All posts by tricia kristufek

Conversations

Blog,

I see dead people.

No? Oh, already been done? Damn. Well, wouldn’t want to do something someone has already done.  I don’t plan on redoing Shakespeare.  Oh wait! That’s a great idea! I’ll just redo…no, stop it. Think about your idea.

How’s about I talk to fictitious characters, and they talk back? How do you like me now? Are you suitably impressed with my coolness factor? You should be.

No, I’m not crazy!

Wait, you don’t believe me? But it’s true! Why, just today I talked to one Wizard, Mr. D.  He’s in the phone book — go ahead and check, I’ll wait.  Oh, not in your phone book. Well, I assure you, he’s real. He talked to me, not once but three times this week.  I hear all about how he’s terrible with electronics, how he wanted me off his lawn, and recommended that I drink ale. He said he would teach me to shoot tiny fireballs up the noses of people who make me upset. I can’t wait for that. I have a guy at the bar I’m dying to try that on…

Anyway, this Mr. D. sure does keep me entertained. He runs all over the city trying to stop demons, vampires (the un-sparkly kind) and spirits from breaking through to our realm. Very noble, Mr. D., very noble. And the way you help any women in need is admirable, if not outdated.

Now I just must get you to make me your apprentice.

You see, Mr. D., I too have demons to face every day. I need to arm myself with more than just my pretty smile and sarcastic wit.  I need to bring the pain, so to speak. That’s where you come in, you see, since you’re the most powerful Wizard around, and the only one listed in the phone book.  There are things you can teach me and I’m a huge fan of learning everything I can. It’s why I read so much.

But I digress. I wanted to talk about how awesome my writing here is, and that everyone should follow me because I know some cool people that are worth knowing me for. So, Mr. D., it is imperative that I learn how to be cool like you, so that I might have great adventures worth writing and reading about someday.

When you are ready, I know you can find me. Until then, Mr. D., until then.

And, we’re back!

Blog

So, our trip to the PA Ren Faire was a great success!  Not only did my daughter look adorable, but she also behaved wonderfully and didn’t break anything at the house where we stayed!

Now, back to business.

I have some exciting news: I will be doing my first author interview!  Cambria Hebert has two stories coming out soon and has agreed to let me interview her for both of them!  The first is called Before which serves as a teaser for her debut novel Masquerade.  Keep an eye out for both of these stories, and my interviews, in the following weeks.

Next, mention that I finished my story for the CR anthology Christmas Lites.  I’m waiting to hear back from the editors to see if it needs worked on, but I’m still very excited to have semi-officially submitted my first work to be published.  I will have more information about the anthology and where you can get it soon.

While I’m talking about publishing, I saw that Amazon publishing has an imprint for fantasy books now.  47North debuts with 15 books to be published, and looks to be taking submissions.  To query or not to query.

That is the question.

Out of Order

Blog

Well, not really.  More like, Out of Town.

This weekend I will be traveling back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I, amid rambunctious pirates, merry maids and loud lords, at the PA Renaissance Faire.  So, since they haven’t invented the internet yet, though I hear they’re working on it, I will be unable to post anything until my return back to the current century.

As a side note: I don’t usually dress up for these things.  There is a group of us that go and have a wonderful weekend, but while most of them have dressed as wenches/lords in previous years, I have abstained.  Of course, when I tried to explain to my daughter that she was going to be a pirate for the Faire, her response was simple: Mommy, too.  So, I pirate I shall be.

Arrrh.

So, in the mean time, I’m going to continue my quest to finish several more books, write some more reviews, write some of my story and just maybe throw in a blog idea or two to write when I return.

Until then, you are free to read the rest of my story ideas, reviews and general blogginess.

Review: Noah Zarc

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Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble
Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble by D. Robert Pease
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Team Zarc!

Noah Zarc is about a 12 year old paraplegic boy who travels throughout space and time on a mission to repopulate Earth with animals from all suitable time periods. With his family – Mom, Dad, brother Hamilton and sister Sam – Noah pilots the ARC (Animal Rescue Cruiser) while trying to stop Haon from preventing the re-population of all the animals on Earth.

I must admit to judging a book by it’s cover but being totally wrong. What I thought was going to be a tad bit cheesy story about a young boy traipsing the universe was actually a wonderful story about a boy who doesn’t let his handicaps hold him back (except to get out of chores, that is!) I was skeptical about how quickly the cavegirl Adina learned not only English but also math and science concepts, but still felt she was a good addition to the Zarc family.

Full of action and adventure, Noah Zarc is an excellent choice for any young reader who just might learn a thing or two about what you can do if you try.

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Review: Elizabeth Clansham

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Elizabeth Clansham
Elizabeth Clansham by Catherine E. Chapman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In pursuit of fulfilling her literary promise, Elizabeth Clansham moves from London to Scotland, seeking the quiet solitude of the croft to motivate her to write her novel. Teaching English to both a group of students by day and older folk by night, Elizabeth finds herself among yet apart from the townsfolk.

The adage “write what you know” plays a cruel trick on Elizabeth – she finds she doesn’t “know” anything worth writing about, since she hasn’t experienced anything worth noting. It’s not until she finally admits to herself that she must reach out of her comfort zone to find experiences that would give her novel substance, she casts aside her stiff demeanor and simply starts Trying.

