Bats, as creatures of the night, have long been steeped in myth and folklore across cultures, often symbolizing transformation, intuition, and the liminal space between worlds. Their unique ability to navigate in darkness and their association with caves—often seen as gateways to the underworld—have made them powerful symbols in both ancient and modern storytelling.

Of late, I've been posting a lot concerning my personal journey, so thought it was time to switch things up a bit and move on to something more fun. Why did I pick bats? Well, Bat Appreciation Day is April 17th and I've been researching bats for a book I hope to start writing soon—the second book in the Homeless Myths Series, Quest for the Eternal Flame. Let's get into bats!!!

Myths, Folklore, and Symbolism About Bats

Bats hold a fascinating array of meanings across cultures, often reflecting the duality of their nature as creatures of the night. Here's how bats are perceived around the world:

Negative Symbolism

• Europe: In Western traditions, bats are often linked to fear and the supernatural. They are associated with witches, vampires, and the underworld, largely due to their nocturnal habits and their depiction in Gothic literature like Dracula.
• Mesoamerican Mythology: The Mayans revered Camazotz, a bat god associated with the underworld, death, and sacrifice. While powerful, this deity also carried a sense of foreboding and danger.
• Christian Symbolism: Bats have been depicted as unclean or connected to malevolent spirits.

Positive Symbolism

• China: In Chinese culture, bats are symbols of good fortune and happiness. The word for “bat” (蝠, fú) is a homophone for “blessing” (福, fú), making bats a popular motif in art and design. Five bats together often represent the “Five Blessings”—longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a peaceful death.
• Native American Traditions: Many Native American tribes view bats as symbols of intuition, rebirth, and transformation. Their ability to navigate in darkness is seen as a metaphor for personal growth and the journey through life's challenges.
• India: In some regions, bats are associated with wealth and prosperity. They also appear in Tamil Sangam poetry as allegories for love and familial bonds.

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Bat Symbolism in the United States

In the United States, bat mythology and symbolism often draw from a blend of Native American traditions and European influences, creating a unique cultural perspective. Here's how bats are viewed in the U.S. and how they differ or align with European traditions:

Native American Influence

In Native American cultures, bats are often seen as symbols of intuition, rebirth, and transformation. Tribes like the Cherokee and Apache associate bats with adaptability and the ability to navigate through life's challenges. Their nocturnal nature and reliance on echolocation are interpreted as metaphors for seeing beyond the surface and trusting inner guidance. This perspective is distinct from the more fear-based associations found in European folklore. For example:

• Cherokee Mythology: Bats are seen as mediators between the physical and spiritual worlds, embodying the ability to traverse both realms.
• Apache Stories: Bats are viewed as clever and resourceful creatures, often playing roles in tales that emphasize their intelligence and versatility.

European Influence

European settlers brought with them the darker associations of bats, linking them to witches, vampires, and the supernatural. These ideas were reinforced by Gothic literature and later by Hollywood's portrayal of bats in horror films. In this context, bats symbolize fear, mystery, and the unknown.

Modern U.S. Symbolism

In contemporary American culture, bats have taken on a dual role:

• Ecological Importance: With growing awareness of their role as pollinators and pest controllers, bats are increasingly seen as vital to the ecosystem. This positive view contrasts with their historical portrayal as harbingers of doom.
• Pop Culture Icons: Characters like Batman have redefined bats as symbols of resilience, justice, and the ability to thrive in darkness. This modern interpretation blends the fearsome and the heroic, creating a uniquely American take on bat symbolism.

Distinctive U.S. Perspective

What sets the U.S. apart is this fusion of Native American reverence for bats as spiritual guides and European associations with fear and mystery. This blend creates a rich tapestry of meanings, where bats can symbolize everything from transformation and intuition to resilience and ecological balance.

Bats’ symbolism and mythology across cultures paint a picture of a creature that transcends its physical form, embodying transformation, intuition, and the interplay of light and darkness. From their roles as spiritual guides in Native American traditions to their associations with fear and mystery in European folklore, bats serve as powerful symbols of duality and resilience. In the United States, the blending of these cultural perspectives has enriched bats’ significance, framing them as both ecologically vital and spiritually profound. Whether seen as harbingers of the unknown or messengers of blessings, bats continue to inspire a sense of wonder, reflecting the beauty and complexity of the world—and ourselves—when we dare to explore beyond the surface.

Duality and Transformation of Bats and Their Legacy

Bats’ ability to thrive in darkness and their association with caves—often seen as gateways to other realms—make them symbols of transformation and liminality. They are creatures that exist between worlds, embodying the balance of light and dark, life and death.

