CREATING A WORLD IN 5 EASY STEPS by Nancy Northcott

Solid, consistent worldbuilding creates a culture that adds valuable texture to a story.  By the same token, careless or confusing worldbuilding can confuse readers and detract from the plot. 

So let’s look at the process of creating a setting. 

1.  Pick The Setting.  This doesn’t mean merely choosing a spacefaring society or a post-apocalyptic or medieval or urban or rural backdrop.  It includes choosing the cultural details that will enrich the characters’ quest.           

Joss Whedon’s series Firefly is set in a spacefaring society with varying levels of sophistication and urbanization.  Some planets are high-tech and urbanized while others resemble America’s Old West.  It’s not totally American-influenced, though, because people curse in Chinese.  According to a Firefly interview video on science.discovery.com, the show’s backstory posits that the United States and China were the only surviving superpowers.  The clash of cultures and choices of government is an ongoing source of conflict in the episodes. 

 

Laura Anne Gilman’s Retrievers and Paranormal Scene Investigations series take place in a modern, urban setting but incorporate magical creatures out of myths and legends, like angels, fauns, brownies, demons, and dragons.  Gilman also distinguishes modern magic, or electrical current manipulation, from the older magic of the world’s wild places.  The result is a setting that not only conveys layers and textures in a few words but sets the stage for conflict as humans try to control or eliminate the fae. 

2.  Keep It Simple. Whedon and Gilman pull in different cultural influences but not every possible one.  They picked and chose the ones that would most complement their stories. 

Jessica Andersen uses Mayan mythology to power her Nightkeepers’ magic.  This fits beautifully with her overall plot, the Nightkeepers’ efforts to avert the 2012 apocalypse the Maya foretold.    She doesn’t bring any a lot of other cultural influences.  Maybe that’s as well because the plots involve escalating stakes from one book to the next, travel to far-flung locations, and a lot of explosive action. 

Linnea Sinclair’s science fiction romances take place in a futuristic society with faster than light space travel.  This world includes alien races but is, in many ways, an extension of our society.  The clashes that occur and the obstacles her characters face often arise from the power structure and from issues within that society. 

3.  Remember the Stakes: The bigger, the better on this one.  Sustaining a fantasy or science fiction series always requires high stakes.  The bigger the stakes, the wider the potential consequences, the more scope the series has as it builds.

The Retrievers series revolve around escalating conflict between humans and fae incited by a secret organization who wants to control those with magical gifts, known as Talent.  As the conflict escalates, it takes its toll on the relationship of the heroine, Wren Valere, and her partner and lover, Sergei Didier. 

In Ann Aguirre’s Sirantha Jax series, which just concluded, the characters fight for the freedom of peoples and planets.  The struggle periodically forces Jax and her lover, March, apart and creates uncertainty in the relationship.

Although there are still paranormal romances where the risks and rewards are mostly personal, the subgenre increasingly involves high stakes.  Alexis Morgan’s Paladins are protecting the world.  The Nightkeepers are the world’s only hope of avoiding an apocalypse.

4.  Choose the Characters’ Gifts: If the story is science fiction, maybe the characters don’t have any unusual gifts.  They could be part of the military or a rebel alliance or the crew of a starship going where no one has gone before. 

Giving them some special ability, however, broadens the scope of the possible.  If the heroine is a Jedi who can move objects with the Force, she may not need to engage hand-to-hand.  If she’s one of the few who can navigate grimspace, as Jax does, her ship can escape pursuers who lack such a navigator.  If the science officer can render people unconscious by pinching their necks or obtaining information with a mind meld, that gives the author options to explore.

There’s one important caveat to this.  As Hugo and Nebula Award winner Orson Scott Card notes in How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, magic needs a price. If the hero can use his telepathy or telekinesis or magic indefinitely with no price paid for it, the magic system seems less believable.  The conflict also suffers because omnipotence is boring.

Any magic system needs both rules and limits.  Once those are set, the author should stick to them or have--and share--a very good reason why this instance is an exception.  The world can be whatever the author wants it to be, but it needs internal consistency.  If a character can translocate in book 1, but not in book 2, the reader needs to know why, and the reason needs to apply the next time a similar situation arises.

