Category: fantasy fiction

Side Journeys

Published on by Leigh

Writing the series and having my characters interact while working on a novel is one thing, but sometimes other things need clarification. For example, every once in a while, I need to create an artifact that Ari has received from Kai – but I don’t want to go into the story in the current novel. Enter the side journey – a nifty little way that I can flesh out the item’s acquisition while also creating content for my VIP readers.

It’s almost like a bonus for me! I love to write, but I don’t want to craft novels whenever an idea pops into my head. Using these side journeys to flesh out a character or “find” a relic is a fun way for me to develop a back story – and keep developing the relationships between the characters without a 90,000-word count staring me down.


For the Polestar (the relic from Resistant Magic), I send Kai and Ari on a little working vacation to the desert southwest. They managed to find a relic, and I had fun playing with two other Native American spirits – Iketome and Raven. It was a fun project, and let me write a little Paranormal Romance angle for Ari and Kai.

I don’t mind the rabbit holes, but I don’t have time for such frivolity when I’m working on a novel. It’s nose to the grindstone and research aplenty to get one of the Relic Hunter books done. That’s not saying I don’t make notes about the side journeys I intend to create. I write myself a brief reminder and return to it when I’m between books – which isn’t often enough! So as I work on Ancient Magic, subscribers to my VIP list can anticipate a new side journey after the release.


While I’m on the subject, I plan to spin two books off the Relic Hunter novels. In the first, Princess Tyballa Nessinger will be trying to solve the mystery of Dr. Ezra Froelich’s memory problems. I alluded to this in Jealous Magic, but I’m interested to see where Ty goes, and I’d also like to get to know her better.

The second is Sidaffri’s turn to go home and find what happened to the Sand Fire Jinn. This one will take some time because I’ll spin this off from Ancient Magic (the next book’s working title). There’s more to learn about Sidaffri and her history, and I’m passionate about getting the character’s backstory right.

The one character I probably won’t write a back story for is Kai, though. I’m not sure I want to know what he was up to before appearing in Elementary Magic. If you read the legends about Coyote, they’re rather naughty.

I wonder if Dan Brown goes through this.

Published on by Leigh

I’m deep into research for the next book in the Relic Hunter series and wanted to take a moment to talk about what that looks like for an Urban Fantasy author. Since I write a contemporary story using historical objects and myths, getting my characters from point A to point B involves a lot of – well, magic.

I start with a region – or a myth – and then I follow all of the online rabbit holes I fall into until it all comes together. And it does come together, like a little miracle the universe created just for me.

Okay, maybe it isn’t really created just for me – but it sure feels like that today!

I’ve been hot on the trail of my main villain in the series since the last book, but I didn’t know how I was going to get Ari and the gang to hook up with my mystery villain – until today – during my seventh marathon tumble down some pretty amazing rabbit-holes that all lead to the same place – or at least I can make them lead there by taking a few short, logical leaps.

I wonder if this is what Dan Brown goes through. I wonder if he has an idea for his protagonist and then the story just plays itself out in the research. Maybe someday I can ask him. But since today isn’t that day, let me tell you about my process for this book.

You probably remember I’ve used the concept of syncretism several times in my books. Simply put, syncretism is combining different beliefs and merging or assimilating them into one theology or mythology. Think of Ancient Rome – when they conquered a new region, they incorporated the gods and beliefs of that religion into the greater system of Roman religion. It made the conquered feel like their old ways were valued and available, so that was a win for Rome – the downside for us modern writers is it’s hard to figure out what originated where because the more recent (Roman) versions are an amalgamation of everything that came before from every region they conquered.

This time, I’ve left my comfort zone of Rome and traveled back to the Achaemenid Empire (Persia) and guess what? The Romans didn’t invent syncretism. The ancient world is a mish-mash of legends and myths that traveled from Hellenistic Greece, through the Persian Empire, the Empire of Alexander the Great, and ancient Egypt. The threads are thin and knotted – but they’re there.

So let me take a moment to give a huge shout-out to all of the archaeologists and scholars who followed those knotted threads to find the origins of the stories that are about to get woven into the relic hunter universe.

I have a layout – but this trail is at least two books until the arc can be closed – so get ready for another wild ride – this time through the desert sands of Persia!

The History behind Resistant Magic – Relic Hunter Book 5

Published on by Leigh

Welcome! I’m so glad you’re curious about the history behind my fun fantasy books. This time, we’re off to Rome – with a few side jaunts into the Achaemenid, Byzantine, and Macedonian Empires.

Julian the apostate

Robert the Pious

Theodosius I

Here’s a brief bit about Nusku to get you started! For more extensive information on Mesopotamian deities, here’s a cool site with photos.

For information on jinn – I found so many sites, but my interpretations are totally from my imagination. Just in case you want some jinn info, here’s a cool link.

Achaemenid Empire

The Late Roman Empire

Constantinople

Today is the last day

Published on by Leigh

I was in the middle of final edits when my computer died. Since I’m also a graphic designer, I had to have my new computer built – which took about three weeks – but now that it’s here, I’m back to editing and will have a pre-release blitz coming up in the next few weeks.

