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A Festive Month for Readers – Indiecember

Megan Tennant’s (@_Megan_Tennant on Twitter) Indiecember is one of the best ideas floating out on the Internet for bibliophiles near and far. I found her Bingo Board-inspired game last year and entered my book Kingdom Come. I decided to join in the reading frenzy and despite December being one of the more hectic months of the year, I was able to read triple the amount of books I would’ve normally read that month.

While I didn’t win, I still felt like a victor because I read so many impressive books that it changed what I planned to read in 2019. At the time, my TBR list was mostly (75%) traditionally published books and a few (25%) independently published. This flipped after reading through Megan’s list on Amazon. After December ended, I decided to keep reading from the list and bought books from it throughout the year. I kept reading and reviewing. Click on the titles to read my reviews.

So in December, I started with the fantastic Merona Grant and the Lost Tomb of Golgotha by Brina Williamson and went on to read one of her cozy mysteries after that. I also read I’m Not Saying It by Eóin Brady, 30 Days Without Wings by Tabatha Shipley, and Super by Karen Diem. I didn’t get to a number of books but read them later in the year: The Last Dragon Princess by Cynthia Payne, A Darkness Found by T.K. White, Eros, Inc. by Matt Medlock (as well as a fantastic short story “Scare Me”), Stealing Huckleberry by Lucian, The Witch’s Rede: Alight by Jewel Leonard. And 30 Days Without Wings led me to Tabatha’s newest book Projection. And Super led me to Karen Diem’s second book, Human. I’m going to continue most of the series I started in Indiecember. (Brina, if you’re reading this, where is the Merona Grant sequel?!)

I recommend you go through the list and pick out what sounds the most interesting to you as well as try to win the game. Not everything you read will be home runs—there were a few I enjoyed but thought average—but I bet you’ll be surprised at the quality of most of these novels. I want to plug Megan’s Alethia (she didn’t ask me to do this but she deserves it) as well. Please check it out too.

Commercials will be begging you to “buy yourself something for the holidays.” Honestly, I don’t find that in the spirit, but if you purchase books on Megan’s list and review them, you will be giving a gift to the writer as well as to yourself, awesome reader. Now that’s in the spirit!

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On the Back Cover, As It Is

This is a follow-up to my post to the front cover of my book where I pointed out little details and how it related to my novel. There be major spoilers ahead for my novel On Earth, As It Is if you pursue your reckless reading of this post! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Earlier this year, I published my second book, On Earth, As It Is, and collaborated with artist Daniel Johnson on the front and back cover. Dan did both in full color and the book displays nearly all of his original work, but not quite all of the back cover. I decided to display just enough of the illustration on the back cover to entice the reader to purchase the book, but it represents less than half of the final result. Inside is the entire art but without color and reduced to the size of a page. It’s small enough that it’s difficult to discern details. Below is the original in all its glory and following it is a description of a number of Easter eggs in the illustration that I hope you enjoy.

The first aspect of the illustration I hope you notice is the frame. This represents the frame of the mirror the ladies-disguised-as-queens are looking at hanging on the castle walls. From left to right, you have Sondra Saturn, Helga Helvys, Snow White Whisper, Penta Emily Corden, Valencia Arkenson, and Cinderella Jolly. All are fairytale queens except Sondra (from l-to-r, The Marsh King’s Daughter, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Penta, The Little Match Girl, Cinderella). In the book, the queens on earth are disguised as five “ordinary” women, but here, they’ve removed their disguises and appear as themselves but in earth clothing.

In this depiction, the queens are observing the women they’ve “replaced” on earth for the first time. They’ve seen pictures but have not met their counterparts yet. Dan and I spent a lot of time on what the women would wear in this illustration, how they’d hold themselves as well as their expressions. Cinderella is “dressed like something a nun would wear” according to her counterpart. Her smile reflects her happiness at seeing her husband on the other side of the mirror—someone she was afraid she might never see again. Valencia whose clothes are a little too big for her, stares curiously at the five women on the other side. Snow White, hand over the bullet hole in her chest, hides her wound to keep others from worrying about her. Desperately trying to convince her counterpart’s friend she is her counterpart, Helga mimics her duplicate’s stance after she sees her on the other side.

And there’s Sondra Saturn standing to the far left in full NBC peacock color! This is the first time we have an illustration of Ms. Saturn though we’ve seen her parallel before. If you look closely at the front cover, you’ll see an unfinished statue of Planet, Sondra’s “twin” in Kingdom, and her “duplicate” in the mirror. Basically, six figures exist on either side of the mirror, their mirror images.

