Christina Bauer's Blog, page 47
March 4, 2019
New Reading & Signing Announced!
WHAT: Author panel, reading and signing
WHEN: Saturday, March 16th, 3PM
WHERE: Barnes and Noble Livingston, 112 Eisenhower Parkway, Livingston, NJ 07039. 973-758-1317
WHO ELSE IS ON THE PANEL: Ummmm, not sure about that. Other YA authors, I think. Full disclosure: I’m on deadline and not very detailed oriented right now.
WHY: They asked me, so why not?
Want more news? Visit my blog here.
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March 2, 2019
My Lincoln Top Five
My Top Five Highlights of Writing Lincoln
(and by highlights, I mean it was a pain in the ass)
As part of the launch tour for my new book, LINCOLN, the lovely folks at My Bookish Escapes have asked me to list my top five highlights of writing the book’s hero. (Honestly, they asked for ten but I got blabby, so it’s five.)
So with that prelude, behold my top five!
Picking character names should be this easy. In reality? Not so much.
Number Five
Lincoln makes a point to remember everyone’s name. He may be a prince, but he truly values everyone’s job and wants them to be acknowledged. Sweet, am I right? Sure! But what a pain the ass!!! I have to come up with distinctive names for each person as well as a unique description and backstory because that’s how I roll. It’s easier with Myla, by the way, because she just makes up names for people. Right now, she’d probably call me Pissy Writer Chickie.
A cute father-son picture to highlight that, unlike Lincoln’s father, most parents work hard not to suck.
Number Four
Writing Lincoln’s relationship to his father Connor is downright painful. Our hero is such an honest and noble dude, and his dad is a total dick. I just want to punch Connor in the throat! But this is something Lincoln needs to learn to overcome, and Myla is certainly a key part of that. That said, I still hate making some of my characters suffer. With others it’s like, suffer away you BEY-OTCH!!!
Ye olde fashioned dictionary, home of vocabulary.
Number Three
Lincoln’s voice is really lyrical. He uses big vocabulary words and complex sentence structure. It’s a bit of a pain to get the rhythm down, but once I’m in his head, he’s fun because…
Is there anything funnier than stock photos of people laughing?
Number Two
Lincoln has a very dry sense of humor. Part of his legacy is from England and it shows in the witty way he looks at the world. This doesn’t really belong on the list because it’s a fun part, but I had to throw it in anyway because LINCOLN. Now on to something that is rough…
Like this picture shows, Lincoln had lots of hidden ideas going on in his handsome noggin.
Number One
Working through Lincoln’s inner torture with Myla is GAH GAH GAH!!! It was so hard to know the whole time what he was really thinking, and yet realize I had a half a book to get to the fun and lovey bits. Before, you know, other stuff happens and it gets super tricky again.
:::slaps hands over mouth because NO SPOILERS:::
So there you have it: my top five highlights of writing Lincoln. Check out some other Lincoln-related stuff on my blog!
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LINCOLN Launch Savings
DUTY BOUND, the prequel to Angelbound FREE
Buy Now: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
ANGELBOUND is only $.99 cents
Buy Now: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
LINCOLN is here!
Buy Now: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
Want more LINCOLN launch fun? Here’s some more cool stuff:
– Five Highlights of Myla & Lincoln
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February 28, 2019
Reviewers Are Talking About LINCOLN!
It’s the story of the events of Angelbound as told by our favorite part-angel prince. I decided to do a bunch of stuff differently for this book, namely by adding a new adventure on top of the Angelbound framework. Nail biter! It’s super exciting to see how reviewers are reacting! Take a look…
Want to find out more about LINCOLN? Visit my blog here.
The post Reviewers Are Talking About LINCOLN! appeared first on Monster House Books.
My Top Moments – Lincoln And Myla
As part of the launch tour for my new book, LINCOLN, the lovely folks at Whatever You Can Still Betray have asked me to list my top five highlights of writing Lincoln and Myla. (Honestly, they asked for ten but I got blabby, so it’s five.)
So with that prelude, behold my top five!
A medieval king a la Arthur. This makes sense, just hang with me here.
Number Five: Lincoln Seeing Myla Rising From The Lake.
