Color Beyond Shade

Review: Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

2012-02-12T22:52:00.001-05:00

Last month, I reviewed the first book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I was stunned by the impactful world building that he achieved within the first paragraphs of Mistborn: The Final Empire. See my full review here. After the insane ending to the first book, Sanderson did not fail to deliver in the second book, Well of Ascension. If you haven't read the first book, I would suggest you stop reading my review at this point. By necessity, any discussion of Well of Ascension will reveal spoilers for Mistborn. If you have read the first book, READ ON.

Book synopsis: ***SPOILERS for Mistborn***

The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler - the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years - has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her. Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems.

Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies - one of them composed of ferocious giants - now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

By its nature, Well of Ascension is not a fast moving book. The rebellion has succeeded. Vin has killed the Lord Ruler. But this all came at a very high cost--Kelsier's sacrificial death. In the wake of the Collapse, Kel's crew must figure out how to govern Luthadel with threats coming from the internal and external forces. Beyond the threats that the crew faces, there are unintended consequences to Kel's nobel and not-so-nobel actions that took down the Final Empire and the Lord Ruler. These consequences propel the conflicts and the themes of the second book.

The two main themes running throughout Well of Ascension are trust and belief. These two themes center on two characters--Vin and Sazed--and these themes shape the conflicts faced throughout the book.

I am simply awed by Sanderson's skills as a storyteller. It's true that this is not a book whose plot rockets you through its pages, but that is the nature of the task facing Kel's crew. They are trying to pick up and hold together the pieces of the Final Empire. There is a lot of waiting, and sieges are not known for their fast-moving pace.

There are, however, tons of great action sequences throughout the book. At one point, Vin headbutts a guy and his head EXPLODES. I know, right? There is also a great expansion of the applications and understanding of Allomancy. There is also a lot of Vin being, as Elend puts it, a force of nature. That girl is death incarnate when she chooses to be.

There are also moments between characters in this book that will choke you up at their beauty and their truthful honesty. While Sanderson doesn't write romances that leave you in breathless suspense, he really does portray what healthy romantic love looks like in practice. And I appreciate that more than I can express.

But all of that takes a backseat for me to the interweaving of those two themes with those two characters.

For Vin, we see Kel's last words to her, "You have a lot to learn about friendship, Vin," haunt her, drive her, and finally solidify her. She must learn to truly trust those around her and, more importantly, to trust herself. We see this played out in her relationship with Elend. Her conflict with Zane, Straff Venture's bastard Mistborn and Elend's unknown half-brother. With the relationship she forms with OreSeur, the kandra she knew as Renoux. And with her connection to the Well of Ascension. It all comes down to who and what we put our trust in.

For Sazed, he is a collector of long-dead religions. He is a storehouse for beliefs, but in the end, he believes in nothing. And we watch a religion form out of Kelsier's efforts--The Church of the Survivor. Belief is constantly debated throughout the second book. What constitutes belief? Where should belief be placed? What controls our beliefs? Should we believe in anything? What is the place of belief?

By the end of the book, Vin learns to trust wholeheartedly, but much like Kel's sacrifice, it has unforeseen consequences. We are also left with a broken Sazed who has lost all faith he once had. We are left with a world whose beliefs have been manipulated. And we are left ambivalent toward what can we believe.

I theorize that the theme of belief will be continued in the last book in the trilogy, Hero of Ages. I don't want to go into any details about how these themes culminated in Well of Ascension, because the interweaving that Sanderson pulls off is impressive and should be experienced, not explained.

After the driving force of those two themes, the other aspect of Well of Ascension that I appreciated was Sanderson's subtle characterizations. He reveals his characters dimensions and depth through contrasts and foils. You understand each character better in the light of another character he or she is placed beside. You see this with Vin and Zane, Zane and Elend, Elend and Jastes, Sazed and Tindwyl, Breeze and Clubs, Straff and Elend, Elend and Kellsier, Kellsier and Vin. And he defines each character through these contrasts. Because different people illuminate different parts of our personalities--the good and the bad, and it is only through this illumination that we get a clearer picture of who each person is. It was brilliantly done with a light touch.

It seems redundant to say that I loved this book, and I look forward to diving into Hero of Ages tomorrow. But I did and I do. At the end of this book, I came to an interesting realization. The character who I am most like in these books is Clubs. I'll leave HOW to your imaginations. :D

Plans, Scheming, and Yoda

2012-02-10T12:25:00.002-05:00

Oh, lists, my true love.

Okay, y'all. I need to make a Plan. My queue of books is getting so out of hand that it's starting to give me lip. And let me tell you, an uppity queue of books is a singular oddity you never want to witness. Enduring smack talk from inanimate objects is humiliating at best, not to mention vaguely concerning. Much like weaving the disparate threads of a plot together, I need to plan out the course of several competing threads within my life, so that none of them end up strangling me in my sleep. I need to delineate the tasks within my Teacher thread, and my Writer thread, and my Planning-a-Wedding-That-Is-Only-Three-Months-Away thread. (I am superlatively thankful that we're keeping things simple.) This is where the Plan becomes necessary for SURVIVAL. (No, not THAT plan. I'm not trying to get anyone out of detention here, y'all.)

You see, if I don't make a conscious plan for how I will spend my time each day or each week regarding these goals, I will simply lose my day watching things like Top Chef marathons. Trust me. This happens. A lot. With a frequency that I'm ashamed to own up to. Without a deliberate goal to accomplish, I just let time flow past me, never to return. And this go-with-the-flow, inertia-imprisoned lifestyle is so much worse in the winter. *glares at the lack of daylight* I just want to be a lump on the couch and gorge myself on the televised equivalent of junk food. I have no desire for substance during winter. I want cotton candy fluff. I just want it to melt on my tongue. Chewing would be asking too much, apparently.

But NO MORE. I will throw off the shackles of my own lethargy, and I will STAY AWAKE while reading. Hopefully. Because, you see, gentle readers, if you don't carve out time to write or to read or to do whatever it is that you beautiful people do that makes your soul shimmy with delight, time will unhelpfully and inconsiderately keep marching forward. None of us really "have" the time to do the things we love. Time isn't going to miraculously fall into our laps. We have to be intentional. Being intentional, however, can be really, really hard. Especially when all we want to do is ooze into an armchair and turn off our brains.

I'll make a deal with you, gentle readers. Before next Friday, I vow, here and now, that I will finish the book that I'm currently reading, and I will report back with a review. I want to encourage and challenge you to do the same. Pick something you've been meaning to do or finish and try to accomplish that goal by next Friday. We'll meet back here and report our successes. Just remember to pick a goal that can be completed in a week. Be realistic.

Okay, the potential of public shame is now hanging over my head. NO EXCUSES. I'll take my inspiration from that tiny green Superball of a Jedi. There is no try.

Like Donkey Kong.

Gratitude: An Open Letter to My Readers

2012-02-09T19:20:00.002-05:00

Dear readers,

As I was planning out my evening, I was struck once again by how limited our time is on any given day. I have writing responsibilities. I have teaching responsibilities. I have responsibilities to my friends and family. I have a wedding and honeymoon to plan. I have a queue of books and DVRed TV shows that both are longer than I care to contemplate. There are so many books that I want to read, but I can only move through my queue at a proverbial snail's pace. Long gone are the days of high school when I could read to my heart's content. Professionally, I must continue to read on a regular basis, however, it's still hard to find the time. But you, dear readers, you found the time in your equally busy lives to read my books. That astonishes me. I cannot express my gratitude enough that you spent your precious hours in my world, my stories, and with my characters. In no small part, it is because of you that I am embarking on my journey into traditional publishing. I cannot thank you enough for your time and your faith in my writing.

Your humbled author,
Elizabeth

Lobotomized by Joy: Announcement about Forge & THINGS

2012-01-30T18:21:00.001-05:00

The title of this post originally comes from a hashtag I tweeted last Thursday, and IT STILL APPLIES. I've decided that the only way for this post to accurately reflect my feelings is with the help of pictures. I feel that at this time words fail me. But I did write a post two years ago called Catching the Sun about finally finishing the first draft of Shatter (The Children of Man, #1), and it does capture the same feelings I'm experiencing now fairly articulately. So, if you want the articulate, pretty version read that. If you want the rambling, raw emotion, READ ON.

I will tell you the story, but I want to get THE announcement out of the way. So, here goes. As of Thursday, I am now represented by Joe Monti, an agent from Barry Goldblatt Literary. Yeah. That's right. I HAVE AN AGENT, AND HE'S AWESOME. Let it sink in. 'Cause it hasn't for me yet. At all.

This is me when I think about it, which is ALL THE TIME.

So, this is my story of how I got to that stupefied expression. I never really intended to self-publish. It kind of just happened. I know, you're wondering how in the world that works, but it's the truth. In 2009 I won NaNoWriMo* for the first time, and one of the prizes was a free proof copy of your novel. I finished up the first draft of Shatter in December and spent the winter and spring editing and revising. When I ordered my proof copy, Shatter was posted on amazon.com for sale. That kind of blew my mind that my story was out there for people to purchase. And it freaked me out, because it had SO MANY copy errors. It wasn't until my friend Randy Lalonde, who happens to be an indie author, encouraged me to offer Shatter as as e-book did I decide to really give it a try. I figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying, right? That was June 2010.

About a month into releasing the e-book of Shatter, I decided to offer it for free. I saw a big uptick in my downloads at that point and good reviews started trickling in. In October, amazon price matched Shatter and offered it for free. In that first month, I saw 25,000+ downloads of Shatter. I was starting to really get excited about self-publishing.

In November when I released Render, I was really happy about where I was with self-publishing. At this point, Shatter has been downloaded or purchased over 205,000 times, and Render is closing in on 4,000. (See earlier picture for my response to those numbers.) My only regret has been that I don't have the kind of editorial team behind me that traditional publishing offers that could push me to be a better writer and make my stories the best they can be.

Amidst my happiness surrounding Render's release, I was contacted regarding my books. I can't go into the details of any of it, but it raised questions that I was ill-equipped to handle about publishing. Now here comes the entertaining part of this tale. I have a friend who I've played World of Warcraft with for at least five years. Though he's definitely Barry, he'll always be Tia, which is a shortened form of his original character's name in game. (Sorry, you won't be able to find our server, guild, or characters from that info. ^.^) We raided and instanced and goofed off on vent for months before I discovered what he did for a living.

One week, Tia had to call off for raid, because he was going to LA. When we asked him what the trip was for, he informed us that he was going to a movie premiere of a client's book, "The Spiderwick Chronicles." (See previous picture for my reaction. I look confused a lot apparently.) My friend Tia is Barry Goldblatt, rockstar kids & YA literary agent, husband of Printz award-winner Libba Bray, agent of Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, Michelle Hodkin, and the list just goes on to more awesome. But he was still just my friend Tia, WHO GAVE AWESOME BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS. I mean, seriously, the stuff I've read because of him.

I do want to be clear that I never once tried to use him or his connections in this process. He's my friend, first and foremost. But when I was contacted about my books in November, I had a lot of questions and really needed some guidance. So naturally I turned to him for help. And because Barry is Barry, he offered his wisdom, advice, and enthusiasm without hesitation. It was at this point that I decided I should start looking for an agent to represent me, and I asked Barry for a list of which agents I should contact and how to go about doing so, because my circumstances would not fit your typical query. In the end, he recommended that I send my MSS to Joe Monti.

I sent the MSS for both Shatter and Render over Thanksgiving. Joe got back to me two weeks ago, and we scheduled a phone conversation for last Thursday. Now, you need to understand that I am a realist who wishes I could be an idealist. I always prepare myself for the worst and hope for the best. In preparation for the phone call, I considered what the worst case scenario could be. So I told myself that Joe could have scheduled this phone call to impress upon me just how BAD my writing was, and that it was his duty to Literature and Storytelling and Humanity to convince me to do ANYTHING else.

I wanted to avoid this.

So, Joe and I talked on Thursday. The conversation meandered as we got to know each other, which gave me hope that this wasn't the PLEASE-NEVER-WRITE-AGAIN phone call. We talked about my goals for my writing and constructive critique, and we seemed to be on the same page. We both wanted to take my work into traditional publishing. After all that, he told me that he wasn't talking to me as a favor to Barry, but that he was genuinely excited about my work and its potential.

Truthfully, I probably looked more like the cat.

Then he said that he'd love to represent me.

I went from this.

To this.

To lobotomized by joy

And I said that I'd love for him to represent me. Not just because he is a successful literary agent offering to represent me, but through the course of the conversation I just really liked who Joe was. He laughs a lot, and I appreciate that so much. Also, he works with Barry, and I trust Barry's judgment. I mean really, this man has never steered me wrong, whether its books or food. PUGs on the other hand... *snickers* Love you, Barry! Okay. Tangent time. If you ever see a restaurant recommendation from Barry on twitter, and you're in the same city as the restaurant, GO THERE IMMEDIATELY. I mean, seriously, I don't care what you're doing. Even if you're already eating. Stop and go where he's suggested.

So that's my big secret! I am now represented by a very reputable literary agency and agent extraordinaire. I have to admit I'm a little starstruck about the other authors who are represented by my agency. MY AGENCY, GOOD GRAVY. I just hope I can restrain myself from fangirl-ing all over people... *gazes as non-psychotically as possible at Cassie Clare and Holly Black*

This choice has consequences though. It does mean that I won't be self-publishing Forge. The goal for The Children of Man series is to rework Shatter and Render and get them ready to submit to traditional publishers. This is the route I really want to take the series, because I am SO excited about having a creative team to push me to be the best writer I can be. And these stories and characters deserve to be told in the best way possible, and traditional publishing has the resources to help me achieve that.

This also means that I have no time frame for how long it will take for the series to find a publisher and once that happens for the third book to be released. I just hope that you'll stick with me through this process and be patient, because the end result will be even better than the stories are now.

I have an agent? I HAVE AN AGENT.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

*National Novel Writing Month is when you try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I did it in 2009 and 2010 and won both times. It's a GREAT tool for discipling yourself as a writer. I recommend it for all aspiring writers.

Reivew: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

2012-01-03T15:47:00.001-05:00

Within the last decade, Brandon Sanderson has become a household name in fantasy. Even if you haven't read him, chances are you've heard of him. He's Robert Jordan's literary heir and has been tasked with finishing the Wheel of Time series*. He's one of those authors that dutiful little fantasy fanboys and fangirls are supposed to have read. All the hoopla and expectation started when he wrote Elantris and the Mistborn trilogy.

I've intended to read Mistborn: The Final Empire for years. I mean, who hasn't? When I first heard the premise of the series, I was wide-eyed and giddy. Mistborn takes place in a world where the hero failed a thousand years ago, and the only people able to save the world from the Big Bad are a crew of thieves. I love fantasy. I love heists and altruistic thieves. And I love turning tropes on their heads. Mistborn gave me all of this and more.

Just a few days ago, I finally finished the first book of series--also of the the same name. I am now more wide-eyed and giddy than when I heard the premise. Because Mistborn does more than just weave these ideas together into a compelling story, it creates one of the most intriguing fantasy worlds I've ever read.

Synopsis:

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in Mistborn.

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

How can you resist a set-up like that? First, let's talk about the world. The world of the Final Empire is bleak. The skaa are slaves. Ash constantly falls. The plants have turned brown and the sun red. And the feared mists come at night. All because the Hero of Ages failed a thousand years ago. The setting of the Final Empire pops into the reader's imagination fully formed and continues to unfold and expand with every page with impressive verisimilitude. The first lines of Mistborn establishes this world better than any other fantasy book I can remember.

"Ash fell from the sky. Lord Tresting frowned, glacing up at the ruddy midday sky as his servants scuttled forward, opening a parasol over Tresting and his distinguished guest. Ashfalls weren't uncommon in the Final Empire, but Tresting had hoped to avoid getting soot stains on his fine new suit coat and red vest, which had just arrived via canal boat from Luthadel itself."

Sanderson doesn't waste time with pages of description, as can be a pitfall of the genre, but like Aton Chekov he provides a sentence or two that grounds the scene with compelling imagery. As I read, at times, I could feel ash sticking to my lashes, staining my clothes, or the mists chilling and dampening my skin. Near the end of the book, there is a scene that takes place in a square. I won't say more than that, but that image, as the ash fell lightly, has seared itself into my memory. It is one of many unforgettable images. His setting and descriptions never get in the way of the story. Instead, he unassumingly paints a vivid and depressing world that envelops you.

The world-building that Sanderson achieves in Mistborn staggers the imagination. From the Terrismen to the Steel Inquisitors to the kandra to the mists to the koloss to the Pits of Hathsin to Feruchemy and Allomancy, the breadth and depth of this world left me breathless with envy.

Allomancy is probably the down-right coolest magic system I've encountered in fantasy in its originality and development. At its most basic, Allomancy is the ability to burn certain metals that have been ingested. All Allomantic metals are paired with a base metal and its corresponding alloy. By burning these metals, the Allomancer gains certain abilities. For example, burning pewter enables the Allomancer to gain increased physical prowess in strength, stamina, dexterity, speed, and agility.

There are two basic kinds of Allomancers. The first, Mistings, are Allomancers who can only burn one type of metal. For instance, a Misting who can burn pewter is called a Thug or a Pewterarm. These aren't uncommon within the nobility or even within the skaa population. Though its illegal to allow half-breeds to live, there a quite a few skaa with some noble blood in their lineage. The other kind of Allomancer is extremely rare. They are the Mistborn. Mistborn can burn all of the Allomantic metals. Because of this, they are highly sought after and are very dangerous.

The plot, the world, and the magic of Mistborn are well conceived and beautifully executed. It is a rich story and a rich world. What makes this story shine, like any good story, however, are its characters. The two main characters of Mistborn are Kellsier, the charismatic leader of the crew, and Vin, a teenage girl thief with untold potential. Those might seem like stereotypical characters, but their backstories and development defies such simplistic categorization. Vin is a powerful, vulnerable girl who struggles against the lessons of her past. Kel is a man who smiles all the time, because his life has been defined by tragedy. Vin is a skeptic yearning for faith. Kel is a vengeful savior.

Beyond Vin and Kel, you easily find yourself falling in love with the crew that Kel assembles, Ham the Thug philosopher, Breeze the good-hearted wastrel, Dockson the back-alley administrator, Clubs the curmudgeonly caregiver, and Spook the tongue-tied spy. While the twists of the story leave you wanting to know what comes next, the real reason you keep reading is to see what will happen to these characters. Will Vin learn that trust and survival aren't mutually exclusive? What happened to Kel in the Pits of Hathsin? Can Kel really kill a god?

I've barely scratched the surface of Mistborn in this review, because I don't want to ruin the amazing twists that Sanderson planned. Mistborn is a story of contradictions and upending tropes. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written, compelling story. Whether you're a fantasy fan or not, I would encourage you to give Sanderson a chance. You won't be disappointed.

Back to reading the next book in the series for me. Once I finish, I'll be reviewing Well of Ascension as well.

*I gave up on the Wheel of Time series in high school. If you know me, you've heard me rant about WoT. Based on the quality of Mistborn, however, I might actually return to the Wheel of Time series, just to read more of Sanderson's writing.

Art! Short Story! Presents!

