Colleen Halverson's Blog, page 2

The Killer in Me

I’ve heard this question a lot lately: How do we reach Trump voters? I hear it in my activist women’s group. I hear it over dinner with friends. I see it on Facebook and on Twitter. I read about it in New York Times think pieces. My reactions to this question are as predictable as you would expect. Anger: Man, fuck those guys. Philosophical: Let’s examine the existential crises of said Trump voters. Buddhist: We need to have compassion for those suffering Trump voters. Marxist: We need to examine the shifting socio-economic labor conditions that led to Trump voters. And Back to Anger: No, seriously, fuck those guys. One trend I’ve seen a lot in these think pieces is how threatened Trump voters feel by so-called “identity politics” that leave them feeling “left out” by progressive aims. Essentially, these are a call for BLM protestors to tone it down because, hey, guys, a suburban woman is starting to feel uncomfortable. In essence, placating butt hurt Trump voters is a re-centering of whiteness and white supremacy. Time and again, the “real” story here is why rural Trump voters feel so disenfranchised in Nowhere, Wisconsin…but not how many black voters were disenfranchised […]

Writing in the Age of Anxiety

When I first started writing commercial fiction, I did what every disciple of Hermione Granger does–I went to the library. I checked out every book on writing commercial fiction I could find. I spent years in my doctoral work poring over GREAT LITERATURE, but when it came to sitting down to writing a bestseller, I had very little understanding of the nuts and bolts of what makes for a compelling plot or engaging characters (arguably, I still don’t, but like everyone else, I’m a WIP). Eventually I stumbled upon Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel, and there, I found the best piece of writing advice I’ve ever read or read since. The gist is this: ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that could happen right now?” And then you write exactly that. In the story of America, as unstable and rocky as such a narrative is and has been, it seems our plot has turned. The worst has happened. All of us who are in the business of storytelling can see all the signs of a grand design involving a great fall, the dark night of the soul, the darkness before the dawn. Yet,such tropes speak to a hero’s […]

CHILDREN OF THE VEIL is Now Available!

For all of you dying to know what happens next in the Aisling Chronicles, the wait is finally over. CHILDREN OF THE VEIL IS LIVE! Find it at any of these fine ebook retailers: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada CHILDREN OF THE VEIL Elizabeth Tanner has one goal: to find her mother in whatever dimension she’s imprisoned. But to do that, she has to face her estranged father, and to do that, she needs a shot of whiskey…or seven. But after an attempt on her life and the return of her lost love, she wakes up with one hell of a hangover and a whole barrage of questions. Finn O’Connell doesn’t know why the Fianna want him to aid Elizabeth in her search, but he’ll take any excuse to be near her again. Together, they dive headlong into the shadows of her mother’s secrets and find themselves embroiled in a Fae rebellion that will test Finn’s loyalties and their love. With the Faerie realm verging on chaos, Elizabeth and Finn will embark on a quest that will lead them from the streets of Chicago to London’s seedy Fae underground. But rescuing Elizabeth’s […]

Stopping the Show

Trigger warning for sexual assault. When I was fourteen, I started going to rock-n-roll shows. Sometimes dragging my older brother along, sometimes with my friends, and sometimes with whatever useless idiot I was dating at the time. They were loud, violent, glorious, intense. The distorted guitars, the grunge, the angst, the anger, the rage–it shattered something I desperately needed broken. In the dirty, smoky, crowded rooms with the lights flashing and the bass rolling through me, it felt like living. It felt important and necessary in a way I still can’t explain. In my converse and flannel, my hair sweaty and sticking to my face, I broke through the quiet, awkward thing I was and emerged on the other side someone braver, reckless even. Every generation has stories like these, every coming-of-age tale starts with this. Maybe not everyone’s starts with Gwar and Marilyn Manson, but I was a child of the 90s, so mine did. But what I knew, and every girl who went to these shows knew, is that such freedom and abandonment came at a price. We knew at some point in the night, maybe multiple times over the course of the show, someone would grab our […]

THROUGH THE VEIL IS ON SALE FOR .99 CENTS!

My dear readers, the day has finally arrived! THROUGH THE VEIL is on sale for .99 cents October 3rd-9th. If you’ve been on the fence about starting a new series, I hope you’ll give it a try. If you know a friend who might enjoy this hot urban fantasy romance, please let them know by sharing this post or any of the buy links below. Also, I cannot say this enough, but I am so grateful to all of my loyal fans out there who have helped make this series happen. Your reviews, your tweets, your shares, your encouragement have all made the difference. Thank you! THROUGH THE VEIL IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR .99 CENTS! Amazon | B&N | itunes | kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada THROUGH THE VEIL Where the fairy tale ends, destiny begins… Elizabeth Tanner is no Tinkerbell, and her life is no fairy tale. Broke and drowning in student loans, the one thing she wants more than anything is a scholarship from the Trinity Foundation. But after the ancient Irish text she’s studying turns out to be more than just a book, she becomes their prisoner instead. And when Trinity reveals Elizabeth is half-Fae, […]

