Monday 7 January 2013

Welcome to My Guest Author: Valerie Parv

Today I welcome Author Valerie Parv to my blog!   So over to Valerie...

You’ve made your New Year resolutions, but what about your characters?

This is the time of year when we all…okay, I…should plan to get thinner, fitter and better organized. Instead of making resolutions, I imagine where I want to be by year’s end, then work out what steps will get me closer to my goal.
You can do the same in your writing. Just like the real world, your story needs high days and holidays. Not that I’ve ever forgotten to include a Christmas between November and January, and had to go back and write one in. *Valerie hides growing nose.* What holidays are in your story? How do they affect the characters’ hopes and dreams?

Making a timeline is a good idea. In what month does your book start? Roughly when does it end? What’s your setting? The answers will tell you what seasons the characters will deal with, the clothes they wear, and the holidays you need to allow for.
Holidays can help or hinder the characters with their goals. In Birthright, set in my fictional island kingdom of Carramer, a holiday called Journey Day adds depth to the story. The indigenous people see Journey Day differently from the descendants of the French colonists who are now in the majority. Writing about the day let me explore both sides’ attitudes and beliefs, and how they affect my alien characters who must come together to defeat a terrifying threat facing humanity.

What holidays work for you in a book? Have you made New Year resolutions this year? What about for your characters? Your comment could win a copy of Birthright for Kindle with a personalized “authorgraph” to start off your writing year.
Valerie Parv is one of Australia's most successful writers with more than 29 million books sold in 26 languages. She is the only Australian author honored with a Pioneer of Romance award from RT Book Reviews, New York. With a lifelong interest in space exploration, she counts meeting Neil Armstrong as a personal high point. So it's no wonder she's taking romance to the stars and beyond In Birthright, her most ambitious novel yet. She loves connecting with readers via her Website, Blog, Twitter and on Facebook.

About Birthright
Former police officer turned deputy governor, Shana Akers, is used to handling high-stakes situations. But after learning that a space shuttle mission about to be launched from her island home may have a shocking secret agenda, she must turn for answers to the man who has challenged her mind and emotions for years.

Scientific genius and space center director, Adam Desai, is a truly self-made man. Found adrift at sea as a baby, he knows nothing about his origins until two VIPs attending the launch force him to confront the truth about his past, changing everything Adam has ever believed about himself.

Faced with a danger that threatens the entire world, can Adam and Shana find the strength to trust not only each other, but the mysterious VIPs whose unusual abilities defy logical thinking? Especially when it becomes clear that they'll need all of their combined resources to reclaim humanity's BIRTHRIGHT. Published by Corvallis Press USA 2012.
 
 
 
 

29 comments:

  1. What a timely post, Valerie. Only yesterday I was rewarded with an extra day for my story when I realised the timeline spanned a long weekend. Yippee! But I had not considered the emotional implications of holidays before (but will now).
    Congratulations on the release of Birthright. And thanks for having Valerie on your blog, Serena.
    Louise Reynolds

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    1. Hi Louise,
      It's very difficult to remember everything, but aren't we lucky we have access to wonderful advice. Holidays can help add so much to your story, especially if one of the protagonists has a very *holiday-enthusiastic* family. Or not. :)

      Thanks for stopping by, Louise. And as Valerie said, she is here because I bribed, er, enticed her with the promise of ice-cream cassata. And here's a slice for you, Louise, and one for Valerie (and one for me of course!)

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  2. Valerie said (don't know why it's calling me anonymous), Hi Louise, I believe holidays help to anchor stories in time and place, as well as emotionally. Another tool, as if we aren't juggling so many already :-)

    And Serena lured me here with the promise of Cassata. Certainly the weather for it.

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    1. Hope you're enjoying the cassata, Valerie. It's hot here in Melbs so perfect weather for it.

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  3. A great reminder! I love the idea of using holidays to help anchor stories.

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    1. Very true, Wendy. Thanks for dropping in. There's a slice of cassata for you too.

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    2. Yummy, thank you. Good to see you here, Wendy. Y'all may like to know that Serena inspired the heroine in my Harlequin romantic suspense novel, Operation Monarch. The heroine is a former model turned royal bodyguard. Of course any resemblance is purely coincidental LOL

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    3. Ah yes, Valerie, one of my favourite books of all time! Yes, of course I was a model (a model what? I hear you ask) and definitely a royal bodyguard :) Now did I feed His Highness Garth Remy to the sharks, or did I save him? Maybe your readers should read Operation: Monarch and find out! And this was one of your wonderful Carramer stories :)

      Have another piece of cassata, Valerie.

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    4. Now this sounds intriguing! I have to hunt OPERATION:Monarch!

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  4. Valerie, you've just opened up another possibility for my wip set in Melbourne. Our repositioned Queen's birthday will fit in perfectly, but I hadn't considered the use of a holiday until now. (Was in Italy last year when we celebrated it in October for the first time so it's not yet set in my psyche.)

    And thank you for hosting, Serena. I loved your cassata last night at the launch of White Ginger. Thanks for bringing it! :)

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    1. Delighted to add a spark, Susanne. Holidays are so much a part of a place, when you think about it, aren't they.

