Authorly Advice 2: Authors as People

January 20, 2025 martineauthorLeave a comment

The January Authorly Advice blog comes a couple days late due to the topic of the month: authors as people. When we’re young and discover reading for the first time, authors seem like otherworldly beings—more legend than person. As we grow, we learn what fandom means, and we idolize our favorite authors. We may not realize then the responsibility authors have.

Humanity in Fallibility

Authors are people. This in itself is not a revolutionary statement. However, people tend to put too much pressure on themselves to become infallible. Infallibility, while admirable, is unrealistic simply because of the nature of living a life. Sometimes we literally fall down, and whether that is the case or we “drop the ball” in forgetting an appointment or another fashion, we will fall—at least a little bit—no matter what we do.

Two weeks ago, I fell—literally. I slipped on ice and fell, and I hit the back of my head on a tree root. In an instant, everything I’d said and planned for the year was also on shaky footing. I went to the ER, I had tests, I went to the doctor, the chiropractor, physical therapy, and more, and I learned that this head injury was substantial enough to throw off all my plans for at least a full month—which would cause cascading changes throughout the year.

I can no longer spend hours in front of the computer working on a manuscript draft. I can no longer work on editorial tasks. As of today, I can hardly walk without support. This came mere days after cementing my month-long plan and sharing my plans for the year. Sometimes, plans have to change.

Meeting a deadline is possible in some cases but not all. We are not programmed to spit out a certain number of words per day to ensure we reach our goals. Maybe we won’t reach those goals. Maybe we need more time. Maybe we need to stop and think. Maybe there’s an illness or disaster outside our control. Maybe we have other commitments and have to make the difficult decision between them.

The important thing in these cases is to be honest. Being honest does not mean baring all, but it does mean that what is laid bare must be honest. Fallibility is part of being a living being, but honesty and genuineness are choices.

Humanity in Responsibility

Authors have a responsibility to honesty. Whether that was the plan or not, the moment someone puts themselves out there for the public—musicians, journalists, actors, field experts, and so on—they become a public figure. Someone, somewhere, looks up to them and admires what they do. People have to know that the person they look up to is trustworthy. Do I know what my favorite author had for lunch today? No. Does she have to tell me if I ask? No. However, if I ask and she chooses to tell me, what she shares must be honest. “I had something tasty,” if true, is certainly enough information for her to share as a public figure. She may choose to photograph her lunch and ping the restaurant, but that is a choice. She is not being dishonest in saying it was tasty. We are not owed any personal information, but if the choice is made to share, the choice must also be made to do so honestly.

Authors also have a responsibility to character—to their characters in their books, yes, but also to their own moral character. While authors may have pen names and may embody personas instead of sharing their true names, the person they present as this public figure must not directly contradict their own character. This does not mean that someone who dresses one way as the public figure must do so as themselves. It means that the moral beliefs they hold themselves to must be the same. When a reader grows to love the writing, they may also become fans of the writer. They expect that person to share the moral codes presented in the writing or presented by the writer as a public figure. To not match what beliefs are presented breaks the trust with the reader. This does not mean readers must know the author’s religion, political stance, or other beliefs, but if they matter, if those things directly contradict the stories, it breaks trust with the reader if those details come to light later on.

I had a favorite author, whose name I won’t mention, who stated once that writing fantasy was easy because fans of fantasy would love whatever garbage was given to them, so it was a good way to make a buck. That was the reason he wrote his fantasy books, and it was the honest answer. This caused a rift between those lovers of fantasy—of that series in particular—and the author who held such disdain for even his own readers, and it broke that trust.

Having a responsibility to your own character doesn’t mean having good character, though perhaps that should be the goal. It just means your character, your values, should align with what readers of your books would expect out of you. Readers would expect a fantasy author to be a fan of fantasy himself. Readers expect a religious fiction author to be religious, a children’s fiction author to at least not hate children, and so on. If you present your stories and characters as allies to a marginalized group and then speak out against that group, you break trust with the reader. If your stories are clearly against a certain group and you speak out for that group or are yourself part of that group, you break trust with the reader.

Whether you like it or not, in becoming a public figure, in having readers who are fans of your work, you also have people who are fans of you, and that comes with responsibility—if you care (and you should). Your actions matter, because there may be readers who may base their opinion of themselves on what you say and do. If you don’t uphold the standards and expectations set by your characters, why should they? If they loved something so deeply that it became a part of them, and then you yanked the rug out from under them, they may question their own judgement.

If you are popular as an author, you are popular because of your readers. Your responsibility is to be genuine with them and ensure your character aligns with your characterS and the lessons you have them teach your readers. As noted in the previous blog, you write for yourself; you publish for your readers. As you continue to write (if you write more), you should continue to write for the reasons you started, but if you choose to publish, you should keep the readers in mind. Think of how your actions impact those around you, always, but as an author, think about how your actions impact your readers.

Finally, authors have a responsibility to themselves. If authors are people, authors have the same needs all other people have. We must eat. We must rest. The current Ambergrovian main character is a former smith, so let’s look at the “pouring from an empty cup” adage in smiths’ terms.

Your day is a blade in a forge. A blade can only be hammered so much. If the smith works the blade slowly and precisely, they can create something magnificent and strong. If the smith hammers too hard, the blade will become thin and brittle and will not stand to what coming days have in store for it. If you put too much pressure on yourself in the day (too much hammering in the forge), you damage yourself and you weaken what you can do in the future. If you work deliberately, rest deliberately, and stop when you’ve reached your limit, the work you do will be strong and you will be able to handle what the next day will bring. Tomorrow may bring a new blade to forge, but that doesn’t mean that today’s blade doesn’t need to be made well. That means the rest you take today matters just as much as the work for you to have a sustainable tomorrow.

This is an idea I’ve been struggling with my entire life. I have always equated my worth to how much work I could cram in the day, how many responsibilities I could take on, and I’ve viewed rest as something to be earned (and something I rarely ever earn). But rest isn’t something to be earned. Rest is necessary to help us become something strong. When a blade is forged, it spends time heating and cooling in addition to being hammered on the anvil. To be made strong, the blade needs all of it. What kind of blade will you forge yourself to be?

Conclusion

Being an author doesn’t mean being infallible, but your intention matters. You must ensure you remain a person that readers can look up to and ensure you do not break trust with those readers. However, you must also ensure that you look after yourself and do not hammer yourself too much. Maintain progress as you can, but sometimes life happens. When you fall and you need to rest, rest. Properly care for yourself. You are not only human after all—you are steel in a forgefire. Pace yourself and become a magnificent blade … and show your readers healthy ways to forge themselves as well.

Additional Note

It has been 15 days since I hit my head, and I’m improving somewhat—but not much. However, as I announced these blogs last month, I wanted to ensure I didn’t immediately drop the ball. I tried to do more. I did. I contested the advice to rest. All that happened was that I fell further. So, I stand by the advice here, but I do intend to reread and edit it once I’m back to 100 percent functionally.

Authorly Advice 1: The “Why” Behind Writing and Publishing

December 15, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

Last month I began a monthly email newsletter, which is sent out the first of every month. This month, I am rounding out 2024 with the first of my Authorly Advice blog posts. Every fifteenth of the month, I will be posting a now blog to share some sort of advice I have to share after my years of experience in this industry. Sometimes this will be publishing tools, editing guidelines, or event musts. Sometimes it will be about the writing itself. This first Authorly Advice blog is about our motivations for our writing.

