Guess Who?

I'm back!

(Warning: I WILL ramble.  I'll be a little random.  I'll be incomprehensible at some points.  Hang on.)

And no "Guess Who?" is not Doctor Who. ;)  He's going to be back in...two days.

I had to slide a Who reference in there.  Sorry.  It's an urge that I cannot resist; but don't worry, no more Doctor Who...for the moment.

I'm back, and it's been far too long, blog friends.  I've had no one off which to bounce my latest literary jokes; no one to bother with my writing musings; no one to write to while blasting soundtrack in my ears.  And it's no wonder my mom says I'm deaf...

Anyway, so, what's been happening for all of you bored blog readers?  Doing well, I hope?  Read any good books?

And I find it interesting that my blog followers increased while I was gone.  Do I take that as an insult or a compliment?  Maybe my silence is indeed more interesting than my gab. ;)

But when I saw all of those comments (including Dad's, who has been nagging—reminding—off-screen a well as on-screen), I thought to myself, "....Tomorrow."

Tomorrow turned to the day after, and the day after, and I read a great book (review coming); unfortunately, my blog stayed still.

So here I am, back at last, and I'm not wearing black, either.  (Okay, time to revise THAT one...ouch.  That was terrible.)

Now, as for my life...it's been busy.  Very busy.  A LOT has happened since I last blog.  Not the least of it is that I was kidnapped by my novel—yes, the rumors were true!  It held me up at plotpoint and...wait, have I used that before?  I can never keep track of which jokes and play-on-words I used where...

*ahem*

Also, I'd like to bring to your attention a blogger whom I have followed for some time: Gillian Adams.  I've been haunting her blog for over a year now, and her writing is fantastic, and she has a passion for Christ and His word.  She, having submitted her novel, recently received word that a publisher had accepted her novel/novella for publication!  Young aspiring Christian writers are making a mark out there, readers, so don't lose hope and keep on writing!  Click on the above link to hear more about this fantastic news. :)

Speaking of writing....The War Horn is now fully revised and rewritten in spots; it's certainly my best novel so far, in general writing quality.  On the fifteenth of August, 2011, I submitted it to my first real-deal-with-real-prizes contest, open to those who have used the OYAN curriculum.

A little background on what's happening with the War Horn:

I view the War Horn as an experiment.  It's my first (and I think last; it was agonizing to write) historical novel, though it almost falls under the legend-history category of novels. This is also my first completed novel where I have no explicit Christian messages; few characters mention God (excepting monks and a few scattered phrases), and there was no "redemption" theme to try and share the Christian message in a different manner.  Instead, I embedded the truths and themes of Christ into the characters and the plot: freedom and the self-destroying aspect of bitterness are two recurring themes among many smaller ones.

It'll be fantastic to see how God can use it in ways my other novels cannot be used.  And I really hope it does well in the contest. ;)

So, I'll have more posts to come, but that's about it for now.  I have a few rattling around my head, waiting to be written, and a review is on the way too; so stay tuned, and bother me lots about it!

And watch out for marshmallows; they're rather vicious.

Review: The Dragons of Chiril

Before DragonSpell, on a different continent and a different time, a young emerlindian’s desperate decision threatens to disrupt the foundation of the world.

Tipper has been caring for her family’s estate for years now, ever since her father disappeared, making a living by selling off his famous artwork. Then she learns that three statues she sold were carved from an ancient foundation stone, and the fabric of her reality is crumbling.

She must free her father and save the world. But she can’t do it alone.

Her ragtag band of adventurers includes Beccaroon, a giant parrot; Bealomondore, an aristocratic young artist; a handsome dragonkeeper prince; the Wizard Fenworth; and the tumanhofer librarian Librettowit. Together they travel through valleys and kingdoms and consort with purveyors of good and agents of evil to find and reunite the missing statues. Will they learn to rely on Wulder’s grace and guidance along the way? (Description taken from Amazon.com.)

Before I say anything about the actual book, if you look at the cover art, there's a little white line at the bottom.  Look ever closer, and you'll see the line is actually words.  "Previously released as The Vanishing Sculptor."

Seeing as I've already read this book, and I'm reading it again to review it, maybe that will affect my review.  Maybe not.  But let's give it a go.

If there was one word to describe this book—just one—it would be engrossing.  That doesn't mean this book is a page-turner.  It doesn't mean that The Dragons of Chiril is action-packed.  But I have to give it to Paul—even the scenes normally labeled "boring" are touched by the clever and beautiful prose.

That's one of the big pluses of this book.  The prose is written in a style that makes it easy to read.  An engrossing style.  The description is magnificent, as always, and the writing moves the book along, even if nothing is happening.

The world-building was well done, if confusing at times.  There are seven different races (I think, I can never keep them straight), and seven low races, as well as a collection of new words for drinks & foods, places, things, etc.

And, of course, we have the usual motley host—a wizard with a wandering thought process, a often grumpy librarian, a somewhat hysterical emerlindian girl (who happens to be the main character), a vanishing sculptor (which is why the previous title for this book was much more accurate), a younger tumanhofer artist who adores the older artist's work, a charming, dashing young dragonkeeper, a lady with the most bizarre idea of logic, and many more.

All of the characters, to some extent, were lovable and three-dimensional.  I especially enjoyed Wizard Fenworth and Lady Peg (maybe because I identified with them so much).  They were fantastic.

And really, characters are what drove the story, in this novel.

The plot had high stakes.  The end of the world.  Death of loved ones.  And yet, it didn't quite move along as it should have, which shows the more character-driven aspects of this tale.

This was one of the things that made it simply "engrossing" but not amazing and fast-paced.  And besides this, not enough went wrong. I kept thinking, "This is too easy."  And that's never a good thing.

Besides this, the main character rather annoyed me.  She, like I mentioned earlier, was somewhat of a flighty, hysterical person.  When trouble came around, she screamed and jumped around—she wasn't much of a strong character.  She was portrayed as more strong-willed, but she never quite attained it, in my mind.

