Category Archives: Frank Morin

A Stone’s Throw – Launching a Sequel

A Stone's Throw coverToday I’m celebrating the launch of A Stone’s Throw, the sequel to my popular YA fantasy novel, Set in Stone!

In this highly anticipated sequel, Connor travels to the Carraig, the school of the Petralists, hoping to learn more about his curse and gain patronage on his own terms before his curse rages out of control.

Things don’t go according to plan.

At the Carraig, it’s all about the game, and the stakes have never been higher.  Connor plunges into a maze of deadly intrigue as old enemies appear from under every rock, and new challenges threaten to destroy everything he’s trying to accomplish.

With the help of loyal friends, he launches his own game, breaking all the rules, and gambling everything on a daring attempt to control his own fate and save the lives of the ones he loves.

It’s a fun read, full of big adventure, big magic, and lots more humor.  It builds upon the thrilling foundation created with Set in Stone.  The book’s available in ebook, hardcover, and paperback formats.  Help me celebrate the launch by picking up your own copy.

I’m also offering a special deal to anyone who signs up for my newsletter.  They’ll receive a free Kindle copy of Saving Face, the prequel to my fast-paced alternate history fantasy series, the Facetakers.  They’ll also receive a $5 off coupon for the Kindle version of Set in Stone.  So if you haven’t started the series yet, that’s the cheapest way to check it out.

Merry Christmas!  And happy reading.

About the Author: Frank Morin

Author Frank MorinFrank Morin loves good stories in every form.  When not writing or trying to keep up with his active family, he’s often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities.  For updates on upcoming releases of his popular Petralist YA fantasy novels, or his fast-paced Facetakers alternate history fantasy series, check his website:  www.frankmorin.org

Celebrate a Year of Progress

Sunset at Aswan2015 is drawing to a close, so it’s the perfect time to reflect on another year.  As usual, most of us hit highs and lows, celebrated victories and limped through defeats.  We climbed mountains of opposition and fought to stay focused and optimistic.

And here we are.

This month, we’re going to share insights we’ve gained this year as we toiled through life and worked on our craft.  No matter the challenges, let’s celebrate the forward progress made and cheer for the milestones reached.  Sometimes, stuck in the daily grind, it’s easy to miss how much good we’ve accomplished.

This month, we’re going to step back and recognize it.

Some of the Fictorians released new books, included short stories in anthologies, made their first sales, or gained new insights into the craft or business of writing.  So prepare to enjoy the fruits of our labors and tip your hat at the stories we’ll tell.  You may find the insights you need to take that next step yourself.

About the Author: Frank Morin

Author Frank MorinFrank Morin loves good stories in every form.  When not writing or trying to keep up with his active family, he’s often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities.  For updates on upcoming releases of his popular Petralist YA fantasy novels, or his fast-paced Facetakers alternate history fantasy series, check his website:  www.frankmorin.org

How to Distract Grandma from Pestering you for More Grandkids

GenealogyGrandparents love grandkids, and they’re usually not shy about begging for more.  The good thing is, they love talking about themselves and telling their stories even more.  We can leverage that fact for a wonderful family event, while gaining a break from the constant pestering.

How do we do all this?

We tell stories.  Their stories.

I’m a novelist, and I love great stories.  But the more I learn about life, the more I study history, the more I realize that reality is crazier and wilder and intense than any story I could invent.  Sure, history may be missing magic and dragons, but lots of real-life experiences could never be included in stories.  Readers simply wouldn’t believe it.

We believe it when Grandma and Grandpa tell it, though.

So get them to sit down and tell you, “In my day . . . ”

Once the floodgates open, you might be amazed by what you’ll hear.

Writing those stories is a ton of fun, because we have a connection with them.  Most of us are interested in our genealogy, in our family roots, and in the stories of our ancestors.  The great thing about interviewing grandparents (or uncles or aunts or great-grandparents) is we can get the stories right from the source.

Even more importantly, the holidays are almost here.  Doing an interview with grandparents not only distracts them from pestering for more grandkids, it also sets up one of the best Christmas presents you could give them.  So first, ask them about their personal history, and anecdotes they remember of their parents and grandparents.  This is best done using a voice recorder, since most of us don’t type fast enough to capture everything, including their tone and voice.

