Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Join The No Kiss Blogfest!
I should do this stuff more often. Yesterday I got the most comments in the history of this (or any that I've done) blog.
So that's why I'm joining in on the No Kiss Blogfest! Inspired by yesterday's Kissing Day Blogfest, Ms. Mallis over at Frankie Writes decided to go almost all the way with scenes that show not kissing, but the famous (or perhaps infamous?) "almost kiss."
Oooooh, can you feel the tension? I've got a good one planned, oh yes indeed. In fact, I got so excited about it, I actually have it set up already. It's just on automatic schedule thanks to Blogger, so once the date rolls around, at about 10:30ish am, it's going up!
So January 2, 2010, post your almost kiss and join in on the fun!
So close!
So that's why I'm joining in on the No Kiss Blogfest! Inspired by yesterday's Kissing Day Blogfest, Ms. Mallis over at Frankie Writes decided to go almost all the way with scenes that show not kissing, but the famous (or perhaps infamous?) "almost kiss."
Oooooh, can you feel the tension? I've got a good one planned, oh yes indeed. In fact, I got so excited about it, I actually have it set up already. It's just on automatic schedule thanks to Blogger, so once the date rolls around, at about 10:30ish am, it's going up!
So January 2, 2010, post your almost kiss and join in on the fun!
So close!
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Official Kissing Day Blogfest!
I found this while reading through the daily Yahoo Groups email from my fellow WPF alumni, and though Kaye Ducas's blog, found out about the Official Kissing Day Blogfest as started by Sherrinda. So I decided to jump into the fun. Took me some time to finally pick something out, and as much as I wanted to post one particular scene from my WIP, it's just not done yet, so I can't. *sad* Instead, I decided to go with another scene from the same WIP that happens much earlier.
Remember kids, WIP. It ain't perfect.
And for the record, he's not a serial killer. It was just a massive misunderstanding, so don't worry.
Whoo hoo! Go mistletoe and kissing!
Remember kids, WIP. It ain't perfect.
And for the record, he's not a serial killer. It was just a massive misunderstanding, so don't worry.
“I am not going anywhere with you!” I jerked out of his grasp. “You are crazy! This isn’t normal! Any of it!”
“Look, I am the only one that can find that girl and if you want to find her too, then you’ll have to stick with me, do you understand that?”
“Oy! Who are you talking to out there?”
We froze. A few of the giants climbed to their feet while the others leaned over to look outside the cave.
“No one!” Wolf called. “Just, ah, my mate! We were both looking for the morsel, but we’re going now!”
“I think not. She sounds an awful lot like that scrap we caught earlier. Let’s see her.”
I stared at Wolf, petrified.
“No, no!” he yelled back, his hands on my shoulders. “She’s got this silly fear of giants, says they’re too big for her taste.”
“We insist.”
The command was low, dangerous. Wolf gave me a tiny nod and gently pulled me forward so the giants could see me. The one with the club grunted.
“Thought so. Why didn’t you tell us you was a she-wolf?”
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Wolf pinched me in my side.
“Oh!” I half-shouted. “I, um, was too scared.” I laughed weakly. “Concerned about my…food. At the time. Sorry.”
Their stony faces remained unconvinced.
“Show us your side then,” said one of the standing giants.
I gaped again. My side? What did that mean? My wolf side?
“You can’t,” Wolf said, his voice barely audible. “Run.”
They’ll just follow us. I racked my brain for an idea. I had no idea what they were looking for, but so far it didn’t sound much like humans were fond of wolves. Maybe…
“Well,” I spoke haltingly, “would a human woman do this?”
I looked up at Wolf and braced myself. Oh Caroline, you’ve gone off the deep end.
I grabbed his face and brought his mouth down on mine. He was surprised, but quickly recovered and put his arms around me, kissing me back and milking it for all it was worth.
This is so crazy. I’m kissing a possible serial killer. Ew. God where did I go wrong? This is so beyond screwed up...he tastes like berries and mint...
Finally I pulled away, collecting my bearings again. I’d just kissed a psycho who’d held a knife on me not so many hours earlier in order to stay away from giants. I wanted to move farther away, much farther away, but Wolf held me where I was, his forehead resting against mine looking for all the world like he’d just had the best day of his life.
Whoo hoo! Go mistletoe and kissing!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Yes? No?
Sometimes I simply don't understand agents.
I don't get mad about it. Instead, I just chuckle to myself and shake my head. I mean, really, could they confuse us poor authors any more?
For those starting out trying to create the "perfect" query letter, it can take them a bit of time before they realize that it doesn't exist. Or...perhaps it does. You just have to craft it to suit each and every agent's individual needs. And just as agents often talk about how they have so little time to read the hundreds of query letters they get each day (and they do), so can most of us writers talk about how we have so little time to specially tailor a query letter to every agent.
Now that's not to belittle agents. Likewise, that's not to say that most of us don't often tweak a letter here and there to make it more suitable. No, what I'm talking about are broader ideas.
I found a great example today while searching for agents to query.
One agency states, right on it's front page in their tips for queries, "Don't try and sell your work; that's our job!" True enough, it is their job, and yet every single person I have ever talked about with on the subject of query letters is that you need to sell your novel. That's the whole point of the query letter, is it not? Make your work so irresistible that the agent has to bite?
Indeed, not long after visiting them, I found another agent with an entire 3-page file devoted to crafting a great query letter (or at least a better one) and on the second page in big, bold font it says, "How to use selling points in your query letter" and by that they mean "all the book's major selling points."
Ha. Now this is NOT to alienate any agents out there, and I am NOT trying to be rude or snarky or anything but, gosh guys.
Could you confuse us any more? ;)
You know, I don't think agents even know what makes up the ideal query letter...
I don't get mad about it. Instead, I just chuckle to myself and shake my head. I mean, really, could they confuse us poor authors any more?
For those starting out trying to create the "perfect" query letter, it can take them a bit of time before they realize that it doesn't exist. Or...perhaps it does. You just have to craft it to suit each and every agent's individual needs. And just as agents often talk about how they have so little time to read the hundreds of query letters they get each day (and they do), so can most of us writers talk about how we have so little time to specially tailor a query letter to every agent.
Now that's not to belittle agents. Likewise, that's not to say that most of us don't often tweak a letter here and there to make it more suitable. No, what I'm talking about are broader ideas.
I found a great example today while searching for agents to query.
One agency states, right on it's front page in their tips for queries, "Don't try and sell your work; that's our job!" True enough, it is their job, and yet every single person I have ever talked about with on the subject of query letters is that you need to sell your novel. That's the whole point of the query letter, is it not? Make your work so irresistible that the agent has to bite?
Indeed, not long after visiting them, I found another agent with an entire 3-page file devoted to crafting a great query letter (or at least a better one) and on the second page in big, bold font it says, "How to use selling points in your query letter" and by that they mean "all the book's major selling points."
Ha. Now this is NOT to alienate any agents out there, and I am NOT trying to be rude or snarky or anything but, gosh guys.
Could you confuse us any more? ;)
You know, I don't think agents even know what makes up the ideal query letter...
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Evolution of Tension
I like to put my characters in crappy situations. I love to hurt them, damage, them, and in general create chaos. A lot of writers do. Besides, how else are you going to get them to grow and change and make it so the readers care?
In 2007 when I was at Seton Hill University getting my Masters in popular fiction, Donald Maass, who owns the Donald Maass Literary Agency, graced us with his presence and discussed tension. Adding tension to the story in different ways. Constant tension. Tension in every line, if possible. Making scenes full of it. Now, this isn't the Michael Bay approach, that is to say, blow everything up with guns and car chases and big f-ing robots (though big f-ing robots are always cool), but just make it more....reader-hanging-on-your-every-word-ish.
I recently had a stroke of ridiculous inspiration (as most of my inspiration tends to be in some way ridiculous and I'm not sure why) and sat down at my computer to crank out about 100 pages in 4 (give or take) days. Now, as much as I'd like to press on, I'm going back to edit scenes that I've decided don't work and would be better off changing them now while the new ideas are fresh in my mind rather than later.
One of these scenes had to be entirely replaced. Why? No tension. A painful lack of tension, in fact. I wasn't happy writing it the first time, and that was just first draft, blow through it nonsense. So I sat back and considered how I wanted it to change. I had all the elements in my head, and after rearranging things a bit, I came up with a new scene, much more exciting, and fits better in the story.
Here's the original idea:
Hero and heroine need to find Character A, who has been caught by slave traders. The protagonists find the tent, go in after slight little hassle, only to find Character A has already been sold. Very little drama between protagonists and slave traders. Heroine is eventually convinced by Hero to purchase a slave, whom they free, and who I had no idea what to do with later in the story since it seemed completely stupid to have that moment and not use the freed slave later. I did have an idea, but it was so inconsequential and weak, I wasn't happy with it.
The new idea:
Heroine only goes into the tent after a slight hassle, as Character A has major issues with the Hero (believes he intends to kill her). Character A has not been sold off, and Heroine manages to buy her. Then Hero runs in to inform Heroine that Something Bad is on the way, causing Character A to freak out. In turn, slave traders freak out, and a less-than-organized fight ensues, which does not bode well for Heroine as she has no fighting skills at all. Character A runs from the tent and amidst confusion, Heroine frees bunches of slaves and Hero gets injured and a few people don't make it. Outside, Character A gets kidnapped by Something Bad, much to the dismay of Heroine and Hero. This also works better because Something Bad needed to pop up sooner, and this is the ideal place.
