Size Matters & four other needs

This week the prompt at Wicked Writers was: Five things that we would like to see in the genre that we write in. Since my debut novel is a Christian/Horror crossover, and aimed more for a PG-13 type of rating, I am commenting today somewhere between thrillers and horror. And no, this is not C.J.’s post, I was simply looking for something sensational to entitle the thing with. If you were looking for something else, you might try Everything Erotic on Kindle. Shameless plug for C.J., I know (smiles).

Before I begin, please allow me to fill you in on what it is that I like.

[caption id="attachment_3337" align="alignright" width="196" caption="The novel"][/caption]One of the first novels that I ever read was The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson. I am not here today to debate with you whether or not George and Kathleen Lutz concocted their story. I will leave that to others. There are plenty of sites on the web devoted to which side of the fence one might reside on with regards to this subject. If nothing else, it is simply one of the scariest “haunted house” stories that you will ever read. And you must read it at night, alone, while the rest of your household is quiet, if you want the best effect.

I think I like haunted house stories or ghost stories, if you will, due to the fact that it is something that every one of us can relate to. We all live in buildings that make noises in the middle of the night, and at some point or another every one of us have been alone in one…in the dark.

Serial killer stories are another of my favorites. Of course I refer to the fictionalized versions! I don't like it at all when it is real and being reported in the newspaper or on the evening news. What I love is the intrigue, the criminology work that must be done and the chase as the authorities close in. On the other hand, part of the reason that we can believe these stories, unfortunately, is due to the fact that these killers really are in the news every year.

Now that I have explained a bit of the “what”, I would like to explain the “why”. What I enjoy is the sitting on the edge of my seat kind of stories. I am not interested in crazed lunatics with chain saws, running around tirelessly, hacking up everyone that they can find into indescribable pieces. Nor am I interested in Saw XXIII or whatever number the filmmakers are on. I want to be thrilled by dark material, but not shocked, revolted or disgusted by torture porn and the like.

Having said all of that, the following are five things that I would like to see different. I will weave between print and film to help better illustrate some of the points.

1)  Something new. Since much has been done before, it simply makes it that much more challenging to come up with new ideas or fresh twists. M. Night Shyamalan hit the first pitch that he ever saw for a grand slam with The Sixth Sense. Unfortunately, he has only managed a few weak singles and a double since then, but I like him, so I wish him well. The thing was that his idea was totally fresh, and it invigorated the genre. Of course, we then saw a lot of folks simply coming up with a great reveal for the end of their film or book, with little but a weak story to get us there, as if we cared by then.

[caption id="attachment_3338" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="A scene from The Sixth Sense"][/caption]

2)  Stop showing us. When I was in high school I once heard that a poll conducted with prisoners revealed that they would much rather have a Sears catalogue then a playboy magazine. Less was actually more. I thought the notion ridiculous at the time, but I was a teenager who could only think about women, so what did I know? One of the reasons why the film, Jaws was so successful was apparently by accident. The mechanical shark, Bruce, named after Mr. Spielberg’s then-lawyer, did not work often enough, so they did the best that they could under the circumstances and it ended up making everyone involved look brilliant. The reason why the original Friday the 13^th part 1 & 2 were good was due to the fact that the audience was rarely given any glimpse of either Mrs. Voorhees or eventually her son, Jason. In these cases, what we received mostly was the expectation of the killer. My good friend, Carole Gill, who recently blogged here made a very good point of this on her own blog. You should look her up if you have yet to do so. We're hoping to enlist her talents here soon on a more permanent basis. She's the real horror writer.

[caption id="attachment_3339" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Where's that bigger boat?"][/caption]

3)  About Length. I know, I know; stop it already. The point here would be that the most important aspect is for the author to tell their story. I would hope that market concerns would not be the driving factor. Stephen King’s The Stand was far too long for a newer author, so the publisher had him trim it down. It was very good; however, when his name became so much bigger than any of theirs’, he was allowed to put back all of the pages that he had trimmed. What is key is that each chapter, every paragraph, and ultimately even the shortest of sentences be necessary. If it takes longer to give the reader the proper back-story, then make it longer. If it’s too short, don’t give us filler simply to stretch it out. The story is what it is. Thankfully, Mr. Jackson gave us additional footage for the dvds because there were times in all three Lord of the Rings films, and especially in Return of the King where I felt rushed through the original theatrical release. I recall Clive Barker’s Nightbreed making me feel that way, too.

4)   Unnecessary murder. Why does each of Dirty Harry’s partners end up dead or physically incapacitated? I would have thought that once would have been enough. I have killed off a few characters in my writing, but am conscious of the fact that others feel the same about this subject. Let’s not erase someone simply because they are in the way, or in order to give the lead character the motivation necessary to kill every deviant that comes there way, ala Charles Bronson in Deathwish. What about this 70's idea that every sex-starved teenager should die, leaving only one left to survive. Did those screenwriters think  that it made it a fairer fight? My 16 year old and I were watching Predator recently. Thankfully, the woman survived and was helicoptered out of the forest with Arnold the Governator, otherwise it’s not a great story any more as it is a star turn for the leading man. How about killing off the lead somewhere near the end of the movie? How’s that for original? I know it’s been done before, but so infrequently that only John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima comes to mind or Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan.

[caption id="attachment_3340" align="alignright" width="106" caption=""I 'ain't got time to bleed!""][/caption]

5)  Too many twists. I love twists and turns and surprise endings that you never saw coming, just as much as the next person; however, not all at the same time. In The Dark Knight, although a very good film, I doubted that Batman would actually ever catch Heath Ledger's masterful Joker, when he had made him look so pathetic for the entire film. I thought Dan Brown's Angels and Demons was a terrific book until three-quarters of the way through when it took one twist too many for my believability.

Perhaps I am being too picky, making much ado about nothing. Perhaps not.

What do you say? I'd love to hear what you think. Did I miss anything? Did I go too far?

What about the rest of the panel for this week? We would love to hear your comments. If nothing else, have a great long weekend. Just not here...

[caption id="attachment_3341" align="aligncenter" width="220" caption="112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, Long Island "][/caption]

The Top Shelf

Were you expecting Long Island Iced Teas? Sadly, so was I.

     Our prompt this week was to answer the following question: “Who are the great authors writing today?” Thankfully, there was a second prompt. 

