Writer’s Toolkit

A number of years ago, I made the decision to write and publish independently of a publishing house. There are certainly a lot of opinions out there, but perhaps the biggest reason I made this decision was because I wanted to keep creative control over my own work, it was my name on the cover after all. And nothing against traditional publishing houses, that route just didn’t feel right for me.

So are you exploring the world of self-publishing or already far more involved than me? If you’re looking for some help, I’d like to suggest Reedsy.

Reedsy is an amazing platform for self-published authors that provides everything you need from free classes and webinars to editors, cover artists, illustrators, blogs, marketing and even free formatting of your book for both ebook (.mobi and .epub) and print books.

This is a super friendly platform that is amazingly helpful. One of the founders even just put out a free book on Amazon all about marketing.

(Picture above created with Canva)

How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market (Reedsy Marketing Guides Book 1) by [Ricardo Fayet]
Amazon

So if you’re looking at self-publishing or wanting to learn more, check it out! It is definitely a wealth of information, contacts, and support!

(Book cover copy and pasted from Amazon)

Behind the Scenes: Tully

When I first thought of Tully, I saw this girl who had to wear a cloak, so I started asking questions about who she was and why. Where did she come from? etc… She was a girl who lived a lie, been told a lie and wasn’t allowed to believe any different.

Been there?

I think we all have at some point in our lives. We grow believing things are the way they are because our parents, teachers, friends, society, etc tells us so and we don’t always question it because it’s normal. This is Tully at the beginning of the story–The diseased ward of Mistress Glenna.

As the story unfolds, she learns there’s so much more to her, the stories she’s been led to believe about her identity and the barrier around the Kellan Lowlands. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I won’t go into the story too deeply. But in her journey of discovery, she finds her strength and learns that everything she thought was wrong about her, actually had purpose and intent.

Sound familiar?

How often have we thought a piece of ourselves was ‘wrong’ simply because it didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of society? Yet as we’ve grown and matured, we see our uniqueness is a gift that make us who we are. It is something we alone bring that adds to whatever circumstance we face.

As I wrote Tully, this aspect of her shone through.

As this is the last of my ‘behind the scenes’ look at the major players in Hidden, I wanted to end with a quote from Tully. It’s said near the end of the story when life for everyone, but her, has moved forward.

How am I ever going to go back to normal? I don’t even know what normal is anymore.

Tully Hidden © K. M. Wray

I read this line in December of 2020 when I received my first print copy of the book and tears came to my eyes after all we had faced with Covid19 and the changes that 2020 brought to our world.

In the end, Tully finds her normal and it’s better than she ever imagined! She started the story as a young woman wanting to find a corner of the Kellan Lowlands to hide away. She transforms into a young woman who finds love, purpose and is at peace with her new self and world.

I hope you fall in love with Tully like I have and I hope, like her, you find your wings. And as you search for your new normal in the midst of whatever changes Covid19 has brought to your life, may it be better than before. Believe it my dear adventure seekers!

(Picture created with Canva)

Behind the Scenes: Ciaran

When I first wrote Hidden, Ciaran wasn’t a part of the story and Tully had no romantic interest, but did desire to be loved. But like the other POV characters, it became evident that the story couldn’t be told from Tully’s perspective alone, so in walks Ciaran, a young Arelian raised in the Hidden Valley, who has his own story to tell.

When I considered Ciaran, his back story and the love interest with Tully, he needed to have an important part in the story but he also needed to be the one who’d bring love into Tully’s life. I created him to be a gentleman who’d intentionally treat Tully with kindness since there was such a huge void of it in her life. She would of course fall in love with him, but I wanted their love story to be more than ‘he’s handsome and she’s beautiful’.

In so many stories, that seems to be the depth of the love story and I wanted more for Tully and Ciaran. They felt special with a timeless kind of love that went deeper, so they had to value each other and see each other for more than the surface interest. One reviewer said there were ‘anti-sex before marriage’ themes in the story, which made me laugh. And this so wasn’t in any of my thoughts as I wrote the book or a part of Tully and Ciaran’s love story. (Though I do value the reviewer’s comment as it shares their perspective and will help me write better love stories in the future.)

So what are your thoughts on Ciaran and Tully. Please share your thoughts below.

