What I like best about blogging is meeting new people and actually making a new friend. Case in point: Ivy Bateman. I met her online in an interview she had at Amber Skyze's blog (I think that was where, anyway!), and ever since then, we've become email pen pals, talking about our families, and writing, and occasionally ranting about this and that together.
Another thing I like about making a new writer friend is getting to read her stories before they're published!! And, oh my goodness!! Was I ever blessed to get a preview of Ivy's THE FIFTH STORY! It was...well, I don't even know what word to use. Engrossing, maybe. Captivating. It sucked me in until I just couldn't put it down.
After reading the blurb, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Maybe something like The Never Ending Story, except the erotic version (since that's what Ivy writes). *Shrugs* I don't know. After reading the entire book, however, I'm even more clueless under which genre to label this story. It's like a class all unto its own.
It's easy-to-read, yet these hidden depths will jump out and surprise you. The theme you discover the entire story was about all along is utterly amazing. Yet it's disturbing and dark with an adventurous race against time that keeps your flipping pages to see which bizarre, unbelievable thing will happen next. Granted, it's intended for a certain kind of crowd; the adult content is...very adult. I remembering thinking, "This is wrong. I shouldn't be reading this. My mom would disown me if she knew," all the while, my eyes were as wide as golf balls as they stayed glued to my iPad screen. It left me thinking about all the plot twists and turns long after The End. Reading The Fifth Story wasn't just reading, it was an experience.
Which had me wondering...how in the world did Ivy come up with such a crazy, genius idea for this tale (I'm picturing a mad scientist. You have Einstein hair, sticking up at all ends right now, don't you Ivy)? How did she piece all the different parts--that seemed totally unrelated to each other--together to make one uniform, amazing story?
Well...here's her answer. Take it away, Ivy!
Thank-you Linda!
I have to say that one of the great things about being friends with someone who has asked you if you’d like to promote on their blog is that sometimes you get to read your introduction beforehand! That was an effusive and extremely flattering review of my book! I can only hope that other readers will feel the same way. Yes, there are very adult bits...bits that I would be mortified if any member of my family read! However, they were very fun to write!
And I have to agree with Linda that one of the best things about blogging is the people you meet. Linda, as regular readers of her blog can probably tell, is a very warm person and I know this even though we’ve only spoken in written words. She has been a huge support in more than just putting me on her blog. I’m very grateful that we connected all those months ago and am very happy to be on her blog for the second time!
So, the questions at hand…how did I come up with idea for The Fifth Story and weave the stories together? Those are good questions. I have partial answers and I don’t know answers too; answers that I'm not at will to answer the questions, but I'll try.
The Fifth Story exists because of NanoWriMo 2010. (The National November Writing Month) At the encouragement of a couple of friends of mine I signed up for the contest and unfortunately, went blank; not a good feeling. However, on Halloween Night, a novel idea finally hit me. I had a few stories, half stories and random ideas, kicking around; stories that I liked but hadn’t really found the time or the inspiration to complete. How could I use these fragmented ideas? I decided that my character Bryn had written them all and that the fact that they were complete in her world was enough. When she entered, she would know what was going on and be able to reveal to the reader just enough to keep them from being lost...hopefully.
I immediately became excited. I had an idea! Something to work with, but I felt that Bryn needed to have 4 stories to travel around in and not just 3. That's when something very strange happened. As I drifted off to sleep, the ghosts of Halloween circling around my room, a stray image flowed into my semi-conscious brain. I’m not sure if I was dreaming or whether my imagination just picked up the thread of a thought and ran with it, but within seconds a fully formed story about a fisherman and his wife dropped into my mind. It was an incredible feeling. I knew this story would be perfect for Bryn to go into. I felt certain that all of the four stories would work together even though they were very different. When I woke up in the morning, I was ready to start the challenge of NanoWriMo 2010.
