Jet Said...

"Do what you have to do."

"Not what I came here for."

"What do you want from me?"

"Don't talk to me ever again."

"I will see you later, ok?"

"What a silly question to ask."

"I can't stop thinking of you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Feel free to never come back."

"You are always on my mind."

"That was such a dumb idea."

"Do you have a better plan?"

"I don't feel like doing that."

"What more is there to lose?"

"Don't you see that I'm hurting?"

"I love you, but not enough."

"A little help would be great."

"You can't handle a little pressure."

"I know what I am doing."

"My life is empty without you."

"How am I supposed to know?"

"I don't want to hear it."

"This was a spectacularly bad plan."

"It's good to know you're safe."

"Don't come near me ever again!"

"What a silly thing to say."

"I couldn't care less about you."

"This is not what I expected."

"Where are my manners, my dear."

I see a lot of writing advice, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any beta-ing advice.  So I thought I’d write down my tips for being a good first reader/critiquer/beta reader.  Obviously your mileage may vary on this, as with any advice, but these are the things I try to do when I’m critiquing, and they’re the things I appreciate from a critique.

(more…)

Hi friends! In case you’ve got a YA, NA, or adult novel ready to query, my girl Cortney Radocaj has just started building her own client list and is open to agent queries! She interned with my agent, Saritza Hernandez, and did some commenting/feedback work on my werewolf novel in that capacity, which is how we met and became chat buddies. But now she’s on her own and spreading her wings, and here’s what she’s looking for:

[Twitter screencap: Cortney saying she’s open for queries, me asking what genres. She replies:

“Fantasy and sci-fi always! Dying for steampunk. Cyberpunk. Anything and everything gay (particularly f/f). I’ve been craving a contemporary lately, but it has to be suuuuuper unique, queer, and voicey for me to fall in love! :) Thanks!”]

(Re)introducing Alabaster Knight Liam Bennett, former Chosen of the Order, cabal leader, and a “pure blood” whose lineage can be traced back to the era of the First Ascended. He sits on the newly reformed council and has enthusiastically pledged his absolute loyalty to the current Ascended. As a child, Liam was among the first to witness the one who would later become this Ascended, which sparked his devout idolization.

He enjoys nothing more than staying active, whether through battle or training tirelessly to hone his already impressive martial and magical skills that have made him arguably the best knight in the Order. A master astrothurgist, he uses aether to distort the fabric of spacetime and bend the universe’s dimensional properties for a host of combat and utilitarian spells. He is also one of the few who have learned how to make practical usage of the paradoxical “Oblivion” element to void the effects of others’ spells.

Liam is otherwise known for his stoic and reticent behavior due to living in his authoritative father’s shadow. Despite his difficulty expressing himself and his usually fierce adherence to the Order’s traditions, Liam has defied his elders to act with compassion and right their injustices. It was his insubordination that saved an innocent life even at the result of sacrificing his own chance to become the Ascended’s Champion.

Infernal Providence - Book 5 of The Immortal Coil series, out everywhere January 2nd, 2019

(Re)introducing Alabaster Knight Rafael Mezzio, commoner, beekeeper, best friend and cabalmate of Knight Liam. He is without standing in the Order, though not from lack of skill or effort. Rafael is one of the few on par with Liam’s elite martial prowess and not far behind in magical proficiency.

As a fellow practitioner of astrothurgy he manipulates vector space to alter the battlefield to his and his allies’ advantage. Rafael typically uses these spells to teleport himself, accelerate his movements and slow down enemies, redirect incoming attacks or correct his own, create pocket dimensions to store medicines, equipment, and ammunition, and spread elemental effects over a great distance or focus them to a single point.

He is the only current member of the Order to wield a bow in live combat, though on rare occasions. While he has the support of his best friend, it is ironically considered to be an outdated style by others and now used exclusively when training children in spatial awareness.

Rafael is an earnest young knight who often speaks his mind and is excited by the prospect of change that only the new Ascended can bring to the Order. He cares deeply for those he grew up with in the abbey and like many of his peers, longs for a fair chance to prove his worth.

Infernal Providence - Book 5 of The Immortal Coil series, out everywhere January 2nd, 2019

Looking for a random city? Click here.

Looking for a random city that people have actually heard of? Click here.

Need a random surname for a character? Click here. (They also give prevalence by race, which is very helpful.)

Random motivations for your characters here!

Need some character quirks? Here and here!