Meet the author Monday: Michael Sullivan August 30, 2010
Posted by kmcalear in Author Interview, Fantasy.add a comment
The Crown Conspiracy is the story of thief Royce Melborn who is framed for the murder of the King. He and his partner must clear their… if not good, at least innocent-of-murder, names or face a death sentence.
So enjoy, pose your questions or comments on the blog, and remember: we’re giving away prizes this month. It seems we just can’t help being Santa Claus. (I’m not as witty as Jana’s intros… but I try!)
Vital Stats on Michael:
Lives: Virginia
Webpage: Michael-Sullivan
Books: The Crown Conspiracy: (Oct 2008) | Avempartha (April 2009)
Classification: Classic epic fantasyFrom the mouth of the author:
1. What is the fantasy cliché that most bothers you, or what is your book pet-peeve?
What I have the greatest problem with in most fantasy novels is the extreme amount of unnecessary information writers provide about their worlds. Authors work very hard to develop a wonderful and elaborate setting but I get the impression that some are just unable to restrain themselves from sharing. Not everything they invented fits with the plot, but they find all the details and backgrounds so interesting they assume the reader will too. In reality, I think most readers read fiction for the story and the characters, not so much for the setting. The setting should support the story, not drag it down which can happen when for every page of plot, you need to wade through five pages of description, background and ancient history. I am also not particularly pleased with the efforts some authors appear to go through to create unpronounceable names for characters. I will admit I am guilty of using a few long, oddly spelled names for places and things, but these have a plot element attached. Character names I think should be easily recognizable or at least easy to sound out, with at least one vowel and without apostrophes or hyphens. I don’t see the point in making the reader work. Reading fantasy should be fun.
2. What is your favorite fantasy critter or fairy tale character and why? No, it doesn’t have to be one you write about.
I’ve always been partial to Harvey the pooka, just because he is so friendly and polite, but a balrog is a real attention getter.
3. We all know it’s easy to get distracted when a project is taking its own sweet time to bubble. What is your Achilles heel when it comes to getting distracted from writing?
This is a notion I have never understood, although I have heard other writers talk about it. It is like asking what is it that prevents you from skiing, or lounging on a beach. I’ve never been distracted while working on a project. If anything, I spend too much time focused on a story. If I am not writing, I am thinking about it, penning pages in my head. If I take a break and sit down to watch television, I quickly see something that triggers an idea and off I go to work on it. The only thing that prevents me from writing is responsibilities and other irritants like eating, sleeping and walking the dog.
4. With the holidays coming up what is your favorite winter activity?
Writing. I know that sounds like a cop-out, but it is really what I do in winter. I take summers off to play. I bike, paint, hike, etc. But when September arrives, I start my next project and work on it through the winter finishing around spring. When it is cold, snowy and windy outside and the naked branches are rapping the window of my study, sitting with a cup of coffee and writing is great.5. I’ve heard of inspirational eating, so when you’re settled in to get things done is there a particular food that you just have to have on hand?
Just coffee, otherwise I get my keyboard all sticky.
6. What does it take to write a really good villain? Do you ever find yourself in a mental space that scares you or makes you wonder if that really came out of YOUR head?
What I think makes a good villain is a believable one. There are too many two-dimensional antagonists—characters that are evil because they are evil. I actually think the best villain is the kind you can understand and even to some extent sympathize with. And no, I’ve never scared myself, I am pretty at home with my dark side.
7. Which of your characters gave you the most trouble and was the hardest to write for?
Again another question that doesn’t really apply to me and my writing. Sometimes my characters like to go off and do or say something that wasn’t planned, but it is a random thing. None of my characters have ever really been a problem. (whispers: of course I have to say that or the Fictional Character’s Union (FCU) will come down on me with a lawsuit.)
8. We all have darling lines or paragraphs in our stories. Stephen King even says we should kill them. What is your most favorite murdered darling from any of your books?
Do writers really remember these? I don’t keep a list. It is kinda morbid just thinking of all these little decaying corpses laying around.9. What is your worst writing habit, the thing which you keep telling yourself you’re going to change and you do it anyway?
