Jennifer Priester's Blog, page 12

Similarities and Differences in Books Part 2: What My Series has in Common With Others Works and Where it Differs

Getting back to the post I made several weeks ago, which I know was supposed to be posted on Friday. It would have been if it would have posted, but it didn’t. Anyway, we know that many books have a lot in common with each other yet are completely different stories otherwise. Also as I previously mentioned, authors often are influenced by others to write about a subject they read about or watch on TV and make it their own because it is a subject they really like.

In this post you will see mostly similiarites as I can’t really go into many details without giving away too much from my books.

To start off with my book has a common idea of a girl discovering she is a witch. I’m sure you can think of many. Right off I think of the TV show and book series, Sabrina the teenage witch, and the Disney movie, Halloweentown.

This is how my post is going to work: I will tell you something about my book series, Mortal Realm Witch, then I will tell you what it is similar to and a difference or two.

To start off with DWW is a witch that you first meet in Book One, Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic. She lives in the Mortal Realm. On her 11th birthday she discovers she is a witch, recieves her magical powers, is told to keep them a secret, learns about the existence of two Realms, the Mortal Realm and the Other Realm, her dog is her familiar and can talk, and she has a portal to the Other Realm which is also her bedroom closet.

The biggest similiarities are between my series and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Sabrina is a witch living in the Mmortal Realm who discovers her powers and that she is a witch on her 16th birthday. She is also told to keep her powers a secret, learns about the existence of two Realms, the Mortal Realm and the Other Realm, and her cat is her familiar and can talk, and she has a portal to the Other Realm which is also her linen closet.

Did you see the differences? DWW is 11 and Sabrina is 16 when they learn about their powers. DWW recieves her powers while Sabrina just discovers them. DWW’s familiar is a dog and Sabrina’s is a cat, and the type of closet differs.

Some similarities between my series and Sabrina is that both shows feature a witches council and are run by a Head of the Witches Council located in the Other Realm. On the show and in the first book in the series, Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic both Witches Councils have a guy that is the Head, mortals aren’s allowed into the Other Realm,and both familiars were once humans that broke rules and were turned into talking animals with no magical powers because of this. What rules they broke are very different.

In Sabrina the cat, Salem was turned into a familiar for trying to take over the world.

In Mortal Realm Witch, I don’t say directly, only indirectly, how DWW’s dog, Trillman became a familiar. But you can still learn how it happened by reading the free PDF story on the Mortal Realm Witch website called Trillman’s Story here: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/extras/freepdfstories.html

I mentioned Halloweentown a little earlier and besides the discovery of being witches, the Mortal Realm Witch series also shares the common idea that using magic is like wishing. Details of this will be in Book Five of the Mortal Realm Witch series, but examples can be found in Book Two, Mortal Realm Witch: The Magic Continues.

Another similarity in my series to others is with my wizards. Like most wizards that you know, Harry Potter, or the wizards of Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, mine use wands. The biggest difference with my wizards is the secret behind the wands, which you learn in Mortal Realm Witch: The Magic Continues.

For the next similarities I will be talking about some of the inspiration behind some of my events and characters.

The character of Asantra, who you meet in Book Four of the Mortal Realm Witch series, Mortal Realm Witch: The Adventures of DWW2, was inspired by the type of characters that are both good and bad at the same time and characters that start off as the villain but later become one of the heroes. Some examples of what I am talking about are Riku from, the video game series and manga books, Kingdom Hearts, Zuko from the TV show, Avatar the Last Airbender, and Kevin E. Levin from the various Ben 10 shows.

The inspiration for my wolf pups learning to hunt and fight came from books such as Erin Hunters Warriors. Previously I had not included details about this in the story the wolf pups are in titled, Wolf Magic. At the time my book had gone out to several English teachers of various grade levels to try to figure out what age level my book is for, one of them requested I add details for this. As good as the idea was, I hadn’t put this in because I didn’t know how to write it, but I began paying closer attention to how authors such as Erin Hunter wrote battles and hunting scenes and eventually began writing my own. In the end I was glad I included details on the fighting and hunting because, the hunting especially is now one of my favorite moments from the book.

I learned wolf nature from a fantasy point of view from David Clement Davies book, The Sight. The natural wolf moments were learned from wolf documentaries on Animal Planet and Victoria on the show, It’s Me or the Dog.

One thing you will notice across many of my books is that Jack Russell Terriers appear often. The reason is really just that I like the breed, but it has this in common with books such as Animal Ark, and The Pet Finder’s Club. Both are book series written by Ben M. Baglio. Animal Ark on several occasions has had a Jack Russell as the main animal in the story or as a side character. In the Pet Finders Club a Jack Russell is a regular character.

