411 on Books, Authors & Publishing

On a distant and isolated island on the fringes of the Atlan Empire, a
young girl named Rhuna comes of age when she meets a man from Atlán
and learns that her father was an Atlan Master who was killed in his
attempt to destroy the Dark Master.

Journeying across oceans and ancient worlds, Rhuna learns to master her inherent
mental powers, transforming elements and summoning visions by means
of the Gazing of the Waters. Unlike her peers, however, Rhuna
discovers she has an extra power, namely the ability to summon
visions mentally, without incantations or powders.

When the Dark Master’s activities become a threat to the peaceful Atlan
Empire, the Atlan Masters come to realize that they cannot defeat him
without Rhuna’s special visionary powers to observe the Dark
Master’s activity and whereabouts.

The first book in this extraordinary Urban Fantasy series lays the
foundations of the Atlan Empire and Rhuna’s world, and even when
the Dark Master appears to have been defeated, secret and sinister
powers continue to threaten the ancient Utopia.

She soon discovers an astonishing underground network of the Dark
Master’s followers, along with the secret group of Atlans dedicated
to stopping them. In the process of trying to carry out her
assignment, Rhuna is confronted with enormous challenges that could
drastically change her entire life and everything she has ever
believed in!

After sacrificing a life of comfort and security for her daughter’s sake,
Rhuna and her family go into exile and start a new life in the former
Atlan colony of Varappa. This faraway land is a frontier of new
technology such as air travel, loops in time and a society apparently
flourishing without a governing body of any kind.

On the surface, everyone appears to thrive in this liberated society,
but this kind of free thinking is fertile ground for the Dark Master
and his followers. Just when Rhuna and her family settle into their
beautiful new lakeside home, strange things begin to happen. Powerful
conjurers cause upheaval with their sinister magic, driving people
from their homes.

An isolated society claiming to adhere to the ways of the First Atlans,
appear to be fighting a losing battle against these followers of the
Dark Master. While attempting to find a diplomatic solution to the
escalating conflict, Rhuna faces great challenges in her personal
life. Aradin’s love for her has cooled off inexplicably, and
Lozira’s emotional wellbeing teeters on a precarious threshold. In
desperation, Rhuna combines her magical powers and Varappan
technology to do the unthinkable. What she does, however, is
forbidden, and brings about a rift between her and her own father.
Rhuna may have headed down a path from which there is no turning
back…

The Writing Process, Some Advice, and how to Unwind

My writing process is fairly straight-forward, combining practical common sense with a bit of unbridled creative passion!  First of all, I glean all the information on my next topic (eg Rhuna in Ancient Egypt) from my stash of historical, New Age, spiritual, pseudoscientific books and take notes of the points I like.  From about 50 such points, however, I might only end up using half or less, but that’s fine.  In the beginning, I don’t have a clear idea of what I’m going to use, but if I have a nice long list of ideas/topics/facts/myths to choose from, then it’s easier to grab one as I’m going along.

Before I start writing, I formulate a general plot in my head.  Since this a series, I have a definite starting point (the cliff-hanger from the last book) and end point (the cliff-hanger leading to the next book).   I have some definite ideas what will happen between both points; not just in terms of events but how characters will be affected.

Once I have a fairly solid base line to follow, I allow myself to develop and add things as I go along, and this often happens almost by itself from Part II onwards.  Often I have Part I clearly defined in my mind before I get started, and this helps me lay the groundwork for the rest of the book, such as setting the scene, raising the new issues or problems Rhuna will be facing, and creating some suspense as to what will happen.

Usually I write to story in sequence, but at times I’ve been overwhelmed by new ideas or a description of feelings or events that happen further along in the story.  That’s when I let the creativity flow freely, and later I connect those scenes with the ones written in chronological order.

Some advice I’d gladly pass on to new and aspiring authors are these:

• Be yourself. Don’t try to write in the style of a popular author, or even your favourite author.  You have to find your own inner voice and then let it shine forth.
• Every word you write should come from your heart and soul – not your brain dictating how you think it should read. If you do this, readers will instinctively feel it and have an emotional response to your book.
• Remember that books are like people: with some you immediately ‘click’; with others you just can’t gel. This goes for the books you read yourself, but also what to remember when readers don’t like your book.  Not everyone is going to like it, just as not everyone is going to like you personally.  That’s just the way it is.
• If you are being yourself in your creation, then continue to be true to yourself. Keep writing and growing while doing the necessary promotion and marketing of your books, and your readership will grow:  slowly but surely.

Being creative can be more mentally exhausting that you realize, so it’s important to make yourself have a break before you feel the brain fog or mental block developing.  In my case, I have another creative outlet, namely art: sketching, oil painting, acrylic, watercolour, still life, portraits or whatever grabs my fancy.  I meet with other artists at the local Art Society’s studio once a week, and this is already a great little break when I’ve been writing or thinking a lot about a book.  Other times, I feel I need a week or two away from writing and just do paintings and sketches around home.

When I’m out of creative gusto, I play games: jigsaw puzzles (on the computer nowadays – much easier!) some hidden object mystery games and Super City on Facebook.  Other times just going to the park with hubby and the dog is enough unwinding for a few hours.  And believe it or not, doing some necessary chores and housework can also help to unwind mentally just by giving you some distance from the work you were focused on.

Over the years Barbara kept writing one thing or another, but only as a
hobby while she pursued other interests and goals. In the 1990s, she
completed a correspondence course in professional writing, doing it
in her spare time after work. This led to having a few short stories
published, but what she really wanted to do was write a proper
novel.

At this time, Barbara had travelled extensively and gained a wealth of
knowledge and experience in subjects that held special appeal for
her, namely ancient history, myths and legends (such as Atlantis, the
builders of megaliths around the world), folklore (the belief that a
god-like race gave mankind its technology), human psychology and the
culture of other countries. What better subject for her first novel
than to combine all these elements into one big adventure!