Check out this interview with me and Sabrina Benulis about her angels and world in the second book, Covenant.

]]> /episode-47-update-and-review-of-the-laughing-corpse/ Thu, 26 Dec 2013 19:37:28 +0000 http://www.talechasing.com/?p=468 This is a short and sweet podcast that is just under 10 mins. We do a quick review on what’s up with me and then a segment where I review “The Laughing Corpse” by Laurell K Hamilton. Enjoy and feel free to leave me feedback.

I’ll be working on my video editing skills but in the mean time I wanted to share that the first series I’m going to do is the Anita Blake Series by Laurell K Hamilton. So if you are interested in following along you can. This series has a bit of something for everyone. Vampires, shapeshifters of all breeds, zombies, necromancy and magic. Later in the series it does get into explicit sex but it’s easily skipped over for the plot if you don’t like reading that kind of thing.

I also wanted to say that I know I have some podcasts that aren’t working and I’m trying to get those re-hooked up so that if you missed anything you will be able to listen to them.

Thanks for your everlasting continued patience.
Kimi

Secondly I wrote 4000 words last night and finished off Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book 1. I didn’t just finish it off, but I feel really good about how the ending came out. I think it’s a lot stronger than the original version (which was good, but bumpy). As I’d been saying I wrote this book the first time with a lot of passion, and not a lot of talent. This time around I think my writing skills have improved to the point where I wrote the story the way I’d intended to. Only one character didn’t come out the way I wanted and I’ll be fixing that in the rwrites. Overall I’m happy with the effort, but it’s time to let it sit for a month before I jump in and start to edit.

I’ll be editing the next edition of the Action Pack Podcast tonight. Mike and I will have that up and available hopefully tomorrow. Now that I think about this, I think I know what I’ll be doing today and tomorrow. I’ll be writing the December edition of Golden West. This story is also coming up on its climax and the writing on that will go quickly as well.

I also need to do a little plotting on V&A Shipping II. I’m finding I write better and faster when I have at least a little understanding of where my story is going. I’m excited to start this project fro NaNoWriMo. It’s been too long since I’ve been in this universe. Once I have it completed, my favorite daughter wants me to write Astel II (Astel: Chooses). At least that’s the working title. Then I want to write Of Gnomes and Dwarves Book II.

So many words, so little time. In the past 4 days I’ve written 14,500 words. I feel great about that. I’m hoping I can keep this pace up for at least the Month of November. That means I’ll be able to crank out V&A Shipping II during November, and jump right into Astel II. Maybe I’ll even circle back around and finish off To Fall From the Sky and get to work on Life of Lists. I have a lot of works in the air that are partially started and need to be written, rewritten, and finished.

At this point I’m not 100% sure what I’ll be doing with them. My hope is I’ll be able to get them written, edited, get some cover art, and I may self-publish some of them, I’d like to podcast some of them, I’d like to make them available in print. I’m getting to the point on this year and coming into next year where I’ll be able to put out work faster than ever before. This means I truly can treat this like a part time job and start getting works out there and available for people to read. In some ways I want to seek out a publisher, in other ways I want to do this on my own. It’s a confusing time for me as a writer right now. I just need to get past this mental block, get more work completed, and then make a choice.

What are you thoughts? Should I seek traditional publishing for some, self-pub others, podcast some? If I keep writing I’ll have work coming out faster than a traditional publishing could handle and even though I’m patient, I don’t want the first books held up while I pump out second books in a series. While I work through NaNoWriMo I’ll have to give this a lot more thought.

First I need to go to a CPR training class, so I’d better get ready and go.

Until Tomorrow!

WOO WOO!
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Find this post and his site here

Here’s some info on it!

MIDNIGHT SQUADRON CHARITY AUCTION TO BENEFIT CHILD’S PLAY

Midnight Squadron is pleased to announce a Charity Auction in conjunction
with the 24 Hour Gaming Marathon to benefit Child’s Play.

General Auction Information
The auction is currently in session and will close on August 18, 2012.

The auction forum may be found here.

Winning bidders will be notified.

Auction guidelines may be found here.

Shipping costs are the responsibility of the DONOR.
That’s right, shipping is free to the winning bidder! 100% of the proceeds benefit Child’s Play.

Not a member of Midnight Squadron but would like to bid?
To friends of Midnight Squadron who would like to make a bid, you must set up a Midnight Squadron forum account and verify your email address. Items can be viewed without an MS forum account.

Bid increments and Shipping Restrictions
Bid increments are noted on the item. Please note any shipping restrictions for the item.

Just want to make a donation in support?
You are welcome to make a donation to Child’s Play here if you prefer not to bid on an auction item.

More exciting items to come!
There is some fantastic stuff and even more wonderful items to come so be sure to check back frequently. For example, some swag has already been donated by Funcom of the Secret World. You don’t want to miss your chance at some TSW swag!

We, at Midnight Squadron, want to thank you for your support of this very worthy children’s charity!

For more information regarding the Midnight Squadron 24 Hour Gaming Marathon and Child’s Play, please visit:

http://www.midnighsquadron.com/charity

Anyway, I have an update podcast coming. Should be up today or tomorrow. It will let you know what’s been going on, where I’m at and where I’m going. And I think you are going to like where I”m going.

