Ello everybody! It's time for another author interview. Today I'm talking with Janeen Ippolito, the author of Nobody's Hero, the first in the Superhero Publicist series. This novel follows a Cassie, a publicist who works for superheroes and supervillains alike. When one of her villain clients switches sides, Cassie is swept into the drama that comes with working as a publicist for a (maybe?) reformed supervillain. I'll be posting a more official blurb and the cover at the end of this interview, so ya'll know where to buy it. And now... the interview! The InterviewC: Hi Mrs. Ippolito! It's so great to get to interview you on my blog! Let's dive in our first question: how did you get started writing? J: It all began a long, long time ago when I learned about the alphabet. Seriously, as soon as I learned about words, I was writing something. I was always fascinated by cultures and characters, in particular. I used to fill out those little "subscription" inserts in Readers Digest magazines with fake names and addresses. I also would write down pages of my favorite rhyming words. I was an odd child. ;-) Only got weirder as I got older. C: Oh thank goodness, I'm not the only one who's done that. XD You're pretty well known for your urban fantasy books (like the Arcane Market Adventures) and superhero fiction isn't that too far from urban fantasy. What inspired you to write in these two genres? J: For both of them, probably just blame Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh is the most unique combination of old warehouses and industry and all this random greenery in the oddest of places. I lived there off and on as a child, and I used to wonder about why where was that clash. It wasn't anything planned or official. It was wild and interesting. So that definitely inspired the urban fantasy elements with something Other in cities. And then I used to watch superhero shows and read comic books, and then play games with my cousins. Also in Pittsburgh. That was my first foray into superheroes (X-Men is my absolute favorite). C: Cool! *puts on list of places to visit one day* On your website, you mention being synesthetic (and you're the first person I know who has synesthesia, so that's cool) and that you are neurodivergent. Does being neurodivergent help or hurt your writing process? Have you learned to work around it or use it to your advantage? J: I'm not sure if it helps or hinders, because it's simply how my brain is built. I wouldn't know how to write with any other brain, haha! And it definitely is a help with characterization and with having so many different parts of me interested in so many different things. My character voices and personalities flow much more naturally out of my head. I don't have to work on them as hard as I've heard other authors need to - it's very intuitive for me. At the same time, I do have to work extra hard to keep everything organized, or I could be writing 11 different stories at the same time. Which would be frustrating because then I wouldn't finish anything. So I have to do a lot of internal communication with myself to focus on priority areas. Also, this "runaway brain" aspect means that sometimes I need to double back and do a lot more world building for my own benefit (this is where I am right now with my urban fantasy). Otherwise I can lose track of and get lost in my story world. But when things are organized and communication is flowing, all parts of a Janeen really do work well to make interesting stories. It helps to have a part that likes to create and then another that really enjoys just proofreading or editing or organizing. Just wish I had more hours in a day! C: That's so interesting! I also love characterization, but keeping everything *gasp* organized is just not my forte. XD Here's something I've been wondering, as someone that watches a lot of superhero-related TV: In a world where superhero books, movies, and TV shows are a dime a dozen, how do you create original stories? J: I only write stories when I know I have something interesting to say in a fresh, unique way. And I'm very aware of tropes and things, so there's that. But honestly, my brain just likes to be unique. I don't have to try--I just move in directions that make sense for me, and 95% of the time, those directions are completely different (and then I pull out familiar tropes during edits). So I basically just play around with things until I get to that place of "yes, this works. I can tell this story." Which means every single one of my books has this long behind-the-scenes process of work. However, since I write in so many series, there's always something ready to write RIGHT NOW while a few other stories are still on back burners. C: *takes notes* Good to know. As we (a little late, but oh well) celebrate the release of Nobody's Hero, I'd love to know how you got the idea for it, especially as this isn't the first time Cassie has graced the pages of our books/Kindles. J: In the original short story that inspired Nobody's Hero, I partly wrote it as a comedy sketch, a bit of commentary about what it would be like to deal with a villain trying to go hero and just all the marketing ramifications of that. In that one, I flat-out had the villain "find Jesus" but not connect with any particular political alignment or denomination, because I knew from a marketing perspective that would make Cassie's life harder (mwahahaha). But when I started writing the short story as a book, I knew I needed a lot more depth and nuance than a quick piece of 1,500 fiction (which was basically archetypes pushing against each other). What helped is that I love heroic tricksters and underdogs and people trying to do the right thing but caught up in their pasts. It's one of my favorite concepts to play around with. Especially because the line between hero and villain can sometimes be contextual. I've listened to a number of legal podcasts and watched enough videos which shattered my idealistic notion that "good always wins in legal battles" and "the law is here to protect the innocent." So I was very interested in playing with public perception and the law in this story to show that sometimes, the "good guys" are really just bad guys with excellent lawyers and a good PR team. Yes, research made