Tag Archives: books

Book reviews, Books

Book Review: Divided by Jennifer Sights

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Full disclosure: I’m friends with the author, Jen Sights. We met through NaNoWriMo. But she did not provide the book to me or ask me to review it. I’m doing it because I want to.

DividedDivided is the story of private investigator Elena Ronen. When she’s called on by a mother to find her missing teenage daughter, Courtney, it seems like run-of-the-mill case. It turns out to be anything but. Elana is pulled into a world of witches, covens and dangerous power plays she never knew existed. Along the way, she discovers her own power and meets Vittorio, a handsome fellow witch to whom she’s instantly attracted. As the case progresses, magic, fate, love and human machinations intervene to blur the lines between friend and foe, illusion and reality. Elena is determined to find out the truth and rescue Courtney, but doing so may cost her life and endanger those she holds most dear.

I downloaded Divided because I wanted to support my friend and fellow writer. Never in a million years did I think I’d finish it in a matter of days. I couldn’t put it down and spent way too many nights awake reading when I should have been sleeping. Jen does a great job of turning what could be a conventional urban fantasy plot on its head. She deals with magic in a way I’ve never seen before (and I’ve read LOTS of books with magic in them), plus the powers Jen gives to her witches and the mythology governing them are fresh and believable (I’m still waiting to discover mine). Her storytelling ability is evident in the way she uses the missing girl plot as a way of revealing the bigger story of Elena, Vittorio and the coven they could rule or may kill them both.  And if you’re wondering about character development, let me just say this: I’d like Vittorio to leap off the page and kiss me (although sometimes his devotion gets a little cloying for me). I also yelled at the book (out loud) when something bad happened to one character, so Jen definitely got me to care about them.

While the book has some flaws and typos, Jen is a promising author and Divided is an excellent illustration of her talents. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Ravaged (which comes out September 26) and watching her grow both as a writer and in her career.

Have you read Divided? What did you think of it? What similar types of books would you recommend?

Book reviews, Books

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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nightcircus-styled-01Wow. When I finished this book that was all I could think. But I’m sure you’re going to want more in a review, so here it goes:

The Night Circus is the story of a mysterious circus that is only open at night and comes and goes from a location without warning. But the circus is only a backdrop for a much more serious event: a magical competition between Celia and Marco, who were drafted into this fight as children without their consent because of their abilities to control time and space. Over time, it becomes clear that their competition involves not only the two of them and their masters, but the whole circus and the fate of everyone in it.

This is Erin Morgenstern’s first novel, which is so hard to believe because she writes with the skill of someone who’s been honing her craft for 30 years. It’s a lush, romantic, suspenseful tale worthy of the hype it has received. Morgenstern truly makes magic real through her prose. The descriptions are so vivid, so evocative in their creativity that you feel like you’re in a dream in the whole time – one you can’t wait to get back to. From the searing pain of a binding spell to the lofty heights of a circus tent meant to emulate walking the clouds, you’ll feel like you’ve lived it all by the end of the book. The plot is well paced and will leave you breathless at certain points, while wishing you could freeze the story on a particularly beautiful scene at others. The characters are strong and unique, about as far from stock as you get. Thanks to the author’s masterful storytelling, you form a relationship with them as you read that makes them all feel like family, even the ones you despise.

If I had one criticism of the book, it would be that the ending fell a little flat for me. The book is so grandiose that I was expecting a bang at the end, when it really just quietly came to a conclusion. What happens makes sense, but it’s a little bit disappointing that there wasn’t one more dramatic revelation. It’s like being on a roller coaster and going up that last hill, but instead of the final sharp descent, you just travel on an even track until the ride stops. But that’s not enough for me to take anything away from my 5-star rating of the book.

I listened to this as an audio book and I have to say it was a little difficult to follow the jumps in time since I couldn’t just flip back a few pages to see the order of things. But the narrator, Jim Dale, once again proves why he’s the best in the business. I highly recommend this format.

In short, this is an incredible book that I will read over and over again, if only to escape from reality and hopefully learn to be a stronger writer from Morgenstern’s enviable talent. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

PS – This is the only book written in present tense I’ve ever read where I didn’t notice it (and I hate present tense books). I actually felt it was the only way the story could have been told. Bravo to the author for showing this skeptic how this manner of writing can be done well.

Have you read The Night Circus? If so, what did you think of it? If not, is it something you plan to read?

