Teach yourself to write your own stories without so much critique-isms

As I conclude one writing journey  and begin the next one I ask myself: Where to? Who should I have trained under? Do I need a critique group? Am I too sensitive to have a critique group? Well, let’s see…

Keep in mind the source of each comment during the workshop and weigh the feedback accordingly. When critiquers have work that is already published, I always listen more attentively to the criticism[from 4 Ways to Make the Most of a Critique Group by Jane Friedman]

I’ve never been to a critique group, but I have had my writing critiqued and I think its wonderful to have that gem of a feedback. However, there are other ways to get critiqued and learn without purposely joining groups. The human input will come regardless, but until then, here are two things I’ve learned.

1. Creating short stories and fanfiction is a great way to go. People may not be reading your full length novel yet or they are reading your fanfiction based off already solidified premises, but at least they now have your voice . Your writing and creating free(hint, hint) short stories have unleashed the pin and have exposed your talents to the online and print world. I never knew this before, but fanfiction was almost like a creative exercise tool for me and the feedback totally helps!
2. Just like sitting at the feet of philosphers before us by reading their words, so is learning about writing through books can pass as a course in itself. Soon I will be venturing to Francine Prose’s “Reading Like a Writer” to learn even more from a great literary genius. There ar emany others as well. Just heading to your local library or on your tablets can bring you a wealth ebooks about writing to help with your own journey. I also suggest reading  “The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published: 90 Strategies and Techniques for Selling your Fiction”

These books and many more can be your tools as plan of action for writing. I am an advocate for self- teaching because I have seen and reaped the benefits. Do yourself a favor. Teach yourself to write and sell your own stories!

Semantha almost grows a spine in the dramatic conclusion to the Heavestone Secrets

Now that Cassie is dead(Cassie was Semantha’s older, dominating sister),  Semantha is now at a private school and supposedly this makes her more free from her horrible past…not really. Semantha still thinks about how her sister caused her own rape, the baby that was created by that and poor Semantha still celebrates the child’s birthday in secret in her dorm.  Since the book fast forward three years, the child should be three years old and living with distant relative.

So, now Semantha still hears the whispers of her ancestors and her sister. Even more so now that Mr. Heavenstone, Semantha’s father is getting . The entire time I felt Semantha was going psycho- and she had reason to be, especially since her love interest, Ethan Hunter may have a secret as well. But each person has their own demons. Here’s a SPOILER character profile of each. It’s quite a nutty group…

• Semantha Heavenstone is presumably seventeen, hears voices and she talks to her dead sister in her mind. In fact most of the things she does in the book is because “Cassie told her to”. Right down to how to behave in front of her dad’s new fiance. Honestly I didn’t like the fiance, Lucille Bennet anyway. She was snobby and domineering…like Cassie.
• Lucille Bennet has just turned 40 and wants to control the Heavenstone home. But Semantha will not have that. Oh, the woman does try to woo Semantha with gifts and promises that the will be friends. But who wants a friend who controls what people eat, wear, when they sleep and when they should marry…?
• Mr. Heavenstone is Semantha’s rich and still oblivious dad. He actually allows Lucille Bennet to fire Mrs. Dobson and Doris! Servants that were with the Heavenstones for a while. All he can say is “Lucille knows what she is doing. She is in charge” I smell a Cassie Tornado part two coming on. When will he learn to leave domineering women alone? I think the dead Mrs. Heavenstone had more sense than anyone in the mansion.
• Uncle Perry is still concerned with his business and promotion area of the Heavenstone Stores. Once again he asks Semantha if she needs anything at all and even wants her to work for him. By Uncle Perry not forcing any issues on anyone or being more in control, and by Semantha not taking his offer, allows things crash fast…
• Ethan Hunter is an interesting and shady character at best. I say this because he does come off as the perfect guy for Semantha. He’s a college boy, good-looking, and very intelligent where areas of business are concerned. But mysteriously, after not showing up for Semantha’s graduation, he appears out of thin air claiming he loves her and I do give him some credit for a while-and he comes to live with the Heavenstones, impressing the father (and Lucille) and now they want him to skip getting that MBA for a while and work for the Heavenstones. The problem: Ethan seems more apt to please Lucille’s demands than Semantha. “Lucille says this” or Lucille said that” Semantha gets tired of it. What happened to the business major with a backbone? What is really going on?

