Silver Moon

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"Werewolf," he muttered. "You're a werewolf." 

"Ding, ding, ding," she drawled sarcastically. "Give that boy a prize." 

Kat moved to his bed and pulled the wooden box from his weapons bag to flip open the top and show him the missing shells. The box had been full when he put it under there and now he knows why it was sticking out from underneath the bed this morning when he returned. 

"Silver is lethal to you guys." Sebastian snatched the box back. "What the hell could you possibly need these for?" 

"For the infected wolf in the basement," she said. 

"Infected?" he asked. 

"A wolf not like me," she said. "Rabid, monster, they're the kinds of wolves you hunt and we hate." 

"I see no difference," he snarled. 

"And that right there is why you don't belong here," she said. "I'm out of here, hunters are so stubborn you're not going to listen to me anyway. So I won't even bother wasting my breath." 

Sebastian moved to block the doorknob. "Who said you were leaving?" 

"I did," she snarled. "People here actually care about me! They will skin you alive if I suddenly go missing. Derek knows about us ..." 

"US!" he snapped. "Sorry Cujo but there is no us." 

Kat scoffed and shook her head. "You are all class Sebastian. This is why we don't associate with hunters, small-minded assholes that only care about killing me and mine. Now let me go or I will scream! Maggie will call Derek and he will very much enjoy tearing you limb from limb." 

Sebastian considered his options but could only think of one that made sense at the moment. So he stepped aside and opened the door to let her leave. She's right if she and Derek are werewolves then there are definitely more of them in this town. Werewolves tend to run in packs and they're incredibly territorial, if he took on one of them he'd be taking on all of them and he wouldn't even limp away from that fight.

From Page to Screen: Screenplays

Okay so I realize that I’ve been doing a lot of these, from page-to-screen, reviews, critiques, opinions, etc. But with the way the movie industry has been working as of late; cranking out movie after movie adapted from bestselling novels, it only seems appropriate that I, a self-appointed book nerd, give my opinion on the subject. I mean ultimately writing books is what I want to do, I want that to be my full-time job because that is where I find the most joy. For now though I continue to read what’s on the market and even see the movies, though don’t ask me to see 50 Shades of Grey, it’s not happening!

Thus I reach my point of this particular blog. Lately the internet has been inundated with 50 Shades, and justifiably so it was a best-selling novel and anticipated by many to hit the big screen; but of course where there are fans there are also nay-sayers. I would probably fall into the latter category, though I’m not quite as vocal as some I’ll just leave it at 50 Shades does not intrigue or interest me at all and leave it at that.

So when I tell you I’ve been following articles about the franchise it may shock you, but hey it’s all the internet wants to talk about and sometimes a slow day at work means reading Yahoo articles just to pass the time. That’s when I happened upon an article that made me shake my head and cringe.

E.L. James wants to be the exclusive writer for the screenplay for the 50 Shades sequel.

Someone’s joking here right? She really wants THAT much control over the next film? Demanding, in fact, enough control that would ultimately delay any and all production and bringing things to a grinding halt before they’ve even begun?

As an aspiring author myself you’d think I would be all for it! Hell yeah authors writing their own screenplays to their movies! This will be great! Wrong! Once more for affect … W-R-O-N-G! WRONG!

Look I get the appeal, I mean I would’ve been totally willing to sit in the theater for 17 straight hours and watch Harry Potter if it meant no detail had to hit the cutting room floor, no matter how miniscule. But that’s not everyone. Hey there’s plenty of people that are just not into reading and would simply rather see the movie, I consider to be blasphemy, but it’s a choice that others make and I’m okay with it. That’s why details need to hit the floor, it’s why cuts need to be made, it’s why pacing and timing are so important to keep the integrity of the book and the story while still creating something entirely different to capture a new audience!

I’m all for collaboration! Authors do need some level of control over the project; their voices must be heard during the production process. I mean my work is my baby! I pour my heart and soul into what I write! If I were ever lucky enough to have even a fraction of the success E.L. James has been blessed with I would not be acting as she has been. Yes she is entitled to be a bit of a mama bear protecting her cub, but she also needs to loosen the reins a bit and give away some of that control. She's basically a one hit wonder, her first novel sky rocketed, and it would probably only benefit her to learn from those that have been writing professionally for years! 

Collaboration! That’s key! Writing screenplays is an entirely different animal from novels/fiction. There are different rules! Formatting is completely different. Now I’m amenable and I would say if the author has prior movie experience, has written screenplays before or has even been trained on the How To’s of screenwriting then of course! Give the author some leeway and let them pen the screenplay, Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay for Gone Girl! You go girl!

Here lies the difference though, in my mind at least, Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay and her novel was a standalone. The movie was very successful but not 17 straight hours; details did need to be omitted and scenes were cut in the name of timing and pacing but the integrity of the book remained. E.L. James had a spat with the screenwriter for the first movie while she worked alongside him to create the screenplay and now believes she can take on the task and handle it herself.