2011-12-21T22:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays, all! I have presents for you! I'm really excited to announce that I've uploaded the short story about Caleb & Talise's first meeting to smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and amazon. It should be live in the next 24-48 hours. It will take longer to distribute to iBooks, Sony, Diesel, and Kobo as always. I will keep you informed.

The story is called "The Luthier of Keman."

Synopsis:

Caleb Murphy is coming to the end of his first circuit as an avowed Daniyelan, and it can't end soon enough. Arbitrating judgments for horse breeders in Isfaridesh can't compare to his journeymen circuit riding the disputed Nabosian border, and his partner, Gisa Protz, can't stand him. His thoughts are with his troubled sister Ella as he arrives in the small town of Keman, but what awaits him in a luthier's shop will change his life forever.

"The Luthier of Keman" is a short story that takes place twenty years before Shatter (The Children of Man, #1).

The story takes place twenty years before the events of Shatter and Render, during the year before the Nabosian War began. Caleb and Talise are eighteen years old and quite different from the dynamic duo we know and love. I really hope you enjoy it! I had such a blast writing it. Seriously. So much fun. It was so nice to draft, edit, and publish a story in a matter of weeks.

That announcement is my first present to you. My second is a present to me that I'm passing on and sharing with you. My loverly and all around awesomesauce friend Anne Hromalik of cartographer fame is, as I've told you before, an artist, not just a brilliant mapmaker. She created a piece featuring Caleb and Talise, and I'M SO IN LOVE. This picture makes me salivate. Its dynamism is so appropriate for these two characters. It captures each of their personalities and their relationship perfectly. The use of color is so spot on. The yellow for Talise with the complimentary blue highlights is just so apropos. I love the arm bandolier on Caleb. I love the knives strapped to Talise's thighs, and her boots--great googly moogly her boots. I love that Caleb is firmly solid and stable and Talise is tumbling through the air. I love the expressions on their faces and how they're looking at each other. They look exactly as I picture Caleb & Talise. Simply put, it IS my Caleb and Talise. I could prattle on about this picture for far longer than you want to listen. Without further ranting and raving, here it is:

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS PICTURE. I mean LOOK AT IT. How can I not be giddy? It looks like the cover of a really awesome graphic novel. I am so blessed to have friends like Anne. I love seeing my characters brought to life, and this is simply stunning. Thank you so much, Anne, for this present. *squee*

See more of Anne's artwork here: http://www.teaofdreams.com

Classic Simpsons is classic

2011-12-15T22:37:00.001-05:00

Because sometimes your day just needs classic Simpsons.

Review: "The Emperor's Edge Series" By Lindsay Buroker

2011-12-13T18:39:00.004-05:00

Last week, I finally picked up The Emperor's Edge, the first book in the series of the same name, by Lindsay Buroker. The Emperor's Edge is, as the subtitle puts it, "a high fantasy adventure set in an era of steam." Now, don't let the subtitle mislead you. This is not a steampunk series per say. Instead, this is an otherworldly fantasy that takes place in an industrialized, steam-driven empire called Turgonia.

Here's the official synopsis:

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.

Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down. Either they have an unprecedented belief in her skills... or someone wants her dead.

Here's my synopsis: Amaranthe Lockdon is a fast-talking, savvy woman of prinicples--whose adherence to her principles puts her on the wrong side of the Turgorian political game and the law she was sworn to uphold. Thrown together with laconic assassin Sircarius, Amaranthe must come up with a plan and a crew to save the empire and clear her own name--in two weeks.

I said before that I finally read this because Lindsay's books have been haunting my browser for some time now, due to something we have in common: readers. Many of my readers also read her works. Before I even finished The Emperor's Edge, it became quite clear why we share a readership.

This series features a crew of characters with shady pasts. Check. This series is also about redemption for these characters. Check PLUS. This series has a lot of witty, often crude, banter. Check. (Though mine has more gleeful tormenting, less innuendo. Though I would LOVE for Sheridan to meet Maldynado--and Sicarius. Partially because I'd love to watch Sheridan and Maldynado's egos wrestle for dominance. But more so because Sheridan would revel in poking at Sircarius, and he couldn't kill her before she popped away to continue tormenting from a safe distance.)

Remember how I said the story is an otherworldly fantasy set in a recently industrialized society? Sound familiar. It should if you've read my Children of Man series. Much like my books, the technology is more setting and less iconic or theme driven as the steampunk genre tends to be. (Not that I'm getting down on steampunk, mind you. I love me some airship shenanigans and goggles and corsets. See my steampunk blog post here and my steampunk recommended reading here. Yes, I did classify these books as 'steampunk' for my goodreads shelves and the labeling of this review. Hush, I'm well aware of my contradiction and that this is way too long for a parenthetical statement. MOVING ON.) While there are parallels between our overarching themes, characters, their interactions, and the mix of technology and magic, our stories and worlds do differ quite a bit.

The Emperor's Edge has a cast of seedy and entertaining characters who are not your typical white knights. Amaranthe is as close as they come to having one. But they are characters working toward their own exoneration as well as saving the empire. While I read this book, my mind kept picturing this:

Can't you just see Amaranthe in a dragon costume? (Man, I love the old school BSG reference in that intro. Okay, I need to stop dating myself in this post...) There were numerous A-Team parallels in the books, and they are Amaranthe's crew after all. Eh, eh, get it? *rimshot* (I apologize for how horrible that was. We shall never speak of it again.) After I finished the first book, I discovered that someone else drew the same connection and dubbed them the "A-Team of Steam." Agreed, good sir, agreed.

To say I enjoyed this book would be insufficient, I inhaled this series. I started it last Thursday evening. After I finished The Emperor's Edge, I immediately downloaded book two, Dark Currents. Suffice it to say, I've already finished Dark Currents, the third book Deadly Games, the short story Ice Cracker II, and I just downloaded Encrypted after I learned it's in the universe of The Emperor's Edge. I plan to start it after I finish my daily writing tonight.

These books are really fun adventures with characters that made me laugh and made me cheer for them. I really can't give a book much higher praise than that. I look forward to the next book in the series, because the developments and complications at the end of Deadly Games has me itching to read more. Oh, and I'm a sucker for laconic assassins, and you don't get more laconic than Sircarius. Good gravy, y'all.

I'm really excited to give another indie fantasy author some more exposure, because she deserves it. Check out Lindsay Buroker's work, you won't regret it.

Her Website
The Emperor's Edge on Nook
The Emperor's Edge on Kindle
(Oh, and did I mention that she did an AUDIOBOOK as an indie, and that it's FREE? She's inspired me, y'all.)
The Emperor's Edge Audiobook

Review: "Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices, #2)" by Cassandra Clare

2011-12-08T00:16:00.001-05:00

When I finished my ARC of Clockwork Angel, the first book in The Infernal Devices trilogy, last summer, I immediately wanted the next book. I wanted Clockwork Prince right then, and Clockwork Angel hadn't even been properly released yet. Finally, my relief came yesterday with the release of Clockwork Prince. As I've come to expect from Cassie, my expectations were exceeded. I expected to be entertained, but I did not expect to be so touched.

Here's the inside flap synopsis:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

My favorite part of this book is Will Herondale's story arc. I won't divulge the details, but the mystery of our caustic welsh Will becomes decidedly less mysterious. Learning who Will is and why Will is Will was vastly satisfying and heartbreaking. I just wanted to hug him and tell him it would be all right. More than the revelations regarding Will's past and his motivations made his arc intriguing, because Will's arc was by no means static. The dynamic changes in Will, or rather the unveiling and rediscovery of Will's character, was fragile and beautiful and heart wrenching.

Few modern writers are able to fully grasp and reproduce the heartbreak of gothic literature, but Cassie does it masterfully in Clockwork Prince--particularly, though not exclusively, in Will.

But, really, we all know the character who has my heart in this series--Tessa Gray. As I declared at the end of Clockwork Angel, I was neither Team Will or Team Jem, but Team Tessa. I still am. That girl is the bee knees, y'all. I just adore her. Watching Tess in a more stable environment this time around allowed her to blossom in a way that was endearing. As Tess tries to come to terms with who and what she is, as well as her feelings for Will and Jem, we also get to see her begin to touch on the implications of her own immortality. There is a sadness for me in this thread. I don't know what's going to happen with her future and who will or will not be by her side or for how long, but I keep coming back to a remembrance that Magnus Bane had regarding Tessa in City of Fallen Angel.

He saw a girl with long brown hair and a serious face. In a world where everything went away from him eventually, she was one of the few remaining constants.

For some reason I cannot put words to yet, this remembrance holds a good deal of sorrow for me, and it kept coming back to me as I read Clockwork Prince. The idea of mortality was quite prevalent in this book with Tessa's immortality, with Jem's illness, and with Will's arc. There was a sobriety to the tone of this book, though that does not mean that it was light on witty banter and levity.

One of the underlying themes of the story was the common language that Tess and Will share--books and words. As a reader and writer, this naturally resonated with me on a visceral level. While I enjoyed Will and his caustic wit in the first book, this theme made me feel for him. I get Will. I'm pretty sure anyone who was an adolescent who found solace and strength from stories can't help but identify with Will and Tess. At the end of this book, I find Will Herondale appealing in a way I've found none of Cassie's other male leads. Don't get me wrong, I adore my geeky Simon. Will's earnest fragility and vulnerability, however, that he can only throw into books was something I understand all too well.

As always with her writing, the final paragraph sprang a twist on me that has me ravenous for Clockwork Princess. Also, I got my wish from Clockwork Angel. There was a lot more Magnus Bane in this story. There should ALWAYS be more Magnus.

Unlike Cassie's other stories that I consumed and thoroughly enjoyed, Clockwork Prince touched me. The interplay of death and life and love and betrayal and forgiveness and books and words touched me in a way I did not expect. Really, very well done, Cassie.

Announcement of Announcing

2011-12-05T17:54:00.001-05:00

Greetings, salutations, and divers hellos, gentle readers. On my way home from work, I was driving through monsoon-esque conditions, and I realized that there are several tidbits that I'd like to bring to your attention.

First, if you did not receive the tweet of joy this weekend, Render (The Children of Man, #2) is LIVE on iBooks. Go forth! Read! Review! Huzzah! (Not necessarily in that order. Huzzahs may vary.)

Linky link to Render on iBooks.

Second, if you've finished Render and feel bereft waiting for the next morsel of the story, might I suggest joining the forums over on goodreads to discuss the series with other readers? I'd love to get a lively discussion and community going over there. Several people have jumped in already, and we'd love for you to join us!

The Children of Man Goodreads Forums

Third, I wanted to announce officially that The Children of Man series will not end with the third book, Forge. When I first outlined this series, I intended it to be five books. Then I edited it back to a trilogy. After much consideration, I felt that to do the story justice I needed a fourth book. Now, I do promise you that this particular story will end with the fourth book. This will not be a never-ending series where I keep yelling, "Fooled you!" like Dark Helmet at the end of each story. This tale has a definite conclusion, and I will not drag it out unnecessarily. But I also refuse to rush the ending of the story. I've read too many trilogies that have done just that. At the end, I simply felt cheated. I would have chosen to wait for another book rather than be handed a rush job. Mockingjay, I'm looking at you.

Fourth, I'm currently working on a surprise Christmas treat for you, my readers. Some of you are already aware of this project and had a hand in picking its topic. It's a short story about how Caleb and Talise met. I'm hoping to have this story finished and polished in time for the holidays. It's all outlined, and the first scene is almost finished. I think y'all are really going to like it. I'm having a blast writing it thus far.

Fifth, I discovered the web series JourneyQuest this weekend. It's by the same guys who did the indie movie "Gamers: The Dorkness Rising" about tabletop RPGs. I LOVE THESE GUYS. Seriously. Season 2 comes out this summer.

Following a group of dysfunctional adventurers on a quest to discover and destroy the mythical Sword of Fighting, JOURNEYQUEST is a comedic adventure through the fantasy world of Fartherall, where intellectual orcs, incompetent wizards, and holy zombies form the living (and not-so-living) backdrop to an epic story of unrequited love, burning passions, and severely reluctant heroism. And running away. Lots of running away ...

Check it out: http://www.journey-quest.com/.

Sixth, the above picture is from an episode of The Simpsons called "The Book Job," and it's about YA books and guest stars Neil Gaiman. This episode is priceless. I highly suggest watching it.

With that, gentle readers, I bring this announcement of announcing to a close.

As always, happy reading!

Render shipping to iBooks, Sony, KoBo, & Diesel!

2011-11-30T17:59:00.001-05:00

FINALLY! For those of you waiting for Render (The Children of Man, #2) to appear in iBooks, Sony, KoBo, or Diesel's stores, your wait is drawing to a close. Render made it through smashwords backlogged vetting process for inclusion in their Premium Catalogue--finally.

It was approved today and will ship to the retailers tomorrow or Friday. Once it has been shipped, it will appear in ONE to TWO weeks on the retailer's sites. HOWEVER, I have noticed that usually within a day or two of shipping books usually show up in the iBooks store.

Once I see Render live on iBooks and these other fine retailers, I'll post ongoing updates. Ladies and gents, start your stalking! I know I will be. Huzzah!

Remembering Anne McCaffrey

2011-11-23T14:33:00.001-05:00

Browsing through Twitter yesterday, I stumbled upon some very sad news. Anne McCaffrey died. For those of you who are unaware of who that is, Anne McCaffrey was the dowager empress of Sci-Fi & Fantasy. She was the first woman to ever win the Hugo and the Nebula Award. She was the first female Sci-Fi & Fantasy author that I ever read.

When I was eleven, Y.A. had yet to really blossom as a market, and when I was done with Anne of Green Gables and Little Women and The Hobbit, I went searching for something new to read. My dad, an avid Sci-Fi & Fantasy geek, put a book into my hands. (Yes, I am a second generation geek. I come by it quite honestly.) That book was Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. As I said on Twitter last night, it changed my literary world forever.

I finished that book in two days, and when we next went to the library, I checked out as many Pern books as I could carry--probably more than I could carry. I was a pretty small eleven year old.

I related to the obstinate, scheming, and fiery Lessa instantly. I fell in love with the wry, sly, and charismatic Robinton. But more than my love for the human characters, I fell hard for Anne's dragons. I felt like I was a candidate who had just impressed. A lifelong bond was forged.

Anne's characters were diverse with real depth. Her women were strong, but true partnerships existed between her romantic leads. While Lessa and F'lar's relationship was passionate and explosive, her portrayal of true partnership was shown no better place than between Brekke and F'nor. I still remember vividly the image of F'nor returning to Brekke in the Southern Continent, and he simply put his hand on her shoulder, and she smiled at him. Anne referred to this exchange as more intimate a gesture than if they had started making out. Granted, she stated it much more elegantly and subtly than that.

I read that scene almost twenty years ago, and that image of real, quiet intimacy has stuck with me. I can't remember things that happened last week, but scenes and characters from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern have stuck with me since middle school. I then went on to read her Catteni Sequence, A Tower and Hive Series, Acorna, and anything else I could get my hands on.

I asked for her books every Christmas. I disappeared into her worlds all throughout middle and high school. They were my refuge. To say that Anne McCaffrey had an affect on my writing would be a gross understatement. Through her examples, she taught me how to create immersive worlds. She taught me how to create dynamic relationships and characters.

I can never express my thanks to her enough. You and your voice will be missed, Anne. Thank you.

Render: iBooks, Sony, & Diesel

2011-11-21T20:20:00.001-05:00

So, it's almost been a week since Render (The Children of Man, #2) was released. (I'M STILL QUITE EXCITED.) Ahem. I plan to post on Wednesday to commemorate the book's first week. Today, I felt it necessary to address Render's unavailability on certain e-book platforms at the moment.

I distribute directly through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This means that when I upload an e-book it takes 24-72 hours for it to go live on their sites. I currently don't distribute directly through Apple for iBooks. My books are distributed to Apple through a company called smashwords.

Smashwords.com offers my e-books on their site, and they also distribute them to Apple, Sony, KoBo, and Diesel. At the moment, smashwords is backlogged for vetting e-books that want to be included in their Premium Catalogue. This is a necessary step before they send an e-book off to these retailers.

At this point, I have no control over when Render will become available on iBooks, Sony, Diesel, and KoBo. I will continue to monitor the situation and let you know the MOMENT it becomes available.

Thanks for your patience. Happy reading!

Reflections on Render: Art as Community

2011-11-18T16:50:00.001-05:00

On Twitter, Neil Gaiman once said that he was sitting at a coffeehouse sipping coffee and writing in his Moleskine, and this entertained him. He found this funny because of the misconceptions that exist about writers. Authors rarely sit around in a coffeehouse staring dreamily and writing Deep Things in their Moleskin journals.

We're of much stranger stuff than such romantic notions. If we're in a coffeehouse at all, it's because we are in a desperate need for a caffeine fix or a place away from the distractions of home. It's much more likely to find us wearing a fuzzy bathrobe over our street clothes as we bribe ourselves with the prospect of a shower if we just finish 1,000 more words. Regardless of which image of authors you have--frenzied or romantic--there remains the impression that writers are solitary creatures.

While it's true that the act of drafting requires us to lock ourselves away to get work done, the act of creation, producing art, is a highly communal effort. Over the course of Render's production, I realized something significant. While I was so excited to get the story into my readers hands, I was just as excited to show off the other talented people who contributed to this book's creation.

Because a book is so much more than the words of the page. The story is the heart, the catalyst, but that original story, in a way, transcends when it becomes a book. The final product is an effort of an artistic community, not a solitary writer.

Countless times over the production of Render, I was bursting, waiting to show off the cover art that Claudia created, or the maps that Anne drew, or the book trailer that Adam produced. I wanted to hold up their creations to you and say, "LOOK how ridiculously talented these people are!"

The process of collaboration with these artists and friends has been on my favorite parts of creating Render. After every correspondence or conversation, I was always buzzing with creative energy, ready to tackle the most grueling plot snarls. They each were helping me bring my world and my story into focus. They were helping give it external reality. For so long, these characters have lived in my head, and they now stood in a world that had existence in more than my singular, subjective imaginings.

I have always had critique partners throughout my novel writing endeavors--people who pushed me to better characterization, tighter plotting, and more dynamic pacing. This was the first time, however, I had other artists contributing their perspectives to my novel--artists who work in a different medium than my own. Claudia brought her visual artistry with my cover art. Anne brought her visual artistry with my maps. Adam brought both his musical artistry and video production skills to my book trailer. With each of these, a dimension, a layer was added to my story and my world. Each helped bring it to life.

When I look at the final product, I am humbled by what we have created.

Art is, by its nature, both a solitary action and a communal effort. There are about fifteen people who contributed in some way to Render. For each one of their individual involvements, the story, the book improved.

Because art requires and creates community. In some ways, it is the expression of a community. Beyond the direct involvement of those in its creation, art also creates community amongst its consumers. When you find someone who has read a book you love, there is an immediate connection forged between you. Your shared experience of the art allows your world and your lives to overlap.

Within a community, art can also inspire others, who in turn inspire you. The work that Claudia, Anne, and Adam did always sparked and revved my creativity more than anything else. If you follow this blog regularly, you have heard me GUSH over the piano piece that my student, Michelle, composed for Shatter. The first time she played it for me, I nearly cried. It was driving and haunting. It was my story, but it was expressed through her music. Michelle has also written a theme for Faela and Kade. I can't release that piece to you--yet.