So yeah, Cassie still controls much from the grave and it causes “grave” consequences in the end. But truthfully I really did not Lucille at all and Semantha almost grows a spine….

She’s a naive little girl in ‘The Heavenstone Secrets’

The Heavenstone Secrets by V.C. Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Heavenstone Secrets features the most naïve, easily controlled, not too bright protagonist and it took mental muscles just to move through the pages without too much grimace.

Semantha Heavenstone, 14 is trapped under her controlling sister’s watchful gaze and the whispers she hears through the dark mansion inherited from her grandfather holds more darkness and more mystery than what anyone could fathom.

Semantha’s sister Cassie Heavenstone is very critical of everyone has a reply for everytime Semantha says something dumb: “Christmas trees, Semantha. Christmas trees.”

But things gets worse for the lovely Heavenstone family and Semantha in particular.

Their mother gets pregnant at 42 and Cassie, the ever intelligent, super clever 16 year old, literally develops a hate for her mother but she vies for her father’s affections and cares not for her own mother’s health.

Second, Cassie begins to ask Semantha deeply personal questions about boys and sex and Semantha, in fear of her sister takes her crazy advice because “Cassie knows best”

Third, a tragedy happens and Cassie’s behavior gets worse. She manipulates the family with astuteness, her clever words and heavy knowledge(I swear, I never knew a sixteen year old could be so mature and scary!) Then she begins to wear their mother’s dresses, her jewelry, and fixes her hair like their mother too…

She thinks she is Semantha’s mother and things get even more weird for the Heavenstones.

Okay, I hate bringing up spoilers so I will say this: Semantha did have a way out from under her sister’s thumb and that could have been by telling someone the truth. But she didn’t and after reflecting on each character in the book, I find it is everyone’s fault why Semantha eventually ends up the way she does at the end.

For one thing, her father much like the one in the March family series was easily controlled by his older daughter’s words. The mother was simply weak- she was no backbone for Semantha. Their uncle Perry, although I liked him more than anyone else in the story- could have done sixty percent more to help Semantha. Then there’s Semantha- asking dumb questions to Cassie, defending her when Uncle Perry wants to know why she is afraid of Cassie, feeling in fear all the time and then she simply just does not think at all.

I hate to say this of a character in real life or fiction- but Semantha brought all of this pain on herself. Hopefully in Secret Whispers she will not be as weak or stupid.

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One thing writers should realize… and a free download of ‘Mark of Fortune’

Cover Design by E. J. Smith| Cover Image of Enceladus from Nasa.org

One thing writers should realize in the present economical and digital age, is that providing literature has gotten more creative and cost effective. We talk about the ways in which the internet allowed for anyone to self publish and have more freedom, but what about the benefits to those readers who purchase our words?

Here’s a rule…never charge for a short story. Let people save their pennies for something else like foods, clothes, or to donate to organizations. After releasing my book free for Prime members on Amazon Kindle only, I began to think : “Why am I charging even 99 cents for this to others! It’s only thirty odd pages, gosh!”*

So, Good News: “Mark of Fortune” is free. Forever.  It is only nice to provide stories for people to download conveniently(and it received 50 downloads its first night!) I don’t brag at all, but it is nice to see some downloads but that only tells half the story.

Another thing writers should realize, is that writing may be a solo effort but collaboration takes place between their audience as well. Expecting feedback from an honest reader/reviewer can be healthy. If the review is overly critical or insane I ignore it.

Otherwise it is something in which we all share in.

I’m waiting for the feedback.

Now here is my Smashwords Edition of Mark of Fortune, click the link. Read and you can visit my Connect With E.J. Page to send your review as well as review on Smashwords.*

*I will be posting snippets from the book exclusively on Google+

*’Mark of Fortune was 30 pages and is now reduced to 23 after edits

*Tell me, are you working on a short story? Would you charge for it? Why or why not? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

‘Cloudburst’- a powerful, fictional study in human psychology and earns five stars

Three Words.

Never. Trust. Kiera.

In “Cloudburst” Book 2 of the Storms/March Family saga, Sasha is a senior at Pacifica and is  confident, has no limp in her walk and is very popular. Her exotic looks from her mom, her witty intellect, and her intriguing past has gotten her a fan club and students at Pacifica treats her words and law and gold.

