Book Review of "Searching for Arthur" by Donna Hosie

Searching for Arthur by Donna Hosie

Book Description:
Legend tells of King Arthur, mortally wounded at the hand of the traitorous Mordred in the final battle of Camlann. Before he was taken to the magical Vale of Avalon, Arthur declared that one day he would return, when the kingdom of Logres was once more in need of his leadership.

That day has now come.

It is hard to make friends when you’re constantly on the move. Seventeen-year-old Natasha Roth’s father is a diplomat, and so her mother – who is paranoid about terrorists – has moved Natasha and her brother, Arthur, to their eighteenth house in seventeen years: Avalon Cottage, deep in the heart of a Welsh forest.

Yet the terrorists are closer than they realize.

While out running, Natasha falls into a hidden tomb and awakens the legendary knights of Camelot: young warriors who have been in an enchanted sleep for a thousand years. All have been waiting patiently for the return of Arthur from the mysterious land of Avalon.

And now the knights are awake, they intend to reclaim their king.

When Arthur goes missing, Natasha joins forces with his girlfriend, “Slurpy” Samantha, in order to look for him. Natasha believes Samantha has fewer brain cells than an amoeba; Samantha believes Natasha is a freak. Retracing Natasha’s original steps to the hidden tomb, they bicker their way into a Welsh mountain and beyond, to the realm of Logres where the Knights of the Round Table are rallying once more.

Natasha falls in love with Sir Bedivere, the most loyal of knights to Arthur. He may be in dire need of a 21st Century razor, but he still possesses a set of lime-green eyes that can melt the soul. Yet just as Natasha starts to find confidence in this mystical land, Samantha deserts her. People who play by the rules are of no use to “Slurpy”. Samantha will take her own path to Arthur, aided and abetted by the dark arts which she willingly absorbs from a hot young stranger called Mordred.

A race across magical yet deadly lands is on. Natasha battles dwarf-riders, dragons, and eventually “Slurpy” to reach Camelot, where Arthur is held captive by the barbarian Saxon, Balvidore.

Natasha’s woes become numerous. What will happen to her and Arthur when the knights realise the eighteen-year-old boy they thought was their king, is in fact a math student with appalling taste in girls? Can two people with a one thousand year age gap really have a relationship? And for the love of all things holy, how is a girl supposed to ride bareback in a pair of skinny jeans?

My thoughts:
What can I say? I'm not a huge follower of Arthurian legends or tales, but I've read one or two. I'm probably as familiar with some of the names as most people. My greatest resource of knowledge comes from the Richard Harris film "Camelot".

I loved this book. It was easy to relate with Natasha, a normal girl who'd gone through (and carried the scars from) some tough things. Hosie does a good job giving us just enough of the back story relating to this family trauma. My heart ached for Natasha, alienated from most members of her dysfunctional family. We're not told how stable the family was before the problems began, but that kind of thing can either strengthen a family or tear it apart.

Poor Natasha has one champion--her brother, Arthur. And he brings his own baggage with a witch of a girlfriend who's favorite thing to call Natasha is "freak". Lovely.

And that's even before the fantastical things start happening.

There's plenty of action, romance, betrayal, magic, and mystery. Hosie totally wrenched my emotions, especially as we got to the end. There is a scene where a character does "the wild thing" for the first time. I appreciated that Hosie didn't show the scene in detail and was honest about the pain a girl experiences, that it's rarely the Hollywood fireworks fantasy. That made it real.

Can't wait for the sequel. As a fan of strong and proactive female characters, I want to see how something that happens in this book (no spoilers) plays out in the future.

 Other Books I've Been Reading
I've been cranking out several books over the last few months--thank heavens for audiobooks! Here're a few:

As you can see, I like a variety of genres.

Do you have any recommendations?

That Other Blog

I'm posting over at LDS Writers Blogck today about beta readers. Would love it if you wanted to drop on by.

