Welcome to my new blog

Yay! I finally got around to starting a new blog. In time, I will transfer my old blogs to this site. Until then, you'll have to make do with my current thoughts.

The last year has been an amazing year. I won one RWA contest and finaled in many, many more. I reckon about ten RWA contest. I had one request for a partial, but I didn't act on it. Why? Although my book was finished, it wasn't "finished." I used the contests to hone my opening chapters and to identify potential weaknesses that might affect later chapters. If I had thought for a minute that I would place, let alone win or garner any interest, I would have had a different strategy.

I may have missed an opportunity by not acting on the request, but I think the extra time to tinker has been worth it.

So, what is my new book about?

It's called DIVIDE AND CONQUER, an urban fantasy of 106,000 words.

Two women, a magic-wielding warrior and a self-confessed noob from Seattle, are prophesied to stop a tyrant's grab for power. When they fail, their young friendship is put to the test. Striking an unlikely alliance with two men of dubious loyalties - and killer smiles - they attempt to reclaim Earth's history, and their first quest is to rebuild their trust.

Before writing it, I knew I wanted to achieve three things.

First, I wanted it to be about two women, linked by a common fate and being of equal importance in terms of the storyline. That meant alternating points of view, written in the first person. Quite a challenge, as you can imagine.

Next, I wanted a story where, halfway through the book, our heroines fail to fulfil the prophecy. The book starts with the not unfamiliar premise of throwing a mundane-world woman into a whirlwind world of wizardry, all because of a prophecy. Halfway through, they fail in their mission, and the world around them changes. I found, somewhat unexpectedly, that this change acts as an equalizer, with both women having to become accustomed to a new environment.

Finally, I wanted this to be the best story it could be. That involved creating a dark moment that would overshadow their failure and the subsequent "downer" in their mood.

I'm happy with the result, and happy the book is now finished. I hope that when you get to read it, you'll be, too.