Tag Archives: Romance

Evolution in words

I am currently trying out Amazon’s new lending library as they have a free trial for Canada at the moment. I have a hard time finding anything good on the site as those I knew were good were ones I had already read. So I went back to a golden oldie, Georgette Heyer and a three book set starting with ‘The Miracle at St. Bruno’s’. Now this was, is and probably always will be a mainstream book and in just about every library, etc.

What really stood out was how styles and pacing have really changed over the years since I last read this book. At the time it was classed as adult. Well, to be fair, there were only two categories: adult and children’s. Now I would put it in the YA section. What caught me first was the pacing, which was slow, so very slow. Yes, this is an historical romance with a thriller twist but it plods pedantically over many pages littered with extraneous fluff a writer would never get by an editor in this century. Another thing that jumped out at me was the multiple instances of ‘talking heads’; two characters in a room discussing something to the exclusion of everything else so the reader’s attention is focussed on the words of the dialogue and everything else that should be around is a nebulous grey color.

Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying the book and it is perfect for night time reading after I go to bed as it has a pleasantly lulling effect. I did enjoy the book enormously when I first came across it way back when. I love the historical elements, which are brilliant and I love the plot twists. It is just fascinating to see the evolution in the writing style from the then to the now.

Will I continue with the Amazon library? Nope. I can’t find anything I would get that would equal more than the $9 a month it would cost me. For my money, I would like a free choice from all of the books available, not just those solely locked into the Amazons platform.

Thankgiving gifts. Forever and a Day.

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend. To celebrate the occasion I have a small gift for my readers.  Just for Sunday 12th and Monday 13th I have a free story up on Amazon. Please remember you don’t need to own a kindle to download an ebook from Amazon. They will give you a free program for your computer.  http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Day-Elizabeth-Hull-ebook/dp/B00M3IIWSO/ref=sr_1_18?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1412810282&sr=1-18&keywords=forever+and+a+day

Does accuracy matter in fantasy?

I happen to believe it does. This is why I devote many, many hours into intensive research. It doesn’t matter to me if the product of my research is a part of my physical book or not. This is ground work that to my mind, must be accomplished. I need to have a take on the culture and the setting of a world to make it come alive and to do that, I have to make sure I have my facts correct.

Yes, it is really easy to get stuff off the web, but how accurate is this? Mostly not. Nothing beats the real live investigations with impartial informants. Will my physics work? I ask my dear husband, who is one of those people at the cutting edge of technology. He will tell me straight off it this will fly or not.

With history, or religion, it is important to understand how politics of the time comes into play. People are persistently guilty of projecting the politically correct version of events. It is therefore necessary to dig really deeply to get to the source from many different angles. This produces some very surprising results. Temporal and religious institutions have taken it upon themselves to rewrite history to present themselves in a good light, or to revile others in order to look good. Nowhere is this more apparent than the dark ages, where women did have power and were people in their own right. Moving on a few hundred years or so, this was not the thing. These women of history must be reviled to level down the effect of felinity, currently not the flavor of the month. Historical lies are then manufactured to promote the supremacy of men.

Nope, I am not a feminist. I am an equalist. Each compliments and supports the other. This is how it was meant to be. I abhor how women were put down in history and I abhor how men are now being sidelined. Note to book cover artists. Men are naturally hairy. This comes with testosterone. Producing covers with chest bald individuals is promoting all body waxing products. Did you really want to do this when you are not getting a cut in the profits?

Actually, a very high percentage of the witch hunts were as a result of greedy men wanting to acquire the possessions of women. Anyone, who is tortured enough, will say whatever it takes to make the pain stop. The definition of witches is also interesting from a Christian perspective as it is the antithesis of Christianity. In reality a pagan is not someone who is anti Christian. A pagan is someone with no interest in the Christian belief and who does not follow the concepts of that faith. A pagan follows a far older faith with no roots in Christianity. From historical texts, it is not an antithesis of Christianity, it is something else entirely.  Again, accepted religion and politics come into play.

Darkspire Reaches ebook free!

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Just in time for the weekend, Darkspire Reaches ebook is free on Amazon.com. I hope it will also be free on the other Amazons soon. It is also free on Smashwords, Kobo and Nook. This is a limited time opportunity and will only run in the lead up to the publication of Shadow Over Avalon and for a week thereafter. Go get your copy now!

TA DAH! Important Announcement.

My publishers, Kristell Ink, in celebration of the upcoming publication of Shadow Over Avalon on Halloween,  have just released Darkspire Reaches as FREE on Smashwords. Over the next few days this will filter down to Barns and Noble, Nook and finally to Amazon. Can I please ask everyone to let Amazon know when the price on Barns and Noble becomes free? Amazon will then do a price match and it will be for all the Amazons.

I am really excited over how SOA is shaping up with the help of my amazing editor, Zoe Harris. This is a totally positive experience. Does happy dance. As per usual, there will be a few chapters of SOA released for free reading on Amazon when it goes live. In the meantime, I have the prologue and a few snippets up here, on my webpage. These are all previous to editing, although the changes will be minimal.

Come take a peek at my worlds.

Starting to get a little excited.

I have an awesome cover and now am waiting to the edits to come in. I have waited a very long time for Shadow Over Avalon to be taken up, so yes, I am excited. That it will be going live near on or near Halloween is even better.

Imagine a future word where things that go bump in the night rule. This is what the returned king must face. He pledged his soul to protect his people at the time of their greatest need, but he didn’t sign up for this terror. When King Arthur returns to fulfill his oath, many things stand on their heads. Who is a friend and who is not?  The stakes will determine who lives and who dies. With the fate of humanity resting in his hands, he can’t fail, or can he? This is what happens next.

To be released by Kristall Ink in October, the witching month. Stay tuned for updates. 

Buying and who doesn’t.

This was a writer related post, but it got me thinking back. Many years ago my late father had a soft furnishing company. It was top of the line, but even so, he offered considerable discounts, think cost price, to relatives. His nephew never stepped up. Not once. They lived in an outdated apartment with the drapes in rags and no, they were not poor. If you both earn and you don’t spend, you have the money. They never took up a cost price offer, not even for scatter cushions.

I guess a person can get out of the habit of spending if they live their whole life never improving anything. My cousin’s wife still had a twin tub washer long after these became dinosaurs. Darn, it even had a mangle on the top. Does anyone remember what a mangle was, even? I feel kinda sad for them really. They had no children by choice, so they had the opportunity to treat themselves, and yet didn’t. I fail to see the point of endless hours spent and dire jobs when there is no carrot in the offing. I expect my cousin’s wife’s relatives got a nice next egg on her demise, after he went, but what about them? Where was their payout for the years of work? Not comfort, not home ownership, not even nice vacations. So sad.

Coming back into full circle, I guess this is why I don’t spam family and friends. It is there and I will give a discount as allowed by my publishers, but I will not push it down your throat. Speaking of which, I do have some copies of Darkspire Reaches that I can give a 20% discount on if anyone is interested. Postage and Packing to the States is another $7.60 CAD on top, but not out of line with what Amazon charges for a single purchase. Oh, and then there is one copy earmarked for that special person who gives the most interesting comment on the cover. I will cover the cost of postage for this to anywhere in the world.