Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial | Updates

Gold Coast Writers Association

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Workshop about the fractal nature of story at the monthly meeting.

Time: 12:30-3:30pm

Location: Burleigh Heads Community Centre, Burleigh Heads, Qld, Australia

Tickets at GCWA

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Carnival of Words Book Festival

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Exhibiting all weekend with other authors from all genres.

Hours: 10am - 4pm Sat & Sun.

Location: Distillery Road Market, 124 Distillery Road, Eagleby, Qld, Australia

FREE EVENT

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Bang!

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 01:38:41 -0400

Full text can be found at https://queenslandwriters.org.au/rightleftwritewinners/aug-24

A Visit with the Crowfather by Emalyn deVries

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 01:35:37 -0400

Appears in the Scenic Rim Youth Anthology

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Salvation

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 01:34:30 -0400

Appears in the QWC My Story, My Voice anthology

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Song of the Green

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 01:32:58 -0400

Commended

Appears in the Ritardando anthology

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Legend Haven Online Convention

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Workshop: Your Character's Goal is Only Half-Baked. Here's How to Fix That

Livestream interview

Read-Aloud from Son of Osivirius

Get your ticket at LegendHaven.com

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Son of Osivirius on 99c for a Limited Time

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From 26 April to 2 May, you can snag the eBook of Son of Osivirius for only 99c! Head to Amazon.

Only available US and UK.

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How I Hit #1 on Amazon: 10 Book Launch Strategies for Indie Authors

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This post is a step-by-step guide to launching a self-published science fantasy novella on Amazon. If you are an indie author preparing for your debut release, these strategies will help you maximise visibility, reviews, and category rankings.

When I started writing six or so years ago, I never realised that writing was the easy part. Publishing is another mountain altogether, and a far more treacherous one. Yet having written, I knew I couldn’t keep my book to myself. Couldn’t let it die with me, so I trekked to the basecamp of Mt Publish, and looked for a guide.

It came in the form of a discounted bundle of writer’s courses and eBooks—that were mostly about marketing.

That was my rude introduction to the realities of being an author.

But having successfully launched my first book, I offer you a summary of what worked so that you may arrive at the same place in a more linear fashion than I did.

1. Write an excellent book.

This almost goes without saying, but if a book is mediocre, all the marketing in the world won’t save it, because no one is going to recommend it to their friends, and word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool on the planet.

So that means investing in your craft. That could mean taking a writing course such as those run by The Australian Writer’s Centre. It also means seeking feedback from people who read a lot in your genre, write (well) in your genre, and will give honest and actionable feedback. Finding these people is much harder than it sounds.

In my case, I went the frugal route at first, using the courses in my bundle as a starting point, and finding free writing advice on the internet. Worthwhile sites include The Snowflake Guy and The Story Grid. At first, I only had family and friends as beta readers, but when I made indie author friends on Instagram, that opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I volunteered to beta read for them first, and if they turned out to be a good writer, and took the honest feedback I gave in stride, I asked them to return the favour.

In terms of editing, I began with a manuscript assessment, but when I didn’t get any bites from publishers, I bit the bullet and decided I would pay a developmental editor. I knew I wanted a Story Grid certified one, and she turned out to use a book coaching model.

Best. Decision. Ever.

My writing skills developed exponentially under her guidance. It was expensive (paying in US dollars HURT) but I do not regret investing in myself.

2. Design a professional book cover and learn how to write a blurb.

The inside of your book might be brilliant, but you’ve got to get people to pick it up and open it, and the cover and blurb are absolutely critical to that happening.

Get a cover professionally designed. There are very reasonably priced options. 100 Covers, JV Arts and MIBL art are all excellent and very budget friendly, so there is really no excuse for that DIY Frankencover you put together on Canva, or worse, an AI generated one.

So, do not skimp on this. People DO judge books by their cover.

Now, blurbs are just about the most difficult thing in the world to write well. There are ‘formulas’ to get you started, but be prepared to practice and practice and refine and refine… or get Jessie from Book Blurb Magic to either teach you the skills, or write it for you.

3. Take your time and practice on a low-stakes project first. (And maybe run a Kickstarter)

One of the best things I did was to practice launching a very low stakes book first—my reader magnet. This is a free short story eBook I offer my newsletter subscribers. I went through all the steps with this very teeny tiny project, and learnt a TON along the way.

First, I had it professionally developmentally edited by my editor. It’s potentially the first impression I give people of my writing, so it had to be excellent (I know if I read another author’s reader magnet and it is meh, I won’t buy their books). I had a cover designed for it. I struggled through blurb writing and working out my marketing hooks. I gathered a street team (coming up next). I made a website and created an email account (also coming up), and I found ARC readers for it.

