Sheralyn Pratt's Blog, page 8

A Quick Thank You!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have not only taken the time to read my books, but to rate them on reading websites. As writers, we can tell a story, but it's mainly word of mouth that decides whether or not our stories are read.

So a big thanks from me to you for sharing your thoughts (whatever they may be) with others. Every review counts.

And just so you know I REALLY mean that, here's a cute "thank you" image made by someone infinitely more crafty than me:

Oh, and by way of good news: when I added The Avenues to Kindle for $4.99, it lowered all of my other books to the same price. If you're an ebook reader, you'll notice that books 1 & 2 are missing from Kindle for some reason. Not sure why that is, but you can definitely get the ebooks from my publisher. As of this posting, they have dropped them down to half price. They used to be $7.50, but right now they're $3.75, so that's a deal if you're looking to add the series to your ebook collection.

But all that is really a sidenote to saying thank you. You are the best!

Not-So Top Secret, But Kind of Embarrassing...

I have a confession: I like fanvids of TV shows on youtube.

Sometimes, when I want to take a frivolous and unnecessary break from writing, I look up fanvids to see shows through the eyes of devout fans and shippers. Fanvids were the gateway drugs that got me to watch full series like "Chuck" (insert html heart here, because I LOVE that show) and "Legend of the Seeker," among others.

Sometimes, I dare say, the fan vids are better than the actual episodes they're taken from. And more than once they've gotten me to see a dynamic I was missing before (which, for a writer, is a special kind of high). So while I've never posted a fanvid myself, I applaud the people who love the fictional characters of others enough to make them themselves

I confess all this because today I stumbled across the link of a "Caskett" (Castle/Beckett) shipper who has made a video to remind fellow fans of the dynamic that they all fell in love with that the show has all but lost. I, for one, LOVED seasons 1 and 2 of Castle. Season 3 felt like it fell off track and season 4 has basically just felt like a freefall--one I'm still hoping they can pull out of by returning to the very thing that got me hooked.

"And what is that?" you ask.

Well, I'm glad you asked, because this fanvid illustrates it PERFECTLY!!!



Here's to hoping that Castle finds its way back to a place like this :)

Any shows you're hoping will come back next season? (Read: Any fanvids you think I should check out to see if I want to get hooked on another show?)

Ooooh! Sparkly!

Just when I thought I was done with vampires, Julie Kagawa steps up to the plate. And while her new book is about vampires, I'm assuming the only sparkling in the book will be excellent writing.

Am I the only one who sees HUGE potential here?

Cover = Underworld (face) + True Blood (tears) + Twilight (eyes)The premise:
In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.


Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.
Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.
Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.
But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.




Not a new story, but again, it's Julie Kawaga. I am officially counting down to April 24, 2012, which feels good. It's been a long time since I've been excited for a YA title... not to mention anything with a vampire protagonist.

Introducing: The Avenues

What The Avenues is:
The Avenues covers the time period (4 months) between books 1 and 2 in the Rhea Jensen series. The story is told from Ty's POV and begins on the day he meets Rhea. This is a book about how their relationship develops.

What The Avenues isn't:
This book isn't a Rhea Jensen mystery, hence, it is not a part of Rhea's series which is also one of the reasons The Avenues is currently only available as an ebook.

Start reading The Avenues here.

Buy it on Kindle (more coming soon) here.

A little bit more back story and information:
The Avenues has been in my head from the beginning of the Rhea series. I debated writing it back in 2004, before the first edition of Welcome to Stalk Lake City, but it just wasn't a story that Rhea wanted to tell. If you haven't noticed, Rhea's a bit tight lipped when it comes to her emotions, so during the four months between books 1 and 2 in her series she pretty much held up a sign that read, Nothing to see here! Except the sign didn't block all that much from my author eyes because Ty was standing right next to her, basically setting off fireworks to get my attention. 


