Romance Under Orders

This week is a fun topic! I get to share a scene from my MS - my fav scene! It was really hard to choose which one too as I love them all really for their own reasons. But, I decided to go with a funny and cute scene from the middle of Cleanse Fire: The Kinir Elite Chronicles. You can read Chapter 1 on my website here if you like.

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Derac scanned the room again and found Tyn and Rakan next to the buffet, deep in conversation with the members of the faery elite team. Where is Kie? He knew she hated wearing a gown, but she still was required to make an appearance. An invitation from the General was not to be ignored.

He ground his teeth and clenched his fist but relaxed when he spotted her at the edge of his vision. She stood in the corner, alone. His jaw dropped. The tight fitting bodice showed off her ample breasts, then flowed down to her toes accenting the shapeliness of her hips. The sleeves hung off her shoulders and her bronzed skin glowed. A bundle of auburn curls sat on her head; the rest hung loose down her back.

Gorgeous.

She wrung her hands and her gaze darted around the room. Derac's chest filled with sympathy but he could not take his eyes off her. A voice in his head told him to look away, but he just couldn't.

"Captain, what are you staring at?" Tyn clapped him on the shoulder.

"Her."

"Ahh yes, she looks great, doesn't she? Aeli did a great job."

"Yes."

Tyn chuckled. "Someone should get her out of that corner, though."

"Is that a hint I should be that someone?" Derac couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Tyn chuckled. "I was merely making a comment."

"Right. I'll go order her to join the party."

Tyn chuckled again as Derac strolled towards the angelic elf in the corner.

"Kie, you should get out of that corner," he said.

"I'd rather not, Captain."

"It is not good for a member of the Elite to be standing alone. You must mingle with the others."

Her brown eyes filled with panic as she glanced around the room.

Derac decided to try a different approach. He held out his arm to her. "Stay by my side. It'll be all right," he whispered.

Her gaze stilled on him and her lips parted. The sudden urge to kiss her filled him and he held his lips between his teeth.

"I ... you ..."

"It is perfectly fine for me as your Captain to escort you around a ball, as you do not have a male to do so." Just admit you want her on your arm, Derac. He bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying something he’d regret.

"All...all right."

She hooked her arm around his and allowed him to lead her from the corner. A smile crossed his face. As they made their way around the room, he noticed other males stopped to stare at her. He lifted his chin, proud she clung to his side.

Romance and Fashion of Olden Times

I'm so glad to write about this weeks topic - on my birthday! The topic this week asks the question "If we could live in any point of history, when would it be and why?"

Those of you who have read my books will most likely know the answer to this question already. The Medieval Ages.

Okay, so before any real historians go jumping down my throat hear, yes I am well aware that the time period isn't all romantic and beautiful the way it is depicted often times. There was no electricity, no clean water, no real medical technology, etc etc. I get that. My mother is a history teacher mmkay? I know! :)

Now that that is out of the way, let's talk about the reason why I love that time period. And yes I hate to say it has to do with out how movies and books protray the period. I guess really you could say I'm more in love with the legends and stories that came from that time, rather than the time itself - if one wanted to get technical.

The legends of knights in shining armor, death before dishonor, and yes, the somewhat romanticism of the time. But where is the real romance of the time you ask? Since ya know, it didn't really happen the way it did in the movies? Well, I'm totally weird (like you didn't already know) and I find it oddly romantic that during the time women would get married to a man they hardly new and yet people made it work. (And don't tell me it was perfect all the time, because when it history is it ever?) I guess really it's more mysterious, and that's what I'm drawn to. It's not really romantic...just mysterious and it peaks my interest I guess.

And, despite the fact that I do not bother to keep up with current fashion trends and really don't care what I wear from day to day - I LOVE the fashion from the medieval ages, especially the dresses women wore. Such beautiful designs!

When I was a kid, my parents belonged to this group that, well basically they dressed up from the time period and had huge jousts and fights and fairs and all that. It was a lot of fun. My parents - and my and my sister made our own garb! I loved wearing the flowing gowns with the super long sleeves, and the ackward headdresses! It was so much fun. I wish I could wear gowns like that now without people trying to lock me up in the looney bin, but I digress.

Now to answer the real question - would I live during that time? Eh, probably not. While I may love the ideals and fashion I would hate to not have clean water! I might be able to be without electricity or my computer (gulp!) but clean water? Heck to the no!

