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Stephanie Beavers

~ Always be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon. Then always be a dragon.

Tag Archives: books

Noblebright Fantasy

23 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

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adventure, amwriting, author, books, Calling On Fire, fandom, fandoms, fantasy, fantasy adventure, Fire Within, fun, grimdark, Harry Potter, heroic fantasy, lol, Lord of the Rings, lovebooks, magic, magical, meme, noblebright, noblebright fantasy, read, reader, reading, Stephanie Beavers, writer, writing

One of the first thing people ask me when I tell them I’m a writer is, “What do you write?”

I, of course, tell them that I write fantasy, but unfortunately, that doesn’t really narrow it down much. You see, there are many different kinds of fantasy. So after I say, “fantasy,” I get responses like these:

“Oh, like Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones?”

Well, kind of, because there are races of magical creatures and it’s a medieval setting and whatnot, but I don’t write epic fantasy, with the massive cast of characters (many of whom die) and all that. Also, in my fantasy, I like to have more magic than those.
lord of the rings you shall not pass meme
Or, “Oh, like Harry Potter?”

Well, kind of, because I like to think I have a similar spirit of adventure and create a fun sense of awe for magic, but mine aren’t really intended to be children’s books, and the setting is not in modern times.
Harry Potter what house are you from
Or, “Oh, like [insert some author I’ve never heard of]”

Er…maybe?

And the thing is, I couldn’t think of a term to describe my kind of fantasy. “Heroic fantasy” is close, as is “fantasy-adventure,” but neither quite nailed it.
Then I heard about noblebright fantasy. It’s something of a new concept, and not a widely-known term (yet?), but I like it. A lot.

Noblebright fantasy centers around good characters who try to do good things for good reasons. Not everything is peachy and happy, but in the end, they’re able to make some kind of difference. There’s hope. There’s magic. It doesn’t have to be a children’s book; in fact, sometimes even a noblebright novel can be quite dark.

I feel like we need this label. If I know a story is noblebright, I know I don’t have to worry about reading yet another story where a good character can’t get ahead and just makes things worse until everything is awful and the characters are all so corrupt you can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.
noblebright sunlight hope
I like it better when fiction inspires us and brings hope. Life needs a little more noblebright.

If you’re curious to know more about noblebright, I set up a page about it here.

So what do you think, readers? Do you like the concept of noblebright? I know some people love the “gritty” and “grimdark” stories that are so popular today. Are you one of them? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Not Just For Writers

26 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Life, Thoughts

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author, books, children, childrens books, Giving Tree, kids, Kristen Lamb, life, literature, philosophy, Silverstein, Stephanie Beavers, Where The Sidewalk Ends, writer, writing

As a writer seeking to better myself, I follow Kristen Lamb’s blog. She’s given some incredible advice over the years, much of it entirely for free! But every so often, some of her posts reach far beyond just writing and author advice. Her latest post, Why I Hate “The Giving Tree”–But How This Story Makes Us Better Writers, is one of these.

Now, I had to google “The Giving Tree” and reread it again before I could remember what it was about, and it never actually had an impact when I read it. I guess because it didn’t have magic or animals in it (then, as now, I was very partial to a particular kind of books). Reading it now, I think it’s rather brilliant. Not that I necessarily like it, but I do admire it. But enough of my thoughts, it was Kristen’s that impressed me.

I’ve cherry-picked my favorite parts, but if you want to read the whole thing, definitely click the link above:

“Shel Silverstein didn’t write The Giving Tree with plans that it was a cautionary tale against toxic relationships. He didn’t write it to be some Christ-like example of selfless love. He wasn’t writing a tale of capitalism run amok or misogyny. According to him, he simply wrote a story about the complicated dynamics of human relationships. We, as the reader, assign whether this is a tale of warning or wonder, horror or hope.”

apples apple tree

“I honestly believe that stories we gravitate to as children says a lot about our fundamental nature, our strengths and weaknesses.

