Q. Kelly's Blog, page 14

Excerpt from "The Girl Prince and Her Princess"

Hey everyone. Here is an excerpt from Chapter Three of my fairy tale novella, "The Girl Prince and Her Princess." It should be out in e-book in a week (the print version will be out a bit later). I'll put the blurb for the story below the excerpt. 
Vexa threw a longing glance at the mirror and opened the door for her handmaiden. “Yes, Clara?”Clara leaned in and whispered: “Prince Alexandre is here.”Vexa froze. “W-what?”“Yes, ma’am. At this very moment, he’s haggling with your father, trying to move the wedding up. Alexandre says he can’t wait to make you his wife. He’s a dream, he is.”Thud clang thud clang went Vexa’s heart, and she tugged Clara into the room. “Tell me everything.” “He’s a handsome fellow. Beautiful hair like the sun. He’s a bit on the short side, but that’s okay, right?”“I suppose.”“I’d say Alexandre is exactly your height.”Vexa grabbed Clara’s hand. “I want to see him. Where is he?”“Come with me.”Vexa and Clara crept from the bedroom to the top of the long, winding staircase that led into the grand ballroom. Vexa got on her knees, hoping the railings concealed her large body enough. The reed-thin Clara crouched next to her.Magnatus wore his red kingly robe. The years had not been kind to his looks, but his mustache, big, black and brash, loomed as large as ever. It had not aged at all. With Magnatus was the most beautiful being Vexa had laid eyes on.“That’s not Alexandre,” Vexa whispered. “It can’t be.”“It is Alexandre,” Clara affirmed. “Like an angel, isn’t he?”Prince Alexandre spoke passionately, waving his arms about as if his life depended on it: “I must marry your daughter as soon as possible, Majesty. I’m so excited. Why wait?”Magnatus guffawed. “Why wait? Foolish young man. This wedding must happen exactly as planned. Do not barge in as if you know what is going on. Respect me. Respect my daughter. Respect your future wife.”“Yes, sir. But—”Magnatus held a hand up. “Do you think weddings are planned in a day? In a week? No. Wedding flowers bloom certain times of the year. People plan their journeys and their harvests around certain times and certain events.” His face darkened. “Certain events such as my daughter’s wedding! Think of all the game, fruit, vegetables and ale that must be prepared for the feast.” Alexandre sighed and held his palms out. “Very well, Majesty. Your point is made. But may I meet your daughter? Please, I’ve journeyed three days. I’d like to see my future wife.”Magnatus scowled. “No.”“I will not defile the princess. Have as many chaperones as you like.”Magnatus’s scowl deepened. “No.”“Why?” Alexandre persisted.“It is custom.”“Your Majesty, permit me to observe her from afar. We do not have to meet.”“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?” Magnatus roared.  “You haven’t seen my daughter since you were four years old, and you’re not about to start!” Vexa felt her father’s confusion. Surely Alexandre knew Vexa was hideous. Why would Alexandre want to meet her, much less marry her early?Magnatus breathed deeply, gathering his wits back up. “Young prince, I love my daughter. This pains me to say, but many others do not love her. You are aware that she is not known for her, ahem, looks. Nor her personality nor her temper. Notice that nary a painting of her hangs on these walls. People think she is no beauty, but she is my child. I refuse to place her on display earlier than necessary just so you can ridicule her.”Alexandre ran a hand through the short gold locks of his hair. “I would never laugh at your daughter,” he said earnestly. “Everybody is beautiful. Even the most stout pig is lovely.”Vexa bit her lip as she studied this prince with radiant hair and eyes. This prince making a fool of himself over her, the dreadful, ill-tempered Vexa. Alexandre’s build and a certain effeminate quality about him indicated that he, indeed, was still a girl. Vexa’s heart could not help but leap. And leap. She would marry a girl. The thought filled her with secret delight.“Almost ten months from now, you are to become my son-in-law,” Magnatus said. “You shall meet my daughter then. No sooner. You have much growing up to do, all these ideas in your head.”Alexandre took a step back. “You really believe she’s so deformed that she’ll drive me away? Your own daughter!”“To me, she is beautiful,” Magnatus snapped. “To other people, she is not.” He strode to a cabinet and drew out a painting the size of his hand.Vexa felt faint. Oh no. Alexandre will leave for sure.“This is a painting of my daughter commissioned for her eighteenth birthday. She looks much the same now. Study it carefully, Prince Alexandre, and tell me you truly can’t wait to marry Vexa.”Alexandre took the portrait with eager hands, and Vexa resigned herself to the usual flinch. It never came. Alexandre’s gaze was keen, and his lips curved upward. He traced his fingers over part of the painting.“I love her smile,” Alexandre said. He met Magnatus’s surprised gaze. “Majesty, I desire to marry your daughter more than anything in the world.”Magnatus grabbed back the portrait, and fear shone in his eyes. “The wedding will go on as planned. We won’t scrape together some secret hidden wedding. Understand?”
BLURB: This fairy tale is set in the kingdoms of Athena and Qax. It’s a magical brew of a big ol’ juicy problem, generous dollops of secrets, castles, kings and queens, princesses and villains.The king and queen of Athena have a problem. They desperately need a son to marry off to Princess Vexa. She is the unsightly daughter of their neighbor, King Magnatus of Qax. If no prince is born, Magnatus will take over the peaceful Athena and what the heck, kill all the people of the kingdom.When Athena’s rulers finally produce an offspring, the queen dies in childbirth. The king finds himself faced with the greatest challenge of all—a girl! Boys are scarce, and no one is willing to give up their son to replace the infant girl.The ruse is on. The sweet baby girl is named Alexandre and is raised to take on the manly duties of being a prince. Eighteen years later, it’s wedding time. Can the deception continue?