In the end, Rhea won. It was her series, her voice, and she didn't want to talk about it. BUT, I can tell you that had she followed her original plan, Welcome to Stalk Lake City would have never happened and Rhea would have been back home by her birthday. The reason she missed that invisible deadline wasn't something she really wanted to admit to herself—or anyone else for that matter (even though one person was savvy enough to catch on and investigate).
Why did Rhea stay? Well, that's where the until-now, untold story of The Avenues comes in.
A heads up for parents and clean readers:Ty is not active in the church when Rhea meets him. He drinks and finds himself in adult situations, which are not situations traditionally explored in LDS fiction. So while The Avenues is technically PG, let's expand that definition to say it's rated "Prime Time" because bars, drinking, and forward women are featured. But for those of you who want to see Ty on a more three-dimensional level, I think it's a journey worth taking.
And since Rhea is unwilling to tell this part of the story through her eyes, Ty gets to tell it in his own unique way. In truth, I almost wish he voiced more books in the series. Ty is very easy to write for. J

I suggest parents read it before their children do, which is a practice I know many of my readers implement. Some parents choose to not let their teens read my books while others use the books to open the door to difficult conversations. I respect both choices equally. And while this makes it sound like The Avenues is highly objectionable, that's not the case. But Ty does many things that do not reflect the values of the church, and I know some readers don't want that in a "clean" read.

Why I wrote The Avenues:I finally decided to write The Avenues when I saw a blog of a reader who was going off on how she wanted to know how Ty and Rhea ended up together. She then proceeded to list a series of questions she wanted answered, and as I read I realized I had all of her answers locked in my brain and that somebody actually wanted to read them.
So, if you like this book, you can thank a ranting blog post of a reviewer.
Hope you enjoy!All that said, I give you The Avenues. Please feel free to review it and spread the word because it is you, the readers, who will decide 100% whether this book is read. Its future lies fully with you, your reviews, and recommendations.

As always, thanks for reading! An author couldn't ask for more.

Start reading now by clicking here.

Hunger Games Movie Review

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS*
Before I review the Hunger Games, let me make a disclaimer: When aperson overexposes themselves to any industry, there is a tendency to become alittle… particular. For example:

