Category: fantasy

• Seaside Proverbs

  Just a few months ago, I was walking barefoot along the beach. Salty mists buffeted my face. Cold waves stung my toes. I had arrived here for Dollbaby Week, a gathering of women writers and friends. Once a year, the Dollbabies come together at Virginia Beach. We share stories, laughter, love, and tears. We celebrate…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  July 11, 2022

  creative writing, fantasy, friendship, life, love, nature, spirituality, traveling

• Eolyn: Legends and Lore (Episode 2)

  Hidden Heritage In my previous installment of Eolyn: Legends and Lore, I wrote about the origin of the Silver Web, including insights into Akmael’s parentage. The history of Eolyn’s parents, Kaie and Eoghan, is more obscure. In the series, we don’t learn much about Kaie or Eoghan because most of the people who knew them…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  March 15, 2022

  Eolyn, fantasy, story telling, The Silver Web, Women and Fantasy, women warriors

  fantasy, magic, witches

• The Negative Review

  For the published author, a negative review can sting hard. We tend to confer disproportionate power on bad reviews, allowing a single sour note to negate all the wonderful things readers have said about our work. For this reason, many of my friends and colleagues resolve not to pay attention to reader reviews, but let’s…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  March 1, 2022

  Books, creative writing, fantasy, publishing, writing

  author life, writing advice

• Eolyn: Legends and Lore

  My 2021 mini series on The Query Letter was a lot of fun for me, and well-received by my followers. So, I’ve decided to do another series for 2022, centered on a theme I haven’t discussed in a long time: the mythological and historical foundations of Eolyn’s world. With each post, I’ll reveal hidden backstories…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  February 15, 2022

  creative writing, Eolyn, fantasy, magic, women’s magic

• 2022: Already a work in progress

  Anyone else feel like there wasn’t much of a holiday season this year? Everything blasted by so quickly. That’s not to say I didn’t have a nice holiday. Thanks to vaccines and loosened travel restrictions, I was able to enjoy more time with my family. Also for the first time in two years, I attended…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  January 5, 2022

  conservation, Eolyn, fantasy, nature, querying, writing

  fantasy, nature, writing

• The Perfect Magical Fantasy for the Holidays

  I’m participating in a number of writer challenges on Instagram. One recent challenge asked: Why is my story important? To answer this question, I focused on EOLYN, Book One of the Silver Web Trilogy. What drew me into Eolyn’s story was the immense courage and strength she demonstrates when confronting a brutal system intent on…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  November 5, 2021

  creative writing, Eolyn, fantasy, magic, story telling, Women and Fantasy, writing

  epic fantasy, fantasy, magic, romance, witchcraft, witches

• Query Letters: The Pitch

  So far in this brief series, we’ve covered three topics: Why Query? The Basic Structure of the Query Letter Placing Your Work in the Market Today, I’ll talk about the pitch. The pitch consists of a few sentences that describe the central conflict of your novel in a compelling manner. The pitch is distinct from…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  November 1, 2021

  creative writing, fantasy, publishing, querying

  #amquerying, agents, editors, publishing, query letters, querying, writing

• Query Letters: Placing your work in the market

  A few weeks ago, I promised more posts on the topic of the query letter. Previously, I discussed why an author should query and went over the basic 3-paragraph structure of the query letter. One paragraph of the query letter is typically devoted to placing the manuscript in the market. Let’s dig into that today.…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  October 1, 2021

  fantasy

  amquerying, creativewriting, litraryagents, writing

• Cover Reveal: Daughter of Aithne

  I’m very excited today to share the new cover for the third book of the Silver Web Trilogy: DAUGHTER OF AITHNE, winner of the OZMA Award for fantasy fiction from Chanticleer International Book Awards. It’s a coincidence, but an appropriate one, that this cover reveal comes on September 21, the UN International Day of Peace.…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  September 21, 2021

  fantasy

• Cover Reveal: Sword of Shadows

  Aaaand here she is (drumroll please): The thrilling new cover for SWORD OF SHADOWS, Book 2 of The Silver Web. This design ties in with the cover for EOLYN, revealed last week. Also from ARavenDesigns.com, this cover again features the Silver Web, a magical medallion that weaves the fates of the characters into a single…

  Karin Rita Gastreich

  September 10, 2021

  fantasy

  magic