Origin of MALEDICTION
Middle English malediccioun, from Late Latin malediction-, maledictio, from maledictus (past participle ofmaledicere to curse) + Latin -ion-, -io -ion
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to MALEDICTION
- Synonyms:
- anathema, ban, execration, imprecation, curse, malison, winze [Scottish]
- Antonyms:
- benediction, benison, blessing
- Related Words:
- censure, condemnation, damnation, denunciation, excommunication; hex, hoodoo, jinx, mojo,spell, voodoo, whammy; pox
- Near Antonyms:
- citation, commendation, endorsement (also indorsement)
- “Malediction.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. 2015.. Web. 14 Jul. 2015.
Just in case anyone out there doesn’t know the meaning of the word “Malediction.” It’s the title of my next book for a reason that become evident when one reads it. Little did I know, it would come to define the process as well.
- I wrote Malediction in July and August of 2014. The first draft sat as holiday preparations consumed our family and the first-round edited didn’t really start until early 2015. By then, I had completed the first draft of the second book in the series, Lament and was working on the third book in the series, Salvation. Shortly after she began work, my first-round editor (my wife) fell ill. Naturally, that delayed things. At this point, I was still hopeful for a Memorial Day release. She fell ill again after we went to a convention in Wisconsin in mid-March, then again immediately after recovering from that illness.
- I missed Memorial Day, but did eventually get the manuscript in the hands of a paid editor. Unfortunately, a close friend of hers committed suicide about the time I sent her the manuscript. Naturally, that delayed things further. I got the manuscript back once she was finished with it, but of course, I go over it again. Plus, I had Beta Reader feedback to incorporate. Timing would be tight, but I was on track for a Gen Con release. Two months later than I wanted, but still acceptable. Time would be at a premium, as my step-daughter was getting married two-and-a-half weeks prior to Gen Con.
- My mother-in-law passed away over the fourth of July holiday. Family drama ensued (and still continues to this day). Having a funeral occur the day before a wedding is stressful. While the wedding went off without a hitch, the division of my mother-in-law’s possessions has not been a good experience, despite the fact that my wife desires practically nothing at all (except for one hand-made item she made for her mother that she now wishes to pass to her daughter; not at all an unreasonable request). As a result, my wife is sick with grief, stressed from interactions, and her daughter is moving out of the home this week.
The manuscript is still not finished. We’re on a final pass, true, but Gen Con is two weeks away. I still have to do the print layout and since I have a new map, I really want to see a print version of it before I order copies to sell (so I can get the contrast right). If I don’t order copies by Monday (July 20th) or so, I may not have anything new to sell at Gen Con this year.
Thus are the perils of publishing. When I titled the first novel of the Scars of the Sundering trilogy “Curse” (then looked for a word that meant the same thing but was more exotic), I had no idea of prophetic it was.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks