Elizabeth Guizzetti's Blog, page 35

Special Guest: Mario Brown

This week I am glad to have Mario Brown the author of Bushido: A War of Gods as my special guest.

Tell us a little about yourself:
I would describe myself as a story teller. I write comic books, songs, poems and novels. Anything to get a story across. I moved around when I was young because my father was in the military. He retired and started working for the government and that’s how we ended up moving to Washington. I graduated from Central Kitsap and attended UNLV, where I got a BA in Psychology. I use a great deal of my psychology training in the characters of Bushido

What was you inspiration for Bushido: A War of Gods?
When I was younger I saw a movie Stargate. I had been reading ancient astronaut theory books like Chariots of the Gods. I was hoping that Stargate would have some deep cosmic mean to it. As it turns out it was Rambo in space.I decided that the only way I would see an ancient astronaut story would be if I wrote it. The story grew from there.



Do you find your own morals coming thought your writing either intentionally or unintentionally?

Of course! Bushido is a morality play. Bushido means “the way of the warrior” and is a code of honor for the Samurai of feudal Japan. It is, in and of itself, a moral code. I add my own take on spirituality and hopefully show the universality of human beliefs.


Who are some of your favorite authors?
I like Anne Rice, I like Timothy Zahn. I don’t read things based on the author, though. I do like the books “Malice” and “Havoc” by Chris Wooding. I liked the world he created in “Malice.”


 What book are you reading now?

Right now, on my nightstand is the book “The 100 Greatest Jews of All Time.” I usually read non-fiction. When I read fiction, I actually like murder mysteries best. I would like to add a bit of mystery to my stories.

Thanks Mario!

Character Creation: Part 1 Names

So this week I have begun working on my next novel-writing project. (I am also working on Faminelands #3 in the comics arena.) I have finished my outline and started the naming.

What is in a name? A good character names has meaning. A good name might denote rank and gender. In a pluralistic society, it defines the character in terms of nationality.

Now call me old-fashioned, but since I speak (American) English as my primary language–as do most of my readers–it is important to me to have names for my characters that the reader can easily say. Even in Faminelands where I might have gone into crazy elvish names, my protagonists are referred by their given nicknames: Lark (Meadowlark) and Orin (Orodherthin).

For my first novel, Other Systems the main character is Abigail even though it is set in 1000 years in the future. Why?

First off it’s easy to say.

Secondly it has a long history. Abigail has been around for millinea. From the Bible, Abigail is Nabal’s wife and becomes the third wife of King David. So it stands to reason, the name will be around in another 1000 years. It has fallen in and out of fashion of course and right now is on an upswing.

Thirdly, it fits the character. Abigail is a female born in Seattle which is no longer part of the United States but a city-state. I knew she was going to use her intelligence as her primary means of getting through life. She starts the novel at 17. She is a stargazer.

So how did I pick the name? At first I looked at names with the meaning of intelligence, “Akilah, Lassie, Monisha, and Parmena” came up. Akilah: I am not sure how to say, but phonetically it reads A Killa. Parmena sounds too close to Parmesan cheese, Lassie is the name of a dog, so out of my first list “Monisha” was the only name, but it didn’t fit with how I pictured the girl.

The girl’s father is Caucasian with ancestors from Scotland and her mother is Asian with ancestors from China. We also know that her father believes in a monotheism deity while her mother and maternal grandmother believe in an animal zodiac and ancestor worship. She is the first born out of five and well-loved by both her parents especially her father. She is a bit of a daddy’s girl.  According to Thinkbabynames.com, the meaning of Abigail is “Father’s joy” or “the Father is rejoicing.”  That’s how I picked the given name.

Then I chose the surnames. I wanted to use both maternal and paternal surnames in the naming structure. I decided that during this time period there was two naming systems. Most people who lived in communes have three names: a given name, a paternal family name and a maternal family name.

Once again I looked up specific nationality’s surnames and chose ones that would be easy to say. I decided on a Scottish name “Boyd” and a Chinese name “Lei.”  Thus this character became: Abigail Boyd Lei.

