Berengaria Brown’s Best Party Ever

I was in the Fifth Grade when I discovered James Bond. My teacher that year let us read when we finished the set work, and I spent a lot of the year reading. My Dad had all Ian Fleming’s James Bond books, and I read them one after the other. Yes, I know, likely not appropriate for a little girl but my dad never tried to control my reading, and my teacher didn’t either.

I’ve been half in love with James Bond ever since. Who could resist Sean Connery? Or Pierce Brosnan? Or Daniel Craig?
So today I’m throwing a party. Each of the James Bonds will be arriving at the height of their movie perfection. Sean Connery as he was in “From Russia With Love”. George Lazenby from “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Roger Moore from “the Spy Who Loved Me”. Timothy Dalton as he was in “License to Kill”. Pierce Brosnan from “Golden Eye”, and Daniel Craig from “Quantum of Solace”.

And I’ll be there as well. Just me and arguably the six sexiest men on the planet. There’ll likely be some martinis (shaken, not stirred), and I definitely plan to drive a brand new Aston Martin very very fast at some stage of the evening. Other than that, I’ll leave the rest of the evening up to your imagination!

Like many writers, I’m fascinated not just by sexy men, geeky gadgets, and fast cars, but also by “what if” questions. “What if North Korea really did carry out its threat to bomb America? What if the Islamic State did establish a Caliphate? What if some idiot set loose bacterial warfare?”
The “Born to Rule” series of books follows the stories of Terah, Raine, Flame, and Skye, women whose destiny will only be discovered after the world as we know it has gone forever. The planet Mu Arae 7 sends warriors to Earth on a mission. Each warrior must find his bride to complete his mission.

“Born to Rule” Book 1: “Earth: Every twenty years a small group of warriors from Mu Arae 7 come to Earth to find their brides. Andreas captures Terah on the hill near where his spaceship lands and knows he has obtained his bride. He claims her immediately because he knows she’s the only woman for him.
Terah's running from trouble when she’s captured to be an alien’s slave. There’s nothing she can do to escape...but would she even want to?
Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/earth-mf

“Born to Rule” Book2: “Fire”: Flame was standing on the hill looking down at the village when the aliens captured her. She was locked in a room in the spaceship until evening when they were all fed. After the meal a black-haired man claimed her and she was taken to his room to be his slave.
Chad was so excited at finding his bride so soon after arriving from Mu Arae 7, that he couldn’t wait and made love to her before he’d even gotten to know her. But the next day he has to work out how to show her he doesn’t just own her, he also cares about her.
Buy link: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/fire-by-berengaria-brown/

“Born to Rule” Book 3: “Water”: Duncan is filled with rage. All through the long journey from Mu Arae 7 he’d envisioned his bride as an opulent, curvaceous, dark-skinned beauty, and he’d ended up with short, thin, light-skinned Raine. He wants to ignore her but the call between them is too strong. So he takes her to his room and claims her with lust and desperation, not love. Raine accepts that she’s his slave, but she’s also determined to explore the underground well. With or without his permission.
Releases 6th November.

“Born to Rule” Book 4: “Air”: None of the huge aliens from Mu Arae 7 has chosen Skye to be their slave. Not that she wants to be a slave, but she’s lonely now all her friends have been taken. Then Gabriel holds her and warms her up and claims her. For an alien, he’s kind to her even though she doesn’t always understand what he wants. But Skye feels hopelessly inadequate, and so much less worthy than anyone else here. Gabriel knows he wants Skye, but how can he convince her to trust and accept him when he’s captured her? And will she develop a power?
“Air” releases 18th November

Berengaria Brown’s links:
Blog: http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/berengaria-brown
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Berengaria-Brown/e/B00541R3YQ/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berengaria.brown?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerengariaBrown
ARe: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Berengaria+Brown

Born to Rule Book 1 "Earth" MF SciFi

Like many writers, I’m fascinated by “what if” questions. “What if North Korea really did carry out its threat to bomb America? What if the Islamic State did establish a Caliphate? What if some idiot set loose bacterial warfare?”
The “Born to Rule” series of books follows the stories of Terah, Raine, Flame, and Skye, women whose destiny will only be discovered after the world as we know it has gone forever. The planet Mu Arae 7 sends warriors to Earth on a mission. Each warrior must find his bride to complete his mission.

