A.L. Wright's Blog, page 2
February 23, 2016
Is it a Romance, or a Love Story?
Let me tell you what annoys me. From what I have seen so far as an author, there is no separation, or division, between a Romance and a Love Story. When submitting your book or manuscript to a publisher or to list it on a sales site, they ask you to list the categories it falls under. Most of the time you can pick three, sometimes only one or two. So how do you make your book stand out from the rest of the fantasy world? You pick fantasy romance. Or Urban Fantasy. Or paranormal fantasy.... etc.
Now here's what I don't like, is that there is no way by using the categories you have to pick, to let the reader know that your books main story isn't about the romantic situations and goings on of the couple you wrote about. You have to use your descriptions to do that. But that tag, that category "Romance" is still there, hovering about your book to immediately disillusion your potential reader who just wants to read a good fantasy story. This reader would probably take a chance with the book, if they knew up front that it's a fantasy adventure, with a love story mixed in.
Every story has a love story, right? Okay maybe not every single one, but most do. Even Iron Man has a lady love, and Hawkeye has a wife and kids, and The Vision eventually hooks up with... oh that could be a spoiler if you haven't read the comics or watched the animated series... Point is, a good story makes us relate to the human side of the protagonist, right? That's why we love Deadpool.
But there are those readers who aren't in it for the romance, and may leave a bad review of how they were misled, led to believe it was just a fantasy adventure. Yuck, kissy stuff! And you have to keep in mind if there is any sexual imagery then you have to be up front about the romantic aspect so that young or sensitive readers are warned away.
Tricky stuff, this audience targeting is!
So I guess the challenge comes down to, how do we as authors let our audience know the difference between a Romance and a Love Story? Maybe I just need to get better at my book descriptions.
January 24, 2016
Review of The Mansion's Twins by Rose M Channing
The Mansion's Twins is a fun tale that can be read by adults both young and mature. Having grown up unaware of each other, Ellie and Savannah met by chance and suddenly their entire reality changed. You see, they each had a secret they couldn't share with anyone else, but once shared with each other they realized how much they had never fit into this normal world. Between this and the fact that they looked identical, they came to the conclusion that they were sisters, twins in fact, and set of to find out more about themselves.
The Mansion's Twins takes you into an alternate world where magic is the "norm" and you can learn to do just about anything. At the heart of the story is the Mansion itself, which is much more than just a house. The twins must quest through this gigantic structure to find it's very center, and they have all sorts of fun, exciting, crazy and scary adventures along the way.
The author built an entire world that was fairly easy to follow, and the history was pretty complete. There were a lot of characters introduced quickly, which I personally can have a hard time with, but each of them were interesting and developed.
October 23, 2015
Finished Blood Ties MS, on to editing!
So remember when I said I wasn't going to force words onto paper? Well I was just so darned close to being finished with Blood Ties and it kept eating at me until I finally made the decision to go on a writer's vacation and just get it DONE.
So I headed up north to lovely Sedona, and spent a weekend there at Sky Ranch Lodge. The place was quaint and quiet and very peaceful. The wine bar was just a bonus. So after some sleep, some wine and a nap.. I fell into an inspired state and worked out the ending of the book.
I'm happy with it! And that says a lot. So the next step was mass proofreading edits. What's that? That is something that Laurence from BooksGoSocial came up with to get that initial MS edit out of the way quickly, so the author can move on to major editing.
Jist of it is, each person (author) who signed up to help got a ten page chunk of the book to proofread and edit. They made their marks and notes and sent it back. Takes each person about 15 to 20 minutes. We had all 200+ pages of the book finished in two days! I'm currently browsing through the edit suggestions and I am happy to see that my constant combing over of the book kept it fairly mistake free. There were some things I missed, of course, but that is the beauty of this system.
So anyway, what's next? Once I piece the suggested edits into the book I hand it over to my editor. I will also be finalising the cover. :D
And hopefully I have it all ready for publish before the end of the year. YAY!