That brings me to the last step: 

5.  Use What You’ve Created.  Obvious, right? Maybe not.  If an author creates a world with, for example, influences of French culture, that world might have a judicial system based on the Napoleonic Code.   It might use red, blue, and white stripes on its flag, and French phrases may pepper the language.  That may be all that appears in the first book.

Down the road, though, the French cultural base opens the door to bring in other French customs.  Salic law, the prohibition of inheritance via the female line, comes from the French.  If a world is established as having strong French influence, and if earlier stories contain nothing to the contrary, the author can later tell us this doctrine is part of the world.

Conclusion   Worldbuilding is important in every genre to some degree or other.  In paranormal romance, fantasy, and science fiction it’s vital.  I hope these tips will help you create your story’s canvas.  

Thanks to the FF&P chapter for having me today and to Nancy Lee Badger for setting this up. 

Book blurb for Renegade: 

SHE ENFORCES THE RULES


As the mage council's sheriff for the southeastern United States, Valeria Banning doesn't just take her job seriously, she takes it personally. So when a notorious fugitive and supposed traitor risks his life to save hers, she has to wonder why. To find the answer, she’ll have to put everything on the line, starting with her heart.

HE BREAKS EVERY ONE OF THEM

As a mage, Griffin Dare is sworn to protect innocents from dark magic, which is how he finds himself fighting side by side with the beautiful Valeria Banning. But when the council finds out the two have been working together, the pair must run for their lives--from the law, the threat of a ghoul takeover, and a possible council mole.

NOW THEY ARE EACH OTHER’S ONLY HOPE

Author bio:

Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman.  Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy and YA romance.   A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the romance and high stakes she loves in her new contemporary mage series.  Her debut novel, Renegade, is a November 6, 2012, release from Grand Central Forever Yours.

WEBSITE     GROUP BLOG      TWITTER     FACEBOOK     GOODREADS

Connecting with Readers in Virtuality by Lynda K. Scott

In today's world, we communicate with people we've never met in 'real' life. We may have never been close enough to shake their hands or hug them. Yet, they are our 'friends'. They are vital parts of our virtual world. 

Our real world and our virtual world are pretty much indistinguishable. My writing career is conducted in a fairly solitary manner--I sit in my office, write on my PC, and if I need to contact my agent or publishers, I'll send an email. I've never actually met any of them face to face (though I hope to do so). 

 

I have a newsletter list, a presence on a variety of social media, blogs…My readers are in front of their computers/tablets/smart phones reading my blogs (or any of my Virtuality promotional efforts) while on the other end, I might be running to the grocery store, playing with my alien kitten (Wookie) or watching my favorite hockey team. That delay doesn't make the post/email/what-have-you any less valid. Not today. 

This is our virtual world. This is our real world.  

We have to learn to use it. To command it.

To make it help us as we attempt to promote our work.  

How do we do that?  

In the real world, we have author signings or appearances. But in the virtual world, we have other resources. Many of them are just as great as the old smile-and-sign at the author's table. I'll list a few of these with what I consider to be salient points.  

The one thing I want to point out is that you are not promoting just your books. You are promoting YOU, the AUTHOR. In other words, you are bringing your pseudonym, and your author's personality, to life in this Virtuality world we inhabit. 

Virtuality Promotions:

            1. Website & Domain

-You must have a website in this Virtuality world. If you don't have a website yet, reserve your domain name (before someone else does). 

- Having your own website will give you a 'professional' email address, ie happyauthor.com, not happyauthor@snappytrails.com 

            2. Blogs

-You can use a blog for a web site (Try to get a domain name for it--you always want to bring your name forward). 

-Regularly post to your blog. Readers like routines and they'll appreciate the way you reach out to them on a regular basis. This also keeps your name in front of them and helps build your author-reader relationship. 

-Guest on other blogs (See Blog Tours. Also see my **NOTE under Blog Tours.) 

- Get your blog syndicated in as many places as you can, ie Facebook, Amazon (Author page), etc.

            3. Free reads

Doing free reads on your website or blog, or even free e-reads on Kindle, may help promote you and your books. The consensus, on how helpful it is, is still out but I often give away a copy of one of my releases on a blog. Again, this helps build name recognition, not just for your book but for YOU.

