MAY 2024
Double Whammy
I must be out of my ever-loving mind to write two books at once. However, that's exactly what I'm doing at the moment, and I'm bound and determined to finish both of them before year-end.
At least the two books are part of the Collective Obsessions Saga. Hearts in Sorrow is the "prequel," while Limb of Iniquity is the final installment. It brings the saga to a nice, round number of ten novels in the series.
It wasn't until just recently that I decided to write a "prequel" to the Collective Obsessions Saga. For the time being, it is titled Hearts in Sorrow. The story is outlined below (or "blurbed" as you will).
*SHORT BLURB:
Long before emigrating to America to settle the town of Larkin, Maine, John Larkin falls for the hauntingly beautiful Maeve O'Quinn in his native Ireland. Although frail, she returns the love of the future Larkin patriarch in full measure as she envisions a rosy life with him, little knowing that fate has other plans for them.
*LONG BLURB:
The Collective Obsessions Saga begins with the prequel, Hearts in Sorrow.
Years before emigrating to America to settle the town of Larkin, Maine in 1866, John Larkin falls for the flame-haired and green-eyed Maeve O'Quinn in his native Ireland. Although frail, she returns the future Larkin patriarch's love in full measure as she envisions a rosy life with him. Yet their love is not meant to be as fate cruelly intervenes to deny them.
After an unimaginable tragedy, John is left numb with grief but forges ahead to establish his own family. He settles for Anne O'Quinn, Maeve's older sister, who holds no candle to Maeve's beauty. Anne is tall and awkwardly big-boned, with golden brown hair, a long narrow face and dark coal eyes. She quickly agrees to marry John, secretly in love with the dashing man who had been meant for her sister.
Anne wonders if their marriage will be enough to hold John, especially after they emigrate to America.
Or will he forsake her for another?
Hearts in Sorrow will be released in 2025. The storyline, estimated completion date, book cover art and excerpts may be subject to change as the book is currently in the writing process.
The art for the temporary book cover was obtained from Vitalentum via Ace, where the "free AI imagery hub" is for business and personal use." So, in truth, the image is not of a real person but rather an AI-enhanced vision. The cover text and layout were edited by yours truly. To see the cover history thus far, click here.
Stay tuned!
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Wednesday, 29th May 2024
Fictional Genealogy
There are many complicated family tree software programs available online, but I rely on Famtree. It's been around for ages, yet it is still the best genealogy application I've ever used (better than Ancestry and Roots Magic). It is currently compatible with Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.
(Above): Worksheet page of Famtree, depicting the Larkin-Sullivan families. Click on image to view larger size in a new window.
Famtree has been essential to me in building the fictional Larkin and Sullivan families in relation to the Collective Obsessions Saga. I cannot sing high enough praise to the program and its creator, Phil Sapiro.
(Above): Individual data in Famtree, depicting John Larkin's information. Click on image to view larger size in a new window.
Without it, I wouldn't have been able to create the Larkin-Sullivan Family Tree. The software, along with a text spreadsheet, helped me organize and keep consistent technical relationships between fictional characters through the generations, along with images, historical notations, birthdates, marriage and divorce dates, death dates and other pertinent information. The most handy tool in the software was the "find relationship with" feature, which allowed me to click on one name in the family tree and find his/her relationship with any other name on the list in an instant.
(Above): Traditional family tree in Famtree, depicting how the Larkin and Sullivan families are entwined. Click on image to view larger size in a new window.
At one time, I attempted to create a real family tree using data from the O'Toole and McMillan clans (of which me and my family are all a part of). However, I had a difficult time getting family members to respond to my requests for information, so I simply gave up.
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Friday, 24th May 2024
Collective Round-Up
The Collective Obsessions Saga website recently had a major update, along with a new "splash" page:
A handful of new documents are also available, including excerpts from the upcoming Limb of Iniquity, a timeline for the entire saga and a fictional biography of the Colm Sullivan Art Gallery.
I'm currently writing Limb of Iniquity, but taking a break now and then to doodle with web design et al always relaxes me.
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Monday, 20th May 2024
Bloodline Revamped
The website for The Bloodline Trilogy has been revamped.
I'm very pleased with the results. :)
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Tuesday, 14th May 2024
Book Dedications
A new page has been launched on the website of Deborah O'Toole, which includes photo snapshots taken from the dedication pages of paperback books by her and yours truly.
The dedications are also available in a PDF document. Click here to download the file.
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Posted by Deidre Dalton on Wednesday, 8th May 2024