me a bit cynical, haha. But that's where I love the character of Cassie, who is really just trying to do the right thing, and fights for it even when everything is against her and the baddies have giant bank accounts. It was refreshing and inspiring (and in a way, a very classic superhero trope). C: Yeah, watching shows like Arrow and The Flash taught me that the good guys don't always win legal battles... or even outside of a courtroom. And on that note, let's do some just for fun questions! DC or Marvel? J: I am 100% Marvel all the way. Actually, this was an important question I asked my husband before we were dating. You gotta get the vital things out of the way (he's also a Marvel fan). C: Cool! I grew up on DC, but I love Marvel (although lately I've been digging the CW superhero shows, especially The Flash). Who is your favorite superhero character? J: I like Rogue, Jean Grey, and Ms. Marvel. And also, Ant-Man is a lot of fun. Wolverine is also fun because he's just a butt. Oh, and Tony Stark as well. C: I also love Tony Stark. I've not watched any X-Men stuff yet (though I want to so badly!). Since Nobody's Hero is about villains, do you have a favorite supervillain? J: Magneto is fascinating, as is Mystique. Also, Emma Frost has a fun journey from villain to...hero? To...villain again? (Yes, you can see my X-Men fangirling coming out in the above picks!) C: Nice picks! Before we leave, I just have two more questions for you. You're well established in your career as an indie/nontraditional author. Do you have any advice for writers that are considering going down a similar route? J: Get very clear on your goals and what you want to get out of the process. Too many times authors just listen to advice without really knowing what they, personally, want out of the publishing process. That inner filter is so essential with so many experts out in the world. It's why I'm working on special tools to help authors get clarity. C: I've not heard this piece of advice before when considering indie publishing, so thanks for a new perspective. And lastly, do you have any specific tips for authors who want to write urban fantasy and/or superhero stories? Read the books. Watch the shows. Watch the movies. Know what you like and dislike and start developing a sense of the tropes and your own personal voice and taste. And figure out your comfort level with the world building and the alternate Earth settings. Superheroes and urban fantasy both need a strong sense of author voice and focus to do well. That internal focus helps so much with direction. Especially with superheroes, there just aren't as many tropes or easy frameworks to bounce off of, so you need to know and own your story and secondary subgenres--and why. C: All right then, that's it! Thank you so much for doing this interview with me! Nobody's HeroShe’ll change his image—if they can both stay alive. Cassie Robinson, junior representative of Power-Up Publicity, is just trying to keep her head down and her career moving. Not easy when she’s required to work with supervillains for the first year of her contract...or else. But when a new villain client, Mick, announces he’s switching sides, maybe things are looking up. Even if she has to leave her job a bit earlier than the contract and trust a thieving speedster. Then the heroes find Mick—including the relentless Snailman. And her bosses seem absurdly focused on getting Cassie back. Caught between the hovering heroes and her menacing company, Cassie must team up with the villain who literally swept her off her feet and whisked her away to his secret lair. Speaking of which, that lair could use some redecorating… And you can find out more about Nobody's Hero and Janeen Ippolito at https://jiauthor.com/.
That's all for now everyone! Until next week, ~Cate
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Hey everyone! Sorry I'm so late with my post. I don't have much happening this week in the book world, so per the encouragement of a reader of mine, I thought I would share a very easy recipe for Naan pizza with ya'll. I love making this for supper; it's easy, relatively inexpensive, and a time saver. Let's get to it! BBQ Roast PizzaTo make BBQ Roast Pizza, you're going to need some fully cooked roast beef (I used leftover roast from a previous meal), BBQ sauce, ketchup (optional, but adds more flavor, I think), peppers, a large piece of Naan bread, and shredded cheese of some kind (I used mozzarella). To make this, mix a 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce and about 1-2 tablespoons of ketchup with 8-10 ounces of roast beef. (I did not exactly measure this, so all measurements may need a little tweaking.) Spread a few tablespoons of BBQ sauce on a large piece of Naan bread. Then, spread the pepper-beef mixture onto the bread. Shake a few tablespoons of cheese (mozz is preferred, but you use whatever you want/have) over the top and then pop in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes or until the cheese is fully melted. Mac and Cheese PizzaTo make Mac and Cheese Pizza, you'll need just two ingredients: a large piece of Naan bread and a box of artisan Mac and cheese (Cracker Barrel, Walmart's Special Selection, etc.) Start by making the mac and cheese. I am a rebel in that I boil my water with the pasta in it; the process takes about 15-20 minutes and isn't any slower than if I boiled the water beforehand. Drain your noodles when they've been cooked al dente. (For some reason I pictured making the pasta but completely forgot to take pictures of the rest of the process (my bad XD).) Now, put the cheese packet into your pot and mix until everything is nice and creamy. Ladle out onto your Naan bread and now you're ready to bake! Because the mac and cheese has a higher tendency to dry out on the pizza, put this pizza in a 350 degree oven for no later than 7-8 minutes. Don't these look so delicious? You can serve this with a side salad and some breadsticks for dinner, or just eat as is for a fun after-school/crashing at home afternoon snack. That's all for now, folks!
Until next week, ~Cate Hello everyone! I am a day late (sorry XP), but I’m super excited because today, I’m officially introducing you guys to my latest WIP… Scarlet Studies! But first…. the rules.
