I have avoided reviewing this book for a reason… and not because it’s bad. Nope, it’s extremely well written. It’s compelling, captivating, and will make you lose sleep at night… but at the same time, the subject matter is disturbing, slightly horrifying, and might make you lose sleep at night for an entirely different reason. This book had such a profound effect on me that I simply didn’t want to revisit it in any way… even through a review.

First, the plot. We have a disturbed teen in a psych ward who spouts prophetic words, predicting natural disasters before they happen (or does she?). We have a young psychologist who is assigned to the teen’s case, and who slowly but surely begins to believe that the teen’s crazy ramblings are, indeed, predictions about upcoming events (for a more in-depth plot summary, I suggest you visit the Amazon.com page and read the synopsis there… I don’t want to give away too much, in case you’re the kind of person who prefers to just jump in without knowing piles of plot details, especially with this kind of book!).

I’ll admit it: I have a crippling fear of severe, uncontrollable weather phenomena… which made this a, well, rather poor choice of book to read. Heh. As the predictions begin to come true (not a spoiler, you know this is going to happen), we’re treated to detailed, sense-tingling descriptions of how the weather affects the places that it hits. Tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, whatever… I don’t even recall which ones are in the book or not… but the author is so skilled that you’ll be able to close your eyes and feel like you’re truly there in the midst of it all.

Combine this with questions about the apocalypse, the book of Revelation and tribulation, and some incredibly flawed people (the characters are very well drawn), and you have a novel that not only entertains, but makes you think… and shudder… and ask questions… and if you’re someone like me, you put the book down, try to walk away, but it won’t let go. I was so shaken by the book that for the rest of the evening, I would randomly begin weeping, crying for no apparent reason other than the profound sense of darkness and foreboding that crept across my soul when I closed the last page.

My husband and I went for a walk to try and clear my head, but being outside simply made it worse. I felt like, at any moment, the whole world could collapse in on itself. I tried to describe it using words like “doom” and “pervading negativity”, but that doesn’t really do justice to what I felt. In the end, in order to chase away the disturbance from the novel, my husband sat me down on the couch and insisted that I play a fun, light-hearted video game, which was chased by chocolate and a comedy film.

I was much better after this. However, the experience of this book and how I felt afterward has been enough to keep me from discussing it further with others (beyond some initial impressions) or reviewing it here.

It was an excellent novel. I believe it’s already been optioned for a film, too. However, it was so vivid – and the questions posed, so real – that I want nothing further to do with it. It cut to the deepest root of my fears – uncontrollable weather, and the obscurity of what “End Times” really means – and it makes me wonder… is that a good thing? I’m not sure. Given the choice to go back in time, would I make the same choice and read it again? I really don’t know.

But like I said… it truly is an excellent novel. Whether or not it’s the kind of experience you want to take with you is another thing entirely.

Rating: …I’m going to skip the rating on this one… for the above reasons.

Tags: ARC, books, disturbing, End Times, reviews, weather

It’s mid-September, 2009. How did we get here so fast? Another summer zipped by, and another fall is well on its way… and what do I have to show for it?

Well, not much. Or at least I feel it’s not much, but here’s where I stand in terms of WIPs and so forth:

• A Work in Progress (2007) – First Draft complete, currently under second read-through.

• The Door in the Wall (2008) – First Draft complete (minus a few paragraphs at the end), currently under first read-through.

Yikes. That’s a lot of work… the 2008 manuscript needs a lot more work before it’s coherent in any way, and I feel the 2007 novel is much, much closer to being ready than it was a year ago. Lots of edits still to do, but progress is progress. The frustrating part is that I want to be able to devote myself to new stories, and I wish these ones would just be done & get out of the way for awhile. But, that’s not how we writers do things, is it? Baby steps, baby steps.

In the meantime, I’m trying to:

• Plot my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel.
• Think about which novel to write as part of a course I’m taking (more on that sometime soon).
• Do the work for above mentioned course.
• Finish my cat care ebook.
• Finish edits on an inspirational booklet for a client.
• Learn my way around in my new volunteer editor position for an online flash fiction magazine (more on that another time too!).
• Find more work that I can actually be paid for!

This comes in the midst of teaching 2 dance classes a week, taking an additional 3 dance classes for myself (two of which are performance troupes), trying to read & review all the ARCs that keep showing up in my mailbox, maintaining this blog, editing the blog for Lifeline Design.ca, keeping my friends (haha), caring for a cat/bird/husband & all associated things that come with a marriage and household. Ah, and I have an application in to be this year’s NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison for my region (which I should hear back about within the next week).

