Just a quick reminder today…
It’s okay to take it easy if you need to. Rest and recuperate so you can be charged up for tomorrow. Have a great day!
Jan20
Writing Wednesday 1-20-2021
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Jan19
Trekking Tuesday 1-19-2021
Trekking Tuesday features journeys to interesting places which have played some part in inspiring my writing. Today, I’m inviting you to Candlewood Lake in Connecticut, where I grew up.
According to Natalie Clunan of Only in Your State, “In 1926 Connecticut Light and Power had a plan approved to construct a man-made reservoir to produce electric power. It took 26 months to build the dam, clear forests and flood more than 5,000 acres of land.”
The history of the lake is fascinating, and I invite you to read this article if you’re interested. According to them,
“…beneath the lake’s pristine surface, deep within its murky depths, were the remains of an old town called Jerusalem. The town had been flooded in the 1920s when the lake was made to help Connecticut Light & Power generate electricity. In addition to buildings and homes, the story goes, the town’s graveyard had been swallowed by the waters.”
My paternal grandfather was there when they flooded the land to create the lake, and I remember my maternal great-grandma telling me stories about what it was like before the lake was there. My family spent many, many weekends on Candlewood Lake. Family picnics on the beach, my dad waterskiing while my mom drove the boat, me and my sibling playing in the water together.
Jan18
Monday Muse 1-18-2021
Today’s Monday Muse is author/illustrator and political cartoonist Chris Riddell. He has illustrated several books for one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, and his style is very loose and free. I love watching his Instagram videos of free drawing in his sketchbooks. If you’re on Instagram, I definitely recommend visiting his feed to watch his drawings to music. @Chris_Riddell And me, of course. 😉 @m_sheldrake
Jan17
Sunday Sketch 1-17-2021
Jan16
Saturday Smile 1-16-2021
Smile, and come along with me! 🙂 *sinister laugh*
Jan15
Friday Fantasy 1-15-2021
I just got back into writing Elliot recently, and I’m hoping to have his story out in the next few months as a companion to Mya. To celebrate, here are some of the incredible treehouse images that inspired me while writing about his hamlet! Did you have a treehouse growing up? I always wanted one, but it wasn’t meant to be.
This one is actually a treehouse hotel in North Carolina! Maybe I’ll go there…
Jan14
Throwback Thursday 1-14-2021
Part of the reason I named this blog Missyflits all the way back when I started it was because I knew I could never simply stick with one topic. I’m glad I did, because this blog used to be about making hand-sculpted, one-of-a-kind, lifelike fairies! Here are some examples:
I actually still have one fairy left in my etsy shop: Savia.
Jan13
Writing Wednesday 1-13-2021
Recently, while my brilliant narrator Penny was working on the audiobook for Call of Kythshire, I read through the entire kindle version of the Keepers of the Wellsprings again just to refresh my memory. While I was reading, I discovered something interesting. Kindle has a function that allows readers to see which passages have been highlighted by others! How cool!
I thought it might be fun to take a look at what people have highlighted and put in my two cents as to why, since as far as I know you can’t see others’ notes, just highlights. Here’s the first passage that was highlighted five times in Call of Kythshire:
“People should be allowed to feel their own true emotions. Forcing calmness on anyone for too long or to further your own agenda is an abuse of power.”
-Azi, Call of Kythshire
I absolutely love that this quote was highlighted so many times, because it’s basically the theme of the entire series. The fight for the Wellsprings is all about the battle for conservation, restraint, discipline, and empathy. While our virtuous heroes are diligent about practicing self-control, the villains of the story, the Sorcerers, are the exact opposite. They don’t care at all about how their destructive thirst for magic affects others. They’re too consumed by the arcane to even notice the cost.
It was so much fun while writing this series to play with this give and take of self-control versus utter abandon. Even in the very first scene of the book, Azi shows restraint by only defending herself from Dacva’s shocking and ruthless attack not by swinging to kill, but by choosing to strike him with the flat of her blade and crack his ribs instead. Mya, the guild’s leader, shows restraint by never using her magical voice to influence people, even though she could have the entire kingdom on their knees before her if she chose to. Rian struggles to keep himself under control when he enters the realm of the fairies, knowing he could easily harness the power of their Wellspring and destroy them if he let the magic entice him.
On the flip side we have Prince Eron, who rarely feels the need to keep himself under control, instead doing whatever he likes whenever he pleases, and Viala, who has lost herself to the drug-like lure of magic and become addicted to its power. In the big picture, there are the Sorcerers from Sunteri who have ruined their entire kingdom from their reckless abandon and thirst for more.
Lisabella’s notion that just because you have a power doesn’t mean you should use it, that people should have a choice to feel the way they feel and act of their own will, is a portent of things to come not just in Call of Kythshire, but throughout the entire Keepers of the Wellsprings series.
In real life, too. Sage advice, Lisabella. Thanks! ❤
Jan12
Trekking Tuesday 1-12-2021
Sequoias. Some day, I’ll pack my family into a camper and drive all the way across this great country, and finally give one of these giants a heart-to-heart hug. Even in pictures I can feel their immense power. They inspire the Rianave trees, which are introduced in Elliot’s story.
Where do you dream to go, more than anywhere in the world?
Jan11
Monday Muse 1-11-2021
It’s 1-11! I have been noticing a lot of repeating numbers lately, especially 11:11. Some people believe 11:11 and 1:11 means positive change is coming. I like to believe that, too. But I’m getting off the subject! Listen, the name of this blog is Missyflitts for a reason. Most of what I plan to post here is pretty unapologetically random. That brings me to my muses for today: The Sweet Boys podcast! These guys never fail to make me smile and pick me up when I’m down. They talk about everything and nothing, and are absolutely hilarious and inspiring the entire time. I love their quirky, goofy nature and wholesome friendship. Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I go listen to them. I hope you will, too!
