C. L. Norman

Looking back over the last week:

Haiti

The terrible earthquake in Haiti has been all over the news and the social networking sites. My heart and prayers go out to those enduring the tragedy and those rushing in to provide aid.

Books This Week

I have finally managed to get back in my reading groove. I had been feeling like I couldn’t read like I use to because I should be writing. Instead I have ended up feeling smothered and very unlike myself. This week I am back in my reading groove.

I read Grave Suprise and An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris this week. I gotta say that Harper Connelly and her ‘talent’ is so intriguing and fun. I am thoroughly enjoying the pace of these books and the who-done-it plots are surprising but not cheating solutions. I am still not sure how I feel about the relationship between Harper and Tolliver yet but I have already found myself recommending these books to others.

I read Belle by Cameron Dokey. It is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, another of my favorites.  This tale had enough differences to make it fresh and engrossing. If you like fairytales, I highly suggest this one.

I also read Dying Bites by D. D. Barant. This combines a portal story (ie Narnia books) with an Urban Fantasy. In the world Jace, the protagonist, ends up in, humans are a very small minority and supernaturals dominate. I enjoyed this book enormously and can’t wait for the next one in the series.

Movies

Last night, my husband took me to see The Book of Eli. Wow. I loved it. It had action. Post apocalyptic setting. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman. One of the big reveals at the end was awesome in that clues had been so well seeded throughout the movie that it was an “ah ha!” moment. My husband and I spent the whole drive home pointing out those clues to each other. There is every likelihood that we will be owning this film when it is released on DVD.

Writing

I am finally getting myself back in the writing groove after the chaos and vacuum that is the holiday season working retail. Stories are living in my head and pressuring me into putting them on paper. My habits are still rotten but I am working on them.

How did your week go?

        

I finished the merry romp through S. L. Wright‘s New York last night with the help of her travel guide, Confessions of a Demon.

I enjoyed the city sights and fully expect to find a run down bar where the Den in C is located if I ever find myself exploring NYC. The people and demon-s that populate the city are very real. Their physical descriptions are vivid with enough hints at the personalities behind the faces to bring to life 3D characters in the landscape of my mind.

Very small thing. The demons had names like Dread, Vex, Savor, Pique, and Allay (our protagonist). This naming convention while neat and fun kept making me think that a limit would be reached where they would have to start repeating.

A slightly larger thing, (and I do have to say that it could have been my emotional state at the time that caused me to think this) the relationship between Allay and Theo was very predictible. The early attraction and devotion made the reveal towards the end expected. However the section following that was a little bit like it was treading water, waiting for another story before continuing that relationship forward. I could have used a bit more spark in their romance or more sweetness. The middle ground was unsatisfying for me.

All that said, the pacing and the unique nature of the supernatural in Confessions of a Demon was so enjoyable that I look forward to more of Allay’s adventures.

What did you think of this story?

        

I finished up the third book in the Dante Valentine series last night and I wanted to share my opinion with you.

First off I’ve gotta say that I make a terrible book reviewer as I don’t like saying much bad about a book. I admire every author who has gone through the process that ends with their novel on my shelf. That said, here it goes.

I like Dante. She is a very interesting character with a lot of flaws and interesting powers. She kicks butt and takes names and isn’t afraid to cry alone in her room when things are bad. Japhrimel, her love interest, is also kinda neat. Very mysterious and not human and as we never spend any time in his head we have no idea what is going on with him. Or almost no idea.

The setting is neat. Hover cars, plasguns, magic users, and demons all mix into a gritty world that’s a little too scary to physically visit but peaking through the window that Lilith Saintcrow has provided is exciting and gripping. I will continue to peak through and finish out the series.

Two things I had trouble with, one relatively minor and the other a bit bigger.

It is mentioned several times how the magic users are so rare in this world and yet shopkeepers, people on the street, and most other folks Dante has run into all had the characteristic tatoo on their cheeks that indicates their status as a magic user. I had to make excuse that with the idea that maybe Dante just doesn’t notice humans as much as she isn’t one. It works but it is one of those little things that niggle away at me when I am reading.

The other thing is the situation Dante gets into in this book with her demon lover, Japhrimel. She is put in the situation of being the battered woman. I am not familiar personally with this position but I believe this was very well done. The shock and depression that Dante spirals into was very moving. It was also realistic from what I have heard. Including forgiving Japh and going back with him. But Dante is a hero! I thought Japhrimel would have to work harder to attain forgiveness and a place with Dante again. It seemed all so very easy for the two getting back together. I would have liked to see that process take longer. Just my opinion.

