Friday, April 29
Is anybody out there?
The lack of comments I've received on my last few posts is giving me a complex. Where are my faithful commenters/readers at? :(
Tuesday, April 26
Time for another guest post! Please welcome Pepper O'Neal!
Hello readers! I've got another guest post for you today. This one is from the lovely Pepper O'Neal, author of Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny. She's talking about basing characters on people you know in real life. Make sure to say hello and let her know what you think!
Also, if you haven't read my previous blog post about the ending of "Game of Thrones" episode 2, be sure to check it out after you finish Pepper's guest post.
And now, here's Pepper! :)
I make no secret about the fact I pull my characters from real life, using my friends and people I know to model them after. Writers are always telling me this is a no-no. They say you even if you do use real people, you should never admit it. To which I say, nonsense. I freely admit to my friends they’ll probably end up in one of my books sooner or later. After all, I’ve met some truly fascinating people in my life, and I seriously doubt I could come up with characters out of my imagination anywhere near as interesting as the real people I know.
Maybe I’m just fortunate in my friends, but so far none of them have ever complained about finding themselves in my books. Even when I cast them as villains, they still think it’s great. Of course, then they start demanding to star in the next book. The way it’s going, I won’t run out of stories to write for many, many years.
For me, pulling my characters from real life has several advantages, one of the best being that I have plenty of help with my work. I have lots of beta readers to check for believability and plot consistency, as well as to help smooth out the writing. And if I have trouble with a character and can’t figure out how he or she would react in a certain situation, I can go to the source and ask.
My friends know not to take my portrayal of them as a character personally. I always tell them I’m taking their core traits and embellishing them, so whatever they like about the character, I got from them, and whatever they don’t like, they can just assume is something I added for effect. They also know that, except for them, no one else will recognize their real life identity in my book. So if they don’t like their character, they don’t have to admit who they are.
I’m careful to respect my friends’ privacy and try not to make my characters physically identifiable to anyone who would know them in real life. Sometimes that isn’t as easy as it seems. Especially if physical appearance is one of the things about the person that fits the character in the book. For example, in my book, Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny, which comes out on April 30, 2011 from Black Opal Books, I’ve used a guy, I’ll call Darrel, who looks like Adonis in the flesh. In the book, he’s a side character named Drake. I combined Darrel with an Amur tiger to make Drake a weretiger. But since I was using Darrel’s physical description almost verbatim, I thought it only fair to ask him if he minded. And being Darrel, his only comment was, “No problem, but when do I get my own book?"
I can’t give you a real picture of Darrel, but I can show the picture I found to represent Drake. And yeah, he’s probably going to get his own book.
Visit my website: http://www.pepperoneal.com/
Learn more about Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny at: http:www. http://pepperoneal.com/blood-fest-series/
Read an excerpt of Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny at: http://pepperoneal.com/blood-fest-series/excerpt-chasing-destiny/
Also, if you haven't read my previous blog post about the ending of "Game of Thrones" episode 2, be sure to check it out after you finish Pepper's guest post.
And now, here's Pepper! :)
I make no secret about the fact I pull my characters from real life, using my friends and people I know to model them after. Writers are always telling me this is a no-no. They say you even if you do use real people, you should never admit it. To which I say, nonsense. I freely admit to my friends they’ll probably end up in one of my books sooner or later. After all, I’ve met some truly fascinating people in my life, and I seriously doubt I could come up with characters out of my imagination anywhere near as interesting as the real people I know.
Maybe I’m just fortunate in my friends, but so far none of them have ever complained about finding themselves in my books. Even when I cast them as villains, they still think it’s great. Of course, then they start demanding to star in the next book. The way it’s going, I won’t run out of stories to write for many, many years.
For me, pulling my characters from real life has several advantages, one of the best being that I have plenty of help with my work. I have lots of beta readers to check for believability and plot consistency, as well as to help smooth out the writing. And if I have trouble with a character and can’t figure out how he or she would react in a certain situation, I can go to the source and ask.
My friends know not to take my portrayal of them as a character personally. I always tell them I’m taking their core traits and embellishing them, so whatever they like about the character, I got from them, and whatever they don’t like, they can just assume is something I added for effect. They also know that, except for them, no one else will recognize their real life identity in my book. So if they don’t like their character, they don’t have to admit who they are.
I’m careful to respect my friends’ privacy and try not to make my characters physically identifiable to anyone who would know them in real life. Sometimes that isn’t as easy as it seems. Especially if physical appearance is one of the things about the person that fits the character in the book. For example, in my book, Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny, which comes out on April 30, 2011 from Black Opal Books, I’ve used a guy, I’ll call Darrel, who looks like Adonis in the flesh. In the book, he’s a side character named Drake. I combined Darrel with an Amur tiger to make Drake a weretiger. But since I was using Darrel’s physical description almost verbatim, I thought it only fair to ask him if he minded. And being Darrel, his only comment was, “No problem, but when do I get my own book?"
I can’t give you a real picture of Darrel, but I can show the picture I found to represent Drake. And yeah, he’s probably going to get his own book.
Visit my website: http://www.pepperoneal.com/
Learn more about Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny at: http:www. http://pepperoneal.com/blood-fest-series/
Read an excerpt of Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny at: http://pepperoneal.com/blood-fest-series/excerpt-chasing-destiny/
Thanks for stopping by, Pepper! Best of luck on your new release!
Monday, April 25
Overreacting Much? My take on some of the angry responses to episode 2 of HBO’s “Game of Thrones”
Possible SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t watched yesterday’s episode of GoT yet but are still planning on it, come back after you’ve seen it (or risk having the end ruined for you)!
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it in this blog (since I usually talk about my writing and/or school work), but I am a huge animal lover, and an animal activist. I believe that animals have rights, and that people that commit cruel acts towards animals deserve to be punished. I get upset when I watch a tv show or movie that shows animals dying (being killed or just dying by natural causes – both really bum me out). And I was upset for a good 5 min Sunday night after I watched the scene where Ned Stark kills his daughter’s direwolf, Lady. But when I heard how many viewers of the show were seriously outraged by the wolf’s death, I was blown away.
(If you haven’t heard about the comments people have made regarding the episode, check out this article from EW online.) First off, IT’S JUST A STORY. A novel, hence FICTION. Not real. Made up. It came from someone’s imagination. How can something that isn’t even real make people so angry? Sure, you might not like it. It might bother you a little. But to freak out to the point of saying you’ll no longer watch the show? Because a fictional animal was killed? I just don’t get it.
Maybe that's because every day REAL live wolves are brutally murdered. Do these commenters know or care about this fact? I don’t know. I hope so. I hope that the kind of person who’d get so upset about a fictional animal’s death would also care about the actual wolves out there in the wilderness. If you happen to be a person who cares about the wolves, I urge you to check out this site or this site. There are many things you can do to help save these endangered creatures. I myself just adopted a wolf family for $45, and am waiting for my plush wolf and other goodies to arrive in the mail any day now! :)
Then there are the other commenters (group B), the ones who bash the “how dare you have killed the direwolf!” commenters (group A). Group B is enraged. They want to know why group A is making such a big deal over the death of an animal, instead of being upset over the rape(?) of an under-aged girl, or the attempted murder of a ten year old boy. To group B, I say – why does it have to be either or?!?
I see this a lot on animal activism sites. People want to know why the activists don’t care about the abuse of humans. Why people are so vocal about saving the animals when natural disasters (such as the one in Japan a few weeks back) occur. What about the people? they want to know. My first answer is why do you automatically think I "don't care" about the humans because I am trying to raise awareness for the animals? Can't I do both? Can't I want to help the people and the animals?!?
Then there's the fact that the majority of animals (especially house pets) are defenseless against humans. And most of them depend on us, on human beings, to take care of them. To feed them, to shelter them, to protect them. They depend on us to survive.
Humans CHOOSE where they live, what jobs they work, etc. When a human family moves away and leaves their dog tied to a tree in the backyard, the dog does not have a choice! The dog is left there to slowly and painfully starve to death, while it’s “family” moves on with their lives in another town or state. When alunatic person is sitting around bored and suddenly decides it would be amusing to light a cat on fire, the 10 pound cat is not able to fight back! Someone must stand up for these animals, and I have chosen to be one of the people who do.
*steps off soapbox*
Rant over. Feel free to leave me a comment telling me how you feel - about the show, the responses the episode got, animal rights, whatever. I'm all ears :)
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it in this blog (since I usually talk about my writing and/or school work), but I am a huge animal lover, and an animal activist. I believe that animals have rights, and that people that commit cruel acts towards animals deserve to be punished. I get upset when I watch a tv show or movie that shows animals dying (being killed or just dying by natural causes – both really bum me out). And I was upset for a good 5 min Sunday night after I watched the scene where Ned Stark kills his daughter’s direwolf, Lady. But when I heard how many viewers of the show were seriously outraged by the wolf’s death, I was blown away.
(If you haven’t heard about the comments people have made regarding the episode, check out this article from EW online.) First off, IT’S JUST A STORY. A novel, hence FICTION. Not real. Made up. It came from someone’s imagination. How can something that isn’t even real make people so angry? Sure, you might not like it. It might bother you a little. But to freak out to the point of saying you’ll no longer watch the show? Because a fictional animal was killed? I just don’t get it.
Maybe that's because every day REAL live wolves are brutally murdered. Do these commenters know or care about this fact? I don’t know. I hope so. I hope that the kind of person who’d get so upset about a fictional animal’s death would also care about the actual wolves out there in the wilderness. If you happen to be a person who cares about the wolves, I urge you to check out this site or this site. There are many things you can do to help save these endangered creatures. I myself just adopted a wolf family for $45, and am waiting for my plush wolf and other goodies to arrive in the mail any day now! :)
Then there are the other commenters (group B), the ones who bash the “how dare you have killed the direwolf!” commenters (group A). Group B is enraged. They want to know why group A is making such a big deal over the death of an animal, instead of being upset over the rape(?) of an under-aged girl, or the attempted murder of a ten year old boy. To group B, I say – why does it have to be either or?!?
I see this a lot on animal activism sites. People want to know why the activists don’t care about the abuse of humans. Why people are so vocal about saving the animals when natural disasters (such as the one in Japan a few weeks back) occur. What about the people? they want to know. My first answer is why do you automatically think I "don't care" about the humans because I am trying to raise awareness for the animals? Can't I do both? Can't I want to help the people and the animals?!?
Then there's the fact that the majority of animals (especially house pets) are defenseless against humans. And most of them depend on us, on human beings, to take care of them. To feed them, to shelter them, to protect them. They depend on us to survive.
Humans CHOOSE where they live, what jobs they work, etc. When a human family moves away and leaves their dog tied to a tree in the backyard, the dog does not have a choice! The dog is left there to slowly and painfully starve to death, while it’s “family” moves on with their lives in another town or state. When a
*steps off soapbox*
Rant over. Feel free to leave me a comment telling me how you feel - about the show, the responses the episode got, animal rights, whatever. I'm all ears :)
Wednesday, April 20
Guest Post from Nicki J. Markus, author of the Time Keepers mini-series!
Hello readers! I'm so sorry I haven't blogged lately, I've had a lot going on. I promise to write a post about it soon, but for now I have a special treat. A guest post from the very sweet and talented Nicki J. Markus. Take it away, Nicki! :)
Self-Promoting and Marketing: A Good Idea or a Deadly Trap?
From mid October 2010 till mid March 2011, I wasn’t working. That is to say, I was embarking on my writing career, but I was not undertaking any full-time employment of the everyday variety.
It was bliss.
Each day I could get up, check my emails at my leisure, open up my latest WIP and get writing. I had three e-books released in that period and it was no problem as I had all the time in the world to write them, edit them and then make book trailers, design posters and promote, promote, promote.
But now I am working again.
As a new writer, I understand the need to get my name out there, gradually build up a fan base (hopefully) and make sure my work gets seen. The problem is that promotion now seems to take up my every free moment.
By the end of March, I found myself in panic mode. I was three weeks into my new job and, aside from checking and replying to emails, nothing was getting done. I had guest posts to write, interview questions to both answer and prepare and a never ending array of blogs and author pages that needed to be kept up to date.
I spent all day the first weekend in April frantically getting through the huge ‘to do’ list and it is finally under control again. But my point is this. In the whole of that weekend, how much writing did I actually do? The answer: zilch, nada, nil.
My current WIP has sat languishing on a flash drive for a month with barely 1500 words written in all that time. I feel a sense of deep guilt now every time I sit down to do any sort of promotional work.
So, I guess the difficulty for any emerging author is striking the right balance. Of course you need to promote, network and do whatever you can to make sure your books get seen. But if you don’t put aside the time for writing too then pretty soon you won’t have anything to promote!!
Nicki J Markus was born in England in 1982, but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her fiancé. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist. She launched her writing career in 2010 and has so far had manuscripts accepted for e-book publication by both Wicked Nights Publishing and Silver Publishing. To find out more about her and her writing, visit her website/blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com/
Thanks for stopping by Nicki!
Self-Promoting and Marketing: A Good Idea or a Deadly Trap?
From mid October 2010 till mid March 2011, I wasn’t working. That is to say, I was embarking on my writing career, but I was not undertaking any full-time employment of the everyday variety.
It was bliss.
Each day I could get up, check my emails at my leisure, open up my latest WIP and get writing. I had three e-books released in that period and it was no problem as I had all the time in the world to write them, edit them and then make book trailers, design posters and promote, promote, promote.
But now I am working again.
As a new writer, I understand the need to get my name out there, gradually build up a fan base (hopefully) and make sure my work gets seen. The problem is that promotion now seems to take up my every free moment.
By the end of March, I found myself in panic mode. I was three weeks into my new job and, aside from checking and replying to emails, nothing was getting done. I had guest posts to write, interview questions to both answer and prepare and a never ending array of blogs and author pages that needed to be kept up to date.
I spent all day the first weekend in April frantically getting through the huge ‘to do’ list and it is finally under control again. But my point is this. In the whole of that weekend, how much writing did I actually do? The answer: zilch, nada, nil.
My current WIP has sat languishing on a flash drive for a month with barely 1500 words written in all that time. I feel a sense of deep guilt now every time I sit down to do any sort of promotional work.
So, I guess the difficulty for any emerging author is striking the right balance. Of course you need to promote, network and do whatever you can to make sure your books get seen. But if you don’t put aside the time for writing too then pretty soon you won’t have anything to promote!!
Nicki J Markus was born in England in 1982, but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her fiancé. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist. She launched her writing career in 2010 and has so far had manuscripts accepted for e-book publication by both Wicked Nights Publishing and Silver Publishing. To find out more about her and her writing, visit her website/blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com/
Her latest release is the second part of her four-part paranormal Time Keepers mini-series. Her books are available from: Amazon, OmniLit, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and Bookstrand.
Time Keepers – Part 1 – Running Blind
"It seems like any ordinary day as Nick waits for the train, but then a chance encounter with a young woman turns his world upside down. What is it that she is running from and will helping her jeopardise his own secret, making him a target too?"
Time Keepers – Part 2 – The Beast Within
"With Nick’s secret now exposed, he and Ellie must run for their lives, pursued by the Governor and his Time Keepers. Will they be able to stay hidden or is their time nearly up?"
Thanks for stopping by Nicki! Good luck with your new release! :)
Monday, April 4
Guest Post from new author, Christine Ashworth!
Hello readers! I've got a special treat for you today. Christine Ashworth, author of Demon Soul, is here with a guest post. Welcome, Christine! :)
Meghan, thanks for having me visit your blog! I’m in a bit of a flurry right now, what with my debut book DEMON SOUL coming out any day now, and with the Romantic Times convention happening this week. It’s my first one, so I’m excited! I’ve got the perfect dress and mask and faery wings for the Venetian Masquerade Faery Ball, and a super dress for the Hollywood Glamor night…I just can’t figure out what to wear to the Vampire Ball, though…the theme this year is Zombie Strippers from Plan 9! Any ideas for me?
Being a debut author has been such a ride. I’ve been writing since 2001, and have over ten novels under my belt…this is my first sale and boy, the journey’s been so much fun!
First, the incredible high that came with someone actually wanting my book. Really? Wow! Nice! Then of course came the hard part – revisions. When an editor tells you to change something, you do – and you make it work. Unless you really can’t make yourself change it, and then you have discussions with your editor. But I will say I did my best to make every change asked for, especially when she was so totally right. Everything, from getting the cover to getting the final pdf file of the book – I learned so much. Next time will be easier, I’m sure!
In digital publishing, the wait time isn’t a matter of years as it can be in traditional publishing. From offer to first availability, it was just about six months! (DEMON SOUL is available currently for the Kindle at Amazon.com, but will be widely available soon). That gave me enough time to get my ducks in a row as far as marketing goes. I’m lucky to have RT to go to as well, as that will give me the opportunity to meet readers and sell some books.
Blogging will be my focus for the month of April, and doing giveaways too. And then I’ll crawl back into my writer’s cave and get the second book in the Caine Brothers series written because, you know, that’s my job! Feel free to drop by my website at http://christine-ashworth.com/ or follow me on twitter @CCAshworth
If you’d like to win a copy of DEMON SOUL, please leave a comment, below, and thanks for spending time with me!
BLURB:
Gabriel Caine stands on the edge of the abyss. A vampire has stolen his soul and if he doesn’t get it back soon, his next step will be into Hell.
Rose Walters has been sent back from the dead to complete one task – save Gabriel Caine. But this strong hunk of male doesn’t look like he needs anyone’s help.
Rose has touched the whole of Gabriel, making him yearn for a love he believes he can never have. Her willingness to put her human life on the line for him forces him to bring all three parts of himself – demon, human, and Fae bloodlines, and the traps and strengths of each – into harmony, and into the fight that will determine their fate.
BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Soul-ebook/dp/B004USLO6W
Thanks for stopping by Christine. Best of luck on your debut novel! :)
Readers, you have until Friday at 4 pm (EST) to leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of Demon Soul. Good luck to everyone!
'Till next time...
Meghan, thanks for having me visit your blog! I’m in a bit of a flurry right now, what with my debut book DEMON SOUL coming out any day now, and with the Romantic Times convention happening this week. It’s my first one, so I’m excited! I’ve got the perfect dress and mask and faery wings for the Venetian Masquerade Faery Ball, and a super dress for the Hollywood Glamor night…I just can’t figure out what to wear to the Vampire Ball, though…the theme this year is Zombie Strippers from Plan 9! Any ideas for me?
Being a debut author has been such a ride. I’ve been writing since 2001, and have over ten novels under my belt…this is my first sale and boy, the journey’s been so much fun!
First, the incredible high that came with someone actually wanting my book. Really? Wow! Nice! Then of course came the hard part – revisions. When an editor tells you to change something, you do – and you make it work. Unless you really can’t make yourself change it, and then you have discussions with your editor. But I will say I did my best to make every change asked for, especially when she was so totally right. Everything, from getting the cover to getting the final pdf file of the book – I learned so much. Next time will be easier, I’m sure!
In digital publishing, the wait time isn’t a matter of years as it can be in traditional publishing. From offer to first availability, it was just about six months! (DEMON SOUL is available currently for the Kindle at Amazon.com, but will be widely available soon). That gave me enough time to get my ducks in a row as far as marketing goes. I’m lucky to have RT to go to as well, as that will give me the opportunity to meet readers and sell some books.
Blogging will be my focus for the month of April, and doing giveaways too. And then I’ll crawl back into my writer’s cave and get the second book in the Caine Brothers series written because, you know, that’s my job! Feel free to drop by my website at http://christine-ashworth.com/ or follow me on twitter @CCAshworth
If you’d like to win a copy of DEMON SOUL, please leave a comment, below, and thanks for spending time with me!
BLURB:
Gabriel Caine stands on the edge of the abyss. A vampire has stolen his soul and if he doesn’t get it back soon, his next step will be into Hell.
Rose Walters has been sent back from the dead to complete one task – save Gabriel Caine. But this strong hunk of male doesn’t look like he needs anyone’s help.
Rose has touched the whole of Gabriel, making him yearn for a love he believes he can never have. Her willingness to put her human life on the line for him forces him to bring all three parts of himself – demon, human, and Fae bloodlines, and the traps and strengths of each – into harmony, and into the fight that will determine their fate.
BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Soul-ebook/dp/B004USLO6W
Thanks for stopping by Christine. Best of luck on your debut novel! :)
Readers, you have until Friday at 4 pm (EST) to leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of Demon Soul. Good luck to everyone!
'Till next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)