Jamie Marchant's Blog, page 24

Marscon 2017--Five Reasons to Go to Cons

My husband and I went to Marscon last weekend and had a fantastic time. Why go to cons, you ask? What's in it for me?

Here's a list of the 5 funnest things about cons,not in any particular order.

1. Cosplay. Con people take their characters and costumes very seriously, and there are always some fantastic displays. Most Cosplayers make the costumes themselves.
Check out that mask. Chariot Man
Steampunk Teapot Racer

My husband's the one not in costume, but I still think he's pretty cute.
2. Entertainment. Danny Birt, the Blibbering Humdingers, and Mikey Mason were all there singing geeky songs.
This isn't live at Marscon, but it's one of my favorite Mikey Mason's songs.

And there's one from Danny Birt.


They're even better in concert where you have the energy of the crowd.
3. Other Geeks. You're around others even geekier than you are. It's coming home to your people.
Geeks, including my husband, at the Doctor Who Tea Party.


4. Panels.  I was on several panels. The funnest panel was one I was on with Todd McCaffrey, Mark Wandrey, Kim Headlee, Monica Marier, and Charity Ayers. For this panel, the audience provided a person, a place, and a thing. Todd started a story and then dumped it to the next person on the panel who added to it, and then dumped it to the next. Repeat. I've never done anything quite like this, but it was hilarious. We ended up with a story about a great white shark named Bongo who loves the music of bongo drums and the taste of monkeys. I also did panels on romance in fantasy, the making of a good adventure, and the use of religion in fantasy and science-fiction. In addition, I helped Allen Wold with his writing workshop about getting a story started. Fun times. 
5. Games--role playing games, video games, dice games, card games, table top games, board games. You like to game they have it.
Seriously, if you haven't been to a con, you need to check it out. If you have, what's your favorite con, or your favorite thing to do at a con?

The Last Hero Book Tour & Giveaway

The Last HeroBy Nathaniel DanesGenre: Scifi Adventure, Fantasy

Contact with a race of pacifists convinces mankind to lay down its weapons and keep the peace. The last Medal of Honor recipient, Trent Maxwell, trades glory for the comforts of a family after the U.S. Army disbands. All that ends when an alien menace attacks the New Earth colony, which forces a crash mobilization. Trent finds himself reactivated and traveling through space to distant worlds, in order to stop this new enemy. During the century long journey of death, love, and loss, he also deals with the law of relativity that wreaks havoc with his daughter.
**Free on Amazon from Dec 19th- 23rd!!**
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Trent knelt down where Anna could throw her arms around his neck. She pulled against him tight and started crying again. Tears rolled down his face as he whispered, “I love you more than you can understand. I’m sorry.”Her cries downed out his soft words. After a minute, Trent summoned all of his strength to break free of her hold. Standing, he shared a look with Madison. She wrapped him in a loving, warm hug. This time she did the whispering, “Remember what I told you. Make them pay.”He pulled away, nodding as he placed his hand on Anna’s sobbing head. “I’ll see you both again someday. I promise.” The words bound him to a promise he wasn’t sure he could keep.

Nathaniel Danes is a self-diagnosed sci-fi junkie and, according to his wife, has an over active imagination. Mostly blind, he writes to create universes where he has no limitations. He lives with his wife and daughter in the Washington, DC area.
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MLK Day in Charlotte, North Carolina

Gantt CenterNormally, I only cover things related to Fantasy or other types of Speculative Fiction on my blog, but in honor of Martin Luther King Day yesterday and because the art was amazing, I've decided to cover the visit of my husband and me to Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art and Culture in Charlotte, North Carolina.





We were on our way home from Marscon (which I'll tell you more about on Thursday), and we stopped in Charlotte on Sunday night. For those of you who don't know my husband, he loves art museums, so he wanted to go to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art on Monday morning. We were both far less than impressive. The museum is quite small, and the art work didn't really do anything for either of us. We pretty much breezed through it, so we had more time available before we had to head home. We learned about the Gantt museum across the street, which was having a special event for MLK day.

