Stay tuned – Interview will be posted 14 Aug 2022!
Join me here on Sunday for a fun and inspiring Q&A with Indie Swords & Sorcery Fantasy author from Down Under,Douglas W. T. Smith.
I plan to feature more of my writer and creator friends here on a regular basis. We’re all going through the myriad of stages to improve our writing, market our books and grow our reading community. This will be a place to glean tips and inspiration through it all.
Since I’ve been reading, watching and writing stories in the fantasy genre, I’ve enjoyed a common theme. No politics. Sure, there are good versus evil forces trying to whack each other into oblivion. Even The Umbrella Acadamy now has the Sparrow Acadamy to battle for their place in the world, as if going back in time and saving it wasn’t enough. But there’s an honesty to good versus evil in our entertainment that our current real world lacks, like the stout-hearted Hobbit facing the fiery maw of Mount Doom in the land Mordor. I kind of hope it won’t take us thousands of years to find our Frodo.
It used to be the other way around.
I used to think politics were reasonable. You had two sides of an issue. Your representatives debated the two sides using logic, conviction and maybe even passion. Granted some issues would be controversial and the debates would get heated, but reason would prevail in the end. You could feel good about living in a world like that, put entertainment and it’s battles in their place, freely enjoying the question of Alien versus Predator because when you inevitably didn’t get a definitive answer and the threat still waited around the corner for the hapless protagonist, you could walk out of the theater, and return to a world that made sense.
Now, it’s the real world where all the lines are blurred beyond recognition. People are walking around in utter confusion about who is bad and who is good, and there’s no one left to shine the light on reason. Lies become truth that’s wielded in the guise of helping the masses, when it’s all designed to further one man’s ambitions. A mere human who has the ridiculous notion he can take it all with him. Where? Is there a spacecraft waiting to transport him and his gold to a planet containing the fountain of youth? Will his minions follow him there, so he has someone to fire every other second? Well, at least they will believe him if he says it’s so.
My pod people don’t care about any of that. They’re too busy fighting battles they can understand even if the enemy is a mystery, because it’s me who gets to orchestrate the fates of my pod people. I can set them on a clear course that, when it’s achieved, will leave the sensible ones standing and the evil ones pounded to dust. Maybe my pod people will find love and friendship along the way, a fellowship of supporters who can pick a clear side and stick by it, confident they’re all in it together and have each others’ backs.
You can find my brand of entertaining chaos on My Books page for a nice escape from the blurry lines of reason.
I’m working hard to get this out to the world, and this weekend would be the perfect time to enjoy a FREE short story. It was a winner in a writing challenge, and I promise it’s a fun read, with characters you will love immediately. Click on the cover for a link to your Nook Book at Barnes and Noble. You can find it on Apple Books, Scribd, and Kobo as well. Those links can be found on My Books page. If you don’t have access to these online stores, email me and I’ll send you a copy. I would love to hear what you think.
First off, I am in no way saying Rock and Roll is noise. It was on my am radio blasting me from the headboard from the time I was young enough to think Speed Racer could be my boyfriend. Even before that, I sucked my thumb as I fell asleep to Golden Earring’s Radar Love. Okay, TMI, but it illustrates my love of the genre.
Come on, look at those eyes…
But you have to admit, some voices in rock music don’t always leap out of the noise, and all you end up with is noise. That’s what it’s like trying to keep up with social media. A necessity if you’re an indie writer trying to leap out of the noise and get your books noticed. It’s been quite a journey navigating the crescendo, trying to be friendly, then weeding out the bot lurkers from the ones who are truly sharing their creative endeavors and interested in yours. But this isn’t about the challenges of marketing and sharing posts.
What I’m noodling over tonight is that there are some amazing voices that do leap out from time to time on Twitter, Instagram and yes, even the bizarre world of TikTok, really nice people who share tweets or posts because they believe in paying it forward. Creators helping creators. Some even giving free advice. My wish is to share those bits here as often as possible. When a TikTokker makes the effort to give great editing tips, or share how they made the decision to self-publish, I’m going to pass it on, because it’s fabulous stuff!
Another way I will be sharing is through featuring writers, artists, and all kinds of creatives in interviews on my blogs. I’m excited to bring you my very first one in a couple weeks. So, stay tuned for my conversation with swords and sorcery fantasy indie writer from Down Under, Douglas W. T. Smith. He has lots of experiences and tips to share from his own writing journey, and we both hope you will find it useful and inspiring.
This is a shout out to all the ones out there giving as much as they’re getting. Here is some Radar Love to fall asleep to… whether you suck your thumb or not.
Okay. Who of you besides Sara Cannon. We know she’s the queen of notebooks and planners when it comes to organizing her writing and life. Check out her YouTubechannels if you haven’t already!
I’d love your comments on planning systems you like to use, if any. If not, how do you organize your work?
Before I was a writer, I was a planner nerd. Well, maybe a planner girl? Planner addict? No matter what you call it, once a person starts collecting planners, it’s hard to stop. It’s only a question of which system you like best. Unless you’re like me and like them all for all sorts of reasons. These days, though, I’ve settled with Personal Planner. I can customize everything just the way I want, and it’s fun to design it each year. I often use my book covers for the cover art, but you can use their beautiful templates too.
For cover aesthetics in my favorite ring binders, it’s Filofax, first the Malden, next the Original, and third, the Finsbury. Gorgeous but too much work, unless you’re a normal non planner person who doesn’t need to decorate, and used the Filofax inserts that come with. Hmmm. Never could do that.
Other Ring binders:
I was crazy about Daytimers back in the 80s and 90s. Still have my favorite cover, tapestry and leather.
My Instagram was devoted to my crafting and planners. Then, I started writing. I created an author account on Facebook linked to Instagram. Something happened when I tried logging in using two-factor authentication. Instagram booted me from my author accounts with nary an ounce of help to get me back in.
So, I decided to return to my PlanKnitStitch and rebrand it as starlightc.writer. I hated the idea it might seem like I was abandoning my stitching and planner friends, but I just didn’t have it in me to go for a new account.
I also have a love for all travelers notebooks for when you want super customization. And went the expensive route a few times just to get a Chic Sparrow or two in my collection.
A few other custom travelers notebooks:
Erin Condren’s are beautiful, but they just haven’t stuck, though I tried out a couple:
No planner nerd is full-on nerding over planners unless you collect Hobonichi Techos.
And of course the pens and pouches… I won’t go into the sticker collection… you’re welcome :)