State of the Elfyverse, and other writing stuff.

OK, now for a quick update as to the state of the Elfyverse, AKA, “What else has Barb been doing along with readying her and Michael’s reprints — and Michael’s three great, but previously unpublished, ‘Columba’ stories — for publication at eQuill?”

Three more chapters were revised and posted to my writer’s group for AN ELFY ABROAD, the direct sequel to ELFY, in the past month.  I now have completed between 85 and 90% of this novel — but as it’s well over 250,000 words as it is, I know I will have to cut back somehow and/or split it into two books.  (It’s even longer than ELFY!)

Two more chapters were revised and posted to my writer’s group for KEISHA’S VOW, with two more chapters currently in progress but with nagging problems I haven’t yet solved.  (And as I tend to get blocked if I don’t solve ’em, I usually have to struggle for a while before I can go on.  I don’t know why this is, but I know it is my process, for better or worse.)  KEISHA’S VOW now stands about 50% complete with about 60,000 words written of a projected 110K novel.  (KEISHA’S is an ELFY prequel set in 1954 with many of the same characters from ELFY — just younger, or at least more alive, versions.)

As for CHANGING FACES, my non-Elfyverse novel that’s been in progress since 2002, it remains stalled out.  (Sorry.)  At 95K of a projected 110K novel for the fourth month in a row.)

Six stories and six poems are at various markets, while “Trouble with Elfs,” a reprinted version of the story published in 2007 at the Written Word online magazine (a tighter, better formatted version) is now available at eQuill Publishing.  Here is the link to my author page there:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=12

At any rate, you all know I’ve blogged, submitted to publishers, submitted to magazines, submitted to agents, and then done the same again several times (rinse and repeat).  I am a serious writer, at least with regards to getting my work in print; I am also serious about getting Michael’s work in print (see my parallel post about Michael’s “Columba” stories, which I blogged about just before this here at the Elfyverse blog site).

Thank you for following along with my journey; it is not yet over, and is not yet complete, for which I give whatever thanks I may.

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Note: I have not put “Bright as Diamonds” up as a reprint yet, though I believe I have the rights to it after all this time (five years since publication).  I probably won’t, either, unless for some reason enough of my short fiction sells that I want or need to put out a short fiction collection — and that’s looking optimistically way down the road.

Michael’s never-before-published “Columba” stories up at eQuill

This was a long time in coming, folks.

I’ve done my best to keep my beloved husband’s work alive since his untimely death in 2004.  It has been a struggle, but I’ve managed to sell a few things now and again — my story “Trouble with Elfs” sold in ’07 (Michael added 10% to it, so it’s credited as a collaboration), “A Dark and Stormy Night” sold in ’05 (this was his story, which I’d added 10% to round it out a little), — after our first sale to the BEDLAM’S EDGE anthology in ’04 (“Bright as Diamonds, released in ’05).

But all this time, I knew Michael had three completed fairy-tale fantasy stories set in an alternate United States of America — technically, in the demense of Illinowa, where Princess-Coronet Columba had a great deal of distress trying to separate herself from all the drama of being royal.  Columba, you see, wanted her own, independent life — she was a musician, and a mage, and a very strong woman, stuck in a life that wasn’t right for her.

Then she rescues a cat . . . and things dramatically change.  The cat isn’t a familiar, quite  — you’d have to read the stories at eQuill to understand what’s going on fully — rather, he’s the gateway to an unexpected romance between two lonely, complementary souls who are equal, but not the same.

Michael wrote these stories for me — the first, “Columba and the Cat,” was written in early 2002 after we became engaged to be married.  The second, “Columba and the Committee,” was written to celebrate our marriage in June of 2002.  Finally, “Columba and the Crossing” was written for our anniversary — our second, as it had been in progress for well over a year due to the vagaries of life (a move across country, some ill health for the pair of us, and trying to find work in a new, strange place).  A fourth, “Columba and the Cromlech,” was in progress at the time of Michael’s passing in September of 2004.

I wrote the blurbs, checked over the Columba stories, and am pleased to offer them now for the very first time to the public.   I also am pleased to announce that the fourth “Columba” story will be completed, by me, as soon as possible.

Don’t be put off by eQuill being an Australian e-book publisher, folks — they have a monetary conversion thing through PayPal that allows any currency to be used as far as I am aware.  (I checked this before I placed any of my or Michael’s stories there.)

Please check out Michael’s author’s page at eQuill and the stories available for sale now:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=13

And if you wish to see my page at eQuill (so far only one of our stories is listed with me; the others are listed with Michael), it is available here:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=12

Thanks, and as Michael always said, “Good reading!”