Giving my Novel Some Much-Deserved Love

Image by fotografierende from Pixabay

Since this pandemic started, I’ve been staying mostly at home to minimize the risk of someone in the household getting sick. Which means I’ve gotten to catch up on some things, like decluttering the house, doing DIY projects, and reading.

I started reading the ebooks and paperbacks I'd purchased but didn’t get to yet. But one book sitting on my shelf that I hadn't read yet was my own book, Circles, that I published back in 2012. I decided to reacquaint myself with the novel that I spent a better part of a year writing.

I sat myself down on the couch and started reading. I read that book all day. When I turned the last page, I took a breath and thought, “Wow, this is a GOOD story!” 

Of course, it was a good story for me because, well, I wrote it – I won't deny that I'm biased here.

I realized that when I published my novel, I didn't give it the love it deserved. While I don't have trouble selling other people's brands, I felt uncomfortable selling my own book. So after my first announcement to social media that I had published a novel, a few book talks, and a couple of gentle reminders that I would have really loved some reviews, I stopped trying. 

But reading Circles again, I realized I sold my story short. My book deserved more pitching than I gave. So, I’m going to ask my novel for forgiveness: I’m going to tell everyone who will listen to read this amazing urban fantasy adventure. Yeah, ok, I admit there might be a typo somewhere in the book, and I managed to repeat a phrase at one point. But my story made me cry. Twice. And I wrote it – I knew what was coming!

If you or someone you know is a reader who enjoys fantastic adventures with supernatural characters that happen in our everyday world, Circles is a must-read. And to prove it, for the next 5 days I’m giving away a free copy of Circles this week only so I can prove to you just how good my story is. If urban fantasy is your genre, or extraordinary adventure is your thing, click this link to get a free copy of Circles.

What’s the catch? I am asking for your email so that I may do two things: 1 – tell you “I told you so” when you discover how awesome my novel was, and even if you read it and decided it wasn’t as awesome as I said it was, hey – it was free! And 2 – to ask you to give your honest review of my novel (even if you hated it), either on GoodReads, Amazon, Apple Books, or other platform you might frequent (Barnes & Noble, Scribd, etc.). You will also be added to my monthly newsletter, however, once you receive the first one please feel free to unsubscribe if you would rather not hear about any further awesomeness from me.

I am convinced that my story is worth sharing and deserves a place on your physical or digital bookshelf. So get your free ebook copy now before the offer goes away in five days!

Review: Fantasy Meets Mystery in CITY OF STAIRS

Fantasy novels make for great stories of adventure, romance, or horror. But it isn't often that a fantasy is able to blend fantasy with a thrilling mystery and a tale of intrigue.

But City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennet, does a masterful job of taking a political tale of murder and intrigue and placing it in the most fantastic of settings. Bulikov is a city built by beings revered as gods, where reality is bent and shaped to their will. But upon their deaths, the city undergoes a catastrophic change as reality suddenly remembers what it is supposed to look like.

Trying to picture the place where the story takes place, the city of Bulikov, was quite difficult. I couldn't grasp the concept of a solid wall that looked like it wasn't there, random stairs to nowhere, and buildings that grow into each other. It was distracting to the story, because what happened to the city is integral to the story. The god-like beings, the Divinities, were killed by a hero of Saypur, a nation once held in slavery by The Continent, where Bulikov is located. Now the conquering nation, Saypur rules those who were once the rulers.

The first chapter starts out quite dull. A courtroom scene with a bored panel of judges overseeing a case of illegal use of divine advertising, with a room full of hostile, poor, Bulikov residents. But plow through to page fifteen, where we meet the movers of the novel, and you will be transported into the subtle machinations between the political and military powerhouse of Saypur and fractured groups of The Continent make for a thrilling story of spies and traitors worthy of being placed with greats like Tom Clancy, James Patterson, and David Baldacci. The plot twists enough to keep you guessing until the end.

The characters are well defined and capture your attention. Shara Thivani and her trusted "secretary," Sigrud, add life to the novel with their interactions - between themselves and between the various residents of Bulikov. They must solve the murder of a prominent historian, and in doing so they must come to grips with various hidden truths. As a reader, you are swept along in their discoveries and cringe at the dangers they face.

I wouldn't say that this book was an easy read, but it was an exciting read. And it didn't end as it started - bored and ready to end. Instead, it offers readers a chance to ponder history: how it is told, and how it is forgotten.

This book is reviewed for Blogging for Books, enjoyed by me, and read with the anticipation to share!

Episode 2 of the Write Life!

Yesterday did not go as I had expected, and I had to start my hangout fifteen minutes later than originally announced. So I apologize for that last minute change. But here at the end of this post is the second episode to Write Life! and additional links for your viewing enjoyment.

I started off with a discussion that sprouted from the first episode about how long a novella is. A viewer and fellow writer watched this episode later and came up with a question about why I chose to make A Demon Born a novella and not a novel. So look forward to my answer in a future blog post and the next Write Life! episode. (I love questions, so please keep them coming!)

I then went on to talk about an answer to another question I was asked about how long it usually takes to write a novel. I have a corresponding blog post that also responds to this question, and it has links to the websites of the helpful time-management apps/programs that I mention.

The third segment was about research and how it is important to my new novel and what I've learned. Even though I grew up on Maui, there were quite a few things I didn't know about it's history. The whole airport thing threw me off, since I figured Maui would be right behind Oahu in having a commercial airport. Inter-island flights flew in and out of small grass airstrips like Hana airport throughout the '20's, but while the rest of the islands were developing paved runways between 1925 and 1927, the Maui airport wasn't built until 1938.

But the real historical journey for me has become Mango Tree Camp. I will be traveling to Maui soon and plan to do some research at a couple of archives and the library while I'm there. I hope to discover more about this forgotten camp, and I can bring it back to life. In the meantime, enjoy this second episode of Write Life!



Here are a few other links for your reading pleasure:

     I mentioned an anime that I saw many years ago and need to watch again: Steamboy
     Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company is the last commercial sugar plantation left in the islands: HC&S
     Here is the pdf version of the report that has the map showing Mango Tree Camp (Appendix A, first map): General Plan 2030

Balancing home life with the writing life

It starts with a blank page

How to find time to stay organized

During the conversation I had with my friend, where he asked about the writing process, he followed up with the question, "How long does it usually (my emphasis) take you to write a novel?" My short answer was this: It took me seven years to put my original story, Circles, onto paper. Then another year of edits and revisions before it was finally ready to publish. My novella, A Demon Born, took seven months to complete. My newest work, Under a Mango Moon won't be ready until later next year, but that has more to do with the amount of research I am doing.

Writing: Know your history

Strahov Monastery - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

When you write non-fiction, it is important to have your facts straight. Being able to reference historical information to support your writing is essential. If you're writing about the future of publishing, be able to discuss publishing's past. If you're writing about a CEO's rise to power, give credit to events in that person's youth that put her where she is today. If you want to be considered an expert on molecular biology, reflect on the various people and theories that make up what the science is today.

But if you are writing fiction, history is meaningless, right? Let's leave out the obvious historical fiction and modern adventure/thrillers that rely on knowing past events. Would you still need history to create an epic fantasy that takes place in a fantasy realm, like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit? Or how about a grand work of science fiction like Frank Herbert's Dune? Neither novel takes place on Earth, or in a time that we know, so is history all that important?

Have you ever read Dante's Inferno?

illustration by Gustav Dore

I am starting on the next draft edits of A Demon Born and I wonder how many of my readers would be familiar with the epic work of Dante Alighieri. I myself first read Inferno in high school. At the time, I did not fully understand the text, only that this was the version of Hell that now permeates our psyche - sinners damned to endless suffering, fiery pits filled with demons and monsters from our nightmares, and the head devil himself, Lucifer, presiding over it all.

When I read it again after college, I also studied on his life and the era that he lived. Through what I learned, I imagined Dante to be disenchanted in his old age; the burden of exile must have weighed heavily on him. He would have become quite bitter, and even possibly rather crotchety. So when I created his character for my first novel, Circles, I wanted him to be free to express his dissatisfaction with his world.

No, this is not how I envisioned Dante...

After writing the book, I discovered that Dante was in fact my favorite character. Even though he did not play a large part in the story, Dante's presence was needed to help the main character, Solus, understand his own choices and discover his own freedom to express his dissatisfaction with his circumstances. It was then I decided to "have an interview" with the demon Dante, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to our conversation in my head - from his irritated manner to his snide remarks!

THIS is how I envisioned Dante, with dragon wings!

And now I need to "have an interview" with you! Please take a moment to answer the simple poll below. Your answers will help guide me through the final edits of this prequel, A Demon Born. If most of you know of the great orator, then I will not add much more to his character. But if many of you have not read at least Inferno, or never heard of Dante Alighieri at all, then I will need to spend more time introducing him to you, for I would be upset with myself if my readers did not meet this great man-turned-demon properly! I appreciate your comments as well. When did you first hear of Dante or Inferno? Do you have a memorable part of the Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradisio)? Start a conversation with me!

Random thoughts on writing a prequel

Wattpad cover art

As a way to get readers interested in my first novel, I decided to write a prequel to Circles to provide a "sneak peek" for those who haven't read it yet.

So I began this creative adventure to write a short story that introduced how Solus, a main character of Circles, came to be a demon. My goal was to write a chapter a week for the next five weeks and have it available through Wattpad for readers to read and comment. Once the short story was complete, I would rework the piece and publish it in its entirety and put it up for free.

Sounds easy, right? Well just like writing 50k words in the month of November is a major feat, so is coming up with a well-written chapter in one week. My fist chapter was a nightmare. On Sunday, I first had to come up with a basic story line to follow. Then I had to figure out how to start it. By Thursday, I had enough of the chapter to get help from fellow writers in my critique group. On Saturday afternoon the first chapter was up.

But once I re-read my live chapter, I had nagging thoughts that something wasn't right. So I skimmed through my original novel and, yep, two very glaring continuity errors right there. At first I was disappointed and upset about the errors, but my goal was to generate interest, not create a new novel. And my intent was to clean it up anyway when I'm finished and formally publish it. All the mistakes I made and will make will have a chance to be fixed later. No worries.

But I was worried. All evening Saturday and all day Sunday, I obsessed over these errors. So much so that I didn't start the next chapter until Monday afternoon. I was unhappy with my published work, all because a work in progress didn't fit perfectly within the timeline of that world. I felt terrible, and entertained the thought that I should stop writing.

What this exercise in writing has done is help me realize I do not like writing prequels. It makes me second-guess my original work and think "I should have changed this" or I should have done this with that scene." I nit-picked my novel for two years before finally saying "enough." Every novel ever written could have been "perfected" in any number of ways. There has to be a moment where a writer finally says, "It's done," takes what was learned and moves on. I needed to move on.

Writing is like life. Life happens, and when things happen that you don't like, you adjust and move on. What happened in the past is "published," what happens next is the "work in progress."  But, like prequels, life can linger on the past, making it difficult to write the future. It is okay to reminisce about the past, romanticize or politicize or dramatize it as much as you like. As long as you remember the past doesn't change, and only your present and future matter.

I say that I will never write another prequel, but maybe I will. Right now, my focus in on my future. I will finish this short story and move on to another. And I will nit-pick this new one to death before I finally say, "enough" and move on. In the meantime, please look for the second chapter to come out on Wattpad this coming Saturday!