The message of this story was good, but not powerful.  It didn't impact me, as a reader.  Great morals are often embedded in character and plot and the decisions themselves—in this case, the morals were quoted straight from this world's Bible, the Tomes.  It felt like I was being cheated of a good story, like the author, instead of taking the time to deeply embed messages in the characters themselves, just put it in there by quotes from some Wulder-following characters.  While I know this wasn't true, I still felt a little frustrated by it.

All in all, it was a good yarn, but not too powerful.  Read it, if you don't mind a plot that doesn't move too fast.  It's still a good tale.

Rated 8 out of 10.

(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah's BloggingForBooks program.  I was not required to write a positive review.)

Also, please take the time to rate my review below.  If you rank it, you are entered for a chance to win a free copy of The Dragons of Chiril!



Thank you!

Tip: Dilemma—Morals, Characters, and Problems Meet

One of the greatest tools of a writer in writing meaningful stories is the Dilemma.

It covers morals.  It fuels plot.  It causes problems.  It shows character.

Dilemmas are what happen when something goes wrong—and more than the usual wrong—and in order to fix it, the character must make a difficult choice.

And they're powerful.

But merely telling you about it is not enough.  Let's examine dilemmas from top to bottom, dissecting them to find out what makes them so strong.  And then, we'll use them to our advantage in creating truly meaningful stories.

Dissection

What makes dilemmas powerful?  

It's a hard question.  And in order to write powerful dilemmas, we need to know the answer.

There are hard, factual aspects of a dilemma.  For instance, here are some.

Dilemmas are powerful because they often show character.  You don't tell your reader that a character is heroic.  If you do tell your reader, at any point in your story, that your character is heroic (i.e. "He was a heroic guy"), you must cut it.  Now. 

Your character's character is showed by his or her actions and decisions.  You know a character is heroic when he or she sacrifices himself to save others, or if he or she risks his or her life to make a daring rescue.

Dilemmas take it a step further.  They go from making ordinary decisions—will he rescue the maiden or slink back to his old life?—to difficult ones.  Dilemmas aren't just choices; they're choices between two bad things. Will he die or allow someone else to die?  Will he eat cucumber and parsley cake or rotted watermelon?

If you want to show character, go with a dilemma.  Choices show your character's character, but dilemmas show their true motives and morals.  It's the difference between helping the maiden escape (decision) to dying for her rescue (dilemma; allow the maiden to die or die yourself?).  Helping the maiden escape may have ulterior motives, but dying is the greatest price of them all.  If a character dies for another, then loyalty and love is truly expressed, much more than in a simple rescue.

There seem to be different brands of character dilemmas.  There are normal dilemmas (die or allow her to die), and then there are also temptation dilemmas.

Someone—often the Villain—may offer the character a choice.  It's the choice between something bad or something the character wants—at a price.

A great example of this is in the TV show Doctor Who.  (I've recently discovered it, and I really like it.  But don't worry, no spoilers here.)  In the episode "School Reunion", the main character (the Doctor) is given a choice.  He can join the bad guys and have a chance to regain what he's lost, but at the price of doing something he thinks is morally wrong.  The other alternative is to try and stop them and risk their lives.

Think about it.  The only thing stopping him from accepting that choice is the fact that he would have to stand by and accept something morally wrong.  Not even  doing something wrong, only accepting that it was happening and receiving the reward for this wrongdoing.

And this reveals the character of the Doctor.  He cannot, will not stand aside while wrong is being done.  It's against his nature, his character.  If he sees wrong, he stops it, regardless to the cost.

This is a fantastic element of his character, revealed by a hard dilemma.

So, what else does a dilemma do?

It also moves the plot.

Dilemmas make fascinating reading.  They are simply irresistible.  What will the character choose? is a powerful question that drives the reader to keep reading.  It moves things forward.  And that's something you always want in a novel.

If the dilemma can have an impact on the plot and complicate matters, all the better!  

Dilemmas often create emotion.  Daniel Schwabauer states that the entire purpose of a novel is to create emotion.  Novels make us care for characters, and when a character is presented with a dilemma, it makes some sort of emotion.  If he or she makes the wrong decision, we feel disappointment, betrayal; such scenes can create a variety of emotion.  If he or she makes a right decision, we may feel proud, sorrowed (if the price is too great for the character to bear), etc.

Dilemmas cause your reader to think.  There have been many times where I have wondered, "What would I have done in this character's place?"  Dilemmas make the events of story move out of one world and into reality, impacting a reader's life.

And if the dilemma sets an example, then perhaps the reader will be encouraged by that.

Take these all together.  Dilemmas show character, move the plot, create emotion, and cause you to think.  They're powerhouses of story.  Alone, like this, they can still be powerful and impactful, but there is one thing that draws all of these aspects of dilemmas together.

Express the Moral

Morals.

That's the thing that ties a dilemma together and makes it relevant to the reader.

Characters show morals.  Plot shows morals.  Emotion makes the moral impact you.  And morals are the things that cause you to think in dilemmas.

If I had to tell you one thing in this post, it will be this: use dilemmas to express the morals behind the story.


It's hard to do that without doing what others call "preachy".  I've had attempts that did turn out preachy, but I kept on going.

Because if you can successfully (and without preaching) express the moral of a story through a dilemma, then you have a truly meaningful scene that will impact the reader. If you can do this throughout your novel, then it will be fantastic.

Often, a novel will have some sort of moral.  In The War Horn, my moral is tied up in the symbol of a war horn—freedom and also mercy and justice.  The dilemma my character has at the climax uses this symbol to express the morals behind my story in a (hopefully) non-preachy manner.

To Write A Dilemma

I can't give you step-by-step instructions for writing a dilemma.  The dilemmas must come from you and your imagination.  However, when writing a dilemma, keep these there things in mind.

1) Have your character choose between two bad alternatives in a way that has him or her stay in character.

2) Always make it hard.  The key to a successful dilemma is that the character will pay a price, no matter what the choice.

3) Express a moral.

4) Make it relevant and thought-provoking to the reader.  Something as heartbreaking as choosing which parent will die (i.e. choosing between Mom and Dad) would cause the reader to wonder which choice s/he would choose.

