Novels

Welcome to the page dedicated to my novels!

I currently have one finished that is in need of editing, and I’m working on three more simultaneously.

METAMORPHOSIS

Plot: Fraina’s life had never been simple.  Hiding what she was had never been easy.  But when others like her enter her village, her entire existence is put to the test.  She and her new-found companions must come together despite their differences to challenge and conquer a greater evil that has entered their country.

Status: Finished and in need of editing

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Everyone-Needs-Therapy

Thoughts: I’ve always loved changelings — you may thank Eloise Jarvis McGraw for that.  (If you haven’t read the Moorchild, do yourself a favor and do that now).  And I love all things Marvel, and I really wanted to do a teamwork-inspired book.  I mean, look at the X-Men and the Avengers: they come from all different walks of life — “some pretty extremely far” — but they rise above their differences to make a positive difference in the world.  Each of their backgrounds is individually intriguing, tear-jerking, and relatable, but what they’ve been through helps not only each other, but the entirety of the world (in the Avengers’ case, probably the whole universe).  Metamorphosis is set in an imaginary country called Tir, which is influenced by medieval cultures like the Vikings, fraught with conflict and superstition.  Which is difficult when my babies are trying very hard to blend in, some of them succeeding better than others.  What I find fascinating about writing is that facets of yourself get integrated into the character, and it becomes your journey as well.

 

ROBIN HOOD/KING ARTHUR RETELLING

(It still needs a title).

Plot: The Lady Marian has lost everything — her parents are dead and her estate and freedom have been taken by Sheriff Magar of Derbyshire.  She begins to see for herself the ruin England has fallen into and the cruelty exhibited by its leaders, and she vows to dedicate her life to helping the citizens of her country by any means necessary.  Meanwhile, a young king is beginning his reign.  It seems both the human and unnatural worlds are coming together to stop him, preventing him from lifting up his fallen people.  It will take the combined efforts of the legendary Robin Hood and a king wise beyond his years to unite and save their people.

Status: Work in Progress

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Adventure

Thoughts: When I was six, my mom bought me the Magic Tree House books — those books are what gave me a thirst for reading and learning.  They center around Morgan le Fay and the tales of Camelot, and it wasn’t long after that I was assigned a small book of Arthurian legends for school.  These stories are such a large part of who I am today, and I longed to pay them a little homage.  One night my imagination went wild and imagined a young woman as the original Robin Hood, only pretending to be a man for all those years of fighting the Sheriff of Nottingham.  The stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur have survived all these years because they change people for the better, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have them in the same story?”  Their goals are so similar, and their stories so legendary they’ve pulled the souls of men for hundreds of years up to their level of magnificence and wonder.  It’s not meant to rewrite history — I would never presume to attempt a legitimate detailing of their exploits.  It’s taking those that I admire, giving them a twist, and popping them in the same setting.  And it’s fun.  Except that Marian is a little pill and refuses to cooperate.  Lancelot started it.  And yes, that’s Richard Armitage.  He’s my ‘model’ for Magar.  He’s beautiful.

 

TO BEFRIEND A VAMPIRE

Plot: Nicholas is on the run again.  Vampires and humans have never gotten along well, and it’s really not his fault.  He’s been hiding for two hundred years, the only emblem of his past a pocket watch that had once belonged to his brother.  While trying to escape the new generation of hunters, he finds himself let into the house of a small, lonely child.  No matter how many times he tries to brush her off and keep his dead heart cold towards her, Piper begins to find her way into his life, and soon his existence is entwined with hers.  They discover the watch has magical properties that can transport them to any time and place they wish, but as Piper grows, things begin to get out of hand and they must face the consequences of worlds both real and fantastic and the choices that have been made.

Status: Work in Progress

Genre: Fantasy, Realistic Fiction (I know that sounds like completely opposite things, but dichotomy makes the world go round!)

