Sabrina's Blog

All writers are insecure at various times throughout their writing journey and I'm definitely no different. So I've joined in on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop . The 1st Wednesday of each month I'll post about the insecurities I've been struggling with and/or conquered, and answer that month's IWSG question. It's September! Happy Birth-Month to me! It seems perfect, then, to talk about unrealistic and unmet expectations, because I'm good at setting them and then being disappointed in myself. You'd think that after "almost" 37 years, I'd understand that I hate the editing process, am prone to procrastination of those things I don't care for, and to give myself twice the time I'd like to complete such tasks. You'd think. *sigh* But apparently, this isn't the case. I'm STILL working on edits for Diomere's Mercenary. Edits I'd hoped to have completed by September 1st. Here this day is and...

This morning, I'm supposed to be working on the final battle scene in Diomere's Mercenary... BUT... So I'm here instead, epically procrastinating by writing this blog. I mean, it needed to be done anyway, right? *sigh* In fantasy, ordinary battle scenes are difficult because they need to be exciting, while also making sense. The writer needs to have some idea how fighting with whatever weapon is being used works. You don't want your readers to put your book down in disgust because you wrote a battle scene so unbelievable that they're left thinking you're an idiot writer. Or worse, have them be bored! It's an important balance, excitement and logic. So when you take battle scene and add it to climax scene, the point when the shit hits the fan, things become even more tricky. You have to write an exciting and convincing battle scene while also bringing everything you've set up together so that it all leads to some kind of resolution. And since th...

This past weekend, I was asked to speak to the members of a local writing group about the business side of writing fantasy. That is to say, the group's members wanted to know about the market, what publishers are the best, and which agents to seek out. It turned into a pretty good presentation, and while anyone can find this information with a little research, it can be overwhelming for new writers, so I thought I'd share a little of what I covered here. Back when I was new, I would have loved someone to lay it out for me. The Fantasy Market What we hear: The Fantasy Market is over-saturated. Is it true? Yes and no. Fantasy does seem to be the go to genre for aspiring authors. They believe that it must be easy since they can just make up whatever they want, when in all actuality, fantasy is much harder, takes more time, and requires more skill, IMO, than setting a story in the world that already exists. A fantasy writer first has to put in hours upon hours of ...

Hello! Today I'm interviewing the lovely Angela Christina Archer ...just a few fun questions to get to know her. First, here is a little about her debut novel, The Woman On The Painted Horse, which released yesterday on Amazon. A young woman defying the laws of her country, a young man hungry with greed and power, a brave soul who falls in love with one he shouldn’t; all three caught in a country divided by war and a forbidden love torn apart by blackmail and disparity. Alexandra Monroe is a slave smuggler, smuggling slaves north where they can live as free people. Her crime is sedition and her punishment, if caught, is death. The daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Montgomery, Alexandra lives a life not by her own accord, but a life she willingly accepts for her secret quest to save the lives of slaves. Her ultimate sacrifice is to marry the town's most eligible bachelor, Thomas Ludlow—who has deadly secrets of his own. One afternoon, Alexandra comes face to face w...

  Announcing Sabrina A.Fish, newly published author!!! Cue the fireworks!! I know my veteran published author friends can appreciate my excitement. Shine 7: Lost Haven is available on Amazon. Please show some love and go check it out. Remember to leave a review after you read it. Thank you, dear bloggy friends! In the near future, a few young women manifest extraordinary abilities called "Shine." Each girl's ability is different. Some develop extraordinary mental abilities. Some become physically strong. Others have powers that defy description. But the world does not embrace these Shines. It fears them. Camille’s life hasn’t been the same since her parent’s supposed murder suicide. When an intruder ransacks her home and she discovers a mysterious thumb drive hidden in her father’s office, she realizes the unwanted changes in her life are just beginning. Politics and conspiracy, betrayal and abduction. Camille is about to discover that chan...

I announced last summer that I was asked to write as a contributing author for the Shine miniseries by William Bernhardt. You've seen the promotions for the first novellas released in the series as you've followed me the last 6 months. Today, I'm thrilled to announce that my Shine story, Shine 7: Lost Haven will be published on Amazon as an e-book in April 2014. Coming April 2014 Please check out Shine 1-5 on Amazon and stay tuned for more news on my upcoming contribution! I'm participating in the Moonless Book Release Blogfest celebrating Crystal Collier 's paperback release of her novel, Moonless. What I have to do: If you lived in a society where arranged marriages were a la mode, who would you beg your parents to set you up with? (Literary characters and celebrities welcome) Who and why? Hmmm, well, I'm honestly not into the arranged marriage thing. I love the man I picked very much. So I'm going to pretend that I'm 18 again, many y...

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop I was very kindly nominated a while back for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop by Melanie D. Sokol . It's taken me a bit, but I am finally getting this post up. I hope you enjoy learning about my newest WIP. *** What is the working title of your book? Diomere's Prince Where did the idea come from for the book? One of my very odd and detailed dreams after watching a documentary on Mermaids on the Discovery Channel, I believe. What genre does your book fall under? Fantasy/YA What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A misplaced prince must discover his true heritage and find his way home to present himself before a magic gate by his 16th birthday to prevent the destruction of his people and an entire world. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Chris Hemsworth as my protagonist  Mark Addy as my Antagonist Angus T. Jones as my protagonists' brother. Will your bo...

Today I get to participate in Challenge #1  of Rachael Harrie's 4th Writer's Platform Building Campaign. I am so excited. Here is the challenge and then my response to it: Write a short story/ flash fiction  story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.   If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do  one or more  of these: end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count) include the word "orange" in the story write in the same genre you normally write make your story 200 words exactly! I decided to use the characters from my current work-in-progress. I did it in exactly 200 words in my genre using both the beginning and end sentence. Enjoy. Elusive Escape by Sabrina A. Fish Shadows crept along the wall, inky ...