In the end, I'm happy to live in the present. While I do love certain periods in history, I don't think I'd want to actually live during those times. I can live in them vicariously through my writing - and that works perfectly as I can return to the present whenever I'm ready!

Reading What I Write - Sort Of

This weeks topic asks us what we read vs what we write. I write High Fantasy and, I've admitted this before, I don't read much High Fantasy.

It's not that I'm afraid I'll 'copy' an idea or anything like that. It's the point that quite frankly, I hate the way the majority of High Fantasy novels are written. I know that sounds terrible as a High Fantasy writer myself, but it's true.

I do love to watch fantasy movies however, as it takes away the flowery language to describe the new world - it's just there in picture. This might also be due to the fact that I'm naturally a character driven writer. I want to know about the characters, how they act, their quirks, etc not read paragraphs of flowery adjectives about their house.

I absolutely love to read mysteries! Mary Higgins Clark is my favorite mystery/suspense writer and I own many of her books. I read her books over and over again because the tension is so great that even when I'm reading it for the 10th or 20th time, I still feel my breath caught in my throat in anticipation for what happens next. I don't think I could ever write one though - or anything contemporary for that matter. It's just not in me to write about the world I already live in I guess.

My novels do have a hint of mystery and suspense in them though. I love writing about the many twists and turns of solving some mystery - especially in my series The Kinir Elite Chroicles. The elves are elite warriors and it's their job to bring down the bad guy - much like a cop would! So the mystery element is definitely there.

I also enjoy reading romance novel - but not straight romance. It needs to have another main plot going for me to enjoy it. The romance is the side plot not the main point of the story. I eat those stories up. And as far as my writing is concerned, I always have a romance element in it as well.

Frankly, when it comes to what I like to read - I'll read almost anything. Horror is a definite no in my book and with fantasy it all depends on the voice and style of the writer. Sorry to any horror writers out there but I just can't do it LOL. One of two things happens when it comes to reading (or watching) horror 1 - it's so cheesy I feel like I wasted my money or 2 - it's so scary I can't sleep for a month. Which I know is the point of horror, I just prefer to NOT lose sleep thank you. :P

Since I feel like I've rambled through this post, let's recap. I write High Fantasy but don't read too much of it. My stories also have a hint of mystery and romance. I don't read horror, ever, and I'll read most anything else but my favorite is mystery novels. :) I want to write Sci-Fi some day, and I do read a lot of that.

What about you? What do you like read? Writers, do you read the same as you write? Why or why not?

Reading, Writing, and Publishing Announcement

Did everyone have a good mother's day? I hope so. I'm not a momma, but I did receive some very good news Sunday morning.... My urban fantasy novel, Dark Heirloom, is officially under contract with Muse It Up Publishing Inc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *does a little victory dance*

I'm so ecstatic! For those of you who don't know, Dark Heirloom is like THE novel, the one I've been trying to get published for the past year or so. And it's finally happening! YAY!  :-)

Okay, now that it's out of system (not really), I'll lead into today's topic. What do I read vs. what I write? Truth is, I read what I write and I write what I read.

My two top favorite genres are Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, which are exactly the genres I write. Dark Fantasy comes in a close third on my reading list just because the basic elements are similar, but I have no plans to write Dark Fantasy so far. As some of you know, I also write Erotic Romance, which I have just recently become a fan of. I know I enjoy writing Erotic Romance much more than reading it. Erotica is such a selective genre. We all have a different comfort level when it comes to sex so there really is no concrete line between erotic and pornographic which is why I have trouble finding erotic romance that I enjoy reading other than my own stories.

I'll occasionally read Steampunk - though I'm more a fan of Victorian women's fashion than anything - Sci-Fi, Horror, and Gothic. I also like a lot of the new fairy tale spin-offs.

The thing that sometimes baffles me most is that over half the books I read and own are Young Adult. I do have plans to write YA novels in the future, but I admit I'm shocked I didn't start with YA right off the bat. Instead, I started with heroines that are my age - in their 20's. Understandable, I think. It's just easier to write about people your age.

What about you? Writers, is there a genre you love to read, but don't particularly care to write? Or a genre you write, but don't like to read?

Quelle horreur?

A time for confessions? Indeedy!

But, not only have I not read any Stephen King (not even his book on writing, Sharon), I have also not read Dean Koontz, James Herbert and that chap called Poe! (I have been warned off Shaun Hutson and Clive Barker – but, strangely enough, I had never heard of them in the first place. No loss there, then.)

