fiction Archives - Author K. Williams

My Favorite Bookstore – Open Book Blog Hop #404

November 27, 2023 By Captain Maiel Leave a Comment

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #404

Do you have a favorite bookstore?

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writings with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

Bookstores were a big deal in my youth. Before I even started school, there was a store we would see on our excursions to the mall. This additionally framed my attitude toward books, much like my mother reading Tolkien while I formed in utero. Once school started, the elementary school library I had along with the fantastic Scholastic Book Fairs, sealed the deal. Books were everything!

Getting to the bookstore was few and far between, in the way of activities. Where I live, the stores weren’t just up the street. You had to pack in the car and drive a half hour or so into the bigger towns. Having won a spelling bee in third grade resulted in winning a gift certificate to my then favorite store: Friar Tuck’s. I can still see the store in my mind, and my anxiety over what I would spend my winnings on.

The store went with an Elizabethan tone to the overall decor (wattle and daub to be more technical). The walls went about three-quarters of the way up with shelves. Then, the usual stacks and tables rested around the floor space. The register rested about halfway up the inner right hand (from the entrance) wall. Yes, I remember it that well.

Until my early teens, this was the store. At that time, the old mall faded off, it’s place taken by a shiny new one installed in the next lot. My store initially moved, taking a spot by the food court, and a more modern (1990s) image, with white and natural oak/pine. It never recaptured its magic here. Eventually, this store succumbed to the larger chains–namely Borders.

I was not pleased at all. If you read about Friar Tuck’s Book Shops, you’ll see that it used to span four states. Borders became the enemy fairly quickly in my mind. However, it was the only store in town for a long while. Barnes and Noble was not yet a thing, and the only one of those stores was located an hour away. While I was miserable about it, they did eventually redeem themselves.

Borders ended up the first place I had a signing. That signing was in the large, two floor, corner store in the city of Saratoga Springs. I sold every copy. They had me back. They placed additional orders. I was thrilled. Meantime, B&N was putting me down and refusing to give me space. I have marked them off my possible venues since. I only begrudgingly sell my work through their site. Almost always, I will recommend Amazon.

Borders soon when the way of Friar Tucks, and I was left with only B&N as a possibility. Their store moved into a new shop in my town. While I have been inside them, made purchases there, it is not my preference. I still despise their treatment of authors, and I don’t feel welcome at them. It’s an overly pretentious store, trying hard to be the it-girl. There is no real charm, just plastic façade (or composite and veneer stacks with a Starbucks).

Do not mourn, however. There is a better option available to people in my area. They had me in for a book signing and reading with a few other authors. It was a great experience. Their store reminds me of the old Friar Tuck mood. There’s a lot of charm! Coming from humble small town beginnings, Northshire Books really brings everything you’re looking for in a bookstore.

I’d visit this weekend, as I am in town, but with the shopping fiasco upon us, I think I’ll just enjoy the photos online. Let’s look at what the favorite bookstore is of our other authors. Click on their links below to read more. Don’t forget to drop your email in the box at the top right to get this hop delivered straight to your inbox every Friday.

Kate’s Edna – Open Book Blog Hop #403

November 20, 2023 By Captain Maiel 3 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #403

Is there a literary character you identify with?
^{(not one of your own)}

There was a time when I identified intensely with the character of Edna in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Wading through the thickness of stuff filled each day. No end presented in years. I had spent many days just playing online games and existing in a repetitive numbness. Something had to change, or I feared that the thickness of stuff would drown me.

At that time, I knew that I must make a choice to do something better with my time. Spinning my wheels in the muck failed to effectively gain me any ground. So what could I possibly do to get over that hump? Lucky for me, I worked at a university and the teaching staff really wanted me to enroll for a higher degree than I already had. They urged me on many times until I realized I needed to seek my higher learning.

