I'm one of the FFF'er that couldn't make it to the Mini-Con due to things like deadlines and small creatures who call me "momma." And I am intensely envious of my two crit partners (of ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
merry_fates fame) who are both going. And rooming together. And meeting people I wanted to meet.
Sniff.
So I thought I would ask the rest of you (heretofore known as "other unfortunates who were also left behind")
1) which author (doesn't have to be FFF) you would most like to meet
2) in what sort of location/ atmosphere would you like to meet them
3) what one question would you ask them before security dragged you away?
I think mine would be Diana Wynne Jones, someone I admire hugely for her career and her writing, and I'd like to meet her over hot cocoas, and I would ask her if she'd ever written any novels that hadn't gotten published that she wished had -- and vice versa.
How about you guys, you other unfortunates who were also left behind?
- maggie stiefvater
merry_fates fame) who are both going. And rooming together. And meeting people I wanted to meet. Sniff.
So I thought I would ask the rest of you (heretofore known as "other unfortunates who were also left behind")
1) which author (doesn't have to be FFF) you would most like to meet
2) in what sort of location/ atmosphere would you like to meet them
3) what one question would you ask them before security dragged you away?
I think mine would be Diana Wynne Jones, someone I admire hugely for her career and her writing, and I'd like to meet her over hot cocoas, and I would ask her if she'd ever written any novels that hadn't gotten published that she wished had -- and vice versa.
How about you guys, you other unfortunates who were also left behind?
- maggie stiefvater
- Music:Joshua Radin
Our first Fangs, Fur, & Fey con is this week in Tulsa, OK. We have a dedicated program track, as well as joining the main tracks for some events.
For those not attending, please note that many of the panels (but not the social hour at the bar) will be recorded for posting here later.
NOTE: For those attending, this serves as your reminder that we are filming. :)
After Conestoga, a few FFF members are attending RWA.
FFF Admin (me & Jeaniene) & FFF members Joce Drake & Kate Smith (who does our lovely new newsletter) will be joining a few Paranormal Romance authors for a BlogTalk call-in Radio show.
For those not attending, please note that many of the panels (but not the social hour at the bar) will be recorded for posting here later.
NOTE: For those attending, this serves as your reminder that we are filming. :)
After Conestoga, a few FFF members are attending RWA.
FFF Admin (me & Jeaniene) & FFF members Joce Drake & Kate Smith (who does our lovely new newsletter) will be joining a few Paranormal Romance authors for a BlogTalk call-in Radio show.
Ladies of the Night BlogTalk Radio Show Wednesday, July 31, 8-9:00 PM PTD (11 pm – 12 am EDT)
A night of romance and the supernatural, featuring: Jocelyn Drake * Kerrelyn Sparks* Kathryn Smith * Melissa Marr * Terri Garey * Jeaniene Frost*
Guest Author/Listener Call in number: 347 826 9686
Please do feel invited to call in & ask questions.
A lot of FFF members attending RWA will also be doing a Literacy Signing Wednesday.
Attending FFF members will be doing signings at Mini-Con at Conestoga Friday thru Sunday. . . and Speed Dating (no actual kisses or romance, just chat in speed date format!), Pens vs Swords (no actual bloodshed, just enactments of fight sequences from our texts), & a bunch of panels.
Anyone out there not attending Conestoga/mini-con and/or RWA, please feel free to reply here telling us if you have any other events in the near future on your calendars . . . or if you have any special events at RWA or ComicCon San Diego wherein guests can say hello.
Please share your events in the comment section to keep people up to date. And also, members, remember to email Kate Smith with your events so she can put them on the Newsletter.
Thanks to the FFF members who've shared the tasks of setting up for mini-con. This wouldn't happen without you.
E.T.A.: Links! Melissa's computer was acting up and wouldn't add them. Also, Shanna Swendson, can you put another comment in this post?
Jeaniene Frost
Huh? Please allow me to explain. :)
I recently scored a gig writing essays about classic and modern/ postmodern folk tales. Two of the essays I have coming up (with deadlines far shorter than I'd like!) deal with the following topics. I'd love suggestions about sources or stories - especially stories! - dealing with these subjects:
Puppets in Folklore - Not puppet-show versions of faerie tales, but faerie/folk tales dealing with puppets as characters, themes or setting elements. Examples: Pinocchio, Being John Malkovitch, A.I., "Punch & Judy" (and the many variations on Punch), etc.
