Tanya Lisle

Author: Tanya

  • Looking Glass Saga Origins

    I feel like I’ve written this post before, but I can’t seem to find it so here we go! I’ve been asked quite a few times about the origins of Return to Wonderland and The Looking Glass Saga as a whole, so it’s time to get it all down.

    It started back in 2009 when Disney bout Marvel. It seems like a long time ago and arguably a good thing, but I was in comics back then1 and I got to see the fallout that happened among the fanbase. People were pissed about the move, insisting that they were going to put Mickey Mouse ears on Wolverine and Disney-fy everything that they possibly could. It was considered a terrible move by a very large number of people and they thought the content would be sanitized to the point where it would be unrecognizable.

    And I got really sick of listening to these people. Somehow in the annoyance of it all, I started getting an idea to turn things the other way and superimpose the Marvel Universe over Disney properties. I had a decent understanding of some franchises and a less good grasp of others, but ultimately there were a lot of weird parallels and crossovers created.

    One of those was my Dr. Strange-inspired Alice in Wonderland. Here’s the thing to note about that. I am not that familiar with either Dr. Strange or the Alice in Wonderland Disney movie. I don’t think I’ve actually seen it. I read the book and absorbed the movie more or less through cultural osmosis. But I decided to do this mashup and do a take on it anyway.

    Essentially, Wonderland turned into a parallel to that other dimension that Dr. Strange is in charge of and she was the protector of all that madness. It was a neat idea and I moved on to do all the princesses and mash them up with franchises I was more familiar with.

    But the idea of that Alice story stuck with me and in the back of my head I kept revising it. It morphed and changed and I really liked the concept, but I didn’t have a fully formed story to put it to at the time. I had ideas, so many ideas, and nothing to do with them.

    And then NaNoWriMo happened. I’ve told the particular story of that incident, but that was the last straw to getting the story written and put together. For me, at the time, a lot of figuring out what the tory was going to be happened by actually writing it and seeing if I liked where it was going, then turning it into a thing as I went along. And for Alice’s story, I ended up really liking some of it and wanting to continue it. I borrowed the Harry Potter structure and started laying in the groundwork for the longer series and I’ve been working on it ever since!

    It’s been a weird trip. And now that I’ve got the first draft of the final book of the series done and it’s feeling like it’s getting close to done, I’m reminiscing more and more on how it started. It’s not very much like that initial origin, but there are glimmers still there and it’s fantastic to see.

    1. Reviewed them on Youtube! And I worked at a comic shop! [↩]

  • Urban Heroes Review

    I picked up Urban Heroes back at Creative Ink, but I heard TJ Lockwood reading from the book back at VCon. Side note, if you ever get the chance it’s worth going to see her read. I think she’s doing that more often now, and I came in knowing just as much as the first chapter reveals about the book. Which is to say not a whole lot, but I was interested.

    The story follows a woman named Cal as she navigates a world where humans and androids are not so peacefully coexisting so much as humans are distrustful of androids after an incident. Complicating the ethics of the matter is the fact that humans are often cybernetic ally enhanced to the point where the lines between the two are conceivably blurred. After rescuing a young girl, she and her partner, Axton, are on the run from the life Cal once had. You don’t really get the details of why they’re running for a while.

    The book does feel in large part like it is a middle book, which apparently it is. The girl they rescue doesn’t play a very large part in this story, but there’s hints dropped that there’s something special about her. Cal’s father is only mentioned and never shown. Her friend, Bree, mentions that she has allies but we only really see one of them. This whole story seems to be setting up Cal on a path to redemption and this book focuses largely on the narrative of  that first step.

    I particularly liked her usage of Canada, which is a weird thing to latch onto. The city names are used in the same way I’ve seen American cities used in other media, with the expectation that the names mean something and are enough to orient you. It feels natural and uses Canada in the way I wish it would be used in more media. As a Canadian, it just makes me happy.

    Overall, I really enjoyed the story. The world and the way it unfolded throughout the narrative was interesting,  and the story kept me engaged. I could sympathize with Cal’s choices1 and I liked the dilemmas that it came up. The sci fi is much more urban, and the focus stays very much on the characters, which I’m a fan of. If you like the sound of any of that, definitely check it out.

    Get it on Amazon!

    1. Though I disagree with a couple personally [↩]

  • First Draft Zombies

    Spoiler

    This is actually a post I made several years ago on a site that no longer exists, but still useful. Enjoy!

    [collapse]

    When writing the first draft of anything, I’d suggest never looking back. It’s hard for some people to do, I know. You want it to be perfect the first time, but first drafts are rarely ever masterpieces and they will almost always need heavy editing. You could spend hours making it perfect the first time, or you could have fun with it the first time.

    I like to write now and edit later, as I now realize that my first drafts will usually suck. Let it come out as it comes out and don’t worry too much about editing. If you can help it, don’t edit at all, leave it raw and then you can go back afterwards and fix everything if the story is worth it.

    Like zombies.

