Veronique Manfredini's Blog

Open secret: Something that is technically a secret, but that everyone knows. Like that one aunt that has affairs all the time, everyone knows, but nobody mentions it.

Secret the people close to the character know: Something that only the closest friends/family would know about the character. Like the fact that they have six toes on one foot.

5 secrets their best friend would know: This should be self-explanatory. Something only their best friend would know.

5 secrets a sibling would know: As the above, but for siblings. Like that time your MC tripped on their foot and chipped their front tooth.

Secret the character doesn’t mind getting out: Something that is a secret but that if it got out your character wouldn’t mind. Like their past crush on Tom the ice cream shop boy.

Secret exactly one person knows anything about: Self-explanatory.

Secret no one knows about, but they sort of want to come out/to tell someone: Something that they would like to tell someone but are maybe afraid of saying. Like if they have a super power but they have to protect their friends (see Spiderman).

Find the Main Character Workbook HERE!

Type of character arc: This is to briefly decide whether or not they will progress, regress, or stay the same.

Describe the character before the story began: Briefly describe the character’s standpoint before you arrive to tell the story that will become your book. Were they childish and petulant or are they too serious and have no idea how to have fun? Did they have any friends? Did they have a crush on Love Interest for a very long time? Were they incredibly rude to waiters until they became one themselves?

Describe the character as the story starts: This is who they are in the very first few chapters. Who are they as you introduce them to the reader? This could be the same as the above but it could also be different so there can be references back to who they were before the story started.

How do the events change the character? As the story progresses, if the character has a positive or negative arc, then they will also progress or regress depending on the arc. How do the events you have planned for the story going to affect them? Give some examples of events and how they react/change to them.

Describe the character in the middle of the story: We’re at the midway point. The character has been through hell so far and has changed subtly from who they were at the beginning of the story. Identify the changes and highlight them here so you can make sure you are achieving the desired changes as you write.

Describe the character at the end of the story: The character and the reader have been to hell and back, thrice over. They have significantly changed from who they were at the beginning of the story. Who are they now? How different are they?

What lesson did the character learn? Can they trust their best friend? Is the villain actually not all that wrong with their goal? Did they discover what happened to their pet rat?

What lesson did the character teach others and/or the reader? Is there a moral or lesson to be learned from the story? There doesn’t have to be a lesson, but there could be. It could be small or big, whatever you prefer.

Find the Main Character Workbook HERE!

I’m of the impression that motivation is like an onion. Onions have layers, motivation has layers. So let’s analyze the layers of the motivation onion.

Layer 1: Root Cause: Here we’re looking at the main motivation, the root cause of all the character’s choices. What happened in their life that will drive them for the rest of their life?

For example: they might have never had control over their body or they were bullied as a child or were scorned for making a mistake. It could be anything, small or big. Everyone has a different “inciting incident” for our motivation.

Layer 2: Base Motivation: This is the motivation that moves the character through their life that is caused by the “root cause.” It’s the one that comes before the story starts and is the basis for the “story motivation” (layer 5).

If they didn’t have control over their body (ie: couldn’t choose what to wear) their motivation would be rebellion or freedom. If they were bullied in school they could want revenge or restitution. If they were scorned for making a mistake, their motivation might be fear of failure.

Failure (fear of)
Meaning of life (search of)
Loneliness (fear of)
Love (fear of/search of)
Madness (fear of/avoidance of)
Pain (fear of/avoidance of/inflicting of)
Past trauma (fear of/avoidance of)
Peer pressure (fear of/avoidance of/inflicting of)
Poverty (fear of/avoidance of)
Power (fear of/search of)
Protection (search for)
Quiet life (search of)
Restitution (fear of/avoidance of/inflicting of)
Revenge (fear of/avoidance of/inflicting of)
Torment (fear of/avoidance of/inflicting of)

Layer 3: Action: What are the actions that the character does to fulfill their motivation?

They might wear clothing their family hates out of spite. They might be like Snape who takes his anger against his bully out on Harry Potter. They might have a crippling fear of making a mistake so they might have anxiety and overthink everything.

Layer 4: Object: They might have a specific item/object/goal/job in their sights that might help them achieve their motivation. If they’re a villain in search of power, their object could be the crown of the kingdom, or knowledge of all the dark spells in existence, or the biggest army of the world.

