Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

book series

If You Like This Series, Then This…

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I have four series published, and there are enough books in each to give a clear representation of the type of writing I do. But there are differences between the series, enough to create readers who might wonder which series they should go to next.

So, I thought I would give a little breakdown of each series and what draw each has.

Cover image of the first book in the series.

I’ll start with my first fantasy series: Standing Stone. This is a coming of age, heroic journey, and fantasy adventure series. Each book links to the next, though a couple years’ time passes for some, while others pick up a day after the previous book.

Another point is that the lead character is male. However, there are two secondary leads: unrelated siblings (read the book if you want that explained 🙂 ). Why is this important? All my books contain strong female protagonists, and this is the only series where the lead is male. If you don’t like independent, intelligent females, you found the wrong author. And they come in multiples as there is never just one smart woman in the room.

Cover image of first book in Annals of the Dragon Dreamer

If you’ve read the Standing Stone series, you might wonder which of my other series would be the best fit. Back to the labels: coming of age, heroic journey, fantasy adventure—the most likely candidate is my new series Annals of the Dragon Dreamer. Why? Well, it fits all three labels, and there is a strong male lead, though he is not the main character. He plays an important role throughout the series.

However, it falls under other labels. It has a slow burn romance. Also, unlike Standing Stone, it has dragons, conscious forests, and magically influenced animals: horses and wolves. So both high fantasy and epic fantasy. Dragons are prominent in this series.

Cover image of book one n the Solstice Dragon World

Annals of the Dragon Dreams should lead you to my Solstice Dragon World novels because there are dragons. Independent, intelligent female protagonists, dragons who follow the demands of the “Don’t Eat Humans” clause, and world and personal crises that require they work together. But there is a difference that it is important to note. While both Annals of the Dragon Dreamers and Standing Stone are series which follow a long story arc, each of the Solstice Dragon novels are stand-alone novels. You don’t have to read book one to enjoy book two.

There’s always an exception. Book five is best read after book one. Why? Well, they share characters and the difficulties in book one lead directly to the problems that hamper the characters of book five. Yes, you can leap over books two, three and four, and go straight to five. Save the others until later. Or read them in this order: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5. However, books one and five are not dependent upon each other and don’t have to be read next to each other or even in order, though you’ll miss some of the best surprises of book one if you read it after book five.

Cover image of Book 1 in Kavin Cut Chronicles

Now if you like Solstice Dragon World novels, but don’t have to have dragons present, there’s the trilogy Kavin Cut Chronicles: a hidden kingdom novel. Like all my books, it is a clean romance, has an independent protagonist (in this case, she doesn’t start out that way but grows into the role—so one might say it is a new adult coming of age series). Kavin Cut Chronicles is a nice lead to Standing Stone.

Not surprised. If you like my style of writing, any of my series could be just right for you, but below is a list of labels matched to the series it applies to.

Independent, intelligent female protagonists: all my series

Clean romance: all my series (Standing Stone is super light on the romance)

Dragons and mythical creatures: Solstice Dragon World, Annals of the Dragon Dreamer

Adventure fantasy: all my series

Epic fantasy: Standing Stone, Annals of the Dragon Dreamer. I suppose Kavin Cut Chronicles fits here, too.

Slow burn romance: Solstice Dragon World, Kavin Cut Chronicles, Annals of the Dragon Dreamer

Coming of Age: Standing Stone, Kavin Cut Chronicles, Dira’s Dragon (Solstice Dragon World)

Sword and Sorcery: all my series

If I’ve overlooked an important category or link between series, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the post.

Where an idea begins ~ mine took me here

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Picture of The Sharded Boy cover

I am about to embark on writing the fifth book of the Standing Stones series. My daughter reminds me regularly this is the series that writes itself. It is an apt reminder.

It started with a friend wanting me to write a guest post for her blog. She gave me a set of possible topics, one of which was fantasy. I hadn’t written a fantasy before, but I’ve read thousands.

It was the only topic I thought I could write fairly well on. I had an idea, nothing particularly new, but I hadn’t seen it written about in the manner I was thinking, so why not?