Got Stories Writing Conference

Last Saturday, I attended a conference put on by Rhemalda Publishing. There were a number of presenters who are published with Rhemalda, some were local while others were from other parts of the world. Here are a few of some of my notes.

J.S. Chancellor
Character Development

She recommended a book by Jessica Morrell called Between the Lines

J.S. said to be subtle and not put exaggerated traits on characters. It's easy to show a jerk of a husband being overtly insensitive to his wife, for example, when she's going through a difficult time. It's more subtle if, while she's crying, what he notices is how tacky her shoes are.

She suggested that we writers should know things about our characters that we'd never put in the book, especially our villains. "Even Hitler opened the door for someone." So the color of a childhood bedroom or a favorite song as a teen can provide a dimension we could miss as we're crafting that character's behavior. J.S. said it's more than knowing who the characters are now but who they were in the past are now but what they were in their past. We are the sum total of a million little things in our life.

Don't underestimate the power of what a character doesn't say.

T.J. Robinson
Five Keys to Getting Started

1.  T.J. started out by reminding everyone that no two authors are the same and all must find what works fro them. He suggested that the best way to pick your target audience is to try some short, sample pieces.

2.  He uses something he calls the Query Letter Master. He write his query before he writes the book, using it as a kind of outline for the story.

3. Push through when you want to quit. You may need to take a break from your writing, brainstorm with people, or try writing something completely different.

4. It's hard work to turn a great idea into a great book. Start simple and build on it.

5. Enjoy the ride. Don't let the inevitable rejection get you down.

Cas Peace
Designing a Fantasy World
(Sidenote: Cas and I met on Facebook when I did a giveaway last year of her book King's Envoy. She's from the U.K., so it was really fun to get to meet her in person.)

Cas noted that we are immersed in place. The physical properties in your world impact everything. Example: Is your world going to be round or flat? If it's flat, is it flat horizontally or vertically? How would the geography of your world impact the peoples and societies in it. The geography of your world can be a character, too. 

She posed a number of questions you ought to ask yourself as you create your world. Will it be similar to ours? If not, how will it be different? Are there continents? Are they static or move around? Is here plenty of water or is water rare? How are the seasons different? What is the weather like? How many seasons are there?When it rains, is it liquid that falls? Is there a single sun? Single moon? How do those impact the seasons and the weather? The tides?

If you can create a vivid and fascinating world, readers may ignore inconsistencies.

Cas raised an interesting question about religion on your world, noting religion is not always about "gods". People worship many different things. She gave an example of soccer, saying that many people in the U.K. worship soccer. Then she noted that all  societies curse. If there's no religion, what do they curse?

In world building, we need to consider things like technology and how it relates to travel, war. This made me think of the U.S. space program and how we have all kinds of everyday things that were originally created for astronauts: freeze dried foods and CT scans are just two examples that come into mind.

If your world has magic, it must be essential to your world and your people so neither can function without it. Magic must have limits or flaws--there must be a price for using it.

The small things make all the difference. Make it real, at least in reference (like potty breaks, though you don't have to belabor them). This made me remember a Star Trek book written about the classic series by they guy that did the Trouble With Tribbles episode. He suggested that since bathrooms are never shown on Klingon ships, that explains why they're so cranky.

Michelle Davidson Argyle

Writers Etiquette

Michelle reminded us to be positive--even when dealing with things like negative reviews. When you put your work out there it's no longer yours.

People remember a smiling face, good attitude, and positive words. Remember that people are very busy and may inadvertently come across as brusque. People pick up on insincerity. So be sincere but don't bring other people down.

When introducing yourself (in email or in person), mention how you know the person (read their book, met at a conference, etc.) Pay attention to body posture and be sensitive to what it tells you (arms crossed over chest can be a sign that the person isn't feeling particularly approachable).

Once you're published, you are tied to a publisher, so you need to be professional.

Those are a few of the speakers at the conference. It was fun to see some familiar faces in the audience, too.

