Going to Hell in a Handbasket

Evening lovely readers 🙂

hell in a handbasketFirst off has anyone else heard the saying in my title? I was always positive it existed but everyone around me looked at me like I’d grown a second head and started breathing purple fire. “What? Never heard of it…” “you must have made it up…” lol. Well now I can officially say that it does exist and it means that circumstances are being led to disaster. Nuh ny nuh to all those doubters lol 🙂 Anyhoo slightly off topic…

This saying does in fact relate, at least partially, to what I am doing now. I have to think of a new title for my novel. I know right? I’d rather rewrite the damn thing than rethink the title solely because my brain seems to have taken on writer’s brain block. Okay, so it’s all not going to disaster but my brain is definitely hurting right now… As some will know my novel is currently called I Cast Magic Into the Darkness. I originally chose this title to show the confusion my protagonist feels at the circumstances she finds herself in. Now I have no idea how to pick one. How the heck do I avoid falling into a stereotypical fantasy trap of a title?

Some of my favourite authors have adopted varied techniques when naming their own works. Christine Feehan opted for the more repetitive option with her Dark Carpathian series as, for example, she starts the series with Dark Prince and each book that follows begins with dark in the title. For the way the series develops this is inspired as it really adds to the effect of the darkness that each protagonist must fight against. In contrast, The Belgariad and The Mallorean series written by the exceptional David Eddings chooses a fantastical title to encompass what happens in the books in general. For example, the first book of the Belgariad series is entitled Pawn of Prophecy which aptly describes what Garion is and what his journey will be through the two series and beyond. It’s with examples like these that I wish I had the the type of genius to come up with equally epic titles.

You see my problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Love to you all. Thank you 🙂

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Dark Desire by Christine Feehan

Time for another book review you wonderful bloggers you 🙂 Dark Desire is the second book in the Dark Carpathian series by the wonderful Christine Feehan. I have done many posts about her writing before but I have only ever reviewed the first book in the story Dark Prince. As with the first, Dark Desire will not disappoint you. It is an ingeniously written insight to a dark World of fantasy, possession and lifemates.

Shea O’Hallaran is a remarkable surgeon for her age. She is brilliant, gifted and almost wills even the most serious cases to live through her surgery. One night she experiences that most horrific pain imaginable and collapses from the stress on her body. That’s when the strange happenings begin. She goes on the run after being accused of being vampire and is drawn to a small abandoned cottage in the forests of the Carpathian Mountains after dreams of a tall, dark handsome stranger beckoned her there…

Jacques Dubrinsky is crazy. Well, that’s what he believes anyway. He has been tortured to the brink of insanity and left to die buried alive in the wall of a cellar. His tormentors pierced his chest with a large wooden stake but they missed his heart. They should have hit his heart for now he will make them pay. He connects with a beautiful red-headed woman during his torture and not only does he have to suffer the pain but watch as well as she collapses from sharing it. He tried to protect her as a lifemate should but it was no use. Eventually darkness consumed him from blood loss but not before he thought that if she was his lifemate he would protect her; if she was his tormentor he would make her suffer…

What follows is a whirlwind of passion, possession, anger and love. Jacques can’t remember his life before the torture and Shea is desperate to find out why her mother, who had committed suicide when she was eighteen, was somehow linked to these mountains. Shea doesn’t want to fall in love with Jacques as she has a rare blood disorder which can only cause them both pain but he is determined to bind his lifemate to him; she is the light in his darkness and he hoped his apparent insanity wouldn’t matter. Could they survive together with so many unknowns? and what would they do when Mikhail, Jacques brother from the first book, comes looking for him after discovering Jacques is alive and not dead as he had thought?

Ms Feehan immerses you in a wonderful World of fantasy as she has done with every book. The World is created in front of you with the use of words only, you feel the passion stir your soul and you come to love the characters, both male and female, and care what happens to them. Ms Feehan’s writing is so all consuming that you could quite easily lose yourself in the novel for hours and not mind the time loss. I myself am about to start Dark Lycan her newest book and the mere thought of losing myself in more of her writing has me desperate to be home with a good cup of tea. I can’t stress this enough; buy these books, you will not be disappointed in the slightest.

