Chantal Boudreau's Blog, page 28

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Bruce Is Back…Again

This is Bruce

You may recognize him because you’ve read his books or because I’ve talked about his books more than once before. He writes amazing horror short stories and I’m a fan of his Icarus Fell urban dark fantasy. (I’d say he was my favourite urban dark fantasy writer but he has yet to edge out Neil Gaiman there – sorry Bruce.)

Bruce says his goals in life include writing more novels and remaining tall, bald, and Canadian (Happy Canada Day, Bruce!)

Anyway, he has news that makes me all fidgety – so happy I might just want to run out and do a dance of joy in the rain…

     

Yup – that happy.

Anyway – here’s his news. Drum roll please:

Coming July 15, the third instalment in Bruce Blake’s best-selling Icarus Fell urban fantasy series, SECRETS OF THE HANGED MAN.

Icarus Fell thought the afterlife couldn’t get any worse…until Hell came looking for him.

When you are the orphaned child of a disgraced nun, and you’re saddled with a ridiculous name like Icarus Fell, you don’t expect things can go drastically downhill.

Until death comes along and an archangel recruits you for a job you screw up so badly you nearly lose your son to a demonic priest and a fallen angel.

And then, burdened by the lives lost because of your foul ups, you travel to Hell, a detour that costs you more dearly then you could ever have imagined.

No, things couldn’t get much worse in the afterlife…unless Satan sends his lap dog to bring back the one thing he thinks belongs to him.

You.

Why couldn’t death be easy?

 

So take my advice, if you like urban fantasy with and edge, check out this series. Bruce is a good enough writer that he has been nominated for the eFestival of Words’ Best of the Independents Ebook Award as well as being a semi-finalist for the 2012 Kindle Book Review Indie Book of the Year (and his Khirro’s Journey trilogy was awarded the Life Changing Read Award by author/editor/blogger Ella Medler.) It may just leave you so happy you’ll want to do this:

A Current Endeavor – Halfway Exposed

As I start on Chapter 10 of Endeavor and approach the halfway point of the book, I find myself with the opportunity to garner myself some exposure. Not the kind where I remove all my clothing and dance naked in the street, although I’m sure that would draw some attention. Rather the kind where people can sample some of my work for free along with the work of several of my cohorts. I’ll be posting cover art and links after it is released on Monday, a special horror anthology where a reprint of one of my zombie stories.

I have taken advantage of this kind of opportunity before. I’ve posted free samples of my work to Scribd.com, Wattpad, the Guild of Dreams blog and this blog. I’ve contributed to several free online journals including Angie’s Diary and Moronic Ox. I’ve even had something up at Fangoria online (which has since been replaced with this year’s Weird Words finalists) – or if you prefer audio options, Horror Addicts Wicked Women Writers contest.

The only rules I apply to putting samples out there is a preference to post reprints and I never provide “exposure” samples to anyone who will be profiting from my work without paying me in one way or another (or a charity in my stead.) I think that’s a reasonable practice. Participating in a free promotional venture is one thing. Letting someone abuse the situation for their own gain is another altogether.

Submission Blitz update: A promising “maybe” unfortunately turned into a “no”. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be looking at another Submission Blitz in October…pre-NaNoWriMo.

Book Release: City of Scars

Reblogged from Guild Of Dreams:

 

It’s been three decades since the Blood Queen led her legions on a brutal campaign of conquest and destruction, and the Empires are still struggling to rebuild. Now, in the distant aftermath of the war, the real battle is about to begin.

Haunted by the crimes of his past, fallen knight Azander Dane ekes out a mercenary existence as he drifts from one city to the next.

Read more… 260 more words

A Current Endeavor – Jell-o Brain

This posting will be brief thanks to having a heavier workload at my day job. Not that I’m working over-time hours (yet) – but when I’m maintaining the pace I have to set to keep from being totally overwhelmed by the growing to-do pile, my brain just turns to goo by day’s end. That does concern me a little bit when I consider the fact that part of chapter 9 is being written when I’m not all there, but at least this is just the first draft. There will be room for repair later.

What I can do when my brain turns to goo is play around with artwork, so that is what I ended up doing. Here’s a rough draft of drawings inspired by Endeavor. We’ll see if I can turn them into anything exceptional.

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Positive Thinking

I’ve been researching improving your life by improving your way of thinking and my most recent reading has included a couple of great books to guide me on that path. I’m trying to raise my level of positivity – because I have a habit of sabotaging myself with negative thoughts when I know I can exceed my own expectations when I live more optimistically. I’ve experienced it firsthand. So here are two recommendations I have for those needing that kind of a boost.

The Power of Why by Amanda Lang

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book because Ms. Lang was a keynote speaker at this year’s CMA conference in Nova Scotia. The book discusses the importance of innovative thinking, which includes trying to recapture the type of curiosity we had as a young child before the industrial-era-developed school systems we still have place in our innovation-era world killed that curiosity. It touches on the need for divergent thought, the ability to explore many answers rather than just focussing on the one “right” answer and the freedom to fail in order to be able to create.

I love the concepts in this book as well as the case studies of a variety of innovators and examples where divergent thinking and a willingness to move beyond accepted norms allowed for new inventions that did change or may change entire industries.

My only minor complaints is that I did find the book a little repetitive in places (possibly for the sake of reinforcing important points) and I didn’t like the emphasis on competitiveness over cooperation – I guess because I have “too Canadian” a mentality.

-A very good read for someone studying business, interested in innovation or just looking for some inspirational and positive stories.

10 Gifts to Give Yourself for a Successful Life by Christina Westover

Another book filled with positive thoughts and suggestions of ways to clear the negativity from your life and to focus on the things that matter. I think most people would agree that the gifts discussed would be considered ways of making your life happier and more meaningful, including pursuing your dreams, ridding your life of toxic people, and being open to the people who can have a good influence on our lives. Most would consider these ideas common sense, but truthfully, many individuals have forgotten their importance or have just become lost in general and can use a guidebook to get themselves back on track. The author even provides avenues for applying these concepts to your daily living.

I consider this a great pick-me-up manual that I can turn to for an injection of positivity – certainly an enjoyable read.

A Current Endeavor – Truth be Told?

I just finished up chapter 8, so I’m still making progress, which is good. I’ve been following an internet debate as to whether or not a writer should offer up an explanation or background story of what exactly is the cause of the zombie apocalypse (if there happens to be one in their story.) The initiator of the thread suggested that the background story is not necessary and mainly exists as filler or the bane of the writer: the info dump.

I’m inclined to disagree.

I do think that an explanation for the apocalypse is not always necessary. It is dependent on the plot of the story, the characters involved, and even the length of the tale. I’m less prone to believe that a background story is required for a short story – there just may not be time to get into the details. A short story often captures a moment or a single event, so the kind of extraneous facts that belong in a novel just don’t fit there. But sometimes the story absolutely demands an explanation – it can be integral to the plot and based on the nature of the characters involved, they may not be satisfied until they have one.

There was more debate as to whether the cause is scientific or supernatural should impact the need for that background story, but I also believe that those things aren’t deciding factors. In either case the characters may never get the opportunity to discover the “why”. They may not have the knowledge base to allow for answers, and they may not have the time or the opportunity to go looking for them.

I also object to the notion that an explanation has to result in an info dump. There are plenty of ways to add details to a story without throwing it at the reader in one large, hard-to-digest lump. The characters can discover information bit by bit, digging for the details, or the plot can simply incorporate the cause, making it a part of the bigger picture. Personally, I try to avoid discussing any background stories unless I feel it’s important for the readers to have. In some cases, less is more.

I took a look at my published zombie stories and, my yet to be published zombie novel and the inclusion of an apocalypse explanation really does vary.

Palliative (short story) – no explanation. Time is limited and opportunity non-existent.

Just Another Day (short story) – brief explanation. Protagonist is not a scientist and her knowledge is limited to what she has heard/read in the news.