I listen to both of these pieces whenever I draft. They inspire my creativity and instantly transport me back to my world and my old friends. The fan art that my readers have created is the same. Their art, depicting my characters, inspires me to further acts of creativity.

Art breeds art. Community breeds creation.

If you are stuck, feeling uninspired, I would suggest you seek art, seek community. Isolating yourself and starting at a screen will do little to inspire you. Because it is rarely within ourselves that we find inspiration. It is in each other that we truly discover something inspirational.

Happy reading and happy writing.

Render Release Countdown: IT'S HERE!

2011-11-15T17:59:00.001-05:00

IT'S HERE!

That's right, gentle readers. My treat for you today is THE BOOK. Render (The Children of Man, #2) HAS ARRIVED. Even though we're still 4 hours away from the 16th here in Ohio, it's already Wednesday in half the world. So, if it's still Tuesday the 15th where you are, happy early release!

I'm really excited about this book, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Render is currently live for amazon, Barnes and Noble, and smashwords. The print edition will be up sometime over the next week. The print process just takes a little bit longer. Smashwords will be distributing to iBooks, Sony, and Diesel sometime in the next week or so as well. I'll continue to give you updates as each of those go live. HAPPY RENDER RELEASE DAY!

Buy Render!
Paperback

Add to Your Goodreads!

Goodreads

This release brought to you by Queen & The Dartmouth Aires.

Because nothing says celebration like Freddy Mercury and a cappella.

Render Release Countdown: 2 Days!

2011-11-14T18:28:00.001-05:00

Well, everything has been sent off to its respective publishers. Files have been compiled. Mobi files have been uploaded to Kindle. Epub files have been uploaded to Barnes & Noble. Word docs have been uploaded to smashwords. PDFs have been uploaded to CreateSpace. It's all out of my hands now. I'd be excited, but I am so tired that I can barely type. You can be excited for me. I'll be excited tomorrow.

The Day 2 treat is another map reveal. This time, the setting is Vamorines.

Map of Vamorines
© 2011 Anne Hromalik

Render Release Countdown: 4 & 3 Days!

2011-11-13T21:15:00.001-05:00

I realize that I did not post a Render Countdown treat yesterday. My epic battle with grammar didn't give me time to scrounge up some goodies for you. So, repentant and contrite, I bring you both days four and three.

Day Four!

The city map of Lanvirdis!

This gives you a hint about where one of Render's story lines will be prominently set.

Lanvirdis City Map
© 2011 Anne Hromalik

Day Three!

Render: The Playlist!

(Coming Soon: Render: The FLAMETHROWER)

I keep making the really bad Spaceballs joke whenever I post this playlist, because, really, it must be done. This is the playlist of songs I listened to REPEATEDLY during the drafting, editing, rewriting, and formatting process of writing Render. All of these songs fit the feel of certain scenes or certain characters throughout their journey in Render. I love it. You especially want to get to the ending songs. Enjoy!

TCoM: Render by Elizabeth Mock on Grooveshark

Render Release Countdown: 5 Days!

2011-11-11T21:30:00.001-05:00

Today's post comes a little bit late. But that's because today's treat comes from Korea, and consequently THE FUTURE. So, cut the treat some slack. Today's treat is the OFFICIAL book trailer for Render. This book trailer was executed and produced by my friend, Adam Thomas. I wrote the script, but the trailer contains his photographs, his VO work, and music written & performed by him. He produced the whole shebang. And it's amazing. This is not the final HD rendering, but that's coming in tomorrow to be uploaded to youtube. For now, enjoy this SD version.

Render Release Countdown: 6 Days!

2011-11-10T14:44:00.001-05:00

Six days to go until Render's release! Today's treat is one that I'm quite excited to present. One of my ridiculously talented students, Michelle Giraud, composed a theme for Shatter last year.

It is an instrumental piano piece. I have wanted to share this gorgeous piece of music ever since she played it for me last year. I listen to it while I write all the time. In a word, it's perfect.

I am so excited to release it now with her permission! ENJOY.

Render Release Countdown: 7 Days!

2011-11-09T18:11:00.002-05:00

One week. That's it. Just one week until Render (The Children of Man, #2) is released. I can't believe it's almost here! To celebrate its impending release, each day this week, I'll be revealing a treat that's related to Shatter or to Render. Today's treat is the finalized cover of Render!

The cover art is "The Wanderer" by the loverly and talented Claudia McKinney. Go stalk her here. Really. Do it. She's staggeringly gifted. Though, fair warning, you may lose hours staring at her art. I always do.

I did the typography and layout, and the cover was constructed by my friend, Adam Thomas. Speaking of talented... Go check out his photography here. It's awesome and international.

Seven days, y'all!

The Call of Cthulu... for kids

2011-10-30T13:38:00.001-04:00

While I'm drowning amidst final edits, cover design, new maps, and all the formatting and shenanigans that go into a book release (not to mention grading for school), I thought I'd post something for Halloween. Yes, I realize it's tomorrow, not today. I'm not that out of it--yet. Most likely I won't have time for posting tomorrow, because my Mondays are, well, Mondays.

My All Hallow's Eve offering for you comes freshly thieved from a friend's blog. It's a mashup of Dr. Seuss and H.P. Lovecraft by DrFaustusAU on deivantart. Seuss and Lovecraft: odd bedfellows or the most ingenious mashup ever? I'd say unequivocally the later. The art style is just perfectly creepy for Lovecraft. Decide for yourself.

Enjoy DrFaustusAU's Seuss-inspired version of The Call of Cthulhu for an eerie good Halloween tale of Elder Gods and insanity.

Render Release Date!

2011-10-07T12:59:00.000-04:00

The world of the Children of Man
(c) 2011 Anne Hromalik

I know that everyone is probably wondering when the release date for Render will be, since we are one week into October. Well the suspense is over!

The release date for Render (The Children of Man, #2) will be November 16, 2011.

Yes, I realize that this is not October. That is forty days from today. In forty days, the waiting shall end. While it would be great if writing were my full-time occupation, it is not. I basically have two full-time careers. Not to mention that as of two weeks ago, I'm also planning a wedding for May. My life? Insane. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Cry or rejoice. You have a release date.

If you need to fill the void in the meantime, might I suggest popping over to my recommended reading shelf on goodreads.com? (Recommended reading)

Also, might I pimp my cartographer, Anne Hromalik? SHE IS AMAZING. Ahem. Full disclosure, she is my friend. This, however, does not diminish her awesomeness in any way. If you follow me on twitter, you know how much I kept gushing about the progress of the maps she's done for me.

If you are in need of a freelance artist/cartographer, please go visit her online portfolio. She is professional, friendly, a ninja, and her products are simply stunning. (Anne's Art of Awesome)

Review: "Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins

2011-09-30T12:29:00.000-04:00

Pinstripe pants!

Real hot cocoa. Rainy fall days. Cozy, soft flannel shirts. Flickering camp fires. Crisp, cool sunrises. Steph Perkins' writing. These are a few of my favorite things. Cue Julie Andrews. What's better than a musical with singing nuns and running from the nazis, I ask you?

Seriously though, I fell in love with Steph's writing last year when I read her debut novel, Anna and the French Kiss. (See my review here.) If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, or you know me in real life, you know that I am exceedingly, excruciatingly critical of American popular culture's view of love. It makes me physically ill at times. It's setting up generations to think that love should feel or look this specific formulaic way, and if it doesn't, then it's not really love. And that we need another person to fix our own neurotic issues, to achieve "real" happiness. Or that our love is just about you and me, baby. Who cares about all the people in our lives that we may be alienating and harming, because everything's permissible in the name of love! Oops, sorry. Couldn't control my gag reflex any longer. I'm surprised I lasted that long.

In case you are unfamiliar with Stephanie Perkins' books, she writes YA contemporary romances. Yes. You heard me. AND THEY ARE AMAZING. Her sophomore novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door, was released yesterday. Yes, I finished it last night.

Here's the back synopsis:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Lola and the Boy Next Door is a companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss. It's not a sequel, but the characters exist in the same world. This is a very different story than Anna, though we do get to see Anna and St. Clair post events in the first book. There are also some fun easter egg references to characters and events in Anna. You don't need to have read Anna and the French Kiss to follow and love Lola and the Boy Next Door, but it does increase your understanding of the people. Trust me, it would be better to meet Anna and St. Clair when they were in Paris. Their relationship makes a lot more sense if you do.

Just like with Anna and the French Kiss, getting lost in the voice that Steph created is inevitable. Although, Anna and Lola are very different narrators and very different people. Her characters are so real, with their strengths, their flaws, their mistakes, their attempts to amend wrongs. You just want to hang out with Lola Nolan and Cricket Bell. You want to go on walks with them. You want them to pick out clothes for you. You want to help them make pies. Also, I couldn't help but keep picturing David Tenant as the 10th Doctor with the descriptions of Cricket--tall, skinny, pinstripe pants, and crazy hair that sticks up. THIS IS IN NO WAY A BAD THING.

I think what makes me love Steph's books so much is that she shows real people struggling with real love. She seems to delight in jabbing holes in what teenagers think love should be or who the ideal person is. It's not the cool rebel boy; it's the boy next door.

Do yourself a favor and go pick up Lola and the Boy Next Door. If you're anything like me, you'll start re-reading it as soon as you finish. The last line is a stunning example of turning a cliche on its head. Happy reading!

3rd Edition of Shatter with New Cover & Gorgeous Maps

2011-09-26T17:58:00.000-04:00

3rd Edition of Shatter!

Oh, hey. It's the third edition of Shatter! This new version has the super sexy new cover with art by Claudia McKinney. It has the devastatingly gorgeous maps by the incomparable Anne Hromalik (http://www.teaofdreams.com/). It has new and improved prose. Plus, it has an Acknowledgements section. This new version is available in ebook form and paperback. I know that the new version is live on smashwords, Kindle, Nook, and iBooks. The new version of the paperback (WHICH IS SO PRETTY) is available on CreateSpace and Amazon. It hasn't gone live in the expanded distribution. This means that it isn't live on B&N... yet.

Seriously though, I am so proud of this new edition. It's such a high quality product, and this is the level of quality I'm working hard to ensure for Render. The same cover artist has created my cover art, and the same cartographer is going to create more zoomed in maps for the regions that Render covers. I'm also going to try make sure that the prose and copy edits for Render are on the same level as this edition. I really hope you enjoy the third edition! I worked very hard on this one. I'm quite proud of the result. I'm going to go pet the paperback now. Enjoy!

Maps! Beautiful, beautiful paperback maps!

Hi, Nabos!

Scribbles while Editing: Render teaser

2011-09-09T16:48:00.001-04:00

Hey, y'all! I started posting this teaser via twitter. Then I realized that I'd have to edit out so much of what makes this scene hilarious. To me at least. Enjoy!

===

"For some reason," Jair said, "Sheridan told me to go scout around the grove before I came looking for you. But I can't imagine why she wanted me to do that. I wanted to make sure you weren't feeling ill again, Faela. So, I came straight here."

Kade's eyes sparkled with amusement. Sheridan's plot to force Faela and Kade together had been thwarted by Jair's seemingly preternatural inability to follow instructions. Sheridan was going to be so annoyed. Kade could hardly wait to watch.

***Skipping spoilery bits***

"Jair, what are you doing here?" an irate female voice demanded.

Jair ducked his head from years of conditioning. "Nothing! I'm just sitting. What's wrong with sitting?"

Sheridan grabbed his elbow, hauling him backward off the log. In a tumble of limbs, Jair managed to keep his feet.

"What's wrong with sitting? We talked about this," Sheridan said in a loud whisper, her eyes moving significantly to Faela and Kade.

"We talked about a lot," Jair said in his own defense. "Well, actually, you talked a lot. I nodded."

"Did any of that nodding include actual listening by chance?" Sheridan asked without any hope of a positive answer.

"You are about as subtle as a mallet, Sheridan," Kade said as he stood. "More proof that you're about as far from a Lusican as you can get and still have magic."

Sheridan sniffed imperiously. "I take that as a compliment. No offense, Faela. You're one of the few Lusicans I've met that I can stand."

Review: "The Name of the Star" (Shades of London, #1) by Maureen Johnson

2011-07-02T13:44:00.004-04:00

I was provided an ARC of Maureen Johnson's latest book The Name of the Star while out to dinner with friends. I may or may not have squealed like a tween girl who had just been introduced to Justin Bieber. There also allegedly may have been some happy bopping and clutching of said ARC possessively to my chest. Allegedly. You really can't take me anywhere. I just make a scene.

The reason for my lack of anything resembling social graces or a sense of propriety could be traced back to Maureen's announcement of this project. Because this book is about Jack the Ripper. Only awesome could come of the combination of Maureen's quirky insanity and Jack the Ripper. Only awesome.

If you're unfamiliar with Maureen's new series Shades of London, here's the back cover synopsis for the first book The Name of the Star:

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Despite the build up in my own mind, this book manged to meet and exceed my high expectations. And I was expecting nothing short of the dark side of the moon wrapped up in a sparkly magenta bow. Of all the characters Maureen's created, Aurora "Rory" Deveaux is far and away my favorite. This girl is off-kilter, take charge, and Southern to the core. I've read other books with southerners as the main characters and they're missing that fundamentally southern mentality toward social interactions. Rory lacks nothing in this department and the voice it creates for the book is funny and quite enjoyable. The side characters are interesting, but none are anything particularly standout except for Boo, Stephen, and Callum and I need to know more about Stephen. Well, let me rephrase that. The side characters mentioned (who are rarely or never seen) are quite colorful (read: wack-a-doo insane), but Jazza and Jerome and Charlotte are fairly normal. Okay, and watch for Jo. She is bloody brilliant.

The choice to transplant a Louisiana girl in London provides a fantastic contrast of cultures and really introduces the reader to British culture. You can tell that Maureen spends a lot of time across the pond in her attention to detail in dialect and pop culture. Also, the Doctor Who reference made me giggle with glee. If you watch BBC America with any frequency, you'll get all her references easily.

This book falls under the urban fantasy banner, but not the type you might be expecting these days and it's really appropriate for the London setting. Really appropriate. Because as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, London is primed and ready for this mythos. The mythology that Maureen sets up by the end of this book makes me salivating for the next and this one hasn't even been released. The Shades of London is a series to join the ranks of Cassie Clare's Mortal Instruments & Infernal Devices, Holly Black's Curse Workers, and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series that I stalk in anticipation of the next installments.

Render Update

2011-07-02T12:10:00.000-04:00

"The Wanderer" Claudia McKinney (Phatpuppy Art)

It's been a while since I gave my last update for Render and there have been DEVELOPMENTS. I had hoped for a summer release for Render, however, my real life responsibilities have had other ideas. Stupid sentient responsibilities having a mind of their own... Any way, I teach a fairly substantial course load during the school year and this last academic year was heavier than usual. If you've followed this blog or my twitter feed, you'll remember the Saga of the Research Papers. These research papers ate my winter and spring. All the time I thought I'd have to finish the first draft and edit was filled with grading, so much grading. I nearly died from the paper cuts alone.

This pushed back the release to late summer. I always think I'll have all this time to do STUFF over the summer. I'll tweak my classes! I'll visit my new baby niece living across the continent! I'll go on vacation with friends from college! I'll produce a book! Yeah... Between family and friend responsibilities and my two careers, my summer filled up real quickly. I now have less than two months until school starts again with many, many things to accomplish before then. There are simply not enough hours in the day for me to finish the edits for Render and have a product by August that's good for more than being a monstrous doorstop. I really wanted to have this book done by July or August, but for me to not hyperventilate constantly (which makes all swoony in a bad way) and to not have a nervous breakdown, I need to push the release back to October. I know. Not what you wanted to hear. But trust me, you'd much rather have a book that's been edited and copy edited well than a rush for an earlier release. Also, if you want me to live to complete the series, I have to push back this deadline.

On a happier note, this month I should be re-releasing Shatter with the new loverly cover art by the incomparable Claudia McKinney (Go lose hours of your life to perusing her deviantART account here. It's worth it.) I'll announce when the new cover is live both in e-book and print options. Also, if you don't stalk my twitter feed, might I introduce the cover art that I collaborated on with Claudia for Render. She's titled the piece "The Wanderer" and I'm in love with it. Why, hello, Kade! Yes, you are looking quite dashing and dangerous today.

Drops of Memories

2011-06-15T15:35:00.002-04:00

When I woke up from a nap, two things greeted me. The first was a cool, damp breeze blowing into my bedroom, the rain saying hello. The second was an email from my college announcing the death of one of my professors, Dr. Paul E. Smith, a life to bid farewell. It seems appropriately poetic that a gentle rain falls as I write this in remembrance of his life.

Dr. Smith was one of the best writing professors I had. He revealed a voice all my own in a pattern of gerunds and metonymies and sentence openers and anaphoras and complex-compound syntax followed by simple declarative statements. He forced me to deconstruct and analyze my own writing in a way I never would have considered without his prompting. He forced me to question my process and evaluate its success. He taught me the value and the beauty of revision after revision after revision. He taught me the vital importance of honest and brutal peer critiques. He taught me to make choices instead of relying on instinct. He made me aware of my writing. He woke me up.

But Dr. Smith did more than teach me to write. He made me laugh. All the time. Dr. Smith did his dissertation on incest in 17th century drama and he found it a hilarious topic. Though lit majors drove me batty in college, I loved his Brit Lit 1 course. Whenever people swooned over sappy poems of courtly love in the late Middle Ages or tried to argue that Lanval demonstrates unadulterated love, I tried to keep the vein in my head from popping. His response to my near apoplexies? He poked at me trying to get me to burst. I sometimes really think the man wanted to see blood over literary criticism.

Speaking of blood... Before class one morning, I slammed my hand in a minivan's sliding door on my way to Fern Cliffe. Trust me this is going somewhere, but first I have to stop and explain the glory that is Fern Cliffe. There's an old, white, three-story Victorian home on my college's campus that houses the English, History, Art, and Humanities Departments. It was a part of the Underground Railroad, has no modern fire safety system to speak of, has an amazing front parlor where I defended my senior honor's research project, and I'm pretty sure if you round the right corner, you'll end up in Narnia. That's Fern Cliffe. Actually, it reminds me a little of the Weasley's Burrow.

After the initial pain of crushing my hand, I pushed it aside. I figured it was no big deal. (I have an unusually high pain tolerance.) While my roommate found out what she needed from a professor, I spoke with Dr. Smith whose class I had in fifteen minutes. While discussing John Donne and my position as a Humanities T.A., my vision tunneled, my ears rang, and I went from being freezing to overheated all within one breath to the next. My only panicked thought was ordering myself to not hurl on Dr. Smith. Then I swooned and blacked out. Dr. Smith caught me.

Though I hadn't acknowledged the pain, my body sure had. Dr. Smith walked me over to the clinic and ordered me to stay until I felt stable enough to make it to class on my own. I hadn't broken anything, but the trauma's shock to my body compensated for that. Dr. Smith never allowed me to feel embarrassed for passing out or nearly treating him to an early morning technicolor yawn. All he communicated was concern for my well being. I never told him, but thanks, Dr. Smith, for allowing me to retain some dignity in a decidedly undignified moment.

Dr. Smith was a singular teacher and a good man. Goodbye for now.

Render Status: Drafted and a Surprise!

