Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
The Highest Hope - Chapter 3 and NaNo Updates
Chapter 3 of The Highest Hope is now available on FictionPress. I always appreciate reviews and constructive feedback.
An important note: I am putting this story on hiatus indefinitely because of other more pressing obligations, and the fact that I have a NaNo novel from the prior year that deserves my attention first. You have my word that I AM NOT abandoning The Highest Hope and it will be continued to be serialized as soon as possible.
Read the newest chapter here.
Speaking of National Novel Writing Month, I am participating again this year. My profile is here and here is the synopsis of my project, a historical fantasy about, le gasp, vampires:
1875 Transylvania
After years of war, rebellion, and outside rule, Romania is ready to become a sovereign nation, taking with it the formerly independent principality of Transylvania. For strigoi - vampires - it is the end of a once-magnificent era, their society hardly resembling what it once was.
Struggling against encroaching humans with new, powerful weapons, as well as a terrifying new disease known as the Blood Poisoning killing their people, the last strigoi struggle to survive.
Two brothers, outcast Sorin and youngest member of the Great Council of the Dragon, Viorel, might just be the ones to lead their people into the future. If they can muster the courage to let go of the past.
The Highest Hope - Prologue
Labels:
fantasy,
fiction,
free book,
novel,
serialized novel,
southern gothic,
the highest hope
·
As of today, I will begin serializing a novel I'm working on, both on this blog and on FictionPress.com. I can describe it best as Pokémon meets the Southern Gothic genre.
The description:
The description:
Mysterious deaths have shaken the small community of Lexington Hill to its core, and while no one is sure who could be committing the murders, it’s more than clear the perpetrator used a Compture to do it.
Comptures are creatures that are different from ordinary animals, even though some may look like dogs, or horses, or even dragons. They are intelligent, bond with the people who can tame them, and are deeply ingrained into the stratified society young Charlotte Colter lives in.
But when a Compture who can speak, and possesses unbelievable, almost divine power chooses to bond with Charlotte, she becomes more aware of the dark and ugly underbelly of her society than ever before.
Sound interesting? Read on under the cut! I can't promise an update schedule because of other things going on in my life, but I'll do my best to keep it at at least a chapter a month.
The Highest Hope
Prologue
Karen Talks About Imagine Someday
Now that Imagine Someday, my first
novel, has been floating around out there in cyberspace and in the
real world for a while now and I've gotten some really positive feedback about it, I feel it’s about time I talked
about it. The plot, the characters, what I was thinking when I wrote
it, where I got certain ideas.
Note: This discussion WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t read Imagine Someday, I highly recommend you do so. The ebook is available in all major stores for only $2.99, and it is also available in paperback. More details about the book at Loyalty Press' website here.
Okay? Here we go.
I started writing Imagine Someday back in 2007 when I was 16/17 years old. The book has grown and changed a lot over the years (Thankfully. The first draft was pretty horrendous). I DID make a self-publishing attempt, oh, a while ago, but I chickened out and took it off sale because it still wasn’t final draft material. I had actually abandoned the project for good, writing it off as a first novel that probably shouldn’t be published, but I kept coming back to it every now and then, making small changes until one day I read the draft and one line at the end almost had me crying. I knew then that I’d done something right and Imagine Someday deserved to be published. It’s by no means perfect, no book is, but I figured it was worth a shot. So I launched my career as a full-blown author, editor, and proofreader and established Loyalty Press as a means to do so.
From the beginning, I’d established most of the characters in my head. Diego was the brooding young man who kept himself isolated because of a childhood that the reader only learns about as the book progresses. Miho was his girlfriend who’d gotten him to open up and enjoy life a little bit more. Colin was the jokester from the UK and the newcomer to the group that Diego doesn’t like right away. Rahim (he went through a couple of different names during the process before I settled on Rahim) was Diego’s loyal best friend. Jane was the badass park ranger who would show up every now and then to help out. Aglaciel was the young, immature griffin Diego had found who wanted to know more about who he was. Christian Avery was going to show up and be the villain from the beginning. Jillian wasn’t near as fleshed out in the original draft, and more backstory and purpose for her actions and beliefs was added, overall strengthening the story. Anu is Mr. Exposition and the Sacrificial Lion, and his role can more or less be summed up with those two tropes, for better or worse. Though he is kind of a vain jerk. :)
For the most part the Fantastical Creature mythos has remained the same as well, with some minor changes. Originally the creatures were going to bond with their human, but I realized that a) had been done a lot already and b) didn’t fit the Fantastical Creature characters I’d already created. There’s some remnants of that idea in the finished project, but it isn’t as at the forefront as it was originally.