Their symbolism and mythology across cultures paint a picture of a creature that transcends its physical form, embodying transformation, intuition, and the interplay of light and darkness. From their roles as spiritual guides in Native American traditions to their associations with fear and mystery in European folklore, bats serve as powerful symbols of duality and resilience. In the United States, the blending of these cultural perspectives has enriched bats’ significance, framing them as both ecologically vital and spiritually profound. Whether seen as harbingers of the unknown or messengers of blessings, bats continue to inspire a sense of wonder, reflecting the beauty and complexity of the world—and ourselves—when we dare to explore beyond the surface.

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Yesterday, I had the privilege and the honor of celebrating Read Across America week with the 6th Graders of my alma mater, Wagner Elementary School. Read Across America is a week-long celebration of reading, beginning on Dr. Suess's birthday. Its purpose is motivating children to read more, celebrating reading and literacy, building community, and educating people about the benefits of reading. With me in Eastern Tennessee and Wagner Elementary in Southern California, we truly embraced the concept of Read Across America.

I read a chapter from 7th Grade Revolution, then we had a Q&A session, and I also had the chance to share an excerpt from my current work in progress. I love answering questions and talking about the writing process, so the Q&A portion was so much fun. The kids asked insightful questions, and it turned into several joint teachable moments between the teacher and me.

An example was the simple question: "Which of your characters is your favorite?" Spoiler Alert: All of them. While explaining that I couldn't choose one favorite, I mentioned Katie McCabe. Katie is the character who has been living in my head the longest, so in any given scenario I know exactly how she'll react, what she'll say, and how she'll deal with the situation. The teacher jumped in and emphasized that I had mentioned how the character reacts as it is something she had pointed out to the class in previous lessons. They don't just talk and take action, they have reactions to the situation.

Leaders of the 7th Grade Revolution

I could go on and on about the questions and answers, but suffice it to say that my answers supported and validated what the teacher had been presenting to the students throughout the school year. Prior to the event, I had provided some background information on 7th Grade Revolution and made sure to point out the character pictures with brief bio I have on my website and the teacher projected them on a board.

While I read, the kids, on hearing a name would check the board so they had an image to help them better imagine the story as it continued. The images had an even greater impact during the Q&A portion. We discussed the tools used to create them, and as they had used the same tools they saw different ways to apply the tools.

A huge thank you to the 6th Graders of Wagner Elementary for such a great experience. I believe we can say "Mission Accomplished" for Read Across America week for 2025.

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Happy Bat Appreciation Day!!!

Until today, I didn't even know bat appreciation day was a thing. Who knew??? I gained a better knowledge and appreciation of bats when working on 7th Grade Revolution … after all there had to be bats in the tunnel.

Bats over the years have gained an undeserved unsavory reputation. The first thing most people think of are blood-sucking vampire bats, but there are over 1,400 species of bats and only 3 of those are vampire bats—who tend to bother livestock more than people. What else are people afraid of with bats?

• All bats have rabies and if they bite you, you'll get rabies, too. WRONG
  Approximately 5-6% of the bats captured for testing have rabies, so while possible, a far cry from ALL.
  
• Bats are bad luck. WRONG
  Bats actually do several things that are helpful. Such as eating disease-spreading insect like mosquitoes, roaches, etc. Forget the citronella candles … put a bat on the patio and it can consume up to one thousand mosquitoes an hour. Plus they do such amazing work like spreading seeds for future bananas, avocados, and about 300 other plants.
  
• Bats will try to nest in your hair. WRONG
  Though as a child I thought this might be a possibility, and it has happened to some people, it is more a matter of accident than design. Bats don't nest. They roost upside down because they have difficulty in taking off from the ground. But by hanging upside down, the can drop and use the momentum from the fall to start their flight. It might give the appearance they are swooping toward you, but the reality is they are simply taking flight.
  

I have another reason for celebrating Bat Appreciation Day. Meet Melvin.

Isn't he adorable??? When I shared that it was Bat Appreciation Day with a friend who loves bats, the name Melvin hit me, so I created an image of an albino bat named Melvin. He will be in the Homeless Myths series, my current work in progress, and I already know where he lives, how he's going to interact with the kids, and he's just too cute not to share. I'm certain Melvin is going to have mega personality to match his endearing appearance, so keep your eyes peeled for more about Melvin as the series continues.

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Welcome to 2024!!! Life is like a dance, we take a few steps forward and a few back, and sometime run in circles. I'm more than ready to put on my dancing shoes. It's time to say farewell to 2023 and look forward to 2024. Normally, I don't spend a lot of time looking back and focus more on the future, but since 2023 was a big year I wanted to spend a little time on what was accomplished.

