NEVER SETTLE....

I'VE BEEN WORKING FAIRLY INTENSELY on my edits for The Tattooed Queen. (This is its new title btw. It used to be The Tattooed Rose.) I'm in the final leg of the work, where I feel like I've rewritten the book at least twice. That's an exaggeration, of course, but it feels that way. Draft One (which I didn't think was Draft One and was probably a Draft Four, but seeing all the work I've done on it since, and which I finished and submitted to Five Rivers in March of 2015) gave way to the Real Draft Two. Real Draft Two addressed Lorina's suggestions. That edit took me six months from October 2015 to March 2016. Part of the prior hiatus was due to my mother's cancer and passing. I am now into Real Draft Three, which I hope will be the final to second-last pass before I send the manuscript back to Five Rivers. This one involves tweaking - tightening dialogue, sharpening and crystallizing action and description, cleaning up any clichés or lazy work with something fresher, and catching any remaining bits of exposition that shouldn't be exposition.

I only tell you this, because it's been a bloody mountain of work. (Thus the clever picture of Everest above, to illustrate.) I'm not complaining. Writing is what I do. And also, if you're a writer, that somewhere down the line, we might talk about all the effort that goes into our final product.

I always wonder if I work as hard as everyone else. If I do, that's good. Or maybe it just means I have to strive harder to see results.

In any event, a couple of thoughts occurred to me today. The first one was: if I have to work this hard to create something that's good, and it is good according to my standards (which are picky or obsessive, I haven't decided which), then I get a certain amount of satisfaction out of it. I get even more satisfaction when others tell me they think the work is wonderful.

The second thing was this: if you've been doing this gig as a writer for awhile, you do get a sense of your ability. And therein, lie the seeds of your own blindness. I actually thought the draft I sent to Lorina, way back in March, 2015, was good. As it turned out, her suggestions were extensive. She taught me a few things about my writing that, despite the other two books she's published and which had gone through the process smoothly, I had missed.

So, moral to this post, and to being a writer? Never settle. Never think you've reached a point in your art and technique where you are beyond improvement. Always strive for better work and keep an eye out to where you can improve. Accept suggestions with grace, and don't be afraid to set your ego aside now and then to hear them. It'll do your writing good.

- Susan.

UPDATE: THE TATTOOED QUEEN plus REVIEWS on THE TATTOOED SEER

YUP, THAT'S RIGHT. It's official. I am switching the working title for my third book, The Tattooed Rose, to a more appropriate title, The Tattooed Queen.

Why? Because the more I thought about it, the more 'Queen' fits with what happens to Miriam on Xaymaca, especially considering the voodoo and magic that occur in the book. (For those of you who find such things interesting, Xaymaca is actually the old Taino term for Jamaica). I discussed this change with Lorina, my publisher at Five Rivers, yesterday.

I also broke 100,000 words on the novel, today. I'm about 4/5's of the way through, and am trying to have the first draft ready by March 1, 2015. According to Lorina, the book may not be released until February, 2016. This depends on the edits, of course, but Five Rivers is also doing very well and taking on more projects. According to Lorina's latest blog post, in 2014, Five Rivers expanded from 34 titles to 46. I share that expansion with Dave Duncan, Matt Hughes, fellow editor Ann Marston, and others. (Check out this link, to see what other fantastic writers, Five Rivers carries.)

As for The Tattooed Seer, it's received some great reviews, lately. This is the most recent one I found on Amazon.com by Amanda Neufeld:

"Why Don't People Know More About This Series? Excellent Second Book After an Excellent First.

This is one of my favorite new series! I read the first book last year and was very eager for the second one to come out to see what happens to these fascinating characters. Susan MacGregor is a skilled story teller who has managed to weave fantasy with elements of historical Spanish Inquisition into a compelling and inventive world full of intrigue, peril, and magic. I was a particular fan of the first book for how MacGregor sets up the complexity and intricacies of her well-developed societal milieu. I got lost in this multifaceted world with characters facing danger and adventure. The second book hits the ground running and keeps the momentum up throughout. I often had chills and my only disappointment in the series so far is that I have to wait for the 3rd book to see what happens! This is a very mature read and very rewarding for fans of fantasy who still like to have roots in reality and believability. I definitely recommend this little known gem!"

 And here's another good one from Chipompompom:

"I read the first book in the series last year and loved it. Could not wait for this one to ...

I found this book very fast paced compared to the first in the series. Less introducing of characters and background and more plot and character development. I read the first book in the series last year and loved it. Could not wait for this one to come out. After reading this second book I found myself re-reading both books again so I could re-experience the story in full. I'm sure I will do the same after the third book. The author has a wonderful way of setting a scene and presenting a character so that they stick in your memory. I found myself wanting to go back and re-live how these characters were first introduced, how they first met and also to marvel at the writing which has somehow managed to succinctly implant the setting quite fully developed in my mind. I can't comment on having to read the 1st in order to enjoy the 2nd but I think both are really worth a read."

 Thanks, Amanda and Chipompompom. Both reviewers gave the book Five Stars.

