NaNoWriMo Book Covers

Here are my imaginary book covers for past years' NaNoWriMo novels, along with a brief storyline. All images and statemets are copyright by the author. 

2014 - Troubadour’s Test 

The troubadour Sir Loriano of Vayne must deal with corruption and deceit in the wealthy city of Candelei in order to save a drug dealer’s sheltered daughter from an exploitive marriage and release Lady Tora from the Women’s Quarters so they can continue their quest to the drakken mountain. 

2012 - City of Gold 

On a quest to the drakken mountain the troubadour Loriano of Vayne and Tora are out of funds when they reach the City of Gold, Candelei. Corvid, a wealthy merchant, hires Loriano to perform at a banquet celebrating his daughter Rose’s betrothal to Lord Landris Dalmar, brother to the evil Lord Gervane. When Tora hears the names, she faints and is taken into the Women’s Quarters. 

2010 - Troubadour Quest 

Sir Loriano of Vayne and the herbalist witch Tora cross the empty lands of Miratan together to reach the City of Gold, Candelei, on the way to the drakken mountain. They must avoid the fanatical Speakers of Light and Lord Gervane Dalmar’s witch hunters. 

2008 - Sacred Mountain 

Karié and other new Chosen adjust to life in the mountaintop community. During their initiation to the Creation of Life, Barok, carried away, forces himself on Napisti, who screams and falls into a deep trance from which she can’t be awakened. Under the High Priestess’s guidance, Karié, who enjoyed her initiation, follows Napisti into the vision and leads her back into the world, but Napisti cannot face a sexual relationship, one duty of Zophra’s Chosen. 

2005 - Sacrifice! 

Karié, 14 years old, reluctantly journeys to the Sacred Mountain to present herself to the goddess Zophra for Choosing. Among the 14 applicants are Napisti, believed to become the next High Priestess, Prince Barok, and the commoner Maran. Karié wants to live in the world, but at her Presentation at age 7, the goddess clearly favored her. 

NaNoWriMo is coming...

One of my favorite things to do is NaNoWriMo. For one thing, it's a darned good way to whack out a first draft. I, the compulsive over-editor, get to throw it all aside and BLURT! I get a kick out of the forums, going to an occasional write-in (hardly anyone gets much writing done), and posting that frustratingly small number of new words. Some days my keyboard slogs uphill through warm butter; other days it sprouts wings and words dance onto the screen. Life interferes, dammit! My husband, the cat, a friend, need... Just when the plot is hopelessly dead and entangled there appear passages of absolutely golden prose. Which trickle out into a swell floop. And there's the last frantic push, after which I mentally collapse in a sweating little heap.
This year I "ought to" do the next section of Loriano's story, but I'm returning to my beloved Ancient World to continue the story of Karie the last true High Priestess with Speaker of Visions.
*The woman on the cover is not Karié; she is High Priestess Alina, who appeared in a Journal Workshop meditation exercise and told me to "Write! Or Else...!" 

Happy Halloween

     I've been working hard on Book 2 in Tales of the Dark Lady. The tentative title is The Dark Lady's Troubadour and it follows Sir Loriano of Vayne's journey after he leaves the Karaskan court. He and a mysterious herbalist accused of witchcraft because of prophetic "fits" undertake a quest to the far-distant drakken mountain in search of a vital treasure. So far they've been fighting bandits and evading the witch-hunters across the Empty Lands. Who is this mysterious woman? The two have just entered a rich merchant city where drug dealers will try use them for sinister purposes.
     NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow and I plan to use it to rough draft my plot on to the next stage of the journey. (One thing I love about epic fantasy--there's no limit to the number of words.)

I won NaNoWriMo!

I won NaNoWriMo--along with thousands and thousands of other people. It's still a thrill. Three days from the end I was hugely behind, thanks to "life," and I thought, "what the heck," and I sat down and pushed, and by golly, I did it--50,503 words and with hours to spare.


City of Gold contains X-rated scenes and drek I didn't think I could write. It's illogical with over-the-top melodrama--and some dead-on plot lines and scenes that are pure gold. I love my opening hook:

"You! I thought you were dead!" 

Tora opened her eyes and looked up at moist, round, rosy cheeks, set off by blowsy blonde curls straggling from an unkempt bun. "I am dead, and don't you dare tell anyone otherwise, Lady Catina Dalmar."  

It will require very substantial rewrites before I dare show it even to my best friend.