I have a few chapters of each book up on wattpad. Go here if you want a sneak peak. http://www.wattpad.com/user/ElizabethHull
Works in Progress
Leave a reply
Tag Archives: fantasy
Why research for Fantasy or Sci fi?
Suspension of disbelief for the reader is contingent on getting the facts right. It doesn’t matter that this may be a fantasy, or a sci fi world. Things have to stack up on the believability level. If I give you a green cat, then I have to feasibly justify why the cat is green. Not that I have, but this is an example.
Setting is everything. If one component is out of place, then the whole thing falls down like a pack of cards. This is where research comes into play. Every single aspect of that which is relevant must be correct. Grounding the fantastical, or the speculative, needs a solid platform of known facts that are correct and that can be correlated as correct.
Does it matter to a reader if they see the word ‘league’? Yep, It is an archaic definition.No, it is not essential to point out that a league is three miles. It is essential to get those leagues into an actual frame of reference that is legitimate. If I find a position A is thirty miles from position B and I want to use the word leagues, then I know it must be ten. Maybe a reader will care and look it up, or maybe they won’t. Doesn’t matter, because I will know. I have to get it right.
Woo Hoo!!!!! Breaking news for Darkspire Reaches
Your book has been approved for a future daily email of The Fussy Librarian. You’ll receive another email when it has been scheduled.
Could you paste this on your Facebook page or blog to help readers discover us? Thanks!
Bewildered by the number of books out there? Choose from 40 genres, select content preferences such as amount of sex and violence, and TheFussyLibrarian.com emails you daily deals.
We look forward to working with you to find new readers!
Jeffrey Bruner
The Fussy Librarian / 40 genres + content matching = fantastic ebooks for you.
Shadow Over Avalon now available from Kobo.
At last, my book is finally available in Kobo. Many thanks to my publishers for making this happen.
The good, the bad and the wonderful!
The good is that my office reno is progressing and I expect to finish this weekend. I also expect to finish my picture of a Green Man for my office wall. If I can find my camara, I will post a picture of this. It got lost in the renos.
The bad is certain people, who are professionals, told lies. This is causing me a lot of stress when it should have been a slam dunk and no, this isn’t writing related. The result was that I had to light a cyber bomb under that person’s ass and report them to their boss, who is now doing damage control. The people he needs to liaise with are out of the office until Monday. More stress. Added to which, I stupidly let one of my paint rollers dry up and this has put my reno back to the weekend.
The wonderful? Awesome people are collecting their pre-orders of signed copies of Shadow Over Avalon. I shall soon be able to remit money owing to my publisher for these units. Incidentally, the lion’s share goes to the printers, who have done a wonderful job with the printing and translation of the cover work. Much thanks to Eveliin Enorkson and Ken Dawson for a fantastic cover. So what is this book about?
Avalon conjures up images of King Arthur. At the end of the legend, he was mortally wounded by Mordred and with his last breath, he promised to return at the time of his people’s greatest need. Now fast forward into the far future where there are methods of extracting D.N.A from peripheral descendants. The newly created person is not connected to his past, excepting for fleeting dream images of ancient times. He gradually becomes aware of his purpose and those who would thwart it. Nothing is as it seems. The stakes are the survival of humanity faced with unspeakable odds. Can Arthur achieve his ultimate purpose, or will he succumb to the plans of a hidden enemy? This is not about what happened before: this is what happens next. This epic length book is not for the faint of heart. Lives are broken. Romances shattered. Life continues, or does it?
Shadow Over Avalon is the first book of a series. The next book, Sword of Shadows, is due for release by Kristell Ink next in 2014. The saga continues.
Work day.
Editing and writing are intensive, so I tend to space them out with none cerebral activities to make sure my concentration is at the maximum when I need it. My non-writerly projects? I am redecorating my office, something that is about ten years overdue. Unfortunately, this involves painting the ceiling, which is popcorn. Yes, I know. So retro, but I am not about to scrape it off. First, I don’t do heights well and scraping it off would involve a lot of ladder work. This is not going to happen. I have to steel myself to getting on a two-step. Second, I have no idea what messes it might be covering up. That is a can of worms best left unopened, so paint it is. I don’t have a problem with the walls as I have an extension stick for my roller and edger.
Project #2 is a picture of a Green Man made of leaves I collected and pressed from a vacation in the Rocky Mountains. I used the eyes I had drawn with chalk pastels as a teaching exercise for the kids way back when. I have them in digital format now, so printing them off was easy. The general shape of the head is there, but I now need to paint a background before I put on his beard. For this, I need elusive daylight. A blizzard today didn’t help in either project. Four hours of decent daylight? Stroll on. Still, both projects are going ahead in between work sessions. I shall wait until after xmas before I start ripping out nasty rug and underlay. Have box knife: will happen.
Shadow Over Avalon.
Genetics is a tricky area to play in. When a person has left no living decedents, it is necessary to reach into their ancestry to recreate them. However, it is also necessary to endow the recreated person with extra gifts. This is when all hell is let loose. Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted. The fate of mankind rests on untried shoulders. Let fortune fall where it will.
Why is setting important?
The characters provide the motive for the story, but without a cohesive setting it doesn’t come to life for the reader in my opinion. So what is it about setting? For me, I have to be able to look through the character’s eyes and see what they are seeing. This has to be real and that involves research. Yep, that is right, down to the flower that will be in bloom in that season.
How to accomplish this? Each season has a certain feel about it. Think fall, when the smell of overripe fruit permeates the air and the drone of bees made sluggish by the chill of night fills the morning air. This is the season where everything is closing down for the winter sleep. Why is this important? It gives a marker in time that allows the reader to progress. Without this marker, the time is static.
Want a good book for Thanksgiving?
How about an epic science fantasy? Did you ever wonder what would happen when the legendary King Arthur returns to save his people in the time of their greatest need? Set in the far future, Shadow Over Avalon take the reader to a level of suspense unsurpassed. Nothing is as it seems. Humanities survival hinges on the lives of a few. If even one of them dies, so will all hope for the future.
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Over-Avalon-C-N-Lesley-ebook/dp/B00GAN6HMG/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1
Ginger is bad?
Not in my books. I hadn’t really thought about it, but then my characters come through fully developed. I find I have three gingers in Shadow Over Avalon and two of them are red hot hunks. A guy is a guy and it is what is inside him that makes him interesting. Hair color is totally incidental. Character is everything and my guys rock.
