Genre: Urban Fantasy

What is Urban Fantasy?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

: a genre of imaginative fiction featuring supernatural characters or elements in an urban setting … a sub-genre that has become increasingly popular—urban fantasy. A number of authors have recently told stories of elves and other fairy folk coming to our mundane world, usually setting up shop not in the wooded groves of the past but in crowded modern cities.— William Marden, The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, 26 Nov. 2000

http://www.m-w.com

Also:

: a work of urban fantasy It’s an elaborate urban fantasy about sisters Makeda and Abby—the offspring of a human mother and benevolent demigod. — Mindy Farabee, The Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2013

http://www.m-w.com

According to Wikipedia:

Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which the narrative uses supernatural elements in a 19th-century to 21st-century (or equivalent) urban society.[1][2][3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_fantasy

(The Wikipedia article contains much more info, I recommend checking it out if you’re interested in learning more about the genre, sources at the bottom of the article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_fantasy)

Basically, the way that I understand it, Urban Fantasy is a world where magic and technology co-exist. Where there are all the modern conveniences like cars and cell phones, but there is also magic in the world. For example, in an urban fantasy story, your cab driver could have the ability to teleport to your destination. Or maybe instead of going to college for a business degree, college is mandatory so that people can master their magic gifts before going out and getting hired into the workforce. Or there is some sort of incursion of magical creatures and now the world has to embrace their magical gifts in order to survive and save humanity.

Seriously, the possibilities are endless.

Another popular aspect of Urban Fantasy is alternate historical timelines. For example, what if the Titanic didn’t sink because a magician who could wield fire was on board and melted the iceberg? Or what if the reason that Marco Polo traveled so much was because he was looking for a magical artifact? What if the Mount St. Helens eruption was really the rebirth of a phoenix?

It’s a popular way to take what if questions and look at the world through a different lens, one imbued in magic.

When it comes to Urban Fantasy, the only limit is your imagination, so let it run wild, you never know what amazing thing you will discover around a familiar corner.

What is Kindle Vella?

What is Kindle Vella?

We all know what Kindle is now, an easy place for authors to publish their books and an easy place for readers to find a wide variety of  ebooks in all subjects and price ranges. Kindle has been around since 2007 and it’s something that almost everyone is familiar with at least in passing. So what is Kindle Vella and how is it different from Kindle?

Kindle Vella, to put it simply, is the snack food of the reading world.

Now, I know that some of you are looking at me with a horrified expression right now, but let me explain. I am not saying that Kindle Vella is bad for you like junk food or that it’s mindless fluff that disappears as soon as you bite into it, like cotton candy or cheese puffs. (Besides, eating cheese puffs while reading always runs a high chance of leaving orange fingerprints on the paper, do not recommend). No, what I’m saying is that Kindle Vella is a quick opportunity to refuel your imagination and release your stress.

Let’s face it, the world that we live in today is a fast paced one. We’re always busy, busy, busy. It doesn’t matter what phase of life you are in, student, worker, parent, etc., it is nearly impossible anymore to find the time to sit down and actually read a book all the way through. Unless you are waiting in the doctor’s office or on hold to talk to someone about an issue, I guarantee that you don’t have a large enough chunk of time, lol.

This is where Kindle Vella comes in. It offers you bite size chapters that you can easily read while waiting in line at the grocery store, on a lunch break, walking in-between classes, or during a toddler’s veeeery short nap. It’s quick and it’s convenient. So lets take a quick look into it.

How it works:

For Readers:

All Kindle Vella stories offer the first three episodes for free. Once you’re three chapters in, you should have a pretty good feel for whether or not you enjoy the story and/or the author. The site is divided by genre such as fantasy or action and then further divided by tags so that it is easier to find stories that you enjoy.

After the first 3 episodes, the chapters can be unlocked by tokens. By joining Vella, you automatically get 200 free tokens right now. Not only that, but the tokens are fairly reasonably priced, with the reader being able to purchase 200 tokens for only $1.99. That’s less than a cup of coffee and will open multiple chapters. There are also other bundles that readers can purchase.

