Aubrie Dionne

I don't usually post reviews on this blog because I have a book review blog, but this book is so famous (and I loved it so much) that I thought I'd post my review here as well. I had a two hour drive on Saturday up to the White Mountains to play at a wedding and then a two hour drive back, so I read this book and couldn't put it down until I finished! Has anyone else read this book? Did you like it? (A lot of people don't!)

Here's my review:
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Mary lives in a secluded village surrounded by wire fences that keep out the Unconsecrated, an army of living dead. Ruled by the Sisterhood and the Guardians, the village may be the last one of its kind. Life is not about love and risk, but commitment and adherence to the policies dictated by the Sisterhood. Betrothed to a man she doesn’t love and tempted by her best friend’s intended, Mary has trouble believing in the Sisterhood’s rules. Even more, she craves what lies beyond the village walls, seduced by her mother’s tales of a vast ocean beyond the forest of hands and teeth.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is gruesome and dark with love at its core. Set in a post apocalyptic society of religion and fear, the story draws on freedom verses imprisonment and predestination verses choice. Ryan weaves a complex web of passion, love, and jealousy. Filled with tension, strained relationships, and lots of teen angst drama, this tale is hard to put down. A great sense of irresolution keeps page after page turning at light speed. But if you want answers, this book is not for you. Written in a literary style with elegant prose and poignant descriptions, Ryan is more focused on the journey than the end result. Perhaps she will give us more answers in the second installment, The Dead-Tossed Waves.

The deadline is coming up for Pill Hill's Atlantis Anthology! I checked on Duotrope and they only have 3 responses pending. So I'm thinking that maybe I have a good chance? At least it's not a hundred! (Like Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Clarkesworld) Does anyone want to write an Atlantis story and submit it as well?

I'm halfway through my story. It took me about a month to think of all the different ways an island can sink in the ocean and why. And then I had to think of which perspective to write the story from: Explorers finding the island underwater? Mermaids that live under the sea? I finally decided to write the story from the perspective of a girl living on the doomed island.

I thought I'd throw in Poseidon to make it more interesting!



Here is the blurb:

When Marina's brother sets sail during a storm, Marina makes a deal with Poseidon to save him: her hand in marriage for her brother's life. Left with a pearl ring, Marina must wait for Poseidon's return. While in the marketplace, she meets a young temple guard that assures her she is safe from his wraith. Tempted by his love, she kisses him and the sea rises up as Poseidon gets his revenge.

Here's the first paragraph:

The surf churned bubbles in the sand and whale-sung elegies rode the wind. Marina peered through the seashell charms hanging in the window of her beach hut and watched her brother’s fishing boat disappear over the horizon, riding the tidal waves out to sea. He’d been reckless before, but this time he tempted the gods with foolish abandon. Emptiness rose in the pit of her stomach with the ill omens. She knew she’d never see him alive again.

What would you choose to write about if you were to write an Atlantis tale? What do you find interesting about the lost continent?

Rhonda Parrish is the submissions editor at Niteblade Magazine, an online horror and fantasy magazine. She's just published her first book, Shades of Green, over at Sam's Dot Publishing and I'm so excited to interview her!

1. You've been writing and editing for awhile now. Has your writing changed since you began your journey? If so, how?

Absolutely, my writing has changed, and thank goodness for that. It wasn't that long ago that I used to use the words 'then' and 'than' interchangeably. Seriously. I wish I were joking. I didn't have a clue what active voice meant and was in love with ellipses. Not only was I in love with them, for some reason I seemed to think if I used more dots it would indicate a longer pause. Again, I'm not joking.

I shudder when I think about (or when I'm feeling particularly masochistic, read) my old stuff but I'm getting better. If I look back at how far I've come, it gives me hope about how much I can still improve.

2. What are you favorite subjects to write about? Is there any subject that you would never write about?

This question really stumped me. So much so that I even asked the people most familiar with my work if they'd noticed a strong theme or subject I returned to over and over again. They hadn't, and neither have I. If I had to try and pick something I went back to the most, I think it would be the uncanny…and Aphanasia. The latter isn't a subject though, but a setting I enjoy.

