Announcement: There is action on my new novels. The publisher renamed the series--they are still working on the name. I provided suggestions as did one of my prepub readers. Now the individual books will be given single names: Leora, Leila, Russia, Lumiere', China, Sveta, and Klava--at least these are some of the suggestions. They are also working on a single theme for the covers. I'll keep you updated.
Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.
I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.
The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:
1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.
I just finished writing my 22nd novel, Khione: Enchantment of the Fox. I haven't put up a website for the novel yet, and I haven't finished the marketing materials. I'm working on them now. I did send a copy to a coupe of prepublication readers. I heard back and made corrections to the manuscript.
Khione is a really fun and a really serious novel. It is a follow-on to Hestia and fits in the Enchantment novels. It is a stand-alone novel. I set it at Boston University, one of my alma maters. This was for thematic and not just locational reasons. The novel fits in the unique space I've been defining my novels, but it has some philosophical twists like Hestia. The novel asks some very difficult questions about God and modern morality--that's why I set it on a modern college campus. It is a fun story and a very unusual one. Still, my prepublication reader liked it, and she is very difficult to please.
Khione is the protagonist's helper and a being out of my current novel themes and plots. This means she is a demigoddess of some type. Pearce, the protagonist, is a hardworking ethical graduate student at the University. A large part of the novel is a revelation theme. It is centered around the mystery of just who Khione is. The second part of the novel is based on just what it means that Khione is who she is. Like most of my novels, the conversations drive the plot and the action simply punctuates the storyline. In general, the fun of the novel is in the situations and the conversations. How interesting is it to speak to a person, like Khione, who is out of time.
More tomorrow.
Also remember, I'm trying to show you and give you examples of how to write a science fiction theme statement and turn it into a plot.
For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com
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