urban fantasy – Tale Chasing / Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:33:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 Special Episode – Darkness Day /special-episode-darkness-day/ Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:33:46 +0000 http://www.talechasing.com/?p=281 Well it wouldn’t look good for me to run a podcast without writing something now and then for you all to enjoy. So here is a short story call “Darkness Day”. This is one of those stories where the author leaves a lot of room for the reader to decide for themselves what is going on. What one person might decide the story is about, another one might find a different meaning in. I would love to hear your thoughts on it and your take on where you think this story is coming from. Feel free to leave a comment, call in, or write me email! Don’t be afraid…there is no total right or wrong answer. I know where I intended it to go but if you found someplace else….that is totally cool too!

]]> Episode 23: Interview with Mark Henry/Reading /episode-23-interview-with-mark-henryreading/ /episode-23-interview-with-mark-henryreading/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:20:33 +0000 http://www.talechasing.com/?p=181 In this episode of Tale Chasing, Mark Henry talks about his zombie urban fantasy series. He also reads Chapter 1 of his soon to be released: Roadtrip of the Living Dead, out on Feb 24, 09.

Warning: This episode is recommended for mature audiences only.

Show Notes:

Promo: Acts of Desperation

Mark Henry
Jenna Black – Morgan Kingsly Series
Kensington Books
Cherie Priest
Richelle Mead
Caitlin Kittridge
Kat Richardson
League of Reluctant Adults
Stacia Kane
Jackie Kessler
Douglas Winter – Less than Zombie
Paranormal Bender Tour
Jaye Wells
DragonCon
Charlain Harris
Tracie Lords
John Waters
Powells Books
Romantic Times Convention
Mario Acevedo

]]> /episode-23-interview-with-mark-henryreading/feed/ 3 Twitter leads me to what’s wrong with Urban Fanatsy /twitter-leads-me-to-whats-wrong-with-urban-fanatsy/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:40:54 +0000 http://www.talechasing.com/items/date/2008/04/23/twitter-leads-me-to-whats-wrong-with-urban-fanatsy/ Twitter is good for so many things. In fact I put up a Twitterview today over here. But among it’s uses, you can set words to pop up to your phone or twitter program that you are interested in. So for example, anytime anyone posts anything about urban fantasy I get a twitter showing me where the word was used. Today one popped up by Paul Jessup. That led me to his twitter, which led me to his website, which led me to an article on what’s wrong with Urban Fantasy these days. (read the comments too..they are useful)

It was an extremely useful article in two ways. One..it’s always good to know what is bothering readers out there so that perhaps you can fix it. I admit, I was slightly overwhelmed when I read the “problem” which didn’t have very much in the way of “HOW” to fix it, until I read far down into the comments.

Vera Nazarian‘s main contention was that most UF these days is the same ole same. But here were some points she mentioned to fix those issues.

– Evocation of genuine wonder requires subtlety.

– Evocation of wonder requires genuine enthusiasm for the object of wonder on the part of the author first and foremost — before any of that can be transmitted on to the reader (or to the characters, or to whoever).

– Wonder and humor and smart attitude are not mutually exclusive.

– Humor of the non-wisecracking non-streetwise kind is an option — give it a try (put an ordinary non-funny person with little-to-no attitude in a crazy situation).

– Fast pacing can detract from a sense of wonder; slow down.

– Show don’t tell: present the right details to the reader and that will elicit the wonder regardless of what the characters perceive (regardless of whether they are jaded or not).

– Take it a step further — make the familiar unfamiliar, alienate the reader from the ordinary.

– The pleasure of NEWNESS comes from the re-configuration of the FAMILIAR. No need to discard the familiar and comfortable, just reupholster it (who was it that said there were only 10 plotlines in the world?).

– Attraction is a reaction, to be elicited only, and only from a combination of specific elements that may all be different from reader to reader. There is no other real way to make it happen; no one leather vamp hunk fits all.

– Attraction is a kind of sense of wonder in itself.

– Flimsy facades of wood laminate paste board masquerading as the numinous in fantasy are overdone; give us the paranormal real thing, solid through and through.

– Unexpected real events can be just as striking or more so that banally presented fantastic events (bird poop versus boring fairy).

– Cliches jade not only the reader but the author who is writing them.

– Fairies [other “monster” types] can be very different — we haven’t seen your unique version of them yet…

Stay tuned, coming up in a podcast I’ll talk to Paul Jessup about what he thinks is wrong with Urban Fantasy and how to fix it.

]]> Some good links! /some-good-links/ Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:44:45 +0000 http://www.talechasing.com/items/date/2008/04/08/some-good-links/ On Jeannie Frost’s livejournal she gives aspiring authors a chance to see that even if you are published you never stop learning to working to make yourself better. Read some of her articles as well as a short scene from “One Foot in the Grave“. Her website is under construction but is already looking good!

Also you might want to go over and bookmark the New Releases 2008 page on Urban Fantasy Land. Then start saving your money because you’re going to need it!

]]> Ep 10: Interview with Stacia Kane /ep-10-interview-with-stacia-kane/ /ep-10-interview-with-stacia-kane/#comments Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:20:13 +0000 http://www.talechasing.com/items/date/2008/03/28/ep-10-interview-with-stacia-kane/ I interview Stacia Kane, urban fantasy and erotic fiction author. Her newest book, Personal Demons is out in the next week or so! I recommend it highly. It’s an awesome read. And don’t listen to her when she says she’s a bad interview. She’s just modest! And now…Stacia Kane. 

The following were mentioned in the podcast (in no certain order)

Stacia Kane
Ellora’s Cave
December Quinn
Passionate Ink Online Writers Group
Romance Writers of America
Jackie Kessler : Cat and Muse

Promo:
The Writing Cast

]]> /ep-10-interview-with-stacia-kane/feed/ 1