makes modern science and science fiction so very…out there. And after all, I AM a scientist.
Long story short, I worked out a way to bring a version of Holmes to the modern day from an alternate reality’s Victorian era, and The Displaced Detective series was born.
Enter this guy named Tommy Hancock. Tommy happens to be the co-publisher and editor in chief of Pro Se Press, one of the movers and shakers in the New Pulp movement. Turns out he’s a fan of the Displaced Detective. So he approached me at a science fiction convention, and asked me to write Holmes for him – only he wanted a more traditional, Holmes and Watson in Victorian Britain, kind of story. So we sat down and talked. We decided what we’d do would be to create a prequel series to the Displaced Detective, so that alternate-reality version of Holmes would have chronicles of his past, with “his” Watson in his original continuum. And so the Gentleman Aegis series was born.
Book 1 of that series was just released: Sherlock Holmes and the Mummy’s Curse. So what is it about?
Holmes and Watson. Two names forever linked by mystery and danger from the beginning.
Within the first year of their friendship and while both are young men, Holmes and Watson are still finding their way in the world, with all the troubles that such young men usually have: Financial straits, troubles of the female persuasion, hazings, misunderstandings between friends, and more. Watson’s Afghan wounds are still tender, his health not yet fully recovered, and there can be no consideration of his beginning a new practice as yet. Holmes, in his turn, is still struggling to found the new profession of consulting detective. Not yet truly established in London, let alone with the reputations they will one day possess, they are between cases and at loose ends when Holmes’ old professor of archaeology contacts him.
Professor Willingham Whitesell makes an appeal to Holmes’ unusual skill set and a request. Holmes is to bring Watson to serve as the dig team’s physician and come to Egypt at once to translate hieroglyphics for his prestigious archaeological dig. There in the wilds of the Egyptian desert, plagued by heat, dust, drought and cobras, the team hopes to find the very first Pharaoh. Instead, they find something very different…
I do hope you like it. I certainly had a great time writing it.
~~~
Stephanie Osborn, the Interstellar Woman of Mystery, is a 20+-year space program veteran, with degrees in astronomy, physics, chemistry and mathematics, “fluent” in others, including geology and anatomy. She has authored, co-authored, or contributed to some two dozen books, including celebrated Burnout and the Displaced Detective and Gentleman Aegis series.
~~~
Purchase links for Mummy’s Curse:
Smashwords electronic (epub/mobi/pdf): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/590130
~~~
Displaced Detective book 1: http://www.amazon.com/Case-Displaced-Detective-Arrival/dp/1606191896/
Displaced Detective Omnibus: http://www.amazon.com/Case-Displaced-Detective-Omnibus-ebook/dp/B00FOR5LJ4/
Displaced Detective book 5: http://www.amazon.com/Case-Spontaneous-Combustion-Displaced-Detective-ebook/dp/B00K98AI6Y/ref=pd_sim_351_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51RvnSdsIVL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=1AB9HXZQEH5DP0H06Z7W
One Curmudgeon’s Opinion (a Halloween PSA)
It’s Saturday, October 31, 2015…All Hallow’s Eve, or as we Americanos call it, Halloween (with or without the apostrophe between the two “e’s,” my recalcitrant Editor Voice insists I point out). We in the United States tend to think of Halloween as an excuse for dressing up, revelry, eating a lot of candy, and (if you’re over 21) drinking a whole lot.
In other words, it’s all but a bacchanalia for adults. (Kids, mind you, are engaging in much more sedate enjoyment — they dress up, their parents make much of them, they get immortalized in pictures that will embarrass them for the rest of their lives, and then they take their candy-booty home.)
Was Halloween always like this? No, it was not.
“But, Barb,” I can hear you saying. “In my lifetime, it’s always been this way!”
Ah, but before your lifetime, things were different. And centuries ago in the Western World, Halloween was much different.
Why? Well, holidays, like words, elide over time. So a holy time, where spirits once were said to walk — good ones, mostly, but beware of the bad ones! — is subsumed into revelry and near-bacchanalia.
This annoys me, mostly because I figure if you’re going to have a bacchanalia, you should admit it to yourself and be done with it.
But the commercialization of Halloween annoys me even worse.
Look. I like candy. I even like to dress up — though for me, dressing up mostly means I wear concert black attire when playing my instruments — and have been known to throw a good party, complete with liquid refreshment and plenty of vittles.
