Character Madness and Musings

There have been so many Authors that inspired me over the years that I don't think I can do this topic justice. I can touch on the most important ones, though. I think the Authors that inspired me most were J. R. R. Tolkein, Mary Stewart, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson. All for different reasons. Tolkien seems like an obvious choice for the fantasy writer. From the green fertile lands of the Shire, to the beauty of Rivendell, and the barrenness of Mordor. The Worldbuilding, adventure, frightening journey's, and numerous cultures are amazing. He was kind of one of a kind in his day. I wonder what he would think of the world of fantasy if he saw it now. Mary Stewart is my favorite of favorites. She wrote an Arthurian series that focused on Merlin's point of view and character. She also placed a strong focus on people, religion, the changing times, and various cultures, using historical facts and turning it into fiction. Her descriptive quality ...

Last week I talked about Reflections. This week I'll be focusing on The Carriage, a story about a conceited teenage girl, Alexis, whose sister Brooke, sends her back in time in a fit of anger.. Alexis arrives in the Victorian Era, and meets Ezra, a man dealing with his own sibling rivalry, having been killed by his brother Amos, months before, and brought back to life with a dark magic his father paid for with his life. The Carriage is actually an idea that came from my new adult, romance story, Pretentious. Feeling the need to take a trip to New York and confirm the logistics of the story, I started researching what we would do when we got there, and where we would go. The tourist side of me demanded we take a trip to Central Park, where they still have old-fashioned carriage rides. At the time I wanted to write another historical romance from the Victorian Era. So I googled and saw the carriages online, and since I always look at the images, I saw some accidents. My br...

Q - Are you a Reader, Author, Artist, or blogger? A - I'm a reader, author, and blogger Q - What was your first experience with fantasy, book or movie? A - First experience with a fantasy was back in 4th grade. I still wasn't much of a reader then, and someone challenged me to try "Wishsong of Shannara". From that I was almost hooked. What cemented my love of reading, and my obsession with fantasy was "Watership Down", which I finished in less than 2 weeks. Q - Have you written any stories? If so, tell us about it. A - I've written several by now, though only one has been published to the public. The Followers of Torments saga is my debut series, and is a walk on the darker side of fantasy that addresses such topics as feral children, mental illness, self-image, and cultural acceptance. (With some prettier wrapping than the bare facts make it seem.) So far, the first 3 books are published, the last 2 should be released in the next yea...

Character Madness Introduces  Elemence and Arlondyn  from Elven-Fire  by  Raven Williams Coming September 25th, 2015 Elemence: Hello.  My name is Elemence.  I am, well I was, the leader of the Phoenix-Shifters of Estrearona.  I stepped down from my position to lead my Warriors on Earth in support of the Light. I was leader of my people for close to five centuries.  I took over for my Father after he crossed into the realm of Spirit.  I never knew my mother as she died giving birth to me. The last five centuries have been especially lonely for me.  I have delighted in seeing my people prosper and many finding their one true mate.  I fear for, love has forsaken me.  Those younger than me are finding their mate, yet I am still alone.  This loneliness grows stronger within me, clouding my judgment.  I fear I am no longer fit to lead my people. When I was Captain of the Guard, I felt a sens...

Happy Monday to all my awesome followers, and apologies for being late getting this month's Pretentious up this month. I hope to have that corrected in the next few days. Today's topic is where do story ideas come from? The answer to that questions varies widely between Authors. For me an image, song, or quote might inspire something. Here is the story behind one of my current published novels. My favorite story to tell is Reflections . I've always wanted to write a novel based on Hans Christian Anderson's Little Matchgirl , so I was researching the era in which the child would have lived. The Victorian Era was a time of change for everyone. Steam engines, toilets, electric lights, and the telephone, were all products of the age. The Industrial Revolution, California Gold Rush and Potato Famine were also part of the era. Education for young children became free under Queen Victoria's rule, yet a good portion of the population remained uneducated, and even...

I was up late, pulling my hair over a scene I've written numerous times. One of those scenes that just never seems right. At three-thirty I decided to stew on it and headed for bed. Sleep overtook me almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, when something started nudging my mind. Groaning, I rolled over, then noticed Keven from Pretentious standing in front of me, shaking his head. "I can't  believe you did this to me. I should get the girl. Does this change in the future? Because if it doesn't I'm so out of your imagination." I lifted my head from the pillow, blinked and stared for a moment, then dropped it in favor of the much-needed sleep. "Do what you want, just leave me be," I said. My mind escaping into the oblivion of Sandman's realm. "You think that's bad?" I heard a female voice say. She gave my vacation getaway that I created myself to a rich chit of a girl. A Protagonist that should never have been part of my sto...

Labor Day, a day to kick back, plan stories, and write. You seriously have to love that. Then again, not everyone is into writing. Whatever you're doing today, I hope it's special. I've heard a lot of comments lately from friends about the way they like to write, and a good number of them are pantsers. What is a pantser you ask? A pantser is someone who writes their story freestyle with no or minimal planning. I used to write my stories like that, but took a class about planning while waiting for the one I wanted to come available. It was called something like "Bringing order out of chaos," and I had a great story, but it was a mess. As a side note, this class is available at the UCLA Writer's Extension. One reason I plan before writing is that I'm a prolific writer and I get a lot of ideas. It's like a download that moves slow when the server is bogged down at times and flows at others, but keeps on coming. I used to start these stories, but...