This museum was speculator in comparison to the Bechtler. We loved everything we saw, but the most impressive was the work of Nellie Ashford. In her paintings, Ashford uses actual fabric rather than paint for the clothing of her subjects. She also adds rope and other material. The effect is stunning, as you can see below. I loved every one of her pieces.



It's hard to tell for the photo, but all the clothing is made of fabric.























The jump rope here is twine. Notice how it leaps from the painting.


















The may pole ribbons are made out of thread.





















As a special treat, the artist was present at the exhibit, and we were able to get our picture taken with her.

Me, my husband Tim, and artist Nellie AshfordShe was an extremely sweet woman, and she gave me a hug after I told her how much I liked her artwork and the effect of making the figures' clothing out of actual fabric. She is in her 80s, and we learned from the gift shop attendant that she only started painting in her 70s. Wow! What could she have accomplished if she had started younger. Sadly, there were no books or even magnets of her art work (we collect magnets of all the places we visit; our refrigerator is covered with them). The shop did have some of her actual paintings on sale for quite a reasonable price for original art ($600-1000), but still more than I can afford.

In additional to Ashford's work, there was an exhibit of quilts and one of wood working. While neither of these impressed me quite as much as Ashford, they were very good. Going through the quilt exhibit reminded me of my grandmother Ottosen, who I miss so much. There was rarely a time we visited her that she did not have a quilt in progress in her living room. While my grandmother's quilts weren't as speculator as those in the museum, they were very beautiful. These were some of my favorite quilts by the artist Adrienne Cruz.



I'm afraid my picture doesn't do justice to this amazing quilt combining images of Africa.
























It's green. My son would be so unsurprised that I liked this quilt so much. If you didn't know, green is my favorite color. Green is warmth and life and growth. Green makes me happy, as did this quilt.





















In addition to the quilts, there was this amazing dress.













The wood work was also beautiful, but it isn't as much my thing.



I'd love to hear what you think of the art, and if you live anywhere close to Charlotte, I urge you to check this museum out. 

My struggles with Samantha

I'm having a hard time getting moving on my next novel. Robrek is going to be absent for most of the novel, and it will focus on Samantha. Samantha has always been harder for me to write than Robrek. Partially because the fairy tales was about Robbie with Samantha as an unnamed prize, so I had to make her story up from scratch. Partially because I struggle with the desire to present women as flawless feminist icons. Women have been portrayed in literature too often as weak bimbos, and I feel a desire to make up for this slander of my gender. However, flaws are what makes a character interesting, and an icon isn't a character and isn't interesting. And I think partially because of my love for the tortured soul. Robrek is a tortured soul. Samantha is not. There may be other factors in play as well, but I have not to do a lot more rewriting on Samantha than I ever have on Robrek.

I had an idea for the novel, but I found my idea had a fatal flaw. It bored me. Being bored with your own work is a sign of tremendous trouble. If it doesn't interest you, it certainly isn't going to interest anyone else. So I've had to go back to the drawing board. I hope to have better news in coming weeks, but for now, enjoy Samantha's first scene in the as yet unnamed novel.