5) Create emotion.

Along the course of your life, what experience have you had (in life, in writing, in books, or otherwise) with dilemmas?  What can we learn from them?  Anything I missed that you'd like to note?  Like this post? Leave me a comment and we'll talk. :)

Just To Let You Know

I wanted to tell y'all that Jake is the best brother in the whole wide world (yes, he is that wickedly awesome!!)

Jake is amazing- you should know- you read his blog!

He is a great writer.

He has mad (arm) sparring skills.

He doesn't complain when he has to clean up other peoples' messes.

He lets me sit in the front seat when I'm in a bad mood (good move, by the way.)  :)

He is the type of guy who will give up his day to go fence in 101 degree weather (no shade or breeze!) with his grandpa.

He is someone who can make you laugh- laugh loud.

He is someone who isn't afraid to admit his mistakes- who always gets over himself and says he is sorry (not that he ever does anything that he needs to say sorry for!  *wink*)

He is my brother- the one that can sit on the sofa for 20 minutes and write a spectacular blog post (ridiculous, I know!  He has mad writing skills)

There is a lot more I could brag about- but I gonna go eat *ice cream* (Jake, you're missing out.).

One last word-

Jakey-
I miss you.  I love you.  You are the best (ever) brother in the whole stinkin' wide (really wide) world.  Don't get eaten.

Love,
Manny

p.s- please comment and tell Jake how (WICKEDLY) awesome he is!!!

Review: J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien famously penned The Hobbit and the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings. Known as "the father of modern fantasy literature," his writings have inspired many other works of fantasy and have had a lasting effect on the entire genre. In this Christian Encounters biography, learn how Tolkien's faith was an intrinsic element of his creative imagination, one that played out in the pages of his writings and his life. (Description from Amazon.com)

While this book is titled "J. R. R. Tolkien", I think it could have been called, "J. R. R. Tolkien's Life & Faith, & How It Impacted His Writing".  Much of the emphasis is not on his life—although the book certainly reviews Tolkien's whole life—but on how his life and his faith found its way into his writing.

I must hand it to the author; he could write a fairly engrossing biography, enough to pull me out of a fantasy novel and dive into this nonfiction.  Thinking I would read this after I finished a novel I was reading, I flipped through it, read the back, and read the introduction.  And from that introduction, I couldn't resist picking up the book.  The biography is small; only 160 pages.  But though it was small, it was certainly a good read.

Perhaps it's because I'm a writer that I liked it so much.  Much of the material touched upon—writing, Lord of the Rings, the Inklings, Tolkien's beliefs about fantasy and myth—was relevant to me, as a writer.  The goal of the TPBS (a group consisting of Tolkien's closest friends) was especially relevant.

As to the actual writing, the biography style of it was fine.  There were several sections where the author—probably on purpose—began with a bit of prose.  "It was the biggest snake Tolkien had seen" or something like that.  I found them to be out of place with the rest of the book, and a little annoying.

Even without this, the book would have made 4.5, maybe even 5 stars.  However, the "Legacy" chapter—the last one in the book—lowered my opinion of the book.  Without going into detail, I will say that I disagreed with some of the author's opinions, especially regarding Harry Potter.  Besides this, I felt that much of the chapter was out of place with the rest of the book.  While it is appropriate, when reviewing Tolkien's life, to also take a look at his legacy, I felt that some of this section could have been cut.

Overall, this was a good read that gave a lot of insight into Tolkien's life and the beliefs behind his tales.  Several sections—especially the sections about the TBPS—were just beautiful and poetic.  I literally stopped reading in several places to contemplate quotes that the author gave from various sources.  This excellent biography was only diminished by a few things that I disliked.

Rated 7.5 out of 10.  (Four stars)

Read it, you won't regret it.  Unless you don't like Tolkien and/or fantasy, that is.  Recommended.

(I received this book for free from Booksneeze, in exchange for a review.  I was not required to write a positive review.)

The Errant King Cover Art!

Wayne Thomas Batson has released the cover art for book two of the Dark Sea Annals: the Errant King.

Check it out. 

I've died already.  I suspect I'll die again when October rolls around.  I can't wait.  Chew on this while you wait!

Fantastic!

Giveaways & Spearhead

Hey, readers!  Giveaway time!

Yup, I posted that just to hook you in here.  Sorry.  But read on, and you'll find it's true!  I'm not the one giving it away, but it's easy to enter.

BloggingForBooks (WaterBrook Multnomah's we'll-give-you-a-free-book-if-you-give-us-a-review program) has changed some stuff up (again), but this time it's in our favor.

Basically, you rate my reviews, you get entered for some free books.  That's all.  Since you have to verify your email, they use that email to contact you should you win.  The BfB people draw from raters at random, so you have a good chance of getting some good stuff.  The more you rate, the better your chances.   :)  If you rate a particular book, you have a chance of winning that book: if you rate Dug Down Deep, for instance, you have a chance of winning Dug Down Deep.

And this happens...all month.

Crazy, huh?

Which also works out for me, since I'd like you to rate my reviews anyway. :)  I get free books and ratings; you get to rate and enter to win books.  It's not a bad deal.

If you want to rate some of my reviews, you'll find all of the ranking thingies embedded in this post.

Some other momentous news has come about today.  Four Christian fiction authors (Sir Hopper and Sir Batson among them) have teamed up to create a website called Spearhead.   It's something big, and I'm not entirely sure what exactly it is.  But it seems everyone is abuzz with this news.  Some even call it "the next big thing".  Here is Spearhead's about page.

It's like an online bookstore, run by authors.  Christopher Hopper, in his post about Spearhead, referenced it as a "guild".

Can't wait to see what comes of it.  This could go far.

Opinions?  Any more information that you know that I don't?

Where Things Are Going

Well, folks, I've come to a fork in the road.  And I'm turning soon.  Actually, that's more of a catchphrase than anything else, and an excuse to post that picture you see.  I already know where things are going. :)

I still have a lot of revising to do.  And that's pretty much a "Duh" for any writer; good books are not written, they're REwritten, right?

