Oh dear me...

Just where has the time gone? It doesn't seem like that long ago I was promising a post here, and now months have passed in silence. I apologize for this, but I'll be up front now about how this will probably go from here on out. When I first started up this blog I had every intention of updating it on a weekly basis, or at least close to one. I've never been much of a blog keeper though, even my diaries from back in the day faded away into silence for months when I attempted to keep them. So, from now on I'll be doing my best to post at least once a month but long spans of quiet are likely to happen especially if I find myself straining to figure out just what to write about to you all.
And that's a part of it, I created this with the thought of it being a 'writer's' blog and that I'd post my observations about writing when the honest truth is that when I have that time to steal away to write I'm far more likely to work on whatever story I'm trying to pin down to the figurative paper of my Word program. Therefore, this is my 'writer's' blog but I'm going to be a bit more loose in what I put here.

Now, an update on what I am currently working on:

Gabriel will hopefully be in paper print by the end of the year. The main thing I need to work on is formatting things and making sure it lays out the way I'd like. I may possibly rehash the cover, however, I find myself overly fond of my only mildly touched by photoshop drawing I did for the original Kindle release so it may keep its cover the same. I am my own editor, so I can't promise perfection but I'm also hoping to fix what mistakes I find during a second look over. I will keep you up to date for when it is available in paper form, and my plans are currently to go through CreateSpace for this step.

I am working on the first book of my Providence series still, and it has gone through many re-workings and restarts. The main chunk of the story is all down on paper, but as I discover little things that need to be fixed in the world and that will need to be changed so that later on within the series things flow correctly I find I have to retype large sections and thus the basic rewrites. I have finally reached that point though where all my little details are figured out, and so I have started work on my final draft of the story. As soon as that is done I will jump into the full editing, attempt to rein a friend into helping with a little editing if I find one willing enough, and once that point is reached I can give a better idea of when it shall be released. I will likely follow my path which I took with Gabriel and release it first on the Kindle before moving onto paper print.

A life update:

What have I been doing the last several months? Well, this summer I took a class as I was taking this fall semester off from school. The class and the short 8 week schedule we were expected to learn all the same things most would in 16 weeks kicked my ass a little, but I managed to pull the class off with a B.

This fall semester off hasn't been quite as relaxing as I'd hoped due to work stuff with the day job. It seems to have calmed down some for now so hopefully the next couple of months before classes start up in January will be a bit less stressful.

I went to Scotland, a long time dream of mine, and  I thoroughly enjoyed it though I admit that it seemed to pass in an almost detached sort of way. I saw so many beautiful things and learned so much history of this place that I've always felt a connection with yet I felt strangely disconnected during the trip as though it wasn't really happening. I saw Culloden battlefield, took a boat tour on Loch Ness, walked through amazing castles and explored Edinburgh mainly by foot. I spent a peaceful morning at the Clava Cairns and Standing Stones and watched a trio of little old women preform a solstice ceremony in one of the circles not even realizing I had chosen the solstice as my day to visit them. I took two different ghost tours, both with extremely different approaches, and explored the underground of Edinburgh with an EMF meter and a couple who were locals. I took a book lovers tour where we were shown some of the buildings where Sir Walter Scott and Sir Arther Conan Doyle studied and lived, as well as the real coffee shop that J.K. Rowling wrote in as well as the far more publicly known coffee shop that she wrote in but didn't start out in. I climbed up far too many narrow, steep spiral staircases to get the view from up top than is really good for someone with mild claustrophobia and a dislike of heights. (I will say that they at least weren't elevators, something I hate far more than heights and tight spaces alone). It was an amazing trip yet it somehow feels like it happened years ago despite having only taken place at the end of September.

I more recently celebrated Halloween by going to the Shining Ball at the Stanley Hotel up in Estes Park, CO. It was all in one a fun yet slightly disappointing weekend, which managed to be far more eventful than my friend and I would have guessed.
The ball itself was the part we found ourselves disappointed with. Though we had fun and enjoyed seeing the different costumes they made the dance floor extremely too small for people to really dance, and put it all in the same room with the tables which were mainly too close together to dance amongst them if you couldn't find a spot up on the floor. Tickets weren't cheap ($90 with no seating, I believe it jumped to $120 if you wanted seating), and yet you still had to pay for all your drinks and if you weren't seated there was no ordering food. I had one of their specialty mixed drinks where you got to keep the collectors glass, and it was $15 and ended up tasting like High-C mixed with vodka. My friend and I managed to enjoy ourselves still, and even squeezed onto a corner of the dance floor once it got a bit later and some people had cleared out. I owned the joint when they played The Time Warp. I was dressed as a masquerade version of Loki, which I'll post a picture of below. My friend went as a Steampunk Automaton.

I was meant to have a hoop skirt on, but I had forgotten it at home unfortunately so my skirts weren't as full as they were intended. I still rather enjoyed my costume, even if I was one of two people in the entire place that got what I was meant to be. 

The rest of the time we spent was the really...interesting part. Stanley Hotel is reportedly haunted, the fourth floor having a number of different ghosts including the ghost children. Room 217 was the room Steven King stayed in that help inspire The Shining. The first night after the ball my friend and I both woke to what sounded like someone pacing restlessly in our room; the floor boards were creaking incredibly loud that I finally sat up and turned the light on at which point all noises simply stopped. I had brought my digital recorder with me as well as my EMF detector so we could goof around ghost hunting. At this point I suggested that we record the rest of the night so that if the pacing sounds started again we could hear them when we listened back. What we got was a little more than floor boards creaking. In fact, we got a male voice saying something along the lines of "Curse you, couldn't get 'free'". We're undecided still on the last word, but we've managed to figure out the first four (which makes far more sense than my initial impression that he was saying "Curse you, cookies and cream). Our door also constantly rattled throughout the night as though someone was trying to open it, something it hadn't done during the times we were awake earlier in the evening.