My brainstorm idea: the rules that govern the world of a story create pathways that as the story proceeds limit the choices available to both the writer and the character. Those limited choices funnel the writer and the character to its ultimate conclusion. Nothing new, right.

But I’m a teacher, and examples are paramount in putting across expectations. So I immediately began thinking about a set of rules for a fantasy world: wielders of magic must carry with them a heavy flat stone which they must stand on in order to wield the essence that is the base of their magic and is embedded in the stone. What if there was a wielder that couldn’t carry his stone or found it extremely difficult? How would that act as a governor of his experience.

From there, I considered a series of questions.

  • Why can’t he carry it?
  • Are there alternatives?
  • What caused this situation?
  • What can he or she do about this if anything?
  • What other rules apply?
  • and the list goes on…

I got to the bottom of the parameters of this fantasy world and how it would guide the story and was so invested, I could not send her the post. I set it aside while I finished up a book I was writing.

I thought I might write a short story with this created character: Jahl Pratter and his struggle with fitting into the demands of being a wielder.

I began writing another book in my then current series and continued to let Jahl wait for when I had time to write that short story.

I got stuck, not just stuck: I lost faith in the book I was writing. I had to step away.

I started another book that had been running around in my head. Over the course of a couple of months, the conflicts of this new book became all to real to me, and I could not face it. Both my father-in-law and my mother were showing serious signs of dementia, a key component of that novel.

Both have since passed away, and 20k of words are waiting for me to come back. I can’t just yet.

I returned to the previous series’ book and struggled along before again setting it aside. Jahl beckoned.

I thought writing a short story might lubricate the wheels. And it was all laid out in my head. It wouldn’t take much time to write it.

At about 20K of words and no where near the middle, never mind the end, I realized I was writing a book, and it just kept writing itself. I was along for the ride.

Cover of The Shifter Shard

Book 2 grabbed hold, and I said, “Okay, let’s roll.”

Before I had time to take a breath, Book 3 was in the works.

Cover The Heart of Lal

I stepped back to the fifth book in that earlier series I kept setting aside and finished it, quite satisfied with the result. I had hated it the majority of the time I spent writing it. It just never felt good enough. By the time I finished it, I quite liked it. One unpublished blog post produced four books.

I started a new fantasy series of standalone novels, Solstice Dragon World. After writing three of them, I returned to the Standing Stone series and wrote its fourth book as easily as I had written the first three. I love that series and have been thrilled to learn from my readers that I am not alone.

Cover of The Sand Wielders

Standing Stone Book 5 is next on my agenda. I’ve been holding it off while I have finished my current series: Kavin Cut Chronicles, just weeks away from publishing the third in the trilogy.

I suspect Standing Stone’s Book 5 will be the end of the series. Of course, given its beginnings, I can’t be certain.

If you would like to check out any of my fantasy series, click the tab at the top of the web page labeled All Books. You’ll find links to all the main retailers where they are sold. Just click on the series title of each and work your way through the books.

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 9 ~ Social media and me

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Do you spend a lot of time on social media?

Hmm. Not like I used to. In the past I gave a lot of time to Twitter and Google+ (made a lovely friend and joined a wonderful group). I have an account with Pinterest and Goodreads as well, but I visit rarely. I’ve since narrowed my activity to Facebook and keeping up this blog. I just can’t be split all over the place keeping an internet presence, writing and publishing, and working the day job.

Even my efforts at keeping those two sites up are cranked down quite a bit. I visit Facebook once a day and read the two groups I like, post a comment or two and maybe visit my books page and make a post there. As for this blog, I am trying to post once a week on Saturdays. Even so, I’ve missed a few days here and there.

But my writing is a daily effort. I am working on the third book in the Standing Stone fantasy series and am meeting the goals I set for myself to ensure a publication in September. When I’m not writing and putting in my brief social media visits, then I’m spending time with my husband and learning to play a musical instrument.

I posted awhile back about keeping the mind sharp. One of the points I made is how much learning to play an instrument it related to maintaining memory. So I’ve taken the plunge and I’m learning to play the twelve hole ocarina. I won’t be posting any songs online anytime in the near, and probably distant, future. I am about as novice a musician as they come. I am learning about notes and rests and treble clef, etc. It’s another language to say the least.

