Beth Alvarez - Author of Epic Fantasy

  • Use it or lose it

    Or, I guess we could say, the death of my art skills.

    There was a time I used to draw every day. I don’t know that I would say my skills were ever really honed, but at least they were consistent. If I sat down to draw something, I had a vague idea of how it was going to turn out. Consistency, it seems, is the first to go.

    A couple weeks ago, I sat down to doodle a little chibi version of Andriun, in the spirit of his book being released late last month.  I got it done, but man… it was something.

    Don’t get me wrong, it worked out okay. But I definitely don’t love my art attempts like I used to, and it makes me wonder if I would benefit from getting back to it. I only drew two things in 2022; it wasn’t a great year for me to be artistic, though I did do other things, like sculpting some doll heads and making some book covers. But there was a time I thought I’d be doing art for a living, too, before I decided to focus on my passion for writing.

    Being able to draw a bit was a boon for some book covers. I’ve had people say they love that I drew the covers for Snakesblood. But those sort of burned me out, and I sort of wonder… how long would I have to be at it before art started to come back to me and feel natural again? A month? Two months? A whole year?

    Maybe that’s a goal for 2023. Looking at drawing again, spending more time doodling, bringing back some things I enjoyed before life went wild. 12 months, 12 drawings. Not necessarily anything complicated, maybe just line art, or flats, or whatever tickles my fancy but gets me drawing again.  The new year is right around the corner. It’s time to start planning goals, right?

  • Paragon of Water is out now!

    Paragon of Water is out now!

    Saturday morning, the third Spectrum Legacy book made its debut, which means two things:

    One, you can get your ebook copy now! The book is currently available in Kindle Unlimited, so if you’re a KU reader, you can get started right away!

    Two… this book being out means the crew’s adventure is now halfway over. Can you believe it? It feels like it’s going pretty fast. If everything goes well, I’ll write the last 3 books in this series before the end of 2023. I’m working on things for the fourth book, and it’s going to be pretty intense, so I can’t wait to get started.

    As per what has become usual, the paperbacks are running a little behind due to delay issues with the printer, but they’re less behind than the last few have been, so the print edition is available on Amazon now and I expect signed copies to be available soon.

    If you’ve forgotten what this one is about, keep scrolling to read what’s on the back of the book…

    Restoring the power to seal evil depends on one man. Evil may have reached him first.

    For helping Zaide recover the artifact needed to access the Spectrum Blade, Andriun was labeled a traitor. Resigned to his fate, he now lives in exile, but Zaide and Lark need one more thing. The blessing of Andriun’s father, the Paragon of Water, is the final key to unlocking the ancient sword’s power. Only once the blade is restored can they confront their enemy and halt the Rise.

    With Andriun’s banishment, Zaide sees little reason to trust the Paragon, especially when the mountains under the man’s protection now teem with the enemy’s monsters. He’s certain there’s another solution, but his confidence in that—and himself—is shaken when Andriun’s knowledge uncovers secrets Zaide never wished to know.

    As these revelations threaten the foundation of their fledgling group, Lark is forced to take charge. She still believes Andriun can help them, but confronting the Paragon to learn where his allegiance lies could cost the only thing Andriun has left: his life.

    Click here to get your Kindle copy of Paragon of Water now!

  • Here there be no dragons

    Here there be no dragons

    I had a weird realization the other day, while I was working on plotting out story stuff for the next Artisan Magic book. I was trying to decide how much I wanted to expand the world beyond Kentoria, and I realized that for all that I love dragons, I sure don’t write them.

    There was a time in my life that pretty much anything I did was guaranteed to involve dragons. Yet, somehow, looking at the number of things I’ve written–I mean, my twenty second book is about to come out–gives me a disproportionate number of dragons. I have dragons on my desk, on my bookshelves, in my doll room, on my bed, in my dreams. Yet for all my love of the big scalies, how many dragons are in my books?

    One.

    Because no, contrary to popular belief, Rune is not a dragon.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have that one dragon in Spectrum Legacy, but I can’t help but feel like I need more.

    Back when I used to draw, I sketched dragons a lot. I never did anything with some of the concepts I came up with, but as I thought about all this, I went back and looked at some of those doodles and wondered if they were ideas I should revisit.

    Which story needs dragons? Part of me is tempted to see if they would fit into the story world I’m fleshing out for the Artisan Magic books, and another part is tempted to keep the story world much the same as it was presented in The Assassin’s Bride. Largely non-magical, with just artisan skills tapping into something a little more mystical.

    So then I think, should I start another series after Artisan Magic? Something heavily bedragoned? The red squiggle under that as I’m typing tells me that’s not a word, but I’m leaving it there, because I’m still having a quandary. Dragons? No dragons? Little tiny dragons that like climbing on rocks and hoard crystals?

    I don’t know. I really don’t.
    What team are you on?
    Team dragon, or no dragon?