The Queen Samantha looked down from the palace battlements into the garden below, her right hand resting on her swollen belly. She’d give birth any day now. Six months ago when Robbie had been brought back alive, she was certain that everything would be fine. She hadn’t care that he was disfigured, and it didn’t matter to her when the other healers said they could no longer feel his power, that it seemed to have been burned out of him. Even without his exotic good looks and his magic, he was the man she loved. All that mattered was that they would still be together. But when he’d regained consciousness, he failed to acknowledge her, acknowledge anyone or anything. It was almost as if his soul had died although his body still breathed and his heart beat. Having him here but not recognizing her was almost worse than not having him at all. The healers had tried to bring him back, but they said there was nothing inside they could hang onto, nothing within him that responded to their magic.The door opened, and Slathek, Robbie’s uncle, stepped out onto the battlement. She nodded to her guards to allow him to approach, then quickly looked away. His eyes were black instead of green, but otherwise, he looked like a slightly older version of the man she loved. It hurt to see him healthy and well when her beloved was gone.Slathek bowed. “Your Majesty.”“Uncle.” The title brought a surge of pain. The last one she’d called “uncle” had betrayed her, and she’d been forced to have him beheaded. This uncle wanted to take Robbie from her.“Still no change?” he asked.“None.” She blinked back tears. “Let me take him home with me,” he asked, not for the first time. “In Mahngbhayo magic is stronger. Perhaps the healers there can find a way to heal him.”She shook her head. “When Brianna is born, everything will be fine. He can’t fail to acknowledge his newborn daughter. She will bring him back.” All her hopes rested on this slim hope. The healers all said Brianna had powerful magic. It was different than theirs, they said, and they didn’t understand its shape, but as the daughter of an aurora and a healer, her magic would be strong. That power combined with the natural love between parent and child would draw Robbie back from wherever he’d gone, would make him truly alive again.“If Brianna fails to bring him back, if she can’t, will you let him go with me?” “She won’t fail.” Samantha turned and stalked off. She couldn’t have this hope questioned. It was the one thread she’d been grasping since the day Robbie woke up and failed to say her name.

The Goddess's Choice audio, Chapter 13

Samantha and Robrek celebrate Solstice separately in this chapter. Please comment below.


If you can't wait for the next chapter, you can always buy it on Amazon.

5 Ways of Presenting Character: Authorial Interpretation

Today, in the last in my series on ways of presenting character, we will talk about authorial interpretation or simply, as an author, telling your readers what the character is like. The old writing adage is "Show, Don't Tell," and the vast majority of the time, I absolutely agree with this adage. When you tell your readers what a character is like, you prevent the reader from experiencing the character. If I simply tell the readers a character is short, they don't experience that shortness and it doesn't have much effect on them. It is almost always better to say something like, "Susan had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the counter." With this second statement, we understand just how short Susan is and experience some of her frustration with it. Neither of which happens with the statement, "Susan is short."

Her hair's not red, but you get the picture.However, like all rules, there are times to break the "Show, Don't Tell" rule. Telling allows you to convey a lot of information in a short amount of time. This can be helpful in introducing a character's appearance, such as when Brigitta is introduced in The Ghost in Exile. I tell the reader: "Her red hair confirmed her nationality. She wore a low-cut, red bodice trimmed with black lace and an extremely short red skirt." It isn't complicated. The reader simply learns what she looks like. The reader doesn't care about Brigitta at this point, and I don't need them to. It is The Ghost's emotions the reader needs to feel, not Brigitta's. Later, I do more showing with Brigitta, and the reader comes to care about her, but making the reader care about Brigitta at this point would detract from the scene. The reader's emotions need to be focused on The Ghost, not her.

This type of telling is especially useful for minor characters, who are needed for the plot, but who the reader never really gets to know. Later in the novel, Brigitta defends a tavern server from an overly aggressive customer. I tell the reader: "Halle was a marginal fighter, and he was slightly the worse for drink. He also spent too much energy trying to taunt his opponent." This isn't going to make the reader connect with Halle, but I don't need them to. It isn't even desirable. Halle is only present in the novel for this one short scene and simply plays the role of Brigitta's opponent. 

While simply telling can be useful, you need to be careful about relying on it too often. When you tell the reader something, it doesn't make them feel anything. They don't make a connection to the character, and it doesn't make them care about the character. 

Writing rules are useful, but don't be slaves to them. Understand the rule, and you will understand when it is better to break it than follow it.

Post your favorite example of telling in the comments. 

Between Two Evils Book Tour & Giveaway

Crossing In TimeBetween Two Evils Book 1by D. L. OrtonGenre: An Edgy Sci-Fi Love Story
If someone took everything you live for, how far would you go to get it back?When offered a one-way trip to the past, Iz sacrifices everything for a chance to change her dystopian future—and see her murdered lover one last time. After a perilous journey through a black hole, she wakes up on a tropical beach, buck naked and mortally wounded—but twenty years younger! With only hours to live, she must convince an enraptured but skeptical twenty-something guy to fix their future relationship and thereby save the planet (no one is quite sure why.)But it's easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that's a heartbreaker, save the world or not.Across the infinite expanse of space and time, love endures...(Unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough.)

