I spent an hour browsing free books from BookBub this morning, but couldn’t find any that interested me. So I thought I’d give a shout-out for a bookbubber that led to good reading, Lindsay Buroker.
The Emperor’s Edge is the first in the series, and it’s available for free as I write this. Lindsay creates memorable and fun characters in a steampunk world, Inventive and fast-paced, I recommend that you give it a look. After reading the first three in a free BookBub offer, I went on to buy the rest of the series.
I ask for your help.
The Kickstarter campaign for my word game, FlipIt, only has a few days to run. I doubt it will succeed, but have to keep trying. I’m asking that you visit the page if you will, but more than that just pass along the link to friends and family. Trust me, it truly is fun, more fun than Scrabble. Here’s the link: http://kck.st/2zFnzbe.
BookLife, a website by Publisher’s Weekly, has an article titled "The Indie Author's Guide to Paid Reviews" that might be useful to you. It includes advice on Pros and Cons, How to Prepare, and The Major Players.
Speaking of reviews, here’s a new unpaid one from Amazon for Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling:
"Thank you Ray Rhamey for putting into one book so much of what we need to know as writers. This book, unlike a number of craft books, is an easy and entertaining read. More importantly, it captures in one place so much great stuff to take your writing from 'meh' to powerful. I found so many answers in my first reading and you can bet I'll be using it as reference in the future."
Signed print copies available here, Kindle edition available here.
Over at Huffpost is an article on “This Spring’s Hottest Teen Books.” There are a number of YA writers who submit to FtQ and, I suspect, a number who also read YA novels—I’m one of them. I enjoyed The Hunger Games and then the Divergent series.
These new books are not all dystopian fiction—the range is wide, from dragons to humor, from sports to dystopian worlds. To quote from the article:
A devastating tale of greed and secrets, a weirdly compelling novel about the end of the world (and voracious giant praying mantises) and a novel about a brutal game called Panic that teens play for a chance to escape their dead-end town. They are all among the most talked-about teen novels being released this spring (and they’re all really well-written, to boot—most of these books have received the coveted Kirkus star).
I, for one, will be checking out the reviews that are linked from the slide show.
CALL FOR INDIE BOOKS
Want to promote your book or books on FtQ? I'd like to start a new Monday FtQ feature, the FtQ Indie Bookshelf--ebooks and print books welcome. If you'd like your independently published book featured, email as attachments:
I read a novel recently that I liked a lot, so I thought I’d do an FtQish review. I’ll give you the first page to flog, but first, I discovered when I made contact with the author that there’s a little bit of FtQ in his path to publication.
Clayton Lindemuth’s new novel is Cold Quiet Country. Clayton has an agent, one of Donald Maass’s team, which speaks very well for the caliber of his storytelling.
Clayton tells me that back in 2008, when he was working on this novel, he started reading Flogging the Quill, and what he got here on story questions influenced his storytelling to a large degree.
I suggest you read Clayton not only for his storytelling, but for his extremely adept use of voice. The narrative is told from two first-person points of view, primarily, and one third-person point of view. I’ve always thought it could be difficult to separate two first-person POVs, but Clayton carries it off magically well. If for nothing else, read Cold Quiet Country for a lesson in using voice.
Below is his first chapter. From FtQ standards, it may not score high on story questions, but I would have given it a go because of the voice. He manages to create a character (and not a nice one) with that voice. Whether you would turn this page or not, I strongly recommend that you read the novel. It’s dark, violent, tragic, and yet still about the power of love.
Before that, though, I’ll give you two more things to chew on. First is that on December 25th Clayton is offering free Kindle downloads of his second novel, Nothing Save the Bones Inside Her. I read an excerpt, and I’ll be downloading the book.
Back to Cold Quiet Country, here’s a blurb from his website:
Gale G’Wain is in trouble. Nineteen, half-frozen, wounded, and fleeing the blizzard scene where murder victim Burt Haudesert lay with a pitch fork run through his neck, Gale holes up in a house left empty.
