JB Lynn: "You should always reach for the fires of heaven." - Anne Rice (In a YouTube video where she gives advice to writers.)
    Freya Seerwing: hey Jb, how is it going with you? Doing NaNo this year? -
    Freya Seerwing: Hello JB, Itharil here! Just changed my pen name on here! How are you doing? -


JB Lynn: I leave Vienna tomorrow :( but that means once I get settled back in Seattle, I will start posting the final book in the unicorn Royal Heir trilogy "Rayah's Redemption". I know you're all very excited. :D
    boxergirl: Have fun. Be safe. Yes we will be anxious to hear from our dear unicorn friends! 8-) -
    JB Lynn: Aw, thank you so much! -
    Carolyn 'Deaton' Stephens: Hi there, I hope you have had the best vacation ever. Did you leave a little time for dreaming up 'Rayah's Redemtion.' What a glorious title for the final book. Take care, I look forward to starting the new adventure. :-) Carolyn -
    JB Lynn: Thank you, Carolyn. I've actually know the third book would be called "Rayah's Redemption" ever since I was writing the first book, believe it or not. And while the titles of book 1 and 2 have changed several times, the third book's title has held. I'm glad you're excited to read more and hope you're not disappointed. -
    Freya Seerwing: Ooo, you're posting the last of your trilogy. I'd better catch up. I too, am planning a story about unicorns, soul bonds and magic. But I might be really evil and not post it til next year! -
    JB Lynn: The more the merrier! I have always said the world could use more unicorn stories. I'd love to hear your thoughts, sometime, on some of my work. -
    Freya Seerwing: I'll try and review as much of your works as I can. The July round of CampNaNo begins soon lols xD -


JB Lynn: "The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart." - Maya Angelou
Rest in Peace, remarkable lady full of grace and wit. The literary world will be a little duller for your loss.


JB Lynn: Working on the final three chapters of "Pershell's Plight" today. If everything goes according to plan, I'll have the final section edited and posted by the end of next week. Then it's off to Austria for a couple of weeks, so I will probably be absent. I will not stay gone for long, though.


JB Lynn: I wanted to give a "Welcome!" shout out to all the wonderful new FanStory reviewers who have recently discovered my novel-in-progress "Pershell's Plight". As a "thank you" I have added bonus incentives to every chapter, so far, in this book so feel free to go back and read if you've missed anything. I can't say it enough, your feedback is invaluable.


JB Lynn: I know I've said the feedback I get on FanStory is helpful, but I wanted to mention something specific today. Those of you who have been kind enough to follow along my latest novel "Pershell's Plight" may not realize the effect you've had on the changes I made to this book. From the beginning, Pershell's story has had some pacing issues, especially nearing the end and how her story wrapped up. As we edge closer to that end, the feedback I've received has helped me see what "fresh" readers of the story sense as far as where they think we are in the story. As a result, I'm moving a few of the final chapters' sequence around. I've re-read the story this way, and I like it so much better. So, thank you, FanStory reviewers for constantly providing honest and candid feedback and helping me tell Pershell's story in the best possible way. You ROCK! :D
    michaelcahill: I second that. These folks are life savers and kept me from going off the deep end more times than I can count. Night and day improvements based on reviews! -
    Freya Seerwing: Oooo, a new novel??? Once I've caught up and read your other stuffies, I'll dive headfirst into the new one! -
    JB Lynn: Well, I've nearly wrapped up "Pershell's Plight" (the 2nd novel in my trilogy). I'll be leaving on the 1st of June for 2 weeks in Europe and then once I get back, chapters for the 3rd and final novel in my trilogy will start going up. -
    JB Lynn: Oh, cool! Where at? I'm going to Austria. I'll be in Vienna most of the time, but will be going to Salzburg for a couple days. -


JB Lynn: "You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money?s in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed."
- Larry Niven
Now that Camp Nano is over, we've entered the lovely month of May, the national Short Story Month and host to Story-a-day-in-May. This is a relatively new program (started in May 2010) and this will be my first year participating. I've shared my first story "Homeward Bound Sacrifice" and will keep writing as many short stories as I can this month. Some may turn out to be the jumping off points for longer pieces of work (I am a novelist at heart, after all) and some will be just for fun. I can't promise I will share all of them, but I will share some. :)


JB Lynn: Well, the first weekend of camp Nano is upon us. While I'm not writing any new novels this month, I continue to work on editing "Pershell's Plight" and tackling all the big changes/re-writes of "Finding Amerilys" (the 1st book in the unicorn Royal Heir series). Want to know some of the changes for "Finding Amerilys"? Here you go...
1 - New prologue which introduces Marricue, the Head Scholar and lets us know that the Scholars may not exactly be the friend to the forest unicorns they pretend to be.
2 - Rain (the human version of Amerilys) goes to Hampstead much sooner, as a child. There she meets Jack and her friendship with Kevin begins.
3 - What? Kevin!? Yes, I changed Kevin's background so that he is an established member of the Hampstead community. He's still an orphan, unfortunately, but is cared for by the owner of "Cowle's Keep".
4 - Obviously Rain and Kevin still fall in love, but their first official date is chaperoned by Jack (yes, this chapter is full of humor).
5 - Sadly, the unicorns still come and take Rain/Amerilys away. But this time, Kevin offers up a bit of a fight for her right away.

