Wax Seals and Penny Dreadfuls: A Writer's Tools

One of the things I love most about the writing life is that I allows me to connect with other people. Some from far, far away whom I might never have met otherwise.  So when I send out signed copies for prizes or what not, I always try to include a special letter to my fellow book lovers.

The one I wrote for the Blackburn series is especially dear to me because it talks about how the heroine, Charlotte, helped me to process memories of some difficult times.  I hope her story inspires you like it did me.

Plus...I get to play with fancy quills and wax seals. Also a major writerly perk.

To keep from going mad with all the deadlines and writing goals, I have resolved to work more reading time into my schedule. I'm currently reading a lovely Penny Dreadful compilation I picked up a while ago. It begins with the estimable Mary Shelly. I haven't read Frankenstein in over a decade.  

It even has The Mummy's Curse by Louisa May Alcott. I've not had the pleasure of reading anything of hers other than Little Women so this should be a treat. I hear it is a creepy little tale involving hapless Egyptologists and ancient curses.

I'm currently working on a near future scifi thriller. So I get to do a lot of research on mega structures and neurotechnology. Not to mention wade through the space elevator arguments. There are apparently wildly differing opinions on the feasibility of such a thing.

It is great fun to imagine what might be. And creating the moody atmosphere of Veridian with all its neon and smooth, cold glass is something of a challenge. Its amazing how much I want to juxtaposition lush fabrics and vivid colors to that sterile world. Working on the wardrobe aesthetic of my main gal, Elara. Beauty, brains, and a bad temper.  I think some blood red lips might do. 

Photos by: m-ban, eden acrchives, and art of soulburn.  

Last Chance to Win!

To celebrate the release of my upcoming steampunk thriller, I am giving away 4 copies of my Gothic mystery, Secrets at Crescent Point! Enter to win HERE.

But you better hurry...the contest ends at midnight on 1/18/18

---

And if you love epic tales of strong heroines, dark heroes, and strange devices then check out The Tremblers, a steampunk thriller releasing tomorrow! 

Charlotte Blackburn—Beautiful, intelligent, a gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel's daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor who is the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation.

With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

With Every Beat

You are supposed to start your story when everything goes awry. Writers call it media res and it means that you begin a narrative "in the middle of things" rather than at the beginning of the event. 

You dump the reader right into the juicy bits of the events...right when things are taking a turn. Preferably for the worse.

The main character in my current project, The Dreadful Dark, lives each moment as if things are going to go awry in a bad way. That is because she can literally drop dead at any moment.  She has a heart condition, something called Long QT Syndrome that sends her heart racing with chaotic beats...and it does it randomly.

When she is sent to the desert to recuperate after an operation, strange happenings and the dangerous secrets of a mysterious family known as The Dreadful Darlings, draw her into a world of longing and fear and suspense.

Where a typical person might fear for their life, cringe at the sight of death, run from the unexplained...well, Venus is not typical.

"When death is your constant companion, it is familiar, and nothing is frightening about the familiar."  ~Venus Bell

So my story begins...not at the hospital or as she makes her way to her eccentric uncles Earthship home in the barren landscape...

No, our story begins in the chill of the desert at night. Underneath a riot of stars against the velvet black sky. In the shadows of an abandoned sanitarium nearly reclaimed by the sand, she meets a boy both dark and strange. 

Is he all that his name implies? Or is there something about Rowan Darling worth saving?

In the midst of malevolent forces gathering against them, Venus finds that her heart is far stronger than she had ever imagined.

+Raquel Byrnes

Dreadfully Creepy

There is something so AWESOME about starting a new project. Working through a three book series like the one I just finished is rewarding, sure...I feel happy to have completed Lady Blackburn's story.

However, the excitement of discovery in research, of brainstorming 'what if's,' and the start of weaving together the images in your head into a cohesive plot are some of my favorite things in the world.

This go around I will be writing a Gothic Mystery series entitled The Dreadful Darlings. So...SO happy to finally get to work on this project.

It was my motivation during the last chapters of The Chasm Walkers when my deadline loomed and my eyes drooped while writing at 2 in the morning.

I love the dark and dreary stories. A die-hard Poe and Henry James fan since childhood, I always did enjoy a good ghost story.

So here I am gathering dream journal entries and sifting through my subconscious for what scares me and you know what? I discovered something amazing.

I am not frightened by the dark. I am unnerved by the bright and blaring. The shifting shadows of a scorching sun on barren ground. The far out fringe of the desert dwellers where I live.  

In short...not the English moors or the murky bayou waters. I am afraid of the things that thrive in the light and heat.

This should be an interesting journey....

---

If you like creepy and exciting -- 

Check out my YA Steampunk Thriller, The Tremblers coming soon!

+Raquel Byrnes  

Secrets Out!

This week the second book in my Noble Island Mystery series came out! Set on the same mysterious Noble Island as the first book, this one delves into the strange and secretive ways of the island's Romany people. Secrets at Crescent Point is a Gothic Romance with intrigue and thrills, I know you'll love Raven and Siyah's adventure!

Here is an official blurb...

Leaving Noble Island amid scandal and accusation, Raven vows never to return, but when her sister’s fiancé goes missing, Raven has no choice. Shunned by the island, if she is to unravel the mystery of Niklos’s disappearance, she must rely on the only man she’s ever loved, Siyah Cavaler.

Siyah was devastated when Raven left Noble Island, but as the clan’s heir apparent, he has a responsibility to keep the families from falling into ruin and crime. To preserve the island’s future, he agrees to a bride from a rival family, but Raven’s return stirs his heart and jeopardizes his position in the council. Giving in to his love for Raven would mean turning his back on all he’s ever known.

When Raven’s investigation uncovers a grisly discovery, a darkness is unleashed that threatens them both.

Bizarre accidents, unexplained deaths, and strange apparitions shroud the island. Raven and Siyah struggle to save the families and their love as they race to stop another death and unveil the Secrets at Crescent Point.

I have three eBook copies to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment about the scriest moment you experienced.  Did you hear a noise when you were home alone? Maybe saw a figure out in the fog?  Share your thrill and be entered to win.

Below is the amazing video Pelican Book Group put out for the series....enjoy!

---