Sheriff Bittersmith stalks after two sets of footprints in the snow with deputies, hounds, and the fury of a forty-year sheriff who has one day to bring a murderer to justice, before his job is taken by an upstart with political connections.
Gwen, the victim’s seventeen year old daughter, is somewhere in the blizzard.
And nothing is as it seems. Gale fights the impossible good fight. Sheriff Bittersmith is the locus of evil that’s kept a sleepy town under spell for half a century, and Gwen knows when people are going to die because she hears what she calls “the bullfrog song.”
When she hears it for Gale, will she save him,,,
Or herself?
Now for the first page. The usual poll follows.
Got my eye on a purty waitress across the street named Jeanine; been telling myself for two years that one day I’d visit her on this desk.
Sonsabitches want to run me out? Sheriff Bittersmith, run out?
Only thing left to go in the box is my coffee mug. Soon as I dump the last cold swallow and run it under the sink, I’m going to prop my feet on the corner of my desk and wait for noon, walk over there for a wedge of cherry pie, see about Jeanine.
I’m grumbling out loud and Fenny watches from her desk. Women age twice as fast. Twenty woman-years ago, Fenny was something to look at. Now she’s got corcob thighs and tits that spread like loos flapjack batter.
“What’re you bitchin’ about?” She smiles, and she’s purty enough to bend over. Barely. “You got your health,” she says.
“Aw, hell.”
I rap a desk top that as empty as a liar’s stare. No time like the present. Grab my coffee cup.
“Where you going?” Fenny says.
Deputy Odum says, “We got coffee here.”
“I’ll be back in five minutes. Don’t think you can move your shit in my office.”
It’s colder’n a witch’s bippy outside, all snow and ice. Across the street, cattycorner, is the (snip)
Merry Christmas to all. I’ll be taking the 25th off from the blog, but I’ll see you next Friday.
Wherin we continue to provide a space for published authors to share reviews. This one is for a story in an anthology, and it's a nice round of applause. If you have a review to share, there are directions for submissions below.
“Winter Twilight by Shannon O’Brien was definitely worth waiting for. The final story deserves 5 stars. Teagen is an interesting young lady who has more intellect than many contemporary heroines, but she isn’t spoiled either. O’Brien develops quite a bit more tension in her story than any of the other three authors in the anthology.”
Also, a new review appeared on Amazon for Finding Magic.
It Makes Magic Believable They're around us. A small mutation gives them powers over natural life, akin to magic. They've been persecuted and burned at the stake. So they have withdrawn from humanity, but their genes continue to ferment in the populace.
When powers blossom, and no one can teach you what they are and how to use them, how do you cope? When you grow up different, when Homeland Security hones in on you because they see terrorists in every strange manifestation, what do you do? When your only child shows the same powers, how do you protect him when you feel like a lost child too?
This is that story.
Rhamey is an excellent storyteller who grabs you from the first page and builds the tension so that you don't want to put the book down. He's been honing his craft for years and this gem is the result.
I just hope he's working on a sequel. I can't wait for the story to continue.
If you would like to share a review of your book, here are some guidelines:
Include a link you would like connected to your title/graphic
Help wanted: I'm working up a book proposal for a book that would include about 70 "best of" floggings from the last few years. It would include the submission, my response, your votes, and my edits. I would also expand on the coaching side in many instances.
It should offer many insights into the how-to and how-not-to of creating a compelling opening, plus plenty of looks at how editing can improve a narrative.
Please type in an answer to the "how" question in the "other" box, or you can just use the regular Comments. I greatly appreciate your feedback and help with this.
For obvious reasons, I'm also interested in your interest in the proposed book.
You can choose more than one answer in the poll and still add a note in the other box.
I post reviews of my books here now and then, sometimes in hopes that one will interest you and you will read it. Today I’m quoting a couple of new reader reviews to share the joy of having readers that really get it.
