Category: characters

The Girl with the Windup Heart (Steampunk Chronicles) by Kady Cross

The Girl with the Windup Heart, by Kady Cross (Harlequin Teen)

Kady Cross is the best-selling author of the Steampunk Chronicles, a series set in London in the late 1890s. She combines magic and technology with the urban English culture to produce an intriguing and well-detailed world. The Girl with the Windup Heart is the final installment in the series.

Mila was a childlike part-automaton girl when she first came to live at Jack Dandy’s house. Now she’s developed a fierce personality and desires and interests of her own. When Jack refuses to see her as she is—a woman in love with him–her heart is broken and she runs away to create a life for herself. She ends up in the West End, amidst the flamboyant characters of a dazzling circus. But danger straight out of Jack Dandy’s past haunts her even there, and she will need Jack’s help if she is to survive.

Griffin King is hot on the trail of London’s latest serial killer, but he never expected his search for the murderer to lead him where it does: to the Aether, and the lair of his nemesis, The Machinist. Soon Griffin is trapped and being tortured for control of the Aether itself. If he breaks, everyone will suffer, especially Finley Jane and their ragtag group of friends.

The world of the Steampunk Chronicles is the most fascinating aspect of this series, filled with magic and technology that has never existed in our world, but set in the English culture that is ruled by manners and class-consciousness. Ms Cross’s characters are distinctive and intriguing, without being unbelievable or unrealistic, despite their unique backgrounds and abilities. The camaraderie between the group offers a solid support against the dangers of their world and the powers of their enemies, both human and other. The Girl with the Windup Heart is well-written and flows between wildly different settings with ease and grace.

(Galley provided by Harlequin Teen via NetGalley)

Out of curiosity, I always check out Goodreads to see what other people think of a book. I may not agree with their opinions, but they have a right to them. However, this time….I found one of the first reviews was overwhelmingly negative, with the reviewer not liking the world, the writing, the relationships, the characters, basically everything about this series. Nothing positive to say whatsoever. Now, this is the ONLY book of this series I’ve read. I enjoyed it. But you can bet that if I had disliked the first book in a series as much as the reviewer claims to, I would not have read farther. So tell me why, at the end of this scathing review, does the reviewer make it clear that he/she has read EVERY SINGLE BOOK in the series? Just a question: if you hated something this much, why did you continue reading it?

Seconds Before Sunrise, by Shannon A. Thompson

Seconds Before Sunrise, by Shannon A. Thompson, is the second book in the A Timely Death series. Ms Thompson is the talented Indie author of several other novels including Minutes Before Sunset and Take Me Tomorrow. She is also the recipient of a Goodreads award, and blogs frequently about writing and life.

Eric knows that his duty to the Dark—his people—is far more important that his own desires. That’s the only reason he went along with the plan to make Jessica forget everything she knew about their people, and their love. But he had no idea how hard it would be to be forgotten, to have to watch Jessica go about her life as if they’d never met, never loved each other. It is enough to drive him crazy, and he cannot afford distractions now, so close to his 18^th birthday, the day the fate of the war between the Dark and the Light will be decided. So he withdraws from everyone, even himself.

But a horrible accident serves as a frightening wake-up call, and he realizes he cannot do this alone. He must turn to those around him, those he loves, if he is to survive and not surrender.

Jessica knows something is changed; she just doesn’t know what. Her memory is gone. Her desire to find her parents is gone. And her self-confidence is gone. She feels like she’s lost a piece of herself. The only thing she has is the boy from her nightmares, and she wants to find him, even if it drives her crazy.

Seconds Before Sunrise keeps up the fast-pace of Minutes Before Sunset, with twists and turns that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. The characters are even more compelling, fighting their dual natures as they strive to remain true to themselves. The action takes several unexpected paths, leaving the reader guessing. Ms Thompson has done a superb job of bringing both of her worlds to life, both the magical, and the mundane. Seconds Before Sunrise is an engaging read sure to appeal to fans of both fantasy and young adult, with a twist that makes it different from other novels in these genres.

