A personal achievement

Over the weekend I tested and received my yellow sash.  One step closer to become more like the awesome women I write about. 😊  It was such an accomplishment for me, one that I worked hard  for, one that until about a year ago I never thought would become a part of my life.  (I should have known better since I love Tai Chi so much.) Ranking up hasn't ever been one of my goals - as long as I'm learning and improving, that is my goal - and I not prepared for how proud I was going to feel after I tested.  I am a student at the School for Marital Arts, and it is such a perfect fit into my life.  It is helping me become stronger inside and out.  The outside I had expected, and the inside I should have given how much Tai Chi has impacted me, but I didn't.  The instructors there are a beautiful blend of wisdom, strength, serious, and humor.  I remember as a kid, my sister had this poster which said, "There is nothing as strong as true gentleness, and nothing as gentle as real strength."  It was probably one of the first quotes I had ever read that grabbed tight to my heart, and I am pretty positive that it comes out in my writing.   The instructors at this Dojo, they embody this.  

Before I became a student, my daughter was a student (still is), and Mr. Donahue said to the Wushu class, "Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war."  And I knew in that moment she was in the right place.  Every time I hear that quote it resonates within me.  I am not a fighter, but I have discovered through my practice that the strength to be if I needed it is there, and I am inspired to work hard to strengthen it.  Along with the strenuous physical test for yellow sash, we also had to write a paper (hopefully one day I will post it).  I almost think the paper was more stressful than the actual test.  I know, I'm a writer, it should have been easy.  However, there was so much that needed to be said, and it would seem that I can write either a few sentences or thousands of words, but I was supposed to write two pages.  Two pages to sum up my passion and everything that Marital Arts has done for me, why I continue to practice.  It was very similar to trying to write the blurb for each book I write.  It feels so impossible. However I did write it (shrunk the font a little to fit it on two pages).  One of the things I realized while writing was that it is the people in my stories that helped draw me in.  Marital Arts has slowly rooted itself in me over the last nine years, proving to me that the universe is patient and wise. [Of all the things that inspired me: my writing, Tai Chi, Mediation, it was my daughter that was the biggest inspiration].  I am in awe of how I have written Martial Arts into my books with so little knowledge of it, and I am even more amazed how stepping into the practice is actually helping me become the person I want to be. The writing of strong warriors and the balance that they find, it is a full circle.  Was it in me all this time, or the people in my stories?   I'm sure I'll never know, but I am glad to be at this point, and I am excited to see where this path takes me next.

A scene in "Solace: Lost" created by music

Opposite of my last post, this scene was truly inspired by music.  I wasn't struggling to write it, or need help.  In fact, I wasn't to this particular part of the story yet.  And when the idea came to mind, I wasn't sitting at my computer.   I was in my car driving to a spot I like to hike.  I was listening to one of the CD's that I made from my iTunes music, looking forward to my walk in the woods, watching the road (it was a dirt road and it had rained recently).   I wasn't even thinking about the story, but as the music started playing, my thoughts slid into what is known in the book as the Tamisa.  [The Tamisa is an event that happens on the (Zarran world) where the universe provides answers to the Zarran's questions that they have, to help them chose the right path, and help them see the person that is most important to them (their soulmate).] Everyone in the Zarran village gathers, those with questions or seeking their soulmate move to the center of those that have gathered,  and when the Tamisa begins, a rhythm is felt within each of them.  So here I am in my car and the song "Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)", by Gotan Project, begins and this whole amazing image moves through my mind.

To my amazement, the song that played next on my CD continued the story.

In the space between one song ending and the other beginning the universe provides Karissa with the information that she yearns for, but before she can decide how to digest it, the moment is interrupted.  And this is when the next song begins: "Secrets", by One Republic.  The interruption brings reality back to Karissa and she runs from the Tamisa, refusing to acknowledge the truth she had been shown.  As the song, plays I can vividly see her running through the forest and falling with emotions I can feel: sadness, confusion, and frustration.   Jack finds her here, hoping to help Karissa accept what the universe has shown her.   She falls back on the one thing that has always protected her and unleashes it all on him, discovering something that can no longer be ignored.

I so want to share more about this scene, but I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read "Solace".   It's a part of the story that I hope those who have read the books, love as much as I do.  😊

Music for a scene in Solace: Lost

As I said last month, music did have an impact on a couple of scenes in "Solace Lost".

