I kept running into the song ‘Engel’ by Rammstein this week and then I found an AMV that combined it with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Sadly, only the English version of the song has sound while the rest have been muted by YouTube. I prefer the German because it sounds cooler. There might some NSFW stuff in the video since NGE went a little (HA!) off the rails for the last quarter of the series. Haven’t watched it in a while and only saw the first movie of the remake. Need to find the others just to figure out why Asuka has an eye-patch at some point. Is it because of the thing that happened during the big thing near the end? Don’t tell me. Let’s get back to the category system:
Blogging
This week had two goals since I finished Derailing Bedlam last Sunday. That was to get all of the September posts scheduled and the December guest posts. I was doing a little of the first when I was too tired or busy for writing, so that was finished quickly. Some of the guest posts were rough, but I hit a stride on Monday and managed to get everything except the 3 interviews done. Those will have to wait until November. None of these posts have the links beyond social media and a ‘CHECK OUT THE REST OF LEGENDS OF WINDEMERE’ link at the bottom of it all. I’ll probably take a weekend to write the blurbs for Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age. At least once the next part happens.
Laptop Adventure
I sent it out Wednesday afternoon since I’d finished everything. Almost instantly, I forgot what day of the week it was and didn’t know what to do with myself. Since there isn’t a holiday involved, I should get it back relatively quickly. Be nice if they fix it quicker, but I want it done. If this has to happen a third time then I don’t know what I’m going to do. At that point, they should just give me a replacement laptop and assume it’s a problem that can’t be found. Something like a broken wire or angry spirit of a guy who cut himself putting the sound card in. He died afterwards, but it was because a herd of water buffalo ran him over. Yeah, that makes sense for Texas.
Politics and Religion
NOPE!
Reading and Watching
Funny manga story. I’ve been reading ‘Claymore’ and was at the end, but had a wrinkle. I had volumes 25-27, but 24 wouldn’t show up. Seems the library I requested it from junked it soon after I asked or something like that. I had to get it from another county, which meant I had to binge read the last 4 volumes. A better ending than I saw people talking about online. I got a little tired of the main villain when she stopped talking and just slaughtered people. Still not sure how one of the good guys died too since others had survived worse. Heck, she was only sliced into 5-6 parts. They put her back together before it was too late and the head was attached to the torso. Yeah, you really need to work hard to kill these characters by the end.
I finished watching season 1 of Shakugan No Shana too. Forgot how messed up some of the villains are. I mean, we’re talking one pair that would make the Lannisters get a little queasy. Since I only have today, the weekend, and two days next week to watch while outlining, I’m going to toss ‘Soul Eater’ in. Running out of anime and I prefer to watch on the TV, but the one in my room has no Internet access. For the free stuff on-line, I’d have to use the main TV and that means hearing my dad repeatedly ask questions. My favorite is this one from Fairy Tail:
Dad- Why do the women always have large breasts?
Me- Not all of them. That one doesn’t.
Dad- Which one? *starts turning back to TV and the scene changes to Lucy Heartfilia*:
Fairy Tail
Me & Wife- Never mind.
Book titles
Just a quick note about the question put up on Thursday. Most people liked the idea of Nightfall or Nytefall. Yet, it was pointed out that Nightfall is used a lot. So, the Dawn Fang series will be:
War of Nytefall
Nytefall is going to be the name of Clyde’s base and capital city. The enemies, the older vampires, have a city named Nyte, so he decides to be a jerk. In modern times, Nyte is used as a decoy city by the Dawn Fangs while Nytefall is where the real leadership and new vampires live.
The Future
What’s to say? The kid finished summer school on Tuesday and then he’s home until after Labor Day. I won’t be doing much in terms of writing. We have a busy weekend set up too, so I don’t get to ease into things. Right now, the only thing planned is finishing the school supply shopping before we have to pick from scraps. His backpack is falling apart, so that’s a priority. I’ll probably wait until the following week for any real outings. There’s a nature walk area that has ospreys, which I promised to show him. Beyond that, we’ll see what comes up. I’m getting worn on doing all these intricately planned outings when I know my son would be happy with just going out and having fun.
