Armchair BEA 2014, Day Three: Novellas/Short Stories

With last night, so closeth day two of Armchair BEA. The primary topics of focus were author interactions and forms of expression that go beyond mere words. 

The second topic resonated with me in particular, and I decided to chat a bit about the format of comics/graphic novels. 

If anything was derived from the many discussions yesterday, it's that reading/storytelling can come in many different forms. Which is perhaps why it's apt that today's topic encourages everyone to think beyond the full-length novel and explore...

Novellas/Short Stories

Now it is time to give a little love to those little stories in your life. Share your love for your favorite shorts of any form. What is a short story or novella that doesn’t get the attention that it deserves? Recommend to readers what shorts you would recommend they start with. How about listing some short story anthologies based upon genres or authors? 

+ Fiction = <3

Much like I'd noted yesterday, this is such a timely topic for me, personally. For the last month or so I've been reading almost exclusively short stories. Science fiction shorts, to be exact. It began with an awesomely fun experience in April at AwesomeCon 2014 in Washington, DC. It was a gathering of thousands of fans of all things geek culture. I'd attended several panels discussing speculative fiction. Such wonderful dialogues about the most beloved of sci fi novels, with fascinating info about the master authors of science fiction, it spurred me to reread old favorites and check out new-to-me stories. Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang... reading stories from these authors was a delight.

Science fiction in particular can lend itself very well to the short story format. One might think the opposite is true, given that science fiction can tend to be particular about...well, the science, and technical detail to worldcrafting. But some of the most enjoyable spec fic short stories that come to mind are those that focus less on building a world than on building a scenario that hints at an immense world beyond. With short stories in general, there's a lot less "storytelling baggage" that can often plague full-length novels And with speculative fiction short stories, there's the added benefit of being able to pitch the tentpole of reality wherever desired! (Is the baseline reality that we live on Mars and speaking telepathically? Well, all rightie then, perfect!)

If looking for a place to start in checking out short stories--especially in speculative fiction--I'd recommend reading some of the public domain works of Philip K. Dick. His stories "The Hanging Stranger" and "The Crystal Crypt" are exciting and supremely chilling, while "The Skull" and "The Defenders" weave in really impactful messages with unexpected resonance.

I'd also recommend checking out speculative fiction magazines like Strange Horizons and Asimov's Science Fiction (or one that I'm fond of for personal reasons, Penumbra  eMag) provide a diverse set of stories on a recurring basis, and from both new and established talent.

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How about you? Do you often read novellas or short stories? Are they easier/more difficult to access, to enjoy? What are some of your favorite short stories?

Review: The Secret Guide to Dating Monsters by Sierra Dean

Title: The Secret Guide to Dating Monsters
Series: Secret McQueen, #0.5
Genres/Themes: urban fantasy, one-wild-night, short story, werewolf/vampire hybrid protagonist
Author: Sierra Dean
Excerpt: available at publisher website

Quick Take:
This quick read was a lot of breezy fun. The protagonist, Secret McQueen, is the major draw here, with her wry sense of humor and complex identity issues. It's the perfect lead-in to the series--or a great way to sample the tone of the series before diving into book one.

Book Description (via Goodreads):
     They say it's impossible to find a man in New York City. Secret McQueen needs to find two in one night. Of course, it’ll mean pulling off the impossible—find and kill a displaced rogue vampire without disrupting the first promising date she’s had in ages. As a werewolf hybrid used to walking a fine line of survival in the vampire world, though, Secret eats impossible for breakfast.
     Somewhere between hello and the first round of drinks, Secret makes her move. Her target, Hollywood’s biggest star, shouldn’t be hard to spot. Just look for swarms of fans. Except every time her vampire liaison, Holden, helps keep her mission on track, her date runs further off the rails.
     Either Holden has a hidden agenda, or he knows more than he’s letting on about her quarry. One way or another, Secret is determined to get her man, and meet Mr. Right. Or die trying.


