Jamie Sheehan's Blog
March 25, 2024
Publication of HEARTS LIKE SILVER
Hearts Like Silver is officially out in the world!
-cue applause-
To celebrate the release, my 30th birthday, and my five-year wedding anniversary, I’m heading to the UK to explore (and possibly leave a few copies of my book in beautiful Scotland)!1
I haven’t travelled anywhere in a while, so I’m excited to embark on a new, castle-filled adventure with my husband ☺️ and I’ll try to take some pictures to share along the way!
If you’re interested in checking out my adult fantasy debut, here are the links:
Field SketchbookWestminster Abbey (where my MC Margaret visits the Chapel of Edward the Confessor) is one of my favourite locations in HEARTS LIKE SILVER. The abbey has so much history, and it’s absolutely beautiful, so I couldn’t help but paint a section of its ceiling for my sketchbook entry today (the crossing of the nave and transept).
And here’s the process for a painting I did of Margaret2 (warning: the audio may be initially shocking 😂):
The skulls were my favourite part, so I cut that section if you want to see it slowed down a bit:
And the painting (click for full quality):
An afterword of sorts:I had the idea for Hearts Like Silver sometime in 2016-17. Back then, it was an entirely different story involving Choctaw mythology and a brand of whitecapes as inhuman as the redcapes (inspired by wolves and hyenas, respectively). It was meant to be set in a fictional world that had nothing to do with Scotland, but the idea sunk back down to earth when I started reading about the Scottish border clans, Hermitage Castle, Robin Redcap, and the Soules family; it became a different thing entirely, with completely new characters set in the real world—the genre changed from pure fantasy to historical fantasy, or alternate history in the vein of speculative fiction.
After a year and a half of writing Hearts Like Silver, I spent several months editing and several more getting it ready to publish. Now that it’s out of my hands and I have almost nothing left to do—except forward a copy to the Library of Congress—I have to admit I’m relieved to be done with the whole publishing process (I’ve discovered I enjoy writing far more than publishing).
Because of the serious, dark tone of this novel, it was hard for me to write at times, but there were so many aspects of the story/scenes I loved—the Burgundy storyline, the redcape history, and the scenes in Spain to name a few. While I’m happy to be moving into other worlds and onto other stories, I do have an idea for a sequel that would follow both Ermengardes (Elliot and Durward), William II Soulis, Edward of Caernarfon, and a sorceress I briefly reference in HLS.
(Fun fact not stated in the novel: that sorceress was Alice de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln and Salisbury. She’s mentioned in Chapter Twenty-Three as a girl who married one of King Edward I’s nephews; that nephew also isn’t named in the book, but he’s Thomas, the second Earl of Lancaster. I thought it would have been too confusing to add their names, what with Alice Elliot and Thomas Durward being minor characters, but they played important roles in the life of Ermengarde Durward, who inadvertently saved Margaret’s life through her influence over William I Soulis, her husband—in my fictional world, not reality.)
In case you want them for reference, I’m also sharing the maps and family trees I drew for Hearts Like Silver here:
I hope you love Hearts Like Silver if you decide to read it!
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1Leaving next month!
2If you slow it down, you can tell I clipped the antlers off Book Cover Margaret and painted over them to save time 🤗
January 30, 2024
Cover Reveal!
Hearts Like Silver is nearing publication! There’s still a lot to do, but I’m hoping to release it on March 24!
(I’ll send out one more email once I have preorder/purchase links, but I promise not to spam your inbox with release day news.)
Now for the reveal!
13th-14th Century, Kingdom of Scotland
Margaret, the last heir to the Scottish throne, is on her way to England when she’s betrayed by relations who seek her crown. She’s dragged to a dark border castle inhabited by a clan of redcapes—savage creatures who soak their capes in blood to survive—and becomes one of them. Unable to live among humans, her hope of becoming Queen of Scots flickers and dies.
