Felt So Good!

For the past couple of weeks I've been taking a break on my novel and writing bits of other stories.  I was getting so frustrated with my novel because nothing seemed to be working right.  All of the characters were flat and boring, save for one.  Who just happens to be the main love interest later on in the story.  The only scenes that have been working are the ones where he is present.  Okay, that's not entirely true, other scenes have worked out well too.

The biggest problem is my main character.  For some reason I just couldn't get into her head.  Since the story is written in first person from her point of view, it's kind of vital to know what she's thinking.  She a great strong character, but everything just seems to be happening too easily for her.

Yesterday, I pulled the story out again and just started writing and trying to add some more depth to her character or even to the other characters to enhance her.  Next thing I knew five pages had stumbled out of me!  Hooray!  I think I may be back on the novel train!

Sapphique

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Sapphique is a sequel to the book Incarceron.  After my last post you're probably wondering if I'll ever read fantasy again.  This one has a decent cover though, don't you think?  Well, This just happens to be a fantasy book, but it's not high fantasy (which still moderately frightens me).  There are no elves, dwarves, trolls, or anything like that.  This one actually teeters more on the edge of steampunk.  If you don't know what steampunk is let me know and I'll do a post on the genre.  It's actually kind of neat!

**SPOILER ALERT**

Finn is now living outside of Incarceron, the largest prison in the world.  He realizes it may not be anything he thought it would be.  The blackouts and fits are getting worse and his memories still haven't come back.  Claudia expected that once Finn was released from Incarceron, he would remember he's the rightful heir to the throne and claim his kingdom.  She still doubts that he is the real Prince Giles and her betrothed.  He's different, a prison rat.  Queen Sia, his stepmother and the person who ordered him sent to Incarceron, memories erased, still doesn't want Finn to be crowned.

Meanwhile, Keiro and Attia are still trapped in Incarceron, and the prison grows steadily angrier that one of it's inmates escaped.  Finn promised them he would find a way to release them, but he hasn't yet and they don't know how much longer they can wait for him.

Will Finn and Claudia be able to take their kingdom in spite of the Queen's death threats?  Will Keiro and Attia ever escape the prison and stop Incarceron from getting Out?

All right, so, that was kind of a long synopsis and it really only spoiled bits of the first book, and not so much this sequel.  As I said before, this book was rather enjoyable.  The characters were well used and thought out and it was a perfect end to the story.  Each of the characters uses their wit to conquer the problems that arise.  The war is won by the ones who aren't afraid to think, and take risks.  Catherine Fisher does a really excellent job of showing that Finn in the rightful prince.  As he adjusts to the world a little more, I was able to see how he truly was the perfect prince and how he will make the kingdom great again.

There were times when I had to go back and re-read because I couldn't quite figure out what was going on or who's point of view I had just dived into, but it wasn't too much of a hindrance.  Had the first book still been fresh in my mind I think it would have been easier.

Books by the Cover, People by the Book

I know the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  I've actually been known to use it now and then, because I think there is tremendous value in seeing something for its contents and not what it's wearing.  However, I still find myself a bit embarrassed to wander into the science fiction/fantasy section at the bookstore.  It's pathetic, but I still find myself looking down the aisle first to see if anyone is there and then decide whether or not I want to go down that road.  Frequently I see the stereotypical balding, mid-40s man with glasses completely enthralled in the synopsis on the back of a poorly designed book cover.  Now, I have no doubt that the book is good, but do I want to be caught reading that?  Then I wonder if I'm as weird as I think they are.  I'm sure they are delightful people, and I have, on occasion, seen a very attractive mid-20s guy wrapped up in the same books.  If the attractive guy is down the aisle I generally tend to glance around and see what else I could be viewing--besides his perfectly formed shoulders.  I also wander down if there is no one there to see me actually pick up a book or two.