Much better. Ok, so I did go the Michael Bay way a bit, but there aren't any explosions or giant robots, so I'm kind of in the clear. Either way, it's a hell of a lot better than just having them go in there with no problems at all. It's actually less common to go the "no problem ensues" route, but that's basically because it's boring. Haha.
This is just one spot where things are improving. What I've added is also about the same size, if not slightly larger than the original section, so I haven't lost any pages in the process. In fact, after adding snipping and redoing this and other parts, the page number has become 110. Granted, there's still a lot of work to be done, but that's still around a 1/4 of a book. Awesome.
Oh, and here's the current count for any wondering:
Rejections: 22
Partial Requests: 3
Thanks for coming to Seton Hill, Mr. Maass!
In 2007 when I was at Seton Hill University getting my Masters in popular fiction, Donald Maass, who owns the Donald Maass Literary Agency, graced us with his presence and discussed tension. Adding tension to the story in different ways. Constant tension. Tension in every line, if possible. Making scenes full of it. Now, this isn't the Michael Bay approach, that is to say, blow everything up with guns and car chases and big f-ing robots (though big f-ing robots are always cool), but just make it more....reader-hanging-on-your-every-word-ish.
I recently had a stroke of ridiculous inspiration (as most of my inspiration tends to be in some way ridiculous and I'm not sure why) and sat down at my computer to crank out about 100 pages in 4 (give or take) days. Now, as much as I'd like to press on, I'm going back to edit scenes that I've decided don't work and would be better off changing them now while the new ideas are fresh in my mind rather than later.
One of these scenes had to be entirely replaced. Why? No tension. A painful lack of tension, in fact. I wasn't happy writing it the first time, and that was just first draft, blow through it nonsense. So I sat back and considered how I wanted it to change. I had all the elements in my head, and after rearranging things a bit, I came up with a new scene, much more exciting, and fits better in the story.
Here's the original idea:
Hero and heroine need to find Character A, who has been caught by slave traders. The protagonists find the tent, go in after slight little hassle, only to find Character A has already been sold. Very little drama between protagonists and slave traders. Heroine is eventually convinced by Hero to purchase a slave, whom they free, and who I had no idea what to do with later in the story since it seemed completely stupid to have that moment and not use the freed slave later. I did have an idea, but it was so inconsequential and weak, I wasn't happy with it.
The new idea:
Heroine only goes into the tent after a slight hassle, as Character A has major issues with the Hero (believes he intends to kill her). Character A has not been sold off, and Heroine manages to buy her. Then Hero runs in to inform Heroine that Something Bad is on the way, causing Character A to freak out. In turn, slave traders freak out, and a less-than-organized fight ensues, which does not bode well for Heroine as she has no fighting skills at all. Character A runs from the tent and amidst confusion, Heroine frees bunches of slaves and Hero gets injured and a few people don't make it. Outside, Character A gets kidnapped by Something Bad, much to the dismay of Heroine and Hero. This also works better because Something Bad needed to pop up sooner, and this is the ideal place.
Much better. Ok, so I did go the Michael Bay way a bit, but there aren't any explosions or giant robots, so I'm kind of in the clear. Either way, it's a hell of a lot better than just having them go in there with no problems at all. It's actually less common to go the "no problem ensues" route, but that's basically because it's boring. Haha.
This is just one spot where things are improving. What I've added is also about the same size, if not slightly larger than the original section, so I haven't lost any pages in the process. In fact, after adding snipping and redoing this and other parts, the page number has become 110. Granted, there's still a lot of work to be done, but that's still around a 1/4 of a book. Awesome.
Oh, and here's the current count for any wondering:
Rejections: 22
Partial Requests: 3
Thanks for coming to Seton Hill, Mr. Maass!
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
The Price of Being Broke
I'm broke. And yet I'm still sending materials to potential publishers. When I say I'm broke, I mean it, though I sort of mean it in a technical sense that my checking account really wouldn't have anything in it if I didn't keep removing money from my savings account, which is now 50% of what it used to be, much to my utter dismay. But what can I do? I'm trying to work on as many projects as possible. Luckily I have a big payday coming up due to all those projects. That'll help immensely.
So what is the price of everything?
#10 envelopes: $0.98
9x12 manilla envelopes: $1.97
Pack of 20 Forever stamps: $8.80
Printer paper: $3.88
Getting an agent to take on your manuscript: Priceless
Of course, that last part hasn't happened yet, so I'm still just burning cash. Whoohoo! But there's really no way around it. I still email agents if I can, unless it looks like snail mail would get a better response, though there isn't really a better response when it comes to rejection. Rejections are what they are no matter how you query. But if an agent will take pages through snail mail and just a query in email, then I'll opt to send them pages instead, just so they can at least see the work I'm presenting instead of having to guess whether or not they'd even want to look at it through the query letter.
Don't get me wrong - that makes it sound like my query letter isn't up to par, but considering I've had one agent comment on it as of late, and was asked to send a partial during my first round of querying, I must have done something right in it. Still, I'll opt for pages any day of the week.
So what's the current count you may wonder? I'm not sure if I ought to post this or not, but I doubt any agent is going to bother looking at my little bloggy and rejections don't necessarily mean anything (every author has rejections under his or her belt - even big names like J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and a whole mess of others), so I will.
My current numbers are:
Rejections: 12
Partial Requests: 1
Acceptances: 0 (obviously)
Still combing through agents to decide who to send to and who might enjoy my work, etc. etc. It's a long road ahead though I'm sure. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Envelopes and papers and clips, oh my!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Haaaaa....or not.
So I guess that will teach me to get excited when a place asks for pages. They said, "No thanks" two days later. Haaahahahaha.
In which case, don't expect to see a blog update every time someone asks for pages. The next time you'll see me stupidly excited is when someone asks for the full manuscript, and even then I might not say anything for fear of bringing up potentially false hope. Nothing is truly final until they say, "Yeah, we want to represent your stuff."
Woot.
In the meantime, I'm working on something new that I've probably mentioned before. Stuck under the 'paranormal romance' genre, Illusion's Trick is a nice changeup from the SF I've been battling with for the past two years-ish. I've got my little critique group all set up so I can get some good feedback. It's going to be a good time and here's hoping I can crank this baby out and start sending it to agents as well while the paranormal romance niche is still hot, hot, hot (because it is - no matter what you think of Romance, the truth is that it's pretty much the top-selling genre out there and they're not all bodice-ripping sex-taculars. Whatever you think about Romance, in fact, you're probably wrong.)
Yeah, I don't know.
In which case, don't expect to see a blog update every time someone asks for pages. The next time you'll see me stupidly excited is when someone asks for the full manuscript, and even then I might not say anything for fear of bringing up potentially false hope. Nothing is truly final until they say, "Yeah, we want to represent your stuff."
Woot.
In the meantime, I'm working on something new that I've probably mentioned before. Stuck under the 'paranormal romance' genre, Illusion's Trick is a nice changeup from the SF I've been battling with for the past two years-ish. I've got my little critique group all set up so I can get some good feedback. It's going to be a good time and here's hoping I can crank this baby out and start sending it to agents as well while the paranormal romance niche is still hot, hot, hot (because it is - no matter what you think of Romance, the truth is that it's pretty much the top-selling genre out there and they're not all bodice-ripping sex-taculars. Whatever you think about Romance, in fact, you're probably wrong.)
Yeah, I don't know.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Pages Please!
During Residency at Seton Hill (a week long of fun in the sun...except you're inside at class all day. But at least you're learning about how to properly fortify a castle or trying to stay one baby step ahead of the market or hearing crazy conversations, often involving Dr. Arnzen), the editor-in-chief of Del Rey books was there to give advice, be on a panel, and hear novel pitches from Fantasy and Science Fiction writers...like me.
And by the way, before I continue, you've probably heard me mention Dr. Arnzen before, so let me clarify. Dr. Arnzen is just one of these professors that you would kill to have. *snicker* And if you did in fact kill someone to get a spot in his class, he'd probably ask you about it and then possibly tell you how you could have done it better. Hah.
Ok, back on topic.
So the pitch was the most nerve-wracking part of the entire residency (at least for me). Doing my oral defense (basically reading parts of my novel and then answering questions about it) was just fine and dandy. I was excited and got into it, as I'm sure anyone who attended could tell you. Hehe. Then there was the teaching component. Also not worried. In fact, I quite enjoyed that. I had a great time and could easily stretch one part of my little 50 minute lecture into a 3-hour module and have a great time doing it. (so Dr. Wendland and Dr. McClain, if you ever read this - the second I'm published, I'm all for joining the team). Anywho, my pitch was less than stellar (and I screwed up a second possible hit later on, but have learned from it and don't really plan on going into that here today), but ultimately it didn't matter too much because:
A.) Del Rey doesn't take unsolicited manuscripts. Basically, you need an agent before you can even think of submitting to them.
B.) Due to A. I can think of it more as practice as anything else. More like a "what not to do" when pitching to someone important.
C.) Having an agent is handy anyway because even though they get a little cut of your book's sales, they handle all the business goodies to get you the best deal and keep you from getting screwed over royally.
If she wanted a manuscript, as the editor-in-chief she probably could have made an exception and taken one, but I don't think any of us had an awesome pitch so doubtless nothing really struck her fancy. They're likely swamped with manuscripts as it is. 99.9% of editors are these days.
So, The Pitch: Fail.
Secondary spontaneous pitch to agent later on that day: Fail.
When I got home, almost immediately (that is to say, a few days later once I'd managed to save my dog from almost certain death, but that's a whole other story) I started to send out query letters to agents. I started with three and eventually branched out to five.
I got my first rejection after 24 minutes. *lol* Now, unlike a lot of writers, rejection doesn't bother me. I've been dealing with rejections since I was in high school. Solid writers know that rejection is pretty much inescapable. It might as well be "Death, taxes, and rejection" for us. Anywho, in some ways I was impressed. It meant my email was promptly examined and responded to. That's more than what you can expect from a lot of places. Who knows, maybe I hit the send button at just the right time.
But that's not the news I've been talking about in my other blogs.
The news is that one agency I queried emailed back and asked to see some pages. *squeal*
Now, for those of you who don't know, when you send a one-page query letter, you have to make it kick as much ass as possible in order to show the agent that you have a book worthy of their time and ultimately publication. You have to do that in one page. Trust me, that stuff is hard. I think I revised my query letter three or more times. Some agencies will ask to see pages along with a query letter - it all depends. But generally, it goes like this:
HOORAY!
Yes. This is an actual picture of my printed manuscript.
And by the way, before I continue, you've probably heard me mention Dr. Arnzen before, so let me clarify. Dr. Arnzen is just one of these professors that you would kill to have. *snicker* And if you did in fact kill someone to get a spot in his class, he'd probably ask you about it and then possibly tell you how you could have done it better. Hah.
Ok, back on topic.
So the pitch was the most nerve-wracking part of the entire residency (at least for me). Doing my oral defense (basically reading parts of my novel and then answering questions about it) was just fine and dandy. I was excited and got into it, as I'm sure anyone who attended could tell you. Hehe. Then there was the teaching component. Also not worried. In fact, I quite enjoyed that. I had a great time and could easily stretch one part of my little 50 minute lecture into a 3-hour module and have a great time doing it. (so Dr. Wendland and Dr. McClain, if you ever read this - the second I'm published, I'm all for joining the team). Anywho, my pitch was less than stellar (and I screwed up a second possible hit later on, but have learned from it and don't really plan on going into that here today), but ultimately it didn't matter too much because:
A.) Del Rey doesn't take unsolicited manuscripts. Basically, you need an agent before you can even think of submitting to them.
B.) Due to A. I can think of it more as practice as anything else. More like a "what not to do" when pitching to someone important.
C.) Having an agent is handy anyway because even though they get a little cut of your book's sales, they handle all the business goodies to get you the best deal and keep you from getting screwed over royally.
If she wanted a manuscript, as the editor-in-chief she probably could have made an exception and taken one, but I don't think any of us had an awesome pitch so doubtless nothing really struck her fancy. They're likely swamped with manuscripts as it is. 99.9% of editors are these days.
So, The Pitch: Fail.
Secondary spontaneous pitch to agent later on that day: Fail.
When I got home, almost immediately (that is to say, a few days later once I'd managed to save my dog from almost certain death, but that's a whole other story) I started to send out query letters to agents. I started with three and eventually branched out to five.
I got my first rejection after 24 minutes. *lol* Now, unlike a lot of writers, rejection doesn't bother me. I've been dealing with rejections since I was in high school. Solid writers know that rejection is pretty much inescapable. It might as well be "Death, taxes, and rejection" for us. Anywho, in some ways I was impressed. It meant my email was promptly examined and responded to. That's more than what you can expect from a lot of places. Who knows, maybe I hit the send button at just the right time.
But that's not the news I've been talking about in my other blogs.
The news is that one agency I queried emailed back and asked to see some pages. *squeal*
Now, for those of you who don't know, when you send a one-page query letter, you have to make it kick as much ass as possible in order to show the agent that you have a book worthy of their time and ultimately publication. You have to do that in one page. Trust me, that stuff is hard. I think I revised my query letter three or more times. Some agencies will ask to see pages along with a query letter - it all depends. But generally, it goes like this:
- You send a query letter made of awesome.
- If they like what they see, they ask for pages (anywhere from 10-50).
- You have a small party by yourself and oblige.
- If they like the pages, they ask for the entire manuscript.
- You have a bigger party by yourself and skip around town and cross your fingers and send them the manuscript.
- If they like the whole thing, then they call you and you basically have landed yourself an agent.
- Now you can throw a party and include people (note: you can't throw a really big party until you're actually published, haha)
HOORAY!
Yes. This is an actual picture of my printed manuscript.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Information Wellspring
I'm always on the lookout for informational goodies - books just chock-a-block full of nuggets focusing on a specific area. I thought today (er, tonight) that I'd share some of my findings. Some of these I own, most of them I want to own, and some I'd like to own but seriously have no use for them (yet...I'll probably get them at some point just in case. That and they're still super-interesting).
A World Treasury of Riddles by Phil Cousineau. In case you're looking for riddles, take a look at this book instead of the crap online. Not all of these riddles may work for you, but it's interesting to see some of the things different parts of the world have come up with.
Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart, my most recent find. Funny, because I remember some guy looking for this book many months ago, but neither I or whoever was looking it up thought much of it. It's got just about any poisonous or otherwise noxious plant you might want to know about, from the everyday poison ivy to the lesser known (at least to us) suicide tree. It's short, to the point, letting you know how the plant will kill or harm you, where its origins are, and how it spreads. It's a small book, for all it's nifty information, and one of the cooler books I've seen in a while.
Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Read it, loved it, and now own it. It was Dr. Who's box on the cover jumping through wormholes that caught my eye (yes, I kind of judge books by their covers, despite what we're all told). Kaku breaks it down into how "impossible" science fiction goodies really are, from ray guns to time travel. It's fascinating - even if you don't completely understand everything he's talking about all the time. Still, it's worth the read if you write SF in order to get a tighter grasp on some of your potential physics (depending upon what you're writing about and how hard you want the science to be). Read the full review here.
Weapon by DK Publishing. Anything made by DK automatically rocks my socks. Ever since I was a kid, I was always checking out DK Eyewitness books from the library. Dogs and Rocks and Minerals were my favorites. Imagine my joy when I discovered an adult version dealing with weapons. Naturally, they don't have everything, but they get close enough, complete with pictures and interesting tidbits, factoids, all in the spirit that is DK awesomeness. I don't have this one, and really wish I had the money for it, that way I could quit slogging through the Internet every time I want the name of a sword that I can't remember. It's a big book (not thick so much as just coffee table sized), and if weapons aren't your thing, there's also Warrior, Battle, and Battle at Sea. I just haven't had the proper time to examine them.
The Encyclopedia of Crystals by Judy Hall. I know. It's a new agey book, so how's that going to help? First of all, while I love DK stuff, I find that even their fieldguides can be a bit overwhelming. I've always loved rocks, minerals, gems, and so on, considered being a geologist when I was 6, and had a great time in geology class during college. But throughout all those years, never could settle on a good rock/crystal book. Now that I'm into Fantasy, I found a book that works out perfectly. This encyclopedia is color-coded and offers new age insight into what certain minerals and crystals can be used for (i.e. drawing energy, promoting power, and more). It does give some scientific bits as well, makeup, location, hardness, etc. But it's handy for magical systems and other spots that raw earth materials might be used. And it includes gorgeous pictures as well.
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John & Caitlin Matthews. I did a lot of research for this one. I'd been trying to find a good, solid list of mythological creatures and as usual, found myself disappointed with the Internet. I compared this book to a few others, narrowed it to two, painstakingly compared those, and ended up with this one. It's an alphabetical listing of as many mythical creatures as you're going to find throughout the world and its legends. I needed new ideas for potential creatures and use this for inspiration. They say that good writers borrow, great writers steal. Well, I'm stealing animals and modifying them to my tastes and worlds, so there you go. The best part about this book? It's cheap. Jackpot.
Planet Earth - The Complete Series. Expensive as hell, but well worth it, especially if you've never seen it on The Discovery Channel. The pictures they capture are crystal clear and utterly amazing. There's so much going on on this planet that most of us don't know about and all sorts of nooks and crannies we've never seen. Even if it doesn't inspire you, you might find something in it you've already toyed with. For example, the ants that die from a fungus that literally makes them crazy and then grows out of them. I had a mini-freakout when I saw that because I did something incredibly similar in my thesis - only that was before I knew about the ant thing. Knowing it was real (albeit on a much smaller scale) was a bit unnerving.
That's all I have at this time. It wouldn't surprise me in the future if I found more.
A World Treasury of Riddles by Phil Cousineau. In case you're looking for riddles, take a look at this book instead of the crap online. Not all of these riddles may work for you, but it's interesting to see some of the things different parts of the world have come up with.
Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart, my most recent find. Funny, because I remember some guy looking for this book many months ago, but neither I or whoever was looking it up thought much of it. It's got just about any poisonous or otherwise noxious plant you might want to know about, from the everyday poison ivy to the lesser known (at least to us) suicide tree. It's short, to the point, letting you know how the plant will kill or harm you, where its origins are, and how it spreads. It's a small book, for all it's nifty information, and one of the cooler books I've seen in a while.
Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Read it, loved it, and now own it. It was Dr. Who's box on the cover jumping through wormholes that caught my eye (yes, I kind of judge books by their covers, despite what we're all told). Kaku breaks it down into how "impossible" science fiction goodies really are, from ray guns to time travel. It's fascinating - even if you don't completely understand everything he's talking about all the time. Still, it's worth the read if you write SF in order to get a tighter grasp on some of your potential physics (depending upon what you're writing about and how hard you want the science to be). Read the full review here.
