Tag Archives: Winter Kingdoms

by | January 19, 2012 · 10:04 am

What’s your writing resolution?

by Gail Z. Martin

If you’re a writer,  what’s your writing resolution for 2012?

Is this the year you’re going to finish your manuscript?  Find an agent?  Self-publish?

Whatever your resolution, when are you going to get started?

I know, things are busy right now.  But here’s the truth—things will always be busy.  There will always be some reason why you can’t work on your book—unless you decide to make it a priority.

The truth is, writing a book based on your area of expertise can be a fantastic way to promote your business.  Just by virtue of the fact that you actually wrote and finished a book (and published it), you can claim the title of ‘expert’.  You can promote your book (and your expertise).  You can even give away your book as an expanded calling card.  You can package your services or products as an extension of the book.  But that only works if you actually sit down and write the book.

So here’s my 30 day challenge to you:  Write something every day.  And by this, I mean a good faith effort, not just jotting down a single word or a single sentence.  Set aside just 30 minutes a day and use that time to outline, to write a few paragraphs, or maybe even, on a good day, a whole page.  My bet is that by the end of 30 days, you won’t want to stop.  It will be so much fun, such a creative release, so invigorating, that you’ll want to keep on going.  Or maybe, you’ll even have a draft completed.

Remember that there is no official definition of how many pages (or words) it takes to make a book.  Your book could be 10,000 words, or 50,000 words or maybe event 75,000 words.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s all about how long it takes to say what you want to say.  And it all begins with the commitment to begin.

So how about it?  I want to know what you do, so please comment and let me know what you’re going to do in the next 30 days to get started on that book you’ve always meant to write!

Go for it!

“Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD

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by | January 5, 2012 · 9:39 am

What to buy with those holiday gift card? A geek guide.

by Gail Z. Martin

So you got a gift card.  Why not get your geek on and buy what you really want?

Like an iPhone skin that turns your phone into Han Solo encased in carbonite, or a remote controlled R2D2, or even a Star Wars movie poster skateboard?  (Because you already got the BluRay DVD set of Star Wars, ‘fess up.)

It’s late in the season, but you could probably grab a Star Wars Lego Advent calendar so you’ll be ready next year.  Or the Lego Deathstar with over 3,800 pieces.  How about Star Wars Mighty Beans?

Brighten your holidays with a Dalek Christmas tree?  (I’m not making this stuff up, honest– https://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/gift-guide-giveaway-2011/)

Or what about a pizza cutter shaped like the Enterprise?  (You know, I never realized the similarity before, but now that they point it out….)

There’s always Klingon Monopoly or a Spock Mr. Potato Head.

Of course, you already have a Jayne hat, right?

Everyone’s got Harry Potter Clue, don’t they?  But how about your very own Mirror of Erised?  A “Team Neville” t-shirt?  How about a wand that lights a candle? (Now that’s a twist on The Clapper.)

Of course, there’s always a copy of William Shatner singing Bohemian Rhapsody  https://youtu.be/cKo4FMzt_hM

 

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by | December 29, 2011 · 9:36 am

A Sci-Fi Fantasy Kind of Christmas

by Gail Z. Martin

If you’ve missed your invitation to the holiday dinner at Hogwarts, here are some seasonal selections that should warm every fennish heart.

Doctor Who Christmas Filk  https://youtu.be/OY3yJ7rCH8g

I Want a Doctor (Who) for Christmas https://youtu.be/gZnqLehMjtc

It’s Voldemort Outside https://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2005/12/harry-potter-christmas-filk-its.html

A Cthulhu Christmas Chorale https://www.khaosworks.org/filk/cthulhuxmas.html

I Saw ‘Nara Kissin’ Cap’n Mal https://squidge.org/~peja/cgi-bin/viewstory.php?skin=eFiction&sid=44271

A mash-up of fandom in “My Favorite Things: https://eeknight.livejournal.com/210981.html

Don’t forget A Christmas Carol—the version with JonLuc Picard (I mean Patrick Stewart).

Or, just pop your VHS copy of A Star Wars Christmas Special into your VCR and enjoy!

Enjoy!

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by | December 22, 2011 · 5:31 pm

Merry Winterstide to All

by Gail Z. Martin
If you’ve read any of my books, you know holiday celebrations in the differing traditions of the Winter Kingdoms are a big part of the story.  I had a lot of fun with this, but I also thought that readers could gain a lot of insight into characters and kingdoms by seeing how their celebrations differed.

Of course Winterstide is the mid-winter solstice, and in The Blood King, my main characters are in exile in Principality for the holidays.  While they’re guests of the king and invited to celebrate in style, there’s a lot of tension as they remember holidays past with loved ones who are now dead, and wonder whether or not they’ll live to see future holidays.  It’s also natural for the characters to reminisce about the foods and celebrations that they miss from back home, which is especially bittersweet because “home” has changed irrevocably for all of them.

Winterstide crops up again in Dark Haven, a year later.  The world has completely changed for all the characters, and most of them are celebrating in places and in ways they never thought possible just a year before.  Once again, Tris passes both his birthday and Winterstide away from home, this time, besieging a fortress.  Jonmarc discovers that vayash moru bring a whole new perspective on holidays.  But for all of them, Winterstide is a light in the darkness.

