A.J. Maguire

Category: Writing

  • About Character Growth – Part 2

    My first post about Character Growth dealt with Nora Grayson in particular. She is the main protagonist in the Nora Grayson Adventures and my focus was on how she has grown over the past several books. Currently I’m drafting Book 3 and outlining Book 4, so I have a pretty good idea what she looks like at the end of the series compared to book 1.

    Today I’m looking at other characters in the books, which might have some mild spoilers but I’ll try to lean on the HINTING side instead of the outright telling you side of things. Because we all know I’m not big on spoiling books.

    First, I’ll say that some of the comments from Werewolf Wedding have been about the team in the CEB. That’s Lieutenant Eucilla Norwind, Derrick King, Elliot Cade, Gretchen, and Sam Witters.

    Basically, people want to know more about them.

    And I get it.

    Because I do too.

    I should preface this with saying I am a kind of hybrid author. I do a basic worldbuilding bit to start, and then the story surprises me with the details as I move forward. Which means I take a LOT of notes as I write. And I have a Story Bible that is constantly being referenced to make sure I haven’t broken canon already set in stone.

    Fun note: the Story Bible is the messiest thing you’ll ever see. It’s my creative brain at its finest, handwritten in multiple shades of ink with circles and highlights and extra punctuation. The outlines are done in here. And the read-through notes when I prep for editing.

    Why is this important?

    Because it means I only had a hint of who these people were when I started. They grew with the story and told me who they were mid-draft.

    Now, this won’t work for every author out there. Some need to know everything from which kind of peanut butter their character prefers to how many times a day they think about their mother. And that’s fine. That works for them.

    It does not work for me.

    Drafting is a conversation between me and the characters. It’s where they show me who they are and tell me their story. If I knew everything going in, I’d get bored and stop writing.

    Now, writing in a series means I have to keep a tighter grip on things. Each of them have to grow, have to show a little more of who they are, without breaking what’s already established. So… I do a weird thing, and maybe it’ll work for someone else but… here it goes.

    I have Scrivener. And Scrivener has this amazing tool where you make character sheets. Before I start each book, I go through that messy Story Bible and type up what has already been established for each character. It’s my Filtered Download of the character, if you will. And then I go through my outline and put what I call CBP — Character Beat Points — at each chapter.

    CBP’s are comments and/or questions aimed at each character. Things like; How does Gretchen feel about the pawn shop? or Don’t forget Sam is still new to Earthside and doesn’t get a lot of the customs.

    And then, you know… I draft the first version.

    The CBP’s are mostly there to instigate questions that can be explored as the narrative unfolds. Oftentimes they lead to more interesting questions that get fleshed out between draft one and draft four.

    Anyway, that’s what I do. Maybe it’ll help someone else.

    Happy Writing!

  • About Character Growth – Part One

    As we’re gearing up for the release of Nora and the Duke of Autumn, I can’t help but see the differences in Nora Grayson’s character from book one. She’s still got a clear sense of right and wrong, her values haven’t changed even if everything about her life has been shattered, and she still has the compassion and empathy that I wanted to highlight in the first book.

    For those just joining us, Nora was inspired by the character of Deanna Troi from Star Trek the Next Generation. In particular, the empathy that Deanna portrayed on the bridge of the Star Ship Enterprise is something I snagged and enhanced for the character of Nora Grayson. Only instead of making her an alien she is, obviously, a half human magic wielder.

    Because it wouldn’t be a Fantasy novel otherwise.

    The idea was to let a character with Deanna Troi’s talents stand front and center of her own work, because emotions are important and we should allow ourselves to process them rather than… You know, bury them away and pretend they don’t exist.

    SO!

    How has Nora changed from Book One to Book Two?

    SPOILERS AHEAD! Turn back now if you don’t want to know.

    …

    Still here?

    Alright, for starters, in book one Nora was confronted with the fact that her two caretakers – Nana Bess and Uncle Martin – are criminals. This eye-opener has wrought a lot of strife in her. She feels stupid, and every new part of Fairy that she learns about is feeding her rage at having been duped.

    Book Two has her struggling to find a sense of self again. There’s some self-pity in there because, well, who wouldn’t be ashamed? But this second book is all about overcoming that shame and finding the strength to make something new. By the end of Book Two, she has more control over her own life and is ready to start building again.