In this scene, Myla is covered in doxy demons and laughing. This section was loosely based on Excalibur being lifted up by the Lady of the Lake. It’s part of the Arthurian legends (hence the picture!) and, as such, I think it shows the union of male power (sword) with female leadership energy (a lake lady, a round table, right before might, not being a dick in armor, you get the idea.) I write a ton on this subject elsewhere if you’re interested. Basically, in writing ANGELBOUND I wanted to re-launch the concept of female leadership energy, and that included having a hero who still respects that power. So this scene—and its reliance on Arthurian legend—is one of my favourites.
Magic and the Lady of the Lake.
Number Four: The Fountain Kiss
On that same vein, I love Lincoln and Myla’s kiss by the fountain. It ties into how he first saw her by the lake and—instead of being threatened by her energy and battle power—he feels it awaken something inside him. Joy. Love. Rapture. Again, a big part of my goal with female battle energy is proving that a man can be obsessed with it and yet remain a smoking-hot prince at the same time. This scene was meant to reinforce that concept. It also ties into the Arthurian legend of the Lady of the Lake.
A knight from a strained glass window.
Number Three: Mister The Prince
There are so many ‘Lincoln is a douchebag’ scenes from Angelbound that are re-explained in LINCOLN. GAH! I want to dissect them all here, but SPOILERS. Instead, I’ll just say that Lincoln has always been consistently a nobleman (as in “Noble and a MAN,” as Camilla puts it) and that’s true in Angelbound. GAH GAH GAH!!!
A badass medieval demon. Not a tinea demon but still … eew
Number Two: The Tinea Fight
I love the scene where Lincoln and Myla take down the tinea demon. In my work, I don’t like one person to fight while someone else hides in a corner (in fact, I have a rule against ever writing such a scene!). I’m also not a fan of two people fighting in separate corners of the room. In my opinion, it’s a more powerful symbol when the couple fights in tandem because, in my experience, that’s how life really works. Long story short, I spend a lot of time thinking up battle scenes where the couple works together and therefore become more powerful than they would if they’d gone after the big bad separately. The tinea was my first try at this, and I’m still happy with the result.
An angelic badass warrior, yeah!
Number One: The Tithe Fight
On that note, I’m super happy with the new battle scene at the end of LINCOLN. It’s got more of the teamwork stuff like the tinea battle, but it’s also funny as fuck (at least to me!) I work in a shared start-up space, and my neighbor says she always knows when I’m on a roll because I laugh out loud. Never laughed harder than when writing the end of LINCOLN!!
And there you have it: my top five highlights of writing Lincoln and Myla. Want more posts and LINCOLN info? Check out my blog today!
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February 26, 2019
LINCOLN Is Here!
As of February 26th, the new Angelbound Book 2 is live at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Googleplay … along with a launch Rafflecopter, early reviews, and launch savings across the series!
PLUS: Curious how I decided to write this book? Take a look at the VLOG below:
And here’s more about the book itself…
Lincoln
Book 2, Angelbound Origins
By Christina Bauer
Print ISBN 9781945723636
eBook ISBN 9781945723377
Audiobook forthcoming
***Experience the events of Angelbound from Prince Lincoln’s point of view…And then enjoy an all-new part of his story!*** Includes a bonus novella, DUTY BOUND
When it comes to fighting demons, Prince Lincoln is the greatest warrior in the history of his people, the thrax. Now Lincoln faces his hardest fight yet…and it’s not on a traditional battlefield.
Lincoln is falling in love. And the girl is part demon.
Between a fated dance at the Ryder mansion…a life-changing walk through a hedgerow maze…and a massive battle with none other than the King of Hell…Lincoln realizes that he wants to share his life with Myla Lewis, the part-demon girl who has captured his heart. However, an evil thrax noble—the powerful Earl of Acca—is prepared to do anything to stop Lincoln and Myla from having a future.
But Lincoln won’t give up on his Myla. Ever.
To fight Aldred, Lincoln works to create a different kind of marriage—an Alliance of the lesser thrax houses against Acca. Sadly, just as Lincoln starts to makes some progress, the nobles who’ve joined his Alliance begin to vanish. Is Aldred behind the disappearances, or is someone else vying for power? When Lincoln discovers the truth, it upends his entire world, threatening his future with Myla in ways no one could ever have imagined.