Weapon by DK Publishing. Anything made by DK automatically rocks my socks. Ever since I was a kid, I was always checking out DK Eyewitness books from the library. Dogs and Rocks and Minerals were my favorites. Imagine my joy when I discovered an adult version dealing with weapons. Naturally, they don't have everything, but they get close enough, complete with pictures and interesting tidbits, factoids, all in the spirit that is DK awesomeness. I don't have this one, and really wish I had the money for it, that way I could quit slogging through the Internet every time I want the name of a sword that I can't remember. It's a big book (not thick so much as just coffee table sized), and if weapons aren't your thing, there's also Warrior, Battle, and Battle at Sea. I just haven't had the proper time to examine them.
The Encyclopedia of Crystals by Judy Hall. I know. It's a new agey book, so how's that going to help? First of all, while I love DK stuff, I find that even their fieldguides can be a bit overwhelming. I've always loved rocks, minerals, gems, and so on, considered being a geologist when I was 6, and had a great time in geology class during college. But throughout all those years, never could settle on a good rock/crystal book. Now that I'm into Fantasy, I found a book that works out perfectly. This encyclopedia is color-coded and offers new age insight into what certain minerals and crystals can be used for (i.e. drawing energy, promoting power, and more). It does give some scientific bits as well, makeup, location, hardness, etc. But it's handy for magical systems and other spots that raw earth materials might be used. And it includes gorgeous pictures as well.
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John & Caitlin Matthews. I did a lot of research for this one. I'd been trying to find a good, solid list of mythological creatures and as usual, found myself disappointed with the Internet. I compared this book to a few others, narrowed it to two, painstakingly compared those, and ended up with this one. It's an alphabetical listing of as many mythical creatures as you're going to find throughout the world and its legends. I needed new ideas for potential creatures and use this for inspiration. They say that good writers borrow, great writers steal. Well, I'm stealing animals and modifying them to my tastes and worlds, so there you go. The best part about this book? It's cheap. Jackpot.
Planet Earth - The Complete Series. Expensive as hell, but well worth it, especially if you've never seen it on The Discovery Channel. The pictures they capture are crystal clear and utterly amazing. There's so much going on on this planet that most of us don't know about and all sorts of nooks and crannies we've never seen. Even if it doesn't inspire you, you might find something in it you've already toyed with. For example, the ants that die from a fungus that literally makes them crazy and then grows out of them. I had a mini-freakout when I saw that because I did something incredibly similar in my thesis - only that was before I knew about the ant thing. Knowing it was real (albeit on a much smaller scale) was a bit unnerving.That's all I have at this time. It wouldn't surprise me in the future if I found more.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Something to keep in mind
The next time you find yourself fussing about how long it takes your favorite author to come out with a new book and then complaining when that book turns out to be crappy.
Interesting comments from Nick Stone (Mr. Clarinet, King of Swords):
"For some reason certain (though by no means all) publishers seem to think that quantity is the new quality. You know, get a new book on the shelves every year on the dot, regular as clockwork and Christmas. I understand the commercial reasoning behind it – up to a point (JK Rowling and Thomas Harris don't write a book a year - Thomas Harris never did that at all) – but, said publishers tend to forget the most important part of the equation – THE READER. You have to keep the readers happy. At all costs.
"The thing is, when you’re a writer on that book a year treadmill, you have six months to produce a book. For some writers that's just fine and they write according to those constraints and produce great work. But, for other writers, who'd maybe like to spend longer on their books, the process is hell. And it usually results in a quality “crack curve” – a quick, sharp peak (say the first two or three books), followed by a long ruinous descent (the rest). The books tend to read increasingly like tired contractual obligations, poor photocopies of a poor photocopy of a poor photocopy. The plots blur into one, the characters are empty vessels and the prose is a delivery mechanism for thrills and spills by rote. You can't fool your readers. They know when you're phoning it in. And they are ultimately your judges. They condemn you with their closed wallets and bad word of mouth.
"Publishers should remember the following maxim: if you feed your golden goose laxative you’ll just get shit."
See the full interview.
Careful what you wish for...
Interesting comments from Nick Stone (Mr. Clarinet, King of Swords):
"For some reason certain (though by no means all) publishers seem to think that quantity is the new quality. You know, get a new book on the shelves every year on the dot, regular as clockwork and Christmas. I understand the commercial reasoning behind it – up to a point (JK Rowling and Thomas Harris don't write a book a year - Thomas Harris never did that at all) – but, said publishers tend to forget the most important part of the equation – THE READER. You have to keep the readers happy. At all costs.
"The thing is, when you’re a writer on that book a year treadmill, you have six months to produce a book. For some writers that's just fine and they write according to those constraints and produce great work. But, for other writers, who'd maybe like to spend longer on their books, the process is hell. And it usually results in a quality “crack curve” – a quick, sharp peak (say the first two or three books), followed by a long ruinous descent (the rest). The books tend to read increasingly like tired contractual obligations, poor photocopies of a poor photocopy of a poor photocopy. The plots blur into one, the characters are empty vessels and the prose is a delivery mechanism for thrills and spills by rote. You can't fool your readers. They know when you're phoning it in. And they are ultimately your judges. They condemn you with their closed wallets and bad word of mouth.
"Publishers should remember the following maxim: if you feed your golden goose laxative you’ll just get shit."
See the full interview.
Careful what you wish for...
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Seriously?
I have to admit. I am a little annoyed.
No, don't worry, it's cool. The killers can just keep on killing while we sit back and watch. ¬_¬
I'm in the middle of revising my thesis, and at the moment I'm in the middle of an attack on an entire planet. A planet of creatures that have no desire other than to kill and enslave and create more of themselves (as most bad creatures tend to do). This is not Ender's Game. The bad guys here are not bad through a misunderstanding. There is no failed communication. If you fight them, they will kill you. If you are a woman, they will cut out all your reproductive organs and then let you heal enough to put you in a slave camp. If you are weak, you will die. If you are strong, you will be implanted with an explosive device. If you try to leave, you will die. If you survive all that, you will be a slave until you die. There is no handful of nice creatures in this species. They engineer themselves this way on purpose because they like the violence, the power, and the destruction.
I've put this in pretty much everywhere in my book to illustrate that these things are bad. No redeeming qualities. They're smart, but they're not going to share. Everything else is inferior to them and should die or serve (and eventually die).
Now, in the finale of the whole thing, the game plan (and not created by humans or Earth) is to wipe them out. A fleet moves toward the enemy homeworld in order to do the job and in doing so, lure the enemy ships back from what they are doing at present - attacking Earth (and we are not the first, and would not be the last). And as the bombardment begins, the main character thinks, Surprise, surprise, you sons of bitches, and there is a note from one of my critique members that says, "He's really eager to destroy an entire species. That makes me sad."
*twitch*
Now I love the girl, but that mindset makes me want to tear my hair out. Why? Why is this sad? That he's pissed off and wants them to stop killing people on his planet? That he's not sorry they're all about to get what they've been dishing out to a number of planets over the years? Sad that this fleet is about to kill off a genetically modified species that is not in its original form, will never be again, and would be equivelant to allowing a pack of rabid dogs run around your house unchecked?
We killed off an entire species in Independence Day. Did anyone think that was sad? Luke Skywalker blew up a Death Star which also happened to be full of people. Who thought that was sad?
People on this planet will freak out when a bear or tiger or other animal kills a person and demand that the animal be "put down" (just a nicer way of saying "Kill the bear before it kills someone else.").
*snort*
I guess I just don't understand the mindset. Maybe I'm just different. I don't feel empathy when a suicide bomber is killed before he can blow himself up at a market and kill 50 people. I simply do not feel sorry for people who wish to deal death and destruction upon others who are merely going about their day.
No, don't worry, it's cool. The killers can just keep on killing while we sit back and watch. ¬_¬Sunday, March 08, 2009
*Thumbnail Nibble*
Many things, many things.
Crossover is finished, but still in the tweaking stage. Old news.
To keep my brain from melting into mush, I've taken on a new project. I probably shouldn't, seeing as I have 4 old manuscripts hanging out under my bed (not literally), needing major surgery. But hey.....what can I say? Besides, if I don't get this out of my brain, I might go crazy. I really, really wish pensieves were real. But it's a fun idea and I've decided to send that to my critique group rather than my thesis because I've had just about enough with that. Besides, I'd be sending the exact same thing to one out of my critique group and it doesn't do me any good to see the same things pointed out or different things that weren't pointed out earlier (which I find annoying as hell). Besides, I really wanted feedback on this new idea. I've been asking for all sorts of ideas everywhere, and for anyone who reads this blog still, here's one of the things I threw out there to the creative minds and if you want a whack at it too, go for it:
A person is in a room. The room has a swimming pool-sized depression in the center filled with puzzle pieces. The only way to leave the room is to find the one piece that matches the shape in the door. How do you find the right piece?
(NOTE: Use any method you like. Distort this scenario any way you please - do not focus on what genre this might be or what I might be looking for. The only limitation is that puzzle pieces must stay puzzle pieces, but you can change their substance - gold, glass, whatever. Use your imagination.)
Aside from all that, I think I may be slightly cursed. So far throughout this program, I've had a grand total of 2 mentors and 4 critique members. And so far I'm 50/50 on them not having something bad happen to them - mentors included. 1 person left the program, another person was hit with a nasty illness, and another person has had a few issues and now a car wreck. I'm beginning to worry for the remaining people associated with me. Besides, weird things apparently happen when I'm at residency (the power of invisiblity, developing new identities, and so forth), maybe it's sinking in around others and affecting them badly. *cue creepy music* I've wondered whether or not to warn my remaining two critique members. I think my other mentor is safe for now, being beyond the boundary lines of my evil influence.
