Interview with Heather Burch; interesting tidbits on the titles and the characters

Heather Burch/Zondervan(Book 3 in the Halflings series)

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of posting up my recent interview with Heather Burch, the author of “Halflings”- in this interview we discussed everything from time management in writing, to Nikki’s choice in young men and finally, will there be more in the series? If you are at all curious, you may wish to read the rest. Here’s a clip:

NCFE: In the ‘Halflings’ series Mace is the leader type and he is sensitive to Nikki’s abilities and her feelings-sometimes. Raven, the “bad boy” unleashes the wild side of her prompting her to new heights, helping her let go. In your opinion, which boy would be right for Nikki and why?

Heather Burch: In many ways they are both right … and wrong for her. I loved introducing this dynamic because we get to feel every emotion right along with Nikki. I’ve had many reviewers say they ALWAYS know which boy is the right one. But not with the Halflings Series. Either one could be right. Or wrong. I love involving readers. I love it when they have to sit back and say, “Hm. What do I think of this guy? Is he right for Nikki?”

NCFE: I simply love the titles in the series. Tell me, how did you come up with them? (Besides the obvious first book in the series, LOL!)

HB: In the very beginning, the first three books were titled, Pure, Dark and Risen. Of course, it was still the Halflings Series. It never occurred to me to title book 1 Halflings. That came from my fabulous publisher. (They’re so much smarter than me.)

NCFE: Have your books been compared to other teen series(Christian or not) and if so how do you feel about it?

HB: Halflings gets compared to Twilight often. I think the love triangle factors in on that. Also, book one has a little less action than two and three. I love it when people compare. It means they’re thinking about it, considering it against other YA books.

NCFE: At first the Halfling girls did not accept Nikki and I felt bad for Nikki, however one Halfling girl has her eye on Raven. Will we see more of his story unfold in future books?(Read more on Norfolk Christian Fiction Examiner)

‘Ring of Stone’ Update: A Verse… “Sad(new)Creature”

40s Beauty by Jan Farthing for Flickr.com

From Samosa’s POV: Samosa appears in “Mark of Fortune” which is the prequel to Ring of Stone. Ring of Stone is underway right now, until then, these poems will be clues to Samosa and Stone’s new life together; it will be as dramatic and as sensual as the first!

Sad (New) Creature

You made me hungry with

and enticing, sugary kiss

and I was made to know you

on that velvet night-

you set me free

and now I stand

a part of you

apart from you

a new creature who smiles

for no reason

and who is catty with her remarks

concerning you and

this is new

even Mom is afraid of

what have you done to me

Stone?

I am now a mirror of

my own bad habits left off

from something whittled off

a stump.

*If you would like an exclusive peek and free download of the first chapter of “Ring of Stone” when it becomes available, please sign up to subscribe to this blog

Bless You!

‘Tomoe’s Whimper’: A poem for ‘Kamisama Kiss’

*Kind of difficult writing from a male perspective, but Tomoe’s character is so mysterious…here goes:

And she tickles my logic with her babbling

lips and those coy eyes

And I a yokai  who sips

from the red light  district

Is pulled in

Her longing is my whimper

from her cries and echoes,

frail under her strength

strong in her gentleness and

Her longing is my whimper

To have a human goddess

right under my clutches

right under my killing aura and 

powers of fire, I want only one

fire to possess her.

And her longing is my whimper

my secret worship of her

and her tiny voice, long hands and

her shrill scream when I catch her

in a lie or sighing because she loves me

but I am yokai- I can not be loved

a human can not be trusted.

I long to make her whimper

She is me I am her.

She needs me- I want her.

But oh, the longing in her eyes when we fight together

When we tear down walls of pride by shamelessly

baring all unspoken words

of what we wanted before we were…

I know I’m already hers.

Is she mine?

Review: ‘A Good Man’ by J.J. Murray-Writing with soul and with a soul

*Click image for ordering information.

As usual while in the library I look to their featured stands and see what is new. The other day I saw the cover of this book, “A Good Man” by J.J. Murray and thought the color was stunning and even the cover model looked flawless and so I read the back of the book and was immediately hooked from the blurb.

Sonya Richardson, retired WNBA player who prefers to be alone and watch Man v. Food gets a call one day that she has been entered into a new reality show called “Hunk or Punk”- she has the looks, the charm, and…she is forty. But at least she can pass for twenty-nine. And the hunks? All young, black men willing to woo her.

And one white man.

Here is where it gets even more interesting: John James Bond is the former pastor of an AME church and when he is contacted to be on the show, he hesitates and is right to assume he will be the white guy to take the fall in less than four weeks. However, once he meets Sonya he finds himself letting down all his guards and it isn’t hard to do since he is honest. And Sonya, surprisingly, let’s down her shield as well and welcomes his comforting presence. He is quickly becoming a true anomaly in all this. And a fierce competition.

Dialogue

What I enjoyed most about this book was the dialog. I never read a book by J.J. Murray before but he has an ear for conversation and reality. A few readers(okay maybe most) could be turned off by the many “ums” in the book, but let me explain: The term was endearing and it was cute.  The “ums” were like mantras and little innocent moments. Jewels even.The two main characters can not help but like one another in a house full of men who could be seen as “in your face” type however when John speaks with Sonya, it is personal, they relax around each other and their secret flirtation turns into all out seduction using nothing but their words of honesty.

Setting

Never had I read a book that actually takes place on a reality show. This book must have been inspired by pieces from “I Love New York”, complete with obstacle course challenges, cook-offs, singing competitions and Sonya’s family member coming to regulate with a sniping attitude and the fact that they all live in a mansion together-yeah pretty similar to ILNY.

The good part is that Murray has created a sensitive, sweet, intelligent personality for Sonya. She is not a “Sista with an attitude” but she knows exactly what she wants and she gets it too. Although she is from North Carolina and John is from Burnt Corn, Alabama(Burnt Corn? Wow, that was funny)- they find themselves attracted to the sandy beach of LA catching a sunrise (so sweet!)as opposed to being in the mansion, which is filled with tension and lies.

Overall Reaction

I see myself reading more from Murray. He is a writer with a heart for dialogue and infusing fiction with reality. Certainly the characters’ charm wooed me anyway. Sonya was sweet but confident while John was a strong man with a heart for God and where God places him, this could be why some of the men at the mansion couldn’t really be too mad at John…okay some. The entire book felt like a reality television show except with text and it kept me up well into the night because I had to know who Sonya will choose and if any other subplots would ever be solved.

It doesn’t need to be said that Sonya is black and John is white because the book wasn’t really focused on color although the topic came up a few times. The focus was on the Spirit of the people in this work and if you love a good romance(and reality shows) you will love “A Good Man”

Book Details:

A Good Man, J.J. Murray

Published: Kensington(2013)

ISBN:978-0-7582-7722-0

Review of ‘Damned’ by Holder & Viguie, intriguing YA series

“Outside, a wolf howled in deep mourning. A hardened Israeli soldier patrolled. And ruby eyes burned with longing.”(Holder &Viguie, 2011, p.509: Damned)

Such words paint the picture of how deep and emotional the novel Damned(Crusade Series #2) really is. I will take some time and focus on characterization, because I think that is the strongest point in this series. The plot is great and the action scenes are incredible by the way.

But the characters are who touch the heart. From the most cruel to the most caring.

First of all, Damned was very good. Team Salamanca face fights on all sides: Keeping Jenn’s sister Heather together since she is a Cursed One (vampire), Antonio, ah, Antonio continues to fight with Team Salamanca and is devout to God but his bloodlust is no longer quieted; then Solomon, another vampire has new tricks up his sleeves all while Team Salamnca try to dodge new supersoldiers that are a mix of human, vampire, and werewolf. Geesh, there is so much going on and of course, just like in book 1 there are a myriad of flashbacks tripping me up while all I care much for is Jenn and Antonio’s relationship and will they ever get her sister back to normal.

Now, back to the characters. I will list them, along with my thoughts about each, but please be warned. There may be spoilers in here and let me know if I missed someone.

