My Interview with Connie J. Jasperson

Earlier this week I was invited to do an interview with fellow fantasy author and good friend Connie J. Jasperson about my latest book. Click the link below to check out the full interview: 

Interview with Connie

You can also meet Connie and hear more about her stories at tomorrow's online launch party, along with four other great guest authors that will be attending. 

Online Launch Party

The Official "Into the North" Blurb

Here's the summary for my latest book as it will appear on the back cover:

Professional beast hunter Keltin Moore is returning home a changed man. With a new apprentice and a lifetime of experience gained in faraway Krendaria, he prepares to settle into his old life of being a small town hero. But when gold is discovered in the far north, Keltin must again leave his home in order to protect the prospectors from the beasts ravaging the gold fields. Arriving in the boom town of Lost Trap, Keltin soon discovers that there are dangers beyond beasts in the frozen north.  A local gang has established themselves as the resident Hunters Guild and will not tolerate any competition. Meanwhile, a specter haunts the gold fields. A legendary creature known as the Ghost of Lost Trap stalks the snowy countryside, testing Keltin and his friends to their very limits as they try to hunt their most dangerous beast yet.

If you'd like to help celebrate the launch of this book with me, check out the two event pages below. 

For those who are in the South Puget Sound area:

Launch Party at the Tumwater Timberland Library

For everyone else:

Online Facebook Launch Party

Updates on "Into the North" for March 3

As last week's 'blog article' suggested, I've been working hard to get Into the North ready for its April release. I'm glad to say that I've managed to stick to my revised schedule, and it looks like everything will ultimately fall into place. Here are some of the coolest developments for the upcoming release...

The beta Read has Begun

Last Monday, I finished the third draft of the manuscript and sent it to my team of test readers for review. While they're working on a pretty tight schedule, the initial feedback I've received has been positive, and I look forward to getting their in-depth responses soon.

The Cover is Coming Along

I've been working with a new artist to create a cover that is evocative and visually exciting. We've already created a new cover for The Beast Hunter to create a unique brand for the series, so keep your eyes open for that. If you'd like to get a sneak peak of the new cover for Beast Hunter, you can see it at the Lindsay Schopfer Art Page.

Launch Party Planning

I'll be returning to the Tumwater Timberland library for the launch party of Into the North. The party is set for Tuesday, April 11, at 6pm. There will also be an online launch party held on Facebook, but we're still working out the details for that.

The Book Tour

We're still working out the stops for the trip. While finding book stores and libraries willing to take a chance on an unknown author has been tough, we do have stops in three states planned already, with high hopes for additional stops that are still in the works. I'll be sure to post my travel schedule as soon as I know what it is.


I want to thank all of my fans for their support and patience as I prepare for this milestone in my writing career. I can't wait to share this new story with you all!

Two New Online Homes For My Fans

Thanks to the amazing efforts of my Guild of Adventurers, there are two new places for fans of my work to interact and have fun. First, we have the Fans of Lindsay Schopfer Goodreads group page. Visitors to the group can find multiple conversation topics about my books and stories. Some of the topics you can check out include:

The Characters of The Beast Hunter

Would You Survive?

Questions for Lindsay

…and several others. You can also add your own conversation topics, as well as create polls, participate in challenges, and find similar book recommendations. All you need to participate is a free Goodreads account.

The second new online home for fans is the Lindsay Art Tumblr page. While there isn’t a lot of artwork up right now, the goal of this page is to provide a place for fan art, official artwork (covers, promotional art, etc.) and other related visuals. You can also ask questions specifically about the artwork of my stories here and even chat with some of the artists who have worked with me in the past. You do not need a Tumblr account to upload pictures or ask questions.

There’s also my Fans of Lindsay Schopfer Facebook page for those who are interested in less structured interactions. Whatever your tastes, I hope you take a moment to check out the hard work of my Guild of Adventurers and maybe even make some new friends. Have fun!

Updates to my Guild of Adventurers

Recently, I sent a survey to the members of my street team (aka my Guild of Adventurers) in an effort to improve how we do things. What follows are the newly updated details I sent to all current adventurers.

Note: If you’re not in my Guild of Adventurers but would like to join, all you need to do is sign up for my monthly newsletter and provide a link to an honest Amazon review you’ve written for one of my stories.

The Goals of the Guild

The way I see it, the Guild of Adventurers has three main purposes:

1. Increase my fan base.
2. Develop a growing community among my fans. 
3. Spread the social and promotional workload so that I can dedicate more time to writing.