Contents

• The Look Back
• The Way Forward
• Picture Gallery

The Look Back

At the beginning of 2022 I had confirmed my decision to retire from the day job. Something that was essential to do for my overall well-being and I wanted to spend more time working on my passion projects. My timeline changed a few times and I carried over that goal into 2023. I had 3 major goals for 2023:

1. Retire from the day job.
2. Move (I wasn't even sure where exactly at that point)
3. Launch my debut MG series (Katie McCabe) with Vesuvian Books

Retirement:
Retirement is not for the faint of heart. Some people have a big adjustment curve they go through when they stop working. I had planned on an adjustment period because I knew there would be a lot of things administratively that would have to be handled before I could put into action the next step. The first week of January marked my retirement, but it took several months to get everything taken care, despite having planned in advance. I miss the people I worked with, but, even though I enjoyed my job, I haven't missed it one whit.

The Move:
Mentally, moving was my biggest challenge for the year. Just trying to wrap my head around everything that needed to get done and the how took several months. Overwhelm mode activated.. I had been searching for the right place on and off over the past few years and had even put an offer in on a house. But when friends checked it out, what looked good on paper turned to dust and the offer was rescinded. Since the housing market was in such bad shape with unrealistic pricing and rates that were too high, I made the decision to rent for the time being and I couldn't be happier.

I settled on the where, but then had to figure out how to get me and my stuff there trying to keep isolated as much as possible for health reasons. Then a brain wave hit … do a cross country train trip. It took a little longer to arrive, but I am still happy I made that decision. It is something I've always wanted to try. (A picture gallery is below.) I am now in a cozy apartment with my best friends close by and they have been SUCH A HUGE HELP, I can never thank them enough.

The Series Launch:
In the midst of going through everything, getting things packed, and making all the arrangements for the move, I released the first book in the Katie McCabe Series, Rain Falling on Embers. It has already picked up a few awards and positive reviews. I spent the beginning of the year with my editor polishing up the second book in the series, South of Happy and I'm looking forward to getting it out there later this year. All of 2023 was geared toward goals to support my writing habit.

The Way Forward

I do love a fresh, shiny new year. 365 days ahead to make things happen. Sometimes I achieve what I set out to do. Sometimes life throws a curve that makes me bob and weave, or completely derails the year to another destination. But I start each year with hope and plans and am excited to find out where I'll wind up.

The Plans:

• Write, write, and write some more.
• Go through self-edits on Going Up in Flames (Katie McCabe, Book 3)
• Work through the edits my editor will give me for the same (as hard as I try to send it to him as perfect as possible, he ALWAYS has a ton of things for me to think about and adjust.)
• Finish writing Book 1 in the Homeless Myths Series, The Secret of the Redy Key. I cannot wait to share this series with everyone. It has a lot of special sauce going on and I think the rest of the world will agree.
• Get healthier. I am currently in remission (YAY!!!), but my immune system is still shot, so want to work on several avenues to help boost the immune system and give myself more resources to go into battle with. I'd love for this remission to last several years. To that end, I am focused on:
  • Being more active. I have been pretty much housebound for a number of years, especially during the pandemic. So my plan is to get out more, take walks on some of the fantastic trails around me, and work up to using my vibration plate a total of 30 minutes a day (which usually results in my dancing on it if listening to music).
  • Improving nutrition
  • Searching out new treatments for dealing with cancer. I'm excited about the breakthroughs that are popping up with more frequency and have hope that one day, there will be a cure for mine.
• Find my next home, rates and real estate market willing, as the current apartment is meant to be temporary.

The Picture Gallery

I figured since I had so many pictures I wanted to share, that it would be best simply to create a gallery and provide a little commentary to provide a flavor for the move.

