Holding Rosette in my hands (and sharing her!)
Since The Spell of Rosette is now in print and I am holding the actual book in my hand for the first time, it seems apt to talk about how she came to be. The process of getting published is like the archetypal Hero’s Journey with all its challenges, confrontations and rewards. The course may vary for each author but it always begins the same, with the call to adventure—the call to write.
The Departure, 2001: This is the point in life were the hero knows something’s up. For me it was an itch that turned into a burning desire to write fiction. Like many heroes, I initially refused the call outright. I was too busy being a single mum, minding strays (human and feline) and upon reflection, too scared to take the risk and too attached to my reality to imagine a novelist’s life. But the itch persisted and I dabbled. This is dangerous ground for the hero because dabbling is the same as answering the call. And once you do, you evoke Supernatural Aid. My SA came in the form of Stephan King. I bought his book On Writing and read it cover to cover in three days. (amazing for a woman too busy to write fiction!) King did two things for me:1) He got me thinking like a novelist. 2) He got me writing every day. Pretty good supernatural aid!
The Crossing of the First Threshold, 2002: This is the next step—when the adventure actually begins. The first scene in The Spell of Rosette was my threshold and arose from an exercise suggested in King’s book. I started with the premise ‘what if a girl came home one day to find her family murdered.’ From a five hundred word essay the story grew and a year later I had a rough draft of a novel.
The Belly of the Whale, 2003: This is when you know you have left the old life behind and are truly committed the journey, wherever it takes you. I knew I was in the belly of the whale by 2003. Over the next few years I revised and polished, conjured Kreshkali and met Jarrod. Finally I showed pages to an author friend and she suggested (see the related blog on The Way of the Sword) that I, A) keep writing because it showed promise and , B) Learn something about sword fighting before I attempted another scene of that nature. I took up Iaido, the Samurai sword, and by 2005 my skills were advancing, sword scenes improved and I felt the book was finished. I lifted my eyes from my computer screen and asked, ‘What’s next?’
Journey continued in Part II. Questions and comments welcome.
Kim Falconer’s novel The Spell of Rosette is now available throughout Australia.
Kim runs Quantum Enchantment‚ the official website for The Spell of Rosette and its sequels (which she is working on). She also runs Falconer’s Astrology‚ trains with a sword and is completing a Masters Degree.