Notice how the bricks match the front cover of the book. The front cover has a similar frame with the wallpaper of the apartment. Both front and back covers are from each set of characters point-of-view while looking at each other through a mirror. Dan’s detail on the frame is nicely done.

In the first book, each queen held a pennant of an item that represented their past. All the items reappear in Harold’s apartment. On the kitchen ledge behind Sondra is Snow White’s apple, Helga’s frog is on her shirt, Penta’s gloves are on her hands, Valencia’s match is in a picture behind Cinderella, and Cinderella is wearing her golden slippers.

If you can’t read the “motivational” poster behind Cinderella, it says “Magic. When in doubt, throw an exploding snake spell.” At the end of the novel is a significant magic battle. Have you wondered where Sondra got her inspiration when fighting Cinderella’s stepmother on top of Hartstone’s Keep? Look no further.

Sondra’s tee is of a beaker, representing her degree / profession as a chemist.

And on the floor is the book Harold wrote. If you look really close, you may notice the front and back cover of Kingdom Come, my first book.

Many thanks to Daniel Johnson for bringing this image alive and contributing to many of the ideas in this illustration. It truly was a collaborative effort and he exceeded my expectations in this final depiction .

Everything Else

On the Front Cover, As It Is

Earlier this year, I published my novel, On Earth, As It Is, and collaborated with Daniel Johnson on the artwork. The illustration that took the most work and the longest was the spectacular front cover. I’m so pleased with how it’s turned out and how different it is from traditional covers one sees today. Scroll down below the artwork to see the details Dan and I included.

Since the book has been out for a while, I wanted to explain various aspects of the front cover. Warning: there be spoilers ahead so if you’d rather read the book first, please avoid this posting until you’ve completed it.

The five ladies on the front cover are of course the five queens introduced in my first novel, Kingdom Come, or are they? They are, in fact, five new characters I created for On Earth transformed to look like the five queens. We don’t really know how any of them look (except Penta who Lauren Nalepa illustrated for me… here ). From left to right, you have Charley disguised as Queen Cinderella, Virginia as Queen Valencia, Paisley as Queen Penta, Sylvia as Queen Snow White, and Hildy as Queen Helga. If you haven’t read my first book, the five queens are all sisters who rule Kingdom equally. You’ll likely know Cinderella and Snow White, and Valencia is my version of Andersen’s Little Match Girl. In this book, five women from earth switch places with these five queens, and it’s decided that the women act like the queens to try to trick the mastermind behind the swap. Therefore, you have five ordinary women from earth disguised as fairytale queens.

But if you look closely, you’ll notice something a little off with all these women. Though they look like the queens, you may spot small details that give them away. Most obvious is my gum-chewer, Charley. I don’t think Cinderella would blow a bubble while chewing bubble gum, do you? If you look closely at Valencia’s face, you’ll spy a tattoo of a spade on her cheek. While the internet delights in giving fairytale princesses ink (which quite frankly baffles me), my queens don’t have tattoos. Skipping Penta for a moment, you’ll see that Sylvia is wearing glasses for her eyesight is not as good as Snow White’s. If you look closely at Hildy’s hip, you’ll see a gun strapped there. Not many fairytale princesses carry heat.

Penta/Paisley is the hardest to spot if you don’t know the character. It’s not what she’s wearing that’s her problem. Penta is never without her gloves, but you’ll notice that Paisley has her gloves off and is showing off her hands. Since Penta doesn’t have regular hands, it’s clear Paisley isn’t Penta.

If you notice, the postures of the “queens” are a bit off. A real royal wouldn’t have her hand on her hip like a waitress, or a palm to her cheek. Paisley looks downright defensive. How each queen held her body and her facial expression were important details Dan and I spent a lot of time on. Those little details convey the character behind the facade.

If you look closely at the back wall, you’ll see Kingdom’s Crest. I included this illustration at the end of the chapter when Harold travels to Kingdom.

You’ll notice this illustration isn’t covered by the title or the author’s name. The idea is that you, the reader, are looking at the decoy queens through a mirror from Harold’s apartment. That’s why you see the wallpaper and a small rip on the right side. If you examine the wallpaper on the back cover of the novel, you’ll see it matches the edges of the front cover. The mirror has a frame typical of a struggling college student.

