Join Me for an Inside Look at Some of My Characters

Note: I no longer actively maintain this blog because I consolidated my blogging into Tales to Tide You Over, so make sure you put it into your RSS reader or subscribe by email if you want to read my more recent posts.

I recently began a Focus on Characters series I will post on whenever I think of a character tidbit you might enjoy. These range from main characters to villains or even characters with small, but crucial parts and explore why they appear in the various stories.

Some of the characters who've earned a spot include:

• Sam and Nat from The Steamship Chronicles
• Daphne and Jasper from Beneath the Mask
• A mechanical man from Safe Haven
• Samuel of Menthak from Shafter

The list goes on, and I'll be adding more when inspiration strikes, so wander by and you just might discover a new love, a stalwart companion, or a haunting villain between the pages of my stories.

I hope you enjoy this peek behind the creative curtain: https://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/tag/focus-on-characters/

Giveaway and Interview on Tome Tender for The Steamship Chronicles

I know it's been a while since I've posted here because, as I mentioned before, I've moved all my blogging to Tales to Tide You Over, but for anyone still lingering, I didn't want you to miss this chance to check out my steampunk adventure series.

Dii at Tome Tender has graciously offered to host a giveaway for me, this time in celebration of completing the first volume in The Steamship Chronicles, a steampunk adventure series she has enjoyed. She asked me a few new questions as well as reposting her favorite answer from my previous interview. Like the first time, I found she comes up with fascinating queries.

For example, learn my philosophy towards life as I tell you of the time I hunted octopus when younger even than Sam and Nat in The Steamship Chronicles. Pop on over there to check it out: Tome Tender.

Beyond Secrets, which is free on all eBook vendors, we're giving away three eCopies of Threats (Book 2) and one full copy of the whole volume, so Secrets, Threats, and Gifts.

I'm also answering questions should you choose to post one in the comments.

Note: There is a content warning because not all the reviews on the site are young adult books.

Announcing Safe Haven

I have now released the first novel in a new alternate history steampunk world. Safe Haven is a Victorian romance mixed with a steampunk suspense.

Lily Crill attempts to keep her sister safe from laws that would cage her like a beast while being pursued romantically by none other than a police officer with a noble title, Henry Stapleton. The law against Naturals, those with a knack to convert machinery into something new, is designed to protect not the innocent but the wealthy with enough blunt to afford expensive mechanisms. These machines are complex enough to develop an awareness that only Naturals can connect with.

Want to learn more? Go to the book page on my website: http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/safe-haven/

Indie Journey: Highlighting Some Titles

I've started on a new venture in Indie Publishing. Some of the titles that will be released have been mentioned on this and my other blog. Check out my titles here. Some are detailed below:

Shafter

Trina dreams of escaping the colony of Ceric and joining the spacer guilds, but it’s just that: a dream.

Reality is a fight for survival in the abandoned subway tunnels beneath First City. Her father may be a polit, the wealthiest of the surface people, but she’s been raised by her shafter mother, taught to thieve by her friend, and mastered knives on her own.

Even though her mother clings to the idea that her polit lover will rescue them from this life, Trina knows better. But when staking out a square during Festival, she catches the attention of her wealthy grandfather. Her life is about to change, but the price of starting over may be higher than she’s willing to pay.

War Child

A Lover’s Passion. A Warrior’s Loyalty. A Mother Divided.

Melnae grew up on tales of fire-eating demons and even fought in the shahran’s army. Now, a demon force approaches her home while her daughter bears the mark of a fire-eater. Can she protect her daughter without betraying her people?

Beneath the Mask

In the flash and glitter of the Regency Era, a young noblewoman craves to dance not in the ballroom but on stage, blending music, movement, and soul. Will these scandalous dreams destroy her family, or gain her a loving patron?

Lady Daphne’s duty as daughter to the impoverished Earl of Scarborough is to be chaste and pretty. Instead, she dreams of being a professional dancer at a time when stage performers are considered little better than harlots. Talent and determination compel her, but discovery would cost her the wealthy husband her parents have under negotiation and ruin her family.

Baron Jasper Pendleton has learned love does not exist from suffering his parents’ barely civil marriage. He plans to accept the bride his ambitious mother secured, get her with child, and go his own way, confident there is nothing to be had beyond momentary pleasure. But when a masked dancer’s passion enflames his frozen heart, will he follow convention or risk everything to take a chance on love?

A Week in the life of Tales to Tide You Over - 11-06-2011

Here's a week in the life of Tales to Tide You Over. I hope you find something interesting, amusing, or inspiring.

