E. Rose Sabin's Blog
November 10, 2017
Mythic Fantasy? What's That?
I posted on my Facebook author’s page a notice that I was temporarily removing the paperback version of Deathright from circulation in order to make some minor changes. The changes mostly have to do with formatting and do not represent any alteration of text beyond a few insignificant corrections. So what have I changed?
For one thing, I’ve rewritten the blurb on the back of the cover. I hope the new description will be more attention getting. Time will tell. That is the only change to the book’s cover.
For the book’s interior I rewrote the “About the Author” page at the end of the book. And I added a subtitle to the book’s title page. The subtitle is “A Mythic Fantasy.”
I did that for several reasons. One is that it provides another term for search engines to pick up on and might therefore generate a bit more traffic for my book. Another reason is that it tells the reader not only that the book is a fantasy but also what type of fantasy it is. A third is that although there are many subgenres of fantasy, “mythic fantasy” is seldom named by those listing the subgenres, and I feel that it should be. It’s certainly not that myth doesn’t play a prominent part in many fantasies. I think the term may be little used because even novels heavily based on myths can be placed in other subgenres. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, for example, can be classified as an urban fantasy, but it features Norse gods, placing them in a modern setting. Gaiman’s novel Anansi Boys is a wonderfully humorous novel that places gods from Caribbean mythology into a modern setting. Then there’s the YA series of Percy Jackson books, featuring Greek gods but also in a modern setting. These books are immensely popular, and they are unquestionably mythic, yet they are rarely referred to as “mythic fantasies.” In fact, if you visit Amazon.com through Google’s incognito mode and put “mythic fantasies” into the search bar, the first page of results will be almost entirely role playing games. Following that will be a large number of titles of books and magazines, both fiction and nonfiction, but not many true mythic fantasies. There are, of course, some that are most definitely mythic fantasies, one example being works of Charles de Lint based on Native American myths. And that’s another thing. Many writers find story material in the myths of other cultures less familiar to most of us than are the Greek and Roman myths and the Norse myths. Mythic fantasies may use Hindu, Chinese, Japanese, African, Jewish, and Christian mythology, to name just a few sources of the vast number available from around the globe.
Finally, I call Deathright a mythic fantasy because it is based on a myth of my invention but inspired by and patterned after the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris. The book’s prologue recounts the myth as a tale told by a village tale weaver. The novel brings that myth to life through the experiences of its protagonist, who is unwittingly made to play a part in the myth.
I hope readers of this blog who are not familiar with my books will take a look at Deathright. It should be back in print within a week of this writing. The Kindle edition will be revised about the same time. If you are familiar with the myth on which my novel is based, the influence of the myth of Isis and Osiris will probably be obvious. If you are not familiar with the myth, in it Osiris is slain by his brother Seth (or Set), who chops the corpse into pieces and strews them along the Nile, where Isis sends her sacred bird the ibis to gather them so that she can reassemble and reanimate her unfortunate spouse. As with most myths, there are many variations of the story, but in all of them what stands out is the love Isis bears for Osiris. It is that love that allows her to restore her husband. I borrowed only the basic elements of the myth in adapting it for my novel, those elements being the enmity between two brother gods, the slaying of one by the other, and the bereaved goddess determined to restore her slain spouse.
I should add that even those who are not enamored of myth as I am can read Deathright and find it a good time travel tale or fantasy adventure. Knowledge of or interest in myths is not necessary.
For one thing, I’ve rewritten the blurb on the back of the cover. I hope the new description will be more attention getting. Time will tell. That is the only change to the book’s cover.
For the book’s interior I rewrote the “About the Author” page at the end of the book. And I added a subtitle to the book’s title page. The subtitle is “A Mythic Fantasy.”
I did that for several reasons. One is that it provides another term for search engines to pick up on and might therefore generate a bit more traffic for my book. Another reason is that it tells the reader not only that the book is a fantasy but also what type of fantasy it is. A third is that although there are many subgenres of fantasy, “mythic fantasy” is seldom named by those listing the subgenres, and I feel that it should be. It’s certainly not that myth doesn’t play a prominent part in many fantasies. I think the term may be little used because even novels heavily based on myths can be placed in other subgenres. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, for example, can be classified as an urban fantasy, but it features Norse gods, placing them in a modern setting. Gaiman’s novel Anansi Boys is a wonderfully humorous novel that places gods from Caribbean mythology into a modern setting. Then there’s the YA series of Percy Jackson books, featuring Greek gods but also in a modern setting. These books are immensely popular, and they are unquestionably mythic, yet they are rarely referred to as “mythic fantasies.” In fact, if you visit Amazon.com through Google’s incognito mode and put “mythic fantasies” into the search bar, the first page of results will be almost entirely role playing games. Following that will be a large number of titles of books and magazines, both fiction and nonfiction, but not many true mythic fantasies. There are, of course, some that are most definitely mythic fantasies, one example being works of Charles de Lint based on Native American myths. And that’s another thing. Many writers find story material in the myths of other cultures less familiar to most of us than are the Greek and Roman myths and the Norse myths. Mythic fantasies may use Hindu, Chinese, Japanese, African, Jewish, and Christian mythology, to name just a few sources of the vast number available from around the globe.
Finally, I call Deathright a mythic fantasy because it is based on a myth of my invention but inspired by and patterned after the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris. The book’s prologue recounts the myth as a tale told by a village tale weaver. The novel brings that myth to life through the experiences of its protagonist, who is unwittingly made to play a part in the myth.
I hope readers of this blog who are not familiar with my books will take a look at Deathright. It should be back in print within a week of this writing. The Kindle edition will be revised about the same time. If you are familiar with the myth on which my novel is based, the influence of the myth of Isis and Osiris will probably be obvious. If you are not familiar with the myth, in it Osiris is slain by his brother Seth (or Set), who chops the corpse into pieces and strews them along the Nile, where Isis sends her sacred bird the ibis to gather them so that she can reassemble and reanimate her unfortunate spouse. As with most myths, there are many variations of the story, but in all of them what stands out is the love Isis bears for Osiris. It is that love that allows her to restore her husband. I borrowed only the basic elements of the myth in adapting it for my novel, those elements being the enmity between two brother gods, the slaying of one by the other, and the bereaved goddess determined to restore her slain spouse.
