An old book for a new year

Today is the day the world is rejoicing a new year. I've seen many pictures such as this one here all over social media. The truth is, I'm stuck in the past. I'm writing a book that seems to never want to be complete.  I know I am a bit of an overachiever and perfectionist, but this book is sucking the life right out of me!

Alright, so here is my struggle. I've been working on the same damn book since Fall Semester of 2010. Yes, that's right. I have long surpassed the six year mark on ONE BOOK! It's ridiculous! At one point, I thought it was "good enough" to be published. I had many people warn me not to, but I did it anyway and this review is what caused me to really take another deep look at it. Since then, I have pulled it back and revamped it multiple times, still not truly happy with the results. This last time, I have taken a few of that horrid reviewers comments to heart and looked even deeper.

Now, lets discuss some of the bashings, shall we?

• It loses 3 stars for poor grammar and multiple spelling mistakes. Not much to say there. Spell check? DUH! He says something about repeatedly repeating the same words repeatedly. I found 617 time I used the word just. Excessive much?
• Humans can't become vampires until they are 18. Oh here is a grave of one who is 8. Well, it really wasn't that hard to clean up the writing so that the fuzzy points made more sense. The vampire itself was taken as an adult and the grave it was burying in was 8 years old. Just needed to reread and clarify... A LOT!
• Vampires can only be killed by one of six daggers and no one will reveal their locations. I can't comment much here because it is a major plot point. Simply know, it is not a storyline to quickly graze over. Every point matters. Some points are even tied directly to literature of ages passed. It's called allusion.

A [16 yr old] girl meets a boy and marries him after knowing him for 2 weeks, thereby making them both immortal. Here is the one point of that review that I am having a big problem with. Truth be told, this is where I am in this current edit. It is a key part to the entire series (yes there will be more) and it can not be removed. 

I will not lie to you, it does bother me that they must be married. It seems some how archaic and wrong, so let's take it out of the modern day societal influence and put it back into a much earlier time. A time when life spans were shorter and people were often married with a slew of children around them in their late teens. This is the time and place our story begins. Lady Eleanor was born in Scandanavia around the year 0. Her family worries about her when she doesn't have a husband at the age 20 and begins making plans to rectify the situation. Lucky for her, it never comes to this.

Let's bring to light the story of Francesca. She ran off with her love to become a vampire in an effort to escape betrothal and marriage to a French prince at the age of fifteen. That doesn't seem to bother readers because it is true to the time period.

It will all work itself out in the end, I promise, and readers will see that it wasn't as simple as a dewy eyed school girl crush gone wrong. However, I can totally understand how unrealistic it may seem to readers... Children being raised by vampires and old ladies mixing effluvium and elixirs in a cauldron in the middle of New York isn't realistic either. It's fantasy. Seemingly realistic people living lives that couldn't ever happen. Fantasy. 

This is where I would go on a rampage about how wizards could never live alongside us muggles and therefore the whole premise of Harry Potter needs to be rethought, but I will spare you the nerdist rampage. 

First sentence of the review: It gets 5 stars for having an interesting story idea.
Last sentence of the review: Not sure what book the other reviewers were reading, but it either wasn't this one or we have drastically different expectations for our reading material.  

My goal for January is to finish a book that will make this review obsolete. Touch back with me February first and I shall be working my tail to complete the ebook!  
 
 
 

Where are the lazy days of summer?

Last night, as I walked through my own bedtime routine, I realized my house is trashed. I don't mean there were a few toys on the floor and some dishes in the sink. No. My counters are completely covered with dirty dishes to the extent that making coffee this morning was a task straight out of MacGyver. There are bags containing various sports equipment blocking the front door. And laundry, well, let's not go there.

What I planned to do this summer.

Suffice to say, we are a month into summer vacation...

Hold on, I'd like to backtrack a few decades. Do you remember when summer vacation meant just that, a vacation. It was a  break from school and all the running around A time when children laid around their house whining about being bored and parents planned trips places just to keep them entertained? It meant week long movie marathons and staying up late to eat ice cream and catch fire flies.

Are you deep into memory lane? Let me pull you back.

