Research mode

I am now in full research mode, my brain trying to absorb all that I am reading. After reading Warlords and Holy Men, I have moved on to Bede: Ecclesiastical History of the English People. This is to prepare myself to write the second book in my Dark Goddess trilogy. As I read, I am taking some notes and have compiled a timeline so that I can link important events. Though I am only writing about a certain area and time period, I want to be well informed about everything going on at that time. The research is actually interesting because I love learning about history, especially the Dark Ages. The time period I am writing about is especially turbulent as Christianity fought to make its mark on the people of northern Britain and Scotland (Alba). I find that exciting to learn about and write about. My only problem with some of the research sources I read is that most of the material is influenced by Christian monks because they were the ones who put everything in writing. The pagan people, the Picts and Celts, were an oral society so I have to read between the lines on some of the information and rely more on archaeological evidence.

I am finding Bede to be a great source for the history of Britain even though some of his views have been criticized and I know some of his writings are biased toward Northrumbia (English), but it is interesting to read about the events of a long lost time through the eyes of someone who lived in that time period. I am getting closer to the actual writing process and I cannot wait. It is always exciting to start a new book, but I want to make sure I am prepared first. My fingers itch to start writing and my brain is whirling with ideas, but I have to hold back until the research is done. I am an impatient person so this is not easy for me. I hate that lull between books because I have all this creative energy that is ready to burst, but I know I will be thankful that I took the time to do the research and I am sure the readers will appreciate it too.

Kelley

Writing Update

I have been very busy writing and am thrilled that I have finished the prequel to Of Water and Dragons and Ravenwolf. The title changed to Night's Daughter, which is another name for the Greek Erinyes and Roman Furies. After tons of research, the story came together for me fast, which pleased me because I wanted to have it finished before February. This story takes the reader back to ancient Crete and Anatolia and is a new twist on the conflict between the Titans and Olympic gods. The mysterious Tuatha de Danaan of Ireland are also introduced in this book and their origins are revealed. Night's Daughter is scheduled for release in early 2009 by Awe-Struck.

While I was finishing Night's Daughter, I took a break to write a short story called The Enchanted Meadow. This story will be in an anthology from Freya's Bower titled In the Gloaming: An Anthology of Faery Stories. I am very excited about this because this is my first anthology. The release date for this is March 2008.

Currently, I am working on the second book in my Dark Goddess trilogy. The first book, Cat's Curse, is scheduled to be released in early 2009.

Anyway, that's what I have been up to lately.

Kelley

My new release--Ravenwolf

I am very excited about this latest book, the sequel to Of Water and Dragons. This was not a planned series, but the characters had more stories to tell. Ravenwolf was fun to write and is more of an adventure romance, incorporating body switching and a trip to the Celtic underworld. Since this was not a planned series, I approached it differently by making each book a separate story so they can be read together or separate.

Currently, I am working on a prequel to these books, which is set in ancient Greece and Antatolia (Turkey). The working title is Goddess of the Flame and is a different twist on the conflict between the Titans and the Olympic gods. I did tons of research for this book, studying not only Greek mythology, but also pre-Hellenic, Egyptian, Anatolian and Sumerian myths. I hope to have this finished by February 2008.

Stay tuned!
Kelley

History know it alls

One of my pet peeves in the writing world are other authors who think they know everything about history. Usually they claim to be historians or hold some fancy degree in some irrelevant subject. Normally I just brush them off and go about my business, but an article in the newspaper caught my eye and raised my ire. The way I look at it is there are two kinds of authors: historians and storytellers. Guess which one I am? I am not trying to say that it is okay to get lazy on research when writing about a historical period, but no one can possibly know everything.

This article is titled Life's a blur: When biopic movies blend fact and fiction. It talks mainly about movies, but the same information can be applied to books. It seems no matter what story is told there are always people who will pick it apart with their annoying fact-checking. Don't they have anything better to do? I feel if I have to shorten a timeline to make the story move faster then I should be able to do that without being criticized for it. It's called 'fiction' for a reason. I do what it takes to tell a compelling story. If I wanted to tell a detailed story about a historical figure then I would write a boring history book.

A couple of phrases stood out to me in this article. One is "The best biopics transcend their subjects." The other phrase is "No one is a reliable narrator of a life, not even the person living it." This is so true and some people will do right by remembering this. I don't even remember every detail of my own life. How can someone write a perfect story about someone else? It's just not possible. Why can't certain people just enjoy a book or a movie? Unless there is some major anachronism, just enjoy books and movies for what they were meant to be for--pure entertainment.

Everyone has their own way of doing research. I would say do your best to read as many sources on the subject as you can and don't rely only on the internet. Even reading respected sources on some subjects are iffy. The time periods I write about are hard to research, but I find whatever I can and then compare notes. I don't believe everything I read on the ancient Celts because the Roman writers were biased and called them 'barbaric' when archaeological evidence proves otherwise. Even the classical Greek writers were biased. I try to read between the lines and come to my own conclusions. I am proud to call myself a storyteller.

To read the entire article click here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/11/23/ST2007112300970.html