Melody Jackson's Blog

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Today I'm spotlighting Tialla Rising's newest book, "Where Shadows Lie".  Here's a little information about the book.
 <<First, the gorgeous cover!!
Isn't it just lovely?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Tialla Rising is a Christian young woman living with her family in the mountains of Arizona. She loves to write and will passionately spend hours long into the night developing her stories. Like most writers, Tialla fills her spare time with reading from her favorite fantasy and mystery genres. A good book, a stormy day, and an iced coffee comprise her favorite moments.www.therubyvial.com | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Next, the synopsis!

His dark past haunts him. His new life taunts him. 
After twenty years in the gangs and a hefty prison sentence, an early release gives Shawn the opportunity to turn his life around.
But that isn’t so easy when gangs are involved.
Only a year into his fresh start, the gang catches on and makes Shawn’s life miserable. After all, once a gang member, always a gang member. His very blood belongs to them.
Threats become promises. Whispers become actions. Words become bullets. He must fight – not only for his life, but to save his honor, prove his integrity, and protect the woman he loves.
An ember of hope glows in the darkness, strengthening his resolve. Will her support and his determination be enough to dispel the shadows of his past?
A story of discovery and faith, love and perseverance.

Very intriguing. I've just started reading it today, and so far I like it!
Bonus: Book Trailer


Ooooh, fancy. 

And finally, a giveaway!
Because who doesn't love giveaways? ;)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find the book on Amazon as well as Goodreads! Hope you've enjoyed this spotlight post. :)

- Melody

Well, I've done absolutely wonderful with blogging regularly these past few months, haven't I? (insert heavy sarcasm here :P ) Haha. Life ended up getting a whole lot busier than I expected...I've hardly had time for blogging on top of the other twenty million things* I've had to do.

(*sliiiight exaggeration on 'twenty million' ;)

Anyway, all this goes to say that I'm realizing I won't be blogging very much at all these next few months. I'm going to try to post at least once a week, a writing quote and hopefully an update on my book, which is going pretty well! :D Also, I have a secret project I've been working on for a while now that will hopefully be finished very soon...I think you're really going to like it. *grins*

On another note, I will be on vacation next week, so I won't be able to do my usual Monday post, but will hopefully at least get one done that weekend once I get back. Sunday, however, I'm going to try to do a post with a little something special to tide you over while I'm away, so stay tuned for that!

Well, I think that's all for now, folks! I need to get back to my twenty million things* list so hopefully I can actually start posting pretty regularly again. And don't forget to check back Sunday for that special post!

Bye for now, all! *waves*

-Melody

Have you ever read a story where almost every main or semi-main character got a POV section at one point or another? Sure, it may seem cool at first, because you get a lot of different viewpoints and such. But is it possible you're harming your story's intrigue with too many POVs?

To me, one of the greatest intrigues about characters and story is looking into the deep yet subtle nuances of their emotions and actions to draw a conclusion. Rather than just knowing a character is unhappy, it's much more interesting to see a little hint of something seeming 'off' and let my brain start turning it over, thinking about it. Did she storm off because she was mad, or because she was about to cry? And maybe, just maybe, that 'villain's actions don't have such a...villainous root. Maybe they truly believe they're doing the right thing. Interesting...

But, if you get to look inside everyone's mind, a lot of these secrets quickly vanish. You know what all the characters are thinking, how they react to things. Unless the characters are fantastic liars who can manage to fool the reader as well as everyone else, the intrigue level drops a lot when you know everything. After all, it's the unknown that intrigues us the most, wouldn't you agree?

Now, I'm not going to say that having many POVs never works. I just think you need to be careful how you do it, as with everything else. In a murder mystery where all the characters would most likely be lying about their actions and motives anyway, it could probably be pulled off well. But I think it's good to stop and consider this: Do you really need that character to have a POV?

I know, I get it. They're your characters, you love them like crazy and you want everyone else to know them as well as you do. But haven't you ever fallen in love with a character mainly because you don't know their whole story, and that intrigues you? You wonder what the story behind their motives and actions are, but you don't honestly want it all at once, as much as you think you might. It's much more satisfying collecting bits and pieces and inferring things and creating an understanding of the character at the end. And, if you never truly get into their POV, you only have the other characters' opinions to go on, and that can make things very interesting, because who knows, maybe that character isn't what everyone else thinks. Time to go scrutinize those scenes again for clues. ;)

And I have to say, the worst use of many POVs I've seen is when I read a scene that introduces or displays a non POV character, and they do or say something that kind of makes me tilt my head and think. Maybe they just hate everyone, and another character has hinted at the fact that that character was not always like that. Oooh, backstory! Now I'm intrigued. I want to read on and find out about this mysterious character's backstory.

