I worried that my fifth sister wouldn’t be likeable enough. For starters, she’s really pretty. She’s a little fixated on her appearance too, and those who aren’t fond of her consider her shallow.
Of course, there’s much more to her than that, but would my readers stick with her long enough to find out? I hoped so.
Well, Celestine and her story have gotten three reviews in the last two days and I’m delighted that people like her. They really like her.
Reviewer Gina Rae Mitchell said “This is perhaps my favorite so far in the series.”
Phew.
One thing almost every reviewer has mentioned is that they liked the way I told the story of two women in love. This means a lot to me. Family and friends have forged my strong support of and alliance with the LBGTQ+ community and I wanted this part to work well.
The other thing that got mentioned often is a few small scenes revealing more about Celestine’s mother. Originally I wasn’t sure I would include this information, but when I began to write it, it jumped from my brain through my fingers and onto the page with an electrical current I couldn’t stop. (And I know better than to try.)
This happens once in a while when I write and it is one of the greatest highs I know. I barely rewrote a word of those scenes later, and I’m glad readers have found them as powerful as I did. Obviously, Mom needed the chance to have her say.
I know there are many more reviews to come. They won’t all be good … I’ve been to this rodeo before. But today I’m savoring the moment.
I spend most of my waking hours writing fantasy, but my stories don’t conform well to the rules, or at least to the current fashions in my genre and I know it. Yet I persist in writing what I like to read. So, while I enjoy hiding in the shadows listening to what others have to say, I seldom feel that I have much to add to the conversation.
This year, with no forethought, I surprised myself by entering my novel 
The review was fair, containing criticism mixed with praise. I thought the reviewer was absolutely on the mark as to the books strengths and weaknesses. To my ear it was on the whole more good than bad, though it leaves me thinking I’m unlikely to advance even to the semi-finalist stage. (To be honest I never thought there was much chance of that anyway.)
Then late at night 3 days ago, I skimmed a post from a blog and I saw it. The contest, the SPFBO, was opening the next day! More amazing, it was free and would accept the first 300 people who signed up. This was unbelievable. It didn’t surprise me to discover that last year it filled in under 24 hours.
However, there was one small problem. That same day, the next day, Friday the 14th, was the release day for my latest book 
No!
I’m quite proud of Sulphur’s story and it fills me with joy that her tale now sees the light of day. Yes you can find her 
Because these seven are sisters, though, they obviously make plenty of appearances in each others book. But, how one sees their own actions is quite different from how they perceive what their sister does, right? Along with much else, I was excited to explore this point of view difference.
Like it’s predecessor (cover 4) this was done by the fine folks at 
Back came this version, which corrected most of my concerns, except for the oddly long and skinny arms. We had one more round to improve the arms, and then I decided I wanted the castle on her other side. I was all excited about how our brains are accustomed to going from left to right and felt that the castle on the left would better convey that she was leaving to go somewhere else. (See my post 
Seven Troublesome Sisters 