I just had to share this amazing cushion I got as a (slightly belated) birthday present from my sister-in-law. The 'bookshelf' contains all my published fiction, plus a couple of the other things I've done, and there's room for the volumes yet to come. Looks great on my usual writing chair.
#ThreeKindsofNorth #TheSunderingWall #TheShatteredMoon #writing #amwriting #mastobooks #books

#writingWonders 4 Day 1. Two truths and one lie about your WIP (#TheShatteredMoon, Bk 2)
1: Book 2 takes Jerya, Rodal, and Railu into completely new territory, and not just geographically.
2: The crossing of the mountains in Part One is based on my own experience in ranges including the Sierra Nevada of California.
3: Almost by accident, in the course of this story, Jerya learns who her parents were.
Who can spot the lie?
#writingCommunity #ThreeKindsofNorth

#WritingWonders 2 Day 28 Snippet of a scene you really like.
"Do you know how many books there are in Delven, Railu? Could you take a guess?" The response was a helpless shrug. "Twenty-three. Ha, it's a prime number. Something else I didn't know until a few days ago."
It's a pivotal scene, where the relationship between Jerya and Railu (which will be important far beyond Book 1) is really established.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 27 Most difficult scenes to write?
There aren't many sex scenes, but they are tricky. I think many authors struggle to strike a balance here, and it's particularly delicate when writing about characters whose sexuality is different from my own. I've tended to work on the basis that less is more, and to focus on feelings rather than physical details.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 26 Invented or found any unusual sayings or manners?
"It's the way things are," is a saying Jerya found all too familiar (and deeply infuriating) in her early years. And the sentiment, if not the exact wording, will continue to bedevil her for years (and books) to come.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 25 How many languages do your characters speak?
There's really only one basic language in the known world, but regional dialects are sufficiently different that people can sometimes struggle to fully understand each other.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 24 What about your world would surprise a stranger?
In the Sung Lands, probably the dominance of the Guild of Dawnsingers, and the apparent lack of challenge to it even from those (e.g. men) who are excluded from higher learning. This aspect isn't much explored in the first books, but maybe later…. Beyond the mountains… well, that's for Book 2.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 23 Does your MC sleep well? Why/why not?
Jerya's days are nearly always busy and active, though in very different ways at different stages of her progress, and she usually sleeps pretty well. Early in Book One, though, she has a disturbed night, because everything’s changed, and because she’s never slept in a soft bed before.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

I'm writing #sciencefiction so what's my first search this morning? Wormholes? The orbital parameters of Callisto?
Nope, it's 'juniper berry season'.
#scifi #TheShatteredMoon #Writing #WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 22 What is your MC good at?
She has a natural aptitude for mathematics, which has never really found expression until she arrives at the College of the Dawnsingers. Something else which turns out to be very useful later is her familiarity with, and competence on, rocky and steep terrain.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 21 What does your MC struggle with?
This changes as time goes on. Initially, it's that people can't/won't satisfy Jerya’s curiosity about things. Later, it's the false position she finds herself in as a Dawnsinger. And in Book 2, there's a whole new set of challenges, but as that's not out till later in the year I'm keeping it under wraps.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

Quick reminder that there are three free short stories available through my website. One from the world of #TheShatteredMoon (https://tinyurl.com/musbc86a). One with a bit more of a hard sci-fi vibe (https://tinyurl.com/y2mwzhdb); and one of my rare forays into fantasy (tinyurl.com/mvmnyyh8).

#WritingWonders 2 Day 20 How self-confident is your MC (1–10)?
Sometimes as low as 2 or 3, sometimes 10. Jerya enters the Dawnsingers’ College feeling very unqualified and ignorant, but at her core she has a strong sense of herself and her values which she holds on to against great pressure, and which leads her to a drastic and irrevocable decision.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 19 What does your MC hide from others?
For most of Book 2, Jerya can't tell anyone where she's really from because the one time she tried they refused to believe her and got quite angry about it. And near the end of the book she reaches a totally unforeseen realisation about her own origins, which she also cannot share, except with her more trusted friend.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 18 One taste & texture that evokes joy in your MC.
There's a scene in Book 3 (not yet published) where Jerya is given a drink of goat's milk and it takes her right back to her childhood; goats were the only source of milk/cheese for the first 19 years of her life and she often milked them.
Texture; for similarly nostalgic reasons, the texture of sandstone.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunit

#WritingWonders 2 Day 17 Small gesture guaranteed to make your MC smile.
In Book 3 Jerya will find herself looking after a small boy for long periods. Can't say who he is because spoilers... But because of her own history (again, spoiler-limited disclosure) she finds some of his mannerisms deeply endearing, but in a bittersweet way.
More generally, any act of kindness.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 16 What can be found on your MC's bedside table/near her bed?
For most of her life Jerya had no bedside table, only a small niche in the wall of the cave, and there's been nothing there but a candle. However, from very early in her time at the College of the Dawnsingers, she's always had a book handy, and she'll continue with that whenever she's able as her life goes through various changes.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

Ah, #BookQuoteWednesday. This is from Book 2 (in final edit): Book 1 is available now at a special introductory price:
https://storyoriginapp.com/universalbooklinks/0522fd0c-a7d3-11ed-a2e9-6b2e7b295df5
#TheShatteredMoon #WritingCommunity #postapocalyptic #comingofage

#WritingWonders 2 Day 15 Describe your MC's current mood like the weather forecast.
Currently, I'm revising Book 2 and don't want to drop too many spoilers as it won't be out till August. But I can say that in Chapter 24, which I'm about to start on, Jerya's mood will be sunny early on but with severe storms developing.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity

#WritingWonders 2 Day 14: What kind of jewellery or accessories does MC wear?
Jerya never owned any such thing before becoming a Dawnsinger, but then she was given a watch, which she wears on a cord around her neck. Timepieces and timekeeping are very significant and closely connected with the prestige and authority of the Guild of Dawnsingers.
#TheShatteredMoon
#WritingCommunity