I always loved the parable of the Tortoise and the Hare, namely because one of my strongest traits is my persistence. I loved the parable of The Crow and the Pitcher because I was always good at finding clever ways to solve seemingly impossible problems. The stories I loved possibly reflected back personality qualities that even at a very young age, I possessed and was even proud of.

But then there was my dark side, a side I noticed even by the tender age of four when I was sounding out the words And the tree was happy. My tendency to people please (Old Man Whickutt’s Donkey) and my seeming inability to set a boundary with those who would take and take until I had nothing left to give (The Giving Tree) and me happily enabling my own self-destruction. The anger I felt toward the tree being a fledgling anger I felt for myself.

Why did the boy feel the need to take all the apples? All her branches? Why couldn’t he just take some? Why did the tree feel the need to offer all her apples and all her branches? Couldn’t he see he was killing her? Did he even care?

When it came to her trunk? Why didn’t she tell him to just go pound sand?

God, how many times have I done the same?”

teddy bear child's toy

“Our culture is guilty (my POV) of assuming that every child’s story is to serve as a role model. Don’t bully. Be a good friend. This is what happens when you learn to share. But literature serves a higher purpose.

Isn’t the point of being a parent to rear a fully developed person more than simply being an activities director? That we are charged with rearing a grownup with fully developed empathy and a sense of injustice? Doesn’t it say something when a child reads a story like this and is incensed at the injustice of it all?

The children’s movie Inside Out explored how dysfunctional we have become regarding human emotion. We aren’t permitted to be angry, sad, disappointed, jaded or hurt. We can be depressed (because there is a pill for that). Yet these “negative” emotions serve a purpose. It is okay to be angry and sometimes it is downright warranted. It is all right to be afraid.

Our culture has become obsessed with never being offended and yet being offended is vital. There are things that should offend us. That is when real change is possible.

Insulating entire generations from ever experiencing negative emotions is in a word? Psychotic.

dark psycho teddy

Silverstein didn’t believe in happy endings being a necessity. He felt that set children up for failure, that things didn’t always work out. That if every book had an HEA then children would wonder what was so wrong with them. They didn’t always get an HEA in their lives. What were they doing wrong?

Nothing, my Wee One. It is life. Fair is a weather condition.

Good stories also serve as catharsis. We need to watch comedy because we do need to laugh, but you know what? Sometimes what we need is a good cry, too. And maybe we aren’t yet “evolved” enough to cry over what is going wrong in our own lives, but we can cry for a beautiful tree that was rendered a stump.

And that makes us all just a little bit more human.”

Now I’m a real sucker for my happily-ever-after, but even I agree with Kristen.

What are your thoughts, readers? Did you remember this story? How do you interpret it? Do you agree with Kristen about the bad side of only giving children their happily-ever-afters?

By the way, if you’re a writer, definitely subscribe to Kristen’s blog!

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Claws of the Curse: Cover Reveal!

12 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in News, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

author, bookcover, books, independent publishing, indiepub, new book, reveal, self publishing, selfpub, Stephanie Beavers, writer, writing

Exciting news! Here’s the cover for my next book, Claws of the Curse!
Claws of the Curse fantasy novel book cover
Big thank you to the folks at Deranged Doctor Design – you did a fantastic job.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an ETA for the book yet; my life has undergone some pretty big changes in the last year, and there’s a lot of work left to be done. But nothing helps me write a novel more than being inspired by an amazing cover!

If you’re wondering, this next book will be another fantasy novel, but featuring new characters. No more Toman and Esset… For now, at least. I’m not ruling out more Fire and Stone stories in the future, but there are no immediate plans.

If you are curious about the new novel, here’s the description of it that I’m working on:

Vhi never wanted to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, wild magic runs rampant through her body, and she can’t stop it from lashing out and hurting others. She’s sure she’s cursed. For this, her brother hunts her and civilization casts her out.

Rajin is a magical big cat with golden fur and a misanthropic personality. He would rather that humans didn’t exist, although human extinction would sit amicably with him too. Unfortunately, humans are better at hunting him than he, them.