2011-06-14T01:17:00.000-04:00

So, my second novel is drafted. Weird. It's just as surreal as the first time and now I'm completely wired and I can't sleep. But I NEED to, so I can get up and start working on revising Render. I want to start eviscerating this puppy, because trust me it NEEDS it. Bad.

Here's the exciting news. I hired Claudia McKinney of Phatpuppy Art to do the cover art for Render. As you can see at the bottom of the post, I've already purchased cover art from her for Shatter. Isn't that picture beyond gorgeous? It's called "The Eyes Say Farewell." I'm smitten with the use of chiaroscuro (sharp contrast between light and dark), because that's such a huge motif for Shatter. (Duh.) Also, I cannot put into words how much I love these eyes. There is so much sorrow and beauty in this painting. *sigh* J'adore. I'm in love with it. Clearly. It captures so much about Shatter so brilliantly. I'll be releasing Shatter soon with the new cover art in anticipation for Render's release. I cannot wait to start collaborating with Claudia on Render's cover art.

So, that's my big surprise that I promised myself I wasn't allowed to share until I finished draft zero of Render.

"The Eyes Say Farewell" by Phatpuppy Art

Phatpuppy Art: phatpuppyart.com

Model: http://rammkitty-stock.deviantart.com

Solomon Kane

2011-06-13T17:35:00.004-04:00

About a year ago, a friend of mine saw a trailer for a movie. He told me that I had to watch it, because the main character was exactly his image of Kade. When I watched the trailer, I couldn't disagree, but I wanted to watch the entire movie to see if the similarity held up. Alas, this movie had yet to be released in the US. So, I waited. And waited. I finally broke down and purchased a region-free dvd player and bought a UK copy of the movie, "Solomon Kane."

"Solomon Kane" is an adaptation of of the Robert E. Howard pulp novels of the same title. If this author's name tickles the back of your brain, it should. He's the creator of Conan the Barbarian who really is remarkably more swashbuckler than savage. Set in the 1600s, Solomon Kane's story is one of darkness and redemption and battling inner and outer demons in a world threatened by evil. This is my kind of story.

This movie is an origins story. The plot is simple and straightforward with a couple minor twists, but figuring out what's coming next won't cause any mental strain. The beauty of this movie lies with its execution, not some illusory notion of originality, which is just fine with me. It's not the originality of the story being told that makes me love it; it's how the story is told. Think Shakespeare. No surprises there. If it's a tragedy, everyone dies. If it's a comedy, everything will work out. Yet, his storytelling is compelling, his presentation of humanity real.

"Solomon Kane" hits these notes for me. If you watch a lot of BBC and period productions, you're probably familiar with our leading man, James Purefoy (Vanity Fair, Mansfield Park, Camelot, and the first Resident Evil, which is not so period). One of the criticisms I've seen leveled against this film is that Solomon has no personality. This analysis mistakes restraint for blandness. At the beginning of this film, Solomon is a cut-throat, ruthless man who delights in carnage. He cares only for himself and his own gain. He's giddy when surrounded by violence. The tortured man we meet later in the film puts almost all his effort into restraining that nature.

And I have to agree with my friend's assessment, Purefoy's portrayal of Solomon does paint the perfect image of Kade Hawthorn. All other actors I've seen have provided only pieces of Kade. Parts of Aidan Turner's facial structure and coloring resembled Kade. The costuming and movements of Jake Gyllenhaal as Dastan evoked Kade. But neither of them were quite right. James Purefoy as Solomon Kane is it, the whole package. The look, the build, the coloring, the facial structure, the movement, the savagery, the tortured emotion, the restraint are all Kade. The only thing he lacks is the snarky sarcasm.

My name is Hawthorn, Kade Hawthorn.

It takes more than a strong leading man or woman to present a compelling film and the cast of this film does not disappoint. Again if you watch a lot of British productions, you'll recognize most of the actors in this movie and will be excited by their presence.

What makes this movie standout though is its production value. As a photographer, I'm very critical of how a movie is framed and shot. The DP for this movie, Dan Laustsen, evoked an atmosphere of grit and grandeur, of the mundane juxtaposed with the mystical. The cinematography, the costuming, the production design, the art direction, the soundtrack, the creature design, the blessedly judicious use of CGI all create an immersive and staggering world. I am so saddened that I've been denied the experience of this film on the big screen. So, if you're outside the US, rent this movie! If you're not, movie night at my flat.

Here's more evidence of Purefoy's Solomon Kane providing the visuals for Kade Hawthorn:

Montage!

Cave scene anyone?

Must concentrate.

Wrong weapons, but I'll forgive that.

Love this costuming.

He may not have a cross scar, but even the amount of scarring is good.

I'm convinced no one can out-scowl this man.

Good morning.

Celebration of 100th Amazon and 150th Goodreads Reviews

2011-05-02T19:42:00.000-04:00

So here is my present to you to celebrate reaching 100 amazon and 150 goodreads reviews. You will not regret watching this -- ever. Okay, so maybe you will. Now, if you've been following this blog for awhile, you may or may not have seen this video before, but I will reveal something previously unknown about this video.

While all my characters are their own persons, so to speak, all of my characters are also inspired by people in my life. The two people in this video are the real life inspirations for Caleb and Talise. Much about my book and me will make sense after watching this.

100th Amazon Review!

2011-05-02T18:12:00.000-04:00

I just reached my 100th review of Shatter on Amazon and I couldn't have asked for a kinder review. Huzzah! Behold!

This book is a work that will capture any reader that happens to open the pages. With a new twist on the familiar message that each of us has a choice in everything, and that it is the choice taken and not the consequences of the action that defines who we are. Elizabeth Mock has created a world in which the danger is corporeal, and the fear and anxiety that is felt in the pages seems to permeate the very air, and has shown the struggle each of us face as we see the consequences of our actions. In a world where the magic system has been fractured into base colors, a group of seven mages with unique and powerful abilities meet, seemingly by chance. But a mage of the Blue contacts them and tells them of a prophecy that foretells them either saving the world...or destroying it beyond any redemption. With characters with deep and complex personalities, such as Kaedman's, who under the cold shell of an efficient killer is actually protective and caring for those he cares for, the book makes you read on for fear of extinguishing the life that breathes up off the pages. Dialogue unique to each character does nothing but enhance this illusion. Well placed action sequences are interspersed with tender hearted moments that will tug at your very heartstrings serves to show a beautifully executed plot and a wonderful glimpse into a fantastic world.

-StoneAgeDudeman amazon reviewer.

Still not ginger

2011-04-28T18:05:00.000-04:00

Well, it's that time of year again when school is winding down and I am wound up. The end of the year is always jam packed with oh so much grading. That's where I'm at right now. Not quite to the end and teetering on the edge of panic. But I have a PLAN and a list. I do really well when I have lists. Until I finally cross the finish line of another school year, here's something really groovy. I had my first author interview today! The interview can be found at must mutter, Stuart Aken's blog. I hope you enjoy it!

I will have some exciting news soon to share. Just need some more time to work on said surprise. While you await my surprise, here's another: I dyed my hair this afternoon! Okay, so it's not that exciting... Enjoy the redheadedness of it all.

Ginger!

Review: "Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

2011-03-14T00:07:00.006-04:00

There is a decided lack of stripe in her hair.

I had two majors in college, Writing and Philosophy. Between these two fields of study, I usually had roughly 1,000+ pages of assigned reading a week. Needless to say, at the beginning of college my pleasure reading vanished, evaporated like a snow cone in the Sahara. But I love reading. I loved reading too much for this state of affairs to last for too terribly long. So I instituted a policy. I was allowed to read on Sundays, but only Sundays. And if I wanted, I could read ALL day Sunday with only Rice-a-Roni made in my room and Mt. Dew to sustain my body solely for the purpose of continuing reading.

Last week my spring break started from my day-job and I got up every morning to take my best friend to work, deposited myself at a nearby Panera, and wrote all day until I picked her up from work that evening. In five days, I wrote just under 25,000 words and made some major progress in finishing draft zero of Render. It is startling how much I can write when given eight dedicated hours a day. I plan to repeat this process even though I'm back home for the second week of my spring break.

Looking forward to another forty-hour-writing work week, I decided I needed to reinstitute my college tradition. I jokingly said earlier on Twitter that I was going to recharge my creativity batteries by consuming a book today. Apparently, I really wasn't joking. About twenty minutes ago, I finished the book I started this afternoon, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I read the whole thing in less than five hours. I CONSUMED that book. And I have a feeling, it'll happen again. This book is a definite re-read.

From jacket cover:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

The voice Perkins has created for her heroine and narrator, Anna Olphiant, is just yummy and satisfying. That really is the best way I can think to describe it. I know that I talk about voice a lot in my reviews, but that's because to me that's the soul of the book. If I don't like an author's voice, I won't like the book.

Anna is witty and awkward and honest and self-conscious and angry and funny and cruel and forgiving and selfish and sacrificial. Anna is a teenager. A teenager who is trying to make that painfully awkward transition to independent adult and no one gave her the manual. (If there IS a manual and someone's hiding it, he has some explaining to do. I accept coffee and books in lieu of an apology for my late adolescence.) Anna is also a girl. A girl who is learning about relationships of every kind -- romantic, familial, platonic -- and the unholy mess those can be because of the choices of others and because of our own. Mostly though, Anna is a person. A person who is learning to get outside of her own head, which is such a large part of that awkwardly painful transition out of adolescence. Anna. Is. Awesome.

This is a book that you just want to crawl inside and read over and over. The observations, the humor, the drama (OH, the drama), the thematic threads -- Okay I have to stop. I have to discuss the thematic undercurrents of this book, because I loved them. One of the big symbols and themes in the book is the idea of translation. It applies to the fact that Anna is a hopeless monoglot at the beginning of the book when she moves to Paris. It applies to the idea of trying to understand other people's life experiences. It applies to the idea of being in relationships. It applies to her English class which is entirely comprised of translated works. It applies to Anna's favorite movie and director (which I choose to not reveal for the sake of its use in the narrative). By the end of the book, we see movement and change in most of these areas for Anna. By the end, Anna learns to translate in more ways than one. And I loved it.

There is so much more I could discuss regarding the other characters and the story, but I suggest you find out for yourself. Also, I do have one note of disappointment. How is there no audiobook of this novel? I can only imagine how glorious this book would be as an audiobook. Burns. Pines. Perishes.

"Render" cover mock-up

2011-03-03T20:13:00.001-05:00

Alas, due to copyright law this can never be my cover for Render. But a girl can dream and share, right? But this does give you an idea of the direction I want to go for the next cover. I'm also considering releasing a new cover for Shatter this summer leading up to Render's release that follows a design philosophy that's more similar to this mock-up. For Shatter, I simply used my own photographs for the sake of expediency and thrift. The new cover would feature Faela on the cover. But that all depends on which artist I'm able to commission and how much it will cost me. Enjoy!

Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan from "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

Jake Gyllenhaal as Kade? Who knew?

2011-03-02T21:16:00.002-05:00

So, I just finished watching Prince of Persia on Netflix and the verdict is in. That was buckets of fun. It is by no means a cinematic masterpiece, but I really enjoyed it for what it was. As I watched Jake Gyllenhaal jump around like a crazy monkey ninja, all I kept thinking is that he fights and MOVES how I imagine Kade. Even his armor and weapons remind me of Kade - just the wrong colors. By the end of the movie, I had determined that I was going to hunt for pictures from the movie to see if my vibe was right. And this is my ode to Kade ala Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Well, we do meet Kade wet...

Now, THAT'S a strut.

Just look at those scars. Love it.

Yeah, he's a bad mama jama.

This is how I picture Daniyelan long knives.

This entire look is almost perfect for Daniyelan battledress, especially the blades, chest piece, and gauntlets.

Do those eyes look gray to you?

100K Celebratory "Render" Teaser

2011-02-27T18:17:00.000-05:00

I promised that I would give a teaser for Render in celebration of reaching 100,000 downloads of Shatter. The only opinions on what kind of teaser I should give came from my family. So, here it is, a Caleb & Talise scene from my forthcoming novel, Render. Enjoy!

The normal fluid grace of Talise’s movements seemed stilted as their horses picked their way down into the ravine. Although she rode more rigidly than was typical, her movements still would have appeared smooth and natural to anyone who did not know her. The more palpable Talise’s pain became the more it stoked the fire building in the pit of Caleb’s gut. For now, though, all he could do was wait.

As their mounts reached the bottom of the hill, sharp lines of moonlight broke through the intersecting tree branches. The leaves had begun turning weeks ago here in northern Taronpia and some already carpeted the floor. Caleb watched the puffs of steam from his breath as the wet smell of decay drifted up from the valley of the ravine. Winter was coming.

The steep sides of the ravine closed them in, herding them along the dry creek bed. Up ahead, the valley ended abruptly into a jagged cliff face like something had driven the rocks into the ground. Shadows, cast by several small fires, jumped high along the cliff. Though the noise coming from the cliffs was subdued, Caleb still managed to catch the muted sounds of a fiddle and a mandolin. He smiled. Even when faced with losing odds, the Deoraghan rarely lost their spirit. Although, since the odds seldom favored them, maybe they understood better than most the necessity of hope.

As soon as the fires had come into sight, Caleb knew that the Tribe's scouts were targeting them. He rode with the reins wrapped around one hand as he held out his arms to show he was unarmed. Well, at least, that he wasn’t holding a weapon at the moment. Talise had done the same.

A series of whistles rang down the hollow and they approached the camp without any opposition. When they reached the cluster of caravans, several armed men waited for them silhouetted by the firelight.

Cooties to Cuddles

2011-02-23T20:05:00.003-05:00

In my wandering on the internet while I waited for my second round of laundry in a week to finish, I ended up on YouTube watching some old vlogbrothers videos. (Yes, grading got that intense. The clothing situation had reached critical mass. Two days, many many quarters, and four loads later... clean clothes!) For those not in the Nerdfighteria know, the vlogbrothers began in 2007 between John Green (Printz award winning YA author) and his brother Hank Green (hilarious musician & from Ecogeek), when they swore off all textual communication and began publicly vlogging to one another to stay in touch. The fan base that grew out of their vlogs became known as Nerdfighters. No, they don't fight nerds, they're nerds fighting world suck. Okay, so end backstory.

Anyhoo, I found myself watching several of their older vlogs and two that I came across were from a reoccurring segment "Question Tuesday" (which has since become "Question Friday") in which John answers real questions from real Nerdfighters. The subject of these two vlogs were "How Do I Make Boys Like Me?" and wait for it... "How Do I Make Girls Like Me?" Given my last post about love and romance, and the fact that I teach high schoolers, I thought these videos deserved to be highlighted, because... well, I'll let you see for yourself. Enjoy and DFTBA!

(FYI, nerds ARE awesome.)

V-day ruminations (and tales of things to come)

2011-02-14T17:20:00.001-05:00

"Love Platypus" (~echaltraw, deviantART)

Generally speaking, I don't recognize the existence of Valentine's Day. It's a day with entirely too much pink. But beyond that, the whole holiday doesn't sit well with me. To paraphrase my big brother, you can't tell me when I MUST express my love or I'm a horrible person, Hallmark! (I do not have a defiant personality; I don't know wherever you got that idea.) But really, I think my real beef with the dreaded V-day is that it reduces a concept as complex as love to mere romance. Not that I'm saying romance is bad or that there is anything wrong with it. I simply mean that love is so much MORE than romance. Or at least it should be. Therefore, I have deep seated objections to the one-dimensional portrayal of love that is prevalent in today's American society and Valentine's Day just seems to typify that perspective.

So, instead of glaring balefully at Valentine's Day, I decided to fight back. I plan to do this by presenting counter-cultural views of love. Views of love that I think are REAL instead of those that are mass marketed for your consumption.

Kiersten White's post on V-day: Supernaturally In Love. This post is adorable and shows a real, genuine love. It's dorky and just plain cute. That's right, folks. Real love is dorky; it's not smooth.
My post from last year in which I rant about love, Dr. Who, Twilight, and Paradise Lost. You heard me. What is Love?

So, what do you think about love in our culture today? Is it healthy? Is it cheap? Is it perfect? Inquiring minds want to KNOW.

COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU (AKA THIS ONE):

Review of Cherie Priest's third book in her Clockwork Century series, Dreadnought. Hint: It involved alternate Civil War history and dirigibles and Texian Rangers and zombies. Need I say more? Apparently, I do and will. Later.
Another teaser from Render to tide you over until summer when the WHOLE book will be released.
Platypodes (Look it up.)
Review of the movie RED and why it's one of the best movies of 2010.

I'll see you here later in February. Same Bat time. Same Bat channel.

Fan art!

2011-02-01T19:38:00.002-05:00

So, I'm currently walled in by a mountain of research papers. No time to draft or read or blog more than a blurb. A fabulous reader, Cassie Weyers, while bored and trapped by the snowpocalypse played around with photoshop and created these fantastic photo manipulations, which she uploaded to my facebook fan page. I adore this picture of Faela. Her expression, her hair, her eyes, and even her jacket are perfect. Just had to share. The rest of the pictures can be found on a new page on The Children of Man's official site: Fan Art. If you have any fan art for The Children of Man please feel free to share! I'd love to see it!

Courtesy of Cassie Weyers

Character Mugshots

2011-01-17T18:41:00.002-05:00

While I was avoiding getting work done the other day, I started playing with some of my research photos. Whenever I write, I find I have a much easier time describing a city or a building or a river if I have a photo to use as a point of inspiration. Now, when it comes to my characters I have a very specific picture in my head for each and always have. I found several actors a couple years ago who are pretty darn close to the pictures in my head. They aren't perfect, but they share foundational features and especially fit the overall feel.

Daughter of Ron Howard and stupendous actress, Bryce Dallas Howard looks like Faela before she had her nose broken. Faela has more of a pronounced break. Her coloring, her hair, her costuming, even her expression is spot on in this picture. Just imagine the silver eyes.

Faela Durante (Bryce Dallas Howard in "As You Like It")

I remember the first time I saw BBC's "Being Human," I knew immediately that the drool worthy Irish actor, Aidan Turner, IS my Kade. I mean c'mon, LOOK at that picture. The montage picture below though is the one that just rendered me speechless because of how much he looks like my image of Kade.

Kade Hawthorn (Aidan Turner in "Being Human")

Jared Padalecki just reminds me of Jair so much, especially a Jared who's skinnier than he is these days on "Supernatural." He's the right mix of gigantic lanky and adorable puppy. When I saw this picture of Jurnee Smollett (from CBS's "The Defenders"), I knew she was my Mireya. Her beauty, her sweetness, and especially her hair are on the money in this picture.

Clockwise: Faela, Kade, Jair, and Mireya.

I altered the photos in the montage to mimic how their eyes would appear using specific color magic. It is far from ideal, but I really liked how Kade and Faela's turned out and decided to SHARE. What I would love is to find someone who's pro at using Photoshop to create a smoky effect to mimic the colors of magic flowing from their eyes. I know exactly how it looks in my head, but lack the skills to translate it to a visual medium.

I have other pictures of other characters, but these are the ones that are, as they say, picture perfect. What do you think, my loverly readers? Do these actors line up with your mental pictures or did you imagine these four COMPLETELY differently?

