3T Writing Tidbit

 I'm a big fan of hero teams. Conventional writing wisdom says there's a hero and an antagonist, and the best climax is the hero facing the antagonist alone.

This results in a lot of tortured, tired ways to get the hero alone that frankly, I loathe. Officer Friendly protecting the hero -- except the one time he's lured away. The "let's split up" to "cover more ground" mentality (who honestly thinks this is a good idea in the face of danger?). The act of nature that separates the hero from their compatriots: be it a boat split by a waterfall, a blinding snowstorm, or a thundering herd of cattle. The "emotional" misunderstanding that causes one party to walk away (for f* sake, talk it out. You're supposed adults!)

To me, the original Avengers movie was a refreshing antithesis to all that. True, the obstacle to overcome was exactly that, the team that didn't want to be built. But it didn't use those tired tropes, or if it did, it used them in new ways. And I just like a story that ends with the team I've grown to love coming together to beat the bad guys and win the day.

That having been said, don't make it too easy for them to be a team. That's boring. Give them opposite characteristics or points of contention or have one or more of them refuse to help at some point, either the first time they're asked or later down the road. Then it's even more satisfying when the team puts aside all those differences (or uses them to their advantage!) to get the job done.

Mix it up and keep your reader guessing -- and reading!

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.

2T Repeat Performance - Celebrating the New Year—Mayan Style

I've done a number of blog tours over the years, posting on different sites. Now I'm bringing them to you!

Originally published November 20, 2012 for LASR Stuff Your Stockings Blogfest

Celebrating the New Year—Mayan Style

December 21, 2012. I’ve got a friend who’s buying bottled water and stockpiling canned food—hopefully an extra can opener too—because she’s convinced the world is ending. We’ve all read or heard of Y12 and the doomsday predictions triggered by the Mayan calendar. But are we really looking at it the right way?

Sure, it’s the end of a Mayan Great Cycle, thirteen b'ak'tuns or 5126 years. But our contemporary calendars end too, each December 31. We mark the passing of the old year, but more importantly, we celebrate the new beginnings of a brand new year.

And apparently, so did the Maya. According to Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Florida in this USA Today article, “For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle.”

A celebration. TGIF, cosmic style. So this December 21 let’s put on our party hats and toast to a brand new 5000 years!

Black Diamond Jinn (A Hot SF/Fantasy Novella)

Have sex, avert doom, save the world.

The Mayan Doom is real. Government witch Amaia Jones has the spreadsheet to prove it.

Amaia is a research wizard living uncomfortably in the shadow of her famous Venus-magic parents. Then she discovers the world is ending. Tonight. Her bulldog of a boss not only refuses to believe her, he won't give her the secret to calling the one force powerful enough to help—the jinn. Amaia turns to her mental guardian angel, Rafe, the darkly handsome presence who has comforted her since her parents died.

Rafe has a secret of his own. He's a black diamond jinni, the deadliest and most powerful of his kind. An enemy is ruthlessly using blood sacrifice to stoke Y12 public panic. But Rafe can't get into the human realm to stop the Doom unless Amaia calls him, and she is threatened by his scorching sensuality.

Amaia's guardian angel is a stunning jinni and suddenly her job is far more complicated. Jinn take their pound of flesh in exchange for magical help, but the only flesh Rafe wants is hers, taut with delight. Sounds great, except Venus magic is what killed her parents' love. But with four hours to go on humanity's darkest night, the only alternative to surrendering her flesh may be surrendering her life.

This title contains explicit sexual language and may not be suitable for all readers.

I live in the Midwest with my beta-reader husband, two grandcats who demand equal lap time, a basement full of spare computer parts and several musical instruments including a romantic cello and a flute for orchestral twittering birds.