To close things out I will add one final fun fact. When I decided to use a closet as the portal to the Other Realm I wasn’t thinking about Sabrina or The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which also features a closet portal. What I was actually thinking about was that a closet was an out of the way yet easily accessable area making it the perfect location for a portal.

To learn more about the Mortal Realm Witch Series you can visit: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/home.html

The following blog posts will hopefully be on time. My next post is going to be called: Familiars and Real Life Animal Teachers, in which I will talk about fantasy books featuring familiars, and nonfiction books about animals that have been teachers to humans. This post is planned for Friday, March 1st. For a list of planned blog posts and when I am currently expecting to post them you can view the list here: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/newsandevents.html

Blog post are subject to date changes and rearranging, but all will be made at some point.

And remember, Trillman’s Story is free to read here: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/extras/freepdfstories.html

Trillman’s Story

Trillman's Story.

Trillman’s Story (preview)

For those of you that haven’t heard, part 2 of my last post won’t be until the 15th. The reason is the Books Blog Hop. I wanted to do something special for it and try for something a little more V-day related so what you are going to get to read today is the first part of an all new short story featuring Trillman from my book series, Mortal Realm Witch. The full story will become available to read on February 15th as a free PDF on my website, http:www.mortalrealmwitch.com/,  I hope you enjoy the following story, you do not need to have read the first book in the Mortal Realm Witch series to read this story. The following is the first part of a story that tells how Trillman became a familiar. The full story will be available to read as a PDF on http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/. See the end of this blog post for more details.

You might know me as DWW’s familiar and you might not. It doesn’t matter either way because I am about to share with you the story of how I became a familiar.

It all started back when I was a young warlock living on campus and going to a college in the Mortal Realm. I was at college learning how to be a teacher, or trying to anyway. My grades appeared to be saying otherwise. See, I might have been at college because I wanted to be a teacher but I was failing the coursework.

I don’t know why I was failing. I never missed a class, always showed up on time, paid attention, took notes, and did my homework. I even got good grades on my homework, it was only the tests that I ever failed. I never seemed to be able to remember the information.

Anyway, in my class there was a girl, Iris. I know what you are thinking, and no, Iris had nothing to do with my failing the class. I was failing long before I ever knew who she was or that she was even in my class.

One day my professor asked to see me after class. Iris was there when he informed me just how badly I was doing in his class. Iris heard the whole thing and as I began leaving the classroom she said, “Trillman, wait for a moment!”

I wondered why but I did as she requested and waited. At this time I didn’t even know her name so it seemed odd that she wanted me to wait for her. If you are wondering how it is possible for me to pay attention in class but not know who is in it or what their names are I’ll tell you. The reason is that, although I hear people’s names it takes a long time before I actually remember them.

When Iris was standing next to me she asked, “Do you want to pass the class?”

“Would I still be in it if I didn’t?” I asked somewhat sarcastically.

“Probably not,” Iris said, “But you seem too smart to be failing it.”

“Well, obviously I’m not or I would be passing,” I said. I was beginning to feel like this conversation was going nowhere.

Iris laughed and said, “I just meant I could probably help you.”

“You could?” I asked, “How do you figure?”

“It’s like I said,” Iris told me, “You seem to be smart. I think all you need is a little tutoring.”

“And you want to tutor me?” I asked suspiciously.

“If you want me to,” She said.

“But why?” I asked.

She didn’t answer this instead she asked, “Do you want me to or not?”

“Uh…yeah…sure…let’s try it.” It would have been nice if she had cut me off somewhere. After each word I paused thinking she was going to respond. Each time she didn’t I thought I didn’t answer right. As it would turn out she had just wanted to see how long I was going to continue that really awkward sentence.

I realized this when she laughed, “All you had to say was yes.”

“So, what now?” I asked, “I mean were you planning on starting tonight?”

“If you want to,” Iris replied, “But we don’t have to if you would rather start tomorrow or something. Although judging by your grades we probably should start as soon as possible.”

“You’re right about that,” I said.

“Okay, so where would you like to do this at?” Iris asked.

“Anywhere is fine,” I replied without putting any thought into my answer.

“So, do you want to meet at my place?” She asked.

“Uh…your place?” I asked nervously. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anywhere was fine.

“Sure, I have an apartment not far from here. It will be quiet there so we should be able to get a lot done.” Iris explained, “Unless you are afraid to be alone with me.” She challenged.

“Why would I be afraid?” I asked hoping she didn’t hear the nervousness in my voice, “You are only tutoring me aren’t you?”

“Of course,” She said.

“Well, then I guess it would be okay then.” I replied, “By the way what am I supposed to call you?”