The second night was the one that really got us though. We were both sitting on the bed listening to try and figure out what the voice had said the night before when out of no where our door opened. The door that lead out of the room and shouldn't have opened without our key from the outside or us opening it from the inside swung wide open with force, and then slowly closed itself again. I went out into the hall immediately and saw no one outside, and we had heard no one approach or leave our door within the time frame that it opened. We also tested to see if it could have been closed but not latched but found that if it hadn't latched all the way it immediately opened by just an inch or two, nothing like the full forced opening and then closing we'd seen.

We recorded that night too, and I am slowly working my way through both recordings to see if we caught anything else weird. Both of us at different points in the night experienced strange things as well, but nothing quite as dramatic as the door. I, at one point, heard my friend get up and go into the bathroom only to feel someone get back into the bed besides me and hear the sheets shuffle. I sat up and turned the light on again only to confirm I was alone and my friend was indeed in the bathroom. At a different point in the night she thought I had gotten up and gone into the bathroom only to then hear me take a breathe as I was still asleep and had never gotten up.

It was an eventful stay that had me giddy with excitement due to my interest in the paranormal and my poor dear friend perhaps a little more freaked out than she had prepared for when she agreed to come along for the weekend.

So, those are the main highlights of the last few months for me really. At this point I am planning on eating some dinner, and then sitting down to write for a while before bed. Hopefully it won't be quite so long before I update again, and I will make sure to update when good progress is made on my projects.

Until next time my darlings...

News

So, with finals for this semester being next week I'll probably be taking a small hiatus in updates. I meant to post last week and then got super busy. I think it will just be better if I agree with myself to take a little break from the blog until the semester is over. After that I'll try to get back onto a more regular updating schedule again.

Sorry, life likes to get in the way and make things crazy.

Thanks for sticking around. Until then dears...

Things to come

So, with my first  book having been out for about three months now and the first draft of my second book almost done, I figure I'll give you a little preview of what's to come in the future. I've had it asked if Gabriel is going to continue past this first book, and the answer to that is no. I always planned on that book being a standalone story, and I feel like it wrapped up well. Though I'm sure there could be more that could happen within that world, I have no plans to write anything else involving those characters. I love them all, but no further story with them has presented itself to me.

My next book is going to be the first in a series though. I don't have any solid plans yet for how many books are going to end up being in the series at the moment. It's going to be the 'Providence series', and it will be a fantasy-based series that takes place in a somewhat dieselpunk setting. It's going to be heavily influence by myths, legends and folklore from around the world. The series will revolve around the six crew members of the airship, Providence, and their run-ins with the creatures from that myths and legends that people don't believe are real.

In the first book the small crew runs into an old friend from the Captain's past. The man, Breandan McCoy, is a Shifter who deals with unusual problems that are tied to the supernatural world. As the Captain, Quinn, tries to reconnect and settle what he sees as an old debt to Breandan he finds himself and his crew pulled into the middle of a series of murders and disappearance that the Shifter is investigating. Meanwhile, Breandan ends up wishing he'd continued to avoid any meetings with people from his past from before he was turned into a Shifter as he deals with the town's growing suspicions that he's the one responsible for the deaths he's trying to stop.

Between the twin sisters who run things on the financial side as well as being the ship's protection detail to the ship's doctor who doesn't like to talk about his past, the crew has plenty of history with each other as well as secrets they keep hidden. Over the course of the series we will learn more and more about each of them, and what has managed to bring the small group together to form a tight knit family aboard the ship.

I have another series I'm brainstorming on, but I haven't quite solidified the entire concept quite yet. I have two main characters who's personalities are already strongly present, I just need to decide on some things when it comes to the world they're going to inhabit. I'm working those detail out slowly but surely so that when I do finish the first Providence book I can hopefully get started on the first book of this series.

That's a little taste of what I'm working on. I'll probably get a full summary up once I'm closer to finishing the second draft of my next book, and I'm hoping to have it ready to be released no later than the end of this year if not perhaps a little earlier depending on how smoothly things go.

Thanks, and have a great week.

Until next time dears...

The Hunger Games movie vs. the book

So, I only read the Hunger Games books after I had heard that the movie was coming out. This meant that when I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago it was still pretty fresh in my mind. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed the books, especially the first one. As far as the movie goes, I'd say that I liked it but that it wasn't quite up to snuff though I rarely find movies based on books are. It's the fact that they can't always fit everything into the movie that the book gets in, and that there is always to some extent a 'sprucing things up' for the movie version. Now there were several things I enjoyed about the movie adaptation, but I'll go over the things I wish they hadn't changed/left out first.

Now, I'm sure it's needless to say that there will be some spoilers, but I'm put the warning up anyway. If you haven't read the books or seen the movie I would recommend not reading this blog as it will contain spoilers for both. This doesn't limit itself to just the first book either as I may address a few things that happen in the later books in how the changes in the movie effect it.

The change I think I hated the most in the movie was how they treated Prim's character. In the books Prim always came off as just as strong as Katniss, but in a different way. She was a quiet character with a lot of emotional strength to handle situations, and in the movie they made her act almost like a whiny little sister that Katniss had to constantly reassure. She lacked that sense of strength that she had in the book, and it put me off to the movie even though she's only in the beginning part before the Hunger Games actually start.

While we're on characters I'd like to touch on Haymitch and the various mistakes I feel they made with his character. There is the first that he didn't really come off as drunk enough. In the books Haymitch is falling off the stage, pass out where he's sitting kind of drunk. In the movie he comes off like he's just always slightly buzzed. It's a continuous buzz, true,but that's as far as it ever seems to get Another thing I felt they did wrong was they minimized the instance where he starts to realize Peeta and Katniss may have a chance, and decides to actually start training them. In their training he has a very small role, and they completely took out where he coaches Katniss on behaving like she loves Peeta. There is none of that, and it plays a big role in the books. The entire team that is there to prepare them for the Games get a very pulled back role in their training. There's no one there to tell them to hold hands when they head out on the carriage, Peeta just suggests it. There's no one there telling them to play up the romance, it's just awkwardly handled between the two of them. The only hint we got of this was Haymitch sending the one message with the soup about 'You call that a kiss?' and we never even see the follow through of that where Katniss plays up the affection to get the sleeping drought from the sponsors. They dropped the ball on this, and it seems to be to be a rather important drive in the story.

