Category: Writing Speculative Fiction

Writing on the fringe of reality

A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

If you followed my work during NaNoWriMo 2019, you’ll maybe remember my novel was about lies and deception in a small Canadian town. The story follows a middle-aged woman (my unlikely hero) and the local church community. Hence the title of my blog A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing. I published my novel last October.

I’d like to share with you the talent of my wonderful artist, Gustavo Ruiz, who created the perfect expression of my antagonist. Just look at those eyes! This image is one of the introductory pages of the novel.

A wolf in sheep's skin
art by Gustavo Ruiz

“ABUNDANT LIFE” is now available on Amazon.

Want to read some of scenes from the first draft? They’re in Book Bites. In the rough. Unedited or revised.

Til next time, know you’re loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

First Book Teaser

Ok, I couldn’t wait until next week.

Here’s the first teaser. Be sure to like the post to enter the draw!

Is Maddie losing touch with reality—or is it everyone else?

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Til next time–Remember you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Book Bite 9 — The Research Lab

Another book bite from my revisions of my novel about lies and deception in a small-town church in Canada. My protagonist visits a research lab in hopes of getting to the bottom of the strange occurrences in her town. She begins to suspect fowl play is afoot.

“Arriving at the research centre they were cleared at the gate by the security guard. The building was impressive with large glass windows where they could see people in white coats milling around and riding escalators up and down three storeys. Maddie and Charles had no problem being shown to the secure elevator and the guard used his keycard to unlock the panel before choosing a floor that had no number or name. Security badges had already been created for them with a level three security ID. She was quite impressed and struggled to stifle a wide grin.”

image by FotoshopTofs

I’m about halfway through my revisions now. It should be ready for publishing in late spring.

‘Til next time, remember you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

Lynne

Book Bite 8 — Calling For Help

Another book bite from the novel I’m revising about lies and deception in a small town church. Book Bites 8 — Calling For Help.

“Give it all to Me” was the quiet voice she heard in her heart. She looked up the verse that had seen her through that terrible time before. “I am a child of God,” she whispered to herself and smiled. She could do this with His help. She’d been trying to do it alone this far. It was time to call in His army!

The Judgment by Ray Majoran

This image was used by permission from the photographer, Ray Majoran, who posts his art in Compassion Gallery. Visit the gallery for more of Ray’s beautiful photos and hear about the work he does for others at https://compassion.gallery/photo-10074420/ 100% of the gallery’s profits go to charity.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Book Bites 7 — The Little Cafe

I’m about a third of the way through the first revision of my novel about lies and deception in a small-town church. Book Bites 7 — The Little Cafe, is the beginning of Tom seeing things from a different perspective.

“Not stopping to acknowledge anyone passing by, they hurried to the cafe. Surely, they thought, they’d be safe in there. Taking a shortcut down an alley they stepped back onto the main street and into the patio of the little café. There were two couples in bright clothes sitting at the patio tables. When they saw Maddie and Tom they beamed and greeted them but Maddie and Tom just smiled quickly, politely, and rushed inside. There was no one else in the café. Maddie and Tom were relieved.”

A couple running along a road
photo by Shrikesh Kumara

If you’d like to catch up on previous revision posts go here.

Have you ever gone to a place and had that ‘creepy’ feeling and just wanted to run?

Happy Reading whatever you’re reading right now.

~ Lynne

Book Bites 6 — A Warm Hug

From My Book In Revision

The novel I’m revising has a female protagonist and I’m writing from her point of view. ‘A Warm Hug’ is just what she needs right now.

Couple caressing
Image by Anastasiya Babienko from Pixabay

“She managed a faint smile and sat down on the couch, curling up beside him as he pulled the blanket around them both and held her tight. They hardly spoke a word during the show. She sensed Tom wanted to give her time to settle down after the ordeal and just be peaceful. He usually knew what she needed after all the years they’d been together and he was right. She just needed to sip chamomile tea under a blanket and feel his arms around her and see him smile.”

How do you show support for a loved one or a friend who’s facing negativity from others? Do you do as Sheldon from ‘The Big Bang’ does and offer a ‘refreshing beverage’?

Do you always add some romance into your stories? Have you written love from a different perspective, such as a parent and child, an owner and a pet, or the love of God for us?

If you’d like to browse a few romance novels, I have an online bookstore of Christian novels and other published work by various authors over at my Christian Authors website. I’m an Amazon affiliate and all the books are shipped from there.

If you’d like to follow along as I revise but you missed the previous posts, you can start back at the beginning here Book Bites 1.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

Lynne

Book Bites 5 — Depression

What was happening to her?

“She remembered the way she felt back then, lost and alone even though she had Tom and the children and all her friends supporting her. She’d slid into a dark place, one she felt trapped in and unable to climb out of. She’d called out to God but all she could say was His name. No prayers would come, no verses made sense. No hymns brought her comfort. She’d become a shell of herself and didn’t know how she would escape, let alone be well again. It was all so dark and terrifying in that place, alone, with no one – not even God. She felt abandoned by Him and didn’t know how to get back to Him or if she even wanted to. Her doctor prescribed a mild anti-depressant but it only served to make her frightfully euphoric.”

A dark cave representing depression
Image by JL G from Pixabay

From the revision of my novel about lies and deception in a small town church. Have you ever felt like this yourself or helped someone through a similar dark time? My protagonist is a believer in Christ but still has these same dark thoughts and fears. How will she overcome them? Will she overcome them?

