M.C. Frank's Blog, page 403
November 5, 2017
Christmas aesthetic for No Ordinary Star by Sammi Follow her...
Christmas aesthetic for No Ordinary Star by Sammi
Follow her gorgeous instagram @books.arent.just.books for amazing photos.
November 4, 2017
Nanowrimo Day 3 - On breakups
I don’t know about you, but I plan to put my characters through a WORLD of pain. (I always do). The ending just isn’t that satisfactory unless they have to fight the world, and themselves, to get it.
Anyone agree with me? I learned that’s the trick to a really powerful story by reading, of course. Would Jane Eyre’s story have stuck with us all these decades, if she hadn’t had to go through fire and tears, many times over, to get to her happy ending? Would we love Elizabeth Bennet so much if she hadn’t almost lost Mr Darcy and his love not once but twice? Things going wrong, and espexially breakups, are what makes us care.
That’s why I was really thrilled back when the beta readers for Lose Me. got angry during the 3rd part of the book. At the same time, I took time to talk to each and every single one of them. I wanted the reasons for the character’s actions to be clear to the reader, but not force-fed. I changed the wording, added paragraphs, took out little misleading words. I edited, edited again, sent it to the readers multiple times.
A r i D e m o s (stunt girl):
W e s t o n S p e n c e r (actor):In the end, I had something that matched the idea I had in my head really well, and, hoping for the best, I released my baby book to the world.
As soon as people started reading the book, the Wes-Ari feels started flowing. And then.
The reviews.
I was so excited when people said that the book DESTROYED them. Isn’t that what we all want out of a good book? I was so thrilled when email after email, message after message came, and people GOT IT. THey loved that the story wasn’t “pink”, it wasn’t unrealistic, but it made them feel. It reminded them of themselves, of situations they’d been in, and it gave them hope that they could find something like what Ari had with Wes themselves.
Gorgeous Lose Me. aesthetic created by bestie @tea-books-lover
Of course, there were those who were furious that the characters had to go through any form of pain, and it was expected that not everyone will have the same opinion, but my books aren’t targeted towards these people. If you want a story that will make your brain stop working and fill your cells with sugar, then look away. This isn’t for you.
I recently received an email from a lovely reader, who made me tear up with how well she GOT IT. And in the end, we write for ourselves, every author knows this, but oh, how amazing the feels when a reader actually gets us. (I believe that, deep down inside, we write for this reason as well. We write for the hope that someone will get us. At least I know I do.) Here is part of her email:
spoilers blurred out
find this amazing reader and reviewer here.
And here is an excerpt from my email back:
I believe, from personal experience, that life isn’t all flowers and roses and that people don’t recover from trauma smoothly. I wrote this novel in the middle of losing my dad to cancer, and I wanted it to portray that strength that comes (sometimes) through grief, but also to contain a lot of dad-love and hope for the future. The story itself is based on my own experiences, and on those of the dude, [SPOILER omitted]. Such a [SPOILER] can change your entire personality, but most peopole don’t care about that because they’re used to the usual romance tropes. But I wanted to create a realistic romance, where things go bad, but you overcome them. So the fact that you understood and loved that meant the world to me.Anyone else with me? Anyone feel the importance of the path to happiness not being smooth? At least in our books, we can help our characters towards a happy ending, whether that means they don’t die in the end or that they end up together with their true love.
That doesn’t always happen in live (it never does), but that doesn’t mean we can’t sprinkle our stories with a healthy does of realism and end up with something truly uplifting, because it feels real.
Maybe, after all’s been said and done, that’s the greatest thing art can aspire to: It feels real, even if it isn’t, and it depicts life while uplifting us, even when life itself does.
Read more about Ari and Wes, as well as the first three chapters of the book for free here!
Astra Steadfast
Le team is preparing THE most amazing aesthetics you’ve ever seen, so I thought I’d play along to help them out. But seriously, what’s coming will blow your minds!
I do not aown the rights to these images, source: pinterest, NOS board
Looking for artists who take commissions
know any good ones?
What kind of commission are you looking for?
Update on the artist hunt: I have already hired an incredible artist to do a portrait of my OC Robin Hood, and she has completed it. I can’t say much more until the reveal, except:
Now, as you know I have about a million books out and a million more (approximately, of course) already written, waiting to be released. With that in mind,
I’m still looking.However, I have received TONS of requests from artists, so here is an attempt to narrow down what I’m looking for:
1. Really experienced, professional artists
2. Quick turnaround time (my artist had an extremely detailed portrait of Robin done in LESS THAN A WEEK after I first contacted her, so she has spoiled me rotten)
3. Highly detailed realistic portraits/busts
4. Maybe a comic or two (like the one I recently shared of Lose Me, scroll down you’ll find it).
5. My official artist for any future Robin Hood portraits is hired, but I’m looking for different styles for my other books!