Layer 5: Story Motivation: This is the motivation specific to the story you are writing. What motivates the character to behave the way they do in this story specifically? What do they want?

If the story is about retribution for a character whose Base Motivation is retribution then it can just be a replication of the Base. They can be the same.

If their Base Motivation is power and the story is about their ability to love, their story motivation could be love. The two motivations could clash and fight one another causing an interesting character arc. Think about the actions that the MC would have to make to achieve their desire for power but at the same time their desire for love, how things could crumble on both ends having to give up something of the first motivation for the other to come true.

Find the Main Character Workbook HERE!

Backstory: Tell the story of the main character with the biggest happenings of their life. For example: 0-5 little brother was born; 15-20 friends forgot birthday party, got driver’s license.

What they were doing before the author arrived: Give more specific details on their life. These are things that you’ll likely use in the story so think about what they ate for lunch or if they stubbed their toe how bad it hurt.

Find the Main Character Workbook HERE!

Open secret: Something that is technically a secret, but that everyone knows. Like that one aunt that has affairs all the time, everyone knows, but nobody mentions it.

Secret the people close to the character know: Something that only the closest friends/family would know about the character. Like the fact that they have six toes on one foot.

5 secrets their best friend would know: This should be self-explanatory. Something only their best friend would know.

5 secrets a sibling would know: As the above, but for siblings. Like that time your MC tripped on their foot and chipped their front tooth.

Secret the character doesn’t mind getting out: Something that is a secret but that if it got out your character wouldn’t mind. Like their past crush on Tom the ice cream shop boy.

Secret exactly one person knows anything about: Self-explanatory.

Secret no one knows about, but they sort of want to come out/to tell someone: Something that they would like to tell someone but are maybe afraid of saying. Like if they have a super power but they have to protect their friends (see Spiderman).

Find the Main Character Workbook HERE!

Star signs

Characteristics: What are the star sign characteristics? Copy them from the information you gather from the linked chart above.

Chinese zodiac signs

Characteristics: What are the chinese zodiac sign characteristics? Copy them from the information you gather from the linked chart above.

Meyers-Briggs personality type: Choose from the chart which one of the personality traits your character best fits.

How do they handle conflict: Do they get overwhelmed? Do they stay level headed? Are they able to work through conflict? Do they act childishly?

How your character handles compliments: Are they shy? Do they blush? Do they say “shut up,” walk away, and then swoon?

Biggest insecurity: Are they insecure about the gap in their teeth or the way they say their T’s that sound like S’s?

Good habits: Do they brush their teeth regularly? Are they good at scheduling? Do they exercise regularly?

Bad habits: Do they bite their nails? Do they twirl their hair when nervous? Are they not regular bathers?

Morality Scale: Select the character’s morality scale. 1 is the most moral and 10 is the most immoral they can be.

Find the Main Character Workbook HERE!

IMAGE VIA AMAZON

This is a review from GoodReads which you can find HERE. You can find A Void of Magic by Sandy Williams HERE.

5 stars: It was amazing.

They trusted her to keep the peace between the paranorms. They made a mistake.

Kennedy escaped the family business when she turned eighteen. Now, an ill-timed vacation pulls her back to The Rain Hotel, the only known null zone on the planet. It’s a place where vampires can see the sun rise and werewolves can avoid the lure of the full moon. And it would be the perfect place for a paranormal wedding…if the bride wasn’t the local alpha’s daughter and the groom the scion of a vicious master vampire.

With a sexy werewolf determined to sabotage the wedding and dark forces threatening The Rain, Kennedy’s life is thrown out of balance when she’s forced to confront a past she swore to avoid. Ultimately she must choose: will she maintain the stability of the supernatural world…or will she destroy it. 

This might contain spoilers.

This was such a good book, I was completely raptured by it. The writing was exquisite, the story was amazing, the tension, the mystery, the characters, the budding romance. This book did everything right.

I thought the author did an amazing job with character development. Kennedy Rain was an interesting heroine to follow around the hotel. I absolutely appreciated the fact that she stood her ground so much, strong-willed women who know they are afraid but won’t show their fear are my absolute favorite trope, there’s something so powerful behind it.

