I'm participating in my first-ever actual Event on Facebook! The Fantastical Reads Event starts Feb. 1, continues through Feb. 8 and features giveaways and the opportunity to meet up with a great group of writers. I feel like I'm in stellar company with the likes of M.E. Lord, Elise Stokes, David C. Cassidy ... eight writers in all with an awesome lineup of books.

I'll be giving away free copies of all four of the books in my Portals urban fantasy/detective/light romance series: two copies of Shadow Path, featured on the poster. One copy each of Stormcaller and Deathtalker, books 2 and 3 in the series. And two copies of Sister Hoods, book 4 in the series, released just last fall. In addition, Sister Hoods - which is currently priced at $5.99 - will be available for $4.99 next week.

My hope is that, during the coming week, I'll be able to host some of my fellow-
Fantastical Reads authors here on my blog, and post excerpts from their featured books. If you'd like to see what the event's all about, here's a link: https://www.facebook.com/events/205889079615386/208999475971013/ (At least I hope it will work; as my friends already know, I'm notoriously low-tech and inept about this stuff ...)

But I am hugely jazzed about this event, and it's exciting for me just to be among these folks! So I hope you'll stop by (or find us, if that link doesn't work). Just remember
Feb. 1-8, and check us out!

Do all writers live in two worlds? Even when I'm not writing, I spend a lot of time in the world of my Portals books – that Earth of the not-too-distant future when gateways have opened between our human world and the Realms of Magic, home to all the beings that we've long dismissed as myth and folklore.

 Kat Morales and Tevis, the human and elf police detectives in that world, have become like best friends, people I hang out with a lot. So much so that I sometimes feel less writer than chronicler – simply writing down the stories they tell me. It's a beautiful sensation. When I'm in that zone, it's like watching a movie, seeing the events unfolding before my eyes, and I'm the transcriber hurriedly scribbling down what various characters see, smell, feel, taste …

It's a world of wonder – the world that our ancestors knew, where unicorns move silently through shadowed forests, companions to nymphs and satyrs.

  It's also a world of danger. Magic is a two-edged sword, potentially as harmful to the
spellcaster as to the spell's intended target. And not all the creatures known to our ancestors were benign. So in the world of the Portals, there are evil Wizards, beings with godlike powers and dark hearts, creatures who consider humans nothing more than lesser beings to be manipulated.

  Even nymphs and satyrs have a dark side. Even pixies …

Don't look for Tinker Bell in the world of Portals.

  But it's easy to get lost in a different world when you write fantasy or science fiction. How about those who write crime novels or romance set in our existing world? Do you
also live in two worlds, the reality around us, and the world of your books? And … Westerns. I like Westerns too, as a reader – and historical novels. Now
there would be an interesting world to live in – the past of, say, regency England or Medieval Italy.

  Or the Old West of Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp …

So … As a writer, where do you spend the most time? In the everyday world, or in the world of your books? Or is it about equal between the two?

  And … for that matter … as a reader, where do you like to hang out?

At it's simplest, point of view – aka POV – for
a writer simply means … How are you going to tell your story?
  Broadly speaking, POV falls into four
  categories:
Omniscient. This is the writer-as-god approach. You, the author, are the unseen narrator who knows everything, who shares with the reader what every character is thinking and doing – and reveal information to your reader that none of your characters know about. Omniscient
is plot-driven, rather than character-driven – which, to me, demands that your plot be strong.

First Person. Your main character is the narrator – “I” am telling the tale. At its best, first person can give the reader a sense of immediacy. At its worst, first person POV leads to a story that's more “tell” than “show.” “I was afraid.” “I was happy.” However, in the hands of a skilled writer, first person can be extremely effective.

  The plus – and negative – of first person is that your POV is limited. The reader knows only what the first person narrator knows. If you suddenly want your reader to know information that's hidden from the narrator, you may have a problem.

  On the other hand, it can lead to some very effective foreshadowing. “If I'd known what was on the other side of that door, I would have run like hell in the other direction.” You also can really get into the mind of your narrator, and it's effective for either plot-driven (think all those hardboiled detective novels) or character-driven work.

Second Person. Other than the “choose your adventure” books popular a few years ago, I haven't seen many novels written in this POV. Second person is “you.” In effect, you're making the reader the protagonist of your book – or inviting him/her along as the protagonist's sidekick. Again, the perspective is limited. Your reader, as the “you” of your story, knows only what he/she can see happening, or can discover.

Third Person Limited. This is similar to First Person in that the author
disappears, and all the action unfolds through the eyes of a single character.
It also has the same advantage of bringing your reader into the mind of your
protagonist.

  My first two Portals novels, Shadow Path and Stormcaller, were written from the third-person POV of a single character, my human protagonist Kat Morales. But, like omniscient POV, third person lends itself to writing in multiple points of view as well.

  What separates third-person multiple POV from omniscient is how it's written. In third-person multiple, you devote an entire scene to one character. For example, I've written one scene from Kat's POV, then in the next scene, looked at events entirely through the eyes of her elf partner, Tevis, picking up his thoughts, his feelings, his observations.

  You also have the freedom, with this POV, to show your reader events that you want to conceal from your protagonist. Several scenes in Deathtalker, book 3 in Portals, were written from the villain's POV – information that Kat and Tevis (and their allies) were not privy to.

  What's the best point-of-view to write from? You'll find a variety of opinions both on the Internet and in any “how-to” book (or class) for writers that you care to check out. You'll find comments about what readers like (or don't like).

  Just about any “rule” you care to formulate about POV has been, or will be, broken at some time – and broken successfully. For me, the best POV is the one that helps the writer tell his or her story effectively.

  What/where is your comfort level? That's the POV you want to use.

(A little note on the photo: That's me with my beloved, now departed, Shilo. The photo was taken by a friend at a writer's conference in Casper, Wyo., a few years ago.)

  As the frog said to his friends, Time's sure fun when you're having flies.

Well, time has definitely gotten away from me the past couple of weeks, and I'm not sure yet whether I've got a good handle on the situation.

But there's good stuff happening!

I'm wearing a new hat these days – not instead of but in addition to my book-writing. I'm back doing reporter-type stuff for a new online publication …

The Sheridan Scene (http://www.thesheridanscene.com), currently Internet-only, focuses on the city of Sheridan, Wyoming – where I've lived for more than 25 years. It's a mini-newspaper/news blog (with some opinion pieces as well) aimed at providing comprehensive news coverage online (and, so far, free) for residents of Sheridan County, Wyoming – including the city of Sheridan, towns of Dayton, Ranchester and Clearmont, and points in between.

In the meantime, Studio See Publishing LLC – publisher of my Portals urban fantasy/suspense series – has commissioned new photos for my book covers. Over time (but hopefully soon), all of the books will have new covers that tie the series together. (Boy am I awaiting those!!!!)

As soon as my publisher gives permission, I will start revealing some of the new cover images.

I'm also plugging away at rewriting Sister Hoods, book 4 in the series, for ebook release. The rewrite is a significant revamp of the print version, so if you've already read the print version – be prepared for some major changes.

The first three books in the series – Shadow Path, Stormcaller and Deathtalker – have all been well-received (got some pretty decent reviews), so I'm happy about that.

And … just for the fun of it … today I've posted a photo of my “jackrabbit terror” – one of the trio of furry K-9 kids that I share my life with.