Waking the Dead (short story) – hypothesized explanation. Cause is integral to the plot and one of the characters is a know-it-all who insists on researching it as best she can

Deadline (short story) – brief explanation. Protagonist is not a scientist but works with them. She casually skims their research but is too disinterested to dig for more details.

Shear Terror (novelette) – no explanation. Protagonist is a pre-teen separated from civilization and technology.

What a Man’s Gotta Do (short story) – vague explanation. Protagonist is not an educated man and doesn’t really care much about the details. Knows what he has learned in passing about the cause, over time.

Escarg-0 (short story) – full explanation. Cause is integral to the plot and characters witness it firsthand.

Life and Undeath on the Chain Gang (short story) – no explanation. Story does suggest a supernatural root to the apocalypse, but no details given. Protagonist is a prisoner without any real exposure to the world-at-large.

Sleep Escapes Us (novel) – full explanation. Cause is absolutely integral to the plot and characters witness the events that lead to the apocalypse.

This should prove I don’t believe there’s a tried and true rule here. And in no case is there an info dump in any of these stories. The funny thing is, in one instance some of the readers thought there should have been one. That goes to show you that you can’t please everyone, because you’ll run into naysayers on either side of the debate.

I’m going to keep going with my gut on this one. I know I don’t like info dumps myself, they tend to read a little dry, but I’m a fairly curious person who wants to know the “why” if it is relevant.

Truth be told? Only if it should be.

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Autumn All over Again

No – it’s still not the season…although it’s not spring anymore either. What better way to welcome in summer but with another hearty dose of Autumn?

Seriously (well, only kind of) – this weekend is her **New Release Weekend!**

To celebrate Rule of Fire, book 2 in her epic fantasy series the Rise of the Fifth Order, she is having a sale! (If this were audio, there would be a booming echo here sale…sale…sale. If it were video, there would be a cute, surprised looking precocious child shot here – you’ll have to make do with a photo and your imagination)

Of course – this works better if said child isn’t being photo-bombed by a llama…damn llamas.

Born of Water, book 1, will be free on Smashwords from June 21 to 23, use coupon bode UZ46U. It will be reduced to 99 cents or its equivalent (regularly $2.99) on all Amazon sites: US, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, IN, CD, BR

Additionally, Rule of Fire will be only 99 cents as well at both Smashwords and Amazon for its release weekend June 21st to the 23rd (regularly $3.99)!

So here’s a reminder about what these books are all about:

Six friends stand alone against the combined Orders of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth, protecting a girl whose forbidden abilities have condemn her to death. Now they are joined by a man who was once the Curse, the Church’s most powerful weapon and Ria’s greatest threat. Left with no name and no memory, the decision to aid this stranger will cost friendships and more as the group of friends journey north to seek a tribe of people lost to time amid an ancient war. The path home is riddled with dangers as the Church of Four Orders still seeks Ria and the former Water Priestess Nirine. For one High Priest, the desire for vengeance is personal.

Ria must unravel the mysteries of her power to find acceptance in a world where her abilities are considered a taint. Is the strange gift of magic an aberration that should be destroyed or something far more, related to the skills held by the Elementals who rule Myrrah?

The sequel to Born of Water, Rule of Fire is book 2 in the epic fantasy trilogy, the Rise of the Fifth Order. Return to the world of Myrrah ruled by the Church of Four Orders. Release is scheduled for June 21st!

Here’s a taste – but rather than offer you a peek at chapter 1, because that’s been done to death, let’s flip over to chapter 21 for a little life…

Chapter 21

LIFE LESSONS

“How is the training going,” Lavinia asked Beite. “Have you been able to call the other elements?”

Beite shrugged. “I can’t call fire, and water is difficult. But I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” Her voice was bored. Lavinia hid a smile.

For Beite to not be enthusiastic meant she was frustrated. Having a brother who was known as the most skilled of a gifted people was surely problematic enough for the young woman. Struggling to learn new abilities when she wanted to race ahead was bothering Beite more than she wanted to let on.

