Friday, December 20, 2013

The Woodlands by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

The Woodlands, by Lauren Nicolle Taylor, is a YA dystopian novel that I happened on just by chance and really enjoyed, though the ending demands the sequel:  The Wall.  See the author interview for a story description and more information.

First, my grammatical issue: The novel contains many sentence fragments with only the "–ing" form of the verb, as if the clause should have been attached to the previous sentence.  Example:  "I burst into the Class on the first day.  Bleary-eyed, wiping my nose with my sleeve, smearing snot across my face."  Fragments can be powerful and punchy, but these just aren't.  They leave the reader waiting for the rest of the sentence.  It gets distracting after a while.

There are also several points which the author beats into us, over and over.  They would have been stronger if they'd been more subtle.

Otherwise, the writing is very good and draws the reader into the story and the characters. The plot is creepy and exciting and feels fresh for a dystopian novel.  Joseph, the love interest, is a little too perfect, but he's what we all want, so it's fun to read.  The other characters are interesting and distinctive.  I like Rosa's inner struggles and her defiance, which is much of the time so realistically undirected.  The setting and the world building are also good.

What I LOVE about The Woodlands is the way the society in this book has taken something good like racial tolerance and intermixing, and turned it disturbingly on its head.  The leaders encourage people not to see "own kind" but "all kind."  Sounds good, right?  They manipulate things to get as much interracial marriage as possible.  But this has turned into the same thing they were supposedly trying to avoid.  Cultural uniqueness is squashed.  Pure races are seen as inferior.  There's still racial prejudice and oppression, just aimed differently than it used to be.  Very, very profound.

The Woodlands is a good read, and thought-provoking.  I recommend it.

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Sunday, December 15, 2013

On Writing Comedy--Guest Post by Jillian Kleine Der Lowe

Hi all!  Here's a guest post from Jillian Kleine Der Löwe, who writes comedic fantasy.  Her book, Wicked, is free until December 19th on Amazon, so head on over there!


On Writing Comedy
by Jillian Kleine Der Löwe

I know that I cant get through reading a book if theres no comic relief whatsoever. Furthermore, I really cant get through a book if it doesnt have a decent blend between offbeat and quirky humor, sarcasm, satire and wit. Writing comedy comes just as naturally to me as breathing and I think that many authors can add another dimension into their writing if they too embrace comedy in all of its glory. Laughter truly is the best medicine Better even than an apple a day. A rapier-like wit can leave you giggling on the floor just as it can also implode the best laid plans of mice (and perhaps even some men too).

If youve never written comedy before, you dont need to go far for inspiration! Just watch some primetime television and youll be bombarded by the puns of the day on shows like Modern Family or 30 Rock. Why not turn to current events? The Daily Show and Colbert Report have got you covered! What about a blast from the past? Nothing beats a good ol Mel Brooks film Or an Airplane! Thats comedy at its finest.


The best part is that you can add comedy into any genre! RomZomCom Zombie gets girl. Zombie loves girl. Zombie loses girl. Zombie gets girl back again. Try adding comedy into a genre where it has never encroached before And lo and behold You have the newest IT thing Comedy + Whatever Genre You Choose ( Especially If Its Never Been Done Before ) = One Pie Of Awesomesauce Covered With Whipped Cream, Chocolate Ganache And Sprinkles!



Jillian Kleine Der Löwe originally dreamt of being a time traveler... Either that or the Supreme Empress of the whole entire bloody Universe. Since, those jobs are not yet available until she defies the laws of physics... She's settled with being an author

Website http://bit.ly/1azOBOL
Twitter http://bit.ly/IywKMn
Amazon Sales Page http://bit.ly/19L8SuW

Saturday, December 14, 2013

The Battle for Brisingamen, by Harmony Kent

The set-up of this book intrigued me:  Strange undersea artifacts, unexplained maritime phenomena, scientists and ship captains as main characters.  The book continued to be very imaginative, but it turned more Tolkienesque and lost a bit of its beginning uniqueness.

I found myself very distracted by the numerous comma splices, especially the ones where the punctuation made it hard to interpret.  Example:  "The dwarves and Irina were already running at full pelt, feeling useless he followed as fast as he could."  At first I thought "feeling useless" modified Irina and the dwarves running, so I had to stop and read it again.  This structure tripped me up over and over.

Another confusion arose from the lack of commas before the names of people addressed directly.  "We must leave Dirck" is entirely different than "We must leave, Dirck."  Or, in the more famous example:



Other than the comma issues, the work was well edited and nearly free of errors, with some very nicely written passages.

