Getting Stuff Done, or, a Semi-regular “Changing Faces” Update
Folks, I’m happy to report that I actually managed to get some solid writing in this evening…which especially pleases me due to the fact that CHANGING FACES (abbreviated as CF, for short) was stalled for several weeks as I tried to plot my way around a thorny problem. (No, I won’t tell you what it was, but I will tell you this much: Elaine Foster, my heroine, is a very elusive character to write. Whereas Allen Bridgeway, my hero, is much easier to write.)
So, I’ve managed to write twenty-five hundred new words into this story. Time is short, as I want CF to go to market soon–within a month if possible. (If I wasn’t talking about an e-book publication, this would not be practical, but the e-book revolution has changed everything. Besides, I already have cover art, and my publisher does excellent layout…if not for that, there would be no chance at all to get this out so quickly.) But the story is still evolving, still growing, still telling me more things.
You might be asking yourself, “So, Barb. If that’s the case, why are you so worried about getting it out soon?”
I don’t have a great answer for this, except that CF has been in development a long, long time. (Over fifteen years, easily. And through at least four revisions.) And I think Allen and Elaine’s romance, fraught with peril though it may be, is a story that needs to be told…partly because of the transgender aspects, partly because of the spiritual aspects, and partly because these two individuals love each other so much, it’s hard for me as an author to keep them apart this long in order to best explain their story in a way that I hope will resonate with others.
How far away am I from completion? It’s hard to say, because most of the story from Elaine’s perspective is all new. And what the aliens/angels say to Elaine is also mostly new…as it wouldn’t be a fantasy without something different, and this story couldn’t even happen if not for these fantasy characters, I’d best listen to what they have to say if I’m going to tell the story at all.
“What do you mean, ‘listen to what they have to say,’ Barb?” you ask. (I can clearly hear the annoyance in your tone, by the way.) “You’re the author. Can’t you just tell them what to do and be done with it?”
While that works for some authors, that doesn’t seem to be the way my own stories get told. I have to think about them, and then they come out, sometimes in ways I didn’t totally expect — which is what seems to be happening with CF right now.
All I can tell you is this: In between edits, day-to-day life stuff, and everything else on my plate at the moment, I’m going to keep writing as much as I can, as long as I can, until this story finally resolves itself in a way that feels right to me.
Until I get there, I can’t bring CF to market. But once I’m there, I firmly believe I’ll have a story that’s interesting, relevant, and maybe even helps someone…or at least diverts the person for a few hours. And once I’m finally there, I’ll be extremely and extraordinarily happy to get CHANGING FACES out the door.
So, that’s my semi-regular CF update, already in progress…hope your own writing, editing, and lives are going as well as humanly possible.
Whither Creation, or, “Why Must You Write, Barb?”
Over the past week or two, I’ve been pondering one single thought.
“Why must you keep writing, Barb?”
I write because I have stories to tell. (I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating.) And I write because I have to — what’s in me is to create something meaningful through words (and, sometimes, music) and bring a little happiness or illumination or at least something of value to the world at large.
I know. That’s a pretty gaudy statement, isn’t it? But it’s the main reason I get up in the morning.
I have things to do. Stories to tell. Edits to handle, for myself, and for others…music to play, and I hope some more music to write. (That has eluded me mostly since the day of Michael’s death eleven-plus years ago, because since then I’ve had one and only one major musical idea going through my head. Michael’s elegy. And as many times as I write it down, it just comes back in a new key or in a slightly different meter or in such a way that I start to think I’ll have to do something akin to Charles Ives’ “Variations on America” to it, in order to finally get it out of me once and for all. But as always, I digress…)
I have been a creative person for as long as I can remember. I don’t know why I’m this way; I just know that I can either work with it, and become the best creative writer, the best creative musician, the best creative editor, that I can possibly become — or I can leave my talents to wither on the vine.
And, quite frankly, I’m not exactly the vine-withering type.
So, my choice has been to keep working on my crafts. I write, I edit, I play music, I compose when I can (if I can ever get Michael’s elegy down in all its permutations, perhaps another melody will start to show up — I can live in hope, right?), and in this way I do my best to stamp my life as mine.
You are probably thinking, “Really, Barb? Ego? Is that all you’ve got?”
No, it isn’t. But I can’t quite seem to get at exactly why I do anything at all…except that I must do it, or I’d not be myself.
Or I’d not be my best self, at any rate. And as I firmly believe that if I’m going to be alive, I’d best do my best in all things, I’d better be my best self.
Or what’s the point?
So, yes, I’m going to keep writing. I’m going to keep playing music. I’m going to hope that one of these years, I’ll have another musical idea worthy of my time and effort…and of course I’m going to keep editing.
Because that’s what makes the most sense to me.
Periodic State of the Elfyverse, January 2016 Edition
Folks, I haven’t done this in a while, but I figured I’d give you a “state of the Elfyverse,” which has grown to encompass all my writing and editing in addition to the ELFY saga.
Perhaps I’d best start there, though, as that makes sense.
The next book in the Elfyverse is actually going to be three books. For years, I’ve called it AN ELFY ABROAD, because it’s a pun (Bruno’s the Elfy, and Sarah’s the “broad”) as well as being absolutely true. Bruno is a stranger in a strange land, and he’s going to visit the Troll Realm, he’s going back to the Elfy Realm as a power (however uneasy he may be over it), and he and Sarah have many more adventures in the Human Realm (our Earth).
That much, I am positive about.
Everything else, however, is up for debate, as the book/trilogy is in the midst of a revision. But it is in progress, and I hope it’ll be along in due course.
As for other stories in progress…
- There will be a fourth story in the Darkover universe if I have anything to say about it, featuring my judge character Fiona n’ha Gorsali as a young woman just taking up her judicial duties for the first time.