Everyone has something that has driven them to write, positive or negative, and everyone has goals for that thing they have written. I should preface this by saying that, at the end of the day, these views are simply my opinion—though from experience—and if I make a disparaging remark about something that you feel strongly against, do not let my opinion deter you.

Why to Write

Your motivation behind your writing can really be anything. Perhaps you want to write a story like the books you’ve always loved. Perhaps you’ve never read the story you want to read and are now writing that story yourself. Perhaps you are learnéd and wish to take down an account of this expertise. Perhaps you’re writing a memoir. Your reason to write is your own, and whatever causes you to write is for you. That is the intrinsic motivation.

I write because I love it. I have always been a daydream adventurer. I grew up reading stories of faraway lands, and I created my own stories as a way to visit those lands. As I grew older, I created my own lands and then my own world. I love to tell stories, and I particularly love to immerse myself in fantasy worlds. Now that I have finally delved into Ambergrove with both feet, I write to compile the tales of Ambergrove. When I write outside of Ambergrove, it is typically to nail down a deep emotion I have that I can only name through writing.

Why to Publish/Share

We write for us—for whatever intrinsic motivation pulls us to write. The drive to publish that work is a push. It’s an extrinsic motivation. We want others to read what we have written, and we want them to approve of that writing. This is often where our motivation becomes skewed. What we choose to focus on as out extrinsic, or outside, gauge of our worth and success will determine whether we feel—and often whether we are—extrinsically successful.

Your intrinsic goals are for you. Because they are only for you and only for how you feel, the thing that pulls you to write is very rarely something that would pull you astray. Metaphor aside, when we are being pulled by something, we go exactly where that thing guides us. If we are pushed, we’re likely to stray off course. That is what sharing our work can do.

What are some good reasons to share your writing? Well, perhaps one of the best is because it will help people. If you know that others’ lives will be better for what you have said or it will raise their spirits, that is a good reason to share your writing.

If you are deeply connected to the subject matter—quite simply, if you care about what you have written—that is usually a good reason to share your writing. Because caring deeply for something means that you want others to care about it too.

If you just believe what you have written is good, that can often be a good reason to do it. You want others to read what you have written because you are proud of what you have achieved.

These reasons, and the effects of these reasons, all end at the same place: sharing your writing because you want someone to have a positive response to it is usually a good reason to share your writing.

If I mention good reasons, that should mean I’ll mention bad reasons. It does. Foremost, if sharing your writing to help others is the best reason, sharing your writing to harm others is the worst reason. The next worst is sharing your writing just to make money or become famous. Wanting to profit off your writing is not in itself a bad thing, but if the only reason you publish is to make money, that will be clear to any potential readers and will ensure you are dissatisfied with your publishing journey.

The authors who are famous, the household names, are outliers. The only authors who can live off their writing or become rich from their writing are ones who have their books adapted to film or television—and that is an extremely small number. Most published authors will never make enough money to live off the success of their books alone, no matter how amazing those books may be. Publishing is not likely to turn you into the next Stephen King. It is not likely to allow you to retire at thirty. It may earn you a few hundred or a few thousand dollars per year … if you work at it.

If all you want is to make money, you will likely discard potential readers along the way. When you push for people to buy your book, you come across as the typical “pushy salesman” rather than a passionate author. A little while ago, I read a complaint from an author about an event. This author was frustrated that potential readers came to their booth, asked about the book, and then left without buying it. The author said that if they weren’t going to buy it, the author would have rathered they not come to the booth at all.

This is a profit-centered and ego-centered frame of mind. Potential readers owe us nothing. If you make it clear that the people who express interest in your books only have worth to you if they buy them, you may find yourself deterring potential readers who would borrow the first book from the library just to see if they like it, discover they love it, and then buy every book you write because they know they will love it like the others. Not having a sale now doesn’t mean you won’t have a sale later, but if your motivation to publish is chiefly to make money, you may sabotage yourself along the way.

Sales are important, yes. Having sales helps us to continue to share our work, but sales should not be the reason we do it. That is what your “day job” is for. Unless you write because you’re a journalist or columnist or another whose profession is periodical writing. If so, crack on. My profession is technical writing and editing. I do these things because they are my professional fields and, with a few minor exceptions, I do these things chiefly to put food on the table (and in my pets’ bowls).

I write because I love it. I have always loved it, and I have always been drawn to fantasy. I publish because I love the world I created and want others to love it too. I focus on library availability over sales. My books are available for free from public libraries in a dozen states and a handful of countries. I have focused my publishing journey on sharing what I love regardless of profits, instead simply hoping to break even (I usually don’t). However, my books are read and enjoyed by thousands of people of all ages all over the world. I was able to travel back to Scotland on a crowdfunded book tour because there are so many people who believe in Ambergrove as I do.

My chief goal as a published author was to have someone put off something they were supposed to do just so they could read my books, as I put of sleep to read others’ books and got myself in trouble by putting off my math homework. I achieved this goal only a few weeks after Ranger’s Odyssey was published. It wasn’t from a sale; it was from a teacher purchasing the book for her classroom library and a student reading her copy—for free—and staying to finish the book when he should have run for the bus. He asked her repeatedly over the school year when she would have the next book.

I value all my readers, and I would happily work long weeks and steal time to write my books and attend events just to break even if that means that a single person reads every single one of my books. My “whys” are extreme. Yours aren’t expected to be, but strive to ensure that the thing that pushes you to write is a good thing.

Write for you. Publish for your readers.

May your writing and publishing journeys be grand adventures.

New Developments, the Remainder of the Year, and Next Year’s Plans

December 8, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

As we near the end of 2024, we come to that annual time of reflection.

This Year

2024 brought quite a lot of developments—some positive and some not-so-positive. We participated in a couple new events this year: Lawrenceburg Public Library’s author fair and Clayshire Castle’s Medieval Faire. Both were fantastic events. Clayshire was unparalleled, even (or perhaps especially) taking into account that the residual storm from the hurricane came through and affected setup and attendance. Clayshire may be my favorite US event thus far.

I was out of a job for most of the year and was hustling to make ends meet while I tried to find a new one, so Ambergrove was put on the back burner for a while. Despite that, I was able to finish the D&D core book this year and send it to the publisher. It should be available within a few months. I also wrote a few short stories outside of Ambergrove this year, and one of them will be published in an anthology next year. Finally, I will be finishing up the Ember on the Anvil draft in a few months and hope to have that with the publisher by summer next year, as long as I can secure a funding avenue between now and then.

This year, I also started a monthly email newsletter and created a Discord channel! In addition, I created the Ambergrovian written language, Grovish, and created a downloadable font available free to anyone.

On a more personal front, this year brought Bandit to the family. She’s become my new helper and snuggle buddy the past month and a bit. She’s the spitting image of a cat I had and lost, one my family simply referred to as Boo Boo Kitty, though Bandit has her very own personality and temperament. She’s prone to big chomps and hiding when she’s not pulling a triple shift at the biscuit factory.

I also got Rowan as a present from my husband. She’s a giant stuffed dragon (technically a wyrm), and she makes sitting to work on EotA particularly comfortable and fantastical. She’s also the unofficial mascot of our D&D room.

