Sage Nestler's Blog, page 61

Pork by R.S. Anthony

Title: Pork

Author: R.S. Anthony

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

High school is torture for Steven Walthurst, and home isn’t a whole lot better. The only place that offers respite is an abandoned tree house at the edge of town. But something lurks in the nearby woods, and the long line of elm trees has a clear message for Steven: keep out.

Then one day, Steven finds a little girl lying unconscious, perilously close to the woods. As the two get to know one another, Steven experiences real friendship for the first time—and gets closer than ever to knowing the darkness that skulks between the trees.

He dedicates himself to keeping his new friend safe, but the tranquility of their fragile hidden world doesn’t last long. When an act of cruelty pushes Steven to his limits, his secrets—and those of the dark woods—come close to unraveling, threatening to destroy the one thing making his teenage life bearable.

Can Steven save everything he’s built from crumbling under the pressure?

This story will tug at your heartstrings as the characters experience friendship, abuse, mistrust, and deliverance.

Review:

Pork is an eerie thriller that is both entertaining and terrifying.  The sharp writing helped to intensify the story well, and even though the beginning was a bit slow I couldn’t help but yearn to finish this book.  The reader quickly becomes engrossed with Steven, and it is hard not to fall into his position and imagine his experiences for yourself.

R.S. Anthony writes with the voice of an observer; a writer who deeply understands the human experience and what teenagers and children go through.  She is able to understand how children are affected by their parents’ actions, and that is a factor that deeply affected Steven throughout the novel.  Anthony seemed to insinuate that by running away from his problems every day, Steven fell into a nightmare that the woods created for him.  She encapsulated the rebellious teenage experience while also touching on the subject of bullying, and forced Steven to evolve throughout the novel due to the experiences that he suffered through.

P0rk is a great introductory novel into the thriller/horror genre, and would be a great novel for young adult readers to start with.  Steven is highly relatable, and the novel is tame enough that timid readers won’t be bothered.  This novel is so much more than just a work of horror, it is also a brilliant take on teenagehood and how humans evolve during this time.  Steven seems to get his wings in this novel, and it was delightful to watch him change as he progresses into early adulthood.

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Writing Tip: Determining Which Writing Perspective is Right for You

Hello, Everyone!

Today I would like to discuss the different perspectives that writers are able to use, and how each one will change your story dramatically.  First and foremost, these perspectives are:

1st Person = From the perspective of the narrator, using the pronoun “I”
2nd Person = Directed towards the reader, using the pronoun “you”
3rd Person = From an outside source, or the perspective of the writer, using pronouns such as “they, he, she, etc.”

Usually, the most common perspective to use in novels is the 1st person perspective.  However, this perspective is tricky and the writer needs to have some necessary knowledge of what using this perspective entails, and what you can and can’t include.  The main thing you must understand is that by using this perspective you are choosing to write your story from the perspective of one of your characters.  Because of this, you won’t be able to talk about certain elements of your story that the character you are speaking from wouldn’t know about.

For example, if your main character doesn’t know that her parents are about to divorce, you can’t talk about this from her perspective.

You are limiting your knowledge base by using this perspective, but it also opens you up to include surprises and plot twists in your story due to the fact that your narrator’s knowledge base won’t be as vast.  In my opinion, this perspective is best if you are trying to portray your main character on a deeper level in order to have your reader empathize with them.  It is also better if your cast of characters is not as vast, and you won’t need to expand on your other characters quite as much.  For example, I would use this perspective if  I were writing about a character going through a personal change or break through in order to have the reader understand them better.

The second most common perspective is third person, and it happens to be my favorite perspective.  The beauty about third person perspective is that you are using pronouns such as “they, he, or she” and you are able to narrate as the writer yourself.  Because of this, your entire knowledge base is susceptible to being used since you don’t have to make sure that you are only writing from the perspective of one character.  This perspective is best used for a large cast of characters since you can move around the characters and focus on different ones throughout the novel.

