Nanowrimo 2012: Lessons Learned
Nanowrimo ended 11/30/12 and I’m happy to report I “won,” meaning I’m 52,312 words closer to “The End” of another novel. Yay! I made it to the last scene of Act 2 (of 3) for my WiP Swim For Shore. As you know, if you read my post entitled the Next Big Thing, Swim For Shore is a paranormal romance featuring one wicked smart human-merman technology geek and a cute and brainy human literature geek.
Nanowrimo Discoveries
This wasn’t my first Nanowrimo writing marathon. This was, in fact, my fifth. I didn’t cross the 50K finish line ever year, but I was always happy I participated. And this year, I made some interesting discoveries. Here are a few of my light bulb moments.
- Accountability. Being required to report a daily word count is quite helpful for continued forward momentum. I was less inclined to get distracted by shiny objects and didn’t allow myself to spend eons on research (though I did fall down a couple of fun research rabbit holes, including graphic novels and surfing gear).
- Support. Nanowrimo is more fun when you have a bunch of writer pals cheering you on. I’m looking at you Amber, Paula, Trish, Ed and Tina.
- Boot Camp. Join a writing boot camp to whip your synopsis and outline into shape before Nanowrimo begins. Feedback one week prior to event, ongoing team support, and cheerleading during November = Priceless. Thank you Entangled Publishing Smackdown!
- Tweeting. See #Accountability and #Support (above). ☺
- Sprints. If you attend an online writing sprint, it is highly likely words will happen. My muse liked sprinting in the company of other writers. Thank you Angel and Savvy Authors for the motivational and productive November sprints.
The End
That’s all for now, dear Readers. Up next week: Fantasy author Graeme Brown pays a visit.
Rayne Hall Shares Funny Book Reviews
I’m pleased to welcome master craftswoman Rayne Hall back to my blog. In previous visits, she shared her craft articles on villains, editing fluff like “sigh” and tips for fight scenes. Today she shares some amusing book reviews.
Take it away, Rayne…
Funny Negative Book Reviews, by Rayne Hall
I love it when readers who enjoyed my books post positive reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and elsewhere – but negative reviews can be even more fun.
Here’s a selection of my favourites I’ve received over the years:
Storm Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel)
“This book is too long. I had to spend many hours reading it. I’m busy and have other things to do.”
“The character of Queen Matilda is not believable” There’s no Queen Matilda in the book.
“Animal lovers: Do not buy this book! They don’t just sacrifice humans, but horses as well.”
“The women in this story are not as obedient as the Bible says women were in those days.”
“The book didn’t end how I thought it would.”
Bites: Ten Tales Of Vampires (short story anthology)
“The vampires in this book aren’t like Edward Cullen. Most of them totally creep me out.”
“I could have written a vampire story as good as any in this book if the editor had asked me.”
Daughters Of The Dragon (non-fiction)
“How dare this author write about women in China? I checked her credentials: she does not have a degree in sinology.”
Living&Working In Britain (non-fiction)
“I’ve spent three weeks in that country. Trust me, it’s not at all like this.” The author lives in that country.
“If I had time, I’d dash off a book like this myself.”
Living&Working In Germany (non-fiction)
“This is not how I imagine Germany to be.”
“Clearly, the author has never met a real German” The author is a real German.
How To Be A Freelance Journalist (non-fiction)
“I don’t want to do all this work. I just want to be a journalist.”
Writing Fight Scenes (non-fiction)
“I skipped the first twenty chapters because there was nothing of interest in them. I wanted to know how to structure a fight scene and the book doesn’t show that.”
Chapter 3 is titled “Structure”.
Writing Scary Scenes (non-fiction)
“I don’t need a book to teach me how to write.”
“I haven’t read this book because I don’t need to read it to know it’s bad.”
Six Scary Tales Vol. 1
“What a rip-off! This book contains only six stories!”
“These tales are not scary. There’s not one single chainsaw massacre, not even a disemboweling.”
Six Historical Tales Vol. 1
“I hate it when writers use British English. They should learn to write proper English before publishing a book.”