Some people are foodies and have strong opinions about cuisine. Other people are passionate about cars and are outspoken on the subjectof cars.I'm sure you know at least one person who is passionate on what shouldand should not be worn in public.
It's important to note that just because a foodie is passionate abouthow a dish should be cooked, it doesn't necessarily mean they can make thatdish. And the car person can't necessarily build the car they're critiquing,nor can the fashionista likely sew what they're judging.
So it is with me and books and movies. I'm not really very opinionatedin any other industry, but after reading thousands of books and seeing anunseemly amount of movies, I have opinions.
I just do.
That said, I think the book The Hunger Games is one of the best booksof this century. It is everything a book should be: artful and emotional,thought-provoking and relatable, and above all, a metaphor we all we're all alittle afraid to truly consider. I give it every star possible. If the daycomes when I can write something comparable, I will be the happiest of camperson this planet!
In the movie The Hunger Games, I also give the cast every starpossible. Amazing. Stunning. Whoever casted it should get an award. Do theygive awards to casting agents? If not, they TOTALLY should. Casting totallymakes or breaks a movie. And the casting here is on point throughout.
Jennifer Lawrence? Cue choirs of angels. She's brilliant. Then there's ElizabethBanks' condescending affability as Effie, Woody Harrelson's emotionally destroyed Haymitch, Stanley Tucci's ability to turn final interviews into depersonalizing, entertaining caricatures, Donald Sutherland as a cold, driven tyrant, Josh Hutcherson as the boy caught between resignation and hope, LiamHemsworth as the best friend who is waiting for the day friendship will become something more, and everyone else in the cast. Flawless. Loved them. I could write them all doting,swooning letters and put posters of them on my wall like a teenage fangirl. They were that good.
But man (read: here's the part where my movie snob comes out), I wish someonehad talked Gary Ross out of the whole "shaky camera" approach. You know what I'mtalking about: where it seems like they attached a camera to the top of abobblehead doll before saying, "Roll tape!"
It's always a dangerous move to make the choice to have the camera beone of the "characters" in your movie—to constantly make the viewer aware ofthe camera and to never let us forget that we are (a) watching a movie, and (b)watching said movie through the eyes of someone/something that is never goingto allow us to truly focus.
And while film makers may argue that having cameras bob and weave,never really stopping, and artistically going off frame portrays an aura of unsteadinessand uncertainty—allegedly pulling the viewer more into a movie because we haveto concentrate more to keep focus on the stuff wandering around the screen—it really only makes me more aware that I'm watching a movie. Shaky cameras take me outof the moment, frustrate me, and sometimes get me even a little motion sick. Ididn't like it in Saving Private Ryan, and it didn't work for the fight scenesin the Bourne movies, either. I'm just not a fan of the "bobblehead" cameraapproach. ESPECIALLY in a movie aimed at minors. I think it distracts way morethan it potentially adds.
Why? Because when I think about reviewing this movie, the firstthing I think is, "I wish they had held the camera still!" It upstageseverything else about the story.
That said, my snobby note to the directors of the world: Having acamera man walk up stairs with a camera does NOT give us the perspective of aperson walking up those same stairs. Why not? Because the human eye is muchmore advanced than a camera sitting on someone's shoulder. Our perspective ofwalking up stairs has a sense of fluidity to it. No one's eyes bob up and down,right and left as they ascend a staircase. If they did, we would likely falldown. Same goes with running through the woods or even standing in one spot.Our eyes don't bob, weave, and wander. Don't force us to do those things in amovie theater, please. It's distracting and does not make the movie moreintense or make us feel like we are really there. Promise.
The second thing I think pulled away from the potential of the moviewas the pacing. Several moments that should have been intense were just slow(i.e., Katniss aiming at the bag of apples). Scenes that brought you to tears inthe book were undeveloped on the screen, which is totally understandable. Butalso fixable in many cases.
That was the complaint I heard the most while walking out of thetheater at three in the morning—that the movie didn't tug on the heart stringsas people thought it should. Diehard fans who wanted to cry walked away dryeyed and a little confused as they made their way to their cars.
First off, that's a definite nod to how perfectly the book is written.What Suzanne Collins pulls off with simple words on a page somehow eludesexpert filmmakers with hundreds of millions of dollars. How Collins gets us tostep in and feel what Katniss doesn't dare feel is masterful, as is how Rue iswoven into the story only to break our hearts is a cathartic heartbreak. Themovie just can't quite pull this off. In the book Rue rivals Katniss when itcomes to who you are rooting for. (Or, at least, she did for me.) And Rosstries to make that moment happen. He really, really does. But in my mind themistake is giving Rue almost more screen time in death and dying than she'sgiven in life and living.
In my mind, we could have shortened up several of the times we watchKatniss aim her bow (and letting the zoomed-in bobbly camera wander to segmentsof the bow, her eyes, her dirty hands, the chapped pucker of her lips like adystopian love letter) and added in a little more of establishing why Rue doesn'twant to let Katniss die and why Rue is invested in what will be her final task.
In short, the movie could have taken a cue from the book. By creating antear-filled death and burial scene in the movie, and letting Katniss leisurelybury Rue and openly mourn—and showing others from Rue's district mourning—we arereleased from the obligation of mourning Rue. Everyone else is doing it andtaking their time about it. The other kids didn't get that, and we didn't know Ruethat well anyway. So we stay focused on Katniss and start thinking, "Get going!The others are going to come find you when they realize Marvel is gone andprobably dead. You're out in the open! Hurry!"
Sometimes restraint is your friend.

