Novelista

Berty and friends continue to adventure in the world in-between the portals.  I can feel myself reaching the climax of the sixth book in the World In-between series.  Exhilaration rushes through my veins while dread weighs my hand.  It’s a weird feeling knowing that your time with your friends is coming to an end.  Perhaps that is why so many authors write series. In my head, I know what should happen.  I have planned the moment.  With every word, every sentence, every paragraph, it advances.  My heart races as my pen scribbles on the page.  Rawness flows through a rough draft that will never be felt again.  In the rawness, the best of plans change. After a good number of books with the same characters, I wonder how much new can be left.  What else can these characters face or experience?  As an author, the terror of having nothing else to write creeps into your mind at times.  Those fears have to be combatted or the ink wil...

  As the year comes to a close, I don’t want to reflect—only look forward.  However, how do we know where we’re going, if we don’t know where we’ve been? My personal journey this year has been difficult, and, at times, downright dark.  With all that has happened, I feel as though I have weathered this storm rather well.  I am in a better place as I head into the new year. I have been working through early drafts of my new detective novel.  Polishing makes every draft better than the last.  I even have the outline and beginnings of a second detective novel. The sixth book of the World In-between fantasy series stalled.  However, lately, Berty and Silvia have been rewriting parts and pulling me into a different direction than I originally planned.  And, I like where it’s going to go.  It might get a new title. My plans are to continue devoting time to my writing.  I will not be taking any new editing or beta reading projects for the time b...

It has been almost a year since I last typed the sixth book of my fantasy series.  Before the last day of July, that is.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I write my first drafts on pen and paper, then type it.  I started typing it again.  Getting to this point has been a struggle. Rewind to November of 2016.  Hope, The World In-between book 5, released.  I already began writing book 6 as soon as I penned the final word of 5.  That’s how I work.  I write and type simultaneously, even the same book.  The exact day my book released, my mom was admitted to the hospital. I would take my writing to the hospital.  Sometimes, I’d get pages done, but mostly nothing. After my mom’s death, I kept writing although not as much.  I lost the connection to my characters.  No amount of pen ramble would bring that back.  Writing another genre helped. I put my fantasy series aside.  I hoped that someday...

I gave myself a Thanksgiving deadline to finish writing the first draft of Book 6 of The World In-between series.  While I have made great strides on the book, it will be not be finished come Thursday.  Berty and company are on their way to the final major plot point in the story as I write this blog post.  The final plot point keeps getting more complicated the closer I get to it.  Hopefully, I ’ll have it all wrapped with a bow on top by Christmas. In the meantime, I’ll be joining other local authors at the Mount Pleasant Public Library during the Shop Local Saturday Cookie Tour again this year.  There will be books and cookies. During this special event, my books will be $5 and $10.  I take cash and all major cards. When:  Saturday, November 24, 2018  10 am to 2 pm Where:  Mount Pleasant Public Library 120 S Church St. Mount Pleasant, PA 15666 Parking:  Parking Lot beside library (metered) or on Church Street Th...

This past Sunday, I attended the Sunday Salon at the Mount Pleasant Public Library in Mount Pleasant, PA.  It was the second salon they did and the last one for 2018.  The library will begin again in January 2019, the third Sunday of the month. The theme for this month centered around "Falling for Fall."  Three local artists displayed incredible paintings and local authors and poets read fall centric selections.  My selection that I read takes place within the same world of the World In-between Series.  Enjoy. An Autumnal Outing by: IE Castellano Brenda twirled on the wooden platform, watching her lilac cloak float in a circle around her. A faint dry crispness tickled her nose. She paused to study the bundle of branches that encased her family’s chambers. Some of the green leaves looked less green. She switched to skipping across the platform so she could watch the door. Hearing her mother and father convince her brother to leave his trucks at h...

Whilst wallowing in a sinus pressure haze, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch and veg-watch something familiar.  I chose Iron Man. The movie begins with an attack on Stark’s motor envoy.  Then, it flashes back to all the important details about Tony and Stark Industries.  When it returns to the bombing aftermath, Tony begins his path to Iron Man (even if he doesn’t know it at the time). It’s a great way to introduce a character, show character development, and create an origin story for a character that will last well into the series. As I watched, I wondered if I could use the Iron Man method for my book. The book about which I speak is Dreamweaver.  It doesn’t introduce a new character.  There’s no origin story here.  In fact, it’s a later book in a series with already well-established characters.  So, can I? The next morning, I answered, “Yes.” My main method for writing is to get the story out first, everything...

On the docket for the New Year: Dreamweaver (The World In-between, 6) Truth be told, I didn’t get much series writing done last year.  This year is already different, writerly speaking.  Not to mention, book 7 wants to get on the page. Cross Country Road Trip Off to see America, or part of it anyway.  While journeying to family, hubby and I plan to visit some of the ancient and early American sites.  Mounds, glyphs, ruins, and nature.  It’s going to be great. More Flash Fiction My writers’ group regularly displays themed flash fiction and poetry in the local library.  I’ll be posting them here as well. I anticipate a year full of writing, laughter, and adventure.  Happy New Year!

A view of the lake I attempted a writing weekend earlier last month (September).  It went… Since it was a beautiful fall-ish day, my hubby-to-be and I packed our writing and a picnic lunch and traveled to a county park.  We found an empty pavilion and spread our stuff across the tables.  After eating, we strolled while collecting our muses. We sat on a bench near the lake.  Puffy, white clouds dotted the clear, azure sky.  A breeze rustled the partially turning leaves.  My mind tried to turn over the story for picking apart.  My tummy sabotaged it all. Writing didn’t happen.  At least not at the park.  Later that evening, I did break out my pen and paper.  What I discovered was that the story idea I mulled would not work as a short story.  It wanted to be longer, much, much longer. “Oh, but, IE,” you say, “had you’d planned your story in an outline first, then you’d know it would take more words than what you w...

