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:

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

Words and… stuff

I’ve been listening to Tyr lately but that has nothing to do with this post. Just wanted to share because it’s one of heavy metal Nordic bands that does NOT scream gutturally at me.

Anyway, onto my take, or rather at this point, problem, with “words and… stuff.”

Vague I know. Just try to follow along.

Words don’t come to me as easily as they used to. I attribute that to my being a more attentive writer who is aware of factors such as audience reading level, genre, POV, and individual character personality at the same time.

Audience and genre can be sorted out in the beginning pretty easy I’ve found, just know where you’re coming from and the readers will catch on. If it’s sci-fi, add lots of slang and acronyms, if it’s medieval fantasy, lots of analogies pertaining to nature. It’s what the characters know, so it makes sense to add it into the book.

But doing that ON TOP OF digging deep into each individual character personality is a little tougher, and I think it’s these layers which trip some writers up. Say for instance the writer grew up in a big city. How the hell will they know the saying ‘until the cows come home?’ Or whatever (city-born, right here). Point is, you have to get colorful and creative to pull out the cool-sounding analogies that really make sense (or do a lot of research). You also have to change your voice. Peeps back in “Game of Thrones” didn’t say shit like, “well, um, yeah, so what of it pops?” No. They say shit like this: “Are they dead? What proof have we?” Have we? I’d say what proof do we have! But it’s different, you see, because it’s a different place, a different time, and a different world.

And good writers need to be conscious of ALL of these subtle alterations to succeed.

Secondary Meat Puppets

It has been awhile, but Mighty is back and ready for action (or at least to write a blog post). So as some of you may know Urban Fantasy is my poison of choice. Who wants Belladonna and Arsenic when you can have magic and goblins? Not this chick, we can save our discussions of perfect murder scenarios in the mundane world for another day. So, what is it that butters my bread in Urban Fantasy? Well there are too many things to count, but among the highest ranked is the romance.

I know, I know, typical chick response, but it’s also the lack of romance that gets me. Huh? Let me explain. Now in your typical romance there can be an amazing story with various elements but the relationship usually goes something like this: wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Nothing wrong with this, I enjoy a whammy as much as the next person but it may not keep my interest as long.

With Urban Fantasy typically you’re introduced to the ultimate love interest early on but it is played out over more than one book. So I have to continue to read through all of the badassery to get to the goods. I like this, I like it when my books play hard to get. Now because of this longer courtship we will often see an alternative romance. This is where I’m torn.

The “second male alternative” can be a very worthwhile plot element if done right. Sadly, it can also be bad, real bad. For me it goes bad when it moves the story forward but is the main force pushing the plot forward. Don’t get me wrong when my hero and heroine are going to take seven books to figure their ish out I expect them to date other people, I just don’t like the pity date. You guys know what I’m talking about. It’s the “I am handsome, intelligent, loving and giving and I worship the ground you walk on. Yes, I know there is no hope that you will ever love me back the way I love you but that’s fine. Let me be your love slave.”

Does this seem realistic to anyone? Also it’s freaking awkward, I feel bad for the dude and it’s a fictional character. Also these “seconds” are always highly desirable and could easily find someone else but seem to lack the self-respect needed to realize this. Okay… but the problem is these men are rarely written as the type of guy who would lack confidence, enough to pursue someone who wasn’t interested.  So what I’m getting at is this, the heroine can have genuine feelings for someone other than “the one” so let’s stop creating these insecure meat puppets. I’m not saying the heroine needs to light up like an inferno for the “secondary male” but the entire “when he kisses me my loins turn to ice despite his obvious attractiveness” is a bit extreme. There can be a recognition of his place as Mr. Right Now while still acknowledging that he’s more than a cyborg. 

Bad Habits

Bad habits die hard, they say. ‘They’ also say it takes a thousand times to make a habit and a million to break it (or something like that).

Maybe that explains why when my sock and underwear drawer changed, I always had to stop myself, turn, and put the socks in the other drawer. Why don’t I just switch drawers? It’s a matter of pride, believe it or not.

But this writing blog isn’t going to be filled with underwear and socks. Rather, the concept of a bad habit and breaking one has always interested me. We’ll use my father as my first example. My father is a smoker. He’s said he’ll quit this bad habit for the past ten years, and constantly mumbles: “Damn, next year, next year I’ll be done with this disgusting bad habit.” But has he quit smoking? No. And he probably never will. Yet somehow he kicked his drinking habit, and he did that right quick. Then again, when you’re faced with the abrupt, dire consequences of one bad habit, it tends to shock you out of it, rather than taking a million or so times.

So my father quit drinking because bad shit went down, yet he smokes because, hey, it’s not killing me now.

Get the picture I’m painting here?

Let’s use another example:

Woman (fiction character actually, read her from a book) takes drugs to dull her pain. Not emotional. In the book she got shot and beat up so often I wondered how she still had all her fingers and toes. But she took the drug because it made her stronger and better able to protect the ones she loved.

But drugs exact their price, and like my father, she was fine now, and, consciously taking this addictive substance, she dealt with the now really well. But when it came high time to pony up to the drug’s nasty effects, well… she had a choice. Protect the ones you love with drug-induced strength, or lose them forever because that drug makes you a mean son of a wench?

Deep shit, I know. Perfect story material. You’re welcome.

Vegas Baby

I’d like to think that I’ve hit yet another milestone of ‘growing up’ now that I’ve been to Vegas and back past the age of 21. And let me just say, besides the terrible air, the poor water, and every casino’s not-so-subtle push to drink every last drop of alcohol they can possibly serve you, it’s not a bad town. The people are nice, the streets safe (despite what some say) and the police ever-vigilant. Sure it’s loud and full of party-goers, but it’s a place to party, so what can I expect?
I know, I’m rambling on about my trip when this is a writing blog, but hey, I’ve got a story idea for ya. A character goes on a great, all expenses paid trip (thanks to their family) and is home for all of twelve hours before some damn stupid flower decides to open up and spread its pollen and get me, er, the character, sick! What a plot twist! Am I right? Fun times ended by allergies and shit. How annoying is that?

Reed Richards, Fizz, D’Artagnan and Ringo – A Fictive Pattern for the Gang Of Four

In November 1961, Marvel Comics published a new comic book, created (with credit later disputed) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was called The Fantastic Four. It featured four superheroes, at first glance having little about them that was unique or special. Reed Richards was a scientist who gained the power to stretch his body. Susan Storm could become invisible, and generate force-fields. Her brother Johnny could burst into flame, unharmed. Their friend Ben Grimm gained enormous strength, but became hideously deformed. Nothing that hadn’t been seen before.

However, the relationship between the characters was unusual, and perhaps unprecedented. Reed and Sue were clearly going to be a couple, thus tying Reed to Johnny. Reed’s need to cure Ben from his deformity linked all four together – becoming not a group, such as the Justice Society or Legion Of Super-Heroes, but a family – held together for life whether they wanted it or not. In many ways, a gratifyingly dysfunctional family.

Each character could be defined by their flaws. Reed, by turns obsessive and reckless. Sue, superficial, vain and attention-seeking. Ben, surly and violent. Johnny, an offensive brat/hoodlum. Nevertheless they all clearly depended on and loved each other.

The group became one of the most successful in comics. In spite of numerous attempts to change the line-up, the same four characters remained, continuing to be at the heart of not only the magazine, but the entire Marvel Universe. In a medium where everyone seemed trapped in perpetual adolescence, Reed and Sue were allowed to grow up and get married. Perhaps the lack of passion and anguish in their courtship meant that settling down wasn’t the end of the story.

Some years ago I happened to be watching the BBC children’s show, the Tweenies. It dealt with the adventures of four children (portrayed as giant creatures sculpted from coloured foam rubber) in a day care centre. I noticed that the relationship between them precisely mirrored that between the characters of the Fantastic Four. Bella, the bossy one; Fizz, the girl who loved to dress up; Jake, the baby, prone to tears and tantrums; and Milo, the rough boy who didn’t know his own strength.

Clearly, there’s a world of difference between a day-care centre and the Negative Zone. Nevertheless, the interaction between the four felt familiar, once the character mappings were established. Surprised, I wondered if other groups followed the same template.

Looking at the example of the four main characters in The Three Musketeers, I found that the same mappings existed. Athos is clearly the boss, Porthos the muscle, D’Artagnan the kid, and Aramis, while not effeminate, is undoubtedly the dandy of the four.

I even saw the same relationships in real-life groups of people, such as The Beatles – at least in their public personae. John and Paul acting as father and mother to baby George and burly Ringo.

It was something of a relief to find that the template is not, after all, universal. The four March sisters in Little Woman don’t fit the grouping, and nor do Richmal Chrompton’s Outlaws. It’s a way to assemble a group of characters that interact in potentially interesting ways – but there are many ways.

What’s the lesson for a writer? It’s a tool that can be used, and if done subtly and ingeniously, it can bring a set of characters to life – but if used clumsily and overtly, can appear forced and clichéd – as we seen in endless series where the same characters march on the same Heffalump Hunt.

the task at hand.

I learned last week how important getting my face out there is.  I’ve put a timer in my office and for an hour each day I’m connecting to the great beyond known as the internet.  today I’ve visited several writers web pages read some of their work and left comments.  DING.  Times up. see you tomorrow.

Books be expensive yo

            This may come as a shock to all of you, but books, as I’ve recently found out, are pretty damn expensive. Don’t jump on my hide just yet; I’m a writer, wherein a prerequisite is being a good reader, and I’ve frequented Bookmans most of my adult life (for those who aren’t familiar, they’re the king of used and abused whereas Barns&Noble is the king of new and shiny). Bookmans takes not just old books for trade, but all manner of electronics as well, and you’d be surprised how much they’d give me in trade-in credit for an old xbox USB controller extension cable (and as a former employer at a video game store, I had a lot of old knickknacks).

            Congratulations to me, I’ve finally purchased a Kindle Paperwhite. It’s lighter than a book and easy on the thumbs. Yet I find myself tilting my head in confusion when it dawns on me that my usually ‘free books’ all of a sudden require my credit card number.

            I’m not complaining, not one bit. I love books and will continue to read them with vigor.

            Just sayin. I thought video games were expensive.

            P.S. The perfect gift to get any reader is… wait for it…

            MORE BOOKS. I.E. gift cards for books.

500 word story

My good writing friend Eerie (Dave) presented to me a challenge. He didn’t know he presented me a challenge at the time, but I took it as a challenge all the same when he presented his own recent work as such. Write a story in less than five hundred words. Go one over and you fail.

            You have no idea how difficult that is, dear reader.

            From start to finish every single word must serve a purpose. There is no room for fluff or fat, and every paragraph, nay, every sentence must propel the story ever forward.

            Funny how that’s what you’re supposed to do in every story, no matter how long.

            So I challenge you now, if you’re one to be challenged, test your writing skills by setting a scene, develop some characters, and both develop and resolve conflict, all in five hundred words. That’s usually two double-spaced pages, times new roman, 12pt font. Good luck.