Just for Fun

New Year’s Update – Change is the Only Constant

February 15, 2019 By Rachel Stedman

It’s a new year, and changes are afoot. As there is quite a bit happening in my writing calendar this year, I thought easier to share as a one-off blog post rather than little pieces on social media.

Homelife

My youngest son is leaving home 😢 so I’m officially an empty nester. In theory this should leave more time for writing, but actually, no. Because not only have I had a promotion in the Day Job, I’ve also increased my hours.

Now I only have 1.5 days for writing, plus anything I can squeeze into the weekends and evenings. This means my output will probably go down this year. Weirdly, I’m okay with that. I’m lucky, in that I love my job, and unlike writing, it pays well and regularly

The other benefit to a Day Job (as opposed to writing), is that it provides validation. Writers are rarely praised, and when we are we don’t believe it. But at work I get told, on a daily basis!, that I’m doing a GREAT job. I know this makes me seem like a precious snow-flake and I should just get over this ridiculous self-doubt, but I’ve not met a writer yet who’s achieved that nirvana-like state.

Zeph the Caravan

Other news: my husband and I are renovating our retro caravan. His name is Zeph, short for ‘Zephyr’. He’s definitely NOT a light breeze, (the original meaning of the word and a less apt name I’ve yet to find, because Zeph is a pig to tow) – but he is a 1977 Zephyr 410. We’ve had him since 2001, when the kids were small. And since they’ve now left home, hubby and I have decided to convert him into a Love Shack. 😀

At the moment, Zeph is parked up in our driveway, looking more than a little worse for wear, as we’re sanding the exterior and pulling out the interior. But he’s a work in progress and one day I’m hoping he’ll be beautiful.

Story Worlds

Ghostly Melodies

Ghostly Melodies is coming out in 1 March, and I am SO EXCITED. This retold fairytale marks a change from my epic fantasies, and I wasn’t sure how I would find setting a story in the present day. Would it be boring?

Ghostly Melodies is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and is based in Beverley Hills. I wasn’t sure how that would go, as I’ve never visited L.A. but thanks to the power of the internet, and especially thanks to Lucifer 🙂 it turned out to be surprisingly easy to set a story there.

A lot of the story is about a singer-songwriter, and I spent a lot of time watching music docos – and I also wrote my own songs for the story! (The words, not the music.) That was a lot of fun, as was the Ed Sheeren concert I attended ‘for research purposes’! (click here to see my instagram video of the concert!)

DreamScapes

I’m working on an expanding short story collection called DreamScapes. It’s being sent to my email list only at present, with one story for each special time of the year.

The first story (All Hallow’s Eve) marked Hallowe’en. Then we had a surfer who just may have been an angel at Christmas-time (Midsummer Christmas). I’m just working on an novella-length vampire-hunter story (Millicent Metcalfe) for Valentine’s Day and Easter. This one might well stretch to Hallowe’en, too as it’s looking pretty long already. I’ve set part of MM in Holland, as my character visits the Mauritshuis ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritshuis) – a fabulous museum I visited a few years ago. Just goes to show, everything’s material to a writer, even a writer who struggles to anchor her stories in reality!

Pictures in Time

My other, more complex WIP is Pictures in Time. PiT is a retelling of Aladdin, and a sequel to Ghostly Melodies. Early stages, but already PiT is looking darker than the original Arabian Nights tale, because in the original story we never knew anything about Aladdin’s father, except that he was dead.

PiT is tentatively set in the UK, in one of the many antiques and collectibles markets. It won’t be ready until at least 2020, though, so I don’t want to give away too much just yet. But I can already say that there’s definitely going to be a whole lot more to Jasmine and Aladdin (whom I’ve renamed Aaron), than any Disney adventure.

Other life stuff

Hopefully mid-year will see a holiday overseas, as we have a very long, cold winter in Dunedin, and by July sunshine feels like a distant memory.

Plus, I’m also helping to organise a Children’s and Illustrator’s Hui in Dunedin later this year. Again, this is early days, so there’s a lot to work through, but it will sure keep me busy! And there’s the Romance Writer’s of NZ Conference to look forward to, and oh, so many writerly things. So even if I’m working longer hours, I’ll still be heavily engaged in the writing community.

To conclude: It looks like its going to be a busy year!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

Rachel xxx

Competition Time – Name a Novel

March 16, 2018 By Rachel Stedman

Ever Wanted to Be In A Book?

I have a problem – I’m stuck on naming a book, so I’ve started a “Name A Novel” competition. The winner will have a character named after them. So, if you’ve ever wanted to be in a book, or wanted to name one, now’s your chance.

