Thrills and Epic Fantasy - Two Spolights

The first book I'd like to spotlight today is S.M. Anderson's Copied. Check it out:

Adopted off the black market, Alexander Mitchell, has no idea his DNA is copyrighted and property of military weapons giant Texacom Defense. Nor that his DNA is being used to develop an army of clones. 

When the company discovers he was not properly disposed of 17 years ago, they send an assassin copy, BETA23, to terminate Xan and cover it up After he narrowly escapes BETA23’s first attempt, Xan teams up with Lacey, a genetically engineered genius he’s surprised to find common ground with— only they’re awkward together. Half of the time she stares at Xan like the science project he is and the other half…let’s just say Xan can’t keep his eyes off her lips.

When they manage to capture a company copy by luck and sheer stupidity on Xan’s part, Lacey is determined to see the good in their prisoner to the point she believes BETA23 can be persuaded to give them the intelligence they need to keep the company forever off Xan’s back. Xan’s not sure if he can trust the darker version of himself, not when it means gambling with the lives of his family and the possibility of losing Lacey.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | GOODREADS

S. M. Anderson (Sarah Anderson) was born in Lima, Peru. She has lived in seven different countries, on five continents, and speaks a smattering of languages. As a child and even young adult, writing and reading were difficult for her, so difficult that she received extra help outside the classroom and was diagnosed with a learning disability. However, she always loved stories, especially ethnic folktales from the countries she lived in. It was the desire to create stories of her own that fueled her determination to overcome the challenges that came with writing. She has a BA in Art Education from BYU, with a minor in Russian, and a love of power tools. She has a growing family of three kids and currently lives in Springville, Utah.

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The other spotlight is on a series--Artesans of Albia. Hubby and I are huge fans. It's one that I read aloud to him, and he will frequently nag me that I need to finish whatever I'm doing so we can read again.

On a foolhardy foray into a foreign realm, Taran Elijah is attacked by a terrible weapon known as the Staff. Killing its wielder, he escapes into Albia, inadvertantly carrying the Staff.

Concerned by the vicious raids that follow Taran's actions, Major Sullyan of the High King's forces crosses into Andaryon to seek diplomatic resolution to the crisis. She is captured and tortured by Lord Rykan, aspirant to the Andaryon throne. 

Slowly dying, Sullyan escapes his clutches. She offers her skills to the Hierarch in defense of his throne, finally confronting Rykan on the field of battle.

Her handsome Captain and lover, Robin Tamsen, embarks on a desperate quest to recover the Staff. But Rykan's greedy General, Sonten, is two steps ahead of him. If Robin cannot lay hold of the weapon before Sonten does, Sullyan's life and the lives of all Artesans are forfeit.

The race for the Staff has begun.

AMAZON | GOODREADS 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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And don't forget my Give Books for Christmas giveway. The deadline is December 15th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit the links below to enter to win free books!

1.	LDS Book Geek (US)	5.	Donna K. Weaver
2.	I Love to Read and Review Books :) (INT)	6.	ME MacDonald Blog
3.	Jaclyn M. Hawkes (INT)	7.	Sarah Anderson
4.	Inksplasher (INT)	8.	Lucinda Whitney (INT)

The Winner is . . .

The winner of the book King's Envoy

by Cas Peace is Diana!

Book Review - Mistborn: The Alloy of Law

Brandon Sanderson's done it again. And that's why he's become one of my favorite authors. You can find an article on the Tor blog here where Brandon wonders if his 14-year-old self would approve of what he did in this fantasy book.

Well, I loved what he did.

Here's a synopsis:

Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.

Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history—or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.

One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.

I'm good with some fight scenes in books. If they drag on too long I find myself getting bored and will skim ahead to see what the outcome is. What's surprising is how much I enjoyed the Mistborn trilogy's fight scenes using the unique magics of the world, both for the Allomancers (people who can "burn" metals and get power from it) and the Feruchemists (people who can store things like health, weight, strength, etc. into "metalminds" on their bodies).

I love what Sanderson's done in this new society where the main character can do both Allomancy and Feruchemy. Oh, my, the things he can do with it. In Brandon's article above, he spoke about the introduction of guns into this world. Adding this element to the already clever and exciting fight was brilliant. I grew up in a day when westerns were big on TV and in the movies. I remember Clint Eastwood before he became famous in the Spaghetti Westerns like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly back when he was on Rawhide. The feel that Sanderson brought to the book matched well with my memories but, as always, with his own fascinating twist.

Brandon did a great job blending of our turn-of-the-century-type (the one before) technology with trains, horseless carriages, skyscrapers into the culture and political system we were familiar with in the earlier series. I loved what he's done with the place, so to speak.

And the characters. Brandon writes characters I love. I love their flaws (oh, my gosh, Wayne just makes me smile!), their strengths, their humor, and their interactions with each other. In the character Waxillium, you've got a brilliant mind mixed with amazing physical skills all set inside a man who's dealing with a terrible emotional burden. A man with a powerful sense of justice and a need to do something to make things better. Kind of a "saving people thing" that Harry Potter had--only Wax is no kid.

