On Writing Half-Mortal: Who is Lola?

When I began writing Daughter of Light series, I fell in love with the concept of half-faeries, or mortals with faerie blood. I imagined these people as more attuned to the intangible realities that surround, vibrate, and penetrate the mortal plane. I also imagined (inspired by existing faerie literature) that as humanity has progressed through the industrial and technological age, mortals have become unable to see full-blood faeries. However, that isn't the case for half-faeries.

Half-faeries in the mortal world—beings with a mix of mortal and faerie blood—can see faeries just fine in the 21st century.  They're the only ones who can. What a divide. To see faeries and be the only one among billions on our planet to do so. I imagined full-blood mortals would suspect and, perhaps accuse, insanity.

This is the root of the symbolism of one of the characters I'm developing for Half-Mortal. Lola is a half-faerie, the daughter of Gabriela and mother of Jade. Each of these women has come to terms with their ability to see full-blood faeries in a distinct way.

Gabriela, abandoned by her full-blood faerie mother and raised in a rural Texas community in the early 1900s, grew up isolated from anyone who might have helped her come to terms with her ability to see creatures from another realm. She shuns the faeries she sees as evil spirits. However, as we shall see in Half-Mortal, her daughter Lola takes a very different path. As will her granddaughter, Jade.

Years ago, I stumbled on this song by Leonard Cohen, "Suzanne." I heard it as the mourning of a love lost. A man fell in love with a woman who carried him to another plane of existence. In the moment, the transportation thrilled him, but he ultimately rejects both her and the journey she might take him on.

Whenever I hear the song's lyrics, I can't help but imagine a husband or lover who can't reconcile the magical perspective his love brings him with the limitations of his own ability to perceive. Thus he abandons her, even as he will always long for her. This particular version performed by Cohen in 2008 is so perfect, the old man reflects.

Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever...

And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind…

Will You Come to the Party?

I'm reading Little, Big by John Crowley. I'm so enamored of this book. Every time I pick it up I want to step outside in a drop-waist dress (print with tiny flowers) and straw hat. Perhaps a pair of lace gloves, but definitely with bare feet. A garden party is called for. Stretched out on a chaise lounge, spreading my toes. Drinking tea from a glass teacup. With a saucer. I imagine Cloud sitting next to me with her tarot cards, smoking one of those brown cigarettes (downwind, of course).

In the backyard, where the grass is long and weeds ferocious, is that flick in the corner of my eye a butterfly or—racing heart hoping—someone Little?

I can't say enough good things about the prose. Be assured though, Little, Big is not for the dilettante reader. Only the truly avid bibliophile should come to the party. First impressions are of a sedate gathering, but the attuned will soon snap to the humor that presses out from all sides. As the sun sets beyond the white fence, dusk vibrates with laughter. I turn the pages and smile. It's all so clever I can hardly stand it.

Indie Life: Book Bloggers

Book Bloggers are an integral part of the reading community. They are passionate folks who invest their time in reading and spreading the word about the books they love. They write book reviews and host all sorts of bookish events like giveaways, cover reveals, author spotlights, and blog tours. Getting to know some bloggers and understanding the reading world from their perspective can be helpful for any indie author.

Today my indie life post introduces book blogger Cloey K of Cloey's Book Reviews And Other Stuff. One of the first things that intrigued me about Cloey was her passion for ebooks, tea, chocolate and Nascar. What an eclectic combination. 

1. Introduce Yourself.

Hi, my name is Cloey and I blog at Cloey's Book Reviews and Other Stuff at cloeyk.blogspot.com you are welcome to come by when you get a chance and say hello. I have many ideas for my blog and cannot wait to make them happen in 2013 so come be a part of something awesome.

2. Coffee or Tea or Water? Espresso, Drip, Instant, or French Press? Bag or Looseleaf? Bottled, Filtered, Tap or Rainwater?

I love tea and can drink a cup all hours of the day or night. I use prepackaged tea bags and looseleaf with bottled or filtered water, with or without milk/creamer. The flavors vary from black, peppermint, floral and many others. I used to buy bagged herbs to mix for the perfect brew and devoted a cabinet in my kitchen just for my teas.

While packing to move into my new home I found cotton tea bags, three tea balls, and three tea pots so look out! I may be blogging about my perfect brews at Cloey's soon, hehehe.

3. Why do you blog about books?

I was looking for a hobby with a zero dollar budget so I picked something that I liked to do which is reading and talk about books. When I originally started my blog I thought that it would be a win/win for me and authors, I get a free book to read and they get an honest review and I was right. Since starting my blog Feb 2012, I discovered that I really love showcasing authors, reading their work, and sharing my reviews with readers. I really hope that my blog will help readers to find their next hot read.

