Intisar Khanani's Blog, page 15
January 28, 2014
Teaser Tuesday: A Quote from “Thorn”
Teaser Tuesday will feature quotes from books I’ve written, books I’m still writing, and gems from books I’m reading. Enjoy!
January 16, 2014
Cover Reveal – “Thorn” gets a makeover!
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For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed.
Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.
But powerful men have powerful enemies—and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometimes the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.
Cover Designer
About the Author
Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five.
Intisar currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters. Until recently, she wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department—which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy.
Intisar’s latest projects include a serial novella project titled The Sunbolt Chronicles, about a young thief with a propensity to play hero, and her arch-nemesis, a dark mage intent on taking over the Eleven Kingdoms. She’s also developing a companion trilogy to her debut novel Thorn, which will feature a new heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife.
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December 23, 2013
The Sticky Note Approach to Revision
I hate revision.
I’m just going to put that out there as the author of a book that went through thirteen revisions. I know there are authors out there who love it. For them, the first draft is agony. Once it’s down on paper, oooh! The fun begins. Me? The first draft is where the glory is. Everything afterwards? That just what you do because, you know, you’re an author. You gotta do it. It’s not like anyone else is going to.
When I first worked through revisions, back in my novice days (ha!), I printed out a copy of the novel in question, read through, marking in where edits belonged (sometimes bringing together feedback from two or three readers). And then I’d sit down before my computer and work through it. Easy-peasy.
Then I got serious about writing and developed a beta reading team. Yep. Team. For my novella Sunbolt, I got feedback from no less than ten beta readers in the first of two rounds of beta reading. Suddenly, working from a printout with my trusty purple pen looked like a recipe for certain failure. How was I even going to squeeze all my notes in, let alone make notes on what should be moved where? And did I really want to work through the manuscript ten times just finding where each edit belonged? Um, no.
So I set off on a search for a revision method that would work for me. I tried a few different methods, all tried and true by various authors, and was beginning to despair that I’d find anything that would work for me. I’ve used Excel for everything from business accounting to event planning–but I couldn’t make it work for revision. And then I discovered … sticky notes. You know, generic, find them at the dollar store, Post-It style notes. Those things are amazing. And here’s what I did with them…
I found me a half-used notebook (yes, I’m thrifty like that) and started writing headers on the pages, by and large reflecting the chapters in the book, in order. Things like: New Chapter One, Chapter: Betrayal, etc. Sometimes, if I was expecting a lot of edits for a chapter, I left two or three blank pages open following the header. Then, as I received back edits from each of my beta readers, I jotted down what I was going to use from their feedback on the sticky notes–just one thought / edit per note, as concisely and clearly as possible. This is big-picture editing, mind you–not grammar or language-focused line-editing. And…you guessed it! Once a sticky note for an edit came to life, it got stuck to the appropriate “chapter” page.
There are a few awesome things about working with sticky notes:
You can note that a scene needs to move, and then stick it where it goes. And then, when you change your mind, move the sticky, again and again and again.
When you complete that edit, you can peel off that sticky and move it to the back of your notebook. There is no sense of success like watching the padding at the back of your notebook grow, and watching your to-do stickies thin out to a mere one or two per chapter.
You can pick what part of your book you want to work on, reorder things, re-prioritize, color code by ink or sticky note color, and generally be as organized or chaotic as your little heart wishes
Your notes are sticky! They do not fall out when, inevitably, the baby grabs the notebook! (Or, in other households, a pet / sibling / significant other.)
What methods do you use to help you work through revisions?
December 15, 2013
Review of The Warlock by Deborah Lightfoot
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Fantasy / Epic Fantasy
Synopsis:
Drawn into the schemes of an angry wizard, Carin glimpses the place she once called home. It lies upon a shore that seems unreachable. To learn where she belongs and how to get there, the teenage traveler must decipher the words of an alien book, follow the clues in a bewitched poem, conjure a dragon from a pool of magic — and tread carefully around a seductive but volatile, emotionally scarred sorcerer who can’t seem to decide whether to love her or kill her.
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Review:
This is the first book in what promises to be a fascinating fantasy trilogy. Carin is a foundling with a secret or two even she isn’t aware of yet. Sent north by the wisewoman of her village, she stumbles into Lord Verek’s domain–and into some serious trouble. Verek if is a warlock with a tragic past, and while he does do occasional nice things, the man has some serious emotional baggage resulting in verbal, emotional and borderline physical abuse. I was right there with Carin, ready to escape him whenever possible, and not trusting him farther than … well, not trusting him, period. I kept waiting for him to come to his senses and redeem himself (he had to be the most frustratingly mean character I’ve ever met) but he hasn’t yet. I’m hoping for a major epiphany to hit him in Book 2!