I should add that even those who are not enamored of myth as I am can read Deathright and find it a good time travel tale or fantasy adventure. Knowledge of or interest in myths is not necessary.
July 17, 2017
Not a Harry Potter Knockoff
My novel A School for Sorcery was published in hard cover in 2002 and came out in trade paperback as part of Tor’s Starscape series of fantasy and science fiction novels for teens in August 2003. Given those publication dates, it’s no wonder that many readers and some reviewers saw the book as having been written to appeal to fans of Harry Potter. In the Amazon reviews you’ll find these statements: “It is clearly inspired by Harry Potter,” “It seems that everyone is trying to out-Potter each other,” “This novel is a teenage Potter-like tale, “ It ends up retreading a lot of the same territory as the Harry Potter and "College of Magics" books,” and (I love this one!) “a thrilling novel about what happened if Harry Potter was female, a few years older, and in a completely different world.”
I can’t criticize readers for coming to these conclusions, given the publication dates of the hard cover and paperback editions of the book. However, the truth is that I wrote A School for Sorcery well before the appearance of the Harry Potter books and also before the publication of A College of Magics, by Caroline Stevermer, published in 1994. Whatever resemblance it may bear to the Harry Potter books, and, if any, to A College of Magics, is purely accidental. Unfortunately, A School for Sorcery languished in manuscript form until Tor bought the manuscript in 2000 for its newly launched Starscape line. There is no question that the YA line was launched by Tor in response to the popularity of the Harry Potter books, but that doesn’t mean that the books published in that line were written after Harry’s appearance on the scene.
In the case of my novel, I wrote it in 1991-92 for the specific purpose of submitting it to Andre Norton’s Gryphon Award competition for the best unpublished novel by a new woman fantasy writer. (This is not the same as the present day Andre Norton Award, which, according to Wikipedia, “is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America [SFWA] to the author of the best young adult or middle grade science fiction or fantasy book published in the United States in the preceding year.” That award began in 2006 as a memorial to Andre Norton, who died in 2005.) The earlier award, sponsored by Andre Norton, offered, along with a monetary prize, a reading by an editor from a major publishing house. I won the award in 1992, and my manuscript did get readings not from just one but from at least three editors of major houses. However, they all had the same reaction: they liked the work, but the manuscript was too long for a book for teens. At that time the thinking was that a novel for teens should be no longer than 60,000 words. That thinking changed as a result of the Harry Potter books; the major publishing houses added teen fantasy and science fiction lines, and my novel was bought by Tor.
A School for Sorcery did quite well. It earned out its advance, was named to the list of best books for teens in 2003 by the New York City Public Library system, and was translated into two European languages, Dutch and Romanian. I received many emails from fans, some of whom still keep in touch. Although the print editions are no longer available, the book is still available in electronic form for the Kindle and the Nook, and I’m still receiving royalties for it. It’s a book I’m still proud of, although I’m sure if I were writing it today, there are many things I’d write differently. But its message is still current.
Tria, the book’s protagonist, has always been a good daughter and a good student, obeying rules at home and at school. She’s excited to receive an invitation to attend a special school, the Leslie Simonton School for the Magically Gifted, glowingly described in the brochure accompanying the invitation. While her parents are aware that she has special abilities, they have forbidden her to use those abilities and she has obeyed. But when she shows her mother the invitation, her mother reveals that she too has special abilities, which she has stifled throughout her life. She does not want her daughter to be forced to do the same, so she persuades her husband to allow their daughter to attend if they can find the money for tuition. Tria’s father no doubt feels safe in making this concession, since he knows of no way they could come up with the amount of money required. However, he has been tricked. Tria’s mother has a hidden cache of money she has saved through the years and kept secret from her husband. Tria’s father grudgingly agrees to keep his word and let Tria go to the school, though he warns her that the invitation is almost certainly a scam.
Little notice is made in the book of the mother’s deception, but in a sense it underlies all that follows. When Tria arrives at the school, she is greatly disappointed to find it nothing resembling what the brochure had depicted. Tria’s initial interview with the headmistress is unsettling, and ensuing events convince Tria that her father was right—the school is a scam. But she resolves to stay rather than return home and admit that she and her mother have been played for fools. Thus she enters into the deception. But the school is not a fraud. Its dilapidated appearance is another deception. Even Headmistress’s stern demeanor and harsh treatment of Tria is a deception, intended to test Tria’s mettle.
This is a coming-of-age story, in which Tria must peel away the layers of deception and discover truth, if in fact truth is to be found. Along with learning to distinguish truth from falsehood, she must also learn when to follow rules, even ones that make no apparent sense, and when to rebel against authority and follow her own instincts. Does Tria ever succeed in peeling away all the layers of deception? Are the rules she breaks rules that should be broken, and how can she truly know, since the results aren’t always immediately apparent? The book’s conclusion does not definitively answer these questions, because these are questions that require a lifetime to answer fully, if they can be answered at all.
I tried to tell a good story, one that has plenty of action and intrigue and that anyone who is or has ever been a student in a school that is somewhat less than perfect (which is pretty much any school) can relate to. At the same time, the story offers the astute reader an exploration of existentialism and situational ethics. It’s a book that can be read on various levels, one that I hope will stimulate the imagination and also provide food for thought. Indeed, I am always delighted when a reader finds some bit of meaning that I never intentionally put there. It is often said that a writer cannot interpret his or her own work, and there is truth in that saying. A reader brings to a book his or her own personal experiences and interprets the book according to those experiences, which will of course differ from those of the author.
If you haven’t read A School for Sorcery, I hope you will, and will let me know what you find in it. Find it at Barnes & Noble or at Amazon.com.
