It is a perfect day for her book release and we couldn't be more proud of her!
So hop on over to Elizabeth's blog and find out where to purchase this book!
Go on, shoo! Don't make me egg your house...
Monday, October 31, 2011
Darkspell Releases Today!...
Oh, imagine the bliss author Elizabeth Mueller must be feeling at this moment! Why? Because her book, 'Darkspell', releases today. On Halloween!
It is a perfect day for her book release and we couldn't be more proud of her!
So hop on over to Elizabeth's blog and find out where to purchase this book!
Go on, shoo! Don't make me egg your house...
It is a perfect day for her book release and we couldn't be more proud of her!
So hop on over to Elizabeth's blog and find out where to purchase this book!
Go on, shoo! Don't make me egg your house...
Review: String Bridge by Jessica Bell...
While I am still doing book reviews over here at My Chaotic Ramblings, this one is a personal favor and honor for me to do here on my own blog.
This one is for Jessica Bell, also known as The Alliterative Allomorph.
Jessica has written a book, String Bridge, and has done an album to go along with it.
I've already posted lots of this info on Nov. 11th for the Chart Rush on Amazon.com, this post is for the review. So, here it is.
About the book:
Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits ... "Jessica Bell's STRING BRIDGE strummed the fret of my veins, thrummed my blood into a mad rush, played me taut until the final page, yet with echoes still reverberating. A rhythmic debut with metrical tones of heavied dark, fleeting prisms of light, and finally, a burst of joy--just as with any good song, my hopeful heartbeat kept tempo with Bell's narrative." ~Kathryn Magendie, author of Sweetie, Tender Graces and Secret Graces, Publishing Editor of Rose & Thorn Journal
"Poet and musician Jessica Bell's debut novel String Bridge is a rich exploration of desire, guilt, and the difficult balancing act of the modern woman. The writing is lyrical throughout, seamlessly integrating setting, character and plot in a musical structure that allows the reader to identify with Melody's growing insecurity as her world begins to unravel ... String Bridge is a powerful debut from a promising writer, full of music, metaphor, and just a hint of magic." ~Magdalena Ball, author of Repulsion Thrust and Sleep Before Evening
My thoughts:
I have to say when Jessica first asked me to read the book for a review, I was slightly hesitant because ... well, I'm not much of a women's fiction sort of gal. But upon reading the very first sentence, I was hooked. Which is yet another thing that doesn't usually happen to me.
By the end of the first chapter, I had bonded with Melody in a way I have rarely bonded with a character before. At least not one that wasn't of my own creation. Jessica packed a pretty solid punch. Melody, or Mel, is a wife, a mother and is working to make ends meet in a career she really didn't want. When she met her husband, Alex, she hoped that his being a promoter would help her get some gigs. Stage fright be damned.
Mel gets pregnant and has a beautiful daughter, smart as a whip, too! But what really connected me to Mel (aside from her name of course) was the fact that she was worried about ending up like her mother. Mel's mother has some serious issues, not your typical mother picking on daughter kind of issues either. The sort of things that make you want to call up your own mother and say, "OMG thanks for not being like THIS!".
I can't say much more without spoiling the book. But I will say I cried when Mel cried, I celebrated when Mel celebrated, I became frustrated when Mel became frustrated and angry when Mel became angry. There were lots of different things that happened to Melody that I have had happen to me, so I connected on lots of different levels there. But Jessica's outstanding talent brought it all home to me, pulled me in and allowed me to share in this woman's life. I got to peek inside the windows and watch events unfold.
Thanks, Jessica, for asking me to read this book. Thank you for writing it and for having the courage to submit it to be published. Excellent book! I am certainly going to recommend this book as much as possible.
This one is for Jessica Bell, also known as The Alliterative Allomorph.
Jessica has written a book, String Bridge, and has done an album to go along with it.
I've already posted lots of this info on Nov. 11th for the Chart Rush on Amazon.com, this post is for the review. So, here it is.
About the book:
Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits ... "Jessica Bell's STRING BRIDGE strummed the fret of my veins, thrummed my blood into a mad rush, played me taut until the final page, yet with echoes still reverberating. A rhythmic debut with metrical tones of heavied dark, fleeting prisms of light, and finally, a burst of joy--just as with any good song, my hopeful heartbeat kept tempo with Bell's narrative." ~Kathryn Magendie, author of Sweetie, Tender Graces and Secret Graces, Publishing Editor of Rose & Thorn Journal
"Poet and musician Jessica Bell's debut novel String Bridge is a rich exploration of desire, guilt, and the difficult balancing act of the modern woman. The writing is lyrical throughout, seamlessly integrating setting, character and plot in a musical structure that allows the reader to identify with Melody's growing insecurity as her world begins to unravel ... String Bridge is a powerful debut from a promising writer, full of music, metaphor, and just a hint of magic." ~Magdalena Ball, author of Repulsion Thrust and Sleep Before Evening
My thoughts:
I have to say when Jessica first asked me to read the book for a review, I was slightly hesitant because ... well, I'm not much of a women's fiction sort of gal. But upon reading the very first sentence, I was hooked. Which is yet another thing that doesn't usually happen to me.
By the end of the first chapter, I had bonded with Melody in a way I have rarely bonded with a character before. At least not one that wasn't of my own creation. Jessica packed a pretty solid punch. Melody, or Mel, is a wife, a mother and is working to make ends meet in a career she really didn't want. When she met her husband, Alex, she hoped that his being a promoter would help her get some gigs. Stage fright be damned.
Mel gets pregnant and has a beautiful daughter, smart as a whip, too! But what really connected me to Mel (aside from her name of course) was the fact that she was worried about ending up like her mother. Mel's mother has some serious issues, not your typical mother picking on daughter kind of issues either. The sort of things that make you want to call up your own mother and say, "OMG thanks for not being like THIS!".
I can't say much more without spoiling the book. But I will say I cried when Mel cried, I celebrated when Mel celebrated, I became frustrated when Mel became frustrated and angry when Mel became angry. There were lots of different things that happened to Melody that I have had happen to me, so I connected on lots of different levels there. But Jessica's outstanding talent brought it all home to me, pulled me in and allowed me to share in this woman's life. I got to peek inside the windows and watch events unfold.
Thanks, Jessica, for asking me to read this book. Thank you for writing it and for having the courage to submit it to be published. Excellent book! I am certainly going to recommend this book as much as possible.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Okay...
So the move is coming up. Looks like I might be without internet for like a week, hopefully less, but I am not holding my breath.
In that time, I will be revising book two of my series, Veritas. I know, I was supposed to make Veritas book three, but when I started thinking of the content in each of the books, the truth starts to come to light about some things in book two rather than book three. And Bellum (which means War in Latin) is the final book. I'm going to love writing some war scenes!
Once book three is done, I have the stand alone book about Black Rose ready to revise. It was completed and tucked away. Then I have two more stand alone books. One about Nightshadow and one about....
Sorcha!
Yeah, the idea popped into my head the other day while cleaning. Sorcha will get her very own book. A few people have mentioned how much they like my pyrate, so there we go. It will be a good story on the high seas. I love pirates!
I'm thinking of switching my story for NaNoWriMo to one of the historical fiction books I have had simmering in the back of my brain. Might be a good time to work on those. At least hammer out the details of it all.
Hope you are all having a great weekend! Happy Halloween and bring on NaNo!
In that time, I will be revising book two of my series, Veritas. I know, I was supposed to make Veritas book three, but when I started thinking of the content in each of the books, the truth starts to come to light about some things in book two rather than book three. And Bellum (which means War in Latin) is the final book. I'm going to love writing some war scenes!
Once book three is done, I have the stand alone book about Black Rose ready to revise. It was completed and tucked away. Then I have two more stand alone books. One about Nightshadow and one about....
Sorcha!
Yeah, the idea popped into my head the other day while cleaning. Sorcha will get her very own book. A few people have mentioned how much they like my pyrate, so there we go. It will be a good story on the high seas. I love pirates!
I'm thinking of switching my story for NaNoWriMo to one of the historical fiction books I have had simmering in the back of my brain. Might be a good time to work on those. At least hammer out the details of it all.
Hope you are all having a great weekend! Happy Halloween and bring on NaNo!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Moving Next Week...
No, not moving my blog. Moving into a new place. That means I may not be online for a week or so. If you don't see anything posted, don't fret. I did schedule two posts, though.
One being the IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group). That is always a must.
Can't recall the other one. Lol! Oh well.
I'm going to be spending lots of time finishing up whatever packing I have to do. So everyone have a great rest of the week and an awesome weekend! Do some trick-or-treating for me too, as I will be moving. Woot!
One being the IWSG (Insecure Writer's Support Group). That is always a must.
Can't recall the other one. Lol! Oh well.
I'm going to be spending lots of time finishing up whatever packing I have to do. So everyone have a great rest of the week and an awesome weekend! Do some trick-or-treating for me too, as I will be moving. Woot!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Idea Hacking...
I was over at C.K. Bryant's blog and am sort of tapping into her latest post.
How many is too many in a series?
The discussion was based around the House of Night series by Kristen and P. C. Cast. These are young adult paranormal romance books. Key word here is Young Adult. They're fast reads, well done and all, but I stopped at like the 5th one. There are 13 in the series.
The premise of the story is good, but when I left a comment, I referred to fantasy series.
Two authors that I adore were very good at writing series. David Eddings and Melanie Rawn. Eddings wrote a series of books, five in the series. The Belgariad. Then, using those same characters, wrote five more books, The Malloreon. Then, two more books sprung from those, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara. I devoured every single one of those books. I loved the characters, the humor and the fact that the story kept moving.
Rawn did the same thing, sort of. Three books in The Dragon Prince series and then three more in the Dragon Star series. She used a majority of the same characters. In the first series, the children of the main characters were young. Then in the second series, the elders are really elders and it is the children, grown up, who do the fighting. Well written stories that moved along.
Of course, I have read other series and trilogies. But once the third book is done, there are very few "spin-off" books. Unless of course you read Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. Those characters intertwine in lots of other stories, make cameo appearances...
I'm trying to think of other series I have read, but can't focus on what is on my bookshelf because my books are packed. Lol!
But anyway, the original question was, how many are too many in a series? You have Harry Potter which has seven, plus three books associated with it. Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. You also have the whole Redwall series of books by Brian Jaques. I still don't know how many books are in that series. A Series of Unfortunate Events... I could go on.
So what do you say? How many is too many?
How many is too many in a series?
The discussion was based around the House of Night series by Kristen and P. C. Cast. These are young adult paranormal romance books. Key word here is Young Adult. They're fast reads, well done and all, but I stopped at like the 5th one. There are 13 in the series.
The premise of the story is good, but when I left a comment, I referred to fantasy series.
Two authors that I adore were very good at writing series. David Eddings and Melanie Rawn. Eddings wrote a series of books, five in the series. The Belgariad. Then, using those same characters, wrote five more books, The Malloreon. Then, two more books sprung from those, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara. I devoured every single one of those books. I loved the characters, the humor and the fact that the story kept moving.
Rawn did the same thing, sort of. Three books in The Dragon Prince series and then three more in the Dragon Star series. She used a majority of the same characters. In the first series, the children of the main characters were young. Then in the second series, the elders are really elders and it is the children, grown up, who do the fighting. Well written stories that moved along.
Of course, I have read other series and trilogies. But once the third book is done, there are very few "spin-off" books. Unless of course you read Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance. Those characters intertwine in lots of other stories, make cameo appearances...
I'm trying to think of other series I have read, but can't focus on what is on my bookshelf because my books are packed. Lol!
But anyway, the original question was, how many are too many in a series? You have Harry Potter which has seven, plus three books associated with it. Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. You also have the whole Redwall series of books by Brian Jaques. I still don't know how many books are in that series. A Series of Unfortunate Events... I could go on.
So what do you say? How many is too many?
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
This Is One Post I Can't Schedule...
I'll be making a small change to my blog profile, but even though I will only be changing a couple of words, its a super huge deal.
*Ahem*
I have gotten a contract from Hellfire Publishing. My book, Shadow of the Rose, Book One: Adversarius, has been accepted and will most likely be a Spring/Summer release!
This is sort of why I was scrambling to get the query and synopsis done. Awhile back, on FaceBook, Dawn Binkley (HP Editor) had mentioned to me that they accept Fantasy submissions. So I thought, hmm... why not? That is when I began editing, looking for beta readers, working on the query and synopsis.
I polished them all to the best of my ability and followed the submission guidelines to a 'T' and was accepted. I submitted the work on my birthday. XD That was my present to myself.
I've done my homework this time. The only thing I can find out there that slams Hellfire is on the Absolute Write Water Cooler about grammatical errors on their website. The contract is sound and pretty average. In my heart, I feel this is a good fit for me, a better start than before with the Evil PA.
So there ya go! I'm super excited! Woohoo!!!
*Ahem*
I have gotten a contract from Hellfire Publishing. My book, Shadow of the Rose, Book One: Adversarius, has been accepted and will most likely be a Spring/Summer release!
This is sort of why I was scrambling to get the query and synopsis done. Awhile back, on FaceBook, Dawn Binkley (HP Editor) had mentioned to me that they accept Fantasy submissions. So I thought, hmm... why not? That is when I began editing, looking for beta readers, working on the query and synopsis.
I polished them all to the best of my ability and followed the submission guidelines to a 'T' and was accepted. I submitted the work on my birthday. XD That was my present to myself.
I've done my homework this time. The only thing I can find out there that slams Hellfire is on the Absolute Write Water Cooler about grammatical errors on their website. The contract is sound and pretty average. In my heart, I feel this is a good fit for me, a better start than before with the Evil PA.
So there ya go! I'm super excited! Woohoo!!!
Blogger Block...
I feel like I am having Blogging Block. Not really writer's block, but close enough. I just know I will be offline for a week when I move and I'm trying to get some posts up.
I may put up some new pages here and gear it up for more of a website look and feel. I'm really liking my new look.
If all else fails I will, at the very least, pull some old posts. Maybe even drop some excerpts on you guys. That would be good. Wish I had a scary story to post for Halloween. Meh. Oh well.
So let's see what I can pull from the dredges.
I may put up some new pages here and gear it up for more of a website look and feel. I'm really liking my new look.
If all else fails I will, at the very least, pull some old posts. Maybe even drop some excerpts on you guys. That would be good. Wish I had a scary story to post for Halloween. Meh. Oh well.
So let's see what I can pull from the dredges.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Support Your Fellow Authors...
First of all, I have a new look. Took me freakin' days of obsessing over it to get it the way I wanted. But that's just how I am. I get my mind on something and I can't break away til it is done or I get so frustrated I just drop it.
And thank you, Michael, for suggesting I use my blog as my website. (I wasn't following your blog OMG ::Facepalm::) I think that is what I will do, but at the moment I am very much in love with my cute little flash site. Here is the link for that.
Now, back to my title. Supporting your fellow authors. There aren't enough hours in a day to do what we do, let alone help another author push their books. We have jobs, we have families and friends and other commitments and obligations.
Completely understandable!! But, what if you took some time out every so often to just mention a brand new or indie author you have read? I am not proposing a blog hop. I'm not even asking you to do a review. Just simply, if you find a brand new author or self pubbed author that actually has a good book, post it up here and give us all a link.
I sort of make it a habit to look up books on Smashwords to see if I can find ones that have no ratings or reviews yet. If the book description looks decent, I'll read it. If I don't like it, I don't post anything, but if I do like it, I review it and give it my honest opinion.
The first people I want to post about are brand new authors from Hellfire Publishing. Husband and wife, Carol and Tom Phipps (This link takes you to the blog). They wrote 'Elf Killers'. I met Carol right out of the blue and she and I have become really good friends. I'm looking forward to the series they are working on right now. But, by all means, if you like fantasy, check out my review. If you know someone who likes fantasy, maybe you could recommend the book. Also, I know the blog is simple and I don't know if she has a website. I've offered up my services if she needed any help with anything. Since, you know, I'm such an expert... ::snorts:: But I did get my blog all pretty.
Anyway.
On to K. C. May. She is an indie author and I first came across her book, 'The Kinshield Legacy', while be-bopping around Amazon looking for some books for my Kindle. Being the El Cheapo that I am, I was looking for free or under $2 books. I found the first book for like .99 cents and paid whatever the full price was for the second book in the series because I loved it that much!
K. C. has a website here. Her book is here. And I don't even know if she has a blog... I'll check. Aha! She does. Right here. I did a review for her book over on My Chaotic Ramblings and I also posted the review on Amazon.
Okay, so there are two authors I have promoted. You can either share a link to my post to get their name out there or you can write your own post. I'd greatly appreciate it and so would these authors. It would also be cool if you would do the same on your blog. You know, pull a newbie out of the hat and promote the hell outta them. We need all the networking we can get!
And thank you, Michael, for suggesting I use my blog as my website. (I wasn't following your blog OMG ::Facepalm::) I think that is what I will do, but at the moment I am very much in love with my cute little flash site. Here is the link for that.
Now, back to my title. Supporting your fellow authors. There aren't enough hours in a day to do what we do, let alone help another author push their books. We have jobs, we have families and friends and other commitments and obligations.
Completely understandable!! But, what if you took some time out every so often to just mention a brand new or indie author you have read? I am not proposing a blog hop. I'm not even asking you to do a review. Just simply, if you find a brand new author or self pubbed author that actually has a good book, post it up here and give us all a link.
I sort of make it a habit to look up books on Smashwords to see if I can find ones that have no ratings or reviews yet. If the book description looks decent, I'll read it. If I don't like it, I don't post anything, but if I do like it, I review it and give it my honest opinion.
The first people I want to post about are brand new authors from Hellfire Publishing. Husband and wife, Carol and Tom Phipps (This link takes you to the blog). They wrote 'Elf Killers'. I met Carol right out of the blue and she and I have become really good friends. I'm looking forward to the series they are working on right now. But, by all means, if you like fantasy, check out my review. If you know someone who likes fantasy, maybe you could recommend the book. Also, I know the blog is simple and I don't know if she has a website. I've offered up my services if she needed any help with anything. Since, you know, I'm such an expert... ::snorts:: But I did get my blog all pretty.
Anyway.
On to K. C. May. She is an indie author and I first came across her book, 'The Kinshield Legacy', while be-bopping around Amazon looking for some books for my Kindle. Being the El Cheapo that I am, I was looking for free or under $2 books. I found the first book for like .99 cents and paid whatever the full price was for the second book in the series because I loved it that much!
K. C. has a website here. Her book is here. And I don't even know if she has a blog... I'll check. Aha! She does. Right here. I did a review for her book over on My Chaotic Ramblings and I also posted the review on Amazon.
Okay, so there are two authors I have promoted. You can either share a link to my post to get their name out there or you can write your own post. I'd greatly appreciate it and so would these authors. It would also be cool if you would do the same on your blog. You know, pull a newbie out of the hat and promote the hell outta them. We need all the networking we can get!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Character Names...
And how the heck to come up with them!
Laura over at Writing Unleashed left a comment for me the other day. She wanted to know how I come up with fresh names in fantasy and story ideas.
Well. Let me tell you! ::Rubs her hands together gleefully::
I have a couple of name generators I go to. Seventh Sanctum, Rink Works, Serendipity, etc. They're all very good, but Seventh Sanctum is my fave by far. But half the time a name in their list sort of works for me. Others are perfect. But even if I use a generator, I still want to make my names unique. So when I saw 'Bassin', I thought... ooh! Alabassin. He's my young prince and Kayta's love interest.
Speaking of Kayta, she was my original Dungeons and Dragons character. When coming up with her name, I used my middle name, Kay, and added the 'ta'. She's been around since I was 19.
Nightshadow was a character in Cosrin, the online role playing game, and she was an assassin there as well. I just figured she was good at hiding in the shadows and wore clothes black as night.
When trying to rename some of the characters from Cosrin for my books, lots of names just came off the top of my head. Like Talaver (Tale uh ver), Farrehn (Far ehn) and Vendras (Vehn drahs). I just plucked those out of the ether. Same with Senweis (Sehn ways).
Now that list I showed the other day of what not to do when writing fantasy, I said a couple of them applied to me. One was "don't use an apostrophe in a name". Well, bugger that, I have a couple of names like the world itself is named Eir du'Brusai (Air do brew sigh). Kayta's last name is Ni'adzul (Knee add zool) and Alabassin's is Li'endrin (Lee en drin). I also have a continent named Istlandu'us (Ist land us). Those sort of came off the top of my head as well.
Now Nightshadow is an assassin and part of the D'raetus Pastiniir (There's that apostrophe again) and it is pronounced 'dee ray tus past ih near'. They are the elite of the elite as far as assassins go. I got that name mixing Latin and Drow, a form of Tolkien's Elvish language. I have translator sites for those. There are lots of things I used Latin and Drow for. Some names I don't want to use the traditional and go for the mix. When I wanted to call my wizards something else, I thought of the Magi and decided to spell it 'Mahjii'.
A friend of mine came up with the name Kefferlings (kehf er lings) for my elf cat race. My husband came up with Dargorians (Dar gore ee ehns) for my humanoid dragon race. I think I got Firlochians (Fur low key ehns) off of a generator. I didn't think Firlochian sounded much like a name and more like a race.
As for story ideas? I'm going for a somewhat generic plot with this trilogy. Tyrannical king wants to gain more power and is trying to wipe out the only force that can stop him, which happens to be Kayta and her family and armies. An arranged marriage where the intended groom would rather be married to another and a few more twists and turns I won't mention because it will spoil it. I also have another book in the works that will focus on Black Rose. He was my husband's character from Dungeons and Dragons and we've made him a champion of a deity. He'll be fighting an Elemental, in this case an Earth Elemental, that accidentally stepped into the summoning circle of a Mahjii and got possessed by a powerful demon. You'll have to ask my husband how he came up with that one.
Okay, so sorry to ramble on! But hope that answers some questions.
Laura over at Writing Unleashed left a comment for me the other day. She wanted to know how I come up with fresh names in fantasy and story ideas.
Well. Let me tell you! ::Rubs her hands together gleefully::
I have a couple of name generators I go to. Seventh Sanctum, Rink Works, Serendipity, etc. They're all very good, but Seventh Sanctum is my fave by far. But half the time a name in their list sort of works for me. Others are perfect. But even if I use a generator, I still want to make my names unique. So when I saw 'Bassin', I thought... ooh! Alabassin. He's my young prince and Kayta's love interest.
Speaking of Kayta, she was my original Dungeons and Dragons character. When coming up with her name, I used my middle name, Kay, and added the 'ta'. She's been around since I was 19.
Nightshadow was a character in Cosrin, the online role playing game, and she was an assassin there as well. I just figured she was good at hiding in the shadows and wore clothes black as night.
When trying to rename some of the characters from Cosrin for my books, lots of names just came off the top of my head. Like Talaver (Tale uh ver), Farrehn (Far ehn) and Vendras (Vehn drahs). I just plucked those out of the ether. Same with Senweis (Sehn ways).
Now that list I showed the other day of what not to do when writing fantasy, I said a couple of them applied to me. One was "don't use an apostrophe in a name". Well, bugger that, I have a couple of names like the world itself is named Eir du'Brusai (Air do brew sigh). Kayta's last name is Ni'adzul (Knee add zool) and Alabassin's is Li'endrin (Lee en drin). I also have a continent named Istlandu'us (Ist land us). Those sort of came off the top of my head as well.
Now Nightshadow is an assassin and part of the D'raetus Pastiniir (There's that apostrophe again) and it is pronounced 'dee ray tus past ih near'. They are the elite of the elite as far as assassins go. I got that name mixing Latin and Drow, a form of Tolkien's Elvish language. I have translator sites for those. There are lots of things I used Latin and Drow for. Some names I don't want to use the traditional and go for the mix. When I wanted to call my wizards something else, I thought of the Magi and decided to spell it 'Mahjii'.
A friend of mine came up with the name Kefferlings (kehf er lings) for my elf cat race. My husband came up with Dargorians (Dar gore ee ehns) for my humanoid dragon race. I think I got Firlochians (Fur low key ehns) off of a generator. I didn't think Firlochian sounded much like a name and more like a race.
As for story ideas? I'm going for a somewhat generic plot with this trilogy. Tyrannical king wants to gain more power and is trying to wipe out the only force that can stop him, which happens to be Kayta and her family and armies. An arranged marriage where the intended groom would rather be married to another and a few more twists and turns I won't mention because it will spoil it. I also have another book in the works that will focus on Black Rose. He was my husband's character from Dungeons and Dragons and we've made him a champion of a deity. He'll be fighting an Elemental, in this case an Earth Elemental, that accidentally stepped into the summoning circle of a Mahjii and got possessed by a powerful demon. You'll have to ask my husband how he came up with that one.
Okay, so sorry to ramble on! But hope that answers some questions.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Have A Hardhat...
Excuse my dust while I sit here and play with Blogger. I'm trying to find a background and image that works for me.
Thanks for being patient!
Thanks for being patient!
Wanting A Change...
I've been trying to find a way to change my website up a bit. So when I logged into Webs.com, I thought, maybe I should just go ahead and upgrade.
...
Yeah, so not worth it.
It's great for a free site, but the fact that even WITH the premium upgrade, I don't get to change up the background that much the way I want it. I'm not a good HTML person. I don't do code and hate asking for someone to help me so I can get a nice one done.
Plus I'm cheap. I want it free.
I know, I know... insert lewd comment here, right?
In this economy with me just barely getting back to work, I can't afford a whole heck of a lot to begin with. But when I am told that getting an upgrade will include a domain name (it doesn't, have to pay extra) or email addresses (can't get 'em without the domain) I sort of expect to get what I'm paying for. Not be sent to other sites to get those extras.
Ah well. So now I am looking around for another place to put up my website. One that will allow me to tweak it how I want to, baby.
I'll either be posting a new link to a new site or I will be back here spitting nails and asking for some suggestions.
Hope you all are having a great week!
...
Yeah, so not worth it.
It's great for a free site, but the fact that even WITH the premium upgrade, I don't get to change up the background that much the way I want it. I'm not a good HTML person. I don't do code and hate asking for someone to help me so I can get a nice one done.
