NEW WEBSITE FOR KAYE THORNBRUGH

That’s right—I’m moving! Well, actually, I’ve already moved.

From now on, you can find everything at my shiny new website:

www.kayethornbrugh.wordpress.com

I’ll see you there!

The Flicker series is getting a facelift!

That’s right! Very soon, I’m going to reveal the all-new covers for Flicker, Brightly and Lights!

Why redesign the covers? Actually, a lot went into this decision. As much as I love the current covers—and as much hard work as they’ve done for me—I believe the books would be better served by a different look.

First of all, the old covers give off more of a romance vibe than an urban fantasy vibe. Because of that, some readers go in expecting a lot more romance than there is. The new covers have a much stronger fantasy vibe, and I think they’re a better reflection of what you’ll get when you read the books.

Second, with only Lee on the current covers, you get the impression that she’s the single most important character. In reality, of course, there’s an ensemble cast and multiple POV characters. The new covers reflect that much more accurately: Each cover features a different character.

Also, the new covers will feature original model photography by the very talented Christine Woeller—which means that these covers will be totally unique!

I’m about to order proof copies of the redesigned Flicker and Brightly paperbacks—and as soon as they’re in my hands, I’m going to share photos of them with you. I can’t wait for you to see them! They’re beautiful!

The cover of Lights is more of a special case: I’m going to unveil it during my reading at Sasquan in August, and after that, the cover will go live on my blog and Facebook page.

Release Day: A FAERIE'S SECRET by Rachel Morgan

Fans of Rachel Morgan's Creepy Hollow series finally get to begin a new adventure today with the release of the fourth book, A Faerie's Secret!

Calla Larkenwood wants nothing more than to be a guardian, but her overprotective mother has never allowed it. When circumstances change and Calla finally gets to join a Guild, she discovers guardian trainee life isn’t all she hoped it would be. Her classmates are distant, her mentor hates her, and keeping her Griffin Ability a secret is harder than she thought. Then an initiation game goes wrong, landing Calla with a magical ability she can’t control. She needs help—and the only way she can get it is by bargaining with the guy who just discovered her biggest secret.

"This fast-paced story quickly gripped me in its clutches" 

~ CHERIE REICH, AUTHOR OF THE FATE CHALLENGES SERIES

"Calla is sassy, determined and knows what she wants. ... she was a fantastic character!" 

~ KEZ'S KORNER

"There's plot twist after plot twist after world-shattering plot twist. ... It's safe to say, this is one of the most impacting endings I have ever experienced." 

~ CASSANDRA, GOODREADS EARLY REVIEWER

Amazon | iBooks | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Smashwords

FACEBOOK CELEBRATION PARTY!

Come and join the Facebook party tomorrow night, starting at 4pm EDT. There will be prizes from other authors, a "spoiler" thread where you can talk about the book with other readers if you've finished reading it by then, and LOTS of prizes from Rachel!

ABOUT RACHEL

Rachel Morgan is a South African author who spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn't for her--after all, they didn't approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults and those young at heart. 

She is the author of the bestselling Creepy Hollow series, and the lighthearted contemporary romance Trouble series.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

REVIEW: Rise (Paper Gods #2.5) by Amanda Sun

Rise is FREE on Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble!

Synopsis: A long, long time ago, before the world was as we know it, Izanami and Izanagi came into being. Two of the first of the ancient gods of Japan, they crafted the world from ink and their own imaginations. Izanagi wants, more than anything, to be with Izanami—but one moment of pride could tear them apart forever.

Yuki and Tanaka have been friends for as long as they can remember, but lately deeper feelings have been bubbling under the surface. How do they navigate the transition from friendship to true love without destroying the powerful bond between them?

Set a millennia apart, can these two couples, living parallel love stories, find their happily-ever-afters?

Review:

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the Paper Gods series, a dark paranormal trilogy set in modern Japan. I devoured the first two novels (you can read my review of book two, Rain, here), and the prequel novella, Shadow. When I found out about Rise, I may or may not have squealed in undignified delight.

What’s better than a novella about two of my favorite characters to tide me over until the release of the final book? A free novella about two of my favorite characters!

Rise is actually two stories in one, woven together, alternating between chapters. Half the novella tells of the tragic romance of Izanagi and Izanami, as well as the origin of the ink. The other half is the modern story of Yuki and Tanaka. That’s the part I was really excited to read.

One of my favorite elements of the Paper Gods is the well-developed cast of secondary characters. Too often, secondary characters seem more like props than real people, placed strategically in the narrative to help or hinder the heroes at the appropriate moment. Best-friend characters, especially, seem to have nothing to do but lie around and wait for the protagonist to call.

In the Paper Gods series, however, I really get the sense that the secondary characters have rich inner lives. If you just turned the camera on them, you’d find that they have their own stories to tell and their own problems to navigate, even if those problems aren’t supernatural (at least, not yet). Amanda Sun takes care to include the little details that go a long way toward building a well-rounded character—like how Tanaka practices calligraphy and plays baseball, and how his favorite American TV series is Lost.

The secondary characters’ lives don’t revolve around the protagonists, Katie and Tomo; rather, their lives run parallel, connected but independent. Each character—Yuki, Tanaka, Myu, Shiori, my love and my darling Satoshi, who I desperately want to have his own short story or novella—is the protagonist of his or her own story. We just don’t see it all “on-screen.”

Except in Rise, we do! In this novella, the camera focuses on Yuki and Tanaka, and their awkward, adorable budding romance. The tension between them has been building steadily for two books now, and it was great to see all those shy glances and blushes finally come to fruition.

Their story is more than just romance, however: The modern-day chapters of Rise take place just after the end of Rain, and bridges some of the gap between Rain and the upcoming final book, Storm. For the first time, Yuki and Tanaka have a brush with the Kami. What’s more, the Kami are getting bolder, leaving menacing graffiti in public places… and adding to their body count. Something big is about to happen, I just know it—but I won’t find out just what until Storm comes out this summer.

I actually had to read Rise twice. The first time, I was so impatient to get to the parts about Yuki and Tanaka that I cheated a bit and skimmed the Izanami and Izanagi parts. (I know, I know, I’m bad! I just really love Tanaka, okay?) As soon as I was finished, though, I went back to the beginning and read the whole novella again, this time savoring the Kami chapters as much as the chapters about Yuki and Tanaka.

I don’t want to reveal too much about the Kami chapters, but I will say this: They’re dark, they’re fascinating, and they enrich the world of the Paper Gods. We finally learn about the origin of the Kami and the ink—and we even get glimpses of a few Kami who will be very, very important to Katie and Tomo’s story.

If you’re already a fan of the Paper Gods, then Rise is essential reading. On top of that, it’s free, so you’ve really got nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.

If you haven’t started reading the Paper Gods series yet—what are you waiting for? This is one of my favorite paranormal series of the last few years; I really can’t recommend it enough. You’ve got two months to catch up before Storm comes out on June 30, so get cracking!

Connect with author Amanda Sun online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Song of the Sea

I recently had the opportunity to watch Song of the Sea, a fantasy film from Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation studio. Here’s the summary:

"Based on the Irish Legend of the Selkies, Song of the Sea tells the story of the last seal-child, Saoirse, and her brother Ben, who go on an epic journey to save the world of magic and discover the secrets of their past. Pursued by the owl witch Macha and a host of ancient and mythical creatures, Saoirse and Ben race against time to awaken Saoirse's powers and keep the spirit world from disappearing forever."

I’ve been looking forward to this movie for a long time—but not as long as my sister! She’s intensely interested in selkies, and she’s a big fan of Cartoon Saloon’s last movie, The Secret of Kells. Naturally, she was thrilled when Song of the Sea was announced, and she’s followed its production closely for the last few years.