• 1. The day the stuff I was moving left. All my planning and preparation resulted in what was going and what wasn't. Everything that was making the move with me had been staged into two rooms, the first thing to be loaded were those items that were going straight into storage short-term, and the second room contained those things I needed in the apartment. The next day, everything that didn't go into the pods was cleared out and donated.
• 2-4. Fullerton Amtrak station on the day of my departure. Of course, when the freight train passed by with OOCL containers on it, I had to include them.
• 5. Arizona Mesa
• 6. Albuquerque, NM train station - one with a little style
• 7. Lamy, NM station - I couldn't resist the decorations.
• 8. Near Fort Osage Township, MO
• 9. Crossing the Mississippi river from Iowa into Illinois - we had a well-wisher waving as we hurtled by.
• 10. Amtrack, Chicago - where I felt like I might have dropped into a holiday gone wrong type of movie, but all was well in the end.
• 11. Entering West Virginia and nearly to my destination.
• 12. White Sulphur Springs Station - Cutest station on my route and where I got off.
• 13. My friends met me at the station and we loaded up the Grand Cherokee—AFTER they found me, because everyone else got off the train at the front, but they had me depart the train at the back. (I had stored luggage that had to be taken off the train.) We had quite the load.
• 14. But not ALL of the stuff was mine. While waiting to pick me up, they wandered into one of the boutique stores in town and just had to get the Christmas tree with bears climbing on it. I would have done the same.
• 15. The first thing I saw when I walked into my new apartment. My friends had been busy readying the apartment while I was traveling across the country.
• 16. My festive shower curtain. There is a light over the shower/tub so the fireplace glows when the light is on.
• 17-18. My view through my windows. My place in CA looked out on a parking lot and all I could see from my bedroom window was the apartments behind me. I am reveling in having trees and grass outside and enjoy watching the hills.
• 19. Still from my windows, but at night so you can see the lights from the space needle and the skybridge.
• 20. After my initial visit with my new doctor, we went for a ride, and had just been discussion how unlikely it would be to see any bears this time of year, when a bear family came through the woods, crossed in front of our car, and continued up the hill. I'm sure they came out just to welcome me.
• 21. It's not a holiday unless I decorate, so my fridge quickly took on some holiday cheer.
• 22. My stuff arrived from CA and the place is starting to take on a homey feel.
• 23. Essentials for any writer.
• 24. My living room rug with an Amish made cherry wood cedar chest.
• 25. My Christmas Day rainbow.
• 26. The space needle decorated as a Christmas tree (and I caught the flashing star on top)
• 27. Just because I love the shadows on my wall at night.
• 28-33. The fireworks display at the space needle. I have the perfect apartment for viewing.

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As November draws to a close, so does the quest to win NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I put win in italics because the prize is primarily self-satisfaction or bragging rights. Many writers participate the month was designed to get people to put words on the page. Any words toward the goal of writing a novel. The basic premise is to take a blank sheet of paper (or digital variation thereof) and have a shiny bright new idea, and starting November 1st write 50,000 words (averaging 1,667 words a day) by the end of November 30th—a daunting, but theoretically achievable task.

HUGE SHOUT OUT TO ALL PARTICIPANTS THIS YEAR! I SALUTE YOU!!!

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In the past, I have enjoyed cheering on anyone participating in the event. I missed checking up on how people were doing against their goal this year and hearing the excitement as everyone discussed their ideas with such enthusiasm. On November 1st, surrounded by boxes everywhere, I gave a brief thought to those who were dashing off their first words followed by a pensive pang because I'd miss all the excitement. I knew I wouldn't participate this year because the cross-country move I made mid-November put paid to any hopes of completing the task. I'm not an active participant in NaNoWriMo in any year … the self-inflicted pressure of writing a certain number of words or falling short of a goal halts my writing process … but I do enjoy cheering everyone else on.

As a writer, I don't have a daily (or even weekly) word count goal—either when drafting or editing. It may drive my agent crazy, but my process simply doesn't function that way and setting those concrete goals can put the creative brakes on more than it will ever spur me to achieve the goal. So how do I finish anything? It's all about knowing who you are as a writer and being true to your process.

Depending on the book, my process can either be fast or slow or somewhere in between. It depends on the story, the complexity of the plot, and primarily the characters and how well they communicate the story to me. The book I'm editing for what feels like the 3,000th time, South of Happy (Katie McCabe, Book 2), I wrote in 3 weeks, but it took me nine or ten months to complete the first draft edits. While the words simply flowed out of me and I wrote on average 5,000 words a night and between 10k-15k on the weekend days, the resulting manuscript had the makings of a story, but technically it was a big lump of clay that I'd thrown at the wall. A lot of clean up work had to be done to shape it into the story it is today.

By contrast my current WIP (Work in Progress), The Secret of the Red Key (Homeless Myths, Book 1), is taking longer for me to write than any other book I've written. Why? In an odd way, it is taking longer because I have learned more about the craft of writing and am far more deliberate about what I'm doing as I put words on the page. But that also means there will be a lot less mess to clean up when I'm done.

When writing South of Happy, I only knew it was a sequel to the first book, Rain Falling on Embers, and since I had lived with the characters in my head for a while, I merely had to plug in my headphones and turn on my music and the words simply gushed. At that point, I had no idea the story would develop into a five book series.

