Castle Review: Still

Last night was so awesome.

First of all, best line of the night has to be when Castle is bummed she didn't call him and Beckett says, you had a chapter due and Castle's response is, "That's writer-speak for all procrastinations welcome."  HAHA  So freaking true.  I love how they're dialed in to what real writers think and feel and say it on television.

I loved Castle and Beckett's little argument about who had feelings for each other first and the reminiscing was awesome.  I have to say I think the first season Beckett was more realistic looks and dress-wise than she is now.  She looks so model-like in the current season, but, you know, I don't mind that.  As for who had feelings first, I think it was Beckett.  She'd been his fan for years, said that his books got her through her mother's death.  I really hoped they'd address that last night and have her tell about waiting in line for him to sign one of her books.  Alas, they did not.  But it was still good.

They did some of my favorite Castle moments in the flashbacks, but I had almost forgotten how naughty Castle was in the beginning.  All the innuendo and fun-loving bad boy. He's grown up a bit, but it was still fun to see how far he's come in those flashback/montages.

I loved that Castle wouldn't leave her no matter the risk to himself and the tension ramping up when they found the timer.  Of course, I sort of thought they'd be searching for the story a little sooner, but you know, the last ten minutes works.

The end was cute with the captain, but there's just something that makes her come across as stiff and not part of the team.  She's getting better, though.

As for best kiss, I couldn't decide either.  I hope there's many more to come.  Overall, a great flashback episode with a good storyline for a foundation.

What do you think about flashback episodes?  Love or hate?

Book Review: Esther the Queen (And A Book Announcement)

The book I read this week was Esther by H.B. Moore.  It is a rich historical about Queen Esther, one of my favorite biblical heroines, and really made me stop and think about how courageous this woman had to be in the face of what she was asked to do.

The thing that always impresses me about Moore's work is how meticulous she is in her research.  I felt like I was there, down to the small details of the pistachio trees and food that was eaten.  It adds so much to the story when you have a background like that.  Esther is portrayed as a woman of faith, but someone who has hopes and dreams.  She wants to follow God's will, but she's afraid.  She loves her family, cares for those around her, and does her best to follow the commandments, but sometimes doesn't quite measure up to what's expected.  I loved how relatable she was and how much better I felt like I understood her, though the book is fiction.

It starts out with Esther's normal life, helping with children and going to a festival to possibly find her future husband.  Through a chance meeting, King Xerxes takes an interest in her and she is asked to join his harem.  There are so many political and spiritual threads at play from that moment on, it was hard to put the book down.  The characters are three dimensional and the issues facing them in their personal choices and where they will draw the line are still some of the same issues we face today.  This is a book that will make you think while making you laugh and cry along with the characters.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves historical fiction.

Here's the back copy:


She is a beautiful young Jewess, content in her life of anonymity.

He is the most powerful king in the world.

When chance brings the two together, the course of history is forever altered.

The glittering court of the Persian Empire serves as the backdrop for one of the most poignant tales of courage in the Bible, brought vividly to life in the pages of bestselling author H.B. Moore’s sweeping saga.
And it begins on a dusty road in the Jewish Quarter . . .

An unexpected meeting between Esther and King Xerxes results in an immediate and unmistakable connection. When Esther is summoned to enter the king’s harem—the first step toward becoming his wife—Esther is torn between her desire to be with Xerxes and the knowledge that they will forever be divided by the secret of her Jewish heritage. Encouraged by her family to do what she must to help her people, she deftly navigates her new position in the palace, quickly becoming beloved by all—including Xerxes.

But when a treacherous plan threatens to engulf the kingdom in violence, Esther must choose between love and duty. Is she prepared to sacrifice all that she holds dear in order to save her people from certain annihilation?




The other book isn't quite a review, but more of an announcement of a spinoff novella to Evertaster, but I'm excited to read it (and so is my 10 year old!)  Here's the info:

The Buttersmiths' Gold

BATTLES. BLUEBERRIES. BOVINES.