Plus I'm cheap. I want it free.
I know, I know... insert lewd comment here, right?
In this economy with me just barely getting back to work, I can't afford a whole heck of a lot to begin with. But when I am told that getting an upgrade will include a domain name (it doesn't, have to pay extra) or email addresses (can't get 'em without the domain) I sort of expect to get what I'm paying for. Not be sent to other sites to get those extras.
Ah well. So now I am looking around for another place to put up my website. One that will allow me to tweak it how I want to, baby.
I'll either be posting a new link to a new site or I will be back here spitting nails and asking for some suggestions.
Hope you all are having a great week!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Writing High Fantasy...
Half the time I use this blog to post about "Oh, I'm moving" or non writing related stuff. That's the Musings and Other Such Nonsense of this blog.
I seriously need to get back to the "Writing" part of this blog. I'm looking around for some fun topics and trying to offer up advice I've been given along the way. Right now, I'm going to write about what I know best. Fantasy.
I have discovered that what I write is closer to High Fantasy. I'm sure I have said this before in previous blogs. Maybe I haven't. What classifies it as High Fantasy?
Well, according to Wikipedia: "High Fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional (secondary) world rather than the real or 'primary' world."
That's pretty much what I write. My stories are set in a world of my creation. If you've read any of this before, you can just pass over my blog today. I won't be heartbroken. But I have talked about this before. However, I have lots of new followers so I'll pretend I'm a broken record.
There are lots of 'Don'ts' in writing fantasy, more specifically, high fantasy. Personally, one of my pet peeves in fantasy is graphic sex scenes. I sort of have issues with this to begin with, but it really gets on my nerves in fantasy. I'm a sword and sorcery kind of gal. I want to get lost in an epic tale with mystical creatures, wizards duking it out and honorable knights battling the forces of evil. I do not want to know who is sleeping with who... (Insert needle scratching on a record sound here).
I mean really, would you have wanted to know the sordid details between Samwise and the sweet girl, Rosie, from the tavern? How about Aragorn and Arwen? You want those details, write fan-fic and leave it at that.
Some of the other don'ts, according to lots of fantasy authors out there: Don't have a orphaned, young boy who doesn't know he's supposed to be king living with a kindly old grandfather who happens to be a wizard.
Been there. Done that. Dozens of times.
If you write fantasy, don't plagiarize either. Making up your exotic sounding names is all well and good. Even more fun! I've used several fantasy name generator sites, but they all said the same thing: Feel free to use these names! Basically giving you permission. I still have changed and altered those names, but a good majority of them have just come off the top of my head. I have pages upon pages of notes with names. But to take a name from say, "Conan the Barbarian" (the old one with Schwarzamuscle) and use it in your book... meh. Unoriginal and copy-catting. Combine that with the use of Tolkien's Elvish, (which, by the way you are NOT allowed to use, I was told) and you're still copy-catting and not working at being unique or even slightly creative. Trust me, a book comes to mind with these two no no's and at least a dozen more.
Gods in disguise? Done. Quest for magical artifact that will save the world? Done. Kind kings duped by evil magicians/advisers? Done and done. I have a whole list and I found it while Googling. Look here, if you write fantasy. If you don't write fantasy, you still might get a good laugh out of it. But if you do write fantasy and any or all of those apply, you might get a little butt-hurt. You've been warned. A couple apply to my writing, but no worries. It is hard to write fantasy and NOT come up with a couple of those things. Writing styles are infinitesimal, I mean, I've been told I write like Tolkien. But I don't. I still have my own unique twist and so does everyone else.
So I hope this is helpful to fantasy writers out there looking for a good start. It does help to write what you know if the majority of your information is fantasy. I'm a nerd and proud of it. :D
I seriously need to get back to the "Writing" part of this blog. I'm looking around for some fun topics and trying to offer up advice I've been given along the way. Right now, I'm going to write about what I know best. Fantasy.
I have discovered that what I write is closer to High Fantasy. I'm sure I have said this before in previous blogs. Maybe I haven't. What classifies it as High Fantasy?
Well, according to Wikipedia: "High Fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional (secondary) world rather than the real or 'primary' world."
That's pretty much what I write. My stories are set in a world of my creation. If you've read any of this before, you can just pass over my blog today. I won't be heartbroken. But I have talked about this before. However, I have lots of new followers so I'll pretend I'm a broken record.
There are lots of 'Don'ts' in writing fantasy, more specifically, high fantasy. Personally, one of my pet peeves in fantasy is graphic sex scenes. I sort of have issues with this to begin with, but it really gets on my nerves in fantasy. I'm a sword and sorcery kind of gal. I want to get lost in an epic tale with mystical creatures, wizards duking it out and honorable knights battling the forces of evil. I do not want to know who is sleeping with who... (Insert needle scratching on a record sound here).
I mean really, would you have wanted to know the sordid details between Samwise and the sweet girl, Rosie, from the tavern? How about Aragorn and Arwen? You want those details, write fan-fic and leave it at that.
Some of the other don'ts, according to lots of fantasy authors out there: Don't have a orphaned, young boy who doesn't know he's supposed to be king living with a kindly old grandfather who happens to be a wizard.
Been there. Done that. Dozens of times.
If you write fantasy, don't plagiarize either. Making up your exotic sounding names is all well and good. Even more fun! I've used several fantasy name generator sites, but they all said the same thing: Feel free to use these names! Basically giving you permission. I still have changed and altered those names, but a good majority of them have just come off the top of my head. I have pages upon pages of notes with names. But to take a name from say, "Conan the Barbarian" (the old one with Schwarzamuscle) and use it in your book... meh. Unoriginal and copy-catting. Combine that with the use of Tolkien's Elvish, (which, by the way you are NOT allowed to use, I was told) and you're still copy-catting and not working at being unique or even slightly creative. Trust me, a book comes to mind with these two no no's and at least a dozen more.
Gods in disguise? Done. Quest for magical artifact that will save the world? Done. Kind kings duped by evil magicians/advisers? Done and done. I have a whole list and I found it while Googling. Look here, if you write fantasy. If you don't write fantasy, you still might get a good laugh out of it. But if you do write fantasy and any or all of those apply, you might get a little butt-hurt. You've been warned. A couple apply to my writing, but no worries. It is hard to write fantasy and NOT come up with a couple of those things. Writing styles are infinitesimal, I mean, I've been told I write like Tolkien. But I don't. I still have my own unique twist and so does everyone else.
So I hope this is helpful to fantasy writers out there looking for a good start. It does help to write what you know if the majority of your information is fantasy. I'm a nerd and proud of it. :D
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
It Hasn't Lost Its Charm...
