• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to footer

R. L. Stedman

Writer

  • My Books
  • My Story
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Giveaways
  • All Books
  • SoulNecklace Stories
  • Middle Grade

Welcome

From the Desk – New Year’s Update

January 19, 2018 By Rachel Stedman

New Year’s Update

2018 already! Amazing, right? I normally save updates for my newsletters, on the theory that those who signed up for my emails may at least be interested in what I’m up to. However, this one is kind of special, being the first month of a new year … So here’s a Letter to My Readers, set out a one-of-a-kind blog post. (Note: This update is personal. I’ve totally ignored politics and any major world-impacting news. So if you’re after a political rant, move on. Ain’t nothing to see here…)

writer's notebook


Dear Reader,

Welcome to my review of 2017, the Year-That-Was and 2018; The-Year-That-Is-To-Come…

 

Highlights for 2017

1. Finishing A Memory of Fire.

Writing A Memory of Fire was hard. The final in a trilogy has to feel like a conclusion, so I wanted to amp up the action, both the rise to the climax and the fall to the ending. I wanted the ending to be satisfying, yet I didn’t want to walk away from the story with all loose ends neatly tied, because real life isn’t neat.

To quote Frodo, in Lord of the Rings: “The great tales never end. But the people in them come, and go when their part is ended.”

So, in A Memory of Fire, while I wanted the ending to feel like an ending, I also wanted to leave the potential for a beginning. (That’s partly selfish, of course, because who knows, I might want to explore the SoulNecklace world again.)

Writing Memory was an amazing experience. Being so familiar with the characters, I could slip easily into their heads and so Dana, Will and N’tombe took control of their own stories; I just had to type. At times, I truly felt as though I was channelling. This was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, because I had no idea where the story was going. I had to just trust the process and go with it.

Have you ever ridden a horse at full gallop, and have a foot slide from the stirrup, and then all you can do is hang on and hope? That was how I felt, on writing some of the scenes in A Memory of Fire. You’ll know the scenes when you read them. They’re the ones with the pell-mell, hell-or-nothing vibe, the ones where the language totally changes. That’s because they’re not my words – they’re Dana’s or Will’s. They don’t talk like me, and they sure as hell don’t write like me, either. You can find A Memory of Fire here

A Memory of Fire - 3D

2. Adding bonus extras – A Long, Long Life and a Gratuitous Epilogue.

I had hoped to have an extra novella to give away to early purchasers of Memory, but editing Memory took longer than I’d planned. However, I did write a Gratuitous Epilogue called A Bed-Time Story. It has a shocking cover (I didn’t have time to get a proper cover made) but its content is a pretty fun little addition to the more epic-style of Memory.

If you’d like to read this epilogue, get in touch through the “Contact Me” page.

I also finished a novella! A Long, Long Life is for die-hard fans of the SoulNecklace Stories (all two of them!), because I think, like me, they’re keen to find out a bit more of the backstory. Like, who is Rinpoche? Where did Greg and Reg come from? And how does that weird catch on the necklace actually work? Exploring the background of the world was a lot of fun. You can find A Long, Long Life here

3. Planning a new series

I find planning really, really hard. When I wrote A Necklace of Souls, I just winged it. Writers call this ‘pantsing’ as in: writing by the seat of your pants. Fiction writers tend to be either natural planners or natural pantsers. Unfortunately, I’m a pantser. This makes the writing process fun, but I’ve darted down too many stupid writing plot holes with this approach, so now I’m trying to get a bit more organised and actually PLAN. My plan consists of scribbles on two A3 sheets of paper, along with a roughly drawn map. Sadly, it took me a year to achieve this!


Plans for 2018

1. The Dancing Princesses

Without giving too much away, this new series will  be a (very loose) fairytale adaptation of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I’ve written a prequel novella, Alice, and I’m currently about one-quarter through the first draft of the first in series, Zoe. I’m aiming for three books, one about each ‘Princess’ (there are only three, not twelve, otherwise I would lose my mind). I hope to have completed Zoe by mid-2018 and the first draft of Belinda ready by year’s end. Alice is being served in instalments to my newsletter list, so if you want to check it out, and you’re not yet on my list, you can join up here.

