December 2019 marked the tenth anniversary of the first book I ever published: Fortune’s Wing. Originally written in 2002, it became the first of a three-book series about a young … Continue reading 10 Years of Fortune’s Wing
Tag: characters
Bildungsroman
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 5th Anniversary of “Our Lady of Righteous Rage”
Releasing a new book is always exciting and special. Something that you have created and worked very hard on, is now available to the rest of the world. One of … Continue reading The 5th Anniversary of “Our Lady of Righteous Rage”
Valentine’s 10th Anniversary
March 27, 2010: it was a wonderful time. My second published book, Valentine, had just been released. It was a proud moment for me, because Valentine was a book I had written just a … Continue reading Valentine’s 10th Anniversary
The Year of HER: Female Characters in W.E.
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.
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 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.
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.
The Finale of Lucia and the Saints
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.
The Top 12 Books That Influenced My Writing
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:
- Bunnicula and Nighty Nightmare by James Howe (couldn’t have 1 w/o the other)
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz (all 3 in the series)
- Hellsing (manga series) by Kohta Hirano
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Revolutionary Girl Utena (manga series) by Chiho Saito, Be-Papas
- The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
- Grey by Pete Wentz
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- Sailor Moon (manga series) by Naoko Takeuchi
- Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo by Andy Greenwald
- The Haunting of Grade Three by Grace Maccarone
- 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”!
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
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!
What Do Your Characters Sound Like?
When you sit down to create a character, whether it’s for a book, short story, or a graphic novel/comic, what comes to mind? Your character’s appearance? Their behavior? What about their voice? What does your character sound like?
Every chapter is an episode, and I’m just watching them and writing all the details.
I mentioned this on a previous post, but I’ll say it again here. I’m a visual person. When I write, I picture the story taking place in my mind, and basically write what I see, the same as you would if you were watching a TV show or a movie and writing down all the events taking place. For me, Fortune’s Wing and Valentine aren’t just books, they’re TV series. Every chapter is an episode, and I’m just watching them and writing all the details. This means, all of my characters not only have a physical appearance, they have voices, too. So, I’m going to share some of the voices I hear, whenever one of my characters speak. This would serve as a potential cast list, of any of my books ever become animated movies or series.
Fortune Oyama
Valentine
Fortune Oyama of Fortune’s Wing: Leonardo DiCaprio. I dunno why, but each time I sat down to work on FW and I wrote Fortune’s dialogue, that’s the voice I heard.
Demetri of Fortune’s Wing: Orson Welles. Yes, I know he passed away in 1985, but he would have made a perfect Demetri. His voice also would have worked for John Rafferty of the Valentine series. Both characters are large men, and they’re both villains. I first heard Orson Welles’ voice in Transformers: The Movie (the animated one from 1986). He provided the voice for Unicron. I was enamored with how deep and booming his voice was, and he actually inspired both Demetri and Rafferty.
Valentine of Valentine: Charlize Theron’s voice has always been in my head for this character. She’s actually the reason I made Val so tall in the series (she’s between 5 foot 9 and 5 foot 10).
Dee Seybrook of Our Lady of Righteous Rage: Taraji P. Henson would HAVE to be the voice of Dee, if this book series became animated! Hands down! Her voice is perfect for Dee: the voice of a petite female who doesn’t take any crap.
Aidan Sirci of Our Lady of Righteous Rage: Ryan Renolds. Period. Tall, good looking, and sarcastic….pretty much describes Aidan, too!
Of course, your characters’ voices don’t have to belong to celebrities. Mine just happen to. Since I modeled Nyda Summit of Our Lady after my mother, I tend to hear my mother’s voice when Nyda speaks. And Erin Michaels of Our Lady? That’s all me.
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