The last perspective, and possibly the hardest to pull off, is second person perspective.  Second person perspective essentially uses the pronoun “you” and makes the reader a big part of the story.  This perspective is hard to pull off because you will be talking to the reader and have your story revolve around them.  By doing this, you have to imagine what your reader’s knowledge base is about your story, and you are limited by that knowledge base.  However, if this perspective is used well it can transport the reader directly into the novel and allow them to imagine themselves interacting with the characters in their world.  I would not use this perspective if you are trying to convey your story to the reader and not treat them as an active part of the story because you won’t be able to use descriptions and outside plots as much as you would in the other perspectives.  However, this one is fun to play and I would suggest using it if you want to create a full-blown experiences for the reader.  Think of this perspective as a person playing a video game.  When people play video games they become part of the game themselves, and that is what this perspective will help you do with your novel.

By understanding all of the different perspectives in detail, you will be better able to write a novel that appeals to a larger audience.  Each story is fit for a different perspective and vice versa, and I have outlined for you below what my suggestions are for all three perspectives.

1st Person = good for stories with a smaller cast of characters, and a focus on a single character to portray their experience and emotions better.
2nd Person = useful for stories that aim to include the reader in the plot.  By making the reader feel a part of the story, your story will have to revolve around them.  Not recommended for stories with a large cast of characters that involve outside stories that the reader themselves as a character would not experience
3rd Person = Essential for stories with a big cast of characters so that you are able to expand on each character and unite them all into the same story.  You will be better able to include extra information with this perspective, because your narrator’s knowledge base won’t be limited.

Always remember that you can go back through a story and change the perspective if needed.  Each perspective has its own benefits and downfalls, and as an author you will know what is best for you.  But I urge you to try each perspective out and determine what your favorite is, and which one you think will be the most beneficial for you in your writing.  I hope this helps, and please leave questions below if you would like anymore tips or information!

Much love,

Ashley

July Go Indie Now! Excellence in Literature Award

Hi Everyone!

I am excited to announce that we at Go Indie Now! have awarded our July Excellence in Literature Award to Jacqueline E. Smith, for her novel Backstage: A Boy Band Novel!  Her award dedication page can be found at our awards website, and I sincerely hope that you all check out her Boy Band series.  Her writing is brilliant, and she has an excellence take on the after high school experience that everyone seems to go through.

Congratulations Jacqueline!

Award Website

Much love,

Ashley

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Weekly Update: 08/08/16 – 08/14/16

Hello Everyone!

A few updates.  This month, our Go Indie Now! Bibliotherapy Fiction Boxes will be going out a bit later around the 20th.  Our Romance/Erotica and Poetry boxes have already gone out, but we have a few Romance/Erotica boxes left if you missed out and would still like to purchase one.  Today is also the last day to order our August boxes, and any boxes sold after today will be receiving the September box.  Below are the themes for our fantastic September boxes:

Fiction Box (Base and Simple Options): Alternate Realities (Steampunk/Dystopian Genres) – A bibliotherapy session for when you need to embrace different perspectives.
Romance/Erotica Box: Dreaming of the Sea – A bibliotherapy session for those who long for the ocean.
Poetry Box: We Are the Galaxy – A bibliotherapy session for when you want to feel a part the bigger picture.

This week I will also be reviewing:

Pork by R.S. Anthony
Bright Minds, Empty Souls by Jennae Cecelia

Have a great week everyone!

Much love,

Ashley

Summer Author Tour: Leslie Conzatti

Happy Monday Everyone!

This week’s author spotlight is on Leslie Conzatti, author of “The Water Man”, “Merely Meridith”, “Princess of Undersea”, and “The Commander’s Courage”.  Her works aren’t currently published, but they can be viewed on her blog and Wattpad.  The interview I had with her, as well as her biography, are below!  Enjoy!

INTERVIEW
1) What is your favorite genre to write, and do you write across different genres?
When I am working on entirely-original projects, my writing generally vacillates between fantasy and cyberpunk. I do have some “adaptations” I have started that are kind of contemporary romance (“Merely Meredith” [http://upstreamwriter.blogspot.com/2015/05/story-feature-merely-meredith-modern.html] is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”) or historical fiction (as in “The ReBible Series”, [http://upstreamwriter.blogspot.com/p/the-rebible-series.html] which are historical/modern adaptations of Bible stories) but in those cases it’s a story already written, so I am just repurposing the details. It is a lot of cyberpunk and fantasy, though.


