Joely Sue Burkhart

Day’s word count:

• Venna’s interview:  954
• Road words: 2709
• Total:  3663

Favorite line:  “It’s amazing what a little wild lovemaking on the shores of the Silver Lake can accomplish.”

79,673 / 100,000 (80.0%)

Finally, I made it over the hump and I’m into the homestretch.  For those in the know, at dawn, we leave the Plains for Dalden Bay and the final ride up the Road to Shanhasson, pretty much all of Act III (plus a little romantic interlude before all hell breaks loose).

Until I finish this draft, my posts are going to be brief and to the point.  As far as word count, I’m guessing 100K for the first draft, but that’s minus my main villain’s POV.  I’ll have to weave that through later.  This is just the main story line.  I’ve got to get Shannari to Shanhasson, and then bring her home safely to the Plains without too many lost.  That’s my goal.

The hardest part over these next few days will be leaving the story for the real world when I have the scent of “the end.”

Today’s Word Count:  (final)  4,836

Favorite line:  “If anyone is to be Khul’lanna’s breakfast, it is I.  You can be her midday morsel.”

76,964 / 100,000 (77.0%)

First, a killer review of Survive My Fire and The Fire Within by Bethanie here.  She blew ME away. 

Point of view. The was one of the coolest things about this story for me: Throughout, the narrative switches point of view from 1st to 3rd person depending on which character’s head we’re in (the dragon-woman is 1st, the male is 3rd). I’ve read about this technique, but have never read anything that actually used it.

It was really effective. I liked it a lot, in fact. Why? Well, for one thing, it was very clear when the POV changed, and as we all know, I am a huge fan of clarity, so that is certainly part of why this worked so well for me. But I also think the 1st person POV had a lot to do with how tightly I was drawn into the dragon-woman’s head and why I ended up feeling so strongly what the character was feeling. That line between reader and character became thinner and thinner and thinner until I forgot it was supposed to be there at all. Which was awesome.

I’ll admit the POV switching between 1st and 3rd was purely accidental.  One of the things I like to do for character development as I run through the Emotional Toolbox and Hero’s Journey is a first-person character letter.  It helps me get deep into the character’s head as I explore the key defining moment(s) in the backstory.  With Chanda, she came through so loud and strong from the first word of her letter that I simply could not avoid writing in her in 1st. 

Yet I wanted to switch to the hero’s POV, too, so I could widen the story and show her through his eyes.  I needed to warm up the story and emotions a little, because let’s face it.  Chanda is rather brutal and cold when the story first opens, at least emotionally. 

Hundreds of warriors have braved my domain.  They came, and they died.  I killed them all.

Too much of that strong POV would have suffocated the story, I think.  Anyway, so that’s how I came to write back and forth in mixed POVs, something I’d never done before.  The only other book I’ve read recently that mixed POV like that was Holly Lisle’s Talyn.  I won’t say I won’t do it again, but it takes a special story to pull that off, I think.

Thank you so much, Bethanie!  I’m still beaming like an idiot over here.

As for my Fess Up, I’m still grinding away.  I need to put the finishing polishes on the second pass of BD editor revisions this morning and get that shipped back.  I added a little 700-word scene, and it’s okay…but it’s missing that extra OOMPH that says it must be added exactly right here to balance the story.  So I need to think about it more and see if I can tie it more strongly to the theme and arc of the character.  I promised it back today.

Then back to Road.  I’m still in the aftereffects of that long agonizing torture/interrogation scene.  All threads on the Plains are coming together into one big knot, but so far, I think the knot is exactly where I need it to be.  All that remains…is the final road to Shanhasson.  The final showdown.  Basically, Act III.  But it could be 20K yet.

I hope all mothers had a wonderful day yesterday!  The monsters treated me to breakfast in bed and a tear-worthy little hand-made book they illustrated.  It’s both hilarious and adorable.

Daisy at The Long and Short of It Reviews has given Rose another great review:

Ms. Burkhart also gets bonus points for illustrating the best way to deal with tangled extra-long hair. Start at the bottom and work your way up. So many fantasy writers give their heroine butt-length hair and never mention the every day maintenance of it. One cannot get through a sword fight, or run for one’s life without having to deal with hair-related consequences later.

Rose of Shanhasson is a gritty, sweaty great start to what I believe will be a promising trilogy. I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on the next one! This one’s recommended for fantasy and romantic fantasy readers who like a little Conan in their heroes.

The part about the hair really tickled me.  This might sound dumb, but I remember in the first draft a hundred years ago, I had Shannari’s hair loose under the helmet and someone called me on it.  And I was like…yeah…duh.  Loose long hair is ridiculous.  So from there, I tried to make it REAL, as real as possible.

My warriors even wear socks.  (That’s a joke in the epic fantasy world.) 

Read the whole review here.  Thank you, Daisy!

Welcome back to the show “Every Character is the Star of His Own Story,” brought to you in order to create more satisfying secondary characters.  The star of the show today is Theo, a very vile villain from the Shanhasson trilogy.  This interview dumped some very startling information into my lap, which I’ll be using as I come down to the climax and resolution of the Road to Shanhasson.