Publisher’s Note: Christina Bauer is a non-linear thinker who came up with ARMAGEDDON and then went back and wrote some earlier books. This is why you’ll see ARMAGEDDON (Book 7) and the Offspring series available before THE BRUTAL TIME (Book 6). We’ve told her to stop this practice, but she keeps giving us lewd hand gestures in response. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience.
Check Out: Sample Chapter / Top Reviews / Fav Book Quotes / Videos
Buy Now: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
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February 19, 2019
LINCOLN Launch Tour: Meet The Bloggers
There are tons of goodies for this tour; check out the list below to find some inside secrets, top ten lists, and other cool content. You may even discover your next favorite book blog!!!
Thanks for checking out the tour …
Week One
February 25th
–tfaulcbookreviews >> Excerpt
–Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author >> Excerpt
–Angel’s Guilty Pleasures >> Top 10 List
–diary of a wannabe writer >> Review
February 26th
–My Bookish Escapades >> Top 10 List
–Bee’s Blog on Books >> Review
–Character Madness and Musings >> Excerpt
February 27th
–Hometown Girl Living in a Writer’s World >> Excerpt
–Adventures in Writing >> Excerpt
–The Book Junkie Reads . . . >> Review
February 28th
–Viviana MacKade >> Guest post
–Book Reviews by Steph >> Excerpt
–Whatever You Can Still Betray >> Top 10 List
March 1st
–Book Addict >> Review
–Incidental Inspiration >> Review
–NytOwl Horrors >> Review
–The Avid Reader >> Review
Week Two
March 4th
–Jazzy Book Reviews >> Excerpt
–My Fiction Nook >> Top 10 List
–Oh Hey! Books. >> Interview
–Under Covers Book Blog >> Review
March 5th
–I Smell Sheep >> Guest post
–The Cover Contessa >> Interview
March 6th
–Haddie’s Haven >> Review
–Megan O’Russell >> Top 10 List
–Beauty & the Beastly Books >> Review
March 7th
–YA/NA Book Divas >> Excerpt
-hello-booklover.tumblr.com >> Review
–Book Butterfly in Dreamland >> Review
March 8th
–Books a Plenty Book Reviews >> Review
–Smada’s Book Smack >> Review
The post LINCOLN Launch Tour: Meet The Bloggers appeared first on Monster House Books.
February 17, 2019
On Writing & Voice
In the spirit of sharing best practices, here are some tips and tricks on voice that I learned from Bill:
1. Rhythm
Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter, which seems like an amazing feat until you consider that he didn’t even have cable, so what else was there to do? Still, he dropped the hidden rhythm when he was writing lower class folks. Someone with less education wouldn’t have that subtle, sweet beat to their voice. Clever move, dude.
At least he didn’t go for a comb over.
Here’s a great quote from Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain to show this point in action. I love how Twain breaks Tom’s up into short phrases using commas. You get a feel for the characters lyrical, almost sing-song voice.
“Five years ago you drove me away from your father’s kitchen one night, when I come to ask for something to eat, and you said I warn’t there for any good; and when I swore I’d get even with you if it took a hundred years, your father had me jailed for a vagrant. Did you think I’d forget? The Injun blood ain’t in me for nothing. And now I’ve got you, and you got to settle, you know!”
2. Vocabulary
Shakespeare made up phrases all the time. Catch a cold? That was him. Knock, knock? Also thanks to the bard. Getting into a character’s head means coming face-to-face with the fact that language is limited. To really capture how someone thinks, you often have to make up words or phrases. As a result, I love when a character has their own mini-vocabulary based on their history or lifestyle. Sure, you can pick out a cowboy in less than 50 words, but how about someone from a sorority versus a soccer team? Or both? So many things in our backstory affect our language in unexpected ways, which is fascinating stuff, IMHO.
The Globe Theater, where Shakespeare did his word-thing.
To see this idea in action, nothing beats A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess:
“Oh it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk round my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers.”
