It isn’t often someone takes you by surprise and gives you an opportunity to talk about something that is as intrinsically personal and revealling of your character, than to write a heart-felt essay about your experience as a writer during Nanowrimo! This was an essay that was pitched to me by Priya (the lovely bookish blogger I happily interviewed during Bloggerthon) who was hosting a *special inclusive* feature series about being a Wrimo from the point of view of participants and a writer (Ms Bogart) whose November novel not only published but curated the heart of what gives us who take-on the challenge of November such an uplift of creative synergy and inspiration!
Despite being an extroverted book blogger and a joyful tweeter, when it comes to turning the conversation round on my own writerly pursuits and endeavours, I tend to lean towards the mysteriously vague responses that only give small glimmers of what I am working on, as truthfully, my writerly path is still developing. It’s true, I’ve been a reader as long as I’ve been a writer, as the two paths intersected so very long ago, as a duality of passion and interest. Being a Creative Dyslexic Writer adds a bit of a unique splash to the story, but at the root of who I am, I’m the girl who loves stories and the craft of story-telling.
Therefore, without further adieu, I want to direct your attention to the following:
*UPDATE: February 2016* My essay is being re-posted on Priya’s blog during November 2016 due to technical issues that arose after it originally posted. I apologise for the inconvenience and hope you will return in November to see what I shared this past Autumn!
Read my book blogger & writer’s biography via My Bookish Life
Kindly leave your comments for me on Priya’s blog, tweet me on Twitter or return back to this post relating to me your thoughts and impressions on behalf of the essay & it’s message.
May we all have a bookishly delightful life devouring the stories which enchant our hearts and minds with incredible depth of heart and soul story-lines.
{Sources: Nanowrimo 2008 Essay badge created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Morgan Sessions. Comment Box Banner made by Jorie in Canva. Blog News badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}
You might remember a very short time ago, I blogged about a wicked sweet vlog style YouTube series entitled “Classic Alice”?! Today, I have the pleasure of bringing an interview AND LIVE! Q&A to you, featuring Kate Hackett the writerly creative visionary behind “Classic Alice”!
The important bits to know are as follows:
The LIVE conversation in the comment threads will start @ 5:30pm LA (PST) | 8:30pm NYC (EST) The comment threads will be *OPEN!* throughout the day leading up to the live event! Ms. Hackett will be responding to your comments & questions directly, wherein you have the chance to respond and interact with her when she arrives @ 5:30pm Pacific! (think: West Coast USA!)
{ Back-Story on “Classic Alice” }
Classic Alice, is a vlog-style mockumentary series on YouTube, and is
geared towards teens and young adults. It is the story of a girl who gets a
bad grade on a test and decides to live her life according to classic
literature. The show brings the value of humanities to the forefront by
interacting with fans in an educational way.
Classic Alice, funded on Kickstarter early last year, raised north of $9k
for Books 2-7. The Series has since garnered a drove of fans, and in an
effort to #SaveAlice, a few spirited fans decided to embark on a crowd-
funding journey of their own. Moved by the support, Kate Hackett &
team are at it again, looking to produce another 25-30 webisodes. With
$10k already raised 5 days into the campaign, there’s no telling what
will happen in the remaining days.
