J.B. Garner's Blog, page 29

Updates and Announcements!

jbgarner58:

Updates from one of the book review sites I am affiliated with! Enjoy!

Originally posted on The Book Review Directory:

Hello writers and readers!

This is a little update to show off some of the new developments on this website! We have been growing quite a bit, which certainly benefits you all too.

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Starving Review: The Last Gathering by Norbert Monfort

The Last Gathering: Where Tragedy Takes a Twist Through Time by Norbert Monfort (Amazon, Goodreads)

When I cracked open the pantry last week to search for a new meal, I found this interesting box sitting off to one side.  ‘Magical realism’, it said and that alone piqued my interest.  It was a genre designation I’d never heard about before.  What is it?  Is it tasty?  Does it go good with a nice cup of coffee? It was time to find out, so here we go with The Last Gathering, subtitled When Tragedy Takes a Twist Through Time!

As I cut the cello tape on the lid of this meal, please recite the Starving Review creed:

I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

What Gathering boils down to is a contemporary tale with one particular supernatural twist.  The core metaplot is quite sound, revolving around the concept of how one tragedy can create a domino effect through an entire community.  In addition this interesting concept is backed by some well-crafted characters, with quite a bit of time and detail spent in fleshing out and building up this entire community.  You can see how the dominoes fall when they do.  Likewise, the supernatural element, when it appears, is handled well, even if its appearance is quite abrupt (something of a problem as we will talk about later).  However, there are unfortunately some stumbles in the recipe that suck the flavor out of the dish.

I am about to sound like a broken record again but pacing, pacing, pacing!  That is the primary problem with this meal.  The actual conflict, while hinted around vaguely, doesn’t even start until over half-way through the book.  Instead, we have increasingly larger dashes of characters and various bits of community minutiae that, while they do flesh out the cast of characters more and more, passes the point of ‘informative’ to ‘overload’.  While having extensively characterized, er, characters is a good thing, characterization is just another ingredient in the recipe.  It has to be balanced in the right proportions with the other ingredients, not piled on to the degree that it overpowers the meal.

What I’m trying to say is that the characterization could have been slimmed down a fair bit and not hurt the plot or the depth of character at all, while making the entire story flow much better.  This early bloat also leads to a certain mood and thematic whiplash, especially when the extent of the tragedy is finally revealed.  What seems to be building to a story about dramatic and familial tensions turns into something far darker and more extensive when the other shoe finally drops.

The final little niggle, not enough to take a mark off but worth mentioning, is that the recipe over all needs a good polish and edit.  Perhaps it’s just this Starving Reviewer’s occasional OCD urges but it is distracting from the narrative when I feel the need to grab a red pen on every single page, even with my own imperfect grammar.

What this wraps up into is that The Last Gathering is a meal with a very solid concept that falls apart under its dense, excessive exposition.  As with most of the meals that I have problems getting down, there is a strong spark of potential here and there is a story very much worth telling in the filling of this pie; it’s just hidden under a lot of dense crust.  Given a bit of time back in the kitchen with a more balanced recipe, Mr. Monfort could turn this into a real wonder.  Until then, though, it is what it is, despite its potential.

FINAL VERDICT: ** (A good filling at its heart, but way too thick of a crust to get there!)

Starving Interview: Norbert Monfort, Author of The Last Gathering

It’s another beautiful Friday, which means it’s time to pull a fresh book out of the pantry for review.  It also means we introduce a new chef into the kitchen as we eat their meal.  This week, we talk to Norbert Monfort, the cook behind The Last Gathering!

Please introduce yourself to my literary foodies!

My name is Norbert Monfort and I’m a happily married father of three, who happens to enjoy trying to put together a good story, um meal, for others.

Do you do any work outside of the writing kitchen? Any non-work interests?

Fortunately, most of my work is outside the literary kitchen or I’d be living on the streets! I have always enjoyed the IT (computer support) field and have managed to make a pretty good living at it for many years. Aside from writing, I mostly enjoy spending time with my family, reading and watching an occasional sports event. It may not sound exciting, but life with three kids carries its own built-in excitement.

What is your latest dish to be served up?

My latest dish is “Lost Time”, which is intended to be the first in a series and was published last year. It’s a sci-fi short story that explores the idea of time passing without you being able to experience it.

Are there any past pieces of literary cuisine you think we should take a bite out of?

Unfortunately, this Chef has a tendency to ruin his meals along the way :). I have only felt that two of my meals were worth consuming by anyone and thus those are the only ones published.

What made you want to put on the chef’s hat and whip up your own books?

As with most Chef’s, the taste of wonderful food (i.e. great books/stories) inspired me to try creating those experiences for others.

Do you have a genre of specialty or do you dabble? Why?

While I don’t think I would ever limit myself, I mostly tend to write a combination of Science Fiction, Magical Realism and Mystery. These are the genres that I enjoy reading, similar to a Chef who likes to cook what he enjoys to eat.

Style! Every literary chef aspires to have their own unique one! What do you think sets yours apart and why?

My style is very much “to the point”. Having a mathematical and engineering background, I tend to focus on the main point of a scene and not so much on building the mood. I find this to be a plus and a negative. While I enjoy getting to the point when I read, if there’s a lack of mood building, this can keep the reader from being fully captivated by the story. Thus, it’s a balance that I continue to struggle with.

Even the best of us find inspiration is the dishes of others. Do you have any literary inspirations, heroes, and influences?

Of course. I grew up reading older Science Fiction short stories and still enjoy them today. Isaac Asimov, Phillip K Dick, Timothy Zahn and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (yes, I know that Sherlock Holmes is not Science Fiction) were among my favorites.

Let’s get into the meat and potatoes: the art and craft of writing itself! Do you have a preference of points-of-view when you write?

I find that writing in the first person is easier. The scenes flow more fluidly and there’s no ambiguity about whose feelings I should be focusing on. However, I also find that writing in the first person limits your ability to delve into the other characters and explore more complex story lines where one character is not always the focus. Thus, I tend to write short stories in the first person, but more complex lengthier novels in the third person.

Sparse or wordy, how do you like your descriptions served up? Are you a Hemmingway man or do you like some saucy adjectives with your nouns?

As mentioned above, I’m certainly a sparse describer (very little seasoning with the meat) and often to an extreme. Although I don’t particularly enjoy reading overly descriptive narratives, I must admit that I envy the writers that are able to pull it off well. I have grown to believe that this ability to describe a scene in such a way that all your senses feel aroused and your imagination has been completely enveloped is an innate gift and one that I do not personally possess.

Picking off the menu of base literary conflicts, what’s your favorite and why?

I enjoy them all if done well as I believe you can learn from any struggle. However, I’m particularly keen of the “person vs. self” protagonist approach because I find that if you can overcome your own prejudices, insecurities and resentments, the rest of life will fall into place regardless of the situation thrown at you.

What do you think is more important to your recipes, plot or characterization? Why?

I strongly believe that you need both well balanced to have a truly great recipe. If your story has a fantastic plot, but your characters are not engaging or interesting, then your reader will not care about the outcome. If you have fascinating characters, that will retain your audience’s attention in the short run, but eventually something of substance needs to occur to make the story worth reading.

We all know that the first taste means the most! What do you do to get that first bite hook with your readers?

I try to create a sense of the unusual right from the beginning to hook the reader into wanting to understand what has happened. I’ve learned that combining this with some interesting character developments up front provides your best bet at garnering early interest. Of course, this is only last a few pages and then the story needs to continue to retain that attention.

The most important of questions: Cake or pie?

I’m definitely a cake person, although I have no idea how to relate that to a metaphor about writing. :)

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring literary chefs out there, what would it be?

If you truly like to write, then make the time to write. There may not be an audience for what you’re writing, but that’s OK. Every time you write, you improve your craft and develop new ways of describing situations, people and the glorious world around us. If you feel that you have finally written something of note, then publish it yourself. If you are in it for the money, then be prepared to be disappointed. You should only write because you enjoy to do so and if you make some money along the way, that’s just gravy on top.