He heard snarling, inhuman voices cutting through the ghostly blackness in front suddenly ... a man was beating a dog with a stick… [He] strained helplessly not to see or hear ... A small crowd watched. A squat woman stepped out and asked [the man] please to stop. "Mind your own business," the man barked gruffly, lifting his stick as though he might beat her too ...

Ooops…. Now where did that come from?

When researching for this post… “Research,” I hear you exclaim. Yes, research…

When researching for this post I recalled the one (horror) story that I read that must have appealed to me. Well, I recalled it, didn’t I?

When I was young, I had a collection of short stories – the only collection of short stories I had ever attempted to read, until I acquired a collection of Anton Chekov only last year… There I go, digressing again…

[He] quickened his pace to get away, almost ran ... At the next corner a man was beating a small boy brutally in the midst of an immobile crowd ... [He] recoiled with sickening recognition. He was certain he had witnessed that same horrible scene sometime before. Déjà vu?

Some digression! Now, where was I?

Ah, yes… a short horror story… Well, despite recalling it, I have no idea of who wrote it or what its title was; but its themes have stuck with me. If someone tries to engage me in a conversation about horror stories and writers, then this short story is about the only thing I can talk of… then I try and change the subject because I truly cannot recall the detail.

I do know that the story in question featured three inns on a desolate moor, three inn-keepers, copious quantities of darkness and fog, a traveller and various body parts – including some rather ornately carved “ivory-like” utensils, chair legs and some rather tasty soup… Just what a tired traveller on the desolate moor would look forward to! I believe one of the inns was called the Rest of the Traveller!
[caption id="attachment_3715" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="I could just do with a drink..."][/caption]

The yawning wound — was that a tube of slimy bone he saw running deep inside the gory scarlet flowed behind the twitching, startling fibres of weird muscle? — was dripping blood in several trickles, like snow melting on eaves, but viscous and red, already thickening as it dropped.

Urggghhhhhhhhhh……… too, much detail! Is that why I don’t read horror stories? My mother was a nurse, my sister is a nurse, and my step sister too… I’ve been in and out of hospitals (as patient and visitor) and I viewed the effects of knife wounds and gunshot… Do I really want to read about more of the gory stuff?

[His] undershorts… were soaking up blotches of blood on one side as though in thirst. [He] was stunned at how waxen and ghastly his friend’s bare leg looked, how loathsome, how lifeless and esoteric the downy, fine curled blond hairs on his odd, white shin and calf. The wound… [was] as long and wide as his hand, and too raw and deep to see into clearly. The raw muscles inside twitched like live hamburger meat.

I said… “DO I REALLY WANT TO READ MORE OF THE GORY STUFF?” It’s a good job I’m not a regular at MacD’s or (perish the thought) BK… (Live oysters are much more fun… they don’t twitch so much… well, maybe, if the lemon is particularly sharp! But that’s another subject entirely.)

Then he saw a sickening, gigantic hole in his friend’s ribs and watched helplessly as the man died before him, his insides spilled out all over him, revealing a secret.

“Look, this is beyond a joke…”
“What?”
“This…”
“This what?
“This interrupting my blog post with your constant glimpses of stuff I’m not interested in...”
“Ah! That STUFF! You mean you don’t like glimpses into…”
“Into what?”
“Stop interrupting”
“Pardon,” I exclaim, “you’re interrupting me! I thought? Now you’re getting me confused…”
“I should say!”

His teeth were chattering in horror. He forced himself to look again. Here was God’s plenty, all right, he thought bitterly as he stared — liver, lungs, kidneys, ribs, stomach and bits of...

“Look…”
“There you go again.”
“Where?”
“There. Interrupting me when I’m about to tell you what I’m up to.”
“You’re up to something?” I ask, sarcastically. “What do you know of horror?”
“More than you, it would appear!”
“If that’s horror, I’m not sure I’m going to change genres…”
“But…”
“But what?” I snap.
“But didn’t you say… now let me think… last post, wasn’t it? Didn’t you say something about horror being found in reality?
“Well, yes I did, I guess. But this?
“Yes, this…”

"It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter; that was [his] secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was [his] secret. Ripeness was all"

“Where did you find this?”
“Don’t you know? I am surprised, David… it’s one of your all time favourite books, by one of your all time favourite authors.
“Pardon?”
“Really!”
[caption id="attachment_3710" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Tasty, this soup..."][/caption]“I just played with your mind a bit and changed the context.”
“Go on then, tell me.”
“No. Now sit there and eat your soup...” ;)
"What did you say the name of this inn was?
"I didn't..."