• Jenn Leitner: I like how the authors portray Jenn as “Just Jenn” in book 1. Suddenly she is bumped up to Leader and I like her transition from “Just Jenn” to an alpha in her group. Tough decisions must be made all while trying not to cry over her sister’s transformation and father’s betrayal. I think she will be a tough one just like her grandmother Esther.
• Esther Leitner: Part of the Resistance and has a shady past. Her husband “Che” died in book 1 and she cares so much for granddaughter Jenn and her family, but she remains strong; helping Jenn whenever she can. Even so, she can’t believe Jenn did not tell her that her boyfriend Antonio was a vampire…
• Antonio de la Cruz: Antonio, Antonio…he has to be one of my favorite characters simply because he has faith in God but grows fangs too. He is a tortured soul and maybe that is because like most humans, we have a base nature that laws, morality, and religion keep under control. While Aurora was torturing him, driving a knife near his heart over and over and depriving him of blood- Anotnio finally breaks…does this make him a monster? He thinks so and Jenn is his heart but should he just be himself or who God called him to be?
• Holgar: Poor chap, that werewolf. He is also Team Salamanca. He is strong and loyal and I think he and Skye or at least he and Jenn make a great couple(although Jenn is on an Alpha mode and will completely dominate him). Holgar has abandoned his pack and mate for life in order to fight the vampires. To him, a pack is everything, but Team Salamanca is his new family…
• Skye York: The White Witch. Normally I am not fond of “witchy” characters and books, but Skye, the witch with the rasta braids is the team’s healer. She is not a fighter, because White Witches are not fighters but she teamed up with Team Salamanca after her own boyfriend, Estefan joined sides with the vampires. He continues to get inside her head and with all the spells for healings and protection, her memories, and Estefan on her mind- she is liable to crack.
• Eriko: The Hunter; probably has a small frame according to the description novels, but with a scary past herself wants to kill all the vampires after seeing one kill her own best friend on a webcam. What’s really interesting is that a few years before, Eriko was a part of a singing trio called the Vampire Three. She quit that after her friend’s death. Joined Team Salamanca, drank the elixir required for the one who’ll be the Hunter. This powerful elixir allows a normal human to become superhuman with super speed, super hearing, and super strength just like the vampires. For Eriko though, the elixir is beginning to be too much and it is hurting her physically…
• Jamie: Mr. Hothead. He is probably the one I hate the most. He is Team Salamanca’s normal human, like Jenn but his disdain for vampires and werewolves run very deep. His family was killed by those monsters which means he holds cold hatred for Antonio and Holgar. At one time he did trust Antonio, but in Damned, it changes again. But Jamie has a fury that can squash any monster in his path.
• Noah: New to the team and has a fondness for Jenn Leitner. He is Israeli and handsome and strong. I sure hope there is a love triangle- sounds weird since the books has a some love but is 90% action.
• Aurora Abregon: The most terrible vampire I ever read about next to Sita in Christopher Pike’s books. She wants to see Antonio turned over to the evil side but she was hurt herself.  Long story but now she is on a war path.
• Solomon: Red haired rock star looking vampire who promised everyone on the planet vampires were here for peace and not to start trouble. Whatever. He has Jenn’s father with him and he is just as ruthless as they come.

Bottom line, I love this series because it is showing what can happen in the real world if vampires were loose. Only Antonio is a vampire who has fell in love and prays to God, not all vampires are like him. None of them are. And it is a trying time for a team that starves, get injured, and yes- these authors do not mind killing off characters from previous books. They kept it real.

Thanks Holder and Viguie!

On to Book 3: Vanquished!

Review of ‘Crusade’ by Holder and Viguie, vamps, witches and…priests?

The Crusade is on…

An international, intercultural team of six teenaged vampire hunters, trained in Salamanca, Spain goes to New Orleans seeking to rescue team member Jenn’s younger sister as the vampires escalate their efforts to take over the Earth.*

The basic story is this: Jenn is part of a fighting team called on to fight vampires. This is not a story where vampires are nice people or even civilized. Well, except for Jenn’s fighting partner Antonio de la Cruz. He is also her boyfriend and finds himself constantly fighting his bloodlust when he’s near her. Their other team members have excepted him only as someone who can sniff out the vamps. Holgar, another team mate is a werewolf, Skye is a rasta braid wearing White Witch. And they each have a hidden pain, a hidden story deep inside and it could tear the groups apart.

