Series Review: The Southern Vampire Mysteries (Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries)

And here we are, back to vampires again.  Be honest, you knew we'd end up here, didn't you?  Yes, this is a review about another very popular universe that revolves around vampires, weres and shifters.  It was made popular by the hit series True Blood, which has been taking one season per book.  Of course, they have their own interpretation of things and there are some significant differences.

This is a series that has several books is still ongoing.  It's written by Charlaine Harris (http://www.charlaineharris.com/).  I believe Charlaine Harris has a three book deal in the Sookie Stackhouse series on top of a new installment that's coming out in May.  She also has a couple other popular mystery series.

Overview: There's way too many books to go into detail about them all, so I'll just do an overview.  There are a couple things that irk me about this series.  Why don't we get those out of the way up front? Actually, I have a few other bones to pick, but they include spoilers.  I'll do a spoiler's section at the end to include those.  Here are the non-spoiler irking parts:

1. – There are TONS of inconsistencies.  For example, in the first book Bill had 5 kids and was turned into a vampire in 1871.  In another book he dropped a few kids and had only 2 and was turned in 1869.  Finally, in a third book he was turned in 1868 (but he still had 2 kids).  Stuff like that just bugs me.  I notice it and it detracts from the story because my brain cells won't let it go.  However, most of them are inconsequential to the actual plot.  It's usually passing comments.

2. – I had a hard time with the author's writing style.  Let it be known now that I'm not a big "southern mystery" kind of person.  So some of this is completely personal preference.  However, I found it hard to get immersed in the books because of the writing style.  Once I was able to get into it, I found the style humorous and quirky, but it took a bit of effort to get to that point.

3. – This is yet another case where the whole love triangle is stretched out WAY too long.  Just make a decision already!  Even if the decision is to ditch them all and start over, at least it's a decision.  And I use the world "triangle" loosely.  There's the main triangle between Bill and Eric, but there's a few love interests hanging out there on the outer edges.  In later books, there's a third (I won't spoil it).  Yeah, I know you've got to make the suspense last.  I can rattle off quite a few series that died as soon as the tension between the main characters was gone, but that just means you've got to come up with something else to keep our attention and stop using the same old plot devices over and over and over.

Okay, now that that's over, what about the good parts?

1. – I love this world that the author built.  It's extremely detailed and even through all the inconsistencies, she sticks to the rules of her own universe.  I like that a lot!

2. – The characters are complex.  They aren't just good or bad, they're a combination.

3. – The plots aren't as obvious as some mystery series, but are a bit on the obvious side.  Even so, there were a few plot twists that had me yelling, "No way!"

4. – She's not afraid to kill off characters.  This is both good and bad.  I like the boldness of an author that isn't afraid to kill characters off.  It means that all bets are off and anyone can bite it at any point.  You don't always know what's going to happen because it's not necessarily always going to be a happy ending.  I do dislike, however, when we've grown attached to a character that has been the focus of our attention for awhile and then BAM they're killed.  Especially when we don't even read about it.  It's more of a passing comment, "Oh yeah, so-and-so got killed.  It was horrible."  "Oh, that's a shame.  What are we doing for lunch?"  Wait! What?  Go back!  This happens a couple of times in the series.

5. – The writing is quirky and humorous.  Yes, I listed this as a negative just a few minutes ago, but it's also a positive for me.  There were quite a few times where I caught myself chuckling out loud.  Her books have a definite unique quality to them.  You'll either love it or hate it.

Here's a listing of the books in order to date.  Note that I am not including short stories/novellas except for the compilation that was published in October of 2009:

 

Dead Until Dark – 2001

Living Dead in Dallas – 2002

Club Dead – 2003

Dead to the World – 2004

Dead as a Doornail – 2005

Definitely Dead – 2006

All Together Dead – 2007

From Dead to Worse – 2008

Dead and Gone – 2009

A Touch of Dead – October 2009 (a complication of all the short stories)

Dead in the Family – May 2010

A lot of readers were complaining that the later books were darker and just plain different.  This is a complaint I see of a lot of series and it's usually true.  I would say that they are different and darker, but that the characters have grown and evolved.  If they hadn't changed, the series would have gotten stale by now.  Sookie goes through very big changes in her life and she deals with them.  She learns and grows and moves on.  Therefore the series grows and moves on too.

That said, there were a few times where I wanted to scream at Sookie for something stupid she did.  Then, the latest book, Dead and Gone is extremely violent, bloody, and dark.  This particular book turned quite a few people off.  I was okay with it and it's actually one of my favorites, but I'm weird like that.

