A Thanksgiving Trinity

I love the number three, which also includes the various multiples of three. Six is the number of the honeybee. Nine is three times three, what could be better? Stories come to me as trilogies, trinities, trifold, triplets…

This year I celebrate my third anniversary as a published writer. On November 26, 2013, eHuman Dawn was published in Kindle form by Story Merchant Books. This was also when I wrote my first blog on technology and consciousness titled, "Somebody's Watching Me." It appears that while everything has changed in the world, some important issues remain the same, and the American civilian surveillance/Snowden saga is still unresolved. 

But my life as a writer started six years ago, when I decided to leave my job and use the time I had been gifted to pursue my lifelong dream of writing. Since then I have written and published a sequel, eHuman Deception and both are now available in paperback, Kindle and in book stores! In addition, I re-edited eHuman Dawn to remove all the various typos as well as began work on the screenplay adaption. Lastly, I just completed a brand new trilogy, traveling back in time to the Great Egyptian Revolt of 200 B.C. to tell a story that Greek historians literally chiseled from history, one monument at a time, in order to hide the fact that native Egypt almost ripped control from the Ptolemy Empire. Researching and writing this saga was one of the best experiences of my life.

2016 was quite a year for unexpected plot twists. It began with the passing of David Bowie, saw the Cubs win the World Series and ended with Donald Trump as our president-elect. It feels like all the rules of life have vanished and now anything is possible. I’m filled with both horror and elation in such a world. Perhaps writers are well suited to the destiny of uncertainty. For six years I’ve been chasing a dream that most would call impossible. But is it? Six years ago I had an idea about a dystopian world where everything is a device on the network, including humanity, yet I had no concept yet of Ankhmakis, the last native Pharaoh of Egypt, nor his story. I stumbled upon it while researching something else and suddenly I found myself in a whole new world. The imagination works that way—you never really know where the muse will take you next.

There are many people who will try to sell you a straight path to publication, to writing that best-selling novel. My journey has told me otherwise. From the plotline to the acquisitions editor, and every step in between, the path of storytelling is one of twists and turns, moments of inspiration, and weeks of nothing. Several rejections followed by a chance meeting at a conference or a friend who mentions your work to a colleague who happens to have a list of editors seeking historical fiction. Hell, last September, I sat down at the computer with every intention of writing the final eHuman book when Pharaoh Ankhmakis demanded I tell his story instead. What followed was a year of work totally unplanned, but wholly worthwhile.

Nothing in life is linear and in a world where the Cubs can win the World Series and a Twitter troll can win the presidency, honestly, I think anything goes. That said, I do have a plan for the next year, and of course it is threefold. First, I hope to finish the screenplay for eHuman Dawn and actively pursue selling it. Second I will finish eHuman Deliverance, the last in that Trilogy. And lastly, I will to sell the Egyptian Trilogy to a major publishing house. If you know any agents or acquisitions editors looking for historical fantasy/fiction/romance, send them my way. I’d be eternally grateful.

Mostly I’m thankful for the life I’ve been given. Living as a storyteller is vulnerable but it is also perfect. I wouldn’t want to spend my days any other way. To those of you who have helped me on my journey, especially my cheerleaders (specifically my dear friend Regan and my husband), editor (the great Stephanie Diaz who helped me shape the Egyptian Revolt into three solid novels) and of course every single reader, I send you thanks and gratitude. Without you, my stories would just be for me. You’re the reason I’ve been a published author for three years and I’m looking forward to sharing my stories with you for at least thirty more. 

Hiring an Editor is the Best Thing I've Ever Done

I just completed my sixth novel in six years.

Yes, you read that correctly. Six years ago I quit my job and began in earnest to tackle my lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Since then, I've penned six novels and a screenplay. I've sold and published two of those novels, eHuman Dawn and eHuman Deception, and am currently polishing and preparing my historical fantasy trilogy for submission to publishing houses. Over the years I've read a lot about best practices for authors just starting out and while I still have a long way to go before I consider myself an expert at this writer's life, the one thing I've learned above all things is the importance of new authors to hire an editor before submitting any manuscript for consideration.

Many people ask me why I would spend the money. Shouldn't I just write the novel and then have the publisher worry about editing? Absolutely not. The most obvious reason that an editor helps find all those grammatical errors we just can't see ourselves while reading our story for the thousandth time. Too many typos turn an agent off. Then why not just have a friend do it for you? There are many reasons why this isn't the best idea, even if the friend is an editor themselves, but the most important one is that friends have a hard time telling you that your writing might suck. They make the best readers and cheerleaders, but when it comes to getting down to the nitty-gritty and looking for the places where your plot fails, or dialogue that is too cheesy, or those aspects of the world you've built that are unclear, nothing is better than a professional editor whom you've paid to become your partner on your journey towards publication.

I used a writing service for my first novels but this time around I found my editor on Upwork and it has been the best experience on so many levels. Here's a quick list of why I will ALWAYS pay for an editor for this stage of project, even when I'm totally famous and have publishing houses knocking at my door (insert winking emoji here).

1. An editor finds those errors you can't see. I already mentioned this, but it's true. During my editing phase I  found hundreds of errors. My editor found hundreds more. I'm a world builder and I love to research, plot and tell a story, but have several grammatical deficiencies. Commas and verb tenses being two of my weakest links. Rather than take yet another English class and hope that somehow I turn into my Auntie Susan, (the greatest grammar queen I know) I find having an editor on my team much more practical. A book may have just one name on it as the author, but in reality a team of people bring us our stories. My team consists of myself, my cheerleader friend, and now, a wonderful editor.