I really cared about Gemma, Dirck, Aarte, and Irina, whose personalities and desires were very clear to me, and whose happiness I wanted to see, but some of the many other characters blurred together.

I enjoyed the creative descriptions and explanations of vampires and rangers.

The ending was very well structured and satisfying.  If you like action scenes and epic fantasy, try this book.  

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Buy The Battle for Brisingamen now on Amazon:

Warning:  explicit adult situations



Thursday, December 12, 2013

My story to appear in Spark Anthology

I just sold my story, "Sand and Fire," to Spark Anthology!


When most of the colonists die in space on the long trip to New Eden, the remaining few carry on--some more enthusiastically than others.  But by-the-book optimism may not solve every problem they face in their new home.    

If you like "Sand and Fire," watch for other connected stories about the twenty-five colonists on New Eden.

"Sand and Fire" is scheduled to appear in Volume IV, the Jan 2014 speculative fiction issue..

If you want to check it out or pre-order (the e-book version is only $1.50 if you order now), go to Spark Anthology.    

Monday, December 9, 2013

Trust Your Readers

I blog over at Writers on the Move, and today's post is the first in a series about the importance of trusting your readers.  Part one:  the danger of showing and then telling. 

Telling:
He was angry.

Showing:
He slammed his fist against the table, stood up, and threw the telephone at the wall so hard the paint chipped.  

Showing and then telling:
He slammed his fist against the table, stood up, and threw the telephone at the wall so hard the paint chipped.  He was angry.  .
.  
Give your reader some credit for figuring it out.  For more examples and advice, check out my post.  

If you're a writer, Writers on the Move has a lot of great information on writing, publishing, and marketing.  

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Mini Blog Tour--Far-Knowing

I'm doing a mini blog tour next week for Far-Knowing, my YA fantasy.  Check out these links on the appropriate dates (or any time afterwards) to see my guest posts, author interviews, and book excerpts, and to support the generous bloggers who are hosting stops.

December 8—  Gothic Ballerina—Guest Post
December 10—TheBook Drifter—Excerpt
December 11Inkand Paper—Author Interview and Review
December 12Forceof Nature—Author Interview


Far-Knowing
by Melinda Brasher

After the Chaos Mage traps their mentor within a deadly spell, two apprentice mages set off to find and defeat this menace to the kingdom. But how can these inexperienced young women possibly track down and battle the sort of man who destroys villages with summoned wind or fire just for fun? They've learned no aggressive magic and never tested themselves against a real enemy.

Kallinesha, still an apprentice after seven years, struggles against her lack of raw magical power, compensating instead with discipline and study. Daughter of the High Commander, driven relentlessly by the duty in her blood, she knows they can defeat the Chaos Mage and safeguard the kingdom.

Ista, a commoner and daughter of a city baker, harbors no such delusions. But after only three years of study, her power burns much brighter than Kallinesha's. The task before them terrifies her, but she loves her mentor too much to let her waste away under the Chaos Mage's spell. Not if there's the slimmest chance of saving her.


The two have never been able to get along while studying magic. Will they be able to work together now when so much is at stake?


Friday, December 6, 2013

Slated, by Terri Terry

Slated is a YA dystopian novel, taking place in England.  I love the premise.  Juvenile delinquents have their memories erased so that they can become good citizens again.  Kyla, the main character, thus doesn't remember who she is or what she did or how things work in this world that's new to her.  Lots of creepiness ensues. 

Quibbles:  It could have been a bit more subtle, and no one ever uses contractions in dialogue, which makes it sometime sound stilted.  The ending left me a little unsatisfied, without enough mysteries answered, and with a big cliffhanger.  However, since it's the first of a series, the cliffhanger works if you can wait for the next installment.  

Point of honor:  I loved watching Kyla re-discover things about the world and learn to fool her mood monitor.  The relationships within her new family are intriguing..  The story brims with suspense without resorting to lots of violence—something that's getting more and more rare in our car-chase-bloody-murder world.  And, as I said, the premise rocks.  I'm still thinking about it, and I read it months ago.

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Sunday, November 24, 2013

Author of the Week--That's Me!

I'm the Author of the Week at Goodreads' Big Fat Indie Author group! Fellow writers and readers will be posting reviews of my books and information on their blogs.  Here's the list so far.  I'll add links as they go live.