The riot in District 11 after Rue's death. This bothered me, because though we were getting a behind the scenes look at things during the Games opposed to the point of view in the book, there was no mention of District 11 rioting during the events of the Games. I found it to be more poignant that they sent her the tribute, that this poor Distract pulled its money together to show their appreciation to Katniss. Though I'm sure they made this choice to foretell what happens in the next movie I felt like it would have been better to keep the hints of rebellion down a little more in the first movie.

I felt they left a few side characters out that they could have kept in the story line. The big one for me was Madge, and how she was the one that gave Katniss the pin. I know they can't keep every side character in the story, but I always felt like Madge giving Katniss the Mockingjay pin was a way for a rebellion that had already started to build to show some support for a tribute. I may be off the mark on that, but it lost some of its significance for me with Katniss just buying it randomly at the market. Also, the Avox girl was never presented or given her back story. She, like Madge, doesn't show up much after her initial purpose is served, but she was a tie to Katniss's past and showed the punishments that the Capitol gave to those that went against them. They touch on the Avoxes only slightly when Katniss mentions they might cut out their tongues, but it's never really explained that this is an actual punishment they've used.

I was on the fence about how the movie showed us the behind the scenes aspect of the Games. In the books it's told completely from Katniss's perspective, and we don't see the what's happening outside the games throughout that entire first book. We don't get the view of being one of those people stuck watching the games on TV whether they want to be or not. Part of me felt like this was a good move as it allowed some aspects of the world to be explained, like the tracker jackers, that we wouldn't have necessarily had explained to us as seamlessly otherwise. A lot of the things we learn about the world in the books we learn through Katniss's inner dialoge, and this obviously wouldn't have worked as well in the movie to hear her thoughts constantly. At the same time though, I think it allowed some of the seriousness of what was happening to be dimmed as we were basically made those spectators in the Capitol watching the commentary and the view that this was all entertainment.

Now, for the things that I like. I loved the casting in this movie, pretty much all of it even on the characters that I felt they missed the direction of in the writing. Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss, and I find it rather ridiculous that people were calling her too big boned to play the part of Katniss. Josh Hutherson was great as Peeta and played the role of the frightened but determined 'boy with the bread'. He was both charming when he was aiming to be for the Capitol people, that touch of shy when he wasn't, and genuine n his approach to how Peeta felt towards Katniss. We didn't see much of Gale or Prim in this book, and I've already address the issue I had with how Prim's character as a whole was handled but both Liam Hemsworth and Willow Sheilds seemed to fit their roles well for the short time we saw them.

Elizabeth Banks was perfect as Effie Trinket, I loved how she seemed to take on Effie's offhanded way of treating the fact that Peeta and Katniss may die. Woody Harrelson was good as Haymitch though he was both skinnier than I pictured the man and as I said before, not as drunk. Woody Harrelson not acting like a drunken lunatic is something unexpected out of a performance from him.

As far as the other tributes went in the movie I felt they were all equally well cast, especially as they were characters that for the most part we didn't even know their names. We knew those few that stood out, but other's we only know by their Districts. Amandla Stenberg was perfectly cast as Rue, the quiet and shy girl who had more skill than any of the other's assumed. Alexander Ludwig as Cato was convincingly blood thirsty as well, and rather crazy seeming by the end. When I first heard the Lenny Kravitz was playing Cinna I was skeptical, but I ended up loving his performance as Katniss's soft spoke but strong support in the wings.

I felt like they did the feel of the arena right from the get go, though I didn't picture of Cornucopia as being this large black almost plastic-y looking thing in the center of the arena. The fighting between the different tributes played out pretty much as it did in the book, though you could tell they were trying to keep the blood down for the lower rating. They made the decision not to show the ships coming to pick up the bodies, which wasn't something that effected the movie either way. They got the overall feel of the world correct, and did an amazing job with the look of the Capitol and it's citizens. From an artist perspective the movie was beautiful as well, and the design teams did an excellent job.

Overall, though they got a lot right and some wrong I felt by the end of the movie that things were a little flat. Whether it was the lack of the detail that the book gives us so richly, or the fact that the things I felt they missed on were things I saw as being important I'm not sure. Perhaps if I had gone into the movie blindly without having read the books first I'd have appreciated it more, but I left feeling torn and uncertain. They got the gist of things as a whole, but missed the mark on some of the most important elements.

Plus, they left out the line where Peeta asks from his camouflaged vantage if Katniss was 'There to finish me off, sweetheart?'. I missed that line and the fact they didn't use it. Why? I don't know, it's not an important line other than to show that even while dying and covered in mud Peeta had a bit of a sense of humor. Plus, the fact that maybe if he was going to die he'd rather have Katniss be the one that did it.

All in all. I highly recommend the books as a good read. The movie, I'd say see it though I don't think it will be one I see repeatedly. It wasn't a bad movie, but when you enjoyed the books you may find yourself confused about why certain aspect didn't make it into the movie's storyline.

Till next time,dears...

Oops

So, I have noticed that I've not posted the last couple of weeks. I actually have a post planned out for this week, but as I was baby sitting my nephew today I haven't gotten it typed up like I normally would. I'm aiming to have it up by the end of Wednesday at the latest though. It's going to be my thoughts on the Hunger Games books vs. the movie!
Sorry it's been quiet lately. It's pretty much just a mixture of a hectic last couple of weeks, and the fact that when I have had downtime I've been a bit lazy. ;)

Take care!

Travel Bug

I was struggling to figure out what to write about this week, and seeing as how I never got around to it last week I knew I needed to come up with something. So far with this blog I've been writing about things that have to strictly do with writing for the most part, and I've decided to branch out a little this week. Instead, this week I'm going to share one of my other passions with you; travel.

Now, this is in part spurred from the fact that this fall I'm going to Scotland. It will be my first time overseas ever, and my first time out of the country alone. I've been on trips within the country by myself, but this is my first bit out of the norm solo trip. I'm looking forward to it, and it can't see to get here fast enough. My experience with travel isn't large by any means, but I still have some mileage under my belt. I've been over most of the US so far through road trips and things like that, a lot of them being trips with my family.

The first trips I can really remember were the times that my mom, sister and I would drive up to Washington to visit my aunt that lives up there. I remember one night when we were on our way back when a motorcycle that was driving behind us just seemed to disappear, the time we hit the raccoon who surprisingly got up and walked it off, the semi-truck that clearly saw us besides him but still started to move over (I say clearly saw because we were right next to his cab looking at him staring right at us when it happened). One of my funnier memories was when we drove through Yellowstone National Park and my mom told us to yell out if we saw an animal so she could stop to let us look at it. Immediately after this my sister yelled out animal and my mom slammed on her brakes in the middle of the road. The animal my sister had saw? A man walking his dog down along the side of the road.

I've always loved the road trips I use to take with my family. Whether we drove to the Oregon Coast for a week to see the tidal pools and oceans and get snapshots of my mom and sister changing the flat tire or the trip where my entire family (aunts, uncles and cousins included) all went out to Tennessee to see Dollywood and stay in an overly cramped cabin house together. These trips are where I learned that there really are flying fish and that they swim out in front of cruise ships, that Florida has leech like creatures that come out when it rains and may very well be leeches, and that Gator World doesn't always live up to the excitement it promises. They're where I've seen the rain forests up in Canada, where one wouldn't picture rain forests being, and where I've been out on a boat the first time whale watching.

The thing is; travel can have its ups or downs and this especially includes road trips where everything that can go wrong often will. However, they are also those experiences that shape you and give you memories that you'd never experience within the confines of your normal routine. Even on my last trip I took alone out to the Oregon Coast (a part of the country I adore and hope to move to someday) I've had these amazing experiences. Having the sweet old lady at the Tea house I went to tell me she's sure I could find a Forensics job out there once I have my degree, because didn't I hear how that man killed his family and left the under the bridge? Standing out on the beach combing for shells and finding a crab instead. Waking up to a coast guard helicopter outside your hotel, and watching as they search and rescue someone out in the ocean in the early morning. (Then there's always the drunk guy who's twice your age who spend ten minutes awkwardly hitting on you, and then pretending not to know how an ATM works to get you to talk to him longer).

I believe the travel is important for everyone, even if you never do make it out of the country, as it shows you a different way of life. You see the cultural changes and can meet amazing people while in a completely unfamiliar setting. There really is so much to see, and I find it sad that in someways the art of the road trip seems to be disappearing.

I'm looking forward to Scotland and the things I'll see there, not to mention the people I may meet. After that I'm hoping for Alaska to be my next big trip, and have a family trip out to Oregon next year in the works. It can be hard to get away sometimes, believe me since between school and work I'm surprised I ever manage it. I've saved up for Scotland for two years at this point, and now that it's finally close I'm getting more and more excited with each week. I'll never give up traveling even if I go through times where all I can afford is a short three day weekend up to the mountains or out to the coast. How can I when there's so much more to see in the world?

Until next week, my dears.

Clockwork Angel By Cassandra Clare Review

     I debated for a while about picking up this book, mainly because I've been steering clear of a lot of Young Adult books recently due to the sudden onslaught of 'Twilight Syndrome'. I thought this one could be different, but having not heard much about it I still wasn't sure. I had two friends recommend it though when I asked them if they'd read it, and finally picked up it. I can say I was pleasantly surprised, and have the next book, Clockwork Prince, sitting to read after I finish my current book reading endeavor.

A quick summary:

     Clockwork Angel is the first in the Infernal Devices series, a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series that I now plan on reading as well. It takes place in 1878 in London, where Tessa (our main protaganist) has just arrived with the expectation of meeting with her brother, Nate, who sent her the tickets to make the voyage after their aunt's dies leaving Tessa alone in the US. Tessa finds herself sudden immersed in a world she didn't know existed when, instead of her brother, she is met by two old women who in effect kidnap her and through force teach her how to use a power she didn't know she had before. They are doing this for a man they call the Magister who plans on marrying Tessa once her power is developed, but before this can happen she is rescued by a group called the Shadowhunters. With her new friends Tessa works to find out who the Magister is and what has happened to her brother who she's been told is being held captive. She also finds herself developing feelings for two best friends, Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs.

     That's the basic information you're given when you go into this book, and that is all I'll give in respect to not spoiling things for you.

Characters:

     I found the characters in Clockwork Angel grew on me as I got further into the story. I wasn't sure about Tessa as the heroine at first, but as she adapts to this new world she's thrown into she grows into her own. There's one scene where she makes a comment about a cross-dressing midget misunderstanding someone's intentions that seemed to seal it for me and I decided I enjoyed her. The story is told through her eyes for the most part other than a few detours to Will or Jem throughout the story. They are the three main characters that you deal with. Tessa becomes stronger through the book, though she seems to remain confused and conflicted about her feelings through it all though in a fairly understandable way. In the end she was someone I enjoyed reading about, and felt real in how she handled the strange things she faced. She proved that she could be strong, quick on her feet and humorous.