October 3, 2015
Mental drain and change of writing scenery to get back into gear!
What am I doing now? Working my tail off, and unfortunately not at writing books. I work for a big company and coming into our Holiday Season we are all super busy with ramping up for sales. So I'm fairly mentally drained every day, and the weekends have been recovery time. Not much writing getting done right now.
So I've decided instead of forcing words onto paper (which never turns out well) I'm going to focus on marketing my current books, collaborating with other authors, and revamping my work space at home.
When I'm not writing I get further and further distracted from my books and my purpose. Which isn't good! So by staying in touch with other authors and being active in supporting them and my current books, it keeps me firmly rooted in what I want to be doing. I am a member of Books Go Social, and they have an amazing Facebook page for authors. I love being a part of this group! I've met so many amazing authors who pour out support for each other in so many different ways. This group changed my whole perspective on writing. It's no longer a totally solo sport for me now! I know I have people to turn to when things get rough, and they understand more than anyone. If you are an author look them up!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksgosocialauthors/
My current writing space is in our "office area" which is a very public part of the house. I've decided to cordon off a small section of my bedroom and set up a laptop table, an easel with flipboard papers and a dry erase board. Eventually I will set up a table for a second monitor but for now this should be a great way to really dive into my work. I don't have it all here or together yet, but I'm excited to see how this will work out!
Until next time, and hopefully then I can say I'm working on writing once again!
September 18, 2015
My review of Frank Parker's Transgression
Wow. Where did this guy come from! Mr. Parker contacted me via this website after he read that I liked to do reviews. His book has just barely been released on paperback, and is due to release on Kindle closer to the end of the month. I have to say I was super impressed with this book. It is in depth, detailed and makes you feel so very close to each character. Here's the full review:
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A young lady's indiscretion at the beginning of her woman hood launches her on a journey of self- discovery, self-doubt and a struggle with co-dependence as she rises like a star; hometown girl turned celebrity on the small screen.
The man involved in this indiscretion had also done something to her to make her uncomfortable in certain ways around men for many years after, while also leaving her pregnant after the single encounter.
The circumstances and resulting child were hidden immediately with the help of a mutual friend, in order to protect both her potential acting career and his political career and family.
Forty years later those secrets are threatened to be spilled despite the carefully laid plans and also in spite of the biography that was written to keep Madge's life and character cast in a positive light, even after her death.
The story is split between three POV's. Each POV character is well rounded and their personality shines through in their actions and reactions throughout the story. They are built through interaction with the world and people around them, and not through basic descriptions. The story is ultimately about Madge, but you tend to really care for some of the other characters even more as their life story is told. Their involvement in Madge's life is only a part of their story, and the other parts are just as interesting to read about.
The author really shines in his portrayal of human inner thought and reflection. I could really feel how that particular character felt, and see the world through their eyes. His easy way of capturing dialogue kept the story flowing well, and the scenes interesting. The descriptive parts were in depth but kept to the point so as not to go overboard or bore the reader.
This book is out of my "normal" type of read, but I really enjoyed it for all the reasons listed above. The only thing I am left wondering, is what really happened that night that caused Madge to become the person she was?
All in all this is a very in-depth read that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go until you’ve read the last page.
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You can pick up your copy of Transgression on Amazon on paperback now:
September 12, 2015
Review of Gian Andrea's - Agida, Upon Dirty Art
First I want to say that this book really surprised me. I felt a very partuclar bond with the story, it became personal. This story was surprisingly written, and touched upon subjects and feelings that don't usually come to light of day. Well deserved 5 stars.
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I started reading, and I couldn't stop. The story pulled me forward, drew me in. And then there I was, in the middle of those pages, and my story was wrapped around me in type. My life, albeit different in settings and people, was being read aloud in my mind.
What an incredible story of human emotion, and the evolution of oneself! If you've never been where Agida has been, then count yourself lucky to live in the bliss of ignorance. If you have been there, and have lived to wake on the other side of numb, then you can relate fully. But if you are still there, in the middle of disparative non-feeling...just wait. There is an other side.