{ Creative Team }
Photo Credit: Jonathan Vandiveer
Kate Hackett is an up and coming actress in Los Angeles, California, known for a quick wit and an ability to dig deep emotionally. She has been acting since she was four years old, all the way back in Maryland. She grew up doing musicals (she sings!) and other straight plays, but made the transition to film when she attended Boston University for college. Kate has worked on many independent films and commercials and has produced, starred in, and written her own content. She is fully trained in the Stanislavski, Adler, and Meisner techniques (see resume for schools) and has both studied and performed at UCB, Upright Citizen’s Brigade, in Los Angeles and with Jackson’s Onus, an awesome improv troupe. Kate loves dramatic acting, but is equally versed in comedy. Her web series, which she wrote and stars in, reached over 230,000 views in six short months – you can view it here. She believes strongly in writing and creating her own material, so there’s always something new just around the corner! What’s your favorite book? Lolita, Nabakov
I must give a bit of credit to a dear bookishly lovely friend of mine, who has kept the #ClassicAlice badge in her bookish linkage section of her sidebar ever since she originated a new book blog title (Macaroons & Paperbacks) and re-defined her bookish presence within the book blogosphere! I spied that badge, I was CURIOUS about that badge, yet until the TEAM behind *Classic Alice!* pitched me an idea to host them on my blog as a way to seek out new audience members for their episodic web series (on YouTube!), I must confess, I never had the proper chance to ‘experience Classic Alice’!
Fast forward a wee bit to Wednesday night, where I had this smashing idea to pitch a “tweet me your favourite Classic Alice episodes for a newbie to watch AHEAD of binge watching the ENTIRE serial!”
(tweets returning soon)
This was the same night I had mistook Wednesday for Thursday, (woe was Jorie!) whilst camping out in the twitterverse a full two hours AHEAD of the projected start-time for #StoryDam! Yes, dear hearts, I even logged myself into #Nurph, settled inside my [ Home ] button feeds, grabbed a bottle of water, chowed down on some homemade pudding & raisin cookies, and tried to sort out why there wasn’t anything happening in/round #StoryDam!
Alas! *lightbulb!* There was a *Wednesday, 8pm NYC* chat I had forgotten about and thereby have unfortunately missed completely for the past (oh, let’s be hopeful!) ‘few’ months! I remembered discovering the #VeganFoodChat quite by wicked accident, as I was starting to follow a few vegans & vegheads on Twitter after posting my first #TheBookishFoodie posts wherein I started to blog about healthy living, cookery, & baking via cookbooks by Front Table Books!
(tweets returning soon)
After a complete hour of veg friendly information overload of joy, and a cheekily bookish ending to the conversation where everyone attempted to ‘best the ideas for ‘foodie’ classic novels’; I headed off into #CreatureChat which is my stand-by meet-up for readers & writers (more writerly than readerly!) of Fantasy Fiction! You could consider this the hour where Jorie finds a rather keenly unique way to cross-compare a heap of #dragonfiction (archive) with her beloved #LelandDragons series by Jackie Gamber! Thus, a direct signal she hasn’t earmarked off enough new Fantasy novels to consume, and is surely lacking a bit in comparative literature options when it comes to fantasy creature fiction! Ironically, Wood Nymphs, Fairies, Sprites, and other such lovelies have yet to thread through the conversations!
Tonight’s moment of highlight came where we started to bounce ideas off each other, whilst collaboratively and rather ingeniously coming up with a few wicked stellar options for ‘armour’ trade specific to dragons!
In the background, I had pitched an ‘end-time’ of suggesting Classic Alice episodes to me @ 11pm (as let’s face it, I hadn’t turnt my blog off yesterday until *5AM!*, so how far into the dawn could I last this night? if you wondered if I were a ‘burnt the midnight oil book blogger, this surely confirms it!) to which end, I would then randomly select the “Top 5 Classic Alice episodes for a Newbie!” Quite a smashing idea, but the full credit for such a landmark choice goes to Rinn @ Rinn Reads who helped me sort out this non-traditional introduction to Doctor Who! (a project of which will be revised, completed, & published during #RRSciFiMonth 2015!) Read More
I am involved in a world-wide globally connected blogosphere challenge where each blogger who signs into the participant linky is quite literally confirming their express desire to blog straight [except on Sundays!] for *26 Days!* whilst writing *26!* most intriguing & thought-producing alphabet essays! Or, to be comically inspiring, randomly cheeky, and otherwise delightfully entertaining! The bloggers who have signed into the challenge are from all walks of blogosphere life: book bloggers united alongside lifestyle gurus; writers of all literary styles nudged up against travelogues; the gambit runs the full course of each and every theme, topic, subject, and genre you could possibly light your heart with joy to broach in a blog! And, the curious bit to the journey is where your posts lead you as much as where other blogger’s posts inspire you! It’s this fantastic community to celebrate the spirit within the blogosphere as much as the spirit of connection amongst the bloggers who might not have crossed paths with each other otherwise. After all, the road map for blogs is as wide and large as the actual world outside the nethersphere of websites, pixels, and memes! Walk with us whilst we discover a bit about ourselves, our blog, & each other!
