Wandering in My Make-Believe Worlds

I'm Back ... Maybe

Has anybody out there noticed I've been playing hookie?

First, both me and my old man have been having health issues -- more chronic than critical -- but energy sapping. More important, I think, is that I got tired of writing book reports. Never fear. I've been buying and reading books. More important, I've been re-reading favorites. Charlaine Harris' Midnight series.

For the record: I can't wait for the NBC series to appear. At least, I think, it's appearing on commercial TV since I refuse to pay for cable when I only watch the weather and PBS News Hour and, maybe, 60 Minutes, though the new crew is flat compared to the old standards.

 The Writing Front 

 One thing I have been doing is writing -- something I enjoy as much as reading.

"On the Run" has progressed through beta-reading and is almost through the first re-writing. Lots of backstory has been eliminate, like 2000 plus words. Yeah, other things were clarified so it still reads at about 85,000 words. Only about 50 pages to go, if I can get out of my post-election fog.

Hope to have the re-write done by next week. Then, content edits. My slot is already reserved. 

                                                                                                        

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Magical Thinking

Have you woken up from the election nightmare yet

 -- or, are you jumping for joy?

My thought on the election: I mourn for the relevant facts lost. I have the curious habit of accepting facts until they are proved wrong. It's not quite the scientific method, but close since I'll admit to an emotional bias -- the elites are up to "no damn good" -- as defined by: "being most concerned for their own self-interest".

So, my chuckles.

My biggest concern during the election was for the fate of the Supreme Court. Then, I read that 10% of college graduates think Judge Judy is a member of that august institution. Granted, Judge Judy might be a Ruth Bador Ginsburg look-a-like, but ????????

{Does "WTF" fit in here?}

Then, there are all those liberals taking cold comfort from Trump's promise to spend a billion on infrastructure. Granted, things look hopeful since maybe around 75% of city big infra-structure ballot measures passed. I'm waiting to make sure Trump considers crumbling bridges, not golf courses, as infrastructure.

How to Keep a Book's Characters from Going Defunct.

   Quick answer: Follow Charlaine Harris' lead ... and reuse characters in subsequent books and stories, like she's doing in the Midnight series.

  Read a couple of treats besides The Lord of the Rings trilogy while on vacation. Charlaine Harris' Day Shift -- the second book in what I believe will be another long series featuring the strange residents of Midnight, Texas, who draw notice in spite of hating it -- was the winner of this batch of  reading.

   Yeah! My memory got a workout. Harris' books are located in the part of my Keeper Bookshelves that my son and I didn't weed. [We took five cartons of paperbacks to trade. The Friends of the Library got the books the bookstore didn't want.] --  No, I didn't go pawing through the stacks to find the Sookie Stackhouses and Lily Bards to verify my memory.

   Day Light picks up after new people come to live at the refurbished Midnight Hotel, which for some reason is housing some indigent Las Vegas seniors as well as paying guests. The reason why is never explained. The problem is left for future books? This book's mysteries center around a strange child who grows supernaturally fast and a couple murders connected to Manfred Bernardo and Olivia Charity.

   Yeah. Manfred Bernardo and Olivia Charity are featured residents this time around, but interesting revelations appear about most of the regular residents of Midnight. What I liked best were the appearances of characters out of Harris' previous books, each with new disclosures about their lives.

   While writing my thoughts on this Midnight book, I suddenly felt like I was discussing an ongoing TV series. Got me wondering.

   Do you think the reason multiple book series have become so prevalent that print stories are imitating TV shows? Yeah, I know there have been a huge number of continuing book series since novels became popular. But still...

Highly recommended. I kept reading the hardback even when my thumbs were hurting. Multiple viewpoints add texture to this tale of murder and strange goings-on. Harris fans will find her usual humor mixed with mayhem, a mystery with multiple red herrings, quirky but well-developed characters, and a fast moving plot. Read more formal reviews and excerpts on:

Amazon and Nook.

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 My Little Writing Rut

    My writing got some spit and a polish while I goofed off. Major accomplishment was getting my "bible" or concordance for my Andor world organized. Still have to go through the character files/etc for most of the stories, but got my Trapper Tremaine stuff pretty well organized, including a cover. Was going to have a draft of the short story done. But we won't talk about that.

Ta Dah! Here is the Cover Reveal.

   Trapper is a copper in the Wilds of early Andor, stories with a Western feel, who accepts a new job in the Shyanne district working for the Paladins who have yet to organize into the Kingscourt.

Yeah. The cleaning up the "bible" was much needed.
Writers, how do you keep track of your characters? 

   Pillar of On the Run? She's still studying with Gracie trying to overcome the inhibitions her mother
inflicted on her so she wouldn't reveal how powerful her magic was when she was a toddler.

