Everything Else, Writing

It’s the Writing

If I asked “what are the elements that make up a story,” how would you respond? Characters, plot, theme, mood. All correct answers—full points. But most people forget the one element of writing that distinguishes some writers from others. It’s the writing itself.

Many, if not all, writers are readers. Stories inspire readers, sometimes to the extent where they, the readers, want to become writers. Wonderful. For others, the writing itself also inspires readers to become writers. Oftentimes, these readers read more than prose, many are poetry and drama readers. For the ones that are inspired by the writing, a line such as “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” rings true in their head. This line tells you nothing about the book you’re about to read (and if you don’t know what book that is, shame on you), but it’s a grand sentence that draws the reader in. These are your “writer-writers” who are different from your “reader-writers.”

Writer-writers are often people who get published because their writing sparkles when compared to others. It’s certainly not a measure of success, but their writing usually stands the test of time. Even when it’s stuck in the past as Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities is above, the novel remains a fascinating read.

Both reader-writers and writer-writers may be stuck in a rut when writing. Yes, they have a great new idea for a short story or novel, but the mechanics of setting it up is awfully similar as the last ten times they embarked on the same effort. The writing becomes vanilla, much like a Nancy Drew book. So how do you avoid such a trap? I’ve come up with a few ways. Full disclosure that I may not be good at what I set my mind to, but it never fails to add a tool to my writer’s toolbox when I return to my more straight-forward novels.

First, try writing a story where the characters, setting, and plot is nothing special. De-emphasize the characters and plot and emphasize the writing. I wrote a story about a boy following a girl on a train from carriage to carriage. This is ninety-percent of the story. He is attempting to reach her, and he encounters passengers on the train and talks to them. Since the character wasn’t anything special and the plot was bland, it forced me to make the writing compelling. Put an average character on a park bench and see how long you can make a compelling story out of it.

Next, write something for an audience you don’t normally target. If you only write adult stories, write a children’s book and vice-versa. This is a great way to learn vocabulary. Also, if you usually target middle grade, write something firmly adult even if it makes you uncomfortable. This means writing sex, violence, and profanity – remember this is only for you. And if you’re an erotic writer, write a sweet romance where the final sentence is a kiss. Again, get out of your comfort zone.

Speaking of getting out of one’s comfort zone, write outside of your genre. You normally write contemporary, try science-fiction. You write mystery? Try a romance. Do a little research—perhaps read a story in that genre first—then give it a shot. Again, it will require you to build a vocabulary and voice/tone you don’t normally use.

Ah…voice. Why not try a unique voice? So if you write for a particular gender, try a different one. If your characters are strong and confident, try a reserved, less confident person. Give your character an accent. Have them come from a place in the world with certain sayings. Research a culture and try to infuse the elements of that culture in your character.

And if you want to go for the gold, take the “dialog” test. Most writers enjoy dialog as they can hear the characters in their head speaking. That’s great, but try writing a story with only dialog or no dialog. See what it produces.

I’m not advising you to publish anything you write above. What this list suggests is writing exercises, something that gets you, the writer, to examine that third important element of your story. The writing!

Everything Else

Review of Sweet Remembrance

Sweet Remembrance by Emily Anne Putzke is a hidden treasure and one of the best retellings or interpretations I’ve read of any fairytale. This is a tall claim, but I’ll stick by it. “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen is a short story meant to both challenge and comfort at the same time. Given its tragic plot line, any retelling would find it hard to replicate such an emotion. But Sweet Remembrance takes Andersen’s skeletal story and builds on it in the best of ways.

In this version, the match girl is Kasia, a young Jewish girl in the ghetto of Poland during the second World War. The Nazis have invaded, and the neighborhood she used to love has turned into a desolate place. She runs out of her house and spies five scenes, and in her pocket are a similar number of matches. As she gives a match to each encounter, she recalls her past. The memories center on a young man, Romek, with whom Kasia is falling in love.

