As my good friend Tolkien would put it, "The road goes ever on and on." This poem always resonated with me, but now, as my road continues to go ever on and on, it's taken a new, deeper form. My road just will not stop going on and on!
Most of you probably noticed my unannounced absence. First of all, I am very sorry for that. I had no intention of taking a break from anything blog/facebook related. It just...happened!
It started after the launch of my Tolkien-inspired fantasy novel Adrastea, Book I in the Annals of Orbis. Saying I was exhausted would be an understatement, but at the time I could not really pinpoint what was making me so tired all the time. I mean physically fatigued. I thought maybe it was the excitement of having my first book published and all of the labor that went into that, but it turned out to be a combination of many, many things piling on top of each other as I continued to neglect them.
So it came to be that I arrived at a full and complete roadblock in my writing. I went for several months without writing a single word. It constantly weighed on my mind, and though I wanted to write, the words would not flow. It was rather frustrating. This continued for weeks until finally, after my sisters and parents kept reminding me that I needed to get started on Deirdre (Book 2 in the Annals of Orbis), I realized there was definitely something wrong and I had to do something about it.
After taking a step back and looking from a distance, I narrowed my problem down to a few minor things that were actually quite easy to deal with. So I dealt with them. The poem by Tolkien I mentioned earlier really gave me a boost. It gave me a sense of adventure and I wanted to go out and do something! Turns out that was exactly what I needed. I needed to go out and do things, whether I wanted to or not.
Now, thankfully, after five months of being gone, I am back - and extremely excited, I might add! I have so many things to talk about, but I will start with the most pressing and the most exciting.
DEIRDRE
Deirdre is well underway! The plot is fleshed out - enough for me to start writing anyway - and I'm so happy to be delving back into the world of Orbis. During my hiatus, I spent a lot of time thinking about this book (thinking, not writing) and, with help from my sisters and my mom, I now have a somewhat complete plot with an ending I cannot wait to reach! I know many authors write out of chronological order, but if I were one of them I would skip to all of my favorite parts, and then where would I be? Stuck with a truck load of scenes I don't want to write. I just need to follow the road straight to my ending which seems to be the first thing that comes to mind when I write these stories. I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse. It makes me want to just skip ahead and forget everything else!
I will not spoil too much on here, but this Sunday, October 4th, I will be posting an official pre-announcement blog post that will have a brief overview of what's to come.
THE BLOG
As you may have noticed, I took down Champion's Promise. Unfortunately I could not get myself to continue writing the story. When I went into my rut, the first thing to fly out the window was Champion's Promise, and though I was already five chapters in, my brain for some reason refused to work whenever I sat down to write it. Maybe sometime in the future I will resurrect it, but for now it has been retired to the dark hole of my story chest.
However, this does not mean the stories and posts will stop. About a month ago I was talking with a friend of mine and he gave me the idea of writing folklore for Orbis. I have always loved traditional fairy tales and legends and thought it would add a great element to my world building. Since then I have been working on a tale for each race and once those are done, I hope to continue with the short ballads, legends, and all around stories of the world of Orbis. They will all be free and available here on my website as well as in PDF format.
Another thing I have been working on is a series called 'The Writer's Life'. It is a new section on my blog that will be focused on author interviews as well as insights into the mind and life of a writer such as myself. And, as I continue to write, I hope to add interviews with other authors and perhaps do collaborations with them. The possibilities are endless!
And the last thing I would like to mention is my Facebook page. If you are not following me on there already, I greatly encourage you to do so, as I do most of my communicating and smaller announcements through that platform. Starting next week on Monday, October 5th, I will be using Facebook as a 'notebook' to mark my thoughts and progress on current projects. This will also include my art! Many of you may not know this, but when I'm not writing I can usually be found drawing or painting, and if I had to choose between the two, I seriously doubt that I could. Since stories often correlate with art and what I'm currently drawing, I thought it would be a great way to look at literature and tales from a different perspective.
All of those things, as well as writing tips and tricks, a progress report, and probably lots of quotes to keep me from losing my mind, will be posted on a regular basis.
Well, there it is! My road that will go ever on and on toward adventures of many kinds. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and don't forget to read lots of books!
- Anna
"The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say..."
-J.R.R. Tolkien