@Firlefanz@writing.exchange
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Firlefanz

@Firlefanz@writing.exchange

German Author, Dreamer and Dragonlover.

Writing Fantasy (in English) about underdogs with happy endings. Looking for fellow writers and interested readers.

Cares about people, the world and the climate. Hugs trees. Talks too much.

Pronouns: she/her

Avatar: Stick figure horse I drew myself.
Background image: Four book covers on a star field - my series starters. Dorelle's Journey, Decoy, A Wolf's Quest, South Breaks.

#ActuallyAutistic #Horses #EFT-Tapping #Mandalorian #Nullipara

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Firlefanz, to random
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#WritersCoffeeClub 6/6 Have you queried agents for traditional publishing? How did it go?

I actually did, way back when I was writing fantasy in German. Scored a contract. Dreamed of signing with a German publishing house.

It never happened. Agent didn't know how to market fantasy. Never was willing to communicate what they had done.

Contract dissolved five years later when I realized they were only holding me back.

Went into self-publishing, never regretted it.

#WritingCommunity

Firlefanz, (edited ) to random
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329 How is your SC typically seen by others?

Oh, there is the sweetest side character in A Wolf's Fury: Ashley's neighbor Missy.

Everyone believes her to be a slightly hare-brained old lady, bumbling and perhaps with onset dementia, but Connor sees through that facade.

Because Missy is totally sharp and misses nothing. She also hides a fascinating past (even from me).

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random
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5/20 -- When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

I can almost give you an exact date: Jan 30th, 2000.

That's when I started writing down the first intense scene of a story that wasn't fan fiction. It grew and grew in my mind, into three years of hyperfocus and three completed novels with four more started.

Those prompted me to sign up with an agent. (Contract long dissolved.) I've been self-publishing since 2013.


Firlefanz, to random
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You know, I've been talking about Connor and Ashley and their adventures.

Turns out that Amazon COM is running a little sale on the ebook right now, you'll save $1 if you buy fast.

No idea how long it lasts. It's an algorithm thing, I assume, since I never get a notification, either.

Let's hope it'll be up there for a day or so.

Grab it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FH24HJT



Firlefanz, to random
@Firlefanz@writing.exchange avatar

If you like noblebright stories (ones that emphasize kindness and hope, as well as good feelings), I have a small, curated list of books from Bookfunnel that you can get for free in exchange for your email.

My South Breaks is in it, because yes, my stories are noblebright.

The books will be up there until the 20th of May.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/noblebrightalliance/exts3c0cgz



(Whatever happened to the bookstodon group?)

Firlefanz, to random
@Firlefanz@writing.exchange avatar

Btw, my friends, "A Wolf's Fury" is still on sale on Amazon COM.

(Yes, I'll get full royalties, even if you buy at a reduced price. It's an Amazon thing.)

Grab it now, even if you only want to read the series later. Price will go up eventually - and I don't know when. Amazon does not tell authors these things.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FH24HJT

(Please boost.)



Firlefanz, to random
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331 — Has your MC ever desired the feeling of a fresh start, or a better understanding of themselves and / or the world around them?

Connor's worst moment was when his pack fell apart. When his leader turned out to be cheater, when he turned against his own second, over a woman.

He does get a fresh start, ending up as the pack leader himself, albeit of a demoralized and injured few men. Still, he does the best he can.

A Wolf's Fury


Firlefanz, to random
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Gute Nacht, Freunde.

A good day.

I wrote 400 words for Sun.
Played Valheim.
Took a nap.

And a friend came over and did some repairs in my apartment. Most of all, he made sure I have good light in the kitchen again.

I'm delighted and much relieved and very happy. I also fed him cake and Earl Grey tea.

And tomorrow, there will be more writing.


Firlefanz, to random
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5.4 — How do you handle highly intimate scenes?

Well.

They used to scare me. Most of my books do the fade-to-black thing.

And then I got adventurous (after reading a lot of Romance) and wrote an SF series with a LOT of bed scenes. Explicit ones. Yes, it was a challenge. And yes, since I had a male MC, I asked a friend to check those scenes. cue blushing

Because I have friends who will not read spicy, those books are published under Joanna Steenen.

raemariz, to random
@raemariz@spore.social avatar

1. Intro update.

I signed with a new agent and spent the last 5 months on a major restructure of a maximalist ecofiction novel imperfectly disguised as a contemporary workplace comedy. Hollywood has taken over casting for a televised mission to Mars. It’s back up to over 400 pages and my agent is going to be so mad when I finally turn in this draft. Just need to untangle the final 50 pages, which is why I’m playing here. Procrastination is part of the process.

Firlefanz,
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@raemariz

That's beautiful. ❤️

Firlefanz, to random
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5.5 — Do you have fans / people who enjoy your writing? What’s your relationship to them?

I believe I have a handful of fans. I love them. Seriously, love them.

I try to give them some goodies in every newsletter, deals on my books.

Without fans, there is no chance of selling any decent number of books. These days, recommendations are more important than ever, since search algos are getting much less reliable.

So yeah. Love you guys. ❤️

Firlefanz, to random
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5.5 — Have you ever dreamed about characters in your work?

Not in the narrow sense of the word, no. I don't often remember my dreams, but they are usually about my family or friends.

However, I daydream a lot about my characters, I talk to them, I listen, I watch what they do.

And then I write it down.

Firlefanz, to random
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Gute Nacht, Freunde.

No writing today. Early morning Zoom, Valheim, a nice, long nap.

