Hi everyone,
I'm still going to be posting on this blog, but more for personal use and reviews. My actual writing blog, will now be HERE! PLEASE follow!
Thanks!
Kiera
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Meeting Kresley Cole, Finding Inspiration, Focusing on the Characters
Hello out there!
This week has definitely been a big one for me. On Monday, I strolledunassumingly COMPLETELY INTENTIONALLY into my local Wal-Mart. Guess what they had on the shelves a whole day early?! Kresley Cole's Demon From The Dark! I finished the book by Tuesday night, and it was amazing. Her best yet! I WANT a Malkom Slaine!
On Wednesday, I got to MEET Kresley because she was in Atlanta for book signings. I got to talk to her for a good 15-20 minutes, pretty one-on-one and it was awesome. She's so nice and cool and sweet and funny and writerish and it was just a kick ass time! Meeting her totally reaffirmed my need to write. If she, a normal gal like m'self, can do it...then SO CAN I!
I'm off today and tomorrow, and after meeting Kresley, I went out and bought a shiny new spiral notebook (a sure sign that I intend to write and not be bothered by the outside world for a solid 48 hours). I've got the world building and researching down - now it's time to really solidify my characters. Kresley said in a recent online chat that she usually starts with characters, then the story and circumstance follows. I've already gotten so much on paper now that I've thought about it that way! As an avid reader of romance, it's easy to forget the elements that go into the stories when you're trying to turn around and write them. Especially with Paranormal Romance, it can be easy to focus so much on doing something "different" and "new" that you lose the essence of what makes it a Paranormal ROMANCE - the ROMANCE and the CHARACTERS. At the end of the day, the love story is the most important aspect romance. Period. Now that I'm back to that, I'm feeling like I can move on from researching. MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STEP!
So, as I'm writing this and working on carving out my characters, I've got the Lord of The Rings on in the background and I'm in the zone! Here's hoping that I don't get thrown off course!
Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? What was it like? If you're a writer, how did meeting them influence your approach to your own writing?
:o)
kB
This week has definitely been a big one for me. On Monday, I strolled
On Wednesday, I got to MEET Kresley because she was in Atlanta for book signings. I got to talk to her for a good 15-20 minutes, pretty one-on-one and it was awesome. She's so nice and cool and sweet and funny and writerish and it was just a kick ass time! Meeting her totally reaffirmed my need to write. If she, a normal gal like m'self, can do it...then SO CAN I!
I'm off today and tomorrow, and after meeting Kresley, I went out and bought a shiny new spiral notebook (a sure sign that I intend to write and not be bothered by the outside world for a solid 48 hours). I've got the world building and researching down - now it's time to really solidify my characters. Kresley said in a recent online chat that she usually starts with characters, then the story and circumstance follows. I've already gotten so much on paper now that I've thought about it that way! As an avid reader of romance, it's easy to forget the elements that go into the stories when you're trying to turn around and write them. Especially with Paranormal Romance, it can be easy to focus so much on doing something "different" and "new" that you lose the essence of what makes it a Paranormal ROMANCE - the ROMANCE and the CHARACTERS. At the end of the day, the love story is the most important aspect romance. Period. Now that I'm back to that, I'm feeling like I can move on from researching. MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STEP!
So, as I'm writing this and working on carving out my characters, I've got the Lord of The Rings on in the background and I'm in the zone! Here's hoping that I don't get thrown off course!
Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? What was it like? If you're a writer, how did meeting them influence your approach to your own writing?
:o)
kB
Monday, August 23, 2010
GUESS WHAT TODAY IS?!
DAY ONE OF "DEMON WEEK"!
Today, in like 30 minutes, I'll be taking part in the love Ustream chat with Kresley Cole. Tonight at midnight, I'll be able to download the book, already purchased, on my Nook. Wednesday, I'm MEETING the GOLDEN ONE herself (Kresley) at one of her Atlanta book signings! YAY! I'm off Thursday and Friday, so I'm going to try to and hold off on reading until then - yeah, RIGHT! I'm sure that by then, I'll be on my second or third re-read already! The Immortals After Dark Series is SO the literary equivalent of CRACK!