Each match changes the lives of the person she encounters, and each match is given in Romek’s memory, something he instructed or did for Kasia. The parallel between the past and present is inspired, and the idea elevates Andersen’s original tale to another level. If anything, the act of lending the match builds meaning into what seems to be an insignificant act of suffering.

The text is not only haunting, but beautifully written. This is quite short but more effective in its terseness than most 300+ page novels. In this way, the conciseness reminds me of the original tale. I was drawn into this world and had to stop reading at intervals to savor the experience.

This bittersweet, lovely tale is perfect for fans of the original fairytale, historical readers, or people who love a great tragedy. Though sad, I enjoyed it thoroughly, and plan to read it again in the future.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VTMYLM5

Everything Else

Queen Little Match Girl

In my Kingdom series, I’ve taken the main character of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl” and put her into a fantasy epic as a queen. If you’ve read “The Little Match Girl,” this may seem like an odd choice. Yet, Andersen’s short story is a fairy tale, and fairy tales have princesses. So it’s not a big leap after all. But why The Little Match Girl? Cinderella and Snow White are also queens in the novel, and this choice makes sense. But the Little Match Girl? Seriously?

Yes, very seriously.

I had to make some adjustments. First, I had to age the girl up from eight-ish to teenager inline with the rest of the fairytale princesses. Her age in the novel is fifteen, near the age most of the heroines of fairy tales are in Grimm. Second, and most importantly, she doesn’t die as she does in the original. And third, she’s a sister to the other fairytale princesses, ensuring she rules equally over the land.

In Kingdom Come, the first novel, each queen is symbolic of a certain type of good-hearted monarch. All suffer hardships and adversity, but their suffering has meaning when they ascend. They don’t forget who they are. As an example, Cinderella is raised in an arrogant family, and refuses (as queen) to become arrogant herself. When I outlined my idea, I needed a queen who champions the poor—a social justice queen. The character that leapt to mind was The Little Match Girl.

She doesn’t have a name, so I bequeathed her the moniker Valencia, which means “beautiful city.” The name is an irony since the city in the original tale is anything but “beautiful” being cold, harsh, and dirty. Valencia is a victim of social injustice as people leave her to die in the wintry streets. Never forgetting her roots, Valencia becomes the relatable queen, the “one of us” queen, the true rags-to-riches queen. But, you may say, isn’t that all the fairytale queens? If you think about it, Snow White, Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella are mistreated, but the abuse is domestic-focused. Valencia suffers from a social ill, and therein makes all the difference. The illustration to the left is by Dan Johnson and depicts Valencia before she ascends.

In book two, On Earth as it Is, I had fun “flipping” the characters of the fairytale queens to show what they may have become. Women are disguised to look like the missing fairytale queens, and they have characteristics that the monarchs may have had if they had given into certain temptations. Valencia’s mirror image is a woman named Virginia. Virginia, a merchant, only cares about money, and will use any means, including theft, to acquire it. Valencia understands Virginia’s desires, and sees in her what may she (the Match Girl quee n) may have turned into. The illustration below is by Lauren Nalepa of Virginia (and guard).

In book three, Deliver Us, I start to move past her Little Match Girl origins. She’s twenty-one in this novel and is an acknowledged queen and adventurer. The scars of her childhood, being hemmed into one place, makes her travel to distant lands. Her setting again tempts her innocence, but this time there’s no evil twin. And in the end, her commoner roots comes up with a creative way she can stay with her lover. The illustration to below is by Dan Johnson and shows what Valencia has chosen as her throne—a common chair for the common folk.

Finally, book four (Will Be Done) brings Valencia back to her childhood and poses the question “what if she had surived her wintry night but hadn’t become queen.” I use her background to explore how childhood abuse affects adults. In the novel, a villain erases her memories of her queen years, and new memories are placed in her mind. In her faux past, Valencia runs away and finds a place to stay in a toy shop as a worker. When she is rescued, she has trouble adjusting to a life without abuse, a life of comfort and friendship. I think those of us who dream of having money have thought what it would be like to “rescue” a poor person from a dangerous or hopeless situation. But it’s never easy.

