We Interrupt Our Regular Post . . .

Hello and good late-morning (or evening, or afternoon, or night, depending on where you are) everyone! The wonderful Lisa M. Green, author of The First, has very graciously invited me to participate in the “My Writing Process” blog tour, where I answer four questions about . . . well, my writing process.

And why is everything in the color green, you ask? Oh, I’m sure once you give it some thought, you’ll come to see the (green) light.

My Writing Process . . . answered by author Devon Winterson:

1) What am I working on? - Recently, I was working on “The Drawing Voice,” the second book in my retrograde timeline Caendorian World novels, from the youthful perspective of Eden, the mother of Marisa, my main character from my first novel, The Perfect Player. But as of late, I’ve decided to change gears and finish up my humorous middle grade novel I’ve been writing with my son (off and on) for five years called “It Happened on Tarantula Island.” A loopy scientist; two rather large, intelligent, preposition-spouting tarantulas; a crew of dunderheaded pirates; a scholarly boy of ten; and a brilliant talking chicken! What could be more fun, really? 

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? - Well, most dark fantasy, as far as I can tell, contains either vampires or zombies (and sometimes werewolves). While the latter is way cool (Zombies! Yay!), and the former are kind of ho-hum (to me), my novels have packs of sentient hell-spawned demons who get high from devouring human flesh and blood. But since I haven’t read every book in the universe, there may be something similar out there. If there is, it’s not exactly a very popular subject matter.

3) Why do I write what I do? - I’d like to claim craziness, but I’m no crazier than any other writer. I believe I write what I write because I enjoy delving into the dark corners of the human psyche and giving animalistic creatures more humanistic traits—kind of putting them at our level, and comparing them to humans themselves. I also like to play with situations that could never happen in real life, create fantastic events that I can control (or not!), and help readers understand the messages of tolerance, love, and understanding . . . yes, through dark fantasy. (They’re hidden, but they’re there, those messages.)

4) How does my writing process work? - I sit, write, shake my head in frustration, hit the delete button—many times—write some more, get some coffee, sit down again, write some more, yell at my characters to “DO WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO!!”, hit the delete button again, and again, and again, write and write and write and write . . . then edit out 90% of what I’ve written. But all silliness aside, I’m pretty much a “by-the seat-of-my-pants” writer. In other words, I love to see where my characters take me as they drag me through their world and out the other side, battered and bruised but “band aided” up and “boo-boos” kissed afterwards. Then I throttle them.

Next Monday, on March 24th, three other writers will give you their own “My Writing Process” answers:

Alianne Donnelly - an author of many hats, including fantasy, romance, paranormal, and post-apocalyptic, probably weaving a brand new tale in her head somewhere at this very moment. She does that. A lot.

Monica Mynk - a mild-mannered Chemistry teacher turned Christian fiction writer. 

Robert Evert - the author of the Riddle in Stone fantasy series; he hasn't ever killed anybody.

So, have you figured out why everything’s green yet?

Word of the week: delve \ˈdelv\ - verb - 1: to dig or labor with or as if with a spade; 2a : to make a careful or detailed search for information; b : to examine a subject in detail – (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Although I have become online friends with the author, I bought Robert Evert's Riddle in Stone because: 1) it sounded interesting and, 2) I wanted to help support his writing endeavors. Those who know me understand that I don't—nay, can't—review on a whim; I have to truly enjoy a novel written by a Writer's Beat member before I even consider giving it a Writer's Beat Quarterly review. So, that said:

Book Review: Riddle in Stone by Robert Evert

Novels are tough to complete, tougher to find an agent for, and sometimes even tougher to sell to the right publisher. Many would-be writers don't even get past rough draft editing and their manuscripts languish, with characters and story worlds withering away in the darkness of increasingly cluttered desk drawers.

But not Robert Evert, author of the novel Riddle in Stone, the first book in a fantasy series of the same name. Determination and persistence had pulled him through to his ultimate goal, and on February 26th, 2013, Riddle in Stone was released by Diversion Books in e-book format, available through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and a host of other distributors.