Bare or Unusual Feet - Characters, stories or themes in which bare or unusual feet (cloven hooves, duck feet, raven's claws, etc.) feature prominently. Examples: McKinley's Deerskin, Johnny Appleseed, Pre-Raphaelite artwork, "The Barefoot Woman," "Wicked John and the Devil," "The Little Match Girl," etc.
All suggestions are welcome. Thanks! :)
I recently scored a gig writing essays about classic and modern/ postmodern folk tales. Two of the essays I have coming up (with deadlines far shorter than I'd like!) deal with the following topics. I'd love suggestions about sources or stories - especially stories! - dealing with these subjects:
Puppets in Folklore - Not puppet-show versions of faerie tales, but faerie/folk tales dealing with puppets as characters, themes or setting elements. Examples: Pinocchio, Being John Malkovitch, A.I., "Punch & Judy" (and the many variations on Punch), etc.
Bare or Unusual Feet - Characters, stories or themes in which bare or unusual feet (cloven hooves, duck feet, raven's claws, etc.) feature prominently. Examples: McKinley's Deerskin, Johnny Appleseed, Pre-Raphaelite artwork, "The Barefoot Woman," "Wicked John and the Devil," "The Little Match Girl," etc.
All suggestions are welcome. Thanks! :)
- Mood:
curious - Music:The Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever"
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I actually went out and did a Real Thing instead of just working, and I hope you did, too.
Anyway,![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
lankywriter sent me a great question for this week's Topic:
I've never been able to "insert quirk here." I'm an internal kind of person, so I tend to build characters from the inside out, figure out what's in their minds before I have a clue what's in their pockets.
But different writers use different tactics to create characters. I would imagine that writers who are more externally/physically/visually focused would find it natural to begin with habits and traits rather than a psychological exploration. As long as the end result is a fully fleshed character, the process itself doesn't matter.
How about you? Do you find it helpful to give your characters habits and quirks? If so, how do you devise them? I'd love to see some specific examples.
Leave your thoughts in the comments, and of course, all members and watchers alike are invited to share.
Looking forward to seeing some of you at Conestoga!
--Jeri Smith-Ready
Anyway,
lankywriter sent me a great question for this week's Topic:I'd like to see the topic of character habits and quirks be discussed. Who gives them to their characters and why? Workshops on character development often say writers should give their characters habits like gum chewing or knuckle cracking or whatever to make them more three-dimensional/interesting/authentic/distinctive. But can it be taken too far? Or can it come across as more of a stylistic trope than a true personality marker for your character? I've seen it overdone to the point of it being a) obnoxious; or b) pointless. What do others think?
I've never been able to "insert quirk here." I'm an internal kind of person, so I tend to build characters from the inside out, figure out what's in their minds before I have a clue what's in their pockets.
But different writers use different tactics to create characters. I would imagine that writers who are more externally/physically/visually focused would find it natural to begin with habits and traits rather than a psychological exploration. As long as the end result is a fully fleshed character, the process itself doesn't matter.
How about you? Do you find it helpful to give your characters habits and quirks? If so, how do you devise them? I'd love to see some specific examples.
Leave your thoughts in the comments, and of course, all members and watchers alike are invited to share.
Looking forward to seeing some of you at Conestoga!
--Jeri Smith-Ready
I'll admit it -- I'm scared. Scared that the book I'm revising is utter crap. Scared that I'll never meet my deadline, and if I do, the book won't be any better than it was when my editor decided I needed to rewrite parts of it.
Of course, despite this terror (which I face by burying my head in the sand), I know I will get these revisions done because I have to. But I'm interested in hearing if the rest of you often feel this way, and are there things that you do to push the fear away.
That said, I only have to maybe write 3 or 4 chapters worth of new material, but I have to do it by the first of August and I'm leaving on the 29th for San Francisco...Eeep!
kathryn
Of course, despite this terror (which I face by burying my head in the sand), I know I will get these revisions done because I have to. But I'm interested in hearing if the rest of you often feel this way, and are there things that you do to push the fear away.
