Sulfur: home stretch.

Okay, so I haven't posted recently. But I have excuses. I have a whole stack of excuses including the following: school, work, health-related outages, etc. However, those are just excuses, part of the usual barrage of stressors life throws at you. The real reason I haven't posted in so long? I'm almost done with Sulfur. I don't mean that I'm almost to the next stage of the editing process; I mean I'm almost done with the editing process. I'm getting ready to publish, and during this phase everything in my life takes a deep inhale with anticipation.

I've reread Sulfur in it's entirety (It's better than Farro in my opinion - phew!) and now I need only wait for that husband of mine to read through the seven or so chapters he has left. Then we'll both have called in done. I get it formatted, put together, and send it off.

Somehow, I kept postponing posting here because I kept hoping that "tomorrow will be the day", but I can't put you all off forever. Soon, I tell you now, soon. And then you won't have to rely on my episodic updates.

I can't wait; I want to move on to Beauty and the Beast and Ancient Egypt.

(For reading, here's Chapter 14 of Sulfur, featuring the return of Bomani.)

My ass, on the line

What an October it’s been. Many of you might have heard by now that I’ve been out with some sort of tailbone issue. Well, what I didn’t mention in the brief blurb was that I ended up missing a solid week of work and spent a majority of that time lying face down on some doctor’s table with hands probing my backside. Need I alert you how uncomfortably close he came to my butt?

In the end, what started as a two-week long pain marathon, finished with a climatic bang. I was caught between a rock and hard place – the inability to move, sit, or walk and my ever-present need for money. No work = no green, something not everyone can live without.

How did I remedy this situation? With another doctor’s visit. With five shots of Lidocain to the injured area and a whole lot of love (and by love, I mean scalpels and gaze and iodine). Sometime in the near future I’m going to need to go back in for surgery.

All of this drama has ripped a good three weeks of my life away, stranding me face down in a sea of pillows. But don’t worry, I recovered just in time for… school. It’s a big juggling act, my life right now, and sometimes I have to marvel at my own determination to publish a book between it all. But I will, and soon.

Sulfur might be taking me a month longer than expected, but I’m finally able to work again and am very close to sending it on its merry way. I can’t wait to finish this project. It’s almost as though life, seeing me toeing the finishing line, has decided to throw every obstacle it could between me and the tape at the end of the track.

But I’m almost there.
Almost there.

Chugga, chugga.
Chugga, chugga.

Keep writing,
Arreana

P.S. Chapter 12 was posted today

For the Fans!

So I've had a couple requests to think up real-life look-a-likes to my characters. (For example: so-and-so looks like Brad Pitt). I've had enough requests by now, in fact, that I've decided to take a break from writing/recovering from tailbone issue to put together a couple pictures for your pleasure.

These were in fact very difficult to come up with, as I'm rather particular about the way my characters look. It took me a while to find certain characters' doppelgangers (Shana and Ioulia to name a few), but I hope my results will not disappoint.

Please keep in mind that these pictures are purely a little extra "goody" for readers, and are no way completely, 100% accurate depictions of my characters.

KHENSA "SPARROWFINGERS"

(Ken-sa)

Age at beginning of Farro: 18

Comments: Khensa is generally marked (aside from her unpictured purple eyes) by large-ish lips and sharp/square features. The woman in this picture, though similar in appearance, is older than Khensa in appearance, who, though grimy, is still in the prime of her life. The hair, which Khensa wears long, is also obviously incorrect.

BOMANI AMON

(Bo-ma-ni A-mon)

Age at beginning of novel: 22

Comment: Astute readers might recognize this picture as belonging to rising actor Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo in "Game of Thrones" and Conan in the remake of "Conan"). Many readers, when asked what they imagined Bomani to look like, suggested Jason Momoa in his role as Khal Drogo. While this picture unfortunately shows "Bomani" smiling, it captures several other characteristic features: straight and strong features, heavy brow, dark eyes, general hugeness.

LATEEF LIZI

(La-tea-f Le-zi)

Age at Beginning of novel: Approx. 45-46

Comment: People who know me well won't be surprised to see Gary Oldman pop up on this picture anthology. Lateef in appearance is modeled a great deal off the wonderful Mr. Oldman. There is something in Gary Oldman's recent roles that have inspired a feeling of wearying age and downtrodden surrender. While Lateef is perhaps several shades darker physically, their general gray, world-weary appearances are similar.

GHARI

(Ga-ri)

Age at beginning of novel: Approx 55

Comment: Ghari is darker in hue, darker even than Bomani, but I couldn't for the life of me find a thin, butler-ish man to better fit the bill (unless I was looking for pictures of Jafar). Ghari is marked for being thin, stoic, and a possessor of excellent posture.

