Allie May's Blog: Hypergraphia

    This is just a quick announcement to say that my site is moving over to wordpress. I’ve loved my time on blogger, but I’m not keeping up with my posts like I’ve wanted to. So I’ve made the jump to an actual website with a blog on the side. (Also, I’m using my iPad for everything and blogger is not compatible, hence the lack of blog posts.) If you want to follow me in the future, you’ll find me at http://alliemayauthor.com/
~Allie

    Hello! I’m still alive, just too busy to blog. But I had to announce this! The publication of the newest Just-Us League anthology, Secrets in Our Cities. This paranormal urban fantasy anthology features tales of our favorite supernatural creatures. And just take a look at this gorgeous cover done by Louis over at Indigo Forest Designs.


The real world and imagination collide in this international collection of paranormal urban fantasies.
Some cities are inhabited by lycanthropes: a werewolf-turned-private-eye takes on a kidnapping case that upsets his plans for a simple life; a vegetarian lycan must join forces with a local pack to save their city; and a twenty-something werewolf thinks she’s the scariest monster in town until she meets a necromancer.

Children are often the center of paranormal activity: a troop of Mountain Gals on a camping trip runs afoul of a witch; a high school outcast pairs up with an angel to guide ghosts to their final rests; a young fae intelligence agent is placed on his first undercover assignment at a high school; and a little girl rattles a zombie-run pub for supernatural clientele when she accidentally begins haunting it.
These young urbanites are more than they seem: a kindhearted girl changes her life forever when she offers shelter to an injured hellhound; a runty dragon dwells in the sewers plotting revenge while dreaming of reliable takeout; and an ordinary detective must team up with a young hotshot magician to solve a mysterious disappearance.

Step across the paranormal divide with these ten short stories, and you’ll never look at your hometown the same way again.

Available today on Amazon!

    Wow, it has been quite a while. So much has happened over the past few months, and if you don't follow me on other social media, then you've missed out on my updates. So here's what happened:
May-
    Husband of Mine got offered a job in Utah, and he accepted. We had about 3 weeks to pack up everything and move 700 miles away. During this time, A Bit of Magic was released, and I didn’t really get to do anything to celebrate my third publication because I was busy. 
    We spent a weekend out in Utah looking for a house. On our way, we were in a car accident and our car was totaled. We only owned the car for 3 1/2 months. We continued on our way to Utah, found a house and put an offer in, then went home. 
June-
    Offer was accepted on the house and we finished packing to move. We drove up by ourselves with all our stuff loaded in a van, and spent three nights in a temporary apartment while we closed on the house and signed the paperwork. Then we moved into our new house. 
    It took about 3 weeks to fully unload everything except for our office which hasn’t been finished because the movers who loaded our truck broke our desk, which is in pieces in the garage. So we’re waiting to fix the desk so we can unload the boxes for that room.
    I started plotting my Camp NaNoWriMo piece.
July-
    My family came to visit for Independence Day. Son of Mine celebrated his first birthday. We started car shopping to replace our totaled car. 
    I started writing my Camp NaNoWriMo piece, but something didn’t feel right. If you've been following my social media, you'll have seen some snippets I shared. Out of the blue, I got a completely different idea and after talking it through with my writer’s group, I decided to scratch my old Camp NaNoWriMo idea and start over with a new one. I’m now 5K words into the new piece.



    So what happens now? Well, I'm still working on editing Powerful, or at least I'm trying to. But my Camp NaNoWriMo piece is going to be my next secret project and I have a looming deadline to get the first draft finished. 
    Next week is going to be very busy for me because of more visitors and also my birthday. After that, life will start to normalize a bit more and I can return to my weekly schedule. I'll work on Powerful once a week (hopefully a chapter a week or more), I'll work on my secret project once a week, and I'll work on critiquing my friend's stuff once a week. I'm planning on returning to the Daeragos Chronicles once the first draft of my secret project is finished, but I'll see how much time I have to fit that into my schedule since Powerful is still my main project.
    Unfortunately, blogging regularly doesn't fit into my schedule right now. I'll still post major updates here when I have time, but if you want to stay up-to-date on my life and writing, you'll have to find me on Facebook and Twitter.
    That's it for now! I have to get back to writing.
    ~Allie

    Today is May 31st, that means it's release day for my third publication in A Bit of Magic: A Collection of Fairy Tale Retellings. Get it now on Amazon!
    