I was able to get my late uncle’s truck, one of two family objects I cared to have, after ten years trying to get it from the person it went to after my uncle passed. I have counted the times I’ve driven it on my arm, and by the end of the year, I should have driven it 37 times. I was able to take it to help out my old community theatre, I was able to take it when a storm came through and downed dozens of trees, leaving the county roads near-impassible and the power out for almost a week. I was able to drive it to Granny’s to pick up her table (the only other family object I cared to have), and I was able to drive it to work when I was finally employed again.

I also got an Oura ring this year under HSA, and I am baffled at how much it learns and how kind it is. It doesn’t shame you into pressing on; it tells you when you would be pouring from an empty cup and tells you to stop and rest. It has certainly helped to alter my mindset and help me to better prioritize self-care.

Next Year

I’ve updated the events page to reflect the currently planned events for 2025 and to hopefully be more intuitive. Returning events include Clayshire’s Medieval Faire and MCPL Author Fair. New events include Southern Indiana Renaissance Faire (2/5 weekends) and Indiana Enchanted Fairy Festival. I hope to add additional events in the coming months. If you’d like to see us at an event, reach out and we’ll see what we can do!

I’m working on Ember on the Anvil and then jumping right into Ember of the Flame once that is completed. The lofty goal would have Ember’s series completed in 2025, but we’ll see how things go. If I am able to publish both next year, we’re looking at summer and winter.

The Ambergrovian Adventurer’s Guide should be available near the start of the year. If all goes to plan with the novels, the first standalone book will be released in 2026 and the final printed D&D materials will be added. With Dawn of the Dragowolf and the Adventurer’s Guide, my published D&D companion set is complete. I will include some additional information on the website and will share canonical adventures, but the final Adventurer’s Guide will be the last published, and then the focus will return to the novels.

The anthology, Black Cat Tales, should be completed and available in 2025. The publisher still hopes to have an audiobook version available as well. I have one short story in this anthology, but there are many other talented writers featured in the anthology as well. Check it out here.

So. 4+ events next year and—hopefully—3–4 books published next year. 2025 will be a big year for Ambergrove!

A Bit of Authorly Advice

This year brought more difficulties when it comes to events because of storms. When our power was out and we were stuck at our house, I had to reschedule and event I had planned for a library’s summer reading program because I couldn’t get there. The weekend of Clayshire was when the Hurricane Helene came through. The wind hit Friday, but the deluge came Saturday. Despite the heavy rains hundreds of people came out, though more would have come were it not for the rains. The following weekend was the MCPL Author Fair, which suddenly found itself competing with a dozen outdoor events that had previously been scheduled for the week before. I had to back out of a new event I had planned to attend and ORF, a staple event, due to financial constraints.

What these all have in common is disappointment. Some attendees were disappointed at the events that were missed this year, but they were kind about it. They took humanity into account. The events with lowered attendance had less kind disappointment, and that’s what I want to talk about.

I’ve mentioned a few things about this on my socials this year, but here’s some more definitive statements.

Organizers put a lot into events and so do attendees. You should never be publicly disappointed about attendance or sales.
There are many factors that determine the success of an event. One of those things is weather. Sometimes things just happen that no one has any control over. Sure, if you can’t afford to set up at an event if you aren’t guaranteed a certain number of sales, that’s valid, but just because you didn’t get sales does not mean that event is unsuccessful. Sometimes catastrophic weather changes plans. Sometimes other events compete with that one more than expected. Sometimes your booth location means that more people plan to come back so they don’t spend all their money right away—or they’ve already spent their money by the time they get to you. None of these things mean an event is bad. If you decide it is not worth it to you to return to an event, that’s valid, and your reasoning is valid, but do not make your disappointment known at the event, and do not blame the event organizers for things out of their control.
Events are what you make them. Be positive. Be friendly. Be kind to the organizers. Help other authors or vendors. Talk pleasantly with attendees about the books first and worry about a sale second. My books are available free in libraries and are more affordable/accessible in digital formats. Sure, it’s better for someone to buy at events, but not just for the sake of doing it. Enjoy the event, take my card, and read the books for free from the library. Sales can sometimes determine success, but success cannot be determined by sales alone. Success is determined by the readers who love the world and its stories, and if you focus on them, you will always be successful.
Be kind to organizers. Stay involved and friendly at events, even if you’re disappointed in attendance or sales. Focus on the readers’ enjoyment as much as you can, and you will never be disappointed as an author.

Break the Arrow

As this year comes to a close and we prepare for 2025, I am elated. The years will always have their ups and downs, but that’s part of the adventure. We had some lows this year. We struggled as our personal stability became rocky and we had to back out of events, and when I had surgery last month and he had surgery last spring; through it all, my husband was always on my team. Through it all, I had pets (and more pets!), and friends, and D&D with family, I lost and then got a fantastic job, and I was able to do so much in Ambergrove.

Last year, while talking with my host parents and visiting a forest nun at a hermitage in Scotland, I was told the parable of the second arrow, and that has stuck with me. When we are shot with an arrow, this causes us pain. However, if we allow our thoughts to linger and be consumed by the fact that we were shot with an arrow, our own need to understand why, and our worries about whether we will be shot again, we are the ones who shoot ourselves with that second arrow. Sure, this is greatly simplified, and it seems to ignore the realities of things like PTSD, but the sentiment remains the same. When we dwell on the negatives of the past, we harm our future and our contentment with the present. This was the year I broke that second arrow, and I found that I am content with my experiences and happier with my choices. I choose not to dwell and shoot myself with that second arrow, yes, but I also chose to break that second arrow instead of shooting someone else with it.

I am happy with what life has given me and what I have worked for. I am proud of what I have done as an author and what I plan to do in the future. I am excited to continue to share Ambergrove with you.

Until next time, adventurers, be kind, be curious, and enjoy your adventures.

Recent Updates, a Newsletter, a Discord, and More!

October 16, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

The past month has brought quite a variety of updates for Ambergrove! We had (possibly) our last events of the year, started some new communication avenues, rearranged the alcove, made some connections for new events and shelf availability, brought home a new monster, and worked on two publications!

The Table

First thing’s first: what’s with that table? I got a table this month and rearranged my alcove to use the table as my main desk. The table is from my grandma. She moved to a retirement home recently, and soon after she needed to use a different table in the dining room, so I asked for this one. I have many memories at this table. It was the dining table in my grandparents’ farmhouse while I was growing up, and I spent countless afternoons sitting at the table and talking to my grandma. I stopped by after school a lot just to chat, and perhaps sometimes to mildly harass my grandpa while he was listening to the radio yard-sale segments. I went there when our farm truck’s engine block cracked while I was driving it, and I sat at this table with her until my parents came to get me. I was sitting at this table when I told her about most of the big events in my life. I was sitting at this table when she gave me life advice of all kinds. I told her my life stories at this table. Now, I get to use it in my alcove to tell Ambergrove’s stories to you.

This also prompted me to rearrange my alcove to better use the space, and it’s certainly pleasant to simply be in.

The Events

The end of September and the start of October brought two events for Ambergrove: the first was new and the second was a staple.

Clayshire Castle Medieval Faire

Hurricane Helene, while extremely devastating to other parts of the US, only mildly affected us the last weekend of September. There were moderate winds and heavy rain on the weekend, which caused power outages and roadblocks. However, many, many people still braved the weather and came out. We had a fantastic time despite the rain, and we had four fun playthroughs of Paeor’s Game on the D&D side of the booth.