Blogs, Everything else

Six Articles for Readers, Writers and History Buffs

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This 5th century ring, recently discovered in Britian, will important in book 2. (Photo credit: Mail Online)

This 5th century ring, recently discovered in Britian, will important in book 2. (Photo credit: Mail Online)

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed I spent almost my entire 3-day weekend making edits to the rough draft of Book 2 (working title: Camelot’s Queen). This means I didn’t have time for a proper blog post. So instead, here are a handful of news items and blog posts that have made my author’s heart sing over the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy them as well.

  1. Unique sapphire ring found in Yorkshire field may have been owned by 5th century European royalty – Hmmm….considering the time period and location, it was likely to have been owned by a post-Roman Briton. Can we say King Arthur or Guinevere? Look for this ring to make several appearances in Book 2.
  2. Social Media for Writers – My agent extraordinaire, Jen Karsbaek, wrote this insightful piece on the Foreword Literary blog last week. She makes some great points I didn’t even think of when I wrote mine. (PS – Did you know you can get Foreword shirts/hoodies online?)
  3. Why I Love Novels in First Person – HF author Nancy Bilyeau (whose first book, The Crown, I am currently loving!) wrote a fantastic post over at Historical Tapestry on the merits of writing in first person. This POV has its limitations, but I have to admit I love it. I’m not sure I’ll switch third in the future.
  4. Let Your Characters Live and Breathe – James Scott Bell wrote a lovely post on what to do when your characters won’t do what you want them to do. My favorite tip: go with them; they’re usually right. The surprises in writing are actually my favorite part. They are what tell me this particular story has taken on a life of it’s own – and when it does that, it’ll be successful.
  5. An Interview with Ashley Barron – I don’t know any of this writer’s work, but I LOVED her interview. Worth reading for writers and readers alike.
  6. Think You Ought be in Pictures? – In case you’ve ever wondered about how books get turned into movies, here’s  a great post from agent Rachelle Gardener that spells it all out. (I don’t know about you, but I’m still crossing my fingers!)

And for my fellow history lovers, don’t worry, I’ll get back to the Celtic history and Arthurian legend posts soon. I still owe you posts on divorce and children in the Celtic world and I have two DVD series from the Great Courses to load me up with new material as soon as I get a chance to watch them.

What about you? What articles/blog posts have you enjoyed lately? Please share them in the comments so we can all read them.

Books

Falling in Love with Literature

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readingLove or tradition? That is the question.

This week’s New York Time’s Book Review essay, “From the Heart” by Dean Bakopoulos, gives his opinion on the best way to teach literature while instilling a love of books. Is it through traditional theory or through reader reaction? In short, the author argues that people – not just English majors – connect more to a book if they form a relationship with it. He believes that asking basic questions about what makes your spine tingle in a work and what lines you wish you’d written are a better way to learn the arts of reading and writing than classical deconstruction. I’m not a teacher, but I have to say, I agree.

As a book lover and English major, I wish more attention had been paid to how a book made me feel when I was in school. I would have learned more about the craft of writing from analyzing questions like, “Why did this passage move me?” or “What makes me hate this character?” – all things I’m learning to do now as I read as a writer – than, “What form of literary theory was used here?” or “What do you think the author meant by this?” (How the heck do I know? I’m not in their head!) Perhaps these traditional teaching methods informed me in a ways I fail to recognize – after all, I never thought I’d find value in the dreaded History of the English Language class, and I use it all the time – but I think there are more accessible ways of learning about literature.

Thinking back on college, I remember very few of the books I was required to read, mostly because I’m not a big fan of the classics and that’s what we focused on. But those I do remember, I recall because they moved me – not because I was able to elucidate a hidden literary theory or expound upon their narrative form. I remember the independence I admired in Moll Flanders, the heart-rending pain of Tess of the d’urbervilles, and the laugh-out-loud hilarity of the Importance of Being Earnest (or anything else by Oscar Wilde).

Today, when I reach for a new book, I don’t often ask myself what the critics thought (although sometimes I do ask myself that upon finishing a book!) or what school of literary thought the book comes from. But I can tell you what I tend to go for in a plot and why I like a certain author’s writing. In the end it comes down to one thing: I connect with the book. If I don’t, I usually don’t finish it.

The books that truly move me are the ones I could easily teach a course on, but it wouldn’t be Ivy League accepted curriculum; it would be why I and the students like/hate the characters, how the author builds a world we want to inhabit more than this one, and what it is that tugs at our souls when we read it. These are the things that make people avid readers and what give them the urge to try to create something themselves. This is how we make sure literature, whether classical or popular, doesn’t die out, and how we inspire generations of future writers to make that same connection with readers.