“These stories are not ‘historical.’ Nobody gets married.”
Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts
“I had made reservation and on the date I was to go I had a very bad cold and fever and I called them to change my reservation and they refused.”
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Since some of these reviews were written many years ago and I no longer have access to them, I’ve quoted them from memory. The precise wording may have been different.
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Negative reviews from someone who clearly doesn’t get it can be annoying – but they can also be a source of hilarity.
I’ve browsed some review sites and found these disdainful comments on famous classics and bestsellers:
Pride And Prejudice (by Jane Austen)
“I found the story incredibly dated.” It was published in 1813.
“This is stupid. Why don’t those girls simply get a job?”
“Jane Austen left out all the good bits!! Even where Mr. Darcy comes out of the water with his shirt wet! It’s absolutely the best part and it’s not in the book at all!!!
Rebecca (by Daphne du Maurier)
“This story needs editing.”
“I wish the house would burn down and kill all the characters inside.”
Wuthering Heights (by Emily Bronte)
“There is also animal cruelty, and most of the characters die off at an early age.”
“The book is not as good as the movie.”
Dracula (by Bram Stoker)
“The character of the count is a stereotyped kind of vampire you’ve already seen in two dozen movies.”
Stoker’s Count Dracula is the original from which the stereotype evolved.
Carrie (by Stephen King)
“A bland tasteless book with no debth. The only part I enjoyed was the crazy mother.”
“Where’s the Scarey? Boring!”
Grapes Of Wrath (by John Steinbeck)
“What should I care about those people’s problems? I have enough problems of my own.”
Bleak House (by Charles Dickens)
“I’m on page 300 and there is no end in sight.”
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What Do You Think?
- Which of these reviews do you find funniest?
- If you’re a writer, have you ever received a funny negative review?
About Rayne Hall
Rayne Hall has published more than thirty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include Storm Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel), Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3 (mild horror stories), Six Historical Tales (short stories), Six Quirky Tales (humorous fantasy stories), Writing Fight Scenes and Writing Scary Scenes (instructions for authors).
She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the Ten Tales series of multi-author short story anthologies: Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft and more.
Her short online classes for writers are intense with plenty of personal feedback. Writing Fight Scenes, Writing Scary Scenes, Writing about Magic and Magicians, The Word Loss Diet and more.
For more information about Rayne Hall visit her website.
Image Credits:
Portrait of Rayne Hall by Fawnheart. Used with permission of Rayne Hall.
Book covers also used with permission of Rayne Hall.
Nanowrimo Update & Next Big Thing Blog Hop
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Nanowrimo is more than half over and I’m happy to report that my WiP is thriving.
As part of the The Next Big Thing Blog Hop I’m answering some NBT Blog Hop questions about my current work-in-progress (WiP). Thanks to three of my writer friends — Amber Belldene, Paula Millhouse, and Ed Hooanaert for tagging me. I’ll tag other writers at the end of my update. And away we go… ☺ |
Celia Breslin’s Next Big ThingHow long have you been writing your WiP?
Where did the idea come from for the book? What genre does your book fall under? Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Who or what inspired you to write this book? My merman is happy I finally sat down to put his story on virtual paper. ☺ |
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Tag! You’re It |
What is the working title of your book?Rules for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop:
***Use this format for your post
***Answer the (ten) questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
***Tag (five) other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.
Lovely Beach Image:
Beach Photo – Copyright 2012 Elinor Mills, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Blog Guest: Meet Margaret L. Carter
Hello Dear Readers. I’m pleased to welcome my fellow RWA-FF&P chapter-mate, Margaret L. Carter to my blog today. She’s here to talk about her writing and share some fun facts about herself. Enjoy!
How long have you been writing, Margaret?
I started at the age of 13, inspired by reading Dracula. At that time (early 1960s), it didn’t take me long to read my way through the horror fiction easily findable in the library. I also bought as much paperback horror as I could afford (not much), but vampire stories in particular weren’t everywhere the way they are today. It was even less easy to find the kind of stories I wanted to read, sympathetic to the “monster” or told from a nonhuman point of view.
