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The Next Big Thing


2013
02.04

Posted in me, WIP, Writing | No Comments »

1) What is the working title of your next book?

Treachery Aboard The Palace du Mar

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have been getting into Steampunk lately, and the idea for this book came out of the random musings about the age of steam combined with a picture of a Roman Quadreme that was large enough to have a full-sized temple on its deck. Of course the Roman ships were powered by oars manned by slaves, but who said you couldn’t have steam powered oars? My original idea was to make the ship a luxury liner, and to use it as the setting for a central romance, but as I did research into shipbuilding I realized my design would create a ship that could never be profitable. After all, it is the third and second class passengers that truly fund a ship of that size, but due to the need for extra engine space and fly space for shipping the oars, my ship would have no third class berths and very little second, most of which would be occupied by ship’s employees. The Palace had to have a better way to make money. That was when I decided to turn it into an exclusive, high-class brothel that catered to the royalty and nobility. After that, the central story of my heroine inheriting the ship after her father’s murder fell into place.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Lucky for me, Steampunk is its own genre with many different types of books so I don’t have to sacrifice my genre bending elements.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

 

 

Connor Graves– the murdered father – is an affable and voluble man who is self-effacing and almost naive. George Clooney would be perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katherine (Kitten Graves) the eighteen year old heroine – is a prim and proper boarding school girl with untested depths and great determination. I think Scottish actress Karen Gillan would be great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margaurite (Madame Rita) is a French Madame of culture and wit. Alex Kingston would be fabulous in this role.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Fletcher – Kitten’s Godfather and Connor’s best friend, Just is a freed slave. He is a gentle giant, but has an edge of suppressed violence. I think  Djimon Hounsou would be great!

 

 

 

 

     

Geoffrey  DuChamps – is one of the Mandrakes (male prostitutes) aboard the ship, and is Kitten’s love interest. Adrian Grenier is too old, and yet – curly headed guys can get away with playing younger, can’t they?

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Dickson - Scottish detective and potential rival for Geoffrey in Kitten’s affections. Andrew Rothney would capture his earnestness perfectly – and of course would be a natural for the accent.

 

 

 

 

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Steampunk/Murder Mystery/Romance/Coming of Age story set on a ship of impossible luxury and decadence.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I will be seeking to traditionally publish. I like having a team in my corner and cannot afford to hire that team freelance.

7)  How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I wrote the first 65000 words during NaNoWriMo and finished the draft in the following two months – so I guess about three months total.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Hmmm this is hard, because Steampunk is a relatively new genre. Also, because it is a mash-up of a lot of genre elements it isn’t any one thing. It has kind of an Oliver Twist/Treasure Island vibe: the innocent adventurer thrust into a situation beyond their experience, faced with moral choices and a shifting definition of good.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I have always loved old ships – both sail and steam powered, and the anarchy of the seas provides the perfect backdrop for a story that can push boundaries while exploring decadence and manners.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

As is common in much of Steampunk, by book takes place in an alternate history where Scotland and England never merged crowns or parliaments. Scotland rose to international prominence, and colonized the U.S. Scottish tax law is very different than English law, so in my alternate history, the United States of New Scotland never rebelled, and are still colonies. It is fun investigating what America would be like if we still had a King. ALSO – Steampunk allows me to imagine a world where there is more gender equality, and the Scottish enlightenment continued into the Victorian age. For the brothel, this aspect provides a rich panoply of characters, courtesans and  customers, of both sexes and every inclination.

 

So – that’s it for me. I tag Colleen Riordan, Thomas Cardin, Tatiana Stapleton, Kelly Parker,  and Linda Tschappat

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Can you Defend Rape?


2012
06.13

Posted in opinion, ruminations, Uncategorized, Writing | No Comments »

The interwebz blew up this afternoon with reaction to this article: In Defense of Rape. The author make some reasonable points and says a few spurious things as well.

To paraphrase where he was reasonable: Rape, like other forms of violence and physical dominance can be an inciting element for character and plot development. I have no beef with this; it is true inciting elements do help us further our stories.

Where the argument is spurious:

He sexualizes rape: 1) The author starts off the post with a picture that shows a naked woman, head thrown back in ecstasy, legs voluntarily lifted, hands reaching to embrace her attacker (the God Zeus in swan form). This is a masculine idealization of rape as deliverance of a gift. It has been discredited by many writers far more astute than I. 2) He asks “…can we use it {rape} as a springboard to examine the sexual culture in the story?” 3)  He writes… somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of women have rape fantasies. Hello Grimachu, but until you are clear on the power dynamics at play in rape, until you can tell the difference between sex and violence, and until you understand that rape fantasies have no bearing on ‘real’ rape because a fantasy is voluntary and can be stopped at any point, I do not find you qualified to write on the topic of rape as a plot device.

He equates the discussion of Rape Culture with Censorship: For this I will need the whole quote:

The ‘sexism/misogny/rape culture/all men are bastards’ argument has been raging in ever increasing intensity over most of the things that I enjoy and like. Cinema, comics, fantasy art, role-playing games and computer games. I’m pretty much done taking the abuse and the offensive presumptions that go into these arguments without arguing back at this point, because I don’t want the argument to be entirely in the hands of censorious bullies.

So – basically – if you see a rape culture, or if you disagree with the author you are censorious bullies.

As I told Grimchu on twitter – you have failed to uphold your argument sir, and the good things you have to say are overbalanced by the lack of understanding you demonstrate both towards the subject and towards the readers it touches. There is an identifiable rape culture, in literature, in music, in film, and certainly in games. The extent of that culture is up for an argument, but the use of the aforementioned picture by this author proves that point. Still doubting rape culture? Search Google images for rape and see how many of the top responses use rape as a joke, a put-down or an incitement to sexual acts. Pointing this fact out does not make one a bully any more than writing an article in defense of rape makes one a rapist.

As far as using rape in fiction? Of course it can be used. It is a part of life, a part of history and a valid topic for exploration. SHOULD you use it? I think you need to ask yourself the following questions:

  • Can the power dynamics at play in my plot be served by any other means?
  • Would I play this scene differently if my character were bigger/stronger/differently gendered
  • Am I using the rape as sexual titillation in a non-sexual fantasy scenario?
  • Are the visuals correctly describing rape as about power and control, not sex?
  • Am I dealing with the aftermath of rape for the victim where appropriate?

Another article with a rebuttal can be found here.

What do you think? Can the use of rape be defended?

 

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Filling the Waiting Hours:


2012
06.08

Posted in opinion, ruminations, WIP, Writing | No Comments »

Committing Story Adultery

The Arc Riders is currently in the hands of a remarkable agent, and she is prepping revision notes for me before we place it on submission. This means that I need to down tools on the Are Riders (including Book 2) until I get those notes. Making changes to the universe now would just confound my brain when it comes to the revisions I have discussed with the agent. I need to see her notes before deciding on the next steps. The problem: a member of her family recently died, and another elderly member is suffering some severe health setbacks. She asked for a couple of weeks time to deal with family issues before getting back to work. I said YES, what else could I have said? Unfortunately, this means more waiting on my part. I’m not good at waiting. I fuss, I stress, I drive my friends and lover’s batty. I need to be distracted.

To keep my mind off of the wait I entered into a CampNaNoWriMo challenge with three members of my writing group. We are each taking the same simple plot spark and main character and writing a story based on it. It is an exercise in possibilities. How will each of us view and expand upon the idea? How will we develop the character? What conflicts and problems will we manifest? All in all, I think it is a good way to keep my writing chops in shape, and distract me from the waiting.

 

Here is the shared Plot Spark:

The rules are simple: 

1. The story must be completed in exactly 50,000 words.

2. Attempt to keep to the plot.

 Genre: Steampunk

 Plot: Quest to retrieve the Tesla Diamond, a jewel used by the inventor in one of his experiments to bring free and endless electricity to the world – the experiment failed, but the jewel is reputed to have taken on magical properties. It has been lost, but the captain of the intrepid ship Pegagus’ Child, Jordie Aeron, has a lead on finding it. All that stands in the way is the Royal British Aire Force, the Bermuda Straights and the captain’s conscious.

