Tag: books

On Making Clichés Feel Fresh (When You Can’t Avoid Them)

I haven't conducted any scientifically-valid surveys or research, but I'm nonetheless willing to bet that, at some point in their careers, every budding writer has been taught to avoid clichés like the plague. When a phrase has been used so often that it's lost all impact, well, it no longer has impact, and the writing comes across as lazy and unoriginal. Those are not great selling points and they don't engage readers. So let’s grab the bull by the horns and think outside the box so we can figure out how to avoid clichés, which I honestly think has been a problem since the dawn of time.

Okay, So, I’m a Wee Bit Behind on the ’ol Book Updates

One of the reasons I started this blog in the first place was to keep all y'all updated on my various projects, and to keep myself accountable. The good news is, I've made tremendous progress on the writing projects. The bad news is, I was so focused that the blog slipped a bit.

On Creating a Main Character . . . When you can’t give the reader any obvious information about that character

I firmly believe that character is the most important part of a novel. That's the hill I'll die on. Plot keeps us turning the pages, setting immerses us, but character makes us care. If you're racking your brain for story idea, character is a terrific place to start. Of course, developing a compelling character is easier said than done. There are, however, some tricks that can help you. So what happens if you can't use some of the obvious tools?

New Book!

I just added a new book to my author site! This one is called Incandescent: A Winter Tale of Blackthorne Faire, and it's the next in my series of winter tales—short, sort of holiday-adjacent books meant to be read in just a sitting or two, ideally under a blanket by the fire, with a mug of something warm. This book will be available wherever fine books are sold in early November.

Book Updates: One Out, One (Slightly) Delayed, Two Polished, and Two Underway

So, it's been a pretty momentous month—it always is when one launches a new book out into the world. It never, ever gets old and I am way beyond thrilled. And I have many more projects in the hopper!

Writing Update: It’s Book Launch Time!

Next week—Tuesday, November 14 to be precise—my next novel, Make Up Test: A Rom-Com Winter Tale, meets the world for the first time. This time, it's launching with a very special Limited and Numbered edition.

I’m Not Making Progress: In which I offer an update on the projects I’m NOT (yet!) working on

In my last blog article, I updated all y'all on all the many writing projects I'm working on currently. What I didn't talk about was all the projects I'm not working on. Well, I guess technically that list would be infinite, but I mean specifically the ideas that are stirring around rather urgently in my head, that I haven't been able to let go of, but for which I haven't written more than the occasional note.

I’m Making Progress! In Which I Offer Another Book Update

One of the reasons I started this blog was to chronicle my journey as a writer and, I like to hope, to pass along some of the things I've learned. I also intended to hold myself accountable and present updates on all my works in progress. I haven't been too great about that last part, … Continue reading I’m Making Progress! In Which I Offer Another Book Update →

Ideas are easy; stories are hard

I didn't learn a lot from meeting the late, great Wylly Folk St. John, but I sure did from reading her books. When I was in the third or fourth grade, I met a professional author for the first time. It happened to be one of my very favorites, Wylly Folk St. John, who was … Continue reading Ideas are easy; stories are hard →

If you want to write, read!

I've wanted to write since (at least) the third grade. My urges to become an astronaut or a dinosaur-seeking paleontologist faded (although my love for astronauts, space exploration, and dinosaurs remains undimmed), but my longing to create stories never did. In fact, I can still remember the exact books that made me want to make … Continue reading If you want to write, read! →

On Using Someone Else’s Characters in a Story

Spoiler Alert: William Shakespeare's Juliet is probably going to turn up in one of my novels—the Winter Tale that I'm starting to work on now. As a rule, I am not a huge fan of using someone else's characters in a story. That said, rules are meant to be broken and all that. So (spoiler … Continue reading On Using Someone Else’s Characters in a Story →

On Writers in Community

Professors Tolkien and Lewis, writers in community If you've read this blog before, you know I talk a lot about my book grandparents—the writers who shaped and influenced me so deeply, and at so young an age, that I'm scarcely even aware of it. It's like thinking about who taught you to breathe. Two of … Continue reading On Writers in Community →

The Best Advice I Can Give to Aspiring Novelists and Screenwriters: It’s Okay to Suck

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a talk I give at universities, writers conferences, and even fantasy conventions. It's called The Storyteller's Toolbox, and it covers things that are, with all appropriate modesty, pretty much essential for storytellers to know. It's aimed primarily at novelists and screenwriters, although I think the tools … Continue reading The Best Advice I Can Give to Aspiring Novelists and Screenwriters: It’s Okay to Suck →

Novelists: Where Do You Begin a Story?