That said, I only have to maybe write 3 or 4 chapters worth of new material, but I have to do it by the first of August and I'm leaving on the 29th for San Francisco...Eeep!
kathryn
A special offer for Fangs, Fur & Fey...
I just received 30 author copies of HOTTER THAN HELL, which launches in a few weeks. (Yes, I'm queasy, and feeling rather faint. Why do you ask?) That's right. 30 copies. Me, I already read (and wrote) the book. I don't want 'em. So...I'm giving them away.
If you would like one of these books -- signed of course -- I would be happy to mail it to you. (Yeah, wherever you are around the world. My post office loves me.)
All I ask in return is that if you enjoyed the book, please blog about it. A review, a quick "enjoyed it," what have you. And, if you loved the book, please buy one and give it to someone whom you think would also enjoy it. Tell everyone you meet. And if you didn't like it, sure, you can blog about that too. I'm an equal-opportunity sort of author.
If this sounds good to you, then please email me at jax AT jackie kessler DOT com with the subject of HOT, and your postal address. First come, first serve.
And now, back to the WIP (deadline looming, and tens of thousands of words to write, eek).
EDITED: Seriously, I'm all out now. If I get more, I promise I'll post!
Jackie Kessler
I just received 30 author copies of HOTTER THAN HELL, which launches in a few weeks. (Yes, I'm queasy, and feeling rather faint. Why do you ask?) That's right. 30 copies. Me, I already read (and wrote) the book. I don't want 'em. So...I'm giving them away.
If you would like one of these books -- signed of course -- I would be happy to mail it to you. (Yeah, wherever you are around the world. My post office loves me.)
All I ask in return is that if you enjoyed the book, please blog about it. A review, a quick "enjoyed it," what have you. And, if you loved the book, please buy one and give it to someone whom you think would also enjoy it. Tell everyone you meet. And if you didn't like it, sure, you can blog about that too. I'm an equal-opportunity sort of author.
If this sounds good to you, then please email me at jax AT jackie kessler DOT com with the subject of HOT, and your postal address. First come, first serve.
And now, back to the WIP (deadline looming, and tens of thousands of words to write, eek).
EDITED: Seriously, I'm all out now. If I get more, I promise I'll post!
Jackie Kessler
For some reason, a number of the books I've been reading lately have featured romances with a noticeable age-differential: one partner is enough older than the other to see it as an obstacle to their happiness.
This crops up a LOT in urban fantasy as a result of vampires or what-have-you, and I think it bothers some readers, but it seems to me like it often gets a pass from people who would be bothered by by a fifty-year-old mortal marrying a twenty-year-old. So here's an informal poll (informal enough that I'm not making tickyboxes) -- how do you feel about age gaps in relationships? What makes them okay or not okay to you, and why?
I'm also interested in patterns. I think it's way more common to see older men with younger women, because a) women can't have children after a certain point, while men can keep going and b) our culture isn't very good at seeing older women as desirable anyway. Think about it: you can probably name off half a dozen older men who are still considered hella sexy (Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart -- whoever floats your boat), but the very few women who get that reaction mostly do it by remaining apparently young. You may feel differently -- this is me attempting to head off a million comments telling me Helen Mirren or whoever is still awesome -- but does our society? Not really. Older women are not desirable. And an old woman with a young man is more likely to look desperate than an old man with a young woman.
Then there's the whole added possible weirdness in a situation where the older partner has known the younger one since the latter's childhood, and is surprised to find them all grown up. At the very least, that has a whiff of cradle-robbing about it.
Even without that, it seems to me that an age differential creates a power dynamic that the author must navigate somehow. Either the younger one is okay with their partner being older and wiser and more experienced, or they have something -- initiative, stubbornness, special powers -- that put them on a more equal footing. This goes quintuple for relationships where the older partner is supernatural, but I'm interested in how it plays out for ordinary romance, too.
So, there's a whole mess of things to discuss. How do you feel about romances with a big age gap? What examples can you think of, and how have they played out these issues?
This crops up a LOT in urban fantasy as a result of vampires or what-have-you, and I think it bothers some readers, but it seems to me like it often gets a pass from people who would be bothered by by a fifty-year-old mortal marrying a twenty-year-old. So here's an informal poll (informal enough that I'm not making tickyboxes) -- how do you feel about age gaps in relationships? What makes them okay or not okay to you, and why?