Harmony Kent
I am, Indeed
Dream State
Chuckles Book Cave


Two young mage apprentices,
a spell of far-knowing gone wrong,
and an enemy they'd be foolish to think they can defeat. 

Buy Far-Knowing on Amazon

A train breaks down in a snowstorm
Revenge backfires
A girl searches for a ghost from the past
Short stories and travel essays





Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Matt Galeone--The Champion of Clarendon Ditch

Matt Galeone, a fellow writer on Goodreads, has written a sci-fi/super hero series, The Champion of Clarendon Ditch.  Check out the great cover art of the first book, The Hatching.  For all of November and December, he will donate 5% of the proceeds of his sales to his local city park, to help improve the community.  Find The Hatching on Amazon.

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Saturday, November 9, 2013

New Young Adult Fantasy Novel

Far-Knowing, my YA Fantasy, came out last week on Amazon and Smashwords.  Soon I hope to see it on B&N, Kobo, Sony, Apple, etc. 
Here's what people are saying in reviews on Amazon and Smashwords:

"There is something so desperate and hopeless about the two young mages being sent out on a quest against an adversary who completely outclasses them. One of the mages is dangerously overconfident and has a lot to prove. The other is introspective, cautious, and hesitant. But to top it off, our two heroines don't like each other and can't get along. Quite interesting to read about what happens to their ill-conceived mission (and those in the background pulling the strings.)"

"Other stories might have magic that makes a person invisible, but Brasher creates magicians who can simply distract people from noticing them. I swear I’ve known people who seem to have this skill and it’s this “almost reality” sense throughout the story that makes me Love it.
Oh, and the twists in this story! Far Knowing not only has a great blend of foreshadowed changes and sudden surprises, but they also harmonize..."

Click below to read it for yourself:



Sunday, November 3, 2013

Using Setting as a Marketing Tool

If you have a novel with a real setting, you can take advantage of that setting and the huge travel industry to gain exposure and hook new readers.  Read my entire post at Writers on the Move.  

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Writing on Paper

Today—Halloween—my parents and I went out to lunch and then Mom wanted to do a bit of shopping next door.  I finished long before she did, but I had what we call an entertainment device—an old-fashioned paper notebook to work on my writing in.  So I went out to the parking lot and started pacing around the car and writing.

I'd hardly put down three sentences when a man in a nearby car called out, "Are you drawing?"

"Writing," I told him.

He laughed.  "I didn't know what you were doing," he said.  "I thought you were drawing on the run."

"Writing on the run," I corrected.  He smiled and drove off. 

Fast forward ten minutes or so.  Still pacing (to work off a few of the lunch calories).  Still writing (by hand).  A woman approached me.  "What the bleep are you doing by my car?" she yelled.  Yelled.  I was about two parking spaces away from her car.  "And what the bleep are you writing?"

My first tendency is to answer questions, and apparently that tendency holds through even with such antagonistic and crudely worded questions.  "I'm just writing stories," I said.  "And this is my car."  I pointed to the vehicle hardly a foot behind me. 

With one last glare, she huffed into her car and sped off.

What the heck?  Now, it was Halloween.  And I was in costume.  But was I a scary devil or psycho butcher or vampire?  No.  I was Cinderella (pre fairy godmother).  Not so intimidating.

Has our society degenerated to a point where it's suspicious to write on paper?  Do people walking through the parking lot texting on their phones get questioned twice in the space of fifteen minutes?  Do people swear at them?  Maybe what I should have said was, "I'm writing.  I don't know if you know what writing is, but it's like texting on paper."


What is to become of us?  

Monday, October 28, 2013

Far-Knowing, a new fantasy novel by Melinda Brasher

Nothing holds more danger than the things you think you know.

Kallinesha, daughter of the High Commander, with glory on her mind and duty in her blood, knows many things.  She knows that her father is the noblest man in the kingdom.  She knows that hard work and study trump raw magical talent, even talent as strong as that of her cowardly commoner companion, Ista.  She also knows that she can kill the ruthless Chaos Mage and prove herself worthy of her family name.

Ista, daughter of a city baker, knows a few things too.  She knows that Kallinesha has no heart and that none of the protectors can be trusted.  Most importantly, she knows that her beloved mage mistress is never wrong, and sending them out here alone to face the Chaos Mage must therefore be right, no matter how it terrifies her.
The man they pursue knows only that he won't let two inexperienced girls ruin everything.

They're all wrong.

