...And What A Year It's Been!

Wow! Musa Publishing is a year old!

That means that I've been a published author for an entire year. I was fortunate enough that my first novel, The Blacksmith's Daughter, was chosen as the first release for Musa's Euterpe line for YA fiction. Everything about that experience transformed my vision of my book, my writing, and myself. I cannot thank everyone at Musa enough for bringing me on board and giving my work a chance.

The folks at Musa brought my work to an audience I could never have reached on my own. It won first place in the OK RWA International Digital Awards for YA long novel. I have actually had a book signing. All this was because Musa Publishing believed in this book.

But the support didn't end with the book's release. Over the past year Musa has offered workshops that cover everything from writing hot blurb copy to book contracts to finding an agent. I have enjoyed and learned from every single one. (I laughed a lot during "How to Write Love Scenes" but learned a great deal during that one too! Some things I didn't really want to know. . . )

Even more wonderful is the incredible group of writers that call Musa home. Everyone helps promote and support each other so generously. Furthermore, I can personally attest to the quality of the work coming out of Musa because I have read a number of Musa books. Every time I finish one I am that much prouder that I am part of the Musa group.

CONTEST: In celebration of this fantastic event, everyone who follows my blog and leaves a comment with their email address will be entered to win a pdf copy of The Blacksmith's Daughter, the perfect format for reading on the Kindle Fire that will be given away to one lucky bloghopper!!! And I am sweetening the pot to include a $10 MUSA PUBLISHING gift card. Yes, I want you to read my stuff, but I want you to read other Musa authors as well!!  Also, please friend me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arley.cole.

In case you don't win or just don't feel very lucky, here's the link to an exerpt from The Blacksmith's Daughter and an easy buy link at the fabulous Musa Publishing website (the Amazon link is up at the top).

 

The Blacksmith's Daughter by Arley Cole

 

 

Now before I forget, here are the rules of the bloghop again:

Rules to Hop

1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: October 1, at Midnight (pst)

THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, October 7, at Midnight (pst)

Winners will be drawn and posted October 9th! ***

Come Join the Party on October 7th at The Romance Review Forum to enter to win more prizes. http://www.theromancereviews.com/forum/ (Exact address will be posted as soon as I get it)

4) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP and COMMENT ON, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

5)Grand Prize of a Kindle Fire is for US and Canada mailing addresses only. International winners will receive a $50.00 Musa Gift Card. Winner will be announced on October 7, 2012 at 11 est at The Romance Review Forum.

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? ***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules.***

To go back to the Linky Link and visit more blogs for MORE CHANCES TO WIN a Kindle Fire and other great prizes, click here!!!

 

 

Clarissa Johal Goes Paranormal!

I recently had the chance to interview the super cool Clarissa Johal about her upcoming novel Between (Musa Publishing December 2012). Clarissa's blog "Writing with Scissors" is so much fun to read I wanted to be the first in line to talk to her about writing paranormal fiction.

Between is a paranormal novel, right? How do you approach the paranormal? What do you find interesting in this genre?

Between is a story of the paranormal, yes. I approach it in this novel as being a part of the protagonists “normal” world because she can see spirits; they disturb her but it isn’t unusual for her to see them. Personally, I’ve always felt there are many things in this world we have yet to understand. That’s how I approach writing the paranormal. Yes, it sounds fantastical, but who’s to say one person’s fantastical isn’t another person’s reality? And who’s to say their reality isn’t real?

I find the paranormal genre interesting because it leaves so much wide open as to what you can write about. Anything is possible. Plus, I feel that it’s becoming more widespread and acceptable to admit to believing in the paranormal. Kind of coming about full-circle, if you will. Five hundred years ago, people believed in ghosts, fifty years ago, not so much. Now, I think we’re kind of getting back to that belief stage but trying to “prove” through science that ghosts exist. I find it interesting.

 What qualities does your lead have in Between that make him/her compelling to you? Why did you want to write his/her story?