Now, the cost to unlock each chapter will vary, because the formula breaks it down to 1 token per 100 words. So a chapter that’s 2,056 words will cost 20 tokens to unlock, whereas one that is 1789 will only cost 17 tokens. Chapters are capped at 5k words, so you will never have to pay more than 50 tokens for a chapter and most are significantly less.

You can follow stories, like a single chapter or all the chapters in a story, or even fave a story, giving the story a crown. It also has the option for you to leave a review on the story.

For Writers:

For many writers, the process of creating a book is a long one. First you have to write out the first draft, revise, edit, revise again. Curl up with your cat while wailing that your story will never be again. Binge snacks and a tv series while the story simmers in the back of your mind. Reluctantly drag yourself back to the computer and find that the story is much better than how you thought it was, you’ve got this! Finish editing and then either format and self publish or start the hunt for a publisher.

Either way, it’s a looooooot of work.

Sometimes you just want to share your awesome character and story with others on the off chance that they find it as cool as you do. Nothing makes my day better than when someone tells me that my story made them smile or made them forget about their worries for a while. Best feeling in the world!

This is where Kindle Vella comes in.

Vella gives you the opportunity to publish your story in chapters as it develops. The recommended length for a chapter is 2,500-3,000 words, but it can easily be longer or shorter. Also, just like how it is hard to sit down and read an entire book, it’s also hard to sit down and write for long, uninterrupted periods of time (uninterrupted is the key word there). However, say that you plan to update your story  once a week, say Friday evenings so that people can have something new to read on the weekend. If you write 500 words a day, Monday thru Friday, then you’ll have a 2,500 word chapter by Friday night. 500 words a day sounds much easier, right?

So you have your story idea, your first chapter(s) all polished and ready to go, and are ready to get started. This must be the hard part. Actually, no, no it’s not. You can have it all set up in 5 minutes. Upload a picture, create a small blurb, indicate what genre your story is and add a couple of tags to make it easier to find. Then all you have to do is either upload your document or copy and paste the chapter into the space that they provide. It’s that simple. After that, when you click submit, it goes to review and they tell you that it can take up to 72 hours to go live. However, I have never had it take more than a few hours, twelve at the absolute outside.

Not only that, but at the end of each chapter, there is the option for you to add an Author’s Note, an additional opportunity to interact with your readers. In this spot, you can share something extra about your characters and story, maybe when you plan to release your next chapter. You could even do a tiny sneak peek if that’s your style.

And that’s it. Your story is now live, congrats!

Now, Kindle Vella has only been up for a few months now, so just to be fair, I’m also going to cover some of the cons that I’ve discovered about Kindle Vella during my time using it.

For Readers:

It seems like the same several stories get regularly featured, so if you want something else, you’re going to have to dig through the stories a little bit more. Searching tags do help, but the categories seem to be more broadly defined at this point it time. It could be where it is such a new platform, there simply aren’t as many writers on it yet. However, it’s my belief that there are dozens of gems on Vella just waiting to be discovered.

For Writers:

Kindle Vella does not seem to have been widely promoted yet, the opening having been done just within the U.S. Because of this, all of the work of promoting your story will fall squarely onto your shoulders. If you have a social media presence for your writing set up, you’ll fare better. If you don’t, I recommend that you do right away, especially Instagram. There are several groups out there to help support Vella authors, but you will have to search them out for yourselves.

Another issue that I’m having is that I cannot seem to figure out how the ranking system for stories work. Some of the top stories have lots of likes while others only have a few. The algorithm is different and many authors are struggling to understand how it works so that they can best promote their work.

In order to fix the issue mentioned above, I currently have a suggestion in to create a recently updated section for readers. As I’m sure many of you know, I write fanfiction. On the site I use, Archive of Our Own, they have a section where every time a story is updated, it’s moved to the top of the list and then they are slowly moved down as other stories update.. It helps stories that update regularly but might otherwise be buried get found. I’ve found some of my very favorite stories this way. I really hope that they seriously consider this and if you want to send them an email or comment on the community post on amazon that I have up, that would be great.

