Longbow Girl: A Review and Audio CD Giveaway

Congratulations to Myra Dunlap who won an autographed copy of AIM from last week's blog.

*****

Some books defy genres. Longbow Girl is one of them. It is well-researched historical fiction and also a meticulously crafted, time travel novel. No easy feat, but one that Linda Davies pulls off with aplomb. If you study this beautiful cover, you'll get a clue as to what this amazingly-plotted tale is about.

Longbow Girl, which takes place in Wales, spans twenty-one generations (or for those of you who are math-challenged like myself, 500 years.)

Fifteen-year-old Merry Owens is descended from a long line of longbow warriors. But she is unique: she is the first girl to master the bow. The opening chapters set up Merry's stubborn, smart, and loyal personality as well as her problem: unable to pay his bank debt, her father may have to sell their family land to their wealthy neighbors. This estate just happens to belong to her best friend--James DeCourcy's--parents, the Earl and Countess DeCourcy. The young people do not condone the rivalry between their families that spans generations, and instead, champion each other's dreams. 

Merry will do anything to keep the land in her family. But how? Her dilemma is compounded when she finds an extremely rare and valuable copy of the Mabinogion, a collection of eleven stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. While it is in her possession her life is threatened and she considers how to get rid of it to protect herself and her family. 

The book speaks of a treasure near a waterfall in a riddle pool.  Risk-taker that she is, Merry follows the book's directions in order to try and find the treasure which could save her family from financial ruin. Her decision is full of high stakes danger as Merry finds a watery tunnel (later she names it the river of time) which brings her to a land that looks vaguely familiar. The land is filled with people that look like her family and the DeCourcys. Gradually, she realizes that she has traveled "500 years from home." When she discovers that her ancestor has been falsely imprisoned, she has no choice but to try and rescue him and save her family's legacy. If he dies, she reasons, she may never have been born! 

Linda Davies next to Maen Lila, the Neolithic standing stone that guides Merry.

This action-packed story is full of Merry's and James' gut-wrenching choices which hook the reader. Merry's survival and longbow skills are tested; James' physical prowess and ability to deceive his captors are tried; and both young people prove that their friendship can not only withstand immense challenges--but grows stronger as a result. 

The novel is full of high action adventure, but Davies does not neglect to show both characters' internal struggles. Although writers are instructed to "show, not tell," Davies names feelings such as anger and relief. To be honest, that never bothered me. But there were some loose ends which I wondered about. What happens to their antagonist, the evil professor who follows Merry back through the tunnel. Does he get trapped in the time of the Tudors? Similarly, a wild stallion follows Merry into the 21st century. Why doesn't her father question his sudden appearance? 

Since I listened to the audio version, this review is not as full of quotes as most of my book reviews are. But I jotted down this memorable line. Merry is facing capture and possible death and she thinks, "The 16th century was not a playground for the privileged children of the 21st."

At first, I was a little put off by Emily Wilden's Welsh accent. But fairly quickly I adjusted to her manner of speaking and when I finished listening to the performance, her voice stayed in my head for days. Ms. Wilden annunciated her words well and helped the reader form an emotional connection to the characters. Since I listen to audio books in the car, I often couldn't wait to be driving somewhere to hear what happened next to Merry or James. Listen to this excerpt and you will get a taste of Ms. Wilden's reading of Chapter 2. You will see how it adds authenticity to this Welsh tale.

Here is Ms. Davies' trailer:

This book will make a wonderful gift to a teen reader who likes fantasy--but make sure you listen to it yourself first! To enter this giveaway, leave me a comment on my blog by December 1. PLEASE leave me your email address if you are new to this blog. Continental U.S. mailing addresses only. 

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Here is the NaNoWriMo update from teen writer,  Sydney Kirsch. As of midnight on November 26 she had written 51,692 words. She said, "I've spent most of the week outlining scenes I still need to write in the middle and end of my story which has been so much fun. But I'm prepared to get it done now, and and I think my first draft will actually be complete by the end of the month!"

Next week Sydney will share more about her work and what she learned in NaNoWriMo 2016.

Wonder at the Edge of the World- and a Giveaway!

To be honest, at first I didn't think about historical fantasy being a genre until I read Wonder at the Edge of the World by Nicole Helget and was contemplating how I wanted to review it. But then I realized I've read many books with both historical and magical elements--although typically they take place prior to the 20th century. 