     What I mean by this is the fact that I don’t necessarily feel as if I read enough to be able to answer that kind of question. When I was a teenager I used to read all of the time. Even in the early years of my marriage, when the plant used to shut down for a week here or there during the slow season, I was able to lie around the apartment, reading to my heart’s content. Eventually, as life became more hectic, I was only able to read my favorite authors' new releases. Now, I am attempting to read more, but it is a discipline that I am having to master. If I had the time I would read so much more.

     Our secondary prompt was: “Who are your favorite authors writing today?”

     Now we’re talking…

[caption id="attachment_3245" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A view of one shelf"][/caption]

As I mentioned there was a time when I was only able to follow my favorites. Over the years that list has included: Stephen King, the late Michael Crichton, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Slade, Clive Barker and Pat Conroy. 

     Citing Stephen King as a favorite author is like rock bands citing The Beatles or Led Zeppelin as influences, but in my case it is still a fact. I must say that I do not read everything that Uncle Stevie puts out. As prolific and as varied as he is, I tend to examine each novel and see whether it strikes my fancy before putting it into my cart or e-cart. I love when people tell me that they refuse to read his work because it is too creepy, frightening, etc. Of course, that’s when I ask them whether they liked The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me or The Green Mile. When they answer that they loved those films, that is when I rock their world.

     My favorites in the cannon that is Mr. King would be The Stand, Pet Sematary, Misery, The Dark Half, Gerald’s Game, Bag of Bones and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. The latter is a particular favorite of mine, and not because of the baseball references. I like it because of the young girl's strength and determination as she deals with finding herself lost in the deep woods.

     Michael Crichton was brilliant at filling his fiction with so much science that by the time he was done, none would question whether it might be possible for dinosaurs to roam the earth. Some might suggest that it was too much, but I think it gave his work so much believability. I thought Congo and Sphere were good books, but the terrible films really put a bad taste in my mouth. Uncle Stevie's fans can say the same about some of his as well. I was fairly dedicated between those two and Airframe, although it and Disclosure were very similar. I did not read again until Prey and State of Fear.

[caption id="attachment_3246" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Some Slade for your day."][/caption]

Patricia Cornwell hooked me with her Doctor Kay Scarpetta Series. My wife and I have followed religiously since Postmortem. We have followed her, FBI Profiler Benton Wesley, Detective Pete Marino and Scarpetta's niece Lucy, through the highs and lows of their lives as well as the peaks and valleys that is Ms. Cornwell’s creativity. There have been some great ones, a couple of lackluster ones, but for the most part she keeps us coming back for more.

     Which brings us to Michael Slade. I did a guest post on this subject just recently (http://wickedwriters.com/2010/06/16/special-x-thrillers/), so I will not bore the Wicked Readers with a rehash; however, I will say that he should be given a chance, especially if one likes their horror on the cutting edge. Why he remains largely undiscovered after all of these years, I still cannot figure out. Those of us who do know Slade enthusiastically consider ourselves “Sladists”.

     “Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red.” So began my interest in Clive Barker. You may recall Pinhead from the Hellraiser series of films. That’s him. I started with his collection of shorts, Books of Blood. Eventually I followed him along from The Damnation Game, The Great and Secret Show, Imajica, Everville and The Thief of Always. I highly recommend that last one. It is a fable and suitable for children. I read that one to my two boys while they were growing up.

     Lastly, I will leave you with Pat Conroy. Writers of every flavor very often like to show off their mastery of the English Language. As a reader, we can easily find ourselves tripping up and losing interest in the characters, plot and ultimately in the book itself. Pat Conroy is not one of those. His prose simply must be some of the most beautiful ever published; reading his sentences just has to be like fine dining at it's finest. I have an image in my head of a non-wine drinker, tasting the bouquet that are his sentences and falling in love immediately with the vintage.

     This past year I did a book review over on my blog on Mr. Conroy’s latest release, South of Broad (http://jamesgarciajr.blogspot.com/2010/05/sunday-morning-musings_15.html). In it, I answered the following: “How did a horror enthusiast end up reading Pat Conroy?” I explained that a sister-in-law highly recommended what I would call his masterpiece, Beach Music. I had proclaimed that I never read anything unless someone died in the first chapter. As it turned out, the first page recounted the story of how Shyla McCall leapt from the Silas Pearlman Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina, setting off an amazing and unforgettable chain of events. Encompassing many years, multiple characters and almost too many subplots to count, it is simply the finest piece of fiction that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I have read it many times and sometimes pick it up not necessarily intending to finish. I’ll grab it off of my bookshelf as if the intent is to give myself a delightful snack. It’s that good. How he tied every loose end into perfect and beautiful little bows, I’ll never know, and could only hope to be able to emulate.

     It is so good that I refused to read any of his other works, fearing that they would be such a colossal let down. In the end, I finally buckled and have read a few more, though I have yet to work my way through his bibliography. I have also read The Prince of Tides, and Conroy’s memoir, My Losing Season. I have not been disappointed as of yet. He is a fantastic writer.

     We read different things and we read them for different reasons. This was not an exhaustive list, but a list. What might be on your list? What might you recommend? I'd love to hear what others think. Hopefully, you can leave me with something new to discover as I hope I have left you.

[caption id="attachment_3247" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Thorn Birds? How the hell did that get there?"][/caption]

I would like to thank Julie Musil for commenting two weeks ago during our contest then about being interested in reading my e-book, Dance on Fire. You, my dear, are getting that chance. Thank you for participating. I hope you enjoy it.

The Future of Books and a Contest

When I realized that our subject this week was the future of books and e-books in the next five years, it gave me pause. It wasn't as if I was completely clueless with regard to the task at hand; I have had the good fortune of having my debut novel published as an e-book. The issue for me was not the meat and potatoes of the dish, but rather the art of preparing the meal. I wrote the novel, but my wonderful publisher Gaynor was the one who handled all of the details.

The e-book: By this time, most people are aware of just exactly what this is. "What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet" (My thanks to Mr. Shakespeare). It's just a book. It won't bite you! Although, a good one will leave a mark. One can download an e-book to their computer, iPhone, e-reader, etc. Most of us not only have personal computers, Laptops and gadgets galore, but have multiples of each! 

