Howdy Folks,
At last, we are drawing close to the end of the year. I apologize for the radio silence. Not only was there Nano to contend with, but the rapidly approaching holidays have just about eaten all of our free time (mostly due to extra working hours). But soon, soon the blissful freedom of January shall be here.
Just as an update, Lauren and I are currently working on giving Forstfire one last revision before tweaking our submission packet and hitting the streets again to sell our novel to agents. If nothing percolates from this round, we have discussed possibly looking at other publshing routes, but we really want to give this another good round before we move on.
Our novel we worked on during Nano is about half-finished, and put on a backburner at the moment as we realized it was not developing quite as we envisioned. We have promised to return to it soon with a stronger gameplan once the new revisions are done on Frostfire and our attention is free to focus on it. We started in on another novel idea, but it is admittedly progressing slowly due to the large amount of focus Frosty is taking.
All in all, the end of this year is proving busy beyond measure, but hopefully with excellent things to show for it come 2019.
Til Next Time,
Anna Harpe
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Twas The Night Before Nano...
Howdy Folks,
So it is, at this moment, the very best day of the year (in my own opinion) -- Halloween! But it is more than simple the greatest celebration of all that is ookie and spooky, but also the eve of the most rewarding and most stressful time of year for writers everywhere -- Nanowrimo. Naturally, Lauren and I will be participating. We are planning to try to use this hectic month to try and finish our small side project (as much as an entire novel can be considered a side project or small) before we get back on the road to editing Frostfire.
Progress on publishing Frostfire has slowed. We have received many rejections now, which, while not dampening our spirits one whit, has given us pause in considering if we might need to break the story into smaller parts to make it more attractive to publish. Smaller books are cheaper to make, after all. Considering how the story would be broken, we are exploring changing up a few parts to add a bit more action to the shorter story, and really pump up the audience's investment in our two handsome men before we break them -- a little more literally than you might think within the context of the story.
We would both like to extend once again our sincerest and most heartfelt thanks to our alpha readers for all of their help. It has been quite a journey, and one that would have been much, much more arduous without our alpha humans' encouragement and endless enthusiasm in answering our questions.
As to our Nano project, since it is soon to be finished, I will offer those few of you following this blog as of yet more information on this mysterious book titled Fateful: The Doe and The Wolf. It is a young adult novel featuring Vasille and Linryl, two young women struggling to resist -- or fulfill -- their fates within our new and enchanting world of a fantastical Italian city. To further tease your senses, below are the current reference pictures for the two main characters -- though you know my and Lauren's track record with sticking to our reference photos.
So it is, at this moment, the very best day of the year (in my own opinion) -- Halloween! But it is more than simple the greatest celebration of all that is ookie and spooky, but also the eve of the most rewarding and most stressful time of year for writers everywhere -- Nanowrimo. Naturally, Lauren and I will be participating. We are planning to try to use this hectic month to try and finish our small side project (as much as an entire novel can be considered a side project or small) before we get back on the road to editing Frostfire.
Progress on publishing Frostfire has slowed. We have received many rejections now, which, while not dampening our spirits one whit, has given us pause in considering if we might need to break the story into smaller parts to make it more attractive to publish. Smaller books are cheaper to make, after all. Considering how the story would be broken, we are exploring changing up a few parts to add a bit more action to the shorter story, and really pump up the audience's investment in our two handsome men before we break them -- a little more literally than you might think within the context of the story.
We would both like to extend once again our sincerest and most heartfelt thanks to our alpha readers for all of their help. It has been quite a journey, and one that would have been much, much more arduous without our alpha humans' encouragement and endless enthusiasm in answering our questions.
As to our Nano project, since it is soon to be finished, I will offer those few of you following this blog as of yet more information on this mysterious book titled Fateful: The Doe and The Wolf. It is a young adult novel featuring Vasille and Linryl, two young women struggling to resist -- or fulfill -- their fates within our new and enchanting world of a fantastical Italian city. To further tease your senses, below are the current reference pictures for the two main characters -- though you know my and Lauren's track record with sticking to our reference photos.
 |
| Linryl -- Anna's character |
 |
| Vasille -- Lauren's character |
There will be more little tidbits as we progress on this work, so stay tuned to hear more. Until then, stay safe, and don't burn the house down.
-- Anna Harpe
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
The Most Wonderful Time
Howdy folks,
Well, it is getting to be that season again -- and I do not simply mean Autumn. Halloween is right around the corner, bringing its eerie, wonderful flavor to the year.
