Shelf Life: The Publicist, Book Two by Christina George @publicistgal

Chapter Two

Mac leaned back in his chair and observed Rebecca, a fellow editor, as she walked in and sat down.

“So how is it to be back?” he smiled, knowing the answer.

“It’s hard to leave a newborn,” she sighed. “It’s even harder when the minute I get back to work, Edward’s insisting we sign nothing but porn.”

Mac laughed, “Well, he tactfully called it ‘erotic romance’ but yeah, same thing.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes, “I hate Fifty Shades. Well, I hate what it’s doing to the industry. This hideously written book is being marked as a game-changer. I have to wonder if anyone who actually read the book said this. It was a repetitive and boring pile of crap. I want more literature. I was hoping to come back and do more children’s books and instead I’m ‘encouraged’ to sign porn.”

Mac spotted Kate walking past his office, “Katie, come in and say hi to Rebecca. She’s back from maternity leave and mad as hell.” Mac’s light blue eyes were on her; as usual, she heated up instantly. A smile rose from his lips, crinkling those eyes set off by his dark, thick hair. She wished she could run her fingers through it.

Pull yourself together, she thought. She took a deep breath, walked in, and sat down.

“Good to see you back. You’re not mad at me, are you? Chelsea did great this morning.” Mac’s eyes were still on her, burning into her. Kate shifted in her seat.

Chelsea was one of Rebecca’s authors, Kate wondered if she should tell her that she had to drug her up. It looked like her coworker had enough on her mind; Kate decided to wait to share Chelsea’s fear of national television.

Rebecca shook her head, “It’s not Chels, though I do appreciate the update. It’s the memo Edward sent around this morning.”

“I didn’t see it.” Kate was puzzled.

“It only went to editors,” Mac began, “encouraging us to sign more erotic books. ‘It’s what the readers want,’ Edward insisted.” Mac tapped a pen on his desk, clearly impatient with his boss.

“Shocker.” Kate threw Rebecca an encouraging smile, “I’m sorry, but you know this will wane. At some point housewives will get tired of reading about red rooms and being tied up.”

Rebecca laughed, “You’re right, I know we need to jump on trends. It was one thing when we were trying to sign young adult after the Potter craze, but this takes the cake.”

“I know,” Mac said supportively, “but you know Kate’s right. Edward will lose interest once something else shiny pops up on his radar screen.”

Rebecca stood, “You’re right, Mac, thanks for listening.” She turned to Kate. “Glad it went well with Chels this morning, I’ll catch her segment online.”

After Rebecca left, Mac turned to Kate. “So,” he smiled a broad sexy smile that drew her in, “how did it really go this morning?”

Mac observed a tiny muscle flicker near her eye. It always happened when she was stressed. She’d smile, her poise never wavering, but Mac knew. He could always tell when she was feeling ready to punch someone.

“I had to drug her to get her to go on. Her manager told me that she gets nervous from time to time, but it’s nothing major. Nothing major my ass! She was in a full-blown meltdown and there I was, shoving a pill under the door.”

Mac laughed so hard, he rocked his chair back. “Katie, world class publicist and author rescuer saves the day, again.”

A tiny smile slipped across her face. Mac was right; she was often less of a publicist and more of an author 911. She shook her head. “I have to call her manager and tell her that she’s either here for the rest of Chelsea’s TV gigs, or I’m pulling them. I barely got her to go on air this morning.”

“I think as a general rule, all authors should be sedated from the moment we sign them.”

Kate stood up. “It sure would make my job easier.”

Mac’s laughter followed her down the hall.

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Genre – Contemporary Romance

Rating – R

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Anne-Rae Vasquez Shares How She Made #Writing "Doubt" Interactive With Fans @write2film #amongus

How I made writing “Doubt” fun and interactive with fans

by Anne-Vasquez 

Doubt (Among Us Trilogy) is a story told in a young/early adult voice about former child prodigies Harry Doubt, creator of the Truth Seekers online game, and Cristal Hernandez. Harry decides to take the game offline when his mother and other gamers’ loved ones family go missing. Their search for the truth uncovers supernatural forces among them which inadvertently triggers the beginning of the end of the world as they know it.

The story mixes social media communications such as text messaging and video messaging as a form of communication between characters as they go on missions to find their family members.

