R.A. White's Blog, page 21
October 18, 2014
Mississippi
To follow up on last week's 'Trooper Stories' post, I want to share this text I received from Trooper's Grandma, edited to protect privacy, "I just confirmed that at least 95% of M.S. has bathrooms and the other 5% has tall grass."
Thanks, Grandma!
And thanks to you others who sent me feedback on that post. It's good to know you're enjoying our stories!
To subscribe to R.A. White Books and More, just click here.
Thanks, Grandma!
And thanks to you others who sent me feedback on that post. It's good to know you're enjoying our stories!
To subscribe to R.A. White Books and More, just click here.
October 13, 2014
Alonca's Quest
Last week I offered you the opportunity to read 'Alonca's Quest' as it's written, and I wanted to let you know the offer still stands. In fact, it will stand until I feel like I'm close enough to finishing that it wouldn't do much good anymore. And then I'll be looking for beta readers, but that's another topic all together. If you want to read it, just respond to this topic or email me, and I'll add you to the mailing list.You must subscribe to be eligible, but don't worry, subscribing is easy. Just click here.
Trooper Stories
This week I have three stories, 'Do They Have Bathrooms in Mississippi?', 'The Lie', and 'The Secret'.
1. We're about to take a trip to Mississippi, so it's been the topic of much conversation in our house. Several times a day, Trooper asks what we're going to do and who we're going to see, which is standard for any trip we take. So a couple days ago, I told Trooper he needed to go to the bathroom, and I guess he really needed to go because he didn't argue, but he'd only taken a few steps in the right direction before he stopped. "Mom, do they have bathrooms in Mississippi?"
Of course I thought this was a hilarious question, but I tried not to let on. I assured him that they do indeed have bathrooms there. He went on to ask me the same questions he'd asked me every day for the past week, and once again I told him about the pyramid in Memphis (we'll also see some of Tennessee), and the aunts and uncles, and other things. During this conversation we only moved about eight feet toward the bathroom, but he danced animatedly enough that he probably would have measured out half a mile if he'd been wearing a pedometer.
Then he paused, and with a thoughtful expression he asked again, "They have bathrooms in Mississippi?" I could tell he was just clarifying, and that he had some reason for it, but I couldn't guess what.
"Yes, they really do have bathrooms in Mississippi," I assured him, beckoning him toward our own bathroom.
His eyes got big, and his smile got bigger. "I'm gonna POOP in Mississippi!"
2. Jonathan had snuck some kind of candy into his mouth, but like all kids, Trooper has a candy radar and he saw it right away. "Dad, what you have in your mouth?"
"It's a secret."
"Can I have a secret, please?"
3. Last night Jonathan and I were trying out 'How to Get Away With Murder' (Love the diversity and interesting storyline, not so fond of the sexual content), and Trooper had come over to ask me to get him some water. I told him I'd get it at the next break, and next thing I knew he had bitten my knee. I was so surprised by it that I pushed his forehead to get him off of me before I really even realized what had happened. I said, "He just bit my knee!" And he ran down the hall, probably putting himself in time out.
Jonathan went down the hall to confront him about his behavior. "Trooper, did you bite mom's knee?"
"No." (Hesitation.) "Alethea did it." (Alethea is the dog.)
1. We're about to take a trip to Mississippi, so it's been the topic of much conversation in our house. Several times a day, Trooper asks what we're going to do and who we're going to see, which is standard for any trip we take. So a couple days ago, I told Trooper he needed to go to the bathroom, and I guess he really needed to go because he didn't argue, but he'd only taken a few steps in the right direction before he stopped. "Mom, do they have bathrooms in Mississippi?"
Of course I thought this was a hilarious question, but I tried not to let on. I assured him that they do indeed have bathrooms there. He went on to ask me the same questions he'd asked me every day for the past week, and once again I told him about the pyramid in Memphis (we'll also see some of Tennessee), and the aunts and uncles, and other things. During this conversation we only moved about eight feet toward the bathroom, but he danced animatedly enough that he probably would have measured out half a mile if he'd been wearing a pedometer.
Then he paused, and with a thoughtful expression he asked again, "They have bathrooms in Mississippi?" I could tell he was just clarifying, and that he had some reason for it, but I couldn't guess what.
"Yes, they really do have bathrooms in Mississippi," I assured him, beckoning him toward our own bathroom.
His eyes got big, and his smile got bigger. "I'm gonna POOP in Mississippi!"
2. Jonathan had snuck some kind of candy into his mouth, but like all kids, Trooper has a candy radar and he saw it right away. "Dad, what you have in your mouth?"