So is Kindle Vella the groundbreaking new meeting ground for readers and writers? I don’t know.

But…..

It definitely has the potential to become something great if it’s managed right.

Hope this brief overview helped.

Have a marvelous weekend!

Book Update!

So, exciting news!

I can’t remember if I told you all here, but I’ve been struggling for several months to make any progress at all on Book 4: In Search of Pack. It’s been a total slog, painful to get more than a sentence or two on the page before I abandon it again to try again the next day.

However, since I’ve discovered my true writing style (Discovery Gardener, woot woot!), I’ve been making forward progress again. It’s been a little bit slow, as I’m having to deal with the slow/stilted parts, but I’m finally moving forward with the story and I’m truly curious to discover what Aletta and Lirim have gotten themselves into this time.

If things continue going this well, there might very well be a summertime release in my future. Fingers crossed!

Happy Monday Everyone!

We are strong together!

How I Write

How do I write?

Earlier this week, I shared about how I had found out that I was a discovery writer, about how freeing that was for me. So I thought that I would share a little about how the process looks like and works for me, especially now that I know what my strengths are.

So, before I found out what my writing style, this is what it would look like, especially the past month.

I would sit down, turn on my computer, and pull up my main novel and the fanfiction story that I was working on. I would then also pull up the outline that I had created for both. I’d skim over my outline, maybe changing a couple of words here and there, add a sentence to flesh out something that I’d thought of as I thought over while thinking of the story. And then I’d skim the last, oh, thousand words or so in order to spark the memory of where I’d left the scene. Once I was satisfied that I knew where I was and where I was going, I’d start a new paragraph. But this was a struggle. I’d write a sentence, maybe half a sentence, before going over and fiddling with my music, or checking my email, or facebook. Basically, anything to ignore the flashing cursor that appeared to be mocking me.

Meanwhile, I was inwardly very frustrated, even as I sought to distract myself. I knew where the story was going, what the characters were supposed to be doing, so why weren’t the words coming. I would return to the page and just stare at it, begging for my brain to produce something, anything. But the words simply wouldn’t come. So I would go and journal a little bit or work on a story that was ‘just for me’ and thus I didn’t care about it being perfect or well thought out. I would write anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand words on it and then move on for the day. I’d return to my novel, and still, absolutely nothing. Promising myself that I would get my goal finished tomorrow and make up for today as well. Then I would go and do my daily chores, wishing that I could’ve gotten more done. My frustration and self loathing grew. I am a writer, I have been writing all my life, people enjoy my writing, so why was storytelling so hard and unrewarding for me of late?

Then I learned my writing style. I’m a Discovery Gardener. This means that I have to discover the story alongside my characters. My world and self image of myself as a writer tipped on their side, but I was so tired of being frustrated that I was willing to give it a try. And to be honest, it just felt right.

So here’s how my writing looks like now.

First, I threw away all of my outlines. Every single one. I might’ve heard my characters cheering, but that might’ve just been me, lol. I gave myself 24 hours without writing to allow my brain to clear out and remove all the expectations and must haves. I didn’t HAVE to do anything but go along for the ride.

The next morning, I sat down nervously at the computer. Would this work? Or would it not? Still, I wouldn’t be any worse off than I was before and I would just need to keep looking to find what works for me. I pulled up my novel, the one that I’ve been stonewalled on for the past several months, that would be the best test after all. Having thrown all plans out of the window, I had no idea where it was going. So, taking a depth breath, I quickly skimmed the last paragraph (It wouldn’t do any good to start in a completely random place, lol). And then, I put my hands on the keyboard and started to write. And the words came! It wasn’t the painful task of trying to pull a story from someone. Instead, it was like sitting down for a cup of coffee with a friend and listening to what was going on with their life. It was almost like my character was relieved, like she was saying, ‘Finally! Now that you’re actually listening to me, here’s what happened.’