    Think of your story like a city infested with zombies out for your brains. The more you write, the closer you get to the chopper to get out of there. Unfortunately, these are running zombies and they’re always right behind you. Don’t look back, just keep writing/running until you get to the end/chopper. You can make it! YOU CAN DO IT!

    Then you’re at the chopper. Now you can look back at your story infested by zombies. There’s grammar and spelling mistakes, plot holes and character inconsistencies. That’s fine. It’s what the first draft is for. You are safe now, it’s done. Take a breath, get back to society and remember what it’s like to be around normal people.

    Then, when you’re very ready, go back to the zombies. And bring ammunition. Take your bombs/red pen and tear the whole thing apart. Keep going until it’s all good and inhabitable again.

    Although by this metaphor, it follows that your mistakes create zombies. I guess the metaphor still works.

    Run like hell, leaving zombies in your wake and make it to the chopper at the end. Look back and risk getting eaten by the zombies with no hope of ever reaching the chopper. Sure, you can turn back and kill a couple that are breathing on your neck, but don’t fight the whole army. Once you reach the chopper, recuperate some and come back with the big guns and bombs that will kill them all.

    Why yes, I am still looking for my notebook.

  • Maddie Hatter and the Deadly Diamond Review

    So first and foremost, Maddie Hatter and the Deadly Diamond is not at all an Alice in Wonderland story. That’s what I was expecting, some sort of steampunk reimagining of the classic following along with maybe the Mad Hatter’s daughter. So before we get too far into it, this is not that.

    What we have instead is a murder mystery where we follow intrepid reporter and steam lord’s daughter in hiding Maddie Hatter as she tried to solve the case so that she can finally earn her byline and escape the world of fashionista reporting. A mysterious mask has been uncovered and stolen, the dead man washing up on shore and what follows is intrigue as Maddie tried to get into as many places as she’s not supposed to in order to figure out what’s happening and report the story back to London while not being recognized by the upper crust of society.

    One of the things that I had trouble adjusting to in this book was the language. There’s a certain flavour to steampunk that always takes me a little longer to adjust to. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting it, but it surprised me nonetheless and it took me a fair few chapters before I properly fell into the rhythm of the story to start trying to pick out the clues along with our heroine.

    Maddie is a lot of fun to follow through her journey. She’s witty and insightful, quick and eager to try new things. She had an interesting perspective on the world she is living in and watching her try to puzzle together the pieces of the mystery’s been great.

    I did like this story, though it wasn’t what I was expecting. I think a younger audience would likely enjoy it a lot more. There’s a lot of great stuff in here, from the touches of world building throughout to the mystery itself. You feel for the character and there’s a good story underneath it all.

    Get it on Amazon!

  • Beauty Sleep Release Date

    The book is almost done! I’ve decided to release the ebook first so you can get the next installment of the story sooner, and the paperback a little later. Beauty Sleep will be coming out June 19, 2019!

    After all this time, the end was finally in sight.

    Alice long ago learned that life wasn’t fair. She had tried everything to defeat the Bandersnatch, but he remained deep in the forest of Lucena Academy. With only one semester left, she thought she could just enjoy herself as much as possible and wait until he finally took her away forever.

    But when Adrianna suddenly falls into a coma, Alice knows there’s something strange happening. At the direction of the monster about to claim her, she must go back into Wonderland and through the depths of Neverland to find a way to wake her up. Alice knows time is running out for her, but she will stop at nothing to make sure Adrianna is okay.

  • I’ll be Gone in the Dark Review

    I didn’t know what I was getting into with I’ll be Gone in the Dark. My impression was that it was a documentary book about a serial killer, the Golden State Killer, and how he eluded the investigators time and time again until present where his case still has not been resolved. I was very surprised and happy to find that was not what I was getting into at all.

    I love the true crime stuff, but I’ve become a little jaded in that I almost expect the killers to be held up on this pedestal, to be made figures of wonder and awe to idolize for their cunning and their ruthlessness. This book does not do that. Instead, the focus is largely on the victims and the events that happened told through a stunning narrative lens that brings you much more into the scene of the attack and focuses squarely on the victims rather than the killer.

    McNamara does a fantastic job of painting the picture of these victims and their encounters with the killer, and of how their lives are rocked by the attacks. The people who find the bodies, the people who are in the house at the time of the attacks, everything is entered largely on the people whose stories we know. It’s respectful and keeps your attention where we know the story as opposed to speculating too much on what we don’t.

    Even when she follows the investigation, it largely focuses on what the impact of the investigation was on the people instead of idolizing the killer.1 He’s treated as a puzzle that people are coming together to solve, as more of a hypothetical and she draws a line between what we know and what is only speculation. There’s no real dancing up to a line to make him seem like more than he really is, he is just a thing that exists, a puzzle to solve and no one has yet. Nothing more, nothing less.

    McNamara died before the end of this book and you can definitely tell where her writing stops and other people have stepped in. There’s something more human and lively about how she talks about the murders and attacks that is lost when she is. But it’s still a fantastic read throughout, and if this is the start of thing you like then I would definitely recommend checking it out.

    Get it on Amazon!