    Which is why Book Three is so very, very romantic.

    Ahem.

    Gird your loins, people. The romance that has already begun is about to take center stage.

    And that’s the only spoiler I’m going to give you.

    Nora and the Werewolf Wedding is available on Amazon in Paperback, Kindle, and Kindle Unlimited.

    Nora and the Duke of Autumn is available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle.

  • The World of Nora Grayson – Setting

    With the second book of the Nora Grayson adventures set to release later this year, a couple of questions have reached me regarding the setting of the novels. This is not your typical Paranormal Romance, nor your typical Urban Fantasy. And I should know, I’ve read plenty of both.

    Nora and the Werewolf Wedding walked the line of Urban Fantasy pretty close. We only left Earthside — That’s the here and now for anyone who hasn’t read the book — and went to a safehouse in Fairy, without actually stepping foot in Fairy itself. Instead we were treated to Boston, Massachusetts and Allegany, New York — albeit it with magical creatures walking about in the daylight.

    Why?

    To be frank, because that’s what my Muse wanted me to do.

    There was an argument early on with my Muse about having this as Urban Fantasy, and in truth it does not really fit the framework of your typical urban fantasy novel. On the one hand, yes, you see magical creatures walking in and amongst humanity in a present world, urban setting. On the other hand, humans have been left wholly alone.

    We don’t have a human — or a character who grew up thinking they were human only to discover they were a fantastical creature in hiding — stumble into the fantasy elements of the book. Nora knows she’s a Bright creature, has known it all her life, and has a basic understanding of what that means.

    In point of fact, Bright creatures have been in hiding from humanity for centuries, and the lore of the novels is such that Fairy was created as a safe haven for Bright creatures to run to if they were in trouble. Also, the urban part of the novel doesn’t last long. By chapter six we’re in the woods, sequestered away from human society so that my werewolf socialites can do… what werewolf socialites like to do best.

    In Nora and the Duke of Autumn, we make a shift toward Fairy. 80% of the novel takes place in Fairy as Nora travels to what is known as the Autumnal Estates, where she and the trusty team from the CEB are investigating the murder of a high born sidhe.

    Does this mean it’s not really an Urban Fantasy anymore?

    Heck if I know.

    I’m just writing the books, you guys can categorize as you see fit.

    I will say that my steampunk loving self had a great deal of fun describing and creating Fairy for this book. The village of Delporte is my favorite, if anyone wants to know.

    Since I am midway through drafting the third book and have a clear image of how the fourth book is meant to go, I can state with confidence that we still bounce between earthside and Fairy at a pretty decent clip. I mean, if you could jump into a body of water and come out the other side in a whole different world, wouldn’t you go for it?

    Purchase Link! Nora and the Werewolf Wedding

    Pre-Order Link! Nora and the Duke of Autumn

  • What Sort of Author Am I?

    When my first novel was published, it was labeled as fantasy romance, so I always imagined that must be what sort of author I was.

    A fantasy romance author.

    For those who have read Sedition, I think many of you will note that while there is a romance between Nelek and Trenna and it does have an impact on what those characters end up doing, the book as a whole is not what many would call “Romantasy” these days.

    Maybe there’s a difference between “Romantasy” and “Fantasy Romance” but the popular moniker seems to encompass them both these days, which is why I’m sitting here today, pondering my writing style and preference.

    If you need a reference, Sarah J Maas’s books are all labeled Romantasy. And yes, I can see why. You have the relationship of two main characters as a centerpiece that works in conjunction with the larger fantasy plot. The world building on the Crescent City novels alone is beautifully done and I quite adore this author and her works, and will continue to read them as they are released.

    A quick bit of research suggests that fantasy romance is fantasy with a significant romantic element, whereas romantasy seems to be a romance set in a fantasy backdrop. Which… well…

    Alright. I think the main difference is going to be focused on exactly how significant an element that romance is in a fantasy novel to let properly categorize it. If you’re comparing the books of Sedition and A Court of Thorns and Roses, the two are super-duper similar. Focus is on the world and the characters in it, with a romance blossoming that the characters end up having to fight for.

    But once we move on from those first books in the two series, things start to look very different. A Court of Mist and Fury reveals a much larger romance, one that begins to shape that series into something very identifiable ad Romantasy. You’re showing up to see how these two come together and stay together through a great deal of strife.