I have a talk I give on writing called The Storyteller's Toolbox. I've given versions of it at Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, the CONjuration fantasy fan convention, the Broadleaf Writers Conference, and a few other places like that. There's a video version online. One of the questions that just about always comes up is … Continue reading Novelists: Where Do You Begin a Story? →

Thinking About Music, Stories, and Author’s Voice

I've been thinking a lot about music, and how it influences emotion in movies. How do we as book authors do this same in our fiction? How do we capture music in the written word?

It is Accomplished!

The final final draft is officially delivered to my publisher! Here we go again. This post is an update to this one, which updated this one, which was in turn an update to this one. It's always good to remind the audience of the previous episode before diving into the new one. Makeup Test has been delivered … Continue reading It is Accomplished! →

Yet Another Book Update

Okay. So. This post is an update to this one, which was in turn an update to this one. Y'all all caught up? Alright then. It turns out the draft of Makeup Test that I submitted was week was not, in fact, the final. In the words of my editor/publisher, "it's 99.9% there." Bringing a … Continue reading Yet Another Book Update →

On (finally!) Delivering an Overdue Manuscript and Thinking About What’s Funny

This post is mostly an update to this one from earlier in the week. At that point, I was close to delivering the revised draft of Makeup Test: A Rom-Com Winter Tale. At this point, I have done so. What I think is probably the last major draft is now in the hands of my … Continue reading On (finally!) Delivering an Overdue Manuscript and Thinking About What’s Funny →

Book Updates

So, y'all. This blog was meant to talk about my journey as an author (hence the title), which to be frank I haven't done a lot of. So every month or so, I'll let you all know where I am with everything that's in the works. The Winter Tales As most of you know, I've … Continue reading Book Updates →

Who are your book grandparents?

Professors Tolkien and Lewis So, fellow authors. My publisher, business partner, friend, and fellow author Lou Aronica and I have been talking about a theory I have. See, we all carry our ancestors with us in the attics of our brains as surely as we do in the spiraling chains of knowledge that make up … Continue reading Who are your book grandparents? →

Can Fantasy be Myth? Mythopoeia and “The Lord of the Rings”

Speaking for myself, it’s not too much of an exaggeration to call reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time way back in the fifth grade a life-changing experience. Tolkien’s trilogy led directly to my own life-long love of stories and mythology. I can’t help wondering if, without that experience in my childhood, I would have written a novel of my own. I may well have, but I don’t think it would be as myth-infused as Raven Wakes the World. In short, my experience of reading The Lord of the Rings, like that of so very many other readers through the decades, was the kind that changes a person for all time, or at least inspires a life direction — and for me at least, even a sort of pilgrimage. That’s the type of response that one usually has only to the most significant, the most sacred stories — the cultural heritage of truth disguised as narrative that serves as a guide through the dark forests of life. In short, myth.

From an Author to Readers: Thank You.

I am stunned and in awe. As most of you know, my novel Raven Wakes the World was published this week. Amazon sold out almost immediately, and the entire first distribution sold out soon after. A few friends who tried to order from their favorite local bookshops told me that it was either backordered, or … Continue reading From an Author to Readers: Thank You. →

In which I am interviewed on writing and marketing, I write about Renaissance fairs and setting as a “character” in a story, and prepare to write about the old pulp heroes of yesteryear

In which I am interviewed on writing and marketing, I write about Renaissance fairs and setting as a “character” in a story, and prepare to write about the pulps

Did y’all know I have another blog, too?

Hey, did y'all know I have another blog, too? It's about stories, writing, fantasy, mythology, and Renaissance festivals.

You can find it here: http://blackthornefaire.net

The most recent post is about Renaissance fairs, and the feeling of falling into a story. I hope those of you who follow this blog will take a look at that one, too. I'd be grateful.

Love and comfort in fantasy, or why George R. R. Martin isn’t the American Tolkien

I often hear Mr. Martin called "The American Tolkien." I can see why people say that. Both write (or wrote) extremely complex fantasy novels, both have very passionate fan bases (with a great deal of overlap), both have created British Isles-inspired worlds rich with invented history and languages, and, well, both authors have the initials "R. R." in their names.

But honestly, I think the resemblance ends there. The similarities are superficial at best.

Reinventing this blog … just a little. (Or … A New Mission)

As many of you already now, I've recently signed with a new agent, Mr. Peter Miller of Global Lion Intellectual Property Management. Peter's a great guy, and to be blunt, he gets things done and deals made. I'm just all kinds of lucky to be working with him.

As as my books and scripts get closer to finding their way to bookstores and screens, I'm going to be sharing a little bit of that journey here.

Book Review: City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

The Prague of City of Dark Magic is a city steeped in legends of magic, a history of blood, and a legacy of secrets. It has been home to geniuses and eccentrics. It is also a city of secrets as music student Sarah Weston discovers. Sarah has come to the Prague Castle for the summer with a team of colorful academics to restore the Lubkowicz Palace to its former glory and turn it into a museum filled with centuries old treasures. There, she finds clues that might finally unravel the mystery of Beethoven's famous immortal beloved. What follows is a tale of mystery, politics, murder, a time traveling prince, a centuries-old dwarf, and even a portal to hell. Yes, and its a romantic comedy. This isn't a book that follows genre conventions, it lays them out like toys and plays with them.

Musing on Some Elements that Work in Fantasy, Part Two: Iconic Imagery

As we build the ePic Books brand, we're focusing on a single genre (or range of subgenres, I guess), at least for the first year or two: fantasy. A part of our strategy involves looking for certain elements that the very best and most successful fantasies—I'm talking the classics, the most beloved and enduring works that stand out, across years and even generations. One of those elements, Iconic Imagery, is very closely related to the Iconic Locations detailed in Part One.

Musing on Some Elements that Work in Fantasy, Part One: Iconic Locations

When asked to picture Narnia, you probably think of something rather like this, don't you?[/caption]If asked to close one's eyes and picture Narnia, I am willing to bet that just about everyone will picture a snow-covered wood surrounding a clearing where a lamppost sheds a soft, golden light ... just beyond a wardrobe door. Something about that image, that specific location, is iconic. It's a strong, concrete, visual image. It's something we almost can't help responding to, almost like it, that one place, was a character in a story. When we revisit, years later, it's like meeting an old friend.

Book Review: “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern

Wow, the last quarter of 2011 has been a grand one for books. Erin Morgenstern's lovely and haunting The Night Circus continues a string of truly good reads that began with Among Others and The Magician King. It's a book I'll be thinking about for a while, and one I'll alms certainly read again some day ... something increasingly rare when my to-be-read stack reaches the ceiling. It's certainly one I'll be pushing on my friends. It's one that I can recommend to a wide swath of them, because The Night Circus will appeal to a very broad range of tastes. It's romantic, it's mysterious, it's evocative (certainly that!), magical, it's lovely, and it's (at times) heartbreaking. And it's almost impossible to describe. I wanted to rush through The Night Circus, and I wanted to savor every word. I couldn't wait to get to the end; I wanted it to go on forever.

Book Review: “The Magician King” by Lev Grossman

I went to hear Mr. Grossman speak when his author tour brought him to Atlanta, and while I found his talk and reading delightful, I didn't think The Magician King was a book I'd be reviewing. Largely because, when someone asked about a third book, Mr. Grossman joked about writing as many as his agent thought he could sell. Great, I thought. This isn't a book. It's an episode. I couldn't have been more wrong. While The Magician King assumes familiarity with the first book (although it does a fine job of reminding you of the hight points if it's been a while since you read it), this is a sequel with it's own beginning, middle, and very definite end. And darned if it's not an out an out better book. More, Quentin Coldwater (how great is that name?), the main character, grows and changes in this book.

Book Review: Jo Walton’s amazing “Among Others”

I readily confess: I am not above flights of hyperbole. Nonetheless, I don't think I am indulging in it even in the least when I say, Jo Walton's lovely, startling Among Others is more than amazing. It's a book that's going to save someone's life some day.

Book Review: “The Magicians and Mrs. Quent” by Galen Beckett

was about halfway through reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Galen Beckett's The Magicians and Mrs. Quent when I decided to pop online to check out the reviews. It's a rather irritating habit (irritating to me; I can't imagine that anyone else cares), but I like see if every one else agrees with my own assessment. The first review I read (I tried to find it again to link, but alas, it seems to have vanished) offered this critique: "nothing new." For the record, that doesn't seem to be the majority opinion, but frankly, I can't say I disagree. None of the ingredients, or few of them, anyway, are what you'd call groundbreaking. But then, it's not always the ingredients that make the stew; it's how they're mixed. Sure, The Magicians and Mrs. Quent is pastiche. But it's very good pastiche. Outstanding, even. My wife and I too turns reading it aloud to one another, and we had an absolute blast.

Belated Book Review: “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke

If there was ever a book I truly don't know what to say about, it's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Don't get me wrong—I adored it. I've recommended it to dozens of my friends. But not all of them. I don't even recommend it to all of my friends who like fantasy, or mythic fiction, or British drawing room comedies of manners. It's a massive book, something like 400,000 thousand words (that's a guess; I haven't actually counted them). Nonetheless, I found myself enchanted from page one. Magic and sly witticisms were so thick I had to swat them away like flies, and the oh-so-English narrative delighted me. The characters are engaging and well-drawn, and the period voice, complete with obsolete spellings and elaborate, fanciful footnotes (don't dare skip them!) delighted me. All the same, when I was nearly halfway through, I found myself still wondering when the actual story was going to get started. It had been going all along, but Ms. Clarke, like any good magician, had distracted my attention.

Book Review: “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss

The sequel to The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear, was released a few years later than promised, but it was worth the wait. The new volume picks up right where the last one ended. The central character, Kvothe, has been narrating the truth about his life—already a legend—to a scholarly young man known as Chronicler. Kvothe promised that the telling would take three days. The first volume was day one; the new one is the second day. The final volume, day three, should be released within our lifetimes, if all goes well. There's apparently a sequel trilogy coming after that. I have no idea when, but I feel utterly safe in saying that whenever it arrives, it will, like The Wise Man's Fear, be worth the wait.

Book Review: “Guardians of the Desert” by Leona Wisoker

The sequel to Secrets of the Sands, Guardians of the Desert, actually expands on the earlier book's strengths—the world is deeper and more complex and the characters have grown. Leona's sense of pace hasn't dulled, and the mental pictures conjured by her spare but elegant prose and much more vivid. Her subtle, wicked wit is still apparent—and still luring to catch the reader unaware.

Book Review of something utterly new, strange, and powerful: “The Orange Eats Creeps”

It makes me uncomfortable to picture Grace Krilanovich crafting The Orange Eats Creeps. I get these fleeting, nightmarish image of a young woman, wild-eyed and too thin, scrawling the words on the underside of a bridge somewhere, or on the walls of the kind of bar I'd be afraid to enter, even if I was cool enough to know how to find it. I picture her mainlining caffeine laced with meth, or something, some drug I've read about in newspapers, not for stimulation but to dull the fire of stranger substances screaming though her veins like electricity. Because you see, witnessing the birth of an new kind of literature, a utterly new way to pound and twist blocks of English into something mind-blastingly fresh, is a little frightening.

Book Review: Lost Lore: A Celebration of Traditional Wisdom

Just last night, my wife Carol and I discovered something nifty that we didn't know we could do with our iPhones. That wasn't the first time that's happened — almost every week, we're learning something new about our latest gadgets and toys. Er, I mean tools of our trade. But it seems like for everything that's learned, something is lost. It makes me a little sad to think of the gems of knowledge, once deemed critical, that are now relegated to the dusty attics of our brains until, at last, they vanish forever. That's why I was delighted to discover Lost Lore: A Celebration of Traditional Wisdom.

Book Review: “The Meaning of Night” by Michael Cox

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post listing my fifteen favorite first sentences in literature. At the time, I hadn't read Michael Cox's The Meaning of Night: A Confession, or I would have been forced to give serious consideration to including it. It begins: After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an Oyster Supper. Now that's a pretty good start. It's an opening that hooks us immediately on the story, certainly. It's hard not to wonder what's going to follow that. More, it hooks us on character—who is this narrator, and how can he describe an act of terrible violence in such a casual manner? I'm happy to report that the book lives up to the promise of that first sentence. It is a dark, chilling read, and an utterly compelling one.

“Secrets of the Sands” by Leona Wisoker

In Secrets of the Sands, Leona Wisoker has created an elaborate, well-crafted fantasy world that doesn't feel like the too-familiar pseudo-Celtic Medieval Land, and a complex desert society that doesn't feel like, say, Dune or The Arabian Nights. She's created a logical and consistent language that feels exotic but (despite the ubiquitous apostrophes) doesn't feel like Klingon or Tolkien's masterful Elvish. She manages to use her language to make her world seem textured and real, but still keeps her dialogue fresh, lively, and yes, even contemporary. Secrets of the Sands is a fun read—it's delightfully original, and it deserves attention.

“Total Oblivion, More or Less” by Alan DeNiro

Read Total Oblivion, More or Less: A Novel Total Oblivion, More or Less is a strange novel. In a lot of ways, in fact, it's a novel about strangeness, and how ordinary people deal with it. Imagine Huck Finn's raft drifting through a post-apocalypse American wasteland. Things have changed. The government has disappeared, geography itself … Continue reading “Total Oblivion, More or Less” by Alan DeNiro →

Throw-back SciFi in “Deuces Wild: Beginners’ Luck” by L. S. King

The arc that makes Deuces Wild: Beginners' Luck work is the at first reluctant friendship that grows between the two leads. Imagine what might have happened in Star Wars had Luke met Han in that bar without Obi Wan and some urgent mission. Imagine them slowing coming to respect, and even like each other and they drift planet to planet, constantly finding new trouble to get themselves out of. The growth of that friendship is what keeps you smiling in spite of yourself and turning the pages.

“The Ruling Sea” by Robert V. S. Redick

Pretty much everything I said in my review of The Red Wolf Conspiracy also applies to it's sequel, The Ruling Sea. Once again, Robert V. S. Redick has created a fantasy that recaptures the swashbuckling adventure that I first fell in love with in my youth in books like The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood, The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island, and those marvelous, under-appreciated tales of Lloyd Alexander.

“The Angel’s Game” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Yesterday, I reviewed Carlos Ruiz Zafón's brilliant novel, The Shadow of the Wind. Continuing with the "holy crap this is good" theme, today I'm taking a look at his follow up, The Angel's Game. While both The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game are completely stand-alone novels, they are subtly connected. The two novels both a part of what Zafón says will eventually be a four-book cycle of loosely connected stories with overlapping narratives and characters. While either can be read alone, reading both makes each a deeper and richer experience. In fact, I read The Angel's Game at the same time that my wife Carol and I were reading The Shadow of the Wind aloud to one one another, a strange and wonderful experience.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I've wanted to review Carlos Ruiz Zafón's brilliant and lovely The Shadow of the Wind for a while now. I've hesitated largely because I needed to think of something to say other than simply, holy crap this is good! I first read the book back when it was first published in the United States—it was already a best seller in Europe—about four years ago or so. Over the holidays, faced with some sixteen hours in the car with two trips to Morristown Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama, my wife and I decided to take turns reading it aloud to each other. I wondered, frankly, if it could possibly be as good as I remembered. It was. No, wait. It was even better.

“Last Night in Twisted River” by John Irving

I am happy to report that Last Night in Twisted River is the product of an author completely unafraid to brave the danger plunge deeply into the river that twists through his own psyche. The journey, part Twain, part Dickens, and all Irving, is one well worth taking.

Great first sentences in literature

As both a reader and a writer, I've come to appreciate the power of a truly excellent first sentence. I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the most memorable and best-loved books ever written have truly amazing first sentences. In many cases, you can name the book just from the power of those all-important opening words. Think of Melville's "Call Me Ishmael," or Dickens's "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Classic. Unforgettable. Here are fifteen of my very favorites. Trust me, every single one of these books lives up to the promise of that first sentence.

“The Magicians” by Lev Grossman

When I first browsed through Lev Grossman's The Magicians at Blue Elephant Bookshop, I knew it was a book that was coming home with me. The jacket blurb promised a book for adults who, as young readers, had adored the Narnia, Oz, and Harry Potter stories, and books like T. H. White's The Once and Future King. And indeed, The Magicians draws liberally and lovingly from those sources. There is a magic school filled with eccentric professors and strange wonders, teaching by turning students into animals (as Merlyn does with the Wart in The Once and Future King), and even a hidden fantasy world accessed through a sleepy "between" world filled with pools, a motif familiar to anyone who has read C. S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew, one of the best of the Narnia books. Even the characters in The Magicians grew up reading and loving a series of fantasy books. That fond, nostalgic love is one of the reasons we are so drawn to them. But don't get the idea that The Magicians is a mere pastiche. The Magicians is told from a decided, utterly (even ironically) original, and heartbreaking, adult point of view.

“Silverlock” by John Myers Myers

In his introduction to the 1979 paperback edition of Silverlock (I still have my first 1979 Ace paperback, as well as a hardcover first edition and a lovely new hardback that includes the Companion), author Larry Niven enthuses: “You’ll get drunk on Silverlock. When you finish reading, you will feel like you got monumentally drunk with your oldest friends; you sang songs and told truth and lies all night or all week; you’ll sit there grinning at nothing and wondering why there isn’t any hangover.” I couldn’t agree more.