Upon the Wings of Greater Things

The creative endeavours of Starla Huchton

Milestones and Reflections

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Two of my minions had checkups today, and as I was chatting with the doctor amidst her typing in medical things, she asked what it is I do. I gave my usual answer of freelance graphic designer and author, as that’s become my knee-jerk reaction rather than stuttering, self-conscious response, at which point she asked me if I’d published anything.

This is what gave me pause, not because I was asking myself if I should give the “self-published disclaimer” (this is not a post about that because I am OVER that discussion), but I couldn’t remember what number to fill in for the “I’ve published ____ books” part.

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Wherein I Mess With History

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So, here we are in 2016 already. Last year was a bit of a blur for me, with days flying by as fast as pages being rifled in a book. It went by so quickly, I didn’t get much of a chance to take a breath and plan my release schedule for this year until very recently.

Rather than prattle on about that, however, today I’m writing to let you know that I’ve sneaky-ninja-dropped a brand new book on Amazon! No big fuss this time. I simply finished, edited, and shoved it out the door. Marketing? What’s that? Pfft. :P

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Jumping Genres: Reflections

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At Balticon this past weekend I was part of one of the very last panels of the con. The audience was tiny, which was to be expected for a panel taking place the last day of the con, but I thought you might like to hear my thoughts on the subject.

The title of the panel was “How Hard Can It Be? Jumping Out of Genre,” and was actually one of my suggested ideas this year. Over the last few years, my writing has been all over the place, and I wondered if other authors had experienced some of the strangeness I feel when I talk about writing in multiple genres, or how scary that can be, especially if you don’t know if your audience will follow you.

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The State of Starla: Release Schedule and a Hypothesis

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So, back in January, I decided that 2014 would be my Year of No Queries. Admittedly, it’s been a hard habit to break, but, so far I’ve only slipped twice, that being responding to a reply to a query I’d sent out last year (which I reluctantly backed away from), and a what-the-hell Twitter pitch I threw out that I immediately regretted doing. Anyway, I embarked on this year with a little hypothesis I wanted to test.

The idea was that rapidly releasing books would make a large impact on my career as an author.

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2013: Looking Back and Looking Forward

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Oh my goodness. Where has the year gone?

2013 was a strange year for me. Not only did it bring the longest deployment of my husband that my family has had since 2007, but it also saw us moving into a brand new home in a brand new state, new schools for the kids, and a change in how life in general works for the Huchton house.

All that is on a personal level. It’s been a little crazy at times (okay, like all the time), but that’s not what this post is about.

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Release Update: MASTER OF MYTH

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So, last week Thursday was Talk Like a Pirate Day. Around about eleven p.m., I was sitting around wondering why more people didn’t release pirate-themed books on that day.

And that’s when it hit me. Uh, I have a pirate book. I could potentially do that.

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Antigone’s Wrath: Excerpt, part 3

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The third installment of my winning entry for The Sandy writing contest. Find part 2 here.

 

CHAPTER TWO

As Iris approached the mahogany desk in the Captain’s quarters, Rachel placed the ring and confiscated dagger on its surface. At the sight of the ring, Iris clasped her hands tightly behind her back in an effort to restrain her excited grasp.

Danton strode in with his usual swagger, hands deep in the pockets of his brown, pinstriped trousers, tweed jacket swaying loosely about his waist. At ten paces from her desk, the Master-At-Arms came to a dead stop, his eyes fixed on the hilt of the knife she had taken from the fight.

“Danton?” Rachel said, but he seemed not to hear her. “Monsieur DuSalle?”

Iris laid a hand on his arm and his entire body recoiled. A trained killer’s reflex tightened his face and shoulders, but only briefly. He had not lost himself in thought so much as to lash out at a friend, but the Frenchman’s knuckles were white in his clenched fists.

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Antigone’s Wrath: Excerpt, part 2

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The second installment of my winning entry for The Sandy writing contest. Find part 1 here.

 

Without so much as consideration for what price she might get for it, she scooped it back into its bag and shoved it in her pocket. She grabbed her cloak before throwing open the door and bolting out of her quarters. As she raced down the gangplank, Iris called to her, but Rachel had no time to waste. The ring had to go. She would simply return it to Mrs. Tweed and forget the whole thing had happened. Rachel hated magical items. She would not allow it to remain in her possession. Iris would be livid when she learned of this, but Rachel’s tolerance of Iris’s obsession with Aether Manipulation did not extend to this degree. As the Captain, it was her right to say what would and would not be on board her ship. The argument about the legality of transporting such things was hardly the issue. Nowhere in the twelve years she’d been Captain had she run across such an item. No, she would not allow it this time.

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Antigone’s Wrath: Excerpt, part 1

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I thought perhaps folks might like to see what a first place winner looks like. Specifically, what I submitted to The Sandy that netted me the top score in the Fantasy/Science Fiction, the second highest overall score (only one scored higher, and only by 1 point), and a full manuscript request from Jim Frenkel. I’m so proud of this story! It has a little bit of everything for everyone; romance, adventure, action, bad guys, steampunk tech, a vast array of multicultural characters, and a touch of magic. Even if you’re not sold on the whole steampunk thing, this is still a story you can get into!

In the interest of space, I’m breaking up the excerpt into multiple parts, so you’ll have to read multiple posts to get the whole thing. Without further ado, may I present part 1 of the Antigone’s Wrath excerpt…

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