A NEW MASTER?

Greetings and Salutations loyal readers of the blog,

I have been remiss in fulfilling my obligation to blog once a week. This is not acceptable so I’m holding myself accountable here. I let my panties get in a bunch due to the overwhelming lack of a response I received from my last post. With that said I will do my utmost not to be absent again.

Now that I’ve fallen on my sword and exposed my sensitive nature to both readers of my blog lets move on.

I don’t normally do book reviews on my blog post, but we are shooting for the exceptions today. If you are not living under a rock you probably know that Joe Hill’s new novel NOS4A2 hit the book stores late last month. I read Joe’s most recent work over two days. An unusual feat for me.

No spoilers here! 
What I will tell you is Mr. Hill’s love of words comes through in the careful way he weaves them together to create characters, who took me by the hand and lead me into a world I didn’t always want to be a part of. Yet, I was unable to pull my eyes away from the page. Joe’s phrases raised a visceral response in me. I found myself pacing the house, the book resting in one hand, turning pages with the other. Sometimes agitated, other times nervous, but always responding to Mr. Hill’s flexing of my reality . The language throughout this novel is exactly what all authors would like to be able to deliver. Joe has broken down the wall between Literary and Genre Horror with a heavy hammer. He is not the first to do so, but it is encouraging to see another author pull another brick out of that wall. 

As a writer myself I was humbled when I set NOS4A2 down. If I could get to one of Joe’s book signings I would reenact the scene from Wayne’s World, kowtowing “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy.”

When I first read A Heart Shaped Box I mentioned here, that I was clearing space on my bookshelves for all the Joe Hill novels to follow. I’m glad I left plenty of room.

Todays quote comes from Joe Hill’s first novel.

“He understood that the ghost existed first and foremost within his own head. That maybe ghosts always haunted minds, not places. If he wanted to take a shot at it, he’d have to turn the barrel against his own temple.”
― Joe Hill, Heart-Shaped Box

Unfinished Books

In the past few months, I’ve stopped reading two novels, less than halfway through reading them.  These books were both well-rated on GoodReads and were books I’d heard good things about.  But from the moment I picked them up, I struggled with poor writing quality and boring plots.  This got me wondering whether putting a book down before finishing it is a good thing or not.

Sometimes it’s true that a book or a movie can be amazing, but might start out a little slow, so should we finish every book we start?  Or is there a certain point where we’ve been given all the warnings, and we’re choosing to simply continue wasting our time.

I never used to stop reading books partway through, but since my reading time has become more and more precious, I’ve become far more protective of this time.  If I get past the first five chapters or so, and I’m still not enjoying the book, I feel a strange resentment towards the author for the time I’ve already invested into reading the book, and I put it down.

Now, this isn’t to say that every book I’ve ever put down has been a terrible book.  Not every person is right for every other person, and every book is certainly not right for every person, so I really shouldn’t feel any animosity towards a writer if I didn’t enjoy their book.  And, this also brings me back to the question I’ve been considering, could these books be amazing, and I’ve missed out terribly by putting them down?

What do you think?  Do you ever stop reading a book partway through, and if so, do you ever wonder whether you missed out on something amazing?

Two Out The Three Rs, Reading and Writing

Greetings 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. 

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

In the Eye of the Beholder

One of the first books I ever read about dragons was Jermey Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville, when I was in early elementary school.  This book still sits on my shelf in a place of honor, for it represents the beginning of my love for dragons.  Since then, I have added many, many more books about dragons to my library, because I am still amazed by these powerful creatures that, for some crazy reason, want to bond and communicate with humans (or at least do so in many books).

Right now, I am reading another book about dragons.  It is inspiring, as it is both creative and beautifully written.  The settings are well-described, and the characters are multi-layered and realistic.  But, I think it is the dragons that have pulled me into this story more than anything else.  There are pieces of this book that are written from their point-of-view, and the depth of both their pride and their agony as they struggle through their new lives is heart wrenching to read.

