group discussion
topic:
Ask Maria >
Thank You!
Hello All! I wanted to say hello and let you know how much I've been enjoying the discussions and the honesty from everyone.
It's so cool to have inspired a group of readers to get together and "talk" about my books!
Thank you for welcoming me to your group - I was a little worried my active presence would taint discussions and want to assure everyone that after 8 years of rejections - I have a very thick skin :)
I want to thank Alethea and Jane for starting the group and getting me hooked up with GoodReads - I see this site as being the cause of major procrastination on my part ;>
Thanks to all! I'm looking forward to more discussions, contests and questions.
Please feel free to ask me anything...well anything appropriate ;>
Best wishes,
Maria
>> "I see this site as being the cause of major procrastination on my part"
Tell me about it. I woke up very early one Sunday morning, decided it was time to put some books on my goodreads profile, and eight hours later the spell was broken when my hubby came around asking what was for dinner.
We're glad to have you here, Commander Maria! ;-)
p.s. I hope you don't mind, but we've now acronymed* you "MVS"
* (yes, I checked a dictionary, I'm allowed to use this as a verb)
Hi Maria do you think you could have a talk with my Hubby and let him know that it is completely natural to have a book obsession like mine? LOL
No really I forgot when your next is due out, I need to update my myspace profile with a count down and can't remember when, can you please let me know.
Hi Maria,Thank you for such outstanding books. They are fantastic rereads and the details are amazing.
Thank you also for making my job as a Librarian so much easier in regards to reluctant readers. The premise of Poison Study makes for a great sell that the teens can relate to.
Given your extensive research that you incorporate into your plots, what areas of study do you want to learn next?
Ohhh.... I like Commander Maria ;>
No problem about the MVS - I'm proud to be a member of the Menacing Vets Society ;>
Here are my own takes:
Mothers Violin Student
Mothers Vampire Son
Mad Vacuuming Society
Monster Valet Society
Me? Procrastinate? Never!
I can talk to your hubby Meme - or you can have him take a look around this group - LOL. It's unnatural to NOT be book obsessed ;>
My next, STORM GLASS is due out April 2009 - However - the date could change by whim of the publisher. I currently don't have a final date nor a final cover copy!
PS: I had a very young cousin that called me Meme - it stuck with most of the cousins, aunts and uncles on that side of my family :)
I thought my comments would go under each question - so sorry for 3 posts!
Tracy - I'm glad you enjoyed the books and they help you with reluctant readers :)
I want to learn more about gemstones, photography, Asian history and culture, and golf. I would also love to learn how to speak another language, but don't have the time right now.
Asian History is always fun. They have some very cool stuff in there.I have a question though. Is Valek and Yelena going to be in the next book or is their story basically over?
Their story isn't over ;> I needed a break from writing from Yelena's point of view for the last 10 years!
Yelena has a part in both Storm Glass and Sea Glass. Valek is mentioned, but he didn't have a role and I didn't want to plop him in because he's so popular. He'll probably be in the third Glass book - title unknown at this point.
Don't worry about missing Valek. There will be Kade the Stormdancer and Ulrick the glass blower and a mystery man in Opal's life ;>
Hi!May I just ask where you come up with your names? Sometimes I'm a little disappointed by fantasy lit names. They can be hard to pronounce (even in your head) and can often take away from the story. Seriously, I can find them very distracting. Your character names are fantastic! I'm just wondering if you know people, labor over baby name books and/or websites, or just pull them out of thin air? Whatever it is, it's definitely refreshing. : D
Hello Mindy! Sorry for the delay in my reply - I received final edits for STORM GLASS and had to finish them before jetting off to Toronto :)
As for names - I agree with you about the unpronouncable ones - I hate them and will stop reading a story if there are too many.
I always have fun when naming my characters (and no one else can argue about it - unlike with my children - can you believe my husband wanted a say??). I own 5 baby name books, and am frequently on the Social Security website, checking out popular names. My favorite book is From Aaron to Zoe, 15,000 Great Baby Names, by Daniel Avram Richman.
I also use the phone book and take note of everyone's name tags at restaurants, hotels, airports - you see some interesting names (I always try and ask the person what their name means). Even newspapers, magazines, and books can yield a perfect character name.
One of my requirements when choosing a name is to find one that has a special meaning. My main protagonist in Poison Study, Yelena is a Russian name and it means "shining one" which I thought appropriate since she starts out in a dungeon awaiting execution. Her situation is dire, but she still shines. My assassin/chief of security's name is Valek. I always liked Val Kilmer in the movie Top Gun - so Valek is a composite of him.
Some names I do make up :) For Magic Study, I wanted the Sitian people to have earthy names so I chose Fern, Irys, Roze, Leif - I also seem to like jewel names - Perl, Topaz, Garnet. One of the characters is, Cahil which means inexperienced (so that should give you a hint about his personality).
When I'm starting a novel, I'll decide what the theme is or the overall feeling of the novel. Then I'll comb through my baby books and write a list of names both male and female that fit into the theme. For Storm Glass, I wanted powerful names and ones that had meanings about the sun, wind and rain, so my list included Kade (powerful), Raiden (thunder god), Nodin (wind), Aydan (little fire - he's my glass maker), and Ulrick (ruler of all). All these names are listed in the baby book and they were so fun to find!
I know there are writing books available about naming your characters. Also when deciding on names, I try and avoid weird spellings and unpronounceable names.
And sometimes, my editor makes me change a name. In Magic Study I had Gale (Tula's sister) and Goel (bad dude) and she said I had to change one because they were too close and could confuse the reader. So I changed Gale to Opal and then used the name Gale in Fire Study since Goel didn't....er....isn't in that book.
My son also pointed out to me that I prefer short names, which I hadn't realized, but when I thought about it - is very true. Guess I don't like typing long names!
Long answer to a short question :)
Maria
word of advice maria DO NOT try and learn spanish and french together as that is the most annoying thing in the world. Do you know if May 2009 is the international release date for storm glass or if there are different ones for different continents??
also thnakx for telling people that its ok to be book obsessed as my friends think im wierd becaue of it
oh the joys of being 15 :L:L:L
The May 2009 release date is for the USA only - sorry. I do know Fire Study was released in the UK...yesterday - January 16th!
Hey Lady Ozma! We can have a party at Balticon ;> I'll have to look into it.
And I just got my box of Fire Studys from the UK today and according to the inside cover flap, Storm Glass is supposed to be released in July 2009, but according to the second page of the book, it'll be out August 09.
Party at Balticon! WOOOOOT! :) Now I just have to afford to go... it's on the schedule because it's Balticon, but oy!How cool to get the UK books! :)
Balticon is a sci-fi/fantasy literary convention in Baltimore, Maryland. (Specifically of late it is in Hunt Valley on the NW side of Baltimore just outside the beltway.) It's over 40 years old. It used to be held over easter weekend but is now held the weekend of Memorial Day. You can get more information at www.balticon.org. There is also a podcast, search Balticon Podcast, with guest interviews and author readings.
If you live in the region, I highly recommend it. I'm Lady Ozma on my badge and you can find me there. :) I grew up going to that convention and am so happy to be back in the area so I can attend once more!
Oh awesome! Thanks for letting me know about it. Sadly, I live in CA, but it sounds like a fun event to go to!
Ha! Easy shuttle! Well...maybe I'll just have to take a trip back east someday that happens to coincide with Balticon. :)
The only thing close I have in IL is the GenCon in Indianapolis, which is more D&D and gaming, but I met some famous authors who write fantasy series as well as write some of the Dungeons and Dragons books when we went two years ago. My fiance is a big NERD and that is what his friends do once a week - play D&D. So I really want to go again sometime, but we don't have money this year. There's one in CA too I think. I spent the first year watching anime all day and looking at the booths.
we need to have a fund raiser for Kristen so she can go this year :) we can let nothing get in the way of meeting authors
Kristen- what's the one in CA? and where? I would love to go! And I wouldn't mind watching anime all day :)
Bah... I was wrong. They only have Indy, Paris, Australia, and the UK. Darn, I thought they had a CA one!
There used to be one, but they canceled it. Here's an article about it. http://www.geek.com/articles/games/gen-c...
I wish! I'm just so surprised is all. I mean, CA is a big community. I'm glad its still in Indy and I hope it stays there!
Yes we will! I bet you could start an online petition if you can find a gaming group to join that's located in CA.
probably I'm just not even close, I'm in NC LOL I'm not good with things in CA maybe someone here knows how.
Buy a GPS girl! I'd love to have some company when I go next, because the boys go and play their games for most of the day.
hmmmm when is the next one again? maybe we can do vacation there and the kids and hubby can go somewhere else hahaha
They're in mid August usually. Here's their website:http://www.gencon.com/2009/indy/default....
We're not going this year, we can't afford it, but we'll be going in 2010!
OK but I wont be able to go next year we are taking the kids to Disney and universal studios because the HP them park is opening in 2010, we will be going in June so we will have no more money that year hahah
Darn... oh well. I don't know if we'll even get to go in 2010. Depending on where I'm working next year, I may have institute days or training. Who knows.
When authors write character descriptions, do they visualize like an actual person they have seen or do they just make the character up?
Thu wrote: "When authors write character descriptions, do they visualize like an actual person they have seen or do they just make the character up?"
Now that is a good question. When my characters where still here I visualized a made up character so I would love to see how maria does it
Oh and do you think it would be harder to cast characters if you visualize a made-up character or do you think it would be easier? I think it would be easier because there's more room for change.
Thu wrote: "Oh and do you think it would be harder to cast characters if you visualize a made-up character or do you think it would be easier? I think it would be easier because there's more room for change."
Yes I have to say it would be easier that way because if you didn't like something you can just say hey that needs to go and I will add this ah yes now he looks right now who was that girl I scene with him LOL OK maybe Ive gone a little crazy but hey its me.
Yeah but the like in Twilight I hated how they picked pattinson because Edward is supposed to be like gorgeous but for Harry Potter the cast list was more believable. It might just be the fictional vampire part though.
Thu wrote: "Yeah but the like in Twilight I hated how they picked pattinson because Edward is supposed to be like gorgeous but for Harry Potter the cast list was more believable. It might just be the fictional..."
I really am going to have to read the twilight series so I know why everyone is talking about LOL
