Myndi Shafer

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Worth Your Christmas Money

Over the past 13 months of this blog’s life, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing and hosting many talented science fiction and fantasy authors. If you received some money for Christmas or some Amazon gift cards, and they’re burning a hole in your pocket, check out these authors.

Kait Nolan and Werewolves

Randy Ingermanson and Mars

Angela Wallace and Elementals

Myndi Shafer and Glowing Trees

The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook

I’m officially on a blogging vacation over the holidays, but I’ll be back with all new posts in the New Year 🙂 And I have some exciting things planned.

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Where Did the Inspiration for Shrilugh Trees Come From?

Shrilugh by Myndi ShaferI have a special treat for you today. One of my lovely fantasy writer friends has agreed to visit today and tell us about the glowing trees in her book. I love taking a behind the scenes look (like watching the special features on a movie), so I’m thrilled Myndi agreed to stop by.

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Thanks, Marcy, for having me today! I’m tickled pink to be here.

Shrilugh takes place in two different worlds: a fictional version of ours, and another world accessed through a mystical Door atop an old abandoned silo. Originally, Shrilugh was called The Silo Door because I went into writing the first draft with the mindset of the story centering around the Door. Soon, however, the story grew, the plot thickened, and the Door itself became secondary. Which meant I needed to find another name for the book.

The name of the other world is Archethenia. (That’s never mentioned in the the first book for two reasons: the main character, Aydan, never thought to ask, and the secondary character, Rein, never thought to tell.)

Archethenia isn’t terribly different from our own world: its occupants look human (though they’re not). They eat similar foods, have families, live in houses. But it’s a more rustic world – no electricity, no machines. It’s a more formal world – women wear dresses, servants and slaves abound, and there is a social caste.

It’s also a more sophisticated world – though there is little technology like our own, there is a fineness to what they do have. Their carriages are sleek and move with more grace than our automobiles. Their architecture is handcrafted and made with intention, with symbolism carefully integrated in unexpected places. As we get into the pages of the second book (The Darkening, due out late February 2013), we’ll find that they are not quite so limited in technology as we thought – it just looks different than our own.

One of the differences between our world and theirs is found in nature – specifically, the trees. Not all their trees, but one species in particular, called Shrilugh. When dusk settles in, the Shrilugh trees begin to glow, lighting the world around them with a warm, inviting light. Marcy asked me to talk about the inspiration for these trees, and it’s actually appropriate for the season. As I’m tapping away at my keyboard, I’m sitting in front of part of my inspiration:

My Christmas tree.     

Growing up, I was always fascinated by our family Christmas tree. My mom loved Christmas, and our tree would be laden with lights, sparkly gold garland, lights, more ornaments than you can count, and more lights. The woman had a knack for stringing the lights and placing the ornaments in a way that took our tree from looking like the fake that it was to a Glowing Glorious Thing That Deserved Your Awe.

I remember looking at that tree, and then looking out my bedroom window at night, wishing the trees that lined the river in the distance would glow too. I was especially fond of a very tall cottonwood, and oftentimes found myself praying with all my child-like might that God would light up that tree, just for me.

When we moved back to Kansas from Hawaii, one of the first things I noticed was how darn short the trees are here. They have to be. The winds that come howling across these plains make it tough for a tree of any height to survive.

Cottonwoods are the exception. They’re sturdy buggers who aren’t afraid of the wind; in fact, I’d have sworn the one I favored as a kid longed for it. While the other trees around it seemed to hunker down and wait out the gales, that tree seemed to dance in it.

The Kansas landscape seemed so brown and desolate compared to Hawaii. Short trees, little water. It could have been a pretty depressing shift, but three things saved it for me: the stars at night, the lazy sunsets, and the cottonwood trees.

One cottonwood in particular. Along Highway 196, between Whitewater and Newton, on the north side of the road, stands a giant. He’s right at the crest of a hill, standing watch over the travelers as they pass by. I like to think that he and the cottonwood of my youth are related somehow – cousins? Brothers?

So that’s how Shrilugh trees came to be – a combination of my love for my mom’s Christmas trees, and my love for a couple friendly cottonwoods. And since these glowing trees (and the mythology behind them) are ultimately central to the plot of the series, it seemed natural to give the first book (and the series itself) their name.

Would you like to own a tree that glows?

Myndi ShaferMyndi Shafer digs tiramisu, the smell of rain, and freshly painted nails. Myndi does not dig stubbing her toe, eating sushi, and formatting eBooks. She lives with her husband, four kiddos, a dog, and a bird, and knows her life is charmed. To learn more about Myndi, visit her website, hang out with her on Twitter (@MyndiShafer), or like her on Facebook (because everybody loves to be liked, right?).

You can buy Shrilugh at Amazon*, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords. And don’t forget to visit Myndi at her blog!

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*The Amazon link is Marcy’s Amazon affiliate link. If you’re not cool with that, just search for Shrilugh on Amazon.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas From My Family to Yours

Merry Christmas Santa Claus(Yes, I did put a Santa hat on my dog.)

I’ll be taking a short blogging break over the holidays to spend time with my family. I look forward to catching up with all of you when I return. In the meantime, please subscribe so that you don’t miss any of the coming posts in the new year!

And in case you find yourself ready to do some reading after all the presents are opened and you’ve reached the point where you don’t even want to think about food anymore, I wanted to leave you with a few excellent Christmas posts to read.

Santa Claus: The Granddaddy of all Superheroes from the folks at Comic Book Movie.

Myndi Shafer of Barefoot Blogging made me think about what Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, has to teach all of us.

Santa Claus, Man of Mystery by K.B. Owen gives two of the best Santa videos, as well as a hilarious list of why it’s great to be Santa.

If you missed my post, What If Santa Were Real? click through.

And Lisa Hall-Wilson and I have also left a Christmas message at Girls With Pens for our writer friends linking to our five most popular posts of 2011 and an amazing cello rendition of Carol of the Bells. 

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December 10 Grab Bag

I used to love candy grab bags growing up. You never knew what goodies were going to be inside, but you knew they were going to be good. Like the posts you can find at these links . . .

For Writers

5 Types of Platform and Which Is Right for You? – Jeff Goins explains five different “voices” or “tones” your platform can take and what personality types are best suited for each.

When Grammar Elements Go Out Drinking – The ladies at Edittorent made me laugh out loud. If you don’t get the joke, make sure you hire an editor before trying to publish your book.

Is Your Novel a Spineless Weakling? – A story can succeed or fail based on the antagonist. Yet another great post from Kristen Lamb on how to make sure your novel has the backbone it needs to survive. 

For Speculative Fiction and Fantasy Lovers

Rules to Survive a Horror Movie – You’ll be chuckling and nodding your head over these tips by Liz Schulte on how to survive if you ever find yourself in a horror movie. Many thanks to Jessica O’Neal for hosting this guest post. And because no horror movie is complete without a sequel, go by Liz Schulte’s Bat Country for How to Survive a Horror Movie Part 2.

The Characters of Harry Potter: Neville – The latest instalment in Jessica O’Neal’s series on the characters of Harry Potter doesn’t disappoint as she tackles one of my favorites. Neville’s innate humility and surprising bravery immediately drew me to him. Find out why else Jess thinks he’s one of the most well-developed characters in the books.

The Hunger Games: Team Peeta vs. Team Gale – Jess Witkins’ Happiness Project pits the two men in Katniss Everdeen’s life against each other. While I didn’t care about Twilight and picking sides, I’m Team Peeta all the way in this one.

The Meaning of Life

Confessions of a Hoarder – On her blog Of Martians and Marshmallows, Lynette M. Burrows comes clean on her personal hoarding obsession. It’ll make you take a fresh look at your own house.

Learning to #EpicFail . . . with Style – Kristen Lamb shares how failure can actually be a good thing if we learn how to use it to our advantage.

The Grinch Is Pregnant -The never-disappointing Myndi Shafer makes an extraordinarily good case that The Grinch is actually pregnant. Yes, even though he’s a boy.

From My Co-Writer Lisa Hall-Wilson at Through the Fire

Why I Hate Christmas – Not everyone loves Christmas and sometimes that’s okay. What matters is what you do with it.

Mermaids Off the Port Bow – Could the myths about mermaids have originated from a real society?

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Come find me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. I’d love to hang out.

Saturday Grab Bag

Because it’s tricky to keep up on all the great posts out there, I’ve collected some of my favorites in a Saturday mash-up. Enjoy 🙂

Links for Writers

Getting Primal and Staying Simple with Your Plot – Bestselling author Kristen Lamb gives priceless tips on how to get a visceral reaction from your readers with a plot that’s both complex yet simple.

Writing A Series: 7 Continuation Issues to Avoid – From covers to character histories, Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn points out what you need to watch for when writing a series.

On Your Mark: Marketing Your Novel (Part 1) & (Part 2) – Angela Ackerman of The Bookshelf Muse hosts Janice Hardy, author of three novels, in this series of guest posts full of tested advice on how to market your novel. These tips are as valid for traditionally published authors as they are for indie authors.

Links for Speculative Fiction Lovers

The Immortals Are Coming – Debra Kristi of Sparks in the Fire asks, “Would you want to be immortal if it meant continuing to grow old and watching everyone you love pass away?”

Why Sliders May Be Possible: The Science of Multi-Universes – Alexia Reed of Danger Begins with a Kiss asks “what if” while looking at some interesting scientific studies.

Current Events

A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney – Coleen Patrick looks at the snippets of wisdom Andy Rooney gave to the world in his many essays on 60 Minutes.

Five Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs – Michael Hyatt calls these leadership lessons, but they’re actually just good life lessons for all of us.

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Lessons from Steve Jobs – Diane Capri on her blog Licensed to Thrill gives a lovely summary of what Steve Jobs did right in his life, as well as links to the 60 Minutes special and his biography.

The Meaning of Life

Grumpy to Gracious – When you feel grumpy but you don’t know why (or even if you do), August McLaughlin’s blog Savor the Page gives some simple ways to practice gratitude. Her tips help chase the grumpies away.

Beer Can Barriers – Are your problems actually impossible to fix or are they only beer can barriers? Myndi Shafer’s Silly Soapbox takes a new look at our perspective about our problems.

This Week from My Co-Writer Lisa Hall-Wilson

Check out her tribute to Canadian veterans in I Am Not American.