Category Archives: Behind the Scenes

Ode to the Unpredictable Routine [Alternate Title: An Explanation]

by Hannah
winterchase_proofOur second book, Winter Chase (as well as our first – Tahosa Treasure), will make wonderful stocking stuffers this Christmas! At least, Baby Boy seems to think so 😉

Here I am at 7:30am on a Wednesday morning. I’ve been up for more than an hour and Baby Boy is still sleeping. This is unheard of.

There is a blustery wind whipping through… I was going to say the lone pine tree outside our patio doors…but I was interrupted. Baby Boy woke up. I went to nurse and cuddle him and – also unheard of at this hour of the morning – he slipped peacefully back into dreamland.

I will steal a few more minutes of quiet thought and quiet writing before he wakes again. MiMi is coming today to help us with a few projects and spend some time hanging out. Even though it is a blustery day outside, it will be warm and cheery in here.

I have a “to do” list for the day, as I do practically every day. But I will hold it with loose hands. I celebrate the little victories – like nursing & cuddling Baby Boy off to sleep at 7:45am. What gets done, gets done. That’s what I tell myself.

This has been life since February 15th of this year, the day our Baby Boy made his grand entrance. Being a stay at home mom is simultaneously the best and the hardest thing I have ever done. The pattern of my days is simultaneously routine and unpredictable. One moment flows into the next – from the first waking sounds of Baby Boy until his little eyes fall shut in sweet sleep (at least, most of the time!) at the end of the day.

I didn’t write this post as an ode to motherhood or stay at home moms or parenthood. I wrote it by way of explanation. Our ShadowTime Writers blog has fallen silent as I’ve stretched myself to catch onto my new existence as a mother. BUT we’ve still been creating; I’ve still been writing. Just not in the open for all to read.

Draft after draft has gone through our hands. We’ve critiqued and edited and added and taken away. We’ve written and re-written and then written again. After almost a year and a half, the second book in our Talon Family series is about to go live on Amazon! Winter Chase has truly been an adventure for us and we are excited to let you in on it. More details will be coming very soon!

If you’d like to keep up with my journey through motherhood and occasionally receive updates on ShadowTime Writer’s latest projects, please follow my personal blog. For now I’ll be consolidating so that when blogging is an item on my “to do” list, perhaps I can fit it into my unpredictable routine just a little bit easier 😉

~Hannah

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Back in the Saddle

by Hannah

Back in the Saddle

This last six weeks have been filled with many things. A whole lot of writing hasn’t been one of them.

I had my baby boy on February 15th. As you can imagine, my days have consisted of feeding and sleeping and diapering and bathing and rocking.

Yes, not a whole lot of writing.

BUT.

April is a new month. Baby Boy and I were given the “all clear” at our six-week appointment. I am eager to get back into my writing schedule. I loved my 30 minutes a day writing sessions. I got so much accomplished!

So here’s to a new month and being back in the saddle again!

Cheers!

A New Year, A New Book

by Hannah

Happy New Year 2013!!!

Here at Shadowtime Writers, we are expecting great and wonderful things in the coming 12 months. Tahosa Treasure is set for official release on January 8th – what a way to start off the new year! Look for it then on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble!

Our number one goal for 2013 (besides successful marketing of Tahosa Treasure) is to see the next book in the Talon Family Series – Winter Chase – published as well. We hope to have it complete and ready for release by this November.

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How? 

Good question! I’ve developed a new (and highly sophisticated) approach called “Write for 30 minutes before I get out of bed every morning.” And, you know what? It seems to be working like a charm!

In fact, I predict we’ll beat our November deadline and already be starting working on the third book. Yes! A third! This is going to be one awesome series, people!

What is your number one writing goal for 2013?

A Time for Thanksgiving

by Hannah

(Psalm 136, NLT)

No matter what state we are in…what state our families are in…what state our cities are in…or our world…

There is always time for thanksgiving.

Why? How?

Because the Lord “remembers” & “rescues” those who believe in Him.

Because His “mercy endures forever.”

We hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving no matter what state you find yourself in. If you can’t see a reason to give thanks…and especially if you can…we hope you take this Scripture to heart.

Many, many blessings to you & yours this holiday season!

A Writing Desk

by Hannah

Some day I will have one. A desk where all I do is write.