All characters have aliases and avatars which is displayed as a splash page image at the beginning of the book.  The official website of the book (amongus.ca) also has detailed M.O.’s of the characters so readers can also view and interact with the characters on the website.

The story although geared to young adult/ early adult readers is also entertaining for general readers who are interested in the supernatural, sci/fi urban fantasy, apocalyptic genres with themes similar to the TV show Fringe (by J.J. Abrams).

As a filmmaker, journalist and web design programmer, I tell stories in multiple mediums.  Doubt (book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy) was literally created from an interactive online reality game that I created with the help of my developmental editor (Josefina Rosado).

The official website http://www.AmongUs.ca interacts with visitors allowing them to participate as Truth Seekers following the theme of the story.

I wanted to give readers another way to connect with my story.  Entertainment does not need to be contained in one medium. I believe in telling your story in many mediums. How do we do this?  One way was to entice readers  to participate in the experience of the story as it is being written. Putting Theory to the Test Here was the plan I used for fan recruiting  for my new novel Doubt, Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy:

1)        Design website for the book series using the theme of the story
(Theme: Truth seekers who are online gamers use the internet to communicate with each other and also hack into global networks to save the world from catastrophic events caused by an unknown entity.)

2)        Entice beta readers to read drafts of the chapters as I write them but only awarding the first 10 who register

3)        Assign characters from the novel to each beta reader.

4)        Provide the beta reader with their assigned character’s strengths, weaknesses, personality traits and physical characteristics.

5)        As more chapters in the book are written, the ten beta readers will be asked to provide input with the incentive that what they write may be included in the next chapter. They will not know until the next chapter is released.

6)        Release each new chapter to the first ten fans as an award for having joined early.

7)        As more beta readers register to the site, ask them to create their own character and post the character’s 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses and 3 physical characteristics on the website.

8)        Entice additional beta readers to complete simple mission assignments related to the story with the incentive that their character may be chosen to be written into the Book 2 and Book 3 of the series.

9)        Give beta readers a Thank you credit on a Thank You page on the site and also on the credit page when the book is published.

10)    When the beta readers pass a mission assignment, a chapter will be released to them.

Using this approach to write Doubt, I also allowed fans to participate and shape the story. This has helped build the fan base and also promote the book launch. The release of the book is November 9, 2013 and because of this approach, Doubt is being featured at the Rain Dance Book Festival in Canada.

If you’re a reader, what do you think of this approach to writing?  If you’re an author, how did you write your novel?

About Anne-Rae Vasquez

Anne-Rae Vasquez is a freelance journalist for Digital Journal.com, author, film maker and web design programmer.  Her latest novel, Doubt, is the the first book in the Among Us Trilogy series.  Her other works include: the novel and screenplay for the award winning feature film and web series Almost a Turkish Soap Opera, Salha’s Secrets to Middle Eastern Cooking Cookbook Volume 1, Gathering Dust – a collection of poems, and Teach Yourself Great Web Design in a Week, published by Sams.net (a division of Macmillan Publishing). Almost a Turkish Soap Opera was her feature screenplay and film directorial debut. Anne-Rae Vasquez is available for interview.

PR Contact Details

J. Suarez c/o AR Publishing 7360 137 Street #517 Surrey, BC Canada  V3W 1A3 +16046085747
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Do you love shows like J.J. Abrams' Fringe and read books like Cassandra Clare's City of Bones?

"Doubt" mashes fringe science, corporate espionage and paranormal encounters to catapult you into an out-of-this-world experience.

At 21 years old, Harry and Cristal are fresh out of university with their PhD's. Labeled all their lives as being 'weird' and 'geeky', they find true friendships with other outcasts by playing online virtual reality games.

Harry Doubt, a genius programmer and creator of the popular online game 'Truth Seekers', has a personal mission of his own; to find his mother who went mysteriously missing while volunteering on a peacekeeping mission in Palestine. His gaming friends and followers inadvertently join in helping him find her; believing that they are on missions to find out what has happened to their own missing loved ones. During Harry's missions, Cristal and the team of 'Truth Seekers' stumble upon things that make them doubt the reality of their own lives. As they get closer to the truth, they realize that there are spiritual forces among them both good and evil, but in learning this, they activate a chain of events that start the beginning of the 'end of the world' as they know it.

