A.S. Akkalon - Fantasy Author | Page 2 of 35 | Fantasy books, terrible advice, and random silliness

Garh! Garh! Garh! Covid-19 is back in New Zealand

After 102 days of no community transmission, Covid-19 is back in New Zealand. We kicked this once, let’s do it again.

You’re not going to get much sensible out of me today. On the way to work this morning, hubby’s cellphone got an emergency announcement from the government that Covid-19 cases have been discovered in the community in New Zealand and the whole country is going to a higher alert level.

After 102 days with no community spread.

A hundred and two days.

It was never going to stay out, but it was nice while it lasted.

Now is the time for me to be grateful.

The value of fresh eyes on your draft

Recently I’ve had a lot of fresh eyes on my first chapter, and I was amazed at what my readers picked up on. Here’s why fresh eyes are so valuable.

This evening I finished the tenth draft of my WIP. It’s been a long time coming and the story still has a way to go, but it’s definite progress.

I have a story that runs from a beginning, stumbles through a middle, and finally reaches an end.* The number of characters who magically appear or vanish without a trace can now be counted on one hand, and I’m pretty sure no one who dies is suddenly walking around later on.

* Okay, this was also true of draft six (or was it seven?), but the plot works better this time.

The avian part of my world is still populated solely by owls, sparrows, and the occasional hawk, though.

What now? I hear you ask.

The joys and pitfalls of obsession

I have a natural inclination towards obsession, focussing all my energies on one thing until it bursts into flame. Sometimes this is bad. Not always.

Ask someone who knows me in real life, and they’ll tell you I’m quite good at obsession.

I think of it as having a talent for focus. Hubby disagrees.

In the past I’ve obsessed over study, work, hobbies, romantic interests (before you freak out, I married him in the end), concepts (but what little girl isn’t crazy about horses?), reading books (like reading a ten-book series ten times back to back), writing books, TV shows, video games, and the absolute best way to construct a wall out of branches and pine needles.

I exaggerate. My pine walls were good, but I could have made them better with an additional ten years to experiment.

A flair for obsession can bring unexpected rewards, but the path to them is thick with pit traps and those nasty things you step on that release a log in your face. Today I’m going to share some of these joys and downfalls so you can decide for yourself if a life of obsession is right for you.

A very serious blog post on traditional publishing

Kristine Kathryn Rusch argues knowledgeably and convincingly that authors should self-publish. I still don’t plan to. Here’s why.

I promised you a very serious blog post, and here it is.

I’m a long-time fan of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s (though for some reason I can never remember her name).

She’s a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, but I admit I’ve never tried her fiction.

I’m a fan of her blog.

She writes about the publishing industry, but not regurgitated primers on how to get published or the latest gossip. She writes well-researched, detailed posts about the nitty gritty things you need to know if you want to make a living as a writer, such as licensing rights, contract clauses, and why you should avoid agents and traditional publishers like the coronavirus.

What I learned in high school English

My search for a critique partner brought back memories of high school English. Some fond, some not so much. I also remembered why I hate short stories.

If you follow my blog, you probably know I’m currently on the hunt for my perfect critique partner (CP).

“You haven’t settled on someone yet?”

Yes, I heard you say that. No, I haven’t.

And not because no one’s approached me or because I’m terrible at making decisions (though I am).

I want a relationship that will give maximum value on both sides and last at least a decade. You can’t rush into that sort of thing.

In the meantime I’m having conversations and exchanging chapters with several talented and committed writers, hopefully giving value and definitely receiving it.

In case you’re wondering I’m also still open to being approached by new people. If you’re on the fence, don’t be shy. The worst that could happen is that your house could be invaded by a herd (snap? swish? gobble?) of hungry alligators.