What interested me most were relationships between human and nonhuman beings. So I started writing my own vampire and other horror stories of that type. I began as a horror fan and writer. I went on to write literary criticism about the supernatural in literature, especially vampires.
I’ve also produced fantasy, including stories in some of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress anthologies and a trilogy in collaboration with my husband (Wild Sorceress, Besieged Adept, and Rogue Magess).
At present I write mostly paranormal romance, both nonerotic and erotic. Actually, it turns out I wanted to read and write that genre long before it was officially invented!
What’s on your bookshelf and/or in your To Be Read pile?
Bookshelf: Hundreds of vampire books (fiction and nonfiction) surround me in my writing space. The rest of the house overflows with horror, SF, fantasy, classics (my degrees are in English lit), romances (mostly paranormal), popular works on science and religion, and random samples of almost every genre.
TBR: An anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction, After, edited by Ellen Datlow; the latest House of Night novel by P. C. Cast and Kristen Cast; the latest Vampire Hunter D novel; a manga volume in the “Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya” series; plus several yet-unread books loaded up on the Kindle (e.g., a dog mystery, Drop Dead On Recall) and PDF book files on the computer (e.g., a manual for horror writers, Write Of The Living Dead). I’m currently rereading a couple of Diane Duane’s Star Trek novels.
Do you have a favorite author?
Lots! In my teens, H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, and the early Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson, and Theodore Sturgeon were my favorites, who shaped my concept of what horror should be. C. S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, Dorothy Sayers, Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels), Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Jean Lorrah, Suzy McKee Charnas, Steven Pinker (for nonfiction), N. T. Wright (also nonfiction), Mercedes Lackey, Diane Duane, Diana Gabaldon, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Sharyn McCrumb—it’s hard to avoid leaving out somebody.
What two authors would you love to chat with over a meal? Better yet, what two authors would you take on a writer’s retreat?
I would love to get C. S. Lewis and H. P. Lovecraft together for a chat. They were near contemporaries (except that Lovecraft died much earlier). Their mature worldviews were diametrically opposite, yet during his teens and early adulthood Lewis held the same hard-line atheist beliefs Lovecraft clung to throughout his life.
Most likely they never read each other’s work. Lewis loved fantastic fiction but found the subset of it in which Lovecraft worked unappealing. What would they have to say to each other from the perspective of the afterlife?
As for a writer’s retreat, I’d go with Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah, because they’re both excellent teachers as well as co-authors (so they would make a great team). In fact, I once had the privilege of taking a weekend workshop taught by Jacqueline.
If the Earth was about to be destroyed to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass (Hello, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and you have mere minutes to vacate, what book would you grab to take with you? In addition to your towel, of course.
The Complete Works of C. S. Lewis (if such a volume existed). I never get tired of rereading him, both fiction and nonfiction.
Favorite food: Chicken curry.
Favorite color: Turquoise blue.
Favorite music: Folk and filk.
Favorite supernatural creature? Vampire.
Favorite TV show? Of all time? Probably Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Running now? Once Upon A Time.
Milk chocolate or Dark chocolate? Dark chocolate.
Vampires or werewolves? Vampires.
Sexy demons or sexy angels? Sexy demons.
Dragons or witches? Dragons.
Tell us about your work.
In Calling Back Love, an erotic paranormal romance novella from Ellora’s Cave, Kirsten’s fiancé is missing and presumed dead in Afghanistan. She works a magic spell to get one last weekend with him, even though such meddling violates the laws of Nature. His return can be only temporary–or can it?
Within the past year I’ve had two trade paperback collections of my erotic paranormal romance novellas published, with three stories in each: Ardent Blood from Amber Quill (“Aquatic Ardor,” undine; “Allure of the Beast,” werewolf; and “Blood Hostage,” vampire) and Night Flames from Ellora’s Cave (“New Flame,” fire spirit; “Night Flight,” vampire; and “Sweeter Than Wine,” ghost).