Then I did a social media launch like it was a ‘proper’ book, imitating the ‘Cover Reveal’ campaigns I saw my new author friends doing, and asking my team to share the same graphics to their feed on the same day I did.

I was querying my trilogy, but no traditional publishing offer had materialised, so I wrote my science fantasy novella, Son of Osivirius in the meantime. It was GOOD. It seemed like something I could publish, but I would have to self-publish it. Then I got an offer for my trilogy manuscript!!

With my trilogy launch now on the horizon, I knew I needed more practice, and to grow my audience. So I got to work on self-publishing my novella. It would be the perfect way to do both. This was definitely a higher stakes project, and I used it to expand my skillset a little more using the Kickstarter platform first.

Now, when the books of my heart launch, I will already have three releases under my belt: my reader magnet, the Kickstarter release of Son of Osivirius, and its retail release.

4. Build a street/hype team well before launch.

As a former military member and military spouse, I quickly learnt the best and fastest way to integrate into a new community was to volunteer. So my main advice here is to volunteer on other people’s street/hype teams. Keep a lookout on social media and author’s groups for people looking for street team members. Authors will also ask their newsletter subscribers if they would like to be on their street team. Say yes! Fill out that google form! And take notes along the way.

Then, by being an active street team member, when it’s your turn, you can ask a whole bunch of people who are more likely to say yes because you’ve paid it forward.

The street team I gathered for my reader magnet has stuck with me for the most part, and I keep adding to it. This expands my reach on social media and via other author’s newsletters. You can’t do this alone, so don’t try to.

5. Start an author newsletter early.

It’s not as hard as you think. Start small (everyone does) and find your groove. First, subscribe to five or so author newsletters to get a feel for ‘welcome sequences’, reader magnet delivery, newsletter frequency, content etc.

Find an email service provider. Kit is the one most recommended to authors at the moment. Create a Story Origin or Book Funnel account for easy reader magnet delivery and promos/newsletter swaps (this will help to grow your list much more rapidly).

You will need to create your author website (or at least a landing page) at the same time. Thomas Umstadtt at Author Media gives out a free WordPress website building course when you subscribe to his newsletter. Very basic author websites can be created through Story Origin as part of your subscription, so that is an inexpensive starter option. Another budget-friendly option for when you want something a little more advanced is Author Websites by BookBub. If you are looking for an all-in-one solution, check out Pubfunnels.

But what to write in your newsletters? I used to get all turned inside out about this too, but now I follow a fairly stress-free storytelling model based of how Derek Doepker, Jessie from Book Blurb Magic, and Daniel Throssel teach email. And I’ve started to get people engaging! So subscribe to their newsletters. See how they do it. Copy them, or pay for their courses. Simple.

Because once you’ve got some subscribers, you’ve got people who might just pre-order your book (which is super helpful), as well as potential street team members and ARC readers.

6. Invest in a marketing coach/course.

Marketing does not come naturally to most writers. It is a completely different skillset. It can feel icky. It can take up more of your time than writing does. It can feel like screaming into a void, and like nothing you do makes a difference, or like it’s a maze you’re trying to make your way through.

But there are some great authorpreneurs offering excellent training in this area. I have found Marketing By Shelby, Author Media, and Kindlepreneur extremely helpful. They offer free or inexpensive courses and memberships. Marketing By Shelby runs the Creatives Content Club, which teaches sustainable strategies specifically for authors and provides heaps of useful templates. Write | Publish | Sell also have a very comprehensive launch checklist you can download for free. They are the same team that run Women in Publishing and are a fantastic source of information and marketing services.

7. Submit to indie book awards.

There are a plethora of indie awards anyone can submit to. Many offer award seals and editorial reviews as part of the deal. Some offer marketing packages as prizes. Book Award Pro has a free starter plan that will help you find legitimate awards you can enter your book in. Some awards even accept pre-published books or books published a long time ago.

I chose to enter several awards as a strategic move to give me street cred as a debut author. I saw another indie author display all his award seals on his website and thought, “That’s impressive.” It made me want to give his books a shot—and that’s when I realised the marketing power of awards.

An award-winning author is seen as better than a best-selling author, and I believe submitting to those awards while I was still pre-published has moved the needle.

8. Research Amazon keywords and categories.

So, so, incredibly important. Tedious. Frustrating. But incredibly important. I strongly believe one of the key reasons my little debut novella made it to Amazon #1 Hot New Release in Dystopian and Science Fiction Romance was because I selected keywords and categories it could rank for. Combined with some nice editorial reviews from my awards, and a few pre-orders from my subscribers, it was set up to succeed.

Publisher Rocket by Kindlepreneur is the tool I used for this, and has become the industry standard.

9. Find as many ARC readers as you possibly can before release.

ARC stands for Advance Reader Copy, and they are usually sent a month or two before release. Don’t be afraid to give away lots of free eBooks to ARC readers. Those reviews are going to mean so much on release day. I asked a heap of bookstagrammers if they would like an ARC copy. Some ignored my messages, but others responded enthusiastically. Your newsletter subscribers and street team are also a great source of ARC readers. Stick up a post on social media and ask your street team to share it.

Standard practice is to set up a google form for potential readers to fill out. Like most things, you can learn about how this works by volunteering to be an ARC reader for another author. Hot tip: if they’re any good, you can offer to beta read their next book, and then you have a possible beta reader for yours!

10. Stack launch week promotions and have a blog tour.

These two things raised my visibility during launch week a great deal, both on social media and direct to email inboxes. It’s difficult to assess exactly how effective they were, but the blog tour was a lot of fun and gave me some great reviews (which is so important for the Amazon algorithm). Sales were definitely stronger when they were running. I used the ‘New In Books’ promo from Written Word Media, and a book tour by Love Book Tours. If I had realised BookBub have a special new release promotion, I would have done that too. But, regardless:

The result? #1 Hot New Release in Dystopian and Science Fiction Romance on Amazon.

What NOT to Get Caught-up About

Don’t worry too much about social media. It’s a nice way to connect with other authors, but bookstagrammers and booktokkers will do the heavy lifting here. Better to make friends with them well in advance. It is nice to have a visual celebration on social media (hence my book tour and launch week efforts + consistent posting every week), but don’t rely on it to drive sales. In reality, only a tiny percentage of your followers will even see your posts. Honestly, your newsletter subscribers are your best asset.

I hope you found these tips helpful, and hope your own launch leaves you feeling satisfied, and not like a lost opportunity.

If you'd like to check out the book for yourself, you can do so HERE.

To see the reader magnet that was the subject of my launching baby steps, subscribe to my newsletter HERE. It'll be delivered to your inbox within minutes.

*Note: Some of the links are affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you. I only ever recommend people and services I have personally used and found valuable.

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Literary Titan Interview for Son of Osivirius

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Son of Osivirius follows a young pilot who crashes near a rebel base and forms a connection with the family that saves him, leaving him to decide what side of the battle he wants to be a part of. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

It was one of those serendipity moments. I was struggling to come up with an idea for a scene writing exercise where the prompt was ‘three characters, all with different goals’. I was getting super frustrated, beginning and discarding idea after idea. Imagine a ‘rip the paper out of the typewriter, scrunch it into a ball, then toss it into the pile littering the floor’ scenario. I’d actually given up for the day and was cooking dinner when I suddenly remembered a short story idea I’d jotted down months before:

“A helicopter pilot in a WWIII scenario crash lands near a valley belonging to some people who are a bit like the Amish and refuse to be a part of the war effort, but the government is trying to force them into it. They look after him, and when the government eventually comes to their valley, he has to decide what to do.”

Suddenly neurons were firing in all directions. I combined that premise with the vibes of Avatar, and boom! I had my scene mapped out. Not only my scene, but almost the entire book.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities, especially the Masu. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?

I live in a rainforest, and have always been drawn to forest settings, and although I LOVE dragons, I wanted to do something a bit different. Big cats have always fascinated me–their power, elegance, and how they seem to stare into your soul–so giving them wings just seemed like the perfect choice. The intricacies of the world-building took several drafts to refine, but the Masu were the foundation for all the other elements.

I tend to discover things in the process of writing, and it was during the drafting of some dialogue in what was then chapter three, that I had Jayden ask, “How did you tame them?” In that moment, I knew what kind of creatures these were, and I had Flint respond, “We didn’t. They tamed us.” It was definitely not part of my original plan, but it just felt so right, and with those two lines of dialogue, my climax became crystal clear.

The dead-zones evolved over the course of drafting. They were there from the start, but I encountered logic problems as I went along. At first, I ‘patch-fixed’ them, but that became more and more convoluted and complicated, which is never a good thing. It was during the beta reader stage that I talked to my daughter about the issues I was having, and that conversation opened up the simple, elegant solution that really brought the world alive.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

It was really important to me to highlight a more connected way of living with the world, and letting it be our teacher. We tend to prioritise our comfort above all else, but that comes at great cost. So I really wanted to explore the idea of contentment, and what true prosperity and abundance looks like.