I am actively working on trusting the reader more. Readers are more intelligent and observant than I expect. I want to make sure they get all the little clues and points and because of that I make them too obvious, too easy. As a result, I am working on making the gaps between what is said and what is implied wider. Putting just enough information up so that the reader can figure out for themselves what’s happening. I think this makes the book interactive. The reader becomes part of the story as it demands their participation. Of course I need to measure very carefully so that the gaps aren’t too far for the average person to leap, otherwise…well—splat!
10. If you were going to interview another author, whose brain would you want to pick?
I suppose this is another way of asking who my favorite authors are. I don’t have a desire to interview or “pick the mind” of another author, but I’m sure I would enjoy the dinner conversation at a meal with King, Rowlings, Updike, Steinbeck, and Tolkien assuming those deceased can return for the dinner untainted…maybe I would leave King out just to be on the safe side.
From the mouth of Royce Melborn:
1. What is the best piece of advice you’d give to other Fantasy characters on how to survive troubles and tribulations?
Avoid doing good deeds—they always end in disaster and never pay well.
2. How do you feel about magic powers? Indispensable? Only for the Lazy Hero/Heroine? You wish your author gave you more?
Useful, but creepy. As far as getting magic powers…I’d be happy if Sullivan would just leave me alone.
3. What’s the best way to vanquish mad witches, evil dragons… orcs, ogres?
Pay me.
4. Is there a happily ever after on your horizon, or is true love only for those sappy romance books?
I’d bet money the romance books are lying too.
5. Magic artifacts? (You know what I mean, enchanted swords, books of spells…) Useful, indispensable, more trouble than they’re worth…
Not much experience with that unless you’re referring to Alverstone, and if you are you’re obviously listening to dwarves which is a bad sign right there and more than enough reason to end this interview.
Meet the author Monday: Elizabeth Bear August 23, 2010
Posted by kmcalear in Author Interview, Fantasy.add a comment
Welcome to another Interview Friday, folks! I’m really excited for this next one, Elizabeth Bear’s Sci-Fi is some of my favorite out there. Imagine my delight to discover she writes Fantasy as well! Wooohooooo! She has won a long list of awards and honorifics for her writing, including the following in 2008:
- Philip K. Dick Memorial Award nominee (Undertow)
- Lambda Award nominee (A Companion to Wolves) (written with Sarah Monette)
- Asimov’s Readers Choice Award for 2007 (“Tideline”)
- Hugo Award for Best Short Story (“Tideline”)
- Sturgeon Award (“Tideline”) Sidewise Award nominee (“Lumiere”)
- Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Nominee (“Dust”)
Vital Stats
Lives: Connecticut
Webpage: Elizabeth Bear
Books: The Promethean Age : Blood & Iron (2006) Whiskey & Water (2007), Blood & Iron paperback release (June 2008) Ink & Steel (July 2008) Hell & Earth (August 2008). Iskryne world (with Sarah Monette): A Companion to Wolves (Oct 2007) The Edda of Burdens: All the Windwracked Stars (Oct 2008), By the Mountain Bound (forthcoming Oct 2009) The Sea thy Mistress (forthcoming Oct 2010)
(And many Sci-Fi novels, short stories and more!)
Fun Fact: She was born the same day as Frodo and Bilbo Baggins
Genres: Norse Fantasy, Historical Fantasy and Contemporary Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi
On to the Interview:
1. What is the fantasy cliché that most bothers you, or what is your book pet-peeve?
Oh, I have a ton. Usually, I start writing a novel because I’m annoyed by some common trope and want to undermine it. Thus, the companion-animal fantasy in A Companion To Wolves, to choose an example at random.
2. What is your favorite fantasy critter or fairy tale character and why? No, it doesn’t have to be one you write about.
I have to pick just one? Oh, that’s hard. I love dragons And they are so very rarely done well. They have to be used sparingly, I think, because it’s easy to wear the luster off–but a good dragon is unmatchable.
3. We all know it’s easy to get distracted when a project is taking its own sweet time to bubble. What is your Achilles heel when it comes to getting distracted from writing?
I’m not actually all that procrastinatory. More often, my frustration is wanting to write and finding that the story isn’t quite cooked yet.
4. With the holidays coming up what is your favorite winter activity?
Well, I live in New England, so my favorite winter activity is waiting for the weather to clear.Mostly, my life doesn’t change too much in winter: I do less hiking, and more climbing indoors as opposed to out. If I had a dog and a fireplace, my favorite thing would be sitting in front of the fireplace with my dog and a mug of cider.
5. I’ve heard of inspirational eating, so when you’re settled in to get things done is there a particular food that you just have to have on hand?
Not in particular. I often have characters who crave a particular thing, though–I’m a method writer, apparently, and one of the things I do in order to write a character is feed myself things they like. This can be very problematic when it comes to foodie characters, or alcoholics, or a couple of the Shadow Unit characters, whose physical demands are in excess of five thousand kilocalories a day.
6. What does it take to write a really good villain? Do you ever find yourself in a mental space that scares you or makes you wonder if that really came out of YOUR head?
I have shelves full of forensic textbooks. The contents of my own head are not particularly scary to me. Although I did once deeply worry an ex-boyfriend by getting a little too thoroughly into the head of Vlad III or Wallachia. I don’t often write villains, per se. I write antagonists, which is to say, people who are on the opposite side from the protagonists, but who are not puppy-kicking evil. Some people consider this a strength of my work. Others, a weakness.7. Which of your characters gave you the most trouble and was the hardest to write for?
Michelangelo, one of the protagonists of Carnival. He’s a bit of a sociopath, and he really did not want to let me get into his head and get access to his motives.
8. We all have darling lines or paragraphs in our stories. Stephen King even says we should kill them. What is your most favorite murdered darling from any of your books?
I try not to cut out the good bits, actually. Because I am a chronic under-writer–apparently the opposite of Mr. King, who I know claims to cut 15% of his first draft–I rarely have editors telling me to cut things. More often, they get after me to add bits, and explain more, and establish things more. So my second draft is usually 15% longer than my first draft, because of all the stuff I left out. That advice to “murder your darlings,” I think, often gets misinterpreted. People take it to mean that you should cut out any bit you like, which is just nonsense. What it means, or what I understand it to mean, is if you are getting attached to the pretty at the expense of the story and the character development, the pretty has to come out. If you find yourself going through amazing elaborations to avoid cutting a sentence because you think it’s pretty… cut the sentence. That’s just part of good editing.
9. What is your worst writing habit, the thing which you keep telling yourself you’re going to change and you do it anyway?
That’s another meme I think is nonsense. Any writing process that works is a good process, and this idea that you have to do it in a particular approved way to be a Real Writer is foolishness. As long as what we are doing produces quality, finished work, and the general quality trend is upwards, we’re doing it right. That said, my worst habit is probably a workaholic streak. Even when I don’t really need to be working–or when it might be smart for me to take a break and let my brain regenerate–I often keep pushing. I’ve gotten better about it, though. I’m on vacation right now!
10. If you were going to interview another author, whose brain would you want to pick?
Living or dead? I dunno. I never really thought about it. I do study the work of other writers for technique, and there are some books of writing craft I think are indispensable–John Gardner’s On Becoming A Novelist is a great book on how to observe like a writer. I’d like to buy Edward Gorey a cup of tea.
Book Review: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson July 7, 2010
Posted by realitybypass in Book Review, Children Books, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult.add a comment
Hey folks! Hope everyone in the stats had a great 4th of July weekend. For our family it was a time of fireworks, memories and really good food. Beyond that we also finished the book we’ve been reading together, Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson, so I decided it would be a good review today.
We’ve been reading Alcatraz a chapter at a time for about the last 2-3 months. My husband is our reader and myself and our two boys, ages 9 and 13, are the erstwhile listeners. To give credit where it is due I think part of the joy of this reading is listening to my husband who is a very good reader and creator of various voices, but it certainly helps that the story he was reading was a delight in and of itself. Alcatraz is told from a first person point of view, but it’s from a future version of Alcatraz looking back to tell how his story got started. The narration is irreverent, humorous and filled with delightful forshadowing of upcoming events in completely unexpected ways. Sometimes a rutabaga is far more than just a rutabaga.