Far-Knowing

by Melinda Brasher

Available November 1, 2013

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

"Defense Mechanisms" by Amber Michelle Cook

Indie Author Spotlight:

Defense Mechanisms, by Amber Michelle Cook

An imaginative child, Janey left childhood far behind as soon as older children and adults began to tease her for it. On her 30th birthday, the first Pulse hits and drives her to seek shelter in a one-of-a-kind indoor playland for grown-ups called the Imaginarium. When the place is attacked by urban looters, she becomes an unwilling 'defender of imagination.' Don't deny who you really are.
      -From Smashwords Description

This novella switches between Janey's modern-day story and the tale of Ozanne, a woman fighting to defend the magical Tanglewood.  I enjoyed the clever parallels of the two stories, down to the main characters counting to ten—for different reasons—at the same time.

I also like the brother/sister main character pairs.  That's not the usual combo, and it's refreshing.

I think the story might have benefitted from a little more development before leaping into the action, both so the reader can establish more rapport with the characters and to clear up bits of confusion.  Some of the magic and motivations remain unclear throughout the story.

The writing could be a little tighter, but I enjoyed some of the casual plays with words, like this, "I'd been in a me-and-a-tree auto accident."

The imaginarium Janey and her brother are defending has some interesting details, like the staircase that plays different musical notes on each step.  I would love to explore a place like that.

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Click if you want to read Defense Mechanisms.


For an interview with this author, read on
Questions by Melinda Brasher
Answers by Amber Michelle Cook

Q: Have you ever been to a place like the Imaginarium in Defense Mechanisms? If you could build one right now, what would your favorite part be?

The Imaginarium is inspired by the City Museum in St. Louis, MO.  One of my favorite places on the planet.  There's more about it in the bonus material at the end of DEFENSE MECHANISMS, including a link to a video I made out of my pictures and video clips and put up on YouTube.  

Oh, I like this question.  I love color and light, so there would be places to play with over-sized prisms of all shapes and sizes, overlapping colored light to produce endless varieties of chromatic shadows, and all kinds of things to do with (soap) bubbles.  

Q: When you write, do you make details plans or do you write by the seat of your pants? 

I fully believe in both.  I adore NaNoWriMo for getting me to start writing stories without much conscious thought, because of all the unexpected stuff that comes out.  But a quality story doesn't happen by accident.  Plot and character arcs, good pacing and rising tension to an engaging finale with satisfying resolution is craft, it's skill, which involves outlining and analysis.  There's joy in the initial execution, and power in the labor of rewrites and editing that together make it happen.  

Q: What can we expect to see from you in the future? 

I wrote for a long time before starting to release books, to make sure I had studied the craft well.  Another advantage of this is that I have more books coming, and soon.  My first two are novellas (urban fairy tales), these will be full-length novels.  

The next one, coming soon, is SLEEPWAKING—a modern adaptation of THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS with an adult Alice in an urbanized version of Wonderland: 

Flying in for her first job as a freelance consultant, the day turns into an ambush on Alice’s self-esteem when she finds herself effectively having two bosses.  She gratefully escapes to Wonderland, where the Red Queen assigns Alice to a living chess game as a Pawn.  With each ‘move,' Alice encounters colorfully eccentric characters who challenge her to the trials and tribulations of being shy in a quest to overcome self-doubt. 

After that is the first book of the NIGHT OF THE VICTORIAN DEAD trilogy:  

In which Jane Eyre meets Gosford Park in Night of the Living Dead—where imagination and suspense reign over splatter-gore, and the knowing modern reader can enjoy accompanying unsuspecting characters down the road to the inevitable, while themselves encountering mysteries and unexpected twists along the way.  

And then I have another urban fairy tale, THE FAIRY TALE ABDUCTEES, to polish up and release.

Q: What are some good books you've read lately?

I've been reading Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict series, which are far-future archeology adventure mystery stories.  Good reads.

I've read a couple by one of my favorite authors, Jasper Fforde, both his THE THIRD BEAR and SHADES OF GREY.  NOT the erotica book by a similar name, but a highly imaginative satire where our future society is classed by the color spectrum people are able to see.  THE THIRD BEAR is the second in his Nursery Crime series, which are more fun than a bag of wiener dogs.  

And Elizabeth Gaskill's NORTH AND SOUTH, a Victorian novel of class society, human nature and romance, where North and South are the clashing industrial versus the rural parts of England in the mid 1800s.  

Q: How can your readers contact you?