Ah well. As always. I guess I'll go write. Never mind that it's 12:54 in the morning. Or, it being daylight savings time, technically 1:54 AM.
Whatever.
What to do, what to do?
Crossover is finished, but still in the tweaking stage. Old news.
To keep my brain from melting into mush, I've taken on a new project. I probably shouldn't, seeing as I have 4 old manuscripts hanging out under my bed (not literally), needing major surgery. But hey.....what can I say? Besides, if I don't get this out of my brain, I might go crazy. I really, really wish pensieves were real. But it's a fun idea and I've decided to send that to my critique group rather than my thesis because I've had just about enough with that. Besides, I'd be sending the exact same thing to one out of my critique group and it doesn't do me any good to see the same things pointed out or different things that weren't pointed out earlier (which I find annoying as hell). Besides, I really wanted feedback on this new idea. I've been asking for all sorts of ideas everywhere, and for anyone who reads this blog still, here's one of the things I threw out there to the creative minds and if you want a whack at it too, go for it:
A person is in a room. The room has a swimming pool-sized depression in the center filled with puzzle pieces. The only way to leave the room is to find the one piece that matches the shape in the door. How do you find the right piece?
(NOTE: Use any method you like. Distort this scenario any way you please - do not focus on what genre this might be or what I might be looking for. The only limitation is that puzzle pieces must stay puzzle pieces, but you can change their substance - gold, glass, whatever. Use your imagination.)
Aside from all that, I think I may be slightly cursed. So far throughout this program, I've had a grand total of 2 mentors and 4 critique members. And so far I'm 50/50 on them not having something bad happen to them - mentors included. 1 person left the program, another person was hit with a nasty illness, and another person has had a few issues and now a car wreck. I'm beginning to worry for the remaining people associated with me. Besides, weird things apparently happen when I'm at residency (the power of invisiblity, developing new identities, and so forth), maybe it's sinking in around others and affecting them badly. *cue creepy music* I've wondered whether or not to warn my remaining two critique members. I think my other mentor is safe for now, being beyond the boundary lines of my evil influence.
Ah well. As always. I guess I'll go write. Never mind that it's 12:54 in the morning. Or, it being daylight savings time, technically 1:54 AM.
Whatever.
What to do, what to do?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Why Famous People Piss Me Off
...even if it's for 15 friggin' minutes.
My thoughts exactly. (except for the part about Obama's book being great - I wouldn't know, I haven't read it, and quite honestly, don't ever intend to.)
My thoughts exactly. (except for the part about Obama's book being great - I wouldn't know, I haven't read it, and quite honestly, don't ever intend to.)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
1st vs. 3rd vs. crap
I got an idea into my head a while back and couldn't shake it. Oh, I shook it long enough to finish my first draft of my thesis (wrings thesis's neck), but now that I only have this and that to revise (and I'm still missing a whole slew of critiques for various reasons and some I'm not so clear on and now I'm starting to get irritated because I want to revise and I CAN'T).
*ahem*
Ok. Back to what I was talking about. Basically, on this new book (which I really shouldn't be working on anyway, but fuck it, I am), I want parts of it to be in first person and other parts to be in third person since I want my audience to know things that are important, but still enjoy the first personness.
Actually, that's all beside the point because that isn't the problem. Not entirely anyway.
The 1st person POV is the issue. What I want is for the reader to get into it and enjoy it in the same vein as say, a Stephanie Plum book. I want it to feel immediate, fun, and with a sort of loose candor people can get behind.
Thus far, I'm sucking at it. I couldn't quite figure out why until I thought about how I was writing it and how it was coming out and where the kink was.
The kink, my friends, is in the prologue. Yes, anothe prologue. Hey, it's short and doesn't really work well as a first chapter.
The problem is that I wrote the first chapter as a sort of...semi-flashback. It ends in a way that shows the narrator already knows more than she does at the start of Chapter 1, thus making it so when Chapter 1 rolls around, it's more like a retelling of the story rather than an immediate this-is-happening-now story. No, I'm not writing it in present tense, but rather the usual past tense that has that immediate feeling. I'm reading a book right now by Hugh Laurie (yes, the actor, the guy who plays House, for those of you who watch House) and he's doing a better job than me. HUGH LAURIE.
FUCK.
Not to say that Hugh can't write, or rather, shouldn't be able to write. It's just that I know I can do this and the fact that it's coming out all wrong is pissing me off.
SO. Ok. Prologue makes the rest of the book (or at least the next several chapters of it) seem like a tale being related. It's killing the style. It's too past tense, as it were. The death of said style is ruining the emotion and such.
You know, I had all this sorted out easier into 3 reasons but rambling has ruined it, but it feels good to ramble so whatever. Let's try this:
1.) Prologue indicates narrator already knows what is going to happen, hence
2.) Subsequent chapters have already "happened" and narrator is simply retelling them hence
3.) Initial emotion of said chapters has already occurred, as have actions, thus immediacy is killed.
4...or D...or maybe one of those little subscript things.) I'm so used to writing in 3rd person by now, I think my ability to do 1st person is somewhat dimished.
I think that was them. Ish. So now I have two choices. I'll probably end up doing one of them instead of plowing ahead because this whole thing is annoying the fuck outta me.
1.) Fix the end of the prologue somehow so it doesn't give the "narrator already knows" impression
2.) Adjust the opening of the first chapter to adjust for the narrator knowing and doing a retelling (up until a certain point)
Either way I choose, I'll have to redo a lot of stuff. Still, at least I know where the problem is.
I dunno.
*ahem*
Ok. Back to what I was talking about. Basically, on this new book (which I really shouldn't be working on anyway, but fuck it, I am), I want parts of it to be in first person and other parts to be in third person since I want my audience to know things that are important, but still enjoy the first personness.
Actually, that's all beside the point because that isn't the problem. Not entirely anyway.
The 1st person POV is the issue. What I want is for the reader to get into it and enjoy it in the same vein as say, a Stephanie Plum book. I want it to feel immediate, fun, and with a sort of loose candor people can get behind.
Thus far, I'm sucking at it. I couldn't quite figure out why until I thought about how I was writing it and how it was coming out and where the kink was.
The kink, my friends, is in the prologue. Yes, anothe prologue. Hey, it's short and doesn't really work well as a first chapter.
The problem is that I wrote the first chapter as a sort of...semi-flashback. It ends in a way that shows the narrator already knows more than she does at the start of Chapter 1, thus making it so when Chapter 1 rolls around, it's more like a retelling of the story rather than an immediate this-is-happening-now story. No, I'm not writing it in present tense, but rather the usual past tense that has that immediate feeling. I'm reading a book right now by Hugh Laurie (yes, the actor, the guy who plays House, for those of you who watch House) and he's doing a better job than me. HUGH LAURIE.
FUCK.
Not to say that Hugh can't write, or rather, shouldn't be able to write. It's just that I know I can do this and the fact that it's coming out all wrong is pissing me off.
SO. Ok. Prologue makes the rest of the book (or at least the next several chapters of it) seem like a tale being related. It's killing the style. It's too past tense, as it were. The death of said style is ruining the emotion and such.
You know, I had all this sorted out easier into 3 reasons but rambling has ruined it, but it feels good to ramble so whatever. Let's try this:
1.) Prologue indicates narrator already knows what is going to happen, hence
2.) Subsequent chapters have already "happened" and narrator is simply retelling them hence
3.) Initial emotion of said chapters has already occurred, as have actions, thus immediacy is killed.
4...or D...or maybe one of those little subscript things.) I'm so used to writing in 3rd person by now, I think my ability to do 1st person is somewhat dimished.
I think that was them. Ish. So now I have two choices. I'll probably end up doing one of them instead of plowing ahead because this whole thing is annoying the fuck outta me.
1.) Fix the end of the prologue somehow so it doesn't give the "narrator already knows" impression
2.) Adjust the opening of the first chapter to adjust for the narrator knowing and doing a retelling (up until a certain point)
Either way I choose, I'll have to redo a lot of stuff. Still, at least I know where the problem is.
I dunno.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Ta Daaaa!
It's done.
YAY!
THE END
I've finally written those words at the end of my manuscript. My first draft is completed. All 416 pages of it. Yeah. 416. Over 100,000 words. Heh, kinda funny that I finish it during NaNoWrMo (National Novel Writing Month).
Of course, now I just have to revise the crap out of it. So the page number isn't solid. But yeah, it's over the required mark by plenty and I have no worries of it remaining there. It's not hte first time I've slapped THE END at the finish of a manuscript, but it is on one this big. My last largest piece was 240 pages. It doesn't surprise me that this one was double the size of that - I knew it was going to be massive when I started it. It was a big story filled with secrets and semi-betrayal and a bit of a love story and several massive battles. Whoo!
I actually finished it the same day I got the email for the Rooney Scholarship, so it was a good day. For those of you unawares, the Rooney Scholarship was one of two scholarships I went for. This one for short stories. In the past my short stories have sucked butt, but these two I worked on, spruced up (one completely new), and sent out. And then I had an email with "Rooney Scholarship" in the subject line and I sat here and said, "I did not just win that!" Yep. $500 less that I have to pay this term. Sweet beans, eh? I'm glad. Now if only the two places I sent my stories to would reply and let me know either yay or nay... God a yay would be effing fantastic...