“Actually, no one has really been able to use all five like Darag. Cuileann can’t even change himself. He tried to become a bird yesterday and fell on his face,” Beite said with a giggle.

Lavinia relaxed the surprised look on her face. “Really? That seems…strange.”

“I don’t think so. From what you said, only Darag managed to master all five on the journey.”

Lavinia paused, resting against the wooden hoe in her hands. “Ria could as well and she is a Spirit Elemental like Darag, like the Kith. That is why we thought that was the key. A Spirit Elemental could use all the elements. Zhao and Niri weren’t able to. It just made sense.”

Beite tossed down her hoe and glared at the bare soil they had been preparing. It took a breath or two, but the ground split into a perfect line down the length of the garden. Beite smiled, fists against her hips.

“I’ve learned a few things though,” she said with a smile.

“I can see that,” Lavinia replied. “Keep that up and we’ll be done with this before afternoon.”

“Oh, then we can go for a walk. Drufforth maybe? Actually,” Beite said glancing sideways to Lavinia, “we could go now. Why don’t you leave this for Darag?” Beite gestured across the garden patch that was Darag’s, and now hers.

Lavinia’s cheeks filled with warmth. She concentrated very carefully on a pea vine that was pulling away from its woven trellis.

“He is busy teaching. It is the least I can do.” With a sigh, Lavinia sat in the dirt and looked at the vibrant garden, knowing none of its bounty really had anything to do with her. “I have to do something here.”

Beite sat down next to her, putting an arm around her sister-in-marriage. “You don’t need power to grow plants or tend a garden.”

“Hah,” Lavinia said, the sound coming out with a sniffle. “That is what I keep trying to tell myself. I never even kept more than a few herbs in Mirocyne.”

“I’ll help you learn,” Beite said, pulling Lavinia back to her feet. “And then this afternoon you can teach me more about learning to sail.”

Lavinia glanced askance at the young woman who, though she looked a few years younger than her, was really over twenty years older. Sometimes she showed it too. Beite picked up her hoe, ignoring the abilities she was born to in favor of hand labor, the only type Lavinia could do. Torn between crying and laughing, Lavinia opted for digging.

Beite changed course, running the skiff at an angle to the wind as she headed the long way across the bay. Lavinia sat with her elbows propped on the gunnel behind her. The small boat bobbed on the waves effortlessly. The wind that snapped the sail taut toyed gently with her hair. Lavinia, eyes closed, smiled in the sunlit afternoon.

“You are a good teacher,” Beite said from where she sat in the aft, hands working the lines to the boom.

Lavinia laughed. “And your brother is not?” Beite didn’t answer. Lavinia peeked at the young woman. She was frowning, a look so unlike Beite that Lavinia sat up. “What is wrong?”

There was the sheen of moisture in her eyes, which she rubbed away. “I just…it isn’t Darag. He is so patient. I just can’t do it,” she blurted out. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.”

Lavinia eased the knot on her forehead with her thumb. “Which element?”

“Fire.”

The boat creaked, sail luffing. Beite pulled in on the line, filling the sail again. They picked up speed over the smooth water.

“Niri can’t manage fire either. Well, she did once but she said it hurt. Is that it? Is it painful to call?”

“No, I can’t even manage a spark,” Beite said, her face turned toward the shore and away from Lavinia. “I’m afraid of it,” she whispered.

Lavinia took in the admission with a lungful of salt air. Birds wheeled overhead, calling down to them. Six months ago, Lavinia had barely left Mirocyne. She had not known any Elementals. Now, she was married to one and his sister was in tears over her abilities. Lavinia turned toward the girl.

“Because fire would burn the trees?”

Beite nodded, teeth worrying her lower lip.

“But you are also earth and you can control water you said.”

“Some,” Beite conceded.

“Wet earth – fire cannot burn that.”

“Yes, but if I concentrate on earth or water to protect myself, I cannot summon fire. Fire won’t burn in damp soil.” Weary frustration filled Beite’s voice.

