On to Chapter 6 & my new writing space :)

             Well, today I am not sitting in bed writing to you like usual. I actually have my own desk and my very own creative space. The walls around me are painted terra cotta rose (kind of red). I've read that the color red is supposed to raise blood pressure and to energize. So hopefully my quality of writing will be better in this room. I've heard red can also make you angry and hungry.....did I mention that I've been chowing down on snacks while I write....lol I promise not to throw my shoe at you ;)

              I have finished chapter five and I'm about to start chapter 6 of my book. So guess what! I am a quarter of the way  to finishing the first book in my series. Yes, I hope to keep it twenty chapters (which is not too much more than 200 pages). I'm really aiming at preteens and up. So I don't want this to be so long and detailed that people fall asleep in their Corn Flakes. I just finished reading the third book in The Mistmantle Chronicles and each book is a little over 20 chapters. So it is possible to wield a great story in a shorter book. People like quick reads these days....stories that hook you and have you begging for more.

 

              If you haven't read The Mistmantle Chronicles I implore you to check it out. It's a fantasy adventure book about talking animals on the island of Mistmantle. The main character is a squirrel named Urchin. It's perfect for kids. Now you may be thinking that a book about talking rodents is ridiculous but take it from me...a person who hates squirrels and has a great fear of them....these books are good. I think I might start liking squirrels a bit now.....

               The lady who wrote these books ( Margaret I. McAllister) has immense talent. I checked the books out because I wanted to read books in my genre and geared towards the age group I'm writing to. At first I wasn't that excited about reading about evil rodents squirrels. But Mrs. McAllister's writing was so interesting that I began to care about this orphaned squirrel. The first book opens with a very disturbing scene for a kid's book but it's no different than Harry Potter I guess. Sometimes traumatic scenes draw people's interest. I personally don't want to start off with action at the beginning of my book. I like to show the natural world before my characters are catapulted into craziness. But Mrs. McAllister was able to pull it off with style and I am now a huge fan of hers.

              I am excited that my characters are getting into more action scenes and their personalities are really coming out. It's fun getting to know them as I write. LOL Hey, writers are allowed to have little people in their heads!
Books really are like children. My Emmanuel is about to face some major fears and Timothy has learned that good intentions can sometimes cause bad events. Then there's Besem....sweet innocent Besem.....just a little girl...and she's going into the woods of Shazar.....where she might meet a nasty beheymah. But thankfully all of my main characters have courage and hope that the King will make things right in the end. Ok that's all the preview you get for now...until I have a copyright ;)