It was gorgeous out there at the castle, and it reminded me of the lovely Scottish weather and the rolling hills I love so dearly. As long as they’ll have us, we’ll be attending the Clayshire Castle medieval faire every year. They’ll have us on the map and the D&D games listed in the program. Look out for it for the last weekend of September next year!

MCPL Author Fair

The first weekend of October brought the fourth annual MCPL author fair. As always, it was a fantastic little event. I met some new authors, gained a few new readers, and was able to participate on my first author panel. The panel itself was fantastic. The organizing librarian selected a prolific mystery author, a prolific romance author, a children’s comic author (who was unfortunately unable to participate), and myself. We had a lovely discussion about writing styles, the publishing process, preparing for events, and author philosophies. I hope to be able to participate in more panels in the future.

Next year is MCPL author fair’s fifth year! They will be moving to a larger venue and possibly adding more cool elements. If you’re anywhere in the central Indiana area, keep an eye out for announcements about the event next year!

The Newsletter

After my events and after things had settled down, I decided to delve a little deeper into the social media thing. I began by interacting more on Instagram, and then I created a Threads account, and while I was talking with other authors on there, I discovered how much fuller the community could be if I was able to put out a newsletter to connect more consistently. Not everyone is going to see the blog posts—and I am aware that they are often overlong. Sometimes you just don’t want to read this much. Not everyone uses social media. So, a newsletter! I’m building materials on Mailchimp and will be starting a newsletter on the first of the month every month beginning with November 1. Sign up for the newsletter and prepare for your first email on the first day of the Celtic year (November 1)!

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The Discord

What? A Discord? Yes!—or at least we’re going to see! I’m currently working on setting everything up and making sure I’ve done it correctly. I’m not so experienced with Discord, so there’s some things to iron out. I know it can be a bit awkward to join something like that when it’s just starting and there aren’t many others in the community—and there may not be a community that grows out of it—but since so many use Discord, I figured I would give it a try to see if any adventurers want to connect with each other to discuss Ambergrove or related interests. Check back on the website homepage or contact page for the invite link (included with the social media buttons). I hope to see you there after it’s ready!

The Monster Baby

Our family recently grew by one! Bandit was an outside gal all her life (9 years), and now that her previous family are moving where they cannot have roamers, she came to our home to spend her retirement years laying on the couch.

She’s a little spicy (or at least she thinks she is), and it’s taking her some time to realize that our other gals are her big sisters and aren’t out to get her. She’s a snuggler already, so we’re hoping once she’s more confident around here she’ll start hanging out with us on cozy surfaces.

The Anthology & Some Sharing

The anthology I’m part of, Black Cat Tales, is moving forward steadily. The cover was revealed and the Kickstarter begun this week. Check the Other Publications page for more information about the book and publisher.

They also released the author blurbs this week as they led up to the cover reveal and Kickstarter. Since my bio for the anthology was included with that, I figured it was time for me to share a personal detail. My story for this anthology is a domestic violence story. I am passionate about the subject because I am a survivor myself. I have carefully kept that past separate from Tales of Ambergrove thus far for two reasons: (1) it is just that—the past—and while I live with the aftereffects over a decade later, I am in a healthy marriage now; (2) there is no domestic violence, sexual violence, or any element of child abuse in Ambergrove. Though I have not touched on it yet, I had intended to mention it organically. The time is coming soon. It is mentioned in the core book coming out later this year, and it is detailed further in Ember on the Anvil, which is planned for next year, via the introduction of one character: Medusa. Not a medusa, as in standard D&D—the Medusa of Greek myth. She will tell her story to Ember directly in EotA when Ember visits Medusa’s village and finds her revered.

If any of my readers are survivors, I see you. And if you imagine yourself walking through a doorway into the fantasy lands you read and have imagined doing so with Ambergrove, know that I created a world where your personal monsters cannot go.

The Core Book

Promises, promises. I am working double time to get this book ready to submit. It’s by far the longest book I’ve ever published, coming in at over 30,000 words longer than any of the other books—almost half again what the others are. All materials have been submitted to the publisher besides the actual manuscript, which I hope to have submitted by the end of the week. Once the final materials are submitted, I expect it to take about a month for retail availability. We’re looking at late November or early December. Fingers crossed!

The Rest of the Year

Officially, we are done for the year. I am working on getting the core book through the publishing process, but the events are done, and it’s otherwise just down to preparing for next year and working on EotA. If the core book is available when I’d like it to be, I may have one final small event in December that’s focused on the D&D branch of Ambergrove. I’ll provide more news when I have it! In the meantime, I’ll be more active on Instagram (and sharing the posts to Facebook) and intermittently active on Threads.

Until next time, adventurers!

A Quarterly Catch-up

September 5, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

Hail, adventurers! It’s high time for an update, though it’s certainly a mixed bag—as this year has consistently proven itself to be.

A Language, You Say?

I do say! I’d had some ideas for Ambergrovian language(s) for years, and 2024 allowed me to decide what I wanted that language to be: Grovish, a universal magical language for all peoples of Ambergrove. Well, perhaps it’s more of an alphabet. Check out the new page in the About section, Grovish Language, to view a breakdown about this language and to download it—yes, download it!—as a useable font on your computer!

Website Updates

In addition to adding the Grovish Language page on the website, I’ve made a few other updates. The About tab has been updated to include separate pages with additional information about Ambergrove’s pantheon and its calendar—though the calendar contains spoilers for the Dragonwolf trilogy, so beware! I have also added some additional minor updates and removed the cumbersome sidebar from the desktop version of the website. A mini overhaul, but an overhaul nonetheless.

Q4 2024

It’s September already! As we near the end of 2024, there are a few things left on the schedule for the year. Chief of those things is the completion of the second companion book for Tales of Ambergrove, the Adventurer’s Guide. Like Dawn of the Dragonwolf, the Adventurer’s Guide is a D&D core book. However, whereas DotD focuses on Mara’s story, adventure, and the world in the time of the Dragonwolf trilogy, the AG is a full core book for the world as it will be for the remainder of the Tales of Ambergrove saga. Spoilers below!

At the end of the Dragonwolf trilogy, the Lost Age ends and the Age of Magic begins. This has changed quite a lot about the function of the world and the beings we will see there. Mara saw dryads and naiads, but there were so many more. Ember met agniads and other magical creatures in Ember in the Forge, and she will meet many more before her story’s end.

Thus, the AG includes a full list of playable races as of the start of the Age of Magic. This means players can be elemental giants. It also includes a full list of playable classes and subclasses. This means players can be Elementalists (elemental magic users). A full spell list is included as well, along with equipment and special items, companion creatures, known NPCs, and other beings, and a dozen player characters from the Dragonwolf trilogy or Hammer and Flame.

If all goes to plan, this book should be published before the end of 2024!

Two events remain this year, and both are coming in the next few weeks. Next is a new event for Tales of Ambergrove, Clayshire Castle Medieval Faire. This is a two-day festival held the final weekend of September. The immersive guidelines for booths for this festival mean that the booth itself has had a thorough overhaul. There are two new tents with period tent covers (one is light blue and orange and one is blue and light brown), there’s a painted wooden sign for the booth with D&D playtimes and a list of items in the booth, and there are new and upcoming items that will be available, like healing potions with d4s!

