Apr

28

Falling Down

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Oh, I’m falling down on the job here. I’m being distracted by Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. I’m about 3/4 of the way through it, and man, I’m loving it. I’ve learned a lot so far, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to discover that in what I’ve written for The Morgan Affair to this point has mostly followed what Brooks talks about – though it’s all happening as if I’m writing an 80k word book, not a 100k one.

I’m going to finish reading the book, then see what I need to do to rework what I’ve written so far. I’ve got too much invested just to scrap it all and start over. It likely means I’ll have to add in about 5k words near the front of the book, but then the rest – if I follow what Brooks suggests – should all fall into place.

Boy am I glad I’ve got index cards. :)

So, coming up shortly will be the next installment of the A to Z Challenge – the letter L.

Apr

22

100 Book Challenge: #19 – Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

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I actually read this a couple weeks ago, but just now got around to adding it to the record. My bad.

Turn Coat is the latest installment in the Dresden Files – which I discovered is planned to be a 20 book series! The plot is starting to move faster now, bigger stuff is hitting the fan, and Harry has likely bitten off more than he can chew – as usual. :)

I do love both of Butcher’s series. I just wish there were more hours in his days so he could write them faster. :)

Apr

22

100 Book Challenge: #18 – The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing by Minda Webber

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Yes, she’s one of the Van Helsings, of vampire slaying fame. Webber has created a world where fictional beings truly exist. Frankenstein created his monster, there are werewolves in London, and Dracul and his vampires plague the world. This is a really amusing story, and I enjoyed reading it.

Apr

22

100 Book Challenge: #17 – Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

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I had the distinct pleasure – and privilege – of briefly being in the same writer’s group as Ilona before Magic Bites came out. I love the premise of the series, and Kate Daniels is one of my favorite characters.

Apr

21

100 Book Challenge: #13 – #16 The Devil Inside, The Devil You Know and The Devil’s Due by Jenna Black

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I wish I remember where I first heard about Jenna Black. It might have been a recommendation from Amazon. I’m glad I paid attention to it. It’s interesting to see, though, that different stores shelve them in different places. At one Borders, the books were in Romance. At the Barnes & Noble near my inlaws, they were in Science Fiction/Fantasy section.

I can see why they might have been classified as romance. There’s definitely a romance plot, but I don’t think that it’s the reason for the story. Yes, Morgan has a boyfriend/lover and she’s worried about the bad guys hurting him. Yes, Morgan is fighting the attraction she feels for Lugh. And yes, there’s sex going on in the book, but a Romance (as in the genre) is a story where the main plot is about love. That’s not the case with the Morgan Kingsley books.

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