Okay…and maybe read.

But I will read to write. And this desk will have only what I need to write.

It will face something that inspires me. Anything but a blank wall. It will face a window. Or photos that move me. Or perhaps this:

(credit here)

It would have a vase with flowers. Notepads and pens. My laptop. A photo of me and my love. And that’s about it.

This writing desk would be my place to think, to dream. And to move beyond thinking & dreaming to words.

Words written on paper. Words that contain part of my soul, breathing from the page.

Someday I will have my desk. But for now I will write anyways. Wherever, whenever and however I can.

I realize it’s the words that matter, after all. Not where they’re written from.

A Title Change: Tahosa Treasure

by Hannah

The editing phase is almost complete and we are very pleased with the final manuscript!

One big change that came out of the process is a new title. Tate’s editing team did some brainstorming and we did some brainstorming. I have to say that picking a title for a book is somewhat like naming a child. It seems like it should be easy…but it’s not.

In the end, we decided on Tahosa Tresaure. We feel this represents our story well. 

So, that’s the title you’ll be seeing from now on when we refer to the book. It will also be the title to look for on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble once the book is released.

Next up: we can’t wait to see the cover design and layout for the manuscript take shape!

Phase #2: Developmental Editing

by Hannah

Our book, River of Despair, is now officially in Phase #2 of production. This phase is called Developmental Editing and lasts 2-3 months.

During the Developmental Editing Phase, the team at Tate Publishing meticulously combs our manuscript and sends us a detailed edit by the end of June. These edits will include ways to change, improve or strengthen River of Despair.

It’s our choice whether or not to apply the suggestions in the edit document. Tate does not make any changes; we make any changes and then send it back. Once Tate receives our changes, they apply them and send us the final draft for approval.

This first month, before we receive the edits, it will be fairly quiet. Earlier this week, we complete the Promotional Copy (also called the “Pro-Co”) for the back of our book. It’s basically like an ad for our book, drawing the reader [that’s you!] in and getting them excited about what’s inside.

At the end of the Developmental Phase, River of Despair will move on to the layout/design phase. We can’t wait to see how our book will actually look in print!

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How I Started Writing

by Hannah

(It’s a little grainy…but it’s me)

When I was 11 years old I wrote my first book.

I honestly can’t even remember what it was about. Nor do I still have that first book. I wish I did. I’m sure it would provide plenty of entertainment on this side of things.

I do know that I poured my heart into that book (we’re talking a “book” that was 15 hand-written pages max). I was so proud of it. It felt like such an accomplishment.

It was written in pencil. On lined notebook paper. I’m pretty sure the main character was a girl. My age. My height. Like me. A girl who had dreams. A girl who wanted to go on grand adventures. And I’m pretty sure that girl loved to write, too.

So, that’s how I started writing. I might have kept a diary before then, but – if I did – I have no remembrance of it. I really have no remembrance of writing at all before my “book.”

I should have known then. What I was born to do. Write. Spill out my heart, my dreams, my ideas, my myriad of words onto an empty page. And not even worry if someone would ever read them. Or even want to.

When I was 11 years old, I wrote because I loved to write. Because I was born to write.

That’s how I want to write now. Not for an audience. Not worried whether someone will ever read the words I write. Or even want to.

I want to write just for the love of writing.

Question: How did you start writing?

 

What’s the Big Idea?

by Hannah

We started this blog because we love a good story.

That’s the big idea behind it in a nutshell. But the extended version of the big idea is pretty awesome, too.

Truth is: we found spare moments over the last few years to dream and create and write. Out of that came a book – our first book – that is due out around the end of this year via Tate Publishing.

We want to be able to share our book with as many people as possible because (here we come full circle)…we believe it’s a good story.

And good stories are meant to be shared.

Because we love a good story, wrote our first book and now want to share it with the world – we also started this blog. It’s a creative outlet and an avenue to share stories.

On this blog we hope to cover: what we know, what we’re learning and what we hope to learn about writing & marketing. The book reviews are included because we know that good reading is foundational to good writing.

So, that’s it.

The big idea.

And it’s kind of nice to have it out in type, for the world to see.

Question: what’s the big idea behind your blog [if you have a blog]? Leave us a link to your blog in the comments so we can check it out.