Dan spent a lot of time on the stained glass window which turned out marvelously. If you look closely, you’ll see details from the book: a dragon breathing lightning and a tower encircled by magic. And you’ll also noticed the unfinished statue which is referenced at the end of the book. The statue makes the sixth figure on the page which is significant because of the back cover. How you say? You’ll have to wait until I post my blog on my back cover.

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Review of The Hummingbird Feeder

“Secrets to ears and wishes to dandelions: both spread in the same fashion.”

At one point, a key character shares this saying to another in Karma Lei Angelo’s latest thriller The Hummingbird Feeder. The line summarizes a good portion of this gripping and suspenseful novel. From the first chapter to the last, the tension is so taut that a circus performer could walk across it.

Hummingbird takes place in our main character’s Ameena Jardine’s first week on the job as detective. Ameena, or AJ, is pulled out of her human resources orientation to investigate a murder near the estate of a prominent and powerful business owner—successful entrepreneur, Amanda Claremont. Amanda runs the Claremont Farms and Nursery in New Hampshire, sits on a number of influential commissions and travels extensively. She has people in high places in her back pocket, forcing the detectives to tread lightly when dealing with her. At first, this doesn’t seem to be a problem as Amanda is more than willing to talk freely about her enterprise and her history, particularly to AJ. Meanwhile AJ’s boss, Conrad McMillan, and AJ’s new partner, Jack Kinston, work behind the scenes to identify the motive behind the murder.

Taking place primarily over one week, the sequence of events moves quickly and pulls the reader deeper and deeper into AJ’s and Amanda’s world. More of a psychological thriller for most of the book, the ending acts like a satisfying exclamation point to the novel’s sentence. As the story progresses, the reader learns more about AJ. The tapestry of her life is woven into a multi-faceted representation by the last chapter. The novel excels as a character study. The murderer’s motive, only hinted at in the first three quarters of the book, is revealed in a shocking scene and stays with the reader long after the conclusion.

Hummingbird is a prequel to the author’s Jardine trilogy, but it isn’t necessary to read any of the author’s other works to enjoy this standalone novel. That said, some minor plot points are resolved in the following series of novels. Hummingbird itself is a compact and satisfying read—interesting, and authentic. The author shares her research in appendices at the end of the book, including maps, photographs, and lists, to enhance the experience.

Karma Lei Angelo states that her novels are inspired by the X-Files. That show had a running narrative and one-offs. Hummingbird Feeder reminds me of an X-File one-off—a good one. An entertaining read from start to finish, Hummingbird delivers on its promise as a thriller.

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Review of Human

Human is the second book in Karen Diem’s Arca series about cancer-survivor heroes with multiple superhuman abilities. The first book, Super, was an action-adventure origin story that I reviewed (Super). As I picked up the second book in the series, I wondered where the author might go next. Would it be a noir, gritty, true-crime approach ala Batman? Or would it be a science slip-up with more over-the-top villains ala Spider-Man? The cover of Human favors the first approach but the initial novel followed a lighter tone.

Turns out it’s neither. Human is the sort of pulpy superhero tale you’d expect from Doc Savage or Domino Lady. Many two-fisted fights (and a lot of capoeira moves) are found within its pages. Superpowers that look like magic are magic—no explanation necessary. Add in a powerful artifact that could change the world and you have something at home in Weird Tales with a modern sensibility.

But it’s a mistake to think this is only a pulp novel. Zita Garcia, our shapeshifter and teleporter, is back with more sass and impetuousness, and she’s accompanied by her friends Ellynwyn Diamond (“Wyn”) and Andrew Cristovano. Zita is a hoot; it’s hard not to root for her. One part “fools rush in,” one part battle technician, and one part team jester (i.e. her comeback after being called a bitch by the big bad remains my favorite), Zita is all-parts action. Her friends, Andy and Wyn, are more than a little put-out by her impetuous nature. While Andy is a little less developed in this sequel, Wyn is a strong supporting character. And she gets the best joke award correcting Zita’s grammar at the end of chapter nine—I’m not giving that one away.

Zita, Wyn, and Andy are growing as a team and learning their roles in their superhero triad. Many arguments ensue between Zita and Wyn in particular as well as a few dark revelations in each character’s past which has shaped them into the women they are today. The relationship unfolds naturally until it comes to a head at the worst possible moment. The timing is what makes the novel so fun.