Bobbleheads should be toys, not filming equipment.All that said, the movie is probably the best recent adaptation of a novel. If it weren'tfor the **** bobblehead camera, it would be darn near perfect. But when youkeep a viewer (in this case, me) slightly annoyed throughout an entire movie,other flaws start becoming more apparent. You start thinking things like, "Thatflash back didn't really work," "Was that the best way to show that?" "Why don'tthey have the mom catatonic in the beginning rather than wasting a flashback onshowing how the mom checked out of a time and Katniss being hyper emotionalabout it?" "Is this scene a flashback, or is it happening in real time will anon-congruent rough cut?" "If Katniss can hit birds and squirrels in the eye lighteningquick while hunting, why does she always spend ten hours when aiming at a big,big target?" "Why do the other kids kill everyone else without preamble, butstop to give monologues when trying to kill Katniss that allow her and/or Peetato be saved?" "Why does everyone keep saving Katniss' life? Seriously. It's a death match. What's their motivation for letting her live to see another day with her deadly bow and arrow?" "Wait,how could that other pledge know that? They don't have access to the cameras orknow what the audience knows. They would NEVER know that, much less say that!"
And so on.
So, to try to keep this slightly concise, a big YAY to everything butbobblehead cameras and pacing choices. The movie would have been a whole lotmore effective if it hadn't relied on a bouncy camera to allegedly pull us inand instead focused on the humanity/inhumanity and true immediacy of the situation. Themovie lets the audience relax and pretty much take a comfortable ride through ahorrific, unthinkable lottery (which maybe relieves some parents who are seeing itwith young kids). It tells the story of the Hunger Games without truly forcing us to consider it or step into it, which is a luxury the book did notallow.
All that said, go see it… but maybe not in IMAX if you're prone tomotion sickness.

It's Time to Go Win a Free Ebook

Pssst. It's time. From now until midnight you can win "The Avenues" for free by answering a question on the Rhea Jensen "Like" page.

 Go check it out!

Lessons Learned From Chuck

I haven't gotten any (fictional) writing done today. Why not? Because I'm rolling around in Chuck episodes like catnip.

Man, if there was ever a tie-in novel I would LOVE to write, it would be novels for the TV show Chuck. So. Good. That show does (*sniffle* did)  so many things right--things I want to do in my own writing. The premise: An underachiever (Chuck) who works at a local electronics store is sent an email containing ALL of the government secrets. Upon opening the email, all of the secrets are transmitted into his mind using seemingly random images. Multiple government agencies track Chuck down, and must decide what to do with him. Sarah Walker is CIA and John Casey is NSA. Both are assassins and tasked to protect Chuck as a prized asset even as they explore his ability to recall top government secrets whenever he encounters anything that links to one of the files--all while Chuck tries to maintain his ho-hum life without anyone finding out that he has suddenly become a government spy.

Much campy action and heart-string moments ensue.

But really, what gets me about this show is the obvious passion in the work of everyone participating in it. For those of you who haven't watched the series, here's a simple example of the attention to detail that gets me lost in the show for hours and hours.

The first time Sarah Walker meets Chuck in the Buy More (when she comes in to assess what level of threat he poses to the nation's security) in the Pilot of the series, she's wearing this: ---------------------------------------------->


The last time Chuck meets Sarah Walker in the Buy More in the series finale (5 seasons later), she is wearing the outfit on the left.

Now some of you may be thinking, "So? They put her in the same color pallet. Nothing original about that. In fact, one might call it cliche."

But when you multiply little Easter egg details like this by the hundreds, you get a typical Chuck episode.

Details like this don't happen on accident. They take thought, planning, and passion. You have to literally be in love with your project--laying in bed at night and thinking about it as you stare at your ceiling. More than once I've watched a Chuck episode and thought, "Really? This was directed and written by a man???" Men... they try to act all tough and impervious, but the proof is the production when it comes to what they really think about romance and comedy. And, if Chuck is any indicator, men pay a LOT more attention to the details than most women think. Just different details.

Why do I love Chuck? Because the creators loved their show so much and so well that they could literally show me how to fall in love with their characters as well. And that, in my world, is what the craft of storytelling is all about. It's what all creators, whatever their craft, endeavor to do. Some just do it better than others. In my world, Chuck gets very high marks. My heart literally hurts that the show is over, and the storyteller in me is all but compelled to continue the story. I love the characters that much. Losing them feels like a break up. When I think about it rationally, I just laugh. There are SO MANY things in the world to care about--to think about!