- Susan.

RESEARCH FOR 'THE TATTOOED ROSE'

A FRIEND OF MINE RECENTLY ASKED ME HOW MANY WORDS I WRITE A DAY. I told him I didn't want to talk about it. Lately, it seems I've been researching and reviewing all the prior study I have done as I write this next section of The Tattooed Rose. Right now, the setting is on Xaymaca, as Jamaica was originally known. Today, I moved ahead by thirteen words only, which accounts for my grumpiness with my friend's question. I had to rewrite a section to more closely reflect what I think was the mix of the cimarrones, or the run-away slaves, that populated the island in 1550. These people would have been made up of the few Tainos who had not been wiped out by smallpox, as well as slaves from the Yoruba, Fon, Akan, and Igbo tribes of western and central Africa. Plot-wise, I've been trying to make reasonable choices as to how to depict a multi-cultural diaspora and the various religions that come from it. I've been looking into Vodou (which today, is mostly associated with Haiti), Santeria (Cuba), and Obeah, which is Jamaican. It's been an interesting study.

One of the decisions I need to make is whether or not I depict the gods of Obeah as they are known, or if I change their names slightly. I'm inclined to change the names, mainly because I don't want to be disrespectful of any faith. When I originally wrote The Tattooed Witch, I had written it as a rejection of repressive Catholicism and the Spanish Inquisition, but I was never comfortable with that slant, so I changed it to reflect rather than represent. Even if history has shown us terrible things done in the name of organized religion, it doesn't necessarily mean that those who practiced it were all horrible people. Some of them were saints. (I give St. Teresa of Avila as an example). Like people, religion can have both its bad and good elements. It evolves, hopefully for the better.

I thought I'd share a few tidbits of what I've learned lately. Hopefully, these aren't spoilers. A lot of plot can change between the first and final drafts.

Did you know....

1). That today, there are no poisonous snakes on Jamaica? There might have been in 1550. One particular species may have been brought over in hollowed bamboo canes by the Caribs to use as biological weapons against the Taino.

2. Among the Akan people (and others) a child's name is based on the day of the week a child is born, his or her birth order, and special circumstances. There is some thought that Daniel Defoe may have created his character Friday in Robinson Crusoe, by using this device.

3. Like my character Miriam Medina who summoned and communicates with Alonso, a dead High Priest, in the religion of Obeah, Obiu-women interpret the wishes of the dead.

4. Many African peoples, including the Akan, practiced tattooing and scarification known as Adinkra. Some of these marks indicate tribal affiliation.

5. One type of divination is practiced by tossing cowrie shells. These offer 256 different signs known as odu. A simpler type of divination for 'yes/no' answers only, uses four pieces of coconut shell. This is known as the biague oracle.

I'll share more in the weeks to come. This weekend, I'm at the Pure Speculation Festival here in Edmonton, launching The Tattooed Seer on Saturday night. If you're attending, I hope to see you there.

- Susan.

UPDATE ON 'THE TATTOOED ROSE'

I'M JUST OVER 75,000 WORDS in the first draft of The Tattooed Rose. It's been a struggle. I go through this every time I hit the middle of a first draft. The end is not yet in sight, and I have a lot of ground to cover. The thing that helps me most is to not be daunted by the huge task it seems, but to focus on what I need to accomplish scene by scene, to get me to those major plot points I had constructed in my head so long ago.

When I had this great idea for the trilogy, the last book, The Tattooed Rose, was the most sketchy in terms of what I wanted to accomplish. I knew how the story would end, which translates into - these major things need to happen, and I'll figure out how to get there as I go along.  Well, I'm now hitting 'getting there' and dealing with 'going along'.

I have said this on Suzenyms before, that this book has been the biggest challenge for me to write. That's been an understatement. I have had to learn a lot about the 1550's, the slave trade, Trans-Atlantic shipping, New World Exploration, the major political players involved (Spain, England, Portugal, France), piracy and privateering, Caribbean history, geography and gold sources, old and new world plants, transplanted West African religions (modern-day voodoo, the gods, houngans and bokors, etc.). Even though the trilogy is based on an alternate world, I need it to be reflective of our own.

I'm not complaining. I love learning about all of this stuff and applying it. But it has been an effort and at times, I wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew. I've also run into things I didn't expect. I've had to create certain characters to push the plot where I want it to go, and it's not just a matter of making them up. (Who would have thought that I'd have to research West African names specific to a particular area of Nigeria and the Bight of Benin, for slaves from opposing tribes?) Or, that old secondary characters I thought would not be major players become so in The Tattooed Seer, and even more so in The Tattooed Rose? And finally, that this last book would enter into some very strange environments and head spaces - even for me.

It's not the trilogy I expected to write, entirely.

But therein lies the discovery of it. When I am finally done, I hope it will be everything I had envisioned and more.

I am under contract for three books. I'm looking forward to fulfilling that goal and bringing the trilogy to its logical conclusion. But I am also toying with the idea of a fourth book that takes place ten years later. In the meantime, I will continue to work on Rose, and wrap up the trilogy as best I can.