I am blogger #552 out of 2279!
Our world is a melting pot books should be too RT @aishacs@mayaprasadwrite so glad you write about India We need more diversity! #yalitchat
{ should be noted:@aishacsposted a multi-post Interview
on the blog Story & Chaiabout diversity in literature; Part II, Part III, Part IV }
Originally I was going to focus on E P I C F A N T A S Yfor Letter E, except to say, that throughout the twitterverse and the book blogosphere I was finding encouragement to draw light on another equally as important discussion of interest E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E! I grew up in a moderately sized city to the extent that the world was outside my door, the essence of the melting pot in vivid colours and dimensions was all around me. I loved the multicultural heritages I grew up near and I enjoyed the conversations I had with those who could help me understand traditions, cultures, and religions outside of my own. I have many fond memories speaking to Native Americans for instance whether I was at a bookshoppe or at an arts & crafts festival. I loved finding ways to engage with people who could dynamically shift my point of view and endear me to how our differences bridge the gap to how we are all interconnected and related.
Although I grew up in a house full of European descent (for the most part; mostly Briton though), the inertia of connectivity of other cultures was always encouraged and sought out. When you live in a city of any size, you get to see a beautiful cross-section of everyone who lives within the city itself. Whilst your riding the bus or walking down the boulevard you are greeting people as you come across them, accepting them as you speak to them, and within those brief moments of conversation you begin to grow curious about their own stories. Stories in which they grew up sharing within their own families and stories in which they grew up reading inside the books they cherished as bedtime companions.
I always celebrated then when I found multicultural characters in the stories I was personally reading as well as settings outside the norm of the net in which is regularly cast. E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E does not end nor begin on having different perspectives in ethnicity or nationality, as it also is inclusive of the ideal for a balancing of all characters and the lives in which they lead. This can include single | divorced | grandparent | foster parenting, adoptive or step-parent families, LGBT families and individuals; learning difficulties as well as those who are living with a medical handicap, illness, or affliction. Immigrant stories of people and families changing their stars for a life in a new country; biracial and multi-ethnic families. Whilst going further to extend past religious differences and spirituality freedoms to include a cross-section of all representations of a person’s beliefs as much as the differences in how we live, eat, and breathe. Full equality is giving the writer the will to focus on the characters they can personally identify with and as thus, can endear the reader to draw connection with as well. For every well-written story there is a reader who is aching to read a story which has transcended the living reality mantra of the earth being a melting pot and has taken the theory into practice in literature. I hint about my views about all of this under “My Bookish Life“.
E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E for me is reading the world through the lens in which we live. Our world is a beautiful melting pot of cultures, traditions, religions and individualism. Why not celebrate those differences by painting living testaments of our lives as a portrait through the characters we breathe to life in novels? Giving back a bit of the grace in which we are free to live?
by Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story
I recently reviewed a book for my Booking the Rails Feature where I highlighted Wonder by R.J. Palacio who wrote this beautiful book about a boy whose face is altered from other children yet the light of his heart uplifts everyone who meets him. The beauty of the novel itself is showing the grace of living your life as true to who you are on the inside as to reflect back to those who perceive you through prejudicial eyes the joy in being authentically yourself. The barriers people build up between each other can be brought down one by one if we endeavour to understand what alienates us and be determined to draw out empathy and compassion as a first response rather than fear, ignorance, and indifference.
August has a keen philosophical intuitiveness about himself, the dynamics of his family, and his personal living environment around him. He seeks to find solace out of uncertainty and squalls chaos with simplistic truths which etch out the stigmas of which society oft-times places on individuals who are in some shape or form ‘different’ from the ‘norm’. And, the sad truth is that normalcy is in the eye’s of the beholder! To be normal is quite definitively the ability to be wholly true to yourself, your internal resolve of spirit, and in knowing who you are without the prejudgements and negative thoughts of others assembling into your heart. August has instinctively dry humour to convey his thoughts about life, dispelling any unease to meet him because he breaks the ice by simply being himself! He draws you into his sphere by engaging you in a way you were not expecting! No pretense. He’s simply ‘August’, who prefers to go by ‘Auggie’, the brother of Via and the boy who wants to live like a regular ten-year old entering fifth grade!
Each book I am selecting to highlight as part of my Booking the Rails feature will be a story which will challenge convention and/or the ideals of story-telling and branch out into new horizons for both my readers and those who find the books on the trains. I want to start a conversation on those posts of giving dialogue and conversation to topics and subjects that will benefit from having a light shined on them. It’s my own wink and a nod to creating a new pathway back into the culture of being ‘bookish’ and ‘conversational’ with each other. Rather than merely nodding in agreement or staying silent altogether. More of my thoughts on this are contained on my visit to The Star Chamber Show : Episode 16. (archived & easy to listen too)
Carol Antoinette Peacock & Pepper in the author’s office. Peacock Family Album.
Previously, I showcased the adoptive story of Carol Antoinette Peacock whereupon her story entitled: Red Thread Sisters embarks on the journey of adopting children from China. This is one of many yet to appear on Jorie Loves A Story, as one of my sub-focuses on my blog will be positive adoptive stories for those who are considering foster adoptive options as well as international, open, and other avenues towards adopting children into their family home. I wanted to find authors who give a positive testament of the emotional keel a child or teen experiences prior to adoption as much as the transitional period after they are adopted. (if the story broaches both time periods) What I appreciated about Ms. Peacock’s writings are her honesty in leading with her heart and her own adoptive story in which the Red Thread Sisters stems from at its core.
There are two sayings throughout “Red Thread Sisters”, as well as in the personal letter attached in the afterword by the author herself,… one is a meditative pause of ‘light reflected as brightly lit as lunar lanterns’, and the second is the poignancy behind the entitlement of the book itself, ‘of the delicate red thread that unites all of us in a shared common bond, where those who cross our path are meant to be in our lives, and despite the appearance of the thread’s nature, will hold steadfast and strong perpetually’. The book gives pause to any woman considering motherhood through adoption and any father choosing his path of fatherhood through adoption, because it touches on the raw emotions that are silently withheld from the adoptive parents, by children who live in constant fear that something they do or say or not do even will be grounds for them to return back from whence they came. To become un-adoptable simply because they didn’t live up to the adoptive parents expectations. It’s also a book that examines adoption from the reflections of the children themselves, as they struggle to yield and bend with a new rhythm completely different from the one they were used too whilst at an orphanage, group home, or foster home. They have to learn its okay to make mistakes, to learn and grow through their experiences, and that a forever family isn’t co-dependent on perfection but rather with honesty, heart, emotion, and love. May we always keep ourselves lit from within with a light of hope as powerful and strong as lunar lanterns, to advocate for adoption and the expansion of our hearts and worlds when a child in need of a family, finds one in those of us willing to open our hearts and homes to them.
One author where I found a strong sense of giving E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E a new definition of purpose is Laura Resau. Her blog is linked to my sidebar where the RSS feeds join the mixture towards the bottom. I have been making purchase requests for her books at my local library each chance that I can as well. The tricky bit is to remember which book of hers I read first: What the Moon Saw OR The Indigo Notebook!? I have taken it upon myself to read all of her novels, but I am still in the middle of accomplishing this goal! I have also read Star in the Forest.
