From Ash and Stone

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"I love love LOVE From Ash and Stone! If you are looking for a book that will make you cry, will make you sigh, will give you hope and healing then this is the book for you!!"

-Kindle and Me Book Reviews.

Lady Margaret Grey of Hartfell wants for nothing. The daughter of a knight, she has a loving family, wealth, and even a secret romance with the blacksmith’s son. But all that is torn from her one fateful night when her home is attacked and her family killed. She is left with nothing but bitterness, an unwavering mistrust of men, and a strange and mysterious curse that allows her to feel the thoughts of anyone who touches her.

Now, after six years away, Margaret is returning home for one reason: revenge. She hopes that by avenging her family’s deaths, she will somehow be freed from her curse. But it won’t be easy. The identities of the raiders are still unknown, she has little left to her name, and traveling alone in the Northumbrian hills during the border wars is dangerous. Matters are further complicated by handsome Angus Robson, a Scotsman whose charm threatens to distract her from her plans. But the raiders are closer than she knows, and Margaret soon realizes that what she believed to be a curse may be the key to finding those she seeks. One touch will reveal the truth . . .

Havencross

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"Captivating. A solid 5 across the board."

"A cross-genre story that could serve as a haven for anyone."

-Foreword Reviews Magazine

When a shocking scandal involving her father spreads through London society, Elaine Cardinham and her parents are forced to retreat to their country home in Cornwall for refuge. But Havencross is no sanctuary for Elaine. She is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her brother—and the heartbreak she left in her wake all those years ago. 

It has been five long years since Gareth Kemp last saw Elaine—when she rejected his marriage proposal. Her reappearance convinces him of one thing: he has never stopped loving her. To put his feelings for her aside, he focuses his attention on the dangerous smuggling plaguing the Cornish coast. As Elaine attempts to run from her past, she ventures ever closer to a dangerous truth—and Gareth may be the only one who can save her from a deadly finish.

Free Book

Something exciting is coming in May! I'm thrilled to be part of a Regency Romance anthology with two other amazing authors: Jaima Fixsen and Caroline Warfield.

If you want something fun and romantic for the Valentine"s Day week, Jaima Fixsen is offering her book Fair Child for FREE until February 16th.

Here is the link on Amazon.

http://amzn.to/2l7Fz76

A Rose By Any Other Name

I've always felt like it's important to give my fictional characters meaningful names. Names that say something about the character and give them added depth.

Draco Malfoy, Napoleon Dynamite, Huckleberry Finn, Ebenezer Scrooge, Malvolio. Each of these names evokes something about the character.

But it's not that easy to come up with great names.

Here are a few quick tips I picked up from various places:

1. Make it easy to read. Especially in fantasy and science fiction. Readers don't like stumbling over names as they read a story. A name can be easy to read and still sound exotic, foreign or futuristic.

2. Make the name appropriate to the time period. Use census data or the Social Security Name Popularity List to find names that were common to the time period of your story.

3. Consider the meaning of the words in the name. What does the root of the name mean? What country does it come from? For example compare the name Sunny to Draco; Lucy to Lucia.

4. Consider what the name means to the general public. If you pick the name Brittany readers will immediately think of Brittany Spears. Is that who you want your character associated with?

I have this book called The Baby Name Survey Book that lists hundreds of names and what the general public's first impression is about someone with that name.

Example: My name is Julie, here is what the book says about it: 

Image: The name Julie calls to mind a tall, quiet woman who is pleasant and average. 

And then it lists several famous Julies that people might associate with that name, such as Julie Andrews.

5. Avoid overused and cliche names. Like Jack. How many big strong heroes are named Jack? Unless of course you're going for the cliche.

What are your favorite fictional names? I'd love to hear your examples of best character names.

What are your tips for naming your own characters?

And let me know if you want me to look up your name in my awesome book.

The Glue In Your Story

I figure it's time for a serious post about writing, so here's a little something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

One element in story crafting that I frequently find missing is cohesion. Each story needs a few elements that bind it all together and carry the protagonist--and the reader--through to the end.

For some reason, I find that adventure type books struggle the most with this problem. Often, the main character sets off on the adventure, but it feels more like they are strolling through some kind of museum. They wander along the hero's path, going from one interesting scene to the next. It feels like a series of random events that happen to the main character.

So the question is, how do we keep our story unified?

There are many ways, but here are a few to get you thinking:

The Main Character's Goals Must Be the Driving Force: Whatever it is that the main character wants, that should be what influences all their choices and actions.

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's goal is to go home. It is what motivates everything she does. In The Hunger Games, Katniss wants to protect her sister Prim. That is why she volunteers for the games, and that is why she wants to win the games, so Prim is not left alone with a wacky mother.

This is perhaps the most important element in cohesion. If your main character's object of desire (goal) is not present throughout the story, the reader will loose interest. Why is he/she doing this? If we don't know, we don't care.

The Threat of the Villain: Keep the threat of the villain ever present and constantly hanging over the hero's head.

JK Rowling did a great job with this throughout SEVEN Harry Potter novels, always upping the stakes with each one. Never once do we forget He Who Must Not Be Named lurking in the back of Harry's mind. And, every other "mini-villain" Harry faces ties back to Voldemort in some way, such as Draco Malfoy and Professor Umbrage.