Essentially most of the key players and plot elements were in place from the beginning. Little things got tweaked here and there, and the climax became a bit more exciting, with Lineh taking much more of an active role. I also chose the extinction ending (I hadn’t really any plan for the creatures’ fate when I started writing) because I didn’t think there really was any other way for the story to end convincingly. And who knows, maybe Aglaciel ISN’T the last Fantastical Creature in the world. :)
Fun Facts:
Originally there was going to be another male character, Todd, sort of set up as a rival to Diego, who would have a drake as his partner. Looking at my old notes, his mother was somehow involved with Avery too (no idea what I was thinking). This idea was eventually axed because he didn’t fit into the story.
I don’t know how many people noticed this, but the scene near the beginning when Diego is loading Anu into the horse trailer, Anu acts like he doesn’t trust Diego. I didn’t think anything of it, but my friend pointed out when she read it that the exchange was a perfect subtle piece of foreshadowing. Diego isn’t a virgin. Unicorns traditionally can only be tamed by a virgin.
My favorite character (in case you didn’t guess) is without a doubt Rahim. He was always meant to be the cornerstone of the story, even if he starts out looking like he’s going to have little impact on the plot. His ability to be the host and partner for Lineh truly shows his strength and determination.
Miho always was going to die at the end. I felt kind of bad doing it, because in a few ways it plays right into the “Women in Refrigerators” stereotype (that the woman always dies to motivate the man). That wasn’t really my intention, as I consider myself very much a feminist, but it still might come off that way for some readers nonetheless, so I apologize.
Originally Jane was going to die, but for two reasons she escaped the “meat grinder,” as my cousin likes to call it. 1) I’d already killed off a lot of other characters and 2) I really, really liked Jane. So I had her survive, becoming more of a badass in the process for coming back after all those wounds.
So now you know a little bit more about Imagine Someday. If you’ve read and enjoyed the book, consider leaving an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog. They go a long way towards helping indie authors and publishers. Thanks a bunch you guys, and goodnight!
Note: This discussion WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t read Imagine Someday, I highly recommend you do so. The ebook is available in all major stores for only $2.99, and it is also available in paperback. More details about the book at Loyalty Press' website here.
Okay? Here we go.
I started writing Imagine Someday back in 2007 when I was 16/17 years old. The book has grown and changed a lot over the years (Thankfully. The first draft was pretty horrendous). I DID make a self-publishing attempt, oh, a while ago, but I chickened out and took it off sale because it still wasn’t final draft material. I had actually abandoned the project for good, writing it off as a first novel that probably shouldn’t be published, but I kept coming back to it every now and then, making small changes until one day I read the draft and one line at the end almost had me crying. I knew then that I’d done something right and Imagine Someday deserved to be published. It’s by no means perfect, no book is, but I figured it was worth a shot. So I launched my career as a full-blown author, editor, and proofreader and established Loyalty Press as a means to do so.