And I have a new story, “Dusting Pixie,” in the November 2012 quarterly issue of Sorcerous Signals, a free online fantasy zine.
Book Cover Design / Image Credit:
Photos from fotolia.com. Design by Dar Albert. Cover used here with permission of author.
Bio
Margaret L. Carter earned her Ph.D. in English with a dissertation that featured a chapter on Dracula. While moving frequently as a Navy wife and occasionally teaching college English, she had books and articles published on the supernatural in literature, including a vampire bibliography and, most recently, Different Blood: The Vampire as Alien. Every year she prepares a vampire fiction bibliography update. Her earliest professional fiction sales appeared in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover anthologies. Her first novel, Shadow of the Beast, a werewolf tale, was followed by Eppie Award-winning vampire novel Dark Changeling and other horror and paranormal romance books, including a vampire romance, Embracing Darkness, published by Silhouette Intimate Moments, and numerous erotic paranormal stories.
In addition to writing, Margaret works part time as a legislative editor for the Maryland General Assembly. She enjoys reading, playing Dungeons and Dragons, attending science fiction conventions, and listening to folk music. She and her husband, a retired Navy Captain, live in Maryland near the setting of several of her novels.
Blog Guest: Meet Laura Bickle
Happy Nanowrimo month everyone! Today, I take a quick break from my merman WiP to welcome a special guest to my blog.
Laura Bickle, my fellow RWA-FF&P chapter-mate, pays a visit to tell us about her Young Adult Thriller The Hallowed Ones and reveal some fun facts about herself.
Hi Laura. How long have you been writing?
I’ve always been scribbling, ever since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I loved stories – my mother was a librarian and was constantly reading to me – so I always wanted to try to tell my own.
Writing as Laura Bickle and Alayna Williams, I wrote four urban fantasies. Two are best summed up as “Ghostbusters in Detroit with dragons and arson” (Embers and Sparks). The other two, Dark Oracle and Rogue Oracle, are about a criminal profiler who uses Tarot cards to solve crimes. My newest release is The Hallowed Ones, a YA thriller described as “Witness meets 28 Days Later.”
What’s on your bookshelf and/or in your To Be Read pile?
At the moment, my TBR pile includes: Phillippa Ballantine’s Wrayth, Lizzie Stark’s Leaving Mundania, Alice Hoffman’s Incantation, Mike Mullin’s Ashfall, Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Jon Ronson’s The Psycopath Test, and Rosemary Ellen Guiley’s The Vengeful Djinn.
Do you have a favorite author?
My all-time favorite is Robin McKinley’s Hero And The Crown. I read it when I was a pre-teen, and fell in love with fantasy ever after. It was the first book I’d read that had a female protagonist who slew her own dragons. I was hooked.
What two authors would you love to chat with over a meal? Better yet, what two authors would you take on a writer’s retreat?
I would love to get five minutes of writing advice from Lauren DeStefano and Melissa Marr. I really admire their work, and would love to hear about their creative processes.
If the Earth was about to be destroyed to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass (Hello, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and you have mere minutes to vacate, what book would you grab to take with you? In addition to your towel, of course.
LOL. Is there a WORST CASE SCENARIO SURVIVAL GUIDE for space? I think I’d need that. I’m also taking my Hypnotoad figure with me.
Favorite food:
Spaghetti. Especially if my mom makes it.
Favorite color: Red.
Favorite supernatural creature?
Fire salamanders. They don’t get enough press, but the little firebugs need love, too.
Favorite TV show? Fringe. Walter is my hero.
Milk chocolate or Dark chocolate? Close call, but I gotta go with milk chocolate.
Vampires or werewolves? Vampires.
Sexy demons or sexy angels? Sexy angels!
Dragons or witches?
Dragons. Especially ones like Toothless in How To Train Your Dragon.
Tell us about your new release.
My newest release is The Hallowed Ones, a YA thriller. Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the outside world. But the outside world comes to her when a helicopter falls out of the sky near her house. Katie must confront not only a massive disaster unfolding in the world outside her community, but also the threat of darkness in her own increasingly fragile society.