Well, my two lead male characters wouldn’t leave me alone to write the YA novel I was working on. So, I have to say, I had no choice but to share their story! But Lucinda, my lead protagonist, believes whole-heartedly that everything can be saved. She’s a veterinarian, which is a quality you want in that field. I wanted to write her like that because it’s something that I feel people grow out of. As we mature, it becomes evident that every life can’t be saved, sometimes death takes a hand and takes it without our permission. I wanted Lucinda to still hold onto the belief that she could save every life. It’s what attracts my male antagonist to her because he’s coming from a period in time where nothing anybody did could spare the lives of those you loved.

That sounds really interesting to explore. I am particularly intrigued by the hint that he's not from around here, so to speak!

Tell me about the most unusual inspiration you’ve encountered. What’s the strangest thing that ever inspired a story in you?

I have to say, this story has been the strangest story to come about. Like I said, I was writing the second installment to my YA series and the two male characters kept popping into my head—to the point where I couldn’t concentrate on what I was working on. I knew they definitely didn’t belong in a YA novel. So, I started writing Between and it came fast. There were times I’d write for an eight hour stretch and go back to read what I’d written and not remember writing any of it. I’d dream in Gaelic and Latin, which I don’t know. I’d wake at two in the morning, write it down and look it up the next day to realize that some of the translation actually made sense. It sounds loony tunes, and I realize that, but that was my experience. There were historical details I wrote, and then in checking my facts later, were spot on. So, I don’t know. Strange way to write and definitely not the usual way I write.

 Whoa! I never yet dreamed in a foreign language and I thought my dreams were trippy. That adds a whole fresh layer of paranormal to this book, Clarissa!

So, finally what’s the most unexpected place on earth you want to visit and why?

My friends and family know how much I love Scotland, especially the rainy, cool weather. But, I’ve always wanted to visit the Amazon rain forest. I’m not a fan of insects nor do I like the heat, but I would love to see and experience the wildlife there. My hobby is photography, so I would definitely take my camera with me.

Very neat place! But I agree with the savage bugs. I think I'll just join you on your next trip to Scotland instead!

So to whet everybody's appetite for more  Between, here's a taste of what's to come!

Between

Coming from Musa Publishing on December 14, 2012

 
Since Lucinda was a young girl, she's been able to see spirits, a gift that didn't come without its problems. Now a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that everything can be saved. When Lucinda is involved in a car accident that kills her fiancé, she is devastated and moves to a small town to live a life of self-imposed exile. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him.

However, there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire. The spiritual activity around her intensifies as Lucinda is increasingly haunted by memories of the accident. As she is drawn into a bitter tug-of-war by the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she surprisingly finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life . . . but a battle for their salvation.

Now go friend Clarissa and follow her awesome blog, "Writing with Scissors"!!!   

Author website:  http://clarissajohal.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001014803686

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ClarissaJohal

Blogger:  http://clarissajohal.blogspot.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Clarissa-Johal/e/B003KVTMPK

I Put the FAN in Fantasy: Mystery Men

The cast of Mystery Men

In compliance with my recent pledge to myself and everybody else on the Internet, I am amping up the "weird" factor in my web presence to better reflect my truly geeky self. In particular, I am starting a series of posts about one of my absolute FAVORITE topics in the world--fanfiction.

Fanfiction has a less than stellar reputation in the serious publishing industry, but there are at least 2.2 million users posting stories in 30 languages around the world at the biggest site www.fanfiction.net. And that doesn't count all you anonymous lurkers out there who read and NEVER REVIEW. Yes, I'm talking to you. Just drop a note that says, "I read this. It was good." You'll be making some poor non-paid author's day (mine included). Plus there are loads more sites like Live Journal and Deviant Art that post fics too.

So in honor of my long held personal and academic interest in the phenomenon of fanfiction, I'm going to address one of the first elements of writing it:

Have a burning desire to write that story.