Starving Interview: Jacob Appel, Author of The Biology of Luck

It’s time again to bring back another Starving Review alumnus to the kitchen and pick open their minds!  Today’s chef is Jacob M. Appel, author of past reviewee The Biology of Luck.  Read the interview then take the time to check out the review!

Please introduce yourself to my literary foodies!

I’m Jacob M. Appel. However, your readers are far more likely to recognize me by the various pen names I use—including William Gaddis, Thomas Pynchon and Richard Powers.

Do you do any work outside of the writing kitchen? Any non-work interests?

In my “real” life, I’m a practicing psychiatrist…which, my friends tell me, is almost a “real” doctor.

What is your latest dish to be served up? Are there any past pieces of literary cuisine you think we should take a bite out of?

I have a new collection of stories out with Black Lawrence this summer, Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets. Yet the most popular of my works—to the degree any could be considered popular—are Einstein’s Beach House and The Biology of Luck. Okay, popular might be an overstatement. But they are available in bookstores.

What made you want to put on the chef’s hat and whip up your own books?

Books have fewer carbs than pasta. And I eat them I smaller portions. Initially, I switched to cooking leather shoes, like Charlie Chaplin in The Gold Rush, but then I became a vegetarian. But you probably wanted a more sincere answer. I suppose I started writing books because, like most aspiring authors, I figured: Any idiot can do that. And I’m any idiot.

Do you have a genre of specialty or do you dabble? Why?

I dabble. It’s a strategy for masking any deficiencies in talent. My friends who read fiction assume I’m a brilliant essayist and my friends who read essays imagine my gifts lie in fiction.

Style! Every literary chef aspires to have their own unique one! What do you think sets yours apart and why?

Describing someone as a great stylist is often akin to calling them “an author’s author.” It’s a euphemism for saying nobody except other authors buys their books. Think James Salter or Eudora Welty. I strive to sound like whoever wins next year’s Pulitzer Prize.

Even the best of us find inspiration is the dishes of others. Do you have any literary inspirations, heroes, and influences?

Every time I sit down at my desk, I think: If this book is good enough, Sophia Loren will read it and fall madly in love with me….This hasn’t happened yet, alas, and I fear both of us are running out of time…. As for writers I envy: John Fowles, Graham Greene, Muriel Spark, Philip Larkin. I think I’d like to be remembered as the handsome, personable Philip Larkin.

Let’s get into the meat and potatoes: the art and craft of writing itself! Do you have a preference of points-of-view when you write?

As Mr. Twimble advises in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, I have no point of view.

Sparse or wordy, how do you like your descriptions served up? Are you a Hemingway man or do you like some saucy adjectives with your nouns?

A “Hemingway man” sounds like a euphemism for something indiscreet, so I’d better go for the opposite. Especially if children are reading this.

Picking off the menu of base literary conflicts, what’s your favorite and why?

Editor vs. publicist. It’s good to see them get bloodied up for a change.

What do you think is more important to your recipes, plot or characterization? Why?

Salt. According to my mother, whose many talents include neither plot nor characterization, you can salvage any recipe with enough salt. Cyanide, I’m told, also does the trick.

We all know that the first taste means the most! What do you do to get that first bite hook with your readers?

I plagiarize my opening paragraphs from Karen Russell.

The most important of questions: Cake or pie?

Dissidents are being tortured in Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea – and you ask, cake or pie? You should really rethink your priorities.

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring literary chefs out there, what would that be?

Be relentless. Oh, and buy my books. All of the secret answers are contained therein.

Writing Is A Bad Habit: Dark vs. Evil: The Big Meh? a.k.a. Meaningful Conflict

Conflict is the soul of drama.

I’m certain you’ve heard the phrase before bandied around.  We’ve talked about it a plenty before and it is elementally true.  There is no dramatic tension without conflict.  However, to be one-hundred percent accurate, there should be a clarification to that phrase.  It takes more than raw conflict to make drama; it takes meaningful conflict.  No one cares about a story wherein the main conflict is what the protagonist wants to eat for lunch (unless that choice will having unexpected consequences!).  Pastrami vs. tuna salad is not the meaningful conflict of the ages.