My Personal, Favorite Moments

I am in love with Antonio and Holgar, the two monsters of the team, who don’t act like monsters and seem to have more integrity and more of soul than the others. As a person who loves romance the moments where Antonio and Jenn kiss or touch or even just talk are what I like the most. I wish there was more of it, but there is a war going on and so the book is composed mostly of fighting scenes and investigative work.

The language, the team bond, even the settings seemed real in my mind. The authors did an awesome job detailing the settings of Span and New Orleans and connecting the story to how real WWIII could be if evil completely took over.

The book is pretty hefty, about 470 pages long and with lots of flashbacks for each character, all in third person omniscient also I lost track of a couple of names as the book can gobble up a reader’s memory of the many characters.

But it still does not lose the attractiveness of the story.

*Brief summary taken from inside the book.

Favorite Quote/Scene:

Father Juan hadn’t discouraged the relationship between Antonio and Jenn. The truth was that there was something powerful about their love-something transcendent. He could only relate it to the love of God.”(pp.462-463)

Kudos to Holder and Viguie!

‘A Song for Bijou’ is a sweet love story for middle grades

Image courtesy of Bloosmbury USA Children’s Books

Alex Shrader likes Bijou Doucet.

She is the new girl at St. Catherines’s.

There is only one(or two) major problems: Bijou is Black, well, Haitian to be exact. Alex is an American white boy, and one VERY important fact remains: Bijou comes from a strict family with an even stricter uncle. Boys are not allowed to call or be around Bijou and that goes for bad friends who are girls as well.

Through Alex’s helpful, but very unique and funny friends, he learns more about this girl with the braids who is from Haiti. It is fairly cute how Alex looks online to study her culture and the language(French) so he wouldn’t freak out and sound stupid once he speaks with her. Alex may be self-conscious, but Bijou sees something in him that is not in other boys. Alex is sweet, very kind, smart and tall with very pretty eyes.

Author Josh Farrar spent time researching and interviewing real Haitians while in Brooklyn, New York to give the book its spicy, but middle grade appeal. Bijou and Alex are the two speaking in the story(1st person POV), each taking a chapter or two so the reader can see their perspective. The book was full of fun, cultural and ethnic appeal, bullies, Spring dances and everything we all loved and hated about middle school.

Personal Reaction:       I feel that this story was clean and perfect for children, teens, and adults. I personally enjoyed the different ethnicity of each character and the city life was reflected very well. Alex was the typical boy and Bijou was an exotic girl with a past but admired very much by Alex. I recommend this book based off of the characters alone.

Book Review: ‘The Irish Healer’ by Nancy Herriman, 5 stars

The Irish Healer: A Novel by Nancy Herriman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nancy Herriman’s writing can be described as lovely, on time, and true. Her characters’ personalities and their flaws is what makes “The Irish Healer” such a wonderful read.

It is the 1830s and Rachel Dunne is leaving her home in Ireland to be an assistant to a physician in London. Back at home though, she was accused of murder and the town was set to gossip. At least in London working for the elusive, handsome Physician James Edmunds, Rachel may have a chance to start afresh and perhaps leave healing alone all together.

James Edmunds no longer trusts God with his medical practice or his family anymore. After his wife passed away, he had his sister in law take care of his daughter Amelia- to keep at bay his own mistakes from the past, yet when he meets Rachel Dunne, his new assistant, he wants her around more and more and he wonders if God may be giving him another chance.

What makes this story grand and pleasing, is that both characters are at odds with God. They have both placed their trust in Him at some point before but when things went sour, they lost their faith. So not only does Mr. Edmunds push against the grain of God’s will, Rachel does too as she refuses to help anyone sick for fear she may kill them, yet God keep placing her where she needs to be-

Especially when James Edmunds own daughter falls ill and it may be up to Rachel to push past her hurt pride to help. She endures the stereotypes and dreadful words from those who hate her simply because she is Irish but she does meet a few nice folk along the way who help put her faith back in place.

*Book was received from Worthy Publishing for my unbiased review.

View all my reviews

Tracking an author: Installing christian themes or just going with the flow?

