The next novel in the storytelling universe of the Fireheart Series is here! ZANITA by B.J. Priester tells the story of how Vespa’s parents, Daemyn Wynde and Utara Fireheart, first met during another major crisis on Prime over two decades before the events of WYNDE. It’s a tale that was germinating throughout the development of […]
I recently celebrated the four-year anniversary of FANgirl. For much of that time, we’ve highlighted Strong Female Heroines and the Heroine’s Journey as major themes in the blog’s discussions about storytelling and writing. Two weekends ago at GeekGirlCon 2014, I participated on a panel about the Heroine’s Journey; the room was filled to capacity. Now […]
Originally posted at Fictional State of Mind When Kai posted her piece Publishers, Flaunt Your Diversity, it hit on a topic that is near and dear to my heart as a storyteller. I have talked about diversity in storytelling over at my blog FANgirl for several years now. While my main focus for FANgirl is […]
Writers often talk about “the voices in my head” as part of the creative process. I too am afflicted with characters who talk to me, often in the form of dialogue. Two particularly troublesome characters, Utara Fireheart and Gemini Reed, each seemed to enjoy giving me a piece of her mind about where their respective […]
As I discussed over at FANgirl Blog, I shared another excerpt from Wynde with my friends at the Lomin Ale Cantina as part of our May Mayhem Fan Fun celebrating Wraith Squadron from the Star Wars Expanded Universe in anticipation of the release of X-Wing: Mercy Kill in August. Be sure to check out the […]
In my first entry to Shaping a Heroine, a series of blogs discussing the design of my novel’s heroine, Vespa Wynde, I talked about her father. Daemyn Wynde had always been easily identifiable in my mind as an amalgamation of Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. When I tried to identify […]
I’m not talking money, just the word count on my novel Wynde. I actually zoomed past it once my words-per-week kicked into what I’d term a more productive gear. Not that my normal pace is unproductive, but I’m capable of churning out 50,000 words of fiction in a month when the muse deigns to hand […]
The more I write, the more I’ve come to the determination that writers really do write what they know, and if you really want to know who you are, it’s as simple as looking back at what you’ve written. Ultimately that requires being critical of your flaws and weaknesses. And it’s true, self-awareness can be […]
As some of you may know by now, and others may not, I have been working on my first novel for the past few months. It will be a space opera set in a universe of my imagination’s design. The focus will be on the characters and developing their arcs much more than the world-building, […]