Here’s the cover blurb:
If your home was the last safe place on earth, would you let a stranger in?
Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.
Buy links:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Powell’s | Books A Million
Excerpt
Read a free excerpt of The Hallowed Ones on Laura’s Web site.
More Laura Bickle
Laura Bickle’s professional background is in criminal justice and library science, and when she’s not patrolling the stacks at the public library she’s dreaming up stories about the monsters under the stairs (she also writes contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams).
Laura lives in Ohio with her husband and a herd of mostly-reformed feral cats. The Hallowed Ones is her first young adult novel.
Book Cover Design / Image Credit:
Cover by Shane Rebenschied. Used here with permission of author Laura Bickle.
Blog Guest: Meet Author Susannah Sandlin
Happy Halloween Dear Readers! To celebrate one of my favorite holidays, let’s talk vampires, of course.
Please welcome my special guest and fellow RWA-FF&P chapter-mate, Susannah Sandlin. She’s here to tell us about Absolution, the latest release in her vampire series, and also share some fun facts about herself.
Enjoy. ☺
How long have you been writing, Susannah?
I’ve been a journalist and feature writer for more years than I want to count, but have only been writing fiction about four years. I write both urban fantasy and paranormal romance (and there is a difference—really!).
What’s on your bookshelf and/or in your To Be Read pile?
I’ve had crazy deadlines this year, so I’m behind with my favorite series—Black Dagger Brotherhood, Dresden Files, Mercy Thompson. I am going to catch up over the holidays…I hope.
If the Earth was about to be destroyed to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass (Hello, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and you have mere minutes to vacate, what book would you grab to take with you? In addition to your towel, of course. ?
Only one? (*panics*) Um…Would the Black Dagger Brotherhood series count as one book? Yes, I think it would. One really, really, really long book, in separate volumes. Oh, that’s cheating? Sigh. I’d take one of my own books, then, so for once in my life I’d have plenty of time to finish revisions. ☺
Favorite food: The white pizza from Marco’s. I’m a sucker for feta cheese.
Favorite color: Teal
Favorite music: Varies. Currently, French-Canadian pop and folk music.
Favorite supernatural creature?
Only one? Well, I do have a weakness for the fanged folk, although I have some awfully sexy mermen in one of my novels.
Sexy demons or sexy angels? For a relationship, angel; for a good time, demon.
Dragons or witches?
Definitely dragons, although if someone could show me a good sexy male witch I’d reconsider. Hm. Maybe I need to write one.
Tell us about your new release:
ABSOLUTION, which was released on October 9, 2012, is the second in the Penton Legacy series, although it can stand alone.
In the series, a pandemic vaccine has resulted in the blood of vaccinated humans becoming poisonous to vampires. The vampire world is starving and on the brink of civil war.
In ABSOLUTION, battle lines are being drawn between the once peaceful vampire and human enclave of Penton, Alabama, and the powerful Vampire Tribunal. A Scottish gallowglass warrior turned vampire in the early 17th century, Mirren Kincaid once served the Tribunal as its most creative and ruthless executioner—a time when he was known as the Slayer. But when assigned a killing he found questionable, Mirren abandoned the Tribunal’s political machinations and disappeared—only to resurface two centuries later as the protector and second-in-command of Penton. Now the Tribunal wants him back on their side—or dead.
To break their rogue agent, they capture Glory Cummings, the descendant of a shaman, and send her to restore Mirren’s bloodthirsty nature. But instead of a monster, Glory sees a man burdened by the weight of his past—and worthy of love.
Book one in the series, REDEMPTION, came out in June 2012. Book three, OMEGA, comes out February 5, 2013.
ABSOLUTION (The Penton Legacy, Book 2) is available from these outlets: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Book Cover Design / Image Credit:
Cover copyright 2012, Montlake Romance, all rights reserved. Used here with permission of the author.