4. What inspired the design of your site?

I was looking for something funky and dark to fit in with the genres that I like to read and found an awesome design by @Parajunkee. My blog has an urban fantasy, paranormal, or dark fantasy feel but horror and science fiction fits well too. I also wanted a place where people would feel comfortable hanging out and browsing the pages without having ads popping up everywhere. 

5. What is your favorite thing about book blogging?

My favorite thing about book blogging is meeting like minded people. I am bringing readers and authors together in a comfortable place where everyone can express themselves - what's not to like about that? I get to read fabulous books and help to introduce them to readers. I feel like I am helping authors to get the word out about their work and saving readers the hassle of reading through the many books out there when searching for a good read. I also share my favorite TV shows and occasionally anything else that comes to mind.

6. How do you decide which books to read?

If the book is a request for my review, and I do get many review requests, I take a look at the cover art, description, and if it was edited by someone other then the author and a family member then I may consider it for reading. After that I go with my mood. No matter how much I try, if I want to read something Scifi an Urban Fantasy will not be interesting to me no matter how good the book is.

If I am picking out the book for my pleasure then I look at what other people are reading. I checkout other book blogs, read reviews by my friends on goodreads, and always read the reviews on book selling sites. I have also found books through Twitter which were very good reads.

7. How much time do you invest reading and blogging?

About 10 - 15 hours a week. Most of my spare time is spent reading and you will always see me reading at lunch time and when alone waiting in lines.

8. Care to comment on the Alice Hoffman quote: Books may well be the only magic?

I agree with Alice Hoffman because where else can you live a thousand lives and walk side by side with heroes without leaving the safety of your home?

While a movie gives us a flat view of the story world based upon someone else's imagination a book gives us a description and our imagination brings that description to life... that's part of the magic. 

A story in a book can invoke a memory of a scent, or a feeling and also make us feel like we are right there in the story on the sidelines watching the scene as it happens. We can be in the present moment reading a story taking place in the past or future and get so caught up that we lose all concept of everything going on around us... now that's the magic. 

9. On a scale of 1-10, how eccentric are you? 10 being VERY...

Haha! I'll say a 3. I am eclectic and open minded. I never picture myself living with 10 cats but I can picture myself living in an eco friendly house mixing transitional designs with a touch of modern.

10. Is there anything else we need to know about you?

I love NASCAR - my driver is Jimmie Johnson.  I began watching NASCAR  in 1990 while taking naps because the races where just too long. Then in 2004 I paid attention and in 2006 I became a fan of Jimmie Johnson and have been going to races twice a year since 2008. Other drivers that I quietly cheer for are Tony Stewart (I love his attitude), Martin Truex Jr (go Jersey!), and Danika Patrick (who said girls can't drive?).

I have been described as Bohemian and opinionated (well, in my defense, I am child 5 of 6). I am a meditator and live as holistically as possible with my old school minded fiancé who often shakes his head and laughs at my quirks and affectionately calls me crazy while my 2 kids call me mom.

Find Cloey at:
Twitter: @CloeyWorld
Blog: cloeyk.blogspot.com
Facebook: Cloey's Book Reviews
Instagram: cloeyworld

Thanks for stopping by the Indie Life blog hop!

Bookworm Lisa's Family Friendly Blog

Today, Lisa Faber shares the philosophy of her family friendly blog, Bookworm Lisa. She loves to read and pass on good books she'd be comfortable recommending to her fifteen year old daughter or her grandma. Blogs like Lisa's are invaluable for parents involved in their children's reading activity.

They're also great for readers who might get squeamish when sex and violence get too detailed. With tabs like: Children's Picture Books, Juvenile and Middle Grade Chapter Books, Young Adult Books, Clean Romance Books, Inspirational Books, Fantasy/Paranormal Books, and Adventure Books, there's plenty to choose from.

That's why book blogs are great. Invest some time online to find the blogs of those who have similar tastes to yours and they can help you find your next great read, especially in those moments when you don't have time to forage on your own.

Now, on to Lisa's interview!

1.  Introduce Yourself My first and foremost role is being a mother.  I have four children, three boys and one girl.  I was a "sahm" for almost 17 years. I now work part time as a lunch lady, so I can be home when my kids are home.  I actually enjoy the time at work, it's fun to work closely with a bunch of wonderful ladies, and I get my "girl friend" time in at work.

2.  Coffee or Tea or Water? Espresso, Drip, Instant, or French Press? Bag or Looseleaf? Bottled, Filtered, Tap or Rainwater? It would have to be water for me.  I love filtered water.  If I can't get the filtered then I resort to bottled.  My first preference would really have to be Dr. Pepper though. :)

3.  Why do you blog about books? Reading has always been a love of mine.  As far as blogging goes, I kind of fell into it. I started reviewing on Goodreads and then things expanded.  I really enjoy sharing my journey of reading with others.

