Jami Gray's Blog, page 34
October 13, 2012
Road Trippin’ to the Rockies…
I’ve managed to battle back the dreaded sinus infection and found the path back to the roller coaster ride of life. I’ve even added in a daily dose of Yoga so I can be certain of getting some serious “me” time. The last few weeks have not been fun and my Muse seems to have thrown in the towel. Funny thing, when you’re stuck and frustrated in one area of your life, the rest slowly start to follow suit. I can’t have that. No sirree, it is not allowed. So how does one go about booting your Muse in the ass? You take a road trip.
With the help of my Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor we are taking the Prankster Duo off to the cooler climes of COLORADO! Yes indeed, we are packing our bags, loading up the wagon and hightailin’ it out of the steamy confines of the Swamp. The mini humans are ecstatic, the Knight is polishing his armor, and I’ve been told to leave the laptop at home. The threats even escalated to bodily harm should I even slide one tiny longing glance at my laptop or sneak in a pen and piece of paper. I have been firmly told to TAKE A BREAK. Considering NaNo is around the corner, it may not be such a bad idea.
If I’m really lucky, the high mountain air might enable me to take out my Muse, tie her up and convince her she wants to stick around next month and perhaps…work. Then again, she may just laugh at me, but you never know. I could bribe her…hmm…will have to think on that one.
Until then…next week, right here, we are going to spotlight a book. Yes we are, because we are taking part in Ciara Knight and Ninja Captain Alex’s “Did I Notice Your Book” Blogfest. So check in next week to see who the lucky person is!
October 6, 2012
Stupid Sinus Infection…
Okay so I tried, really, I did. But I ended up with a sinus infection that turned into me laying in bed for three days, so this week..no spiffy new blog…sorry. I’m barely able to keep up with normal everyday life as the oldest of the Prankster Duo is out on break and the other’s still plodding his way through school. However I will let you know that yes, I’m doing Nano this year, yes I swear I will write every day…once I can breathe again…but right now, October is kicking my butt. To be honest, October is that steroid Hummer thing Arnold Schwarzenegger was driving in that 60 Minutes interview on Sunday and I’m some poor little creature creeping through the cross walk. It hits me, stops, backs up and does it again. And I’m left doing a painful imitation of that mosquito I flattened last week.
My goal, to drag my sack of bones back into the whirlwind of real life. Unfortunately, I’m just not sure how successful I’m going to be.
Check back in next week, hopefully I’ll have some witty commentary to share!
September 29, 2012
Mona’s Challenge Accepted, meet new writers…
Tis the season for chain blogs, similar creatures to those ancient fossils known as “letters” that arrived via the US Postal Service. These letters would claim that if you sent something to the name at the top of the list, added your name to the bottom of the list, you would, in a whopping 90 days, be inundated with recipes/poems/dollar bills. Remember those? Uh-huh. Yeah, so this is the blog form of that–but no moola, just the chance to discover some truly awesome new writers!
The lovely and talented writer of heart pounding romance, Mona Karel, tagged me in a blog challenge. The idea is to find the first instance of the word ‘look’ in your current WIP and post the surrounding paragraphs. She has an excerpt from her new book, an awesome description piece. My favorite part? “Willow Springs was a city on the downhill slide.” LOVED IT!
Since we all know how “orbitally fixated” I can be, this shouldn’t be hard. So let’s see where “LOOK” pops up for me in Shadow’s Moon…
Xander tapped the earpiece nestled in her right ear. “Ryuu, you copy?”
There was a brief crackle of static, then a growling, “Yeah, what’s up Xander?”
“Found a body in the Gardens. ” She turned the body over, the surrounding water making a soft sucking sound as it released its victim. She pushed damp hair off the ghostly pale face.
“Tell me it’s not the ex-girlfriend.” Faint street noises leached around the demand.
“Nope, it’s a male.” She leaned down and inhaled. The water diluted the coppery stench of blood, leaving behind the familiar odor of raw meat. “Human.”
A low string of curses dance in her ear. “Damn it! Wounds?”
She dug into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small pen light, playing it over the victim. “Heavy bruising, no claw or teeth marks. LOOKs like Neal bashed the poor guy’s head in against the stones.”
“I guess we should be grateful for small miracles.”
On to the fun part, I get to tag a few victims of my own, so you have an opportunity to meet some exciting new writers!
September 22, 2012
You Never Really Grow Up…
I ran out of “orginal” ideas for this week’s blog, so I’m pulling up a post I orginially did earlier this year for Nanny Berry’s GNBStacks Blog. Please sit back and enjoy! Don’t foget to swing by Jill Archer’s place on Friday, 9/21/12, to check out my interview with her. If you don’t know (and how could you not?) her debut Urban Fantasy, DARK LIGHT OF DAY was just released so please show some love, I’d hate for her to think I don’t have any friends!
I discovered a very painful and humbling lesson recently…you never really grow up.
Let’s sketch you a picture of me, so you have a starting point. I am a mature (okay… over thirty… fine… forty) woman who has labored long and hard to raise two wonderful boys in this crazy world while trying to be the Suzy homemaker partner (minus the cooking part) to her hubby of fifteen years (and that’s no easy feat!) while handling both a job that pays the bills and following that illusive dream of being a writer. Somewhere in there I also have to lay claim to a walking fur rug, a pair of even more mature than me in-laws, a rowdy critique group known as the 7 Evil Dwarves, a couple of very close friends and, most importantly, my mom.
One of the things I treasure most about my mom is the fact that through the years I’ve had a fellow reader with whom I can spend hours discussing plots, character motivation, description and world building of the books we’ve both read. We’d delve into the worlds of Lisa Jackson, Iris Johansen, Nora Roberts and so many others. All those romances she had tucked neatly into piles while I was growing up, became my own personal library. She pretended not to notice when I’d sneak them out to read while I was in high school. And even when my tastes turned to those stories where magic and mayhem existed side by side, we still found common ground for our discussions.
Now when I was offered my first publishing contract with Black Opal Books for my Urban Fantasy, Shadow’s Edge, she was the first one I called. I mean, come on… she’s been there from the get go. From the moment I took over my spot at the dinner table with my electric typewriter, which never moved until I graduated from high school, through the whole artistic college years where I fought not to get a “real” job so as not to dilute my writing dream, to when I wised up about the fact a roof and food might be good things to aspire to, my mom has never once told me I wouldn’t make it. Instead, she never faltered in her belief of me and my ability to actually get my stories in print. So of course I’m going to call her so I can ramble in this really high pitch voice only my walking fur rug could probably hear, about how “I GOT A CONTRACT!” Of course, the panicked breathing was probably a dead giveaway of what was happening since I’m not sure she could actually hear the words in-between the squeals. Regardless, she’s my biggest cheering squad.
The greatest conversation I could ever have occurred shortly after my Urban Fantasy, Shadow’s Edge, came out. Within days she called me to tell me how this was the first time she actually enjoyed reading an Urban Fantasy story. I was so thrilled. My mom loves her romances and her romantic thrillers, so the fact that she had a hard time putting down my book? Even knowing she’s biased didn’t dampen my joy!
So the months pass, and my second UF, Shadow’s Soul is now off to my gorgeous and highly accomplished editor’s desk (no, seriously, she really is…I’m not sucking up!). I’m visiting my mom and my magnificent sister and my fabulous nieces, up north. We’re chatting away about writing and books and some of my earlier reviews, when suddenly the conversation turns.
Magnificent sister turns to me and says, “So, since one of the reviewers mentioned there weren’t any sex scenes in your first book, what happens in the second?” A waggle of eyebrows follows.
Remember the part about me being a “mature” woman? Yeah, well, I can feel my cheeks doing their impression of a sunburn. “Umm…yeah…there’s a couple of scenes in the second one.”
Magnificent sister with evil twinkle in her eye, “ Reeeaallly?”
I try really hard not to squirm because I am a mature adult talking to other mature adults about something perfectly natural…maybe if I say it enough I’ll actually believe it. “Yes, really. So about lunch tomorrow…”
My bid for a subject change whizzes by like a mosquito and is batted away by my sister who’s moving from Magnificent to Tease. “I’m not so sure I’m going to be able to read these knowing my sister has written them. “
Under the bright eyed visages of both my mom and my sister I scramble for some pithy response. I come up empty. Instead I say, “So you can skip the pages.” I pause and then quickly spit out, “Actually, I’d be thrilled if you and mom would both skip those pages. I’ll even send you the page numbers if it helps.”
Feminine laughter feels the living room and I get the feeling I’m completely out of luck with this one. Here’s the thing, when I hit those scenes in Shadow’s Soul, I knew my mom was going to be reading them and I don’t care how old you are, there is something about your mom getting a peek into your lurid side that takes a good twenty plus years off your age. The hardest part about those sex scenes? Turning off that little voice in my head that kept up a running commentary: Really? You think that’s a good word choice? Your mom is going to see this, didn’t she raise you better than that? The little tsking sound a few minutes later—“Really? Good girls don’t even think about that! Are you trying to embarrass your darling mother?”
It took a great deal of very loud music to drown that pesky little voice out, but I managed. But still, the urge to close your office door, take your phone off the hook and the quick side-glances to make sure your children/spouse/friends aren’t peeking over your shoulder never fade. Seriously, no matter how old you are, in some things you just never get to grow up!
September 15, 2012
The Secret Ingredient is…SIMPLICITY!
Yes, I do realize I watch waaayyy too many cooking shows–Iron Chef, Master Chef, Hell’s Kitchen, Chopped–I can only excuse it because I CAN’T COOK. I’m not even ashamed of this little facet of my personality. It’s a given and all who know me are currently nodding their head sagely (yep, you can do that) as they remember numerous incidents that support this claim. However, the opening line from Iron Chef fit perfectly for this little post.
I’m not sure how many of you out there have children that have been inducted into the hive mind of a little computer game known as MINECRAFT, but my Prankster Duo are devote practitioners. This morning as I’m taking the younger one off to school, he couldn’t wait to share his plethora of MINECRAFT song parodies with me. (Yes, they were amusing and some were really well done, surprisingly enough!) But it got me to thinking–why is it in this day and age of some the best computer game graphics EVER–children are thrilled with a game made up of pixellated graphics that would make the original PONG blush? I live with massive computer gamers/geeks/whatever you want to label them, and I’ve shaken my head as they are enthralled for hours by the beauty and stunningly frightening realistic graphics of their chosen games. The artwork is mind-blowing and I swear if I could figure out a way to have some of those artists do my covers, I’d be thrilled.
Sorry, got a little sidetracked.
So what’s the appeal of MINECRAFT versus, say Sky Rim or Arkham Asylum or one of those other epic computer games?
Simplicity.
As I wove my way home through rain slicked streets this morning, this little revelation set off a chain reaction.
I’m at the dreaded middle section of book 3. You know that part–where you start to wonder if your story is really all that enthralling, are your characters sporting enough dimensions to hold readers, maybe it was fluke I managed to get the other books done? Yeah, that big black hole most writers hit smack dab in the middle of their creations. It sucks. And it means that I’ve struggled the last couple of weeks to keep my story moving forward. Buried under all these doubts, it’s hard to find your way out. So I shut down my Macbook, went to lunch with someone I’m blessed to call friend and critique partner–Snarky Dwarf. Over some luscious Mexican food, she helped me start an escape route.
Funny thing was, as we were digging it hit me–plots don’t have to rival a soap opera labyrinth. Not only will you get lost as you write, but your readers will get tired of trying to find their way and leave. Your plots, no matter how deep they go, should be spawned in simplicity. It’s your characters that should possess all the secret nooks and crannies that make your story shine. Yet, no matter how complex your characters are their underlying motivations have to be just as simple. There are three basic human emotions that tend to help motivate your villain to grandiose heights: jealousy, vengeance, greed. These three also make for some really good reasons on why your hero/heroine is under attack.
So while I may never grace the stage of Iron Chef, I give you the secret ingredient for your writing dish–Simplicity!
What emotions do you use to help motivate your characters?
September 8, 2012
How Deep are Your Characters?
Good morning, loyal Swamp followers. Today I wanted to ask you all the question–how do you add depth to your characters?
To follow the wandering path of my mind behind this particular question, here’s the map:
Starting point: While reading some of my fav authors lately (Gun Metal Magic by Ilona Andrews, Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh, Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire, and Widow’s Web by Jennifer Estep–just the first handful mind you) my skin has been sporting this lovely green tint as I consider how they work they magic they do with their character development.
Jumps to: I really want that depth in my stories *whine whine* . I wonder if they sell magical potion at a discount? If so, where could I get it?