“Iris.” She replied, “And am I supposed to call you Trillman?”

“Yes?” I replied questioningly. I was wondering why she had asked me that when she knew my name already.

“Are you sure about that?” Iris asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.” I said confidently this time.

With that we then headed to Iris’s apartment. For the next few weeks this became a regular thing. After class I would go with Iris to her apartment. I learned a lot about her during this time and we became friends. At this time I knew much more about Iris than she did about me. I knew she was waiting for me to tell her. She still wanted to know where I was from and a few other things that I couldn’t answer without revealing what I was and the Other Realm to her. Whenever she asked I would find a way to change the subject until one day…

The more time I spent around Iris the more I began liking her. I began wondering if there might be a future for us together as more than friends. I began realizing that this would only be possible if I stopped hiding information from her. Besides, telling mortals our secret isn’t exactly against the rules. It is just warned against, and I wouldn’t be the first or the last to do this.

One day before she began tutoring me I said, “Iris?”

“What?” she asked curiously.

“I think it’s time for you to know who I am.” I said.

Get to know Trillman and some other characters from the Mortal Realm Witch series here: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/meettheauthor/meetthecharacters.html

And be sure to read the rest of this story on February 15th at: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/extras/freepdfstories.html

Book one in the Mortal Realm Witch series, Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic is available now online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It is also available in a givaway on Goodreads until March 8th: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/41705-mortal-realm-witch-learning-about-magic

You can read three excerpts from Learning About Magic here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1165458-three-book-excerpts-mortal-realm-witch-learning-about-magic

And I am always available for questions about my book, website, myself, or anything else here: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/88908-ask-jennifer-priester

To learn more about me, the Mortal Realm Witch series, other books I am working on and more visit: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/

The story you just read is part of a free book that will be coming to an ebook format at some point in time. For now you can read it starting February 15th as a PDF on the Mortal Realm Witch Website. The book will be titled Mortal Realm Witch: Origins, and will feature two stories. The first is Trillman’s Story which you just sampled here. The second is called Allura’s Magical Discovery and is a story about DWW before she became a witch that leads directly into the events that begin Mortal Realm Witch: Learning About Magic, so you don’t have to have read my first book in order to fully enjoy and understand these stories.

Similarities and Differences in Books Part 1: When Books Are Familiar Yet Different

Similarities and Differences in Books Part 1: When Books Are Familiar Yet Different.

Similarities and Differences in Books Part 1: When Books Are Familiar Yet Different

Although we don’t always stop to think about it, most, if not all writers of all kinds are influenced by the things that they have read or watched. Subjects that they like become part of their own work, and no matter how small it may be some part of what they write about will be similar or exactly the same as their favorite works by other writers. This doesn’t mean that they are intentionally copying someone else’s work, (although sometimes this is the intention but even then there are differences that set it apart), or that their story is the same. Many times it is an idea or theme that the new writer really likes and begin to write about themselves. After writing the basic idea they then often take it in their own direction.

An example of intentional copying can be found with the character of Supreme who was created by Rob Liefeld and published by Image comics. Supreme appeared in the comic, Youngblood in 1992 and was basically and evil version of Superman. When Supreme’s own comic book appeared the storylines and characters were based off of Superman’s classic comics. It was done intentionally as a tribute to Superman. Besides Supreme (Superman tribute) there were other characters such as Suprema (Supergirl tribute), and Radar the Hound Supreme (Krypto tribute). Rob Liefeld sucessfully created a modern day spin (or what was modern day at the time) on comic book stories and archtypes.

Two books with similar ideas that weren’t based off each other in any way are: Jack Stonely’s Scruffy, and Ann M. Martin’s A Dog’s Life. Both of these stories feature the journey’s of stray dogs as told from the dog’s point of view.

Also similar to these books, but even more so with each other are: Dayna Lorentz’s Dogs of the Drowned City: The Storm, Peter Howe’s Waggit’s Tale, and Erin Hunter’s Surviviors: The Empty City. All five of these books are about dogs. All of them are childerens books, and all are about stray dogs and their adventures. Besides the similarities there are many differences such as, in the first two books I mentioned these books are about dogs who have been stray’s since they were young pups, while many of the dogs in the last three previously had owners. For all books the actual characters and storylines are different as are the reason the adventure happens. The reason (for the last three books) is in Dogs of the Drowned City the dog’s owners are forced to leave them behind due to a hurricane. In Waggit’s Tale, Waggit is dumped in the park by his owner. In Survivors it is an Earthquake which separates the dogs from their owners. What remains the same between the three is that in each the main dog in the story must join a pack of other dogs, although the length of time they remain in packs differs between stories.