4. On-line chats

-Be prepared. Have your blurbs, links, etc, typed out so you can quickly copy and paste. Be friendly and responsive, and even if only a few people show up, be engaging. Draw them out. 

-Consider doing a chat on yahoo because those on digest will see all the excerpts. 

-Many publishers, review sites, and other authors have chats, so find out if they'll let you guest. See my **NOTE under Blog Tours.

5. On-line book-related communities. I'm just going to list a few of the more reader oriented ones:

Goodreads - This appears to be the most popular and largest. (7.3 million members) As an author, you can list your books on your page, so people can find them.  

Shelfari  - Add “book extras” on Shelfari.com that will appear inside the Kindle versions of your books and on your Amazon book buy page. 

http://www.nothingbinding.com/  - You can promote your books; connect with fellow authors, avid readers and book buyers. 

AuthorsDen   - You can reach readers by sharing your bio, books, blogs, events, stories, articles, poetry, newsletters, etc. Readers can discover, interact, track and enjoy!  

Yahoo Groups - There are yahoo groups for authors and for readers. For promotional purposes, aim at reaching the reader loops…unless your book is intended for authors. 

            6. Blog Tours

-A blog tour gets you out in front of a new audience as you guest blog at other authors sites, and promote your book to their followers. Other blogs, like one of mine, is designed to feature book reviews and guests. Blogs come in all shapes and specifics.

**NOTE: Do make sure the host site (subject) is something you want associated with you and your writing, ie an inspirational writer probably won't be interested in hosting an erotic writer or vice versa. There are exceptions but do make sure.

- Ask if they have guidelines and try to follow them as close as possible. 

-Whatever you do, make your content both informative and entertaining. It should not be just a blurb and jpg with “Buy my book!” It is not just an infomercial. It is a way to connect with readers in the Virtuality world. 

- Offer a giveaway. Yes, it sounds like bribery but it draws readers in to see an unfamiliar author. They see your name, eventually they'll remember it. That's what counts 

            7. Social Media

 

- Social media, ie Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc is a great way to promote your name and your books. But they're huge time sinks so be careful. Stay away from Farmville!

There are many other ways to connect with Virtuality. Unfortunately, I've run out of space. I hope the few ways I've listed are helpful to you all.

Thanks for having me here today! 

MORE ABOUT LYNDA K. SCOTT-

She isn't really an alien or from another planet. If she was, she and her alien kitten, Wookie, would be headed to Alpha Centuri or Deneb to play tourist and write about what they find. Lynda is actually a 'ridge runner' from Kentucky, who likes to tell tales that entertain and amaze. Wookie, however, is an alien kitten.

Where to find Lynda on the web: 

WEBSITE      MY SPACE      TWITTER     FACEBOOK    LINKED IN

To join her newsletter, send a blank email HERE

Book Blurbs

Magical Mayhem is the first of many anthologies to come from new tween/teen publisher Ambush Books. This anthology truly has something for everyone featuring short tales that will twist your brain and wrap around your soul. "Heart of A Dragon" a heart-warming YA adventure by Lynda K. Scott. Magical Mayhem is the perfect bedtime companion for a cold autumn’s night. 

Heartstone - Eric d'Ebrur is out of time. He must find the legendary Heartstone and fulfill the ancient Gar'Ja bond he shares with the Stonebearer. But when he finds her, he discovers that love can be more dangerous than the Gawan threat. Eric can defeat the mind-controlling Gawan but will it cost him the woman he loves? After terrifying episodes of hypersensitivity, Keriam Norton thinks she's losing her mind. When handsome shapeshifter Eric d'Ebrur saves her from the monstrous Gawan, she's sure of it. But insane or not, she'll find the Heartstone and, if she's lucky, a love to last a lifetime.

Altered Destiny - Stranded on an alternate Earth, architect and Jill-of-all-trades, Liane Gautier-MacGregor must find her way back to her homeworld before she's enslaved...or falls in love with a man who is the exact duplicate of her ex-husband. Devyn MacGregor's alter ego as the Reiver Lord is the only way he can fight the Qui'arel and their nefarious Bride Bounty, a tax paid with human females...until he meets the oddly familiar woman who claims he is her husband. And who sets in motion the rebellion that will either free his countrymen or destroy them. 