Lavinia leaned forward and took her hand. “You need to be unburnable, but you need to leave a space outside of yourself where flame can live.”

Beite’s dark eyes widened a fraction. She sprung forward and embraced Lavinia.

“That is perfect,” Beite said.

Lavinia laughed, straightening herself as Beite let go. Beite had dropped the lines to the sail, spilling the wind and stalling the boat. She pulled the ropes until the boom swung back around, adjusting the small rudder until the boat fairly flew over the bay’s gentle water.

“See,” Beite said, a broad smile on her youthful face. “I told you that you were a great teacher.”

Darag found her later as the shadows lengthened. He did not say anything, but pulled her into a hug. Cheek against his chest, Lavinia felt his solid warmth against her. She always hated to let go.

“You’ve been to Drufforth,” Darag said in his deep voice, which always seemed to carry a laugh when he spoke to her.

“How do you know?” Lavinia asked with a smile.

“I can smell the salt water in your hair,” he told her, taking her hand. She had been heading upwards from the clearing to go to Suileag’s house. It was late enough, she’d hoped Darag would be there. Together now, they paused on the aerial paths, leaning on a low branch grown into a rail. Lus na Sithchaine spread out around them. Clutches of houses, nestled in branches, made solid shadows amid the massive trees, both below and above where they stood.

“I forget sometimes how amazing this place is,” she said, awed once again by her new home.

Darag traced her cheek, brushing back a lock of her dark hair. “I find other things more inspiring,” he said, eyes on her. Lavinia blushed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“Bahl el’hah teyhl,” she told him. Settling against his side, she asked, “How were the lessons today?”

“No better than yesterday,” Darag answered with a frown. He put his arm around her, looking out at the shadows shifting in the wind. The first of the star bugs were lighting the night. “There is some reason I am missing that they cannot learn the other elements.”

“Not even Laith Lus and Shai Bannan?” Lavinia asked.

Darag shook his head. “They have watched but not participated. Laith Lus says he is too old to learn this now.” There was a turbulent undertone to Darag’s voice. She put a hand on his arm.

“It came so easily to Niri, Ria, and even Zhao. And Laireag could manage too before he left.”

“Yes, but he was an Air Elemental and didn’t know it. I’d think that was the answer, to be born to several elements, but…”

“But that wouldn’t explain Niri, Ria, and Zhao and then any Kith should be able to with ease.”

Darag sighed. “Exactly. I just cannot fathom what was different about Niri, Ria, and Zhao.”

“Hmm, we were on a journey that constantly involved risking our lives?”

Darag chuckled low in his chest the way she loved. His lips brushed the top of her forehead just below her hair. “I hope that is not what we are missing.”

“I’m not missing it at all,” she said, eyes half closed.

“Really?”

The question jolted her back to alertness. She looked up into the vibrant green eyes of her husband. “Of course? Why?”

“You are happy here?” he asked. His brows were bunched, lips trying to form words that seemed to only want to come in the Kith language. She put her fingers to his mouth.

“I am happy with you, so very happy. Don’t doubt that. You, we, need to be here. I understood that choice when I made it.”

He kissed her, leaving his forehead against hers a moment. “You always amaze me.”

“This from someone who can transform into a bird,” she teased, but squeezed his hand.

They started their walk again, heading upwards this time to their home far above. “Why were you in Drufforth?” he asked. “You are worried about them?”

“I am. It has been over two weeks,” Lavinia said with a frown, glancing back as if she could see through the forest all the way to Drufforth. Wishing she could see beyond to even the Island of Kailal to find her brother and Niri. “But no, I went to teach Beite how to sail. She is very frustrated, you know.”

“I know,” Darag said softly.

They had barely arrived to the quiet house Darag had crafted of living wood high in the treetops when the front door burst inwards.

“You were right!” Beite exclaimed. She raced past her startled brother and grabbed Lavinia’s hands. “I can do it now. You were right.”

“Do what?” Lavinia asked. Realization swept over her as she looked into Beite’s excited face. “Call fire? You called fire?”