However, as I was rereading and formatting The Book of Shaldu this week, I began thinking about book two in the Prophecies Series.  That's the more-or-less official name of the series, by the way.

I really have no idea what is going to happen in that book.  It's a mystery.  I only have a couple of vague ideas and a prophecy.  But events are happening fast, and I'll fill you in.

Yesterday afternoon, I spoke to a friend briefly about Book Two.  That got my imagination juices running, and I realized (not for the first time) that I have no idea what I'm going to do in Book Two.  And since The Book of Shaldu was beginning to shape up, I thought it might be time to begin thinking about it.

That's what I do instead of outlining, see.  I ponder it.  I think about my characters.  I think about the plot.  And I say, "What could go wrong?"  (Which, by the way, is a fantastic question.  Find out what could go wrong, and then do it.)

Well, I didn't sleep very well last night.  That's what these things do to you.  In fact, in "sleeping on it", I might have awoken poor Inspiration again.  He always tunes into thoughts, not actions.  And since my mind was a boiling pot of imagination last night...

Long story short, he threw a bar of soap at me in the shower this morning.  And I realized that the back-story for one of my characters was a LOT more complex than I thought.

The character in question was Elene Silversword, the mother of my main character.   She was a strong character with a sharp wit and a sharp tongue, and she loved the High Lord.  For the longest time I couldn't understand why she was such a strong character.

But anyway, after Inspiration threw the soap at me, he told me all about Elene Silversword.  It was kinda creepy, actually, finding out all I didn't know about my own character.  Apparently she had fled to Kr'ark and married a guy named Jactwo Silversword.  'Course, I had to find out why she fled.  I'm her writer.

I found out a lot about this character called Elene.  For one, Elene isn't her real name.  Major shock there.  And for two, her story has betrayal and death and conspiracy wound up in it.

If you expect me to tell you what exactly her story IS, I won't.  It's my secret.  I promised Inspiration I wouldn't tell.

However, let it be known that her back-story will have a large impact on the course of the Prophecies series. This got me thinking for the rest of the day.  And, besides this, I figured out what this new prophecy means.

Now, if you're wondering what in the world all this has to do with where things are going, let me tell you; because of this rather painful smack from Inspiration, I now have a tentative plot for Book Two simmering in my mind pot.  I have a lot of foreshadowing to rewrite into TBOS, but it's beginning to come together.

To tie it all up, I have a feeling that Book Two is very close to getting to the point where I can begin writing.

And, of course, revising my other novels.  *sigh*  It gets tiring after a while...

Two more quick notes: first, the prophecy's name is also the name of a novel.  I actually "doodled" the prophecy, believe it or not.  I drew a tree, an orb, and a stylized moon, and then wrote a poem above the tree in runes.  This became the prophecy.

So, you want to know the name of the book?

Tentatively, Book Two of the Prophecies is called, "The Prophecy of Terrainian".

The name "Terrainian" is also tentative.  I may need a name-change.  Do you think I should change the name?  If so, what name would you recommend? (It's easily done; I haven't written anything about book two down anywhere but here.)

That's all for now.  Let me know what you think. :)

The Story

Someday, I want to write the novel I call the novel.  It's the novel that, if I ever have the expertise and the idea fleshed, will be the greatest novel I've ever written.

Sometimes, when I listen to certain soundtracks, I catch a glimpse of that novel.  The novel that would stir up adventure and stir the soul at the same time.  A novel that would pull you in for a wild ride; a novel that a reader will never forget.

It would be that kind of novel that (I hope) makes a reader sit back, and say just one word.  "Epic."  And the novel that is in me, somewhere, brewing, is just that.  If it will ever peek out, that is.

And, sometimes I wonder; do all writers have that novel?  Do you, writer, have that epic novel hidden somewhere in your imagination, just waiting to spring onto a page?

Or do you, reader, look for that novel you might call an "epic"?  And I've found those.  I've found in Tolkien, in Batson, in Davis, in Hopper, epics.

"Wait," you might say.  "What about all of those novels you're writing now?  Don't you pour yourself into those, too?"

And I'd say, yes.  But I almost view them as practice.  Even if they get published, though, they are only a small reflection of the novel that I may never write.

And yes, I may never write that novel.  Because, if I would write it, it might span pages, and pages, and pages.  Books.  Even more.  It would be a huge project.  I may even venture to call it "the Story", because it would be one story, even if it were more than one novel.

This story would be one of those stories that stays with you for a long, long time.  Something that expresses what I already have burned across my heart; the flaming love of a Savior, the passion of a God who saves, the furious fight of freedom, the ultimate battle of burning light and encroaching darkness.

But I feel, if I even attempt to write it now, it would fail.  Because I'm just not ready.  My writing style is developing, but not developed.  I have a lot of ground to cover before the Story can be written.

So, I write little bits of the things that rouse the soul.  In The War Horn, I touch on freedom and self-sacrifice.  In The Book of Shaldu, I write of the battle between light and darkness.  In Revolution, I will try to show the revolution that happens when God comes to earth and sets things in motion.

Little bits and pieces.  Ultimately, all of the pieces are found in the Bible; someday, I will try and show them embroiled in action in a tale that readers will never forget.  Perhaps it will be written.  Perhaps not.

Until then, I shall keep writing.

So, writer.  Do you have that tale you burn to write?  Tell us about it.

I'll leave you with one quote that Mr. S told us at the OYAN Conference.

Which would you rather have?

 Imagine yourself a bestselling author, with over a million copies sold.  But the thing is, once the reader reads your book, they promptly forget about it.  They've read it. It's just another book.  You get the royalties and all that from sales, of course. But the readers aren't impacted by it.  It's average.

Or, you sell one copy.  Just one.  You get the little royalty.  But the one reader who buys that book will never forget the wild tale they found inside.  Ever.

Which would you rather have?

The One Year Adventure Novel Workshop

Agent 42.

Lauffter Control.

A banana.

A name-tag.

A signed copy of Song of the Ovulum.