The e-future: Imagine if you will that you have just finished reading a very good book. Are you ready to put it down? What if there was more content? Books often carry advertisements for past works by the author or for a forthcoming title, other times the book might include a sample of what's coming. What if the e-book was something called an enhanced e-book? Not only could it carry the usual, but so much more. Picture if you will the ordinary Facebook wall. Most of us have a Facebook account or at least have seen one. Can you see the video links and photos there? Instead of snippets of what the individual has been up to or what their friends have posted on their wall, I want you to envision the pages of a book. Are you reading The Lord of the Rings? Off to the right there is a series of photos. Are you reading Stephen King? Between paragraph one and two is a photo of Bangor, Maine. Better yet, how about a short video walk-thru of the town. Pat Conroy? Now you do not have to imagine what his south looks like, you could simply click the link. 

I know what you are going to say. It's the same argument against music video. Now that I have seen the stupid video, it has robbed my imaginative mind of being able to simply take the lyrics and create my own visual in my head. Okay, forget the photos and links. What if the start of the enhanced e-book contained a brief author's note, where a film began upon your choosing and the author herself thanked you, her faithful reader, for purchasing her work and gave the simplest of introductions. What if the end of the e-book contained an interview session where the author explained the muse for his story or offered other tidbits. Wouldn't that be something? Who knows exactly what the future might bring, but folks, it is coming. 

The Real topic: That was what I was hoping to write about this week. Unfortunately, thanks to all of the comments that I have seen recently from readers claiming that you can take their books from them when you pry them from their cold, dead fingers - we have to talk about something else. Has everybody seen Moonstruck? I hadn't until recently. I love romantic comedies, but must have had some sort of bias against this one for some crazy reason. In any event, I finally saw it, and liked it. So, with regard to the bias that many continue to cling to in terms of being unwilling to embrace e-books: I say, (borrowing Cher's famous line) "Snap out of it!" 

[caption id="attachment_3123" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Cher and Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck"][/caption]

Forgive me, I'm not writing of those who have said that they cannot yet afford a Kindle or one of the other e-readers out there. It was easy for me. My wife has money! Just kidding. I'm speaking to those who get all nostalgic for paper, curling up in bed with their favorite book or simply their love of  bookstores. This is not the first time that this kind of thing has happened. We have gone through this before.  

This past spring the Blockbuster in my small town of 12,000 or so souls closed. It's a Real Estate now. When I was a teenager we went through periods where we had between two and five video rental stores. Then everyone decided that they should abandon the mom and pop places for the big sexy chain, thus forcing the mom and pops out of business. Now that we can order movies through cable, our computers, our Wii's, etc., we don't necessarily need Blockbuster anymore. And so it goes...  

Quick, somebody hand me a cassette. A what? Yeah, that's what I thought. I might still have a few cassettes lying around the house, probably stored in the garage. If so, they won't work now. Not that I have anything to play them on anymore! Not only that, I've long-since replaced those with CD. While we're on the subject, all of those CD's have been digitally transferred to my pc. They are available for me to listen to when I'm on my pc (like now - I'm listening to Asia), or my iPod (I'm pushing 7000 songs there) or my iPhone. My dad still has an old reel to reel. I haven't seen it in a while, but I'm certain that it is there since my parents don't believe in tossing anything out! Soon, we might not even need to store music. Our devices will simply access "the cloud" where our account is recognized and our purchased/stored music content simply streamed to our device. I don't know a lot about it just yet, but guess what: it's coming, too!  

Back to my wife. When the Kindle showed up magically at our doorstep a few months ago, she gave me that frown. "What did you do?" the frown asked. Yet, guess who uses it more than I do? And so will you. Trust me.  

The Contest: If you are still speaking to me after all of that, we have a contest for you. Wicked Writers is giving away a copy of my e-book, Dance on Fire. Ha! What else could it have been? The contest will run for two weeks. To be eligible, please leave a comment, along with your e-mail address in case you are declared the winner. We also would love it if you signed up for the e-mail delivery option, but will not make it mandatory. I would like to leave you with a note about my book. It is a horror/Christian crossover about vampires. It is a PG-13 story, so don't let the horror label scare you away. It is Christian, but contains some blood and guts and does not get too preachy. There's a bit of romance, too! See, it has everything. How could one possibly lose? Okay, don't answer that.

Mentally Preparing Before Sitting

The topic this week at Wicked Writer’s is writer’s block. I stared at this sentence for a week! I’m just kidding. For those of you wicked readers who have surfed over this week, looking for someone to help with a problem that you either have had or are having presently, only to find a group of (mostly) unsympathetic unbelievers, waiting to feast upon you like starving vultures – I want to apologize. I want to apologize for joining in that feast!

You see, I am another who has yet to experience any real trouble with the muse or creative process of writing. Even this particular post was something that I volunteered to write only two days before. Forgive me for sounding cocky and please allow me to explain.

I write fiction. That has been the bulk of what I have been thinking about since puberty, other than a little time spent thinking about girls, that is. If you know anything about me as a writer at all, then you know why I have done little writing over the last twenty years or so. It was because I was busy with career and family, never really believing that this time would ever come. Thankfully, it did come; however, I will not bore you with those details here. What I will tell you is how the inspiration does come. I will explain how it is that I have had two short stories published, my debut novel published as an e-book (poised to become a paperback this fall), and finally the novel’s sequel written in a mere eight months.

For me, the key is to wait for the inspiration to come…but not while sitting in front of the keyboard. I have mentioned what I do in previous blogs, so some may have read this from me before. What I do is build up to the writing. Whether I am in the car, in the shower, or in bed during those first moments before I fall asleep, I remind myself where I left off the following day and allow my mind to decide what should occur next. A gestation occurs, if you will.

I do outlines, but they are extremely rough and leave a lot of opportunity for new ideas to take shape later. I remind myself where I left off the time before, so I usually know where I am heading. The next part of the story does not always come easily. Sometimes I dismiss ideas or decide what I do like out of a given brainstorming session. If I like what I am seeing in my head, then it usually powers the next part rather excitedly. If I do not like what I have, I give myself more time.

There are many moments in life for the mind to go off on tangents. Have you noticed? I’m in my early forties and have been married for over twenty years now, if I see an attractive woman, it is very easy for my mind to go places that I do not need it to go.  Therefore, this is a very helpful process on a great many levels! I am sure my wife would second that notion. All humor aside, for me, it really works.