Not only should the villain be always present, but what's at stake as well. What happens if the villain wins?

Keep the Main Conflict Front and Center: This is good for books that are not adventure stories and don't have a specific "villain," like Twilight. Not much happens in the story, but the conflict is always there, hanging over Bella's head--forbidden love, is he or is he not going to eat her.

I've named only three. What other elements of cohesion can you think of?

I Can Bring Home the Bacon!

Song of the Day: "Quiet Little Voices" ~We Were Promised Jet Packs


Deren Hansen posted on Utah Children's Writers regarding what it means to have a strong female main character in YA novels. This is something I've thought a lot about, so I decided to add my own opinion on my blog.


Here are the two quotes Deren used that were meaningful to me:


Sheila Nielson


"There are more kinds of strength than the 'kick butt' kind. The women who had the greatest influence on me all had a quiet, daily kind of strength."


Clint  Johnson


"In the best stories, the strongest characters are those that act with the greatest strength in spite of their weaknesses."


When I read agent blogs, I frequently find that agents are looking for stories with "a strong female lead."


I think writers tend to interpret that as kick butt heroines, like Angelina Jolie in Salt. Girls that can go in with guns blazing. And sure, they have a softer side, a weak spot, but it's buried so deep, very few get to see it.


Unfortunately, while that makes a great action movie, I don't think it's the best for YA. Most teenage girls don't relate to characters like that. YA girls are vulnerable, conflicted--they want to fit in, but they also want to stand out, they want to find their place in life. Like Anne of Green Gables.


I believe teen girls today relate to the kinds of characters mentioned by Sheila and Clint. Regular girls just trying to figure out life, but when faced with difficult circumstances, they put their weaknesses aside and step up to the plate. 


As Exhibit A, I submit Twilight. Why is that book so darn popular? I think teens relate to Bella. An average girl, average intelligence, living an average life--just trying to fit in while still maintaining her identity. 


Then of course, when the handsome, immortal hottie shows interest in her, it's every teenage girl's dream come true. If it could happen to regular old Bella, it could happen to them.


But is Bella a "strong female lead"? Good question. She seems a little bland, vulnerable. For an answer I submit Exhibit B, Twilight. In the end *spoiler alert* Bella is faced with an option to sacrifice herself to save her mother. This is a choice that almost all teens can relate to. It's personal, not save the world or the random hostage, it's save someone you know and love and who loves you. Teens, as we all know, are very "me" centered. 


But the real heart of the matter is that Bella chooses to live life on her own terms. And that is something all YA girls want. And that is why Twilight has sold over a million copies. Bella may not be the strongest of female lead characters in terms of fight, but she is the kind teen girls totally relate to, and that's what teen girls want. 


*Please note that I refer only to Twilight, and none of the other books in the saga. They are a completely different story!

Battle of the Century: Story vs. Writing

Quote of the Day: "I think God, in creating man, somewhat overestimated his ability." ~Oscar Wilde

This is the question I've been asking myself lately: What makes for the best books--sublime writing or an amazing story?

If you hope to win a Newbery Honor, you might need to lean toward perfect writing. If you want to make it to the New York Times best-seller list, then a well crafted story could be enough.

I read a book a few months ago where the writing was so awful I wanted to throw the book at the wall. How could this much telling and repetitive language make it to the NYT best-sellers list? Didn't this author know anything about good writing? But the truth is, I couldn't put it down. I had to read all night to find out what happens. The intense, original story and great characters drew me.

Last week I read book with some fantastic writing--clever, moving, full of meaningful imagery, great dialogue. But I had to force myself to finish it. I didn't care about the main character, I didn't care about her friends. All that beautiful language was wasted on yet another story of a tortured teen who suddenly discovers she has super/paranormal powers and then finds herself in cliched situations. It was so predictable, I already knew the ending by reading the jacket cover.

Of course the best answer is C) All of the above. Writing and plot working together in perfect--and perfected--unison.

So, what do you think? Story versus Writing Throwdown--who wins?

Can Fiction Be Fiction?

Quote of the Day:  "Anyone ever heard of Funeral Potatoes? Not sure I want to eat them..." ~David Boreanaz (Agent Booth from Bones) via Twitter while visiting Utah. Hahahaha!


Weather Check:  Overcast and rainy. Let's hope it sticks. Smells wonderful outside.


I've been following the story of Greg Mortenson and his book "Three Cups of Tea." So sad. And it is the perfect reminder to me of why I prefer the novel over nonfiction and memoir. How do I know what they say is true. Everyone is prone to embellishment. But when it's out there in a book, it doesn't feel like embellishment, it feels like lies.

So then I started wondering ... is there room for embellishment in fiction. We watch TV where stuff that could never happen happens all the time. And we say, "Cool! They just figured out who the killer is and saved the world based on a grain of sand." Or "Wow, that car just did a triple back flip over a cliff and the driver didn't get hurt at all." We accept it and move on. Maybe with TV, seeing is believing.

It seems harder to get away with stuff like that in a book. I don't know why. Maybe the printed word carries more weight. We read with skepticism, questioning the reality of what is happening in our book of fiction. Then we scoff and say, "Ha! I don't buy that."

Every genre of fiction has different standards of realism, of course. And things have to fit into whatever realm of reality we write, all with some sense of believability.

But I say hey, if it's fiction, let it be fiction.