If you enjoy my books—and chances are that you do, or you probably wouldn’t be reading my blog—then I think you’ll find a lot to love about Song of the Sea. Looking at it as a writer, it’s exactly the kind of story that inspires me and gets me excited about storytelling. In particular, it got me excited about the stories I’m telling right now, because it’s a shining example of what a story in my current genre can achieve.

Yes, Song of the Sea and the Flicker series are stories in the same genre! They’re both urban fantasy. More specifically, they’re both urban faerie. I’ve never seen an urban faerie story told in this medium, and I think this movie opens up a whole realm of possibilities for other projects like this. (You know, if Flicker were ever adapted into a movie, my dream would be for it to be animated. In my head, the story has always looked like an animated movie.

Let me tell you: Song of the Sea is full of faeries—the otherworldly, folkloric kind. There are selkies, of course, but there are also members of the Daoine Sidhe (specifically stated to be such, too, which came as a pleasant surprise to me). A few other figures from Irish mythology appear, including Macha.

The movie is an interesting take on traditional selkie stories. Those tales tend to be romantic tragedies, and while Song of the Sea does touch on those elements, at its heart, this is very much a story about family. (I’m sticking to my usual advice, though: Don’t marry a selkie. Actually, it’s probably best not to marry any of the faerie folk. It never works out.)

Previous knowledge of Irish folklore and mythology isn’t necessary to enjoy the movie. But if you’re a bit of a folklore buff like me, I urge you to check it out for the references alone.

I would be remiss not to gush about the animation: Song of the Sea is an absolute visual treat, lovingly animated by hand. Animation aficionados, take heed: I promise you’ve never seen anything like it. Personally, I could stare at the backgrounds all day. If you don't believe me, check out the trailer:



Please, do yourself a favor and watch Song of the Sea. You deserve it!

Bad Boys and Boyfriend Material: Redefining YA Romance

I recently returned from RadCon, where I had the opportunity to speak on a number of interesting panels, with a number of interesting people. One of the weekend’s best panels was about young adult fiction—always a favorite subject of mine, especially when I get to talk shop with authors Alma Alexander, Frog Jones and Robert L. Slater. The discussion was lively, and one topic that came up has continued to bounce around in my head:

Do you write messages or themes into your books?

Actually, I do, though I’d never really talked about it in public before RadCon. While I’m not sure I would classify them as themes, exactly, I definitely write certain concepts into my books: concepts I want to celebrate, as well as concepts I want to challenge or deconstruct. The example I gave in the panel was the romance (and, in some ways, lack thereof) in the Flicker series—and I want to explore that further here.

I wrote Nasser and Filo as direct responses to some of the tropes and trends in YA fiction that have been driving me up the wall for the last few years.

(I'd like to take this opportunity to direct your attention to the absolute goldmine that is @BroodingYAHero. By some miracle, I happened across the account while formatting this blog post, and it points out everything that frustrates me about YA romance, in the funniest way possible.)

Before I wrote Flicker, I was burned out on YA heroes—specifically, I was burned out on what I call “Beautiful Jerks.” You know the kind: broody, mysterious, constantly giving mixed signals. He tends to be overprotective and controlling, sometimes to the point that the heroine is actually scared of him (though this fear often becomes confused for attraction and feelings of love). His only redeeming quality is his smoldering good looks, and that’s supposed to make up for the rest of his terrible personality.

The kind of romantic lead that interested me—genuinely sweet and respectful, from start to finish, basically the opposite of the “bad boy” type—seemed to be considered pretty boring by most people. Nobody seemed to be writing heroes like the one I wanted to read about. I had no choice but to write my own.

Top 5 Reasons to Try Scrivener During NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is almost upon us! To help you prepare, I want to talk about my favorite writing tool and the best ways to make it work for you this November: Scrivener, the best word processing program out there.

Anyone who has tried to write a novel using Microsoft Word knows that it’s not designed for long projects. Moving a chunk of text from one part of the document to another is a frustrating exercise in copy-and-paste. Looking at two scenes side-by-side involves a lot of clicking between windows. Referencing research materials means sorting through documents in other programs.