  • Coming soon: More Artisan Magic

    If you read The Assassin’s Bride, you might know what that means. If not, well, there’s the link. Why don’t you go give it a try?

    The concept of artisan skills being how people access magic has been so much fun for me to play with, and I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback that lets me know readers feel the same. So around and in between finishing books for Spectrum Legacy, I’ll be exploring that world a little more. There’s a lot more magic to see, and a lot of intriguing pathways opened by The Assassin’s Bride that are begging to be explored.

    Right now, there are two further books planned what’s about to become the Artisan Magic series. All the ground work for the first of the two is ready, so I just need the time to sit down and take a crack at it! I don’t know how long it will take to write each book, but I anticipate the next one will be ready for release early in 2023. Further information will come along as I get into the project, and while I skipped NaNoWriMo this year to focus on eliminating some contractual obligations and doll commissions, I am ready to get back to writing full-time.

    So, tell me… who do you think these two books are going to be about? Guesses are very welcome, and I’ll give you a hint as to what you can expect: Someone  we’ve met has to become a spy. 😉

  • Tea Review: Pukka Love

    Tea Review: Pukka Love

    Over fall break, my daughter and I traveled for a dear friend’s wedding. It was a fantastic trip and sort of a funny story, because I was headed up there to be her matron of honor, but we had never met in person. Internet life is weird like that! Despite her being one of my best friends, we’d never come face to face before her big day. I’m honored she chose me and I was so blessed to be able to attend the wedding. Two of my sisters met me there, and I gave them a ride back home, which allowed us to stop by and see some of the rest of the family.

    While my daughter visited with her grandparents, I took a short trip into town to visit my third sister and see my youngest brother’s new house. Yeah, there are a lot of us! While I was there, my sister and I talked a bit about tea, because somehow, my opinion of Independence Coffee Company’s Earl Grey had traveled all the way through her friend group, and she was now drinking it and recommending it to people, not knowing the recommendation had originated with me. Since we both liked that one, she popped open her tea drawer and gave me a bag of Pukka Love to try when I got home.

    The packaging was delightful, so I was looking forward to sampling the tea when I got home. The label indicated chamomile, lavender, and rose, so I knew to expect something floral. I’m not always a huge fan of rose, as it easily becomes overwhelming, and lavender sometimes takes a bit of a soapy taste. This herbal blend creates a lovely balance, though. The flavor that stands out most is the chamomile, which makes it a great tea for relaxation time. Rose comes after that, and it offers a hint of a fruity aftertaste–which is interesting, because reviewing the ingredients the company provides indicates that rose is only 4% of the blend! Maybe that’s why it tends to be overpowering? It doesn’t take much to give it sweetness.

    It’s worth note that I drank this tea without any additives. Normally I sample things plain, then with a bit of sugar, then with a little milk. This was delightful as brewed, though, and since it’s purely herbal, there was no bitterness to contend with or try to cover. As it cooled, I tasted the lavender a little more, and I found the other additions didn’t provide too much of a noteworthy flavor in the overall taste of this tea. I often have chamomile or mint blends as I settle in the evening, and I think this one will make an excellent addition to my collection of bedtime teas, nicely filling a niche where I wanted something with a little more natural sweetness but hadn’t found anything that worked. I also appreciate that it’s a bagged variety, because while I adore my loose leaf teas, there’s something delightful about a good tea that comes in a bag of its own so I don’t have to fuss with it when I’m already tired.

    Overall, this was very good, and I certainly intend to order some more!

  • NaNo Freebie: Word count progress stickers

    NaNo Freebie: Word count progress stickers

    Surprise! More free printable stickers for writers this week. It’s a couple days later than anticipated, but still early enough that you should be able to use them this month! This time, I’ve made stickers for landmark word counts. I’m only taking these up to 50k in the spirit of NaNo, but I may make a second sheet that goes higher at a later date.

    Here’s a peek:

    Little bubbles for increments of five thousand, and big bursts for the 10k marks. Fun, right? I feel like it would also be fun to try to make some with a heavier glitter effect, but again… maybe another time. In the future. Like next NaNo, because I don’t have time to make them before November starts.

    Click here to download the printable PDF.

    Happy writing, and good luck with the first day of NaNoWriMo!

  • Cover Reveal: Paragon of Water

    Cover Reveal: Paragon of Water

    It’s almost time for book 3 of Spectrum Legacy!
    Are you ready?

    You can preorder your ebook copy now.

    And here’s what you’ve got to look forward to! Keep scrolling to find out what’s coming for Zaide and the crew…

    Restoring the power to seal evil depends on one man. Evil may have reached him first.

    For helping Zaide recover the artifact needed to access the Spectrum Blade, Andriun was labeled a traitor. Resigned to his fate, he now lives in exile, but Zaide and Lark need one more thing. The blessing of Andriun’s father, the Paragon of Water, is the final key to unlocking the ancient sword’s power. Only once the blade is restored can they confront their enemy and halt the Rise.