(Picture created with Canva)

Behind the Scenes: Mistress Glenna

Mistress Glenna was a bit of an enigma to write. When I wrote the first draft, she seemed cold and aloof, and it wasn’t until the second round of major revisions that I realized she needed to be a POV character. She held too many secrets for them to be contained through most of the story only to be revealed at the end. As readers discovering the story, we needed an inside peek at what was going on with her.

Without giving away any spoilers, Mistress Glenna remains a pivotal character in Tully’s life and the overall story. Like Bain, she held key secrets around the barrier that was raised around the Kellan Lowlands and she had a deep regret of her own. She lived separate from her husband and son who were on the other side of the barrier and she longed to be united with them.

However, unlike Bain, she had nothing to do with the barrier. She’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong child. In her own way, she wanted to right wrongs that had been done to her people, the Kellans, but had gone about it the wrong way.

As the story progresses, we see her deeply care for Tully, a small view of what Tully’s life might have been like if she’d been raised by her parents, and a change from a woman who once manipulated circumstances, to one who played an important role in setting things right.

As I wrote this character, I felt she was a very strong woman. She held to her beliefs and loved others even when treated wrong–that takes character. She learned from her mistakes but didn’t roll over and do nothing. She took an active role in taking positive action. She became a character I admired and I loved her line:

“We didn’t create this mess, but we have a responsibility to deal with it.”

Mistress Glenna Hidden © K. M. Wray

If you’ve read about Mistress Glenna. Please share your thoughts below.

(Picture created with Canva)

Behind the Scenes: Shadow

Shadow and Ciaran were not a part of the original plot. In fact, I think it was in the second round of edits that she and Ciaran finally made it into the story and it wasn’t until the third that her role was more defined.

Yes, she was Ciaran’s dragon, but there was a depth to the minor supportive character that captivated my heart as I wrote her. She is unlike the other dragons and has a tender heart. She is selfless and displayed a depth of faithfulness to Ciaran and Tully.

As a young dragon she witnessed the trauma Ciaran went through and was there when he lost his uncle. As dragon and dragon rider, the two have a symbiotic relationship, but it isn’t until Ciaran faces a crisis that their relationship finally changes.

Through out the novel, Shadow consistently shows patience, acceptance and a soft spirit. She is perhaps one of my favorite characters (part of how she ended up on the cover), because in some ways, she seemed to connect everyone and played a quiet but vital role that pulled pieces of the story together.

Let me know your thoughts about Shadow. I’d love to hear them.

(Picture created with Canva)

Behind the Scenes: Haley

Haley is another loveable character in the story. In size and stature, she’s similar to Tully, and has befriended Tully.

Throughout the story, Haley has a knack for going where she shouldn’t and asking questions others won’t. She seems a little fearless in her childhood innocents, or does she see more, know more but lacks the fear others have. Hmmmm… good questions.

Haley is a bit of a mystery and I like her that way. But as the author, I think she is a bit of both. Her childhood innocents certainly gives her the curiosity and wonder of the world around her that other Kellans have lost. Kellans don’t allow questions, but Haley asks them!

Haley is also a bit fearless when she trails after Tully. One would think, where are her parents, but they’re caught up in their own grief and take little notice of their daughter. Perhaps this is the reason Haley has a touch of maturity and a bit of an old soul-she sees what others don’t.

If these were your thoughts on Haley, then we’re in good company. Perhaps one day, if I write more in this world, Haley might get her own story!

But for now, let me know your thoughts on Tully’s young friend.

(Picture created with Canva)

Behind the Scenes: Bain

When working on the outline of Hidden, a well-loved character-Bain-wasn’t a part of the original plan. It wasn’t until I wrote the first paragraph of the first draft (Chapter Four -See previous blog) and I wrote Bain’s name that I suddenly knew who this character was and what role he’d play in the main character’s life.

Bain was a Lirrian-a magical race-who’d raised the barrier around the Kellan Lowlands as a young man. He wanted to help the Kellans, but his motives weren’t completely honorable. He wanted the fee for his services and he didn’t check the whole story before agreeing to the task. The result? Trapped behind the barrier and separated from his family!

Bain was a surprising character for me to write about and originally I thought he might cause further evil, but the more I wrote him into the story, the more he seemed to resonate with that part in all of us that regrets a past mistake, something we’d like to right but can’t. However, when given a chance, even in a supportive role, Bain throws himself into the task and finds his redemption in the end.

