Tag Archives: novels

In the beginning….

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I survived my Monday, how did you fare? Let me tell you a little of my day, starting with Sunday, weather-wise. Sunday, we had temperatures in the low 80’s. It was a nice and comfortable day. By the time I left the house for work on Monday, temperatures were in the high 20’s, a little over a fifty degree swing. Nothing like the schizophrenic nature of April weather!

Other than the light snow, the day was uneventful. I spent a considerable amount of time on the road thinking about opening lines. It started when I remembered one of Ron White’s jokes, “I was sitting on a bean bag chair, naked, eating Cheetos…” That has to be one of my favorite opening lines for a joke. You can check it out on YouTube.

The way Ron White delivers the line is magic. It’s as if it were normal for everyone to be sitting naked on a bean bag chair. It’s casual and easily sets up the ludicrous premise that is the rest of the joke. It’s all about setting up the tone.

Opening lines are a tricky beasts, if you ask me. There are plenty of famous opening lines in literature, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” – or – “Call me Ishmael,” – or how about – “It was a dark and stormy night.” Actually the last one is my favorite. It’s entered the collective consciousness as a bad opening line, which was in fact written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton for his novel Paul Clifford, though I mostly remember it used by Charles Schulz’s character, Snoopy. Actually, I need to add Paul Clifford to my list of Books I need to read, but probably never will.

The power of opening lines is not lost on men trying to score with women. That’s how we have classics such as “You come here often,” – and – “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” – and my favorite – “Haaave you met Ted?” I keep it simple when meeting people with “Hey.”

In real life, as in books, that first line can make or break your chance of continuing and growing a relationship. I know it’s a lot of pressure, and maybe I’m making too big a deal of it, but that first line is a killer for me. All I can do is write it and continue on. I may go back and tweak the line once I’m into the book, but probably not.

I was looking at some of my opening sentences of my pieces that I will someday actually sit down and finish. I’ve decided to let you take a look at the glory that is my madness.

  1. Paul Cardinal Dawson sat in his office drinking his black coffee, fuming silently. – Son of the Father.
  2. “Do me a favor Luke, and get me my lighter.” – Self Reborn.
  3. “Sheba! Time to go outside!” – Unseen Obsession.
  4. This was to be a reunion, years in the making. – Lily.
  5. I must say, I never thought I would ever write down my life’s story, and never in such a public forum, but yet I’ve decided to embrace this odd medium and so here I am. – Peccadilloes.

I don’t know, I’m probably stressing about nothing, but that’s what I do. I should probably let it go and stop worrying about something so inconsequential. It’s only one line, after all. But just to play Devil’s Advocate, here are a few more opening lines, from real life, to show you how important they can be.

  1. “Do you know why I pulled you over?”
  2. “We need to talk.”
  3. “Joe, come to the office.”
  4. “You have the right to remain silent.” (Hasn’t happened to me, yet.)

When Harry Met Hermione

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DH1_Riddle-Harry_and_Riddle-HermioneMy Facebook feed blew up recently, as did blogs and various other websites, when JK Rowling had the audacity to spew her vile belief that Hermione should have chosen the Chosen One over the Other One. Harry Potter, and not Ron Weasley, should have captured the heart of the young, fair maiden. Evil is she, that Rowling woman, to break the hearts of all Potterdom. I hates her forever!

I thought about writing my thoughts on this sooner, but I didn’t. Then I thought that too much time had passed, and quite frankly, it didn’t matter anyway. I was wrong. I’m still finding recently written articles about this scandal, accusing the author of going all George Lucas on us Potter fans, and changing the direction of the story after the fact. But she didn’t. She made her regrets known, but she’s not rewriting the story.

To me, I really don’t care about the mating of the characters. It’s a nice little postscript to the story, but not really all that important. Also, there’s a small part of me that maybe can see what she means. Not that I necessarily believe Hermione needed to be paired with Harry, but why Ron? What does he bring to the relationship? He’s not that intelligent or talented. He’s angry, slightly embittered, and has a horrible temper. He’s definitely side-kick material.

And Hermione? She’s not. She might have made a decent equal partner for Harry, but would that have relegated her to second-fiddle? She’s a star in her own right, and maybe there’s the attraction to Ron. She doesn’t have to compete for the spotlight. That said, am I suggesting that she’s not a strong enough woman to step out of Harry’s shadow? Of course not! That’s not what I’m saying! Honest!

But what of Ginny? She married Harry, and she’s a strong, independent woman. She’s not just Mrs. Harry Potter, but an accomplished Quidditch player turned Senior Quidditch Commentator for the Daily Prophet. Not exactly a wall flower by any means. She’s strong enough of a personality to deal with marrying The Boy Who Lived, and the fame that comes with it. But if not Harry, she would have been fine with someone else. Even Bonnie Wright, the actress who portrayed Ginny came out and said as much.

But what other pairings could there be? I’ll admit that I’m a fan of a Harry-Luna coupling. Luna Lovegood is my all-time favorite character in the series, which was cemented by the casting of the amazing Evanna Lynch. Both Harry and Luna were outcasts.Luna had a way of coaxing Harry when he needed it the most. She was blunt, but never rude, and could cut through the bullshit like no one else. She could both nurture and reprimand him in such a way that it didn’t seem harsh. She’s a matter-of-fact woman and forced him to confront things for what they were.

But what of Cho Chang? Um…puh-leese! I wish I had more to comment here, but Cho was really a non-character, a filler to illustrate his desirability among girls, and to show just how clueless he was when it came to the opposite sex. True, he had more pressing matters to contend with, you know, having a sociopath gunning for him, and the future of all mankind. You know, that old chestnut?

As for the other characters, who cares. I’m really a Harry-Luna fan, but I like Ginny, too. She’s got spunk. As for Hermione, who does she have? Harry and Ron. Sure, there was Viktor Krum, but that was just a fling. Then there was Corman McLaggen, but come on, he was just a tool she used to get Ron jealous. Now Draco Malfoy, interesting, but since she’s a mudblood, he’d never go for it. Stupid Draco.

And what of poor Ron Weasley? Does anyone care about him? Who should he be paired with? I guess there’s Lavender Brown, but she did die in the movie, though she lived in the book. Hmm… I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care. He’s not my favorite character, but I share a few of his worst traits, mainly his hotheadedness.

Now that I’ve taken the time to write this, I realize just how silly this conversation really is. Who cares? The characters are just that, fictional characters invented by some woman in the U.K. I think all I’ve managed to do is to demonstrate just how big of a geek I am. I should let it go. This is inconsequential, and I have better things to do.

Harry-Luna all the way!

I’m just a-plugging away

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It’s been a strange transition from writing three posts weekly to not writing at all. At some point in the distant future, I’ll start to post regularly again, but not yet. Right now, I’m letting go of the reason I began writing the blog in the first place, and I don’t miss the oppressive weight one bit. So long and farewell!

But I’ll admit that I do kind of miss forcing myself to write something, anything, regardless of how silly the subject might be. Having an outlet to express myself was healing, and it helped me figure things out. It made me confront uncomfortable truths about myself. Who am I kidding? I just bitched and whined a lot!

So have I given up writing? Um…NO! I’m stilling plugging away at my stories, trying to find that one that I will be able to publish. Maybe I’m being too picky, but I’d rather take my time to write a good novel, with a compelling story, than to rush whatever drivel that I may have ready to go.

I working on a story now, one that I’m very excited about. I really wish I could tell you about it, but this time I plan to keep quiet about it. Well, maybe a few tantalizing hints couldn’t hurt.

The book follows the a magazine writer as he searches for a story to report. His expertise is travel and adventure, but the story he finds is not one of thrills and excitement but rather a focus on one man’s life as told through a popular blog. Who is the stranger writing about the exploits of a wild youth? What skeletons are hidden in the closet? Are the stories of his varied sexual exploits fact or fiction?

I’m still in the beginning stages of this book. My main character still remains unnamed, and I’m 20 pages in! I have a vague idea of where I’m going with the narrative, and for the rest, I’m learning as I go, discovering the twist and turns as I go along. That’s what I love the most about writing!

I make no promises to have this one completed in a certain time frame, or even that I will find it good enough to publish, but I remain optimistic that this could be the one. As for the others? I haven’t given up on them either, but I’m in no hurry to rush them out for public consumption. This is a luxury that is afforded to the unpublished, and I’ll enjoy it a little longer before relinquishing my hold on them.

It’s now late. It’s after midnight, if you want the truth. I’m going to sit and write some more on my book before I turn in for the night. I wonder what I will discover tonight about my characters. Maybe I’ll find out what his name is. That would be cool.

 

Book Review: Crimson Return

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Happy Monday everyone! Hope the weekend treated you well. Today I’m reviewing Crimson Return by Daelynn Quinn. This is the second book of a series, and also the second book of Daelynn’s I have had the fortune to review. If you haven’t read the first book, please be advised that there may be some spoilers in this review. You can find the author at Daelynnquinn.com, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Crimson Return

Crimson Return © Daelynn Quinn 2013

Crimson Return, the second book of the Fall of Venus trilogy, picks up a few months after the events of Fall of Venus. Once again, we follow Pollen McRae, a young woman, who like all the world’s population, has suffered unimaginable loss and grapples with the new reality, that their world is now uninhabitable.

Pollen is now safe from the Trinity, three of the worlds most rich and powerful, and orchestraters of the world’s demise, in the stronghold of COPS, along with her niece Evie, and Marcus, another escapee from the Trinity’s safehouse/prison, the Crimson Survivor Refuge. In the safety of COPS, they both have found a way to contribute to the continuation of the human race, to help escape the runaway global warming catastrophe facing them.