Main Character: Jordie Aeron is a ginger, and a known scoundrel. Risk taker, hothead and wanted criminal. May be male or female.

Main Villain: Unique to each story.

So I am writing this and having a blast! The only problem is I have this nagging feeling of unfaithfulness. Like I am cheating on the Arc Riders, the story that has consumed my imagination for a couple of years now. How about you? Do any of you have a little piece on the side? Do you feel guilt over it?

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Promethea and the Sweeper of Dreams


2012
05.20

Posted in contests, Opera, Writing | No Comments »

Synopsis: Humanity lies sleeping as The Sweeper of Dreams enters making his daily rounds to clear away the night’s imaginings. The Sweeper is very thorough and leaves no tatters or smattering of dreams to pollute the waking lives of the humans. He is good at his job but does not enjoy it and has perhaps become a bit careless. One of the dreamers, Promethea, is still deeply involved in her dream of flying and freedom. The Sweeper’s actions rip the dream from her and she plunges towards consciousness screaming. Clinging to the memory of her dream, Promethea argues with the Sweeper.  When he remains adamant, she steals  back her dream, in the process damaging his broom. No longer will he be able to efficiently remove all of humanity’s dreams. The residue of both dreams and nightmares linger to haunt the waking hours.    

The stage is filled with sleepers/dreamers who call out in their sleep:

Dreamer’s Chorus:

Through the mist!

Over that rise…

Look out!

That fist!

What a prize…

I will find…. find… something

I can’t be with you.

I must be with you.

When you kiss me like that.

Enters and observes sleepers:

 

 

 

Sweeper

Every night it is the same.
This fruitless dreaming
That signifies nothing.
Endless sweepings of empty ideas
Never-ending brushes with nothingness.
And yet they dream,
So I must sweep.

Moves to begin sweeping

Dreamer’s Chorus:

I don’t know what you want…

I cannot go on.

Naked!

The answer eludes me…

How will I know?

That house!

I recognize it.

This is not home.

Kiss me, there.
As the Sweeper moves past dreamers, sweeping away their dreams, their calls turn to humming.

Dreamer’s Chorus:

It can’t sink.

Hum

Papa?

Hum

No! That’s not true!

Hum

Yes, I like it.

Hum

If only I’d thought of that

Promethea:

Always the same dream.

I am flying.

I float effortlessly over the earth.

No cares.

No fears.

Just the freedom of wind

And air

And choice.

I can go anywhere.

I can be anything.

A humming pulls at me.

I ignore it

Begins to hum

Hummm…Ahhh!

As the Sweeper reaches Promethea’s bed and sweeps her dream, she wakes screaming. The humming of the other sleepers continues in the background.

Dreamers Chorus:

Hum

There’s no point

Hum

I must hum

Can’t resist.

Hum

Hum

Hum

Hum

Promethea:

Who are you?

Sweeper:

No one of note.

Promethea:

I was flying.

Sweeper:

Dreaming.

It is nothing.

I have removed it.

Promethea:

But I liked it.

I crave it.

I need it.

Sweeper:

Every night it is the same.

This fruitless dreaming

That signifies nothing.

Endless sweepings of empty ideas

I sweep it away so you can live without fear, without guilt, without fruitless longing.

You dream.

So I must sweep.

You cannot.

It is madness.

Humanity cannot live in dreams.

Promethea:

Every night I fly.

Every day so empty.

With nothing to cling to

My ideas sweep away.

I must have my dreams back!

It is truth.

I cannot live without them!
Promethea leaps towards the sweeper, snatching his broom and tearing out bristles as she tears free the dream. The broom is left with decided gaps. Slowly, as dreams leak through the broom the other sleepers stop humming and return to dreaming.

Dreamer’s Chorus:

Hum

Hum

The forest…

Hum

Is that a clown?