That is essentially how I came up with the idea for The Fifth Story, but how I wove them together, well...that's where the "I don't know part" comes in. I consciously connected parts of the stories and brought in things from one story into another, but theme that is carried out throughout the book was not intentional. The ending, and what makes The Fifth Story, also did not become fully realized until I reached the final chapters. Even though it was a writing challenge and I didn't have any intention of getting it published, I'm a perfectionist and I still wanted it to make sense and before I wrote the last few chapters I reread all that I had written. Anyway, as I read through the novel I realized that without meaning to I had written a novel with a fairly significant theme. I was very happy to discover it was there because it meant that there was really only one way to end the novel.
For those of you who would like to read on, here's my blurb and an excerpt. Thanks again very much to Linda for having me on her blog today!
I have to say that one of the great things about being friends with someone who has asked you if you’d like to promote on their blog is that sometimes you get to read your introduction beforehand! That was an effusive and extremely flattering review of my book! I can only hope that other readers will feel the same way. Yes, there are very adult bits...bits that I would be mortified if any member of my family read! However, they were very fun to write!
And I have to agree with Linda that one of the best things about blogging is the people you meet. Linda, as regular readers of her blog can probably tell, is a very warm person and I know this even though we’ve only spoken in written words. She has been a huge support in more than just putting me on her blog. I’m very grateful that we connected all those months ago and am very happy to be on her blog for the second time!
So, the questions at hand…how did I come up with idea for The Fifth Story and weave the stories together? Those are good questions. I have partial answers and I don’t know answers too; answers that I'm not at will to answer the questions, but I'll try.
The Fifth Story exists because of NanoWriMo 2010. (The National November Writing Month) At the encouragement of a couple of friends of mine I signed up for the contest and unfortunately, went blank; not a good feeling. However, on Halloween Night, a novel idea finally hit me. I had a few stories, half stories and random ideas, kicking around; stories that I liked but hadn’t really found the time or the inspiration to complete. How could I use these fragmented ideas? I decided that my character Bryn had written them all and that the fact that they were complete in her world was enough. When she entered, she would know what was going on and be able to reveal to the reader just enough to keep them from being lost...hopefully.
I immediately became excited. I had an idea! Something to work with, but I felt that Bryn needed to have 4 stories to travel around in and not just 3. That's when something very strange happened. As I drifted off to sleep, the ghosts of Halloween circling around my room, a stray image flowed into my semi-conscious brain. I’m not sure if I was dreaming or whether my imagination just picked up the thread of a thought and ran with it, but within seconds a fully formed story about a fisherman and his wife dropped into my mind. It was an incredible feeling. I knew this story would be perfect for Bryn to go into. I felt certain that all of the four stories would work together even though they were very different. When I woke up in the morning, I was ready to start the challenge of NanoWriMo 2010.
That is essentially how I came up with the idea for The Fifth Story, but how I wove them together, well...that's where the "I don't know part" comes in. I consciously connected parts of the stories and brought in things from one story into another, but theme that is carried out throughout the book was not intentional. The ending, and what makes The Fifth Story, also did not become fully realized until I reached the final chapters. Even though it was a writing challenge and I didn't have any intention of getting it published, I'm a perfectionist and I still wanted it to make sense and before I wrote the last few chapters I reread all that I had written. Anyway, as I read through the novel I realized that without meaning to I had written a novel with a fairly significant theme. I was very happy to discover it was there because it meant that there was really only one way to end the novel.
For those of you who would like to read on, here's my blurb and an excerpt. Thanks again very much to Linda for having me on her blog today!
BLURB:
Every day we encounter doors. Some of these doors are open to us and some of them are closed, but when we pass through any door, a different truth or mystery lies beyond the threshold.
The night Bryn is pulled into a world of her own stories by a shadowy being, her reality is changed forever. Souls and danger, hauntingly beautiful witches, sexy and dangerous vampires, a soldier with a dying wish; she knows that each door leads to a story and to outcomes she can't control, but in order to return home, Bryn must complete a set of tasks for the enigmatic and strangely sensual Darkness.
With four stories to enter, four items to retrieve, Bryn takes part in plot points so out of character that she almost loses herself in the tales she's written. More than once she questions her sanity and curses herself for creating such perilous realities, but she always remains focused on her goal; the creation of the fifth story.
