Writing Wild with Verna McKinnon

Happy Holidays to all my friends out there!  It is almost 2012 and I am ecstatic.  As I type it is rainy and windy here in Seattle.   But I like the rain and the feel of a new year coming.  New Year means a lot me,  It is a new beginning to start fresh-all shiny & new.  We all have the similar goals in the new year like getting fit or losing weight or getting that great job.  Some people hate doing new year resolutions, but I like the ritual of it all.  For me, (I have a great job at last, so no fuss there) among getting fit part, is the resolution to write more.  I have books to complete and a publisher to keep happy.  I have a couple short stories coming out soon, but I need to keep doing the books.  I also want an agent.  I want to finish The Rose & Sparrow: Goblin Cabal  (working title, but a new fantasy book series I am writing) and finish another Familiar's Tale novel.  My publisher Joe swears it will be soon, as soon as we have the cover art.  So I am excited about

Hello Fantasy Friends, I bought the new Conan the Barbarian movie and am going to watch it tonight with a side of chips and diet coke.  Personally, I thought Jason Mamoa made a great Conan.  This movie is (in my opinion and a lover of Robert E. Howard work)  great.   Nothing will be exactly like the stories, but this adaptation is much closer to the wit,  personality & smarts of the Conan character.  Jason portrayed Conan as smart and clever, though with steely determination and a rough chivalry.  I will not comment on the first 1981 movie or the television show with the clone of Arnold.  I love old fashioned, gritty pulp writing.  Robert E. Howard short stories are the best in this genre.   Personally, I hope they make another film.   My biggest complaint is that they made is another revenge fantasy and Conan was all about the adventure and walking the misty roads of a magical, dangerous world with a glint in his eye and a sword in his hand.  Hey Jason-need someone to help with

Happy Halloween! I love this time of year and Halloween has always been my favorite holidays.  You get to dress up in costumes, be silly, eat candy, tell ghost stories, and watch scary movies.  There have been many great films and books about horror, but I am going to list my current 13 favorite classic movies.   I have other favs in my contemporary & TV genres, but these are classics from the 1930's to the 1960's.  Many of these films are from Universal's great horror vault where they carved out the horror genre with class and simple artistry.  Also, wonderfully scary stars like Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee lead the pack in this classic list of horror greats. 1. The Mummy (1932) with Boris Karloff and Zita Johann.  One of the early greats with a mixture of lost love, reincarnation, curses, mummies, and wonderful black & white film atmosphere.  2. The Mummy (1959) with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.  There were many mum

Hello all.  Just a quick blog to let everyone know a couple things.  First, my new short story, "Snow White: My Story," will be published by Mystic Signals in their February 2012 print edition.  The quarterly fantasy fiction magazine can be bought at their websites or Amazon.com.  I am proud because Snow White has always been one of my favorite fairy tales.  Many good (and bad) writers have done versions of this classic fairy tale.  I have kept my tale in a mythical fairy age time, but have given Snow White a stronger voice and added some humor.  I have also been bothered by obvious holes in the old story-Why the demand for her bloody heart in the iron casket?  Why do bluebirds land on her shoulder?  Why the dwarfs and who were they really?  What about stepmother's past?  Why the gruesome red-hot iron slippers on stepmother?  I have answered these and more, and yes- it is still funny and still dark.   Fairy tales should be dark. But these old folk tales of magic, lost

I have posted another " Tales of Obsydian Nights " short story for your reading pleasure.  It is the darkest and most violent of my Obsydian stories and was one of those published in Descending Darkness as part of my series (sadly that webzine is no longer).  Obsydia is darkness personified and clever in her cruel recruitment.   She demands worship and sacrifice, and knows how to play the weakness of the human soul.   This story is important for another reason.  At the end of the story, when those poor folk that have not succumbed to darkness are escaping the city, we meet a powerful wizard helping those people.  His name is Neelam and he is important for many reasons, not only because he is a strong adversary to Obsydia in several stories, but because he is an important character that will be in my Familiar's Tale series starting with book 2, Tree of Bones .  Neelam is a wonderful no-nonsense character.   He is strong, gritty, and when I write him, the dialogue flows l