In general, Word is a clunky, cumbersome program that just isn’t suited for big projects like novels, or for writers who don’t work in a strictly linear fashion. Microsoft Word assumes that everyone writes in chronological order, from beginning to end; Scrivener makes no assumptions at all. It’s designed to work around you, not the other way around.

Scrivener has tons of features, and I certainly use many more than the five I detail here, but these are the ones I think will be most useful during NaNoWriMo.

Note: I’m not associated with Scrivener in any way, and I’m not getting any kickbacks or anything of the kind. I’m just in love with this program. I even wrote this blog post in Scrivener! It transformed the way I write, and I think everybody should at least give it a try and see what it can do for them.

Thrills and Chills Book Signing

Are you going to be in the Coeur d'Alene area this Saturday, October 25? If so, be sure to drop by Hastings between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. for the Thrills and Chills Book Signing!

I'll be there, along with four other local authors: Brooklyn Ann, Shelley Martin, Bonnie R. Paulson and Frank Zafiro.

I can't think of a better way to warm up for Halloween, or a better opportunity to meet some very interesting authors and pick up a few new reads! Think: vampires, gargoyles, serial killers, zombies, fey and plenty more! Plus, there will be plenty of swag and prizes up for grabs.

This is my first multi-author book signing, and it promises to be a real party. Come say hi!

Meet My Character Blog Tour!

Welcome to my stop on the Meet My Character Blog Tour! Here's how it works:

"This tour highlights a main character from your WIP (work in progress), recently published work, or soon to be published work. The person who invites you will have a set day to post. You will post one (or two) weeks after that, the authors you tag will post one/two week(s) after you, and so on."

Sounds like fun, right? I thought so, too. I was tagged by the inimitable Ren Cummins. Here's his bio, as posted on his site:

I write. I’m a writer, perhaps much the way my act of breathing makes me a breather. Wait, that’s a poor example.

I began with sketching, but my love of music and math turned me into a musician, and from there prose and poetry fashioned me into a writer. My first series, the young adult (steampunk) fantasy series “CHRONICLES OF AESIRIUM” about a young girl who becomes an angel of death, marked my work as a light hearted and optimistic look into death and darkness, but I’m sure that’s just the lip of the rabbit hole. 

I also helped found Talaria Press, a loosely affiliated gang of misfits whose work can be found at www.talariapress.com – come join the parade, there’s space enough for all. 

Also, feel free to follow me on Facebook and Twitter!

And here are my answers!

1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historical person?
The main character of my WIP (Book 3 in the Flicker series) is Lee Capren.

2) When and where is the story set?
The story is set in present-day Washington State. I took creative license with some of the locations, such as Siren Island, a fictional island in the otherwise-real San Juans, where mermaids swim in the coves and curses occasionally befall the residents. But you’ll also find a number of real Washington locales, including Deception Pass and the Seattle Underground.

3) What should we know about him/her?
Lee’s a pretty ordinary girl, right up until she’s spirited away by faeries to serve as a portrait artist. Now she’s a girl with a little magic and a lot of determination.

4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Lee’s a pretty ordinary girl, right up until she’s spirited away by faeries to serve as a portrait artist. When she finally escapes (with the help of Nasser, a boy whose magic has always been more of a curse than a gift), she discovers that what felt like a few nights in Faerie spanned years in the human world, and her entire life has crumbled away. Lee soon finds herself living above a shop that caters to the city’s beguiling magical crowd and struggling to cope with her new life, all while dodging the denizens of Faerie who will do anything to get her back.

5) What is the personal goal of the character?
At this point in her life, Lee would settle for living peacefully—no evil faeries, no curses, no brushes with death. She’s coming to terms with all the magic and weirdness that have become part of her life. The constant threats her and the safety of her friends that come with it? Not so much.

