(Both are coming out this summer/autumn, God willing, just wondering which one I should push out first. Care to share your thoughts?)
I need your vote. Which one would you personally be more excited to read and why? Here are the choices:
One: Robin Hood WIP
Two: Salt for Air, a Greek mythology retelling fantasy
Share your opinion, it means the world to me!
You are welcome to search the #robinhoodwip and #saltforair tags in my blog, if you haven’t been following me long. (But If you have, you know all about both of my books!)
THIS IS SUCH A HARD CHOICE, but I think the Robin Hood wip.
The Robin Hood WIP diaries (15) - The writer + the future
Confession time:
I have a really hard time thinking about the future. My future, the future of my books, the future of my world with me in it. But as I write, I discover I have to think about the future. I have to plan, I have to be excited, and most important of all, I have to hope.
For me, my future was robbed when illness assaulted me a few years ago, and I know I will never get those years back, nor will I get the opportunities I missed and all the things I had to give up back either. I used to think of my life as over (bad as that sounds) until I started writing. And even then, it wasn’t me living actually, but the characters I wrote about.
However, when I started publishing my work, and earning a living out of it, I began to realize some things were changing, and some other things had to change. From being completely lost and having pretty much given up on myself and life in general, I became someone who has done the near-impossible: turned my art into a job. Turned my dream into reality.
When I try to begin to explain to people what my job is (it’s not easy for everyone to grasp the concept of self-publishing, especially if you have to explain the part of self-writing, self-marketing and self-businessing as well) people gape.
They literally do.
They just look at me and gasp, how. How are you doing all that?
And I’m like, oh, I don’t do anything. You see, I’m sick; I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning or anytime, really. But I don’t say this out loud. Out loud I say, yes, I enjoy it very much. But that’s not true. I don’t just enjoy it. It’s keeping me alive. And on that note, I think it’s time to start thinking about the future.
I have stolen a tag from the lovely @adventuresthruwonderland ‘s gorblog although I was not tagged in it.
But as soon as I saw it, I felt the old “revulsion” and despair towards geous contemplating the future take over, and for the first time ever in over 10 years, I did not give in.
Maybe writing about Robin and his desperate, ruthless fight for hope has made me see things differently. Or maybe I just love this story so much, I want to enjoy every part of writing and publishing it, yes, even the future. I mean, if I am imagining a brilliant, happy future for these out laws (well, most of them – spoiler alert) and for my novel, then I might as well imagine it for myself, right.
Maybe that’s the real reason I keep coming back to this particular story, the story of Robin Hood. It gives me hope, just by association.
So thank you, Robin.
For the longest time, I haven’t been able to see a future where my dad isn’t here, and where I’m not well enough to do the things I used to do before this sickness murdered me (again, sorry for the strong expression, but only those suffering from it will know that that’s exactly what it is). But now I think I will.
I think I will think of a future where my dad is gone and it hurts to breathe, but I live on and he lives on in my heart with me, and is happy watching over me as I honor him with a fulfilling life. I think I will think of a future where I am sick and nearly dead, but no
t quite. And, slightly paraphrase Katniss, while I’m still here anyway, let’s make some noise.
So, in case you’re not depressed enough already by reading this (I’m sorry), let me make it clear: This is going to be painful and hard and full of sarcasm (as usual). You don’t want to read what’s coming, trust me.
On that happy note, let’s look for this light in the darkness.
Future Me tag
The tag is about your future and what you would like to tell yourself when you are ten years older than your age right now.
· What do you want your life to look like over ten years?
I want to be happy. That’s it. I would love to have my health back, but if that’s not possible, then I would like to be able to live with the dude quietly, and create stories. That little life is enough for me.
If I am really going crazy with my imagination, I would love to have written at least, not necessarily published, 10 of the books that are currently cramming their way out of my brain and into tons of notebooks and word docs. But even half of these would be enough for me, because that would mean that I am still writing and being happy while doing it.
I really really want my Robin Hood WIP series to be finished and for people to read it and love it, that’s for sure.
· What do you want to ask to the future you?
“I know that for a long time you didn’t want to live all those years ahead of you. Now that you have, do you regret it? Did it hurt like it hurts right now to be alive? And where did you find the courage to endure it?”
· What do you want to have her remember?
Every single thing about her father. I don’t want her to lose a word, a look, a moment. I know she won’t, because the memories have a way of getting stronger instead of weaker in grief.
