Worldbuilding – Foundation Process or Procrastination?

Our topic this week at the SFF Seven – one entirely appropriate for science fiction and fantasy authors – is “spending time on worldbuilding vs. actual drafting – what’s your balance?” Come on over to find out more. 

Rejuvenation and Goal-Setting

The pattern of frost-filigreed wisteria vines is so lovely. The winter holidays are such a great season for rest and rejuvenation – and our weather in the high desert of New Mexico has obliged with lots of snow and freezing temperatures. All the better to keep me cozied indoors and focusing on both relaxing and giving my mind the room to mull thoughts for the coming year. A big part of that is going to be reducing back log and lists. Come on over for more. 

A Fab Year Ahead for SFF Romance!

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is books we’re looking forward to in 2019. 

Can I just say ALL OF THEM???

Okay, I’ll try to hone it down to a few. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the final book in my Chronicles of Dasnaria trilogyWARRIOR OF THE WORLD, will be out January 8. A fine way to kick off 2019! Come on over for more. 

Jeffe’s Eligibility Post

My Nambe reindeer and sleigh set – this gives me all kinds of happy. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the little jingle-bells string has tiny LED lights, too.

I haven’t been blogging here as much, as I’ve been doing my First Cup of Coffee podcast. Those daily bites are only 20 minutes long (sometimes shorter), but I totally get that  a lot of people don’t have the bandwi

dth for listening to stuff. So, I’ll be blogging on Wednesdays here, and still on Sundays at the SFF Seven. (Though I was a bad blogger kitty and missed last Sunday. Oops.)

Prisoner of the Crown

I’ve been busy writing the fifth book in the Sorcerous Moons series, which I’ll announce here will be called ORIA’S ENCHANTMENT. We’ll have a cover for it soon, and I anticipate releasing it in January! In other news, the third and final book in the Chronicles of Dasnaria trilogy, WARRIOR OF THE WORLD, will be out January 8. There’s a great mention of book 2, EXILE OF THE SEAS. – amid other awesome books – in A (Brief) Timeline of Female Authors’ Influence on Sci-Fi and Fantasy Also, ending today, December 12, there’s a giveaway for book 1 of the trilogy, PRISONER OF THE CROWN. 

Exile of the Seash

So, that leads me to mentioning Eligibilitabilimagullity. 

That how you say it, to avoid the worst side effects of using the word three times and bringing down the scorn of the jealous gods. See, in the SFF world, all the awards require outside nomination. Whereas I can enter my books for RWA’s RITA® Award, for awards in the SFF community, we rely on others to nominate our books. Thus, we do eligibility posts, listing which of our year’s releases might be possibilities. I’ve never done one of these posts before, but I finally decided it’s like entering the RITA®, only less expensive. 

Speaking of The Chronicles of Dasnaria, two of those books are eligible in the novel category, PRISONER OF THE CROWN and EXILE OF THE SEAS. These are high fantasy, with no romance in the first, and a light touch of it in the second. These are traditionally published, from Rebel Base books.

Also in the novel category, the fourth book in my Uncharted Realms series (or seventh in The Twelve Kingdoms, depending on how you slice it), THE ARROWS OF THE HEART is also eligible. This one is firmly fantasy romance. I’m self-publishing these books to complete the series. 

Also eligible in this series, in novella length, The Dragons of Summer, available in the anthology SEASONS OF SORCERY: a Fantasy Anthology, a collection I self-published with Amanda Bouchet, Grace Draven and Jennifer Estep. Their stories are also eligible in novella categories! All excellent fantasy stories with varying degrees of romance. 

So, if you’re nominating for SFF Awards – the Nebula Awards, the Hugos, World Fantasy, etc. – then thank you! 

Sex: Always, Extremely, and Profoundly

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is “Sex in Your Novels: When Do You Use It, How Graphic Do You Get, How Does It Change Your Character(s)?”

I answered the question in my post title, so I guess I’m done and go finish trimming the tree!

All right, seriously, I suspect I’m fairly well known for writing the sexytimes into my stories. I sometimes teach classes in Sexual Tension and Sex as a Tool for Character Transformation. I think I’ve written maybe one or two fiction works with zero sex. Some of this is because my readers expect the sexytimes from me, sure, but it’s also because sex just always works its way into my stories. Come on over for a breakdown of how I use sex in a story like THE SNOWS OF WINDROVEN.

Jeffe’s Favorite Holiday Book

Our topic this week at the SFF Seven is our favorite holiday book. I have a Christmas tradition that involves my favorite seasonal books. I keep them in the bins with the decorations and bring them out only at Christmastime, when they occupy a pride-of-place position on an end table. Come on over to learn more about my favorite.

Why Building a Writing Habit is Essential

WARRIOR OF THE WORLD, which comes out January 8 2019, is being featured in a Goodreads giveaway until November 27! Great opportunity to win one of a hundred free copies! Kensington has also started a reader Facebook group called Between the Chapters. Lots of great giveaways on there – along with author chats. I’ll be doing one in January, so join up and enjoy the party!

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is one I suggested, on the idea that “Even When You’re Not Writing, You’re Writing.” Come on over to find out what I mean – and get some NaNoWriMo tips!