3. Do you find that the genres you write are also the genres that you enjoy reading?

Yes, but not exclusively. I don't tend to write "literary" (for lack of a better word) works, historical fiction or comedy, but I've been known to enjoy reading them. I do read an awful lot of fantasy and horror stuff too though (which is what I primarily write). To some extent I think you really have to read the genre you are writing in.

4. What do you do when you get a writing block? Do you have any advice for us authors?

It depends on the block. I never feel like I lack for stories to write or ideas, and my biggest block to writing is willpower. Finding the will and the focus to sit down and do it. That is my biggest obstacle. If, however, you mean what do I do when I'm stuck within a story, I find getting away from it for a while helps. If I go walk the dog it frees up my mind to play with the plot and figure out how to fix my problem, and a hot bath has been known to undo more than a few plot knots for me. If that doesn't work venting to my best friend (also a writer) occasionally helps, as does brainstorming and bouncing ideas off my husband.

5. You're also the editor for Niteblade. Can you tell us a tip on submitting? What makes a story stand out?

Read the submission guidelines. Seriously. Can I say it again? Read the submission guidelines. I will know if you haven't. I really will and that handicaps your story. In fact, in some cases it will ensure that I reject your submission without reading it at all.

As for what makes a story stand out in a good way, it can be any number of things. Three dimensional characters I care about, fantastic description or an engaging plot. If you've got a combination of those things you're gold, but even one of them can sometimes be enough to make the story one that has me saying 'I have got to publish this!'.

6. Tell us about your new book, Shades of Green.



Shades of Green is a fantasy novelette set in Aphanasia. It's about a swamp elf named Z'thandra. Z'thandra is the last of her kind and she lives with the Reptar, a race of lizard-people who resent her presence in their village and make very little attempt to hide it. One day Z'thandra meets a human out in the swamp, the first she's ever seen. What happens next, as they say in hooks and blurbs, will turn her life upside down and affect the Reptar race for generations.

Dun dun dun!

At its heart I think it is a somewhat unconventional love story. I really look forward to hearing what readers and reviewers thing. Well, I look forward to it with the appropriate amount of nerves and trepidation.

I have a page dedicated to Shades of Green at my website (http://www.rhondaparrish.com/publications/shades-of-green ). There you can see the cover, ordering information and read the first chapter.

You can read my review of Shades of Green here! I loved it.

Thank you, Rhonda! Your answers are not only interesting, but will help all of us authors out there with writing and submitting.

Some blogs have zero comments for every entry, and others, especially literary agent blogs have a hundred comments all from different people! So, how do you decide whether or not to comment on a blog?

I thought about it and here are some of the factors that urge me to comment:

1. If the subject matter is something that peaks my interest. For instance, I love movies, and if someone posts something about a sci fi or fantasy movie that I've seen, you bet I'll be there with a comment.

2. If the subject matter is something that I know a lot about. If I feel as though I can contribute in a constructive way, than I sure do comment!

3. If If the person is a regular commenter on my blog. Then, I tend to know more about them and feel comfortable commenting on their posts. I also think it's like returning a favor!

4. If the blogger is feeling down about rejections or whatever. I feel the need to empathize.

5. If they pose a question like: What are your favorite foods? Or how do you deal with rejection? Then I find it easy to comment!

6. If they are having a contest! I love entering contests on blogs and I've won a number of things: Chocolate (thank you, Angie), two critique contests, and numerous books.

7. If the person responds to my comments, especially when I ask a question. Then, I know they are reading the comments and I feel as though my comments are considered.

My question to you is: what gets you to comment on someone else's blog? What makes you be a follower? I'm looking for more followers for my blog, so if you could de-mystify this process for me, that would be helpful!

A lot of people have been asking me where I get my pictures for the covers of my books and short stories. I spend a lot of time on Dreamstime.com in the fantasy category looking through images for my writing. I'm lucky enough to have publishers (Gypsy Shadow Publishing, SynergEbooks) that accept my own pictures. (Lyrical Press does their own covers, but they are so beautiful that I won't complain).

Sometimes I even find an image and then write the story about it! This is what happened with my short story Night Dance. Something about the image inspires a story out of me. Now, it's not every image that I see, only certain ones, like the picture above. What do you think her story is? What inspires you to write?

