Writing through Adversity

Life is full of challenges, detours, back tracks and blind alleys. We've all been there. When one is a writer, these can be huge stumbling blocks but they can also inspire us. This year has been a rougher-than-some one for me with a lot of uncertainty and both expected and unexpected change. There were quite a few times when losing myself in a story was a great escape from a reality that was less than pleasant. Other times I would hit a total brick wall and the characters would not talk to me or give me a tiny peek into the tale they were playing a role in.

Somehow I did manage to write--quite a bit--but the months from August through October were pretty much a wasteland. Luckily I had some things in the queue for release so my readers did not get a big chance to miss me :-) which is probably a good thing!

Finally plans and serendipity worked together and things fell into place. I moved and have gotten fairly well settled in a new home. My brother and roommate has retired and we're looking ahead to a chance to revamp the new home we bought and make it fit our needs and dreams. And I'm back at the keyboard working on new tales to come out in 2012.

Do you think the world will end in December next year? I have my doubts but I guess we will just have to wait and see. Doomsday scenarios are a recurring theme in many venues. Hmmm, might even be a story there!

Just a quick refresher if you missed any of them, here is what I had come out this year:

Canine TLC--another one of my dog-plays matchmaker tales, released in January which made a total of four more tales to be printed as Canine Cupids VOl II

The Wild Bunch: Spark--installment two of my Wild Bunch cowboys series, released in March

Guilty by Innocence, one of the five tales in the Crime and Punishment PAX, released in April

Homeless in Heaven, one of the stories in the Rich Man, Poor Man PAX, released in May.

The Wild Bunch: Casa, third and final installment of The Wild Bunch and then the print collection of the three tales, released in September

Runes of Redemption, another Thin Green Line tale which continued the adventures of Clay Chiles and his elf mate and partner, Arondel, a sequel to Runes of Revelation. This second one came out in October.

And finally, Tom Fleet's Incredible Machine, part of the Look to the Future PAX, and loosely tied to my previous Fire on Ice and Treading Dangerous Ground stories, came out in November. Just a little bit of Steam Punk crossed with Star Trek!!

These can all be found on my page in the Amber Allure site, which is www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/bio_ODare.html.

That's the list; go over to the page and check out the fab covers at least. I'm hard put to select a favorite--all three of those Wild Bunch cowboys are just delicious to look at!! But I guess Guilty by Innocence is the most evocative to me. But then everything that Trace Zabar does for my work is fantastic. When some of my writer friends who publish elsewhere whine about their covers, I just smile and say, "Well, I sure can't complain." No adversity there for sure!

Anyway looking ahead to 2012, there's a new dog story coming in the Heavy Petting PAX, release info coming soon. It features two fire fighters, a Dalmatian puppy and my first gay romance with a kid in the story. titled Smoke and ...Spots? In writing it, I drew on my experiences some years back when my late husband and I were involved in a rural volunteer fire department in Colorado. In some of the remote places a lot of the modern things have still not made it to the budget so these folks work without every advantage. My hat is really off to them!

After that there could be a switched up pirate story for the Heat side and also a switched up Knight to the Rescue tale where the knight is a woman and her prince is a dragon shifter! I'm working on a novelette or longer piece that's the prequel to my horse shifter stories about the prehistoric young woman who is the first to gain the gift from Epona, the horse goddess. And another Thin Green Line tale with the working title Druid in Drag.

So hopefully not too much adversity this year and the words will flow freely as some fascinating characters tell me their stories in the fine Sheherazade style of a new bit each day so I have to keep going!!

Meanwhile tell me about one of your adversities for a chance to win your choice of the 2011 Deirdre O'Dare releases! Either commnet here or email me at azwriter427 at yahoo.