“Oh, my sweet summer child," Old Nan said quietly, "What do you know of fear? Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time, and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the dire wolves grow gaunt and hungry, and the white walkers move through the woods.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Well, my sweet summer children, I know a thing or two about fear. I know about the winter, when the snow falls a foot deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north. I know the long night, for I have dwelled in darkness.
If you live anywhere in the middle part of the US or Canada, then you know it too. Folks as far south as Galveston, Texas have heard the howling out of the north, for winter is coming … nay my little ladies and lords, winter is here.
It’ll be gone by Monday, but that’s how we do things in Oklahoma. After nine days below freezing, when temperatures reached -18 degrees F, and after 12” of snow, we’re finally expected to rise above freezing tomorrow.
Now, I know all my northern friends are thinking, “Pfft! Hold our beers, Oklahoma. You can have it.”
I have come to realize over the past few years, I am indeed summer's child. I miss my evening walks because I will not go out into that cold night. In fact, I would propose we just go to bed when it gets dark. Propped up on a half dozen pillows, in my favorite fluffy robe and fuzzy stockings, when the house is quite and the music is good, I do my best writing.
Cooped up in the house for six days, when I wasn’t working from home on my day job, I did a lot of writing. The current tome in The Veritas Codex Series that I started a couple of weeks ago, ballooned to 37,000 words, which puts me at about the halfway point. I’ve set up all the major plot points, run the characters up a tree and started throwing rocks at them. As much as I love my characters, I love seeing how they respond to these situations I put them in. Sometimes they surprise me. A lot of times, they don’t do what I tell them to. So far, everyone is cooperating, and things are flowing smoothly (for me; not them).
Meanwhile, Book 3 in the series is at the editor and as soon as I get feedback I’ll dive into the next round of edits, polishing it so it’ll be ready to go in May. I’m also currently booking public appearances for spring and summer. (Events posted on my website.) I hope to get some additional podcasts set up, and I’ve already committed to speaking at WriterCon 2021 Labor Day weekend.
So, having said that, if you have a podcast, book club or writer’s group who might like to have a virtual visit with a writer about the process, my books, or anything about the craft in general, reach out. I’m still a novice in the publishing world, but I’ve been writing since I was six and I’m always happy to share what I’ve learned, and I am an avid reader, so I’m happy to talk about books. So hit me up! My contact info is available on my website at www.authorbetseykulakowski.com!
Until next time, stay warm, and stay curious, always!
Betsey