Obscurest Scandals of a CMoS Independent Contractor

Here I am with a manuscript I don't have to edit. 

I first got into editing via fiction. I worked with authors on content—characterization, plot, and other lofty ideals—and then did another pass for usage and punctuation. As the years have gone by, I've gained a lot of acuity on the proofreading side. I now catch not only obvious typos, but also transgressions no one else would ever think about in daily life.

When you're a copyeditor, you have to make the text conform not to what you personally think is correct and would say in any circumstance, but to rules laid out by the smarties who wrote or added to the official style guides.

For example, when I started out—and long after—I had no idea when I was supposed to use "which" or "that." We didn't distinguish between them at all in the dialect of English I learned growing up. Reading the rule, it seems intolerably nit-picky. Once I realized I was having so much trouble because I spent twelve months in England trying to write in a manner as British as possible, and I do read some books printed in Great Britain, and it turns out that they don't have the same "which" versus "that" rule as we Americans do, it started to make sense. Now I see that the writing is better when the roles of those two words are clearly defined.

Another norm I had considerable issue with was comparatives and superlatives. I became aware of this rule when in "The Residents of the Inn," I used the phrase "more lush." The editor claimed the construction was wrong and could not stand: it must be "lusher." Well, "lusher" happens to rub me the wrong way. Like, the "Omigod, I would never use that word" wrong way. I checked the rule in the Chicago Manual of Style and was disappointed to find it to be true. Because I couldn't tolerate the correct comparative of "lush," I chose a different word. I also adapted my editing and writing from then on. To this day, when my husband reads over my cover letters (always have someone read your cover letters!), he asks, "Shouldn't it be 'most obscure'?" And I have to reply, "No. Unfortunately, 'obscurest' is the form I'm obliged to use as a faithful Chicago-style copyeditor."

The rule I still cannot believe is a rule is probably one everybody but me has mastered without even thinking about it. "Awhile" is a real word with an appropriate time and place to be used. This blows my mind. Why should "awhile" be allowed when "alot" is not? Should we also write, "Jonny stayed at Pat's house anhour"? Would a southerner ask me to "sit aspell"? Is there any other example of this kind of "a" being an acceptable prefix? This is incredible to me, and astounding in its smallness. I get an unreasonable pleasure when someone writes, "for awhile," because then I get to jam the cursor between the "a" and "w" and insert the space I feel should always be there.

My lucrative life is now based on these tiny rules almost exclusively, although I never asked or expected to learn them.

I imagine this post is full of errors in rules I'm still not familiar with. Perfection is impossible, but we must strive for it.

Ready for Launch!

The story of Seven Noble Knights was a "bestseller" in the
Middle Ages and Renaissance. Can it capture readers' hearts today? 

Seven Noble Knights has benefitted from programs at Grub Street already. Now it looks as if Grub Street could be the deciding factor in the success of its launch! I've been accepted into a program I heard about in 2014 and immediately filed away as something I would probably never get to do because it seemed so prestigious and because it's for authors with a book coming out.

I'm now an author with a book coming out! So of course I applied to the seminar of my dreams, the Launch Lab. Twelve authors with book releases in the next year (still hard to believe that's me!) get together with industry experts to plan a book launch that makes sense for their goals, personalities, books, and resources. While I've come up with a few random ideas for getting the word out about Seven Noble Knights, the number of books published each year means that someone trying to go it alone has zero chance of getting noticed. Launch Lab gives my book a fighting chance!

So I'll start now: please notice Seven Noble Knights, the best medieval epic set in Spain you will ever come across. Brave knights, beautiful ladies, and a bloody cucumber... (Maybe I'll find some people who'll commiserate with me about my struggles with using a bloody cucumber as a marketing tactic.)

I've put everything into Seven Noble Knights: blood, sweat, tears, time, international travel, vocabulary, research, sacrifice, and oh so much love. I guess it's time to put some domestic travel and money in, too. I'll be taking the train to the first meeting this very week.

Wish me luck! I'll report on what happens.

Unpredictable Worlds—The Stories Are Almost Here!