With The Secret of the Red Key, I have known from almost the outset that it will be a five book series. I don't know the characters quite as well yet, and the plot of this one is far more complex than with the Katie McCabe series. I absolutely love what is going on the page, the characters who keep popping up while I'm in progress, and the direction for the series, but since I'm getting things in a piecemeal fashion instead of linear, it is going to take longer for me to write. But it will be worth the wait.

Congratulations to all who participated in NaNoWriMo 2023 and best wishes as you complete your novel and polish it 'til it shines.

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Have you ever read a book that made you feel like you were living the story along with the characters? A book that made you think about your own life and how you would handle the challenges they faced?

Novels are powerful. They help us understand ourselves and others better. Reading helps us cope with difficult emotions and situations, such as grief, bullying, and survival, which are common themes in middle grade and young adult books. They are also common experiences in many people's lives. If you haven’t faced some of these issues yourself, you probably know someone who has.

So how can reading novels or writing stories help us deal with these issues? And how can we use these issues to create our own stories? Here are some tips and ideas:

How Stories Help Us Deal with Strong Emotions and Situations

• We feel less alone. When we read about characters who are going through the same things as we are, we relate to them and feel like we have a friend who understands us. We learn from their experiences and see how they cope with their problems.
• Reading helps us process our emotions. When characters are feeling sad, angry, scared, or happy, we can empathize with them and feel those emotions too. This can help us release our own feelings and process them in a healthy way. We can also share the books we like to communicate our feelings to others.
• We find hope and inspiration. When characters overcome their difficulties and achieve their goals, we feel hopeful and motivated. We admire their courage, resilience, and creativity, and try to emulate them in our own lives. And sometimes we find ideas and solutions for our own problems.

How to Use Strong Emotions and Situations to Create Our Own Stories

• We use our own experiences as inspiration. If we have faced an issue in our own lives, we can use those memories as a starting point. We write about how we felt, what we did, and what we learned from those situations. We use our experiences as a springboard for the imagination by changing some details or adding fictional elements.
• We use our imagination to create new scenarios. If we have not faced a scenario the character in our story is facing in our own lives, we can still write about them by using our imagination. We can think of what-if questions, such as "What if I lost my best friend?" or "What if I was stranded on an island?" or "What if I was bullied at school?" We can then imagine how we would react and what would happen next.
• Research—research—research. Whether we use our own experiences or our imagination, research is essential to make our stories more authentic and accurate. Read books and articles about whatever situation has arisen in your story. Talk to people who have gone through those issues or are experts on them. Then use what you’ve learned to drop in a detail here or there which evokes emotions in those who read the story.

Writing novels or stories is challenging but rewarding. Rain Falling on Embers deals with the themes of grief, bullying, survival, and love, to name a few. A challenge to write, but I am so glad I did. It turned out to be a gripping and inspiring story that shows how Katie McCabe overcomes her challenges and grows as a person, finding hope and happiness in her new surroundings.

So next time you read a book, think about how it makes you feel and what you learn from it. And next time you write a story, think about how you can use your experiences, imagination, and research to make it engaging and meaningful.

Happy reading and writing!

This post is part of the Young Writers Series: for more tips, click here.

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In a world where we keep spinning at an ever faster pace, I am slow. And I'm okay with that … especially when it comes to writing.

There are writers who set word count goals to accomplish each day. For example, Stephen King has a goal of 2,000 words a day, and I laud those who can set goals and keep them. My process lends itself more to there being some days 200 words on the page might be a win, when another day might bring 5,000 words and I stop only because my hands cannot keep up. While I do outline prior to starting any work, once I'm actively writing something, I let the characters guide me.

I received the manuscript for South of Happy back from the editor a few weeks ago and have been working my way through the comments. (HUGE shoutout to Christopher Brooks!!!) My editing progress may be even more erratic than drafting progress. A good editor (and Christopher is excellent) challenges the author to stretch and points out things they have been blind to, no matter how many times they have revised the manuscript.

South of Happy edits are no exception to the rule—which means some sections I can breeze through, but others stop me in my tracks and I need to think things through. I enjoy the introspective deep dives that happen during this editing pass because the result is a much richer result for the reader.

I'm like the turtle, slowly moving through and stopping occasionally to take in the scenery. Sometimes, the editorial notes are about one thing, and I have an epiphany about something else. Case in point (and the inspiration for this blog post):

The editorial notes had to do with a scene where two characters are walking along a road and then move into the woods lining the road. The comments were about clarifying the setting details. But while focused on the setting, a question arose. WHY were they walking? In the normal course of events, neither character would have walked to school, so why were they walking home?