6) Is there a working title for this novel if it is a WIP, and can we read more about it? Or: What is the title of this novel and where can it be found?
The title of this novel is Lights. The first two installments in the series, Flicker and Brightly, are available now, as both ebooks and paperbacks—and Flicker is free to download on Amazon, Kobo and Smashwords!

7) If a WIP, when can we expect the book to be published?

I hope to publish Lights in late 2014 or early 2015. Check back on my blog or my Facebook page for updates on the book’s progress!

Now, I've been challenged to tag a few more authors. I've picked two of my favorite dynamic duos. First up: Allana Kephart & Melissa Simmons, authors of the Dolan Prophecies.

Allana Kephart has been making things up and bending people to her will from a very young age. She loves animals and reading and spends a large amount of time thinking up ways to torment her characters. 

Melissa Simmons is an avid reader who married her soul mate and is the proud mother of a spoiled cat. She spends her days helping promote independent authors and doing what the voices in her head tell her to. 

They share a love of coffee and the color purple, as well as a brain.

My second tag is Frog and Esther Jones, the minds behind the Gift of Grace series: 

Frog was born at a very young age in a small town in Eastern Washington, where he still managed to grow up nerdy despite all social pressure to the contrary.  Oh, sure; he bucked hay and rode truck with the good ol' boys, but he also played a fair amount of D&D when he could.  An Eagle Scout and a jazz saxophone amateur, Frog came out of his childhood a little twisted, just perfect for an artist. 

At Eastern Washington University, whilst wearing a fedora and a trench coat and carrying a cane, he met Esther, fell in love, and graduated with a couple of worthless degrees.  Frog then went on to the grand University of Idaho Law School, wherein he passed with honors.   

Frog now practices in Washington, and writes from his home in the Olympic Peninsula. He has hand-constructed a Roman onager, which sits in his garage.   

Because it is Frog drafting this website, Esther is the most wonderful lady to have lived ever.  Of all time.  Born and raised in Renton, Washington, Esther began her stay at Eastern Washington University aiming for a degree in creative writing.  She missed, and ended up with a degree in technical writing instead. 

Almost a decade later, Esther once again began writing creatively.  In order to prove to herself that she could still write a short story, she set herself a goal of entering the SpoCon League of Extraordinary Writer's competition.  To do so, Esther consulted with Frog, and began generating the world that would eventually envelop The Gift of Grace trilogy.  The short story produced as a result not only entered, but won that competition. 

Following that, Esther has collaborated with Frog on The Gift of Grace, as well as more short stories.  Her interest in writing has driven the team of Frog and Esther to heights that neither could have reached alone.

Self-Publishing 101: Part 3

Read Part 1 in this series: Should You Self-Publish?
Read Part 2 in this series: Self-Publishing Supplies

It's time for our third lesson! This week is all about book covers.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of a professional, eye-catching cover. If your cover is ugly, cheap-looking or amateurish, that alone will kill your book.

I’m not exaggerating. You might’ve written the greatest book in all of human history—but if the cover is bad, nobody will read it, and all your hard work will mean nothing.

This week, I’m going to show you how to keep your book off of Lousy Book Covers.

Self-Publishing 101: Part 2

Read Part 1 in this series: Should You Self-Publish?

Welcome to our second lesson! This week, we’re going to discuss how to prepare your book for publication.

Self-Publishing 101: Part 1

Today, I'm kicking off a new weekly series, in which I break down the self-publishing process, one chunk at a time. Welcome to our first lesson! This week is all about determining if the indie route is best for you, and if you've got what it takes to make it work.

Should You Self-Publish?

Naturally, the first step in your journey is to decide if self-publishing is really the right option for you.

Self-publishing is ideal for smaller, more personal projects: For instance, if you’re writing a family history or a memoir to share with your family, then you’d be best served by self-publishing that bad boy and producing enough copies to go around. A project like that just isn’t suited for traditional publishing, or even a small press—but if your dreams are a little bigger, you should weigh all your options. Let’s explore those options together.