Good times all around. After I finished my book I went downstairs kind of lost and said, "I don't know what to do with myself now..." I'd been writing for so long I wanted a break, but the idea that I didn't have to go back and write more (at least in the sense of writing to complete the first draft) kind of boggled me. It'll be nice to work on revising while working on other fun writing projects without the pressure of draft completion hanging over me.
YAY!Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Someone sees dead people
Some of you may wonder, why do I post a review of a book and then yammer on about it here? What's the difference? Well, you can't really see much of a difference in the book before this one, mostly because there's nothing extra to reveal. Here, I get to divulge everything, bitch about endings, go into details, and so forth, whereas people wouldn't be all that happy if I did it in my review. That's the difference.
On to The Everlasting. I guess I should have known better since Lebbon also wrote Berserk. What's that you ask? Most of us writers tend to have the same devices, similar characters, and elements in our books. We can't help it. It just comes naturally. Take me for example, 99% of the time there's a woman in my books that kicks ass, she's similar to her other book counterparts and they even have similar names. I probably shouldn't do that, but I can't help myself. So when Lebbon introduces the reader to Scott, a man heading toward his 50s, and interrupts things with flashbacks, yeah. Should have see it coming I guess. But you never know.
That's actually my only real problem with this book - I had a real hard time getting into Scott's character. In fact, we start off immediately with past events and memories of by-gone days. I don't ever feel properly introduced to Scott's character, and what's more, with the way he totally sobs over his wife's disapperance, I didn't have enough time or info or something to truly see how much they cherished on another. I mean, yeah, I don't doubt husband and wife love each other and whatnot, but Scott, for quite some time, just seemed to constantly break down into bouts of crying over the kidnapping of his wife.
That too, annoyed me. No, guys, I'm not saying you shouldn't be super upset when your wife goes missing, but geez, after the first few times quit crying and try to do something about it! Especially once you have a direction to go in! Get mad at least! Scott's personality felt flat to me, which is probably due to the introduction, and he never got pissed when he should have. I wanted him angry out of frustration, he should have been angry, demanding answers, God throw something why don't you? Hmph.
Aside from my disconnect with Scott, the story was interesting. We're on a quest to find and destroy an ancient book written centuries, maybe even millenia ago (well, probably not millenia because humans had to have been around to write it). The whole concept of the Wide and where you go when you die and all that jazz was cool and Lebbon did his best to explain it in terms that would boggle your mind even as you tried to imagine it. I'm still having trouble accepting the only way Scott would do anything was if Lewis kidnapped Scott's wife and did all that buuut oh well. Likewise I'm not sure why Helen would believe her kidnapper. I also don't believe that Tigre would just ignore Scott for the rest of his life. Tigre, if he really is who Nina said he was, sounds like the kind of guy that would take you out just because. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. I don't buy that he'll just accept that the book's gone and not kill Scott because of it.
Otherwise, it wasn't bad. Some good, horrific elements and creepy things going on, fit for the genre. Cool locals and Old Man was a nice addition. And, I must say, that Lebbon has finally applied my definition of immortal. I don't use that term lightly - if you're immortal and you can't die, then you can't die. None of this vampires are immortal stuff - no, vampires aren't immortal, they're just ageless. Vampires can die, easy as anyone else as long as it's done right. But not Lebbon's immortals. One gets cut in half, but she's still trying to drag herself together, then she gets shot in the head, but all the pieces start moving back to wake her up again. Now that's immortal.
Read the Review
Guy on the cover obviously not immortal/everlasting...
On to The Everlasting. I guess I should have known better since Lebbon also wrote Berserk. What's that you ask? Most of us writers tend to have the same devices, similar characters, and elements in our books. We can't help it. It just comes naturally. Take me for example, 99% of the time there's a woman in my books that kicks ass, she's similar to her other book counterparts and they even have similar names. I probably shouldn't do that, but I can't help myself. So when Lebbon introduces the reader to Scott, a man heading toward his 50s, and interrupts things with flashbacks, yeah. Should have see it coming I guess. But you never know.
That's actually my only real problem with this book - I had a real hard time getting into Scott's character. In fact, we start off immediately with past events and memories of by-gone days. I don't ever feel properly introduced to Scott's character, and what's more, with the way he totally sobs over his wife's disapperance, I didn't have enough time or info or something to truly see how much they cherished on another. I mean, yeah, I don't doubt husband and wife love each other and whatnot, but Scott, for quite some time, just seemed to constantly break down into bouts of crying over the kidnapping of his wife.
That too, annoyed me. No, guys, I'm not saying you shouldn't be super upset when your wife goes missing, but geez, after the first few times quit crying and try to do something about it! Especially once you have a direction to go in! Get mad at least! Scott's personality felt flat to me, which is probably due to the introduction, and he never got pissed when he should have. I wanted him angry out of frustration, he should have been angry, demanding answers, God throw something why don't you? Hmph.
Aside from my disconnect with Scott, the story was interesting. We're on a quest to find and destroy an ancient book written centuries, maybe even millenia ago (well, probably not millenia because humans had to have been around to write it). The whole concept of the Wide and where you go when you die and all that jazz was cool and Lebbon did his best to explain it in terms that would boggle your mind even as you tried to imagine it. I'm still having trouble accepting the only way Scott would do anything was if Lewis kidnapped Scott's wife and did all that buuut oh well. Likewise I'm not sure why Helen would believe her kidnapper. I also don't believe that Tigre would just ignore Scott for the rest of his life. Tigre, if he really is who Nina said he was, sounds like the kind of guy that would take you out just because. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. I don't buy that he'll just accept that the book's gone and not kill Scott because of it.
Otherwise, it wasn't bad. Some good, horrific elements and creepy things going on, fit for the genre. Cool locals and Old Man was a nice addition. And, I must say, that Lebbon has finally applied my definition of immortal. I don't use that term lightly - if you're immortal and you can't die, then you can't die. None of this vampires are immortal stuff - no, vampires aren't immortal, they're just ageless. Vampires can die, easy as anyone else as long as it's done right. But not Lebbon's immortals. One gets cut in half, but she's still trying to drag herself together, then she gets shot in the head, but all the pieces start moving back to wake her up again. Now that's immortal.
Read the Review
Guy on the cover obviously not immortal/everlasting...
Friday, October 10, 2008
Feel the Horror
I'm feelin' the horror.
Heh.
So ladies and gentlemen, you all want to know how my book is going?
*evil grin* Peachy.
In fact, I'm killing people left and right, putting my main character into a coma and totally fucking up their world. It's AWESOME. Yes, I've been waiting to do this for a long, long time. I only have a fe more things to cover (like, the massive battle that decides everyone's fate) and then voila! I'm finished. Grand. I'm on break now - I had to stop before my brain melted out of my ears. But I'll be back in full swing before you know it and polishing off this baby (I mean, honestly, I should be able to do that in the next 50 pages!).
Hee. *excited*
Now, on to the real reason for this post, On Writing Horror by Mort Castle. Or rather, edited I should say. Most WPF people have heard of or read this book by now. It was recommended to me by my mentor Gary Braunbeck since I said, "I need some horror in my life" (or something similiar since I was coming to that violent point in my book).
On Writing Horror is a book chock-a-block full of writing essays that include advice, tips, methods, and just general writer info. Even though I'm not writing horror, I do have horrific elements in my book, and besides, most of us know that genres tend to cross over to include bits and pieces that are typically associated with other genres (mystery + romance, romance + fantasy, etc.). Whatever your genre, this book contains plenty of goodies that work out well for any writer. I particularly love Tina Jens quote about characters and ducks (see top of blog). Well it's true isn't it?
It really is full of great stuff, and it's the kind of book that you either want to take notes on or just start photocopying favorite pages to save for later (that is, if you're like me and have no money or, more importantly, shelfspace, and have to get everything from the library). I was also really fond of Mort Castle's essay when he talks about falling into that kind of dreamy spot in order to get ideas. I practically squealed and thought, "I DO that!" Stuff like that makes me feel good because then I'm not the only person out there doing these things. Dr. McClain was right - time with like-minded companions helps. I used to do things to get ideas and always wondered, "Does anyone else ever do this?" In fact, 120 pages of my current novel came about during one of those zoney sessions. I slobbed in bed for around an hour years ago and played the entire thing out in my brain before getting up, going straight to the computer and typing all day and part of the next day (and I never do that - take my ideas straight from my brain to the keyboard. I write everything longhand so yeah...). Course, a cut a good chunk of that section because there was no possible way for it to work in the story, but who cares? I still used a good part of it. High-five to Mort Castle for making me feel not like a mutant.
Moving on, it's a book with some good resources in it as well as information that I hadn't thought of before or hadn't gotten the chance to find out previously. True, most of the resources are for horror writers, but there are some in there that work for SF and F writers as well (maybe a few Romance writers too, depending upon your tastes), mostly because people, editors and whatnot included, tend to lump H, SF, and F together. Which is fine, since we mingle a lot. I liked the piece by Scott Nicholson on promoting your book. Most of that stuff a lot of us already knew, but he goes into more detail and points out the how and a few of the where to get items and extra info.
Great stuff. And now I'm onto my last book, The Everlasting by Tim Lebbon!
Read the review
Awesome.
Heh.
So ladies and gentlemen, you all want to know how my book is going?
*evil grin* Peachy.
In fact, I'm killing people left and right, putting my main character into a coma and totally fucking up their world. It's AWESOME. Yes, I've been waiting to do this for a long, long time. I only have a fe more things to cover (like, the massive battle that decides everyone's fate) and then voila! I'm finished. Grand. I'm on break now - I had to stop before my brain melted out of my ears. But I'll be back in full swing before you know it and polishing off this baby (I mean, honestly, I should be able to do that in the next 50 pages!).
