Hello Champions! Today the third book in the Entwined Tales series comes out, A Bear’s Bride! This story is written by Shari L. Tapscott and is a retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” Shari has the best sense of humor ever, and she’s great at writing fast-paced fantasy stories, so I highly recommend you check this one out. You will laugh, I guarantee it! Just like the other books, you can buy it or borrow it through Kindle Unlimited. Click here for the link to check it out!
Moving along, I FINALLY took the time to look back 2017 and the things I learned. Normally I try to do this sort of post much earlier in January, but we were in the middle of the prep and subsequent launch for both Twelve Dancing Princesses and A Goose Girl. Better late than never, though. Right?? *WARNING: There are a few spoilers listed here for the Timeless Fairy Tales Series!*
What I learned as a writer:
I need to vary my projects, or I will go INSANE! This was partially why I launched A. M. Sohma and the Second Age of Retha series. I was starting to sneeze fairy dust after all of my Timeless Fairy Tales work, so even though The Luckless and Desperate Quest take place in a fantasy world, being able to write contemporary main characters was an absolute blast and helped me take a break!
Secondary characters really make the story. This is something I’ve suspected for a while, but the massive Favorite Secondary Character Poll drove it home. It’s not just the main characters who need to be bright and vivid, but the secondary characters too. Even if that’s always been my gut instinct, I’m trying to make it more purposeful now instead of just my preference.
Finishing a series is bittersweet. Before I finished King Arthur and Her Knights with book 7 in the series, Endings, I thought I would want to throw a party and form a parade when I closed it out. (I loved the series, but it was getting to be more difficult to write due to the massive cast of characters, and I really wanted to have a finished series as well.) Instead it ended up being possibly the most difficult book I’ve ever written. Closing out Britt Arthurs’ story and saying farewell to Merlin and all the knights was a lot harder than I expected. Even so, I feel like the story ended well, and Britt and her boys are in a great spot.
I should never be afraid to ask you Champions questions. In 2017 I held a marketing survey that reaaalllyy helped me learn a lot about you guys–your likes, dislikes, how you found me, what you want, etc. This helped me a lot in figuring out how I should move forward in the future. Before I held the survey I was afraid you guys might be upset or think I’m prying, but I was so touched by the great–and HELPFUL–feedback I got!
Fun Memories from 2017:
The aforementioned Favorite Secondary Character Poll! I felt so honored (and loved) to see how passionate you Champions were about the secondary characters–who normally get overlooked! It was also a great joy of mine to crown Cagney and Dooley the reigning champions of 2017.
Revealing The Chosen as the ultimate bad villains in Timeless Fairy Tales. I have been waiting for that for SO LONG, but your reactions made the wait (and all the work that went into it) well worth the payoff!
Exchanging fairy tale book recommendations in my blog–I’m still working through some of the recommendations from there!
Attempting Facebook Live and Youtube Live. It was so fun to be able to interact with Champions in real time! That’s something I want to do more of in the future.
Revealing the MBRC’s and Life Reader’s new book covers!
Laughing with my facebook Champions over all the funny pictures/memes I have dredged up over the past year. (Including swapping dream library photos, that was so fun!)
Taking part in the Excellence in Indie Publishing giveaway at Reading is My Superpower
Showing off my geekyside with my A. M. Sohma pen name and facebook page!
Looking Forward to 2018
It’s always tough to try and predict what I’ll do in a year, but Snow White will for certain be released in December 2018. Snow White will be the final fairy tale in this current arc of the Timeless Fairy Tales series. Then the main arc will continue with Angelique's spin off series, The Fairy Tale Enchantress!
I’m also going to try and get a bit more organized in terms of communicating with you Champions–watch for changes in the newsletter as I drill down and try to understand what you guys want.
And that’s it for this lengthy post! Thank you, everyone–whether you’re a passionate, brand new Champion or a patient old-timer. I’m so thankful and grateful that I can be an author, and I’m honored and humbled by the love you have shown me and my stories. Until next time, take care!