From the beginning, I’d established most of the characters in my head. Diego was the brooding young man who kept himself isolated because of a childhood that the reader only learns about as the book progresses. Miho was his girlfriend who’d gotten him to open up and enjoy life a little bit more. Colin was the jokester from the UK and the newcomer to the group that Diego doesn’t like right away. Rahim (he went through a couple of different names during the process before I settled on Rahim) was Diego’s loyal best friend. Jane was the badass park ranger who would show up every now and then to help out. Aglaciel was the young, immature griffin Diego had found who wanted to know more about who he was. Christian Avery was going to show up and be the villain from the beginning. Jillian wasn’t near as fleshed out in the original draft, and more backstory and purpose for her actions and beliefs was added, overall strengthening the story. Anu is Mr. Exposition and the Sacrificial Lion, and his role can more or less be summed up with those two tropes, for better or worse. Though he is kind of a vain jerk. :)
For the most part the Fantastical Creature mythos has remained the same as well, with some minor changes. Originally the creatures were going to bond with their human, but I realized that a) had been done a lot already and b) didn’t fit the Fantastical Creature characters I’d already created. There’s some remnants of that idea in the finished project, but it isn’t as at the forefront as it was originally.
Essentially most of the key players and plot elements were in place from the beginning. Little things got tweaked here and there, and the climax became a bit more exciting, with Lineh taking much more of an active role. I also chose the extinction ending (I hadn’t really any plan for the creatures’ fate when I started writing) because I didn’t think there really was any other way for the story to end convincingly. And who knows, maybe Aglaciel ISN’T the last Fantastical Creature in the world. :)
Fun Facts:
Originally there was going to be another male character, Todd, sort of set up as a rival to Diego, who would have a drake as his partner. Looking at my old notes, his mother was somehow involved with Avery too (no idea what I was thinking). This idea was eventually axed because he didn’t fit into the story.
I don’t know how many people noticed this, but the scene near the beginning when Diego is loading Anu into the horse trailer, Anu acts like he doesn’t trust Diego. I didn’t think anything of it, but my friend pointed out when she read it that the exchange was a perfect subtle piece of foreshadowing. Diego isn’t a virgin. Unicorns traditionally can only be tamed by a virgin.
My favorite character (in case you didn’t guess) is without a doubt Rahim. He was always meant to be the cornerstone of the story, even if he starts out looking like he’s going to have little impact on the plot. His ability to be the host and partner for Lineh truly shows his strength and determination.
Miho always was going to die at the end. I felt kind of bad doing it, because in a few ways it plays right into the “Women in Refrigerators” stereotype (that the woman always dies to motivate the man). That wasn’t really my intention, as I consider myself very much a feminist, but it still might come off that way for some readers nonetheless, so I apologize.
Originally Jane was going to die, but for two reasons she escaped the “meat grinder,” as my cousin likes to call it. 1) I’d already killed off a lot of other characters and 2) I really, really liked Jane. So I had her survive, becoming more of a badass in the process for coming back after all those wounds.
So now you know a little bit more about Imagine Someday. If you’ve read and enjoyed the book, consider leaving an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog. They go a long way towards helping indie authors and publishers. Thanks a bunch you guys, and goodnight!
Imagine Someday
Labels:
contemporary fantasy,
fantasy,
griffins,
mythical creatures,
new adult,
novel,
unicorns,
urban fantasy,
wyverns
·
Imagine Someday
Karen Lofgren
Release Date: June 5, 2013
Genre: Urban Fantasy, New Adult
A dark, New Adult urban fantasy novel.
Diego Avery’s life has never been an easy one. His father was executed for murder when he was a teenager. He’s hosting the spoiled son of a rich British businessman. He lives alone with his childhood best friend. And he’s been hiding a griffin named Aglaciel in the forest on his property for the last five months.
However, Aglaciel soon grows tired of waiting. He is young and wants to know more about his kind, but unfortunately remembers nothing of his life before meeting Diego. And Diego’s questions about Aglaciel’s origins have gone unanswered, making radical change to their situation all but impossible.
Some questions are resolved but even more are posed when Diego’s girlfriend discovers an injured unicorn in a public park. Someone, or something, is hunting the last Fantastical Creatures to extinction. Before he knows it, Diego becomes embroiled in the plight of the Fantastical Creatures and their fight to survive.
Together with his friends, Diego embarks on a journey to find the answers to his questions. But will he like the answers he receives, and can there be a happily ever after?
In this tale of struggle and hope, debut author Karen Lofgren encourages us all to imagine a better someday, and then fight to make it happen.
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