Wednesday, March 24, 2010
ABNA Quarterfinals
Well, my first YA novel, THE JERICHO EFFECT, made it into the Quarterfinals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award! To read my first couple chapters, click on the title of the book above to download them from Amazon. You may have to download Kindle software to read the excerpt because of some changes made for this year's contest. You can go to the contest website for more information. My goal for this contest was to make it at least as far as the Quarterfinals where I can now get some reader feedback. Also my entire manuscript will be reviewed by Publisher's Weekly! It's all very exciting.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Silver Sword Saga: Forging
In between ABNA announcements I've decided to post bits of stories from Irowasa's history. I'm going to start with a narrative I've been developing for a while now but never done much with. It is called the Silver Sword Saga and centers around a magical sword which is connected with Irowasa's history.
Forging
Let the praise of God be on their lips and a two-edged sword in their hand, to deal out vengeance to the nations and punishment on all the peoples.
Psalm 149: 6-7
The silver-white light of the moon shone down on the rocky slopes of the mountains, revealing the treasure the dwarves sought. It was there before them just as they had hoped, an ore of silver blessed by the Lord of Light Himself. The dwarves grinned and slapped each other on the back as they took out their tools. They set to work extracting some of the blessed metal from the rocks encasing it.
As they completed their task a wise old dwarf called Balamus said, "We must tell no one else of the existence of this vein lest they try to bend the blessed power of this metal to their own purposes. What we have taken this night we will save until we know the true purpose the Lord of Light has given it to us."
The others agreed. They carried the silver back to their city carved from the rock of the Emerald Mountains. There they hid it for some time.
Several days later Balamus walked through a human camp just outside the dwarf city. Three years earlier a group of humans known as the Rovin Clan had taken shelter in the mountains after fleeing an enemy clan. The needs of the Rovin people were so great that the dwarves took them under their wing offering them food and shelter and eventurally teaching them to mine and work metals.
Balamus discovered that the clan's old chieftain had fallen ill. The Rovin people were gloomy guessing that the chieftain had come to the end of his years. Balamus knew that when the chieftain died his fiery son, Silvanus would take his place as leader of the clan. Silvanus had often wandered the peaks with Balamus, always showing great interest in the mountains and their metals.
"The boy will make a fine leader of his people," Balamus said to himself. "I've always liked him. Perhaps the Lord of Light gave us the blessed metal for just such a time as this."
So thinking the dwarf took the blessed silver from its hiding place and brought it to a forge in the heart of a small volcano heated by its lava. There he worked for days, sweating over the forge, as he melted down the metal and worked it into a new shape in a great labor of love. When he was finished he examined the product of his hard work. The blessed metal now formed a human sized broadsword of pure silver. Balamus had given it a simple twisting pattern on the handle and cross guard. After much consideration decided it needed no other ornamentation. The blessing of the Lord of Light gave it its own almost magical qualities for the blade could never grow dull and this silver would never tarnish.
Balamus smiled for he knew that this weapon would be the most effective and deadly in all Irowasa. It would make the perfect protection for the Rovin people. Wrapping the sword in a cloth the dwarf stepped out of the forge and waited for the perfect opportunity to reveal his creation to its wielder.
Story continued in Unworthy.
Forging
Let the praise of God be on their lips and a two-edged sword in their hand, to deal out vengeance to the nations and punishment on all the peoples.
Psalm 149: 6-7
The silver-white light of the moon shone down on the rocky slopes of the mountains, revealing the treasure the dwarves sought. It was there before them just as they had hoped, an ore of silver blessed by the Lord of Light Himself. The dwarves grinned and slapped each other on the back as they took out their tools. They set to work extracting some of the blessed metal from the rocks encasing it.
As they completed their task a wise old dwarf called Balamus said, "We must tell no one else of the existence of this vein lest they try to bend the blessed power of this metal to their own purposes. What we have taken this night we will save until we know the true purpose the Lord of Light has given it to us."
The others agreed. They carried the silver back to their city carved from the rock of the Emerald Mountains. There they hid it for some time.
Several days later Balamus walked through a human camp just outside the dwarf city. Three years earlier a group of humans known as the Rovin Clan had taken shelter in the mountains after fleeing an enemy clan. The needs of the Rovin people were so great that the dwarves took them under their wing offering them food and shelter and eventurally teaching them to mine and work metals.
