5 Stars: His Own Good Sword

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It has been so long since I have done a book review. SO. LONG.

Over a year, in fact.

There are two reasons for this:

     (1) I have been insanely busy. (But aren't we all?)

     (2) I only review books that I consider to be five-star must reads.

So you can understand, then, why I am thrilled to bring you another "top pick" from my indie reading list. That pick is Amanda McCrina's debut novel, His Own Good Sword.

You can find Amanda's book HERE....

Here is the premise of His Own Good Sword, courtesy of its Goodreads synopsis:

19-year-old Tyren Risto is a second son, bound by long tradition to serve in the Imperial military. Normally that would mean filling some stuffy ceremonial post in the capital city, but one rash misdeed has earned Tyren the enmity of the powerful Marro family and the promise he’ll regret it. Now, instead of the capital, Tyren’s first commission relegates him to a backwater garrison on the fringe of the rugged and hostile Outland, where a fiery young native leader is busy rousing his people to rebellion against the Empire. 

Soon, the flames of war are spreading all through the mountain country. Unprepared, rapidly outnumbered, Tyren is forced to weigh his devotion to duty against his growing doubts about the justice of his own cause. Victory isn’t out of the question, but it will come at a steep price—and Tyren is no longer sure he’s willing to pay.

His Own Good Sword came out last May, and has been steadily gathering an impressive collection of positive reviews. I should say here that all those reviews are well merited, and this is coming from someone who does not typically seek out historical fiction. Strange for a history teacher, I know. But for some reason I’m rarely drawn to it.

This book, however, has me reconsidering my genre-snobbishness.

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For one thing, this is not your typical historical fiction. It is in a place and time entirely of Amanda's own imagining, though it does strongly remind one of Celtic-Roman England, in the days when the Roman Empire was on the verge of crumbling. 

So while the names and locations may be invented, the place itself is anchored in the textured fabric of world history, and reads with the breathless intensity of a first-hand account. Yet the fact that it isn't directly tethered to a concrete point on the world timeline is refreshing; it is believable without taking itself too seriously, or knotting up in esoteric minutiae.

Amanda once described her tale as a “magic-less fantasy,” and in truth I had a hard time understanding what she meant by that, until I dived into her tightly crafted story. The cascading pressures heaped on the main character, Tyren Risto, become a multi-pronged catalyst for a series of events that tangle their roots among rumors of an old prophecy. The ruling Empire gives no thought to these old stories, while the indigenous people cling to them with religious-like fervor. 

It is this prophecy that becomes the subtle hint throughout of something larger at work, something that surpasses both the Empire, and the subjugated Cesino people who yearn for their independence.

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A BRIEF ANALYSIS

CHARACTERS: The characters in this tale are very real, and there isn't a cookie-cutter soul among them. Every hero has his dark side, and no villain is of the mustache-twirling "he's evil and that's that" variety --- even though, on both sides, there are secrets that remain hidden till the latter chapters of the book.

Themes of loyalty and duplicity are huge here, so - if you're like me - you'll find yourself gasping in surprise as plot twists reveal crucial character flaws (or virtues) that turn the plot on the head of a pin. I'll give you one hint: You can root for the main character, Tyren. But even he will surprise you, before the end.

PACING: If you want a rip-the-throat-amid-zombie-apocalypse opening to your books....you won't get it here. The opening chapters build like a bonfire, gradually emerging to a full, roaring, purple-green immensity.

But don't mistake the quiet tension of the opening scene as slow footing - it's not. In fact, I'll give you another hint: The friction detailed in the opening scene is key. For the rest of the book, loyalties unravel tragically, while friends are found in unexpected corners. The opening scene sets it all in motion, and in unexpected ways.

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PLOT: Most of the book is told from Tyren's point of view, though there are a few key scenes told from the viewpoint of his father, Torien. It is because of this dual POV setup that the reader learns how the Risto family has gradually fallen from grace, and in these fractious times they are surrounded by enemies.

As I said before, the tension in the opening scene becomes the central stream of the story, with other tributaries joining the fray in form of characters, conspiracies, diminished traditions, uprisings and injuries. By the time the story reaches the final chapter, everything is cascading forward in a whitewater rapid of plot twists and small details snapping together with fine precision.

RESOLUTION: This is definitely a book intended for a sequel. At the same time, the ending is satisfying, leaving the reader at a logical breaking point that ties off neatly within the parameters of the book, while definitely leaving ample room for a continuation.