"It's a secret."
"Can I have a secret, please?"
3. Last night Jonathan and I were trying out 'How to Get Away With Murder' (Love the diversity and interesting storyline, not so fond of the sexual content), and Trooper had come over to ask me to get him some water. I told him I'd get it at the next break, and next thing I knew he had bitten my knee. I was so surprised by it that I pushed his forehead to get him off of me before I really even realized what had happened. I said, "He just bit my knee!" And he ran down the hall, probably putting himself in time out.
Jonathan went down the hall to confront him about his behavior. "Trooper, did you bite mom's knee?"
"No." (Hesitation.) "Alethea did it." (Alethea is the dog.)
October 9, 2014
It's Socktober! Watch and be Inspired!
Watch '3 Questions That Could Change the World' from Kid President.
October 7, 2014
Alonca's Quest
Do you want to read Alonca's Quest before it's published? I was advised by a friend to serialize, and I've decided to try it out. If it works well, I may do it with all of my books. I won't be posting it publically, but I'll be emailing segments of it to subscribers who are interested.
Why would I do this?
1. The main reason is that I write more if I have people waiting for it. I was able to get a 9,000 word short story into publishable shape in just one month because I had a deadline, so I'm positive I could consistently produce at least 1,000 words a week if I was committed to it. But I need people to hold me accountable, and that's where you come in.
I need people who have been waiting for book 3 and wouldn't mind getting it piece by piece, and who wouldn't be aghast to read something that hadn't been through three or four revisions, first. My first drafts are actually pretty good, not sloppy, so it won't be too bad, but it won't ready to publish or anything.
2. Another reason I want to do it is that I want to be more engaged with you readers. This will let us have more back and forth, and give you an opportunity to share your opinions about how things go in the story. You could even have some influence over changes that are made. I don't promise to do things your way, but all suggestions will be seriously considered. Nothing is set in stone until it's up on Amazon, and even then some things can be fixed.
How does this work? You email me or leave me a message on this thread telling me that you want to read the book. Then, I'll send you the story up to the point where I'm working as a pdf file, or I guess I could send it as a kindle file. After that, every week I'll send you what I've written, probably between 1,000 and 2,000 words, in the body of the email, since it won't be a lot of text.
Please join my team and support my challenge! I can use your help, and I like to think you'll enjoy it!
Subscribe here,
sample Alonca's Quest here,
and email me at r.a._white@hotmail.com
Why would I do this?
1. The main reason is that I write more if I have people waiting for it. I was able to get a 9,000 word short story into publishable shape in just one month because I had a deadline, so I'm positive I could consistently produce at least 1,000 words a week if I was committed to it. But I need people to hold me accountable, and that's where you come in.
I need people who have been waiting for book 3 and wouldn't mind getting it piece by piece, and who wouldn't be aghast to read something that hadn't been through three or four revisions, first. My first drafts are actually pretty good, not sloppy, so it won't be too bad, but it won't ready to publish or anything.
2. Another reason I want to do it is that I want to be more engaged with you readers. This will let us have more back and forth, and give you an opportunity to share your opinions about how things go in the story. You could even have some influence over changes that are made. I don't promise to do things your way, but all suggestions will be seriously considered. Nothing is set in stone until it's up on Amazon, and even then some things can be fixed.
How does this work? You email me or leave me a message on this thread telling me that you want to read the book. Then, I'll send you the story up to the point where I'm working as a pdf file, or I guess I could send it as a kindle file. After that, every week I'll send you what I've written, probably between 1,000 and 2,000 words, in the body of the email, since it won't be a lot of text.
Please join my team and support my challenge! I can use your help, and I like to think you'll enjoy it!
Subscribe here,
sample Alonca's Quest here,
and email me at r.a._white@hotmail.com
October 5, 2014
Cultural Music
Trooper has discovered Tito Puente. I picked up a picture book about him at the library because Trooper loves books about music and because it looked culturally enlightening, and now he's a fan. He keeps asking me to play Tito on youtube. I'm not used to that style of music, but I'm enjoying it, too.
Now I need to find him a picture book about Harry Belafonte. I've played him the music, and he likes it, but books seem to be the way into Trooper's heart. We used to play one of Belafonte's tapes all the time when I was a kid, and now that I'm grown I really appreciate that my parents exposed us to different things. At the time, it seemed perfectly normal. I guess I assumed that everybody had a Harry Belafonte tape just like everybody had The Beach Boys (didn't they?), but now I'm pretty sure that wasn't true.
What about you? What kinds of music do you or could you listen to in order to stretch your world view?