Now how does this character, her family and contemporaries refer to her? Pretty much everyone uses the nicknames: Abby or Ab.

How does her boss on Earth refer to her? Miss Boyd Lei. She refers to him by his surname as well.

Finally now that I have a lead character’s name generally I will not name another character with the same first initial. However, the second two most important characters in the novel are Harden and Helen. I used the double H’s purposefully. Harden’s name was chosen first and then his sister.

So anyway that’s how I pick my names, how does everyone else do it?

Character Creation Part 1: Naming them

So this week I have begun working on my next novel-writing project. (I am also working on Faminelands #3 in the comics arena.) I have finished my outline and started the naming.

What is in a name? A good character names has meaning. A good name might denote rank and gender. In a pluralistic society, it defines the character in terms of nationality.

Now call me old-fashioned but I speak (American) English as my primary language and so do most of my readers. So it is important to me to have names for my characters that the reader can easily say. Even in Faminelands where I might have gone into crazy elvish names, my mains are Lark, Orin, Brogan, Roan, Aster, and Malak.

Other Systems is set 1000 years in the future, but the main character is Abigail. Why?

First off it’s easy to say.

Secondly it has a long history. Abigail has been around for millinea. From the Bible, Abigail is Nabal’s wife and becomes the third wife of King David. So it stands to reason, the name will be around in another 1000 years. It has fallen in and out of fashion of course and right now is on an upswing.

Thirdly, it fits the character. Abigail is a female born in Seattle which is no longer part of the United States but a city-state. I knew she was going to use her intelligence as her primary means of getting through life. She starts the novel at 17. She is a stargazer.

So at first I looked at names with the meaning of intelligence, “Akilah, Lassie, Monisha, and Parmena” came up. Akilah, I am not sure how to say. Parmena sounds too close to Parmesan cheese, Lassie is the name of a dog, so out of my first list “Monisha” was the only name, but it didn’t fit with how I pictured this girl.

The girl is what we would refer to as mixed race. Her father is Caucasian with ancestors from Scotland and her mother is Asian with ancestors from China. We also know that her father believes in a monotheism deity while her mother and maternal grandmother believe in an animal zodiac and ancestor worship. She is the first born out of five and well-loved by both her parents especially her father. She is a bit of a daddy’s girl.  According to Thinkbabynames.com, the meaning of Abigail is “Father’s joy” or “the Father is rejoicing.”  That’s how I picked the given name.

Then I chose the surnames. I wanted to use both maternal and paternal surnames in the naming structure. I decided that during this time period there was two naming systems. Most people who lived in communes have three names: a given name, a paternal family name and a maternal family name.

Once again I looked up specific nationality’s surnames and chose ones that would be easy to say. I decided on a Scottish name “Boyd” and a Chinese name “Lei.”  Thus this character became: Abigail Boyd Lei.

Now how does this character, her family and contemporaries refer to her? Pretty much everyone uses the nicknames: Abby or Ab.

How does her boss on Earth refer to her? Miss Boyd Lei. She refers to him by his surname as well.

Finally now that I have a lead character’s name generally I will not name another character with the same first initial. However Harden and Helen also from Other Systems are exceptions to that rule, but I did that purposefully.

So anyway that’s how I pick my names, how does everyone else do it?

Butterflies are passé but they are still my favorite insect.

As anyone who has ever seen my office can tell you, I like butterflies. I like everything about them. They make me happy when I see them fluttering around outside and I like the butterfly magnets which litter my filing cabinet. Pretty soon the monarchs will be in Seattle and the Empresses, Admirals and swallowtails will be up on the hiking trails.  Here is a photo of one resting on my fleece jacket.

I also like owls and woodland creatures and it is funny to me how they are now “in” while insects are “out.” Since I am too old to be concerned about being trendy, it makes me happy that the things I like are “in” just because it makes it easy to find things I like. It used to be hard to find things with owls and mushrooms.  But no longer!  You see, I have a set 70′s Sears mushroom canisters. I bought them at a garage sale back when Dennis and I were first married. I was not trying to be a hipster, save the environment  or even a lover of mid-century crap. I just needed some cheap canisters and I like mushrooms. I got the set of four for $2.00. Woot! (I have long since broken then smallest one however.)Then Maria found the soup turine and purchased it as a birthday present. I don’t ever make that much soup, so I use it to hold towels and sponges next to the sink. Anyway now it is easy to find cute towels and pot holders to match the mushrooms in my kitchen. 

