Welcome! I was thinking that this might be a good time to introduce you all to some of my characters from my currently-being-rewritten (on my second draft) novel, Sorcera, which I have previously mentioned in this blog post.
For those of you who may not know, Sorcera is a young adult/urban fantasy novel about a coven of witches named Sorcera (what a surprise!). This coven is made up of 3 young adults living in New York--however, their world is turned upside down when their coven is made "Complete" by a fourth fire witch, and they're thrown into a highly-public battle against another coven, prompted by an archaic prophecy.
As you might expect, I have 4 main characters. If you would like me to tell you about my four antagonists, or any of my other characters, I would be happy to--just let me know!
Character 1: Rebellious Hot (:P) Fire Witch: Adele Esperanza!
First up is Adele, the fire witch who turns the rest of the coven's world upside down by showing up in New York City at the worst possible time. I loved Adele from first write because she manages to have attitude without being a total dick to people. She likes to pretend she's aloof and dangerous, but deep down she's just a sweetheart looking for a girlfriend. Definitely a Gryffindor!
Character 2: Mama Spock: Nicole Kwon!
Next is Nicole--initially seeming cold and rational, Nicole has strong motherly instincts and is incredibly loyal. She loves learning, and the other witches most often find her with her nose in a book. Nicole sometimes has trouble admitting she's wrong, and hates messing up in any way. She is through and through a Ravenclaw.
Character 3: Down-to-Earth Mediator: Malone Vaccaro!
Malone is the moral heart of the group, always working for everyone else's well-being and trying to steer the coven in the right direction. He's definitely a people person, and inherently cares about everyone--however, his trust sometimes leads him in the wrong directions. Obviously, Hufflepuff!
Character 4: Shy Ditzy Air Witch: Bambi Lachapelle!
Bambi is the baby of the group; not only is she the youngest, but she's also incredibly introverted and deals with anxiety. Bambi is scared of her powers, and tends not to use them unless she absolutely has to. She loves video games, TV shows, animals, and generally anything but magic. Despite her shyness, everyone loves Bambi--she has an inherent goodness rarely found in the witch community. Once again, she's a Hufflepuff!
I've been working with these characters for about two years ago, and my love for them grows every time I sit down to write--I feel like they're my family! By far, my favorite part of Sorcera, a character-driven story from the get-go, is writing these four characters and their interactions with each other. How many of you also love writing character interactions?
There's my little post for the day, I hope it entertained you a little bit! Let me know which character seems most interesting to you. Maybe I'll do little focus pieces on each of them in the future!
Kekai
Showing posts with label novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novels. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
My Top 5 Favorite Books (+ Why!)
Good afternoon everyone! I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, and my love of books prompted me to want to write my own. Today, I thought I'd share my favorite books with you!
1. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Mariller
Daughter of the Forest is a Celtic retelling of the fairy tale of the Seven Swans. This book is the first in a series, and my mom suggested it to me a couple years back--I've only read it once, but it will always hold a place in my heart as one of my favorite novels! The best description I can give of this novel is one of chocolate cake: each page is rich with warm, delicious storytelling. I read this book over the course of two months, reading a couple pages each day and savoring it. Don't worry though, Daughter of the Forest is anything but boring! The details are made interesting with poignant plot twists, great dialogue, and meaningful characters. The climax of the novel had me in hysterics at about one in the morning. Truly an incredible read!
2. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
I love Harry Potter. You love Harry Potter. We all love Harry Potter. Do I really need to explain?
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I was suggested this book by a friend of mine, and I'm so thankful that I picked it up! With a lot of unoriginal YA fiction around these days, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is enchanting and vivid, with characters you really want to root for. It centers on Karou, a girl caught between two worlds--our own, Earth, and another filled with monsters and angels. Her world is turned even further upside down than it already is when she meets Akiva, her love interest (surprise!) and someone she feels drawn to for reasons she can't explain. The detail in this book is incredibly intricate, and this book manages to be touching without being overwrought, romantic without being predictable, and exciting without being annoying. A true win for YA fantasy!
