Pet peeves

Yet another repost from the amazon boadrs (I'm lazy...sue me....)

Here's the link....

When it comes to fantasy series, the peeves are as follows:

1: Don't make too much of a good thing - many series that start out good and promising all to often lose their vitality by extending on further than they need to be. Thus, what was supposed to have been a trilogy becomes a pentalogy, then reach seven books, then ten, until finally the weary fan throws up his hand and says enough. Because at some point each new book ceases to have any relevance on the greater story, becomes more and more obsessed with meaningless subplots and minor characters, and comes across as just a big collection of filler material meant to stretch out a profitable series for the money. I can think of several fantasy series that fit this bill, epics which quite reasonably could have been wrapped up after volume four or five, but instead just kept on going, and going and going....

2: Don't let the setting overwhelm the story. There a lot of fantasy books out there where the author has spent a lot of time and energy creating a fantastically detailed world for the characters to reside in, and then when he (or she) actually sits down to write the story, decides to pause every few pages to describe, at length, some aspect of the political, social or magical system that causes the eyes to glaze after the third paragraph. ) I fully admit to being guilt of this back when I started writing...)

Setting matters in fantasy, perhaps more than any other genre. A fully developed world can enhance the story and make it better - The Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire are good examples of this - but they need to exist in balance. One shouldn't overwhelm the other.

3: Cardboard characters. Fantasy is genre that loves it's stereotypes, and all to often that results in characters that lack any real sense of depth. They're either pure, noble heroes or dark-hearted villains without a hint of redemption. Thankfully this seems to be less the case nowadays, but it still occurs...to my mind the best fantasy series are the one in which the characters are more shades of gray in their approach to things, where villains aren't always villains and heroes can walk on the dark side. Interesting characters make for interesting stories, and isn't that what's all about in the end - telling a story?

Anyway, there's my two cents on the matter...

Plant a seed, see what grows...

Here's another repost from a discussion on Amazon started by yours truly. It's amazing what happens when a bunch of fans get together to shoot the breeze...

"Why doesn't fantasy get the respect?

Over the last fifty or sixty years, it seems, there been a split in the world of literature, between those who write genre or popular fiction, and those who write literary. And while the genre writers tend to make the money, the literary guys get the respect. Which, I will admit, does seem a bit confusing.

Back on the old, old, really days, there wasn't such a distinction. Writers were writers, full stop. Arthur Conan Doyle created The Lost World along with Sherlock Holmes. Edgar Allen Poe was the godfather of horror, and one of the greatest writers in American letters. Heck, Isaac Asimov wrote about EVERYTHING, not just scifi. But nowadays if you mention the fact that you read fantasy, scifi or horror, let alone write it, they look on you as if crawled out of the gutter, a peasant among the aristocrats (for some reason, mystery writers get a pass...)

When did this division occur, and why? True, a lot of fantasy is just mindless escapism, but that's true of a lot of stuff considered highbrow. And authors like George R.R. Martin or Scott Bakker turn out thoughtful and highly observant work on the human condition...which just so happens to be set in worlds where magic and dragons exist. Yet the literary establishment derides it as trash.

When you get down to it, literary fiction is basically just another genre, with its own themes, character types, and it's own audience. So I ask, why doesn't fantasy fiction get the respect of the critics?

And is that necessarily a bad thing?"

Here's the link. Follow to see the responses...very cool.

First review!

I got my first review from a reader, and it’s a good one…

“I read about this book on one of the discussions on Amazon, thought I would try it, so downloaded to my Kindle. I enjoyed the book very much, wish the next one was here already, as I want to find out what happens to Macsen, the main character next. I loved the concept of the story, not the average,run of the mill fantasy, but a world that is Islands floating in the sky and flying ships to get to the different ones. Reminded me of the Island of Sky in my old EQ days,lol. The Storm at the Center of the World has lots of action, intrigue, war, pirates,magic, a very good read, loved it , can't wait for more”

Very nice indeed….here's the link....

The old school style

Anothe rpost from the Amazon board...here's the link....

Remember the good old days, when men were men, elves were pointy-eared wimps and orcs were killing machines whose sole purpose was to be swordbait for our might-thewed heroes, chopped down by the battalion in the endless war between good and evil?

Fantasy has always been a prisoner of it’s clichés, and for the longest time you could open up a book in the genre and be pretty sure what you were going to find: barbarians, sorcerers, and some variation of Tolkienesque elves, orcs, etc. In other words, pretty much what you would find around a Dungeons & Dragons table on a Saturday night.

Now though, the old-school stuff is pretty much gone. For better or worse it seems like fantasy as a genre is maturing, expanding beyond its origins to embrace new ideas. Words without magic, where humans are the only species (more or less….) Stories were science fiction and fantasy are blended together to the point that it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends…paranormal romance….

Now, I’m not objecting to any of this. Any genre has to evolve it’s going to stay relevant. But sometimes I miss the old school. So, here’s a question for other fan-atics (pun fully intended….) Can anyone think of a fantasy novel that came out in the last decade or so that goes back to the original style, with elves, orcs, and other fey critters, princesses being fed to dragons and gallant cardboard heroes without a hint of depth fighting against overwhelming odds before ultimately slaying a generic Dark Lord-type villain?

Fantasy films...via Amazon.

Posted this in an online discussion on Amazon.com about why fantasy movies aren't as good as the books they'e based on...here's the link if your interested....

"I think part of the problem is two-fold…first, what looks good on the page doesn’t always translate well on the screen. With a book the reader can use his own imagination. But translating that story to an actual image is a different matter entirely. What looks wondrous in your head might turn out to be risible on the screen. Eragon is a good example of this effect – what seemed epic and amazing in a book comes across as bloated and pompous in a movie.

Also, Hollywood has a sad track record of translating fantasy stories to the screen, because they always take the easy way out, relying on the most hackneyed stereotypes and clichés when it comes to a plot, cutting out the more edgy or complicated stuff that often makes the story work, and relying on FX to make up for the deficiency. Look at the Golden Compass – the studio cut out all the religious and atheist references, mainly because they didn’t want to scare away certain segments of the audience. The problem is, those issues about religious belief are what make the story work, regardless of your opinion on the matter; take them away and all that’s left is another boilerplate coming-of-age story that’s instantly forgettable the minute you leave the theatre.

Basically, Hollywood views fantasy as broad mindless entertainment for the masses But a lot of the really good stuff in the genre is actually very thoughtful, and quite dark, which doesn’t work when you’re taking the lowest-common-denominator approach to entertainment. Here’s hoping, BTW, that HBO resists the temptation to dumb-down A Game of Thrones when they start filming….

Anyway, just my two cents on the matter."

Hustle and not flow....

Back up and running again on CreateSpace…Kindle soon to follow. Then come’s the real work…the long hard slog of publicity! Ah yes…writing was the fun part, editing even had its charms. But getting people to actually part with their hard earned money, getting them to buy the end result of years of blood, sweat and hand cramp, now that’s the real trick!

It’s a brave new world all right…instead of the publishing house hustling a few big names, there’s a thousand indies hustling for themselves. The trick, of course, is to find a way to stand out from the pack.

I'M BACK!!!!

I'M BACK, BABY!!!

Finally completed the redit…should soon be back up and running on Amazon and all
points east. This is it, the final edit (except the revsion of Book two…ugh….)

Was it good for you?

WINTER IS COMING!!!!!!

YESS!!!!!

HBO greenlights 'Game of Thrones' to series


Here's the article at The Hollywood Reporter!!!!