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Genie Whisperer Book 12 Release

‘Tis almost time for the release of book twelve of The Genie Whisperer, The Three F’s of Genie Whispering! This marks the very last half season of the series. Originally, I planned for the half season books to just be fun side stories, but that didn’t work out because I’m apparently incapable of writing books that aren’t plot relevant. Mind you, some of what happens in some of the half season books aren’t relevant to the overall plot, mostly in the very first one, The Three C’s of Genie Whispering. But even that one had Ali’s first kiss with any of the genies, as well as introducing Maurice. Not to mention that Maurice showing up and knowing where Ali and her genies lived were why they had to run from Horton in the first place. 

Before I go any further, here is the prerequisite warning that the rest of this post contains a spoiler for the end of book eleven, The Gathering of Enemies. Proceed with caution if you haven’t finished it yet! 

Inspiration

Now, back to book twelve and the half season books being plot relevant, the events of this book are hugely important to the rest of the series (which should be no surprise since there are only two books left after this). And what is the massive thing that will happen in this book that was revealed at the end of book eleven? Pulling one of Ali’s parents into the story!!! Which means this book will feature plenty of family drama. Poor Ali just can’t catch a break in these half seasons, since the last one was full of genie drama, thanks to Tavor and his drastic actions. 

I planned out which of Ali’s parents was the genie whisperer from the beginning of the series and have been planning to bring that parent back into the story for quite some time. For readers, this will be the first time they get to really see Ali interact with either parent on the page, since all the previous interactions were either done through the phone or flashbacks. 

And this is probably where my contrary side comes out, because it was so satisfying to write Ali standing up for herself to her parent. Growing up, she knew things weren’t supposed to be like they were in her home, but it wasn’t until she met all the genies and was fully separated from her parents that she fully understood how not great her parents were. And she no longer has to cater to them to protect her dreams, like she did growing up.

I have to say that while I love hearing that I’ve written situations accurately (I think it’s one of the highest compliments to receive as an author), it does make me sad the number of readers who’ve told me that Ali’s controlling parents are so spot on since it means they’ve experienced something similar in their own lives. So I hope that for any readers with situations like that, reading how Ali gets to handle things is at least a little bit cathartic. 

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Season 4 Tropes

Warning: This post contains spoilers for books ten and eleven of The Genie Whisperer, The Gathering of Allies and the The Gathering of Enemies. Proceed with caution if you haven’t finished both yet!

Inspiration

As readers who’ve been around for a while are aware, I studied reverse harem manga to help me figure out how to write The Genie Whisperer series, since it’s not quite like a lot of other reverse harem books in that it’s a sweet romance rather than being on the steamier side. As such, I took lots of notes on mini-tropes contained in reverse harem manga that I might want to include in this series. 

I even start off with writing each book by making a list of tropes I might want to include it. Looking over my list for books ten and eleven to write this post reminded me that things did not quite go as I’d originally planned . . . Partly because of genies being too stubborn to move as quickly in their relationships and feelings as I’d like them too sometimes! Or maybe that’s just my deep love of slow burn coming out, but part of why I love slow burn so much is that I often feels it’s more realistic. Deep relationships take time to develop, and along the way people can feel so much doubt, insecurity, and hesitation. So that’s how The Genie Whisperer has gone. 

But on to some of the mini-tropes I used! Both Lynron and Darios were a bit of a focus with these. In the case of Lynron, we have:

1. Trust issues! He so badly wants to trust Ali, and has many reasons to believe he can at this point. But everything in him still rebels against it, afraid of how it could hurt him. 

2. Feeling inferior to the other guys/concerned he’s not helping in the same way. Ali can do some pretty amazing things while connected with some of the genies and can just about nothing with Lynron, which is kind of a hard thing for him to take. Almost all genies have an ego, and he wants to help out too. It doesn’t help that he’s in his own way with this, thanks to his trust issues.  