As we’ve discussed before, conflict becomes meaningful through the stakes behind the resolution of the conflict and our investment into the characters at the heart of the conflict.  That is why a conflict revolving around dark, nasty, villainous sorts rarely works out.  If handled with any kind of heavy-handedness, you can easily have both your supposed protagonists and antagonists become unsympathetic, robbing you of critical reader investment.  Yes, we sometimes want to root for the bad guys but, to make that happen, said bad guys must be handled very carefully.  The readers must he made to understand the characters and sympathize with them.  They must be made relatable, more human.

To compound that issue, dark vs. evil often leads to conflicts that have minimal stakes.  Yes, someone may die but I mean the larger stakes.  To take it to the extreme, if we have, say, two world-dominating supervillains in conflict, what are the larger stakes of the conflict?  Yes, one may lose, but the world itself winds up in subjugation under the iron heel of one super-powered dictator or the other.  At least that’s how it might turn out unless it is, as with the relatability issue, handled in a more nuanced method.  Perhaps the conflict becomes a lesser-of-two-evils situation, where one villain is far less ‘evil’ than another?  Perhaps the conflict becomes multi-tiered, wherein our ‘protagonist’ undergoes a character arc (man vs. him/herself) and becomes a step above his/her previous villainous self?  There are quite a few clever options that can allow a writer to utilize a dark, gritty, and possibly outright evil cast and still find a way to make it work.

There’s a reason why the classic conflict of ‘good vs. evil’ has lasted so long and works so well.  Meaningful conflict is easiest to create when dealing with opposing forces with great divides of motivation and goal.  The closer those motivations and goals come together, the harder it is for the writer to create that necessary drama to make the readers care about the story.  Still, it’s not impossible!  If any of you lovely readers have any more ideas, suggestions, or input to deal with this situation, leave it in the comments below!

Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!

Monday Musings: Sleep Is Fundamental a.k.a. The Freakin’ Doi Episode

I haven’t felt better or thought clearer for weeks.  No joke, I’ve had major issues with cloudy brains (among other related health issues which there isn’t a need to delve into) for some time now.  Now, I knew the reason for this from the start, but I didn’t quite realize the extent to how much it affected me until I had alleviated the problem.

You see, I suffer from sleep issues, most specifically sleep apnea.  Like really bad “snores heard round the house and long hitches of no breathing” sleep apnea.  I use a breathing mask to make sleep, well, more sleepy, but the harness had worn down, making the pressure seal on the mask irregular, hence worthless.  It took me a bit of time to save up the scratch (plus shipping time!) to get a new harness.  I figured it wouldn’t be so bad, I was still falling asleep … or so I thought.

Needless to say, I wasn’t really sleeping or at least getting the sleep I needed.  It was more a dull malaise of unconsciousness that sleep.  So that haze stayed with me through every day.  Even then, I didn’t grasp the extent of that haze until I had the harness replaced.

I slept for *eighteen* hours straight once it came in, with one fifteen minute break in the middle to eat something and use the bathroom.  I arose feeling … well … feeling so much better than I had in weeks.

So, yeah, it may seem like a stupid thing to say, but do anything you can to ensure proper sleep.  This isn’t as easy as it may seem, as sleep problems can be surprisingly hard to figure out on your own.  You can feel asleep but not actually be getting the rest you need.  If you are concerned about it, talk to your friends, talk to your family, and talk to your doctor.  It’s important, because if you aren’t getting your sleep, you are kicking the legs out from under your health.

So with that bit of public service, it’s back to work!  There’s writing, reading, and reviewing to be done!

But one more thing: I want to redirect folks back to a certain post last week, talking about a possibility of multimedia projects and stuff.  Video and audio reviews and such.  Throw a like or comment if you want to see more and varied content!

Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Harry Potter) – Book Review

jbgarner58:

Another review from the BRD! Enjoy.

Originally posted on The Book Review Directory:

Any Harry Potter fan will tell you that the Harry Potter universe is so much more than 7 books and 8 films. I know for me growing up it felt like a whole parallel universe happening around me that was just beyond my reach, but it was incredibly comforting to know it was there.