Friday is the day! Unpredictable Worlds releases for your reading pleasure! I've been taking something of a tour of some wonderful blogs in honor of this exciting time.

Jody A. Kessler has already featured Unpredictable Worlds on her blog, saying it "sounds incredibly entertaining." There you'll find an excerpt of the prize-winning story "Stairs to the Beach."

Monday, I'm at author Tina Traverse's blog.

Author Maer Wilson is hosting me on Tuesday.

I'm stopping by author Jae Blakney's blog with a great interview with my friend and fellow author Seymour Hamilton on Wednesday.

Thursday, with the pre-release excitement mounting, I'll be traveling Steven Ramírez's Glass Highway with an excerpt from my favorite thus-far unpublished story. Unpredictable Worlds will be featured on the site all month!

Friday, May 15 is release day! Please check out the fantastic interview author Kristin Gleeson did with me at her blog on that day.

Sincere thanks to all these authors for hosting me.

You still have time to get Unpredictable Worlds at the never-again bargain price of 99 cents here. Pre-order and receive the book for the lowest price, before anyone else, on release day.

The softcover edition is already available. Affordable, nicely designed, and chock-full of astonishing stories. Order it here or from Amazon, or request it at your favorite bookstore or library.

Thanks for sharing the excitement!

The End of One Journey, The Beginning of an Even More Exciting One

The crest of Salas de los Infantes tells the Lara side of the story. 

I spent two years writing my darling baby novel and more years revising it (see some of that saga here and here), but nothing happens before its time. All the elements have finally aligned for Seven Noble Knights. Bagwyn Books will publish it in late 2016.

It was the day of my and my husband's return from ten days in Spain, our favorite place in the world. It's a long flight, but because of the time zones, we left Madrid a bit after noon and arrived stateside at about 2:30 pm. Having breakfast in Madrid and landing, only a little later in the day, somewhere so different it gives you culture shock even though you recognize everything—it creates severe nostalgic ache to go along with the raw fatigue. Moaning and groaning ensues. We took in the scenery, my husband kept reaching for the clutch in our automatic transmission, and we made it home to unpack in less than ten minutes, our few souvenirs bizarrely out of context now.

Yet some of the euphoria of the journey had imprinted on our minds and would be extended by an unexpected but long-hoped-for email. I was taking care of business when at 6:44 pm, a message came in with the subject SEVEN NOBLE KNIGHTS from the publisher I had so jubilantly submitted the full manuscript to in February. Up until now, these messages have been disappointing, so I braced myself.

"Dear Jessica," it began. "We have now finished our preliminary review of SEVEN NOBLE KNIGHTS..."

Yes, yes, but... I waited for the punch.

"...and have decided we are indeed interested in publishing."

Did I read that right?

This is a yes?

I never knew it would be so beautiful.

"This novel is very well done and hard to put down!"

That's when the tears welled up. To see my hard work pay off!

My husband entered the room and I squeaked, "I think my dreams are coming true."

It's taken a few weeks to iron out the legal mumbo-jumbo, but I can now look forward to working with professionals who specialize in medieval and renaissance fiction... on even more revisions. But really, when I came across Bagwyn, I was impressed that it's the fiction imprint of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. I already own a few of their books! I can't imagine a more appropriate publisher for Seven Noble Knights.

Thanks to all the writers and historical fiction lovers who helped me through the drafts and the many revisions. You know who you are. I'll name names in the published acknowledgments.

[reblogged from Seven Noble Knights]

Cover Reveal: New Amazing Book of Stories Ready for Bargain Pre-Order

It's almost here. Unpredictable Worlds releases May 15!

If you've ever despaired that my published and prize-winning fiction is all over the web, in no single place, and that I have many more stories to amaze you with, but they haven't been picked up yet, despair no more! Unpredictable Worlds has it all, and more!

The synopsis:

A teacher controls her students with an edible microchip. A reporter turns into a rhinoceros. A couple's efforts to eat local go frighteningly awry. If you're looking to be surprised, puzzled, or just plain entertained, pick up this omnibus. There's something for everyone! 