The Noctunarum Vows revisited

2011-01-16T17:46:00.002-05:00

The first installment in the Noctunarum Vows

As I drove home from Columbus this afternoon, my mind wandered thinking through some up coming plot points in my Render drafting. Characters, clashing motivations and desires, overarching meta-plot, and geography flit through my thoughts when suddenly Olivia, my narrator for my urban fantasy short stories series, elbowed her way into my stream of conscious. Reading back over this short story, there are some tweaks I would make to Liv's voice, but I don't have time to play with Liv and Cerise right now.

Instead, I decided to re-post the pdf of this short story for anyone who hasn't had a chance to read it. This is the first installment in an urban fantasy series of short stories that I began two years ago in December 2008. I would like to get back to Liv and Cerise's adventures once Render is, to mix media metaphors, in the can, because I truly love writing urban fantasy and I want to expand this world's mythology and continue the girls' story. Enjoy!

The River

God love the Brits

2011-01-08T22:40:00.003-05:00

It's bigger on the inside.

I don't normally point out specific reviews of Shatter, but I just really loved how this reader, S. Horrigan, explained his or her (I can't tell gender from an S.) experience reading my novel and wanted to share it. This review is on the amazon UK site of the Kindle version. And, yes, I did choose a picture of the 10th Doctor to represent my love of the British. What of it?

What lies between black and white, between good and evil?, between love and hate, between truth and lies - That is the story of this book.

Set on a world where technology has not progressed past the steam train and where horses are the most common form of transport, this world has the feel of the wild west - with one major difference. The world is full of magic.

Once there was the only black magic and white magic, but the "shattering" changed this. White magic was split, like light by a prism into its component colours and the world was plunged into war.

The way the story is told is amazing! I am very grateful for the reviewers who said that you have to stick with it.. and I will echo that.

The story is made up of several sub-stories, each one winding its way along the pages like a small stream.

"Information is not understanding" says one character, and this is the second theme of the book. "You can be given information, but you cannot be given understanding" he continues.

You are rarely if ever told anything clearly - you have to work it out for yourself. How magic works? Why are they riding horses when they can teleport? These and many other questions are answered by examples rather than by you being told.

Slowly something in one thread of the narrative makes events in another thread make sense, and that then clarifies something else.. and the story builds and the streams join until you have a story that has you saying "Just one more page".. "I'll stop at the next page break".. "I'll stop when I reach the next chapter".

I honestly can't remember ever reading a book like this!

There are a few problems though. On the Kindle version at least, there are quite a few grammatical and typographical errors, and sometimes the continuity and story flow just doesn't seem quite right. It feels to me like the story still needs professional editing and proof-reading - yet these faults are easily forgiven.

The story is an absolute gem. It is an uncut diamond sort of gem though. It still has its rough edges, but underneath is an incredibly clever piece of writing indeed - a story that could become a classic in the fantasy genre.

I will without doubt buy the second in this series! - S. Horrigan

Find the review here.

Review: "Paranormalcy" by Kiersten White

2011-01-08T00:15:00.010-05:00

Picture Ron Pearlman in a blonde wig.

With tea in hand - okay, not in hand that would make typing a challenge - with tea sitting nearby and a mix of Mumford & Sons and Over the Rhine playing in the background, I sit to gush about Kiersten White's delightfully lovely debut YA novel, Paranormalcy. In case that was too subtle, I adored this book.

Cover flap write up:

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

First off, I am not a fan of first person. I don't like being stuck in a single character's head and more often than not the other characters come across as flat. Also, I don't trust first person narrators. I like getting as many sides as possible to any given story. The voice that White creates for Evie, the heroine and narrator of this tale, however, is like really fabulous carbonation. I don't mean that in any kind of demeaning way. Evie is bubbly and catches you off guard in the most surprising and enjoyable ways.

As I was falling asleep last night, my mind wandered thinking about the story and I realized that Evie's story reminded me of Hellboy, if Hellboy were a skinny, blonde teenage girl with an addiction to hot pink and TV high school melodramas. Oh, and if he carried a rhinestone encrusted, pink taser named Tasey instead of punching people in the face. Evie grew up working for an organization, the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPAC), that took her in because of her special ability to see through paranormals' glamours. Hellboy was raised in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (BPRD) because he was summoned from hell by the Nazis. Evie's best friend is a mermaid, Lish, who lives in a fish tank. Hellboy's best friend is the aquatic Abe Sapien who lives in a tank. They protect humanity from the paranormal world. Then there's Evie and Hellboy's fashion sense... well, I guess that's where the similarities end. But still. Totally teenage girl Hellboy. Which in my opinion is a compliment of the highest order.

This story is sunny and sweet and terrifying and tragic. White balances all these emotional notes with pacing that seems effortless. Let me tell you, any time writing looks effortless it means there were a hell of a lot of hours, blood, sweat, tears, near-miss pyromaniac moments when you may or may not try to burn everything you've ever written, and coffee behind it. She makes it seem easy and that is saying quite a lot.

Evie finds herself caught up in a centuries old plot involving scheming faeries, which is a recipe for terrifyingly awesome trouble. I don't want to get too much into any of the details, because I am the founding member of the No Spoilers club and we enforce this rule under threat of tasing. I'll just say that the romance in this book is simply sweet and innocent like first love should be portrayed. It's just adorable. If you read my blog or my reviews on goodreads, you know how picky I am about the depiction of love in popular culture. I'm harsh about it, because I think it's mostly selfish garbage that doesn't resemble real love.

Just watch for the other people in Evie's world. They are definitely worth the time to get to know. By the way, Kiersten White's blog is also buckets of fun. Do yourself a favor and stop by.

Coolest Christmas Present

2011-01-07T14:09:00.009-05:00

"Winner of the Coolest Christmas Present 2010"

As I try to find my way out of the monstrous avalanche of grading, I don't have much time to reminisce about the glorious year that was 2010. Nor do I have the time to make bold proclamations about my plans to bushwhack through 2011. (By the way, bushwhacking just made me think of the canadian show, Mantracker. Find it. Watch it. Love it. Or Mantracker will find YOU. Oh, he will.) I just don't have the energy for that kind of introspection at the moment. Instead, I just want to display the coolest present I got for Christmas. Cool and eerie.

The winner of "Coolest Christmas Present 2010" goes to the vintage typewriter that my fabulous friend gave me. He found it at an antiques store and restored it. Yeah, I know. You're jealous. As you should be. As you should be. Now the cool part should be obvious. It's an antique typewriter. I love typewriters. I learned to type on a typewriter, not a computer. You hear that, you young whipersnappers? *shakes Nerf sword like a cane* No, that sword doesn't lean against my desk... *shifty eyes*

Picture of not-my present that IS my present.

Now to the eerie part. Look at the picture of the present. Now look at the picture to the left. The picture to the left is the stock photo I used in my State of the Series post. Now back at the picture of the present. And back to the picture to the left. It's the same brand of typewriter with the missing number one key! Now it's about to get real, cats and kittens. He found this typewriter long before I chose that picture for my post. *cue X-files music* Eerie, right?

Right?

Right...

Pascal tells me to get back to work. Uppity chameleon.

Okay, so maybe I just find it eerie. Anyhoo, enjoy your Friday and here's a bonus picture of where I spend most of my time when I'm not teaching. And yes, those post-it notes are about Render. They also may or may not be about WoW reps, gems, and enchants. Yes, I am surrounded by geekiness. This picture doesn't show the half of it. I'm hopelessly geeky. Hopelessly. I make no apologies.

The Children of Man official message board

2010-12-28T18:54:00.001-05:00

The most common refrain I've heard from readers is the demand for Render the sequel to Shatter and the second book in The Children of Man series to be finished. I'm working on that. In the meantime, over on goodreads there is a message board where readers have the chance to discuss pretty much anything and everything regarding the world of The Children of Man. If you have theories as to what's going to happen next or if you'd like to get into the mechanics of how color magic works or if you just want to gush about characters, this is the place for you.

I'll be sure to pop in and throw in my two cents, but I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a place to commiserate with other readers while you wait for Render.

The Children of Man Official Group

Cheers!

State of the Series Address

2010-12-11T17:40:00.007-05:00

So this isn't exactly the State of the Union, but I've been needing to give an update on the series for some time now, but I was waiting on a couple factors before I did so. Since those factors have been met, I give to you the December 11th State of the Series Address given before a joint session of... um... well definitely not Congress. Moving on.

The first thing I wanted to let everyone know that there is a forum set up on:

my Facebook Author page and
on Goodreads.com

for anyone who would like to discuss the world, the characters, nearly anything regarding The Children of Man series while they wait for Render to be released.

This next announcement is the one about which I'm probably the most excited. My debut novel, Shatter (The Children of Man, #1), has reached a milestone that I really never thought feasible for an unknown indie author like me. Shatter was published in print May 3, 2010. By the end of June, I made it available as an e-book. In that time Shatter has been either purchased or downloaded by over 50,000 individuals. In fact, it's actually closing in on 55,000 this week. Wow. I mean really. Just wow. Do you have any idea how improbable that is for an indie author within the first sixth month of publication much less AT ALL? It doesn't seem real to me honestly.

To give you some context for why this is so mind boggling for me, Publisher's Weekly in 2006 said that

“[o]f the 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. The average book in America sells about 500 copies.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly, July 17, 2006

Granted, I realize that I've reached these numbers, because I've offered the book for free, however, it's just the first book in a series. Not only has Shatter been picked up by over 50,000 people, the reviews and comments I've received on the series have been overwhelming positive with some valid constructive criticism along the way. I am all about constructive criticism. Some people crave praise; I crave criticism. How else is an author supposed to improve?

Speaking of which here's a roundup of places to read reviews of Shatter:

Also, in exciting news, smashwords (my e-book distributor) has reached an agency model contract with the retailers to whom they distribute. This is a very good thing for indie authors, because this means that we can set the price for our titles, which means even more platforms are offering Shatter for free now. Regardless of which e-reader or e-reader application you have, there is a version of Shatter available for free. And the peasants rejoiced! Okay, so I rejoiced. There really isn't much of a difference, I promise.

On to the part that you all actually probably care about, the status of Render, the second book in the series. Just like last year, I took part in NaNoWriMo in November. I've passed the 100,000 mark for word count and draft zero of Render is shaping up to be around 150,000 words. I had hoped for a Winter/Spring release for it, but that just won't be feasible. I finished draft zero of Shatter on Christmas Eve last year and finishing Shatter at the end of December last year gave me a May release. There's no chance this draft will be finished by the end of December. I am not expecting, however, that the editing will take as much time with this draft. It won't need nearly the in-depth work that Shatter required. Having gone through this process once before, I have a much better idea of how to handle the drafting, the rewrites, and the edits this time around. Therefore, my new deadline will be a solid Summer 2011 release for Render. It's a priority to me to make sure that I don't rush to get the second book out before it's ready for public consumption, so that means you'll have to wait a little while longer for the next installment in the story.

Any way, I just wanted to thank you so much again to everyone out there who's picked up my book! Happy reading!

NaNo 2011

2010-11-30T23:05:00.000-05:00

Another November comes to close and so ends NaNoWriMo 2010. I greet December once more a winner, just as I did for the first time last year. And like last year, the end of November does not mark the end of my novel's drafting journey. In finishing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I ground out roughly a third of Render's draft zero. Looking at the scenes ahead to draft I assume it's going to take around another 50k to finish out this book.

There was an unparalleled thrill to finishing NaNo last year. It was the first time in my life that I had ever written that much in such a short amount of time. It was a high. Less than a month later, I finished draft zero of Shatter on Christmas Eve '09. I doubt I'll finish Render that soon. There's a lot I've learned about the writing process over the last year and my style of drafting now is drastically different than it was at the beginning of November '09. I have every confidence that the revising stage will look very different this time around, because last time I had to smooth out the first 40k words of Shatter written over a six year period to mesh with the voice of the remaining 80k of the original draft. This resulted in me pitching entire sections and rewriting them, cutting 25k words and adding 30k to the original word count before the cuts. I won't have that problem this time. Render has had a much shorter shelf life than Shatter did. In large part to NaNo and the discipline it taught me of writing every day and how to make a habit of writing.

I wish I could say that this NaNo experience was as thrilling and exciting as the first, but frankly it was not. Because this is year two and this is book two -- my sophomore novel. I think it wasn't as exciting because I am so firmly entrancing in the Middle of drafting. Not just the Middle of this draft, but I'm in the Middle of a trilogy as well. This is the slogging through sludge portion of drafting. And let me tell ya, folks. It just ain't pretty. I've been sick most of November and trying to get this much drafting down plus keep up with my commitments for my day job has been an accomplished through sheer force of will and tea. A lot of tea. But in the end, I'm happy that I finished NaNo this year again. I'm glad I got so much progress in the draft, even though it doesn't feel like it at all. And my Magic 8 Ball says that "All signs point to yes" regarding the possibility of me participating in NaNo again next year. It's a good program that gives writers the kick in the daydream they need to actually finish something.

So, I bid the Office of Letters and Lights adieu for another year and close down Scrivener. Until tomorrow.

"Shatter" e-book FREE via KoBo

2010-11-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

Recently, smashwords.com secured a deal with KoBo, the e-book distributor for Borders, that honors the prices set by smashwords authors. *insert Huzzah* This means that KoBo now offers Shatter (The Children of Man, #1) for FREE! So, if you have a KoBo device or you know someone who does, I'd encourage you to download my debut novel today!

"Render" teaser

2010-11-22T15:26:00.001-05:00

I'm almost 90,000 words into draft zero of Render, so it looks like I'll be finishing it up sometime in December I'm guessing. For those of you who have finished Shatter and want more, here's a little teaser from the beginning of Render. Enjoy!

Tilted back against the wall, Kade slouched in a chair asleep. His ankles were crossed, resting on the edge of her bed. His long knife lay across his lap.
Faela smiled as she pushed her hair back and got to her feet. The floorboards felt shockingly cold after the warm bed. Crossing her arms, she walked over to the window. When her feet touched the tufts of the wool rug laying in the middle of the room, she dug her toes into its thick pile. Grateful for the barrier against the icy floor, she admired the snow violets ringing its edges. Her head still felt like it was stuffed with wool and her throat ached. She unlatched the window and pushed it open to let in some fresh air.
When the bite of the air hit the back of her throat, the grogginess lifted and she remembered the emptiness, the blood, the death. She remembered Sammi and it threatened to drown her. She splayed her hands on the dressing table and leaned onto it for support. She heard a creak behind her and a warm hand touched her back, but it didn’t make her flinch.
“I forgot,” Faela admitted to the unseen person. “When I woke up, I didn’t remember. Then,” she broke off, “then it came back, all of it. How could I forget?” Faela looked out the window at the jagged, snow-covered mountain peaks rising around them.

Blazing a trail across The Middle

2010-11-15T22:15:00.002-05:00

Today marks the halfway point of NaNoWriMo 2010 and at the moment I'm procrastinating. Clearly. It's almost 10 p.m. and I still haven't cranked out my allotted daily word count. Don't fret too much. It'll get done. I'm terrified of falling behind. Because with my schedule, I'll never regain the ground I've lost should I slip. But for now, I procrastinate. Why you ask, gentle reader? Is it because I'm stuck with writer's block that makes scaling the Berlin Wall look like an inviting alternative? Is it because I failed to disconnect my internet when I sat down to write? Is it because I secretly yearn to hop a train and ride the rails as a hobo who answers to the name Rusty Sue? Unfortunately, no. Though the last one is oddly appealing. No, I'm stalling because I'm quite decidedly traveling through what Maureen Johnson dubbed The Middle. That uncharted literary territory filled with all manner of beasties and unexpected pitfalls, not entirely unlike the Fire Swamp in Princess Bride.

But as Maureen points out, authors spend the majority of their time charting new territory in The Middle. And let me tell you, while it can be thrilling, The Middle is not pretty.

Most of the time we are deep inland—sitting at home, or at the office, or some shed or underground bunker. We eat what we find and slurp coffee from anything that is sturdier than coffee. Often, we are inappropriately dressed for any human interaction. This is because we are in the middle. And in the middle, things are rough. You make bargains with yourself like, "If I finish this chapter, I can have a shower!" Or, "If I just get this paragraph right, I can eat those stale Oreos!" -Maureen Johnson

But for all of the unibomber-like behavior that The Middle encourages, I still love it. I love exploring new arcs for characters and learning unexpected things about their backstories. I love discovering the quirks and mannerisms and histories of a character who's just stepped out of the shadows and into the main action of the story. I love introducing the audience to an aspect of the world that they've yet to fully experience or understand. I love the meandering walks that lead to the cliffs and waterfalls that appear unexpectedly out of the fog. I really do love blazing a trail through The Middle. So, with headlamp firmly in place and machete at the ready, I plunge back into the darkness. Let's see where tonight's walk takes me.

Cosmic Irony 10.10.10

2010-10-11T00:21:00.003-04:00

This picture pretty much sums up what's going on in my brain right now. Today on October 10, 2010 just after 10 o'clock in the evening Shatter passed the 10,000 downloads mark on amazon. I cannot believe that this has happened at all much less on 10/10/10 at 10 p.m. Part of me is pretty convinced that I'm going to soon wake up in a hospital bed coming out of a coma caused by a head-on collision with reality. But until that happens, I want to thank anyone who's downloaded my debut novel. I know it's free, but thanks for taking a chance on picking up a book by a completely unknown indie author. I, and all the characters in my head, thank you.

For those who have asked in their reviews and comments, the next installment in The Children of Man series, Render, is currently in the drafting stages. I'm shooting for a Winter or Spring 2011 release. That will depend a lot on the editing process and how often my friends and family demand I walk away from Meriwether and Wilfred, also known as my electronic accomplices, my computer partners-in-crime, my iMac and iPad. (Yes, I may have sold part of my soul to Steve Jobs...) But I will keep you posted on the progress and give a more specific timeframe as I know more.

Also, I know that several people have requested maps, a pronunciation guide, and a glossary. The paperback version of the book has always had the maps, but alas I was unable to include them in the ebook version. So, I've made them available on the series' website along with a pronunciation guide.

Thank you again for taking a risk with me!

New V.O. for "Shatter" book trailer

2010-09-23T18:05:00.001-04:00

So, I need your help, gentle readers. I have some new book trailer options from which I must choose. My brother and sister-in-law offered not too long ago to record some voice over demos for my book trailer. While being a writer herself, my dazzlingly talented Laynie-in-Law is also an actress. So, this was an exciting offer, which I pounced on immediately. Each of these options has a slightly different pacing and feel. If you could vote on which you like the best (and why) in the comments, I would be extremely grateful for your input. So, enjoy and vote away!

Option #1

Option #2

Option #3

Option #4

The singes stopped smoldering

2010-09-19T23:13:00.001-04:00

I have started writing this blog post about ~~six~~ seven times. I could give you a lot of numbers regarding the production of my debut novel. I could explain how as an independent author, I run all the departments necessary to get this book out there. But none of it feels right, no matter how I try to manhandle it into words. It sticks out in all the wrong angles. So, I'll just be straight with you. Pushing for my spring release date took a lot out of me emotionally and creatively. Working out the logistics and marketing of my first novel this summer took a lot of my time. It wasn't until late July when I released the ~~not typo ridden~~ cleaned up version of Shatter that I stopped (sort of).