SpoCon 2014

I sat down to write a post summarizing my weekend at SpoCon 2014, and quickly realized that we would all be better served by a photo round-up instead. Check out all the cool cats I got to hang out with:

These two lovely ladies having name placards, making my job much easier. Bonnie and Shelley are both author, and I was lucky enough to speak on panels with both of them. They're also fellow Idahoans--which, let me tell you, is a surprisingly rare thing to find at SpoCon! Spokane is just across the border from Idaho, so you'd think it would be crawling with Idahoans, but that's just not the case.

Also, in the background, you can see the charming Jessica Rising (center, wearing a cute hat), who writes some really cool middle-grade novels. (I took a photo of her individually, but, ah, my photography skills are really lacking, and it turned out all blurry, and I'm way too embarrassed to post it. But I wanted to point her out, because she's fantastic.)

Okay, let me talk about these two for a minute: Frog and Esther Jones. I met Esther at my very first SpoCon, before either of us had published any books. We were both finalists in the SpoCon writing contest, and we met at a sort of early-morning breakfast event. Naturally, I adored her. There's not a living person who doesn't adore Esther Jones, because she's actually perfect.

The next year, I met her husband, Frog. (No, his parents were not so cruel as to actually name him Frog, but that's what everyone calls him.) Frog and I are basically the same person. He's a riot, by the way, and I never have more fun at SpoCon than when I'm on a panel with him.

Anyway, Frog and Esther are co-authors of the Gift of Grace series, an urban fantasy series that I highly recommend. The first two installments, Grace Under Fire and Coup de Grace, are out now. They also run the Friday Indie Review, where they--you guessed it--review indie books.

(It's so funny when I think about it: When Esther and I met, we were both unpublished writers hoping to have Real Live Books out there someday--and here we are, both with two novels out! It's wild.)

And speaking of people I met at my first SpoCon.... The beautiful blue lady to my left in this photo is Natalie Rogers, who Esther and I also met at that fateful breakfast event. She wrote a really, really rad short story, so it's no wonder why she was a finalist in the contest. Esther and I are still bugging her to publish a book already! (On a side-note: At least once per SpoCon, I run into Natalie while she's in cosplay, and I am completely unable to recognize her. She's that good.)

This is Sam Knight. I met him at RadCon earlier this year, and let me tell you, it's been a wild ride ever since. He came all the way from Colorado, which seems like a lot of effort to me. (I like my conventions conveniently located. Like, no more than one state away.) I got to listen to more his pearls of wisdom on our Self-Publishing 101 panels, and the two of us palled around outside a bathroom afterward. That's how we roll.

Look at this little moonbeam. Her name is Aascot, and we've been Facebook friends for some time. But we didn't meet in person until last weekend, when we met up at SpoCon! I could not have prepared for how cute and tiny she turned out to be. There's something really special about meeting Internet friends--in particular, that moment when you finally get to hear their voice!

Well, that just about sums it up. I'm already getting excited for next year!

My SpoCon Schedule

Just a few days until SpoCon 2014! It's shaping up to be another great con. Here's where you'll be able to find me this weekend:

Friday:
Building Dynamic Supporting Characters - 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Middle Grade Vs. Young Adult - 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Saturday:
Character Motives and Psyche - 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Self-Publishing 101 - 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Sex, Violence and the Modern Young Adult Story - 8:00-9:00 p.m.

Sunday:
Reading - 10:30-11:00 a.m.
Diversity in Science Fiction and Fantasy - 11:00-12:00 p.m.

Don't forget that there will be a giveaway at my reading on Sunday! (Now all I have to do is choose which passages to read. That's always the most stressful part of convention prep for me!)

Gearing up for SpoCon

It's the most wonderful time of the year: time for SpoCon!

This year, the con is August 15-17, so if you haven't pre-registered yet, you should really get on that. (And, really, if you're in the area, why wouldn't you go? This year's Guest of Honor is C.J. Cherryh, for crying out loud!)