More than twenty years in the making, Unpredictable Worlds contains all of Jessica Knauss’s published and prize-winning short fiction as of March 2015 and a few of her best stories never before seen in print or ebook. Zany plots and outrageous characters will stretch your belief and tug at your heart. 

WARNING: These stories contain exaggeration, elision, and disregard for “the real world.” Some even exhibit a tone of blatant optimism. However, they respect human speech patterns, admire good grammar, and hold proper punctuation in the highest regard. 

Enjoy!

The cover features details from a French painting that dominates one of the galleries at the Worcester Art Museum. I find the turbulence and the barely visible hand reaching out of the water disturbing. I hope it captures the vaguely unsettling nature of many of the stories in Unpredictable Worlds.

Unpredictable Worlds releases for Kindle on May 15 with a softcover edition to follow. Seem too far in the future? It isn't so far when you consider this: Unpredictable Worlds is already available for preorder for only 99 cents. Once it's out there in the world, the price will go up, so save at least 66% now and have this strangely amazing book delivered to your device on release day.

Brilliant Flash Fiction Prize Winner!

Photo by Laurie Scavo for Brilliant Flash Fiction 

I came upon an interesting contest in Brilliant Flash Fiction in which writers should create a story in 1000 or fewer words after contemplating this sunny, peaceful photo. The result, "Stairs to the Beach," isn't peaceful or sunny, but it won the prize!

I'm surprised and flattered and thrilled to be so honored.

I'm usually peaceful and sunny, myself, so how did this disturbing set of words come about? First, I asked who would live in such a house? Who would have a use for such an ingenious system to get to the beach below?

As soon as I hit on the name "Josie," this song got stuck in my head.

So Josie is an amazing person, a humanitarian doctor, with a spirit so generous, she adopts ten children and provides them with a fun way to get to the beach they live for. She's away a lot on humanitarian missions, so when she comes home, everyone rejoices. Perhaps it's the way the photo darkens around the edges, or the unusual nature of the tunnel, or perhaps the house reminds me a little of the beach house at the end of Road to Perdition, because then I wondered, what if Josie doesn't come home? What happens to her good intentions then?

The inheritors of her estate (and ten children) aren't interested in charity work or parenting, and so the story took on its life. These characters have a lot in common with Emily from "Unpredictable Factors in Human Obedience" and another Emily, from the forthcoming Awash in Talent, so I have a feeling this beach house may crop up again in my writing.

That's a smooth version of how the writing went. In reality, the connections didn't get made until I sat down to do the labor of writing. Every time I looked at the story, I added one hundred words and deleted twenty-five. And then, I just added details. But there still seemed to be something missing. I showed it to my critique partners, who were magically able to point out the parts that were still vague, and fixed them just in time for the submission deadline.

Of course I didn't submit it before I showed it to my husband, who laughed uproariously in all kinds of unexpected places. Or were they unpredictable?

Coming Soon... 

You'll be glad to know that in May 2015, you can get many more wonderful short fictions in my story collection, Unpredictable Worlds. More on that soon.

In the meantime, enjoy "Stairs to the Beach." Thanks! And be sure to check out the other amazing stories at Brilliant Flash Fiction.

New Javan Rhino Flash Fiction

The rare Javan rhino.

Today's the day! My story, "The Last Ultrasound," will appear at Linguistic Erosion.

"The Last Ultrasound" is the first of five short-shorts to be published in honor of a specific species of rhinoceros. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but it seems fitting to start with the rarest of all rhinos, the Javan, which number today only about 30 in the wild. Contrary to what the story describes, there are no Javan rhinos in captivity anywhere in the world.

Their rarity makes Javan rhinos difficult to describe. They appear to be mostly solitary. The only camera trap photos with more than one animal in them show a mother and calf. In appearance, the Javan is similar to the Greater One-Horned or Indian rhino, but averages about two-thirds the size of its bigger relative. One big difference between the two species is that female rhinos don't appear to grow a horn beyond the smallest stump. All other rhino species have horn growth in both sexes.