Okay, just in case you are a devoted Arnold fan and love the original film version of Conan the Barbarian, stop reading now.  Because as a devoted fan of Robert E. Howard and his work, the new Conan the Barbarian film with Jason Momoa rules in my world. Few film adaptations of an author's work are like the original stories and  I was not expecting it to be.  You can only hope for a tribute of the writer's original perspective.  The 1981 film missed on every possible level, and though it can be viewed as a fun fantasy film, it was never Conan to me.    However, this new film possesses the wild sensation and gritty life of Conan's world that I remember from the original stories.  Jason Momoa does a great job of portraying the bigger than life action hero.  He is basic and elemental.  A born warrior, wild and free, with an odd sense of chivalry and basic code of honor.  In the film, which is very violent as Conan's world was, he fights with lusty abandon and seeks to r

Hello Familiar's Tale Fans! I have posted the first of several short stories set in the world of  "A Familiar's Tale" in my featured story section of my website.  "The Bloodstone Queen" is the first story and recounts the birth of the dark immortal Queen Obsydia.  These stories are set a thousand years before Gate of Souls, A Familiar's Tale book One , but are very integral because it reveals important events of this world's past and also many important characters that are central to my current book series.  Every world has a past and this one is a stage of darkness where light was challenged.  You will meet a young Cathal and Belwyn, Neelam the Wizard and his familiar Surya, who are important characters in books 2 through 4 of my Familiar's Tale series.  You also will get to know first hand Obsydia, who will be a major force of wickedness in books 2-4 of my book series.  My second book is coming out soon, I just wish I could reveal more.  I

I'm very annoyed.   As time goes on, the more the media (books, but especially TV & Film) focuses all the their science fiction and fantasy efforts on the adolescent boy, or the adult male with adolescent perspectives.  The films are bigger with poofy special effects, but the stories are almost non-existent.   It is like bad junk food that lacks nutrition-no thought required.  It is all done to attract the male species into theaters.  But what about us girls, huh?  Those of us, and I know there are many of us girls, that love science fiction and fantasy. The powers in suits think that they need only make certain romantic comedies for us, (though those are even degrading into toilet humor-laced duds with one dimensional scripts) but I shout my defiance.   I love science fiction and fantasy-big or small, silly or serious, but I demand some quality.  I am also one of the few women writers out there that loves Robert E. Howard and relish the sword & sorcery escapades of Con

Hello out there!  My time has been crazy of late, so I have neglected my time blogging for my readers and friends.  Am so sorry.  But I have been writing and waiting to see the new cover work for my new book Tree of Bones .   Am so excited that Rob E. Brown is doing it.  On the personal side,  I have been watching Game of Thrones on HBO.  The casting is superb and the writing excellent.   I hope George RR Martin is happy with it too.  The production values are amazing, but more importantly, there is a real adult fantasy on television worth watching.  Each episode leaves you hanging and breathless for the next episode.  It is not for children under a certain age, but that is fine.  A lot of great fantasy is for the adult mind, not kids.  I think people have forgotten that in the age of Harry Potter.  I am not knocking that, as my books fit the for all ages readership.  But there is a wealth of fabulous fantasy and science fiction out there that can only be given justice on film if i

I am barely over the fact that the world no longer has Brian Jacques or David Eddings in the fantasy/sci-fi world, but now another icon has passed-Elisabeth Sladen, the wonderful actress who immortalized the companion Sarah Jane Smith in the "Doctor Who" universe, died today of cancer.  She was the first companion of the Doctor I saw when I first began watching reruns of Doctor Who on my local PBS channel, and also enjoyed her character's return in the current run of Doctor Who adventures (with Tennant)and her own spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures.   I always liked the actress and the character.  She was one of the first great heroines on science fiction TV.  She was brave, plucky, caring, and clever.  She will be missed. The world just sucks sometimes.