Shana

(Sha-na)

Age at Beginning of novel: 24

Comment: This picture obviously lacks the splotchy birthmark that mars Shana's otherwise sweet face. She's generally described as a soft-featured, petite woman. I chose this picture, however, for the general tension displayed on the model's face. Shana, though eager to please and prone to smiling, is generally as sullen looking as the rest of them.

Vanessa "Nessa" Bateman

Age at beginning of novel: 21

Comment: This is pretty much spot on how I picture Nessa when writing her -- the color of her skin, the eyes, the nose, the hair. It's pretty much perfect. I don't really have much to add other than an admission: Nessa is something of a favorite character of mine.

Fredrick "Bata" Bateman

Age in Farro: 26

Comment: Bata is a character I've always felt sorry for. He's never been a particularly evil character, but rather desperate and misunderstood. This actor (who I've forgotten the name of at the moment) is a perfect fit for how I imagine Bata looking. There's a puppy-dog arch to his brow, and a general look of pleading the actor emulates perfectly.

Gregory "Hamlif" Hamley

Age at beginning of novel: Approx. 49-52

Comment: Hamlif is best described by Khensa as looking something like a stuffed turkey. He tends to wear his collars too tight, which only pronounces his suety dewlap. He's an average-featured bloke, but can balloon up into a great red-faced monster if provoked. Unlike this picture, Hamlif is salt and peppered and a little more gray in the face.

Jarai Amon and "Mutt"

(Ja-rai)

Age at beginning of novel: 4

Comment: Just a boy and his dog. His hair is obviously longer in this picture than it is in the books, but there you have it!

Umayama Amon

(U-ma-ya-ma)

Age at beginning of novel: 27

Comment: I've blocked our her eyes for obvious reasons, but this beautiful model is generally who I picture Umayama looking like. I've always thought/described her as delicate featured, beautiful, and elegant woman. If he inherits her looks, Jarai might end up being quite the looker!

Mbiki

(Mm-bi-ki)

Age at beginning of novel: Approx. 41

Comment: Mbiki is not a particularly attractive man. Khensa inherits most of her physical traits from her mother, which is probably for the best. Mbiki is also rather more wrinkled and dark than this picture would have you believe. He's spent a good portion of the last couple years standing outside guarding the Junktown Gate.

Ioulia

(I-ou-lee-a)

Age at beginning of novel: 23

Comment: I looked and looked for a good real picture of Ioulia without any success. In my search I came across the cover from the fantasy novel "Gaslight Dogs" (all credit goes to the fantastic cover art of this novel). This art sums up the character I had imagined in Ioulia: short, tattooed, beautiful, spunky, and self-reliant.

Thorton

Age at beginning of novel: 34

Comment: This man. Spot on depiction of a character with which you'll soon become very much acquainted.

So there you have it. The major characters from Farro and Sulfur laid out for you enjoyment!

Hope you enjoyed all the comments and reflections.

Keep reading,

keep writing,

Arreana

Sulfur's Cover

So today I post Sulfur's cover for all to see an enjoy. Like the first cover, it is the creation of one Ms. Angela Taratuta.

I've had a lot on my plate this week. We're currently in the process of clearing out my husband's childhood house and moving. I've always been somewhat of a neat freak, and I'll tell you, the things I've encountered in this house... Some of this stuff has sat untouched for twenty years. I ask my husband "What is this?" "Where did it come from?" "Why is it here?" and his response is likely to be, "Because it just is." To someone who immediately throws out anything they don't use on a daily basis, this is shocking. Shocking, I say!

I've also been having to brush up on my mathematics, for a placement test I needed to take in order to enroll for fall quarter. I've been out of Uni for a year, and I can't tell you how happy I am to finally be able to go back. (On a side note, I totally rocked the placement test, and I'll be taking the math class I wanted!)

Then there's work, and I don't mean the writing, I mean the work of the 9-5 variety. It's a physical job, as much as I enjoy it, and afterwards I tend to get home, moan, shuffle into bed, and conk out for an hour or two. Conducive to my writing career? Not exactly.

Speaking of 'writing career'. I've found the adjective doesn't adequately apply to my work. Yes, I write. I write a great deal. But I spend almost as much time editing and promoting and answering letters and stressing over deadlines. In view of these added responsibilities, I think it only appropriate that instead of 'writing' I am 'noveling'.

"Oh, Arreana! What are you doing today?"

"Oh, you know, the usual -- noveling."

As long as I don't go writing any memoirs or histories, I should be fine.

So how will all these added pressures (school, work, moving) affect my approximated release of Sulfur? Not much hopefully. Back in May, when I started writing Sulfur, I estimated a September release. This is unfortunately looking to become more of a mid-October release. Life has thrown a couple wrenches into my schedule, but I'm still going strong, and I haven't let myself get knocked too far off course!

For reading a lonely history of a stressed 'novelist', here is Chapter Eight.

Oh Boy, Editing!