Alcatraz himself is a character walking the line of deciding what kind of person he is going to be. He addresses the bad things he does with the same honesty that he acknowledges bravery and love. He’s a boy who has been raised in the foster system and who has an unnatural ability to break everything he touches. Come to find out that the ability is a Talent and his whole family has them. His thirteenth birthday begins with a present in the mail, the arrival of his grandfather, who has the Talent to be late, and a gun toting librarian because…of course…the world is not what we think it is and Alcatraz is thrust into the middle of a war between the Hushlands and the Free Kingdoms all while learning more about himself, his talent and what it means to be a family.
The book was delightful. Some folks might get annoyed with the interjections by the narrator and moments when he’s purposefully poking fun at writing conventions, but I found them hysterical. The language of the book is very accessible for middle grade readers and young adults, but there are enough twists to how the language is used that adults can be delighted by a whole other level of what’s going on.
We’re buying book two and three now cause we have to know what happens next to the boy that breaks things and his family. And we’re still curious about the sacrifice on a stack of outdated encyclopedias!
Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Age: 8+
Content: Minor violence
Overall: 5/5 paws
Book Review – Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George January 27, 2010
Posted by realitybypass in Book Review, Fantasy, Young Adult.add a comment
It’s another blustery snowy day in the mountains of Utah and I’m wishing I could be at home reading instead of at the day job, but I like getting a paycheck so here I be. 
Today we’re talking about Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. This is a fairytale retelling…well…a fairytale fleshing out is likely more accurate. She follows very closely the traditional lines of the East of the Sun, West of the Moon fairytale, fleshing it out by adding more breadth to the characters and some detailing. All in all it’s an enjoyable read. George has a good knack for fairytale language and the book flowed well. I found that I liked the ‘lass’, since she doesn’t have a name, for the most part. I liked that she was industrious and generally sensible, for example when she finds she needs new clothing she doesn’t ask for clothing from the servants but rather cloth so she can make clothing herself. Her prince suffers from what a lot of prince’s suffer from which is a lack of real character development. He’s handsome and falls in love with her and was a third son but doesn’t feel particularly lucky, so ideal for a fairytale love, but leaves me wondering if they’ll get home to his golden palace and she’ll discover he still farts like a bear.
There are a few other places where the author sets up a clue which didn’t get the pay off that I was expecting. I found this a bit disappointing, since such a big deal had been made through the whole book and in the end it didn’t matter. I’m trying not to be spoilery here, but that’s a tall order. Let’s just say the power of naming should have been more important in my opinion.
All in all I’d read another of Ms. George’s book, but I definitely consider it fairly light reading.
Jana
Genre: Fairytale
Age: 10+
Content: True lurve, adventure, romance
Overall: 3/5 paws
Book Review: Book of a Thousand Days August 21, 2009
Posted by realitybypass in Book Review, Fantasy, Young Adult.add a comment
This wasn’t the book I was going to review, but it’s sticking in my brain, so there you have it.
Book of a Thousand Days is a young adult book by Shannon Hale. I’ve long loved Ms. Hale’s books and this was no exception. Book of a Thousand Days is written journal style from the point of view of a lady’s maid who is bricked up in a tower with her Lady, who has refused to marry the man her father has chosen. The two are to stay there for seven years or until the Lady comes to her senses. So the book is split into two. The time in the tower and what happens afterwards.
This is a charming book with a lot of fun fairy tale aspects and some twists which keep you guessing as a reader. There are some fun cultural aspects built into the story which give it a feel of being something very foreign, not simply the Westernized fairy stories most of us are accustom to.
I got this one from the library, but it’s on my list to purchase the next time I’m at the bookstore.
Genre: Fairy Tale
Age: Young Adult
Content: mild violence, mild romance, mild scares
Overall: Buy
Book of a Thousand Days
Movie Musings: The Librarian August 17, 2009
Posted by kmcalear in Fantasy, Movies, Musings.add a comment
Happy Monday!
