A Book Review of Tainted by Morgan L. Busse

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What Happens When Your Soul Dies?

Kat Bloodmayne is one of the first women chosen to attend the Tower Academy of Sciences. But she carries a secret: she can twist the natural laws of science. She has no idea where this ability came from, only that every time she loses control and unleashes this power, it kills a part of her soul. If she doesn't find a cure soon, her soul will die and she will become something else entirely.

After a devastating personal loss, Stephen Grey leaves the World City Police Force to become a bounty hunter. He believes in justice and will stop at nothing to ensure criminals are caught and locked up. However, when Kat Bloodmayne shows up in his office seeking his help, his world is turned upside down.


Together they search World City and beyond for a doctor who can cure Kat. But what they discover on the way goes beyond science and into the dark sphere of magic.

Monthly Summary: August 2016

August was mostly a month of getting things together. I had a bit of break from novel writing since I had to wait on beta feedback, but I had a ton of deadlines for articles. I did some job hunting and a lot of working. It was a much calmer month than others, which is good after the craziness of this year.

Interview with Elasa (Starbloods)!

Elasa

Me:

Hey, everyone! It's time for this month's character interview! This month's is with my female main character from my high fantasy series Starbloods named Elasa. You can read a bit more about him in her bio before we start. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions! Let's get to the interview. *turns to Elasa* Hello, Elasa.

Elasa:
*smiles, sitting straight and with her hands folded in her lap* Good day. It has been a long time since I've been in this chair.

Me:
It has. Are you ready to begin?

Elasa:
Yes.

Heroes 101: Yes, They Can Be as Interesting as Antiheroes

Heroes seem to be going out of style in favor of antiheroes and villains, yet some of the most beloved characters are heroes. They're characters who genuinely want to be good and strive to be even better. They inspire us to be better human beings.

"It's almost unbearable, isn't it... the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling, I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up, I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself, they rescued me from my loneliness, they were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends."
~Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto Shippuden 

Writing Lessons from Video Games: Twilight Princess vs. Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda is one of the most famous gaming franchises since 1986. Though the storylines are all unique, each of the games feature the main character Link, a chosen reincarnated hero, who fights many monsters, finds loads of chests, and navigates many temples to save the lovely Princess Zelda. 

My favorite Legend of Zelda game is by far Twilight Princess, originally released on Wii and GameCube in 2006. This game features teen Link fighting off the twilight that threatens to consume Hyrule and the surrounding lands. I was simply blown away by the games amazing storytelling and fun gameplay. In 2011, Nintendo released Skyward Sword, which also features a teen Link, but takes places generations before Twilight Princess. Anxiously, I preordered that game and played it on release day, but I was disappointed--like many other longstanding Zelda fans are. These two are often compared since they were both released on Wii and feature teen Link. 

So why do the majority fans prefer Twilight Princess over Skyward Sword? I recently replayed both to compare the differences. Today I'm going analyze that and show what it can teach us about writing.

Warning: Prevalent spoilers for both games. 

Beautiful People - Appearance Edition: Rouyn (Starbloods)

It's time for this month's Beautiful People! Yay! This is a link-up hosted by Paperfury and Further Up and Further In where you answer questions about your characters. I participated in Beautiful People #1, #2, #3 and the villain special last year. And I've done Beautiful People Author Edition, Beautiful People Valentine Edition, Beautiful People #7, Beautiful People Sibling Edition, Beautiful People #9, Beautiful People: Parental Edition, Beautiful People #11, Beautiful People: Friendship Edition, Beautiful People #13: Caleb, Beautiful People #14: Writerly Resolutions and Goals, Beautiful People: Valentine's Edition, Beautiful People #16, Beautiful People #17, Beautiful People Childhood Edition, and Beautiful People #19. This link-up has been just so helpful with character development. 

Since I'm officially going to do Starbloods for NaNoWriMo, I want to focus my BPs and interviews on characters from my long-neglected high fantasy series. Today I'm doing BP with Rouyn who is one of my three main characters from the story. He is a Starblood, so he has special abilities such as starlight manipulation, invisibility, and even foresight. He is the oldest character I have, but he's been through so many changes. It's fun bringing him up again after years of not working on his book. He's had a character interview and a Beautiful People a while back, but it's been well ... a while. If you'd like to participate in this link-up yourself, check out either Paperfury or Further Up and Further In to see how. Here we go!