Microsoft Office Image

After one project is complete, another is always or have already been underway. In this case, the seemingly old question btaking over online systems is: Is it possible for books to have too much overt Christian themes? Back in February I wrote  post on “Christian Romance and Crossing Lines” which explained what readers truly look for in a book. One of those elements are the bonds that tie human souls.

I doubt if my post this time will help others learn that telling a good story should be the utmost important in any genre, but I’ll have to explain why my new novel will more than likely be hard to classify.

First, the book will have the major plot and a couple of subplots that may be explored later- or not. The main idea is that a woman finds herself lost in more ways than one and she now has to live with a family member and start over. This family member tries to tell the girl that no one is more evil than the other. As humans we all have the capacity to love very much or hate very much and unfortunately some carry out that hate and can become truly evil.

The protagonist, however made some mistakes and those past mistakes are coming to bite her in the butt. In the meantime, a new event will take place in her life where she will discover her purpose during her downfall… could it be her downfall is really her just being human?

I am unsure how to categorize this one. Its not a supernatural, urban fiction but simply a fictional story with some romance in it. The idea of forgiveness and redemption is laced through the story, but for now I’ve been worrying over telling the story clearly.

Here’s my advice on letting the story spill:

• Let the character’s motivations speak to you, jot down those notes before you write if you have to.
• If you have a main idea/theme in mind, what is it? What are some ways to show more than tell?
• Plots and subplots will natural emerge, although some books advise outlining those early(and I agree that for some stories its sufficient)
• When it comes to swearing are there “safe” swear words to convey a character’s emotion? The term Hell seems to be used by anyone, Christian or non-Christian. Other terms I am not so sure. Even inspirational romance has some boundaries.
• When it comes to sexuality/sensuality in a book, how far is too far? Depicting actual sexual acts like painting splashed over the bed may not be the way to go, but one author, Vanessa Davis Griggs does not show too much sensuality almost none and even when there is a sexual act,  she handles it by skipping the entire scene and entering the “Morning After”.
  • One way I weave sensual scenes is by allowing the kiss to the face, mouth, and even the neck. I allow some description of physique without being to risqué.
  • As far as the actual act….Pray for me.

Some Helpful Books…

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

A christian whose versatile with choice of reading material-any harm in that?

 

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I promised in my last post to explain what it means to be versatile with genres of choice to read and write. I suppose there are many reasons why people choose the books they read- emotions and moods, curosity, work, school reports. anything.

My aunt one day handed me this thick, pink book of Inspirational Fiction with Christian themes- they were all romances and I read the book and actually loved it. I fell in love with Romantic CF but soon I fell in love with another genre- African American Romance/ Erotica while in college. After that I discovered YA books again with the introduction of Twilight in 2008.

Alright. That’s the watered down version and will be saved for a longer diatribe. The fact is I love to read. If there is a story I can relate to or wish to relate to then it is okay with me. I love storytelling and enjoy the many trips fiction has taken me on. I’m sure you know what I mean fellow reader/viewer/writer. It’s the best!

Different books have shown me different facets of my own heart:

R.L. Stine/Horror: showed me I can be spooked from the pen of an author and what power words can have.

Christopher Pike/Speculative-Horror: Christopher Pikes books took me to places where vampires can cry and young girls could be gods, and there is an answer to the afterlife if we search hard enough.

Christian Fiction/General: Helps me to see my life struggles and happiness are not my own. Some books have actually helped me with my prayer life!

African American Romances: Black women need love too Yeah thats all I got out of most of them…

So here I am,  a Christian Fiction Examiner who promotes these works to another kind of demographic. Am I a hypocrite for this? Aboslutely not! Books rooted in a certain theme or religion are not bad books if the writing is good. Period. However I am born human first with many sins and my color, culture and religion all come after that fact(singer Erykah Badu can explain this better than I can!) Anyhow, I have learned so much spirituality from secular fiction as I have from Christian Fiction. Put another way:

Secular Fiction= the reality of the need for a Savior.

Christian Fiction= needs to write more about the need for a Savior and not just those who are already saved.

For now I am comfortable in my skin, enjoy good music, books, and what I write about. All these things are me.

Question: Why do you like Christian Fiction/Secular/Both?