I'm TWEEKIN'! I'M TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and a BIG congrats to Roni Griffin (The Fiction Groupie)! Home girl landed herself an agent!
OK, I'm off to CHAT WITH KRESLEY COLE!
Today, in like 30 minutes, I'll be taking part in the love Ustream chat with Kresley Cole. Tonight at midnight, I'll be able to download the book, already purchased, on my Nook. Wednesday, I'm MEETING the GOLDEN ONE herself (Kresley) at one of her Atlanta book signings! YAY! I'm off Thursday and Friday, so I'm going to try to and hold off on reading until then - yeah, RIGHT! I'm sure that by then, I'll be on my second or third re-read already! The Immortals After Dark Series is SO the literary equivalent of CRACK!
I'm TWEEKIN'! I'M TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and a BIG congrats to Roni Griffin (The Fiction Groupie)! Home girl landed herself an agent!
OK, I'm off to CHAT WITH KRESLEY COLE!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Titles are fun!
Ok, so I think I've finally got the title for Book I of The Sanguine Chronicles...Are you ready?
Dead Girls Have Needs, Too
I'm kind of loving it!
Short and sweet today!
Dead Girls Have Needs, Too
I'm kind of loving it!
Short and sweet today!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Home Stretch!
The count-down continues until the release of Kresley Cole's new book Demon From The Dark! Release day is August 24th AND she's going to be in Atlanta for the book signings! I will be a HAPPY girl that day!
In other news, Roni Griffin (the lovely bloggeress of *Fiction Groupie*) was lucky enough to attend the RWA convention this year...I'd be jealous, but she's been nice enough to post some really fun, interesting, and useful tidbits in her blog this week. I haven't reached the query stage just yet, but her post from today on the do's & dont's of querying will prove useful...I'M SURE OF IT! I queried a long time ago when I was still working on my young adult stuff - more just trying to test the waters. I did just about EVERYTHING wrong that Roni pointed out. Her blog is already listed in my resources section, but I want to re-recommend her. Excellent stuff!
Not much to throw out there today as far as my own writing. I've been researching some more. I gotta tell ya, Norse and Celtic history/mythology/folklore is SO MUCH FUN to study! Writing can be such a fun excuse to be a nerd. :)
P.S.: If you're as big of a Kresley Cole addict as I am, feel free to join me over in her forum. My username is "lilashriel". Also, if you're in Atlanta and want to hang out at a book signing with me, just shoot me an email (kierajo.bryant@gmail.com)!
In other news, Roni Griffin (the lovely bloggeress of *Fiction Groupie*) was lucky enough to attend the RWA convention this year...I'd be jealous, but she's been nice enough to post some really fun, interesting, and useful tidbits in her blog this week. I haven't reached the query stage just yet, but her post from today on the do's & dont's of querying will prove useful...I'M SURE OF IT! I queried a long time ago when I was still working on my young adult stuff - more just trying to test the waters. I did just about EVERYTHING wrong that Roni pointed out. Her blog is already listed in my resources section, but I want to re-recommend her. Excellent stuff!
Not much to throw out there today as far as my own writing. I've been researching some more. I gotta tell ya, Norse and Celtic history/mythology/folklore is SO MUCH FUN to study! Writing can be such a fun excuse to be a nerd. :)
P.S.: If you're as big of a Kresley Cole addict as I am, feel free to join me over in her forum. My username is "lilashriel". Also, if you're in Atlanta and want to hang out at a book signing with me, just shoot me an email (kierajo.bryant@gmail.com)!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A little over a month of silence can be a good thing
Hello there...long time, no blog.
I have my reasons, though! For one, my grown-up job (in property management) has been insanely busy! I just wrapped up an 8-day work week.
The real reason I've been M.I.A has been that I had (or thought I had) writer's block. I couldn't write anything. I got a LOT of researching done, but I couldn't get much written. I also did a lot of brainstorming, but that never got put to paper. It's just now hit me why.
