So, I'm a finalist in the Florida Writers' Association Royal Palm Literary Award contest. I'm not really sure how much of an accomplishment that is, yet. It could be that almost everyone who enters earns the minimum number of "points" to become a finalist. But still, it's certainly better than not being a finalist.
Now, if I could just afford the cost of the awards banquet....
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Book Review of the Day - Justina Robson
Today's book review features Keeping It Real by Justina Robson.
I bought this book out of desperation for something to read, since none of my favorite authors have anything new out. (Elizabeth Moon's next book comes out next month.) I also liked the cover art which featured a kick-butt woman in black leather sporting lots of weaponry.
The back cover copy was a little off-putting. The binding identified the novel as science fiction, but from the description, it seemed to be a combination of both sci fi and fantasy--elves, demons, high tech, AI's. This one was difficult to categorize.
And I think that was my problem with it. I'm really not into fantasy for the most part. I'm not familiar enough with the genre to appreciate or understand its standards, quirks or even all of its vocabulary. Therefore, while this book was clearly popular enough to spawn several sequels, I just couldn't get into it and don't think I'm qualified to adequately judge its worth.
I liked the two main characters for the first half of the novel. The woman is bad a** while still maintaining a fragile side that attracts the reader's sympathy. The "rock star elf" is attractive and intriguing with his demon tendencies. But as soon as they travel to the "elf homeland" I find myself lost. The magical elements and multiple levels of relationships are difficult to follow for someone not thoroughly versed in the fantasy genre.
It was definitely a worthwhile experiment to step outside my science fiction comfort zone. I'm about to do it again with Kat Richardson's Greywalker (labeled as fantasy but really more paranormal). But I've decided that cross genre science fiction/fantasy isn't my thing.
I bought this book out of desperation for something to read, since none of my favorite authors have anything new out. (Elizabeth Moon's next book comes out next month.) I also liked the cover art which featured a kick-butt woman in black leather sporting lots of weaponry.
The back cover copy was a little off-putting. The binding identified the novel as science fiction, but from the description, it seemed to be a combination of both sci fi and fantasy--elves, demons, high tech, AI's. This one was difficult to categorize.
And I think that was my problem with it. I'm really not into fantasy for the most part. I'm not familiar enough with the genre to appreciate or understand its standards, quirks or even all of its vocabulary. Therefore, while this book was clearly popular enough to spawn several sequels, I just couldn't get into it and don't think I'm qualified to adequately judge its worth.
I liked the two main characters for the first half of the novel. The woman is bad a** while still maintaining a fragile side that attracts the reader's sympathy. The "rock star elf" is attractive and intriguing with his demon tendencies. But as soon as they travel to the "elf homeland" I find myself lost. The magical elements and multiple levels of relationships are difficult to follow for someone not thoroughly versed in the fantasy genre.
It was definitely a worthwhile experiment to step outside my science fiction comfort zone. I'm about to do it again with Kat Richardson's Greywalker (labeled as fantasy but really more paranormal). But I've decided that cross genre science fiction/fantasy isn't my thing.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Book Review of the Day - Ann Aguirre
Finished Wanderlust today, the second book in the Sirantha Jax series. Best way to describe it is "a fun read" with lots of good action. Some very interesting new characters make their debuts, like Jael and Hit.
I guess my only frustration is the amount of suffering Ms. Aguirre puts her characters through. Which I suppose is the point. The reader is supposed to be frustrated, right along with the characters. So she must be doing her job well. But some of the personality changes (and I don't want to give away any spoilers) are disturbing, and I hope they are resolved in the next installment.
It reminds me a bit of the review I gave for S.L. Viehl's books. Viehl's primary male character suffered so much at one point that I ceased to like him for a time until he got his act together. And the same thing happened to her female protagonist who suffered memory loss and changed personalities altogether. I liked the original personality. I wasn't fond of the new one. Now the old one is returning, and I'm happier.
That's how I feel about Jax. She started as kick-a** in the first book. For most of this one, she is not capable of being that way for reasons I will not disclose. Now, Aguirre has included other characters to take up the slack. And that's great. But I was glad that by the end, there was a spark of the old Jax returning. Oops, I guess that's a spoiler. Same goes for March, though not as much. We are well-prepared for his issues as we have already seen glimpses into his dark past. So, it's not as much of a shock when he suffers. In fact, I enjoy watching him struggle through these dark times. It makes him more endearing to me. Yep, his endearing level is high on my scale of endearing and desirable male characters. I just want to see Jax kick more butt.
Well, hopefully in the next book.
I guess my only frustration is the amount of suffering Ms. Aguirre puts her characters through. Which I suppose is the point. The reader is supposed to be frustrated, right along with the characters. So she must be doing her job well. But some of the personality changes (and I don't want to give away any spoilers) are disturbing, and I hope they are resolved in the next installment.
