First Word

I’m going to take a full section for your character development. A key to a character-driven (not a plot-driven) book are the characters. First, I want to say something important. Even a great plot-driven book has well-developed characters. Plot-driven books that fail to develop characters and go on the simple merit of the action will fail to become classics. Let’s look to film to show the difference. Why does a mega blockbuster film like Avatar earn critical praise while a popcorn film like Transformers does not? It’s all about a well-developed story that contains characters we love to love. Avatar has a real story with well-developed characters so much so I remember the star character’s name, Jake Sully. Transformers has some gorgeous stars for sure, how many of you remember the hero’s name? I don’t remember a single character’s name. Think of classic literature and the characters you probably know their names. You may not even remember the name of the book, but you remember ...

Another fabulous review of California Girl Chronicles appeared on Cook Travel Write :  California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic , written by Michelle Gamble-Risley, is a must-read for those of you who need a fun (and very sexy) escape.  This story draws the reader right in to the indulgent escapades of Brea Harper, a blonde bombshell who embodies the classic idea of the California girl – at least externally.  Brea is certainly no Cher Horowitz from  Clueless , who we all remember as the gum-smacking, hair-twirling valley girl that said “like” every other sentence.  Brea is smarter than your average bear, and is determined to show her talent as a screenwriter when she moves to Los Angeles.  This is where the fun really starts.  While Brea may have a one-track mind when it comes to her career, she seems to lack this discipline when it comes to her men, causing her love life to become nothing short of tangled and complicated.  A...