Photography Credit: Tina Wood Photography
Laura Resau is the award-winning author of seven highly acclaimed young adult and children’s novels– What the Moon Saw, Red Glass, Star in the Forest, The Queen of Water, and the Notebooks series (Delacorte/Random House). She draws inspiration from her time abroad as a cultural anthropologist, ESL teacher, and student. Loved by kids and adults alike, her novels have garnered many starred reviews and honors, including the IRA YA Fiction Award, the Américas Award, and spots on Oprah’s Kids’ Book Lists. Praised for its sensitive treatment of immigration and indigenous people’s issues, Resau’s writing has been called “vibrant, large-hearted” (Publishers’ Weekly on Red Glass) and “powerful, magical” (Booklist on What the Moon Saw). Resau lives with her husband, young son, and beagle in Fort Collins, Colorado. She donates a portion of her royalties to indigenous rights organizations in Latin America.
The Indigo Notebook Book Trailer by the AuthorLaura Resau
[ after the 1:00 mark the song continues to be enjoyed by audience ]
Resau has the natural ability of fusing the indigenous culture of Mexico and Ecuador into her novels in such a wonderfully skilled way, that whilst I was reading The Indigo Notebook I instantly flashed back to my own memories of traversing through the interior of Mexico in and around the Federal District and the Yucatán Peninsula! One of these days I want to collect her books for my own personal library, but what I appreciated about my local library is being open to bring in authors who write multicultural stories for a young audience who could benefit from the life lessons and story contained within her pages! As I start to re-read over the books I have already read and progress forward into the ones I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading, I will be writing down my thoughts on my blog! I am always hopeful that through the sharing of my own lamentations about the writers and books which speak to me to the point of being moved emotionally, I will in one small way impact another reader’s life.
E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E : A sampling of Books to Read
{ books I have predominately found through my local library }
UPDATE:per rifflebooks.com errors I’ve moved this list to my #LibraryThing
(as I will be reading these selections throughout [2019] part of my #BeatTheBacklist challenge)
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’ Dell (personal library)
Reaching past our own heritages and our own living environments gives us a wider world view and depth of understanding. We become wholly in-tune with the harmony of the world’s spirit by embracing all the lovely and unique differences which shape our identities. We grow out of love and we give back love each time we endeavour to forge a bridge between our culture and the culture of someone else. We give our spirit a bit of a lift by the joy of celebrating the history of people who live as passionately as we do and whose traditions are as rooted in their culture and families as much as our own. Lessons of connectivity and of friendship will always abound when two souls are willing to make a connection.
One of the books I have oft spoken about online via my blog and my Twitter feeds is “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker, which is an atmospheric enriched narrative which crosses the divide between mythology and immigration. She digs deep into the setting of her novel to shift between New York City and the old world in which the Golem and the Jinni originated from. She has a deft hand in revealing human emotions and convictions out of characters who are everything except human! What endeared me to the text is her gift of story-telling to not only enchant you with a magical kinetic plausibility but to give you a full score of characters who are each on their own individual journey towards self-discovery. It’s in this inherent quest to understand both origin and worth in a world set against the tides of where their destinies are taking them, Wecker infuses her narrative with a connection of heart.
Each were set on a course to learn and grow out of their experiences in a place neither expected to be. They each succumb to their inherent natures, but I feel only one of them is able to change the other for the good. Because one of them is stronger than the other as far as knowing how to make good on what has been turned for the bad. Their journey leads not to a resolution of sorts to overcome their individual obstacles towards true freedom, but rather too a junction point that leads them to question everything they felt they knew thus far along. And, in that conclusion the reader has to sit back and ponder the true meaning behind “The Golem and the Jinni”, for was it a journey of theirs that you took or an inward journey of understanding the limitations of humanity?
I am hopeful that more readers will seek out E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E by choosing titles by all authors of all backgrounds who celebrate our united spirit within the global society of nations and nationalities.
