A person I never understood

I decided I want to do some different kind of writing tonight, so this piece goes out to a dear friend of mine I lost.  She taught me a lot about friendship, as well as the parts of a person we may never truly understand.

You have to understand, you would have known this girl the moment you walked down the straight.  The way the wind blew in her face, the flash of her smile, those seemingly innocent eyes --you couldn't have missed her.  She was beautiful in every aspect, both physically and mentally.  She was a smart girl, and she knew exactly what she wanted.

To be honest, though, there was a lot she hid behind that smile.  She hid secrets and a world that she didn't share with many --if anyone at all.  She was private in many ways about her life, and there were some parts of her she swore to herself that she would never reveal to anyone.

Despite the secrets that burdened her, you should have seen the smile on that girl's face.  She walked around with the largest smile like nothing in the world could take her down.  You would have thought she was a role model with a smile like that.  Her eyes would glimmer in the sun like she was fearless, and in many ways I believe she was.
The truths she did feel safe enough to talk about were not always happy --then again, the truth isn't always pretty.  She wore scars underneath her smile, but she was strong, whether she knew it or not.  When she would cry while telling a story, you'd want to be sitting there with her crying too.  It was just the way she was.
I don't know where she is these days, and I try not to ask myself anymore.  Someday, though, I'd like to believe that we'll cross paths again.  She probably won't say anything, but that's okay.  I've always seen what she's wanted to say in her eyes, and I think that's something about her that no amount of hurt will change.  A girl like that will someday see the world for what it is, and then she'll finally be able to come to peace with everything.
I'll wish her a safe trip on this voyage.


For tonight you don't have to forgive the people you don't understand.  All I ask that you consider is wishing them a safe trip in their life as they continue on.
One last post before I head to bed!
Lindsey R. Sablowski

Write the story you're scared to write

Today I'm hoping to squeeze in some time to work on the submission I'm submitting to Apex Magazine.  They mostly publish dark fantasy/science fiction kind of work, so it has been a dream of mine to have a piece of work published in their magazine.  (Besides, it would be nice to actually earn money for the work I enjoy.)

He enters the room with a sinful smile wide enough to cover his entire face.  I stagger back, feeling somewhat intimidated by him.  It is our wedding night, a night I have dreamed about all my life, and as expected we will spend the remainder of the night in our bedchamber.  His body is fix and broad, his muscles show as he lifts up his tunic, and his golden hair hangs loosely in his face.  I sit in the bed with a robe covering my corset, but I am fully aware of his intentions.

"Are you pleased, my Lord?" I ask in a quivering voice I do not recognize.

He advances and whispers, "Silence, woman."

My eyes widen, and my heartbeat quickens the moment his body lands on his bed.  Slowly, he begins crawling toward me like a tiger.  His eyes are black and cold, full with hunger and desire.  All the while, I imagine I'm somewhere, anywhere else.

And so begins Hushed by Dawn, a story a young lady trapped in a world where men rule.  When Katarina marries Lyedan she is a young, innocent girl.  She is not accustomed to life as a high-class citizen, nor does she grasp that everything she once owned now belongs to her husband.  It seems all of the women are attracted to Lyedan, but none of them who he really is.  Rumors spread around about his father, an abusive alcoholic, but there might be more to the story than anyone realizes.  Katarina discovers a secret no one knows about the family.  She reassures herself that so long as she hides her husband's secret no harm will fall upon her, but as the pressure from society overwhelms her tension rises.  Confused with emotions of love and fear, she most move quickly to uncover the truth.  If Lyedan suspects she doubts him, will he threaten her?  Might a deadly, dangerous secret be enough to save Katarina's life or end it?

 One of Apex's requests is that you "Write the story you are afraid to write."  So today I'm encouraging all of you to write a story like you've never written before.  We all have our comfort zones and what we prefer to write, but today do something different.  When you get the chance try to write that story that's been in the back of your mind.  Maybe it'll scare you to write it because it's so different, but you never know, it could change everything.
Enjoy your day!  I'll be back in a bit to talk about Cursed With Power, upcoming news and contests and the like!  Be sure to come back!
Lindsey R. Sablowski

How I spend my free time (aka Editing time)

That's right, instead of editing I decided to revise some old covers and remodel them!  This is actually something I've been doing for a while.  While I don't use any fancy software, I really love find images and redesigning them for book covers.  (What's the harm; these aren't official covers anyways.)