War of Wings, by Tanner McElroy

Tanner McElroy is a local author who grew up in Lake Highlands, Texas. His first book, War of Wings, hit shelves March 21^st. In it, he combines biblical knowledge, epic adventure, and angels in the tale of how Lucifer fell, and the first war in heaven.

Life in Heaven is idyllic and peaceful, full of beauty and praise for God. The angels spend their days in productive work and honoring God. Everyone is happy. Everyone, that is, except Lucifer and Gabriel.

Gabriel, the archangel, is bored with his building projects, bored with war games, bored with how perfect everything is in Heaven. He wants more. He’s not content with the status quo like his brother Michael, and he thinks he must be the only angel that feels this way. Then he meets Arrayah, the virtue angel, and he starts to question everything he has always believed. Soon he’s on the edge of the most profound decision he will ever make.

Lucifer is the highest of the cherubim, admired for his worship songs as well as his beauty. He’s not content with being the highest of the angels, though. He wants more: to be promoted to God’s equal. But when he finds out that God intends to promote a Son instead, Lucifer turns to reason over faith. Convinced that he is as powerful as God, Lucifer’s followers divide Heaven as the angels take sides in the first war ever known.

All of the angels in Heaven must choose a side: their faith and God, or Lucifer and his new ideas and reason. No matter which side they choose, Heaven will never be the same.

War of Wings is an epic story on the grandest scale imaginable. The rich details of life in Heaven make a vivid backdrop for larger-than-life characters with desires everyone can relate to. Though the setting is more than most can imagine, McElroy does a fantastic job of bringing it to life, and his angels are not images of perfection, but characters with real thoughts and feelings. The glimpses into the different hierarchies of the angels are fascinating, just as his views of life in Heaven are, and even the dramatic Fall of Lucifer and his supporters is drawn in vibrant color for the reader to appreciate.

Why You Should Never Piss Off A Writer

(Okay, so “piss off” is probably not a politically correct term. But it’s so much more…appropriate than “anger”. I mean, really, anger sounds so civilized. And that’s not what I’m feeling right now. Warning: if you’ve done me wrong recently, I’m talking to you. <insert evil grin>)

Everyone knows it’s not a good a idea to cross Taylor Swift. That’s a good way to end up in a hit song, and even her veiled references to events don’t always protect the guilty. But have you ever thought about the people who cross, say, Stephen King?

Most writers take inspiration from people they know. It may be a single character trait. It may be an odd quirk they notice in a stranger. It may be the way someone walks. But all those little things combine together and end up in a single, life-like character that jumps off the page. Now, if you’re on the writer’s good side, you can find yourself in the pages of their newest novel, and take pride in the compliment.

But if, on the other hand, you and the writer have a bit more…hostile relationship, you might also find yourself on the pages of a story, albeit in a much less complimentary fashion. Think about it: all those horrible villains are based on someone. And villains have to die somehow (and usually, the more painful and gruesome, the better). I’m just saying, maybe all those Stephen King characters wouldn’t have died so violently if the people he was thinking of when he wrote them had not made him angry.

Personally, I’ve been known to base characters, events, clothing, lots of things on people I know. And the way I’m feeling right now…well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be too surprised if a character in my newest novel happens to be heavily tattooed, short, selfish, and full of lies….and dies tragically when run over by the karma bus. Repeatedly. I’m just saying….revenge is sweet. Even if it’s only in my own mind.

Julie Kagawa’s “The Eternity Cure”

Julie Kagawa, best-selling author of The Iron Fey series, has a new book out in her The Blood of Eden series, The Eternity Cure. Set in a dystopian future where a deadly virus has destroyed most of the population, human beings are now reduced to scavengers…and to nothing more than food for vampires.

Allison Sekemoto has lost everything she cared about. Her friends. Her humanity. Her love. But she still has a chance to get one thing back: her creator, Kanin, kidnapped by the Psycho Vamp who almost destroyed her once. Following the call of blood, Allie follows Kanin’s trail and finds more than she ever bargained for.

Forced to work with an old enemy—and someone she never thought she’d see again—she races to rescue Kanin in an effort to find a cure for the disease that will wipe out all life on earth if they can’t stop it. A psychotic vampire, a vindictive Prince, and heat-wrenching betrayal aren’t enough to deter Allie, but will a more devastating loss finally destroy her?