August 17-20 and a New Story

Howdy! A little post to let y'all know I'm the featured author August 17-20 for the Yahoo group Virtual Living Room (to join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Virtuallivingroom/). We'll be discussing any manner of things, including my love of corny jokes. My book "Third" is listed as the focus, but I'll take questions and discussion on any of my works and anything. I love zombies, so maybe some sort of corny joke to do with zombies. Hmm... ;-)

I hope to have another blog post in a few days about my next project, which should be published soon. It's a fairy tale novella titled "The Girl Prince and Her Princess." It's written in fairy tale style and has been a blast.

BLURB:
This fairy tale is set in the kingdoms of Athena and Qax. It’s a magical brew of a big ol’ juicy problem, generous dollops of secrets, castles, kings and queens, princesses and villains.

The king and queen of Athena have a problem. They desperately need a son to marry off to Princess Vexa. She is the unsightly daughter of their neighbor, King Magnatus of Qax. If no prince is born, Magnatus will take over the peaceful Athena and what the heck, kill all the people of the kingdom.

When Athena’s rulers finally produce an offspring, the queen dies in childbirth. The king finds himself faced with the greatest challenge of all—a girl! Boys are scarce, and no one is willing to give up their son to replace the infant girl.

The ruse is on. The sweet baby girl is named Alexandre and is raised to take on the manly duties of being a prince. Eighteen years later, it’s wedding time. Can the deception continue?

Author Recommendation

Author recommendation: I've recently discovered author Josephine Hart and read her books "Damage" and "Sin." Loved them both. She packs maximum emotional punch in minimalist writing. Her books are short and can be read in one sitting (four hours max). I can't wait to read them all.

** She doesn't write lesfic, but the themes she writes about are universal to all people (from my POV, anyway).

Putting on My Reader Cap - Books in a Series

I'm putting on my reader cap! Hmm, methinks it needs more glitter and sequins.

*tossing on glitter, sequins, confetti, pink flamingos and zombie garden gnomes*  (Pink flamingos and zombie garden gnomes make ANYTHING perfect.)

I haven't done any hard-core blogging in a while, but here I go now! This post is about readers new to a book in a series and was inspired by a comment someone made on a review. In the review, I said I felt no emotional connection to the characters. The commenter said my lack of understanding was due to the fact I had not read any of the previous books in that series and so had no emotional connections to the characters. I disagree; it's the author's writing style. It may be popular with some readers, but not me. I have read quite a few books in a series, books that grabbed me so much I had to go back and read the entire series. Emotional connection in the middle of a series can, and has been, done.

It's crazy how subjective reading is, isn't it?

