Posts Tagged Fiction
IndieBook Review – Fragment
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Reviews on December 2, 2016
Fragment — A novel by Alvin Atwater
There seems to be a lot of debate on social media when it comes to whether someone, especially an author, should write and/or publish a bad review (as in, a 1 or 2 star review). For me, I’ve never been one to coddle anyone. As an author, I know I can’t please everyone, and there are going to be those who hate my work. But for a reader to refrain from providing a bad review simply because they don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, or because they feel they are helping the author somehow, remember: it’s always better to get an honest review (especially if it points out exactly why a reader thought it was bad) than to have zero reviews or get a lot of fake reviews simply to bolster the rating. In my opinion, if an artist publishes a book, releases a piece of music or puts out a new film, they are ready to receive criticism, both good and bad. Nothing is perfect. There isn’t good without evil. There isn’t yin without yang. Heck, not everyone loves The Godfather. With that being said, prepare yourself, because as you may have guessed, my review for Alvin Atwater’s novel, Fragment, isn’t going to be all honey and roses. Proceed at your own risk
IndieBook Review – Watership
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Reviews on October 28, 2016
Watership — A Novel by Jenna Whittaker
“Show don’t tell.”
It’s one of the first things fiction authors learn. It essentially means to set every scene with emotion, details and physical action rather than bluntly telling the reader what happened. For example, if a major battle happens, it’s always more satisfying to revel in all of the gory details than to simply say, “Both sides fought an epic war and side A became the victor.” Readers hunger to be part of the action, as if they are standing right alongside each of the characters. They can’t live every moment if they feel like an outside bystander being told the events of a story secondhand. A reader’s investment relies heavily on details, and when their attention wanes, that’s when a book tends to be replaced with another before “The End” is reached.
Author Jenna Whittaker falls into this trap quite often in her novel, Watership. Though I did sluggishly make it to the final page, it was extremely hard to invest any interest in what was happening. Read Full Review
IndieBook Review – Where Have All the Elves Gone?
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Miscellaneous Stuff, Reviews on August 29, 2016
One of the old adages for a majority of literary and creative writing “gurus” is to write what you know. This can take on different meanings with different people, but to me it means write for your passion; it means write for yourself first and the public later. By doing so you’re able to imbue your characters with the love, the pain and the life experiences that you’ve personally had, which in turn allows them to live and breathe through you while having the freedom to add the wild ideas you’ve always wished to explore as a scintillating garnish. Christian Warren Freed, author of Where Have All the Elves Gone? gives this wise-old adage an interesting spin by not only giving his characters backstories that may correspond in certain ways with his own, but creatively compounds the idea by turning the life we know into something far from what we think it to be. Read Full Review
IndieBook Review – Indiot
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Reviews on July 29, 2016
Indiot is the follow-up to Ana Spoke’s debut novel, Shizzle, Inc., chronicling the hijinks of Isabella Maxwell, a naive blond who wants nothing more than to change (or help) the world, getting herself into extraordinary circumstances along the way. In Shizzle, Inc., this trouble came upon her mostly by accident, as the world seemed to open opportunities she’d then exploit for her own means, messaging the truth and more often than not, putting her foot in her mouth. In Indiot, the tables turn a bit, as Isabella (or Isa, for short) begins to take hold of the reigns of her own destiny. She still gets into plenty of trouble, but instead of unbelievable circumstances pushing her into various comedic predicaments, her conscious decisions now tend to lead her into trouble — a switch that gives her narrative more reliability than in Shizzle, Inc. It doesn’t feel as if Isa is lying as much about what’s happening, making her adventures more authentic and enjoyable. At the same time, her character seems to grow too much too fast, as if the lessons she learned in Shizzle Inc. have taken root, but have matured faster than an alien baby in a science-fiction movie. Read Full Review
The Spirit Of… Now Available
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Personal, Promotions, Releases, Writing on June 3, 2016
In history, truth is often lost to the ravishes of time. The biases of each new generation distort facts to best suit their personal agendas. No more evident is this than in the most well-known book of all time: the Bible. But in an attempt to locate the lost city of Atlantis, Matthew Stevens and his team of archaeologists uncover the truth behind the Genesis of the Word. Are you ready to find out what the world doesn’t want you to know?
