Plunging into your characters…

I follow a number of blogs, from everything for Zombie Preparedness, to writing techniques, to pure humor. One of my favorites is Kristen Lamb at warriorwriters.wordpress.com and this week she hit on something I’ve been chatting over with some other writerly friends for awhile–how do make your characters ‘real’?

As writers, we’ve been told many, many, many times (ad naseum) that there only so many archetypes for our characters, to differentiate them we have to make them ‘unique’.  Uh-huh, right then and how do we do that?  Well, I like what Kristen’s outline in her blog so I’m linking it right here:

 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/would-you-rather-an-exercise-in-creating-max-conflict-in-fiction/

Take the time to read this post. I’m a hugely character driven writer, so the more complex and intricate I can make my peeps, the more ‘real’ they come across to my readers.  No one wants to read the same stereotype character with a different hair color/eye color/warts/plaid/polka dots/height.  The more you can shade them, giving them corners no one wants to admit to having the more your readers will be inclined to follow along and invest themselves in your world.

 

It’s sharing time….feel free to add bits and pieces you’ve discovered in making your characters ‘real’.

You think you know Hugo winner @seananmcguire – think again!

We’ve been trying to classy up the Swamp lately. This involves shanghai-ing…err..gently persuading some really cool peeps to stop by for a few and answer some truly insightful questions.  This week we were able to lure the one and only Seanan McGuire to our destination of mold, mildew, and spongy ground.  For those who haven’t met her before, let me introduce Seanan. She is the mad genius behind the Urban Fantasy October Daye series and the truly fun InCryptid series. Her podcast, The SF Squeecast just picked up a Hugo award. Born and raised on the West Coast of North America, she currently shares a crumbling farm house with her three improbably large cats, her large collection of horror movies, and enough books to qualify as a library under local zoning laws.  She has no qualms about cuddling rattlesnakes, but weather terrifies her.  When not writing, she enjoys visiting haunted cornfields, collecting creepy dolls, and watching too much television.  Sometimes she’s her own evil twin, Mira Grant. 

She really doesn’t sleep much.

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Try not to scare her away!

If you were to hold a dinner party for six, who would you invite and share at least one question you would have for each? Your guests don’t have to be alive and if you really want to make it fun, you can use favorite fictional characters.

I’m assuming my guests would be functionally alive for the duration of the party, at least, or we’re potentially sitting at the table with a bunch of corpses, and that would be…bad.  Very, very bad.

I don’t know, Seanan, Eerie’s Zombies tend to have some table manners.  We have managed to keep them from leaving pieces behind or leaking over the table.

So I would invite Stephen King and ask him about language; James Gunn and ask him about what he would have done in Slither II; Andrew Volpe and ask him about music; Walt Disney and ask him about imagination; and my friends Michelle “Vixy” Dockrey and Catherynne Valente, because seriously, if I had a dinner party with those people and didn’t invite Cat and Vixy, they would have a keep-away party with my internal organs.

 You might need to set a few extra spots, I think Eerie may crash your dinner party and I would be the plus one…

As children we tend to have an idea of what we want to be by the time we’re ten.  Before you decided to pursue the artistic dream of being a writer, what did you want to be and why?

I actually wanted to be a Broadway performer when I was younger!  I did years of voice and dance lessons, and appeared in quite a few productions here on the West Coast.  Sadly, a spinal injury took dancing off the table, and I was forced to refocus my ambitions.

That totally sucks, but on the positive side, we get to go on adventures with Toby and the Price family!

If your character(s) came with a warning label, what would it say?

Warning: Contents under pressure.  Contains language.  Some concepts may be too complicated for after-midnight reading.  Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

                  *makes note to find out story behind Happy Fun Ball*

If you turned your laptop/computer/pen/typewriter (yes, some of still use these!) over to your character(s), how would they describe you?

…oh.  Oh, that would end poorly.  “Die die die die die die bitch die die die” is probably the more socially acceptable part of that little screed.

                                 *snort* I think a few of mine would jump all over that band wagon, complete with a burning effigy.

We all have favorite characters, either main or secondary, and there are always bits and pieces of them we don’t share with our readers, but keep close to our hearts.  Choose your favorite from your cast of characters and tell us a couple of things that you haven’t shared in your books/writing.

Since all my series are ongoing, I actually intend to share most things, given sufficient time.  It’s one of the nice parts of being a series author (although I very much envy people who can think in stand-alones).  Quentin, from the Toby Daye books, loves hockey.  He’s a good Canadian boy and he appreciates his nation’s favorite pastime.  He actually has fantasies about getting Toby to a hockey game and watching her expression when she realizes that blood will bounce on ice.

                                    That’s kind of cool, I hadn’t imagine Quentin into Hockey, basketball..not the nice one, but street style…very cool…

Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue (yes classic fan girl behavior).  Who could reduce you to such a level and how do you imagine your initial meeting?

Stephen King, definitely.  I fully expect to lose the power of coherent speech if I ever manage to meet him.  I think if we do meet, it will be through the efforts of a mutual friend, who will stand there and laugh as I stare and whimper.

                                   Maybe you can prepare pre written signs a la the Roadrunner?

Growing up, what was your favorite book, comic, game or movie and did you create a character/player that might resemble you?

You actually asked the self-insert character question!  I salute you.  I used to tell myself stories where I’d get to meet my favorite characters, but I never committed any of them to paper.  My favorite movie growing up was Little Shop of Horrors, and I actually never did a self-insert there, although I’ve been in the musical seven times, and have played every female character except for Audrey.