And I miss Chuck.

So trite in the scheme of things... and yet, it's real.

Crazy, that...

All that said, if you haven't checked out Chuck, give it a try. After all, when one finds catnip, the nice thing to do is share. :)

In the meantime, I will do my best to find other forms of Rhea-flavored catnip for your future consumption while you watch the first meeting of Chuck and Sarah from the series Pilot. Enjoy! 

This Friday

Psssst.

For those of you who are looking to win "The Avenues" ebook for free, the window will be open to do so this Saturday. Check in at the Rhea Jensen Series "Like" page to unravel the riddle that will get you the book for free the moment it's released.

Good luck!

Dreams, Pipe Cleaner People, and Duller Action Items

So, last night I had a dream. I'm sure I dream every night, but I rarely remember dreams. Once a month, maybe. Usually less. So I'm always curious if there's any meaning to the dreams I do remember... and on some occasions I actually worry that there might be meaning to them.

Healthy, happy, brains intact.For instance: Last night I dreamed that I removed my dog's brain. Then, when she started acting lethargic (you know, because her brain was no longer connected to the rest of her), I put the brain back in. When she didn't get back to normal right away, I got a cat for her to chase--which she did.

Welcome to my land of dreams... a world I don't pretend to understand. But that's why other people who think they understand them write books, right? So people like me can put my faith in them when I dream about bizarre-o stuff.

So, alarmed at what this dream might mean, I turned to the dream dictionary a former roommate gave me many moons ago and opened it to "brain." On the subject of brains it reads: "Pleasant and/or profitable news from an unexpected quarter is forecast in a brain featuring animal brains..."

Really? I don't even want to know how anyone EVER figured that out! But still, I liked it. It's better than what I was thinking. It's the kind of prediction I can get behind so today I've been focusing on things that I feel have the potential to pay off--as opposed to things I do because they're fun and maybe-might pay off. There's a difference. We all know that, and yet it doesn't make it easier to re-focus.

The "Buffalo Wing"So today I've been making lame illustrations for one of my pet projects. And when I say lame, I mean L-A-M-E (see image). But hey, we all have our Tim Gunn "make it work" moments. I don't think Tim Gunn would be at all impressed with this solution, but it's better than nothing... maybe.

Other than pipe cleaner yoga poses, the other thing on today's menu is an edit of what I'm calling "The Avenues." This is the novella that covers the time between books 1 and 2 from Ty's perspective. The story has always been there in my head, but I was about half way through writing book 5 when one of you readers once again pointed out how smart you all are. (That's one of the things I like most about readers who are loyal to Rhea: as a rule, you are all very, very smart.) I had already been debating whether or not certain information needed to be made public or if it was fine staying in the background when I was led to a blog where someone was asking every question "The Avenues" answers. It was at that moment that I said, "You know, even if it's just for this person, it's worth it to put it out there. I'll just write it fast, not obsess over it, and make it an ebook that people can read if they choose to. No loss if they don't, but extra insight if they do."

So, that's "The Avenues." And while it did take a week or so away from "Unpleasant Grove," book 5 is still on schedule and I'm sooooo excited to get it into your hands. I hope you love the ride into book 6, which is pretty much the most fun LDS fiction can be, if you ask me.

But as for today, I'm focusing on Pipe Cleaner people and edits of a novella as I await pleasant and/or profitable news from an unexpected quarter. It's like waiting for Christmas when you don't know what day it lands on. Looking forward to it whenever... *checks watch* Seriously, any time now. :)

No. Way.

If there is one thing to be said for the human body, it is that we have no idea what it is capable of. I'm in the middle of writing Rhea right now and I have to confess that she pushes herself to be quite capable but in every realm I see examples of people around us who would smoke her in a duel.

One of them is this guy. If you feel like having your mind blown, check out the video below.