And now, without further ado… the questions, and my answers! Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be? The title for this WIP is based on the story I’m spinning off, which is A Study in Scarlet. Since my characters are in college, it felt appropriate to keep it similar. The title of my book is Scarlet Studies. Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about? Well, to avoid spoiling the whole book for you guys, I’ll just give you the rough blurb that I used in Shea Holmes’ character post a few weeks ago. To say that criminal studies major Joan Watson is a fish out of water might be an understatement. After eighteen years of putting up with her grief-stricken family, she moves from a small Detroit suburb to the bustling campus of San Diego State University. When she befriends Shea, a budding detective, and Toby, a cute but reserved theater nerd, she begins to feel like she has found her group of misfits. But when Toby’s precocious roommate is murdered and suspicion falls on his shoulders, Joan and Shea find themselves the next targets of a cold-blooded killer, with their mind bent on one thing: revenge. Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind? I’ve had some issues coming up with a mock cover for this WIP. The one I have right now is very rough and won’t be around for long, but it’s the best I could do in a 15-minute time frame. How did you get the idea for this story? It’s been so long since I started (we’re coming up on four years this summer). The gist of it is that I wanted to write a mystery story about two college girls. Because I don’t have the brainpower to come up with my own mystery, I decided to make it a spin-off of a Sherlock Holmes story. Scarlet Studies was originally meant to be a standalone novel based on Hound of the Baskervilles. But as I worked on the story, I kept coming up with side characters, subplots, and a whole other book idea, I decided to scrap my original idea and create a series. How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be? I’ve tried to write it several times (Shea and Joan were originally in high school in the first draft), but its current status is at a little over 2600 words. I’m aiming for a 60K novel, but we’ll see what happens. Who’s your favourite character so far? My favorite character right now is Joan, because with a few exceptions, I relate to her out of all my characters the most. At the time I invented Joan’s character, I was going through a season of depression and wanted to write about a character who felt the same way. And as I learned to heal and grow, so did Joan. What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP? One of my favorite memories is when I went to Ramona, CA, in 2022 for Christmas with my grandparents. Among many other reasons for going (Christmas being a huge one), I got to do some research on places where I wanted my characters to go when they weren’t doing school. My characters go to San Diego State, and Ramona is about a 20-minute drive from the San Diego metro, so I got to see some cool sights and brainstorm whenever we went to the city for something. Any special person(s) who helped create it? As always, my best friend and writing buddy AG was there to help me brainstorm some scenes. I also invited Katja Labonte (see above for her amazing blog!) to help me work on my series outline. Both of these ladies are amazing creatives and I am privileged to have both helping me on this project. What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)? Ergh… Upcoming or already written? Since 95% of the book is unwritten at this point, we’ll have to go with upcoming. I have a date scene between Joan and her love interest (if you know you know) that I’m so excited to write, and I also have the epic showdown between Shea and the murderer much later on in the book. So excited for both! Can you give us a snippet? I’m sharing the entire first chapter of Scarlet Studies on Friday in my newsletter, so subscribe if you want to see the whole thing! In the meantime, here is the beginnings of Chapter 1: Make myself go to a counseling session. Now there’s something you don’t see n the average college sophomore’s to-do list. Luckily for me, I’m not your average sophomore Around me, the smell of books is faint, but there. Ms. Hathcock’s walls are lined with bookshelves. One could easily mistake her counseling office for a library room. Everything from fantasy to science fiction, self-improvement to cooking books are stuffed and piled on her bookcases. I chose wisely, I guess. The door opens, and Ms. Hathcock walks into the room. She’s wearing a simple green shirt with black khakis and black sandals to match. Her most distinguishing feature is her hair. It’s a vibrant red color, much brighter than my own auburn hair. It’s wavy and has tons of volume; it reminds me of early 90s hair, except not nearly as badly crimped. Ms. Hathcock appears to be in her early fifties; she can’t be older than sixty. She gives me a wide smile as she walks past my chair and to a bookcase. “Are you a bookworm?” she asks as she rearranges some books back to their proper place. I nod. “I’ve always loved to read.” Lizzie always tried to talk me out of my somewhat chaotic reading habits, but she never succeeded. “I can get away from my world and worry about someone else in their own.” I at least know their story will have a happy ending. Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs? Oh.. I’ve had a ton of curveballs. When I started out in August of 2020, my characters were high school kids. Joan had a very different love interest, and Shea was just an ordinary girl with a penchant for solving mysteries. Since then, I’ve added several subplots, a completely different love interest for Joan, and a special cause I want to highlight later on in the series (more on that later). I’ve been able to retain the original story ideas, but everything around them has changed with the tide. XD Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story? If ya’ll follow M.L. Milligan’s newsletter (and you totally should!), then you might recognize the quote for Scarlet Studies. I asked Mac if I could use it, and she said yes, so here it is! “Because, at least on a heart monitor, ups and downs mean you’re still alive.” I think this quote sums up the lives of Shea, Toby, and Joan so well, and I really like tying it to a book about a murder mystery (#ironyabounds). When and where have you done most of the writing so far? I mainly do all of my writing at my computer, either at my desk in the living room or at my desk in my bedroom. (Right now I’m in the bedroom.) If I’m writing and I have to leave somewhere, I may take my notebook and write the scene(s) and transcribe it back into its central doc. I usually write whenever I (push off school or) have time, which typically lands in the afternoons. Where do you get inspiration for this story? Everywhere… Pinterest, Facebook, random newsletters ;)... This book was also inspired by the BBC Sherlock series, which was a springboard for the murder itself in my book. And of course, the original and so much better written story, A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Are you a plotter or a pantser? When I started out writing, I used to be a plotter and ran out of writing energy when I was done outlining. I’m more of a plantser, which is a mix of both. When I get an idea, I will write out a rough synopsis that acts as my outline, and the major characters that I have to keep track of. (Some of them have a tendency to wander off. XD) I typically brainstorm scenes I want to feature (a kiss scene here, a fight scene there); I usually listen to music when I do this, in order to time my dialogue and action tags right. It’s kind of like directing parts of a movie. A neat trick I picked up from author Andrea Renee Cox is to outline what needs to be done with the story, depending on what I plan to do with it. For instance, for Scarlet Studies, my plans are: draft, self-edit, line edit (via a professional), send to beta readers, and then query the book to agents. Do you have a little ritual before you start writing? I barely have time to write, let alone ritualize the process. XD I do grab my water bottle, phone, and speaker before heading off to write though. All of these help the drafting process to some degree. Are you thinking of publishing this story? Oh, I want this story published so badly! I have no idea what traditional publisher would pick it up, though. (And I’m not currently in the independent publishing market, so…) What things have you learned while writing this story? Sometimes a story has to breathe. I started the idea in 2020 and wrote a few different drafts (AG can attest to this XD), but every time I started it, it never felt right. Sometimes the story needs to mellow before it’s ready to be written. Alrighty, everyone, that's it! I hope you enjoyed this introduction to my book! Just an FYI, I am still working on Heart of a Warrior and have not abandoned Nia, Daelin, and Fenorin to their own devices (they'd probably end up killing each other in a fight if I left them alone for too long, to be honest XD). Below are the people I hereby tag to do the "What's Your WIP?" tag, as well as a small mood board I created for the book. The Taggy Tags
So... are you working on a WIP? What's it about? Until next week! ~Cate Heyo everyone! I’m wrapping up what I did in February (and I would be looking forward to March, but it's already the fifth so... XD) February really threw me for a loop in so many ways, and I'm going to share some of them with you, so buckle up! February in a NutshellLife Events: Not much has happened in my personal life this month, other than the beach vacation that my family and I took around the third week of February. We had a lot of fun at Long Beach, Mississippi, where the weather was amazing and the birds were all over the place. It was amazing! School: School is what decided to kick me in the rear. I spent the better part of last week frantically writing two 1600-word (apiece) history essays and a 1000-word paper on our beach vacation (as a travel piece that will be on my school Substack at some point within the next two weeks). It was only with the encouragement of my family and the many writing sprints with a writing buddy, Victoria Carney, that I was able to finish everything in time. Writing: I have begun writing again! I got Heart of an Elf edits back from my amazing editor, I started writing Scarlet Studies (you can learn all about its main character, Shea Holmes, in last week's post, and I'm in the researching/outlining phase for a regency novella that I'm keeping (mostly) under wraps for now. Oh, and I also have a short story for my Fiction Writing class that ties in with one of my WIPs. Other Stats for February 2024 Books read: 20 for this month, which is 33 total, including several middle-grade books that were recommended to me by my siblings. Words Written: For February? About...0. I mean, I literally did NO extra-curricular writing last month. That has changed this month, however! How Did I Do on My February Goals?
March-ing Foward
All right, that's all for now! What are ya'll's goals for the month of March? Did you know that March is officially National Reading Month? I just found out today and am so excited to see how many books I can finish this month!
Until next week! ~Cate Hello everyone! This week is a little different, as I'm doing two blog posts this week. Today's blog post is an interview with Abigail Kay Harris! If her name sounds familiar, she recently founded Beyond the Bookery Publishing, which is an independent press for authors. My first story, "Bench Seat Buddy" was published by Beyond the Bookery in the anthology Seize the Moment (which you can read by subscribing to my newsletter!) and Abigail is a great friend of mine. Without further ado, here's the interview! C: Hi Abigail! It's so great to have you here on the blog today! Okay, so first question: have you always wanted to start a publishing business? A: Yes, and no. Well, in a way, it is mostly a yes. I started out blogging after I found out that I loved reading after years of hating it. (Thanks, Algebra! ;)) Once I started blogging, I found a love for writing which led to a stronger interest in graphic design and cover design followed by various other skills that I now use in everyday business for Beyond the Bookery or for the services I provide. C: That's so cool. Do you