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Rhonda Zatezalo

Author. Dreamer. Designer.

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New Fiction Coming Soon!

February 26, 2018 By Rhonda Zatezalo Leave a Comment

I’ve written a lot of new fiction over the past year. Many of the pieces have yet to be published. Last year was focused on writing and exploring my craft. This year will be focused on publishing. Of course, that still means I’ll be writing—more than ever—but now you’ll have more opportunities to explore the stories I’m creating. So where can you find them? Soon there will be several ways to get your eyes on my work.

lightbulbPatreon

Yes, I’m finally launching a Patreon Page. There, for just a dollar or more per month, you’ll have access to short stories, snippets, and flash fiction. At higher donations you can get access to my art, handmade jewelry, or get involved in the creative process. I’m still working through the details of the reward tiers.  I’m planning to launch at the end of March in celebration of my 42nd birthday. There will be a special free download for everyone who pledges in the first 30 days. If you aren’t familiar with Patreon, it’s based on the concept of artists having a patron to support their work. It allows for people to support multiple creatives, and for creatives to get their work out to many patrons. It’s a wonderful platform.

Email Newsletter

In addition to Patreon, I’ll be sending out a newsletter once a month with updates to current projects, personal news, and the occasional look at upcoming projects. The newsletter will be just to keep people updated as to what’s going on, but there might be an occasional story snippet or poll on an idea. Sign up here or in the pop-up box.

twitter iconTwitter

I’ve steadily moved away from Facebook towards Twitter. I find Facebook to be a decent place to check in with friends, but I’ve found a great community of writers and readers on Twitter. You can find me there @rhondazatezalo. I tweet about current events, stories, things I love and of course, my photogenic pets.

person readingAnthologies, Magazines, etc.

I currently have a few pieces of short fiction out on submission. I’ll know if they’ve been accepted for publication it the next month or two. If they are, I’ll let you know where you can pick them up via the newsletter or the website.

And just where is Vargen in all of this?

Coming.

Book one of Vargen is currently sitting with a developmental editor. It’s not yet finished. I want to make it the best story possible. Hence the editor. Some of you know this, but for the many that don’t, a developmental editor looks at the story as a whole piece and helps eliminate plot holes or continuity errors. They also help make sure each part of the story is being told from the right character’s point of view. I’ll working to finish up the novel in the next few months. Then I’ll be querying agents and who knows where things will go from there.

Wild Portal Child is loose in the world as part of the GenCon anthology, Missing Pieces. The eBook version will be part of the reward tier for my Patrons. If you can’t wait to become a sponsor of my Patreon page, or you just want the very first published version, you can pick up a copy of Missing Pieces Vol. 8 here. This is an affiliate link, which means I’ll get a tiny compensation if you buy it through the link. Otherwise all proceeds go to the publisher.

Follow Cheyaron (and Werner) from Wild Portal Child  as they find (or lose) their way to into Book one. I have a series of short stories planned for my Patrons. I may make the stories into a collection that can be purchased on Amazon, but that’s a long ways down the road.

Oh yeah, this blog…

I’d love to say I’ll be posting regularly from now on, but yeah, life gets in the way of my best intentions. I’ll post blogs when the mood hits me, or I have things to say, or when there’s news to share. I’ll try to remember to put a link in the newsletters about new blog posts. They will be pushed to both Twitter and my author page on Facebook, so if you follow in either place, you’ll know when there’s a new blog.

I’m still publishing articles for the welding industry and you can find the latest ones on the website. As I move to more published fiction, the articles won’t be featured as prominently on the site, but they will be there.

That’s it for now. I have a lot coming down the pipeline so stay tuned, sign up for the newsletter, hit me up on Twitter, and watch for fun and prizes that will come with the Patreon launch.

Cheers!

Rhonda

 

 

Filed Under: Fiction, News, Non-fiction, Projects, random

Crafting a world … or two

January 5, 2016 By Rhonda Zatezalo 1 Comment

Books have been my escape and playtime for almost as long as I can remember. One of the things that has always fascinated me about books is how there can be an entirely different world inside. Sometimes the world looks like my world, and I can relate well to what’s going on. Other times the world is so strange that I have to rely on the characters to connect. It astounds me that authors create these worlds from well, nothing really. Sure there are influences from life or other stories, but the nitty gritty details are what make the story believable.

Take Lord of the Rings as an example. One detail: Hobbits are inherently good and less fallible than humans. It is this one little (or very large) detail that makes it possible for Frodo to carry the Ring all the way to Mount Doom, when any of the humans, elves or even a Maiar such as Gandalf, would fail. This is why we get Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, and, of course, Bilbo, lovable, good-hearted folk that are necessary for the plot to succeed. One choice means it has to be a Hobbit instead of any other character that destroys the ring.world-crafting

This is one detail, in maybe millions, that Tolkien had to decide upon as he created Middle Earth. Clothing, society, economies, communities, and so many more details including an entire language – he created them all. I am in awe of all the tiny things that make those stories work. And, though I don’t aspire to be Tolkien, I’m a bit paralyzed when I look at all the details of my two worlds and the many decisions I will make amongst the characters who live there.

Both of my worlds have Earth and our society/history as a base, but neither are worlds that exist currently. One world is futuristic, and the other is almost archaic. They have some things in common, but each world is mostly unaware of the other. The plot moves on; the characters react to the narrative, and the worlds must support each detail.

What a fun and daunting adventure I’ve embarked upon! I look forward to sharing more details of my worlds as I can.

(I wonder, should there be dragons?) 😉

Filed Under: Projects, Writing

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with gratitude

Writing is an exercise of creation, but publishing is one of vulnerability. I am profoundly grateful to my friends, family and fans for their support and feedback. I’m also grateful to the critics–you help me stay humble and strive for better work.

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