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Heather Hiestand's Musings
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First, to get some business out of the way. Congratulations to Maggie, who wins a copy of "Captain Andrew's Flying Christmas" thanks to her comment on the S.G. Rogers guest post.
Last night I finished critiquing a book set in Sept/Oct, and now I'm editing a book set from Nov-March. Talk about opposite seasons. It is May!
Do you prefer to read/write with the seasons? Does reading a beach book set at the beach during beach season do it for you, or do you prefer reading about winter when it's hot? Or Alaska, when you are sitting in Hawaii? I've noticed myself attracted to books set in Alaska right now myself, as it is warming up. Though I'm definitely not in Hawaii.
In a way, it would be easier to write with the seasons. I might come up with better descriptors of the weather, and find it easier to look up temperatures around the globe. But, the days tend to pass faster in real life than on the page, so I would quickly go out of sync.
What about holiday books? Do you read Christmas books in the summer? I'm used to it, since review books for October on start coming in around July.
I wrote "Captain Andrew's Flying Christmas" in September. I did listen to some Christmas music in October as I revised, to get in the mood. Once I finish my winter book edits, I'm going to get back to a summer novella, the third Steampunk Smuggler story. I may just write with the season yet.
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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Welcome to S.G. Rogers, one of my new favorite authors. I love her creative spin on young adult fantasy. Norse mythology is one of her passions and she's been doing a great series about it on her blog. She agreed to visit today and share some information behind her latest release, The Druid.
A Can of Wryms
Norse mythology isn’t warm and fuzzy. In fact, many of the legends are off-putting and gritty. The creation myth involves a giant (Ymir) who births a man and woman from his armpits, and whose blood forms oceans. The more I did research on the subject, the less inclined I was to use any of the nine worlds of Norse mythology in my new fantasy series.
Then, I had an epiphany.
Norse mythology predates Christianity. These myths, legends and beliefs circulated for two centuries before any actual recordation occurred. What if the scribes in Midgard (Earth) got their facts wrong, or spun the legends to suit their own purposes? What if Asgard (home of the Norse Gods) still exists, and continues to evolve to this day? Now that playground was something that seized my imagination.
Although I was aware meddling with tradition might be opening up a can of ‘wyrms,’ the runestones were cast. In The Druid, I set about creating a world where I chose what worked for my story, massaged those aspects that weren’t quite so appealing, and discarded what I didn’t like. Fans of Norse mythology will recognize certain elements I wove into the fabric of the tale, but no knowledge of Norse mythology is required to enjoy the story.
Controversial? Possibly. Provocative? Hopefully. My hope is that interested readers will be motivated to do their own research. In The Druid, I write about ‘the road less traveled by’ and to me, that made all the difference. ~ S.G. Rogers
Blurb:
Dani Avery is an ordinary girl wishing for adventure. She never expected to be kidnapped by mythological creatures and taken to a place she thought only existed within the pages of a book. Abandoned in Asgard, Dani must find her way home. Along the way, she meets the handsome Prince Rein. Sadly, the elf is not-so-charming and has issues of his own, leaving Dani disappointed and vulnerable. With nowhere left to turn Dani looks for help among the powerful Immortals, but gets caught in a trap that may leave her stranded and alone in Asgard forever.
Excerpt:
Outside, a flickering light in the adjacent parking area cast a moody pall. Even though the lot was deserted, Dani quickened her pace. Suddenly, out of nowhere, two towering figures with indistinct forms and features pinned her from either side. One of them spoke in a voice that was neither male nor female—or human.
“Druid, we have you at last.”
She was too shocked to react for a moment. But when something like clammy tendrils of rubber cement began to curl around her wrists and upper arms, Dani was galvanized into action. Although she tried to beat the ectoplasm out of her assailants, the tendrils continued to form until she was nearly immobile. Then, the shadowy figures dragged her into another plane of existence.
No longer in the Avery Dry Cleaners parking lot, Dani and her kidnappers had materialized in a field of electric-blue grass laced with broad swaths of green four-leaf clover. The sunlit sky was unlike any Dani had ever seen. The color was a kaleidoscope of intense periwinkle, purples, and pinks, with an occasional silvery wisp floating past. Reminiscent of the aurora borealis, the effect was dazzling, but Dani could scarcely enjoy the view in her current predicament.
She was lying in the grass, trussed up like a turkey, and utterly helpless. Unable to speak because of the rubbery tendrils across her mouth, Dani could only glare at Ninn and Ginn. Moments ago, the creatures had appeared spectral, but now they were vividly clear. They were humanoid, but the facial features under their hooded capes were strangely avian. Ninn prodded Dani’s thigh with the toe of his black boot. “It’s a female,” he chirped.