                                  Here I thought it was just me who was strange enough to do this, but I think it’s like training wheels for writers, playwrights, actors…

Many writers have that first novel which will never see the light of day. Out of curiosity, do you have one stashed somewhere?  Inquiring minds want to know: what was  your first attempt at writing and how old were you?

My first serious attempt at writing was a fourteen-page essay when I was nine, explaining to my mother why she had to let me read Stephen King.  It had footnotes and a bibliography.  I finished my first book when I was twelve.  It was called Dracula’s Castle, and if I knew where it was, I’d probably put it online.

                                      Since my Prankster Duo would do something like this, I have to ask, did she let you read it?

Whether we’re plotters or pantsers (outlines not needed), creating our stories takes us on very memorable journeys.  Sometimes we may be part way through before we realize some major aspect of our story is just not working (plot, character, setting).  Have you ever hit this sharp, pointy snag and if so, how did you escape? We’re you battered and bruised or a bloody mess?

When in doubt, blow shit up.

                                      Niiiiceeee….

Share one uniquely strange experience you’ve had that remains crystal clear to this day.

I worked for the phone company for a while as a process engineer, and there was one summer where they sent me everywhere.  I had almost no time at home or with my cats, and I was exhausted.  I stopped enjoying travel, and I started having travel troubles for the first time in my life.  Then, when I arrived in Florida after a bad flight, I got picked up by a black van at the taxi stand, and the driver kept pointing out things that weren’t normal tourist things, like the gator farms and where the good movie theaters were.  Just as we reached my hotel, he looked at me in the rearview and said, “You’ve been having a bad time lately.  Some bad trips.  But don’t worry.  That’s all over now.”  And he was right.  Things got better after that.

                                            How cool is that?

What’s some of the funniest/sweetest/strangest things you’ve heard from your readers?

I have the best readers.  A lot of them have named cats after my characters, which I take as high praise.  And one reader’s seven-year-old memorized a song of mine, “Wicked Girls,” when she had to take a poem to her first grade class.  I consider that the sweetest thing ever.

                                          Wow! A poem? That is truly the best thing ever!

What’s the one genre you won’t ever try and why?

Probably military sci-fi.  I don’t have the background, and I would have real trouble with the details.

What is some of the best advice you were ever given?

Never measure yourself against anyone else.  Their stories aren’t yours to tell, and guess what?  Your stories aren’t theirs.

                                               I’ll have to remember this one…

What is the best advice you can share with others?

Read.  Write.  Revise.  Don’t read the comments, ever.  Play nicely with the other children, even if you don’t like them.  Nastiness never did any long-term good.  Support your peers; someday you may need them to support you.  Success is not a zero-sum game.  Your story is not done.

And now for the bullet questions you all love…are you ready?

Blades, guns, fists or feet?

Tank.

Favorite Fairy Tale of all time?

The Three Sisters, variant four, happy ending version, AT tale type 713-b.

Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand/bookcase/table/floor waiting to be read?

              Crops and Robbers, by Paige Shelton; Forbidden, by Kelley Armstrong; Virus X, by Frank Ryan.

Greatest one liner of all time?

“Bet you wish you’d gone to Hollywood with me now, don’t you, Bill?”

Sarcastic witticism, Southern sweetness or Geeky disdain?

Sarcasm, all the way.

Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?

My 20+ pound blue classic tabby and white Maine Coon, Alice.

threecats012

Favorite supernatural creature?

It varies from day to day.  Right now, the mermaid.

A big, huge thank you to Seanan for taking the time to be with us today. She’s definitely help add a little pizzaz to our place!  Want more Seanan McGuire? Don’t fret, her latest release is Midnight Blue-Light Special, the second book in her InCryptid series.  These urban fantasy cryptozoology adventures follow the Price family as they do their best not to get eaten by anything unpleasant.  The series began with Discount Armageddon, and there are several free short stories on Seanan’s website, at www.seananmcguire.com.

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Hellos and Goodbyes…

It’s been awhile since we’ve visited the Swamp and her inhabitants. Today I thought you might like to take a peek into our little farewell get together for Mighty, who shall remain with us via the technology gods until her return, and meet our newest member…

Wicked: *shoving Might’s duffle on to the back of the lopsided jackass*  Why the hell are you going to the Windy City? Between the Werewolf Monks and Eerie’s Free Range Zombies, I would’ve thought we had enough drama for you.

Mighty:*stashing her Staff of Bull Shark Repellent*  You know how it is, money’s a little tight and those Bull Sharks aren’t going to leave the lake any time soon. I’m just going to make sure they don’t pass beyond where they’re allowed.

Snarky: *lazily curling and uncurling her whip*  I can whip them into shape.

Mighty: *look of indulgent disdain*  Your whip is not going to reach.

*Overhead Mischievous calls out*:  Hey Mighty, you ready to lose a few fingers and toes?  The temps over there will keep you in deep freeze.  *He cackles at his lame attempt at humor*

Mighty: *rolling her eyes across the road. Picks them up and puts them back in*:  That bird would be great fried.

Wicked: *grinning in agreement, even as the Prankster Duo comment on Mighty’s gory trick*  Yeah, but I think Eerie might take exception to our meal plans.

Eerie: *taking his Free Range Zombies for a walk with chains and a pointy stick*  What meal plans? The Werewolf Monks have been promising me a new vintage, I could pester them for it.