FALL INTO THIS EDGY, action-packed, darkly comedic, dystopian love story, and be prepared to encounter a finicky time machine, a mysterious seashell, and a very clever dog (some sex, some swearing, some violence, but no vampires and absolutely no ditzes.)Goodreads * Amazon

Read the prologue online HERE!
Watch the book trailer on Youtube HERE!


Lost Time Between Two Evils Book 2
If someone took everything you live for, how far would you go to get it back?When a faulty time machine deposits Diego in a towering evergreen, he knows he's in the wrong place—but has no idea he's in the wrong time. Naked and shivering in the chilly mountain air, he attempts to climb down, but slips, whacks his head on a branch, and falls into oblivion. He wakes up inside a darkened room, crippled and disheartened, and must come to grips with the realization that he is marooned in a bleak alternate future. In this universe, what remains of the human race is trapped inside a handful of aging biodomes. With his mission failed, his world destroyed, and the one woman he loves, dead, he can find no reason to go on living. But Lani, the emotionally scarred doctor who finds him, refuses to let him die, and as Diego heals, their relationship becomes... complicated. He struggles to let go of the past but is unable to get Isabel out of his head—or his heart. Just when it seems he may be able to find some measure of happiness in a world teetering on the edge of extinction...Another note arrives from the future: Isabel is alive—but not for long…Goodreads * Amazon

Dead Time Between Two Evils Book 3
If someone took everything you live for, how far would you go to get it back?From award-winning author D. L. ORTON comes book three in the Between Two Evils series...Shannon fights to stay alive inside a rogue biodome and discovers something totally unexpected... Peter. Lani is forced into the role of the reluctant heroine but rediscovers her street-kid mojo and sets out to find everything she's lost. Diego receives another dirty sock (and a note) from the poorly aimed fireball express: "The window between universes is closing." If Diego has any hope of getting back to Iz, he must get to the Magic Kingdom and power up the time machine before it's too late. What could possibly go wrong?**Releasing March 16th, 2017!**Amazon Pre-Order Link
AMAZON #1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR D. L. ORTON lives in the Rocky Mountains where she and her husband are raising three boys, a golden retriever, two Siberian cats, and an extremely long-lived Triops. In her spare time, she's building a time machine so that someone can go back and do the laundry. Ms. Orton is a graduate of Stanford University's Writers Workshop and a past editor of "Top of the Western Staircase," a literary publication of CU, Boulder. The author has a number of short stories published in online literary magazines, including Literotica, Melusine, Cosmoetica, The Ranfurly Review, and Catalyst Press. Website * Blog * Newsletter * Goodreads * Twitter * Facebook * Amazon
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Hell Holes Book Tour and Giveaway

Hell Holes: What Lurks Below
By Donald Firesmith
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, SciFi, Horror
A geologist, his climatologist wife, two graduate students, a local newspaper reporter, an oil company representative, and a field biologist travel to one of dozens of huge holes that have mysteriously appeared in the tundra of the North Slope of Alaska. Their mission is to research these strange craters that threaten financial and environmental catastrophe should they open up under the Trans-Alaska Pipeline or any of the many oil wells and smaller pipelines that feed it. Unfortunately, a far worse danger lurks below, one that threatens to destroy all of humanity when it emerges. Who will live and who will die on Hell Day and as the team flees south towards Fairbanks?
Volume 1 in the Hell Hole series, this book's genre is primarily paranormal and fantasy with bits of science fiction, action/adventure, and horror thrown into the mix.“Urban Fantasy? Science Fantasy? I’m not sure how to label it. But whatever it is, I really got a kick out of it, and would happily come back for more. Recommended.” MJ Kobernus, author of The Guardian: Blood in the Sand
“Full of action and fraught with danger. If you enjoy action/adventure stories but are tired of the same old threats, this is a book you should pick up.”  Dave Robertson , Author of   Strange Hunting
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Hell Holes: Demons on the Dalton
When huge holes mysteriously formed in Alaska’s North Slope, a research team went to discover their cause. But when an army of invading demons erupted out of these hell holes, only two scientists and Aileen, the team’s secretive photographer, survived. Now in this exciting second book in the Hell Holes series, they must flee south along 350 miles of the Dalton Highway, one of the world’s most treacherous roads. Aileen, a member of an ancient order charged with defending humanity from Hell, must save the two scientists, but will her magic be enough?
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A computer geek by day, Donald Firesmith works as a system and software engineer helping the US Government acquire large, complex software-intensive systems. Named a Distinguished Engineer by the Association of Computing Machinery, he has authored seven technical books, written numerous software- and system-related articles and papers, and spoken at more conferences than he can possibly remember. Weekends and evenings, his alter ego writes fantasy novels and relaxes by handcrafting magic wands from fine woods and gemstones.
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Guest Author, M. L. Williams