    ~Allie

    Welcome to my stop on the A Bit of Magic blog tour. My special guest of honor is Rebecca Mikkelson!



Rebecca Mikkelson has been writing fantasy stories since her early teens for fun and is thrilled to turn her dream into a reality. She currently lives in Hawaii with her husband of six years where they enjoy not going outside and avoiding the scare ball in the sky. In her spare time, she likes to cross stitch to relax.

Rebecca Mikkelson is Chief of Business Development at Authors 4 Authors Publishing - a publishing company run by authors, for authors, blending the best of traditional and independent publishing.


    Rebecca, I’m so excited to hear about your story, especially since this is your first publication. Let’s get right to it. 
Q- What inspired your retelling? 
Q- What was the hardest part of writing it?

A- This was the first time that I’d written a short story, so it was an interesting experience fitting an entire story in nine thousand words or less, and also staying true enough to the original for people to see the connection but still make it my own.
Q- What made you choose The Princess and the Pea?
A- Well, if I’m being completely honest, it was because reading the story made me angry. I was trying to find a fairy tale to retell and when I read Princess and the Pea I quite literally yelled, “She freaking lied to you, you idiot! She saw the pea go under the bed!” And that was when I knew I had to rewrite it to suit my needs.
Q- Do you prefer a happy ending, and did that affect how you wrote your story?
A- In general, yes, I do prefer a happy ending, but I went with a bittersweet ending for mine because I thought it better fit the work.
Q- What is your favorite part of your main character?
A- You know, I’ve tried to answer this question a couple of times now, and I really think it’s a hard question to answer because Adelena isn’t a totally good person in the story--on purpose, mind you--and can be quite horrible at times. So, I think my favorite part about my main character is how determined she is, even if it’s to her detriment.




Q- What was the best part about this whole anthology process?
A- Really, it’s the amazing people I’ve been working with, but it has been nice to get validation that I can write something worth publishing.
Q- What is your favorite fairy tale (original or retelling)?
A- Is it cliche of me to say Beauty and the Beast? Although, I have a bone to pick with the animated Disney film, because apparently the writers don’t know what a flying buttress is.
Q- How long have you been writing?
A- In general, fifteen or so years. I started writing stories for my friends when I was in middle school just for fun, and I didn’t start writing with an intent to publish until about six years ago.
Q- What projects are you working on now?
A- Currently I’m working on six book series called The Anatalian Series that focuses on Margaret Doremis, daughter of the Count of Dorcia, who is thrust into a hostile and chaotic court life after the murder of her father. During a chance encounter with Liam Fulton, an escaped war criminal, she learns a long-lost secret that threatens to tear the Kingdom of Anatalia apart. In the series, we find out if she can she navigate the intricacies of court life, placate a delusional king and keep Liam's secret, or if her actions will cause the kingdom to spiral into a civil war, taking thousands of lives, including her own.
Q- Final question, Oxford comma: yes or no?

A- Absolutely yes. You’ll have to pry the Oxford comma out of my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Rebecca! Make sure to check out The Measure of a Princess when A Bit of Magic is released on May 31st! In the meantime, follow Rebecca on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour!
~Allie
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    It’s time to announce Secret Project #2! And yes, it’s another fairy tale retelling. I’m very excited to announce the publication of Cursed Winds, my Beauty and the Beast retelling.

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    I’ve been holding onto this idea since Disney released their live-action Beauty and the Beast movie. It left me with a lot of questions that I wanted answered, so I decided to write my own version of the tale, which I never thought I would do. And yes, it involves pirates.
    Cursed Winds will be released on May 31st in the fifth JL Anthology, titled A Bit of Magic. Stay tuned for a cover reveal, coming very soon!

    My big goal for Camp NaNo was to write an average of 500 words a day. Well, it was to write 15,000 words during the month, but that averaged out to 500 words a day.