4.  What inspired the design of your site? Several years ago I made a profile picture of the book I was reading (The Sword of Shannara Trilogy ~ 25th anniversary edition) with a bookmark that I created from my kids school pictures.  It has reading glasses on top of the book.  I spend several years in my local PTA helping children learn to read.  I wanted my blog to reflect a family friendly atmosphere and focus on books that would appeal to all ages. So I have books from childrens picture books to romance books for mom and grandma.

5.  What is your favorite thing about book blogging? I can't believe all of the wonderful bloggers out there.  There is a thriving community of book bloggers.  I have had the opportunity to "meet online" many people that I wouldn't have known about in any other way.

6.  How do you decide which books to read? There has to be an appeal on some level to me.  When I first started blogging, I couldn't believe that people actually wanted to give me a copy of their books to read.  I accepted everything, but soon learned that it didn't work for me.  I received books that I just couldn't get interested in.  I now look at the story line, the cover, and sometimes I will look at reviews that have been written on the book before making my decision.

7.  How much time do you invest reading and blogging? I don't know how to get a number for that. I spend many hours reading and many hours blogging.  I try to spend more time reading that blogging.  Sometimes it is hard to find the balance, because my kids need me too.

8.  Care to comment on the Alice Hoffman quote: Books may well be the only magic?

I look at books more as an escape.  I love that I can learn and be entertained.  That is in a way magical.  My favorite quote about books comes from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society.

 "That's what I love about reading: One tiny thing will interest you in a book, and another tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." 

9.  On a scale of 1-10, how eccentric are you? 10 being VERY...

Maybe a four or so.  I try to blend in.

10.  Is there anything else we need to know about you? I am committed to literacy and helping people find books that are a good fit for them. My blog is on the conservative side.  I try to find books that I wouldn't be embarrassed to recommend to my grandma, or my daughter, she's 15.  I am very committed to my family, particularly my very supportive husband.

Lisa, thank you for sharing your love of books with us!

You can visit Bookworm Lisa for reviews, giveaways, blog tours, cover reveals, and other bookish things every day of the week.

Book Blogger Justine Vandale Talks About Her Shelves of Books

Today I want to welcome book blogger Justine Vandale author of the Shelves of Books Blog as part of my Show This Blogger Some Love!

You may or may not be aware that the publishing industry is in a state of flux. Ereaders and indie authors have permanently altered the book lover's landscape and book bloggers are becoming an increasingly integral part of the reading conversation. That Amazon bought Goodreads. last Thursday highlights the value that the publishing industry places on independent reviewers of books. Lots of book bloggers hang out on Goodreads. How all this will shake down is anyone's guess, but my bet is that book bloggers are here to stay. So I hope you'll enjoying learning more about who they are and what drives them in this series of interviews that I'll be hosting through the end of April.

Justine Vandale talks about her Shelves of Books Blog

1. Introduce Yourself. Hey I'm Justine. I am 23 years old and I recently married my high school sweetheart on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii. I love reading books!!! I mostly read YA and biographies but have recently started getting out of my comfort zone and reading other genres. I am also an animal lover. I have a pug/ cocker spaniel named Steve and a cat named Obie. 

2. Coffee or Tea or Water? Espresso, Drip, Instant, or French Press? Bag or Looseleaf? Bottled, Filtered, Tap or Rainwater? TEA!!! I hate coffee it's so bitter. Ill pretty much drink any kind of tea except for fruity flavors.

3. Why do you blog about books? I started a blog for all of my reviews because I noticed that lots of other reviews have them and I wanted in on it. 

4. What inspired the design of your site? Mine is pretty generic. But I have shelves of books so that where I got the name from. 

5. What is your favorite thing about book blogging? I love having people come and read my posts and leave a comment. 

6. How do you decide which books to read? Before I would read just what I wanted but then I became hard to pick a book to read so I started joining book clubs and blog tours to expand my horizons.

7. How much time do you invest reading and blogging? I spend a ton of time reading! I read whenever I have spare time. I only blog when I have reviews or blog tours. I don't blog random stuff. I'd rather use that time to read :)

8. Care to comment on the Alice Hoffman quote: Books may well be the only magic? It's true. Books take you places in your imagination that you didn't know were even possible. They also make you feel emotions you have never experienced.

9. On a scale of 1-10, how eccentric are you? 10 being VERY… Maybe a 5/10. I'm too crazy but I'm not too tame. Lol

10. Is there anything else we need to know about you? I think that pretty much covers it but if you want to know anything else let me know.

One of the really cool things on Shelves of Books is the mini-banner across the top of the page that links to Justine's Goodreads reviews of her favorite books with a single click. That should help any reader find their next great read!

