David Debord

The Slush Pile has just reviewed The Silver Serpent, and had many complimentary things to say. Here's an excerpt:

"The heroine, Shanis Malan, seems, at first, to be the typical fantasy heroine trapped by her society's expectations of a woman's role. As the story progresses, you realize that this girl is no victim and full of flaws. It is within her struggle to control her own identity, as well as her temper, that you begin to really care for this girl and her companions.

Debord approaches the classic, questing, epic fantasy novel with a sense of humor and an optimistic voice grounded by realistic characters and intriguing implications about the greater context of the world, which hooked me completely. His presentation of the world initially is fuzzy and nebulous, but as the characters move out of a small village and step into this world's legends (ala Eddings or Jordan), you've found solid footing within his world."

Read the entire review here.

The Silver Serpent is now available on e-book on Smashwords.

Here's an interesting article on what agents don't like in Chapter 1 of a query.

Got some good work done on Keeper of the Mists this weekend. I have to make a big decision about two characters. I know where they will be at the end of the book, but I have two possible ways for them to get there. We shall see...

Also, The Silver Serpent hit the top 100 again in Epic Fantasy on kindle. Always fun to see your name in the charts! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Dave

Seems like we've lost quite a few great authors of late.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_en_ot/obit_updike

January is an exciting month in my family. I look forward to bowl games, NFL playoffs, and the Superbowl. My children look forward to American Idol. They actually prefer the audition shows to the actual competition, and I will confess to having a bit of sometimes unkind fun laughing at the audacity of people who have somehow convinced themselves that they are God's gift to singing. I find myself wondering how they got to this point, imagining they have probably always been told by family and friends how great they are, and always come back to the same question:

Where is the line between someone following their dreams and simply deluding her/himself? Is there a line at all? Imagine you are the parent of a child whose dream is to be a singer, but by age twenty or so (if not earlier), it has become apparent that your child will be, at best, a very nice complementary singer in a church choir. What do you tell that child? There are a myriad of possible answers:

"Don't let anyone tell you you can't do it! Keep on reaching for your dream!"

"Perhaps it's time to make singing a hobby, but not a life path."

"Those who can't, teach!"

"It's just not meant to be."

And many others.

I've sometimes felt this way about "wannabe" authors. Some people have a great vocabulary and can craft a lovely sentence, but can't create a memorable character or craft an entertaining plot. Others might have great ideas, but can't put them to paper in a coherent manner. I always give the same advice:

Join a writing workshop or  critique group.

Read! (And always reflect on what you are reading and have read.)

Write!

I believe everyone who truly desires to improve can do so. Without question, one can improve her or his technical skill. I wonder, though, if anyone can truly learn to be a storyteller? One can learn the "tricks of the trade" as it were, but is there an innate ability to tell a story, or craft a character? Are some people gifted with that ability in the same way that some are gifted with a great singing voice? I'd love to hear the thoughts of others on the subject.

Oh, and Ryan Seacrest trying to high-five the visually-impaired guy was hilarious.

Fantasy author Sherry Thompson's debut novel Seabird is currently featured by the CFRP Blog Tour. I've read and very much enjoyed Seabird. Check out the blog tour and see if it's something you'd enjoy too.

http://cfrblog.blogspot.com/