The Next Big Thing Blog Chain

I was recently invited to participate in the Next Big Thing blog series, By Lori Hines, another Phoenix local author. Lori and I originally met at a Read Local Event in Glendale, Arizona. Lori’s novels “The Ancient Ones,” and “Caves of the Watchers,” published by Aberdeen Bay, include information about ancient Arizona as well as a balance of mystery and the paranormal. Check out Lori and her books at http://lhauthor.wordpress.com/

 

The idea of The Next Big Thing is each writer answers the following questions then tags five more up and coming authors.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?

I am currently most excited about the much anticipated release of Trolls, but I am working on the second book in the DREAD series, Max’s Despair. I am also working on several other pieces including a noir fantasy tentatively titled Vril.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Most of my books start as ideas stemming from the research that I do merely out of curiosity. I will dive into study on various topics and some will strike my fancy enough to write a story instead of a research paper.

What genre does your book fall under?

All of my current books fall under fiction and adventure, the fantasy or historical aspect is secondary. I am such a fan of classic adventure.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I do not currently have any actors in mind primarily because I am not a fan of new actors but the ones I do like are getting a bit too on in years to play the parts anymore.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Trolls – A young girl’s adventure in a fantastic world of magic and monsters, appropriate for all ages.

Vril – All crimes have an element of the bizarre, some have elementals equally bizarre.

Max’s Despair – The king of the DREAD Fleet tells all, in this history of how Maxmillion de Xavier became captain of Despair.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I am currently and hope into the future, represented by Arizona Publishing Services based here in Phoenix, Arizona.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I am a long time NaNo-warrior and I write all of my rough drafts since 2003 during NaNoWriMo. The editing obviously takes much longer.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Trolls definitely has been compared to Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan, while I hope readers feel the Captain Blood or Treasure Island ambiance in Max’s Despair.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Trolls is of course inspired by my son and the children that I come in contact with. Kids are great inspiration for adventure stories.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

I hope that readers really enjoy that all of my main characters never go it alone. There is always a need for allies. I really want readers to love the secondary characters as much as the heroes.

The Next Big Five:

Ashley Barnard

Ann Chamberlain

Patti Hulstrandt

Chet Shupe

Todd VanHooser

Trolls Official Release Event!

Trolls is finally released! Emily and her friends have been waiting to share their adventure with you for a very long time and on December 2^nd they will finally get the chance!

The official release event:

Brick Cave Book Browse

Lo-Fi Café

105 West Main Street, Mesa

December 2^nd, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Event Cost: FREE

I will have copies of Blackstrap’s Ecstasy, Fresh Blood, bint Hazine, and most important, Trolls! All titles will be $10.00 each! I will have tons of swag and merchandise for some of the books! There may even be a few pirates from The DREAD Fleet and possibly a few trolls wandering about!

Thank you Brick Cave books, Sarah Price, and Arizona Publishing Services!

Mesa Second Friday and Book Updates

Event: 

Second Friday, Mesa

I love starting with a thank you! Mesa Second Friday was great as usual and especially so because I missed the past two months and because so many friends made it out this month. Thanks goes out to Patti, and Don for arranging the booth and always being the best publishers I have had privilege to work with. To ChetShupe for being a great photographer and great friend! 

It was great to see Raymond again and to have Commodore Max finally available to press-gang new readers. And, a warm welcome goes out to Shelbie and Tiny from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, FilmBar crew! Thank you for supporting piracy! 

Book News:

Fresh Blood books are nearly sold out as far as those I have on hand, not to be ordered again until next Halloween season. 

The final edits to Trolls will be done in time for release in December! Finally! I am so excited about this book and nervous at the same time. This one is very dear to me and I am deeply hoping it is well received. I can’t wait until more readers join Emily and the trolls on their adventures through the world under the bridges, to rescue the Queen of the Trolls and face off against the Witch Arakne. 

And now a couple pieces of sad news. I will not be able to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, for the first time since 2003. It is a pleasure to know that so many of my young writer friends are giving it a go though. Shout out to Hunter, Bri, Joe, Jenn and Frank! I am with you in spirit NaNoWarriors! My alternative is to promise more blogs during this time and in the future, I realize I have been slacking off due to other priorities. 

And, of course, there is Max’s Despair that is fast becoming mine. For those still anxiously awaiting the next installment of The DREAD Fleet series, I am still working on it and we are getting closer. I promise it will be worth the wait, if that helps ease the frustration. 

Thank you to everyone, readers and writers alike! You energize me when I am feeling overwhelmed or slacking off and I love reading your work always too!

Magic, Fantasy and the Element of Plausibility

In my stories I try to be as close to reality as possible, while adding just enough fiction to make things interesting. I am personally not a fan of sword and sorcery styled fantasy, because so often magic is used as a cheat rather than a tool. There are no consequences to the use of magic and the power it bestows on the user is apparently limitless and conveniently requires no training to use. Granted this is not one hundred percent the rule. Creators like George R. R. Martin, Peter S. Beagle, and to some degree J. R. R. Tolkien are fair at keeping the science in magic.

There it is. The science to magic. It is not this thing that falls into the hero’s hands at just the right time, for all the right reasons, and is his to command for no other reason than he is the hero and it just is. There is a logical explanation for all things in nature and magic is simply the science of the fantasy world.

Magic as a Science

     Alchemy is likely the premiere thought that comes to mind when considering science and magic in the same sentence. It is not the only one, but it is the most tangible to explain. Alchemy is really just chemistry. There are rules to how it works, and a means to an end. Without following the rules you could well not only fail to reach your intended result, but you could very well lose your eyebrows.