    Saboteur sticks to the same romance introduced in Sedition and while there are some questions on how they are going to survive together, the main thrust of the book is centered on the world itself. So I can see a major split between what I write and what is popularly called Romantasy.

    I am not shy in admitting that there are romances in all of my novels. I am a romantic at heart. I love when two characters really know one another, accept all of the good and the bad, and choose to make a go of things. You are always going to see a romantic element in my books but I admit that these romantic elements are normally treated as just that, elements of the story and not the story itself.

    Except for Nora’s books.

    The second novel in Nora’s series really opens up the romantic element. And the third is just unabashedly about these two characters recognizing what they have is special.

    So what kind of author does this make me?

    I suppose… just an author.

    Sure, the romantic elements are there through most of them… Tapped wouldn’t be nearly so much fun if Jorry and Seach weren’t constantly duking it out over who gets the final say on board the ship… And when I turn my attention back to Nelek and Trenna I suspect we’re going to see a lot more of that romantic element come into play.

    But at the end of the day, it’s all words on a page. It’s all craft.

    So here’s me, nodding to the romances in my books and getting back to work.

  • The Importance of Having Fun (With Writing)

    Nora and the Werewolf Wedding will be out for sale on WEDNESDAY the 9th of August!

    Hurray and happy days!

    I absolutely love Nora and her books. She is a lot of fun. And the world she is in is a lot of fun to write. Writing her first book took longest because I was worldbuilding a lot, but her second book took me 4 months to draft. And because I’m editing in preparation for next year’s publication date, I just re-read it and still love it.

    These books are like Jim Butcher’s Dresden files meets Sarah J Maas’s Court of Thorns and Roses and I really am having a blast writing them. And it’s showing in the work. I know because of the feedback I have been getting from readers. They are having fun reading Nora, which tells me I’m doing something right.

    I don’t know how other writer’s work but for me, if I’m not having fun then the work crawls along and I often don’t finish. I move on to something else that is fun and then I dissect the old book and implement the elements I enjoyed into the new work. Which is a legitimate means of morphing your craft, but the point still stands — You have got to be having fun.

    If you’re not having fun, if you’re not engaged and lying awake at night wondering how your character is going to make it through the obstacles in front of them, then I can guarantee that your readers won’t be either.

    This isn’t to say there have been no roadblocks.

    I spent four days grouching about a menu because I had no idea what to serve on board a dirigible.

    I spent a week trying to figure out the ending of Werewolf Wedding. (My husband helped me brainstorm during one of our drives. You guys can thank him for like… everything that happens there.)

    I spent two months revising Werewolf Wedding to make it steampunk 1890’s, and then another 4 months returning it to contemporary urban fantasy.

    But from start to finish, I have been having fun with the story. Even in the middle of the roadblocks. And I am excited to see what comes next, which motivates me to be at the computer long after I should have closed it for the day.

    There are some books that I’ve written that were a grind from the mid-point to the end. Some halted completely for months. In these cases, I have to start from the beginning, remind myself why I started the story in the first place, and ignite that joy again before I start writing. Because readers can sense when you’ve lost your way too and no amount of professionalism is going to cover that.

    So here is me, diving back into Nora’s world to get Book #3 Drafted. In the meantime, the first book is out August 9th! And here’s the placeholder cover for Book #2.

  • July Round Robin – Character Arcs

    The good people at Round Robin Blog Hop are having a conversation about Character Arcs this month and I am happy to join in. The question is how important character arcs are in our works and how/if we plan these things out.

    I am going to admit that until recently I have not paid much attention to character arcs in my story. I’ve mostly been along for the ride with my stories and delving into arcs and structures is still relatively new. Some of my characters have made the journey naturally, and I’m mildly proud about having stumbled into success there.

    Trenna, for instance, begins in Sedition as a wild-hearted swordswoman who can’t commit to a relationship or responsibility and ends with a fiancé and the burden of leadership.

    Johanna Rorry from the Tapped series begins as emotionally unavailable and ends in a committed relationship. (Yes, I enjoy love stories. I will probably always write them.)

    But both of these examples happened on accident as the story progressed.