Scrawled, "To Jake, Bryan Davis".

Ninja battles.

Sword fights.

Lectures.

Writers.

Books.

All of them describe, but do not encompass, the One Year Adventure Novel Workshop.  It has been one of the most epic things I have ever done.  Undoubtedly.

And how to describe such epic things?  Epicness is hard to describe.  Very hard.  But I shall attempt it.  It shall be very lengthy.  So, if you want a summary; I have provided it above.  If not, try to make your way through this muddle.

The highlights of the first day (which includes the evening before the first day):

First, I met the one and only EaglesWings.  We (my entire Clan) had her and her mom over for supper, which composed of steak and rice.

I arrived the next morning just in time to see Mrs. S (one of the key people at the workshop) being herself.  Afterwards, Mr. S (also known as Daniel Schwabauer) lectured two lectures; he spoke first about Great Characters, using examples of Cyrano de Bergerac, Peter Pan, and Scrooge, I believe.

The second lecture spoke about common story mistakes writers make in their stories.  I won't go in-depth, but these were very helpful. :)  I took many notes. *nodnod*

Afterward, Mr. and Mrs. S acted out how NOT to critique and be critiqued.  Which was absolutely hilarious.

And then, lunch.

After?  

The thing that made my stomach churn.

Critique time.

Actually, it went quite well.  I was glad for the critiques. :)  

And then, break time commenced.  

After free time and supper, the OYANers packed back into the lecture hall for a surprise: which turned out to be a bagpipes fellow who played some absolutely fantastic stuff.  Cue much clapping!  

After that, a man named Mark Wilson came and gave a session called "The Lord of the Lord of the Rings", talking about how The Lord of the Rings was embedded with morals contrary to modern belief, and how it can apply to writing.  Great session, it was. :)

Afterward, the free time was labeled "Meet other OYANers who want to change and/or annoy the world with their words."

The Second Day:

Mrs. S was herself, for thirty minutes.  And she gave away stuff. O_o

And then, Mark Wilson again gave a lecture, this time about how storytelling impacts the world.  And I really liked this one as well. :)

After a short break, there was another lecture (this one by a judge in the OYAN novel contest) that talked about contest mistakes and how to avoid them.  

After, lunch, and then critique groups.  I gave them my worst chapter to endure. O_o

After this, there was scheduled a Doctor Who party-ish thing, which Eagles and I both went to, neither of us having ever watched Doctor Who.  So, I did, for the first time.

It was...strange.  And the fact that they watched two different episodes with two different Doctors made things confusing. >_>

The last two sessions of the night were very good as well; Mr. S talked about the four layers of truth in fiction, and how to communicate it; Mark Wilson talked about the need for community in writers.  We're not Lone Rangers. ;)

As for the time afterward, the OYANers were supposed to "Hang out.  Play Games.  Plot the destruction of the galactic empire."

Day Three:

Mrs. S was herself again.

Bryan Davis came to the Workshop to speak.  He gave us, in two sessions a crash-course in revision and advanced revision; from passive voice to foreshadowing to intimate point of view.  This was probably the most helpful part of the Workshop: I'm planning to do a Bryan Davis Revision soon. ;)

In critique groups afterward, we came up with the epic idea of Lauffter Control.  Defacing our name-tags, we hid the words "Lauffter Control" from view; and a plan to secure a banana was made.

After supper, Bryan Davis gave a fantastic "lecture" (better suited by the word speech) about writing for God and having a passion in writing.  It was amazing.  I cannot sum it up in mere words.

And after?  The Greenleaf Improv Team came to the Workshop and made us throw up our hands in laughter.  (Inside joke.  We had one of them "throw up their hands"...literally...)

The Last Day:

Mrs. S was herself, but only for 15 minutes.

After a lecture or two, a performance by some talented peoples, the critique group plot came to fruition.  And, chapter eleven of The War Horn was received very well, and they liked it. :)  And, Eagles' epilogue was bittersweet.

In the closing session, Mr. S addressed the topic he called, "Ack!  Where do I go from here?"  He did quite a good job. :)  And, some intrepid OYANers made an entire skit with the phrases like "His eyes were glued to the ceiling" and "he couldn't take his eyes off her" and "he threw up his arms", etc.  Complete with sound effects and a frantic person trying to grab the eyes off the ceiling...

After this, Eagles and I had a picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. S.

And then, as the schedule said, all OYANers packed as much last-minute fun they could into three hours.  It included a knighting, the pouring of Coke on one's head, capture-the-flag-ninja, lightning, and final goodbyes.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I slept very little the entire week?

And now the OYAN Workshop is over.  It was epic, and the words I have spoken will never sum it up.  Post-Workshop depression has been cued for shipment.

BUT.  It was taped. >:)  I suspect they'll be making a DVD of the Workshop.  

So, that was my week.  My first conference/Workshop thingy.

If you've made it through this post, congratulations.  Hopefully, I've made you want to be there.  And if you weren't there and have never heard of OYAN, go and buy it.  And those of you reading this and were there...perhaps I've made you want to do it all over again.

Farewell, all, and hopefully I can get a writing related post up here sometime. If I'm not eaten by tarantulas first...

Review: The Map Across Time

"Heaven is not impressed with power and strength, but favors those with a true heart.  Let your heart lead you, Adin, for love is what will drive you and protect you.  The solution to all your troubles lies in your past."

An ancient curse plagues the kingdom of Sherbourne, and unless it is stopped, all will fall to ruin. The King, obsessed with greed, cannot see the danger. But his teenage twin children, Aletha and Adin, know they must act. A hermit leads Adin to a magical map that will send him back in time to discover the origin of the curse. Once back, Adin must find the Keeper, who protects the Gate of Heaven, but all he has is a symbol as a clue to guide him. Unbeknown to Adin, Aletha follows her brother, but they both arrive in Sherbourne’s past at the precipice of a great war, and there is little time to discover how to counteract the curse.