For instance, I love the movie Mystery Men. It's such a fabulous tribute to, spoof of, and exploration of the superhero movie. In this world, nearly everybody has some kind of weird, marginal superpower. The Shoveler who can shovel really really well. Spleen whose gas is silent but extremely violent. Mr. Furious who gets really mad---really mad. The Blue Rajah who throws forks---hey, anybody can throw a knife, but a fork? Invisible Boy who is only invisible when nobody is watching him and it somehow works. And my favorite, The Bowler with her signature bowling ball containing the skull of her dead father, Carmine the Bowler.

I adore this movie, but I have never once been afflicted with a fanfiction story about it. Maybe the movie wound up all the plot bunnies. Maybe there wasn't somebody I just had to see hooked up (romance is a major thread in my fics). For whatever reason, as much as I loved the characters in Mystery Men, I never wanted to write about them. So I didn't.

Too many times, we writers of "real" fiction spend a lot of time studying the market and trying to come up with the next Harry Potter or Twilight or Hunger Games or Shades of Grey. So we end up with this uninspired pastiche Dirty Harry Games Taking Place at Dusk and we wonder why there are no takers on the manuscript. It's because the burning desire ain't burning.

If, by some chance, you are like me and need your muse to get off her rear and go to work, you better find an affliction of plot. You better stir up an itch you have got to scratch. Fantasize about it. Tumble over the thoughts in the top of your head until they began to bother you at night.

If your original plot isn't coming together, never fear! A great way to break loose the creative mojo is to write a little fanfiction. What's a movie or tv show you love? What is the one thing that never happened in it that you always wished you could see? Now write it. Run it up the digital flagpole at fanfiction.net and see who salutes it.

Trust me, somebody out there really wants to read it---unless it just sucks eggs. In that case, definitely start writing fanfiction and work on your creative chops. Learn from your reviews. Ask for honest opinions. Get beta readers. The only way we get good at our craft is to practice it. Fanfiction is a super accessible, fun, free way to toss your pearls before a built in audience and get nearly instant feedback.

But whatever you do, DO NOT start writing Harry Potter fics just because they are so incredibly popular. You MUST have a burning desire to write this piece above all others. Some of my very best work is in the Earth2 fandom---a small but very loyal group---and some of my best writing cohorts and internet best friends started right there (I'm talking to you, NatX!) I wouldn't be where I am without those fics and those readers. They made me better.

So what are you waiting for? Inspiration? Let me toss out a few ideas---romances that never came to fruition, minor characters whose stories beg to be told, missing pieces of the big picture (I'm thinking lots of Firefly fics), continuations of stories that have "officially" ended. Any of these can be your sandbox to play in.

Meanwhile, if you want to read mine----gotta plug myself for a second 'cause I just ADORE reviews---I am at www.fanfiction.net/~arcole and you can always check out my first real published novel The Blacksmith's Daughterat http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=14  from Musa Publishing.

Now what are you waiting for? Go get afflicted with plot!!

I Ask Ted Mendelssohn Hard Stuff

First of all, let me say how much I LOVED Ted Mendelssohn's new book The Wrong Sword. I loved it so much I started writing interview questions for Ted in hopes he'd answer them for my blog because I really wanted to know the answers!! So this isn't the usual author interview.

I am asking HARD stuff!

Thanks so much, Ted, for giving in to my curiosity! First off, the history in The Wrong Sword fascinated me! I loved your attention to detail and depiction of medieval France and England. Are you a historian along with your other many careers?

Thank you! When it comes to history, I'm an amateur, but I was lucky enough to attend a college with a demanding Western Civ requirement. (We read Beowulf in the original.) That got me started.

I like to think of Beowulf as the first action hero in English myself. In particular your depiction of such famous characters as Prince John and Eleanor of Aquitaine was so sharp it was hard to separate the fact from the fiction. Who did you make up? Was Geoffrey Plantagenet a real guy? If so, what in history earned such antipathy towards him that you turned him into such a scary and credible villain?