The mini-tropes with Darios in these books are:

1. Barriers against a guy realizing he’s falling in love/being willing to admit he’s falling in love. I actually wanted Ali and Darios to grow closer than they did in book eight, The Stolen Truth, but Darios wouldn’t allow it. Then I again wanted more to happen between them in season four, but Darios again wouldn’t it allow it. After Darios’s first interactions with Ali in the series, he really has a complex about feeling he’s not worthy to be near her, and that’s not a small thing for him to overcome. 

2. For this one, I have to put the exact wording I have in my little spreadsheet of trope notes: “Like a caged beast when the main character is in trouble and he can’t get to her.” Caged beast is an exaggeration for how this ended up playing out in the story, but I knew from early on that I wanted to work this trope into The Genie Whisperer, and I wanted it to be Darios. I was very pleased when I was able to include the scene in book eleven of him connecting with Ali and summoning himself to her location to save her at the Voltaire estate. 

That’s all for now! I hope everyone enjoys the ways in which these mini-tropes enrich the story 🙂 

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The Genie Whisperer Book 11 Release

It’s already time for the release of book eleven of The Genie Whisperer, The Gathering of Enemies! As one can see from looking at the cover, yet another new genie is introduced in this book. 

Inspiration

I struggled quite a bit with writing The Gathering of Enemies. There’s a major plot idea I initially wrote into this book that would have impacted the rest of the series, and I’d been planning for it from the beginning of The Genie Whisperer. But as I wrote the set up for this plot idea, it suddenly felt forced. 

I think a big problem was I planned to really set into this plot during the Sterling Dixon plot line . . . which is a plot line that got nixed. I wrote a post on this previously, but I had a whole big plot involving Gary’s former master, Sterling Dixon, that was going to make the series three books longer. But when it came time to bring Sterling in during book eight, The Stolen Truth, I realized he had nothing to offer Tavor, which meant there’s no way Tavor would have allowed him to join them. 

So three whole books and a whole lot of drama got dropped, which meant I no longer had enough books in what was left of The Genie Whisperer to pull off this other plot line in the way I’d wanted to. This meant I had to rewrite book eleven to write that plot out, as well as going back to books nine and ten to cut out some hints leading up to it. (Thank goodness I stay ahead in my writing, so was able to do that! Otherwise I would have had to come up with an explanation within the books for why things went a certain way.) 

What is this mysterious plot line that got written out because I didn’t have enough books to write it properly? I can’t mention it at this point, because it’s a bit of a spoiler for the end of the series, but I plan to write a post on it after everything is said and done. 

In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys book eleven as well as the new characters it brings in!

The post The Genie Whisperer Book 11 Release first appeared on Nicole Eatough.

Hero or Villain?

Warning: This post contains spoilers for book nine of The Genie Whisperer, The Three R’s of Genie Whispering. If you haven’t finished it yet, you might want to move along until you’ve finished that book 🙂  

Inspiration

I think many readers who started out loving Tavor have been kind of side-eying him for a while now. He’s not always honest with Ali, he’s got other genies also hiding things from her, he’s a bit manipulative, etc. Some readers have been waiting for a reckoning, and all of that comes to a head in book nine. In Tavor’s desperation to make sure nothing gets in the way of genie freedom, he decides he’ll make sure Ali herself doesn’t become a distraction by forcing her to make the choice he thinks she should. 

I don’t expect any readers to agree with his actions. For one, Ali is the main point of view character of the series, which puts people on her side because this is her story being told. For two, somewhat ironically, one of the themes of this series is the universal right to free will, regardless of whether people will use that free will for good or ill. And then Tavor comes along and tries to take away the free will of the very being who’s sacrificed so much to give him free will. 

BUT (and this is an important but) Tavor has been enslaved for two thousand years, he’s recently discovered that genie enslavement only happened because his people were betrayed by their own descendants, and this is very likely genies’ only chance at freedom. Literally, because genies can’t even die to escape their slavery that way. While this list doesn’t excuse his actions, I do hope it’s something readers keep in mind as they condemn him. 