I'm also interested in patterns. I think it's way more common to see older men with younger women, because a) women can't have children after a certain point, while men can keep going and b) our culture isn't very good at seeing older women as desirable anyway. Think about it: you can probably name off half a dozen older men who are still considered hella sexy (Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart -- whoever floats your boat), but the very few women who get that reaction mostly do it by remaining apparently young. You may feel differently -- this is me attempting to head off a million comments telling me Helen Mirren or whoever is still awesome -- but does our society? Not really. Older women are not desirable. And an old woman with a young man is more likely to look desperate than an old man with a young woman.
Then there's the whole added possible weirdness in a situation where the older partner has known the younger one since the latter's childhood, and is surprised to find them all grown up. At the very least, that has a whiff of cradle-robbing about it.
Even without that, it seems to me that an age differential creates a power dynamic that the author must navigate somehow. Either the younger one is okay with their partner being older and wiser and more experienced, or they have something -- initiative, stubbornness, special powers -- that put them on a more equal footing. This goes quintuple for relationships where the older partner is supernatural, but I'm interested in how it plays out for ordinary romance, too.
So, there's a whole mess of things to discuss. How do you feel about romances with a big age gap? What examples can you think of, and how have they played out these issues?
I had a very weird dream last night. I only remember snippets of it, of course, but one detail stuck with me. I was a vampire, and I was drinking blood bottled with garlic and stinging nettle. Weird, huh?
I think my brain was figuring that the garlic, being posion to a vampire, would act like acohol, and the stinging nettle would numb the vamp a bit so s/he could drink more...? Not sure about that last part.
Now I'm only bummed that I'm not sure I can find a way to use it in my writing. I almost NEVER get ideas from dreams, so this is pretty unusual. Do you ever get ideas from dreams....?
--Tate Hallaway
Greetings! Before I launch into this week's discussion, I'd like to put out a call for new Topics. You can either put them here in the comments or e-mail them to me at jeri AT jerismithready DOT com. All members and Watchers welcome to submit suggestions. I'd especially love to receive Topic ideas specifically pertaining to Urban Fantasy!
End friendly Public Service Announcement.
The topic this week is slang. We all use it in our everyday lives, both speaking and writing. But how much do you use it in your fiction? Since urban fantasy is by definition contemporary (even if it's a parallel universe or alternate history), do you purposely infuse your novels with the sounds of our time? Which slang words are so universal as to be timeless and unnoticeable, and which would make your ears hurt by the time the book was published? Do you invent your own slang?
As readers, how much slang do you like to see? Does a novel written in the 80s or 90s feel dated to you if it uses contemporary lingo, or does it feel "vintage," the same way a novel set in Victorian times using that parlance might feel?
I'm particularly sensitive to slang, since my vampires are psychologically and culturally stuck in the different twentieth century eras in which they were 'turned.' I'm constantly checking to see if a certain word or phrase would have come into use during their life time and thus be part of their vocabulary. My epic fantasy contains zero slang (okay, one profanity in the entire trilogy), to avoid pulling the reader out of the story.
Daniel Waters, who wrote the screenplay for Heathers, created his own slang because he knew that if he tried to use the words in vogue at the time the film was shot, they would be out of style by the time of release. Little did he know (or did he?) that the slang he invented would become part of the real world's cultural lexicon (e.g.,"What's your damage?").
Maybe something for us all to aspire to?
--Jeri Smith-Ready
End friendly Public Service Announcement.
The topic this week is slang. We all use it in our everyday lives, both speaking and writing. But how much do you use it in your fiction? Since urban fantasy is by definition contemporary (even if it's a parallel universe or alternate history), do you purposely infuse your novels with the sounds of our time? Which slang words are so universal as to be timeless and unnoticeable, and which would make your ears hurt by the time the book was published? Do you invent your own slang?
As readers, how much slang do you like to see? Does a novel written in the 80s or 90s feel dated to you if it uses contemporary lingo, or does it feel "vintage," the same way a novel set in Victorian times using that parlance might feel?
I'm particularly sensitive to slang, since my vampires are psychologically and culturally stuck in the different twentieth century eras in which they were 'turned.' I'm constantly checking to see if a certain word or phrase would have come into use during their life time and thus be part of their vocabulary. My epic fantasy contains zero slang (okay, one profanity in the entire trilogy), to avoid pulling the reader out of the story.
Daniel Waters, who wrote the screenplay for Heathers, created his own slang because he knew that if he tried to use the words in vogue at the time the film was shot, they would be out of style by the time of release. Little did he know (or did he?) that the slang he invented would become part of the real world's cultural lexicon (e.g.,"What's your damage?").
Maybe something for us all to aspire to?
--Jeri Smith-Ready
Stepping up to the plate a little nervously, but here goes . . . I’m Kelly Gay. I write urban fantasy and YA fantasy. I’ve been lurking around FF&F for over a year now and am thrilled to actually become a member of this fine community of writers. I recently sold my urban fantasy, THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS, in a two-book deal to Ed Schlesinger at Pocket Books via my agent Colleen Lindsay. The first book is due out sometime next summer.
I live near Raleigh, NC. Been writing for many years, first screenplays and then novels. I’m up for two RWA Golden Heart awards this year in the paranormal and YA categories, but unfortunately I won’t be in attendance. ((sigh)) (I have a 7 year old daughter and a 7 month old son, which would be why I won’t be in attendance.) Loving all things paranormal and mythological goes without saying here, but I also love strawberry milk, funky eyewear, hair dye (all those pretty colors; I can stand in that aisle for hours . . .), Great Danes (sans the drool factor) and my cats. And most recently I have fallen deeply in love with my new Alpha Smart. I know, totally random factoids there.
I look forward to "meeting" you all and being a part of a positive-minded group of writers. And a shout-out to my critique partner, Jenna Black! I made it! ☺
Oh, and here's little blurb about the book:
**Divorced mother of one, Charlie Madigan, lives in a world where the beings of heaven and hell exist among us, and they aren't the things of Sunday school lessons and Hallmark figurines. In the years since the Revelation, they’ve become our co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens.
Charlie works for the ITF (Integration Task Force). It's her job to see that the continued integration of our new "friends" goes smoothly and everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground Atlanta, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there's nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won't do to set things right.**
My website is http://www.kellygay.net. And my blog is http://kellygay.blogspot.com/
I live near Raleigh, NC. Been writing for many years, first screenplays and then novels. I’m up for two RWA Golden Heart awards this year in the paranormal and YA categories, but unfortunately I won’t be in attendance. ((sigh)) (I have a 7 year old daughter and a 7 month old son, which would be why I won’t be in attendance.) Loving all things paranormal and mythological goes without saying here, but I also love strawberry milk, funky eyewear, hair dye (all those pretty colors; I can stand in that aisle for hours . . .), Great Danes (sans the drool factor) and my cats. And most recently I have fallen deeply in love with my new Alpha Smart. I know, totally random factoids there.
I look forward to "meeting" you all and being a part of a positive-minded group of writers. And a shout-out to my critique partner, Jenna Black! I made it! ☺
Oh, and here's little blurb about the book:
**Divorced mother of one, Charlie Madigan, lives in a world where the beings of heaven and hell exist among us, and they aren't the things of Sunday school lessons and Hallmark figurines. In the years since the Revelation, they’ve become our co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens.
Charlie works for the ITF (Integration Task Force). It's her job to see that the continued integration of our new "friends" goes smoothly and everyone obeys the law, but when a new off-world drug is released in Underground Atlanta, her daughter is targeted, and her ex-husband makes a fateful bargain to win her back, there's nothing in heaven or earth (or hell for that matter) that Charlie won't do to set things right.**
My website is http://www.kellygay.net. And my blog is http://kellygay.blogspot.com/
I thought this might be fun. Go through your current WIP and pick out a page of dialogue that you enjoy and post it in a comment to this post. I'll post mine as a comment, too. I love to read what everyone else is up to!
EDITED TO ADD: Tell us why you like it, too!
EDITED TO ADD: Tell us why you like it, too!
I am dancing around right now, currently over the moon with the blurbs that I've just gotten for LAMENT (no, I will not pimp them here. If you want to see why I'm dancing, you can see the latest on my LJ or the first two over at my novel's website). Because they're all from authors I hugely admire (hence why I asked them to read), their words mean a ton to me personally, even if they don't sell a single book.
