reading -

26Jan 2016 by Dianna L. Gunn

Writing Fight Scenes by Marie Brennan

If you're anything like me, fighting scenes are among the most challenging. Even if they flow when you're writing them, they sound wooden when you go back. You spend twice as much time on fight scenes as any other scenes in the book, sometimes more than that. So you might be pretty excited about the title of this book. I know I was. In fact, it was one of the most exciting titles I saw in the Writer Tools book bundle. Marie Brennan is an author who has not only written many fight scenes in her time but who also has some practical experience in both martial arts and fencing. She uses examples from her own work and life as well as some well known books and movies including The Princess…

26May 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Great writing isn’t about structure, it’s about emotions

Novels

[caption id="attachment_2159" align="alignleft" width="200"] I read this book in London![/caption] What separates a great novel from a good one? What makes one book stand out in your mind forever while countless others drift off to be forgotten? What keeps you coming back to an author, time and time again? Your first instinct is probably to say something very writer-y. Something about the kind of plot, the worldbuilding, the characters. But it isn't really any of those things. I mean, it is--these things are all important--but these are the superficial things. What really makes a great book stand out from a good one is deeper than that. It's emotion, the emotion being poured out of the book and into you. The best books can make us laugh in one chapter…

19Mar 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Author Spotlight: Matthew Munson

Author Interviews, Reading Related

I'm extremely proud to announce that I've partnered up with Inspired Quill Press to present a number of debut authors here on The Dabbler. Each author will share some of their journey to publication and advice for those of us still working towards our first book contract. Matthew Munson is the first Inspired Quill author to join us, here to discuss his debut fantasy novel Fall From Grace. Please give Matthew a warm welcome. 1. Can you tell us a bit about your novel, Fall From Grace? Absolutely. Fall From Grace is all about a trio of friends – Paul, Joseph and Lauren – who are caught up in the middle of a two-thousand-year old heavenly war. Paul is an ex-priest who is struggling to find his purpose in life, Joseph…

17Mar 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Why I believe in celebrating life instead of mourning death

Reading Related, Writing

[caption id="attachment_2076" align="alignleft" width="220"] Sir Terry Pratchett, April 1948-March 12th 2015[/caption] Mourning someone we care about is natural, and we have to experience it to work through it, but our eventual goal should be to celebrate life instead of mourning death. I've been thinking about this a lot since Sir Terry Pratchett, one of my favourite authors, passed away last week. His long term struggle with Alzheimers was no secret, and although his death was premature and I do believe the world has lost one of its greatest minds, he died with dignity in his own home--not something a lot of Alzheimers patients get to do. He also left behind a legacy of more than 70 books, most of them in the hilarious and yet deeply powerful Discworld series. His…

03Mar 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

The Power of Re-Reading

Reading Related

[caption id="attachment_2065" align="alignleft" width="200"] The book I'm re-reading right now.[/caption] As a kid I re-read books fairly often, but eventually I grew to hate re-reading books. I have a pretty good memory so if I've read it in the last couple of years, I'll only find surprises if it's a really well written book. Besides, there are so many amazing books I haven't read, and more being published every day. I'll admit, I have a more personal reason: some of the books I loved most as a child seemed awful when I re-read them. The characters were flat or I had simply changed too much to like them. For the first time, I noticed pacing issues and once in a while even realized the story wasn't all that interesting. If…

06Feb 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Author Spotlight: Keith Yatsuhashi

Author Interviews

Today's author happens to be one of my favourite people at Musa, and I'm thrilled to have Keith Yatsuhashi here to discuss his work. I haven't actually read his novel, Kojiki, yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Please give Keith a warm welcome. 1. Can you tell us a bit about your novel, Kojiki? Sure. Kojiki is the story of an eighteen-year-old Japanese girl named Keiko Yamada. Keiko lives in the US, but when her father dies unexpectedly, he leaves her with a mysterious note, telling her to go to Japan in his place and find ‘the Gate’. He gives no other explanation—just that her camera will show her the way. Not knowing what else to do, Keiko follows her father’s last wish and soon finds herself in the…

29Jan 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Guess what? I’m a steampunk blogger

Uncategorized

I'll admit, there's no interview here today because I got distracted doing about a thousand other things: preparing for three book releases in the next three months, celebrating the release of The Caelimane Operation, editing one of my own manuscripts, starting a column on The Oak Wheel and writing guest posts for multiple other blogs. But none of those things, as exciting as they are, are what I really want to announce today. I've also been working hard to revive the blog associated with The Darkside Codex. I'll be posting a weekly column called Steampunk Musings and sharing both my thoughts on steampunk and interviews with fantastic steampunk artists. Today is also your last chance to win books from The Darkside Codex blog, so head on over and check it out! Direct links to Steampunk Musings articles: The True Appeal of Steampunk…

27Jan 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

5 Ways to support small publishers (and why you should)

Reading Related

[caption id="attachment_1961" align="alignleft" width="200"] A strampunk anthology by one of several Musa authors I represent[/caption] This month I've been talking a lot about how we can support great authors, and today I'd like to expand on that. It's not only important to support great authors, it's crucial that we support small publishers, especially if we want to become published authors ourselves. Here's the thing: there has never been a more exciting time in the history of humanity to become an author. Thanks to the digital revolution, there are more publishing options available than ever before, and the best thing for an author is options. With such a wide range of options available, authors can choose the best publishing option for them. There are dozens of small publishers online, and the Big…

22Jan 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Author Spotlight: Eric James Spannerman

Author Interviews, Reading Related

[caption id="attachment_1891" align="alignleft" width="200"] One of the books I have on tour this month[/caption] January is the month of steampunk here at The Dabbler, and Eric James Spannerman is one of the Darkside Codex authors here to school us on steampunk and how exactly one goes about writing it. Please give Eric a warm welcome and enjoy his thoughts on steampunk and writing. And don't forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom of the page for a chance to win some amazing steampunk books! Can you tell us a bit about Applied Natural Magic? Applied Natural Magic is the story of Charles Woodridge, a young professor in the city of Southwatch who hopes to improve the fortunes of the poor and secure his place among the elite by improving…

15Jan 2015 by Dianna L. Gunn

Author Spotlight: Chris Pavesic

Author Interviews, Reading Related, Uncategorized

Today's author, Chris Pavesic, is a very special lady. Not only has she published some excellent short fiction in her time, she's also written a spectacular steampunk novel, The Caelimane Operation, the most recent novel in the Darkside Codex shared world series from Musa, to be released tomorrow. Please give Chris a warm welcome and don't forget to read until the end so you can enter to win some awesome books. Can you tell us a bit about The Caelimane Operation? The Caelimane Operation is set in the shared world of the Darkside Codex. This world, which revolves around the city of Southwatch, was created by Celina Summers and Richard C. White. Stories in this world are based in the steampunk genre, but can have additional elements of science fiction, fantasy,…