The most charming thing about Javan rhinos is that they really love to swim. It's real swimming, not just wading. Check it out:

Although "The Last Ultrasound" might paint a grim picture, there is still hope for the real-life Javan rhinos. Thank you very much for reading! Remember: no one needs a rhino horn but a rhino.

Writing Process Blog Hop

No, this is not my writing space. But wouldn't it be
 distractingly cool?

Kim Rendfeld, author of sweepingly epic and historically accurate The Cross and the Dragon and The Ashes of Heaven's Pillar (forthcoming), invited me to participate in this blog hop tour and answer four questions about my writing process.

My Writing Process

1) What are you working on?

Currently, I'm in the ideas stage for the third part of my Providence series. 

It started with "Hope & Benevolent," a novellette about a college girl who tries to outdo her sister, who's so talented, she not only moves things with her mind, but also heals wounds and maladies (a great rarity). 

Before I left North Carolina, I completed the first draft of the second part, Waterfire. It's a novella about the terrible school system set up for firestarters and the lengths a group of them have to go to in order to overcome those obstacles. 

The third will deal with issues of psychics in this paranormal Providence, and will tie in with both of the other stories. I'm also trying to decide whether to self publish these strange little stories. Other exciting projects are also in the idea stage.

Providence as seen from the Mall. When it's not iced over,
Waterplace Park is where Waterfire (real and literary) takes place. My characters
Kelly and Brian end their October stroll on the other side of the bluish glass building, foreground. 

2) How does your work differ from others of its genre?

My historical fiction is different already because of its setting: medieval Spain, the most awe-inspiring place and time I've ever come across. I like to write historical fiction so that the reader is immersed in the period, but also sympathizes with the characters as much as they would with any contemporary person. Also, I can't seem to help it — my pacing is ten times faster than other historical fiction I've read. 

The magical realism and/or fantasy I write tends to be much sunnier than what I read. Terrible things happen, of course, otherwise there's no story. But the optimism and enthusiasm with which I consider my real life colors my writing as well. Readers often take this lightness as comedy. That's fine. Laughter is good for the soul.

3) Why do you write what you do?

Whether it's about an incident in medieval Spain I've researched to the rafters or just a collection of my experiences and inspirations, no one else can write the stories I do. Would anyone care if they never got written? My writing is an act of faith that someone would!

4) How does your writing process work?

I seem to thrive on routine, which I sorely lack lately. Weirdly enough, going to bed at the same time and doing the same kinds of things opens up my inspiration so the ideas flow. Of course, when I get an idea, I have to postpone bedtime or get up early to jot it down.

It's essential to have a routine during the actual work of writing, too. I've been most inspired and productive when I've set myself a word count goal and sit down at the same place (whether at my desk or on the hotel couch with a laptop) at the same time each day with no distractions. 

I think this sort of spatial routine trains the body to recall what it's like to inhabit the creative space, so the mind responds to a pattern it recognizes with discipline and the fun part — making all the crazy connections and playing with language — follows naturally. I usually use a playlist of music I've compiled for the specific project and have certain sentimental objects around unless I'm moving — which I'm now certain I'm going to do a lot less of!

If you'd like to hop backwards, visit the blog of Marta Merajver, bilingual author of Just Toss the Ashes and many other fascinating fiction and non-fiction titles.

Coming March 10: Kathleen Rollins, who writes utterly original prehistoric epics, will post about her writing process. It's sure to be unmissable!

Thanks for stopping by! This is my last blog post until March, when I shall discuss critique groups, job hunting, and the publishing world. Your input is always appreciated.

Coming Up In March

A rare Javan rhino

The editor of the fine web publication Linguistic Erosion has given me the great news that a flash fiction of mine will be published there in March!

In some 489 words, it explains the plight of the Javan rhinoceros, this rarest of the already rare rhinoceros species. It's one of a five-flash suite that celebrates each species in an entertaining and hopefully, at times, informative and/or artistic way. I can't wait to share it with you! And of course I hope to have news about its five companion pieces soon, too...

