Friday, October 19, 2012

After the Faery Tale... Book Two!

I don't know how many of you saw my chat session with novelist Alex Bledsoe, but we talked a great deal about inspiration. As a writer it's foremost on my mind, because without inspiration, there is no magic to infuse a project, no faery dust to make it sparkle, touch people, to bring it to life. (To read that interview, click here.)

Faery Tale was such a guided book - there's no other way to describe it. I didn't feel I was writing it so much as I was trying to follow a loose thread back to its source. I learned to pay attention to synchronicities in life, because those are our keys - what are we noticing and why? Is something striking us and why? Who are we encountering in our path, why do they intrigue us, and what wisdom might they have to offer? What are they reminding us about that might have been long forgotten?
These things matter. I learned to pay attention.
Obeying the Muse
Usually these are the things that touch that magic of "source:" that thing which needs to be reclaimed. The purpose, or inspiration of the work.

It's because Faery Tale was a guided work that it finds people. Sometimes it feels like the book almost seeks out the people who need to connect to it. As though it has a life of its own. None of this was my doing, I'm merely the scribe. But I've had the enchanting pleasure of hearing from the people this magic has reached and it's probably been one of the biggest gifts any scribe like me could hope to receive.

This is why when readers asked me what I was doing next, I felt a certain amount of terror. Would inspiration find me once more? I turned again to the things I'd learned about life through the journey I took in Faery Tale.
And that's when I realized the story had already found me.

I'd come across some new scholarship on an ancient legend that had gripped me beyond belief. It was a story so epic, so beautiful, so powerful, and so deeply moving that I became nothing short of obsessed. I began reading every non-fiction book on the subject that I could get my hands on. Through research of my own (which is on-going) it became clear to me, as I wrote in Faery Tale that, "...within every legend lies a kernel of truth." I felt a deep and incredibly emotional connection to a family I was reading about that I couldn't explain but also couldn't question. They had lived out the saga in real days on this planet long ago, and yet it was this very family -- whose lives were at the epicenter of this huge moment in history--who had been methodically, intentionally (and frustratingly) effectively extinguished from the historical record.

It was then I knew that I wanted to tell their story.
That I was meant to tell their story.
And this is how I found myself writing a historical novel.

I can't say more about the subject now than I've said above, for which I hope you'll forgive me, but so many of you have been kind enough to wonder what I might be working on, I wanted to share something of its nature with you. If I can pull off this "fiction writing" thing, I know you'll love it.
Because I'm not so much writing fiction as I am trying to remember a true story that happened long, long ago.

Right now I'm working on completing a first draft, which I'll be sharing with my agent in early fall. Depending on her feedback, I'm hoping to shop it with publishers shortly thereafter. If I can sell it, that's when a publication date would be assigned.

I want to thank you so much for your interest and most of all, your support. In the meantime, Faery Tale continues to stretch its wings. I find myself quite occupied with corresponding with the wonderful people it's reaching, the freelance work I'm doing, and my new commitment to blog every week! Stay tuned for an autumn filled with recipes, soap making adventures, tales from my trip to Sweden, renovations to the backyard shed (which we're transforming into a writing space for yours truly) and more.

As soon as I finish the novel I'll be working on a very neat side-project related to the book that I think many of you will be pretty excited about too.

In the meantime, thanks so much for sharing in my excitement. I'm sending love and thanks to you all and hoping you have a glorious Friday filled with enchantments all your own.

- Signe xx




3 comments:

  1. Can't wait Signe. Good luck with the writing. May the Muse be with you.

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  2. I am going to have to catch up and peruse your blog page by page as you have a wealth of information here.
    Nice to meet a kindred spirit.

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  3. We all are awaiting the magic from your inspiration!

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