enjoy publishing solo books or anthologies better? A: What a hard question! I've found that I really enjoy both. There are things to like and dislike for both, but I would probably say that I prefer collaborative publishing. As much as I love writing, publishing others' stories is something that I love even more. C: Collaborative publishing is a lot of fun. Do you run the business all by yourself, or are there others who help you? A: Originally, I started out with the ideas myself, but it wasn't until M.L. Milligan and I curated the Seize the World anthologies that I really got into running an actual business. God amazingly led M.L. Milligan (she is now Beyond the Bookery's chief editor and edited Oh, The Lamented for me.) and I to work together in various ways as Beyond the Bookery launched. Katja H. Labonté has been a friend who I've beta read for, and she's proofread and provided edits for me before, (she edited Oh, The Fallen, in fact!), she's joined the team as a proofreader. I semi recently welcomed two new team members, Zoe Gilbert as a virtual assistant to help behind the scenes (I'd love to one day have a larger team behind the virtual side of things.) and Madisyn Carlin who is a huge help with the fantasy line which Beyond the Bookery is launching this autumn. More will be coming on that soon so make sure you're following Beyond the Bookery! So, no, I do not do it all myself. The team is growing and I hope that it will keep growing as time goes on. A special thing about Beyond the Bookery's team is that we don't receive payments for services or make a profit until the authors do, so it makes the work that the team does even more amazing. (Hey, if anyone wants to join the team, you're welcome to contact me! ;)) C: That's so neat! I'm glad you have such a great team helping you out! What's your favorite part of running Beyond the Bookery? A: Another hard question! I suppose it would be seeing others' publishing dreams come true. No matter if it is a cover, a new website, helping launch a book, accepting a story for an anthology, or even coaching a writer through the publishing process. C: That's a beautiful answer. If you were to give advice to someone who wanted to try out starting their own publishing business, what would you tell them? A: It's hard, so hard to start. But if God is leading you to start your own publishing house, He'll make a way. You may even get some amazing help along the way like I did with my team, especially M.L. Milligan and Madisyn Carlin. An important thing to do at the very beginning of your business is writing a sound contract and knowing how you will provide your authors with royalties (if you are paying royalties) and make sure to double check with someone who can legally advise you on the contract before you publish an anthology or any other works. Yes, it is a lot of time, blood, sweat, tears, and money even, but it is worth it. Thanks so much for having me, Cate, it was a pleasure to answer these questions! And thanks so much Abigail, for the opportunity to do this! This has been fantastic! Alright everyone, that's the interview! Read below to learn more about Abigail Harris and her work over at Beyond the Bookery. Until next week! ~Cate About Abigail Kay HarrisAbigail Kay Harris is a daughter of the King with a personal degree in book-nerdiness. A sister to seven, her passionate love of the written word and deeper meanings hidden in normal things leads her to spend her time reading, writing, using sarcasm, and defining obscure words. When she’s not chasing words, she enjoys watching shows, classic romance movies, tea, sunrises, and the outdoors, especially mountains, beaches, and forests. In February of 2023, Abigail founded Beyond the Bookery, her small press, book store, and online boutique. She has assisted more than twenty authors in reaching their publishing dreams under her publisher’s CDXC Aurora Lux Libri Publishing line, shared five anthologies, and looks forward to more releases in the near future. You can connect with Abigail and find her books here: https://linktr.ee/abigailkayharris. Hello everyone! Today we're doing something a little different. I was recently tagged to do the "What's Their Name? Writer's Tag"! Isn't that great? I have always wanted to do blogger tags (ever since I read almost all of them on R.M. Archer's website years before I even thought about blogging), and talking about my fictional characters is always something I'm up for. Also, this is the perfect chance for me to introduce my new character, Shea Holmes, to ya'll! Thanks so much to Miley Simmonds for creating this tag, and Blooming Grace for tagging me! Here are the rules:
What's their name? Shea Locke Morstan-Holmes What's their role? Technically, her friend Joan Watson is the narrator for Book 1 (Scarlet Studies), but Shea is one of the main characters as well. Do they love anyone? Being a foster child, Shea didn't receive a lot of love, so she makes sure to give it to everyone who will accept it. She really loves her adopted family, and her friends at college. Romantically? On paper, not right now, because I've only begun "official" work on Book 1. But I've already thought ahead to the end of the series, when she may or may not (no really, she may not) have a significant other. Do they have any relatives? Shea's adopted family is really the only family worth talking about. Her adopted dad, Donovan Holmes, is a writer of mystery novels and spends a lot of time birdwatching. Shea's adopted mother, Irene Holmes, works as a cook for the local church and is a freelance wedding photographer. Shea has a biological brother, Mycroft, who is eight years older and works for the FBI as a criminal profiler. Shea and Mycroft don't talk much, due to their huge age gap and lack of similar tastes. Inspiration for character? Well, I knew I wanted to do a female Sherlock Holmes story, because I've always loved Sherlock Holmes and the one book I know of that has a female Sherlock was kinda meh to me. So I created Shea. Shea's name came out of an attempt to replicate Sherlock's name, and it was thanks to a writing buddy that her middle name came to be. Backstory? After Shea's mother, Elisabeth Morstan, died when she was six, Calvin Morstan