Author: Natalie J Case

Forever telling the stories that fill my head, in hopes I might keep the tenuous grip on reality that keeps me tethered here among the shadows.
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othering others

When I first started writing the story that would become the Shades and Shadows series, I began with the idea that as a nation, the United States had a tendency to not only other people, but to foist our fears and anger onto those others and I followed it through to what I thought could be the outcome, if ever it were discovered that there were people who could heal and kill with some kind of power that we normal folk didn’t have.

But once I’d gotten the story written, albeit in a much shorter form than it exists today, I looked at where the political aspect of the story had gone as a result of that original premise and I considered it to be too unbelievable.  I looked at where we were at the time, where we had a person of color in our highest office and we had abolished (in theory at least) the othering of LGBT people and women were making gains politically and otherwise.  I thought to myself, who is going to believe a story that takes all of that away now, shoves it into a dark corner and returns us to the darkness of our own past?

I set the story aside, and went on to work on other things.

It wasn’t until the election in 2016 that I realized I was wrong, and that the othering hadn’t stopped at all, in fact for some of our US citizens, othering was still the lens through which they saw the world and those others were where they laid the blame for everything that they thought was wrong with their lives.

Since the release of Through Shade and Shadow, so much has happened that makes the politics in this series nearly pale in comparison.  This saddens me in many ways.

I hope we, as a nation, can navigate our way through this hurricane and come out stronger and better on the other side.

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the hard work of writing

I used to think that writing a book was a big accomplishment.  Then it became writing a good book was the hard part.  Of course, both don’t begin to compare to the work that comes after the writing is done.

You have to find a way to summarize the entire plot of your 300+ pages into a single paragraph, then a single sentence.  They have to tell enough of the plot to hook people, but not so much to give the whole thing away.  They have to be intriguing, exciting even.  Here you’ve spent a year or more of your life telling this story in detail, and now you’re expected to sum it all up in a as few words as possible in order to get an agent or a publisher (or if you’re lucky both).

I’m fortunate to have a publisher for In Gathering Shade already, but I still need to summarize the story for the back cover of the book.  Generally, this takes quite a few attempts for me.  This will be my third book with Creativia, my seventh book overall (I have four under a pen name in the M/M Romance genre), and it doesn’t get easier.

The blurb on the back cover of  Forever took something like 10 different iterations to get right. Through Shade and Shadow took at least that much work.  So, now as I anticipate getting In Gathering Shade back from my editor, I’m filled with an icy dread at the thought that once again, I need to distill my story down into a paragraph that will invite readers to come into my world.

But, I’ve never been brief.  I spent the better part of my junior year of high school learning how to cut my essays down to size for the Regents exam at the end of the year.  My pre-test saw essays between 1000 and 2500 words, and I was required to cut that to 500 words.  It was a year filled with tears and frustration, but I did it and when my exam was done, I had turned in two essays of 500 words (almost exactly), though I was convinced they were crap.  I scored 95% on the exam overall, and got full marks on the essays.

I learned then how to boil sentences down to their bare essences and use precise words, but that isn’t as easy when working with creative work.  *sigh*  I suppose there is no cure for it, I should just get on with the work of it.

But maybe a cup of coffee first.  For strength.

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*so excited*

It won’t be long now before this anthology is on it’s way to Amazon for all of you to snap up and enjoy!

We’re just finishing up the final little things and then we’ll be off and running.  There are twelve stories for you to enjoy.  But for right now, I have the cover to share with you, isn’t it gorgeous!?

Once-Upon-A-Broken-Dream-Main-File

I think it’s gorgeous!

Stay tuned for purchase links!

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once upon a broken dream

I woke up this morning to an email from my publisher with a sneak peek at the cover for the anthology I’ve been working on.  I’m excited to get to share this with all of you!  Twelve stories from eleven different Creativia authors.

All twelve stories stem from a single prompt, and that is the only thing that ties them together.  They cover a number of genres, everything from inspirational tales to horror, from sword & sorcery style fantasy to paranormal fantasy, from steampunk to science fiction.

I’d like to thank my fellow authors for taking this journey with me.  You can find out more about them at the links below.

Richard Ankers
Susan-Alia Terry
Leo Kane
J.W. Goodwin
Mari Collier
Chris Tetreault-Blay
Amber Gulley
Eve Gaal
Melanie Mole
Michelle Lynn

I hope to have an ARC soon, if you are a review who would like to get an early peek, let me know and I’ll get it to you as soon as I can.

If you’re an author looking for an editor, I have decided to offer editing services beyond just the small group of friends that I have edited for in the past. You can find it all about it on my page: Editing Services.