As they settle in, Pollen’s ex-fiancee Glenn mysteriously shows up. Glenn, who had sided with the Trinity and became a Crimson Enforcer, but ended up helping his ex and her niece and new boyfriend escape, His appearance triggers a crisis for Pollen and the COPS. Should Glenn be trusted? Should he be allowed to remain?

He upsets Pollen’s certainty in regards to her new boyfriend Marcus, and begins to drive a wedge in her relationship. Later, when plans go missing, and equipment sabotaged, this confirms to COPS and to her that Glenn cannot be trusted. Before his sentence is carried out, he delivers a bombshell, someone she believes to be dead is in fact being held captive by the Trinity.

Crimson Return is about survival against all odds, and fighting for what is right and for those who you love. It’s about the struggle against the establishment that puts their own financial well-being above the lives of the poor and weak. It’s about the value of life, and the premium we sometimes are forced to pay in order to live it.

But in its essence, it’s about the struggles of a young woman trying to live her life in the midst of an epic catastrophe. Can she do what is right or will she fail at the first sight of temptation? Will she be faithful to the love of her life, or will she be seduced by the memory of another?

It is in the setting then, that we see that even when facing such adversity, the will of the human spirit to persevere is great, and the dramas of life, both big and small, continue, bringing with it both great joy and terrible heartaches. There are consequences to accept, and new realities to overcome.

Of Pollen McRae, a young woman in her early twenties yet very much a child in thought, the events of this book will push her to the precipice and she will have to choose between the naiveté of youth, and the cold pragmatism of maturity. As the fate of the world is at stake, and as life succumbs to the stranglehold of a moribund planet, this is still one woman’s journey into adulthood.

Crimson Return sets the stage for the conclusion of the series, will Pollen accept responsibility? Will she be able to fight for the ones she loves and for the survival of a people facing extinction?

Of the author, Daelynn Quinn matured as a writer between the first book and second book. While I had some trouble getting into the first book, I fell back into an easy and comfortable rhythm with this one. She has done a fantastic job creating a world and populating it with characters you can care about. Not only do I recommend reading Crimson Return, I urge you to go back and read Fall of Venus. I know you will not be disappointed.

List of Book Reviews
Next Review – The Woman Who Sparked the Greatest Sex Scandal of All Time
Previous Review – Birth of Vengeance

Book Review: The Birth of Vengeance

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The holidays are over, and we are at the beginning of a new year. So to all of you, Happy New Year! To start of on the right foot, I have a great book for you all. The Birth of Vengeance, by Paul Ross. You can follow him on Twitter @rossywrites.

frontcover tbov

When I began reading The Birth of Vengeance, I quietly wondered what the story was about. To begin with, you meet Jonathon Harper, a rather unremarkable young man, nearing the end of his school career, and looking forward to beginning college. His is a life which takes a turn for the worse when he’s becomes the target of a local gang of bullies and thugs, causing him to lose his one and only friend, and making him and his father flee his hometown for his safety.

It isn’t until several chapters on that he meets Thorn, a beautiful and dangerous woman, held captive and forced to be the subject of government experiments, and oh yeah, she’s a vampire. Once he is able to free Throne, the real story begins. Vengeance, then, is another entry into the burgeoning, and I would say over-crowded genre of Vampire literature.

So what makes Vengeance unique? We’ve seen vampires as heroes and we’ve seen vampires as villains. Thorn, at least in this novel, is neither. She’s content to be, to exist and co-exist, to feed and let live, only killing when she senses her victims mean to do her, and others harm. Not quite virtuous, but not entirely evil in a classical sense. Which is not to say she has a strong moral code.

She begins to mentor the weak and pathetic Jon, teaching him, molding him to become a man, to fight and to stand up for himself. Aided with a serum developed by Thorns captors, which when injected, gives the injectees vampire-like strength and aggression, Jon learns to fight, and begins a campaign to seek revenge on those who tormented him. In the end, this becomes a test. Jon has to prove his devotion to Thorn, and his worthiness of becoming a vampire.

The Birth of Vengeance is an easy read. Nothing remarkable about it, which is not to say it’s not worth checking out. It may not have the broad commercial appeal of a Twilight Saga, or the upcoming Vampire Academy, which in my book makes it even more appealing. This is not some lame, tween vampire romance novel.

What it is, however, is a coming-of-age story, where the protagonist must learn to face his fears, to grow up and take charge of his own destiny. He is forced to make life-altering decisions and accept the consequences of said decisions, and I’ll admit that I felt a grim sense of satisfaction whenever he meets his former tormentors.

Vengeance is a good, solid story, that should appeal to those who would like to enjoy a casual read. It’s entertaining, with some dark moments which are resolved in a satisfying manner. I wholly recommend you read it.

List of Book Reviews
Next Review – Crimson Return
Previous Review – Firstborn