Great Escapes: Valentine's Day - The heartbroken and lovelorn come to Great Escapes B&B in search of a relaxing getaway, only to embark on a weekend of sexual self-discovery, courtesy of the inn's resident ghosts, who bring to life each guest's deepest desires. In Great Escapes: Valentine's Day, Rose's best friend gives her a weekend stay, where an invisible lover helps her to rediscover her sexuality. But will she open her eyes enough to see who is right next door? 

ALIEN SEX by author Margaret Fieland

I read a review of a science fiction book recently in which the reviewer commented that he had particularly enjoyed the book because the aliens in question were really alien and not some sort of human in disguise. This interested me particularly because when I invented the aliens in my recently published novel, “Relocated,”I went to some lengths to insure the opposite: that they weren't too alien. 

All of which brings me to my musings about what goes into creating an alien species, and the series of questions an author must ask themselves: what do they look like, how many limbs do they have, where do they live, what do they eat, how many planets do they occupy, what is their government like, what are their cultural values, what about their art, literature, music? What about their sex lives? How do they interact with other cultures? I could go on.

Those things, in my opinion, the fluff: what in my day job we call, "simple matter of programming." The real question for any author to ask is, what is their role in the story, and what, therefore, are the required characteristics? What is the theme the writer is exploring, and what part do these aliens play in it?

Now wait, I hear you saying, all I wanted was a list where I could fill in: Six limbs, no external ears, speech not audible to humans, reproduces by fission. Why do I have to decide on how they play into my theme? 

Um, well, because that's the question from which all others spring. Is your main character going to get up close and personal with the aliens or are they going to bomb the hell out of each other? How large is the canvas on which you're painting? Are the aliens part of a bunch populating a bar on some space station or other, or are they going to play a major role in your story? And, perhaps most important: do they interact with human in the story, and if so, how?

Sometimes the requirements are simple. I wrote a short story involving an alien species where they needed to look alien, be able to communicate with humans, albeit with difficulty, and drink whiskey. The last was the most important. Since I'm hoping to get the story published, I'm not going to say more. Not a lot of brain sweat went into inventing those particular aliens.

In “Relocated,” my recently published novel, I needed my aliens to look only slightly alien, because (warning, spoiler alert) one of my characters is a human-alien cross who was "passing" as human. In order for this to be believable, I needed enough background to justify this. 

Stories need conflict, and I wanted one of the conflicts in the story to be the discomfort my character feels when plunged into the alien society. I wanted the culture of the aliens to be different –and in some ways, disturbing – enough so that my character would find integration into alien society a challenge, but not so different that he would find it impossible.

Why? I wanted my character to straddle both societies and be forced to make a choice, and how I styled my aliens grew out of this. I didn't want clash of empires. I wanted culture-clash and individual angst. That's where my interests lie, and those are the kinds of themes I'm drawn to. 

I wanted to push the envelope in at least one area, and I chose sexuality. While there were other ways in which I made my aliens, alien, the sexuality piece and how their family organization, sex lives, and reproduction differed from humans was the keystone. 

Okay, you asked. My aliens form committed relationships involving, typically, four people, and the relationships involve same-sex as well as opposite-sex interactions. I had to tread lightly, however, as this was a novel for young adults. 

And so my character becomes involved romantically with an alien. The two characters do nothing more than kiss.

I hear you saying, "Oh, darn it." Never fear, I'm working on a couple more books set in the same universe, and one of them is an adult science fiction novel with a mixed-sex menage involving three men and a woman. One of the men is human, and the other two men and the woman are aliens. 

Face it, sex is interesting.. Even alien sex.

 

 

Want to know more about Margaret Fieland? Check her

 

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

  

and you can also find her at:

 

WEBSITE       BLOG     

 

TWITTER      FACEBOOK   

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes: An Editor in Action by Mary Hughes

Editor Christa Desir

What does an editor bring to the storytelling process? I’m thrilled to share a few insights from an actual first-pass edit made by brilliant editor Christa Desir on my latest vampire romance, Biting Oz. These samples are by no means all an editor can do to make your story shine, but hopefully they will shed some light on just how vital the editor’s role is. 

This simple change ramps the sentence from basic showing to yikes! Heroine and pit musician Junior is late getting to the theater and is about to miss the downbeat. 