Conclusion:  It is a good series, but it isn't for everyone.  Maybe read a few of the short stories to see if it's for you.

Now…huge ****SPOILERS**** alert from here on out (and a bit of just random ranting...okay a lot of ranting):

Okay, for those of you who are True Blood fans, you might not like what I have to say.  The TV Bill Compton and the Book Bill Compton are two very different people/vampires.  What I'm going to go off on is the Book version.  As you'll see, I'm am not a Bill fan.

Bill and Sookie broke up early on in book three.  Ever since, it's been one long love triangle with Eric and then Quinn and Bill trying to win her back in some fashion or other.  Sam is just never going to get a girlfriend, especially not Sookie.

When people refer to Bill as a southern gentleman, I want to scream.  He is under no circumstances a gentleman.  Never was, even in the first book.  Just because someone opens a door for a lady, doesn't make them a gentleman.

Why do I have such hatred for Bill?  There are five reasons:

1. – He cheated on her

2. – When she saved his ass, he raped her and nearly killed her.

3. – When they were broke up he purposely flaunted his new girlfriend in front of her when he knew she could hear what the new girlfriend was thinking.  He pit them against each other purposely.  It was very hurtful and spiteful.

4. – While he had another girlfriend, he tried to cheat on that girlfriend with Sookie.  Once a cheater, always a cheater.

5. – He lied to her from the very beginning.  He was sent by the Queen to seduce her from the very start.  He felt it was "beneath him" to shack up with a mere human and wouldn't have done so otherwise.

Okay, #1 I can over look because he was "compelled" by his maker.  Supposedly no one can resist their maker.  Whatever…

#2 I can almost overlook too, because he was so starved and had been tortured.  He wasn't in his right mind.  He's a vampire, he's going to want blood and when they drink a sexual instinct kicks in.  So even after all that, I still had a secret wish that Bill and Sookie would hook up again.

#3, 4, and 5 was it.  I'd had it with Bill.  Now all he does is lurk outside Sookie's house and a very creepy way.

Now, I'm obviously not on Team Bill, but whose team am I on?  I'm SOOOOO on Team Quinn.  When she broke up with him I was shocked at her reasons.  That was such a bitchy and selfish move.  It was very unlike her and it did make me take a step back and re-evaluate the series.  The author must have realized it because in the next book Sookie wonders about her decision.

Where does that leave Eric?  I absolutely adore Eric.  I think he's fabulous.  Who else would don hot pants and a pink tank top and pretend to be gay to help Sookie save the day?  It also doesn't hurt that he's been described as having 1,000 years to perfect his kissing/love-making skills and that he makes love like a freight train going through a tunnel.  I really really really want the author to explore Eric's feelings for Sookie more.  Both he and Pam are my favorite characters of the series.  (Pam rocks!)

I know what you are thinking.  You're thinking I just said I was Team Quinn and then I gush about Eric.  What gives?  Eric is great and all that, but he's a vampire and Sookie has made him promise to never change her.  It just won't work out down the road. As hot as it might be, it's a relationship that's doomed to fail.

Quinn, on the other hand, is exactly what she needs.  He's also huge and can protect her since she seems to be a danger magnet.  In my humble opinion, when she's done diddling with Eric, she needs to invest some major time with Quinn.  Hopefully he'll take her back.

Finally, for those who like to compare Bill Compton to Twilight's Edward Cullen, here's the main difference:

Edward Cullen – "No, you mustn't come near me.  I'm a monster."  *dramatically turns away with a sob*

 

Bill Compton – "Yep.  I'm a monster.  Let's go have sex."  *turns on the Jacuzzi*

Series Review: The Riftwar Saga

Just to prove that I read more than just paranormal romance and trashy vampire novels (I do, honest!), this review is going to be about Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga (http://www.crydee.com/).  Okay, so if it wasn't about vampires or werewolves, you knew it had to have at least one dragon in it to pique my interest.

I have actually read this series twice over my lifetime and am severely tempted to make it a third.  Before I knew anything about that Tolkien guy or anything about some silly ring, I was reading about Pug, Tomas and Princess Carline (and later Lyam, Aurtha, Jimmy and Princess Anita).

It was the first fantasy series I'd ever read and it sparked my interest in not only reading but writing.  I wasn't the only one.  The popular series has spawned comic books, video games and is still in print 25 years later.