More Susannah
Susannah Sandlin is the author of paranormal romance set in the Deep South, where there are always things that go bump in the night. A journalist by day, Susannah grew up in Alabama reading the gothic novels of Susan Howatch and the horror fantasy of Stephen King. (Um…it is fantasy, right?) The combination of Howatch and King probably explains a lot. Currently a resident of Auburn, Alabama, Susannah has also lived in Illinois, Texas, California, and Louisiana.
Connect with Susannah
Web site/Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads | Email: susannahsandlin(at)gmail.com
Entangled Smack Down 2012
Hooray! I’m participating in the Entangled Publishing 2012 Smack Down over on the Savvy Author’s Web site.
Hey Celia, what is this Smack Down thing of which you speak?
Entangled Publishing editors are graciously working with registered participants to prep us for NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month).
I’m on Team Covet. Covet = Entangled’s imprint for contemporary short romance with a paranormal twist. My story involves mermen and humans. And love with an HEA, of course. ☺
How does it work?
The Smack Down has three parts: Recruit Day, Basic Training, and Nano Boot Camp. For Recruit Day, we pitched and discussed our one page synopsis with the editors. We’re in Basic Training right now. Story discussions continue as well as lectures on craft and fun, writerly chats with our fellow participants. Nano Boot Camp begins November 1 and we’re expected to cross the 50K finish line on November 30. That’s right, 50,000 words in 30 days.
Yes. We. Can.
How do you feel?
Grateful. A big thank you to Entangled Publishing editors, Savvy Authors and Savvy Authors Special Event Coordinator Riley Darkes for arranging this event.
Best of luck to all of the imprint writing teams. Happy writing, everyone!
SFA-RWA News: 2012 Heart to Heart Contest Finalists
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My local RWA Chapter, the San Francisco Area Romance Writers of America, announced the finalists in the 2012 Heart to Heart Contest.
Congrats to all of the finalists! Winners to be announced November 2012. |
Contemporary
- Katie Graykowski – Perfect Summer
- Ginny Lester – The Cowboy and the City Girl
- Emily Majors – The Break-Up Psychic
Historical
- Robin Delaney – Walking Through Hellfire
- Olivia Kelly – Bad Intentions
- Melanie Meadors – His Roman Heart’s Desire
Paranormal
- Heather Boey – Moon Borne
- Brigid Coady – The Silver Assassin
- Christine Collier – The Sync
Young Adult
- Julie Barnard – Fates Divided
- Katy Kellogg – Phoenix Rising
- Kristina Perez – Warwick Hall
Final Judges
Contemporary
- AGENT: Emmanuelle Morgen, Stonesong
- PRINT EDITOR: Chelsey Emmelhainz, Avon Books
- ePUB EDITOR: Jay Austin, eXtasy Books and Devine Destinies
Historical
- AGENT: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency
- PRINT EDITOR: Amanda Bergeron, Avon Books
- ePUB EDITOR: Grace Bradley, Ellora’s Cave
Paranormal
- AGENT: Tamar Rydzinski, Laura Dail Literary Agency
- PRINT EDITOR: Leis Pederson, Berkeley
- ePUB EDITOR: Angela James, Carina Press
Young Adult
- AGENT: Molly Reese, Einstein/Thompson Agency
- PRINT EDITOR: Natashya Wilson, Harlequin
- ePUB EDITOR: Kimberly Myers, Omnific Publishing
Image:
Flower Photo – Copyright 2012 Elinor Mills, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Fun Facts About Moi
Q&A With Celia Breslin
Last week, my pal Juli D. Revezzo visited to chat about Celtic gods and her latest release, The Artist’s Inheritance, and I promised to *finally* answer my own interview questions. And here we are… 🙂
1. How long have you been writing? What genres do you write?
I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil. As a kid/teen, I loved reading fantasy, romance, sci fi, and horror. Penning stories was one of my favorite activities, too, and still is, obviously, lol. I like creating fictional worlds where I make the rules.
I write primarily urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I’ve also dabbled in speculative fiction, but that particular manuscript is languishing under my virtual bed. I just might dust it off one of these days.