Early on, I received many questions during interviews, where I was asked just what it was that I was attempting to convey when I created this character or that plotline. Like a George Orwell, was I hoping to issue an edict on this social disorder or warn of the corruption of some establishment? People were looking for some message or another, and I would have loved nothing better than to grin at how clever or brilliant I was compared with other writers. The truth of the matter, however, is I am just a guy who has been blessed not only to see movies playing in my head, but to also be able to write them down in a fairly descent manner, hopefully before they dissipate like pardoned ghosts.

For those of you who struggle, I wish you well. Keep writing, and keep thinking about writing. Perhaps this will help.

Am I to Succu(m)b(us)...?

I am joined, today, by my friend Paula Phillips.

Paula hails from New Zealand, is a Librarian by profession, and reads and reviews books from many different genres, from authors all around the world.

Paula reviews books for a number of web sites, including http://www.chicklitclub.com/ and her own www.paulazone.blogdrive.com.

However, today, for Wicked Writers, Paula reviews the “Supernaturally Succubus Series” from author Richelle Mead


A big thank you to Paula…

[caption id="attachment_2743" align="alignright" width="110" caption="Paula Phillips"] [/caption]

With the rise of supernatural beings in fiction, it is no wonder our readingpalettes have been obscured with V ampires, werewolves, fallen angels and demons and, if you are like me, then when you read one book or a particular author, you yearn for more; it’s like a calling for you – “I must read more”.  To me, when I hear the word series, two words come to mind “formula” and “fiction”.

For all those who don’t speak librarian lingo, “formula fiction” is when a book follows the same format in plot, and it’s what we seek as reliable, as we all know what we are in for.

Being asked to write about a favourite series of books, one of my favourites - and one that I am waiting patiently for book five to arrive - is the “Georgina Kincaid Series”, written by Richelle Mead. Richelle is more popularly known as the authoress of the “Vampire Academy Series” aimed at teens.

The Georgina Kincaid series pushes the supernatural to the next level. It moves the reader into the world of the semi-erotic, paranormal romance.

The series is based around the main character Georgina Kincaid, who is now living her life as a Succubus which, for those who aren’t sure, is a female sex-demon; and she comes complete with a mixed bunch of friends - the super-naturals - and some humans!

As in most of Richelle Mead's stories, the main character is a strong female with an attitude to boot, and whom always has a knack for finding herself in:

A) TROUBLE, or

B) a sticky situation that results in a problem TROUBLE,

And, for Succubus Georgina Kincaid – as you readers are about to get a sneaky peek into - TROUBLE is a common recurrence and that, unfortunately, Georgina never learns to avoid.



[caption id="attachment_2742" align="alignleft" width="99" caption="Blue? ...Really?"][/caption]

Book One: Succubus Blues - Richelle Mead – 2007.



To start off this review, I thought I’d clarify what a succubus is: A succubus is an alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. And, for fun, as the book says, the definition of Georgina Kincaid is "a pathetic succubus with great shoes and no social life".

However, in Succubus Blues, Georgina's social life is going to get more hectic than she realises. Georgina finds having a social life pretty hard going when you’re a succubus; but it is the way she likes it.

Georgina has her eyes firmly set on her friends: Hugh - An Imp; Jerome - a demon that has a thing for John Cusack (though no matter how much you ask him, he will deny it); Peter and Cody - the vampires; and Carter - an annoying angel.

If this wasn't difficult, she has all her mortal friends at the bookshop she works at. In this book, Georgina's favourite author is coming to the bookshop. As usual, Georgina and Seth hit it off, which would have been great if Georgina didn’t have an admirer – Roman, who happens to be a Nephilim and a killer.

As we read, Georgina hits the stacks and becomes a succubus, Nancy Drew. It wouldn’t be a book about Nephilim’s, without appreciating the verse in the Bible’s "Genesis Chapter 6", which talks about Angels and Fallen Angels.



[caption id="attachment_2741" align="alignright" width="100" caption="Yes...?"][/caption]

Book Two: Succubus on Top, AKA Succubus Nights (Depending which copy you pick up) - Georgina Kincaid Series - Richelle Mead - 2008

Love Sucks and Hurts, especially for Georgina, a succubus who has just got herself a new boyfriend in author Seth Mortensen. Georgina has to be so careful not to kiss him or get sexually involved, otherwise she will drain his life-force. Admittedly, the shape shifting and immortality perks are terrific, and yes, Georgina did choose to join the ranks of hell centuries ago. But it seems completely unfair that a she-demon whose purpose is seduction can't get hot and heavy with the one mortal who knows and accepts her for who she is.

It's not just her personal life that's in chaos.

Doug, Georgina's co-worker at a local bookstore, has been exhibiting bizarre behaviour, and Georgina suspects that something far more demonic than double espressos is at work.

She could use help finding out, but Bastien, an irresistibly charming incubus, and her best immortal friend, is preoccupied in the suburbs with corrupting an ultra-conservative talk radio star - and giving Georgina some highly distracting come-hither vibes.

If this wasn't trouble enough with the behaviour Doug is experiencing, others will soon start to have terrible consequences if Georgina, once again, can't save the day. For Georgina, who has just received a gold star certificate, this is a job she's getting used to.

Book 3 Succubus Dreams - Richelle Mead - 2008

[caption id="attachment_2740" align="alignright" width="99" caption="Dream on..."][/caption]

For some girls, especially Georgina, they just can't catch their breath, and today is one of those days; or should I say one of those books.

In Book three we are introduced to the not very nice Imp Niphon - he was the one that, way back, centuries and centuries ago, Georginia sold her soul to.

Imp has arrived in Seattle with a new succubus in tow, and a mission - or should I say a job - that Georgina, if she knows what is good for her, can't turn down! Georgina is to mentor and help break-in a new succubus, Tawny Johnson. Tawny, in Georgina's eyes, (and I agree) is a mega-slut, and Skank, with a capital S.

However, as always Georgina finds herself stuck in the middle of trouble, she has a Nyx after her - draining away her energy while she dreams weird dreams of her future, or a past that could have been.

Georgina’s home, due to Carter, the angel, has been invaded by a group of semi-ungrateful angels and, of course, Tawny and Niphon.