While I found I had to reread a few passages, the writing in this sequel has improved. For example, Wyn’s healing powers aren’t the typical glowy hands depicted in most novels. Instead we read “Stained with black and red, the silver yarn uncoiled…floating in midair…Wyn made a gesture as if rolling them up, and all the strands balled up. Silver battered through and encased the black and red, and then the ball dissipated like mist.” Nice.

Filled with action sequences, snarky conversations, and perturnatural objects, I found Human slightly better than its predecessor. While some subplots didn’t develop as much as I would’ve liked—Zita’s job offer comes to mind—the narrative does a nice job of interspersing the plot-heavy and character development chapters. The villains are also more interesting (long live the Squirrel King) than the bad guys of the first novel, and I hope some return in an upcoming offering.

So put on your mask and disguise your voice, it’s bam-pow-biff time again.

Everything Else

Fairy Tale Retellings and Kingdom

Recently, a friend told me she wasn’t going to read my novel because she didn’t read fairy tale retellings. I had no response. After that encounter, I thought about her statement for a long time. I’ve never thought of my books as retellings. I often pitch them as a fairytale characters in a Dungeons and Dragons setting. The D&D idea came first— the fairytale characters later.

I have nothing against retellings and I’ve read quite a few good ones (recommendations at the end of the blog post). I’ve tried to keep my fairytale characters fairly true to their origins (Grimm, Perrault, Andersen). Again, I wanted to see how the original characters worked within a high fantasy setting, how a character like Cinderella would handle an overthrow of an evil monarch, or how Snow White would react to dangerous, mythical creatures. These ideas were my original inspiration.

So is it a retelling? In the first book Kingdom Come, we often start at the end or near the end of the original fairy tale. Technically, some parts of the original story are retold but in a fashion suited for my world. And I say in the novel that the “truth” versus the “story” may not match. For good or bad, the differences from the traditional story are all mine to suit my themes and narrative.

You may ask “What about a genderbender, or LGBQT+ retelling, different POV, different setting?” I have nothing against any of these types of stories, but “switching it up” isn’t my purpose. I’m not interested in writing how a male Snow White would handle becoming king, or how a lesbian Sleeping Beauty would fall in love with another woman. With regards to POV, they’re often told from the antagonist’s perspective which will make them a bit sympathetic, but the villain remain mired in their dirty deeds and usually the fairytale characters haven’t done enough to warrant their animosity, or the original “good” characters are so evil they don’t resemble their source material.

I’m partial to the Grimm stories and keeping the characters true to their origins. “How trite?” you say. “We’ve thoroughly explored these shallow characters?” I would disagree.

These stories have existed for centuries. Not decades or mere years, but centuries! Time is the best judge of whether an art form lasts. I often wonder…is the Mona Lisa good because we as a generation think it’s a masterpiece, or because we were told it was? I think the former. It continues to be judged by time and come out on top.

Fairy tales have lasted for centuries. Even Tolkien’s stories haven’t lasted as long (“Blasphemy!” I hear). They’ve persevered this long because they connect to people generation after generation. Why does this generation feel they are tired and old-fashioned? I think the answer lies in our ability to watch something like “The Little Mermaid” over and over again. It’s a blessing and a curse and the “curse” part is a shame. But that’s where an author injects a bit of imagination and suddenly the story comes alive in a thrilling new way. Unlike my friend who doesn’t read retellings, most of my readers haven’t used the term “retelling” with my stories. I myself would call it a “continuation” story. I’ve often compared my novel to the second act in the play Into the Woods, another continuation story.

Kingdom is a fairytale world populated by the fairytale characters. I want my Cinderella to ride wyverns, my Snow White to face an angry mob of elves unfairly treated by the dwarfs, my Little Mermaid to assist my Little Match Girl find her true love. I’m excited to share these stories with you and I hope you’ll join me on this journey…a journey where the ending is not necessarily known before you reach the final page. I’ll throw some curveballs before you reach the “happy ending,” which, in my stories, are usually bittersweet. But at the end, I hope I’ve stayed true to the characters you grew up with and loved.

For my five fairytale queens, here’s a list of great retellings and other stories about these characters.

Snow White: Winter by Marissa Meyer [retelling and continuation], A Darkness Found by TK White [prequel and different POV], Snow White (Timeless Fairy Tales Book 11) by K.M. Shea [retelling], A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White by Melanie Cellier [retelling], Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente [retelling, different setting – Wild West], Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan [retelling, different setting – 1920/1930s], The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine [retelling], Fairest by Gail Carson Levine [MG retelling], and many, many more.