I am humbled and so very grateful to know that I have fans that care enough about these goals to dedicate their time and talents to make them happen. Thank you again for your support!

What a Guild Member Does

Several adventurers said in the recent survey that they weren’t sure what they should be doing as a member of the guild. Here’s a list of some of the things that a typical guild member does:

• Like and/or +1 posts from Lindsay's author accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google+.
• Share/re-tweet posts from Lindsay's author accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google+.
• Comment on posts from Lindsay's author accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google+.
• Comment on Lindsay's blog posts.
• Participate in discussions on Lindsay's fan pages on Facebook and/or Goodreads.
• Recommend one of Lindsay’s books to a friend or group.
• Request one or more of Lindsay's books at a local bookstore, library, or school.
• Recommend one of Lindsay's online writing courses to a friend or group.

A typical guild member does one or more of these types of activities at least a couple of times a month.

"I Want to Do More!"

In addition to the typical types of activities listed above, there are plenty of ways for guild members to take their volunteering one step further. Here are some ideas:

• Approach a bookstore/library/school/writing group about an author appearance from Lindsay.
• Be an admin and/or moderator for a Lindsay Schopfer fan page on a social media platform. (examples include Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)
• Coordinate/GM an online role-play for Guild members.
• Make/craft something for Lindsay's swag bag.

The Benefits of Being in the Guild

While participating in the guild is a voluntary activity, there are some benefits to being one of my adventurers. Guild members get first look at new artwork, story updates, and “behind-the-scenes” details on my work. They’re also the first to be invited to participate in beta reads and fan surveys. Guild members will receive a monthly newsletter featuring Guild-specific news and updates. All adventurers will also be invited to a monthly, online video hangout where we can all chat together and build friendships and community. For those who are interested, there will also be a monthly online game hosted by a guild member.

In addition to these universal benefits, there will be a special “goody bag” for those guild members that go above and beyond on a given month. Examples of these sort of adventurers include group moderators, blog writers that feature a guest blog from me, crafters and artists that donate their work, and those special folks who set up author appearances for me. These adventurers will receive special mention in the monthly Guild newsletter and will be invited to pick something from the goody bag.

For Those Who Feel Overwhelmed

Several people answered in the survey that they felt like they didn’t have time to participate in the guild. First off, it doesn’t take much to be helpful. Every time you like/comment/share on a post or blog article, online algorithms show those items to more of my fans. This is true of both social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) So, a minute or two to read the post or blog and two seconds to respond to it. Like I said, it doesn’t take much to be helpful.

If this still seems like too much work, then the Guild probably isn’t for you. I’d recommend joining one of my online fan groups instead. You’ll still get regular updates on what’s going on with me from those guild members serving as moderators and admins, and you can participate when it’s convenient for you. I don’t plan on policing the activity of guild members, but if you feel like you’re not able to be a participating guild member, then I invite you to let me know that you’d like out of the guild. I promise that I won’t take offense and that we’ll still be friends!



Again, if you’d like to join the Guild, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter and link to an honest Amazon review that you’ve written for one of my books. We’d love to have you onboard!

My Guild of Adventurers Q&A

Q: What is the Guild of Adventurers?

A: The Guild is my street team, a collection of some of my biggest fans who volunteer their time to help spread the word about me and my stories.

Q: What do they do?

A: One of the biggest ways that Guild members help me is by sharing and commenting on my posts on Facebook and Twitter. Other Guild members have also had a lot of success by sharing physical copies of books with friends or their local libraries. Some members have even gone to author events and Cons to hang out with me in person and show their support!

Q: What do they get out of it?

A: While being a member of my Adventurers Guild is a voluntary position, there are some perks that come with membership. Every month, each guild member who has done something to help spread the word receives an invitation to a live video hangout with me and their fellow guild members. In addition, all active guild members get a chance to participate in a monthly, online roleplay game that I created in the world of The Beast Hunter's Keltin Moore. Other goodies include free ebooks, behind-the-scenes insights into how my works-in-progress are doing, and first look at concept artwork and book covers.

Q: How do I join?

A: To join the Guild you need to do just two things. First, you need to have read at least one of my books and written an honest review on Amazon. Second, you need to subscribe to my mailing list. Be sure to include a link to your Amazon review when you subscribe. If you've already subscribed to my mailing list and want to join the Guild, you can send your review link to lindsay@lindsayschopfer.com with "Adventurers Guild Applicant" as the subject line. When you’re accepted into the Guild, you’ll be added to the Guild Facebook group as well as the Guild mailing list.