But not only was I writing again, I was happy. There was no stress, no hiding and avoiding, there were simply words telling the story. Finally, the story reached a natural pause, so I called it good for the day. I was satisfied with the progress that I had made. There were no grand revelations, no great progress, but my characters got to eat a very nice omelet and have an overdue discussion. Not what I expected, but it did move the story forward and gave me a bit more depth of my characters to work with. And it fit, it didn’t have to be forced into the story, it was just naturally part of it. And that’s when I knew, I had found my style and it worked for me.

So here’s what my writing routine looks like now. I sit down eager at my computer and pull up my writing site. I might have a story in mind for the day or I might be following wherever the wind takes me. Then I pull up my top 3-4 stories (Oh, who am I kidding, it’s more like 10-12, those plot bunnies can be vicious) and I skim through them until I find one that sparks my imagination. Then I write on that until I either hit the end of the chapter or reach the point where the story runs out for the moment. Then I’ll repeat the process, until I’ve easily written between 3-5k words on average. Are they all good words? No. Will they all be kept? Again, no. But they are there on the page and I always get to find out something new about my stories and characters.

There’s still a hint of frustration here and there, sometimes I really want to work on one story but another will hijack my attention entirely. And I’m sure that I will run into more roadblocks and obstacles that I currently have no idea exist. But I am happy once again and my stories are moving forward.

So find out what works for you and don’t let anyone tell you that there is a “right” or “wrong” way of doing things. Just do it “YOUR” way.

I would love to hear about your writing styles and routines, what frustrates you or brings you joy.

Happy Writing and Happy Wednesday!

We are strong together!

In the Moment

People are too busy.

We just are. We’re always trying to get ahead of our never ending to-do list, the commitments and promises that we’ve made, and the daily necessities of living. It wasn’t until two days ago that I realized that this weekend is Labor Day Weekend. The idea of a long weekend is both a cherished and hated idea. More time off, but it means that we have to work even harder to get caught back up.

When I realized that I was thinking like that, I had to stop for a minute and ask myself. When did all the things that I HAVE to do become more important than anything else? Yes, I set myself a goal of having an x amount of words written by a certain date. But what good is having met my goal if I’m a frazzled mess trying to reach it? Or if I’m missing out on important moments that will never happen again for something that I could put off until tomorrow?

So this weekend, I’m going to take the opportunity to live in the moment. If I write, fine. If I don’t, well, it will always be there tomorrow. I’m not going to make plans or follow a schedule. I’m going to go where the wind takes me and see what adventures and treasures that I can find 🙂

Breathe deep. Live in the moment. Hang and be weird with your friends and family. Just enjoy life, it’s a gift.

See you Monday!

Where to Start?

I should’ve brought a map

So it’s Monday morning again, new week, new start. Ah, sometimes I am ever the optimist. What the situation truly is? It’s not even seven a.m. yet and I am most decidedly not a morning person. However, I made myself a promise that I was going to get up and get going, that I am going to follow through on all of my plans. I am sitting on my bed and I have a ginger kitty distracting me in my lap, begging for attention and cuddles while I try to concentrate. Forget typing, lol.

But I made myself a promise and I’m going to keep it. So I am up and I can somehow work around the needy feline (practice makes perfect, lol). However, I also promised you guys honesty. When I booted up my computer this morning and started running through my to-do list, I almost had a panic attack. I have so much to do, where do I even start?

Do I start by getting my cover art redone with my real name? But I want to make some changes to the books, some parts that I skimmed over before that I want to expound on, which will change the thickness of the book which in turn will change the dimensions of the art that I need.

So I should start with writing. After all, that’s what’s holding up the cover art and republication. That has it’s own set of difficulties. I really need to get editing my third book (I hate editing. I try to liken it to pruning a plant to make it healthier and more beautiful, but seriously, editing is one of the most painful processes for me). People have been really patient while waiting for me to get the third book out. But am I doing them a disservice by having substandard earlier editions out there? And what about book 4? I don’t want to have people wait forever for book 4 to come out, now that I’m getting my act together. Ok. Deep breath. Let’s put it aside for a minute and come back when I’m a little more awake and have my thoughts in better order.

