'Twas a Cold and Snowy Night

Ok, so the snow isn't really sticking, but it IS cold. Very cold! And when it's this cold writing sort of gets addled a bit. You find yourself wanting to write about cheery fires and baking cookies and that sort of thing. And even then it's hard as your fingers, cold as they are, have trouble with the key board like mine are doing now! Brrrr!

I live in a summer log cabin. Tomorrow is December 1st! What does that tell you? Now you understand why it's so cold! But I wouldn't trade it as it's in a beautiful setting and is very private. And yes, I am in front of the fireplace! Typing aways as best I can. One of the reasons I got myself a laptop! Unfortunatley the fire is not doing much for my icy hands! Oh rats! Well, it beats the office at any rate!

Time Masters Book One: The Call, takes place in the summer. Dallan, being a Scot, is impervious to cold and I have yet to throw him into a sitution with Shona and a bit of cold weather. Shona, on the other hand, isn't so impervious and therefore Dallan will just have to figure out what to do about that! But I ramble! I'm going to go put more wood on the fire and find a good book to curl up with! Now there's a nice combination! Happy evening to all!

Geralyn

Birthing Characters

Dallan MacDonald

Dallan was an interesting character to create and he took quite awhile to boot. Taking my time and wanting him to be as real as possible, there was a lot of research involved. But in the end, after numerous Highland games, speaking with Scots of different clans and about a year of getting into this characters head, the thing all writers strive for during character creation happened. Life.

When a character comes to life it can be a sudden thing, or it can take a while. Dallan, while giving him a trial run, lasted about a couple of pages before springing into action and taking charge. It was quite an interesting phenomenon to say the least. Probably because I myself had never spent so much time in the creative process with one character, and because I'd never had one do that before. Just take over. So once I got used to it, I was able to just let him "do his thing". Some of the other characters from Time Masters also hit the pages running and there was no problem once they got going. Kwaku Awahnee is one, but we will discuss him in another post. Suffice to say, Dallan is the glue which holds Time Masters together so well. Readers identify with him readily and he's not the perfect hero which makes him all the more real to us. With his piercing green eyes and drill bit stare he so often throws at Kwaku, not to mention the rest of the TM characters, he becomes interesting. And of course, the things Dallan says to Kwaku are also interesting. "Ye good for nothing bloody heathen!" will more than likely find it's way onto a tee shirt one day if a reader hasn't done it already. And of course, "Saints!" as our boy does his best not to swear, though it slips out in his native Gaelic now and again. And Dallan shares with many of us something in life we try to avoid at all costs, even to the point of sabotaging ourselves in order to prevent confronting it. Rejection. And though his runs deep, he is able to overcome. With a bit of help of course.

After reading Time Masters, Book One: The Call, (we have all started calling it TM1 for short) folks are so swept up with him they say they can barely touch the ground once the story has ended. I guess I'd better get to writing TM2! I wouldn't want anyone to land with a resounding thud as Dallan does a few times in TM1!

Faith Awakened

Faith Awakened. A book, a message, and a darn good piece of writing! Take the science of cryogenics, throw in a healthy smattering of virtual reality, cast an Irish slave living in what her world refers to as simply “The Trouble,” integrate a young girl with all the perks of life, yet suffers through gaps of memory loss but whose heart seeks the heart of God and voila! Ingredients! Bet you thought I was going to say a story, didn’t you? Not quite. Here is where it gets good.

You have two women living in two worlds, both with different lives and troubles, and basically don’t have much in common, their taste for life and its wonders differing at times like night and day. How can two people so far apart wind up so intertwined? Ok, now we’re getting some story. These women are not only connected, they are connected at such a level that not only was I surprised to find out how, but the characters were just as surprised as me! And folks, that takes talent to pull off! Short, clipped, well rounded and woven together tighter than Levi Strauss ever thought of, Grace Bridges has created a wonderful, thought provoking tale that takes the reader into situations with the characters that keep the story moving right along. And the message of trust, and where should we put it is ever pulling at you. The writing is well thought out and clean. The pace excellent and the storyline grips the readers and pulls them along with just the right amount of tension. Difficult enough to do with a 350 – 400 page novel. Grace Bridges does it in a little less than 200 pages. That takes talent, my friends. A lot of it.

I’m looking forward to more from this bright, young and extremely talented new author, Grace Bridges. A name that won’t remain new for long. I certainly plan on wearing it out! And after you read Faith Awakened, you certainly won’t be able to keep quiet either! Geralyn