- Susan.

SYNCHRONICITIES, COINCIDENCES, AND SOME FUN RESEARCH for THE TATTOOED ROSE

AS A RULE, I DON'T POST ANY MAIL THAT LOOKS LIKE SPAM or includes links, but here's part of a note I received the other day. Other than tightening it a bit, I haven't changed the spelling or punctuation. I think that's part of its charm:

"Hi, I am ------ from USA, i went to share my testimony to the world on how i got my husband back after two(4) years of marriage, my husband left me with two kids . I felt like my life was about to end.... Thanks to a spell caster called Dr Johnson which i met online. On one faithful day, as I was browsing through the internet, I came across allot of testimonies about this particular spell caster. Some people testified that he brought their Ex lover back, some testified that he restores womb, cure cancer, and other sickness, some testified that he can cast a spell to stop divorce and so on....

This is an advertisement for a Hoodoo practitioner. Hoodoo is a variant of Voodoo, one of the syncretized mystery religions that came about as a result of the African slave diaspora being forced to adopt Christianity in the New World.

As it happens, I'm right in the middle of some really interesting research on Voodoo, Santeria, and Obeah. The note above doesn't look as if it stems from any religious practice, but it is an aspect of it. What delighted me was its synchronicity and timing. I had planned on refreshing my mind on what I already knew about Voodoo for my third book, The Tattooed Rose. This note came two days before I was about to start. I am half way through the book's first draft, around the 60,000 word mark. Miriam and company are about to make landfall in the Caribbean.

Here's another coincidence that surprised me today:

In The Tattooed Witch, Miriam carves herself with her first tattoo, a triple goddess symbol that is featured on the cover of the book. In The Tattooed Seer, she receives additional tattoos from her Tribe. These resemble a ring of interlinking snakes swallowing their tails, ourbourus-like. In The Tattooed Rose, (spoiler alert) Miriam encounters Maroons, run-away slaves of mixed Taino, Spanish, and African blood. Understandably, they don't like or trust her because she is both Spanish and white, but her tattoos change things. This is what I found today, from Mysteries and Secrets of Voodoo, Santeria, and Obeah, by Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe. (For reference, a Voodoo loa is like a type of demi-god):

"Damballah is regarded as the most important of the Voodoo loas. He is at the core of much Voodoo magic, where he is seen as the serpent-god who devours his own tail....a wheel, like the traditional Wheel of Hecate, is used to represent Damballah....right at the top of this complex circle design is a magic square containing representations of the moon in its various phases."

Synchronicity in action? That description is eerily similar to Miriam's tattoos. The triple goddess symbol is well known in pagan circles, but the snake chain came from my imagination. To find that it has an unexpected connection with Voodoo not only surprised me, but to find the two tattoos in tandem blew me away. I am delighted this detail works so well for the plot.

Some say there are no coincidences. I'm not sure what I believe. There is no way to prove or disapprove that. But no matter from where our ancestors come, I suspect their early religious ideas weren't so different. The pagan sources I draw upon for The Tattooed Rose and the rest of the trilogy have much in common with other religious roots.

THE TATTOOED SEER is up on AMAZON, KOBO, ETC.!

AS I MENTIONED ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE, these arrived in the mail yesterday. I have since checked out Amazon.com, Amazon.ca (Kindle version) and Kobo. The books are now available in print or e-books, and of course, with my Canadian publisher Five Rivers Publishing.

I am so pleased! There's nothing like seeing your novel in print. Naturally, I had to stop what I was doing yestserday (working on the first draft of The Tattooed Rose) to savor the moment, touch the books, and read some sections. If you've already read The Tattooed Witch, feel free to take a look at the preview for The Tattooed Seer here on Amazon. If you haven't read The Tattooed Witch, I suggest you read it first, because the prologue in Seer is a spoiler.

I've been told The Tattooed Witch is a good book. I've been told that The Tattooed Seer is an even better one. This is great to know, because the concern with a second book in a trilogy is that it will slump. I don't think The Tattooed Seer does that. (And I'm sure Lorina Stephens, my editor and publisher at Five Rivers would have told me if it did.)

If you read The Tattooed Seer, drop me a line. Let me know what you think. I'll be officially launching it in Calgary, at When Words Collide over the August 8, 9, and 10th weekend. If you're attending and would like to buy a copy, I will have both print books available for sale and signing.

To those of you who have so enthusiastically supported me while I've been writing this trilogy, thank you. I really appreciate your support. Over the next year, I will do my utmost to deliver a satisfying end in the final book, The Tattooed Rose.

- Susan.

WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY? IF YOU ARE A TRUE ARTIST, YOU ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT

IT'S BEEN A WEEK SINCE I LAST POSTED, which is unusual for Suzenyms. On average, I usually post about twice a week. Other things have demanded my attention. My mother's radiation treatments wrapped up with some good news. She is now breathing easier; we have hope. My eldest son and my daughter-in-law moved into their condo, so I've been turning their old room back into a guest room. I've run myself off my feet cleaning the house, steam-cleaning the rugs, scrubbing walls, etc. I thought about painting the guest room and decided against it (a wise choice). In spite of the busyness, like anyone, there is only so much effort I can make to avoid my interior landscape. Because of concerns about my mother and my recent thoughts on life and death, I've found myself feeling low, and at other times, sad.