What do you think? Is there value in traditional methods of teaching literature? Or would you rather focus on the emotional connection with the reader? Why or why not? What moves you as a reader? English majors: what was your experience in school? Teachers: how would/do you teach?

Arthurian Legend, Interviews

Author Interview: Kim Headlee, author of Dawnflight

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Today I’m honored to feature an interview with Kim Headlee, a fellow Arthurian author whom I’ve admired for years. She and I were on the same Arthurian list-serve back in 1999 when I was first conceiving my own Guinevere books and I’m so thrilled to have connected with her once again!

DF-COVER-FRONT-FINAL1. Please tell us a little about Dawnflight.

Dawnflight is the first installment of The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles, a series that I hope will span at least eight volumes, including two which precede Dawnflight in terms of the characters’ chronology. Dawnflight features the romance of Gyanhumara (“Gyan”) and Arthur beginning in the aftermath of the first of Arthur’s twelve battles, in which he defeated her people and established the treaty clause that she must marry a nobleman from his side of the border.

Of course, treaties, like all other rules, are indeed meant to be broken. The trick lies in how to break them without creating calamity for all involved. Throw in an enemy invasion for good measure (battles two and three on Arthur’s list of twelve), and our heroes have quite the conundrum, indeed.

2. What inspired you to write it?

A combination of factors contributed.

When I was 7 (I’m dating myself, but I stopped caring about such things decades ago), my parents took me to see the movie Camelot in the theatre. The two images I liked best from that first viewing were Guinevere in her white fur wrap and the knights fighting on top of the Round Table and breaking it. Both foreshadowed the direction of my Arthurian fiction.

At age 9, I read a modern-English rendering of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur cover to cover and became hooked. I began devouring every Arthurian title I could lay my hands on. In those days, that meant editions such as The Boy’s King Arthur, a version of Malory illustrated by Howard Pyle, an umpteenth reprinting of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and an almost-umpteenth reprinting of The Once and Future King.

In high school, my parents gave me a first-edition copy of The Hollow Hills, which made me thirst after historical adaptations. The highest compliment any reviewer has paid my work to date is to give it a favorable comparison to Mary Stewart’s novels; she was my primary literary hero in those days. She still is, come to think of it.

High school was when I first started writing my own version of the Arthur-Guinevere relationship. I still have a couple of drafts of that—and read them recently, in fact. What a hoot! 100% teenage girl, no question about it.

Then Marion Zimmer Bradley came out with her iconic entry into the Legends (Mists of Avalon and, yes, I have a first edition of that, too), which concentrated on “rehabilitating” the reputation of Morgan le Fay.

Through all of this—and I include the works by Nancy McKenzie, Persia Woolley, Sharan Newman, and Helen Hollick—I couldn’t find a rendering of Guinevere that I well and truly liked. So, as the adage goes, “If you want something done right…” 😀

3. You are a woman after my own heart! What’s different about this new version from the award-winning one released in 1999?

Glad you asked!

The most obvious difference at first glance is the inclusion of my digital line-art renderings of images engraved on Pictish standing stones found throughout Scotland, plus some of my original artwork inspired by said stones. These drawings function throughout the text as clues to the reader of an imminent viewpoint shift: the doves represent Gyan, the dragons Arthur, and so forth. With more than ten viewpoint characters, I decided my readers could use a bit of help!

Linguistically—aside from tighter wording and hotter sex—I have expanded my characters’ vocabularies to include additional epithets, endearments, insults, and mythology in order to more richly define their world. I never would have dared to do this had I not decided to include a glossary. Since my work has truly epic scope, I also include an index of characters who appear or who are referenced in the book. This index defines each character’s function in the story and gives other pertinent details.

4. I’ve heard you say that yours is a Guinevere “people will actually like.” What do you mean by that? What makes her different?

She’s smart (and sometimes a smartass!), she’s strong willed, she has a fairly firm idea of who she is and what she wants from life—and from her life-partner—and yet all that strength forms a shell around a compassionate, vulnerable core. She wants to do the best thing for her people but sometimes doesn’t have the first clue how to accomplish it and seeks approval along the way. Consequently, she is mercilessly hard on herself when she perceives that she has failed to meet others’ expectations. In short, she is very much a woman that female readers can relate to despite the fact that most of us don’t rule clans or collect heads. I once described the book to a coworker as, “a female assertiveness training manual.” It’s not far from the truth. Male readers can simply sit back and enjoy the view, along with the battles and political intrigue and whatnot.

