The Urban Myth of Santa Claus on IUF

In which I bespoil all your childhood fantasies: Santa Claus deconstructed on Indie Urban Fantasy:

Long ago, I wrote a comedic essay on the parallels between Santa Claus and Satan.  I was surprised to find quite a few things in common, though I was really only joking.  I finished the piece "...and the North Pole is as cold as hell!"

Back then, I didn't even know that "Nick" or "Old Nick" is also another word for The Devil in some parts of the world.  It is also the root of the name for several types of fairies in different regions (neck, nykk, nissie, nixsie, nyx, etc.  This itself may have come from the Roman "nymph".)  When we accept that many of our Christmas traditions have pagan roots, it's easy to see where all the confusion might have come from...

Click here for the rest!

When Prey Hunts is Done!

Today I finished the first draft of When Prey Hunts, a novel set in the same world as Make Willing the Prey and a number of my short stories.  I started conceptualizing it in late August, and began writing in early September.  It came in at at 69,438 words, and I am very pleased with how it turned out.  I think the ending could use a little work, and lots of spit and polish will be applied to the beginning and middle as well.

My critique group is great.  They've already read through Chapter 4, and their comments have been really helpful.  Since this is my first attempt at a novel, my biggest concerns have to do with plotting.  I had way more characters, and a lot more going on, than any of my short stories, or my NaNoWriMo novel (The Sun Never Rises).  And since plotting is way more difficult and time consuming to fix than grammar and prose, I hope I pulled it off.

It also contains a few challenging concepts.  Sure, it's an urban fantasy about faeries.  Sure, it's a pot boiler.  But the protagonists are never clearly in the right, everyone is deeply flawed, there are a few non-traditional relationships, and I included a Christian cult.  I hope I was able to handle all of these subjects delicately, yet still be realistic, and most importantly, be true to my characters and my world.

It was really difficult to write a faerie as a main character, to make her both sympathetic and creepy.  What a tightrope to walk.  My faeries are alien.  They are not predictable, yet my readers still needed to understand and believe their actions.  Designing a character like Jett was both fun and challenging.  I love her to death.

What's next?  I've been thinking about editing Make Willing the Prey, just a little bit, to make the beginning more interesting.  I've gotten a lot of feedback that it starts a bit slow, and thanks to technology, I can fix that.

Then I go to work on the final draft of When Prey Hunts.  I will be held back a bit by the reading pace of my critique group.  There are thirteen chapters, I can submit a chapter at a time, every two weeks.  So the soonest I will have all the feedback will be in mid-spring.  I can do a few things in the meantime.  Then the final round of beta readers.  Then cover design, layout and formatting, possibly a proofing service, and by summer, it should be published.  It seems like such a long time!  I will do what I can to speed it up.

Urban Fantasy Short Stories Roundup

Indie Urban Fantasy has a monthly newsletter.  You can sign up here, and read the archives here.

I've been writing short stories there every month since August.  All but one all are set in my fae world, the same as Make Willing the Prey and my work in progress, Emerald City Dreamer and Emerald City Hunter.  In fact, two of the characters, Jett and Perstin, are both in Emerald City Dreamer.

Some of these are whimsical and some fall into the creepy/scary category.  That's just how faeries are.

Right After Feeding Time

Vivian is a crazy cat lady and a witch.  Will her powers protect her when she meddles with forces she does not understand?

The Thief at 619

Perstin is a pygsie with a penchant for painting.  But the supplies he uses aren't exactly his...

The Metro Gnome

Buses are the perfect place for gnomes who love books. Too bad nobody ever reads anymore.

Cold Hunger

It lives in the woods, and it is always hungry.

I hope you enjoy!

Indie Urban Fantasy Roundup

It's been a while since I posted on here.  I have been writing, and I have been blogging.  Since my August post, I have written 116,000 words of novel (two novels).  And I've been blogging twice-monthly over at Indie Urban Fantasy.  The goal was to link an excerpt from each one, in a separate post, around the time of the original posting, but... well... Writing two novels in three months is one of the best excuses I have ever had.

So here's the roundup.

A three-part series on faeries:

The Science of Faeries Part 1
The Science of Faeries Part 2
The Science of Faeries Part 3

Urban Fantasy is the New Folktale:

Folktales in the past did not always begin "Once upon a time, in a land far away". When medieval German mothers told their children tales, they often began, "Just down the road by the old church, there lives a witch", or "When I was as old as you, I met a dwarf in the woods."...

Argentina Gnome - Creepy Reality? Or Just a Hoax?

In 2008, the small town of Guemes, Argentina gained notoriety when The Sun (UK) reported that a gnome had been captured on film. According to The Sun, locals had been plagued by this little gnome for some time.  The boys who captured this video were minding their own business when they heard a sound, as if someone where throwing rocks.  When Jose Alvarez, who had been playing around with his phone camera, saw a movement in the grass, he pointed it towards the sound.  And that's when he captured the gnome...

A humorous post about supernatural NaNoWriMo participants, Interview with a NaNoWriPire:

As you all know, Belle Art ran a popular late-night paranormal podcast. She disappeared last June under mysterious circumstances, along with every copy of every podcast she ever recorded. These transcripts survive. They were of a show taken exactly one year ago, today...

For a very special Thanksgiving post, featuring infinite turkeys, finite unicorns, Zeus, and how they are related, see A Toast to The Copious Cornucopia of Ancient and Modern Folktales

And most recently, last week in fact, I wrote about Mind Control, Mystical Mesmerism, and Other Magical Compulsions, in which I explore all the methods a modern-day fantasy character might use to force you against your will. 

Up next, a roundup of all the short stories I have written for the Indie Urban Fantasy Newsletter.  But you'll have to wait until tomorrow. :)