There are things about this book that make me pause.  It seems to break many of the “rules” about writing that I’ve come to accept very comfortably.  It repeats very, very frequently.  It also describes nearly every scene in great detail, regardless of whether the setting is important or not, or will ever be revisited.  Do these issues take away from the story?  Perhaps a little.  But I am still devouring this incredible story, and in the process, trying to learn and appreciate the things that make this story so remarkable.

One of the things that I I’ve learned the most about from this books is how powerful perception can be.  This book is written from multiple points of view.  One of my favorite characters describes herself multiple times throughout the book as unattractive and boring.  Another of the characters who interacts with her regularly describes her as almost grotesque and a nuisance.  Then, her path crosses with yet another character, and through his point of view, she is a lively and beautiful creature.  It startled me to realize how, rather than these characters contradicting each other, they are just creating a more realistic character.  Because isn’t beauty always in the eye of the beholder?  Aren’t people more complicated than simply “boring” or “interesting,” depending upon who is judging them?

So, I guess there wasn’t just one thing I learned from reading this novel.  Instead, it is another experience that will hopefully enrich my writing.

School, Reading, and Chalk Boards

Well school has started for me and I must admit this being my last year I have a case of senioritis (is this over yet?). In order to get this over with this year I have jam packed schedule full of fun literary classes. I don’t know about you guys but no matter how fun the material I tend to hate reading assigned texts. I think it has something to do with being forced to read it. Yes, yes, I know that it is within my rights to not read said texts but that would make tests and papers a bit difficult.

For me there is something about requirement that makes the reading much harder. This is coming from someone who can read for hours on end. I will admit that once said novels are read I feel quite accomplished. I get that whole “lookee here ma! I iz a literary genius!” I see value in what I am reading even if I don’t like it because it helps me as a writer. Still I dream of the day that the semester is over so that I may again browse Amazon to enjoy non-school texts.

In the meantime I have the same professor for two classes who keeps telling us that we should train ourselves to look at the class material as interesting as it is obscure and will seem boring (wonderful! You’ve already warned me that I will want to hit my head against the wall repeatedly while trying to finish your readings).  Another professor who is overly aggressive with chalk, yep that’s right I am in a classroom that still has a chalk board. The other classes are online so thankfully there will be no screeching chalk. Fingers crossed everyone that this semester is relatively pain free.

Who’s Head Are We In?

As a writer, you are made aware that there are a number of rules by which you must write.  Part of me, the one pepetually stuck in my teenage years, wants to thumb my nose at this never ending list of Do’s and Don’ts.  However, I’m a logical, thinking adult…and I still want to thumb my nose at the damn list.  Since writing is a craft you are continually perfecting, I have no doubt that I have broken several of these rules without even thinking about it. 

Yet, until my latest WIP, there is one rule I’ve been very careful of not breaking–keeping a consistent point of view.

If you’ve read (or are planning to read) my first two books, you’ll note that we are always in Raine’s point of view.  Since I’m easily confused, will just label my style as Third Person Limited–basically the story is told from the protagonist’s POV using “he” and “she”.  This has worked quite well for me, until Xander and Warrick decided to show up. 

I’ve tried the First Person POV–everything told from the protagonist’s POV.  This style lures you in with the promise of pulling your readers in closer to your character.  Those snickers you hear as you dive in? That’s the style laughing it’s ass off at you because you have stepped into the quagmire of “I thought…”,  “I moved…”, “I…”,  “I…” and it so hard to drag yourself free.  I have mad respect for all those writers who’ve used First Person POV brillantly.  I’ll even admit to having a partial story in this style.  It’s now sitting in a corner by itself until it learns to behave better.

There is this term–”Head hopping” that most writers hear.  For those not familiar with this term, pick up a book and tell me, how many of the characters are telling the story?  Are there chapter or scene breaks inbetween each character’s scene?  If so, the writer is skating the thin edge of the rules, but doing well.  But say you go from John’s perspective to Mary’s, then to Roman’s all within a page, back to John’s, then to Roman’s, then to Mary’s, all within two pages, that’s called head hopping.  It’s a bit like standing in the center of the room with the characters surrounding you and you spin endlessly trying to follow along.

Now, one of my favorite authors (and no, I’m not sharing the name) likes to head hop, and they have TONS of books out there.  As a reader I’m okay with it, those stories work for me. As a writer, I’ve tried very hard never to head hop.  For me (THIS IS MY OPINION!) I always felt like I was cheating if I had to use multiple perspectives to get the story across to the readers. 

*clears throat* 

Recently, I’ve had to change my mind.  Those who’ve been following along know I’ve struggled to get Shadow’s Moon under way as I searched for the correct POV to do the story from.  Finally, this weekend, it hit–this story is about two very distinct people, therefore the reader needs to hear both of their voices. 

*sigh*

So those rules you hear all the time, take them with a huge salt lick.  Rules are a great way to help you start out in writing, but don’t be afraid of ignoring them and jumping off your creative cliff occassionally. You’ll be surprised what meets you half way down! 

 Wicked

THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

Greetings and salutations again loyal blog readers,

As you can see I’m packing up.  I’ve had no time to write during my stay at the Werewolf Monastery, and quite frankly the monks are getting on my nerves.  I may have over stayed my welcome.  I think I’ve fixed about everything they could find and I installed new accent lighting in the gardens.  It looks very nice, but that’s not what I meant to do with my time.  The other reason for my sudden departure is I haven’t heard from Mischievous Raven and that worries me.  As you know he was abducted a while back and held for ransom by The Three Misfiteers.  Although I fulfilled my part of the bargain to obtain his release, which required me to submit their novel out to literary agents.  I admit that I’ve slacked off for the past two months.  And those three are not above taking my good friend and confidant again.  So I’m heading back to The Swamp today to check on my friend.  My muse has the armored Humvee here and he’s agreed to drop me off.  That saves me a trip through the Impenetrable Forrest.

Today we’re going to talk about Stephen King’s most recent work, The Wind Through The Keyhole.  I openly admit to being a huge fan of Mr. King.  Also known as The Master around The Swamp.  The critics were pretty cool on this book.  One said, it was disappointing because it did not further the Gunslinger story at all.  While it is true that it does nothing to further the series, it is a great tale in its own right.  The Wind Through the Keyhole is a story within a story within another story.  And while it takes its place right in the middle of the Gunslinger series, it gives some insights into the characters that we already know and have come to love.  Roland and his ka-tet– Jake, Susanna, Eddie and Oy, the billy-bumbler have to hunker down to ride out a storm.  To pass the time Roland tells them a story about himself as a young gunslinger, in which he tells a young boy a story to keep his mind off the difficult task Roland has put upon him.

The tale itself (without the set up) is a wonderful read and demonstrates why SK is one of the best (if not thee best) writer of his generation.  We are transported back to mid-world when Roland was a brand new gunslinger.  SK’s feel for this alternate world and his ability to share it with the reader is wondrous.  I found myself there, next to Roland as he takes on one of his first challenges as a gunslinger.

Isn’t that why we read fiction in the first place.  Keyhole is a character driven ticket to another world.  Characters we love, and some we hate, and still others we love to hate.  By arranging black letters on a white background, SK creates emotional responses in us, as we lay safely in bed turning pages until the wee hours of the morning.  Who could ask for more.  Thanks Stephen.

“Time is a keyhole, he thought as he looked up at the stars.  Yes, I think so.  We sometimes bend and peer through it.  And the wind we feel on our cheeks when we do–the wind that blows through the keyhole–is the breath of all the living universe”

That short excerpt speaks for itself.

I love reading, which is probably why I write.  Or maybe it’s the other way around.  Either way, if you’re a huge fan of The Master then reviews are meaningless and you’ve already read or are planning to read this book.  If on the other hand, you are a sometimes reader of SK, don’t let the critics steer you away from this powerful story.  By a ticket and enjoy your journey into mid-world.

Todays quote comes from G.K. Chesterton:

“Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.”

Thanks for stopping by,

Write on,

Errie

new books abound

Greetings and Salutations Glorious Readers of the blog,

I’m glad to see you made it through the Impenetrable Forrest with Mischievous and myself.  On our way we passed Dreamers quaint little cottage, we attracted the zombie horde and brought them along with us.  It was the good thing too, because when the Piranha Hummingbirds attacked the zombies were slow and they were devoured down to the bare bones affording us an easy escape.  So that’s a few less zombies to pester Dreamer.  Of course there are always new ones showing up so the Prankster Duo won’t have to worry about running out of playmates anytime soon.  In our mad dash to escape I think we ran right past a Killer Koala.  He was probably disoriented by Mischievous’  screaming.  What’s that?  I was the one screaming.  Are you sure?  Well, who knew my short legs could move so fast, even as screamed like a little girl.

Mischievous and I are holed up here in the old Catholic unconsecrated cemetery to wait out the full moon. There is no cell phone service here so we are out of touch with the world for now.  I hope the Snark is recuperating all right.  It’s a serious thing if the Whipmistress’ Snark isn’t feeling well.  The reason we’re stuck here in the cemetery  is The Werewolf Monks, wonderful hosts that they are, don’t accept visitors during the course of the full moon.  Of course my muse is safe because he’s already there.  Don’t worry about us we’re safe because the unconsecrated cemetery is neutral territory.  Nothing messes with the Enforcer Spirits that execute the law around here, not even the zombies are that stupid.  And let’s face folks the zombies aren’t just playing with a less than a full deck. Their deck only contains Jokers and Lazy Jacks.   So while we’re cooling our jets here I thought I’d talk about what I’ve been reading.

Besides my daily spiritual readings, in the last week three of my  favorite authors have released books.  The first and foremost is of course is the Master’s.  Just when you thought it was safe to visit mid-world again Mr. King has released another book in the Gunslinger series. This new book titled The Wind Through the Keyhole, falls in the middle of the Dark Tower cycle, between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of Calla.  I’ve only just begun to read it so I can’t tell you much more than that.  It should comfort me nicely here against the headstone of poor old Liam Flannery who passed away two days before the Mrs., affording him a very short respite from her sharp tongue.  The critics have been sharp tongued with regards to SK’s revisiting of mid-world, and although it’s too early for me to have an opinion on the work itself I must say it is courageous of Stephen to reopen the doorway to visit with Roland and his ka-tet.

The second book added to my granite nightstand is the latest from that jokester Mr. Christopher Moore titled Sacre Bleu.  He claims it is a book about the color blue.  What ever he says about it, is irrelevant because he never fails to make me laugh out loud.  It’s a Dirty Job was about a beta male.  And You Suck is a love story.  I’m looking forward to laughing in public places as I read all about the color blue.

And last but not least Bloodstorm by Amber Kallyn is out in paperback from Amazon.  A love story with intrigue, passion, and blood sucking vamps.  Five Salamanders out of five.  Check it out at Amazon.

In any case I’ll savor my time with these authors because they always entertain.  Fortunately the moon is rising early and it’s plenty bright enough for me to read by.  So I think I’ll wrap it here and get some reading in this week I’ll leave you with a little taste of Christopher Moore.

“That’s the difference between irony and sarcasm. Irony can be spontaneous, while sarcasm requires volition. You have to create sarcasm.” 

― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

“Charlie Asher: I accidentally shagged a monk last night.
Minty Fresh: Sometimes, in times of crisis, that shit cannot be avoided.”
― Christopher Moore, A Dirty Job

“She gave him the wide, green-eyed expression that she would have described as I will slap you so far into next week that it will take a team of surgeons just to get Wednesday out of your ass.” 

― Christopher Moore, You Suck

Write On,

Eerie

Are HEA’s Necessary?

With the release of Hunger Games, conversations have been perking up everywhere with friends and family.  They all start off the same…”So did you see the movie?” Umm…yes, because the Prankster Duo have been anxiously awaiting its arrival for months.  And with that answer an entire conversation is sparked.

What I’ve found to be the most interesting trend is that the conversation starts out with Hunger Games and evolves into spirited debates about how dark should a story really be?  There’s the “I read to escape” group who claim that HEA (happily ever afters) are vital since they’re reading to get away from reality’s unrelenting grasp.  Therefore, they feel that if a story doesn’t resolve itself with the HEA, why read it?

Then there’s the other side who feel that stories should have some reflection of reality, so HEA’s can actually be—kind of happily ever after because just like life, nothing is ever neatly tied into a pretty package.

I spoke to the Prankster Duo to figure out why they enjoyed the series, because yes, as a mom, I do read most of what my kids read.  How else will I sneak my way into their lives?  Since the Duo is male, the first reason is pretty simplistic—the fight scenes were “wicked awesome, mom!.  Okay, but I wanted to see if they picked up on the socio-political aspect of the story…my answer…not really.  For them, they enjoyed the books because they got to watch Katniss triumph over everything thrown her way, the fight scenes were intriguing, and they just liked it. 

Yet as an adult the reasons I enjoyed the first book, liked the second, but had issues with the third are varied.  And it wasn’t just me, even knight-in-slightly-muddy-armor hit some of the same points I did.  The idea isn’t new (Lord of the Flies, Survivor…) but the characters had enough depth to keep me turning the page.  The world was a grim alternate reality because as an adult I can see how close society skates against the edges of right and wrong.  Plus, I write Urban Fantasy so I tend to travel the twisting, offshoots of the main road where a sharp blade is needed to fend off the glowing red eyes.  I’m grateful my boys haven’t found these paths yet, I’d rather they get as much vitamin D as possible before they start checking out the shadows.

Still, the conversations on HEA’s has stuck with me and I took a look at some of the books I’ve been reading lately and found that even someone like me needs some sort of HEA in my stories.  One particular series I marvel at the complex plots and sub-plots the writer seems to effortlessly weave, but regardless of how intricate her characters lives become, by the end of her books I’m anxious to start the next story.  She may not tie up every line with a bow, but she makes them smooth enough that I’m not depressed when I’m done.   Then there was the first book in a new series that I finished yesterday.  It took me forever to figure out why I suddenly had the case of the blahs.  Then it hit me…the book I just finished hadn’t given me my normal time out, instead I was drained emotionally.  Not only that, but the ending, which was set up for the next book, hinted at the next bone-wearying trek through an emotional mountain range.  Man, I just couldn’t garner up the excitement necessary to even want to think about that journey.  Yes the main characters had a fairly solid HEA, but the surrounding characters that you just know are in the next story…man I feel so sorry for them.

So even with my own leanings to overall story arcs that web through each book, as a reader and a writer I’m starting to see just how important those HEA’s really are.  Reading is escapism, and the whole purpose is to step outside your box of stress and challenges and take a peek at someone else’s.  Plus, when they manage to vanquish the demons, it gives you hope that perhaps your own personal haunts aren’t so bad and perhaps this time, you too will conquer the big bads!

–Wicked

Don’t forget to check out my guest posts this week :

4/5/12               Mona Karel      with my post “The Importance of a Sidekick with Fur” as I ponder why furry friends are making star appearences in today’s Urban Fantasy.

4/7/12              Nanny Berry     with my post “You Never Really Grow Up…” as I try to get over the idea of my mom reading my sex scenes. (I’ll update blog link once I have it!)

4/8/12               Bri Clark              with my post ” All I Needed to Know About Being Bad, I Learned from Soap Operas…”  I think this title says it all!

The Goode Olde Days

Been fighting off a cold for the majority of the day, so instead of helpful writing tips/not so helpful writing woes, you get a funny video about technology instead:

 

 

Have a great week!

May the Force be with you,

Jedi