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Five Years of Blogging

/ Andrew McDowell / 35 Comments

This month will mark this website’s 5th anniversary (twelve days from today, to be exact)! I’d already done a post looking back after two years, but five years is one of those major milestones that several people mark. So here’s a summary of what this website has seen and went through in five years.

I started out knowing nothing other than I had to set one up in advance, as many friends had advised me so. I looked at other indie authors’ sites to see what I should do, made some choices of my own, and took advice from others about what to include and how to improve it. Over these five years, the website has gone through a facelift as well as a change in domain name. I learned a lot as I went along.

This post is my 60th. I started out discussing personal insights and aspects in the craft of writing, and have since expanded to marketing and sharing books in my inscribed collection as a means to promote other authors. I’ve made guest appearances on many other authors’ blogs too, the majority of which were interviews about me and my work. All can be found on my site’s blog page.

When I started this site, I had two publications in poetry and creative nonfiction, respectively. The latter prompted me to create a Facebook Author page (two months prior to the website). Because of this website, I set up accounts on Twitter and Tumblr, and found new ways to be active on YouTube and Goodreads. And now I have an Amazon Author page!

This website has witnessed more publications in poetry, short stories, and the biggest of all, my novel Mystical Greenwood (which was also a finalist for an award). The Nightmare Whispers anthology series came out a week ago, and Fae Dreams, also from Fae Corps Inc, yesterday. More are in the works, and/or are awaiting publication. Here’s a teaser in an old open mic reading I did at the MWA in Annapolis of some short stories:

This website has been used to promote my work as well as many events that I’ve participated in, in-person as well as virtual. I have acquired followers and readers from all over the globe!

The top ten places from which I’ve had views as of now:

  1. United States
  2. United Kingdom
  3. India
  4. Canada
  5. Australia
  6. China
  7. Brazil
  8. South Africa
  9. Ireland
  10. Philippines

Last month, in fact, had more views than any other month before it, and the day with the most views (as of this moment) when my last post came out.

It has been quite a journey so far. Who can say where I’ll be in ten years? All I know is that I must keep pressing on, learning and experimenting.

‘Through the Eyes’ of a Fantasy Writer

/ Andrew McDowell / 24 Comments

Here is my latest guest appearance, with the talented poet and blogger Vatsarah Stavyah, in which I discuss being a writer as well as my novel Mystical Greenwood:

‘Through the Eyes’ of a Fantasy Writer

Many thanks to Vatsarah for this opportunity!

And for those of you haven’t seen or heard yet, I am going to have some short works appearing in two anthologies from Fae Corps Inc, Fae Dreams and Nightmare Whispers, Volume II, scheduled to be released on Halloween! Another poem will be appearing in another upcoming anthology from Indie Blu(e) Publishing titled As the World Burns. Be sure to keep an eye on my poetry and new short story page for future links!

Also, as today is 9/11, I ask for a moment of remembrance for those who died on this day 19 years ago, and for those who were affected by it.

An Author’s Experience of Marketing during COVID

/ Andrew McDowell / 21 Comments

During the COVID-19 crisis, a number of marketing opportunities opened up for me. I’ve already shared a few of them in previous posts, but here are others.

Here is a guest post that I did for author C. A. Campbell, in which I discuss how online marketing took on a greater role during the stay-at-home order, especially with Twitter and certain hashtags:

An Author’s Experience of Marketing during COVID

Many thanks to C. A. Campbell for the opportunity to speak about it!

As I mentioned in my guest post for Campbell, I appeared Live on Twitter as part of a virtual book tour sponsored by Our Own Write, which had been set up in response to the fact that several writers’ conferences had to be cancelled due to the crisis, including, in my case, the Maryland Writers’ Conference.

In the tour, I read an excerpt from Mystical Greenwood and answered questions. My broadcast got cut off in the middle due to technical issues, and I had another issue with the camera, which is why a good part of it is “black,” but at least I didn’t get cut off during the reading part.

Part I:

Part II:

Still, I enjoyed the experience very much.