The Syfy Channel is showing Reign of Fire tonight at 7pm EST. Is it only me, or should there be more fantasy/sci fi movies out in the theaters? If I had my way, everything would be told from a fantasy/sci fi perspective! Even comedies. My favorite is when they cross genres and combine fantasy with sci fi, like this movie does.

Reign of Fire takes place in the future, where dragons have caused the apocalypse. Christian Bale (who was also in the new Terminator movie and Batman) fights the dragons with a bunch of survivors at an old castle in England. How cool is that? I went to the theaters to see it in 2002, but I have no memory of what happens...hmmm is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Anyways, I cut up pieces of paper, put your names on them (from both LJ and Blogger where I cross post), turned them over and had my husband (who is totally unbiased) pick one. He choose Jeannie Campbell, who is a new follower of mine and has this awesome blog. Congrats Jeannie!

 

Today's interview is with Lisa Rusczyk, author of Sam the Night Person and Full Moon in December. I absolutely loved Full Moon in December. You can read my review of it here. Now, my questions are designed to get to the know the author, but also to learn more about the writing and publishing process. If you leave a comment, you will be entered into a drawing to win her ebook, Sam the Night Person! Click here to buy it.

Enjoy!

Aubrie, "Your writing is very interesting and unique, crossing genres between fantasy and literary fiction! Where did you get the idea for "a night person?"

Lisa, "I spend a lot of time daydreaming and came up with night people one night when I had really bad insomnia."

Aubrie, "Do you have any advice for us writers on how to choose an e-publisher? How and why did you choose Club Lighthouse Publishing?"

Lisa, "I went to Piers Anthony's epublishing list on his Web site and checked them all out. I queried the ones I thought would be a good fit for the book I wanted to publish. I was thrilled when Club Lighthouse agreed to publish it. I love epublishing because of the freedom that comes with it. My editor let me use my fiance and my sister-in-law's art for the covers and she didn't ask me to do any revisions. Working with her is like working with a friend and she always gets back to my questions with a great attitude."

Aubrie, "How do you balance writing with all the other things going on in your life?"

Lisa, "I work from home as a freelance writer so I have a lot of time. Lately, I haven't been getting much fiction writing done. Not sure why. One of those lazy times, I guess. I'm determined to have the next book in the night person series done in the next few months, though, so I need to get working."

Aubrie, "Tell us about Sam the Night Person and your series!"

Lisa, "Sam the Night Person is about Sam and Azzy, a couple who both have special magical powers. The story is about how they stop a man from going after Azzy out of revenge for something Sam may or may not have done. The second book continues with Sam in another story as he comes to terms with what happened in the first book. The third book brings in new characters, like the second book, and a new obstacle must be overcome. These books are very fun to write."

Aubrie, "Here's the zany question: If you could write about anything you wanted to without worrying about everyone else's opinion, (agents, editors, readers, etc) what would you write about? (for me, it would be unicorns and lots of them!)"

Lisa, "Hmm... Probably a cat detective story. Like a little tabby who investigates crimes in the neighborhood. I love talking cats!"

Thanks for answering my questions, Lisa! Now, if you want to win Lisa's ebook, all you have to do is comment below!

Okay, I've combined the comments from my LJ and Blogger accounts and come up with the following interview schedule. My questions are designed not only to learn about the author, but learn from the author. Their answers will help us all on the journey of writing!

Feb.
Lisa Rusczyk, author of "Sam the Night Person," Club Lighthouse Publishing.
Rhonda Parrish, author of "Shades of Green," and Editor of Niteblade.

March
Nicole Zoltak, author of "Knight of Glory," Desert Breeze Publishing.

April
Angie Lofthouse, author of several short stories and editor of Mindflights.

July
Stephanie Haefner, author of "A Bitch Named Carma," Lyrical Press
Amy Allgeyer Cook, author

TBA Interviews:
Christine Rains
Cherie Reich, author of "Once Upon a December Nightmare"
Tara McLlendon

I still have spots for May and June if there are other takers out there. All you need to do is be a follower of this blog!