neglected her and Mycroft. By the time their dad lost custody of the kids due to child negligence, Mycroft was 18, but Shea entered the foster care system. She bounced around between several homes before landing in San Diego at the Holmes' residence. There, she found the family she needed and was adopted. Dreams? Fears? Shea wants to become a detective, whether for the police department or as a private consultant. Her greatest fear is being left behind, either by friends or family, because of her personality. Friends? Shea is a member of her school's theater club, although she's not much of a thespian. However, this is where she meets Joan Watson, a criminal justice major, Michelle (Mickey) Stanford, a journalism major, and Tobias (Toby) Gregson, a double major criminal justice-psych major. They have all become good friends/part-time detective partners. What's the story's name? Scarlet Studies Story blurb? To say that criminal studies major Joan Watson is a fish out of water might be an understatement. After eighteen years of putting up with her grief-stricken family, she moves from a small Detroit suburb to the bustling campus of San Diego State University. When she befriends Shea, a budding detective, and Toby, a cute but reserved theater nerd, she begins to feel like she has found her group of misfits. But when Toby’s precocious roommate is murdered and suspicion falls on his shoulders, Joan and Shea find themselves the next targets of a cold-blooded killer, with their mind bent on one thing: revenge. (This is very subject to change, seeings how I wrote this in less than 30 minutes.) What are her habits? Shea is super precise about her routine, and so she has a ton of routines I won't list here (mostly because I haven't thought about them XD). Random fact? Shea often signs to herself when thinking through a case, which is due to the fact that her mother (and later brother) taught her ASL and English as a child. She's kept up her ASL education since being adopted and is very quite fluent (though she doesn't get to show it off very often). Personality? Introverted and reserved, but enjoys hearing other people's stories. Realist by nature, but wants to be optimistic about life. Is an Enneagram 5w4 on the Enneagram, and an ISTJ (and a Ravenclaw, if she were into the Harry Potter thing.) Hobbies? Listening to rock music, especially Skillet and Evanescence. Singing, though she rarely gets the opportunity. Playing and listening to piano and violin compositions. Playing violin. Reading mystery novels. Attempting to write mystery novels. Inspiration for the story? I wanted to write a series about female Sherlock Holmes (see above), in a vein similar to the BBC Sherlock show, but a ton cleaner and with Christian themes. The rest fell into place after that. Anything else? She has jet black straight hair and green eyes. Just thought I'd throw that in there. ;) And then there's the tags! :D Bree Pembrook at Laughs and Literature Rebekah Morris at Read Another Page Issabelle Perry at Into My Writing Journey Katherine Perry at Katherine Perry Bethany Willcock at Vintage Volumes And anyone else who wants to do this tag is totally welcome. That's all for now!
Until next week, ~Cate Heyo everyone! Today's blog post is another blog collab with another amazing author friend, Issabelle Perry! Issabelle is publishing her debut novel, Don't Let Me Go, with Sky's the Limit Press. let me share a little bit about her book, and then we'll get to the fun stuff! Don't Let Me Go by Issabelle PerryWhen truth is a crime... Soviet Russia, 1929: Maksim Lenkov is tired of his past haunting him. An ex-Bolshevik and supporter of the revolution over ten years earlier that toppled the Romanov dynasty, Maksm has never forgotten his guilt over not saving the tsar and his family—especially a certain beautiful grand duchess. Tatiana Romanova had stolen his heart before the Bolsheviks took her life. Maksim has spent the last ten years hunting down her killers to no avail and doing anything possible to resist Soviet rule. This is why when a young, spunky British girl appears out of nowhere, claiming she has the Soviet secret police on her heels and needs help escaping the country, Maksim is compelled to aid her. Especially since she says to have information that would ruin the USSR’s push for influence on Western Europe and, more importantly, information that connects to one Bolshevik whom Maksim knows well. A man who was there the night of Tatiana’s murder. This could be his chance to finally avenge the Romanovs and find peace with his past. But is his new ally all she claims to be or could she be an informer for the secret police? When the OGPU draws closer, how far will Maksim go to serve justice? Inspired by true events, Don’t Let Me Go is a gripping, page-turning novel that explores the power of hope in the midst of darkness and the strength of love over evil. Oh. My. Goodness! Doesn't that sound like amazing? I cannot wait to read it! :D Russian History Trivia TimeOkay, so here's how this works. I asked Issabelle Perry a bunch of questions about different topics in Russian history, and she sent me her answers. I'll say if she was correct or not, and occasionally provide a little commentary. Ready? Let's go! :D C: What was the name of the first dog in space? I: Well, I know there was a dog sent in space, but I honestly have no clue what his name was. Hmm what would I name a Soviet dog? Gruffy? Stalin Jr? 