I love my story. Really I do. It's paranormal romance and it's hot and sexy and everything I love about the genre....but something just wasn't right. About 3 years ago, I had been writing a YA fantasy. I got SO far with it, and then just stopped. I mean, I had the world fleshed out to the point where I even have an extremely detailed map of the world that the story takes place in. For whatever reason...I just stopped. I promised myself that when the time was right, I'd come back to it. About 2-3 months after I stopped writing this YA fantasy, I began working on my paranormal series. I haven't been able to flesh it out as well as my YA, and I've never been able to pinpoint the reason for that. I think that's been part of the problem for me moving forward beyond the first few chapters of the first book in the series.
Well, I don't know if it's the fact that I finally got some rest, but the solution to my problems hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. My YA fantasy series was never SUPPOSED to be YA. And the reason I couldn't get me Paranormal off the ground was that the characters were perfect, but the story wasn't...I got to thinking in my drousy haze this morning, 'What if I combine the world of my YA and the elemenets/characters of my Paranormal that I love?'
All of a sudden, I'm excited again. It's like the answers were there all along.
I don't want to go into too much detail, but I will tell you this. I am, and always have been, fascinated by folklore and ghost stories...particularly Irish, Scottish, and American (both Colonial and Southern). In my paranormal, I was trying too hard to peg myself into working with Romanian archetypes and I just wasn't enjoying it as much. It's fun and interesting, don't get me wrong, but it's just not the same. I've got to do what I love...
So anyway, in a sense, it's like I'm going back to the drawing board. But in a lot of ways, I'm working with a story that I've already written, I just need to rework and add to it. We'll see how it pans out!
In more good news - I'm down to only 20 days until the release of the new Kresley Cole book, Demon From The Dark. I've been stalking her forum and the web for news and found this little nugget of pure, unadulterated awesomeness - On/around the 24th, Kresley will be in Atlanta doing book signings! I live in Atlanta! I'm SO going to track one down! If you live in the area and would like to join me, just shoot me an email at kierajo.bryant@gmail.com!
Peace out!
I have my reasons, though! For one, my grown-up job (in property management) has been insanely busy! I just wrapped up an 8-day work week.
The real reason I've been M.I.A has been that I had (or thought I had) writer's block. I couldn't write anything. I got a LOT of researching done, but I couldn't get much written. I also did a lot of brainstorming, but that never got put to paper. It's just now hit me why.
I love my story. Really I do. It's paranormal romance and it's hot and sexy and everything I love about the genre....but something just wasn't right. About 3 years ago, I had been writing a YA fantasy. I got SO far with it, and then just stopped. I mean, I had the world fleshed out to the point where I even have an extremely detailed map of the world that the story takes place in. For whatever reason...I just stopped. I promised myself that when the time was right, I'd come back to it. About 2-3 months after I stopped writing this YA fantasy, I began working on my paranormal series. I haven't been able to flesh it out as well as my YA, and I've never been able to pinpoint the reason for that. I think that's been part of the problem for me moving forward beyond the first few chapters of the first book in the series.
Well, I don't know if it's the fact that I finally got some rest, but the solution to my problems hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. My YA fantasy series was never SUPPOSED to be YA. And the reason I couldn't get me Paranormal off the ground was that the characters were perfect, but the story wasn't...I got to thinking in my drousy haze this morning, 'What if I combine the world of my YA and the elemenets/characters of my Paranormal that I love?'
All of a sudden, I'm excited again. It's like the answers were there all along.
I don't want to go into too much detail, but I will tell you this. I am, and always have been, fascinated by folklore and ghost stories...particularly Irish, Scottish, and American (both Colonial and Southern). In my paranormal, I was trying too hard to peg myself into working with Romanian archetypes and I just wasn't enjoying it as much. It's fun and interesting, don't get me wrong, but it's just not the same. I've got to do what I love...
