Happy Anniversary Darlin

Happy Anniversary Darlin Hard to believe it's been eight years already. Time flies. Thank you for being there and encouraging my dreams. I love you.

Trends: Who Gives a Rip?

I always notice people talking about trends in regards to writing and what's hot. I say who gives a fig? That's still kinder than how some agents have spoken to friends of mine who asked that very question, but you get the idea.

These agents were right though, its not about what's hot because if you aren't writing from the heart and telling the best story possible-who is ever gonna care? Let alone you have to write the story well too.
I am convinced that when you try too hard to be cutting edge or what is hot at the moment, the soup du-jour as it were, all you do is make your art look dated-and thereby making it irrelevant shortly thereafter. You don't want that do you?

So when it comes to trends, I am convinced you have to be a leader and not a follower. Can you name any follower who is better known than the leader of any genre? I can't.
Stephen King lamented in On Writing any book with "In the Tradition of..." upon their cover. I can tell you right now that I own a passel of books with "In the tradition of Conan" on their lurid pulpy covers and the only thing I remember about any of them is the cover-the stories aren't up to par. At one time S&S novels were very hot and people jumped on it. Now its Vampires and Steampunk-great.
I wouldn't touch a paranormal romance with a garlic dipped, fifty foot crucifix-it ain't my thing, but how many writers are out there right now trying to sell theirs, because its hot? I'm not saying don't even try but as PYR editorial director Lou Ander's said in a recent interview "You have to be better than brilliant."
That goes for anyone writing anything. I won't write anything if its not from the heart (scary I know).

I say, who cares about following trends-be a leader do something blazingly original.

And I don't wanna hear about everything is taken-we reinvent the wheel all the time-the cycle of what people like always comes back round again eventually, who would have guessed that as Ann Rice waned Meyer would wax so strong with the Dark Side?

In the late 70's who would have thought a quasi fantasy-sci-fi epic would get so big? But it was the right time for a great story that resonated with people. Little things like making it look like a "Used Future" also helped-genius in my book. I think its pretty fair to say, it was quite different from the sci-fi that came before.

And even when it comes to your literary heroes-IF you don't take up the mantle-How will you ever climb from their shadows?

Write what matters to you, write it better than anyone and reinvent the wheel. Be a leader.

The Hidden Sun: Book Review

J Lloyd Morgan or “Manly Lord Jog” (pronounced YOG) likes his anagrams. His novel The Hidden Sun is also a play on words, but Morgan doesn't just play-he also takes risks.

Set in a secondary medieval world,(like my friend Daron Fraley's The Thorn) this might seem like a fantasy but it isn't, there isn't any magic nor even any fantastical creatures. It might seem like a romance, but it isn't that either, it really isn't too lovey-dovey despite relationships, marriage and family being the prime arena of conflict.

It took getting through about the first 50 pages for me to be interested, a bit slow of an opening for my tastes.
All that and the main character isn't even introduced until one third of the way into the book.
I classify these as risks with a first novel.
BUT
Morgan is setting up a roller coaster ride. I fully admit to being put off that first 50 pages, BUT then I was blown away.

I love what happened.

Morgan kills main characters-like George RR Martin does in Song of Ice and Fire, you can't be sure if someone is going to make it or not.
The scheming villain is ruthless and it gets the reader concerned, we are thrown into the world where truly terrible things happen-this isn't a white-washed little fable, people die here.
It made the ongoing story relevant to me. If there hadn't been this surprising risk of killing off main characters, the moral of power corrupting and making the right choice regardless of outcome, wouldn't have captured me.
SO
Right when I thought Morgan lost me-he caught me again with his tricks-BRAVO.

The finale at the end was good, though I felt strongly that some of the villains should have put up a bigger fight, rather than being resigned to their fate. I think we needed some bloodshed at the end-I would have liked to have seen Rayne fight off some of Abrecan's men.
But this novel may be a little more YA than I am used to too. As has been mentioned by other reviewers, it is a safe clean read. I couldn't help but imagine it being similar to some of my old favorite black & white Errol Flynn swashbuckler type movies. You know, where the bad guy gets pierced through the heart, but "we" the audience, don't actually see any blood, those are still great movies just tame by my current barbarous standards.
Course I may be a desensitized cuss.

When it comes to the sequel Morgan is working on, I'll be very excited to see how he can possibly top the surprises he has thrown at us thus far.

Visit J. Lloyd Morgan
here and or here.

Mayan Intrigue: Guest Post

Here is the first guest post I have had at Nephite Blood, Spartan Heart - author Linda Weaver Clarke. We seem to be intrigued by a few of the same things, we'll have to compare Bear Lake Monster stories some day. Take it away Linda.

