Tag Archives: books

My Inspiration: Meredith Ann Pierce

19 Monday May 2014

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So awhile ago I said I planned to do a few posts on my favorite authors. Now, that fell somewhat by the wayside for awhile, but I’ve finally gotten around to one! There are many wonderful things about this author’s books, but what inspires me about her writing is how beautiful it is. She has a way of storytelling that conjures the most vivid imagery.

In particular, I’m talking about her Firebringer Trilogy. It includes Birth of the Firebringer, Dark Moon, and The Son of Summer Stars.

I’m not usually one to pay any attention to endorsements on books, but when I was writing things, one on the back of Birth of the Firebringer caught my eye. Booklist says, “The language is poetic, with wonderful rhythm and sweeping images…. The world is a compelling one, and Jan is a dramatic hero.” Honestly, Booklist hit it on the head with that one.

The Firebringer Trilogy is about a unicorn prince named Jan as he grows from a rebellious colt to the prophesied leader destined to return them to their true homeland. The whole “unicorn” thing might make it sound like a chick flick, but it’s honestly not. There’s too much adventure and action, from battles with gryphons and wyverns, to capture by fierce enemies and struggles for freedom. The books have also always struck me as being very spiritual, but on a level that supports and propels the story rather than weighing it down.

The books are small, but honestly, the story is epic. If you want to be completely swept away into another world, I very much recommend these books.

Revolutionizing Reading?

10 Monday Mar 2014

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So I ran across THIS article. As always, IFLS does an amazing job of breaking down and explaining things, although really, this one isn’t too complicated.

Basically, there’s this new thing called Spritz. Basically, the people who made Spritz want to revolutionize reading.

Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
Hamlet: Words, words, words.

When I saw IFLS’s title, “Read a Novel in 90 Minutes With a Smartphone App,” I was skeptical. How was an app going to make people read faster? Well… I’m somewhat convinced.
I already read faster than the statistical average (I don’t know how much faster), so when I tried the first “level,” it actually felt frustratingly slow to me. But then it picked up speed, and then some more, until I had to go back a “level” and repeat it a couple times before moving ahead. This thing has potential.

I strongly urge you to check this Spritz thing out. (Link is to their homepage, which has a demo.)

However, I did run into two problems. One: blinking.

The Doctor: “Don’t Blink. Blink and you’re dead. Don’t turn your back. Don’t look away. And don’t blink. Good Luck.”

If you get distracted, get something in your eye, or blink too slowly, you can miss a LOT in a very short period of time. What will they do about this? Use the camera to track where your eye is looking and pause if it looks away? (That’s kinda creepy, but okay.)

Problem two: Lag.

My internet happened to be kinda iffy when I went to their page, and even slight lag was making me miss whole words, often multiples in a row. So processing speed would be a BIG deal for this app.

Regardless, it’s fascinating stuff with potential. I hope they get what they need to fund and develop this app to all it can be.

So, what do you think? Would you try this for something novel-length? Do you think this app has a future? Let me know in the comments!

Editing the Beast

10 Monday Feb 2014

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So I’ve been plugging away at editing my first novel, Calling On Fire, and let me tell you: nothing can prepare you for editing: not even having gone through edits on my short story.
I did expect edits to be harder on my novel. It’s longer, for one, and it’s much nearer and dearer to my heart than the short. I poured not just time into it, but pieces of my heart and soul. And I knew – or at least, suspected – that there were some things wrong with it, and I even had an idea what those things were (although I didn’t know how to fix them.) But I still didn’t expect it to be THAT different: more the fool, I.

pencil writing editing inspiration

As such, editing is taking longer than expected. The demands of my day-life aren’t helping, but that’s no excuse. The book is still DEFINITELY going to be out this year, just not as early as I’d hoped. But as soon as I send the next round of edits to the editor, I’ll be getting the cover design underway and this thing’ll be rocking.

In short, there are two major parts of the book that need significant rewriting, with moderate and minor edits sprinkled through the rest. I’m confident the book will be even better once they’re done – it’ll be tighter, cleaner, and more polished.

And I’m excited. SO excited. You have no idea. ;)

So that’s the update on where the book’s at.

Cheers!
Stephanie Beavers

Proof of Three Things

06 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by in Fun

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The following are proof of three things: some people are awesome, some people have too much time on their hands, and sometimes awesome people have too much time on their hands.

Ginger Cat vs. The Paper Army:

Sculptures that leap off the page:

papercraft ship book

More if you click the pic.

Psychic Books?

27 Monday Jan 2014

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So I read this article the other day: Book changes temperature or vibrates, depending on the plot The article is really short, and here’s the main quote from it:

This “Sensory Fiction” project is the creation of MIT’s Media Lab, who explain:

The ‘augmented’ book portrays the scenery and sets the mood, and the wearable allows the reader to experience the protagonist’s physiological emotions. The book cover animates to reflect the book’s changing atmosphere, while certain passages trigger vibration patterns.

Changes in the protagonist’s emotional or physical state triggers discrete feedback in the wearable, whether by changing the heartbeat rate, creating constriction through air pressure bags, or causing localized temperature fluctuations.