Review:

What a freakin' surprise this little story was! The premise to this story seemed pretty no-nonsense, nice and straightforward. While that's exactly what it ended up being, I was charmed by the characters and quirky style of the protagonist, Secret McQueen.

The Secret Guide to Dating Monsters didn't have a whole lot in the way of exposition and world building, but I think that's the whole point. I hear that it was written (and certainly published) after the first full-length book in the series was released. So more than anything else, this story is something to whet the appetite, to fill in some of the tiny but promising tidbits alluded to in Something Secret this Way Comes. I'd personally recommend reading this before Something Secret, both because the events of Secret Guide chronologically come first, and because the read does not require great commitment and investment to be enjoyed.

As such, the plot moves fast here, but since there's not a whole lot of world building and complex character interactions, it reads like something of a quick procedural. It takes what would've been a straightforward event--Secret's date with a nice, "normal" guy--and throws everything in the path of preventing it occurring in a normal way. 

I really liked Secret's narrative voice, perhaps more than any other aspect of the story. She's witty, sexy, and she's got a bit of a chip on her shoulder. I really liked the element of her being part vampire, part wolf; yes, I know we've heard of that trope before, but it works well here, allowing this feisty, judgemental protagonist to wrestle with not only real baddy monsters, but also the "monsters" within herself. But Secret's everyday observations were amusing, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Whether she was high or low, she was always magnetic.

I must admit that I had some trouble envisioning some of the action scenes based on the descriptions. Granted, such scenes (along with "action" scenes, if you get my drift ^_^) can be be tricky to stage, especially if the choreography is complicated and the pace is really fast. There was one crucial scene in a subway that felt almost too frenetic to grasp.  It was definitely a lot to untangle and figure out, at least for me.

But overall, this story was a lot of fun. It sets up a very promising world with a highly likable heroine. After finishing this one, I'd immediately followed up with Something Secret This Way Comes. I really think this will be a series for the urban fantasy masses.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

"I really liked it."

Guest Post by Author Natalie-Nicole Bates

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I absolutely love hearing about the journey that a person takes in getting that story from concept to finished written piece. The paths may differ, the the glory of achievment rocks all the same. ^_^ Today, I'm pleased to welcome Natalie-Nicole Bates, author of Antique Charming. She discusses her very own adventure in discovering her love of writing.

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From Book Lover To Book Author

By Natalie-Nicole Bates

I have always been a voracious reader ever since I was a child. I was the twelve-year-old kid in the corner reading Harold Robbins and Sidney Sheldon. I remember being swept away in Sheldon’s Master of the Game and Robbins’ Goodbye, Janette. Influenced by these masters, I knew I wanted to write someday.

A few years ago, I spent a week in the hospital after an ill-fated skateboard stunt. I sent my partner to the bookstore to get as many Harlequin and Silhouette books he could find. That week I reached my all time record for the number of books read—24 books in one week!

More than a year ago, I decided to try making the big leap from reader to writer. I knew it couldn’t be accomplished by simply sitting down at the computer and pounding out a 350-page story. There were building blocks to creating a novel—idea, setting, plot, scene, point of view—to name a few.

I enrolled in an intensive six-month course in the art of novel writing. I was paired with a mentor, and was ready to writing this sweeping mainstream saga involving two people who had wills that left them a piece of property. My mentor said, you belong in the romance genre. This was best advice I could get.

This past summer, I finished my first novel, a contemporary romance called Change of Address. To my delight, I sold it to Secret Cravings Publishing in just a week.

After I signed the contract, I was hit by an idea for a paranormal story. I knew that I wanted it to be short, just a small bite for a reader to enjoy, and hopefully if I could sell it, it would be my introduction to all of the readers in this world. During a particularly frenzied episode of writing, I finished the story in a day. After editing, I sold the story to Books To Go Now. This is how Antique Charming came to be. I hope you will enjoy Antique Charming and consider it my hello to you.