For a taste of the cast: there are great podcasts to be put up, there’s work happening with Guardians, and there is a very cool new project I’m working on that will help you if you get like me when I’m stuck on a particular writing issue.

Thanks for all your patience. Don’t be afraid to let me know if you read AND listen to the podcast. It will help me know if updating you occasionally in written form does any good.

Oh…and since February is the month of love….I love and appreciate all of you who come here! Thank you for the support, the kicks in the butt, and the interests we share!

My plot wall has taken on the same connotations. I stare out at it and where I use to see possibilities and exciting scenes…I begin to freak out at the possibility of writing them.

“They” aren’t kidding when they say fear is a huge factor in letting success pass you by. I don’t know who “they” are…but I’m sure they are out there and I’m sure they say it.

So what am I afraid of and how silly do I feel for being afraid in the first place? The answer to the last question is “I feel tremendously silly and foolish.” What I am afraid of is a little harder to answer, but we’ll give it a try.

• Fear of disappointing people – What if I do something that disappoints my teacher, my family and friends, my readers
• Fear of failure – what if I never manage to push myself to accomplish my weight, writing, etc goals?
• Fear of success – I would have said this wasn’t the case but when I think about it…I am..what if I finish this book and I can’t crank out another one?

Those are my main fears and I must find a way to get through them. I went over to check out Milli Thorton’s site “Fear of Writing” and am looking into her book. What do you do to over come your fears?

You’d be surprised how often the right sidekick can take a good story and push it to the next level for me.  I see it as the author’s opportunity to make a serious impression on the reader, because a funny, mean, horny, cute, or sarcastic sidekick is often the thing I remember most about a book.  Here’s an example of how the right sidekick can make even an untried urban fantasy standout from the crowd…

Over at Dirty Sexy Books we have an online book club.  Each month we tackle a new genre, we nominate books within that style, and then we vote on a single winner.  Our theme for February happens to be urban fantasy, so we put together a list of eight contenders.  The list is great, if I do say so myself, but it’s never easy for us to pick a winner.  We’re often flying blind, and while we appreciate good reviews, we rely on the covers and blurbs heavily.  I think it’s safe to say that our February winner was picked in large part because of the sidekick. 

Our winner is Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder.  The cover is particularly striking, but what’s even more rare is that it shows the sidekick, a ferret named Palimpsest.  Isn’t he cute perched on the dragon-snake-thing?  This is not the first ferret sidekick I’ve encountered in an urban fantasy (Kat Richardson’s Greywalker series comes to mind), but showcasing the ferret on both the cover and the blurb has piqued our curiosity.  It seems like such a small thing, but in this case it made the difference. 

While most books don’t feature their sidekicks quite so prominently, they can make mundane scenes magical.  Take Midian in M. L. N. Hanover’s Unclean Spirits.  He’s a cursed vampire who resembles a rotted corpse, he chain-smokes, and he cooks like a gourmet French chef.   I enjoyed his grumpy and gruff observations so much that when he did not make an appearance in book two, Darker Angels, the sequel felt flat by comparison. 

Sometimes a good sidekick can even be an inanimate object.  I particularly enjoy UF series where the heroine wields a weapon with its own name.  Kate Daniels has Slayer, and Dante Valentine has Fudoshin.  This tradition goes back to Tolkien’s The Hobbit when Bilbo acquired Sting (or even farther back if we include Excalibur).   Even when the sword doesn’t have a name, such as Merit’s katana in Some Girls Bite, I like it when the heroine treats it with respect.  I’ll never forget when Merit received her red lacquered beauty, and the way she introduced herself to it with a little speech.  I find that sharp steel is a girl’s best friend in many urban fantasies.

While animals or supernatural beings make particularly excellent sidekicks, boring humans need not apply.  If they’re present, I figure they serve the same purpose as the red-clad crewmembers on Star Trek; they’re dead men walking. Even the most beloved characters are never completely safe though, and sometimes it enhances the story to kill off the sidekick.  I know, it sounds cruel, like taking a pot shot at Bambi, but it injects emotional drama, danger, and a sense of purpose into the plot. 

These kinds of decisions should never be made lightly, and this is why I read stories instead of writing my own.  There’s always a risk that you’ll alienate the readers if you remove one of their favorites, but that can also happen when trying to introduce new characters too.  I recently finished White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison, which is the lowest rated book in the wildly popular Hollows series.  After I finished the book, I read back through the Amazon reviews, and a lot of hot, angry criticism was directed at the introduction of a ghost character who had a shared history with the heroine.  It’s interesting that Ms. Harrison introduced another new character in the same book that met with the opposite reaction.  Nearly everyone loved the small, cute gargoyle, but the ghost guy was persona non grata. 

Now personally, I have seldom met a sidekick I didn’t like, but Ms. Harrison’s latest book shows that there are exceptions to every rule.  If I could conjure the perfect sidekick it would be funny, fierce, and otherworldly.  I don’t care if the humans bite the dust, but when the trusty sword breaks, or when the faithful sidekick is slain, I’ll shed a few tears and wonder who will take their place.

_______________________

Rebecca runs the blog Dirty Sexy Books and is a book lover who has taken her fascination with sublime storytelling and pushed it to new and unhealthy extremes.