2) What has your publishing experience been like?
So far it’s been great! Not at all what I thought it would be, since originally I was going to be a part of a self-published anthology, then a small-press published anthology, and then that dwindled down to just me… But the publisher I am working with has been very patient with all of my worried questions and inadvertent procrastinating, he has been clear and above-board in his dealings, and I am confident that this will continue moving forward!

3) What is your advice to aspiring authors?
Keep freaking writing. Absorb other media, whether it’s books, TV shows, or movies. Learn what you can about the writing process; there have been quite a few times I have come across books that the author was really excited and proud of the fact that they produced a book… But since they ignored the basic rudiments of storytelling, what may have been a unique and inventive premise got lost in the flurry of sensational scenarios, flat characters, dull plot dwindles, and forced conversations. Learn from others’ successes and mistakes. When you like something or don’t like it, stop and see if you can figure out why that is. If you liked it, maybe you will want to add it to your own writing. If you didn’t, identify it so you can avoid it. Oh, and Keep. Freaking. Writing.

4) What do you hope readers will take away from your writing?
I want to give a message of hope and empowerment. I love literature with such a passion that I am devastated when I witness it used in such a way as to leave the reader confused and hopeless, or (God forbid) more detached from the real world. I believe that literature should be designed to improve the world one reader at a time, so when that aspect is disregarded, then what is the point of all those words?

5) What are you currently working on?
I am currently in the process of publishing a novella entitled “Princess of Undersea,” which is sort of like my own version of The Little Mermaid.
As far as in-progress novels, I have an urban fantasy novel called “The Water-Man”, [https://www.wattpad.com/story/49585258-the-water-man] which I am currently posting on Wattpad.
Any other works-in-progress are available for perusal as excerpts on my blog.

BIO

Leslie Conzatti is an avid reader, a passionate writer, and a committed lover of all things fantasy. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she has been running the blog “The Upstream Writer” since the beginning of 2013, to promote her own writing and as a medium for interacting with readers. In addition, “The Upstream Writer” is an “indie book blog” as well, since Leslie willingly uses it as an excuse to get free books. (to review, of course!) Leslie’s “day job” is a staff assistant at a local elementary school. She is currently in the process of getting a novella published, and hopes to be ready for release by the fall!

Blog:http://www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leslieconzattiwriter
Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/KartheyM

The Raven Trilogy: The First Journey by Melka Stansah

Title: The Raven Trilogy: The First Journey

Author: Melka Stansah

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis:

Raven is an outcast in an dystopian medieval world at war. He embarks on a journey to avenge his father’s death then he meets someone that turn his life upside down and discover the truth of his origins. Will Raven find the answers he is looking for?

Review:

The Raven Trilogy: The First Journey has an interesting basis.  I enjoyed Raven and his lone wolf attitude; however, I was confused by the mix of present and past tense that Melka Stansah switched between.  In the beginning of the book the writing was written in standard past tense style, but later on it switched to present tense which made the writing read a bit awkward.  For example:

“Chavet looks at his troops in dismay, whatever happened is beyond his comprehension.”

By writing the story in this manner, Stansah seemed to keep the reader outside of her story instead of letting them completely in.  But that being said,  if the tone of the story were fixed, this story would be highly enjoyable.

Stansah molds together a word of mythology and dystopia all in one.  She brings to surface elements of the old world, while making it clear that her story and setting are thrust into the future.  Watching the characters in this novel unfold was enjoyable, and I found myself growing attached to Raven by the end.  He was a true warrior, and seeing his strength grow despite the setbacks of his past made me feel hope for the future of us all.  Raven is a true role model for readers of all ages, and I think that young adults would benefit the most from this novel.  It is a great mix of fantasy and real life lessons within an original storyline.

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The Surrendered by Case Maynard

Title: The Surrendered

Author: Case Maynard

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

After a financial collapse devastates the United States, the new government imposes a tax on the nation’s most valuable resource―the children.

Surrendered at age ten―after her parents could no longer afford her exorbitant fees―Vee Delancourt has spent six hard years at the Mills, alongside her twin, Oliver. With just a year to freedom, they do what they can to stay off the Master’s radar. But when Vee discovers unspeakable things happening to the younger girls in service, she has no choice but to take a stand―a decision that lands her on the run and outside the fence for the first time since the System robbed her of her liberty.

