Three years! Where has the time gone?

I wrote in my last post (3 years ago) that I was moving my belongings to another house. Well, it’s been three years, and I still don’t have everything moved, organized, and put into place. I’m still working on it.

That disruption of the “normal” in my life caused me to rethink my goals, especially my goals for writing. I have shifted directions with my writing. And that brings me back to the plexus principle. After not finding an agent for my first book, Mark of the Fire, I reflected on what I really wanted to write. I had five grandchildren (now seven). They were growing older. Some of them lived out of town or out of state, and I was not able to see them very often. It dawned on me, that what I really wanted to do was to write books for them.

They were all toddlers. They weren’t going to be able to read for years. But that would give me a head start. I began studying children’s fiction. I started reading book series. I read the Harry Potter series (and many others). And I studied what had made those series successful.

I learned that children like to read about characters slightly older than themselves. They liked fantasy. And they liked humor.

Perfect. I would write middle-grade fantasy. That would give me five or six years to write books until my grandchildren would be able to read them.

I looked around. I was in the process of moving back to the house (and woods) where I grew up. The woods could be my enchanted forest. The Mad River flowed nearby. That would be the “magic” Mad River. And the series would be the Mad River Magic series. Magic would be “light” magic, not dark, and I would incorporate life lessons (subtly). J. K. Rowling used Latin for her magic spells. I needed something different. The Indians in my home area (when the settlers arrived) were the Shawnee Indians. I would use Shawnee phrases for the magic. I found a local resident who had written a Shawnee dictionary. My characters needed something to fly in or on, other than quidditch sticks. A local dairy farm gave children rides in train carts. I call them barrel carts, since they are made from 55 gallon oil drums (or barrels). My characters would fly barrel carts with magic turbo-levitators.

Since I had seven grandchildren, how would I play fair. They couldn’t all be the main character. I need an outsider. I developed the “kid next door.” He needed a handicap. I chose Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy, with late onset and sparing of the upper body muscles. Bolt would “stick-hop” on crutches, and his magic and determination would make up for his weak legs.

The series came together. The first book – THE HEMLOCK APERTURE – has been published (see the “My Books” page for a link to Amazon). The second book has been written and is currently being edited. Hopefully, it will be published in late 2019.

The plan is for many more books in the series. The plexus principle is working. I’m enjoying what I’m writing, and I believe I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing.

What decisions have you made recently that are leading to fulfillment and joy?