Why is this?  I can guarantee that some of you out there have thought the exact same things about some of these books.  Am I right?  You see the busty redhead in leather thrusting a sword into the air, lightning striking its tip.  Or, there's the spaceship gliding through space with lasers defeating the evil emperor of a foreign galaxy.  I just can't get myself to pick up these books because they have such awful covers.  I see them and automatically think mid-40s, bald, glasses, loner.

Have you noticed it's usually just the adult books?  Young adult books (for the most part) have really intriguing covers.  If the cover isn't interesting a teenager simply isn't going to pick it up, let alone read it.  There are some books that I have heard are excellent, but I can't get myself to read them because the cover makes them look cheesy and not worth my time.  It actually took quite a bit of coaxing for me to read the Uglies series because of the covers.  The new covers look splendid!  And...the content was much better than the cover.  Still one of my favorite series. 

I will admit, I'm getting better at giving books a chance despite whatever an artist has done to the cover.  There's probably a lot of good out there I'm missing.  I quite like science fiction when the story is well written and the same goes for fantasy.  I know I shouldn't judge, and I'm happy to admit I'm getting better.  Remember it's not the author who designed the cover.  Someone else did. 

Shannon Hale once said not to let anyone get to you about what you read.  Read what you love and don't ever let anyone tell you not to like something.

Uh... Okay

So, the post mysteriously re-appeared!  I only noticed this after my dear friend Amanda was still able to view it and sent it back to me to re-post.  I posted it again only to realize that it's there.  All I have left to say is... Happy Reading!  Hope you all have a wonderful day and that your posts return to you as well.

Grrr!

All right, so I'm a little upset.  Yesterday I wrote a stellar book review of Beautiful Creatures that I'm sure you would have all enjoyed immensely, but thanks to Blogger's maintenance yesterday it was erased.  So, I will attempt to recreate it for you at some point today.  I can almost guarantee it won't be as good, because that's just the way things go.  Stay tuned!!

A Little Something I'm Working On

This comes from a project I started for a final project in one of my writing classes.  I've loved writing it and never expected it to go as far as it continues to go.  It started out as a short story and, let's face it, it just keeps going.  This is just a little taste of it.  By now, I'm sure you all know how much I love to write dialogue, so of course this taste is a bit of dialogue for you.  If you want to know more about it I'll be glad to let you know! :)

“How did you find me?” I asked him for what seemed like the millionth time.

“Untie me and maybe I’ll tell you.”

Flustered, I turned my head away.  I knew I wasn’t going to get that answer out of him.  I’d asked him several times since he came here.  He refused to answer it, yet it still felt like he was just taunting me by not telling me.

“Is that really all you want to know about me?” he said, annoyed.

“What?” I said.

“That’s all you’ve asked me since I woke up tied to a water heater.”

“Well-“ like an idiot, that was all I could say.  I could feel my cheeks turning red.  I never thought about where he might have come from or what he had gone through.  I looked at the scar on his face.  It started at his left temple and curved down his cheek and ended just above his chin by the corner of his mouth.  It came from somewhere and somehow, but I never thought to ask.  I never cared until that point.  The animal was still inside me because I’d chosen to take care of only myself and not care about anyone other than myself.  I realized I’d let the hate take me over as well.  I noticed he had several other scars on his arms and neck.

He caught me looking at them and I turned my head away once again.  “You wanna know where they came from?” he asked.

I shook my head, not sure if I wanted to know what gruesome things happened to him.  “Where did you come from?” I asked.

He gave me a side smile on the side that wasn’t scarred and I realized there might have been a time when he was attractive.  “I’m from a community about twenty miles west of here.”

My head shot up and our eyes met.  “A community?”  No one lives in communities.  At least not that I knew of.  I didn’t think anyone could live together anymore.  It never even occurred to me.

“Yeah.  It’s not a big one, but we do alright,” he said with a shrug.

I was still shocked.  “And you all…get along?”

He let out a small laugh before he said, “Yeah.”  Something passed over his eyes when he looked at me then.  It was almost like sadness, but not for himself, for me.