Christine Amsden's Blog: Christine Amsden Author Blog, page 53
May 4, 2011
Tips For Writers: To Be…
All right, all right! I'll talk about being, but only with the greatest reluctance. Being has bothered me as a topic ever since a long-ago but well-remembered critique I receieved in which a well-meaning peer underlined each and every being verb in a short story, including the ones appearing in dialog, suggesting I replace them with stronger verbs. Every last one. All I can say is…*whimper*
But, and this is a big but, being isn't a particularly strong verb. I almost forgot its weaknesses until last week, when I stumbled across a book by a new author (sorry, no names) that WAS so passive I wanted to reach in and strangle some life back into it. A plane is crashing. The heroine is feeling scared. There is little hope. The reader is wondering how a plane crash can possibly be so dull.
Well, no, I didn't really wonder. I knew. Instead of using strong verbs to put us in the moment of the crash and in the terrified mind of the heroine, the crash was described in the most static manner possible, using an instance of being in almost every sentence.
Here is the tip, and it's pretty simple: Whenever possible, your story should move. Being is a static state. Action verbs move, breathing more life and excitement into a story. There is no need to go crazy, trying to replace every single instance of "to be" with another word, twisting your sentences into painful knots of incomprehensibility, but do ask yourself, each time something is, whether or not it could act instead.
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May 2, 2011
Book Review: Outlaw Hearts
What drives men into evil, and having done evil deeds, can he truly change? These questions were at the heart of this book, which I call a romance with some small reservation. It was romantic — but if you go into it expecting the simple, straightforward HEA structure, you're in for a shock. This books takes a different approach, one that watched love grow, deepen, get tested, and survive over a quarter century of life, and covering two generations of men.
Miranda first meets Jake in a store in Kansas City, where she shoots the outlaw wanted for bank robbery, murder, and rape. Through a strange twist of fate, she ends up nursing him back to health, in both body and spirit. He tells her things about his past he had never told anyone, and he earns the precious gift of her forgiveness.
But Jake is a wanted man, and life isn't easy. I don't want to spoil this journey by talking about all the twists and turns it takes, though I will say that I struggled through parts in the middle, when the story almost seemed over, but wasn't. I would say that there are three definite parts to this story, and each kind of slows down at first before rising again to a new climax. This could almost have been three books, but even though, at the time, I found the structure a little strange, in retrospect, I think it was wonderful because it told a different type of love story — one more meaningful and lasting.
I highly recommend this novel to romantics at heart. This is an older title that you may need to find through inter-library loan or find used, but it's worth it!
Title: Outlaw Hearts
Author: F. Rosanne Bittner
Genre: Romance
ISBN: 0553298070
Publication Date: February 1, 1993
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April 29, 2011
Word is Spreading About The Immortality Virus
There have been lots of exciting developments over the past few weeks, especially a number of very positive reviews. I've also given several interviews, and will soon be giving away a second copy of The Immortality Virus through Kindle Fever, which was also kind enough to post an interview.
And of course, there was the nomination for the Global eBook Awards. Many of you have been kind enough to visit my page and cheer me on by voting or leaving comments. There's still time to throw your voice into the mix.
Here are some excerpts from recent reviews:
" The Immortality Virus is a dark dystopian Science Fiction novel by Christine Amsden. It's an action-packed, fast-paced and thrilling book, spiced up with mystery and sprinkled with a tiny bit of romance. Everything is perfectly balanced, making this book a great treat for every Science Fiction fan. …"
Evie at Bookish (follow link for full review) on 4/29/11
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"…I really enjoyed this book. It flowed well and kept my attention. It was a well written, thought-out storyline with lots of action to keep everything moving forward. Grace Harper is a strong character with a wonderfully sarcastic wit who prefers working alone to get the job done. Ms. Amsden takes this strength and starts bending it as we see Grace gradually learning to trust others and realizing it's not a weakness to accept help…."