Wherever your holidays find you, I hope that there is light in the darkness.

 

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by | March 10, 2011 · 10:09 am

Myth and Folklore

by Gail Z. Martin

At the last couple of conventions I attended, I was on several panels about myth and folklore.  It was a lot of fun discussing how myth and folklore show up in fantasy, as well as how as writers we use myth and folklore to create our own stories.  We talked about modern myths and how myth influences the real world, both in terms of deliberate mythmaking and pop culture/urban legend terms.  For talking about stories that were thousands of years old, the conversation sometimes got rather heated!

I like to draw inspiration from myth and folklore because I figure that if something about a trope or archetype has captured human imagination for hundreds or thousands of years, it’s good.  So I enjoy adapting and adjusting folkloric and mythic elements to make them my own, and to fit them into the world of the Winter Kingdoms.

Of course the conversation came around to vampires, werewolves and magic, which are intrinsic elements of folklore and mythology.  I mentioned how I still chuckle about the one book reviewer who was very impressed that I had “used urban fantasy tropes like vampires and werewolves” in a medieval, epic fantasy.  Of course, urban fantasy stole the tropes from medieval folklore!

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by | February 24, 2011 · 10:07 am

A Life of Their Own

by Gail Z. Martin

Long-running series can be lots of fun because they take on a life of their own.  At the same time, it can be intimidating for new readers because once several books in the series are out, it can be daunting to get “caught up.”  That was the challenge I faced when I wrote The Sworn, which just came out in stores at the end of January.  It’s my fifth novel, and it’s set in my world of the Winter Kingdoms with many of the same characters as my first four books.  But I wanted to create a gateway into the world where someone new could enter without having to read the first four books (of course, I hope they’ll decide to do that later) and still enjoy the book.

Creating that kind of gateway changes how you write, because you can’t take for granted that every reader has the same collective memory about the places, events and characters.  At the same time, since you’re hoping that many of the people who’ve read your other books will want to read your new one, you don’t want to bore them by spending too much time recapping what went on before or re-introducing characters they already know.  It’s quite a challenge.

Before I wrote The Sworn, I paid attention to how other series writers handled the issue.  I noticed how they referred to important past events that had spoiler potential but which had to be explained at least in passing.  I noticed how subsequent books introduced long-running characters.  And I tried to examine from a reader’s perspective where I thought the situation was handled well and where it left me confused or bored.

I learn a lot from paying attention to how other authors handle certain types of plot issues.  It brings a whole new dimension to the way I read, because on one hand, I’m reading for plot and action just like a “regular” reader.  Then the writer side of me is busy looking under the hood to see how the other author handled the “mechanics” of the story.  I guess it’s like eating out at a restaurant when you’re also a chef.  You enjoy eating food that tastes good, but you can’t help wanting to peek into the kitchen to see how it’s cooked!

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by | February 3, 2011 · 10:00 am

The Two-Faced God

by Gail Z. Martin

Postcards from Liminal Space—January was named for Janus, the two-faced god.  It makes sense.  It’s a month when we look forward and backward, when we’re nostalgic over what’s ending and tentatively excited about what’s beginning.  I can relate.  I’m wading into beginning a brand new series—new characters, a new world, a whole new world building exercise.  At the same time, I’m getting ready for the launch of The Sworn, which is the newest book set in the world of the Winter Kingdoms.  So I’ve got a foot in old and new, and it’s a little strange.

It’s really exciting to flex my imagination and bring a whole new cast of characters to life.  My mind is becoming a very crowded place!  And it’s also fun to work out their history, the culture and society, the beliefs and mythology—I’m exploring brand new territory, and once I find my way around, I’ll bring you with me.  At the same time, the beginning of any new journey is unsettling, because the traveling always changes the traveler.  Should be interesting.

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by | January 27, 2011 · 10:00 am

Postcards from Liminal Space

by Gail Z. Martin

Postcards from Liminal Space—I am trying to open up some new ideas, not just for my writing, but for my vision of the future.  So in this first month of a new year, I am trying to be open to subtle nudges from my intuition, to dreams and memories, and to nature as it prepares for rebirth.  There have been times in my life when I felt so clearly that I was standing in-between what was and what would be, but I couldn’t see far enough to know what was going to happen, only that something was about to.  I have that sense now.  I think it’s a good thing, but any time your routine gets knocked topsy turvey there is an in-betweenness that is awkward.

I’m just finishing up The Dread, which is either book 6 in the Chronicles series or Book Two in the Fallen Kings Cycle, depending on which reader or publisher you talk to.  I’m going to take a bit of a break from the world of the Winter Kingdoms and Tris and the gang after this book, so finishing it makes me a little sad.  I have many other Winter Kingdoms stories in mind that I hope to write, but I’ve got a brand new series that I’m excited to write, and so that’s going to consume the next few books.  It’s definitely luminal space for me—one thing drawing to a hiatus while something else opens up.

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