I can’t criticize readers for coming to these conclusions, given the publication dates of the hard cover and paperback editions of the book. However, the truth is that I wrote A School for Sorcery well before the appearance of the Harry Potter books and also before the publication of A College of Magics, by Caroline Stevermer, published in 1994. Whatever resemblance it may bear to the Harry Potter books, and, if any, to A College of Magics, is purely accidental. Unfortunately, A School for Sorcery languished in manuscript form until Tor bought the manuscript in 2000 for its newly launched Starscape line. There is no question that the YA line was launched by Tor in response to the popularity of the Harry Potter books, but that doesn’t mean that the books published in that line were written after Harry’s appearance on the scene.
In the case of my novel, I wrote it in 1991-92 for the specific purpose of submitting it to Andre Norton’s Gryphon Award competition for the best unpublished novel by a new woman fantasy writer. (This is not the same as the present day Andre Norton Award, which, according to Wikipedia, “is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America [SFWA] to the author of the best young adult or middle grade science fiction or fantasy book published in the United States in the preceding year.” That award began in 2006 as a memorial to Andre Norton, who died in 2005.) The earlier award, sponsored by Andre Norton, offered, along with a monetary prize, a reading by an editor from a major publishing house. I won the award in 1992, and my manuscript did get readings not from just one but from at least three editors of major houses. However, they all had the same reaction: they liked the work, but the manuscript was too long for a book for teens. At that time the thinking was that a novel for teens should be no longer than 60,000 words. That thinking changed as a result of the Harry Potter books; the major publishing houses added teen fantasy and science fiction lines, and my novel was bought by Tor.
A School for Sorcery did quite well. It earned out its advance, was named to the list of best books for teens in 2003 by the New York City Public Library system, and was translated into two European languages, Dutch and Romanian. I received many emails from fans, some of whom still keep in touch. Although the print editions are no longer available, the book is still available in electronic form for the Kindle and the Nook, and I’m still receiving royalties for it. It’s a book I’m still proud of, although I’m sure if I were writing it today, there are many things I’d write differently. But its message is still current.
Tria, the book’s protagonist, has always been a good daughter and a good student, obeying rules at home and at school. She’s excited to receive an invitation to attend a special school, the Leslie Simonton School for the Magically Gifted, glowingly described in the brochure accompanying the invitation. While her parents are aware that she has special abilities, they have forbidden her to use those abilities and she has obeyed. But when she shows her mother the invitation, her mother reveals that she too has special abilities, which she has stifled throughout her life. She does not want her daughter to be forced to do the same, so she persuades her husband to allow their daughter to attend if they can find the money for tuition. Tria’s father no doubt feels safe in making this concession, since he knows of no way they could come up with the amount of money required. However, he has been tricked. Tria’s mother has a hidden cache of money she has saved through the years and kept secret from her husband. Tria’s father grudgingly agrees to keep his word and let Tria go to the school, though he warns her that the invitation is almost certainly a scam.
Little notice is made in the book of the mother’s deception, but in a sense it underlies all that follows. When Tria arrives at the school, she is greatly disappointed to find it nothing resembling what the brochure had depicted. Tria’s initial interview with the headmistress is unsettling, and ensuing events convince Tria that her father was right—the school is a scam. But she resolves to stay rather than return home and admit that she and her mother have been played for fools. Thus she enters into the deception. But the school is not a fraud. Its dilapidated appearance is another deception. Even Headmistress’s stern demeanor and harsh treatment of Tria is a deception, intended to test Tria’s mettle.
This is a coming-of-age story, in which Tria must peel away the layers of deception and discover truth, if in fact truth is to be found. Along with learning to distinguish truth from falsehood, she must also learn when to follow rules, even ones that make no apparent sense, and when to rebel against authority and follow her own instincts. Does Tria ever succeed in peeling away all the layers of deception? Are the rules she breaks rules that should be broken, and how can she truly know, since the results aren’t always immediately apparent? The book’s conclusion does not definitively answer these questions, because these are questions that require a lifetime to answer fully, if they can be answered at all.
I tried to tell a good story, one that has plenty of action and intrigue and that anyone who is or has ever been a student in a school that is somewhat less than perfect (which is pretty much any school) can relate to. At the same time, the story offers the astute reader an exploration of existentialism and situational ethics. It’s a book that can be read on various levels, one that I hope will stimulate the imagination and also provide food for thought. Indeed, I am always delighted when a reader finds some bit of meaning that I never intentionally put there. It is often said that a writer cannot interpret his or her own work, and there is truth in that saying. A reader brings to a book his or her own personal experiences and interprets the book according to those experiences, which will of course differ from those of the author.
If you haven’t read A School for Sorcery, I hope you will, and will let me know what you find in it. Find it at Barnes & Noble or at Amazon.com.
April 22, 2015
My latest book
It’s out! My latest book is Grandy’s Grand Inventions, a chapter book for children ages 6-10. The print version has just become available from Amazon. The e-book will be available shortly.
After I announced that I had written this children’s book, someone asked why, after writing novels for teens and adults, I had written a book for the early grades. The short answer to the question is that I had a story idea that fit that age group (six to ten years).
The longer answer is that I have learned at least mostly how to judge the proper length and audience a particular idea requires. This is not always an easy thing to figure out. As I’ve explained many times, many if not most of my ideas come from dreams. In this case, the dream was of a girl (age indeterminate) who for some reason was riding on a large wooden foot that was going up and down as if it were walking, though it wasn’t attached to anything. I liked the image but didn’t really know what to do with it. I had to ask myself a series of questions:
Who was the girl on the foot?
Why was she on it? How did she get there?
What force was propelling the foot?
What happened to her?
In considering these questions, I realized that the story had to be for younger children than I had previously written for. Why? Because a young child would fit better on a wooden foot and because the situation required a suspension of disbelief that would be more likely achieved by a younger child. It had a magical quality about it more appropriate to a children’s story than to a story for teens or adults.