Snow White / Rose Red: Happily Ever Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red by Melanie Cellier [retelling], Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman by Lilly Fang [retelling], and more.

Cinderella: Cinder by Marissa Meyer [retelling and continuation], All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller [different POV], Sinful Cinderella (Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series) by Anita Valle [different POV], End of Ever After: A Cinderella Retelling by E.L. Tenenbaum [retelling and continuation], Wagon Train Cinderella by Shirley Kennedy [different setting], and many, many more. Probably the most retold story of all fairytales.

The Little Match Girl: Matchless by Gregory Maguire [different POV and setting], The Little Match Girl (Cyberpunk Fairy Tale) by George Saoulidis [retelling], and others (including zombie Match Girl and Match Girl meets Scrooge!).

The Marsh King’s Daughter: The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne [shares title and themes, but not truly related].

Penta: None that I could find!

Everything Else

Review of Rebirth: Havok Season One

Front Cover of Rebirth

You may notice that the “k” is flipped around on “Havok” on the cover of the anthology Rebirth: Havok Season One. I can’t make the “k” flip around without drawing it, so you’ll have to put up with my misspelling of the title. Rebirth is a compilation of flash fiction (primarily) of fantasy and science fiction. Reviewing a novel where each story is unique and written by different authors is no small order. It’s a challenge to evaluate a book of short fiction by the same author let alone one written by multiple authors.

Inevitably, a rating of a book of this nature won’t be the highest or the lowest. Some stories are spectacular, others are so-so. Some genres and storylines in Rebirth I could read all day long, and those stories receive applause and accolades.

Allow me to explain how I reviewed Rebirth. After reading each story, I rated it one to ten with ten being “the best.” The average of these stories, rounded up, is seven. I would describe a seven as “very glad I read it.” Therefore I believe a reader of scifi and fantasy will enjoy a large majority of these stories.

Two stories about Words, including Words.

There are so many tales I can’t put them all in this review so I’ll hit the highlights. Certainly one of the best stories in the collection is If These Walls Could Talk. A fantastic blend of language, atmosphere, and voice, this story would stand out in any anthology. Kudos to author J. L. Knight. Another great corner of this novel is Words, a fascinating, well-executed concept. This story, authored by Katherine Vinson, has a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming (shame on me) but absolutely admired. Words would make a terrific novel. Every Drop of Soul is another clever entry that I enjoyed quite a bit. Lila Kims’ tale of two incongruous characters who meet under mysterious circumstances will remain with me for a long time. I went back and read it with a new perspective. And then there’s Ghost of the Golf Course. Both spooky and hilarious at the same time, Kristiana Y. Sfirlea’s gem of a story does what Richard Matheson did so well…put horror & humor in your backyard. This story reminded me why I like short fiction. Don’t miss this one!

Ghost of the Golf Course by Kristiana Sfirlea / Art by Daniel Johnson

More honorable mentions include A Symphony of Words (Kerry Nietz), Window (Carie Juettner), The Devil Went Down to Costco (Stephanie Scissom), Humdinger’s Army (A. C. Williams), and Life Cycle 63 (Just B. Jordan). All of these stories were well-written with fresh ideas. Who would’ve thought you could get so much mileage out of combat training or a grocery store line?

If I haven’t mentioned the other stories, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like them. It’s more about the quantity of stories (48!) than the quality. There’s not enough space in the review to discuss mysterious bridges, games coming to life, or bizarre circuses. I’m sure readers will eat this anthology up, and for my friends who tell me “they can’t read anymore because they can’t focus,” I plan to hand them this book. A great series of short fiction, Rebirth will have you up reading late into the night.

Now, I’m off to figure out how to turn around that darn K.

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Review of Odin Inheritance

The Odin Inheritance by Victoria L. Scott is a steampunk, urban fantasy set in Cambridge, England and centered on a young lady named Ariana Trevelyan. She’s a college student, a tinkerer, and an expert dart-thrower. A game of darts opens the book—a skill Ariana has recently acquired. While she’s worked hard to overcome prejudices at her school, she’s not allowed to graduate because of her sex. In contrast to expectations society has about her gender, her skill with darts bests all her opponent at the pub.

