On Writing & Publishing by Robin D. Owens

Personal notes on writing techniques, writing a novel, my writing career and threading your way through publishing a book.

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Location: Denver, United States

RITA Award Winning Author -- that's like the Oscar, folks! Futuristic/Fantasy Romance and Fantasy with Romantic Subplots.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Weather & Escaping Into A Book

All right, I woke up and the day was gray and cold with snow riming the ground and icing the windshield of my car. My edits for Heart Change await. The teakettle whistles and I prepare my cup while looking out the kitchen window.

"It's a cruddy day," I say to the cats (who already know because they are being forced to eat turkey with butternut squash instead of the quail they liked yesterday).

"But I'm in Celta!" And I'm looking forward to the book after a week and a half away, then I recall the opening and say, "It's a cruddy day in Celta, too..."

Yes, I escape into books and sometimes I escape into mine. It's mid-February in Celta, just like today, and gray with a nasty wind and cold and Signet is standing on the cliff looking down at the sea. At least it's not MY birthday...

But I know in the book that the weather will warm and flowers will be out in the next couple of days and in the next hour Signet's life will change, and that makes me smile.

So may you enjoy the books you're reading now.
Robin

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7 Comments:

Blogger Tannun said...

I was thinking Origami might work nicely with Camellia's talent. You mentioned she blends teas, the Origami would help give an oriental feel to her character.

You haven't really touched on race for Celta, did oriental, black, native american people travel on the ships? Could be a way to work into the story line

6:18 AM  
Blogger Tannun said...

The tea blending idea would allow you to include chinese medical and holistic techniques like herbal medicine and acupuncture in the story line. Why not incorporate things like Yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation.

Also, Judge Ailim's talent mesh nicely with her occupation, I wonder if her family line include psycologist too? Maybe they are too empathic to deal with mental disease?

6:29 AM  
Blogger Tannun said...

Ok, last comment for the day, I'll stop, I promise!

Are geneoligist a talent? You have testing tools like T'Ash's stone to identify talent, is there something similiar to identify family tree's?

I wondered because I know T'Ash has believed his family was completely destroyed, but what if he's wrong? A child a nanny spirited away, a forgotten cousin. There should be a way to test bloodlines. I know the ship can do it, but is there a talent?

6:45 AM  
Blogger Michelle Rudeau said...

I know that the D’Sea family deals with the emotionally traumatized. Though I am curious how their Flair differs from the D’SilverFir’s telempathy and from the healers’ Healing Flair? I completely vote for more information about psychologists on Celta! (Though, I’m biased as a psych student.) Oh and I had questions about two characters mentioned in Heart Fate. I loved the brief scene with the last curse-breaker (she was a character!). I wondered how her Flair was used in the society. (And why is her Flair dying out? That sounds like a fun Flair to explore.) I suppose I don’t think of curses being used much in Celtan society. And who is this mystic-that-lives-in-the-hills that Straif delivers NobleGilt to? I feel like there’s possibility there…

9:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Please! please! leave nasty race problems in the real world! don't mess up Celta!!

2:56 PM  
Blogger Janice Seagraves said...

Hi Robin,

I hope you had a happy V-day yesterday.

Our weather is wet and rainy, but that's okay we're been in a drought and need all the rain we can get.

Janice~

10:39 PM  
Blogger FantasyAuthor RobinDOwens said...

I like the idea of origami, but the teahouse I've been visiting is more Russian/Persian. Camellia is all business, focused on making money ;)

I haven't handled race much on Celta, and that's been a complaint leveled at my work. I don't see many races on Celta, though Ebony, the architect of T'Ash's new Residence was black, and though I didn't actually say it, Lahsin D'Yew, heroine of Heart Fate, was Asian.

The folks who put together the funds were Celtic/Anglo, the crews might have been any race, but probably were screened.

The Lladranans were Asian, and I used tai chi in the Echoes In The Dark (actually I wanted to use Qi Gong but it hasn't been around long enough in the states).

Holm Holly did chinese calligraphy (and now that I think about it, so does T'Hawthorn). I do consider plant names, mixtures, etc. all the time.

I'll address more in another post.
Robin

5:39 PM  

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