When Vhi and Rajin’s paths collide, the cat is intrigued by Vhi’s pure heart. Unfortunately, the cure to her curse may lie with his hunters. Can Vhi and Rajin escape their respective hunters long enough to lift her curse?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Consumer Power, Author Responsibility & Why Book Reviews MATTER

04 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

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author, books, Kristen Lamb, marketing, reading, Stephanie Beavers, writer

Happy New Year!

Check out this awesome blog. Kristen usually blogs for writers, but this one is highly relevant to all readers too! Check it out.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Too many choices! Too many choices!

We’ve had an eventful week or so with my last couple of unplanned posts. In all fairness, I did expect to get some knickers in a twist (which I did) with my post Pay the Writer. As a quick recap, I love used bookstores. They get a lot more of my money than I like to admit *looks up number to 12 Step Sponsor*

You don’t understand. Half Price Books has books ZEN DOODLES. No frigging idea what those are…just that I need some.

I’m not against “discovering” an author there.

But writers? If we promote used bookstores, make sure to remind readers you don’t get paid that way. Discovery must serve a purpose. Exposure must have the follow-up to be effective.

Because if you don’t ever make any money, you have to go work retail. If you work retail, one day you will be asked one too many stupid…

View original post 3,004 more words

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Books Needing Love

26 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

author, books, Calling On Fire, fantasy, Fire Within, inspiration, life, novels, reviews, Stephanie Beavers, writer

Hey guys,

Today I’m taking a break from the usual programming to ask for your help. Yes, you.

As you may know, I’m a pretty new author. I have two books out, and I self-publish. I put in the time and money to make sure I did it right, too, and the end result is two books that I’m very proud of. Unfortunately, most people have never heard of them.

Calling On FireSo here’s what I’m asking. If you read my books and liked them, could you leave a review? You can leave it anywhere you like: the platform you bought the book from (like Amazon), or on other sites (like Goodreads). Reviews are SO important for new authors. When readers look at books, they want to know what it’s about, how much it costs, and how other people liked it. I can control the first two, but the last one is entirely up to you.

If you feel like sharing my books with your friends, that would be totally awesome too.

Fire Within fantasy book cover by DamonzaAnd if you’ve never read (or heard of) my books, please check them out. And The Wolves Danced is a free short story/teaser preceding my two novels, Calling On Fire and Fire Within. If you like fantasy, check them out!

And if you do check them out, or you do leave a review: thank you. It isn’t easy trying to make a go of it as a new author. Writing full time is my dream, and it’s one that you can help make happen.

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New Release: Fire Within!

24 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in News, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

author, books, Calling On Fire, Esset, fantasy, Fire and Stone, Fire Within, independent author, indiepub, reading, self publishing, selfpub, Stephanie Beavers, Stories of Fire and Stone, Toman, writer

The sequel to Calling On Fire is finally here!

Fire Within is now available!

FireTwo brothers with magical abilities must defeat the evil mage who seeks to annihilate them and everyone they’ve ever known.

For now, the novel is only available in ebook form, but I’m working hard to get it printed as well!

You can buy the ebook here:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Smashwords
Multiple formats are available through Smashwords. Other retailers will become available as Smashwords distributes them.

Novel description:

Toman and Esset, the Animator and the Summoner, sacrificed everything in their battle against the evil mage Moloch, and they still failed.

Even so, they’re not willing to give up. Not that they have a choice: Moloch has fixated on inflicting suffering on those they love.

Tseka, a Nadran warrior, has thrown in her lot with theirs. Her race of snake-like people are once again at risk from the evil mage’s cruelty. She’s just not sure she has the strength to be more help than burden. Can Tseka keep up with the brothers, or will she end up a casualty of war?

Erizen, the mercurial mage, has joined their team as well. His knowledge and power are invaluable to Toman and Esset. The only problem: they can’t be sure they can trust him. Will Erizen fight at their side, or will he betray them before the end?

