A lot of people like to look at books that people they know have written and try to figure out ‘who’s me in this book?’ I also know that a lot of people like to write friends and family into books… I’m not one of those people.

To me, the decision to base a character on a real person can be fraught with incredible peril. The chances that you’re going to have someone upset with you over the way they’re portrayed in your book are just too high. To date, there are only two direct character-to-loved-one correlations in my novels.

1. Garth-Kemsefet: Kemsefet is very much based on my husband’s personality. He’s very supportive and loving, but he’s also more than willing to look at me and tell me ‘no’ if I’m getting out of control… which is something I do need from time to time. He does a great job of balancing out my weaknesses with his strengths.
2. Jeannie Sue (the nurse who cares for Nicole when she’s injured in Peret)-My mom: Naming a caring, nurturing minor character after my mother was my way of honoring her. She was a major force in my life, always my biggest fan. Even though she didn’t really like or understand the genres I preferred to write, she always wanted to read my stuff and always expressed her utmost confidence that I would be writing books one day. 

I have no plans to put other friends or family into my books for the reasons stated above. Maybe that will change one day, but I don’t really see it happening.

    I’d like to take a moment to promote the work of some wonderful people who also happen to be incredibly talented. If you’re stuck for what to get that book-reader in your life for Christmas, this is a great post for you!

    Do you have a James Bond or superhero fan in your life? Then Garth Reasby’s Children of Divinity series is a great choice. The first book is now available, with book two coming soon!

• Awaken
• Evolve (coming 2012)

    For the steampunk or anime fan in your life, check out Ren Cummins’ Chronicles of Aesirium Series. It’s a fantastic read and suitable for all ages from about 10 on up!

• Reaper’s Return
• The Morrow Stone
• The City of the Dead
• Reaper’s Flight
• Into the Blink
• The Crook and the Blade (coming later this month!)

    Finally, don’t forget about my own Sekhmet’s Light series as well. The first two books are out with book three slated for release in early 2012!

• Akhet
• Peret
• Shomu (coming 2012)

    Oh, and one last thing… If you want to give a wonderful gift that costs nothing more than a moment or two of your time, please leave a review for a book you read this year. It doesn’t have to long, just a sentence or two to let the author and other readers know whether you enjoyed it or not is fabulous!

Thanks for reading!

Looking for a good book?

Check out my friend Michael Hicks’ website… you may even score a free copy of one of his books!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how much I appreciate the awesome people in my life. In particular, I’m speaking of my beloved husband, Garth, and my ‘writer buddy’ and all around good guy, Ren. 

A lot of people think that being a writer is a very solitary thing… they envision the brooding artiste sequestering himself or herself away refusing to be disturbed or moodily drinking (or using other controlled substances) to try to invite their ‘muse’. I’m sure for some, that’s true… but the reality is a lot more mundane and a lot less romantic. 

The fact is that writing is not a very solitary profession at all. Even if we don’t have a ‘day job’ to go to, a writer who separates from people is not going to have a very long or productive career. We tend to seek one another out because, like any other specialization, there are just some things that we want to talk about that only another writer will really understand. I mean, honestly… I’ve tried talking to non-writers about the fact that my main character just flat-out refuses to talk to me unless it’s on HER terms and I’ve seen the wary looks I’ve gotten in return, as though they’re wondering if I’m insane and if that particular brand of insanity might not be contagious. So, yes, we instinctively WANT a sense of community; we may be writers, but we’re still human and no matter how vehemently we want to deny it, deep down, we do want to be accepted.

So, back to my original point (I do apologize for the rambling, but these are things that have been bouncing around in my mind for a good while), I don’t quite have the words to express how grateful I am for the wonderful and supportive people in my life.