His actions certainly got a negative reaction from the other genies who know and believe in Ali, but when you’re talking the genie race in general . . . the vast majority of them would side with Tavor. They would agree that genies are too possessive to risk any sort of romantic relationships, given the current situation, and above all else they would want their freedom, no matter the cost, let alone at the cost of the free will of a single human. 

That said, I don’t blame any readers a bit for being upset with Tavor. (Even if some genies would consider him a hero . . .) So now we’re left in a situation where Tavor will have to work hard to regain Ali (and readers’) affections. But that’s one of the fun challenges of writing 🙂 

And with my new expedited publishing schedule, you don’t even have to wait that long to see how everything plays out!

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The Genie Whisperer Book 10 Release

Next week marks the release of book ten of The Genie Whisperer, The Gathering of Allies! 

Inspiration

At this point, I’m a little bit questioning my sanity at the wisdom of publishing six books over three months, even though the series was mostly complete. Though it’s a little early for me to be doing that, given we’re only on book two out of six! My potential sanity issues aside, I hope readers enjoyed book nine and are looking forward to this next book 🙂 

Book ten was one of the absolutest funnest to write from the series. The whole thing felt like one great adventure with Ali running around grabbing more genies. It’s a lot more playful than getting stuck in deadly archives or tracking down ancient texts while rebel genie wizards try to kill you (which is kind of funny, because the non-rebel genie wizards ALSO try to kill Ali, so they at least had that in common). While serious stuff still happens in this book, it felt like a nice break from the heaviness of the genies discovering the truth in book eight and Tavor’s less than impressive actions in book nine.  

Three new genies are introduced in this book (as one might be able to guess from the cover), and the first and last are my favorites of the new ones. I didn’t originally plan to include the first new genie when I first thought up the plot line of grabbing more genie allies, but then I decided it would be such great chaos to bring them in. And the last of the new genies introduced in this book I’ve been planning on bringing in for a long, long time. The scene where this genie becomes Ali’s is one that’s been in my head since near when I first decided Ali and her genies would have an adventure gathering more genies. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The post The Genie Whisperer Book 10 Release first appeared on Nicole Eatough.

Book 9 Tropes

Since this post covers tropes found with The Three R’s of Genie Whispering, book nine of The Genie Whisperer, it does contain a few spoilers for that book, though I’ve worked to keep them to a minimum. 

Inspiration

First, the picture in this post requires an explanation. And that is that it’s a common trope in anime/manga for a guy to trip and fall on top of a girl he likes. I SO wanted to include that trope in this book . . . but it didn’t end up working out. I guess the genies just aren’t klutzy enough to let this happen. Maybe I can manage it in another series some day! 

Now on to some of the tropes that made it into the book! I LOVE protective heroes, so I really like the trope of a guy standing between the woman he cares for and threats. Writing that scene in this book was pretty satisfying, and I hope readers enjoy it too. Even if it is a bit of an intense scene . . . 

Moving on! A cute trope often found in manga is a guy not only offering encouragement and belief in the main character that help her move forward, but them doing it in a way that shows that he really knows her. One of my favorite things about slow burn romance is getting to really see the development of the characters gaining a deep understanding of each other, so of course I had to include this trope at some point and it fit in well with the events of this book. 

These next two tropes are in opposition to each other, which provides some lovely conflict for our heroes and heroine. And these are the tropes that the mission (whatever it may be) must come before love and the trope that a guy won’t back down from the girl he likes because he needs her, dang it! He doesn’t care what else is going on or what anyone says. He won’t deny his feelings for anyone or anything. That first trope has already been brought up in the series, courtesy of both Tavor and Illan, but really comes to a head in this book thanks to the second trope happening – Rajan and Garan don’t care what Tavor says, if Ali wants to be with them, they’re going to be with her!