(more…)

Welcome to the show “Every Character is the Star of His Own Story,” brought to you in order to create more satisfying secondary characters.  The star of the show this week is Varne, Khul’s nearest Blood, from the Shanhasson trilogy. 

You’ve met Varne before in several of the Shanhasson Friday Snippets.  He asked to stop by the other day for an interview.  Evidently I’ve messed up his entire character arc, and he felt the need to set the record straight.  

Of course my co-host and Muse, Gregar, couldn’t let Varne drone on and on endlessly without putting me in a coma, so he stops by for a little while, too, to antagonize his old friend slash arch enemy.  Something Gregar does very, very well.   

Fine Print:  The host makes no warranties as to the validity of the character’s statements herein.  I can neither confirm nor deny future impact on Story.  No characters were maimed in the recording of this interview either, no matter what he may claim later.

(more…)

Clarissa has given a wonderfuly wicked review of Rose:

Those are just two words to describe “The Rose of Shanhasson” by Joely Sue Burkhart. Joely expertly blends Fantasy and Romance in a novel that will make your heart thump thump thump as mine did. She produces characters that pull at your heart-strings and you’ll ache just as they ache. They are well put together and absolutely magnificent.

She ends with a special request:

I want more! ….and a Gregar doll.

hehehe  I’ll keep my eyes open for a Gregar doll, but if I find one, I’d have a very hard timing letting him go!

Thank you so much, Clarissa!

I’m going to have to make some tough decisions this year.  Looking at my list of everything I want to work on, I’ve realized I simply can’t do it all.

At first, I was rather gloomy about it.  If only I had more time, I could finish more projects.  But this is my reality.  I have to make it work.  I have 1-2 hours each morning to write, depending on how early I can drag my ass out of bed.  Any time during the evening that I can write is gravy.  That’s it.

Meanwhile, April is a page I’ll soon be ripping off my calendar, and the year is slipping through my fingers.

Now that I’m under contract, I have commitments that must be met.  That’s a very good thing indeed.  That gives me my highest priority.  Road will be finished this year.  A third Keldari novella will be finished this year.  Book 3 in the trilogy will follow on those heels–maybe I’ll write the first draft as my NaNoWriMo novel this year, or at least start it.  Next year, Charon’s book for the Mythomorphoses world, unless Deena asks for it over Return to Shanhasson.

I might, if I work really hard the last part of the year, be able to get through revisions on ONE story.  One.  While I’ll be grinding through editor revisions and promo on two other stories at the same time.  In my head right now, I hear the record guy from Walk the Line asking Johnny Cash what’s the one song he’d sing.  If he was dying in a ditch and this was his only chance to tell God what he felt about this life…

I love Letters.  I do.  But.  I don’t know that it’s the smartest choice for me right now.  Based on recent contest feedback, it might be better shelved.  It’s definitely a love it or hate it kind of story and it does nothing for my brand.  But.  That story’s a gut-wrencher and powerful in many ways.  The revision is almost finished.  Hmmm.  See why I keep waffling? 

RHP or Night Sun Rising.  Not sure which, yet.  The latter has a ticking clock associated with it and I know I’ve seen at least one other similarily premised story announced in Publisher’s Lunch already.  Both are rough first drafts.  RHP is a departure in many ways for me.  Both need so much work it makes my stomach clench with anxiety just thinking about sitting down and locking on to one or the other. 

But that’s exactly what I need to do.  One of these two stories is a definite must do for the second half of the year.  And the rest, well, will just have to be gravy.  With a cherry on top.  *winks*

Soleil Noir has given a terrific review of Rose!  She says:

 It took me three days to finish reading this book, and I have no doubt the characters and their world will haunt me for the rest of my life.

My hands are still shaking.

I highly recommend “The Rose of the Shanhasson” to any lover of romance, fantasy, or even better, both. I am seriously considering putting it above even the likes of The Princess Bride. (No small compliment from me here as I love that book. But, honeys? I’m so sorry, Wesley has got nothin’ on Rhaekhar, in my humble opinion.

Joely, you tore my heart out with this story and made me loved it! My heart’s still racing and my eyes are still a little moist, I need to go grab some Klennex.

What a fantastic review!  Thank you so much, Soleil.  Gregar salutes you.

Back in 2006, Lynn Viehl challenged her blog readers to write and give away a free e-book (complete list of participants here).  The Horse Master was my contribution. 

I wrote it for a rather selfish reason:  I wanted to explore how two separate lines of the Green Land monarchy had originated, one “Shadowed” and one legitimate, generations before Shannari’s story in The Rose of Shanhasson.  I hadn’t written a single Keldar story yet (I knew Keldar involved deserts and dragons, and that’s truly it), but Jake insisted that’s where he was from.  I didn’t know what tellan meant when I made that his tribe name.  I didn’t know about Chanda’s curse or Agni’s Coming.  

The Horse Master started it all.

I’ve had so many people tell me that they read and enjoyed that story and then went on to pick up the other Keldari novellas at Drollerie Press.  When Jayne reviewed The Fire Within, several people mentioned that free story, including Patricia Briggs!  *squees*  How amazing is that?

So here’s another huge thank you to PBW for starting that challenge, and here’s a big hooray for free reads!