Goals

Next month is NaNoWriMo, a month which has become sacred in the lives of professional writers and those who plan to use it make the leap into professionalism. It's a marathon writing session, and like real races, the writing athlete has to train for this one.

Mainly, what's involved is research and planning, because the words come out a lot more slowly when you have no idea what you're writing about.

It seems I find myself here most Octobers: how do I decide which project to work on in November so I can do the proper planning? It seems my muse loves the change of seasons, because I get more serious ideas for writing projects in the autumn than at any other time.

For the 2013 exercises, I'm really not sure how many words I'll be able to make for a reasonable goal, because I anticipate a lot of fundamental life changes. Then again, I made my goal of 25,000 words and actually completing my novel in spite of a few setbacks and my husband coming home to vacuum when I was ready to type the last word. (I'm not sure I'll ever know what that was about.)

Setbacks this year include:

   Not having any of those trappings I pictured and wrote about in my completion post. There was some serious inspiration in those unassuming objects, and as of this writing I'm still (five months later!) in a hotel with only the barest essentials. I left behind everything but the computer, convinced we would get the sentimental objects out of storage within four to six weeks. Sigh. But I do have story notes I can use because the ideas for both projects came to me here.
   Not being able to decide which project to write!
   Probably moving and waiting for my stuff in storage to come to me some time in November.
   Most likely, my husband ending his job. Nothing like money worries to take one's inspiration away.

But I have grit. Cervantes wrote in prison, and a hotel is definitely better than that. So here are the possibilities:

A YA paranormal story about a sassy girl who can start fires with her mind. Her school is oppressive and she's got to find the self-confidence to break out in spite of some serious traumas. It's conceived as a companion piece to "Middle Awash in Talent" (title soon to be changed), which is about a sassy girl whose sister can move objects with her mind and who has control over whom in that relationship. Like "Middle Awash," this one would be 16,000 to 20,000 words and I would complete it if I chose it for NaNo. Then the question would be whether to try to carry on with the third story I plan to write in that universe, thus completing the book-length project entirely. The third story will be about a psychic as defined against the Talents in the other two stories.

OR

Begin and pledge a reasonable number of words for the rhino novel. An ingenue stumbles into corruption and intrigue on the rhino preserve where she gets a job. The ideas have become unexpectedly thriller-like as I think them through. There is some urgency to this project, since I'd like to complete a novel about rhinos before they're gone from the real world.

And I must make this decision while furiously typing away on a story for a holiday anthology due at the end of October (more on that soon).

Please weigh in. Firestarters or rhinos?

New Review of Law and Order in Medieval Spain

Whenever I sell a copy of Law and Order in Medieval Spain, I'm a little amazed. I love finding out that there are some people looking for a nonfiction book of literary criticism of thirteenth-century poetry based on legal tracts. I recently had occasion to be dumbfounded when I wandered onto the Amazon page for this book with a different objective to find that a thoughtful reader had taken the time to leave an unsolicited (but much appreciated) five-star review.

Readers, there is nothing that makes an author's day like an unexpected bit of honest appreciation from someone who connected with that author's book.

"A book for a well rounded library," this singular review proclaims. "Enjoyed reading this book and so glad I found it. In college I took a music history class that covered the cantigas of the Virgin Mary."

Me, too. My first exposure to the Cantigas was in "Música Española," a class for American college students in Córdoba, Spain.

"I did find many other books but they were mostly in Latin and the prices were in the range from fifty dollars up to six hundred. This book was at the right price for me but the author put her heart into this book."

Quality academic publishing is expensive, but students are the people who can least afford high prices. I priced the book to be accessible to everyone who might have a hint of interest. Yes, I admit, I put my heart into this book — thanks for appreciating it!

"All her research is well documented and footnoted with names of other authors and universities where I could even get more history."

The highest academic standards were in place at all times during construction of this book. Blood, sweat, and tears. It's nice to know readers like that.

"The ancient art work is a treasure to behold especially since I don't think I'll be traveling to Spain. The subject of this book can interest those who like history, religion, music, or art. All these reasons are why I think this book is for a well rounded library."

