Review: Old Haunts, A London City Novel (E. Spain)

Old Haunts, A London City Novel

Emmett Spain

One of two reviews I've been behind on:

Four out of Five stars

I’m an urban fantasy writer myself. So I couldn’t help but look at “Old Haunts” with a critical eye.

So imagine my surprise when I finished the ‘ghost’ of a teaser and was already onboard for this alternate reality (London) romp.

Jack Worthington is the perfect anti-hero. Does everything the wrong why with the right intentions.

Well most of the time.

Worthington is a gruff, head-strong spirit talker whose desire to help a client with her marital issues (especially an issue with the ‘death do us part’ portion of her vows) leads to a death mark and an eventual race against an oncoming apocalypse.

The pace is fast, the twists are unexpected and I closed the book already looking forward to book two.

Just to see how Emmett screws with his characters next.

And one final note. If you are tired of sparkly vampires, then you’ll really enjoy one of the main villains.

Website and...Podcasting?

Many of you know I've been looking around for some assistance with my website.

Ok. To be honest my 'website' is a simple redirect to this blog. So I guess by 'some assistance'

I mean 'someone to build what I have in my head who knows what she/he is doing.'

My focus as a Technology Consultant for the past 15 years or so has been in Program and Portfolio management. Before that, I was a Helluva engineer. In both roles I've met some really bright people.

A long time ago I worked on a project with a damn good tech weenie. A great guy by the name of Eric Grigg. He happens to also be a co-host of the 'EaglesFanCast.' This is a podcast, blog etc. for everything to do with the Philadelphia Eagles American football team.

I've linked his crew's site above.

Anyway, Eric and I worked together years ago. We'd occasionally see each other (once actually randomly meeting up at Dublin Airport). He's been lurking on my blog for a while and I've been lurking on his podcast.

He still is a tech guru and has offered to help getting my site off the ground--as a part of this whole 'self-marketing' campaign to publish my writing.

But when we spoke last night, he had some ideas about other types of media to 'get the message out.' As a successful podcaster himself, he's suggested that I spin up my own podcast to compliment the blog.

Honestly, podcasting was in the back of my mind...but it's been on a dusty shelf labeled "Things to Do when Someone Discovers a Pill that Will Let You Never Need Sleep Without a Psychotic Breakdown." or TTDWSDAPTWLYNNSWAP for short.

Heh. Pronounce THAT Mary Poppins.

Anyway I think Eric is going to be helping design not only my website, but the whole 'R.B.Wood Media experience.' God help us all.

In thinking of what I want in a podcast I've so far decided that I DON'T want it to be a retread of this blog. So I open it up to you, dear readers. What would you like to see in a 'wannabe writers' podcast that would be interesting to you? Leave your thoughts, ideas, rantings in the comments below.

And to think...all I wanted was a little HTML with a few pretty pictures...

Locked and Loaded

So remember when I said I needed to open up The Prodigal's Foole for revisions based on some comments from my crit partner Leah Petersen?

Well, it was probably the best thing to happen to Book One in a long time. It's tighter now. And there is one scene that I added at the suggestion of Leah that's absolutely heart-wrenching.

It's exactly what was needed in act three.

So in celebration of my book being 'submission ready,' I've posted the first THREE chapters off to the right.

Enjoy. And Leah--you're a rock star.

Time Management, or "How the HELL did I get so Busy?"

2:30-ish AM

I started off with an idea that became The Prodigal's Foole - my 'work in progress' for all you newcomers out there.

So I wrote the book, it's going through revision 5 - which sounds like a lot but there are only three scenes I'm unhappy with. So it's getting close. Great, right?

Absolutely. But (and you KNEW there'd be a 'but').

How the Hell did I get so busy in the writing world?

Of course I'm doing writing part time...because I like to eat and child support/alimony are due every other week. So there is the real job that takes up 50 or so hours weekly, plus the 'non-billable time' such as answering work e-mails at 2 AM when I can't sleep.

Then, beyond the book creating/editing/pulling-my-hair-out part of writing, there is the networking side. And I know I'm rambling, but it's two-thirty in the morning and the coffee machine is BROKEN.

Where was I? Oh yes--weeping over my Krups coffeemaker and the networking side of writing.

There are a LOT of people who want to be writers. Search the internet for unpublished writer blogs or play in groups on twitter (such as #amwriting or #storycraft or #litchat...et cetera).

Oh and conferences. I did ReaderCON last month and I'm looking at attending the World Fantasy Convention in October. I could go on but I'll lose the rest of you who've hung on this long for my point.

I was looking at my calendar and to do list and I was amazed at the number of writing related "stuff" I've got going:

• I still owe Marty Halpern a review of the anthology 'Is Anybody Out There?'
• I'm working on an alternate beginning for a friend's book--just so she can see what it might look like
• Two short stories are being tweaked for submission (and an online mag has asked me to do so...so I really should)
• Working with an editor on TPF--well ok. I'm working with crit partners and editors...
• The ever elusive 'QUERY LETTER SUPREME (QLS) is in it's seventh revision.
• I have 5Minutefiction each week (announcement about that coming as soon as Leah gives the go-ahead)
• I participate in a series of weekly chats about writing
• I have a book cover mock-up I'm working on
• I owe Emmett Spain and review of his book Old Haunts
• Then there is the miscellaneous stuff, like building my website, updating Goodreads, the blog...oh and the 3k daily word count...

And that's just this week. And it's Wednesday already. Just barely.

I need coffee.

Editing and Dental Hygiene

Ok...the title of this blog was supposed to be a play on words for 'editing is like pulling teeth.'

It's Monday. And I haven't had my coffee yet. Leave me alone.

Spent the weekend editing The Prodigal's Foole based on comments from my crit partner, the lovely and very sarcastic Leah Petersen. Some good stuff and mostly line item things.

But I have two scenes that are still weak. I'll be working to tie them down over the next few days.

And of course I want to add one additional scene based on a single relationship comment made as an aside. The comment might have been secondary, but it opened up a hole that needs resolution.

The editing process has made me realize that I have a love/hate thing going on with my book. I love the story and the characters...but if I keep finding tweaks and scenes I want to play with, I'll never be done. Hate that.

So where's that fine line?

I'll let you know after the next round. Now for my coffee and to take something for this tooth ache.

Plotting the...Plot

There are many different ways to map out your novel. I encourage all to try a few different methods before jumping into your story. I've tried a few (outlined below), and I'll end today's post with what worked for me.

The "Pantser" Method - This is the seat-of-your-pants way of developing your story. You start with a blank piece of paper and 85,000 words later you've got a novel. I actually started my book this way. It was off the rails by word 4,000. Scratch that.

The Outline Method - A strict, mapping of your plot. Looks a bit like the old outlines we'd have to do in school for assigned papers and reports. I tried this. I really did. But then I remembered back in school I used to develop the outline after I wrote the paper. I found this way too restricting and didn't allow for any inspiration at all. I got half way through my outline before I said, "This is stupid."

The Snowflake Method - I won't write out the entire step-by-step. Dr. Randy Ingermanson summarized it perfectly HERE. The basics: You start with one sentence that describes your book, expand to a paragraph, develop the characters etc etc. This just didn't work for me. Once again, I felt too constrained.

I needed to find something, though. I had a pretty complex book in my head trying to get out. I could see various scenes playing out almost like a movie. Was there anything that would allow me to take my scenes, and expand them into a plot-driven tale while allowing me the freedom to develop independent ideas as they came to me?

The answer, of course, was yes. it just took me a while to find it. And that's pretty ironic, because one of my favorite fantasy authors had it smack in the middle of his blog.

Jim Butcher has written a few really neat stories. He wrote the Codex Alera six-book fantasy series as well as the continuing saga of "The only Wizard in the Phone Book" aka Harry Dresden of the wonderfully fun Dresden Files. If you haven't read any of Jim's books, go the the links above or your local library and read them. I'll wait.

Anyway, he had a post on his blog from 2008 that was pure gold for me. Read it HERE. I won't even try to do it justice...but let's just say I used Jim's ideas (henceforth called "The Butcher Method") and built The Prodigal's Foole.