I'm very excited to see everyone at the con this year, and I'm even more excited about the panels I'll be speaking on. As soon as my schedule is finalized, I'll share it here--but for now, I can confirm that I'll have a reading, and that I'll be sharing a little something from Lights!

So: Who can I look forward to seeing at SpoCon?

REVIEW: Rain (Paper Gods #2) by Amanda Sun

Rain on Goodreads

Amanda Sun’s debut novel, Ink, was one of my favorite reads of 2013. I hoped that Rain would be at least as good as its predecessor. It wasn’t.

Rain was even better.

I plowed through this book in two days flat. I just couldn’t set Rain down for long. Honestly, the novel was so tightly plotted that I had a hard time finding where I could stick my bookmark without feeling that I was abandoning the characters to their fate.

Rain transported me. Amanda Sun has a real gift for description. She masterfully slips in all kinds of sensory details that immerse the reader in her world. When it comes to creating setting, she has a light, artistic touch. It’s the little things that make the story come alive, woven smoothly into the narrative: the hum of vending machines, the smell of food at a festival, the bubbles fizzing in a glass of melon soda.

These descriptions were my favorite aspect of Rain—and they’re the reason why I’m currently rereading the book. I can’t get enough of Sun’s descriptive writing.

Speaking of Sun’s writing: I’m a hard sell when it comes to first-person narration. The YA market is flooded with novels that have no business in first-person, but are nonetheless.

To write successfully in the first person, the viewpoint character needs 1) a unique, believable voice and 2) a damned good reason to be present for every important event—because, of course, in a first-person novel, if she’s not there, the audience doesn’t get to see it.

Often, this results in a lot of protagonists “conveniently” overhearing important conversations or otherwise being shoehorned into unlikely situations because the plot demands it, dragged around by a very obvious authorial hand. Rain is one of the few, bright exceptions. Both Katie’s narration and her presence in the story are wonderfully organic.

Katie struggles in this book—and not just with the ancient supernatural forces gathering around her. Her Japanese isn’t up to scratch, and she’s in danger of having to transfer to an international (English-speaking) school, away from her only real friends and the boy she loves. She’s still grappling with Japanese social conventions.

And then there’s all that trouble with the yakuza, and the fact that her boyfriend is a kami with dangerous powers he can’t control.

Put it all together and you’ve got the makings of a fantastic book. Danger! Mythology! Culture! Romance! Kendo! A positive relationship between Katie and her aunt! Well-developed secondary characters! (SATOSHI, MY LOVE.) Rain has it all.

Honestly, my biggest complaint has nothing to do with the story. Many Japanese words and phrases appear throughout Rain, but you have to flip to the glossary in the very back of the book to find out what they mean. While the language adds texture and realism to the story, I was annoyed at having to interrupt my reading experience every few pages to visit the glossary. What’s more, there’s no indication (say, in the front-matter) that the book includes a glossary at all—so if you don’t know it’s there when you start reading, you’re going to be flummoxed and frustrated by Japanese phrases, only to kick yourself when you reach the end and discover that the translations have been right there all along.

Is it so hard to design the book with footnotes instead of a glossary in the back? Throw me a bone, here, Harlequin Teen!

To wrap things up, I’d like to share one of my favorite passages from Rain, from early in the book. It showcases a lot of what I love about Amanda Sun’s writing:

The flustered crowd swelled around us, elbows and shoulders prodding into me, squishing me until I felt a claustrophobic panic attack coming on. It reminded me of Mom’s funeral, the heat and sweat of all the bodies circling around me, too close. 

“Here,” Tomo said, pressing his hands against the wall on either side of me. The crowd continued to push toward us, but Tomohiro took the brunt of it, forced closer and closer toward me.  

“Thanks,” I said. He nodded once, bracing himself against the umbrellas and bags that jabbed into his arms and legs. We were pressed together like sardines; his breath was warm against my neck, and I could see the ribbons of badly healed scars trailing up his right arm. The biggest, where the painting of the kanji for sword had sliced him in elementary school, was mostly hidden under his soft wristband, but the edges of the scar trailed toward his palm and up his arm. 

