My Work in Progress--WHY CATS?

Cats are special. Having had dogs I didn't realize how unique and special they were until I had one. My dogs had to be rehomed after my husband's death as I could no longer walk them. It hurt. Any pet owner knows just how much it can hurt.

I have a very special cat. Her name is Sasha and this is her at 8 weeks.

She is three now and in the time I have had her, she has been there for me through my worst grieving. Always supportive and loyal she taught me just how special a special feline can be. 

A more recent photo. She has this intense way of looking at me sometimes. Like she knows all about me. It's like she wants to speak! Okay, I'm a writer and I am imagining that, but perhaps she does, in her own cat-like way. 

Any time I get upset or fall into the depths of sadness over my loss, I perk up just looking at cats. I watch videos of them, I share photos and I find I am feeling better. 

The book I'm writing is about a cat that is special, special in supernatural ways. And it saves people because of this talent! I will dedicate the book to Sasha because she saved me from the depths of sadness. If I look at her, I can see in her eyes that she knows every secret written in my soul. She knows the names of the people that helped me and those that didn't. 

She knows and understands and that, in itself, is comforting. 

Oops! When Your Work in Progress Surprises You!

If you write, you might know what this feels like. If you read, you might be interested. Depsite working with a detailed outline, the characters still call the shots. I can't help it. It might be easier if they didn't.

Today, for example, I'm writing--minding my own business and suddenly I'm hearing from an important character, a confession. I wasn't going to make him a choir boy, but I didn't expect to hear about his membership in something shocking. He's not only a naughty aristocrat, I love naughty aristos, don't you! He's part of something that is really awful and answers a great many questions!

I can't spell it out other than to say, I'm amazed and I think my readers will be too!
No use guessing, all will be revealed! 

Never Say Never!

There I was minding my own business, sitting and working on my cat fantasy novel when along comes something else--something dark and different this way comes!

Expect something more in line with what I write, however it's not vampires. It's a thriller with suspense and of course lots of horror. Also, it's historic. But you know me, it's not 'just' historic!

That's all I'll say for now, watch for updates. And as for the cat fantasy, it'll follow! This new project pushed its way in! How rude! Inspiration is like that, though!

It's Time to Get Going!

What are your New Year's resolutions? Are you going to work more regularly on your work in progress?  I hope to!

I feel when we survive Christmas and get past New Year with resolutions and everything, we should (keyword) dust ourselves off and do all those post holiday things. Lose weight, possibly--and get going with our writing if that's what we do.

I am planning on working on my work in progress more regularly! I do have another book in mind to follow it, but that can be tricky. It's almost a fool-proof way to procrastinate and shelve the w.i.p. by jumping ahead to the other work! I've discussed this with friends and after some sniggering they say, "No!"  They know me, you see!

I'd love to hear from you if you are resolved to do more work on your writing, planning or even researching.

And meanwhile, let me wish us ALL a very happy, prosperous new year filled with determination and positive thinking! 

Writers: How do you outline?

Assuming you do that is! Over the years, I have found outlining to be crucial. I not only have a sense of my story, how it begins--where it's going and what the end's like--I have a sense of what the point to it all is!

My work in progress has changed a little as I am writing and planning, but I think that's to be expected. I have written seven novels and a collection of short stories. In each book I've faced this and dealt with it. As I got more experienced, I thought of the change in plot and other aspects due to the fact of the novel evolving. You sit down and start--the best thing that can happen, in my opinion, is for your creativity to dictate the story and characters. I've often thought of that as the characters becoming so real, they TELL you off!

But I want to know how others feel about this issue.

For instance, take some cats and a human being who has suffered. The cats talk about him. As they do, we see their personalities.

"I just hope he gets it together, I have my doubts."

"Don't be so negative, you're negative sometimes!"

"Look, don't criticize her!"

See, Eduard doesn't know the cats are arguing, but they are. That argument affects my story and how they act to him. They want to protect him because he's suffered a lot. There's a great deal else they do, which is at the core of the story and the reason why it exists!

Back to my question of outlining. I think having a sense of each chapter, of each character, whether they are human or not, gives me my story. It's a journey--it's a process that anyone who writes knows and understands but it's worth it. Just to get your book or story completed is worth it!

I used to say characters give you your story. They do. Give a man a gun, have him stuck in an elevator with his wife's lover and there's your story!

Okay! Until next time! 

Using history and The Burning Times in my novel!

 Ah, yes! Nothing like an action which was all too prevelant in Mediavel Europe. Burning witches! That went on for hundreds of years all over Europe. Salem, Mass. got into the act with their own brand of lunacy which at least didn't involve burning. Rocks were laid upon something like a door which was pressing upon the chest of some hapless local inhabitant. There are very interesting documents which show, particularly in Salem, how an accuser's land increased when the accused neighbor was no more. Human nature can be so fascinating.

Okay, so why blog about that now? It has to do with my work in progress. If people were accused of witchcraft, their cats perished along with them!