Jana is right, we really should keep up more with this blog. There are days though I feel like I don’t have all that much to say about me. Not to mention, I’ve been so busy grading tests, essays and working my 3 part time jobs that it’s been hard to find time to sit down and watch anything straight through or finish anything I’m reading. I’m currently in the middle of a couple books and will talk on them soon, but I have managed to watch a couple movies from Netflix.
I rented The Librarian: Quest for the Sphere because I often like cheezy adventure movies. Unfortunately the Cheese factor on this one was very high and the “Ability to Act” factor was very low. It’s designed to be a spoof/tongue-in-cheek and so it has some genuinely funny moments, but for the most part it’s far fetched to the point of unbelieveability and the character interactions simply leave the series wanting. I wouldn’t reccomend it.
Wednesday Book Review: The Ribbajack July 15, 2009
Posted by kmcalear in Book Review, Children Books, Fantasy, Young Adult.add a comment
Genre: Short Story/Mild Fantasy/Spooky
Age: Adolescent/Young Adult
Content: mild violence, mild romance, mild scares
Overall: Buy or borrow
I really enjoyed The Ribbajack, both because Brian Jacques is one of my favorite authors and because the short stories are engaging and easy to read. Most of them have some sort of classic moral or didactic purpose to them which shows they’re classic cautionary tales with an interesting twist on them. They range from “the Ribbajack”, which is a cautionary tale about the danger of revenge, to “The Mystery of Huma D’Este” where a bully gets his comeuppance and ”Rosie’s Pet” where a girl only learns to behave once she becomes a werewolf. The stories touch on themes children will face from bullying, abuse, and disobeying parents. The language is very regional British, which may give trouble to some readers, but the book would be a delight to read out loud. I think the tales would also be great fresh stories for any storytellers to use.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Jacques offers six original ghost stories to follow up on Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales (Putnam, 1991). The title story is more grotesque than scary, and the ghost in “A Smile and a Wave” is inexplicably evil, existing only to scare the main character into wearing her detested coat. The most satisfying selections are “Miggy Mags and the Malabar Sailor,” in which a mongoose champions a young girl against her abusive uncle, and “Rosie’s Pet,” a preadolescent werewolf love story. The heavy northern English dialect used in the tellings would work well in an audio book, but may deter some readers. While this is an acceptable addition to general collections, true fans of the scary and strange will find more satisfaction in the short-story collections by Australian writer Paul Jennings, such as Unreal! (Formac, 1992).
Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Wednesday Book Review: The Trickster Series May 20, 2009
Posted by kmcalear in Book Review, Book Series, Children Books, Fantasy.add a comment
Today’s review is Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite authors. Tamora Pierce’s tales always feature a young heroine who needs to come into her own as an independant woman professionally and personally and the Trickster series is no different. Aly is the daughter and niece of famous and powerful people and needs to find her own way in the world and learn to respect those who gave her the tools to find it. The book masterfully shows the growth of the young character and serves as a good heroine for teens and pre-teens. One of the strengths of the entire set of Tortall books is the clever near-medieval world created in them, with Knights and spies, pirates, monsters and Mages. Her Wild Magic series is a favorite of mine and is tattered on my shelves from many re-readings. The characters are engaging, the plot is fascinating and the series reads well. My only disagreement with it are personal, I disliked Aly’s love choice for not being three dimensional. Fans of the series will appreciate the cameos from other beloved characters that came before Aly, as they are referred to both as teachers and assist in their own ways, without overshadowing the young protagonist.