I've been browsing through my older posts and one in particular caught my eye.
What do you love to create?
At the time, I posted just about everything related to what I was writing. Now, while most of the answers are still the same, I'm discovering more about what I love to create.
I know I griped a lot about the query, the synopsis and all of that. In the end, I'm happy to say I actually did find a positive to it all. Writing the query and the synopsis forced me into breaking out of my comfort zone. I'm not comfortable writing those things. They suck. But I did it.
Editing and using beta readers... same thing. Scared me half to death to release what I wrote into the arms of strangers, but I did it. And that helped my writing as well.
Even after all of that, I still love creating every bit of my characters, my world, my stories. I'm not sure I will ever give it all up. It would take some serious maiming or death. And if there is any maiming to be done, it'll be by me... just kidding. ;) Maybe. Halloween brings out my dark side. Muahaha!
What do you love to create?
At the time, I posted just about everything related to what I was writing. Now, while most of the answers are still the same, I'm discovering more about what I love to create.
I know I griped a lot about the query, the synopsis and all of that. In the end, I'm happy to say I actually did find a positive to it all. Writing the query and the synopsis forced me into breaking out of my comfort zone. I'm not comfortable writing those things. They suck. But I did it.
Editing and using beta readers... same thing. Scared me half to death to release what I wrote into the arms of strangers, but I did it. And that helped my writing as well.
Even after all of that, I still love creating every bit of my characters, my world, my stories. I'm not sure I will ever give it all up. It would take some serious maiming or death. And if there is any maiming to be done, it'll be by me... just kidding. ;) Maybe. Halloween brings out my dark side. Muahaha!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Halloween Approacheth...
If you all don't know by now, I'll tell you. Halloween is like, my favorite holiday EVER! I love it. I don't know why. I'm also a huge horror movie buff and always enjoyed my brother's Halloween parties. He would play like a two hour long tape (yeah...VHS) of all the scary parts of every scary movie. It was awesome. People would be glued to the TV.
Later on, after the parties stopped and his kids got a little older, he started doing a haunted house in his carport. I got to help the first year before we moved away to Alaska. It was the best!
You would think with all this horror influence in my life that I would write horror/thriller novels. I tried my hand at it once and failed horribly.
Now I'm thinking I need to keep working on that vampire story I started, but vampires are quickly becoming over done. We'll see.
Also, if you don't already know it by now, author Elizabeth Mueller's first book will be released October 31st! Fitting, considering it is titled 'Darkspell'. Congrats to you Elizabeth and I so look forward to reading your book!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
I Love Weekends...
Saturday was a long day for me. Not complaining, but was up at 5:15 a.m. and went to work until early afternoon. After dinner (BBQing, yes, even in the cold... you should have seen us grilling fillet Mignon in below zero weather...) we watched two movies. Green Lantern and Scream 4.
I have to say I like Green Lantern. It was decent and a movie I would watch again. (Ryan Reynolds... hehe!) But Scream 4 topped the night.
I've always been a huge Scream fan. I don't take the movies seriously. (Kind of like Insane Clown Posse) So watching them is absolutely fun for me. My daughter thought it was hilarious because of the look of amusement on my face. We're talking stab fest, here people. What's not to love?
Hmm... that was my dark side speaking. It tends to scare people. Unintentionally of course.
It's funny... I think I could write a really good thriller/horror if I could just figure out a good plot to write about. I tried my hand at horror once and failed miserably, but with my dark imagination I bet I could blow Mr. King away.
Maybe not. He scared the pee out of me with 'Pet Semetary'.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
I Gave In...
Okay, so I did it. I signed up for NaNoWriMo and to make sure I stick to the commitment I've even gone over and got a sponsor page.
You can see it here. I've kept my goal small. $250. If I don't make that, no worries, but at least I am going to give it a shot.
When I do NaNo this year, I posted up my second book in my series as my novel. Then I got to thinking about it, I have a different story idea that I have sort of put on the back burner because I need to do lots of research for it. But I can get the whole premise down on 'paper' and then fill in what I don't know from there. And I'm going to keep it a secret til I'm done... hehe!
You know you love the torture...
So there ya go! I'll be doing NaNoWriMo!
You can see it here. I've kept my goal small. $250. If I don't make that, no worries, but at least I am going to give it a shot.
When I do NaNo this year, I posted up my second book in my series as my novel. Then I got to thinking about it, I have a different story idea that I have sort of put on the back burner because I need to do lots of research for it. But I can get the whole premise down on 'paper' and then fill in what I don't know from there. And I'm going to keep it a secret til I'm done... hehe!
You know you love the torture...
So there ya go! I'll be doing NaNoWriMo!
Review: The Kinshield Legacy by K. C. May...
I have another review up over at My Chaotic Ramblings.
This chick writes fantasy old school, baby. Go check it out!
This chick writes fantasy old school, baby. Go check it out!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...
Woot! Another Friday has rolled around. Brings me closer to my moving day.
Without further ado, here is my Friday Faves:
Favorite books/authors:
I have to go with book series here this time around. My all time favorite series were the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance books. They myriad of authors writing from the same world totally fascinated and inspired me. I would love for my world to be like that someday. Just hand over copies of the dozens of notes I have, the maps... let people run with it like those books. That is what I imagine for my world. May not happen though, but I will still dream. I have a whole section on my bookshelf that has nothing but Forgotten Realms. Tantras, Sojourn, Iron Helm, The Ogre's Pact... they're tucked up in there by Isaac Asimov and David Eddings. I even wrote a fable back in high school inspired by some of the characters from Dragonlance and all those.
Favorite movie:
All of the X-Men movies. I enjoyed X-Men First Class very much. Has to do with James McEvoy I think. Yum. I collected the comics when I was younger. I was the kind of girl who blew the nerds' minds. A girl. A pretty girl. She plays D&D AND collects comic books?!
Yeah, that was always fun. I get the same sort of reaction when I tell people I play World of Warcraft. If I had a dime for every time someone has typed into world chat: "Girls don't play WoW" I'd be rich...
Favorite music:
So with my son hanging around now, I can tell I heavily influenced his choices in music. I got him started on Flogging Molly and The Pogues, the Chieftains and all that. Now he's listening to bands similar to those and I'm asking him who they are. It's great! So now I have to jack his iPod and steal some of his music. Hehe! It's all good. I still need a larger iPod. I don't have enough room in 8 gigs for all the music I like.
Fantasy Art:
And the funny:
Have a better weekend than this kitty.... lol!