Doubt is Book 1 of the Among Us Trilogy. Among Us is a book series which delves into the world of the supernatural and how it intersects with the everyday lives of seemingly ordinary young people as catastrophic events on earth lead to the end of times. Among Us weaves the theme of a young man and woman, who while not fully understanding their 'abilities', are drawn together in their desire to find out the truth about the world they live in which is similar to themes used in J.J. Abrams' TV shows Fringe and Lost.

What readers have to say...

As a big fan of the show Fringe, this book appealed to me tremendously. The writing was well done, and the way the "supernatural" forces were introduced was great.

A good, clean read for any age.

It was an excellent story that I'm sure both adult and teen urban fantasy fans will enjoy. You don't have to be a gamer or know one to identify with the characters. They're very well developed and definitely feel like people. I would definitely recommend it to a friend and I'm really looking forward to the second book.

...the novel is written in such a languid style, it moves on effortlessly and absorbs the reader into the story completely. Although the story itself revolves around the online gaming industry, one does not have to have an in depth knowledge as it is ably explained and discussed within the plot line. OMGosh! I just finished reading "Doubt" INCREDIBLE! I couldn't put it down.

˃˃˃ >>> Depth and Substance mashed up with Fringe Science. Will entertain young and old alike.

This book is intended for mature young adults and new adults. Ages 16 to 45 +

˃˃˃ >>Inspired by real Truth Seekers Aaron Swartz and Harry Fear

The main character Harry Doubt was inspired by Aaron Swartz, internet prodigy and activist, co-founder of the Creative Commons and Reddit, and Harry Fear, journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist whose coverage of the conflict in the Middle East was seen on UStream by millions of viewers.

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Genre - Young Adult, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Thriller

Rating – G

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Website http://amongus.ca

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Icarus Rising by Rob Manary @robmanary

Thursday, Day 4

I’ve decided to leave for Toronto tonight. After hearing Wayne’s report I might have left immediately, I am that taken with St. Claire, but guilt holds me here. I visit my sister, Elise, each week without fail, but I doubt she would realize if I have missed a week, or indeed if I never visited her again.

My mother was “not well” is how it is politely put. My earliest memory is of scalding hot water and the stink of bleach. I remember vividly my mother pouring bleach on my tender young skin and scrubbing my hands raw with a wire brush. “Dirty, so dirty, how do you get so dirty?” she would intone over and over again as she flayed the skin from my hands. I would cry out in agony and Elise, my saviour, my older sister, would come to my rescue.

I can hear her shaky, terrified little voice as she interceded on my behalf. “Mother,” she would say in that weak voice, struggling to be strong for me, to take the pain from her younger brother. “Look at my hands. I’m filthy, so dirty.”

Mother would drop my hands and appraise Elise as my sister held out her hands to Mother for inspection. Elise was my Christ. But Mother didn’t stop with Elise’s hands. Mother would also attack Elise’s beautiful sweet face with the wire brush and scrub raw her porcelain skin.

This terrible ritual seemed to bring Mother to a cathartic release of sorts. Realizing at last what she had done to her children she would hold us close and weep, begging us for forgiveness, promising to never lay a hand on us again. And then she would take to her bed for weeks or months. Her “lazy days” is what she called them and how thankful I was when they would come.

Home was a sprawling twelve bedroom prison to me. Most of the rooms were never used and we were not allowed to go into much of the house. At night I was tied to my bed, and there were days when Mother would leave me restrained, days when I would scream and scream because I didn’t want to empty my bowels and be left in my own excrement.  Mother kept the place like a museum. Her husband, my father, left her before I was born. Elise told me years later that Mother thought her love would one day come home and she must keep the house as he left it.

We had two servants that served the family faithfully for decades, a married couple, Charles and Abigail. They served my grandmother before my mother inherited the family estate and by all accounts my grandmother was, like my mother, “not well.” They were, therefore, accustomed to my painfully eccentric family. They were kind to Elise and me, but kept silent about what went on under the roof of their long time employers.

