Explaining the Blog Title

So, if I take all this time to name my characters and chapter titles (literally Hours for the chapter titles. I am a bit frustrated I even did that for "Casting", because now I feel like I have to make some for the second book...but I haven't started doing that for it yet, even though I'm almost done with chapter 12), then I must have had a reason for naming this blog "Magical Mysteries", right?

Yes. But it wasn't nearly as hard as naming chapters. I chose "Magical Mysteries", because my trilogy deals with magic (duh) and while I think I give my books (at least, "Casting My Heart") a mystery-like writing style. Whenever my cousin would read my first draft (I didn't have her read the other drafts) she would always say "What does this mean?! Why did you stop?! I need more! You are so mean for stopping there!". And I loved it! I loved (and still do) the feeling of knowing that I understand everything and my readers have to keep reading to figure out what is each character and their motivations along with their characteristics. And, especially, how they fit into each other's lives. I love this so much, that I don't think that I'll change this way of writing. Maybe...but probably not.

So, what happens after I finish the "Magic Spells Trilogy"? I'll keep writing fantasy, right? Ummm...actually, no. Not necessarily. Don't get me wrong, I Love writing fantasy. But I also love historical fiction and murder mysteries and Christian fiction and sci-fi (a little...). So, why did I pick "Magical"? Because I believe that all books, no matter what genre, are magical. 

So, what do I have planned after Cassie, Dillon, Diana, Thomas, and Elsie? Two big projects are on my radar. One is a stand alone novel; another fantasy-like novel that involves two different worlds (again), but...yeah...I can't give too much away.

My other project that I would really like to write is a series. I'm not sure how long the series would be in its entirety: maybe it won't be a series, but I really want it to be one. Unlike my other books, this one will not have any fantasy elements in it. I can't say much about it (I want it to be a grand surprise AND who knows? Maybe I'll never get to it. But that would be a real shame. I love this idea) However, I think it's okay to tell you that it will be a murder mystery (hopefully mysteries!) set in New England during the 1870s. And that's all I am going to reveal.

Until next time, my wonderful readers!

New French Blog!

I have big news! Unfortunately, it's not book related....but it's still awesome!

I have been accepted to go abroad for three weeks to France this June! I am so excited, you can't imagine! I have already started a blog that I want to post to while I am there. Check it out!
http://flighttofrance.blogspot.com/

 I suppose it kind of connects to "Casting My Heart" in that I used the French word for "mermaid" for my sirens (la sirène). There. I was able to connect it to my writing.

Another Spring Break

Oh my goodness! I forgot to post on the seventh of this month! That just goes to show that spring break is no longer "spring break". Some people go away to Florida and do absolutely nothing of value. And then there's me: I work at home and at the place I'm employed. Then I come home and work some more.

I really should have done homework. Instead, I finished an application to study abroad this summer for three weeks in France (yay!). The Friday of "spring break" and I'm exhausted. I look back at my week and wonder if I really only got a half of a day to do nothing. Yep: a half a day. What I really want is a break from life. But, at least I got a break from school work.

I really haven't been able to write anything since I last posted that I have just started the first few lines of chapter 12 of book 2. Hopefully, in a few weeks I can take a breath and squeeze in a few more chapters before I am bogged down by finals.

Until next time...

Second Edition

That is what I hope, anyway.

The worst thing about self-publishing is that I don't have an editor. So, while I did rewrite the book four times and read it more times than I can count, I still have horrible mistakes that everyone keeps pointing out to me. I want to fix these mistakes so badly...the writer in me screams in anger for making them in the first place.

I have to remind myself that I'm just a lowly writer...self-published. Someday soon, however, I have got to get a second edition of "Casting My Heart" out!

The second problem with self-publishing is the process of making a cover. It was incredibly harder than I thought it was going to be...probably because I was not going to use a template. I am, however, extremely proud of what I and my "cover team" accomplished. And I am excited to do the other covers...but I'm also dreading them at the same time. I bring up covers only because most authors/publishers have a new cover designed for a second edition. That makes me really agitated thinking about it. So...I hope it will be alright with all of you if I don't make a new cover for the second edition.

Oh, to have time only to write and edit. I'd have the trilogy done and move on to my other projects that I want to write also.

Fourth Month: Thomas McCoy

Thomas: "A Twin"
Martin: "Servant of Mars, god of war"
McCoy: "son of Aodh; an old word for "Fire"; a Celtic deity"

I can't really explain much about his name, because I don't know if I will reveal things in books two and three.

The McCoys are of Irish descent.

Thomas is Cassie's and Diana's friend who is the fun guy who doesn't care if he hangs out with girls. He is extremely athletic, but doesn't have a big head about it. He also works in his family's restaurant, usually as a waiter, but he prefers to work back in the kitchen.