This cover actually is very special to me.  The Magic of Light was the first novel I wrote, also being the first book I queried to publishers.  Even though this book has many mistakes, I also learned a lot from it.  From the characters I learned what it's like to struggle, from the plot I realized I loved stories with magic and action, and from the numerous rejections I learned that the publishing world isn't all black and white.  So I figured the least I could do for this book was remodel a the cover so it's presentable; after all, I owe a lot to it.

Here's a few other covers you may have seen floating around that all of which I did design:

Those are just a few!  Thought I would share this while I still have a few free minutes.

I will be posting about Her Highness, The Traitor very soon.  My apologies for not getting to it tonight, but I do have some serious editing to catch up on and I'd like to go to sleep before 12.  That's all for tonight; be sure to stop by tomorrow for more!

Remember, you can always find me on twitter: tweet, tweet

Lindsey R. Sablowski

Inspirational Monday

In order to keep myself in line, I've decided I need little posts to do for every day --or at least two days--of the week.  As for Mondays, I think all we need sometimes is a bit of inspiration to start our day.  (Yes, it's 6pm, but you get the point.)

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

So which are you going to be?  The candle or the mirror?

I'll be stopping in right after I finish this chapter and play with my niece for a bit to talk about some exciting ideas we'll have roaming around the blog.

Lindsey R. Sablowski

Headache Sunday

Whew, after cleaning up this blog and my other one... I am officially worn out!  Who knew this could be tiring?

I'm off to watch The Killing, but I promise to be back later and post more.  (Not tonight, but tomorrow)  Oh, and we'll be joining Mariella's company to save the unicorns.  Come on, unicorns are pretty.  You know you want to.  (lol)

I'll be back soon.  In the mean time, go over to Facebook and like Cursed With Power.  Once we reach 30 likes I'll announce an upcoming contest in which you can win a signed copy of the book!

Good night and happy father's day!

Lindsey R. Sablowski

Red River of Secrets

It took me a while to decide on what this post should be about, so instead I've decided from now on I need to mix things up.  I'll be writing a creative piece as one of my characters.  Enjoy!

It's nearly midnight, but sit outside in the garden with my evening gown on.  The breeze brushes against my skin as the hairs on my arms raise up.  I lean against the wooden chair I'm sitting in and admire the smell of roses.  It is a distinct smell, almost overwhelmingly sweet.

Then suddenly I heard a noise.  Someone is approaching from nearby, but I'm alarmed with it being so late.  I start to stand, but then I realize my husband has arrived.  He has somewhat of an anxious look in his face; the wrinkles show just below his eyes, as if he hasn't slept for days.  He walks over to the chair and kneels down to face me.

"I have a lot on my mind.  If it's all right with you, I'd like to tell you all about it," I say.

He nods.

"Of course, but may I ask why you decided tonight?  And at such an hour like this?  I barely could keep my eyes open for the walk alone," he responds.

"Husband, I fear there are matters I have never spoken of.  I want you to know everything about me, but in order to tell you all of this, I need to confine in you," I stroke his chin as I say all of this.

He seems calm, but his hand taps eagerly on the chair.  

"Speak, wife; you have no need to keep secrets from me.  I would never hide anything from you."

For a moment I hesitation, but then I push forward to say, "There is a river I know of.  It's unlike any river I've seen before, and it flows with water as thick and red as blood.  Somewhere within this river--perhaps at the bottom--there is a pearl, but how can one seek out this peal when the river is so treacherous?  I have gone to this river many times now since our marriage, and it does frighten me.  I want you to promise me, promise me, Lyedan, that such a river will never harm us."

Lyedan is entirely silent.  For the first time he is speechless, saying nothing and offering only a emotionless stare.  As I wait, I wish I hadn't made a metaphor about a river.  I wish that I had told him the truth and admitted that I knew his family's secret, but it is not my duty as his wife to know his business.  

At last he clears his throat, and I stop regretting my decision.

"Tell me where this river is so that I may find it and destroy it.  I won't have anything come in between us and threaten harm us, especially you.  So long as I live you will never be in harm's way again," he says.