I've been burned out. I've read a lot; I've written very little. I have not drafted much in Shatter's sequel since late February. I had nothing to give. Never fear though. With some gentle (for her) prodding from one of my cohorts, I started drafting Render yesterday. Tonight, I sat down and forced myself to write one word after the next and inched forward in the plot, and I do mean inched. But the ball is rolling again, and I - much like inertia - once in motion, stay in motion. I'm not sure if the burn out is completely gone, but I can at least tell that the singeing has stopped smoldering so obviously.

Spread the e-book love

2010-09-11T01:14:00.007-04:00

Here's a roundup of all the locations where Shatter is now available in e-book format. Even if you don't have a dedicated e-book reader, if you have a smartphone several of these platforms offer free apps. Enjoy!

FREE:

Review: Steampunk Summer Reading "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest

2010-08-26T18:47:00.011-04:00

Steampunk. Love it? Hate it? Annoyed by it? Or just plain confused by it? Regardless of your personal stance, today I blog about steampunk, so prepare yourself. If you have no idea what steampunk even is, let's define the beast. Literarily, steampunk is sometimes called Victorian Science Fiction inspired by the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. It can be set in the past, the present, or the future, but the technology is generally inspired by Newtonian physics, cogs, gears, and steam as if Einstein's physics and the microchip never occurred. That's the "steam" portion of the definition. The "punk" is showing the underbelly of technology or society and the need for change and reform regarding a specific institution, practice, or mindset. Steampunk is more than a literary subgenre or an aesthetic in movies like Sherlock Holmes, Hellboy or Howl's Moving Castle. Steampunk is also a fashion trend. According to Cherie Priest (the author of Boneshaker, the book I'll be reviewing), the steampunk aesthetic is what happens when goths discover brown. And there's some witty truth to that. But steampunk fashion is chiefly concerned with DIY, handmade products, individuality, reusing & recycling, and taking inspiration from the Victorian era. It's not just goggles, folks. There are some great examples of the variety within steampunk fashions here.

Steampunk holds a certain attraction. I think for people living in today's world, a world so technologically advanced it would give Sarah Connor an aneurism, technology seems like magic. We know it works, but most of us have no idea how. If my Droid Eris breaks, game over, man. Game over. I have no hope of fixing it myself. I have to ship it off and for all I know, it will return magically repaired by faeries and goblins. There is a certain appeal to machines that you can see how they work. Steampunk gives us a lot of the same technological advancements without the mystery. For me at least, another part of the appeal to steampunk is the alternate history "what if's" of the genre. It's one of the things I adore about Priest's Boneshaker. In Priest's America, the Civil War has continued into the 1880's. I'm a total history nerd and I just love that. Beyond that, growing up Jules Verne and H.G. Wells' stories fascinated me and near the end of high school I discovered Victorian gothic horror novels and thus a life long love affair was born. I've always enjoyed the aesthetic of the Victorian era and its geo-political landscape. The sun never set on the British Empire. Brits drank tea with tigers and got an entire culture hooked on opium. The American wild westward expansion pushed forward, while the Union and Confederates fought back east. The 19th century is just a really cool time in history. I'm not trying to romanticize it. There were a lot of problems during this era, which makes for great opportunities for conflict in stories. And what era of history is free of human mistakes and error? Plus, steampunk is just plain fun.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Back cover synopsis:

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska's ice. Thus was Dr. Blue's Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown, Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue's widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenage boy to support, but she and Ezekial are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

As a general rule, I tend to dislike the synopsis on the back cover of a book. They're usually misleading or ruin the author's reveal about a character or a situation. This synopsis, however, should be used to teach publishers how to write a good synopsis. There are no major spoilers in it and it really nails the essence of this story. With this synopsis you get what was advertised.

Though my life kept me from plowing through this story, I really enjoyed Boneshaker. I loved the action, the characters, the plot, and the especially the setting. Can you really ask for more? Priest is a skilled writer. She paints vivid scenes with an impressive economy of words. I had writer's envy.

The story takes place in a ravaged Seattle in the 1880's, a dreary city that's limping along after the catastrophic event of the Boneshaker. Priest brings us into a fully-formed world. Though we hear rumblings about the Civil War that's still raging back east, Seattle is largely untouched, but not unaffected. She even presents us with the black market consequences of the blight gas trapped in Seattle. As the widow and the son of the man responsible for the devastation in Seattle, Briar and Zeke are outcasts in the Outskirts (where the refugees of Seattle live). By the end of their journey, however, Briar and Zeke find what Zeke went into the city looking for, a home.

The story is fast-paced and you're swept away with Briar's mission to find Zeke and while you're running from rotters (Priest's zombies) and criminals you really learn to love and respect this quiet and direct woman. By the end of the story, you realize that she really is her daddy, Maynard's, girl. Priest said once that she wrote Briar to be her homage to characters like Sarah Conner and Ripley and that comparison makes so much sense. You have to love a mother on a mission to save her kid.

Beyond Briar's tenacity and drive and Zeke's curiosity and loyalty, you have a cast of characters inhabiting this world that are diverse and amazing. Two of my favorites were Lucy (the barkeep with a clockwork arm and a gas mask that she keeps tucked up her girdle in case of emergencies) and Jeremiah Swakhammer. Really, his name says it all. He's a bear of a man with a complicated gas mask that he loves, because he thinks it makes him look dashing. But you also have loud and swaggering air pirates like Croggon Hainey and a Native American princess, Angeline, who's tougher than anyone in the book - anyone.

Boneshaker with its zombies and air pirates and evil criminal overlords will get anyone hooked on Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century world. I have my copy of Clementine sitting on the shelf and I can't wait for Dreadnought coming this Fall.

Grand Canyon: the Roadtrip

2010-08-16T05:36:00.002-04:00

Sung on the way to the Grand Canyon at 2 am by Mr. Scott Morris:

Hush little baby don't say a word. Daddy's gonna buy you a Thunderbird.
If that Thunderbird don't start, Daddy's gonna buy you a shopping cart.
If that shopping cart's wheel is squeaky, Daddy's gonna buy you a pitcher that's leaky.
If that pitcher spills real bad, Daddy's gonna buy you a launching pad.
If that launching pad gets broke, Daddy's gonna buy a tire spoke.
If that tire spoke don't fit, Daddy's gonna throw a royal fit.

That's it. The end. That's all she wrote.

Review: "Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) by Cassandra Clare

2010-08-02T04:47:00.008-04:00

I was privileged enough to receive an ARC of Clockwork Angel about a month ago and I've meant to write this review since the moment I set it down. I wanted to give an in-depth review, however, not just a cursory blurb, which I've already provided on goodreads.com. Alas, life, work, and my dvr kept getting in the way. But never fear, dear readers! I've caught up on "Supernatural" and "Fringe" and I am hear to give you my twopence on this first installment of the incomparable Cassandra Clare's new series, The Infernal Devices.

From the back cover (though I find this somewhat misleading, which I'll explain later):

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

To give the proper context to this review, you need to understand that I adored Cassie's The Mortal Instruments series. I enjoyed her pacing, her characters, her world, and her humor immensely. When I heard there would be a prequel trilogy set in Victorian London, I may or may not have done a little dance of joy. I've been a huge fangirl of the Victorian age since I read Bram Stoker's Dracula on a camping trip the summer after I graduated from high school. Give me gothic horror over Dan Brown any day. My biggest fear, as many people feared, was that The Infernal Devices would be The Mortal Instruments with corsets and cogs and minus the awkward family situations. Not that I'm saying I was rooting for more incest, mind you. Let me reassure you. Clockwork Angel is not a repackaging of TMI's characters or its story. This story is its own. These characters are themselves not pale Victorian reflections of Clary or Simon or Jace. (This is my essential problem with the back cover summary. Most people I've talked to who've read this description assume this is the same basic story as TMI. I know that the publishers are trying to tap the same market that loved the first series, but it's also making them assume this novel is something its not.)

While the boys of this book deserve credit and I'll give credit where credit's due, my favorite character is unequivocally Tessa. Everyone else can pick Team Will or Team Jem, but I'm Team Tessa all the way. I'm rooting for whatever makes her happiest, because she's bloody brilliant. Tessa is spunky, intelligent, quick witted, outspoken, and a voracious reader. This might not seem like a revolutionary character, but you have to remember that this book is set in the 1880s and Tessa is an unmarried woman. Everything about her is offensive to polite society during this time, yet that doesn't stop her from being who she is. Tessa is no passive heroine thrown into a supernatural world. She uses her wits and her steadfast courage to not only survive, but to navigate a landscape she never knew existed.

Now, we've all seen spunky, intelligent, courageous heroines before who've overcome obstacles. So you might be wondering what sets Tessa apart. There are several factors that engendered my love for Tessa. I love the unapologetic way Tessa lights up when she gushes about novels. Anyone who loves reading will resonate with Tessa. I also value loyalty in characters and Tessa refuses to give up on those she loves -- even those undeserving of her loyalty. What I really love about this strength of Tessa's though is that Cassie shows its inherent weakness and how easily it can be exploited. Tessa is an admirable character, but she has flaws. For me though, what truly differentiates Tessa is her struggle with her own identity. So many teenagers don't know who they are yet or who they want to be. Clockwork Angel takes that universal struggle and embodies it in an aspect of who Tessa is. It makes the abstract a concrete problem and conflict in the story. That is why I love Tessa Gray.

The leading men of Clockwork Angel have been at the center of much buzz since the ARCs were released. Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs deserve that buzz. They are the white knight and the black knight and both are a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Which, let's be honest, who can resist that? Of all the characters of Clockwork Angel, Will resembles a character from TMI the most. There are a lot of parallels between Will and Jace, last name notwithstanding. Will, however, is his own character and is no poor man's Jace. Unfortunately, all of the incidents that highlight Will's brilliance would also be spoilers. Let's just say for now that Will has the standoffishness of Mr. Darcy with a swashbuckling appeal and Deadpool's ability to banter (Yes, I just said someone was like a hybrid of Mr. Darcy and Wade Wilson, what of it?). And he's tortured. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't stand a chance. Will got me hook, line, and sinker. Then there's the violin playing, half Asian, quiet and sensitive Jem Carstairs - the boy with a tragic secret. If you're not the type to swoon at a swaggering scoundrel, then Jem's the boy for you. He'll play you an achingly haunting song on the violin by moonlight, then wipe away your tears with a thumb. They're great characters. And what Will does at the end of the story will make you scream for book two.

There really isn't a character in the entire book who I couldn't spend pages on, so I'll try to be brief. The side characters of the story are fantastic. Charlotte and Henry Branwell run the London Institute and both are fabulously memorable characters. The fragile strength of Charlotte, who holds the Institute together in a man's Shadow world, broke my heart. Her husband, Henry, is the wacky inventor type whose absent-mindedness is almost stereotypical, except that he is far from a one-dimensional character. Then there's Jessamine. Oh, Jessie. What can I say about Jessie? I strongly believe that she and Lydia Bennett would be great friends and Jessie could beat off any undesirable suitors with her parasol. Though who would those two consider undesirable? Lack of pulse might disqualify a gentleman... Then there's Magnus Bane. My one criticism of the book: it needed more Magnus. Granted, I think everything would be better with more Magnus. Buying a new dress? Better with Magnus. Planning a party? Better with Magnus. Waiting at the post office? Better with Magnus. Root canal? Better with Magnus.

As I mentioned previously, I love the Victorian era and Cassie did not let me down even a smidgen when it came to the setting. The society (both of the regular world and the Shadow world), the manners, the locations, the gadgets, the dress, and even the geo-political undercurrents of the British Empire and the opium trade were woven to create not only a believable and immersive backdrop, but they were also woven into the subplots of the story. I loved how the Shadow world and the events of the regular world overlap. Unfortunately, I can't go into how without spoiling a big reveal in the story. The setting of this book is not merely where the story unfolds, the story itself is informed by its environment.

I don't want to say much about the plot of the book itself, because there is so much mystery involved that to mention any of it would spoil the fun. I began this review by telling you that I loved TMI series to give you the correct context. This is why. I thought that Clockwork Angel blew The Mortal Instruments out of the water. Cassie's writing has matured, the plot is appropriately twisty and maddening and satisfying, and the characters most definitely speak for themselves. I absolutely loved Clockwork Angel and the only real problem I have is that I desperately want book two and the first book still won't be released for another month. Curse you, Cassie! And thank you. Brilliant book.

Old Spice parody of a parody

2010-07-23T16:33:00.001-04:00

This is stolen from literary agent Nathan Bradsford's wonderful blog. Apparently the guy from the Old Spice commercials did a parody of his own commercials on libraries and then the BYU library did a parody of that as an advertisement for their library. I have to say that the BYU parody is better than the originals by far. Well done.

Pop! Goes a story!

2010-07-13T01:11:00.005-04:00

As I sat at my corner desk -- when I was supposed to be proofreading -- this bit of internal monologue came to me. I don't know much about her or her story, but I know that she's either a journalist or works for a police department or a private eye and the atmosphere has a tinge of noir to it. I can hear the whir of an old, wobbly metal fan, because it's a hot and sticky night. But the air is stale in the open room where her desk sits nestled amongst several others. It's somewhere in Louisiana or Mississippi and you can smell the sweet burn of cigarillo smoke oozing in from the street, but there's not enough of a breeze coming through the tall windows to really move the scent. It just hangs in the air. It's before the computer age, because she's working on a typewriter, earlier than an electric. Era seems to be somewhere between the 1930s and 1960s. I'm really intrigued by her and the setting. Enjoy!

I work better at night. At least, that's what I always say - better. I actually work at night, runs closer to the truth. Just ask Hollins, I kept him up plenty of times. Night is when all the petty distractions fade until there's nothing left, but the work. And when that darkness pushes everything else aside, I sit in front of this machine and pour out their lives one bouncing, clicked keystroke at a time until each tapped out piece slides into place to form a picture, a story of a life. A story that reflects me in sharp and unforgiving edges without the benefit of good lighting. Because at night, in their stories, I can't hide. I wrap myself in daylight to hide in plain sight, where everyone thinks they see me. All they ever see is the dazzling light that covers me. So, in the night, I find their stories. In their stories, I find me.

"Shatter" e-book FREE on smashwords.com in July!

2010-07-10T17:38:00.000-04:00

That's right, folks. My debut novel, Shatter (The Children of Man, #1), is FREE for the month of July at smashwords.com. One of great things about smashwords is that they provide the e-book in every e-reader format you might use. The other great thing is that you can read the story online or as a pdf if you don't have an e-reader. So, if you are short on cash and interested in following Faela Durante's journey go download a copy today!

Writing tics

2010-06-30T15:27:00.006-04:00

During my daily browse through the blogs I follow, I ran across Nathan Bradsford's post about his writing tics. I know the things that I think are my tics from editing, but one of the commenters gave a link to a site that will generate a word cloud for your writing. Curious to see a visual representation of my word choice, I went to the site and entered the text of Shatter. I can't say I'm surprised, except for one thing - the characters. The cloud shows pretty conclusively who the three main characters of the book are. Two are obvious, but I didn't expect one. Though when you look at the story, it really shouldn't have shocked me. Here are the results:

(Click on the pictures if you'd like to see larger versions.)

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So, my three main characters according to these clouds are Faela, Kade, and Sheridan. I never intended for Sheridan to wiggle her way into that status, but as the story morphed and molded it just happened and I think the story is much better for it. Now, what I find really fascinating is that if you compare my word cloud for Shatter with my short story "The River," you can see my underlying voice come out in my diction. Despite the fact that one work is just under 8k words and one is just under 150k, my word choice stays remarkably consistent.

What can I say? "Back" is a work horse of a word, pulling parts of speech double duty and I like eyes and hands.

Enter to win "Shatter" on Goodreads!

2010-06-25T11:06:00.002-04:00

That's right, cats and kittens. There is a giveaway going on at goodreads.com, my favorite bibliophile social networking site. If you do not already have a goodreads account, I'd say setting one up is as easy as pie, but I've always found making pies to be a mysterious black art that eludes my understanding. So, instead, I'll say that it's as easy as 1-2-3. See, I can count. Ha! Back to why we're all here, free books. You're only eligible if you have an account, so there's no way around that. Goodreads does not require, but greatly encourages, the winners to write reviews of the book on goodreads. I would also greatly encourage this behavior. It writes a review or it gets the hose again. The contest began yesterday and ends in a month. Once goodreads algorithm chooses the five winners, I'll be sending off print copies of Shatter. So, if you'd like a free copy of my book - and who wouldn't? - go sign up here: Goodreads giveaway

"Shatter" Goes Digital

2010-06-24T19:39:00.002-04:00

After some encouragement from fellow indie author, Randolph Lalonde (If you like sci-fi, especially space opera, you should check out his Spinward Fringe series. /shamless plug), I finished the necessary formatting today to make Shatter (The Children of Man, #1) available as an ebook. As an owner of a much beloved Kindle, I always intended to offer my titles as ebooks as well as traditional print books. I've discovered several authors that I never would have because of ebooks and I can only hope that this will prove the same for my book. Right now Shatter is available at Smashwords in a veritable buffet of format options, but hopefully soon I'll be approved to be distributed in their premium catalogue, which will list my title in the iBooks store, Kindle store, Nook store, and on several other platforms. The exciting things about the ebook copy are that this version is the coveted, proofread Second Edition and that you can purchase my book for a fraction of the cost of the print version, a mere $2.99. Less than a fast food meal. Less then a drink at Red Robin. Less than the toll on the turnpike from Pittsburgh to Breezewood. Okay, that last one was an obscure reference... Moving on. If you're an ebook fan, I hope you'll risk less than $3 on Shatter.

Second Edition of "Shatter" Incoming

2010-06-24T12:23:00.004-04:00

With a round of proofing behind us, the second edition of Shatter will be available as early as next week. Not only does this second edition feature 99% fewer typos and some tightening of its prose, it also features a new, lovely cover. The picture is of the Church of Kapnikarae, a thousand year old, Byzantine, Greek Orthodox Church in the middle of downtown Athens, Greece that I took during my trip there last summer. A college friend of mine, Adam Thomas, refined the cover's design and I couldn't be happier with the result.

Adam Thomas is a musician, audio engineer, and photographer from Pittsburgh, PA. You can find his portfolio of gorgeous photography at: http://www.adamthomasphotography.com/

Review: YA and the spooky supernatural

2010-06-21T16:56:00.003-04:00

Before the advent of social networking sites like goodreads, my finds for new books all branched from scouring libraries and bookstores or the occasional suggestions from friends. But for the last couple years, I have been on a YA kick, as has much of the book reading populous. From the time I was eleven when I discovered Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley, you couldn't pay me to set foot in the YA section of a bookstore or a library. The books always seemed to be morality tales that talked down to me with characters I couldn't care less about. But a perfect storm of reasons led me to the YA section of the bookstore a few years back, ranging from teaching highschoolers to being guildmates in WoW with a YA literary agent. Regardless of the convoluted deer trail that led me to YA, that's where I am and I'm grateful.

Today the majority of authors whose work I'm most jazzed about are YA. I think it's the refreshing lack of pretension that these authors have about their work and in their written voice that I adore. For whatever the reason, many of the books I've recently read or plan to read soon are YA and tend to fall in the general category of urban fantasy. The first book I want to discuss is White Cat by the mistress of gritty teen lit, Holly Black.