So no time for a big social media presence. But I do have author pages at Smashwords and on Amazon for those interested in knowing me better than just what I post here.

I am working up the courage to start a newsletter. It was one of my summer goals. Summer is not over yet, but I won’t promise anything. I’ll have to learn how to create an email base, a newsletter, setup signup pages and add them to my books as well as this site. But it will have to wait for the completed draft of book 3 and the weeks it will be with my beta readers when I can take a short writing break.

#socialmedia
#memory

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 7 ~ prequel to a series?

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 Would you consider writing a prequel for either of your series?

Actually, I do have a prequel in mind for the Standing Stone series. It would focus on the backstory of the Wielder Wain which is an important event that occurred 16 years prior to the first book in the series. The focus characters would be Mahre Pratter (Donnel) and Tran Pratter. My daughter has suggested that I should also write about the sinister sisters and the An Faire migration mythology which is 300 years earlier than the first book. They both intrigue me. I’ll let the ideas putter about awhile and see what comes to mind.

I don’t think I’ll be writing either anytime soon as I am currently drafting book 3 of the Standing Stone series, have murky beginnings for a book 4 in the series, have book 5 of the Students of Jump series waiting behind the door, along with a contemporary novel, an anthology of poems and another series sitting on the back burner.

So a quick answer to the question: Maybe, but breath holding is not advised.

Since this turned out to be a short post, I’ll mention my current activities. I have, as I said, started writing book 3. As added incentive to new readers, I reduced the price to 99 cents for The Sharded Boy, book 1 in the series (available at all major eBook retailers).

I am also considering setting up a mailing list which would probably be a monthly newsletter combining updates for both my series and anything newsy I want to include. I’m a newby in the process, so I need to do my homework before I make it available for signup. When and if I do, I’ll post the signup link here, on my Facebook page, at the end of each of my books, and perhaps on my Google and GoodReads accounts.

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 4 ~ next possible genre

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If your next book was not science fiction or fantasy what genre would it be in?

I’m a bit split on which it would be. I write quite a bit of poetry. I have the beginnings of a series of selections all based on pieces of heirloom china I have received from various family over the years. I also have about 18,000 words done on a contemporary women’s fiction about three best friends enjoying their retirement years. One of the ladies is fashioned after my mother, a very vibrant, dramatic woman who could walk into a room full of people and make them turn at once to see who brought the exuberance into the place. She passed away this past September and I really miss her.

I’m expecting that after I finish with the Standing Stone series and the fifth book in Students of Jump that I will probably get back working on the contemporary piece Joanie and Friends. It’s a standalone work. I would then move on to working on the collaboration series my husband and I are planning.

I am pretty much booked up on ideas for writing. Don’t have to worry about writer’s block for at least the next three years, assuming I am going to keep up my new pace of three books a year.

General plan (subject to change because life is not predictable)
Book 2 in Standing Stone (out June 2017)
Book 3 in Standing Stone (predicted out in September 2017)
Book 5 in Students of Jump (predicted out in Jan. 2018)
Book .5 in Standing Stone
Joanie and Friends
Maybe that china poetry collection would fit here
Book 1 in the Mantle Series

Of course, this ignores the fact that I have four books outlined for the Students of Jump series and another book or two wandering around the back of my mind for the Standing Stone series. Sometimes ideas leapfrog. For instance, The Sharded Boy was supposed to be a short story, but it blossomed into a book and then a series.

#genre
#writing
#series

A Stab at a Self-interview: Question 3 ~ a new series

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Do you have another series planned?

My husband and I have a time travel series planned. We will not be writing on it until the Standing Stone series is complete and the fifth book in the Students of Jump series is out.

It will be written for the New Adult market. Though I don’t want to get into the plotting aspects of the piece, we are thinking at this time it will involve four college students who find themselves pulled back in time after they rent a house together. At this time the location of their shift back in time will incorporate the Victorian or Elizabethan periods. Our research will determine the final decision.

In the mean time, Standing Stone book 3 is in process and Standing Stone book 2 will be ready for publication quite soon.