However, my excitement is surprisingly quenched rather than satisfied when the very next scene is said 'mysterious character's' POV and they immediately explain why they're upset, or actually not upset at all.

Wait...what?

Suddenly, all my excitement is gone, and not only that, I feel...cheated. Because really, we go into a story not wanting to know everything until the end, right? We're promised a long and exciting journey of ups and downs, frustratingly delightful teasers and secrets that we can only guess at until we exclaim "Ohhh. That's why." and close the book with a smile.

But that satisfaction just isn't there if there was no journey, nothing to figure out. If all the secrets are just thrown out there right away, what are we doing? We might as well be reading a textbook of facts rather than a story.

A few other things to think about: When you have many POVs, you get spread out more and don't get as deep into a single character's POV as you would with a one or two POV book. Plus, it can be rather confusing and straining to stretch yourself out and try to be invested in 5 characters at once rather than growing to love one, then another, then another, all through one character's eyes.

So, next time you're tempted to give every character a POV, consider this: Will it ruin the character's intrigue if you give them a POV? Plus, is it even necessary to give them a POV, or do you just want to because they're your character and, well, you want to?

Wow, this post has gotten quite long. Kudos to you for getting all the way here! I might have to have a sequel to this post, because there's even more I could say on the topic. But for now, I'll leave you with a question:

What is your opinion on many-POV stories?

-Melody

Being sick is not fun. And even just looking at my laptop screen was hurting my eyes, so updating my blog has not gone well lately. I'm just noticing now how last time I said I'd be back to blogging normally...a few days before I got really sick. Well, this time I'm going to say at least I will try to be back to blogging regularly this month. I certainly have plenty of post material now, haha.

This quote I find particularly fitting for right now, for multiple reasons. One of them is because I've been reading a lot while sick and jotting down a lot of notes to keep in mind for my stories, things to avoid, things to emulate, how they write their descriptions, story structure, etc. I recently finished Incarceron and Sapphique, which by the way I highly recommend. Maybe I'll do a book review on it...but it seems it would be a difficult book series(duo? Is it still called a series when there's only 2 books?) to do that with, because it's one of those ones where everything's quite strange/confusing and unresolved until the end, where you go ohhhh and smile because it's genius. :)

Anyway, I got a bit off track there, didn't I? Haha. The reason I mentioned that is though I won't even try to classify myself between amateur or professional, I've certainly learned that there's always room for improvement, and I think that can be what this quote is saying too. Also, I love it because it reminds you that anyone can be a great writer if you work at it long enough and don't quit. That's one of my favorite things about writing...anyone can do it (if you know how to read and write, of course, but that's pretty much the only requirement)

Also, Dragons' Bane is coming along pretty well, though I've been playing around with some pretty drastic plot changes, to make it better, of course. I may even post a new, alternate beginning sometime soon once I get it figured out...

Well, I think that's all for now, folks! Sorry I haven't been able to post very much recently. I may also experiment with changes to my blog...try to make it nicer and figure out what exactly I'm going to post about when. There'll be at least one more post this week at some point...so keep your eyes peeled!

-Melody

Well, Camp NaNo is over now, so I should be able to blog more regularly again. :) Sorry for the long break, haha. Only good thing about it is I've got quite a few great topics I want to blog about now, so be on the lookout for that! :)

And, for today's quote:



The truth of this right now...haha. I'm certainly fighting my way out of this novel. In fact, I've found that I need to do a lot of plot rethinking/reworking for Dragons' Bane. At the same time, I'm going to start writing Dragons' Might, since the stories join together and understanding the entire overarching plot requires writing out Dragons' Might as well.

All in all, it's going really well, and I'm excited for it!!! :)

Oh dear. The past few weeks have been much too busy. I didn't mean to neglect my blogging. Very very sorry about that.

On top of everything, Camp NaNo (it's like NaNo except you set your own goal) started about a week ago, so April is going to be a crazy month for me. I'm editing Dragons' Bane and getting very excited for how it's turning out! Everything's starting to fall into place. :)

Because of this busyness, however, I think I'm going to have to cut down on how much I post. Today, after all the rambling, I'll still have a quote for the week, but I think the only other days I'll be blogging is Thursdays and on the weekends if I can manage it.

I feel bad not keeping up with this and changing the days, but I hope once I find the right groove, so to speak, this will all go much smoother. And I shouldn't miss any more weeks.

So, without further ado, here is today's quote of the week! (pretty fitting, don't you think?)