To the author; Bravo and well done. You've captured the different sides of humanity; ugly and beautiful, disturbing and peaceful. Moral and Immoral. Thank you for this piece of art in words. It was a powerful read.
Review of Traci Sanders - Unsevered
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.
A beautiful story of a young couple who falls and hard and builds their life together on that passion. It's a story of sadness, loss, and the craziness that follows. Grief does incredibly intense things to your emotions and to your reality, and the scenes in this book are totally believable by someone who has experienced that kind of loss.
The maturing of one's heart and soul, the moving forward and outward that the main character does in this book is true of most people, but was shown rather elegantly. Sometimes you can't fight the changes that happen in life and it's best for your personal growth to accept them and learn from them. Moving forward is never easy, and can take longer than expected. But miracles can and do spring from tragedies.
This book is very sad in several parts, and tears are definitely going to flow. The sum of the book was short and sometimes the telling felt a bit rushed, but overall was an incredible story.
September 2, 2015
Hartman house is Free this weekend!
I know everyone loves a free book, so I am giving mine away on Kindle for free this weekend September 4th, 5th and 6th.
If you like Paranormal, Supernatural, urban fantasy, romance... this book has it all! It's a book about being lost then finding your purpose. A book about hidden strength and wisdom. And best of all it's about discovering your soul mate.
There's elements of fun, surprise and a couple plot twists here and there. There's even ties to Dracula..!
I had a ton of fun writing this book, I hope you all have just as much fun reading it!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011AX4YKC
August 29, 2015
Review of Pippa Dacosta's Beyond The Veil
I give this book a solid 4 stars!
I read about a quarter of the way into this book, and so far I really, really liked it. I noticed it had an earlier version cover when I previously looked it up on Amazon, so I went back to the page and ended up reading the book's reviews. I'm not always one to base a book on it's reviews and I am really glad that I didn't do that when it came to this one.
The reviews seemed to be overly critical and really judgemental of the characters. But that's okay, those are their feelings. Here's mine:
This author did what we are all told to do, and start your book with a bang! And she did that with an explosion that stole her main character's livelihood. This action leads Muse down a road of self-reflection and self-preservation, which ends up causing her to compromise on her morals. She has a dark and abusive past which causes her emotions to skitter around. And honestly, it may be hard to relate with her wishy-washiness if you've never been through any sort of emotional trauma. But for some of us her actions of self-preservation are familiar and so are the justifications of those actions.
Anyway, I think the author did a brilliant job keeping the story streamlined, without a lot of "fluff", and kept the pace moving forward. A lot of the character building was done as the sotry progressed, but it was done while letting the character grow.
There are not too many characters to follow, which I loved. And I really enjoyed her descriptions of the demons and how the world worked. Well done!
Now personally, I don't understand why she's going to chase down her one-time lover who lied continually and whom she thinks she loves (it was one time!).... but a girl's gotta stick to her decisions!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA3S97K
August 21, 2015
Review of Wendi L Wilson's Shadowed Strength
Since I have been lax on blogging lately, I figured a review of a book I THOROUGHLY enjoyed would be appropriate to share. So here is my well deserved 5 star review of Shadowed Strength. ( I don't give 5 stars easily)
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I'm not usually a YA reader, and when I picked this book up I didn't know it was YA. I figured it out quickly, but it already had me hooked and I couldn't put it down.
Kudos to keeping the character pool small, and developing them all so well! I could relate so much to Mel's insecurities and her way of thinking. Her transformation was amazing and uplifting!
As for plot points there were things you could see coming but I enjoyed that the story was kept simple. Yet there were subtleties that strung you along and made you keep reading so you could confirm your theories. The fact that it leads a reader to a joyous "I KNEW IT!" was exciting and fun.
Great characters, great story, great twist on the "normal" paranormal! Don't hesitate to buy!