I won’t give away spoilers but throughout the story he stands out from the rest of the Kellan people and is a faithful friend to Tully. When he learns of her identity, he does everything he can to protect her and it sets him on his path to setting things right, but not before facing his own enemy and fears.

Let me know your thoughts on Bain.

(Picture created with Canva)

Review: Court of Midnight & Deception by K. M. Shea

I just finished reading this trilogy by K. M. Shea. It is an offshoot trilogy from the Hall of Blood and Mercy set. The main character is half human and half fae. She lives in a city with a lot of magical creatures, but wants nothing to do with the fae, or more specifically, the Night Realm, which she has genetic ties to. She’s happy living her human life.

But of course, situations beyond her control work against her and before she knows what’s happened, she’s the new queen of the Night Realm: A crumbling fae kingdom.

I read the first two books when they came out and I confess that I found them… disappointing. The main character was hard to like. I found her behaviour a bit alarming as she seemed angry all the time. She had moments where she kind of cared about her kingdom, but mostly her actions and attitude suggested resentment towards her kingdom, her people and culture. The books also took on a dark and almost depressing feel (not typical for this author), and the second book’s ending was more like a cliff hanger than a proper ending. Usually, if a book ends with a cliff hanger, I don’t get the next book.

But I’ve read enough of K. M. Shea and I trust her not to disappoint her readers, so I pre-ordered book number three and had a hard time putting it down! The author fully redeemed herself and the character in the third book. In typical K. M. Shea style, she brought everything together and made sense out of it all. The main character’s struggles and attitude softened and I really liked her by the end. She gained my sympathy and I found myself immersed with empathy in her journey. The story finished and all the loose ends wrapped up in a very satisfying fashion. The relationship and character developments were enjoyable and once the story ended, it really felt like K. M. Shea had pushed herself to a new level with her writing and character development. It’s nice when an accomplished author can do this. Well done!

Now, I want to start the journey all over again with a fresh perspective. I’m confident I’ll enjoy it even more a second time round.

Cover images retrieved from amazon (2021)

Behind the Scenes: Hidden

When I first wrote Hidden, the entire book was written from one point of view character: Tully. However, in the editing and re-writes, a lot of pieces were missing. As the author, I knew the backstory and what was going on with the other characters, but telling the story from Tully’s perspective alone wasn’t going to resolve this.

So, it was time for a major re-write and the addition of new point of view characters.

Here’s a sample of the prologue which nicely sets up the reader for the rest of the story: (Enjoy!)

Prologue

Batair Nikolaus clutched the framed photograph as he studied the constellations in the heavens above.

“Karista, are you and little Donella Eir seeing this?” he asked aloud. “Do you ever look at the night sky and wonder if I, too, can see its glory?”

This is one thing to be thankful for, he thought to himself. I can still see the night sky.

Batair glanced down at the animated faces in the photograph, faces captured only one month ago. He stroked the glass, void of warmth and life. He hugged the frame against his chest, longing to hold his beloved wife and precious daughter again.

Shifting his weight, he leaned against the porch railing of the abandoned cottage. Only a month ago, this valley had teemed with workers and their families, people of all the various ethnic groups among the Kellans, Arelians, and his own people, the Lirrians, mixing and trading and crossing into one another’s lands.

He exhaled slowly. Already the clearings around the cottage were beginning to show signs of abandonment. The forests abounded with new vegetation and small animals.

“Karista, I never meant to leave you,” he whispered, pounding his fist against the railing. “I only meant to help our family.”

He looked down at a brown burlap sack. As he bent to loosen the cords strangling the neck of the bag, the wooden boards beneath his feet groaned. He reached in and pulled out a rugged piece of gold, pinching it in his fingers. Rays of moonlight bounced off the gleaming veins of ore that hinted at the precious metal within. His fist closed around the rock’s sharp corners, biting into his palm.

“It wasn’t worth it.” He opened his hand and glared at the offending stone. Bile filled his mouth. “You’re not worth it.”

He hurled the piece of gold, unleashing the pent-up anger and remorse that filled his soul. It left his hand and sailed through the air, mocking him in its gentle glide and soft thump back into the earth.

