Sunday, 19 May 2013

Weapons


I have read a few comments on Fire along the lines of 'why do they have modern tech but use rudimentary weapons; it doesn't make any sense'. This surprised me as an issue because, to me, it makes perfect sense, so I wanted to explain my reasoning here.

'Fire' arms makes me think fire - the only realm who, in my eyes, would produce anything like a gun, or an explosion, would be the Helian Realm. However, the people tasked with protecting the realms are the Protectors and they already have their own, literal, fire arms. Why would they carry a gun when a ball of fire has just as deadly an effect, without the need to draw a weapon? And they definitely wouldn't want to give that power to non-Protectors. They are a very elitist Realm, you've got to remember. They don't want ordinary Helians to have the same power as them.

The only character I can think off who might quite like something like a gun would be Roxy's mother, Seraphina, because she isn't a Protector. However she's not in power yet, and thus isn't in a position to do anything about her lack of fire. Plus, I'm not sure that she would be clever enough to think up the concept - she would just order lower ranking Protectors to do her dirty work.

Helian Protectors do still make use of things like knives, but that's because they are useful - they're something they can't utilise their powers for.

You might ask why the other Realms haven't come up with anything like a gun, to fight against the Helians, but there are two issues with this. First, the Arcan and Sephan Realms are fundamentally Realms of peace - they wouldn't want to create weapons like that. The Sephan do use knives, and bows and arrows, for hunting, but they are also technologically behind the other Realms and guns wouldn't fit in with their 'green' ethos. Arcans, on the other hand, just aren't interested in warfare.

Secondly, there's the fire issue again. Modern weapons are all about the fire power. The only realm who may want a more sophisticated form of weaponry would be the Brizan Realm; they feel quite vulnerable following the Helian Occupation. But they definitely wouldn't create a weapon remotely resembling a gun. Maybe a water cannon? They believe that their water is the best defence against the Helians' heat.

I hope that this post makes the world's lack of modern weaponry seem less anachronistic -  it is something I've put a lot of thought into!

Monday, 6 May 2013

Bank Holiday in the Sun

Hi all,

I'm sorry that I haven't updated recently; I have been very busy! Today, for example, I have been cutting out hundreds of paper hearts for place cards for my wedding in June. Since it's a bank holiday though, I have time to get you caught up.

Water


I'm at a bit of a standstill with Water while it's being edited, which is a shame as I can't wait for people to start reading it. But I do want to make sure that it's perfect first and I am certain that it will be worth the wait.


Fire


I'm having a promotional blitz with Fire, trying to keep the momentum up following the tour. If you would like a review copy, or are interested in running a feature on your blog then please email me at heatherf.james@gmail.com. I managed to get a few more reviews lined up yesterday, which I will post links to when they are up.


The first promotional post can be found at the Afternoon Bookery.

Writing


While I'm not working on Elements of Power currently I am still writing, a lot. I'm really, really excited about my current project but I don't want to share anything yet - especially not since I won't be pursuing it full time until after Water and Air are published. I will give you these three, rather vague, facts though:


1. It is not a fantasy story.
2. It is set in London
3. There will not be a love triangle in it (I promise)

Right now, I'm sat out in my garden, since it's the first sunny bank holiday the UK has had, well, ever and as soon as I hit post, I'm going to re-open Scrivener (a recent addiction - I'm finding it extremely compatible with my need to keep everything super organised) and return to a frosty January morning in Trafalgar Square...

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Update

The Fire blog tour is over, but don't forget about the giveaway still going on right here on the blog. You can enter to win here.

Water
I'm about a third of the way through editing Water, and I can't wait to share it with you all! At the moment, I'm waiting on someone else who is going through it for me, which is why things aren't progressing perhaps as quickly as I might like, but I'm currently aiming for a summer release.

Air
Since there not a lot I can do currently with Water, I am spending most of my time going through my initial draft of Air, which (luckily) isn't as awful as it could have been given it was written under the pressure of NaNoWriMo. In fact, I'm pretty pleased with what I have so far and I don't think I'll be keeping you all waiting for it for too long after Water is released. Especially not when I've already started working on my next series idea...

This is the first place I will post any news or updates, so make sure you follow for more info on the Elements of Power series.

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Day Twenty One: Starlight Book Reviews

Today is the final day of the tour. I've had a lot of fun visiting so many different blogs over the past three weeks and I hope that lots of new readers have been introduced to Fire (and that they love it as much as I do). 

 photo blogtour6.jpgI really couldn't have asked for a better end - Reena at Starlight Book Reviews has given Fire a five star review! You can check out her review here, and while you're reading that, you can also take a look at a guest post written by me and enter a final giveaway. 

Thank you to everyone who has hosted a Fire tour stop. I hope that you have enjoyed discovering the series and that you're looking forward to Water (which I am hard at work on currently). 

Saturday, 20 April 2013

Day Twenty: Post Two

 photo blogtour6.jpg
Still over on TeamNerd, check out my guest post on why strong female leads are necessary in fiction. I had a lot of fun reading this post and I hope that you enjoy reading it. It would be great to see your thoughts in the comments. You can read it here. (Please, please do!)

And on Mad Geek Girl, you can find a quick interview with me on writing from two perspectives, some of my favourite, non-YA writers and what you can expect from Water. 

Day Twenty: Part One

 photo blogtour6.jpg Apologies for the lack of updates, the past two days have been very busy! This first post is a catch-up on yesterday. TeamNerd Reviews posted this interview with me, which discusses friendship, reading and which character from Fire I would most like to date. Make sure you check it out and keep an eye out for today's blog stop, which I will post about later today.

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Day Seventeen: From the Shadows I Review

 photo blogtour6.jpg For day 16 of the tour, head over to From the Shadows I Review for a review of Fire which covers everything from Fire's cover, to the price, to the characters. It's a really detailed review and the blog looks great too. Char is also a Roxy fan - I love how reviewers take quite strongly to one of the girls. I could definitely split the reviews section on my site based on which of the girls the reviewer favoured!

Meanwhile, over on Uniquely Moi Books is a promo for Fire along with a guest post on my eight favourite authors. I had a lot of fun writing this post, so it would be great if you could check it out and add your own opinions in the comments.