Set in Kansas right before the Civil War, this is the story of how a young girl, Hallelujah Wonder; and her best friend, Eustace, who is a slave, deliver a dangerous Medicine Head to the cold depths of Antarctica to prevent a Captain Greeney, a wicked Navy captain from using it to work evil. 

In a nutshell, these are the historical and magical elements of this middle grade book that is a story of adventure, friendship, and sacrifice. 

The reader gets a great glimpse into Hallelujah's (who prefers to be called Lu) character when she tells the reader that she intends to be "the first lady scientist in Kansas--maybe the only scientist at all in this sunbaked, throny-plant, tree-lonely, dirty-water, skinny-animal, dusty-air, grasshopper-happy, God-forsaken place." (p. 8,9) We also find out that her role model is her father who Captain Greeney murdered. He was not only a great explorer who discovered Antarctica, but he brought home a number of valuable artifacts. So valuable that they are hidden in a cave which only Lu and Eustace know about. 

One of the artifacts, the Medicine Head that talks, can only be heard by certain individuals--including Lu. Bundled in a crate with the instructions, "KEEP COOL. DO NOT DESTROY!" Lu feels the head calling to her. When she can't resist touching it, she sees visions from the past; including images of Captain Greeney pursuing her father in order to possess the Medicine Head's power. 

With Captain Greeney on her trail, but now knowing all of the Head's powers, Lu decides it's her job to get the Head to Antarctica--where it is cold and will never be destroyed.  

At the same time, pre-Civil War unrest infiltrates Tolerone, her midwest town. A fight between the Abolitionists and slave owners leads to a devastating fire leaving Eustace temporarily without a master. Recognizing that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be free, Eustace leaves Kansas with Lu on her quest to take the Medicine Head to Antarctica. 

Like I said, the story mixes fantasy with history and I enjoyed the historical parts the best--which shows you what kind of reader I am! I particularly appreciated how Lu describes the changes she sees in Eustace after leaving Kansas and arriving in New Bedford, Massachusetts where they hope to find passage to Antarctica: 
"Eustace is walking funny. He moves through the lanes of New Bedford with a confidence I never saw in him at home." (p. 206)

Seeing Eustace's freedom through Lu's eyes tells the reader a lot about both characters:

I try to feel what Eustace is feeling right now. I'm sure he misses his ma. I know he does. But if he had stayed in Tolerone, he'd probably have been separated form her away. He'd probably have been shipped off to work all day, every day, for mean old slave owners who would never appreciate a single thing he did or knew. They'd probably never realize how smart Eustace is. They'd probably never appreciate how loyal he is. They'd probably never see how strong and courageous he is. Or how forgiving he is. Even if he is a mama's boy and hits girls.

I wonder if he's looking around and thinking about all the possibilities he has. All those things had had hoped for his life, about being a cowboy or a scientist, are suddenly possible. I feel happy for him. But I feel a bit of unhappiness, too. I know that at some point, our journey, successful or not, will be over, and Eustace and I will have to separate. (p. 218)

When Lu finally rids herself of the Medicine Head, she's no longer a prisoner to its whims. She has found her freedom; in the same way that Eustace has found his.

*******

To win a copy of this novel for yourself or for a middle grade reader, leave me a comment by 6 PM on Wednesday, July 29. If you want to increase your chance of winning, please share on Facebook or Twitter and let me know in your comment which you did.  

This review was first posted on LitChat on July 2, 2015.

Learning Character Internalization

Congratulations to Lindsay Fouts, my new blog follower, who won James Scott Bell's book, Plot and Structure.

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As I begin the fourth major draft of Half-Truths, I need to attack some of my writing weaknesses. According to my writing coach Rebecca Petruck, I have to work on my "internal-life writing muscles." To do this, she assigned me this task:

Type several dialogue-free passages from books you would like to emulate. Type at least three pages to get the rhythm. Then, type at least five dialogue-free pages from Kate’s POV and then again from Lillie’s POV.... Think about the difference between rote description, and description that reveals something about the character. When you describe the external world around them, it has to be in order to reflect how they interpret it, what it means to them and how it feels.

