author of celtic, medieval, gothic and fairytale inspired fiction
I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift card when my Facebook group hits 200 Members!
All you have to do is join!
If you’ve liked any of what I’ve shared on my blog or are curious as to my next few releases please come along. I’d absolutely love to have you!
Author, Stacey Jaine McIntosh’s Fae Hollow
I love weaving Celtic mythology into my stories and writing about faeries and other paranormal beings. There’s so much fun to be had with creatures that can’t lie.
Submissions, Rejections… and Acceptances
It’s bravery, hope, sadness and glee… all wrapped up in a neat little package.
And do you know what I did despite receiving a rejection letter this week? I pushed on. In the wake of that rejection, I went onto receive three more acceptances, which pushes my total for the year up to 18! Not bad considering.
And that rejected story? Well… it’ll be fleshed out to a more respectable (novel) size and published.
So, all is not lost.
I thought I’d put it out there that Iron Faerie Publishing has a few Submission Calls currently open. The latest of which is…
✨Faeries Anthology✨
They are seeking stories about faeries from Irish, English, Welsh and Scottish origins be they from the Seelie or Unseelie Court or the unaligned. Dark and Light elves are also welcome, as well as the more domesticated (household) fey.
Genres wanted are urban fantasy and paranormal or dark paranormal fantasy. No horror.
Word Count: 2000 to 4000 (No stories over 4,000 or under 2,000 words will be accepted)
Submissions Close: 1st August 2019 or UNTIL FULL
Response Time : within 3 weeks after submissions close.
Compensation: A Contributors Copy (eBook)
Reprints Accepted: No
Estimated Release Date is TBA!
So, what are you waiting for? Get writing!
It’s Sunday again and with it comes the fifth installation of Story Prompt Sunday!
This week’s inspiration is aptly enough, Mother’s Day.
As a mum of four it can get pretty crazy around here, but I didn’t have to cook or do housework this year, which is always a welcome change.
I hope you enjoy it!
Today’s opening line…
My mum always says…
And please, if you’re up for it, and it inspires you, share what you’ve written in the comments below!
Okay, so I’m not that wicked, but I am weary.
As you can see, I spent April blogging up a storm, and I loved every literal second of it. (Pun intended) But, in doing so I wore myself out.
My plan before April… was that I would post daily throughout May, but obviously April happened and now we’re ten days in and I’m busy finishing short stories while editing others.
All that means is I’ll take a more leisurely pace until June.
So, on that note what I have been hard at work on is a paranormal romance short story that is just over 15k! It features faeries and woods and the turning of the seasons from autumn to winter and while it needs a little work before it can be submitted for consideration into a rather epic anthology that Juliet Marillier is featured in, I am hopeful. I’m keeping everything crossed that my story is good enough and that I manage to make all the edits in time, because it would mean the absolute world to me if it was published.
Work on Le Fay is coming along steadily but slowly.
It’s always the way when I set myself a deadline. I promise it will be available soon!
In the meantime, I’ve posted a little SNEAK PEEK into the next installment, Pendragon in my Facebook group. You can check it out HERE! It won’t be available anywhere else, so if you want to read, please consider joining the group.
Pendragon is the third and final installment of this trilogy and tells the story of Mordred, the rightful heir of Camelot in Avalon.
As with all my stories, particularly those dealing with the Arthurian Legends, there’s a twist because I like “what ifs”.
Mordred, the son of Morgan le Fay and Arthur Pendragon is fated to bring down Camelot. Morgan herself, tries to prevent him from being born but fails, obviously, and trouble ensues. You’ll have to read the excerpt to discover more.
And if you haven’t already, you’ll want to check out Morrighan! It’s only 99c on Kindle and $4.99 for Paperback!
The internet went out and I had no choice.
And of course I had no contest pre written and there’s only so much cell data available on my mobile phone.
So, I’d love to say I’ve been busy writing up a storm, but sadly no internet meant my kids didn’t quite know what to do with themselves and I had to deal with the cries of boredom.
But it wasn’t a total loss and some new words have been written. And some editing got done on two stories which means everything is moving forward.
While I was away, I did create a group where fans of my work can gather. I’m hoping to grow my readership and this seemed like a logical first step.
You can find the link here. It would mean a lot if you joined. And there’ll be a sneak peek for my upcoming novelette Pendragon coming very soon if you do decide to join, which won’t be shared anywhere else!