Series Overview:  The series is very multi-dimensional.  Yes, there are actual dimensional portals, but it also spans many times and over several cultures of the worlds it describes.  There's magic, dragons, elves, evil dragon riders and a whole lot more.

The main premise is that there are two worlds joined by a rift.  One world wants to take over the other, but because of the rifts, it's attracted an old evil that could destroy them all.  Only the power learned from both worlds and a young magician will save them.

Magician – 1982 (Later republished as two separate books Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master)

The story starts in the world of Midkemia.  Pug and Tomas are young boys, Pug working in the kitchen and Tomas aspiring to be a squire.  Pug is chosen to become a magician, taught by Dulgan.  As the rifts become known to the inhabitants of Midkemia, Pug gets taken to the other side and is enslaved.  Taken from all he knows, he finds his own way in a strange land.

This is Pug's story and my favorite of the series.  He grows from a kitchen boy to a man. It shows his growth as a person, as well as in the magical realms.

Silverthorn – 1985

Pug wasn't the only one that was busy.  There were lots of other plots going on while he was off learning all that magic stuff.  This part of the series picks up back in Midkemia.

In this book we learn more of the underbelly of all the political intrigue.  We see more of Jimmy the Hand and learn more about the Mockers, a society of thieves.

Also, at its heart, it's a love story.  Prince Aurtha is to marry Princess Anita.  She's poisoned and the only cure is Silverthorn.  The prince will do anything to save his beloved, even risk his life.

Darkness at Sethanon – 1986

This is the culmination of the previous books. All the rifts and world jumping has beckoned true evil that will destroy both worlds, an ancient evil that will swallow them all whole.  Everyone returns in this all star cast to battle for their existence.

Other Thoughts:  I loved this series.  There's a little something for everyone.  Magic, politics, vortexes, knights, elves, pirates and even a dragon.  What's not to like?

Okay, there are spots where the author slows down and feels the need to describe every tiny little detail.  I will admit, this annoys me and there were times when it felt like a strain to get past certain parts.

However, I found myself always rewarded for sticking with it by once again getting sucked into the world after the describing was done.

This was truly my only gripe.  The plot made sense (for their world) and I never questioned where they were or what they were doing.  And for a highly complex plot(s) such as this, that's quite impressive.

I love maps, and having a map of Midkemia and having the author stick to that map was wonderful.  He threw out all the names of cities and areas just as a character would think of them, but because the reader never heard of it before, it was handy to have a reference.  Of course the character wouldn't question what the capital was, but the reader sure would.

Conclusion:  If you like fantasy, then why haven't you read this yet?  It is definitely worth the read.  I can't vouch for his other work.  He has a couple other series based in the same world with some of the same characters as well as series on completely different worlds, but the Riftwar Saga is special.

Series Review: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series

Whaddya know?  Another vampire/werewolf love triangle series!  Okay, by the tenth book it's more like a love hexagon with aspirations of becoming a dodecahedron, but you get my point.

Written by Laurell K. Hamilton (http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/index.php), the series is dark and twisted.

Series Overview:  The series begins as a cross between a murder mystery and supernatural fiction.  I'm not a huge mystery fan, but the supernatural element gave it that extra zing.

Anita is a self proclaimed tough cookie and I'm not going to argue. She kicks a lot of supernatural ass.  Living in St Louis in an alternate reality where vampires and shapeshifters not only exist, but are publicly acknowledged, Anita is an official "Vampire Hunter" commissioned by the government for those times when you just have to deal with those pesky vampires.  Was your daughter bitten and murdered by vampires?  Want to make sure she doesn't rise as one of the living dead?  Who do you call?  Ghostbus…er…Anita Blake!  She'll come and stake your little princess and send her back to the afterlife.  Minimal fees are involved.

But that's just her day job.  At night she is an animator.  Dad forget to let anyone know the combination to the family safe before he died?  No problem.  Anita to the rescue!  For a nominal charge, she'll animate your father's corpse and let you ask him any question your little heart desires.  Sending him back to his grave is included in the fee.  What a bargain!

As if being a vampire hunter and animator weren't enough, she also freelances for the local supernatural police task force.  Because of her experience in the supernatural, she is often called in on a consultant basis for some of the goriest crime scenes you'll ever read about.  She can easily discern whether a body was disemboweled by a vampire, ghoul or shapeshifter with a glance.

The combination of all of her professions makes for a very interesting murder mystery.  