😂 C: Her name was Laika, and she was a husky-terrier mix. I like Stalin Jr. though. XD C: When was Tsar Alexander II assassinated, and who was his successor? I: I should know this date because this is actually what the opening scene in the third book of my Lost Empire series is about, but I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head. WAIT. I think I can figure this out. I’m pretty sure Nicholas Romanov was thirteen the time his grandfather was assassinated so I would just need to count up thirteen years from his birth. However, I don’t remember the year of his birth, but he was 50 in 1918, I’m pretty sure, so I’m gonna count back 50 years and then count up thirteen. If my calculations are correct… Alexander II died in 1881. His successor was Tsar Alexander III. C: Okay first of all, incredible math skills there! Yes, it was Tsar Alexander III. Alexander II was assassinated on March 13, 1881. (Random side fact: Julius Caesar was killed on the Ides of March, which happens to be the 15th of March, making their death dates only off by two days. Coincidence? I wonder...) I: HAHAHA I was right! *happy dance* I knew my overly complicated calculations would get me somewhere! *mentally high fives myself* C: Who sold Alaska to the United States, Alexander II or Catherine the Great? I: Well, I’m gonna guess Alexander II (I’m 89% certain I’m right on this) because I have a vague memory of reading something about this. C: Nice one! It was Alexander II (he's also the one who bought it). C: What medical condition did Alexei Romanov have? I: Alexei Romanov had hemophilia. C: Okay, you know you had that one in the bag. XD I: Hehehe, Ikr. When I saw the question I was like, yes this is my moment!!! XD I should've planned some grand reveal to show off my super awesome russian knowledge. 😏 C: Who were the Molsheviks (not the Bolsheviks)? (NOTE TO READERS: The Molsheviks do not exist. I meant the Mensheviks. Kids, this is why you need to fact-check yourself with Google sometimes. XD) I: Um… I don’t have a clue. My first guess would be an opposing political party or faction in the socialist political group during the time of the Bolsheviks, like the Mensheviks were, but I feel like this name would have stuck out to me. C: Okay, I'm giving you the point on this one because they were actually called the Mensheviks and I didn't spellcheck before writing that down. *facepalm* I: Ooo yaay!! I was starting to think maybe I didn't pay as much attention to the political parties of that time as I thought I had. But I get that. C: Nope. Totally my fault. XD C: What date was Bloody Sunday? I: Rats, I apparently stink at dates. I’m pretty sure it was 1905… in February? January? Ya just gonna have to tell me on this one. 😂 C: January 22, 1905, to be exact. I: I should get half a point on this one for almost being there. 😂 C: Given. ;) C: Who was Vera Zasulich, and how did she make Russian history? I: Never heard of her, but her name is pretty awesome so I’m hoping she did something equally awesome. C: Er...she was the first female who tried to assassinate someone in Russia. She also started the age of terrorism, which ended when Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. Sorry, not so awesome. :/ I: Ooof yeah, not that awesome but she might would be an intriguing character in a novel... *mind starts spinning with ideas* C: What was the first official city in the Russian Empire? I: I’m gonna guess Moscow, but it could be St. Petersburg. C: It was technically Kievan Rus, which was found by King Rurik, a Varangian chieftain. His great-grandson went on to become Vladimir the Great, who united the Russian Empire and is sometimes called "Vladimir the Russian Viking". I: AH! I should've known that. *facepalm* That's pretty epic! I mean, if I were a Russian king, I would want to be known as Vladimir the Russian Viking too. C: What primary source was written about the Norman theory, which claimed that the Vikings controlled the Slavic tribes that later became Russia? I: Oh, I’ll know the name when I hear it, but I can’t tell you right off the top of my head. (I’m beginning to understand what google is for now.) C: It's known as "The Primary Chronicle" by Nestor, a Slavic monk. I: Man, it was right on the tip of me tongue! I was thinking it ended with chronicle but couldn't remember the first part. C: Well most people call it "Chronicle" so you kind of already had it. 😄 C: Okay, last question!! Who gave the bubonic plague to the Russians? I: Gruffy the Soviet dog. 😂 I’m actually really curious to know the answer to this question now! C: *shakes head* Ha ha, nice try. Gruffy may have been the name of a Mongol, whose people gave the Russians the bubonic plague when they invaded Russia. I: Lol, yes, we will hereby dub the name of one of the Mongols as Gruffy. XD C: Done and done. XD Okay, that's all for now! You guys should totally check out Is' website if you haven't already, and put Don't Let Me Go on your TBR shelf. Comment below how many of these questions you got right! (And swing over to Is' blog on Friday, where I try my hand at Russian history trivia!) Until next week! ~Cate All About Issabelle PerryIssabelle Perry is a proud Jesus follower, an extroverted writer of historical fiction, and a homeschool graduate. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, jamming to Skillet, bullet journaling, studying Russian, hunting for Narnia in wardrobes, or envisioning herself wielding a magnificent sword (but due to her clumsiness, let’s hope that never happens). This self-proclaimed exclamation mark enthusiast can be found hanging out at Teen Writers’ Nook, a community of teen authors she co-founded in 2020. Issabelle is the author of Don’t Let Me Go (releasing early 2024 with Sky’s the Limit Press), May We Make Them Proud, and several short works. Currently, she is a proofreader for Havok Publishing and the co-editor for the Imagine and Tell Me You Love Me anthologies. What she’s probably doing right now is fangirling about her favorite books to random people or scanning the pantries for chocolate. Subscribe to her newsletter to stay up-to-date on book releases and writing projects: https://vintagelyizzy.ck.page/newsletter Blog: https://intomywritingjourney.wordpress.com/ Last week, I talked about worldbuilding lessons that I’ve learned as a history major (here’s the link to that blog post if you want to see it!). Today I’m switching gears and talking about the best tools that I’ve used in my worldbuilding. I’ve been unofficially creating worlds as long as I’ve been reading fantasy (which is about the same time I started writing, so at least over a decade), but I didn’t start actually trying to build those worlds until I was in my teen years and honing my hobby-turned-passion. So, today I’m going to go over some of my favorite resources for the beginner worldbuilder. Books
Software(s)
Websites
These are just a few of my favorite worldbuilding tools. Do you have certain tools you like to use in your worldbuilding? Comment below and let me know!