Anzac Day. It’s a national day of remembrance held every year on April 25th
It stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps And commemorates all the Australian and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peace keeping missions and was originally devised to honour those who had served in the Gallipoli Campaign, the first engagement of World War 1. (1914-1918)
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
As we won’t be partaking in the Dawn Service this year, I have decided to share a recipe for Anzac Biscuits. Yes, I said biscuit not cookie.
ingredients
method
For those of you reading this blog post and thinking: but I don’t have/can’t get my hands on any golden syrup there are substitutes, like honey, corn syrup and molasses.
Click here for more information about those substitutes and others that you can use in place of golden syrup.
There is a lot of conflicting advice surrounding this topic of why you should write daily or why you shouldn’t. Some, compare it to exercise by saying that you wouldn’t exercise daily so why would you want to write daily?
Well this is one mum of four who does exercise daily. Yes! And by exercise I don’t mean lifting weights or anything that strenuous… once upon a time I used to be able to do pull ups with absolute ease, but my upper body strength is not what it use to be, but I do walk up to forty-five minutes a day. I listen to music, I clear my head, and I inevitable plan out various scenes in my head.
Then I come home and I sit down and write what’s been flowing through my head for those forty-five minutes.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’ve talked about this topic before. But I think it needs to be mentioned again.
If you don’t write daily, you can’t hope to hone your skills as a writer, can you?
But what about writer’s burnout? Yes, it’s real and its completely different to writer’s block. But here’s the secret to surviving writer’s burnout.
DO NOT STOP WRITING!
I know, you think I’m crazy. I promise you I’m not.
Writing is hard. It’s often slow and painful. You think you’re never going to get to the end of the story or novel you’re writing. But I promise you, you will. If you keep at it. It’s not a race. It’s a marathon and in a marathon you have to pace yourself. If you don’t you won’t be able to keep up. And yes, sometimes I fall into a pit of anxiety worrying over deadlines and if I can actually write those 5,000 words that some anthology calls ask for. It’s scary and mind numbing. I tend to shy away from sci-fi for this very reason.
But at the end of the day, all you can do is try. Strive for those high possibly unattainable goals and maybe, just maybe you might get lucky enough to reach a few of them.
Publishing is harder. Trust me. And you do need a thick skin. I confessed to a friend in the early hours of this morning that I still feel as if my writing isn’t worth a damn. And yes, publishers keep taking a chance on me, and I do – often – pinch myself being able to consider myself a published author. Both in paying and non paying markets.
Self doubt can cripple authors. Old or new. But it’s no reason to give up.
So here’s 5 reasons why you should write daily.
Now, I don’t write a lot as I usually aim for 300 new words a day. Not much at all. Take this past week for instance… not a lot of words of fiction written but quite a lot was accomplished on my blog. And let me tell you, when I first decided to pick up my blog a year ago and get serious with active blogging, I sucked at writing lengthy blog posts. I still suck at writing lengthy blog posts sometimes. But I stick with it.
Writing fiction is no different. Now, there was a time where I didn’t write daily. And my heart and soul suffered for it. You see, writing for me is an escape. It’s cathartic and it’s taken a while, but as much as the self-doubt still grips me, I love the feeling of getting that sometimes elusive acceptance email in my inbox.
But it’s not all about the stories I’ve had published. I do more often than not write for myself. I write what I want to read or about topics that resonate. I put my characters through hell because real life isn’t always easy and fiction is no different.
So, I ended yesterday on a bit of a high, having received an acceptance for my short story, Summer Storm to be published in Fantasia Divinity‘s Summer’s Splash anthology.
The contract has been signed and returned. Now I await edits.
The story itself is just over 500 words and picks up after the events of The Dawning of Spring, so if you haven’t picked up a copy of Spring’s Blessing: A Spring Fantasy Anthology, you may want to.
A little about the story appearing in Summer’s Splash…
Mercy, the newly crowned Queen of the Seelie Court, broods over her deal made with the Goddess of Spring, Ostara as the Midsummer festivities begin.
Today is the end of the sixteenth week of the 365 Writing Challenge and I failed dismally this week in way of words added to pieces of fiction and poetry. However, I did write an impressive 2,114 words on my blog. So, that’s a win in my book.
So, what have I accomplished in the past seven days?
Let’s list it shall we and find out!