My website, www.ambermichellecook.com, has links for Twitter, my Facebook author page, the Goodreads author profile where people can message me, as well as a contact form.  

First contact welcome [grin].  

Thanks so much Melinda, and the very best to you and your blog!


*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Friday, October 18, 2013

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver

Fantastic book.  Great first line:  "It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure."  Love (amor deliria nervosa) is the root of all things evil.  After the cure, love (and any strong desire) is gone.  People are safe.  But of course the government is totally repressive, locking up all resisters and sympathizers and not being subtle about it.  I think that aspect could be a little more restrained, with a less cardboard-tyrannical government. But it's still great. 

As for the writing, I'm not sure what this fad is with the present tense.  I generally find it annoying.  Lauren Oliver does a really good job with it here, so I don't mind it so much, but I think it might have been even better in past.  Oliver also rather overuses the word "winged," all figuratively.  Otherwise, the writing was really good:  powerful and smooth and absorbing. 

GREAT opening.  Great voice of the heroine who looks forward to the cure, who buys into all the lies about love.  Until she starts to see the truth.

The book is heavy on the romance—maybe not everyone's cup of tea—but though I'm not a huge romance reader, I loved it.  I felt everything right along with Lena, and that's not something that happens with every book.  Their love is passionate:  heart and soul and body, and a little on the obsessive side, but to me it wasn't so much in the creepy obsessive way, but more in the way of someone who's been repressed by the system finally finding truth and freedom and letting go.  Alex is a little too perfect to be real, but so is Mr. Knightly in Emma, and Jane Austen has certainly passed the test of time.  

Delirium has great tension, delirious love, good politics, a scary possible future, and intriguing ethical issues.  The ending is heart-thumping and sad, yet satisfying.  It could stand alone, but I totally want to read the next one.  Oliver weaves great themes and refrains and symbols through the story from beginning to end.  The quotes at the beginnings of the chapters are powerful and creepy, not the sort of thing I wanted to skip over, as I usually do with that particular device.

There may be some plot and world-building improbabilities, but I was so caught up in the story that I didn't care.  Great job, Lauren Oliver.    

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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Perception, by D.Jean Quarles

Indie Author Spotlight

Perception, by D. Jean Quarles

What happens when we die? Is it the end of everything? Or another beginning? What about coincidences? What are they really? Perhaps there is more. Perhaps everything depends upon your perception.

Greg has lost a wife and Rachel, her young son. Both find answers where they never expected and in the process they find so much more.
                                      -Book Description from Amazon

I love books that both entertain me and make me think.  Perception succeeded.  I really enjoyed the information about psychic phenomena, and the questions posed about coincidence, doubt, perception, and life after death.  Unlike some books taking on big topics like this, the characters remain center stage, instead of serving as a backdrop for philosophy.  I liked all the main characters, and got drawn into their stories:  their heartaches, their uncertainties, and their possibilities of happy endings.

Quarles' writing is pretty smooth, though it has its idiosyncrasies.  There are a few small tense issues, like when Quarles sticks unnaturally to past simple when some of the other past tenses in a writer's arsenal would serve better.  I also find it odd that most or all of her characters, from different regions of the US and different walks of life, use the construction "I've a dog" instead of the much more common American "I've got a dog" or "I have a dog."  However, the writing overall is clear, with some very powerful passages.

Her depiction of Greg's and Rachel's grief in the beginning is exceptional.  Raw and realistic and compelling.

The story moves along at a good pace, following three sets of characters.  It's never a drag to return to one set of characters, like it often is in stories told this way.  Part of this might be the way we know they are all going to come together in the end, and we want to see how it happens.  The ending of the novel is pitch perfect.

Perception, by D. Jean Quarles, made me wonder about certain experiences in my own life, which makes it the type of book you don't just forget.  With its lovable characters and fascinating details about the psychic world, Perception is an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

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Buy it on Amazon


And for an Exclusive interview with this talented writer, read on:
Questions by Melinda Brasher
Answers by D.Jean Quarles

Q.) Perception deals with the psychic world and messages from the dead.  What kind of research did you do on psychic phenomena?

A.) I absolutely loved the research I did for Perception! Previous to writing perception, I edited a non-fiction biography of a woman spiritualist. Her story intrigued me and even though a number of years had passed, when the idea for Perceptioncame, I found myself drawing on some of the information she'd imparted for her book. I also read a number of books by authors exploring everything from life after death to those related to psychic phenomena. In my research, I found that spiritualism as a religion was still practiced. I became even more excited when I learned that a congregation met close to my home in Arizona. There are actually a number of churches and they tend to have services very similar to what I described inPerception. Finally, my research led me to a number of conferences and seminars relating to life after death where psychic demonstrations were commonplace.