Old Anny told all the community the story of their history, but it was most important that Terah, Flame, Raine, and Skye understood it. She’d named them when they were born, and she was the only one who understood the meaning in the names she’d given these girls. The future of Earth depended on them, but they didn’t know it yet.
She drew the four little girls to her and said, “When my grandmother’s grandmother was a little girl just like you, there was a place called North Korea. The leader there hated South Korea and America. He knew if he attacked America he wouldn’t be able to defeat them, but South Korea wasn’t as big and strong so he had his soldiers fire nuclear rockets and weapons filled with diseases at South Korea. Other countries who disagreed with their neighbors took the opportunity to start fights as well. The Islamic State in particular sent suicide fighters to many countries to cause unrest while their soldiers expanded their borders.”
She looked at the children seated at her feet. Flame with her bright red hair, Skye with her white-blonde hair neatly braided, Raine with her enormous blue eyes, and Terah their leader. All were listening to her intently.
Old Anny continued her story. “Within a few years many countries were fighting, some in major wars, others just annoying their neighbors, trying to get back at them over long-held grievances. But the bacteria and diseases began to spread rapidly in the unrest. Nations were too busy fighting to deliver good healthcare fast enough to stop pandemics from developing so many people died. Entire villages became empty. Warriors came from a distant planet and stole some of our women away to be their slaves. Some went willingly as conditions were so bad in their countries. Our people were smart enough to hide and remain safe. Once in every generation the aliens return for more slaves. They will come in your generation, too, but we will be prepared and hide where we can’t be found because we have always survived.”
Old Anny shifted on her blanket, reality returning to her mind. The girls were no longer small children. It was time for them to leave.

Blurb: Earth: Every twenty years a small group of warriors from Mu Arae 7 come to Earth to find their brides. Andreas captures Terah on the hill near where his spaceship lands and knows he has obtained his bride. He claims her immediately because he knows she’s the only woman for him.
Terah's running from trouble when she’s captured to be an alien’s slave. There’s nothing she can do to escape...but would she even want to?

Buy links: Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/earth-by-berengaria-brown/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-earth-1901004-340.html
BookStrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/earth-mf

Berengaria Brown
http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookstrand.com/berengaria-brown

Trick Yourself Into Writing More

Right now, I’m pretty sad. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s a blood sugar issue or I miss my girlfriend or I’m depressed because I haven’t yet won a Nobel Prize for literature. No matter the cause, I’m using this little ball of pain bouncing and grinding its way through my chest. I’m using it to write.

Two years ago, I started a new book for one reason: I was sad. On a Friday night, I had hoped to see some good friends, but they couldn’t make it. Nothing Earth shattering, but it stung. So that night I took that little pill of pain, used my suddenly free time, and started writing Poisoned Star. I concentrated on a futuristic universe filled with powerful starships and even more powerful aliens. I wrote about a boy in love who longed to see a girl who felt no one could love her.

Whenever I feel sad, I write. Now don’t get me wrong. This isn’t about me trying to expunge the feelings. I’m not out to write some cathartic poetry filled with depressing imagery. No, I want to take this bit of pain and use it as a motivation. For whatever reason, when I’m sad, I write well. It sharpens my focus and helps me concentrate. That might not be true for everyone.

Being a writer routinely comes down to discipline, but knowing yourself and when you write best can be incredibly useful. For example, I’m a morning person. I know I can be most productive before noon.