“I hate to admit it, but this definitely ain’t the Druid.” Ginn massaged his beakish nose, swollen even larger from close contact with Dani’s knuckles. “A shieldmaiden, I’m guessing, from her combat skills,” he said. “What should we do with her?”
“Send her back to Midgard?”
“Can’t. She’ll warn the Druid we’re looking for him.”
“Let’s dump her in Helheim.”
“Ah, that would be too cruel,” Ginn said. He gave a diabolical chuckle. “But I like it.”
****
The Druid is available in all formats from Musa Publishing and Smashwords, and from Amazon for the Kindle. ($2.99)
Look for Book Two of the Asgard Adventure series, The Accidental Immortal on June 15th
Find S.G. Rogers at www.childofyden.com
Twitter: @suzannegrogers
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SuzanneGRogers
What adventures are you looking to have this summer? One commenter will receive an e-copy of "Captain Andrew's Flying Christmas" by Heather Hiestand. Winner will be chosen and notified on Friday, May 11th! |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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I have a busy week ahead of me. I finished the tail end of my Victorian historical novel on Friday and will be busy editing this week. The first third is well-edited and clean. The rest? Probably not so much, but I have a great team to help me out. I want the draft to be a bit cleaner before I send it out though.
First thing is I'm going to have to figure out is what I really want to do with my India-Afghanistan subplot issues. I seem to have started in India and ended up with Afghanistan by the end of the book. Now, parts of these countries went back and forth over the boundary lines, and a chunk of it ended up being Pakistan a couple of generations later, but I need to be clear on my geography or my setup for the sequel is going to be one confused mess! I have to know where my mail is coming from, at the very least.
In other news, S.G. Rogers will be visiting with me on the blog this week, so look forward to that on Tuesday. She has a fab-looking new novella, The Druid, that I bought the day it released. Now it needs to percolate to the top of my TBR. Too bad for me that it isn't set in Victorian London or Southeast Asia like all my research reading...I'm currently reading The Victorians by A.N. Wilson (nonfic) and Brighton Rock (Depression-era fiction with great Brighton scenes by Graham Greene). And yes, I'm dug my North-West Frontier book back out so I can decide where Captain Lord Shield really is stationed...and here I'd gotten so attached to Kandahar and Quetta! |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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 Fergus Hume bio The Mystery of a Hansom Cab FREE
This is not the first era of indie publishing. One author who found great success was Victorian author Fergus Hume, who self published the mega-bestseller, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, in 1886. This novel went on to inspire the Sherlock Holmes series.
I perused this novel on my Kindle recently, and was pleasantly surprised by its readability and interest for today's reader. The conversion into electronic form went quite well and there aren't many more typos than there are in any indie book. Not always the case when old books are scanned.
Mr. Hume, a British barrister living in New Zealand, set this first novel in Melbourne, Australia in high and low society of the day. Like many authors, he was inspired by other popular works of fiction of the day, in his case detective fiction. He created a kind of locked room mystery, with a drunk man murdered in a cab in the wee hours of the morning. One difference with this story is there is no one detective following the course of the mystery, but various people like a lawyer, a couple of detectives, and the accused.
If you are interested in Victorian fiction or mysteries in general, you will find this novel fascinating. |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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Morgan invited me to her blog to talk about my writing journey with my sweet steampunk romance series, Steampunk Smugglers.
Come visit me!
Blog Link |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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 Buy Airship Seduction
Welcome, Camryn! You have such an interesting take on steampunk, and I'm happy you agreed to be a guest today and tell us about it!
Punk You
The definition of steampunk I always give people is “the punking of the steam era”, which seems to make sense to them (although if they can understand that, I don’t know why the title of the genre gives them so much trouble... oh well…). And while I am a hardcore fan of historical research and writing (especially the 19th century), I have much less of an interest in the “steam” part of Steampunk than the “punk” part.
My most recent release, Airship Seduction, is a Steampunk Paranormal Erotic romance, but when I talk about it, what I really want to talk about is the PUNK. Does it take place in Victorian Europe? Yes. In fact, subsequent books actually do take place partially in England, although this book does not. Does it have steam elements? Yes. Steamy elements, even. But like I said, I’m more into the PUNK.
So what is “punk” in Steampunk? Every author does it differently, but here’s what I do. I like to look at elements of the story that interest me and think about how to punk them. To me, punk is a reversal of expectations. A revolt against the status quo. Even within the genre.