Q.)  Have you or anyone you know had contact with spirits of loved ones who have passed on? 

A.) I had just completed the first draft of Perception when my mother passed. Suddenly I found myself surrounded by butterflies. They seemed to follow me everywhere. I'd drive down the interstate and turn my head and see bushes filled with orange and black, or they would flutter around my head getting my attention when I sat outside in the hammock. Also, butterflies came in other strange ways. My father sent me a package of jewelry. One entire small box was filled with butterfly pins I'd never seen before. A woman I knew sent me a photograph of orange flowers, and a white butterfly was caught in the background. 

I was finishing the final edits when my father passed. He died at home, as he'd wished. My brothers and I stayed for several weeks, settling the estate. One evening late at night, long after everyone else had retired, I sat alone with the television on. I rose and turned it off, leaving the room to go into the kitchen. Moments later the television turned back on. In fact, each evening, one of us saw some display that could not be explained - lights flickered, came on, went off, radios played, and breezes blew through closed windows. 

Because of the topic of my book, I've also had a number of people contact me telling me of their own similar experiences. The best conversation though occurred with my daughter. Her family had lost a beloved pet. Her son asked if they would ever see him again? Her response surprised me. "Of course you will, just like we see Grandma and Grandpa all the time, we'll see Cider." They then proceeded to discuss how their beloved dog would reincarnate. After, I had to ask, apparently my parents often visited my daughter's home.

Q.)  You wrote Perception from the point of view of different characters.  Who was your favorite to write?

A.) When writing, I like to find myself in different character's heads. With Perception, Eileen, the grandmother of a young psychic child allowed me to explore how it would feel to have a child you wanted to protect, but at the same time, nurture - a child who some would say had a gift and others would feel was touched. It was a perspective that challenged me as a parent and grandparent. I gave her a lot of thought. When I was young, a sweet lady from London lived across the street  and thought speaking to the dead was absolutely normal when my best friend, her daughter, did it. I never had the feeling my own family would have been so accepting. 

Q.)  What other books do you have out?  Tell us about them.

A.) For a number of years I lived in Wyoming. There is something special about living in an area where most American cities have a greater population than the entire state. I wrote Rocky's Mountains and Fire in the Hole to showcase the wildness and hardship that can be found in Wyoming. I also am working with co-author, Austine Etcheverry, on a young adult science fiction series titled The Exodus. It begins in Wyoming with a number of high school students and a catastrophic earthquake caused by alien beings. The first book, Flight from the Water Planet, was just joined by the second book, House of Glass released this month. Our Secret Lives, the story of three generations of women is in the final stages of edits and should be out before the end of this year. 

Q.)  What writing plans do you have for the future?

A.) I am currently working on a novel about reincarnation. This one allows me to be in the head of one person, so to speak, but multiple lifetimes and genders. We have also started writing the third book in The Exodus series which mostly takes place on a planet far away and means creating a new world.

Q.)  Do you have any recommendations of other books your readers might enjoy?

I hope Perception leaves readers thinking. Another great read that leaves you thinking about your life here and the one hereafter is A Brief History of the Dead

Q.)  Where can fans contact you? 

A.) My blog, A Write Life can be found at djeanquarles.blogspot.com. You can also find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djean.quarles. I am a GoodReads and Amazon.com author and my books can be found for both Kindle and Nook. 


Thank you Melinda for the opportunity to share this with your readers. I would love to hear their stories.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

How to read an e-book if you don't have an e-reader

With the increasing popularity of e-books, and with some books now only available in digital format, if you don't have an e-reader, you may feel out of the loop.  You don’t have to.  Kindles, Nooks, and other e-readers (like Sony e-reader, Kobo, etc) are great devices.  However, there are various ways to read e-books without them.  Here are three options.

Option 1:  Use Amazon's Cloud Reader (updated 3/31/17)

1)  Go to www.amazon.com.  
2)  Sign in (or sign up for a free account, if you don't already have one.)
3)  Find the book and click "buy now."  You'll have to provide credit card info if you haven't already.
4)  After the transaction goes through, click "read now."  It'll open the book in a cloud reader, which works a lot like a Kindle.  Being on the cloud means that it's out there in cyber space, not on your actual computer.  You can read it from any internet computer.
5)  To get back to it later, sign in to your account on Amazon, double-click on "Account and Lists," currently near the top right corner by your user name.  Scroll down to the Digital Content section.  Click on "Content and Devices."
6)  Find the book you want to read, and right next to the title, under the "actions" column, choose "read now."  If you later buy a Kindle, you can deliver it to your Kindle.    