TORBJORN AND STORFJELL’S HISTORY UNFOLDS IN AN EPIC EVERTASTER NOVELLA.

Everyone knows the most coveted treasure of the Viking Age was blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins so succulent that if you sniffed just a whiff, you'd want a whole bite. If you bit a bite, you'd want a batch; if you snatched a batch, you'd stop at nothing short of going to war just to claim them all. 

Young Torbjorn Trofastsonn comes from the clan that makes them. He's a Viking through and

through – he's thirteen winters old, larger than most respectable rocks, and most of all, a Buttersmith. That's what he thinks anyway, until a charismatic merchant makes Torbjorn question his place among the muffin-makers. When Torbjorn lets the secret of his clan's muffin recipe slip, he calls doom and destruction down upon his peaceful village and forces his brother Storfjell and his clansmen to do the one thing they are ill-prepared to do: battle for their lives.

About The Buttersmiths' Gold

The Buttersmiths' Gold is a spin off novella in the Evertaster series that tells the story of two Viking brothers and their adventurous past. The Evertaster series (Book #1 released June 14, 2012) is about Guster Johnsonville, who goes searching for a legendary taste rumored to be the most delicious in all of history. Along the way he meets a slew of mysterious characters, including two Viking brothers Torbjorn and Storfjell. The Buttersmiths' Gold is their story. 124 pages. By Adam Glendon Sidwell. Published by Future House Publishing. 

Evertaster, Book #1:

A legendary taste. Sought after for centuries. Shrouded in secrecy.

When eleven-year-old Guster Johnsonville rejects his mother’s casserole for the umpteenth time, she takes him into the city of New Orleans to find him something to eat. There, in a dark, abandoned corner of the city they meet a dying pastry maker. In his last breath he entrusts them with a secret: an ancient recipe that makes the most delicious taste the world will ever know — a taste that will change the fate of humanity forever.

Forced to flee by a cult of murderous chefs, the Johnsonvilles embark on a perilous journey to ancient ruins, faraway jungles and forgotten caves. Along the way they discover the truth: Guster is an Evertaster — a kid so picky that nothing but the legendary taste itself will save him from starvation. With the sinister chefs hot on Guster’s heels and the chefs’ reign of terror spreading, Guster and his family must find the legendary taste before it’s too late.

You can get the book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615654495/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0615654495&linkCode=as2&tag=evertaster-blogger-20

First Page Friday

So excited for another installment of First Page Friday.  We're talking about tenses again and I learned something new.

As always, thank you to our amazing editors who put forth a lot of time and effort each week and to the writers who are brave enough to submit.

See you next week!

The Entry

Christopher Hitchens at Heaven

by James Workman

“Hello darkness, my old friend.” This was the outcome he anticipated if he didn’t beat the cancer. He has fulfilled his intention to “do death”—to look it in the eye. With just enough morphine to dull the pain, he would doze off, but wake up for talk with family and friends. But, this time it is more than dozing and he will not awaken.

This is not quite the end; it is the transition—the passing. He is very dimly aware of disliking, as he once said in an interview, being unconscious.

A malignancy brought the darkness; the transition toward death is marked by the dawning of a benign light. The light is insistent and Christopher Hitchens opens his eyes to a landscape. He is standing on a dirt path. An appealing meadow of lush grass opens out before him with a small river flowing gently through it. A deep forest is off to the right.

And there’s company—two men have come out of the forest and wade across the river less than a hundred yards away. One remains at the crossing, but the other one approaches Hitchens. Hitchens pegs the man’s appearance as Semitic and strong, with a full gray beard.

“Hello Christopher,” the man calls out while still a little distance away.

“How in blazes do you know my name?”

The man says. “That will be obvious in a moment.”

“Fine, I’ll play along. What’s your name then?”

“Peter.”

“Oh, this is rich. Saint Peter, I’m bound to guess. Just like all the jokes. And doubly rich for being my brother’s name. And that other chap there is Jesus of course.”