Without further ado, here is my Friday Faves:
Favorite books/authors:
I have to go with book series here this time around. My all time favorite series were the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance books. They myriad of authors writing from the same world totally fascinated and inspired me. I would love for my world to be like that someday. Just hand over copies of the dozens of notes I have, the maps... let people run with it like those books. That is what I imagine for my world. May not happen though, but I will still dream. I have a whole section on my bookshelf that has nothing but Forgotten Realms. Tantras, Sojourn, Iron Helm, The Ogre's Pact... they're tucked up in there by Isaac Asimov and David Eddings. I even wrote a fable back in high school inspired by some of the characters from Dragonlance and all those.
Favorite movie:
All of the X-Men movies. I enjoyed X-Men First Class very much. Has to do with James McEvoy I think. Yum. I collected the comics when I was younger. I was the kind of girl who blew the nerds' minds. A girl. A pretty girl. She plays D&D AND collects comic books?!
Yeah, that was always fun. I get the same sort of reaction when I tell people I play World of Warcraft. If I had a dime for every time someone has typed into world chat: "Girls don't play WoW" I'd be rich...
Favorite music:
So with my son hanging around now, I can tell I heavily influenced his choices in music. I got him started on Flogging Molly and The Pogues, the Chieftains and all that. Now he's listening to bands similar to those and I'm asking him who they are. It's great! So now I have to jack his iPod and steal some of his music. Hehe! It's all good. I still need a larger iPod. I don't have enough room in 8 gigs for all the music I like.
Fantasy Art:
And the funny:
Have a better weekend than this kitty.... lol!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What Inspires?...
You know, I look back over the last 6 months or so and see how much I have grown as a writer. Going through the processes of the query letter, the synopsis, the editing and all that. Makes me very glad I have author friends out there willing to help.
See, I'm like that as well. I don't want to drag down any author. I would rather help and promote them. I want to read what you have before you send it off to find your typos. Only because they're my pet peeve. (She says as she makes error after error and has to hit 'backspace'...)
I even look on the Cosrin boards every so often and cringe at what I wrote there. But that's okay.
It's just nice to reflect every so often on what I have done in the past. What inspired me so much still inspires me today. I absolutely love writing. Even with all the headaches. But, that's how we learn, right?
So do the things that inspired you to begin writing still inspire you today?
See, I'm like that as well. I don't want to drag down any author. I would rather help and promote them. I want to read what you have before you send it off to find your typos. Only because they're my pet peeve. (She says as she makes error after error and has to hit 'backspace'...)
I even look on the Cosrin boards every so often and cringe at what I wrote there. But that's okay.
It's just nice to reflect every so often on what I have done in the past. What inspired me so much still inspires me today. I absolutely love writing. Even with all the headaches. But, that's how we learn, right?
So do the things that inspired you to begin writing still inspire you today?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
My Week...
Just keeps getting better and better.
Tuesday was my birfday. First time in 5 years I had both the kids with me AND my mom. Word!
I got an hourglass. I'm going to find out how long it is and use it for writing and ... well lots of things. I love hourglasses. I got a nice decorative bottle with a cork for my kitchen deco. I got a very cool pirate ship that could double as a tiny wind chime. And a dragon holding a sword letter opener. I got some fuzzy slippers, a new jacket. My daughter's boyfriend made a vase for me and they put in some beautiful roses. Her best friend bought me cookies. (Yeah, she knows me well.)
Went out to dinner with my family and a friend. It was just completely awesome! I keep trying to spread some good vibes to all of you!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
No NaNo For Moi...
I would like to do NaNoWriMo this year, since I skipped last year. But, same thing happened this year as last year. I started working. I'm sure I could juggle it, but trying to submit my first book, write the query and the synopsis and everything else on my plate, I sort of have to decide what else to add.
My social eyes are far larger than my social stomach.
If I can swing it, I'll wing it. We'll see.
So I am moving on November first. Sort of fitting, it being a moving day for the Fey. All Saints Day. I've got boxes in the house and the cats are still in the "Ooh! What's this?!" Stage. Soon, they'll panic and run. Can you blame them? Getting their furry little butts stuffed into a duffel bag with air vents...
We're having beautiful weather this fine October week and my week has started off with a great bang. I'm hoping you are all having a good week, I'm trying to spread the glittery love!
My social eyes are far larger than my social stomach.
If I can swing it, I'll wing it. We'll see.
So I am moving on November first. Sort of fitting, it being a moving day for the Fey. All Saints Day. I've got boxes in the house and the cats are still in the "Ooh! What's this?!" Stage. Soon, they'll panic and run. Can you blame them? Getting their furry little butts stuffed into a duffel bag with air vents...
We're having beautiful weather this fine October week and my week has started off with a great bang. I'm hoping you are all having a good week, I'm trying to spread the glittery love!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Howdy, Happy Campers!...
It's Monday! Woot! Yeah, no, I am really not that happy it is Monday. But I am happy about several other things.
First, I think I finally got a handle on my query letter. We'll see if it works. Second, I'm now working on my synopsis. On that note, does anyone out there have any links for writing the long synopsis? I've been trying to research this and all I get are links for help on writing the synopsis. Go figure.
My son is here! I brought him to school today. Woohoo!
And on top of all of this... I'M MOVING!!!! Hooray! I've spent nearly three years with bad or rancid water in one way shape or form. Moving back towards town, we'll be back on city water. One place had a well, but out where we were it is hit or miss because of mining that had been done. The water had bacterial iron or something to that effect. We filtered it, we could bathe, wash clothes and dishes but we could not drink it. So we trucked in water. When we moved, we had a cistern. It was fine for awhile, then one of the seals broke and dirt got into the water system. So again, we had to bring home drinking water. Gah!
That is why I am so happy to be moving. At least we will be closer to town again this winter.
My new job is going well. I'm finally getting the hang of things and not making so many mistakes. I'm just sad that all of this going on will be taking away from my blogging, but I will do my best to maintain it. I am going to make sure I have a few posts done and scheduled, ready for you all. I will also keep you all posted on my writing/submission process. Totally excited. Moreso than I should be, I suppose. But who cares! Lol!
Hope you all have a great Monday and a good week.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...
I've scheduled this post because I've gone to get my son who decided to move up here to Alaska to live with me. Woot!!!
So here we go, it's Friday!!
Favorite books/authors:
K. C. May. I'm currently reading the first book in her fantasy series called "The Kinshield Legacy". She has quickly become a new favorite of mine in the fantasy world. She's kickin' it Old School, baby. THAT is what I like. I mean seriously, check this out:
"The Kinshield Legacy is a rousing good fantasy tale, with nice characterization and some ferocious action. These days I read primarily for business rather than pleasure, but I found myself eager to return to this novel." ~ Piers Anthony, Author of the Xanth novels
Yeah, baby. Woot! I'm certainly going to be purchasing more of her books. K. C. May rocks.