And I hope that continuation comes very very soon.

If you have 99c to plunk onto your Kindle, or $7 to read it the old-fashioned way, I recommend going straight over to Amazon and order your Kindle copy HERE OR a "real" copy HERE.

Also, be sure to like and follow Amanda on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook, if you network on any of those sites.

ANNNNNND.....be sure to help me heckle her into writing the sequel SOON. :)

Happy reading!!

Amanda McCrina lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is currently finishing up her undergraduate degree in history and political science from the University of West Georgia. She also studied for two years at Geneva College, outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and for one semester in Rome, Italy. She has a particular interest in twentieth-century warfare and Roman military history.

Other interests include film, coffee, graphic design, ice hockey, and Star Wars.

Flight of Blue ~ Interview!

Welcome to a very big day in the life of one of my writer friends. Today, Anna Howard releases her debut novel, Flight of Blue to the reading public. A YA book about magic, friendship, and what it means to do what is right over what is easy - Flight of Blue tackles hard issues in a fairy-tale-with-a-twist approach.

Haven't heard of Flight of Blue? Here is a snippet to whet your appetite:

A cursed traffic light. A rip in the fabric of the world. A possum sorcerer injured on a quest for revenge.

Kai and Ellie embark on a journey to return the sorcerer to his home. Entangled in events that could destroy the world, Kai must choose whether to accept the role he was born to play, but isn’t sure he wants.

Writing a novel is always an intense act of love - and very hard work. So of course I wanted to know more about how Anna got to this point. Lucky for me, she was willing to sit down for an interview and give me the inside scoop on how her dream became a reality.

* * * * *

Hello, Anna! Thank you for taking time to answer my questions. First and foremost, how did you get the idea for Flight of Blue?

After nearly being t-boned in an intersection when someone ran the new traffic light by my house, I was driving home with adrenaline pumping in my veins and saw a possum lying by the side of the road. I stopped to see if I could help, and the possum told me a story about a sorcerer and the curse on the light. That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-)

One of the more powerful sorcerers in the books is a talking Opossum. It's such a great twist to the story, but I do have to ask: Why Opossums? What made you pick that creature and not racoons or foxes or something more "traditionally" fairy tale-ish?

Well, Angela, that's a good question. I'm glad you enjoyed the twist, but I have to confess, I didn't plan it. Possums are unfortunately the most common victims of careless driving in the semi-rural area of Tennessee where I live. So my sorcerer was always an opossum. Once I met Reginald and then met his folk, I realized what a fun group they were and how much material they gave me to work with. Plus, Reginald's fun to tease. I call him a rodent and Kai calls him Reggie, and I'm not sure which of us is higher on his black list, but he's so cute when he gets all bristly. I suppose it could get us cursed or something, but Reginald's sort of sworn off cursing things in revenge after the fiasco with the traffic light. At least, I sure hope he has...

I know from my own writing experience that certain aspects of novel-writing are more difficult than others-sometimes it's an unsavory character who is hard to write, sometimes its a specific scene. What was the biggest challenge about writing Flight of Blue?

I'd say the biggest challenge was actually Sebastian. But of, course, it wasn't his fault. It was just difficult to remember to record his reactions to events since he wasn't taking part in the conversations. I finally figured out I'd been neglecting him when he kept up a constant stream of head bumps and wiggles, drawing more and more attention to himself until I had appropriately recorded all of his contributions to the events.

While Flight of Blue has a happy ending, it does end with a few unanswered questions, and hints of events to come. What can we expect for our heroes in the next book?

After discovering where his parents are, Kai will embark on quest with his friends to free them. The Realm of Darkness is even more intent on taking control of the Middle Realm, now that they've realized the Keeper walks the Realms once more. Kai will have to battle enemies on all sides with the help of his friends from Flight of Blue and some new ones along the way as he strives to retain control of his own mind and solve a puzzle that will give him a powerful means of rescuing his parents while discovering more about the mysterious prophecy of the Lucinarium.

When can readers expect the second episode in the Keeper of the Keys Chronicles?

The release date is still to-be-determined, but definitely by Summer 2013, and hopefully a bit sooner if my team and I can swing it. The sequel is called the Guardians, and folks who are interested can like my Facebook page and/or sign up for my mailing list to get updates as planning progress. I can say that I'm about halfway through the first draft, so it is definitely underway!