Balamus discovered that the clan's old chieftain had fallen ill. The Rovin people were gloomy guessing that the chieftain had come to the end of his years. Balamus knew that when the chieftain died his fiery son, Silvanus would take his place as leader of the clan. Silvanus had often wandered the peaks with Balamus, always showing great interest in the mountains and their metals.
"The boy will make a fine leader of his people," Balamus said to himself. "I've always liked him. Perhaps the Lord of Light gave us the blessed metal for just such a time as this."
So thinking the dwarf took the blessed silver from its hiding place and brought it to a forge in the heart of a small volcano heated by its lava. There he worked for days, sweating over the forge, as he melted down the metal and worked it into a new shape in a great labor of love. When he was finished he examined the product of his hard work. The blessed metal now formed a human sized broadsword of pure silver. Balamus had given it a simple twisting pattern on the handle and cross guard. After much consideration decided it needed no other ornamentation. The blessing of the Lord of Light gave it its own almost magical qualities for the blade could never grow dull and this silver would never tarnish.
Balamus smiled for he knew that this weapon would be the most effective and deadly in all Irowasa. It would make the perfect protection for the Rovin people. Wrapping the sword in a cloth the dwarf stepped out of the forge and waited for the perfect opportunity to reveal his creation to its wielder.
Story continued in Unworthy.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Exciting News!
I just found out that my first Young Adult novel, The Jericho Effect, made it to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA). Today the judges posted lists of who made it to the second round of each category, General and YA fiction. To see the lists go to: www.amazon.com/abna. Second round contestants are listed in alphabetical order by last name. To see The Jericho Effect listed click the YA list and scroll down to Prudhomme.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Lilac Answers Your Questions
Rebekah: Hello again readers. Today I've brought back the flower fairy, Lilac, to answer a couple questions our readers had after her interview (see Lilac's Interview several posts down).
Wren asked: Lilac, other than being a messenger, don't you find that life as a fairy gets REALLY boring? Or, do fairies not get bored? Or, are your fairy parties just that much fun?
Lilac: Oh no! Life as a fairy is far from boring and it's not just because our parties are fun. The Lord of Light trusts us to keep the plants, animals and waterways in order. Our work brings about things as basic as the changing of the seasons. Maybe that sounds boring to you as a human but I'm always excited when a touch of my hand can turn leaves beautiful colors in fall, restore a wilted leaf or cause new growth. Sometimes even the little things can be exciting. As a fairy you feel yourself change with the seasons as well. Besides, my work brings beauty and life to the world. That makes everything we do worth the trouble.
Colette asked: Are all pixies like Reuben, or are some a little helpful?
Lilac: Well, of course some pixies are helpful. Even Reuben has his helpful moments. It's just that pixies in general tend to act like a bunch of naughty little kids! It seems like their favorite thing to do is make trouble.
Rebekah: Thanks for the questions readers! If you have anything to add or would like to ask Lilac any other questions please leave them in the comments.
Wren asked: Lilac, other than being a messenger, don't you find that life as a fairy gets REALLY boring? Or, do fairies not get bored? Or, are your fairy parties just that much fun?
Lilac: Oh no! Life as a fairy is far from boring and it's not just because our parties are fun. The Lord of Light trusts us to keep the plants, animals and waterways in order. Our work brings about things as basic as the changing of the seasons. Maybe that sounds boring to you as a human but I'm always excited when a touch of my hand can turn leaves beautiful colors in fall, restore a wilted leaf or cause new growth. Sometimes even the little things can be exciting. As a fairy you feel yourself change with the seasons as well. Besides, my work brings beauty and life to the world. That makes everything we do worth the trouble.
Colette asked: Are all pixies like Reuben, or are some a little helpful?
Lilac: Well, of course some pixies are helpful. Even Reuben has his helpful moments. It's just that pixies in general tend to act like a bunch of naughty little kids! It seems like their favorite thing to do is make trouble.
Rebekah: Thanks for the questions readers! If you have anything to add or would like to ask Lilac any other questions please leave them in the comments.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Jericho Effect ABNA Pitch
As I think some of you know, I recently entered THE JERICHO EFFECT in the YA category of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. (You can learn more about the contest @: www.amazon.com/abna) Over the next month the judges will be reading through the pitches of all the novels entered in the contest. The pitch is a 300 or less word description of what the novel is about intended to catch the judges' interest and make them want to read more. The novels which advance to the next round of the contest will be chosen based on this pitch. I've decided to post my pitch here so you can see if it catches your interest. Would you advance this book to the next round based on the pitch? Let me know in the comments!