6. Price is no issue, BUT you have to have a portfolio (see 1.)
Thank you so much for the amazing response, I have 2 more artists I’m considering commissioning from, because I fell in LOVE with their style, but I can’t wait to discover more.
November 3, 2017
Nanowrimo Day 3 - On breakups
Anyone agree with me? I learned that’s the trick to a really powerful story by reading, of course. Would Jane Eyre’s story have stuck with us all these decades, if she hadn’t had to go through fire and tears, many times over, to get to her happy ending? Would we love Elizabeth Bennet so much if she hadn’t almost lost Mr Darcy and his love not once but twice? Things going wrong, and espexially breakups, are what makes us care.
That’s why I was really thrilled back when the beta readers for Lose Me. got angry during the 3rd part of the book. At the same time, I took time to talk to each and every single one of them. I wanted the reasons for the character’s actions to be clear to the reader, but not force-fed. I changed the wording, added paragraphs, took out little misleading words. I edited, edited again, sent it to the readers multiple times.
A r i D e m o s (stunt girl):
W e s t o n S p e n c e r (actor):In the end, I had something that matched the idea I had in my head really well, and, hoping for the best, I released my baby book to the world.
As soon as people started reading the book, the Wes-Ari feels started flowing. And then.
The reviews.
I was so excited when people said that the book DESTROYED them. Isn’t that what we all want out of a good book? I was so thrilled when email after email, message after message came, and people GOT IT. THey loved that the story wasn’t “pink”, it wasn’t unrealistic, but it made them feel. It reminded them of themselves, of situations they’d been in, and it gave them hope that they could find something like what Ari had with Wes themselves.
Gorgeous Lose Me. aesthetic created by bestie @tea-books-lover
Of course, there were those who were furious that the characters had to go through any form of pain, and it was expected that not everyone will have the same opinion, but my books aren’t targeted towards these people. If you want a story that will make your brain stop working and fill your cells with sugar, then look away. This isn’t for you.
I recently received an email from a lovely reader, who made me tear up with how well she GOT IT. And in the end, we write for ourselves, every author knows this, but oh, how amazing the feels when a reader actually gets us. (I believe that, deep down inside, we write for this reason as well. We write for the hope that someone will get us. At least I know I do.) Here is part of her email:
spoilers blurred out
find this amazing reader and reviewer here.
And here is an excerpt from my email back:
I believe, from personal experience, that life isn’t all flowers and roses and that people don’t recover from trauma smoothly. I wrote this novel in the middle of losing my dad to cancer, and I wanted it to portray that strength that comes (sometimes) through grief, but also to contain a lot of dad-love and hope for the future. The story itself is based on my own experiences, and on those of the dude, [SPOILER omitted]. Such a [SPOILER] can change your entire personality, but most peopole don’t care about that because they’re used to the usual romance tropes. But I wanted to create a realistic romance, where things go bad, but you overcome them. So the fact that you understood and loved that meant the world to me.Anyone else with me? Anyone feel the importance of the path to happiness not being smooth? At least in our books, we can help our characters towards a happy ending, whether that means they don’t die in the end or that they end up together with their true love.
That doesn’t always happen in live (it never does), but that doesn’t mean we can’t sprinkle our stories with a healthy does of realism and end up with something truly uplifting, because it feels real.
Maybe, after all’s been said and done, that’s the greatest thing art can aspire to: It feels real, even if it isn’t, and it depicts life while uplifting us, even when life itself does.
Read more about Ari and Wes, as well as the first three chapters of the book for free here!
NaNoWriMo Writing Tag
Thank you so much for tagging me @bymeganwithmeraki your story sounds all kinds of awesome <3
1) What’s the title of your novel? Robin Hood WIP 2 (fancy, huh? lol)
2) Is this a new project or an old project? Brand new like a baby
3) What genres does your story fall under? Historical fiction, medieval
4) Describe your plot in one sentence. Robin Hood is hunted by an assassin, and the assassin is not a man.
5) What’s the protagonist’s name? Robin Hood
6) Describe them in three words: tortured, brave, loyal
7) What book is your story similar to? Nothing I’ve ever read, it’s something new.
8) Which one of the story’s characters do you want to meet most in real life? Robin, of course.
9) What are your plans for this novel? It’s the second book in the Outlaws duology.
10) On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you for your book? 12
Tagging EVERYONE who wants to add me as a writing buddy on nano (and has a tumblr.) Have a tumblr? Add me! Then do this, so I know what you’re writing <3