That's what I love most about the Cantigas de Santa Maria: they touch so many aspects of medieval life. They aren't unitary, but a combination.

"I even wish the author would write a second book with more on the cantigas of the Virgin Mary." 

Of course this makes me want to drop everything and head to the library to start researching more! 

You can read the whole review without interruption by scrolling down here. Thank you for sharing my joy.

Unusual Historicals Feature

Today I'm featured at Unusual Historicals. Find out the three most pressing facts about me, and send me your good wishes for finding a place in the world.

Thanks for stopping by!

Old Castle, New Ideas

The castle at Monzón de Campos, Palencia, Spain

I've got query letters at agencies and a couple of new readers for The Seven Noble Knights of Lara (translation: I'm feeling horribly exposed!).

I've read that the best remedy for any anxiety that kind of exposure can cause is to start a new project. I always have a million projects going at once, but I'm relieved to find I can sift through the nerves and find the spark of creativity for another historical novel. Yup, there were several moments when I swore I'd never do another historical, but there it is. I've written the first words and now plan to follow the advice of the QueryTracker blog and write a synopsis before I seriously begin the writing of the novel. I started SNKL kind of haphazardly and it caused some real head-scratchers for the editing process. I hope a pre-writing synopsis will remove that painful step from the whole novel process.

The inspiration for those few words I've written already come from the castle pictured above. It's a pretty unassuming, typical structure, but oh, the drama it's seen! Online sources say it's been around for a really long time, but as yet I haven't unearthed any sense of what the castle may have looked like during the time of my new book. The best news is that it's been refurbished and I think people can actually stay in it as a hotel. To me, that sounds like the best way to figure out how to present it in a novel.

So let's all work on making a research trip to northern Spain a reality in the not-to-distant future!

Try Books

I'd suggest my own books, of course (most of which are also available at IndieBound), but anyone reading just about anything is a beautiful sight for an author, translator, editor, and publisher like me. Enjoy!

I'm making another multi-state move, so I'll be out of it for a while. I thought I'd leave you with this bookish thought!

Novels in the Spotlight

I introduced my enormous project, Seven Noble Knights, on this blog in early 2011 with an exciting announcement: my "pitch" was up for reader voting at the Book Doctors' NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza. (See that post here. The Book Doctors' link is still active, so you can still see the pitches I was up against.)

At that point, I knew I would one day finish the book, but I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to attend one of these Pitchapalooza sessions in person. Happily, I heard about the one that took place at Anderson's (fabulous independent) Bookstore in Naperville this last Saturday just in time to make a snap decision about what to do with the weekend and the gas money.

You have one minute. Sixty seconds only!

The way it works is that they randomly select twenty writers from all those in attendance and those writers give all the information they can about their book in just sixty seconds. It's meant to be like the pitch you would write in your query letters, but it also helps make writers more orally articulate about what makes their books so wonderful. The panel of judges in Naperville included The Book Doctors (Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published among other achievements), as well as a knowledgable middle grade author and charming representative of Loyola Press whose names I lost in all the excitement. After all the presentations, they chose a winner who received a most coveted prize: an introduction to an agent or publisher in their book's genre.

It was two hours of laughter and nerves. I convinced myself that because there were forty or fifty writers in attendance, and Seven Noble Knights had already been randomly chosen before, it could not possibly be again. Just in case, I had my pitch pared down to a one-minute delivery time and printed out in the leaves of my notebook. My unspeakably wonderful husband took photos of the event. And then, when my name was called, he took a video of my pitch.

Yes, I was randomly selected again! It's a sign, folks. This book is going places. The video of my pitch is hard for me to watch, but please be aware that I was suffering some intense stage fright. I'm thrilled I was actually speaking coherent sentences!

The delivery sounds pretty fast to me -- I wanted to fit a lot in -- but these guys are from the New York publishing scene. They can listen fast. They all seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. The video doesn't include it, but The Book Doctors actually said, "I can tell you're a writer just by listening to you speak, and that you're the right person to write this book." How often do you get that kind of outside, impartial validation of the work you love to do? Not often!