2. What’s on your bookshelf and/or in your To Be Read pile?
On my real-world bookshelf = too much to mention. Highlights: Haruki Murakami, J.R. Ward, Laurell K. Hamilton, Philip K. Dick, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, and many graphic novels.
In my Kindle TBR pile = so much goodness, wishing for more hours in a day for both writing and reading… Highlights: Laura Kaye’s Forever Freed and West of Want, Rosalie Lario’s Touch of the Angel and Heart of the Incubus, Rachel Firasek’s Creating Fate.
Read my blog post on My Favorite Reads for more book-y goodness.
3. Do you have a favorite author? More than one. My current must-read-everything-they-write authors are Laura Kaye and Kresley Cole.
4. What two authors would you love to chat with over a meal? Better yet, what two authors would you take on a writer’s retreat? Laura Kaye and Kresley Cole!
5. If the Earth was about to be destroyed to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass (Hello, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and you have mere minutes to vacate, what book would you grab to take with you? In addition to your towel, of course. I’d grab my Kindle and in this magical universe we’re talking about it would have infinite battery life. I’d also likely grab my box set of J. R. Ward’s The Black Dagger Brotherhood (Laura Kaye and Kresley Cole’s works are on my Kindle).
6. Favorite food: Asian – Thai, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, etc. If I had to pick just one, then… sushi. With sake.
7. Favorite color: Black. And red. (what a surprise, vampire colors, heh)
8. Favorite music: This varies with my mood. When I wrote HAVEN, I listened to a lot of NIN, particularly With Teeth, and The Fragile. For fight scenes I fired up Prodigy, Invaders Must Die, among other techno treats. For club scenes, I listened to the dance music mixes provided by my husband (aka Bass Kittens) and our pal Justin Maxwell. Minimal Techno and Electro, for the most part. And I added a splash of House tracks (Deep, Tribal, etc.) to the mix, too.
9. Favorite supernatural creature? Vampires, of course.
10. Favorite TV show? Let’s go plural on this one and stick to my favorite genre. Previously: Anything by Joss Whedon — Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse
Currently: True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Game of Thrones
11. Milk chocolate or Dark chocolate? Dark
12. Vampires or werewolves? Vampires!
13. Sexy demons or sexy angels? Wow, my questions are tough. Larissa Ione and Rosalie Lario’s demons.
14. Dragons or witches? Witches.
15. Tell us about your new release! HAVEN is the first book in the Tranquilli Bloodline Series. Vampire urban fantasy with a strong romantic element. It releases July 2013 from BURST Books, a Champagne Book Group imprint.
As you know, if you’ve surfed my Web site a bit (hint, hint), Haven stars Carina Tranquilli, a feisty club owner with a pesky memory problem, a mysterious latent power, and an overprotective and somewhat dysfunctional family. And a hot, undead, Fated Soul Mate. Oh, and Team Evil has painted a target on her back and they intend to hit the bulls-eye.
Here’s the back cover blurb:
San Francisco nightclub owner Carina Tranquilli works hard, plays hard, and never allows the death of her parents and her twelve-year memory gap to get her down. But her life takes a left turn when a witch attacks her on her twenty-fifth birthday.
Three hauntingly familiar vampires emerge to reveal she possesses a latent power. To protect her from their enemies, they admit to wiping her memories clean and abandoning her as a child, but now they need her help. As she struggles to evade her new protectors and even newer enemies, she meets Alexander, an enigmatic, undead musician. Insta-lust flares, leaving her wanting more.
With evil’s minions hounding her every move, and everything she thought she knew turned on its head, Carina must harness her burgeoning power, unravel her vampire family’s web of deceit, and fight to have a love life…without getting killed in the process.
More Vampires
All that talk of vampires in my Q&A put me in a vampire mood (as if I’m ever NOT in one, LOL). So, dear readers, here are some authors who write good vampire. Enjoy!