~ ENTER COMPETITION HERE ~

More Information

Background:
I’m writing a three-novel series. Each story follows one of three sisters. The first book is about Zoe, a singer. The second features Belinda, street artist, and the third is about fashion designer Chrissie. In each story, art becomes a bridge between the everyday and the magical, as well as obviously, having a link to The Dancing Princesses fairytale. They’re urban fantasy stories, and each is a romance. The tales are stand-alone, but will be connected through the three sisters. Each story will be PG (ish). You can read part of a prequel Novella, Alice, here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/w98njz463w

What I Need:
I need a title for each story. Ideally, the vibe of the titles will be similar so that a reader will realize they’re connected. Ideally, I’d also like a connection to fantasy in the title – for example, using words like ‘magic’, ‘enchantment’, ‘spells’. Titles need to be unique: I don’t want a title that’s the same as another book or TV program, and I can’t use proprietary terms, like trade names.

What You Can Do:
If you’d like to have a go at naming a book, now’s your chance. It’d be great if you try to name each title, but if you can only think of a title for one book, that’s fine.

What’s the Prize?
The winner of my Name a Novel Competition will have the opportunity to name a character in one of the books. Plus, they’ll get a free copy of the book(s) they’ve named!

~ ENTER COMPETITION HERE ~

5 Reasons Every Writer Should Visit Berlin

February 27, 2018 By Rachel Stedman

I first visited Berlin in 1992. The Berlin Wall had come down in 1989, but large parts of it still remained. In ’92, there were plenty of other reminders of the Communist regime. (Side note: If you ever want to see an argument against Communism, visit a country just emerging from its grip.)

Back then, West Berlin felt cosmopolitan but soulless and East Berlin was drab and bleak. The city was full of road works, because the tram tracks in the East didn’t match those in the West. The apartment buildings and roads of East Berlin were in a sad state of disrepair and the place was full of soviet-style cars pouring exhaust fumes into the narrow streets.

Fast forward to 2017, when we returned.

It’s hard to understate the changes over those 25 years. Berlin is now a vibrant metropolis. It’s full of fascinating alleys and side streets, amazing restaurants, art galleries and best of all, the old East Berlin. The apartments that survived the War have been restored, and the place is clean and bright and exciting. And safe!

To my mind, every creative should visit Berlin once in his/her life. This is why:

The Wall. Seeing the remains of the Berlin Wall and its profoundly tangible consequence on memory and culture is a stark reminder of why artificial barriers always fail. Sectioning one element of a community from another weakens the entire community – but we never learn, do we? Every generation, another leader comes along and says “these people/this religion/this political system is bad, and we must separate ourselves from it, lest it overwhelm us”. Yet, the truth is, of course, that humans are more resilient than we realise and mixing of ideas and communities strengthens us all. But still, we delude ourselves that ideas can be quarantined.
Stumbling Stones (Stolperstein). The stolpersteine are cobblestone-sized plaques set into the sidewalks outside apartments in Berlin. They bear the name and life dates of victims of Nazi persecution. You can find them outside Berlin, too: many German cities have them, as do cities in the Netherlands, Austria and Italy. But Berlin seemed to have the most, especially in the old East Berlin, where many Jewish families lived. Its sad (and disconcerting) to daily step over those who once lived in the same building as you. Many people leave flowers and memorials. Why is this a good thing? Because its hard to forget the past once it wears a human face. And what is more human than a name?
The gardens and parks. Berliners appreciate their public spaces. That’s because many were almost destroyed in the War; much of the urban landscape of Berlin is relatively recent. There’s nothing like nearly losing something to make you realise its importance. The Wall has left its mark, too – and the corridor marked by the Wall became a haven for wildlife. Some parts of Berlin are greener and more beautiful as a consequence of the Wall.
Culture – according to Time Out, you can’t fling a currywurst without hitting an art gallery in Berlin. From traditional to contemporary to street art, Berlin is full of the galleries and sculpture. Plus, the architecture is amazing: from Prussian-establishment to Sovietstyle, the cityscape is extraordinarily diverse.
What price art? Berlin is known for its reflective, regretful installations. The most moving is Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a 19,000 sq metre site of grey concrete coffin-shaped stelae. It’s eerily reminiscent of a cemetery, as it slopes downward, so the stelae grow deeper and the space grows darker as you move through. However, for me the most thought-provoking place was the Kunsthaus Dahlem, former atelier of popular Third Reich sculptor, Arno Breker. This small-but-monumental space was commissioned by the Fuhrer, for Breker. After WW2, Breker maintained he had never been a supporter of the Nazis, merely an acceptor of their patronage. Now, looking back I wonder: was Breker’s art good, or bad?