Vee knows the Master will stop at nothing to prove he holds ultimate authority over the Surrendered. But when he makes a threat that goes beyond what even she considers possible, she accepts the aid of an unlikely group of allies. Problem is, with opposing factions gunning for the one thing that might save them all, Vee must find a way to turn oppression and desperation into hope and determination―or risk failing all the children and the brother she left behind.

Review:

The Surrendered is an interesting take on the United States and the troubles we are currently in.  With election season right around the corner – and quite possibly the most controversial election – Case Maynard presents us with her perspective of what could happen to our country if control is lost.  And while I could connect some of the elements of her work with Unwind by Neal Shusterman, her ideas and voice are clearly her own.  I found this particularly refreshing in today’s cluttered literary world of similar sounding Dystopian novels.

Vee is a strong female character, and stands apart from those in her genre in the way that she is easier to relate to, and seemingly on her own in terms of family.  Since her parents surrendered her because they couldn’t afford the fees anymore, she went to work at a mill with her brother.  However, it was then that she became the property of the government, and is forced to try and fight back for her freedom, and the freedom of those around her.  I enjoyed Maynard’s take on the element that we all associate with America – freedom – and what terrible things could happen if that freedom were taken away from the majority of the population.  I enjoyed watching Vee, and the country, develop as I read along, and I felt quite refreshed once I finished the book.  Maynard clearly understood her vision and the logistics necessary when writing such an interesting take on our government and society.  Not once in the novel did I feel that it wasn’t realistic, and that is what made it so frightening.

Overall, I feel that this novel is essential for children – and adults – of today to read in terms of understanding what could happen if our country were to break down its morals.  Without being too politically stirring, The Surrendered presents us with a nightmarish alternative reality that haunts the reader to the bone – and could be just around from corner from coming true.

*The Surrendered was sent to me by Blaze Publishing to consider for the Go Indie Now! Bibliotherapy Box.

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A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock

Title: A Fine Imitation

Author: Amber Brock

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

Vera Bellington has beauty, pedigree, and a penthouse at The Angelus–the most coveted address on Park Avenue. But behind the sparkling social whirl, Vera is living a life of quiet desperation. Her days are an unbroken loop of empty, champagne-soaked socializing, while her nights are silent and cold, spent waiting alone in her cavernous apartment for a husband who seldom comes home.

Then Emil Hallan arrives at The Angelus to paint a mural above its glittering subterranean pool. The handsome French artist moves into the building, shrouds his work in secrecy, and piques Vera’s curiosity, especially when the painter keeps dodging questions about his past. Is he the man he claims to be? Even as she finds herself increasingly drawn to Hallan’s warmth and passion, Vera can’t suppress her suspicions. After all, she has plenty of secrets, too–and some of them involve art forgers like her bold, artistically talented former friend, Bea, who years ago, at Vassar, brought Vera to the brink of catastrophe and social exile.

When the dangerous mysteries of Emil’s past are revealed, Vera faces an impossible choice–whether to cling to her familiar world of privilege and propriety or to risk her future with the enigmatic man who has taken her heart. A Fine Imitation explores what happens when we realize that the life we’ve always led is not the life we want to have.

Review:

A Fine Imitation is an intriguing look at women during the turn of the century, and one woman’s life as she begins to find herself rebelling against who society – and her family – wants her to be.  The only problem with this novel was that I wasn’t convinced that the story was truly set in the 1920’s due to a lack of description concerning elements associated with the turn of the century.

Amber Brock, however, is clearly a fine storyteller.  Some of the minor elements that she inserted into the novel did well to show us hidden aspects of the main character, Vera.  By the following example alone, Brock showed us how Vera sees the world as always judging her and willing her to be how they expect her to be:

“Four golden angel statues topped the roof, their wings tucked, and they glared down at Vera as she left her car and went into the lobby.”

These small examples show Brock’s artistry beautifully, and prove that she knows how to develop her characters well.  She also has a great sense of art itself due to some of the scattered comments that she wrote through different characters throughout the book:

“With their eyes all rolled to the gods like that, it looks like they are having fits.  The worst thing is how lazy it is on the artist’s part.  Making a person look real is far more of a challenge.”