This morning, I got back to working on The Tattooed Rose.

There is nothing like writing to lift me from my funk or to bring me happiness. It isn't the idea of finishing, of ushering a new novel into the world, although that is satisfying. It isn't the wish for appreciation by readers or recognition by my peers. It isn't even any far-flung hope for more money coming my way (although more money would be nice). No, it's just the simple (and complicated) act of creating a world and the characters within it, of bringing them to life through prose in the best way I know possible. For me, it's that basic, it's what brings me the most joy.

Do singers love the moment of singing, even when there is no audience? Do actors love acting, when there is no crowd?

If you are a true artist of any stripe, you already know the answer to that.

- Susan.

COVER FOR THE TATTOOED SEER

I AM SO PLEASED WITH THIS COVER! Jeff Minkevics finished it tonight, and I wanted to unveil it for my novel The Tattooed Seer, the second book in my Tattooed Witch trilogy, soon to be released this August 1st.

If you're wondering about the tattoos, the first two are featured in The Tattooed Witch. (If you don't know what they represent, read the book!) The bloody circles below the first two are featured in The Tattooed Seer and come from a scene where Miriam is cut by the women of her Tribe in an attempt to ward them against unwanted spying. The circles are actually linked snakes swallowing their tails.

I love how these covers are evolving. Book One had a brilliant white background, and Book Two is moving into a bit more colour. You'll have to wait at least another year to see how things change yet again for Book Three, The Tattooed Rose (which I am currently writing).

The Tattooed Witch has been short-listed for a 2014 Aurora Award under Best English Novel. For those of you who have been waiting to see how the trilogy evolves, The Tattooed Seer will be available for pre-order shortly, through Five Rivers Publishing.

- Susan.

CONSIDERATIONS WHEN WRITING A TRILOGY and UPDATE ON THE TATTOOED SEER

I MANAGED TO FINISH THE EDIT OF THE TATTOOED SEER THIS WEEK. It involved both substantive and line edits, and I was happy to get the whole thing off to Lorina at Five Rivers one month ahead of schedule. Which means, instead of an October release, we have our fingers crossed for August 1st, providing Jeff Minkevics, who designed the cover for The Tattooed Witch, can also create a cover for The Tattooed Seer in time. I hope so. I'd like to launch the book in Calgary at the When Words Collide convention.

It's been an interesting process, doing the edits. There is great value in having a sharp editor look at your work and make suggestions as to how to make the book better. As writers, we tend to be myopic about our work. It was through Lorina's suggestions that I fleshed out a new character in one of the sub-plots in The Tattooed Seer. I had fleshed him out, or so I thought, but not nearly enough. The important details never made it onto the page. They're there, now.

The other great thing about doing edits for a book that's part of a trilogy, is that it forces you to look for inconsistencies. Because I had already started the research and writing for The Tattooed Rose (the third book in the trilogy) I needed to go back and correct some details in Seer with regards to shipping in the 16th century. I had learned a few things in the meantime. There were other small details I needed to change in terms of the world I had created for all three books. For example, I had to make sure I'd been consistent with the honorifics for the clergy, that I'd accented and used the Spanish terms properly, etc. - all very minor things that were easy to miss, but were also important. The substantive edits also meant I needed to do more research - in particular on opium usage and on the characters found in the Commedia dell'arte. All of these are elements in The Tattooed Seer.

If you haven't read The Tattooed Witch yet, it's been nominated for an Aurora award under Best Novel, English. Over the next several months, you can read it for free if you're a member of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, who sponsors the Aurora. If you aren't a member, it's also available on Amazon, Kobo, and through Five Rivers Publishing (see the column on the right for links). Witch is competing with some works by very high-powered and well-known writers, including Guy Gavriel Kay, Robert J. Sawyer, and Julie Czerneda. Chadwick Ginther, who we've also published in On Spec, has his second book up for consideration. It's wonderful to be included in such excellent and stellar company.

- Susan.

RAFAEL SABATINI, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?

I HAVE RECENTLY DISCOVERED RAFAEL SABATINI. If you haven't read his work, you must. If ever there was a writer who's sheer genius I wish I could emulate, it would be his.

I've been working on the third book of my Tattooed Witch trilogy, The Tattooed Rose. I've had to do a lot of research because the book takes place in two settings - on the Great Ocean Sea (the Atlantic) and in the Caribbean (mostly Jamaica). I've had to study ship construction, typical crews, life at sea, sea battle techniques, as well as the history in and around 1550 in England, the Low Countries (Holland, Belgium, etc.), Portugal, and Spain. Also, a lot about piracy and the Brethren of the Coast, because one of my sub-plots (Joachin's) involves these. I have read a good half-dozen non-fiction reference books on sailing, piracy, etc., (Daily Life in the Age of Sail, The Spanish Main, Spanish Galleon, Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, How History's Greatest Pirates Pillaged, Plundered, and Got Away With It, among others) but they don't always tell me what I need to know. Sometimes, great fiction is what's needed to fill those gaps.

Enter Rafael Sabatini.

I don't know what I expected before I started reading Captain Blood. I think I expected the novel to be something like Treasure Island (which I've also read, but which is, after all, 'An Adventure Book For Boys'). I suppose I show my age when I say that, having grown up when there were still 'girl's books' (Nancy Drew) and 'boy's books' (The Hardy Boys and the Tom Swift series).

About Captain Blood, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Sabatini is a genius. His style is elegant yet direct, his characterization is sublime, complex, honest. My God, he's one of the most honest writers I know, delving into the human heart with more insight and sensitivity than I've come across in a long time. His plots are gripping, not just in Captain Blood, but also in Scaramouche, which I'm currently reading. In Captain Blood, I was constantly highlighting sections to which I'll return. His depictions of life at sea, etc., are exactly what I was looking for. His books are considered Romances (in the old sense), or 'Romantic Adventures'. Such dismissive terms for what he actually does.

I've had to put The Tattooed Rose aside to work on the substantive edits for The Tattooed Seer according to the excellent suggestions given to me by Lorina at Five Rivers. She only suggested a few changes, which again, led me to Sabatini. One of my characters in The Tattooed Seer is a Papal Nuncio, secretly a spy for England. Before taking his vows, he was part of an Italian commedia dell'arte troupe. Originally, I only mentioned this in passing in the book, but Lorina suggested I round him out so as to better reflect an important relationship which is key. After being so impressed with Captain Blood, I read Sabatini's biography, only to find that Scaramouche (which takes place during the French Revolution), has as its protagonist, Andre-Louis, who plays the role of Scaramouche with a commedia troupe.

I feel as if I've discovered a rare treasure in Sabatini. I intend to read all of his work, first for enjoyment, and then for study. His birthday was April 29, 1875, only a week ago. I wanted to post this note on his birthday as a way to honour and remember him, but other commitments got in the way. A rare and prolific writer, he published over thirty novels and numerous short stories in his lifetime. The inscription on his tombstone is the first line in Scaramouche. It reads: 'He was born with the gift of laughter, and a sense that the world was mad.' An opening line like that no doubt reflects the man. I wish I had known him.

I can't recommend Rafael Sabatini enough. If you'd like to know more about his work, this website, The Life and Work of Rafael Sabatini, The Last of the Great Swashbucklers is an excellent resource.

Below, is one of the many covers from his best work, Scaramouche.

MAGICAL SYSTEMS - THE TATTOOED WITCH

I ONCE READ THAT EVERY GOOD FANTASY should have one kind of magical system to it, where the magic operates according to certain principles in much the same way that physics define and determine what happens in our world. Maybe this is why I love reading fantasy so much. The magic elevates what we would consider to be normal every day occurrences, yet it has its own rules and limitations. It’s in those rules and limitations that a great story can be built.

My magical system in The Tattooed Witch (in fact, in the entire trilogy) is based on what some claim is already possible in our world – psychic ability. My characters display far-seeing, precognition, mediumship, channeling, prophecy, telepathy, and different types of divination. All of these have been described by New Age writers as variations of the different clairs – clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, and so on. In my books, I take these ideas and run with them: all of these gifts can be stimulated or augmented through tattoos.

In Witch, Miriam, my protagonist, is a born clairsentient or empath. She knows how people are feeling through touch and to a lesser extent, what they are thinking. In our world, we might refer to this as sensing ‘vibes’. Through a tattoo designed to bring back the dead, Miriam becomes a channel for Alonso, the high priest who's been murdered by the Grand Inquisitor. As a sentidora (the closest Spanish word I could find for clairsentient) Miriam must protect herself against bombardment. As a medium, she and Alonso need to establish boundaries, so she isn't overwhelmed.

Anassa, my elderly Diaphani matriarch is a talented seer. Seership is a type of clairvoyance. Anassa practices far-sight or remote viewing in order to watch over her Tribe. Her main limitation is that she can’t be watching everyone, everywhere at once.

Joachín, one of Miriam’s love interests, is a Dreamer. He dreams of both the present and future, and not necessarily his own. This kind of dreaming is a mix of clairvoyance and prophecy. The future is never completely set, it is malleable. Joachín sees only potentials.

Rana, one of Miriam’s rivals, is a Speaker. In Witch, speaking is a form of clairaudience, a type of channeling through spiritual voices. Rana goes into trances and hears her Diaphani Ancestors speak to her. They send the Tribe warnings, but usually with little time to prepare. In Witch, Speaking is seen as a lesser talent than Seership.

Ximen is one of my most interesting secondary characters. He’s an old man, a living repository of the Tribe’s history. He has an intimate understanding of every member who has ever been Diaphani and what their lives have been. As a Rememberer, he’s sees the past - the moment it passes from the present to beyond. This would be a type of claircognizance, or clear-knowing. The drawback is Ximen must keep all this knowledge compartmentalized, or he'd go mad. He retrieves information only when necessary.

