Guest blog : Fantasy meets romance

First monthiversary of my book's release! And there's another guest blog to celebrate it - this one over at Anna's Book Blog. I first discovered Anna's blog when I was researching Samhain, because she's got a very interesting interview with one of Samhain's editors, and her blog is simply fun to browse as well.

So I wrote about the combination of fantasy with romance.

Fantasy is the Little Black Dress of the genres. It goes with everything – science, romance, history, horror – and usually makes a good thing even better. I love writing in it, and combining it with other genres for the best effect.

The addition of fantasy elements to a romance has to be done carefully. They can’t be wallpaper, because readers expect good world building. And they have to be internally consistent. A land where bride abduction is common is unlikely to be one with a strongly matriarchal culture.

Want to read more? Plus, there's a giveaway - so please read and comment for a chance to win!

Guest blog: Secondary characters

“I confess right now that I have a secondary character fetish,” J. R. Patrick said here.

Why is that? I wondered. Something along the same lines had happened to me with my editor, who told me she found a secondary character in my debut novel “fascinating”. She said she hoped to see more of him in the sequel.

So I wrote a blog post on why secondary characters might upstage the protagonists, and J. R. Patrick was kind enough to host it here. Click and read!

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Also, my online friend and fellow blogger Hazardgal is holding a contest for her book The Holler. Two words that made me want to read more: "Raw Head". I'd enter but I'm on the wrong side of the border... so I hope lots of other people do!

Guest blog: Phishing and literary scams

A few days ago, I received a message that I thought came from my bank’s security department. The email asked me to verify my account information so that my service would not be interrupted. It provided a link which I could click to enter a few details.

The return email address seemed like my bank’s. I looked closely at the logo in the email, and it was identical to my bank’s.

That led me to write a post on five things phishing and literary scams have in common. Writer, editor and scamhunter Jane Smith is kindly hosting it on her blog, How Publishing Really Works. Thanks so much for all your support, Jane! And be sure to check out the post to see if I got "phished".

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Guest blog: Stranger in strange lands

I didn't think the varied countries in which I spent my life had much of an impact on my writing.

Partly because I didn't think of those countries... much. I spent years trying to get out of the Middle East, and am now spending years more trying to earn Canadian citizenship. When it came to where I lived, I looked to the future rather than the past, and only just realized how much influence the one had on the other.

That occurred when I read a post on Jess Dee's blog. That's called Dee-liciously Sexy Romance, and more than lives up to its title... the excerpts alone are a surfeit of heat. And Jess is a wonderful fellow writer who not only agreed to host a guest blog and contest but gave me a lot of guidance, this being my first time.

In print, I mean.

So, without further ado, here it is. Read and comment for a chance to win!

Guest blog: The story behind the story

What was the inspiration behind Before the Storm?

A few years ago, I read Anne Bishop’s Daughter of the Blood
, which features a dark and corrupted land where male pleasure slaves are common. One of them has been forced into such a position for years and is cold, bitter and lonely – but of course he’s also very, very appealing.

I put down the book and wondered, “Can I do the same thing, except with a woman?”

Read the rest of it on RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk. That's one of the go-to blogs for everything romantic, and Fatin is generously hosting a commentary and a giveaway for me. :) Please leave a comment if you'd like to win!

Guest post: To blog or not to blog

Today I'm guest blogging on Susan Johnston's very informative The Urban Muse, which has reams of great information on writing, blogging and freelancing. I started reading it one day and realized well over two hours later that I was still reading, which only happened before when I discovered TV Tropes.

My post is about the pros and cons of starting and maintaining a blog. Check it out and leave a comment if you like!

This is the promotion for today. Yesterday I joined a private board where I knew most of the people from another board years ago; just didn't have time to catch up with them while classes were going on. So that's one more community which now knows about the book.

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Yesterday I was looking at romance novel covers on other bloggers' sites, like this one from Viv Arend.



And that's when I realized that I actually prefer not to see the hero on romance novel covers. There's a preference for what's referred to as "mantitty" - marketing shows this, so of course cover art responds. At least it's better than Fabio, IMO.

But neither of them work for me, oddly enough. Maybe because the visuals of men I find hottest are the ones in my head? A reader's imagination is often more powerful than what even the best cover art can provide.

There are only a handful of heroes whom I did like seeing on covers, and even then one of them was only visible from the neck down. Plus, he was wearing a (buttoned) shirt and slacks.

On the other hand, I do enjoy seeing heroines on covers, so the intense gaze of the woman on the cover caught my attention. I especially love heroines wearing beautiful dresses suited to that time and place.

Well, with one exception.



Count the heroine's hands.

An update on promotion

Day 7 (April 12) : Created an author's profile on Goodreads. Will keep adding to it.

Day 8 (April 13) : No promotion. Too tired from studying for microbiology theory and practical on April 14.

Day 9 (April 14) : That was a rough exam. I usually enjoy the esoteric details of medical micro, but come on... which fungus is endemic to the Southwestern United States? I barely know which fungi are endemic to the country I live in, let alone the one below it.