In an important scene in the story, I was stuck.  I had "Lost" written up to a point near the end and I had the end completed, which means there was a bridge that I needed to write. I call it a bridge, because I need to get from one place to another where clearly something is missing - there is a gap.   Anyways, the bridge I had to write eluded me, and it drove me crazy.  I knew what I wanted to happen in that scene, but I could not see it clearly.  It took a few days before it dawned on me that I should put some music on.  Yep, that was all it took.  Once I found the right combination of songs, it didn't take me long to put the scene into words.  The songs I played over and over to write it were:

• "Smack my Bitch Up", by Prodigy  
• "Killing in the name of", by Rage against the Machine
• "Whatever", by Godsmack
• "Bodies", by Drowning Pool
• "Living Dead Girl", Rob Zombie

Yes, the scene is a fight scene.    The Prodigy song was probably reeated the most because of the way the song slowly and picks back up...  it helped make the sunset and its affect on Karissa much more vivid. I'd love to tell you about it, but I don't want to spoil it.  I think by the time the reader gets to this part of the story, maybe even before, they are wanting this battle. 

Writing "Solace: Lost"

Writing "Lost" only took me a week longer to write than "Uncharted Territories" (and it is almost twice as long).    It's funny to me how easy it was to write Solace compared to my other stories.  Not that my other stories have been difficult, it's just there's are so many other things I get distracted by.  And I don't mean non-writer world stuff, which does get in the way sometimes, but not nearly as much as with my other stories.  I like telling people the voices in my head directs me to where I write next.  (The voices being the people in my other stories)  It sounds crazy, I know, but...  it is what it is.   The reason I tell you this is so I can share what I think is funny about how quickly I wrote Solace.   When I think about it, it's rather fitting that Karissa's story was never interrupted while I was writing it.  Not one other voice tried to be heard.  And I think that it's because she is  the strongest and most stubborn female (main female) that I've written.   Which leads me to my theory that she kept all the voices of my other stories at bay until I finished.  I mean she is that badass. (Forgive my language.)  

Another interesting fact about writing "Lost": When I had finished writing book one, I didn't have a book two in mind.  I realize the end of "Uncharted Territories" leaves opportunity for a book two, and I remember thinking it would be cool to write more, but "Lost" wasn't even a glimmer of a thought.    I finished and published "The Shadow Dragon: Orbs of Fire", wrote and published "The Shadow Dragon: Aleksertac" before I wrote and published "Solace: Lost".  

The sub-title "Lost" came much easier to me than "Uncharted Territories".   With all that Karissa's been through she has always known what she had to do.  Then she met Jack.  Now that she has gone through uncharted territory, her reality has changed so much.  And even though she knows what she wants to do, she isn't sure how to accomplish it.  She is faced with bouts of weakness because Tania (one of her older sister's) had poisoned her, things she doesn't comprehend because she wasn't raised around them, and confronted with things - good and bad - that she never imagined she would.   And to make everything worse her compass of what needs to get done so she survives, has been broken by a creature named Jack, leaving her...  Lost.    

• Plus, I love how well going into uncharted territories leads right into being lost.

😊

Month of October: Solace(book2): Lost

This month I will continue with Solace and focus on book 2 "Solace: Lost".

Here are the basic things about this book:


Genre: Adventure/Fanatsy/Young Adult

Age: 10 and up.(I let my kids read them when they were 10. There is suggestive language and mild violence so it's a parental choice. My kids really enjoyed the adventure and characters as do all my fans which spread across the spectrum from preteen to seniors)


Published: 2013


What it's about: 
Here's the official blurb: 

• Short: When I met Jack, my life changed in a way that I hadn’t expected. By using the one thing that I was raised to believe was evil, he gained me my freedom. I have no idea what will happen now, but I do know that I must protect Jack from my sisters, from Omatha, and most importantly…me.

• Long: Lost is something Karissa has never been…until she met Jack. He awakened a truth that Omatha had never allowed, causing Karissa to enter into uncharted territory. Even with all her experience she is left struggling to find her way. She cannot fathom the events that have occurred. Events that have left her struggling with an inflicted weakness, battling those who want to collect the bounty on her life, fighting against a new evil, and through it all trying to figure out how she can keep Jack safe. Will Karissa be able to protect Jack from the evils that are hunting her without destroying him herself?

Who: 
Karissa: Omathan/Zarran (female)
Jack: Human (male)
Omatha: Omathan (female)
Sarsa: Omathan (female)
Torrel: Zarran (male)
Stazta: Zarran (Female)
Marsel: Zarran (Male)
Rekusa: Unknown

Where:Traveling through space, stopping on a few worlds before reaching Zynnat.

I think that covers the blah blah blah part of the book, if you have questions or want more information feel free to ask.