When Margaret meets a friend of her late mother—a Scottish laird with the gift of prophecy—her hope is rekindled. He helps recover some of her stolen memories, and she discovers she’s a sorceress with the ability to use human hearts to bind objects or memories. With her newly awakened magic, she can free herself from her cape, recover the throne her mother left for her, and reclaim the life she was meant to have. But taking hearts is an addictive trade; Margaret’s newfound fixation soon makes her question the true meaning of freedom, and she is forced to choose between the throne and her humanity.
5th Century, Kingdom of the Burgundians
Gudrun, Margaret’s ancestor, is a Burgundian princess whose mother, Grimhild, gets her addicted to heart-taking. She kills and regrets, and her mother makes her forget—it’s a cycle Gudrun can't escape, until she meets a man with a pure heart who brings light to her dark world. He gives her hope that she can overcome her sinister desires, escape her mother, and redeem her soul—but that hope is snuffed out when she wakes to find him murdered.
Gudrun devotes her life to resurrecting her lover, but to bring him back, she needs to cut out the heart of his murderer, whom she believes is Grimhild. With splintered memories and a tortured heart, Gudrun hunts her mother for the sake of her one true love… and her own redemption.
Let me know what you think, and thank you for reading!
(Also, if you click the cover you can see it in better quality.)
January 4, 2024
Writing Slowly
Jamie’s DeskAs I said in my last newsletter, I’m an extremely slow writer—a fast typer, but a slow drafter. I used to envy people who could write thousands of words a day, whereas I routinely write around five hundred. It took me a long time to let go of the idea that fast writing is something to envy; that is, to realize that no one speed or way of writing is better than the other.
I always knew I shouldn’t compare my writing (and publishing) speed to people who were quicker than I was—or to anyone, really—but I couldn’t truly stop comparing and envying that quickness until I reached a point in my life where I felt happy and able to accept where I was. When I let go of the idea that I needed to be successful in the eyes of the world or expectant friends and family members, that I needed to be anything other than what I was, or that writing needed to be all-consuming, working on my book became smooth and fun again—I was able to remember what it felt like to write just to write like I did when I first started, and I felt less guilty spending time away from my computer.
Now, I see writing slowly as a positive. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a fast writer, but I’ve accepted that being slow is just how I am: my brain needs time to rest and work through story problems in order to write the best stories that I can, and I only write in the mornings, so it’s not feasible to expect thousands of drafted words in addition to research, outlining, and all of the things that go into writing a novel. As helpful as word-count-tracking can be, placing too much weight on numbers can easily turn it into a burden.
Not every writing session has to yield thousands of words—the words will find their way onto the page in their own time, without being forced or rushed, and the book will end up in the right place at the right time, and find its way into the right hands.
If you’re an author or a writer, I hope you can let go of expectations and find joy in the process of writing. ♥️
In writing news, I finished the first draft of Book II in my Fractalists series. It ended up being 117,287 words, and I’m planning for Book III to be even longer (I’m hoping for around 130k) but I probably won’t be starting that one until the end of the year.
After finishing BII, I was torn between two different project ideas (I’m still going to write those eventually!), but I ended up getting sucked into a story that I started in the autumn of 2020–think Pretty Little Liars meets Bad Summer People inspired by Wuthering Heights. It’s adult fiction despite the PLL mention, and I’m expecting it to be a lot shorter than my historical fantasy books—maybe 70k? But novels have a way of carrying on, so we’ll see.
I will share the title for this one though! Unless something drastic changes in the story, its title will be Vicarious Devastation. I can’t wait to share more about it in the future!
Field SketchbookMy Fractalists series takes place in a fantasy world made up of four countries. Each of those countries represents a season and is based on a real-world culture/people—Book I was based on the Norsemen and Book II is based on the Ancient Greeks. So I wanted to feature a Greek artifact in this newsletter: the fibula, which was used to pin cloaks or other types of clothing, usually at the shoulder. Fibulae feature often in Book II as each polis has distinctly decorated cloak pins.
Fibulae were used throughout the ancient world, and there are many different types and styles of decoration, but the Thessalian one I’ve drawn here dates back to the 8th century and is on display at the Met.
I’m in favour of replacing modern safety pins with elaborate fibulae, who’s with me?
Returning HomeWhat I’m reading: I just finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and started reading Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. I’m only a few pages in, but it isn’t what I expected—in a good way—and I’m loving the atmosphere.
