Meredith Mansfield, Author

Now all three critiques are back for WAR OF MAGIC.

So, I’ve switched back to working on that one.

It’s interesting sometimes to compare critiques. One beta reader found a particular scene slow, while another loved it. That may have been influenced by the fact that the one who found it slow has read all three previous books in the series and the other has only read the second book, THE VOICE OF PROPHECY.

There’s a somewhat similar–not the same–in the third book, BEYOND THE PROPHECY, so maybe that’s why.

I’ll have to reread that scene from the third book before I decide what to do.

Meantime, I’m marking up the comments into my manuscript. It’s the slowest, most boring part of the revision process and requires taking frequent breaks. (Good thing my kitchen needs cleaning anyway.)  But it gives me a chance to start thinking about the more major revisions that may be needed.

Meantime, on the subject of taking short breaks, one of the groups I belong to, Fellowship of Fantasy, has an ABC challenge going on on twitter under the hastag #FellowshipOfFun. For each day, a favorite fantasy character starting with a different letter. (Some letters are way more challenging than others.)

So far, my answers are:

• A: Aragorn, of course. Goes without saying.
• B: Bran Cornick, the Marrok, from Patricia Briggs series.
• C: Cazaril from Lois McMaster Bujold’s THE CURSE OF CHALION. One of my favorite fantasies of all time.
• D: Dag Redwing/Bluefield from Lois McMaster Bujold’s SHARING KNIFE series. Another favorite.
• E: Eowyn, who slew the Witch King of Angmar.

And, since we didn’t start until the 6th, that’s as far as we’ve gotten.