     Will is the bad boy hero sort in the story, though Cassandra Clare lays the brickwork for what seems like a detailed past for this character that will (I'd assume) blossom more through the other books in the series. You get the feeling that he's trying to keep people at a distance at all times through his actions, and often comes off rude or downright mean. His friendship with Jem is his main saving grace through most of the book, though despite his nature I found I love this character. His unpolished sort of touch adds something that I think the book would have felt a little flat without. Those scenes he has with Tessa where he's not being purposefully rude can be touching. You slowly realize this is someone who cares dearly for all the people around him even if he treats them as though it'd barely faze him if something were to happen to them. He's reckless, abrupt and blunt; and I loved him.

     Jem is our final main hero of the story, and he has a different touch than Will. He's kinder and gentler than his counterpart, and patient beyond belief even when Will is pushing everyone's buttons. We find out quickly that he's sick in the story, though it isn't revealed what his illness is until pretty far into it. He handles Tessa in a more sensitive fashion, and still has some wit about him. I liked Jem though I felt his character didn't come through quite as strong in this first book. You got the feeling, as with Will, that he starts to have feelings for Tessa but he has a more subtle way of handling it. He's a more supportive presence for Tessa as well. Though he lacked some of the spunk that Will had, he still came through as a strong personality on his own. We learn more about his back story in the first book than we do Will's, and you get a sense of bitterness that he otherwise lacks when you finally do learn what happened. He's more sensible, kind and a bit damaged.

     There are a few important side characters in the first book that I have little doubt will carry over into the next. They are the other Shadowhunters of the institute and their few human helpers that work there. Charolette runs the institute for the Shadowhunters of London with her husband Henry, and they were a bittersweet sort of couple. You get the feeling that Charolette loves Henry, and that in a way he loves her too though his work is more important. He's a bit spacey at times and the things he makes don't always seem to work quite right, but you feel that he really is a very intelligent man. Charolette is a strong and motherly presence even though I got the feel she wasn't much older than the others at the institute, and fought to run things the best she could under the scrutiny of the other Shadowhunters. They were both likable in their own right, and those moments when the affection happens to slip through between the two of them are sweet and sad at the same time. Jessamine is the other Shadowhunter who lives at the institute, and she wasn't as likable as the other characters. This is, mainly, because I don't think she's supposed to be. You feel bad for her and understand her desire for other things in life, but she goes about them with little care for who she may be stepping on. She sees herself as a lady first above anything else, and has the attitude of a slightly snobbish friend who not-so-secretly feels she's better than you. She's a strong character that stands out, but usually in a way that rubs you wrong. There are three others that live at the insitute that are humans who have a 'touch of the sight'. The one we learn the most about is Sophie who acts like a lady's maid to Tessa and Jessamine, as well as helping out in other areas of the house. She has a rough background and is kind towards Tessa, abrupt and short with Will, annoyed by Jessamine, and fond of Charolette, Henry and Will. She becomes a sort of friend to Tessa throughout the story. The other two human characters are Thomas, who is in charge of the weapons and driving the carriage, and the cook, Agatha. We don't learn much at all about Agatha in the book, and we only learn a few things about Thomas that endears you to him. There are other side characters through the book, but they don't have as large of parts.

Story:

     The story in Clockwork Angel fits together and runs smoothly. It felt like a well thought out story line that kept just enough back throughout that it left you guessing. It was driven strongly by the characters different interactions so that the world you are dealing with slowly opens up to you like it does for Tessa. Much of the story seems to build around the relationships, and Tessa's experiences with her new surroundings. It has a good amount of twists and turns that keep you wondering what's going to happen, and though there were a few things that came off a little cliche at turns it never felt like something you've read before. Cassandra Clare does an excellent job making sure there are no loose ends left hanging other than those that can be dealt with in the next book (character back stories and the like). Though there are a few things that seem to be thrown in here and there for little reason they are few. The only main complaint I could have is that Tessa comes off at times as the plain girl that everyone wants to be with. I did enjoy the relationship parts of the book and felt like they did grow closer throughout the story; it just seemed like the two main heroes quickly had feelings for her. There are also a few points where it's revealed one character has feelings for another in the story, and often times they seem to be revealed simply to add a touch of drama or make you feel sympathy before that character experienced some hardship. There is one such instance where it's revealed someone has feelings for another even though you see little interaction between the two, if any, until that dramatic pivotal moment.
     I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more. Cassandra Clare may become one of my new Young Adult authors if her other works are like this one. Good for those rainy days or mornings on the train, it's a read that goes by quickly because its enjoyable. It never felt like something I'd have to force myself to read to get through those parts that are too slow or due to exposition that isn't integrated smoothly.

     Overall, if you enjoy a good story with a touch of romance and paranormal themes, I'd suggest this. It's a fun jaunt through a world that feels fully realized with characters that are enduring and full. I'd give it a 4/5 star rating. It had good characters and an interesting plot even though it had moments the building of relationships felt rushed.

A rambling sort of thing...

     So, in truth it's been a rough week this past week. My furnace problems came to a head in my apartment, and it went out three times in a week. This is after it's already gone out at least three to four times this winter before this, and going out multiple times last winter. Finally, my apartment seems to be doing something about it as at this moment there is a furnace repair man taking a look at it instead of one of their maintenance men.

     Also, while being honest, I had no plan on what to write about today. I finished reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare just the other day, and will probably do a review on it. However, seeing as I don't have that typed up right now it will probably have to wait until next week. So, instead I've decided I'll write my tips on how to manage life outside of writing without allowing it to push writing out of the picture entirely. (A little ironic given I haven't really gotten much writing done this past week with everything, but still...)

     To start, I currently have a fairly busy life even when I don't into account of writing. A lot of people do, in fact, most people have a lot of other things they could be doing other than working on their novel or short stories. I, at the moment, work forty hours a week and go to college parttime while still having time for family and friends as well. That's not mentioning the many different side things all of us have to do on a regular basis whether it's dealing with something breaking in your house or car, or needing to go by the doctor or dentist (both things I haven't gotten around to yet this year). Somewhere in all of that I manage to fit my writing.

