Reveiw: Shiver

Shiver - Scholastic

Maggie Stiefvater
From Amazon: Grace is fascinated by the wolves in the woods behind her house; one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. Every winter, she watches him, but every summer, he disappears. Sam leads two lives. In winter, he stays in the frozen woods, with the protection of the pack. In summer, he has a few precious months to be human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. When Grace and Sam finally meet, they realize they can't bear to be apart. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human - or risk losing himself, and Grace, for ever.



I have a great love for wolves. This love was the reason why Shiver ended up in my bag.

The story is interesting and this new take on the werewolf myth captured me. The appeal is in part because I too shiver when the cold sneaks up on me every fall, winter and spring. Maybe I will turn into a wolf!

The attraction between Grave and Sam gets off the page nicely. I normally go for books with more action then romance. In Shiver the romance do not get too sweet and fluffy. The side plot, that drives the story, is interesting and makes you want to read on.

Grace and Sam are a bit two-dimensional, but their tragic relationship to their parents helps to move them out of the stereotypes. The character of Isabel has the interesting depth I love to see. At first she is the stereotype, but as one gets to know her she reveals layers in her person.

The idea of a love so strong that it makes someone stray from the norm, so strong that you would rather die the live without it, seems as old as time it self. Since we know the story in one way or another the side plot is very imported, it is what makes the story special.

On a side note: I love the black version of the cover. I know the white is more suited to illustrate the snowy winter, but I still love the black version.

The Story 

*** 

Characters 

*** 

Originality 

*** 

Total 

**** 

* No, no, no...

** A bit bad

*** Not rally good, not really bad

**** A good experience

***** ....No words... ...Mind blowing... 

A helpfull post

Know once weak points is helpfull.

Read this post from The Writers Alley about personalyties and writing styles.

I am a beaver myself and I found the notes helpfull - they are going up on my wall to remind me.

Review: Black Moon

Black Moon – The Moon Triology Part 1

C.L. Bevill

From Amazon:
Donovan is a werejaguar sworn to fight against his enemies, the dreaded werewolf clan - the Whitelaws. Isabella is an uncommon librarian, a member of the Committee. When she faces down the Whitelaws to retrieve a very dangerous book, she encounters Donovan and their lives will never be the same.




I got this book for free and what caught my eye was the title – the moon is very special to me – and the warning that the book was for adults.

I read my first erotic short story when I was 13 and the genre got my interest. It is a hard genre to succeed in. Almost everyone has an opinion and a lot also experience in the area. Writing about a so very physical experience and succeed is to be admired when someone proves to be a master.

The story’s erotic side does work. From the very beginning the tension between the two characters is clear. The erotic part of the story ends, in my opinion, in an anticlimax it is over before it really happens.

The story is very short. This to me is just prove that a story doesn’t need five hundred pages to be great. You just need to use your pages well.

The story follows Isabella and Donovan as the only character. Others do pass by, but the reader doesn’t get to know any of them. The characters have what is needed for this short story – the question is if it will be enough for the two last books as well.

The main genre is urban fantasy which has been in for quit some years. The fight between clanes of supernatural’s is no new theme, but it doesn’t pull down this story.

I felled entertained and I am sure I will read the other two books in the triology in the near future.

The Story 

**** 

Characters 

*** 

Originality 

*** 

Total 

**** 

* No, no, no...

** A bit bad

*** Not rally good, not really bad

**** A good experience

***** ....No words... ...Mind blowing...

My new weapon

My writting has been slow beyond words as of late.

   I usually sit down surround by my notes and try to get down to busyness.

   Some time ago I got myself an Iphone. Now I can write on the go. I mostly write going to and coming from work. I get some of the work done, small bits and pieces are getting done to be put together later with all the notes at hand to fix any mistakes made.

   I am getting somewhere - slowly but surely.

Inspiration overload

I often find that once inspiration striks it is a multiple hit. It feels like have too may ideas and too little time.
   When I am writing on one project and because I am using my creative mind, it result in ideas for other project trying to take over and demand my time. I end up with an overload of ideas and no time to pin them down so I can use them.

Main characters reflecting the author

I do not know how many do it. I some cases it would be hard to. And truly what does Harry Potter have in common with his author? It could be the sense of right and wrong, the stubbornness, a love for white owls or may nothing at all.

   I tend to do it. Not copy my person into my main character, but give the person some trades that I have or just wish I had. Tara loves knives just as much as I do. Vanessa is shaped like me physically and has the courage I always wished for. Luka is a loner like I so often am. I have an unnamed character in a short story that loves wolf the way I do.

   I believe that I put in trades that I know from myself to make the person more real. A main character must have good and bad sides to them to be real to the audience. In my opinion writers base everything on stuff they have seen, read, heard or experienced. That is properly also why so many writers are still reading, listening and in our time watching stories unfold.

   I have no way of tell the world who it is to stand face to face with the fear of spiders or heights or claustrophobia, because I encounter my fear everyday. I am afraid of humans. It is odd I know, but I like a clean fifty-centimeter bubble when I am out in the world. I get uncomfortable when strangers talk to me. I know as a writer one must be able to create mostly any character and I do, just not for the main character. The extras can have all the phobias I can think of, because I have seen them in other people, but I have no idea how it is to meet a fear once in a while, having it creep up on you. This is why none of my main characters have fear of snakes, birds, stairs or other things like that. I can do death, loneliness, any social phobia and maybe even love.

   Characters are like soap bubbles. You blow then very carefully but once they leave you they do as they please. Some stay some float away to burst – so actually comes back.

Picking the style

I got an idea last night when I had gone to bed (at 4 am local time) - it almost ruined my sleep.

   I have been doing some research today and some of the groundwork. I am still trying to pick the format to tell the story in. I would like to try doing a journal/dairy/blog-form, but I do not like the limitations.

   Maybe it is because I watch so many movies and tv-series, but I like to make conversations. Talking is the way we get most information these days - when it is not from reading. Having only one perspective to tell from is to me a challenge, but a fun one. I mostly write in third person. It gives a nice freedom to move perspective and be all-knowing.

   Tamora Pierce's new series about Beka Cooper is the best journal formed books I have read. I have my doubts that I can do as well with the style.

   I have read books like Starbrow and Twilight and seen how one can write a great story from the 'I'-perspective, but I am not sure that I can do this story in that form. I have been thinking if it is possible to mix. I have never seen it done, but maybe it is possible.

   There is still some ground to cover with the characters, the layout of the location, society structure and such. That will by me some time.

   I will put on a movie or three and begin on the maps.

Beginning

Beginnings are hard!

Or are they? I have a lot of beginnings in my folder and a few endings stored in my head. I find the middle part hard. Getting from the beginning till the end.

When reading I do believe beginnings are hard. Sometimes it is worth working through them - but I have had to give up once or maybe twice.

This is my beginning on a blog that (hopefully) will help keep at my writing and not be distracted to easily. The distractions are many and various. I love any great story - I do not discriminate against format. Movies, books, tv-series, comics, plays, music, pictures... So there is a lot to distract me. I hope it will help to air out any frustrations I might encounter.

I do not share my ideas on storylines and plots. Most of my writing is in Danish anyway so there will not be many quotes and stuff like that.

It is time to get started!