Anyway, I thought it would be cool to explain what maybe authors can do to grab newbie reader interest for a second, fourth, tenth or zillionth book in a series. I can only speak for myself as a reader, of course, but the more people that weigh in through the various places I post this, the better! :)

Authors who write series face special challenges, such as how to get back story across for newbies without making it tedious for longtime readers. At the same time, they need to give long-time readers enough of the emotional connection they've come to expect so they'll continue with the series, while giving newbies an emotional connection too. I stopped reading Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series a few years ago because I didn't feel the emotional connection anymore. Back story wasn't the problem (except perhaps for that character who came back from the dead)--more focus on the characters' twists and turns and dramatics rather than on the mystery was an issue.

It does seem to me that some (not all!!) authors get lazy as a series goes on and don't work as hard to maintain or build an emotional connection between characters and readers.

The key, I believe, or one of the keys anyway, is unique, 3-D characters. Strong characters too (in their own way). Also maintaining the balance between characterization and whatever started the series in the first place (mystery, sci fi or fantasy for example). If the first few books in the series were mysteries, you may lose some appeal and readers if you decide to go for 75 percent character and 25 percent mystery. Who knows, though, you may gain more readers.

Okay, I guess this blog post didn't say too much. :/  I've never written books in a series, so maybe people who do will weigh in somewhere on how they maintain that balance, or if they do. Readers--you jump into, say, book 5 of a series. What grabs you and connects you to the characters?

Little Preview

Here is a little preview from my work in progress.

****

My husband is more beautiful and more feminine than I am. We met and married long ago, so long ago I recollect the era as the “once upon a time” that prevails in fairy tales. It was a time when the lucky gays and lesbians didn’t know they were gay and lesbian. They passed their days wandering vaguely, feeling dissatisfied, wondering what it they were missing. The unlucky gays and lesbians hid in their closets and quaked with the knowledge they were different. A bad kind of different.

I was neither of these, or so I thought. I was secure in my sexuality. Ah, the power of delusion. I liked, and then loved, the man who would become my husband. My twin sister once remarked to me: “George almost looks like a woman. But not quite.”

Check This Deal Out

Hey everyone! Today's Kindle Daily Deal is a switched babies book. I thought people who enjoyed my book "Switch" might like this. I haven't read the book, but I plan to. Sounds intriguing, especially the long period of time during which it takes place.

"Garden of Lies" by Eileen Goudge: http://www.amazon.com/Garden-of-Lies-ebook/dp/B0067SECL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343047059&sr=8-1&keywords=garden+of+lies

Why I Stop Reading a Book

I read books like I breathe air. When I was younger, like in high school, I was a plugger. I'd finish a book, damn it, no matter how dreadful I found it. I no longer do this. I'm perfectly happy to put a book down quickly. There are so many books out there, and my time is limited. If a book isn't for me, why keep reading it, right?

I've had to put down several books lately (all traditionally published). Some of them started promisingly, and others were, to me, doomed from the get-go. Most of them are highly rated, so that goes to show how subjective enjoying a book is. That said, I'll explain why I put the books down.

-- Too many characters introduced in too quick a time frame and with omniscient POV. Too much to keep track of! Too confusing.  (This happened with three books lately.)

-- Back story makes up 90 percent of the pages I've read so far (this was for a murder mystery). The writing was great and brilliant, but I was eager to get to the meat of the story. Had no idea when that would happen, so I put the book down.

In general, I advise writers to follow this rule of thumb: Introduce characters gradually, avoid omniscient POV and head hopping, and dole out back story throughout the story.

Sunday, June 3-- Author Chat

Howdy, ladies and germs. This is a quick post to let y'all know that on Saturday, June 3, from eight a.m. to three p.m. EST, I'll be the featured author in one of Beth Wylde's Pride month chats. Here's the URL to join her group for my chat or any other chat: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bethwylde/

I will be talking about what pride means me to me. I'll also be discussing my works, posing questions and answering them. Should be interesting. And, oh yeah, I'm not chatting STRAIGHT through. But I will definitely be around and chatting! Oh yeah! I'll be holding a giveaway too. Your choice of any of my books/short-story collections in ebook form.