The author does a fine job of using dialog to bring her characters to life, yet Elizabeth is still a mystery for most of the story. Other characters, including Andrew, Lauren and Dorothy, provide valuable insight into the character of Elizabeth. While the ages of the characters are largely unknown, since the British school systems and customs differ from the American, the reader can still follow along with the complexities of youth. Elizabeth Clansham is a finely-crafted tale of social interactions, of love and of finding yourself, all tied up into small-town life in the croft.

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Christmas Story (intro)

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

The snowflake lazily floating down, the clouds grey and swollen. Storefronts hasten to decorate, putting up mini pine trees with tiny colored lights.  The tinsel hanging from every available surface and then some.

The lights, the glitter, the music wafting out of everywhere, homes and businesses alike.  The toys, the cries of children as they make their lists and check them twice.  People calling hellos as they shovel their walks, thick jackets and thoughts of fresh coffee to keep them warm.

The lights, inside and out, spiraling up towards the tip-top of the tallest and smallest trees, blinking secret codes or steadily glowing in the night.  Candles and fireplaces blaze, lighting the way home and sheltering from the cold.  Headlights bursting from the darkness, guiding the way like an albino Rudolph.  The warmth and cheer of people around a table, laughing, smiling.

It’s the happiest season of all.

So why is it I’m so sad?

Status Update – Brilliant!

Blog

I had a brilliant idea!

So, since I want to add reviews to my site, I put an ad up on Goodreads that I would review books for authors.  I got a great response!  So I am knee-deep in books to review, along with books to read for fun.  Oh, and updating my blog.  And that pesty thing called work.

Oh boy!

Naturally, I also had another brilliant idea!

One of the writing/reading groups I follow is doing a charity anthology for Christmas.  It’s going benefit the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and be made up entirely of authors within this group.  Since it’s a good cause, and I’m new to the group, of course I felt the need to help out.  So I kind of offered to write a story.

In a month.

That’s right!  The stories are all due Oct. 15th.  So, with this in mind, please bear with me through the next few weeks, as I will probably post ideas for said story.  Thankfully, I do have an idea and it doesn’t have to be terribly long.  Since it’s a Christmas story anthology, I’m going to keep it light and go with a short romance novel.  Probably with some cheesy name.

Wish me luck!

P.S. If anyone is interested in this group, please feel free to check out the Creative Reviews page.

Knifepoint

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A tear trailed down her cheek, trembled at her chin, and fell.  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  I wasn’t supposed to love you.”

She felt Lucas stiffen, his hold on the knife faltering, but he stayed silent.  Her body trembled, her breathing ragged, she fought for control.  I deserve this, she thought, and closed her eyes.

Lucas slowly lowered the knife, not trusting his hand to be still any longer, and tucked it away in his belt.  He watched Ari’s face.  Normally so expressive, now it gave nothing away except her tears, which continued down her flushed cheeks.  He had expected a lot of things when he’d thought about this, but not love.  Not her loving him, at least.  His heart fluttered and before he could steel himself, he reached up to cup her cheek and wiped her tears away with his hands.

Arabelle’s eyes snapped open, searching Lucas’s face for a hint of his thoughts.  His body loosened, the tension visibly leaving his shoulders and face, and a hesitant smile appeared.  Still looking in her eyes, he leaned in to brush her lips with his.

“I had to know for sure.”

Review: Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe

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Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe:
Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe: by Jeremy Greenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From the author that brought you Sorry I Peed on You comes the follow-up, the aptly-named Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe. Adorable doggies show their good side as they try to explain why they ate the bacon off the table or why they bark at the vacuum cleaner.

Though short, the book does pack a punch and leaves you laughing. The pictures capture the “voice” of each of the dog, and the author does a good job of bringing that voice to life.

Full of stories from the canine perspective, often times subtly commenting on the things we human owners do to our beloved pooches, Sorry I Pooped in Your Shoe is sure to delight any dog lover.

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Review: The Measure of the Magic

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The Measure of the MagicThe Measure of the Magic by Terry Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Take the staff.

Those words haunt Panterra Qu at the end of Bearers of the Black Staff. Alone, surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, and doubtful, Panterra finds it within himself to take up the black staff from the fallen Sider Ament. Faced with the task of learning how to use the staff to save his people, Panterra travels from his village to the Elves to the outside of the valley to seek out and eliminate the threats that close upon the Hawk’s heirs.

Meanwhile, Prue Liss is far from safe at home. Trapped in the ruins of Deladion Inch’s hideout, Prue finds herself not only a target for the trolls outside, but also for the ragpicker, a demon hunting the black staff. In her desperation to return to and help Panterra, she makes a bargain with a reoccurring Shannara character, and gives up more than she bargained for.

Picking up where Bearers ended, The Measure of the Magic concludes the duology of the Legends of Shannara in true Brooks-fashion: innocent youth struggling to cope with and rise above challenges that the unbelieving adults cannot surmount. The characters of Pan and Prue are finely crafted, bringing them to light in a way the reader grips the pages and can’t let go.