    The novel I am working on right now is different. I have CHARTS for this one. Which is weird for me, but I have found it extremely useful. My two protagonists – Jack and Ryssa Rose – come from very different backgrounds and their voices need to be just as different. Their emotional journeys collide at times, but for the most part it’s felt like I’ve been telling two stories as one.

    It’s… interesting.

    But their arcs are so very important.

    I don’t do spoilers, but Jack starts the story as someone who is ready to leave the world behind. He has stepped away from his father and the woman he loves because he believes it is the only way to keep them safe. By the end of the story he has to come to a place where he understands that love will always have risk, and it is better to have taken that risk than to run away from it.

    Ryssa Rose starts the story as deeply focused on winning. There’s no room for failure for her. But by the end of the story she has to come to a place where she understands that failure is, in and of itself, a kind of winning. Because you learn who you are when you’ve fallen flat on your face. There’s more, of course, but I don’t want to spoil anything when I haven’t even gotten a chance to shop this book around.

    For the nitty-gritty of the character arcs, I will admit that I started using what David Farland put in his book Million Dollar Outlines. I don’t fill ALL of it out because I need the joy of discovery while I’m drafting, but by the time I go through the 3rd draft I should have it all noted down.

    Check out what my fellow authors have to say about Character Arcs!

    Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

    Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

    Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

    Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

    Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

    Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

    A.J. Maguire https://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/ ( YOU ARE HERE)

    Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

  • When Social Media Goes Right

    I am not awesome with social media.

    But other platforms are used for my professional self – Twitter, Instagram, etc. – and unless the weekend trip included a eureka moment for a work in progress then, quite frankly, I doubt anyone truly cares. Everyone has struggles. Everyone has opinions. NOT everyone wants to hear about my struggles and my opinions.

    Side note: Opinions change as new information is absorbed and thus I find it rather silly to blast what I think at any given moment. Often I am wrong. Often that opinion changes drastically. I would prefer to give myself the grace of being able to change in private rather than get strangled by society.

    All of that said… I have one moment when social media went right for me.

    We were having a weird chat about mashups that we would love to see. I believe the conversation derived from the Lucifer television show and how amusing it was that the devil had a therapist. And then, somehow, we wound up with supernatural creatures needing a marital counselor. And Nora Grayson was born in my head. She just showed up.

    Gentle. Quirky. A little lost. Chocolate loving. Sassy. And an empath.

    Because I love Deanna Troi from Star Trek and I did, in fact, wish to see her in a story of her own. So I snagged the empath ability and shoved it into Nora’s already mildly neurotic mess and wham!

    I had a story.

    Now, I will admit that the original intent was straight murder-mystery with supernatural creatures. In my head it was Clue meets Fairy creatures, but what ended up on paper was a little bigger. Because… c’mon. If Fairy creatures are living next door, wouldn’t you want to investigate a little more than one book would permit?

    So now I’m sitting with two books written and a third getting outlined and I owe it all to that original conversation on social media. I have to put a major shout to the writing community on the Twitter platform. Whatever your opinions are about the swap of ownership, the writing community got me to Nora and for that I am grateful.

    Pre-Orders Available for Kindle, or you can snag the book in Hardback or Paperback from Amazon!

  • Writing and Parenthood

    School is officially out for the summer here. My son is happily lazing for these first few days – probably a week, really – and as his parent I am dutifully hunting for ways to keep him occupied and learning. Which, to be fair, will probably only last a week or two and we’ll both get into a routine where I’m constantly interrupted from writing due to his very existence.

    Because he needs food.

    Or he found a funny video.

    Or he wants to include me in on his own writing schemes and ask for advice. (Be still, my beating heart!)

    Yes, I have encouraged him to do this. He’s 15. I’m 90% certain he can get a tiny part-time something or other at this age doing something on a farm or landscaping or whatever. Because this experience is important. Clocking in and out and being held accountable for certain hours of your day is, in fact, paramount to survival in our society.

    And it’s humbling.

    I hated working in fast food, but I wouldn’t trade the experience of having done it. You won’t ever see me snarling at some poor Schmoe at the cash register for getting my change wrong, because I was once that poor Schmoe. So, yes, I want my son to put himself in those shoes for a summer or two.

    Not at fast food yet, though. That can be next year or the year after.

    So where, or where will my writing time be?

    I suppose we will have to see. He does have interest in web design and such, so I might let him try his hand at building me a brand spanking new website over the summer, which would cut down transportation costs and permit me to write more, but it loses the “Clock in and Out” part because… you know… I’m his mother.