In addition to the tense power dynamics in the relationship between Carin and Verek, this book also intrigued me by the way “Alice’s Adventures Through The Looking-Glass” was woven in. Yes, you read that right. There’s a riddle here, and it’s summed up in the appearance of that classical work in a fantastical land where it doesn’t belong. Oh, and Carin’s ability to read it. Let me stop there, before I say too much…
I did find the dialogue a little too formal for me. By this I mean that a character might state two or three thoughts, and then leave it open for another character to respond. So we end up with a series of mini-monologues rather than punchy or back-and-forth dialogue. This can work in some situations, but when people are angry (specifically, both people involved are angry), no one’s going to wait for someone to wind through three different points before jumping in to address the first point. In this way, the dialogue often lost its force for me.
The only other aspect of this book that frustrated me was Carin’s tendency to pick fights / say the wrong thing. Now, in general I wouldn’t have a thing to say about this: it’s a personality trait, and it’s hers, and look what she gets for it! But … but we’re given to understand that Carin hasn’t talked for most of her life–she started out completely silent after she was found as a child, not speaking a word for over a year. From that time till she left her town to head north, she stuck to silence as her best defense. So … I was expecting silence to be her strength. I wanted her to know when to keep silent; and how to use silence as a weapon. But she didn’t have that, and it puzzled me because it seemed inconsistent with her history.
Finally, The Warlock ends on a major cliffhanger–be warned. However, it’s a cliffhanger that’s cleared up within a few pages in the next book. (Yes, I immediately jumped in to find out!) I’m a little ambivalent on that score. As an author, I understand the need to draw readers into the next book. But as a reader, I hate cliffhangers, especially ones that could easily have been resolved in the book in question without adding on much more length. So judge that one for yourself 
Overall, a fun and engaging read, with an intriguing premise and plenty of mystery.
About the Author
Castles in the cornfield provided the setting for Deborah J. Lightfoot’s earliest flights of fancy. On her father’s farm in Texas, she grew up reading tales of adventure and reenacting them behind ramparts of sun-drenched grain. She left the farm to earn a degree in journalism and write award-winning books of history and biography. High on her Bucket List was the desire to try her hand at the genre she most admired. The result is WATERSPELL, a multi-layered fantasy about a girl and the wizard who suspects her of being so dangerous to his world, he believes he’ll have to kill her … which troubles him, since he’s fallen in love with her. Waterspell Book 1: The Warlock; Waterspell Book 2: The Wysard; and Waterspell Book 3: The Wisewoman.
November 21, 2013
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan – Snippet Review
Rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Graphic Novel
Synopsis:
In Kansas in the year 1937, eleven-year-old Jack Clark faces his share of ordinary challenges: local bullies, his father’s failed expectations, a little sister with an eye for trouble. But he also has to deal with the effects of the Dust Bowl, including rising tensions in his small town and the spread of a shadowy illness. Certainly a case of “dust dementia” would explain who (or what) Jack has glimpsed in the Talbot’s abandoned barn — a sinister figure with a face like rain. In a land where it never rains, it’s hard to trust what you see with your own eyes — and harder still to take heart and be a hero when the time comes. With phenomenal pacing, sensitivity, and a sure command of suspense, Matt Phelan ushers us into a world where desperation is transformed by unexpected courage.
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Review:
It’s been a while since I read a graphic novel, and even longer since I was so deeply impressed by what I read–or saw, in the case of this book. The Storm in the Barn is probably geared towards middle graders, telling the story of an eleven year old boy and his family living on a desolate farm during the Dust Bowl. As an adult, it was captivating. This story has almost no words; this is a story of silences, words unspoken, and fears both spoken and dreamt. The young hero, Jack Clark, must face bullies, a deep sense of failure in meeting his father’s expectations, a dust-related illness that leaves his eldest sister bedridden, and a deep sense of hopelessness. That’s a lot for a child, and in some ways Jack is older than his years–believably so. He’s had to grow up a little too fast, and it shows. But as he begins to uncover the mystery of the presence in the abandoned barn on the next farm over, Jack begins to come into his own. It’s a beautiful, gripping story–and a very quick read for adults. Highly recommended.
About the Author
Matt Phelan made his illustrating debut with Betty G. Birney’s The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster). Since then he has illustrated many picture books and novels for young readers, including Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli (Dial), Very Hairy Bear by Alice Schertle (Harcourt), and The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (Simon & Schuster) winner of the 2007 Newbery Medal.
Matt studied film and theater in college with the goal of one day writing and directing movies. But his first love was always drawing, and the more he saw the wonderful world of children’s books, the more he realized that this was the place for him. Being an illustrator is in many ways like being an actor, director, cinematographer, costumer, and set designer rolled into one.