I smile, though at the bottom of my troubled heart I'm not certain that I believe him.  Before I can decide on my feelings, he leans forward and his lips brush against mine.  All of my doubts rush away as his kisses linger on my skin and his whispers fill the silent night.  He promises to love me forever, to love me endlessly, and with each kiss and each promise I believe him.

This piece was written in the POV as Katarina, the main character in Hushed by Dawn, a romance/mystery/historical fiction novel.  Fortunately this story is on Wattpad if you're interested in reading more: here.  

Remember to leave behind in the comments your thoughts.  This might be something I do every Friday, if you like it!

Writing from a male's POV as a woman

Now for those of you male writers out there, I'm sure this is the least of your concerns.  However, for us ladies we may often struggle when it comes to writing a story from a man's point of view.  Whether you write in first person or third person, when it comes to writing the man's story or his views it sometimes can be very challenging.  

Over the course of writing a historical fantasy fiction book, I've learned a lot about male characters.  If there's one thing you want to be certain of, it's this: Make sure you male's characters have unique voices.  I cannot stress this enough.  (And I say that to you because I told myself the same advice.)  Imagine how frightening it would be if your male characters ended up sounding like the women in your book.  This especially can be a problem when your main character is a woman, but her sidekick or best friend is perhaps a man.

So then how do writers do it?  Numerous authors have written about The Tudors, focusing on the man Henry was --both as a ruler and a husband.  Or better yet, how did Mary Stewart write the Arthurian saga from the perspective of Merlin?

Don't fret, don't worry, though.  It isn't impossible.

Lynn Rush, the author of Wasteland (told from a male's POV), said her success came from research. Watching people, reading, the internet --all of these are sources that can help you in your writing.  

So here's some suggestions (both from me and from other authors that I read up on):

• Remember that men aren't always as open about their feelings as women are.  It doesn't mean they won't necessarily share their feelings, but keep in mind it may take them more time to be open about it then it may take a woman.
• Men connect more physically than emotionally.  This might not matter that much to you if you're not writing a romance novel, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.
• Men can be very logical and sometimes brutally honest.  They want to fix things, which you might have noticed when you went to a guy friend/boyfriend/husband and broke down crying over something, hoping for a hug, when in the end they're just trying to figure out how they can solve the situation.  Also, no matter how you're feeling, sometimes men will be entirely honest with you no matter how brutal it may sound.  They might say something like "You're being overdramatic;" we've all heard it before, and it's just a matter we may never understand.
• Women are more quick to realize anger than men.  This might seem like something you'd only read in a psychology textbook, but this actually does play an important role when it comes to writing for your character.  Perhaps someone is angry or upset at him for something he's said and instead of realizing the person is mad, he would ask, "What's the matter?"

Now I'm sure I could go on for days with the ways men act and how this can affect your male POV.  At the end of the day, though, I think the most important thing to do is observe the men in your life.  Friends, a boyfriend/husband, relatives, even a stranger... All of them act differently, but you may notice some similarities.  I can't tell you how many times I've had words from a conversation flood my head while trying to write a male character's dialog.  Hold onto those conversations you had, the emotions you had, and the emotions you noticed them feeling.  There's a lot you can notice about a man, even if he isn't speaking.  And don't be afraid to peek around in books for those male characters you fell in love with (Tristan from Song of the Sparrow happens to be one of my favorite).  Note down quotes and body posture; anything at all that may help.  Maybe even write down how (if told from a woman's POV) the woman saw him/felt about him.

Good luck!  

Coming up next: I'll be talking about Her Highness, The Traitor --a new book I'm currently read.  Also, I'm going to start watching The Tudors sometime this week, so I plan on writing about my first reactions.  (Slightly excited because I've heard the show is great!)

Lindsey R. Sablowski

A writer cannot be his own hero

"A writer... He could write your story, everybody’s story, any story but never his story. That is the irony of being a writer. He can never be the hero of his own life, where there is no “Once upon a time” nor “They lived happily ever after.” Maybe that is the dreadful reason why a writer is a writer. He dreams of a chronicle where every tale is not his reality. His surreal mind dictates to his hand, what his heart desires. His yearning will only be feasible in papers, because only in papers he can barely feel happiness."

This is not my quote, but I read it on Tumblr and thought I would share. Very moving.... And absolutely true.