My Favorite Books from 2017

I know it's been a while since I lasted posted anything on my blog. It's been a busy few months but that didn't stop me from reading (even if it did prevent me from writing.)

Here are my favorite books from this year (in no particular order):

The End of Oz by Danielle Paige

I am obsessed with the Wizard of Oz and Danielle Paige's take on the classic is my favorite one! The End of Oz is the perfect ending to the Dorothy Must Die series. It ended perfectly and in a way that was immensely satisfying. But... I love the characters so much that I want more and Danielle Paige may or may not have left Amy's story open.

Final Girls by Riley Sager

Final Girls by Riley Sager is a smart and fun love letter to slasher movies.  This story could have easily turned into a huge cliche but instead Sager played into the common slasher tropes and flipped them into great twists. I definitely agree with Stephen King, it was the first great slasher of 2017, in fact is the greatest slasher of 2017.

Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather

Haunting the Deep is a continuation of Samantha Mather's story from How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather. Instead of the Salem Witch Trials, this time we are taken into the world of the Titanic. Mather does an amazing job of building a totally immersive world and creating realistic and fun characters. I really hope that she continues this series, I miss Samantha Mather's world too much.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us is Lying is a great mash up of The Breakfast Club, Pretty Little Liars, and How to Get Away with Murder. McManus does a wonderful job of capturing the craziness of high school and the trouble that social media can and does cause. After reading it, I was extremely glad that I went to high school when the only social media was Xanga.

Those were my favorite books from this year. If you haven't read them, please do.

Also, have a very happy new year! I hope the New Years brings you lots of happiness, creativity, and books!

Book Review: Final Girls

Final Girls by Riley Sager is a smart take on the "final girl" trope that runs rampant in the horror/thriller genre and flips it on its head. Instead of witnessing the making of a final girl, we meet Quincey after she has "moved on" from the whole ordeal. She has become a baking blogger who refuses to do interviews, loathes the click-bait title of "final girl," and has a penchant for popping Xanax with grape soda. Everything was going fine until she discovers that another "final girl" has killed herself... 

To find out what happens you're going to have to read the book yourself, and I definitely recommend it. Riley Sager took a trope which can so easily turn into a cliche and either steered away from it or embraced it with smart commentary. The flashbacks were relevant and full with as much action as the present day scenes. The dialog is smart, consistent, and each character has their own distinct voice. Overall, Final Girls, is a well-written thriller that will become an endearing classic. If you love campy horror movies and smart thrillers, Final Girls is the book for you!

The Importance of Word Choice

Have you every read a short story or a book that felt off? The story itself was good but something just didn’t feel right. There is a good chance that it was poor word choice that was throwing you off.

The way I see it, one of the most important things a writer can focus on is word choice. Especially when it comes to dialog. Dialog can make or break a story. As a writer I need to know when to have a character say “hello” versus having a character say “hey.” I need to know the connotation behind words, particularly if I am writing a period piece or a story taking place in a certain country (if the story takes place in the US but a character had just moved there from London, it would be a smart choice to have the character use British slang versus having them use American slang.) 

Along with good word choice, I find that my favorite writers aren’t afraid to use “colorful” language. They use cuss words and content appropriate slang. It’s kind of sad that I feel the need to mention this, but Americans are extremely weird when it comes to language. The word “fuck” will have some of them up in arms and they will act like you’re obscene idiot for using the word, but they have no problem watching something extremely violent as long the language isn’t too filthy (PG-13 movies.) 

Why is using colorful language important to me? Because it makes your characters easier to relate to. Think about Fifty Shades of Grey, it’s hard for to me to take it seriously because of the language that the characters use, whether in dialog or their head. The main protagonist is 22 and calls her vagina “my sex.” She says “holy crap” and “double crap” way more than most adult women do. The only Latino in the books says “dios mios” almost every time he appears. (Basically, you should read Fifty Shades of Grey as “what not to do” example.) It’s all good to have a character who has a tagline, but to have them repeat the same words over and over feels cheap and lazy.

So, when you’re writing your next story or editing your current story, please look at your choice of words. Did you make sure the language made sense? Did you make productive choices? If a sentence doesn’t sound right, try changing a word or two and see if that helps.

I hope this helps you in your writing. Please let me know if you have any word choice tips or advice!

Next week’s blog will discuss getting a job that allows you to use your degree. I would like to give a shout out to my great friend, Lori, for the idea!