Toman and Esset have new allies and new abilities, but also new scars. Toman’s very soul is crippled. Esset’s new-found power is unpredictable at best and deadly at worst. And Moloch’s power has only grown in turn.

How can they hope to win when the most powerful mage in existence can now call upon the powers of death itself?

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Fire Within: the cover revealed!

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

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author, books, entertainment, fantasy, Fire and Stone, Fire Within, inspiration, novel, reading, SFF, Stephanie Beavers, writer

Thank you very much to Damonza.com for this amazing cover for my upcoming book!

Fire Within fantasy book cover by Damonza

Look forward to the novel soon!
If you haven’t yet, check out my first book, Calling On Fire, or my free short story, set before the events in Calling On Fire: And the Wolves Danced

If you want to be notified when this book comes out, sign up for my mailing list!

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My Inspiration: Elizabeth Kerner

24 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Recommendations, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

author, books, dragon, dragons, Elizabeth Kerner, entertainment, fantasy, favorite, inspiration, reading, Song in the Silence, Stephanie Beavers, writer

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, and I definitely didn’t want to forget about Elizabeth Kerner, so here we go!

song in the silence dragons fantasySong In The Silence is the book that had a great impact on me. I’m not sure I can pinpoint what exactly it is that impacted me, or even why I love this book so much, but I’ll give it a shot.

I love her dragons. Yeah, that seems like a good place to start. I’m picky about my dragons. To me, dragons are the incarnation of all that is fantasy; they should be magical, powerful, and intelligent. I do like dragons of all stripes, but to me, they’re not truly dragons unless they’re those three things. Unfortunately, not many writers seem to agree with me. There’s a veritable plethora of dragons that are just big beasts, or are entirely evil, or who are completely unmagical. I’m not saying that those writers are wrong… they’re just not my kind of dragons.

In the Song In The Silence universe, dragons fulfill my criteria, so this makes for a happy Stephanie. :D

But Kerner does more than that. She builds a thorough, detailed world. It’s Order versus Chaos, good versus evil, in a very structured fashion. There are clear boundaries set for what can and can’t be done, and who can do it. There’s history, but she manages to keep these details from overwhelming the story. The characters and the story are the most important parts of her novel. I fell in love with her characters and her world.

I don’t know if I’ve done her book justice here, but I definitely recommend Song In The Silence. The two sequels are also very good: The Lesser Kindred and Redeeming The Lost. Love fantasy? Love dragons? These books are for you.

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Life and the Upcoming Publication!

03 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in News, Writing

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author, book release, books, exciting news, life, News, publishing, self publishing, selfpub, Stephanie Beavers, update, writer

Well folks, I have some exciting news. Calling On Fire is going to be released soon! We’re in the final stages of editing, and most everything else is prepared as well, so the ebook should be released this month! Now, because publishing is complicated, I’ll be taking a bit longer to get the print version out, but I’m still hoping for next month, before Christmas. As you might imagine, I am insanely excited for this! Weeeeeee!

But really, who can believe it’s November already? I know I can’t. My life has been so consumed by mundane things, it’s difficult to swallow. I’ve been trying to get business cards made (shouldn’t be this complicated…), I’ve been trying to eat better, and I’m already trying to brainstorm Christmas presents. XD Halloween was fun (I hope you all had fun too!). I forgot to take pictures, but I mocked up what I have finished so far on my scale-mail costume into something that I thought was passable. I must admit, however, that wearing it for a few hours definitely pointed out a few design flaws (yeah… need to protect bare skin under the gauntlets… ouch!)

Sorry for the short update! Have a great day!

In other news, please help out this Jedi, down on his luck:
star wars luke skywalker nerd donation

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Read any good books lately?

03 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Fun

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author, bookmark, books, reading, Stephanie Beavers, writer

I’d love to hear about what you’re reading and how you’re liking it. :D

video game prompt bookmark

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Calling - Ebook Calling On Fire by Stephanie Beavers!
Two brothers with magical abilities seek to stop an evil mage only to find the fate of an entire race in their hands.
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