You don't have to be a subscriber to comment, but you should do it anyway :).
Just click here.
Now I need to find him a picture book about Harry Belafonte. I've played him the music, and he likes it, but books seem to be the way into Trooper's heart. We used to play one of Belafonte's tapes all the time when I was a kid, and now that I'm grown I really appreciate that my parents exposed us to different things. At the time, it seemed perfectly normal. I guess I assumed that everybody had a Harry Belafonte tape just like everybody had The Beach Boys (didn't they?), but now I'm pretty sure that wasn't true.
What about you? What kinds of music do you or could you listen to in order to stretch your world view?
You don't have to be a subscriber to comment, but you should do it anyway :).
Just click here.
October 2, 2014
October 02nd, 2014
'The beautiful Ones' (The Chosen Ones), by Lori Brighton
This was just a prequel to the series, which I now will have to read someday, but it was a good read all on its own. The foreshadowing was strong enough throughout that I can't say I was surprised by anything, but somehow that didn't take away the creepiness factor. Like in movies when I know something is about to grab the hero, and I jump even worse than if I'd been surprised. I get made fun of for that, but I don't care. It's the suspense that does it.
This is definitely scary in a vampire/demon kind of way, and although many questions were answered in just the short story, I have more that I look forward to investigating. The writing/editing is clean, the story moves along quickly without rushing, and the heroine is easy to get along with.
5 stars.
Language: The blurb says there is foul language, but I can't remember any.
Sexual Content: None.
Violence: Yeah, it's a little gruesome in one part, and my guess is that there's plenty more to come in the following series.
Over-all Message/Plot: Not a message story. I found no continuity errors or plot holes, and the plot was pretty straightforward: escape or die. But I don't want to make it sound boring--it was anything but boring. Great read for a night when you want something creepy without straight on horror.
Subscribe to get weekly notices of my reviews and other posts.
This was just a prequel to the series, which I now will have to read someday, but it was a good read all on its own. The foreshadowing was strong enough throughout that I can't say I was surprised by anything, but somehow that didn't take away the creepiness factor. Like in movies when I know something is about to grab the hero, and I jump even worse than if I'd been surprised. I get made fun of for that, but I don't care. It's the suspense that does it.
This is definitely scary in a vampire/demon kind of way, and although many questions were answered in just the short story, I have more that I look forward to investigating. The writing/editing is clean, the story moves along quickly without rushing, and the heroine is easy to get along with.
5 stars.
Language: The blurb says there is foul language, but I can't remember any.
Sexual Content: None.
Violence: Yeah, it's a little gruesome in one part, and my guess is that there's plenty more to come in the following series.
Over-all Message/Plot: Not a message story. I found no continuity errors or plot holes, and the plot was pretty straightforward: escape or die. But I don't want to make it sound boring--it was anything but boring. Great read for a night when you want something creepy without straight on horror.
Subscribe to get weekly notices of my reviews and other posts.
September 30, 2014
It's Done
I turned in the Glimmer Train story last night, so here's hoping it does well. I want to thank Tamara, Andrea, Katie, Winter, Mom, and Mary Katherine for offering your input. Some of you ladies did a really thorough analysis, and the story ended up SO much better because of it. I mean, I don't think it was super horrible to begin with, but there were several things that really needed help. What kind of friend lets her pregnant roommate sit out in the hall without even checking on her? (Second round readers won't know what this is about. It's O.K.) That was the biggest change, but there were other important ones, as well.
For better or worse, I decided to go with the title 'Life Unexpected'.
They're supposed to announce winners on December 1st, so if you hear a whole lot of whoopin' and hollerin' from the east coast that day, it's just me learning that the story placed in the contest. Otherwise, you can assume they chose someone else. There are worse things.
Love to all you readers and supporters,
R.A.
P.S. If you don't yet subscribe to this blog, what are you waiting for? It doesn't cost you anything, and you might have the laugh of your life, or win a prize, or be enlightened, or something.
Just click here.
For better or worse, I decided to go with the title 'Life Unexpected'.
They're supposed to announce winners on December 1st, so if you hear a whole lot of whoopin' and hollerin' from the east coast that day, it's just me learning that the story placed in the contest. Otherwise, you can assume they chose someone else. There are worse things.
Love to all you readers and supporters,
R.A.
P.S. If you don't yet subscribe to this blog, what are you waiting for? It doesn't cost you anything, and you might have the laugh of your life, or win a prize, or be enlightened, or something.
Just click here.