Ever prepared, Anita goes nowhere without packing heat and carrying an assortment of knives.  She even sleeps with a special gun holster on her headboard so she isn't found helpless in her bed.  A girl has to be careful ya know.  Guns don't kill supernatural creatures, but her theory is that it'll slow them down enough to either kill them using some other method or to run away.

This series is still continuing, with two more on the way in 2010 alone.  Due to the large number of books in this series, I won't get into them individually, but will list them in order at the bottom.  (There are also a number of short stories and graphic novels/comics.  For the purposes of this review, I'm focusing on the novels.)

1. Guilty Pleasures – 1993

2. The Laughing Corpse – 1994

3. Circus of the Damned – 1995

4. The Lunatic Café – 1996

5. Bloody Bones – 1996

6. The Killing Dance – 1997

7. Burnt Offerings – 1998

8. Blue Moon – 1998

9. Obsidian Butterfly – 2000

10. Narcissus in Chains – 2001

11. Cerulean Sins – 2003

12. Incubus Dreams – 2004

13. Michah – 2006

14. Danse Macabre – 2006

15. The Harlequin – 2007

16. Blood Noir – 2008

17. Skin Trade – 2009

18. Flirt – February 2010

19. Bullet – June 2010

In my opinion, the first 4 books are the best in the series.  Books 4 through 6 start to build romantic/sexual tension with a continuing love triangle plot line.  Until book 6 there are no sex scenes at all.  Until book 10, the sex scenes are detailed, but rare; focus still being on the mystery at hand.  Book 10 and all the ones after are highly sexual and let's just say that the author is creative.

In the first books, the author tried to outdo herself with gory descriptions of horrific crime scenes.  Each book had even more blood and body parts than the previous.  After book 10, the author tries to outdo herself with graphic sex scenes that involve multiple partners, magic and the occasional bestiality.

Needless to say, this series is not for anyone with a weak stomach.

Book #13 is really a novella, even though they charge the same price (which really burns me up just on principle alone).  It doesn't even move the overall plot ahead.  If you are interested in the Michah character, it's a little bit more about his background.  If you don't care, feel free to skip it.  You won't be missing anything.

During the last few books there are some quite heavy and serious ongoing plots.  However, several of them end suddenly and anti-climactically.  I was so surprised that I had to re-read the passages a couple times to make sure what I thought happened, really did happen.  It was very disappointing.

Other Thoughts:  I think that sometimes, the old love triangle element does more harm than good.  It's exciting and intriguing in the beginning, but by the end, it's stale and emotionally draining.  Which is what I feel like after reading the later books, stale and emotionally drained.

I often feel like screaming, "Just have sex or break up already!"  I keep reading the new books in hopes that some of those plots will be resolved, but they just keep dragging on and on.

I think this is a series that started out very good, but it needs to be put out of its misery.  As of now, it's dying a slow and painful death..

Conclusion:  I highly recommend the first 5 to 6 books.  After that, you're on your own.  I got hooked on the world and my OCD kicked in until I read every book.  I can't say that I enjoyed the later ones, because after I finished each book, I felt like I needed to take a break.

Review: The Twilight Series

So why not start out with a blockbuster.  The Twilight Series.  This series holds a special place in my heart.  I had taken a long hiatus from both reading and writing.  This is the series that brought me back to both.  I casually mentioned to my husband that I would like to read "that Twilight Series" some day.  The next night he brought home the first book as a surprise.

But you guys aren't here to listen to how I got to the point of reading the series, you want to know if it was any good or not.  So, here we go!

Overview of the Series:  It has its strengths.  It has its weaknesses.  No, it's not great literature, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying it.  I did have to put aside some of my common sense in order to completely get swept away in the Twilight world.

Seriously.  If you think about it, the story revolves around Edward and Bella (from Bella's point of view).  She's 17 and in high school and he's a 100 year old vampire.  And people talk about Hugh Heffner dating them young.  Technically, Edward is a murdering, bambi killing, pedophile and stalker.

"But he looooooves her!" you cry out.  Yes, and that's the whole crux of the story.  It's one big epic love story.  Stephanie Meyer could have written in a band of mermaids that like to do the can-can with their fins and the result might have been the same. 

It's all because of the love story.  Every girl, young and old, wants to be loved deeply and unconditionally.  Edward brings that to the table in spades.  In his eyes, Bella can do no wrong, even when she acts her age and becomes a whiney little cry-baby.