I'd like to do an author interview every month or so, asking questions about how they started writing, what new works they have out, what gives them inspiration, what influences their writing, etc etc. Some questions will be typical, but others may get a little zany!

So, if you are an author and you are interested in answering my questions and you have a short story or novel coming out and would like to tell me about it, please leave a comment below with your email and what month you would like to be interviewed!

desert nomad by ~salamandersoup on deviantART

I'm now up to 20,146 words. I'm taking my time with this novel, making every sentence shine. There are absolutely no was's had's or adverbs to be found! I plan to send this novel to agents. Yes, scary as it might sound, I'm going to try to break out of my ebook reign and feel the heat and sting of rejection. It was one of my New Year's resolutions. I'm not rushing it because I find that if I take my time thinking about the plot and the characters, the story develops with much more depth. If I write fast, all I write is crapola.

My question to you is: What would you expect from a sci fi book titled Desert Nomad? What comes to mind? Dune? Luke's home planet of Tatooine? Stargate?

So many stories combine the sci fi with the desert!!! What did you like about them? What drew you in?

It's not official yet, but I believe that I'll have a print contract for The Voices of Ire, my debut fantasy novel written four years ago. It was an ebook for awhile, but the company went out of business before it went to print, and so I left it on the back burner and started new projects. I've finished two other books and a number of short stories since then and my writing has morphed so much that I can hardly tell I wrote some of those passages at all!

Now I had to rewrite the whole thing!! Not from scratch, but enough to make it the same quality as the other projects I have out there. It took approx. twenty hours, a lot of coffee, and sour apple candies! I thought I'd share with you how my writing has changed, and then you can share with me your own stories of when you looked back!

#1. Passive voice was everywhere!

Here's a direct quote from the old Aubrie, "The ground had become uneven, and Fiona had to use her walking stick to remain steady, jumping over crevices and sliding across slates of granite."

And here's the new rewritten sentence, "The ground became uneven, and Fiona used her walking stick to steady herself, jumping over crevices and sliding across slates of granite."

I can't believe I used so much "was,were,had". Horrible, just horrible. My editor from Lyrical Press would be all over that. (Hi Stef!)

#2. Point of View changed all the time.

Epic fantasy novels are typically written through a lot of points of view, but my pov's changed right in the middle of a passage all the time. I had to go through entire scenes and choose whose point of view to keep and whose to keep quiet! I lost a lot of good sentences in there in the rewrites, but it's just not possible to allow everyone to think out loud all the time. If I really wanted to keep something, I had to have them say it.

#3. I loved loved loved adverbs! Why, I don't know? But I had so many interestingly's and suddenly's that I had to take a machete to the screen and chop chop chop away. I understand now why adverbs don't read as well. Why I didn't see it then? I'm not sure.

Now, all of you out there that had the courage to go travel back to the dark ages of your own writing, what have you found? What did you used to do? What has improved?

 

I'm excited to unveil the cover for the Skulls and Crossbones anthology that my short story got into this past fall. The requirements for the anthology were to come up with a woman pirate story, and boy, this cover says it all!

My story is titled "Pirate Wannabe".

Here's the blurb:

Dragged to every pirate event and maritime museum by her buccaneer crazed friend, Clare is tired of drudging up the past and wants to work on her own assertiveness in the present. On a special trip to learn about Ravishing Robert, The Pirate King of the Seven Seas, Clare has a newfound burst of curiosity and finds herself drawn into his tragic tale. When no one is looking, she pulls out his sword, yanking it from the century old mast where it was found at the bottom of the sea. Releasing the object sends her back in time as a stowaway aboard his ship, the Red Lichen, where she has a chance to prevent his mutiny and save the dashing pirate from sudden death.

The anthology should be out soon this month and I'll let you know when it's here!

My friend, Christine, did a post titled "The Good, The Bad, and the Not-so Ugly" and so I thought I'd follow up with one of my own.

First of all, let's get the Bad and the Ugly out of the way. This weekend I got my worst rejection letter so far in the history of my rejections. This email came from the Triangulation End of the Rainbow Anthology editor.

Here's what he said:
Thanks for sending this our way but we're going to pass. At its core, this is a plot that's been told many times, and this treatment doesn't do anything new with it. As an additional note, it's generally considered bad form to include a story synopsis in your cover letter.