The dystopian world of New Covington is darker and more dangerous this time around. Allie is stronger, but she’s struggling to hang on to her humanity—and her hope. The Eternity Cure takes the reader from the pinnacles of hope to the very depths of despair, on the roller-coaster ride to save earth from complete destruction.
(Galley provided by Harlequin Teen via NetGalley)

Re-thinking this whole writing thing

…okay, not really re-thinking. Let’s just say I’m going to try something new (or, actually, old). Confused yet? Let me explain. Have you heard of Holly Lisle? If you haven’t, well, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Holly is a rarity: a mid-list author who actually makes a living with her writing. She’s smart, she’s a great writer, she knows what she’s doing, and, more importantly, she’s really big on paying it forward (she did start Forward Motion, after all). She spends a lot of her time helping her fellow writers out. To that end, she has created lots of helpful things, from the smaller workshops like How to Create a Language, How to Create a Character, How to Write Page-Turning Scenes…and she has also created huge, incredibly detailed classes Like How To Revise Your Novel and How To Think Sideways.

I was in the original HTTS class, as well as the original HTRYN class, and I can’t even begin to tell you how much difference these two classes made in my writing. The way Holly thinks, the way she breaks things down using plain language, worksheets, examples…well, it got me thinking in ways I’d never thought before (which was the point, right?). Since I don’t have much done on The Fall–in reality, I have only a handful of pages written, basically no pre-work, and haven’t touched it in weeks–I’ve decided that I’m going to take it through HTTS. I know the end result will be much closer to the story I have in my head, much more true to the vision I can see for the story. It will just be better. Yeah, it’ll be a lot of work and it will take me a while, but in the end, it’ll be worth it.

I’m a huge fan of Holly’s writing in general, and I know her courses can really get results–if you’re willing to do the work. I am. I haven’t been published, but I’ve gotten some partial manuscript requests because of her courses, and I want to give everything I can to The Fall. I’ve also decided to become one of Holly’s affiliates. I do believe whole-heartedly in her methods, her teaching, and her results, and if you have any interest in checking it out for yourself, go here. If you aren’t a writer, but you’d like to read a great book, you can check those out as well.

Zombified

I have become a zombie. It’s true. Several months ago, I noticed that most of the people on campus at my university can’t seem to go anywhere without headphones on. It takes what, three minutes to walk between classes, and they can’t go that long without listening to music? And some of them would sit in the classroom/auditorium/lecture hall with their headphones on, until the professor would come in and actually start talking before they’d take them off. Then they’d act like it was a huge inconvenience to be without them. It was like all these people were withdrawing from the world, wanting to live in their own little bubble, with no contact with anyone outside of it. On one hand, it irritated me greatly. On the other, my Muse thought it had great potential to be used in a dystopian story, and that turned into The Fall.

Today I realized I’m guilty of this as well. I don’t know when it happened. I don’t know how. But I rarely go anywhere on campus now without my headphones on.

It’s not because I don’t want contact with the people around me–although sometimes that’s the last thing I want. Have you seen how annoying teenagers are now? (Suddenly, I feel very old.) Plus, there are inevitably people who decide to talk to me, even though I am clearly wearing my “Please Don’t Talk to Me” face (Seriously, people? Can you NOT see the look I’m giving you? Get a clue.). But even that’s not the real reason.

The real reason is because I find myself in desperate need of inspiring and uplifting music to get through the day. My priorities have shifted drastically over the last six months, and one of the things that has changed is the music I listen to most of the time. It keeps me on an even keel. And considering the stress in my life, I need an even keel (and, possibly, a life preserver). Hence the ever-present headphones. But I do take them off when I go into a classroom. And I can’t listen to words with music when I’m writing–not that I’ve done much writing lately–so I don’t use them there, either.

I haven’t written in a couple of weeks, but I did some background work on The Fall this weekend, filling in some details. I also worked on the revision outline for the zombie story, AND the revision on the werewolf story. I also spent an hour or so starting the Scrivener tutorial. I’ll try to finish that up this week, and start actually using it this weekend.