If you enjoyed these posts and want to read more about Valencia, here are the links to the books.

Kingdom Come: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KYKH538

On Earth As It Is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L2G7ZS9

Deliver Us: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Y73XD6W

Will Be Done: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C99KD4JF

And two collections of short stories, each with a story where Valencia is the main character.

Kingdom’s Advent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085WSSW1C

Kingdom’s Ascension: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0960101748

Everything Else

The Little Match Girl Selection

I created this page for “Tell a Fairy Tale Day” in 2024 (February 26, 2024, to be exact). In 2022, I did something similar for Snow White, see The Snow White Read-Off. This page will be a little different in that it will be a collection of all things “The Little Match Girl.” From reviews, to reflections, to promoting my own version, all “Little Match Girl” fans should find something here worthy to peruse.

The Basics. Let’s start with the basics. “The Little Match Girl” is a fairy tale written by Hans Christen Andersen in 1845. Read The Little Match Girl because it’s in the public domain (if the link doesn’t work, just search it). This is one of my favorite tale by Andersen. Poignant, terse, offbeat for a fairy tale, and deeply moving, this should be required reading in all schools.

My Adaption. I’ve included my version of The Little Match Girl in my novels and short stories of a fairytale mashup world of Kingdom. My version, named Valencia, is rescued before she dies and becomes a queen. But she never forgets her roots, and has a fondness for the poor, championing them at every turn. She’s a large part of every novel, but comes front and center in Deliver Us & Will Be Done. See Queen Little Match Girl for the reasons why The Little Match Girl makes an excellent queen.

Review #1. Sweet Remembrance by Emily Ann Putzke. This is just a spot-on retelling and one I think Andersen would’ve approved of. Here’s the review. I recommend this to everyone. 5+ stars.

Review #2. The Little Match Girl (A Steampunk Graphic Novel) by Rod Espinosa is set in a steampunk world is a delight and a joy. Full of color, it imagines a sweeter, more upbeat, ending than Andersen’s. The expression on the Little Match Girl’s face near the end is precious. And not a word of dialog until the end—extremely difficult unless the art is masterful. If you just can’t stomach the original, this one is the one for you.

(Not) Free Short Story. On February 26, 2024 only, I posted a story about Valencia, The Little Match Girl, in her later years. This story is published in my novel, Kingdom Ascension . The story appeared on this page Ticklish, but I have removed it. For now, enjoy the beautiful illustration above by Daniel Johnson.

Review #3. Matchless (The Little Match Girl Retelling) by Gregory Maguire. Matchless by Gregory Maguire is a retelling of the Little Match Girl worthy of the original. The author of “Wicked” wrote this after being asked to tell a Christmas tale on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” So please note, it’s very, very short. Nonetheless, Maguire has taken a refreshingly original approach than most retellings. He has written a new story and enfolded it around the Little Match Girl story. Yes, the woeful tale of the Little Match Girl is still here, but Maguire offers new insight into what happens before and after the events of Andersen’s story. It comes together beautifully, and really highlights the theme and mood of the original. I’m not a Maguire fan, but I did love this retelling.

Everything Else

Review of Might of the Divided City

Might of the Divided City by Jeremy Gordon Grinnell accomplished a rare feat while I was reading it. I planned to review it, I planned to take notes on it, but suddenly, I was so wrapped up in the plot and characters, I was just reading it with the abandon of a youngster. This novel is that sort of a book.

