NovelSisters

watching, reading, and writing stories

May 5

Visiting Author

by lydiamhill

I feel like I’m growing up. Like Pinocchio saying “I’m a real boy now!” I’m an author who feels like shouting “I’m a real author now!”

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio

I suppose being an author could be loosely defined as writing something and actually finishing it, or maybe it’s finally allowing other people to read your work. Some people may define it as getting a publishing house to distribute your written creations to the masses. But what makes me feel like an author? Or at least on this occasion?

It was going to a middle school and telling them about the novel I had self-published: Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey. There’s nothing like stepping into an environment with all those young voices asking what it’s like to write, how you do it, and what your favorite parts are. Suddenly calling myself an author seems like what I should be saying. If that’s what these students see me as, then I somehow feel its more true. It’s not just something I’m saying about myself, now it’s a title that others give me as well.

I had a lot of fun telling my story to the 6th-8th graders, seeing their reactions, answering their questions and encouraging them to give their dreams a chance. One girl even came up to me and stated that she had written a book too, and thought maybe she could self-publish it like me.

It was a surreal experience that I thoroughly enjoyed, though my feet did hurt by the end, and my throat was a bit dry. But all in all I had a marvelous time, and I’m looking forward to the next school I get to visit.

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Mar 11

The Rest of the Story

by lydiamhill

Cover

A while back I posted a section from my novel Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey. I wanted to post another section from the book, so people could see what happened.

As always, if you like what you read, check out the full book at: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Home-The-Orphans-Journey/dp/1490556427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394553842&sr=8-1&keywords=finding+home+Lydia+Hill

Enjoy!

      “So the young lad awakens” one of the men said with a laugh. “All alone tonight are we?”

      Yeah, sure feels like it. “Who are you?” Ben managed to say as he sat up.

      “That’s not important,” the biggest of the three said in a gruff voice.

      “What do you want?”

      “Oh it’s not what I want, it’s what you want.” The big man smiled, revealing his crooked teeth. “See, if you want to live, you’ll give me anything you have, and if you don’t… well….” The man put his hand gingerly on his sword hilt.

      Ben gulped. I don’t have anything to give them. Oh I hope the captain acts soon.

      “What are you numbskulls doing?” a voice said from behind the three men.

      “Sorry sir. We were just trying to find out if he was worth taking captive.”

      Ben watched in horror as the big man stepped aside to reveal another man. This man was definitely in command. Although he was smaller than the others, his body was sleek with muscle and his steal gray eyes had the silent stare of one in authority. This doesn’t sound good. Oh hurry up captain.

      The commander stepped forward and glanced over Ben. “He’s of no importance,” he said indifferently. “Kill him.”

      Ben grabbed his sword and stood up in one motion.

      The other men soon had drawn their swords as well.

      “Why didn’t you check him for weapons?” the commander asked angrily.

      “Don’t worry sir, this won’t take long,” the big man said arrogantly as he stepped forward.

      Ben saw his opportunity. He ducked the man’s blow and thrust his sword forward catching the man in a break in his armor.

      The massive man screamed in pain and fell to his knees.

      Ben pulled back and noticed more men beyond the group coming closer to see what was going on. Where are you captain? I can’t keep this up for long.

      “Why you little…” one of the other men said as he stepped towards Ben.

      Ben swung at the man, but this Ungul was quicker than the last one and deflected the blow easily. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben noticed more men starting to gather in a circle around him as he continued to fight. Come on captain, your bait’s about to get eaten.

      Ben stepped backwards as another man joined in the fight. Ben blocked again and again, barely deflecting one swing before the next came. The swords got close enough to tear part of Ben’s shirt and scratch his arm, but Ben was able to avoid any major injuries. He was so focused on staying alive that he didn’t notice that the taunts of the men around him were slowly turning into gasps of horror.

      It wasn’t until one very loud scream broke through the noise of the fight that Ben and the now three men he was fighting stopped to see what was going on. As soon as Ben realized that the surprise attack was finally happening, he took advantage of his opponents’ confusion and attacked.

      Soon there were other soldiers around Ben, fighting the Unguls. “About time you got here,” Ben called to the captain as he jumped into the fight.

      The captain took on one of the Unguls fighting Ben. “Sorry about that, but your distraction was too perfect. Thanks to your little sword fight, we were able to take out half the troop before they even noticed we were here.”