“Overture, please.” Up front the pit director called the musicians to attention.

Before: I forked fingers into my hair, forgetting my scalp-tight braid, and nearly tore out hair.

After: I forked fingers into my hair, forgetting my scalp-tight braid, and nearly tore out a chunk. 

Here, a strategic pruning makes for maximum emotional impact. At the sausage store heroine Junior is overrun by customers. Hero Glynn sees this and acts. 

Before: Glynn saw my dilemma. Brilliant guy that he was, he glided to the door and did his vampire compulsion thing. “Inside, please. Form the line here.”

I loved him a little more in that moment.

He shepherded them all in and shut the door, then nudged the line to wind through the aisles. Oh wonderful man. Vampire. Whatever. I didn’t think I could love him any more.

Until he got behind the counter and started bagging.

Keeper. 

{Editor’s comment attached to second highlighted sentence: So you need to either drop this one or the earlier one bc it feels redundant.} 

 

After: Glynn saw my dilemma. Brilliant guy that he was, he glided to the door and did his vampire compulsion thing. “Inside, please. Form the line here.”

He shepherded them all in and shut the door, then nudged the line to wind through the aisles. Oh wonderful man. Vampire. Whatever. I didn’t think I could love him any more.

Until he got behind the counter and started bagging.

Author Mary Hughes at work

Keeper.

Am I the only writer who gets so myopic with plot nuances that characterizations suffer? Here’s an example of inadequate scene conflict coupled with character motivation issues. Heroine Junior goes to villain Camille’s bar to ask Camille to return hero Glynn’s mementos of home. On the way Junior aimlessly explores the bar (because I needed the descriptions established for a later, more action-packed scene where detailed descriptions would have been awkward). Camille says no and Junior makes a rude gesture and leaves.  

{Editor’s comment: This whole previous scene doesn’t really work to me. [Junior] goes and asks for the knickknacks and Camille won’t tell her so she leaves? I think at the very least, you need her snooping around, trying to hunt around the place to see if Camille hid them somewhere. Which will also give you the excuse you need to stumble on all the rooms instead of Junior just being nosy. Then Camille can find her and they can have that conversation. Then, I think Camille needs to throw her out (w/ help of bodyguards) so we feel like she at least tried. As it stands, she has accomplished nothing and it seems silly for her to have even gone.} 

Solving two problems with one stroke—sheer genius. Naturally I rewrote the scene. 

Best of all, an editor will tell you what works well, so that you can build on your strengths. At the end of Biting Oz’s first chapter, blue-eyed friend Julian (husband to friend Nixie) is warning heroine Junior not to go out for drinks with hero Glynn and young stage star Mishela.

“Junior, the thing is, Mishela and Glynn aren’t like you and Rocky.”
[Julian] was warning me off, just like Nixie…no, not just like Nixie, because of Nixie. The bricky titch had pulled a Business Maneuver #5—siccing a well-meaning relation on me. [ …] “Not like us? Are they brain-sucking zombies? Space aliens?” I gasped. “Mimes?”
"No, of course not.” He looked away. “Not exactly.”
“Then what? Exactly.”
“Well, I…” Frustration shaded his features. “I can’t say.” His eyes returned to mine and they were an eerie shade of violet. “But be very careful.”
That shook me. Smiling to cover it, I latched onto Rocky’s arm and pulled her out the door. He watched me with those strange violet eyes the whole way.{Editor’s comment: Outstanding chapter one!!!}

Real vampires do musicals.

Biting Oz (Biting Love Book 5) 

Gunter Marie “Junior” Stieg is stuck selling sausage for her folks in small-town Meiers Corners. Until one day she’s offered a way out—the chance to play pit orchestra for a musical headed for Broadway: Oz, Wonderful Oz. 

But someone is threatening the show’s young star. To save the production, Junior must join forces with the star’s dark, secretive bodyguard, whose sapphire eyes and lyrical Welsh accent thrill her. And whose hard, muscular body sets fire to her passions. 

Fierce as a warrior, enigmatic as a druid, Glynn Rhys-Jenkins has searched eight hundred years for a home. Junior’s get-out-of-Dodge attitude burns him, but everything else about her inflames him, from her petite body and sharp mind to what she can do with her hip-length braid. 

