Teen inventor Astrid Maxxim is back in her third adventure as she makes a journey to the bottom of the planet to uncover the secrets of a mysterious lost expedition. Meanwhile, troubles plague her friends and family as a hostile takeover threatens Maxxim Industries. Join Astrid and her friends as she faces the frozen dangers of the Antarctic, wild animals, mad bombers, and corporate high finance.
Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike is just 99 cents for the Amazon Kindle. Purchase your copy today by following this link.
Enjoy the whole series of Astrid Maxxim books for yourself, or gift them to your favorite 8-14 year old genius.
From the 180,000 acre campus of Maxxim Industries, fourteen year old girl genius and inventor Astrid Maxxim works alongside her father, Dr. Roger Maxxim, on projects to make the world a better place. Her latest invention is a flying scooter—the hoverbike. Is it the target of an international spy ring, or are they after secret Project RG-7, or Astrid herself? Astrid has something bigger on her mind though—high school. There’s a field trip coming, and the Spring Fling is right around the corner… And does Toby like her as much as she likes him?
Buy Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike for just 99 cents. Follow this link.
Girl inventor Astrid Maxxim and her friends are back. This time Astrid is building an observation dome beneath the sea. Will she complete her amazing construction project, or will she be sidetracked by underwater monsters, the evil organization known as the Black Hand, or her snotty cousin Gloria?
Astrid Maxxim and her Undersea Dome is available for the Kindle for just 99 cents. Find it by searching the menu on your device or follow this link.
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Hi,
Today I want to talk about definitions, and about that most dreaded and feared of dinosaurs: the thesaurus. I have seen some prodigious vocabularies of late. People are trying out a lot of new words. Now generally I have no problem with using varied and large words, but there is something that everyone who writes needs to know.
You see, there are actually at least two meanings for every word. The denotative meaning is the definition you find in your dictionary. But words also have a connotative meaning. Hulking and enormous both mean big. But usually when somebody says ‘hulking’ they mean big in a bad way. Enormous can go either way. If you want big in a good way… well how about generous, or um… big. Ooh, how about tremendous. Let me give you another example. Green generally means fresh. Having green (fresh) lettuce is a great thing. Having a green (fresh) pilot isn’t. In this case, he’s inexperienced.
The point is, you can’t just pull a word out of the thesaurus and expect it to work in every sentence. Your hero may have a grin, a smirk, or a leer. All are smiles, but they aren’t all the same. There’s a fine line between sexy intense and intense creepy, after all.
If you’re going to start using a word in your writing, try it out a few times in your spoken language. See if you get punched in the face. Once you feel comfortable, then you can use it in your writing. Then your writing will be jake, sterling, superb, or at least satisfactory, acceptable, not bad.
It is the year 2037, when men are men and robots are cute. Patience, the robot wife, has a new friend– Wanda. Wanda, another Daffodil, has been having difficulty bonding with her human, the recently divorced Ryan. She hopes that with Patience’s mentoring, she’ll be able to help Ryan accept her into his troubled life. But even Patience isn’t prepared for what happens when they take a joint vacation cruise to Antarctica. His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue is a science fiction story in a world where technology is more than just a pretty face.
His Robot Wife: Patience is a Virtue is the sequel to His Robot Girlfriend and His Robot Wife and is just $2.99 in the Kindle Store at Amazon.
Hello all. I just finished reading a novella with some serious problems regarding point of view. Now, point of view can mean a number of things that are connected. Voice and tense are both related and can get mixed up with point of view. For our purposes today, let’s stick strictly to narrative point of view. Here are the choices.
First Person: This is told from inside a character’s brains and looking out of their eyes. Some people really hate first person, but I don’t. It can give you a real connection to the main character (narrator). You need to be careful when writing first person to maintain the personality of the character, and of course, you have to stay within the confines of what that character knows.
My big gripe with first person is that so many writers can’t seem to stay in it. They drop in and out of it, either because they are switching to another character, or because they forget. So you have something like this:
I walked into the room and looked at Sharon. Bob could tell that Sharon was unhappy.
WTF? Is there suddenly another person in the room? Who is this Bob guy? Is that the narrator or a different Bob. My advice: if you plan to switch characters at some point, use third person.
Second Person: Don’t use this unless you’re writing a song. Lots of great songs written in second person– You’re So Vain comes to mind.
Third Person: Third person is a narrated story told by someone who isn’t one of the main characters. They’re God, or the author, or somebody. They might be able to see into the brains of all the characters (third person omniscient) or only into the minds of one, or even none (third person limited). I like writing third person, but don’t use third person omniscient. That’s a personal thing. I like to reveal things slowly to the reader and I think this is easier with a limited viewpoint. Sometimes, like in the Senta and the Steel Dragon books, I rotate the character I’m most intimate with from chapter to chapter.
So there you go. Three points of view to use: First Person, Third Person Limited, Third Person Omniscient. And one point of view never to use, unless you’re Carly Simon. So pick one, but please, please, please use it until the end of your book.
It’s been three years since the Kingdom of Greater Brechalon, with the help of Zurfina the Magnificent, defeated their hereditary enemies, the Freedonians. The world has changed. Port Dechantagne, once a distant outpost of civilization, has grown to be a large city, the center of prosperous Birmisia Colony. Steam-powered carriages share the streets with triceratops-pulled trolleys, fine ladies in their most fashionable bustle dresses lead their lizardmen servants through the shopping districts, and an endless stream of immigrants pours into the region.
The young ladies of the colony are busy with fashion, coming out parties, and securing partners among the smaller male population. Eleven-year-old Iolana Staff, daughter of the colonial governor, has more important things on her mind—the mysterious machine known as the Result Mechanism, and her relationship to the machine’s creator.
Meanwhile, sorceress Senta Bly returns from the continent with a new male companion, an illegitimate daughter, and a long lost brother. Hated and feared for her magic, she must face wizards, assassins, and an old enemy from another reality.
The Sorceress and her Lovers continues the story of Senta and the Steel Dragon, taking up where The Two Dragons left off. It is a story of magic and power, fear and revenge, and love.
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