M.L.S. Weech's Blog, page 89

The May Book Cover of the Month Bracket Starts Now!

Happy first everyone! It’s time to kick off a new bracket.  If you’re curios or new, check out the Book Covers for December, January, February, March, and April.

[image error]May’s bracket has 31 new covers and last month’s runner up, Fate of the Big Bad Wolf by Neo Edmund, has another chance to take the title home.

We’re doing things differently this month. In previous months, we had a round-by-round competition, which I loved. But it’s demanding on readers and fans. They have to keep coming back to vote each week, and I want this to be fun, with as much participation as possible. So this round is a one shot bracket. What this means is each person will only have to vote once for his or her own bracket. Instead of waiting a few days between rounds, you can vote all the way through the tournament. If this works better for people, and increases participation, we’ll keep this format going forward. It’ll still last for two weeks, and I’ll still do updates every so often, but no one will be out of the fight until the last day of the tournament.

As always, I’d appreciate it if you tag the authors and artists if you know them. I try to tag or friend every author I can, but sometimes it’s hard to track someone down. Max participation is a huge deal to me. The more people who vote, the more recognition these authors and artists receive, and I want this to be as legitimate as possible.

[image error]Image taken from Pixabay.

If you are the author, let’s remember to be good sports! 1) Please feel free to message or contact me at any time. 2) Please feel free to like, share, text, ask for support, and call everyone you know. I absolutely want max participation. However, if you’re going to offer giveaways or prizes, please offer them for voting, not just voting for you.

Also, while your summoning your army of voting soldiers, please make sure you ask them to vote in every match. Part of the idea of this is to get exposure to as many artists and authors as possible. By all means, if you can get 1,000 people to vote for your book, do it. Just please also send some eyeballs to the other matches.

A final note to authors and artists: I currently have links to the books’ Amazon pages. If you’d prefer I switch that link to sign up for your newsletter or like your social media page or whatever, just send me the link and let me know. I want this to help you. I want this to be as helpful as possible, so whatever you need me to do to facilitate that, just let me know.

 

I hope you keep having fun. Please, vote, share, and discuss as much as possible.

All you have to do now is head over here to vote!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Another Draft Done: A Sojourn in Captivity Update

Greetings all!

[image error]I’m home on vacation, which for me means I get to spend way more time on writing.  I was making good progress on Sojourn in Captivity already, and now I’m happy to report the fourth (of five) draft is done! I want to take another moment to thank my beta readers. Your feedback helped make this a much stronger story, and I was pleased with it before I sent it out.  Now it’s back to the editor for the copy-editing pass. The story is what it is, now we’re making sure the writing is as strong as it can be. That’ll be the last draft before I add a bit of information (a forward) to it and send it off to the Slush Brain’s honorable captain.

This also gives me a chance to put out a few other updates.

First, I’m happy to announce I did manage to get another event lined up. I went to Shore Leave a few years back, and I confirmed a few months ago that I’m heading that way again.

Speaking of conventions, at last year’s AwesomeCon, I had the chance to talk about the pitfalls of self publishing. I’ll be doing that panel again. This one is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, June 16. It was a fun panel to do last year, and I have more information this year.

Sojourn isn’t the only project I’ve sent to my editor. I’ve re-designed The Journals of Bob Drifter, and I sent that PDF her way for a quick proofread before I re-release that. I would have loved for that book to be re-released before AwesomeCon, but it’s not not logistically possible.  Still, it will be re-released this year, and doing so will allow me a lot more freedom with that title (not to mention a lower (I’m not sure how much) cover price).

[image error]Now that I’m not bring so much mental energy on Sojourn, I can turn my attention back to Images of Truth the actual first complete novel in the Perception of War saga. (Sojourn is simply a prequel novella.)

I want to finish Images of Truth (I was halfway done when I switched gears for Sojourn) before I put my full attention on the Oneiros log. I’ve started (and even nearly finished) an outline for a novella featuring Kaitlyn. Then it’s full steam ahead on the rest of the trilogy.