Hum

I cannot cope!

I want a divorce!

Sweeper:

My broom.

I will never catch all the dreams now.

Night after night some will leak through.

What have you done?

Promethea:

I have my dream.

Sweeper:

It will not be as you remembered.

It is cluttered now by memory.

All will change.

You no longer have a clean slate.

Promethea:

I have my dream.

She lies back and closes her eyes in bliss. A moment later she gasps – almost a scream

Am I flying or falling?!?

Sweeper:

Both

Dreamer’s Chorus:

Hum

Hum

Hum

A second chance…

Hum

It is too broken…
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I’m Baaaaack! Because there is a contest…


2011
10.12

Posted in contests, Writing | No Comments »

… I just had to tell you all about!

Brave New Words is giving away not 1, not 2, but MONTHLY 25 page manuscripts critiques!

Go. Now. Get in on this!

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I’m Baaaaack! Because there is a contest…


2011
10.12

Posted in contests, Writing | No Comments »

… I just had to tell you all about!

Brave New Words is giving away not 1, not 2, but MONTHLY 25 page manuscripts critiques!

Go. Now. Get in on this!

4 comments

Gaining Clout by having Klout!


2011
08.04

Tags: , ,
Posted in opinion, Writing | 4 Comments »

Authors as promoters – it is not a new concept, but it is certainly one that causes no end of grief if one is to judge by the amount of chatter about it online. Just managing all the social media, promotional and networking required to be a working author can be exhausting, but current opinion holds that it is also necessary.

Here is a sampling of stuff I have read on the subject in the last month:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/index.html

http://writerunboxed.com/2010/12/03/interview-with-jane-friedman-part-1/

http://donaldlafferty.com/12-social-media-essentials-for-writers/

 

Now there are all sorts of new ways to monitor your online presence and measure your reach. Although these services use arbitrary methods and have yet to be proven in the wider context, it is still a way to check on your engagement and rough effectiveness. Two that I have checked out are:

http://klout.com/#/EddieLouise

http://www.peerindex.net/eddielouise

Here is what I have discovered so far: You build Klout by engaging in conversations, by writing on trending topics and by saying things that other people think are witty enough to be repeated. Basically, everything you must do to build clout in face to face social situations.

The Scott Monument Edinburgh Scotland

Everybody keeps talking about the ‘new’ promotional role that authors must take, but I don’t think that role is so new.

Sir Walter Scott was perhaps one of the best authors at self-promotion EVER and he lived over 200 years ago. He was such a genius at promotion that he succeeded in getting the King involved, even to the point of dressing in garish layers of tartan and parading the streets of Edinburgh spurring a manic passion for all things Scottish and specifically Scott’s Waverly novels. Sir Walter accomplished this by talking. Scott was a solicitor (lawyer) and to all reports he was charming, self-effacing and immensely entertaining. His first novels were published anonymously, but in the end run, interest in the writing became interest in the author which in turn generated interest in his work.  The promotion and the writing became all of a piece, two sides of the same coin. One side represents the writer and the imagination, the other is the resulting works that spring out of that.

Having Klout is important, but when you combine your Klout with your written works you will begin to garner real Clout. My advice to you: keep working on both sides of the equation, and one day they might be building a monument for you. Now that’s clout!

 

3 comments

What’s the Story Anyway?


2011
07.15

Posted in opinion, Writing | 3 Comments »

Many times in my reading and learning about the art of writing I stumble across people who define story as conterminous with plot. I feel this can be a limiting view of story and in the end is harmful to the ‘long view’ for our writing.


PLOT: 
–noun

1.Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.

CHARACTER:
  –noun

1.the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.

STORY:
–noun 

1.a narration of a chain of events told or written in prose or verse.

