Five Fall Updates 2022

I have five projects in the works… and here’s what they are!

After completing the rough draft of Davy Jones’ Aquarium, I set to work on early reviewing and editing - and discovered there’s a lot more I could have done to explore the world, and better ways of approaching certain storytelling aspects. This editing and rewriting will take at least a few months, but I’m enjoying the opportunity to re-explore this tale!

I’m planning on ‘rebranding’ to BookBat. This will allow me better marketing for joint ventures with other creatives (like my husband!) and make advertising smoother if I decide to write under more than one author name. As part of this rebranding, I aim to move my website to www.bookbat.com. Be on the lookout for news of when the changeover will occur so you won’t miss what’s in store!

I am in the process of researching for a nonfiction book, Christian Fantasy 101. This will be a guide to fantasy books written by and (largely) for Christians, exploring the authors, books, worlds, and concepts that have impacted and continue to impact the genre! You can keep up with my research quest on GoodReads by following Karlissa J, or see my occasional updates on FaceBook!

My husband and I have been plotting a podcast! In some respects, it will be an expansion of my Christian Fantasy 101 journey, where we discuss the fantasy genre, how to find good books, and how to make sense of the Christian fantasy scene! More updates on that to come!

Though my focus is currently Davy Jones’ Aquarium and Christian Fantasy 101, October seems the appropriate time of year to put out a reminder that I am also working on a revised and expanded version of Kingdom of Bats! I plan to make it into a trilogy this time; and as I’ve grown as a writer, I hope to see this story grow in strength and charm!

Merman Update and Tease

I’ve finally completed the rough draft of my next fantasy book: Davy Jones’ Aquarium! To honour the occasion, here’s a tease of what’s inside this tale!

Next up for this project: my husband and I will be re-reading the story, noting anything that obviously needs reworking, and thinking about ways to improve it. Only after that’s complete will we start looking for a professional editor.

Unexpectedly, I’ve been inspired to begin work on my first ever non-fiction book: which (I think appropriately) is about fiction! Christian Fantasy 101 will be a “brief, approachable” tour of Christian Fantasy both modern and classic, and even a bit about the history of the fantasy genre and Christian ‘fantastical’ literature… at least, that’s the goal right now!

I’ve begun to gather a variety of research material for the book: biographies, histories, podcasts - and of course, the fantasy books themselves!

So: two new books to get excited about! Both likely coming out sometime in 2023 (if all goes well)!

The Promise Released

Post by Karlissa J.

I’ve now received my copies of The Promise!

It’s been exciting, finally being able to share my first trilogy with my readers! And to honour the occasion, my husband set up a surprise celebration - complete with ice cream cake!

Game Creation

I’ve mentioned before that I’m part of a game development team called Soltorch Games. Specifically, I’m the Story Director.

What does that mean?

I’ve done things like brainstorm world lore, vote on ideas, write scripts, and invent characters. I’ve done none of those things solo, though; so if you play the game and happen to like a particular character, line, or world aspect, I can’t necessarily take credit for it.

That’s one interesting aspect about being on a team.

As a creative person, I’ve almost always done the creating on my own. Being an author, I write my books by myself. (Mostly. Actually, my husband helps write some of the fight scenes and related content, as that isn’t my expertise. And I'll credit my editor Evan Braun with helping my books turn out more polished than they’d otherwise be.)

But on a game development team, no one person is responsible for the final product. Bits of all of our creativity and work is scattered throughout.

That means each person’s skills, combined, can bring the game to life in ways any one of us couldn’t do on our own.

For example, I came up with the concept for the dragonoid Jairia. I wrote some lines for her, and described her personality and backstory.

In a book, things would have been left at that. She’d exist as a concept. You could say the ‘soul’ of the character is what I created.

But the team took my idea further. They designed a look for her, and modeled her. Now, it feels like she’s more than just a soul, but has a ‘body’ as well.

It’s an incredible feeling, to see the character brought to life in ways I could never do by myself.

This is my first time being seriously involved in digital game development, and although I’ve been part of this project for months, we’re still learning as a team. The rest of the team is a fair bit more experienced in game creation than I am, so I’m still discovering what’s needed from me, and how I can best help.

