Reads for Writers: Patricia Briggs Provides a Masterclass

 

From Kate's Writing Crate…

 

As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide masterclasses within their books.

          Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don't generally have this option, but I have found some books to be masterclasses for characters, backstories, plots, settings, voice and/or creativity.

         

Since it's October, I'm recommending fiction that relates to Halloween. The paranormal genre may not appeal to everyone, but I've found reading strong writing in any form helps improve my writing. This recommended series includes excellent examples of all of the reasons I listed in the introduction plus humor and action scenes.

          My favorite series by Patricia Briggs centers around Mercedes (Mercy) Thompson. Half Native American on her father's side, she's a walker which means she can see and communicate with ghosts as well as shift shape into a coyote. (The backstory: Her teenaged mother, a rodeo groupie left alone and pregnant when Mercy's father died in a car accident, had no idea how to raise a child with these talents so Mercy was raised by the leader of all North American werewolves in Montana. Most werewolves have no respect for coyotes so Mercy learned how to get along with others, how to get around others, and how to stand up to others.)

          The series is set in Washington state where Mercy, a college graduate history major, is now the owner/mechanic of a garage specializing in German cars located about 10-15 minutes from her home and her neighbor, Adam Hauptman, the sexy, forceful, but fair-minded Alpha werewolf of the local pack. Mercy and Adam clash and spar quite often, but Mercy admires him especially as he's a good father two years out of a divorce raising his 15-year-old daughter, Jesse.

          Besides werewolves and walkers, a local seethe of vampires, various fae creatures, and Russian witches all reside nearby. Mercy is friends with Zee, a gremlin, who trained her then sold her his garage, and Stefan, a powerful vampire who drives a VW bus painted to match the Mystery Machine in Scooby Doo.

          In Moon Called, humans are finding out about the fae living among them. The werewolves are considering going public since DNA and other forensic tools will soon prove their existence, but not all of them think this is a good idea—and not every werewolf is good, especially those who attack Adam and kidnap Jesse. Mercy races to help, but more allies are needed to rescue the Hauptmans and defeat enemies known and unknown.

          The rest of the series titles are: Blood Bound, Iron Kissed, Bone Crossed, Silver Borne, River Marked, Frost Burned, Night Broken, and Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson. (Warning: These books include violence and a sexual assault.)

          In each book, Mercy helps her friends, sometimes their friends, and sometimes even the enemies-of-my-enemies-are-my-friends fight evil in many forms. A purple belt in karate, Mercy can fight hand-to-hand or shift to a coyote and fight with real bite. Her sense of smell and her ability to detect magic are also invaluable assets.

          Mercy and Adam are drawn closer to each other with every conflict and adventure. Their evolving relationship is one of the best parts of this urban fantasy series, but all the characters and the action-packed plots are spellbinding.

 

Halloween For Writers

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Happy Halloween!  Our home was bustling with all kinds of creepy excitement this morning as my kids went through their morning routines (on less than their usual amount of sleep since we stayed up late to watch our favorite baseball team—The Boston Red Sox—WIN THE WORLD SERIES against St. Louis last evening) loaded with ideas on how tonight would be their best ever Halloween.

I’ve got to be honest—I’ve never really been a “Halloween” person.  Though autumn is the richest and most sensual season of them all to me, I’m just not smitten by ghouls, goblins and everything else “Halloween”.   My 8 kids, however, are so because of their steadfast enthusiasm, I always jump on board each year with frighteningly, festive decorations, ghoulishly sweet treats, and of course—anything goes on Halloween—“tricks and treats”, lots of pumpkin carving, and yes—delicious candy.

What I do love about Halloween is the opportunity it presents to dive into a genre I normally tend to shy away from—horror! 

For starters, let me share that one of my favorite writing books is On Writing, by best-selling author, Stephen King.  (Thank you to my blog partner Kate for recommending and giving me my treasured copy of this book!).  While some of his guidance is not exactly revolutionary (he recommends The Elements of Style as a must-have reference), other revelations that vindicate authors of popular fiction, like himself, as writers, such as his preference for stressing character and situation over plot, are engrossing. He also offers plenty of commonsense advice on how to organize a work space and structure one's day. (Truly priceless)  King's strongest recommendation, however, is that writers must be readers so today I’m going to share a list of some “Halloween worthy” books that my kids and I have enjoyed over the years.