There are other, stranger types of clairs – clairaliance (clear smelling) and clairgustance (clear tasting). As I understand it, these rarer types are associated with spiritual presences, both blessed or malign. I haven't yet used these ideas in any of the books in the trilogy, but who knows? I’m still working on The Tattooed Rose. I suspect it will be a longer book than the first two.

For those of you who have already read The Tattooed Witch, thank you for your support. I very much appreciate it. With so many books to choose from, it's easy for any book to become lost in the millions that are out there. The Tattooed Seer is currently with my editor at Five Rivers Publishing. Lorina tells me she hopes to have Seer available this August. If we can't meet that date, the book will be launched in October. 

If you haven't read The Tattooed Witch and are interested in giving it a look, you can access the first two chapters by clicking on the cover in the top-right banner.

UPDATE ON 'THE TATTOOED SEER'

I JUST FINISHED A RATHER INTENSE TWENTY-FOUR HOUR PERIOD, where I stayed up until 2:00 a.m last night, and was back at it early again this morning, in order to give the second book in my trilogy, The Tattooed Seer, the once over before sending it off to Lorina Stephens at Five Rivers Publishing. I hadn't given the manuscript much recent attention as I've been working on the first draft of The Tattooed Rose (the third book), for the past six months. That old adage, 'be careful what you wish for' is certainly true. I was wondering where Seer fit into Five Rivers' 2014 publishing schedule and inquired yesterday, only to have Lorina e-mail me back, asking me to send her the manuscript as soon as possible. With luck, the book will be out this August, or possibly this October.

It's amazing the small errors that jump out at you, when you haven't looked at a book for at least half a year. I needed to change several things because of the edits I had made in The Tattooed Witch, (mostly continuity issues). For example, Miriam's father, Ephraim, was originally called Avram, and The Tattooed Seer still reflected that. Other details I had to change: the type of sailing ship upon which Miriam and company embark at the end of Seer; after a lot of research I decided it would be a Spanish nao. There were other niggling details - Oxford commas, Canadian spelling, and so on. I found it very interesting to re-read what I had written so long ago. In spite of the same cast of characters, The Tattooed Seer is a very different book from The Tattooed Witch.

In Witch, Miriam is still relatively new to her world and the dilemmas in which she finds herself; by the end, she takes on a mantle of leadership, but she is mostly untried. The relationships that she experienced in Witch with Joachin and Alonso are still fairly tame as far as relationships go. In The Tattooed Seer, those relationships deepen and become much more mature. Seer is a grittier novel as a result, although 'gritty' is also a description that has been attributed to Witch, (so it may be a matter of degree). In my mind, Seer is the darker of the two books and the themes are much more adult.

As for The Tattooed Rose, the one I'm working on now, it's an entirely different book again - the first half of it is less about relationships and more about survival. Rose has been the hardest book for me to write. The amount of research I've had to do, and must still do, has been huge. I've also had a constant struggle with the plot, mostly because the first half of the book is tense; survival issues often are. I also have three sub-plots to juggle - Miriam's story, Joachin's, and Rana's, but this isn't so different from what I attempted to do with The Tattooed Seer. Although it seems like a lot, I know I can do it and it will all work out.

Anyway, revisiting The Tattooed Seer was a good thing to do and it gave me an unexpected gift. I think it's as good a book as the debut novel, possibly even better. It's also a pleasure to read what you've written, and to surprise yourself by saying, "Wow! I wrote that? That's good!" (As an editor, I can't help being a critic, so in telling you this, I'm not trying to pump myself up. I'm just saying that this is a refreshing change for me. I suffer from a strange disconnect, where I never quite believe I'm capable of actually writing anything well. I know, very weird, despite what others have told me, but there it is.) The other thing that was great was to have this sense of completion. I've found when you're writing a trilogy, you feel as if you're never done. You're in a non-ending writing marathon which is tiring and daunting. Lately, I've had to fight a lot with procrastination.

So, getting The Tattooed Seer ready for Lorina was a great thing for any number of reasons, and the book will be out this summer, hopefully. And a final good thing? I expect to break 50,000 words on The Tattooed Rose by the end of this week, if I can just figure out how to kill off a major secondary character in a non-obvious way. I need some inspiration. Fingers crossed.

- Susan.

(If you haven't read The Tattooed Witch, you can read the first two chapters from my previous post here: http://suzenyms.blogspot.ca/2013/08/the-tattooed-witch-first-two-chapters_1.html

OR, you can read the first four chapters from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Tattooed-Witch-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00DZ25XAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383251781&sr=8-1&keywords=the+tattooed+witch)

And if you decide to support me in my efforts by buying the book, I really appreciate it. The Tattooed Witch is available in both print and e-book. Links for its purchase from Amazon, Kobo, and Five Rivers Publishing can be found on the banner to your right. Thank you, very much!