Genre: Fantasy
Age: Young Adult
Content: mild violence, mild romance
Overall: Buy or borrow
Grade 7-10-Alianne, daughter of Alanna (Alanna: The First Adventure [Random, 1989]), is ready to create her own legend. As the book opens, Aly, 16, longs to follow in her father’s footsteps as a spy, but her parents refuse to allow it. Annoyed, she sails off in her boat, only to be captured by pirates and sold into slavery, fortunately to kindly Duke Balitang. She meets Kyprioth, the Trickster, and strikes a bargain: if Aly keeps the Duke and his family safe for the summer, Kyprioth will return her to her family and persuade her parents to let her be a spy. With magic, spells, winged horses that are part human and part metal, crows that take human form (and provide a romance for Aly), brutal fighting, treason, and attempted kidnapping, this fantasy has plenty to hold readers’ attention. It also offers an interesting examination of race, as well as a look at an adolescent’s finding her independence, an especially difficult task with such a powerful mother. Aly is a strong, intelligent, and resilient feminist who stretches this fantasy to a parable of girl-power. The book at times bogs down in the sheer number of characters and relationships, and in the author’s zealous attention to descriptive details, but Pierce’s fans will enjoy it.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Wednesday Book Promo – Magic Strikes! April 15, 2009
Posted by realitybypass in Book Review, Book Series, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy.Tags: Illona Andrews, Kate Daniels, Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes
1 comment so far
It’s a miserable rainy day in Utah, and all I can think about is how much I’d rather be home curled up in a blanket and reading a book. Not to say I don’t love my job – Any boss type people reading this note I love my job – but rainy days seem to call for books and blankets and hot chocolate. I find it ironic that most creatures are smart enough to spend rainy days in their dens. Human beings pull out the umbrellas and keep chugging along. Who says we’re the smartest species?
Anyway, complaining aside I’m excited to talk about Magic Strikes today. I found my copy on release day and devoured it in about 6 hours. Then I went on vacation and didn’t have much time to write about it. So, here we go. I love this series and this book in particular. For the uninformed Magic Strikes is the third Kate Daniel’s book by Ilona Andrews.
The Magic series takes place in a magic ravaged Atlanta where magic and technology flow back and forth in sudden unpredictable surges. I love all the options this provides as people try to decide if the tech will be up long enough for them to drive somewhere, or if it’s all about riding a mule. Weapons can range from guns to swords to paranormal fists, each having greater or lesser strength depending on what’s going on with the magic surge of the moment.
I also like Kate a lot. Yes, she’s an urban fantasy butt kicking heroine, but what I love is that she’s well rounded and a character who grows from book to book. She has female friends without the jealousy and vain stupidity which is often seen in UF books. She has a ward who is a smart kid and, surprisingly, often does what she’s told and for the right reasons. Kate has a past which she’s protecting, but she’s also trying hard to relate to the people around her, and that’s really what this book is about. Yeah, there’s a supernatural cage fight aspect, but the heart of the story is about Kate protecting those she cares for and them doing the same in return. I buy her emotional attachment and I think I’d like to go to lunch with her.
I also much love the Kate/Curran interactions in this book. They’re this funny mix of playful and aggressive and there are some really nice moments here of sweetness and humor. He does one of the things which I think all women dream their man will do and that’s to come for her when she’s really in trouble, against all odds and against all conventional wisdom. So, yeah…le swoon.
Love this book. Love this author. And she has a new series coming out in October which I suspect will also have to come visit my shelves.
Jana
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Age: Adult
Content: Brief sexuality, LOTS of violence and gore, some language
Overall: Buy
Magic Strikes Release Day March 31, 2009
Posted by kmcalear in Book Debut, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy.add a comment
It’s time for “Magic Strikes” by Illona Andrews, the wonderful husband-wife writing team of the Kate Daniels series. I can’t wait to get more of the Atlanta paranormal team. Illona is particularly good with her (their?) world building, I find the setting fascinating and the magic well done. The writing is quick and easy to read and Magic Strikes has earned 4.5 stars on the Romantic Times review. The balance between action, romance, mystery and character development is well done.
–Jill M. Smith, Romantic Times, 4.5 Stars, Top Pick, GOLD standard
“Andrews’ crisp dialogue and layered characterization make the gut-wrenching action of this first-person thrill ride all the more intense. … Place your book orders now; it’s worth every penny!”
Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that’s saying a lot.
But when Kate’s werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games – an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament – she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta’s shapeshifting community.
