February 17, 2026
Hello,
Strangest Intelligence: Book 2 in Legend of Order and Chaos is coming together. After my little vacation from it while I wrote the first chapters of Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu, I’m back to work. The memoir will have to wait until after May when we make the trip.
Thank you, by the way, to all those people who let me know they enjoyed the opening chapter. I’m having fun with it. The style of writing is so far removed from what I normally do—and as an added bonus, I haven’t had to kill anyone off. Yet.
Interestingly, while the genre is different, the importance of writing vivid images is just as important. The writing needs to open up a reader’s inner eye.
When a reader remembers a scene, they rarely remember the adjectives. They remember what moved: the crust of snow giving way, the wind moaning through treetops, a body surging forward—or failing to.
One of the most reliable ways to sharpen imagery is to let the world act back on the character. Surfaces break. Sounds intrude. Weather interferes. Each physical resistance gives the reader something concrete to feel.
A simple test I use while drafting: if I removed all the descriptive words, would the scene still make sense through action alone? If the answer is yes, the image will likely stick.
Happy reading.
Warm regards,
Paula Baker (and Aidan Davies)
P.S. Get Remember Pompeii now.
She’s lived 200 lifetimes. And never turned 17.
P.S.S. The Sentinels by Liane Mahugh is on sale now.
Three kids - three mysterious trees - one unforgettable summer. A Supernatural Coming-of-Age novel.