I’m a guy who needs something to look at when his eyes start to cross, so I’ll be working on a draft of 1,200 (another project that should be coming your way in the not too distant future). It’s still my ambitious hope to dedicate the rest of 2017 and all of 2018 to writing and conventions and then release a minimum of six projects in 2019. That would be three Oneiros books, 1,200, and a few from a new series I plan to start. I have a bunch of other drafts too, but those projects are much larger. My hope is this new series will keep good product from a common universe coming, which will then give me more time to finish those larger products (New Utopia and Perception of War) the way they’re meant to be finished.

I want to thank all of you who read my blog (and of course my books)! Your support really means the world to me. I’m putting a lot into 2019, hoping that will be “my year” more or less. Your support always makes it easier to sit down with the lap top.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Another 5-Star review for Bob Drifter!

[image error]I always love feedback. It’s even more awesome when the reader enjoys my work.  I just wanted to share this 5-star review for The Journals of Bob Drifter. Writing is pretty much a war of dedication and attrition. Reviews like this help keep a writer going.  You can read this newest one here.

Frantically writing Badly: The trouble with adverbs

[image error]All stock images were from Pixabay.

I’m almost finished with my edits to Sojourn in Captivity, and I came upon something during my revisions that I thought I’d share with you.

General writing advice states that “Adverbs are bad.” This was most recently (Yes…that’s an adverb, but I needed it) reiterated to me in Elements of Fiction Writing-Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell (I’ll review that soon, I promise). Bell says, “Always see if you can find a strong enough verb to stand on it’s own.”

So let’s talk about those pesky modifiers.

What are adverbs:  Adverbs are one of the eight parts of speech.  They most commonly (see that?) modify verbs, but they can also modify adjectives and other adverbs. They usually (yep..there’s another one) end in “ly.”

So why are they bad?

I offer two reasons why adverbs are almost never helpful:

1) They’re vague. People tend to want to throw an adverb in there because they have a clear picture in their mind about what they see, but they’re not looking for the best word. So they do something bad writers do: they fall under the illusion that more words makes bad writing better.  This is false. More words don’t make a sentence more clear or a book better. Here are some examples:

He quickly ran – So…you mean he sprinted.

He said softly – So….you mean he whispered.

He shouted loudly – Okay, now you’re just being ridiculous. Have you ever heard someone shout quietly?

[image error]2) They cause more problems then they solve. The second problem isn’t about the adverb one uses (though you’re better off if you replace it with a stronger verb). It’s about where people put adverbs. Adverbs are modifiers, and when you put a modifier in the wrong place, you alter the wrong verb, adjective, or adverb. My students recognize this as a misplaced modifier. Here are some examples:

He fought until he tirelessly finished his work for the day. – No.  I don’t think he finished tirelessly. In fact, I’d wager he was exhausted by the time he finished. I think that because I’m pretty sure he fought tirelessly

He typed until he quickly finished his writing for the day. – Well, maybe he did finish quickly, but the way he finished quickly was by typing fast. Here, there’s less confusion about what the writer meant, but I’m telling you it still makes the writer look bad.

What I hope I’ve done is help you see why adverbs cause problems. Can you eliminate them completely? (Obviously (Yes….I’m aware of what I did twice in a row.) not.) What you want to do is make sure each adverb is justified. Every time you write an adverb, justify its existence as if you are justifying your right to be a writer.

What did I do?

First: I did a search for ly.

[image error]My trusty writing program told me I had 406 adverbs in my story. I went adverb to adverb, just as I recommend you do. When it was all said and done, 363 adverbs remain. That’s not entirely true. (Wait…I mean there’ s more to it than that). My word program said there were 363 words that end in the letters ly. That means the word family would appear in the search. I’m not sure how many actual adverbs I have left, but I’m happy I switched out about 40 for stronger verbs. The story moves better. Each sentence is stronger for it.

Following this plan, or one like it, will do the same for you.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson

[image error]Cover image used for review purposes under fair use.

Spolier Free Summary: Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson is a short story about two detectives, Davis and Chaz, who operate with limitless authority in a re-created “snapshot” of a past day. They seem to be going through their day as usual when they stumble upon a mass murder. Mystery layers upon mystery (as is typical of a Sanderson novel) until they all seem to click into place with truths that shake the world.

