Writing

Writing has been part of my life from early days. I have fond memories of sitting in my bedroom with two girlfriends writing our version of The Monkees immediately after watching that week’s episode – and of course we each got the Monkee we fancied *grin*.

Then I wrote Hawaii 5-O episodes, where Danno always got the girl, but then she got killed or something equally tragic happened and he ended up broken-hearted, yet again.

So the romance side of my writing got off to a very early start. Then I moved to Australia and writing prose took second place to writing computer code. I did that for quite a few years then I decided I didn’t like the way Captain Kirk got off relatively scot-free from his adventures on the Genesis Planet. So I wrote a Star Trek story where Commander Kruge’s consort made a valiant effort to avenge his death. Obviously she failed as Kirk went on to die helping Picard stop Soran from destroying the Enterprise after Riker parked it rather spectacularly on the planet. Hmm, is it obvious I'm also a Trekkie?

I still wrote and studied code for a while – gained a Certificate IV in Information Technology (Software Development) – but then the lure of prose bit deep and I spent a year writing more Star Trek stuff. I look back at it now and have a good laugh but it was all practice for the real thing, which I’ve been working on since 2001. It's in final edit mode and soon I hope to take the next step and send it off to an agent. A big step. A big scary step.

'The Dragon's Tail' duology started life on August 31, 2001 as a dream about a minstrel and a lady falling in love but because of their difference in status they couldn’t be together. (See, I was doing it again – I should write soap operas!) Then I discovered the Voyageronline website while researching submission guidelines and realised I wanted to write fantasy.

So I added the dragons and a whole new storyline took off under my fingers.

Two years to the minute from when I started writing I wrote the two magic words – The End – and felt utterly bereft. It was done, finished. What do I do now?

I re-wrote, I polished, I edited, I re-wrote again, I polished again, I edited again! I did that for two years. Then I sent it to a friend for her response. I almost wished I hadn't. But her critique was invaluable. And that is all part of being a writer. Having to rework what you have written until it is so sparkly and gleaming that it stands out in the slush pile and has a much better chance of being picked up by a publisher.

And now for the blurb (almost as hard to write as the book - no, that was the synopsis!):

Gabrat is a young black dragon trapped alone in a land where the coloured dragons he fears rule together with the humans he thinks of as slaves or food. Desperate to survive he accepts the help of some humans then discovers some unpalatable truths about black dragons and himself. He has to make a choice. Will he choose to protect his new-found friends, or will he help the black dragons take over the treasure-filled lands of Lamathea?

The extracts below are from the second half of the novel. There is another extract on the Music page relating to the band that has influenced so much of this story and my life. Enjoy!

Dragon Dance

Gabrat thought back to the time he’d just spent in Valenté’s lair. That had been an interesting and eye-opening three weeks. As everyone had noticed, from the moment he landed on the ledge outside the lair his colour had come out far more than he or his mother could ever have anticipated.
He could no longer call himself a black dragon and even if he could return to Vaelann he would not be welcome there. He glanced at the globe. There was still so much more to read. At least now he could concentrate fully on the history with no mating urges to distract him.
A flash of colour caught his eye as a yellow bird alighted on a branch for a moment. The dragon that had come to the lair to mate with him was the same colour. Gold scales glistening in the sun, with emerald eyes flashing and darker gold brow ridges and spines. When she first arrived, Gabrat had not known what to say. He knew the rituals; he’d seen older dragons mating so knew what he must do. Yet he found himself unable to find the words to thank her for the sacrifice she was making.
In silence they flew out from the lair to perform the mating dance around the peaks of the Barrier Mountains. However their silence did not last long. Caught up in the emotion they were soon calling and singing to each other at full volume.
Their dance lasted a long while; the sun had set by the time they returned to the lair. Valenté had returned to Sancturé with instructions that his lair was theirs to use for as long as they required.
Gabrat had hissed his amusement when he saw the herd of zebora penned in an area of grassland below the lair.
'Why are you amused? We have both expended a great deal of energy which we must replenish. And it is customary to share food after mating.'
'It is? Oh, it must be a coloured dragon ritual. We blacks … Black dragons are not interested in making the occasion enjoyable. I certainly didn’t anticipate anything like this.' He waved one wing around the lair. 'The moon rising over the mountains, the food, you. I’m at a loss for words.'
'You have a very romantic soul. Do you realise that?'
'I’m fast concluding I don’t know myself very well at all. I guess that’s because of the colour coming out in me. I’m confused. I don’t know who I am any more.'
'Well, why don’t you come over here and show me what kind of dragon you are. Then we can sort your mind out later. And eat that delicious food.'
She had beckoned him to the edge where she took off, crooning softly. He leapt into the air and followed, his bellow deafening to anyone within earshot.