Go check them out if you have a book that you want to promote at their future events! I highly recommend them.

Finally, though this was in the works beforehand, I did a short interview with the British-based Chat and Spin Radio. I appear 25 minutes in:

Chat & Spin April 11 Part 3B

Overall, yes, marketing changed quite a bit because of COVID19 and staying home. But, as I said in my guest post for Campbell, it’s all about pressing on.

Behind the Book: Mystical Greenwood by Andrew McDowell

/ Andrew McDowell / 25 Comments

Check out this interview I did with my friend and fellow author Ally Aldridge as part of her “Behind the Book” series, in which I discuss my novel Mystical Greenwood. Many thanks, Ally, for this opportunity!

via Behind the Book: Mystical Greenwood by Andrew McDowell

Double Feature: Two Recent Guest Appearances

/ Andrew McDowell / 19 Comments

Many thanks to author C. L. Schneider for including my book among her newsletter’s guest indie authors!

The Latest News, Events, and Updates from clschneider.com

The link to the second appearance in this post’s title, sadly, is no longer active. But this was basically its content:

Mystical Greenwood, Book I of One with Nature

Publisher: Mockingbird Lane Press

Dermot is a fifteen-year-old boy living in the land of Denú who has always longed for something more in life. His life changes when he encounters a gryphon and a mysterious healer. Drawn into a conflict against one determined to subjugate the kingdom, Dermot and his brother Brian are forced to leave their home.

A legendary coven must now reunite, for they are Denú’s greatest hope. In the course of meeting unicorns and fighting dragons and men in dark armor, Dermot discovers a deep, sacred magic that exists within every greenwood he crosses through, but his own role in this conflict is greater than he suspects. Can he protect those he loves, or will all that’s good be consumed by darkness?

Available in Paperback, Kindle, and Nook:

Amazon

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Books-A-Million

Deviant Art

Goodreads

Andrew McDowell has been writing since he was a child. He has written and published fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. He studied at St. Mary’s College and the University of Maryland. Andrew is a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association and an associate nonfiction editor for the literary magazine JMWW. His novel Mystical Greenwood was a Finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards for Fantasy: Epic/High Fantasy, and he won second place in the creative nonfiction category of the 2014 Maryland Writers’ Association’s Literary Contest for his essay on his experiences with Asperger syndrome.

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Praise for Mystical Greenwood

/ Andrew McDowell / 29 Comments
“I believe that there are few books for teenage boys and girls out today that match the excitement, the creativeness, the originality, the great characters, and the adventure this writer captures so well.”
“Mystical Greenwood is a coming of age story full of poetic writing that keeps you mesmerized from start to finish. I loved this read!”
  • Nour Zikra, Author of Divinity Falling and Dance with the Devil
“A wonderful fantasy story set in a highly imaginative setting where nature is revered and respected.”

  • Chris Hall, Author of You’ll Never Walk Alone, The Silver Locket, and Following the Green Rabbit

“This book was what I read when I needed to center myself and feel more at peace, and I rooted for the characters the whole time. There was adventure, excitement, heartbreak and triumph.”
“If you have a passion for nature, animals and fantasy, and want to see skies light up with ancient magic sorcery while learning the secrets of the greenwood, then pick up this tome.”
“I enjoyed the book on many levels–the appealing main character Dermot, whose arc of self-discovery is well imagined and revealed. The cast of intriguing major and minor characters who exist in a beautifully evoked natural world which I particularly enjoyed along with the thoughtful reminders of human responsibility for that world.”

Updates on Works in Progress

/ Andrew McDowell / 20 Comments

Hopefully by now, most of you have read Mystical Greenwood and are eagerly awaiting the sequel. Well, I thought I’d talk a bit about where I am presently with my current projects. Uh oh, spoiler alert! Hopefully these aren’t big spoilers but teasers. I’ll do my best to refrain from giving too much away. Consider it an early holiday gift.