Then I wondered whether Agatha Christie had a similar moment, and whether a single question had spawned an entire novel in, Why Didn't They Ask Evans? The single question stopped me in my editing tracks and it led to several other questions I needed to answer.

The amazing thing is that I had all the elements to hand in the story not only to answer the question, but to help me provide better context and a lusher experience for the reader.

If I had been pushing myself to race through the edits with the primary goal of simply getting through them, I'd have missed the lack of motivation on the page. Yes, there are times I may despair that I'll ever finish, so want to blast through to the end, but something usually crops up to make me extremely glad I took the extra time.

Photo by Jose Aragones

No one who has read the manuscript to date, not even my editor, raised the question or noticed the lack, but I'm so glad it caught my attention—this time. I take a great deal of pride in polishing up a manuscript until it shines and love the occasions when something jumps out at me, even if it takes revising multiple sections of the work to get it right. So I'll continue turtling along in the slow lane, and when I get to the finish line, I'll have an even greater sense of fulfillment knowing I did my best.

One additional bit of information … the title for the book has changed from Winds Blowing South of Happy to South of Happy because South of Happy simply suited it better and I am even happier with the title than I was before. Hopefully, we'll have a cover soon.

The picture at the top is a visual for my editing process … coming out of the dark into the light, but up ahead is the unknown.

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I love most aspects of the writing process, including editing. The magical inspiration that strikes when you least expect it. Getting to know the characters. And even more, seeing how the story develops because no matter what, the path I have planned is always changed because the characters want to go in a different direction. Editing helps me take the big blob of words that have been written and shapes and molds them into a finished product I can be proud of.

One aspect of the process is my Achille's heel … titling the book. I feel completely inadequate to the task of taking the 70,000 words I've written and assigning something meaningful and that will appeal to the intended audience for the book. Not that I have ever written a word in a manuscript without a title because I also need something to refer to it by, even if only to myself.

What's the big deal? I know many authors who label their manuscript something they know they are going to change. I've tried to do that, but somehow knowing the name is fake interrupts my ability to concentrate on the writing. Unfortunately, my skills in naming books is on the weak side, so I may hit it lucky occasionally, but otherwise come up with 50 terrible titles to reach one halfway decent one.

I have successfully named two books in my career … where the names stuck and didn't change prior to publication.
7th Grade Revolution and The Journal of Angela Ashby.

WHY am I rattling on about naming books? Titles are important—they need to convey something about the book in short form that is appealing. I'm in the middle of editing a (most likely) 5-book series and four of the books had names

(actually they have had several names because they have changed more than once), but the publisher decided the names were a bit more YA than we needed. The problem is the readers for the Katie McCabe Series are upper, upper Middle Grade and lower Young Adult. So the themes in the series are definitely geared toward a slightly older audience than the standard Middle Grade, but the characters are younger than the standard YA protagonists. Which means, we walk a very careful line in positioning these books so they reach the readers we want. I am happy to say, we (again) have a title for Book 2:

South of Happy

Changing titles is difficult for me because I can put down roots in a hotel room. So having three titles yanked from the books to be replaced with Book 2, Book 3, and Book 4 has been a bit disturbing. I agree with the assessment of the other titles, by the way. I'm just more comfortable with being able to call them something distinct vs. generic.

The pain of having to change the title has been worth it because I absolutely adore this title and it is perfect for the continuation of the series. If fact the tag line for this book is:

How do you find happiness when you've lost everything you've ever known?

The picture at the top of this post is significant because I feel like in the face of the oncoming wind we have successfully raised the flag. Now to work on the titles for books 3 and 4, and to put down the outline for book 5, so it can be named as well. And I cannot WAIT to see what we come up with as a cover for South of Happy.

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A writer's life is cyclical in nature. We have the shiny new idea phase, followed by the first draft, followed by self-edits (multiple rounds), then it is sent away for someone else to look at and give feedback on, and then it's back into the editing cave (these last two steps can happen multiple times), it goes to a proofreader, then (hopefully) one more go round and we have a product we can take pride in. By the way, I don't mention research, but that is part of every stage, from shiny new idea to proofreading.

While the percentages are somewhat subjective, the chart pretty much defines the writing process, NOT including all of the other activities outside of writing the actual book. The bulk of the time is spent editing, revising, tweaking, and polishing. So, writers spend a lot of time in the editing cave.