5. What made you choose Scotland as the location for your novel when England is the traditional setting?

Several research works I read in the 1980s—before Dawnflight first took shape upon the page—suggested to me that the Border Country was an ideal location for Arthur’s military operations. Plus, I was attracted to the cross-cultural aspect of having Arthur be a Romanized Celt and Gyan a Pict (or “ban-Caledonach,” as she would call herself in my newly invented Pictish terminology). In fact, the more I delve into Scottish Gaelic to create Pictish terms for place-names, the more I am convinced that southern Scotland/northern England was Arthur’s home turf, in spite of what others may insist. The wording, in comparison to traditional Arthurian place-names and battle sites that nobody can identify with anything approaching certainty, fits far too nicely to be mere coincidence.

And, yes, I firmly believe Arthur, his wife, and their associates existed. To do anything less would be a gross disservice to my writing and to my readers.

6. I’ve read that you purposefully stripped your tale of the magic usually associated with Arthurian legend to focus more on the history. Why?

Oh, the magic is there, trust me! But it is the magic of visions and prophecies, the magic of prayer, the magic of curses and blessings, the magic of herbal lore…and most of all, the magic that happens when two charismatic individuals unite to forge a better world for themselves, each other and their people.

7. The summary for your book puts forth an interesting premise: Gyan (Guinevere) marries someone other than Arthur. What made you choose such a bold departure from previous legend?

Good question! I think it may have been inspired by some obscure, ancient tale…after having studied the Arthurian Legends for more than four decades, it’s safe to say that I’ve forgotten far more than most people know about the subject.

Actually, to be fair—and this isn’t really a spoiler alert—Gyan is betrothed to Urien. After she and Arthur meet and become attracted to each other, they spend the rest of the book trying to figure out how she can extricate herself from the betrothal without making Urien start a civil war.

8. Dawnflight has a sequel, correct? What can you tell us about this book and when it will be available?

Morning’s Journey picks up the morning after Dawnflight leaves off and follows Gyan & Arthur through more battles and family changes and triumphs and tragedies. And it delves a little farther into the relationship of Gyan and Angusel (Lancelot). Morning’s Journey will be available as soon as I can get a cover commissioned & delivered, since my copyeditor has given me her input.

9. What else might readers like to know about Dawnflight?

If you choose to buy the print edition, email me (kimheadlee at earthlink dot net) or message me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kim.headlee) for instructions on how to obtain an autographed bookplate. If you buy the e-book edition, I can mail you a magnet… but I wouldn’t advise putting it anywhere near your device!

10. When and where can readers find your books?

Available now:
Amazon.com link to all available editions (this link format earns me a few extra pennies as an Amazon Affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00BLNN6XS/systemsupportser

Nook e-book edition:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawnflight-kim-d-headlee/1003548584, which includes a link to a 30% discounted edition of the CreateSpace paperback.

Kobo link:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Dawnflight/book-5xY-C57ioUynofdXHy-4pw/page1.html

Also available in EPUB format via Smashwords, and it is now listed in their Premium catalog: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/289281

In other countries – all English-language versions:

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00BLNN6XS

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00BLNN6XS

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Japan: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Apple, Sony and other distribution channels will be available as soon as possible.

11. How can people find out more about you?

Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kim.headlee. I like to share stuff about cats and Star Wars and writerly things and inspirational sentiments and, oh yeah, the occasional original thought. 😀

Thank you , Kim, for joining us here. I hope you find great success with Dawnflight, and best of luck on your future works!

If you have a comment for Kim, please leave it here. She will be monitoring this site periodically.

Writing process

Revisions Are Your Friend

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editing-2Some of you may know I completed the first draft of book 2 on New Years Eve. Like all first drafts, it needs serious help. It’s about 50,000 words too long and has just about every problem a first draft could have. There are some nuggets of gold in there, though, and I know with all my heart it will turn out to be a great book. I plan to start revising on Imbolc (February 2)  because that’s the feast of Brigid, the Celtic goddess of inspiration (and also smithery and healing/midwifery).

I’m nearing the end of my “put it away for a month” distancing period. That means it’s time to get serious. I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I had no revising plan with the first book. It was a completely green author flying blind and I learned as I went along. As a result, it took me years to do it. This time around, I’ve come up with a plan that I think will work, or at least can be revised to work, long into the future. It better, because I plan on writing many more books after this.

Today I want to tell you a little about one of my favorite revision tools, courtesy of Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris (If you’re a writer, read it. You’ll thank yourself.). It’s called the Beat Sheet. I’m not going to give you all the details because that would cheat wonderful Roz out of book sales, but here’s an overview. It’s a tool developed by screenwriters to make sure that their movies have appropriate pacing and emotional arcs. You list out every single scene in your book and chart for each one the purpose of the scene, the dominant emotion, the pacing, who holds the power, character motivation and other items. You end up with a very long, very colorful roadmap of your book when you’re done. I used it for book 1 and it was by far the most effective thing I did. Roz advises using it before you begin to revise your first draft, but my first drafts are so messy that I prefer to use it later in the process, once the book stops looking like a three-year-old wrote it. Although I may have to change my mind on this one. It may provide just the unbiased distance I need when undertaking what feels like an overwhelming task.

I may whine about it along the way, but I know from experience that revising is the only way to turn a good book into a great one, and I can’t wait to get started.

So, writers, what does your revision process look like? What works for you? I’d love it if we could learn from each other.

Book reviews

Book Review: Stone Lord by J.P. Reedman

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CoverBlog note: This is the last post of this year. In 2013, new posts will be published on Mondays, starting  January 7. Happy Holidays to all, no matter what you celebrate.

About a month ago, I was fortunate to interview author J.P. Reedman about her new debut novel, Stone Lord. At the time, I knew very little about the book, other than it was Arthurian legend set in the Bronze Age. This unusual concept, combined with her interview and excerpts posted online, were enough to convince me to buy her book. Given that I can be a bit of a tough sell when it comes to anything Arthurian, I was happily surprised by how much I liked the book. And “liked” is an understatement. Ask anyone who had to listen to me rave while reading it. If you want the short version: 4.5 stars.

Despite its title, this book isn’t only Arthur’s tale. It begins with the story of the boy who would become Merlin, how he escaped the clutches of Vhortiern (Vortigern), and grew to guide U’thyr (Uther), Arthur’s father. Once the young king is born, his story comes to the forefront. Throughout the book, Reedman gifts us with truly creative takes on classic Arthurian legend, including the dragons under the tower, Merlin’s relationship with Nin-Aeifa (Nimue),  the nature and purpose of Afallan (Avalon), the Sword in the Stone, the finding of Excalibur (called here Caladvolc), and more. The only place where I felt it fell a little short was in Mordred’s conception, which reminded me of other versions I have read, but with a gothic chill that the others lack. I especially appreciated her inclusion of the Green Knight and his beheading game and the hunting of the boar T’orc, neither of which I’ve seen touched by authors in quite some time.

Honestly, I haven’t been this captivated by a book since The Mists of Avalon. But then again, I’m a sucker for all things mythological, and that is where Reedman truly excels. Her descriptions of the ancient monuments and the rites associated with them will take your breath away. She has a way of making such an obscure period of the past come to life, that you half expect to be there when you put the book down. It is a story firmly rooted in its time period, one that actually caused me, as a writer, to reexamine some of my character’s motivations to make sure they are historically accurate. (That is one of the highest compliments I can pay an author – to have learned something about my own work by reading theirs.) Reedman’s insertion of the Arthurian story into the Bronze Age is done so seamlessly that it’s easy to forget this isn’t its usual time period. I’m not in a position to judge the archeology, but I am certain her expertise in this area is a major contributor to making this book feel so real.

The pacing of this book is well done. I didn’t want to put it down. The only place where I felt it was a little off was Fynavir’s (Guinevere) kidnapping. It’s my understanding that in most tales, Melwas holds Guinevere captive for quite some time. But in Stone Lord, she’s being carried away on one page and 25 pages later (most of which is taken up by another part of the story), Fynavir is rescued. Reedman spends far more time on the hunt of the boar than she does on the event that is the catalyst for Fynavir and An’kelet’s affair, which doesn’t seem equitable. I also felt that the ending was a little rushed, like Reedman was in a hurry to wrap things up, but this is a common complaint I have about many books, so it may be more me than the author.

In a few places, just a little more explanation would have helped the overall story. I felt that the background between Fynavir (Guinevere) and An’kelet (Lancelot) depended a lot on the reader’s knowledge of the myth of King Arthur. There are furtive glances and reddening cheeks that make you aware there is an attraction and some sort of past between the two, but the nature of this is never made clear. I would have liked at least a few pages of background to help me understand why, in Reedman’s world, these two are so heartbroken that they can’t be together and what bonded them in the first place. I also would have liked a little more motivation for Morigau (Morgan). She’s as crazy as crazy comes, but the only explanation we really get is a preternaturally intelligent girl of “no more than three” wailing in jealousy that Merlin picked Ardhu to train rather than her. Later, she rails about how Ardhu took everything away from her, especially the love of her family, but here again there’s so much reliance on prior knowledge of legend that Morigau’s motivation feels forced on her. If we could have seen one or two scenes showing how her life changed for the worse because of Ardhu, her venom would be easier to understand. Maybe these things will be further explained in the sequel, Moon Lord, but I would have liked to have had them in the context of this book.