And with it, we bring news. Progress on finding an agent for Frostfire has been slow. As such, we have chosen to use this year's Nanowrimo to work on another, shorter, more easily marketable project. We promise to tease you as soon and as often as we can with what it might be. Though, perhaps, we may just leave you a single hint.
Until next time,
Anna
Well, it is getting to be that season again -- and I do not simply mean Autumn. Halloween is right around the corner, bringing its eerie, wonderful flavor to the year.
 |
| Banana Bread Oats and Pumpkin Spiced Latte from ROOTED |
 |
| Caprese Sandwich and Cinnamon White Mocha from ROOTED |
And with it, we bring news. Progress on finding an agent for Frostfire has been slow. As such, we have chosen to use this year's Nanowrimo to work on another, shorter, more easily marketable project. We promise to tease you as soon and as often as we can with what it might be. Though, perhaps, we may just leave you a single hint.
Until next time,
Anna
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Quoteable Quotes
"Leonie Barrow looked at him with a strange expression, her pale skin blue and shadowed by the falling light, her eyes dark and bottomless. ‘Cabal…’ she whispered.
'Yes?’ he replied.
'How…’ she paused, searching for the words. Her gaze fell, and then rose again, and she looked deep into his eyes. 'How did you ever become so very fucked up?’"
-- Johannes Cabal the Detective, Jonathan L Howard
'Yes?’ he replied.
'How…’ she paused, searching for the words. Her gaze fell, and then rose again, and she looked deep into his eyes. 'How did you ever become so very fucked up?’"
-- Johannes Cabal the Detective, Jonathan L Howard
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Love Is Love
Howdy Folks,
So, those of you that have read Frostfire (or listened to Lauren and myself natter endlessly about it), are likely aware that it is a story involving the long development of intimacy and trust between two men. A common question we receive after explaining this fact to someone asking about the story is "why" we wrote a story about two men, and we have two parts to that answer.
My answer comes from what I have seen of the fiction available featuring Male x Male couples. I have a long history of reading yaoi and gay fiction. It is not my sole source of fiction, but I do enjoy it as much, if not more, than the standard Male x Female fiction, especially if it includes elements such as the struggle to be accepted. But I also found that far too many of the fiction pieces featured relationships built on abuse and even rape. I wanted to write a story -- well, let's be honest -- stories featuring complex, but healthy relationships between non-hetero couples.
Additionally, in Lauren's words, we want to normalize. We want to keep writing queer fiction to help create a space where no one feels compelled to ask us why anymore. It is just normal -- in all genres. We hope, in the future, to publish not just stories featuring two men, but many other types of relationships in other genres.
Until Next Time,
Anna
So, those of you that have read Frostfire (or listened to Lauren and myself natter endlessly about it), are likely aware that it is a story involving the long development of intimacy and trust between two men. A common question we receive after explaining this fact to someone asking about the story is "why" we wrote a story about two men, and we have two parts to that answer.
My answer comes from what I have seen of the fiction available featuring Male x Male couples. I have a long history of reading yaoi and gay fiction. It is not my sole source of fiction, but I do enjoy it as much, if not more, than the standard Male x Female fiction, especially if it includes elements such as the struggle to be accepted. But I also found that far too many of the fiction pieces featured relationships built on abuse and even rape. I wanted to write a story -- well, let's be honest -- stories featuring complex, but healthy relationships between non-hetero couples.
Additionally, in Lauren's words, we want to normalize. We want to keep writing queer fiction to help create a space where no one feels compelled to ask us why anymore. It is just normal -- in all genres. We hope, in the future, to publish not just stories featuring two men, but many other types of relationships in other genres.
Until Next Time,
Anna
Sunday, August 12, 2018
The Characters, They Are A Changin'!
Howdy Strangers!
So, admittedly, when Lauren and I start in on a story or a roleplay, there is a bit of a method to it. We usually have an idea first -- a pair of characters we'd like to write, a setting we would like to explore, etc. Then, we usually go and find pictures roughly representing the two main characters we propose to use. So, for your amusement, I present the two images we originally based Barrett and Kyran -- the main characters of our novel FROSTFIRE.
First up is Barrett.
His image in the novel is virtually unchanged. This is pretty much what Barrett looks like -- in our imaginations -- in FROSTFIRE. He has a few odd scars, and some thicker facial hair, but our hunter hobo looks pretty much the same as he began.
Next is Kyran.