Ghost by Katherine Ramsland   With the same open and personal style that won her much praise for Piercing the Darkness, bestelling author, Katherine Ramsland turns her keen and curious eye to the phenomenon of ghosts to uncover the truth behind a number of supernatural sightings.  On the track of an authentic “haunting” she encounters psychics, shamans, voodoo practitioners, and high-tech ghost hunters eager to reveal how to contact spirits.  But it’s the author’s daring experiments that penetrate her inspired paranormal investigations worldwide making this such an interesting read.

Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel by Ronda Thompson is another eerie favorite in our family.  Supermodel Lou Kipinski seems to have it all, but as we find out early on, beauty is only skin deep—and sometimes Lou’s porcelain complextion can get a bit hairy!  A fun and timely read during the Halloween season.

The Shining by Stephen King.  No Halloween would be complete without the nail biting read—The Shining.  The Shining is probably his best known novel and of the first twenty or so novels that King wrote, and it seems to me the one he wrote at his happiest. He wrote part of it at the Stanley Hotel near Estes Park, Colorado—a place near to my heart because we adopted our oldest daughter nearby in Colorado 20 years ago! Compared to The Dead Zone, Cujo, Pet Semetary, Misery it just seems like a book he enjoyed writing more than any of the other early works. The irony is that The Shining has become synonymous with horror fiction.

And that's the way The Shining works on you. Jack Torrance is a flawed man with a drinking problem, a violent temper, but a sense of humor and a genuine love for his wife and child. He's a guy we want to root for! And that's why his descent into madness is so powerful. (and so chilling) To some degree, we all can relate to him.

How does Halloween influence your writing?  Or is there a particular horror novel that makes your skin crawl and your writing juices flow?

Reads for Writers: J. Butcher & CE Murphy Provide Masterclasses

Homage to Halloween

From Kate's Writing Crate…

As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide masterclasses within their books.

        Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don't generally have this option, but I have found some books to be masterclasses for characters, backstories, plots, settings, voice and/or creativity.
 

        Since it is October, I'm recommending fiction that relates to Halloween. The paranormal genre may not appeal to everyone, but I've found reading strong writing in any form helps improve my writing. Both of the series I'm recommending show excellent examples of all of the reasons I listed in the introduction plus humor and action scenes.
 

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series features Harry Dresden, the only wizard Private Investigator in Chicago. He has made his share of mistakes and enemies, but is always willing to work hard when hired or help when needed by friends or the police. However, he's having a tough time making a living at the moment.
 

Human residents live their lives discounting most things magical, but the police know better. To keep order in the city, a Special Investigations unit has been set up led by Lieutenant Karrin Murphy who calls on Dresden whenever the inexplicable plays a role in a crime.
 

The series, beginning with Storm Front, works well on several levels. There are new crimes for Harry and friends to solve in every book, but there is also an over arcing theme of the greater battle of good and evil.
 

Butcher's writing is so gripping at one point in the series I was holding the book so hard my knuckles hurt. I generally don't enjoy being scared—for the most part these books are more exciting than scary—but the anticipation of one magical creature's entrance into Harry's life took me back to the vibrating water cup scene in Jurassic Park, the movie, announcing the arrival of the terrifying T-Rex.
 

There are 13 books in the Dresden series currently. I didn't like Book Three as much as the rest of the series. I'm reading Book Ten now.

       

C E Murphy writes The Walker Papers series. The captivating eight book series centers around Joanne Walker, a police officer who discovers she is a shaman. Along with friends, family, fellow cops, and some supernatural allies, she defeats foes to save Seattle and, at times, the world.
 

It's hard to put these books down with the author's signature page-turning pace, twisty plots, and fearless, funny, and frightening characters. The romantic tension between Officer Walker and her boss, Captain Morrison, offers another layer to this series that begins with Urban Shaman.
 

        One of the most endearing characters we meet is taxi driver Gary Muldoon on page 15. He is gallant, loyal, recently widowed, and ready for anything—the perfect sidekick for a shaman-in-training who needs all the help she can get.
 

Summed up on the back of his own book, No Dominion, ninth in the series: [Since meeting shaman Joanne Walker] "Gary has trifled with gods, met mystics, slain zombies…But now Gary must…fight a battle only he can win…because it becomes clear that it was not illness that took his wife's life, but their enemy's deadly touch."
 

        Enjoy becoming a better writer by reading!