2. An editor asks the hard questions...like why? My cheerleader friend who read my novels first asked questions as well, but the editor has the freedom to go deeper and address the lesser aspects of the story. Which scenes are weak? Why did I write what I did? Was that conversation really important? She let me know when plot points seemed out of character or unnecessary to the story arc. My latest trilogy is historical fantasy and my editor found dates and events that weren't consistent throughout the story line as well as names for historical sites that differed from book to book. Did I mean "The Valley of the Kings", or "The Valley of Kings?" She provided clarification of the system of magic I've created and verified that indeed it was consistent, sweeping and believable.

3. An editor can also be a cheerleader. I knew my best friend liked it, but really, would anyone else? The editor was the second person to read the trilogy and while her critical feedback was fantastic, her praise is what gives me the courage to continue. A long time ago I went to a pitch workshop and a man presented his story to the audience. It started off with a great western plot and I was totally into it, until the last line, where he mentioned a child born inside of a pumpkin who would save the day. What? How did he get from the wild west to a savior born inside a pumpkin? Since then, I've used the term "pumpkin child" for any of those plot points that really don't belong. I had a lot of them in my early days as a writer. Being a work of historical fantasy, there was a great possibility that these novels would contain a passel of "pumpkin children." Hiring an editor to give me honest feedback was critical. When she read the trilogy and loved every aspect of it, I knew it was "pumpkin child" free, which now gives me the courage to go forward and submit it to agents. As matter of fact, her final words for the project were exactly the ones I needed--she said I hit it out of the ballpark. When a friend says that, I glow. When a total stranger with editorial experience who reads hundreds of novels in a year says that, I know I'm on the right track.

4. An editor teaches you. In the end, each time I have a novel professionally edited, it is like a basic grammar class. I do learn what my weaknesses are and I try to improve them. The first novel I wrote had over 1000 errors in it. This time, each novel had about 100. Next time, it'll be even better because when an editor makes a correction over and over, it becomes obvious and I make sure I don't repeat the error in the next novel. For example, in this trilogy I used the word sigh so much, it's actually unbelievable. I'd had no idea until she pointed it out, over and over again. Why so much sighing? Perhaps because the voice inside of my head sighs constantly in bewilderment at the state of the world around me. But my characters certainly didn't need to sigh six times in a conversation. How did I not see that? Who knows, but my editor did and in the process of correcting it, I discovered all sorts of new ways to show disdain. I'll never be an editor myself, but I'm a much better writer than I was six years ago, and my work with professional editors has been key to the learning experience.

So if you've written a novel and are gearing up to submit it to agents, please, please, please spend the time and money with an editor first. Going to self-publish on Amazon you say? Then please, please, please spend the time and money with an editor first. Trust me, they are the partner every storyteller needs to bring more magic into the world.

Villains: Do We Need Them?

I recently received feedback from a reviewer at my publisher on the sequel to eHuman Dawn. The reviewer's job was to take the story and analyze it from a reader's perspective. Each of the main characters was assessed, especially the antagonist. It turns out that this character is the most essential to any story line. Without him or her, there's no plot. The hero has nothing to prove in a world of saints, so to speak. When I first started writing, my villain, Edgar Prince, was weak. It was hard to believe he posed any real threat. To remedy this I began to research psychopaths, and dove into the world of the bad guy for months in order to create an antagonist worthy of the story. I'm now happy to hear that after spending the time, Edgar has evolved to become, "an enjoyable trickster, appearing and disappearing to wreak havoc within and without his world."

I was pleased that someone other than myself enjoys this evil man. He just might be my favorite character. Yet this admittance gives me pause. What happens when you fall for the villain? Why are some bad guys so good to have around? I've long been enamored with the trickster: Loki is the most dear to me, and I will admit that Tom Hiddleston does a great job bringing him to life in the recent movie series. I also adore the Coyote figure in most Native American myths. Dark wizards, witches and dragons top my favorite villain list as well. I recently watched "Thor: The Dark World,” and when I thought that Loki was dead, I actually felt like crying. Yes, I know he's a bastard, but there's no story in Asgard without him. Which makes me wonder, while we bemoan the evil ones in the world, could we ever really know joy without them? Can there be a Savior without the Judas? Even more curious—does the story have to end with the bad guy dying? Can the evil one ever be forgiven?

As I explore these themes I’ve come to realize that the villain rests within each one of us, as does the hero. Our subconscious mind lives in the realms of light and shadow ceaselessly, without pause. Our rational mind processes that which it sees around us, and makes decisions.  Our actions then depend on both processes, our rational thinking and the more mysterious psyche. Those who know their shadow are more likely to be aware of their choices in the present. This is an age-old teaching across many philosophies. The role of stories then is to help us see what’s living beneath the surface as well as the archetypes that govern our reality. The more stories we hear, watch and read, the more aware we become of our own humanity. Thus, the villain is just as important as the hero, not merely because he or she causes the plot to thicken and makes the action possible for the hero, but also because of what the villain teaches us about being human. As the old Native American fable goes, two wolves live within you—you become the wolf you’re willing to feed.

I love Edgar Prince, and as I edit the sequel in order to publish it, I begin to turn to the final book in the trilogy. What will be his end? Must he be vanquished? Must he die? Or can he be redeemed? Many people believe that authors know every detail of their story before they begin. This hasn’t been true for me. All of my characters are still revealing themselves and have more to say. With each scene, I get to know them better. Living in the eHuman world has been a chance like no other to see the wolves within myself, and get to know both my shadow and my light. It has also awakened me to the choices being made within the political and technological realms in our own world.

Indeed, stories truly are a pathway to understanding the human condition.