M. K. Theodoratus, Fantasy Writer, blogs about the books she reads--mostly fantasy and mystery authors whose books catch her eye and keep her interest. Nothing so formal as a book review, just chats about what she liked. Theodoratus also mutters about her own writing progress or ... lack of it.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Series End or Just Shifting Gears?

The Read ...
Ilona Andrews' Magic Bleeds feels like the end of the series.  I clenched my teeth as I read it.  I liked the fast pace and development of the primary and secondary characters in their books and would hate to see the Kate Daniels' world end.  [Like, I'm green with envy ... especially after reading the scene where the hyena alpha tried to manipulate Daniels.]

What clues suggest the ending of the series?  Andrews ties up so many loose ends very little is left hanging.  The only hope in the book the team will continue writing the series is the suggestion of Daniels going freelance.

Since there are three more Kate Daniels books under contract, I can look forward to Kate's continued fights with Curren because the Daniels series is shifting gears to maintain freshness.  Even if they become a couple, I can't imagine them not fighting.  Their characters are too consistently drawn -- the super-protective male and a snarly, independent female, both intelligent.

How do I know about three more titles?  I checked the Andrews website for Kate Daniels series, of course.  You might check it out if you are thinking about site building.  It's one of cleanest, easy to follow sites I've seen.

Website building is whirling around in my mind thanks to WolfSinger Pubs.  I'm in the process of setting up a Half-Elven site, and the Ilona Andrews team has given me a great model.   Just hope Go Daddy's templates have something a computer idiot can manipulate.

Ta-Da for the Web Notes ...
Amazon's crowing about their Kindle sales.  Digital Book World  has a blog putting the hype in perspective.

I have problems with having one company controlling all the books I'm able to buy.  My e-reading device must allow my to buy books from any vendor ... now just the owner of the reader.

Hey, all you distopian writers ... how about a media mogul buying a corrupt Congress to write the laws so his company is the only one that can sell books?

Progress ...
Got my freebie story, set in the world of the Half-Elven [Cavern Between Worlds], more or less revisedThe old man only has to copy-edit the thing, I hope.  It's intended as bait to build a readership/fan base for the Half-Elven world [along with two other short stories].  Hopefully, I'll be able to sell more than a 100 copies of Taking Vengeance when it's published next year.  I'm still in the midst of studying how one does it ... but I'll try the best I can.  It'd be embarrassing if I only sold 20 copies.  [I can see my fiction career whirling down the drain.]

My head's spinning from the projects on the table.  Remember the guy on the Ed Sullivan show who spinned  a bunch of plates on top of dowls?  While musing while giving the cat his lap [aka outlining the next freebie story] I discovered I could remember some of the secondary/minor characters' names.

I'm concentrating my revision efforts on There Be Demons.  I'd rather drag my feet so I'll have an excuse not to query agents.   Maybe if I have the queries out, I won't be tempted to fiddle with the manuscript and can get on with revising Voices.  

Voices may be the most salable of the manuscripts I have endings on -- since it's more conventional.  Just a girl coping with talking to ghosts and bullies.  Mariah is a grandmother and an elf -- which should be a high fantasy quest but centers on a society coping with genetic drift in a small hybrid population.  Demons features a skewed pastiche of Catholic dogma which isn't all that complementary. 

Oh, I forgot Emma.  She's fairly conventional too but is able to see fae and travel to new Faery -- while coping with bullies .

Trivia ...
The raspberries are producing $5.00 bowls over and over again.  Glad they waited until we got back from the family trek.  

Oh, a heads-up.  I'm going to be blogging twice a week -- unless something drastic happens.  I've just got too much on my plate. 

5 comments:

Linda L. Henk said...

I certainly understand the "too much on my plate" thing. Tends to lead me to mental paralysis, paranoia, depression and I get even more quirky! Keep on pluggin', Kay. Don't let the demons eat off your porcelain!

Unknown said...

Hey, Linda, I have Britt to kick their ass if they do.

I wonder if dishwashers take care of demons.

Patricia Stoltey said...

I seem to be focusing on visiting blogs today. Skipped the Farmer's Market after all so we could Skype with granddaughter before hubby took off in the car for his bridge game. I'd like to go to only two blog posts a week, but I don't seem to be able to cut back (except I'm not posting on most Sundays).

BTW, I'm enjoying Bad Girls Don't Die. Thanks for the recommendation.

Margo Berendsen said...

So, Magic Bites has been on my TBR list for YEARS, since I once actually exchanged critiques with Ilona (probably 10 or 12 years ago) on the Online Writing Workshop for Fantasy/SF. Now that i've actually "met" somebody who's read it, and liked it, I am definitely going to move it up on the priority list.

Your Half-Elven idea caught my attention as soon as you added "Cavern between worlds" to it. A prime example of how linking two ideas, half-Elven and Cavern Between Worlds, suddenly sparks interest whereas either one alone doesn't inspire much. I will definitely be one of your buyers and looking forward to the freebie stuff!

Unknown said...

Margo, I've read all four books in Andrews' Kate Daniels series. So far, they have fallen into what I think of as "series traps".