Matt writes: “I have a fascination with the decade of the 1930s. The movies were learning to talk (and in the case of King Kong, growl), the music was beginning to swing, and the nation was thrown into tremendous turmoil. On one hand, you see a level of suffering documented in the dramatic and gritty photography of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. On the other hand, consider what the American public was flocking to see in the movie theaters: the glamour and grace of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in a series of perfect musicals. For my first book as both writer and illustrator (coming in 2009 by Candlewick Press), I naturally gravitated to this complex decade, specifically the strange world of the Dust Bowl.”
November 19, 2013
Review of Autumn Magic by Triana Willard
Rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy / Epic Fantasy
Exiled to the last outpost of the Empire… “Wren could not remember the glorious city, and could not regret the quiet way she had been raised. But she knew Sky longed for nothing more than to return to the capital. Obviously, she was willing to do anything, even leave Wren behind, to return there.”
When a stranger arrives from the capital, Wren is faced with a decision that will change her life forever as dark forces from across the mountains compel her to act.
Can Wren let her sister go, restore honour to her family, and come to grips with the world of magic unfolding around her?
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Review:
I picked this book up during a 99 cent sale, and I would happily have paid full price for it. It’s a wonderful foray into a fantastical land reminiscent of medieval Japan. Ms. Willard’s knowledge of Japanese culture and customs serves to give this story a sense of authenticity that is rare indeed. She has also done a brilliant job characterizing her two main characters, including (especially) Wren’s struggles to come to terms with her own feelings, her hopes and what she is willing allow herself to dream of. I did wish that some of the minor characters that we see initially–especially Wren’s sister Sky, for whom Wren is willing to do anything–were more well-rounded. Sky seems vapid at best, and it’s hard to understand why Wren doesn’t see this, or loves her sister more than say, the servant Mimi with whom Wren clearly has a strong rapport.
I loved the fairy-tale aspects woven into the story. I loved how Wren–without any magic–saved the day again and again, using a combination of wits and quick instinct. She’s smart but not sassy (well, not really), brave but not arrogant, clever but kind. What’s not to love? And then there’s her companion, the stranger alluded to in the blurb–loved him. He’s got a dark family history, and that history is still alive and kicking–and working to destroy all that he and Wren hold dear. It’s a great plot with lots of twists and turns, right up until the very end.
I would have happily, happily given this story five stars, but for two issues that detracted from the story overall. First, I was frustrated with the exaggerated change in personality of a known character who betrays Wren, and then eventually repents. Both his personality during the betrayal, and his portrayal afterwards, did not ring true with the long history of Wren’s knowledge of him. This isn’t to say that people you know can’t or won’t betray you, just that betrayals are for more believable and frightening when a personality doesn’t change, just your understanding of it.
However, this was a minor annoyance compared to my disappointment in the last two chapters. While I realize there’s pressure on authors to wrap up a story after the major climax has been reached, I really, really, wanted an extra chapter here. Things wrapped up too fast and the final conversations and working out of issues that I was so looking forward to was all but glossed over. If I could have my druthers, I’d ask Ms. Willard to take another go at those last chapters and give us a little more time to enjoy the end of the book.
All told, an intriguing story with surprises around every corner and a pair of main characters I won’t forget for a long time.
About the Author
Triana Willard was born and raised in Missouri, USA, moving to New Zealand at the age of 19 to attend University of Canterbury, where she studied Japanese Language and Literature. Triana lives in Rangiora, New Zealand with her husband and four children. Now that the children are all in school she is writing full time.
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November 14, 2013
Cover Reveal and Giveaway – Fanged Outcast by Elisabeth Wheatley
Add Fanged Outcast to GoodReads | Add Fanged Princess (Fanged Princess, #1) to GoodReads
How much would you sacrifice for a love that wasn’t yours?
Hadassah managed to befriend her kind’s worst enemies and save her brother and the human girl he loves from the Vampiric King—once. After a month spent in quiet hiding under the protection of the Huntsmen, a surprise attack from a band of Kaiju shatters their brief reprieve. Faced with new challenges and new threats, Hadassah and the others must once
more fight for her brother and the girl who stole his heart. And this time, the Vampiric King isn’t the only one they need fear…
Action, suspense, humor, and romance collide in this anticipated sequel from teen author, Elisabeth Wheatley.
About the Author
Elisabeth Wheatley is a teen author of the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not daydreaming of elves, vampires, or hot guys in armor, she is wasting time on the internet, fangirling over indie books, and training her Jack Russell Terrier, Schnay.