I also wanted to explore how fear can subconsciously control us, and that it manifests in different ways depending on things like status, childhood trauma and personality. Exploration of fear responses also naturally led into exploration of trust and betrayal.

The idea of worthiness was an interesting thing that came up in the process of writing. I know a lot of people struggle with thinking they’re not worthy, but I discovered my characters were acting from a belief that they did deserve more, but their worthiness was unrecognised. That seems to me how all revolutions begin.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

There is potential there for a series, but I don’t have any clear plans yet. Right now, I’m switching my focus to a romantic fantasy trilogy. The world-building there also has a great emphasis on connection with the natural world, and features a musical magic system.

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My Top Fantasy Reads of 2025

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I enjoyed a lot of books this year, most of those I read actually, but these are the standouts. There are a few others I can’t mention because they are secret projects that I beta read.

Many on this list were written by my indie author friends, but there are some big names in the mix too. Many of them are available to buy, but a few were ones I had the privilege of beta reading, and they’re not out (just) yet.

So without further ado:

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. I read the bulk of this one on a long car trip to visit family over the Christmas holidays and enjoyed it as much as Oathbringer and Words of Radiance. I didn’t think Taravangian could get any worse, but Brandon found a way. Kaladin’s ordeal was the worst yet.

The Sound of Silence by Hannah Gaudette. I’m not a thriller reader, but Hannah is my friend and I trusted her–with good reason. This book is excellent. Heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure, but chilling at the same time.

Stories that Bleed by Addison Horner (Kickstarter coming soon!). This is the third book in his Vitalian Chronicles, which I have been involved with as a beta reader from the beginning. I’ll forgive him for the cliffhanger ending this one time, because it’s so good.

House of Dragons by Kathryn Jordan. This is the first in a new YA series by my wonderful friend. Great characters, great premise, great world. I loved it.

All for Mage and Melody by Emma Hill. This one was a surprise for me! I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but it exceeded them! Emma blends disability rep into the story so naturally and authentically, and totally blew me away with the twist at the end. It’s a MG/YA urban fantasy with theatre kids!

Crane Maiden by M.H. Woodscourt. A fantasy re-telling of the story of St Joan of Arc. It’s the first book in a planned duology and finishes on a note of victory. The tragic part of the story comes in the next book. Woodscourt’s fantasy world is the perfect setting for this amazing story.

Declare by Hannah Gaudette. In case you can’t tell, I’m a bit of a fan of Hannah’s! This is the second book in a trilogy that she first thought of in her childhood and it is so wonderful to see her finally tackle it. The story and characters are complex, and Hannah handles it with a deft touch.

Comes the Night by Isobelle Carmody. It’s been a long time since I’ve read one of Isobelle’s books, but after meeting her, I was excited to dive into this one, and it didn’t disappoint. This is clearly the work of an author comfortable with her craft. A YA urban fantasy where the line between dreams and reality is blurred, with chilling repercussions.

Vengeance of a Fallen Angel (beta) by Ben Logsdon (not yet available, but Memoirs of a Household Demon, which you must read first, is!). I cannot praise Ben’s writing highly enough. Snappy, action-packed, funny, warm–he blends everything perfectly.

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson. Yup, I began and ended my year with the Big Guy, and honestly, this book counts as three. It was excellent, don’t get me wrong, but Sanderson is capable of brilliance, and this book fell short of that. I really felt it could have been tightened up and polished a bit more. I was really hoping for the standard he set in The Way of Kings, which is still my favourite book in the series. Adolin was probably my favourite in this book. I was glad that Kaladin finally got some ‘happy’, and Dalinar wrecked Hoid’s plans in the best possible way.

My current read is The Road to Freedom by Gabrielle Davis, my partner-in-crime for Fantasciicon!! Set in a fantasy version of ancient France, it’s a YA story about an urchin girl with magical powers who gets caught up in a civil war. I’m really enjoying it.

There were several books I didn’t get to this year that will be high on my TBR for next year:

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. That’s right, I haven’t been destroyed by this book yet.

These Hallowed Binds by A.M. Daylin. I’ve heard sooo many good things about this book, and the fact that it has won an award only confirms it. Got to read this one.

Song of the Mysteries by Janny Wurts. I waited 7 years for this final installment in the series, but three door-stopper books in one year was just not going to happen. The Wars of Light and Shadow was a big influence on my own writing though, so I really want to get into it as I work on the second book in my own romantic fantasy trilogy with music as the magic system.

And of course, I read my own book, Son of Osivirius, multiple times during the year for editing purposes! I still enjoy it! Still feel the feels. So it goes on my favourites list too!