All in all, the book is good and I recommend it to any fan of urban fantasy. Have you read this book? What did you think?

        

I like Urban Fantasy because most of the protagonists in the stories are rogues. Or at least roguely.  Urban Fantasy takes magic and puts it in worlds not too different from our own. Urban Fantasy is fun and usually a fairly easy read.

The protagonists in Urban Fantasy rarely follow the rules, rarely lack for a snarky comment, and rarely have that quality that keeps them out of trouble.  Most every one of them loves their weapons. Whether it be a gun or a sword or a knife, they take care of it and keep it close by. Most of the time the love comes from the necessity to defend themselves from the denizens of darkness at a moments notice.

They also tend to have a colorful past. Orphans or abused children growing up on the streets, these characters have story hooks written all over their backgrounds. Enough hooks to keep their authors busy for years to come. This is great if you are a fan of the character, not as great if you like the author but not the series. I tend to adore the spunky character so this is a good thing in my eyes.

Their love lives. I could stop right there. Every one by now knows that urban fantasy is a hair away from paranormal romance and vise versa. Love lives will be complicated and involved. I love it. And I am frustrated with it. I like romance in my books, I even like the occasional romance novel. These complicated love lives make the books go from ok to great. I get frustrated when I think a couple should be together and book after book comes out where they dance around each other, meaningful glances exchanged, but no one acts on it. It is sorta like a TV series that keeps finding excuses not to put the main characters together. Frustrating.

A fair amount of urban fantasy takes our common, every day, hum-drum world and twists it. Just a little, just a nudge, and then magic happens. In Lousiana there are vampires, elves, and weres living side by side with bar patrons. In my home town of the Tri-Cities there is a wolf pack down the street and a vampire nest in the hills, and down near where my dad lives is a community of fae. Magic is happening all around us in these books. And it is fun.

Other urban fantasy push today’s world into the future or make tomatoes deadly to humans or cause magic and technology to alternately work but never at the same time. And then the monsters come out to play. How cool is that?

Most all urban fantasy that I have read or perused in the process of putting it on the shelf at work has a single POV character. A lot of spunky females and a few snarky males are telling their stories on these pages. Sometimes it is in third person but most of them seem to be in first. Either way the story is usually an easy read. Lots of action, quips, and mystery drive the reader through the pages which is my favorite type of book.

 A fair amount of epic fantasy (which I love too) spends a lot of time jumping from character to character, all around the map of their world, slowly bringing together disparate threads into one single rope. I admire the authors who can do this but it requires extra work on my part to keep every thing straight in my head. The urban fantasy is easier to read when my schedule is busy or my mind is feeling overworked.

These are the reasons why I like Urban Fantasy, what are yours?

        

In no particular order, here are 10 roguely types I am thankful for. I am grateful I had a run in with them either in the pages of a book or on the screen, big or small. They are fun and exciting and have contributed to my love of the snarky not-so-law-abiding characters.