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Starving Review: Apple by R. A. Black

Apple by R. A. Black (Amazon, Smashwords, Goodreads)

Gothic horror!  Now that’s a taste I haven’t pulled out of the pantry for some time.  Today’s meal is Apple served up by chef R. A. Black, promising us tragedy, horror, and all manner of terrors.  Will the taste rival the promise or will I be cutting up this apple to make a better apple pie?

Before we find out, let us put our hands on our hearts and recite the Starving Review creed:

I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible

Crisp, tart, and delightful, Apple delivers on its promise.  As with my more positive reviews, this one will be short and sweet, much like the narrative itself.  Short this meal is, but it still delivers a flavor-packed novel-sized feel.  But why?

There are many reasons, but the core of Apple (pun not intended, but still funny) is its characters, especially its protagonist, the eponymous Apple herself.  All the major players are fleshed out and feel real, with solid motivations while veiled in enough secrecy (outside of the first-person protagonist of course) to let the mystery necessary for horror to stay intact.  Again, to give props to the flavorful protagonist, simply because it is a challenge to create a youthful character, have them act in an age-appropriate manner, while still keeping her a competent heroine.

As for the horror, Black delivers by flavoring her meal in layers, adding in dashes of despair, anxiety, hunger, want, desire, mystery, and a splash of good-old-fashioned bloodshed.  By mixing all these elements of horror, both the very real and the supernatural, the chef never overdoes any one horrific flavor, avoiding the problem of desensitizing the reader from the ever-present aura of dread that pervades the plot once it winds up.  Speaking of that, Apple takes its proper time to wind up the horror, blending in those varied spices over the first act before cranking it up hard.  Pacing, pacing, pacing, it’s always about the pacing!

Which is excellent, much like everything else in this book.  Alongside the build of dread, there’s a solid build of dramatic tension and the flavors build to a delightful intensity by the end.  Every bite is delightful and every morsel feels like it fits the bigger meal, that it has a purpose.  That is pacing done right.

There’s little else to say, so let’s sum this up.  Apple is a delightful, perfectly baked slice of Gothic horror pie, a must-eat meal!  Even if you don’t like Gothic horror, I think you should take the time to read this particular book, because I feel, as with the best representations of any genre, its quality transcends its genre.  Bravo, Ms. Black, bravo!

FINAL VERDICT: ***** (A delightful, perfectly baked slice of Gothic horror pie, a must-eat meal!)

Starving Interview: John A. Heldt, Author of the Mine

Good morning, delightful foodies!  It’s that time of the week when we bring another Starving Review alumni back into the kitchen!  Today, let’s have a round of applause for John A. Heldt, the chef behind The Mine!

Please introduce yourself to my literary foodies!

I’m a former newspaper editor and reference librarian who “retired” last year to write fiction full-time. A native and longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest, I now live in the South with my wife, a third-grade math and science teacher.

Do you do any work outside of the writing kitchen? Any non-work interests?

I enjoy sports, fishing, traveling, walking the dog, and making my own beer.

What is your latest dish to be served up? Are there any past pieces of literary cuisine you think we should take a bite out of?

My latest dish is Mercer Street, the second novel in the American Journey series. In this book, due in October, a Chicago romance writer, her elderly mother, and her college-age daughter time travel to 1938 where they find love, danger, and intrigue in Princeton, New Jersey. September Sky, the first book in the series, follows a contemporary news reporter and his son to 1900 Galveston, Texas, the scene of the nation’s most destructive hurricane.

What made you want to put on the chef’s hat and whip up your own books?

Impatience. I simply did not want to wait months or even years for agents or publishers to decide whether my books would sell in a competitive market. I knew they would. I also wanted to retain total control over the content and earn higher royalties. The self-publishing route is not for everyone, but it has been a good one for me.

Do you have a genre of specialty or do you dabble? Why?

I guess you could say I dabble. When I write a novel, I throw genre restrictions out the window. I do so to give readers a complete reading experience. My stories span several genres, including time travel, romance, historical fiction, humor, coming of age, young adult, and fantasy. So far, that approach has worked well.

