C. Alex Smith's Blog

Better than the First Book!                                                                                       The earth under England has dissolved and England is a free floating “raft” of an island. England’s elite blow up the mooring to the mainland and British citizens become isolated from the rest of the world’s climate catastrophe. Too busy with their own issues of famine, disease, and dividing precious resources and power, those closest to the shore are easily deceived by those advantaged enough to live near the center.  But every lie has a price. Dr. Savanah Selbourne’s price for signing off on the lies the Centre tells the Periphery is to keep here son, Ethan, born to her partner, Grace. But six years of misleading the people of the Periphery has its...

  I know I'm going to get slammed for this review, but I got to be honest. This one really didn't capture my imagination. I liked the idea of an America littered with our outdated religious beliefs, but I found this book bloodthirsty and rambling. Sorry, Neil.  In the end, it felt a little pointless. Maybe that's what Gaiman's saying about religion in the first place. 3 out of 5 stars 

Writing Deep Point Of View: Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors by Rayne Hall My rating: 5 of 5 stars Improve Your Reader's Experience Immediately Deep POV puts your reader inside your story in the main character’s head—just where they want to be. The technique involves understanding how to fool the subconscious with language to create that engrossing reading experience. As with all of Raven Hall’s writing books, the advice is simple, clear, and actionable. You can incorporate these techniques in your writing immediately and improve how your story is perceived. View all my reviews Euphonics For Writers: Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors by Rayne Hall My rating: 5 of 5 stars We are used to thinking about the subtle shades of meaning different words for the same thing possess. Could part of the difference between homonyms be the sounds that make up these words? The science of euphonics proposes that the sounds used to pronounce words create different emot...

Introducing The Deep Editing Series Do you have a completed or nearly completed first draft manuscript? Congratulations! You're Amazing Two hundred million Americans (81%) say they want to write a novel or screenplay. But only 10% actually do. After I finished my first manuscript, I tried to edit it on my own. I moved or changes some of the words, but it didn't feel like the story was getting any better. So I started going to webinars and reading books until ten years later when I finally developed a method for revisions. In 2019 I gave a year long series of workshops on revision. Since then, many people asked me to repeat the series. But we were in the middle of a pandemic that presented us with something we’d never seen before—Long Covid. For 2023, I decided to commit the live presentations to video, so I can share them with you safely. I am offering two ways to enjoy these presentations.  On Your Own  each workshop comes with on a private website several videos you can view...

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Major Lessons Learned  House of the Author's Analysis  HotD Episode 6 Theory about Larys with Spoilers : https://youtu.be/T4WdhncBNrA To participate: Watch an episode and enjoy it. Then watch it again and take notes. Here are some handy forms to help you keep track of your findings. Episode Questionnaire         S1E6 Script If you notice something I missed, please leave me a comment below. I will keep track of all our findings and publish them on this  Playlist .

Prof. Savannah Selbourne is a tough character to love. She’s frequently sarcastic. She kisses ass, and climbs the ladder at work. She thinks of her interns as numbers, and hides from them instead of teaching them. She has no idea why they have such a difficult time approaching her. But she is also loyal. Loyal to an eccentric cast of friends. Loyal to her wife, who is sinking into a deep depression. And loyal to a government that treats her like a second-class citizen and denies her the one thing her wife needs—permission to have a baby. At last, Savannah’s day has come. She is getting a promotion and a raise that will put a bigger apartment within her reach. Finally she has a shot at achieving her wife’s dream of having a baby. But the journalistic responsibilities that come with her new job lead her to the mystery of the Poison Maker. The closer she gets to the truth about this mysterious figure, the father she gets from her goals, and her loyalty to her nation is about to crack unde...