And I want her to remember every happy moment of her life, because grief steals those, and it’s already taken too much of me. No need to take any more in the years to come (if they do). I hope she has fought against grief, and mostly won.
· Where do you think she’ll live?
Now this is dream territory, but bear with me, because if there’s one thing that still makes me incredibly happy, it’s to daydream.
She will live in a little house by the sea, maybe Corfu or something like that, where she can sit by the window every day and write, listening to the surf. Her dude will no longer have to work nights, so he will come home from work in the afternoon, and she will close her laptop and they will go out for long walks and talks together.
(If I’m realistic, I’ll be living right here, though, which isn’t that bad at all either.)
· What do you think she will miss the most about your life now?
Writing the Robin Hood WIP!
I hope I will have finished it by then, and will have published it too, but man am I going to miss being in that world. This is the world I want to live in, out of all my books –the forest, the castle, the towns, even the dungeon (why not, if Robin is in there? I’d be completely safe. Well, mostly. Well, maybe.). Right now, while writing the story, I am in that world and I’m savoring every second.
· What do you think she will be happy about she does not have any more what is present in your life?
Fake friends/people. I think that is a greater poison than people hating you. So I will be glad if by then some people have been weaned out of my life, and only the true ones remain. That would be a blessing!
Feel free to answer these “FUTURE TAG” questions on your blogs, tumblrs, websites, videos, wherever you want! Don’t forget to use #thebookrobinhoods and tag me and others from our little family. Let’s get to know each other better. x
Since an update on my Robin Hood WIP is long overdue, I’ll give you a paragraph or two, before the progress update. Please share your thoughts, I’d love to hear what you think. Enjoy!
T h e V e i l - a R o b i n H o o d W I P excerpt
He felt the blood leave his head.
What on earth did that mean? Was it
good? Bad? Was it very good? His heart fluttered, but his heart was stupid and
useless, he knew better than to pay attention to it by now. But this girl… This
girl was a complete surprise. She never once uttered a phrase he’d expected to
hear from her lips. Damn that interfering veil, what he’d give to be able to
see her face! He bent his head lower, closer to her mouth, so that he wouldn’t
miss a word when she next spoke.
“Concentrate on what?”
“On anything…On anything except being…”
He stiffened. Don’t say afraid, he thought. Anything
but that. Say safe. Say loved. Adored. Say you can’t concentrate on anything
but me. She didn’t speak again, however. Her words trailed into silence,
and the silence stretched.
Mood - Feels! The feels have started! I’m so happy and… feely.
Place - Bed.
Music - Everything At Once by Lenka
Drink - What else? Water
Upcoming scene - [SPOILER]’s capture
Favorite written scene so far - The veil scene (read snippet above).
Worst written scene so far - Left a few descriptions out, will add them later. So right now, technically, a certain scene is half-written, only dialogue and action.
Favorite planned scene - Still the tree scene,although that takes place at the end of the book. So before that, favorite planned scene is the Tournament.
Hardest to-write scene - The aftermath of [SPOILER]’s capture. So much pain.
Favorite character so far - J made his first appearance! So it’s J, hands down. Alan appeared too, so he’s a close second:
Outline changes - None this round.
Motivation - Writing a slow-shimmering romance is intoxicating. I can’t get enough of it.
Regrets - Managed to write over 500 words (at least) every single day so none! (yay)
Goals - I need a title. I have a working one, but still figuring things out. Bleh.
Plans - Robin Hood’s portrait reveal is taking a back seat due to the huge couples’ giveaway coming up! A few gorgeous RH aesthetics are about to be revealed though, so stay tuned!
LAST SENTENCE TAG - Tagged by the lovely @lisa-writing to reveal the last sentence I wrote, and tag as many authors as there are words in the sentence.
*scans manuscript, trying to find a sentence that isn’t a complete and utter spoiler*
“Who are you?” he
murmured again in an almost inaudible tone.
Please feel free to share a paragraph or two, or a poem or two instead of a sentence, if you like, (some of you are poets) because I’d love to read what you’ve been creating. x
It’s February, the month when love is in the air. Is there a better way to celebrate than getting some new books with swoon-worthy romance in them? I think there isn’t, and so does @mcfrankauthor, who hosts a great giveaway! I have a pleasure to invite you all to participate in
Before I tell you how to enter, I’m sure you want to know more about aforementioned couples! They all come from M.C. Frank’s incredible novels. Let me introduce you to two of them:
Beatrice and Dominic from Ruined - the duke and the governess
I love how the classic characters came to life in this story. They’re really well-written, and thanks to the change of perspective, we can see inside both Beatrice and the Duke’s minds, their feelings, motives.