You Have to Defend It: Writing and Self-Doubt

A friend of mine once said that a doctoral defense is a form of academic hazing, a trial presented to you to prove you belong in the cadre of scholars in your field, that you can hold your own no matter what anyone throws at you. I bought a suit especially for the occasion. I sweated right through the silk camisole beneath it, but I kept my hands folded on top of the desk and tried not to squirm in my seat every time one of my professors pitched a curve ball at me. Doctoral defenses are rituals, they signal a journey from student to scholar. To dilettante to professional. My advisor is from the Netherlands, and there they have this whole medieval pageantry set up around the defense. She had to wear a ball gown. A man came out with a scepter to pound on the floor to announce the beginning, the end, and the deliberation. The whole public comes out to see you sweat. Like The Hunger Games, I imagine, but with footnotes and, you know, in Dutch. My defense was in a small conference room, and the first question one of the professors threw at me was […]

Crafting the Fantasy Query

When I first pitched my fantasy romance novel a thousand years ago, I made the fatal mistake I think a lot of spec writers make–foregrounding the worldbuilding beyond anything else. While it’s true that worldbuilding is the one quintessential thing that differentiates fantasy from other genres, it may not be exactly what you want to lead with in your pitch. In the whole scheme of things, worldbuilding is only one aspect of a story that will appeal to readers, and I would argue that, at its core, the query needs to center around the engaging and fascinating characters within your world. It’s hard to connect on a deep, personal level to a magic system, but we’re hardwired, you might say, to connect with individual struggle or strife. Most of us want to connect with humans (or humanoid-esque, sentient beings), not with the magical amulet of Aerosolisia or the ancient book of Conolingua. Such things are meaningless to us at this point in the book’s life, but a character with a goal and a conflict? That will hook most readers right away, and hints at an incredible world will be the icing on that fantasy-character cake. As I said above, when […]

Writing from an Authentic Place: Lessons from RWA Spring Fling

This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure to attend the Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling Conference. It was a chardonnay-and-coffee-fueled few days where I attended so many amazing sessions and met a lot of fabulous writers. This was my first RomCon, and I had no idea what to expect, but what I found was a community of smart, warm, and supportive women, both readers and writers, who share the same passions I do. I posted a picture of facebook of myself signing books, and I jokingly wrote as the caption, “home, sweet home.” But it did feel like a bit of a homecoming because for the first time in a long time I felt like I could be completely myself. Before the first session I attended, another writer asked me what I write, and I said, “Oh, you know some Fae paranormal, urban fantasy stuff…and…” I lowered my voice to a faint whisper. “…some erotica.” She touched my arm and smiled at me and said, “It’s okay. You can say erotica here.” You can say a lot of dirty words at the Spring Fling conference. All the dirty words, if you are so inclined. All the sessions on craft were […]

Four Badass Women from Irish History

People often ask me why I love to write about Ireland. Is it the beauty of the scenery? Ireland’s warm and wonderful people? It’s music and poetry? The answer is yes to all of this. But the number one reason I love writing about Ireland is that Irish history is full of badass bitches. Whenever I feel insecure about myself, whenever I have to face a frightful foe, whenever I need to speak up, speak out (even if my voice shakes!), I call upon the spirits of these brave women. So today, on this brilliant St. Patrick’s Day, I bring to you my top four badass women from Irish history. Queen Medb (early Bronze Age) Queen Medb (also known as Queen Maeve) was chilling in bed with her husband Ailill one night and they got into an argument about who had more wealth (this is actually what I imagine Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s marital spats to be about). When she discovered that Ailill was one stud bull richer than she was, she decided to attack her ex-husband King Conchobar and steal his prize bull, Don Cúalinge. Why Medb was Such a Badass… Medb had three conditions for a husband: that he […]

Badass Women from Irish History

People often ask me why I love to write about Ireland. Is it the beauty of the scenery? Ireland’s warm and wonderful people? It’s music and poetry? The answer is yes to all of this. But the number one reason I love writing about Ireland is that Irish history is full of badass bitches. Whenever I feel insecure about myself, whenever I have to face a frightful foe, whenever I need to speak up, speak out (even if my voice shakes!), I call upon the spirits of these brave women. So today, on this brilliant St. Patrick’s Day, I bring to you my top four badass women from Irish history. Queen Medb (early Bronze Age) Queen Medb (also known as Queen Maeve) was chilling in bed with her husband Ailill one night and they got into an argument about who had more wealth (this is actually what I imagine Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s marital spats to be about). When she discovered that Ailill was one stud bull richer than she was, she decided to attack her ex-husband King Conchobar and steal his prize bull, Don Cúalinge. Sometimes badass bitches get bored, so you need to shake things up a bit. Why […]