Christina Bauer's Blog, page 49
January 5, 2019
On Writing Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Yes, that sounds whiny.
No, I won’t back down.
Please allow me to illustrate with one of the classic lines from Western humor:
A guy walks into a bar
These six small words tell a sizable story based on a world that’s already built. For example:
A guy. In the Western world, this means a white guy, not too old, not too young.
Walks into. Duh.
A bar. I don’t need to say anything more than these two words, and you know this is not a nightclub or a speakeasy. It’s a low-ceilinged space with a wrap-around counter and bartender who’s ready to be asked a question.
Now, let’s do the same phrase in Sci-Fi.
An alien sloughs in a mojocenter.
What the WHAT? What kind of alien? Why does it slough? Is ‘it’ really a he or she? What the hell is a mojocenter?
See what I’m talking about? Pain in the ass.
In this case, let’s say that this is a snake alien who’s losing his skin (hence the sloughing) and is in his equivalent of a bar (that would be the mojocenter). Now, we come to the classic debate of ‘show versus tell.’ This is a writer’s game. As a creative diva, I don’t want to just say that he’s a snake alien, I’d rather show it. Maybe I have him look in a mirror and assess his appearance. After that, he could try to move and lose some of his skin…It’s that time of the year! Finally, the bartender at the mojocenter is gives him the evil eye for leaving his skin on the floor.
By this point, I’ve spent about a page and a half inside the alien’s head without any real action or dialog. Not good.
Thus comes the sci-fi and fantasy writer diva’s dilemma. Do I stick with the page and a half… or do I just do some asides that get the same thing done fast, like: ‘It’s so unfair. Snake aliens like me are never welcome in mojocenters when we’re sloughing off our skin. Doesn’t matter that we need a drink, same as every other genetically engineered humanoid in the galaxy.’
Wow! Three sentences and BOOM! We’re done. Now we can get into the action and character development. See where I’m going with this? It’s always a tough judgment call on ‘show versus tell’ when it comes to intense world building. It depends on the scene, the pace of the story, and a bunch of other things, not the least of which is ‘I dunno. That just works for me.’
At this point, I always ask myself: Self, why do all the extra work to build out an intricate world? It’s a crap ton of extra hassle. Plus, once it’s done, there’s still all the other work of creating a good story. In other words, what does the man do in the bar, or the alien in the mojocenter?
After much contemplation, I have decided that only a nut job would have the patience for all of this sci-fi and fantasy stuff…And I am one such nut job.
Viva la world building!
The post On Writing Sci-Fi & Fantasy appeared first on Monster House Books.
January 1, 2019
Mini Book Trailer – ALIEN MINDS!
If for some reason you don’t see the video, please refresh your browser because TECHNOLOGY.
You can also click in this link.
ALIEN MINDS
Book 1, Dimension Drift Novels
By Christina Bauer
eBook ISBN: 9781945723254
Print ISBN: 9781945723599
Buy Now: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
Check Out: Fav Book Quotes
Dimension Drift Reading Order
Dystopian adventures with science, snark, and hot aliens
Prequels
1. Scythe
2. Umbra
Novels
1. Alien Minds (Spring 2019)
2. ECHO Academy (Spring 2020)
3. Drift Warrior (Spring 2021)
The post Mini Book Trailer – ALIEN MINDS! appeared first on Monster House Books.
December 30, 2018
Top 10 Bucket List
Number Ten
See the Pyramids of Egypt. Since pyramids are cool.
Number Nine
Write 100 books. Just because I can. Maybe.
Number Eight
Eat my weight in pizza (I may have already reached this one)
Number Seven
Have a sandwich named after me (more food stuff, yeah!)
Number Six
Never watch the movie Bucket List
Number Five
Bring Huzzah back as a catch phrase
Number Four
Get free spa treatments for life
Number Three
Never go on a cruise (I watched too much Love Boat as a kid, which ruined this for me. Remember the episode with Ernest Borgnine? Yeah, that sucked.)
Number Two
Tell those meddling kids to get off my lawn
Number One
Grow gray hair down to my waist, wear long white dresses, and have children call me Mrs B (that’s really three things but I got inspired)
The post Top 10 Bucket List appeared first on Monster House Books.
December 23, 2018
HO HO HO FREE FREE FREE
Here’s some free books and a raffle.
– ANGELBOUND is FREE: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
– CURSED is FREE: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
– SCYTHE is FREE: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
– WOLVES AND ROSES is FREE: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes / GooglePlay
– MOONLIGHT AND MIDTOWN is a measly 99 cents: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes / GooglePlay
And be sure to enter our Holiday Raffle!
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December 17, 2018
Shifters And Glyphs – Reviews And Quotes
Book Quotes
Readers have consistently called out these passages as their absolute favs from SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS!
What do you think?
Reviews
Bloggers are talking about SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS!
SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS
Buy Now: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks / Googleplay
The post Shifters And Glyphs – Reviews And Quotes appeared first on Monster House Books.
December 16, 2018
Reviews Are In For SCYTHE!
As a recap, there was a little disagreement between Writer-Me and Business-Me about redoing this novella, and it went a little something like this…
Author Me: I shall rewrite SCYTHE.
Business Me: Forget it! We just released that novella. No one changes stuff that’s already live. Drop that idea right now.
Author Me: (Sticks fingers in ears) La la la, I can’t hear you.
Two weeks pass. The la la la-ing never ends. Nothing gets written. Deadlines loom. Panic ensues. Business Me caves.