What exactly is a Wood Listener? Beyond being able to communicate with the trees, no one seems to be able to tell Hope what a Wood Listener does, nor can anyone tell her why someone wants to steal her Listener magic and leave her for dead. The fifth book in the epic fantasy series shifts the focus from Berty to his niece, seventeen year old Hope, as she comes into her own, magically speaking. Since she first crossed the portal ten years ago, Hope learned to straddle two worlds—the mundane modern world and the magical world in-between the portals.  As the only Wood Listener in centuries, she struggles to find her place in life.  Unbeknownst to her uncle, her parents, and her innocent friend trailing her, Hope stoles into the magical side only to find her place fraught with danger. Hope (The World In-between, 5) now has a paperback edition available (in addition to the hardcover and ebook editions) where they sell paperbacks ( Amazon and Barnes & Noble...

A blue Victorian similar to the one at 727 Oak Street While Hope (The World In-between, 5) gets ready for its paperback debut, Dreamweaver (Book 6) plows forward.  The beginning of the sixth book in the epic fantasy series takes place in a dream world modeled on Berty’s world—the day Silvia introduced him to the world in-between the portals—however, he has no memory of the past ten years.  Like in Book 1 ( The World In-between ), Berty goes to 727 Oak Street to interview the mysterious Silvia.  Unlike Book 1, Berty’s brother, Jon, magically appears to aid his journey.  Or does he? An excerpt from Dreamweaver (The World In-between, 6) Chapter One Dream Home Something moved in Berty’s peripheral vision.  When he looked towards the opened door, the old woman had gone.  “Where’d she go?”  He stepped closer to the door.  “Hello?” he called.  Crossing the threshold, he stepped under a brass chandelier.  He stopped himself i...

True or no, makes for good stories Every now and then, I need to introduce a new “creature” to my fantasy series, The World In-between.  Where do I find them? In the past, I have used European established myths like Griffins ( Hope ) and Frost Giants ( Bow of the Moon ) or I created my own like the Faematask, Night Golems (both in Bow of the Moon ), Fire Walker, and Vindalf (both in Secrets of the Sages ). For this book ( Dreamweaver ), I am tapping into Native American mythologies.  “Native American” and “American Indian” are umbrella terms that encompass the many different cultures of North America.  Unfortunately, much of the histories, mythos, and lore of the peoples of the Americas were destroyed and American archeology is nowhere as extensive as other parts of the world.  With that said, a lot is being preserved and retold within tribal communities and by tribesmen (and tribeswomen) on the internet. Personally, I am interested in learning abo...

Beginnings On the docket this year is Dreamweaver , Book 6 of the World In-between fantasy series.  Already the beginnings of the book have used a good portion of a ream of paper and a new pen.  Dreamweaver brings the series back to Berty’s point of view.  Unlike the previous books, it continues exactly where Hope ended.  The sixth installment should be the last novel in this series.  I say should because although planned, sometimes my characters decide otherwise. Once Dreamweaver is finished, different options wait in the wings.  Which book to continue next?  I may just write them all and see which one the pen flows over best.  Or one may beg to be brought to the forefront.  I have some time to contemplate what comes next. In the meantime, I read.  And, I am starting to post book reviews on my blog.  Look for the first one this month.  If an author wishes to have a book reviewed, email me with a review reques...

Hope in hardcover Writing has finished.  Editing has ceased.  Physical and digital manifestations of my words now appear in book form (at least in pre-order until Nov 22 nd ).  Hope (The World In-between, 5) is a reality. Hope sees the worlds on both sides of the portal through different eyes.  Yes, Berty is still a major player in the book, but I decided to take the lens away from him.  The reader gets to know him better through his niece, Hope.  Who, in turn, gets a bigger piece of the adventure, whether she wants it or not. Ten years after others fought the Battle of Fairyland, seventeen-year-old Hope struggles to find her place in the world.  Which side of the portal should she be spending her time?  Can she suffer through the rest of high school without detention?  What about college?  Neither magic nor archery are majors.  What exactly does a wood listener do with the rest of her life?  An unknown enemy sh...

Handwritten Page from Hope The writing stage of Hope (The World In-between, 5) finished earlier this month.  As I type this blog post, the first editing stage is nearing completion.  I usually go through three or four edits before I hand it off to my editor. Since I handwrite my manuscripts (still), typing it into a workable manuscript format becomes my first edit.  First drafts are messy.  Mine are no exception.  Many pages include scratch-outs, arrows, and words scrunched here and there.  The main goal of a first draft is to extract the story from your head.  I happen to find the pen a more useful tool than the keyboard for this process.  As I type, I change things. Writing isn’t always fluid.  You stop and start, sometimes multiple times a day.  You may forget bits and pieces of what you wrote previously.  A certain word may get stuck in your head, and you end up writing it over and over.  Or, you simply don’...

It may be a month behind schedule, but Hope is almost finished.  Only one major scene to go.  I’ve had the final scene for this book in my head for years.  It taunts me.  However, getting to the end has been the challenge. I’ve had a few bumps when I started this book in the World In-between Series.  One, I needed a plot that gave a reason for the characters to be “there.”  Two, I needed a place to start.  Three, I had to change the tone to reflect the change in the point of view. To overcome these, I looked more closely at the story I wove in the previous four books.  The plot came together nicely.  I started at the beginning, of course.  I set up the new point of view and the plot in chapter one. “Miss Chase?  Are you with us today, Miss Chase?” Tearing her eyes from the wooden ring resembling a flower on her pinky, Hope raised her head to look at her teacher who leaned against the metal desk left over from an...