Let’s start with social media. After all, if no one knows about my books, it doesn’t matter if they are great or not, because no one will be reading them. Oh yeah, I am still in the process of converting them over from Kat Seaholm. That’s all right, this I can do. Oh, I need to know my password? I’m sure I wrote it down…. somewhere. Ok, good. Don’t know what I was thinking when I made that password but I can post now. But what to post? I don’t want to come across as needy or overly aggressive. I want to be funny, but not flippant. And definitely NO politics. The world is crazy enough, I just want to make the world a better place, to give people a break from all the crazy.

And thus the hamster wheel of my crazy brain goes around and around. I will eventually find a way to break it into manageable chunks and find a way to move forward through the fear. Although at times I wish for a clear road map, I find so many unexpected gems on the journey that I could’ve never possible anticipated.

So what is going on in your life this week? What big goals/dreams are you trying to accomplish? And what do you do when you get overwhelmed by your to-do list?

Happy Monday Everyone!

Z is for Zest

 

No, not that kind of zest. I’m talking about the other types of zest.

 

Definition of zest

*An enjoyably exciting quality

*Keen enjoyment

Source: Merrian-Webster Dictionary

 

Over the past month, I’ve had lots of fun sharing with you Everything that I Love about Writing. I’ve covered a myriad of topics, some I never anticipated and others that turned out totally different than I set out to write. I got to read some phenomenal blogs and make some new blogging friends. But we have reached the end of the A to Z Challenge. So where do I go from here?

Well, right now I’m busy trying to make sure that everything is ready for my May 15^th release of the next book in my series: In Search of Healing. It’s the second book in a six part series and I’m excited about its upcoming release. For my blog, I still plan on my Feature Fridays, plus I hope to start a serial story sometime in May.

But most of all, I plan to continue writing with zest. For many years, I hid my writing away as unimportant and not good enough. But my writing brings me joy and I hope that I’ve been able to share a small measure of that joy with you over the past month. So thank you for supporting my A to Z journey and I encourage you to live every day with zest and joy.

Here’s to a great 2018!

Friday Feature – Blogger Lexx Vorpahl

 

Before I begin my introduction, I definitely want to thank Kat for reaching out and asking me to participate in her Friday Feature. Thank you for the opportunity to do so…

So where to begin, Hello there everyone, Lexx here. I am an aspiring author who is currently working on two novels simultaneously while blogging about all things related to writing. My writing journey is an interesting one and I have always enjoyed it for many reasons. On writing:

I like being able to communicate through writing for several reasons:  I like the challenge and the peace it brings to me personally, when I sit down to write I try to articulate my words well (the challenge) I read them aloud to see how they flow together, I get time to ponder a bit before having to spit out uselessness( I am not one for small talk or small thoughts).

I definitely enjoy being able to go over my thoughts and refine them for later use and blogging has been a medium I hadn’t considered for that purpose until now. So, I am liking the process of learning and growing as I continue to blog as often as possible with my chosen subject always present. I also don’t mind sharing with others and blogging is one way I get to share and connect with other people (without having to leave my house, I consider this a plus). I like being able to find like-minded individuals and connecting through our similar interests and thought processes through the blogosphere.

Anyway, more on my writing journey but outside of blogging. To be honest, I am just now beginning to kick things off after years of self-doubt and always listening to other peoples’ words on the subject matter. I beg you now if you love writing, never stop, for a moment. Now is writing easy? Yes and no…Is it easy to become an author? Certainly not, but if it is a goal of yours and something you can’t get out of your mind, don’t stop because of outside influences. Add it to the many goals you want to achieve in life.

This totally applies to other things not just writing, so if you don’t write don’t worry my words still apply. Believe in yourself and find where your passion lies. I don’t think anyone should have to give up something they love to do and sometimes we are told just that! What terrible advice if you ask me, and that sort of advice is best left on the side of the road while you continue driving to your destination. Right now, I am doing just that and so far, I like the scenery.