    1. This is a problem with true crime and I don’t know if I’m making myself clear here [↩]

  • The books have new covers!

    Yes, I know it’s like I just redid the covers for The Looking Glass Saga, but I did them again! I was getting a little unhappy with the way they looked next to one another on the shelf with the colours, so it’s mostly just a pallet swap for all of them. Have a look and let me know what you think!

  • White Rabbit Review

    So I don’t normally pick up books when I can tell there’s going to be a romance subplot dominating parts of the book from just the back cover. I do really try to only read stuff I think I’m going to like, honestly. But I find for the most part, queer characters know how to focus on the task at hand and I liked the sound of the rest of the story, so I gave white Rabbit a shot.

    It was definitely worth it, with a few bumps in the road. The story follows Rufus as he tries to solve the mystery of what happened at a party he wasn’t at between people he doesn’t like, all while his ex tags along and tries desperately to have a conversation about how sorry he is until they get back together.1 It’s fast paced, fairly well structured, and pretty entertaining. The mystery is well set up and finding the answer didn’t feel too convoluted. I thought the initial victim turned out to be a little comically evil, but besides that I generally liked the story.

    But, like I said, there were bumps. There’s a reason I generally tend to give queer romances more of a pass and that’s because generally queer characters can focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately, right in the opening with a dead body right over there we have a chunk about Rufus hoping that his ex boyfriend realizes how hot he’s gotten. I put the book down for a bit, then skimmed back to where the story picked back up because it felt too early to give up, but the break in action was so frustrating. There is a dead guy in eyeshot, your sister’s been drugged, you have someone else’s blood on you, and insist on focusing on your ex right now?

    There’s other bits that felt a little strange. There’s an injury that Rufus gets later in the book that stops being an issue after a chapter, and the narrative is basically broken into the plausible wrong answer, followed by the actual correct answer. I’m not mad about it, since I’ve used it myself before and quite enjoy it, but I would have liked a little more foreshadowing about that twist earlier so the two halves of the book didn’t feel so separated.

    Overall, though, I really did enjoy the story. The romance was better woven into the rest of it and, while it did overpower the narrative at parts, I did appreciate that it was used mostly to enhance the tension in the later parts of the book over just being there as a distraction. If it sounds like your thing, definitely check it out!

    1. That is not a spoiler, you knew that was going to happen from the back cover. [↩]

  • The CreativeInk Festival was great!

    Right at the end of March I went to the first writing conference type thing that I’ve been to since I was at the Surrey International Writers Conference back in… I don’t even remember how long ago that was. So it’s been a while, but I got a pass1 and made it!

    I heard about it initially about this back in November with VCon, and it was pitched as a writers conference by writers for writers and that’s exactly what I got. It’s out by BCIT and I took the one day off so that I could make it for the whole thing and it was fantastic.

    In contrast to SIWC, there was a lot of focus on the business aspects of writing. There were some sessions about the craft, don’t get me wrong. I attended some great sessions about short stories and how to write for specific audiences. But there was also a good deal about the business of writing, like how to do in person signings, specifics about self publishing and marketing strategies that are and are not currently working.

    At this stage in my writing, the conference was fantastic. It’s a lot more affordable than SIWC, and it is much more focused on the business and craft of writing than the introductory classes. There’s also not of a focus on a chance to pitch to agents, though there was a decent about on information about getting into traditional publishing. I’ll definitely going again next year and dragging a few more people with me!

    1. Thank you Grace Fong! [↩]

  • Strange Practice Review

    So this one was pitched to me as a romance-less story about a doctor who deals with vampires, mummies, and the supernatural. I was intrigued and I needed to know more based on the premise. Also, I was promised murder and it delivered!

    The story follows Greta and her three adoptive demon dads (a vampire, a vampyre1, and a literal hell demon) As they try to figure out what is trying to murder various people in the supernatural community. Greta words as a doctor for this community and gets caught up in the murders largely because her new vampyre dad, Varney, is attacked and they soon come after her.

    And I really enjoyed it! The pacing was great and I really appreciated Greta as a character. She is not an action oriented character, much more of a doctor2 in the way she approaches issues, and the compassion she shows throughout the book really helps to add to the humanization of a lot of these elements. It’s also a lot of fun to see these characters see one another and helps to make them a lot more rounded when you can see how other people see characters and how they see themselves.

    And, of course, Samael is just a lot of fun. When you get there.

    My one criticism, and it’s a small one, is that I had no idea what year it was. Not like if it was specifically 2010. Like I thought it was in Fantastic Beasts times. There are cars, but “Volvo” for some reason doesn’t register to me as a newer car. The names of the modern characters are Greta and August. They do not text. Somehow all of this together made it very jarring when they started referring to things that happened in 2005.

    Overall, though, it was a lot of fun. The universe is well thought out, the supernatural beings are well explored and thought about, and the way the different elements of mythology play with one another are really interestings. I’d definitely say check it out!

    Get Strange Practice on Amazon!

    1. Difference minor [↩]
    2. As she should be [↩]