BROKE 40,000 WORDS THIS WEEK on THE TATTOOED ROSE

I FINALLY BROKE 40,000 WORDS THIS WEEK while working on the first draft of The Tattooed Rose, the third book in my Tattooed Witch trilogy. Let me tell you, this has been the hardest book to write, mostly because I know how I want the trilogy to end and some of the high plot points I want to reach, but everything else has been undefined. Way back, when I had the vague idea, "Well, they finally manage to escape Tomás (my sadistic Grand Inquisitor) for a while, and it all happens on the Great Ocean Sea (the Atlantic) and in the Caribbean. Miriam is on one ship and Joachín is on another, and eventually they get together on Xaymaca (Jamaica) where they run into more trouble with pirates, voudou sorcerers (bocors), and the Inquisition, again," that that would be enough. 

Good grief. What was I thinking? I've had to do research on Spanish galleons (naos), carracks, and caravels, how they're built and what kinds of guns they might have carried. I've had to figure out how long it takes a sailing ship in the mid-sixteenth century to get from Spain to the Canaries and then to Hispaniola (Haiti and the DR). I've had to study piracy, and voudou, and African slave routes (yes, slaves are involved), the Taíno (one of the indigenous groups of the Caribbean who were mostly decimated due to small pox), and the myths and beliefs surrounding the Fountain of Youth, and Ponce de Leon. Book Three touches upon all of these. I'm taking a short break to write this post, because I'm not sure what to do next in the plot. I need to think about character motivations, what drives them, what the reactions should be to last actions. I've already written the following scene, but it's a culminating one and I need a stronger lead-up. 

I'll figure it out. I always do.

Still, I never thought writing would be so difficult. The Tattooed Witch took me six years from considering the idea, developing it, writing it, revising it too many times to count, to interesting an agent, to finally seeing the book published through Five Rivers Publishing last summer. (Thank you, Robert, fabulous editor that you are, and Lorina, my wonderful publisher). Book Two, The Tattooed Seer took me just over a year to write and revise, and it wasn't that hard. I had less of an idea for it than The Tattooed Witch, but I knew I wanted Miriam and company to race across Esbaña (Spain) in order to reach a port to sail to the new world. There's more magic in Book Two, and more enemies including Tomás (the Grand Inquisitor), plus more romance, as well. Joachín's and Miriam's relationship deepens. But Book Three, this one... oh, yoy.

It'll be the best book of the three, I know. But in the meantime, I feel like I'm running (writing) a marathon. The end is in sight, but I still have a long ways to go.

(If you haven't read The Tattooed Witch, you can read the first two chapters from my previous post here: http://suzenyms.blogspot.ca/2013/08/the-tattooed-witch-first-two-chapters_1.html

OR, you can read the first four chapters from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Tattooed-Witch-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00DZ25XAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383251781&sr=8-1&keywords=the+tattooed+witch)

If you purchase a copy of the book, thank you very much! As a debut novelist, I both need and appreciate your support. If you like the book, please feel free to write a review - on Amazon, on your blog, or wherever.

I'M ON YOUTUBE!

I'M EXCITED. I JUST FINISHED A VIDEO INTERVIEW with Lorina Stephens, Publisher of Five Rivers Publishing. In it, I talk about my journey as a writer and how I came to write The Tattooed Witch, the first book in the trilogy. At the end of the interview, I read chapter one from the novel. If you have some time, grab an egg nog and give it a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3FZoJi-XXY&feature=share

IN ADDITION, and AS IT'S THE SEASON OF GIVING, I'm giving away 10 free e-books of The Tattooed Witch (through www.dropcards.com) to the first 10 people who ask me for a copy for their Kindle, tablet, or computer. (Sorry, Kobo users. I've tried to download the book onto my Kobo, and it balks. The Kindle and laptop aren't a problem.) If you send me a private message on Facebook requesting a copy, I'll send you the access code, so you can claim it through Dropcards. If we're not yet friends on Facebook, then friend me. If there are e-copies left, I'll be happy to send you one. 

Happy Holidays, everybody, and Happy Reading!

(And I should add, if you'd like to purchase the book (print or e-copy), just follow the links to Amazon, Five Rivers, or Kobo on the sidebar). Thank you for your support!) 

'THE TATTOOED WITCH' - HERE'S THE COVER!

LORINA STEPHENS, PUBLISHER, AND JEFF MINKEVICS, Artistic Director of Five Rivers Publishing have once again done the impossible. With very little lead time, they've managed to get The Tattooed Witch ready for publication! I'm so pleased about this, as I was hoping to have it ready for When Words Collide, the annual writing convention that takes place this August 9 to 11, 2013, in Calgary. I plan to launch it there. I'm also planning additional launches here in Edmonton and elsewhere. (I'll let you know about those, when I have plans set.)

As for the cover, which I present here (I've also talked about it on Facebook) I'm quite pleased with it. Lorina, Jeff, and I had some prior back and forth about it; at first I was concerned that the white was too bright and gave the wrong impression—that the book is light and airy, when it definitely is not—but the tattoo and bloodied knife tell a different story. Initially, I wanted a black background, but I think the white makes it stand out better. The image 'pops'.