Links:

Facebook:

http://facebook.com/aehowardwrites

Mailing list:

http://eepurl.com/kj4dj

Thanks, Anna, for a great interview!

Curious? You can check out Flight of Blue using the links provided above, 

or check it out on Goodreads!

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Storyboarding vs Mere Plotting

With JuNoWriMo almost upon us, I have tweeted more and more lately about the “storyboarding” stage of my writing process. Several people have asked me what I mean by that, and still others have asked for a closer look at how I go about the prewriting process entirely.

Most writers refer to this as simply “plotting” – but I confess, it’s a word that rarely enters my writing vocabulary.

In the world of Angela, prewriting means storyboarding.

What is storyboarding?

A nice dictionary definition of storyboarding is simply this: “A panel or series of panels of rough sketches outlining the scene sequence and major changes of action or plot in a production to be shot on film or video.”

In other words, it is a term generally applied to the film industry. Generally, it’s a visual pictorial outline that looks something like this >>> See johnstanicek.com for excellent storyboard examples. <<<

This sort of “plotting” is essential to those in film, since so many details hinge on the presentation of the visual aspects, and not dialogue only.

The Megatokyo Connection

I first ran across the term storyboarding several years ago, when I discovered the mother of all quality, convoluted, complex webcomics known as Megatokyo. The mastermind behind the comic, Fred Gallagher, was still putting out Largo & Piro goodness in his original gag-a-day comic strip format then. But not long after I joined this deliriously inverted world of geeks, mystery, social awkwardness, gaming, and the undead - Fred did something VERY interesting: he decided to morph the comic strip from a daily yucks-and-giggles routine to an overarching story with multiple characters, intricately interwoven plotlines, and ongoing themes that actually went beyond humor and meant something.

In short, he wanted to move out of sitcom territory and tell a substantive story.

As he went through the transformation, Fred documented his efforts in his blog posts, which always show up at the bottom of the page after the comic. This is where I first heard him rant about storyboarding, and how much time was consumed in plotting things out correctly.

Then he started posting snippets of his storyboards. He still does this sometimes, by posting “in progress” comics when the finished result is taking a while to really polish off.

Once I saw what he meant by “storyboarding”, my whole vision of what it meant to put a story together changed. Drastically.

Why storyboard a novel?

The idea of “storyboarding” changed my view at a bedrock level, and on a point so simple as to be considered obvious: Stories need to be visual.

That’s almost a “duh” kind of statement, isn’t it? After all, we live in a visually charged society. If it’s not the internet or television or movies, it’s coming over our iPhones and iPads, Kindles and Nooks, not to mention the old standbys – billboards and posters and magazine covers in the grocery store check-out lines. We are bombarded by visual stimuli constantly. Yet we still need the reminder – or at least I do – that today’s audiences are so visually conditioned that any would-be-author who ignores this reality of the modern audience does so at his own peril.

Again – a “duh” moment, right?

But here’s where the lightbulb went on for me: If I am going to write for such a visually charged audience, then I need to write visually – even before I put words to paper.

Please do not misunderstand me.

Storyboarding a novel does NOT mean:

·      Drawing tons of sketches beforehand (though some authors – including J K Rowling, are known to do this. But it’s not for everyone.)

·      Belaboring my writing with loads of long, heavy description. (This is generally considered monumentally BAD writing.)

But my audience is visual. VERY visual.

So how do I do this?

My personal answer is what I would like to take you through for the next few weeks. I’m not saying that I have all the answers – only that I’ve found what works for me; and I have helped enough writers along the way that it seems to help other people as well – not everyone, perhaps, but many. And it’s adaptable; so if you’re NOT an artist, then you can tweak the process in a way that fits you.

Over the month of June I will break down the steps of how to storyboard a novel the “Angela Goff way”, and let you be the judge of which part of these sub-components works for you.

Generally speaking, the trajectory of this series will cover: context, hooks, idea gathering, timelines, maps and sketches, and then of course how to merge all of that into a full storyboard.

I hope this little foray into my brain will help some of you, or at least encourage you in knowing that you’re already doing some of these things that will save your novel from the slush pile.

Follow me on Twitter (@Angela_Goff) or subscribe to email notifications for this blog to catch the next installment, hopefully coming your way by the end of the week.

Questions? Comments? Does any of this sound helpful?

Let me know in the comments!