Longing for something just out of reach is in the heart of most of us. And for many, the magic, the essence of freedom and fulfilment that the sea in all its forms seems to offer is like a siren song, irresistible, even if it is just to gaze out at the horizon and feel that inexplicable heart-yearning for something.
Tag: #amwriting
Mermaid Wars
Digital and made-to-order bookshelves are crammed to overflowing with fantasy stories set in a world of sea mythology. Mermaids are more popular then ever, and many authors have merged mermaid mythology with vampires, with sirens, with witches and with Gods and monsters. Not just YA but adult and erotica writers have pitched their best efforts into the fray. I feel like an idiot! And my series, even with its dark aspects and sorrow blended in with the growing love story, is so gentle when compared to the worlds many of my fellow writers have created.
Drawn to Water – Arthur Rackham’s Rhinemaidens
I have often felt as if a pool of ideas floats around the globe, waiting for us to draw on it, and every now and then lucky creatives will reach out with their souls or hearts or minds and pluck an idea from the flow
Beginnings – Mermaid fascination
I’ve carried my fascination for them into the deep waters and complex characters of Immersed.
Authorship and Business – facing the long haul. There is hope!
The thought of all the work ahead in finding a readership makes me quail. Makes my brain heavy. Makes me feel sad, and wish for the halcyon days of writing this book with my eye firmly set on the fantasy of a publisher taking me away from all of this. But I recently found a spark of light.
Do writers observe or experience? Being in the moment
I once read that writers are never truly present in their lives. That they are too busy storing up each moment as material. I thought it was a pretty cynical point of view
Light spilling through water
One of the best things about reading fiction is the incredible way words, together with our imaginations, become our experiences, become part of us, part of our DNA. It’s also one of the best things about being a fiction writer. Fiction, especially YA magical realism fiction, can take our hearts, minds and emotions beyond the boundaries of our regular existence.
People make the difference
They say it takes a village to raise a book. In my case, the village had a bunch of de Jongs in it: Lisette, Daphne, Maureen Crisp (de Jong by marriage) and Maureen’s daughter Rhia. By far the biggest impact on my story Find Me was from Lisette de Jong, bestie and editor extraordinaire. Lisette… Continue reading People make the difference
A look inside Find Me
It felt the most natural thing in the world now to reach out, to touch her fingertip gently to the silvery trail on his cheek. He caught his breath, his eyelids flickering.
All that new stuff I mentioned
Ultimately, should anyone want it, my advice to those new to all this like I was a couple of months ago, would be this: know why you’re participating.