But I don’t like it that every advertisement you see, starting in midsummer, is for candy. You have to stock up for Halloween, you see, or it’s bad for the kidlets. Because heaven forfend, we cannot possibly allow those kids to go out and not get candy on the one day of the year they’re allowed to ask for it from strangers…that would be inhuman!
In other words (in case you missed the sarcasm), I have a problem with every advertiser on the planet trying to make me out to be a bad person if I don’t buy a humongous stockpile of candy to give out to the kidlets on Halloween.
Anyway, I tend to observe Halloween in the older form — I think about my deceased loved ones, wonder if they can indeed break the walls between the worlds, and hope they’re doing well (as I believe the soul is eternal, they must be alive somewhere in the cosmos).
But if you observe Halloween in the newer form, please do me a favor: Don’t drink and drive.
In fact, do me two favors: Don’t text and drive, either. (Especially don’t drive drunk and try to text; that is a recipe for disaster if I’ve ever heard one.)
In other words — enjoy yourself, but be safe. And watch out for the kidlets during trick-or-treat time.
(This concludes today’s Halloween public service announcement.)
—–
As for a CHANGING FACES update: I am about three-quarters of the way done with my work. I will continue to work on it, and hope to have it in to my publisher in another week or two. (I feel like I’m wrestling alligators — big ones — but maybe the longer I go, the better I’ll become at alligator wrestling. Such is my hope, anyway…)
Oh, and as for book reviews? I’m hoping to review a couple of books next week. I may actually review them first here at my own blog, and later review over at SBR…we’ll see. (Books in the queue include N.N. Light’s PRINCESS OF THE LIGHT and PLANTING THE SEEDS OF LOVE and Rysa Walker’s TIME’S DIVIDE and TIME’S MIRROR, plus several books by E. Ayers.)
A Quick, Drive-By Bloglet…
Folks, I’m still working hard at CHANGING FACES. I now feel confident of about half the manuscript; I’ve deconstructed it, reconstructed it, and it’s reading better and faster according to my editor.
As I said in my last bloglet, I am putting everything I have into this book. I haven’t reviewed a book in weeks; I haven’t written much of anything besides CHANGING FACES; and I haven’t edited anything in weeks, either. (I did proofread a very short story for a friend, but that was about it.)
The hope here at Chez Caffrey is that I will get this book put to bed by the end of October (yes, six days away from now — that October).
After that, I hope to start a new editing project or two. I also have two other stories hanging fire (one’s a novella, the other one’s a short story)…never a dull moment.
But then again, I like it that way.
As for concerts — the next one on the slate is in December, with the Racine Concert Band.
Anyway, that’s my update…what’s going on with you all?
Trying to Figure Something Out…
Folks, for the moment I’ve hit a minor lull in CHANGING FACES. I know where I need to go, but my subconscious seems to be telling me…well, I don’t really know what.
(Thus the title of this blog-let. But I digress.)
I hate it when my subconscious, or backbrain, or whatever it is, knows more than me, but refuses to tell me whatever it is.
It’s like a little kid with a secret. “I know something you don’t know. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!” (Sung in your best childhood singsong voice. Naturally.)
Because of this, I wasn’t able to get much done last night. (I did get some, and some beats none…but the clock is ticking, and I know it.)
The only good news is that I probably will review something either Friday or Saturday. (Or if you get really lucky, on both days.) Because if my backbrain/subconscious/whatever refuses to cooperate, I may as well review a book or two. (Right?)
Hope everyone else’s creative endeavors are going along swimmingly — or whatever other term you’d rather have to depict your own writing/music/art/creative pursuit of your choice.
Scribbling Away Madly…or Something Like That
Folks, I’m still working hard at CHANGING FACES. I had hoped to have my rewrite done by now, but it’s not done yet.
I’m happy with what I’m doing, mind. I just worry because I can’t write as fast as I used to…and I think there’s a story behind that.
You see, when Michael was alive, he and I used to talk writing all the time. We’d discuss our stories, what was vexing us (usually what was vexing me, but sometimes he’d be vexed, too, with his stories and I’d help him out), and being able to talk about these things immediately helped me write at a much faster clip.
And it’s not just that Michael and I used to talk about everything, though we did; it’s that he was a phenomenal editor. He could find areas that I had unintentionally glossed over and helped me flesh them out; he fixed any possible errors before anyone else saw them; he could double-check whether my plotting worked or I had to go back to the drawing board.