I wrote most of the description from my own personal experience. If you’re in a dark place right now, please seek professional help and if you’re a believer and follower of Christ, talk to your pastor about what you’re going through. Most importantly, talk honestly to God. He can take it. He’s your loving dad and wants you to tell Him how you’re feeling, even if you need to shout!

Read some experiences from other people who follow Christ and have gone through this too. An excellent book to read is Brett Ullman’s ebook “Reset”. I wrote a personal story in this. BUY IT ON AMAZON

Are you here for the first time? You can read previous Book Bites beginning here Book Bites 1.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Book Bites – 3 – Sickly Smirk

Here’s another Book Bite from the novel I’m writing. The working title is ‘Lies and Deception’ about a small town church in rural Canada. In this scene, Maddie suspects something’s wrong at the house of their new friends when she catches a sickly smirk out of the corner of her eye. She convinces her husband to leave.

A forest road with Autumn colours of yellow and brown.
Country road – Image by janeb13 on Pixabay

“Unsure if she actually saw what she thought she saw, Maddie flung the door open and almost tripped down the steps. Running to the car she shouted to Tom, “Go! Go!” Tom was bewildered by her behavior but decided the best thing he could do was just leave and hopefully she’d explain herself later. Maddie glanced in the mirror to see Carter in the doorway, watching her intently. That same sickly smirk on his face.”

Sleezy looking guy with a smirk on his face
Sickly Smirk – Image by prettysleepy1 on Pixabay

I wrote my first draft for NaNoWriMo 2018 and I hope you’ll keep in touch as I continue my revisions.

If you missed the other Book Bites you can catch up here.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Book Bites – 1 – The Mansion

The Mansion

I really like previews of an upcoming movie, don’t you? They usually get me excited for the release of it in theatres and I immediately start planning when I’ll go. I’m revising the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo and I thought you might like a few Book Bites before it’s published, like a movie preview but without all the noise. I hope you enjoy them!

new white mansion
photo by skeeze

This one’s near the beginning of the story and introduces two main characters, Maddie and Tom. The working title is ‘Lies and Deception’, set in a small town church in rural Canada.

“Maddie and Tom pulled onto the circular driveway of the large home, barely missing a pink trike, and parked beside what they decided was the side door. The front entrance looked like a door only the prime minister would use with its tall, ornate, double glass doors and huge planter urns. Maddie decided the side door was more appropriate seeing as she hadn’t worn her ballgown.”

If that didn’t quite grab your attention, stay tuned. I’ll be posting more Book Bites as I revise. (Follow along here)

If you follow along I’ll also have a playlist for you before my book’s published too. I love playlists!

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image.

~ Lynne

Writing Fantasy || World Mapping

 

Mapping Your Fantasy World

When we write fantasy stories we need to decide where the story takes place. This is called ‘mapping’ and can be an artistic rendering of the world where your story lives, or it can be a topography of the terrain drawn like an actual map with all the hills, valleys, rivers, roads and towns. I prefer to collect Pinterest pins, but at some point, I need to discover what components make up my fantasy world and literally how long it would take a Dwarf to get to the Castle Keep. So, a drawn or written map is essential to the span of time for him on his travels.

10 things you need to know about your fantasy world before you begin writing your novel.

If it takes a few days for the journey, then I know to add an adventure, altercation or meeting with someone along the way, because let’s face it, a journey without an event is just plain boring and not at all interesting to your reader. In real life we couldn’t travel three days without meeting a fellow traveller, missing a bus connection or experiencing bad weather. So it is with other worlds. That’s where the storyline unfolds, in the in-between times.If you’ve already decided on a rough outline for your story (more on this later if you haven’t already started one), now is the time to decide how big your fantasy world needs to be in order to incorporate all the events you have planned. Even if you don’t have an outline written down, you’ve probably envisioned an encounter with an enemy, a chance meeting with someone, and a plot twist somewhere. What kind of backdrop needs to be in your world for these events to happen? Walk around in your world a while.

“Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold”, from The Lord Of The Rings (you can see it on YouTube), describes the terrain beautifully and sets the scene for the Dwarves’ backstory and imminent adventure.

Your Hero’s Lifestyle

 “…using real places as a springboard can help you frame elements consistently and with a more grounded result” – Ammi-Joan Paquette, author and literary agent explaining mapping in Writer’s Digest, March/April edition 2016.

Look around your real world. Do you see the potential for mapping your fantasy world based on reality?

I often draw from my childhood memories of the hills and dales of England, where the Bronte sisters gathered most of their inspiration. You can find some of those places on my Pinterest board, West Yorkshire England

10 more things to consider before you write your fantasy story.

Fantasy Inspiration

Who were the authors who shaped your childhood memories of fantasy and make-believe? These are the writers we tend to remember the rest of our lives. My childhood memories of magical and fanciful tales come from four well-known children’s books:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Magic Faraway Tree and Noddy by Enid Blyton

Rupert The Bear by Alfred Bestall (originally created as a comic strip by Mary Tourtel)

 

Your Next Step

Draw or describe your own fantasy map and copy to your secret Pinterest inspiration board if you’re not ready to share it with the world yet. Here’s a link to my Fantasy Inspiration board which is public, but I have a secret board I’ll share once my novel is published. Or pin your inspiration to a board you’ve created to share your work with your followers. I’ve done this with my Dwarf Book I’m Writing. Another way is to cut out pictures from magazines and actually pin them to your office bulletin wall or stick them to your fridge with a crazy magnet.

Comment on how you were inspired for your creation and where you post/pin/stick your inspirational images/words. I’d love to hear about the world you’ve created.

Til next time, know you are loved by the One who created you in His image and gave us this beautiful world to live in.

Lynne

 

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