Next, I plan to read either Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh or The Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos—I absolutely loved the first three books in The Mirror Visitor Quartet and I’m excited about reading the last one, but I also keep putting it off because I don’t want it to end (I frequently leave the final episodes of shows unwatched for that reason 🥲).
What I’m watching: Dr. Cha, Castaway Diva, Singles Inferno (no spoilers, I’m not caught up—but I’m so invested), Unforgotten, The Escape Artist, When Calls the Heart, and The Great British Bake Off (Collection 11). Oh, and I recently watched Business Proposal for the second time (it was so good I had to make my husband watch it with me 😂).
What I’m listening to: When I’m not listening to project-specific playlists while writing, I usually put on indie folk music, soft jazz, Enya, or this playlist (it’s one of my favourites to write to):
Behind the Scenes of ACoRWhen I’m writing, I always have a notes/outlining document open next to my draft. They’re usually Word documents riddled with errors, incorrect grammar, ridiculous comments I’ve left for my future self, and all sorts of random facts/odds and ends, and they usually wind up being incredibly long (the one for Hearts Like Silver was 55917 words—over half as long as the actual book). But the one for A Conspiracy of Ravens was a super short Notepad note (yay, short stories!), so I thought I’d share it for those who want to have a look into how I plotted ACoR:
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September 6, 2023
We've arrived at the dig site!
“The beginning is always today.”
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
First and foremostI would like to thank you for your support! I’m grateful to have the opportunity to begin or cultivate our friendships, and I can’t wait to see our small community grow.
The Ink-Dipped Trowel will be a quarterly publication, which means I plan to write 3-4 newsletters a year (plus short entries when I
have exciting news or bonus content to share).
I’m thrilled to be writing my first newsletter and to have the chance to connect with you!
Jamie’s DeskMy historical fantasy novel, Hearts Like Silver, has been professionally edited and is now being proofread. I’m so excited to be releasing it next year—I haven’t set a date yet, but I’m hoping for January. (The next step in getting it published is crafting a cover… I’ve done a few sketches, but I’ve yet to decide on the look and it could take weeks to paint.) You can see the current blurb for HLS on my website in the “Books” tab, although it hasn’t been edited yet so it may change before publication.
This past month, my time has gone toward editing, formatting and making the cover for A Conspiracy of Ravens, drafting the second book in an anthology series (separate from HLS), and lamenting the end of summer, a season I used to dread but have recently fallen in love with. (That being said, I’m still stoked for autumn! 🍂☕️)1
A weather aside: when I got married, I moved to the desert where my husband lived and the summers there were volatile—it was scorching outside and freezing inside (everyone in the desert had great air conditioning!). But I have a new outlook on summer now that I’ve moved back to my hometown; the temperatures here are far milder, the days are long, the farmer’s market’s in session, and it’s nice seeing everyone in their yards/out and about on my walk-jogs (I run in spurts, which makes me feel active without killing me).
Back to the subject of writing, I’m over seventy-thousand words into my Greek-inspired novel (that second book I brought up), but I’ve decided to draft the final book before releasing the first one. So that series won’t see the light of day for at least three years—partly because I want Book Three to be the size of two books, and partly because I might take a break before writing it to draft a different project.
I have a massive, running list of story ideas—too many to see through even if I had ten lifetimes to write—but there’s one that won’t stop badgering me… although I want to put it off because it’s another historical fiction novel, and I know that will take me at least a year and half (and possibly three off my life) to write. It’s crazy how much research goes into writing historically accurate, or as accurate as possible, books. And it doesn’t help that my brain requires breaks between drafting, usually month-long breaks, to stitch together loose plot threads and pick up lost puzzle pieces, otherwise it blocks me from making progress altogether.
But I’ll keep you updated on what story I pick up next after I finish drafting Book Two, which will probably take a few months. I’m an extremely slow writer, but I’ve learned to embrace the slowness and bring joy back into the writing process—maybe I’ll talk about that next time! ☺️
Field SketchbookThis section of the newsletter will include a quick sketch of something related to archeology/anthropology and usually a brief examination of the subject.