Realizing what was happening and where I was or was not headed unfolded years later, but in that time, I chose to go back to school instead of drowning in depression. The focus and busy-ness of the course work helped me refocus my brain, instead of wallowing in what bothered me. The hard work that ensued was a great joy to undertake. It wasn’t easy, but it was worthwhile and it had a definitive result that could not be denied. Here, I found, working hard would actually result in benefits to myself.

In truth, no matter how hard you work, the outcome sought from the work comes without guarantee. However, obtaining specific goals like a degree will guarantee you the outcome sought. I soared high during the years of graduate study. Feeling like I managed to break free of the muck that bogged me down months prior reinvigorated my whole being. In fact, that reinvigoration lead to the writing of my dark fantasy series. Getting to focus on my art and its furtherance is all I ever ask, and it definitely keeps my mood high.

If you are familiar with Chopin’s book, you understand that Edna is trapped by a life of expectation in lieu of her actual desires. Because of this, Edna is sinking further and further into the abyss of depression. I, too, felt a lot of expectations–marriage, a family, the usual life. None of this was necessarily what I wanted, in that order or otherwise. I knew that I wanted children. Until more recent times, rearing children necessitated a partner. While I still was not sure who that would be, it was narrowing me to a slimmer set of choices. It felt sad and narrow. Not to mention, I could never see me with a husband, and all the men I met made me deeply unhappy at my core.

woman stares into a broken piece of mirror as she stands near train tracks covered in broken things.

Edna’s story resonated deeply with me in so many ways. However, the ending implies something I would not choose. At least, walking off into the ocean to never be heard from again was not my idea of a good time. Sure, I’d love to be able to sit on the bottom of the ocean and just meditate until all the sadness washed off, but I’m not a water breather–scuba tanks only last so long.

There are great people in my life that I was lucky enough to lean on, and seek assistance from. Unfortunately, none of them can help me get my books in front of the right people or improve my sales. Their love and caring despite this helped me survive despair, unlike Edna. I feel that Chopin’s character was quite alone in their plight. Regardless, there wasn’t much anyone in Edna’s life could do for her. She had gone far into the muck, and was not reachable any longer. Before she even set foot on vacation, her mind was made up.

While I can still understand what Edna felt in her story, I have successfully moved past the angst I experienced at the time of reading The Awakening. Depression never fully leaves, but sufferers can and do learn to manage symptoms. Keeping busy and moving forward are key to my battle. Achieving goals, even small ones, are the best medicine I can take.

When you feel like you go no where, it can feel like being inside of a prison. That prison affords no choices. The days become so similar that you struggle to mark their differences. The muck begins to build around you, and your wheels will stick or spin no matter how hard you mash the gas to get up out of there. Choices narrow and your focus becomes obsessed with the negative. You feel as though you’re drowning in a bog of boredom at best.

Let me tell you, however, that you get deeply tired of feeling this way. At least, I did. One day, I said, I do not wish to feel like this anymore, and I will not. That choice was still mine to make, and so I did. Edna was a person beyond this choice. Not everyone has that luxury when they suffer depression or similar illnesses. My fortitude, and a number of other personal qualities, served to keep my head above water. Redirecting my brain proved hard work, and it still requires active choices.

Chopin’s work awakened me to the fact that I had options outside the favored model. It would still be a few years before I bucked the system entirely and finally built exactly what I needed. Now, if I go in the ocean, it’s just going to be for a little swim. Although, sitting on the bottom for a bit with a good sized tank of air would be amazing!

Click on the links below to find out which literary character the other authors relate to! Don’t forget to drop your email in the box on the top right to have this hop delivered straight to your inbox each Friday. See you here again soon.

The Origin – Open Book Blog Hop #402

November 13, 2023 By Captain Maiel 3 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #402

Do you have an ‘origin’ story for any of your stories?
Where do your ideas come from?

You bet I do!