And so gradually I developed the idea of a young girl whose grandfather was an inventor who came up with some crazy inventions, one of which was a levitator. It was the levitator that provided the force that lifted the foot. The foot went up and down as though walking because the grandfather had to follow it with the machine to keep it up in the air, but he couldn’t walk fast enough to keep up with it. Therefore, whenever he fell behind, the foot would descend and slow down. Then the grandfather would catch up and the foot would rise again and move faster.
That’s as much of the story as I’m going to tell here. I want to expound a bit on finding what length and what audience an idea fits. But that is a subject best left for my next blog. I want to conclude this one simply by saying that I wrote the children’s book because I had an idea that I wanted to develop, and a children’s book was the best form in which to develop it. I’ll leave it to young readers to decide how successful I was.
Please take a look at the book, and if you know a young reader who you think would like it, recommend it, or better yet, buy it for her.
After I announced that I had written this children’s book, someone asked why, after writing novels for teens and adults, I had written a book for the early grades. The short answer to the question is that I had a story idea that fit that age group (six to ten years).
The longer answer is that I have learned at least mostly how to judge the proper length and audience a particular idea requires. This is not always an easy thing to figure out. As I’ve explained many times, many if not most of my ideas come from dreams. In this case, the dream was of a girl (age indeterminate) who for some reason was riding on a large wooden foot that was going up and down as if it were walking, though it wasn’t attached to anything. I liked the image but didn’t really know what to do with it. I had to ask myself a series of questions:
Who was the girl on the foot?
Why was she on it? How did she get there?
What force was propelling the foot?
What happened to her?
In considering these questions, I realized that the story had to be for younger children than I had previously written for. Why? Because a young child would fit better on a wooden foot and because the situation required a suspension of disbelief that would be more likely achieved by a younger child. It had a magical quality about it more appropriate to a children’s story than to a story for teens or adults.
And so gradually I developed the idea of a young girl whose grandfather was an inventor who came up with some crazy inventions, one of which was a levitator. It was the levitator that provided the force that lifted the foot. The foot went up and down as though walking because the grandfather had to follow it with the machine to keep it up in the air, but he couldn’t walk fast enough to keep up with it. Therefore, whenever he fell behind, the foot would descend and slow down. Then the grandfather would catch up and the foot would rise again and move faster.
That’s as much of the story as I’m going to tell here. I want to expound a bit on finding what length and what audience an idea fits. But that is a subject best left for my next blog. I want to conclude this one simply by saying that I wrote the children’s book because I had an idea that I wanted to develop, and a children’s book was the best form in which to develop it. I’ll leave it to young readers to decide how successful I was.
Please take a look at the book, and if you know a young reader who you think would like it, recommend it, or better yet, buy it for her.
December 10, 2013
The Arucadi Series: Past, Present, and (I hope) Future
I've already written a good bit about my Arucadi series of books, but I thought today I'd do a general overview of the series: the books already published, and those in the planning stages.
The books haven't been written or published in chronological order. The first published was A School for Sorcery, a YA fantasy that I didn't intend to be part of a series. But things often work out differently for me from the way I plan. I had A Perilous Power mostly written when I saw how I could relate it to A School for Sorcery as a prequel. So I did that, and it became the second published book, although it recounts events that happened around fifty years before Tria arrives at the Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted in A School for Sorcery. Then I went on to write a sequel to School—When the Beast Ravens, which takes place at the Lesley Simonton School two years after the beginning of School. That book is followed by Bryte's Ascent, the events of which take place in the year following the conclusion of When the Beast Ravens.
I had written Mistress of the Wind earlier, but got it published just last year as the first book of a new trilogy titled Arucadi: The Beginning. So it is actually the first of the Arucadi books. It has now been followed by the second book of that trilogy, Bringers of Magic. Bringers takes place about a century before A Perilous Power. It will be followed by the third book of that trilogy, A Mix of Magics, which I am currently writing. It will, like all the books in the series, be a complete story, but it will also set up a situation that will only be resolved in the final book of the series. I don't know what that final book will be titled, but I have a general idea of the plot. And chronologically it will come several years after Bryte's Ascent.
I do know what the plot is and what the title is for the book that will directly follow Bryte's Ascent. It will be titled Mother Lode, which is something of a play on words, as it involves gem mining in the area of the Arucadian desert town of Marquez, a nefarious scheme to enslave orphaned children to work in the mines, and Lina in her unwanted position of being mother to some of the rescued orphans. It's started, but not very far along. Why? Because until I got Bryte's Ascent published there seemed little point in continuing to work on it. Now I'm eager to get going, but I have a couple of other books that have to be completed first.
I have the title and setting but as yet no plot for the book that will follow Mother Lode. Throughout Mother Lode, people keep mentioning the town of Pescatil, and they say words to this effect, "Pescatil's a peculiar place. Don't know why anyone'd want to go there." Of course, my characters are curious about this, especially because no one seems able to explain why Pescatil is such a peculiar place. So they go there to find out. I'll have to find out along with them, because at this point I don't have any idea. But I have no doubt that the idea will come.
Then I have an idea for a novel that returns to Tria and also to Wilce, her boyfriend in A School for Sorcery, both now adults and using their magical powers to benefit others. I've said several times that Arucadi is similar in many ways to an earlier period in U.S. history, but one difference is, while they have developed trains and buses and cars, they do not have airplanes. This book will deal with the development of manned flight. And it along with the book about Pescatil will lead to the final book of the series.
Now, I know that it's a bit foolish to announce books that are not yet written and may never get written—although I have the best of intentions. I hope that announcing my plans for them will spur me on to actually writing them. Yes, I do need to get very busy if I'm to achieve my goal of completing the series as I have envisioned it. Wish me luck!