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A lovely "hello," indeed. And wow...24 books in a week sounds like heaven (even given the necessary physical recovery). ^_^

A big "thank you" to Natalie-Nicole Bates for her visit today. Just as her personal tale is a pleasure to read, her story, Antique Charming, is a bundle of preciousness. It's a cute little tale about love that (quite literally) transcends time. Here's a peek...

The night he came home…forever

     Third-generation funeral director Lizzie Morton is about to have her dream realized. She has purchased the long abandoned Nichols Funeral Home and its upstairs flat, determined to restore the funeral home to its once former glory. 

     But a late night visitor, Adam Nichols, claims the funeral home still belongs to his family. Lizzie scoffs at his odd behaviour and outlandish claims, but when a vintage photograph appears, she soon realizes, to her horror, that Adam Nichols did once own the funeral home—more than one hundred years ago—and now she has allowed this entity to pass into her home.

Book Trailer on YouTube http://youtu.be/Z1U7hlZ0koQ

Find the book at:

Books to Go Now

Amazon Kindle

Hey, peeps...this has been but one stop on a tour for Bates's Antique Charming. To get more info about Bates and her work, you'll definitely want to check out some of the other stops! And stay tuned for the review of Antique Charming here at MNtR.

Click image for tour links!

Review: Vampire Dreams by Gabrielle Bisset

Title: Vampire Dreams

Series: (unnamed trilogy)

Genres/Themes: historical romance, vampires, novella

Author: Gabrielle Bisset
Excerpt: (here)

Quick Take:

With sweet characters, satisfying action sequences and easily accesible language, this book is certainly please vampire- and PnR fans. A quick and dirty read, both literally and figuratively. ^_^

Book Description (via Goodreads): 

     Homeless and without any family, Arden Stephens must live on the streets of mid 19th century London, never a safe place for a young woman. One night, as she is running for her life from an attacker, she is rescued by Brandon Ridley and offered a place in his home as his maid. Brandon is enchanted by Arden from the moment they meet, but just as she has secrets, so too does he. A vampire hundreds of years old, he yearns for the companionship she can give him. But for that he must make her one of his kind.
     Nightly, he visits her in her sleep, preparing her for the night he will finally make her his own. For Arden, the wanton dreams she has about her handsome employer seduce her and each day when she wakes up, she finds herself more drawn to him. But love and desire aren't enough for Brandon to sire her. He must first obtain the approval of his maker, an ancient vampire named Vasilije who has thwarted his chance for happiness before.

Review:

This novella by Gabrielle Bisset is nothing if not straight to the point. :o) The story gets down to business immediately, putting the two romantic leads in each others' paths and keeping them there for the duration of the tale. Given the shorter length (and thus quicker speed in plot development), the book reads quite like a fairy tale, or perhaps a naughty bedtime story; it's light on the expository details and only covers the storytelling essentials, but packs in a lot of heat and sweet romance.

And oh, what heat! There are some super hot scenes contained within this novella. I was pleased to find that their frequency and tone seemed to fit in nicely with the rest of the story; no encounters for their own sake or love scenes out of sync with the plot. (I will note that the book some under-the-mystical-influence encounters...I doubt it'll be a problem for most...but who knows, maybe someone will want a heads-up on that sort of thing.)

A very small part of me wishes the characters and the romance were fleshed out a bit more, particularly given that the main characters seem to "develop" feelings in a flash and in a place where the reader can't follow (that place being "between the lines" ^_^). But as it is, both still satisfy, as long as one doesn't mind the fast sequence of strong emotion.

The language was very clear and accessible, and I felt like the dialogue had just the right touch of period elegance. I found the action sequences (of the fighting/fleeing kind) exciting and engaging. The tone of the scenes throughout the book shifted and changed, but did so smoothy.

I quite enjoyed this quick cup of hot, steamy lovin'. ^_^ I'm very much looking forward to the next two books in the series; fortunately, the wait for the next release in the trilogy will be over by mid-July. Woop!

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

"I liked it!"

Today's review is part of the Bewitching Book Tours  current tour for Vampire Dreams. For more info on the other participating blogs and their tour stops, visit BBT's site (here).