*A cloud of smoke drifts over* Smokey: “Just took down a mastodon over by Swamp Thing’s place. It’s been smoking nicely for the last few days. I’ll have my Spicy Bit bring it over. We don’t want you heading off without a full belly, Mighty.

Quirky: *practicing knots with some newly purchased ropes*  The Muses headed out a few hours ago, so we could probably hang over at Filet Your Own Deli without worrying about another knock down drag out argument over the use of details or lack thereof.

Dreamer *arms full of colorful blooms and Angel Boy fluttering around her ankles*  What about your cabin, Mighty? Do you need someone to pop in and keep an eye on things for you?

Mighty: *the smirk we all know and love but have learned to be wary of appears* Nah, I forgot to mention I found someone to cabin sit while I’m gone.  That way it’ll still be standing, Zombie Free, when I get back.

Dreamer *beatific smile appears* It’s so nice to have new blood in the community.  So much to play with…*a small blush*  I mean, perhaps they’ll have new playmates for Angel Boy.  *Turns to Wicked and Snarky*  No offense girls, but I believe your progeny may be perhaps a bit too adventurous for mine right now.

Wicked & Snarky exchange high fives.  

Wicked: None taken…

Snarky:  So this new peep.  What’s the deal? Who are they? Where are they from? Most importantly, can they pass the Swamp Entry Exam?

*A loud pop and a blue telephone booth appears and settles in the road. Red Dwarf steps out

Red: Good eve, all, I thought I’d pop in before tea to bid Mighty adieu.  

*A small blond races from behind Red and joins forces with the Prankster Duo, where upon a discussion of how Yoda took down Darth in this year’s Star Wars March Madness*

Red: Did I hear something about an entrance exam? I thought we’d straightened that out months ago.  Besides, I don’t see any dead bodies lying around. Everyone’s here–Snarky, Wicked, Smokey, Quirky, Eerie, Dreamer, Mighty, myself…doesn’t that put us one over?

Eerie *capturing a wondering single hand and wrestling it back in line*  Even though you’re over the Pond and Mighty will soon be in the Land of Winds and You-betchas, we’ve decided to allow one more individual into the group.

Quirky:  We did? When?

Wicked: It was during the brawl over at the Kilted Ferret pub when we had to hold off that damn Molly and her two henchboys from Eerie’s Three Misfiteers.  

Quirky: *flying fingers and rope pause before continuing their dizzy dance*  Oh yeah.  So, who is the new person?

Mighty: *tossing another package on top of the lopsided jackass* I’d introduce you all, but she’s been here the whole time, so I ‘ll let her do the honors.

*All seven dwarves start checking out their surroundings*

Eerie: Short? Tall? Gnome? Troll? What exactly are we looking for here? And a name would be good.

*Mighty smiles and continues to finish her packing*

*From behind him a shadow separates and forms into a petite, lithe form*  Names are not to be given lightly, small man.

Eerie: *huffs up to his full three foot one inch height* Who you calling small?

Wicked: *arms folded so knives are in easy reach* Nice move there, I need to introduce you to Raine.

Snarky: *lets her whip snap, crackle and pop*  And you would be…

*Shadow girl drops a very elegant bow* I am called Ninja Dwarf.

Quirky: *looking intrigues*  Wow! Totally cool, we get our very own ninja!

Come visit with the marvelous @KellyMeding…

Welcome one and all to April’s Swamp Visitor–Kelly Meding. You may recognize her from such enthralling titles as Three Days to Dead, As Lie the Dead, Another Kind of Dead,  or the equally entertaining Trance and Changeling. If you don’t have them on your TO READ list, you best get a move on!

Without further ado, I give you…KELLY MEDING!

If your character(s) came with a warning label, what would it say?  

                         Incurable Sarcasm Ahead: Proceed At Your Own Risk

*hehehehe* I like that one…

If you turned your laptop/computer/pen/typewriter (yes, some of still use these!) over to your character(s), how would they describe you?

             Sadistic. Mean. Overly dramatic. They’d probably accuse me of over-thinking the plot at times.

Oh come on! Don’t they know you could make it so much worse?

We all have favorite characters, either main or secondary, and there are always bits and pieces of them we don’t share with our readers, but keep close to our hearts.  Choose your favorite from your cast of characters and tell us a couple of things that you haven’t shared in your books/writing. 

 This question is fitting, considering Tempest is about to release in April, but one of my favorite characters is Ethan Swift, from the MetaWars books.  I’ve had a soft spot for him since his first appearance in Trance.  He’s the quiet guy with inner strength, who always wants to take care of others before himself. I haven’t shared a great deal of information about him in Trance or Changeling, but he takes center stage in Tempest.  Readers who paid close attention in Changeling figured this out, but since it’s never been plainly spoken/written anywhere, Ethan is gay. Dahlia is the second person to whom he’s ever admitted that, and the third person who finds out in Tempest will probably surprise you.  As for a totally unknown fact, when he was twenty-one, Ethan spent a year as a beach bum in Boynton Beach, Florida, working at a tiki bar for income—a lot of which he spent on sunburn cream.

I can empathize with Ethan, except I don’t know if there’s enough sunburn cream in the world to make sure I don’t resemble a burnt lobster!

Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue (yes classic fan girl behavior).  Who could reduce you to such a level and how do you imagine your initial meeting? 