Favorite movies:
Lord of the Rings. Don't know if I have ever stated this before, but I am now. Why is this trilogy of movies one of my favorites? Well, I have to go back a bit. I tried reading "The Hobbit" when I was like... 12. Could NOT get into it for whatever reason and gave up reading any of Tolkien's stuff. So fast forward about 20 years and you have me role-playing online and writing fantasy. I got into a conversation with some friends about fantasy and one of them had named his character Treebeard and another was Elendil. Someone commented on nice LotR references. I said, "What?" and got slammed with comment after comment of "How could you claim to write fantasy or even LOVE fantasy and NOT READ TOLKIEN!!!??" Insert shame. Fast forward to like a year later and me getting a critique on some of my earlier writings. I was told I have a "Tolkien-esque" writing style. I sat there and said, "Oh, ok. Thanks."
*ahem*
That was about the time the first movie was going to come out so I said, fine. Whatever. I'll go see what all the fuss is about.
I got hooked. I cried at the delayed reaction to the compliment I got. I went home and the next day got EVERY BOOK from the Hobbit to Return of the King. I read every single one before the next movie came out. I am not just a fan now, but a practical EXPERT on these books. lol!
Favorite music:
Concrete Blonde. Love their music. Used to listen to them a lot when I was younger and now have my kids hooked on their music as well. Woot!
Fantasy art:
No clue where I got this, but I like it.
And the funny:
Have an awesome weekend!
So here we go, it's Friday!!
Favorite books/authors:
K. C. May. I'm currently reading the first book in her fantasy series called "The Kinshield Legacy". She has quickly become a new favorite of mine in the fantasy world. She's kickin' it Old School, baby. THAT is what I like. I mean seriously, check this out:
"The Kinshield Legacy is a rousing good fantasy tale, with nice characterization and some ferocious action. These days I read primarily for business rather than pleasure, but I found myself eager to return to this novel." ~ Piers Anthony, Author of the Xanth novels
Yeah, baby. Woot! I'm certainly going to be purchasing more of her books. K. C. May rocks.
Favorite movies:
Lord of the Rings. Don't know if I have ever stated this before, but I am now. Why is this trilogy of movies one of my favorites? Well, I have to go back a bit. I tried reading "The Hobbit" when I was like... 12. Could NOT get into it for whatever reason and gave up reading any of Tolkien's stuff. So fast forward about 20 years and you have me role-playing online and writing fantasy. I got into a conversation with some friends about fantasy and one of them had named his character Treebeard and another was Elendil. Someone commented on nice LotR references. I said, "What?" and got slammed with comment after comment of "How could you claim to write fantasy or even LOVE fantasy and NOT READ TOLKIEN!!!??" Insert shame. Fast forward to like a year later and me getting a critique on some of my earlier writings. I was told I have a "Tolkien-esque" writing style. I sat there and said, "Oh, ok. Thanks."
*ahem*
That was about the time the first movie was going to come out so I said, fine. Whatever. I'll go see what all the fuss is about.
I got hooked. I cried at the delayed reaction to the compliment I got. I went home and the next day got EVERY BOOK from the Hobbit to Return of the King. I read every single one before the next movie came out. I am not just a fan now, but a practical EXPERT on these books. lol!
Favorite music:
Concrete Blonde. Love their music. Used to listen to them a lot when I was younger and now have my kids hooked on their music as well. Woot!
Fantasy art:
No clue where I got this, but I like it.
And the funny:
Have an awesome weekend!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Insecure Writer's Support Group...
Holy Crap! (Pardon my language...) It is that time of the month again and I am not talking about female issues...
I'm talking about Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group!
So do I want to be an inspiration this time or a whiner? I've been whining enough lately I think, so perhaps I will go the route of inspiration!
So you're a new writer, eh? Think you have what it takes to get your book done and out there? Are you ready for that kind of commitment? Seriously, this isn't a "Of course I'm ready for commitment" kind of date just to get it in the sack and then ignore its phone calls until it finally gives up and you have moved on.... And by 'it' I mean your book.
Your book and its characters will stalk you. Editing will give you nightmares. Query letters will put you in the loony bin bound up in a straight jacket.
So where is this inspiration I spoke of?
Well, think of this. You have a book, all nice and shiny. Finished. Complete! You have submitted it to agents/publishers and you got accepted! Your book comes out, your successful, you do blog hops and book signings. You went to war with all of the above and you WON!!
The road to get there is paved with your blood, sweat and tears. This isn't a picnic, you know, but the rewards in the end are so worth it. Ask any author who has come to the end of the road, ask them if they would do it all over again to get to that final place. The answer would be a resounding, "YES!".
Of course, the winding road won't look like the pic above. It'd look more like the road to Hell.
But that's okay. You have created something special, wonderful and unique. You have people reading and reviewing your book. Most people like it. I say most simply because you'll get the oddball "Troll" out there who will post a snarky review because they have nothing better to do than try to elicit a response to their negativity giving them a false sense of power.
Or, they just don't like it.
That is okay, you can't please everyone. But you will please a good majority of them! So work hard, wipe that sweat from your brow when it comes down to crunch time. Cry when you are frustrated. Bleed a little when you get harsh criticism. Those cuts will heal, you'll develop a thicker skin and you will emerge Victorious!!
In the end, it will all be worth the pain, torment and frustration. It's like having a child, raising it and sending it out into the world to stand on its own two feet. You'll be very proud of it and yeah, you will want to do it again.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
New Book Review Up...
I've just posted a new book review over on My Chaotic Ramblings if you would like to check it out.
You can go here to see the review of: Of Witches And Warlocks: The Trouble With Spells.
Have a great day!
You can go here to see the review of: Of Witches And Warlocks: The Trouble With Spells.
Have a great day!
Two Word Tuesday...
I was on Facebook and Writing.com posted up a blurb: "Two word Tuesday. In two words describe the status of your muse."
One person responded with "On task."
I responded with "On strike."
I may have stated that revising has become the bane of my existence. Well, now I have to REVISE that statement...
I like revising, I hate queries. Only because it is so difficult at the moment. Like revising, I had never had the tools and skills to do what needs to be done, so I hated it. Now my attention has shifted to queries and my cross-hairs have followed. I'm finding the resources I need, just like I did with revisions and the like. It may become easier in time, but at the moment, it's making me grind my teeth.
Next will be writing the synopsis. That should be interesting. I'm the kind of writer that writes first and does the synopsis later. I need to do the synopsis first, then tweak it as needed.
But the best news of all: I got my 200th follower!! Give me a Woot! Thanks for following me, I love hearing all of your comments and if you just drop by and lurk, that's okay too. Have a great rest of the week!!
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