Kelley Armstrong's Blog, page 9

So I am wondering about the point of the "Cabals." I read somewhere that it is like supernatural Mafia but I am still confused. Also I am a young writer and I would appreciate some writer advice on how you keep a story flowing and how you reject writers b

The term usually used to describe Cabals is supernatural corporate Mafia. The corporate part is important :) They’re businesses run by and staffed by supernaturals who use their power to gain an advantage, often in a negative way (hence the Mafia part!)

As for keeping at story flowing, the best advice I can give is to entertain yourself first. If I’m not entertained by my story–if I’m not enjoying the plot and the characters–it’s just not going to flow for me.

So I am wondering about the point of the "Cabals." I read somewhere that it is like supernatural Mafia but I am still confused. Also I am a young writer and I would appreciate some writer advice on how you keep a story flowing and how you reject writers b

The term usually used to describe Cabals is supernatural corporate Mafia. The corporate part is important :) They’re businesses run by and staffed by supernaturals who use their power to gain an advantage, often in a negative way (hence the Mafia part!)

As for keeping at story flowing, the best advice I can give is to entertain yourself first. If I’m not entertained by my story–if I’m not enjoying the plot and the characters–it’s just not going to flow for me.

I'm so sorry, I feel like I'm blowing up your ask box. Anyway the Necromancer's daughter in Driven...how was she able to speak with her dad? I thought Necromancer's couldn't talk to family members? It's why Chloe talking to her mom was such a big deal righ

They can’t summon their family members and the ghosts who’ve passed over are prohibited from making contact. I’m not sure it comes up in Darkest Powers but in the Otherworld, it’s said that there is a period immediately after death–before the spirit moves on–when they can communicate without being summoned. 

I'm so sorry, I feel like I'm blowing up your ask box. Anyway the Necromancer's daughter in Driven...how was she able to speak with her dad? I thought Necromancer's couldn't talk to family members? It's why Chloe talking to her mom was such a big deal righ

They can’t summon their family members and the ghosts who’ve passed over are prohibited from making contact. I’m not sure it comes up in Darkest Powers but in the Otherworld, it’s said that there is a period immediately after death–before the spirit moves on–when they can communicate without being summoned. 

I read somewhere that you said Chloe & Jaime are equal in power. I don't mean to be rude but in all honesty I don't feel like that is the case. Chloe's glow may be brighter but that's not the reason why. She is able to use her powers a lot easier than Jaim

I believe my old answer was that, at the state they were in Darkest Powers vs Otherworld, their powers were about equal, but Chloe would then accelerate past Jaime. Chloe had the innate power; Jaime had the experience. 

I read somewhere that you said Chloe & Jaime are equal in power. I don't mean to be rude but in all honesty I don't feel like that is the case. Chloe's glow may be brighter but that's not the reason why. She is able to use her powers a lot easier than Jaim

I believe my old answer was that, at the state they were in Darkest Powers vs Otherworld, their powers were about equal, but Chloe would then accelerate past Jaime. Chloe had the innate power; Jaime had the experience. 

Hi! Just wanted to send a little note of love seeing as it's the holidays :) I love your books to death, especially Darkest Powers/Rising and hope that in the future you may write another series in that universe (though I won't get my hopes up lol) Hope yo

Thank you! I’ve been offline for the holidays but I hope your holidays were wonderful. And yes, I might do something with those characters sometime–I just need to figure out a worthy plotline!

Hi! Just wanted to send a little note of love seeing as it's the holidays :) I love your books to death, especially Darkest Powers/Rising and hope that in the future you may write another series in that universe (though I won't get my hopes up lol) Hope yo

Thank you! I’ve been offline for the holidays but I hope your holidays were wonderful. And yes, I might do something with those characters sometime–I just need to figure out a worthy plotline!

Where is the best place in Canada for a writer to live? I have to pick a place for a school assignment and searching the web isn't helping so I thought I'd ask an actual Canadian author. I understand that authors can live anywhere are still flourish in th

It’s really a matter of personal preference. Living outside the major centres means you need to travel for meetings, signings etc but that’s not a weekly occurrence and I’ve never thought “I really wish I lived in the city because it’d cut down on travel.” Major centres, though, do have more resources for writers…like coffee shops :)

Living outside a major centre means that money one makes from writing goes a lot further. That’s important–this isn’t the kind of job where you can expect to sell your first book and get a condo in downtown Toronto/Vancouver. It would mean that you’d be able to quit the day job faster.

There’s also the question of exactly how isolated you are. I’d love to live somewhere like the Yukon, but I’d have to consider how difficult/expensive/time-consuming it would be to get everyplace else for events and on-site research.

One more thing you can consider for your project is noise. Some writers thrive on the chaos of a city. Many prefer the quiet of a small town. I love the near silence of the countryside. It can make a difference, depending on one’s writing style.

Where is the best place in Canada for a writer to live? I have to pick a place for a school assignment and searching the web isn't helping so I thought I'd ask an actual Canadian author. I understand that authors can live anywhere are still flourish in th

It’s really a matter of personal preference. Living outside the major centres means you need to travel for meetings, signings etc but that’s not a weekly occurrence and I’ve never thought “I really wish I lived in the city because it’d cut down on travel.” Major centres, though, do have more resources for writers…like coffee shops :)

Living outside a major centre means that money one makes from writing goes a lot further. That’s important–this isn’t the kind of job where you can expect to sell your first book and get a condo in downtown Toronto/Vancouver. It would mean that you’d be able to quit the day job faster.

There’s also the question of exactly how isolated you are. I’d love to live somewhere like the Yukon, but I’d have to consider how difficult/expensive/time-consuming it would be to get everyplace else for events and on-site research.

One more thing you can consider for your project is noise. Some writers thrive on the chaos of a city. Many prefer the quiet of a small town. I love the near silence of the countryside. It can make a difference, depending on one’s writing style.