I’ve never blamed them. They lived in the little cottage house on the grounds, were paid little, and were already advanced in age when I was young. I don’t think either can read or write and serving our family was all they knew. They must be in their late seventies now and they still live in their little cottage house on the grounds of what is now my estate, I suppose. They care for my museum prison.  I pay them well and Abigail keeps the place spotless for visitors that will never come. Charles, I am told, still maintains gardens that are the envy of the neighbourhood. They were kind to Elise and me so I am kind to them.

My fondest memories are of working in the garden with Charles when Mother had her “lazy days” and of sitting in the kitchen and listening to Abigail sing as she prepared elaborate meals that only my sister and I would eat.

When Mother began wandering the halls of the estate in her faded and tattered wedding gown, cradling a shotgun, Abigail was finally moved to call the police.

 

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Genre – Erotic Romance

Rating – R

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#Fantasy - Come & Meet #Author Dora Machado @DoraMachado

What inspired you to write your first book?
My first book was born out of my lifelong dream to write. I’d known all my life that’s what I wanted to do, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I had the time, resources and opportunity to sit down and write. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t thinking about my stories before then. On the contrary, I think my stories flow out so easily these days because they’ve been written in my mind many times over.
Which part of the book was the hardest to write?
Overall, the book was easy to write. It sort of wrote itself. Perhaps the most challenging part was to stay consistent to the villain’s character. The curse giver really did believe that her craft was as an instrument of justice and I had to be true to that belief throughout the story.
Who or what influenced your writing once you began?
As writers, we are influenced by everyone who comes into our lives and everything that we see and experience.  My travels have always influenced my writing and so has my exposure to different cultures, mythologies and histories.
What has been the best compliment?
I love it when people say my novels kept them up all night and that they couldn’t put them down. It means that I’ve successfully conveyed the passion I feel when I write. It’s also nice to hear that readers have fallen in love with a character. You know you’ve done a good job when people care about the characters and connect with the story at a very personal level. Some readers have pointed out that my writing has a lyrical quality which they associate with my romance language/Spanish background. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s nice to hear, because I try to showcase romance not just in the story but in the writing as well.
But the best compliments come from people whose lives I’ve touched with my stories, people who say my books have helped them keep their mind off problems, illness, grief and loss, readers who find refuge, joy and respite in my fantasy worlds.
What genre would you place your books into?
Like the Stonewiser series, The Curse Giver falls into the fantasy genre and fits well in the subcategories of epic fantasy, dark fantasy and fantasy romance.
When or where do you get your best writing ideas?
The shower, definitively the shower. Maybe it’s because I can’t sing, so instead, I think. Seriously, I think that after a long night writing, a hot shower relaxes the body, clears the mind and allows the stories to flow. I also get a lot of ideas in my dreams when I’m asleep. Driving is good too. In fact, I have a pen and pad always ready in my car. The scribbles are really hard to read, and so that you know, I only update my notes during long red lights.
Does the setting play a major part in the development of your story?
Absolutely. I think that settings are particularly important in fantasy. To create rich and authentic settings, I draw a lot of inspiration from the places I travel to. For example, I had an opportunity to visit Peru when I was writing The Curse Giver. The breathtaking sights of Machu Picchu, the religious ceremonies that I witnessed in Cuzco, and the Quechuan legends I learned about influenced The Curse Giver‘s settings, both physically and conceptually. In addition, my experiences rafting on the Colorado River, exploring the Mississippi River, and researching the Amazon River, helped create and authenticate the river-centered culture and geography of The Curse Giver‘s settings.
How do you celebrate the completion of a novel?
With an edit! J Seriously, the first thing I want to do when I finish a draft is read it again. The champagne is usually reserved for the finished product, although it has been known to make occasional appearances when a novel is accepted for publication and when the cover hits my screen.
How long did it take to get your first book published?
About a year from beginning to end. It felt like a century!
How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?
I think that book promo has changed a lot over the years. At the same time, I think it hasn’t changed at all. Let me explain. I think publishers expect their authors to do a lot more promo than we used to do. In addition, authors want their books to do better, faster. There’s also a lot more competition, which means we have to find ways of differentiating ourselves. So we do a lot more to promote our books and we try to be as active in promos as we can.
On the other hand, I think that the best way of promoting a book continues to be word of mouth. Nothing sells a book better than a personal recommendation, which is why strategies that hinge on word of mouth are so attractive to most of us. In that sense, book promotion hasn’t changed at all.
What is your favorite quality about yourself?
Hmm. I think I’m really hard-working.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
I shy away from giving advice to aspiring writers because the journey can be very different for each one of us, and we all tackle the road in different ways. But if you pressed me on this, I would say that, above everything else, a writer has to write. So write, write often, write a lot and write with passion; and don’t forget to learn from the experience.
Are your books available in audio? If so, give us more details about where we can get them.
The first book of the Stonewiser series, Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone, has just been released as an audiobook. The entire trilogy will be available in audiobook by the end of the year. I have to tell you, listening to Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone was one of the most powerful and joyful experiences I have ever had as an author. The narrator, Melissa Reizian, is an incredibly talented voice actress. She did an amazing job, applying a broad spectrum of accents and sounds, enriching and enlivening the story.
Even if you have already read Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone, I encourage you to listen to the audiobook. And if you’re an audiobook lover, this is one you have to hear. You can listen to a chapter sample at: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Stonewiser-Audiobook/B00F52CJIY/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1379186069&sr=1-1
It’s good, old-fashioned storytelling at its very best!
Anything else you’d like to tell my readers?
Give a new writer a try today. Try something different that you hadn’t considered reading before. Try fantasy, for example, and open your senses to the idea of new and different worlds. Reading is the fastest, most convenient way of traveling, and our minds really need to travel.