If this wasn't bad enough, Georgina has gotten her friend Doug's sister a job, and she and Seth have been getting more than your average cosy.

Can Georgina, with the help of friends, get out of this mess as usual, and find her Christmas/New Year spirit. And does this book signify the end of the Seth/Georgina odd no-sex relationship?



[caption id="" align="alignright" width="99" caption="Hot stuff..."][/caption]

Book 4: Succubus Heat - Richelle Mead - 2009

Georgina has been in a funk - stuck in a never-ending rut, and is really starting on a downer and is annoying all her immortal friends.

Made to go and see a therapist by her “John-Cusack-lookalike” boss Jerome - after separating from Writer boyfriend Seth – Georgina does the one thing Jerome tells her not to do. The one thing a succubus does best... You guessed it! Sleep with the poor guy.

Now Georgina has Jerome in an uproar, so Jerome has come up with a little plan to get Georgina out of his hair. Send her to Vancouver, Canada on a mission. She has to stop the so-called amateur Satanist group, "The Army of Darkness", from making fools of themselves. For anyone else this would be an easy task but, as we all know, trouble follows Georgina everywhere and she is about to find herself in the middle of a big Demon War.

When Jerome goes missing and the immortals lose their abilities, it is up to Georgina to put her human mind to work and, with the help of some friends, find out where Jerome is. Georgina restores peace and their abilities before all the immortals are stuck in a never-ending time warp.

Keep your eyes open as old characters re-appear and new ones appear, and watch out for book Five to be released - Succubus Shadows.

So next time you are browsing your shelves for a good series to pick up and read, and the supernatural paranormal romance is a favourite genre of yours, head over to the M’s and check out the books by Richelle Mead.

Other Series include: Vampire Academy (6 Books) and Dark Swan (2 Books)

Paula

Thank you for joining us at Wicked Writers, Paula...

David :)

The interconnectedness of... nothing?

Where are James, Morgan and Kit when you want them?

Here am I, with this d**n blog post to put together… I ask you, ‘series’?

“Write about your favourite series,” said she who must be obeyed. (Sorry, C.J. – couldn’t resist that one!)

What does any boy-child (stuck in a man’s body) do in times of trouble? Call on his childhood heroes, of course!

[caption id="attachment_2727" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Classic..."][/caption]

Enter Kit – and Greg may just be with me here – Kit Kinnison, Lensman extraordinaire! Or was it Morgan, first? Morgan Kane, gun-slinger! But, hold on, talk about genre-hopping, the name may have been James, James Bond – shaken but not stirred, my dear!

Which of these classic heroes stepped into my bedroom first? Which had me marvelling at their exploits before the others? I remember not.



[caption id="attachment_2728" align="alignleft" width="130" caption="Take a break..."][/caption]

(…Pause, as the author stops to break out the supply of chocolate stashed in the ready-to-hand refrigerator! …That’s better!)

Anyway, lest I be accused of digressing – to change the subject, or otherwise play for time until inspiration about “series” strikes me – I shall continue.

E.E. “Doc” Smith’s Classic Lensman series; Kjell Hallbing (aka Louis Masterson) – author of over 80 Morgan Kane books (although my collection only got to the first 27 or so); and Ian Flemming’s James Bond, provided my principal diet of reading material, from as early as I can remember reading books without pictures, to my entry into the adult world of work. There, sadly, amongst the stresses and strains of working life, my recollection of series reading fades into obscurity.

[caption id="attachment_2729" align="alignright" width="90" caption="Norweigan cowboys?"][/caption]

Ask me what it is about those books that I should remember them and I cannot recall a single story… Concepts? Yes. That each provided me with enjoyment? Yes.

But if I were to critique them as I have come to know the word critique, then I would most probably destroy an illusion. And, besides, I would have to read a whole shed-load of books again! I can, however, remember that the Morgan Kane series, when neatly stacked in order on my bookshelf, displayed a great view of the hand-tooled leather gun belt I’d always wanted to own!

Is it simply that we always remember our first time? (Painful or not!)

There were other series, certainly. As I matured and found the odd moment of time during and between marriages… (That’s another story!)

I’m being subjective here, but let me see… There was the superb Tai Pan and Noble House of James Clavell’s Asian saga, and Eric Van Lustbader’s character, Nicholas Linnear’s various outings.

Now, my problem is that, for a writer, I actually consider myself a poor reader - at least these days.

“If you are going to write, you have to read a lot,” said the invisible age-old writing sage, hovering just behind my left ear.

Where does that leave me?

[caption id="attachment_2731" align="alignright" width="116" caption="More books?"][/caption]

My problem is that I decided, some years ago, to do some academic “stuff” – research! It got me a PhD, in which I studied a great many books – hundreds in fact - but not novels. And never cover-to-cover. Research, almost quite literally, killed my ability to sit and read a novel. Now, I am so creative with ideas that leap of pages at me that I have to sit down and write more!

So when the thought of having to write about my favourite series hit home, I said “HELP”.

And Greg reminded me of the classics – well my classics anyway.

But, being a part-time scholar, I just had to spoil things and ask myself a question. “Just what is a series,” I said.

“A number of things that follow on one after the other or are connected one after the other. The sum of the terms of a sequence,” said the great voice of internet wisdom. (Because it’s quicker to Google than to pick up a big book on words, these days – sad, but true!)

But I would like to leave you with a thought. Perhaps all that is needed to connect the books in a series is precisely what is left out of them.

It is the trail of gaps, the lack of adjectives, and the limitation of descriptions and economy of language in well written prose and dialogue that the good authors manage to leave behind. It is, what I would say, the “absent other” in the text of a well written book that allows us, as readers, to create our own interpretations, realise out our realities and place ourselves at one with the story that imbibes, in us, a desire to read the next book by the same author. We wish to experience the same feeling, again, as we read in a first book, whether or not the author has displayed an overt tendency to serialise through the continuation of an interesting character, place or time.

[caption id="attachment_2730" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="James, where are you?"][/caption]

Perhaps, what I recall from those adventures of James, Morgan and Kit, is the sheer pleasure they gave me in allowing me to find my own way into their world. What, to me, makes them a perfect series is the interconnectedness of absence!