Want to share your reviews?
I’m opening FtQ to published authors to share reviews of their work. Some guidelines:
Include a link you would like connected to your title/graphic
Now for a couple of reviews by readers from Amazon for Finding Magic
A magical, supernatural world, skillfully delivered!, January 27, 2012
I love most supernatural reads, and FINDING MAGIC hit all the right notes! Rhamey created a believable, creative supernatural world and a thrilling plot, grounded in both technical details about all things biological, and characters drawn with emotional accuracy. The chapters moved between first person and third person narration which allowed the reader to dive into the inner world of Annie, one of the main characters, and also step back and see the bigger picture. This dance between the two narration styles was artfully executed. Most importantly, though, I cared about Annie, Gabe, and Mike, was drawn into their world, and wanted to know what happened next. A great read I would highly recommend. Enjoy!
Excellent Read, January 26, 2012
This alternately charming and thrilling book was just what I like a novel to be: an absorbing refuge from daily life and good food for thought. Rhamey has created a truly magical world and, once again, challenges our perceptions of the world around us, asking what it means to live responsibly and compassionately in our society without compromising our values. An exciting read with a fresh perspective. Highly recommended.
I’ll make Mondays “Review Day,” though if there are a lot I’ll post them on Tuesdays as well.
And the Bookshelf is also open to published authors. Send as attachments:
I was consumed by a novel this holiday, something that rarely happens. Before picking up The Night Circus to read, I had been struggling with reading John Grisham’s The Confession, which is about a topic of interest to me, but the characters were unappealing and the action turgid.
But The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was a treat. It took me to a wonderful “world” inside a fantastical circus, its rich imaginings fascinating a every turn. And, for me, so was the story. I found the writing to often be elegant, and always involving.
Here’s the opening paragraph from Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel (getting tons of praise), The Night Circus:
The Circus arrives without warning.
I know it’s a one-sentence paragraph, but I could not help but read on. Story questions pop up. No warning? Why? Who ever heard of a circus coming to town without being preceded by tons of hoopla? Mysterious, eh? A little further down the page, you are rewarded with more mystery, a sign on the gates that says “Opens at Nightfall, Closes at Dawn.”
I give the novel 5 stars—while it does not make you as intimate with the characters in the way I would like, you get enough of them, and they are fascinating characters, including one of the most loathsome fathers I’ve ever met in fiction. You keep hoping he will get what comes to him, and, well . . . you'll see.
But here are words for us
At the very end, there’s a conversation about the value of stories, and a character says this:
”It (storytelling) is important. Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.”
I think that’s true. From the briefest picture book to an easy-reading middle-grade novel to, well, just about anything we write, there is that chance. That possibility of connecting with someone in a lasting way. It may only be one sentence amongst many hundreds, but it’s there.
So 3 cheers for us storytellers, and 5 stars for The Night Circus.
Occasionally I like to do a review of a book from not only a reader’s point of view but from a storyteller/editor aspect. From the reader side, for me this story became one of those that you don’t want to leave. When I had to do other things on the weekend, I resented being deprived of it.
In short, I think this is one of Tess’s best. Not only is the writing strong as usual and the plot twisty and interesting, she has added rich flavors and spices through the infusion of her Chinese heritage.
That first page
We evaluate first pages on FtQ, so how does this one do? Here is roughly what would have appeared on the first page of her manuscript:
All day, I have been watching the girl.