“I miss you, Karista.” Batair caressed the photograph and kissed the cold image of his wife. “I miss our daughter. Raise her well for us. I was such a fool to trade these golden rocks for our lives together. I fear I may never see you again. The Great Father has seen fit to punish me with this separation from the ones I love… I should have valued you more than this earthly treasure. You are my treasures, and I should have realized that… when I still had the chance. I should never have listened to the Kellans. I should have stayed with you and faced our struggles like a man. I’m so sorry. Will you ever forgive me? Please forgive me. I need to know…”

His voice trailed off as he heard the shrill cry of a child.

Batair’s fatherly instincts kicked in with the lament, and his heart pierced with thoughts for his own Donella Eir.

He tucked the photograph into the large right hand pocket of his jacket and quickly stored the coarse bag of gold in the cottage. He could come back for it later.

But as he strode into the trees, following the infant’s cry, he doubted he’d ever want to return.

*           *           *

Batair didn’t have to go far before he reached the entrance of a familiar cave. He’d been through this dark corridor regularly in the past month since he’d raised the barrier at the request of Declan and Mungo. They had discovered a sliver of gold deep in one of the caves and offered him a portion of their bounty as payment for his services. He thought of the barrier as he often did and wondered how his magic had produced such a strong structure to the point he’d lost control of it and was now trapped on this side. His mind pondered the possibilities and settled on the influence of dark Fenarian magic. But that was impossible. The Fenris lived beyond Arelia and never crossed the border. Maybe he was just too good at the gift the great Father gave him.

He hesitated for a moment, then entered the cave, following the baby’s hollow cries. Had a Kellan mother been stranded out here in one of the cabins? He picked up his pace, despite not being able to see his surroundings.

Raising his hand next to his face, he concentrated, letting a gentle spark of magic swirl into light. The ability to manipulate matter was a gift bestowed to the Lirrian race by the Great Father, and Batair was especially talented at wielding the elements among his people. He watched as an orb grew from a flicker to a glow about the size of a man’s fist. The light bounced off the rock surfaces surrounding him, giving him a clear view of at least five steps ahead.

Batair’s feet pounded softly against the earth, causing the odd nocturnal insect or rodent to scuttle out of his way. He rounded one corner and then the next.

His stomach flipped when he thought of what had happened to the Kellan people in the mines. He had desired to free the Kellans caught in the Arelians’ slave trade, to protect them, but he’d gone about it all wrong. He should have spoken with the Arelian leaders before trusting the words of Declan and Mungo alone. Perhaps then he would have learned that there was more to the story. Perhaps Lord Russet and Lady Coral could have done something.

Perhaps he should have trusted the Great Father instead of attempting to be the Great Father.

The wails ahead of him sounded less hollow, and he even heard the muffled cooing of a woman’s comforting voice.

Moonlight streamed into his field of vision as he reached the mouth of the cave on the opposite side of where he’d entered. With a snap of his wrist, he extinguished his orb of light. It disappeared with a pop and burst into a million speckles of glittering light.

Ahead of him, Batair made out the silhouette of a woman. Her long dark brown tresses hung down her back and she was kneeling next to a child who lay on the ground.

“It’s all right,” she cooed. “Glenna will take care of you. I promise. You’re all right.”

The woman continued to shush a small infant, and from Batair’s vantage it looked like she was rubbing and massaging the child as she swaddled it.

He didn’t recognize the woman and given his status as a Lirrian in the Lowlands he didn’t think it would be wise to reveal himself. His mind raced. He could remain hidden in the valley where he’d visited nightly and cast a net of ivy over the cave to conceal its entrance. No Kellan would have any reason to find it. Before long most people would probably forget it had ever been there.

The Kellan settlement was at least an hour away by foot, so what was this woman doing here—alone in the middle of the night with a child? He knew he had to help her… what had she called herself? Glenna? If Karista were here, she’d tell him it was his duty.

Batair allowed his feet to drag slightly along the ground to alert the woman to his presence. He didn’t want to sneak up on her.

The woman jumped.

“Excuse me,” he said from a polite distance. “I don’t mean to startle you, but do you need help?”

“I didn’t know anyone was out this far.” Glenna scrambled to her feet with the weeping child clutched to her chest.

Batair moved out of the shadows. “I was on an evening stroll and heard your child crying.”

“Oh, she’s not my child.” The woman’s face held a startled expression, and in the dim moonlight Batair wondered if the blood had drained from it. “I mean, I found her. I know… I… I knew her parents.”

