With the upcoming tour for my new book, Slaying Isidore’s Dragons, and writing articles and answering interview questions for nearly fifty sites, I was at a loss as to what to write about today. To my good fortune, Author Helena Stone tagged me in a Facebook challenge to list Seven Facts About My Writing Life You May Not Know. Without further ado:

1.  I was first published at the age of seven. I wrote a story entitled “Hank the Unicorn” and it was about a unicorn who wished to be a Pegasus so he could fly. Given that a unicorn is a portmanteau of a Pegasus, clearly the age of reason had not yet dawned on me. But, hey, I was seven and wanted to be able to fly. So much so, I disdained any creature that could not fly. My four-page masterpiece was published in a local newspaper. Owning three parrots has only made me more envious of creatures that can fly. I still have a burning desire to be able to fly. Like, almost more than anything in the universe. It’s become a very deep-seated need. I probably need counseling. I digress.

2.  I write more, better, faster at night. I am convinced this has to do with my very own personal (adverb, adverb, adverb) circadian rhythm and the fact that I was born at 1:35 in the afternoon. No matter how often I am chided or criticized for my nocturnal tendencies, I like my chronobiology. #ChronoPride If only Shira Anthony would remember to text me after 12 p.m. EST. Love you, Diva!

3.  My favorite genre to write is science fiction because the possibilities are infinite. My second favorite genre to write is phantasy. Contrary to popular belief, possibilities in magick are not finite, but still fun! My least favorite genre to write is contemporary fiction. IKR? Well, unless there’s action. LOVE action.

4.  I must write daily and, had I not learned to write at a very young age, I would not have survived my formative years; or years of hospitalization thereafter; or my teens; or my early adulthood. Wait a minute. I would not survive. Period. //end

5. I would never have written Omorphi or Slaying Isidore’s Dragons were it not for the wonderful boys for whom I advocate. They bugged me forever to write a story for them. It was four years before I sat down to pen Slaying Isidore’s Dragons because I wanted to ensure I could write a story of hope.

6.  Extraordinary care goes into writing for abused youth and much of it doesn’t meet the eye. By way of example, I deliberately steer away from using phrases that can be construed to imply force such as: “caused him to,” “made him,” or “making him,” as force is a trigger. Unless the implied force is used in a positive light, I generally won’t use it.

Acceptable: Sunlight cascaded through the windows and haloed his small form, making him appear ever more the angel Declan thought him to be.

Unacceptable: The dog sniffed the contents, looked up, then licked Isidore’s face, making him giggle and wipe his face on his arm.

The latter is unacceptable because the “making” could be construed to imply force. Further, that giggling can infer tickling, and much abuse begins with “tickling.” I also try to use words that imply patience, understanding, and a willingness to work with sensitivities arising from abuse.

He stood in front of Isidore, close but not touching, waiting for him to calm.

7.  I have ‘hadH8,’ ‘thenH8,’ and ‘imperfect-tenseH8.’ In the days of elde, using these in writing was considered PMP.

A poor man’s process is now used in film to describe “creating the illusion of movement for an interior scene in a car or other vehicle by shaking it up and down and flashing lights and shadows across it. This can be done anywhere without having to actually drive the vehicle.”

Though it is now fashionable to use these words and imperfect tense—and em dashes—in writing, my grandfather’s criticism still rings in my ears: “They give the illusion of good grammar while you’re only demonstrating your inability to create good sentence structure in storytelling.” (I hope my editors are not reading this.)

Example 1:
My sentence: Yet he had and, so, he deserved what they did to him.
Suggested: Yet he had, and so he had deserved what they did to him.

Setting aside for a moment that this sentence represents internal dialogue on the part of a main character (which is always present tense), what does the second “had” add to the sentence?

Example 2:
My sentence: Declan stood and shook his hand and guy-hugged him.
Suggested: Declan stood and shook his hand and then guy-hugged him.

I might as well have added a second ‘then’ and made it: Declan stood and then shook his hand and then guy-hugged him. What does “then” add to the sentence? There is also a cadence to writing and, though three “ands” in a sentence without punctuation may be viewed as grammatically incorrect, it works for the story and the cadence I’m using to write it.

Example 3:
My sentence: The dog sniffed the contents, looked up, and licked Isidore’s face. He giggled and wiped his face on his arm.
Suggested: The dog sniffed the contents, looked up, then licked Isidore’s face, making him giggle and wipe his face on his arm.

This isn’t only unacceptable because of the reasons stated in item 6, above. It’s unacceptable because ‘making him giggle’ isn’t true and represents lazy writing or PMP.

Bonus fact: It was very hard to write for my grandfather. #HiddenGifts

See you next month on Friday, April 17th!

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Pre-order now from Dreamspinner/Harmony Ink Press

Follow the burgeoning love of two teens during the worst year of their lives. Irish-born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He is ‘out’ to his parents but to no one else. French-born Jean Isidore de Sauveterre is also the son of two ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Both teens have lost a parent in a London car bombing.

Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do it. One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped. They are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the headmaster’s popular son attempts suicide and someone tries to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed. Read Chapter One of Slaying Isidore’s Dragons

 

Available from: Harmony Ink Press

Όμορφη. Ómorphi. Greek. Meaning pretty

Pretty. adj. /pritē/ Pleasing by delicacy or grace

~*~

High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. He’s a star athlete, has great friends, and parents who love him just the way he is. What’s missing from his life is a boyfriend. That’s a problem because he’s out only to his parents and best friend. When Michael accidentally bumps into Christy Castle at school, his life changes in ways he never imagined. Christy is Michael’s dream guy: smart, pretty, and sexy. But nothing could have prepared Michael for what being Christy’s boyfriend would entail.

Christy needs to heal after years of abuse and knows he needs help to do it. After the death of his notorious father, he leaves his native Greece and settles in upstate New York. Alone, afraid, and left without a voice, Christy hides the myriad scars of his abuse. He desperately wants to be loved and when he meets Michael, he dares to hope that day has arrived. When one of Michael’s team-mates becomes an enemy and an abuser from Christy’s past seeks to return him to a life of slavery, only Michael and Christy’s combined strength and unwavering determination can save them from the violence that threatens to destroy their future together. Read an excerpt of Omorphi

 

Available from: Harmony Ink Press

 

Caleb had one mission in life.

To keep his boyfriend safe.

They met at ten, kissed at twelve, and were madly in love by eighteen. Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist—literally. One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe. Read an excerpt of Safe.