Now, if you have seen the special post on our author page on Facebook, or been one of the lucky few to be our beta readers (at the time of making this blog post, FROSTFIRE was not yet accepted for publishing), you know very well that Kyran does not look almost anything like this. Not only is he younger, but is incapable of growing body hair, has much more delicate features, has green eyes, paler skin, has copper instead of red hair, and might be possessed if he ever made an expression like this. The only surviving feature is really the hairstyle in this image. But this was where he started once upon a roleplay sometime in the very early 2000's.
But their appearances are not the only things that have changed. Kyran and Barrett's personalities have gone through some changes as well before their final drafts. Barrett used to be much meaner than he is now. He used to bully Kyran -- they even got into a fistfight in one of the very early drafts of the story! Kyran was originally a little older, but his personality was about the same except he used to look down on Barrett. He considered him dull-witted and rude. Lauren and I always wanted to write a slow-burn romance between the two of them, but initially, it seemed like it would be impossible for the two of them to reconcile their differences, they were so volatile towards one another. Several drafts later, though, and...well, you'll just have to read the book to see the changes.
I do promise to continue to reveal little inside tidbits about the process of making this book become a reality -- the inside jokes that made it into the final draft that make me and Lauren peer over the tops of our laptops at one another and giggle. So stay tuned!
Until next time
--Anna
So, admittedly, when Lauren and I start in on a story or a roleplay, there is a bit of a method to it. We usually have an idea first -- a pair of characters we'd like to write, a setting we would like to explore, etc. Then, we usually go and find pictures roughly representing the two main characters we propose to use. So, for your amusement, I present the two images we originally based Barrett and Kyran -- the main characters of our novel FROSTFIRE.
First up is Barrett.
Next is Kyran.
Now, if you have seen the special post on our author page on Facebook, or been one of the lucky few to be our beta readers (at the time of making this blog post, FROSTFIRE was not yet accepted for publishing), you know very well that Kyran does not look almost anything like this. Not only is he younger, but is incapable of growing body hair, has much more delicate features, has green eyes, paler skin, has copper instead of red hair, and might be possessed if he ever made an expression like this. The only surviving feature is really the hairstyle in this image. But this was where he started once upon a roleplay sometime in the very early 2000's.
But their appearances are not the only things that have changed. Kyran and Barrett's personalities have gone through some changes as well before their final drafts. Barrett used to be much meaner than he is now. He used to bully Kyran -- they even got into a fistfight in one of the very early drafts of the story! Kyran was originally a little older, but his personality was about the same except he used to look down on Barrett. He considered him dull-witted and rude. Lauren and I always wanted to write a slow-burn romance between the two of them, but initially, it seemed like it would be impossible for the two of them to reconcile their differences, they were so volatile towards one another. Several drafts later, though, and...well, you'll just have to read the book to see the changes.
I do promise to continue to reveal little inside tidbits about the process of making this book become a reality -- the inside jokes that made it into the final draft that make me and Lauren peer over the tops of our laptops at one another and giggle. So stay tuned!
Until next time
--Anna
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Character Spine -- Lauren
>Basic<
Name: Lauren Williams
Nickname(s): Piperita
Age: 28
Birthday: Jan 30
Gender: Female
Orientation: Bi
Nationality: American
Occupation: Barista and aspiring novelist
Family: Mother, father, 4 brothers, Anna
Pets: Jasper (lab mix)
>Appearance<
Hair: Naturally brown, often red, currently blue-black and mid-back length
Eyes: Brown
Weight: 150-170 lbs.
Height: 5’5”
Scars: Fading
Tattoos: None
Clothes: Tanktop/blouse, flowy skirt, leggings, boots (color theme either cream and brown or red and black)
Accessories: Hairstick, Chromebook, smart phone, mug of coffee piled high with whipped cream, lipstain
Piercings: Nine, all ears
>Personality<
Habits: Drinks all the coffee, rolls dice, streams on Twitch, cuddles bf and doggo, searches for lost words, picks at fingers, chews on lips
Description: “Sweet and shy"
Myers-Briggs: INFP
>Backstory notes<
Born and raised in the Augusta/Evans area, doesn't have an accent. Graduated from ASU with a BA in Creative Writing, minor in Psych. Used to write nonstop. Something happened, struggling to write at all. Got an unintentional career as a barista. Enjoyed it. Tired of it. Ready to move on. Ready to get back to what writing means to me.
Born and raised in the Augusta/Evans area, doesn't have an accent. Graduated from ASU with a BA in Creative Writing, minor in Psych. Used to write nonstop. Something happened, struggling to write at all. Got an unintentional career as a barista. Enjoyed it. Tired of it. Ready to move on. Ready to get back to what writing means to me.
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