“Yes!”

“How?” Darag asked, coming over to join them.

“Lavinia came up with the idea when we were sailing. To be water and earth so the flame cannot hurt me, and to leave space for fire and air outside of me. It works.” Beite glanced between the two of them. “Oh here,” she said.

Beite stood still, closing her eyes. Darag’s eyes widened a fraction, his body tensing though nothing visible had happened. Lavinia knew the look. Beite was calling power in a way he had not seen her do before.

The young woman held out a hand. Fire sprouted from it as though burning from her palm, though it did not char. “See?”

“I’ve never seen it called like that before,” Lavinia said more than a little awed. “Ria always created stars or sparked it into the firepit, not…” She waved her hand toward the torch that danced on Beite’s palm.

Darag sat down at the table, watching his triumphant little sister. “You did this by…?”

“By staying centered on earth and water. I was afraid of the flames before,” Beite said, not meeting her brother’s eyes for a second. “So I tried to stay connected to earth and water, but I never left a space for fire. I have to keep a place open for the flames to exist or they…won’t.”

Lavinia sat next to her husband, Beite’s fire danced light and shadows across the room. The idea Beite described was confusing to Lavinia, but Darag tipped his head upward slowly. He understood. “That is what was different about Niri.”

“How do you mean?” Lavinia asked.

“She was trained to calm herself to touch water, so learning earth and air was not that difficult for her.”

“She never learned to call fire though, just like Zhao never could move earth,” Lavinia pointed out.

“She did once as did Zhao with earth. They could, but it hurt.”

“Because they didn’t leave it enough room,” Beite said. “The first time I tried, it fizzled out and hurt. You need to balance so much and be so still to get it right.”

“Let me guess, you’ve been doing this for hours now?” Lavinia asked.

Beite grinned. “I wanted to show you my best attempt.”

Her brother chuckled. “I bet Niri and Zhao could both learn, though there are bound to be problems with your opposite element.” Darag looked soberly at his little sister. “Don’t call air, not the first time, unless I am there. It is…difficult.”

Beite sobered, her smile disappearing with her flames. She nodded. “I won’t,” she answered, a hitch in her voice. She sat on Darag’s other side, nervous as a young girl again.

Lavinia remembered when Darag had first called air, the feeling he described of breaking apart while being compressed. It still frightened her to think she could have lost him in that moment when there had been nothing else around them than the rolling marsh while they trudged along on ponies, Ria and Niri laughing as they learned new skills, she and Ty teasing behind.

“Zhao was brought up to be still and centered,” Lavinia said, remembering what she had seen of Xiazhing. “And he taught himself to use his skills as well, so learning new ones wasn’t hard.”

“Everything in the Tiak culture is one of opposite forces. I think he may be very good with earth if he can break through whatever keeps him back from it,” Darag said.

“It doesn’t explain spirit though. No one who isn’t born a Spirit Elemental has been able to learn it.”

Beite shrugged. “Maybe you can’t unless you are born to it?”

“Or maybe you need to be able to use the other four before you can touch spirit?” Darag said. “We can find out maybe when Niri is back.”

Lavinia sighed, fidgeting in her chair. “I hope that is soon.”

Darag reached over and took her hand, kissing the curve of her little finger. “If not, I will go and find them.”

“Only if you turn into something big enough to take me along,” Lavinia said.

“Don’t think I’m not going too,” Beite said, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms.

“So how do I get all of this amazing story?!!!” (and the story before it,) you may be asking yourself. Well, you can either go for the hyperlinks waaaay up top ^^^ or use these links below (in case anything gets screwed up):

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/220915

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B007AUWMDG

http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B007AUWMDG

https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B007AUWMDG

And if this were video, this is where I’d have a shot of a dancing rodent or some other cutesy thing. Instead another photo and a request to use your imagination…

Argh!! – Damn llamas…

A Current Endeavor – Sidetracked

I have to confess – I haven’t worked on Endeavor since Father’s Day. With many projects on the go, it is easy to get sidetracked. In this case, I had started fishing through The Blood Flows True looking for an excerpt appropriate for a Father’s Day posting. I found plenty, but never got around to posting any of them because I stumbled across a couple of passages that Barb had really loved, and suddenly I was really missing her again.