Bella brings a few things to the table too.  Even though she plays both Jacob and Edward like a finely tuned fiddle, ending up with a co-dependent, clingy relationship, she is also strong and independent.  She knows what she wants and she'll do anything to get it.  She is also extremely caring and self-sacrificing.  She will go to hell and back to protect those she cares about.

Finally, the last thing that made this series so popular, if unconditional love and self-sacrifice wasn't enough, was the Cullens.  Let's face it.  Who didn't wish they were adopted at one point in time during their childhood?  We've all done it, usually while serving some sort of grounding sentence while "the party of the year" was raging down the street, you being stuck in your room.

The Cullens are the perfect family.  Okay, yes, they are vampires, but other than that they are the perfect family.  I mean, it's not like they are "bad" vampires.  They live off the blood of animals instead.  If that doesn't scream Leave it To Beaver, then I don't know what does…

You've got the compassionate father figure (Carlisle), the loving mother figure (Esme), the quirky sister (Alice), the protective older brother (Emmet) and a bitchy older sister who's just jealous of you (Rosalee).  Oh, and a creepy brother who keeps fighting the urge to kill you (Jasper).  See, all normal.

The part that drew me into their family dynamic was that they all truly love each other.  They really are a family, even if they aren't related by blood (no pun intended…okay, maybe a little intended).  They would die for one another.  Yes, even Rosalee.

So, Bella, the self-sacrificer, gets unconditional love and a new family where 5 out of 7 welcome her with open arms.  The 6^th family member would welcome her if he didn't want to kill her and drink her sweet, sweet blood.

New love, new family, new life.  What's not to love about this series?  Okay, so the plot is slightly unbelievable and we get all revved up for a good fight only to have it diffused and one side always ends up running home to their mommies. 

Here are the novels in order:

Twilight - It starts out very slow. Edward is the typical guy, quiet, hard to read, ignores her, makes jokes at her expense, etc. Then he saves her life and the cogs start turning in that brain inside Bella's head. She can't leave well enough alone and needs to find out what's going on.

This book showed how smart and resourceful Bella really is.  She's a sneaky little one.

New Moon - Bella's not the only one into self-sacrifice.  And while Edward is away the cats...er...werewolves will play.  This is where the werewolves come into their own.  Their culture is fleshed out and we get a glimpse of their world.

Of course the love triangle is started here as well.

Note that everything in New Moon is hinted about in Twilight.  Nothing is really a surprise.  This was the hardest one to get through because through the majority of it, you're dealing with someone with a broken heart.  Where was that happy ending I was promised?

Eclipse - Okay, this take the love triangle element and puts it on steroids.  There's werewolves and there's vampires and none of them are happy campers. (There's a joke in there but you have to read the book to get it.)

We get more insight into the pack and the Cullens.  Most of the continuing plot lines are resolved.

Breaking Dawn - Maybe better called breaking Edward or rip out the werewolve's heart why don'tcha?  Okay, that's a bit of a long title.  Everything is resolved in this book.  It's technically the end of the series even though there's a draft of a 5th novel floating around out there.

The vampire world is reviewed in depth.  There's more vampires than you can shake a stake...er...stick at.  Everyone gets superpowers and Bella finally completes her journey.

This is probably my favorite of the series, but, then again, I'm a big X-Men fan.  I kept comparing them all to mutants.  "Hmm, let's see.  Bella is Jean Grey.  Emmett is Collasses.  Edward is Professor X..."  Yeah, I gave them ALL names.  You should try it.  It's fun.

Midnight Sun - This is the first book, Twilight, rewritten from Edward's perspective.  If you are really into Twilight and you just HAVE to know what Edward is thinking, it's worth reading.  It does offer a bit of insight into the Cullen's and some of the surrounding vampires.

However, this is only a partial book.  The author was working on this particular book while they were filming Twilight the Movie.  She shared her partial manuscript and someone posted it on the internet.  She was so hurt and felt so violated that she stopped working on the project.  She did, however, post the draft on her website http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ for those that just HAD to read it so they didn't have to pirate it.

Other Thoughts:  What drew me into this book was the author's laid back writing style.  It was easy to read and made me feel warm and fuzzy.  Even though absolutely nothing happens in the beginning, I still continued to read because of her style.  It was the characters that cinched it for me as a favorite series.  I felt like I knew them by the time I was done with the series and I can't say that many books/series.

The story isn't THAT bad.  There is actually some action and conflict, at least enough to make it interesting.  It's not just a brooding vampire in love with another high school girl.  Okay, it's a lot about that, but there are other things going on as well.