On that note, I should get this day started.  I wish you all a wonderful Friday and a glorious weekend!

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stillness

There is a stillness in the woods.  It isn’t something you can find in the hustle-bustle of a city.  It is something unique to the woods.  Step off the paved road and onto a carpet of grass, fallen leaves, pine needles, step between the trees.  You don’t have to go far to feel it.  Just enough that you can’t see the road, can’t hear the cars.

The hush settles over you and that stillness sinks deep into you.  Here, you are connected to the earth beneath your feet, to the years stretching back into the ancient past and forward into the unknown future.

This is one of the places I am home.  All of the anxiety flushes away.  All the worries and needs and concerns drift off and I am at peace.

I took the picture above on my mini vacation earlier this month.  It’s the type of place I imagine Mason feeling quite at home.  I imagine I would live quite happily in some little cabin out there, surrounded by trees older than our country and that stillness.

Of course, only if I had a good internet connection!  I may love that stillness, but I was raised on modern conveniences and I love my internet.

It was something like this I had in mind as I settled Mason Jerah into his childhood home…a place where magic doesn’t seem so much of a stretch, where life teems and the very air seems to vibrate with a feeling of home.

It’s nice this morning, with another busy day stretched out ahead of me, to take a moment and close my eyes to try to recapture that peace, that stillness…before deadlines and emails and to-do lists fill up my attention.

Have a great Tuesday, Readers!

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in gathering shade

I am very excited this morning, Readers!  I have just sent book 2 in the Shades and Shadows series to my editor!  I am excited to introduce you to some new characters as well as to continue telling the story of Alaric and Mason.

In Gathering Shade picks up right where Through Shade and Shadow left off, with Mason and Alaric prisoners of the 8th Battalion and thrusts you immediately into a world that is tipping off it’s axis and into war.

We follow Shades and Shifters, Shadows and Sages through the growing minefield of fear and deception as they struggle to find a way to survive in a world that wants to destroy them.

In the coming weeks, here on this blog, I will introduce you to the new characters, as well as give you previews of things to come.

I hope you’re as excited as I am!

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it is very people-y out there

I have a form of agoraphobia.  I’ve stopped saying “mild agoraphobia” because then it gets dismissed as not a problem and then people don’t understand why I have days like today.

Today, I woke up feeling anxious.  My heart was beating fast, and when I thought about leaving the house, the beat picked up momentum. I did a few grounding exercises and managed to get up and into the shower.  I knew I had to get to the office.  The office isn’t *safe* like my home is, however it is a familiar place with plenty of open space and familiar faces so it is infinitely safer than *out there* is.

I have routines that help me on days like today.  I have a couple of grounding exercises, I have a set pattern that is my “getting out the door” signal to my brain and body that we are leaving the house.  I have my headphones and music that help keep me inside myself as I walk to the train.

This isn’t just social anxiety.  This isn’t just me being introverted.  I’m an introverted extrovert most of the time.  I wish I had the words to paint you a picture of what is going on inside my head when I have to force myself to leave the house.

Every human interaction is work.  Interaction that requires conversation is more work.  Each additional person involved in that conversation increases that work exponentially and eventually I will need to tap out.  Today that limit is two.  Any more than two people attempting to interact with me at a time and I can’t.  Some days it gets as low as one.  Somedays, I can’t even handle one.  Those are the days that plans get changed and I stay home, locked inside the safety of my domain.

Today was one of those mornings where everyone at the train station wanted to talk.  By the time I got on the train, I was shaking.  By the time I got to the office I was exhausted. By the time this day is over, I’ll be a wrung out mess.

The frustrating part of all of this is that I love people.  I love meeting new people. I love observing people just going about their daily lives.  On days like today, when the agoraphobic anxiety is high and the desire to hide in the private sanctuary that is my own home, I just can’t people.  It is all I can do to get through the day if I have to be away from my sanctuary.

If I didn’t have to keep a roof over my head, I might have called today a mental health day and stayed in the quiet cocoon of home.  But, my boss doesn’t understand the condition and he would be annoyed if I tried to explain to him that I couldn’t people today.

So, I’ll power through.  I’ll put in my earphones and play some Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys loudly to create a sonic bubble around me and hope that my coworkers take the hint.

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bright, burning orb of death

You’d think that, having lived in California for nearly 17 years now, and having moved here from the heat of El Paso, Texas, I would be accustomed to the heat.  When I left New York for El Paso, I welcomed that heat.  All those years growing up in snow drifts taller than I was made the notion of a few summers over 100 degrees an interesting notion.