Well, gosh. You can't see it, but I'm blushing. Here's the deal:

Geoffrey, John and Eleanor were all real people - although by the time of this story, the real Geoffrey had actually been dead for several years. (There are two accounts of his death, the most likely of which is that he died in a joust, trampled by a horse...which I refer to in the novel. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, eh?)

Since Geoffrey died in a joust and was involved in several wars - including revolts against his own father - I figured that he was a typically aggressive member of the Anglo-Norman nobility; so I made him a damned good fighter. As to his cunning, the early Plantagenets were indeed a famously brainy bunch; and Geoffrey's contemporary, Gerald of Wales, described him like this: "He has more aloes than honey in him; his tongue is smoother than oil; his sweet and persuasive eloquence has enabled him to dissolve the firmest alliances and his powers of language to throw two kingdoms into confusion." He was also known not to give two farthings for the sanctity of the Church, raiding and despoiling monasteries and churches whenever he needed money. Add up the persuasiveness, the military experience, and the cynicism toward the sacred, and you have our Geoffrey.

Eleanor was the real deal. The heiress to the Duchy of Aquitaine, she had direct control of more (and richer) land than the King of France himself. She married Louis of France, divorced him, and then married Henry Plantagenet, nine years her junior; Henry became King Henry II of England within two years. She bore ten children in an age when even one pregnancy was dangerous; she went on Crusade with Louis and scandalized the Crusader States; she spoke Poitevin French, Latin, and Norman; she rode, hawked, and hunted; she was a patron of poets, troubadours and writers; and she was so famously beautiful that there was even a drinking song about her - one that survives to this day. She also turned her sons against their father, Henry, and encouraged them to rebel against him. So - remarkable, charismatic, and also a little horrifying. But so was Henry II; they were well-matched.

Of them all, I'm afraid I've done the least justice to John. By many accounts, John was actually an able administrator and a good general; he even reformed English common law for the good. So the idea of him as someone childish and stupid is unfair. However, he did have serious personality flaws, including pettiness, spite, and cruelty. He could apparently vacillate between being amiable and generous and being jealous and prone to fits of anger. He seems also to have had a knack for making snide remarks at the worst possible time, like mocking Irish beards while he was actually trying to govern Ireland. John was also shortish, barrel-chested, and red-haired (like his dad), not the lanky exquisite that I put in the book. Ah, well.

The tone of TWS is a very refreshing mix of current vernacular language with medieval concepts and history. Why did you choose to interject such (I hesitate to say it) anachronistic elements into what is otherwise such an incredibly grounded novel historically speaking?

To the characters who are actually living the story, their speech doesn't sound archaic; it sounds contemporary. What Tristan says to Isolde in Chretien de Troyes sounds archaic to us; but to him, it would have sounded modern. If the language in TWS were *really* contemporary, we wouldn't even be able to understand it; English as we know it today didn't exist. That's my way of saying that every "historical" novel is fake to some degree (even one as beautifully researched as Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth). I just decided that TWS didn't have to pretend otherwise.

Ted, I absolutely love that answer and completely agree. You handle that little dichotomy with such hilarity as well---one of my favorite elements of the book. So, what was the most fun thing about writing TWS? What was the hardest thing?

Most fun: Chase scenes, food fights, and anything with Brother Wiglaf. Brother Wiglaf is my chance to make all sorts of steampunk in-jokes. Sir Percy is also fun.

The hardest thing? Believe it or not, the fights between Henry and Excalibur. They have to ultimately function as one unit, but still be fighting for control all the time. It's a tricky balance in terms of plot.

And last, because I am desperate for a writer's retreat so I can actually get some work done, if you could hold a writer’s retreat anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I live in New York, which is widely acknowledged - at least by its inhabitants - to be the center of the universe. So maybe the Cuban-Chinese restaurant on 78th Street.

