A Review of Lauren Blackwood's "Within these Wicked Walls" (audiobook)

Lauren Blackwood’s “Within these Wicked Walls” is a wonderful dark, horror romance. I love anything inspired by “Jane Eyre,” and this did not disappoint. Andromeda works as an unlicensed debtera, a sort of exorcist, and she is called into the desert to cleanse a haunted castle. She falls in love with the owner, Magnus Rochester, who is the cursed individual. Together with the help of Andi’s mentor and an unlikely, undead ally, they work to overcome the curse before it is too late.

I really enjoyed this novel. The touches on racial and socioeconomic politics made for interesting undertones. The manifestations, or hauntings, were well thought-out and plenty creepy when they needed to be, but I also liked the touches where they were light-hearted and offered some respite from the grief and labors the characters must endure. There are some complicated relationships, but because of them, the story felt more realistic despite its fantastical elements.

The narrator, Nneka Okoye, did an excellent job with Andi’s first-person perspective. I could have listened to her for much longer.

I loved this book and would like to revisit this world that Blackwood has created in “Within these Wicked Walls.” I downloaded it using the Libby app, and you should too!

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Book Review of "The Dare Club: Nita" by Laurie Bradach and Kim “Howard” Johnson

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Another common error young writers make is telling a story, rather than showing a story. This is probably because many of the short stories they have been exposed to are fairy tales, which have a distant point of view and summary-like narration. They start with phrases like "There once was..." and use direct characterization, like "She was the kindest girl in all the land." When we write, we need to show our stories, using vivid verbs, specific details, and deep point of view. Here's an example of a passage that is told. The action is summarized and the reader feels as if the action is happening far away: It was June of 1943. Eric's older brother had gone away to become a fighter pilot. Eric wanted to be a pilot too, so he got in the family's crop dusting plane and started it up. He flew it out of the barn and crashed it into the old oak tree in the yard. He hit his head. The doctor had to come. His brother came back, injured from the war. The two healed...

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Exposition is used in two ways when talking about fiction. First, it is the set-up at the beginning of the plot arc. Where we learn the basic who, what, when, and where. This is a necessary part of plot to ground your reader. I'm going to address the second way exposition is used in a story. This is when an author gives background information, description of characters or setting, or summarizes events that have already happened. It can happen at any point in the story. This is a necessary, key element of writing and one of the three tools an author has to tell his or her story, along with scene and dialogue. A good author does this without slowing down the forward progress of the plot. That is, the exposition makes sense in the context of the scene (or action) of the story and does not trip up the reader or bore him or her. She turned her blue gaze toward him. Here, we get the fact that she has blue eyes in the context of the action. That's the best way to give description. One...

Writer and Editor C.B. Calsing/ G.G. Royale

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