      Ben pulled back towards a big bolder as the lone Ungul he was fighting took another swing at him. “You’re welcome.”

      The captain, noticing that Ben was pinned against the bolder, deftly spun away from the Ungul he was fighting to help Ben. After a few quick moves both of the Unguls’ swords were on the ground. The captain smiled as he watched the two Unguls turn and run for their lives. “You’re welcome.”

      “Thanks.” Ben sat down exhausted.

      The captain removed his helmet and watched silently as his troops finished off the few Unguls left in the camp.

      One of the soldiers yelled after a fleeing Ungul. “Yeah get out of here ya yellabelly! Stay in your own country!”

      “You think they’ll just leave?” Ben asked the captain.

      The captain ran his hand through his matted dark hair speckled with gray hairs, “Sure hope so.” He smiled down at Ben then held out his hand. “Need some help?”

      Ben took the captain’s hand and stood up. “You know, I still don’t know your name.”

      “Yes, well I suppose I’ve gotten used to just ‘Captain,’” he said with a chuckle.

      “Alright Captain.”

      The captain smiled. “But you aren’t one of my soldiers. The name’s Martin.”

      “Martin then.”

      “Just don’t use it around the troops, might throw them off a bit.”

      Ben nodded.

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Feb 6

A Sneak Peek

by lydiamhill

This past year, I published my first novel “Finding Home: The Orphan’s Journey.”

Cover

It is a youth adventure story revolving around Ben and his search for his lost family. He meets many people along his journey, some are kind and helpful, others are not. Anyway, I wanted to give my blog followers a bit of a sneak peak into the book. I’ve found other authors’ blogs that also feature sections of their books, and I would like to do the same. So, occasionally, I’ll post a little section of my book. If it interests you, feel free to buy the whole story on Amazon. You can follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Home-The-Orphans-Journey/dp/1490556427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391725148&sr=8-1&keywords=Finding+Home+the+orphan%27s+journey

And without further ado, here’s a sneak peak at Ben’s adventure.

      “Ben, wake up.”

      Ben felt a poke in his chest. He opened his eyes to see the captain leaning over him. Ben rubbed his eyes. “Hmm what’s going on?”

      “We seem to have a bit of a problem.”

      “Oh?”

      “Yes, well our lookout has spotted a band of Unguls coming our way.”

      Ben sat straight up. “What!?!”

      “Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but the rumors are true. So get up, we’re going to need your help.”

      Ben stood up quickly and grabbed his sword. “Where do you want me?” he tried to ask bravely but there was a slight squeak to his voice that betrayed his true feelings.

      “Actually, I have something special planned for you. Come with me.” The captain led Ben away from where he had bedded down for the night and towards the campfire.

      Ben looked at the solitary campfire sitting next to a rocky hill. “Where is everybody?”

      “Hiding.”

      Ben gulped. “So why aren’t we?”

      The captain turned toward Ben and looked him square in the eye. “Ben, I need you to do something for me.” He took a deep breath. “The Unguls have us outnumbered. The only way we stand a chance is if we take them by surprise…. They know someone is here because of the fire, but if they think it’s only a lonely traveler, they’ll let their guard down.”

      “So I’m the bait?” Ben said quietly, his voice beginning to shake.

      “Afraid so. But you can keep your sword, and once the Unguls get close enough, we’ll close in and surround them. You won’t be alone long.”

      Ben nodded slowly as his heart began to beat faster.

      “Alright, well they’re getting close, so just lay down here and pretend you’re asleep.” The captain turned to go find a hiding place.

      “Wait!” Ben said in a higher pitch than he had intended. “I don’t think I can do this.”

      The captain put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. I promise. Just wait until they get close and keep them distracted as long as you can.”

      “How?”

      “Just go with your instincts. If they’re looking for information, keep them talking, if they’re out for blood, well use that.” The captain pointed to Ben’s sword. “Although… I would keep that hidden until the opportune moment if I were you.”

      Ben nodded and tried his best to put on a brave face.

      “Thank you Ben.” The captain gave Ben’s shoulder a squeeze then hurried up the hill and disappeared from view.

      Ben took a deep breath then sat down on the hard ground. He carefully hid his sword behind his back and then lay down trying to make his body relax. Ben forced his eyes shut. He strained to detect any noise but his heart was pounding so hard he could barely hear. Alright, just calm down. It needs to look like I just woke up. Ben forced himself to take a few long, deep breaths. His heart began to slow. Ben could now hear the wind in the trees.

