Creating Dylori – the Ultimate Hero Type

Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties has been out for nearly three weeks! (Yayyyy!) I’ve been getting some lovely reviews and doing all kinds of interviews, which has been really fun. I just got some paperback copies in the mail YESTERDAY, so I’d like to host a book celebration of sorts when my parents get back from their vacation.

I’ve noticed a trend in a lot of the reviews, though, that I’d like to chat about today. My readers really like Dylori, one of the women who joins Misti on her quest to get the pendant off her neck.

No, scratch that, my readers freaking LOVE Dylori.

And I get it! She’s a badass. She’s smart, confident, strong; her crafting is amaaaaaaazing and her companion animal is probably over-powered. She’s a great fighter and a rank above Misti in the Moon Knights. On top of all that, Dylori also has a fun history and an interesting arc in the story. She has many layers to her, and she was hella fun to write.

Compared to Misti, Dylori is what I would call the Ultimate Hero Type. In fact, Dylori even saves Misti throughout their adventures more than once. In Misti’s eyes she IS a hero, her hero.

And that’s what it boils down to—Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties is told through Misti’s eyes, her point of view. I wrote Dylori to be a badass and to be the hero type because quite frankly, Misti sees her that way. She sees Dylori as the shining example of how a Moon Knight is supposed to behave and Misti’s striving to reach those same heights. Misti is trying to be the Ultimate Hero Type, too, but for better or for worse, she doesn’t reach those heights by using Dylori’s methods. (Spoiler: It’s for the better. Kind-of.)

But there are some negative aspects of Dylori that Misti conveniently…glosses over. Dylori is reckless. Headstrong. She rushes into battle without thinking, and Misti is never surprised by it. Those traits aren’t necessarily the best for the Ultimate Hero Type, but because we’re in Misti’s mind and she thinks Dylori is a hero, we see those traits through rose-colored glasses. We see Dylori using those unlikeable behaviors admirably.

And thus far, my readers have enjoyed it! So yeah, I completely understand why folks are falling in love with Dylori.

I just hope my attempt to make Dylori awesome doesn’t overshadow how amazing Misti is.

If you want to explore more of Misti and Dylori’s dynamic, you should check out Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties for yourself! Get your copy on Desert Palm Press’s website, Amazon (ebook and paperback), and Smashwords, B&N, Bella Books, and soon in select bookstores in Alaska!

Thoughts? What would you do if readers really loved a character other than your main character?

Happy Wednesday!
Warm regards,
Kellie

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Cover Reveal of SUNKISSED FEATHERS & SEVERED TIES

Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties has an official cover!!

BUT FIRST, AN ANNOUNCEMENT

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The launch date for Sunkissed Feathers has been pushed back again,
this time to the end of January.

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Why? Because life happens. It’s as simple as that, really, life happens and sometimes personal stuff has to take priority over book publishing. We just weren’t ready for today’s launch date and I’d rather have quality work over feeling rushed. The extension allows DPP and me the time to put together an amazing book for all of you!

However, in addition to having more breathing room to get this amazing book out there, January also just happens to be my birthday month (so having my debut fantasy novel published that month is pretty awesome), I have some surprises in store between now and then, and I have a gorgeous cover to show off today instead!

THE COVER REVEAL
Here it is, fellow adventurers, the official cover of Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties. What do you think?

About the Designer: Rachel George—Rachel George Illustration—is an inspired cover designer. Seriously, her work is gorgeous and I am so, so happy to have her for Sunkissed Feathers. She also designed Finding Hekate and Losing Hold, and many other Desert Palm Press covers.

About the Process: This cover design process has been a long one, started way back in June when I originally brainstormed what I wanted the book to look like. There were quite a few conversations as Rachel drafted up mockups from the ideas. (Some random ideas I had included a feather/pendant/dagger combo and Zora as a silhouette with things “inside” her.) Rachel did a great job distilling what would make a great cover over the months that followed and eventually we landed on this one! Pretty cool, yeah?

THE SNEAK PEEK OF CHAPTER ONE
Okay, so because the book launch got pushed back and the holidays are literally around the corner I decided to move this, too. I’ll be posting the sneak peek of Chapter One on January 1st on my website so be sure to check it out on New Year’s Day!

Keep an eye on my Twitter or Facebook page for updates as the launch gets closer!

Hope you have an amazing Saturday!
Warm regards,
Kellie

Publishing Timelines: Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties Update!

Publishing, like any creative field, is fluid. Things change all the time. Covers are tweaked, and novels are often ripped to shreds to build better versions. Change is expected.