It reminds me a bit of the review I gave for S.L. Viehl's books. Viehl's primary male character suffered so much at one point that I ceased to like him for a time until he got his act together. And the same thing happened to her female protagonist who suffered memory loss and changed personalities altogether. I liked the original personality. I wasn't fond of the new one. Now the old one is returning, and I'm happier.
That's how I feel about Jax. She started as kick-a** in the first book. For most of this one, she is not capable of being that way for reasons I will not disclose. Now, Aguirre has included other characters to take up the slack. And that's great. But I was glad that by the end, there was a spark of the old Jax returning. Oops, I guess that's a spoiler. Same goes for March, though not as much. We are well-prepared for his issues as we have already seen glimpses into his dark past. So, it's not as much of a shock when he suffers. In fact, I enjoy watching him struggle through these dark times. It makes him more endearing to me. Yep, his endearing level is high on my scale of endearing and desirable male characters. I just want to see Jax kick more butt.
Well, hopefully in the next book.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Osceola County Writers Group
I attended my second meeting of the Osceola County Writers Group last night. Lots of new faces this time around, and some of the familiar ones as well. We shared scenes written about a character who was either of a different age or the opposite sex from ourselves. Interesting.
I shared a scene between two men, Dirk and Peter, antagonist and secondary protagonist, from Assassin's Nightmare. The feedback was helpful. Some of the descriptions were a bit repetitive, and the piece needed to show more action than tell it. I went back and rewrote it yesterday.
I shared a scene between two men, Dirk and Peter, antagonist and secondary protagonist, from Assassin's Nightmare. The feedback was helpful. Some of the descriptions were a bit repetitive, and the piece needed to show more action than tell it. I went back and rewrote it yesterday.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Book Review of the Day - S. L. Viehl
Just finished Omega Games by S. L. Viehl, another Florida author. This is the latest installment in the Star Doc series.
Viehl gets an unusual review from me. Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed all her books, including several outside the series. I love the main character, Cherijo Veil, although I wasn't thrilled with the direction her character took after suffering a head wound and losing her memory. In Omega Games, the character is slowly regaining her original personality and is a very interesting combination of the two women--Cherijo before her accident, and Jarn afterward.
But that's not what makes the series unusual for me. It's the uncanny ability Viehl has to make me feel, really feel, the emotions of the main character as she endures trial after trial. When I began the series, years ago, I was immediately taken in by the effect of Cherijo's emotions on my own psyche. When she stressed, I stressed. When she found love, I felt that love. And when she was betrayed . . . well, I don't want to give away spoilers, but I suddenly found myself angry for no apparent reason after finishing that particular book. I wanted to break things, irrationally. It took several days for me to trace the source of my unidentifiable anger to the ending of her book. No other book has EVER caused me to feel such a strong connection to the emotions of a character.
Omega Games is an action-packed thriller. It also reiterates the strong bond between the two main characters, Cherijo and Duncan, and, as with the previous novels, I can feel their affection for one another, particularly his for her. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Viehl gets an unusual review from me. Don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed all her books, including several outside the series. I love the main character, Cherijo Veil, although I wasn't thrilled with the direction her character took after suffering a head wound and losing her memory. In Omega Games, the character is slowly regaining her original personality and is a very interesting combination of the two women--Cherijo before her accident, and Jarn afterward.
But that's not what makes the series unusual for me. It's the uncanny ability Viehl has to make me feel, really feel, the emotions of the main character as she endures trial after trial. When I began the series, years ago, I was immediately taken in by the effect of Cherijo's emotions on my own psyche. When she stressed, I stressed. When she found love, I felt that love. And when she was betrayed . . . well, I don't want to give away spoilers, but I suddenly found myself angry for no apparent reason after finishing that particular book. I wanted to break things, irrationally. It took several days for me to trace the source of my unidentifiable anger to the ending of her book. No other book has EVER caused me to feel such a strong connection to the emotions of a character.
Omega Games is an action-packed thriller. It also reiterates the strong bond between the two main characters, Cherijo and Duncan, and, as with the previous novels, I can feel their affection for one another, particularly his for her. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Book Review of the Day - Linnea Sinclair
On the plane out to WorldCon I finished reading Linnea Sinclair's novel, Shades of Dark. What can I say? In addition to being a kind and generous individual, the lady is also a fantastic author.
Shades of Dark is a rather different experience in reading Linnea's work. It's the first sequel she has done in her science fiction/romance. Therefore, it has quite a few more intimate encounters that begin early in the novel and continue throughout. This is different because normally, the two main characters spend the majority of the story building the romantic tension between them, which ultimately culminates in a really steamy scene somewhere in the latter third of the book. Since this is a sequel, that buildup has already taken place in the previous novel. Now the trick is to make each successive romantic encounter more intense than the prior one. Linnea delivers and exceeds expectations in this area. I look forward to her next book with great anticipation.