One key thing I thought was missing from the book was a list of place names, both then and now, and maybe even a map, since they are so different from anything most of us would be familiar with. Reedman has a list on her website, but even that individual post is difficult to find and this isn’t a convenient solution when you’re reading and don’t feel like getting online on to verify a location. I made it through just fine without the map, but it would have been nice to be able to flip to the front or the back to verify the characters were going where I thought they were.

Also, if you buy a first edition, there are several typos, so be forewarned. The author is aware of these and will be correcting them in future editions.

But even for its flaws, Stone Lord is a fantastic book. I think it is worthy of a Big Six publisher’s attention, but I’m pretty much the ideal audience for a book like this. If you like the story of King Arthur and can handle a non-traditional setting, you’ll enjoy this book. Congratulations to Reedman on a fine contribution to the Matter of Britain. I look forward to reading more of Ardhu’s adventures in Moon Lord when it comes out.

Have you read Stone Lord? If so, what did you think of it? If not, does it interest you? Why or why not?

Books, Everything else

Confessions of an Audio Book Junkie

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This was taken in my kitchen. Because you wanted to know that, right?

This was taken in my kitchen. Because you wanted to know that, right?

When I don’t have an audio book going, I get the shakes and my personality…well, it’s a little jumpy, too. I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t listen to the radio in the car. I’d much rather have an audio book (always unabridged, please).

It all started nine years ago when I had a horrendous commute to work. It was (on a good day) about 40 minutes to an hour, almost all in stop and go, cut-you-off-constantly highway traffic. To ease the stress level, I started listening to Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who mystery series (thanks, dad!). Then I went all the way through the Harry Potter series (best narrator ever!). Since then, I’ve done the Hunger Games trilogy, The Chicagoland vampire series, Percy Jackson, The Mortal Instruments and many others that way. One of the best compliments I can give an audio book is when I can’t to get back in the car to hear more.

Needless to say, it saddens me to hear that some people still don’t consider audio books “real” books or a legitimate way of consuming literature. Why shouldn’t they be? For thousands of years, listening to storytellers, bards and minstrels was the only way to know a story. Comparatively speaking, this eyes-across-paper/screen concept of reading is relatively new. Heck, even in the early 1900s, a lot of people got their stories via radio. I think, as humans, we’re wired to want to hear stories. Think about when you were little. The first stories you encountered likely were read to you by your parents.

That’s not to say that reading doesn’t have merit or isn’t important. Of course it is. I still have at least six paper books going at once (fiction and non-fiction). But the truth is, I’ve found that audio books help me read twice as much at any given time. While I have the hard copy book for times like lunch or before bed, I’ll have another book in audio form for when I’m in the car, cooking, cleaning house, folding laundry or working out. I love that it gives me more time to read, as it were. In some cases, I think audio books even help me to appreciate the poetic quality of writing better than reading ever could (The Thirteenth Tale and The Shadow of the Wind come to mind for those).

The main downside of audio books for me is that it’s not easy to rewind or “flip back” to something if you need clarification or have forgotten who is who. That’s one reason why I’ve found non-fiction doesn’t work for me in that medium. I can only do fiction. That and having to remember which track I was on when I switch from the car to listening in my house is a pain (my car only takes CDs) The price can also be a deterrent, but the cost has decreased dramatically in the last few years. I get most of mine from the library anyway, so they’re free.

The biggest thing that makes or breaks an audio book for me is the narrator. At the time Twilight first came out, the audio book version was terrible. Seriously, the worst I’ve even encountered. Thank goodness I had already read the book (yes, I did that one in both versions – that’s how obsessed I once was), otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to tell who was speaking. The actress didn’t vary her voice for characters at all. I’m hoping with the success of the series, that they’ve re-recorded it. The best narrators I’ve encountered (besides Jim Dale, who did Harry Potter and is in a class by himself) are Jennifer Ikeda (A Discovery of Witches and its sequel) and Khristine Hvam (Daughter of Smoke and Bone and its sequel). If the actor or actress can bring the characters to life and make you feel emotions with their voice, you’re in for one hell of a ride. (I envy people who can voice act.)

