Here’s an update on my writing and what’s coming soon.
The last few months I’ve been working on a novel that has turned into a prequel to my first release. It’s called Fairy Doctor Returns and features some familiar characters from the first book, as well as some new ones.
It’s an urban fantasy set in London, 25 years before the original trilogy.
Here’s a small excerpt from the beginning.
Fairy Doctor Returns: Chapter 1
After 150 years of living with the fae, Augustus Aldmire finally went insane. It happened in Dreamland. He got an urgent call that sent him racing all the way across Tír na nÓg, the mythical Fairyland of the young, only to find out the fae in question was merely “dying” of heartbreak. It wasn’t an emergency after all.
“Please, Sir-Doctor August. You must help me.” The youthful fae held out a green hand. He was naturally that color, with pale grass-green skin and darker green hair, stiff with wax, and narrow eyes like a cat’s. All the fae had this otherworldly quality no matter what their age, seven or seven hundred, and August had gotten used them over the years. The green youth laid on the flagstones inside Dreamland Circus near the old-time tunnel of love. “My heart. Oh my heart, it breaks in twain.”
August snapped. “In twain. In twain. Does anyone speak like that? It’s the twenty-first century. No one speaks like that in the modern era. In twain. By my heart. No one.”
“Err. Calm down. Sir, are you alright? I do feel quite ill and faint — my heart flutters painfully — so I may not be the best judge, but you seem upset. Your nostrils are flaring in a very agitated way, like a cow.”
August considered calming down and changed his mind. He really snapped. A switch flipped in his head and he’d had enough of fairy doctoring. They didn’t need him. He shouldn’t be here. Enough was enough. He’d quit. But August knew the fae quite well after his long sojourn here, and they weren’t going to just let him leave.
The fae had been drinking an orange fizzy freezy drink while he waited for the doctor. August grabbed it and popped the plastic lid off.
The youth cringed and flung his hands over his head. “Don’t splat me.”
August laughed and proceeded to dump the drink on his own head. The orange ice ran off his forehead and dripped off his glasses and nose. He twitched as the ice slithered down his collar and back. He laughed again and again.
The fae on the ground, and the others spying on the scene from nearby, started to back away.
“What’s happened to the Doctor? Why is he laughing, Mummy?” A fae youth tugged at her mother’s hand.
“I don’t know mine-darling, I hope it’s not contagious.”
Changling Fate, coming soon
Speaking of excerpts.
I’m in an anthology called Emerging Writer’s. It has the first chapter of a story I hope to release called Changeling Fate. It’s a YA contemporary fantasy set in Montana and features more fantastical faerie creatures and a young mage-in-training named Stacie Hunter.
Stacie was kidnapped by the faeries of the Green Glen as a baby, but rescued by her father. Now she lives a mostly ordinary life, but the faerie world just won’t leave her alone. The Faerie Queen wants her back, and saying no just isn’t going to work.
“She used magic to protect herself, but what about the other people? The people without magic sight who cannot see the creatures. Who protected them?”
Emerging Writer’s : An Anthology of Fiction*
*If you purchase the book through this link, I’ll get a commission.
It’s available starting today.
My experience with Z-Publishing House
I received an email out of nowhere from a Z-Publishing house recruiter. They found my writing though a previous blog and schoolwork. They asked if I was interested in submitting to an upcoming anthology. It was a very different experience from querying agents and editors where I would ask them to consider my work. This time the first contact came from the Publishers. I was curious. But also caution. I did some research but ultimately, I decided what was the harm. I would send them a sample of my work. I still retained full copyright, as it should be. I wasn’t expecting any money from them (and in fact I haven’t received anything.) Nor did I promote the book much. At the most it would put my name out in the world inside a published book that I did not make myself.
Working with Z-Publishing also gave me a chance to understand the back and forth between the publishing and the writer. I concentrated all my efforts on my writing. I sent them two sample chapters and they accepted one of them. It was my understanding they were focusing on writers of the northwest, but I think it later became a more generic sampling for all over. A pity. Most of the authors in my volume are in similar situations to myself, unpublished, with creative writing degrees or self-publishing.
After receiving an acceptance letter from Z-Publishing, they sent a proof of the book so I could review my section before publication. I was able to make small grammatical changes, but nothing major. Then I received a notice about the publish date, and how I could setup an account to become an affiliate, which I did, but it never came to anything. I never pushed the book at my friends or family. I just made this small announcement on this website. So, in the end what harm did it cause? Nothing. Did I gain from the publication? Not money and very little exposure. When I received a notice that I could submit for another anthology, I declined. I preferred to concentrate my efforts on my work, rather than chasing after an anthology.
updated July 2021 with more details on the Emerging Writer’s Anthology