Here's a quote which put me off the coronation of QE1, Somehow I don't think it would have been depicted in the Cate Blanchett films about Elizabtheh 1.:

“Last Saturday the coronation of Queen Elizabeth was solemnised in the city with mighty bonfires and the burning of a most costly pope, carried by four persons in diverse clothing, and the effigies of devils whispering in his ears, his belly filled full of live cats, who squawled most hideously as soon as they felt the fire. The common saying all the while was [the cats’ screeching] was the language of the Pope and the Devil in a dialogue between them.”

https://alphahistory.com/pastpeculiar/1677-londoners-burn-live-cats-wicker-pope/

How horrible. It's one of the issues that I am researching for my book because it's relevant to the plot. Cats feature in my book as they try to help a victim of war. 

My cats know all these things as do their human friends. Very special, heroic humans, I might add! 

I love history and have incorporated it in my novels and I do no less in my new book. History, even if one is writing a contemporary novel, has shaped the world and us in it. Things happen because of it. 

Hatred, bigotry, religious intolerance are integral to my plot and characters. 

I think fiction would be shallow and pretty meanignless without demonstrating why things have happened the way they have. History and events in it are, for me, the impetus for getting my story off the ground. It not only has to be off the ground it has to fly, move and affect the reader!

As one of my cats, in the book says, "I have always made allowances for humans because they are so incapable of being fair sometimes." 

Cats can be difficult, even the cats know that, but they aren't in the position to incinerate entire populations of human beings just because they feel they ought to. 

SO HOW'S THE BOOK COMING!

Firstly, I had to put this image in beecause I hate auto correct! I particularly hate it on Facebook! Ever write to someone and all of a sudden a moronic thing comes up that turns the person's name into some group or page! Okay, that aside, today's post!

SO, HOW'S THE BOOK COMING!

Well, it wanted to fly in, you know, to save time, but the airports were crowded. So, instead  it is taking a train. Of course, it does like to drive, but only if it's a scenic route. On the other hand, I did have a book that came by rowboat once, no outboard motor or anything!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HOW IS THE BOOK COMING?
DID YOU EVER TRY TO WRITE ONE!

Seriously, books tend to come when they darn well feel like it. They're a great deal like cats. My cat comes or doesn't according to her own wishes. She's her own woman and nothing I can say will change that.

I am working on something that I like. Liking what I'm writing is crucial. I open up the files and might cringe--but that's until I get going. Something takes over. I think of it as my work having a voice and telling me off or praising me. STICK TO IT, DON'T SLACKEN. AND FOR GOODNESS SAKES, DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING, LIKE THE MULE GOING BLIND, THE WEATHER, IF I GAINED WEIGHT, LOST SOME, OR WHAT I SHOULD MAKE FOR DINNER.
DON'T THINK ABOUT PEOPLE I KNOW, THAT WISH I DIDN'T KNOW OR THOSE I'D LIKE TO KNOW, BUT DON'T!

I used to just sit down at the laptop every day and write. I am finally back to that. And that's good.

I've read widely over the past year, different sort of books, and what I've read has influenced me. No horror for me, I went through enough when I lost my husband.

What I'm writing is giving me pleasure because it's different. A lot of it is funny, poignant and special I think. It will appeal, hopefully to a certain target readership. In other words, I'm writing a book I'd have wanted very much to read! Yes! I finally understand what that means and I'm one of the readers that is interested in this particular genre. Here I go!

SO NOW TELL ME, HOW'S YOUR BOOK COMING ALONG!  JUST KIDDING!
:)

when do you write?

I'm just getting back into a routine of writing. I find I write whenever I have time. Slow to wake up, I would prefer to write in the morning. But then again, evenings are good because there are no distractions.

What works for you? Whatever it is, keep doing it! It's the best way to stick with a particular project or to go back to writing after a time away, writing regularly!

I think it works by guilt. Writers, well me, anyway--feel guilty if we don't write regularly. I am writing every day now as I used to! I feel badly if a day goes by that I don't, even if I am unable to write, time-wise, I know I can write for a short period at least. No excuses. We're great at making excuses.

I've achieved the senior level of 'expert excuse maker.'

I don't wait for inspiration, I was advised by another writer many years ago to think of writing a work in progress as my job! I operated that way for years and wrote seven novels. I'm doing it again!

You will be inspired once you get a basic storyline and characters down. Characters, I always say give me my story/novel. They begin to live indepentently once that storyline is able to be visualised.
I know what I want to say, and I especially know how it's going to end. That is supremely important to me. I see the end in my head almost as a film.

I believe we put ourselves in everything we write, bits of ourselves. Our fears, hopes, aspirations. In my current wip, I am doing that in depth because the storyline is based on my own experiences.

I am certain that, that is what is meant by 'write what you know.'

In reading Stephen King novels, I have felt I knew what part of King's life he was writing about. His children, his fears for their safety, his own views of what follows death--plus his life experiences through the years. I always felt closer to him, as if I had gotten to know him.