One unexpected disaster after another forces the twins to make difficult choices. Adin’s only hope to correct the past is to return to the future to manipulate events so his quest can succeed. Through his trials and failures, Adin learns that nothing can stop heaven from accomplishing its goal, and that all events work for the good of those who trust heaven. An epic fairy tale with surprising twists, embracing the enduring power of love and faith. (From the back cover.)

Okay, I have to admit: I was expecting a good, fairy-tale read with not much force to the plot.  Good, but not great.  That was, in essence, the summary of my opinion of The Wolf of Tebron (Book One of the Gates of Heaven Series).

And I was so, so wrong.

First, I have to hand it to this author: C. S. Lakin has a way of packing a novel full of proverbs and truths (most of which come so naturally to the text that you don't think twice about it).  If you were a highlighting person, this would be one of those few fiction books to highlight.  There were tons of paraphrased verses and proverbs in this book that made the words jump off the page and into real life.

This book excelled where the other struggled: plot.  The story started out a little slow, with little mysterious tidbits to drive us on.  And then, around a fifth of the way through the book, The Map Across Time picks up until it grabs you by the throat and takes you on a wild ride to the satisfying end.  The plot twists are wonderfully shocking, as they should be, and most of the questions are answered by the final page. This was a huge improvement from the second book, making the series jump from "good" to "epic" in the four hundred pages of this novel.

It's mysterious enough that I may have to re-read the Wolf of Tebron to make the less obvious connections between this book and the first; no doubt, the next book will increase the connections even more.

The characters are fantastic.  Each character, to some extent (especially evident in the short snatches we had of a minor character, Merin) had their own unique voice, and all of them were very well-developed.  I loved them.  I really did.  This novel is definitely a prime example of character development.

This novel also had a subtly mysterious take on description.  The description and overall writing had almost a magical feel to it; it certainly enhanced the fairy-tale theme of the book, and made the pages turn quickly.  The use of Hebrew as the "language" helped make it "mysterious" as well.  It really added to the book.

There were very few cons with this one.  I found one or two typos, but nothing too bad.  There were several awkward scenes that could have been written better (like the sudden romance between two characters and a couple other instances), but it didn't detract too much from the story.  The whole time-travel thing became very confusing nearing the end (one time, no pun intended, I lost track of which time I was reading in), and it also made the book seem a bit circular.  The ending(s) reminded me a bit of the end of "Green" (one of Dekker's books that I really disliked), but this book actually had an ending.  The author pulled it off, and I really liked it.

And, to note one last thing: the cover art is definitely phenomenal.  The physical copy has this weird kind of sheen that makes it...glimmer.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book; mysterious, magical, engrossing, with a shining worldview.  I can't wait until the next one comes out.

Rated 9 out of 10. (Five stars.)  Read this book!  Or better yet, buy it!

(This book was given to me for free by AMG Publishers in exchange for a review.  I was not required to write a positive review.)

Spectacular News!

Greetings to all; Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, Goblins, Orcs (OO), and all manner of creatures!

I have come to announce some spectacular news; I have finished my OYAN novel, with a total of 25,110 words!  Since this is a very outlined and condensed curriculum (you are allowed 12 chapters with one scene per chapter), I am definitely excited that I reached my goal, 25k.  That means each chapter/scene is a little over 2,000 words.  Good, eh?

Now, along with the finishing of the novel, I shall reveal the title (for those of you who don't know it already): The War Horn.  It may not sound like much, but it has a great deal to do with the message of the story.

I really feel like, though the War Horn was the hardest novel I've ever written, it's one of my best.  It's totally in first person, and I think you all will like the characters.  It's definitely my best in terms of message and the clarity of that message.  And I put the character through all sorts of mental tortures; poor John is the most tortured character I've ever written.

The only con is, I didn't have as much time as I would have liked (remember the 12 chapter/scene limit?) to flesh out my characters, so some of them are only seen briefly.  I think, however, that in the short time I had, I accomplished a lot of development.

If any of you ever consider the One Year Adventure Novel (what I have been referring to as OYAN) curriculum, I think it to be well worth the money.

So, let the fireworks begin!  Don't let 'em off in populated areas, please, and try not to get too carried away. o_O

*proceeds to make sure the farm is empty of unexpected visitors*

Thanks so much for all the encouragement you readers give me.  I'm in your debt.

Farewell!

*watches as one of St. Pierre's barrels are thrown up just 'cause*  Oooh...

The Book of Shaldu: Cover Art!

That sounds really exciting, right?  No, I'm not getting it published just yet: but my sister and I have composed some cover art for The Book of Shaldu proof copy that I'll be getting from CreateSpace; as soon as I get my edit finished.

Want to see? 

Really?

Here it is.  Don't criticize it too much. ;)

(Click for a bigger size.)

I'll post the entire cover on here sometime; back, spine, and all.  And then you'll get to read the official blurb for The Book of Shaldu. 

Farewell for now, folks!  Tell me what you think of the cover!

Review: Swords of the Six

Betrayed in ancient times by his choice warriors, the dragon prophet sets a plan in motion to bring the traitors to justice. He hatches daughters from eggs with human characteristics; however, their veins flow not with human blood but the strength of the dragon's.   Armed with the traitors' rusted swords, these brave daughters set out to face the first traitor.

Either the traitor will repent, or justice will be served.

What follows is a story of betrayal, love, and ultimate sacrifice.

(From the back cover.)

I found Swords of the Six to be a good read with a great message, marred by a few faults that lessened my opinion of this book.

The cons.  Bear with me as I walk through some of the things I struggled with in this book.  Maybe it's because I'm a writer myself, and a persnickety perfectionist writer at that.  But I'll try to give my honest opinion.

If I had to sum up the faults I found in this book, I'd say 'unrealistic'.  This book struggled with realism.

First, many of the fight scenes were unrealistic.  I was disappointed by this. In a fantasy novel, a fight scene often makes or breaks it.  And I couldn't imagine them.  There were many sentences like this: "Dantress stood, grasped her sword, and dashed to the scene of the kidnapping. Before the remaining four dragons could attempt to take off, she thrust one of them through the chest and stabbed another in the neck when it clawed at Rose'el."  Like I said, unrealistic.  I just can't imagine this.