It’s a lot. I probably missed something in there, but that’s that, and now it’s documented… so people can bug me about getting my work done! I figured, it’s been awhile since I updated everyone on what I’m doing, so there you have it! Apologies if it came off as whiny… not my intention

And to all of you who have huge projects you’re dealing with, or many little ones you’re trying to juggle, I wish you all the best in the coming months. Autumn is a beautiful season (my favorite, actually), but is it ever busy… yet somehow, I look forward to it every year. Good luck with whatever you’re doing! And if you’re really excited about it, please go ahead and share it with us in the comment section!

Tags: books, NaNoWriMo, planning, WIPs, writing

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi (Children’s Fiction/YA)

I read this based on the recommendation of a friend (and because I found it for $0.25 at the book sale), and am very glad I listened to her. In fact, she’s the same one who told me to read Catherine, Called Birdy at the beginning of the year. If I track down I Capture the Castle and get that one out of the way, I’ll have completed the circuit of her “highest YA recommendations”. Huzzah!

But anyway, back to the book. Despite not being too sure about it when I picked it up, it turned out to be an enjoyable read with a strong female lead who I really liked. Her transformation from a timid, well-bred society girl to a courageous young woman was very well done, and I liked how things turned out at the end – not quite the way I expected, and yet it was just right. Definitely recommended.

Rating: 4 coffees out of 5

Tags: books, children's fiction, YA

This past weekend, I attended a conference in Seattle. No, it wasn’t a writing conference… it was a gaming conference. Yes, I’m that geeky. But wait! Don’t run away yet! The conference was started back in 2004 by a couple of guys who wrote a little webcomic known as Penny Arcade. For whatever reason, they gained a following, wanted to give back to their fans, and started a convention “by gamers, for gamers”. It was to be a conference where the media didn’t take front & center (ie. E3), but the people who actually would buy and play the games.

Here we are at year six of the convention; I’ve attended for the past four years. Year one, attendance was something like 2000 people. This year, we’re talking 80,000+ people over the 3 days. And you know what? They’re still writing the little webcomic.

Penny Arcade is a team of two guys: Mike & Jerry, also known as Gabe & Tycho. Gabe does all the artwork, while Tycho does all the writing. Talk about a good deal! Unlike many other comics where one person tries to do both, this is a team where each person does what he does best, to the best of his ability.

Each year, there are two Q&A sessions with Gabe & Tycho, as well as one ‘Creating a PA Strip’ panel, where there’s even more Q&A… and each year, there’s a pattern of sorts that shows up in the questions. Many individuals are attempting to start their own webcomics and are looking for advice or inspiration. Others simply want to know what kinds of tools are used for the writing and drawing. And others, already in a creative field, want to know… how do you keep coming up with ideas, day after day, week after week?

The response is something we novelists would do well to keep in mind. Sure, we may not be writing comic strips, but does that make a comic strip writer any less of a writer than a novelist? Of course not. We both tell stories. We both write beginnings, middles, and ends. Comic writers just have fewer words to tell their stories in. Thus, we would do well not to dismiss this advice from Tycho: “I don’t set limits on my writing.”

Say what? Excuse me? You’re writing a comic, with continuous characters… aren’t there limits at all?

No, he says. When you set out to write with limitations, you place barriers on your creativity that hedge you in. When he wants to take a character in a certain direction, he’ll do it. If he has a great idea that doesn’t fit with something the character has done in the past, he does it anyway. Now, the difference here is that he’s writing a comic where the team has consciously made a decision to reject continuity in the belief that it limits creativity. For a novelist, we need continuity throughout our stories – or else they won’t really go anywhere – but does that mean we can’t take our characters in completely unexpected directions?

Of course not. The next time you’re writing and get stuck, and have no idea what should happen next, remember Tycho’s words. Stop placing barriers and just write something. Maybe later on you’ll realize that isn’t something that can work with your character and story – you are a novelist, after all, and not working in the comic format – but don’t set out to box your writing in. Don’t box your characters in. Human beings aren’t always predictable, so why should your characters be predictable (unless that’s an attribute you’ve written into a specific character)?

Cut that box up and send it out with the recycling. Your characters deserve a little unexpected excitement.

Tags: character development, conference, Penny Arcade

It’s release day for the new book from Max Lucado, ‘Fearless’. It’s no secret that Lucado is incredibly skilled at catering to people’s emotions, and he does it again in his latest release, which addresses the ‘culture of fear’ that society (specifically North American) has built up around them, regardless of whether they realize it or not. Bad economy, job losses, terrorist attacks, mortality, crime-laden news media reports… there’s more than enough fear to go around. But what if you could live your life without fear? Live fearlessly, relying on God’s strength in the face of things you can’t control?