As The Tattooed Witch is the first book in the trilogy, we needed an image we could build upon for the next two books, The Tattooed Seer and The Tattooed Rose. This image comes from a scene early on, where my protagonist Miriam Medina has just carved herself with a knife in order to create a tattoo—a necessary requirement before she attempts even darker magic, the resurrection of a high priest. She and her father have been accused of his murder. The man who accuses them is the Grand Inquisitor, the real murderer. In books two and three, Miriam's first tattoo is embellished for new requirements and reasons.

To give you a rough idea of what the books are about, The Tattooed Witch takes place in Esbaña (much like medieval Spain in our world). With the Inquisition hot on her trail, Miriam runs headlong into her mother's people, the mystical Diaphani who have long awaited her coming. Through them, she comes to see that life is not simple, that the world is comprised of things both seen and unseen, and that love can be difficult and complicated, demanding a high price. In The Tattooed Seer, Miriam and her Tribe, as well as her love interests, make their way through Esbaña to reach a port that will take them to the new world. Relationships deepen, rivalries are endured, and more sacrifices are made. In The Tattooed Rose, Miriam and her Tribe go through many trials, including shipwrecks, piracy, and dark voudou. The Caribbean is the new frontier, where anything, including the Fountain of Youth, is possible. Those questions raised about love, reality, and destiny in The Tattooed Witch and The Tattooed Seer are finally answered.

According to Five Rivers's website, The Tattooed Witch will be available August 1st. If you'd like to buy it, you can order it here: http://www.fiveriverspublishing.com/p/fiction-adult.html. (It will be available as both trade paperback and e-book. To find it, look about half-way down the page.)

If you do buy the book and like it, please drop me a line. A writer's life often feels like it's lived in a vacuum, where we do our own thing for years until our books are finally published. It's great to get positive feedback when we've been off on our own for so long.

Next Post: Those first three chapters: what are agents and editors looking for? Featuring advice by Robert Runté, Editor in Chief, Five Rivers Publishing.

Stay tuned.

NEW BEGINNINGS - THE TATTOOED ROSE and THE ABC'S of How NOT TO WRITE SPECULATIVE FICTION

The Fool Card from Artist's Vision Tarot

SOME PEOPLE GET THEIR DAILY HOROSCOPES mailed to them. I get daily tarot cards. This morning, I received The Fool which is appropriate, considering I'm about to begin work on The Tattooed Rose. I always find starting a new book daunting. I have so much I want to say, I've scribbled down plot, but there are still many details I need to work out. Here's a short version of what my daily tarot reading said:

"The Fool card affirms that my alter ego today is a Quantum Leaper with a hero's heart. I am liberated by free will and trust, which lead me to explore simple speculations for their own sake. I can move beyond the fear factor. I don't know where I'm going, and I don't care where I've been. I only know that, as the hero of my own story, it's for me to find out. Like Alice, I'm on the verge of stepping into the rabbit hole, unless I stop short and play it safe. I'll know soon enough where following my own feet has landed me on this curious venture. So despite familiar warnings, irresistible promise draws my eyes wide open and away from domestic comfort zones. I'll never know until I try."

The Fool is always about beginnings.

Here's another 'beginning' that may interest some of you. I was thinking of re-vamping my non-fiction book on how not to write - The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction. The book will cover an A to Z span of all the writing errors I've encountered as an On Spec editor over the last twenty years. When I looked at the book yesterday, I realized there was so much more I wanted to say compared to what I wrote seven years ago. If I were to revise it in one go, it would take me several months to finish it. Sooooo...I've decided to post the ABC's as I rewrite them here, on Suzenyms. If you want some writing tips, or you want to make sure you're not committing the errors I'll be posting about, or if you're already error-savvy and have things you want to contribute for everyone's benefit, please feel free. Once I'm done, I may put all the new posts in a book and sell it on Amazon. So far, the book has had two small printings through On Spec, so why not publish it as an e-book?

And while we're on the subject of tarot cards, my story Evergreen (soon to be published in the Urban Green Man Anthology, Edge Publishing) opens with a tarot reading. Check out the link if you want to know more about the anthology or you'd like to pre-order. The collection is set to launch this August in Calgary at When Words Collide. I'll be featuring co-editors Adria Laycraft and Janice Blaine in a guest interview in the next week or so.

Next Post: Publicists, Part Three: What 'Exactly' Can a Publicist Do For Me, and How Much Will It Cost? by Rachel Sentes.

Stay tuned.

FIRST PROMO on FIVE RIVERS BLOG

I HAD TO INCLUDE THIS POSTING this morning. Lorina Stephens at Five Rivers Publishing made this announcement about my upcoming trilogy on the Five Rivers blog. :-)

It looks as if we might see the first book, The Tattooed Witch, launched this August! It will be available in both e-book and print (POD) versions. Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow: Guest Post by Rachel Sentes - Do I Need a Publicist, and if so, What Kind?