Lusielle's bleak but orderly life as a remedy mixer is shattered when she is sentenced to die for a crime she didn't commit. She's on the pyre, about to be burned, when a stranger breaks through the crowd and rescues her from the flames. Brennus, Lord of Laonia is the last of his line. He is caught in the grip of a mysterious curse that has murdered his kin, doomed his people and embittered his life. 

To defeat the curse, he must hunt a birthmark and kill the woman who bears it in the foulest of ways. Lusielle bears such a mark. Stalked by intrigue and confounded by the forbidden passion flaring between them, predator and prey must come together to defeat not only the vile curse, but also the curse giver who has already conjured their demise.

Award-Winning Finalist in the fantasy category of The 2013 USA Best Book Awards, sponsored by USA Book News

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Genre – Fantasy/Dark Fantasy

Rating – PG-18

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Website http://www.doramachado.com/

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Colorworld by Rachel E. Kelly @colorworldbooks #Romance #Free

Wen knows what love looks like. Since her mom died over a year ago, she’s seen it every day on her orphaned younger brother’s face. Wen’s made good on her promise to her mom that she’d take care of Ezra, even quitting her carefree party-girl ways to become a hard-working college student so she can provide for him. 

Wen knows what love feels like, too. Because when she touches people, she feels what they do. "Uniquely perceptive" is what her mom called it, and Wen’s not going to argue; she doesn’t know any different. 

But an energy therapy study changes not only what Wen knows about her unusual gift; it also changes her. Now, instead of feeling emotions, her touch brings death to others. No one is safe around her, especially Ezra. 

Wen turns to energy healers for help. And that’s where she meets him: Mr. Tenacious and Audacious, Gabe Dumas. He knows about love, too; he speaks it in ways Wen has never experienced. And he’s never even touched her. 

With her heart unravelling, Wen discovers a world only she can see. It may offer hope for her condition… or it may be better left hidden. 

*Intended for 16 and up

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Rating – PG13

Genre – Romance / Sci-Fi

4.6 (19 reviews)

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Robert Breeze Talks About Where His Characters Came From #Fiction #TBR @robertbreeze

In writing books for me the idea of the characters always comes first. From there I think of a setting to place the character’s in, and interesting storylines based around the character being placed in those settings.

In relation to The Chronicles Of Hope series I was sat on the tube one day and a glance opposite was to be the basis for many of the characters in the series. What I saw was a man, or rather, a gent. He had silver hair swept into a side parting, a smart briefcase, long beige mackintosh, and was reading a copy of the financial times. He glanced up occasionally to genuinely sneer and flash dirty looks at an unkempt looking black man opposite him. Unfairly but instinctively, in my head I ripped this pompous racist apart, myself probably guilty of stereotyping as much as him. The whole scenario got me thinking about stereotypical characters and made me think that the most interesting characters I know are those who don’t fit a set stereotype. I love people like that, people without predictable identities. Goths and hippies, any set group of people about whom stereotypes can be projected, I find completely unoriginal. The interesting people are those  whose personalities can’t be pigeonholded or pinned down to a set stereotype. That in itself makes a character in a sense and it became the basis behind the ideas for most of the characters in ‘2082’.