The book is available to pre-order – and I have the price set at .99 cents – but that’s changing TODAY so if you want to grab your copy, today is the perfect day to do that.

Recruitment Open!

Published on by Leigh

I’m busy on getting the 5th book finished, so now is the time to recruit new beta readers and an Advanced Review Team. There’s only one way to get in, though – you have to sign up for my V.I.P. List. I’ll give you two free stories as a bonus and then you can decide which team to be on.

Beta Readers – get the almost-final draft of the new release and agree to give me feedback on the story. It is after I go through this process with the team that I do final edits and get the book ready for release. There’s a private Facebook group for Beta Readers where we can talk plot/character/story development. I like HONEST feedback – if something isn’t working, then let me know that. I rely on these readers to make my books the best they can be.

Advanced Review Team Members get the new release FIRST – before it “goes live” – the book is in the final form, all edits are made, and ART members get the full version. There is also a private Facebook group for these members. I ask the favor of an HONEST review from this team when the book finally goes live. The more reviews a book gets, the higher the “social capital” of the work. This drives sales and enables me to keep writing.

Some readers want to be part of both teams, some only one. That decision is entirely yours to make. I love writing and I adore my readers – nothing is better than reading a review – even a lukewarm one – and I can actually quote you the reviews and the names of the reviewers who brought tears to my eyes (happy ones!).

So here’s my recommendation if you’ve never read my books – go ahead and sign up and read the two bonus stories. Nudging Magic takes place after the second book in the series, but I’ve kept spoilers to a minimum. Coyote’s Cache takes place after the fourth book. Again, the fact that you’re jumping in that late means there are bound to be some spoilers, but I’ve kept them to a minimum. If you like what you read, then stay on the list and become one of my valuable Beta Readers or ART members.

Detours into Death Valley

Published on by Leigh

I’m currently finishing up a novella in the Relic Hunter series. I decided this was a good time to send Arienne on a different sort of adventure with Coyote and a few other Native American Spirits.

To get them all to one place together was challenging, but I chose a location and away we went. This time, the story takes place in Death Valley and the Panamint Mountain range. I’ll tell you more on how you can get your hands on this novella in the coming weeks, but for now, I thought you might want to check out some resources that gave me the inspiration for this piece.

https://yankeebarbareno.com/2017/02/20/condor-petroglyphs-death-valley-national-park/
This is a great piece of writing about what it’s like to hike through Death Valley National Park. The writing is poetic and the pictures are great.
The Hidden City of Death Valley
A great legend – and you all know I love a good legend!

https://historydaily.org/does-death-valley-conceal-an-ancient-subterranean-city-the-legend-of-shin-au-av.

Another take on the legend.

Pre-release stressing

Published on by Leigh

Jealous Magic is coming out on Friday, and I’m doing nothing but stressing over it. I’ve planned my NaNoWriMo project (Fortunes Lost & Found) and I should be doing some more work on that, but instead I’ve looked at the covers for the Relic Hunter series and gone off the rails.

It’s been so bad that I’ve actually switched over from writing and into designing the next cover for Arienne’s next book. It’s not done, but I have a good start on her! I’m marketed out, webinared out, and facebooked out – so I’m taking the day off.

Sunday Morning Projects

Published on by Leigh

Have you had a chance to check out my Instagram feed yet? I’ve been busy creating content and putting together puzzles so my feed is visually awesome. I just started my author Instagram last week because at first I was like “How can I talk about my books using just pictures?” – then I realized “You’re also an artist.” so…yeah, I forgot about that part of my life.

The truth is, I spend Sunday mornings – and by morning, I mean the wee-small hours of the morning – creating content and scheduling posts. In all honesty, it’s been incredibly fun and enlightening. It’s easy to talk about my books using pictures – and I have a great time creating the puzzles. It also really puts me in the zone to write (or edit, like I plan to do today).

Right now I have a few projects going on. I’m in the final edit of Jealous Magic, I’m prepping for NaNoWriMo (yes, I still try to do that every year), and I’m posting content all over the place. I think the posting spree is about wanting to keep my art skills sharp while I’m off being creative in a whole new way.

I’ve noticed something interesting, though. Not only is my author account getting more traffic, but my art sites are doing great (despite the neglect). That could be because they’re somehow linked, but it could also be because the more things you put out into the universe, the more things start to gel.

So here’s what’s coming up in October…

More Instagram puzzles about my books (They’re cool, so you should follow me!).

An announcement about how to grab an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Jealous Magic (I’ll post here, but you can also connect with me on Goodreads and AllAuthor.com).

More Pins for Jealous Magic because I want you to see what I pictured as I wrote the book.

And finally…the release of Jealous Magic on October 30th (Hint: It’s at the pre-release price of .99 cents right now). There’s a lot to do next month, but I’m so excited about all of this. While you’re here, why not sign up for my newsletter so you’ll know about all of the exciting developments and get notified of sales and upcoming projects?

So, I’m off to edit now, but thank you so much for reading my posts every week. I love what I do, and your constant attention to my posts, books, and other ventures really means the world to me.