    With Andriun’s banishment, Zaide sees little reason to trust the Paragon, especially when the mountains under the man’s protection now teem with the enemy’s monsters. He’s certain there’s another solution, but his confidence in that—and himself—is shaken when Andriun’s knowledge uncovers secrets Zaide never wished to know.

    As these revelations threaten the foundation of their fledgling group, Lark is forced to take charge. She still believes Andriun can help them, but confronting the Paragon to learn where his allegiance lies could cost the only thing Andriun has left: his life.

    Paragon of Water, the third book of Spectrum Legacy, will be released November 26.

    Click here to preorder Paragon of Water now!

  • Preptober Freebie: Stickers for writers

    Preptober Freebie: Stickers for writers

    I guess this is just what I’m doing now, freebies for the rest of October!

    This week, I’ve made some free printable stickers for writers. I thought these would be fun to use on a writing calendar, particularly during NaNoWriMo, even if I’m not doing it this year. I’ll be writing, obviously, just not doing NaNo because I know I won’t be able to hit any lofty goals.

    So! This sticker sheet is sized to fit 4 to an 8.5×11 piece of printable sticker paper. If you don’t have sticker paper, you could print on regular paper and use double sided tape or glue sticks or whatever. If you get creative, all you really need is a printer! Here’s a preview of what it looks like:

    As you can see, I had to turn a couple on their sides to make them fit. But it’s four designs to represent problems, and four to represent progress. They should be fun to use, and will work well on planner pages, too.

    Click here to download the printable PDF.

    Happy writing!

  • Preptober Freebie: Word count tracker printable pages

    Preptober Freebie: Word count tracker printable pages

    I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve won the past couple times I participated in NaNo events, but it didn’t work out for my calendar this year.

    That said, one thing I found that I loved last year was a free printable word count tracker arranged into bars representing 1,000 words. Each square was 100 words, and I could use a highlighter to easily fill it in. I love tangible media and like to keep track of projects in a planner, so having that printable not only let me keep track of my writing progress in a way that felt really good for me, but let me track what editing needed to be done, because I could check off each section as I went along!

    There were only two problems. One, the tracker was only set up for NaNo. Only made for 50,000 words, and my books are almost all longer than that.

    Two, when I went to get it this year because I was using a different computer and was ready to start planning my next project, it was gone.

    So I made my own. This word count tracker is set up for 5.5×8.5 pages, which fit well in my A5 planner and get along well with my printer, and one side of the page has space for hole punching. It’s also done in a way that allows me to print as many pages as necessary for my books, because come on–I write epic fantasy. A lot of these books need at least 3 pages.

    Since it’s optimized for half a regular page of paper, you can scale it up and down easily, and you can also print it landscape style and make your own folded booklet of tracked words.

    It also comes in two flavors, one with a script header and one with a strong serif header. More feminine and more masculine. More delicate and more adventurous. So you can pick whichever one suits your writing project better. Pretty neat, right?

    Click here to download the printable PDF of the script header version.

    Click here to download the printable PDF of the serif header version.

    Happy writing!

  • Back to work

    By the end of October, Paragon of Water should be done. Hopefully well on its way to being edited, too, but we’ll see how it goes. On the whole, I feel like going is easier than it was when summer hit and writing slowed down. I don’t actually remember when I last wrote something for this book, since summer was a blur, but I definitely notice that it’s easier to get words down after having a bit of a palate cleanser.

    The Assassin’s Bride was one of those stories that pops into your head and won’t leave you alone until it’s out. I’ve had a few others like that, and most of them were used as palate cleansers, too. I’ve spoken before about having written the Westkings Heist novellas in the “in-between” stages of working on the Snakesblood Saga books. Having something shorter to work on that has simpler plot threads and a smaller cast is a good way to keep the mind fresh and continue to hone skills. Sometimes, it’s a great way to un-stick yourself from writing, too.

    That’s something I might try to learn from. I don’t know if I’ll continue the practice, I guess we’ll see when Paragon of Water is done. I may jump right into Paragon of Light, or depending on how much feedback I get on The Assassin’s Bride, I might write an additional book in that story world. Since TAB was 79,000 words, it’s not quite as short as the Heist books, but still easier to string together than a 100,000+ word, multiple point-of-view epic like my others have been!

    Now and then, I consider adding a word count to my site so I can regularly and easily update progress on things where people would be able to see, but I also feel like I’d forget. I was updating daily word counts on Instagram for a while, but I stopped partway through writing Paragon of Water. Last time I looked at the board, it was still at somewhere around 30,000 words… and it was around 62,000 when I had to stop and take a break.

    Either way, I’ll probably be outlining my next project before the end of October, but I probably won’t be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. The way projects are timing out, I won’t begin my next project until mid-November. If it’s a sequel to TAB, it might be done by the end of 2022… but if it’s Paragon of Light, well… I can already tell you, that book is going to be a beast, and I can’t wait to get to it.