So here's the list of published books with the projected ones included in brackets, in chronological order:
Mistress of the Wind
Bringers of Magic
[A Mix of Magics]
A Perilous Power
A School for Sorcery
When the Beast Ravens
Bryte's Ascent
[Mother Lode]
[untitled book about conflict between development of airplanes and forces of magic]
[A Peculiar Place]
[final book of series]
The books haven't been written or published in chronological order. The first published was A School for Sorcery, a YA fantasy that I didn't intend to be part of a series. But things often work out differently for me from the way I plan. I had A Perilous Power mostly written when I saw how I could relate it to A School for Sorcery as a prequel. So I did that, and it became the second published book, although it recounts events that happened around fifty years before Tria arrives at the Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted in A School for Sorcery. Then I went on to write a sequel to School—When the Beast Ravens, which takes place at the Lesley Simonton School two years after the beginning of School. That book is followed by Bryte's Ascent, the events of which take place in the year following the conclusion of When the Beast Ravens.
I had written Mistress of the Wind earlier, but got it published just last year as the first book of a new trilogy titled Arucadi: The Beginning. So it is actually the first of the Arucadi books. It has now been followed by the second book of that trilogy, Bringers of Magic. Bringers takes place about a century before A Perilous Power. It will be followed by the third book of that trilogy, A Mix of Magics, which I am currently writing. It will, like all the books in the series, be a complete story, but it will also set up a situation that will only be resolved in the final book of the series. I don't know what that final book will be titled, but I have a general idea of the plot. And chronologically it will come several years after Bryte's Ascent.
I do know what the plot is and what the title is for the book that will directly follow Bryte's Ascent. It will be titled Mother Lode, which is something of a play on words, as it involves gem mining in the area of the Arucadian desert town of Marquez, a nefarious scheme to enslave orphaned children to work in the mines, and Lina in her unwanted position of being mother to some of the rescued orphans. It's started, but not very far along. Why? Because until I got Bryte's Ascent published there seemed little point in continuing to work on it. Now I'm eager to get going, but I have a couple of other books that have to be completed first.
I have the title and setting but as yet no plot for the book that will follow Mother Lode. Throughout Mother Lode, people keep mentioning the town of Pescatil, and they say words to this effect, "Pescatil's a peculiar place. Don't know why anyone'd want to go there." Of course, my characters are curious about this, especially because no one seems able to explain why Pescatil is such a peculiar place. So they go there to find out. I'll have to find out along with them, because at this point I don't have any idea. But I have no doubt that the idea will come.
Then I have an idea for a novel that returns to Tria and also to Wilce, her boyfriend in A School for Sorcery, both now adults and using their magical powers to benefit others. I've said several times that Arucadi is similar in many ways to an earlier period in U.S. history, but one difference is, while they have developed trains and buses and cars, they do not have airplanes. This book will deal with the development of manned flight. And it along with the book about Pescatil will lead to the final book of the series.
Now, I know that it's a bit foolish to announce books that are not yet written and may never get written—although I have the best of intentions. I hope that announcing my plans for them will spur me on to actually writing them. Yes, I do need to get very busy if I'm to achieve my goal of completing the series as I have envisioned it. Wish me luck!
So here's the list of published books with the projected ones included in brackets, in chronological order:
Mistress of the Wind
Bringers of Magic
[A Mix of Magics]
A Perilous Power
A School for Sorcery
When the Beast Ravens
Bryte's Ascent
[Mother Lode]
[untitled book about conflict between development of airplanes and forces of magic]
[A Peculiar Place]
[final book of series]
August 10, 2013
Idea Generators
Because I’ve written several times about getting story ideas from dreams, I may have given the impression that that’s where all my ideas come from. While it’s true that most of my novels have at least one scene based on a dream, not all do, and only two are wholly based on ideas derived from dreams.
My first published novel, A School for Sorcery, was written originally to submit to Andre Norton’s Gryphon Award competition, then an award offered to an unpublished manuscript by a new woman fantasy writer. The novel was designed to appeal to Andre Norton, and was based largely on my own years of experience as a middle school teacher. I’ve explained this many times, but what I don’t think I’ve said is that I’d met Andre Norton and heard her speak at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, which I’d begun attending when I set becoming a published author as my goal. Something she said in one of her speeches caught my interest. She declared that she did not like a book in which the protagonist dies, and she strongly recommended against writing such a book. For some reason, I considered that a challenge. I was determined to prove that it could be done successfully.
SPOILER ALERT
So in A School for Sorcery both the protagonist and the antagonist die. Yet both also survive. The manuscript won the award, the book was eventually published, and remains the most popular of my books. I was later fortunate enough to get to know Andre Norton personally, but I never told her that it was regarding her statement as a challenge that provided the impetus for the plot of A School for Sorcery.
Another novel for which I haven’t tried to find a publisher because it’s way too long and needs either to be cut drastically or divided into two parts, and I haven’t decided how to do either, is based on three things. The first is the report about Japanese princess Masako, a commoner wed to the crown prince of Japan. She suffered from depression and even lost her voice for a time due (according to the article) to pressure put on her to produce a male heir. I borrowed aspects of her story, though changed enough not to be recognizable. The second influence was Gaudi’s architecture, specifically some of the towers on buildings designed by him. On a trip to Spain I was fortunate enough to visit Barcelona and see many of these buildings. The novel, if it ever gets published, will be titled (I hope) The Twisted Towers. Again, the description of the towers in my novel doesn’t actually match Gaudi’s towers, but nevertheless they formed the inspiration for them. And the third is that I’ve always been fascinated by accounts, true or fictional, of underground cities, and a photo in the local paper crystallized that fascination for me, and led me to put an underground complex into the novel.
Finally, the idea for Mistress of the Wind came from a photo I cut out of a magazine. I often hunt for and save photos that intrigue me and can furnish story ideas. I don’t remember what article this particular photo was illustrating, and I can no longer find the picture, though I thought I’d kept it. But I recall it vividly. It was the picture of a young woman holding on to a tree to keep from being blown away by a strong wind, her full skirt billowing behind her like a sail and her hair streaming about her face.