The hero falls

Calestina slowed to hover near a sheer wall of rock at the base of a narrow ravine. Jovario stared up and saw the dragon shoot a jet of flame towards a dark shadow at the top of the cliff. This had to be where Helena was being held. He flinched as a massive jet of flame burst out of the shadow to hurl Calestina back and down, out of his sight. Moments later, Valenté took her place; he ducked and weaved as the hidden dragon tried to blast him out of the sky to join his mate.
‘Gods!’ he breathed. His horse shied and nearly threw him to the ground. He fought to regain control; his eyes fastened on the shadow. ‘If that’s where she is, then I am going to have to climb,’ he muttered as the horse settled down again.
He dismounted, removed his cloak, tied his sword to his back and slapped the horse on the rump to send it back homewards. He made the subconscious decision that when he found Helena he would brave the back of a dragon to get her home quickly. He took a long look at the wall of rock above him, positioned the shadow in his mind then began to climb.
It was now fourteen days since Helena’s abduction and as he climbed he wondered if Lorenzo was waiting for a rescue attempt before harming Helena. If that was so, then there was hope for her. He pictured her in his mind, smiling up at him on the day she left then blanked the image as his right hand slipped and he nearly fell.
‘Concentrate, you fool!’ he berated himself. ‘What use are you going to be if you kill yourself?’
He climbed for an hour then found a ledge just wide enough to support him while he rested his aching arms. He shielded his eyes from the sun’s glare and looked up the cliff to see how much further he had to go. ‘Gods! I’m not even half way!’ he muttered. Ten minutes later his arms were no longer stinging with pain and he began the climb again.
By the time he was almost to the top his fingers were bleeding, his toes were numb and his breath grew increasingly ragged. It had taken him another two hours to get this far and he dared not think of how high he had climbed.
As he stretched out his right arm to reach the next handhold his left foot slipped and he swore as his left hand gave way. Clinging to the rock face by sheer willpower alone as his right foot took his entire weight, he raised his eyes to the edge so close above him and yet so far.
His eyes locked on those of a man who leaned over the edge watching his progress. Unable to speak, he mouthed the words: ‘Help me!’ as the man grinned down at him.
‘So sorry, my lord, but I don’t think so. Not today.'
Terror filled his mind; Jovario stared up aghast as his right foot slipped. ‘NO!’ His eyes closed as gravity took hold and he plummeted to the ground far below.

Yep, The Dragon's Tail has some knuckle-biting bits in it too.

The pictures above are Dragon Dance and Cliff Hanger by Candace Bell (www.candacebell.com)

Now, I’m not going to profess to be an expert at writing. There are far more people out there who know the business inside and out, so I will direct you to their sites for those FAQs like: How do I start? What should I do to get published? What is omniscient POV?

Not that I don’t know this stuff – I do – it’s just that they say it better than I do at the moment. No doubt when (thinking positive here) The Dragon's Tail gets published I’ll have an author site too and I’ll put this kind of information there.

The following author sites have great writing advice and FAQ sections:

Karen Miller (author of the Kingmaker KingBreaker duology): www.karenmiller.net

Trudi Canavan (Black Magician, Age of Five Gods): www.trudicanavan.com

Jennifer Fallon (three trilogies and still counting): www.jenniferfallon.com – check out her blog especially.

So, keep an eye out for The Dragon's Tail – it may be coming to a bookstore near you any year now.