1. Phillipe the Mouse from Ladyhawke.  From that first scene where we see him chattering away to himself and God while making his escape from an inescapable prison, Matthew Broderick as Phillipe captured my attention and my adoration. If you are wondering where Mouse got her name it was from this character.
2. Silk from David Edding’s Belgariad and Mallorean.  Silk mastered the arts of disguise, lockpicking, pick pocketting, corrupting the young and he did it all with a flair that left him my favorite character in a series of ten books full of so many interesting characters.
3. Han Solo from Star Wars. Who says rogues can only be in european fantasies? I certainly don’t. Han Solo with his blaster at his side and that crooked grin is my favorite rogue in space. So what if he can’t pick pockets (that I know of) or pick locks. He gets into plenty of trouble without those skills and watching him try to get out is something I have loved to do since I was a wee child.
4. Malcom Reynolds AKA Mal from Serenity/Firefly. The only reason Han is my favorite rogue in space is that I’ve known him longer. Mal holds a very very close second place in my heart. Mal has attitude and flair that is attention grabbing from the beginning. Watching his confidence leak away when confronted with a woman, Inara, is so much fun that I kept hoping for more of those scenes.
5. Sydney Bristow from Alias. Ok, so Sydney didn’t have the snarky attitude most of the rogues on this list have but she was so cool in her many disguises and spies are such close cousins to rogues that I had to include her. I rewatch the Alias seasons about every six months I adore the character so much. She had mad skills and so many obstacles to her dreams that I love watching her journey through it all to the happy ending she so much deserves.
6. Max Guevara from Dark Angel. Max had the snarky attitude, the world outlook that said theft was just part of a healthy economy, and enough selfishness to make her a world-class rogue. She was also genetically engineered to make her really good at it. While the second season of this series (with the exception of Jensen Ackles) irritated me with its complete change of direction, I love the first season. Logan’s attempts to make Max into a heroine are a joy to see.
7. FitzChivalry FarSeer AKA Fitz from Robin Hobb‘s The FarSeer Trilogy and beyond. We get to see Fitz learn how to become an assassin under the tutelage of Chade and once he starts mastering those skills his life gets more complicated. At the end of the first trilogy I felt so sorry for this character for everything that he had to sacrifice and endure. He lacks snark but he is a hero with skills with poison, sword, and sneaking. This rogue is one I feel so sorry for that I don’t want to leave him alone in his world. I have to visit to keep him company as he goes through his trials.
8. Kylar Stern from Brent Weeks‘ Night Angel Trilogy. Kylar is an assassin, a wetboy if you will. He is also an orphan like Fitz but instead of growing up in a castle being trained there he grows up in the slums. Kylar is trained by Durzo Blint who has plenty of his own secrets of his own. No snark but a conscience, Kylar chose the field of assassination as a way to escape his life on the streets and rides that very bumpy road to the end. And I couldn’t put the books down until he got there.
9. Hanse Shadowspawn from the Thieves World series.  Hanse had attitude, stealth, nimble fingers, and mystery. He was a the ultimate second-story man and his stories were my favorites in this series.
10. Seregil from Lynn Flewelling‘s Nightrunner books. Seregil has aliases, a way with a set of lockpicks, a trick for dealing with pesky guard dogs, and snark enough to light up a suite of rooms. He is part spy, part rogue, and all fun. And he may be showing up on the big screen soon too. So very cool.

That’s it. My list of 10 rogues I am thankful for this holiday season. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving. What roguely types are you thankful for?

        

I went to the Patricia Briggs signing last night. It is always a pleasure speaking with Patty. She is encouraging, engaging, and enthusiastic.

I had the honor of having a short story of mine read and critiqued by her at a writer’s workshop at MisCon this year. She had such wonderful things to say about my writing. She thought the story was good which was flattering but had some tips and suggestions for improvement that helped out a lot.

I have been a fan of Patricia Briggs since she enterred the tiny B. Dalton’s where I worked to sign copies of Masques years ago. I find her writing both easy to read and yet full of the twists, turns, and surprises that make reading fantasy novels so fun.

Hugs and Keep Writing back at you, Patricia Briggs.

        

Ever since I picked up a copy of Path of Fate by Diana Pharoah Francis a few years ago, I have been a fan of this author. I had no idea this book existed until last Saturday.

There I was, innocently putting new Sci-Fi books away in the front list section of our store and darn it if the “P” authors weren’t out of order. Being the perfectionist I am I couldn’t let that slip and immediately started straightening and re-alphabetizing the books. Lo and behold! Bitter Night sat, lonely and out of place, on the shelf, begging to be bought.

I am not one to ignore a book’s pleadings and so I bought my copy as soon as I was released from work and brought it home.  I am so glad I did.

I love urban fantasy. Vampires, werewolves, gun-toting strong supernatural protagonists, the whole scene. I usually get my romance fix along with my love of fantasy. This book throws out the vampires and werewolves, keeps the gun-toting supernatural protagonist and adds so much more.

Shadowblades, Sunspears, angels, witches and more. This world explodes onto the page. Fresh and yet familiar, I’m hooked.

Max, the protagonist, has built in conflict. She wants to kill her boss but she is compelled to protect her boss. Her boss loves Max but needs Max tough and independent. Max is restricted to operating during  night time and is separated from her human family. but she is surrounded by a new supernatural family that she is blind to. And who doesn’t love a character who loves their weapons?

The pacing is quick but not rushed. The romantic interest(s) are not Alpha Males in the tradition of most romance novels. They are, of course, to-die-for good looking and strong and capable but they are also willing to follow where Max leads and show their softer side. This is refreshing and attractive.

My one complaint is that this story only serves to introduce the players. We find out who the big bad is, who the heroes are, and who are potential obstacles. We see glimpses of a huge apocalypse on the horizon but not much more. As I approached the end I kept flipping the pages trying to figure out how so many plot threads can be wrapped up in so little time. The answer is they can’t.

And so I wait, patiently, for that next book to be completed and make its way to the shelf in my store. This time it will be I doing the begging, begging for it to appear.  Pleading with the writing and publishing process to take less time, just this once.

Because I want to know what happens next.