ALTERNATIVE:  Download the free Kindle App for your smart phone, tablet, etc.  Here are the specifics of how to download the Kindle App

Option 2:  Make your computer into an e-reader

There are various free programs that can basically turn your computer into an e-reader. One easy option is Adobe Digital Editions Home, which works with e-books from Barnes and Noble and many other e-book sellers.

2)  Choose windows or mac, and follow the download instructions.  Once it installs, you're ready to start downloading e-books.
3)  Go to BarnesandNoble.com and find the book you want to download.  Be sure to choose the Nook Book (e-book) version and click "Buy now."
4)  If you don't have a Barnes and Noble account, you'll have to sign up for one, including your credit card information.  Follow the directions there.
5)  Once you've bought it, go to your Nook Library and click "Download." 
6)  Click on the downloaded file.  It should open in the Digital Editions program you just installed.  In my version, you then have to click "add to library" if you want to have easy access to it later.  You can easily bookmark your place and come back to it later.
7)  Read and enjoy. 
8)  On my computer, you can access your library later from a "My Digital Editions" folder in "My Documents."

Option 3:  Download a PDF from SMASHWORDS

If it's an independently published book, and the author has put it on smashwords.com, there's another option:  a PDF download.  PDFs work on most computers without much trouble, without having to download any special program, but they have fewer book reading options, like convenient bookmarking and easy font size manipulation.

1)  Go to www.smashwords.com
2)  In the search box, type the author of book title and click the search button.
3)  Find the correct book and click on it.  Then click "Add to cart."
4)  It'll prompt you to log in.  If you're not already a user, you'll have to make yourself an account and give them your credit card information, just as you would on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  No internet transaction is completely safe, of course, but this is an established site used by many people.
5)  Once you've set up your account, proceed to checkout or click "download."
6)  You'll have various options that look like this:
7)  Download the PDF. 
8)  When the PDF opens (you may have to click on a box somewhere, like the bottom left corner, depending on your operating system), save it somewhere convenient on your computer.  One way to do this is the  "save a copy" command under "file."  It may give you a message about how you can't save changes.  Click okay.
8)  Read and enjoy. 


Saturday, September 28, 2013

Bear Down, Bear North, by Melinda Moustakis

Bear Down, Bear North; Alaska Stories, is a collection of loosely connected literary short stories by Melinda Moustakis.  Where many writings about Alaska make Alaska itself the main character, this collection is more about the small cast of characters who live in Alaska, who are certainly shaped by it and irrevocably connected to it, but not secondary to it.

It's very literary:  disjointed in a way that ends up making sense, like an impressionist painting.  Close up, it's just a bunch of random brushstrokes.  The further you step back, the more it resolves itself into a coherent picture.  It also fits my other definitions of literary fiction:  grim, roughly poetic, and sometimes difficult to follow. 

Several of the stories are written in tiny seemingly unrelated snippets, and the stories vary widely in voice, style, content, and point of view.  There's even one in second person—one of the more powerful uses I've seen of the unpopular point of view. 

While I can admire the style, which takes both talent and practiced skill, it's not my favorite type of reading.  I had a hard time keeping the characters straight across different stories, which didn't really hurt the individual stories but which annoyed me.

Moustakis approaches her subjects from intriguing angles, and fills her writing with unique details.  This makes it an absorbing read.  It's interesting and powerful in its literary way.  For me, though, it's a goose liver paté sort of  book:  gourmet and good to experience now and then, but not what I want every day for lunch.      


Warning:  coarse language and lots of unexplained fishing jargon.  
My rating:  3+

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Alaska Animals 2013

Just got back from my trip to Alaska and Canada.  GREAT trip.
Here's the animal count:

Whales
Dolphins
Orcas (killer whales)
Otters (one river otter and many sea otters)
Seals
Mountain Goats
Bear (only one, from far away, but VERY cool circumstances--more later)
Deer
Salmon Jumping
Bald Eagles
Lots of other birds (but no puffins)
Marmots

I don't have many good pictures of the aforementioned animals.  I was too busy gawking and wishing I had researched and bought a better camera.  But I have lots of pictures of mountains and such.  Watch for them in future posts.  

