I finished the first pass through my manuscript, making changes that were "easy." 😜
Next up, probably after RavenCon, I start the next pass, working on changes that will take a bit more time, as well as writing new chapters to flesh out some of the details & characters.
#writingcommunity #editing
An ad with a photo of a woman with short grey hair and glasses in a woodland setting. An event graphic shows the word RavenCon in blue letters with a raven icon beside it. The words "April 24-26, 2026" follow in black. Text reads: "Drema Deòraich. Drema Deöraich is an award-winning author of speculative fiction that sometimes asks big questions. Her flash fiction, short stories, and novelettes have been published in numerous online journals, as well as a few semi-professional zines. Her novels include Entheóphage (medical mystery/climate fiction) and The Founder's Seed trilogy (science fiction/science fantasy). Drema's collection of short works, Murder of Crows, and Other Consequential Tales, and her two novelettes -"Deer in Headlights" (dark fantasy) and "Jane Doe #7" (medical science fiction) - are all available on Kindle Unlimited. Nexus, the science fantasy trilogy follow-up to The Founder's Seed, is currently in the works. Drema currently lives in Southeast Virginia with her husband, his two cats, and all her other characters. When time and mosquitoes permit, Drema works on transforming their yard into more welcoming habitat for small wildlife. She also occasionally blogs about writing, ideas from Life that inspire her, environmental issues, ways to live more sustainably, and whatever else captures her fancy."
This weekend!!! 😃😃😃
I'm on 4 panels: The Philosphy of Star Trek; Giving/Receiving critiques; New SF adaptations; & writing fictional religions. I'm also doing a reading and a stint at the signing table.
Otherwise, I'll be at the vendor table with Dennis M. Myers. Come find us and say hi!
#RavenCon
Isobel harvests the last pristine reef to save her son.
Luk's daughter catches a virus that leaves her screaming.
When the virus strikes children around the world, CDC researcher Nadine learns the truth.
The children aren't sick. They're changing.
#booksky
www.insidestory.app/books/iu2ndk
The northbound stretch of Route 39 snakes through upstate mountains on a labyrinthine path through old-growth forest, thick with trees that are said to have stood before Erikson set a toe aground in Newfoundland. It’s beautiful country: rugged and unforgiving, packed with breathtaking vistas across green gorges, their walls striped with layered minerals, a geological clock I’ve learned to read. Those stripes brought me here. They kept me here for months. And now they are about to make me famous. I pluck my phone from the console and check the signal. One bar. I might get lucky. I touch redial and listen, tongue on the roof of my mouth, for any sign of a connection. Ahead, the road twists right, then left, around turns blind even in broad daylight. It’s nearly midnight now, with the moon a sliver that does little to aid navigation. I want to press harder on the gas. Instead, I tap the steering wheel with one broken, dirty nail. “Come on, come on,” I mutter at the phone. After a minute, I glance at the screen again. No signal. “Dammit.” I thumb the screen to sleep and drop it in the console, then shift my attention back to the road. The gleam of eyes in my high beams throws my heart into overdrive. I slam the brakes, and the dark woods spin around me until the stag is racing toward my door instead of my bumper. My hands drag the wheel toward him just as he leaps to fly into the right side of the windshield. The impact rolls his body until his flank presses through the demolished glass, half passenger, half hood ornament. Tires skid, rubber squealing, then crunching gravel and low brush on the downhill slope as I leave the road. The ground drops into a steep bank and the car tilts, two wheels in the air before it rolls, leaving the stag behind. Airbags before and beside me explode, thickening the air with the smell of burnt rubber. Rocks, shrubs, and trees somersault on the other side of the blood-spattered windshield. I bounce in my seatbelt...(more won't fit)
Snippet from my novelette, "Deer in Headlights"--dark fantasy, featuring Baba Yaga.
#booksky
www.amazon.com/Deer-Headlig...
New review up on my website. This one's for teen readers, and is full of wacky hilarity. Seriously, Lexi's mom wants her to clean her room when the fate of the world is at stake! 😁
#booksky #teenreaders
www.dremadeoraich.com/index.php/20...
I spent a couple of hours today inspecting the latest shipment of my books for upcoming events. It’s hard to not get caught by stopping to reread favorite passages. 😉
#writinglife
Yes. Definitely. For the beauty and the change of scenery, yes. But also as a way of working through problems. I walk with my spouse, and we often brainstorm solutions or improvements to plot or character issues.
NetGalley, Booksprout, BookFunnel and other review service readers, have you tried InsideStory? They're new, but they have a growing selection of books (including mine--see below). Reader membership is FREE, and you get FREE books to review!
#booksky #indiebooks
www.insidestory.app/books/iu2ndk
Calling all writers.
If you are looking to publish this year, here is your chance:
Join our mini career fair tomorrow at 1:30 pm ET and meet a self-publishing mentor!