That's the back of my head. The front of it is receiving great wisdom.
And trying to take notes with a hand that's shaking with nerves!

I got lots of really great feedback I'm looking forward to using to further hone my pitch. Some of the feedback is in this video.

I had purposefully left out the comparisons with popular books, planning to look around some more and really think it over. But they gave me the most to think about with the YA suggestion. This is not the first time someone has said my book might be YA. I've been through a lot of discussions about what distinguishes YA from general adult, and it's ranged from sex to violence to the ages of the protagonists and grade level of the language. But these fine panelists made the unique suggestion that the pacing of the book has a lot to do with which shelf a book belongs on. While Seven Noble Knights is definitely fast-paced, I remain skeptical that liking a lightning-fast story is the domain of any one age group. I've got more investigating to do before I can decide how to categorize the novel. I'd hate to say it's YA just because that's what will sell.

I didn't win this round, although my husband swears I must have been first runner-up. The prize went to a well-presented book about a gay hockey player in Chicago in the 1920's. It goes to show, different and defined are what counts most when finding your audience.

To cap off the whirlwind day at Anderson's, I spoke briefly with Arielle and Henry David and it turned out that they remembered my pitch from two years ago! It's always good to be memorable.

The Next Big Thing: The Seven Noble Knights of Lara

The latest game for authors in the blogosphere is to tag each other for The Next Big Thing. Kim Rendfeld, who writes early medieval fiction, tagged me. The authors answer a list of questions about their works in progress in anticipation of sharing their work with the world! 

The questions:

What is the working title of your book?
The Seven Noble Knights of Lara. It recently occurred to me that using the medieval title might not satisfy some modern readers, who might expect said seven knights to play an even larger role than they do, but I have no idea what a better title would be.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I read the "historical accounts" of this story in grad school and it has no ceased to haunt me. The historical accounts are based on a lost epic poem, and perhaps it's that lostness that fascinates me.

What genre does your book fall under?
Historical fiction. There are some fantasy elements in the original that I'm explaining with realistic causes.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I would like unknown actors to play the young characters. I'd die of happiness if Mandy Patinkin played one of the older characters -- perhaps the Count of Castile, Muño Salido, or even Ruy Blásquez, the evil man himself. Zaida should be played by someone as beautiful as Aishwarya Rai, but none of my other favorite actresses fit the type my characters need.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Teaser: A medieval epic with strong women, valiant knights and a bloody cucumber.
Synopsis: When a tenth-century noble Spanish woman suffers a gross affront at her own wedding, her blindly loyal husband wreaks a bloody revenge that will devastate the nation with an unstaunched conflict spanning 15 years. (Needs more work.)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm deciding between aiming for a small press or trying to get a literary agent. Being a publishing world "insider," I understand my options, but am not sure what will work best for me.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started in 2007, but that draft was so bad I don't even count it. This true first draft has occupied me constantly since early 2011, and I hope to finish before the turn of 2013.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Within the genre, I think it's most similar to The Cross and the Dragon by Kim Rendfeld, but I hope to be able to read some more medieval fiction and flesh that out a bit. In my "pitch," I compare the revenge dynamics to nothing less than The Godfather and the amazing historical details to María Rosa Menocal's The Ornament of the World. That's pretty bold for me, but they told me I had to pick something, so...

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There's love, lust, insanity and loads of rage. A couple of characters I created from scratch to support the main characters have captured by beta readers' hearts. You won't want to miss lovely, downtrodden Justa, handsome Adalberto, and practical, inscrutable Yusuf. Different attitudes about the monetary value of human life and the role of sex will fascinate any curious soul. Readers may also find descriptions of opulent, glittering, medieval Medina Azahara and cataract surgery that's not much less sophisticated than today's to be of interest.

I tag the following Next Big Things:

Tonya Marie Burrows, author of thrilling romantic suspense

Kvetch Enough and...