So, as I close this post, and look to where my own writing is taking me… Will my character Finn Jackson reappear in many more books? Or will someone else step into his shoes? Only time will tell…  :)

Long live the book… A view on the publishing industry

Given the subject of our posts this week – our opinions of the publishing industry – I thought it might be a useful idea to revisit an earlier post I had placed on my own blog. (A blog which has now, to a large extent, lain fallow as I have begun to contribute to Wicked Writers!)

Here I have re-edited Part II of what was a two-part posting. I hope you find its content of interest.

Self publishing 101: Risk Management

[caption id="attachment_2658" align="alignright" width="150" caption="The book is dead..."][/caption]

The book is dead? Long live the book?

The launch of any new product into a market, and new novels are no exception, is a question of innovation. Put the hash-tag #innovation into Twitter and follow just how many people discuss this topic, and, importantly, what is being said.

Innovation is the word on the lips of politicians, businesses and consumers looking forward. And the biggest tool in the innovator’s toolbox is the opportunity presented by technology as it continues its rampant charge down the battlefields of commerce. The battlefield that is “Publishing” bears the scars of technology’s stampede! Just look at the launch of the iPad!

As any general will tell you, if you chose to fight on any battlefield you must be mindful of the terrain you face!

I covered Economics 101 for the Self-Publisher in an earlier post. Consider today’s post as Risk Management 101.

A question of risk? Really?

Of course it is. And what do we do about risk, as a budding novelist?

Launching a new product into a market is an investment. It costs. It costs to produce a book. Not just in the time to write it, but in the post-writing production process. If launching a book is to be considered as a business (i.e. authors – as well as Agents and Publishers – need to put bread into their mouths) then what strategies are available to de-risk the enterprise?



[caption id="attachment_2659" align="alignright" width="136" caption="Hi guys... look how famous I am!"][/caption]

Become a celebrity?

Indeed! Short of (accidentally?) launching one’s child, in a balloon, into the airspace over a major international airport, or entering some mindless get-rich-quick game show, genuine opportunities for gaining instant celebrity status are few and far between. Such a strategy is as useful to the budding author as is hope! And hope is no strategy!

In the risk-reward equation of a product launch, what is at stake is the investment in bringing that product to market. If the product is untried, untested – with an unknown pedigree, it is highly rational to consider only a limited investment at first. But here lies the difficulty faced by the budding new author! The investment required to produce such a seemingly small thing as a new paperback book – that can compete on cost and quality in the market of other paperback books – is out of all proportion to its size. That is, of course, unless a sufficiently large enough quantity can be produced, marketed and SOLD!

This is an economic fact of life! It should not be a surprise to any new, budding author – the economics of starting a writing career just do not add up!

…Unless, of course, you decide to enter the battle!!



[caption id="attachment_2660" align="alignleft" width="110" caption="Let the battle commence..."][/caption]

Back to the battlefield, brave hearts!

The stampede of technology has done one critical thing – it has lowered the cost of production of the book! And I am not talking, here, about the capability of digital, print-on-demand, or the use of software to layout and design books at home. No, the biggest single factor in levelling the battlefield – in reducing the costs of production – which is the real boon to the individual budding new novelist, is that technology has redefined what a book is!

The book is dead! Long live the (E)book!


A budding new author who does not consider that an e-book is THE WAY to reduce the level of investment in book production, is missing the point.

At the launch my own first novel, RIVER OF JUDGEMENT, initially on Smashwords, I was thankful that evolution is our constant companion. As our global society becomes increasingly risk averse, as investment in capital-intensive product launches (as a book most certainly is) becomes reserved for “sure-fire” bets (celebrity) and sexy, high-tech panaceas (which a book most certainly is not), evolution provides its own solution. We adapt and survive.

[caption id="attachment_2661" align="alignright" width="92" caption="Vanity, what vanity?"][/caption]

The low cost of producing an e-book provides a new author with the economic possibility to launch a new product into a real marketplace that has the potential to generate income (and put a few crumbs on the table). It is an opportunity, I would argue, not to be missed. The books of budding new authors can now exist alongside those of the established greats, and on the same terms!! No vanity press need exist in cyberspace – just good quality and bad quality.

Democracy rules, perhaps! So, publish and be damned! Go on, give it a try!

Endangered Community Libraries

Monday I was out on The Neverending Shelf, a blog I recently added to my watch list, and happened upon The Fate of Our Libraries, a guest post by Courtney Webb, a children's librarian and blogger at Stiletto Storytime. I was so impressed by Courtney's post, I got permission to repost it this week.

But first, I'd like to mention the State of America's Libraries Report 2010, released by the American Library Association (ALA) on Monday. The picture to the left in no way represents the state of our libraries today. Just thought it's a fun picture that shows you can't stop people from going to the library under any circumstances.

Now back to the library report. Before you even get to it on the ALA website, this statement reaches out and begs for your attention.

Recession drives more Americans to libraries in search of employment resources; but funding lags demand.

In the press release, you'll find that we are flocking to our libraries for more than media. And Americans' opinions show that we know the value of our libraries.

The report shows the value of libraries in helping Americans combat the recession. It includes data from a January 2010 Harris Interactive poll that provides compelling evidence that a decade-long trend of increasing library use is continuing—and even accelerating during economic hard times. This national survey indicates that some 219 million Americans feel the public library improves the quality of life in their community. More than 223 million Americans feel that because it provides free access to materials and resources, the public library plays an important role in giving everyone a chance to succeed.

Yet, my community voted down a tax increase for needed improvements to our libraries, and I'm still bitter about it. I'm there at least once a week and we support paying higher taxes towards such a valuable community resource. Opposition would say libraries take donations. Support them that way. Well, we do that too. Unfortunately, I've done more than my fair share of fundraising for worthy causes, and trying to get people to donate during hard economic times ain't so easy unless they're backed in a corner as you'll see in Courtney's post. It's a mad catch-22, folks.

And now, here's more for you to think about on the state of our libraries from Courtney Webb. I ask you to remember her post and the State of America's Libraries Report the next time you find yourself in the voting booth, faced with a decision to increase funding to your library district.

The Fate of Libraries

by Courtney Webb

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="137" caption="Courtney Webb, Children's Librarian and Stiletto Storytime Blogger"][/caption]

In the last year we have all been affected by the recession whether personally or through our business and financial investments. We’ve all had to cut back a bit or at the very least know people who have. Unfortunately in the budget crisis for communities often the first thing to go during tough times is funding for libraries.