Of course, I am having trouble finding stuff to match my office butterflies.  Any “fads” you miss either in clothing or interior design?

Special Guest Interview with Sofia Essen

Another excellent special guest to my blog! Sofia Essen has graciously agreed to answer some questions about her experiences writing her debut novel Change of Pace which I read and reviewed last week.

What have you learned as a writer? What is the hardest part of being a writer?

I’ve learned that otherwise relatively normal people, myself included, turn into raving lunatics prone to panic attacks when they decide to become writers. Emotions run high when something you’ve created and nurtured, whether it’s a short story or full-length novel, is ripped from your hands and suddenly not within your realm of control anymore.

I completely agree with your there! So what was some of your inspiration/sources for Change of Pace?

I never intended to write a book. But when I was sitting in a café in a small Cretan village one afternoon, watching a couple of tourists desperately trying and failing miserably to order a cup of coffee, I said to myself, “This place would be a great setting for a book.”

How does it feel to live in a foreign country?

After almost 20 years of bouncing around Southeast Asia and the Middle East, I’m used to being a foreigner. I’m a foreigner in my country of birth at this point too. Being expatriated for so long and relocating as often as I have makes a person adaptable. But I have to admit it took me a while to adjust to being in Europe again after such a long absence.

How many languages do you speak? What do you use everyday?

I was born in Sweden and I do speak Swedish, but it comes out sounding very stilted. My Thai is fairly fluent. I can converse in Greek unless the person I’m talking to goes on a spirited political rant (it happens). But I think and dream almost exclusively in English.

What are you reading right now?

Tanamera by Noel Barber. It’s one of my favorite books. Barber captures the deceptively romantic era of Colonial Singapore perfectly.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

That’s a difficult question to answer! I often find I love one book by a certain author and feel the rest of his/her work doesn’t measure up to it. It’s easier for me to name my favorite books: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Tanamera by Noel Barber, Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, The Pelican Brief by John Grisham.

What is your next project?

I’m working on several projects. But since the words “write what you know” are currently imprinted on my brain, I’m focusing on a story about a woman who has been a lifelong expatriate and is looking for a place to call home.

Extra Info:

Sofia Essen lives with her 3-year old Yorkshire Terrier in Crete. Change of Pace is her first novel. You can find her at http://sofiaessen.blogspot.com/

Week Three of being an author

Being a published author is a roller coaster ride that I can no longer disembark. I feel great, then nervous, then high again, then I want to throw up. Then I feel excellent. Right now I feel pretty good. Maybe I’m just getting used to it.

On the outside, my life is exactly the same as it was before. Dennis is still the best husband in the world. My apartment walls are still green. Still addicted to Reese’s Peanutbutter cups. I pay the bills, I do the dishes, I am still thinking about organizing bathroom closet. I am not complaining: I have a great life, but I guess I expected a parade. This is absolutely silly because I did two conventions in the past three weeks which means I had over 10,000 people saying “Congratulations!” even when they were not interested.

However there has been changes, just they are more subtle. Here are two:

My friend Rebecca and I are hooked on stargazing. We started last summer. By winter, I realized I can always spot the inner planets as well as Jupiter even within city lights. We hear the words aurora or meteor shower; we bundle up, and head out of the city with celestial binoculars, Starwalk loaded on my I-Pad and snacks in the cooler to a secluded spot in the middle of the night.  This new hobby came directly from the research of Other Systems. I can make out the constellations–especially Ursa Minor and Major, Virgo, Lynx, Pegasus and Draco specifically because I drew them out for the trailer.  Now that I know I can spot Draco it also means I can spot the Cat’s Eye Nebula without aid of a star map. That being said looking at the star maps are fun and we play with Starwalk constantly when we are out there. Especially so we can see which satellites are flying overhead. Satellites look like tiny meteors : you can see them flashing across the sky and then they are gone.