4. The Engelsfors Trilogy by Sara B Elfgren and Mats Strandsberg
I picked up the first book in this trilogy, The Circle, in Traverse City on a weekend trip when it was suggested at the bookstore--I read the summary, and when I found it had six female main characters that were witches, I knew I had to read it. Despite it being a huge book, I finished it within days, and was hungry for more. The Circle focuses on a group of girls who gain magic powers after the "suicide" of a boy at their school. Set in a small town in Sweden, Engelsfors, these girls' use their powers for good, evil, and just about anything in between. With a rotating perspective, you get lots of time to understand and sympathize with ever character. The writing is vivid and interesting, making you feel incredibly involved with the plot. I suggest this book to anyone looking for a fresh new read!
4. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
You know a book is good when you read it as a kid, and then when you read it again a few years later, it's still good! Lemony Snicket's morbid and dry humor makes the outlandish stories of three orphans and their terrifying stalker even more fantastical than they already are. With resourceful, sympathetic main characters, an incredible villain, and a plot that always keeps you guessing with the sheer unfortunate-ness of it all, A Series of Unfortunate Events is truly exciting, with morals and themes that people of any age can appreciate.
5. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
I read How I Live Now when I heard about the movie (which I've actually yet to watch), and I've held it close to my heart ever since. How I Live Now centers on a girl, Daisy, and her trip to visit cousins in England--a terrorist attack happens soon thereafter, and she and her other female cousin are split from the boy cousins. She and her sister trek across the English countryside to try and find them again. Touching and poignant, How I Live Now paints a disconcerting yet somehow mellow portrait of a family separated, as well as youth issues and a coming of age story. Very interesting!
If you've read any of these and want to tell me what you thought of them, or plan to read any of these, please let me know in the comments or tweet me (@m_kekai)! Happy reading!
Kekai
1. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Mariller
Daughter of the Forest is a Celtic retelling of the fairy tale of the Seven Swans. This book is the first in a series, and my mom suggested it to me a couple years back--I've only read it once, but it will always hold a place in my heart as one of my favorite novels! The best description I can give of this novel is one of chocolate cake: each page is rich with warm, delicious storytelling. I read this book over the course of two months, reading a couple pages each day and savoring it. Don't worry though, Daughter of the Forest is anything but boring! The details are made interesting with poignant plot twists, great dialogue, and meaningful characters. The climax of the novel had me in hysterics at about one in the morning. Truly an incredible read!
2. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
I love Harry Potter. You love Harry Potter. We all love Harry Potter. Do I really need to explain?
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I was suggested this book by a friend of mine, and I'm so thankful that I picked it up! With a lot of unoriginal YA fiction around these days, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is enchanting and vivid, with characters you really want to root for. It centers on Karou, a girl caught between two worlds--our own, Earth, and another filled with monsters and angels. Her world is turned even further upside down than it already is when she meets Akiva, her love interest (surprise!) and someone she feels drawn to for reasons she can't explain. The detail in this book is incredibly intricate, and this book manages to be touching without being overwrought, romantic without being predictable, and exciting without being annoying. A true win for YA fantasy!
4. The Engelsfors Trilogy by Sara B Elfgren and Mats Strandsberg
I picked up the first book in this trilogy, The Circle, in Traverse City on a weekend trip when it was suggested at the bookstore--I read the summary, and when I found it had six female main characters that were witches, I knew I had to read it. Despite it being a huge book, I finished it within days, and was hungry for more. The Circle focuses on a group of girls who gain magic powers after the "suicide" of a boy at their school. Set in a small town in Sweden, Engelsfors, these girls' use their powers for good, evil, and just about anything in between. With a rotating perspective, you get lots of time to understand and sympathize with ever character. The writing is vivid and interesting, making you feel incredibly involved with the plot. I suggest this book to anyone looking for a fresh new read!
4. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
You know a book is good when you read it as a kid, and then when you read it again a few years later, it's still good! Lemony Snicket's morbid and dry humor makes the outlandish stories of three orphans and their terrifying stalker even more fantastical than they already are. With resourceful, sympathetic main characters, an incredible villain, and a plot that always keeps you guessing with the sheer unfortunate-ness of it all, A Series of Unfortunate Events is truly exciting, with morals and themes that people of any age can appreciate.
5. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
I read How I Live Now when I heard about the movie (which I've actually yet to watch), and I've held it close to my heart ever since. How I Live Now centers on a girl, Daisy, and her trip to visit cousins in England--a terrorist attack happens soon thereafter, and she and her other female cousin are split from the boy cousins. She and her sister trek across the English countryside to try and find them again. Touching and poignant, How I Live Now paints a disconcerting yet somehow mellow portrait of a family separated, as well as youth issues and a coming of age story. Very interesting!