And speaking of conferences, for anybody in my area, don't forget that next month iWriteNetwork is hosting a two-day conference with the Alpine School District.

The District's sponsorship makes it a very affordable conference. We'll have access to two computer labs. You even have the option of signing up for just one of the two days. You can register here.

You can check the iWriteNetwork blog for details on the schedule, if you're able to attend.

Do you have a writing conference in your summer plans?

If so, which one(s)?

Searching for Arthur Book Giveaway

As you may remember, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my friend and mentor, Donna Hosie, had a book come out this month: Searching for Arthur. You can read my post about it here.

Donna's ready to steam up things a bit in her slow simmer launch (since it's the first book in a trilogy). Right now she's looking to give away five copies of Arthur.

Check out her blog, Musings of a Penniless Writer, for details.

I'm reading the book right now and loving it. Here's what it's about:

Legend tells of King Arthur, mortally wounded at the hand of the traitorous Mordred in the final battle of Camlann. Before he was taken to the magical Vale of Avalon, Arthur declared that one day he would return, when the kingdom of Logres was once more in need of his leadership.

That day has now come.

It is hard to make friends when you’re constantly on the move. Seventeen-year-old Natasha Roth’s father is a diplomat, and so her mother – who is paranoid about terrorists – has moved Natasha and her brother, Arthur, to their eighteenth house in seventeen years: Avalon Cottage, deep in the heart of a Welsh forest.

Yet the terrorists are closer than they realize.

While out running, Natasha falls into a hidden tomb and awakens the legendary knights of Camelot: young warriors who have been in an enchanted sleep for a thousand years. All have been waiting patiently for the return of Arthur from the mysterious land of Avalon.

And now the knights are awake, they intend to reclaim their king.

When Arthur goes missing, Natasha joins forces with his girlfriend, “Slurpy” Samantha, in order to look for him. Natasha believes Samantha has fewer brain cells than an amoeba; Samantha believes Natasha is a freak. Retracing Natasha’s original steps to the hidden tomb, they bicker their way into a Welsh mountain and beyond, to the realm of Logres where the Knights of the Round Table are rallying once more.

Natasha falls in love with Sir Bedivere, the most loyal of knights to Arthur. He may be in dire need of a 21st Century razor, but he still possesses a set of lime-green eyes that can melt the soul. Yet just as Natasha starts to find confidence in this mystical land, Samantha deserts her. People who play by the rules are of no use to “Slurpy”. Samantha will take her own path to Arthur, aided and abetted by the dark arts which she willingly absorbs from a hot young stranger called Mordred.

A race across magical yet deadly lands is on. Natasha battles dwarf-riders, dragons, and eventually “Slurpy” to reach Camelot, where Arthur is held captive by the barbarian Saxon, Balvidore.

Natasha’s woes become numerous. What will happen to her and Arthur when the knights realise the eighteen-year-old boy they thought was their king, is in fact a math student with appalling taste in girls? Can two people with a one thousand year age gap really have a relationship? And for the love of all things holy, how is a girl supposed to ride bareback in a pair of skinny jeans?

Oh, and Cassie Mae gave me the 7 x 7 award. Since I've already responded to it once, I'll thank her and provide a link here if anyone cares to check out those seven posts I highlighted.

Happy Father's Day!

Source

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there or the guys who serve as fatherly role models.

Some years ago a local phone company offered free long distant calls to the men in a local prison, so they could call their mothers on Mother's Day. It was so successful, with men lining up for hours to talk to their moms, that the company decided to offer the same thing on Father's Day.

Not one man in the prison came forward to call his father.

Now, it would be simplistic to suggest that only men with no relationship or poor relationships with their fathers end up in prison. But it is a profound indicator of the power a good father has in the lives of his children.

My own father died last year. This year all my father's day cards went to either my husband or my sons and son-in-law. I'm grateful for my dear husband who always has our children's' best interest in mind and does so much for them day or night--they may disagree at times with how he goes about it but they always know his loving intent. I'm grateful for my sons who are now fathers. It's fun to watch them interact with their children. They were all so excited to be dads.