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.

A Very Public Encounter

Dylan Who? Not Bob, surely? A good friend suggested, when I mentioned that I was about to attend my first literary luncheon as a published author, that I should do a “Dylan Thomas” –

[caption id="attachment_2945" align="alignright" width="129" caption="No, not Bob!"][/caption]

“Just wear a scarf, drink a lot of alcohol, and you’ll be OK,” she said. Except that I don’t have a Welsh accent. Good advice, I thought. (And thank you, Kate :) )

I did also think about a donning a black felt fedora… I do wear a hat, on a regular basis… and it is black, felt and fedora-like. But, despite my love of hats, I couldn’t help thinking that, as a relatively unknown author (so far – but I do have appropriate aspirations, I assure you) then I could easily be wrongly labelled as trying to copy that great British author – Sir Terry Pratchett.

[caption id="attachment_2946" align="alignleft" width="149" caption="Love the hat, Sir Terry!"][/caption]

So, before I go further, I will take this opportunity to state that I will, at an appropriate time in my authorial career, let my love of wearing hats resurface! I will come-out of the hat closet and reveal all… (But, as readers of my posts will know by now, I am prone to digression… so back to the post in hand!)

Given the free nature of this week’s subject matter, I suggested to C.J. (rather requested, and she – who is the font of all schedule wisdom – kindly agreed) that I post on Friday this week, so that I could write on the experience of my first literary lunch. So, here goes…

The week my book was published, a local paper carried news of an excellent Delicatessen and Tea-room’s launch of a monthly literary lunch. Lunch guests could sit and enjoy an aperitif and three-course lunch, while listening to author’s talk about their work.

“Wow!” thinks I. “What a great way to get some exposure for my newly published book!”

So I called, before the organisers had time to realise I wasn’t well known! What a coup – they booked me in for July 15^th, 2010. That was around four month’s ago! Plenty of time to prepare, I thought!

[caption id="attachment_2952" align="alignright" width="93" caption="Much ado..."][/caption]

Then my ‘redundant’ employment situation came to a welcome, but unexpected end… and, lo and behold, I found myself with little time to do much ado about anything! (The slight hint of Shakespeare is purely intentional, dear readers.)

In the public eye?

I’ve now experienced radio on quite a few occasions. This time, though, I was to appear in front of people who had actually paid real money to come and listen to me! The pressure was on!

I then realised, a while ago, that there was little advertising of the event. “Strange,” I thought, “maybe I have been found out!” Until the publicity consultant contacted me to tell me the event was a sell-out. They had reigned back on publicity, in order not to disappoint any further potential guests.

[caption id="attachment_2947" align="alignright" width="132" caption="Who goes there?"][/caption]

More pressure! Not only were there going to be real people, but the room was going to be full! But who were these mystery guests going to be?

This is problematic, how can you prepare something, if you don’t know your audience? So, under pressure, the night before the talk came this week, faster than I had thought possible. (And in entirely indecent haste, in my humble opinion.) Nothing prepared. What to do!

I have never believed in re-inventing wheels. Interviews work well… I have been interviewed on radio, and in print... Why not take an interview format?

A Brilliant idea!

I don’t ad-lib… I have never ad-libbed… But, I reckon, if you ask any author a question about their book, then they will wax lyrical! Indeed, I have done so. The trick, then, was to come up with a set of one-word questions which would provide the catalyst to 30 to 45 minutes of un-rehearsed monologue! Add a couple of readings, and, hey-presto, a format for my talk.

[caption id="attachment_2948" align="alignleft" width="114" caption="Oops! Did I do that?"][/caption]

Well, here is something for you to think about if you find yourself in the same position… FLASH FICTION! (And thank you, the person who suggested the theme a few weeks ago… despite my having never tried it.)

A 500 word short story is an ideal ice-breaker in a public reading. It is a show-case of writing skill – a chance for an audience, who may never have actually read your work, to see how you handle a beginning, a middle, and an end! A normal reading just does not allow that, and can easily act as a spoiler.

OK, so the tea-room was small – at around 16 guests, the room was fully packed – but the audience was a gem! Quality, not quantity! They listened to ‘Just a thought’ intently. And a strange thing happened…

[caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignright" width="100" caption="I said "spontaneous"!"][/caption]

Within two minutes of me being introduced… the audience had broken out into spontaneous applause!  That has not happened to me before, ever! I can tell you!