Goals:
Entertain the munchkin.
Work on outline and characters for another Sin story.
School supply shopping.
Continue getting used to the oral appliance.
Remember to mention Derailing Bedlam in next post. It’s done and the characters had fun. A few took a bigger role that made them almost equal to Cassidy and Lloyd. Guess that covers it actually.
Continue answering superhero questions. We made it through Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Justice League Action, Teen Titans Seasons 1-3, and now we’re on Batman Beyond. All we’ll be missing is Superman the Animated Series (on the way) and Batman the Animated Series (working on it). Guess the other Teen Titans seasons too, but I’m sure On Demand will put them up eventually.
Keep an eye on the laptop. Hopefully it comes back next weekend. Then I’ll have to put all the programs back on. Sarcastic yay!
This delightful collection of short stories twists and turns with Celtic magic from Scotland, to Ireland, to Fairyland. Fairytales retold, and with a heart and passion that is apparent in every word. None of the stories is particularly long or heavy; there is a lightness of phrase from the author which is refreshing and fits the ambience of the collection.
I found myself laughing, smiling and recalling tales from old – particularly with the Irish tale of Banoffee Pie and Black Pudding. This is a fine tale of fairy gifts and being careful what one wishes for.
The last tale –They Stole My Love Last Night was poignantly told, sad and moving with a bittersweet ending. It was a good finale to the collection.
I’d like to learn more about these characters, especially the half-wyndling Skye, and read more of her adventures. Definitely recommend this to readers…
Rave Reviews Book Club. One of the objectives of the club is to recognize outstanding talent in its membership. A literary group has been established within RRBC named Rave Writers – International Society of Authors (RWISA). This month the club is featuring these authors on a tour. I will be hosting them throughout the month and I hope you enjoy being introduced to some excellent writing.
Laura Libricz
DENTON’S DEBBY DOLLS
By Laura Libricz
The lunch bell rings and I set my brush aside, returning the unpainted porcelain Debby Doll head to the tray. A kettle whistles. Sarah runs to make the lunchtime tea.
“Thirty minutes and that’s all!” Mr. Denton barks at her as he hurries towards his production office, whacking his elbow on the filing cabinet as he slams the glass door shut.
The shocked moment of quiet is replaced by the delicate clinking of brushes against glass…
Betting those who visit my blog a lot saw this one coming because I usually end stuff like this talking about finding balance. Just like in real life, your characters may naturally gravitate toward a middle ground. They might be more of one side, but they still use the other in certain situations. A Thinker who doesn’t have time will depend on their instincts that have been honed through years of making plans. An instinct character who gets into a bad spot might take a moment to observe and plan to get out of the mess.
Now, you can start on one side and not have much of a problem. I say ‘much’ because you’ll always have some readers who get annoyed at a ‘reckless’ or ‘slow-acting’ hero right from the beginning. Like real people, characters evolve in tactics and habits. An inexperienced hero being all instinct isn’t far-fetched, but you can have them learn the importance of thinking. Nearly all experiences with impact have the ability to pull a person out of their comfort zone and refine themselves. You put a natural evolution on the hero that hits more than their physical abilities and powers, but the way that they use what they have.
In some ways, balance helps you do more with less. Instinct works off an innate knowledge of your own abilities while thinking allows you to analyze the situation. You don’t have to be stronger or faster than your opponent if you know your own abilities and how to use them. This goes for groups too as I explained on Monday’s posts. Many times a problem is solved by using what you have in a unique way. Heroes do this a lot since it keeps things interesting, but I will admit that it sides more with Thinker. Bashing through an obstacle instead of figuring out a way around is more pure instinct. Yet, that doesn’t mean a plan can’t be created that leads up to such an act.