Q: I'm not interested in being in the Guild, but I'd still like to help. What can I do?

A: Some members of my Guild have created a Facebook Group for fans of my stories. There are no expectations or requirements to be a member, and it's a great way to connect with like-minded people without some pesky author always hanging around. ;) I also have a Patreon account for those folks who are interested in making a small, monthly pledge to show their support. Those who pledge can also receive complimentary gifts such as free books and video chats with me to talk about their own writing projects.

Q: What were those links again?

Sign-up for Lindsay's Mailing List

Fans of Lindsay Schopfer Facebook Group

Lindsay's Patreon Profile

A New Video for Beast Hunter Fans!

I'm very excited to announce that I finally have a new video on my YouTube channel. The first of what I hope will become a series of author readings, this video features a reading from the prologue of The Beast Hunter performed by yours truly. 

Watch the Video

This project was a lot of fun for me, as it gave me a chance to dust off some of the performance and editing skills that I haven't really used since my time in the theater and film school. Of course, regardless of my experience, there were some kinks in the process. The video that is now available to the world is actually my second attempt at this project. 

The first time I tried making this video, I did my best to do the reading like a voice-over professional would do for an audio book. I tried to set a mood with my tone and inflection, and was very careful to enunciate and speak in an even, measured cadence. While I succeeded in creating a moody, atmospheric piece, when I shared the video with my street team, the reaction was mixed. Several members felt that it was too dramatic and lacked a personal touch. They much preferred a second reading I had done after filming my Q&A video that was done in a single take and felt much more like the sort of reading I would do for a live audience. 

In the end, I decided to set the atmospheric video aside and post the more personable one instead. Perhaps I'll share the first video once I start to get serious about doing an audio book of The Beast Hunter. That way, I can let you, my wonderful fans, cast your votes for which style you'd prefer to hear as I read my first steampunk fantasy novel to you! 

Preparing for my First Q&A Video

Lately, I’ve been wanting to connect more with my fans. While I try to respond to every comment made on my blog and various social media platforms, I often think about the many people all over the world who read my books, visit my blog, and subscribe to my newsletter and yet I’ve never met or heard from them. Of course, it’s impossible to know every person that’s read one of my books at this point (a happy milestone) but nonetheless I’d like to make some effort to reach out and interact with as many fans and friends as I can.

With that in mind, I'd like to try something new this month. Throughout March, I'll be accepting questions for a video Q&A that I'll post to my YouTube channel in April. Question topics could include my stories, the craft of writing, gaming, or my various likes and dislikes. At the end of the month I'll select my favorite questions and answer them in the video, though I may save other questions for a future video.

You can submit questions by leaving a comment below or via e-mail at lindsay@lindsayschopfer.com, as well as comments and PM’s on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. Please notify me if you do not want me to mention your first name along with your question in the video (nobody's last name will be shared).

I look forward to seeing your questions!

My Writing Ritual

While looking for ideas for this week’s blog feature, a member of my Adventurer’s Guild sent me a link to a list of 50 different article ideas for author blogs. There’s a lot of great suggestions in this list, and I decided to answer one of the suggested questions today: what is my writing ritual?

While I often have writing sessions during the day, my most productive sessions are always in the late evening. After eating dinner, spending some time with my family, and helping with the dishes, I wish everyone a good night and go upstairs to my office. My loving and supportive wife always has the same parting words for me. “Good luck, have fun!”

Once I get to my room, I open my window so that I can hear the creek running past our home (it’s even better when’s it’s raining) and turn on my writing music playlist, a fluid collection of songs that I adjust daily. I then light a three-wick scented candle (Fresh Balsam, sweet fragrances give me a headache) and then turn off the light, leaving just the illumination of my laptop screen and my candle.

To help me keep track of my works-in-progress, I have five small, foam fish that each represent one of my five current projects. Each one has a different color, and I stack them in reverse order of how recently I’ve worked on that project. With the rest of my writing space set up, I start with the top fish first, get at least my minimum number of words on that project, and then work on whichever project I feel the most inspiration for.

Once I’ve finished, I turn on a small electric light and blow out my candle. After the aroma has faded somewhat (it can get pretty strong after a while) I invite my sweet wife to come and see what my word count for the day was. After that, it’s time to power down for the day. I crank up my gaming platform of choice, make myself a glass of Ovaltine, and relax.


Do you have a writing ritual? What puts you in the mood to write? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Highlights from the Magic, Mystery and Mirth Online Launch Party

Last Tuesday I hosted an online launch party for my latest title, a collection of fanciful short stories called Magic, Mystery and Mirth. For two hours, I answered fan questions and shared videos and games, each of which was based on one of the eight stories. For those of you who missed the party, here are some of the games and videos that attendees enjoyed...


STORY ONE: SHARP SWORD DULL SWORD – A sarcastic talking sword is less than thrilled when a smelly barbarian tries to claim him.

Game: Take a look at this picture of a warrior, his sword, and a dragon and give it an appropriately snarky caption. Bonus points if it’s from the sword’s point of view!

"I find myself between a jock and a carapace..."

Pens never have to deal with this!

And with a snap of massive jaws, Sir Overly-Confident was never heard from again.

"What I wouldn't give to be a crossbow..."

Mmm... I hope this tasty morsel is not one of those nasty cherry-cordials masquerading as a hero...

"You kiss ya motha with that mouth?"

"This again?! I am not a dental instrument damn it!"

"NO! I refuse to be used as a toothpick!"

"Oh great, first Smatila the Hunbearable, now I can look forward to rusting as Smaug's toothpick!"

STORY FOUR: TAKING A DJINN TO COURT – An attorney specializing in fanciful cases takes a genie to court for giving out bad wishes.

Game: Write your best wish contract for any wish you want. Then, take a look at other people’s contracts and try to find as many loopholes as you can!

Best Entry: I, [Name Withheld], wish to be granted three wishes per year ad infinitum, whereas one year is defined as one full rotation of the earth around the sun of our solar system (365 days) and shall begin at midnight on my birthday of February 1st and shall end at 11:59:59 of January 31st. These three annual wishes shall only be granted after they have been put in the proper format*, as described below. If the wish in question should cause any disastrous, catastrophic, or apocalyptic effects when implemented, the Djinni is obligated to inform me before granting said wish.

*Proper format of a wish is either:

A) Written Wish Request, placed in a pre-determined agreed upon place between the Wisher and the Djinn, i.e. a "wish-box" or altar shelf.

B) If a spoken wish is to be granted, it must contain at least one of the following phrases:

1. "This is an emergency!"

2. "Danger!"

3. "Help!" or "Help me!" or Help me now!"

STORY SIX: LUMPY – This story about a boy and his puppet is a humorous tribute to Jim Henson and following your dreams.

Video: Here’s a look at a group of puppeteers that I think carry the spirit of the original Muppets much better than the current reality-television version. Be sure to watch the whole song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJRUo1zmIQ4 

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our online party. I had a great time, and I will definitely be doing more events like this one in the future!

Magic, Mystery and Mirth Amazon Page

A Special Gift for My Biggest Fans

I’ve been thinking of a good way to reward the members of my street team since the group was organized. Calling themselves my Guild of Adventurers, these dedicated fans have embraced the call to share my stories with friends and associates. In addition to participating in monthly goals (or quests) given to the group, individual members have posted blog articles, spoken to schools and public libraries, loaned copies of my books to friends and families, and generally been an amazing bunch of fans who believe in me and the stories that I am sharing.

Dedication like that deserves an expression of sincere thanks, but I struggled to think of something that would be appropriate. After all, there are only so many free books that I can give away before they have them all! I wanted something that would be fun, unique, and ongoing. After some serious consideration, I realized that there was a way to combine my love for stories with my love of gaming to create a special gift for my biggest fans. I would organize an online role-playing game set in one of my worlds.

This game will be an informal, exclusive event hosted by me, and only active members of my street team will receive an invitation to participate. It’s up to the group which book’s world will be used for the game, though so far it looks like the clear favorite will be a game involving a group of hunters sent to Krendaria in the world of The Beast Hunter. The rules of the game will be developed by me, and will focus on role-playing and simplified dice rolls rather than complex diagrams and large handfuls of dice. My hope is that it will be fun for both avid gamers and fans who just want the unique experience of personally exploring a world that they’ve only seen in a novel before.

If you’d like to participate in the game, there’s still plenty of time. You can join the Adventurer’s Guild by signing up for my mailing list and writing an honest review for one of my books on Amazon. In fact, the December Quest for the guild is to get a total of ten reviews of my latest book, Magic, Mystery and Mirth on both Amazon and Goodreads, so you’ll already be an active member just for signing up! If we reach our goal, the game will take place next month in January using a free, online chatting platform.

I hope that many of my fans will take this opportunity to delve deeper into the world of The Beast Hunter and share their love of my stories with others. I’m very excited to interact with more of my readers in this unique way, and look forward to continuing this tradition if it’s successful. See you in Krendaria!

To learn more about my street team, click here.

To write a review for Magic, Mystery and Mirth, click here for Amazon, and here for Goodreads

Concept Art for the Magic, Mystery and Mirth Cover Image

During the book launch party for Magic, Mystery and Mirth earlier this week, we raffled off a poster-sized print of the cover's artwork. Today, I thought it might be fun to share a few of the rough sketches and concept art that went into making this wonderful piece.

Here's the very first rough sketch, done in a pocket-sized notebook.

This initial color concept was when I really started to get excited about this cover. Notice how some things, like the rider and alligator, remained very similar, while the genie here is very different from what ended up on the cover. We were even considering adding the puppet Lumpy to the image, but he didn't fit with the general theme and had to be removed. 

The alligator was drawn normally at first, with the dress added in later stages.

Similarly, the rider's cloak was added in later versions. 

The genie went through many iterations. Look how dapper he is in the bottom picture!

I like the design in this picture, but it didn't really suggest a genie, so we discarded it.

This was the last version of the genie before the final.

The dirigible in the mountains has always been my favorite part of this picture.

More dirigibles. 

The final version. I love this cover!

Exciting New Opportunities for my Fans and Readers

For a while now, I’ve been looking for ways to better connect with my fans and followers. I’ve also been exploring possible ways to help spread the word about my books and share these stories that I love so much with more readers. With that in mind, there are two new ways that my fans can stay connected and get involved. 

My New Mailing List

Using MailChimp, I’ve set up a list that anyone can subscribe to in order to receive a regular newsletter in their e-mail. These newsletters will include high-lights from some of my most recent and popular blog articles, upcoming book releases and promotions, and some of the details of my speaking schedule and author appearances. All information provided by subscribers is kept private, and the newsletter can be unsubscribed to at any time.

To sign up, just click the link below and enter your information.

Subscribe to Lindsay's Mailing List

My New Street Team

This is a place for people who love my stories and want to help spread the word. Members of this team will be entered into drawings for free books and goodies, receive invitations to exclusive parties, and have a special Facebook group where they can interact with myself as well as each other. In exchange, the street team will be given monthly goals to help promote and discuss my stories, spreading the word and sharing the characters and adventures that they have come to love. A typical monthly goal might be ten new book reviews on Amazon, or fifty new follows on my Facebook author page. Each time a goal is met, members of the team will be rewarded with additional goodies and events.

There will be no dues required to be a member of my street team. All that’s required is an enthusiasm for my stories and a demonstrated desire to help more people discover them. With that in mind, fans who are interested in joining my street team should include a link to an amazon review that they have written for one of my books when they subscribe to my mailing list. If the applicant is accepted into the street team, they’ll be added to the street team mailing list and will receive an invitation to join the street team Facebook group.


I hope that all of my fans will take advantage of these great new opportunities. My ongoing goal is to continue discovering new and better ways to connect with my readers and have fun as a group. I look forward to hearing from you!

My Writing Playlist

I was recently asked by another writer in one of my author networks if there was any particular type of music that I listen to when I write. Actually, as an avid music collector for many years, I have an ever-evolving list of songs that I listen to while I work. So today, just for fun, I thought I’d share what types of music I prefer to listen to for various types of writing.

Dialogue – 60’s Pop

I grew up listening to the Oldies, so there’s always been something soothing for me in the upbeat, simple melodies and messages in this style of music. As well as just making me feel better, I find that everything from the British Invasion to Motown makes it easier for me to formulate responses between two or more people in a written conversation.

Description – New Age

Whether it’s Clannad or Yanni, I really prefer tranquil music when I am trying to translate a breathtaking visual scene in my head into written words on a screen.

Sad Scenes – 70’s Soft Rock

Much of pop music in the 70’s took on a subdued tone after the tumultuous 60’s, which is often well suited to writing melancholy scenes.

Action Scenes – Hair Metal

The 80’s were filled with music that was equal parts ethereal and powerful. With driving rhythm sections and soaring guitar solos, these songs provide a perfect backdrop to the type of other-worldly battles that seem to happen so frequently in my writing.

Line-editing – Classical

I’m not normally a classical music fan, but I find Mozart and Bach are very stimulating during the sometimes brain-numbing process of fixing grammatical errors.

Proof reading – Anything Loud

By the time I get to the proof reading stage on a story I’m usually so familiar with the manuscript that I could recite it from memory, making last-minute troubleshooting very difficult. At this point, I find that it helps to crank up my music as loud as I can stand it so that I really have to focus in order to see what I’m reading, forcing me to pay close enough attention to spot any lingering mistakes.


Do you have a special playlist of music that you listen to while writing? Leave a comment below!

A Look at The Beast Hunter’s Loopi

Early concept art by Laura Schopfer

This week I thought I’d give some background on another one of the prominent groups from The Beast Hunter, the ape-like Loopi and their mystical Sky Talkers.

Their Appearance

I based the face and basic body structure of the Loopi on gibbons, which are small, monkey-like apes native to the subtropical rainforests of southern Asia. I’ve always loved the graceful lines of their fur and the elegance with which they move through the tree tops. Their fur-framed faces are especially evocative for me, as their petite features seem so well-suited for subtle expressions and emotions.

I decided early-on that I wanted the Loopi to be sophisticated and complex, which is why I chose the gibbon over something which might suggest brutish strength like a gorilla or orangutan. I also wanted to make it clear that the Loopi wore clothing, despite being covered in fur.

Their Names

I’m often asked how I come up with character names for my stories, which seems to be a real challenge for some fantasy and sci-fi writers. I usually begin my process by picking a first letter that feels like it works well for the character. Harsh sounds for strong characters, soft sounds for gentle characters, etc. I then fill out the rest of the name with syllables that sound similar to the other names that I’ve created for the story, just to keep creative continuity. I’m also careful not to have similar names for characters that are going to have interactions with each other. That means avoiding having multiple characters with names that start with the same letter, as well as trying to avoid ending too many names with the same syllable.

The most important thing to remember about character names is that they are meant to be seen first, spoken later. This means that the names you use must be visually distinctive, with letter combinations that are both visually appealing and easily distinguished from other names in your story. It’s for this reason that the names of the Loopi are some of my favorites. I love the way their three-part names look and sound, like a cascade of soft syllables reminiscent of a short chant. If you’re familiar with meditation, try using any of the Loopi names as a breathing mantra, and you’ll get an idea of why I love these names so much.

The Sky Talkers

There were a couple of things I really wanted to do when I created the Sky Talkers. For one thing, I didn’t want to make their powers too specific or even clearly definable. I felt that over-explaining what they could do and why they could do it would take away from the mystery and mystique of characters like Grel’zi’tael and Bor’ve’tai. I prefer it when the reader has to study the character and guess how much of what they did was through their supernatural powers and how much was simply from their own inner strength. I also didn’t want to make the Sky Talkers over-powered. The various types of ‘magic’ in The Beast Hunter are all intended to be subtle, mysterious processes, rather than hurling fireballs at monsters or summoning up a tornado.



Thanks to Aaron Volner for suggesting this week’s subject. Check out other bonus content by clicking the Bonus Content label in the right-hand sidebar, or go to the Lindsay’s Books tab at the top of this blog if you’d like to purchase either a digital or paperback copy of The Beast Hunter.

Where Did Lost Under Two Moons Come From?

Recently, I was speaking to a group of teenagers about writing and was asked where I got my ideas for my two published novels. While I've described the initial inspiration for The Beast Hunter in various online interviews before, I realized that I've never told the story of how I got the idea for Lost Under Two Moons.

The first inspiration for what would eventually become my first novel came to me during my freshman year in high school. I remember sitting in a particularly boring study hall and going through my backpack trying to find something to entertain me. In one of the pockets I found an unopened package of notecards, and with nothing else to do, I opened it and began to doodle.

I've never been much of an artist, but it didn't seem to matter on a 3 by 5 card that I could always throw away. I started with a random shape and then began adding little details to it. Soon, I had a strange, round little creature with two legs and a body that was little more than a head with gigantic eyes and a gaping mouth. At the time, I had no idea that this simple little pencil sketch would one day be my first major published antagonist, the bigamouth.

I started doing all kinds of sketches, one for each card in the package. Some were just doodles, but most ended up being weird little creatures. By the time I had twenty or thirty of the drawings, I started to think about some kind of story involving them. I even tried starting a novel about a world-hopping cryptozoologist, but it never got farther than the third page and I soon forgot about it to focus on a play I was working on for an upcoming performance.

It wasn't until I returned home from film school in Canada that I thought about those doodles again. I’d decided to give up trying to get into the film industry, and figured I’d try my hand at novel writing instead. I had a novel I’d been working on for years already, but after ten years of work I still had next to nothing to show for it. Dissatisfied, I tried to think of some other idea I may have had at one time or another that I could work on, and thus began work on what would ultimately become Lost Under Two Moons. It took me more than two years’ work, but eventually I had a finished, published novel that started with a doodle in a particularly boring study hall.



Thanks to Jerry Staton for suggesting this week’s article. Leave a comment below if you enjoyed it or have a suggestion for a future subject.

Creating the Weycliff Wayfarers

I thought I’d take the opportunity to write a little about one of the more prominent societies presented in The Beast Hunter, my steampunk monster hunter novel and the first installment of the Keltin Moore Adventures series. 

Their Name

Originally, Jaylocke and his people didn't have an original name and I simply called them gypsies. However, it was never my intention to suggest that these people should be identified as Romanians, and I did a great deal of research to make sure that I avoided having too many similarities with them. My goal with using the word gypsy was to conjure up a fanciful, nonspecific image for the reader, similar to the way that people think of a corsair as merely an exotic pirate as opposed to a citizen of the Ottoman Empire.

I eventually decided to give these mystical, wandering performers a more specific name after talking with a good friend of mine who spent much of his childhood growing up in France. He told me that the term gypsy has a very negative stigma for many Europeans, and that even though he had nothing against Romanian people, he still had a hard time ignoring the prejudices that he had been raised with as he read my story. I decided that it would be better to avoid the risk of alienating any of my European readers while at the same time taking this as an opportunity to get creative and come up with something more original instead. 

Their Ancestors

The close relationship between the Weycliff people and their ancestors was actually inspired by my own personal experiences in genealogical research. As a Mormon, I believe that families are eternal, and that it is important to not only know what the names of my ancestors are, but what they were like as well. I took that idea and contrasted it with the way helpful ancestors are often portrayed in other fantasy novels as being little more than a nameless group of spirits with no real personalities of their own.

I thought it might be more interesting if a wayfarer had to know his family history in order to choose which ancestor to call on in any given situation. The result was a magic system that was both straightforward and complex, with a lot of opportunity for unique subplots and conflicts along the way. The only downside to this approach is that I have to maintain an increasingly complex family tree and family history for Jaylocke as I write the series to avoid giving him one-too-many great-grandmothers, but I think it’s definitely worth it. 

Their Place in the World of The Beast Hunter

While I did avoid using the term gypsy to avoid possible reader prejudice, it was always my intention that the Weycliff wayfarers would be the victim of bigotry and stereotyping. Along with the Loopi, the wayfarers have to deal with hostility and distrust from their fellow hunters to such a degree that it eventually becomes one of the key dynamics in the novel’s second act.

Interestingly, when I had my Beta read for The Beast Hunter, one of my readers said that she felt that the hunters’ prejudice was unmotivated. In her eyes, there wasn't anything in the behavior of the Weycliff that justified the level of animosity that they were faced with. While I appreciated her comments, I decided to leave the relationship between the hunters and wayfarers the way it was, as I believe that prejudice is, by definition, an unjustified reaction to someone else just being different.


I hope you've enjoyed this in-depth look at some of the people and cultures from my latest novel. Check out other bonus content by clicking the Bonus Content label in the right-hand sidebar, or go to the Lindsay’s Books tab at the top of this blog if you’d like to purchase either a digital or paperback copy of The Beast Hunter.

Looking Back On My First Rejection

As I was going through some old

files in my Lost Under Two Moons folder, I found an interesting little document that I had completely forgotten about. This was written in 2009 after the first writers conference I ever went to, when I brought what I thought was a completed novel to pitch to agents and editors. While the lessons that I learned at that time were harsh, I am grateful to say that they definitely helped me to develop both as a writer and as a writing professional.

I wanted to share this document for two reasons. First, I thought it might be interesting for fans of Lost Under Two Moons to see some of the issues I was struggling with in the revision process and what I ultimately decided would be the novel’s theme. Second, I wanted to share this intimate look into what it was like for me to receive my first formal rejection, and how I used it to make my book better. I hope this is as inspirational to you as it was to me, finding it five years later.

Note: The working title of Lost Under Two Moons at this time was Other World: Survival.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT

The Voice of Other World: Survival

At the 2009 PNWA conference I received some criticism on my pitch and plot for my book. Some of it was easily answered, but two statements were of particular concern because I had no ready answer. These were made by [an agent] during my scheduled sit-down appointment with him. First, he asked why the main character Richard was constantly moving from one place to another. He said that it sounded unrealistic to him and that I seemed to be merely trying to show off different parts of the world without a good explanation of why Richard goes to each place. [The agent’s] other statement was that Other World seemed much too similar to Earth, and that it looked like I had only made a minimal departure from the known world to create the new universe for the story.