When I moved to California, I ended up in a much more temperate zone, but the San Francisco bay area is home to a number of microclimates that start out temperate and even cool near the water, and grow increasingly warmer as you move inland.

For a number of years, my home was in the East Bay, but close enough to the water that I enjoyed fairly temperate summers and the winters were cool and comfortable.  Then I moved inland.

We were over 100 degrees yesterday, and it’s predicted to be hotter here today. It’s barely 10:30 in the morning and we’re already cracking 90.  I had hoped to get out and putter with my succulents today, but I’m guessing I’ll stay inside instead.

I’m focusing today on finishing up the final edit pass on the anthology so I can send it in to the publisher.  It’s an interesting group of stories!  I look forward to getting it out so you can read it.

In the meantime, today is the final day for the 99 cent promo on Forever.  You should grab it, if you haven’t already!

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not all inspiration is inspirational

Image by PETEWILL VIA GETTY IMAGES

Today, as  I was walking to work I was noticing that there were a larger number of homeless than I am accustomed to seeing.  All of the “regulars” were around, and I checked in with those I’ve been friendly with, at least by eye contact, as I generally do.

When I heard yelling across the street, I looked up, slowed my steps.  I wasn’t alone in wanting to know what was causing the ruckus, several other pedestrians slowed their steps or stopped, necks craning to try to see around the large truck blocking the view.

The truck had a sign on the side that said something like “The Clean Team” and there were about ten men (I couldn’t tell their ages from my vantage point) who seemed to be trying to roust a homeless couple who had been sleeping in a store doorway.  The woman was very upset and yelling.  The men made fun of her, and she got angrier (obviously).

I watched for a long few minutes, phone in hand, prepared to call for help if things got physical, which seemed likely when the male half of the couple stood up and tried to intervene.  I couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed as if he calmed her enough and convinced her that they should just gather their belongings and move on.

A few blocks up the road, one of the regular street cleaner guys was using a far gentler approach with one of the regulars that I’ve offered coffee and breakfast to on occasion.  Down every side street and alley, in doorways and on the curbs, homeless people were being forced to get up and move, as if there was anywhere else for them to go.

It made me wonder when we turned our street cleaning people away from picking up trash and cleaning graffiti and started tasking them with homeless duty…when did we decide that our homeless were little more than garbage, with no more value than a cigarette butt or empty food container?

I felt a little hopeless as I climbed the hill toward my office, a little stifled under the privilege of who I am.

As with all things, the whole scene is already percolating in the back of my brain, trying to decide where it fits in current writing projects, or how it might inspire a new one to come.

Until then, remember that Forever is only 99 cents on Kindle, through July 16th.

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a taste of Forever

(image via http://streamline.filmstruck.com/)

I will admit that I have had a lifelong fascination/obsession with vampires.  It started young.  I remember watching Salem’s Lot  when I was just a wee eleven years old.    I’m not cognizant of any significant vampire related moments prior to that, but I have very vivid memories of watching it on TV in the apartment where we lived in Hilton, NY.  Of course, some of that is to do with my age, and some with the fact that my younger brother had snuck down the stairs to watch for at least parts of it and was haunted for MONTHS after by the scene in the image above.

So, it would be safe to say the Stephen King introduced me to vampires.  He was by no means the last to walk me into the dark, of course.  I read the book the movie was based on that same year, and after that I dug into other books and movies and TV shows, too many to count and name, for certain.

By the time I was 20 I had read Dracula enough times to know entire passages by heart.  I wasn’t content to stop there either, I dug into vampire lore, exploring the different ways they were presented in different cultures…the similarities, the differences.  I was fascinated by the concept of immortality,  drawn in by not only the idea of being witness to history, but the mundanity of living a daily existence where every night bleeds into the next.

I was, as a pubescent teenager is like to, pulled to the erotic notion of the biting, of taking life from the very essence that keeps us all alive, the intimate nature of that exchange, while also at the same time, being a practical child, by the idea that not every meal could be an erotic buffet of hot neck biting and licking that led to what my teenage hormones could only imagine.  I found myself thinking about other ways a vampire might get what she needed, without the entanglement of the humanity that comes with drinking from a human chalice.

By the time I was sixteen, I had a pretty good idea what my vampires would be like, if I were to write about vampires…and from that idea, Amara was born.

It is safe to say that Amara comes from those first vampires I experienced, and is influenced by those that came after.

And you can experience Amara and all her nuance right now for 99 cents!  Forever is available right now for Kindle at the low price of 99 cents. Grab your copy today…and leave a review if you would!  Reviews make writers happy!

My coffee cup seems to be empty, I best go fill it up.  Happy Wednesday, Readers!