If you have anything else that fits our theme, we'd be
happy to take a look at it.

Bill Moran
Triangulation Editor

What? Who knew a colorblind girl searching at the end of a rainbow had been done before, and many times. And secondly, they didn't specify what to put in the cover letter. Who knew that a blurb would be so damning. Did anyone else know about this or was it just me?

Now the good. I finished my short story for the Pill Hill Shadows and Light anthology and sent it to my critique partners.

And, I made an awesome pot of potato and leek soup courtesy of All Recipes.com. Here's the link if you want to try it. (Add an extra potato, though to thicken it up. I did).

Overall, not a bad weekend, just a sore spot on Saturday. I submitted my story to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and we'll see what they think of it.

I'm stuck between two novels right now, trying to figure out which one will grab an agent's attention the most and what the market is turning towards. I thought you guys could help me decide which one to focus on.

Novel #1 Young Adult, Fantasy, Steampunk (so far 11,120 words)

City of Sparkling Light

Gilda is a simple seamstress in the small tatter town of Lamplight Alley, a village nestled in the shadow of the city of Shine. When a strange chest appears outside Shine’s locked gates, tempting the citizens of Lamplight Alley to part with their meager gold for a ticket inside, Gilda gets the chance she’s always wanted. But soon she learns that dreams don’t always come true, and Shine is not the place of hope that her townspeople make it out to be. Under the city’s glitter and glamour lies greed, vanity, and a dark secret that could change the lives of the people of Lamplight Alley forever.

Novel #2 Science Fiction, Romance, Space Pirates (so far 19,334 words)

Aries is a Lifer: a sixth generation colonist living aboard the Ark, a deep space transport vessel destined for a paradise planet three hundred years away. Her purpose is to maintain the life support systems and marry Lieutenant Barliss, producing two genetically superior children to take their place at the helm.

Stifled by an existence predestined by computer calculations, Aries manipulates an escape months before her marriage ceremony to Barliss. Her flight pod crashes on a desert planet with minimal survival conditions and she is caught between the search and rescue teams of the Ark and the primitive hunters on the alien world. While struggling to survive, she is rescued by Striker, a space pirate exiled by his mutinous crew. Together they search for the last relic needed to revive an ancient alien craft, their only means of escape. With the search teams flying above and the hunters stalking them below, Aries is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice; her freedom for Striker’s life.

Which novel would you be more interested in reading and why? Please comment, (even if you've never commented before!) I need your help!

Okay, this was one of the books that I bought with my Christmas B&N gift card and I'm about half way through. So far, it's a big help, as much a help as his other book, "Writing the Breakout Novel." I've decided to post interesting tid bits from the book as I go on reading it.

The most helpful advice for me, so far, is that every chapter must have a turning point: both an outer turning point in the plot/events, and an inner turning point in the character's motivations. Now, the outer turning point is the easier one for me, it's the inner turning point that's hard to pin down. Both turning points should relate to each other, such as: the outer turning point changes the characters POV and causes he/she to think/act a certain way.

Very helpful advice.

I've been constructing my scenes with a main purpose in mind and going from there. I find I have much more focus and can write faster when I know exactly where I'm going and why. Also, it helps me identify the inner struggle that each character faces and whose POV to write the scene in.

What do you think of this advice? Do you have turning points to every chapter?

 

I want to hear everyone's New Year's resolutions!

I've come up with some of mine:

1. Learn to cook more interesting/healthy vegetarian dishes. (And I'm starting off today with garlic ginger tofu and Fire and Ice Pasta-two recipes I found on Allrecipes.com. Desert will be honey baked apples with fresh cranberries.)

2. Keep submitting to agents. It's so easy to stick to my ebook companies and write for them, but I should always reach higher, even if the rejections sting.

3. Read and review more books. I'd like to build up my book review blog. So if anyone out there wants me to review their book, please leave a comment below.

4. Try to get better at small talk! I like to stick to the point, but that doesn't always go over well. I need to find a way to talk to people about nothing in particular and keep conversation without bringing up fiery topics.

Now, what are yours???
 