Now I am laughing out loud and wondering if they make a Cuban Egg Foo Yong because I would totally eat that!

Okay, seriously...I'm afraid if you say "anywhere in the world," it's going to generate a lot of places most authors won't get to easily: Venice, Rome, Istanbul, Bangkok, Copenhagen...

They all sound great to me. Let's start getting ticket prices! 

Thanks so much, Ted, for indulging my curiosity. Now, everybody, here are all the links to Ted's web presence and book purchasing. Like I said, I LOVED The Wrong Sword and do not hesitate to recommend!  

The Wrong Sword

by Ted Mendelssohn

For a thousand years, Excalibur has been the sword of heroes.
Unfortunately, its new owner isn’t one.

Henry of Sanbruc, medieval smartass, makes a pretty good living selling "magic" swords to gullible knights. When he's forced to steal the real thing from the Chapel Perilous, his troubles are only beginning: For Excalibur is not just the sword of heroes...it’s also the sword that won’t SHUT UP. It communicates with its owner, it knows what kind of owner it deserves, and Henry doesn’t even come close.

To keep Excalibur and the world safe from the appalling Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry will have to masquerade as a knight, crash a royal wedding, rescue a princess, break a siege, penetrate the secrets of the Perilous Brotherhood, and find Excalibur’s rightful bearer, all while trying to reach an accommodation with a snotty, aristocratic hunk of steel that mocks him, takes over his body, and keeps trying to turn him into the one thing he hates most...a hero.


Buy links:

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wrong-Sword-ebook/dp/B007U11YD4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1340417839&sr=1-1&keywords=ted+mendelssohn

Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wrong-sword-book-1-ted-mendelssohn/1110498858?ean=2940033160549

Musa Publishing

http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=254

Ted's blog is at www.theswordthatnagged.blogspot.com

Thanks again, Ted, for dropping by!

Why I Write Light Fantasy and Romance, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Art

I was listening to Kate Bush's album Aerial on my way home from the day prison--day job, I mean--and as usual, the lyrics to "A Coral Room" made me cry. 

Here's the link to listen to this song---this hauntingly beautiful song---while you read this rant.

I really think Aerial is perhaps my favorite album of hers, but I think that about every new album she releases. "A Coral Room" explores time and memory through the use of ordinary images like a crumbling seaside town and a little milk jug that belonged to her mother.

There's nothing overly emotional about the lyrics. It's not maudlin or sad. In a 2005 interview, Kate said that she was inspired by a statement she once heard about holding an item in your hand with the full awareness that one day it would break and be no more.

Proust also does it in the beautiful passage in Swann's Way in which he extrapolates his entire childhood out of a piece of cookie dunked in tea. I read that piece over 20 years ago and still keep coming back to it in my memory and looking it up to reread it, just like I listen to "A Coral Room" over and over again.

I agree that the artistry and the execution of this lovely marriage between our present and our past merit all the praise I can put upon them. I absolutely LOVE both the song and the passage. I just HATE what they do to me.

Maybe other people are able to reminisce happily and not mournfully but apparently I am not able to do that. Proust's original title in French is A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (forgive the lack of proper punctuation) which when translated by my high school French reads To the Remembering of Lost Time. I find that translation much more to my liking than the usual Remembrance of Things Past.

The past is lost time, time that won't come back. I can't go there in my memory or in my fiction and not be consumed by grief. I steer away from books like Nicholas Sparks writes, not because I think they are bad, but because I can't handle the truth.

I hate breaking open the wall around my memories. When I listen to that song, I get all choked up thinking about my dad, who died in 2003, and about my childhood and about those moments long gone that will never come again. And I just cry and cry and cry. I HATE that!!

Rather than pulling my childhood out of a cup of tea or a milk jug, I'd rather take Douglas Adams' stance and extrapolate my significance in the universe from a piece of fairy cake. Let me frolic in the happy shallows of the present than plunge into the deep waters of memory and loss. Maybe introspection like that is good for the soul, but I think it sucks to do.