And, from throwing an ax that happened to be lying about at a huge serpent (he managed to hit it, too), to hunting with a sword (how DOES that work?), I was constantly jerked out of the story as my Inner Editor woke up.

Second, the characters were unrealistic.  While some characters (like Specter and Miverē) I really loved, the main characters kind of annoyed me.  Dantress never seemed to have a solid character; I never really felt attached.  She went this way one chapter, the other the next.  While some of these changes in character might have been realistic, the change just wasn't shown sufficiently.

The five other sisters, too, were not realistic.  They resolved in one section of the book not to kill, whereas in the next section they said they would kill to bring justice. I never felt like they were unique; they all seemed the same to me.  And then, what they did at the end just made me shake my head in disbelief.

Ilfedo seemed to be an engima.  The scene in which he started out made me think he'd be a bitter man for the rest of the book, but later in the book he seems to have not been affected by his own rampage.  Those emotions and characteristics completely disappeared.  He melted into a warm and rather gentleman-like guy.

And third, the writing was unrealistic.  It was dotted with places where the character apparently noticed her own long and dark, red-tinged hair (for it was described thus) and other such things.   Here's another one that bothered me: "She must have hit an artery because exorbitant amounts of green blood mixed with the rain-soaked mud and the monster fell."  Not only could we use a couple commas in there, but I don't even know what exorbitant means.  "Never use a long word when a short one will do," is a law I live by.  And we readers already know that the mud is rain-soaked; why tell us?

Now, forgive me if I ranted a bit here.  Like I said, I'm a persnickety, perfectionist writer.  Just because I spent a long section describing the cons doesn't mean the cons are all huge and major.

And for the more enjoyable bit: the pros.

I saw a lot of epicness hinted at for later in the series.  Several mysterious prophecies were given (and that I very much enjoyed), and the author himself said that this book is more of a prelude to the epic that is to come in his later books.

For this reason, I expect that the coming books in the series will improve.  I'll definitely be looking forward to reading them.  If Scott Appleton can redeem some of the faults I just described, I'm sure it will turn out to be a great series.

The character voice in Swords of the Six was likewise delightful.  From the easily recognizable tone of Miverē to the sound of the white dragon's voice, I found that the author excelled in this aspect.  Most of the characters had a favorite phrase or another that gave them their own flair.

The worldbuilding was quite good.  Although I think I still need some clearing up on actual locations, it appears that there's two worlds, dangerous creatures, towns, woods, and many, many ancient battles and struggles.  Some of them have only been hinted at; some we experienced for ourselves as readers.

I found the message of the book to be very good, even though I thought it could have been pulled off in a more emotional manner.  Sacrifice is a worthy moral.

The description, even if it was over-the-top and often used big words when small ones would do, was vivid in certain scenes.  It didn't quite deliver in some, but that was made up for in the more dramatic ones.

I found little visible plot to be found (it almost seemed to be two different storylines; thus, the book is divided into parts one and two).  This further adds to the feel of a "prologue" but I felt there could have been more to it.  There was absolutely nothing at stake, and that's what bothered me.  Nothing drove the story.  But if you don't mind a more character-driven story, I didn't find it that bad.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.  It had a lot of promise. I hate to criticize it, but there were some serious faults.  There were some redeeming elements to it as well, though.

Rated 6.5-7 (as I'm torn how to rate this) out of 10.  Roughly 3.5 stars.

Thanks to AMG Publishers for the free copy of this book to review.  This is my honest opinion, and I was not required to write a positive review.

Politics and Toothy Cows

(Photo taken from WingfeatherSaga.com)

(Inspiration and overall layout of the list taken from here, which was taken from here.  The following list is a simplified version of both.)

FEUDALISM: You have two toothy cows.  You and your lord are eaten after your lord tries to take some milk.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have two toothy cows.  The government takes them and puts them with everyone else's cows.  The toothy cows eat the regular cows.  Then the government sends you in there to take care of them, telling you that they will give you all the milk you need if you do so.  You are eaten.

FASCISM: You have two toothy cows.  The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and then tries to sell them back to you at a low price after their President of Cattle Affairs is eaten.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two toothy cows.  Your neighbors help you stay alive and take care of them, and as a result, you all live.  For a little while.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two toothy cows.  The government makes you take care of them, and then feeds you to the cows.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two toothy cows.  The government takes both, shoots you, and then the President of Cattle Affairs is eaten.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two toothy cows.  Your neighbors decide who gets eaten first.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two toothy cows.  Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets eaten first.

BUREAUCRACY: You have two toothy cows. At first, the government regulates when the toothy cows are fed.  Then it pays you to starve them and thus provoke them into a bloody rage.  Then, it takes both, shoots one (while the other eats the President of Cattle Affairs).  And then they feed you to the remaining cow.  After that, the government charges your family for funeral fees.

LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two toothy cows.  You manage to sell one (to whoever was foolish enough to buy it), and then set off in search of a toothy bull. 

SURREALISM: You have two bunnies.  The government sends you to search for a peaceful colony of flabbits.

Review Links

Hey all!  I recently discovered that the BloggingForBooks program reset all of their settings due to people using the system dishonestly.  That means that all of my ratings have been cleared.

So, I have come to ask you to rank all of these reviews below.  O_o  It's a tedious task, but if you can complete it, I am much in your debt.  I think, if I get enough ratings, I could win something.  Which would be amazing.

Thank you very much!

Dug Down Deep:
(Click here for the review on my blog)



Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest:
(Click here for the review on my blog)



The Ale Boy's Feast:
(Click here for the review on my blog)



Radical:
(Click here for the review on my blog)



Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor:
(Click here for the review on my blog)



The Charlatan's Boy:
(Click here for the review on my blog)



All right!  I'm off again.  I must write a lot today.

*disappears*

Review: Dug Down Deep

What are you going to build your life on?


Dug Down Deep is systematic theology like you've never seen it before.  Readable.  Relevant.  Powerful.  As best-selling author Joshua Harris shares his own journey from apathetic church-kid to student with a burning passion to truly know God, you'll be challenged to dig deep into the truths of God's Word.