Then a sensuous, insidious evil threatens not only the show, but the very foundations of Meiers Corners. To fight it, Junior and Glynn must face the truth about themselves—and the true meaning of love and home. 

Warning: Cue the music, click your heels together, make a wish and get ready for one steamy vampire romance. Contains biting, multiple climaxes, embarrassing innuendos, ka-click/ka-ching violence, sausage wars and—shudder—pistachio fluff. 

More about the Author:

Mary Hughes is a computer consultant, professional musician, and award-winning author. She has a wonderful husband (though happily-ever-after takes a lot of hard work) and two great kids. But she thinks that with all the advances in modern medicine, childbirth should be a lot less messy. Visit Mary at http://MaryHughesBooks.com. 

More About the Editor:

Christa Desir is not only a spectacular editor, she is also also the author of intense young adult novels. Her powerful story Trainwreck is coming from SimonPulse. Visit Christa at http://ChristaDesir.com

 

GETTING INTO CHARACTER with Margay Leah Justice

I have a confession to make. I hear voices in my head. Now, under normal circumstances, this confession would make one question their sanity and perhaps lead to years of intensive therapy. But I left out an important part of the confession: I am a writer. The voices I hear in my head are those of the characters that live there, in the land of my imagination, toying with my gray matter until I finally tease them out and onto the page. And there is the secret, at least for me, of characterization. I have to be able to hear the voices before I can get a fix on the characters. 

As anyone who takes a pen to paper will tell you, characterization is an integral part of the story. You can have a mediocre plot, a tried and true plot, and yet still make it come alive with fascinating characters. Likewise, boring characters can sink a good plot. Just ask any reader what kept them enthralled in a book and more often than not they will give you a detailed description of…the characters. What do you remember most about Romeo and Juliet? The intricacies of the plot – or how passionate the lovers were for each other? What about the movie Titanic? What remains fixed in your mind, the fact that the ship sank after striking an iceberg or the ill-fated love affair between Jack and Rose?

Characters define a story; they are the backbone of the plot. Everything that happens within the story depends upon the type of characters that populate it. So the writer owes it to the reader to give him or her characters they will not forget. Characters that will live within them long after the last page is read and the book is closed. Characters that make them want to revisit that book again and again. How? For me, it is the simple matter of feeling that way about the characters myself. After all, if I can’t feel passionate about my characters, how can I expect my readers to? And so I listen to my characters. 

For me, listening to the way they speak, the words they use, is an integral part of characterization. That is how I “get into” character. I playact in my mind. Visualize the character in a scene and play with her emotions. It helps to imagine a certain actress playing the character in a movie, to run the scene in my head like it’s a filmstrip. How does she sound? How does she stand? What does she look like when she’s angry? These are all key ingredients to characterization. You have to think of them as real people, full-bodied and well-developed. When you start wondering how your character would feel about a certain situation or how she would handle a certain crisis, then you have done your job. If you can write a line of dialogue and on a second pass realize that your character would never say that, or at least not in that way, then you’re totally in synch with your character and are one step closer to remaining true to them. 

At this point, you might be thinking that’s all well and good, but how do you get so in tune with your characters? Another good tool that I use, in addition to the filmstripping, is the character interview. This is a fun and cool exercise for the writer because we never know just what our characters are going to say until we ask the questions.  

Why not try it for yourself? You just never know what you might learn when you open up your mind to the voices in your head.

 

Sloane Wold Book Blurb

 

For more than a hundred and fifty years, the gray wolf has failed to roam the hills of Massachusetts, leading to the belief that they are extinct. But with a spattering of sightings across the Berkshires, the legend of the gray wolf comes to fruition. The product of that legend, Micah Sloane will go to great lengths to protect his kind from the threat of outsiders, who seek to exploit the legend for their own interests. One thing he didn’t count on, however, was finding his soul mate in the company of such men.

From the first time she predicted a stranger’s imminent death when she was little more than a child, Shiloh Beck knew she was different. Wishing to cultivate her gift, her parents made the fateful decision to enroll her in a private school for paranormally gifted children. Unbeknownst to them, the school was just a front for a research facility simply called the Institute, whose secret board members weaned gifted children from their families to exploit their gifts. Shiloh has spent the better part of her life trying to escape the Institute and reunite with the family she was told had abandoned her.