Berlin’s vibe of restoration, regret and rebirth is a heady mix. It’s perfect for a writer, because in every tragedy there’s a possibility of redemption, and in every tragedy there’s a tale to be told. If you get a chance, do visit.

To end this rather reflective blog post, here’s a poem. I wrote it after watching a girl, dressed all in pink (including her hair), stepped into my subway car.

Princess in Pink – Berlin, 2017

A princess in pink rides the subway
Traveling the rails alone
Her hair and her nails and her clothes are all pink
And she carries a silver iPhone.

Her cheeks glitter softly, like star-dust.
She wears a silver-gilt crown
A violin case over one shoulder
A heart-stopping hint of a frown.

Above, the city is freezing
But down in the tunnels below
Where the princess is riding the subways
There’s never a hint of the snow.

She’s been inside these tunnels forever,
Just her and her silver gilt crown
She was here when the world was younger
Before tracks of iron were down.

If ever you meet the pink princess
Don’t stare. Never ask her to play –
With one touch of her bow to the violin’s strings
That music will draw you away.

For she plays of a time long-forgotten
When stars could be seen in the sky
When the rivers and ocean were clean, clear and blue
Before buildings and people and lies.

Sometimes she sings to her music
In a voice made of starlight and pearls
And her words, inexplicably haunting,
Set heart, mind and soul in a whirl.

When the song ends the princess has vanished
Leaving you trapped on the train
But her memory stays with you forever –
Along with a silver iPhone.

True Love and Book Boyfriends: 7 Great Romance Novels

February 16, 2018 By Rachel Stedman

It’s Valentine’s Day week! Time for romance and true love. To celebrate the festival, here’s my top favourite romances. All these books are old (well, most of them, anyway), and have stood the test of time. Just like true love. And if you want to check out a sample of these wonderful novels then just click on the title; you should be able to read a preview on Amazon.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

A Necklace of Souls – by ME!

Okay, so I know this is my book, but as a writer it’s impossible NOT to fall in love with a romantic hero of your own creation. And what’s not to like? Will is kind, dependable, vulnerable, athletic – oh, and a kick-arse fighter!

Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

It’s hard not to go past storm-browed Heathcliff, whose good looks and moody personality became the ideal persona of a romantic hero. Personally, I’d find him just a little hard to live with – but who said romance was practical?

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

“Reader, I married him.” The best ending to a book ever. Plus, the gothic, creepy setting. Plus, there’s Mr Rochester, with his complete absence of a first name, and his mysterious past.

Angels – Marian Keyes

I adore Marian Keyes: like the best romantic novelists she explores both the dark and light aspects of humanity, but always with a veneer of Irish humor. This, to me, is a stand-out exploration of the fantasy culture of LA – how hard people push themselves to appear better than they are. It’s also really funny, especially the description of Mass. It’s not just a church service – it’s a SHOW.

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

This is my favourite Jane Austen. I love Mr Darcy’s flawed personality and the finely observed mannerisms, the ironic, almost sarcastic tone. This novel also makes the heroine powerful; although Lizzie Bennett is poor, she has integrity of character – and through this, Mr Darcy recognises his own shortcomings.

These Old Shades – Georgette Heyer

The story of Justin, Duke of Avon, and Leonie, orphaned urchin, turned mysterious beauty. Set in Paris in the years of Le Roi de Soleil, this story exudes decadence and melodrama. It’s exciting and romantic, full of understated descriptions of the fashions and culture of the time. Highly recommended.

Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

The clothes! Rhett Butler! Scarlett O’Hara! Their very names mean romance. Yet, this novel is so much more. It’s a tale of a time long gone, of ignorance and greed. It’s the story of a selfish, privileged girl with a total lack of insight – and yet, how can you not enjoy her. She’s flawed, yes, but she is human; she’s a battler, and she’s courageous. And Rhett is pretty hot too 🙂

Romance is always in fashion. 45% of Amazon sales of ebooks are Romance – yet despite that, the genre has a bad rap.

“Oh, it’s just a romance novel,” say the critics, disparagingly. And yet, who doesn’t love a good romance? What is so wrong with a happy ending (or, in the case of Gone with the Wind, happy-ish)?

Romance is much, much more than escape; a great romance is a portrayal of a society, an exploration of character, and at heart, its triumph over adversity.

We all need more romance.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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…)

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

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

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:

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.

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: