Friday, March 29, 2013

Book Review of Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

I attended the Changing Hands Bookstore official launch party - bus tour - book signing for CLOCKWORK PRINCESS-The Infernal Devices #3

One big thrill for me is meeting my favorite authors and learning where they get their inspiration from. Cassandra Clare said she meet with a friend who's a tattoo artist and they talked about the different designs and meanings and the idea of Shadowhunters having tattoos to help them have special powers was born.

At her launch party she played the movie trailer for City of Bones which is coming out August 23rd 2013. http://youtu.be/4axPibsp4Ao

She also played the book trailer for Clockwork Princess. http://youtu.be/qyw0FqR-bjc

Cassandra Clare told how she was in England sitting in a park plotting for Clockwork Princess and a large worm crawled onto her blanket and she said, "there's going to be a worm in the book."

And indeed the book has a large vicious worm attacking the shadowhunters and this is where the book starts out. Tessa shows up to help in her wedding dress and ends up getting blood all over it. Jem takes a turn for the worse and needs more medicine. With Tessa & Jem engaged, Will has to push his love for Tessa aside. More than anything he wants to see his best friend Jem happy.

Mortmain is determined to get Tessa for his own evil plan to get revenge on the shadowhunters. When he buys up all the medicine that will keep Jem alive Tessa has to put her life on the line to save the man she loves.

There are lots of tie-ins with the Mortal Instrument series through out Clockwork Princess. It made me want to reread the whole series starting with City of Bones.

If you don't want the biggest spoiler of all don't read the family tree on the inside flap of the book. I did that. Ugh!

Cassandra Clare is a great writer and she intertwines a bizarre supernatural world within our world. This wrapped up the series nicely and it was a great end to The Infernal Devices.

If you haven't read it buy your copy at:

http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Princess-Infernal-Devices-Cassandra

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-clockwork-princess-cassandra-clare

Learn more about Cassandra Clare and her awesome series:

http://www.shadowhunters.com/theinfernaldevices/index.php

http://www.cassandraclare.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Cassandraclare

https://twitter.com/cassieclare

Monday, March 18, 2013

Book Review Vanguard Legacy: Foretold by Joanne Kershaw

I finished this YA Paranormal series and can't stop thinking about the story. It's similar to Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and The Mortal Instrument series. It's like them but very original in its own world crisis and endearing characters. With a perfect balance of familiar and unfamiliar you are inducted into a world focused on training their children to fight against evil. Elora is in Vanguard training with fellow classmates Aaron, who is her best friend; Matthew a Magicae who is learning to be a spirit reader; and Teya a vampire who is training as a forensic. All of them are learning how to defeat the Dark Seekers. Elora's mother is one the best Vanguard's and has returned to the training compound. Elora thinks her mom only came to keep an eye on her. The relationship between them has always been bad but the secrets and lies start to come out and Elora doesn't know who she can trust. Thankful for her friends and new boyfriend Zak, who's a senior trainee, they try to figure out what Elora's visions mean. With Elora's special talent her group is placed in an accelerated training class. When all "hell" breaks loose Elora has to face her family secret. Don't miss out on this exciting new book.

Join the release party for Vanguard Legacy – Foretold on April 5^th https://www.facebook.com/events/591516437542734/

Joanne Kershaw lives in Wakefield, England, with her husband, four young children, and an uppity cat named Dipstick. As a teacher of five- to eleven-year-olds, she spends her days playing at being a grownup, then goes home to delve into Young Adult dark romance and being sixteen again.

Joanne lives and breathes books, whether reading, writing, or marking them. She wrote her first novel in six weeks. Encouraged to submit her work by a friend and fellow YA novel addict, Joanne now finds herself a signed author at Xchyler Publishing. http://www.xchylerpublishing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Joanne.Kershaw.Author

https://twitter.com/Kershaw_Joanne

Friday, March 15, 2013

She loves you, She loves you not: Writing Romances

When an editor started editing Anything but Normal she didn't like Boyd my hero because he allowed Krystal to get into trouble and didn't save her like a strapping hero would. After Janette's romance writing class I'm making my hero much more Knight-In-Shining-Armor. Hope it helps the reader fall in love with Boyd.

I'm sharing my notes in hopes it helps you too.

She loves you, She loves you not: Writing Romances Editors want to buy – by Janette Rallison -

http://janette-rallison.blogspot.com/

Romantic Heroes qualities need to be- Powerful in some way, Rich, Titled, and have a successful job.

We want to read heroes who are clever, street smart, resourceful, tough, and protective of the heroine.

We love the witty banter.

Heroes need to be faithful and loyal.

Love triangles really only work one way.

He’s also good even when he’s a bad boy.

Don’t make them too bad. You don’t want a hero who is a total rake and a player. They can change for the heroine.

Romance has grit, wit, and hot.

#1 rule – It is not enough for heroine to fall in love. The reader has to fall in love too.

A heroine is:

- Fairly young

- She doesn't know she’s beautiful

- Likable and strong

- MC is a woman (POV can change)

- She isn't weak

- She isn't perfect

- She is well developed

6 elements every story needs:

. A likable character
Who has a problem
Which leads to a goal
The character encounters obstacles
There is an antagonist
There is a consequence of failure if the MC doesn't get the goal.

The character needs to grow. Romance is character driven more than plot. If hero and heroine don’t have to change, what’s keeping them apart?

Writing exercise:

Write 10 good qualities about your MC.

What are her fears?

Main Plot-line can’t be that the heroine’s goal is to fall in love.

Rules of thumb-

- Must be worthy goal that the heroine wants to accomplish

- Best goals are important and urgent

- If goal can be postponed until next year than it isn't good enough

- All MC should have goals

- Goals can change

- They don’t have to be achieved always

- Be specific

Strong obstacles/ conflict

Conflict is not arguing. Conflict that can be cleared up with a 2 min conversation is not good enough.

Don’t throw unrelated conflict at MC.

Make sure the consequences of failure are big.

10 mistakes to avoid:

Physical attraction is not the only reason why they are in love.
Weak conflict (a snippy rude heroine overcomes and falls in love.)
Unlikable characters – example: a Jerk or a vixen
Not enough character development
Starting slow
Bringing characters together to soon. For romance we need tension, something has to keep the hero and heroine apart.
Bad boy is too bad
Weak, stupid, or poorly motivated heroine. Your readers shouldn't ever say, “I’d never do that.”
Not knowing sub-genre and all the rules and cliches
Writing like it’s 80’s or 90’s

Here are some of my favorite romances. Please share with me some of your favorite romance novels.

Me with Janette Rallison my favorite author

Thursday, March 7, 2013

ARCHETYPES, NOT STEREOTYPES

As an aspiring author I need a paying job until I hit it big (haha), and lucky for me my job goes right along with what I love to do. I'm promotion coordinator for Geode Press. I get to promote great books like Zenobia - Birth of a Legend. I've been sharing my notes from a recent writers conference I attended on the Geode Press website but I wanted to post this here on my blog because this class really helped me with my MC Krystal and developing a better archetype for her.

Archetypes, not stereotypes was one of my favorite classes I took and I learned so much. Jennifer Griffith is a fun energetic person. Jennifer says she writes, “cotton candy for the soul.”

http://www.authorjennifergriffith.com/

This class will help you improve your characters in writing and makes them more believable.

It's fun to take real people and see where they fit in the archetypes:

Zenobia is a Crusader.

I would say Jennifer Griffith is a Spunky Kid.

Russ Wallace, author of Zenobia - Birth of a Legend is a Chief & a Professor and so is my husband Jason Wallace.

Read below and you'll understand in a minute what all this means. Have Fun!

ARCHETYPES, NOT STEREOTYPES:

Nailing down Our Main Characters and Making them Come Alive for the Reader

WHY USE ARCHETYPES?

“Creating believable characters that connect with the audience is probably one of the most difficult aspects of writing an author faces. ARCHETYPES operate beneath the surface of the most original characters to forge a link with the audience based on shared human experience. The archetype tells the reader what the heroine’s or hero’s instincts are, what he feels, what drives him, and how he reaches his goals. The writer conveys these to the audience skillfully. Then the reader settles in to enjoy the old story told anew.” —Cowden, LaFever, Viders

MC (Main Character) + circumstances = Plot

Know your MC. What is their story?

There are many Personality types. You want to pin point what your MC is and make them believable.

You need good Villains as much as you need Heroes and Heroines.

Keep your MC true to their type.

Core character should have one of these archetypes.

Multi- layer characters: As you go down the list you will find many characters could fit in more than one archetype. For writing purposes your character should have no more than 2 archetypes.

Characters should be evolving. Start out one way and the circumstances change them.

Good books of reference are:

“45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters” by Victoria Lynn

“Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes"

by Tami D. Cowden,Caro LaFever,and Sue Viders

Below are some samples of heroes and heroines.

HEROES

The CHIEF—a dynamic leader, he has time for nothing but work

Captain Kirk from Star Trek

The Skipper from Gilligan's Island

John Wayne in every movie he was in but for sure McClintok

Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice

King Arthur in First Knight

The BAD BOY—dangerous to know, he walks on The wild side

Aladdin

Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice

The BEST FRIEND—sweet and safe, he never lets anyone down

Mr Knightly in Emma

Gilligan in Gilligan's Island

The CHARMER—a smooth talker, he creates fantasies

Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's day off

Magnum PI

The LOST SOUL—a tormented being, he lives in solitude

Charlie Brown

Edward in Twilight

Loki from Thor & The Avengers. Of course he is The Bad Boy too but it's because he's a lost soul. He just need love. :) haha

The PROFESSOR—coolly analytically, he knows every answer

The Professor on Gilligan's Island. (I think the reason why Gilligan's Island was so funny is because they had every archetype on that show. Seeing them interact made for a good laugh.)