    So... I didn't quite write 15,000 words this month. But I spent the last week of Camp NaNo sick with the stomach flu (hence that lovely flatline toward the end), so I took out the 4 days I was sick and altered my goal to be 2k less than it was originally. So technically, I didn't hit my goal, but also I did.

    Camp NaNo is over for now. So what am I working on next? 
    Powerful: I'm 10,000 words into the next draft of Powerful. This is going to become my big focus again. All the major story and plot details are finalized at this point, so I'm focusing my editing on the nit-picky wording and descriptions. This is the hardest part of writing for me. I'm a perfectionist, and getting into the final stages is nerve-wracking. So I'm spending my time reading lots of polished writing to help me prepare my own writing for publishing.
    Daeragos Chronicles: I'm about halfway done with the first draft of Damaged at this point. But that still leaves half of it to go. And then Defiant, and then Deceived. And possibly a fourth. There's a lot left with this series. But it's nice to have some easy, creative writing to work on when I need a break from editing Powerful. I'm still working on this in the meantime, but it's going to take a backseat for now. 
    If you want to keep updated on my writing, I'm still tracking my word counts on the sidebar here on my blog. 
    ~Allie

    Once again, it's my favorite time of year! Well, besides Christmas. It's time for Camp NaNoWriMo!




    After July Camp NaNo last year, I felt like I was robbed a month of writing. I've been doing so much editing recently—Swapped, which was published in February; Secret Project #2, which is just about finished; and I've started working on Powerful again! While all the editing is great (because I'm an oddity in the writer's community with how much I love editing), it's hard on the writer side of my brain which can, in turn, hurt my editing when I have to rewrite.    So, I pulled out one of my long lost fairy tale retelling ideas (one of the ones I wanted to work on last year) and I started plotting. My idea was already mostly filled out, but as I started working on the finer points, some things changed.    I love working on world building ideas, because as I was coming up with the name for a made up illness, I had an insane burst of creativity and I started outlining two other projects set in the same world, where the characters interact a bit. It felt really good to have this creative episode in the midst of all my editing.    So, here's my Camp NaNo Project for this month: Damaged, the first book of the Daeragos Chronicles. It is a Cinderella retelling set in an ancient Greece inspired world. After the war between Melor and Braya is resolved, the treaty between the two islands is broken with the assassination of the young queen, Dahlia*, betrothed to Prince Hector of Melor. With the need for a new alliance, he invites Princess Adelpha from the neighboring island of Fraedos to visit and to start negotiations for a marriage treaty, despite the conflict over her claims to the throne after the death of her half-sister, Princess Annelle. But maybe Princess Annelle isn't as dead as everyone thinks. And if so, what is keeping her from reclaiming her throne?


    I've updated my sidebar with a Damaged word counter! Follow me throughout the month of April for updates!    *You may recognize the name Dahlia, from my old Snow White retelling idea. Well, over the past few years, I've reworked and perfected my Snow White idea and soon I'll let you in on more about the second book in the Daeragos Chronicles, titled Defiant. And yes, Damaged is a reworked idea for the story Ella I wanted to crossover with Rose & Thorn. I've got lots of fairy tale retelling ideas floating around. We'll see how many of them get used.    ~Allie

    Welcome back to the Of Legend and Lore blog tour! It's time to meet another JL author. I've hosted this author before, so you may remember her. Give a warm welcome to Elise Edmonds!

Elise Edmonds is a writer from the South-West UK. Reading and writing have always been her doorways into another world—a way to escape and spend time walking with wizards, flying with fairies and dealing with dragons. By day she is a finance professional, and in her spare time she pursues writing as a creative outlet, to put the magic back into everyday life. In addition to reading, Elise enjoys watching movies, playing the piano, and going to Zumba classes. Her greatest loves are God, her husband, her family and friends, and her two beautiful cats.

Elise’s Young Adult Fantasy novel, Where Carpets Fly, is available on Amazon.

Q- What inspired your retelling?
A- My story, The Firestone, is based on the fairy tale The Tinderbox. As a child, I had an audio cassette tape of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, and this one was my favourite. There was something about the dogs with different sized eyes that fascinated me. So when I came to do my own retelling, the premise was based around the following question: What if the dogs were dragons instead? To find out the answer, you’ll have to read the story!