"A father is a guy who has pictures in his wallet where his money used to be."

Grammar Wednesday and Deana Barnhart's News

That vs Which

I've always been a fan of the word that. Some of it comes from doing city council minutes for years where we don't do dialogue even though that's really what we're taking down. Using that in this case takes the place of your quotation marks.

However, it's easy to go a little crazy with it when you're a writer. You can check out my findings in this post from last year here--and how many times I deleted that.

An option might be using which instead.

Believe it or not, there's a difference.

From the Gregg Reference Manual (aka Grammar Bible), p. 336, item 1062b [I added the pink and blue for effect]:

Which and that are used when referring to places, objects, and animals. Which is always used to introduce nonessential clauses, and that is ordinarily used to introduce essential clauses.

So what does that mean?

If the clause (something I would call an aside comment--kinda like this one) can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence, it's nonessential. So use which.

The building that is painted brown is for sale.

The building, which is painted brown, is for sale.

In the first case, you're restricting it to only that brown building. In the second case, the 'which is painted brown' is merely additional information about the building.

Since that is (usually) essential, you don't use a comma.

Happy News!

If you haven't heard yet, the awesome Deana Barnhart has an agent! And wait until you find out the process that led to this great event. You can check it out at Deana's blog here.



This Saturday I'm going to the Got Stories conference put on by Rhemalda Publishing. I know a couple of authors who will be presenting there. Should be fun.

What are you up to?

Wow. All I can say is Wow.

I just finished Regina Sirois’ book On Little Wings. I’ve been hearing hype on this book for a long time now and had actually purchased the ebook months ago. It moved up high enough on my to-read list. I'm SO glad.

I’ll say right now that I don’t give many five-star reviews. I love a lot of books. A three-star review means I liked the book. Four stars mean I really liked a book and would own it and read it again. Giving a book five stars means it touched me in some way.

Sometimes a story struck a chord because of real-life experiences that made me relate to the characters (such as the I Am Not a Serial Killer series by Dan Wells—and no, I’m not serial killer material).

It might be that the five-star story captured my imagination with its world building, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the fabulous places and desperately wanted to go there and meet these characters.

It could be that the weaving of words and the story haunted my sleep and followed me around even when I wasn’t reading. Like a delectable dessert whose lingering taste keeps me wanting more.

On Little Wings is one of those books for me.

So, what’s it about?

Jennifer's mother is not an only child.
Jennifer's aunt has thirty seven freckles.
And life just stopped making sense for this sixteen-year-old girl from Nebraska.
It will take one forbidden journey, an octogenarian movie star, three old pirates, and one scarred genius to put all the pieces back together.
If that is even possible.

When Jennifer finds a dog-eared photograph of a freckled girl, she never dreams the innocent picture will tear open a gaping wound to her mother's secret past.

Jennifer must leave her home, parents, and best friend in the wheat fields of Nebraska and travel to the rocky shores of Maine to find the aunt she never knew she had. Her search for the truth is distracted by the strange and hilarious characters in the tight-knit town of Smithport. From the 88 year old movie star who likes to show off her tattoo, to the fishermen who have a passion for rockets, to the aunt who recites poetry in the long, Maine nights, Jennifer is intrigued by the lives swirling around her.

In the midst of madness she meets Nathan, the tight-lipped, reluctant prodigy who is surrounded by women who need him to be brother, father, protector, provider, and now, first love. With a restrained, mature, and uncertain voice, Jennifer shares her tale of family, love, loss, truth and beauty.

As Jennifer seeks to piece together her mother's shattered story, she inadvertently writes one for herself.


Sirois uses beautiful language to paint this tale. I’m not in to too much description and will skip over a lot of flowery language. That’s not what Sirois does as she crafts this story. But she made me feel like I was there. Made me want to go to Smithport so I can meet these quirky, fun people. There's a certain showdown that we anticipate, and I loved the circumstances when it finally happened.