Thoughts: My dear friend Anna is responsible for this.  As backstory, I’ve loved vampires for as long as I can remember.  To me, they were the epitome of glamour and the horror that accompanied them was deliciously fascinating.  I was a vampire — complete with fake rubber teeth — for Halloween when I was about six years old, and when my mom began to collect the Children’s Illustrated Classics I immediately grabbed Dracula and devoured it.  Over and over again.  I’ve always been drawn to dark, creepy things, and to be perfectly honest, I couldn’t tell you why.  I loved my little book so much that when Mom began to clean out the library we had gathered, I reluctantly relinquished my Dracula.  I figured that I was too attached for my own good and wanted to keep my thoughts as clean as possible.  I still enjoy the story and will periodically Wikipedia it, and I think I love the name Mina because of the book.  In Metamorphosis, my vampires are evil — though it’s not really their fault — but I wanted to give good ones a chance.  Nicholas didn’t ask to be a vampire, and while he’s not bad, he’s not exactly a hero, either.  His condition of vampirism is how one pictures a disease — it’s something the afflicted lives with every day and to some extent is controlled by it, but what they suffer doesn’t change who they are inside.  And Anna wrote a little story about a child and — if I’m remembering correctly — a vampire, and it being something I’d wanted to play with for a long time, I thought, “Hey, why not?”  I love the dichotomy between something as bad as a vampire and a curmudgeon like Nicky being thrust into the life of an innocent child and growing to care for her, in some ways redeeming who he is and healing the scars from what he’s been through.  And I love that Piper grows so close to him that he becomes her world, completely unaware of how she should really feel towards him.  I want to show that no one is what they seem and that everyone is more important than what could ever be imagined.

 

THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY

Plot: Dusty Darcy has always heard voices in her head.  Unbeknownst to her, four individuals are trapped within her mind, their souls sharing her body.  Despite this slight discomfort, Dusty had led a happy life until her parents were killed in a horrible accident, leaving her and her sister penniless and forcing Ryce to give up her dreams of college.  Meanwhile, one of the inhabitants of Dusty’s mind is plotting their release — at whatever cost.  Struggling to coexist with their host, those inside her must soon help Dusty save her sister, but what will happen to them if they fail?

Status: Work in Progress

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Everyone-Really-Needs-Therapy

Thoughts: I had an idea ages ago of little fairy-like creatures creating dreams — hence the title.  I couldn’t think of a good plot, however, and the exact details just weren’t coming.  (Maybe someday I’ll come up with something good).  But the image of people trapped in another’s brain just seemed really intriguing to me, and I really wanted to do something with it.  Then I began therapy, and my therapist used a method in which he had me imagine descending the stairs and entering a huge meeting room, where every aspect of myself was milling around in plain sight.  The first person he had me find was the holder of all the fear I felt inside, and to the poor man’s surprise, I described who I saw — she is identical to myself, but a little older, clothed in leather, spikes, and chains, wearing thick black make-up and sporting several piercings.  She is surrounded by a cloud of an emotion that could only be called dark, but once you examine that feeling, you find that underneath there is crushing sadness.  She is a large part of me, but Brother Cassity has helped me give her a new job.  One of the things she does now is just rest, relax from the years of holding the fear, hatred and anger, but she also protects me.  She’s the one who encourages me to find peace and happiness and reach greater heights every day and never give up.  But imagine if that girl — me — had never had help.  What would she have become?  So the story centers around a girl who has people in her head — inspired by that meeting room.  One of the individuals is Valkyrie, who is that girl I still have inside me.  I love her, and this book is going to be a real emotional ride because it’s going to be cleansing me of all the things I’ve been through.  I am going to show these characters, and everyone who experiences them, that there is hope.  That despite all the horrible things in your past, the darkness, sadness, and hopelessness you feel, you can rise above it.  Heavenly Father is my joy, and I want to show others that and give Him to them.  That is why I am writing this book.