Tag: characters

First Lines and First Impressions

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Ah, the opening line of a book or short story. The attention-getter. It’s the line that sets the tone. It can draw you in, or leave you feeling completely uninterested. Every first line I have ever written, have terrified me. Why? Because I know they will either be good, or awful. I mean, who can top It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? Sheesh.

As a writer, you want your first line to have enough impact so your reader will not only be drawn into the story, but have an idea of what kind of story they’re about to get into. But you don’t want to give away too much. It’s like watching a movie you’ve never seen before, and being able to guess what’s going to happen from the very beginning. It’s not easy to do, but sometimes, you get it right. Below are the first lines of some of my books.

 

Was it a dream or was it reality?

Fortune’s Wing begins with a reoccurring dream it’s protagonist Fortune Oyama has been haunted by. He has visions of a ruined world; a world he couldn’t save. The heart of the story concerns the fate of the world: will it be destroyed or will it be saved? Will things carry on the way they always have or will there be dramatic changes? All of these questions can only be answered by the one who possesses The Wings. 

 

It was early; around six in the morning.

Not my strongest line. But the rest of the paragraph makes up for it: Veronica Entienne watches her cousin Val pack a few last minute items into her bag. This much is clear: she’s going somewhere. And that’s the most important factor in Valentine: Va’s road trip to L.A. to save her father.

 

When I was twelve years old, I fell in love with rock n roll. 

There are a few things you can take away from the first line in Our Lady of Righteous Rage. One, this is going to be a story with musical elements. Two, it’s a coming-of-age tale (the narrator makes a statement about something that happened when she was twelve, giving the impression she’s older now). Three, music is very important to this person, especially rock n roll. 

 

“If you take this much, you’ll feel better, but if you take this much, you’ll see God.”

This is the opening line to a book I’m working on, titled Barrin Heights. I’m not one hundred percent sure of where this story is headed, but I can tell you it’s going to be supernatural. 

 

First lines: as writers, we don’t always nail them. But you can’t expect success every time. You can’t learn from success; you can only learn from failure. 

Woolaston Entertainment

Bildungsroman

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Bil·dungs·ro·man
/ˈbildo͝oNGzrōˌmän,ˈbēldo͝oNGks-/
noun
a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education.
One of my books was recently added to the catalog at the Hampton Public Library: a copy of Our Lady of Righteous Rage. When I read the list of related subjects and search terms in the description, an interesting word caught my eye. Bildungsroman. Of course, I had to Google it: in literature, this is a genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist of a story, from youth to adulthood, in which the character undergoes a change.  In other words, a coming-of-age story. I had always thought of OLORR as a sort of coming-of-age story, but I hadn’t given enough thought to the true meaning behind the genre.
The protagonist of OLORR is a cat-girl named Amy. The story follows Amy from her twelfth birthday into adulthood, from middle school to her career in music. She starts out the way most twelve-year-olds do: spirited, a bit naive, and eager to try new things. Friends, music and guitars–that’s her world. As she grows older and matures, she begins to learn there’s more to life than these three things. Sometimes, things don’t go the way we want them to. Sometimes, you meet Prince Charming, and later, he turns into a jerk. A series of life experiences shape Amy into a mature adult; one who can not only have a great career, but be a fantastic wife and mother.  
Bildungsroman is such a wonderful and appropriate term.
If you’re interested in this genre, here are some other titles you may want to check out:
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D.  Salinger
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by  Stephen Chbosky
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Year of HER: Female Characters in W.E.

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I’d like to create a harmonious balance between the use of male and female characters in my books. However, try as I might, I seem to lean towards the female characters more. Maybe it’s my inner feminist. One of my goals for 2020 is to write stories that focus more on the male characters. As a society, it seems our mission is empower women and young girls. I fear the men and young boys are being left out in the cold, and that isn’t good. The last thing I want to see, is a generation of males being made to feel like their feelings and thoughts don’t matter, because they’re not females. But, I digress…

For the Woolaston Entertainment books, this has been the year of HER.

RNRM Cover

Rock N Role Model

Amy Edwards of the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series shows off her tender, motherly side in this first companion book of Phase Two of the series. She discovers a young fan  named Stephanie (Step for short) and takes her under her wing. The two of them begin to spend time together, bonding almost as if they were mother and daughter. It’s an opportunity for readers to see Amy isn’t all punk rock and guitars; off of the stage and away from the studio, she’s a mother.

 

Lucia Vol One Cover

Lucia and the Saints

The woman who created John Rafferty and gave  The Syndicate it’s name is a force to be reckoned with. She’s the reason Valentine, Jo Fuentes, Lola Vencent, Mac Avery and Kelly McCormick each have a place in the Syndicate. Lucia carries a gun, and she knows how to use it. She has no problem standing up to anyone, be they a man or a woman. But she’s not the only strong woman in the series: the young girls she takes in, The Lady Saints are each pretty badass in their own right. They’ll pick up a gun and join Lucia in a fight if necessary.  Lucia is their role model, and they want to learn as much from her as they possibly can.