Ideas come from anywhere and may provide a large portion of a novel’s plot or may simply offer a small seed from which, if nourished, a novel may gradually grow. Ideas for a novel may come from several disparate sources that jell into a single plot or, as in the case of the dream that gave me the plot for Seduction of the Scepter, may have a single source so compelling that an entire novel can be built from it. The important thing is to value everything, no matter how small, that makes you think, Hmm, that might make a good story. That sort of idea comes all the time to writers. We don’t have to hunt for ideas; they find us. I remember when, several years ago, my phone rang, and when I answered it, a male voice said, "I found a crystal and made a hand." It took me several seconds to realize that the speaker was the watch repairman to whom I’d taken my very old watch in despair because foolishly I’d worn it while working in the yard, and I’d lost the crystal and the minute hand. But in those several seconds I thought, What a great line to put into a fantasy novel. I haven’t as yet used it, but I haven’t forgotten it, and it yet may appear in a novel.
So from major news events to small, everyday occurences, idea sources are everywhere. I grab them wherever I find them.
My first published novel, A School for Sorcery, was written originally to submit to Andre Norton’s Gryphon Award competition, then an award offered to an unpublished manuscript by a new woman fantasy writer. The novel was designed to appeal to Andre Norton, and was based largely on my own years of experience as a middle school teacher. I’ve explained this many times, but what I don’t think I’ve said is that I’d met Andre Norton and heard her speak at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, which I’d begun attending when I set becoming a published author as my goal. Something she said in one of her speeches caught my interest. She declared that she did not like a book in which the protagonist dies, and she strongly recommended against writing such a book. For some reason, I considered that a challenge. I was determined to prove that it could be done successfully.
SPOILER ALERT
So in A School for Sorcery both the protagonist and the antagonist die. Yet both also survive. The manuscript won the award, the book was eventually published, and remains the most popular of my books. I was later fortunate enough to get to know Andre Norton personally, but I never told her that it was regarding her statement as a challenge that provided the impetus for the plot of A School for Sorcery.
Another novel for which I haven’t tried to find a publisher because it’s way too long and needs either to be cut drastically or divided into two parts, and I haven’t decided how to do either, is based on three things. The first is the report about Japanese princess Masako, a commoner wed to the crown prince of Japan. She suffered from depression and even lost her voice for a time due (according to the article) to pressure put on her to produce a male heir. I borrowed aspects of her story, though changed enough not to be recognizable. The second influence was Gaudi’s architecture, specifically some of the towers on buildings designed by him. On a trip to Spain I was fortunate enough to visit Barcelona and see many of these buildings. The novel, if it ever gets published, will be titled (I hope) The Twisted Towers. Again, the description of the towers in my novel doesn’t actually match Gaudi’s towers, but nevertheless they formed the inspiration for them. And the third is that I’ve always been fascinated by accounts, true or fictional, of underground cities, and a photo in the local paper crystallized that fascination for me, and led me to put an underground complex into the novel.
Finally, the idea for Mistress of the Wind came from a photo I cut out of a magazine. I often hunt for and save photos that intrigue me and can furnish story ideas. I don’t remember what article this particular photo was illustrating, and I can no longer find the picture, though I thought I’d kept it. But I recall it vividly. It was the picture of a young woman holding on to a tree to keep from being blown away by a strong wind, her full skirt billowing behind her like a sail and her hair streaming about her face.
Ideas come from anywhere and may provide a large portion of a novel’s plot or may simply offer a small seed from which, if nourished, a novel may gradually grow. Ideas for a novel may come from several disparate sources that jell into a single plot or, as in the case of the dream that gave me the plot for Seduction of the Scepter, may have a single source so compelling that an entire novel can be built from it. The important thing is to value everything, no matter how small, that makes you think, Hmm, that might make a good story. That sort of idea comes all the time to writers. We don’t have to hunt for ideas; they find us. I remember when, several years ago, my phone rang, and when I answered it, a male voice said, "I found a crystal and made a hand." It took me several seconds to realize that the speaker was the watch repairman to whom I’d taken my very old watch in despair because foolishly I’d worn it while working in the yard, and I’d lost the crystal and the minute hand. But in those several seconds I thought, What a great line to put into a fantasy novel. I haven’t as yet used it, but I haven’t forgotten it, and it yet may appear in a novel.
So from major news events to small, everyday occurences, idea sources are everywhere. I grab them wherever I find them.
July 26, 2013
I'm a Guest Blogger
I've been dilatory about adding blogs here and will try to do better in the coming weeks. Time seems to get away from me when I'm writing a new novel. I'll say more about that in a coming blog.
For today I want to say that I am a guest blogger on author Toni V. Sweeney's blog. Starting today, Toni will be featuring my blog for a week. Please check it out:
http://www.tonivsweeney.com/tvsweeney...
For today I want to say that I am a guest blogger on author Toni V. Sweeney's blog. Starting today, Toni will be featuring my blog for a week. Please check it out:
http://www.tonivsweeney.com/tvsweeney...
April 29, 2013
Reviews of Mistress of the Wind
I want to share a couple of reviews my fantasy novel Mistress of the Wind has received. I hope other readers will review the novel.
Mistress of the Wind, author E. Rose Sabin’s latest entry into the traditional fantasy genre, is a can’t-put-down tale of goodness versus evil, finding true love, and discovering one’s true heritage. Sabin’s trademark lush vocabulary, intriguing characters, strong plot, and lyrical prose transport readers to a mysterious world which will compel them to guess what could possibly happen next.
As the story begins, Kyla Cren, a windspeaker, is on a mission to help the people of her village. True to her calling, she communicates with the wind, by speech and song, and reports to the villagers the dangers that the wind foresees, such as natural calamities--and the presence of mindstealers, evil creatures who steal a victim’s mind, leaving the victim helpless. A very motivated Kyla seeks vengeance against them because they murdered her parents, leaving her as a child to fend for herself. Without informing the villagers of a plot she overhears, that the mindstealers intend to ambush travelers, she relentlessly hunts down these cruel beings, killing one and maiming the other. This unleashes a series of challenges that threatens to overwhelm Kyla and break her spirit. Readers will cheer her every step of the way as she struggles to overcome evil in all its many guises.