The ice broken, the rest was a pure pleasure: a bit about me (needed no one word question as a prompt), and I introduced the book. (I had ascertained that only one guest had actually read it prior to the lunch.) Here, I made good use of a review, rather than my own words, and then I read the short opening scene from ‘River of Judgement’.

One more time?

By this time, the audience were engaged with me. And, although they did not applause after the second reading (I was not disappointed) my set of questions went out of the metaphoric window as I checked that I now only had ten minutes left! Where had the time gone?

The audience seemed attentive, interested and waiting for more! Do they want more? Really?

I asked them… “I have another reading, if you would like?”

Affirmative nods, and some murmurs of ascent! Even an audible ‘yes’ or two! (I had, fortunately, printed off the opening scene from the sequel, freshly written.)

“Will it spoil our reading of the first book,” came a very interested, if slightly concerned voice.

(Note: if you are in business, selling, this would be considered a very strong “buy” signal… time to close the deal!)

“No,” says I. “There were a bunch of obvious crooks in the first book; I am only giving the name of one in the reading.”

More murmurs of approval. So I delivered the opening scene of the unnamed sequel. I did warn my audience that it would be twice as long to read – 1000 words! But they were not shaken!

“Thank you,” I finally announce.

And a lovely lunch was served, during which I spoke to some lovely guests who were really interesting to talk to, and who were really interested in what I had had to say.

“Do you think it went well?” asked one lady who, together with her partner, had been there because their tickets had been booked by a family member in Australia.

“Yes,” I said, with a smile.

“…because it has persuaded me to buy three copies of your book for our friends,” she said.

That one sentence, from that one lady, made the whole thing worthwhile! And I think around half the audience left with at least one signed copy of the book.

[caption id="attachment_2950" align="alignleft" width="133" caption="You can't get enough!"][/caption]

As writers, both self-published, and those with publishers, we need to be able to get out there and engage with those we want to buy our books! We cannot be complacent. Every opportunity for publicity must be grabbed with both hands and pursued. We must take every opportunity and maximise its impact. And, if this little story helps show how a previously unknown situation can resolve itself, then I am happy to have had the opportunity to relate it!

Happy writing! (And speaking!)  :)

Yellow Beehives, Lipstick Teeth & Favorite Authors

Today, I am joined by my guest, Kate Porelli.

One of the joys I have found since beginning to write fiction in earnest, and making that writing available on the internet, is coming to know a whole new bunch of exciting and interesting people, some readers and some writers - take my fellow Wicked Writers, for example.

Then there has been the opportunity to give advice to those who are at the beginning of their writing careers, or those just thinking about starting out. But I think the most rewarding experience is to prompt someone to take action and for that action to produce something tangible - a piece of writing.



[caption id="attachment_2827" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Proof..."][/caption]

My guest today is posting her first ever blog! But, despite this, Kate knows about writing – she is a proof reader and editor, and offers us an excellent insight into our craft!

Kate has always liked working for herself, and after being made redundant as a Personal Assistant for the second time in two years, she decided to take up proof reading as a profession. She'd read something somewhere about a lot of transcription work being outsourced abroad, and how it's then proof read in the UK. So, Kate tells me, being of a picky and meticulous nature (she has been known to argue with the radio, apparently) and always having been a reader for fun, she thought that it sounded like a job she could enjoy.

I hope you enjoy her proof reader’s insight…



[caption id="attachment_2825" align="alignleft" width="130" caption="Kate Porelli"][/caption]

YELLOW BEEHIVES, LIPSTICK TEETH & FAVOURITE AUTHORS

by Kate Porelli


OK, I’ll come clean. I’m not a writer. (Well, not yet anyway!) But I was asked if I’d like to guest blog on my favourite authors, through the point of view of one of the peripheral aspects of writing as, by trade, I am a proof reader and copy editor. It puts a roof over my head and food on the table, but it doesn’t stop there, not for me. Nor does it mean that I am a full-time apostrophe fascist (although I am; I once refused to eat in a café that advertised “panini’s” just on principle).

Proof reading has, as a by-product, changed my whole view of the written word, either fact or fiction. In short, I have become a very demanding reader, as those of you who see us (not entirely wrongly) as pedantic nit-pickers, will already have assumed.

