Partnership

In our dog-eat-dog world, it's good to know that someone has your back.

That's why I recently joined an authors' group that so far has been the best place I've found for authors collaborating, cross-promoting, and generally helping each other. It's a great place for authors and readers alike to get their finger on the pulse of the fantasy industry right now.

Take a look at the Infinite Worlds of Fantasy website and you will have access to hundreds of authors in the genre, of all points in the spectrum. Not to mention all the publishers, editors, and reviewers, too. It's worth a look.

Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors

The Power of a Dream

I've always been fascinated by the phenomenon of dreams. They can be so many things -- tiring (as in work-related dreams), frightening, embarrassing, inspiring, or prophetic. I'm reminded that God often works through dreams to communicate to His people in the bible.

Dreams are a gold mine for a writer. I've taken some very interesting ideas from a couple of dreams. They'll both become fantasy novels, hopefully in the near future. Who knows if I would have thought of those ideas on my own. I put great stock in divine inspiration, and value the freedom of imagination found in dreams.

What if?

This is one of my favourite games to play with my husband when we're on a long trip and need something to talk about. It's kind of morbid, but I ask him: What if civilization as we knew it collapsed? What if there was some kind of disaster that wiped out technology and we had to start over?

It's not such a strange idea. After all, isn't that what happened after the collapse of the Roman Empire? It was called the Dark Ages, when all the advancements Western civilization had made up until that point were lost. Can you imagine what that must have been like for the Roman Empire? Can you imagine what it might be like for us -- no more oil and gas, electricity, cars, appliances?

Actually, this interesting game has evolved into a book project for me -- a post-apocalyptic young adult fantasy involving a set of twins and some dragons. I've been having to address a lot of the limitations a collapsed civilization would have to deal with. My husband has been helping me with scenarios, extending our disaster game into long book-writing discussions. It should shape up to be interesting!