I had a moment like this last year at Authors After Dark: NOLA, when I met Jeaniene Frost for the first time. We’d communicated a few times in the past, and she graciously blurbed Three Days to Dead way back when, but I’m a huge fan. So I admit to being heart-pounding nervous, and I probably babbled a little. But Jeaniene is so sweet and gracious.  The other time it happened was years ago when James Marsters attended a SF convention, and I was briefly in his presence during the autograph session.  I was crazy nervous, because, well, it’s Spike!

Oooohh, Spike and Authors After Dark…there’s two items on my bucket list.  It’s a good thing we’re doing this interview via blog because I’m not sure you’d understand the words tumbling from my mouth, or if they’d even make sense…

And now for our favorite part–bullet questions.  Kelly’s under the gun and fires back…

Blades, guns, fists or feet? 

Blades, all the way. To me, they simply look cooler on screen or drawn in a comic. Guns are too easy. Blades require you to get in close, but they maintain an elegance that fists or feet don’t.

A women after my own heart…

Favorite Fairy Tale of all time? 

For traditional fairy tales, The Little Mermaid. I love the beauty of the mermaid’s sacrifice at the end of the story.

Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand/bookcase/table/floor waiting to be read? 

Hitchers, by Will McIntosh (loved, loved, loved Soft Apocalypse, and I can’t wait to read this one); Echoes at Dawn, by Maya Banks (I am crushing on the KGI books right now); Static, by L.A. Witt (her m/m romances rock).

You and me both! I love Maya’s KGI Books!

Greatest one liner of all time? 

I don’t think I could actually narrow that down. There are simply too many.


Sarcastic witticism, Southern sweetness or Geeky disdain?

Sarcastic witticism.

Every time, all the time…


Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?

A little plastic unicorn from Authors After Dark: New Orleans, that I had signed by Allison Pang, Kristen Painter, Kelly Gay, Amanda Carlson, and Carolyn Crane.


Favorite supernatural creature?

Shapeshifters.

Huge Thank You to Kelly for stopping by! Want some more? Check out this peek at TEMPEST, out April 22, 2013 from Pocket Star:

Tempest_final_cover

Two months after the discovery of the powerful, non-Meta Recombinants, the former Rangers—Meta-powered humans dedicated to preserving the peace—have made no progress in uncovering the newcomers’ origins, or convincing the public to trust them. Newly powered Metas are popping up and causing trouble, while the former Banes—Metas who harm humans and create chaos—show no inclination that they even want to leave the island prison of Manhattan. With a presidential election looming, the hot political debate is all about Meta rights—and whether they deserve to have any.

Still haunted by the murder of so many in the Meta War fifteen years earlier, Ethan “Tempest” Swift accepts an assignment in Manhattan, working with a team that’s interviewing Banes to determine which are still threats and which have reformed. But Ethan has a personal reason for going to the island as well. Armed with questions for the Bane who just might be his father, Ethan’s quest for answers is interrupted by an unexpected assault on the island. Forced to side with old enemies to uncover who’s responsible for the devastating attack, Ethan begins to question more than just his past—he questions his place in defending a world that sees him as its enemy.

Get yours:

Amazon     Barnes and Noble 

ALL ABOUT KELLY MEDING:

Born and raised in Southern Delaware, Kelly Meding survived five years in the hustle and bustle of Northern Virginia, only to retreat back to the peace and sanity of the Eastern Shore.  An avid reader and film buff, she discovered Freddy Krueger at a very young age, and has since had a lifelong obsession with horror, science fiction, and fantasy, on which she blames her interest in vampires, psychic powers, superheroes, and all things paranormal.

Three Days to Dead, the first book in her Dreg City urban fantasy series, follows Evangeline Stone, a paranormal hunter who is resurrected into the body of a stranger and has only three days to solve her own murder and stop a war between the city’s goblins and vampires.  Additional books in the series, As Lie the Dead, Another Kind of Dead, and Wrong Side of Dead, are available in both digital format and mass market paperback from Bantam.

Beginning with Trance, Kelly’s MetaWars series tells the story of the grown-up children of the world’s slaughtered superheroes who receive their superpowers back after a mysterious fifteen-year absence, and who now face not only a fearful public, but also a vengeful villain who wants all of them dead.  Trance and Changeling are available now in both digital format and mass market paperback from Pocket Books, with Tempest and Chimera following digitally in 2013.

WANT MORE KELLY?  

You can find Kelly on Twitter (https://twitter.com/KellyMeding), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/kellymeding/), and Facebook, as well as her website (http://www.kellymeding.com/) and her blog Organized Chaos (http://chaostitan.blogspot.com/).

–Wicked

Time for a change…

Notice anything different this week?

Uh-huh, that’s right. I changed the day my posts go up on my blog.  I like Wednesdays so I moved my Saturday blog dates to Wednesdays.  Everyone needs something at that mid-point of the week, just a little sometin’ sometin’ to get them thru…

Don’t worry, if you miss it, it’ll come back around like that damn one armed Free Range Zombie of Eeries that I keep chasing out of my yard so Hellhound won’t gnaw on it’s femur.  Free Range? Really? The only Free Range those shambling corpses do is through my yard, taunting my poor Hellhound with the tease of a free bone.

No worries, I’ll send my Muse and her new sidekick over to “politely” let Eerie know his pets need to limit their range!

