Review: THE NEGATIVE TRAIT THESAURUS: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

From Amazon: Crafting likable, interesting characters is a balancing act, and finding that perfect mix of strengths and weaknesses can be difficult. Not only does a well-drawn protagonist need positive attributes to help him succeed, he must also have flaws that humanize him and give him something to overcome. The same is true of villains and the rest of the story’s supporting cast. So how can writers figure out which flaws best fit their characters? Which negative traits will create personality clashes and conflict while making success difficult? 

TAKE CHARACTER CREATION TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL 

Nothing adds complexity like character flaws. Inside the Negative Trait Thesaurus you’ll find: 
*A vast collection of flaws to explore when building a character’s personality. 
*Each entry includes possible causes, attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and related emotions 
*Real examples from literature, film, or television to show how each flaw can create life challenges and relational friction 
*Advice on building layered and memorable characters from the ground up 
*An in-depth look at backstory, emotional wounds, and how pain twists a character’s view of himself and his world, influencing behavior and decision making 
*A flaw-centric exploration of character arc, relationships, motivation, and basic needs 
*Tips on how to best show a character’s flaws to readers while avoiding common pitfalls 
*Downloadable tools to aid writers in character creation 

The Negative Trait Thesaurus sheds light on your character’s dark side. Written in list format and fully indexed, this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep, flawed characters readers will relate to.

Genre: Reference, Writer Help
Audience: Writers
Length: 206 pgs

Rating: ****

Review: This book, like The Emotion Thesaurus that I bought a while back from the same authors, is a great help. It has a wonderful introduction that goes into detail on character flaws, why characters need them, and how to craft them in your writing. It has a long list of flaws, and unlike The Emotion Thesaurus, it includes in index in the back that links the similar flaws. (I find myself using a regular thesaurus with The Emotion Thesaurus since it doesn't include this.) It also includes some great worksheets at the end to help plot out characters. This was perfect for me. It works best if used together with The Positive Trait Thesaurus, and personally, I would have gladly paid more to have both works included in one volume. (I bought each for $4.99.) If you need help delving in deeper with your characters and really making them shine, I would suggest both of these.

Try this. Like good writer reference books? Read DONE & DONE: The Power of Accountability Partnering for Reaching Your Goals by Annette Lyon and Luisa Perkins

Blog Tour Review: BECOMING LADY LOCKWOOD by Jennifer Moore (Covenant, 2014)

Tour Schedule

Becoming Lady Lockwood Amelia Beckett is delighted to be a widow. Married by proxy to a man she'd never met, Amelia recognizes that a fortuitous entry into widowhood frees her from meddlesome chaperones and matchmakers. Heiress to her mother's sugar plantation in Jamaica, she happily anticipates working in a man's world, with the additional credibility of her new title: Lady Lockwood. But with the arrival of Captain Sir William Drake, her plans quickly go awry . . . William has traversed the Atlantic with one purpose. If he cannot prove that Amelia's marriage to his brother was a fraud, she will be entitled to a sizeable portion of his family's estate. He is determined to return this duplicitous Lady to London for an official hearing, and he carries with him a letter that will ensure her cooperation . . . Left with no choice, Amelia joins the captain on his return voyage to England, and the two quickly find that ship life does not allow for evasion. Amelia and William are ceaselessly thrown together, and amidst fierce storms and ocean battles, what began as antipathy seems to be evolving quite unexpectedly. But as they draw ever closer to their destination, will the impossibility of their circumstances shatter any hope of a future together?

Praise for Becoming Lady Lockwood

"Moore does a lovely job of showcasing sizzle in this must-read for fans of regency and historical romance." ~ Foreword Reviews

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Deseret Book

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My Review

Genre: Regency Romance
Audience: Adult (Clean)
Length: 199 pgs

Rating: ****+

NEW cover review for THE PAPER MAGICIAN by Charlie N. Holmberg

My friend Charlie's book THE PAPER MAGICIAN has a new, awesome cover. Now the first one was pretty grand, but I this one is amazing. I love it! And Charlie says I can share it with you all! You're going to love it too, I know.

Isn't it FANTASTIC? I love everything about it. Everything. I think, Charlie, I might even like it better than the first. It makes me hope so so much that my book gets a really fantastic cover too. :D

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic...forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined—animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

An Excisioner—a practitioner of dark, flesh magic—invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart—and reveal the very soul of the man.

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Homegrown in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie with three sisters who also have boy names. She writes fantasy novels and does freelance editing on the side. She’s a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, and owns too many pairs of glasses.

Links

Website * Twitter * Amazon  

Review: TRA "Old West" Collection by Various Authors

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: Romance, Historical
Length: 302 pgs

Rating: ****+

Review: I keep saying this about the TRAs, but this is definitely one of my favorites. As usual, I found a new author I liked a lot. Carla Kelly's Break A Leg was fun and sweet and a great read. Of course I loved Sarah M. Eden's addition The Soldier's Heart. It was so unique and I just loved how it progressed and turned out. Annette Lyon's The Sweetest Taste was another favorite. All in all, another great collection of clean romances to sit down and enjoy in bite size pieces. Love it.

Content:
Sex: 2/5 (In one story the heroine thinks about her late husband "cupping her breast" and later about how they made love. In another unfortunate prostitution of a relative is discussed and a prostitute propositions the hero.)
Language: 1/5 (Two uses of "damn"; two uses of "hell.")
Violence: 1/5 (Injuries to soldiers are discussed, minorly graphic. A fire destroys a home and threatens a character and her animals. There is a gunfight between some cowboys.)

Try this. Check out all the Timeless Romance Anthologies on their blog.

BECOMING LADY LOCKWOOD by Jennifer Moore Book Blast

Becoming Lady Lockwood Amelia Beckett is delighted to be a widow. Married by proxy to a man she'd never met, Amelia recognizes that a fortuitous entry into widowhood frees her from meddlesome chaperones and matchmakers. Heiress to her mother's sugar plantation in Jamaica, she happily anticipates working in a man's world, with the additional credibility of her new title: Lady Lockwood. But with the arrival of Captain Sir William Drake, her plans quickly go awry . . . William has traversed the Atlantic with one purpose. If he cannot prove that Amelia's marriage to his brother was a fraud, she will be entitled to a sizeable portion of his family's estate. He is determined to return this duplicitous Lady to London for an official hearing, and he carries with him a letter that will ensure her cooperation . . . Left with no choice, Amelia joins the captain on his return voyage to England, and the two quickly find that ship life does not allow for evasion. Amelia and William are ceaselessly thrown together, and amidst fierce storms and ocean battles, what began as antipathy seems to be evolving quite unexpectedly. But as they draw ever closer to their destination, will the impossibility of their circumstances shatter any hope of a future together?

Praise for Becoming Lady Lockwood

"Moore does a lovely job of showcasing sizzle in this must-read for fans of regency and historical romance." ~ Foreword Reviews

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Deseret Book

Excerpt

The crew released more sails as the breeze quickened, and Amelia watched, craning her neck as her island home, Jamaica, the pearl of the Antilles, gradually became no more than a small green mound on the horizon. A wave of homesickness washed over her. The ship rolled on the larger ocean waves, and she realized that her discomfort was not strictly limited to nostalgia. She was growing increasingly seasick. Just as she reached this realization, she heard steps coming toward her and turning saw Captain Drake approaching. “Miss Becket, you are looking most unwell. I must insist you take to your quarters and lie down.” Even though he was completely correct, and her stomach was threatening to empty itself, the lack of compassion in his demeanor put her on the defensive. “Indeed, Captain Drake. While I am touched by your concern for my well-being, I have no intention to retire, as I am feeling quite well.” The ship pitched again, and Amelia’s stomach pitched along with it. “I assure you, my concern is for the deck of my ship and for my crew charged with keeping her ­in shipshape condition.” Did the man’s arrogance know no bounds? Amelia felt her head spin in a wave of dizziness, and the captain grabbed onto her elbow. “Your face is green, Miss Becket. I insist you take to your berth.” He spoke sharply, turning to the marine next to her. “Corporal, fetch Dr. Spinner to Miss Becket’s quarters.” She wrenched her arm from his grasp. “Captain, I am not in the least ill.” She spoke through clenched teeth, afraid that if she opened her mouth, the contents of her stomach would make a most unwelcome appearance. She rested her hand in a manner that she hoped appeared casual against the netting of hammocks lining the rail of the ship. But truthfully, besides her determination not to allow the captain to order her about, it was the only thing holding her up. Amelia nearly swooned with relief as Sidney Fletcher hurried toward them. “Miss Becket, are you unwell?” He held her elbow in the same manner as had Captain Drake a moment before, and Amelia leaned against him. “Will you allow me to escort you to your quarters then?” “Thank you, Mr. Fletcher. That would be most welcome. How very gentlemanly of you.” She looked toward Captain Drake and narrowed her eyes. A slight smile tugged at the corner of the captain’s lips, and Amelia found that it infuriated her. But when she opened her mouth to tell him so, her stomach betrayed her, and she was horrified to see her breakfast splatter over Captain Drake’s shiny boots. Amelia and Captain Drake stared at each other in disbelief for one mortifying instant before she felt her stomach clench again and pressed her gloved hands against her mouth. “A bucket!” Captain Drake bellowed.

  Author Jennifer Moore Jennifer Moore is a Passionate reader and writer of all things romance, helping her find balance with the rest of her world, which includes a perpetually traveling husband and four active sons, who create heaps of laundry that are anything but romantic. Jennifer has a BA in linguistics from the University of Utah and is a Guitar Hero champion. She lives in northern Utah with her family. You can learn more about her at authorjmoore.com. The author's first book, Becoming Lady Lockwood, is a regency romance centered on the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s.

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        Blast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 8/5/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the publisher. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway