Be Inspired Meme

This blog post is brought to you by the awesome, Tangynt, who tagged me for the Be Inspired Meme. So, to do the assigned tasks I have to answer a few questions. Find my answers below and thank you Tangynt for tagging me.

Q: What is the name of your book? 

A: Spark

Q: Where did the idea of your book come from?

A: There is a very interesting story behind Spark. Well, to me at least. Spark (Then titled The Demon Chronicles) wasn't even in my mind when I started writing about Taisie's story. Back then she and Rune didn't even know each other because they were in two different books. As I was writing them, I couldn't stop thinking about how the characters from both books belonged together and Spark was born from that one thought. Weird, I know.

Q: In what genre would you classify your book?

A: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

Q: If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?

A: As I write my characters, I dream of how they might look and then search out who they may be in real life. Once I find a picture that says "That's them!" in my mind, they go in a folder under the book and characters name. Below you will find the top six most important characters from Spark. I've found these pictures on the web and I don't claim any rights to them or claim to own them.

Taisie Monahan - Lucy Hale

Taisie is the protagonist of the story who starts off awkward but turns into a powerful girl able to protect herself from whatever comes her way.

Rune Hallowell - Blair Redford

Rune is the love interest of the story with a secret. The strong silent type, he is more than meets the eye.

The Belles: Blaise, Lynn, and Sefarina - Shelley Henning, Jamie Chung, and Candice Accola

The Belles are the head clique in school and Taisie's new friends. Think of them as the girls from Mean Girls with witchy abilities.

Spark - Ian Somerhalder

Spark is the antagonist of the story who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. (Classic bad guy with a twist.)

Q: Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book.

A: 16-year-old Taisie's stalked by ghosts and when one holds all she lives for in his hands, she has to embrace her new powers and form an unlikely alliance to destroy the spectral before he damns her soul.

Q: How long did it take you to write your book?

A: As of the last edits and revisions... three years. But I've learned a lot over those years and Spark's blossomed from the time and care I've put into it along with some help from many awesome people that I love dearly.

Q: What other books within your genre would you compare it to, or readers of which books would enjoy it?

A: I'm not sure there is another book within my genre like Spark. If there is, I can't think of one right at this moment. But I would hope that anyone who enjoys books like The Vampire Diaries, Paranormalcy, or anything within the Fantasy/Paranormal genres would enjoy Spark.

Q: Which authors inspired you to write this book?

A: I can't really say an author inspired me to write Spark. I love to read and that sometimes does inspire me to write things, but not one thing in particular inspired me to write Taisie's story. I just write where my characters take me and they led me to Spark.

Q: Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

A: The tone is dark with moments of romance and humor mixed in with the danger. Also, there may be hidden love triangles mixed in. You'll just have to read the book to figure out who I might be talking about. ;)

Q: Now tag five others: Bwahahahahaha! I mean... you're it!

I'm picking the following people because I know they'll have something interesting to share. Also, I'm cheating and picking six!

Cassandra Marshall

Shelley Watters

Erica Chapman

John Lucas Hargis

Christina Ferko

T.L. Bodine

I hope you enjoyed this little post. I know I did! Until next time, happy reading/writing everyone!

What's in a name?

Credit to whoever owns this image.

I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Why does she have a picture of Fabio on this post?" Well, there is a very good reason. No, I swear! There is! And it all has to do with names and why they are important.

While looking at the Weather Channel, I saw a post about the latest tropical storm and its name. They mentioned jokes and I could see why. The storm's name is Fabio. Now, that picture makes sense doesn't it? Fabio is a perfect name for something smooth like a hot guy, (Not him. At least for me. But the Fabio from Top Chef totally has my vote!) Or maybe even a dirty old man who's chasing after a pretty young girl. Nothing about the name makes me think dangerous tropical storm that could cause damage and possible hurt or kill someone. And that's what this post is about.

Naming a character is like naming a tropical storm. It should convey what and who that character is. Picture the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent. Her name was dark and evil. Heck, it was derived from malevolent. Her name told exactly what her part in the story was and who she was a person. Now imagine if her name had been Glitter. You wouldn't have taken her so seriously would you? That is why names are so important.

Now, there are times using Glitter for example would be perfectly fine. Like if you wanted to mislead your reader into thinking the character wasn't the bad guy, that name would be perfect. In the end it all comes down to your character. You should choose a name that fits who they are and not who you wish they could be. If they're menacing and dangerous, I'd dodge Fabio at all cost. But then again, maybe Fabio can be dangerous. It all depends on how you write him after all.

What names would you not take seriously?

Until next time, happy reading/writing everybody!

Querying: Part...3?

As I've mentioned before, I'm in the middle of querying my first novel and I felt like an update was due. I've written many versions of my query letter and have finally come up with one with some help from my #twitwits friends that I find fits Spark perfectly. Well, as perfect as a one page letter can fit. We have had some highs and some lows. (More of those than highs, but I'm not complaining because that's what makes me a stronger author!) But through it all, Spark and I keep chugging along.

So far we've been through four titles and many revisions, edits, and rewrites. Never have I given up on my little friend though. Sure, I know Spark's a hard sale in this market at this time. But that doesn't mean I'm going to shelve it any time soon. I still feel like it's a hit and only needs the loving embrace of an agent's arms to find a home in a publishing house. Heck! I'd even love the publishing house's arms. I'm not prejudice against either and whichever order they come, I'll happily accept them with open arms.

I'll admit that sending my little friend out to the world is nerve-wracking, but I feel in the end it'll be totally worth it all. So, I keep sending out my letters while working on my next wip. That story will come along soon. So, stay tuned for that and for something awesome coming very soon!

For now, check out KT Hannah's blogoversary giveaway with a query critique from her awesome agent,  Judith Engracia!

Until next time, happy reading/writing everyone!