My first response was “huh, cool. I doubt I’d spend money on it (since it would probably be really expensive), but it’s pretty cool nonetheless.” Then I began to wonder if it was really a good idea. Empathy is already a pretty powerful tool for immersion and feeling what the characters in the book are feeling. Is it healthy to push it further? Or would “sensory fiction” even be able to do what it claims? I’d be willing to try it, but I have my reservations.

Well readers, what do you think?

Hobbit Sacrilege

16 Thursday Jan 2014

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Now I enjoy fantasy quite a bit (thus why I write it), but Tolkien has never been a favorite of mine. I found his books more palatable as movies (I finished the first one. Barely. You can’t pay me to read the other two LOTR books.) I found them alright. Mildly enjoyable. But the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was extraordinarily boring. The following humorous Honest Trailer does a delicious job of illustrating it though:
Honest Trailer: better than the movie itself.

Fortunately, the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug, was thoroughly enjoyable.

And for your (again, humorous) listening pleasure:
Misty Mountains Rap

Top 10 List of Books That Have Stayed With Me

13 Monday Jan 2014

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The “Ten books that have stayed with you” meme found its way into my Facebook. Most people wouldn’t consider my picks great works of literature (although I obviously think they’re awesome), but they’re books that have influenced me and my writing, and they’ve made particular impressions in my mind. Not necessarily in order, but easy decisions came first.

1. Arrows of the Queen –Mercedes Lackey
2. Mossflower -Brian Jacques
3. Exile’s Honor -Mercedes Lackey
4. Birth of the Firebringer –Meredith Ann Pierce
5. Song in the Silence -Elizabeth Kerner
6. Harry Potter -J.K. Rowling
7. Wizard’s First Rule -Terry Goodkind
8. Nicomachean Ethics -Aristotle
9. The Bible
10. The Bourne Identity -Robert Ludlum

So yeah… 70% of my list is pure fantasy. Is it any wonder that I write it?

Now I long to go into detail about some of these authors, right here, right now, but I know I’ve talked about Mercedes Lackey already, and I’m actually planning a series on authors who have inspired me. So expect posts on most of these people in the future!

My Inspiration: Mercedes Lackey

02 Monday Dec 2013

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All writers are readers; it just goes with the territory. And I have been reading for as long as I can remember. When I first started learning to read, I devoured everything in site. It didn’t take long before my reading level was far beyond what my age suggested it should be. In fact, I remember reading books with sex scenes (not like erotica, but still) before I really understood what was going on. I just went flip, flip, flip- oh good, we’re back to the story. My voracious reading continued until university, when unfortunately my reading lists took over and I didn’t read much for pleasure anymore. Even so, I expanded my mind in new ways, with different kinds of reading and learning.

But for me, the most memorable author is Mercedes Lackey with her Valdemar series. I started with Arrows of the Queen and I was completely enchanted by her characters and her world. Who wouldn’t want an amazing animal companion of human intellect who loves you to the depth of your being. I have to admit, those Companions were a big draw for me, but so was her character-focused writing in those early books. Alberich is still my favorite character of… yes, I think ANY book, ever. His book, Exile’s Honor, came a little later in the series, but it has become my favorite by far. And it wasn’t just the characters – Mercedes Lackey has built an incredibly vivid, magical world for her characters to live in. Everything from the geography and the mix of cultures and races, to the carefully crafted system of magic, to the unique creatures that roam her world, all work to draw the reader in.

I have to admit though, I am a far greater fan of her earlier works that her more recent ones. But such is life – things change, and her writing has changed. She has expanded in new directions while I remain curled up, snuggling her old books, much beloved. Of all the authors that I’ve read, she has probably had the greatest impact on my own writing. She has an immersive, straight-forward style that discards fluff in favor of moving things along. Her imagery is vivid without taking 6 pages to describe something (I’m looking at you, Tolkien). She has her flaws, sure, but I recommend her books to anyone who loves fantasy. Start with Arrows of the Queen, like I did – it was her first book and one of her best, in my mind. Maybe you’ll fall in love with her characters and her world like I did.

Updates on life and writing

14 Thursday Nov 2013

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WOW, has life ever been crazy! It feels great to be busy, but after my little stretch of tedious unemployment, it’s a little tiring. My first week at my new job went great though, and although I know I still have a huge learning curve ahead of me, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m an administrative assistant in an accounting office, so I’ve finally broken out of the retail industry and into something I actually want to do!

In other news, my first novel is off to the editor! I’m very excited, although I know what with scheduling times and holidays and everything, it will be a while before I get it back even from the first pass. Still, progress is being made! Plus, once the first edits are done I’ll be able to get my blurb all refined and everything so I can get into cover creation too. I think I’ve found a good company to do my cover, but I’m still doing research, so we’ll see! I’m hoping to release Book 1 in early 2014, but that’s a tentative estimate only. With my new job, I won’t have the same amount of dedicated time to throw at this project, although obviously I’m still quite driven to get it done!

Just a reminder, in case anyone missed it, my short story is now up, posted for free for all to read! No strings attached! You can also find it (also free) at Smashwords if you prefer downloading it onto your e-reader.

Cheers!

And The Wolves Danced: A FREE Short Story

09 Saturday Nov 2013

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short fantasy story coverJust sending out the alert that I’ve posted my free short story!  You can read it in your browser window here on my website: And The Wolves Danced or at Smashwords so you can download it onto your e-reader!

Enjoy!

(And feel free to share thoughts and opinions. I love to hear from you!)