Shades of Dark is a rather different experience in reading Linnea's work. It's the first sequel she has done in her science fiction/romance. Therefore, it has quite a few more intimate encounters that begin early in the novel and continue throughout. This is different because normally, the two main characters spend the majority of the story building the romantic tension between them, which ultimately culminates in a really steamy scene somewhere in the latter third of the book. Since this is a sequel, that buildup has already taken place in the previous novel. Now the trick is to make each successive romantic encounter more intense than the prior one. Linnea delivers and exceeds expectations in this area. I look forward to her next book with great anticipation.
WorldCon
I have absolutely no idea where to start, so I think I'll try some logical format like a day-by-day analysis of all the really cool things that happened at WorldCon.
Wednesday (Day 1)-attended a panel on query letters hosted by one of my favorite author's agents. At the end of the panel, the hubby and I showed her our queries (just for advice) and she asked us each to send her partials of our manuscripts.
Thursday (Day 2) - The days are blurring together, but I think this is the night that one of my favorite authors, Ann Aguirre, took us out to dinner. She answered our writing/professional questions at length, and was all-around a joy to meet and chat with. Her eleven year old daughter was well-spoken and well-mannered. I enjoyed spending time with them both.
Friday (Day 3) - Pitched our book ideas to two other agents. Both requested partials from each of us. It was such a relief to be done with the agent side of the convention. Then we could relax and just be fans for awhile. All the agents we met, though, were extremely nice and easy to talk to, even though I stressed massively beforehand.
This was also the day we got to sit down for two different kaffeeklatsches, one with Elizabeth Moon and the other with Tanya Huff. Both were inspiring to hear talk about their work. Tanya was particularly helpful in giving agent advice, and Elizabeth shared humorous stories about swords and horses.
Saturday (Day 4) - received another request for a partial of my manuscript by email. And tonight was The Hugo Awards Ceremony. It was really a thrill being able to vote on and attend such a prestigious event. Of course, after assuring us that she would not do so, Elizabeth Bear won the short story category. Well, we tried to tell her that she would win when we met her at ReaderCon. The hubby and I both voted for her. It was a shame that she wasn't there to accept her award in person.
Sunday (Day 5) - attended a last panel with Tanya Huff on creating female soldiers. Then, it was back to the hotel to sleep for the next ten hours or so.
These are just the convention highlights. I met many other wonderful people and made new friends. I also got to spend time with several online acquaintances whom I hope will visit us in our area so we can show them around sometime. That's all I can remember for now. I got home at 1:45 A.M. from the airport and went to bed at 2:00 A.M. and had to be at work today at 7:30 A.M. so my memory isn't all there.
Wednesday (Day 1)-attended a panel on query letters hosted by one of my favorite author's agents. At the end of the panel, the hubby and I showed her our queries (just for advice) and she asked us each to send her partials of our manuscripts.
Thursday (Day 2) - The days are blurring together, but I think this is the night that one of my favorite authors, Ann Aguirre, took us out to dinner. She answered our writing/professional questions at length, and was all-around a joy to meet and chat with. Her eleven year old daughter was well-spoken and well-mannered. I enjoyed spending time with them both.
Friday (Day 3) - Pitched our book ideas to two other agents. Both requested partials from each of us. It was such a relief to be done with the agent side of the convention. Then we could relax and just be fans for awhile. All the agents we met, though, were extremely nice and easy to talk to, even though I stressed massively beforehand.
This was also the day we got to sit down for two different kaffeeklatsches, one with Elizabeth Moon and the other with Tanya Huff. Both were inspiring to hear talk about their work. Tanya was particularly helpful in giving agent advice, and Elizabeth shared humorous stories about swords and horses.
Saturday (Day 4) - received another request for a partial of my manuscript by email. And tonight was The Hugo Awards Ceremony. It was really a thrill being able to vote on and attend such a prestigious event. Of course, after assuring us that she would not do so, Elizabeth Bear won the short story category. Well, we tried to tell her that she would win when we met her at ReaderCon. The hubby and I both voted for her. It was a shame that she wasn't there to accept her award in person.
Sunday (Day 5) - attended a last panel with Tanya Huff on creating female soldiers. Then, it was back to the hotel to sleep for the next ten hours or so.
These are just the convention highlights. I met many other wonderful people and made new friends. I also got to spend time with several online acquaintances whom I hope will visit us in our area so we can show them around sometime. That's all I can remember for now. I got home at 1:45 A.M. from the airport and went to bed at 2:00 A.M. and had to be at work today at 7:30 A.M. so my memory isn't all there.
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