Vampire Smut

I have a friend who calls all Paranormal Romance “Vampire Smut,” whether it has blood suckers in it or not. If it has some element of the supernatural and more than a casual mention of sex, to her, it’s Vampire Smut. Ever read any? You know the books I mean. The covers usually feature some hot, sexy, bare-chested guy 

Chapter Titles?

Like ’em? Hate ’em? Never even notice ’em? 

Just curious as to how many of you read chapter titles? I’m guessing not too many. Myself, I love them. A well written or humorous one is something I enjoy greatly. If it is based on a line from the chapter, I find myself watching for it, and it becomes an “Ah! There it is!” moment. It doesn’t distract me from what I’m reading, but my “ear” recognizes it when I get to it.

Since I like them so much, I’m planning to use them in my own book, but I thought it would be fun to know how others see—or don’t see—them.

How about you? How do you feel about chapter titles?

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 3 1/2 of 5 Stars

I have very mixed feelings about Stardust, I’m afraid. It is a sweet, though short, fable with a mystical touch of fairy magic and a strange assortment of characters. There were surprises here and there that I really appreciated, and the ending was touching. Mostly. Our hero, Tristran Thorne, is off on a mission to collect a fallen star

What Are You Reading?

Yep, it’s time for another What Are You Reading post. Inquiring minds wanna know!

I have just gotten started on Neil Gaiman’s Stardust. I’m not very far into the book, but I am thoroughly enjoying what I have read to date. I can’t wait to see how all these many characters connect to each other, and whether or not the hero’s search for a fallen star, which he intends to present to his lady love, will be fruitful. And if it is, will said ladylove really have been worth the journey, or is his destiny to meet someone else along the way? This is the third book of Gaiman’s I’ve read, and so far, his writing hasn’t failed to pull me into worlds of fantasy and dreams and occasionally, nightmares.  I will be reviewing Stardust as soon as I manage to find time to finish it.

So tell me, my fellow bloggers, what are YOU reading this week?  Let us hear from you!

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars and  A Lot of Romantic Swooning

Let me get it out of the way up front: This series made me “squeeeeeeeeee” like a fifteen-year old fangirl! I admit it. I’m a hopeless romantic, and a growing fan of steampunk, and the series worked for me on every level. It was crazy good, for what it is. Is it “Great Literature?” Probably not. Do I care? Definitely not. Why? Because I was pulled into the world from the very first book, Clockwork Angel, and wasn’t sent back to the merely mundane (pun intended) world until the last page of the last book, Clockwork Princess. And  frankly, I really didn’t want to return to reality at all. I wanted the story to go on and on and on, kinda like the theme song from Titanic!

Where The Heck Have I Been?

 

I don’t know if any of YOU guys have been wondering where I disappeared to, but I find that I have been wondering, myself. I seem to have been floundering in some alternate universe where I can’t even keep up with my blogs lately. That has got to stop. Must. Get. Control.  Or at least fake it well enough that no one knows I’m in freefall, down here. So, here is my attempt to touch base with those of you who are kind enough to follow this blog.

Where have I been? Writing. Yes, writing. Just not blogging. Some of you know I got the wild idea a few months ago that I was finally going to sit down and write a book. An actual book, with wordies on pages, and covers and all, as the Wee Free Men might say. I don’t have any idea of why I decided I was going to do this, except that it was something I’ve wanted to do since I was about five years old, yet never attempted. To my shock and dismay, I realized on my 69th birthday that time was flying by. (“Like sands through the hourglass, so go the Days Of Our Lives”). Soon, writing anything…even signing my own name…could cease to be an option. Do or die time…literally. Consider my writing a book something I wanted to tick off of my pre-Bucket List. (I’m refusing to admit that it might also be time for me to start a REAL one.)

Yesterday, I finished my story. I have written a beginning, a middle, and an ending, and have the Beta readers to prove it. I call it a story because it now needs to be slapped and bullied and mangled into becoming something that could pass for the aforementioned actual book. I have the plot laid out from start to finish, and I have developed my characters to the point that I’m compelled to set extra places at the table for them every night. But it is not a book, yet. Things will have to get bloody before I can claim that. 

Tomorrow, I begin the editing and revision process that I hope will leave me with a finished product I can publish. I will be going back through every chapter with a scalpel…okay, with a machete and a flamethrower…mercilessly hacking away all the stuff that doesn’t belong. I will be a brutal Inquisitioner, demanding to know if each and every line adds anything to the story, and is therefore worth keeping, or if the lines in question are merely self-indulgent crap, clogging up my prose like a hairball in a drainpipe. (See what I did there? We writers can make those sorts of comparisons with impunity, because…well…ummm…okay…you got me. There really is no reason for saying something like that, except that we can!)

Anyhoo…with any luck at all, hacking and trimming and pruning will not be as all-consuming as trying to make the plot come together in a sequence of events that makes sense. Therefore, if all goes well, I should find myself freed up for more reading, more reviewing, and more blogging. At least that’s my plan. Wish me luck!