Posted on: Monday, October 31, 2011 10:30 AM
On the Eve of NaNo 2011

So, in classic form, the National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) starts tomorrow, and I feel horribly unprepared. For the last couple of years, I decided not to do NaNo only to decide at the last minute...meaning with between two weeks and a month to prepare.

This year, I decided not to bother pretending I wouldn't do NaNo, as I've done it every year since my first, whether or not I planned to.

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Posted on: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 11:02 AM
NaNo 2011 Day 1

For some reason, every November, I catch some hideous cold/sinus so I'm miserable. This year is no different with most of the day under the pressure of a severe migraine.

I stayed up to start NaNo at midnight, and managed 738 words before my headache got too strong. It was not a bad start, but took much longer than it should have because of a decision to use Scrivener for the first time. Despite...

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Posted on: Friday, November 04, 2011 10:05 AM
5 Interesting Links for 11-4-2011

A quick NaNo update:

I am just under 100 words shy of 6k, which means I'm ahead of the game, but not much. Still, the story is coming together nicely. The bad side effect of that is I'm spending time working on my outline, adding or improving the scene blurbs, instead of producing new words that count.

Archeology

The conflict between wanting to learn from the past and how that very intere...

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Reminder and Notice for New Readers

I have moved my posting activity to the blog on my site rather than maintaining an LJ and Blogger blog. I occasionally remember to crosspost, but if you want to keep up with me, please go directly to Tales to Tide You Over Blog.

For my Renovation (WorldCon) 2011 experiences, go to the Renovation Tag.

Posts since 3-26-2011

I fell a bit behind in the crossposting, so here's what you might have missed out on.

5 Interesting Links for 4-15-2011

Life

A sideways look at education that reflects the students’ skills and needs rather than a rubber stamp plan: Read the rest of this entry »

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Shotgun Bride by B.J. Daniels

I received this romance through the Tell Harlequin program where Harlequin sends out examples of their different lines to get feedback from readers. If I’d had my choice, I wouldn’t have taken this one because it is an Intrigue, the one line of Harlequins I tend not to appreciate because relationships formed under extreme pressure don’t feel like they have a chance of surviving past the last page. I am delighted that Tell Harlequin made me re-examine my thoughts about this line while introducing me to an extremely talented author.

Is Shotgun Bride an Intrigue? Absolutely. There’s a link to the criminal underground, there are secrets held that threaten to break families apart, there’s even a kidnapping and big rescue. All of these elements are standard thriller fare and need to be there for the novel to qualify in this line. However, they also connect into the story, layer upon layer woven together with the skills of a master despite the short number of pages, only 212. Read the rest of this entry »

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Interesting Links for 4-8-2011

Publishing

A tongue in cheek but completely accurate flowchart for getting published with a work of fiction:
http://www.katehart.net/2011/03/how-to-get-published-flowchart.html

Research

Juliette Wade pointed me to a YouTube channel of snippets of vanishing languages, something sure to offer those building a society around language some good ideas: Read the rest of this entry »

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More Fun with Art

I had a spare moment the other day and sketched a simple picture on my phone.

Then I used a different program on my computer to play with coloring it in.

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Interesting Links for 4-1-2011

Online Reads

Another fun story from Daily Science Fiction. L is for Luminous by Tim Pratt, Jenn Reese, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout is part of a series of alphabet stories. It’s short, funny, and poignant at the same time.
http://dailysciencefiction.com/story/tim-pratt-jenn-reese-heather-shaw-greg-van-eekhout/l-is-for-luminous

Publishing

A look at the current big events in the traditional vs. self-publishing debate that offers a decent analysis of the variety of things happening: Read the rest of this entry »

The Shadow Conspiracy II edited by Phyllis Irene Radford and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff

The Shadow Conspiracy II edited by Phyllis Irene Radford and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff caught my eye in the LibraryThing Early Reader program because I’d met both the editors at BayCon (and had, in fact, heard both of them read). Between that and the steampunk theme, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity, and I am glad I didn’t.

This is a wonderful collection of eleven steampunk short stories by the following authors: Amy Sterling Casil, Judith Tarr, Irene Radford, Brenda Clough, Sue Lange, C.L. Anderson, Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, Nancy Jane Moore, Pati Nagle, and Chris Dolley. It contains both stories set in the more traditional arena of Europe, and ones occurring in the New World and even Africa. The characters range from society darlings, to pirates, and even on to missionaries and newspaper men. The main characters are just as likely to be male as female as well (despite the inclusion of only one male author), offering rather different perspectives on the stories and environments. The stories themselves range from psychological/philosophical pieces to adventures and mysteries.
Read the rest of this entry »