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    2. Hi Susanne,
      Celebrating the Queen's Birthday in October in Italy? Interesting. How did that come about? I'm fairly certain it isn't an Italian National Holiday :)

      Luckily I made a large batch of the cassata for your lovely book launch and Valerie's visit to my blog. Hopefully there will be enough for a second party for your launch event for White Ginger tonight. The crowd there last night were a bit rowdy, but then you are celebrating :)

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    3. I meant that I was in Italy when you in Oz celebrated it in October for the first time! lol--my poor use of 'we' instead of 'all youse back home' in my comment! :] And they were a genuinely delightful and wonderful crowd last night at my launch party. Hope you enjoyed the floor show!

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    4. Ah, you mean the Queen's Diamond Jubilee! No problems. Doncha lurv Aussie-isms? :)

      The floorshow was sensational. Is there another one on tonight? Must pop in!

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  5. Hi Valerie,
    Great blog. I hadn't thought too much about holidays shaping stories, but I will now. Thanks for making me think outside my normal little box.

    Regards

    Margaret

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    1. Thanks Margaret. Good to see you here, and escaping your box!

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    2. Hahaha, Valerie, if you only knew! Margaret is at this moment training it across the Nullarbor! She is indeed in a little box. I believe it's pretty fabulous.

      Thanks for coming in, Margaret.

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  6. Hi Valerie. Love the blurb about Birthright, very intriguing. One of the things i like about writing NZ settings is i can set it at Christmastime which of course is so different from our northern cousins, and in my setting use things that are also unique to NZ. I love the idea of how a holiday as in your Journey Day can have differing affects and believes on the different cultures within the society. I experienced this years ago when living in Israel where we had so many cultures and religions.

    Jane Beckenham

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    1. Hi Jane,
      I agree. As writers we make up our own countries, so why not also make up our own holidays. Thanks for calling in.

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  7. Hi Valerie, firstly, congratulations on your new book, my curiosity is definitely peaked - aliens and romance sounds like my kind of story!
    As for timelines, I've been madly doing edits on my supposedly finished book and realized by changing one thing it leads to another, and my timelines are now messed up, so this post has been 'timely' for me. Thanks so much, Lia.

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    1. Hi Jane B, I have a few writer friends in NZ and you have wonderful settings and holidays to play with. Location and culture all play a part.

      Welcome Lia K, glad Birthright has you curious. It's lovely to revisit Carramer, a place I'd love to go in real life, if only... I hear you on editing changes. Hope you get everything straightened out.

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    2. Hi Lia,
      I must admit the aliens have me intrigued too. I am going to have to start reading Birthright tonight! (I'd hoped to do so before Valerie joined us here but it didn't happen).
      Thanks for coming in and saying hi.

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  8. Some great comments here, thanks. Good to see the brain cells lighting up LOL. Once you start thinking about holidays, time of year etc. you'll have more resources for settings. For instance instead of hero and heroine meeting in a cafe, why not have them watching a street parade unique to a time of year where they are. The noise, participants etc can all create mood, background, noise where they can hardly hear each other, lots more. As long as these elements enhance the relationship and story, without taking over, you can have a lot of fun with this.

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  9. Your book sounds fascinating, I love sci fi. Congratulations on its release. These are great ideas, Valerie. I never thought of incorporating holidays, whether they are in our world or in an imaginery world. I can see a lot of different scenes being generated from this idea. The closest I've come to doing this, is having one of my heroine's take her hero (he's the alien) to his first dance. Thanks so much for sharing.

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    1. Hi SE,
      Lucky me edited Legend Beyond The Stars so I have read your wonderful book including the dance scene. Loved it!

      With different worlds, the possibilities are endless. Thanks for coming in.

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  10. Thanks, S E, dance scene sounds cool.I hope you all enjoy Birthright when you read it. I've spent the last few days wrestling with the plot of the follow-up, Earthbound, and woke up this morning knowing where the story should start - curiously enough, at a science fiction convention. Then there's the landfill site that holds a lot more than garbage. Better get writing, hadn't I? Should add my agent is offering a $50 Amazon gift card to the best review of Birthright anywhere online during January. Post the link at my blog, address in bio above, to be in it. Thanks for having me here, Serena. The Cassata was delicious.

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    1. A sci fi convention! Oooh that's a great place to find lots of aliens. Good luck with writing Earthbound, Valerie. I know I am going to enjoy this series. Sci fi and romance, what else could you want :)

      Thanks for being my special guest blogger, Valerie. I'm waving you off with a slice of Dreamy Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake (it's cooler her in Melbourne, so will keep the cassata for a warmer day). I believe you're in Fiji today visiting with Nas. Maybe you'd better have a slice of cassata as well!

      You can catch Valerie at Romance Book Haven here:
      http://romancebookhaven.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/valerie-parv-birthright-and-giveaway.html

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  11. After the holidays no one feels ready to go back to work again. Particularly when it is very cold.

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    1. That's very true for some people, RBP. Personally, I prefer the cold because it's much easier to warm up than it is to cool down :)

      Thanks for stopping by.

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