Tuesday, January 15, 2008

A roar for powerful words


I've been tagged by Mary "Lynn" Lewis of the Virtual Wordsmith and been presented with the Roar for Powerful Words award. Now it's your turn. The rules follow:

* Link back to the person who tagged you.

* List three things that you believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful.

* Tag five others and comment on their blog informing them that they've been tagged with this award:

1) Do things on purpose: Though the subconscious mind plays a large role in the writing process, it's still imperative to know your themes in advance, and to then use literary devices such as symbolism, metaphor, allegory, dramatic irony, and foreshadowing to back these themes up.

2) Write what pleases you, not what you think will please the reader: Psychologists say this all the time: It's impossible to love anyone, if you don't first love yourself. The same goes for writing. If you try to write for the reader, most often you'll fail. But if you write for yourself -- with passion, honesty, and courage -- the reader will be more likely to enjoy your work.

3) Pull no punches: We all have limits as to what we can tolerate, in terms of joy, sorrow, pleasure and pain. As a writer, you need to push yourselves to your limits -- and beyond.

The five people I choose to carry this on are:

Chris at Alpha Adventures.

Terrie at Kappa no He.

Judy at Welcome to My World of Dreams.

Michael at Avatar Lore.

Jaime at Fiction Scribe.

Note: the image of the lion above can be found here, saved as a jpeg, and uploaded.
Posted by Jim Melvin at 10:34 AM

2 comments:

Judy Thomas said...

Thanks, Jim. My post is up at http://jhthomas.blogspot.com/2008/01/roar-for-powerful-words.html. Congratulations on your books being sold out...are they in line for reprints and when will they be ready?

January 15, 2008 6:19 PM
Jim Melvin said...

Books 1 and 2 were reprinted just recently, with some major improvements to the appearance of the interior. I'm hoping they will again be available on Amazon by the end of next week. And I'll check out your blog now!

January 15, 2008 8:09 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Critical praise

"Adult Harry Potter and Eragon fans can get their next fix with Jim Melvin's six-book epic The Death Wizard Chronicles. In The Pit, Melvin's imagination and writing equal that of J.K. Rowling, author of the fantastically popular Harry Potter series, and Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and Eldest. Some of his descriptions -- and creatures -- even surpass theirs."
-- Karen Haymon Long, book editor of The Tampa Tribune


"Action-packed and yet profound, The DW Chronicles will take your breath away. This is epic fantasy at its best."

-- Chris Stevenson, author of Word Wars


"Jim Melvin's Death Wizard Chronicles crackle with non-stop action and serious literary ambition. He has succeeded in creating an entire universe of interlocking characters -- and creatures -- that will undoubtedly captivate fans of the fantasy genre."
-- Bob Andelman, author of Will Eisner: A Spirited Life


"The Torgon is an unforgettable fantasy hero -- steeped in magic, physically powerful and drop-dead sexy, but also a mental wizard who has mastered the meditative arts."

-- Jeanne Malmgren, co-author of Journey to Mindfulness


"Jim Melvin is a fresh voice in fantasy writing with a bold, inventive vision and seasoned literary style that vaults him immediately into the top tier of his genre. Book One of The Death Wizard Chronicles is scary, action-packed and imaginative -- a mythic world vividly entwining heroes, villains and sex that leaves the reader with the impression that this breakthrough author has truly arrived."

-- Dave Scheiber, co-author of Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob








Synopsis

The Death Wizard Chronicles is a sexy, action-packed six-book epic fantasy series. Book One (The Pit) was released in September 2007; Book Two (Moon Goddess) in October; and Book Three (Eve of War) in November; Book Four (World on Fire) will be released in January 2008; Book Five (Sun God) in February 2008; Book Six (Death-Know) in March 2008.

The DW Chronicles is not for children and teenagers -- or the faint of heart. But if you like graphic fantasy that is bursting with excitement yet still has a lot going on between the lines, I think you'll love my series.

In a groundbreaking paradox, the Death Wizard, a champion of good, derives his power from a source traditionally seen as negative -- death. His nemesis, an evil sorcerer, derives his power from the sun, the benevolent source of all life. Their struggle to control the fate of the planet Triken will take your breath away.

In an original twist never before seen in this genre, the Death Wizard is able to enter the realm of death during a "temporary suicide." Through intense concentration, he stops his heartbeat and feeds on death energy, which provides him with an array of magical powers.

The series also is a love triangle involving two desperate characters attempting to come together despite the machinations of an all-powerful psychopath with incestuous cravings.

Graphic and action-packed, spanning a millennium of turmoil, The DW Chronicles carries readers on a journey they will never forget.

Do you fear death? The Death Wizard does not. Find out why.

-- An excerpt from the middle of Book One can be found below. For the prologue and beginning of Chapter One, please go to dwchroniclesextendedexcerpt.blogspot.com/

About Me

My Photo
Jim Melvin
Clemson, SC, United States
I was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. I graduated from the University of South Florida (Tampa) in 1979 with a B.A. in Journalism. I now live in South Carolina near the Blue Ridge Mountains, a pleasant setting for writing, to say the least. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and retired three years ago to become a full-time novelist. I am married with five daughters.
View my complete profile

The author

The author
Jim Melvin, 51, a veteran journalist, debuts as novelist.

Excerpt from The Pit

This time there were no dreams. When he opened his eyes the ruins of Dukkhatu were sprawled before him. The spider lay on her back, pierced in many places by prickly black rocks. Her hideous legs quivered, and a wet, whistling sound came from her mouth. Torg tore a chunk of obsidian from the ground, climbed onto the spider's exposed belly, and stabbed the stone into her hide, perforating her long, tubular heart. Dukkhatu let out a final, ear-shattering scream -- and went still. But the wizard didn't stop. He drove the stone into her again and again, punching huge holes in her carcass.

Her body shredded and tore apart.

Her entrails splashed in his face. But he didn't care.

Hate and despair drove his madness. When he no longer had the strength to lift his arm, Torg collapsed face-first in Dukkhatu's gore.

The wizard didn't remember standing. But at some point, he did. Then he wandered -- naked and shivering -- through and around the crumbled stone ... staggering, falling, crawling.

Tears rinsed a little of the filth from his face, but his broken body reeked of the spider's stink.

Heaps of razor-sharp obsidian were scattered among the jumble of smoother stones, as if planted there with tiny black seeds. It took all of Torg's remaining will not to grasp another shard and drive it into his own heart, ending the pain.

His life had become nothing but pain. Why breathe any longer? His endurance was gone, his hopes destroyed. Who could blame him for giving up? Not even Tathagata could ask any more of him.

What did it matter ... anyway? All things were impermanent -- he, certainly, as much as anything else. The time of his ending had come. A future lifetime beckoned.

Perhaps he would live it in a better place than this.