Kimber An's Blog, page 32

I Interviewed My Executive Editor!

Check it out-   Heather Bennett at Enduring Romance

Fan Fiction & Art Friday Starts Tomorrow

My daughter, who is a member of the Young Adult readership, started a story, SUGAR PAW, which takes place in the Ophelia Dawson Universe and is told from the animals' point of view. 

Kimber An is Interviewed by Meankitty

Meankitty Wants to Know

The Music of Howard Jones

I didn't listen to popular music when I was a teen.  I just wanted to get the whole adolescent thing over with.  Ever once in a while I hear a song from the 1980's and I'm surprised that I like it.  'No One is To Blame' by Howard Jones really feels like Adrian's theme song to me.  His family was destroyed by the Newbloods when he was only 14 and he's been homeless and searching for his kidnapped sister ever since.  In Sugar Rush, the Newbloods come between him and the girl he's fallen in love with, Ophelia.  He's constantly on the outside and unable to achieve his heart's desire.  Here's the song on YouTube-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fiba80YVyM
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And here's 'Everlasting Love'-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x09PDHEYoXk
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To learn more about Howard Jones, click here-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Jones_(musician)

Mount Redoubt

Did you know Alaska is covered with volcanos?  My husband's a pilot and flies over them all the time.  Here's a picture he took of Mount Redoubt last time it was spewing ash-

To learn more about Redoubt, click here-   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Redoubt

Stop Diabetes

November is Diabetes Awareness month.  Pop over to

Martin Brynner, the Villain

Martin Brynner.  When I first began submitting Sugar Rush to critique partners, their response to the Villain was something like "Eeeeww!  He's creepy!  More!  More creepy!"  So, I was like, "Uh, okay, I can do that."  So I upped Martin's Creep Factor, twisting and twisting him.
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I reviewed books at Enduring Romance (I'm still the moderator there) for four years and one my chiefest complaints, especially for the Romance genre, was the utter lack or pathetic presence of ineffective villains!  I can see how in the Romance genre, authors might be told to tone down their villains for various reasons.  But, in my opinion, the Villain is the backbone of the whole story.  Without him, the good guys have nothing interesting to do.  Oh, sure, they can make out under the stairwell at school, but it's much more exciting, in my opinion, to read about a couple making out under the stair well if they're under the threat of being discovered by the Villain who would absolutely go ballistic if he finds them together!
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Like the boy in the opening scenes of the live action 101 Dalmations said, "It's not hatred that matters.  It's the desire to annihilate!"  And, let's face it, Cruella DeVille is one of the best villains of all time.
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But, Martin was named after Yul Brynner who portrayed Pharoah Ramses in The Ten Commandments.  He was super intelligent, determined to deprive the hero of his heart's desires, and, well, let's just say it.  He was dead-sexy too.  I think it really ups the ante when the Villain is hot.  Makes things so much more complicated for the Heroine.  Sadly, Yul Brynner passed away a while ago, along with a lot of great old Hollywood actors.  His great work lives on though.  Here's a link to learn more about him-   Yul Brynner
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In the Ophelia Dawson Universe, Martin Brynner's parents were turned into Newbloods (alien/human hybrids) at some point during his early childhood.  They staked out the medical facilities in Anchorage, Alaska, searching for diabetics to fuel their new addiction, diabetic blood.  When Ophelia was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age nine, they followed her to Togo, Alaska, took over the town's leadership, and waited for her to grow into a beautiful young woman, a Sweet. 
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On his eighteenth birthday, Martin was turned into a Newblood by his parents.  He hated his parents, but he embraced the power becoming a Newblood provides.  Newbloods are physically more powerful than Oldbloods, who originated the Vampire Myth.  As a newly turned Newblood, he was drawn to Ophelia's diabetic blood, convinced she was his Destined Mate.  Unlike the Oldbloods, the Newbloods are religious fanatics.  That's an element to be developed in later stories.  Unfortunately for Martin, Ophelia, an empath, was already soul-mated to Adrian, the hero.  And that relationship seriously inconvenienced him.
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Martin is very tall, at least 6'2", buff, and 'action hero' handsome.  He has wavy, dark blond hair, big blue eyes, and a dimple in his chin.  In my mind, he looks like actor Hayden Christianson.

Ophelia's Trekkie Stuff

If you've read Sugar Rush, you know Ophelia is a Trekkie, the only teen Trekkie in the fictional town of Togo, Alaska.  Right now, I'm working on a prequel, Crushed Sugar, and Ophelia's Trekkiness isn't the obsession it is in Sugar Rush.  It's just a fun interest.  The reason is Crushed takes place before she enters into a dangerous relationship with Martin, the villainous Newblood.  During Sugar Rush, she leans hard on the courage and imagination being a Trekkie fosters.  In the books afterwards, her Trekkiness is less obvious because she's developed self-confidence.  But, she'll always be a Trekkie, even after she's worn out her 'I Love Tribbles' shirt.  Every Christmas or birthday, she receives something Trekified.  By the way, she prefers to be called a Trekkie to the more socially acceptable Trekker.  She thinks it sounds more rebellious.  The Captain Janeway Christmas Tree Ornament pictured above was released by Hallmark in 1998.  In Sugar Rush, Adrian successfully woos Ophelia with one.  Here's a link to learn more about Captain Janeway-   Star Trek Voyager 

Win Marissa Doyle Books!

Pop over to check it out- Enduring Romance

Marissa Doyle on Writing Historical Fantasy

Pop over to Enduring Romance for this guest post-
Marissa Doyle on Historical Fantasy