The longer I try to write this post, the harder it seems to explain the nuances of finding balance between conscious planning and split second reactions. Maybe part of that is because it’s different for everyone. We all have preferences when it comes to this. Just look at how often you see authors declare to be a Pantser or Plotter/Planner. People like to pigeonhole themselves without realizing it. The truth is that we’re all probably in the middle somewhere. We lean to one side more than the other, but you can’t get very far as one side. Even a little bit of planning is needed at some point just as you need to let stuff flow naturally.
So, why do we pigeonhole ourselves and our characters? I’m not really sure since I just thought of this. Maybe because it’s easier to claim one side than to explain how we’re in the middle. If I say I’m a Planner/Thinker then you get an idea of what I do and we move on in the conversation. If I say I’m a heavy Planner who lets his Pantser instincts control the flow of the actual writing to get to his determined plot points then it’s harder to wrap your head around. Not by much, but enough that an author might not want to deal with the headache. There’s a long history of artists explaining their process and getting frustrated by the reaction.
I’ve moved away from the characters, but it does connect. We might be inclined to have a hero stick to one school to avoid the gray zones. That’s not realistic though. Very few things are black and white, so our fiction shouldn’t go that way. Yes, it makes things easier and cleaner, but it reduces the depth of the characters and world. This is why you can look at your own balance as an author and use that help flush out a character’s tactics. I mean, crafting a story can be just as harrowing as facing a dragon. More so if you’re hitting writer’s block since the dragon won’t make you suffer.
Rave Reviews Book Club. One of the objectives of the club is to recognize outstanding talent in its membership. A literary group has been established within RRBC named Rave Writers – International Society of Authors (RWISA). This month the club is featuring these authors on a tour. I will be hosting them throughout the month and I hope you enjoy being introduced to some excellent writing.
Lynn Hobbs
Not Interested, by Lynn Hobbs
“Cordell.”
A booming voice called his name above the chatter of the crowded café. Cordell perched sideways on a swivel stool.
“What’s up?” An older man approached, narrow reading glasses sliding on his nose. His bald head glistened.
“Mr. Moore.” Cordell stood, and they slapped each other on the arm. The older man towered over Cordell’s lanky frame.
“Look at you.” Mr. Moore stepped back, cocked his head to the side, and scanned the younger man. “What’s…
So, I’m looking at my next series and I think I made a goof. It has two series titles:
War of Nyte
&
War of Nightfall
I’m a little lost here because I thought the name would be of the Dawn Fang’s main city. That would be Nyte. Yet, I like the sound of Nightfall more. I’m wondering if Nyte is the current city and Nightfall will be its original name. Maybe Nytefall? The problem is that I’ve already had Nyte show up in a Windemere book. So, what do people think of the titles?
Rave Reviews Book Club. One of the objectives of the club is to recognize outstanding talent in its membership. A literary group has been established within RRBC named Rave Writers – International Society of Authors (RWISA). This month the club is featuring these authors on a tour. Today is my turn on the tour. The selection I am posting is titled Last Night but in reality is the first chapter in my new book Circumstances of Childhood. I hope you like it.
So, with nothing better to do, I figure I’ll stop at Jerry’s place and grab a couple of drinks and a burger. Usually, I don’t go there on Saturday night since there’s a crapload of amateurs taking up what would be considered prime space. I figure since this is a Friday and close to Saturday, it may be packed, but…
Coming at you with one point twenty-one jigawatts of power, this is Lisa Burton Radio. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl, and with me in the studio is Ashling, a pixie from An Teach Deiridh. “Welcome to the show, Ashling.”
“Thank you for having me and for accommodating my service crow. Say hello, Count.”
‘Caw.’
“I find it odd that you’re from a fairy castle, but choose to spend the bulk of your time in Seattle. What’s so cool about Seattle?”
“Well, for one thing, there’s the Fremont Troll, and I totally know the guy who was the model for that, true story. Then there’s the football, and the fact that I first met the Count in Olympic National Park, not long before my wings got hurt, but really, one goes where the job leads. So really the main quality of Seattle most related to my spending so much…
Laura Libricz 
Lynn Hobbs 