If you've read any of these and want to tell me what you thought of them, or plan to read any of these, please let me know in the comments or tweet me (@m_kekai)! Happy reading!
Kekai
Friday, January 15, 2016
Top 5 Writer's Resources!
Hey everyone, and happy Friday! Ever needed some good writer's advice? Ever needed something to finally get you into the groove of writing? Well, I'm your gal tonight then, because guess what post I just wrote! That's right, here I have my top 5 writer's resources. Let's get right into it:
1. National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month (Or, more popularly, and briefly, NaNoWriMo) is an online program by which you can challenge yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. You can post a synopsis of your novel, update your word count on the site, and talk to fellow writers! This is an incredibly fun endeavor, and how I completed my first full-length novel (rather than the novellas of my youth). Even if you're a more seasoned writer with a writing routine already, it's exciting to participate--there's a sort of motivation that comes with knowing you're working with others towards a common goal.
1. National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month (Or, more popularly, and briefly, NaNoWriMo) is an online program by which you can challenge yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. You can post a synopsis of your novel, update your word count on the site, and talk to fellow writers! This is an incredibly fun endeavor, and how I completed my first full-length novel (rather than the novellas of my youth). Even if you're a more seasoned writer with a writing routine already, it's exciting to participate--there's a sort of motivation that comes with knowing you're working with others towards a common goal.
2. She's Novel
I stumbled upon She's Novel a couple weeks ago, and have been addicted to it ever since! Aesthetically pleasing and infinitely encouraging, I find Kristen Kieffer to be funny and inspirational. This came along at the perfect time for me, as I just started working very hard on creating a writing routine (I'm writing a post involving that very soon), and I needed a little jump start for my motivation. She also has guest writers from time to time. I especially love her articles How I Learned to Write Every Day and My Two Step Method for Finishing Your Novel.
3. Writer's Digest
A writer's advice classic, I often spend time trolling through the Writer's Digest archives, looking for any articles that may appeal to me--I often get the magazine for Christmas. Insightful and interesting, Writer's Digest has a lot of different content, so if you need advice on a particular writing issue, you're sure to find the help you need here.
4. 750words
I used to use 750words a lot when I was younger, and this is another great site for young writers or people just starting out with a writing routine. 750words is where you can write 750 words a day--it tracks your progress and productivity, and saves your work.
5. Written? Kitten + Write or Die!
So, do you work better with a carrot or a stick? Either way, I've got you covered! Written? Kitten! is a site where you are rewarded with a picture of a kitten per number of words that you write, which you can adjust at your leisure. Meanwhile, Write or Die threatens you--if you don't keep writing continuously until you reach your goal, the site gets consistently more irritating until you continue to write. Write or Die is great because it really forces you to focus, or else. Written? Kitten! is great because, I mean, cats.
I hope you like this list! Please let me know if you check out any of these, I'd love to hear what you think of them.
Enjoy,
Kekai
I stumbled upon She's Novel a couple weeks ago, and have been addicted to it ever since! Aesthetically pleasing and infinitely encouraging, I find Kristen Kieffer to be funny and inspirational. This came along at the perfect time for me, as I just started working very hard on creating a writing routine (I'm writing a post involving that very soon), and I needed a little jump start for my motivation. She also has guest writers from time to time. I especially love her articles How I Learned to Write Every Day and My Two Step Method for Finishing Your Novel.
3. Writer's Digest
A writer's advice classic, I often spend time trolling through the Writer's Digest archives, looking for any articles that may appeal to me--I often get the magazine for Christmas. Insightful and interesting, Writer's Digest has a lot of different content, so if you need advice on a particular writing issue, you're sure to find the help you need here.
4. 750words
I used to use 750words a lot when I was younger, and this is another great site for young writers or people just starting out with a writing routine. 750words is where you can write 750 words a day--it tracks your progress and productivity, and saves your work.
5. Written? Kitten + Write or Die!
So, do you work better with a carrot or a stick? Either way, I've got you covered! Written? Kitten! is a site where you are rewarded with a picture of a kitten per number of words that you write, which you can adjust at your leisure. Meanwhile, Write or Die threatens you--if you don't keep writing continuously until you reach your goal, the site gets consistently more irritating until you continue to write. Write or Die is great because it really forces you to focus, or else. Written? Kitten! is great because, I mean, cats.