Hey everyone! Today I'm doing a blog swap with a good writing friend, R.M. Archer! I have been a huge fan of her writing and her blog posts on worldbuilding. A link to her website is listed below so you can check out all of her amazing work. And now, I'll pass you on to her! When you pour time into building a world, you want it to serve its fullest purpose—especially if you’ve spent a lot of time on it. You want all of that work to pay off with more than just a pretty backdrop. The question is, how do you accomplish that and truly get the most out of your worldbuilding? Deepen Your CharactersYour characters should be impacted by the world in which they’ve grown up. Their surroundings, their upbringing, and the society they live in should shape how they see the world and interact within it. Besides that, they should also know something about the world they live in (even if they’re not experts). They should have opinions on things that are important to them and know how to engage with the world around them, even if they can’t tell you the entire history of their world. (Even real-world historians don’t claim to know everything!) If you’re struggling to deepen your characters or make your world meaningful to them, look at how your world might impact one’s thinking or expectations about life. See what habits might be fostered in the type of society you’ve built, or what might be frowned upon. You can also look at this in reverse and use your characters to deepen your world, as you learn what your character learns or allude to details through them. Even if these details have no true depth behind them, they can say something about your world and give your readers the illusion of greater depth than you’ve discovered. (If you’re interested in learning more about how to convey years of depth without years of worldbuilding, this idea of the illusion of depth is something I cover at greater length in my course The Worldbuilding Toolbox.) Shape Your PlotThere are a couple of ways that your world can shape your plot (and if you’re like me and prefer worldbuilding to plotting, these can be very helpful). First, your world can offer plot tools. This is sort of a shallow use of worldbuilding, but it can be helpful and it can work. One example of the setting providing a plot tool would be the tauntaun on Hoth serving as shelter and warmth in The Empire Strikes Back. The tauntaun doesn’t shape the story much, but its aid is invaluable to the characters. If your aim is to create a world that supports the story but isn’t especially complex, you may end up with a fair number of “plot tool” uses for your setting. Just make sure that they make sense and have been set up ahead of time so that they don’t become a deux ex machina. Second, however, your plot can be more tightly interwoven with your world as you develop more fundamental systems (e.g. magic systems, cultural structure, political machinations, etc.), which ought to fundamentally dictate some of your story’s direction. With a more complex world, you begin to open doors to stories that “could not have been told (or not so economically) in any other way.” Here you look to your world and its systems to find out what is believable to occur within this world and what would likely happen next based on the motivations and behaviors that you’ve already mapped out for your world. Support Your Theme(s)Themes can—and often should—arise naturally out of the problems and beliefs of your created society and world. At least, they should feel like they’ve arisen naturally. Your world should have problems—even if they stem from nothing more than poor human judgment. Different cultures will be prone to different problems, and thus different lessons to be learned from those weaknesses. If you’re struggling to find the theme of your story, look to your story world and ask what weaknesses might naturally arise from its surroundings, its values, or its structure. If you already know what theme you want to emphasize, ask what sort of setting or society might best highlight that theme with its strengths and weaknesses and use that to guide your worldbuilding efforts. Inspire Future StoriesIf you’ve created a fleshed-out world—or even if you’ve created a relatively shallow world with a few notable details you’re excited to explore—you can draw on this to inspire future stories as you discover characters, themes, or settings you’re interested in writing more about. While worldbuilding is often cautioned as a time-suck that distracts from writing, you can turn it to your advantage and use it to write more as you take fascinating pieces of your world and spin them into full stories. There are four ways you can get the most out of your worldbuilding, putting it to use for your story without becoming derailed in the details. I hope this post has inspired you! If you’d like, comment below with one way your world has impacted your story thus far. R.M. Archer has been writing for nearly as long as she can remember and has always been fascinated by fantastical worlds. Now, she not only builds her own but also teaches others to think deeply about the worlds they build and the values they weave in with them. Her blog—as well as her other worldbuilding resources and published works—can be found at rmarcher.com. Heyo everyone! Today I’m combining what would normally be two posts, as I’m wrapping up January and looking forward to February. January has been a long, exciting, and also really weird month for me, so I’m hoping February will be really fun (and not near as weird)! January 2024 Wrap-UpLife Events: January was by far one of the busiest months I’ve had in a long time (I was going to say so far, but I think it might be a little early to start handing out trophies XD). The first and second week of January were especially busy as we were traveling through Tennesse, Alabama, and even Georgia on a family vacation with my dad’s side of the family. We explored Mammoth Caves, Rock City and Ruby Falls, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge (which is home to thousands of sandhill cranes and a few whooping cranes if you look closely enough), and downtown Nashville. The last half of that week was spent with our mom’s family as her parents celebrated their fifthieth wedding anniversary. It was a lot of fun (even with negative degree wind chills and lots of snow), and there was plenty of cake to go around. We spent the last half of January recovering from head colds that decided to stick around for a week and a half. My dad, my siblings, and I all started back to school, and my mom went back to work. And now life has gone back to normal. At least, for now. School: I started an internship with a local literacy organization as a social media intern. It’s not a very hard job and I’m having a lot of fun creating graphics and writing copy text for social media posts. I’m also taking two history courses, one on US history and one on modern history (or history after 1945). In the English department, I’m working on a fiction writing course and a web design/online writing class. Right now in Web Design we’re learning about digital literacy and in fiction writing we’re talking about showing vs telling in fiction. Other Stats for January Books read: 13 total. Two of them are comic books and three of them are Hourly History books, but the others are either full-length novellas or novels. Words written: Counting an article I wrote for my local birder’s society and my story…around 1500. And most of those were for the article. :P February 2024 Goals
That’s all for now. Let me know how your month is going! Did you get all your January goals filled?
Until next week! ~Cate |
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