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Wired for Story: Part 1

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Fri, 7 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Northern Hemisphere summer/autumn is summit season in the author world. I had become kind of cynical about the usefulness of summit workshops, but something nudged me to look into the WorldShift Summit. When I saw the opening talk was Wired For Story by Lisa Cron, I was in.

But what I came away with was so much more than story theory—it was validation.

This may surprise you, but facts are quite ineffectual at convincing most of us of anything. Instead, they activate our defence mechanisms or reinforce what we already believe. You’ve probably seen this in practice when trying to talk to your spouse or kids—or by watching politicians. No amount of reasoned argument seems to make a difference when their opinion is entrenched.

A well-crafted story, however, anaesthetises the part of the brain that wants to fight, delivering a pleasurable cocktail of dopamine, cortisol and oxytocin. This doesn’t make us mindless—we can absolutely reject stories that don’t align with our values—but we are wired to listen to them. To give them a hearing. Our brain does this because learning from the experiences of others—feeling what they felt vicariously—was critical to our survival.

What this means is that contrary to our Western/Platonic ideas of reason being superior and emotion inferior, therefore necessitating the removal of all emotion from our decision-making, all our decisions are actually rooted in emotion—even those we try very hard to make objectively!

Lisa posits (and I agree) that Plato was wrong, and that reason and emotion were always meant to work together, not in opposition to each other.

This does not mean that emotion-driven decision making is good, but rather that we are whole people, and trying to split one part of ourselves off from the others doesn’t work, because our emotions are what imbue our decisions with meaning.

Lisa illustrated this with the story of a genius who required a tumour to be removed from his pre-frontal cortex. Afterwards, he still tested 97% on intelligence tests, but he couldn’t make a decision, because it turned out the bit of his brain that connected his emotional centre to his rational centre had been removed. He’d basically lost the ability to assign meaning to anything, so the fact that his boss was counting on him to complete a certain project didn’t factor anymore!

So, back to the validation.

I have an engineering background, so I am no stranger to logical thinking, but I hold some beliefs very passionately. There is reason behind them, and evidence, but because I get fired up about them, my intelligence is disparaged and I get belittled—particularly by the men in my life.

But being able to feel strongly about decisions isn’t a weakness, it’s the very thing that allows us to make the really difficult decisions. The ones that involve sacrifice, and don’t necessarily make ‘logical’ sense—like putting ourselves in the line of fire, standing up to someone more powerful than we are, trusting our intuition, or giving up our position.

And that’s exactly why we seek stories. We love to see characters wrestling with problems and finding the courage to change and grow.

It’s funny, because we consciously go to stories for the emotion, but unconsciously to learn, and we consciously seek out facts to learn, but unconsciously we are looking for an emotion (usually reassurance, vindication or belonging).

Reason and emotion are supposed to balance each other, and when we deny the importance of one, it leaves us blind, not enlightened. I, as a woman, am not inferior because I am more aware of my emotional landscape than my male counterparts. My opinions are not less valid or sensible.

Realising this liberated me from an oppression I’d always felt but couldn’t name.

And made me grateful for the struggle that led to that discovery. That part of my story is so much more meaningful now.

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Deeply Rooted and Deeply Uncomfortable

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It’s Sep 21st as I write this, several weeks before I intend to post it.

And I’m nervous and upset and frustrated and a few other things besides.

Because I’m looking at events in the world, and in the US, and I’m crushed with despair and so, so frustrated at seeing certain people on both sides of the divide making things constantly worse.

Now, I’m Australian as you may or may not remember, and I’d never even heard of Charlie Kirk before he was shot, but now I am hearing about him a LOT. From both sides. And I’m sickened by the celebration I see, and equally sickened by the self-righteous aggression I see.

I know people will want me to plant my feet firmly in one corner or the other, but I… can’t.

I’m not on the right. I’m not on the left. Nor am I a centrist.

I believe that there is truth and error, goodness and evil, on both sides. And I refuse to be drawn completely into any static position. Not because I don’t have strong beliefs. I do. And not because I don’t want to sully myself with politics. To be human is to be political.

But because I don’t sit neatly anywhere.

Since finding a spiritual home in the contemplative form of Christianity advocated by Fr Richard Rohr, partisanship makes less and less sense. Instead, the most useful way to describe how I operate is the Yin-Yang symbol. I think perhaps I am the black dot in the white half, or the white dot in the black half.

Maybe I’m both.

I don’t know if this resonates with you, but I like the dynamic nature of this symbol. I like that those dots are there. That it’s not either/or, but both/and. I think there is wisdom in this symbol that the West needs. It’s about balance and harmony, and complexity. Order and chaos in just the right mix for life to thrive.