I'm beginning this assignment by sharing a dialogue-free passage from the latest book I listened to, Dodger, by Terry Pratchett. An historical fantasy spin-off of Charles Dickens' character, the Artful Dodger, it is an entertaining and funny book--albeit at times irreverent. Here is a brief blurb from Pratchett's website for context: 

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's….Dodger….Dodger's encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disreali, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.

The following excerpt occurs after Dodger rescues the girl and "Charlie" Dickens and Henry Mayhew take them both to the Mayhew household. 

Twenty minutes later Dodger was sitting close to the fire in the kitchen of a house, not a grand house as such, but nevertheless much grander than most buildings he went into legally; there were much grander buildings that he had been into illegally, but he never spent very much time in them, often leaving with a  considerable amount of haste. Honestly, the number of dogs people had these days was a damn scandal, so it was, and they would set them on a body without warning, so he had always been speedy. But here, oh yes, there was meat and potatoes, carrots too, but not, alas, any beer. In the kitchen he had been given a glass of warm milk that was nearly fresh. Mrs. Quickly the cook was watching him like a hawk and half already locked away the cutlery, but apart from that it seemed to be a pretty decent crib, although there had been a certain amount of what you might call words from the missus of Mister Henry to her husband on the subject of bringing home waifs and strays at this time of night. It seemed to Dodger, who paid a great deal of forensic attention to all he could see and hear, that this was by no means the first time that she had cause for complaint; she sounded like someone trying to hard to conceal that they were really fed up and trying to put a brave face on it. But nevertheless, Dodger had certainly had his meal (and that was the important thing), the wife and a maid had bustled off with the girl, and now…someone was coming down the stairs to the kitchen. 

It was Charlie, and Charlie bothered Dodger. Henry seemed like one of them do-gooders who felt guilty about having money and food when other people did not; Dodger knew the type. He, personally was not bothered about having money when other people didn't, but when you lived a life like his, Dodger found that being generous when in funds, and being a cheerful giver, was a definite insurance. You needed friends--friends were the kind of people who would say: "Dodger? Never heard of 'I'm, ever clapped eyes on 'im, guv'nor! You must be thinking of some other cove"--because you had to live as best you could in the city and you had to be sharp and wary and on your toes every moment of the day if you wanted to stay alive. 

He stayed alive because he was the Dodger, smart and fast. He knew everybody and everybody knew him. He had never, ever, been before the beak, he could outrun the fastest Bow Street runner, and now that they had all been found out and replaced, he could outrun every peeler as well. They couldn't arrest you unless they put a hand on you, and nobody ever managed to touch Dodger.  

No, Henry was no problem, but Charlie--now, oh yes Charlie--he looked the type who would look at a body and see right inside of you, Charlie, Dodger considered, might well be a dangerous cove, a gentleman who knew the ins and outs of the world and could see through flannel and soft words to what you were thinking, which was dangerous indeed. Here he was now, the man himself, coming downstairs escorted by the jingling of coins. (pp. 6-7)

Rebecca encouraged me to figure out where my characters are coming from. In this excerpt, narrated by the omniscient narrator, but in Dodgers' close POV, I learn that Dodger is coming from a place where:

1. He doesn't always get a whole meal.
2. He's prone to illegal activity that is Dodger's normal; a fact of his life. 
3. He is street smart and has friends on the street who cover for him (and the reader assumes, he does the same for them).
4. He looks suspicious to the cook who has to "hide the cutlery".
5. He is very observant. Notices the cook's mistrust, perfectly assesses Mr. Mayhew's character, communicates his own distrust of Charlie Dickens and why. 
6. He's "bothered" by people who can read him, as well he can read others.
7. He's proud of his abilities to outsmart the police. 

In other words, Dodger sees the world of London through a lens of "I have less money than the rich, but that doesn't bother me, because by my wits and speed, I get what I need." The reader meets a character who feels confidant about himself and moves with ease--unless he is up against another person who is equally good at reading people and their motivations as he is.

Pratchett has portrayed a character who I want to find out more about and who I want to root for-- as he goes from being a tosher (one who scavenges London's sewers) to a…wait, I don't want to spoil this book for you!

This week I'll be attending the Table Rock Writer's retreat where I'll be studying with John Bemis and Dawn Shamp. I'm hoping to strengthen my "internal-life muscles." 

So, watch out Kate and Lillie! You're about to grow deeper, inner lives.