   My next side project is to post another snippet and put up some formal buy buttons on my website...if I can figure out how.



   Then, the new expanded version of Vengeance is up on Amazon, Nook, and Smashwords -- for free.
 
   The uneasy truce with the enemies surrounding the Far Isles Half-Elven is collapsing. An unprovoked attack, that kills her granddaughter and almost kills her daughter, is evidence enough for Mariah. But, will the fierce warrior and her ring-mate, Ashton, be able to convince Linden, Lord High Commander of the Marches, that their people are in danger?

   With attacks coming from the Trestemontans from over the eastern sea, hints of magic among the magic-hating Suthron Hounds, and Drummer Shamans using Spirit drums made from the skins of live human sacrifices, the Half-Elven warriors have reason to worry.

 Praise for Vengeance
“A magical novel that takes you into the world of half-elves.”
“A great mix of fantasy and humour.”
“A well-written novel packed with vivid imagery, strong world-building, characters that resonate with the reader and a single thread of taking vengeance for the death of a loved one.”

Must a New Series Mirror the Old Ones? Charlaine Harris' Midnight Crossroad

New Series.

New Style.

Iffy  Mysteries

   Finally found a paperback of Charlaine Harris' new series--Midnight Crossroad--and was first annoyed with the arm's length point of view of the tale. Harris chose to reveal the action from mulitiple viewpoints of the rather strange inhabitants of Midnight. At first I didn't care much for the distance, then it grew on me.

   From the beginning, Midnight, sounded intriguing. It screamed small town with deep currents to me. Then, the name Bobo Winthrop popped up on page three. Harris recycled a character. Or, if you want to be more generous, you might say she put Bobo front and center in the plot line, giving him a main role in a new story, if not his own story. If you've only read the Sookie Stackhouse series, you might not recognize Bobo. He was a secondary character in Harris' Lucy Bard series. Poor Bobo, he's still unlucky in love...and family. But Harris creates two interrelated mysteries out of his problems.

   Everyone one of the dozen or so inhabitants of Midnight have secrets, some more hidden than others. Midnight Crossroad concentrates on a newcomer to town, Manfred Bernardo, a psychic, who may or may not be real deal and runs an online psychic business. The poor fellow soon finds himself awash in people acting strangely.

   Harris use of multiple viewpoints gives the reader an intriguing impression of the three most normal people in town. Hints of danger come when two strangers come to an infrequently patronized restaurant. Danger builds when they threaten Bobo for information about a cache of weapons belonging to his super-racist grandfather. But the plot really takes off when the decayed body of Bobo's missing lover is found on the first and only annual town picnic. The mystery plays out until the end.

   The plodding pace of the book is my biggest criticism of the book. First, Harris spends a long time to introduce us to her interesting cast of characters without revealing very much. But, being a master, she still manages to create people rather than stick characters. The weakest link, unfortunately, was her villain. Harris needed to develop his motivations, like she should have explained why he needed an aging arsenal while he seemed to have loads of money. Thought Harris should have made it more front and center why he was chasing a Patriot rumor. After all in this country, rich guys can buy armaments of many kinds of lethal until doomsday.

   My biggest disappointment was the ending, but can't say much about it because of dumping a huge spoiler on you. Just let me say I thought reactions of the characters were too passive.

Recommended with reservations, basically because I felt Harris left too many questions unanswered. Still, Midnight Crossroad is an intriguing read, if not exciting.  

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Interesting Stuff I Wasted Time On

   Ever wondered how to get more out of your writing time? I've given up being fast, but Anne Allen wrote a wonderful comprehensive blog with useful links on how to get the most out of your writing time: The 10 Commandments of Highly Productive Professional Writers. It might give you some insights on how those best-selling, big name authors manged to complete two novels a year. Yeah, I spent a lot of time chasing through her links.

   Care to be entertained? Doing a search on something or other, I happened upon the Fantasy Name Generator, a site that's much more than its name implies. Someone named Emily curates, babysits, and manages the effort. The site can be many things to many people. Click the link to see what intrigues you.  I spent a whole afternoon there and enjoyed my discoveries much more than doing marketing. One of the reasons I'm linking here is so I can easily return again. [I lost my bookmark button.]

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Writing Chores

   Still can't use a website builder worth a limp noodle. Oh, the mistakes I make! Have made three calls to the help center to solve, but the page is still shrunk to the size where I can't read the print. The new snippet of On the Run is delayed in the process. This is the revised version featuring Pillar Beccon...whose strange ancestry makes fitting into any of the Andor factions easy. Given all the linear story bits and pieces, I think this is going to be a longer effort than I've self-published in the past. Whatever, my critiquers are liking the change. Maybe someday readers might be able to see what I'm writing now.

Do have extended samples of my own stories up on my website if you care to visit.

One funny note. The Ghost in the Closet still is my "best seller", though can't say I sell much. Most people download one or more of my free stories in spite of my not doing any promotion of them.

And, an alert.

Next week I may not be posting a blog. My daughter's coming in from out of town to visit.

Enjoy the Holiday Season. I am.

Feliz Navidad

Happy Holidays

Noel, Noel

y

Feliz cumpeanos

[if your birthday is close to the holiday season]

   My Christmas baking for the family is done. All we have to do is mail the bags & other incidental presents. Then, I'm kicking back and relaxing until after the New Year. So this is my last blog of the year. I wish you and yours the best of times however you remember the return of Light to the world ... which shows my northern hemisphere bias as well as the Christian background I grew up in.

   While waiting for the koulouradia to bake, I found myself rereading Charlaine Harris' Lily Bard series, one of my favorites. Yeah, the Sookie vampire/fae books aren't my favorites among her books -- though I've read all of that series and kept many. How many? I don't know, but I have some decisions to make about keepers if I ever do get around to cleaning my bookshelves like my son and I have planned over the holidays.

  Back to Lily Bard. The series shows all of Harris' craft skills, especially her creating many well-rounded secondary characters who add complimentary threads to the plot lines. Harris has the small town bit down pat, especially how even casual meetings can influence events. At the same time, she shows an admirable ability to keep her focus on the plotlines of her books. The result is a rich story that doesn't meander into cul-de-sacs or leave dangling ends.

  Like courageous tough women recovering from catastrophe?
  Lily Bard's your woman. Highly recommended.

~~#~~

   Don't plan on doing much writing over the holidays. Just a revision of Taking Vengeance. Even decided to get a new cover. We're still working on it. In the first draft, the bottom half was filled with a cloudy pink mist. While it looked pretty with the dark blue, pink? For a battle scene??????

   On the orangish the second draft. The font's still iffy since it doesn't reduce well. When reduced to a thumbnail, the font of the cover was blurred when test-posted on Twitter. Here it looks clear. Seems like you need to test how your cover reduces in several places before you make your final decisions.

   My reaction to the new cover in process. I love the stern expression on Mariah. Compare the old blue one. Think the new one's a great improvement.

   Other news, Night for the Gargoyles is still ranking above ten in free teen fantasy short reads on Amazon. It's gotta sink soon, but must say I'm enjoying the ego boost. Still, it makes me wonder about their algorithms. It really doesn't take many downloads to get a high ranking. Guess Amazon has created so many categories so authors can brag about their best selling status. Only this is one of my free offerings. You can find Gargoyles here and on my website. Incidently, the story could use a few reviews ... if anyone has any spare time. The price is right.

     Hear That Damn Owl will probably be published sometime before Christmas. It's another dark fantasy, but not about Christmas. There is some bad language in it so it won't be a teen story. Again, it'll be a freebie. Anyone who wants an early free copy can get a PDF copy by emailing mkkaytheod-at-yahoo-com -- when it's ready.

   My big promotional bit will come next February for The Ghostcrow. I'll begin sending queries to reviewers soon. My goal is to send five a night. Just thinking about it make me laugh at myself.

Whatever,

Enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate at the end of the year.
If you're lucky, you'll find lots of excuses to have fun.
Enjoy!

Twisting the Cliche. Are There Any New Ways to Write About Vampires?

Readers, how many times do you browse the paranormal shelves and get haunted by the undead?

Writers, how many times have you read agent wish lists that say: "No vampires, please"?

Yet, if you look, writers do come up with viable variations on the vampire cliche and write a fresh story.

A couple of my favorite variations. Ilona Andrew's mindless killers driven by by intelligent nasties. [I've never quite pictured the semi-humans in my mind, and I think the Andrews team wants it that way.] Charlaine's Harris' hierarchical kingdoms. Laurell K. Hamilton's pioneering efforts of vampire hunks which have now become a cliche in itself.

Now I've found a new twist on the vampire theme in Phillipa Bornikova's This Case Is Going to Kill Me that I like. Her vampires are affected by ultraviolet rays, not daylight. Think vampires feeding on specially fed hosts during business lunches behind screens  Also for Bornikova there are no female vampires. The reason remains vague even though the main character, Linnet Ellery, was fostered in a vampire family to gain career advantage.

After due law-school diligence, Ellery is given a position in a powerful vampire law office over the objections of one of the senior partners. Bornikova weaves together some nice plot threads to create no only the intrigue of a big-time law office plus a good detective story about searching for a will that totally disinherits a werewolf who think he owns a powerful security firm after he settles one claim to the business. 

You might say Linnet Ellery has her hands full. I don't read many lawyer novels but I thought the plot development fresh, even the romance was handled differently. Oh, almost forgot. Yeah. There's a romance with a Fae, but it doesn't run down a one track cliche either.

I'm going to keep this one since I think I might like to re-read it.

Another Bonus Read:

I don't read many e-type books, but I'm slowly reading Revenir Intern by R. Mac Wheeler. [Available on Amazon] In a world at war, a teen is picked to intern with a vampire queen's forces after drawing the her attention with her junior essay. The short of it, spoiled Caitlan is forced to change her summer plans to hang out with a bunch of soldiers. 

I haven't finished it yet because I need to get away from screens after spending all day sitting at one. Still the book keeps me stuck in my chair before the confuser longer than I must. Even though I sometimes have to turn off my internal editor. You might go to the Amazon page to see if the sample of Revenir Intern interests you. It's hooked me on its plot line and sense of humor. 

Author Update

What have I been doing? W...e...l...l  ... just about nothing. 

Wish I could say I finished something I was working on. Am still waiting for the next set of edits for There Be Demons. Should be writing new stuff for Forbidden Fruit, but am revising from my critique comments. Revising from the edits of The Pig Wars which is now Black Tail's War. 

Here's a second look of the cover since my website got first looks. You can read the first chapter at the website. Did you guess the book's the sequel to Troublesome Neighbors.

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Ending Your Series: What Would You Do If Your Fans Develop Fangs

I admire writers of series. A lot of the writers I read regularly write multiple books in the same world. I even look for new books by them -- if I can remember their names. If I don't, they're back to the cover, blurb, and/or the first couple of paragraphs catching my interest. This process results in an impressive to-read pile. It's a wonder that Charlaine Harris' Deadlocked ever managed to get read. 

At the moment, my reading stats are: 

•  five books in the process of being read, though I thinking of putting a couple on the trade pile [three stacks & needs to go out the door],
• six books in my recently bought pile,
• about twenty books in my fermenting to-read pile, and
• who knows how many on my bookshelves I might decide to reread like I did that first two books in the Anne of Green Gables [L. M. Montgomery] series over the last weekend.
• Oh, the number of books I've read and haven't reviewed -- eight.

At the moment, I think most people who read mysteries and/or paranormal [fantasy] know Sookie Stackhouse. Even people who don't read know her from the TV series True Blood, a take off from the books that doesn't much follow the plot lines much. [Yeah, I own the DVDs even though "I don't watch TV." And they do tell a good story.]   

For those who haven't heard of Sookie Stackhouse, she's a southern gal of mixed fae heritage who survives a world filled with vampires, weres, faes and murder. Sookie is the naive solver of the mysteries though she has wised up considerably during the series.

Harris hooked me as a fan with her Lucy Bard of Shakespeare, Arkansas  series. Harper Connelly of the Grave Sight series also hooked me.* Never could get interested in the Aurora Teagarden, even though one of my aunts' name was Aurora.  ... She just doesn't appeal to me enough to spend a couple hours with her.  -- That attitude influences my own writing in the characters speak to me first, and then, I have to figure out a coherent book from a bunch of interesting situations.  Of course, they have to keep getting into trouble.

Harris has ended at least two series, the Shakespeare and Grave Sight* ones, but she really pitched some rabid fans a bone with the 13th Sookie book . Harris dared to end her Stackhouse series in a way they disagreed with. So. They threw a hissy fit. How juvenile ...  or is that todleresque? Am glad Harris is laughing all the way to the bank. I think writers have the right to write their books as they see fit.

Incidentally, I give Deadlocked five stars, like *****. Read it in a couple of days. Harris gives wonderful lessons on filling in back story without bogging down the storyline. Also liked the way the opening paragraph foreshadowed one of the central puzzles of the book.

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I don't write series -- though I thought my Hagstone draft might be a trilogy. [It shrank back into one volume, 3/5 drafted & partly critiqued, and may even get finished if I can get untangled.]

The Far Isle Half-Elven world consists of a number of companion novels and novellas. [Forbidden Fruit Isn't getting drafted very fast because of edits of There Be Demons.]

Then, there's There Be Demons. The publisher is making noises about a sequel with an older Britt and Cahal. 

Have some notes with Britt and Cahal using their angel-given powers to wipe up the demons left over when the portals to Gehennathh were closed. Have gotten as far as a wounded Gillen appearing on their doorstep ... at Granny Nan's farm. Even know the nemisis/villain. But a book????? Not yet. -- Besides I feel an obligation to tell Teemon's story so he can give the young Mariah a hard time.  

Announcement.

I'm thinking about doing fantasy author interviews -- Quick Chats -- for the blog. Any readers out their with a published fantasy book care to be a guinea pig? You can email me at mkkaytheod [at] yahoo [dot] com 

*I assume the Grave Sight books ended because the last one had a logical end-of-a-series ending.