Big News to Share!

So, a while back I posted about The Soul of Arial series that I've been writing/mulling over.  And I mentioned that I was putting it on the back burner until I could decide for certain what I wanted to do with it.  Well, I've decided....

Prophecy Revealed (The Soul of Arial #1) is in the process of being edited and will (hopefully) be published within the next 6-8 weeks!!!

This is a major milestone for me as it takes me out of the realm of 'tweens (The L & L Mysteries) and young adult + (Galactic Dynasty) and puts me full force into the adult arena.  And since this will be my debut for adult readers, I really want to make sure I've got everything nicely massaged so that when readers pick this book up, they know right away it's meant for mature readers and won't want to put it back down until they've reached the end.  And when they reach the end, I want them to want to move on to the next book, even if it hasn't released yet!  Yeah, I want a lot. lol :)

Anyway, The Soul of Arial is a planned trilogy.  Whether any other books result after the three books are written, I have no idea.  It's possible, but it's not in the plans at this time.  This trilogy falls in the fantasy genre with elements of supernatural/paranormal woven in.  Everything is made up, so I can't actually say that there are any familiar supernatural/paranormal creatures (i.e. vampires, werewolves, angels, etc...not going to find them here) and even the realm is not anything that someone would be familiar with, per se.  It's a mash up of different ideas/theologies/myths/philosophies rolled into one big, complex realm to make it a unique and intriguing world to dive into and explore.

So, I'm very excited to share this with you and can't wait to share more as the publishing process progresses.  I hope to have a cover designed within the next couple of weeks and will share that here on the site as well as keep everyone up to date on things.  Plus, I still have other projects I'm working on as well and will post updates on those too.

Exciting, crazy, happenin' times here and it's awesome that I get to share that with all of you!  Now, it's off to do some more editing/massaging!  Have a great week!

New Release!

I'd like to take a moment and congratulate Jessica L. Padilla on her new release, Blood Origins (Black #1)!  This is a paranormal suspense for readers 16 and up.  You can read the first chapter on Cressen Books' website and find the purchase links for the book there as well.  Below is the cover and synopsis for this incredible debut:

Red pain, Red need, Red hunger... Nightmares filled with red, dripping with death. The lines between predator and prey have blurred, nightmares have become a reality and choices must be made. Adelin, half in each world, must choose between a lost mother, found, or a dad who's always been there... The black world, a world filled with darkness and death, or the human.... Will she choose humanity or will she let the darkness consume her? Blood has never been so red.

It's That Rainy Day Feeling

It's been a little dreary and rainy this morning and after waking up feeling stiff and tired, I've found that I have very little ambition today.  So, I guess it's a very good thing I managed to write up through Chapter 5 this past week in Book 2 of Galactic Dynasty (yeah, still haven't chosen a title).

On days like today, I want nothing more than to curl up and read a cozy mystery for hours on end.  I'm actually about a third of the way through one right now titled Never Buried by Edie Claire.  It's been interesting so far and a nice escape from the real world.  I actually discovered 'cozy mysteries' about a year or two ago and have enjoyed them so far.  They're perfect for when you want a mystery but you don't necessarily want all the deep dark drama and intensity of a James Patterson novel.  And they tend to be relatively short, between 200-250 pages, so it doesn't take too long to read one.

So, with the rainy, dreary day outside, it makes me want to snuggle under a blanket and read while I sip my hot soothing cup of coffee.  And with the season getting ready to shift into fall, it makes me want to read these cozy mysteries even more.  Which equates to me having downloaded several to my Kindle within the past day or so just to gear up for a cozy mystery reading binge.  Not that I didn't already have a collection on my Kindle that I haven't read yet...just that I had that sudden impulse to buy more.  Darn weather!

Anyway, to wrap up my rambling, I will attempt to get some work done today and then reward myself with a good curl up with the current book I'm reading.  And hope that this dreary morning dissolves into a more sunny and cheerful afternoon!

What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy dreary day?



The Writing Flow is Back!

Well, since my last rambling, I have managed to write the first draft for Chapter 3 of Book 2 in the Galactic Dynasty series.  I really need to come up with a name for this book soon so I can stop calling it Book 2. 

Anyway, after I ranted and raved that I had these other story ideas trying to take over in my head, I realized that they weren't developed enough for me to tackle writing them.  I still have things to mull over like what directions to take and how exactly I want to lay things out.  So, they are on the back burner, still brewing.

And because I finally came to that realization, it allowed me to put my focus back where it needed to be once more.  So, yesterday morning, a little over 3200 words escaped my fingertips to complete the first draft of Chapter 3.  And after getting feedback from my co-author and Muse, I will be making adjustments and adding some more to Chapter 3 today to help flesh it out a bit more!

I'm so excited to finally be able to continue this story as I am absolutely in love with this series we're writing!  Who knows?  Maybe someday we'll figure out a way to turn it into a sci-fi TV series or movie! lol  It could happen! :)

In a nutshell, that's what's been happening here in the writing cave the last couple of days.  I'll try to come up for air again soon and post another update.  Until then, Happy Reading or Writing or whatever else you enjoy doing!