I have to say, the trope of a guy not backing down from a girl they’re interested in is one I really love. It’s far more common to run into a hundred and one tropes for why the characters don’t pursue each other or can’t be together, so I always find it really refreshing to come across a character who chooses not to let anything get in the way of pursing their feelings. 

I hope everyone enjoys the latest installment to the series!

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The Genie Whisperer Book 9 Release

Next week marks the release of book nine of The Genie Whisperer, The Three R’s of Genie Whispering!

Inspiration

This book is probably the most dramatic out of all the books so far, but we have finally officially started Ali’s harem, so it’s certainly the time for drama! Particularly since not all the genies are actually aware that Ali is now in a relationship with Rajan and Garan. Most aren’t, actually. 

The cover for this one is pretty fun. Everyone who’s finished book eight knows whose gem is on the cover, and I love the way my cover artist did the nails multi-colored like the gem. As I’ve shared previously, my artist actually made this gem a while ago partly for fun when I mentioned the idea of a multi-colored gem and whether they really existed (fun fact: they do!). When it came time for a certain genie to take a bigger role in the story, I decided a multi-colored fit him perfectly – even if the rest of his color scheme is much more tame. He’s the only genie whose color scheme doesn’t match his gem because he’s from the only class of genie who can change their own appearance beyond simply taking on human form. 

This book had some scenes I was really looking forward to writing involving Darios and I’m in love with a conversation between Ali and Tavor near the end. While I’m curious to discover what readers think of the book as a whole, there’s one big question I’d be particularly interested in knowing readers’ opinion on after they finish book nine: Is Tavor a tortured hero? Or a scheming jerk? Either opinion is certainly valid!

 

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Old Genie Whisperer Summary

I was looking through some old notes and found a summary of The Genie Whisperer that I wrote back in college, when I first came up with this story. I have to think that I wrote the summary just for fun and just for myself because it spoils a TON about the series. But now that book eight is released, I can share it with you all 🙂 

InspirationThere was a time, oh so long ago, when genies were their own beings. Capricious, fun-loving, and sometimes cruel, they roamed the world doing whatever they pleased, but a group of genie wizards feared and envied the genies’ powers and actions, so they combined their powers with those of the genie whisperers and bound the genies to men. In this process they wiped the genies’ memories of the time when they were free, leading them to believe that their purpose in life was to serve mankind. Each genie was trapped within a jewel, able to come out when their master allowed, and unable to ignore any direct command from their master. And so, these once great and powerful beings were now little more than slaves.

 

However, while the wizards could bind the genies to become servants, they could not change the genies’ natures. Genies now had to fulfill wishes, but words can be interpreted in so many ways, and genies had always been masters of words. For many who came into possession of genies, it came to ruin in the end. And the whisperers suffered as well. The Society which owned the genies also envied the power of the Whisperers. Though the Whisperers helped bind the genies, who’s to say they wouldn’t change their minds about it? Or combine their power with the genies to eliminate the genie wizards? To protect their way of life, the wizards slaughtered all the whisperers. However, one did not join in binding the genies’ wills and ran instead. He told his descendants nothing of his powers, so his magic was passed along, with none of them being the wiser.

I think I had a strong flair for the dramatics back then. Not that my story writing itself was dramatic, but based on the above sample, my summaries sure were. Maybe I was thinking I wanted to write it in an epic ballad style or some such thing.  

And though the summary doesn’t quite match how the story ultimately turned out, a whole lot stayed the same between this and the final version, despite there being nearly a decade between when I wrote the summary and when I finally published the first book of the series. The biggest difference, of course, being that Gary’s son wanted to free Gary and the other genies, hence why he left a letter for his father. 

However, as anyone can tell from the events of The Genie Whisperer, the knowledge of genie whisperers and genies was obviously lost to Ali’s family. Though more on that may be covered in an upcoming book. 

 

The post Old Genie Whisperer Summary first appeared on Nicole Eatough.