Character:  Davis and Chaz are interesting enough characters. Chaz isn’t likable at all, but that’s what makes him compelling. I found myself reading the book more just to find out what he wouldn’t do with the power he had. Davis is the more compelling and interesting character (he’s the main character after all). I found his arc sad. He’s a man trying to prove himself in every way, but the path he’s chosen isn’t one that will prove what matters most. What disappointed me about this was the end. Sure, the plot twist was as surprising as any Sanderson novel, but what I gained on the satisfaction of a clever plot twist, I lost in association with a character.

Exposition: Sanderson does this well. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to the Audible version of the book, but Sanderson has a knack for helping a reader fall into the world without beating said reader to death with paragraphs of exposition.

World building:  This is why I’m glad the film rights to this story were optioned. I like the idea of this novel.  I’m sure most readers would cry out Minority Report, but I think this found a different way to take a similar concept. I’d like to see how the render this story.

[image error]Photo by Nazrilof. Image taken from Mr. Sanderson’s website. 

Dialogue:  This is the way we get a lot of information, but it’s so snappy and dramatic, I’m not overly worried about it. The banter between Chaz and Davis isn’t anywhere near the banter between Wax and Wayne, but it isn’t bad.  A note on that, the “down side” to being a multi-best-selling author is that people are going to compare your work. So the buddy cop aspect of this novel, I feel, is comparable to the conversations between those lovable Mistborn characters, but it comes up short in the measurement.

Description: Here Sanderson does something clever that kept me turning pages. There’s a detail thought the book that just drives a reader crazy trying to imagine all the way to the end. It’s a pleasant little mystery just for the reader, and I would have burned through the book just to find out the answer to that riddle.

Overall: This was a quick, interesting read that had a lot of great thriller cop movie elements. The way the mysteries were woven together was clever. I’m not as high on this as I would be a Cosmere novel or even the Reckoners (which I admit I like way more than others I’ve talked to), but it’s a bit unfair to compare those stories. (But I read them all, so I’m allowed.) For me, this was the perfect little audiobook to get me through a pretty long drive, and I’d recommend it for others about to take a similarly-lengthed trip.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Interview with Michael G. Manning

[image error]I recently had the honor to correspond via social media and email with Michael G. Manning , author of the December Book Cover of the Month , Betrayer’s Bane . I’ve already posted the review for that, and you can check that out here . I’ve also interviewed Amalia Chitulescu, which you can read here . I’ve mentioned how much I enjoyed Bane, and I actually just finished the first book in the Embers of Illeniel trilogy before posting this blog.  I’ll post my review for The Mountains Rise (the Audible version), in time (there are other reviews scheduled to post first, and I try to respect the order in which I read books). I’m a huge fan of the series so far, and I can’t wait to finish it.  That makes me all the happier I had a chance to interview Mr. Manning.

Without further ado, here we go:

You have quite a few projects out there, and I understand some (if not all) of them are related. Can you explain how Embers of Illeniel fits in with other projects you have out and other projects you have coming? 

 

My first series, was Mageborn, starting with ‘The Blacksmith’s Son’ and finishing with ‘The Final Redemption.’  It was five books in all, and during the course of it I frequently referred back to hidden memories that were trapped in the main character’s mind.  So, once I had finished it, I felt a strong need to go back and write the story of what had been haunting Mordecai throughout those books.

So my original series was Mageborn, with Embers of Illeniel being a prequel set two thousand years before it.  I also have a sequel series, ‘Champions of the Dawning Dragons.’  It takes up where Mageborn left off, following the children that were born during that series.

At the moment I have finished Mageborn, and Embers of Illeniel, and the last book of the sequel series, Demonhome, is due out later this year.  I have a stand-alone book also, ‘Thomas,’ that is based on an old roleplaying game campaign I was in.

[image error]What was the inspiration for the series?

I was bored. I went on a Kindle binge and read eighteen books in a single week and found myself without anything interesting to read.  So, I sat down and made a mental list of the things I was looking for in my hypothetical perfect book.  When I had finished the list, I realized that I had already read everything remotely similar, so I just said to hell with it and started writing.


Betrayer’s Bane was the best book I’ve read so far in 2017.  What do you think are the things that made that book so great? 

