I'M SO EXCITED I'M SO EXCITED I'M SO EXCITED

I love faerie's, I love unique twists, I love Aprilynne Pike's novels. So I can hardly wait till this Tuesday, May 3rd when "Illusions" , the third novel in the series finally hits the shelves.

The first book Wings, is about a teenage girl who has lived as a human her whole life, then guess what, she finds out she is a faerie. Now this is not your ordinary faerie tale, Aprilynne Pike gave her faerie's a special quality that separates her faerie's from the rest and it is a fun journey to follow.

These books are a light and fun read that I really recommend. The lead characters are impossible not to fall in love with, especially Tamani.

Don't wait, get your copy today, then let me know what you think.

If people don't care about your character's they won't care about your story. That is a sentence I have read more than once, but today realized how true that is.

I just got done watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one. ***spoiler alert for those who have yet to see or read the master piece (you must be living in a dark and dreary cave and you are completely missing out on the coolest thing ever) stop reading here. Then go to the store and or library and get the books***

 One of the final scenes brought a tear to my eye. It is when Dobby is dying in Harry's arms. J.K. Rowling is the master of all stories told. She took this simple little house elf, a being that does not exist in the ordinary world and created this powerful character by weaving her words into magic. Crying over animals and humans is natural but a house elf? It is a tribute to the author that she turned this creature of myth into a personality I grew to love and truly care about.

 I was also sad for Harry as well. It is hard watching people lose their friends.

So I add this to my list of things to work on, create characters that people care about. No problem right?

Mr. Johnson goes to Borders

My husband has always prided himself with the fact that he has not read a book since high school, "To Kill a Mockingbird". So when he told me he wanted to buy a book I was ecstatic.  After I picked myself up off the floor I ran for the car to go buy it before he changed his mind. 

Now Daryl has gone to the bookstore with me several times where he sits in the car and surfs the net on his iPhone till I drag myself back. So this time was different, he was actually going inside with me. We drove all the way down listening to the hypnotic sound of the wind shield wipers gliding back and forth, clearing our way through the doom and gloom of our typical Northwest weather. When we pulled into the parking lot the spaces were sparse, this was not going to be easy. My heart pounded as panic set in, I feared the frustration was getting to him and he would decide it was not worth it. Then we found it, one spot tucked away in the corner next to the thriving Red Robin across the parking lot. We were one step closer.

The doors parted, we walked in, my eyes darting back and forth in a frenzy scanning the shelves for the correct section. I could not believe my beloved was inside my most treasured store walking side by side with me. Then we found it.

Masking my anxiety I casually strolled down the aisle and there it was. Sitting on the shelf so bright and shiny. I could have sworn it was calling his name. "Daryl, I'm over here," it whispered. He honed in on it and grasp it in his hands.  The skies parted, the angels were singing and a tear built up in my eye. My baby got his book.

I was so proud I felt I needed to document the momentous occasion. So what is this book that seduced this proud man to venture into a world unknown......."American Conspiracies" by Jesse Ventura. *scratches head in wonder then shrugs shoulders* Who am I to judge, I read about fairies and vampires.

My first attempt at poetry....A tribute

To my confidante, partner in crime, sister in arms and friend

I never realized how much it meant till it all came to an end

We shared together so much of our life

Our happiness, fears, you having a baby and becoming a wife     

Everyone knows I complain a lot

You always listened with out judging or being a snot

My throat is tight, my chest is hollow

Through my sadness I can barely swallow

As I write  I wipe my tears

This one thing tops my list of fears

That we drift apart and don’t stay in touch

But you will persevere I know that much

Dedicated to Tisha

I have not written a poem since forced to in elementary school so if you notice any rules I broke please forgive me. For some reason this is the form the words came to me.

Tools of the Trade.....Choreographing Fight Scenes

So here I go, choreographing fight scenes. Now I may be making this harder than it really is but my scene was very fast paced and I found it a little complicated to write. My writing was messy, my characters were all over the place and I was having a hard time keeping track of where they all were.

My solution to simplify the process....Star Wars figurines. I'd like to say I robbed them from an innocent child but I did not. They're mine, from my personal collection, so there.

I labeled a figuring for each character in the scene and made a simple sketch of the rooms the fighting took place. With this high tech strategy I could keep track of who is fighting who and where they are. As my characters moved across the page I moved them on my sketch. I could then make sure I didn't have the same character fighting in two places at once.

 I know this is may or may not be the most effective method but it worked for me.  If you have a method that works for you let me know. I'm always on the look out for new tools of the trade. May the force be with you.

Dialogue Dilemma

Here is a little something I found useful when writing dialogue.......

When your creating a dialogue scene, make sure your characters are doing something. Even the nondramatic scenes, have your characters engaged in some activity while they're talking.


From "Dialogue" by Gloria Kempton


This is a tip I used today when I realized I had an entire page of nothing but dialogue. Can you say BORING?  Because that is what it was, and repetitive. So I threw one of the characters down a set of stairs and that really livened things up. Don't worry, no one was harmed in the process. Plus it gave me a new story line.

Kriston, where have you been?

To my most faithful and loyal readers, I have not abandon you! I know there has been a few gaps lately between posts but I have to admit....spring break got the better of me. I did not go anywhere fun but I did get to spend the last week with family I do not get to see everyday. During my break, though absent from my writing, my brain still buzzed with fresh ideas.

First I will be starting a thread featuring guest authors. I have my first one lined up. It is a wonderful poem written by someone very dear to me. I know you will just love it.

I have another brilliant idea that I am still fine tuning and plan on sharing it with you next week. Please stay tuned because I will need your input for it to succeed.

For now I  leave you with a stunning addition to the Menacing and the Magical.

Morgens


Also known as Mari Morgens or Sea Morgans. They are Breton water fairies or mermaids which lure sailors to join them in their underwater palaces.


One particular  Sea Morgan called Dahut was ever young and seductive. She was known for sitting in the moonlight and singing a song whose charm is irresistible. Any sailor who hears it is doomed, for if she touches him he will die, condemning the mans soul to wander eternally through the sea without comfort.


From The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures.

Independent publishing, the new rage?

I have read that some agents and publishing houses considered self publishing the kiss of death. Now some of these same industry leaders are taking a different stance on the subject. What do we have to thank for this change of heart.....our beloved e readers.

A few authors have been making headlines recently. The most insane  Best selling author Barry Eisler just turned down a $500,000 advance to take the indy route. He and Joe Konrath talk about that decision on Barry's blog. It is a very long post but filled with tons of information and insight into publishing contracts.

On the other side of things Amanda Hocking, who has sold over 900,000 copies of her book independently (in less than a year) now has an agent and stands to get a 7 figure deal at auction with a publisher.

Here are a few fun facts:

On March 23rd at 1:30 pm I checked out the top 100 selling Kindle books on Amazon. There were 23 self published books on the list with eight of them in the top 20. Those 23 books were written by 10 different authors.

Joe Konrath said he sells about 3000 e books a day. One of those books (I don't know the name, I know this is not the best example of my "investigative reporting") was written 12 years ago and he tried to sell it to every major publishing house in New York. That book alone has sold 35,000 copies in 2 years, self published.

Now I am not blind to reality, those success stories are not common. I also read  blogs from  new authors that self publish and sell 0-100 books a month.

But times are interesting. I found that some indy authors are joining forces and starting there own publishing companies to help promote each other. Literary agents have posted that their companies are working on a digital business model so they can take on indy authors as clients. Do I think think they are worried that all authors of the world are going to by pass the publishing houses? No, I think they realized there is just a new customer base for them. Don't get me wrong, I think an indy writer would really benefit from an agents experience and the agency would probably offer a great marketing strategy.

So this is my plan. My goal is to have my book ready to pitch at the Willamette Writers conference in August. Then I will query agents for one year. If I have not found representation by then I will consider publishing it myself. As much as I want to be published through a large press, I want people to read my book more. Making a living doing what you love would be a dream come true but I want to give people a chance to fall in love with the characters I gave life to. Even if I never make a dime I will write my stories because I love to write.