Timelines change, too.

When I originally signed on with my publisher Desert Palm Press back in May we were shooting for a November pub date, which at the time seemed doable. (If you’re thinking even that’s fast…yeah, it is! DPP has a pretty quick turnaround time for publishing books.)

After I signed, we immediately launched into the editing phase of Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties and…it took longer than it was scheduled to take. Why? Well, I went on vacation mid-Round One so I took two extra weeks to get my book back to my editor, and then in Round Two my editor took an extra two weeks on their end for personal reasons. My book is now in the copyediting and formatting stage, so it’s a waiting game until I get to review it again. However, the dual delays in Round One and Round Two caused my book to be a month off schedule.

While working on the cover design phase, brainstorming ideas and such, my designer also had personal issue that cropped up AND we actually had a lot of ideas to pick from. So it turns out this design phase is taking a little bit longer, too. We’ve finally narrowed it down to two gorgeous covers but haven’t yet decided on a final. (Because it’s HARD, and I love them both.)

Anyway, we were getting a bit close to the original publication date so I spoke to my publisher last week about it. Because of these delays, the publication date has been pushed back a month…which brings me to the real reason for this Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties update blogpost:

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Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties
is now going to be published mid-December!

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Like I said in the beginning, publishing is a fluid process and timelines change, too. I hope you don’t mind the modification, and if you want to read a snippet of Sunkissed Feathers ahead of time, I’m going to post a sneak peek on my website in November!

Now time for me to update my social media profiles.

Happy Saturday!
Warm regards,
Kellie

P.S. – If you’d like more updates about my writings, check out my Twitter and Facebook pages!

 

 

Mega Lesfic Sale ~ Sept. 10-14

Hello fellow science fiction f/f lovers!

Have you ever wanted to read Finding Hekate or Losing Hold? Well, now you can, without breaking the bank! I’m participating in a Mega Lesfic Sale over at I Heart Lesfic THIS WEEK ONLY. The sale runs from September 10th through September 14th, and the I Heart Lesfic has some amazing deals on over 100 books from over 60 authors, including me!

My Cicatrix Duology is up for grabs. Here’s a bit about each:

FINDING HEKATE:
Mia Foley is running away from the attack that changed her life. She’s captain of a new spaceship when the Acedians find her and try blasting her peaceful crew from the black. She must sever her bonds in order to run, again. But she’s grown fond of this crew, particularly Cassidy Gates. Staying with them will jeopardize their safety, and they have much closer fears than the Acedian hunters. Mia’s time is running out. She’s becoming one of them.

LOSING HOLD:
In the sequel to Finding Hekate, after escaping Donavin’s grasp, Mia Foley and her crew crash on a prison planet and need to deal with its inhabitants, beast and criminals alike. Mia hears Donavin in her mind once again and knows the transformation into one of his drones isn’t far off. Trapped in her own body, lashing against Donavin each chance she gets, and fearful that she’ll lose it all, Mia has to rely on her crew—on Cassidy—to save her. But she’s not the only one transforming in her little group, and things never go as smoothly as they could out in the black.

So head on over to I Heart Lesfic today and get the Cicatrix Duology, yeah? Blast off into the stars with my crew, and maybe snatch up some other books, too!

Happy Monday!
Warm regards,
Kellie

Inspiration: Where Do Stories Come From?

Stories. Where do they come from? What is that one spark that makes you traverse the long, windy road that is a completed story, whether it’s a poem, flash fiction, short fiction, or series of novels? That idea has to come from somewhere, right? It’s a question that authors get all the time during interviews and to be completely honest, that one “aha” moment can come from anything, anywhere, anytime.

Sometimes it’s a location that jogs the creativity. Or that couple walking down the street hand-in-hand. Sometimes it’s as simple as a sense-memory from your childhood or a dream or another book. Sometimes you have a really great one-liner that you just can’t stop thinking about. Sometimes—like in the case for Suzanne Collins—it came come from simply flipping through TV channels. Sometimes—like in the case for J.K. Rowling—a fully fleshed character walks into your mind like they’ve been there for years.

So, really, that spark of inspiration can come from anything, anywhere, anytime, and that’s the excitement of being a writer. You never know when an idea will smack you across the face and demand you pay attention. It can be the littlest of things that makes your creativity churn.

Case in point, here’s where the spark for the entire Cicatrix Duology came from. I had a short story due for my undergraduate writing club and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what to write about. Completely stumped. Then, these three simple lines popped into my head:

“We have come to collect you, Mia.” Her left hand twitched. “We have come.”