Hee. *excited*
Now, on to the real reason for this post, On Writing Horror by Mort Castle. Or rather, edited I should say. Most WPF people have heard of or read this book by now. It was recommended to me by my mentor Gary Braunbeck since I said, "I need some horror in my life" (or something similiar since I was coming to that violent point in my book).
On Writing Horror is a book chock-a-block full of writing essays that include advice, tips, methods, and just general writer info. Even though I'm not writing horror, I do have horrific elements in my book, and besides, most of us know that genres tend to cross over to include bits and pieces that are typically associated with other genres (mystery + romance, romance + fantasy, etc.). Whatever your genre, this book contains plenty of goodies that work out well for any writer. I particularly love Tina Jens quote about characters and ducks (see top of blog). Well it's true isn't it?
It really is full of great stuff, and it's the kind of book that you either want to take notes on or just start photocopying favorite pages to save for later (that is, if you're like me and have no money or, more importantly, shelfspace, and have to get everything from the library). I was also really fond of Mort Castle's essay when he talks about falling into that kind of dreamy spot in order to get ideas. I practically squealed and thought, "I DO that!" Stuff like that makes me feel good because then I'm not the only person out there doing these things. Dr. McClain was right - time with like-minded companions helps. I used to do things to get ideas and always wondered, "Does anyone else ever do this?" In fact, 120 pages of my current novel came about during one of those zoney sessions. I slobbed in bed for around an hour years ago and played the entire thing out in my brain before getting up, going straight to the computer and typing all day and part of the next day (and I never do that - take my ideas straight from my brain to the keyboard. I write everything longhand so yeah...). Course, a cut a good chunk of that section because there was no possible way for it to work in the story, but who cares? I still used a good part of it. High-five to Mort Castle for making me feel not like a mutant.
Moving on, it's a book with some good resources in it as well as information that I hadn't thought of before or hadn't gotten the chance to find out previously. True, most of the resources are for horror writers, but there are some in there that work for SF and F writers as well (maybe a few Romance writers too, depending upon your tastes), mostly because people, editors and whatnot included, tend to lump H, SF, and F together. Which is fine, since we mingle a lot. I liked the piece by Scott Nicholson on promoting your book. Most of that stuff a lot of us already knew, but he goes into more detail and points out the how and a few of the where to get items and extra info.
Great stuff. And now I'm onto my last book, The Everlasting by Tim Lebbon!
Read the review
Awesome.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
What's Another Word for Crazy?
I finished Berserk by Tim Lebbon several days ago and am just now getting around to blogging about it. I slack off. Immensely. It's not funny how much I slack. It really isn't.
Anywho, not a bad book. Pretty solid with an interesting plot, though I got impatient at the start because Lebbon tended to go on and on about how much Tom missed his son Steven and blah blah and how much he loves his wife and blah blah and I sat there thinking, "Ok, I KNOW, let's move on now." Heheh. It's kind of like maybe Lebbon wrote it, revised it once, and didn't want to revise it again and said, "Pfeh. Just publish it as is."
The best part was not knowing whether or not Natasha (dead girl Tom dug up) would come back to life and rip Tom's flesh off his chest and snack on his organs or if she would let him live as thanks for getting her out of the ground. Hell, half the time I wasn't sure if she really was a little girl or not in terms of age. For all I knew she was 50 or something. I guess technically if she was maybe 10 when she got buried alive that would make her 20 (she was underground for 10 years). Not sure how much normal maturing you can do in 10 years while buried alive (normal being the operative word here), assuming she would have grown and matured similar to a human. Sounded like she would have.
The best parts were Natasha's flashbacks and the berserkers going nuts and ripping people apart with entrails flying through the air. Then seeing them being held by the military--which, I might add, wasn't American. So HA! America isn't the only country always getting put into print (representitive or otherwise) whose military hides secrets and in general, acts like some evil organization. That's good because that crap annoys the hell out of me. Still, even though the setting was in England, finding out at the end that berserkers weren't a normal everday group of ah, "people" naturally found on Earth but instead a military experiment was a letdown. Major bummer. Why? Well DUH. It's been done! And to add to that, I think Lane deserved to get shot, but that's only if he presented his family to the military and said, "Here, you can experiment on us." That wasn't really made clear, whether or not they willingly went into the arms of wacky science.
That brings up other weird issues. Cole mentioned his life was normal as a guard until the military brought in the berserkers from Iraq. Ok. Is that was he was told? Whatever the case, why did he get promoted from normal perimeter guard to #1 berserker guard? What put him in that position? And why wouldn't the military go after them? I think Lebbon ought to write the book on Cole and Natasha's story, the whole thing that led up to her getting buired alive.
Ah well. Still interesting and a weird spin on the concept of zombie and werewolf-anti-silver stuff. Also interesting, this is the third book I've read so far in that the main character gets bitten and/or his/her blood drunk that leads to him/her changing into another creature. Hmm...
Makes me wonder where The Everlasting by Lebbon will lead. I have yet to hear from the library which makes me think they can't get it as no one in their system has it. Guess that means I'll have to buy it. Not really a fan of that idea seeing as I literally have no shelf space. Oh and don't tell me just to pile it on the ground. People keep saying to do that. "Oh, I have piles of books on my floor, haha!" No. Sorry. I like my books to stay off the floor and remain on a shelf where they belong. Besides, my room is freaking tiny so there's a good possibility of them getting kicked.
Oh well. Onward and upward.
Read the Review
Tell me that cover wouldn't catch your attention.
Anywho, not a bad book. Pretty solid with an interesting plot, though I got impatient at the start because Lebbon tended to go on and on about how much Tom missed his son Steven and blah blah and how much he loves his wife and blah blah and I sat there thinking, "Ok, I KNOW, let's move on now." Heheh. It's kind of like maybe Lebbon wrote it, revised it once, and didn't want to revise it again and said, "Pfeh. Just publish it as is."
The best part was not knowing whether or not Natasha (dead girl Tom dug up) would come back to life and rip Tom's flesh off his chest and snack on his organs or if she would let him live as thanks for getting her out of the ground. Hell, half the time I wasn't sure if she really was a little girl or not in terms of age. For all I knew she was 50 or something. I guess technically if she was maybe 10 when she got buried alive that would make her 20 (she was underground for 10 years). Not sure how much normal maturing you can do in 10 years while buried alive (normal being the operative word here), assuming she would have grown and matured similar to a human. Sounded like she would have.
The best parts were Natasha's flashbacks and the berserkers going nuts and ripping people apart with entrails flying through the air. Then seeing them being held by the military--which, I might add, wasn't American. So HA! America isn't the only country always getting put into print (representitive or otherwise) whose military hides secrets and in general, acts like some evil organization. That's good because that crap annoys the hell out of me. Still, even though the setting was in England, finding out at the end that berserkers weren't a normal everday group of ah, "people" naturally found on Earth but instead a military experiment was a letdown. Major bummer. Why? Well DUH. It's been done! And to add to that, I think Lane deserved to get shot, but that's only if he presented his family to the military and said, "Here, you can experiment on us." That wasn't really made clear, whether or not they willingly went into the arms of wacky science.
That brings up other weird issues. Cole mentioned his life was normal as a guard until the military brought in the berserkers from Iraq. Ok. Is that was he was told? Whatever the case, why did he get promoted from normal perimeter guard to #1 berserker guard? What put him in that position? And why wouldn't the military go after them? I think Lebbon ought to write the book on Cole and Natasha's story, the whole thing that led up to her getting buired alive.
Ah well. Still interesting and a weird spin on the concept of zombie and werewolf-anti-silver stuff. Also interesting, this is the third book I've read so far in that the main character gets bitten and/or his/her blood drunk that leads to him/her changing into another creature. Hmm...
Makes me wonder where The Everlasting by Lebbon will lead. I have yet to hear from the library which makes me think they can't get it as no one in their system has it. Guess that means I'll have to buy it. Not really a fan of that idea seeing as I literally have no shelf space. Oh and don't tell me just to pile it on the ground. People keep saying to do that. "Oh, I have piles of books on my floor, haha!" No. Sorry. I like my books to stay off the floor and remain on a shelf where they belong. Besides, my room is freaking tiny so there's a good possibility of them getting kicked.
Oh well. Onward and upward.
Read the Review
Tell me that cover wouldn't catch your attention.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Live Girls
I finished my second book, Live Girls by Ray Garton, in two days. If I'd started earlier, it very well might have been one day.
Live Girls was a ton more fun than Cabal. I was worried though. Why? Because who hasn't heard of the whole vampire women acting kind of like succubi and living in strip joints and drinking blood from men they sex up? I snickered to myself because the first similiar item that popped in my head was that ridiculous movie From Dusk Till Dawn. Likewise, sex and vampires seem to go together no matter where you look and it's kind of annoying and tiresome after a while. Vampire women? Doing it with plenty of men? Been there, done that. What's Garton going to do that's different?
Mm, plenty. Garton does some great stuff and while I mentioned in my ramblings about Cabal how I expect a horror book to freak me out, I realize I have to take that back. While a horror book ought to weird a person out, I forgot about the entertainment value. I had a good time reading this book. Garton kept things interesting, characters you wanted to see hang on until the end, and who would come out a vampire and who would come out dead.