My guest today is science fiction writer and grandpa, M. L. Williams

M.L. Williams is an award-winning ex-journalist. He retired after 39 years of battling deadlines to venture into the world of science fiction. Williams lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He spends his time reading, writing and enjoying his role as Grandpa. Return of the Earthers is the sequel to his debut novel, Seers of Verde: The Legend Fulfilled.








Interview
1.   Tell us a little about yourself? I grew up on a farm in Iowa (USA). I read a lot as a youngster and was always thrilled at the opportunity to explore my local library. After a 39-year career in journalism, I returned to my first love -- fiction. I am enjoying the freedom to write what I want and love the time to catch up on my reading.2.   What made you want to become a writer? I've been fascinated with science fiction after reading Vonnegut's Slaughter House Five, Frank Herbert's Dune and some works of Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury and Heinlein. Also the original Star Trek series aired when I was a teenager so the fire was stoked. Hopefully, I honed my abilities as a writer while working as a journalist and always wanted to try my hand at science fiction as well as other fiction genres -- historical and perhaps fantasy.3.    Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book? Return of the Earthers: Seers of Verde Book 2 two deals with the struggle between the descendants of two groups of Earth colonists who have have been separated and isolated from outside influences for centuries on a distant planet. The Seers, protectors of the "civilized" protected group, foster violence against the "lost ones" because the newcomers practice a different religion. The psychic women also fear the influx of people will draw the attention of the space marauders, who have attacked the lost ones ever since the first colonists landed.4.   What gives you inspiration for your book? I think my idea got a jump start after reading the Dune prequels and sequels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I liked their writing style and felt I could do something similar. I am not comparing myself to them just that I have tried to emulate their style.5.      Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why? This is like picking your favorite child. One of my favorites is an an autistic young woman whose talent is being an extraordinary artist. She is immune to the influence of the psychic women, known as the Seers. The character just came to me during the writing flow. 6.    Tell us a little about your plans for the future.  Several people already have asked about either a prequel or a book to fill in some missing years in book one. I have not decided on this. Perhaps it may turn out to be a short story. You never know when a good dream will inspire a story.   My next two projects will be quite a bit different. The first one will be an anthology of what journalists call columns (essays?) of my life growing up on an Iowa farm. The second one in the planning stages will be a historical piece with some fantasy elements about of my two great-grandfathers during the American Civil War era. I have ideas for several other projects but they may be more in the fantasy genre.
Where can we find you online?Blog: https://mlwilliamsbooks.com Website: https://mlwilliamsbooks.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlwilliamsbooksTwitter: https://twitter.com/MLWilliamsinCR Amazon: http://amzn.to/24IquaA Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/zqlntku and http://tinyurl.com/gudbppf
EXCERPT FROM RETURN OF THE EARTHERS: The CAIN (Colonization Alliance of Independent Nations) space fleet approached Kenyatta with caution. The captains were wary of being ambushed by Tanlians. For almost three centuries, all of CAIN’s colonies had been terrorized by Tanlian attacks. Each colony had a small defense force, but the Tanlians proved adept at slipping past to conduct their grisly business of kidnapping and pillaging.
After years of arguing over a solution, the colonies unanimously voted to develop a new generation of warships — smaller, faster vessels rather than the behemoths used in defensive orbits — to go on the offensive. It was agreed to send this fleet into GEMS-controlled space in hopes of destroying as many Tanlian vessels as possible. The colonies hoped to force their enemy to finally sue for peace.Shim Murra stood on the bridge and double checked the scans of this GEMS (Galaxy Exploration and Mining Syndicate) world. The CAIN admiral wanted to be positive it was safe for his fleet. The captain of the vessel stood close by awaiting his orders. The young officer’s intense dark eyes gazed at his superior officer, awaiting the order to push on to the planet.Looking up at the taller man, Shim met the other officer’s gaze for a moment and nodded. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time haven’t we, Captain Nandez? Order the first wave into orbit. Let’s see if this GEMS world is serious about being free of the Tanlians.”“Yes, admiral,” Jorn Nandez saluted. He relayed the order for the other five vessels of wave one to follow his ship into orbit. Jorn had been the first CAIN officer to volunteer for this duty. For years he had heard stories of how his ancestor, Hector Nandez, had been ambushed and killed by Tanlians on a mission to colonize the far-off planet, XR-309. Almost no one in CAIN officialdom remembered the planet’s christened name — Verde Grande. At that time his family had been heavily involved in the discovery, bioforming and attempted settling of the planet, only to have it plucked away from them and turned over to the syndicate. When a CAIN ship intercepted that Kenyattan vessel a year and a half ago, the GEMS scientists on board the vessel could find no record of Verde Grande. Jorn wanted to know what had happened to the planet. Was it unsettled? If so, why? He hoped to get his answers very soon.First contact with the GEMS vessel had been a surprising success. The Kenyattans, whose ancestors had fought so bitterly to break away from Earth control, were ecstatic at re-establishing contact. They had answered every question the CAIN officers asked and offered even more information. The Kenyattan officers had a surprising knowledge of the Tanlian flight routes, schedules when the plunderers visited the other GEMS worlds and what they carried away as cargo. It seemed the Tanlians had turned into mercenary commercial shippers in their dealings with the syndicate planets.In a show of etiquette, Shim hailed a lone Kenyattan vessel, asking for permission to orbit their world. A woman’s voice quickly answered. “Greeting’s Admiral Murra, I am Sula Gallgos, captain of Kenyatta 27. I have permission of the Elder Council to welcome you to Kenyatta as honored guests.”