Story Wiki

Stories have SO MANY things to keep track of. Especially if you write fantasy. There’s character description and personality, locations, the history of your world, different races and what their capabilities are, etc. I could never hope to keep all that information in my head (and my books would be a mess if I tried). So how do I keep track of all that information? Through my own personal story wiki!

Inspiration

In my early writing days, I kept track of stuff like that by having a simple Word document that listed a few basic facts about each of the characters. But as my writing became more sophisticated and I had more information to keep track of, that became a lot less helpful. I didn’t want to waste time scrolling through a document to find essential information. 

So I started looking into other options and found a software called Campfire. (Thankfully they had an outright pay and download version in addition to their subscription option, because I am very much NOT a fan of subscription models.) This lovely program allows me to create my very own wiki for my stories. One tab is full of basic information about the characters. Another holds maps. Another encyclopedia entries, where I list things like histories within the world that I need to be aware of. Another lists races. While The Genie Whisperer only has three races in addition to humans, there are several types of genies, and each had their own entry to help me keep track of their abilities. 

I can’t stress enough how crucial having this wiki has been to my writing. One of the first things I do as I start my work week is pull this up, and I reference it again and again as I write. (Partly because I made the “creative” decision to have each genie perform their magic a little differently, so I need to make sure each genie does the right gesture to use their magic.) 

However, the wiki is no replacement for having a good proofreader. Book two of The Genie Whisperer specifically states that Ocean doesn’t wear jewelry, as does my wiki. Yet I still managed to have him wearing jewelry in book three. Thankfully, my proofreader caught it and I was able to fix the issue. 

Still, it’s an invaluable tool! Even if plenty of the information there will never be seen by anyone but me. 

The post Story Wiki first appeared on Nicole Eatough.

Upcoming Changes

I mentioned in my last post that the publishing schedule for The Genie Whisperer would be changing, and I’ve now (probably) finalized the dates for that!

For the sake of my own peace of mind, I need to be ahead in my work or I can’t relax. But I got a little carried away with getting ahead on writing The Genie Whisperer and now everything is completed except for edits on the last two books, which should be finished in February. 

Given that, I decided to move up the release dates to have everything published by the end of April so I can better focus on my upcoming trilogy The Hidden Hotel. Below are the new release dates for the rest of the books, which have also been updated on the Books page of my website.

BookRelease Date9 The Three R’s of Genie WhisperingFeb 510 The Gathering of AlliesFeb 1911 The Gathering of EnemiesMar 412 The Three F’s of Genie WhisperingMar 1813 The Deceptive GemApr 114 The Sacrificial GemApr 15Inspirati

Another change that’s coming is that I’m placing The Genie Whisperer into Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program. What this means is that I’ll need to pull it down from all other sites where it’s being sold (Google Play, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo). In an effort to not interfere with anyone buying the series from their preferred vendor, I’m removing the books on a staggered schedule. Additionally, each new book in the series will still release at all of the same sites and remain there for about three weeks. If you miss buying it during that time, the book will still be available at Amazon.

Below are the dates when each Genie Whisperer book will be taken down from the stores listed above and added to the Kindle Unlimited program. 

BookRemoving book from all non-Amazon book sites

1 The Glittering Gems

Jan 1

2 The Perilous Gems

Jan 8

3 The Three C’s of Genie Whispering

Jan 15

4 The Doorway of Possibilities

Jan 22

5 The Doorway to the Future

Jan 29

6 The Three B’s of Genie Whispering

Feb 5

7 The Lost Libraries

Feb 12

8 The Stolen Truth

Feb 19

9 The Three R’s of Genie Whispering

Feb 26

10 The Gathering of Allies

Mar 11

11 The Gathering of Enemies

Mar 25

12 The Three F’s of Genie Whispering

Apr 8

13 The Deceptive Gem

Apr 22

14 The Sacrificial Gem

May 6

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