That's all for now...can't go giving everything away, can I? Of course, all these wonderful additions and changes wouldn't have been possible without all of you and your insightful and imaginative suggestions. So, here's to you, my readers! Keep it up. :)


JB Lynn: I appreciate how patient my fans have been while I took a month off to grieve my grandmother's passing. New chapters are up and I hope you find what's to come worth the wait. Oh, and happy Spring, everyone! :)


FanStory wrote to JB Lynn: Congratulations on your third place finish in the reviewing contest!
    rama devi: Congratulations! Keep up the good work! :-)) -
    JB Lynn: Thank you Rama devi. This was a pleasant surprise. -
    RGstar: Well done, JB,
    Best wishes,
    -
    PaddyMac: Well done JB, keep it up, your reviews are really appreciated!
    Paddy -


JB Lynn: I apologize for how spotty my activity has been over this past week. We have had a death in the family and we're all just taking things one day at a time. I know all my faithful fans are anxiously awaiting more chapters, and I will do my best to get more uploaded. Take care, everyone, and hug your loved ones.
    rama devi: Condolences and prayers for you, your family and your departed loved one. So sorry for your loss. Sending huge hugs and loving light. -
    lindalcreel: So sorry for your loss. Our prayers are with you! -


JB Lynn: Happy Groundhog Day and Superbowl Sunday to my fellow American fans. If there was an animal which superstition dictated could predict the outcome of the Superbowl, what do you think it would be? Go Seattle Seahawks!!! :D
    JB Lynn: In some areas, yes. In others, no. For us (in Seattle) spring will be slow in coming. -


JB Lynn: Only a few more precious days of Nano left (but devoting the next two days to the Thanksgiving holiday). The final book in my unicorn trilogy has managed to both surprise me in amazing ways and break my heart in others. Even though there is still the monumental task of editing ahead of me, I am still proud of what I have accomplished. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and been patient - you know who you are!
    Freya Seerwing: JB! Once I have weeded out the rather horrible and glaring errors, I'll be posting my novel up here You want to read it! I'll be reading yours soon. Sorry for not messaging you during NaNo, someone idiot cut the phone cables and it took awhile for them to be fixed. -
    JB Lynn: Of course I'd love to read it. Good luck with editing. -
    Freya Seerwing: I'm going to HATE that bit! Any tips on editing? XD -
    JB Lynn: Go in stages. If you wrote consecutively, I'd say just do 1-2 chapters at a time - or whatever feels right to you. If you just wrote scenes and didn't worry about writing in order, then I'd say the first thing to do would be get that sorted. Next, read for consistency (ie: did you remember the right season? did a character's description change, etc?). Then clean up (or add/delete) dialogue. Finally, look at grammar.
    After all that, get some people to read your work. Trust me: they'll catch things you missed, no matter how long you looked at it.
    Once that's all said and done, re-read any notes you may have had before starting the project to remind yourself what you initially intended for the story. It's okay to veer from the plan, so long as it's an intentional deviation.
    When all is said and done, the only process that's going to work for you is the one you work out yourself. Good luck! :) -
    alexgeorge: That's very sound advice, JB. I saw your post on the Nano site. Looks good.

    Good luck with "Pershell's Plight"! -
    storyman29: HI JB Lynn

    Thanks for your review. The plot is winding down but there is still plenty of action and surprises ahead.

    All the best - storyman29 -


JB Lynn: The wait is over, my friends. The first part of the Prologue to "Pershell's Plight" just went live. It's good to be back.


JB Lynn: The first draft of "Pershell's Plight" will be finished this week. Expect chapters to start appearing next week.
I'll be spending the rest of this month plotting the third and final book in this series since my plan is to write that first draft during next month for National Novel Writing Month. Anyone else doing NaNo this year? (ItharilTheiaDelvarn, I know you are.)
    alexgeorge: Great! Look forward to it, and your return -
    Freya Seerwing: GOOD LUCK FOR NANO!

    WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! -
    Freya Seerwing: hey jb, how is your NaNo going? Mine seems to be going alright! -


JB Lynn: Well, my vegan sister will be proud. I think a vegetarian has snuck into my novel. Maybe I'll eat a steak while I edit that chapter. ;)
    JB Lynn: Thanks Alex. I've been real sick this week (probably a result of working too much). I'm not gone for good - promise. It's nice to know I'm missed. -


JB Lynn: I've been working insane hours, so please forgive my absence. I promise I'm not gone for good. :)
I will be catching up on all the wonderful stories each of you are writing just as soon as I can.
In the meantime...keep writing! :)
    lindalcreel: I have missed you, too. It's a shame that we can't just imagine all of our chapters and have them magically appear on the screen. Take care. We will await your comeback. -


JB Lynn: Do you ever spend a couple days away from a particular project you've been working nonstop on for awhile and find yourself MISSING the characters in the story? I woke up this morning missing my sad, lost unicorns. I still need to put a TON of laundry away and am meeting friends for a movie later, but I think tomorrow will be a full-blown writing day.
    thequeencatalyst: All the time, woman. All the time! I miss my characters like crazy. Although that's probably redundant seeing as they live inside my noggin anyway and never really go away... Hm... maybe I should get that checked out... -
    alexgeorge: Looking forward to your return, Jenn. I miss you, as I'm sure do many of your friends on this site. -
    Liz Dunbee: Me too. Hope to hear from you soon. -


JB Lynn: Sending out wishes for a terrific weekend to all you lovely FanStorians. I've been hard at work on the sequel to "Finding Amerilys". I may post other shorter works once in awhile if I feel like I need a break, but for now I'm enjoying all the wonderful material you're all writing.

My goal is to finish up draft 0 of the sequel and go through it once to "clean it up" before I start posting here. I'm on track for that to happen by the end of this month, if not early October.

Want a peek? The sequel is called "Pershell's Plight".