To Read, Perchance to Dream (follow link for full review) on 4/28/11
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"…I was so engrossed in this book that I finished it in a day. I love how this book is something new instead of the same old romance story or action story. It's something that I've never read about in a book and definitely a unique topic…."
Books Ahoy! (follow link for full review) on 4/22/11
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"…This book is imaginative and quick to read. If you enjoy urban futuristic stories you will enjoy this. The author even mixed in a tiny bit of romance that always makes life worth living and books worth reading. I hope the future is better than this."
Book Him Danno! (follow link for full review) on 4/19/2011
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April 27, 2011
Interview with Susan Goldsmith
I had a chance to talk to Susan Goldsmith, author of a wonderful new fantasy/romance novel, Abithica. (Click here for my review.)
Me: Do you believe there are angels among us?
Susan: I sure as heck hope so!
Me: Which character was the most fun to write and why? The most difficult?
Susan: Writing about Eliam, a smart-aleck, troubled teen with ADHD who is too self absorbed to realize he's in danger, was effortless. No really. All I had to do was let go, and give him the reins. Off he'd fly, spewing his twisted view of the world all over the page! Never thought I'd have so much fun writing in a male voice.
Abithica was much harder. I knew her intimately. I can't tell you how many thousands of words I deleted because the Abithica on paper wasn't matching the Abithica in my head.
Me: What's your favorite book?
Susan: No fair! That's like asking which of my children I love the best. My answer to that, by the way, is whichever one I'm with at the time….
My favorite book changes with my mood. Maybe if we tweak the question, and ask instead: What book/author has inspired you the most; it might at least narrow it down a bit.
I grew up reading Stephen King so he'd be way up there on my list. If I had to pick one of his books, it would have to be The Stand. Fell asleep every night to Neil Diamond telling the story of Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Man what I'd give to get my hands on that record! Yup, let's add Jonathan Livingston Seagull to the tally. The Time Traveler's Wife was the first paranormal romance I'd ever read. When I was finished, I thought to myself, hey, why can't I write something like that?—Susie style, of course. So, let's put that one somewhere near the top, and while we're at it, let's make some room for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. When my husband first read it, he actually thought (probably did some serious wishing too) I'd written it under a different name. Bryan and I met our freshman year in biology. He was my partner. (No he's not a vampire! Sheesh!!!) But there were fireworks. Long story, but it was the excitement I saw on his face for that brief second before I rudely crushed his fantasy that keeps me at the computer even on days I don't want to be there.
Me: What inspired you to write this story?
Susan: My vacuum, Thomas Moore and my very persistent imagination were the inspiration behind Abithica. Maybe I should explain that. You see, all my best thoughts have come while pulling a vacuum. Now enter Thomas Moore. He wrote a book called Care of the Soul. In it, he asked a very profound question: what is your worst fear? Hmmm, what is my worst fear, I wondered. Naturally, I grabbed said vacuum and unleashed my imagination.
Losing my husband and children was the answer. Oh, but what if I was taken from them without their knowledge and they didn't even know I was gone? Ouch! That would definitely suck. But what would suck even more is if another soul took my place and I was there, unseen, invisible, watching their lives continue as if I had never existed.
I was getting closer to my worst nightmare, but I wasn't quite there yet. It needed a little something more. Got it! What if the body I was in had never really belonged to me in the first place? What if it was me who had been the intruder all along? I had been borrowing the woman's life… and now… she wanted it back.
The question became an obsession, and my vacuum and I spent a lot of time together. Soon, the idea of "switching" was born. It grew legs and arms and even acquired a face, Abithica's face.
Me: What kind of research did you do?
Susan: Oh boy! This is where I should probably give a shout out to Google! If you somehow hacked into my computer, you'd see some pretty strange sites dealing with things like, angel conspiracy theories, demons, funny names for the male anatomy (Eliam!); angelic script… the list goes on and on.
Me: This book had a strong religious feel to it, without being overly preachy. Is that important to you? What message did you hope readers would take away from your book?
Susan: Nobody that knows me would define me as religious. Spiritual hits much closer to home. I guess you could say Abithica is you and me. She is anybody who has ever asked the questions, why am I here? Is there a God, a purpose, a cosmic plan? With that said, I guess hope is the take away.
Me: What are you working on now?
Susan: I'm 47,000 words into the sequel.
Me: Is there anything else I should have asked?
Susan: Come visit me on Goodreads, facebook, or even my website. I love talking to readers!
Me: Is there anything you wish I hadn't asked?
Susan: Nope. Already fixed it by changing the: What is Your Favorite Book question. My bad?
Me: No, you were absolutely welcome to interpret the question in any way that made sense to you! It was a pleasure having the chance to interview you. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today.
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April 26, 2011
Global eBook Awards
The Immortality Virus has been nominated for the Global eBook awards and I need your help! You can show your support by simply clicking on this link to The Immortality Virus' Global eBook Award Page and rating the book. Clicking the rightmost "e" means "You gotta read it!" Leaving a comment is also useful, if you have a minute and care to say something, but rating the book takes a few seconds and will really help me get my book noticed! Thank you!
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Tips for Writers: First Person Attitude
Who am I? My name is Christine, and I'm writing this because I'm full of opinions I like to share. I don't even know if anyone's out there listening, but right now I'm listening to soft, overly sentimental romantic rock music and pouring my heart into next week's blog post. (Didn't We Almost Have it All…Da da da da da da da da….Luckily, you can't actually hear me sing along, because I truly am awful. I'm not even so bad I break glass, which would almost be better, because then I could own it. I'm more like that person who goes on America's Got Talent because he sounds good in the shower, and then ends up on the blooper reel.)
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my opnions regarding first person and present tense. Today, I'm going to talk about another aspect of first person point of view that is, in my ever so humble opinion, essential: Attitude.
You see, first person has its disadvantages. There's a distance in time, meaning that the reader expects everything that is happening to already have happened. The narrator has lived through it, and knows how it will end. Thanks to the popularity of third person limited omniscient, first person no longer has the advantage of being an emotionally closer perspective, because you can do it in third person without the trouble of distance in time. First person also creates difficulty when it comes to alternating viewpoints. Some people have written (even successfully) stories with alternating first person narrators, but this is risky, and will turn many readers off.
With all those disadvantages, if I read a first person story in which the "I" could become "he" or "she" without any other significant changes, I get annoyed. If you're going to accept all those disadvantages, then the least you can do is bring the character of the narrator to life through his words and his attitude.
I think of first person stories as being fundamentally about the narrator, and that narrator needs to come to life. For example: Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Mackayla Lane (Mack) in Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. Sookie Stackhouse in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series….
These are just a few examples of first person narrators that grabbed me by the heartstrings and wouldn't let go. They've brought more than a style choice to the page. They've come alive.
So who am I? I'm the main character in the story of my life, and let me tell you…it's been a doozy!
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April 25, 2011
Book Review: Perfect
I am pretty sure this is my favorite romance of all time. I recently re-read it for (I think) the third time, and once again found myself swept away by the magic between Zack and Julie.
Technically, it's not perfect. Like many of McNaught's books, the beginning is slow, as she spends many pages painting a picture of two unique individuals going down dramatically different paths through life. Zack, kicked out of his home at the age of 18 with only the clothes on his back (prologue), heads west to Hollywood where he becomes a famous movie star. Years later, he is wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife, and sent to prison.
Julia, meanwhie, is abandoned at birth, has a run of horrible luck that keeps her from getting adopted, and at the age of eleven is arrested for stealing cars. Most people think she's a hopeless case, but one psychologist sees the spark of good in her, and helps her find a new adoptive family. When she accepts that this new family truly does love her, trust her, and want to keep her, she vows to be perfect.
Their paths eventually meet, completely by chance, when Zack escapes from prison. The breakout doesn't go as smoothly as hoped, and he ends up having to hitch a ride — with Julia. When she recognizes him, he has no choice but to kidnap her until he can leave the country.
What follows is a wonderful emotional roller coaster. I think, because we know them both so well, that it is easy to want these two to fall in love and live happily ever after. Yet there are a lot of obstacles keeping them apart, not the least of which, at first, is the fact that he kidnapped her and she thinks he's capable of murder.
The falling action is somewhat gradual as well, slowly easing you out of the story the way you were eased in. In another book, it might have felt like it dragged on, but in this case, it felt to me like a complete story. And by the time I got to that point, I knew them so well, that I needed to be gently eased out of their lives.
I first read this book when I was a teenager. I read it again about two years ago, when I got back into romance after almost fifteen years away from it. I reread it most recently a couple of weeks ago. I will read it again, and I cannot recommend it more to incurable romantics.
5/5 stars
Title: Perfect
Author: Judith McNaught
ISBN: 0743474171
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April 24, 2011
Game Review: Just Dance Kids
I don't usually do non-book reviews, but sometimes something just grabs me, and I feel like telling everyone about it. In this case, it's a Wii game we picked up on Friday — Just Dance Kids.
I've gotten back into exercise over the past three weeks, mostly playing my Wii workout games, and I found my children were both into Just Dance 2, which I got for Christmas and think is a lot of fun besides being a great workout. In order to help get them more interested, I went out and bought two extra Wii motes in neon colors (and smaller for the kids), and the game: Just Dance Kids.
If you're familiar with the adult versions of the games, this is very similar. If you're not, here's what you do: Just dance. You follow the moves as best as you can (and they are ordinary, modern dance moves), with the Wii mote in your right hand, and the game rates your accuracy.
The kids' version is a little more forgiving, IMO, and there are some easier songs (although many songs are just as difficult), but every song requires you to move and SWEAT. The workout value of this game really was as good as Just Dance 2, and the kid-friendly songs help me incorporate my workout into my play time with my children. Anytime you can multi-task like that, I think a product is a winner!
The songs range from very young child (i.e. ABC song, Wheels on the Bus) to family favorites (Celebration, Holiday). There are actually quite a few songs, and you can choose to filter by age if you like.
Plus, my kids were never going to learn to dance from me — this will help them much more. 
I highly recommend this game for families with children of all ages. Have fun, workout, spend quality time together…it's great!
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April 21, 2011
Cheap Saturday Night Bar Floozies
I've been reading a book by an author I truly do like, Catherine Anderson, but this morning I ran across a line that won't stop rattling through my head: "She's a lady, not some cheap Saturday night bar floozy."
I admit that I've never been into the bar scene and have not personally met anyone I would call a bar floozy, but this line froze me cold. It is a clear expression of an attitude I can't bring myself to accept, not even for the sake of suspending disblief in a romantic fiction novel.
In contemporary novels, it's a bar floozy or a slut. In historicals, it's a whore, maid, or serving wench. Whatever the time period, and whatever the label, it all amount to the same thing: dehumanization.
The reason I love Catherine Anderson's books is that she writes about women, strong in some ways, vulnerable in others, that need saving — and of course, the men who rescue them. Maybe they've been abused by men before, physically or emotionally, or maybe a disability is to blame, but whatever it is, they need compassion and understanding, and men who can see there really is something special within them.
Which brings me back to the cheap Saturday night bar floozies. You can try to dismiss them if you want, but the second you mention them, my mind fills in details, and being the hopelessly naive/overly romantic person I am, I think of every single bar floozy as woman, no different from your heroine in her essential humanity. Maybe she's been hurt and she needs rescue. Maybe if that same hero who is swooping in now to rescue your heroine had taken a few minutes to see past a convenient warm body on a Saturday night, he would have discovered a treasure there, too. And even if that woman wasn't right for him, even if she isn't a very nice person after all, she still deserves two things: First, the benefit of the doubt and second, the same respect that any other person deserves.
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April 20, 2011
The Immortality VIrus: Interview and Giveaway
As a part of my virtual blog tour, Book Him Danno! is hosting a giveaway of The Immortality Virus on their website. They also interviewed me, so you can check that out as well.
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