I thought it would be fun if the first entry centred on a character in my upcoming novel—Robert the Bruce, Scottish warrior and King of Scots. This may look like a rock, but it’s meant to be his heart, now black, shrivelled, and prunelike.
The Bruce intended to go on a crusade to the Holy Land but was unable to due to health issues. So he entrusted Sir James Douglas, the Black Douglas, to carry his heart to the Holy Land after his death. His heart was sawn from his chest, placed in a silver casket, and worn around Douglas’s neck on a chain. Unfortunately, Douglas was felled in Teba. Bruce’s heart was brought back to Scotland and buried beside the Abbey of Melrose, exhumed in 1921, and reburied at Melrose in 1998.
Of course, it’s impossible to say for certain that the exhumed heart belonged to Robert the Bruce, but it’s assumed to be his, for it was the only heart on record to have been buried there.
Here’s an extra painting I did of Robert the Bruce from Braveheart—an historically inaccurate but still great movie.
Click this link if you’d like to learn more or see the final resting place of Robert the Bruce’s heart.
Returning HomeWhat I’m reading: The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith. I got it as a Christmas gift a few years ago and thought I’d give it a chance. I’m really enjoying the writing style, the vineyard magic system, the revenge plot, and what I believe might be a second chance romance—but I’m only seventy pages in, so we’ll see!
What I’m watching: I’m currently forcing my husband to watch my favourite kdrama with me, Crash Landing on You. If you haven’t seen it, it’s amazing—hilarious, heartfelt, action-packed, cheesy, everything. I love it.
We’re also watching the PBS Masterpiece version of All Creatures Great and Small. I could recommend so many great Masterpiece shows… I guess I might as well list some of them for anyone looking for top-tier TV! Some of my favourites are Sherlock, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Around the World in Eighty Days, Vienna Blood, Sanditon, The Durrells in Corfu, The Miniaturist, and Downton Abbey. Oh, and Magpie Murders is a fun one for writers.
I could list my favourite kdramas too (I just started watching King the Land), but that would take up half the newsletter. This section will be far shorter in the future.
What I’m listening to: I recently discovered this podcast, In Writing with Hattie Crisell, and it’s great—Hattie’s an excellent interviewer. I listened to the Barbara Trapido episode and now I’m on to George Saunders, which is fantastic so far (I especially like that he talks about how facing resistance in writing is a good thing, how your subconscious is working on your story even when you’re not actively thinking about it, and the idea of establishing an author lineage—it’s cool to think about authors you look up to being a part of your literary ancestry).
Complimentary Short StoryWhen you subscribed, you should have been sent the link to my short story, A Conspiracy of Ravens. Its inspiration came from Louisa Alcott’s Little Women and Jane Austen’s Emma (and maybe, a little bit, Disney’s Aladdin), and it’s meant to be a fairytale with a title that suggests something ominous…
“Marry in the month of May, you will surely rue the day.”
Anyonymous
This old superstition, a line from a longer poem, may have its origins in ancient Rome and is possibly connected to the Maytime festival of Lemuria, in which spirits or spectres called lemures were exorcised from homes. The original title for A Conspiracy of Ravens was Marry in May.
A song for A Conspiracy of Ravens :
I would love to hear what you thought of ACoR if you’re open to sharing. Feel free to comment below, or you can email me at jamiesheehan@substack.com if you don’t feel comfortable commenting!2
You’re also welcome to check out my small Pinterest board for the short story here3, and you might notice I based Lord Cormac’s estate house on Russborough House in County Wicklow in east Ireland—a symmetrical, Roman-inspired building with an intimidating stone facade and an extravagant interior.
(This photo is not of Russborough House)
Thanks for reading The Ink-Dipped Trowel! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
1I’ve noticed I use parentheses all the time to add quick notes but, just so you know, I’ve yet to use them in my books (I won’t limit myself by saying I never will, but I can’t see it happening)—oh look, more parentheses.
2Please note: only subscribers’ emails will go through to this email address.
3The board for Hearts Like Silver is also public on my Pinterest!
March 5, 2023
Coming soon…
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