The storyline does a LOT, but it was really really interesting and I’m interested in knowing how the author will play around with all of the things Kennedy has to deal with and juggle at the hotel, her own life, and with her parent’s situation.

One thing I struggled with just very mildly was the number of characters that are included in the story which made me struggle very briefly to remember who was who. Other than that, I absolutely loved it.

The adrenaline that this book had pumping through my veins just shows the skill of the author in really developing characters and plot in a way that makes the reader *feel*. I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book because the ending of A Void of Magic left me with a void that needs to be filled ASAP. 

IMAGE VIA GOODREADS

This is a review from GoodReads which you can find HERE. You can find The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport HERE.

3 stars: I liked it

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.

It’s all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.

Who trained her to keep that a secret.

But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.

Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.

Mareen has been at peace for a long time…

Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.

Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself—and one’s blood—is more important than anything. 

A big thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyage for providing me with an unedited E-ARC of The Blood Trials to read and review. I do have a lot to say, so here we go:

There are many strong points of this story that I really liked such as the interesting story and world-building, a strong woman of color as the main character dealing with racism and proving herself despite it, and a very vivid sex scene (that I was NOT prepared for but still enjoyed though I don’t think was necessary). Also, I really loved the cover which I thought was gorgeous and really enticing and made me want to read the book even more than the blurb alone.

However, though I’m very happy I finished this book, I have to say that the first half was SO hard to get through.
The constant repetitive introspection of the main character was SO hard to get over, I get that she was obsessing over what happened to her grandfather but I don’t get why the reader had to read over and over the same information we were given at the start. Not only, but there are major info-dumps and an excessive amount of details placed on the weapons that the characters use that I really didn’t enjoy or care reading about.

There were also major grammatical errors and plot holes that I really hope they fix since I got an unedited version (such as a Comm Unit going “missing” when Kenna goes to snoop around Chanse’s and Reed’s room that she clearly had on her when she left Chanse’s room).

There were parts where the story lulled to a near-complete stop and then suddenly we had an action scene, and again and again. I really hope that this problem is fixed in the completed and edited version because it is a very nice story and I really like Kenna as a character, but the potential the story has isn’t coming out just yet.

Though I liked this part as I stated above (once I adjusted to it) I was not prepared for the sex scene that was presented to me so suddenly and I think the book could have done without it altogether. I started the book thinking it was a YA novel and there was nothing in the description to make me believe any differently, so this threw me off kilt a bit. Thus, if you’re reading this, know that it’s more of a New Adult (NA) story than it is YA.

I also wish there was more of an introduction to Enoch than there actually was, because of his and his family’s appearance in the story towards the end, even though he’s “mentioned” very briefly at the beginning, made it feel like a new/different story altogether. As if book 1 was supposed to end at the end of the Praetorian training and book 2 were to start where she is an actual Praetorian, but that would leave the reader with too many unanswered questions which would do the book more harm than good, so that wouldn’t work. Thus a better introduction to Enoch’s importance to the story and weaving his existence/importance throughout the first half of the book would make that starch difference feel a little less jarring.

It was during the second part of the story that the action stops lulling as much and it gets really interesting to read and I found myself really wishing it didn’t end when it did. The storyline gets much more adrenaline-inducing and interesting to follow and the characters’ personalities really come out.

I do look forward to reading book 2 despite this version I’ve read so far only being “ok.” And I’m giving it a 3-star review because the last 35% of the book was good and I felt that it sort of made up for the first 65% of it being so slow if you can get through it. I want to read book 2 but I definitely think that it needs some serious work in the first 65% of the book.

Once the book is published, I intend to read it again to see if there were any edits made so I can update my review to be correct to the current version of the book.

This is a review from GoodReads which you can find HERE. You can find The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport HERE.

3 stars: I liked it

Blending fantasy and science fiction, N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed debut kicks off a duology of loyalty and rebellion, in which a young Black woman must survive deadly trials in a racist and misogynistic society to become an elite warrior.It’s all about blood.The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen’s deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.Who trained her to keep that a secret.But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials—a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that—if found out—would subject her to execution…or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather…and then she needs to kill them.Mareen has been at peace for a long time…Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself—and one’s blood—is more important than anything.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyage for providing me with an unedited E-ARC of The Blood Trials to read and review. I do have a lot to say, so here we go:

There are many strong points of this story that I really liked such as the interesting story and world-building, a strong woman of color as the main character dealing with racism and proving herself despite it, and a very vivid sex scene (that I was NOT prepared for but still enjoyed though I don't think was necessary). Also, I really loved the cover which I thought was gorgeous and really enticing and made me want to read the book even more than the blurb alone.