"The Butcher Method" had enough structure to keep me honest, but allowed for a great deal of improvisational writing. I did, however "Make a few modifications myself (thank you Han)."

But for the most part, I followed "The Butcher Method." How did it work?

I knocked out the first thirteen Chapters of TPF in twenty two days.

Makes me feel a little stupid buying all those "Write your Novel Like Charles Dickens!" books when all I needed was sitting on one of my favorite author's blog.

The bottom line: Write how you want. See what the authors you love do, and how they do it.

Then follow your muse.

Bits and Pieces - An update

So a few things going on in the world of becoming a published writer. I thought I'd provide an update and ask for advice.

On to the update!

1. I've just finished my critical review of Leah Petersen's Mourn the Sun and have sent her back my comments. It's a wonderful read and she's just been asked for a 'full' (A copy of her full manuscript) by a potential agent. Kudos to Leah and thanks for bringing me into the world of Mourn!
2. I won (for the the second week in a row!) the '5MinuteFiction' competition --The one where you're given a topic and 5 minutes to write a story. My entry is below. Enjoy
3. More 5MF news--I'll be the judge for this competition on 03 August! More to follow on that.
4. I have two short stories in the cooker along with revisions on The Prodigal's Foole. I'm please with the revisions so far and I'm hoping to go back to querying agents with the novel by the end of summer. I'll post the revised first 50 pages by next week.
5. Reading continues. At my son's request, I've now finished all 5 books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Now I really know how bad the movie sucked...

Now to ask advice!

The two short stories I'm working on are for submission to various Fantasy/SciFi magazines. I'll post both teasers below. Do these sound interesting to you? Leave messages in the comments section!

SS#1: In an alternate reality, Apollo 12 suffers an major accident on the moon, leaving Astronaut Al Bean stranded with no hope of rescue...

SS#2: Roaches invade yet another small apartment in the Bowery section of Manhattan. These pests are special though...as they only come out when the moon is full.

Comments? Advice? Suggest a subject? All thoughts are welcome. And without comments, it's very lonely in this little corner of the internet...

That's it for today...stay tuned to this Bat-Chanel for more ramblings soon.

5MinuteFiction - Winning Entry 20 July 2010

I don’t like sleeping very much. Well, that’s not entirely true. Sleep, I like.

It’s the dreams that come every time I shut my eyes.

They always start the same. I’m in a big city. New York, maybe. It’s a beautiful day and I’m walking along the street taking in the hustle and bustle of city life. Relishing the chaos as I walk through the man-made canyons.

At some point, the dream changes. I’m at the top of a large building, overlooking the city. The view is breathtaking. That’s when I see it.

A plane, flying fast– heading straight for me. There is an explosion and a sense of falling.

Before I hit the ground, the scene changes. I’m in a field somewhere. The smells of grass and of farms permeate my senses. I’m happy.

I look up when I hear a noise. Once again I see a plane, this time it’s heading straight for the ground. In my head I can hear people scream as the large jet impales itself in the once beautiful field at my feet.

Once more the scene jumps. I’m in a building wearing a military uniform…

A noise, one less dramatic, startles me. I’d nodded off again, damn it. The cold sweat dribbled down my back and a wave of helplessness almost overwhelms me.

I see the door open and two men enter. One, I know all too well. The other is dressed in a suit and a tie. I don’t recognize him. It is this unknown man who speaks first.

“And this one?” He says in almost a bored voice.

“Sloane Peterson,” says the man in white. “Thirty One. Showed promise, but her mind snapped during the last trials. Keeps going on about planes and buildings.”

“All right. I’ll let the President know.”

“The President?” I said, my voice croaky, while trying to stand. This man has the ear of the President! “Please sir! I need to speak with President Bush right away! Something terrible is about to happen…planes….attack…” I struggled to get to him. I had to tell him!

“See?” Said the man in white, ignoring me.

The suited man looked at me dispassionately. “Young lady,” he said. “There is no President Bush.” Turning to the other man, he said, “President Nixon will be watching the moon landing this evening. I’ll let him know the future viewing program is a complete failure and an inefficient use of taxpayer money. Keep her locked in here until we cure her or she dies. We don’t want word about her crazy rantings scaring the public, now do we?”