Pain and suffering.  One of my biggest complaints about books, movies, and TV shows, is that very often everything is sugar-coated.  There’s almost always a happy ending, and it’s rare for anyone of importance to the story to die.  Since I already knew this was going to be a dark story, I decided to go all out, though at times I wondered if I had gone too far.

Tyrion is such a compelling character. How did you come up with him? What made you decide to write a series focused on him with that series? I understand (at least I THINK) Ileniel happens generations before the Mageborn series. Is that true? If so, what made you decide to go so far back in the world you’ve built?

Again, there were numerous veiled references to this story in my first series, so it felt almost compulsory for me to come back and write it.

I think Tyrion himself is so interesting because he starts out as a perfectly ordinary young man, perhaps even kinder and gentler than most, but his experiences gradually warp and shape him into the monster he eventually becomes.  It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion, it’s horrible, but you just can’t look away.



How did you feel when you finished that series?


Relieved.  I don’t think readers always realize that all the same emotions they experience while reading a book affect the author as well.  The main difference is that it takes us weeks and months to get them all down, so we suffer the same trauma in an extended drawn out sort of way.  That’s fine when it’s a light-hearted novel, but when it is something like this—well it can be agonizing.  Day after day you’re forced to repeatedly live out the same pain.  I thought I might lose my mind before finishing it.


Bane was the first book I’ve read from you, and it has me going crazy trying to see what happens after the epilogue. For those like me, what book can I jump to to find out?

[image error]You should start with ‘The Blacksmith’s Son,’ and then follow it through the entire Mageborn series.  Once that’s done you can read ‘Thornbear,’ which is the first of the sequels.


As you know, I discovered Betrayer’s Bane when I selected it as my Book Cover of the Day. It went on to become the December Book Cover of the Month. First, congrats to both you and Amalia for winning.  I’ve spoken about what I think makes the cover stand out on my blog, but I’d like to know your thoughts about what made the cover work for you. Why do you think that cover stands out?

Well, the cover represents a particularly traumatic scene in the book, the death of one of the more lovable characters, although it’s done with a bit of artistic license.  I think that’s what makes it a great cover.  It perfectly captures the raw emotion that I tried to embody throughout the story.

What did you think about the cover when Amalia showed it to you?

I’ve never been disappointed with her work, so naturally I was pleased.  Not only does she have great artistic sense, but she always arranges the less obvious elements perfectly as well as picking fonts that fit the theme.

Can you walk me through the process of creating the cover from your point of view? What did you ask Amalia for? What was she like to work with? What was your goal for the cover?

[image error]I’ve been working with her for a couple of years now, but in each case I merely describe the scene I think would fit best on the cover.  She takes it from there, and usually within a few weeks she has something to show me.  Thus far I’ve never had to request a major change after that point, just minor refinements.  She has excellent taste.  As always, my only goal for the cover is to evoke a feeling in the viewer, something that will entice them to examine the contents.

Bane was, as I said, a great book. It was so good I went back and bought book 1 of Elleniel (audio version). If there are any new readers out there, where would you recommend they start reading your work?

My preferred reading order would be the order I wrote them in, starting with the Mageborn series.  After that I’d alternate the prequels and sequels, starting with the first of the prequels, ‘The Mountains Rise.’  I switched back and forth between the prequel and sequel series, so there are hints about each in the other.  I know that sounds confusing, but if you look at the publishing dates just follow them chronologically.

Even if you don’t, you can’t go wrong just reading each series on its own.

What’s your newest released project? Please tell us about it.

[image error]The latest thing I did was release a short novel called, ‘Thomas.’  It’s actually something I wrote before I started publishing, but I never took the time to finish it.  After Betrayer’s Bane I needed something light to cleanse my palate and wash away the evil that had sunk into my bones.  It’s a great book that has nothing to do with any of my other work, being based on a roleplaying game I was in with some friends.

The main character is a boy named Thomas (funny how that works).  He starts as an orphan and the mystery of the tale revolves around his origin, although most of the story itself doesn’t directly relate to that.  I think anyone that enjoys fantasy would like it, even though the main character is a cleric, which is uncommon in the genre.

What are you working on next? 