Onward…

We’ve had some great guest posts and I’m hoping to fill up the rest of the year with even more, so stay tuned.  On April 24th we’ll be hosting the marvelous Kelly Meding, the creative genius behind the Urban Fantasy titles of the Dreg Series and the Meta War series. Mark your calendars, you don’t want to miss out!

I’ll catch you up on what I’ve been doing.  Shadow’s Moon is still out making the rounds.  It’s managed to make a positive impression with a few notables, but no invites yet.  I’ll keep you posted.

The Knight and I decided to take an adult time out in the City of Sin.  It was fun, oh yes it was, but like they say, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” so long as you manage to avoid Twitter and Facebook. The Garden Gnomes and the Prankster Duo managed to hold the shack down, so we were good.

Writing wise, I’m working on a new book complete with new character.  Interestingly enough, this is the fourth title I’ve undertaken, but I can honestly say that practice helps. Every time you sit down and put your pen to paper, your creative skills get just a smidge better.  Every blog you read, every writing class you take, every book you read, it all increased your mastery of writing.  Just don’t fall into the trap of trying to revise your old projects instead of using your new and improved skills on a new one.

I started this particular title before Shadow’s Moon, but set it aside because Xander and Warrick were a lot more pushy and demanding their time. So being the supportive creator I am, I gave them their book. Now, however, this character is making sure she has my complete, undivided attention. Re working the first draft, I’ve realized that everything I’ve learned from other authors is coming in handy. I know the whole basic plot of this book, start, middle, end, a huge accomplishment for a pantser.  Plus, my character motivation is clearer, earlier on.  Instead of stumbling around and trying to make sense, it’s clicking fairly well.

Of course, I may have just jinxed it ,but still.

So I wanted to ask you all…what technique/skill have you recently learned that is helping in your current WIP?

–Wicked

Two Out The Three Rs, Reading and Writing

hwabuttonGreetings and Salutations Loyal readers of the blog,

If you stopped by yesterday you got to meet Faith Hunter.  She managed to reduce my friend Mischievous Raven to a blubbering mass of black feathers.  He was acting like a teenage girl at a boy band concert.  I’ve never seen him quite so overcome.  He kept calling out Jane , J-a-n-e, Jaaaaannnnnne.  I’m pretty sure he was confusing Ms. Hunter with her fictional character Jane Yellowrock.  Of course as he pointed out last week, fictional characters can take on a life all their own.  Which is the topic of my absolute favorite Stephen King novel The Dark Half.  Of course when I meet Mr. King I won’t become an incoherent stumbling fool.  Okay maybe I will.  All right, I’m sure I will. But I won’t start calling him Thad Beaumont or worse George Stark.  I’m pretty sure.

The mention of The Dark Half had me going into the shrine and pulling it off the shelf.  Lately I’ve been rereading some of my favorite books, most of them from my childhood.  There are so many books to read, it’s overwhelming when you consider.  Most of them are quite good and certainly worthy of my time.  The fact that I will never be able to read them all may be my only regret.  I enjoy a diverse or some may say eclectic list.  Old Classics, Science Fiction, Literary, Humor, and even the occasional Romance, but Horror is where my heart lies.  When the world as we know it, is reflected back to us from a fun house mirror our view gets distorted.

What Stephen King and his contemporaries do so well is present us regular Joes, or the girls next door, in a way that we identify with.  We either know these characters or, in some cases, we are these characters.  They do regular things, in a regular world, in the regular way.  They covet what they don’t have, some take the moral high ground and some are content to justify the means with the end.  Characters we know and love, or in some cases love to hate.

Then they put these regular Joes in situations that are irregular.  They imagine them into predicaments that in some cases could happen to us all and in some cases (Thank God) cannot.  But because we identify with them from the outset we go along for the ride.  Deeply imbedded into this impossible situation we struggle right along with them.  When their car overheats and they stroll up to that farmhouse that is all to conveniently near by.  We are glad they won’t have to spend the night on a deserted road.  At the same time we want to scream, tell them no.  This is a bad idea.  And when a little old lady answers the door and invites them in for tea we are relieved.  Her deformed middle-aged son who lives in the basement sharpening scythes all day won’t be up until later.  Not until it’s TOO LATE, for them anyway.

Authors who can pull us into the mundane world and turn it ever so slightly.  Just enough to raise the hair on the back of our neck, but not so much that it is unrecognizable, these are the masters of horror.  These are the men and women who cause me to regret I have but one lifetime to read all there is to read.  This is the joy of reading.  And of course these are the authors who I emulate in my own writing.

I was going to add a short list of my favorites here and realized that it would not–could not ever be short.  In fact the longer I write this blog more great books come to mind.  Books that seized me by the imagination and never have let go.  I still know the names of characters I read long ago.  Why?  Because they impacted me in way that refuses to slacken their grip.  From the black-hearted Montresor in E. A. Poe’s, The Cask Of The Amontillado, and young Jim Hawkins of Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Treasure Island, to Joe Hill’s Judas Coyne of A Heart Shaped Box and Christopher Moore’s Charlie Asher of It’s A Dirty Job, all these characters have rented rooms in my memory and there they stay.  The fictional character boarding house is getting crowded.  But I’ll put on an addition, if need be, to accommodate the next wave of great characters surely to come into my life.

Thanks to all those authors who willingly wear their hearts on their sleeves and sleep with the lights on.