On Little Wings is up for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Young Adult Fiction. I’m not the least bit surprised.

You can download a sample of the first fourteen pages from Kindle here.

What do the star ratings mean to you? We often see books with extremes--5s or 1s. How come we see so few 3s?

Tristi Pinkston's Women of Strength

This has been some month for book releases.

Tristi Pinkston is quite the genre hopper--which means she's my hero. She's written cozy mysteries (her hilarious Secret Sisters series), a book on women and finances, a cookbook, romantic suspense, and historical fiction to name a few. You can click here for a complete list.

Today I'm talking about her new book Women of Strength, a book for spiritual book targeted to LDS women.


The need for courageous, faithful women has never been greater than it is today. As we draw nearer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, we are faced with temptations on every side. But we can prevail as we gain true strength from living the gospel.

In Women of Strength, Tristi Pinkston shares inspiring stories, as well as insightful quotes from Church leaders, to demonstrate the power and influence of righteous women. This book invites women everywhere to deepen their relationship with the Savior, rely on the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and learn what it really means to be strong.

I found this book to be encouraging even as it warned women of the challenges that can come to us as women today. Women have always expected a lot of themselves, but it seems that society has added to that burden. You have to be smart. You have to be beautiful. You have to be clever. You have to be talented. It's easy to see, in today's fast paced world, women who appear to be able to do it all.

And you can't. You're tired. You're cranky. You're overwhelmed. You wonder why you're such a failure.

Quotes from Women of Strength:

"Think about it for a minute. When a woman feels bad about herself, she finds it hard to reach out to others, and she doesn't dream she has the power to change lives. But once she catches a glimmer of the phenomenal celestial being she truly is, she goes out and shares her love with others, and that's something the adversary can't have at any cost."

". . . Be strong for yourself and your family. Just making it through today is enough, and then tomorrow, do it again. Your diligence and faith make you a heroine, even when you may doubt it. But our Heavenly  Father has no doubt. He knows who you are, and He knows you can do it."

Never Surrender!

Today is the release of Elana Johnson's new book Surrender! I'm so excited! My ebook automatically arrived during the night!

This is the sequel to her debut book Possession (which my granddaughter is reading right now). It's set in the same world, but with different point of view characters.

What's it about?
Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. 

Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque….

In celebration of Surrender's theme, I'm going to share an personal experience I had with never surrendering.

Not long before I turned twelve, my family moved to the Philippines, to my father's new Navy duty assignment. It was only a few days before school was going to start. I went to the swimming pool and met another girl, a year younger than me, Carrie.

She was afraid to jump off the high dive, so we sat up there for the longest time. I kept trying to talk her into it. She really wanted to do it, but looking down at the water was just too much for her, and she'd chicken out at the last moment.

"I'll go first, then," I said, standing up. "Once I get to the side, you can go." I put my hand on her shoulder. "You'll see how easy it is."

Carrie, nodded, never taking her eyes from the edge.

I jumped and fell down, feet first, slicing into the water with that familiar cooling and yet thrilling sensation.When I hit the bottom, my practiced knees bent, gathering the power from my fall to throw into the push up through the eleven feet of water. Back to the light. Back to the air.

With a forceful woosh, my body was flying up, up through the water. This was the best part for me, to be traveling so fast, not because gravity forced it on me, but because I'd harnessed the energy. My legs had sent me on the upward quest, and my face anticipated bursting through the water and breathing in the air.

BAM!

Something heavy and strong hit the top of my head. My movement stopped as a searing pain drove down from my head through my spine. I couldn't move my arms. I couldn't breath.

I had to breath. I had to get to the top of the water. I had to get help. Something was terribly wrong.

Kicking my legs furiously, I made it to the top. But my lungs still wouldn't work. My arms still didn't work, but my hands managed feeble movements, so I made it the few feet to the side. Finally, my lungs let me gasp in a long, slow breath.