Now to pop the kettle on… 🙂

Love, Lust and the Bard

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How do you create a convincing love story? How do you portray the unending emotions and the passion that ensues? Don’t get me wrong, writing a romance or an ‘adult fiction’ book is the furthest thing from my mind but I have started to wonder what makes a convincing romantic strand of your overall narrative weave.

In I Cast Magic Into the Darkness, my characters Lucas and Aly have a deep love bordering on a soul connection but I worry that I put too much emphasis on this. I’m writing the novel so that the emphasis is on this connection they have. Since Aly is the current, and penultimate, reincarnation of the Angel of Death she is fated to bring Death and suffering to everyone she loves so the fact that nothing has happened to Lucas so far is a miracle to her and she’s desperate to hold on to that. I fear I am constantly repeating myself on different aspects of the relationship, I am unsure how to balance it as I only want it to be part of the main focus instead of the entire main focus.

Another aspect I’m unsure of in my novel is the love scene. I have tried to write it showing the beauty of their coupling and the obvious love they have for one another. It is quite a descriptive part of the writing but I used soft and delicate vocabulary to show it wasn’t just some random sordid love scene thrown in there for the Hell of it. I worry it sounds corny though, almost stereotypical in a story revolving around a couple and the connection they share. I will keep on with it in my editing process however. It’s just something else to concentrate on while I try to establish the bond they share 🙂

A great example of a romantic fantasy filled with destiny is Christine Feehan’s Dark Carpathian series. She adds in so much wonderfully fantastical aspects to her story that it is not so obvious that the stories mainly revolve around a Carpathian seeking their lifemate. A great example of a story with romantic notions is Holly Lisle’s The Secret Texts series (book review of the first book Diplomacy of Wolves to come soon). This story mainly centres around Kate Galweigh, who is a shapeshifter, and the plight of her family and everyone she comes into contact with. This story mainly has a fantasy theme running through it but the aspects of love are still there.

Have you had the same problem? I don’t want my novel to be repetitive; I want the love my characters share to be outstanding but not over take the entire novel. Could anyone give any advice? 🙂

I Have Updated My Excitement…

I have taken time to update the announcement of Christine Feehan’s exciting news with the correct info. I believe I got a little too carried away in my excitement, damn my love of literature 🙂 So please reread and enjoy.

Thank you.

*UPDATED* Cannot Contain My Excitement Anymore…

Hi 🙂 I’m sorry if this post doesn’t make much sense at all but I’ve just discovered THE most exciting news. Christine Feehan, one of my most favourite authors and the Lady I posted my first book review about, has announced that she is finally bringing out the story her fans have been waiting a decade for.

I’m sorry, this will probably make more sense as I bring out book reviews but basically it is a story involving a young woman called Skyler and a Carpathian called Dimitri. You first meet Skyler in book number eight entitled Dark Legend (I will be doing a book review of every title mentioned in this post). You see her as a young child in hospital that the main female character Francesca (in this book both a female Carpathian and a doctor) is trying to help. Skyler is suffering from a form of Locked In Syndrome where she has hidden so well in her own mind not even a powerful Carpathian psychic can help her instantly. You soon discover that it is because her own father basically pimped her out at a shockingly young age so that his friends could have sex with her (Ms Feehan expertly tackling an issue that is far too prominent even in this day and age). Don’t worry though, the father dies (though not by the Carpathian lifemate Gabriel) and Francesca manages to heal at least the physical wounds Skyler suffers with and a vast majority of her mental ones. She is then adopted by Francesca and her lifemate Gabriel Daratrazanoff and becomes their daughter, they the parents she should have always had. Now an interesting point some may miss but you MUST take note of is after Francesca and Gabriel have made beautiful love in her friends store, Gabriel feels compelled to buy a stuffed wolf toy that has the most beautiful blue eyes for Skyler and he does…