Diane Sawyer, author of The Treasures of Montauk Cove and The Cinderella Murders.
Action, surprises, and memorable characters -- Mistress of the Wind has everything that makes for an excellent read! Windspeaker Kyla is determined to fulfill her duties and to avenge her parents. Every righteous step she takes along the way exposes her to unimagined danger. Yet, she goes forward, driven by her stubborn need to serve others honorably. In this novel, Sabin has created another view of her fascinating world, Arucadi. The pace is marvelous. You won't want to miss this story. Read it if you're already a fan. Read it if you aren't, yet -- I'm betting you'll become one.
J. Anne Levesque
Mistress of the Wind, author E. Rose Sabin’s latest entry into the traditional fantasy genre, is a can’t-put-down tale of goodness versus evil, finding true love, and discovering one’s true heritage. Sabin’s trademark lush vocabulary, intriguing characters, strong plot, and lyrical prose transport readers to a mysterious world which will compel them to guess what could possibly happen next.
As the story begins, Kyla Cren, a windspeaker, is on a mission to help the people of her village. True to her calling, she communicates with the wind, by speech and song, and reports to the villagers the dangers that the wind foresees, such as natural calamities--and the presence of mindstealers, evil creatures who steal a victim’s mind, leaving the victim helpless. A very motivated Kyla seeks vengeance against them because they murdered her parents, leaving her as a child to fend for herself. Without informing the villagers of a plot she overhears, that the mindstealers intend to ambush travelers, she relentlessly hunts down these cruel beings, killing one and maiming the other. This unleashes a series of challenges that threatens to overwhelm Kyla and break her spirit. Readers will cheer her every step of the way as she struggles to overcome evil in all its many guises.
Diane Sawyer, author of The Treasures of Montauk Cove and The Cinderella Murders.
Action, surprises, and memorable characters -- Mistress of the Wind has everything that makes for an excellent read! Windspeaker Kyla is determined to fulfill her duties and to avenge her parents. Every righteous step she takes along the way exposes her to unimagined danger. Yet, she goes forward, driven by her stubborn need to serve others honorably. In this novel, Sabin has created another view of her fascinating world, Arucadi. The pace is marvelous. You won't want to miss this story. Read it if you're already a fan. Read it if you aren't, yet -- I'm betting you'll become one.
J. Anne Levesque
April 21, 2013
Read my Guest Blog
I am a guest blogger on the WritingWenches blog. Included on that blog is an excerpt from Mistress of the Wind. I hope you'll visit the blog and read the excerpt. Here's the link (You may have to copy and paste it into your browser.):
http://writingwenches.blogspot.com/20...
http://writingwenches.blogspot.com/20...
December 4, 2012
Reviews of Seduction of the Scepter
In this busy holiday season I haven't had time to do much blogging. I thought it might be a good time to post reviews of Seduction of the Scepter by other writers and remind readers that books make good Christmas gifts. Here are four reviews:
Beware! Sabin's book might well start off as charming--but only until it slyly grabs you by the throat, never to let go. SEDUCTION OF THE SCEPTER is a gripping story of subtlety and grace, written with a deft hand.
--Doranna Durgin, author of Dun Lady's Jess/The Changespell Saga
A beautifully written story of love and loss, duty and sacrifice, the devolution of innocence and the seduction of power, The Seduction of the Scepter will take you on a page-turning ride you will never forget!
--Chris A. Jackson, award-winning author of the Scimitar Seas novels
E. Rose Sabin takes us on a remarkable journey in her novel, Seduction of the Scepter. With uncommon mastery, Sabin tells a timeless story that is ensconced in a fantasy world so filled with vibrant characters that the reader is held captive until the very last page. This is not Sabin's first jaunt into the publishing arena, and I trust it will be far from her last!
--Deborah LeBlanc--author of Water Witch
Can a story told in journal format be as enthralling and interesting as one told as a proper novel? To that question, I can give a resounding "Yes!" Seduced by the Scepteris refreshingly original. I became immediately enchanted by the adventures of Lara, a young 15th century noblewoman who eventually becomes mistress of a kingdom. I enjoy stories about people with extra-sensory talents, so when it's revealed that Lara has a limited telepathic ability, I was all the more delighted.
With attention to character development and rich detail of setting and customs, Sabin brings it alive. Every page has something you won't want to miss, with numerous surprises along the way. Yet the author's deft touch avoids the mire of overt sentimentality often found in romance novels. I give it an enthusiastic five out of five stars. Buy it, read it, love it!
--Marge Simon, Bram Stoker winning author of VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet
In Seduction of the Scepter, Sabin has found the perfect blend of lush vocabulary, lyrical style, and nimble writing. Taking full advantage of that trio, she tells a large-scale story of power and royal intrigue but manages to reveal it intimately through the pages of a journal. The journalist, the young noblewoman Lara Basmajinik, announces in the preface to her journal, "I know that what I've done I've done for love, but was it love of my realm? Of my children? My husband? Or love for the man I sent to death?" Let the reader beware. Seduction of the Scepter is much more than a woman's thoughts and questions about love. Universal themes of honor, sacrifice, goodness, and evil are ever-present as the characters come to grips with their decisions and their destiny.
--Diane Sawyer, author of The Treasures of Montauk Cove
And, finally, a reminder that my newest book, Mistress of the Wind, is available now for the Kindle, and the paperback edition will be available very soon, I hope in time for Christmas.
Beware! Sabin's book might well start off as charming--but only until it slyly grabs you by the throat, never to let go. SEDUCTION OF THE SCEPTER is a gripping story of subtlety and grace, written with a deft hand.
--Doranna Durgin, author of Dun Lady's Jess/The Changespell Saga
A beautifully written story of love and loss, duty and sacrifice, the devolution of innocence and the seduction of power, The Seduction of the Scepter will take you on a page-turning ride you will never forget!