  • Evolution of a Book Cover – Nora and the Werewolf Wedding

    SO.

    Book covers are hard.

    We’re coming close to the release of Nora and the Werewolf Wedding and I thought for sure I had my book cover all settled. You’ll recognize it. Its sort of been everywhere at this point. And I’m not saying I don’t love it, because I do. I just realized that there wasn’t much TO it. And that it might not be a great representation for everything the novel has in it.

    I mean, the title alone tells us it is supernatural. You can’t have werewolves and not be smack dab in the middle of paranormal or fantasy genres. And I suppose the title hints to romance as well because of the whole wedding aspect, but it’s vague because we don’t know if Nora is the one getting married or someone else. (Yes, it’s someone else.)

    So I went back to the drawing board, as it were, and was hunting for maybe something else that might fit. This one got shot down by my husband pretty quick because he felt the wolf aspect was overdone for the genre. I’m still not sure I should have listened to him, but he DOES read the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy genre, which this book fits into. The romance is really secondary to the plight of poor Nora and Derrick, FYI.

    As a woman, I like the picture. It’s pretty. And I want to ruffle some wolfie ears and snuggle in the snow. But. I’m not sure it really tells us what the story is about either. So again back to the drawing board and hunting for ideas here. I want mystery and danger and romance and werewolf-paranormal-magic-something in my cover!

    So, I really liked the moon in this one. There was a sense of romance because of the couple, and that great big moon is a little unsettling. The tree, however, did not really match the setting. The majority of the book takes place in Allegany New York, near the lake and some super pretty forests and such. There seems to be too much black on the screen too. It’s not super eye-catching, you know? And while the wolf aspect can be subtle with the moon, it didn’t quite hit the spot.

    And BEFORE you ask, no. None of these are AI generated.

    SO!

    Now we come to the one I think I have settled on. It could change between now and August, but presently I love the blue in this one. It catches the eye. And I have the romance of the couple, and the wolf howling in the background. And that great big moon.

    (Brief reminder that you can PREORDER Nora’s first book through Kindle!)

  • Nora, Updates, and Radio Silence

    For those who have been following along, they’ll notice that aside from Round Robin Blogs it has been a little quiet on my end. Which is unusual for someone who tries to get a post up a week while shouting excitement about the upcoming novel Nora and the Werewolf Wedding. ((See that COUNTDOWN at the side of the page!!))

    To be blunt, life has been happening.

    And when Life has not been happening, I have been working steadily on edits for Nora and the Autumn Duke – the second book in Nora’s series, due to be released in 2024.

    Which brings me to a Writing Truth — Sometimes you have to sit back and deal with Life. It isn’t being lazy and it isn’t something to criticize yourself for. There is a major difference between procrastination and not having the brain space necessary to approach the page, and it is important to learn that difference.

    And honestly, once you’ve dealt with Life in whatever capacity you need to, your writing always benefits. You’ve learned something new to put in the pages of your work, and that is equally important.

    So.

    Where have I been?

    I’ve been doing Life.

    What am I doing now?

    Still hard at work with Nora’s second book, which I hope to have completed this month. If not this month, then certainly the beginning/middle of next. I’ve included some pretty covers – Nora and the Werewolf Wedding’s official cover is easy to recognize, but we have some placeholder covers for the second novel too.

    Once this book is done, I’m looking at a change of pace. I have several fantasy short stories that I would like to compile into an anthology and set out for sale in time for Christmas. This is partly because Torven – that tiny novelette I wrote all those years ago – cannot be printed anymore due to new guidelines at Amazon. The anthology will include a copy of Torven precisely so that you can get it in a printed version again. So don’t be shocked when you find it is no longer for sale. It’ll be back.

    That shouldn’t take me past August, though, and I still hope to start working on Tango Five – the third book in the Tapped series – starting in September.

    ALSO…

    Advance Reader Copies of Nora and the Werewolf Wedding are starting to generate some reviews. Thus far these reviews have made me smile. Readers are enjoying Nora and I look forward to seeing what more might be said. If you want to join my review team, you can find it at Book Sirens, which is a new thing for me. It’s free, with the request that you leave an honest review after, but the spots are limited.

    Happy Reading/Writing everyone!