For example take the Charlotte, NC Public Library system, which announced recently that due to a reduction in the Mecklenburg County budget was told to shut down 12 library branches and lay off over 140 employees. This was a rather personal case for me since this is the system in which I started my library career. My first job as a children’s librarian was at one of their most needed branches in a low-income area of Charlotte. A branch that was so dear to the community for a plethora of reasons. The computer lab provided access to an area where most individuals could not afford a home computer. This meant quite simply no access at the library equaled no computer access period. Imagine the effects of that when kids could no longer do homework or research, adults could not work on improving their computer skills or even search for jobs in this critical time. This branch was also across the street from the local high school and provided a refuge for teens after school keeping them out of trouble and in a safe environment.

Unfortunately it was also a community whose children were the least introduced to books and the magic of reading. Storytimes and programming were crucial to that though it was often hard to make parents understand the need. There were Summer Reading Programs were I had children come simply because I offered food and they had not had lunch that day because they had simply been dropped off at the library. This library was a haven in this community and was to be shut down within a few weeks of the announcement. The community was stunned.

However that did not happen and the reason is that the people spoke. The residents of Charlotte protested and gave their own money to try and help the library budget in a grassroots effort that saved the 12 libraries from closure and some of the staff from unemployment. Unfortunately the majority of those let go were librarians since they had the larger salaries because of their educational background and experience. This was also because the libraries were now trying to focus on the most basic of services. This generally is circulation and simply getting books in and out, something which requires only a high school degree and which has a much smaller hourly wage. All of the county’s libraries will now also run on reduced hours and all employees took a large pay reduction. And yet the future is still not clear since predictions are that the budget will once again go down in 2011.

What does this say about the future of libraries and librarians? To me it says that when times get tough sometimes our leaders are willing to sacrifice what we need most. They will let go of what does not make a profit and looks like a loss on a spreadsheet. Libraries and librarians may not look good on a spreadsheet but chart their efforts and contributions to the community. Libraries are the ultimate equalizer. They provide information to everyone and information is power. These libraries that have been saved may be open but with far less qualified employees running them. When a patron enters a library they may not realize that there are very few actual librarians. Librarians are trained individuals with Masters Degrees in Library Science who have studied the art of knowledge and the keys to finding it. It’s sad they are now being laid on the altar in the name of saving a few dollars. The library may be open but at what cost? Who is now doing the story time or running the reference desk? Are they qualified and are you and your family getting the best service possible?

This Library Week I ask you to remember the library, library staff and librarians in your communities. Please use your voice and make sure that everyone knows their worth so that the travesty that has taken place in Charlotte does not happen in your community.

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Thanks so much to Courtney Webb for allowing us to repost The Fate of Libraries, and thanks to Kate over at The Neverending Bookshelf for all your help in making this repost possible.

Don't Miss My Writer Wednesday Blog Tour

Write Faster!

I found Greg’s post interesting yesterday, in that the advice fairies are forever spewing out generic advice, thinking they know what's best for us fiction writers. And I'm here, not listening to most of what they're saying, like a teenager, learning my lessons the hard way.

There’s no way I could write just one book in The Courier series at a time. In fact, there’s no way I could write just two of the books at a time. Technically, I’m writing all five at once.

The Courier was originally a short story idea. Guy down on his luck, desperate for a job, starts working for a courier service owned by Satan, finds out he’s transporting a substance used to hasten the opening of the Gates of Hell… Reading the idea back, it’s pretty open ended and not at all unique. But, sometimes characters gets in my face and beg me to write their stories. In Barry’s case, the story's protagonist, he’s probably been the most nagging character I’ve had the pleasure of working with. So, I caved to his pressure and originally agreed to write a short Twitter novel. Well, Barry disagreed and continued to nag like a three year old until I acquiesced to an additional four novels. Incidentally, I’ve had to tell Barry that if he wants a longer life, he’ll have to jump into another novel and play a different role, like an actor.

Where am I in regards to transitioning from one novel to the next? I have started writing book two while completing major edits of book one. Oh, and I’m still releasing book one through Twitter and the story’s website. Am also outlining book three, working through the plot for book four and settling on the idea for book five. Seem kinda chaotic? No biggie. It’s how my brain works.

What challenges am I facing? I need to write faster. Reflecting on my past writing positions, I used to handle multiple projects with unrealistic deadlines. Just the nature of the business. Today, I write fiction at home, between loads of laundry. If I had a publisher breathing down my neck, I could pump out novels just as quickly as Nora Roberts. Don't give me no crap about quality of the story. Her novels are bestseller, aren't they? And, I'm certainly not aspiring to be another Hemingway or Steinbeck with my version of comedic horror.

Researching the origin of evil and modernizing it are also time consuming. Basically, my challenge has been remaining faithful to the folklore of western religions, yet creating a good vs. evil that evolves with modern times. I mean, really, who can believe Satan and his gang have been hanging around, doing the same old thing, with the same old goals for the past umpteen years. This is proving to be much more involved in book two than in book one, and don’t even get me started on where book three is headed with the introduction of a few dark and mischievous fallen angels’ apprentices.

I'm trying to keep my challenges down to two hurdles at a time, so stay tuned, folks. I'm sure I'll be bitching about something else in a couple weeks. ;-)

Also Check Out My Writer Wednesday Blog Tour

Hmmm… What to Review?

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Happy St. Patrick's Day"][/caption]

Okay, you caught me. I didn't do my homework this week. I still hadn't settled on a book to review at 2:30 P.M. yesterday. So I opened up Goodreads and tried to decide from one of the fifteen books I've read this year, while continuing to blow my nose and watch Reno 911 and Married with Children. Nothing like a little trash TV to stimulate the brain.