Thank you for joining me on DAY 5 | A to Z Challenge!
I am a girl named Jorie who loves a story!
I am a bookish library girl on a quest for literary enlightenment!
I am predominately self-taught and library educated!
I am Mademoiselle Jorie!
Thank you for joining me on this journey!
This marks my fifth post for the:
Which authors do you feel reflect the beauty of E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E? Which authors who are newly published OR have books which will soon be forthcoming would you recommend to be added to the “on the horizon” category of this post!? Which books have captured your heart whilst enveloping you in another person’s shoes and culture?! How do you feel progress has been made to give ever writer a voice and each story the gift for expanding our horizons?
UPDATE: 1 May, 2014: In the weeks since this post was first published I have participated in #diverselit & #WeNeedDiverseBooks movements on Twitter. I also created the tag #EqualityInLit to reflect my personal view and feelings towards diversity and equality in literature. You will denote a new category indexed on Jorie Loves A Story “E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E” which speaks to the heart of how this blog post inspired me to make my views a bit more well-known.
{SOURCES: A to Z Challenge Participant & Letter C Badge provided by the A to Z Challenge site for bloggers to use on their individual posts & blogs to help promote the challenge to others.The photograph of Carol Antoinette Peacock was given to me by the author and used with permission. Laura Resau photograph, author biography & book cover for The Indigo Notebook used with permission by the author. The book trailer by Laura Resau had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portals to this post, and I thank them for this opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com.}
Proposed Topic for Violet Patterson: I am always most curious about the impetus of inspiration which leads into a series for a writer to create in such a substantial way as to have their characters and their worlds evolve throughout the arc of the installments contained therein. Whilst thinking of a topic for Ms. Patterson to write for her featured Guest Post, I felt the best topic is truly how she conceived the Emerald Seer series, and what motivated her to carry this particular paranormal story into the light and hands of the reader!
I am quite happy to welcome Violet Patterson to Jorie Loves A Story today, whereupon she took my topic of choice and ran with it! If you ever wanted to get a personal look into the life of a self-published author’s creative world, this is the day to sneak in a peak! I came to know of Ms. Patterson’s writings during the aftermath of a Kentucky tornado storm whilst chatting to Stephen Zimmer about books and writers of the genre. I am not sure of the time frame, but this lead into a lovely conversation through tweeting between all three of us at one point shortly thereafter. By the time I saw Tomorrow Comes Media was announcing her blog tour, I knew that I had to take part in it! The culmination of which was hearing her as a Guest Author on The Star Chamber Show, as well as tweeting with her between then and now on occasion. Let’s take this moment to become introduced and immersed into the paranormal mind of Violet Patterson!
Hello! (waves) I have been asked to give a peek inside my somewhat warped, slightly twisted mind to reveal my inspiration for the Emerald Seer Series. A good friend once told me that he can learn a lot about an author by reading his/her work. Initially I didn’t believe him but looking back on the Emerald Seer Series, I can see how that is true.
The series started as a puff piece, my foray into paranormal romance in an effort to dip my toe in the proverbial waters of publishing. It grew into so much more. The idea was born out of a series of conversations with friends, discussions about so many of the mainstream PNR books are very male-centric and of course, about music. I love The Doors. My Dad introduced me to People Are Strange when I was seven or eight and it was love at first listen. It was a natural transition for me to build a series around songs that influenced me so greatly. I do very much wish I could gain rights to use lyrics from the songs as they are so applicable to the books. Perhaps some day.