White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black

White Cat is the first book in Holly's Curse Workers series, a world where magic exists and everyone knows it, but magic has been illegal since prohibition. Because of this ban on magic, workers (as she dubs her magic users) who practice their craft are criminals and usually work for one of six major crime families. White Cat is told from the perspective of Cassel Sharpe, a teenage boy from a family of curse workers who isn't a worker.

Cassel is in a word, fantastic. Though Cassel has no talent as a worker, he does have the criminal talent of his family. Cassel is a con artist who is trying to fit in at his prep school. That fact infuses the entire narrative from moving the plot to how Cassel interacts with any and everyone in his life. Full disclosure: I am unabashedly Team Cassel. This may have something to do with my fetish for thief types, which I've traced back to early and frequent exposure to Han Solo as a small child. I love con artist characters and good con movies. This book struck both those chords for me.

Besides the interesting characters and seedy criminal underworld that Holly created in this book, she also created a fabulously complicated magic system. Curse working has a clear set of rules regarding how the magic functions that effects not only the users, but the society itself. One consequence of this magic is that everyone wears gloves since working can only be accomplished through physical touch. The way that Holly weaves this into subtle background moments and how it molds the way her characters think was done with finesse and polish.

This book has the full gamut of things I love: great cons, the mob, noir-esque narrative voice, tortured characters, shady pasts, complicated relationships of all kinds, and a really interesting magic system. In my opinion, White Cat is her best book yet and I wait with bated breath for book two, Red Glove.

The Demon's Lexicon (The Demon's Lexicon #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

I love media that has family drama. Now, I don't mean "Dynasty" family melodrama when I say that. I mean family drama like the tragedy of the Winchesters in "Supernatural." That's my kind of family drama, where they would do anything for each other, but there are tangles of deep conflict in their relationships. It is my proverbial bread and butter. This is one of the reasons that I adored, straight adored, The Demon's Lexion by Sarah Rees Brennan and why I have to agree with Holly Black that the character of Alan Ryves is bloody brilliant.

Though I use the tv show "Supernatural" as an example of why I love this series, the world of The Demon's Lexicon is nothing like that of "Supernatural." The book follows the younger brother of the two, Nick Ryves. Though it is told third person, the story sticks to his perspective in its narration. Sarah's world is filled with magicians, pied pipers, demons, and a Goblin Market, named for the Christian Rosetti poem. The Ryves boys have been on the run for most of their lives from magicians and during their stay in Exeter two other siblings crash into their lives, Mae and Jamie Crawford.

I was hooked by this book in its first two sentences: "The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink." The characters, their relationships, and the mystery kept me reading. The witty dialogue kept me laughing and running to tweet especially entertaining lines. The Demon's Lexicon is a thrilling, fascinating, and hilarious ride whose ending set up an amazing series.

The Demon's Covenant (The Demon's Lexicon #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Luckily for me, I didn't pick up The Demon's Lexicon until the second book in the series, The Demon's Covenant, was already released. When I finished book one, I dived immediately into book two. Instead of following tall, dark, and well-armed Nick Ryves, the second book in this supernatural YA series follows Mae Crawford. While I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, I loved seeing this world through Mae's eyes. Unlike most heroines who discover the magical nougat-y center of reality, Mae does not know some martial art, nor does she have any special powers, except being preternaturally stubborn, quick on her feet, and being well-armed with a sharp tongue.

I can't get too much into the plot of The Demon's Covanent without giving major spoilers to the first book in the series, which you do NOT want me to do. Suffice to say, there are even more sword fights, maniacal magicians, pithy one-liners, and complications for the Crawfords and the Ryves in this book. Go forth. Read. Enjoy.

Recharging through Reading

2010-06-05T17:59:00.002-04:00

At this point about a dozen people, that I know of, have finished my debut novel, Shatter. Record breaking, I know. Unequivocally, their reactions to the story have been to demand when I'm finishing the second book in the series, Render. To that, the only answer I can give is to say that it's in the first drafting stage, which I hope to complete in August.

That does not mean that Render will be available for consumption by August. Far from it. My hope is to have Render finished and ready for publication by this winter. I'm already about 35k words into the first draft. To give you some context, Shatter was just under 150k words. I have not, however, done any drafting in Render for a while. Because pushing to hit my May 1st deadline for Shatter, resulted in me working 10-14 hours a day after I got home from teaching. The school year just ended a couple weeks ago and I'm still utterly spent.

Last year I got into the habit of writing every day. A habit I would recommend to any writer - to a point. A couple months ago (I think. I have no reliable concept of time.), I read a fantastic blog post by guest blogger, Margo Lanagan, on Justine Larbalestier's blog about when not to write. She discusses when and why it's time to walk away from the page. I'm there right now. I am so irrationally sick of my own written voice and my mind is still stuck in the editing phase, which nearly paralyzes me when I try to draft. Because as we all know, first drafts exist to suck. That's their job, their reasoning for being, their existential reality. They just suck. It's a fact of life. If you want to write, just accept it, embrace it, give it a pet name, because you're stuck with it.

So, I'm taking a small break. Not a super long one, but I need to recharge. I need to gain some perspective and the best way to do that I've discovered is to read - a lot. During the school year, amidst teaching and attempting to write a novel, I didn't have much time to read. I read some outside of what I needed to re-read for my classes, but not much. I do the majority of my for-sniffles-and-giggles reading during the summer. Ah, glorious summer. I have already finished four books in probably the combined span of as many days. I'm slowly yet surely chipping my way through the queue of books on my goodreads to-read shelf, which always gets longer, never shorter, no matter how many books I finish.

I know that some readers always wonder what kinds of books authors who write genre fiction read. I know that some authors read nothing in their genre and some read ravenously within their genre. Me? Like many things in life, I believe in the shotgun method. Hit as many things as you can and it'll all work out. The range of books I'm reading this summer include, but are not limited to (Caveat: many of these classifications overlap with certain authors.):

general fantasy (Naomi Novik, Elizabeth Haydon, Kristen Britain, James Mallory, Mercedes Lackey, Terry Goodkind)
steampunk (Cherie Priest, Scott Westerfeld, William Gibson, China Miéville, Paolo Bacigalupi)
young adult (Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson , Holly Black)
urban fantasy (Sarah Rees Brennan, Charles de Lint, Maggie Stiefvater)
classics (Ayn Rand, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov)
historical fiction (Jeff Shaara, Edward Rutherfurd)
philosophy (Hannah Arendt)
dysotopian (Suzanne Collins, Scott Westerfeld, Paolo Bacigalupi)
religion (Anne Lamott, Ann Spangler , Kevin DeYoung, Ted Kluck)
creative nonfiction (Maxine Hong Kingston, George Orwell, Jon Krakauer)
mystery (Agatha Christie, Matthew Pearl)
horror (Elizabeth Kostova, Cherie Priest)
linguistics ( John H. McWhorter)
cyberpunk (William Gibson, Neal Stephenson)
sci-fi space opera (Randolph Lalonde)

I believe in voraciously reading across all genres as a writer. The more exposure you get to good story-telling and beautiful prose, the better your own voice will become. That's my goal this summer. To get back into the habit of not just writing, but reading what I wish, not simply what I must. I also guarantee that within those lists of new books to read some of my old favorites will sneak in.

So, that's the plan, man. Read a lot. Then back to writing.

"Shatter" Available at Joseph-Beth Booksellers Online!

2010-05-26T19:19:00.008-04:00

I think I more excited about this announcement than any others. Shatter is now available for purchase from Joseph-Beth Booksellers. The reason this is amazing is because Joseph-Beth Booksellers is a chain of independent bookstores. This is my best bet for getting "Shatter" into an actual book-and-mortar store. If any of my readers in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati area could visit their local Joseph-Beth Booksellers to request a copy that would greatly increase my chances of getting them to carry my title. This is so exciting!

"Shatter" Available at Barnes and Noble Online!

2010-05-26T18:45:00.005-04:00

"Shatter" is now available to purchase on barnesandnoble.com! The best thing about this is that you can go into a brick-and-mortar Barnes and Noble and order a copy if you're uncomfortable with buying a copy online. Happy reading!

Color Beyond Shade

2010-05-08T00:45:00.003-04:00

If you've followed this blog for the last year and a half, you'll have noticed that I recently changed its title from The Slush Pile to Color Beyond Shade. As a writer I find words and their meanings to have deep significance and it naturally follows that titles and names would also hold a deep significance for me. After finishing the writing process for Shatter, I recalled the reasons I had initially given for starting this blog. I had chosen the title The Slush Pile, because in the publishing world a slush pile is where rejected manuscripts go to die and in my time as a writer my fiction languished unfinished in limbo, while I had finished numerous academic, nonfiction, and creative nonfiction works. That writing, and completing that writing, had rarely proved a challenge for me. Now, don't misunderstand, I don't mean that the writing just flowed like silk, but that finishing those works failed to stump me. When I started this blog, I realized the difference that existed between those two general categories of my writing - one had deadlines, the other did not.

For this listless, purposeless, deadlineless fiction writing, I started this blog as a way to hold myself accountable via public expectation. If I declared publicly that I would have a new section in a short story up each day, then I had a deadline. Those self-imposed and internet enforced deadlines resulted in "The River" in The Noctunarum Vows series, a finished short story that I shockingly liked. This little thrill of success in finishing a fiction work propelled me to dig out and dust off The Children of Man, which lead to NaNo and the self-publication of Shatter. Granted, it's not being published by a reputable publishing house, but still it's a novel that I wrote that I've put out there to be loved or hated. The title The Slush Pile was both a self-deprication and a challenge to spur me on to get something finished. I reached that goal. I finished a substantial work of fiction and having reached that goal that title no longer applies.

So, I've thrown off the shackles of The Slush Pile and have rechristened this blog: Color Beyond Shade. Now, you might be wondering where in the far flung cosmos that title came from and what it means or maybe you're just wondering where you left that bag of Baked Lays you were eating yesterday. I can help you with one of those two questions. You're on your own for finding the chips.

One of my favorite poets is T.S. Eliot and one of my favorite of his poems is "The Hollow Men," which he wrote in the devastating aftermath of World War I. In section one of "The Hollow Men" there is a stanza that reads: "Shape without form; shade without colour, / Paralysed force, gesture without motion." There is something tragic and true and raw in the hopeless paradoxes of life expressed in that poem. What can I say? I'm drawn to tragedy, because I see it so clearly in this world. While I'm drawn to the tragic, I could not name this blog "Shade without Color," because while life is filled with tragedy, I believe that life ultimately is a comedy.

Now, I don't mean this in a flippant sense that discounts the true and real darkness that inhabits life. When I say that life is a comedy, I mean that in the classical definition of comedy. The Greek playwrights defined tragedy as moving from an ideal state into an unideal state and ending the story in the unideal, while a comedy begins in the ideal moves into the unideal and progresses back to an ideal state. Much like Dante Alighieri, I believe that life ultimately is a divine comedy. I believe we live in a broken, abnormal world, but that the world will not remain broken forever. Right now we see through a dirt-enncrusted mirror, but soon we will see face to face.

Because of this hope that resides within me, I could never use anything from "The Hollow Men's" nihilistic view of life to name this blog. I acknowledge the truth of its observations regarding the current state of the world, but I cannot stay in that hopelessness. So, instead of claiming that life is nothing but chaos in the guise of order, shape without form, or darkness without beauty, shade without colour. I have chosen to say that there is life beyond the chaos and the darkness, beyond the dirt-encrusted mirror. That life can and will have color beyond shade.

"Shatter" Available for Purchase!

2010-05-03T17:04:00.006-04:00

I honestly lack the words to express what writing this post means to me. Twenty-one years ago when I was seven years old - and consequently still couldn't read, but that's another story for another time - I decided that when I grew up I wanted to be a writer. I never had the ambition to be rich or famous. My goal has always been to publish a book, a single book. Today on May 3, 2010, I have finally accomplished that goal with the publication of Shatter, The Children of Man: Book One. This wonderfully exciting and terrifying adventure has taken six years, but I haven't regretted a single moment of it. Although this journey started over six years ago, this project didn't really take flight until last summer when I had a few key creative bursts regarding the project and in October when I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo '09. Tonight I resume drafting Render, the second book in The Children of Man trilogy and the journey continues. I truly hope that you enjoy this humble offering and the characters and world that I've created.

Shatter is now available for purchase from CreateSpace.

The amazon.com page is currently under construction for the book.

The end is just the beginning...

2010-04-26T19:32:00.005-04:00

I finished a novel. I finished a novel. I finished a novel. Yeah, no matter how I say it, it still doesn't seem real. To celebrate, I will now rock out to The Night at the Roxbury soundtrack.

*Sings, "What is loooove? Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more."*

*head bob, spastic dancing ensues*

*coughs and looks around* I am so sorry you had to witness that.

I've claimed for six years that I'm "working on a novel," which mostly consisted of tinkering when the mood struck me to write and lots of conceptual conversations with dear friends. It was never anything serious that would bear any actual literary fruits. Two things kept me dabbling instead of really gaining any forward motion in the manuscript. Okay, so lots of things kept me from that, but we'll just concentrate on two for now.

First, I am not what one might call a disciplined person by nature. Unless you give me a deadline for something, I will procrastinate right on schedule. Not necessarily out of laziness, but unless something is in my face, I forget about it. I get distracted by all the trivial and big things in life and my writing always got booted to the end of the priority line. I was sick of this. I had a story that I wanted to tell. Characters that I wanted to introduce to the world. Like many authors say over and over again, if you're serious about your writing you've got to think about it like a job. Whether I'm in the mood to write is irrelevant. As one blogger I read said so aptly, "moods are for food and" ...playing Yahtzee. Right doesn't begin to describe what he was. Until I started thinking about my drafting, and then revising and editing, as a second job, I made no progress. I had to commit. If you want to write something as weighty as a novel, you have to really want it, because it consumes your life. You just cease to exist for a while. Ask my friends. By the way guys, I do exist again. I'll see you soon.

Second, I was terrified of finishing my book. It's so unthreatening to be "working on a novel." No one can really criticize an unfinished manuscript in a way that's devastating, because you can always fix it, you can always apply their criticisms in a constructive way that improves the story or the writing. Once you finish, however, it's done. It's out there. Your soul is out there to be tramped upon and kicked like a puppy in the rain. Now, I'm a critical person by nature. My students can attest to this as a strength, hopefully, that pushes them to reach the amazing potential I see inside them. My friends can attest to this as both good and incredibly annoying at times. Regardless of its application, my critical nature made me fear putting a finished product out there, because so much of who I am is found within the pages of this story and I really didn't want my soul to get the boot.

But somehow, through baby steps and a lot of focused determination and a lot of crying and screaming and threats of arson, I finished a novel, a 148,800 word novel. That's a lot of words. (Now, I'm picturing Alot of Words.) Writing this book was hilarious and fun and exhilarating at times and at times I thought it might kill me and how could I ever be so arrogant as to think I could ever be an author when my writing is so horrible and I am lower than the bacteria in pond scum and someone please take my computer away before I delete everything I've ever written. Whew. Luckily, I have a brilliant support network who talked me off the ledge and metaphorically stole my lighter fluid and matches when necessary.

Several people have asked me what this novel is about and honestly, I have a really hard time condensing it into a synopsis that doesn't sound trite or contain spoilers. The most I can tell you is that this is a book about broken, flawed people who've experienced tragedy and made some really big mistakes and the journey they take to find redemption, themselves, and each other. There's much more going on than just that, but that's really the heart of Shatter. Which should tell you a lot about me.

Despite the fact that I just finished a novel, Shatter is just the beginning. I have two more books in the trilogy to write, Render and Forge. I'm already 40k words into Render, but for now I'm taking the week off and getting reacquainted with my DVR and diving head first into the queue of books that have piled up in the last few months. So I hope you'll consider reading Shatter to get to know the amazing, dynamic characters I've shared my brain with for the last six years.

Passing the Torch

2010-04-20T18:55:00.008-04:00

Well, the Doctor Who series 5 premiere kicked off last Saturday. We sat with trepidation, fearful, but excited to see where Steven Moffat and Matt Smith would take us and we were not disappointed. The same wacky, scary, yet immensely human stories of the Doctor and his TARDIS will be safe in their capable hands. Within the first episode they have already started planting the seeds of the overarching big bad of this series that lurks in the shadows. If you've never followed Doctor Who this is a great time to jump on board. You don't need any previous knowledge of the show to follow the latest series, but there are jokes and references embedded throughout for those fans of the 9th and 10th Doctor as well as those diehard fans stretching back to the 60s. My favorite scene in the premiere was when the 11th Doctor re-establishes himself as the champion of earth, much as 10 did in The Christmas Invasion after his regeneration. While there were no severed appendages, it was a powerful hand off. I don't want to say much more to keep from spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen the episode. But as we hand off the torch to 11, I have to post this last tribute to 10 from Seduff, my favorite Doctor Who fanvid producer. If you haven't watched series 2-4, do NOT watch this video; it's a spoiler fest.

Memories from Greece & the Battle Hymn of Mycenea

2010-03-13T19:32:00.011-05:00

Going through my notebooks looking for notes on my WIP, I came across my writings and notes on my trip to Greece last summer. This includes the Battle Hymn of Mycenae by Valerie Taylor, which must be introduced to the world, or at the very least, the interwebs. As I went through my notes, it brought to mind some of the most entertaining incidents from the trip to Greece that I had forgotten, though I can't imagine how.

One memory was watching Krissy walk blissfully unaware down a Delphi street. When you think of classic European small town streets with brightly colored shops, restaurants, and hotels that line cobblestone streets, you're thinking of Delphi. It was on this old town street that Krissy strolled soaking in the beauty of this Greek mountainside town, when a behemoth of a lavender tour bus that took up most of the road's real estate headed straight for her. Though this was the first instance of Krissy versus a tour bus during the trip, it would not be the last. In case you were wondering, while the tour bus did win, Krissy lived.

Now some of you may remember the story of how at the end of my first international flight, I looked out the window for my first glimpse of Greece on the ground only to see Ikea. Ikea first opened a store in Pittsburgh, my hometown, when I was in elementary school. I had traveled over 8,000 miles to see Ikea. Can you say anticlimactic? After our stay in the picturesque Delphi, we headed down into Athens. Now that trip is a story in and of itself for a later date, because these are all entertaining anecdotes, not eye-twitch inducing ones. Our hostel we stayed at, Athen's Backpackers (which I would recommend to any group traveling to Athens), was a suite, not one of those dorm-style hostels. Though they did have dorms too. When we entered to pitch black darkness, it stayed that way because we couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights. Luckily for us, Kelsey figured it out after I had already passed out. When the lights did come on, it revealed that all of the furniture in the hostel was from Ikea. The Swedes had followed me Greece. They were stalking me.