Sloppy writing and lack of continuity is something I’m trained to see, which isn’t always of benefit as it can ruin an otherwise perfectly adequate story. The other side of the coin is that I can now spot eloquence when I see it, and as a result I find that I am enjoying a far wider field of writing than before.

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I believe that writers are the modern equivalent of the travelling bards and story-tellers whose job, when only the elite could read, was to captivate their audience and to beguile, enthral and entertain. It is not a job that should be done lackadaisically.

Our world is in a state of constant change and innovation and it’s right that our language reflects this fact. However, I hasten to add that, in my belief, text speak should be a recognised crime, punishable by long periods in a forced training camp where people have to write things out in full for sixteen hours a day until they get the hang of it. But I digress…

We have more access than ever before to great literature and even things like computer spelling and grammar checkers that will tell you (more or less) if you are making mistakes and yet, perversely, I find that the standard of writing in general is falling.

I often read manuscripts that Mrs Palmer (my old English Language teacher) would have called us up to the front of the class and picked to pieces before sending us away to do them again. (I didn’t like her daffodil yellow beehive or the lipstick on her teeth, but thought it best not to say so!) And these are manuscripts from educated people to whom the English language just doesn’t seem to matter any more.

A good story needs a plot that holds the reader’s attention and characters they can become emotionally invested in, that goes without saying, but that isn’t enough by itself. A good story needs clear and elegant phrasing to lift it above the mundane.

If asked to pick a favourite author I wouldn’t be able to. There are too many to choose from. Writers are like favourite foods – chocolate is lovely but not if you’re in the mood for steak. Stephen King spins a good yarn and can hold my attention throughout a volume the size of a couple of house bricks, Neil Gaiman has both surrealism and wit on his side, Graham Greene wins in the elegance category, Bill Bryson has me laughing out loud, but Terry Pratchett fills me with awe at the inspired bizarreness of his world (despite the sneaking suspicion that some of his references go over my head).

Terry Pratchett is the closest I can get to defining the writer I would like to have been. I still haven’t read all of his books, I get through perhaps three or four a year, read them slowly and savour every moment. He puts a sentence together and plants a new concept like nobody else can, I am still trying to imagine what colour magic is and still as taken as I ever was with the idea of octarine (an eighth colour which is only normally visible to wizards and cats and described as a “greenish-yellow purple” in the books).

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All that aside though, Terry’s prose is so precise that he can throw a new word that he has just made up into the middle of a passage and you know exactly what it means and that to me has to be the sign of a great modern writer, the writing doesn’t have to be standard stuff, but the quality has to be able to carry it if you’re going to go out on a limb.

So, you may (or may not) want to know, what I think makes a bad piece of writing.

I’ll tell you anyway.

From the point of view of a reader (not a professional reader, mind you, just a general reader in the street), there are the obvious things like a poor plot, lack of research, continuity going to pot and characters I can’t either empathise with or loathe. None of these need any further comment from me, but other story wreckers are using five long words where three short ones will do, (which often appears to just be an author showing that they know long words), and repetition.

Repetition includes both the double statement sort (“he glanced quickly”) and the kind where somebody will use one particular word over and over again (“nice” syndrome). Then, of course, there’s a fine line between enough description or detail and too much. One enormous advantage the written word has is that the reader can add their own imagination to that of the writer, it somehow makes us feel part of things.

A good proof reader or copy editor is a necessary evil, it’s our job to know how a finished piece will read and it’s what we do best (well, that and getting irritated by signs that say “potatoe’s” and sighing a lot whilst reading newspapers).

Kate Porelli

Thank you for joining us today, Kate.

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!

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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…  :)

'A box?' said Alice...

I have a confession to make! I also write non-fiction – mainly academic stuff (under my other name)! But, funnily enough, I have the same problem with non-fiction as I do with fiction (and if you have a spare $99.95, you can see what I mean!)

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I don’t do boxes (sorry, Greg, no offence!) …It’s just that the only box I think I would be comfortable with is my own coffin! (At a more appropriate time in my life, of course.) In the meantime, I insist on writing either a story (for fiction) or fiction (for non-stories).

[caption id="attachment_2294" align="alignleft" width="140" caption="A box? Really?"][/caption]

What do I mean by this? Is this some wacky Brit’s idea of what passes for nonsense? A sort of contemporary trip down Alice’s rabbit hole, into a world of nonsensical irrelevance, just so I can post a certain number of words on a subject I find difficult to relate to?

No!