Might is the third in the Relics of Errus series. I had reviewed both the earlier novels some time ago, recalling that I had enjoyed them, and marveling at their unique spin on the tired portal fantasy genre. Three girls discover a magic compass on Earth that opens a doorway to the world of Errus. Errus has all manner of fantasy creatures, a war between two nations, and mystical items that empowers the bearer with special abilities. Yes, you’ve heard all this before. But, this narrative introduces two sides in a never-ending war, both of which are heroic and villainous. The relics are attached to elementals, and those fantasy creatures? They are born from major weather events and consider the elemental gods their parents.

Now that’s interesting.

The first book was told from the point-of-view of the adventurous middle child, an odd choice. The second from a character that was born in Errus and crosses paths with the girls, an odder choice. Might of the Divided City is told from the oldest girl’s perspective. Eloise, or Eli, is the traditional heroine in that she’s smart and studies a lot, but at times, her mind gets away from her and she’s not sure what to say. She’s also not the bravest of the three; in fact, she may be the most fearful. She and her sisters plot an escape to Errus over their spring break while their father is traveling as their mother has long since died. They didn’t anticipate landing in one of the remotest parts of this world.

When Eli is separated from her sisters, it appears as if she’ll never see them again, and perhaps never get back home. Her adventure on her own has her character grow, advance the series, and give the reader all the action and adventure an author can pack into a middle grade book.

As with any series that is put aside for a period of time while awaiting the next book, it’s a challenge to remember certain characters and events that transpired. This novel was no different. I’m happy to report, though, that this novel, similar to the two books that preceded it, providing a self-contained adventure. So, though this ends with a major revelation, it doesn’t feel unfinished.

Might of the Divided City fits well into the Relics of Errus chronicles. Third books are the crux of any series. They either promise bigger or better events in the future, or they show a never-ending pattern that will eventually peter out. Might is the former type, and I’m excited to see where Grinnell will take us readers next.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJCSLLK1

Everything Else

Review Winters’ Resonance

Jenifer Lynn’s Winters’ Resonance (A Series of Echoes Book 1) is a horror novel that scares us with the most frightening monster of all—teenagers. Seriously, it’s a chilling story of killer humanoids that appear as teens from out of the night to wreak destruction. In the prologue, a family on their way to Disney World encounters these creatures and the results scar the youngest member, Julia Winters.

The plot advances to the year 2000 as mysterious events start happening around an adult Julia. Julia is now a photographer for the local newspaper, and she meets a detective covering an unusual assault case on a young man. The detective should keep Julia away, but something about her makes him want to collaborate with the photographer. At the same time, another man, named Bash, exits a train into the same town, though the railway hasn’t seen an active train on it in years. The three worlds collide when Julia is kidnapped.

The author knows how to write tense scenes, and the teenagers are truly frightening. The novel excels at hiding information so that the powerful monsters remain a mystery, keeping the reader in the dark. Also, this horror novel expands into a larger backstory far more expansive than what a reader might expect from the dust jacket. Without revealing too much, the novel walks a tightrope between enticing the reader with fascinating details without explaining away the threat, and thus the horror, of the monsters.

However, while this is great for tension, Winters’ Resonance could have inserted more explanation of the origins of the murderous kids in the prologue. Unfortunately, the reader doesn’t find out much about them and where they came from until the second half of the book. The unknown is a great vehicle to create suspense and it works here, but at some point, the curtain has to pull back. That said, the book’s ending is satisfying as it wraps up its own plot points. The reader shouldn’t feel disappointed.

Winters’ Resonance has a great premise and appropriately spooky vibe running the entire length of the narrative. Its creepy scenes and interesting characters make this first entry in the A Series of Echoes worth reading.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MCM7TQ8

Everything Else

Sheltered in Place

Full disclosure. I met professor and poet C.J. Giroux before either of us started as students our freshman year at our different universities. He and I became friends while working a college job. We rarely discussed writing, English, or the arts. Even in the years since, our friendship has been based on more of our life experiences than our professions. When Giroux announced he had published a book of poems, though, it was a no-brainer that I was going to read it. But since he’s a friend, this blog post will not be a review of his work.