That’s it. Not the scifi aspect. Not the plotline. Not even Mia herself. Just those three little lines. But those were enough to spiral my creativity into overdrive and start asking questions. Who wanted her? What’s with her left hand? How long had she been running? Why was she running? After that, the scifi aspect clicked into place, then the scar, then the character, then…well…everything else.

So here’s a little tip: Pay Attention. Write those things down. Even if you can’t get to the idea right now, put it in a ToWrite folder and save it for later. You never know when you’ll want to come back to it.

If you’d like to read the Cicatrix Duology, you can get Finding Hekate here and the (newly published!!) Losing Hold here.

Until next time!
Warm regards,
Kellie

Join Me For #SciFiCircle!

Hello fellow nerds,

I’ve been wanting to do a Twitter hashtag game for a while now, ever since I found out that it was a thing last year. It’s such a cool idea, bringing fellow creatives together to celebrate something (writing, fandoms, events, etc.) so I decided to start one too!

In honor of my book Losing Hold coming out in April, I’m hosting a #SciFiCircle hashtag game on Twitter, starting tomorrow and going through the entire month!

There will be one question per day, posted from my Twitter account @Kellie_Doherty between 9–10am PST. Folks who want to join in can answer the questions (using the hashtag) and hopefully connect with other science fiction lovers. I’ll be answering the questions, too!

Here’s a little preview of the questions:
What’s your favorite classic science fiction book?
What’s your favorite recent scifi book?
Who’s your favorite scifi character?
Who’s your favorite scifi villain?

I’m excited to start this game and I look forward to connecting with other scifi lovers!

If you’re on Twitter and you enjoy science fiction, you should join in!
Warm regards,
Kellie

#IndieAuthorDay

Today is #IndieAuthorDay. It’s a day where publishing professionals (writers, agents, librarians, etc.) gather together and celebrate independent authors. It’s a day where folks talk about the hardships and successes of being an independent author. It’s a day that shines a light on them and their community, while also celebrating local libraries in North America.

And it’s a day that I didn’t hear about until today.

Granted it’s brand new (today was the inaugural launch) and I’ve admittedly been entrenched in following the political pulse of the nation this past week instead of the writing pulse (which is a fault of my own).

But I’m a bit sad that I didn’t hear about it until today.

I would’ve wanted to join in on this celebration and conversation. And I did, a little bit. While I missed the local event here at the Portland library, I was able to catch the presentations on YouTube and retweet some key messages from others. And there’s always next year! (On that note: Mark Oct. 8th on your writing calendar, guys, because its something we should all celebrate!)

It seems like a great idea, though, and with all the other stuff happening in the world right now (and not just political stuff, but also Hurricane Matthew and various amazing cons that I’m currently not at), I’m happy to have heard about it at all. It appears like the inaugural event was a success, too, which is awesome, and I’m quite glad it was trending on Twitter so I can take part in it, in my own small way. (Social media connectivity, FTW!)

Good luck, indie authors, and keep on writing!
Warm regards,
Kellie

Blogpost Giveaway – Winner Announcement!

Hello everyone,

My Finding Hekate Blogpost Giveaway officially ended today, and the winner is: Crazy Grad Mama.

Congratulations, Crazy Grad Mama!!

The winner was chosen randomly, but I got some amazing responses to my question of What makes you fall in love with a book? Here’s what Crazy Grad Mama said:

“Hmm, good question. It depends on the type of book (fiction vs. non-fiction, etc.), but I’d say the one constant that really appeals to me in a book is good pacing. Not too slow or with too many extraneous details. It doesn’t have to be full of cliffhangers or anything, but I love it when I’m always excited to turn the page.”

I wanted to thank everyone who participated, too! I loved reading through all the comments. If you would like the chance to win some free signed copies of Finding Hekate, there are still two more giveaways going on over on my social media accounts:

• A Twitter/Facebook Giveaway: Follow @Kellie_Doherty and retweet my Giveaway post today to be entered into my #bookgiveaway! You can also enter on Facebook by Liking my Facebook Giveaway post and Author Page. Two of my followers will win signed copies! I’ll announce those winners on Thursday, May 12th.

• An Instagram Giveaway: Everyone who follows me and Likes my Giveaway post on Instagram will be entered to win a free book! This post also went live on today, and the winner of this one will be announced on Thursday, May 12th, too.

Good luck to everyone and again, congrats, Crazy Grad Mama! I look forward to sending you your signed copy of Finding Hekate!
Warm regards,
Kellie