Kiera March has since moved away to a charm school and regularly emails and phones Sasha. It is amazing how close they have gotten since Kiera left her parents’ home and for a while there the story seems to shine for Sasha.

Until Ryder Garfield, a troubled but handsome young mans enters Pacifica. His parents and brother are celebrities from the movies and for a while he simply ignores Sasha. She eventually finds her way into his heart and they hit it off, causing quite a stir around the school. This stir bubbles and boils over when Sasha-stupidly- trusts Kiera and her world comes crashing down in a tragedy and she wonders if the silence which has defeaning before would now welcome her.

SPOILER-REACTIONS

I used to think: Poor Sasha! But when she trusts Kiera’s invitation for her and Ryder to come up to a hotel where she was going to spend the weekend, flags flew up to me. Why trust Kiera? Even though it has been three years, we must understand that when someone hates our guts totally and we still live in their rich parents’ home- they will continue to be evil.

So when Sasha invited Ryder up to the suite as well, I braced myself for a storm - and I got it. Kiera’s plot to get Ryder and Sasha to separate permanently actually hurt me- and this is fiction! I did not enjoy this part of the book at all. Sasha should have been smarter.

And no. Kiera does not sleep with him. She does something much-much worse.

In the meantime the Marches are going through their own marital problems and Mr. March seems to have his eyes out for young girls…

Especially Sasha.

Read ”Cloudburst”. It is almost  the perfect, fictional study of human psychology and sociology

The ‘classic V.C. Andrews formula’ and storms brewing in ‘Family Storms’

Family Storms by V.C. Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Do you really see me?”
So asks Sasha Fawne Porter in V.C. Andrews’ latest, “Family Storms”.

For those of you who do not know who this phenomenal writer is, she is the author of the very popular, dramatic story, “Flowers in the Attic” a superb gothic romance written with such sensitivity and detail it is such a tragedy that the author passed away from Breast Cancer in 1986 but her books still live on through a carefully selected ghost writer.

I’ve been reading V.C. Andrews books now since roughly 1995 and there is a distinct pattern to her works that one can trace through the plot. I call it the “Classic V.C. Andrews Format”

1. Girl found in a troubled home
2. Girl forced to leave the only place she knew(psychologically, emotionally, or physically)
3. A wealthy woman, typically, takes the girl under her wings and the male figure is wealthy and nonchalant-typically
4. Girl discovers something- good or bad, ambivalent
5. Girl’s story could continue in two or more books

In Family Storms Sasha and her mother are living on the streets and on one, rainy night her mother is hit and killed instantly leaving Sasha seriously injured and left in a shadow of hurt, confusion and despair.

In comes Jordan March, a wealthy woman who takes in Sasha and gives her everything a teen could want: expensive clothes, a luxurious home with an elegant bedroom to herself, servants to wait on her and the best in education. Not bad for someone coming from a place of Nothing to landing in a rich place where she never have to want for nothing again…

But if we know how V.C. Andrews storytelling is- all will not be rosy. Sasha soon discovers that the Marches’ have a few secrets of their own- the besroom Sasha now sleeps in belonged to their deceased daughter Alena who died of Leukemia. Is Mrs. March trying to turn Sasha into dead daughter? Sasha already feels Alena’s presence each night.

And then there’s Kiera. The Marches’ beautiful daughter who loves to party, hang out and skip school- she hates Sasha with a passion and will make sure Sasha feels hell all over again.

No matter what it costs.

As usual the story is in first person and is very captivating. I can never get tired reading V.C. Andrews’ books because the storyline although formulaic, is always refreshing and always manages to capture the essence of living, loving, dreaming, and believing in hope.

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Maple Fork, Alabama, rocked off its chair in ‘Rock Star’

Rock Star by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She’s a small town bookstore owner from Maple Fork, Alabama.

He’s an international, sensational rock star with a scratchy, sensual voice.

Maple Fork, Alabama is about to rocked off its chair because once Bryan Spenser met Callie Lawson, owner of Books and So Forth, he had to know her. Had to be around her all the time. There were just a few differences which were actually hurdles they had to get through. In fact these hurdles included race, career, and their past.