3. Mood & Motivation
Who was more of a depressive loser than Hamlet? Hard to think of anyone, really. I mean, dude, your dead Dad tells you to avenge him and you have to confirm it with a fake play? Most of us would pee our pants and then go do whatever our dead relative ordered. Hamlet’s sad state permeates his language. Example: “To be or not to be? That is the question.” No, the question is how soon are you going to do what your dead Dad asked you to, asshole? But when we’re depressed, it affects everything and that’s the power of voice. Here’s a great pic of Sir Laurence hugging a skull to illustrate this point:
What should I do? Oh, wait. There’s my dead dad to tell me. Still unclear.
Okay, to show this point, I’ll use one of my favorite passages from Ulysses by James Joyce. Hard to miss the emotion behind this one:
“I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.”
So, there you have it. Three lessons on voice from the dead bard himself. Now, I’ll close with my two cents on one of the classic Shakespeare questions of all time: was this guy really a royal masquerading as a nobody in his spare time?
Ah, no.
I think Shakespeare was someone obsessed with royalty, sure, but the dude worked his ass off. That’s not really the classic profile for royalty of this period. So, I vote with the group that says Shakespeare’s father was on the fringes of court and Billy Boy picked up a lot of stuff along the way. With any luck, this article helped you pick up a thing or two as well…
Want to check out more of my posts on writing and other random stuff? Click here.
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February 12, 2019
Cover Reveal: KAPS the dragon rock chick!
KAPS is a dragon rock chick with a sassy attitude. I can’t wait to share her with you all! As a refresher, the Angelbound Offspring series begins with MAXON, then goes on to his sister PORTIA. ZINNIA, KAPS and HUNTRESS (Books 3, 4 & 5) are Portia’s daughters with hunk master Tempest.
Description
Meet Kaps: renegade, dragon shifter, and general pain in her parent’s backsides. Kaps turns away from the dragon world in order to become a rock star on Earth. Everything is going well—Kaps has fans, fun, and unconditional support from her best friend Rhodes—until one concert in the desert changes everything. Kaps meets a rogue shifter named Zinnia who alters the rock star’s carefree life forever…
AVAILABILITY: Amazon / Kobo / Googleplay
GIVEAWAY: https://tinyurl.com/GiveMeKAPS
Oooh! She’s so cool, isn’t she? I want to be her, but I guess I’ll have to settle for just writing her story.
As a refresher, here are the other lady covers in the series. So happy to see Portia next to her daughters!
The cover reveal has a raffle because that’s how I roll. https://tinyurl.com/GiveMeKAPS
And here’s the full cover! Say it with me: oooooh, aaaaaah!
AVAILABILITY: Amazon / Kobo / Googleplay
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February 9, 2019
Armageddon The Poodle And Other Stuff I Changed In Angelbound
1. Armageddon started off as a small pink poodle
No, I am not kidding. I actually thought it would be awesome to have the King of Hell be a small pink poodle that talked. You know, the ‘last demon that you would have expected’ type thing? And yes, it was funny. But no, it totally didn’t work. That said, I loved the name.
2. Lincoln began as an antihero
I wanted Lincoln to be a badass. Sleep around. Drink. Be a dick. I even had an illegitimate child running around fun one draft. You know the drill. He was having none of it. The character fought me until he finally became who he was. A good and great man. Ahhh, Lincoln!
3. Myla was originally named Monica
And the book was titled Demonica (har har har). Unfortunately, there’s a restaurant in Boston’s North End called Monica’s, and we lived near said restaurant for about ten years. I kept trying to write Myla as a badass fighter, and I kept seeing the Monica’s logo in my mind: an overweight nun.
Needless to say, she got renamed Myla.
4. Walker was originally an agoraphobic fairy with a foul mouth
God DAMN, but I loved that foul-mouthed fairy. She did not belong in Myla’s story, but I kept her in there for the longest time anyway. Then, when I was rewriting the first chapter for the millionth time, Walker literally appeared. He wasn’t in my outline, but his portal materialized in the kitchen and out stepped my favorite ghoul. I haven’t given up on the potty-mouthed pixie, however. She’s slated for a future book in the Angelbound series.
So there you have it. Four unfit ideas (except for Monica, which was more of a word-association issue). TTFN!
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