What I learned from books by K.C Blake

15.4.12


I'm delighted to host the awesome YA writer, K.C Blake on my blog today. Her new book, Witch Hunt, is out now! Get your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JCNEYQ
Over to you, K.C! ...



As a writer I like to read a lot. Sometimes I read for fun, and sometimes I read to learn how to be a better writer. You can learn many things just from reading. So I thought I would make a list of books and what I learned from them. Maybe you have a similar list.

1. Stephen King: I won’t single out any one of his books, because they are all brilliant. King has a splendid way of making even the most outlandish tales seem possible. I attribute that to the incredible level of life he breathes into his characters. In “Needful Things” a boy is thinking about how his mother loves to eat junk food while drinking diet cola. He thinks it’s stupid but knows if he says something he’ll get hit.
2. Twilight: A lot of people have nasty things to say about this book and roll their eyes when you say you liked it. What did I learn from reading it? Stephanie Meyer managed to capture the teenage heart. It’s that fragile first love teetering on the brink of destruction that hooked the reader. The girl is vulnerable, and the boy is a bigger than life, take action guy. She can’t stop thinking about him, can’t walk away even when she learns that he’s a vampire.
3. Mortal Instruments: This series by Cassandra Clare is incredible. I’ve learned so much from reading these books. The characters relate to each other on infinite levels that keep me interested from start to finish. Also, I enjoy the imagery. Clare has a great way with details.
4. Books that suck: You can learn from these as well. If you are deep in the story and something yanks you out, look to see what it was that ruined it for you. Did the writer use the wrong words? Did they say something that wasn’t believable? Did they use flowery prose that made you laugh?

I love to read a book the first time for the simple enjoyment, but if it’s good enough to read several times, I usually go back with a pen and underline the best parts. That’s right. I mark up my books. Some people wouldn’t dream of doing something like that. Honestly, it helps. Then you can glance through the pages and read the underline parts, helping to build your vocabulary, and maybe some of it will sink in, making you a better writer.
K.C Blake's new book, Witch Hunt, is OUT NOW! Get your copy from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JCNEYQ

The naming of THE TRAZ by Eileen Schuh

14.4.12


The wonderful part of being a novelist is that I get to create entire worlds and then populate them with people—who I also get to create. It’s a very God-like profession.
I found it exciting to create both a biker gang and police detachment for my YA crime novel, THE TRAZ. If I were the leader of a gang, I began, what kinds of people would I put in power? What would the regular members be like? What would the gang do? And…what would I call my gang?
I spend many hours trying to find a name I liked. I started out with the usual route for gangs, scrounging through the thesauruses of my life for words equivalent or suggestive of evil—words like dark, devil, shadow, and Lucifer.
After running the gauntlet of wickedness, I realized that I wanted my gang to have name like no other. I wanted it to be unmistakably mine—not just for reasons of originality but to keep me safe. (Traditionally, criminal organizations don’t like books being written about them.)
I thought if I had a biker gang, I’d want motorists to be able to read the gang name on the back of my bikers’ black leather jackets as they roared down the highway. I wanted a name, therefore, that was short and tough. (Also, having short names is nice when it comes to typing them over and over during the course of a novel.)
Into my head popped THE TRAZ. Instantly, I knew that was the perfect name. However, I also wondered from where in the world it had come. Worried that I’d heard it somewhere or read it somewhere, I searched and researched. I could find nothing about THE TRAZ other than references to Alcatraz—the notorious and torturous U.S. prison of yore. That connotation worked well for me. It also struck me that the mascot for my local St. Paul Regional High School was TAZ—the Tasmanian Devil. So, that fit in well, too.
THE TRAZ –a cross between a gruesome prison and a fearsome devil. Short and easy to read. Distinctive.
My gang was so powerful and bold that it wished to have no graphics to either conceal or advertise their identity or intent—just the two short words, orange on black—THE TRAZ.
How thrilling it was to receive my first paperback proof and run my fingers over THE TRAZ gang patch on the cover. I could almost smell the leather…
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THE TRAZ eBook is free on Amazon Kindle for THREE DAYS ONLY-- April 14, 15 and 16. Don’t have a Kindle? No problem—you can easily download Amazon’s free KINDLE FOR PCs software to read eBooks on your computer.
THE TRAZ is available in paperback and ebook formats and in a special School Edition that includes a Teaching Guide. Click on the following links to purchase or sample THE TRAZ
Amazon eBook
Amazon Paperback
School Edition Paperback
School Edition eBook
Also available from other fine online bookstores.
If THE TRAZ is not on your local bookstore or library shelves, ask for it to be ordered in for you.
“LEAVE A COMMENT, WIN A KINDLE” Virtual Book Tour. Follow me through cyberspace as I promote THE TRAZ on blogs around the world. Each time you leave a comment beneath my guest blogs, I’ll enter your name in my draw for a Kindle. For more details visit my Facebook Fan Appreciation Page or follow me on Twitter.
Eileen Schuh is also the author of the adult Sci-Fi novella SCHRÖDINGER’S CAT
For more information on Schuh and her books visit her at:
http://www.eileenschuh.com
http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com
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