Q- Oh, dragons! How fun! What was the hardest part of writing it?

A- I actually bashed it out in one weekend because I’d committed to writing the story for July Camp NaNoWriMo and left it till the last minute. The hardest bit was all the mounds of editing that came afterwards, thanks to multiple rounds of feedback from all my critique partners!

Q- I wrote my retelling for July Camp NaNoWriMo, too! *high five* What other fairy tale would you like to rewrite?

A- I am a fan of Hans Christian Anderson tales, so I might choose another one of his sometime. Also, I like The Elves and the Shoemaker. That would be near the top of my list. I also considered combining The Tinderbox with a Chinese Fairy Tale called The Cowherd and The Weaver Maid. It didn’t work out in the end - but that’s another one I’d consider retelling.

Q- Mash-ups are fun, but can be hard to mesh the characters and endings together. Speaking of endings, do you prefer a Happily Ever After?

A- Yes, always! Although with fairy tales I’m quite partial to a bittersweet ending. I like endings that stick with you afterwards.

Q- I like those, too. Especially when writing fantasy because it helps bring in a little dose of reality. How do you combat writer’s block?

A- Fresh air, a day off, lots of tea, change projects, do some blogging, whine to my friends, and cuddle the cats.

Q- I'm very partial to the whining, myself. But, whining can also lead to talking things out, which usually helps more than thinking it through yourself. But, I'm a serious planner and I have to think everything through. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter”?

A- I’m moving towards being a plotter, but I do need a degree of flexibility when I write. So I plot broadly, but let the nitty-gritty come out as I write.

Q- What is your favorite original fairy tale?

A- The Tinderbox - hence my retelling!

Q- What about your favorite adapted fairy tale?

A- I don’t have a favourite. Fairy tale retellings or adaptations aren’t something I really got into until the last couple of years - thanks to my friends at The Just-Us League! And I didn’t really watch movies as a kid so I don’t have any childhood favourites. I was more familiar with the original tales from books.

Q- You're welcome! ;) If you could meet one author, alive or dead, who would it be?

A- CS Lewis. I’ve been a big Narnia fan all my life, and he is one author where I was actually interested enough to learn about his life and how he developed as a writer and created the Land of Narnia. He definitely started my fantasy obsession.

Q- What is your non-writer alter-ego?

A- I’m a Chartered Accountant. (Hence why I have a creative hobby on the side!)

Q- And what is your spirit animal?

A- Definitely a cat. They are an amazing mixture of perfect and evil, and get to sleep and eat and play all day.

Q- I love it. So, who is the biggest supporter of your writing?

A- My mum is very proud of me, and my JL friends encourage me on a daily basis :)

Q- That's awesome that she is so supportive. And I know how great it is to have a writing group so encouraging when writing can be so difficult. What is the biggest obstacle to your writing? 

A- Time. With a busy day job, there are never enough hours in the day.

Q- Yes, especially because your job comes with busy seasons! So, you've published a novel, and now this short story. What other projects are you working on?

A- I’m currently working on the sequel to my debut YA Fantasy novel, Where Carpets Fly. I’m hoping to publish it later in the year, all being well!

Q- I'm looking forward to reading it! Final question, one I like to ask all my guests- Oxford comma, yes or no?

A- YES!

Good answer! Thank you so much for stopping by. That's a wrap for the Of Legend and Lore Blog Tour!



    You can check out Elise's story, The Firestone, and 10 other fairy tale retellings in Of Legend and Lore, now available on Amazon! Don't forget to follow her on social media- 
    Website
    Amazon
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram
    Goodreads
    Wattpad
    Thank you so much for following the Of Legend and Lore Blog Tour. Don't forget to follow the JL website for updates about future anthologies! *hint hint*
    ~Allie

    Happy Tell a Fairy Tale Day, everyone! And happy release day for Of Legend and Lore: A Collection of Fairy Tale Retellings! Here is the ebook link, and here is the paperback link! 



    To celebrate the release, the From the Stories of Old ebook is discounted for the next few days, so grab a copy by the 28th if you don't already have it!
    ~Allie