I have an entire series of videos on TikTok (if you look at my bookmarked videos, collections, and find the public list Trailokya, that’s where you’ll find them all), also on YouTube, and a load of posts about my book series’ origin here. Talking about this aspect of the books is one of my favorite things about them. I wish I could share directly the things I have seen that inspired these stories. It is nothing short of amazing and impressive. Hey, I mean, that is why I bothered to learn how to write well and make books of it all.

Let’s take a look at the first article I wrote on the origin topic:

The Trailokya Trilogy came to me in a dream. Actually, it’s come to me in a series of dreams over about 30-33 years or more. From recurring themes to continuing sagas, sleeping is quite the adventure. I guess I was always blessed with this imagination or a conduit into something like the greatest first person role play ever. (Yes, I used to game—until everything pretty much went online and this introvert backed out. Glad I did for not having to deal with trolls, but sad because there are awesome games out there I would really enjoy.)
Trailokya Trilogy Inspired by Life, Mythology and Dreams.

The Trailokya Trilogy contains a lot of interesting nuggets for a reader to uncover, like a treasure or Easter egg hunt. Names, details (like celestial objects, animals, weapons), and even the covers of each installment contain symbolic or deeper meaning. For instance, the Three Doors you’ll see gracing the front of each book have special meaning to me as the author, but also to the characters in the stories, and eventually the readers who consume them.

I previously stated a good portion of the narrative originates from my dreams (sometimes nightmares). Looking back on them, I found the ongoing fantasies created a story. When I was a child, these doors came about when escaping bad dreams. They were a way out, away from the monsters. I’d say, they started the journey. Of course they took just as much of an ethereal prominence in the series.

There’s a lot to cover with and beyond origin, so I encourage readers to get into the series and then seek further reading here on the blog to help them uncover all that there is to find in the books. It will not disappoint, because it has never disappointed me. I can’t be the only person who would find such things interesting, can I? Of course not. These are human experiences, steeped in cultures and histories, not a lone anomaly. It is a vast journey that can be revisited to discover new details. It runs deep!

Check out the origins of the other authors’ books by clicking on their links below. Don’t forget to drop your email in the box at the top right to get this hop delivered to your inbox weekly on Friday! See you next time.

Let’s Start Right – Open Book Blog Hop #401

November 6, 2023 By Captain Maiel 3 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #401

What is the best opening paragraph you’ve written? (inspired by a
comment by Richard) Do you have a favorite one that is different?

“The veil, hiding what is beyond perceived reality, is the border of space and time,
called the khajala. It is this veil which keeps life blind to the reality of its universe,
until such a time the knowing takes hold…”
The Trailokya Trilogy, Book One: The Shadow Soul

The start of a book is some of the most difficult writing you’ll undertake. It’s not the hardest, in my estimation, but it is highly important and stressful. However you craft your opener will determine whether a reader will continue reading your work or set it back on the shelf. This small part is referred to as a hook for good reason.

The hook (or lack thereof) could easily make or break a sale as easily as a book blurb. Some readers may give you more time, but that is not the norm. With shortening attention spans, and high expectations for the entertainment they choose, the public will want a great opening paragraph (or line). Hooking them is a big undertaking in small space and all authors have to be able to do it.

Learning the important skill of the start is also an important part of screenwriting. It comes in a couple of forms: economical descriptions and the dreaded log line. Let’s start with the latter. Just like your book blurb, the log line provides the hook for would-be managers and producers (your script readers). Additionally, keep your descriptions concise and short is a great way to win them over.

Economical writing has become the vogue for novels and scripts. You want to cleverly write your story in the most concise and short way possible. Time is your currency in either kind of writing. The less you bog down the reader, the better. However, don’t think that means you should leave out just about everything. The idea is to make sure that what you do include is necessary and precise.

The start of a book is promise of the book blurb or a screenplays logline. It has to payout. If it doesn’t compel them to the next bit, it’s a wooden nickel! That line does a lot of heavy lifting for the entire book.

