The Sheltie Gazette: Focus group wrap-up

Apr 12, 2025 12:11 pm

Hello, Tamora Pierce fans—

As promised, here is the wrap-up for our focus group. I appreciate your participation and the chance to get to know you a little bit! This is my conversational response to your questions and comments in my various surveys (which were anonymous). I will send one more email with a discount code as a special thank-you for your participation, but I still need to set that up—I want to make sure it's for something you can't get elsewhere.

I will only use this email list for the focus group I first mentioned, but I would love it if you would join me in my other spaces. I have truly enjoyed the interactions in this group and I have a special spot in my heart for you! You can just reply to this newsletter, or you can click the links if you prefer:

please join me on my main newsletter, The Sheltie Gazette. That's where I send out fun updates, giveaways, news on new books, and of course lots of puppy pictures.
do you want first dibs on my new books, and willing to share the excitement? Join my ARC reader team, and I'll send you my latest books before they're released, and you can post honest reviews and/or help boost enthusiasm on social media.
are you willing to stay on and answer more questions about genre and covers, like the previous surveys? (I hope you all sign up—I've really appreciated your honest and wide-ranging opinions!)

Conversation with your replies:

Since the castle is so much of a character, I wish it were more on the covers

That's a good idea! My cover designer and I are working on how we could incorporate both Irish knots and the castle in future covers for the series. One problem is that there are very few castle graphics that are both available to license, and look anything like a potentially Irish castle. (They tend towards very Disney.)

Does each member of the family get a story? Why does it start with Maura getting two?

You know what? This was supposed to be Oliver's story -- the 8-year-old boy who brings Oisín home from school. My original idea involved following the boys as they met and then Oisín brings Oliver to the Peaceful Valley, with some chapters with Maura's perspective just so it wasn't a children's story.

But Oliver didn't cooperate. He was just too dang happy. You can't write an interesting story about a character who is just pleased with everything, and playing happily didn't make good fiction.

But the others are getting a story. Oona may only be 5 years old, but she has some chaos monster in her for sure. Next of all, she's going to bring home a swan.

However, I also really like Maura as a narrator, so she is going to weave through other stories too. She still has a lot of growth to do.

Although her magic was embroidery, it seemed like a very small part of the story

Embroidery also has the problem of being peaceful, and therefore not exciting fiction. I keep mulling over how to incorporate embroidery itself into the story (and I have some ideas for the swan story). But as an embroidery artist, I am just so tired of the trope that "as soon as embroidery is mentioned, it shows that character is boring and upholds traditional femininity and the patriarchy." Bleagh!

I think all the children should be on the cover of Horned Women

You are very egalitarian, but they just looked too crowded. Don't worry, I always make room for everyone at the table!

What happens to Saba?

Based on your responses, clearly a Saba book needs to come later! So far, I have her popping back in for all the books with Maura. I haven't figured out her main story. Could it be entirely modern, like someone makes plans to build a house or road on the place where Maura knows the Peaceful Valley is located, and Maura has to stop them—or get Saba out beforehand?

I think with a little more fleshing out, this could have been an entire novel!

and: A novella is so much less daunting than some of those giant books!

This was always my plan to make these stories novellas. I write novels too (follow my newsletter to hear when they come out!), and in fact I find it much easier to write long than short. But I felt like mid-length, connected works were the best way to tell these stories, and I have designed them carefully so they come out with that reading experience.

Why? For one thing, the world has been so overwhelming lately. When I'm stressed about politics and safety, sometimes it's hard to focus into a dense book. Sometimes, I find it easier to read a book where I can hold all the characters and the plot in my head at once, and finish it in a sitting or two. So once this series is done, it will overall have enough page count to be a nice escape, but each book will feel manageable, even if you don't have much focused time to read. (At least, that's my hope!)

It would be helpful if the unfamiliar words could link directly to the glossary in the e-book itself.

And: other comments and concerns about Irish words, such as being spelled incorrectly

Interesting idea! Unfortunately, it's way beyond my pay grade. 😉 I just write the words, and leave it to computer professionals to decide how an .epub file is put together.

Irish has been a fascinating language to work with. It varies so much based on so many factors, so in some cases I have chosen words specific to southern Ireland. Other times, there is no "right" answer and I just choose one for consistency. Other times, I'm sure I have made a mistake with the Irish! Clearly, the only solution is to move to Kilkenny and study Irish. Unfortunately, my teenagers are strenuously against being moved to Ireland!

I'm curious about Aiden/so protective of his sister/what made him who he is

Most of your questions are answered in "The Knight of the Terrible Valley and Aiden of Florida"! I really like the emotional complexity and the way his secrets slowly come out in this one. Here's the link to find it, or I still have a couple of review copies available if you want to join my review team. It also has strong YA elements that you guys might enjoy (although for non-Tamora-Pierce fans, maybe I shouldn't have jumped from an adult narrator to a teen. I can't help it, I just think that way!).

Aiden of Florida

I liked how White Deer showed that someone doesn't have to be a monster from nightmares to be toxic. Fionn might be truly infatuated with Saba, and still be a terrible partner.

Yes! This is the sort of conversation that I treasure. I try to write adventure, escape, and exciting choices, but underneath it all I love the conversation about the human condition. I think both Maura and Saba's husbands had redeeming qualities, but they were still terrible partners for one reason or another. I think fiction has the power to rewrite our expectations for relationships, and give us understanding into ourselves.

I love this discussion, thank you! I also love the Amazon review that speaks entirely to raising children in community vs modern isolation. Yes, these are exactly the conversations I want to have, and why I am so happy you are here with me. ❤️