Currently I’m working on ‘Demonhome,’ the last book in my sequel series.  It follows Matthew, the son of the protagonist in Mageborn, as he travels to another dimension to try and find his missing father.  I’ve hinted at it before, but there will be some science fiction elements introduced there that I think will be fascinating.


I thank you again for all of your time. You’ve created a fascinating series that I highly recommend to any fans of action fantasy. (Disclaimer, this is a dark story.)

END INTERVIEW

I’ve purchased the Audible version of The Silent Tempest , which will allow me to complete this trilogy, and I can promise I’m moving straight on to Mageborn. I’m very high on this series and this author at the moment. I hope a few of you try him out.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

A 5-Star Review for Caught

[image error]I came home from work yesterday to a wonderful surprise. I have a new 5-Star review for Caught on Goodreads. I’m always grateful for reviews of any type. Feedback is how authors get better. That said, when those reviews are positive and with a bunch of starts, well, that makes my day!  Check out the review here to see what one reader thought of the new book!

Book Review: Betrayer’s Bane by Michael G. Manning

[image error]Spolier Free Summary: Betrayer’s Bane by Michael G. Manning is the final book in the Embers of Illeniel series. Tyrion is a man who was motivated to do monstrous things after all the horrific events he’d been forced to live through. He’s pushed to the edge of a choice, he can become a hero or give in to his hatred and rage. Doing so is the only way to save humanity. This was my first ever Book Cover of the Month winner. Let me say this up front, I’ve never been so glad to judge a book by it’s cover. If you want to see an interview form the artist, just click here.

Character:  I’ve spoken about sympathy a few times, and I always made it a point to mention there is a distinction between sympathy and likability. Tyrion, and most of this cast, are horrible. The only thing more horrid than their actions is what was done to place them in this path. I had an advantage here that I don’t think other readers had. I read this book first. Now I’m eagerly reading the first book in the series simply to find out how Tyrion came to be the way he is and act the way he acts.  He’s a brilliant character with devastating flaws that are all born of circumstances he couldn’t control. Readers will rip through the pages to find out if he can at least control himself.

Exposition: This was outstanding. Every beat and every explanatory comment is placed exactly where it must go. I can’t think of a single place in the novel that slowed down or felt info dumpy.

World building:  Here I have to remember I came in at the end of the series. As a stand alone book, this is probably the weaker part of the book, but that’s like saying Superman’s eyeball is a little less impenetrable than his chest. As one who came in at the end of a series, I simply had to acknowledge that there were some aspects about the world and magic system that I wasn’t gong to get a Cliff Notes version of. Why this is still a high quality point of discussion is that even lost, knowing I didn’t know two-thirds of what I needed to know, the world is still immersive where it needs to be.

[image error]Dialogue:  For my money, one of the most intense series of scenes are the interactions between Tyrion and Thillmarius. This is the main reason why I, personally, would recommend any readers actually start with this book. That’s just my opinion, but it creates a beautiful tension that other readers don’t get if they start at book one. Those conversations on the surface seem to be a man sorry for what his people had done, but the reader learns though this tool that Thillmarius is personally responsible for some of Tyrion’s torments. There’s no doubt Thillmarius is trying to make amends, but reading this dialogue had me begging to know, “What did he do?”  Now that I’m reading Book One, the reward is all the higher.  The short sentences and contradicting (and seemingly unrelated) verbal banter between characters elevates the tension in a way I’ve not seen in a long time.

Description: I’m pretty forgiving with description. If anyone argued that it was a bit hard to see some of the characters, I probably wouldn’t punch him, but the placement of the descriptive phrases allows my imagination to take over, which is preferable to me than painting a scene with words.

Overall: It’s only May, but so far, Betrayer’s Bane is absolutely the best book I’ve read this year. It took me a while to realize that what I was reading is the tone and depth that the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy should have had. It’s even more of an appropriate comparison when you realize that this series is indeed a prequel to Manning’s first series. A fair warning: This book is dark. It has subject matter and events that are simply hard to face. This isn’t the series you read to feel better about humanity. What it is, however, is a wonderfully tragic look at a man’s disillusionment and ultimate fall to destruction. If you can face some of the content, and you love fiction that’s brutal and amazing, this is the book for you.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

99 cent Dragon’s Blood!