I hope you like this list! Please let me know if you check out any of these, I'd love to hear what you think of them.
Enjoy,
Kekai
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Potato Chip Sorcery (or, My Current Writing Project)
When I first came up with the idea for Sorcera, it probably would have been a better sitcom than a novel. The concept was this: a coven of young witches living in an old, abandoned library, trying to support themselves on minimum wage jobs, but mostly just messing around with their powers. The first time I put my pen to paper about this concept, I wrote a short work called "Potato Chip Sorcery", where two of my characters threw potato chips at each other using telekinesis.
Needless to say, the story has changed in tone and style quite a bit since than. I am currently in my first revision of the novel--my first draft was so bad that I was already planning the revision as I was finishing it up! Since the crappy storylines and flat characters of the first draft don't really matter anymore, for now I'll be gushing about how excited I am for my second draft--I'm currently about 13,500 words in.
In the world I've created, witches exist alongside people--some humans know about them, some don't, it's all pretty chill in that department (the president probably knows, for public safety and all). There are four elements, and each witch is tied to one of them. Each element has powers that correspond to it, and if witches combine their powers, they can often get some pretty interesting results.
The witch world is governed by various councils in various countries, but all witches bow to the Complete, a coven that has one air witch, one water witch, one earth witch, and one fire witch. It is impossible for you to cultivate a coven with this combination unless it is fated, at which point, you rise to power in the witch community. However, there's a catch. In order to remain dominant in this world, you have to kill the other Complete--otherwise, they'll kill you. And probably a lot of other people on their way to you. This is based off the idea of the dynastic cycle; power corrupts, and by the time one of the Complete is corrupt, a new one rises to take its place.
My four main characters are who really propel the story--originally based off me and three of my friends (cliche and awful, I know), they've developed into fully-fleshed characters of their own. Nicole, Malone, Adele, and Bambi are all witches, and each corresponds to one of the four elements.I'm a huge fan of character-driven novels, and so it only makes sense that these four are my favorite parts of writing Sorcera. I enjoy seeing how they interact together, learning to work as a team as they become the next Complete, forced to stand against Storm, a group of veteran witches known for their ruthlessness and power.
I could go on for ages about Sorcera, but there's plenty of time for that! You'll no doubt be hearing more about it from me soon. For now, feel free to tell me what you think of the story based on the plot summary! Thank you!
Talk to you soon,
Kekai
Needless to say, the story has changed in tone and style quite a bit since than. I am currently in my first revision of the novel--my first draft was so bad that I was already planning the revision as I was finishing it up! Since the crappy storylines and flat characters of the first draft don't really matter anymore, for now I'll be gushing about how excited I am for my second draft--I'm currently about 13,500 words in.
In the world I've created, witches exist alongside people--some humans know about them, some don't, it's all pretty chill in that department (the president probably knows, for public safety and all). There are four elements, and each witch is tied to one of them. Each element has powers that correspond to it, and if witches combine their powers, they can often get some pretty interesting results.
The witch world is governed by various councils in various countries, but all witches bow to the Complete, a coven that has one air witch, one water witch, one earth witch, and one fire witch. It is impossible for you to cultivate a coven with this combination unless it is fated, at which point, you rise to power in the witch community. However, there's a catch. In order to remain dominant in this world, you have to kill the other Complete--otherwise, they'll kill you. And probably a lot of other people on their way to you. This is based off the idea of the dynastic cycle; power corrupts, and by the time one of the Complete is corrupt, a new one rises to take its place.
My four main characters are who really propel the story--originally based off me and three of my friends (cliche and awful, I know), they've developed into fully-fleshed characters of their own. Nicole, Malone, Adele, and Bambi are all witches, and each corresponds to one of the four elements.I'm a huge fan of character-driven novels, and so it only makes sense that these four are my favorite parts of writing Sorcera. I enjoy seeing how they interact together, learning to work as a team as they become the next Complete, forced to stand against Storm, a group of veteran witches known for their ruthlessness and power.
I could go on for ages about Sorcera, but there's plenty of time for that! You'll no doubt be hearing more about it from me soon. For now, feel free to tell me what you think of the story based on the plot summary! Thank you!
Talk to you soon,
Kekai
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