It’s taken me some time to put into words my answers to these concerns, and I wanted to write them down to solidify them in my own mind. Concerning Other World’s similarity to Earth, I admit that I’m capable of doing better, and I've been correcting a lot of things. But there needs to be a certain degree of similarity to Earth, otherwise Richard would have never survived past the first week. If he couldn't find any point of reference, if he couldn't recognize anything for what it was, he wouldn't be able to live and learn.

As for Richard’s nomadic lifestyle, I had to take a step back and look at the story as a whole to formulate an answer for this question. Despite relative comfort for as much as a couple weeks at a time, the majority of Richard’s time on Other World is spent desperately trying to survive. He is constantly moving because Other World is too hostile a place for him to be able to stay in one place and survive comfortably. His nomadic lifestyle is necessary because the world is an active antagonist in his life, and his constant traveling is his best chance for trying, and ultimately failing, to find a place that is secure and safe for him to live.

Thinking along this vein helped me to better understand the Voice of the story. Richard’s ordeal is not about a man successfully conquering his environment as in other famous survival tales such as Robinson Crusoe or The Swiss Family Robinson. Here, Richard is constantly struggling, and while survival never becomes easier, he learns and grows through the ordeal. The Voice could be summed up very well in the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the courage to change what I can, the patience to endure what I cannot change, and the wisdom to tell the difference between the two.”

Creature Profile: The Shrew Snake

Creature Name

Shrew Snake

First Appeared In

Lost Under Two Moons

Physical Description

The adult shrew snake is typically six to nine inches long, most of which consists of its long sinuous body. It has two small, flexible legs that move in a cartwheeling motion when the creature runs. The shrew snake’s head and shoulders are covering in a fine, light brown fur, while the long body is mostly hairless and is a deep purple.

Natural Environment

These diminutive animals are found exclusively in the Painted Desert, where their odd mixture of colors provides wonderful camouflage during the rare occasions that it risks exposing itself in the daylight. More commonly, the shrew snake burrows under the sandy soil, using its long, wriggling body to move easily through short-lived tunnels. Being nocturnal, this creature feeds on insects, seeds, and the tender tips of plant roots.

Behavior

Shrew snakes are solitary creatures who only seek out their own species to mate. A pregnant female will seek out a dead stone plant which has begun to rot from the inside out. Using her teeth and powerful limbs, she carves out a den inside the rocky dome, providing herself and her young with a safe, insulated home. Infant shrew snakes reach maturity in just four weeks.

Additional Background

While the shrew snake is superbly adapted to its environment, the harsh conditions of the Painted Desert ensure that the total population of these creatures is never very large. However, if these creatures were ever introduced into another environment (including man-made environments) it may be that this unassuming little creature could reproduce to plague-like proportions.

Inspiration

The shrew snake was the first animal I created for Lost Under Two Moons. It actually started life as a doodle, with a long, random line becoming the tail and a small, mouse-like head being added on later. I added the pair of legs to the front because I wanted to give Richard an early indication that animal life on Other World was going to be very different from what he was used to. It wasn’t until much later that I learned that there is actually a real-life creature with a similar body structure to my shrew snake. Called the Mexican mole lizard, this bizarre little reptile has an elongated body and a single pair of legs close to its head. While I can’t say that this creature was the inspiration for the shrew snake, I’m thrilled to find something that so closely resembles what I had thought was a creature too weird to be real!

I hope you enjoyed this month’s Creature Profile. Next month’s feature will be the forest devil from The Beast Hunter. If you’d like to contribute artwork to the profile, send your pictures to lindsay@lindsayschopfer.com and put “Forest Devil Picture” as the subject. Deadline is November 17.

Creature Profile: Shrew Snake Excerpt

Here’s an excerpt from Lost Under Two Moons describing the shrew snake, the first creature that Richard encounters on Other World. Hopefully this gives all you artists some ideas for your own version of this creature. Remember that the deadline to get your artwork to me is October 20th. Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

Excerpt taken from the August 28 entry – Day 4

I saw something weird this morning as I got up to answer nature’s call. It’s the first sign of animal life I’ve seen on this world. It looked like some kind of snake, with the head and forelimbs of a mouse. It slithered when it moved with the front legs just kind of cart wheeling around as the tail/ body propelled it forward. I wonder what other kinds of strange things are out here.