She gives no indication that she’s aware of me, although my rental car is within view of the street corner where she and the other teenagers have gathered this afternoon, doing whatever bored kids do to pass the time. She looks younger than the others, but perhaps it’s because she’s Asian and petite at seventeen, just a wisp of a girl. Her black hair is cropped as short as a boy’s, and her blue jeans are ragged and torn. Not a fashion statement, I think, but a result of hard use and life on the streets. She puffs on a cigarette and exhales a cloud of smoke with the nonchalance of a street thug, an attitude that doesn’t match her pale face and delicate Chinese features. She is pretty enough to attract the hungry stares of two men who pass by. The girl notices their looks and glares straight back at them, unafraid, but it’s easy to be fearless when danger is merely an abstract concept. Faced with a real threat, how would this girl react, I wonder. Would she put up a fight or crumble? I want to know what she’s made of, but I have not seen her put to the test.
As evening falls, the teenagers on the corner begin to disband. First one and then another wanders away. In San Francisco, even summer nights are chilly, and those who remain huddle together in their sweaters and jackets, lighting one another’s cigarettes, savoring the ephemeral heat of the flame. But cold and hunger eventually disperse the last of them, leaving only the girl who has no place to go.
How does this opening fare in terms of my list of story ingredients? These are the elements that a writer can use, though not all of them necessarily appear on a first page.
Tension
Story questions
Voice
Clarity
Scene setting
Character
Tension For me (keeping in mind that this is all so subjective), this opening created plenty of tension. Yes, it is no doubt aided by the fact that I know that Tess is an accomplished bestselling author of thrillers, but the first line started the tension in me. Then the narrator’s questions about the girl’s reactions to a threat suggest that a threat is coming.
Story Questions I really ought to rearrange my list to put this first because they are what created the tension. Why is the narrator watching the girl? What threat may be coming? Why does the narrator care whether or not she will crumble? Why does she want to know what she’s made of ? Why doesn’t the girl have anyplace to go? Where will she go? Will the narrator follow? What’s this about? What will happen next?
Voice For me, the voice is one of the strongest of the elements here. Clear, strong, assured, and distinct. The confidence in the writing lets you know that an accomplished storyteller is on the stage. And it characterizes the first-person narrator as well.
Clarity Not a moment’s confusion from any of the language or narrative. It slips into my brain easily and cleanly with no stumbles, no pauses. Even the onrushing nature of the long second paragraph works to stream the narrative flow my way.
Scene setting The narrative gives me plenty to work with. Even though focused tightly on the girl, there’s enough of where she is that I have a context for what the narrator gives me. And the description of the girl is a fine example of what I call “experiential”—delivered through the filter of the narrator’s point of view. Her appearance and actions are characterized by shading that comes from the narrator—looks younger, smoking with a thug’s nonchalance, ragged jeans not a fashion statement, etc. There’s a perceived hint of danger, too, with the two hungry men eyeing the girl.
Character This opening does a nice job of delivering not one but two characters. The nature of the narrator is coming through. He or she is mysterious, but not threatening, it seemed to me. And the independent nature and strength of the girl has been painted pretty clearly, too.
Strongly recommended Both from a reader’s point of view and as an example of how to write a mystery, you can’t go wrong with The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen. Did you know, by the way, that she blogs as well, with her own blog and regular posts on Murderati?
This book was given to me by a friend and I held off reading it for quite a while because I am dead-sick of this whole "wouldn't it be cool to have superpowers or be so special I could attract one who does and then have a creepy romance with the undead?" vampire craze. Turns out, though, that this hilarious romp is not so much about vampirism as it is about (a) cat-think, (b) political satire (c) how power corrupts and (d) interspecies love. Ray Rhamey definitely speaks very good cat language, and he's got the background to qualify: check out the dedication to all the cats he has known and loved.
Rhamey knows vampires as well, and has come up with some excellent new twists that I'll bet the makers of True Blood wish they'd thought of. "DeathSavers," for instance -- a blood flavor of LifeSavers for vampires having a low-blood attack.
This book is full of wry humor, and yet somehow strangely believable. I would highly recommend it, even -- in fact, especially -- to people who would otherwise pass it up because they have no interest in the subject.
I waited far too long to read The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh.