The following weekend, the first weekend of October, is the annual MCPL Author Fair! This is an inside event, so no tent or hefty wooden sign, but we’ll be there once more with all the stock we have and some of the trinkets and things. The author fair has been moved this year to the main library in Martinsville, Indiana, due to the increasing size of the event.

For more about these events, check out the events page and the hosts’ websites.

Finally, Ember on the Anvil. I have not forgotten about Ember, tumultuous as this year has been. Once publication of the AG is complete, I will be back to work on EotA regularly. I hope to round out the year with the completed draft of EotA.

A New Publication!

Last week, I announced an exciting new publication and the associated new page on the website. This year, I began writing short stories for publisher calls. One such short story has been selected for publication. Now, having “Tales of Ambergrove” for my website and social media instead of “H. T. Martineau” was a choice. I wanted the stories to stand on their own, and I’m writing for them, for Ambergrove, and not for fame or recognition. However, that puts me in a predicament when it comes to other publications outside of Ambergrove.

However many additional publications there may be, short stories of this kind will be listed on the Other Publications page in the Tales tab. Where mentioned, the page will note the genre, audience, and other pertinent information.

When it comes to “Cross My Heart and Hope to Rise,” the short story selected for the Black Cat Tales anthology, it is important to note that the genre is entirely different. This story is dark fiction. There’s elements of a thriller. It broaches the heavy topic of domestic violence. It is in no way an extension of the Tales of Ambergrove saga*. While lovers of Ambergrove may appreciate this story as well, please do not go into it expecting the story to be of similar content, just as readers of the short story shouldn’t expect the tales of Ambergrove to fit that genre. Please review the listed genre and other pertinent information on a case by case basis when checking out this and any future short stories.

That said, this anthology is likely to be absolutely fantastic, full of a wide variety of black cat stories. Check back in the coming months for more information about its publication as the publisher permits.

*Although I have not previously made it known in this professional capacity, I am a survivor of domestic violence. I created Ambergrove as a world with its own flaws, and although I have not explicitly said so thus far, Ambergrove is a world free of domestic violence and sexual crimes. This will be addressed organically in Ember on the Anvil.

The Personal Setback Continues

What else is going on? Well, unfortunately, I have now been unemployed for longer than I was employed at the fantastic job I got last year. I’m still looking, but I’ve finally reached a point when I’ve realized there’s only so much applying I can do, and it would be best for me to spend this time applying for a few positions a day and then working on various other tasks. So, I will be getting back into the gamified exercising I enjoy (RingFit on the Switch and Supernatural on the VR headset—highly recommend), I will be working on various home improvements that are in my wheelhouse, and I will be working on EotA.

Back in March 2020, I was furloughed from my full-time position due to the pandemic. In that time, I spent a few days feeling sorry for myself, and then I launched into writing Ranger’s Odyssey in earnest. I finished the first draft of the first tale of Ambergrove because of this unfortunate event that left me without full-time work for a little while. Somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten that, so when I found myself without full-time work once again, in March 2024, I handled it differently (worse). Wasting my time in the day worrying about not having full-time work doesn’t help anything or anyone. So now, I am putting in a full day’s work on Ambergrove every day until I find another full-time job.

It’s hard to look at something like a layoff in a positive light. It’s hard to stay positive the longer that uncertainty continues. However, for my entire life—and in your own as well, I’m sure—I have found solace and comfort in the reading of fantasy tales. This is exponentially so when it comes to stepping through the doorway into Ambergrove and telling the tales of its world myself.

It is right and understandable to feel terrible when unfortunate things happen. It is understandable to spend at least a little bit of time wallowing in that darkness. However, sometime, we all must begin our journey toward the light, and that’s what I’m doing now. Feel your feelings, rest your mind when your mind needs resting, but after you’ve done so, set yourself on the path forward once more.

Publication of Further Books

That said, there is one setback to Ambergrove. I learned yesterday that the avenue I had used to publish the previous tales is now closed to me. I hope I will be able to press forward and squeak by to release the Adventurer’s Guide later this year as planned, but publication of the next novels may face some additional delays as I figure out the best way forward. I will be working on them. I will continue to work on them no matter how uncertain their publication may be. Worst case, they will not be published for a little longer—and when they are, they will be published all together because they’re all ready!—which isn’t too terrible at all.

Time will tell. At the very least, I hope I have given you some adventures to look forward to, and I have a lovely adventure ahead for myself as my personal ship makes its way through these rocky waters.

Until next time, adventurers!

The Best Laid Plans

June 3, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

Hail, adventurers! It has been a wild three months, and I have quite a few updates—some good, some not so good.

What’s the deal?

Well, a few days after my last update, I was laid off from my full-time job. I adored that job, and it was a big hit in a lot of areas. Since then, I have been working “full-time” as a freelance editor while looking for other opportunities. Unfortunately, in order to complete the volume needed to break even while just working as an editor, I have to devote most of my time to it. I have not been able to work on any writing of my own in the past three months. I am hoping that I will be able to find something supplementary soon and cut back on the editing, which would give me more time to work on Ambergrove.

Events

The first event of the year was back in April. I attended with the cover artist, Heidi Thompson. This was an author fair at Lawrenceburg Public Library in Indiana. It was a nice, little event, and I hope they decide to make it an annual one. There were dozens of authors there, organized by genre throughout the library. I was late packing up because someone ran back at the end to get Ranger’s Odyssey. I love, love, love doing events and meeting readers—old and new.

Unfortunately, there won’t be very much of that this year. I had to cancel my attendance at a Viking festival in April due to financial concerns. I hoped that those concerns would not persist, but they have. After another hit a few weeks ago, I cancelled another event, one I absolutely adore, because it became clear that funds were needed for other things, and that is my biggest, most costly event of the year: Ohio Renaissance Festival.

It was not a decision made lightly, and I will be spending this year working on stabilizing this financial boat so I can return to ORF next year and add some new events as well.

At this time, there are two events remaining for this year: MCPL’s annual author fair (pending application approval), and the Medieval Faire at Clayshire Castle. Both will be later this fall. For more about these two events, check out the Events tab!

Books

I do still have something in the works that I hope to be able to complete this summer. I am doing my best to make it happen. Once I have stabilized everything around me, at least to a manageable level, I will be returning to work on Ember on the Anvil. I hope to have that completed before the end of the year, but if that ends up not being possible, I will be shooting for Spring 2025 instead. I am giving Ember the time she needs, despite what delays there are on my end, so I will always err on the side of pushing deadlines instead of rushing to put out something that isn’t ready. I will update as I can—hopefully more frequently than I have so far this year!

So, what else has been doing on?

Well, my husband had to have a moderate surgery right after I was laid off, so I took some time before getting gung-ho into the editing to help him in the first weeks of his recovery. During that time, I did put the first draft together for my other project. I also made CDs of the informal audiobooks to have at events. I also figured out how PC mods work and played Stardew Valley with the Baldur’s Gate mod, Baldur’s Valley, which currently has two fan-favorite companions added to the game (Karlach and Astarion).

*Astarion, Karlach, and my player, Yissa*

We also watched the eclipse that came through in April, as we were in the path of totality. Totality was surprisingly very, very cool. We missed the aurora that was visible last month, but you can’t win them all! Next time!