My summer reality

My life is crazier this month than it has ever been in the school year! Daily swim team practices, three day a week baseball practices/games, gymnastics, musical rehearsal, princess camp, home improvement projects... Yesterday alone, we had a five hour swim meet with the oldest and double header baseball games with the youngest. Dinner didn't happen until 9! You get the point?

Ok, so summer vacation is a third gone. I had planned to take this three months break from school (and work) to write a book. You know, that book people have been hounding me to work on. I think I have written maybe 3,000 words in the last month. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!

It looks like about the middle of July sports will be over and things will begin to wind down. That means I will have approximately six weeks of lazy days. Granted, we have a family vacation scheduled in the middle of that and two kids planning long weekends in opposite directions. Maybe I will have to step back a few decades as well and start writing pen and paper style!

Have a happy summer and enjoy those rare moments!

Nine hours later: I'm not going to lie. I just took a two hour nap and I don't feel the list bit guilty about that! Now, to catch a few hidden minutes to work on a book.

Bannerman's Castle

Hudson Valley Photography

If you read Taken, you remember a brief mention of a castle at which Joseph arranged a meeting of the Cole Legacy. This location was my first inspiration for Lady Eleanor and Kol's home in the new world. I sometimes regret that in the three years since, I have chosen a new home (a topic for another day) though the Castle still resides in my dreams. In my writing, it still remains unnamed. In the real world, it goes by the name of Bannerman's Castle and rests on Pollepel Island in the Hudson River.

I remember vividly the day I was researching possible meeting places for the Legacy. Joseph said he would summon the family to the castle and all I could think was four days was not enough time for Lady Eleanor to travel to her homeland. Growing up in New England and having often crossed the Hudson River, I knew there were huge houses and wonderful castles littering the Hudson Valley, so I started googling.The photos posted on the Hudson Valley Photography website were so breathtaking that I knew right then and there I had to use them in some way.

As you can tell, the castle is in ruins giving me free reign to design the inside as I see fit. In my imagination, Lady Eleanor, bent over her cane, hobbles up the grand front staircase with the help of her youngest son, Joseph. A bird's eye view captures her white hair in it's typical tight bun and a long dress covered with a black cloak. Beside her, Joseph's brilliant ginger hair stands out against the darkening surroundings. Once inside, they hand their jackets over to the evening's hired servant and step forward through a set of grand french doors to the head of a large staircase to be met by the gleaming blue and green eyes of the Legacies children.

Photo by Neil Caplan via bannermancastle.org

 

When I designed these scenes in Taken, the history of the castle didn't matter. I just needed a meeting place. As my writing builds, I find that I need to know the real history of the island. Without it, I can not weave it into the my own story as I have done with so many other true life events and locations.

The true history of Pollepel Island and Bannerman Castle are just as rich as that of the Cole Legacy. I will not attempt to summarize it here as I am just today grazing the subject. However, both  Hudson Valley Photography and bannermancastle.org have wonderful summaries on the subject!

If you've read Taken, you most likely threw the book at the wall when you finished. Or, you flipped through the few blank pages in the back searching for more. Or, as many did, sent me messages with horrible names in them. Don't worry, I hold no grudges.

Yes, it's a cliff hanger. And yes, I did it on purpose. I know how frustrating it is now, but just think how much better the reveal will be when L&F2 finally surfaces. Don't fret. It's a work in progress. It took me four years to write Taken. We are turning the corner into year two for it's sequel. Give it a few more... 

That's not the point here. I wanted to show you what I made today. It's not words on a page, though it will help me further understand this world I've created and bring you more words on a page. Maybe it will even help me to write those words faster? (did you see me shrug? I shrugged.)

Drum roll please... What you already scrolled down and looked! Cheater!

Please don't be too upset at the quality here. I took the picture with my iPad. Plus it's quantity, not quality. Oh nevermind.

 So, this is Jarth. I had a big long explanation as to where the name Jarth came from but I will be concise. The Norse word for earth, ground or soil is jǫrð. I've seen it transferred to Latin letters as both jar and jord. In the end, I mashed all my findings together and named it Jarth. In Torian, that means earthen house. There we have the name for the Cole Legacy home.

I am well aware of how badly you want to know where it's located, who lives in it, why it's there, how old it is. I get that so... I guess I will get to putting words on my page.

Don't forget to enter your shelfie for a signed copy of Taken. Enter Here!


*Torian- the official language of Tori!