Hahahaha. Well, this is certainly true, but it's not exactly good writing advice, eh? Okay, let's try one more.

*chuckles* Seems like good advice for right now. And reminds me of a quote from a TV show I watch, Leverage: 

Hardison: Going to plan B?

Nate: Technically, that would be plan G.

Hardison: How many plans do we have? Is there, like, a plan M?

Nate: Yeah. Hardison dies in plan M.

Eliot: I like plan M.
_______


And that's all for today, folks! I'll be talking more about Dragons' Bane in the upcoming weeks and maybe sharing an excerpt or two...so be on the lookout for that! :) But for now, I bid you adieu and hope you have a wonderful day.

-Melody

About the Author



"The messenger slumped to his knees with a gargled choke."

This is the first sentence in the second book of the Ilyon Chronicles--The King's Scrolls. You may remember last year I did an author interview with Jaye and talked a little bit about the first book--Resistance. Well, today I'm going to be reviewing the second book, as well as share with you the chance to win some pretty cool stuff and read Resistance for only 99 cents. But first, how about a little bit about the book and its author? :)

__________________________


Jaye L. Knight is a homeschool graduated indie author with a passion for writing Christian fantasy and clean new adult fiction. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.


About the Book

Following the harrowing events that brought them to Landale Forest, Jace and Kyrin have settled comfortably into their new lives and the mission of protecting those under the emperor’s persecution. The fast approach of winter brings with it the anticipation of a quiet few months ahead. That is until the arrival of four mysterious, dragon-riding cretes who seek aid in a mission of great importance—not only to their own people, but to all followers of Elôm.

Hidden in the vast mining valley north of Valcré, a faithful crete has spent years sharing his knowledge with the destitute miners and their families and is known to possess what may be Arcacia’s last surviving copies of the King’s Scrolls—the Word of Elôm. Joining the cretes, those in Landale must find the crete teacher and bring him to safety, but it is a race against time. Should Daican’s men find him first, execution and the destruction of the Scrolls is certain.

When disaster strikes, all seems lost. Could Elôm have a plan even in the enemy’s triumph?

Available on Amazon!
Buy Now__________________________________
And now, for my review of "The King's Scrolls":

To start off, I have to say I greatly enjoyed reading The King's Scrolls, though I can't quite decide if I like it better than Resistance, haha. The storytelling was fantastic and beautiful as always, and along with all the adventures of the recurring characters, I really loved reading about Timothy and Aaron's story. :)

One thing I've greatly liked about the way the series is going is the gradual and more intense build-up for each book. Higher stakes, greater trials, darker secrets...it just keeps getting more and more interesting! And, of course, it would be terrible of me not to mention the dragons, being such a dragon-lover. I loved all of the dragons, though Gem was definitely my favorite, even more so because of what happens with her. :) And the cretes are a rather fascinating race as well!

I have to admit, though, the pacing of the story felt a little less smooth than Resistance. At times it felt like going from a run straight into a slow walk, which was a little jarring. But the surprising plot developments made up for that really well. And the very rather subtle but blossoming relationship between Kyrin and Jace is wonderful to watch and refreshingly easygoing. Truthfully, I didn't even think about them getting together in Resistance, but now as it develops more, I'm really enjoying it. :)

Overall, this book was a fantastic follow-up to Resistance and I would highly recommend you read both books. (and the ones that are to follow ;)

_______________


Resistance Kindle Sale!!
Haven’t begun the adventure into Ilyon? From February 17th - 23rd, get Resistance , the award-winning first book of Ilyon Chronicles for your Kindle on sale for only 99 cents! Check it out on Amazon!
* * *
Giveaway!

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed Epic Winter giveaway! Prize pack includes an autographed copy of The King’s Scrolls, a CD by Future World Music (some of Jaye’s favorite writing music), a dragon bookmark, a stone hawk pendant (much like the ones mentioned in the book), and a few packages of Twining’s Winter Spice tea to sip while you read! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yep, another extremely fitting quote for the week. I haven't felt like writing Dragons Bane this past week (partially because of feeling sick, so I didn't get much done) but even though I'm feeling better now, I kind of sunk into a 'don't feel like writing' slump that I've been pushing myself out of the best I can. 'Cause there will be days you don't want to write, and those are the days you need to write the most. :)

And you know what the funny thing is? Even though I didn't feel like writing, when I pushed myself to do it, it wasn't like slogging through a chore. I've been greatly enjoying it! Sometimes it just takes a little self kick-in-the-pants to get you going, you know? ;) So don't let 'I don't feel like it' keep you from writing...unless of course you're truly sick and can't write much. Then just make sure you get back up and on track once you recover. :)

Also, I apologize for a lack of posts last week, which was also due to the sickness. But I'm back on track now, and there'll be all the normal posts this week. Sorry for any disappointment I may have caused, haha.

