Odd Post Out File

Help an author out! Vote for this beautiful book cover.

Dust of Earth; A Fantasy Adventure, is part of the TaleFlick Discovery Contest taking place today (April 15th) thru April 17th.

The winner is forwarded to movie producers for consideration! The most recent winner won with less than 5000 votes.

Please help S. R. Olson push Dust of Earth to the top of the pile by clicking on this LINK for Dust of Earth! (The cover moves higher the more votes they receive. Dust of Earth was on page 4 last I check, but could be higher just look for the cover shown.

Dust of Earth Vote For This Cover TaleFlick Discovery Contest

Dust of Earth Vote For The New Cover in TaleFlick Discovery Contest

Fiona Tarr Relic Seeker Vol.2 of The Priestess Chronicles

Blurb: A young time-travelling, magic wielding Priestess and her gifted friends must retrieve an ancient Goth relic before it is used to change history.

This isn’t the Priestess Ariela’s first trip through time, but now she has friends along for the journey. When she arrives, she is alone, dressed as a servant, yet surrounded by opulence. Her guide and mentor, the Angel Raziel hasn’t given her a clue about her quest and she quickly finds herself serving a deadly enemy from her past.

Ariela realises that keeping her magical powers secret isn’t going to be easy. She is being hunted by a powerful magic wielder who is determined to destroy her and change history forever.  In the midst of a violent and intense battle to protect the ancient relic Brísingamen, once worn by the goddess Freya, Ariela calls upon the strengths and powers of her friends and a group of strangers. 

As Ariela gathers her allies, she realises her powerful adversary isn’t the only threat. She has been betrayed by someone she thought she could trust.

Buy Links Amazon Kobo, B&N, Apple

Fiona Tarr Relic Seeker Vol.2 of The Priestess Chronicles

Fiona Tarr Talking About What It Is Like Writing In The Christian Genre

Before I wrote this article, Juneta asked me a question. She asked about what it’s like writing in the Christian genre and I had to really consider my answer carefully.

I am a Christian who writes fantasy and I struggled for a while understanding exactly what genre I was writing. Was it Christian Fiction, was it main-stream Fantasy, was it Historical Fiction or something else?

It took me a while (my whole first series really), but I came to understand that what I write is Religious Fantasy, yep there is such a genre. You see if I call myself a writer of Christian Fantasy, I usually upset a few strict, indoctrinated people and if I claim to write General Fantasy, I usually upset a few hard-core fantasy readers. So, Religious Fantasy kind of covers the mix of what I write.

My writing has evolved from the beginning in 2014 to now and I can see how finding my style and understanding what I was writing for has helped to shape the way I write and the audience I am reaching for.

I set out to write this new series The Priestess Chronicles without too much religion, but that was impossible for me. Every culture, throughout history has been shaped by politics and religion and it’s ingrained in every historical period I study.

Like this latest book, which is set in Goth culture, not black finger nails, velvet dress and tattoo kind of Goth, but ancient Goth. This is a time in history when Rome was in power, just as the Christian religion was gaining ground with the Emperor Constantine and Goth religion was still wavering between the ‘old’ gods of Oden, Thor and Freya and the new religion. So, you can see how I couldn’t leave religion out of the story.

It’s become easier and very comfortable to include religion in my writing and I really enjoy challenging the way we do religion in the modern world through my stories. We seek a spiritual place of peace and understanding, yet religion is used in all the wrong ways in our society to segregate, to wipe a brush over a people or a culture and I’m pretty certain that wasn’t what Jesus intended in his ‘Good News’ message.

It’s my hope that when I write, I share a little of my faith and a lot of grace so that people of all faith, culture and religion can read my books knowing I’m not choosing sides, in fact I don’t believe there are side, but that’s another story of it’s own.

It was hard at first sticking with what I believed I needed to write; religious stories for a contemporary audience. I had friends who really didn’t understand how I could ‘smudge’ the ‘word’ like I was and I think they thought I was on the wrong track.

If this has happened to you, then my tip is that you seek your own path. That you listen with your own heart and that you share the ‘Good News’ as you feel led. If you do so with an open heart and a sense of vigilance for His direction, then you’ll know if you are on or off track.

I hope you enjoy book 2 of The Priestess Chronicles. Relic Seeker is a fun, quick read that mixes time travel with magic/miracle and plenty of adventure.

Fiona Tarr Relic Seeker Vol.2 of The Priestess Chronicles

My News

Stormdance Publications News: So far we are on schedule to publish Grumpy Old Gods Volume 2 end of July. We have started the selection process for Grumpy Old Gods Volume 3 Halloween Edition.

We have plans to post calls for submissions for Grumpy Old Gods Volume 5 Cupid-Grumpy or Anti-Valentine and Grumpy Old Gods Volume 6 Grumpy Trickster Gods around November 2019 to publish in February and April 2020.

I am doing Camp July NaNoNoWriMo 2019. I am writing as many short stories and flash fiction as I can manage. One completed so far.

INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP

 FOUNDED BY 

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh 

IWSG Description from their Newsletter: A database resource site and support group for writers and authors. Featuring weekly guests and tips, a monthly blogfest gathering, a Facebook group, a book club, and thousands of links – all to benefit writers! #IWSG
Website / Facebook Group / Twitter / Book Club

Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG

Co-Hosts:

Erika Beebe, Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, MJ Fifield, Lisa Buie-Collard, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

OPTIONAL IWSG Day Question: 

What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

Sometimes my characters have similar likes like me. Or, they have the traits I wish I had. I tend to relate to them on an emotional level sometimes in what makes them tick. The deeper and darker workings.

If I get too close or similar to the character I shut down and can’t write them at all so I avoid that by making them what I would like to be rather than like me. Or I like to write cute characters which aren’t so much like me, but they come from a place I connect with, e.g. I love animals, and babies, and people with quirky characteristics. Maybe they are like me, don’t know.

ADDENDUM: I visited Pat Garcia’s blog and she got me to thinking about the question better. I don’t know why did think of it yesterday, duh.

MY Answer to Pat and expansion on my answer here: Well, I can say probably the faults of my character for the most part come for me, lol. Now that you made me really think about it, their loyalty, sometimes the I’m game if you’re game attitude, their deep attachments, and love.

Which is why I have such a hard time making my bad guy stay bad cause I forgive him, lol, and help him to be better<–that has me ROTFL @ self, but that is too true. Not sure why I did not think of that when answering the question.

Ways to figure out and find character traits: I wrote a post about using Astrology and personality tests to discover characters traits and conflict for your characters. I use astrology and other personality tools to create characters with more rounded characteristics. Any basic astrology site works and there are a lot of free sites, and they usually have articles explaining other aspects of the Zodiac too. Astrology Answers is one for easy access.

Just for fun. My personal stuff is as follows: My astrological sign Sun Sign is Sagittarius. Myers-Briggs I test INFP. The Color Code, My color test Blue. The Archetypes. You have three types each in percentages. You can find mine in the article.
My article: Using Astrology to Create Characters There is a bonus cheat sheet at the end of the article.

Insecure ANGST: 

I worry about making my writing interesting, telling a good story. I worry about structure, beginning, middle, and end. I worry about creating a great hook. I worry am I starting the story too soon or too late and so on. I realized I have started worrying about that stuff too much and letting it steal the joy of writing from me. Sometimes all the rules can be intimidating.

So I have started trying to focus on just getting the best story told first time out, and worry about the rest later. I go through periods when I get over stressing over it, and then boom, it’s back. This kind of worry has a yo-yo cycle. It has been a little better lately.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTS

PROJECTS & BOOKS

Future Projects

Wild Hunt: Legend of Kris Kringle

• Wild Hunt: The Legend of Kris Kringle:  Episodes 1-10 +=Mini Short Story series within Magic Born or Magic Cursed? —

Wings Over Texas

• Wings Over Texas Paranormal Investigative Unit  (TBA)
• +Fairytale Inspired: Paranormal Fantasy-Mystery (Wings Over Texas World)

Read Wings Over Texas Flash Fiction Link Below Bite Size Glimpse

GENRE: DARK FANTASY MYSTERY-SUSPENSE
_{Loosely inspired by The Grimm’s Hansel & Gretel}

It’s a sweltering Texas day when the first teen goes missing from Rivers Bend.

Prequel Flash Fiction to the series world Wings Over Texas:  (Book I-TBA) A missing person’s case gets redirected to a Special Paranormal Task Force unit.  Their job is to find out why “the youth” of Rivers Bend keep disappearing?

DON’T DRINK THE BOTTLED WATER

Available on Amazon!

Stormdance Publication Anthologies

Grumpy Old Gods Anthologies
Volumes 1-4 Available

Coming Soon, Volume 5!

What happens when gods wane, retire, or just decide they need a change of employment?

13 writers in each anthology took up the challenge and let their imaginations run wild in these anthologies that are nearly-always amusing, somewhat insightful, and completely irreverent as we imagine the gods of yore in retirement.  Different tales of deities that are retired, reborn, waning, or AWOL from their assigned posts as they hilariously navigate life, death, and everything in between.
Grumpy Old Gods Volume 1, 2 & 3 Available Now!

Available on Amazon!

 The Grumpy Old Gods are back in a delightfully spooky edition, volume 3. Sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, almost always grumpy, cranky, or cantankerous, these modern renditions of aging gods and goddesses will enliven the season and leave you wanting more.
 Available Now on Amazon!

My Story Blurb: Playing Hooky by Juneta Key: 

Death’s FA can’t catch a break; the head reaper himself has gone AWOL and someone placed an ad in the Paranormal Chronicles implying that the position was open! Now Alister has a waiting room full of deities who are demanding to interview for the position, a position he’s fairly certain can’t be filled by anyone except Death himself! 

Meet The Authors of Volume 1! Follow the link.

More Grumpy Old Gods Anthologies Coming Soon @
Storm Dance Publications

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WIP Note: I am always working on one short story or another… Grumpy Old Gods or other speculative fiction shorts.

Short Fiction

You can start reading some of my short stories on site here.