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November 8, 2013
Cover Reveal: Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) by F.J.R. Titchenell
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Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know of)
The world is Cassie Fremont’s playground. Her face is on the cover of every newspaper, she has no homework, no curfew, and no credit limit, and she spends her days traveling the country with her friends, including a boy who would flirt with death just to turn her head. Life is just about perfect—except that those newspaper headlines are about her bludgeoning her crush to death with a paintball gun, she has to fight ravenous walking corpses every time she steps outside, and one of her friends is still missing, trapped somewhere in the distant, practically impassable wreckage of Manhattan. Still, Cassie’s an optimist. More prone to hysterical laughter than hysterical tears, she’d rather fight a corpse than be one, and she won’t leave a friend stranded when she can simply take her road trip to impossible new places to find her, even if getting there means admitting to that boy that she might just love him, too. Skillfully blending effective horror with unexpected humor, this diary-format novel is a fast-paced and heartwarming read.
Cover Chatter
I love what this cover does. Right off the color scheme and the menace of the shadow work together with the first part of the title to give a sense of horror. Then you clue into the parenthetical at the end of the title and the name-tag for the author’s name, and it starts getting kinda funny. Comic horror. As far as I can tell, this cover is not only eye-catching in its simplicity and uniqueness, but it also perfectly reflects the genre of the book. You can’t do cover design much better than that. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this read!
About the Author
F.J.R. Titchenell is an author of Young Adult Sci-Fi and Horror fiction. She is represented by Jennifer Mishler of Literary Counsel and currently lives in San Gabriel, California with her husband and fellow author, Matt Carter, and their pet king snake, Mica.
The “F” is for Fiona, and on the rare occasions when she can be pried away from her keyboard, her kindle, and the pages of her latest favorite book, Fi can usually be found over-analyzing the inner workings of various TV Sci-Fi universes or testing out some intriguing new recipe, usually chocolate-related.
Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know of) is F.J.R. Titchenell’s debut novel, to be released May 6th, 2014. It is a Young Adult Horror-Comedy.
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November 5, 2013
Review: The Key of Amatahns by Elisabeth Wheatley
Rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy / Epic Fantasy
Janir had the misfortune of being born with one of the hated Argetallams for a father. But unlike other Argetallam children, she was mostly granted a normal childhood, away from the rest of her family. It looked as if she would live a relatively normal life as the foster-daughter of a powerful lord. Until one critical day Janir’s powers awakened and she became entangled in a young enchanter’s quest for a long-lost treasure called the Key of Amatahns…
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Review:
What a fun, engaging, quick read! In her debut novel, teen author Elisabeth Wheatley delivers up a wonderful first installment of what promises to be a fascinating series. Janir is a likable and compassionate heroine–and while many heroines manage to be likable nowadays, compassion isn’t something we see modeled that often, so she proved to be a wonderful find. I also enjoyed the fact that, although she can hunt, she is not a ninja, nor does she attempt to turn into one. Janir fights when she has to, but she’d rather not, and she certainly isn’t a wizard with a blade.
Speaking of wizards, I would like to personally thank Ms. Wheatley for giving the world the young enchanter Karile. He is the most wonderful depiction of obnoxious but lovable younger brother material I think I’ve ever come across in this genre (note: he’s not actually Janir’s brother, he just has that feel. Janir has a younger brother and lemme tell you, he’s a piece of work!). Karile is the perfect comic relief, and yet he comes through in more serious moments, gets Janir into the best of scrapes, and then, sometimes, out of them, and…well, you’ll just have to read The Key to enjoy him yourself.
Ms. Wheatley’s writing is generally very strong. The characters are well-rounded and each have their own unique voice, the plot has a few twists that will surprise you, and for as evil as a villain as we meet, we’re left with a sense of complexity when it comes to understanding him. I did notice some passages that were awkward, and a couple places where the pacing was off, but it was not enough to take away from the read. I am looking forward to reading the next books in this series.
Recommended for: fans of epic fantasy, strong heroines, younger brothers, and sword and sorcery.
About the Author
Elisabeth Wheatley is a teenager of the Texas Hill Country. When she’s not daydreaming of elves, vampires, or hot guys in armor, she is reading copious amounts of fantasy, playing with her little brothers, studying mythology, and training and showing her Jack Russell Terrier, Schnay.
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October 31, 2013
Awesome Indies Monster Sale and Giveaway
Today I’m happy to share a post about the Awesome Indies Halloween Party–a cross-genre sale of indie reads (all for 99 cents!). I discovered Awesome Indies about a year ago, and this past June my first novel, Thorn, was accepted to the site. AI holds indie reads to the same standard as traditionally published books, which means you’re bound to find good reads here. And I’m honored to say that now all three of my books have been accepted to AI. Without further ado–go buy something new, and enter the giveaway while you’re at it!
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Today is the last day of the Awesome Indies Monster Sale. Make sure you visit and support the indie authors who are doing it well. Just click on the badge below.
For the final day of the party you have a chance to win one of 14 paperbacks that are up for grabs, as well as pick up some freebies. So if you’re interested in paperbacks, don’t miss this great opportunity.