So anyway, in a sense, it's like I'm going back to the drawing board. But in a lot of ways, I'm working with a story that I've already written, I just need to rework and add to it. We'll see how it pans out!
In more good news - I'm down to only 20 days until the release of the new Kresley Cole book, Demon From The Dark. I've been stalking her forum and the web for news and found this little nugget of pure, unadulterated awesomeness - On/around the 24th, Kresley will be in Atlanta doing book signings! I live in Atlanta! I'm SO going to track one down! If you live in the area and would like to join me, just shoot me an email at kierajo.bryant@gmail.com!
Peace out!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
By Jove, I think she's got it!
Big...BIG...HUGE news! My writer's block has OFFICIALLY been lifted. In the matter of a few hours, I've gone from having nothing to having a LOT of major components to my series figured out! If only I didn't need to be at work in the morning, I'd stay up all night and write! But, alas...my world is not perfect. I did want to share my elation in the moment where my story just *clicked*. It doesn't feel so tedious to write anymore now that I know where I'm going with it. That's such a wonderful feeling I almost don't know what to do with it! Here's hoping that people will leave me alone tomorrow, and I'll be able to get everything down on paper. I won't be satisfied until I have a well-sketched outline and at least one family tree finished.
I finally feel like my story is loving me back!
I finally feel like my story is loving me back!
Man Candy Post
Everybody needs a little inspiration!
YUM!
This is the first man candy post. Sunday's are officially Man Candy Sundaes! *Snort* See what I did there? Anywho, if you have some Man Candy that you'd like me to post, just email it to me at kierajo.bryant@gmail.com!
This is the first man candy post. Sunday's are officially Man Candy Sundaes! *Snort* See what I did there? Anywho, if you have some Man Candy that you'd like me to post, just email it to me at kierajo.bryant@gmail.com!
Writing Circles and Contests and Groups...OH MY!
This has truly been an awesome weekend. I've found all kinds of resources for aspiring authors that I never even knew existed!
Firstly, I've joined MyWritingCircle. It seems like a great opportunity to get feedback from other people, some of whom might have interests that are totally different from your own. I've already met one cool person through this!
I've also joing Amy Atwell's Writing Goal In A Month club or GIAM. I found it through at 'lecturer' at RomanceU. RomanceU is a GREAT resource. It's so cool to hear stories of people who went from being 'writers' to 'authors'. So many of the 'lecturers' (guest bloggers) are willing to give information on how they managed their accomplishments. This site is HIGHLY recommended.
I've also entered my very first contest. I've read that contests are the best way to get your foot in the door. The benefits are two-fold. 1) You get feedback from fellow writers and judges. Some of those judges might be seasoned multi-published authors, editors, or even agents! 2) You get exposure. Contests are a great way to test the waters. A lot of times, the grand prize is a meeting with an agent/editor or 2 (or even 3 sometimes!). The contest I've entered is just a one paragraph pitch...the grand prize? A three chapter critique by an actual agent! That rocks pretty hard if you ask me!
My goal for the next month is to complete the prologue and first three chapters of the first book in The Sanguine Chronicles. Also on the agenda? Join RWA and the Georgia RWA. $$$$$ well spent!
Oh, and I've changed the design of the blog...how come making it prettier seems to make it that much more fun?!
Thanks for droppin' in!
:KB:
Firstly, I've joined MyWritingCircle. It seems like a great opportunity to get feedback from other people, some of whom might have interests that are totally different from your own. I've already met one cool person through this!
I've also joing Amy Atwell's Writing Goal In A Month club or GIAM. I found it through at 'lecturer' at RomanceU. RomanceU is a GREAT resource. It's so cool to hear stories of people who went from being 'writers' to 'authors'. So many of the 'lecturers' (guest bloggers) are willing to give information on how they managed their accomplishments. This site is HIGHLY recommended.