Give me fun! Give me crazy times! Give me wild monsters and challenges to overcome! Give me romance! Just don't ask me to hold something precious in my hand knowing one day it will be gone forever.

Real life gives me that already, every single freaking day.

The Avengers and the (Hopefully) Rise of Hopeful Fantasy

I recently read a review of the awesome new Marvel movie The Avengers and was delighted to hear that somebody else felt the same way that I did.

Cue movie announcer voice: "In a world where fantasy grows darker and darker, where dystopias reign supreme, out of the gloom rises The Avengers! A movie that actually makes you feel better about life!"

I have to admit I have neither read nor watched The Hunger Games. I am not hating on anybody who has and who loved it. It's just that my life is miserable enough at times without borrowing somebody else's darkness. I don't want to read about a future that's all dystopian and upsetting. Now, when I was in high school, I ate up 1984 and Brave New World like they were candy. I felt positive the world was going to hell in a handbasket and these books were proof!

These days, though, I am much more inclined toward optimism, hence my enjoyment of the happy butt-kicking of The Avengers.

The Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender also had the right mix of current trouble and ultimate hope in my opinion. Aang wasn't an overly troubled teen---or at least his troubles didn't make him angsty. He kept looking for something better in the world and kept believing that he could make a difference. Heck, even thoroughly angsty Zuko (be still my heart) finally came around to Aang's way of thinking.

I want more movies and shows that make me feel positive after I've watched them, like maybe the world is worth saving and that it's not all going to hell in a handbasket.

More Chris Hemsworth in my movies is always a good thing too, but I digress. Ah, Thor (be still my heart---again).

Even though I'm getting ready to put my characters from The Blacksmith's Daughter through some pretty serious crap here in the sequel The Merchant's Son (also involving scary giant man-eating wasps), I don't ever want to lose that little thread of hope that ties it all together. Because when we've lost hope, what else is there?

Well, there's still Chris Hemsworth.

Your thoughts?

Welcome to the Musa Publishing Memorial Day Blog Hop!

Thanks for stopping by! I also want to thank all our troops and their families for their willingness to put themselves in harm's way to defend our country. A special thanks to my father-in-law who served in the United States Army and to my brother-in-law who is currently an aviator in the United States Navy.

In The Blacksmith's Daughter, two of my main characters, Acwellen Lex'Magen and his friend Nerian Elidor, are both soldiers. I spent a great deal of time researching arms and armor and fighting techniques in order to make their story as realistic as I could make it. However, as hard as I tried to make it "feel real" in fiction, I cannot come near to presenting combat as it must truly be from the inside.

I have the utmost respect for those men and women who gear themselves up and head out into danger because they love their country and will risk their lives to defend their homeland. I tried very hard to capture some of that feeling with Acwellen even though the enemies that confront him are wizards and monsters.

I am giving away a free copy of The Blacksmith's Daughter to one lucky winner who comments on this blog and friends me on Facebook--here's the link to my Facebook page! Please feel free to "like" The Blacksmith's Daughter page as well. Just be sure to leave me an email address and preferred e-book format in your comment.

The Blacksmith's Daughter

She believes she is only a blacksmith's daughter, but he must discover

the truth or risk losing his land---and his life.

Acwellen Lex'Magen rules as liege lord of a small country bounded by forbidding mountains and powerful neighbors. When the neighboring baron, allied with a powerful wizard, attempts to take over his land, first by political, then by covert means, Acwellen finds an ally of his own in Enith Roweson, an unassuming blacksmith who possesses powers he's only known of in legends. As he attempts to unravel both the plots against him----including the nature of the monsters sent to assassinate him----and the mysterious powers Enith is only beginning to understand she has, he also finds himself falling in love with the blacksmith's daughter.

 

Don't feel lucky? Feel free to just buy a copy! Or read the sample for free!!

Now, back to the Musa Publishing Memorial Day Blog Hop! Just click HERE.