Business Me: Fine, do whatever you want.
Writer Me: Mwah hah hah!
Which is why I’m so excited to share these early reviews! Whew!!!
About the Novella
TITLE: SCYTHE, Dimension Drift Prequel #1 – Extended Version
GENRE: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
AVAILABILITY: On iBooks, Amazon, GooglePlay, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble
FORMAT: ebook and print
LIST PRICE: $3.99 (eBook) and $9.95 (print)
The post Reviews Are In For SCYTHE! appeared first on Monster House Books.
December 11, 2018
Zinnia Teaser Book Trailer
To find out more, check out this short book trailer—though it be brief, it be FIERCE!—and click here to find out more about this title!
PROTIP: If the video doesn’t show for some reason, please stay on this page and refresh your browser. Curse you, technology!
Reminder: For the book description and all that good stuff, click here.
The post Zinnia Teaser Book Trailer appeared first on Monster House Books.
December 9, 2018
Top 5 Tips for New Authors
I’ve written more than 15 young adult fantasy-romance novels. Recently, the lovely folks at Writers And Authors asked for my top five tips for new writers. Here goes!
FIVE. Read In Your Genre. A lot.
You may have heard this before, but it’s worth saying again. And again. And again. Now one spin I’ll add here is to invest time in finding books that are unusual: a strong voice, a different style of world building, you get the idea. What you put into your head is what comes out of it. If you’re reading the same things as everyone else, you’ll sound like everyone else. Which if that’s your goal, go you! If not, be aware and selective about what you choose to finish.
FOUR. Be Prepared to Suck.
Think of your favorite author. That person you idolize? When the started writing, they sucked. I sucked hard for ages. It takes a long time to build your chops and voice. That’s an okay part of the process, as is tuning out the naysayers who tell you that your work isn’t good enough.
THREE. Find Someone To Kick Your Literary Ass.
This can be an advanced degree. Or a writing group. You just need someone who is going to give you honest feedback without stifling your voice. You can do it!
TWO. Accept Certain Criticism As A Gift.
After 15 books, I’ve gotten a little more balanced about so-called bad reviews. Here’s my rule: if someone gives you one or two stars, then they aren’t your reader and never will be. Buh-bye! That said, a three star review with some negative feedback is gold. This is someone who wanted to love what you did but had some pointers. Accept that for the gift it is.
ONE. Never Forget That You Are Awesome.
Let’s be honest. Writers are the BEST. We create stories that open minds and drive beauty, even though we’re trapped in a world that values piling up the most stuff before you die. It can’t be said enough…
Never forget that you are awesome.
The post Top 5 Tips for New Authors appeared first on Monster House Books.
December 1, 2018
2019 Release Schedule
Great news! I’ll have seven awesome releases for you in 2019, including five full novels, one novella, one audiobook, and one re-release in Russian. (Yes, you read that right. Russian.)
:::Does Michael Jackson ‘happy noise’ impression—She-heee-OH!—followed by a quick moonwalk around the kitchen:::
Here’s a highlight video… be sure to scroll down for even more details!
February – Angelbound Origins LINCOLN
Don’t miss this new full novel in the ANGELBOUND series! It tells more of the pre-story from the point of view of everyone’s favorite book boyfriend, Prince Lincoln, and includes extra content. WOOT WOOT!!!
March – Dimension Drift UMBRA
The second prequel novel for the YA urban fantasy series, DIMENSION DRIFT, will launch in January. This one is written from Thorne’s point of view…
April – Dimension Drift ALIEN MINDS
Meet Meimi Archer. Science genius and smarts who may or may not have the hots for her new classmate (who may or may not be an alien). Fun!
June – Angelbound Offspring ZINNIA
Zinnia is raised to be the vessel of reincarnation for her dragon forebear, Chimera. Then she starts to remember her true past and damn, is she ever pissed. Watch out, all ye big bads who lied to her!
July – Angelbound Origins DARK LANDS Audiobook
In THRAX, Myla wakes up to discover her husband Lincoln has been replaced by a body double, so she must travel t earth and save him before she must give birth. How hard can it be?
August – ANGELBOUND in Russian!
A teenage reader in Moscow translated Angelbound into Ангельские узы. Click the button below to find out the inside story Valya and ANGELBOUND.
September – Angelbound Origins THE BRUTAL TIME
Myla and Lincoln must travel back in time to ensure the Thrax form into a demon fighting force. And if our fav couple can’t get the job done? Everyone they love will disappear. No pressure.
October – Magicorum SLIPPERS AND THIEVES
This fall, the story of Cinderella gets retold as you’ve never seen it before with SLIPPERS AND THIEVES. Click below to find out more!
Enter Our Holiday Raffle
Congratulations to the winners from last month’s raffle: Mona C, Susanti, Mandy W, Shirley S, Jasmine B and Burma T! This month’s giveaway celebrates the launch of CRADLED… Be sure to enter today!
Something you want to see? A book you can wait for? Let me know on social media or via cbauer (at) monsterhousebooks.com!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorBauer/
Twitter: @CB_Bauer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christina_c...
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November 29, 2018
Making Of A Cover: ECHO ACADEMY
Here’s one showing the making of my latest cover: ECHO ACADEMY!
If the video isn’t showing for some reason, you can check it out on YouTube by clicking here.
And you can find out more about the book at Amazon, Kobo, and GooglePlay
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