My husband heads the list, of course… Though aside from the fact that I love him (of course, else I’d not have married him!), while I was writing Akhet, he was the primary person who would look at me every day and ask “did you write today?” He kept me honest and wouldn’t let me wuss out. He knew that I’d been working with this character on-and-off for the last ten years, give or take, and that if he didn’t keep after me, I’d just let it peter off and get caught up in the minutia of life again. Fortunately, that’s not so much the case with book two and I’ve been diligently banging away on it (surpassed the 10,000 word mark yesterday!) and have set myself a definite deadline; rough draft done by the end of August and have it ready for publication by the end of the year.

Then there’s Ren. The first thing that you should know about Ren Cummins is that he is a bit of a Renaissance man. He’s a writer, yes, but he’s also a musician, and a father, and a husband. I love him like a brother, and consider his wife my sister, and his beautiful daughter to be my niece. They’re wonderful people, and I could never ask for better friends. When he told me he was working on a book… well, what can I say? It triggered my innate competitive streak! Even now that book one of both of our trilogies are completed, I still feel a bit of that, but that’s not a bad thing because it doesn’t prevent me from celebrating his victories and supporting him by telling everyone that I know that they should read his book. 

And that’s the important thing, now isn’t it? We all need a support structure; a group of people that we can rely upon to be honest with us, to give us constructive criticism, to cheer our victories, and help us learn from our defeats. 

With the inception of this blog, (along with my Twitter feed [@HLReasby] and my Facebook page), some of the pressure is being taken off Garth to play taskmaster… I feel as though I’m accountable to you as well. To those people who take the time to follow me and read my ramblings. Getting into the habit of keeping people update don my progress has given you a degree of power. If I post that I didn’t write on a given day, I envision people who follow me asking ‘well, why not?’. So, I’m grateful to all of you who take the time to become a fan of mine on facebook (although I guess it’s been changed to ‘like’ now for some odd reason), or to follow me on Twitter, or to read this blog. You’re all fantastic!

That’s right… I said it. Yesterday was the absolute best day EVER! 

First of all, I received the proofs of my book a full 8 days early. How sweet is that?! Even better, it looks amazing! We just need to make one or two minor cosmetic changes (like my husband actually SIGNING the artwork that he did for the cover, silly rabbit), then it’ll be available for purchase. WOOHOO! I came home, held it, looked through it… cried… and my copy of the proof hasn’t left my side since!

The other UBER-cool thing I posted about yesterday: dinner and drinks with Aaron Douglas and his wonderful girlfriend, Jenn. You know, those who know me will attest to the fact that I have bragged on Aaron’s super-awesome nature since I first met him in 2009, but it absolutely bears repeating. He is, hands down, one of the nicest, most generous, and amazing people I have ever met. Last night gave us a chance to get to know him even better, and them a chance to get to know us.

At one point early in the evening, he asked what my husband and I did and after I told him that I’m an administrative assistant with a local window replacement company, my husband (bless him) jumped in with the fact that I’ve finished my first novel and that it’ll soon be available for purchase. Aaron was thrilled when I brought out the copy of the proof I’d brought with me and promised to not only buy copies when the paperback edition came out, but to purchase one on his Kindle as soon as he got back up to his hotel room… AARON DOUGLAS BOUGHT MY BOOK ON HIS KINDLE!!!!!

How frakking cool is that?!

I’m so tired right now that I can hardly see straight because we stayed out way too late talking and laughing and having an awesome time… but it was SO worth it. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling since I picked up the book when I got home. 

In short… Best. Day. Ever. :D

It occurred to me yesterday that my life has suddenly taken a rather surreal (in a very good way) turn of late… 

I’m officially a published author now (this SHOULD feel more real once I have the proof copy in my hand, I suspect), but tonight my husband and I have been invited out for drinks with Aaron Douglas and his girlfriend. They’re heading down to WonderCon in  San Francisco and are flying out of SeaTac in the morning.

I love Aaron dearly, and his girlfriend is awesome as well. It just seems very strange to think that we’ve been invited to just ‘hang out’ with a guy that I was asking for his autograph back in 2009. LOL.