Another change is how I consume books and movies. With my art background, I enjoy paintings and sculptures at a technical level. One of my favorite things  is to go to an art museum and begin dissecting a painting with my eyes. Figuring how the artist captured light or emotion—well now I look at novels and films the same way.I cannot seem to read a story or watch a movie for pleasure anymore. I automatically start dissecting it. I find myself studying the way other authors choose to put words on the page. The patterns of stories. Are the words visceral? In movies, I watch camera angles and all emotional reactions both inferred, subtle, and obvious. The colors or lack of them. Did it work or not? And if not, why not? That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them, because I do, but it isn’t the same.

Anyone else gone through changes like these?

The last book in the Reading Rampage Change of Pace by Sofia Essen

Hello faithful readers, so Change of Pace is most likely the last book in my two week reading rampage.  Tonight is the Jet City Drink and Draw and I have some other things I would like to do before ending my time off and going back to work. Yes, I’m looking at you my disorganized bathroom closet/laundry area. I would also like to springify my patio, however the temperature keeps dropping.

All right back to the review:

Essen’s debut novel is a wonderfully light beach read. The synopsis begins: “What do you do when you get dumped, fired, and turn thirty in a single unfortunate week? You book the last available ticket on the next plane to Greece. Or at least that’s what the normally unadventurous Anna Cox does in a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity…”

While the beginning moved a bit slow with relaxing shopping trips and drinking wine, this worked well as it mimicked the life that Essen was describing on Crete compared to Anna’s previous life in New York. The novel is written in first person, so the reader won’t always know what is going on with other characters and why, but Anna is an interesting narrator and it adds to the fun of watching her learn about Crete, her family and herself.

If you want a book that is upbeat and an enjoyable read, this is the book for you.

Special Guest: Interview with Muffy Morrigan

As some of my faithful readers know, after meeting the gracious Muffy Morrigan at Norwescon, I purchased  her latest novel and reviewed The Sail Weaver on my blog last week. Now we get the chance to know a bit more about her, as she agreed to do an interview. So here we go…

What inspired you to write?
I have always wanted to be a writer once I realized that books were created by writers. My parents read to us a great deal and I
loved thinking about making stories myself. I wrote my first “novel” when I was six.

It was about a mad scientist wanting to destroy earth. I wrote it out long-hand on lined paper, tied it with pretty yarn and went door to door selling it to the neighbors. Then later, when I was about eight, my father bought me the Hardy Boys. I read the whole set and ran out–after mourning for a few days it occurred to me that I could be writing more stories… So, I guess it was my love of books that inspired my writing first and foremost.


What have you learned as a writer? What is the hardest part of being a writer? 
I’ve learned discipline. Writing (from the outside) looks easy, just sit down and type, but over a long term project it requires discipline to not be distracted by the other things going on and stick with the job at hand.

The hardest part of being a writer–for me–is getting the time to write, then using it wisely. I often have five or six stories bouncing around in my head and they all demand attention and I have to fight to keep focused on one of them.

How was working on The Sail Weaver different than your other series, The Custodes Noctis?

Oooh! The Sail Weaver was epic in size and definitely had a much larger cast than the Custodes Noctis book. The main thing was it was entirely a world of my making. With the Custodes Noctis I have some grounding in the here and now, but Tristan and the Winged Victory exist in a very different place and it was a challenge to keep that world feeling as solid as the day-to-day world of urban fantasy.

What was some of your inspiration/sources for The Sail Weaver? How much research did you in the British Royal Navy during the Colonial /Napoleonic periods?

The Sail Weaver, in many ways, is the book I have been waiting to write my whole life. I took my love of classic sci fi and fantasy (Clark, LeGuin, McCaffery, Asimov, Star Trek, Star Wars) the things I grew up reading and blended them with the historical bits.

I did a lot of research for the naval parts of the story. I read a lot of primary source material, some works on the Navy–including a wonderful, easy to read work called “Life in Nelson’s Navy”and other works about the time. Then there was the magnificent works of Patrick O’Brian and CS Forrester, which are practically historical tomes in themselves. I was particularly careful with those parts of the story, since it would take such a huge shift in our word to return to those behaviors and disciplines, I wanted to make sure I got it right!