Having Michael there to help me was an enormous help. I didn’t worry so much that I was doing it right, and my sneaky, snarky Editor Voice was much quieter — it knew that if I didn’t pick up on the problems, Michael would.
All of that allowed me to write with greater flexibility, greater freedom, and with much better speed.
Mind, I’m very fortunate that I have at least two very good friends who are exceptional editors. I can trust them. They know me, know my style, know at least some of the stuff Michael saw instantly and can and have told me when I need to fix things. Which is all very good.
The main thing to remember, though, is that my writing process has changed somewhat since Michael died. For one, I incorporated much of his style into my own writing. For another, even though I feel Michael’s love all around me (and very blessed to have it, too, as I well know), it’s not the same as having him right there at my shoulder, where I could turn and ask him, “Hey, what do you think of that?” and get immediate answers.
See, to Michael, I was his top priority. (As he was mine.) And my stories mattered to him, just as his mattered to me.
While I can sometimes write thousands of words in a day, now, it’s rare. Usually I can get a thousand or maybe two thousand, especially when I’m doing a rewrite and am trying to juggle all the balls I know need to be juggled while getting all the bits and pieces of story to fit together again.
If it makes any sense, Michael used to help me hold those pieces. He could remind me of where they went, even if I forgot.
Now, I have to remember all that myself.
I have been called a “meticulous plotter” before. I take pride in this, as odd as that may sound. And I want my plotlines to stand up — I want people to know I’ve thought them through, in order to provide verisimilitude and resonance, in order to help you get immersed in my stories (and my husband’s, too).
So while I’m going to continue to work very hard on CHANGING FACES, I don’t know if it’ll come out before the end of this year or not. I do know that if I keep working away, I will get it back to my publisher in a week or two (providing I don’t get badly stalled out, which I pray I don’t).
And because that’s the most important thing going on here, everything else — blogs, book reviews, editing, everything — has to take a back seat to that.
I hope that you all understand.
A Writing Update (Such as it Is)…
Folks, I’m at the point in my manuscript where I can see daylight ahead. The journey is starting to come to an end…
But before I can end this particular journey, I have to get through a cloverleaf or two. That have major roadblocks, not to mention setbacks.
When I get this frustrated with any manuscript, I usually try to take a step back and figure out where I’m going. But in this case, I know exactly where I’m going; it’s just that some of the particulars about how I’m going to get there have changed.
So it’s a new and different problem I’m dealing with. It means I have to feel my way through, take my time, figure out what’s going to happen, so I can turn in the best possible manuscript.
I hope this does not mean I’ll miss my publication window for the end of 2015, mind. But the longer I struggle with my manuscript, the less likely it is that I actually will hit that window at all.
Of course, if I weren’t going for e-book publication, there would be no way in the world I could possibly hit the window…but I digress.
What I’m dealing with right now, folks, is where anxiety meets frustration. My strategy has always been to admit that I’m frustrated, and also admit that I’m anxious about being frustrated.
Then I do my best to get on with the job anyway.
This is easier said than done, mind. Because I have to experience the anxiety, experience the frustration, and then tell myself, “OK, Barb, you’ve experienced that. You know how you feel. You’ve acknowledged this. Now set it aside, and see what happens next.”
This is a strategy my late husband Michael told me about. Oft-times, it works — even with impatient, hasty me.
Anyway, when I can’t write, I’m not easy to live with. I get quite cranky, in fact…so I’m sure that everyone around me hopes, as I do, that my solution to fixing my manuscript and hitting my late 2015 window lies just around the corner.
Further updates as I have ’em.
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One good bit of information to pass along: As I’ve signed the contract (and it’s been countersigned and I’ve been given permission), I think it can now be told…I’ve sold my third story in the Darkover universe (created by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and continued by Deborah J. Ross), which will be published in REALMS OF DARKOVER during 2016. The story is about my judge, Fiona, as a thirteen-year-old girl, when all she wants to do is become the first-ever female court clerk in the Hellers (a wicked mountain range on Darkover)…and we get to see Fiona’s parents, happily married — Gorsali, a Renunciate (Free Amazon) of Darkover, and Dominic macAnndra, a sitting circuit court judge.
Naturally, it’s called “Fiona, Court Clerk in Training.”
Barb Caffrey's Blog 