Friday, June 12, 2015
Where Will I Go Next?
I can’t wait until I’m out of the editing process and back into the writing process. I have so many ideas for my next book. I want it to be everything I’ve always wanted out of a fantasy book.
I’ve also been tossing around the idea of publishing one of my science fiction books. I’m not sure how my audience will take it, but science fiction is another genre that I’m passionate about and there are science fiction elements in all of my books.
After all, Ray Bradbury published both science fiction and fantasy. Fahrenheit 451 is clearly science fiction, but Something Wicked This Way Comes is more of a dark fantasy.
I’m not sure yet where I will go next in my writing, but I have plenty of ideas, and I think any one of them would be worth a shot.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Polishing the Stone
What’s more, I know others will read it who don’t know the story as well as I do, and I hope they get something out of it. I hope that everyone who has engaged in Sara’s journey so far feels satisfied with how her journey ends.
I’m thinking about doing another series for the world of Mirmina. I think after reading the ending, you’ll see where I might be going with this. Let me know what you think.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Getting It Out There
A misconception that I had when I published my first
book was that the writing would speak for itself. I thought that once it was
written and published, the marketing would just come with it.
It wasn’t long before I found out that this concept was
wrong.
Before I started writing with a serious eye toward
others reading my work, the only real education I ever received on writing came
from a book written by Stephen King, amply named On Writing. The message I walked away with after reading the book
was that you can’t write for everyone. Some people will want to read your work
while others will not. I’m sure there were other inspiring messages crafted by
the experiences of one of the best of the horror genre, but I was 13 when I
read it last and that was 13 years ago. True, I should take it up again, and I
do plan too.
But the journey toward finding more readers has been a
difficult and interesting one. So many people have so many opinions, and I don’t
know where to turn. I want my books to go beyond my hometown, and I know that
will take hard work and time.
I’ve got the time and the work ethic, so now I just
have to build and be fearless.
I greatly appreciate those readers in my hometown.
They have been a great support to me.
To my all readers, thank you for taking the time to
read my book. I wrote it so that others would read it.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
My Thoughts on the Movie Ex Machina
This review is my thoughts
on the movie, Ex
Machina. It gives away content that you
shouldn’t read if you have not seen the movie.
About
two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went to see the movie, Ex Machina. Excited that the movie was nestled in the horror
science fiction genre, akin to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I had very high hopes for it. Also, I’ve been hungry
for a good story because I haven’t had much time to read or write in the past
few weeks. A new job and a new house, both within a few months of each other
has left me mentally drained. I’ve been watching more movies lately because
they are quick entertainment, a story I can absorb in less than three hours.
Ex Machina offers plenty of suspense throughout
as a result of its quiet moments where you’re almost leaning into the screen.
The movie draws your attention. Mostly because of its silent promise of
something philosophical. You don’t want to miss a second and miss the message.
The
tension in the movie is also one of its well-done features, both social and
situational. You can feel tension especially between Caleb (the main character)
and Nathan (the creator of the AI). From the story, you find that Nathan is
very disconnected from other human beings. He lives in the middle of thousands
of acres, with no towns for miles. A helicopter must bring Caleb into Nathan’s
isolated paradise. Nathan either lacks some essential social skills or simply
doesn’t care anymore. He is an alcoholic and at times seems to want to Caleb to
form a sort of mock friendship with him. Caleb, on the other hand, behaves like
he is in the land of giants, and understandably so. He is faced with a standoffish
genius and a highly sophisticated AI, who wouldn’t be out of his element.
Ava
is by far the most interesting character of all. She is the AI creation,
Frankenstein’s monster. Her conversations with Caleb are daunting and each one
leaves you wondering. What was most troubling about Ava was a fact that I found
to be unanswered in the movie. I think that the writers tried to answer it or
maybe thought they had. If Ava was programed by Nathan to deceive for survival
did she ever really have true human emotions? At the end of the movie, Ava is
akin to what we would call a sociopath, leaving the man who promised to help her
to die the most horrible death, alone with the promise of slow starvation ahead.
Her creator treated her like an object to be manipulated and deprogrammed if
she failed the test. Yet, she has more compassion for him than Caleb. At least,
she ensures that he is dead before she departs.
However,
this element of the story makes the ending more potent. Without the ability to
age or feel pain, Ava escapes isolation and her shadow draws across a busy
intersection. Because Nathan kept his creation a secret, no one knows of the
presence of the machine, capable of manipulation for her own survival. The
ending leaves the viewer with the unsettling feeling that Nathan, like Dr.
Frankenstein has unleashed a monster on society.
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