And of course, the wait for contest scores continues, as does waiting to hear back on a few – 5 – submissions I’ve sent to publishers in the last month.
Of course, that list doesn’t include my work with The Horror Tree which can often be overwhelming or my work with Iron Faerie Publishing.
Until next week (or the week after that). Happy writing.
…You stumble upon the fact that blood makes a good egg substitute and you decide to blog about it.
Not grossed out yet? Then keep reading.
So, in an effort to get in the Easter spirit a little bit more I went searching the internet for quick and easy chocolate related recipes today… because while I love my go to chocolate cake, I didn’t just want cake. Turns out, my go to chocolate cake is easy as to make and I can do it in my sleep… so all the other fabulous recipes I found today will have to wait.
However, in the course of looking through all kinds of chocolate recipes I also stumbled across why blood is a good substitute for eggs.
The answer? It’s full of protein.
Of course, if you are squeamish at the sight of blood you might be better sticking to banana or apple sauce as an egg supplement. But I found it fascinating all the same.
So, now that you’re thoroughly creeped out, I’m going to share with you one of the easiest chocolate cake recipes I’ve found to date. My kids love it!
ingredients
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 1 teaspoons of vanilla
method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Line a 24cm cake tin and set aside.
2. Place all ingredients into a bowl and using a mixer, mix ingredients together on high for 4 minutes.
3. Pour into cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the centre.
Alternatively, if you’d rather cupcakes, this recipe will easily make 12. Just bake for 15 minutes at 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
ingredients
• 100g butter, softened
• 2 cups soft icing mixture, sifted
• 1/3 cup cocoa, sifted
• 2 tbsp milk
method
1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until pale and fluffy.
2. Add the icing mixture and cocoa a little at a time until fully incorporated.
3. When this is fully combined add the milk and the chocolate buttercream will become light and fluffy.
So, what on your menu for Easter? Anything special? Share in the comments below!
In the light of the fire that destroyed part of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, I spent the day following the story and try to figure out a way to reflect on it while at the same time not rehashing everything that had been shared through all the various news services.
And as I was trawling through Pinterest an idea came to me.
What better way than to take a look at one of the iconic symbols of the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Gargoyle and share a writing prompt.
Gargoyles are a popular choice of architectural design on churches because of the long held belief that they warded away evil spirits, and to divert rainwater.
The word “Gargoyle” originates from an old French word “Gargouille” meaning “throat” but it also describes the gurgling sound of water as it comes down the down pipe.
Technically architects call a waterspout on a building a gargoyle. If a stone carving does not carry water and has a face that resembles a creature, it is technically called a grotesque. And a strange beast which combines several different animals is called a chimera.
As I looked up, I caught sight of a gargoyle.
Happy writing everyone!
Why writing isn’t a chore… and yet I have a list of things to keep me going through to the end of April. And I totally love it, despite how overwhelming it gets some days.
I spent the day organising my writing related to-do list, in between household chores and begging the Gods that it didn’t rain so the washing I had out on the line could actually have a chance to dry, whilst wishing like mad I had a dryer that worked, of course. It’s still not dry…
This is what I have so far… and I swear there’s things I’ve forgotten, so this list will likely be added to over the next few days.
Did I mention I’m trying to keep myself accountable this year? Well I am!
What’s on your to do list? Anything exciting? My mundane chore list isn’t as exciting as my writing one, but I’ll leave you with the image that is a household of 6 and no dishwasher. Yes, there’s tears and they’re usually all mine.
There are several things you need to consider when creating a character. Some are obvious while others may not be.
And, more importantly, the needs vary a little between short stories and novels. As with short stories you are merely getting a glimpse into a character whereas in a novel, characters need to be more developed and fleshed out.
Characterisation can be hard to manage and even harder to get right. Discovering who your character is can often be very frustrating.
Which is why character profiles are incredibly useful. Even the simplest character profile will help you in getting to know your character.
Because, let’s face it, when you’re dealing with a novel there’s often quite a few characters involved. At some point remembering who had what eye colour is going to get tricky.
Which is why I create character profiles. If not for all my characters, then for the main characters at the start. The minor character profiles tend to evolve on their own and I write additional profiles as needed.
Below is a black PDF version of the rather basic Character Profile I use. It’s nothing overly elaborate, but it does the job.
Feel free to save it to your computer for use later on.