A New Mystery Series!

I always enjoy putting a little history in each of my novels to educate my readers. In historical romance, it’s a must and I continued with my research for my new series. The mysteries of the Anasazi Indians, the Mayas, Montezuma’s Treasure, and the Lost Dutchman Mine have intrigued archaeologists and scientists for many years. In the Adventures of John and Julia Evans series, I delve into such mysteries. I love research, so when I turned to mystery, I just knew I would put a little history into my books. It makes it fun to write. I learned so much about artifact theft and what the Mayan culture was like while writing my Intrigue series.

I have written five historical romance novels but have changed to mystery. The writing process between romance and mystery is quite a change with a completely different mind set. The author has to come up with a plot that no one knows about until towards the end of the story and hope they haven’t figured it out. In a mystery, you may or may not allow your reader to know who the bad guys are, according to whether it’s just a mystery or mystery suspense. Do you know the difference between a mystery and a mystery suspense novel? In a mystery, when a knock is heard at the door, the reader doesn't know who's behind it. With mystery suspense, the reader knows who's behind the door and yells to the heroine, "Don't open the door!"

Anasazi Intrigue is the first book in a mystery adventure series called “The Adventures of John and Julia Evans.” It’s about a devastating flood that takes out several homes in a small town, the importance of preserving ancient artifacts, and a few puzzling and mysterious events. Julia is a reporter, and when she finds out about a possible poison spill that kills some fish and neighbor's pets, she has a feeling that something isn’t quite right. Before she realizes what is happening, Julia finds out that this incident is much bigger and more dangerous than she thought. With dead fish, a devastating flood, and miscreants chasing John and Julia, they have their hands full.

Artifact theft is a very intriguing subject. That’s why I call it the Intrigue series. In my research, I found that archaeological thievery is becoming more and more of a problem every year. Did you know that looting is only second to selling illegal drugs? While researching the second book in this series, Mayan Intrigue, my eyes were opened to the problems they have in southern Mexico. When an ancient ruin is discovered, it doesn’t take long for thieves to take it apart. The reason why is because the Mayas used astrological alignments when planning their city. Looters have learned the layout of the Mayan cities so they know where to dig. With this knowledge, they can loot a sacred temple in a few days. I also found that artifact theft in Mexico has been taken over by drug dealers from Columbia. In other words, since organized crime has taken over, there is also an increase of violence.

Mayan Intrigue will be released on August 30th and I’m having a week long celebration with a book give-away at my Blog HERE. Mayan Intrigue is about the discovery of a priceless artifact that puts Julia’s life in great danger. While on assignment for the newspaper, John and Julia try to enjoy a romantic vacation among the Mayan ruins, but when Julia accidentally comes upon a couple suspicious men exchanging an item, she quickly turns and leaves but it’s too late. Before John and Julia realize what's going on, they find themselves running for their lives through the jungles of the Yucatan. To read an excerpt from each of my books, you can visit www.lindaweaverclarke.com/

Have a great release day Linda. I love that you used the Pyramid of the Sorcerer on your cover.

Beat the Clock

So many things going on right now-so many things to write and be a part of of (or at least things I want to be a part of) I may have to pick and choose. This is what I get for procrastinating, taking vacation, travel and just life in general. Ultimately its my own fault for not using time better...still I will be likely calling on some friends for some editing help soon (you know who you are).

Here are some covers and or inspirations for what I am doing.

Strange Sights of the Week

Finally a cause I can believe in.
Now that's a bucket seat!


Yeah! Get Down with the Count you phoney!




And finally it was H.P. Lovecraft's birthday a couple days ago. Here is an eerie monument he may have liked.

Revenge & Such

Blown away by my son's imagination. He drew the bullies "Chuck and Steve" being abducted by aliens. Awesome.
I don't fear for Chuck and Steve because I am 99.99999% sure they are imaginary Nemesis.

In other news here is a pic taken by my new friend Jill Reeder, from the book signing at Dragons & Fairytales. Very pleased with how it went, it was great to catch up with old friends and make new ones. It was also very cool to hand with some other authors-
like Jaleta Clegg, Karen Hoover, Shirley Bahlmann (who read my first few lines and almost looked like she was going to cry-"This is so good," she said.

A higher compliment I cannot imagine-thanks Shirley, her son Bron (Hey I have a character named Tobron-a coincidence I assure you and also W. Everett Prusso.

Thanks to Jaclyn and Steve at Dragons & Fairytales for having us.