2. Non-fiction

I’ve been flirting with the idea of writing a guide to self-publishing for teens. Ideally, for use in schools. In 2017 I put a pitch to the local University, in combo with Creative NZ. They were interested, but needed more information. If I’ve got time, I’ll follow this up. (I have some cynicism about how schools may use it, as I have found folk from New Zealand are slow to support their own). I need to explore whether there is truly a desire for such a resource. I do think there’s a need for it, but a need isn’t the same as a want.

3. Other Stuff

I’d like to improve this website – I’m exploring a different theme, with a faster loading time. But redoing a website is HARD! I’d also like to have more sales available through this site, as it’s a lot easier if readers can reach me here, but I’ll need to work out how best to do this with the new theme.

4. Life

Of course, no writer works in a vacuum. Like everyone, life sometimes smacks me in the face, and all I can do is roll with the punches. Right now I’m in the weird position of my oldest leaving home, and my youngest coming to the end of his schooling, so 2018 will be a year of massive transitions. My husband’s taken on a role that requires a whole lot of international travel, so maybe this year might also involve (if I’m lucky) a trip somewhere nice! I have a day job, too. I’ve been doing contract work for the last 5 years, rolling from one year to another – but now, in 2018, I’ve finally got a permanent role, working with the same lovely team I’ve been with for the last few years. So at least in the workspace I should have a little more continuity. Ha! here’s hoping. I’ve got a feeling things might change…

Day Job and Avoiding Poverty
From Debbie Ridpath Ohi

 

And that, dear reader, is the update for 2017 and the plans for 2018, set out in one easy-to-follow blog post. I’ll have a look at this at the end of the year, and see how many of these goals were actually achieved!

All the best to you for the new year, and I hope wherever you are, it will be a happy one. And if not, here’s a joke to make you smile 🙂

Rachel xxx

 

JOKE

Q: What do you call a man with no arms and no legs, trapped in a book?

A: Mark

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Story Backgrounds, Welcome Tagged With: A Writer's Life, About my Books, Just for Fun, The SoulNecklace Stories

How did I do? – My answers to my reader’s survey.

December 8, 2017 By Rachel Stedman

Last month I surveyed my readers. I had over 70 responses – I was totally blown away by how generous folk were with their time.

Thank you to those who replied.

It was like seeing myself reflected in a mirror: so many people who responded said they liked Anne McCaffrey, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen. I mean, go figure? YES! Jane Austen AND Stephen King? My readers have excellent taste.

I asked readers the standard questions, like where did they live, what age were they, before diving into the hard stuff: who are your top three authors, and name your top three books. This last question really threw some people. I know, it’s like identifying your favourite child.

Some replies were golden:

  • I have over 2000 books and you want me to pick 3??!!
  • You must be joking 😉 
  • No, no, no! I can’t do it!

So, as a thank you to those who took the time out to fill in the questions, here’s my answers to my own questions:

Questions on School Visit

In which I answer my own survey

 

Are you: Male/Female/Other.  – Female (I was serious when I put the ‘other’ field in; I have a good friend who’s going through a gender transition. )

Where do you live:  – New Zealand

Your age: – 41 – 60 years  – And no, not telling the exact figure; besides, it changes every year!

Your top three writers: Georgette Heyer, Diana Wynne Jones, William Gibson (also Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams)

Tell me the titles of your top three books: Pattern Recognition, Charmed Life, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Reading habits – how many books do you read in a week: 1 – 3 in a good week. Some weeks I’ll read less  🙁

I want to keep my newsletters relevant and interesting, please tell me what you think: – they are too frigging long! They take me AGES to write.

What information do you want to see in my newsletters – Reading recommendations. I’m always looking for new books.

WTF

I may repeat the exercise next year. In which case, I’ll try to be more innovative with my questions!

And for the few people who said they wanted to see jokes in my newsletter:

Joke
From Comedy Central

 

 

Filed Under: Welcome Tagged With: A Writer's Life, Just for Fun

Footer

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Our Privacy Policy

rose100

Facebooktwitterinstagram

Privacy Policy | Website Disclaimer | Terms & Conditions of Sale
Copyright © 2018 R L Stedman. Website: Arts Net
This website uses Affiliate Links: as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...