I'm glad this is the start of a new series. As always, Sanderson throws in some great twists that will keep you on your toes. I highly recommend this book.

Tomorrow is the last chance to enter to win The King's Envoy in The Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop. 
Click here to sign up. I'm choosing the winner at noon.

Also tomorrow, you  might want to stop over at Matt's place at The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment. He's going to post my query and critique it on Friday.

What's With That?

The Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop is still going on. 
Click here to remember the details.

Have you seen this article in the Huffington Post about Amazon's new Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)? It's been getting a lot of talk among folks in my writing organizations.

The implications are huge.Whether you've ever considered self-publishing or not, this is something to watch.

Is this a good thing for publishing? What do you think?

Grammar Friday - Capitalization (Plus Other Stuff)

Capitalization at a Glance

Source

Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday

Months: May, June

Holidays, holy days: Christmas, Easter

Periods, events in history: Renaissance, Middle Ages

Special Events: Battle of Gettysburg
( Gettysburg? A special event? Seems like an understatement to me)

Official Documents: Constitution

Trade Names : Kleenex tissues, Honda Pilot
(Gotta pay attention to these in your writing. Like Jeep vs a jeep.

Formal epithets: Attila the Hun

Geographical names
Planets, heavenly bodies: Mars, Pluto, the Milky Way

Continents: Australia, Africa

Streets, roads, highways: Fifth Avenue, Route 66

Sections of a country, of a continent: the Northwest, the Far East

Landforms: Mohave Desert, Blue Ridge Mountains

Bodies of water: Lake Powell, Amazon River

Public areas: Yellow Stone National Park

Things you don't capitalize: 
Seasons, a.m. or p.m., or compass points.

Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop 

Click here to remember the details.

WIP Update

I sent the first 50 pages of WIP #1 to an editor.
Should I squeee? Or should I cringe?

Fine--You Win, Kings, and Hallelujah

 Don't forget you can sign up painlessly to participate in the Give Books Blog Hop and get a book for Christmas (or other applicable gift-giving celebration this time of year). The Hop runs through December 15th, but I'll be cutting it off at noon that day so I have time to contact the winner. I'm supposed to get the book in the mail on the 16th. Click here for details and check out the others books you could win by visiting the following blogs.


Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop

1.	Inksplasher (US)	7.	Maria Hoagland (US)	13.	Jennifer K. Clark (US)
2.	Jennifer Hurst (INT)	8.	The Last Word (US)	14.	Publish Novels or Bust (US)
3.	FALL (INT)	9.	Tristi Pinkston	15.	Heidi Murphy (US)
4.	Geek Girl (INT)	10.	LDS Publisher (INT)	16.	Nichole Giles
5.	Heart on a Chain (INT)	11.	Carolyn Frank (INT)
6.	Immortal Mine (INT)	12.	K.C. Grant Writer's Corner (US)

Since many of us are recovering from NaNo, and now we're in the throes of one of the busiest times of the year, here's a little something to lighten your mood. These kids just make me smile.



Have you got your shopping done?

Should I or Shouldn't I?

Don't forget you can sign up painlessly to participate in the Give Books Blog Hop and get a book for Christmas (or other applicable gift-giving celebration this time of year). The Hop runs through December 15th, and I'll be getting the book out on the 16th. Click here for details and check out the others books you could win by visiting the following blogs.

Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop

1.	Inksplasher (US)	7.	Maria Hoagland (US)	13.	K.C. Grant Writer's Corner (US)
2.	Jennifer Hurst (INT)	8.	The Last Word (US)	14.	Jennifer K. Clark (US)
3.	FALL (INT)	9.	Weaving a Tale or Two (US)	15.	Publish Novels or Bust (US)
4.	Geek Girl (INT)	10.	Tristi Pinkston	16.	Heidi Murphy (US)
5.	Heart on a Chain (INT)	11.	LDS Publisher (INT)
6.	Immortal Mine (INT)	12.	Carolyn Frank (INT)

 
*sigh*

Yes, that's a really big sigh.

My goal this month is to finish the edit for WIP #1 and send the first fifty pages off to an editor. AND I need to finish my query. Well, it's finished. The dang thing's just not right yet. ETA for clarification: This query has been critiqued by both my online and in-person critique groups. It's been critiqued by some other writerly friends and in its essential form given a thumbs up from the author I won the query critique from. But everyone--and I mean every who hasn't read the book--thinks a critical thing referenced in the query (and which is the hook) is a major plot-line. But it's really just a catalyst and sets into motion what happens in the rest of the book.

I've thought of submitting to Matt over at The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment, and he said he'd be willing to look at it. Alex and Nancy have both said I should.

I just have this little problem about bearing myself in public, so to speak, and subjecting myself to ridicule. I'm good at my day job, and I work very hard to make sure I'm knowledgeable and up to date with my skills. I have to be because if I screw up I can get sued. Don't even mess with someone's bid to public office, believe me.