Don’t forget Blood Trade Faith Hunter’s newest Jane Yellowrock novel is available now at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. blood-trade-cover

Today were traveling with Mr. Peabody in the Way Back Machine for this weeks quotation.(If you know this pop culture reference you’re old, just saying)

“The level of our success is limited only by our imagination”  Aesop

Write On,

Eerie Dwarf

Things You Didn’t Know About the Awesome Faith Hunter @hunterfaith #faithhunter #JaneYellowrock

Just when you thought you had a handle on what you know about your favorite writers, you discover there is so much more to know! Faith Hunter, author of the Jane Yellowrock Urban Fantasy novels and Rogue Mage Fantasy series, was sweet enough (and brave enough) to share a little of herself with us!  Dare you to take a peek!

If you were to hold a dinner party for six, who would you invite and share at least one question you would have for each? Your guests don’t have to be alive and if you really want to make it fun, you can use favorite fictional characters. 

Well, if they were dead, they probably wouldn’t come to the party. And, if they did, they probably wouldn’t help the ambience with their rotten stink. Or their rattle-y bones if they’d been gone a long while. And if they were zombies, they’d try to eat our brains, not the food I’d so carefully prepared. So I guess I’ll pass on this one. Oh. Wait. They can be alive???

           Wow, you’d cook for them? Brave, brave Faith.  I don’t think they’d still be breathing if I had to cook. Although that     would make some interesting dinner conversation…hmmm…

As children we tend to have an idea of what we want to be by the time we’re ten.  Before you decided to pursue the artistic dream of being a writer, what did you want to be and why?

I wanted to be a nurse so I could help people. Then I found out nurses sometimes have to wash people’s butts, and I decided to become a lab tech. I only later discovered that lab techs have to do tests on poop. My bad.

         *snort* Yeah, that might take some getting used to…

If your character(s) came with a warning label, what would it say?

Warning! Warning Will Robinson! Warning!   (laughing) You have to like old scifi to appreciate this one.

         Hey! Who you calling old? I love that line…actually used it on my Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor the other day *grin*

Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue (yes classic fan girl behavior).  Who could reduce you to such a level and how do you imagine your initial meeting?

I adore two actors: George Clooney and Mark Harmon. A-D-O-R-E! If got to meet either actor, I’d probably blubber like I was having a stroke. And then cry. And then pass out. All of which could be worse.

           Only if they didn’t catch you. Think of the possibilities if they did, though…

Growing up, what was your favorite book, comic, game or movie and did you create a character/player that might resemble you?

Wonder Woman. She was tall and skinny and athletic and had big boobs and wore a big cape. I was successfully psychic in the boobs part. And I do love scarves which might be considered a type of cape. As for the rest, I guessed totally wrong.

Share one uniquely strange experience you’ve had that remains crystal clear to this day.

I remember a 4 day trek up to Nantahala. It was cold and raining and wet and miserable, and the RV was full of river-stinky wet gear, and wet, cold, stinky river paddlers (some of whom didn’t feel like showering because it was only Wednesday). And I was stressed and exhausted. Deadlines looming. Needing to get home. And because I had promised to join everyone, we geared up in our cold wet river gear and went down the river.

We were the only people on the water.

Mist fell down the sides of the gorge like a waterfall of clouds. Birds sang like they were calling for the last warm days of summer to return, and to remember them. The water called back with a muted roar of joy and power. The river carried us along like the veins of mother earth. I got out front at one point, and a bird flew along beside my boat, just us, alone on the water. Wings outspread in a slow glide, he watched me with one quirky eye, sharing some great bit of bird wisdom about flight with his water-bound cousin. Rain fell and dimpled the surface of the river in the places where it was smooth. Raindrops mixed with my tears until I couldn’t tell the difference between the tears of the earth and my own.

And I was restored.

That river trip was a thing of great worth, a priceless, un-match-able experience. I returned home relaxed and calm. And I met my deadline. I carry that river trip in my memory like a precious thing. And when I’m stressed, and having panic attacks, and feeling like a failure, I remember that trip. And that bird, gliding beside me, sharing the experience of the cold and the wet.

             Wow, Faith, that actually made me tear up! It sounds so incredibly beautiful.  It’s those type of moments that restore your creativity and sense of wonder.  Something every person needs! Thank you for sharing.

What’s the one genre you won’t ever try and why?

Erotica. My sex scenes suck. Wait. That came out aaaaaall wrong.

     *snorting coffee through nostrils* Seriously, you are a dangerous woman when hot beverages are involved!  I know I feel like the closet perv when doing my scenes.  Hunched over the keyboard, office door closed, continuously checking to make sure the Knight, the Hellhound or the Prankster Duo aren’t lurking behind me.

Now it’s time for our favorite bullet questions!

Blades, guns, fists or feet?

Yes.

Favorite Fairy Tale of all time?

Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, of course. Wait. Was that not politically correct here?

No worries, what is said in the Swamp, stays in the Swamp!

Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand/bookcase/table/floor waiting to be read? 

I only have two waiting: 1. Kim Harrison’s Ever After. 2. Patricia Briggs’ Frost Burned.

Greatest one liner of all time?

Go ahead … Make my day.

Sarcastic witticism, Southern sweetness or Geeky disdain?

Yes. Each as appropriate.

Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?

Hmmm. That would be either the boar skull (complete with tusks) or the free rang anole lizard named Longfellow. He is sleeping in an orchid as I write this, but he spent today running up and down the shelves that hold the orchids.

Favorite supernatural creature?    

Angels. Not the pretty lady kind, but the warrior kind — mean brutes with the swords of justice and armor. I mean, really. Kickass gorgeous males with wings and swords? How cool is that?

Intrigued are you? Good, because here’s a look at Faith’s latest release, BLOOD TRADE:

Blood Trade Cover

The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.

But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.

Available now at AMAZON  and  BARNES AND NOBLE!

FaithHunter8Small

Faith Hunter has written the Jane Yellowrock series and the Rogue Mage series, as well as the RPG Rogue Mage. Several of her novels have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, and she has four new books under contract. Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she has written action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. Under all her pen names, she has over 25 books in print in 27 countries.

Faith writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital (for the benefits). She’s a workaholic and playaholic who makes jewelry, collects orchids and bones, travels in her RV with her hubby and two dogs, and white-water kayaks.  Once upon a time, she also tried to keep house and cook, but since she started writing two books a year, she may have forgotten how to turn on the appliances.

Want more? You can find her:

Website   Facebook   Twitter: @hunterfaith

The Plague has arrived…

Flu

The Swamp has been hit with the plague, so I’ve been huddling inside a salt circle warded by every known repulsion spell I can possible conceive of.  First it raced past the beautiful gardens at Dreamer’s place and left foliage carnage in its wake. Snarky managed to curb its insatiable appetite with a few well-aimed licks of her whip of displeasure.  I haven’t heard from Smokey, the haze is pretty deep, but I think that’s what’s keeping the plague in check for him.  As for Quirky, nope, he tried, but in the end he too fell.  Red managed to put a whole ocean of water between him and the feared virus carrier.  Eerie and Mischievous? Well, they headed up Troll Mountain and let the frigid temps discourage the plague’s forward momentum.  For a while it looked like Mighty Dwarf was going to escape, but then this week, she finally succumbed, swearing and cursing all the way. We’re experimenting with a few medicinal drams in an effort to weaken the stupid bug, but so far all it does is knock the victim out, leaving them to roll around in bed with a few weak moans. 

Even here in our humble shack we haven’t been totally immune.  Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor went down a few days ago.  Supportive spouse that I am, I vanquished him to another room as far from me as possible, because, let’s face it, I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME TO BE SICK.  Oh no, with the Prankster Duo at full steam, demands from that pesky job that pays the bills, edits to finish, queries/synopsis to compose, the Blogger Book Fair to prep for and preparing to start the next WIP in February, there is not a lot of time to be laying around moaning. Unless of course those moans are because my brain is on the verge of imploding under the massive to-do list that haunts my nightmares. 

Until this harbringer of aches and fevers removes its shadow from the Swamp, I’m staying put, hunkering down and ignoring the anquished moans of suffering.  I’m fairly certain that’s the only way I’m going to make it!

Besides the Blogger Book Fair starts in two weeks and none of my highly anticipated visitors want to dodge the plague!

If the plague has found you, my sympathies, but please don’t be offended if I say that from wayyyy over here!

Until next week….

Wicked

Ripping Apart Your Story…

It’s been a busy holiday here at the Swamp.  I did manage to finish my first draft of Shadow’s Moon, wrangled some interviews with really cool peeps (check out the Guest Post tab), clean out the pits known as the Prankster Duo’s rooms, and took a small breather from the job that pays the bills.  Now  as I wait to finalize guest post dates and prepare for the Bloggers Book Fair in February, I’m reading back through Shadow’s Moon and utilizing my red ink scalpel to finesse my creation before sending it out into the big, bad publishing world.  Currently I’m hiding out in my office of solitude, now graced with a gorgeous shiny 27 inch Apple, while Nerf bullets fly throughout our humble shack.  Knight in Slight Muddy Armor is holed up reveling in the adventures of a high school teacher who chooses to engage in a “questionable” job opportunity.  Even the  Garden Gnomes are hiding in their garden from the heated exchange of foam bullets wielded by five preteen males. Ah, yes, the year is off to a rousing start!

I’ve been asked a few time what my editing process is–the simplest answer: BRUTAL.  It never fails, I finish a story, type END and then feel like a limp dishrag.  I set it aside for a couple of weeks while I recover my strength and confidence.  I’m not sure about every writer out there, but I know that once I finish a story I’m suddenly plagued by insecurities.  Will anyone really like this story? Are my characters deep enough, real enough for readers to connect to? Does my plot resemble a colander, leaking story elements into the ether? Did I add extra arms/legs/body parts where they weren’t needed? The worries are endless and tend to get stuck on a mental loop that make that blindly bright white jacket with buckles look oh so inviting.

When I finally come back to the story, I sit down and read it from beginning to end, armed with my red ink scalpel and begin to answer all of those questions.  Add here. Slash there. Rewrite there because there’s no way in hell that character would EVER say that.  For almost two solid weeks I’ll immerse myself in the story, smoothing the edges, filling the holes until it shines.  Then I send it out.  Once my editor gets ahold of it, she sends it through at least three more brutal rounds in the editing ring.  Bloody and beaten, it will triumph, in the end unbowed but oh so much stronger than when it stepped into the ring.  I honestly don’t think a writer ever feels like a story is ever “perfect”.  Even if it’s out there, being consumed by readers, I know that if I sat down to read Shadow’s Edge or Shadow’s Soul now, I would change things.  Not that they need it, but because writers are constantly honing their skills.  That’s why you shouldn’t go back to what’s out there, but put those skills to work in what’s ahead or currently in front of you.