The government project involved in ‘2082’ is a totalitarian one based on a personality machine, with ‘contradictory personalities’ such as a racist hippie and competitive rastafarian highlighted in a very crude form. As unrealistic as the whole concept should be, recently there have been several revelations about how the government and social media sites are collecting this very data. It then wouldn’t be hard to envisage how such information could potentially be misused in future and make this a realistic concept.

In one chapter Frank challenges the residents to come up with positive stereotypes in order to try and open up the subject in a positive way and make fun of how the government have treated his charges. I think having a sense of humour towards these issues is the way to go, let’s acknowledge that we all instinctively stereotype and at least try and project that in a positive manner, let’s seek to laugh about it rather than getting offended.

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Genre - Political Fiction

Rating – PG

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Jennifer Cornet – How to Write by the Seat of Your Pants: Outline or No? @J_Cornet

How to Write by the Seat of Your Pants: Outline or No?

Most importantly, before I say anything else on the topic, there is to “correct” answer to whether or not you need to outline to create a successful story. Do what works for you. With that being said, you should totally write an outline. Let me fill you in on why.

Chances are when you thought of your story you came up with a basic concept and a couple of characters. That’s great, but those elements alone don’t make a complete story. Outlining can help you as the author work through your concept and flesh it out before ever writing a complete sentence. There are a few styles of outlining that can help you accomplish this and since I work best in metaphors, I’m going to draw comparison to driving. Think of Point A as your blank sheet of paper and Point B as a completed first draft.

The first method of using an outline to travel from A to B is by only marking the major point: beginning, major events, and the ending. If I’m driving from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, California I’m going to pass through Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and finally arrive in California. This method doesn’t tell me how I’m moving through each item, only that I’ll hit that mark. By marking only the major events you give yourself ample room for creative freedom while not flying completely off the handle, losing the point of your book, and ending up in Canada somewhere.

Another approach is what I’ll call the “Google Maps” version. This method still takes you from DC to LA through all those places listed above, but it tells you how you are getting there with turn by turn directions. An outline that follows this method will include the smaller scenes in between the major events. This method might be more appropriate for those writers with a complex plot. If you have a number of story lines that overlap, jotting down the story in more detail will help you work through how all the roads weave together to meet at the end.

The final method is the “Family vacation binder.” If I were to hop into an RV with my parents for a cross country trip, you better believe it would be more planned out than a series of directions. The “family vacation binder” would include places to sight see, roadside attractions, bed and breakfast reviews from online, restaurant suggestions, and a detailed itinerary for entire the trip. This level of outlining is the most detailed. It would have scene descriptions, character reactions/motivations, important symbols or notes to be included. It could also involve multiple outlines that tie in to one another. As crazy as it sounds, this in depth form of outlining can be wildly useful. If you are writing something that is incredibly complex, you will eliminate a lot of rework by laying it all out in the beginning. It is much easier to add plot points or shift things around when they are in an outline than when they are embedded in your first draft.

In the end, all three outlining methods will get you where you want to go. It’s up to the writer to choose the method. And if you start writing and realize you would rather go to Canada than LA, you can always throw out the map and go where the road takes you. It’s your story after all.

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Genre - Urban Fantasy

Rating – PG - 13

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Quality Reads UK Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the author and previously used on other sites.

R.J. Blain's #WriteTip for Finding Your Voice: Writing in First or Third Person @rj_blain

Finding your voice or style is an important part of the writing craft. But, what most people often don’t realize is that this voice or style is almost always in a state of flux. Your voice is something directly tied with how you communicate and present words. It changes as you improve and strengthen your writing. It develops along with your skills.

Your voice or style changing is not a bad thing. It’s a natural sign of progression. So, don’t sweat it when someone tells you that your voice or style will probably change, or makes recommendations on how to improve it. Any time you change how you write, your voice or style changes as a result. This isn’t a bad thing. Embrace improvement, and don’t sweat it when your voice changes. Let it grow with you.