But I think the thing that really turns me into a quivering mess is the genre bias I talked about in this post. I'm not worried about Matt's comments. He a consummate professional and tactful besides. When I had one of my sons who's got a bright, creative mind (I love to bounce ideas off him) read an earlier version, his tone dripped with sarcastic cheese.

So, my adventure romance book's query could be said to have a melodramatic tone. If you read it the way my son did. Writing is so subjective I'm sure people will pick up on the cheese factor. And I'm so not into this:

Please note that my son made fun of the version approved by the author I won a query critique from.

It could just be him. Or it could be that the tone is there but fits the genre. The bottom line is that I'm at my wit's end over this thing. So I'm going to let you folks help me decide. On the right sidebar is a poll. Please comment here and tell me why you voted the way you did.

In the meantime, I'm going to be doing this:

Grammar Friday - Emphasis & Give Books Blog Hop

Don't forget you can sign up painlessly to participate in the Give Books Blog Hop and get a book for Christmas (or other applicable gift-giving celebration this time of year). Click here.






Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop

1.	Inksplasher (US)	7.	Maria Hoagland (US)	13.	K.C. Grant Writer's Corner (US)
2.	Jennifer Hurst (INT)	8.	The Last Word (US)	14.	Jennifer K. Clark (US)
3.	FALL (INT)	9.	Weaving a Tale or Two (US)	15.	Publish Novels or Bust (US)
4.	Geek Girl (INT)	10.	Tristi Pinkston	16.	Heidi Murphy (US)
5.	Heart on a Chain (INT)	11.	LDS Publisher (INT)
6.	Immortal Mine (INT)	12.	Carolyn Frank (INT)

Emphasis

Following are three sentences using commas, parentheses, or em-dashes to set off a portion of the sentence.

The supporters of the trade bill need the votes of three or more senators, the most likely ones to be won over are Smith, Jones, and White, if they are to get approval of the legislation.

The supporters of the trade bill need the votes of three or more senators (the most likely ones to be won over are Smith, Jones, and White) if they are to get approval of the legislation.

The supporters of the trade bill need the votes of three or more senators—the most likely ones to be won over are Smith, Jones, and White—if they are to get approval of the legislation.

Which is correct?

Source

They're all grammatically correct. As to which you should use depends upon your intent for the sentence and what you want to emphasize in it.

If you don't want to draw attention to the aside, commas would be a good option. Using the parentheses draws a little more attention.

Visually, if you really want to draw the reader's attention to the aside, you'd use the em dash because it really makes it stand out.

Bonus Question

And for that matter, what is an en dash or an em dash? Well, and en dash is basically the width of an "n" and and em dash is the width of an "m". Isn't it nice to know there really is some logic in all this? If you're interested in some nice examples of when and how to use dashes, there's a nice article here.

I have to confess that I interrupt myself all the time with asides, so they have a tendency to want to take over in my writing. Do you use dashes? Or are you a dash hater?

Give Books Giveaway Hop

I'm participating in the Give Books Giveaway Hop hosted by Karlene over at InkSplasher. It runs from December 1-15th. Because of extra shipping costs, I'm going to have to limit possible winners to the continental United States.

The book ARC you have a chance to win is King's Envoy by Cas Peace (it's the first book in the Artesans of Albia trilogy). Here's what the back of the book says: 

Taran Elijah's quest for knowledge uncovers a plot that threatens the world. In Albia, the fourth realm, the precious Artesan gift is dying. Although born to the craft, Taran is struggling to achieve his potential. Against his friends' advice, he embarks on a foolhardy plan to acquire the teaching he craves. Alone, he crosses into Andaryon, the fifth realm, but instead of finding a mentor, he stumbles upon a treacherous plot. In the wake of Taran's actions, Albia suffers a series of vicious raids. Major Sullyan of the High King's forces is sent to oppose them. But a dark and treacherous force is moving through the realms and both Taran and Sullyan will feel its power. Their craft, the lives of their friends, the very existence of their realm are under threat unless they expose and oppose the evil.

And if you'd like to read an excerpt you can check it out here.

 So, what do you have to do to enter?

1. Be a follower of my blog.
2. Comment below that you're interested in winning the book.
3. Include your email address in the body of your comment. It ends on the 15th, and I'm supposed to get the book in the mail to the winner on December 16th, so I'll need to be able to contact you ASAP to get your mailing address.

It must be Christmas or something

						Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop 1.  Inksplasher (US)   7.  Maria Hoagland (US)   13.  K.C. Grant Writer's Corner (US)   2.  Jennifer Hurst (INT)   8.  The Last Word (US)   14.  Jennifer K. Clark (US)   3.  FALL (INT)   9.  Weaving a Tale or Two (US)   15.  Publish Novels or Bust (US)   4.  Geek Girl (INT)   10.  Tristi Pinkston   16.  Heidi Murphy (US)   5.  Heart on a Chain (INT)   11.  LDS Publisher (INT)   6.  Immortal Mine (INT)   12.  Carolyn Frank (INT)