Another entertaining memory didn't take place at an exciting archeological or cultural location, but in that hostel suite in downtown Athens. Delores and Tim had left to buy phone cards so we could book somewhere to stay in Nafplio for the remainder of our time in country. Though this proved a challenge, because the EU parliamentary elections were that weekend. (Let me just say, if you ever have a chance to visit Greece, take the time to stay in Nafplio. Its on the Mediterranean, has flowers overflowing everywhere, from rocky hillsides to canopying the streets, and the medieval old town is a breathtaking pedestrian shopping district. Just go. Trust me.) So, the girls and I were hanging out in the hostel watching Greek television that had no subtitles. While I can muddle my way through reading Greek, I have absolutely no hope understanding it conversationally. We watched some news until we came across this movie, at least we think it was a movie. As far as we could tell, it was a suspense, horror movie, at least we think it was a horror flick. What we were able to gather was that there was this love triangle and the moon was somehow important. Well, either it was important or the director really really wanted to set the mood. Though no werewolves were ever actually shown, the woman had been locked up and there was howling and again the whole moon thing, so clearly it was about werewolves, at least we think it was about werewolves. But of all the aspects of this enigmatic, way-too-many-shots-of-the-moon, love triangle, werewolf movie that dissolved us into laughter the most was a lone tree in a field being shaken violently. Yes, you heard me - tree choking. Whenever things went wrong, the hero, or possibly he was the villain, would go into this field and shake this tree and scream at the moon. What this was supposed to accomplish we had no idea, but we had plenty of theories. So the next time you're thwarted in love, be like the Greeks and go shake a tree in a field.

While this next incident can't really rival watching a Greek movie without subtitles, the absurdity still makes me laugh. When we took a walking tour in Athens, several things happened that just seemed so surreal. But one occurred when we reached the ruins of Hadrian's Library. Standing in front of the ledge that overlooked the Roman ruins below were two Greek Orthodox priests in their typical vestments of a black cossak and a kamilavkion, which is a black cylindrical hat. The scene of the ancient ruins right near the Plaka, Athens' famous market district, with the priests was so stereotypically Greek that is should have been on a postcard. That was until we got closer and noticed that the priests were texting on their phones. Talk about shattering my illusions.

Now we come to the reason for this post, which is The Battle Hymn of Mycenea composed at Mycenea under the watchful eye of the mountain the locals call Sleeping Agamemnon. This parody really sums up the ancient Greek view of life so very well.

Battle Hymn of Mycenea (to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic)
by Valerie Taylor

Mines eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the king.
We are marching off to battle to bring back golden things.
Victory proceeds us cause we killed a thousand cows.
Our gods are marching on.

Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Our gods are marching on.

The wine poured for libations seems to me to be a waste.
Were it up to me the army should have had a little taste.
Fight or die, we can't retreat. There's really not a choice.
So, we keep marching on.

Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Our gods are marching on.

I'm pretty sure we're gonna win, that's what the Oracle said.
But even if we battle hard, we still might end up dead.
I really hope it doesn't hurt, but even if we die.
Our names they will live on.

Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Glory, glory Agamemnon.
Our gods are marching on.

Writing Exercise

2010-03-12T17:27:00.011-05:00

This excerpt is the result of my creative writing students asking me to participate in one of their workshopping exercises. There feels like there's a story and a strong character here, but I'm swamped with revising and editing my WIP right now. Because of that, it will just stay as an opening and a nebulous idea for now. I'm just curious if anyone else would be interested in seeing this developed at some point.

“Where were you last night?” Alice asked her fractured reflection. Just like every morning that had come before this, the ritual still provided no answer. Most people would have remembered the first morning they had faced a question like this with unshakable clarity, but its endless repetition had caused the memory to fade into a blur until she could no longer distinguish it from any other day. Maybe this was a good thing.

Despite the silence left by the lack of information, her shadow-ringed green eyes stood out against her pale and scarred complexion in a damning testimony to her nightly activities. She leaned into the cracked porcelain of the sink. Its edge dug into her left palm as she combed her black hair back from her forehead. Her fingers got stuck, tangled in its matted gunk. Whatever had happened last night, she would have another scar.

With a disgruntled expletive, she twisted the tap on and scraped the bloody muck off her fingers under the rush of water that stammered with a brown spurt. Glancing in the mirror again, she shut the water off and wiped her hands on her ragged BDU jacket. Behind her silhouette stretched a spartan room containing only a mattress in a corner and a three-legged table propped up on a stack of moldy phonebooks in place of its fourth leg. On the relatively clean table sat an old transistor radio and her Ruger P95.

“Well,” Alice addressed the gun, “looks like we survived one more night, baby.”

What is love?

2010-01-12T16:19:00.011-05:00

Fair warning, this post contains lots of spoilers for Doctor Who all the way through series four. So if you've watched it, never plan on watching it, or just don't care, read on. Over my Christmas break, I spent a lot of time re-watching and watching Doctor Who. A show that my mother described, after watching a couple episodes, as funny and weird and tragic, which sums it up quite perfectly. I, like many Doctor Who fans, am really enamored with the Doctor's relationship with Rose Tyler and I've been thinking about why that is. Why their relationship has captured my attention so completely. And I think I've finally sussed it out.

In our culture today we're given examples of love that declare that anything is permissible and even praiseworthy if it's done in the name of love. We're a culture obsessed with relationships like Bella and Edward's. Where Bella will forsake her family, friends, and even possibly her soul for the sake of the man she loves. But this is a weak love. I don't mean weak in its intensity. I mean weak in the character of the love. Edward even admits that he's being selfish when he returns to Bella, that he is weak. It's a selfish love. A love that will forsake everything for its beloved. Now you're sitting there reading this possibly thinking that that's how love should be. That true love will give up anything for that other person.

But stop a moment and think. Think about what that really means. Think about how ugly and twisted that love could become. The horrors that could be committed in the name of that love. A good example of this in classic literature is Paradise Lost. In Milton's epic poem the fall of man occurs because Adam cannot bear to lose Eve, so he too eats the fruit damning the human race. That is a selfish love. A love that thinks of no other but its beloved. If that's true love, I never want it.

That love rings false and hollow to me. It's an inward focused love. Love takes into consideration more than just the two people involved. Love does means sacrificing for the other person, yes, but not sacrificing anything and everything. And this brings me back to the Doctor, self-sacrifice personified. The Doctor has had many companions to accompany him in his journeys through space and time, but only one since its sixteen year hiatus made her presence felt even in her absence - Rose Tyler.

Before the Doctor and Rose are separated, she comments that she can't leave him because otherwise who will be there to hold his hand, that he's always out there alone, but not any more. Because now he has her. But he loses her. Throughout series three, we watch the Doctor trying to cope with that loss. But in trying to find a way back to the Doctor, Rose discovers a threat against reality itself. Plucky girl that she is, she finds her way back to him. And they do it. They save reality again, but at a cost, as the Doctor reminds us. That cost is a half human, half Time Lord version of the Doctor born of war and violence and blood. Though he has been mourning the loss of Rose, he returns her to Bad Wolf Bay in the parallel universe in which she's been trapped, because of that cost.

He knows that without her influence the half human version of himself might be consumed by his rage, as he nearly was when they first met. And no one wants a rampaging Time Lord on their hands, even if he's only got one heart. One of the only times we really hear the Doctor articulate his feelings for Rose is when he tells her that "he needs you and that is very me." So he gives up Rose. Not only for the sake of the universe does he cut himself off from Rose forever, but for hers. This half human Doctor can age and die and live his life with Rose like a normal man. The Doctor gives to Rose the life he wishes he could spend with her. He denies himself. He denies his heart's desire, so that she can have the life he can never give her.

He sacrifices his own happiness for her. When she asks him about the last thing he said to her on this same beach when the wall between the worlds sealed, he cannot tell her that he loves her. Because he knows that if he says it, she will go back with him and lose this, her one chance at happiness. So silent and heartbroken, he leaves. That is love. He gives up what he wants for the sake of the woman he loves. He takes into consideration more than his or her own desires. He considers what is best for her, her family, and the universe. But the love of our culture says that if I can't live without you, I won't live. Think Edward going to the Volturri when he thinks Bella is dead. This isn't romantic; this is a cowardly love. It gives up. Going on living is hard and painful and it aches. And that's what the Doctor does. He keeps living with the pain of that loss. He keeps fighting though he's lost the person he was fighting for. That is why even now when thinking about the Doctor and Rose, my throat gets thick and my vision blurs. Because they had a true love. That, and I'm fairly convinced David Tennant could make me cry just talking about pudding.

This magnificent video captures the essence of what I'm talking about.

Catching the sun

2010-01-04T18:48:00.020-05:00

Never is a tricky word. It seems so unassuming. But over the last ten years, I have learned to fear the power of that word. We all have goals for our lives, the things we want to accomplish. This time ten years ago, I was a senior in high school getting ready to graduate. This time six years ago, I was about to start my final semester of college. This time five years ago, I had finished my first semester teaching high school. This time three years ago, I was halfway through my first year of teaching philosophy. This time last year, I had finished a short story that had no deadline. This year, this year I traveled to Greece and finished drafting a novel. Some of these accomplishments, however, were never goals.

Because ten years ago, I decided to major in philosophy and creative writing, since my true passion was storytelling. I wanted to write stories. Despite the pressure put on writing majors to add a secondary-ed component, I flatly refused. I would never teach high school. Though not entirely unrelated, I also really wanted to visit Europe. Though how these majors would make that happen, I couldn't tell you. Eight years ago, I became a Teaching Assistant for Geneva College's humanities courses, which began my obsession with caryatids, thus increasing my desire to travel to Europe. I also discovered that I wasn't half-bad at teaching and shockingly I enjoyed it. So, I resigned myself to teaching college, but I still swore I would never teach high school or philosophy. I refused to believe I could ever live up to the standard set by Dr. Byron Bitar, my philosophy professor. Simply by saying "tinker toys" he could make the most obtuse philosophical concepts understandable. While I wrote a lot for my classes, I only poked at my own stories. If it didn't have a deadline, it simply didn't get done. Six years ago, I moved to Virginia to teach freshman English to help me get into grad school and despite my baptism-by-fire in classroom management, I loved it and found that I loved teenagers. Although, I still swore I would never teach philosophy. It was during that year I had an idea for a fantasy series based in the concepts of light and color and started drafting while pining away for those great works of art and architecture in Europe. Four years ago, I moved to Ohio to teach humanities and philosophy, which included art history and those lovely caryatids. But my goal was still grad school, so I could teach college. I was still tinkering with the fantasy series, but hadn't finished anything and was fairly convinced I never would. So my goal of telling stories was still unmet, while my anti-goal of teaching high school was quickly becoming my much beloved vocation. But at this point, I had sworn off swearing and was superstitiously avoiding that "never" word like the plague - almost. One year ago, I had already accepted that I love teaching high school and in that same year I finished a short story. It was only 7,000-some words. But it was mine and it was done. I loved it, like I loved caryatids and teaching. Then last summer after scrambling to get together the money and a passport, I went with some of those philosophy students of mine to Greece and I finally saw the Porch of the Maidens. Only to find out that four of the six original caryatids were in England. Guess I'll have to go there too. Tragic, I know, but it's my burden to bear.

But last month I finished the first draft of my first novel. This novel is the first book in the fantasy series that was born in my imagination six years ago in the basement of a townhouse in Richmond, Virginia. It started with a conversation with one of my sisters-by-choice, Michelle. We met nearly ten years ago during my freshmen year at Geneva. Eventually, I forgave her for being a math major. Eventually, she forgave me for being an artsy hu-buddy.* But for a long time, it was only really an idea. You have to understand something about me, I love thinking about stuff. I'm a dreamer, not a doer. I'm the introspective sort who will sit and write a blog about the past ten years of my life instead of braving the freeze-my-toes-off cold to get food even though I've only eaten a bowl of Mini-Wheats today. I chew on ideas like a cow chews cud. I like to think - a lot.

While this is a virtue in many ways, it's also a stumbling block in others. I've thought a lot about this series, these characters, this world, its magic. I'd written a lot of scenes. Which I would inevitably scratch because I used to be the edit-as-I-go type. While this is great for academic pieces, essays, and blogs, it doesn't work for fiction. At least, it doesn't for me. I could never maintain forward motion. *cue Reliant K; sings off-key; ends your suffering and goes back to something she's good at* But with the triumph of completing "The River," my short story written in December Ought-seven, I put my money where my wandering thoughts are and started chipping away at the manuscript last summer. When school started the manuscript got shelved until late October, when I decided to start NaNo for the first time.**

In November and December, I drafted over 80,000 words in my manuscript. On Christmas Eve Ought-nine, I finished the first draft of my first novel. You have to understand that this in an accomplishment I was unsure I would ever actually achieve. The end was always looming far on the horizon like when you're driving on I-70 heading out west. No matter how far you drive, you'll never actually catch the setting sun. But I did it. I caught the sun. I really can't describe what it feels like to look at that monstrous manuscript of 121, 200 words and know that I wrote that. That it's mine. I have no idea what the future of this novel and series holds. All I know is that I did it. I actually finished. Since November 1, 2009, I have drafted every day for sixty-four days straight.

Looking back on the weird and unexpected paths life has taken me over the past decade from adolescence to adulthood, from student to teacher, from dreamer to doer, the one thing that really sticks with me is that it all comes down to choice. I chose to go to Geneva College. I chose to major in philosophy and writing. I chose to teach English in an inner-city school. I chose to move to Cincinnati to teach philosophy. I chose to write a short story. I chose to drive to Detroit to get my passport so I could go to Greece. I chose to participate in NaNoWriMo 09. I chose to keep writing. I have never regretted any of those choices. As I start these first tentative steps into the fresh snow of twenty-ten, I choose to finish what I've started. I always wondered where I would be ten years after I graduated from high school. I never could have imagined where life has taken me, to sleep-deprived drives back from Niagara Falls, to passing out on Dr. Smith in Fern Cliffe, to fourteen-year-old moms acting out Romeo and Juliet, to stealing pens from my juniors and murdering Larena repeatedly in increasingly inventive ways, to moving nine times in as many years, to running around JFK praying Valerie would land in time, to finishing drafting a novel. The last ten have been a wild ride and the next chapter is just beginning. All I have to say about my future is that I'll never move to Ireland.

Cheers!

* Definition: hu-buddy (n.): the title given to a humanities major by a science or technology major.

** NaNoWriMo 09 blog post

NaNo and Modals

2009-11-08T15:21:00.007-05:00

Well, it's been quite some time since I've actually had something to say here. Okay, that might not be precisely accurate. I always have something to say. Whether it makes it out of the hamster wheel of my head onto paper is another matter entirely. I guess the world wide interwebs doesn't really constitute putting anything on paper, but what can I say, I'm an old fashioned kind of technophile. Back to the point that I promise I do have. I decided about a week and a half ago to man up and participate in NaNoWriMo this year. For those of you unfamiliar with this wacky acronym, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This literary marathon began a decade ago in San Franciso in 1999. I first heard of it a couple years back, but always had an excuse for why I couldn't participate. And in my rationalizing little brain, it was always couldn't, not wouldn't. It's amazing how the simple choice of a modal can convey a completely different state of mind. In case you were wondering (and I know you were, you curious dickens), today I like the English language. It's been playing nicely with me over the past week. Which naturally makes me suspicious of what linguistic high-jinks and tortures lurk in my near future.

But I digress. Shocking, I know. This summer I had a revelatory breakthrough with the fantasy series I've been developing for the past six years, called The Children of Men. I had great momentum this summer and was cranking out the drafting in a steady pace. All was glorious in writing land! Then. Then school started and as the responsibilities of my chosen profession began to demand more and more of time, The Children of Men were left waiting around a campfire. I tried to find time for drafting, but it was a pathetic attempt that involved a lot starting off into the distance, sipping coffee, and occasionally poking at some keys until I stopped trying to find the time again. Again, another school year had come upon me and my writing had gotten kicked to the curb.

But this year, instead of just plowing ahead with my teaching, I continued to feel the tugging from my characters who were really getting angsty that they still sat by that same fire five months later. Then I remembered that NaNo lurked around the corner and I decided that despite dozens of good and legitimate reasons why I couldn't do NaNo again, this year I would. I would not try to find the time this year. This year I would make the time. And you know what? It's working.

While I'm not to the finish line yet, as of Day 7 of drafting I've produced over 12,000 words of new drafting. I have never been so productive while writing in my entire life. I know that the old cliche says that if you want to be a writer write. But it's true. Make the time in your life if you want to write. Fight for the twenty minutes to draft another 425 words. You'll be amazed when you start analyzing how you spend your time, how much time you waste during the day that you could be writing. And if writing is as important to you as you claim, then why wouldn't you log off facebook to sit down just you, a mug of tea, and a blank page?

No matter how bad the writing is, just write. Don't let yourself agonize over word choice or just the right image. Just get the words on paper. You can clean it up and flesh it out later. But if you don't first get the words down, then you've got nothing. If you're doing NaNo and you're behind, don't despair and give up. Just pick up a pen or dust off your word processor and start writing. It doesn't have to be beautiful, or profound, or even spelled correctly. Just write something. You can do it if it's what you really want, if it's really a priority. So, let go of whatever is in your way and get to the writing.

Review: "His Majesty's Dragon"

2009-06-24T15:32:00.005-04:00

After the craziness of the spring has ebbed, I finally had time to return to Naomi Novik's "His Majesty's Dragon." Needless to say this series has everything a reader could want, not only an intriguing, well developed, and utterly different concept for dragonriders, but also set during one of my favorite time periods, the Napoleonic Wars. While in middle school, my dad introduced me to the iconic Dragonriders of Pern series and to the historical fiction series about Richard Sharpe, a rifleman during the Napoleonic Wars. It is as though Novik looked into my formative literary years and blended these two genres into one richly nuanced and cleverly layered story. Though, to be fair, since the main character Laurence is a captain in Nelson's Navy, it might be a touch more accurate to equate this series with the Horatio Hornblower series, than Cornwell's Sharpe's. Novik considers the ramifications of dragonriders on the early eighteen hundreds not only only on the military conflicts, but also on the social and political structure of Britain, as well as the rest of the world. She lends an authenticity to its historicity by making reference to actual military battles, but adds how they might have gone differently with the inclusion of the Aerial Corps (dragonriders) as military resources. She references people like William Wilberforce who during this time relentlessly fought for the abolition of the slave trade. Those Jane Austen fans out there will also recognize the aspects of British society central to her novels within this series and how it clashes with the society of the Aerial Corps. To say nothing of the dragons themselves would be a great disservice to any potential reader, but, alas, all I will say is that you will not be disappointed. Temeraire might be my favorite fictional dragon in all of literature. Go, pick up a copy, and exlpore this world and meet him for yourself.

Title!

2009-06-18T23:12:00.004-04:00

After having the contents of my brain stirred around and spooned out as a fine puree, I have reached a name for the series which contains "The River" and "Going to Ground." This urban fantasy series is called "The Nocturnarum Vows." I can finally move on and draft more. (I promise more actual story is coming, Deih.)

Out of Reach

2009-06-17T02:53:00.004-04:00

Well, no new segments to post, because my brain has obsessed over the title for this series all day and I do mean all day. I know the sense of what I wish to communicate, but nothing fits correctly or just sounds horridly trite. Instead of slowly unraveling my threadbare sanity, I've decided to call it a night and try again tomorrow. Hopefully, Cerise will visit me in a dream and smack me upside the head with the insultingly obvious solution that dances just outside my vision taunting me. Right now, I'm so frustrated with my inability to communicate my thoughts that I just want start a bonfire to happily toss in all my notes and my laptop and anything I have that might contain the smallest trace of my writing. Sometimes, I feel like I'm trapped in an abusive relationship with language. Tonight semantics threw me down the stairs. Bruised and battered, I'm going to sleep. Sweet dreams, readers.