Centernia: Building a Castle

I'm spending the weekend out at Another Anime Con in Manchester, New Hampshire.  I've met some really nice people and sold half a case of Centernia  (with still one more day of con to go!). I also just read another very kind Amazon review from an anonymous reader who purchased a copy in Fan World Niagara. That review made me really, really, really happy and I'm reminded of how far we've come. Centernia went on sale October two years ago.  I appreciate every single reader in a way I can barely communicate. To put this in perspective.... I have spent over half my life with Nico, Jessica, Teren and the rest of the castlefolk arguing in my brain.  When you, the reader, chose to spend hours invested inside the pages of the book, you see, hear, and feel everything I do.  I don't take this shared experience for granted.  It is true magic that ink on a piece of paper can bring you into the abandoned halls of Castle Aurumice. I can't believe this journey has bee

Oh Misa....ever plotting, ever planning, never running out of dreams....

Kaity Cosette by Cathy Razim,  www.RazCat.com “There are three categories of mage…the psychic, the kinetic, and the ethereal. I am psychic, I can touch the mind. Your mother, Kaity and Nico are of the kinetic, they touch the world.  Misa was of the ethereal.  She could touch what exists in between.” - Teren, Return to the Castle There are thousands of variations of mage, but a few types seem to pop up more than others. Polaris Academy officially recognizes three types of mage, Kinetic, Psychic and Ethereal. Many mages also argue there exists two other types, the Cross Mages and the Forbidden. Kinetic Kinetic mages are the most common of all mages.  They can manipulate the world that surrounds them. Some mages have generic skills, others seem to be able to touch only certain particles.  Kinetic mages often need to make a physical gesture to activate their abilities, such as a sweeping hand motion.  With time, they learn greater control and can use their powers with barely a

The current file for The Crimson Mage is labelled "Crimson Mage June 2015." Yes, I've been working on this current draft for a year.  Actually, it's been one year and six months.  I had naively assumed that it would only take me ten months to write the sequel, just as I wrote Return to the Castle.  A wrench was thrown into my plans.  It wasn't a single wrench, but more akin an earthquake in Home Depot. On December 7th I wrote about how I was recovering from post-partum depression, totally back on track with The Crimson Mage.  I was so happy and energetic. A few days after that post my grandfather had a stroke, because the universe has a crappy sense of irony.  The following month was miserable. My daughter's first Christmas was the worst Christmas of my life, only to contend with Christmas 1994 when my mother couldn't walk after a car accident and I figured out Santa Claus was a lie because all of our presents were given to us in stapled grocery store ba

How old were you when you started writing? When I was in second grade, I wrote and illustrated a story called "Marvin the Marry Mouse".  It was a Christmas tale about a mouse whose older sister told him there was no Santa.  He wrote a letter to Santa and then received bunch of presents.   Character, conflict, resolution. It was drawn on tracing paper in blue pen while I was playing in the back patio of my grandparents' house.  I continued to write from that point forward.  Many of my stories featured cats, horses, and whatever I was obsessed with at the time (stickers, XMen, Littlest Pet Shop, Sailor Moon, Star Wars, etc...).  When I was twelve I began writing original work.   Do you edit as you write?  When I write I start with an idea, but get stuck looking for the correct words. No, I do not try to edit on the first draft. For me, writing is this mad dash to grab everything that is falling out of my brain.  I focus on the dialog and conflict first.  Without c

Music Feature I write Centernia to an incredibly eclectic mix of music.  Sometimes it's the melody that gets me, the lyrics of the song, or simply the voice of the singer. Today's feature from my playlist: Heart: Alone Album: Bad Animals 1987 I think I prefer the Kim Sozzi candlelight version, but it's not presently available on YouTube. However, this video features Heart in is 80s hair-band glory.  The video is great, the costuming, the mysterious setting, and the fact they throw a white horse in there for fun.