That said, if you are the type of writer who likes writing stories in different perspectives, be it third person or first person, you need to be especially aware of your voice and style and how it changes depending on the POV type you are working with.

Most authors have significantly different writing styles when working in first or third person.

The First Person Perspective 

First person is considered to be the most intimate of perspectives. Throughout a first-person novel, readers go on a direct journey with the POV character. Voice and style of first person stories should change with each novel; it needs to match the personality of the character being written about. So, if an author has one style with a character from a series, their style will likely change if they write in first person with a character from a different series.

While the basic way the author uses words may not change significantly, there will be a lot of nuances specific to the character they are writing about. I think this is something important for readers and writers to recognize.

And, this is where the distinction between voice and style can be truly made. Voice is tied to the character. Style is tied to how the writer ties words together to make sentences. Voice should change – it should fluctuate with the characters. Voice is how the characters speak.

Style is how the author writes, within the constraints of the character’s voice.

The Third Person Perspective 

To stick some sticks through the spokes, first person and third person aren’t that much different in terms of style and voice choices. In a way, third person can be a little more forgiving in terms of character voice in a specific novel. However, it is less forgiving in terms of style. I think a common perception is that there is a certain amount of flexibility when writing in first person because the writing should be a direct reflection of the POV character.

In third person, this reflection is often less. Third person characters are often considered to be held more at arm’s length compared to the personal nature of first person.

That said, I think there is a lot of room for third person characters to have their own voice while the author still applies their general style to their novel.

Understanding and Identifying your Style

Before you can truly develop a character’s voice, which is essentially a variation of your style suited to match a specific individual in your story, you need to understand style. In order to understand your style, you need to understand language.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are the basics of a writing style. Dialect, regional quirks, and writing and reading background significantly impact your writing style.

If you want to learn how to improve your style, study the language you write in. Understand it and the people who speak it. Once you do this, look at what makes you unique compared to other authors.

Mistakes aren’t a style. They’re mistakes. The rule about breaking the rules when writing only applies once you know the rules and you’re doing them intentionally, not due to ignorance or lack of education. Only then can you turn purposeful ‘mistakes’ into a style – but at that point, they’re not really mistakes, are they?

Kalen’s throne is his saddle, his crown is the dirt on his brow, and his right to rule is sealed in the blood that stains his hand. Few know the truth about the one-armed Rift King, and he prefers it that way. When people get too close to him, they either betray him or die. The Rift he rules cares nothing for the weak. More often than not, even the strong fail to survive.

When he’s abducted, his disappearance threatens to destroy his home, his people, and start a hopeless and bloody war. There are many who desire his death, and few who hope for his survival. With peace in the Six Kingdoms quickly crumbling, it falls on him to try to stop the conflict swiftly taking the entire continent by storm.

But something even more terrifying than the machinations of men has returned to the lands: The skreed. They haven’t been seen for a thousand years, and even the true power of the Rift King might not be enough to save his people — and the world — from destruction.

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Genre - Fantasy

Rating – PG - 13

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#Mystery - Ben Woodard Talks About How to Make Your Characters Believable @benswoodard

How to Make Your Characters Believable

I think to make your characters believable you have to believe in them. They have to come alive in your mind. So that you can see them, hear the way they talk, and smell their scruffy clothes. There are plenty of techniques to do this—you could write down everything you know about your character.

His likes, dislikes, fears, hatreds, loves, personality type, and more. These are excellent ways of learning about your character, and are a great way to flesh out the details, but I think that the first step is to see the character in your mind’s eye.

Once when my wife and I were taking a trip and she was driving to let me work on a story, I read the portion of what I had written to her. In the process of reading, I got choked up at what was happening to the character. She looked at me in disbelief and said, “You’re acting like the character is real.” And my response was, “He is, to me.”

I could feel his pain and his anguish at what I, the author, was putting him through. And I gave the character free reign to lead me into the story. Often the characters behave in a way I don’t expect, but I have learned to let them tell the story, not me. I believe only someone who has written a book of fiction can possibly understand an author feeling this way.

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Genre - YA/Mystery

Rating – PG – 13

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Connect with Ben Woodard on Facebook and Twitter

Website http://BooksByBen.com