- I’m plotting out Cat’s journey in “The Quest for Columba,” a novella set in my husband’s alternate history/fantasy universe from Cat the shapeshifter’s perspective. (I figured Cat has a great deal to tell me, and he’s probably been saving up the story for a long time. Why should his wife, Columba, get all the fun?)
- There is an Elfyverse prequel in the works called KEISHA’S VOW, which is about one-third completed. I hope to take that up after I’m done with “The Quest for Columba.”
- There is a sequel in the works to my short story “Baseball, Werewolves, and Me,” featuring my worldly-wise psychic Arletta James and her werewolf husband, Fergus.
- And, finally…I’m getting closer to turning CHANGING FACES in to my publisher, but that’s still a few weeks away.
Now, why is all of this in development at roughly the same time?
Partly, it’s because two of the stories were ongoing at the time of Michael’s death in 2004 and I have refused to give them up.
Partly, it’s because I knew there was more to Cat’s story when trying to add touches to Michael’s second Columba story, “Columba and the Crossing,” and that turned into a much more lengthy endeavor. (Right now, that story will be published after I finish “The Quest for Columba.”)
And partly, it’s because I have more stories than even this — but those are the ones people know about, so I wanted to give some sort of update publicly even if publication for any or all of them is a while yet (except for CHANGING FACES, which will be out this year for sure).
So, in between finishing up an extensive edit and working on a few other edits besides, I’m working on my stories, little by little.
Well, that, and planning some book reviews, and writing a few blogs now and again, and trying to help my fellow writers and editors…
And playing my instruments, and writing a piece every great once in a while…
and talking with my friends and family, grabbing a bite to eat and some showers here and there, and sleep, glorious sleep…
You get the idea.
What are you up to, and how is your New Year going thus far?
Tweet me your books!
I just did this, and Jason — AKA the Opinionated Man — retweeted everything I sent him. So I definitely encourage other authors to do this, too, and to bookmark his blog.
Thank you so much, Jason! (We opinionated people have to stick together.)
Vitamin of the Week – Vitamin A Deficiency and the Skin
Still busy editing up a storm, here… but I wanted you all to see this insightful post of Sally Cronin’s. She discusses vitamin A deficiency and how to combat it — and also discusses how getting more good sources of vitamin A into your diet can help someone with psoriasis.
I don’t know how that works, exactly, but it sounds right to me — and it sounds like something Michael would’ve liked to know about. As I have other friends who have eczema and psoriasis, I thought they might like to know about Sally’s post, too. (Thus this “reblog.”)
Smorgasbord Invitation Free promotion opportunities 2016
Be sure to keep these in mind, fellow authors…Sally is a great person, and I have her blog bookmarked.
SBR Is Back Up and Running…
Folks, the WordPress issues have been resolved, and Shiny Book Review (SBR for short, as always) is back up and running. And I will have a review this Thursday, which not-so-coincidentally is New Year’s Eve…
As this post says, the main difference for anyone following along with SBR is that our domain name has slightly changed. It’s now shinybookreviews (with an -s ending) dot com. But we’re not changing our name; this was done to fix the problems we were having, and for no other reason whatsoever.
Anyway, see you all on Thursday over at SBR!
Writing Tip of the Year: Brainstorming #amwriting #ASMSG #IARTG
Mrs. N. is a writer, editor, book promoter, book reviewer, and probably more things that I’m forgetting right now — anyway, she has come up with a very intriguing way to get past writer’s block. Take a look at this right away if you run into any trouble with your current work-in-progress, as it may help you. And keep an eye on her blog, too — lots of interesting stuff going on over there.
Thoughts on the Meaning of the Term “Mixed Marriage”
Folks, it’s December 27, 2015. And I was thinking this morning about the changing definition of the term “mixed marriage.”
We rarely hear the term “mixed marriage” these days, but when we do, it usually refers to a marriage between two people of different races. For example, a black man marries a white woman, maybe…or an Asian woman marries a Hispanic man. So if you use the term “mixed marriage,” it’s usually seen to mean a marriage between people of two different races.
Now, does it matter much that one person is one color and the other is a different one, if the love is there? No, it does not. But there are still cultural differences, so the term “mixed marriage” seems to apply even if the awareness of the term and the meaning behind it seems to be changing.
That said, when my grandmother was a girl — in the 1920s and early 1930s — the term “mixed marriage” meant something entirely different. Then, it meant “a marriage between two people of different religions.” She entered into a marriage with my grandfather despite the fact she was Irish Catholic and he was German Protestant — and while in today’s terms no one would bat an eye, back then, that was not “the done thing.” (It might not have been scandalous, but it wasn’t exactly easy, either.)
Unfortunately, we seem to be returning to this earlier definition to a degree. Now, if a Muslim lady marries a Christian man in the United States, that term is getting trotted back out. And the feelings that term engenders of fear, disbelief, anger, worry, misunderstanding and more are back with a vengeance…mostly because the dominant culture of the United States doesn’t seem to know what to do with people raised in a different culture — and religion — entirely.
I don’t know why this is, to be honest. I do know that this isn’t the first time the United States has dealt with such an issue — and I know that because of my own, personal history.
It took years for my grandmother’s marriage to be first tolerated, then accepted, and then finally — in her seventies and eighties, after my grandfather passed away — seen as “what’s the big deal?”
We are starting to see that now, in mixed-race marriages. All sorts of biracial children are coming into their own — President Barack Obama is far from the only one. No one bats an eye at them, and no one should.
I hope that in time, we will see more tolerance and respect for people of all faiths, all cultures, all ethnicities, all skin colors, and all gender expressions.
Love is love. And we need to start respecting that, wherever we may find it.
Barb Caffrey's Blog 