Faith Kindred

@Rachel Lester

Yikes, somehow I missed this. Sorry for taking (oh my. It can’t be) almost a month to get back to you.

I have thought about publishing a poetry collection, but poetry doesn’t sell very well as a rule you know. I’m planing to mainly use my poetry as a hook to bait potential novel readers (see my post on Marketing and Platform).…[Read more]

@Daniel Thompson
You stated we should,”Go crazy and try to gather an audience based on the artistic, creative merit of [our] marketing.”

This sounds like a great idea, but I’m wondering exactly what you mean by “artistic creative merit in marketing.” I know you are suggesting being original, but beyond that I’m not sure. What are some examples?

What about Robespierre in “In the reign of terror”? I thought he seemed pretty real, though he still suffered a little from that malady.

That makes sense to me why the guy didn’t grab the spear, at least to a degree. I think I would have gone for it if I knew I could pull it out before the guard got to me. Just make sure your reader knows why he didn’t go for the spear.

Yes! Totally get what you mean.

But you forgot a rule.

The filthy, slimy character with long hands is always Sir Percy in disguise. Without fail.

Glad you like the name! It’s Norse… 😛

No, the watchman is not a girl— good guess, though! It could almost be that way, couldn’t it? But the watchman is what is technically called a ‘mook’. He doesn’t have a name, appears for only one scene, and then disappears for the rest of the book. These kinds of characters are usually the ones that die…[Read more]

Yes, I like (‘like’ is relative) all those you mentioned, Daeus, if for no other reason than that they are all so historically rich. Another one I liked, partly because I am a history buff, fascinated with all Old English stuff, and an avid reader of Shakespeare’s historical plays, was Both Sides the Border.

@Hope— hey, I do that mental…[Read more]

A tale of the western planes (This actually has one very well done character – The Doctor), the young carthaginian, by right of conquest, the dragon and the raven – some of my favorites.

Not to say I don’t like his stuff; I’ve really enjoyed a number of his writing. It’s just that the more I read, the more patterns I see, and the less enjoyable it is over time.

I completely agree. I picked up a Henty book recently after not reading one for a long time and keep mentally correcting all the things you shouldn’t do……[Read more]

Like everyone else here, I love the name Denholm. 🙂

Question…is the watchman a girl? Clear young eyes; smooth cheeks; visor down; not speaking… He might not be, but I can see a possibility…

Anyway, one thing no one else pointed out. At the very beginning of the scene, Denholm looks at the spear stuck in the wood. Reading the rest of the…[Read more]

Like everyone else here, I love the name Denholm. 🙂

Question…is the watchman a girl? Clear young eyes; smooth cheeks; visor down; not speaking… He might not be, but I can see a possibility. 🙂

Anyway, one thing no one else pointed out. At the very beginning of the scene, Denholm looks at the spear stuck in the wood. Reading the rest of the…[Read more]

@kate-flournoy

Rule #1: The Scarlet Pimpernel is never dead.
Rule #2: The Scarlet Pimpernel always knows what he’s doing.
Rule #3: Don’t mess with Sir. Percy’s wife.

I love the Scarlet Pimpernel books; there are some pretty good parts. 🙂

One thing I find thrilling in books is when I get to a spot, and suddenly the title of the story makes…[Read more]

Just noticed that post had a couple of typos. I hope its length will excuse me.

But I will lay down some rules anyway, just cause I’m that way. Note I don’t think I need to mention the importance of writing you book really well. Nobody will refer a poorly written book. I also think every author should at least try to get a publisher (as long as they’re a good one) just to give them that extra presence. Whether you have a…[Read more]

I’ve already said this, but hurrah for Peterkin. Henty does have some good points of course. First and foremost are his escapes like I mentioned. He also does a better job than any writer I know of at making historical fiction historical. He is always sure to write a gripping fight or battle scene. Henty was called the prince of story tellers. I…[Read more]

Actually, Martin Rattler and Peterkin are Ballentyne. I get them mixed up too! But Ballentyne is great with characterization. His plots are not as fast or intricate or exciting than Henty, but his characters— there’s no comparison.

But Henty did a good job with his side characters. Peterkin and that sailor from Martin Rattler (Can’t remember the name) were great. Martin Rattler is actually a lot like Tintin. Tintin is a really extreme role-model perfect character. But if a little kid goes “Oh, I want to be like Tintin!” It’s more a question of where to start. I mean, he’s…[Read more]

Okay Rosey— I see what you’re saying. Yes, I definitely could have constructed that sentence better. Thank you…

…and just so you know, I have no clue what a verb is. I know. I’m a writer. I’m supposed to know these things. But every English program I ever took went in one ear and out the other. *sigh* Oh well. I know how to use them—…[Read more]

Oooh… nice topic. Good and un-serious. 😛

Um… for some reason I get the impression that I have had many more than currently come to mind, but the one I can think of off the top of my head comes from a book that I think is relatively little known. ‘El Dorado’, by Baroness Orczy. It belongs to the story of ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’. Actually,…[Read more]

Say, I just read that it can be good to advertise your book on Pinterest. Problem, I have no idea how to use Pinterest. Anybody able to advise me on this?