As I said, there is a sequel to Mystical Greenwood in progress. From the beginning, I’ve wanted the One with Nature series to consist of three books. I know how I want the second to end, but it won’t be the end of the story, so the third book has that purpose already (and I even have a vision of how I’d like it to end). Having focused on forests, I intend to take my characters to another important realm of Nature: the sea (as well as emphasize other bodies of water). So there will be an exploration of and emphasis on aquatic life, and as I hinted before, I’d like to include some more mythical creatures. Taranis will raise the stakes of his fight, and the sequel will include an element Mystical Greenwood lacked: romance.

Anyone who’s seen my works in progress page knows there’s been another story in the works, set in the real world dealing with pets who are neglected and abused. I started it as a class project back at St. Mary’s College. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love animals, and it pains me to think of how many pets—not just dogs—suffer in this world and are deprived of love and comfort. A number of other projects and short works are also in the early stages/idea phase. Things to look forward to in the future!

In addition to these large works, I have short ones too that I’m trying to publish. I’ve had some poetry published this year, and there’s a lot more. I also have two completed short stories. As I’ve said from the beginning, I want to explore various genres and forms of writing. I’ve had a wide variety of interests throughout my life, and perhaps that’s due to my Asperger syndrome. But I definitely want to explore them in writing. I’ll be sure to post updates when they come.

Be sure to check out my Events page for upcoming appearances! Also, registration is open for the 2020 Maryland Writers Conference. Early bird prices go until New Year’s Eve! If you’re interested, go to the MWA website to learn more!

And of course, if you haven’t yet, I hope you’ll read and review Mystical Greenwood! And if you know someone who loves reading fantasy and loves Nature, books make great gifts during the winter holidays! In Iceland, a country with a high reading and publication rate, there is a tradition of exchanging books on Christmas Eve known as Jólabókaflóð, or the Yule Book Flood.

Mystical Greenwood is available in Paperback, Kindle, and Nook:

US$: Amazon  |  B&N  |  BAM!

UK£: Amazon.co.uk  |  Foyles  |  Waterstones

CA$: Amazon.ca

Be sure to add it to your to-read list on Goodreads! The cover art is available at Deviant Art. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive notifications of new blog posts! You can also follow me on social media:

Facebook  |  Twitter  |  YouTube  |  Tumblr  |  Goodreads

Further Reading
  1. De La Mare, Guinevere. Jolabokaflod: Meet Your Favorite New Holiday Tradition.

Thank You

/ Andrew McDowell / 17 Comments

To all those who’ve purchased, read, and reviewed Mystical Greenwood, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your support and encouragement. It was recently announced as a finalist in the Epic/High Fantasy Category of the 2019 American Fiction Awards, sponsored by American Book Fest.

If you haven’t yet, I hope you’ll consider reading my book and posting a review. Every review helps spread the word. I will be very grateful if you do.

Mystical Greenwood RGB

It is available in Paperback, Kindle, and Nook:

US$: Amazon  |  B&N  |  BAM!

UK£: Amazon.co.uk  |  Foyles

CA$: Amazon.ca

Be sure to add it to your Goodreads to-read list! The cover art is also available at Deviant Art. If you’re a fan, you can show it through your memorabilia!

Be sure to check out my publications in poetry and creative nonfiction as well!

Don’t forget to subscribe to receive notifications of new blog posts! You can also follow me on social media:

Facebook  |  Twitter  |  YouTube  |  Tumblr  |  Goodreads

Herbs in Mystical Greenwood

/ Andrew McDowell / 13 Comments

April showers bring May flowers. So this month I thought I’d talk about the herbs that appear in Mystical Greenwood.

Wortcunning is a real term that I found in my research. I liked it and chose to use it in the book. The herbs Saershe employs for medicinal purposes were likewise inspired by real herbs and the treatments for which they were used.

Here they are:

*Photos from Wikimedia Commons.