For instance. Airships in Steampunk books are powered by science. But in my book, the airship on which the seduction takes place is powered by magic. There’s a steam room, but no one really knows what happens there except the dragons. And Sacha’s father, a warlock, built the ship by magic.
Another commonality between a lot of Steampunk literature is the preference for science. Generally, the scientist / inventor is the good guy. But in my series, science is bad. Very mean and bad. Not all scientists are bad, because that would just be stereotyping, but the main bad guy is a scientist, and he’s trying to make science “win” over magic. Eradicate magic altogether.
There are other punk elements, both in this book and in the rest… but I definitely like the Punk of the steam. What about you? When you think of Steampunk, do you prefer the Steam part or the Punk part more? What’s your favorite part of reading Steampunk?
And speaking of Steampunk, don’t forget about the (Cowboys & Corsets & Cocktails release party going on right now, for my Western erotic release, and my Steampunk erotic release. Stop by and you could win an iPad (http://camrynrhys.com/?page_id=762)! Thanks so much for having me.
-Camryn Rhys
http://camrynrhys.com http://facebook.com/camrynrhys http://twitter.com/camrynrhys
Tagline:
When Victorian Europe declares war on magic, Sacha Camomescro—an Empath demon with an airship—might be the only thing standing between progress and apocalypse.
Blurb:
Sacha Camomescro, an Empath demon with an airship, is rescuing refugees from Victorian Europe’s war on magic when she meets a man unlike any other. Javier Vargas is a lone alpha werewolf, his pack nearly decimated by assassins, his appetite for justice superseded only by his desire for her.
But Sacha’s gift is also her curse. While reading minds is helpful in eluding the assassins sent by Europe for Progress, it cripples her ability to trust men, and enjoy sex, for she can always see the fantasies men have when they’re with her. But Javier has a single-minded focus when it comes to his pursuit, and he wants her.
Just when it seems she can trust him, Sacha’s crew starts getting picked off mid-flight, and it seems there’s a rabid animal at fault. Javier and his lone remaining pack member fall under suspicion, and in the hysteria, Sacha begins to lose control of her mission. Blindsided by passion, she must decide if she can trust the one man who wants her just as she is.
Excerpt:
http://www.jasminejade.com/productspecs/9781419938429.htm
Thanks for stopping by, Camryn!
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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I'm sorry I haven't had time to post lately, as well as having to skip a planned blog hop. Thanks to illness in the household, most of my free time has evaporated for approximately a month. Not exactly what I expected to be going on when I wanted to finish the first draft of my Victorian historical romance, but it happens.
Buy on Amazon
I brought this paperback book into the bathroom to peruse last night while my son was playing tsunami in the bath tub (too dangerous for my Kindle in there these days) and after a chapter or so, I realized I'd been hit by one of my own writerly failings without it being a problem: Too Many Characters in Chapter One!
How did the author toss in all these folks without making the story sag or make us feel like there are a bunch of talking heads? Here are some of my insights:
1. Despite all the characters introduced, the action stays firmly on the main two characters.
2. Extraneous characters are tagged with a quick description immediately. "...Honoria, his eldest sister, was arguing. Verity, the younger,..."
3. Few of all these characters spoke. They are present but window dressing, though in an interesting way. They might speak one sentence, but that's it. "Verity threw herself onto Marcus' chest. 'Marc! Papa is dying!'"
I hope these insights are helpful if you too suffer from Too Many Characters syndrome.
I didn't have this problem in my lastest Victorian romance novella release, Clockwork Captive, because it is a novella with few characters. On sale for .99 until the end of March! Clockwork Captive on Amazon |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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Get free on Amazon!
Sale price of $.99 will be offered on my erotic romance novella for the rest of the month if you miss the free days.
Also, I'm a guest at Camryn Rhys's blog today, 3/24. Come learn why I think steampunk and romance go together. Enter her big release contest! Visit Camryn's blog |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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 Buy on Kindle
I just finished listening to The Secret Countess (aka The Countess Below Stairs) on CD and couldn't have been more enchanted. If you enjoy "downstairs" stories you will adore this one! Set just after WWI and the Russian Revolution, it tells the story of a great English house as it prepares for its new mistress and the Russian countess who comes to work as a maid. Technically a young adult story, it is suitable for adults and the romance, while more of a subplot, is sweet.
Blurb:
Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme’s crumbling but magnificent mansion. The staff and the family are sure there is something not quite right about their new maid – but she soon wins them over with her warmth and dedication.Then the young Earl returns home from the war – and Anna falls hopelessly in love. But they can never be together: Rupert is engaged to the snobbish and awful Muriel – and anyway, Anna is only a servant. Or so everybody thinks . . . |
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Posted by Heather Hiestand at
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