Just last month, I was bemoaning my inability to find a publisher for my flash fiction, "A Disastrous Marriage." It celebrates my marriage, gives a little insight into how I met my husband, and grossly exaggerates the difficulties we've been through.

This week, I found out that there is indeed a publisher who "gets" the story, and they have published it today! Check it out here!

"A Disastrous Marriage" came about when my husband and I were living in Pennsylvania. We were feeling pretty sorry for ourselves because we'd had to abandon the beautiful Boston where we met for an economically depressed area, and then the job we'd moved there for didn't work out, so our income fell to zero only a month and a half after we bought a new house. After some painful job search months, my husband landed a job at a retailer. It was a job he loved, but it only provided 12% of what he had been making. It was not enough to keep the house, much less stay in the house and eat. So we did what we could with the house and made the wrenching decision to come to Arizona to live with my sister-in-law. It was under that kind of strain that I came up with all the exaggerations in "A Disastrous Marriage," wanting to graphically illustrate that although nothing had gone very well since we'd gotten married, I still believed in us and knew we could be happy as long as we had each other.

And that's how it's turned out. We didn't actively choose to come to Arizona, but this weird place has blessed us over and over again. And we're happy.

The first image from the story, of there being so much water that wicker baskets are overflowing (imagine how much rain it would take!), has been morphed from a line in a Manolo García song, "Malva." It's about love gone wrong, so I wanted to redeem it.

SSS: Method in the Madness?

Continuing in Tree/House where we left off last week...

* * *

“Viola, I’ve given up that life. Take your dirty games to some cesspool.”

“My dirty games? ‘False face must hide what false heart doth know’!”

The two were mere centimeters away from each other now, each more insistent on standing his or her ground than the other, and Emma watched, her eyes wide, as Franklin towered threateningly a full foot above Viola, and while she kept her eyes fixed on his, craning her neck. She said steadily, “Though this be madness, Emma, yet there is method in it.”

* * *

Who is this Viola? Who, indeed?


Tree/House is available here, here, and here. Request it for your library!

Thank you very much for your comments. If I can find your blog, I always reciprocate. Please see all the great excerpts at www.sixsunday.com.

SSS: Excellent Wretch

Thanks so much for the great feedback last week! To keep you excited for the big news I can't yet reveal about my Tree/House, these lines come just after last week's:

* * * 

The young woman laughed out loud. “What lines?”

Franklin’s grey face faded even further to white. “Viola!” he gasped. “‘Excellent wretch!’”

“Also Othello, three: three, line 98,” said Viola.

* * *

Six sentences is not a lot in this case! I hope you enjoy them, and all these other great sentences: www.sixsunday.com.

New Review of the Sailing Italy Series and More Free Stuff

If you look at my books on Goodreads, you'll see a new review of my silly little Sail To Italy and Sail From Italy:

I was lucky to get an advanced reader's copy of this book and I'm likewise lucky to be very familiar with Knauss' work. Even though I was off the radar and left this up as a current read for a while, the truth was I blazed through it in a few days. Like many of her short stories, this longer Sail to Italy and Sail from Italy is a whimsical and magical tale that will remind you of your childhood fairy tales--but with empowered and intelligent female protagonists, instead of passive princesses. 

The lighthearted nature of the story also makes it totally appropriate for a younger audience, so don't hesitate to share it with the teenagers in your life. After all, youth today deserve better fairy tales than we were told.

As you might have gathered from the text, I know the reviewer personally. She is an incredibly talented writer and I'm tremendously flattered by her words. What's with the star rating, though? They're not Michelin stars, honey! ;) But really, thank you very much.

I've also recently learned that my target audience for this book is actually women over 75 years of age. They have seemed to enjoy it more than any of the younger readers I've tested. That presents a problem, as the only marketing capabilities I currently have are internet-based, and, well, I really don't know that many septuagenarians who go online regularly. If you see this post and have an idea, please share it with me!

In the meantime, anyone who promises to write a review can receive a free copy of this book through the end of the year. Just write to acedrexpublishing at yahoo dot com. Wow! Free stuff!