The Spirit Of… is an exciting adventure that dares to question what we know with a journey through self-discovery, love and friendship. Available in trade paperback, Kindle, Nook and iBooks, The Spirit Of… will leave you breathless.
Read the prologue (or a larger sample) and join the adventure of a lifetime.
Amen Dello Keli.
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If you have a book that’s just been released, one that’s on the verge of being released, or a current WIP, I’d love to hear about it! List the title (if it has one), a logline, a brief summary, the first sentence of the book and a link to where we can read or purchase it.
Meet Kara Reisen & Thomas Demeut – The Spirit Of…
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Promotions, Releases, Writing on April 22, 2016
The final two members on Matthew Stevens’s team are similar in many ways: they both joined about the same time, they both have a history in hunting ancient artifacts that may have some connection to the Bible, and their pasts are haunted with pain and regret. They also became real fast friends. In fact, when I first met them, I could swear they were a couple. Hey, they’re both pushing forty and have no significant others to speak of. It was an honest mistake. But they’re good sports. They could laugh at it.
Let’s break it down for you. Learn more about Kara Reisen and Thomas Demeut
Meet Henry Green – The Spirit Of…
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Promotions, Releases, Writing on April 21, 2016
Talking to Henry Green, one of Matthew Stevens’s archaeology students, is… how do I say this? Interesting? He seems like a decent guy when you first meet him, but once you get to know him a little, things aren’t so cut and dry. It doesn’t help that his life before joining Matthew’s team is unknown. Whenever I brought up his past — that is any time before his first meeting with Matthew during a freshman arrival banquet at Yale — he’d remain allusive, changing the subject or feigning ignorance. I’m not saying he’s trying to hide anything, but I know the same question hides in the back of Matthew’s mind. Learn more about Henry Green
Meet Lauren Mead – The Spirit Of…
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Promotions, Releases, Writing on March 25, 2016
Next up in my series of character introductions for my new novel, The Spirit Of…, is Lauren Mead, best friend and fellow archaeologist of Matthew Stevens. The two met nine years ago as part of the same expedition to Egypt and have been basically inseparable (professionally, that is) ever since. My theory for this is her deference for Matthew. Lauren’s history with men hasn’t been remarkable — in fact, it’s been downright brutal — and there was a kindness in Matthew I believe Lauren became attached to, and hasn’t been able to give up since.
Meet Matthew Stevens – The Spirit Of…
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Promotions, Releases, Writing on March 10, 2016
As you may know, my new novel, The Spirit Of…, is being released on June 3, so in an attempt to build some anticipation for the book, I’ll be introducing you all to the major characters over the next three months.
First up is Matthew Stevens, archaeologist and Professor of Archaeology at Yale University. At least he was a professor before he squandered all of his grant money on a fool’s attempt to locate the city of Atlantis. And this wasn’t the first time he’d ruffled feathers in the scientific and archaeological communities. His theories and ideas have never been widely excepted. Some even went so far as to dub them blasphemous. Just reading a snippet of his graduate thesis gives you some insight into why: Learn more about Matthew Stevens
Art Imitates Life: Real-Life Character Creation
Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Writing on October 16, 2015
From the scrawny hacker with an inferiority complex to the thick-headed jock with an impotence problem, the single mother of quadruplets who desperately needs a spa day to the neighbor who smiles on the outside but cries on the inside, characters are the spine of any good novel. You can have the greatest, most original plot ever, but without well-drawn characters to keep readers interested in what’s going on, no one will ever know about the stunning twist because they’ll have walked away from the novel way before they get to it. And no writer wants that. But how do you write compelling characters that aren’t a boring, cliche-riddled, over-the-top mess that leave your reader turning the next page in fear of their eyeballs falling out of their sockets from too much eye-rolling? Learn How To Create A Character
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