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Stephanie Beavers

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

Tag Archives: reading

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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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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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

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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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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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My Inspiration: Meredith Ann Pierce

19 Monday May 2014

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Recommendations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

author, books, fantasy, gryphons, reading, recommendation, Stephanie Beavers, unicorns, writer

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.

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Revolutionizing Reading?

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in News

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

author, books, fun, reading, Science, science news, spritz, Stephanie Beavers, writer

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!

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My Inspiration: Mercedes Lackey

02 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Recommendations, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

books, entertainment, fandom, fantasy, inspiration, magic, Mercedes Lackey, reading, Valdemar, writing

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.

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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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