Carrie appeared at my side. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Did you . . ."

I screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

People swarmed around me, pulling me from the water. Off the side, Carrie sobbed. In a haze of pain, I tried to answer their questions. I just didn't want them to move me. Just not jar my back.

Riding in an ambulance isn't fun, especially when the idiot sailors who formed the ambulance crew acted like my little girl body was such a heavy burden for them to carry.

Shore Patrol went to my home to alert my mother there'd been an accident at the pool, so I wasn't at the emergency room very long before she came. My mother, who would only live another three years, brought such loving encouragement that I would be okay.

She was right. I was fortunate nothing had been broken, that only the ligaments and tendons had been pulled. It took time, but I did heal. I was never able to do gymnastics, though, which broke my heart a couple of years later.

Once I was healed enough to go swimming again, I was determined to jump off that high dive. I sat there on top, just like Carrie had, staring at the edge. After a while, I advanced a little closer and stared at the water. I moved aside to let others go. I couldn't do it. I went home with a sunburn.

But at the ripe old age of twelve, I wasn't going to let my fear defeat me. I wasn't going to surrender to it.

I went back to the pool. Climbing the long ladder, with force and determination, I reached the top. I didn't let myself think about it. I took a short run and jumped. I did it!

But when I hit the bottom I pushed toward the wall and not straight up. I might have defeated my fear, but I wasn't stupid.

What about you? What have you refused to surrender to?

"Searching for Arthur" and a Winner

The winner

of

The Most Important Catch 

 by

Jaclyn M. Hawkes

is

Danyelle Ferguson





AND

My dear friend and mentor, Donna Hosie, has her debut novel coming out today, Searching for Arthur. I've already downloaded my copy. 

Here's what it's about:

 

Legend tells of King Arthur, mortally wounded at the hand of the traitorous Mordred in the final battle of Camlann. Before he was taken to the magical Vale of Avalon, Arthur declared that one day he would return, when the kingdom of Logres was once more in need of his leadership.

That day has now come.

It is hard to make friends when you’re constantly on the move. Seventeen-year-old Natasha Roth’s father is a diplomat, and so her mother – who is paranoid about terrorists – has moved Natasha and her brother, Arthur, to their eighteenth house in seventeen years: Avalon Cottage, deep in the heart of a Welsh forest.

Yet the terrorists are closer than they realize.

While out running, Natasha falls into a hidden tomb and awakens the legendary knights of Camelot: young warriors who have been in an enchanted sleep for a thousand years. All have been waiting patiently for the return of Arthur from the mysterious land of Avalon.

And now the knights are awake, they intend to reclaim their king.

When Arthur goes missing, Natasha joins forces with his girlfriend, “Slurpy” Samantha, in order to look for him. Natasha believes Samantha has fewer brain cells than an amoeba; Samantha believes Natasha is a freak. Retracing Natasha’s original steps to the hidden tomb, they bicker their way into a Welsh mountain and beyond, to the realm of Logres where the Knights of the Round Table are rallying once more.

Natasha falls in love with Sir Bedivere, the most loyal of knights to Arthur. He may be in dire need of a 21st Century razor, but he still possesses a set of lime-green eyes that can melt the soul. Yet just as Natasha starts to find confidence in this mystical land, Samantha deserts her. People who play by the rules are of no use to “Slurpy”. Samantha will take her own path to Arthur, aided and abetted by the dark arts which she willingly absorbs from a hot young stranger called Mordred.

A race across magical yet deadly lands is on. Natasha battles dwarf-riders, dragons, and eventually “Slurpy” to reach Camelot, where Arthur is held captive by the barbarian Saxon, Balvidore.

Natasha’s woes become numerous. What will happen to her and Arthur when the knights realise the eighteen-year-old boy they thought was their king, is in fact a math student with appalling taste in girls? Can two people with a one thousand year age gap really have a relationship? And for the love of all things holy, how is a girl supposed to ride bareback in a pair of skinny jeans?