Hmmm

It’s a short update today because I’ve got lots to do, but I wanted to warn you, Champions, that I will again be playing around with the format and layout of my blog, and I’m working on getting my domain name hooked up to it. I need to do a wee bit of social media housekeeping, so I’ll be peeking around twitter and my facebook page as well. Basically don’t worry if you happen to pop in for a visit and everything looks wonky. I have the tendency to make things worse before I can get them fixed up.

Beyond that I haven’t much to report. Beauty and the Beast is coming along swimmingly, and I’ve made a commitment to busting my butt the next two weeks to push it forward. I’m about to get tangled up in the romantic part of the story, which honestly I find awkward. It’s a challenge to write romance, my real strength lies in witty dialog and action scenes. When I write romance scenes I end up wanting to yell at my characters “Just kiss already!” This is probably a symptom of watching too many Disney movies as a child.

Bother.

So yes, I’ll be pushing through the awkward romance writing. I shall report back on Wednesday, Champions. Thanks for reading!

Writing Tips: Characters I love to write

I’ve been slaving away over Beauty and the Beast, and I have to confess, my favorite character to write is the Beast’s shallow, selfish brother, Crown Prince Lucien.

Lucien is unapologetically selfish. He says want he wants, get what he wants, and acts the way he wants. Conversely he is deeply loyal to the Beast, and there is very little he wouldn’t do for him. What I love about Lucien is that he has no sense of reserve. He’s so fun to write because he has very few boundaries and I get to spend my time thinking of selfish, silly things for him to say when I write his scenes. I created Lucien to be a character readers will both like and dislike, so I found it a little odd that I enjoy writing him so much. I decided to look back through a few of my books and see if I could spy a pattern.

In terms of favorites, Britt from King Arthur and Her Knights is certainly up there. She’s easy and diverting to write because even though she’s plopped in the middle of an Arthurian romance she is very down to earth. Asher and Aron–the mischievous Montamous Twins from Life Reader–are high on my list of favorite characters as well. I love the devious twists to their personalities, the fact that they can effortlessly bounce jokes off one another, and I greatly prize their ability to break/hack their way into just about anything. In Red Rope of Fate I really enjoyed writing Tari and Arion, but my secret favorite character is Seer Ringali–Tari’s mentor and instructor. I love the way he holds no criticisms back, stomps over all elvish social norms, and openly wields odd accessories as hidden weapons. My favorite character from the Robyn Hood series is a little more difficult to pin down, but it’s probably either Robyn herself, or the dramatic duo of Much and Will Stutely. I like that Robyn is terrified of being a leader,  not at all courageous, and  that she doesn’t try to hide either of these facts from her men. When it comes to Much and Will Stutely I like the over-dramatic antics they use to get their points across, and the fact that they’re basically the camp gossips.

I could go on, but after looking at just a few books I realized I typically like the characters who do not mince their words and are straight forward. It’s surprising how that character trait can be expressed in dozens of different ways–From Seer Ringali’s rude observations to Prince Lucien’s incessant complaints. There are exceptions, of course–I’m not entirely certain Britt belongs in the straight forward category–but characters who say exactly what they are thinking are undoubtedly easier (and a lot of fun) to write.

That’s what I think, anyway. Tell me, Champions, what kind of characters do you like?

Book Reveal: Beauty & the Beast

Exciting news! First of all, today is my 100th post in the Legendary Archive. Woot! I can’t say my posts have always been…interesting, but our time together has real meaning to me, so thank you for reading!

Secondly–which is really what you have been waiting for–today I’m announcing my next planned release, Beauty and the Beast. Beauty and the Beast will be a full length Young Adult fantasy novel–somewhere between 40,000 and 65,000 words. My book will be a slightly different take on the classic. Of course the cornerstones are still there–the magic mirror, the girl staying at the beast’s castle, the transformed prince–but I’ve added some deliciously complicated aspects to this classic fairytale.

In my version Elle, the protagonist, hasn’t been blackmailed to stay at the beast’s castle, instead she’s forced to when she breaks her leg and is stuck hobbling around for three months. The beast is a prince–admittedly an illegitimate one–who before he was transformed into a beast served as the country’s commanding general. Since the transformation he has exiled himself to his godforsaken castle and meets only with his half brother–and closest friend–crown prince Lucien.

There’s more to the story, but that’s for a later reveal. I’ve been working on it all month and I’m just shy of being halfway finished. It will likely be released in December, but I’m hoping for an earlier date.

And that’s what’s ticking in my workshop. Thanks for reading, Champions, I’ll see you all on Monday.