Now, in the next book entitled Dark Gaurdian you get the story of Lucian, Gabriel’s twin Carpathian brother and his human lifemate Jax Montgomery. You are given an update on Skyler and you are introduced via flashback to Dimitri her Carpathian lifemate as a boy nearly one thousand years ago. Lucian has a flashback to when he was meeting the Carpathian king of the time. The twins were legendary even then, a thousand years old a thousand years ago, and no one dared to go near them, afraid of their power. Two young Carpathian boys did however; Julian, who is the main Carpathian lifemate in book five Dark Challenge, and Dimitri. They are confronted by the twins and are scared but Dimitri refuses to run away, showing a strength of character sometimes lacking in both Human and Carpathian alike. It flashes back to present day and Skyler is recovering well. She views Gabriel and Francesca as her proper parents and is learning to accept others, a great feat given her history. All is going well 🙂

The next book they appear in is book sixteen Dark Celebration. This is a gathering of all the Carpathian couples seen so far to celebrate Christmas. It mainly focuses on Mikhail from Dark Prince visiting them all and making sure they fare well. He goes back to visit his own lifemate Raven and they both have a surprise visit off Skyler. Part of Skyler’s gift was to know when someone was in pain, both physically and mentally and she was drawn to Raven. While there, a dark wolf passes by the window and they get a flash of beautiful blue eyes. Mikhail goes to investigate but the wolf is gone as if never there. Just in case he makes sure Skyler has an adult to walk back to her lodge with her. This turns out to be Alexandra, the human lifemate (now Carpathian) in book three Dark Gold. They set off back and Skyler is plagued that something is watching them, or following them. Suddenly a dark claw reaches for Skyler that only Alexandra can see, she pushes Skyler out of the way just in time for a tree to collapse on top of her. Skyler is pinned however and blood starts to run onto the pure white snow. Out of the darkness comes the dark wolf with the beautiful blue eyes that quickly turns into a breath-taking muscled man with the same eyes. She gasps and doesn’t want him to touch her. He does but gently, placing her under a trance so he can heal her wound and give her his blood to replenish what she has lost, taking a small amount of her blood at the same time, just so they would have a psychic link. While this is happening colour and emotion explodes for him and she realises that he is Dimitri, Carpathian and lifemate to her. Suffice it to say Gabriel and Francesca arrive to ‘save’ her. There’s a heated debate and, although reluctant to, he hands Skyler to her parents, knowing she is far too young to handle a lifemate such as he (she’s sixteen at this point). Later he must heal her wounds as she fought a vampire with her friend and she got their acidic blood on her hands. He is infinitely gentle and points out that her gift of reading people’s minds through touch does not work with him; with him, she can be herself. This sounds so wonderful but she is still scared of his imposing nature. She goes back to her parents and has to endure a room full of angry adult Carpathian hunters, angry at the fact that her friend told them Dimitri assaulted her. She begins to panic but Dimitri arrives to settle them all and informs them ‘If you value your lives you will leave my lifemate alone. I can feel her distress radiating through the forest.’ Skyler watches in horror as the hunters turn towards him but she states ‘he saved my life’ to offer some defence and tells him on their own path ‘please don’t get hurt, I couldn’t stand that.’ It’s interesting to note in this book Skyler is almost Carpathian anyway. She has had two transfusions off her parents and they are reluctant to give her the third…

The last time we see them is in book twenty-one Dark Slayer. This is the story of Razvan (major character, will be explained in further book reviews) and Ivory Malinov; both Carpathians, both hunters. Within this book Skyler meets her birth father, much to everyone’s shock and she takes part in a ritual to save two twin infant baby girls and it brings all of her suppressed memories of her horrible experiences back in almost physical form. She is distressed, tears rolling down her cheeks, but she does not waver, even when both Dimitri as her lifemate and Gregori (the main male Carpathian from book four Dark Magic) try to save her from it. She is determined that she would save these babies, an admirable quality in one so young (she is eighteen at this time). It makes you love the characters even more if it’s possible…

Ok, painfully aware I showed both my excitement and love for this series I’ll focus on what I meant to. Ms Feehan is bringing out three books; one in September, one in January, and one after; which the middle, Dark Wolf, is going to be focused on Skyler and Dimitri. The first is called Dark Lycan, the second is called Dark Wolf and the third is called Dark Hunter. All three books of the trilogy are going to be linked in some way. The first is going to be about a Carpathian Aunt (fans will know) called Tatijana and her lifemate Fenris, Dimitri’s brother. The second is Skyler and Dimitri and the third is about Tatijana’s sister Bronnie and her lifemate, a Lycan hunter called Zev. Just imagine the scope for narrative brilliance that can be obtained in three books linked together? Ms Feehan always surpasses herself so this trilogy should be outstanding 🙂 (Yes you can see it is Dimitri and Skyler I am most excited about)

I kept this post purposefully obtuse as I wanted to relate the history of the two characters to you, but I also wanted you to get interested in the works and feel the need to look up what I am talking about. Sorry to confuse so many but I cannot state enough how wonderful this series is; how in depth the World, how intertwined the characters and how essential their lives are. I really hope you read and I really hope you enjoy.

Thank you 🙂

Updated Book Review

This is just a little post to say I have updated my first book review slightly. I added a little bit about tone etc and hope it only adds to the review and to the novel itself. Please check it out and I hope you enjoy 🙂

*UPDATED* Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

ImageOk, this is my first attempt at an objective book review. I will admit it’s going to be hard as I just love reading and I love books, but I will certainly give it a go.

Dark Prince is a novel written by the wonderful author (see? failing at objectivity already) Christine Feehan. Within this novel Ms Feehan successfully combines aspects of the real World with detailed fantasy and an intense passion. We are introduced to Prince Mikhail Dubrinsky immediately. His despair and belief in his abject failure in leading his people are almost palpable and as a result he has decided to ‘end it’ the next morning. Just as his determination becomes resolute a soft and inviting female voice enters his mind. He doesn’t quite know how to take it but he does feel desire stir within him and he can see colours for the first time in centuries…

What follows is a story filled with fantasy and adventure. Mikhail presents himself as a determined leader ready to do anything for his people but also a passionate, almost obsessive partner willing to do anything for his lifemate. Within this series a lifemate is born to each Carpathian that will restore colour and emotion to them and are the other half of their souls. There is only one lifemate for each Carpathian and if they do not find them they are doomed to an unhappy lifetime (which is substantial) or the male’s are doomed to give into the darkness in their souls and become vampire. Raven Whitney (the female voice entering his mind) is Mikhail’s lifemate and Ms Feehan combines her modern World with his old world outlook so well that along with the trials they encounter throughout the book they must overcome their obvious difficulties for their love to work.

The writing itself is detailed and wonderfully imaginative. The tempo of the book never lessens any. You are introduced to the characters directly, given the first trial they must face and they go on from there. It’s almost a rhythmic bounce to the writing itself, letting you get completely encompassed in the World that Ms Feehan creates. The tone of the book is wonderfully multifaceted as well. You begin wondering if you are reading a romance but soon discover that there are fantastical overtones and dark, dark mystery to the World they inhabit. You cannot help but just be overtaken by this novel it is so well written.

I cannot begin to describe the wonderful aspects of the story and how well you will get lost in it. The characters become almost real to you in that you must read all the way to the end just to find out what happens, you feel the need to and it ends in such a way that you know their story completely but must read the others book in the series because you HAVE to know the entire Carpathian World. Please read this as it will not disappoint you.

Now, painfully aware that I failed at objectivity, what do you think? Would you read the book? Is there anything I could have put into the review to make it better? Please don’t hesitate to let me know 🙂

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