A Note:

6/2/13

I once told myself: IF I am accepted into grad school, this blog would no longer be updated. As it turns out, in April, I received news of my acceptance for the Fall 2013 semester, where I will attain a Master's degree of Science in Nutrition.

Running a blog, as many of you may already know, is a demanding side job once the excitement wears off. And once I fell out of the blogging community's loop (have you SEEN how many blogs there are now? Wow!), it was like the kiss of death. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get into a blogging routine once this happened due to the disconnect I felt from the community.

So I took a break. I struggled with the loss and with missing my blog. And then I realized I didn't have to run Book Faery to still be a book reviewer; I could read my books and post reviews online. I'm still a book review blogger, just not in the traditional sense.

I'll still be online. You can chat with me on Twitter, where I'll be posting links to my reviews and talking books. I'll also be posting links to nutrition articles. And if you'd like to connect with me where I guarantee I will post reviews, just add me as a friend on Goodreads.

So that's all, folks! It's been a fun and amazing journey, and I thank you all for listening to my thoughts about books. I hope we all can keep in touch elsewhere :)

Tori

Sunday, April 8, 2012

AAD NOLA Author Spotlight: Melanie Card



Thank you Tori for inviting me to guest blog today. Only five months to go until Authors After Dark, so for this post I decided to think about the things that excited me about the conference and New Orleans. And there are so many of them!

I can’t wait to meet new people—even though I can be quite shy—and to try some of the food—I’ve been told I have to go CafĂ© du Monde and have the beignets, but there are also other places around town I’d like to check out (The Food Network has given me all sorts of ideas). I also plan on visiting a historic cemetery—I do write about dead people, so a cemetery is a must—and I want to explore some of the historic areas in town.

But I’m also excited about the conference. I’ve found myself on some really interesting panels. The two I’m most excited about are the Worldbuilding and The Alphas and Betas of Paranormal Romance panels.

The worldbuilding because my debut novel, Ward Against Death, is a YA historical fantasy, and when you write historical fantasy the world itself needs to become a character. Lots of detail needs to be added without slowing down pacing and finding that balance between “world as character” and “forward momentum of the plot” can be challenging. I’m really curious to learn about the techniques the other writers on the panel use to create immersive worlds.

I’m also interested to hear what the other panelist have to say about Alphas and Betas. For Ward Against Death I’m clearly representing beta heroes. Ward is a young man tossed out of his element into a world he’s not equipped to handle. He’s a scholar, a physician, and a necromancer and not a fighter. Finding himself in a world of assassins and thieves is unlike anything he’s ever experienced before. I have a real soft spot for Ward. He’s charming and sweet, the boy next door—if the boy next door could bring people back from the dead—and I think those qualities, among others, are what attracts readers to a beta hero. Now that isn’t to say I don’t enjoy an alpha hero, only that the first book I’ve published so happened to have a beta. Needless to say, I find the conversation about alphas and beta fascinating.

And what will be really thrilling will be sharing these panels with wonderful writers many of whom I’ve read and seen around on various social networking groups but have yet to meet. There are also so many great workshops and parties planned for the conference that I want to check out, not to mention maybe having a little time to relax and make new. Whew, I feel exhausted just writing about it.

As you can probably tell this is my first readers’ conference and while I realize AAD keeps their conference small—one of the reasons I selected it—it’s still a bigger conference than any I’ve attended before. So help a newbie conference goer out. What’s your best advice for having fun at Authors’ After Dark? And what are the must sees for New Orleans?

Thanks again, Tori, for inviting me today, and I can’t wait to met everyone in August.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Melanie, I wish you lots of fun in New Orleans, I have read so many books taking place there, I feel like I should know the French Quarter. A voodoo shop is a must, eating a Po'boy, and there should be a bakery with the most decadent treats in the world!
    I have also heard there are tours to the places still a wreck since Hurricane Katrina, and those are total rip offs, so keep looking for a cheaper one.

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  2. Thanks for the advice, Aurian. Food is definitely high on my list! I hadn't thought of a voodoo. I'll had to add it.

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