“Correct.”

Well now, Hitchens thinks, Wouldn’t Freud be proud! I’m dying and my bloody super-ego is forcing me to deal with this prime figure of my arguments.


Comments from Angela and Heidi from Eschler Editing

What’s in a Name?

Okay, I got a chuckle at the initial premise. Personally, I think Christopher Hitchens is a rather bellicose, irascible, and misguided piece of humanity, and it’s fun to imagine the conversation that took place shortly after he went the way of all the earth in 2011. (And you have some delightful ways of doing that thus far.) However, making an actual person the protagonist of your story, especially when his body is barely cold in the grave, poses certain problems, both social and legal.

For the sake of argument, I’ll agree there are precedents. C.S. Lewis made George MacDonald a character in The Great Divorce; however, by that time, George had been deceased for forty years. Dante used Virgil in The Divine Comedy—he’d been dead considerably longer. Katherine Neville uses well-known historical characters in her archeological adventure The Eight. Other writers use the roman a clef technique to hide, rather thinly at times, a real person under the guise of fiction. Primary Colors by Anonymous (aka Joe Klein) in which the character Jack Stanton stands in for Bill Clinton is an infamous example of this genre. Despite these, however, see my reasons below to reconsider using Hitchens’s actual name:

Mark Fowler, an attorney with experience in the publishing industry, indicates that there is practically no chance of having a libel judgment against you if you use a real person as a character in your fiction work, but notes that lawsuits do happen occasionally (regardless of the slim chance of winning), and in that case, you may be liable for attorney’s fees.

Hitchens was preaching to his own choir; your story is slanted to a completely different audience—at least it appears to be so from the first page’s satirical fantasy. This creates an audience problem. When I asked people if they had heard of him, I got a lot of “huhs?” If a large percentage of your readers simply don’t know Hitchens, the gimmick loses its impact. I was aware of who he is, and I thought it was funny, but even a few readers knowing who he is isn’t enough to sustain the story. Using a real person limits the character development and story options. Using an everyman atheist as your character will give you greater flexibility and freedom to develop your protagonist (who can still be based somewhat upon Hitchens) as well as your story, without the baggage that comes with using a real person.

There are two other real characters in this opening: Jesus and Peter. St. Peter is probably a safe choice. Jesus has been used as a character in novels before, but that’s a little trickier. You risk alienating a portion of your audience who may think you are treating sacred things lightly (given that the audience who might most enjoy seeing Hitchens “proved wrong” would be Christians). These are all issues for which you’ll want to weigh the benefits and risks before proceeding.


Finally, you’ll want to remember, even if he was a rather unpleasant person, Hitchens was someone’s son, brother, friend. Hitchens may be dead, but his brother and other family and friends aren’t. In the name of being sensitive and respectful, given how recent his death, you should probably reconsider.

Tense about Tense

When picking a tense, you want to be sure that your choice is a good fit for your story. You shouldn’t pick a tense just because it has a veneer of popularity. One drawback of present tense is that humans have a hard-wired perception that any story being told has already happened. Some writers pick present tense because they think it will make the ending more suspenseful for the reader, but the truth is, you can have a surprise ending or an ambiguous one even with good old reliable past tense.

Present tense is oddly centered on the moment. This creates a lack of context for the story. It can create awkward problems when the narrator has to switch back to past tense to relay information that has already happened. So the pacing of the story is affected, as well as the ability to foreshadow and to create emotional depth and intimacy between the reader and character.

Present tense can become irritating to the reader, getting bogged down in sentence after sentence of what’s happening this very moment. It isn’t the “natural” story-telling tense. Several authors/editors have articles on the drawbacks of this. Phillip Pullman’s piece in the Guardian is a good take on the subject:  Les Edgerton’s take is can be found here.  Orson Scott Card notes that “when we want to tell something important and true, we always tell it in past tense.”