So I didn't post last weekend because I was too busy off in the mountains camping and goofing off. No internet for four days. No checking emails, no having to talk/think/look at Farro or Sulfur... Then I come back and it's Vacation Shock all over again. Email box = 54 non-spam messages to sift through. Sulfur = 21 chapters left to edit. I think I'm done for vacations this summer. Or at least... the ones that take me away from the internet.

Here I am, up to my eyeballs in work and Sulfur work. Then, sneaking up fast, is that looming "first day of school" which might crack me completely.

I'm so excited to be done with Sulfur, but I haven't had any time to really enjoy it. When this is good and done, I'm going on a week long siesta, complete with naps and coffee and maybe a pallet or two of the cheesiest lasagna I can find.

Then what, you might wonder?

Well, then I will be promoting the heck out of both of them. And I'll be attending school. And I'll be editing a book I wrote back in 2007 that I'll be throwing out hopefully sometime in November/December. After that I'll be finishing off my half-completed project currently titled "The Scorpion King". Beauty and the Beast in ancient Egypt? Yes, please!

From there the road forks, and I'm not sure which story I want to tackle first, the Historical fiction adventure set in Ancient Rome, the lovecraftian horror, or the cowboys vs. zombies story I've been sitting on ever since I saw this, a video of ants turning into zombies upon becoming infected by a terrifying mind-controlling fungus.

The world is opening up, and the only obstacle between me and the next project is this mountain of a book sitting on my plate right now!

Speaking of which, Sulfur's cover by Angela Taratuta is now complete and can be seen on my Facebook page (link to the right)! Go check it out when you get a chance. I'll probably be throwing it up here sometime next week!

Now, if you haven't read them already, here's Chapters Six and Seven for your enjoyment.

Love,

Arreana

Sulfur: completed.

Editing is now before me, sitting like an ugly troll between my novel and publication. I'm late on my usual Friday post because Friday was the day I typed the last chapter, the last line, the last bit of dialogue between characters that have become downright precious to me.

I am exhausted. After putting Khensa through so much emotional and physical pain I find myself sharing her aches. With the story's completion, all I wanted was to get away from my computer. I went out to dinner, I ran some errands. Yesterday, I went salmon fishing, and last night I slept for twelve hours.

I must admit to a dissatisfaction with the ending. There is so much emotion (personal gratitude, narrative closure, suitably epic descriptors) I wanted to express in the last six or so chapters, that I feel one week's frantic writing could not adequately do my feelings justice. It will be revisited, perhaps lengthened, and then maybe I'll have my release from my characters and their stories.

For the first time today, I piled Sulfur's chapters into one mega-file (I usually edit in chapter chunks). I wanted to see what it's total length had come out to be, afraid that in my hurry to express all that needed to be expressed, I had shortened what should have been a novel of Farro's length.

I'm pleased to report my findings:

Farro = 35 Chapters = about 116,000 words

Sulfur = 32 Chapters = about 125,000 words

Long chapters, longer book, and hopefully (when all is said and done) better written.

Thank you all for your support and your advice. Thanks in particular to my husband, my two alpha-readers, and my three beta-readers.

Now, you've probably already heard but here's Chapter five of Sulfur, for your enjoyment.

Keep writing and don't stop for anything,

Arreana

This is how I write...

... I sit down, I open MS Word, and I smash the keys until the story's done.

I don't stop until I'm finished. I don't sideline projects in pursuit of others. I start a project and then I don't stop until I finish it. Frequently, I also won't eat, sleep, or read either. Why am I saying this? Because at work yesterday I saw an advertisement for a writing workshop program that the library will be hosting next month.

Writing workshops don't make sense to me. You don't learn how to write by instruction or reading or any other method save one: rote practice. The only way to learn to write is sit down and write. The only way to finish a short story or a novel or a screenplay is to keep writing until it's completed. Almost every time when I hear from a friend that they've "started writing" and "Won't you read it and let me know what you think?" I say yes. I want to support my friends, I think writing is an amazingly strong talent that can translate into many other skills. However, what do I get to look over? One chapter. One chapter that my friend has looked over so intensely that they haven't had a chance to write a word beyond it.

Please stop doing this. Please just write the book, beginning to end. All authors constantly have new ideas that pop into their heads, that doesn't mean you should drop your current project to run at it. Jot the idea down somewhere, stash it away for later, and get back to writing.

Why the rant? I'm sick of hearing about workshops and how-to books and writers' blogs. They're a waste of the writer's time. Write your damned book, and don't let some wayward "marketing" workshop derail you and make you rethink your whole project. Put the blinders on and just run for the finishing line.

Ironic, isn't it, that my advice to you is to not listen to advice from sources like this? If you're a writer get off this blog and go write something. Only when you've exhausted yourself, should you check out Chapter Four, The Axes They Wield.