Crystal’s apprenticeship is cut short when she is chosen by the wizard council of Rovinien to hunt down and subdue a dangerous warlock named Wikeon. Wikeon, a thief raised by werewolves, flees his home country after using black magic to murder a man in order to protect a werewolf friend. When Crystal finds that Wikeon is more than a ruthless killer, she develops feelings for him. Her feelings soon blossom into love, causing her to betray the council and assist Wikeon.
As enemy wizards close in on them, Crystal and Wikeon turn to Wikeon’s werewolf family for protection and take shelter at a castle high in the mountains. When they are discovered there by a group of bounty hunters, Crystal, Wikeon and the werewolves are forced into a ruthless battle for their lives and freedom. After the lead bounty hunter sets out on a vendetta against the werewolves, the pack faces their greatest threat – a threat from which even Crystal and Wikeon’s combined power may not be enough to protect them.
THE JERICHO EFFECT mixes elements of fantasy and monster stories and will appeal to teens who are fans of both. The idea for the story came from a strange dream which haunted the author’s memory for years after waking from it.
Crystal’s apprenticeship is cut short when she is chosen by the wizard council of Rovinien to hunt down and subdue a dangerous warlock named Wikeon. Wikeon, a thief raised by werewolves, flees his home country after using black magic to murder a man in order to protect a werewolf friend. When Crystal finds that Wikeon is more than a ruthless killer, she develops feelings for him. Her feelings soon blossom into love, causing her to betray the council and assist Wikeon.
As enemy wizards close in on them, Crystal and Wikeon turn to Wikeon’s werewolf family for protection and take shelter at a castle high in the mountains. When they are discovered there by a group of bounty hunters, Crystal, Wikeon and the werewolves are forced into a ruthless battle for their lives and freedom. After the lead bounty hunter sets out on a vendetta against the werewolves, the pack faces their greatest threat – a threat from which even Crystal and Wikeon’s combined power may not be enough to protect them.
THE JERICHO EFFECT mixes elements of fantasy and monster stories and will appeal to teens who are fans of both. The idea for the story came from a strange dream which haunted the author’s memory for years after waking from it.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Endings
As some of you may know, I recently finished writing my new YA book, THE JERICHO EFFECT. All my work on the last few scenes got me thinking about endings. With some help from a couple friends I came up with a few quotes about endings. I will post them here followed by the last line of THE JERICHO EFFECT. If anyone reading this thinks of any other good quotes about endings feel free to put them in the comments along with where the quote came from.
-Rebekah
Ending Quotes:
"One last perfect verse is still the same old song..." -Nightwish, Poet and the Pendulum.
"I suddenly had this feeling that everything was connected. It was like I could see the whole thing. I felt like I could see everything that had happened and everything that was going to happen. It was like a perfect pattern laid out in front of me." -From V for Vendetta.
"The ends we seam together..." -Rise Against, From Heads Unworthy.
"Do you hear that? That is the sound of The End." -From Night at the Museum -Battle of the Smithsonian.
"An ending was an ending. No matter how many pages of sentences and paragraphs led up to it, it would always have the last word." -Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride.
Jericho Effect Ending:
With a cry of joy, Heath ran to her embrace.
-Rebekah
Ending Quotes:
"One last perfect verse is still the same old song..." -Nightwish, Poet and the Pendulum.
"I suddenly had this feeling that everything was connected. It was like I could see the whole thing. I felt like I could see everything that had happened and everything that was going to happen. It was like a perfect pattern laid out in front of me." -From V for Vendetta.
"The ends we seam together..." -Rise Against, From Heads Unworthy.
"Do you hear that? That is the sound of The End." -From Night at the Museum -Battle of the Smithsonian.
"An ending was an ending. No matter how many pages of sentences and paragraphs led up to it, it would always have the last word." -Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride.
Jericho Effect Ending:
With a cry of joy, Heath ran to her embrace.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
New Beginning for Jericho Effect
Okay, I decided to write a new first chapter for the Jericho Effect because the original first chapter seemed a little too slow. The preview has been updated to reflect this. Please read the preview at this link and feel free to leave helpful comments. :)
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