So, I'm curious: What's your usual way to get out of a 'don't feel like writing' funk?

Oh my gosh! I'm so excited! Can't you see I'm excited?!! Yay!!!
If I wrote my stories with that sort of punctuation, you would understand why some writers are wary of 'too much punctuation'. Simply because it's too casual and unnecessary, I never use more than one punctuation mark after a sentence (i.e, no !? or !! or ??) But it's become a big thing I've discussed lately that punctuation marks such an exclamation points and ellipses should be used sparingly.
Okay, so anything used in excess isn't the best, as seen above. But I've seen writers take it to the extreme as well, grinning proudly as they say they only have three exclamation points in their entire 100k story.
...Really? Only three exclamation points? Is everything spoken in monotone or asked except for those three sentences?
However, I struggle with an overuse of italics, so I understand why someone might go to such an extreme when they overuse something too much. (Haha) But just because you struggle with it doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to only three per story. (Seriously, don't do that unless there are truly only three instances you need ! for)
The secret is simple. Ready for it?
Just double check. 
Yep, that's it. That's all I do. Especially if I start noticing an abundance of italics (like when my characters start getting very passionate, haha), I simply go through and un-italicize them all, one by one, and examine if it truly needs to be there. For example, in a section of writing I recently reread and consequently winced at:
“You shut up right now, Blaze Montego! Oh yeah, you think you’re all cool and tough, playing your pathetic little insult games to make yourself look better, but I’ve had it.” I paused only to catch my breath, letting him have the full force of my anger. “Of all the days, of all the days you could choose to antagonize me again, you did not pick the right day. I am not in a very happy mood right now. You want to fight? You want me to prove that I’m tough? That I’m not a prissy little stuck-up girl? Fine. Fine!”
Let's count the italics, shall we? Oh dear...one, two...NINE (I'm a terrible counter ;)  italicized words in one small paragraph. Oops. Well, let's see if we can fix this, eh? Now, the thing with this paragraph is though not all the italics need to go, most of them do. So let's see which ones truly need the emphasis, and which ones are just too much. 
“You shut up right now, Blaze Montego! Oh yeah, you think you’re all cool and tough, playing your pathetic little insult games to make yourself look better, but I’ve had it.” I paused only to catch my breath, letting him have the full force of my anger. “Of all the days, of all the days you could choose to antagonize me again, you did not pick the right day. I am not in a very happy mood right now. You want to fight? You want me to prove that I’m tough? That I’m not a prissy little stuck-up girl? Fine. Fine!”

Now all the italics are gone. Where is the previous emphasis lacking now, where it feels too flat? To me, the first three italics were not truly needed, but the fourth really needs it, because otherwise it just sounds...flat. "I've had it." And yes, maybe I could add in an ! instead, but it still wouldn't give the right emphasis, that intense frustration of 'I've had it with you!' So, we'll add that one back in. Doing good so far!Now, the sixth one, I would add the italics as well because otherwise it just sounds repetitive. The next three are a bit trickier though, because though some should be kept, not all need to be, and deciding is not black and white. However, since there's already italicized all in that sentence, I think leaving the italics off 'not' is good. The second 'not' could or could not be italicized, and though I have a tendency to add it in, it's a trickier call. So you know what I do with those? I make a choice and set the writing aside for a little while, coming back to it later to see if I even miss those italics. If I don't, then they probably weren't needed. ;)
So, you can use this same method with any other form of complained-about punctuation: if your characters are too happy! And they always shout! Yay! Or if they're...always...slow...and...hmm...can't figure out just...what to say, or if they're just running with their sentences on and on and on, just stringing on more phrases, not caring that the sentence is now a paragraph length all on its own, and that's all they ever do is use these, without any sort of break to catch your breath...!
WHEW! Whatever your struggle is, try this method to keep it from overrunning your story. :) And who knows, in time you may find yourself normalizing the use of your punctuation in your stories again. I might not put as much emphasis on everything, lol. Maybe. ;)
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter! Do you have a certain type of punctuation you frequently overuse, and if so, what do you do about it? Do you have any tips of your own?

For February, I have decided to do a mini NaNo to finish off the draft of Dragons' Bane. And I loooked a little sheepish when I saw this quote because, ahaha, I like trying to make my first drafts great the first time through. Umm,,,usually never works, but I still try. Haha. So this is really great advice to keep in mind, :)