Hello Fantasy Fans!  I am very excited that my publisher Joseph Dickerson has made arrangements with Rob E. Brown to do my next book cover for the upcoming Tree of Bones.  Rob Brown is an amazing artist that has worked for many impressive venues such as Marvel Comics!  Also Rob is doing black and white drawings for inside the book.   I am thrilled and cannot wait to see his artwork for my book. Also, tonight is a sacred time.  The first episode of "Game of Thrones," based on legendary George R.R. Martin's wonderful fantasy series starts tonight.  I have already watched the mini specials for Game of Thrones on the HBO and love the cast!  Some of my favorite actors are in it (Sean Bean!!!!), Lena Headey as Queen Cersei, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, and more great actors.  The new faces are impressive too, such as Emilia Clarke they cast to play Daenerys Targaryen.  I will be watching these episodes over and over, I am sure.  Truly great fantasy to be adapted like th

Okay, my bloodline is infused with a lot of Irish blood and the coming St. Patrick's day is irksome for because all the local great Irish pubs are always too crowded and you can't get in one to save your mother's soul.  Yes, I know it is holy day, but I am more universal in my spiritual philosophies.  But I will have a drink at home and think of the great story telling that the Irish are known for throughout history.  And I am not talking about leprechauns in neon green suits with orange hair.  The Hound of Ulster and Epona come to my mind.  Despite being a warrior culture the Irish were also know for their arts, music, and storytelling.  So I shall put on some Chieftains or Clannad, and raise a glass to my heritage.  A great heritage.  One day I hope to visit Ireland.  Perhaps if I am ever successful as an author (I mean in the financial sense) I would like to live there.  So as I write my stories of magic and warriors, I cling to that hope.  The love of Ireland. More n

Hello Fantasy Fans and Friends, As a writer,  I face a daily challenge of creativity on several planes of focus.  In this daily challenge there is a rim of terror-terror that my writing is less than worthy, my plots are mush, and my characters flat.  I could go on and on, but I shall edit myself and decline to bore you with the gruesome details that haunts authors everywhere.  Those who write speculative fiction especially have even more to agonize over.  We create new worlds and races, bring ancient legends to life, invent mythologies, compose exciting characters that wield magic, manipulate time and space,  have to write about things that simply do not exist in this realm of reality-at least that we know of.  Making it natural and real to our readers  (and publishers) is the tough battle.  Two factors that writers need to focus on is character and dialogue.  Characters are the lifeblood of writing and dialogue an essential soul that brings it to life.  Complex plots and detailed

Okay, my characters are coming out of a long hibernation and despite the firm thread of winter's freeze, I am forced to respond to their incessant demands.  Dabiro and Belwyn are especially pushy. But I am working a lot on book 3 (Fires of Rapiveshta) and I am anxious about finally seeing book 2 in actual print and the artwork. I have run oodles of revisions on some of my characters and the various story lines.    There is a lot I cannot discuss because book 2, Tree of Bones, is not yet released and there are some new characters afoot-both good and evil-and I want you to be surprised. What I have learned, is that you cannot set your story or characters in stone.  Changes happen.  They are demanded in fact.  I guess that is why I have such issues with book outlines.  They can only be most basic type for me.  My mind works a certain way in the creative process.  I know how a story will start and exactly how it ends for each book.  What happens in between in an evolutionary process

I am so sorry my fellow fantasy readers that I have been lax once again in my blogging.  I know I must be more frequent in such things, as it is a way for me the author to communicate, well,  to any one that thinks I am worth reading about.   The thing is I have been busy with a variety of traumas-the day to day human torments I shall not twiddle about here.  We all suffer the same there. But the writing-the creativity that is the fountain of my work-has been busy on rising levels.  I am writing two novels right now, plus finished a my version of a classic fairy tale (Snow White-my favorite) for a contest. Unfortunately, the contest is no longer an issue, so I must now also find a home for a humorous and suspenseful version of my Snow White at 11,000 plus words.  There is lots of magic and fun, and some darkness to tingle your spine. But I am going to focus on my books, plus write some new short stories here and there.   My editor promises my " Tree of Bones ," the secon