I need to write.

Playing with the Muse

Despite the stresses of this week–my aunt was just diagnosed with breast cancer, one of my best friends had brain surgery today–I managed to finish the revision outline for the werewolf story. It’s not very in-depth, only six pages long, but I think it will help me get organized to actually finish the revision (FINALLY). I’m hoping so, anyway.

I wrote for 20 minutes or so yesterday on The Fall. Only got a few hundred words or so, but that’s better than nothing. Even better, I have an idea for part of the plot. Well. Kind of. I think maybe it’s going to be super-important to the plot…but I could be wrong. It has to do with an up-’til-now-unseen character that disappeared six months before. I think I know WHY he disappeared…where he went…and even more importantly, how it ties into the larger story arc. And here I thought he was just the used-to-be best friend. Who knew? My Muse, apparently….

I love the mystery and the surprises in writing. It’s what makes the whole thing truly worthwhile and beautiful. I love when the little things all come together and something clicks inside my head and it all makes sense. (I just wish real life could make sense like that.) I love when a tiny detail you thought wasn’t important turns out to be the key to everything. I love writing. I love creating.

Does this count as “work”?

So…after being told repeatedly by several people that I needed to watch The Walking Dead because it is, apparently, the greatest show ever, I finally ordered the first season on DVD. It came in today. Now I’m faced with a conundrum: stare at the blank page of my new story, or this:

This is a really tough choice, isn’t it? Yeah, RIGHT. So, since I’m obviously not going to be staring at the blank page, my next question is this: does watching I-don’t-know-how-many-episodes of The Walking Dead count as “writing”? Not actual writing, clearly, but research for writing? I mean, my best friend and I DID write that zombie story. And my new story DOES have zombies in it….So. Clearly this is writing-related. Win!

Character Introduction: Cacia

I’m supposed to be posting here twice a week. That’s my goal (as of mid-May, anyway). However…I ~~frequently~~ occasionally find it difficult to come up with something to write about. That makes posting quite a bit more difficult, as you can imagine. Sadly, I don’t have hours to spend in dreamy contemplation of what to blog about. In fact, I’m lucky to have 15 minutes to both come up with a topic and compose the blog. I recently saw a suggestion to blog about your characters and story. While that would seem blindingly obvious…it never occurred to me before, except to mention them in passing. But now I’m going to remedy this deplorable lack on my part. So…

I’d like you to meet Acacia Fauve, or Cacia. Cacia doesn’t think she’s anything special. Average height, average build, with brown eyes. Her only remarkable physical feature–in her mind, anyway–is her dark red hair. She doesn’t like attention, so she keeps it braided all the time. She’s mostly shy, unobtrusive, and trusts very few people. Very, very few. Like, two…She works as an assistant to the “customs” agent in Thule. She is terrified of mages (more on that in a sec). Cacia sees ghosts. All day, everyday. Her best friend is a cat named Damali who also sees ghosts–at least Cacia thinks he does. He’s not a talking cat or anything, just a regular old cat, so he can’t exactly tell her.

Cacia lives in a tiny cubbyhole not far from the shop. She has one other friend besides Damali, a servant named Ben who works in the castle. She doesn’t see him much, but he’s still her friend. She’s about twenty now, but when she was ten, she saw her entire family killed. They were jungle farmers, back when it was safe to live in the jungle, but the Wakaun came out of nowhere one day and killed her family. Cacia isn’t sure how she survived–or why–but the arrival of the Wakaun drove her into the city.

She doesn’t talk about her ability. To anyone. Not even Ben. The yearly feast of Zo–where the priests do a bloodletting on everyone so they can see the ghosts of their ancestors in an offering of power to Anik (a god)–is a nightmare for her. She avoids it, because the bloodletting only makes her power worse, and she doesn’t need any more crazy in her life. She has quite enough, thank you. And speaking of crazy…Cacia avoids the mages at all costs. She thinks they’re crazy, and she knows they’re greedy for power, so she stays far, far away, and is very careful to keep a tight grip on both her power and her emotions. There’s safety in control and calmness, and she likes it that way. At least until she meets Breck and Casanova…

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