“The only kind of writing is rewriting.”
~Ernest Hemingway

I often get fascinated by small details that have little relevance to the task at hand … as in this case when my mind wandered off on the tangent of why writers say they are going into a cave for both writing and editing. So, I looked up the meaning behind spelunking. The official meaning/definition is: the exploration of caves, especially as a hobby. But that didn't shed any light on how it is used by writers.

On my travels through the land of internet search, I found spelunking is used for the amateur cave explorer while caving is used for professional forays such as exploring from a conservation or biological standpoint and the scientific study is Speleology. A side note of interest is that spelunking is known as potholing in the UK. But that doesn't help to determine why the writing process involves the term cave for both writing and editing.

I understand the feeling … when I start a project or am in the middle of working on one, I feel as if I'm "holing up" — cutting myself off from the outside world and diving into the world of my characters. Is that enough of a meaning? Maybe … but then I ran across this little nugget from an article titled "Caving – Why Do We Do It?":

Curiosity may be the common thread running through the many reasons for caving, but it is not a reason in itself to venture underground. For many, the sheer adventure and excitement of seeking out obstacles and the satisfaction of overcoming them are motivation enough.

For me, that truly nails the cave aspect. As writers, we journey into a dark place, one that may only have a glimmer or two of light as we start our exploration. We know we're going to meet and have to overcome obstacles to reach journey's end. The prospect is exciting and somewhat terrifying at the same time because we venture into the unknown with only the spark of an idea as our guiding light.

As one humorist put it in the Urban Dictionary, "Origin: "spelunk" is the sound a clumsy caver makes when he slips and falls in a cave and lands in water." Our characters lead us astray and into dead ends, we face pitfalls, and yes, we slip and fall … often landing in either water or mud. Yet the adventure of uncovering the story drives us on.

At present I'm in the more editing, more revising, tweaking, and polishing stages of the process with Rain Falling on Embers (Mar 21, 2023/Vesuvian Books). I have received edits back from my editor supreme, Christopher Brooks, and am entering the cave. Wish me luck and send plenty of coffee and good thoughts.

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I’ve never been big on making resolutions and probably worse at rehashing what has been … but I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on where we go from here.

To put it mildly, 2021 threw a few curve balls and caught me off balance. The biggest were to do with my health and having the chemo from end of 2020 / beginning of 2021 spectacularly fail. Fast forward to the end of 2021 and the new chemo plus radiation I had to undergo dragged me down so much I wound up in the hospital for a week with bilateral pneumonia caused by the chemo. I am incredibly sensitive to the chemo drugs and the treatments have been robbing me slowly of the ability to breathe due to inflammation in the lungs over the past few months. I still have two more treatments to go through, although at this point, we’re not sure whether I will be able to do them. We will give it a month and then try again. The health issues and fatigue played havoc with my writing schedule, so I’m well behind on what needs to get done.

But 2021 is now in the past. What did or did not get accomplished is also in the past, and it is time to look forward. And there is so much to look forward to. More than ever, I am certain of my purpose in life … and that is to write books for kids to connect with and enjoy. And, honestly, that is the only thing that is important to me. So while not completely ignoring all other aspects of life, the thing that I will put first is my writing. It is time for me to finish up some of the projects I’ve had on a slow boil and get them finished. No more back burner.

First up is finishing the self edits on Rain Falling on Embers (release date: October 3, 2023), which is book 1 in the Katie McCabe series. Next will be to get it to the editor who will rip it apart and help me make it what it is supposed to be. Rain Falling on Embers explores the question: How do you survive the worst thing that can ever happen? Especially in the past couple of years, kids are facing more upheaval than ever before — where things like school, which has been more of a constant than anything, has also changed dramatically. While circumstances will vary from person to person, Katie McCabe goes through coming to terms with her entire life being turned upside down. She struggles with accepting the changes and it is important for kids to know they don’t have to be perfect through all changes. That it is okay to thrash about trying to make sense of things that simply do not make sense.

The next project that will have my attention is book 1 in the Homeless Myths series, The Secret of the Red Key. I am so excited about this particular series because the storyline speaks to me so clearly. Five homeless kids struggle to survive the streets of Los Angeles and wind up as key players in a battle against mythological creatures to break a curse that will restore a fallen star and give humanity a second chance. It should be an adventure story for the ages.

At the end of 2020, during my reflective period, I came to a decision about my future … and that decision was that in order for me to pursue more completely what I need to do with my life, the day job had to go. It’s a decision years in the making, but the time has come and despite all of the upheaval of 2021, I have kept that goal firmly in mind. While I have not accomplished everything I have wanted toward this goal, it remains in place and I will see it through. The driving force? A few lyrics from Flashdance – What a Feeling spell it out for me. Take your passion and make it happen. In order to do that effectively, I need to simplify life a bit, which means letting go of something I have always looked at as stability and taking a leap of faith.