Lucado weaves anecdotes in and around his statements on fear and living fearless, tugging on the heartstrings and provoking an emotional response. Some might say he manipulates emotions through the anecdotes he shares, but doesn’t every writer manipulate emotion in one way or another? At the very least, the book is timely and will likely be a beacon of hope for those struggling with job loss, uncertain financial futures, and so forth.

The book is a good reminder that we can’t control everything, and we wouldn’t want to. God is the only one who knows what’s going on, and He has promised the best for us… so why not stop being afraid and start trusting more?

Rating: 3.5 coffees out of 5

Tags: books, Christianity, review

This past weekend, I performed my first dance solo on stage. What does this have to do with writing, you ask? Just hang in there, I think I know where I’m going with this.

I prepared my solo for weeks. Months, even. I chose my music, my theme & style for the dance, my costume, and tried to make my dance & appearance stand apart – even just a little bit – from the other bellydancer I knew would be performing solo that night.

I was nervous… very nervous. The other bellydancer was an experienced soloist, who dances at weddings/parties/community events, so she knew exactly what she was doing, at least in my mind. I’d never seen her dance before, I’d simply heard some wonderful things about her. “I want to be like that,” I thought, “I want to inspire comments from the people who see me dance.”

So I practiced. I rehearsed. I drove an hour away from home, on numerous occasions, to use studio space that was far bigger than the space at home… it was a better resource, so I could create a better dance.

Performance day came closer. My dance was completely choreographed, I’d rehearsed it enough times that I could dance it in my sleep, my costume was ready, and I had a bag full of ‘back-up’ items just in case anything went wrong on the day of the show.

Then, on the day of the show, for the first time in my life… I realized I had stage fright. Where did this come from? I was fine putting the dance together, refining it, changing what didn’t work, creating a sparkly costume to complement the steps… but when it hit me that I’d be all alone up there, showcasing my hard work to a crowd of people there to watch ‘serious dance’ – who’d probably never seen a bellydancer before – and who could reject my work in a setting where I could see it on their faces… I panicked. I broke down. I didn’t want to do it anymore. I wanted to keep my dance and my sparkly costume to myself, hidden away at home, where no one could see it… and no one could reject it.

Of course, the only way I could actually get out of it would be to break an ankle or fall violently ill, neither of which seemed to be the best course of action. I arrived at the venue, put on the costume – enjoyed plenty of compliments on my shimmery outer self – and headed to the stage. There was no turning back, and when my music started, all those nerves and butterflies disappeared, because… what was the point of being nervous anymore? It was too late to do anything about it – I’d done the best I could – so I danced, and left my heart on the stage.

There were plenty of scowlers in the crowd (I imagine their brains going “this doesn’t look anything like contemporary or lyrical, what does this woman think she’s doing?”). There were also some smiles, so I danced to the smiles. I danced to make the people happy who appreciated the style of my performance.

Yes, I forgot choreography. I messed up, but I kept going. When you’re showcasing yourself to the world, the worst thing you can do is freeze up, and mercifully I had the strength to take the stumbles in stride and finish strong. They applauded, I left the stage.

Three days later, I watched the video. I saw all the mistakes I made, I cringed when my elbows were turned in or my arms made a sloppy transition, or I forgot to look up… but now I knew where to work on next time. I knew what to focus on, and what I should fix. In the meantime, I received a number of compliments from people who actually enjoyed my performance (much to my surprise). It felt good. I’d done what I’d set out to do, and the people who didn’t like it? Well, they didn’t bother to tell me, so who cares? All I can do is create a better performance the second time around, and hope it reaches even more people.

…by now, I’m sure you see where I’m going with this. Performing your first solo is very much, in so many ways, like writing. You create the best product you can, package it with a sparkly cover letter (or if you’re published, a shiny cover), and reach deep within yourself for the strength to place it out there on the literary stage: the desks of the people who become your first audience. Some will reject it, some will smile and ask for more, and some will love it enough to compliment you and anticipate your next book.

We may also try to tailor our writing to suit the established norm of the genre. Like a more experienced dancer and a new soloist, we see the trends and try to follow them, but also tweak and change so that our work stands out and is seen as just a little bit different.

We writers pour our hearts and souls out onto the paper stage, take our fumbles as they come, and – hopefully – finish with a smile on our faces, no matter what. Rejection hurts, but we need to take chances – to send our work out into the spotlight – in order to receive acceptance.

And now that I’ve performed my first solo, I feel far more ready to try it again.

Banish the fear. Step into the spotlight and give it all you’ve got. Leave your heart on the metaphorical literary stage, and don’t worry about the people who glare and wonder why your work doesn’t look like ‘this’ or ‘that’. Because someone, somebody, out there is going to smile – and that’s when you’ll know it’s all been worth it.