It’s a paradoxical symbol, much like the cross. Which so many people who like to call themselves Christian seem to ignore. And many of those who want to kill Christians conveniently forget.

There, I said it.

Much of my writing is born out of this tension, and this desire to bring both halves together. Not one side obliterating the other, but the best of both in true dialogue, complementing and enhancing each other. It’s the same image that Jesus used, of the wise householder bringing out things both old and new.

I also think this symbol is far more useful than the idea of a spectrum. The dividing line is still there, but it’s far more fluid and accommodating. In my opinion, almost anything currently represented on a spectrum can be better represented by these two halves wrapping around each other and including each other.

Humans, and by extension, human constructs, are a complex mix of good and evil—and sometimes we mistake one for the other. I have discovered this more and more as a writer. Crafting nuanced characters will do that.

We do good things for the wrong reasons, and terrible things for the right reasons. Dark in light; light in dark. The belief that subconsciously drives destructive choices usually has its root in something initially conceived to protect us. Conversely, beliefs that drive outwardly laudable choices like being hard-working and responsible can have their root in a fear of abandonment and rejection that twists them into something harmful.

Things are rarely simple, but one thing I will always be against is the celebration of violence. I will always advocate for healthier ways to deal with our very real anger and grief, and a culture that is both just AND compassionate. Strong AND gentle.

This vision for what our politics could be like, and what a society that truly valued people could look like found its way into the pages of Son of Osivirius, because I am not apolitical. But I am deeply uncomfortable with the way things are, and the package deals I’m expected to swallow whole.

And judging by the early feedback I’ve got, many others are too.

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Why K-Pop Demon Hunters Rocks

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This movie was one of the best I’ve seen in a while. It had excellent storytelling, amazing visuals, fabulous character development, a clear message, and great songs!

I love musicals. Things can be conveyed through songs that are very difficult to do with dialogue. And conveyed very efficiently too. We see the inner thoughts of characters effortlessly, and layers of meaning can be packed into lyrics.

That was certainly the case with K-Pop Demon Hunters.

The songs were so rich with meaning.

It was clever how on the surface, ‘Soda Pop’ sounded sweet and innocent, but was really far more sinister. That’s exactly how evil operates in the world, disguising itself as something benign, good, popular. The Saja Boys were singing about how they were going to take advantage of the fans while the fans were all bopping along! What a metaphor for our culture!

The message became more explicit in ‘Idol’, but even then, it was still veiled in ambiguous language.

But there were also hidden layers of meaning in ‘Golden’, and the lyrics were used every bit as cleverly to bring out the themes of the movie.

‘No more hiding, now I’m shining, like I’m born to be.’

At first, Rumi took this to mean that after they had sealed the honmoon she wouldn’t have to hide anymore because her demon patterns would be gone. By the end of the movie, she realises she doesn’t have to hide even with them still showing—and that was a beautiful realisation. Because we all have scars, wounds, things we’re ashamed of.

Let me ask you a question. Did you like the Beast in his beast form better? Was there something bittersweet about him changing back into the prince?

There was for me, because, like Belle, I had fallen in love with him as the Beast!

Stay with me.

Some people were upset that Rumi’s patterns didn’t disappear, but if they had, it would have taken away an important part of the message—and turned it toxic.

Rumi did nothing to ‘deserve’ her patterns. She didn't need to be 'healed' of them. Note that Mira and Zoey were also outcast, just not in a physical way.

Many of us are scarred by our past, or our family’s past. Generational trauma is inherited as part of our DNA. We need to transform our woundedness, not try to erase it.

That’s what the movie was trying to say.

The more we try to hide our shadow, the more it grows. But when we own it—own our failures, weaknesses, scars, history—they lose some of their power over us. They are not gone, but they look different. And they no longer hold us back.

They don’t make us any less worthy, or any less capable of fulfilling our purpose.

In fact, much of the time they are what best qualify us.

‘My voice without the lies—this is what it sounds like.’

True perfection is found precisely in the ability to include imperfection.

Because often what we want is not actually what we need. This story, like all the best stories, helps us understand that.

And that’s why this movie rocks.

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Zeitgeist: The Vibe of the Times

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Thomas Umstadt's original articles/podcasts can be found HERE and HERE if you'd like to delve deeper.

Zeitgeist can be thought of as the 'vibe' of the times, and apparently, we have recently entered the 4th turning of this cycle. Each turning lasts approximately twenty years, so the cycle is roughly eighty years long. The last time we were here as a culture was therefore 1944—right before the end of WWII and a dark time to be sure. Coincidence? Perhaps not. When you remember that this past twenty years was bookended by 9-11 and COVID, it certainly looks like 3rd turning stuff to me.