Oh well, back to promotion. Updated my profile on ff.net to include the book's cover and links - plus, added a chapter to an ongoing story to attract traffic.

Second blogoversary!

This blog began on April 12, 2008. Since then I've quit a job, sold a book and nearly finished my first year of college (though judging from how prepared I feel for the chemistry exam today, it's more like the first year has finished me).

But anyway, those have been two productive years and I'm happy to have readers who shared and experienced them along with me. :)

Also, the latest on the Thirty Days of Promotion. Not as much as usual because of the exams - there's a microbiology one on Wednesday as well.

Day 5 (April 10)

Sent a guest blog post to the Urban Muse.
Updated website to include links to pre-release publicity, interview and review.

Day 6 (April 11)

Uploaded an essay - with a link to my website - to a LiveJournal community.

Iron Angel

First, an update on the Thirty Days of Promotion.

Day 3 (April 8)

Made flyers and handed them out to some of my classmates.

Day 4 (April 9)

Interview and giveaway on Moira Rogers' blog. Check it out - she asked some pretty unusual questions!

Now, we return you to your regularly scheduled feature.



Iron Angel is the sequel to Scar Night, video game designer Alan Campbell’s first novel. I reviewed Scar Night some time ago, liked its background and vivid images and decided to try the sequel. All I can say is: if you love a bizarre and fantastic setting and don’t expect too much in terms of characters and story, you’ll enjoy this book.

Scar Night began in the city of Deepgate, which is suspended in chains over an abyss in which a god is trapped. Right away you know that this story will unfold over a grand canvas, and Iron Angel doesn’t disappoint. The first chapter takes place on a skyship on which another god is trapped, a ship dragged through the clouds by a huge man called John Anchor who roams about the world.

Meanwhile, Deepgate has descended into fire and chaos after the events of the first novel, but the protagonists of the story – the angel Dill and the outlaw assassin Rachel Hael –escaped to another town. Soon, though, they become involved in the scheme of yet another god, and there’s a maze in which souls are trapped, and nightmarish constructs…

I can’t say much about the plot. That’s a clothesline on which many colorful and fascinating concepts are strung. And from reading the first novel, I knew characterization would be limited. The fact that so many of the dramatis personae are gods or angels doesn’t help in this regard.

The only time I felt even disappointed was when Rachel manages to focus. Focusing is something assassins can only do once they’ve undergone an agonizing process that leaves them brainwashed and unemotional, but since Rachel is the heroine she manages to keep her feisty personality and focus anyway.

But that’s not what this book is about. It’s about the constructs.

Menoa was changing the composition of her eyes. Her vision became suddenly fragmented, like the view through the facets of a gemstone. She felt her back crimp and buckle, before she sensed something hard and flexible growing out of her spine. This protrusion split and then divided again and again.
What was he changing her into?

It’s about Cinderbark Wood, where scientists have treated the trees with toxins and poisons – as an experiment, as a trap and as a display of skill. Now the petrified forest glows like a furnace and can kill travelers in many different ways. Of course, it’s in the middle of the desert called the Deadsands, and the only water for miles around is an untouched spring in the forest’s heart.

This novel would make a fantastic RPG. Maybe it already has.

It’s about the shiftblades, which can adapt to any combat.

The scarred angel danced back from the blow. She would have avoided it easily had the shiftblade not changed form. Halfway through Trench’s strike, his sword turned into a pike.

The angel then tries to grab the pike’s shaft, so the shiftblade turns into a rapier. Ouch.

There’s a great deal of imagination, colorful names and intriguing concepts in this book – it’s the literary equivalent of a constantly shifting kaleidoscope. If you’re in the mood for that, it’s well worth a look.

Magic and steampunk: guest blog. And promotion!

Today I'm guest blogging at Maria Zannini's. Her blog is multi-faceted - something for everyone, whether you're a writer or pet owner or interested in saving money - but it's always a great read. Maria has answered a lot of questions I've had on the journey to publication, and she generously invited me to talk about steampunk.

I love steampunk fantasy. Not only because it combines my two favorite topics, but because it's so versatile. I think there's even a fanfic where the Transformers reach Earth in the 1700s or so, and therefore they take the form of primitive vehicles - steam locomotives and so on.

So head on over and read my post.

But I also wanted to mention a comment from Maria when she blogged about promotion. She said,

If I knew then what I know now, I would have created a blitz and blogged, interviewed or networked in some way EVERY SINGLE DAY of the debut month.

Would you? I thought after reading that. And then: Could I?

Thirty days of promotion, huh? Let's see how that'll work out. I'll keep a running tally of everything promotional I've done.

Day 1 (April 6)

Posted the news on my blog
Posted on Samhain's weblog
Posted on Samhain's Yahoo group
Posted on the Absolute Write forums
Posted on Facebook
Posted on my LiveJournal account

Day 2 (April 7)

Guest post on Maria Zannini's blog
Another writer on AW posted it on her Facebook

Am I going to run out of places at this rate?

We'll see. Wish me luck, you guys.