Similarities can be found in every book in a certain genre, some are very similar, and some only begin to sound familiar. One example of a book beginning to sound familiar for a short time but quickly changing is: The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann, and Witch & Wizard by James Patterson. Both of these books are similar in the sense that many fun things are not allowed, such as reading. In Witch & Wizard this remains for the whole book, but in the Unwanteds, the unwanteds end up in a place where these things are allowed and are there for most of the book.

As a writer the unintentional similarities happen all the time when I write. I don’t always notice it until after the fact but my similarities are never big enough for me to need to change my work, just like other authors. In my next post in two weeks I am going to share with you the similiarites and differences that I found in my Mortal Realm Witch series compared to other books that may have influenced my writing in some way. And even if they didn’t you will see similiarites between my books and some of my favorites!

Until then I have some more questions for you to answer. (You can still answer my previous post’s questions if you haven’t yet done so. Questions from my posts never really close out since they still give you the ability to comment.)

What I want you to do now is to think about two or more of your favorite books or books you have read, and tell me:

What is similar about them? Is it a common character type, a common theme or idea? Or is it something else? Please describe them to show just how similar or different the books are.

There are some rules for this question. The first rule is that the books can not be by the same author or by different authors that write in the same series, such as Wishbone, or Sabrina.

The second rule is that your common thing can’t just simply be the genre, it has to be something the authors wrote about in their books.

Other than these two things have fun comparing. For fun, you could also compare a favorite author, or just an author’s writing with one of their favorite books or authors. And if you want a bigger challenge try comparing two or more books from completely different genre’s and see what you can come up with that is similar, if anything!

From Nonreader to Author or What Gets People Interested in Books?

From Nonreader to Author or What Gets People Interested in Books?.

From Nonreader to Author or What Gets People Interested in Books?

Since this is my first blog post I thought I would use it to introduce myself to you as well as cover what I know on a question people often ask. This question would be, “How do you get someone interested in reading?” Well before I give my answer to this question you should know that there was a time when I hated reading. For me it was really boring. So how did I ever get interested enough in books to become a writer? The answer actually comes from TV. Before I was a reader the TV show, Wishbone, was playing on TV. For anyone who doesn’t know, Wishbone was a TV series about a talking dog who loved adventure and he loved to read books. In the TV show Wishbone would introduce the classic books by imagining himself as a character in these books. The book he chose was based on whatever was happening at the time in his and his human friends lives. I really liked the dog and the show, and there were many books based off the TV episodes which I began reading. Because it was about Wishbone, a subject I really loved and still do, I came to love the books. This book series was called The Adventures of Wishbone and were written exactly as everything was seen in the show. Then there was the Super Adventures of Wishbone, which I began reading next, which followed the same Wishbone story/classic story formula as was in the origional series with one noteable difference-the super adventures were all new stories about Wishbone that were never TV episodes. This is what began my interest in books. I also later discovered the Wishbone Mysteries Series and Super Mysteries, which tells a little bit about the classic stories but is more focused on Wishbone, and the Wishbone Classics, Early Years, and Tales of a Pup Series. Each of these three focused the other way, on the classic story rather than directly on Wishbone. Once I discovered I liked Wishbone books I began reading other books about talking dogs and later other animal books. My interest in the subject of magic also started with an animal, but that is a different story that I might talk about on another day. So back to the question “How do you get someone interested in reading?” The answer I found is first find their favorite subject. Maybe a book based off a favorite TV show or movie, or someone they like. Even comic book characters such as the Justice League have other books that aren’t comics available to read and are all new stories. A couple good examples of subject based books are the book series: Wild at Heart aka Vet Volunteers by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Animal Ark by Ben M. Baglio. If you know someone who isn’t a reader but is interested in becoming a vet one day these two book series are fiction books with many real life vet situations and facts. Or maybe they are really interested in some Disney movies such as Bambi or 101 Dalmatians. Both of these movies were first books. Bambi was written by Felix Salten and 101 Dalmatians was written by Dodie Smith. Both also vary slightly from the movies that were created based off them and are really interesting to read to see the differences. 101 Dalmatians also had a book sequel called The Starlight Barking which is a really interesting book and is much better than the sequels that Disney came up with – 102 Dalmatians and 101 Dalmatians II, although I did like the movies. Another Disney movie that began as a book that I really like is the Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix. The Disney version may be for kids, but the book was written for adults and I would easily recommend it to adults who loved or still love Disney movies. So that’s how to get people interested in reading, and who knows? Maybe once you start someone into reading they will become a published author too! It can happen.

Before I close out this blog for today I would like to ask those of you who love to read: Did you always like to read? What started you reading and do you remember what your first favorite book was? Do you still like that book and what genre is it? And what is your favorite book and genre today?