Sharp left to: If I got it, would it taste funny? You know I really should consider going out to a gourmet shop of some kind and checking out some seasonings. I need to get better descriptions of differing scents for Xander.
Quick U-turn to: How does one get that level of real personality into their characters? What emotional trauma must I inflict on my characters to dress them in such gorgeously realistic personality garments?
Break the speed limit, cover a few miles: How much therapy would most UF characters have to under go before they were considered “normal”?
Scenic Outlook stop: Remember that workshop? You know the one where they talked about character arcs? Okay, so we need…history, motivators, personality quirks, strengths, weaknesses, lions, tigers and bears…oh my!
Back on highway: Character depth equals making your characters into real people, which is far from easy because every individual personality is made up of a myriad of decisions, behaviors, attitudes, etc. So I guess that means to give your characters depth, you have to…
Big Exit Sign Ahead: Give them a chance to grow into a person through your story.
My Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor claims I am directly challenged. After plotting out this little tangent, I think I have to agree. However, I’m really curious, how do you think you develop character depth when writing?
September 1, 2012
Challenge Accepted…
Yes, that’s right I have been challenged by lovely and talented Liv Rancourt who’s nominated me for One Lovely Blog award. This time around the object of the game is to list seven things about yourself, then nominate other bloggers for the award. Liv’s list of 7 was her 7 all-time favorite vamp novels (which if you know her, is not a surprise).
Now that it’s my turn, I have to admit that deciding which list of 7 to post was tough. There are so many to choose from–Urban Fantasy series, All-Time Fav Music, my Fav movies that make you think, you see how long the list can be? Since October is coming and for some odd reason Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor has been obsessed with firearms, I decided to go with My Top Seven Weapon Choices for the Impending Zombie Apocalypse!
So don your Kevlar, add your war paint, it’s time to get down to business of putting those Zombies in their place (or places as the case may be!)
First up, since I’m a blade woman is the updated version of a katana, the Apokatana found at Zombie Tools. This tactical version of a tried and true blade has a stronger spine than the traditional katana. With a lethal 28 inches you can be sure to keep those corpse shamblers at arm’s length while taking their heads off!
My second blade of choice would be the Machete. I don’t care which one you grab, just make it a good one. This is a great weapon for those who didn’t have the time to study martial arts before the dead rose. Not only good for carving your way through the moaning hoards of cannibals stumbling towards you, it can also help you slash your way through heavy foliage to help speed your getaway.
Now on to my third weapon of choice. This one Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor highly recommends and has even offered to pick it up for our anniversary. The Benelli M4. This gas-operated shotgun is great for us smaller peeps who don’t want to find ourselves sitting on our butts after firing. This way we can keep our feet and take out as many Zombies as possible.
Now, if you have the Apokatana and the Benelli you may find yourself unable to take on any more weapons, but I disagree. Now my choice for weapon number four is certainly dependent on individual preferences but no matter what you choose a small firearm is needed for those tighter situations where you just don’t have time to pull out the big guns. We’re a Sig Sauer type family, so we’d lean towards the Sig Sauer P226, not just because SEALs tend to like this gun, but come on, it’s dependable no matter the environment. When the apocalypse hits, there will be more than the environment to worry about!
Choice number five is not only practical but looks totally cool! This is Cold Steel’s Trench Hawk. It’s a great weapon for tight spaces, plus you can also chop up downed power poles and abandoned houses for firewood!
Up in sixth place are those items you can use that you already own. Most of us just don’t have the time to stock up on a plethora of firearms, so if the Zombies are knocking, just look around your kitchen. A butcher knife, a rolling-pin, a solid candlestick, that cast iron skillet, even that hammer you shoved in the junk drawer. They’ll all work and don’t require years of training to use effectively. A little messy, but when you’re in the kitchen, messes happen!
And last but not least because no matter the quality of your accessories you must look good while taking out the undead. Some will prefer the camo look, others leathers, and still others will cross styles. Now if you’re in the hotter climes leather may be out. It can get sticky, but if you haven’t been able to round-up some Kevlar, you really need to make sure your clothing can take a beating, weather the blood and brains they’ll encounter each day, and may even double as weapons. I’d mention stiletto heels, but everyone knows you can’t run in those things.
I’m sure I’ve missed some, but what would you put up for your list of favorite 7′s?