And now…here's where I declare my loyalties.  I'm totally Team Edward.  Yes, Jacob would be better for her.  He's all buff and sweet and is exactly what she needs.  But, Bella and Edward are fated to be together.  Who am I to mess with the fate of others?

In conclusion, I suggest reading the series.  It's good for all ages.  It's young adult, so there's no sex scenes and the violence is kept to a minimum (mostly referred to after the fact).  Yet, there's enough of a plot to hold grown up interests.

Book Series Review

I love book series.  When I find a writer and style I like, I want to immerse myself in their world.  I'll obsess over reading each book in order, back-to-back until I'm done with the series.

So, I'm going to review book series on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  I'd do more, but we are talking series (several books at a time) here and if I did a review more frequently I'd quickly run out of series and would have to quit my job so I could read the next series to be reviewed.

Whereas, I would love to do that, the bank that holds my mortgage (and my husband) wouldn't like the lack of monthly payments coming their way.

Therefore, in an effort to not become homeless, I'll restrict my reviews to twice a month.

The first review will be this Wednesday, February 3 at 8 PM EST.

This will serve two purposes:

1 – It gives me one more deadline to inspire some semblance of routine in my writing world.

2 – It will be slightly more interesting than hearing my ramblings about what was going on in my head while I was writing.

Something for you and something for me.  It's a win/win situation!

Okay, so I'm sitting at my computer with a blank page

I had made the decision that I was going to write. Not only was I going to write, but I was going to write a whole book. My first fiction novel. I'm a great story teller, surely I could come up with enough content to fill several books, let alone one little novel. How hard could it be?

So, I sat at my computer, stewing. And stewing.

I wanted to be original, unique. Every idea I came up with had been done before, some had been done several times. If I did come up with something somewhat original, it was never on a topic that inspired me. For my first book, I definitely needed an inspiring topic.

Having recently been on a reading binge, I asked myself what kinds of books had I been reading? Those topics had interested me enough that I read several books. If I focused on a particular genre, that would at least narrow things down.

I went through a mental list of the books I'd read and zeroed in on Paranormal/Urban Fiction. In other words, vampires. Not only had I just read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, I read the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris and the Anita Blake series by Laurell Hamilton. It was vampire after vampire with a dash of werewolf. To be honest, I was burnt out on vampires. Not only that, but vampires and werewolves have been done and redone in every conceivable way. I would need an extra special twist if I were to write a vampire story. For my first attempt, I really didn't feel confident about that.

So I found a genre, but I was utterly sick to death of it. I needed something that was still paranormal/fantasy in nature, but had no vampires or werewolves. Dwarves, elves and the like had all been done to death as well. I was truly hard pressed to come up with an idea. In the meantime, I was still staring at that blank page on my screen.

Okay, something that's not vampire or werewolf and not a Lord of the Rings knock off. Faeries are also starting to get a lot of play these days. My mind buzzed for several days, pondering what to do.

Eventually, I made myself narrow my plot even further. What did I want it to ultimately be about? How about a woman? Well, that was a start, but what about this woman? Let's have her be introverted and somehow she gets dragged into some sort of fantasy world. In the end, she sheds her shy side and finds out who she really is. (Because that plot hasn't been done before...yeah right!)

Once I got that much, the rest started to flow. I started to make notes. I wasn't writing just yet, but the page was no longer empty. It was filling with ideas.

In the end, I decided to write about this woman and how she stumbles across a world of elves. These aren't your typical, arrow chucking, tree hugging, pointy eared elves. No, these were a separate race of beings whose ancestors were the same as ours. The book would explain how the separation of our races happened and why elves appear in our folklore as they do.

There would be trolls, dimensional portals, and, of course, a love story. Who else to help her out of her shell than some handsome elven prince?

Then, the writing began. I wrote and wrote and wrote. Then I wrote some more. Once I started, it was hard to stop. It was horrible stuff really. Not the slightest bit interesting to anyone but myself. But that's not the point.

The point is, sometimes you have to force yourself to just pick something and start writing to get the juices flowing. The idea I had in itself was a good one. It was the writing that stunk. Looking back, I've got about 30,000 words out of 50,000 that I'm probably going to junk and completely rewrite.

That's okay. I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. I learned and grew so much from just sitting in front of my computer, merrily typing away. Proper grammar and sentence structure will come later. For now, getting the story out of my head and onto paper is a huge step in the right direction.