Monday, August 18, 2014

GUEST POST: Fractured Dream by KM Randall

Hi everyone! Today we have a special guest! Let us welcome KM Randall, who will be guest posting on our blog on writing two series at the same time and her experiences with the process. Enjoy! Also, if you'd like to know about her debut book, Fractured Dream, then read on!

Keeping it straight: writing two series at the same time 
by KM Randall

I never thought I’d be writing more than one book or series at the same time. But I am. Fractured Dream, the first book in The Dreamer Saga series, was released in June. It took me eight years to write, and toward the end of it, I felt drained from the layers and world-building I put into it. I had this idea as I was closing in on the big finish about a girl who finds out her mother is the Grim Reaper. It started to unfold in my head, and before long I had started writing it, even before I was completely finished with Fractured Dream. I knew that before I could start working on Shattered World—the second book in The Dreamer Saga—I needed to write this book, which is called The Reaper’s Daughter, also the first in a series. 

I’ve found that it’s really not hard to keep the two straight when writing. My two main characters, Story from Fractured Dream and Blake from The Reaper’s Daughter, are very different themselves. Story lacks confidence in the beginning of her story; she’s unsure, and she fights against who she really is. Blake, on the other hand, is bold, sarcastic, and more readily accepting of her path.

There is a steady stream of friendship within both books, but the best friends have their own quirks. Story is flanked by Adam, her environmentalist best friend from childhood, and Elliott, a psychic gay man whom she grew close to in college. Meanwhile, Blake’s best friend is Shelby, a snarky blond vegan with Kool-Aid-dyed hair who has been by Blake’s side pretty much since they were babies. In Fractured Dream, there is a huge cast of characters; in The Reaper’s Daughter, not as many. While Fractured Dream is epic fantasy, The Reaper’s Daughter is paranormal young adult. The differences go on and on, although there are some common themes. For instance, Story and Blake both are initially lacking a parent. Another interwoven thread is the name of the town both heroines hail from. Specter, New York, is a town I made up in Fractured Dream, and I decided to use the same town for The Reaper’s Daughter. Although, the two girls won’t be hanging out anytime soon.

The hardest part, really, has come now that I'm nearing the end of writing The Reaper’s Daughter and itching to get started on Shattered World. I’ve had enough of a break, and I can’t wait to get back to those characters. My plan is to rotate. Time away is good; it’s given me time to breathe, to like everyone again after so much time spent together. But the characters and stories are so vivid and alive within me that I could never mix them up. Each story has its own reason and rhyme, its own place in my heart.

Some information about the author's first book, Fractured Dream. I've got to admit it, but that cover is making me salivate so much...

Published by: Booktrope
Published On: June 21, 2014
Genre: Fantasy


Have you ever wondered where fairytales go once they're created?

It's been eight years since Story Sparks last had a dream. Now they're back, tormenting her as nightmares she can't remember upon waking. The black waters of Lake Sandeen, where her Uncle Peter disappeared decades before, may hold the secret to Story's hidden memories, or a truth she'd rather not know. On a bright summer afternoon, Story and her two best friends, Elliott and Adam, take a hike to the lake, where they dive into the cool water and never reemerge. What they find is beyond anything they've ever imagined could be possible, a world where dangers lurk in the form of Big Bad Wolves, living Nightmares and meddlesome witches and gods.

Now Story must remember who she really is and somehow stop two worlds from ultimate annihilation, all while trying not to be too distracted by the inexplicable pull she feels toward a certain dark-eyed traveler who seems to have secrets of his own. The fates of the worlds are counting on her.



About the author

As a girl, K.M. always wished she’d suddenly come into magical powers or cross over into a Faerie circle. Although that has yet to happen, she instead lives vicariously through the characters she creates in writing fantasy and delving into the paranormal. When K.M. is not busy writing her next novel, she is the editor-in-chief of a blog covering the media industry, as well as an editor with Booktrope Publishing. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in English-Lit from Nazareth College of Rochester. K.M. lives in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region with her husband and her extremely energetic little boy. Fractured Dream is her first novel.





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