EXCERPT:
She walked quickly around the counter and headed to where the sign indicated where the washrooms were, but she couldn't find the women's room. Then she almost slapped herself with ridiculousness. Who cared if she went into the men's room? She marched over to the door and pushed on it. Immediately she fell back. The door was stuck. She pushed on it harder, but could only open it about a foot. Something, or someone, was lying in front of the door. Bryn squeezed her head through the narrow space and looked down at the floor. Coran was lying passed out on the cold tile.
Bryn thought maybe something strange had happened in her story, and Coran was already dead. How lucky would that be? However, she realized that the story hadn't changed that drastically when Coran groaned, revealing that he was very much alive. He rolled over, away from the door.
With his weight suddenly off the door, and Bryn's weight still being pushed against it, the door went flying open. Bryn stumbled and fell into the washroom. None too gracefully, she hit the floor with a satisfying smack, and knocked her head against the tile floor with a hard clunk.
"Ow," she said, as she rolled on her back and pressed her hands against a rapidly rising goose egg on the right side of her head. "Ah" she yelped as the door closed on her foot.
"Are you okay?" asked a voice with a gentle Scottish brogue.
Bryn turned her head and opened her eyes. Coran, who looked like he'd been through a rough time, was leaning over her. His blond hair was a mess and it fell into his gray eyes. He had soot on his face and he smelled, not unpleasantly, of smoke. He gave her a little smile. "My dear, are you all right?" he asked her again.
She smiled in return. She was touched by his concern. The ash on his face and the apparent absence of anyone else in the castle told her she had come into the story not long after the first time she'd entered with Darkness. Coran had every right to ignore her and he really had no time to get involved with a stranger and yet, he didn't seem to be in any rush at all. Instead, he helped Bryn sit up.
As soon as his hands touched her skin, Bryn gasped and felt her heart beat quicken. Coran looked embarrassed and quickly, on unsteady legs, he stood up and got a paper towel. He wet it with warm water and kneeled down a couple feet away from Bryn. He handed her the paper towel. "Your face, it's quite dirty."
"Oh, thanks." Bryn said, trying to avoid looking at him too much. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Why had she written Coran to have this effect on women? "It looks like I'm not the only one that's recently been in a bit of a scrap," he said with a chuckle. Bryn couldn't help beaming at him with amazement. He was just as kind as she'd written him to be. However, if she was correct, this man should be putting all chivalry aside and be searching the castle for Melusine. He should be calling upon the ancient gods to help him in battle with the sea witch, but instead, here he was, watching Bryn wash her face and being concerned about her well-being.
"Is your head very sore? Can you stand?" he asked as he gently touched the bump on her head, but quickly pulled his hand back when Bryn sucked in her breath at the feel of his hand on her hair
"Yes, I mean—no, it's fine, and yes, I can stand," she stammered as she pushed herself off the floor. She again tried to avoid eye contact with him, but it wasn't helping. Coran was having a profound effect on her senses—something which she should have remembered could happen, but had completely forgotten about. In her story, Coran had a powerful effect on women and it was something he could do nothing about. Whether it was his aura or his pheromones, no one could tell, but women, upon meeting Coran, not only couldn't control themselves around him but didn't want to. Their thoughts would travel immediately down a sexual path as soon as they stood close to him and they would offer themselves to his every whim. Even the most reserved women would find their bodies pulsing immediately with desire for the tall blond stranger. Only those who knew how to, could control their passions for Coran. Katie, his assistant, was usually one of them, but sometimes, her guard would slip and she would be overcome with sexual longing for her handsome boss.
Bryn was finding her own guard was slipping rapidly and started thinking about very naughty things and wishing that she had time to explore her hidden bad girl side. Was this happening because she'd written him this way or was it because he looked so much like Tyler?
The Fifth Story is available at Breathless Press and aRe
Oooh great intriguing video!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet Ivy!
Thanks very much Jennifer! Nice to meet you too.
ReplyDeleteWow Ivy, you book really shows that some of the best writing can happen when we don't feel the pressure to publish a story. The Fifth Story shows an amazing amount of creativity and originality.
ReplyDeleteFantastic read.