And oh, what a story it is!

Fantasy novels, mind you, have always been my cup of tea—particularly dark fantasy—so it was easy for Evert's world to absorb my attention and hold me fast to the digital page with its overall smooth writing, well-woven plot, and intriguing characters, having managed to shut off my “inner editor” . . . for the most part.

Riddle in Stone carries the reader along on a journey with Edmund, an overweight, middle-aged, stuttering scholar from the secluded village of Rood tucked in the Highlands, a month's travel from the kingdom of Eryn Mas where King Lionel presides. And it's there—in Rood's village square, with an official royal proclamation—Edmund makes a life-altering decision, which indeed becomes quite the journey for him in so many respects—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The gist?

Edmund had always been smitten by Molly, a beautiful tavern serving girl he'd grown up with in Rood, though never able to confess his true feelings to her, hindered by his self-esteem and speech impediment. So when a soldier-adventurer from far-off comes to the Wandering Rogue (the tavern where Molly works and Edmund frequents), to brag about his exploits with a goblin horde, Edmund comes to a startling realization: He's wasted half of his life holed up in the boondocks village of Rood, locked in a stagnant, sheltered and, well . . . utterly “boring” life, as Norb, the stable hand, so bluntly puts it.

But Edmund is determined to change all of this. Driven to become an adventurer—not only in the hopes it'll impress Molly, but also to give his life purpose so he doesn't die alone and pathetic—Edmund accepts the challenge of the written royal edict: To find and deliver the legendary “Star of Iliandor” to King Lionel in Eryn Mas!

Yet Edmund had no idea how life-altering his decision would turn out to be. However tough he believes his journey is at the outset absolutely pales in comparison to what he later endures . . . when he's captured by goblins, oppressed, abused, and forced to work alongside hundreds of other human slaves in the bowels of the goblin mines.

Now, admittedly, Riddle in Stone is not for the faint-hearted or the weak-stomached reader; gruesome scenes do dwell within, and even though they aren't described in intricate detail, they're enough to possibly sour the very easily squeamish. As with all scenes of every well-written novel, though, they are needed to advance the story (i.e. no pointless gore for pointless gore's sake) and tremendously well balanced throughout.

My overall take?

I came into the story with two mindsets: 1) as a reader, and 2) as an editor.

As a reader: It held my attention from beginning to end, easily tugging me along beside Edmund as he journeyed from meek and unskilled, to strong and highly adept. Together, we met characters we loathed and adored, experienced pain and loss, suffered hardships, and reveled in triumphs. Even though Edmund is the opposite of how I perceive myself, I was still able to connect and relate; essentially, he became a “friend,” as all good main characters are wont to do, enough to draw me into the first chapter of book two, available as a bonus read at the end of Riddle in Stone.

As an editor: It was well-rounded with both world and characters properly fleshed out and a fitting, if not touching, end. Narrative and scene structure were balanced and mixed with natural dialogue that brought out the characters' individualities. Although villains were certainly villains and heroes were certainly heroes, neither were stone-cold one or the other; each possessed both positive qualities and realistic flaws, and a variety of backgrounds that removed “cardboard cut-out” two-dimensionality. Subtle connections were well done, and the writing itself was fluid overall, with only one niggle: scattered typos and minor errors—likely overlooked by the average reader; snagged upon by my practiced editor's eye. Yet the storyline remained strong enough for me to lay these aside (or correct them in my head) and continue reading.

In short: Very pleased with the story as a whole.

So, how would I rate Riddle in Stone? I give it a firm four-and-three-quarters stars. Not pristine and purely perfect (because nothing's perfect, to be honest), but it is a really great story that I highly recommend, particularly for those who love fantasy with a darker bent. Worth both the money and the time spent reading it, and I am looking forward to delving into the next book planned in Mr. Evert's series.

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Riddle in Stone is available for Kindle at Amazon. You can download a sample there to read!