Book Talk

As part of my ongoing pledge to read more fantasy, I read: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I found the tale pulled me in like the others and rushed full-throttle to the end. This one is a contest of sorts and I loved the puzzle aspect of it all. Harry must endure three challenges if he wishes to win the goblet of fire which makes the winner the Triwizard champion. Three schools enter the challenge with a surprise twist for one of the schools. Meanwhile, Hermoine is trying to win a revolution for those who might not want her to. I enjoyed getting to know the characters of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermoine better as well as others. What a fun and yet heartbreaking dash!! I won't go into the details in case there are those out there who haven't read the book yet. I know that seems impossible in this day and age, but on the off chance, I don't want to spoil it. If you have read the series, who is your favorite character and why? Personally, I find it very hard to choose.

I'm also reading a lot of craft books:
Writing Horror, a handbook by the HWA

The book has different advice from Harlan Ellison, Joyce Carol Oates, David Morrell, and Robert Weinberg among others and is edited by Mort Castle. It discusses the greatest weakness in horror: character. It tells how to craft horror, the various lengths of the genre, and much more. I found it very helpful.

Writing Horror by Edo Van Belkom was another book I read. It discussed how horror is the genre of the senses. It went over the different subgenres.

I also read three short books on Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and R.L. Stine. Their lives are fascinating and each showed a bit into the world of the author. I was inspired by Stephen King's and J.K. Rowling's early beginnings and how they pulled themselves up into what they have today.

I started this wanting to go into the horror field but now I see that I might not be that suited for it. I've started to look into the fantasy field instead. It has more open doors, more hope, more roads to cover. Part of how I feel may well be due to a death in my family recently. I just don't want to dwell in the darkness right now. Somewhere down the line, that might change, but for now, I'm searching for what's best for me.