Tags: fear, performance

Ah, conference season. The sweet smell of… other people attending ‘The Big Ones’, while you sit at home wondering how everyone can afford trips to Denver or California or Tennessee in the middle of the year. Right around summer vacation season, no less!

But what about attending a smaller, one-day conference someplace that you can drive to? I’ve heard that such things exist, but until a few weeks ago, I’d never actually seen evidence of one…

A few weeks back, Susan at Reviews from Innisfree posted a status message on a social networking site that asked if anyone else was going to something called ‘PYI’. “What on earth…?” I wondered, and promptly plugged it into Google to find out. Here’s what I found:

Packaging Your Imagination 2009

“A day of workshops for those interested in writing, illustrating or performing for young people”

This is a one-day conference held by CANSCAIP (The Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers) on November 7th, 2009. From the looks of things, you don’t have to be a member to attend, though you can join for a $10 discount when you register for the conference (which is only $135.00). Your registration includes 3 sessions, morning coffee, lunch (for the first 120 registrants), and the keynote address by none other than the well-loved Kenneth Oppel. Yes, this Kenneth Oppel –>

And guess what? For all us writerly types living in Southern Ontario (or anywhere within driving distance, really… that includes you, Buffalo!), we can easily drive into Toronto, take in a day of writing sessions, and drive home, without having to shell out money for a flight/hotel/enormous conference fees or losing money from taking time off work. How exciting is it to have something like this in our own little corner?

Admittedly, I haven’t registered yet, as I’m not 100% certain I can go… but if you can, I encourage you to sign up and get as much as you can out of it. It looks like they have some great session topics lined up.

Question: For those of you who don’t live around here – have you ever attended a one-day conference in your area? How did you find that compared to a larger conference (if you’ve been to one), and did you feel it was time well spent?

Tags: Kenneth Oppel, PYI, writing conference

Ah, that all-encompassing first line… the one that keeps us up at night writing, so that we can keep others up at night reading.

But what if someone wrote the first line for you? Then all you have to do is write the rest of the story. Simple, yes?

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a literary journal that does just that. It’s called The First Line, and I love it. When I first fell into the website, I thought “what a neat idea”… and promptly ordered a copy of their latest issue. I read it, went back to the website, grabbed the ‘first line’ for August – wrote something – and submitted. They didn’t take it (oh noes!), but that’s alright… the next issue’s submissions are due November 1st, and I’ll probably try again.

I love this journal because I find it fascinating to see where the human mind can go when everyone starts from the same place. There are so many different stories that can be told, regardless of that first line… it’s like when you sit down to plot your latest novel idea, and there are a million different directions you could take the story in. Here, it actually happens.

I wanted to share this find with others because I suspect it has limited circulation, and I’m not sure how many people outside the 30 or so bookstores listed which carry the journal actually know about it. I wish I could remember where I saw the listing for it so I could give him/her/it credit, but alas, all I can do is share it with you and hope you like it enough to spread the word. A little boost in subscriptions from this side of the pond wouldn’t hurt, right?

All I know is… I’ve subscribed, and am looking forward to curling up on the couch with the fall issue and a cup of tea in the near future.

Has anyone else recently (or in the past) stumbled across a hidden gem of a journal/magazine you wish more people knew about?

Tags: literary journal

Gifts of War: A Novel – Mackenzie Ford (Historical Fiction)

When my Gifts of War ARC arrived in the mail, I wasn’t quite sure what to think… after reading the back cover copy, I thought “why the heck did I request THIS?”. Clearly the promo material for the book made it sound more exciting than what was written on the back cover. World War I? A man’s lost love? Another man & his quest to make a life with a certain woman during the war? *snooooooze* So, guess what I did? I put the book away & avoided it as long as I could. And I do mean as long as I could.

Finally, guilt got the better of me, and I picked it up. “Why are you reading that?” my husband asked, “Read something you’ll like, don’t waste your time.” But I had an obligation to fulfill, so I read it. And you know what? Even though it wasn’t my favorite kind of book, it kept me reading, and that has to say something.

On the whole, I didn’t really like the ending, but it made sense when I read the last page… the very last page, which changed everything for me. I don’t want to give it away, but that final page – as a writer and as a reader – made me gasp and say “Oh! How fascinating!” and left me with a good, warm feeling toward the book.

If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you’ll love Gifts of War. I really do. It has suspense, romance, and plenty of history from a war we often learn very little about (at least in the Canadian school system, we tend to focus on WWII). I liked learning more about WWI, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to someone whose reading habits lean toward historical fiction.

Rating: 3.5 coffees out of 5

Tags: books, historical fiction