Which Story Do I Write?

I imagine most authors stumble into this problem from time to time.  Story ideas are constantly developing inside our heads and some stick more than others.  But what happens when you have two or three really good ones that stick all at the same time?

I'm actually experiencing this at the moment and I think it is why my writing has come to a complete standstill.  I actually can't figure out which story is dominant enough in my head to write.  They're all clamoring for attention, but I can only work on one at a time.  So, instead of choosing and moving on, I'm actually stuck.

Part of me knows that I should just push the other ideas to the back burner and continue working on book two in the Galactic Dynasty series.  But another part of me wants to rebel and head a completely different direction with all new characters and storylines.  I've even gone so far as to make some preliminary notes so that if I do decide to tackle one of the new storylines, I'll have somewhere to begin.

But what I'm wondering is, am I actually procrastinating?  Do I not want to work on book two right now?  Or is there some other reason for this standstill?

I don't believe for one second that I've lost my love for writing.  No, this is more of an issue with me having too many storylines in my head and trying to figure out how to turn the noise down so I can concentrate on just one of them.  It doesn't even truly matter which one as long as I choose one and move on.

Perhaps this standstill is telling me that even though I have these ideas right now, none of them are subconsciously developed enough yet to take precedence.  So, maybe I should just leave them alone for a little while longer, let my subconscious mull them over some more, and while I'm waiting for one to really break through, continue working on book two since I actually do know where that one is going....for the most part!

Have any of you experienced this problem before? 

What did you do to resolve it so that you could move on with your writing?

 

Changes

Over the next week or so, you may see a lot of changes taking place here.  I have my own domain name now and am hosting it here on Blogger for the time being.  Any of you who have bookmarked me or are following me through RSS feeds will be redirected to the new URL.  But here it is if you'd like to refresh your bookmark or share with others: www.wendylohr.com.

I'll try not to disrupt things too much, but I would like to make a few changes to freshen the site up a bit.  So, I'll be playing around with templates and images and other things until I have the feel I'm looking for.  Please hang in there and I'll try not to take too long in this process!

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and a fun weekend!  And, if you're looking for anything interesting to read, head on over to my publisher's website...they have some pretty awesome books to check out! www.cressenbooks.com

Writing Different Perspectives

Who am I today?

This is a question that I tend to ask myself a lot but don't always have the answer for.  In reality, I know who I am every day.  But in fiction, I write from a lot of different characters' perspectives.  So, sometimes it's hard to know which character's head I'm in that day.

I just finished writing the second chapter of Book 2 in the Galactic Dynasty series.  These first several chapters are probably the hardest for me because they are not only from different characters' perspectives, but they are also written from the perspective of a completely different species.  In Starward, the Muse and I introduced a race called Metrusians and this particular race will be playing a big part in all the books to follow.  And that includes many perspectives from these Metrusians.

Sometimes it's very easy for me to slip into a character and write for hours from their perspective.  But, that character usually tends to be human.  With the Metrusians, however, I am finding it very difficult to write even a couple of pages as I feel I have to think differently.  This race is a very logical one and has been around for a lot longer than humans have.  So, their outlook on the world and the universe is going to be much different than a human's outlook.

I love the challenge, though.  And I truly think that the Metrusians are a fascinating species to develop and understand (from a writer's perspective).  At the same time, I sometimes find myself dreading to write because I know it's going to be such a challenge to really get inside the minds of these aliens.  But they have a story to tell, too, and I want to tell that story.  So, after dragging my feet the last few weeks, I finally managed to get back into their mindset and get chapter 2 finished.

Something tells me, though, that I will probably have this struggle for every chapter I have to write from this complex perspective.  In the end, with the efforts of my Muse and myself, the story will flow and more will be revealed.  In the meantime, I'll struggle to get the story down in the way that I hope the Metrusians in my head want to tell it.

So, I'm off to let the Muse know that I am finished with this latest chapter and ready for him to give his much needed and desired input into the storyline.  And then it will be on to chapter three!

Coming Up For A Breather!

Good morning all!  We made it past hump day and the weekend is almost upon us.  I just wanted to say 'hi' before I disappeared again.

Oh, and I wanted to share with you a little update on one of our authors at Cressen Books.  Her name is Jessica L. Padilla and she has a debut paranormal coming up.  The novel is Blood Origins (Black #1) and the release date is August 21.  That's right...just a few more weeks and you can get your hands on this awesome new book!  Below is the cover and synopsis:

Red pain, Red need, Red hunger...

Nightmares filled with red, dripping with death. The lines between predator and prey have blurred, nightmares have become a reality and choices must be made.

Adelin, half in each world, must choose between a lost mother, found, or a dad who's always been there... The black world, a world filled with darkness and death, or the human....

Will she choose humanity or will she let the darkness consume her?

Blood has never been so red.

Doesn't this sound amazing???  Be sure to mark your calendars for this debut release.  This series is going to be awesome!

So, I believe that is all my news for the moment.  I'm going to hop off here and get some writing done.  Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Reading!