Glenna dropped her eyes and cradled the infant’s head. She shifted the bundle in her arms.

Batair was certain the woman was keeping the child covered as much as possible, but he’d caught a brief glimpse of the fiery red face of an upset babe. Did she have some deformity? It was a girl—he’d heard the woman refer to it as a female. Perhaps she’d been hurt.

“May I offer you assistance? It’s rather late for you to be out here alone. My name is—”

Batair paused. He didn’t want to give his real name. He was stuck in the Lowlands with the Kellans, by his own hand. He needed to leave his past identity behind.

He was thankful that only his lean stature common to all Lirrians separated him from the ideal stocky Kellan. It wouldn’t be too difficult to pass as one of them.

“My name is Bain,” he said. “My offer is sincere.”

“I’m Glenna. Uh, no… no, thank you.”

“Are you sure? I have a cabin just through the trees over here. It’s not much, but you and, uh—” He pointed towards the bundle in Glenna’s arms.

“Her name is Aut… t… Tully.”

“You and Tully are welcome to stay inside for the night…”

“That’s awfully kind, and it is a long way back to the settlement. But what about you? Where will you sleep?”

“I don’t mind spending a night under the stars, and I haven’t slept well since the barrier was raised. I find myself often taking midnight strolls.”

“Are you sure? We wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Right this way.”

He moved ahead of Glenna, listening to Tully’s soft whimpers. He glanced over his shoulder at them every once and while and noticed the woman’s eyes darting about. Perhaps he’d be able to find out more, but he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to involve himself in the affairs of Kellans. The barrier had already cost him his most valued treasure.

“Here you are,” Batair said when they entered the clearing around his cabin. “I found it abandoned a month ago and have been staying here ever since. Go on inside and rest for the night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Relief softened Glenna’s features and a smile pulled at her mouth. “Thank you.”

Batair bowed his head and watched the woman enter the cabin, then moved swiftly back through the woods. As he walked, he pulled out the picture of his family and hugged it close. He stroked the faces of the ones he loved.

“I’m sorry and I’ll never forget you,” he said softly. “And by the will of the Great Father, perhaps one day I’ll find my way back to you. But I can’t keep coming into the forest night after night…”

Batair’s eyes remained steady on his wife’s laughing eyes.

After a few minutes, he returned to the mouth of the cave. For the past month, he daily came here and strolled through to the valley on the other side to the cabin where he stored the gold. A routine, and he needed to let go of it. If Karista knew, she’d be angry with him.

He lifted his free hand and moved it in an arc before him, letting the magic flow from him towards the yawning cave. Long tendrils of ivy began to spread over the rockface, coating the entrance until it became totally covered. He lowered his hand and surveyed his handiwork.

The Kellans will forget about this entrance soon enough, he told himself. He’d noticed that the Kellans avoided coming out this far into the forest. They seemed intent on forgetting any of their previous associations with the Arelians or the Great Father. They had already begun to claim that they’d freed themselves.

Batair sighed. Standing a little straighter, he deposited the picture back into his pocket and moved through the forest. He stopped in a nearby meadow, his heart feeling as though it were being torn in two. Part his heart lived back in the forests of the Lirrians bordering Arelia Proper—with his family, with his own people, the Lirrians. But the other part was here, in the Lowlands. He couldn’t get back.

Hopefully, by the will of the Great Father, he’d one day find a way to reverse this wretched barrier and set right what he’d put horribly wrong.

© K. M. Wray 2020

New Author?

One thing about being a new author is that… I’m not. I’m just new to publishing. Or rather, no longer treating my writing as a past-time hobby.

Writing is something I’ve done most of my life as a way of processing my thoughts, making sense of the world or just unloading all my creative ideas and expressions. There’s no particular reason why I haven’t pursued creative writing or publishing until now. It was something I’ve always wanted to do but my focus was elsewhere and I always thought thought that ‘someday’ I would do it.

However, I’ve spent years (decades) writing and learning about writing and it is only recently a few life changes have suggested that perhaps, ‘now is the time’. And so, in the past couple of years, I’ve been taking my writing a bit more seriously and have delved into the world of becoming a self-published author.

I know it’s a lot of hard work, but everything worth doing is! Cheers to the journey!