     The first thing I do to make sure I get things done is take whatever little moments I can. Now, this isn't to say every free minutes is spent writing but those times where all you can do is wait around are perfect times to get some work done. I get to my classes early most the times just for this chance to write as it gives me a little set apart time to focus where I don't have the things at home to distract me. I also write sometimes while I'm on my lunch break at work, and have set apart a time one day a week when I don't have either work or school to go sit in a coffee shop somewhere and write for a few hours. It's about finding the time in amongst everything else, but you also don't want to stress yourself too much.

     My second thing I do is never force it. If something isn't working for me I don't try to force it, and if on a particular day I really can't bring myself to sit down and stare at the page I don't. Now, this is within reason, as if every day that you thought 'I don't think I can write today' than you'd still probably never get anything done. But, you have to try and figure out what's the best approach to it. If you need a break one day, take it. If you're stuck on that particular part jump forward to something else, write something completely different all together that isn't even involved with that particular story, or 'talk' to your characters. (Obviously that last suggestion sounds a bit crazy, but if you read my Characters post you'd get a little of what I'm talking about).

     The third thing I can suggest is just to know your own style. It can take some time to figure this out, it definitely took me a while to realize how my writing style is. You can listen to all the advice in the world out there, but in the end you have to do trial and error to find what works for you. Me? I'm not an outliner, I've never outlined my stories before other than small things where I am have trouble with a part. I'll do little mark ups to remind myself of scene I want to get to, but that's usually the extent of my outlining. I tend to tackle the writing process head on wild and dirty style. I put the ideas down and get them out as fast as I can the first time through. Sometimes I don't even write the scene in order, but just place down what's clearest to me at the moment. I go back through then, figure out where I need to move things and what to cut and keep, and go back through it slower. I usually rewrite the entire thing at this stage, just with the basis of what I've already written there for reference. I suppose in a way that messy first draft is my outline, and it lets me get the scenes out in a cohesive manner for myself.

     I've heard a lot of suggestions over time about how to approach writing if you're stuck on how to get going. There are a lot of ways to approach it, but you have to find your own that works not only for your writing style but also for your schedule.

     Finally, the only other thing I can suggest to make sure your writing fits in with the rest of your life is this: even if writing is your job try not to view it as that. You most likely started writing because it was something you loved to do, make sure you keep hold of that. If you can than you never will see it as a chore to sit down and write, no matter what else is going on in your life you'll still want to make time to sit down and get a page or two written. Write because of that love, and you'll be surprised how easy it can be to find a few spare moments in your day for it.

Characters in your head

     I've always felt to be a good writer you had to be just a little touch of crazy. I feel this way, because of the need to create fully developed characters for your books. Characters tend to take on a life of their own in my stories, and they don't always react the way I thought they would or wanted them to in the situations I place them in. Often times it's a learning curve with each of them from the moment of conception to when I finally feel like I have a good handle on who the character is.
     Often times my characters start as an idea or a name. One of my characters in a story I'm planning for the future, but that I haven't started in on yet began life simply as a name that inspired me. Others have started out as an idea for a character that fit within a story, and I built on them from there. Either way that they get their beginnings, I always try to figure out what my character's present state is first and how their past got them there. I try to figure out what hardships they've gone through, what their happy times were like and how they feel about where they are at the start of the story. From there I let them be shaped by the events that take place in the book just like we are all shaped by the events in our lives.
     An example I could use is Leo Briggs from my book Gabriel. Leo got his beginning in a rough character outline that I did for this story in which one of my characters was going to be the Sheriff. From there I built on the relationships he had with the other main characters from being Anne's brother to Mackenzie being his deputy and how he viewed Blaise's relationship with his sister. As I made some of these connection I learned a little about the character, how he had a bit of a temper but was in general a good guy; he did his job well and was maybe a bit of a workaholic; he fought with his sister but they rarely stayed made at each other long. These little bits and pieces came together, and eventually I formed that he'd lost his wife in an accident and that it had made Leo far less carefree than he had been before. A lot of what made up Leo in the end you don't get to see in the book (or even less so this paragraph), not all of his past was relevant to that particular story even though it had helped formed him as a person. In the end, Leo was one of the strongest personalities to come through for me while writing that book. He had an opinion on just about everything.
     In the end I feel like your characters often are your story. Don't get me wrong, you have to have a good plot to throw them into but how they react is a big part of it. You can have an amazing plot and if your characters fall flat in their personalities or they react in ways that make no sense to some established trait from before it can make that plot line stumble and fall. Your characters need to be people, not just the mannequins you place in the story just to have a body there. Let your imagination wander a bit, write down the history of your characters if you need to and find out little things like what they like to drink or what's their favorite season. It may seem silly, but in the end it can help make the difference between a character that comes off manufactured and one that people feel could be real.
And, just so you know...Leo loves lattes with a bit of a spiced flavor like cinnamon or gingerbread, though if he can't get one of those a plain black coffee will do just fine.