Ariana wins a game and acquires much needed funds for equipping the airship Bosch. The crew are all friends, and she, with her talents as a mathematician, assumes the role of navigator. Studying for the Mathematics Tripos, boarding with her friends at Towson Hall, and spending free time with her airship crew are what Ariana enjoys the most. It’s not until she has an encounter in the library with a mysterious German that her life spins into a whirlwind and secrets of her past are revealed.

In the first half of the book alone, the reader is confronted with a mysterious new addition to the Bosch’s crew, a strange assault on her journey back to school, a visit from her eccentric-yet-wise Aunt Miranda, secret organizations with multiple agendas, a raven with hidden talents, and a dangerous doctor visit. The second half of Scott’s 500 page novel has still more adventure as well as surprising revelations. This particular book concludes with a definitive ending though it leaves open the possibility of more adventures in the future.

While I like steampunk, I haven’t read a lot of novels in this genre. It took awhile for me to get absorbed into Ariana’s world at first, but when the “rules” started coming into focus, I really enjoyed it. I wanted to know more and more, but every time Ariana asked someone to explain what was going on, her sources would only tease information rather than tell her. Frustrating at first, once a character explains why Arianna is important to this supernatural world, the book really took off.

Without giving away too much, a test near the end of the book where Arianna meets her sponsor (for lack of a spoiler word) was a satisfying and unexpected twist. I was surprised and pleased by her answer to that character and enjoyed how the author wove together modern and ancient beliefs. In many ways, this sequence describes the book overall: Arianna’s modern enrollment into the long-held institution of college only for men and the mix of technology with magic both describe a world where both old and new can peacefully coexist.

While a long novel, the pacing is as swift as an Indiana Jones movie and I flipped pages quickly. The characters are sufficiently detailed to feel real, the ideas are fresh, and the action passages come to life in the reader’s hands. The Odin Inheritance is a fun, engaging novel, especially in the latter three-quarters of the book, and is worthy of space on any steampunk-lover’s bookshelf.

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Review The Farmed

Lisa Caskey’s The Farmed has been on my TBR list for a while so I was excited to finally read it. A YA dystopian novel set both ten years and approximately three generations in the future, The Farmed tells the story of Winnifred (Winnie) Kimball, an eighteen-year-old living in San Francisco. SanFran is more like a prison in the future than today’s version as beyond its borders people mutated by a nuclear strike roam the countryside. Inside, the poor work to support the rich. Winnie is one of the poor living with her mother and her grandmother. The novel starts with Winnie waking up strapped to a table with no memory of how she got there or why she’s being held captive.

An intriguing start leads to an exciting set of events that brings Winnie to a resistance group where she befriends a number of freedom fighters. The plot zips along as we learn more and more about how the world devolved into its current state from Winnie’s great-grandfather’s journal. At the same time, Winnie discovers she has abilities highly desired by both sides.

A lot of key elements of a YA dystopian novel are here: suspense, action, and romance. What is also present that I didn’t expect was a surprising amount of scientific detail behind the antagonists’ plot. The author did her homework (and enhanced it with imagination) of what would happen in the event of a nuclear war. Both fascinating and horrifying, it grounds the setting in reality despite the fantastic events occurring.

I was surprised how quickly I read this novel. It never lagged at any point and I stayed invested in the characters, especially Winnie. The narrative raised a few interesting questions of what it takes to survive. Our heroes aren’t devils, but they aren’t angels either, and they suffer the consequences of their decisions. Strictly speaking, an eighteen-year-old protagonist puts this out of the YA classification, but I always thought that rule was more about marketing than good story-telling. Yet there are some dark corners to The Farmed that classifies it as an upper-level YA novel.

The first installment of any series must, in my opinion, build a believable world, create an interesting hero, set up a conflict, and resolve it enough to satisfy its audience but also want to keep reading. The Farmed checked all of these boxes for me, and I’m usually tough on trilogies! I hope to pick up the next installment soon.

The Farmed on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1532743297

Lisa Caskey’s website: https://www.lisacaskeyauthor.com/

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How to Spice Up Your Villain

Professor Moriarty, Medusa, Voldemort, Big Brother, The Dust Witch, Uriah Heep, Bryce Walker, Montresor, Randall Flagg, U. N. Owen. Different characters, different genres, yet they have one thing in common. Villainy. 

Villains. In books, the characters you love to hate. Sometimes the antagonist, sometimes the protagonist. Some bent on world domination while others on revenge against one person. We turn each page hating the villain for their evil genius, their Machievellian scheming, their one-step-ahead planning, or potentially their frustration at the hero if they’re the main character.

