Christina Bauer's Blog, page 76
August 20, 2015
August 13, 2015
Book Review: GHOST PLANET
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August 5, 2015
New Series Cover Reveal…Sign Ups Now Live!
Got a social media site? Click here to sign up and be one of the first to share the new cover on August 28th!
ABOUT CURSED, Book 1 of the Beholder Series
Although Elea’s the most powerful necromancer in history, she’s spent most of her nineteen years imprisoned in the Midnight Cloisters. Enchanted manacles keep her unique brand of soul magick in check. While the guards and initiates seem contented to torment her, the Cloister’s Mother Superior is obsessed with finding a safe way to destroy Elea, both body and soul.
Escape seems impossible until a handsome hunter named Asher offers to help. Elea takes a chance and soon develops feelings for the mysterious stranger. However, Asher may not be who he claims. Then again, Elea may not be, either…
Pre-orders are live, too! Please visit Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and Kobo.
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August 3, 2015
On Writing: Setting the Scene for Sci-Fi & Fantasy
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!
Like how I blah-blah-blah about writing? Be sure to check out…
My ultimate enemy
On writing voice
Why it’s OK to suck
Kickass worldbuilding articles
Writing action scenes
Writing softer scenes
Best freaking writing set-up
Everything I know about writing I learned from Liz Lemon
On bad reviews
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August 1, 2015
Calling all bloggers: Join the PORTIA Book Release Tour!
I’ve never done these before, but I guess if you sign up, you get all sorts of cool goodies for your blog. How’s that for a hard sell?
In all seriousness, independent bloggers have been the life blood of Ink Monster. Some people question (and hey, they still question!) if there’s a market for books that feature kick-ass heroines. Our bloggers prove them wrong time and again! We wanted to do something special to make you all really feel the love for this Fall’s release schedule, and I certainly hope that it works.
Thanks again for all your support!
CB
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July 28, 2015
July 22, 2015
July 14, 2015
ANGELBOUND ORIGINS Release Day!
This Angelbound world is now grouped into the Origins Series (Angelbound, Scala, and Armageddon) and the Offspring Series (Maxon and Portia). Hopefully, it makes more sense and set better expectations that Myla’s main story ends with Book 3. Plus, the bundle gives voracious readers (like me!) some always-on savings.
Can’t believe I wrote enough books to have my first series bundle! Thanks everyone for your support!
The series bundle is now available at:
Amazon
iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
New cover art below!
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July 8, 2015
Cover Reveal… Angelbound Origins Bundle!
Plus, as of July 14, we’ll have a sweet bundle available for Books 1-3 with some ‘always on’ savings! Check out the cover art below, and you can visit Amazon today for pre-orders.
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July 6, 2015
Today Only: Maxon is 99 Cents!
Every time an Ink Monster’s title gets selected for a big promo, I do a little happy dance. Why? Believe it or not, some folks questioned whether publishing kick-ass stories for girls was a viable business model for Ink Monster Books.
Fools, I tell you! Fools!
Below please find a picture of the deal in question in order to commemorate the day. And hey, if you want to share the love about Maxon, I made up a cute little URL: http://tinyurl.com/getmaxon
Thanks as always for your support. Now, let’s go kick some ass!
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