Research, it's sort of like a side job

     So, this last week I found myself doing research on diesel engines and airships. My current work in progress, the first book out of the Providence series, involves both of these. Now, research on things like folklore and mythical creatures I've gotten down pretty decently as I've done a lot of it in the past just out of interest and for stories I've worked on or planned out. This was a first when it came to the diesel engine though, and I think I still have a little ways to go to solidify a good understanding. I understand the basics of the combustion engines, but since a character of mine is going to have to be working on the engine from time to time I figure I better build upon my knowledge of them.
     It got me thinking though on the terms of research for books. Some books I've found I don't have to do a ton of research for because I never approach a subject that I don't have a good grasp on, but most the time I'm looking things up. I've researched serial killers, demons, ghosts and those aforementioned mythical creatures. I've read up on the affects of hypothermia and how to treat it, and what sort of pain comes from having an eardrum blown out by percussion damage. I recently had a conversation with a friend about how if people were looking at my search history online or got a good look at books I'd bought or checked out from a library they'd think I'm a few cherries short of a fruitcake.
     However, I find I love the research part. Even the diesel engines, though if it goes past the fact that the car looks hot I only know minor things (though I can change a headlight or car battery, not to mention a tire). Luckily with the engines I do have two uncles that work on cars, so I'll probably end up picking their brains a little. It's interesting to look into how things function or the history behind some ritual or such. You open up a whole lot of options too with finding out these little facts and fables.
     Now when it comes to putting said research into a book, well, not all of it gets in. And, some of it gets fudged a little. Why? Well, I write fiction and sometimes when I need something to work a certain way I have to decide if it's okay to push the boundaries of what the facts are compared to what fits best. Also, if I were to go into the specific workings of every gadget or affects of an injury it'd come off like I'm lecturing on the subject. You have to find the balance where you aren't pushing things so far away from its source material that your reader is wondering if you looked into things at all to sticking hard to the facts even if it ruins an element you had planned for your story.
     Take my airship for example; it's going to be powered by a diesel engine with power cells for the electrical needs. The full inner workings will probably never be described, but it's what makes the ship go places so it needs to come off as a realistic setup for when it is mentioned. Is it going to work the exact way diesel engines do in real life? Probably not and I'll probably take a few liberties, but if I can get a good basic understanding of the sorts of problems that could arise and the basic functions within it than it will come off as much more believable in the end even if it's not strictly true to life.
     I feel like if you try to put a lot into your book you're more likely to get more out of it. And, though the internet is an amazing tool for the fast and easy sort of research, it is a wonderful option if you do have someone who's mind you can sit and dissect for the information. They'll be able to explain more clearly to you and more thoroughly as well. Not everyone has uncles who can take apart and put back together an engine though, and for those times I find it's best to hit the 'books' whether they be online or a physical manual of things.
     I do feel I have to make a point of saying, as it has happened to me before, that you should be careful not to get so caught up in your research you forget to write. You can do all the research in the world, but if you never get around to creating that story its for than it won't get you anywhere as far as your book goes. At some point you have to accept that you've done enough, set the notes next to the keyboard for reference (if you take notes) and get to work.
     All right, till next week then! Take care, my dears.

Promotion Idea

So, obviously I didn't get this post up yesterday thus ruining my Monday blogging spree. It's only one day late though!

Alright, so down to business then. I have found that the hardest thing to figure out the approach to with self-publishing, especially self-publishing an ebook where I don't have a physical item I can show and force upon people unrelentingly, is the promotional part. Word of mouth is always a good place to start, and I've had a lot of people help me out with that by mentioning my book to their friends and family members. Online is a great source too, though I don't think I've had as much success with that yet, but that doesn't mean it won't pan out over time.

The thing I've been working on lately, and subsequently the thing I was working on yesterday, is a form of physical advertising. I'd love to do a press release sometime, but I'll be honest in that I have to figure that sort of stuff out a bit better on how to set something like that up on my own. Perhaps that will be a future post, as I've been doing a lot of this as I go and found what works and what doesn't for me. However, in the meantime I've decided to do a sort of business card approach to my advertising.

No, I'm not going out to smooze about in bookstores handing out my card to random shoppers and whispering 'buy it online'. I'm pretty sure I'd probably get kicked out of the bookstore, and seeing as I love those places I'd be disappointed about not being allowed back. What I'm going to try is something that my father does with his business where you make cards that advertise you and leave them at places that allow you to post them. Going to a college I have some access to the bulletin boards there, and I'll see if some local places nearby allow postings. Now obviously I'm not the first one to think of this (just do a Google search, and you'll find places offering the same or similar thing), but I'm trying to do a DIY approach to all this. I'm going to be doing the art and then printing them myself, and doing my best to distribute them myself.

What I'm making will essentially be like postcards with the front designed to draw attention while the back has information for my book, what platforms its available for (only kindle for a bit, but later on I'll probably make it available for others), and the link to this blog for more information about me. It's a bit old school, but I want to try to get my name out there so that people will be interested in my book (and in the future; books). I have two of these done so far, at least for the fronts, and I'm focusing one card per main character from Gabriel.

I'm sure I'll think of more things as time goes on, and as I get more interest the word of mouth will spread more as well. A lot of promotion is getting your name out there and getting people interested. The best way to do that is try and keep trying.

Below are the two images I have done so far using my tablet and photoshop. Everything was done by hand, and granted I don't do art on a regular basis (at least not anymore as I did once get a degree in the art field) but I'm doing my best to make them polished looking and be something that will catch attention. Only time will tell, but what's the harm in trying?

Blaise Promo Card

Leo Promo Card

Pulling inspiration

Inspiration comes from many different places for everyone. It can be from a song you heard on the radio, a single picture you've seen or a dream you had. I've gathered inspiration from all of those places before, building around a landscape I come across as I'm driving during a road trip or a scene that forms in my head that goes with the pacing and beat of a song on the radio. Inspiration can be found in most anything, and yet at the same time can be hard to find as you're staring at the screen of your computer or the blank page loaded in your typewriter. 

I've found that inspiration often strikes me as I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep for the night. I'll start thinking on some thread of my story, and soon I'm weaving together new plot lines or building on those I've already put into place. This is great from the stand point of creating my stories, though it can at times lead me into a lack of sleep if I don't remind myself to shut it off and let myself rest as well. It can be very easy to also find those ideas aren't as clear anymore in the morning, and you have to walk your way back through your thoughts to get them pulled together. 

Sleep has often given me another means of inspiration as well, one that is even harder to grasp ahold of in the morning. I can have very involved dreams, and sometimes I remember them as clear as a bell when I wake up and other times it's just the sense that I've had some strange adventure while I was asleep. I've pulled elements from my dreams out before to use in stories, an example being in Gabriel where a certain creature that makes an appearance was one I had dreamt about leading up to my work on that novel. 