Last year, I wrote three novels in about three months. Each piece was longer than eighty thousand words. Sure, they were rough drafts and will require a lot of tinkering like pretty much all rough drafts.

How did this happen? I admit it, I’m a workaholic, but even then we’re talking about writing six or seven pages a day while teaching three classes and working half-time as a tutor. I was able to get this much done for one simple reason: I had my mornings off.

I didn’t go to work until one o’clock which meant I could wake up around seven and write until ten. Those three hours meant I accomplished a lot. I also trimmed back on my free reading and I did some writing at night too, but I knew when I could be most productive. When that time opened up, I took advantage of it in a big way.

It’s not just time you can use. Place can be a pretty big deal too. Like right now, I’m sad, but I’m also sitting in a library. This is a great place for me to write because I can enjoy the white noise. The librarians are chatting, people are typing at the bank of computers, pages are getting turned, and a printer is beeping somewhere behind me. I like white noise. This helps.

I’ve had students who say they write better with music or when they’re hungry. There are a thousand variables you can use to manipulate to trick yourself into writing more.

Consequences - Deus Ex Machina in Dylan Dog

Consequences – Deus Ex Machina in Dylan Dog

It's Josh again, and I recently saw Dylan Dog. It was a clever little movie, very similar to Being Human. While some parts of it were pretty funny, the end left a lot to be desired. Spoiler alert: I’m going to ruin a pretty lame ending.

The movie is all about an ancient cross that contains the essence of an incredibly powerful demon. Once raised, the demon is strong enough to take over the world. The monster inevitably appears, and it is epic. Jet black, armored, winged, and armed with massive horns and claws, the demon looks very cool.

Visuals aside, there are some nasty problems with how the end plays out.

Throughout the film, various characters establish the demon’s rules. Basically, once the demon is summoned, there is a symbiotic relationship between the demon and its creator. They must work together. If the summoner dies, then the demon gets trapped again in its artifact (an epic looking cross). But while it’s out, the demon has to obey the person who released it.

The movie’s villain summons the demon only to learn that it isn’t subject to the summoner’s will. The demon can do whatever it wants. The demon is able to break the summoner’s hold; it’s a surprise, and there’s nothing wrong in that.

It’s a pretty good moment except for one problem. Okay, the rules everyone expected are wrong. There’s nothing inconsistent there. Except the demon seems to forget about its symbiotic relationship to the person who summoned it. He goes back into the cross if that person dies, yet he attacks the summoner and flies away.

From there, Dylan—the main character—fights the demon and basically gets his ass kicked. He doesn’t stop the demon. He doesn’t even hurt it or slow it down. And while he fights, the summoner rushes out—and is eaten by a pack of werewolves. Summoner dead, the demon is trapped once again in his artifact. Yay, happy ending.

So Dylan accomplished nothing. If he hadn’t been there and if he hadn’t valiantly battled such a powerful enemy, literally nothing would have been different. The demon would have flown off and the summoner would have still died. The werewolves are way more important.

But this all raises another question. The demon is intelligent. He mocks the summoner, pointing out how he doesn’t need any help and how he can do what he wants. And yet, if that person dies, then he goes back to his imprisonment. He talks. He seems to think. So why doesn’t he understand this obvious vulnerability? Seriously, he knocks the summoner into a wall and flies off gloating about how evil he’s going to be.

If I were a reasonably intelligent demon bound to the world by one person, I would work really hard to keep that individual safe. Even if I didn’t care about that person’s happiness, I’m definitely worried about their safety. Sure, I might lock the summoner in a cage, but I’m going to make sure nothing bad happens. I don’t want to get sucked back into an artifact because this one person got hit by a car.

Right?
Writers set the rules of their supernatural worlds. That’s part of the fun, and yet it implies a responsibility to be consistent. Readers, especially those of the nerd breed, tend to be very judicious in tracking those rules. When writers break their own rules, readers get annoyed and lose any faith they might have had in the story.