I’ve actually stepped back from the project for the birth of my daughter and adjusting to her arrival. But the team has continued to make progress while I’ve been away, and it’s amazing to see how far along the game is coming!

I’m hoping I’ll be able to find time to get back into that soon - though with a book to write and other projects in the works, we’ll have to wait and see.

If you want to know more about how the game is coming along, you can visit the team’s blog.

June 2020

2020 has been busy, with it’s share of ups and downs.

In terms of author events, I announced the winners of my first art contest and the results of my second art contest. I also posted my own art piece. And I announced and then had to cancel my book launch.

I posted my own reviews for Black Mists and Dwelling in Darkness, and my thoughts about how I wanted to handle the covid-19 crisis. I also shared some nature designs, and on my personal FaceBook page, I re-shared a blog post about ants from 2019.

In my April update, I said my goal for writing would be to finish Part One of my next book by mid-June. Though that didn’t happen, I have made great progress, and am on schedule to publish sometime next year. Good thing, since I’ve got a lot of fans looking forward to the conclusion to Tales of the Diversity!

In another recent post, I talked about the church library I run and how the pandemic restrictions have affected it. Well, our church just announced that the library is open again! (With the necessary restrictions, of course.) So I will be getting back to work there.

Why all this review? Basically, because I may not be posting much for blogs in the remainder of the year. The arrival of our next baby is ever approaching. And the pandemic restrictions mean I may wait until next year to do book signings.

However, I do still plan on doing a post about the video game I’m helping create. If you want to follow the game’s official blog, you can sign up for updates on the Soltorch website.

Thank you to all who continue to encourage me in my writing and other projects! It’s a blessing to hear how I’ve made a positive impact in your lives.

Concept: Awareness

For my ‘entry’ for the art contest, I decided to do a simple sketch.

So… SPOILER WARNING!

In The Loss, Jair becomes aware of his insanity, and has to face it. Though maybe it isn’t a major plot point in that book, it is significant to me. I decided to represent his moment of awareness, adding a mirror to reflect what’s going on inside him: how he now sees his mind as cracked and broken.

You could say the concept represented is “Mental Illness.” However, I think of it more as “Awareness.” Throughout Tales of the Diversity, various characters become more aware of their weaknesses, who they are, and where they want their lives to go.

It’s a theme that continues into the third book, which I’m still busily writing.

The art contest is open for submissions until June 15th: create an art piece (it can be a photograph, painting, model, whatever!) representing a concept from Tales of the Diversity, and send it in to author@karlissaj.com.

Book Review Black Mists

Black Mists is the black sheep of my books. My second published work, it’s a ‘real world’ story, instead of a fantasy. It’s also my darkest book, better suited for adults than youth.

I previously called Black Mists a mystery, but upon revisiting it, I’d say it’s more of a thriller. It’s actually three or four stories combined into one. It features fast-paced action and a thrilling writing style, with many surprises along the way. Characters are unique, and can be quite colourful.

However, I do have several problems with this book. I feel like I’m a different person now than when I wrote Black Mists, with different life experiences affecting my perspective of it.

Black Mists is something… Bizarre. Complex. And fast-paced. And if that’s your type of book, it could be worth giving a read.

As a warning, the rest of this book review WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. I know many prefer not to read spoilers before they’ve read a book: this is your warning!

Like I said, I do have some problems with Black Mists, and new life experiences that change how I see the book today.

Since I wrote the story – about six years ago – I’ve actually been in a situation where a hospital had to find me a place to spend the night. With that experience, I would write the first scene with “Julia” at the hospital a bit differently!

I’ve also been to mental health appointments, and learned a bit more about psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia and how they are diagnosed. Revisiting how I approached the topic of mental illness in Black Mists, it seems shallow and half-hazard, lacking much focus or education. There is sympathy towards Nika and her situation, but I believe I could do better at writing those scenes today than I did back then.

And since publishing Black Mists, I’ve been to London again, refreshing my memory of this beautiful city. My descriptions of it would be more in-depth now.

Regardless of my problems with the book, it was a big part of my writing journey. I had a surprising amount of memories floating through my mind while reading it… which seems appropriate for a story about remembering.