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.

Polishing the Stone

I’m still working on the third installment of the Elementals Trilogy. I feel like I’m polishing a ruddy stone when I know there is a diamond underneath. I get excited about it. Not so much about the editing, but about the thrill of reading my finished work.

 

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.

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.

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. 

The Council: Book Two of The Elementals

I just finished writing The Council: Book Two of The Elementals, and put it out last month. Writing books in law school is no easy task, but I am so glad that the book is finally completed. Now, I am working on the yet to-be-titled third installment in the series. I'm hoping to get a decent head-start before I go to work in the fall. I cannot think of a better way to spend my summer!
If I finish, fingers crossed, I'll start work on my next book. I have a collection that need to go through the editing and typing up process, but I'm not sure yet which book I will put out next.
Now that law school is finished, and I'm graduating this May, I think that I will have substantial time for writing and editing. I'm getting a lot more done now and more quickly.

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Writing is Fun. Editing is Not.

I remember from the ages of 12 to 17 it was all about the writing. I was writing every summer between school. It was enjoyable and cathartic. It didn't feel like work; it felt like expression. 

The only problem with writing twelve novels by the age of 17 is now I have to edit them. I wish I could write "Dear 12-year-old self, Learn to edit after you write." But then I was 12. I would probably have to edit again even if I had edited back then. 

A college professor whom I deeply respect once told me: "Editing is never finished. Things can always be perfected." It is a true and very hopeless notion. I know my work doesn't touch perfection, but if I feel it has to be overhauled now at the age of 24, what will I think of that same work at the age of 50? 

The troubles of a young writer! 

Right now my red pen is bleeding through the pages as I edit Volume 2 of The Elementals trilogy. 

I sit with my red pen and my notebook because if there is one good thing that comes from editing it's new ideas. It can also be a problem as the book grows and grows and grows. Sometimes you just want to deal with what is there. But other times I am very grateful. I've never had writer's block. 

Editing is a pain. 

My First Book

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