A bit more about me:

I am a stay at home mom and wife, I homeschool, I’m a Beachbody coach too. I’m also a student and can’t wait to begin a new degree course in August. I love gardening, crochet, and woodworking to name a few things. My husband and I love DIY! We do a lot of different projects together. Life is good. Obviously writing is a passion, and blogging is something I enjoy too. I plan to finish my novels, edit and then publish.  In the meantime, I blog at https://lexxvorpahl.wordpress.com/ you can also catch me over at https://vorpahlismco.wordpress.com/ If you like DIY, cooking, crafty things and more.

you can also find me on Instagram @LexxWrites  https://www.instagram.com/lexxwrites/  or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LexxWrites/

Again, a big thank you to Kat and hey TGIF! Have a great weekend everyone.

Lexx Vorpahl

U is for Unexpected

Writing for me is not a thoroughly planned journey. It is often just a rough sketch and I usually end up coloring outside of the lines. For me, creativity happens spontaneously. If I try to plan out every little nuance before I begin to write, I find I have no desire to actually write the story. It takes all the joy out of it for me. So although I may have a general outline, I tend to just let my storyline flow and see what happens.

However, that does not mean that I am never surprised by what happens. This weekend I was working on my novel. The scene was going well, we were working on setting up a game plan for their undercover operation. Then, right in the middle of this, one of my characters decides to have a deep, introspective moment. I’m like, ‘Where is this even coming from and you choose now to have this conversation? We are right in the middle of a battle plan, not a why did you trust me conversation.’ Still, my character was unwilling to progress any farther until this matter was dealt with, so we rolled with it. It may or may not become important later in the plot, I have no idea as I never planned for this conversation.

This is part of why I love writing, the joy of discovering surprising backstories and hidden depths to characters. The twists and turns in plots that I could never anticipate. Sometimes it irritates me and I rant for a while or even walk away from the story for a time. But in the end, the curiosity about what happens next always draws me back.

So what is something unexpected that happened in your life recently?

 

M is for Money

Due to tiredness, I made a mistake on yesterday’s post, L is for Language. Today is the halfway point, not yesterday. My apologies for the mix-up but congratulations again for everyone that has hung in there. Also, thank you to everyone who has stopped by and read my blog. Without you guys, there wouldn’t be a reason for a blog. Now, onward to the post!

 

 

Money is such an ingrained part of our daily lives that we rarely consciously notice it. It is there, after all, we work to pay our bills, we shop for things we need, we save up to go on vacation. In fact, on any given day we probably use and think of money at least twice if not more. We know our currency down to its smallest value. For Americans, it’s the penny. We often have a jar filled with it sitting around our houses somewhere.

 

So how does money translate into writing? We have to consciously bring it to the forefront of our minds as we write. Is our character poor or rich? Do they budget everything or are they a free spirit that struggles paycheck to paycheck? When they travel, are they familiar with the local currency or do they struggle to pay and make change. Because of this, are they easy prey for con men and tricksters? What if they are robbed in a foreign country? What are their options?

 

 

As a fantasy writer, I often do world building for my stories. Part of that includes currency. This includes types of currency, is it made from precious metals, cheap metals, wood, paper? Value of currency, is it based on a very regulated system like each coin increases value by 10 or is it a more random system where each item is valued independently of each other? This is always a very fun part of writing for me.

 

Finally, there is one more type of currency: Barter

:to trade by exchanging one commodity for another

: to trade goods or services in exchange for other goods or services

• farmers bartering for supplies with their crops
• bartered with the store’s owner

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

 

Your character has a specific skill set, how can they barter it to obtain what they need? How do you set values for such diverse things? This is always a challenge to decide, but it allows you a lot of flexibility in your storyline.

 

We have now reached the end of the second week of the A to Z Challenge. Only two more to go! So tell me about a time when you bartered for something. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.