Race and Love Relations

Bryan Spenser is white and Callie black.From the beginning Callie makes it known to Bryan that he is in Alabama now and not L.A. and black women are not as treasured as their white(or other race counterparts) and Bryan makes a cute comment “ You know what? I rarely see dark skinned women in the movies.” Of course Callie rants on and on about this and for some it may seem a lackluster first approach in their relationship.

However, we must remember that Alabama and many other places down south and maybe up north, race is still an issue; so the author did focus on this problem a bit much but it made(for me) a juicier concept. Even though Bryan, who is just so sweet and handsome with a “tortured poet” appearance going on- is surrounded by augmented, beautiful women everyday, he has eyes only for Callie.

Career Tangles

Okay so Bryan is a rock star. This includes staying up all hours in hotels, traveling the world, arguing with band members and being flocked by groupies.

Callie, on the other hand attends church once a month when she can get away from her bookstore business. So when she brought Bryan over for his first dinner at her parents, they were skeptical and quite frankly they got on my nerves with their thirty questions for him. There is concern and then there’s cackling. Although Callie’s younger twin sisters loved Bryan so much, the father understandably so wanted to know what a very famous guy wanted with his daughter- yes, he brought up the race issue too. Yikes.

The Past is the Past

Things heat up on a slow simmer in this book. Callie is so worried what her family and friends may think of her relationship with Bryan, that their first kiss doesn’t happen until the middle of the book and when it does happen- oh boy, the pages just sizzles and it continues to cook each time they are near each other.

Bryan is battling his past though. His best friend died months before he met Callie and so Callie, unaccustomed to problems of a tragic soul, tries to understand him. In fact, he has such a dark past she is totally unprepared for it or the relationship and so as a reader you get frustrated when she constantly tries to diss the relationship.

Bryan’s passion and sincerity is what made the book delicious and enjoyable to me. Callie was kind of blah…so four stars.

All in all a really good book and hope to read more from Roslyn Hardy Holcomb.

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Guardians and Avengers, are you ready for more in the ‘Halflings’ world?

Heather Burch/Zondervan

If you have not read Book 1: Halflings yet, read the mini preview below and then I can get down to the “new” news featuring brand new book covers for Book 2: Guardian(Available this Fall) and Book 3: Avengers(Available April 2013)- Yay! Also, the mini graphic book ‘A Halflings Rescue’ will be available as a FREE ebook later this month!

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After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret-and the wings that come with.

Mace, Raven, and Vine have a mission: Rescue Nikki Youngblood.  What Mace doesn’t realize is that Nikki isn’t just beautiful, she has studied karate for six years, is a gifted artist, and doesn’t realize just how special she is to him. He got a first glimpse of this while watching her run and face down some hounds from hell. Raven, declared as the “bad boy” of the group, finds himself wanting to be near Nikki as well, but perhaps for different reasons involving his very own soul. Vine, the youngest isn’t falling for any girls yet but during the book he consumes gummy candy all the time and may actually be wiser than his other two brothers at a mere 15 years of age.(Read more on Examiner)

*Click on either of the bookcovers to go to the Halflings Network. Read! Join! See what’s happenin’!

Heather Burch/Zondervan

Heather Burch/Zondervan

She traveled through time to kiss William Shakespeare in ‘Kissing Shakespeare’

Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Miranda is about to act in ‘Taming of the Shrew’. It will be the show of a lifetime. Yet, she is about to play an even bigger role- in 16th Century England as the vixen who will seduce the very real, and very young William Shakespeare.

When Stephen Langford met Miranda, he knew she was the one to come with him through time to help the young William Shakespeare makes the decision to write and not become a Jesuit. Which at that time was a very serious offense, accompanied by execution. Miranda’s job is to seduce William to the other side. But when she and Stephen get closer together with their schemes and conversations about personal life and relationships, Miranda realizes:

She may not want to leave England.

Stephen has become something of a shoulder to lean on and it doesn’t help that he is charming, brilliant, and very handsome as well. It kind of confuses the mission…

Pamela Mingle has written a fine work that is sure to get more youth involved with reading some Shakespeare. The only caution is that there is one vulgar word mentioned at least twice in the story and a couple of situations that are too risqué for twelve year olds to read. Maybe sixteen years and up.

Otherwise a lovely book that I can definitely see as a nice film as well.

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