Through Google Book Search I found an excerpt of this book from the chapter “Creating an Emotional Outline” (pg. 169):

“Think of your idea now. Think of it in terms of your protagonist’s deep emotional state. What’s going on inside his or her head these days? Not about her job and not about his kids. About the gap inside. About the disappointments of the past. About the dreams unfulfilled. We all carry them. Some more graciously than others. If your protagonist is like most people she is gracious and patient. Maybe even willing at this point to say that not all dreams can come true. It is not overt suffering. It is not playing victim. It is just the way it is.

“But most of us commingle acquiescence with blame. Many of us give up on too many things when really most of what we give up on should be pursued to the gates of heaven. We tend not to give up selectively. We tend to give up completely…

“So what are you willing to reveal about you that you are going to find in your hero? What is it in your hero you will love because it is you? We write what we know about. We write what we know to be true…Give [your character] an exotic name and drop-dead good looks…It doesn’t matter. She is still you. She is the literary expression of your DNA…Can you reveal yourself to her?”

Buy the book here.

Darkborn

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A centuries-old magical curse split the people of Sinclair’s novel into two, species: Darkborn and Lightborn. Sunlight will burn the Darkborn to ash, but darkness will dissolve the Lightborn to nothingness. Yet, these two groups live side-by-side in the city of Minhorne forging a wary peace in peril of being upset by lingering mistrust.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: DARKBORN lives up to the promise of its striking cover with layered world-building and an intricate plot.
CONS: I want more of this story and I want it now.
BOTTOM LINE: This fast-paced tale of two magically-cursed mutually exclusive worlds pulled me in from the start.

Read more…

Who knew Robin Dunne could dance?!

Some of my favorites:

• Tim Whistle’s Submersible Serum
• Lady Lapis and the Love Nautilus
• Mr. McSteamy’s Obscura Meter
• Charity Fotherington and Her Mysterious Machine Eyepiece

Find your favorites too!

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Alternate history vampires infiltrate Germany to stop The Third Reich.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Stratford’s lush voice brings weight to a fantastical and potentially over-the-top alternate history story.
CONS: Stratford’s lush voice might be too much work for some readers who expect a lighter treatment.
BOTTOM LINE: The Midnight Guardian breathes new life into the undead. I definitely enjoyed this book.

Read more…

1. VEIL OF MIDNIGHT, Lara Adrian
2. AGENT TO THE STARS, John Scalzi
3. PERSONAL DEMON, Kelley Armstrong
4. DRAGON’S LAIR, Denise Lynn
5. MIDNIGHT CRAVINGS, Nocturne Anthology
6. ASHES OF MIDNIGHT, Lara Adrian
7. CARPE CORPUS, Rachel Caine
8. BLACK AND WHITE, Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge
9. THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN, Sarah Jane Stratford
10. GODDESS OF THE HUNT, Tessa Dare
11. STORY, Robert McKee

The TBR Chal­lenge is a chal­lenge set up to assist read­ers who are seri­ous in reduc­ing their tbr piles. Take a look at your accu­mu­lated stacks of books and decide if you want to par­tic­i­pate this year. The rules are sim­ple and par­tic­i­pa­tion is vol­un­tary and open through­out the year…

For this chal­lenge I ask that you do two things:
1) post your review(s) on the des­ig­nated day of the month
2) aim for the books that have been in your tbr piles the longest

I have a pile of books that I need to review for SFSignal so I’ll be starting with those. Once those books are read I’ll be digging into the oldest books on my shelf I can find, especially if those are Science Fiction or Paranormal Romance. A few will be historicals, no doubt. Any books with possible Danger Gal heroines will be likely read over those that do not.

Congratulations Debbie Lester! You are the winner of Linnea Sinclair’s giveaway of GABRIEL’S GHOST, SHADES OF DARK, and a HOPE’S FOLLY tote bag. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Holiday Blitz. Comments for this post closed at midnight Friday, December 11.