And if you have any questions about Alaska, ask!

If you want to know more about how to see some of these beautiful animals for yourself, 
check out my new book on Amazon:   Cruising Alaska on a Budget,

Friday, August 23, 2013

Quick Update on Leaving Home

Far-Knowing, my collection of short stories, flash fiction, and travel essays, is now available at Kobo.  Soon it will appear on Apple ibooks, the Sony Reader Store, and Barnes and Noble.  

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Leaving Home, by Melinda Brasher

Available now:  Leaving Home, my collection of short stories, flash fiction, and travel essays.

Love Mysteries and Thrillers?  Read about a blackmailer who makes a mistake, a businesswoman who reluctantly smuggles drugs, an internet romance that may not be what it seems, and a vacationer living in fear on a cruise ship.

Fantasy and Science Fiction Fan?  You'll especially enjoy "Ethereal," where fairy godmother magic comes from an unexpected source.  In other stories, a pirate boy finds love, a scientist studies mermaids, and a maiden leaves her tower.

Short on Time?  Try the several pieces of flash fiction, which deliver complete stories in under two minutes.

Like to Discover New Places and Cultures while you Read?  I've captured some of my favorite travel moments, like the day I played bridge with five tipsy Polish retirees and the morning I hiked through Mayan ruins in darkness in order to see the sun rise over the jungle.  I touch on communism in Eastern Europe, the importance of a traveler's towel, and the international language of dance. 

Just Want a Good Story?  Feel the pain of a young father leaving home, a jealous sister whose revenge backfires, and a daughter struggling for her father's acceptance.  Enjoy "On the Train to Warsaw," a contest-winning story about a group of strangers who learn to see each other differently when their train breaks down in the middle of a snowy winter.

Only $1.99 on 
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Sony Reader Store
Smashwords.com  (available in many forms, including PDF if you don't have an e-reader)
and other retailers



Friday, August 9, 2013

Why we like fantasy

Just thought I'd share a great quote:  

"Logic only gives man what he needs.  Magic gives him what he wants."
—The Idiot, from Another Roadside Attraction  by Tom Robbins

Monday, August 5, 2013

"Dragonfly," by Julia Golding

Dragonfly is my genre!  An elusive, inexplicably uncommon genre:  like fantasy with no magic, no strange creatures.  It's a world that follows our laws of physics but has its own culture.  Not bound historical fiction truths.  It allows for great world building and effective social commentary.  I love writing this genre, and would love reading it if I could find more than a handful of books like this.  One reviewer described it as "fantasy cultures written in a realistic fashion."  Exactly.  Others described it disparagingly as "lacking any fantastic elements."  Sharon Shinn's General Winston's Daughter is one of the few other books I know that really fits in this category, and I remember people on Amazon grousing, "Where's the magic?"  I find it very refreshing and fun to read.  

That said, this book does have a few issues.  The head-hopping disoriented me.  In writers' terminology, head hopping means changing point of view from character to character within a scene, so that we know the thoughts of multiple characters.  This is different from books that switch the point-of-view character from chapter to chapter or scene to scene, like Game of Thrones.  Head-hopping is usually quite unbalanced:  we know mostly one or two characters' thoughts, but a minor character sticks his in here and there when convenient for the plot.  This is actually quite a standard style for older books, but most modern novels are limited omniscient, so I found it distracting.         

Some of the changes in Tashi's character are too abrupt.  She goes from formal and restrained to wild and emotional a bit too soon, but I could allow it.  The change I couldn't swallow was when she loses her faith—a major my-world-is-destroyed, who-am-I sort of state of mind.  Then Ramil talks to her for a minute and is like, "Maybe this is the Goddess's plan for you, even if it doesn't feel like it.  Don't lose heart."  And instantly she's faithful and happy again.  It would never be that simple.        

There is also a lot of modern language in Dragonfly.  The worst example, from page 71, goes like this:  "I'm sorry you feel like that, Prince, because it's no use getting all hot and bothered about her."  Hot and Bothered?  

However, I liked the story.  I enjoyed the fast-paced adventure and I really loved the culture clash.  It's a premise I like, no matter how many times I read or watch it:  characters forced into a marriage of convenience, who don't like each other at first, but who then fall in love.  It was fun to watch some of the minor characters, especially the endearing circus strongman.   

I love alternate world fantasy.  I hope more people write and publish this genre in the future. 

My rating:  3