In May, I said goodbye to my motorcycle. Selling it made the most sense, but as disappointing as it was, it helped significantly with other things to have sold it. May also brought complications from my husband’s surgery and the cancellation of my appearances at ORF 2024.

However, though I hope I am not jinxing it now, June feels like the turning-over of a new leaf. June 1, I took a long jaunt to attend a wedding that was long overdue. Four hours one way should have been a terrible drive, but it took me through quite a lot of farmland in the northern part of the state and more than a few pleasant towns. I also took a small detour through some Amish country, which was pleasant as well. The wedding was lovely.

June 2, I drove three hours one way to pick up a truck. Not just a truck, this truck was a significant part of happy memories in my childhood, and I have been trying to find a way to get it for ten years. I had a windows-down, tears-streaming, ethereally peaceful drive home.

The first draft of Ranger’s Odyssey featured this old pickup, though I described it differently because Mara didn’t have blood relatives on Earth besides her parents. In the end, as I was cutting out the events at the beginning on Earth to bring Mara to Ambergrove more quickly, I cut out her driving the truck over to the game night. In honor of my finally getting the truck, here’s the first-draft first line of Ranger’s Odyssey from five years ago (from the Scrivener compilation PDF I made in April 2019—my first attempt at it, when I clearly didn’t know the right settings for compilation!):

On that note, I’m going to go drive my truck to the park and stretch out in the bed to work on an edit in the sunshine. Until next time, adventurers!

Self-care Sidequest

March 14, 2024March 14, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

We, as human beings, are often quite hard on ourselves. We always feel like we should do more. We should be more—more successful, more productive, more _____. Just more. We take on more than we can bear and we’re critical of ourselves when we can’t meet that standard—a standard we set for ourselves.

I’ve realized that I’ve expected an unfair amount of myself when it comes to my publishing deadlines, so this year things will be shifting a bit. I am an author, yes, but I do that because I love it. Ambergrove is a world I created out of love. I build it and share it because I want it to be enjoyed by others as well. While it brings me immeasurable joy, it is not a job. When it comes to jobs, I do still have a full-time job and a freelance job. Bringing Ember on the Anvil from start to finish in six months while also working these jobs was a big ask from the beginning. Now, I believe that pushing myself so hard to meet this deadline will cause the story to suffer. Overextending myself isn’t good for it, and I love Ambergrove too much to do it the disservice of pushing out a subpar book just for the sake of meeting a deadline. So I’m changing directions. I’m still on this adventure of mine, but I’m completing a sidequest instead.

I have things I need to focus on that are closer to home. Once those things are taken care of, I will have something from Tales of Ambergrove for your shelves this summer. It just won’t be Ember on the Anvil. I’ll provide more details as I have them. Ember on the Anvil has been pushed. I hope to still have it completed before the end of this year, but again, I will provide updates as I have them.

I have a few event updates for this year as well. There are currently four on the schedule, and I am hoping for two more. I have had to withdraw from the Ashville Viking Festival (April 27–28) due to personal commitments, but here are the confirmed events for the year:

April 20: Lawrenceburg, Indiana—Lawrenceburg Public Library Author Fair
August 31–September 2: Harveysburg, Ohio—Ohio Renaissance Festival’s Opening Weekend
September 7–September 8: Harveysburg, Ohio—Ohio Renaissance Festival’s Fantasy Weekend
September 28–September 29: Bowling Green, Indiana—Clayshire Castle’s Medieval Faire

I also hope to attend the Monrovia Public Library Author Fair again this year (Monrovia, Indiana; not yet confirmed; not yet scheduled) and another Viking festival (Kentucky; applications open tomorrow; November 1–3).

You can only do what you can do. Exceeding your limits indefinitely isn’t healthy. As it’s said, “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” but also, even with a full cup, you can only pour so much. I know these books matter to more people than just me, and I owe it to all of us to give the stories the time they deserve instead of pushing myself to unrealistic standards and watching as something inevitably falls through the cracks.

I am still going to work on Ember on the Anvil periodically while working on this other project, but I’m giving it a more lax deadline, for the betterment of Ember’s journey and my own.

Please also do something for yourselves as well. The greatest of adventures still benefits from sidequests. Take a break from your own adventure, if you can, and go on a self-care sidequest. Lighten your load, go somewhere that brings you joy (in real life or in a story), take a moment to breathe, and enjoy the people and things that are around you. Fill your cup. Complete your sidequest. Continue your journey when you’re ready. Ambergrove will be waiting.

Until next time, adventurers!

Restenneth Priory, Forfar, Scotland (April 2023)

Ignorance, Interpretation, and Inclusion

February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

Ambergrove was always intended as a melting pot in the best meaning of the word, but now that I am delving more and more into this pot, I think it best to explain what I mean.

While the histories and cultures of ancient societies are incorrectly presented—because the nature of the door between worlds is for both sides to be somewhat misunderstood—the goal is still to draw interest, especially when it comes to non-Western cultures.

The “Native American” Peeve

I could wax for hours about how frustrating it is to see “Native American” used as a blanket term, specifically “in Native American culture” or “a Native American proverb,” when the Delaware and Miami are vastly different from the Iroquois, the Navajo from the Dakota or Algonquian, and so on. However, when the average person doesn’t know how Native Americans are mistreated on reservations, still not considered citizens, or how Native women in particular are taken or killed at an alarming rate and no one investigates the crimes, there are certainly bigger fish to fry than stereotyping or misrepresentation.

So, why do you do that in Ambergrove?

If I hate the blanket terminology so much, why do I only say “Native American” in Ambergrove, when names are generally pulled from Lakota and Hopi (and I know that)? While real-life people are willfully ignorant of cultures they don’t care to fully understand, the Ambergrovians are ignorant because they are essentially playing “Telephone” with Earth. They have no way of correcting their understanding, especially after the events of Mara’s story. Much of Ambergrove is built on the idea that our understanding is incomplete.

What we know of fantasy is incomplete, because that we know comes from what has filtered through to this world from Ambergrove. So, if we can entirely miss the existence of the forest dwarves in Earth fantasy, it stands to reason that the stories that filter back to Ambergrove would be equally incomplete or misunderstood. (As with the Brobdingnag constellation above the giant lands in EitF, with is an intentional misrepresentation of Gulliver’s Travels.)

Why include these cultures at all if you’re going to misrepresent them?

Because, I do so from a place of respect. Ambergrovians are presented as ignorant of the truth of these cultures, yes, but they are assimilated into Ambergrovian life in a reverent way. The sea elves take from Norse culture because they respect the Vikings for their ships and for their ferocity in battle. Humans from Modoc (post-Paeor’s Game) revere the Ancient Greeks for much the same reasons.

In EitF, Nanala’s people have taken elements of their culture from the Māori, and Nanala has a face tattoo inspired by this culture, given to her to show her accomplishments.

When writing DotD, I created the Ambergrovian version of the monk class as the Naadakh class. Those in the Naadakh class engage in Mongolian wrestling, called Bökh fighting. The Naadam is the level-based animal title the Naadakh is given. This all comes from Ancient Mongolian culture. The Naadam is a competition, wherein worthy fighters show their prowess and are granted an animal title based on how many rounds of fighting they win during this competition. I have greatly simplified and tweaked the information, and in DotD, I recommend readers research Naadakh, Naadam, and Bökh of their own volition to learn the real information about this culture. It is fascinating, but the Ambergrovians don’t know all of it, so they have a skewed view of it. That does not mean it is a judgmental one.

