Will You Like My Books?

I think it's high-time I answered this question. My books aren't for everyone, so you shouldn't waste your money if you're not going to like them.

My books are all about a spunky sense of fun. If you like strong, smart heroines (or characters that are so dumb, you laugh at them and wish they'd bite the dust already), you'll probably like my books.

If you like fantasy and magic, but done in a new way, you'll like my books.

You'll like Ivy Thorn (The Fairy Tale Trap, The Fairy Tale Twist) if you're looking for a light, fun read that will keep you rooting for a character in an impossible situation. If you like fairy tales, and modern, relatable characters, Ivy's books are for you. The Ivy Thorn series is quick-paced and funny, with a nice helping of fairy tale magic.

You won't like the Ivy Thorn series if you're looking for great literature with complete grammatical perfection. Also, you should know that the series is written in first-person present, which irks some people (though I have converted a few). If you like stories that take their time and explore various aspects of life, this series isn't for you. Also, you should know that these stories (like fairy tales) don't have many subplots.


Fairy Tales and Zombies (Snow White and Zombies, Cinderella and Zombies) are short novels, with a very different style from Ivy. Since everything takes place in the 16th century, the language is a little more adult. But that's okay, because the themes have more of a grown-up feel to them. These stories have death and zombie slaying with a touch of humor and a dash of fairy dust.
These books are for you if you 1) love zombies 2) Want face-paced action and 3) Want to see a fairy tale in a completely different light.

You won't like my Fairy Tales and Zombies books if you're expecting the constant quick, witty reparte that Ivy brings to the table. There's some humor, and the characters will banter, but that's not the focus of the book. If you hate reading about castles and knights and princesses in ballgowns, you probably won't like these books. (Of course, the princesses will often slay zombies, so that might make things more interesting.)

RePost: Build a Setting that Pulls Its Own Weight (and then some)

So I'm finally getting to a craft post! I found some great stuff on setting. It's something I used to not think about on the first draft. I used to forget about it or my setting would just have a few token descriptions sprinkled in and they were ordinary. Boring.

How to Revise Your Novel helped me to take a step back from my story and really see where my characters were and why I'd picked these particular locations. (Maybe you've heard that the setting needs to be the only place where the story could take place? It's true. Sometimes I did it subconsciously, but other times I had to work to make my setting count.)

As I work through the first draft of my WIP, I'm noticing that I'm SO much slower than I was with my other novels. Then I went back and read what I wrote and you know what? There's setting! Real setting. Meaningful. The setting helped build tension and character.

Katrina Stonoff wrote a fantastic article that really made an impact on me called Make Your "Where" Memorable. She helped me to see beyond the typical and bring out those details that you wouldn't expect, but that really draw the reader in.

Enrich Your Descriptions by learning how to develop you writer's eyes. There's more to a setting than what you see with the naked eye. How would you see a scene if you were a child? If you were in a hurry? If you were objective? This post goes deeper to even discuss connotation, which is definitely worth a read if you're not familiar with it.

Cynsations had a fun guest post by Deborah Halverson last week where she asks: what ever happened to description? It seems to have all but disappeared, what with writers worrying about pace and character and plot.

And this week, Greenhouse Literary posted How to Write the Breakout Novel Part 5: A Vivid Setting.
If you haven't delved into The Bookshelf Muse, I highly recommend some exploration. Scroll down the right-hand column for a list of settings. Click the link for "Forest" (or whatever is relevant to your story) and you'll be taken to an extensive list of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures you might find there. I use this site all the time to make my scenes pop.

Just a little goody for those of you who may write traditional fantasy: The Middle Ages, Chivalry, & Knighthood is an amazing go-to source for terms, time lines, maps, culture, food, history... you name it!

Writing Descriptions

Descriptions are underrated. I mean, it used to be you could get away with writing pages of description, but today's books need to be fast-paced and action-packed. There doesn't seem to be any room for description.

One problem we face in today's world is that we don't sense things any more. We're so busy multi-tasking and getting to the next thing on our list to even notice the sounds and smells around us. I hadn't given this much thought until I read Paying Attention by Shutting It Off by Cambria Dillon.

How do you write description without it boring your readers to death? Make it part of the story. Theresa at Edittorrent shows Julia London's brilliant example in the post Setting by Example.

And of course, no post on description would be complete without mentioning Bookshelf Muse--my favorite free online writing resource. Angela Ackerman has yet another post worth reading: The Writer's Bane: Describing a Character's Physical Appearance. She tackles a big problem and uses examples to illustrate a much more interesting way to describe your characters.

Easy Revising - How to Fix a Novel Before Submission

I've had a request to post about revision. As I progress in the editing process, I'm finding that I can't possibly remember all those tips and tricks at the same time. If I remember to show, I forget to build character. If I remember to use strong verbs, my dialogue fall apart. Anyone else having this problem?

But I'll continue to post the most helpful advice I can, and just hope that the right words reach you at the right time.

I'm not sure if I've posted this one or not, but it's pretty darn helpful. I use cliches all the time and cringe every time I spot one. It takes real thought to push past cliches and come up with something that 1) is original and 2) still conveys the message I want to send and 3) doesn't jerk the reader out of the story--all while maintaining voice and character! Anyway, here's an article on Cliches and Description.

And I may have also shared this one too (Let me know if these look familiar.) but again, it's fantastic and I needed to be reminded. More on Show Don't Tell and how specificty is your greatest weapon.

And finally, Holt Uncensored has put together a lovely post on the 10 Mistakes Writers Don't See (but Can Easily Fix When They Do). Like every author I know of, I have a few favorite words. They pop up all over my manuscript. For Shadow Bound, one of those words was "moment". I used it more than 20 times! Little things like this can ruin a story for a reader, and these are the kinds of mistakes covered in this article. This would be particularly good if you have finished a story, edited it, and you THINK it's ready for submission.