Publisher's Fair

It's surprising that I'm a day late posting when I actually was looking forward to this week's post. A lot has happened in the past week, and it all kind of revolves around the Publisher's Fair at BYU. It was last Wednesday, and long story short I have now sent Nightshade to two publishers. They are both new, relatively small publishers, which is a big difference from who I have been sending it to. I don't know how this will play out, but fingers crossed. Maybe trying something new is what I've needed to do.

It's amazing how motivated one can be when submission is imminent. I worked like crazy Wednesday through Friday polishing Nightshade and preparing my submission package. I don't know how it stands now; I think it's epic, but I'm the writer. I'm very biased. I suppose I could keep revising, but I could revise it into the end of the world. At some point I have to let it go, and I guess I'll see if now's the time. I also finished my revision of "Once and Future" and am determining where I'll submit that. I'm thinking Leading Edge Magazine.

So, future plans. I don't know if it's the new drive to publish or the nice weather, but I suddenly want to write. I think the Jeremy Wilderson, Retrieval Specialist novel is the next up. It will be fun, perfect for warm weather writing, and I can practice writing characters and dialogue. I will soon start the process for revising The Shifting, just as soon as I have time to look it over.

I've realized I prefer stories that, in addition to having the hero sacrifice when the stakes are high, have an interesting portrayal of Good. I think there are often two ways of depicting "Good": the well-meaning, sentimental version and the kind that I call "white fire." Both are sides, I think, of the same thing. Good is often soft and gentle, healing and caretaking. Good is meek and humble. However, Good is also immensely powerful. It conquers darkness and is a source of strength. I like books that take into account both sides of Good: meek, but far from ineffectual.