Hello, everyone, it’s me – Colleen, AKA Silver Threading. Ronovan has graciously asked me to share some of the most intimate details of my journey as I write my first novel, The Swamp Fairy.

First, I would like to thank Ronovan for featuring me as a guest author. I am honored to have this opportunity! Thank you, Ron, for your friendship and guidance.

You know, I have wanted to write a book since I was six years old. I read voraciously as a child, and I still do today. Reading and writing have always been what makes me the absolute happiest person in the world.

In college, I discovered a hidden talent for being able to write about other writer’s works. There is a special kind of thrill I get when I read a book and review it. It is a special connection I feel with the author. It’s the best feeling ever when the author realizes that you “get them.”

With all the reading I have done through the years you would think I would have written tons of books by now. The truth is, I never knew how to start. The passion was there but I had nothing that really spoke to me. I had a million ideas, I just did not know how to focus my writing energies.

When I started blogging, it was with the intention of writing and publishing a book. I decided that I would learn everything I could about writing, plot structure, and outlines. My main goal was to network and learn from others. It has been the most fulfilling endeavor I have ever undertaken! After I was blogging for about five months my creative juices were so fired up I was brimming with ideas.

Here was my inspiration:

Fairy Swamp

When we lived in Florida (we live in Colorado now) I walked each morning down a country road near our house. It was a foggy autumn morning that changed my life forever. That was my first experience seeing the swamp fairy fluttering in a bush at the edge of Fairy Swamp. Every time I think about that first meeting, I have to slap myself! What an experience!

I began to write posts for my blog about my walking experiences. I literally looked at nature and the real life occurrences that were affecting the reality of Fairy Swamp. I watched as the natural landscape was scarred by the construction crews who began to build a massive housing area on the edge of the swamp.
That gave me my first clue of what I wanted to write about. I wanted to write a young adult fantasy novel that at the heart of the story talked about what we are doing to our native habitats.

Construction land next to Fairy Swamp

Little by little, I developed a basic plot for my book. I even enlisted the help of my talented daughter, Tabitha who is going to draw the swamp fairy for us since I could not capture her in a photo. That fairy moved as quickly as a hummingbird!

Nevertheless, I still struggled with the outline of my novel. One day, while searching Google I stumbled upon The Better Novel Project.com. Christine takes best-selling novels like Harry Potter & The Sorcerers Stone, The Hunger Games, and Twilight and deconstructs them chapter by chapter. She shares how to study the different elements, from word counts to character archetypes. She also shares how to identify why the best sellers share a common element. I had hit pay dirt!

I am using Christine’s Master Outline to write my novel. I have plans to use it for the series, too. It is an excellent source for writing YA fantasy. Your characters and events will always be different even though you will use many of the same elements that are found in most fantasy novels. Her outline takes you through step by step how to write a trilogy story arc.

Here is the synopsis for The Swamp Fairy, Book 1 of the Heart Stone Chronicles to be published in late summer or early fall 2016:

Fourteen-year-old Abbigale Forester, recently orphaned and a Ward of the State of Illinois moves from Chicago to Florida to live with her aunt, her last living relative.

Aunt Magnolia becomes Abby’s Guardian and together they claim an ancient inheritance of land that has been in Abby’s mother’s family for generations.

Abby wears her mother’s most sacred possession – a stone pendant in the shape of a heart forged from a giant mystical stone found on the very swamp land that Abby now owns.

However, Rafe Cobb, a greedy land developer, has other ideas. He wants Abby’s land for himself and he is willing to stop at nothing to own that land.

All Abby wants is to be part of a family again and to learn to ride horses with her two new friends, Savanna, and Blake.

The swamp slowly gives up some of its secrets and Abby is summoned by a primeval nymph who teaches Abby that her true destiny is to protect the primeval nymphs from evil in an ever-changing modern world.

Can Abby save the swamp and the Naiad Nymph Clan from certain destruction before it is too late?

I want to share one other exciting aspect of my blogging experiences and how because of my participation in these events I am adding more creativity to my novel.

Ronovan hosts a Haiku Challenge with prompt words each week. I love haiku! There is something about the brevity of the words in haiku structure (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables) in each line that tells a mini story.

I decided instead of naming the chapters in my novel I would use those Haiku I had written each week to enhance the beginning of each chapter. Here is one of my haiku from the challenge: (I don’t know if this particular haiku will find its way into my novel for sure)

My two loyal muses, Sugar, and Spice spend countless hours with me in my creative room as I pound away at the keyboard.

Spice and Sugar, worn out from helping Mom write all day.

Now, I don’t know if all of this will knock your socks off when you read my book but I sure hope so! Somehow, it all feels right to me.

In fact, I can hear my fairy nymphs whispering in my ear again. Time to get back to novel writing!

 

Thanks for stopping by and please stay tuned to silverthreading.com for all the upcoming information on my book. I am so excited! ❤

Would you like to connect with me? Find me on Twitter @ColleenChesebro, and on Facebook at my page Silver Threading. Stop by anytime and share your thoughts!

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All information, images, and content provided by Colleen Chesebro of SilverThreading.com.