Phédre nó Delaunay--Favorite Character Tuesday

Today's favorite character comes from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series. Phédre nó Delaunay is an amazing character. She should be another one of my tortured souls, but despite her life, somehow she is not. Phédre is sold into indentured servitude as a child and is raised to be a prostitute and spy for her master. She becomes the ultimate BDSM submissive. (If you are curious about BDSM, read Kushiel's Legacy, not Fifty Shades of Grey. Carey understands it as James does not.) Prostitution is seen as a noble profession in her society, which doesn't have our society's hang-ups about
sex. Still, one would think such a childhood would leave a scar.





Instead, Phédre becomes a strong woman who not only revels in sex, but becomes much more when
her country becomes threatened. She uses her intelligence to uncover a plot against her kingdom, and with her bodyguard/later lover, Josselin, works to thwart it. In their relationship, there is never any doubt that Phédre is the dominant partner. However, her power is the power of her intellect. Josselin is the bad ass fighter, but it is her mind as often or more than his skills that get them out of trouble and solve their problems.





Throughout the series, she never loses this combination of sexuality and intelligence. She is always comfortable in her body and with her desires, something far too few of us real women are. But she is never defined by it, or at least not by it alone. Her relationship with Josselin is deep and lasting, but it never becomes the focus of the books. It is her mind that helps her to become a true hero. Many literary strong women seem more like men with breasts, but Phédre remains very feminine, proving the femininity doesn't need to mean weakness. For Phédre, it is strength.

The sexuality in the books is quite graphic, so but if that isn't a drawback for you, she is a character you will fall in love with.

Check her out in the first book of the series, Kushiel's Dart, and I guarantee you will want to read the rest of them. If you do, let me know what you think in the comments below.