She had always wanted to see The Snowy Barrens Trilogy in print which was why I started self-publishing it. She only got as far as seeing books #1 & #2 come to be, unfortunately. She did get to read the full trilogy, at least, but only in first draft for book#3.

Anyway, all of this possessed me with the notion that I had to finish up the final edits for Blood Flows True, so that’s what I’ve been doing since Sunday. Now that that’s done, I can go back to working on Endeavor until my conscience goads me into working on the cover art for book#3. I can’t put it out until I finish the cover art, the acknowledgements and updating the cast of characters to include the newcomers in the last book.

The cover art is the sticking point. My confidence is lacking there, however, so I tend to procrastinate, dreading an outcome that could either be somewhat satisfying, like for The Blood Runs Deep, or bad enough that I have to do it over again…and maybe over again after that. That’s not where my true talent lies.

Ironically, this blog post was supposed to be about background stories and zombie apocalypses, but I got sidetracked there too. Since I had to move my Blurb on Other People to tomorrow, the zombies are going to have to wait until the weekend (like the rest of us.)

A Current Endeavor – The Importance of Failure

I’m reading an interesting book at the moment that discusses the growing need for innovative thinking in our world. It points out that not only do innovators have to be creative and willing to use divergent thinking, constantly asking questions rather than just looking for the one right answer, they also have to be willing to try new things with an awareness that they are risking failure. A good innovator will fail, and often. The thing that makes a person a great innovator is the willingness to accept that failure and see it as merely another challenge – the opportunity for a new question…”How do we find a way around that next time?”

Failure can be a very important element to a story plotline as well. If the hero always succeeds, there usually isn’t much to the story. Failure builds character. Failure presents problems and creates conflict. Failure makes a protagonist someone we can relate to. Failure convinces us the story is real.

I was thinking about this because I work failure into my story threads on a regular basis. Sometimes my fallible characters are the cause of their own dilemmas, which is what happens to my protagonists in my upcoming Prisoners of Fate novel (Masters & Renegades #3). They are responsible for the accident that sets everything in motion, and forces them on to the path they follow to try to repair the damage they have caused.

Sometimes, like in my Fervor series, the failure is just the result of an unfortunate turn of events. In Providence, the latest novel in the series, the problems start to multiply for Sam and his cohorts. He tries to prevent things from escalating, but despite his earnest efforts, bad things still happen. With the spirit of a true innovator, he doesn’t give up or accept defeat, instead, he takes on the challenges as his own personal responsibility and he asks the difficult questions that eventually lead him to solutions.

But more often than not, what appear to be failure can turn out to be blessings in disguise. The protagonist in my “The Trading of Skin” novel, yet to be published, seems to fail at almost everything he tries. But when the truth comes out, many of these perceived failures are in truth just a matter of a differing nature, and not really failures at all – just a lack of understanding who he is. Once he comes to see his true strengths and weaknesses and knows from where they originate, he starts to view his achievements or lack thereof in a different light.

Failure is a part of exploration and creation, and both of these are necessary for tale-telling. They’re also a part of taking on the risks involved in trying to tell your stories to the world at large. You risk rejection, you risk criticism and you, will fail more than once. What matters is the willingness to try despite those risks, and the ability to pick yourself up and try again when failure comes your way – which will happen as you learn – with more resilience than you had when you started.

Lighthouses

Reblogged from Guild Of Dreams:

By Chantal Boudreau

Have you ever noticed how when something inspires you, you start spotting examples of that thing everywhere around you?  What really inspires me at the moment are lighthouses, so all things associated with those ocean beacons seem to be cropping up everywhere – photographs, paintings, historical societies.  It’s especially likely to happen here Sambro, where we have a particularly interesting…

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