The holiday season upon us, and that means 2010 is simmering just below the horizon. Start your New Year off right with a chance to score a FREE read in one of the hottest up and coming genres around—Science Fiction Romance!

Here’s the scoop: 12 bloggers have teamed up with 17 authors for your chance to win over 30 SFR books. Whether you’re new to the genre, or a fan looking to add to her collection, this event is for you.

Best of all, it’s dead simple to enter: There are no quizzes to answer, no hoops to jump.

For your chance to win GABRIEL’S GHOST, SHADES OF DARK, and a HOPE’S FOLLY tote bag by Linnea Sinclair, all you have to do is leave a comment for this post. Print book prizes are limited to U.S. residents. The deadline to enter is midnight on Friday, December 11, 2009. The winner will be announced on Saturday, December 12, 2009.

UPDATE: Linnea Sinclair has indicated that she is able to ship her prizes overseas.

But don’t stop here! Increase your chances of winning even more books by visiting all of the participating blogs.

It’s easy: Just click on one of the links to the participating bloggers below. Make sure to leave a comment on the post titled “SFR Holiday Blitz.” From there, you can then jump to the next blog. There’s a wide variety of books to win so why miss out?

Neither of these female characters are shrinking violets and they’re not rescued any more than any of the male characters. In fact, Mikaela deals far better in life-or-death situations than Sam Witwicky does and rescues him from the Decepticon named Frenzy. She’s self-contained and, as evidenced by her walking away from her idiot and condescending boyfriend, doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’d rather walk home than get a ride from a guy who treats her like an idiot. ** When Sam’s car, Bumblebee in disguise, “breaks down” Mikaela is quick to try to solve the problem. Contrasting Sam with the guy Mikaela just walked away from, Sam is in no way intimidated by Mikaela’s ability to take care of herself and whatever car she’s driving. (Or moped — I really thought her the type to have a motorcyle rather than a moped.)

In the end, it’s Mikaela who rigs an injured Bumblebee onto a tow truck and hauls him around so he can fight the Decepticons. She sees an opportunity to make a difference and takes it, even if it puts her own life in danger. She doesn’t expect others to fight for her. So, while I’d certainly like to see less of Fox’s physical exploitation in the movie, her character’s resolve is a positive counterpoint. Also, she stands up to the Sector Seven officer to the point of revenge and in the end isn’t punished for that, but is instead rewarded with having her juvenile record expunged. Mikaela is definitely not a perfect, princess-type figure waiting for others to rescue her and solve the story’s problem.

The other character I found interesting in Transformers is former NSA analyst and Rand Corporation employee Maggie Madsen. Maggie has a colorful past, having lost her NSA job because she has a tendency to speak her mind bluntly, but she’s also acknowledged to be brilliant. She leads her team in discovering the hostile agent hacking into Air Force One. While I feel bad for her feet in those stilettos and think their presence is ridiculous, she’s not sexually exploited and is considered valuable. In the end she’s part of those who defeat the Decepticons.

On balance, I found unexpected feminist aspects of both these characters in Transformers. No one doubts these two women’s ability to accomplish what they set out to do. I’m not optimistic about more of the same from the second Transformers movie from what I’ve been told, but I wanted to at least highlight these unexpected aspects of the first Transformers movie.

Having said all that, I’d really love to see a Transformer with a female voice. Hear that Michael Bay?

* Also, I sort of like that Fox has been plain about creating a persona for the men’s magazines. Some of her quotes are definitely disarming and blunt, a refreshing trend from a “sex symbol.” If it’s true, then she’s created a character to play and admitting it points a finger at how ridiculous it is. Fox seems to be playing the stereotypical vixen and at the same time breaking that character down. That’s not something we normally see in the run-of-the-mill starlet.

** The Transformers Wiki claims that Mikaela hid her car knowledge from other boyfriends. I didn’t really get this out of those scenes. Rather, it seemed Mikaela doesn’t open up to people in general and so would not just automatically share personal information even with a boyfriend. When her boyfriend writes her off as just a pretty face, she walks away without looking back.She’s not afraid to be alone or on her own.