Snarky shared this awesome post this week with me.  It’s from one of my favorite writers, Chuck Wendig and his Terrible Minds blog.  When you have the time, check it out. It’s worth reading.  In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a quote from his post: How Chuck Wendig Edits a Novel:

“Writing is when we make words.  Editing is when we make the words not shitty.”

Until next week!

–Wicked

Bacon and Beer w/NY Times Best Selling Writer Man @KevinHearne

Snarky  *boots propped on my porch railing, whip curled in her lap*:  So you finally womaned up and got Kevin Hearne to swing by?  ‘Bout damn time!

Wicked *hand on doornob*:  Look, I know you and the other Evil 7 think I’m all Miss Social but it’s only because I know you deviants.  Approaching world famous writers like *hush tone* Kevin Hearne reduces me to a stuttering mess.

Snarky *does that “look” thing she does so well*

Wicked *mutters under breath, opens door and steps inside only to come to a complete stops as a mass of fur barrels by*  Was that JoJo and Jasmine, with Hellhound?  What’s the deal?

Prankster Duo 1: Hey Mom, Hellhound invited some chicks over.  He told them that Irish stud was stopping by.

Snarky *perking up*: Atticus?

Wicked: Snarky! Your drool is showing!

Prankster Duo 1 *rolls his eyes across the floor*:  You guys are so weird! Like no, the other one, Oberon.

Wicked: Weird? Looks who’s talking, child of mine.  Okay, does Smokey and Eerie know where their girls are?

Prankster Duo 1:  Dunno.

Wicked: Go tell them.  First, do me a favor and make sure the fur trio doesn’t track dirt into the house. I just cleaned it.  I don’t need Kevin thinking that just because we live in the Swamp, we have to decorate with mud.  *Stops in shock* What the hell happened to my kitchen!

Prankster Duo 2 *head pops over the counter with towering plate of bacon*: Hey Mom! You’re home! Great! We need more bacon.

Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor *turns with devlish grin*: Check out the beer selection I got!  Eerie got the Werewolf Monks to send over some Howling Moon for our get together.

Before the craziness that is my life overtakes us all–Ladies and Germs may I present today’s guest, the always humorous and witty creator of the Iron Druid Chronicles, Kevin Hearne…

Trapped

Personally, I tend to be a bit on the introverted side so the thought of being in the actual presence of one of my favorite writers makes my heart race, my knees shake and tangles my tongue. Who could reduce you to such a level and how to you imagine your initial meeting?

It’s actually already happened to me. The first time I met Patrick Rothfuss I fanboyed all over him. It’s out of my system now and I can speak to him like a normal dude. I suppose now it would be Neil Gaiman. I don’t think I’d be able to handle meeting him. I’ll just be thankful I get to walk the world at the same time he does.

                            –You’re not the only one! One of the few times I’ve seen Red Dwarve all a flutter was when Neil Gaiman responded to one of Red’s tweets!

Many writers have that first novel which will never see the light of day. Out of curiosity, do you have one stashed somewhere? Inquiring minds want to know: what was your first attempt at writing and how old were you?

I do have one stashed away—it’s called THE ROAD TO CIBOLA. By the gods of twenty pantheons, it’s awful, but I’m so glad I wrote it. I learned a lot writing that book—mostly things I should never do again. But those are crucial lessons to learn. And the other thing I got out of it was the confidence that I can finish a novel, period. That’s also crucial. It took me a long time to finish a book—nine years of starting and never finishing several projects, and then six years after that to finish Cibola. I wrote another book that will never be published in the next three years, and then HOUNDED in a year after that. So nineteen years, all told, before I got it right.

What’s some of the sweetest/strangest things you’ve heard from your readers?

The sweetest have been from a couple of people who said they read my books to someone who was recovering from surgery in the hospital and the stories somehow made their convalescence a bit easier and relieved a whole lot of stress. The strangest have been some folks who wanted me to start a religion based on the Druidry I’ve described in my books.

What is the best advice you can share with others?

Focus on character and let your plots flow from them. And if writing is truly your dream, don’t give up! It took me nineteen years, but I got published without any contacts in NY. If you write a good story that hits the market at the right time you’ll be published too.

Blades, guns, fists or feet?

I tend to avoid stabbity, shooty, punchy, smelly things.

Favorite fairy tale?

Anything that hasn’t been touched by Disney. Give me the old Baba Yaga tales.

Three titles and their authors sitting on your nightstand waiting to be read?

LOW TOWN by Daniel Polansky, LOSS by Jackie Kessler, and a book that’s not even out yet by an author no one knows. However, they *will* know him in the summer of 2013 after his first book, THE DARWIN ELEVATOR, comes out. He’s the next big thing—his name is Jason Hough—and I’m about to dive into the second book in his series. I’m getting early peeks from my publisher, muah-ha-ha-haa.

Strangest item currently taking up space in your writing cave?

A statue of Ganesha. I’m not a Hindu but he’s a cool dude and I really like him.

Favorite supernatural creature.

Definitely yeti. I don’t know why. Ari Marmell had me read THE GOBLIN CORPS, which is full of all sorts of critters, but I couldn’t stop gushing about his yeti. That just pressed my nerd button I guess.

Kevin HearneMuch love and thanks to Kevin for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit with us! If you haven’t already, you must go add the adventures of Atticus and Oberon to your reading pile.  You can find him at his web site:  www.KevinHearne.com

His latest release is TRAPPED, the fifth book in the series.  Now run, fast before the mobs hit the bookstores and grab all the available copies!