If you stick to these narrow definitions, Plot=Story; but we are missing one critical element here. All fiction is a narration from the lips of a storyteller – you the writer. An interesting thing happens to our idea of story when we consider the root meanings and origins of narration:


WORD ORIGIN & HISTORY

early 15c., from O.Fr. narration  “a relating, recounting, narrating,” from L. narrationem  (nom. narratio ), from narrare  “to tell, relate, recount, explain,” lit. “to make acquainted with,”



It is this last idea that is critical to how we view story. I find it helpful to think of if this way: I am a storyteller standing on a stage – I must let my audience know not only what happened, but also how, why, and to whom. Everything we write is an effort to make our readers acquainted with our characters, our themes, our ideas, our fictional events – in short, our stories. By keeping the whole tapestry of Story in our minds we will allow our readers to become acquainted with the entirety of our fictional world.


How do you view story?

3 comments

What’s the Story Anyway?


2011
07.15

Posted in opinion, Writing | 3 Comments »

Many times in my reading and learning about the art of writing I stumble across people who define story as conterminous with plot. I feel this can be a limiting view of story and in the end is harmful to the ‘long view’ for our writing.


PLOT: 
–noun

1.Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.

CHARACTER:
  –noun

1.the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.

STORY:
–noun 

1.a narration of a chain of events told or written in prose or verse.

If you stick to these narrow definitions, Plot=Story; but we are missing one critical element here. All fiction is a narration from the lips of a storyteller – you the writer. An interesting thing happens to our idea of story when we consider the root meanings and origins of narration:


WORD ORIGIN & HISTORY

early 15c., from O.Fr. narration  “a relating, recounting, narrating,” from L. narrationem  (nom. narratio ), from narrare  “to tell, relate, recount, explain,” lit. “to make acquainted with,”



It is this last idea that is critical to how we view story. I find it helpful to think of if this way: I am a storyteller standing on a stage – I must let my audience know not only what happened, but also how, why, and to whom. Everything we write is an effort to make our readers acquainted with our characters, our themes, our ideas, our fictional events – in short, our stories. By keeping the whole tapestry of Story in our minds we will allow our readers to become acquainted with the entirety of our fictional world.


How do you view story?

9 comments

How Much Sex is Too Much?


2011
07.12

Posted in opinion, Writing, YA Fiction | 9 Comments »

First, read this: Sex in YA Fiction.

I have a comment on that post where I say this:

Ok – not to get too personal – but are we doing a disservice to YA readers?

I remember my first ‘truly intense’ sexual act with vivid clarity – and though the lead up to the act was all emotion – once the physical sensations started it was ALL about the physical. In fact, if someone had interrupted and asked my name I would have been unable to tell them. The physical was THAT powerful.

I think we sometimes color what we write or what we read with an adult sense of prudery. As older humans, we have weighed and balanced the sexual experience – we know the pluses and minuses – we understand the give and take. This was the number one problem with Twilight’s “I’m waiting” philosophy – there was FAR too much consideration going on.

Currently YA sex IS less graphic – but in a way, wouldn’t it be more honest if it was MORE graphic – or at least more focused on those crazy explosive physical feelings?

I realize this is a sensitive subject, so I have spent the day pondering and this is what I have come up with:

I think YA writers should try and remember the sensations of ‘first love’ in the physical. For example, I remember the first time someone kissed me on the neck. I felt it on my neck, but I also remember the feelings shooting down my arm; I remember the marked tingling of my fingers and a delicious tickle in the small of my back where his fingers rested. It made me giggle, and squirm and desire to be kissed there again. It created a hunger unlike anything I had previously experienced. This is the type of physical detail that can be added to YA sex, without upping the ‘erotic’ quotient of the writing.

I wonder at the tendency to self-censor our writing. If it was not inappropriate for me to feel those tingles at age 16, then why should it be inappropriate to write about it? And if we think it is inappropriate but we are writing about it anyway, isn’t it coy to measure the language?

In the end run, I say this: If you are writing sex into your YA novel – be honest. Describe the physical sensations as well as the emotional ones. Remember what it felt like the first time you touched someone, and the first time you were touched. Do not view the scene through adult eyes, but through the eyes of your teen-aged characters.  If you do this, your ‘sex scene’ will come off as natural and not gratuitous.

Thoughts?

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