I’ve discussed before how fantasy can often be rooted in reality, especially when it comes to world-building. Originally when I was conducting research on herbs and plants for medicinal purposes, I chose herbs primarily for their purposes and didn’t give too much initial thought to where they came form. Eventually though I decided I wanted them to all have a generally similar place of origin to make the sense of reality stronger (similar to how I chose trees sacred to the ancient Celts), so some were discarded and new ones came in, specifically Comfrey and St. John’s Wort. Yarrow, wild mint, and red clover were there from the beginning and I’d decided were able to be kept.

Some are referred to by their proper names in the novel. Others are instead referred to by alternate names (which are given for those who haven’t yet read the novel). I didn’t set out to use those alternate names; I found them when I was reading about those herbs. I chose to use the alternate names because I felt their proper names sounded too modern and would not fit in a fantasy world (similar you might say to how dinosaur species in the Land Before Time films were referred to by names such as “Longneck” and “Sharptooth”).

Their healing abilities may be exaggerated for the purposes of storytelling, as Saershe also uses magic when employing them (it is a work of fiction after all), but I did try to make sure their purposes would be mostly authentic, and so the story did not stray out of that feeling of reality.

Don’t forget to order your copy of Mystical Greenwood!

US$:  Amazon  |  B&N  |  BAM!  |  Goodreads

UK£:  Amazon.co.uk  |  Foyles

CDN$:  Amazon.ca

If you enjoy the book, PLEASE post a nice review and spread the word! And if you’re a fan, order your merchandise on Deviant Art!

Further Reading
  1. Celtic Herbs
  2. Wildflowers of Ireland

Life imitating Art

/ Andrew McDowell / 16 Comments

Some say life can imitate art, or be inspired by it. With Mystical Greenwood, I certainly drew on my love of wild animals and Nature, which in turn has grown and changed as a result of writing that book.

Growing up, I loved reading about animals and watching television shows about them. I was fascinated to learn new things about animals, and to see them in zoos and aquariums. While reading about animals, I also read about climates and ecosystems. I learned how animals, trees, and plants are interconnected with one another, and with the Earth. Eventually I decided that love for Nature would be the story’s heart. In conducting research into natural magic, Nature-based faiths and spiritualism, the spiritual and sacred essence of that connection fit in well with that love of Nature.

In writing Mystical Greenwood, I’ve come to view the natural world in a different way. I respect nature more than I feel I ever did as a child. Green became my favorite color, and that hasn’t changed since. My research advocated communication and interaction with Nature. I now speak to many different creatures, even insects. I find I don’t freak out upon seeing some of them as much as I did when I was younger. I’ve learned to stand still and not give them reason to fear me, as many creatures may try to defend themselves from people if they feel threatened. When I’ve gone walking or jogging, I look more closely at the trees, and I feel a sense of happiness and peace when I see green leaves in spring and summer. Autumn and winter have their magical charm too.

At St. Mary’s College, I was able to continue connecting with Nature. It’s a beautiful campus, and I remember walking by the St. Mary’s River many times. I would sit on benches in the church cemetery and look out at the water. Other times I’d go down and sit by the water. I tried a technique my characters did by sitting and meditating, which I’d learned through my research is called grounding. Although I didn’t sit up against a tree like Dermot and his friends, I listened to the water and felt the warmth of the sun. A few times I can remember hearing birds come close to me, and I did my best not to alarm them by remaining calm. I looked very closely at the river and into the water. It was never a blank stare. I felt a connection, and serenity.

I don’t necessarily share the beliefs of those who follow Nature-based religions today, but I do respect them, and in my own way I get a sense of the Divine in the natural world. I’m glad of the effect Mystical Greenwood has had on my outlook and love for Nature, and I’m sure it will continue to strengthen with the sequels.

I had a great time at the Maryland Writers’ Conference last week. I sold six copies of Mystical Greenwood! Don’t forget to order yours!

US$:  Amazon  |  B&N  |  BAM!  |  Goodreads

UK£:  Amazon.co.uk  |  Foyles

CDN$:  Amazon.ca

I hope you enjoy the book. PLEASE post a review and spread the word! And order your merchandise on Deviant Art!

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