Art was something that Vera found to be a comfort, and it was clear that this is what caused her to have an affair with an artist.  She never felt connected to her husband, and the artist connected to her soul based solely on his work.  Brock’s novel is so much more than a novel about women in the 1920’s, but about art and emotion and how it can save a person who feels lonely and lost in life.  Vera found herself and who she was meant to be, despite what society told her.  This book is a lesson for all women and anyone who needs the courage to be who they are – no matter the consequence.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Literary Bones by Holly Ducarte

Title: Literary Bones

Author: Holly Ducarte

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

Holly Ducarte’s second poetry chapbook is an eclectic blend of classic and contemporary poems meant to dig deep, right down to our bones. Meant to plunge us into life’s dark mysteries, nature, romance, woes, and triumphs.

Review:

Literary Bones is an eclectic mix of different poetry genres, but they all come together with the dark and mysterious way that Holly Ducarte writes.  Her poems in this collection are on the creepier side, and a couple of them knocked the breath out of me by the time that I finished them.  Poetry is an excellent way to touch the reader in a small amount of time, and Ducarte has the art down.  Even though this collection is fairly small, the poems packed inside of it are powerful enough to make the collection more valuable to the reader.

However, one critique I have is that Ducarte seemed to be too focused on the rhyming of her poems.  Some of the rhymes read as though they were forced, and unfortunately ended up coming off as a bit amateurish.  If she had focused more on portraying her unique view on life and ideas, rather than rhyming, I think that this collection would have the chance to soar more than it already does.  But I enjoyed her contemporary voice, and how it stood out from the classic poets.

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Ruby Ink by L.J. Wilson

Title: Ruby Ink

Author: L.J. Wilson

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

Ruby Ink is the first book in this sensual romance series — journeys of intrigue, seduction, and satisfying storytelling. The Clairmont siblings, known as the “Tribe of Five” — Alec, Aaron, Honor, Jake and Troy — are complex characters whose individual stories and intricate love lives drive these dynamic new novels.

In Ruby Ink, Aaron Clairmont has been granted an early parole. He returns home to Nickel Springs and finds employment at Abstract Enchantment, a trendy new inn. But Aaron’s mind can’t let go of its predecessor, the vintage Rose Arch Inn, the setting for his passionate love affair with Ruby Vasquez. Ruby — the girl Aaron lost after his secret underworld life unraveled, shocking everyone who thought they knew him.

Freedom comes fast at Aaron — a family desperate to reconnect, an employer cast as his savior, and the steamy memories he can’t escape. Just as Aaron surrenders to starting anew, he realizes the diabolical trap he’s been lured into — a fresh hell that makes prison look like a country club. Lives are at stake, his family and Ruby’s. Ruby Vasquez — the woman Aaron never thought he’d see again. The one destined to collide with his future.

Review:

Ruby Ink is a classic love story between a bad boy and the girl who he is destined to be with.  Even though this type of story line has been told many times over, L.J. Wilson wove it in with her own vision and characters so that the story seemed brand new.  I found myself falling in love with Aaron with each page, and I adored being able to see snippets from his past, as well as his present.  Wilson built his character perfectly by not glamorizing that he was a felon and had spent time in jail, but instead chose to represent how the experience had changed his entire life.  As someone who has worked with inmates as part of my social working career, I found his experience to be very practical and realistic.  What I look for in good Erotica novels is a substantial story that is about more than just sex, and Wilson more than delivered.

In terms of the sensual scenes in Ruby Ink, they weren’t too overdone or drawn out in a way that is almost too much; instead, they were poetic and represented sex as more than just an animalistic act.  Too many times Erotica novels portray sex in this way, but Wilson incorporated love with sex and wound the two together in such a way that was drool worthy.  She really amplified the connection that sex comes with, and used it to intensify her characters and their relationships.  Nothing in her novel was unrealistic, and that is why it deserves a well earned 5/5 start rating.  Her characters were unbelievably complex, and I missed them when I wasn’t reading the book.  They popped right off of the page, and made me forget that I wasn’t remembering a movie I had seen, but a book instead.  Her imagery and plot was perfect, and I can’t talk up this book enough.

If you are looking for an Erotica novel that has substance, complex characters, and a page turning plot, then look no further than Ruby Ink.  It meets all of my expectations for a quality Erotica novel.

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