And because I like to share the love, here are seven bloggers who I’m tagging for the next round of the One Lovely Blog award:
Amber Kallyn
Mona Karel
Rachel Firasek
Michelle Miles
Adriana Ryan
Empi Baryeh
Ciara Knight
Share the love and give them a moment by checking out their blogs!
August 25, 2012
To NaNo or Not To NaNo?
Did you see that blur? Were you able to make out the bits of green of Spring 2012? Or the shimmery waves of heat of Summer 2012? Did you miss the burnished coppers of the impending Fall 2012? I sure did. As a matter of fact, when I bothered to poke my head up lately, do you know what was staring back at me?
NaNo.
Oh yes, it is time to start wondering the age-old question-To NaNo or not to NaNo.
Last year, I wimped out. I used the fact I was tying up Shadow’s Soul not to participate, but let’s be honest…NaNo is intimidating.
For those of you not familiar with NANO, never fear, it will soon become the relative/friend who dropped by for a night and didn’t leave for years. NaNo is National Writing Novel Month and is also identified by the name NaNoWriMo. It happens every November–no matter if the Mayans are correct or not, it will still be here in 2013. It will haunt your computer, stalk you in the wee hours of the morning, and taunt you late at night while you’re enjoying your primetime shows. It whispers to you–”Come on, you know you could be putting these voices to paper here!” One month, where every day you write-1 line or 1,000, doesn’t matter. What matters is you write–no Inner Editors allowed. They’ve been banned to the kiddie table in the corner and they are not allowed to speak.
So although I’m still working on Shadow’s Moon, trying desperately to drag it to completion by the end of the year, I’m actually starting to listen to the sibilant whispers of NaNo. Perhaps I’ll start doing some research, sit down for coffee with some characters and poke around, play God and create some new worlds…tempting.
Anyone else out there starting to get the itch to prepare? Are you looking at a HazMat suit to get through it or are you more the flip-flop and Hawaiian shirt type? C’mon, share…we want to know who else is going to go insane in November.
PS–Come on over to Cynthia Woolf’s place on the 25th of August as I pop over for an interview. If you comment you get a chance to win something cool!
August 18, 2012
Manipulation or Creativity?
I’m struggling along with Book 3, manipulating plots and running my characters through various emotional/physical guantlets because, hey, I’m a writer. Being a Master of Pain (physcial, emotional, slight or devasting) is in our DNA. So here’s my question for the week…as writers or creators (depending on your POV) are you manipulating your characters to get what you want or are the manipulating you? And is manipulation the right word or is it another aspect of creativity?
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a complete pantser–I shuddered at the concept of an outline, but I do have to have major plot points like massive “You are going in the right direction” signposts. Here’s the probelm…the journey between signposts can be a well delinated path or a big black hole of chaos. I’ve found over the years that I’m a character driven writer–they are the ones who direct the story, drive the plots and are the basis for the horrific twists and turns they encounter. My characters do not always like me and I’m pretty sure both Raine and Xander have a photo of me somwhere where in they practice various throwing skills with lethally sharp implements. I’m okay with that (most of the time) but sometimes I think they get their own back by jerking me around on a creative leash.
I shouldn’t complain, because I love writing my stories. But some days it makes me want to pull out my hair and chase them down with my own sharp pointy weapon (a huge fountain pen dipped in red!).
My point to ponder this week: who’s manipulating who in the creative process and is it really such a bad thing?
August 11, 2012
Storyboarding: Urban Fantasy
Okay I’m cheating this week. Instead of talking at you, I’m going to share with you. I had the opportunity to actually sit down and enjoy a whole hour of uninterrupted time which meant I got to actually watch this entire video. This is the first episode of Geek and Sundry’s Story Board that aired Tuesday, 8/7/12. They got Jim Butcher (rockin’ author of the Dresden Files), Diana Rowland (on my to-read list for White Trash Zombie), Emma Bull (one of the first to be identified as an Urban Fantasy author) and Patrick Rothfuss (major master of the beard here!) all chatting about Urban Fantasy-what makes a story Urban Fantasy and how UF authors create their worlds and characters.
Whether you’re an established writer or new to the game, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
In case the video link doesn’t work, here’s the direct link:
Story Board Episode 1: Urban Fantasy: Threat or Menace?
–Wicked
