From the Backlist: Making Wishes

 

Image by VitorCruz2019 on Pixabay

 

Welcome to our October posts from the Backlist! 

Today's spotlight was written October 7, 2010 by the fabulous author Jocelynn Drake. This gives us a chance to say Happy Birthday to all the Libra's and wonderful dreamers out there who still blow out the candles . . . and make a wish!

Hope you enjoy!

You can read more about Jocelynn Drake on her website. 

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Making Wishes

by Jocelynn Drake 

Oct 7, 2010 

Today is my birthday. Yep, I unwittingly chose the seventh of every month to write my blog post for Supernatural Underground simply because it seemed rare for me to be traveling at that time. For some reason, all conferences and out-of-town appointments tended to fall in the middle or the end of the month. It honestly didn't occur to me that I had chosen the date of my birth to be one of my blog entries.

So, today I'm going to talk about birthday wishes. These are something that I take very seriously. Every year for as long as I can remember, my mother has baked me a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. My family gathers around and sings "Happy Birthday" as badly as possible. And trust me, they are getting really good at being really bad. And then I make a wish before blowing out the growing numbers of candles.

I look back and I remember that there were some years that I simply wished to be happy, but then those were some dark years. However, most the time, it was the same wish over and over again -- I wished to be published. Writing has been my heart and soul for so much of my life that I wished on candles, shooting stars, and pennies in a fountain that my words would one day be read by others. That's not to say that I didn't also work my butt off to also make it happen, but I like to think that all that hard wishing also helped to add a special magical aspect to it all.

Now that I've accomplished that mean feat, I have to come up with a new wish. I think I've got one, but

I obviously can't share it or it may never happen. However, I will share with you an impossible wish that I have. I wish I could sit down and have a long dinner with my main characters Mira and Danaus. (Perferrably when they are both in a good mood and not fighting with each other.) Both creatures are not only something other than human, but also centuries old. 

I would love to hear from their mouths their thoughts on the world, humanity, and the struggles they've been through, including the people they have loved and lost. I want to hear about their dreams and fears. And for reason, something in me yearns to actually hear their laughter and see them in person as they gaze across the table at each other as they share a private joke. In them are deep layers of love and loss and desperation and hope. I only wish I could see it in person, because I think it would truly be a beautiful thing. 

Read the full post here . . . 

 

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Speculative Fiction (Fantasy/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Urban Fantasy) for adults and teens.

 

 

We're a group of best-selling authors providing news, reviews and interviews from the darker, more speculative side of fiction.

Fiction that makes the heart beat faster...

Fantasy Festivals

Snoggletog in the fictional world of How to Train Your  Dragon
looks a lot like Christmas.

There are a number of ways an author draws the reader into their story. They can use pace, suspense, fear, excitement, but behind the page-turning tools is a little something called atmosphere, the nuance that creates immersion.

The character of Buffy Anne Summers  - DOB January 19th.

In this way, the readers and audience are captivated by the story, not just because it excites them, but because it feels 'real'.

Ways to create an atmosphere stem from language, word choice, dialogue, character and worldbuilding - the sights, sounds, smells, textures, tastes and history of the story-world. Included in the art of worldbuilding is the power of celebration.

Harry Potter's first festival feast not only helps create an atmosphere at Hogwarts,
  it shows a contrast to his austere upbringing.

Fantasy festival like birthdays, weddings, seasonal celebrations, government holidays and religious ceremonies show the reader what the story-world is like. They can reveal a character's beliefs, family relationships and outlook without having to tell the reader through dense descriptions and narrative.

There's nothing like a royal wedding to make the heart sing.

These fantasy festivals might match ones the reader is already familiar with like the mid-winter solstice, Chrismas, birthdays, weddings, independence days, or they might be unique to the story. In any case, they have the power to convince us that the book we're immersed in is as real as everyday life.

Do you have a favourite fictional celebration? I'd love to hear it.

Happy Holidays, everyone. See you next year!

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Kim Falconer's New YA Fantasy Series is out in 2019 - The Bone Throwers. Also check her urban fantasy out now - The Blood in the Beginning - and Ava Sykes Novel and the SFF Quantum Enchantment Series. You can find Kim on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Kim also runs GoodVibeAstrology.com where she teaches the law of attraction and astrology.