I will never present an ancient culture from Earth negatively in Ambergrove, though there will be some intentional changes based on my own views or based on the simplification for this world. It is my hope that the inclusion of snippets may garner reader interest in cultures—ancient and modern both—that they may not have considered before.

New in EotA

In EotA, Ember and co. visit the human village of Darbut. All human villages are inspired by an ancient culture or another. Nimeda is Native American; Modoc was Native American until Toren’s Ranger trial but is now Ancient Greek. Darbut is Aboriginal. Aboriginal peoples, as an indigenous people, are also lumped into a single culture like Native Americans. However, as with Native American culture, Aboriginal culture is absolutely fascinating. There are different tribes in different areas of Australia. The Arnhem Land people are probably the most well-known outside of Australia because of the movie Australia, but there are so many more. Australia made me research more about Aboriginal cultures, but I know what I’ve learned is only a partial picture.

Each region has its own people with their own deities and myths, but there are commonalities such as the Dreamtime and the significance of Dreaming. For the purpose of Darbut in Ambergrove, I’m honing in on a few elements more specific to Northern Territory countries (countries are sort of like tribes). The greatest of those is the significance of snakes. Other countries in other territories believe in the Rainbow Serpent, but there are also other rainbow snakes and other snakes of note—Ulanji, Wollunqua, Yurlungur, Bobbi-Bobbi, Galeru, Julunggul, and so many more.

Ambergrove in Hammer and Flame is a place where magical creatures are returning, where they can thrive. So, I have pulled a magical creature from Ancient Greek mythology—one I have long believed is misunderstood and mistreated by history—and brought them to Ambergrove, to Darbut, where they and their snakes will be safe and even revered.

In EotA, Ember will come to Darbut during a snake festival, which will be a combination of Aboriginal belief, Ambergrovian interpretation, and the splash of Ancient Greek influence. We will learn a little about Aboriginal culture from the people of Darbut, but I hope that this sprinkling will cause readers to research Aboriginal culture on their own.

I hope that the Naadakh class will have DotD adventurers researching Mongolian culture on their own.

I hope that the mention of Nanala’s tattoo will have readers researching Māori culture on their own.

Do Your Research

The Ambergrovians cannot help their ignorance, but we can. There are so many rich cultures, and while some ancient cultures are all but extinct, others are alive despite their history. Native Americans were mistreated hundreds of years ago when colonizers stole their land and took their lives, but that land wasn’t given back. Those lives weren’t given due worth. Research Native Americans of ancient history, but also research what’s happening now. Research Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Research the discovery of mass graves of Native American children who were forced into boarding schools in the US and Canada. Research Aboriginal peoples of ancient history, but also the Stolen Generations. Some of this is history, but some of it is happening right now.

*Above are just a couple maps of different tribes I found in a simple search.*

Even then, there are so many cultures that are overlooked by Western society. I have always been fascinated by the Picts and the Celts (which also have dozens of tribes), by Vikings, by Romans, Ancient Greeks, and Ancient Egyptians, but there are so many others that are just as rich in their beliefs, history, mythology, and societies.

So. This is all to say: Do your research. Do your research because you want to know more, but also do it because you CAN know more. You don’t live in Ambergrove. Here, ignorance is a choice.

A General Status Update

Now, I have just done my research for the snake festival in Darbut, and I will be working on drafting EotA with more persistence in the weeks to come. My laptop has served me well for three years, but it is now on its last legs. Monday, I plan to order a replacement laptop. Once all the data is switched over to the new laptop next week, I should be able to sit next weekend and really get to work.

I am also feeling leaps and bounds better today than last Wednesday, after a week of cooking out the flu. We’re just keeping on keeping on.

Until next time, adventurers!

A harmless addiction, really. Wait, it’s 2024?

January 19, 2024 martineauthorLeave a comment

Well, well, well … what number of things have happened since Ember in the Forge was released?

I realized only now as I am beginning to book events for 2024 that I have been entirely silent across all platforms since October. There is one main culprit for this, but let’s just take this opportunity to recap Q4 2023 up to now.

Baldur’s Gate 3

(Top): *wildheart barbarian, Dark Urge Circle of the Land druid, Way of the Open Hand monk.* (Bottom): *Dark Urge Way of the Open Hand monk, wildheart barbarian (companion origin), Dark Urge Oath of Vengeance paladin.*

Thar she is: my harmless addiction. It should come as no surprise as a fantasy author with deep ties to D&D that Baldur’s Gate is big for me. I played the original Baldur’s Gate when it came out, and Minsc has since and will forever and always be my favorite canonical character. So, I came into Baldur’s Gate 3 for the nostalgia and the promise of a return to the old adventures I loved—because I’ve played Larian games before and knew they would do it justice, unlike when the new Dark Alliance butchered my longtime favorite D&D game—but I found so much more in Larian’s story.

There’s such depth to the characters. It’s not a soulless remake with the BG name slapped on it. The characters feel real. They deal with real traumas that many of us face. I resonated with a particular character whose story was so true to my own and so therapeutic to experience with that character. Part of the reason I have played through the game six times in three months is to relive that part of the story. Even the characters I hated were hated due to aspects about them that shone from fantastic writing.

For anyone who loves adventure, loves D&D, or loves a story that feels real and has actual, real consequences to decisions, I highly recommend Baldur’s Gate 3.

Just maybe go into it with a firm grasp on your self-control.

As a little offshoot of my obsession with Baldur’s Gate 3, I discovered the precious man and powerhouse actor that is Neil Newbon. I have since been watching his Twitch/YouTube videos of his BG3 gameplay and even went so far as to get a motivational tattoo inspired by his words:

On two separate occasions, he has talked in his streams about body image and body positivity, and the one word that can be used to summarize those notions is “useful.” It doesn’t matter what your body looks like. If your body does the things that you need it to do—you, not someone else—then it’s a good body. It’s fantastic. Those who have seen me at events will have seen in my appearance and perhaps in how I carry myself that I am generally not someone who feels positively about her body. I am now. When I went on the Scotland book tour last year, I wasn’t trying to lose weight ahead of the trip; I was trying to build endurance so I could physically get to Restenneth and do all the other things I wanted to do. At that time, my body did all the things I needed it to. It was useful to me. That is a very healthy way of looking at body image, so I—perhaps impulsively—had it tattooed on my bicep in the Baldur’s Gate font.

ORF Closing Weekend

Since I last checked in, I had my final event of 2023. There were a couple milestones during that event. Foremost, I discovered a new passion that will take some work to actualize: blacksmithing.

There was a blacksmith shop just a few shops down from me in Whimsy Woods, and they offered something called Forge a Memory. I had one of my helpers go down to their forges, since I couldn’t leave the booth, and ask them about that process. She told them it would be useful for me for research for Ember, and a few of the smiths purchased my books because the newest one featured a master smith.