Justine, thank you for letting us get to know you better.

Interview with Candace of Candace's Book Blog & CBB book promotions

Over the past year or so, my fascination with book bloggers has grown. What began as an effort to obtain reviews for my books, became something else. The more time that I spent on the book blogger's sites, the more intrigued I became with their unique styles of reviewing books and creating great places for bibliophiles to hang out online.  So I've invited some book bloggers to be interviewed. These folks invest a lot of time and energy in reading, sorting through books, and sharing their opinions. I wanted to learn more about who they are and what drives them. I hope you'll enjoy learning more about them, too.

I'm honored to present the first interview with Candace of Candace's Book Blog & CBB book promotions.

1. Introduce yourself. My name is Candace, I run Candace's Book Blog and I've been blogging books since 2008 but have been pretty immersed in the online book community since 2005 when I discovered Shelfari and immediately started connecting with authors and book people.  I read most genres and review young adult, middle grade, children's books and adult books on my blog.  All are well labeled but reviews are clean whether it's an adult book or not.  I'm married and have two children, a daughter who's 8 and a son who's 4.  I live in the gorgeous Pacific NW but grew up in Sturgis, SD (yes, where the motorcycle rally is).  Besides being a book blogger I run CBB Book Promotions and do book promotions like blog tours and on going publicity for authors.

2. Coffee or tea or water? Espresso, drip, instant, or french press? Bag or looseleaf? Bottled, filtered, tap or rainwater? I drink coffee in the morning.  Usually only about half a cup or so as I'm weaning myself off.  I juice in the afternoon and other than that I usually drink water.  I do drink tea when I'm needing an extra immune booster too.

3. Why do you blog about books? I started blogging because I wanted to record my thoughts on the books I read and have it all in one place.  Soon after I had my son and I didn't read as much for a few months but then when I went back to it I pretty much immersed myself in the blogging community and found I didn't just want my blog for me, I wanted to share it with everyone!  I started another blog at the same time about cloth diapering and green living and while it's another passion of mine I found myself loving the book blogging more and ended up deleting the other blog.  I started my blog at the same time as two friends of mine and we have supported each other the whole way and run several yearly events together.  They are Lori at Pure Imagination and Angela at Reading Angel.

4. What inspired the design of your site? My friend Lori (mentioned above) is a blog designer and so I just told her something bookish and magical.  She had me pick out some different images I liked and then she played around with them and came up with something gorgeous! I have had her update the design to be more streamlined and add in CBB Book Promotions but I've kept the majority of it since I love it so much!

5. What is your favorite thing about book blogging? Where to start?  I love the community and feeling connected to so many like minded people and sharing my book thoughts with them, I also love helping out authors that need help getting their books out there.

6. How do you decide which books to read?  Oh geez, that can be a tough one.  First of all I read by mood.  There's no point in picking up a book that doesn't fit my mood cause then I'll end up liking it less.  But for the most part it's by what I have acquired first when it comes to review copies.  Since I went to ALAMW I put all my books in order of release so I work my way through them so I can review around their release date.  But since I have so many Indie books on my kindle I read at least one a week from that 'pile' by order they came in (if for review).

7. How much time do you invest reading and blogging? Lots.WAY more than I should probably.  How I like to do it is mornings are for reading and doing housework, etc.  I usually get at least an hour in of reading.  Then I spend time with my husband before he goes to work.  Around 1:30 I get on the computer and I'm on and off the rest of the afternoon.  I have a 4 year old at home all day so I have lots of interruptions, but it's still a few hours a day.  Then before bed is reading time, which is about 2 hours of reading.  While I spend 5 or so hours on the computer a day most of it is working on blog tours and other author promotions I'm doing.   It's hard to say how much is actual blogging.

8. Care to comment on the Alice Hoffman quote: Books may well be the only magic? Books make it so we can experience anything.  We can travel anywhere, we can be anything and anyone we want, and go through things we can only dream of. Books ARE magic.

9. On a scale of 1-10, how eccentric are you? 10 being VERY… I don't know... maybe a 6?  The things that use to make me eccentric are now pretty common.  I'm a vegetarian (mostly vegan actually), I used cloth diapers (he's potty trained now though), I juice, I try to grow my own food as much as possible, I prefer to avoid any GMO foods and eat all organic (when it's possible).  I dye my hair red (often a variety of reds) and... I think that's about it!

10. Is there anything else we need to know about you? I don't think so.  I'm sure I forgot something important, but I'm not thinking of it right now!

Thanks so much for having me on Heidi, it was fun! Candace

Candace's beautiful and popular blog has many great features, including:
Saturday Situation with links to hundreds of reviews and giveaways!
CBB Book Promotions Now Open & Accepting New Tours