     This analogy should be the first thought on any writer’s mind when playing with magic. What are the instructions for use on this tool? Who should use it? What are the dangers? Who makes it? What powers it? What happens when it breaks down or used incorrectly? I am not here to tell you what your “magic” can or cannot do, but I will say, as a reader and viewer of some fantasy, I want to know that you understand what you are messing with. You would not give anyone a drill press without some guidance and proper protection, your magical/ mystical/ god-given epic/ awesome/ all-glorious orb/ rod/ medallion/ crystal of knowing/ being/ controlling/ some-other-power should be no different!

Real Magic

     When I was a creative and lonely teen I admit to snagging a few mystical tomes from the local psychic fairs and Pagan shoppes. As I read all these awesome things that were possible with the use of magic, sympathetic magic mind, a reality began to form. There are a ton of rules to this little game and a lot of things required to make this work! This, I think, is what really formed my need for plausibility. Well, and my overt obsessive-compulsive need to make charts, lists, graphs and notes on everything.

     I recommend grabbing some books on the following subjects to understand magic before writing it into your character’s life; mythology, angelic languages, ancient languages, alchemical symbols, medicine, plants, astronomy, lunar cycles, divination, eastern and western religion. But, goodness steer clear of anything that spells magic with a “k”.   

Practice, practice, practice!

     Magic is an art as much as a science. Your character should not be awesome at it from the get go. Also, and goodness knows I love to play them too, but only in video games are characters allowed to simply level up. I understand that in anything, when it finally clicks it feels like a level up and seems like it happened instantly, but think about the time and effort it really took. It isn’t fair to your reader or your character to win just at the right moment without a bit of struggle first.

     Your character knows he is going to have to fight the big baddie and he knows he needs to sharpen those magic claws on something before that meeting. Give him little moments to work this out. Maybe he should lose his eyebrows once or twice?

The Grand Finally

     Is it luck, genetics, or hard work that gave your character the power in the first place? And, which of these things allowed him to perfect it? How long does it last and what are the consequences? Only when you are willing answer these things can you master the art of plausible fantasy.

     Spend some time trying to memorize and pronounce an ancient language, or drawing the perfect alchemical symbol. Better still, try it while running in circles at night, wearing a moo-moo and house slippers, a necklace of sausage around your neck, fending off your neighbor’s yapping Chihuahua. Yeah, that should make you sympathize with your heroes.

Hot Ace Comics and Storms!

A huge thank you to Hot Ace Comics for hosting Patti Hultstrand, Todd VanHooser and I, on Saturday, July 14^th. It was definitely eventful!

I had a great time chatting with Patti and Todd, and with store proprietors, Anna and Joe, but I must say the best was hanging with Spiderman! Thank you to everyone who braved the storm to come out to say hi. I am really sorry to those who missed us and I hope to see you next week at the Book Rack also in Mesa.

I cannot talk about this day without mentioning the amazing storm! Good gods of air and water that was crazy! I love wild weather though! I almost hope next Saturday’s signing is just as stormy. It will be like living it up on the ocean! 

In with mentioning upcoming events, rumor has it The DREAD Fleet and the dancers of bint Hazine will be dropping in to Hot Ace Comics for a full day of pirate shenanigans, No date yet, but keep a weather eye on The DREAD Fleet page and Facebook for more information!

See you Saturday at the Book Rack! 

Hot Ace Comics

10839 East Apache Trail #131

Mesa 85120

(480) 582-6642

www.hotacecomics.com

Patti Hultstrand

www.pjhultstrand.com

Todd Van Hooser

www.toddvanhooser.com

Pirates, Hot Ace, and Mermaid Birthdays

The story of Captain Blackstrap Gennie is full of strong female characters and men, real, hardcore men, willing to accept them. Complete fiction, right? Of course not! Historically as well as presently, there are power females gallivanting about, and they pal around with some pretty tough guys.

Her part in His-story

Some of the most prominent pirates throughout history were of the fairer sex. When I use fair in this case, I mean to say firm, level-headed and enforcers of the pirate code.

Most fans of pirates know the name Jack Rackham, better known as Calico Jack. If you have not heard of him, look him up, he is one of my favorites! By default that makes him one of Blackstrap’s heroes. Calico Jack is in some ways similar to Marrick, Blackstrap’s loyal first mate and best friend. And, if Marrick is anything like Calico Jack, then one must be lead to compare Anne Bonny and Mary Reed’s relationship to that of Maggie Pye and Blackstrap Gennie. The historical trio, as well as the fictional, wrought havoc in the golden age of piracy and did so by breaking the cardinal rule of Western sailors – no women allowed.

Captain Hook…err

Exiling women from ships was not a hard and fast rule in all traditions though, thank goodness (badness) for Ching Shih. Think the idea of Gennie becoming the Korsana of the sultana and training the harem girls to take up the banner of piracy is a bit far-fetched? Well, then do a bit of research on the prostitute turned pirate queen. The men surrounding her learned right quick that Shih had dropped her former profession in pursuit of greater gains. Bedding any woman while on duty was grounds for execution.

Enforcing the rules in the ranks of her 400 ships was not this little “lady’s” only claim to fame. Ching Shih was also a top notch strategist and general. Maybe Shih and Gennie should set down to a game of chess?

Today

Still think that having a broad aboard, if not leading the battle, is beyond reality? How about this one? Most of the stories and characters in Blackstrap’s Ecstasy are based on actual events and people. Czep has a fair number of smart, strong, stunning female cohorts at her side and, while these women can hold their own in a confrontation they do have a few good men willing to come to their aid.

Visit the crew of The DREAD Fleet to see the inspiration in action! This Saturday, July 14^th, they make port at Hot Ace Comics (Mesa) from 11:00AM – 3:00PM and then the Phoenix Zoo for Moon Mermaid’s Birthday from 6:00PM – 9:00PM.

Captain’s orders, mate!