One of the ladies who bought all the books decided to do so from the moment she saw Ember on the cover of her book. Not only was that a smith, like her, but Ember is stocky, and although she is crimson because she is a mining dwarf, the models I gave the cover artist for the facial features and hair were Black women. This smith was a Black woman who’d rarely ever seen herself represented in books. Now, Ember in the Forge has a full ship of POC (Native American, Māori, Ancient Greek, Egyptian), but they are not token POC. I want the diversity in Ambergrove to be effortless and all-encompassing. I’d always imagined Kip as a Black man and described him in that way in the book. But I didn’t make a big deal about it or single him out for his appearance. That’s what Ambergrove is. It’s not a world with green and blue people but not Black or Indigenous ones. It’s not a world where the non-white people (blue or otherwise) are all the bad guys. It’s just a world. Good and bad. Hopefully, something that feels real. Hopefully, something that includes at least one character that every reader can resonate with. I want people of all backgrounds, cultures, and interests to feel seen by the world and its characters, and it absolutely warmed my heart to hear what it meant to this middle-aged blacksmith to hold a book in her hands about a middle-aged blacksmith and also see herself in the artwork.

Anyway, on the blacksmithing front … I ended up participating in the Forge a Memory, and I made a tiny knife out of a masonry nail. The smith used the forge, held the hot metal, and cleaned up the little blade I made, but I hammered it into shape, and I talked with them about the process as we went. In that, I learned two things:

I had the details right with Ember from the months of research I’d done into smithing while writing (and the time I’d spent watching Forged in Fire).
I loved it and want to do it.

The gears immediately started turning, and I have a plan to build a small shop at home. Eventually, through time playing with masonry nails, I intend to make small replicas of significant weapons and other items from Ambergrove and have them available for purchase at events. Hopefully it won’t take as long to actualize that as it took for me to publish the first book, or I’ll have more than Ember’s one white streak in my hair when I get around to it!

The other fantastic thing was a visit from the Queen Elizabeth of the festival. I’d always admired her, and of all the immersive things about the festival throughout my life, the thing that held strongest in my mind was that she was someone important to be revered. Well, after five days over two years, she came into my shop while I was running a D&D game a few feet away. She brought over a copy of one of my books for me to sign (and, flustered as I was that the queen was buying my book, I misspelled “majesty” in the inscription). She also gave me a little placard to display in my booth. She handed another copy of it to the person running the till in the booth at the time, so I now have one copy to display in my booth from now on and one copy tucked into the frame of one of the cover art pieces in my alcove.

All-in-all, it felt like a fantastic end to my events of 2023!

What About Ember on the Anvil?

I have been working on it. I started a new “day job” in October and also moved from editing as my full-time job to editing as an additional freelance job. As someone who, candidly, has been scraping by for quite a while now, I took the freelance opportunity by the horns and drastically overworked myself. I didn’t have the time for EotA for the longest time. Yes, part of that was because I would stay up until the wee hours working on an editing assignment only to “reward” myself for that work by playing Baldur’s Gate instead of going to bed. (To be entirely transparent, it’s what I’m fixing to do today. Because, while there are not many things that will completely decimate my self-control, this game is one of them.) I have also spent the first weeks of this year taking care of my poor dog after she had to have surgery to remove a few cysts, because she doesn’t seem to understand that 31 staples means she can’t roll around and tussle with her brother for a while. Last month, I also helped a non-writer with an amazing story to tell figure out how to put it together, and I will be helping him along the way as he goes.

I am working toward a middle ground. I do feel like I’ve finally found something like one. I’ve plotted out the book scene by scene, and I will soon start sitting down to draft it. The cover artist is ahead of the curve, however, and has finalized her sketch with the intention of starting on the actual piece by the start of February. As a tax for the many months of silence, here is a peek of one part of the cover.

Detail-oriented readers may recognize the significance of this. If you don’t, I recommend rereading Ember in the Forge before Ember on the Anvil is released!

What’s Next?

Well, I’ll probably play a little more Baldur’s Gate. Just a little. A teeny bit. Another playthrough or two.

However, I will also be diving into the deep waters of EotA. My projected publication for this one is Summer 2024, hopefully June.

I will be actually for real, for real, really this time keeping up with the authorly things that you adventurers see: the blog, the website, the social media accounts.

I’m also scheduling events for the year. So far, I have two new events this spring and two returning events this fall. Check out the events tab for details!

I will also be looking out at how mystical my standing stone looks blanketed by snow when it is too gross outside to actually go sit by it. I suspect more than a few chapters will end up being drafted under that maple by those stones.

But for now …

Until next time, adventurers.

Ember in the Bookstores!

October 4, 2023 martineauthorLeave a comment

September was long, long, long! However, between ORF fantasy weekend and work, work, work on Ember in the Forge, I’ve made great strides in my work in Ambergrove.

ORF fantasy weekend was amazing. We played five rounds of Paeor’s Game, each more wild than the next. One game involved teaching a fourth-grade boy about D&D—and to love Finn. One game involved asking a bunch of skeletons how they died, one involved tossing giant badgers, and all were a blast. Whimsy Woods is a fantastical place, and we met many adventurers.

I was also gifted my new favorite (treasured) costume piece: a ruana off someone’s back when my shoulders baked a little too much on Sunday.

Halfway through the weekend, we stopped saying we may have Ember in the Forge by closing weekend of ORF and started saying we will have it closing weekend. Five rounds of revisions and three all-nighters later, and it went to the publisher! This morning, I approved the final proofs.

We expect the book to be live by the weekend, so I have added it to Goodreads, and I’ve updated the website. Now, there are officially FIVE books in the Tales of Ambergrove saga!

Prices:

I did everything I could to lower the prices for this one, but the hardcover in particular still came in at a staggering price. As with the previous books, the book price does not at all reflect my priorities as an author. The printer contracted with this publisher is a print-on-demand printer, and they raised their rates due to inflation. I still only get about two dollars from each sale, regardless of the retail price, and retailers are still allowed to set their own prices.

The minimums I was able to push for were $16.99 paperback and $37.99 hardback. We reduced the prices for Wheel of Fate as well, and some retailers didn’t abide by that price. The publisher will sell them at that price with free shipping. It does take three weeks when shipped direct from Archway Publishing. If other retailers hike the price and you don’t mind waiting for it, purchasing from the publisher will be the way to go. Once the book is live, I’ll have the link on the EitF page on the website.

I am so sorry about the prices. I’ve done all I can, but the printer won’t budge any lower than that.

Events:

This weekend is the MCPL Author Fair, and I will be there once again with copies of the full trilogy and some of the packets with ebook downloads of Dawn of the Dragonwolf. We won’t be able to have Ember in the Forge by then, but it should be available for purchase at mainstream retailers by next week, and we will have copies at ORF closing weekend!

These two are the last events of the year, and my life is in flux for a little bit as my 9-to-5 changes, but October brings final prep for ORF (replenishing some stock) and settling into the new job.

Other Things:

My one series to read between books this time is the Tricksters duology by Tamora Pierce. I haven’t read them in a long, long time. Rune and Oggy approve. Once I finish with this series and November hits, I’ll be starting work on Ember on the Anvil, with the hopes of publishing it June 2024.

While doing that, I’ll be taking breaks to sit by my new area on my property—my standing stone!

October will be over before we know it, and it’s fitting that EitF ends with the onset of winter. I hope readers of Mara’s story return for Ember’s and see how much coincides and how much Mara changed Ambergrove. I hope to see many along for the adventure.

Until next time, adventurers!