If you read the line I chose from The Shadow Soul, you’ll see that it supplies a litany of clues for the reader. You know right away that this is a fantasy, possibly science fiction in scope, and likely a bit dark. A reader can surmise that a whole lot of change is going to happen for the characters in these pages, and that the plot will more than likely take them to some pretty epic places. It insinuates the gravity of the pending adventure. There is a taste of a multiverse and the boundaries that keep those worlds apart, likely showing us that the characters are going to need to move past those boundaries.

Hopefully, this line does its job and is as compelling as I felt. What follows is a somewhat thick explanation of how that world was established and interacts with itself. Thick but not long. I recommend not getting bogged down in the formula, as it will unfold in the course of the adventure. Yet, I still felt it necessary to provide a primer. The reader can always return to those pages for review. If left out, then are reader would not have that option.

In many cases, that opener comes well-after the story is manifested on the page. Writing that opening paragraph or line is far easier to accomplish when you know where you’re headed. That harkens back to the way in which loglines and book blurbs come into existence. Think of them as teammates, and you can use them to help you build each of the other pieces. There’s more on log lines and blurb writing here.

Let’s hop on over to the other authors’ responses on this hop. Don’t forget to drop your email in the box on the top right so you can receive this blog hop in your inbox each Friday.

Travelling and Writing – Open Book Blog Hop #400

October 30, 2023 By Captain Maiel 4 Comments

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #400

Do you write while you are travelling? How do you make it work?

Trips cost a lot of money and missing out on the experience regardless of that fact still feels like a betrayal! Usually, when I go on vacation, I’m going somewhere I want to be busy doing activities that take me out of the hotel room, or out of the house. In the end, that really is the whole point: to set your work down and rest.

I’d write while travelling to the destination, but it’s difficult to do so. If you’re driving, you can’t (even if you’re riding it can be bumpy). Space to work is limited on planes and in automobiles. When I wrote in a notebook, I found it hard to deal with the space and motion. I can’t even read while riding. On a plane, you’re limited in the use of devices. I can’t just whip out the laptop. The attendants don’t like you to use your devices, as they can’t tell if you’re online or not, and they’re prohibited in various portions of the flight besides. Again, a notebook may be alright but planes also have a motion to them and the spacing in the seats…

When I get to my destination, the last thing I am thinking about is work! However, if I am travelling for work, I like a diversion for the evenings. Often, hotel televisions pose difficulties. Finding a show to watch either costs extra or poses a scavenger hunt, making it more of a point to leave it off the whole time instead. Bringing your own device is useful for navigating those difficulties, and since my I write on a laptop, I can often use mine to work on a book.

That said, even when travelling for work, it is difficult to find a substantial span of time to get in the mood and the groove of writing. Think about those conferences. They keep you hopping from one event to the next right up until later evening. By then, you just want a shower and bed! While I find it hard to sleep in hotels, writing wouldn’t help me unwind. I am quite obsessive once I start, and then hours and hours pass without needed rest.

By now, you can probably tell that I don’t travel to write, either. I’d travel to research something for a book, but travelling to do writing would be a foolish thing for me to attempt. No writing would happen but I sure would see some sights! And, yes. It always amused me when movies or television depicted writers resolving their writer’s block with a trip to write far away from their life. Inevitably, you see, they can’t do the deed either!

When I travel, my favorite artistic endeavors are to make notes for future works or do photography. Painting trips are something I would not mind undertaking, either. Not sure how I would get anything home again, such as supplies and canvasses. If I could drive to the spot, then that would be no matter. However, flying to France or Italy, or elsewhere beyond my borders, creates a little logistical issue. Still, travelling to paint makes so much more sense to me.

I suppose one could travel to an interesting place and spend many weeks both exploring and writing. Who has the cash laying about to do that?

Click on the links below to see how the other authors in our hop manage writing on trips. Remember to subscribe to the blog to receive this hop in your inbox weekly on Fridays! See you here next time!