Style! Every literary chef aspires to have his own unique one! What do you think sets yours apart and why?

As mentioned above, I throw a lot of ingredients in the stew. I also write in plain language and inject humor in my stories as often as I can.

Even the best of us find inspiration is the dishes of others. Do you have any literary inspirations, heroes, and influences?

Oh, I have plenty. Vince Flynn is one. Ken Follett, Stephen King, Nelson DeMille, John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, John Jakes, and Clive Cussler are others.

Let’s get into the meat and potatoes: the art and craft of writing itself! Do you have a preference of points-of-view when you write?

My novels are written in third person and feature at least two points of view. I want readers to know what all the main characters are thinking and not have to guess. I believe this approach makes for a better story.

Sparse or wordy, how do you like your descriptions served up? Are you a Hemingway man or do you like some saucy adjectives with your nouns?

I have moved toward Hemingway’s style since my first novel, The Mine. I love lavish description in fiction, but I know that many readers do not. Some believe it slows down the story. As an author, I try to strike a balance.

Picking off the menu of base literary conflicts, what’s your favorite and why?

I favor three: man vs. self, man vs. fate, and man vs. nature. I use all three because it makes the story more complex and interesting. In my time-travel novels, my (typical) protagonist is a young, introspective individual who wrestles with whether to alter history on a large scale even as he or she changes it significantly on a personal level. Horrific natural disasters, like volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and hurricanes, are usually part of the mix.

What do you think is more important to your recipes, plot or characterization? Why?

I strive to succeed in both areas, but creating likeable, compelling characters is most important. If readers don’t like your characters, they probably won’t like your book.

We all know that the first taste means the most! What do you do to get that first bite hook with your readers?

I try to get readers to identify with the protagonist. My books typically begin with a main character doing something most of us have done, like eating at a restaurant, going to a fair, walking to class, or packing a box of belongings after being laid off. When readers relate to the protagonist, they generally find it easier to relate to the story itself.

The most important of questions: Cake or pie?

Pie. Not. Even. Close.

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to aspiring literary chefs out there, what would it be?

Don’t put off any project. Jump in. Listen to those who’ve succeeded and to those who’ve failed. You can learn from both. But in the end, write the story you want to write. Don’t let the critic overrule the artist.

Writing Is A Bad Habit: Can a Mountain Get a Close-up? a.k.a. Environment as Character

The cast of characters in a book is usually pretty obvious because, well, characters are people, right?  You get all the people in your cast together and there you go … characters!  Well, yes and no.  Characters usually are people, sure, but they can be more than that.  One of the most overlooked ‘characters’ in a creative work is the environment itself.

Yes, while the world around us is considered an inanimate object, it is often an important player in any book.  Think about it like this: the environment around you is a constant actor that influences a multitude of decisions you undertake every day.  Is it rainy?  Well, you likely aren’t going to be taking a long walk on the beach.  Is it sunny?  You might forgo the movie theater for the sports stadium.  Is there an earthquake? OMFG RUN!

It helps that we don’t entirely know every specific of how nature and the environment operate.  While our understanding of the universe around us continues to grow, there are still so many mysteries left for us.  That aura of mystery allows us to anthropomorphize nature, give it agency, and thus make it a full-blown character, ready to be used in your books.

This can be amplified even more by putting your story into an alien setting.  A fantasy world, with forces of nature that are completely foreign to us, enhances that mystery that lets us personify the environment.  In fact, introducing such an alien world is much like introducing a character, then as we become familiar with it, the world itself can follow a proper character arc.  It really is quite fascinating of an idea.

Now, that doesn’t mean we have to go to that extreme.  Some stories need it, some stories are enhanced by it, and others don’t really need it.  However, you should never entirely ignore the environment-as-character.  Even if it’s simple things such as remembering to connect the time of year of the story with the weather or the use of a sudden oncoming storm to force a climactic situation, you can always use the world around your characters as another actor in your drama.

Be it an earthquake, a thunderstorm, or just a muggy August day, never forget the biggest player in your drama: the world itself.  If you have any questions or additions, leave them in the comments below!

Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!