On to other writing news. I posted recently that I'd gotten over writer's block. That was premature, but I'm glad to announce I'm over it now. Matter of fact, I am working on two stories. They're very different. One is a fairy tale ("once upon a time" time period) that deals with an arranged marriage between a "prince" (read: a woman) and a princess. It's written in fairy-tale style, which I am loving. The other book is set in contemporary times and explores the repercussions of a taboo relationship (like most my books do!) ;-)

"Cupid Pulls a Prank and Other Lesbian Tales"

My second lesfic short story collection is out! As you can see from the cover at right, the title is: "Cupid Pulls a Prank and Other Lesbian Tales."  Ten short stories are in the collection, which totals about 21,000 words.

You can buy the collection at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

Cupid Pulls a Prank
Cupid pulls a prank to end all pranks. For the first time in American history, both the Republicans and the Democrats have female candidates running for president. The Republican is Alice Cowell, and the Democrat is Gillian Marshall. Cupid strikes them during a live, nationwide televised debate, and Alice's and Gillian's reactions shock even Cupid.

Roxanne and Ms. Winslow
When Roxanne Rogers was eighteen years old, she did a bad thing. A chance encounter at three a.m. may be the opportunity Roxanne needs to make amends.

Toasted
Lottie finds out that some women do get toasters for converting straight gals. And not just any old toasters, but toasters of all shapes, sizes and colors. Heck, there's a blue race car toaster, a zebra toaster and a full-sized purple unicorn toaster. Can Lottie win the toaster of her dreams?

Lesbian Speed Dating
Ginny Yost is intrigued when she sees an ad for lesbian speed dating. What happens is a comedy of errors. Will Ginny find the woman she's meant to be with?

The Jumper
Kim tries to talk a woman out of jumping off a bridge.

Mrs. Claus's Klondyke Secret
Candace Claus, a.k.a. Mrs. Santa Claus, is on her yearly two-week cruise with Santa after the madness of the holidays. She is tired of living in the shadow of a man who has gone from jolly to cranky, plus she will no longer deny her true self. The time has come for Candace to fess up to Santa that she's a lesbian.

Westinhoffer, Andrew Brian, 16
Elizabeth is reading the obituaries when one catches her eye. She thought she said goodbye to Andrew Brian Westinhoffer when he was a baby, but she must force herself to say goodbye again.

So This Woman Meets This Chick Online And...
A joke from the early days of the Internet goes like this: a young woman sets up a hotel rendezvous with a man she met online. They meet, and turns out he's her dad. Yep. They cringe in embarrassment and promise to never tell anyone what happened. Guess what? This happens to Jillian too, only she is gay, so the person she encounters in the hotel room is her mom.

Three Wishes
Evangeline is tired of being lonely. One day, she comes across a bottle. She rubs it, and out pops a genie. Evangeline can make three wishes. Her first wish is for a woman to be her friend, possibly her lover. But, alas, the path to true love is rarely smooth.

The Robot
Ramona is grateful when her scientist husband brings home a prototype for a lifelike maid robot his company is developing. Turns out the robot, Mya, is also functional in the bedroom. Very functional.

Biggo Sigh of Relief!

One of the best feelings a writer can get, I think, is running off a nasty case of writer's block.

I've struggled this past week with my next book. I knew it wouldn't be "Inside These Walls" because I had been blocking on that a while already. This other book had a great concept, all that. But I just couldn't get it down exactly right on paper. I tried several openings and several plot variations. None quite clicked. I was so desperate I turned to completely different ideas, including back to "Inside These Walls." Nada. I had sleepless nights mulling over the matter. Then one morning in bed, I had an EUREKA moment. I typed the first few paragraphs on my phone right there in bed. So far, so good, but in a day, I was back to "blocking."

I reworked things a bit, and I got click click clicks. However, I was still "blocking," but this was a different type. I now felt confident in the story and what I was doing. The problem was, this story's format/setup is different from the norm. I'd only typed 3,000 quality words, but I was so desperate for a second opinion on if my story was working that I asked a beta to read it over. I explained my concerns and said I didn't want to waste more time with the story if she thought it wasn't going to work.

She read it.

She loved it. And she explained why, in detail.

Whew.

Take that, writer's block! Yep, this story's format is a bit of a deviation from the norm, but I'm very excited. I'll share some more in a later blog post, but right now, I gotta eat lunch then KAYAK! Whoo! :)

I'll be releasing a lesfic short-stories collection later this week, so keep an eye out for that, too.