He hunched over me, trying not to press his body against mine, trying to give me some kind of modest space. This was the kind of guy he was, I reminded myself. Not the one who could lurk in dark alleys and call up people-eating dragons just by sketching them on paper. 

But that was him, too. 

— Rain by Amanda Sun

Authorgraph

I heard about Authorgraph a while ago, but only recently checked it out for myself. I wish I'd done it sooner!

In a nutshell, Authorgraph is a very cool (and free) service that makes it possible for authors to sign ebooks for their readers. Yes, really! It works across multiple reading devices and apps, so no matter how you prefer to read your ebooks, there's an Authorgraph format that will work for you. Sending a request is also super easy--literally just the click of a button--and you can even include an additional note with your request so the author can better personalize your signature. Neat, huh?

Long story short, if you'd like me to sign your digital edition of Flicker or Brightly, I can do it! Just send a request through my Authorgraph page, or through the fancy little Authorgraph widget on the sidebar of this blog. (Actually, there are a bunch of fancy little widgets on the sidebar now that you might take a peek at.)

Flicker Giveaway 2.0

It's bigger, it's badder, it's--

Okay, maybe it's not bigger and badder, but it's definitely back.

This weekend, Flicker will be free in the Kindle Store! The last giveaway was so successful that I decided to give it another go. Feel free to share this handy-dandy banner to help spread the word. (Imagine me waggling my eyebrows in an encouraging way.)

If you haven't downloaded Flicker yet, this weekend is the perfect time. If you've already downloaded Flicker, then you're amazing and I thank you! I hope you'll consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads (every little bit helps!), share the banner or tell a friend about the free download period. (Because, honestly, your friends deserve to read Flicker for free. It would be terribly cruel of you to deprive them.)

Swim Until You Can't See Land

Swim Until You Can't See Land

a playlist for Brightly

Some writers need total silence in order to work, but I always listen to music while I write. Here is a collection of the music I listened to most while writing Brightly. I’ve posted individual songs here and there on my Facebook page, but here is the playlist in its entirety.

I've posted the playlist on 8tracks—with bonus pretentious album art! Unfortunately, because you can include no more than two songs by the same artist on any given mix, I had to split it into two parts.

Listen to Part 1 here.

Listen to Part 2 here.

The playlist is arranged in chronological order, following the progression of the story, so if you’ve read Brightly, I think you’ll be able to pick out which songs correspond to certain characters or sequences.

You’ll notice a lot of water imagery throughout this playlist. Those songs helped get me in the mindset to write about the sea and Siren Island. In particular, there is a bunch of watery music by Florence + the Machine.

The song “What the Water Gave Me” was a huge inspiration for Brightly. It’s such a powerful, crashing piece of music that it’s hard to listen to it without your brain conjuring up all kinds of fantastic imagery. (Actually, that happens to me pretty much every time I put on my headphones and listen to Florence: I’m inundated with mental music videos.)

Specifically—and this may be a small spoiler if you haven’t finished Brightly—quite a long time ago, while listening to “What the Water Gave Me,” I suddenly had a very clear mental image of Henry and a sea serpent in the rain. That one image evolved into the Deception Pass sequence, and became vital to the story.

I love this quote about “What the Water Gave Me” from an interview with Florence Welch:

“It’s a song for the water, because in music and art what I’m really interested in are the things that are overwhelming. The ocean seems to me to be nature’s great overwhelmer. When I was writing this song I was thinking a lot about all those people who’ve lost their lives in vain attempts to save their loved ones from drowning. It’s about water in all forms and all bodies.”

The overwhelming quality of the ocean is something that greatly interests me, as well, and it’s something I tried to get at in Brightly. Really, my fascination with water in general is one of the main reasons why Brightly is the book it is. When you get down to it, I just wanted to write about the sea. And mermaids. Always mermaids.