LisaHartjes.com » books

Falling Down

Lisa — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:51:43 +0000

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.
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Falling Down originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on April 28, 2011.

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

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:02:25 +0000

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. Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #19 – Turn Coat by Jim Butcher originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on April 22, 2009.

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

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:51:27 +0000

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.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #18 – The Reluctant Miss Van Helsing by Minda Webber originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on April 22, 2009.

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

Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:42:45 +0000

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.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #17 – Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on April 22, 2009.

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

Lisa — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:01:51 +0000

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.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #13 – #16 The Devil Inside, The Devil You Know and The Devil’s Due by Jenna Black originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on April 21, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #12 – Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Lisa — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:11:29 +0000

I enjoyed this book. The way Hobb described things rambled on quite a bit in places, but I still got vivid images in my imagination.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #12 – Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on March 25, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #10 and #11 – Captain’s Fury and Princep’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Lisa — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:34:28 +0000

I read these two books on the weekend, and am now caught up with both the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera series. So, are you listening, Mr. Butcher? Write faster! I want more books of yours to read.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #10 and #11 – Captain’s Fury and Princep’s Fury by Jim Butcher originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on March 17, 2009.

100 Book Challenge #7 – 9: Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

Lisa — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:40:51 +0000

I took a break from being on the computer today – my right hand was sore and swollen something fierce – so I decided to do a bit of reading. I really enjoyed Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study. Snyder’s got good characterization and excellent world building. The only thing that troubles me was the mention of the fer de lance – a pit viper that’s found in tropical regions of the Americas. The problem wasn’t that she had the snake – it was in the correct region of her world, so it’s not. She’s got other things from our world in hers – horses, lianas, and ylang-ylang trees to name just a few. But she’s also got valmur and necklace snakes. Matt pointed out that it might be the fact fer de lance is French (fer de lance is French for lance head, a pretty good description of the shape of the snake’s head), while everything else is either English or some other exotic/unusual name.

He could be right. World building is such a tricky thing, and the oddest things can catch you out. I wonder if anyone else got caught by fer de lance, or if I’m just the strange one.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge #7 – 9: Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on March 9, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #6 – Academ’s Fury by Jim Butler

Lisa — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:24:00 +0000

Matt gave me Furies of Calderon for Christmas, thinking I’d enjoy it since I like Butler’s Dresden Files series. He was right. Academ’s Fury is the second in the Codex Alera series, and I’m going to be getting the rest of them soon.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #6 – Academ’s Fury by Jim Butler originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on February 27, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #5-ish – The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

Lisa — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:45:02 +0000

Yeah, it’s a kids’ book, and currently one of my daughter’s favorites. I say it counts. Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #5-ish – The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on February 23, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #4 – The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo

Lisa — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:55:12 +0000

Man, that was a really fun read. And you can read it too! Until February 24, 2004 you can read it online for free.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #4 – The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on February 19, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #3 – Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow

Lisa — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:35:55 +0000

I bought this book last year, put it in my “to be read” pile, and promptly forgot about the pile. I really enjoyed it, and will go grab the other books in the series soon.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #3 – Working for the Devil by Lilith Saintcrow originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on February 17, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #2 – The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Lisa — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:01:56 +0000

My son got this book for Christmas, and I wanted to give it a read. I think it’s definitely deserving of the Newberry Award.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #2 – The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on February 16, 2009.

100 Book Challenge: #1 – Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs

Lisa — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:59:22 +0000

There’s a “challenge” going across the web to read 100 books in a year. Sounds like fun, so I thought I’d participate. So, by February 15, 2010, I need to have read 100 books. It’ll be interesting to see if I can do it.

To see the list of books I’ve read, click on the 100 Book Challenge category.

The first book I’m counting for this is Patricia Briggs’ Bone Crossed.Similar Posts:

100 Book Challenge: #1 – Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs originally appeared on LisaHartjes.com on February 15, 2009.