Any name suggestions for children's book characters?
Hi there!
First the pic of the pair I need name suggestions for. I am also thinking about continuing with writing and illustrating children’s books, and doodled these two - the ankh around the cat’s neck may hint at the subject line (which, I am sure, no one is surprised of). So far I have received these name suggestions: Steph and Mau, Cindy and Sebastian (or Seb for short). What do you think?
Goodness what an effect two years off writing can have on your memory... I had just reached a good flow of writing when my MA studies started. I had managed to develop a good system in my calendar to find writing time. Not zen by any standards as I have a day job and writing required stealing time from where ever I found a free 15 minute or longer slot in the evenings and weekends. No time to wait for inspiration - I sat down by the computer and started typing. But I digress.
I did manage to write a little during the two years the MA required, but mostly my free time went to research and writing study assignments, watching lectures, discussing theories with other students and then working on my my dissertation. I had luck in that, time-wise. As it happened, I had always used the same amount of days for my summer and winter holidays at work, and thought I had used them all every year. And so I never checked. Then the HR department sent me an email, demanding I use my saved vacation days or I’d lose them. I contacted them and told they were wrong - I had no such thing as saved vacation days. They told me I was the one who was wrong. And so I was. I had not remembered that after I had worked for 10 years in the insurance company, I got extra 3 days per year. Which I had never used.
And ta-da! I had so many unused vacation days I had the luxury of being able to take a 6-week summer vacation, which I used to write my dissertation. (Yes, I have been there long. This February I have worked in the same company for 22 years)
I graduated (hence the profile pic of me wearing my mortar board) and then just rested a while. I was a lemon squeezed dry. But once I had my energies back, I figured it was time to return to writing. After all I am writing several series and none of them is ready yet. I rolled up my sleeves, sat by the keyboard… and realized I wasn’t sure I remembered all the different details in all the different realities I had created for my series.
So, off with the keyboard and on with the reading. I had to read through what I had written in previous books before I could start writing sequels without making horrific plot-blunders.
Which is what I have now been doing, and a good thing I have. So many little details I had forgotten. I have now sent Seven Shabtis book 2 / The Pillar of Death to my editor (Hi there, Stephanie!), doing the same soon with my Nephilim Quest 4, and will start writing Creature Wars 2 in a few days.
Which explains the silence newsletter-wise. But I have been publishing chapters of Bastet Mysteries, Magical Midlife Detectives and Nephilim Quest.
And now I return to digging through the final little details of all the creatures great and small so I can write the next book of the Creature Wars -series.
A reader lives a thousand lives!
Leena :)