#Writer's Conference Tips by @KathryneKennedy

I am finally able to attend a conference, and I am really looking forward to my chapter’s Desert Dreams http://desertroserwa.org/desertdreams event from April 7-10^th in Scottsdale, Arizona. I miss seeing friends, and look forward to catching up doing my favorite thing: talking about writing with other writers. But there’s so much more to be gained from a conference, so I’d like to suggest a few tips for those of you attending any conference, but especially one held by your own chapter.

If you can, support your chapter with more than just your registration fee. Invest in some swag for the goodie bags. Bookmarks are great, but unfortunately, there’s so many of them that I often see them discarded. So try for something a little more substantial (I give out nail files with a plastic case that has my website address on it.) Get creative with something that attendees will actually keep, at least for a while. If you do a bookmark, why not have a ruler on the other side? At least you have a better chance of having someone pop it in his or her desk at work. I’ve seen pens, chapstick, even a lint brush! (And have looked up the author’s website long after the conference, when I have the time and I’m looking for a new read.)

My chapter also will make posters of our books and hang them in the conference rooms. I will have six around the place this year. Also, a ¼ page ad in the program, with yet another photo of another of my book covers (total cost, $100. If this is out of your budget, hook up with a friend to do an ad, or a two book poster, as I did below at my last conference with fellow author Erin Quinn.) I may not be able to meet everyone, but they will know I was there! (Is it seven times someone has to see your name to remember it? Something like that.) Regardless, I will also be supporting my chapter to make a profit, so we can do another conference in future.

I also donate a large basket for the literacy drawing, and another smaller one for a give-a-way to attendees. I love making baskets, and prepare for them all year long. The best time is to hit Michael’s after Christmas! I can pick up some lovely boxes and baskets, and many gifts for the out-of-towners that they may appreciate, all at a discount. And if one of my chapter mates wins one, they are always so grateful. It astounds me how many of our authors don’t read each other’s books. One year I did a basket give-a-way, and the winner blogged about it, and how wonderful my books were (almost as if it was surprising, lol.)

If you’re published or seeking to be published, this is an important tip for any conference: Be kind to everyone, even in the bathroom. I love to meet new people, so this isn’t hard for me. But if you’re the kind of person who gets overwhelmed sometimes, take a break. Go to your room and rest to get back your energy. Since I am still not quite 100% well, I may have to resort to plenty of breaks this year. And listen, if a mistake or two is made at the conference, please don’t take it personally. No one is targeting you. A conference is accomplished by volunteers who have a million details to juggle, and mistakes will happen. Take it graciously. Don’t scream and yell that you have been mistreated (yes, I’ve had this happen to me at the Editor/Agent appointment desk. Then the gal realized she had made the mistake, and well, you get the idea.) Keep it professional (including what you’re wearing. With that said, remember, the gal standing next to you in blue jeans and flip flops in the food line just might be the editor of your dreams.) For after all, the impression you make can enhance or damage your career.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten many tips, so feel free to share. Maybe something you learned from attending a conference? Please feel free to add to this!

As Always,

My Magical Best,

Kathryne

#E-book Sale $1.99 the RELICS OF MERLIN series #ENCHANTING THE LADY #DOUBLE ENCHANTMENT #EVERLASTING ENCHANTMENT (only)

On sale across most e-book venues for $1.99 until March 24.

B&N NOOK

AMAZON

#E-Book Sale $1.99 #THE FIRE LORDS LOVER (THE ELVEN LORDS #1)

On sale for a limited time at many e-book sellers. I've listed two links below, but check your own device because they should be on sale across all venues.

AMAZON

B&N NOOK

THE LADY OF THE STORM (THE ELVEN LORDS) is listed among THIRTEEN #ROMANCE NOVELS THAT EVEN SERIOUS #LITERARY READERS MAY LOVE

BUSTLE-Thirteen Romance Novels for Serious Readers

#Free Photos #Animals #Birds #Fish @kathrynekennedy

I took another trip to the zoo, and got some pretty good shots of the critters there. As usual, you have my permission to reuse these photos on your blog or whatever, royalty free, as it seems like I am always looking for photos for my blog...and they are rarely available for free. (Even if you Google 'free photos'.) And beware of using anyone's photos without permission, you could run into copyright issues. Anyway, enjoy these with no worries!
My Magical Best,
Kathryne
PS. Right Click, Copy, Paste to your computer files.

#Historical Research & #World Building, by @KathryneKennedy

It often surprises me how my historical research will add to or completely jell with the fantasy aspects of my novels. In THE ELVEN LORDS series, the stories are based in the eighteenth century, so I spent over a month researching the Georgian era, including the political environment, with special emphasis on daily life and--since my books are first and foremost romances--the clothing and housing of the aristocracy.

                       

When I read that white wigs were prevalent in the era, it made perfect sense that the true reasons for wearing the wigs were to imitate the ivory-haired elven lords of my fantasy world. All I needed to do was to add a crushed silver stone to the wigs, which the aristocracy uses to imitate the silver sparkle of my lords. For my readers to identify with the history of the era, I felt that it was important to keep a king on the throne, but since the elven broke through the barrier between worlds and conquered England, dividing it into seven sovereignties that each ruled, I couldn’t be sure of the role he would play.