The picture at the top of this post has a great deal of meaning for me. 2022 is still all glittery and shiny and though we cannot see into the future (or down the path) the bright yellow haze beckons. One of my favorite flowers is the yellow rose, so I love that they are lining the path to the future. The color yellow is primarily associated with spreading happiness and joy, and it symbolizes moving forward with the joy of working on my purpose in life. And I hope to spread happiness and joy to those I meet. And purple has always been my favorite color and purple flowers are said to symbolize success. In this case, the flowers being campanula or bellflowers, the additional meaning of gratitude, constancy, support, and romance are present. Success for me isn’t defined in monetary terms, but whether or not I have achieved what I set out to do. Would I love to have a runaway bestseller? Absolutely. But if the book falls short of my personal mark, the number of sales don’t make it better. Success for me is crafting the book in my head as close as I possibly can. Success is reaching the small goals along the way to the big ones. And joy comes from achieving those things.

So 2022, here you are in all of your shining newness. I have identified my passion and all that is left is to make it happen. Let’s do this thing.

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Back when I initially wrote The Journal of Angela Ashby it was missing one of the characters of the finished version. When my agent, Italia Gandolfo, and I were discussing the illustrations we were commissioning from Mister Sam Shearon, she said, “What about the cat? The fortune-teller would have a spooky cat slinking around.”

Cat O’ Lantern by Mister Sam Shearon.
To purchase a print of this image, please click here.

Sam had recently created the Cat O’ Lantern image, which is absolutely fantastic, so we added cat to the list of images, and I did another revision on the book to add a cat.

     The black curtain moved and something small and low to the ground streaked out.
     Mallory yelped.
     I followed its progress until it stopped near the tent siding, just out of the ray of light.
     “It’s okay, Mal.” I nudged her arm. “Look, it’s just a black cat.”
     The cat sat and stared at us through amber-colored eyes, unmoving except a rhythmic twitch of the end of its tail.

Once the cat was on the page in the fortune-teller’s tent it became one of my favorite characters in the book, popping up when you least expected it to. Ultimately, the cat became a manifestation of Angela’s conscience. I had a lot of fun adding the cat, Malachite, into the story.

Sam gave us an absolutely wonderful cover, spooky fortune-teller, ratty old tent, and all. But when we decided to add Angela to the front, I mentioned wanting the cat on the cover.

Italia nixed the idea of the cat because she didn’t want the cover to get too cluttered. And we left it at that … until now.

I don’t even remember what first prompted me to put the cat on the cover. I often work in photoshop creating images for different things, so it might have been for the Amazon exclusive hardcover version we just released, but once Italia saw the cat popping its head out from behind the tent curtain, she loved it. So just like the cat in the book, it has been popping up in everything I have been creating for Angela of late.

it is now in the header of the AngelaAshby.com site. My publisher also posted new images to the Amazon product page.

The cat being a part of the art for The Journal of Angela Ashby is not an earth-shattering event. In the grand scheme of things it is not even a speck on the timeline of life. But it makes me incredibly happy to see those wickedly eerie eyes staring out at the world. It looks so right. It is a decidedly small thing, but it makes me smile and improves my day when I see the cover image or any of the other artwork including it, so the happiness it brings gives it a value beyond gold.

And maybe … just maybe, it can be the conscience, or reminder to act with intention, for someone other than Angela. And that will be a huge thing indeed.

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I am so proud 7th Grade Revolution is Story Monsters Approved and honored for it to have won two Purple Dragonfly awards.

WHEN UNEARTHING A NATIONAL TREASURE
BECOMES A NATIONAL INCIDENT

Inspired by True Events

Dennis Alexander: Washington Academy Middle School promises to be another in the long line of boring schools he has been expelled from.
Rhonda Snodgrass: Although trained from childhood in survival tactics, she tries to stay off the radar of the “cool” kids who think she’s weird.

7th grade turns out to be anything but normal when teachers announce the students’ bloodless revolution succeeded and they are now in charge. After conducting a secret-ballot vote on policy, the 7th graders emerge to find the school evacuated and the FBI lurking outside with the task of unearthing a treasure of national importance.

The students’ mission is clear—discover the treasure before the FBI locks down the building. Dennis and Rhonda lead the revolt and must work together to follow century-old clues left by a crazy Revolutionary War buff.

To stay one step ahead of the FBI, they must delve into history and amass an arsenal to defend their school … because this is WAR!

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