I cooked a meal, read a comfort book and when I was getting ready to write, I noticed something strange on my Amazon reports.

Got it sorted with support (would have been a great promo, sadly, it went away just minutes later), and that killed my writing time.

Ah, well. There's always tomorrow.


Firlefanz, to random German
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17.5. Wie bist du auf den Titel deiner Geschichte gekommen?

Alle Bücher in meiner Wolf-Serie fangen mit "A Wolf's..." an, daher brauchte ich nur ein weiteres Wort für Connors Geschichte.

Und "Fury" ist genau das, was er fühlt, nachdem Sam Beechcroft seine wahre Natur zeigt.

Dabei ist Connor eigentlich ein friedlicher Wolf, aber was zu weit geht...

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random
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5.4 — Antagonist POV: is it easy for you to apologize? Can you apologize to someone right now?

Sam Beechcroft: "Apologize? Whatever for? If anyone needs to apologize, it's my daughter and her despicable lover.

"They ran away, they set up a kidnapping with a ransom demand, they tried to undermine all my plans. They got everything coming to them - and it will be my pleasure to make their lives miserable."

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random German
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4.6. Beschreibe ein Vorurteil (fiktiv oder nicht), das innerhalb deiner Geschichte herausgefordert wird & wie das geschieht.

Ashleys Nachbarin ist eine alte Dame, die etwas wirr und konfus erscheint. Es ist ja nichts besonderes, dass Leute im Alter ein bisschen seltsam werden.

Aber Missy ist schlau und weiß genau, was sie tut - und sie gibt Connor den entscheidenden Hinweis, wie er Ashley retten kann.

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random
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5.7 — What do you do first when you start a new writing project?

I... err... write.

That's usually what I do. The world tends to grow as I write, the characters begin to show themselves, and eventually, the full plot is revealed.

I don't plan.

I know a few things (for the Wolves, I started with the three McMullen siblings), but with Connor? I just knew he took over bodyguard jobs, as told in Book 3.

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random
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Back from casting my vote in the EU elections. It was good to see quite a few people on the same errand.

Also passed a neighborhood flea market on the way home and bought a Schleich horse and a Playmobil dragon. That was fun.

Mostly evaded the rain.

Firlefanz, to random
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339 — Does your MC learn from their past, or are they prone to repeating the same mistakes?

Connor does try to learn from his past. He certainly won't listen to any wannabe-alpha again.

Instead, he works with Nick to turn his pack into a better place, he brings in good new Wolves - and starts to listen to his heart.

Which leads him onto a new path and into a dangerous adventure.

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random
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Gute Nacht, Freunde.

Spent most of the day in "waiting mode". Which makes it very hard to actually do something productive.

I did get groceries and some dye for tie-dying shirts (which I also ordered). Planning to make some nice tank-tops for summer that are not plain white.

Didn't write. Did edit, at least. And played Valheim. Getting a little frustrated with it - Mountains is boring atm. Need to find caverns.

In best news ever, people are buying my books.


Firlefanz, to random
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Gute Nacht, Freunde.

600 words for Sun this morning - a random conversation with some foreshadowing. Fun to write.

Survived the office, grabbed groceries, felt quite shaky on my way home but made it. All good now.

Played a LOT of Valheim. Twink is expanding an old tower into a base for Mountain exploring. She also grabbed her first dragon egg. Annoying things can't be 'ported.

Sold quite a few Wolf books. Yay!



Firlefanz, to random
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Gute Nacht, Freunde.

Early bedtime tonight because I'm wiped (didn't get a nap this afternoon).

Very good day.

Wrote 500 words for Sun this morning, survived the office, and met with my mastermind buddy to set up our very own BookFunnel Promos. (Will post about that more in the next few days, looking for authors.)

And then I played Valheim, and my Twink killed Bonemass easily. A joke, really, with frost arrows and shooting from a tower. Very anticlimactic.


Firlefanz, to random German
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am 08.06.:
Was ist das größte Problem deiner Hauptfigur(en) am Anfang der Geschichte? Und was am Ende?

Am Anfang muss Connor sein Rudel neu organisieren - und Nick treffen. Er fühlt sich dabei sehr schuldig, denn er hätte Nick noch mehr helfen sollen.

Am Ende möchte Connor Nick überreden, das Rudel mit ihm zusammen zu führen, denn es wächst und braucht neue Aufgaben.

A Wolf's Fury, Wolves of the South 4


Firlefanz, to random
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6/3: Should books include a content warning?

I'm divided about this.

I do not think that trigger warnings actually help much.

On the other hand, readers should know about certain tropes that happen in a book, so they can avoid it if they do not like those.

I suppose it's up to each author, and I would certainly not want to impose them.

There's already too much book banning going on. (And lets not even talk about erotica and how they are handled.)

Firlefanz,
@Firlefanz@writing.exchange avatar

@Tattooed_Mummy

Yeah. I've seen "tags" used in a humorous way in romantasy, and that would be one way to do them well.

But then, I stay away from horror and grimdark anyway...

Firlefanz, to fantasy
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#WritersCoffeeClub 6/9: How do you select ideas from all the ones floating around?

I used to go for the shiny one.

Still do that (I often take time out to write a new shiny), but now I also look at what is selling.

It's easy to add a book to my Wolves. And I have so many shifter ideas...

I'll also finish the Winds and Pillars, of course.

Then there's Penumbra, the Twin Worlds (YA Portal Shifters), then another spicy shifter series, an epic fantasy series...

#WritingCommunity
#Fantasy

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