Thomas McCoy is the boy across the street (for Diana, anyway). They have been best friends ever since Diana moved into said house. When he's not busy, they hang out, arguing over movies and carpooling to and from school. They love to play pranks on other people and have been known to get into trouble with their neighbors...with Thomas as the mastermind behind most of the mischief.

Thomas has one younger sister, Jessica, who's a bit younger than Diana's younger brother, Zach.

Thomas doesn't get to write in his point of view much in the first book, but he will play a huge part in book two.

Third Month Anniversary: Diana Jerkins

I've decided to write in purple today. Even though the color blue has a lot of significance in the story, I feel like a change. And since today's post is about Diana, I figured I'd use her favorite color!

Full name: Diana Beatrice Jerkins
"Diana" : "Divine"
"Beatrice" = "bringer of joy"

Her last name is purely fictitious. It just came into my head one day and stuck. When I tried to look up a meaning, I always got "unkown". In regards to her middle name, I want to say that Diana was the character I wanted to be able to help Cassie when she has problems and doubts herself. She is doing a great job, if I do say so myself.

Diana has one younger brother, Zachary ("God has remembered") about 10ish years old. What is so interesting about Diana and her family is that out of the four main characters, she is the only true practicing Catholic. Cassie is not sure what religion she believes, and she is a bit surprised at Diana's faith. I wanted Diana to be Catholic to add a different element to the fantasy genre. I want to show that it is okay for Catholic readers, like myself, to read fantasy, even though it is not real. The whole point of stories is to teach a lesson, not align yourself with a belief system. Going along with that, I wanted to show the outside world that there are many friendships that are strong even if the people are very different. Cassie and Diana are very, very different girls. 

To go along with their differences, I actually changed Diana's physical appearance a third of the way through writing the book. When I first started writing, Diana had short black hair and was only a few inches shorter than Cassie. Even though that image was hard to let go of, I really wanted Diana not only to be considered really short by a lot of people's standards (but she's not, okay! I'm only 5'1' too!), I also wanted to physically put differences between herself and Cassie. There were getting to be way too many dark haired people in the book anyway. I needed some variety.

I also added the fact that Diana used to be a cheerleader in grade school and freshman year of high school. She had to quit, however, because of back problems. This is a shout out to the few nice cheerleaders in my class in my own high school. I know that the sport does not automatically make you a selfish brat (not that all cheerleaders were nice to me...but hey, nice people and mean people in every clique). 

Around the same time I changed Diana's appearance and gave her a bigger personality and more character traits, I was inspired to add Thomas as a character. I will talk about their relationship next month!


If I don't get to another post before January: Have a Merry Christmas!



 

Two Month Anniversary: Dillon Wallace

Another month since publishing. I figured I'd just keep going in "order"...that is, the points of view in the book. Cassie was first, so here's a look at Dillon. But be forewarned of minor spoilers. Don't worry, though. Only minor...

His full name is Dillon Fitzroy Wallace. After the last name of "Baloney", Dillon's middle name has gotten the most complaints/laughs from readers who know about it. 
Dillon means "Born from the Ocean".
Fitzroy means "Son of the King".
Wallace means "Foreigner, Stranger"

I searched for Dillon's name on the internet, scrolling through name options. When I came upon his name, the meaning stuck with me. Then I came up with the prophecy. Not surprisingly, Dillon has never had a name change, nor have I ever considered it an option because of that reason. His middle name and last name took the longest to find. I wanted one of his names to relate to his social position and something inconspicuous to relate what he and his family is and how they relate to other people in the world. 

Another small tidbit: I prefer the spelling "Dylan", but it was too late. I saw it spelled the other way first. Another example of how my"imaginary" friends aren't in my complete control... 

Dillon is the middle child of three. His older brother is Edmund ("Rich protector"). Edmund used to have the name of Philip, but I couldn't stand it. Lisa ("God is my oath") is their younger sister. Their mother is Queen Alora ("My Dream"). 

Like Cassie, Dillon's relationship with his father is very strained, but it's more because his family is a royal one. The king doesn't quite know how to balance a modern family with his royal duties. 

Dillon is one of the few of his kind that is very interested in how humans live. Since he can't learn anything more about his own magic, he decided to go to a normal school and learn about the entirety of the world. Lisa thinks the same way; however, Edmund thinks that they are wasting their time associating with the normal world.  If it weren't for his curiosity, Dillon and Cassie would never have met. 
 


 I really feel like sharing a lot today. The picture above is an outtake picture from when my crew and I took pictures for the covers! Love the colors, but it is not a good angle for a cover.

So, that's all for this character tidbit post. Next month: Diana Jerkins!