 

Project Sleep Cover

Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep

Jo already proved her worth in the Valentine series and in Jo Fuentes: The Black Queen. In Project Sleep, Jo works through her PTSD in order to discover the true origins of her dangerous skills. She could just worry about her own safety, but Jo is still a soldier, and the welfare of the other members of Project Sleep is a major concern for her.

 

Rock N Role Model and Lucia and the Saints are both available on Amazon. Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep will be available by the end of December 2019.

Woolaston Entertainment

The Finale of Lucia and the Saints

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Everything has a beginning and an ending. The same is true for my novella series, Lucia and the Saints. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here it goes: the sixth and final volume of the series will be available next week. Yes, folks. The series is coming to an end.

The first volume was released on July 5, 2019. Readers were introduced to a young John Rafferty, when he was attempting to become a business man. This is not the John Rafferty we know (and potentially hate) from the Valentine series. Older Rafferty is cruel, vicious and uncaring. Younger Rafferty can be a bit of a wuss. 

But forget Rafferty for a moment. The main character is Lucia. Everything that happens, and every character in the world of Valentine can be traced back to Lucia. She’s bold and outspoken, and thirty times braver than Rafferty. Truthfully, between the two of them, she should be running the Syndicate.

I used to think prequels were useless. However, writing this series has given me a deeper appreciation for prequels. It’s interesting to find the connections between characters and events from the other series. With Lucia and the Saints: Volume Six, there’s a pivatol moment in which Lucia makes a decision that affects the lives of every other character in both the Valentine series and the Valentine Apart series. 

The entire series is available in ebook form. I will release the paperback versions by the end of the year. 

Woolaston Entertainment

The Top 12 Books That Influenced My Writing

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Every writer can look back at some point in their life, and recognize the person, place or thing that encouraged them to start writing in the first place. Or, something that had an impact on their style of writing. For me, there have been many, many books which have influenced me. The number one book: Bunnicula by James Howe. My second grade teacher read it out loud to my class, and I was instantly hooked. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was receiving a lesson on personification (giving human attributes or qualities to a non-human object). I was already creating short picture books for myself, but this book made me want to be a WRITER. 

The actual list of influential titles is too long to post here, so I managed to narrow it down to 12. I still feel like it should be 15 strong, but we’ll stick to 12, for time’s sake. Here it is, in no particular order:

  1. Bunnicula and Nighty Nightmare by James Howe (couldn’t have 1 w/o the other)
  2. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (all 3 in the series)
  3. Hellsing (manga series) by Kohta Hirano
  4. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
  5. Revolutionary Girl Utena (manga series) by Chiho Saito, Be-Papas
  6. The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
  7. Grey by Pete Wentz
  8. Just Kids by Patti Smith
  9. Sailor Moon (manga series) by Naoko Takeuchi
  10. Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo by Andy Greenwald
  11. The Haunting of Grade Three by Grace Maccarone
  12. Odyssey from River Bend by Tom McGowen

this book made me want to be a WRITER. 

It’s a pretty eclectic list, isn’t it? Childrens’ chapter books, Japanese manga, horror stories and fiction. I have to give an honorable mention to Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman as well. 

So, which books would make your list? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Celebrate October with “Spooky B”!

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October is finally here!!! This is without a doubt one of my favorite months. I have selected one of my characters to be the official W.E. mascot for the month, and its Erin from the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series. To celebrate October, I’m having a sale via the Online Store. If you purchase a copy of Novocaine or The Witch of Fulton Lane, now through October 31st, you will receive a FREE paperback copy of Erin Michaels: Spooky B. So, take a peek at the updated Online Store, and Happy Halloween! 

The Witch of Fulton Lane

New Theme For October

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NovocaineImage

With September drawing to a close, and October just around the corner (that corner is literally next Tuesday), I decided it was time to update the theme on this blog and the Woolaston Entertainment site. When most people think of October, they think of Halloween. Businesses and homes begin to display their Halloween decorations, and everything seems to be pumpkin flavored. I’m not a fan of pumpkin flavored anything, however, I will admit the Cheesecake Factory has a pumpkin flavored cheesecake that’s pretty good. But, back to the point of this post…(damn, now I want cheesecake…)

Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays. I watch horror movie marathons, wear a lot more black than usual (I wear a lot of black anyway, but during this time of year its more legit), and focus on anything scary. Last year, I released my first holiday inspired book, Erin Michaels: Spooky Bitch, which features Erin from the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series. So, Erin, my little feline Goth queen, is W.E.’s official mascot of the month of October. You’ll be seeing much more of her during the next few weeks. 

To celebrate the month, I’m having a special sale on copies of Erin Michaels: Spooky Bitch and The Witch of Fulton Lane. Plus, I’ll post some more snippets from the upcoming Age of the Daughter, the sequel to The Witch of Fulton Lane. And if you want to share any info about the things that scare you, feel free!

Woolaston Entertainment