Culturally, we are at our ‘all is lost’ moment, and entering the ‘dark night of the soul’. If you’ve studied story structure like I have, this is the point about ¾ of the way through a novel when everything seems impossible, and the hero really has to dig deep—and CHANGE. They’ve resisted it all the way through the book, and what they do now will determine whether the book ends happily, or in tragedy.

Now, this is heavy stuff for our collective cultural consciousness to process, but the implications for literature (and other media) are quite intriguing, as the cycle also seems to directly affect what is popular. When everything is going quite well, the population as a whole wants edgier entertainment—the anti-heros and morally grey characters—but when times are hard, people look for true heroes—selfless individuals who will sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.

Because that is what we need to get us out of our mess.

We’re looking for Aragorn and Frodo, not Walter White; Poirot, not Sam Spade; Superman not Batman. The colossal flops of movies such as Joker 2 may be the best indication that the zeitgeist has shifted. People have simply had enough of the dark. We’re surrounded by it; living in it. We don’t need to entertain ourselves with it as well!

Interestingly, it seems Brandon Sanderson was savvy about this, and made a deliberate choice to stop writing dark, subversive stories (the Mistborn series), and switch to giving us Dalinar and Kaladin in the Stormlight Archive—true heroes if ever there were any.

So if you’ve been missing books and films that challenge and inspire us to be better versions of ourselves, more could well be on the way. The publishing industry can be slow to match the market though, so they’ll probably have many of their own flops before they realise the zeitgeist has shifted.

It’s good news for our books though! Son of Osivirius fits the 4th turning perfectly, and our romantic fantasy trilogy does too! With a selfless protagonist who does all the wrong things for all the right reasons, it’s a perfect 4th turning read as well.

Turning 3 is definitely my least favourite out of the lot. How about you?

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Rage Against the Machine

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Our systems are broken. And like no other period in history, we’ve been able to watch them deteriorate in real time. Or maybe not. People have lived through some pretty awful times. Some came through the other side, some didn’t.

I think what makes this time in history different however, is that we in the west are trapped by our comfort, rather than having nothing to lose. We have just enough to cling to, so that risking it seems foolhardy, impractical, self-defeating.

So we let ourselves be controlled. Let ourselves be coerced by our comfort. Anaesthetise ourselves with our devices and entertainment, even though many of us sense how hollow this is.

We’ve become so insular, so independent, that we’ve forgotten what real community even feels like.

How do we break free? How do we detox ourselves from our dependence on technology and systems that are no longer serving us? That are stripping us of our humanity?

I don’t have the answers, but I do have a science fantasy novella in which a brave group of people take the risk of removing themselves from the grid and building something new, something nurturing. Of taking the collected wisdom of millenia and blending it with more recent discoveries. Of looking to the natural order for answers, instead of trying to dominate it.

They rage against the machine in a life-giving way.

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Unrecognised Worthiness

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Mon, 7 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Enjoy this character art of Colony Commander Tun, who definitely will NOT recognise your worthiness.

A few of my author friends have written recently about how many of their characters struggle with feeling unworthy, and have related it back to their own feelings of unworthiness. It got me thinking about my own main characters, and I noticed a different but related problem–unrecognised worthiness.

I was in my late teens when Disney’s Aladdin came out, and it remains one of my favourite animated movies, perhaps because I relate so strongly to Aladdin. His reprise, ‘if only they’d look closer, they’d find out there’s so much more to me’ still hits me in the gut.

Growing up, I felt disregarded, unimportant, and pushed aside. I was marginalised for being intelligent, for being moral, for having different values. My sense of my own worth wasn’t in question, but it wasn’t upheld by others.

This became a huge factor in my perfectionism. I was always trying to prove my worth. Decades later, and it’s still much the same. I don’t feel like I matter to anyone. Not in the way I want to matter anyway.

It’s a different kind of pain, knowing that you’re worthy but not having other people recognise it. I think that’s why I have always felt empathy for marginalised groups of people. Always felt solidarity with them.

I’m pretty sure it’s also why the two main characters I’ve written so far also struggle with the same thing. In Son of Osivirius, Jayden rails against the unfairness of the treatment of the people living in Wormsville, the underground billets of the colony. That sense of injustice grows out of an innate sense of knowing he has worth.

It makes sense, doesn’t it?

That’s why one of the themes of this novella centres around our common dignity, and the injustice of exploitation. I hope it both speaks to your own worth as a person, and lets you know you matter.