Fill out our Jotform below and we will send you the Zoom link:
form.jotform.com/222139320060...
See you soon!
#booksky
#bluesky
This event draws around 20,000 attendees each year! I'll be exhibiting along with a couple hundred other amazing authors. If you're in or near Gaithersburg on May 16, come say hi, & go home with a stack of your new favorite books!
#books #readers #booksky
www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org
Don't believe these things, y'all. Don't fall for it. They know how bad we want representation (some of us, anyway). They *will* take advantage of you.
Just a word of warning.
4/4
The sender's email address was "hbgusa@liesemayer.co.site", the domain for which is "empty" according to my search. Hatchette's site says, "Legitimate HBG emails will only come from an @hbgusa.com domain."
3/
in order to facilitate further communication.
THIS IS A SCAM.
Hatchette's website has a full page about all the scams and fraudsters out there trying to get money out of us. They clearly state on their official site that THEY DO NOT SOLICIT MANUSCRIPTS FROM AUTHORS.
2/
#Author friends -- SCAM ALERT...
I just received an email from "Liese Mayer" who claims to be the Executive Editor of Little, Brown & Company, part of the Hatchette Book Group. She's "interested" in Fallen, & any other manuscripts I might be currently working on, and wants to "connect with me"
1/
New review up on my website -- Future's End, sequel to Outpost 9 in The Incredible Machines of Thinkery series, by @linnheharrison.bsky.social. Spoiler: Good stuff here!
#booksky
www.dremadeoraich.com/index.php/20...
You've heard about Entheóphage, right? & you want to read it? Here's your chance. Thru April, it's available FREE on InsideStory, where promo copies are offered in the hopes that readers leave an honest review or rating!
Check it out, and happy reading!
#booksky
www.insidestory.app/books/iu2ndk
Happy Monday saints! ☀️
#blackbooksky
#booksky
Still working on outlining the general direction of this trilogy before I write another word...I like to have a target where I can aim the plot. Ya know? Finally making some progress in organizing all the arcs and plotlines, and hope to soon be writing again.
#IndieAuthors #WritingCommunity
Time is always the biggest hurdle for me, too, and I have no kids. Hats off to you for managing it at all with a little one. 👍
A pile of papers with pencil sketches of fictional worlds and cities. Copyright by Niveym Arts, LLC, and Drema Deòraich.
A pencil sketch of New Canaan, capital city of the colony world Harajüd, home of the Consortium Trader Faction. Copyright by Niveym Arts, LLC, and Drema Deòraich.
A pencil sketch of Pentrerhos, capital city of the colony world Rubene, home of the Federation Trader Faction. Copyright by Niveym Arts, LLC, and Drema Deòraich.
Here's a blast from the past -- hand-drawn pencil map sketches of cities/worlds from my books in the Founder's Seed Universe, all created by yours truly. Some go back about 10 years. Most have been revised, and now live on my server. I don't pull them out much-don't want to smudge them!
#booksky
You wrote a darned good book! 😍 I’m about 65% through Future’s End now, and the biggest frustration is finding the time to read it straight through!!! I’ll be reading past my bedtime tonight. 😃
New review up on my website -- Outpost 9: The Incredible Machines of Thinkery, by @linnheharrison.bsky.social.
5 stars of slow-burn, haunting, hair-raising dystopia. Loved it, and am now reading book 2, Future's End. That review will come soon.
#booksky
www.dremadeoraich.com/index.php/20...
You made my day!
Alas, my NG time must have run out sooner than I thought. However, if the book looks good, and you’d like to read/hopefully review, PM me for a code to get a free epub on my website. I’ll take the first 10 requests over the next 3 days.
#booksky
Don't forget, y'all...If you're a #NetGalley reader, Entheóphage is still on NetGalley! You can still request/receive a copy of the book in either ebook or audiobook format to read and (hopefully) review for another few days! Ebook and audiobook!
www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...
#booksky
A very old weeping cherry tree in full bloom; pale pink flowers cover her sweeping branches.
My favorite tree. Grandmother Cherry. Full bloom last weekend. I used to climb up in her branches for my hug. Now she's too brittle with age, and I don't want to break her. So I keep my feet on the ground, and hug her trunk.
Isn't she beautiful? 🩷
Spousal Unit and I saw Project Hail Mary last night.
One word? FABULOUS.
More words? Even better after reading the book. Essential sci-fi. Loved every moment. The way they made Rocky so relatable was brilliant -- Amaze Amaze Amaze!
#projecthailmary
Actually, I chose self publishing. Long story, many reasons, but yeah. And I am far from alone. Many indies don’t even bother with the long, drawn out, soul-sucking querying process. Doesn’t mean our work is bad.
That feeling when you're plotting out your next novel, and the Muses catch you off-guard with a PERFECT, most AWESOME story climax that surprises even you, the author ...
😍
#indieauthors #writingcommunity
Done!