Should you never use past tense? Never is a dirty word for writers. There’s an exception for every rule. But you can’t break the rules, or determine if you are the exception, unless you know them very well and why they exist. Do your writing a favor—study the pros and especially the cons. If you fully understand them, and still decide present tense is what you want for your story, go ahead. At least you’ll be informed and ready to deal with the limitations it poses. (As a side note, two of our editors read the beginning of your story, and due to tense, found it very unclear and confusing; it took several readings, forward and backward, for your meaning to come together. You definitely don’t want your opening hook to be confusing and off-putting to the reader.)

Final Thoughts

Your scenario is interesting, your character’s point of view “voice” is engaging and funny, and your attention to narrative detail will prove to be a useful writing tool. But consider experimenting with other tenses, as well as a different protagonist—one who will let the reader focus on the story, not the novelty of your choice of character. Make choices that will serve the story, and your story will be stronger for it. Happy writing!

Cover Reveal for Fun New Spy Novel---Don't Miss This One!

You all know I am a huge Alias fan, (spies in general really), and this book has all that sort of spy goodness (great secondary characters, kick-butt heroine)  (and in Canada no less!) with romance and a great sense of humor to boot.  You won't want to miss it when it comes out!


I, Spy by Jordan McCollum—Coming June 5, 2013!

About the Book

Canada is probably the last place you'd expect to find an American spy. But even idyllic Ottawa has its deadly secrets—and so does CIA operative Talia Reynolds. She can climb through ventilation shafts, blend in at the occasional diplomatic function, even scale buildings (small ones). But there’s one thing she can’t do: tell her aerospace engineer boyfriend Danny about her Top Secret occupation. It worked for a year, keeping Danny in the dark, keeping him away from danger, keeping her secrets. And then Talia finally catches a hot case: Fyodor Timofeyev. Russian. Aerospace executive. Possible spy? She can make this work, too—until Danny needs her at the same time her country does. And when Fyodor targets Danny? Suddenly her schedule isn't the only thing suffering. Now to save her secrets and her country, Talia must sacrifice the man she loves.

Add I, Spy to your Goodreads to-read list!

Advance praise

The edge-of-my-seat undercover operations kept me turning pages, and just when I thought the story would go one way, plot twists sent it down another path. Thrilling, adventurous, and romantic, this book has it all for an Alias fan.

— Jami Gold, award-winning author

Jordan McCollum’s debut novel is a delightful combination of mystery, action, and romance. Talia’s CIA training and almost OCD caution feed her quirky humor while exposing her very human fears and insecurities. Add in her boyfriend Danny, and it's enough to twist your heart.

— Donna K. Weaver, author of A Change of Plans

Clever, suspenseful, and charged with political intrigue and romance, I, Spy is the perfect combination for a fun and captivating read!

— Michelle Davidson Argyle, author of Monarch

About the author

An award-winning author, Jordan McCollum can’t resist a story where good defeats evil and true love conquers all. In her day job, she coerces people to do things they don’t want to, elicits information and generally manipulates the people she loves most—she’s a mom. Jordan holds a degree in American Studies and Linguistics from Brigham Young University. When she catches a spare minute, her hobbies include reading, knitting and music. She lives with her husband and four children in Utah. Follow Jordan on Twitter, like Jordan on Facebook and add I, Spy on Goodreads today!

The Final Edit---Practically Perfect In Every Way

As I mentioned yesterday I've been doing the final edit and the book will go to press on Monday.  Yay!

It's always such an interesting process for me.  I go over the book a million times and I always think to myself, "it's perfect."  After all, I was a professional editor for many years, there can't be many mistakes in there.

Then my critique group goes over it and they always find mistakes, and, of course, I fix them.  And then I think, "it's perfect."

But when it goes out to beta readers, they inevitably find mistakes.  And I fix them.  And then I think, "now it's perfect."

And then my final editorial people read it and even with all the other eyes that have been over it, they still find mistakes.  Extra words, a typo, missing quotation marks, and the like.  So today, I am fixing all of those and I am thinking to myself, "after today, it will be perfect."

But the sad fact is, it will probably never be perfect.  But it will be as close as I can make it.  As Mary Poppins would say, "practically perfect in every way."  (Love that show.)

Which brings me to the point of this post---always have other people read your work.  Multiple people, if possible. It will amaze you what different people will find that needs to be fixed.  No matter how great of a writer you are, you can't see the mistakes because your mind will read what you meant to say.  Every author needs an editor.  At least every author who wants to have a polished product.  I am so grateful for the people in my life who so graciously read and edit and critique my work.  I wouldn't be where I am without them.  Worth their weight in gold!

I am so excited to be at this point in the process.  It's hard for me to believe this book is almost done, but I'm glad and sad all at once.  Mostly glad.  At least for today, being an author is wonderful as I finish up this practically perfect book.

Word Count Wednesday

Today I am at a crossroads.  I'm doing the final edit and one of my editorial peeps said the kisses in my new book were too Harlequin-y, so I've been looking at them, analyzing them, and deciding what, if anything, I should change.  I personally don't see the Harlequin-y (what is that anyway?) but I want the kisses to be well done if you know what I mean.

So, my word count is small because it's little tweaks here and there, but this is the best part of being an author, when the book is *thisclose* to being held in my hands.

Yay!

How did you do this week?

Castle Review---Eric Vaughn vs. Rick Castle

Well, I'm not really sure how I feel about last night's Castle.  I know this wasn't the original episode that was supposed to air, because the one that was had to do with a bomb, so they showed this one instead in deference to what happened in Boston.  Maybe if it had been the original episode I wouldn't have felt so conflicted?  I don't know.  It's not that it was bad, it was a good episode overall, but there were some things that bothered me.

At the beginning when Castle is gaming with some kid and more or less ignoring Beckett, I was like, really? After all he went through to get her, the ups and downs and horrible heartaches and almost losing her, he's ignoring her?  For a game?  Maybe that's realistic, but I didn't think so.

Then, when we are introduced to Eric Vaughn, the genius billionaire and both Beckett and Castle are giving him those looks (I'd never heard of your last supper list---twelve people you'd like to eat with, but it's a cool idea) I could see where this episode was headed.

I generally hate it when they portray Castle as a bumbling idiot.  He started out as a smooth lovable guy and that's what I loved about his character.  But every now and then they throw in these episodes where he's just falling all over himself like an idiot and it's not really him.  And there were moments like that in this episode.  Ordering the boys around, (as an aside, what was up with Esposito's hair last night?  Just wow.) the coffee with the homeless guy.  Maybe they're going for funny and I'm just not getting it, but it doesn't seem true to his character.

What I did love was the honesty we got from Beckett.  She called him out on trusting her, and when Vaughn asked her what was between her and Castle she said it was serious, but that she didn't really know where it was going because they hadn't discussed it.  I had to admit when Vaughn kissed her I shook my head.  I knew Castle would find out and I was hoping it wouldn't be an obstacle between them, especially with how Castle had been acting.  When they're taking the statement and Beckett is completely honest with Castle about what happened, I was so glad  It feels like the relationship is truly growing and I loved that.  (I did have to sigh a little with how Castle bounded into that hotel suite after the shooting to make sure she was okay.)

The murder mystery was good, but I called the murderer early on.  This episode was definitely about the relationship.  I thought the elevator scene was interesting because Castle was self-assured at first and I thought the writers had redeemed themselves from the bumbling Castle of earlier in the episode, but then they ruined it by having him look at Vaughn as the door closes.  Vaughn seems so manly and in control and Castle just seems so boyish.  But it wasn't always like that.  Castle used to be that guy in the elevator.  In season one he was more self-assured and confident.  Now he's a cross between boy/man.  Especially in this episode.  What a contrast between him and Vaughn.  *sigh*

I did like the ending where Beckett is asking where this is going.  You know the season finale will have a lot to do with that.

So, there you have it.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Did you watch last night?  What did you think?