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Shouldn't it be 'a' Masu?

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

During the beta reading phase, one of my wonderful readers queried this line:

“The python was being a python, just like she was being Masu.”

‘Shouldn’t it be ‘a’ Masu?’ he asked.

No. This phrasing was deliberate. And here’s why: I was giving them equal dignity with humans.

It’s a subtle thing, but we tend to objectify the world around us and other creatures. I wanted to do something different in this book. I wanted to have the animals be the mentors.

But still stay animals.

The Masu are not just a human-like intelligence inside an animal’s body. They are not anthropomorphised either.

They are creatures. And they stay creatures. And it’s from this grounded creature perspective that they can teach the humans how to be human.

We’ve lost touch with our world. I’m no different. But every now and again I get a glimpse into the staggering loveliness of the natural world, and how it just IS. How each thing just does its part and never thinks to be anything but itself. Content.

Contentment is a big theme in Son of Osivirius, and it’s communicated primarily through the great Masu.

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Meet the Cast of Son of Osivirius

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

One of the cool things that happened during drafting was a subconscious dovetailing of each of the main characters around how they deal with fear. Fear is the motivating emotion for Jayden, Nettle, and Colony Commander Tun–particularly the fear that there’s not enough.

This scarcity mindset is in large part responsible for the mess our world is in, and I’m so pleased this theme undergirds the story, just like it’s hard-baked into our culture. I’m certainly not immune, so exploring responses to it through my characters was very cathartic!

Now to the ART!!! I love how my artist @alfibunneni has captured my characters. Here you also see what you'll get in the actual Kickstarter exclusive full-colour eBook! (They'll be B&W in the print versions!!)Jayden comes from the bottom of society. He has clawed his way up to the next level through a combination of grit and talent, because he’s determined to rescue his family from the horrible conditions they live in. He’s afraid that if disaster strikes, they won’t be regarded as important enough to warrant support, and the more well-off will be prioritised–and able to pay.

(Doesn't he look cocky?)

There's one more character to unveil, but I'll save her for another time! I can’t wait for you to meet them all!

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Bilbo, Thorin, and the Concept of Home

Cathryn deVries | Eclecta Perennial — Sun, 27 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

When you read The Hobbit, did you notice that Bilbo and Thorin wanted the same thing? If you didn’t, take heart, because I didn’t either, and this is something that a superb author like Tolkien can slip in without the reader noticing consciously. But the subconscious feels it—that’s one reason a book becomes a masterwork, and we come back to it again and again.

Bilbo and Thorin both longed for home. Bilbo was very comfortable in his at the beginning of the novel, and Thorin was homeless—his having been stolen from him by Smaug. And I think that is the thing that pushed Bilbo to go with them. He felt sorry for these wandering dwarves, and felt some kind of pull to give them the chance at having what he had taken for granted—until it was invaded. There is a parallel at work here too, you will notice!

Bilbo’s sudden urge to go on an adventure was prompted by something much deeper than mere excitement—though he used that as his excuse. It was defence of this concept of ‘home’ that drove him, which was part of Tolkien’s point in telling the story. Far more than a fantastical romp through the Middle Earth countryside, he wanted to communicate to the children in his life that some things are worth fighting for. Some things are worth getting uncomfortable to protect.

This generous sentiment is ultimately what made Bilbo a hero, and conversely, the lack of it turned Thorin into a villain. When he regained his home, Thorin refused to share it, whereas Bilbo had been a gracious host to him and the dwarves—particularly considering the circumstances! He emptied his precious pantry for the them, but Thorin wouldn’t share a coin with the people of Lake Town—even though he only had Erebor back because Bard had slain Smaug. Lake Town was decimated, the people in dire need of shelter with winter closing in, but Thorin couldn’t bring himself to care about ‘home’ for anyone other than himself.

Ultimately, Tolkien took Thorin’s home from him and gave Bilbo back his—just as it was being plundered by the Sackville-Bagginses. See the parallel?

It’s a brilliant work, so much more than a children’s book—like all the best children’s books are. When next you give The Hobbit a read (or rewatch the films, though I must admit to some disappointment on that front) have a look for this thread, and how Thorin and Bilbo shine a light on each other’s characters. Bonus points for thinking about how all the secondary characters interact with this concept of ‘home’ too.

Have I incorporated parallels like this in our books? Yes, indeed, I have. Astariel and her father share many parallels, and there are parallel events too. In Son of Osivirius, each of the three main characters operate out of fear and a sense that 'there's not enough', but in very different ways. I hope you enjoy finding them when the books come out!

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