The story is engrossing and from the first pages it keeps you wondering what happens next. (I went to sleep way too late because of this book. Twice :P) It also deals with some very serious issues, gradually revealing more details about Beatrice’s past. It’s painful to read at times, but it also makes you keep reading, to see how it all ends.
Ari and Wes from Lose Me- the movie star and the stunt girl
The romance between Wes and Ari isn’t light and easy - it’s a rocky road, full of obstacles, fear and hurt. It will rip your heart out, it will make you cry, but it will also make you laugh and swoon. It’s really hard not to ship these two!
Lose Me is a wonderful story about overcoming fear, finding hope and opening up for love. It will teach you that sometimes being brave doesn’t mean jumping off a cliff, but letting someone in.
Now comes the exciting part! Would you like to own all these books? You can! All these couples have come together to give away their stories to you for free.
Here is how you can win 15 USD from the BookDepository for any book of your choosing:
1. You must follow all steps below, if you omit one, your entry is sadly invalid :(
2. Reblog this post
3. Tag at least 3 readers when you reblog
4. Follow @mcfrankauthor
5. That’s it! You’ve entered. You can repeat steps 2 and 3 every day, if you like.
The giveaway is valid until the end of February. Every reblog (and tag) counts as a separate entry, so the more you reblog, the more likely you are to win!
Question: I stumbled on this post, but I don’t have a tumblr. How can I enter?
Answer: Please share the link to this post with a few words of your own on social media (twitter, facebook or instagram) and tag at least 3 reader friends so that they can see it and enter. You must post the rules. You can repeat this however many times you want until the end of February, and they will count as additional entries.
The winner (s) - might be more than one *wink*- will be chosen and contacted on March 1st. Good luck!
Since an update on my Robin Hood WIP is long overdue, I’ll give you a paragraph or two, before the progress update. Please share your thoughts, I’d love to hear what you think. Enjoy!
T h e V e i l - a R o b i n H o o d W I P excerpt
He felt the blood leave his head.
What on earth did that mean? Was it
good? Bad? Was it very good? His heart fluttered, but his heart was stupid and
useless, he knew better than to pay attention to it by now. But this girl… This
girl was a complete surprise. She never once uttered a phrase he’d expected to
hear from her lips. Damn that interfering veil, what he’d give to be able to
see her face! He bent his head lower, closer to her mouth, so that he wouldn’t
miss a word when she next spoke.
“Concentrate on what?”
“On anything…On anything except being…”
He stiffened. Don’t say afraid, he thought. Anything
but that. Say safe. Say loved. Adored. Say you can’t concentrate on anything
but me. She didn’t speak again, however. Her words trailed into silence,
and the silence stretched.
Mood - Feels! The feels have started! I’m so happy and… feely.
Place - Bed.
Music - Everything At Once by Lenka
Drink - What else? Water
Upcoming scene - [SPOILER]’s capture
Favorite written scene so far - The veil scene (read snippet above).
Worst written scene so far - Left a few descriptions out, will add them later. So right now, technically, a certain scene is half-written, only dialogue and action.
Favorite planned scene - Still the tree scene,although that takes place at the end of the book. So before that, favorite planned scene is the Tournament.
Hardest to-write scene - The aftermath of [SPOILER]’s capture. So much pain.
Favorite character so far - J made his first appearance! So it’s J, hands down. Alan appeared too, so he’s a close second:
Outline changes - None this round.
Motivation - Writing a slow-shimmering romance is intoxicating. I can’t get enough of it.
Regrets - Managed to write over 500 words (at least) every single day so none! (yay)
Goals - I need a title. I have a working one, but still figuring things out. Bleh.
Plans - Robin Hood’s portrait reveal is taking a back seat due to the huge couples’ giveaway coming up! A few gorgeous RH aesthetics are about to be revealed though, so stay tuned!
LAST SENTENCE TAG - Tagged by the lovely @lisa-writing to reveal the last sentence I wrote, and tag as many authors as there are words in the sentence.
*scans manuscript, trying to find a sentence that isn’t a complete and utter spoiler*
“Who are you?” he
murmured again in an almost inaudible tone.
Please feel free to share a paragraph or two, or a poem or two instead of a sentence, if you like, (some of you are poets) because I’d love to read what you’ve been creating. x