I wanted a very strong female lead but I also knew I could not write somebody perfect because, let’s face it, none of us are perfect. Storm had to be somebody real and of course I wanted a redhead with Irish ancestry. I have a thing for Celtic mythology so that component was easy. Storm has my stubbornness and my tenacity. Some of the things she encounters, including her lack of emotions in the beginning of Ryder on the Storm, were born from things I’ve endured. Storm is rash at times and relies heavily on her gut instinct though she does miss the mark at times, a very human flaw. One thing that I really enjoyed about writing Storm was her rather sudden onset of emotions. She was essentially an emotional void for most of her life since her aunt bound her emotions and with them a good portion of her power. When Storm’s aunt died suddenly, the binding spell was broken and she was hit with a freight train of emotions. Think puberty to the thousandth degree. No her reactions were not always what they should be, what a rational person would do but that is the point, Storm is not rational in the first book, how could she be?
Enter Ryder Cohen. He had to be the strong, silent type to balance Storm’s fiery persona. He’s Immortal so he’s been around but Ryder has his own secrets. And boy does he have them in spades. He has to. Anybody who would live for centuries would have to have some. So I made a few of them pertinent to the story. Plus, Ryder is gorgeous.
I built a cast around them, pulling in supernaturals that aren’t overdone without leaving out the usual suspects (vampires). It was important to me that this story be different, that the characters be different so I pulled from other places and incorporated as many as I could to create an entire sub-world.
Everything grew so fast I almost couldn’t contain it. What started as a trilogy with a novella became a four book series with a novella, an off-shoot series that I’m working on now (Immortal Machinations), and a series of short stories and tidbits waiting in the wings (aka my hard drive and cloud drive).
I think I could talk about these stories for days on end but at some point I have to stop and write them. Thanks for listening and I hope you give my Emerald Seer Series a shot.
Book Synopsis of the Boxed Set:
It began with tragedy.
Continued with rebirth.
Faithful friends…with secrets of their own.
Intensified with an uncovered past.
How will it all END?
Storm Sullivan’s life is a mystical mine field following the death of her Aunt Trin and it only gets worse. Thrown into the battle of the ages, Storm finds herself surrounded by Immortals, Seraphs, Fairies, Vampires, Witches and a Phoenix! Can she unravel the mysteries of her family’s past in time to save them all?
For the first time ever, the Kindle Bestselling Emerald Seer Series is brought to you in one massive box set. Magic and mystery, adventure and romance converge in this series touted as “unique and imaginative.” Mystical beings from Deities to Seraphs, a Phoenix, Immortals and more, the Emerald Seer Series is a fantastical ride with several converging story lines that will keep you guessing.
I always find it quite interesting how a writer starts out with this seemingly benign and simple story arc only to find whilst composing the bones of the story does one find the startling joy of having the original idea expand in ways only the surge of the muse can! I, myself, have had my own startling discoveries in this regard, especially on the merits of walking into my first Nanowrimo meet-up in November 2008 without only a fragmented idea of where I wanted to take the story over the next thirty days! The story began in my mind’s eye, garnishing five potential plot points or cues, but beyond their skeleton origins of thought what I found at the end of Nanowrimo was the notion that my ‘fluffy’ story idea had turnt into something quite multi-layered and complex! I hadn’t endeavoured to walk out of a writer’s block with such a forceful surge of creativity, but sometimes, I find that as a writer the journey we take with the pen and with our creativity is quite extraordinary!
I have enjoyed having your showcase on my blog, as it has not only introduced me to PNR (Paranormal Romance) as a genre, but it has opened my eyes to the fact that there are elements of the genre I have already been infused inside! I never considered myself a reader drawn into the genre naturally, because the books I gravitate towards reading are not always ones which ferret the most attention. I tend to seek out the titles which garnish a pensive pause at the closure of their books rather than the instant gratification of most of what the genre offers. I like to soak slowly into literature, absorbing everything that is presented in both story and book left behind by the writer who hopes even the little bits of their pen are noticed by the reader. I like to see what I can feel as much as what I can read directly off the page. In this way, one of the reasons I like to push myself to experiment with new genres is to constantly be in a position to expand past what I know and what I understand. I love the freedom of being able to move between the worlds of literature as well as literary thought. Even if I’m out of my depth, as I know I was a bit whilst reading Ryders on the Storm I appreciate the challenge and the experience of seeing characters I might not have met otherwise, which enable me to seek out other authors who pen the same type of stories.