I’ve been wondering about the future of the audio book lately, especially with the popularity of e-readers (I don’t have one yet, but am slowly heading that way). Someone pointed out to me that audio books likely will continue to be produced, if for no other reason than to give the visually impaired an alternative to Braille. (I hadn’t thought of that. What a wonderful reason!)

As for whether it is “real” reading, that’s a debate that’s likely to continue for some time. I say, reading is wonderful, so do it in whatever form you can.

What about you? Do you listen to audio books? What are some of your favorites? Do you consider books you listen to really “read?” Why or why not? If you don’t listen to them, why not?

Arthurian Legend, Interviews, Other Voices

Author Interview: J. P. Reedman, Stone Lord: The Legend of King Arthur, Era of Stonehenge

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J.P. Reedman, author of “Stone Lord: The Legend of King Arthur, The Era of Stonehenge”

Today we have a very special guest, author J.P. Reedman, whose historical fiction novel, Stone Lord: The Legend of King Arthur, The Era of Stonehenge, was recently published.

Q: Thank you so much for joining me and my readers.  By way of introduction, please tell us a little about yourself. 

Janet: Stone Lord is my first published novel. I began writing fantasy when I was 11, back on the west coast of Canada, where I grew up. I had lots of stories and poems published in the small presses in the ’80s, and had a long foray into ‘fan fiction’ but slacked off when I moved to the UK in 1992—I was too busy traveling around and having fun! A serious illness ten years ago kick-started my writing again; I knew then that it was time to sit down and really make an effort, and not to think you had all the time in the world.

Q: Stone Lord is a very unique take on Arthurian legend, as most books about King Arthur are set the Middle Ages or Celtic times. What inspired you to set yours in the Bronze Age?

Janet: I have read all the different Arthurian versions, plus non-fiction and the legends in the Mabinogion. There were so many versions of the Arthurian legends I began to think that, like Robin Hood, there may have been more than one source of inspiration for the character. I believe there probably WAS a dark age Arthur who stemmed the Saxon tides for a while…but certain mythic qualities in the legends speak of an older time, long before the Dark Ages. In the Welsh Mabinogion Arthur fights monsters and witches, not Saxons, and his company have the thinly disguised names of gods. Then there were Geoffrey of Monmouth’s anachronistic mentions of the building of Stonehenge, a monument many thousands of years older than the historical Arthur. Add to that, stories of weaponry coming from and being deposited in lakes (a custom that began in the Bronze Age), swords in standing stones, and you start to see what may be the root of some aspects of the legend.

Q: In reading the excerpts from your book available online, I noticed the main characters have names that are derivations of the names we normally associate with Arthurian legend. How did you determine what you would call them?

Janet: With great difficulty! I knew that it wouldn’t sound right to call them by their traditional established names, which are a mix of Celtic, French, and even a bit of Germanic. So I looked for older or more ‘primal’ sounding versions of the names, and found them most often in Irish myth—for instance Arthur’s sword Excalibur seems to have the Irish hero’s sword Caladbolg as its direct ancestor, so I used a version of this. I decided I wanted ‘Celtic sounding’ names, but with alternate spellings so as not to sound TOO familiar or confuse people about the timeline. And if anyone is wondering, it is now thought that Celtic languages were in Britain at least from 2500 BC.

Q: What types of traditional research did you do for this book? What are some sources you’d recommend if others want to learn more about the Bronze Age or its people?

Janet: Visit the monuments if you can! There’s nothing like being in the field. There are several brilliant books on the subject of Stonehenge and the British Bronze Age. Stonehenge by Mike Parker Pearson contains much of the recent findings in the Stonehenge landscape, and Aubrey Burl’s Rites of the Gods covers the ritual side of things.

Q: You’ve also done some archeological research. That’s something few people can claim. Please tell us a little about this research, how it came about and how it influenced your book.

Janet: I work part-time at Stonehenge itself and have been lucky enough to talk with many of the top archaeologists in the field. I also have worked myself on a marvelous site just 2 miles from the stones where there is an ancient sacred pool full of deposits that spans the ages from the Mesolithic to medieval times. A rare type of Bronze Age dagger was found in the spring, and this really started to make me think about the Excalibur tradition. The site is on private land and covered in trees; an iron age hill fort stands next to it, and the Avon river curls around it like a serpent…it’s a truly magical place and may well become a site of worldwide importance.

Q. You have some very nice nods to traditional Arthurian legend in your work, such as Ardhu (Arthur) moving a stone and taking a sacred dagger from underneath it. What made you choose to portray the Sword in the Stone in this manner?

Janet: I saw a video about someone who could move large stones. He did it using a pivot point and I thought, ‘Yes, that could work!’ I began to think again, about Geoffrey of Monmouth’s description of Merlin dismantling Stonehenge when it was still in Ireland. It wasn’t magic that moved the stones but his ‘ingenious machines.’ I didn’t want to use magic in Stone Lord, so I had to come up with something that could be done and would look visually impressive to onlookers.

Q: One of the most fascinating aspects of your story, at least to me personally, is the mythology of the people and how it affects their daily lives. Can you please tell us a little about how you came to learn about it and the role it plays in your story?

Janet: When reading many books about prehistoric people, I was nearly always disappointed by the usage (or lack) of personal mythology/ritual. People laugh when archaeologists dig a mysterious mound and say it’s ‘for ritual’ but it WAS a very different world to ours, one when you really didn’t know if the Sun would return every Midwinter, where  a simple virus or a bad tooth could kill you, where you would have to placate the powers for your continued survival.. I studied anthropology briefly in the ’80s and tried to make a fairly realistic portrayal of what I think Bronze Age Britons might have believed in—a world where the spirits of the dead co-existed with the living, where trees, stones, rivers all held tutelary deities. It wasn’t the ‘fluffy’ time some authors like to make it either; there is plenty of evidence that strange and not-so-nice rites did take place on occasion.

Q: Your pre-historic version of Guinevere, whom you call Fynavir, is Irish. Why did you choose this background for her? How did you choose how to place the other characters since they are very much out of their traditional element in your book?

Janet: The name Guinevere has the same origin and meaning as Fynavir—White Phantom. Findabhair was daughter of the Irish Queen Maeve in the famous saga The Cattle Raid of Cooley. I liked the idea of a marriage alliance being made, especially as much British gold work of the Bronze Age came from Wicklow. It is now also thought that the Irish hero sagas have roots in earlier prehistory rather than just in the Iron Age. As for the others, I did try to keep some of Arthur’s familial ties in tact. I used Cornwall for his mother’s Y’gerna’s home as not only was Tintagel in the original, it was a very important place in prehistory—the source of Britain’s tin. Lancelot (An’kelet) is a prince from Brittany in France…not a million miles from the ‘canon’ Lancelot who was also from that area; Brittany has had strong tied to Britain since the Stone Age and also has a great megalithic culture.

Q: Some reviews have likened your book to Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. Obviously they are both set in pre-historic times, but beyond that do you find it an apt comparison? How would you describe your book to those trying to decide whether or not to read it?

Janet: Auel’s book is set at a very much earlier period than mine, but I can see some resemblance. She may have been writing an adventure epic but she knew her stuff about the people and their lifestyle.

Q: What is one misconception you’ve heard voiced about your work and what would you say to clarify?

Janet: I’ve had a few people who don’t seem to recognize that it is fiction! I am not expounding a theory on King Arthur in any way. You could almost call what I write a form of alternative history, I suppose.

Q: Do you believe there was a historical King Arthur? Why or why not? Or do you think it really matters?

Janet: I do think there was, but whoever he was, he has assimilated both mythic characters and a whole handful of different historical figure into his mythos. That’s why there are legends in various parts of Britain concerning him, from Cornwall to Wales, to Scotland.

Q: Is Stone Lord a stand-alone book or part of a series? What are you working on next?

Janet: There will be a second part which carries through to the end of Ardhu’s life. It introduced several new main characters, including Ardhu’s illegitimate son, Mordraed.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Janet: I hope that this book might also give people a better idea of the Bronze Age era in Britain. Too many people still have this image of ‘cavemen’ in shaggy skins grunting as they haul stones around a landscape. These people are our direct ancestors and no less intelligent than us—they wove cloth, wore gold jewellery, forged bronze weapons, used razors and had buttons on their clothes!

Q. Where can readers find the book, online or in print? Where can people connect with you online?

Janet: Stone Lord is available in print and kindle on Amazon. Other e-book variations are available on SMASHWORDS, and print copies from Barnes and Noble and Waterstones.com. There is a blog at stone-lord.blogspot.com, and also a Stone Lord Facebook page. Both have lots of archaeological items as well as information on the book.

Thank you again for spending time with me today. I wish you the greatest success with your work, both now and in the future.

Do you have questions or comments for Janet? Add them here and she’ll respond.