- Kresley Cole, Immortals After Dark Series
- Laurell K. Hamilton, Anita Blake Series
- J. R. Ward, Black Dagger Brotherhood Series
- Amber Belldene, Bloodvine Series
Special Guest Juli D. Revezzo
I’m delighted to welcome back a special guest today, my chapter mate from the Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Chapter of Romance Writers of America, Juli D. Revezzo. She last visited my blog in May of this year, to tell us about herself and Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, an anthology of dark tales whose proceeds are donated to cat charities.
Juli returns today to chat about the Celtic gods and her latest fantasy release, The Artist’s Inheritance.
Celtic Gods for Authors by Juli D. Revezzo
I’ve got a bending shelf full of books on mythology from the Iliad to the Odyssey; the Arthurian legend retellings, a retelling or two of the Welsh mythological tome The Mabinogion, and a handful of Irish myths. These last were particularly inspiring. Why? Instead of espousing the journey and the massive battle, in these, every once in a while, the underworld comes home to roost. And those tales were just as interesting. Rhiannon comes to Pwyll, and Rhonbwy watches ravens defeat the Saxons during a chess game with Arthur, and Gwydion brings the challenge to several men and women; so too does the Green Knight.
Over and over, the Otherworld brings its challenges. So, when I sat down to write my novel The Artist’s Inheritance, I knew it wasn’t going to be a typical fantasy, no elves or wizards. Though Campbell espouses the journey, I who’d grown up with The Hobbit, and all the others of the same ilk, had grown tired of the Odyssey format. Though tried and true, writers had done it before—to death. From readings in The Mabinogion and in other Irish myths, I knew from their example, there was romance in the home; there was romance in keeping watch on the kingdom, as so many Arthurian Legends can attest to. (Even Tristan finds a home to protect at the end of his journey, does he not?)
So I wondered, how could I tie in the stories I loved? What would happen if these mischief-makers came to us today? What would we do if it invaded our own home, and threatened our own family? With all our modernity and toys, what could we do against such things? (When they even seem to turn our computers against us sometimes, don’t they? *glares at computer*)
In The Artist’s Inheritance I had these mischief-makers turn against our most basic institution: A family. An artist gets a little too into his work and his tools, and who knows who can save him if not his wife?
Care for a little taste of the story? Okay, here’s the blurb:
Settling into their new home in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Caitlin finds strange changes coming over her husband Trevor. He seems obsessed with a beautiful chair he’s carving.
When the nightmares deepen and ghosts begin lurking—she knows something’s not right, and not just her newfound precognitive abilities. It’s the damned chair, she’s sure. Could it be just what it seems: a mundane piece of furniture? If so, why is it attracting dark forces—the forces she suspects drove Trevor’s siblings to insanity and suicide?
Before the same happens to Trevor, Caitlin must convince him to sell his art. But armed with only a handful of allies, and little experience of the supernatural, she must proceed with caution against the hellish forces besieging her family. If she succeeds, she will break the ancestral curse. If she fails, she may lose forever the one thing she cares about most: her beloved Trevor.
The Artist’s Inheritance is available now at Amazon and in various formats at Smashwords.
About Juli D. Revezzo
Juli D. Revezzo has long been in love with writing, a love built by devouring everything from the Arthurian legends, to the works of Michael Moorcock, and the classics and has a soft spot for classic the “Goths” of the 19th century, in love of which she received a Bachelor’s degree in literature from the University of South Florida. Her short fiction has been published in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, The Scribing Ibis, Eternal Haunted Summer, Twisted Dreams Magazine and Luna Station Quarterly. She also has an article and book review or two out there. But her heart lies in the storytelling. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Tampa Area Romance Authors, and the special interest RWA chapter Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal. The Artist’s Inheritance is her first novel.
Juli D. Revezzo’s Site Links
Web site | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Goodreads
Image Credit
The Artist’s Inheritance cover art by Boulevard Photografica. Used with permission of author.
A Note from Celia:
Thanks for visiting my blog this week, Juli! One more thing before you hop off the carousel, dear readers. Wander by next week when I give myself a dose of my own Q&A medicine, aka dizzying interview fun. 🙂
About Me
Celia Breslin
San Francisco, CA.
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