Move it, pal!

Hi everyone.

I know I've been MIA for a long, long time, but things have been hectic lately. With everything. I think my life will slow down a bit only in November this year, because until then, I have many things to do. You already know that, so I won't be getting into it again. All you need to know is, I'm blogging today because I have a day off ;)

You're probably confused about the title. Don't worry, I'm not addressing you directly. I'll take the long winded way to explain what's going on.

Recently (if you can call Christmas recent), I've acquired a kindle, which means I've automatically tripled the number of books I read a year. I've read over 14 books in 3 months, and I usually read that many per year. I also love that I got to read books by many of my friends. Which was awesome.

Now, while reading my way through many books (including something by the now infamous Amanda Hocking), I came to the following conclusion: action has taken the place of good old fashioned character development in many books.

What's character development?

What, you call yourself a writer and dare to ask that? No, I'm just kidding here - character development is the change that goes on in your character after he/she goes through all the mayhem you put him/her through in your book. So character goes from point A to point B and is better for the experience. (as in grows by the end of this stuff).

After reading some YA lately (including more of the Fallen series and the first 2 Hush Hush books - I know, my choice in literature isn't exactly the best), I've realized that characters DON'T GROW anymore. And I finally realized why The Hunger Games left me with a bitter taste in my mouth - because Katniss didn't grow - she started out as a paranoiac loner and ended just the same. Yes, she has other, redeeming traits, but she starts with them and ends with them. No growth what-so-ever. The same with most YA heroes and heroines these days.

And that's just wrong! I mean YA should be the genre that should preach evolution and development the most - teach the kids that they have to fight for what's right and grow with the experience. Even if there's nothing else to learn from that book.

I'm not saying I'm doing it, but at least I'm trying.
In my YA series, Sam's a rich, pretty clumsy city kid who has to learn to trek through a jungle and shoot and fight because he'll be dead by the end of the book if he doesn't. He also has to fight his insecurities and believe in the decisions he makes because they could get everyone he cares about killed. At some point, he has to even overcome his fear of heights. He struggles and almost fails, but he grows with it.

In Hunters, Rachel actually has to tone down her badd-ass-ness and learn that positive feelings are just as driving as anger. She also evolves and learns how to use what she has without doubting herself. I admit she doesn't grow much - maybe just softens and finds her inner balance - but something about her does change.

Grace, my newest character to torture, grows A LOT. People reading the book know how annoying she was at the beginning and how she started growing a spine and building confidence.

I want to see that in books. People overcoming their condition - struggling to succeed. And here's where the title gets explained (told you it would be a lng and winding road). Move it and evolve, you damn character!

Plot is important, I couldn't agree more. But if you send a cardboard piece (or a stone block in case the character is 3D) down an interesting road, its not going to make me love the book. Enjoy it, sure. Find the plot amazing - maybe. Be happy with the experience - nope, not me. The proof is that I've spent months since I've read The Hunger Games with a bitter feeling that something was wrong with that series. And when I found the flaw, I was very relieved and ready to put it behind me. And, no, I won't be reading those books again.

Honestly, it's going to take a very long time for something as good as Harry Potter to come out for the YA audience. My thoughts.

So yes, three dimensional characters can still be bad. That is my conclusion for the day.

In other news, I've started editing Hunters again - one chapter at a time. I'm gonna need to work on the last chapters because I've changed them pretty much and I need to see if the idea works or not.

Hope to get back here some time this month.

Contests, reviews and updates

Hello peeps!

I'm back before the end of the month, which in itself is a miracle. :)

So let me hit you with some news. First, I've qualified for the top five in the Unwritten 'Love at first sight contest'. Which means I have the chance to win some yummy amazon gift certificate to buy books. So, why not hop on over and vote (for me or for whomever you like). Here's the link: contest.

In other news, I've received another contract offering for Hunters. As flattering as that is, I'll have to tell them it's taken already. And speaking of which... I can't wait to see what cover they'll be cooking up for me :D

Now let's get to the point. I've been owing people some reviews of books. So, today, I'm going to give you my short thoughts on Rae of Hope by Wanita May.

Standard disclaimer: The opinions to follow are my own and you should keep in mind that different people have different tastes.

I read this book maybe a month ago.

The basic story is that Rae Kerrigan (loved the name) is enlisted in an exclusive boarding school for people with special talents. She doesn't know she has a special talent, but discovers it when she gets there. At the age of 16, she would sprout a tattoo(tatu) which gives her super powers. Also, she finds out that her father was kinda evil and her mother set fire to their house to kill her father (I guess that's a bit of a spoiler).
Rae tries to get used to this world and adapt, and also prove that she's not like her father. Some events take place and Rae learns to use her powers and trust herself.

As a whole, I liked this story. The concept was interesting and the writing flowed well. It was easy to get yourself lost in Rae's world. Also, the whole tatu thing was an awesome idea. The school was well thought out and easy to imagine.

There were some things in there that sort of bugged me as well. For instance, there is very little detail on what happened at their training courses. Also, there was a jumble of characters I found hard to keep track of, especially because most of them seemed to be acting the same.
Also, at some times I couldn't connect with Rae. Though she was mostly a nice girl and good character, the thing with Devon sort of bugged me - especially since she hated his girlfriend without any objective reason.
I found that bit a little unbelievable as well. Devon and his girlfriend had been together for a long time - couples like that don't just break up without a real reason.

As a conclusion to this rant, Rae of Hope is an enjoyable read. It makes me want to read the next book in the series and see where the author will take the story.

My rating for it:  3.5 stars

Well, this is it for now. I have more reviews to do, but I'll have to find more time. Meanwhile, check out Mysti's contest ;)

See ya!

February

I kinda miss you guys :) Just wanted you to know that.

I'm nearing the end of exam session on my Master's course, and only have one project to go. Work is going just a tiny bit better, but eats up even more of my time - hence, I get less critting done. And I'm sorry, since I really enjoy the novels I'm reading.

I'm still editing Grace bit by bit. Also, I have some book reviews to do and I'll try to get them done soon. The two books I have in mind are Rae of Hope by Wanita May and The Calling by Ashely Lynn Willis. - They're both worth it, so if you haven't read them yet, you should if you get a chance.

In other news... hmmm, I don't really have much other news. Except that my country is going to blow up. :D It's actually pretty fun. It's hella cold here - like -25 degrees Celsius and getting to work is a bit of a bitch. Roads are snowed, people snowed in and cars stuck in parking lots. Also, the prime minister just quit and it's like mega-political crisis down here. Also, people have been protesting in the streets to bring down the president in... I think over 3 weeks. Almost a month. I lose track of things sometimes. I do watch the news, but you can't actually believe half the stuff those guys say :p

Other than that... I guess I'm okay. I've bought my wedding dress, veil and shoes and I'm pretty excited about that. Can't wait to have a party.

I also can't wait to see the cover my publisher cooked up for my book. I don't know when that will happen, but I'll let you all know as soon as possible. You can bet! :D

These are my updates for now. I really wish I had more time to visit all the blogs I usually read and leave some comments. Jay, just so you know, I read all of yours ;) Ditto Mysti.

Signing off for now - hope to get back here soon enough.

Just...Wow

Well, working kinda sucks. I mean, I barely have time to crit people back for all the help they're giving me. And I hate it, but there's nothing I can do about it. And I feel like moaning about work... but I won't.

It's been so long since I last did a blog post. No, I'm not dead - just in a huge lack of time. I'm in exam session as well and often get home waay too tired to think. I hope I'll get more used to this lifestyle in a while and be able to balance it better.

Now, here's some news. I've signed my contract for Hunters  and it might be coming out at the end of July. In the meantime, I've received another request for a full from entangled publishing. Even if I'm already signed on with that book, it's still flattering :)

In other news, I've purchase my wedding dress and shoes :) I think that worked pretty well. There's still a lot more planning to do, but at least we're getting somewhere fast.

I love my kindle - and just because of that, I need to do some book reviews pretty soon - I owe it to some really awesome people ;)

As far as editing goes - there's not much of that going on. I don't have the time to do it, and it's annoying the life out of me - again, hoping to get to that sometime soon.

I do hope to get to more focused blogging soon - maybe regarding some actual writing problems. And I can't wait to present you all with the potential cover for Hunters, I actually can't wait to see that one for myself.

Signing off now.

And we're off...

Happy New Year, everyone!

I know it took me a while to get back to bloggling this year, but between entertaining house guests, traveling back to the big city and starting a new job, time was scarce. Even now, I was supposed to be in school... we'll the weather's bad and I'm sick, so I think I might be taking this weekend off.

Enough about that. Let me let you in on the BIG news! I got a contract offering from Melange Books! No, I didn't sign the contract yet, I didn't receive it, but hopefully, this time next week, I'll be a contracted author. I can't believe that my one big wish is coming true.

If you're wondering about Melange - it's that one nice place which has awesome Mysti Parker in it.

In other news, my job is eating a big part of my time, unfortunately, so I might blog a little less for a while (especially since I start exam session in two weeks). This also holds back my editing.

For people wondering, the fact that Hunters is getting published will not tether my editing of Saving Grace - that baby's still going through the queues. I will be assigned an editor for Hunters in about July, so, until then, I'm looking for people who would be interested in a full MS crit (hint, hint).

I hope I'll get to blog more over this month, but they might stick to shorts or (maybe) book reviews, since I got a kindle for Christmas and can read a lot more now :D

I'll keep everyone posted.