So here's my question - it's been asked a lot of places before (most recently on Kristin Nelson's blog), but I have a suspicion the answers will be different when asked of a genre crowd. How much do blurbs affect your buying decision? Will they turn you on/ off a book?
For me personally, there are some authors I love that if I saw them blurb a book, I'd pick it up. I also am acutely aware of "fakey" sounding blurbs -- if it's not specific or really over the top "I LOVE IT!" it feels like a duty-blurb to me. One thing I saw once that I really liked was on Audrey Niffenegger (THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE)'s website. She had a page devoted to authors who influenced her and that she liked. Because I loved her book, I went out and tried a bunch of her recommendations. I think I want to add a page like that to my website.
So what about you guys? Do author recs get you going? In particular, blurbs?
-maggie stiefvater
So here's my question - it's been asked a lot of places before (most recently on Kristin Nelson's blog), but I have a suspicion the answers will be different when asked of a genre crowd. How much do blurbs affect your buying decision? Will they turn you on/ off a book?
For me personally, there are some authors I love that if I saw them blurb a book, I'd pick it up. I also am acutely aware of "fakey" sounding blurbs -- if it's not specific or really over the top "I LOVE IT!" it feels like a duty-blurb to me. One thing I saw once that I really liked was on Audrey Niffenegger (THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE)'s website. She had a page devoted to authors who influenced her and that she liked. Because I loved her book, I went out and tried a bunch of her recommendations. I think I want to add a page like that to my website.
So what about you guys? Do author recs get you going? In particular, blurbs?
-maggie stiefvater
Recently I had the chance to interview Yasmine Galenorn, whose Otherworld series has been burnin' up the bestseller lists, become more popular with each release.
Hi Yasmine, and thanks for answering some questions for me!
Rachel: Why do you write urban fantasy/paranormal romance? What drew you to the genre?
Yasmine: I knew I wanted to be a writer from the time I was three and have been making up odd little stories from the day I could string sentences together. I learned to read early and my loves ran to volcanoes, dinosaurs, and…would you believe it? Yes, fantasy and science fiction. The Space Cat series by Ruthven Todd was one of my first discoveries in that genre—I just loved that adventuresome astronaut cat. And thanks to a non-restrictive policy allowing children to check out books from any section of the library and an extremely advanced reading capability, I sped through the fantasy and science fiction section at an early age. I ploughed through Asimov, Clarke, Pohl, and my favorite to this day—Ray Bradbury. I cut my teeth on The City and the Stars, I fell in love with Something Wicked This Way Comes and The October Country. By the time I was ten I knew that I didn’t care all that much for Heinlein, but I was nuts over Clifford D. Simak.
As time went on and I left home, I discovered Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, JRR Tolkien, Jack Chalker, Joan D. Vinge. And later on—Ben Bova, and Greg Bear, among others. I added them to the growing list of writers I admired, but I also began to branch out in my reading, moving into other areas. And I discovered the seeds of urban fantasy and absolutely loved the parallel contemporary world view.
But I knew that I wanted to write about more than just vampires or werewolves. I wanted to take my books out of the box and open it up to a whole gamut of subjects. I wrote seven novels (still in the closet) before ever getting my first publishing contract--which was for nonfiction, and eight nonfiction books before getting my first fiction contract, then eight mysteries before getting my first contract for the Otherworld Series. Dragon Wytch is my 20th published book.
( Read more... )
Shortly we'll be posting another interview of the FFF author of the week! So be watching and say hello!
I have a question for you all:
How do you or would you handle a situation where the hero or heroine works for a highly-secretive organization, such as a clandestine division of the NSA that no one knows exists. Either the h/h have signed a million non-disclosure agreements so they can't tell their love interest what they really do. How do you feel about such a huge secret that one is forced to conceal from the other. So there's this huge lie that will always be there, *unless* perhaps the significant other is involuntarily involved such as "True Lies" or "Mission Impossible III."
How do you or would you handle a situation where the hero or heroine works for a highly-secretive organization, such as a clandestine division of the NSA that no one knows exists. Either the h/h have signed a million non-disclosure agreements so they can't tell their love interest what they really do. How do you feel about such a huge secret that one is forced to conceal from the other. So there's this huge lie that will always be there, *unless* perhaps the significant other is involuntarily involved such as "True Lies" or "Mission Impossible III."