From their first meeting, Micah and Shiloh share a connection that goes beyond the normal to bond them in a way that love alone cannot. But before they can build a life together, they must deal with the fall-out when the legend of the wolves collides with the men behind the Institute.

 

More About the Author:

Margay Leah Justice is the author of Sloane Wolf, published by MuseitUpPublishing Publishing. To learn more about the author, visit her at:

BLOG   GROUPBLOG   MY SPACE    TWITTER    FACEBOOK   

 

CONQUERING FEAR by Author Renee Wildes

I am a true April Taurus—earthbound, practical, stubborn and temperamental. My life is ruled by fear. In true “bull” fashion, I tend to meet it head-on. It’s what drives me, not a weakness but a motivator.

I’ve always been a tomboy, preferring horses to boys growing up. I belonged to the Wilderness Challenge Club in high school (Wisconsin Academy in Columbus, WI). Whitewater rafting, caving, rappelling, canoeing. If it meant sunburn, mosquitoes and getting dirty—that was where you’d find me. Very glamorous stuff. Now, I’ve always been afraid of heights. Like—freeze atop a 6-ft ladder scared of heights. We won’t even mention airplanes. Sedatives. LOTS of sedatives…

So, the first time I went rappelling was at Devil’s Lake, from atop Devil’s Rock. Guarded by all manner of…rattlesnakes. Saw two, sunning on the rocks. So there I was on a snake-infested rock atop the world. Beautiful view. Wasted on a sixteen-year-old in a cold sweat. See, the secret to rappelling is to WALK down the rock face. Anyone who’s walked across a floor knows the easiest way to do that is to be perpendicular to the floor surface. So if the floor surface is almost entirely vertical, that means the walker gets to be the one who’s…horizontal. And that translates into standing backward at the edge of a cliff, the true ground several hundred feet below, and LEANING back against a rope-and-nylon-harness-affair into thin air until you’re lying down on NOTHING—and then walk down the wall. 

Sure. Uh huh. (Never said I was a BRIGHT kid. Well, okay, I was. Straight A nerd.) And Mr. Snyder was right there like some hairy bearded cheerleader from Buffy saying stupid things like, “It’s easy. You can do this. Nothing stops you. Just leeeeeean back and walk down.”

But it was my best friend Annette stating “Don’t be such a chicken shit” that got me going. Okay, it took me 20 minutes of whimpering like a toy poodle in a thunderstorm before I leaned back enough to start walking. Reaching the bottom to more Buffy reject cheering felt like conquering Mount Everest.

That’s how I tackle life. I let fear motivate me into moving, defeating, conquering. It can either stop you or get you going. Being a Taurus, stubbornness gets me a long way through life. As a writer I try to let the quality bleed off into my characters. Set them up against a bad situation some would consider impossible, but the character just takes a deep breath, says “Who if not me?” and forges on to start, to try. And so the stories go.

So we go through life observing, learning, challenging, attempting. Sometimes failing, other times triumphing. Always growing and changing. We shape the world around us and the world shapes us. So it is with our characters. They are a product of their world and ever-changing belief system. Old habits die hard. New skills challenging to learn. They are moved by fear—the fear of what will happen if they do NOTHING. And intelligent, resourceful beings that they are, they observe the world around them and learn from it. USE it.

The SIX SENSES class I’m teaching will explore just how characters use their own unique perspectives to do just that. 

BIO:

Fantasy Romance Author Renee Wildes writes the “Guardians of Light” series for Samhain Publishing. She lives in central WI with hubby, 2 teens, a geriatric calico cat, a fluffy black Chowminator, and 2 gray half-Arab mares. She still considers herself a tomboy, although she hasn’t hoofed it down Devil’s Rock in years. Nowadays, writing, reading and scrapbooking occupy her time—when she’s not prying her kids out of a tree or off the roof… Her latest book, Riever’s Heart, came out in paperback on Sept. 8, 2012. God of Fyre Mountain will be out in ebook on Jan. 22, 2013.