That I feel is a gift from the author to all of us. It's giving us realism and what is better than truth in writing?

Back soon, with some more thoughts on writing!

Work in Progress Update!

It's coming! I know it's taking long, but when you've lost everything that you valued, it's a hard battle to get back to where you want to be. Still, I am making so much progress.

I love what I am writing, it's full of light and romance. It's fanciful and fun to write. The characters are getting more real every day to me, that is, they are really coming alive.

I am researching, which I love, finding out things that are amazing and interesting.

The story is from my heart. It's the deepest truth I have ever come to terms with, actually I still am coming to terms with.

Life is so multi-faceted, there are people you can love, like and trust and there are those that you most certainly cannot. It's all going to be there.

It's going to be a story that I could never have written if I hadn't lived through it. Even though I don't really believe in an after life, I feel I'm being guided, so who knows maybe I'm wrong.

How does anyone know for certain what lies around us? What revealations might there be!

All I ask, is for patience. I promise you something very different and fresh--a gift from the heart incorporating light and love and a little magic!

Book Update: Fantasy about cats!

Sasha at 8 weeks. 

My work in progress is really coming along. My publisher has been advised and is enthused. It's a departure from dark horror but of course those 8 books that are horror are out there and will remain on sale.

A little background first on the new work, the first in a series.

Sasha, my Maine Coon kitten came into my life shortly after my husband died. I was in quite a state. Both of our dogs had to be re-homed as I could no longer walk them. This kitten had a big job ahead of her. I was happy to just play with her and watch her. She offered a great deal more, though. I found such comfort and love from her and became so aware of a bond between us.

Now, Sasha at 18 months, is far from tiny! She is big and beautiful. She's mischievous, playful and clownish sometimes. Just what I need. Always at my side. A kind of furry leprechaun. Turn around and she's there and so is her love.

I have learned so much about cats, that I was hugely inspired to write about them. There was no way I could ignore the need to do this!

This fantasy I'm working on is about kittens and cats and other animals too but it's Sasha that is featured. She's the chief protagonist, a funny gutsy, clever girl--exactly what she's like!

The story is about other things too. Some of it's funny and some of it's poignant, like life, really!

I'll be giving periodic updates, I promise. Meanwhile, here's a short excerpt:

Sasha was a pensive and thoughtful cat, she pondered deeply about things, like her past. If she thought about it, and she did occasionally, she recalled a ship.

She was newborn when she was carried away from her dead mother and siblings. Where there had been comfort and food, there was now something awful and deadly and cold.

Kindness saved her. Even before her eyes opened, she knew this. When she was able to open her eyes, she saw her first human face. It belonged to the steward of a cargo ship, the man who had found the squealing, newborn kitten among her family. He had cried because he was an emotional man. 

SASHA NOW

EXCERPT: BOOK 2 BLOOD & PASSION SERIES

Current work in progress, Anat: Blood Princess

Book 2, Anat: Blood Princess is a story of love and loss, betrayal and magic; dark magic and sorcery. Pharaoh's sorcerer loved her and refused to give her up. Raised from the dead, Anat found herself in the cursed realm of the undead, destined to live many lifetimes pursued by those she hated in search of those she loved.

From the book:

"I, Agrippe, Princess; Great of Praises; Lady of Grace Sweet of Love, Lady of The Two Lands, Daughter to Pharaoh Amenhotep III Son of Re, Lord of Diadems: Beloved of Amon, daughter to Queen Tigye—Daughter of Isis, divine child of hope…my mother.

Her face was the first I saw in my living life and the last I saw upon her death. She was dead before I disgraced my name and rank. I committed the worst sin, I loved a slave. If this is my confession then let me add to the list…the name of Ramet, beloved of princess Agrippe, lover, and friend, Ramet, a slave to the mighty Pharaoh.

And what is the punishment for a princess who loves a slave to Pharaoh? It is exile. No one may speak her name, not a mother or sister or brother. It is as though she was never born and had left no mark upon the earth or mankind.

But what is the punishment for the slave for that same sin? It is castration. After which he is left to die outside the city precincts.

Before he died, while blood ran through his veins and love lived in his beating heart, he came to me first as a friend and then as a lover. He cheered me when I was sad, singing songs I would never forget.

I was twenty. Royal children married far younger. My mother didn’t wish me to marry so young; she said it would be better if I were mature. Father listened and then upon my twentieth birthday, my mother died. Shortly after a husband was chosen for me. His was of a noble house. We were bound by words in ceremonial splendor. Father was pleased. Our two houses were joined.

Setant, a prince of the House of Ammenteris and myself would create bloodlines of new royal stock. We would honor our families, our people, and our nation."

End of excerpt.

MORE UPDATES TO FOLLOW! 

Anat, whose living life was in Ancient Egypt committed an unpardonable sin as a royal princess. She fell madly in love with a slave. They both paid dearly for this taboo affair.

Her former lover, Ramet, is a main character in Book 1, Justine: Into The Blood.