Inviting the Writer Inside to Emerge

by Dedra L. Stevenson

I don’t know about you guys, but I miss my inner writer. Okay, Okay, I know…I’m writing at this very moment, but trust me, this isn’t what I mean. I’m talking about that feeling that you’re flying, the feeling that releases you from the bounds of this world. When you’re in that “zone”, you are free to create your own world, a new world, and all of its characters.

I remember when I was in the world of The Hakima’s Tale. With each book I felt like the characters and their universe was always around me. It was strangely comforting, and I felt exhilarated each time I took them through a new adventure. Phoenix, the protagonist of The Hakima’s Tale trilogy, was always with me, and I truly cared for her and her quest. I cried when one of her beloved relatives had to die, and I laughed when the Generals got themselves into one mess after another.

Ah, those were the days! It’s been many years since The Hakima’s Tale was released, and I’m very proud to say that we’ll soon be on our 4th release! The trilogy is available in 3 formats, Ebook, Paperback, and Audiobook, and I’m thrilled that we’ll have a relaunch of this trilogy in the near future.

I have plans to write a prequel to the trilogy, Iretunar: The Blue Fire of the Desert. This will be the backstory of The Blue Jinni and will explain how he fell from grace. I’m just dying to get to it, but I’m somewhat trapped in editing purgatory right now.

Desert Magnolia, another one of my heartfelt creations, is going through a serious makeover. When it first came out, I was so happy to release this story that’s so personal to me. Desert Magnolia makes a strong statement about racism and all forms of intolerance. Yes, it’s set in the American South, where I’m from, but no it’s not true. The story is fiction, but it’s inspired by growing up in such an environment.

Don’t get me wrong here, anyone who knows me well knows how much I love my Southern home, my “friendly” Southern relatives, and my amazing Southern friends, so I’m certainly not generalizing. All I’m saying is that it’s a different world.

Now this book is getting a makeover, and I’m proud to say that the 2nd edition will be better in every way, but the editing is grueling. I’ll bet the average person doesn’t realize that it takes about 3 to 4 rewrites of a book to get the editing where it needs to be. Writing a book is easy, but producing one is rough.

Of course, nothing tops the production nightmare that was Breaking Bread Around the World, my new cookbook. Oh yeah, believe it or not, writing a cookbook is not just a matter of gathering your favorite recipes together. It’s a myriad of images, editing, graphic design and layout, ordering proofs, and finally securing the funding to make your first order.

However, I’m very happy that we did it because I truly think this book is going to be incredibly special, and perhaps the start of something, a sort of “coming together” of people? Well, my silly naïve heart hopes so.

I plan to get through all these loose ends so that I can return to fantasy writing very soon. In the meantime, please check out what I’ve done so far. I’m so proud to share it with you all! Don’t forget to drop a review on Amazon and Goodreads, as this is how authors climb the charts!

I’ll see you around the coffee shops soon! I’ll be the one in the corner, trying to ignore everything so that I can concentrate on my next story.