The Heart of the Dragon is coming March 13th!

Coming March 13th!

 

THE HEART OF THE DRAGON

by S.D. Grady

 

 At night, he fights.  In the dawn, he loves. Only with her, he lives.   

 

Lady Yelena is sent in marriage to Prince Pietro, known as the Vellenican Dragon. Instead of her sisters' elegant beauty, she brings a dowry of swords to the warrior prince. A hard man to love, night after night the prince leaves Yelena behind as he battles against the evil Wasti in a generations long war. Each morning he returns to her bloody and beaten. They despair of ever finding peace for their homelands. Then Yelena discovers treachery in her personal guard and she must find the strength to raise her own sword and fight for her family, her honor and her prince.

 

Stay tuned for more information.

Good Omen

Today I began a new routine, which included an old one; sitting at a desk to write. As soon as I positioned the desk chair, Betty demanded I retrieve her perch. I wrote my first novel with Betty sitting on the red footstool. I guess she wants me to write the next the same way.

A very good omen. Happy Monday!

Writing and Moving Forward

You can't share words without writing them.

The glamorous part of writing is actually the writing...the creating.  That's when your muse is set free to explore all your fears, dreams, wants and needs and translates them onto the screen.  It's exhilarating.  It is fleeting.

The rest of the writing process is downright torture, and yet without it, all those glorious words would be locked in my computer for all time.  Anybody who has ever read a book, knows keeping words to yourself is a crime.

In order to participate with the rest of humanity the best way I know how, I keep writing.  And then I have to edit those footloose words.  And then (lol...yes, and then!) I must send them somewhere for judgement.  It's called submitting.

Currently I'm trapped in the submitting portion, while I should be moving forward with the editing so I can submit the next story.  It's circular.  Round and round we go.  But on the occasion we do get stuck.  How to unstick?

The answer is as simple as it is difficult.  Just do it.  Take out that rough manuscript and start searching for the plot/pacing flaws.  Go back and check for continuity.  Go back again to clean up the inevitable grammatical errors.

Guess what I need to do this week?  Yep.  Get out my dear "Mistress" and go back so I can go forward.

I love writing.  I do! Can't you tell?

Next...

It might be the compulsive part of my personality, but I ask myself, "What's next?" about 30 times a day.  However, the moment that this question really hammers at my peace of mind is when I finish.

Finish what?  At this particular moment, reading a book.  It was awesome, and fun, sparked my imagination, took me to far off lands and times long ago.  And now...I want more.

This is when my better half, if that's what you want to call responsibility, wars with my more creative self.  I want to read another book full of kings, mistresses, war, politics, gowns, glory, deceit but I also have other projects that require attention.  There is The King's Mistress, a new novel, and now a Fairy Tale project--which is finally getting the seeds of imagination it requires to take flight.  There's racing, and commentary and editing.  My job--you know, the thing that pays the bills, gets in the way of all of this.  The house, my lord they really know how to plow you under, those piles of sticks which threaten to fall on top of you if you let them. 

And still, amidst all this reality, the call of whimsy remains.  I want to read another.  There are volumes in the To Be Read pile. Movies in the To Be Watched pile. An afghan in the To Be Crocheted pile.  Paint for the Finish the Living Room pile.

Read? Clean? Write? Play?

My fellow bookworms understand the call of the paperback. They draw you in and threaten to suck your life away, if you let them.

For today, I shall head off to the track, watch some racing, sort some photos and conjure a column for The Frontstretch.

Tomorrow?  Maybe there will be time to read, perchance to dream...

What did I just read? 

900 Words

Well, that's what I managed to put down for The King's Mistress, today.  Not too bad.  Why the word count?  Ah, that's a writer thing.  Either you count words or you don't.  For me it's a way to feel like I've accomplished something, a bit of self-reward.

Since some of my stories are a mere 3,000 words, you can see why a number like 900 might get me all riled up.  Problem is, I don't know how long The Mistress will end up...right now it's feeling like a novel.  Oh, big sigh.  Really?  Another novel?  Something else I'll have difficulty editing and getting sold?  Why would I do such a silly thing?

And how long is a novel, you ask?  Start at the big 50k and work your way up from there.  With almost 3,500 in the bank for the Mistress, I am well on my way...and have no idea where I'm going.  That's the funny part.

Oh well.  Such is the whimsical nature of my muse.

And where did I get the inspiration this time?  Like all my historical fantasies, from a real life character.  In this case, Louis XV's long time mistress...what happened to her after he died?  How can a woman wield such fearful power in the court one day, and the next be cast into the street because she was not of noble birth?  That's the launching point.

Why do I do this? Only the muse knows...and she's not telling!

Until next time.

Is it a Hobby or an Obsession?

I dare not call it a career or even a job.  Writing just seems to be something I can't stop doing.

When attempting to succeed in the arts--whether it be music, art, film, dance, or writing--first there must be a belief that you have something to offer that others don't.  You practice, hone and research.  Try once, throw it out, and try again.  Sometimes you decide it is no longer worth pursuing.  I've pursued a number or artistic endeavors throughout my life, but writing is the one that keeps coming back.  It always has. 

But does that make my musings worthy of supporting me? In a materialistic manner?  I am not vain enough to think that like geniuses of centuries past, my prose is meant for readers of future generations, and thus I shall never see the true worth of these words in my lifetime.  lol  No...not that.

My dream...I am foolish enough to have those...is to manage to support myself with my maunderings.  This year is the year of the agent hunt.  It is a dreary process, but one you must struggle through in this particular area of the arts.  But mostly, you must believe in yourself.  Your voice. 

Time and again I have tried writing "for the market."  Ultimately, my works tend to live in the margins of those popular markets, but never in the fast lane.  Perhaps that will be my epithet..."From the sidelines."

It's not a bad place to be.  You get to see a lot of life from that angle.  And you will never really end up in the middle, due to a lack to fitting in, if you will.

Currently, I am querying my latest work "The Heart of the Dragon," and just starting on the next idea.  Novel or novella remains to be seen for The King's Mistress.  NASCAR cranks up in just a couple more weeks and I'll be returning to the world of sports opinion on a weekly basis.

I am hoping to make this blog something more regular over the next few months.  It will take a bit to find this one's focus...NASCAR Notes took me in a direction I never believed I could achieve, really never intended to achieve...I covered a Sprint Cup race from the infield!  That there is proof that the improbably can happen if you follow your heart.  Good things come from good effort.

Well, that's all for this morning.  I shall return when I have more to share :)  Enjoy the snow! We've got enough of it.

An Accomplished Lady releases!

My Regency Romance, An Accomplished Lady, is releasing July 1st at Wings ePress! I'm very excited.

Click here in July and you'll find the link for purchase:

http://wingsepress.com/

Later!