Music has such a canonical appeal when you’re a creative. Writing in of itself is fused to an invisible rhythm which bespeaks itself out of our depths and ties together the strings of our imagination in a form which can be read with our eyes. We transcend the space between the imagined and the visual plane, whilst embarking on honing in on the constraints of humanity and of other species who have a flawed and transitional journey to undertake. I love reading the stories of characters who either know of their direct path towards the destiny they are meant to embrace or are struggling to understand why they are here and what their worth of contribution could possible entail. It’s the excitement of finding out how they process their journey and how they endeavour to bend or yield whilst pursuing their path that I find the most enjoyable!
I oft find certain orchestrations of music help me keep myself tethered to the moment of inspiration. Each book I write draws me into a different portion of musical history, as the characters themselves tend to depict a different part of my musical soul. There are times when lyrical driven music hits a chord with me whilst working on a difficult character or one in transition, but oft-times, it’s the music without the words I find guide me the most. I can intersperse my own realm into the strings of what is audible, and in that way, feel a connection to the story in a way that is not limited to the page.
Ever since my Mum’s been able to confirm our ancestry includes an Irish great-grandfather, I must say, it has inspired me to learn more about the Emerald Isle!! To the brink that even my original passion for Ireland has now become intensified! I always felt drawn to Celtic ballards and music, as well as the lore and story-telling of the Gaelics! I never understood exactly why I felt such a strong sensation of a connection, but after seeing how part of our line leads directly to Irish shores, it sort of fit together like a puzzle missing its last piece!? Storm is quite the strong Irish lass, a wee bit stubborn, but her moxy outshines her faults! I love how you turnt the timeclock backwards, allowing her to fight or flight through a late pubescence! Her emotional keelings were on the very edge of her skin, and I loved how you kept it real by allowing her the flexibility to speak her mind without tact and without thinking of consequence!
As I had mentioned at the bottom of my review of Ryder on the Storm, I am looking forward to continuing my journey with your characters! Seeing what befalls next on their path, and seeing how both Ryder & Storm endure growth as the story shifts forward! Sometimes I think, characters have so much to share with their historians (writers) they cannot simply be contained into one singular volume or trilogy! Thank you for sharing this window into your creative muse!
Be sure to catch the next installments of this showcase on JLAS:
Jorie reviews “Ryder on the Storm” & interviews Ms. Patterson within the week!
Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
{SOURCES: The Emerald Seers Saga & Ryder on the Storm cover art, Violet Patterson’s photograph, as well as the tour host badge provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and used with permission. I requested an Author Guest Post on the topic of writing about the Emerald Seers series through Stephen Zimmer and received the essay from Patterson via Zimmer. Post dividers were provided by Shabby Blogs, who give bloggers free resources to add personality to their blogs. Guest Post badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}
Resau has the natural ability of fusing the indigenous culture of Mexico and Ecuador into her novels in such a wonderfully skilled way, that whilst I was reading The Indigo Notebook I instantly flashed back to my own memories of traversing through the interior of Mexico in and around the Federal District and the Yucatán Peninsula! One of these days I want to collect her books for my own personal library, but what I appreciated about my local library is being open to bring in authors who write multicultural stories for a young audience who could benefit from the life lessons and story contained within her pages! As I start to re-read over the books I have already read and progress forward into the ones I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading, I will be writing down my thoughts on my blog! I am always hopeful that through the sharing of my own lamentations about the writers and books which speak to me to the point of being moved emotionally, I will in one small way impact another reader’s life.
a substantial way as to have their characters and their worlds evolve throughout the arc of the installments contained therein. Whilst thinking of a topic for Ms. Patterson to write for her featured Guest Post, I felt the best topic is truly how she conceived the Emerald Seer series, and what motivated her to carry this particular paranormal story into the light and hands of the reader!
It began with tragedy.