Sheltered in Place made me reflect a lot on the legacies we leave behind, especially living through a world-altering event like the pandemic. On the surface, the poems inside are about aging, changing perspectives, and the sickness that infected the world in 2020. However, if you take the time to go deeper, you’ll find Sheltered in Place is more about how the world slowed down…and how it didn’t. The style varies but also repeats throughout the book, allowing the reader to look at the next entry with fresh eyes but also feel the rhythm so important to poetry. I made a decision to read each poem slowly and thoughtfully. I also took my time and read it over a period of weeks. I suggest the reader do the same.
If you want something more reflective, more thought-provoking, and more insightful, then give this book a read. Sheltered in Place gives a new perspective on the event that made the world hold its breath. The book makes the experience all the more relatable.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1646629264

Everything Else

Review of Final Chance

E. B. Roshan’s Final Chance: Shards of Sevia is a drama set in a fictional country (Sevia) currently in the middle of a major internal conflict. The ethnic Turs and the Sevia majority are violently clashing until Europe sends peacekeeping troops. With this tenuous situation in place, a young woman named Preen receives a phone call from her assumed-dead husband, Rama. Thinking of their two-year-old daughter, Preen heads off to a battle-ridden city of Dor to find if her husband is alive. If Rama is living, and if Preen can convince him to return home, this may be their final chance to make their marriage work.

While this summary may sound like a romance, Final Chance reads more like the thriller it actually is. Chases, gunfights, narrow escapes, and cat-and-mouse games build tension as Preen explores the city around her. The novel reflects life in countries where revolutionaries fight for freedom and gunshots are heard every night. Though Preen is Tur, the book never makes a firm stand on the righteousness of either the Turs or Sevians. Villains and heroes exist on both sides of the conflict.

Though billed as a second in a series, I had no problems picking up the narrative. A short history and a cast of characters orient the reader immediately. FYI, so many reviewers look down their noses on including a cast of characters, but I love them.

Final Chance is categorized as Christian contemporary, but you won’t find many Bible quotes here. The narrative asks the question of whether God gives out a second, or third, or final chance. And what happens to one’s faith when opportunities go awry, or the actions of a well-intended Christian ends with horrible consequences? Preen struggles with these significant questions through the story.

Final Chance is a gritty contemporary novel and not for the faint-hearted. Mostly bleak in tone, it’s a Christian thriller that doesn’t pull punches. The novel is short at 168 pages and could’ve used a little padding when describing the details of the city or the refuge camp. The characters, however, are realistic and make logical choices, keeping the reader pulling for them.

It’s a rare offering these days to see a Christian novel depict such a hopeless situation, so it’s refreshing to see one take the risk. This book is not what one often sees on “shelves,” which allows it to stand out among its contemporaries.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CBR69TS

Everything Else

Review of Havok World Tour

Havok’s new anthology promises to take us on a world tour of stories set around the Earth. For this Havok anthology, I rated each story based on three categories: story, mechanics, and theme. The story rating is how much it entertained, its creativity, the stakes/conflict. In essence, how moving was it? The mechanics rating measures how the writing supports the plot and characters. Did the author use a unique style, variety of words, or otherwise inject a lyricism to the story? The last category was if the location of the tale could be identified, if it matched the world theme, and if the setting lent some important element to the offering. For fun, I also captured the type and subtype (e.g. Fantasy / Urban Fantasy) and the country’s location.

Most stories averaged in the “exceeds expectations” tier, and I congratulate authors and editors for such an engaging anthology. The anthology was a quick read, and the variety of genre, tone, and setting elevated this above most anthologies.

I’d like to highlight a few entries that stood out. 

“In the Shadow of Ol Doinyo Lengai” by Lisa Godfrees.

“Man Nor Beast” by Rose Q. Adams.

“That’s the Spirit!” by Katie Hanna.

“Protocol One” by Caleb A. Robinson.

“Hinewai” by Deborah Bainbridge.