I finished reading Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert yesterday, so that book was freshest in my mind. At the beginning of this year, I decided to embark on reading the current Dune series before the world comes to an end in 2012. Last month I reread Dune. And, coincidentally, last weekend we watched the two SyFy mini-series they did back in the early 2000s for the first three books. We couldn't help but view critically, but it was still the perfect way to spend a weekend, sick with the flu. Reminded me of how critical people were of the 1984 version, which I'm still not ashamed to say I LOVED! We own the extended version on DVD. It'll be interesting to see if Pierre Morel can pull off another major motion picture by 2012, considering fans are thirsty for a movie as epic as the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Oops. Back to this week's topic...a book review. There are nearly 13,000 reviews of Dune Messiah on Goodreads, so I really didn't think you'd want to yawn through my version. What I will say is reading just the first two books in the series has been inspirational to a Sci Fi series I've been planning for at least five years. Refreshing, because I sometimes read too much popular fiction in the genres of horror and comedy, comparing other books to my own style and story ideas for The Courier. I don't want to say there's a lot of bad stuff out there, but... There's a dent in my son's head, where I throw books I can't get passed the first hundred pages. Now that I've got the Kindle, he's complaining of headaches less.

Speaking of popular fiction, I was pretty excited to find Mark Henry's, Amanda Feral zombie series last month. This guy's writing is funny and gross in just the way I love comedic horror. I read Happy Hour of the Damned and gave it 3 out of 5 stars, only because I didn't care for the ending. It won't stop me from picking up another book in the series though. I like Mark's style as much as I enjoy reading Christopher Moore, who can't write fast enough for us fans. Here's a little bit more about the book.

Seattle. One minute you're drinking a vanilla breve, the next, some creepy old dude is breathing on you, turning you into a zombie. And that's just for starters. Now, the recently deceased Amanda Feral is trying to make her way through Seattle's undead scene with style (mortuary-grade makeup, six-inch stilettos, Balenciaga handbag on sale) while satisfying her craving for human flesh (Don't judge. And no, not like chicken.) and decent vodkatinis.

I'd originally hesitated to pick up a book about zombies, thinking them better left to film. Then I saw a review of this book on Dakota Cassidy's blog. If I was going to take the risk of reading about zombies, Happy Hour of the Damed seemed like the perfect book in which to start. I'm glad I took the plunge because his take on zombies is creative and fun. The characters are undead, but real and likable. I can't wait to see what trouble they get into in the next book.

Promise I'll be prepared next time. I plan to to review Werewolf Smackdown by Mario Acevedo.

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I apologize for being a week late, but the winners of the free eBooks from Vamplit Publishing are Harley D. Palmer and Susan Midlock. CONGRATS! I'll be in touch with the information you'll need to collect your prize.

Rebel Writer Without a Cause

Okay, who picked this week’s topic? I hope it wasn’t me. No really. The last thing I want to talk about this week is where I’m at with my current novel. Hell, I think I’d have more fun gouging out my eyes than talking about finishing The Courier. Hey, C.J., could we use another guest blogger this week?

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Mmmm... James Dean as my protagonist."][/caption]

Anyways... Lately, The Courier is like a relationship with your teenage child. You love and nurture him from the very beginning, but towards the end of his teens, he’s lucky he’s still alive. The only saving grace is when he receives his first acceptance letter to a college, and you realize it's only a short while before you can boot his ass out the door. In the case of my novel, throwing it in the fireplace and burning every last stinkin’ bit of it would be more than satisfying at the moment. But yesterday, Steve said, "never throw anything away," and that’s some really valuable advice. Especially five seconds into the burning, when I jump into the flames to save Barry, Nina and all their evil friends.

I guess it’s normal to have a love/hate relationship with your novels. And, I suppose this phase of writing the damn thing was inevitable. Remember me saying I started writing The Courier as a fun experiment, not really taking it seriously. Now, six months later, I'm so freakin' wrapped up in the story line and characters, I can see them all glaring at me from across my desk, disappointed I'm not moving their lives along quicker.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="191" caption="Go get him, Michael"][/caption]The shit really hit the fan when I read in Manuscript Makeover, and a few other places, that it's hard to sell a novella as a first time author. ARGH! That's exactly what I had been writing. Shortly before that, I started contemplating serializing The Courier. Oh, and my agent also asked if I had thought about adding in more of the traditional and biblical acceptance of Satan and the origins of evil. I replied I had for a later book, but that answer seemed absurd. When I wrapped it all up in one package, the story no longer made sense as a novella.

So where am I now? Still organizing chaos, like I was a couple weeks ago. It's getting easier though. I've rewritten the ending, lengthening it and twisting in more conflict for a better flavor. Took me a few months to really figure it out though, which is frustrating considering I had hoped to have the first draft completed by now.

On a good note, I got a couple reminders from friends that things could be much worse, one being a ridiculous ad, posted by a not so nice individual, looking for writers to edit 500 word articles for $1.25 a piece. Yeah, I'll take my troubles with my novel over that work any day.

Solving the Genre Mystery

Literary fiction’s not considered a genre, but that’s what I’ve read most of my life, particularly literary novels set in exotic locales. Starting with The Good Earth back in middle school, I’ve always been drawn to intricate, elegant stories filled with poetic descriptions, faraway locations, and rich doses of history, drama, and social themes that make me think.

A few years ago, I got hooked on mystery novels, which offer many of those same elements along with a faster pace, higher stakes, and challenging puzzles that often force me to keep turning the pages way past my bed time. Not just following clues to solving crimes and other unusual circumstances but also to figuring out people and what motivates us. All the same stuff I love about literary novels, just presented in a different way.

So as I wrote my first mystery, Breathing in Bombay, I had to figure out what subgenre it fell into within the category. That’s when I realized there are quite a few of them: traditional (also known as cozies), suspense, and thriller; historical and futuristic; police procedural versus amateur sleuth; and so on. The choices seemed endless.

Of course, while I was figuring out my subgenre, I stayed on the lookout for good mystery novels with an international flair. I came across many excellent authors who’ve transported me to fascinating places: Tana French to Ireland, Karin Fossum to Norway, Stieg Larsson to Sweden, and my latest addiction, Arnaldur Indridason, who opened the door to both Iceland and East Germany with his stellar book, The Draining Lake.

I also began reading a new breed of American authors that includes Sujata Massey, S.J. Rozan, and Lisa See, whose main characters straddle two cultures. That’s a concept my series is based on as well, and how I discovered the multicultural mystery subgenre. I was thrilled to find a niche that combines adventure, intrigue, international settings, cultural issues and social themes. A niche where my own book belongs.  It’s been loads of fun to write—and hopefully readers will enjoy it too.

What about you? Have you read any good international or multicultural mysteries lately? I’m always looking for recommendations!