Many writer blogs detail how to create intricate and engaging villains. They explain why it’s important to give the villain some redeeming qualities, how to make them real, and how they must relate to your hero. This blog assumes you’ve read those foundational tips. I would rather detail how to view your villains from a different perspective. This may give your villain an edge that makes them stand out. Following are four unusual tips to consider when writing your villains. And to illustrate my point, I’m going to use the characters from Dudley-Do-Right. In particular, the mustache-twirling, sneering, Snidely Whiplash as an example for each.

In case you’ve never seen a Dudley Do-Right cartoon or if it’s been a while since you’ve seen one, here’s a recap. Dudley Do-Right is a Candian mountie who is always inadvertently foiling Snidely Whiplash’s schemes. He desires the love of the fair Nell, but she only has eyes for his horse (Horse). The unusual triangle of horse, mountie, and girl is that extra element that made this cartoon special and a worthy segment of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.

First tip. When considering the main evil trait of a villain, other blogs may advise you to emphasize one main characteristic. Is your villain power-hungry, steeped in wrath for your hero, or ambivalent to all tender emotions? This tip suggests you take a look at the seven deadly sins. Religious or not, the list is a good reference for writers in building characters. The sins are comprised of anger, pride, lust, sloth, envy, greed, and gluttony. Often, writers choose greed, pride, and wrath as the main element to build their character’s personalities around. Instead choose one not often used. How about sloth, lust or gluttony? For sloth, how is an inert villain a force to reckon with? Say you’re writing an office drama and you have a ladder climber who is notoriously lazy. Let your villain, a slothful antagonist, thwart your main character who is energetic and full of innovative ideas.

Let’s use sloth again with our foursome. What if Snidely Whiplash, despite all of his efforts, was rejected from the Royal Canadian Mounties because he was deemed “lazy.” “Lazy, am I?” says Whiplash. In his latest scheme, he decides to use the simplest of traps in the world, a covered hole, to trap Dudley, and it works! All of his other schemes are too complex, require too much effort, if only he relied on his sloth, he would have been the victor years ago.  

Another interesting approach to your villain is to upset all his/her/their carefully-laid plans. Why only frustrate your hero? Throw some chaos at both of them. The villain putting his fingertips together and saying “everything is going perfectly according to plan” is a cliche. Introduce a random element, a third party which complicates both of their actions, and watch them try to recover. Your heroes shouldn’t have to be the only ones who suffer, you know!

So a common plot of Dudley-Do Right is he kidnaps and ties Nell to train tracks. Let’s say this time he also kidnaps Horse so Dudley can’t possibly get their in time. But this time, Nell, furious that Horse was kidnapped, frees herself and punches him, storming away. Whiplash, sits up from the ground, eyeing his captive, with newfound admiration.

Still a little stale? Have you tried making your villain a hero instead to spice things up? I don’t mean you should write your story from the villain’s perspective, gaining sympathy from your reader. The villain does not become the main character in the same story. No, the villain stands in the hero’s situation at the start of the story and the plot unfolds from there. The evil queen, in all her malignant glory, is the persecuted stepdaughter to a legitimately kind Queen Snow White. Professor Moriarity, evil genius that he is, decides to become a master detective. In this case, the hero may not even be in the story.

Back to Do-Right. The scheming Whiplash has just entered the Canadian Royal Mounties and has been assigned Horse. Inducted with a clueless Dudley, he plans to climb the ladder. Is his horse on his side or not? And why does Dudley keep getting the breaks?

And if all else fails, give a thought to switching your villain for a different one. Perhaps you have one that didn’t work for a different story, or one you’ve been saving for a future novel. This is extreme but even if you write a chapter of your current story with a different villain and throw it away, it may inspire you to think twice about your current archenemy. The movie, the Avengers, does a great job pairing Loki (Thor’s villain) with Iron Man in one conversation. It’s a fresh approach to both characters.

In our continuing example, Dudley Do-Right was part of the Bullwinkle and Rocky show. What if Boris and Natasha, enemies of Bullwinkle and Rocky, became Dudley’s nemesis instead of Whiplash. Instead of “stupid moose and squirrel” you get “stupid mountie and horse.” Imagine one of Boris and Natasha’s bizarro schemes with Dudley as the hero.

Upping your game on your villain will result in better characters all around. Do you have any thoughts of how you could make your evildoers any better? If so, get to work!