I've also entered my very first contest. I've read that contests are the best way to get your foot in the door. The benefits are two-fold. 1) You get feedback from fellow writers and judges. Some of those judges might be seasoned multi-published authors, editors, or even agents! 2) You get exposure. Contests are a great way to test the waters. A lot of times, the grand prize is a meeting with an agent/editor or 2 (or even 3 sometimes!). The contest I've entered is just a one paragraph pitch...the grand prize? A three chapter critique by an actual agent! That rocks pretty hard if you ask me!
My goal for the next month is to complete the prologue and first three chapters of the first book in The Sanguine Chronicles. Also on the agenda? Join RWA and the Georgia RWA. $$$$$ well spent!
Oh, and I've changed the design of the blog...how come making it prettier seems to make it that much more fun?!
Thanks for droppin' in!
:KB:
Friday, June 25, 2010
Hello and Welcome
My name is Kiera Bryant and I'm just like a lot of other aspiring writers out there. I love what I do, but I don't quite know where to begin when it comes to making my dream a reality. Well, I want to get published one day, and I'm starting here! I need a writing circle! I need people who are willing to read my material and give honest, constructive feedback.
I'm also looking for other writers out there who need a community for the same purpose. Now, I know that there are other writing circles and guilds out there, but I'm hoping to generate something a bit more personal. An online community of friends, some we may already know, some we may be meeting for the first time.
Now - about me - I'm a writer of Paranormal Romance. I adore the genre and am very, shall we say 'passionate' about it. I've read a lot of books in this category of romance and always have a voracious appetite for more. That said, I'm kind of persnickety about my PNR. I'm not going o be hooked onto a story or series just because a writer throws a vampire or two into the mix. I love good quality pnr. This is a genre that's becoming more and more crowded everyday, along with the overall umbrella of romance in general. For a long time, writers and readers of romance have been trying to get this literary form the respect that it deserves. I'd like my chance at the podium. Who knows, maybe I'm actually good enough? If you're interested to know more about my day-to-day happenings, feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/kierabryant!
Some of you may be wondering why I've chosen to call this blog circle "Kassiopeia's Words". Well, in Ancient Greek, Kassiopeia literally means "she whose words excel". I'm a nut for the Classics, so there you have it. As time goes on and as (hopefully) I garner some more readers and writers, I'd like to expand Kassiopeia into something more. For now, let's take things one step at a time.
I live in Atlanta, Georgia, but I'm hoping to get to know people from all across the country and all over the world. The only limitation is that I'd like to stick to writers of romance. It doesn't have to be Paranormal, but it's gotta be about love. I'm a sucker for romance, what can I say?
I'm also looking for other writers out there who need a community for the same purpose. Now, I know that there are other writing circles and guilds out there, but I'm hoping to generate something a bit more personal. An online community of friends, some we may already know, some we may be meeting for the first time.
Now - about me - I'm a writer of Paranormal Romance. I adore the genre and am very, shall we say 'passionate' about it. I've read a lot of books in this category of romance and always have a voracious appetite for more. That said, I'm kind of persnickety about my PNR. I'm not going o be hooked onto a story or series just because a writer throws a vampire or two into the mix. I love good quality pnr. This is a genre that's becoming more and more crowded everyday, along with the overall umbrella of romance in general. For a long time, writers and readers of romance have been trying to get this literary form the respect that it deserves. I'd like my chance at the podium. Who knows, maybe I'm actually good enough? If you're interested to know more about my day-to-day happenings, feel free to follow me at www.twitter.com/kierabryant!
Some of you may be wondering why I've chosen to call this blog circle "Kassiopeia's Words". Well, in Ancient Greek, Kassiopeia literally means "she whose words excel". I'm a nut for the Classics, so there you have it. As time goes on and as (hopefully) I garner some more readers and writers, I'd like to expand Kassiopeia into something more. For now, let's take things one step at a time.
I live in Atlanta, Georgia, but I'm hoping to get to know people from all across the country and all over the world. The only limitation is that I'd like to stick to writers of romance. It doesn't have to be Paranormal, but it's gotta be about love. I'm a sucker for romance, what can I say?
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