September 27, 2014
Review of 'The Storm Dragon's Heart'
The Storm Dragon's Heart (Storm Phase 1) by David Alastair Hayden
I'm not sure what drew me to pick up this book in the first place, but I decided to read it because I'd never read a fantasy with an Asian feel. When I say Asian I don't mean that it's set in Asia or even that it's based on Asian mythology, only that it's based on ancient Asia the way most fantasy is based on a Renaissance culture--very loosely and with great liberties taken. Over-all I enjoyed the book and its original (to me) mood.
Turesobei is a young wizard in training, and one of the things I liked is that from the beginning he understands his potential and that he will someday be high wizard. I also enjoy the classic 'coming into power' stories (or I wouldn't have written one), but this was a nice change. I had some trouble relating to 'Sobei' at times, probably because he's a teenage boy and thinks like one. I don't usually have trouble relating to adult male characters, but I'm afraid that teens can be a little too clueless for me *bangs head on wall*. There was also the somewhat stereotypical (spelled that right first try, woohoo!) female bad-girl love interest, but she was different in that she was furry. There were several interesting characters, and the main ones were fairly well fleshed out by the end of the book.
That said, there were a LOT of characters, and most of them were the flat, disposable types. I don't think I ever felt truly in suspense, or like I was worried about anyone, even though there were numerous fight scenes with people dying. It's not that the writing was sloppy or poorly edited; on the contrary it's very clean for an indie book. I just had a hard time getting emotionally engaged at times. It started feeling long and I was ready to move on to something else. Of course, I read this between Divergent books, which were extremely gripping to me (did I mention I hated the ending of those?) , so that might have skewed my perception of 'The Storm Dragon's Heart'. For those looking for a straightforward adventure book with a more typical 'They went here and fought these people, then went there and were ambushed by these demons' story, this would be a good choice.
Language: I can't remember any foul language. If there was any, it was minor.
Sexual Content: A couple scenes with the furry girl taking off clothes, but nothing is really described, and there's no sex scene.
Violence: Yes, fight scenes and blood, but all pretty normal stuff for fantasy.
Over-All Message/Plot: No real message, just a fantasy quest with an Asian undertone. As far as I remember, anything that might have been considered a plot hole was at least addressed and explained away so I didn't get irritated.
3.5 stars.
If you want to keep up with my reviews, subscribe to my blog at rawhitebooksandmore(dot)weebly(dot)com.
I'm not sure what drew me to pick up this book in the first place, but I decided to read it because I'd never read a fantasy with an Asian feel. When I say Asian I don't mean that it's set in Asia or even that it's based on Asian mythology, only that it's based on ancient Asia the way most fantasy is based on a Renaissance culture--very loosely and with great liberties taken. Over-all I enjoyed the book and its original (to me) mood.
Turesobei is a young wizard in training, and one of the things I liked is that from the beginning he understands his potential and that he will someday be high wizard. I also enjoy the classic 'coming into power' stories (or I wouldn't have written one), but this was a nice change. I had some trouble relating to 'Sobei' at times, probably because he's a teenage boy and thinks like one. I don't usually have trouble relating to adult male characters, but I'm afraid that teens can be a little too clueless for me *bangs head on wall*. There was also the somewhat stereotypical (spelled that right first try, woohoo!) female bad-girl love interest, but she was different in that she was furry. There were several interesting characters, and the main ones were fairly well fleshed out by the end of the book.
That said, there were a LOT of characters, and most of them were the flat, disposable types. I don't think I ever felt truly in suspense, or like I was worried about anyone, even though there were numerous fight scenes with people dying. It's not that the writing was sloppy or poorly edited; on the contrary it's very clean for an indie book. I just had a hard time getting emotionally engaged at times. It started feeling long and I was ready to move on to something else. Of course, I read this between Divergent books, which were extremely gripping to me (did I mention I hated the ending of those?) , so that might have skewed my perception of 'The Storm Dragon's Heart'. For those looking for a straightforward adventure book with a more typical 'They went here and fought these people, then went there and were ambushed by these demons' story, this would be a good choice.
Language: I can't remember any foul language. If there was any, it was minor.
Sexual Content: A couple scenes with the furry girl taking off clothes, but nothing is really described, and there's no sex scene.
Violence: Yes, fight scenes and blood, but all pretty normal stuff for fantasy.
Over-All Message/Plot: No real message, just a fantasy quest with an Asian undertone. As far as I remember, anything that might have been considered a plot hole was at least addressed and explained away so I didn't get irritated.
3.5 stars.
If you want to keep up with my reviews, subscribe to my blog at rawhitebooksandmore(dot)weebly(dot)com.