Then I read that the true power behind the throne at that time lay with Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of England. So, with an apology to King George, I made him nothing more than a trophy for the elven lords to wage their wars--wars that used humans as chess pieces in games of entertainment similar to the Roman gladiatorial games, but on a much broader scale. Sir Robert (and following Prime Ministers) became the leaders of the Rebellion, the underground movement of humans and half-elven who fight for England’s freedom and the restoration of their king to true power. As with actual history, the court set the precedence for clothing and style, but since the king of my fantasy world held influence only in that limited aspect, it became an obsession with him and his court.

My seven mad elven lords each had possession of a scepter, and the master of a particular power. As I researched the landscape and the development of England’s resources, I used that knowledge to divide the sovereignties. Since Bath and its famous healing waters were located in the southwest, it fell naturally into place that the elven lord Breden, master of the blue scepter of sea and sky, controlled that area, becoming the sovereignty of Dewhame, revealed in the novel THE LADY OF THE STORM. South central England, where London is located, is a politically important part of England and became Firehame, the sovereignty of Lord Mor'ded and his black scepter over the mastery of fire, a powerful realm that is explored in THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER. Agricultural eastern England became Verdanthame, with Mi'cal ruling with the green scepter of forest and plant. Northeastern England, extending upward into York and known for its roadways, became the sovereignty of Terrahame, and the elven lady Annanor and her brown scepter of earth. North central England, dominated by mining and hilly country, became the sovereignty of Bladehame and the silver scepter of Lan'dor, who masters metal. The northwest became Stonehame, where the elven lady La'laylia called up quartz from the depths to enchant with her violet scepter. And the west became Dreamhame, butting up against the craggy mountains of Wales, the sovereignty of Roden of the golden scepter, with his spells of glamour and illusion, fully revealed in the novel THE LORD OF ILLUSION.

Arranged marriages were common in the era, often devised for political gain, and it fell naturally into place that the elven lords would use them to their own advantage. My hero in THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER, General Dominic Raikes, is a half-breed who has inherited his father’s magical gift of fire, and because of it, is a General of Firehame’s army. My heroine, Lady Cassandra Brydges, has the bloodlines to produce a new champion for the elven lord’s war games…and is secretly trained as an assassin by the Rebellion.

In my novelette, The ASSASSIN’S LOVER, we get a glimpse of the sovereignty of Stonehame, and the capital city that glows with jewel-fire even in starlight. We meet a lady of that city, Minerva Overon, whose home falls within the shadow of Stonehame Palace, which is crafted by the elven lady from one large piece of amethyst. But my heroine lives in one of the few mansions created of black jet, which aids the young assassin (another of history’s ruthless characters) sent to kill her…although he gets more than he bargained for.

And so did I, as I researched eighteen-century England, and found some surprising developments for my stories along the way.

Every Author has Something Unique to Say, By @KathryneKennedy

I have been clearing out some room by reading my husband’s books—even those that involve battles and political intrigue, which aren’t my usual cup of tea, but which my DH adores. If I don’t do this periodically, my house would be covered in books…literally. I only keep those books that I plan to read over and over again. But all books are treasures, of course, so I don’t throw any of them away: they go into a box to donate to my local library. And regardless of the genre, a book won’t leave my home until I have a chance to read it.

So in the last few months I have read over a dozen fantasy and science fiction books, most of them with just a little romance tossed in as a minor subplot (which is one reason why I started writing fantasy romance). Often, there’s lots of agony, blood, guts and the political intrigue, and I focus on the romance more in my head than what’s written on the page. Regardless, I find most of the books fantastic, and many just darn good. I have yet to find a book that I haven’t learned something from, or isn’t praise-worthy in some way.

And so I came across a book of the type of fantasy I love. (Her Majesty’s Wizard by Christopher Stasheff) A hero from our modern world travels back in time and can do magic. He rescues a princess, and is attracted to her. He meets a dragon who doesn’t fit in with his own kind, and they become friends. They meet a dark enchantress, who lures men into her castle for pleasures of the flesh, and our hero defeats her magic, and she loses her powers…and is taken to a priest to be shriven. And said priest turns out to be a werewolf, and has passions of the human flesh, so he has evil in his soul.

And then it starts to get all about religion, as our hero has a long dream about hell and the devil and the evil in his own heart. He must overcome this evil, overcome his ‘lust’ for the princess. Now, my books are all about lust, and how it leads to love. So this black and white thinking now has me puzzled. So I read the bio in the back of the book.

The author realized that many fantasies are medieval, and in medieval times, people saw God in everything—and the devil waiting to pounce at the first hint of sin. And so he set about writing a ‘realistic’ fantasy. Hence, writing a story that delved into the author’s own questions about faith.

This was the author’s own quest, in a way. No one else could have written this book quite the way he did. And although the hero does ask the princess to marry him in the end, it’s in a rather (unique) way. Sort of like an argument between the two of them.

My point is, no matter how many thousands of books are printed each year, no matter that they carry similar concepts (for fantasy, we usually have dragons, trolls, and the ultimate evil are demons), every author tells their story in a different way, from their own perspective. With perhaps similar themes, but never exactly the same.

It doesn’t matter whether critics, awards, or bestselling status lauds a book. Each is a work of art, unique in the hand of the author who writes his story with broad strokes of a brush. And in my humble opinion, there is no book that is published that doesn’t deserve the honor of that praise.

My Magical Best,

Kathryne