      A few minutes passed then a twig broke. Ben immediately tensed up. What should I do? What should I do? Ben tried to make himself relax again. I’m supposed to keep them distracted for as long as possible. He waited.

       Soft footsteps approached slowly until Ben was sure they were right next to him. What if they’re going to kill me in my sleep? Ben could hardly breathe. He couldn’t stand it any longer and opened his eyes. Three enormous men with strange armor were staring down at him. Ben gasped.


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Nov 19

The Novel’s Journey

by lydiamhill

I know I don’t mention it on this blog a lot, but I am a writer. Specifically I’ve been working on publishing my first novel for the past several years. Writing a novel is a long process. Not only does it take perseverance to actually finish, it also takes serious thought and editing skills. On top of that pile on the whole mess of trying to self publish and you can start to see why it takes so long to actually finish.

But I’m proud to announce that my novel “Finding Home; The Orphan’s Journey” is now finished! It is available on Amazon today!

Cover

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Home-The-Orphans-Journey/dp/1490556427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384877071&sr=8-1&keywords=Lydia+Hill+Finding+Home

I’d like to share a little about how this story came to be, and perhaps in the future I’ll post some small sections from the text itself. But if you want to go ahead and purchase a print copy, feel free.

This novel began as an sketchy idea. Oftentimes as I’m going to sleep I think up some story in my head. Usually I’ve forgotten it by the next morning and most of them aren’t worth remembering, but this time, I liked the idea. I decided the next morning to write out a generalized plot line. It wasn’t a super long plot, and most of it was the big picture. In essence I knew I wanted to write a story about an orphan who goes on a quest to find his long lost family, in hopes that they are still alive. I had a few ideas of what should happen to him on this quest, like running into a Princess and saving her life. But there were lots of gaps and holes, and I had no idea how to end the story. Also, the big picture was very different from actually writing a book, putting in dialogue and description and organizing the whole thing into chapters. All of this actual writing was a big job that I had never attempted before.

The writing process started out slow, I started with a grand back story explaining what had actually happened to this orphan, but eventually realized that this was not a great way to start a book. It was good to write so I knew what had happened, but it wasn’t needed for the reader.

As years continued, I still dreamed about one day actually finishing my book, but high school was nearing it’s end and my busy college days lay before me. I thought that taking Writing classes in college would help motivate me to finish, but instead of writing my novel, I wrote other papers, and learned more about what it takes to write well. In addition, during my college years I was able to secure a job at a local middle school where I was supposed to read with students. As I saw examples of good and bad literature in the school library, I began to think again about my novel, and giving younger kids an exciting book that was also clean and safe. I was really tired of kids coming across crude language and telling me “I’m not allowed to say this.” Of course you’re not, I was thinking, this stuff shouldn’t be in a kid’s book. There’s got to be better stuff out there. And so I decided that my novel could be one of these ‘better’ books, at least in the sense of crudeness.

By the time I had graduated from college, it had been a long time since I’d actually tried to write anything connected to this novel. When I finally looked back at it, I realized how simple the language was and how difficult it would be to “fix” what I’d already written. But I decided to try. Now that there was no homework to do, I had time to write.

So I recruited a few friends to give me feedback on my early chapters, then I started writing furiously. By writing very long research papers in college, I had learned that writing was not such a big challenge after all, I just had to do it. Another contributing factor was the National Novel Writing Month. My sister had won the contest my senior year of college, and I began developing a plan of finishing my novel before November, and then trying to write a sequel during the contest month. With this goal in mind, I worked much more diligently. By November 1st I was done with my rough draft and ready to write more.

After the busy NaNoWriMo season, I entered a new phase: editing. Some of it was fun; developing chapters, making artwork, or adding descriptive details. But editing also meant scrolling for typos multiple times, and having a few friends read the whole draft for errors. As you can imagine, this was a long process that took several months, but finally I was nearing the end. Figuring out the cover and description was actually not as hard as I thought it would be, thanks to Create Space’s program. And now I’ve come to the end of my journey, at least for this novel.

So if you’re interested in starting a journey for yourself, buy the book. Or if you’ve already started out on your own book, leave me a comment and let me know where you are in the writing process.

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