--Chris A. Jackson, award-winning author of the Scimitar Seas novels
E. Rose Sabin takes us on a remarkable journey in her novel, Seduction of the Scepter. With uncommon mastery, Sabin tells a timeless story that is ensconced in a fantasy world so filled with vibrant characters that the reader is held captive until the very last page. This is not Sabin's first jaunt into the publishing arena, and I trust it will be far from her last!
--Deborah LeBlanc--author of Water Witch
Can a story told in journal format be as enthralling and interesting as one told as a proper novel? To that question, I can give a resounding "Yes!" Seduced by the Scepteris refreshingly original. I became immediately enchanted by the adventures of Lara, a young 15th century noblewoman who eventually becomes mistress of a kingdom. I enjoy stories about people with extra-sensory talents, so when it's revealed that Lara has a limited telepathic ability, I was all the more delighted.
With attention to character development and rich detail of setting and customs, Sabin brings it alive. Every page has something you won't want to miss, with numerous surprises along the way. Yet the author's deft touch avoids the mire of overt sentimentality often found in romance novels. I give it an enthusiastic five out of five stars. Buy it, read it, love it!
--Marge Simon, Bram Stoker winning author of VECTORS: A Week in the Death of a Planet
In Seduction of the Scepter, Sabin has found the perfect blend of lush vocabulary, lyrical style, and nimble writing. Taking full advantage of that trio, she tells a large-scale story of power and royal intrigue but manages to reveal it intimately through the pages of a journal. The journalist, the young noblewoman Lara Basmajinik, announces in the preface to her journal, "I know that what I've done I've done for love, but was it love of my realm? Of my children? My husband? Or love for the man I sent to death?" Let the reader beware. Seduction of the Scepter is much more than a woman's thoughts and questions about love. Universal themes of honor, sacrifice, goodness, and evil are ever-present as the characters come to grips with their decisions and their destiny.
--Diane Sawyer, author of The Treasures of Montauk Cove
And, finally, a reminder that my newest book, Mistress of the Wind, is available now for the Kindle, and the paperback edition will be available very soon, I hope in time for Christmas.
November 16, 2012
Using personal experiences in my writing
I just returned from spending a week in Georgia meeting in person for the first time my half-sister, her son, and her two daughters. The occasion was her son’s wedding. My sister and I only learned of each other’s existence about five years ago. We’ve talked on the phone often since then but had never met in person, so my trip was emotionally intense, exciting and a bit scary. But I soon bonded with my sister, my nephew, and my two nieces. My sister and I had each been reared as only children and both of us had always wanted a sister. We found we shared a lot in common with regard to interests and attitudes. It was a great experience, and I’m sure it won’t take me another five years to make a return visit.
Several people on hearing me talk about the trip and the experience have commented that they are sure I’ll be writing about meeting my relatives for the first time, that the experience would be used in a novel or a true life account. Well, no, not exactly. I’m a very private person and have no desire to write a personal narrative. As for including the experience in a novel, yes and no.
I could, if I so chose, at some point in some novel put a character in the same situation I was in and have that character express the feelings and anticipation I experienced, describing my meeting my half-sister and my nieces and nephews exactly how it occurred, changing only the names and the setting. I could do that once but only once.
On the other hand, I can use facets of the experience over and over in very different situations with characters who are totally distinct from me and my relatives but who in response to different events feel similar emotions and/or reactions to those I experienced or witnessed my relatives and others experiencing. In this way I can use that life experience and others I have had through the years again and again, recreating in my characters genuine emotional reactions to events totally distinct from the events that produced such reactions in my life or in the life of someone close to me. What I write is in no way biographical except in the sense that all writing reflects the thought patterns and subconscious biases of the writer.
In writing fantasy or science fiction, the settings and the events may be totally foreign to the writer’s and the reader’s actual experience, but the emotions–the hopes and fears, anger and disappointment, joy and sorrow, triumph and despair–must be genuine and must be feelings, attitudes, and responses the reader can relate to. So the writer pours into her work the emotional content garnered from personal life experiences without recreating those actual experiences.
Everyone experiences momentous events and memorable times, and each person’s life experiences are unique. We can recreate them in our fiction exactly as we remember them, but it is better and wiser to recreate the effect they had on us and make that a part of very different fictional circumstances, in that way bringing those fictional circumstances alive for the reader.
Several people on hearing me talk about the trip and the experience have commented that they are sure I’ll be writing about meeting my relatives for the first time, that the experience would be used in a novel or a true life account. Well, no, not exactly. I’m a very private person and have no desire to write a personal narrative. As for including the experience in a novel, yes and no.
I could, if I so chose, at some point in some novel put a character in the same situation I was in and have that character express the feelings and anticipation I experienced, describing my meeting my half-sister and my nieces and nephews exactly how it occurred, changing only the names and the setting. I could do that once but only once.
On the other hand, I can use facets of the experience over and over in very different situations with characters who are totally distinct from me and my relatives but who in response to different events feel similar emotions and/or reactions to those I experienced or witnessed my relatives and others experiencing. In this way I can use that life experience and others I have had through the years again and again, recreating in my characters genuine emotional reactions to events totally distinct from the events that produced such reactions in my life or in the life of someone close to me. What I write is in no way biographical except in the sense that all writing reflects the thought patterns and subconscious biases of the writer.
In writing fantasy or science fiction, the settings and the events may be totally foreign to the writer’s and the reader’s actual experience, but the emotions–the hopes and fears, anger and disappointment, joy and sorrow, triumph and despair–must be genuine and must be feelings, attitudes, and responses the reader can relate to. So the writer pours into her work the emotional content garnered from personal life experiences without recreating those actual experiences.
Everyone experiences momentous events and memorable times, and each person’s life experiences are unique. We can recreate them in our fiction exactly as we remember them, but it is better and wiser to recreate the effect they had on us and make that a part of very different fictional circumstances, in that way bringing those fictional circumstances alive for the reader.