However, though I'm very happy I finished this book, I have to say that the first half was SO hard to get through.The constant repetitive introspection of the main character was SO hard to get over, I get that she was obsessing over what happened to her grandfather but I don't get why the reader had to read over and over the same information we were given at the start. Not only, but there are major info-dumps and an excessive amount of details placed on the weapons that the characters use that I really didn't enjoy or care reading about.

There were also major grammatical errors and plot holes that I really hope they fix since I got an unedited version (such as a Comm Unit going "missing" when Kenna goes to snoop around Chanse's and Reed's room that she clearly had on her when she left Chanse's room).

There were parts where the story lulled to a near-complete stop and then suddenly we had an action scene, and again and again. I really hope that this problem is fixed in the completed and edited version because it is a very nice story and I really like Kenna as a character, but the potential the story has isn't coming out just yet.

Though I liked this part as I stated above (once I adjusted to it) I was not prepared for the sex scene that was presented to me so suddenly and I think the book could have done without it altogether. I started the book thinking it was a YA novel and there was nothing in the description to make me believe any differently, so this threw me off kilt a bit. Thus, if you're reading this, know that it's more of a New Adult (NA) story than it is YA.

I also wish there was more of an introduction to Enoch than there actually was, because of his and his family's appearance in the story towards the end, even though he's "mentioned" very briefly at the beginning, made it feel like a new/different story altogether. As if book 1 was supposed to end at the end of the Praetorian training and book 2 were to start where she is an actual Praetorian, but that would leave the reader with too many unanswered questions which would do the book more harm than good, so that wouldn't work. Thus a better introduction to Enoch's importance to the story and weaving his existence/importance throughout the first half of the book would make that starch difference feel a little less jarring.

It was during the second part of the story that the action stops lulling as much and it gets really interesting to read and I found myself really wishing it didn't end when it did. The storyline gets much more adrenaline-inducing and interesting to follow and the characters' personalities really come out.

I do look forward to reading book 2 despite this version I've read so far only being "ok." And I'm giving it a 3-star review because the last 35% of the book was good and I felt that it sort of made up for the first 65% of it being so slow if you can get through it. I want to read book 2 but I definitely think that it needs some serious work in the first 65% of the book.

Once the book is published, I intend to read it again to see if there were any edits made so I can update my review to be correct to the current version of the book.

This is a review from GoodReads which you can find HERE. You can find Angel Of Shadow by D. H. Nevins HERE.

3 stars: I liked it.

D.H. Nevins hurtles you into a world of half-angels, demons and tormented love in this driving, dystopian sequel to Wormwood.

Half-angels, known as Nephilim, have all but destroyed the surface of the Earth. Yet for Kali Michaels, her life is now much more complicated than simply surviving. Grappling with her own powerful identity, she worries her connection to the world of Shadows could destroy those around her.And what if she hurts Tiamat Wormwood, the Nephilim outcast who has given everything to save her? Tiamat and Kali know they have no future—not when outside forces and Kali’s own power push both the humans and the Nephilim to the brink of extinction.As she fights to stop the inevitable, she is led to question who her real enemies are, and whether the ultimate threat may actually be herself.

This might contain spoilers.

Like with the first book, the story felt kind of slow at the beginning even if the reader is immediately plunged into a semi-active scene. But as the tension builds and the story progressed it got more and more interesting and difficult to put down. The action-packed scenes broken up with the lull of the everyday fanfare were so enthralling, I was left wondering "what will happen next?" very often and I found myself on the edge of my seat many times because of it.

The characters are well developed and interesting, they won't bore you for sure. The main characters, Kali and Tiamat, are the epitome of star-crossed lovers which is absolutely heartwrenching. Honestly, these poor souls, there's always something getting in their way namely the shadows in this sequel to Wormwood.

The way it ended gave me the feeling that something big is coming in the third book of this trilogy and I look forward to seeing how D. H. Nevins ends this interesting story.