I will often have music playing while I'm writing as well, and each book I work on usually has a playlist where I've dumped music into it that seems to fit to me. It's rarely one song or band, but the string of them together that can bring out something in a character I hadn't noticed. I'll do this while I'm driving and listening to the radio even, where as the songs change I allow the feel of them each to build on something as a whole. 

Really, inspiration can be found almost anywhere, but I find it to be the hardest to come by while sitting in my apartment and trying to force it. I actually write more when I'm out than I do at home. Whether I'm sitting waiting for a class to start at school or on my lunch break in the middle of night at work, I find myself able to sit and get the words out better. I think a part of it is the distraction of other things I could do around my apartment. Also, it may be the fact that my apartment doesn't lend itself to much outside my own world. Perhaps someday when I have a house of my own I'll find a space within it that suits my writing, one that isn't also my living room or dining area. 

I would suggest that if you're having trouble on a scene and you find that you've been staring at the blank page for far too long, simply get up and get out of the space you're in. You don't have to particularly go find a coffee shop to write in as the hopeful writers are often portrayed as doing, you don't even have to take the work with you. Go for a walk or a drive out somewhere away from your norm, and let your mind wander and lead you to a potential solution. It doesn't always work, but I doubt will it hurt much to get out and take that breath of fresh air either. 

Until next time...

My writing over the years

I can't claim that my writing experiences are going to be different or the same as somebody else's. However, having toiled with writing for quite a long time now I've found that different things work better for me than other suggestions I've received or tried over the years.

My first real memory of something I wrote was a country song. Yes, I was probably only seven or so and I was trying my hand at country music. It's a bit ridiculous, and I don't really remember what the song was even about. The only real clear memory I have of this attempt at greatness was my mom saying perhaps the man in the song should be drinking something like orange juice instead of beer. That was probably good advice for a seven year old, especially since I most likely didn't even understand fully what beer was other than something adults drank, but at the time I just felt like she was trying to change my creative endeavor. 

I wrote through middle and high school, the stories ranging from frilly teen romance to horror and then one simply ridiculous story about a group of guy's saving the world. That one really lacked much plot, but I've found the characters have stuck with me despite that little fact. I didn't do much writing in college besides what was needed in class, at least not as far as story attempts went. It was only after I'd been out of my first run of college for a few years that I sat down to really write a story again. It wasn't as easy as I had remembered, but after a while something started to take shape. 

When I say that Gabriel is a personal story for me it's not because I have a lot of experience with horror within my life. It's the characters for me that are personal as they each feel like a part of me, they're something I created and molded. I have a lot I could say about them, but I also prefer not to give much away about the plot here for those who haven't read it. It's not fun to have things spoiled for you. 

My new story has a couple of those old characters of mine, though they've changed a lot over the years as I've worked on developing them into real characters that aren't flat and have their own purposes. I was afraid I wouldn't find a home for them but as I started working on the plot for what will be not only my next book, but a series of books, I discovered that they belonged there in that world. They are very different then when I first created them, but the personalities they started with have grown with them. 

Over a period of time is how I feel things work best for me when I develop a story now. I'll come up with the plot, know the basics and as I write I think of more things that would better or further the story. Not all of them make it in due to not really fitting the story or for not helping in furthering the plot or characters. I'm not an outliner who plans each point ahead, but I always know where my story is going. Where my attempts at writing will take me, I'm not sure, but it's something I love so I know I'll keep trying my hand at it. 

Next Monday I'll try to post a little about where some of my inspiration comes from when I'm feeling stuck. 

Take care :)

Published and Excited

Having just published my first book I am extremely excited. I hadn't originally thought about self-publishing through an ebook format until it was suggested to me by my aunt. I've always been more of a physical book person, I love the feel of owning that physical item and having it up on my shelves. I'd be lying to say that a part of me wasn't sad I can't throw a copy of my book up there right now as well.

However, the e-publishing was a far more reasonable option for me. And I'm just as proud of it as I would have been if they'd been in print. It would be great to do print copies one day, and I hope that I can. Right now though I'm just so happy that I did something I've always dreamed of doing. I've created something near and dear to me, and then worked up the guts to present it to the world for whoever wishes to read it. There will probably be some people who don't like it, some criticism thrown my way and I'm fine with that.

A) I know well enough you can't please everyone all the time and;

B) Good criticism can always help make you a better writer for the future.

So, here I am, dancing around my living room over the fact that you can see my book up for sale on Amazon.com. I'm sincerely hoping you all enjoy.

Gabriel

My first book is officially available now on Amazon.com. It's currently only available for the Kindle as part of their Kindle prime that allows prime members to borrow the book for free for the time. You can find the book here: Gabriel

Feel free to pick it up or get a sample.

More information:

Gabriel

Summary from Amazon.com:

Things have started to go wrong in Edenspointe. At the start of the winter months a man was found dying in the snow. When he wakes he doesn't remember how he got there or who had injured him and left him for dead. All he does remember is his name: Gabriel. 
Now a group of four friends which includes the town sheriff, Leo, have to figure out what to do with him. It doesn't help that shortly after his appearance the town has a number of incidents that range from strange animal sightings to a murder. None of them know if Gabriel is somehow responsible or not, and as things go from bad to worse they find themselves stuck in the middle of a fight they should have no part in. 

Just who is Gabriel, and what ties does he have to the haunting figures tracking their way through the small town?

Hello

I'm starting this blog as I work on finalizing the format on what will be my first published book: Gabriel.

Gabriel is a supernatural thriller that takes place in the Colorado mountains during the months of winter. Just who is Gabriel and what is going on in the small town after his appearance there you'll have to read to find out.

I'll be posting my musings on here as well as updates on current and future works. I'll also post links to my Amazon page that will list my books as I release more.

I sincerely hope that you'll give me a try, and hopefully you'll love my work. I'll introduce you more to the worlds that I create as time goes on, but for now I simply want to say:

Welcome, and thank you for your interest and support!