• 930 and counting …

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    Finished The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines. This book kicks off a new fantasy series for Hines, about three fairy tale princesses and the adventures they have.

    This book focuses on Danielle de Glas Whiteshore (aka Cinderella). Danielle is trying to adjust to life in the royal castle now that she’s married her prince. But when Danielle’s stepsister Charlotte tries to kill her, the princess learns that her husband has been kidnapped — and that her servant Talia (aka Sleeping Beauty) is quite handy with weapons. Danielle and Talia team up with Snow (aka Snow White) and go to the dangerous realm of Fairytown in order to rescue Danielle’s husband. But whether the princesses ever make it back home again is anyone’s guess …

    I enjoyed Hines’ Goblin series, and I was looking forward to reading more of his work. And there are few things I love more than a good twist on classic fairy tales. This book featured everything I’ve come to expect from a Jim Hines book — a classic fantasy world, an ordinary character turned reluctant hero, and lots of funny moments.

    I liked how Hines took the traditional fairy tales and used them to give each princess her own personality, problems, and quirks. Of the three, I thought Talia had the most interesting backstory. Because instead of being awakened by a handsome prince’s kiss, Talia’s prince charming took horrible advantage of her sleeping body — which has left her with more than a few emotional scars. I’m interested to see what Hines does with her in future books.

    Danielle and Snow also get their moments to shine, and I liked how Hines wove in other fairy tale elements with their characters. For example, instead of a glass slipper, Danielle has a glass sword, while Snow wears a necklace made of magic mirrors. Subtle little touches like that are some of the things I love best about fairy tale stories. I also loved the whole Charlie’s Angels, secret-protectors-of-the-kingdom setup.

    Overall, if you’re looking for a fairy tale story with lots of action and plenty of girl-power attitude, check this one out. I’ll definitely be reading the next one. Thumbs up.

    Up next: The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

    Books in my TBR pile: About 20.

    What about you guys? Reading anything good? Share in the comments.

  • Success, baby!

    So a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was hunting for a fantasy book I’d seen somewhere about a thief and a wizard whose stories intersect … and I’ve finally found it again! It’s Melusine by Sarah Monette.

    Curiously enough, I was reading through the fantasy reviews in the latest issue of Romantic Times when I spotted the review for Monette’s latest book (the title escapes me right now). Hey, I thought, that sounds familiar …

    Anyway, now that I know what the book is, I can do something useful — like order it the next time I give in to my Amazon addiction. 😉

  • No fear …

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    So, as I mentioned yesterday, I did a little cable access channel promo spot for one of my regional libraries. Wheezley and I were talking about this later, and he said that he didn’t know if he could do something like that because it was basically public speaking.

    Maybe I’m weird, but public speaking doesn’t bother me anymore. At least, not much.

    That’s one of the things nobody ever seems to mention about this author gig — you have to do some public speaking. Schmoozing with folks at conferences, giving workshops, talking to folks at book signings. It’s all really public speaking. And if you’re lucky enough to blow up big like J.K. Rowling or Nora Roberts, more folks will want to hear you talk — heck, some will even pay you to come and talk to their group/conference/whatever.

    Don’t get me wrong — I always get a little nervous before speaking, especially if I’m doing something like an RWA workshop. I start out talking really, really, really fast for a few minutes before I manage to relax. But once I’m in my groove, I can usually breeze through the rest of it. A good, interested crowd always helps too. And Q&A sessions? I totally rock at those. 😎

    I’m also pretty good at dealing with people one-on-one. As a journalist, I’ve interviewed hundreds of people over the years, and I can almost always find something to talk to people about. With book crowds, it’s easy because we all love books.

    I don’t like actually reading from my books, though. I always think my Southern accent sounds completely hillbilly (think Paula Deen on crack). And I think the give-and-take of a Q&A session is more interesting for folks in the audience than me sitting on a stool droning on about character development or reading quirky descriptions of spandex costumes. 😉

    What about you guys? Do you have the dreaded fear of public speaking? Share in the comments.

  • In the spotlight …

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    So I did something kind of unusual today — I filmed a television spot for National Library Week (April 12-18). I’m going to be appearing at one of my regional libraries, the Bristol Public Library, at 7 p.m. April 13, and I was one of three authors the library recruited to do the spot.

    It was nothing big, just a local cable access channel in my area. We went in, stood in front of the camera, went through a short script a couple of times, and tried not to flub it up too bad. Bada-bing, bada-boom, we were done. The whole thing took less than 30 minutes.

    I think these things are always interesting, though — the different setups, different equipment, different ways people approach promotion. Since this was a local cable channel located in the community center, it was very bare bones. A guy with a camera and some equipment.

    But it was still fun to do. And hey, it actually required me to try to do something with my hair and put on some makeup this morning. :bubbles:

    I kind of dread seeing myself, though. I always think I sound completely hillbilly (hey, y’all!). And for some reason, I always seem to look angry on television — probably because I’m thinking too hard about not screwing up my lines. So don’t blame me if I look like this … :hulk:

    Anyway, I hope you will all go out in April and support your local libraries. They really are great places to visit!

  • Decisions, decisions …

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    So I met with my critique group last night. I’d sent them some sample chapters of Quiver, my young-adult fantasy, to look over. The general conscensus was that my second effort – making my main character, Gwen, more of a Robin Hood-type outlaw — was much better and more in keeping with my voice.

    That’s good and made me feel like I was going in the right direction with the book …

    Until this morning, when I had yet another idea — to make Gwen more of a Scarlet Pimpernel-type character and basically switch her role with that of her love interest’s.

    I think it’s an idea that has merit, but argh!!! :hulk:

    Now, I don’t know what to do — keep going with what I’m doing or go back to the beginning again and start over. I’ve never had such problems deciding what to do with a book before. Sigh.

    But at 36,000 words in my second draft, I think I’m just going to keep going and finish this draft out. Then, I’ll let it sit for a few weeks and see what I’ve got. Hopefully, even if I do decide to change Gwen’s character yet again, I’ll have enough good stuff from the second draft to help me make the changes relatively quickly.

    Oh yeah, and sometime during all this, I want to start working on the rough draft of Elemental Assassin 4.

    So hello, computer. I think you and me will be spending a lot of time together this weekend … :rolleyes: