I wanted to share my exciting news. My debut novel, Dark Future a sexy time-travel romance, is coming out October 11th from Avon Impulse. And what can be better than a new novel out…a sale I tell you. Right now, Dark Future is on sale for .99cents at Amazon for a limited time. To whet your appetite here’s the back cover blurb.

Awakened in the middle of the night by a future version of herself, Kris Davenport is given a mission: go forward in time to save the world—and His life. Of course, her future self doesn’t tell her who he is, just sends her into an abyss and straight into an alien invasion.

He turns out to be ConRad Smith, the callous, untrusting Commander of Earth’s army and the world’s last defense. There’s only one way to know for sure if this strange woman is an alien spy—slice her throat. Except, he didn’t anticipate the heat he would feel as he interrogates the hot-tempered, warm-blooded woman. For a man whose sole focus has been survival, she’s more temptation than he can handle. But a world on the brink of destruction leaves no room for love…and time is running out.

Come check it out on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Future-ebook/dp/B005JSMM8Q

Thanks everyone for all your support. Happy reading!

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How your characters react in everyday situations is as important to how they respond in the “big scenes”. Without secondary responses, the pages of a book take on the same droll sense that watching someone on stage just standing there has. Boring.

We would like your thoughts and advice on how to up the background, yet still keep it in the back. Because even though it’s necessary, it still must not over power the importance of the scene it is in.

Okay, Anica had such a great comment, that I decided to add it to this post.

I think a lot of it is about knowing how your point of view character would look at the background characters and their activities. That’s the level of detail they should get.

Sometimes scenes seem to stop while the protagonist describes everything that other characters are doing – as you say, the background overpowers the scene. Mostly, I think the issue is that showing activities (e.g. what some character in the background is doing) implies (a) the passage of time, and, (b) that your protagonist spends the aforementioned time being aware of these activities, which means s/he’s paying enough attention to describe them at the level at which they’re described.

This can be especially problematic in big fight scenes. Often the author has introduced a bunch of characters over the course of a book or even a series, and s/he then wants to show the reader what all of them are up to during the big fight, but reading paragraphs on what other people are doing during an action sequence makes me think, “What about our protagonist? Is she just standing there watching?” (If so, there had better be a good reason, because that isn’t a very active or interesting course for her to take.)

Background details can be included; they just have to make sense in the context of what the POV character is doing at the time. In the fight scene example, maybe she could be fighting her way across the room, trying to ask each of her friends an important question, which would mean she would see what each of them is doing.

Thanks, Anica for your thoughts on this subject, I agree completely!

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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We all know it’s never too early to help a child develop interest in books and learning.

So, what are you reading? Which books draw in your children?

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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It’s a new year and we’d love to hear your writing goals. Share your successes from 2010 and what you’d like to accomplish for 2011.

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This is a time for everyone to reflect on what they have in their lives to be thankful for. Often, in our writing, we struggle through the conflicts with our characters. Since this is the holiday season, I wondered, what do your characters have to be thankful for. And anyone who wants to share good news here as well, may feel free.

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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It blows my mind that I’ve gotten the opportunity to have snippets from my manuscript published in a national magazine. How crazy is that?

This makes me reflect on the manuscript that’s featured in the contest, Dark Future. Not only is this my first manuscript, but I wrote it from an intimate place. The book started simply with my passion for telling stories. I wrote Dark Future before I knew what point of view was, active writing, or even much about grammar.

Dark Future was written from a place of truth. I took my life’s experiences and put them into book. I used my feelings of anger at my father’s abandonment, my fear of disappointing my mother, my isolation from being a new mom, and my need to get lost in a different world.

I’m still surprised at how dark some scenes from my story became. I remember feeling nervous as I wrote scenes that seemed more personal to me then just words on the page. It might have been different people in different circumstances, but they were the same feelings.

It’s scary to rip off the façade and show the world what’s underneath. It’s also addicting.

I began to write every spare second I could, longhand in a blank notebook, on a lunch hour or when the kids were napping. For me, simply completing this book was a huge accomplishment. I never dreamed it would get this far.

So, to whet your appetite, here is the pitch I used at a national conference one year.

Armageddon has arrived. One soldier stands between two worlds. One woman, chosen out of her time, stands in his way. Only together they can change the past…or face a  Dark Future.

Go and read my first paragraph and last line; it’s now up at the RT reviews books website. www.rtbookreviews.com/content/writing-stars-vote-first-paragraph-and-last-line.

And please remember to vote. This round goes from now until October 24^th, and it only takes 10 seconds!

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Most writers love to read. I’ve noticed through reading, that many characters love to read as well. It must be the book lover in authors.

So my questions to you are: What books do your characters read? Who are their favorite authors? What genre is their favs? What kind of characters do they relate to?

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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Superhero of the morning I then busy myself feeding the cats and dog.  I allow my medium black mutt Jenna to run the yard as I find all 8 of my cats to feed.  Not exactly ready for fall I walk the backyard in my flip flops.  My toes begin to turn a nice shade of pink as the soaking, cold grass brushes against them. 

I can’t find all my cats so I set off to the front yard calling for them.  In the distance I can hear a cat’s meow.  Fluffy is notorious for climbing on my roof and getting stuck so I look up to see if I can see her.  Nope, no sign of her on my roof.  I hear her cries become more insistent as I scan the nearby trees.  I use my imperfect ears and follow her meow across the street, I must be getting closer because she is getting excited and her meow is more frequent.  I am praying she isn’t stuck in my neighbor’s huge 200 foot tree.  how will I ever get her out of that?  I can’t see any sign of a feline in between the branches.  I keep moving toward the sound as a furry grey face peeks off the roof of the grumpy old man across the street. 

“Great”, I exclaim.  A bit of a whine in  my voice.  I walk to the side of my house as Fluffy is meowing for me to not leave her.  I grab our old simming pool ladder, it has been lying out in our yard for two years now.  I sigh and begin the walk back to grumpy old man’s house.  “What is he going to think when I go walk up to his garage with my ladder?”  I mumble under my breath.  I set it as close to the garage as I dare.  My stomach is twisting and turning.  “Please don’t see me, please don’t see me.”  I reach up and grab my cat.  I lower her closer to the ground and drop her.  She runs off toward my house.  I grab my ladder and chase after her, not daring to look behind me. 

I reach the safety of my yard and drop my ladder back in it’s place.  Fluffy is rubbing across my legs in gratitude of her rescue.  I pick her up, look her straight into her yellow eyes and whisper, so my other neighbors don’t think I am nuts for talking to my cat, “You are not allowed to go to grumpy old man’s house.  Just stay here in my yard.  If you get stuck on his roof again, I will not save you.”  I pat her head and return into my house.

This scene played out this morning, I was thinking of using it because to me it was kind of funny after all was said and done.  Just wanted other opinions on it.

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EveryonesReading.com has just launched this week, so I hope you’ll be interested in featuring it. There’s no catch, just 12 free eBooks for everyone to enjoy! There’s also the chance to win a new Sony Reader!

Alexander Martin
Midas Public Relations

Midas House, 10 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL
T: 020 7361 7860 | Direct: 020 7361 7877
E: alexander.martin@midaspr.co.uk
midaspr.co.uk | twitter.com/midaspr

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By Christine Fonseca

Writing compelling story is more than simply writing a great story with a great plot. What makes a story compelling are the characters! And writing characters that you remember long after you finish the book requires getting to know them – well. Their personalities. Their emotions.

But how do you do that, build robust characters with well defined personalities and a strong emotional arc?

I start with lists. Lots of them.

I begin with a one word description of them – not in terms of looks, but in terms of the “clique” they’d belong to. The cheerleader, the nerd, the cutter, the warrior, etc.

Then I begin to list personality traits, their emotional make-up. Things like strong, confused, a dreamer, etc.

This is where it all begins for me.

As the brainstorming continues, I pay attention to the attributes I subscribe to the main characters of the story. It’s important to me for my heroes to be a bit villainous and for my villains to be redemptive.

Complex, rich, diverse – all of this happens as I list the traits and see all the aspects of my characters.

This list helps me understand my characters – what motivates them to do the things they do. It also helps me make sure my characters are authentic throughout the book.

In my most recent story, A BEAUTIFUL MESS, my main characters are an angelic warrior called a Sentinal and a fallen angel called the UnHoly.

Let’s look at their personalities:

Nesy, the Sentinal:

• Fierce
• Loyal
• A rule follower
• Compassionate
• Deeply emotional
• Controlled
• Passionate
• Afraid

By the end of the story, many of these aspects of her personality have been morphed into something quite different due to the events that move the story forward.

Aydan, the UnHoly

• Passionate
• Chaotic
• Fierce
• Ruthless
• Loyal
• Impulsive
• Relentless

By the end, his traits change too, as some of the more subtle personality traits, including redemption, are revealed.

Our characters should really be as diverse as we – flawed, messy, and a bit unpredictable.

What do you guys think? How do you form full characters?

Bio –

Christine Fonseca writes books for parents and kids related to giftedness, as well as YA novels. Her recent release, EMOTIONAL INTENSITY IN GIFTED STUDENTS is the resource for parents and educators working with the difficult emotional make-up of gifted kids. You can find Christine on her blog or hanging on facebook and twitter.

Christine’s Upcoming Releases:

• Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students (October 1, 2010, Prufrock Press)
• 101 Secrets for Gifted Kids (Spring 2011, Prufrock Press)

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