 

Website: http://www.reneewildes.net

Blogs: http://reneewildes1.wordpress.com 

            http://www.sweetnsexydivas.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReneeWildes

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReneeWildes1

I hope you will join my class

The Sixth Senses: Ramp Up Description & Anchor

Your Reader In The story

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal

Romance Writers

This 2 WEEK class starts November 5th

For more information click HERE

 

Empower Your Writing with Word Choice by Theresa Meyers

Every author has a voice. It’s what editors, agents and more importantly readers, are attracted to in their favorite fiction authors. As authors our words are the building blocks for not only our fiction but also how our books are perceived by readers on the shelves.

What exactly do I mean?

Words have power, weight and emotional context. They can make us feel or think different things on a subconscious level. Think about it. When you are describing clouds moving across the sky, you could say the clouds slipped across the moon, or you could say the clouds drifted across the moon or you could say the clouds scudded across the moon. Only one word changes each time but the emotional context and weight of the scene changes dramatically. Slipped has an almost otherworld quality to it. Drifted is dreamlike, and the character might be questioning the validity of the situation. Scudded is much darker and ominous, hinting at danger lurking in the shadows. One word can make all the difference.

And this isn’t just the case with verbs. It’s in our descriptions too. We feel different about the colors chartreuse, emerald and sage, even though they are all different ways to describe shades of green. By using deep character point of view we can pick out words that resonate with our characters to create fresh descriptions. A Navy Seal and a preschool teacher are not going to have the same reaction when they get their hand slammed in a car door. Likewise they will picture, describe, think and see things through the lens of their own experiences. For my paranormal Hunter in my Steampunk who’s been raised in the western frontier, he looks at things from a hunting point of view.

As the dark beast entered the edge of the yellow oil lamp light, Colt could make out the massive shoulders and ridge of raised black hair along the hellhound's back. More importantly, he could see the grizzly bear-sized mouth full of bared glistening dagger-like teeth just beneath the scarlet eyes, which flickered with the glow of red hot coals in a camp fire. The thing was the size of a buffalo, black as night and as angry as a pissed off mama bear. It stalked them slowly and deliberately laying down one massive paw in front of the other, dark curving nails clacking against the rock floor as it made a beeline in their direction. 

As a bonus the word choices you make because of the way your character views the world as a result of their backstory is another subtle way of introducing that backstory to your readers without beating them over the head with it. From this example you get a very clear feeling of what this man may have experienced in their past. It’s obvious he’s obviously stalked prey, he’s seen a grizzly bear and a buffalo, and spent time around a camp fire.

Word placement can make a difference too. Where you place a key word can either flatten you prose or enhance it. By placing the most powerful words at the end of your sentences and paragraphs, you’re giving your writing a power punch that lasts with readers.

Why put it at the end? Human psychology is wired so whatever is last is remembered most.

Take this sentence:

The hand-scrawled page from Diego’s safety-deposit box was right over her heart, burning a hole in her shirt pocket.

The hand-scrawled page from Diego’s safety-deposit box was burning a hole in her shirt pocket right over her heart.

As a word is pocket or heart more powerful? The sentence still conveys the same information, but it does it with more punch when the most powerful word in the sentence is at the end. Alternatively I could have chosen to put the word burn at the end of the sentence, but I chose heart because of the context of the scene where she’s not trusting her heart to another Hunter. Since her heart is what is truly at risk, it becomes the most powerful word in the sentence to emphasize.

Even when it comes to marketing ourselves as writers, word choice is critical. It shows in how our cover blurbs are written on the backs of our books. It shows in the taglines you see as part of an author’s branding on their website. Choosing words that are powerful, convey the specific meaning and that have the right emotional weight, are important when influencing people to buy our books.

There’s a reason Edward Bulwer-Lytton originally put the now famous line “The pen is mightier than the sword” in his play. It’s true. Words have power.

Author bio:

A former book publicist, an American Title II finalist, and now a full-time writer, Theresa has seen multiple facets of the industry on her path to becoming a multi-published romance author. She currently writes paranormal romances for Harlequin Nocturne, steampunk romances for Kensington and urban fantasy and contemporary romances for Entangled Publishing.

Find her at...

WEBSITE         TWITTER           FACEBOOK

I hope you will join my class

Writing Back Cover Blurbs That Sell

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers

This 2 WEEK class starts October 8th

For more information click HERE