My mouth lead me to acquire books that contained a fair amount of gore, so I got what I asked for. There's just about everything in here, from mutilated bodies to vomiting blood to vampires gone horribly, horribly wrong. In fact, those last two components and the reasons behind them are what made Garton's vampires unique. While crosses and holy water don't work "Fuck you Bram Stoker" (one of the best lines in the book), garlic causes a nasty little allergic reaction, but even better, if you're familiar with vampire stories out there where the vampire wants to be good and just drinks up on the dregs of society? Yeah. No dice here. Drinking up on some crack addict or someone with a certain disease can permanently screw up a vampire. I love the idea. It's like eating bad food. In most vampire cases the blood simply tastes icky, but it'll still sustain the vamp. Here, that's a big no-no and it's cost more than one vampire their...well not lives but their looks and shape more or less.
Every character mattered, had a place, and the story just kept on moving, even when you think one spot is a lull, it isn't or it quickly switches over. One of those books you have trouble putting down. I also wonder why sex seems to always couple with horror, but meh. Oh well. It's a good book. A bit tricky to find (thanks interlibrary loan!) but worth it, yes sir.
Read the Review
Moral of the story: Be careful when you go to nudie bars, boys.
Live Girls was a ton more fun than Cabal. I was worried though. Why? Because who hasn't heard of the whole vampire women acting kind of like succubi and living in strip joints and drinking blood from men they sex up? I snickered to myself because the first similiar item that popped in my head was that ridiculous movie From Dusk Till Dawn. Likewise, sex and vampires seem to go together no matter where you look and it's kind of annoying and tiresome after a while. Vampire women? Doing it with plenty of men? Been there, done that. What's Garton going to do that's different?
Mm, plenty. Garton does some great stuff and while I mentioned in my ramblings about Cabal how I expect a horror book to freak me out, I realize I have to take that back. While a horror book ought to weird a person out, I forgot about the entertainment value. I had a good time reading this book. Garton kept things interesting, characters you wanted to see hang on until the end, and who would come out a vampire and who would come out dead.
My mouth lead me to acquire books that contained a fair amount of gore, so I got what I asked for. There's just about everything in here, from mutilated bodies to vomiting blood to vampires gone horribly, horribly wrong. In fact, those last two components and the reasons behind them are what made Garton's vampires unique. While crosses and holy water don't work "Fuck you Bram Stoker" (one of the best lines in the book), garlic causes a nasty little allergic reaction, but even better, if you're familiar with vampire stories out there where the vampire wants to be good and just drinks up on the dregs of society? Yeah. No dice here. Drinking up on some crack addict or someone with a certain disease can permanently screw up a vampire. I love the idea. It's like eating bad food. In most vampire cases the blood simply tastes icky, but it'll still sustain the vamp. Here, that's a big no-no and it's cost more than one vampire their...well not lives but their looks and shape more or less.
Every character mattered, had a place, and the story just kept on moving, even when you think one spot is a lull, it isn't or it quickly switches over. One of those books you have trouble putting down. I also wonder why sex seems to always couple with horror, but meh. Oh well. It's a good book. A bit tricky to find (thanks interlibrary loan!) but worth it, yes sir.
Read the Review
Moral of the story: Be careful when you go to nudie bars, boys.
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Night Has A Hero (sort of)
I've been itching to read something by Clive Barker for some time now. Cabal is now my official Clive Barker introduction.
Meh.
While I haven't yet read the short stories included in the book I have (I'm not sure if they're with every edition of Cabal or not), but I finished Cabal a week or so again and have since moved on to other things. I'd mentioned needing gore, or good examples of it, in the hopes of making, ah, messy things in my book a bit more visceral. Cabal had some good bits to that end, but overall I felt a bit let down by the story. It's only about 200 or so pages, but it feels shorter than that.
I think my main problem was that I never really got into the characters. At all. Boone was just some random guy who got sucked into all this. I never knew much of his history, which I suppose was necessary because of his "memory loss" but I was curious as to why he was visiting a doctor in the first place. In fact, when I pictured the guy, despite the fact that seeing a psyciatrist is expensive, I thought of him as scruffy, scary-looking, almost of a homeless guy quality. I didn't have much to go on. I didn't even know he was supposed to be handsome until his girlfriend took over the story and said Boone was a fine-looking guy. The story was actually hers...sort of. The blurb made it seem like hers, she had the most camera time (so to speak), though there was the occasional head hopping.
I wanted to see more of Midian. For those of you wondering, Midian is a place where all the super-freaks, creatures, and monsters of the world live, staying out of the sunlight and away from people who would kill them without a second thought. I would have liked to explore that place, it's history, and more of the things that inhabit it. But to no avail.
Maybe I would have liked it better if I were more in tune with the characters - when Lori was in danger of getting killed by a total psycho, I hardly felt her fear. I don't often read horror, so when I do, I expect it to totally freak me out. I mean, hell, I still have fear the dark from time to time. Just last night I had a paranoid chill up my back and looked over my shoulder into a dark room and in my mind, threatened whatever was lurking in there with death, or at least one hell of a fight. So for this story, in which the dark contains all sorts of weird things creeping around, to leave me feeling "meh" and without any extra fear of, well, anything (not like I need any), is a bit disappointing. Maybe I would have liked it better if Midian wasn't under attack by a bunch of podunk small town cops (in Canada no less). By the way, all the inhabitants of Midian knew what was coming. One creature had a procog vision of it. The head honcho that created Midian knew they'd be invaded. And they didn't put up a few snags? No defense? I mean, if creature-A knew creature-Bob was going to die, wouldn't Bob not stand by the door later on? Maybe they didn't know the exact circumstances, but still, when creature-A starts naming names, wouldn't those named get as far away from the surface of danger as possible?
I also wish I would stop critiquing books as I read. I noticed Barker did a lot of this:
"Do you think so?" said Lori.
"Of course," came the reply.
A lot of "came the reply" tags. It kind of sucked when more than one person was involved with the conversation. I felt like Blinkin of Robin Hood: Men in Tights. "Pardon? Who's talking?"
Normally my imagination runs wild. Not so much here. I would have preferred to stick with Boone and explore Midian. Find out what happened to Peloquin. I don't care that the head sheriff gets his best ideas on the crapper. *snort* Little things, mostly.
Anywho, one down, four to go. Live Girls or Berserk will be next. Shouldn't take long to read them either. 3 days for each, max.
Read the Review
<-- Kuski's work makes me think of Midian. Check it out, it's liquid awesome.
Meh.
While I haven't yet read the short stories included in the book I have (I'm not sure if they're with every edition of Cabal or not), but I finished Cabal a week or so again and have since moved on to other things. I'd mentioned needing gore, or good examples of it, in the hopes of making, ah, messy things in my book a bit more visceral. Cabal had some good bits to that end, but overall I felt a bit let down by the story. It's only about 200 or so pages, but it feels shorter than that.
I think my main problem was that I never really got into the characters. At all. Boone was just some random guy who got sucked into all this. I never knew much of his history, which I suppose was necessary because of his "memory loss" but I was curious as to why he was visiting a doctor in the first place. In fact, when I pictured the guy, despite the fact that seeing a psyciatrist is expensive, I thought of him as scruffy, scary-looking, almost of a homeless guy quality. I didn't have much to go on. I didn't even know he was supposed to be handsome until his girlfriend took over the story and said Boone was a fine-looking guy. The story was actually hers...sort of. The blurb made it seem like hers, she had the most camera time (so to speak), though there was the occasional head hopping.
I wanted to see more of Midian. For those of you wondering, Midian is a place where all the super-freaks, creatures, and monsters of the world live, staying out of the sunlight and away from people who would kill them without a second thought. I would have liked to explore that place, it's history, and more of the things that inhabit it. But to no avail.
Maybe I would have liked it better if I were more in tune with the characters - when Lori was in danger of getting killed by a total psycho, I hardly felt her fear. I don't often read horror, so when I do, I expect it to totally freak me out. I mean, hell, I still have fear the dark from time to time. Just last night I had a paranoid chill up my back and looked over my shoulder into a dark room and in my mind, threatened whatever was lurking in there with death, or at least one hell of a fight. So for this story, in which the dark contains all sorts of weird things creeping around, to leave me feeling "meh" and without any extra fear of, well, anything (not like I need any), is a bit disappointing. Maybe I would have liked it better if Midian wasn't under attack by a bunch of podunk small town cops (in Canada no less). By the way, all the inhabitants of Midian knew what was coming. One creature had a procog vision of it. The head honcho that created Midian knew they'd be invaded. And they didn't put up a few snags? No defense? I mean, if creature-A knew creature-Bob was going to die, wouldn't Bob not stand by the door later on? Maybe they didn't know the exact circumstances, but still, when creature-A starts naming names, wouldn't those named get as far away from the surface of danger as possible?
I also wish I would stop critiquing books as I read. I noticed Barker did a lot of this:
"Do you think so?" said Lori.
"Of course," came the reply.
A lot of "came the reply" tags. It kind of sucked when more than one person was involved with the conversation. I felt like Blinkin of Robin Hood: Men in Tights. "Pardon? Who's talking?"
Normally my imagination runs wild. Not so much here. I would have preferred to stick with Boone and explore Midian. Find out what happened to Peloquin. I don't care that the head sheriff gets his best ideas on the crapper. *snort* Little things, mostly.
Anywho, one down, four to go. Live Girls or Berserk will be next. Shouldn't take long to read them either. 3 days for each, max.
Read the Review
<-- Kuski's work makes me think of Midian. Check it out, it's liquid awesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)