They’ll love it.  Even more if you have one of your kids interview them, after preparing a list of questions to help your child keep the grandparents talking.  I’ve seen grandparents spend hours on the phone telling stories to my kids, and everyone’s having a great time.  It helps them connect with the new generation, and makes their history real.

When finished, transcribe the stories.  You’ll have the story of their history and some of the major events of their lives, and can present it to them, perhaps bound in a beautiful book.  If you can scrounge up some old family photos, like he one I included above of my grandfather, it really helps bring the history alive.  It’s a present they’ll love, and one they can pass down through the years to other family members.

In my family, we’ve done a couple of interviews already.  Next step is to complete transcription and produce the final books.  I’m hoping we can do it as part of a holiday project in the family.

What about you?

About the Author: Frank Morin

Author Frank MorinFrank Morin loves good stories in every form.  When not writing or trying to keep up with his active family, he’s often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities.  For updates on upcoming releases of his popular Petralist YA fantasy novels, or his fast-paced Facetakers alternate history fantasy series, check his website:  www.frankmorin.org

Where Did You Come Up With That?

 

Spooky dark forestPeople always tell young authors, “Write what you know.”

How does that work if I’m writing about a serial killer?  Or writing about domestic violence?  Or writing about sexual perversions?  Or writing any excellent, creepy, messed-up-in-the-head villain?  Does writing those types of genres or characters mean that I, as the author, must also be evil, creepy, or otherwise messed up in the head?

Many people seem to think so when they ask, “Where do you come up with this stuff?”  Sometimes they say it in a tone of awe, but more often they whisper it in a fear-laced voice while nervously shuffling farther away.

Horror stories are popular, and the best bad guys are the complex, creepy ones that make you shudder to read about or view on the big screen.  Does that mean Mary Shelley was really a mad scientist so that she could invent Frankenstein?  Or that Thomas Harris, the writer of The Silence of the Lambs, was a psycho killer?

Of course not.

That’s like asking, was Steven Spielberg really an alien, or George Lucas a Jedi Knight?  As much as we want to believe they might be, of course they’re not.

So how can you write what you know and at the same time write something there’s no way you could know?

That’s where the artwork and the imagination come in, where the mastery of craft and vision meld with experience.

To write great horror, an author needs to understand what scares people.  We’ve all felt fear.  A good author knows how to trigger that fear, make the reader feel like they’re in the dark woods with the hero, smelling the scent of decaying leaves crackling underfoot, hear the soft moaning of the wind clacking dead branches together overhead, sense movement in the shadows nearby, and feel absolutely sure that something is out there . . . watching.

If they can do that, they can write good horror.  Or fantasy.  Or whatever other genre they decide to pursue.  Because writing draws from the human condition, and that is something writers need to know.  Coupling that understanding with a powerful imagination and a willingness to step into the shadows of the mind to give life to a truly creepy villain is what produces memorable moments in fiction.

Is it a challenge as a writer to consider evil and not be tainted by it?  Perhaps.  But it’s not really different from the challenge faced by actors who portray villains or other deviant behavior.  They have to act out the evil deeds.  Writers need to talk about it, delve into the mind, try to imagine what might motivate a ‘bad’ person to do what they do.  In both cases, the actor or author who is well grounded in their own life need not worry about getting sucked into the darkness they’re exploring for their fans.

Those cases where they do slide into darkness are usually caused because they lack that grounding, that strong sense of self.  It’s seen most often among popular child actors who haven’t had a chance to discover who they are before being forced to pretend to be someone else.  That’s got to be tough, and I think that’s why a lot of child actors have so much trouble as they get older.

Most authors begin really writing as adults, and we usually need other careers to support us for the difficult first years as we perfect our craft and develop the skills to break out as a writer.  That time and experience helps ground us.

Mysterious door

So study the human condition, explore the boundaries of your imagination, and know your own heart so you can always find your way back home.

Then when someone asks you, “How can you write such evil people so well?”

You can give them a slow smile and shrug.  “I write what I know.”

About the Author: Frank Morin

Author Frank MorinFrank Morin loves good stories in every form.  When not writing or trying to keep up with his active family, he’s often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or enjoying other outdoor activities.  For updates on upcoming releases of his popular Petralist YA fantasy novels, or his fast-paced Facetakers alternate history fantasy series, check his website:  www.frankmorin.org