The following would’ve been “best in class” in any other anthology.

“New Jersey and You” by Austin Grisham. This story only works in New Jersey; it nailed the theme.

“The Worst Kind of Betrayal” by Rachel Dib. A rare mystery offering that plays like a Hitchcock episode.

“The Quest for Terlinvir” by Hailey Huntington. How did a story with such a large scope fit in a flash fiction word count?

“Perforation” by Ryan Helcoski. Horror writers take note of the writing in this piece.

“Gentleman Dracula” by J. L. Ender. Really enjoyed this idea, and it could only happen in London.

“The Secret in Kensington Gardens” by Mia Rumi. This drew me in. I wanted it to continue.

“Portage, Ohio, in Early Autumn” by Emma E. Murray. Absolutely stunning, and contrasts nicely with many other offerings.

My favorite offering had to be “Those Unseen” by Rachel Dib. The combination of idea, writing, and adherence to theme all worked wonderfully in this short, gripping tale. This is one I won’t forget for a while.

The stories were everything from funny to disturbing, from wildly fantastic to grounded in reality. Entering a new world in each piece was a highlight. But, near the end, I noticed the stories clustered in certain places: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. I would’ve preferred a few stories from different locations like Spain, Russia, or India. It would’ve made it seem more “worldly.” “Those Unseen,” for example, is set in Ukraine which stands out in the Europe section. However, in my last Havok review, I bemoaned the lack of horror entries. Someone listened, because Portage, Gentleman Dracula, and Perforation were all top-notch horror stories. Havok will publish a light fairy tale or a grim huis clos tale as long as it’s of high quality.

Again, many thanks to the editors and authors of Havok for creating such an interesting anthology. I hope their themes continue to be this inspiring.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPJX9Z4H

Everything Else

Review Blood Secrets

Morgan L. Busse’s Blood Secrets is the second of the Skyworld duology. In SkyWorld, the land has been overridden with a green mist containing deadly spores that reanimate corpses. Called “The Turned,” these zombie-like creatures roam the countryside. But the mist hasn’t reached the higher altitudes, so many people live on the sides of mountains. The wealthiest houses are on floating islands in the sky. Traveling in this world requires zeppelins, helicopter-like vehicles, or a new construction similar to a plane.

The second novel finds our main characters Theo and Cass on the run from those in power who want the world to stay the way it is. Though the mist is rising and everyone will be consumed in its grasp, the wealthy turn a blind eye to the oncoming peril. Theo has a solution, but it will require time and keeping the antidote—the McGuffin in this novel—safe. Meanwhile, Cass and Theo are learning to live with each other in their separate worlds. Are they so different that, even if they succeed, they can’t be together? And perhaps the greatest divide between them is Theo’s faith. Cass isn’t sure about the god Theo believes in. Does such a higher being really exist in this land of misery, brutality, and thirst for power?

The book is equal parts steampunk adventure, cozy romance, and faith-crisis drama. They balance nicely and the threads that intertwine them come naturally. Blood Secrets doesn’t shy away from the hard questions such as why do people live in poverty if there’s a loving God? Or if you save the world will it change for the better? This lesson is often overlooked in most novels where the end assumes a happily-ever-after. The narrative pokes at this concept.

The characters have depth and stakes, especially Cass. Though she’s unconscious for a small part of this novel, she is the main character. Her situation and struggles lend credence to both the plot and to the themes the author wants to explore. Cass is the figure most readers will gravitate toward.

The antagonist in the novel also tempts Cass with an idea of revolution and a new world order. This character comes across as both villainous yet credible. His actions, motivated by his past, fit into the overall story perfectly.

Overall, Blood Secrets wraps up the Skyworld series to a satisfying conclusion. The world building is ingenious and fascinating. The Turned, while not as frightening as in a horror novel, provides a constant source of tension. Most importantly, the themes explored in the narrative transcend the typical steampunk novel and elevate this offering to a must-read.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3HLHF83