Undersunne is a kingdom on the brink of crisis: if the Princess is killed, the High Sorcerer will rule and there will be no more hope. But if she is rescued in time? Maybe, just maybe, there will be a way forward.
The World of Undersunne
How to write a Part Two
I cheated. I wrote a whole book, split it into three, and voila! A trilogy was born. When I started The Colour of Her Magic in 2006 I did not intend for it to be a trilogy. Most of my writing takes the form of standalone novels. By the time I got to the third draft my book was over 180,000 words and I panicked. Nobody was going to publish this. Hadn't I read all those articles about how first novels should be less than 120k words? But what I could do was split it. There are plenty of articles...
Why a chicken farmer?
Why a chicken farmer for my main character? Why not a princess, or a knight, or someone else? Why were they chosen for the quest?
How long does it take to write a book?
I remember once hearing that the guy who wrote "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (Louis de Bernières) took ten years to write his book. Ten years! I couldn't imagine it. My drafts took 3 - 6 months to churn out, and I thought each and every one was magic, brilliant, and perfect. They were not to be touched. So I would put them away for a while and concentrate on the next book, the next idea, because I love starting new projects. Turns out, I like ending them too, but my start list is always longer than my finished list. Then, eventually,...
When do you write?
A little bit about when I find the time to write, and how I write – just for those curious beings who want to know the SECRET!
Who can read this book?
The Colour of Her Magic is perfect for any lover of a good adventure story who wants fantasy, magic, wicked sorcerers and a fight between good and evil. It’s suitable for ages 12 – 13 and above, has the barest mention of sex, and the relationship between the two main characters is platonic friendship – and how often do you read that in books these days?
New Release Coming Soon
I'm so excited to announce a new release coming in April: the first of my "Song of the Towers" series of novels! A Princess imprisoned for ten years. A Chicken Farmer who dares defy the High Sorcerer. A Bard who’s just along for the ride. Princess Daphne of Undersunne has been imprisoned by the High Sorcerer for ten years. She isn’t dead… yet, but she’s running out of time. Erin, the daughter of a chicken farmer, wants to rescue the Princess. She's got a sword, a bow, acres of willpower and a scrap of magic. But before she faces the...
Life ah… gets in the way
As a wise Jeff Goldblum once told us that "life uh... finds a way" the same can be said of life getting in the way. I moaned the other day to my partner that I just didn't have the mental capacity to be creative at the moment, and he just looked and me and nodded wearily, feeling the same. I shouldn't complain, but I want to. The start of this year my website building business kicked into a new gear, making each day very busy. It's great to have the work, but sometimes I wish I could just chuck it...
What have you done?
I've had these characters hanging around for a while now, but each time I tried to write them they always petered out... It was never right. Alison and Celia Griffin fought back each time I tried to put them into a book. They didn't like what I had in store for them, and each time the ideas just went slowly downhill and I stopped writing. I watch a lot of renovation programs and thought one day - why not renovate a magic kingdom? The very next morning this first chapter wrote itself, and this time it feels right. Check out...
The Ideas Bible
Recently I had an amazing catchup with my writing buddy Renee Dahlia (http://www.reneedahlia.com/) who is well on her way to becoming a prolific romance author. Now I do romance as part of my overall plots, and I love to read them, but it's not my jam to write. My jam is fantasy, as well you might have guessed. Her jam is romance. While we caught up about the usual (family, friends, work), we also chatted about writing, which is one of my favourite things to do. I am fascinated with the way other writers work, and comparing that to the...