[image error]All images provided by the author with his permission.

You remember Anaerfell? It was one of the great covers in February’s Book Cover of the Month (made it to the final four)!

Well if you were looking for an excuse to pick it up (I already did), here’s one.

Joshua Robertson, the book’s author and a guy I’ve had the chance to sit on panels with and grow to truly respect, is selling the electronic version of Anaerfell: The Blood of the Dragons (see…headline makes sense now doesn’t it?) for just 99 cents in preparation for his new release June 7.

Blood and Bile is coming your way, and Joshua wanted to celebrate by making it next to impossible to avoid buying a copy of his work.

 

While Anaerfell is a bit farther down my TBR list than I’d like, I’m glad to have met him and excited to get to his book. If any of you are hankering for something to read, I wouldn’t pass up this deal. I’ve spent 99 cents on plenty of stuff, and this seems like a much bigger value than 32 ounces of soda.

So check it out. Even if you’re like me, and you just plop it in the TBR rotation, you’ll be even more glad you saved money.

Thanks for reading

Matt

Announcing the April Book Cover of the Month!

The April Book Cover of the Month bracket has just wrapped up. Every author and designer should be stoked. This was the second-most voted on bracket in the history of this young competition. It had a total of 4,281 votes.

The April Book Cover of the Month is…

[image error]This image is used under fair use doctrine for the purpose of bringing awareness and assisting the notoriety of this book.

Singular by Zack Hubert! If you’re curious about how I felt about the book, check out the Facebook post that I posted when this book first landed on the bracket, here.

Let’s look at the stats!

This book averaged about 78 votes a round, but it had some of the stiffest competition possible.  Hubert always seemed to get the number of votes he needed, which includes a dominant win in the finals.

Neo Edmund can hold his head up for a number of reasons. One such reason is that he’s automatically entered in to the May Book Cover of the Month scheduled to begin June 1. So his fans and readers can still get him into the Book Cover of the Year bracket.

We’re on a streak of first-time authors here. Singular is Hubert’s first novel as well.  Here’s the Amazon blurb.

Amazon:

(START BLURB)

Milo Bell is not an ordinary teenager.

While the rest of the students at Bright Futures #127 spend a majority of their time in the virtual world of their SeeSees, Milo spends every waking moment with his eccentric grandfather playing with the vintage computers which fill his house.

That is, every computer except for the mysterious machine with the name “LISA” scrawled on its side. An artifact from his days as an Artificial Intelligence researcher, Milo is afraid that his grandfather might be hiding something or be in some kind of trouble.

Milo’s worst fear is realized when his grandfather suddenly disappears, and he finds the unusual computer in his own bedroom. Milo begins to learn its deadly secret when it’s snatched from his hands, leading him on the most dangerous quest of his life.

Peril turns to disaster as the world begins to crumble around him. With few friends and powerful enemies, can Milo unlock the secrets of the machine before time runs out?

(END BLURB)

[image error]I’ve purchased the book and added it to my TBR. (For those who are new to the deal, I buy the Book Cover of the Month to read and review in the future. I bought Manning’s cover, Howard’s cover, Deyo’s cover, and Steen Jones’s cover, and they are also on my TBR. In fact, my review for Betrayer’s Bane, Manning’s cover, is going to appear on this blog on Wednesday. I’m also happy to announce Mr. Manning was kind enough to grant me an interview, which you should all see on Saturday.

Here’s Ms. Hubert’s Twitter page. Head on over and follow him to see what he’s up to.

The artist for this cover is Gabe Rodriquez.  I’ll reach out to him and see if he’d like to have an interview.  I have his twitter handle (@gaber008 if you’d like to follow him as well). We’ll see if we can get an interview done for him.

The May bracket is shaping up and will launch on June 1. One more time, that will be a different sort of bracket. Instead of people voting one time per round, voters will vote all the way through the bracket. We’ll see how that goes, and I’ll ask you all your thoughts when that month wraps up.

I will continue to identify and select covers for each day from Amazon’s New Release section for fantasy and science fiction. If you follow and like my Facebook page, you can see what covers will make the bracket.

Thanks for reading

Matt