Dreaming of Dragons
I’ve shared so much about our travels, our tiny mobile home, and this grand adventure, you may be wondering if I'm still writing. I am! The story I’m working on now starting swirling in my brain when I was working through edits for Dreamwalker over a year ago. Usually, my best ideas come to me when I’m smack in the middle of something else. I think this happens because the creative energy is flowing and my brain is racing with plot action and character development. New ideas form and nudge at me, looking for their time in the sun, so to speak.
On our last video upload for Author’s Buzz, Amy and I discussed how we know which story we should write next and if it’s enough of an idea for a book. That episode will be coming to YouTube this week. For now, here are the Cliff Notes…
1. The main conflict is intriguing.
My brain is constantly creating scenes. Sometimes they’re just random bits of action, but sometimes a scene feels like, if I fleshed it out, there’d be a bigger story. I know I’m on to something if the story arc continues to expand, and if the central conflict is big enough to build out into a book.
2. The characters are colorful and interesting.
We writers aren’t afraid of those voices in our heads! In fact, we count on them to keep talking to us. Sometimes a character is so compelling that I just know they’re going to feature in my book. The more I think about them, the more depth they reveal.
3. I can imagine how it will end.
I don’t have to know exactly how a story will end, but I do have to have enough to feel I can complete the arc in a satisfying manner. I don’t have to work out all the subplots, but I do need to figure out the main conflict, and the general direction I want to take to resolve it.
The book I’m working on now is a fantasy a la Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer Armentrout, and Elizabeth Hunter. If you’re familiar with these authors, you’ll know their world-building is fantastic and their characters compelling. Their stories all feature a heavy dose of romance too, which is right up my alley!
The first story I ever sold was a fantasy reworking of Penelope’s story from the Odyssey titled “Homecoming” and featured in the anthology Sirens, so fantasy has always been in my wheelhouse. When I discovered Sarah’s work a few years ago, I fell in love with the genre all over again and knew I wanted to write a full-length novel someday. Well, that day has come! I’m about half-way through drafting a manuscript tentatively titled The Dragon Dancer of Krysh, and yes it features a feathered dragon, a sassy heroine, and a hunky, angsty hero. While I’ll be publishing it under my given name Tabitha Lord, as it falls under the ‘speculative fiction’ umbrella, I think Maggie fans will enjoy it too. Stay tuned for more info!
IN OTHER NEWS:
I’ll be at Denver Fan Expo from June 30th - July 2nd signing books! Panel and presentation schedule TBD.
Finally, here’s a glimpse of our time in New Mexico from the last two weeks including Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell, the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens, Sandia Peak, and Petroglyph National Monument…