Most definitely not…

(…though I am a wacky Brit – at times).

Let me start by suggesting that all knowledge is fiction. And that all fiction is (potentially) knowledge. The "what ifs" of  Wendy’s speculative fiction are no different to the musings of science that grow, embryonically, within the research scientist’s mind. The ideas of those who practice science and the ideas of fictional authors are one and the same. They are ideas. Valuable, interesting ideas! Possibilities!

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Ideas – they are the seed of the future and the unrealized possibilities of the past. Ideas are not bound by titles, badges, genres, processes or outcomes. They evolve within the mind of the individual – they are not categorised until they come into contact with others who have expectations. Wendy’s competition judges, for example – for whom tagging a genre for her story could be tricky!

Expectations are the killers of any art form – even the art of science. Science cannot become knowledge unless academic “peers” decide that the “science” presented by a scientist “fits” with their expectations. And, unfortunately, fiction is frequently not fiction, unless it conforms to the genre expectations of those who “gate keep” the industry: the agents, the publishers and the competition judges.

But the gatekeepers are not to be blamed (entirely), because, in general, we all have our own expectations. We are conditioned by our schooling and experience to “expect” certain things that we have been subjected to in the past. We read something we like, with a certain label, and we look out for that label as a reference point when we look for something else to read. We all appreciate our comfort zone. We taste something we like, and we look for the same things on the next menu we see. We forget that we can have fun, as children have fun, and look at something we have never, ever, seen before – and have fun and enjoy it!

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So where does this leave me? I write stories. I like to think that I can borrow from anywhere to write a story. So, for $99.95 you can read about why I think the study of art is useful to understand how to manage organisations. And, for a substantially smaller amount, you can read a story that starts with a crime, moseys along with a deal of suspense, has a paranormal influence through a recurring dream, and ends in a love story… though I never set out with that mix of genres in mind!

Happy writing and reading. And remember, in my world there are no boxes, and we should all act like children! Wicked ones… :)

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.

* * * * * *

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

Pain is Funny

Like every writer, my early childhood played an important role in choosing the genres I write today, with television being a pretty huge contributor. In fact, I spent way too much time as a kid, staring at the old black and white tube we had in our bedroom. My tastes in programming have carried over into the dark mix of horror, fantasy and comedy I write today.

Going back down memory lane, my first influences to write horror and fantasy, surprisingly, did not come from Sister Paul (see last week's post). Instead, it all started one afternoon, at the age of four, when my grandmother allowed me to watch the 1963 B-movie, The Crawling Hand (I’m sure Greg has seen it). And at my other grandmother’s house, there were the frightening viewings of a show called Night Gallery. I watched it with my twin aunts, munching on popcorn, unbeknownst to Nonny. I liked the feeling of fear at an early age, so I became a horror addict, always on the look out for new programming that could scare the bejesus out of me or turn my stomach more violently than the last show I'd viewed. Only difference today is that I have access to a greater number of films...gotta love that.

I actually miss the good old days, when scaring small children with horrific stories was considered the norm. Find me an original fairy tale that doesn't terrorize children. Lessons are taught well through fear, but I suppose this is a subject for another post.

Now you ask, what about the comedy? Well...It all started with these three guys.

I mix the dark side with comedy because pain is funny. Don’t even try to argue it’s not. Nine times out of ten, we laugh at someone else’s expense. How else could we humans get past the horrible moments in our lives with our sanity?

Comedy writing is new for me though, The Courier being my first attempt at it in a full length novel. Luckily, it's coming to me naturally, but I also have to attribute it to raising two boys and watching A LOT of goofy horror flicks like Bad Taste (more reasons to love Peter Jackson), Evil Ed and Shaun of the Dead.

Gosh, so far I haven't even mentioned books. Yeah, I've read quite a bit of fantasy and horror. Sure, a myriad of good and bad fiction authors have helped to shape my writing. But when it comes to influences, I have to turn to nonfiction, especially in the area of philosophy and religion. And so re-enters Sister Paul. As a person who is constantly questioning my own faith, I can't help but be absolutely fascinated by spirituality, an underlying theme in my works. And, I especially love to take horrific real life situation, as in my short story Blush of the Dead that addresses gendercide in Bosnia, and mix it with fantastic characters like zombies.

Darn! I'm running out of space for this week's post. Being a Leo, I could go on forever about myself. I've got only one last thing to mention, and that is I haven't read much comedy in fiction form. Got any suggestions??