With humor, conviction, and compelling insight, Dug Down Deep covers the basics of faith—God, Scripture, Jesus, the Cross, salvation, sanctification, the Holy Spirit, and the Church.  Don't settle for superficial faith; dig deep.

(From the back cover.)

To speak simply, Dug Down Deep is three things.  First, it is a book that recounts various aspects of Joshua Harris's spiritual journey to faith and other similar stories (like his father's story).  Second, it is a book that explains the meaning behind words like doctrine, sanctification, and theology.  Thought you knew those words?  Think again.

And third, most importantly, Dug Down Deep lays down the foundation of the Christian faith, chapter by chapter.  God.  The Bible.  Jesus.  He shows what the Bible says about each, in terms just about anyone could understand.  He shows how it's important to build your life on these truths, to dig down deep for them.

I found Dug Down Deep to be a fantastic read.  Before actually talking about truths you build your life on, Joshua Harris explains what doctrine really is.  "Doctrine is a clunky word for truths to build your life on," Harris says.  He also writes, later in the same chapter, "Doctrine is the meaning of the story God is writing in the world.  It's the explanation of what he's done and why he's done it and why it matters to you and me."

With this in mind, Harris plunges deep into the doctrines of Christianity.  Chapter after chapter, I felt the urge to grab a highlighter and highlight half the book. (I never highlight.)  The revelations I found in this book—and they were many—fed my thirsty soul and awakened it to dig down deep into Scripture in pursuit of a theology to build my life on.

Grab a highlighter, a Bible, and this book.  Be prepared for life-change.

Rated 9.1 out of 10.  It's a must read.

Check out the video for Dug Down Deep below:



Check it out here to buy on Amazon.

Here's my review on the Blogging For Books site.  I'd appreciate it if you'd rate my review!

If you want to read more about Dug Down deep, you can find an excerpt from the book here.

(This book was given to me for free by Waterbrook Multnomah.  I was not required to write a positive review.)

Edits and Updates

(Not my image.  Cool, though, eh?)

I might not be the greatest blogger on earth, but at least I've been writing, right?  Here's what I've gotten done so far:

• I'm on chapter four out of twelve in my OYAN novel; the word count is 6,629 words.  Roughly 26, 27 pages.  It's not too bad, yet, but I have a lot of brainstorming and researching to do in the next few chapters.
• I rewrote several sections and did one quick edit over the entirety of The Book of Shaldu.  It is now 52,900 words, with an epic new ending chapter.  Like I have said before, I thought the ending too dark and ended up writing just one more chapter in The Book of Shaldu.  I sent it off to some friends to critique as soon as I finished.  (That made me really nervous.  This is the first time in history that Jake of the Sadaar's novels have been read by any mortal.  What?  What's that you say?  Of course I'm immortal.)
• This blog post.  Yeah, I count them.  Judge me not!

Also, I'd like to post several other things: 

First, Michelle Archer at Arrowhead Reviews is having a giveaway of a book called Beyond the Dead Forest.  Don't join. ;) I want a free book! (Who doesn't?)

Second, I recently discovered (more like rediscovered) a Christian blogger who composes music.  His name's Jon Maiocco. I have listened to most everything he has up there, and I can assure you, that guy has some serious talent.  If you have a bit of time and some headphones, I'd encourage you to check out his Celtic song and his Isle of Swords song.  Those are my favorites. :)  Or you could just head to the main page of his blog to browse through them all.

Got Goals?

Well, June has dawned over the fields of Kansas, and it brings with it news: Mathe is dead, and school is almost finished.  (Technically, the last of my school is finishing a novel.)

But there's unseen news drifting in on the wind: Jake of the Sadaar has brought some goals with him into June.

I like to call summer the Season of Writing.  Made that up just now; clever, huh?

And I have some incentive for writing, too.  For instance, consider this: if you had 26 days until a writing conference, wouldn't you write?  But it's more complicated than that.  Because it's the OYAN [One Year Adventure Novel] conference: and that means you have to have an OYAN novel.  One I *ahem* haven't quite written one yet.  Yup, that's incentive.  Poor Procrastination doesn't stand a chance.

So here's some goals I have for this month of June, things I'd like to get done.  And it's a list!  Huzzah for lists!  Lists and bullets!  Double combination.

This list is in order of priority.

• Write the OYAN novel.  This is pretty much a must.  Either that, or I'm showing up to the Conference with a blank novel to share.  (Yup, I'm going to be sharing my novel at that conference.  Now you ALL want to go, eh?)
• Rewrite the Book of Shaldu.  This probably won't happen, since I need to have it formatted and edited and stuff for a proof copy from CreateSpace.  Believe it or not, I still haven't gotten my free proof copy from all the way back to NaNoWriMo.  Oh, and did I mention the free copy expires June 31st? ;)
• Write the last section of A Battle Fought at Midday.  This is farther down the list, since my above works have an "expiration date".
• Write in Revolution.  Probably won't happen, but there's a slim chance I'll have some time.  I'll probably pick it up next month

That's about it.  See you all next time.

(Postscript: Contact me if you want to do a rough-and-ready Word War.  I'm craving those right now; I gotta finish a novel before the 28th, right?)

Tuesday Night Word War: War II

It's that day of the week again.  Aye, 'tis Tuesday.  And there's more wars coming your way!

You know the drill. (Hopefully.)  But, in case you're like me (forgetful) or new to the Word Wars, here's the rules.

1) You must write only in the allotted time.  But, if you cannot do it in the time specified, feel free to participate (within the same amount of time, i.e. three hours) at a different time of day.

2) The War will take place from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the Central time zone.

3) To enter the Word War, post your starting word count in the comments section.  Then, once the War is over, post your end word count.  The writer with the greatest increase of words wins!

Like last time, I regret to say I will most likely not be able to participate in this Word War.  However, I wish you all the best of luck.  May your pen smoke and your keyboard smolder!

Write like the wind races; burn your words across the page!