 

Summary: (Taken from Yahoo Movies)

AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of "Titanic," first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not exist yet. Now, after four years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

My Opinion:

I was afraid that the movie would be too cartoony and, at first, it's hard to adjust to. But as I fell into the story and the characters the graphics didn't bother me. In fact, I was amazed. It's a visual smorgasbord that stuns the viewer with a fully imagined alien world. The great detail is enough of a reason to go back and watch again.

And Sigourney Weaver is amazing. Channeling her inner "Ripley", I hated her at first for her acerbic attitude and hard edge. Then, as the story unfolded and I saw what she was up against, her role turned into more of a Diane Fossey from "Gorillas in the Mist." Sam Worthington as the paraplegic ex-marine was all good looks and charm, and a little bland, but it fits his role. Zoe Saldana gave an emotional and sexy performance as the love interest and alien Pocahontas, Neytiri. I found myself routing for her and her people.

Bottom line:

This movie has intense emotional moments, a big message about peace and the environment, and really pulls at the heartstrings.

From a writer's point of view, the characterization is as three dimersional as the film and the fact that the protagonist is taking his brother's place and doesn't have the knowledge or expertice is ironic and twists the plot in directions that it wouldn't otherwise go.

I don't usually review movies, but this one was special and nothing much is happening in the writing world right now. I have several short stories out there waiting to hear back and I'm still ploughing through edits for Messenger in the Mist. I'll be gone for three days to North Carolina, so I'll blog again after the New Year. Hopefully I'll have pictures of my brother's wedding by then!

Did anyone else see Avatar? What did you think???

Oh my goodness, I just returned from Wal-Mart and it was a MAD HOUSE! I'd done all my christmas shopping way before Christmas and then today I realized that I'd forgotten to buy something for my sister's dog, Faye. The entire parking lot was full, never mind the strange car parade of people wearing santa hats and shouting out Merry Christmas blocking the way in and out. Frosty stood on the back of a pick up truck, and all the people surrouding the Santa ringing a bell clogged the front of the store... And this all happened before I even went in.

People raced with shopping carts, I was almost hit twice, and all the fuzzy socks were gone. Entire displays were empty, and the cashiers were not in a good mood. But they did have dog bones, nice ones in fact. Phew!

Anyways, my short story, Darken, is out in the "Winter Solstice" Fantasy and Sci Fi Edition of Emerald Tales.



Their next theme is Carnival, if anyone is interested in writing a story for them. I'm going to pass on this theme because I have a whole series of carnival stories coming out with Gypsy Shadow Publishing, and I think I'd go crazy if I had to write one more.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!

 

This is my dog, Jedi, with his new candy cane dog treats. He's pretty excited about the holidays because I'm home more to take him outside and spend time with him. He's a wire haired miniature doxen (There are three kinds: smooth, long, and wire) and that's why he has whiskers! Named after the "Jedi Knights", he's an excellent guard dog. ( Until people see how big he really is). But, oh well.

I'm excited about the holidays because I've bought so many special presents for my family and I can't wait to see their faces when they open them! We're doing a Christmas sing a long and are going to have the traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. (Vegetarian, of course) My brother is getting married to his long time girlfriend from high school on New Years Eve!!! They are having a small ceremony in their barn with poinsettas and birch bark as decorations.

I'm also excited to get a bunch of books that I've requested including:
The Boneshaker
Me and Mr. Darcy
Under the Dome

What did you ask for this holdiay???

 

I'm halfway through my short story for the "Rainbow's End" anthology.

Here is a rough draft of the blurb:

Apprenticed as a weaver to her mother, Tala yearns to follow in her footsteps and complete the Tapestry of History for their village's yearly Festival of Ancestors. Tala only sees the world in monochrome and struggles to discern the patterns on the loom. In desperation she consults a witch woman, who instructs her to follow the rainbow's end to find what she seeks. Tala journeys with a friend from her childhood and together they learn that life is not black and white at the rainbow's end.

And I'm slowly working through my edits for Messenger in the Mist, and boy is it taking a long time. Phew! Because the semester is over at the University, I have Fridays off for the next month, so I'm hoping to get a lot done.

Is anyone else going to write a story for this? If not, what are you writing for?