( lies... )
Today, I'm launching my new Home Demon Hunters game. For those of you who have played my Home Vampire Hunters game, this game will seem at least somewhat familiar. However, I've made it a lot less work for myself (whew!), and I've raised the stakes. The grand prize is a $200 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice. (Some limitations apply--details on my website.)
Collect electronic trading cards (think of them as baseball cards, only with demons instead of baseball players!) for your chance to win the grand prize. Each week on Tuesday, I’ll post a code word somewhere on my website. Email me the code word, along with your name and snail mail address, and I’ll enter you in the weekly drawing to win an electronic game card, which will contain one of seven different demon characters. Play every week and try to win all seven of the different cards!
On November 25 (the release date of The Devil’s Due, the third book in the Morgan Kingsley series), I’ll declare one of the seven characters rogue, and any Home Demon Hunter who owns that character will be entered in a drawing to win the Grand Prize.
Happy hunting!
As some of you know, there's a portion of my website called Cat and Muse, which is all about interviews. Specifically, my protagonist, the former succubus Jezebel, interviews the characters of other authors. A number of Fangs, Fur & Fey authors have had their heroes and heroines tortured...er, interviewed by Jezebel (and have lived to tell the tale). Recently, Yasmine Galenorn's very sexy (and very naughty!) protagonist, Camille, chatted with Jezzie about many things. Today's guest is Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden.
See that? There's only one degree of separation between Yasmine and Jim...and that's me! :)
Jackie Kessler
See that? There's only one degree of separation between Yasmine and Jim...and that's me! :)
Jackie Kessler
Here’s a question for the plotters versus pantzers. I realize in reality most writers fall on a sliding scale and use anything from a detailed outline, to some or none. I know I’m in the middle somewhere with a big “subject to change” sign over everything I do.
However, o experienced ones, once you have a series of deadlines that demand quick and steady production, does that mean your position on that sliding scale moves toward more careful plotting up front? Less plotting? Or do you advance-plan your books with about the same level of detail as before?
- Mood: curious
It's raining, thunder/lightning here (yeah, I know but it's not bad enough to turn off the computer yet). I live in the Seattle area where overcast is a way of life, where the gloom creeps into every corner most of the year. I have S.A.D. to an extent, but I've discovered that too much sun makes me nervous and jittery (too much as in, without a break).
I've noticed over the years that I write better when it's gloomy and raining. Even if I'm writing a summer scene--I just write better when the skies are dark and drizzly--maybe it's what I write. My books have warped humor, yes, but they are dark in many ways. I also notice that weather and environment play a big part in the narrative in my work--all my series have been regional (except for the scenes set in Otherworld), and for me the setting becomes a character in its own right. I've had interviewers mention this to me before--how my narrative is very vivid, and I've had readers who used to live in this area write to thank me for "taking them home" for a bit.
So, how does the physical environment around you play into your work habits/actual writing? And if you write regional material, how much do you play off of the environmental attributes of your area?
Yasmine
I've noticed over the years that I write better when it's gloomy and raining. Even if I'm writing a summer scene--I just write better when the skies are dark and drizzly--maybe it's what I write. My books have warped humor, yes, but they are dark in many ways. I also notice that weather and environment play a big part in the narrative in my work--all my series have been regional (except for the scenes set in Otherworld), and for me the setting becomes a character in its own right. I've had interviewers mention this to me before--how my narrative is very vivid, and I've had readers who used to live in this area write to thank me for "taking them home" for a bit.
So, how does the physical environment around you play into your work habits/actual writing? And if you write regional material, how much do you play off of the environmental attributes of your area?
Yasmine
Sarah Prineas's The Magic Thief has been stealing attention from all sides long before it was published, and all it took was a little bit of stalking pestering persuasion to snag an interview with her.
( Interview with Sarah Prineas: Thieving Scientists, Ninja Spies, Mapmaking and No Shenanigans Today Thank You )
( Interview with Sarah Prineas: Thieving Scientists, Ninja Spies, Mapmaking and No Shenanigans Today Thank You )
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fangs_fur_fey is hosting its very own mini-conference. Join us at Conestoga in July for paranormal fun, panels, and author speed dating! Special fangs_fur_fey guest is literary agent Miriam Kriss.
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