What are you reading right now?

Right now I am reading the Sagas of the Icelanders (for an upcoming work), rereading Sherlock Holmes and several books I’ve picked up at cons and have just gotten to!

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Patrick O’Brian, Anne McCaffery, Robert B Parker, Elizabeth Peters, Ursula LeGuin, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Mary Stewart–there are many more. And a few fandoms I enjoy reading the occasional work in as well!

What is your next project?

My next project is the Berserkers, it’s the next book in the Custodes Noctis series and deals with the legends of the Berserkers, blood eagles and so much fun stuff!

More about Muffy!

I started writing at age six. I’ve written my entire life, including academic, magazines, newspapers and alternative newspapers. I live with several strange creatures that look like cats, but a definitely not cats, I am sure of it! My published works are the Custodes Noctis series and The Sail Weaver.

I have a blog at muffymorrigan.com that I generally deal with my ideas/views on writing. I believe in finding the Authentic Writer in everyone.

I am a proponent of fanfiction. I think it’s a wonderful compliment to have someone want to play in my worlds, and since I spent a great deal of time in my misbegotten youth playing in other people’s worlds it only seems fair!

One of the things I am trying to do is help raise awareness of Gastroparesis. That’s from the Latin meaning paralyzed stomach. It’s one of those conditions that we are trying to raise awareness of before trying to get any funding for research. People just don’t know it exists. I was shocked at how little even many in the medical profession know about it as I began my own journey with GP. If you see me at a con, I often have green ribbons for awareness (although I forgot them for Norwescon of course) and have even adapted them to a steampunk cool look.

Thanks Muffy!

The Reading Rampage Part 3: Live-in Position by V.S. Tice

So for book 3 of The Reading Rampage, I just finished Live-in Position by V.S. (Victoria) Tice.

This is a great example of well-written romantic literature. Sophia is a believable, wonderful narrator. She is a beautiful heroine with dreams of her own. Victoria is a sweet little girl who needs a mother. I love the friendship  and love that develops between them through out the book. Matter of fact, one of my favorite aspects of the book is that Victoria also seems to be maturing at an appropriate rate for a child her age as the book goes on. Of course, I love the fact the book is set in my hometown of Seattle. Except for a few generalizations, she has the geography and general area correct. (She kept saying “the hospital,” we have nine major medical facilities in city limits and so I started reading “Harborview” which is known for neurology, but unfortunately doesn’t quite fit some of the hospital scenes because it is a public hospital. Ms. Tice, I give you permission to damn this anal-retentive Seattle local!!!)

With regard to sexual chemistry, Sophia and Dr. Bishop are terrific together. He is handsome as well as a gentleman, but  he is too controlling for my taste and thus the polar opposite to what I find attractive in a man, so I spent more time wanting to tell Dr. Bishop to put his big boy pants on than anything. (which the leading lady does beautifully btw.) So while I had a hard time rooting for the guy, but I am sure lots of  other ladies will love him which is why I am giving Live in Position four stars.

Reading Rampage Continues: The Tourist Vol 1 by Lucas Bantner

The next book in my reading rampage is The Tourist: The Immutable Volume 1 by Lucas Bantner. It is a interesting story with a great opening. So good in fact, I was hooked right from the beginning. Banter writes with great visceral detail when describing both the situation and Ian’s dreams, though some of the violent imagery in the police station comes off a bit shocking.

The only misgiving I had at all, is not really a complaint. It took me a while to find all the main characters sympathetic–however  this works for the story.  While I did not have an emotional connection to him, Ian is completely absorbing. I wanted to know what happened to him and why it was happening. Teresa did a few stupid things in public which launches her storyline. Once again, this works in the course of the story. So while I didn’t feel they were necessarily sympathetic, I did want to know more about what is going on. Because the plot was instrumental in my enjoyment of the book, I don’t want to give anything away.

Due to the violent nature and language, definitely a book for grownups.