Maybe she can, who knows? But realistically if she can handle it we won’t be seeing a sequel for two years, at minimum! The clock is ticking and I’m starting to think the 50 Shades fever will cool long before start of production is announced let alone ac actual release date for the film.

Title Picking

So today ... like the last few ... has been a day of wracking my brain trying to come up with a solution! Since I'm currently in the throes of trying to get a novel professionally published I've come to the realization that my novel is lacking something very important, vitally important! Or at least so I've been told ...

A title!

Yeah so maybe it's more important than I'd like it to be, because picking one is damn hard! So here I am begging for help and opinions, votes, a lively debate or two! I've come up with two titles actually, very similar to one another but I can't really decide which comes off as more gripping?

Which title is more interesting? If you were browsing a bookshelf which one would you sooner pick up to read? That's really what I'm looking for! If all you had was the title on the spine to judge the book, which would you choose?

Option 1: Lie, Con, Deceive

Option 2: Lies, Cons & Deception

All opinions are greatly appreciated! Happy Tuesday!

Imperfect

“This is all you have to do. Sit down once a day to the novel and start working without internal criticism, without debilitating expectations, without the need to look at your words as if they were already printed and bound. 


The beginning is only a draft. Drafts are imperfect by definition.” 

-Walter Mosley

Shutting off that internal editor is the hardest part. I am my own worst critic but I strive daily to tell that critic to shut up and do what I enjoy. 

I'm usually able to put my critic in the corner and write with abandon. It's dealing with the critic when it rears it's ugly head that I'm still learning. 

Banned Books

Photo Cred: The Daily Dot

All right so today is the day in which I tackle, or attempt to anyway, Banned Books. I have to tell you this list is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this topic the Banned Book List is a compiling of different literary materials that include all genres of literature; from to fiction to non-fiction, biographies and fairytales, and everything in between! Some of the more notable additions to this list include, but not limited to, The Bible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Of Mice and Men, The Communist Manifesto, Catcher in the Rye, and many others.

In truth there isn't even one Banned Books list, there are in fact several and they all have variations to them. But there are several novels on each list that are considered classics that always seem to make the cut. Now I attended a private Catholic high school and grade school and guess what every English /Lit teacher I ever had always seemed to be teaching us books from this list. I read Catcher in the Rye sophomore year of high school, Of Mice and Men we did my freshman year, not to mention the Canterbury Tales!

These classics that are considered offensive or including inappropriate materials or topics are some of the better written books. They're classics for a reason and cover topics that should be discussed and studied freely. I truly enjoyed Of Mice and Men when I was a freshman, it was a well-written piece of literature that I'm glad I was given the opportunity to study in a classroom setting. Because literature affects each person in their own individual way and studying/discussing books as a group gives you the chance to open up your mind to different perspectives and ideas.

The Banned Books list has always been a source of amusement and annoyance in my world. As an avid reader and writer I constantly struggle with my stance on banned books or restricted reading materials. While I do think that age ratings, much like a movie rating, are a good thing I never understood the point of trying to ban something simply because one small group was in some way offended.

But really, have we gotten to the point in society where even a free giveaway must be policed because, again, one small sect disapproves of the materials being given away. In a generation where texting, emailing, Netflix, TV, computers it's become a rarity that anyone just sits down and reads anymore. Why read the book when the movie is just around the corner? So when someone finds something they want to read, want to lose themselves in I think that's something that should be celebrated!

So yes a school can limit what they want to expose their students to, maybe it's not appropriate for the age group or goes against their beliefs and principles. But how can parents try to limit a business from giving items away? No one is forcing your kids to take the free item, no one forces anyone to take the item. It's a giveaway and it is solely the individual person's choice to take it or walk right on by, that choice is something no one else has the right to take away.

***Read more at: The Daily Dot***

New Cover, New Look ... Same Awesome Tale

Available at Amazon & CreateSpace now!

     I'm super excited to announce the new cover art available for my novella Silver Moon! This new cover comes complete with an excerpt on the back from the story inside. 

     To my readers and buyers already I can not tell you how much I appreciate your support! Having sold more than a dozen copies already it's an extremely satisfying feeling. I'm glad to know that the hard work I put into the story, the characters and the world they live in is being enjoyed by others. The writing process was so frustrating, long, confusing and at times difficult. But most of all the entire process was fun and rewarding. I created a world all my own, characters that I feel as if I know as well as I know my friends and family.

     Soon I will start working on my next novel, hopefully a little longer but I'm quite satisfied with the length of my novella. I'm going to quality rather than quantity here folks. I can't wait to get into my next novel so I can share it with you all.

     But for right now I hope you all enjoy Silver Moon! 

Happy Reading! <3