I should have read it early enough to tell you about it before
Christmas so perhaps you’d buy it and share the treasure that I found
there. But maybe it’s not too late—if you have any Christmas/holiday
gift cash, it will be well invested in this novel.
Teri’s book touched me in ways that novels seldom do through the
story of a woman who has . . . well, I won’t tell you a lot about it.
Genrewise, it’s women’s fiction—however, as I sit here wiping my eyes,
I’m thinking that’s a misnomer. How about “human being’s fiction?”
There is a love story, but that most certainly isn’t what drives this
tale. It also contains, quite naturally and effortlessly, elements of
mystery and magical realism. The jacket flap says that it “. .
.explores the intense bond of sisterhood as a grieving twin searches
for her own identity in the ruins of her sister’s past.”
Since we focus here at FtQ on openings—and Teri submitted hers at one of my workshops long ago—here’s the opening page from The Last Will. In the tradition of FtQ, these are the first 16 lines as they would appear in a manuscript.
I lost my twin to a harsh November nine years ago. Ever since, I’ve
felt the span of that month like no other, as if each of the calendar’s
thirty perfect little squares split in two on the page. I wished they’d
just disappear. Bring on winter. I had bags of rock salt, a shovel, and
a strong back. I wasn’t afraid of ice and snow. November always
lingered, though, crackling under the foot of my memory like dead
leaves.
It was no wonder then that I gave in to impulse one November
evening, left papers piled high on my desk and went to where I’d lost
myself in the past with a friend. I thought I might evade memory for a
while at the auction house, but I slammed into it anyhow. It was just
November’s way.
Only this time, November surprised me.
I HAD to have it.
Just over a foot long, the wavy dagger looked ancient and as though
it’d been carved from lava rock. The grooved base was a study in
asymmetry, with one end swooping off in a jagged point and the other
circling into itself like a tiny, self-protective tail or the crest of
a wave. Gemstones filled a ring that bound metal to a cocked wood
handle. Intricate engravings covered the silver sheath. If not for a
small hole in the blade’s center, (snip)
Rather than plunging us into action with an immediate scene, Teri
plunges us into a person, and does it with a singularly fetching
voice—a phrase such as “crackling under the foot of my memory like dead
leaves” promises a high level of narrative art, writing that will
please your mind, and the book does not disappoint. Despite the lack of
action or a scene in this opening, I feel that it nonetheless creates
tension through the story questions it raises.
The story is told via two narratives that merge at the end to
powerful effect. There is the present-day story of Maeve, the surviving
twin, as that mysterious knife enters her life to eventually cut away
the bonds that stifle her, bonds that she has created out of guilt and
sorrow.
The second narrative is from the point of view of Moira, the twin of
the title, and takes place in a series of scenes from childhood through
to the tragic event that separates the sisters.
Since I knew from the start that something bad happened to Moira,
but not what, I found that her narrative pulled at me in two ways—I
wanted to read it because I wanted to know what happened, and I didn’t
want to read it because I didn’t want it to happen. Her character, and
that of her sister, were real to me, fully human, and a connection was
most definitely there.
Which brings me to the pull of this story well told—I didn’t want to
stop reading it. Once I let it get its hold on me, I could only put it
down for the shortest period of time allowed by intervening events of
life. There were times that the put-down moments lasted for only a few
minutes, and they were caused by the narrative’s intensity reaching
such a point in me that I needed to catch my mental breath before
diving back in. This happened especially as the Moira side of the story
grew closer and closer to the dark event that sunders their lives.
So, on this Christmas day, I’m thankful for the gift of story that my e-friend Therese Walsh (co-founder of the Writer Unboxed blog) has given me (and you, if you’re smart). I know I can’t wait until her next novel appears.
I won’t delay in reading that one. Nope, not a second.
Happy Holidays to all, and have a great writing new year. I know
that I, for one, am inspired by the quality and caliber and sheer grace
of Teri’s storytelling.
Not your ordinary vampire novel
I waited far too long to read