Tag: reading

I Just Wanna Shelter In Place Like A Good Introvert

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I live in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, where new cases of the Coronavirus are developing. I work for the city of Hampton, at the public library. While we will be closed to the public until the end of the month, all of the employees still need to report to work. We’re cleaning, shifting books, and pulling books that are on request, so we can be ready when it’s time for us to re-open. Still, everyday I watch the news and hear the President and the Governor of VA tell people they need to stay home. When I learned the library would be closed, I thought we employees would get to stay home. But, we’re still going into the library. I’m hauling myself into work, when all I want to do is just stay home.

Sheltering in place is easy to do if you’re an introvert. I have plenty to keep me busy at home: I’m working on two manuscripts, my website needs constant updating, I’m reviewing content for other writers and then of course, there’s this blog! I would LOVE to just stay home. I don’t know. Maybe things will changes within the next few days.

Stay safe, people. 

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

My Review of “Year of the Monkey”

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Let me start by saying, if Punk Rock was a religion, Patti Smith would be it’s Pope.
Patti has a way with words. Her writing style is so descriptive its easy to visualize the places she’s describing as you read her work. Of all of her memoirs I’ve read (Just Kids, M Train), Year of the Monkey is my favorite. In this book she chronicles a year of traveling, dreaming in different hotels, close friends and random yet memorable encounters. And of course, there are still shots in black and white, to help illustrate the journey. I appreciate the simplicity of her journey: she travels light, only packing what she needs,(t-shirts, socks, and her camera),freeing her to enjoy the journey itself without being weighed down by unnecessary things. There are no meals at fancy high-end restaurants and flights in the first-class section of planes: she hitches rides and eats modestly at the little cafes she finds along the way. 

This was a nice transition from the Patti Smith of Just Kids. She has grown from artist to musician to a wise traveler. She handles the trials and triumphs of the year gracefully, including the election of Trump. It’s a fun and fantastic read, from beginning to end. 

Reading Your Book Out Loud

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Remember kindergarten, when it was story time and your teacher would read a book out loud to your class? Or perhaps, for some of you, it was first grade. Maybe you had a parent read a book out loud to you. Either way, at some point, you were able to experience having a book read to you. If this never happened during your childhood, well, two things:

1) How sad.

2) Consider the audio book. It can be a wondrous thing.

speaking+out+loud

Reading something out loud can give the text itself a whole new meaning. It’s a combination of the material and the person reading. I mean, I couldn’t sit and just read Miriam Webster’s Dictionary, but I could listen to Tom Hiddleston read it out loud (there’s something about his voice, dude. It’s like ear-porn). Material sounds more interesting when its read out loud. If you’re writing a book, and you’re not sure how it will “sound” to your readers, try reading it out loud to yourself or to someone else.

I was on the fence about Our Lady of Righteous Rage, until I read it to myself, out loud. The material took on a different flow, and I actually came to appreciate it more. The same can be said for Novocaine. In fact, I have posted videos of myself on the Woolaston Entertainment Facebook page, reading samples from some of my books. 

Reading your material out loud can give you a better sense of how the words themselves flow. Maybe your main character’s speech about freedom isn’t as strong as it could be. Maybe that conversation that takes place between the husband and wife sounds a little too crude. Aside from learning how the material will “sound” to your readers, reading out loud is also a great editing tool.

Woolaston Entertainment

Snippet of “Our Lady of Righteous Rage: Extended and Uncensored”

What I’m Reading Now

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Every year I participate in the Reading Challenge on Goodreads. I’d like to read 100 new books each year, but that’s just too unrealistic! So I start out with a goal of 25. If I’ve read at least 22 or 23 by September-October, then I consider raising the goal to 30. I’ve been doing this since 2011, and so far I’ve managed to meet my challenge each year. This year I’m starting out a bit smaller: 20 books. I still have a lot of other projects I need to work on, and I may not have as much time for reading as I would like. So, 20 it is.

I’m currently reading 3 books right now (because I can’t seem to focus on only one thing at a time. Two of these books have been on my mind for a while, and the third literally fell into my lap. Literally. I was at my desk at work, putting stickers on new books, and it just slid off the desk and into my lap! It’s a Chuck Palahniuk book, so I couldn’t say no.

Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith

I must confess, I purchased a copy of this book last year when it came out, and I’m finally reading it. I’ve read some of Patti Smith’s other books, such as Just Kids, Auguries of Innocence, The Coral Sea and M Train. She’s one of the reasons I got into punk rock. Her writing style is a reflection of her musical style: visual and poetic, and profound. She’s very descriptive, even when it comes to the simplest of things, such as walking to a restaurant. I’m nearly finished reading it, and I will post a review here and on Goodreads.

The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene

When I worked in a bookstore, I had a lot of people asking for Robert Greene’s books. My store was forced to keep copies of Mastery and The 48 Laws of Power behind the register, because they were high theft items. I came across The 50th Law and decided to give a try, since I am a fan of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Plus, I wanted to see what was so special about Robert Greene’s writing. From what I’ve read so far, it takes fearlessness to get things done. This can be applied to so many different areas of our lives: succeeding in business, achieving higher grades in school, asking for a raise, etc. I’m about half-way through.

Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life after Which Everything Was Different by Chuck Palahniuk

I’m only on the first page, but I can already tell I’m going to like it. The first two books I read by Palahniuk were Fight Club and Haunted. I’ll let you know how this one goes. 

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

I’m Over My Dry Spell

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I went through a bit of a dry spell after I published my last ebook. Lucia and the Saints: Volume Four came out on August 2 of this year, and I haven’t released anything since then. My plan was, to keep on writing and publishing. But, sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to. I didn’t feel like writing, even though I have a ton of material to work on, and books that I need to finish.  Experiencing a dry spell was not a good thing.

Last week, I forced myself back into writing. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is literally around the corner, and I’m hosting an event at my local library. This means, I need to get myself back in gear. I need to finish editing my mother’s latest book, A New England Serial Killer, and finish Jo Fuentes: Project Sleep and Lucia and the Saints: Volume Five and Volume Six. The good news is, I’m nearly finished with editing Mom’s book, almost ready to edit Jo Fuentes, and Lucia Five will be ready by Saturday. So, the dry spell has ended!

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!