Category Archives: fiction
Tattoo that line?!
Filed under authors, characters, creative, dark fantasy, education, fiction, genre, inspiration, learning, literature, names, poetry, query, review, success, Uncategorized, working, writing
The Touch Reviewed
Recently, I read The Touch by Louisa Albrect, and published by Hot Ink Press. I fell in love with the concept immediately and just had to read it. Admittedly, it advertised a few characteristics that I love to use in my own writing, such as music, musicians and magic. So, I was excited to get my hands on it! Oh, not to mention that it is an erotic novel, so yeah… that was exciting too! *snickers inappropriately*
On the whole, I did enjoy the story. The plot was well done and the characters likable. However, I was somewhat disappointed. I really wanted to love this story, and I didn’t. It’s been several days since I read it, and I’ve been stewing it over in the back of my mind ever since.
I did read it in one sitting, but that had more to do with how short it was rather than my love of it. In fact, it really was too short. There was barely enough time to develop such a complex plot and depth of character. It was sort of like this: Here are these cool people and their intricate problems. Now, let’s put them together and let sex fix everything. I wanted more in the middle. It gave me a beginning and an end and slushed right over the middle.
The main character is a singer named Benjamine. I loved this guy. But, I didn’t get enough of what made him tick. I expected more music. The descriptions that were there were fabulous, but they left me wanting more. The lead female similarly left me wanting more. After the coven finds her, she loses her memories, but the plot doesn’t really do anything with this, and leaves her feeling a little hollow. I wanted more about her discovering herself before she could help Benjamine.
The Touch had interesting side characters that were like the icing flowers on a cake; pretty and edible, but generally not necessary and completely interchangeable. Yet, there was the bud of something truly delicious sitting right there. A longer story line would allow the author to weave these extra characters into the story in a way that only that unique person could be there to make things happen. Plus, with more time, you could get to know what drives these others; how they view the main characters (for extra complexity); and what motivates them.
The final thing that had me squirming in my chair as I read was the huge amounts of grammatical errors and typos that imbued the novella. I swear this manuscript was never edited. In most self-published books and even in books published by small to medium presses, I generally do not have a problem overlooking a few errors. It is virtually impossible to get out every single one… you can find typos in books from major authors and publishing houses too. With that said, I could not keep continually overlooking the abundance of issues in this. It was too distracting.
I’m not trying to by hyper-critical. In fact, if I didn’t like the story, I wouldn’t have bothered putting these words on the page. I would have chalked it up to another disappointing failure. But, I did genuinely like this story. For only .99 it isn’t bad. However, Albrect has such a potentially beautiful story here. I wish she would take the time to develop it into a full-fledged (edited) novel.
Filed under authors, characters, creative, e-book, editing, fiction, fun, genre, para normal, review, success, Uncategorized, urban fantasy, witch, working, writing
Meaning in Words
I believe it is important to write things that are meaningful, that people can relate to and understand on an emotional level. I don’t think I am or rather I consider whether I’m doing just that in what I’m writing now. I’m focusing a lot on the “fun” aspects and what might be considered “cool” by my readers. But does it still mean more?
I started out at some point wanting to tell a story of those feelings one has that seem dripped in meaning and purpose – the “end all” emotions of the young, the naïve “I love this person with my whole being and there can never be anyone else for me” – that first deep love that we all desperately seek, and refuse to let go of when we have it. But, a more adult life altering theme of adaptation and survival of the heart emerged. The intensity of emotion in Summer Blood became the acclimatization of adulthood in Fire Blood (yeah me!)
My questions now become where the rest of the story is going and what is my emotional message. It feels like my plans for the next two novels have been slightly derailed by the cool and the fun. I’m not entirely sure what emotional depth I can add.
That leads to the other novel I’m writing for my Thesis in my Masters program. Where are these emotional questions in Discordia? Have I lost my initial themes – the good versus evil and the question of how we know which is which and how does a coming of age story deal with these topics? I think I must spend some time assessing the emotions as well as what’s happening in the story. The themes are intended to be subtle within the story; however, if they are too subtle, they’ll be missed.
I’ll be tackling this issue as I finish up my thesis and move further into my writing career. It’s important because readers need that extra depth in order to relate to the story and to the characters. It may be cool and fun, fast paced and exciting, but it won’t stick if there isn’t that emotional connection that we all look for.
Next Step in the Journey: The Thesis
If you’ve been following this blog (thank you!), then you know that I’ve been going to school at SNHU for my Masters degree in Creative Writing. That is the biggest reason why my blog entries have been few and far between. I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve started my thesis class last week. The thesis is a novel, and it is split into two classes. I should finish in March. For now, I’m going to be hard at work hammering out as many pages as I can!
So, as I begin this venture, I thought I would share with you a quick summary of the novel I’m working on for my thesis. It is a YA paranormal adventure. Yes, it has romance in it, but that isn’t the primary focus. Here’s a summary:
Erin wants to be a normal girl with a normal life, but she’s anything but normal. Bad things happen to anyone that gets too close to her. After a string of foster homes, she finds herself in a small town with a family she cares about and is scared to lose. She even manages to get a boyfriend, Kel, who convinces her that he is immune to her curse.
Erin’s life is turned into chaos when her foster mother becomes ill and Erin is sent to a children’s home. She is afraid she will lose the first family she has ever cared about, and lose her first boyfriend as well. Before she can figure it all out, Erin is kidnapped by a vengeful goddess that calls herself Mina. Erin must figure out who Mina really is, and regain her own lost memories in order to defeat her.
Let me know what you think. Would you check this book out?
Filed under authors, characters, creative, education, fiction, genre, learning, para normal, review, school, Uncategorized, urban fantasy, writing
sequel secrets…
I learned a new secret today… sequels pack a punch. I’m hearing that when an author releases a sequel to a book, the two books feed off each other and you get more readers. It also seems that if you release these sequels back to back, the effects are exponential. I’m seeing his more and more. So, I’m learning how important it is to tell the story in multiple editions.
I’m planning on releasing the sequel to my first novel as soon as possible; however, I have thought of something else I can do. I think this is because I have a really hard time doing things the “normal” way. I beat to my own drum (yes, I said that) and it runs in my family and in my friends. So, after the first sequel, I’m going to release prequels. Actually, it will be a book of several prequel novellas. I think it packs a different sort of punch. So, if my readers like my characters and want to know more about their history and how they got to where they are in my novel, they should love the prequels. It will be a fun way to keep the story going, and keeping the story going is the name of the game!
Lynn Michaels Writes 